Versions Galore

Side 1 of a cover versions cassette compilation, recorded 26th November 1999.

Preparing for the end of the millennium party with a mixtape of songs transformed or tortured by (then) contemporary. Who would have thought a quarter of a century on, many of these artists would still be recording and touring?

I recorded a trio of CD-Rs titled Hokey Karaoke for my friend Stuart in 2008 and posted the first of these on here in 2022. Only two duplications with this track list, one of them being the closer to this side by My Bloody Valentine which,, coincidentally, opens up the companion collection.

Great to be reminded of these songs, especially that superb O.M.D. bassline, Republica's OTT take on Gary Numan and what an awesome live act Senser were.

 

1) Waiting For The Man (Single Version): O.M.D. vs. The Velvet Underground (1980)

2) Stepping Stone (Ghost Dance Mix By Terry Farley & Mr. Suggs): The Farm vs. The Monkees (1991)

3) (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Single Version): Apollo 440 vs. Blue Öyster Cult (1995)

4) Children Of The Revolution (7" Mix): Baby Ford vs. T. Rex (1989)

5) Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun (Live @ Reading Festival): Senser vs. Beastie Boys (1993)

6) Hanging Around (Album Version By Tony Visconti): Hazel O'Connor vs. The Stranglers (1981)

7) Sexual Healing: Anita Lane ft. Mick Harvey & Barry Adamson vs. Marvin Gaye (1993)

8) Jacky (7" Version By Trevor Horn & Brian Malouf): Marc Almond vs. Jacques Brel / Scott Walker (1991)

9) Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds vs. Gene Pitney (1986)

10) Are 'Friends' Electric?: Republica vs. Tubeway Army (1997)

11) We Have All The Time In The World: My Bloody Valentine vs. Louis Armstrong (1993)

1980: Messages EP: 1

1981: Cover Plus: 6

1986: Kicking Against The Pricks: 9

1989: Children Of The Revolution EP: 4

1991: Stepping Stone EP: 2

1991: Tenement Symphony: 8

1993: Dirty Pearl: 7

1993: Peace Together: 11

1994: Age Of Panic EP: 5

1995: (Don't Fear) The Reaper EP: 3

1997: Random: 10

 

Side One (47:20) (GD) (M)

You can find Hokey Karaoke (Volume One) here

Chemical Dust

If you like your beats big, then you can't wrong with The Chemical Brothers.

Today's selection is three quarters of an hour of remixes circa 1994 to 1996, when Manchester Uni pals Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands were breaking big as The Dust Brothers and inevitably drawing attention from Michael Simpson and John King aka the original Dust Brothers. Some legal chit chat, a handshake and a name change later, and Ed and Tom continued as The Chemical Brothers.

Something big was happening (and I don't just mean Big Beat) but even then could the pair have imagined that they'd become even bigger, release albums into double digits and still be a significant musical force, three decades later? Quite something, when you think about it.

To these ears, whilst the music takes me back to experiences in a past, younger life, I still get the rush of the new when listening to these tracks.

 

Ed and Tom did a whole bunch of remixes for Manic Street Preachers and whilst La Tristesse Durera raised the bar impossibly high, their rework of Everything Must Go is an underrated banger. 

Likewise, there was a quid pro quo with The Sabres Of Paradise, Weatherall, Kooner and Burns remixing the Brothers and vice versa. Tow Truck was a speaker shredding monster from an EP of remixes from the Haunted Dancehall album.

Justin Warfield pops up twice, firstly with Bomb The Bass and the seminal track Bug Powder Dust, then on his own with Pick It Up Y'All. I really enjoyed the Rap/Hip Hop/Big Beat crossover that was firing up around this time and these two are prime examples.

 

I missed The Chemical Brothers' remixes of Republica first time around as a vinyl-only issue. Thankfully, the mid-late 1990s were a time of multiple formats, with 2-3 CD singles per release offering remixes, rarities and live versions to prise your pennies away. This rather fine dub of Out Of This World resurfaced on the Drop Dead Gorgeous single.

A standout from The Chemical Brothers debut album was Life Is Sweet which featured The Charlatans' Tim Burgess on vocals (Ed and Tom were also at the forefront of the Indie/Dance revival). Again, multiple formats for the inevitable single release but I've opted here for a rarer remix which featured on the essential Trance Europe Express compilation series. It's a Big Beat frenzy with a smattering of Tim's vocals left in for good measure.

The selection closes out with what I still think of as one of their finest moment as either The Dust Brothers or The Chemical Brothers. In 1994, they dusted up Saint Etienne's Like A Motorway. The competition was tough: David Holmes and Autechre both submitted remixes at the top of their game. However, Ed and Tom's Chekhov Warp mix is something else entirely, nine minutes of acid-drenched bleeps and squiggles, samples and dirty beats that leave you wanting to hear it all over again. There is a vocal version available but for me, the dub is the essential mix.

Pick it up y'all, we can make it to the weekend!

 

1) Everything Must Go (The Chemical Brothers Remix): Manic Street Preachers (1996)

2) Out Of This World (Chemical Brothers Dub): Republica (1995)

3) Bug Powder Dust (Dust Brothers Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

4) Tow Truck (The Chemical Brothers Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1995)

5) Life Is Sweet (Delik 1) (Remix By The Chemical Brothers, Steve Dub & Tim Holmes): The Chemical Brothers ft. Tim Burgess (1995)

6) Pick It Up Y'All (Dust Brothers Dub): Justin Warfield (1994)

7) Like A Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub) (Remix By The Dust Brothers): Saint Etienne (1994)

Chemical Dust (45:21) (GD) (M)

You can find Shake This Feeling, another 45-minute selection of The Chemical Brothers from July 2022, right here.

You've Got Male

Happy 60th birthday to Johnny Male, born this day in 1963.

 

Your reaction to this may be, "who?!", whilst wondering why I didn't post instead about Kirsty MacColl, John Prine, Midge Ure, heck even Martin Kemp, who all share a birthday on 10th October.

 

Well, have a root around in your record collection and you may find that you have plenty of records on which Johnny appears as band member, guitarist, vocalist and/or songwriter...

As far as I can tell, things kicked off with Metro Trinity, a duo with Jez Williams (later of Sub Sub and Doves), who released a split 7" with Inspiral Carpets and one standalone single, Die Young, both in 1987. Michael Furey is the closing song on the 4-track 12" single.

 

A couple of years later, Johnny formed Soul Family Sensation with Guy Batson and Jhelisa Anderson and nearly cracked it with I Don't Even Know If I Should Call You Baby in 1991. The single came with a bunch of Marshall Jefferson remixes but ultimately didn't become the smash hit that it deserved.

 

Whilst Jhelisa did find chart success with The Shamen, Johnny hooked up with indie dance act Airstream, who generated some interest, particularly with the Andrew Weatherall remix of Follow Through in 1991. Their sole album, Ricky Tick, was a misspelt nod to the Riki Tik bar in London, which Johnny co-owned. I'll Dream Of You was their penultimate single in 1992.

Undeterred by the departure of Jhelisa, Johnny and Guy's partnership continued, shortening the name from Soul Family Sensation to Sensation and releasing an album, Burger Habit, in 1993. I first discovered them via the single Beautiful Morning - Johnny's front and centre on vocal duties - which came with a pair of, er, sensational remixes by Fluke.

Male and Batson's songwriting has extended to other artists, one of my favourites being a co-write with Sarah Cracknell on this gem of a single from Saint Etienne's 1994 album Tiger Bay.

Johnny also reunited with Metro Trinity partner Jez Williams (along with Andy Williams and Jimi Goodwin) to write this rather fine single by Sub Sub, also 1994.

Chart success finally came Johnny's way when he joined Republica in 1994. Things exploded a couple of years later with a re-release of Ready To Go. The video for that one still induces nosebleeds when I watch it, so here's Drop Dead Gorgeous from 1996 instead. I think it's a better song and you get to see Johnny giving it some on the guitar, too. Johnny is still performing with Republica, though I don't think they've released new material since their second album, 25 years (!) ago.

In 1998, Thurston Moore released Root, which featured 25 reworkings and 'transformations' of guitar pieces which he'd recorded in New York the previous year. Amongst the eclectic selection was cheapglue, featuring - you guessed it - Johnny Male.

 

The band, comprising Male, Guy Batson, Henry Priestman and Pete Smith, released one album in 2002 called Sexyhorses, plus a few singles and promos. Song titles include Herr Madonna, Failed With Flying Colours and Absolutely No Point In Anything Anymore featuring Emilíana Torrini. Oh, and a lovely song called You Just Won Me Over reuniting Male and Batson with Sarah Cracknell.

Apart from the ongoing live gigs with Republica, I've not been able to find a lot more about Johnny's songwriting and performing in the past decade, but I did unearth another gem, which he co-wrote with Pete Smith and Cerys Matthews for her second album Never Said Goodbye in 2006. Open Roads was released as a single the same year and I've discovered Cerys performing the song at Rhos-y-Gilwen in Pembrokeshire, circa 2008.

 

Not a bad CV, all things considered.

 

Have a good one, Johnny!