We said goodbye to my uncle on Friday. He passed on 31st July and following a private cremation in August, this was a gathering of family and friends to celebrate his life.
Much as he lived his life, the event was as full of joy and love as it's possible for these things to be. You realise that the one person you really want to be in the room with you isn't physically there, but the succession of remembrances, anecdotes and photos brought the memory of him into sharp focus.
We were both avid music lovers, though we rarely talked about it when we got together. As his neighbour - and inevitably, friend - of more than a quarter of a century wryly noted,
I loved Queen.
He loved jazz.
And never the twain shall meet.
I would have leaned more towards my uncle's side in that particular difference of opinion, but the trio of songs at the service - which I sure that he personally picked, he was meticulous in his planning and preparation - resonated for different reasons.
The introductory song was Dawn/Go Within by Santana, the opening of their 1977 album Moonflower. The sum total of Santana songs in my collection is three, two of which are different versions of the same song. I have never knowingly listened to an entire Santana album. As an intro to the service ahead though, my uncle nailed it.
On the album proper, Dawn/Go Within cuts to a live version of Let The Children Play, but here was comfortably faded out before the abrupt end. I will track down the album to hear it in full, as my uncle will have done on many occasions in the past.
The second song, and the one that resonated with me the most was The Highways Of My Life by The Isley Brothers.
The song features on the 1973 album 3 + 3, which also features Summer Breeze and That Lady. I have quite a few songs by The Isley Brothers, but culled from various compilations and best ofs. 3 + 3 is the only album that I own in its entirety and it is a masterpiece. I wish we'd talked more about music, and how our mutual love clearly overlapped in so many places.
The final song, and perhaps less of a surprise, was In My Life by The Beatles. My uncle was a huge fan and the first time I ever encountered the 'red' and 'blue' compilations was on a very rare occasion that I was allowed to rummage through his vinyl collection and put a record on...although I suspect he may have taken care of the latter, as I was an ignorant 7-year old at the time and I would have got my grubby fingers all over the vinyl!
In My Life featured on the first collection covering 1962-1966 (aka 'red'), originally appearing halfway through side 2 of Rubber Soul in 1965. I can't recall my response to the song (or 1962-1966 in general), the first time I heard it played on a turntable, but no surprise that I gained a deeper appreciation for The Beatles' music as I grew older.
One of my uncle's long-time friends spoke of their first meeting as neighbours, living in ground floor bedsits in Teddington, opposite Bushy Park, in the early 1970s. It was the first time that either had lived in London and it proved to be a life changing experience.
It was during that period that my brother and I, aged 11 and 7 respectively, went to stay with my uncle. We were bundled onto a coach in Bristol, met by my uncle at Victoria station and had our first big adventure in The Big Smoke. We went back into the city the following day, visiting the first McDonald's in the UK (Woolwich, to be precise). I don't remember the burger and fries, to be honest, but I vividly recall the milkshake, which was so thick that my cheeks ached from trying to consume it, in which I succeeded eventually.
We also visited a book shop and I came away with two books, both novelisations of sci-fi epics that I greatly enjoyed at the time: Star Wars by George Lucas (except that it was actually ghost written by Alan Dean Foster) and Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston. Neither of the photos are mine: I think I may have the former somewhere, the latter has definitely perished along the way; both were read several times in the span of a few short years.
Another of the anecdotes by my uncle's friend concerned the number of cassettes he received with albums that my uncle had taped from his vinyl collection. It turns out that this was something of a cottage industry as others I spoke to had also been the recipients of bootleg cassettes over the years, with neatly handwritten sleeves. When the "home taping is killing music' campaign launched back then, my uncle was clearly one of the perpetrators!
My brother and I were also the beneficiaries of this criminal undertaking. We'd send my uncle a list of 'wants', he would borrow said albums from the library, and a package with C90 tapes would arrive in the post shortly after.
Looking at my uncle's choice of opening song, I can see why he was approving of my brother's interest back then in the E.L.O. back catalogue. My opening request for Dirk Wears White Sox by Adam & The Ants and The Blue Meaning by Toyah came with an accompanying note, "Not sure about this!"
Here's to you Uncle Mike, with more love and affection that these modest words can ever hope to convey.
Even further back today, with some heavy hitters from 1967 to 1969. Aretha! Beatles! Stones! Marvin! Bowie! Byrds! Monkees! Scott! Jimi! And more, much more.
Before I go into that though, a few words about today's photo, which was taken during a visit to Oceanogràfic València
on day 2 of the recent Clan K tour. Billed as the largest aquarium in
Europe, we spent a full seven or eight hours there and even that wasn't enough. I have mixed
feelings about places such as these. I recognise the important
conservation work and protection of endangered species. At the same, I
feel utterly heartbroken that there are sentient creatures who, no
matter how 'big' the space or millions of gallons of water used are
still confined and caged. It was simultaneously an enlightening and
enervating experience. In an ideal world, places like this wouldn't need
to exist.
Back to today's selection, I originally had in mind a relaxed, acoustic heavy set but that kind of went off track as soon as I picked the delightfully unsettling Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong by Kevin Ayers as the opening song. Choosing to follow it up with Aretha Franklin's cover of I Say A Little Prayer and there was no turning back.
Most of these songs will be familiar by virtue of being stone cold classics but I've lobbed a few rarities in to spice things up.
Get Behind Me is lifted from Scott 4, Mr. Engel's first album entirely featuring his own songs and one which I only heard for the first time in 2018. Very, very late to discovering this but wow, what an album.
Time And Time Again by The Monkees was a 'lost' song originally recorded for the album Changes but unused and unreleased until the Missing Links compilation in 1988. I first heard it tucked away on the limited edition 2CD of The Definitive Monkees, a 60-track budget price treasure trove released in 2001. Time And Time Again is essentially Davy Jones solo with a team of session musicians. Peter Tork had left at this stage and the three remaining Monkees were recording their own songs separately.
The version of Little Doll by The Stooges featured here is the original mix by John Cale featured as a compare-and-contrast re-release of their eponymous debut album in 2005. Much as a I love the original, there's a charm and grit to these alternate versions too.
Dandelion by The Rolling Stones was originally the B-side of We Love You. The original single version featured an outro of the latter A-side, which has been edited from most of it's subsequent compilation appearances, including the one I own. None of that detracts from the song's general brilliance, though. And a mere B-side!!
The Innocence was the studio creation of songwriters Pete Andreoli (Pete Anders) and Vini Poncia, who released a handful of singles and a self-titled album in 1967. Vini co-wrote and appeared on five of Ringo Starr's solo albums in the 1970s and co-wrote Kiss' disco-rock classic, I Was Made For Lovin' You.
The Beatles and David Bowie seemed liked obvious companions and a natural way to close this selection, which ventured way off from my original idea but hey, that was the Sixties man, go with the flow.
More attempts to fake that I have a clue what I'm doing tomorrow. Stay tuned!
1) Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong (Album Version By Kevin Ayers & Peter Jenner): Kevin Ayers (1969)
2) I Say A Little Prayer (Album Version By Burt Bacharach & Hal David) (Cover of Dionne Warwick): Aretha Franklin (1968)
3) Get Behind Me (Album Version By John Franz): Scott Walker (1969)
4) Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Album Version By Harvey Fuqua & Johnny Bristol): Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)
5) Time And Time Again ('Changes' Session Outtake): The Monkees (1969)
6) This Wheel's On Fire (Cover of Bob Dylan & The Band): The Byrds (1969)
7) Little Doll (Original John Cale Mix): The Stooges (1969)
8) Come On (Let The Good Times Roll): The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)
9) Dandelion (Single Version By Andrew Loog Oldham) (Edit): The Rolling Stones (1967)
10) All I Do Is Think Of You: The Innocence (1967)
11) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Album Version By George Martin): The Beatles (1967)
12) Memory Of A Free Festival (Album Version By Tony Visconti): David Bowie (1969)
1967: The Innocence: 10
1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: 11
1967: United: 4
1968: Aretha Now: 2
1968: Electric Ladyland: 8
1969: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde: 6
1969: Joy Of A Toy: 1
1969: Scott 4: 3
1969: Space Oddity: 12
1988: Missing Links: 5
2005: The Stooges (Expanded Edition): 7
2007: Rolled Gold +: The Very Best Of The Rolling Stones (Expanded Edition): 9
