The Kindest Cut's The Cruelest Part

The Lexicon Of Love by ABC regularly features in "Greatest Albums Of The 1980s", usually to be found in the Top 10, often in the Top 5. I loved the singles, I loved Martin Fry's gold lamé suit, I loved the lush orchestration of the songs. All that and I didn't own the album until I bought the 30th anniversary deluxe CD of The Lexicon Of Love in 2012. 

 

It was buying belated sequel The Lexicon Of Love II in 2016 that finally prompted me to catch up with ABC's back catalogue, seven further albums in the 34 years between each Lexicon.

 

Through the 1980s, the stable core of a revolving line-up was Martin Fry and Mark White. White retired from music after 1991's Abracadabra album and ABC has continued with Fry as the sole founding member ever since.

 

It's been an interesting ride: second album Beauty Stab tried so hard not to be The Lexicon Of Love II and was a relative commercial failure, but the album reveals some great pop songs nevertheless. How To Be A... Zillionaire! and Alphabet City brought back some of the more familiar ABC sounds whilst being more firmly rooted in the 1980s than their arguably timeless debut. I remember being appalled by how awful When Smokey Sings was when I first heard it. The UK record buying public disagreed and I'll admit that I've grown to like the song over subsequent years.

 

Up and Abracadabra were blatant attempts to tap into the dance/pop crossover, 1991's Unlock The Secrets Of Your Heart name checking Shoom and The Hacienda (808 State's Lift, anyone?) At the time, I considered ABC past their sell-by date. Martin Fry already seemed old as the hills - he was actually in his early 30s - and it was hard to imagine him throwing shapes in a club. These songs have perhaps dated the most but on reflection, Fry and White's knack for a good tune and lyrics was pretty spot on.

 

The 'solo' albums Skyscraping (1997) and Traffic (2008) are lost gems, familiar ABC characteristics intact, both recalling Beauty Stab's (synth) guitar-heavy sound. Something that I'd missed/forgotten until returning to write this post was that much of Skyscraping was co-written with Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, who also contributes keyboards. On Traffic, Fry reunited with former ABC drummer David Palmer, one of two co-writers and performers on the album, the other being Rod Stewart collaborator Chuck Kentis.

 

So, here's my first ABC selection, a C90-friendly side of eleven songs, spanning all nine albums providing a healthy dose of sunshine pop, grit and glitter, strings and tears. 

 

The title for today's selection is a line from All Of My Heart. The cover photo is from a school trip to Paris, circa 1986, and I'm guessing is a view atop the Arc De Triomphe. As the photo was taken on an (even at the time) crappy old camera and is blurred, dull and out of focus, I've applied a Leonardo Da Vinci filter from LunaPic to zhuzh it up a bit.

 

1) The Love Inside The Love (2016)

2) When Smokey Sings (7") (Remix By Bernard Edwards & Julian Mendelsohn) (1987)

3) Unlock The Secrets Of Your Heart (1991)

4) That Was Then But This Is Now (1983)

5) All Of My Heart (Album Version By Trevor Horn & Gary Langan) (1982)

6) Ocean Blue (Pacific Mix By Julian Mendelsohn) (1985)

7) One Better World (Album Version By ABC, Graeme Park & Mike Pickering) (1989)

8) Think Again (1987)

9) Life Shapes You (2008)

10) Ask A Thousand Times (1997)

11) Be Near Me (Album Version By ABC, Martyn Webster & Julian Mendelsohn) (1985)

1982: The Lexicon Of Love: 5

1983: Beauty Stab: 4

1985: How To Be A... Zillionaire!: 11

1985: Ocean Blue EP: 6

1987: Alphabet City: 8

1987: When Smokey Sings EP: 2

1989: Up: 7

1991: Abracadabra: 3

1997: Skyscraping: 10

2008: Traffic: 9

2016: The Lexicon Of Love II: 1

The Kindest Cut's The Cruelest Part (46:25) (KF) (Mega)

Scarlet Villagers

Today's selection is slightly different in that Scarlet Villagers wasn't a compilation as such but a CD-R of ripped albums gifted by my friend John in/around December 2011.

I've pulled together a selection from 10 of the 12 albums, not necessarily of my favourite songs but ones which seem to sit well together. The running order is exactly the same in which the albums were presented on the CD-R. 

The two albums excluded from this selection are Pentamerous Metamorphosis, Global Communication's epic re-imagining of Chapterhouse's album Blood Music and something labelled only as "Irish Trad" which I don't seem to have ripped. I also seem to have lost Le Tigre's self-titled album along the way so I've swapped it out for a DFA edit of album opener Deceptacon.

John's a very talented comic artist and letterer, as you can see from the self-produced sleeve. He's also switched me on to some great music over our decades-long friendship. Whilst I won't be holding my breath for another Scarlett Johansson album, the albums by Joan As Police Woman, Villagers and The Radio Dept. were my significant introductions to each artist and I'm eternally grateful.

1) Strength Through Music: Amanda Palmer ft. Ben Folds (2008)

2) NW Apt.: Band Of Horses (2010)

3) Lightning: Philip Glass ft. Janice Pendarvis (1986)

4) Fannin Street (Cover of Tom Waits): Scarlett Johansson ft. David Bowie (2008)

5) Bad Communication: Sufjan Stevens (2010)

6) The Meaning Of The Ritual: Villagers (2010)

7) Kiss The Specifics: Joan As Police Woman (2011)

8) Deceptacon (DFA Remix Pt. 1 / Vocal Edit By James Murphy & Tim Goldsworthy): Le Tigre (2001)

9) Memory Loss: The Radio Dept. (2010)

10) Still Sound: Toro Y Moi (2011)

1993: The Essential Philip Glass: 3

2001: Le Tigre Remix EP: 8

2008: Anywhere I Lay My Head: 4

2008: Who Killed Amanda Palmer: 1

2010: Becoming A Jackal: 6 

2010: Clinging To A Scheme: 9

2010: Infinite Arms: 2

2010: The Age Of Adz: 5

2011: The Deep Field: 7

2011: Underneath The Pine: 10

Scarlet Villagers (40:57) (KF) (Mega)

It's Like A Cry For Survival

Side 2 of a mixtape, "mixed and demixed" (according to the cassette sleeve) by me on 30th January 1997 and featuring Paul and Phil Hartnoll aka Orbital. A long overdue follow up to Side 1, which was posted in August 2021.

 

As with the previous selection, I've swapped out one of the versions featured on the cassette compilation. Back in 1997, I had the 1995 reissue of the Midnight/Choice CD issue which had replaced the Sasha Mix from the original 1991 issue with Orbital's own mix from the 12" single. For this recreation, I've gone back to Sasha's remix.

The sole remix on this side, Come Into My Life, is by Abfahrt aka German powerhouse trio Jens Zimmermann, Jürgen 'Nosie' Katzmann and Torsten Fenslau. Not household names in the UK but behind a slew of 1990s Europop hits, most notably by Culture Beat. Sadly, Torsten passed in November 1993, a month after Come Into My Life got a UK release via the Guerilla label.

 

I mentioned in my previous post that Orbital are one of the best live acts I have ever experienced and Impact: The Earth Is Burning was a setlist highlight. Here, you get the mighty USA remix, a (nearly) eleven and a half minute epic and still one of my favourite Orbital tracks.

 

As the opener is called Sunday, I perhaps should have held this post over for a couple of days but, hey, you've all waited long enough for Side 2 already! Once you've listened to both sides, why not pop back to my post three weeks and enjoy Orbital's latest single, Dirty Rat, all over again? The Hartnoll brothers have still got it.

1) Sunday (1992)

2) Open Mind (F.A. Mix By Orbital) (1991)

3) Midnight (Sasha Mix) (1991)

4) Impact USA (Remix By Orbital ft. MC Tea Bag) (1993)

5) Come Into My Life (Hart Fab Mix By Orbital): Abfahrt (1993)

6) Analogue Test Feb '90 (1991)

1991: Funky Alternatives Six: 2

1991: Midnight / Choice EP: 3, 6

1992: Radiccio EP: 1

1993: Come Into My Life EP: 5

1993: Impact: The Remix (USA 12" single): 4

Side Two (47:03) (Box) (Mega)

Side One here

This Is The Land Where Nothing Changes

Unbelievably, for me at least, The The's second album Infected was released on 17th November 1986. Thirty six years ago!

 

Whilst Soul Mining is an incredibly important album to me, Infected has the edge as I got it on the day of release and played it to death from the start. Sound Seekers, an independent record shop in Staple Hill, a suburb of Bristol, was my local go-to as a teenager and Dave the owner was a great guy for a budding music collection and enthusiast. 

 

Dave knew how much I loved The The. He had managed to get a copy of the first, limited edition 12" single of Sweet Bird Of Truth and the double 12" and cassette of Heartland. Whilst Dave hadn't been able to get hold of the withdrawn 'wanking' 12" of Infected that preceded the album, I came away again with the double 12" and cassette singles.

On 17th November 1986, I raced to Sound Seekers after school to pick up the Infected album. Dave had put aside the limited edition "torture" sleeve with a giant fold out poster of Andy Dog's illustration for the Heartland single. "I've got something else", Dave said with a smile, pointing to a couple of in-store promo cardboard cutouts for the album. "I haven't got space to put them up here, so you can have them for free if you like". Of course I like!

I must have been a strange sight, walking jauntily back to my parents' shop a mile or so up the road, with a life size head-to-waist cut out of a topless Matt Johnson under my arm. Back home, both were prominently positioned in my room; both long gone now, sadly. I can't remember what happened to them but this would have been way before eBay or a realisation that they might have a resale value. 

The Heartland poster also went AWOL. I visited my brother in his bedsit a while later and saw that he had a Heartland poster up on his wall. I should add that he didn't have Infected on any format at the time, let alone the limited edition vinyl. Swore blind that he hadn't nicked my poster, but he had form for 'migrating' vinyl from my to his collection. Water under the bridge, I managed to get hold of another poster at a later date.

I was surprised to find that, of my numerous The The posts, this is my fourth post this year specifically about a song from Infected, having previously enthused about Angels Of Deception, Slow Train To Dawn and The Mercy Beat. Heartland previously featured on the homemade Testament To Reality cassette compilation that I posted in August 2021, but thankfully (for this post, at least) was missed off the video selection that I posted a few days later.

The video for Heartland is directed by Peter' 'Sleazy' Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Coil) and was filmed at Greenwich Power Station. It's a deceptively simple set up, with Matt performing on stage against a giant screen backdrop of distorted and pixelated video images, playing to an audience of one, a woman in white T-shirt and Levi's, glugging a bottle of Coke. 

 

In an 1986 interview, Matt Johnson described Heartland's political theme:

 

"I’m attacking those working-class Tories and middle class who still think Britain is on a par economically with France and Germany… I wanted to write a classic song which is basically representative of its time, a record that in 1999 people will put on and it will remind them exactly of this period of time… you know it took 18 months to write on and off because I knew it was the most important song I was writing."

 

Could the 25-year old Matt have imagined that, thirty six later, Heartland would not only remind people of a point in time but still feel so relevant today? As Matt sings elsewhere on the song, "This is the land where nothing changes"...

 

None of this detracts from the fact that Heartland is a brilliant song. I remember hearing it on Radio 1 of all places, though I guess the references to piss-stinking shopping centres and pensioners being raped must have been edited out of the broadcast version. Poring over the album credits, whilst it was no surprise to see regular collaborator Zeke Manyika on backing vocals, I'd forgotten/didn't know that piano on Heartland was played by Steve Hogarth, who went on to replace Fish as lead singer of Marillion. I haven't knowingly listened to any Hogarth-era Marillion, but he did a good job here.

 

I've listened again to the Infected album in full whilst writing this. What an incredible, incredible record.

Nothing But The Chances

More beat-laden beauties to banish your mid-week blues, three quarters of an hour (give or take a minute) of music from the 2020s to enhance your day. 

I was encouraged to check out the Rough Diamond EP by TR20 aka Joshua Tobin and Jack Rutherford after they contributed to Hyena Hopscotch Remixes by Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention. Pete returns the favour on the EP, as do Bedford Falls Players on the title track. The original version of Rough Diamond is described as an "ALFOS aligned chugger" and they're not wrong.

Yes Father are also a duo - Dino Lenny and Francesco Farfa - and I originally picked up Everything You Say last year via Justin Robertson's Deadstock 33s Remix. I went back this summer to get their own remix of the track, described as "modern dance music meets new wave disco jam that’s upbeat without compromising style". A banger, in other words.

 

I've dipped into Versions: Remixed by Archive, which is packed with goodies by Andy Bell/GLOK and Richard Norris. Lights was originally the eighteen and a half minute title track from their 2006 album, recreated as a seven minute opener for Archive's 2020 Versions album and remixed here by Darkstar aka Aiden Whalley and James Young as a three and a half minute ambient interlude, dovetailing nicely into...

...Jezebell's dub reimagining of Elle Et Moi by Max Berlin's as Jezebelle Et Moi. I'm a big fan of this track and I think I have now featured all but one of the four versions on this blog. Jezebell aka Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell have pulled out all the stops, delivering so many great new songs and remixes in recent months that it;s easy to forget that Jezebelle Et Moi came out in 2022. All highly recommended.

 

Walking In The Sun by Andres Y Xavi (Glenn Fallows and Steve Ellis to their family and friends) is another track that's featured here multiple times in various versions since the remix EP was released last April. Alongside remixes from Coyote and James Bright, there are are a couple of remixes by Xavi/Steve, including this lovely sunset dub.

 

From there, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant of Working Men's Club teams up with Russ Orton (ex-Fat Truckers) as Minsky Rock to take on Baxter Dury. Say Nothing is grabbed by the lapels and dragged back to the 1980s, this vocal-free version described by Dury as taking "the basic cells of a sleepy spoken word number and [turning] it into a bastard 80s electro animal". An apt description.

 

Sticking with the 1980s and Rude Boy's cover of M|A|R|R|S 1987 one-off single and global smash hit. Rude Boy is Lee Groves and Kardi Tivali, with Pump Up The Volume remixed by Robo Bass Hifi aka Markus Kamma as a dub-inflected electro chugger. 

 

Rounding things off is the mysterious (to me, at least) From Beyond with Simulated Emotions, released on the excellent Paisley Dark Records in August 2021. The EP includes a braces of remixes by Bedford Falls Players (him again) and label boss John Paynter, delivering "A Space Age Freak Out Dark Paisley" version. I've gone for the original version of the title track, a low-BPM thing of beauty, all pulsing beats, bouncing keys and synth washes. 

 

Just over forty five minutes later and you have arrived at your destination. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

 

1) Rough Diamond (Original Version): TR20 (2022)

2) Everything You Say (Dino Lenny & Francesco Farfa Mix): Yes Father (2020)

3) Lights (Darkstar Remix): Archive ft. Pollard Berrier (2020)

4) Jezebelle Et Moi (Le Dub Et Moi) (Cover of Max Berlin's): Jezebell (2022)

5) Walking In The Sun (Xavi's Dub): Andres Y Xavi ft. Rolo McGinty (2021)

6) Say Nothing (Minsky Rock Remix - Instrumental): Baxter Dury (2020)

7) Pump Up The Volume (Robo Bass Hifi Remix) (Cover of M|A|R|R|S): Rude Boy ft. Kardi Tivali (2021)

8) Simulated Emotions (Single Version): From Beyond (2021)

2020: Everything You Say EP: 2

2020: Say Nothing EP: 6

2020: Versions: Remixed: 3

2021: Pump Up The Volume / Superstylin' EP: 7

2021: Simulated Emotions EP: 8

2021: Walking In The Sun EP: 5

2022: Jezebelle Et Moi EP: 4

2022: Rough Diamond EP: 1

Nothing But The Chances (45:57) (Box) (Mega)

Can't You See The Existential Threat Is On It's Way?

One thousand, eight hundred and twenty seven seconds of Sparks to illuminate your Tuesday. The Mael brothers are much loved here and, having 30 minutes to kill the other evening when Mrs. K took a phone call part way through our evening TV, I found myself trawling YouTube for Sparks videos.

I love Sparks so much, in fact, that in my opinion I could take a random 30-minute selection from any of their 24 studio albums and it would be a great listen. Here's the test.

I haven't duplicated any songs that I've used in last year's Sparks post or as part of any other previous Dubhed selections. I also avoided the classic early 1970s trio of Kimono My House, Propaganda and Indiscreet, as well my other personal favourite, No. 1 In Heaven.

It's half-and-half 20th and 21st century, spanning the (currently) six decades of Sparks' recording career. Is it a keeper? You'll be the judge of that.

 

1) Big Boy (1976)

2) Giddy Giddy (2017)

3) Occupation (1977)

4) The Ghost Of Liberace (1994)

5) Your Call's Very Important To Us. Please Hold. (2002)

6) Eaten By The Monster Of Love (1982)

7) (She Got Me) Pregnant (2008)

8) The Existential Threat (Album Version) (2020)

 

1976: Big Beat: 1

1977: Introducing Sparks: 3

1982: Angst In My Pants: 6

1994: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: 4

2002: Lil' Beethoven: 5

2008: Exotic Creatures Of The Deep: 7

2017: Hippopotamus: 2

2020: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip: 8

 

Can't You See The Existential Threat Is On It's Way? (30:27) (GD) (M)

#14 Dreams

The BBC began broadcasting one hundred years ago today, on 14th November 1922. The NME published the first ever UK singles chart on 14th November 1952. The first #1 was Here In My Heart by Al Martino (Jasper Cini to his folks).

 

So, the obvious thing to do here then is to celebrate...the #14 UK single on 14th November at various points over the last seven decades, right?

 

Starting off randomly with 1967, There Is A Mountain by Donovan was on it's third week in the chart, peaking the following week at #10 before starting a slow retreat over the next six weeks. I found a lovely clip of Donovan duetting with Bobbi Gentry on her TV show in 1968. The video and sound quality is ropey - the flute nearly drowned out by the audio hiss - but it's a joy to hear. There's another fun performance with Sergio Mendes from the same year which is worth a look and listen.

On to 1970, a few weeks before my birth and the fabulous sound of The Temptations with Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today). By 14th November, the song had spent two weeks at #7 and would spend the next two at #14 before dropping out of the Top 50 in January 1971. This is a performance on (I assume) US TV where the flared suits and psychedelic backgrounds try hard but fail to distract from the brilliance of the song.

 

Next up are The Pointer Sisters with I'm So Excited, still a staple of ad campaigns and gym playlists, nearly four decades on. And yes, unlike those chancers The Thompson Twins, The Pointer Sisters were actually sisters, although successive line-ups have included daughters and grand-daughters. I'm So Excited was originally a (non-UK) single in 1982 but it was the remixed and re-edited single release in 1984 that proved to be a smash, peaking at #11 in the UK. The video shows the sisters getting ready for a night out at what frankly looks like one of the shittest nightclubs ever, but it's worth watching just to wonder why June Pointer keeps her sunglasses on in the bath...!

Another remix and re-release, this time from 1991 and Seal's second stab at the charts with Killer. You can understand why: the original hit #1 the previous year but was credited only to Adamski. Getting William Orbit on board to add some bells and whistles to the music, the incredible voice is still the dominant force here. Seal didn't score a double #1 but a peak of #8 isn't bad, considering the previous version had charted relatively recently. Like The Pointer Sisters, Seal also seems dressed up for a night out in his video, although  he seems to have opted for LaserQuest rather than the local nightclub.

 

The Strokes' Last Nite from 2001 is brilliant and the video, directed by Roman Coppola, equally so. A pastiche/piss-take of music performances on US TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s, with Julian Casablanca throwing his mike stand off set like a spear and drummer Fabrizio Moretti's overhead mikes falling over after guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. stumbles backwards into the podium. As was the trend at the time, Last Nite burst into the UK chart at #14 in it's first week, dropped to #22 the following week and was out of the Top 40 altogether by 8th December. Doesn't make the song any less brilliant, though.

 

I was intending to include one or two more songs but, having trawled every #14 on 14th November from 2010 to 2021, I can say without fear of contradiction that they were all complete and utter shite. So, rather than inflict Coldplay or Jonas Blue on you or that timeless classic from 2020, Mood by 24GLDN featuring Iann Dior, I'll leave it there. 

 

This #10 from 2020 is an absolute cracker, though.

Like Ground Up Diamonds Fired Through A High Pressure Hose

Celebrating Keith Levene, 18th July 1957 to 11th November 2022.

I returned home yesterday afternoon to news of Keith Levene's passing, sad news in what has been a pretty awful week, both in respect of losses to music and life in general.

I've pulled this post and selection together early on Sunday morning, so I'm still processing how much Keith Levene meant to me and I can't find words to articulate this better than the hundreds of posts, Tweets and tributes that I've read in the past 12 hours or so. 

 

From the first time I heard Public Image by PiL in the mid-1980s through to his reunion with Jah Wobble on 2020's A Very British Coup, Keith Levene has featured on so much of the music that has influenced and shaped my interest and fuelled my passion, whether on guitar, keyboards, as a songwriter, collaborator or occasionally singer.

Keith Levene's guitar playing was like something transmitted from another universe. Andy Bell described it beautifully in his Tweet tribute, my clumsy paraphrase providing the title for today's selection.

 

As with pretty much all of my cobbled-together-at-short-notice selections, the ten songs featured don't begin to do justice to the breadth and sheer jaw-dropping wonder of Keith Levine's contribution to music. I've inadvertently not included anything from the 1990s and 2000s, so the selection is roughly split 50/50 into 1970s/80s and 21st century music. There's a lot missing that I would have liked to include but it would have made for a 4-hour plus selection! Instead, here's just under an hour of music to celebrate a true genius.

RIP Keith.

 

1) Dark Matter (Keith Levene Remix): The Membranes (2016)

2) No Birds Do Sing: Public Image Ltd. (1979)

3) Yin & Yang: Jah Wobble & Keith Levene (2012)

4) Gang War: Mark Stewart ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Keith Levene (2012)

5) Bit Of Prague Comp: Keith Levene (2014)

6) A Very British Coup (Video Edit): Jah Wobble ft. Keith Levene, Richard Dudanski, Mark Stewart & Youth (2020)

7) Nuclear Zulu (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood): New Age Steppers (1981)

8) Beef (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood): Gary Clail / On-U Sound System ft. Bim Sherman, Jah Wobble & Keith Levene (1989)

9) Wish: Cowboys International ft. Keith Levene (1979)

10) Haile Unlikely By The Electric Dread / Unlikely Pub: Don Letts, Stratetime Keith, Steel Leg, Jah Wobble (1978)

1978: Steel Leg v The Electric Dread EP: 10

1979: Metal Box: 2

1979: The Original Sin: 9

1981: Action Battlefield: 7

1989: End Of The Century Party: 8

2012: The Politics Of Envy: 4

2012: Yin & Yang: 3

2014: CZ2014: 5

2016: Inner Space/Outer Space: 1

2020: A Very British Coup EP: 6

Like Ground Up Diamonds Fired Through A High Pressure Hose (52:49) (Box) (Mega)

Goood Viiibes

CD-R compiled February 2006, featuring Luke Vibert solo, as Wagon Christ and other collaborations, aliases, outtakes, lost songs and on-air radio broadcasts.

I was fortunate enough to see Luke Vibert and BJ Cole perform live at a small venue called Fiddlers in Bristol sometime in 2000, supported by Mike Paradinas aka µ-Ziq. Hands down, one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

Around 1999/2000, I finally had a PC at home (with dial up internet!) and had discovered the joys of finding MP3s of obscure and hitherto unheard music. This selection is pretty much the result of an internet trawl for Luke Vibert-related music, bolstered by a few tracks from compilations that I owned on CD. The sound quality varies a fair bit throughout but I like the flow of the selection. And the track titles are brilliant, especially REO Speedgarage and You Moog Me.

 

The selection's opener by Butler Kiev (an anagram of Luke Vibert) is a mash-up of Rewind! by Cylob (1998) and Re-Rewind The Crowd Say Bo Selecta by Artful Dodger (1999), the latter responsible for gifting/inflicting Craig David on the world, depending on your personal view.

A third of the selection is taken up with John Peel sessions, a couple (I think) from September 1998, the other four a complete session transmitted 2nd August 2001. These are on-air recordings, so you also get a bit of Peel's voiceover on a few tracks. 

 

Likewise, There Is Not Enough Space In This Track was only ever shared when Luke Vibert was presenting a show on KISS-FM in 1998. Although introduced as a track from Wagon Christ album Tally Ho!, ironically it never made the final cut. The version here is compressed as hell, but I couldn't resist including it in the selection.

Of the two 'Shit' tracks, i.e. Sopping Shit and Dirty Shit, the former is a disarmingly pleasant instrumental whilst the latter is a sampladelic cut-up featuring a constant stream of potty-mouth language. You have been warned.

 

There are a couple of collaborations with French musical innovator and early adopter of the Moog, Jean-Jacques Perrey. Frère Jacques is a lovely take on the nursery rhyme and You Moog Me was the only possible way to close out this mix.

I've got a fair few Luke Vibert albums but I do like coming back to this selection, a record of a particular time in my life and an eclectic but solid sequence of mad sounds and goood viiibes, man.

  

1) Rewind Selecta: Butler Kiev (2000)

2) REO Speedgarage (John Peel Session): Wagon Christ (1998) 

3) Sopping Shit: Wagon Christ (2001)

4) C.O.R.N.: Luke Vibert (1997)

5) I Hope So, But I Fear: Luke Vibert (2001)

6) Feel Real Mad: Luke Vibert (2000)

7) King's Lyn: Wagon Christ (2001)

8) Frère Jacques (Cover of traditional song): Luke Vibert & Jean-Jacques Perrey (2002)

9) Dirty Shit: Luke Vibert (2000)

10) There Is Not Enough Space In This Track (KISS-FM Broadcast/RealAudio Version): Wagon Christ (1998)

11) Viddin Session: Wagon Christ (1998)

12) Wet Leg: Wagon Christ (1995)

13) Aerhaart; Ahead (Remix) (John Peel Session): Luke Vibert (2001)

14) Chicken For Kitty (John Peel Session): Luke Vibert (2001)

15) Electrogangster (John Peel Session): Luke Vibert (2001)

16) Kiddies Swing (John Peel Session): Luke Vibert (2001)  

17) Mellotronic (John Peel Session): Wagon Christ (1998)

18) You Moog Me: Luke Vibert & Jean-Jacques Perrey (2004)

1995: Further Self Evident Truths 2: 12

1997: Big Soup (vinyl bonus track): 4

1998: John Peel Session, BBC Radio 1: 2, 17

1998: KISS-FM: 10

1998: unreleased: 11

2000: µ Allstars - Criminal (12"): 1

2000: High Density (12"): 6

2000: Sit On My Face Volume 1: 9

2001: Ataride / Tomorrow Acid (12"): 3, 7

2001: John Peel Session, BBC Radio 1: 13, 14, 15, 16

2001: Stone.Scissors.Paper 02: Scissors: 5

2004: Lo Recordings Sampler 2004: 8

2004: Moog (Original Film Soundtrack): 18

 

Goood Viiibes (1:14:24) (Box) (Mega)

Whatever Lurks In Your Mind

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled October 1996 and featuring Secret Knowledge aka Kris Needs and Wonder Schneider.

 

I posted the previous side of this cassette compilation back in January, so it seems only right that the flip side appears as I again find myself in need of some bangers to blast away the cold, dark wintry days.

Side 1 starts as Side 2 ended, with One Dove and the wonderful vocals of Dot Allison. Why Don't You Take Me originally appeared on the soundtrack to the film Shopping, starring Sadie Frost, Jude Law and Sean Pertwee.

 

Dave Ball and Richard Norris aka The Grid get a thorough rinsing from Kris. It was only when researching this post that I realised to my surprise and delight that Diablo's Spanish vocals are provided by none other than Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones, who is long overdue a Dubhed selection of her own.

 

Nan Vernon used to perform with Dave Stewart & The Spiritual Cowboys and released one album and a clutch of singles on his Anxious label. Elvis Waits... was the last of these and features great remixes from Kris Needs and Steve B-Zet/Recycle Or Die. These days, Nan is better known for her film and TV soundtrack work, including Guardians Of The Galaxy, Bates Motel and Rob Zombie's Halloween.

Morgan Fisher first came to prominence in Mott The Hoople and has gone on to carve a varied and individual musical path. Humtone #4 was a one-off 12" single released on Cherry Red's dance spin-off label, MFF, in 1994 with a Kris Needs remix up front on the A-side.

 

Delta Lady was a side project for Kris and Wonder in 1993/94, releasing two singles on Leftfield's Hard Hands label, Swamp Fever and Anything You Want, the latter closing out this selection. Neil Barnes & Paul Daley join Kris on the mix for this belting remix, eleven and a half minutes of club dub to bring things to a satisfying conclusion.

 

I have had to tweak the tracklist for this recreation. The original cassette featured the six-minute Volume Vocal Mix of Anything You Want, which featured on the Volume Seven and Wasted: The Best Of Volume compilations in 1993 and 1995 respectively. 

 

The mixtape then finished off with Nuttin' Dub, a version of Too Much Of Nuttin' from Secret Knowledge's album, So Hard. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find my copy of The Serious Road Trip CD which features the dub and the album vocal version just wasn't a good fit.

 

So, I've removed the final track and included the Delta Dub Charge remix of Anything You Want. I didn't own this back in 1996 but if I had, I may well have gone for this version instead. 

 

I hope this goes some way to banishing the November blues and sets you up nicely for the weekend.

 

1) Why Don't You Take Me (Secret Knowledge Remix): One Dove (1993)

2) Diablo (Secret Knowledge Atomic Bidet Mix): The Grid ft. Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones (1995)

3) Elvis Waits... (Secret Knowledge Aaron Mix): Nan Vernon (1994)

4) Humtone #4 (Sea Diver Mix By Kris Needs): Morgan Fisher (1994)

5) Anything You Want (Delta Dub Charge) (Remix By Kris Needs & Leftfield): Delta Lady (1993)

Side One (45:30) (GD) (M)

Side Two here