The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society discussion
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Five for Friday
Mod
Yes indeed, we are a genuinely eclectic and global group of vaguely like minded souls here at TPHAS. I feel very happy to have the opportunity to hang out with such lovely, interesting people. I suspect you will fit in well, should you chose to pop in as and when you fancy it.
TA, welcome.I love Deadstring Brothers (no definite article in their name). Great choice.
I reviewed their Sao Paulo for R2 in 2009 and was fortunate enough to see them live around the same time:
"DEADSTRING BROTHERS
****
Sao Paulo
(BLOODSHOT RECORDS) www.myspace.com/deadstringbrothers
Imagine Kurt Marschke and his band of brothers climbing from the trench-like grooves of Physical Graffiti, picking up the Allmans’ still-warm instruments from the stage of Fillmore East and recording Exile On Main Street with Willie Mitchell at the controls. That’s Sao Paulo.
For your investment, you’ll get gutsy riffs, soaring, swirling Hammond lines, chattering pedal piano, piercing slide and mellow steel. Vocally, Sao Paulo juxtaposes swaggering rock braggadocio and bruised country hurt, with a side order of sweet gospel backing as the occasion demands.
Excelling on the rockier side are the grubby warm riffage of ‘Smile’, the bottleneck-propelled boogie of ‘Houston’ and ‘The River Song’s swampy shuffle. In contrast, the Brothers’ country soul and gospel sensibilities are achingly represented best on ‘Adalee’ where dobro and squeezebox combine to create Southern front porch hurt, and ‘Always A Friend Of Mine’ where Spencer Cullum’s understated pedal steel provides a tear-jerking counterpoint to Marschke’s straining, cracked vocal.
Sao Paulo is a sumptuous stew of country, rock, gospel and blues. This, with a new Black Crowes release and that mooted Faces’ reunion, bodes well for consumers of such genre-blurring aural delights."
David wrote: "TA, welcome.I love Deadstring Brothers (no definite article in their name). Great choice.
I reviewed their Sao Paulo for R2 in 2009 and was fortunate enough to see them live around the same time..."
I'm so jealous you got to see them live. They're a pretty well kept secret here in the states. I love all things twangy, and I only found out about them ten years after the fact, and then only after some serious research.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for spreading the good word about Deadstring Brothers and wish you many happy returns.
Mod
I came across this acoustic session he did for Songs From The Shed...
http://www.songsfromtheshed.com/Pete-...
Lovely version of Brel/Scott Walker "If You Go Away"
Mod
Heavy Metal Kids - Delirious
James White & The Blacks - Tropical Heatwave
Roxy Music - Editions Of You
Steel Pulse - Ku Klux Klan
The B-52's - Private Idaho
Read my commentary here and watch some truly wonderful live performances too...
http://nigeyb.tumblr.com/post/7877328...
Have a great weekend my Hamiltonian pals.
This week's delectation extrapolation on the station is an all English and Irish outing.David McWilliams - The Days of Pearly Spencer
The Cure - Purple Haze
Paul Carrack- Into The Mystic
Fairport Convention - The Hexhamshire Lass
Martin Carthy - Nothing Rhymed
Thanks Sarah for Ruth Notman and Jim Causley. I didn't know of them. If you like Jim Moray, you should like Paul Carrack's version of Into The Mystic.
David, great post last week. The line 'Southern front porch hurt' is a one line novel.
The Deadstring Brothers are new to me. The myspace music site is a good setup, the way it links 'similar to' other bands. I noticed the band 'drag the river'. What a name! I love that. Great band too.
Pete Williams can handle a song. It is a nice version of If You Go Away.
T.A. thanks for the link to The Chocolate Watchband. So good.
Meh...crap week, slow songs...Replacements - Swingin' party
Don Dixon - Preying mantis
Marti Jones - Follow you all over the world
dB's - Lonely is as lonely does
This is a terrific video, though. Can't believe I only just discovered it after knowing the song all these years...
Jane Siberry - Symmetry
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vkpg0tlcAZw
Have a good one, everybody
All excellent stuff, thank you. I'm home alone this weekend so will tune the radiogram to this Spotify channel that seems to be popular and imbibe the vibe.Not much time before I disappear into the mine, so the first 5 coming up on iPod shuffle make up my Five:
Lullaby In 3/4 by Erin McKeown
Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen
Salt by Califone
Baby It's You by The Beatles
Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin (from Celebration Day)
Whatever you do this weekend, do it well.
Lee Hazlewood - Hej, Me I'm Riding
Chas & Dave - One Fing N Anuvver
Uncle Tupelo - I Got Drunk
Fred Neil - Little Bit of Rain
Mr. David Viner - This Boy Don't Care
Chas & Dave - One Fing N Anuvver
Uncle Tupelo - I Got Drunk
Fred Neil - Little Bit of Rain
Mr. David Viner - This Boy Don't Care
I've just sneaked 5 minutes away from the coalface and have looked at Nigey's blog link.Did you know, that in 1968, Island Records signed Free (in my top 5 bands of all time) but insisted that they be renamed The Heavy Metal Kids? I think it's on the sleevenote of The Free Story that (possibly) Simon Kirke declared, "We thought it was a f*****g awful name". The teenagers that they were at the time stood their ground and had their way.
Trivia, trivia, trivia.
This is what I grew up with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzhGXu...
Mod
Confession time: Free have all but passed me by with the exception of their most obvious tunes: All Right Now, My Brother Jake etc. I do like that raw bluesy rock but it was all a bit before my time. I have The Free Story nestling in my collection and I shall give it a spin this very weekend to try and get more of a handle on their oeuvre.
Mod
Thanks all.
CQM intriguing me, as ever, with some eclectic tunes.
David, a beacon of timelessness and magic.
Miss M, Replacements aside, introducing all new tunes to my world.
Greg, keeping it real in the country and reminding me of some old faves.
Truly this is a group to cherish.
Bravo Hamiltonians.
I was tempted to throw in a bit of Artie Shaw, one of my all time heroes. Possibly One Foot in the Groove or Traffic Jam.
Mod
C'mon on CQM, you're just making it up now.
EDIT: Wow..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir6Ja...
The sort of thing Woody Allen plays along to on his nights off.
Woody Allen wishes he could polish Artie's shoes.
Greg wrote: "Thanks Sarah for Ruth Notman and Jim Causley. I didn't know of them. If you like Jim Moray, you should like Paul Carrack's version of Into The Mystic."Thank-you, Greg. I shall listen to the Paul Carrack track over the weekend.
I love The Hexamshire Lass. The album it comes from, Nine, was the first Fairport album I ever listened to.
Sarah, The Hexhamshire Lass is a rollicking and joyous song. Gets me going every time. I have the album Nine on vinyl. Many years ago, would be around 1973-74, there was a video clip on TV of The Hexhamshire Lass by Fairport Convention.
I loved the Paul Carrack song as well, Greg. He's had an interesting career hasn't he. I thought his voice sounded familiar and when I checked up on him found that he had sung vocals on two songs I really liked - Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics, and also How Long by Ace. I'm certainly going to try to listen to more of his solo work.
All 3 Ace albums are now available on CD after being unavailable for years. Loads of extras compared to my treasured vinyl originals. The first two (Five-A-Side, Time For Another) are terrific, full of beautifully-crafted songs and soulful singing. The third, No Strings, is the sound of a tired band. The follow-up single to How Long was I A'int Gonna Stand For This No More, as evocative a slice of mid-70s pub-rock as exists. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IXuUmXitKgI
Ah...that's where I heard the name...he also did Squeeze's Tempted. Still a classic, for me.
Autobahn (Kraftwerk)Cross Channel (Aphrodite)
Another Cup Of Coffee (Mike and the Mechanics)
Green Fields of France (Eric Bogle or The Fureys or Dropkick Murphys)
Red, Red Wine (UB40)
2-4-6-8 (Tom Robinson Band)
Mod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr6Oz...
I still have my seven inch vinyl copy
There are several versions of that song, with slightly different balances between sorrow and anger. June Tabor's is good too. This is the Fureys:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GxLO...
(I went to Northern France and Belgium on Friday. There are six this time, otherwise I would not be back to post the list.)
Mod
Six, five, four...
Whatever feels right Val.
I've never heard Amen Corner. How quickly do I need to rectify that?
Mod
Never heard "(If Paradise is) Half as Nice"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf192...
It was one of the biggest singles of the 1960s and it's a rock solid pop tune. I'm more inclined towards "Happy Together" by The Turtles which I associate with "Paradise".
I have a few other Amen Corner tracks on Mod compilations. All perfectly fine. They also sung the original "Bend Me Shape Me" which was later covered by Glam faves Hello. I would say they're perfectly fine - but far from essential.
Nope, I've never heard 'Half As Nice,' I'm certain. It's decent enough, though, and I reckon it warrants some further investigating. I've found a free downloadable 'Best of The Immediate Years,' and the price is right for taking a punt, so...
Mod
Please keep us posted with your investigations into the Corner.
Andy Fairweather-Low the frontman and Blue Weaver, who would replace Rick Wakeman in Strawbs on his departure for Yes, was the keyboard player. They were teen heart throbs and Blue played an entire Swedish tour not knowing that the delicate and temperamental Hammond B3 he was given failed to work for almost the whole tour, as he could hear nothing over the screams of the fans. I recall that when Bend Me Shape Me was in the charts, so was a rival version by a US act, which I think I preferred, probably just to argue with my sister who was a Corner fan.
To be checked and verified.
Mod
I do vividly remember Andy Fairweather Low on Top of the Pops in the 1970s, Wide Eyed and Legless particularly sticks in my mind.
I saw a review on Amazon which compares disc one of the Immediate compilation that Mark mentions to Odyssey and Oracle by The Zombies. High praise eh?
To hark back, for just a moment, to the divine Veronica Spector, here's a lovely review of a London show she did recently. She's come through a lot, but given Phil's bizarre and belligerent behaviour for 50 years, perhaps that's no surprise.http://rockshot.co.uk/dir/10315/live-...
Mod
This part is especially hair-raising and moving...
She describes the fortress that the couple’s mansion became with high security fences and guard dogs, that would normally be designed to keep people out, becoming a way to imprison her. Frightening tales ensue of being locked in cupboards and put in a straight jacket. Forbidden from venturing out, Phil even took away her shoes so she’d have difficulty walking outside. She describes an increasing dependence on alcohol to cope with the seclusion – then darkly jokes that at least being sent to rehab was a temporary escape. Ronnie is clearly moved by relaying her story and wipes away tears on a number of occasions.
Nigeyb wrote: This part is especially hair-raising and moving...Indeed. Harrowing for the poor woman, yet she's taken strength from it and articulating it all in front of an audience is obviously her catharsis.
She's a survivor, but there should have been no monstrous behaviour and abuse to survive in the first place.
Mod
Talking of survivors, and monstrous behaviour, I am poised to finish The Railway Man by Eric Lomax. The Japanese treatment of their POWs during WW2 is about as monstrous as it's possible to imagine. Curiously though Lomax's account is also inspiring, humbling and a remarkable reminder of much that is wonderful about humanity.
It was a beautiful Autumn afternoon here in East Coast Australia listening to Crosby Still Nash and Young's Looking Forward album.This morning I downloaded a podcast CSN interview on iTunes recorded in Germany.
Crosby, Stills & Nash: Meet the Musicians 45:41 3/07/13
Crosby, Stills & Nash: Meet the Musicians 45:41 3/07/13
I read Graham Nash's book and felt it needed a strong editor. To say he goes on a bit is an understatement... Still, he did write an interesting piece about seeing the Beatles live before they became famous, which was good enough for me to forgive him being a moany old man for most of it!
Susan, Graham Nash talks about writing the book in the interview, saying he wrote it quickly.Graham Nash's solo album 'Wild Tales' is an old favourite.
You could tell Greg - more a rant than a book :)
Yes I believe you. I haven't read a musician's memoirs or a biography since Jimmy McDonough's Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. I couldn't finish it.I think, it's best to just love the music and not know too much about the personalities. Loses a bit of the charm.
Depends who it is. I read a two volume biography of Elvis and it was SO disappointing - I thought, I would have hated this guy if I'd met him. Others are fascinating. I'm currently reading a biography of Marianne Faithfull - not, strictly, a musician, but certainly at the centre of Swinging London.I still like Graham Nash anyway - he just should have been reined in. To be honest I only read it because someone told me there was 'Beatles' content. I am utterly obsessed and people are very nice and always point me in the direction of books which mention them :)
Mod
Now there's someone with some stories to tell!
What's it like? To what extent would you recommend it?
Never say never, I would read anything by or about Marianne Faithful.I read an item in an Uncut magazine about Elvis's diet, not long before he died. It is SO disgusting but very funny. Should I share it with you?
Mod
Absolutely stunning.
Yes, please do share Greg. When I think of Elvis I always think of the song Porcelain Monkey... I did consider Marianne Faithfull's auto biography, but the reviews were so-so. I might get to it after this.
Susan, the article is in June 2003 Uncut magazine, titled ELVIS' SANDWICH The ravenous King and his bank-breakingly extravagant idea of a midnight snack.The 'snack' is called Fools Gold. Each sandwich costs nearly $50 each. So what is in a Fool's Gold sandwich? Those of you with a queasy disposition should stop reading now.
(From the magazine) - 'Try this for a sure-fire suicide by cholesterol; a whole #!~*#?! loaf of bread, hollowed out, cut in half, spread with a whole jar of jam on one side, a jar of peanut butter on the other, then stuffed until bursting with bacon rashes and given a final fry-off for luck. That night Elvis chowed nearly twenty of the bastards ~ and to think there are those who were surprised when 18 months later he fell off his toilet and died!.'
Oh yuck! Poor guy, I felt so sorry for him though. He wasn't the brightest spark. I love his live albums though - great driving music :)
The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society
Books mentioned in this topic
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (other topics)Children of the Revolution: The Glam Rock Story 1970-1975 (other topics)
Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy (other topics)
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The Restless Generation (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Pete Frame (other topics)
Ali Smith (other topics)
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And what a great selection of photos to illustrate each selection too."
Alas... it seems the international dateline may have stolen my thunder, I should do my five on Thursday, if I'm to make the most of the ritual. Still, quite an extraordinary group of aficianados you've collected here.
Well done, my son.