Post subject: This Diary Isn’t For You - (12 x) 12" Of Pleasure
Buenos tardes,
It's been a pretty chilled last few days out here in the Canaries. Weather's lush and I've spent most of my time drinking San Miguel and playing with my son's Hot Wheels around a pool at a Lanzarote villa.
Dis 'ere musical diary and t'ing will focus on my four main musical loves - indie-pop, reggae, 'funky shit' (a pretty loose term I've give you) and folk. For anything else I stumble upon I'll pop it in the never-ending 'what are you listening to this time' thread. But for now, and with the sun out and a brew by my side, it's 'reggae' all the way, starting with:
I got this LP a couple of weeks back at Sounds Of The Universe in Soho whilst trying to kill time before The Garlands gig in Hackney. Hard-to-find mid-70s jazzy instrumental/dub LP from top Skatalites hornsman McCook produced by Glen Brown (c.f. The excellent Termination Dub compy on Blood and Fire), re-released through Dub Store Japan whose output I'd throughly recommend any reggae heads keeping a keen eye on. Anyway, this has got to be the perfect record for a lazy Friday afternoon doing nowt. First two tracks - Determination Skank and South Side (based on the same riddim for Chant Down Babylon) are lush, and whilst the LP does trip itself up here and there in reggae versions of tracks that really shouldn't be touched (When I Fall In Love is dire!), the stand-out moments more than make up for it (especially Funky Reggae, which if Ronnie Scott's had a bar in Kingston would be on constant loop). Along with Dean Fraser's Big Up and Ernest Ranglin's Below The Bassline, a fine mix of jazzy reggae that some otherwise allergic to the genre might want to take a punt on. And for others already converted, such as mon ami Norman and a couple of Plug brethren (Pa, Gabe), I reckon you may dig it too, y'know? _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
Last edited by Jimmy Dread on 01/17/2020 18:42; edited 20 times in total
I got this LP a couple of weeks back at Sounds Of The Universe in Soho whilst trying to kill time before The Garlands gig in Hackney. Hard-to-find mid-70s jazzy instrumental/dub LP from top Skatalites hornsman McCook produced by Glen Brown (c.f. The excellent Termination Dub compy on Blood and Fire), re-released through Dub Store Japan whose output I'd throughly recommend any reggae heads keeping a keen eye on. Anyway, this has got to be the perfect record for a lazy Friday afternoon doing nowt. First two tracks - Determination Skank and South Side (based on the same riddim for Chant Down Babylon) are lush, and whilst the LP does trip itself up here and there in reggae versions of tracks that really shouldn't be touched (When I Fall In Love is dire!), the stand-out moments more than make up for it (especially Funky Reggae, which if Ronnie Scott's had a bar in Kingston would be on constant loop). Along with Dean Fraser's Big Up and Ernest Ranglin's Below The Bassline, a fine mix of jazzy reggae that some otherwise allergic to the genre might want to take a punt on. And for others already converted, such as mon ami Norman and a couple of Plug brethren (Pa, Gabe), I reckon you may dig it too, y'know?
Yeah, just jammed out in my own little Repo world to that Funky Reggae track letting magical chi circulate through my body. Thanks for being of the healing, brother!
Another great compy from Athens Of The North, whose Henry Stone collection (Miami 45s) released earlier in the year was funky as. This is just as funky, but up sticks from the Miami soul of their previous set to the gritty early-80s punk-funk from the working men's clubs of Scotland. Comprised of members of Josef K, the Skids, the Rezillos and (later) the Human League, it's closer to Orange Juice meets Gang Of Four via the Delta 5 (there's hints of a more scuzzy Freeez and Dislocation Dance in there too if you want some more reference points). Peel supposedly was a big fan, and the bulk of this album is made up of 3 Peel Sessions recorded between 1980-82, along with some unreleased studio tracks which never saw the light of day (they split up after 3 singles after Jo Callis left to work on Dare)
Verdict? It's feckin' ace. And limited to 100 copies (well, 99 now) on double LP if you want to get it from their Bandcamp page. Well well worth a listen, and recommended to funky souls (JoD and Norm, think you'd love it. Skinny man might too given his love of busting some shapes and You Can't Hide Your Love Forever) as well as post-punk aficionados (I'm looking at you, Cellar and Lady G) as well as anyone who fancies dancing like a tit over a couple of vimto tonics. Bop on!
Hailing from the picturesque (albeit rather dull if you're a canvass-shoe wearing, skinny jeans-donning hipster) seaside town of Seaford, Sussex (it's near Brighton, which is somewhat more 'happening'), this t(hr)wee-piece band of so-and-so's have crafted a record somewhere between a more cuddly Beat Happening getting into a pillow fight with the Motifs. Annoyingly I had the chance to buy this LP at the Garlands/Fireworks gig in Hackney a couple of months back but decided to spend the spare £10 I had on me at the time on Drambuie. A good decision at the time, but in retrospect a silly mistake.
As the rest of my 2015 list will testify, it's been a pretty swell year for indie-pop (mind you, when is it not?), and this record sits alongside Chook Race's "About Time" and Whyte Horses' superb 'Pop Or Not' as one of the year's stand-outs, at least to my ears. However, whereas the latter two have a bit more gut and depth, Lesser Pop is exactly as you would expect - disposable and oh-so-adorable pop songs to play round the campfire at Indietracks. It's not technically proficient in any conceivable way - the solos sound like they were transcribed on the back of a fag packet - but if you like your indie-pop sugar-coated and sickly sweet you couldn't go wrong with spending half an hour in the company of this trio of scruffy irks. It's here once you've got fed up with your hippity-hop stuff. _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
This one's on the Midnight Rock label... play this one on your turntable... MURDER!
Under-rated early-80s dancehall gem, very much in a similar vein to the tremendous trio of Wackies showcase LPs (Horace Andy's Dancehall Style (Palmer's voice is distinctly similar to Andy's), Junior Delahaye's Showcase and Wayne Jarrett's Bubble Up). I don't know much about Triston Palma (apart from someone's obviously spelt his name wrong on the sleeve), but what I do know is that this is a killer set (personal standout being "The Girl I Love", based 'pon the classic Rougher Yet riddim), and given the material and personnel (Roots Radics, Scientist, Tubby) should appeal to fans of the aforementioned sets as well as other early Dancehall LPs such as Michael Prophet's S/T, Firehouse Rock by The Wailing Souls or Flick Wilson's School Days and perhaps even those who skank along to Scientist's Greensleeves LPs (albeit there's not as much effects and jiggery-pokery going on in the versions - having said that, I reckon you'll dig Time So Hard on this LP). It's found its way into my reggae 100, and rightly so. Fans of the previously mentioned Wackies sets should certainly give it a spin. Irie and ting. _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
I'm liking this one, particularly Give Me A Chance & Time So Hard. What year in the early 80's was it, Jim? I might borrow this one for my 80's charts.
I'm liking this one, particularly Give Me A Chance & Time So Hard. What year in the early 80's was it, Jim? I might borrow this one for my 80's charts.
'82. Luckily I picked it up on-line for around a fiver (Canadian repress admittedly). One of my favourite Showcase LPs, and definitely on a par with the Wackies stuff. It's here if anyone else fancies giving it a spin...
'82. Luckily I picked it up on-line for around a fiver (Canadian repress admittedly). One of my favourite Showcase LPs, and definitely on a par with the Wackies stuff. It's here if anyone else fancies giving it a spin...
I might be quite a way off the the majority of you in terms of the sheer volume of 2016 releases I've heard thus far. I think with the Sea Pinks' new one and Blackstar my grand total is... 3. That'll learn me for listening to all this 70s Afrobeat and Dub that's thicker than Joey Essex (British joke).
Anyway, this morning whilst flicking through my regular Friday e-mail of new releases available at Rough Trade I found this. Scottish fuzz pop it said. Sounded interesting. Found a stream. Had a listen. Boys and girls, I'm proud to annouce I've found my first proper love of 2016 (and it's a sodding compy):
Gathering together their first 3 EPs (much like The Beta Band did - must be a Scottish thing), Tuff Love are a two-piece girl band much in the same vein as that other legendary Scottish duo, The Proclaimers Strawberry Switchblade. In fact in places you can hear a little of the scrunchie-cum-papier mâché Caledonian charm that made SS (not the Nazi secret service - that'd be silly) appear on the settee of TV-am (UK version of Good Morning America) in the mid 80s. Anyway, these two girls have got a little more street savvy about them, like they've had their share of Special Brew laced with Babycham, but nevertheless there's enough naivety to keep the feyest of indie-poppers happy. You can hear Marine Girls, even something akin to The Motifs (though not THAT twee) in places, though a fair few of the tracks recall those early 90s 4AD bands like The Breeders or Throwing Muses. Whatever - it's a revisionist indie/alt-pop paradise and bearing in mind the sharks on Discogs are selling their first EP for like £50 (I mean, you know, I hadn't heard of them until 7.42 this morning - admittedly, I'd ordered the vinyl within 20 minutes of first listen) this is a much better way of digesting some Tuff Love.
Standouts - That's Right, Carbon, Threads
Recommended To - Any fucker that's reading this, but definitely those with twee legs (specifically interested parties living in Nottingham and New Zealand) _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
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