House Of Love - Shine On

A bit of visual loveliness for you today, with (gasp) a music video instead of the usual MP3. I just thought it would make a nice change. Back to MP3s for the next one, probably.

Here, then (care of YouTube), is one of my all-time favourite tracks by one of my all-time favourite bands, the criminally-underrated House Of Love. The track, their finest hour, is "Shine On", a classic single from the golden age of jangly indie kids. They just don't make 'em like this anymore...

Love Music Hate Racism

No MP3s today kiddiwinks... just this advert which fell into my Inbox today. Free gig in the afternoon, cheap gig on the evening. Course, it helps if you live in Hull. But I do, so that's a result, eh?

Folk n stuff

I promised after the last post that the next one (that's this one, yes?) would be a bumper post. And, since it's been an eternity since I last posted, so it shall be. Three tracks up today, not exactly linked as such, but I'm in a folky mood so here are some folky songs.

First up, is Odetta (pictured) with her sublime reading of "Gallows Pole". It always amazes me that when talk turns to the origins of modern folk, Odetta never makes it into the same paragraphs as the likes of Dylan and Pete Seeger. Her part in the genesis of US folk is undeniable, yet eternally underplayed. Listen to this track, and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Download: Odetta - Gallows Pole

Whilst we're on a folk trip, the second of the three tracks I'm posting today, is perhaps by an unlikely outfit. The name Chumbawamba usually conjures a painful grimace and memories of THAT song but their recent rebirth as Chumbawamba Acoustic has seen them garner critical acclaim as a slimmed-down four piece folk band. I've seen them live twice in the last couple of years, and they are far, far better than you might imagine. Their last studio album, 2006's "A Singsong And A Scrap", is a veritable masterpiece, and our second track today is taken from that. It's best explained by the introduction the band themselves gave it when I saw them in 2006 - "It's a bit like Onward Christian Soldiers, but with irony!".

Download: Chumbawamba - Walking Into Battle With The Lord

Last, but certainly not least, we're carrying on the a capella theme started with the Chumbawamba track. Here's a piece of brilliance from the mighty Billy Bragg, who I'm seeing live next month as well, so it's nicely appropriate. This is "Tender Comrade" from his superlative "Workers Playtime" album. For no real reason other than I think it's ace.

Download: Billy Bragg - Tender Comrade

As always... enjoy.

Record Of The Year - Ian Brown

Sadly this is only going to be a fairly short post, and given the gap since the last one, that's really a bit slack of me - but next time it'll be a bumper one... scout's honour...

Anyhoo, there may not be much in the way of sparkling editorial on this one, but I've made up for it with the music - here, in all its glory, is nothing less than the best record to be released this year, bar none.

It's Ian Brown's "Illegal Attacks", a not-at-all-veiled assault on UK and US foreign policy. Unusual lyrical territory for the Monkey Man perhaps, but you wouldn't think so. He doesn't hold back, and in this - possibly his finest hour since going solo - he's absolutely nailed a brilliant, fiery, orchestral hip-hop blast. Sinead O'Connor makes a guest appearance on backing vocals, which is never a bad thing.

Just listen to it, then listen to it again. You'll need to turn it up loud.

Download: Ian Brown - Illegal Attacks (feat. Sinead O'Connor)

If you like the track - buy the single from Amazon UK or from HMV or anywhere else you fancy.

Carry Me Ohio

Sometimes you just want to switch on the stereo, stick a good tune on, and lay back and enjoy it. One of my absolute favourite tracks at the moment is the one I'm posting here, "Carry Me Ohio" by Sun Kil Moon. I heard this a while back and I'm still playing it regularly - there's something about it, I don't what it is... but what a song. Sun Kil Moon is the brainchild of Mark Kozelek, formerly head of The Red House Painters. "Carry Me Ohio" comes from the Ghosts Of The Great Highway album, a masterpiece of Americana, an eclectic affair which touches on alt.country, lo-fi rock, straight ahead riffage, and God-knows-what-else in between (it's even got a song called "Glen Tipton", about the Judas Priest guitarist of the same name - and I didn't make that up). "Carry Me Ohio" is the highlight of the album however, and by some way too. This is not a criticism of the rest of the album - merely an affirmation of just how good this track is.

All this talk of Ohio has only served to remind me of another great song, Neil Young's legendary track of the same name. So, what the hell, I've posted that too. This is the recently released version from the Live At Massey Hall album, originally recorded in 1971. Call it a bonus track if you like.

Download: Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio
Download: Neil Young - Ohio (Live At Massey Hall, 1971)

Covering The Clash

Two covers for you here, both with much in common. Both, for a start, are songs written by The Clash. And both sound nothing like the original versions, but this is no bad thing in either case.

First up is bloggers' favourite Jesse Malin, and his superb version of London Calling's "Death Or Glory". Malin transforms the song into a heartbreaking piano ballad, surely far-removed from what Messrs Strummer and Jones had in mind when they wrote the song nigh-on twenty years ago. Still, you can't help feeling that they would approve of this excellent interpretation.

The second track is from British singer/songwriter Adam Masterson (pictured). Currently residing in New York, and apparently without a record deal since 2003, this track popped up a couple of years back on a free CD I got with a music magazine. It was one of those hidden gems you always seem to find on freebie CDs. The guy's got talent, clearly, and his acoustic(ish) reading of "Gates Of The West" (originally from 1979's The Cost Of Living EP) is something of a firecracker.

Enjoy.

Jesse Malin - Death Or Glory

Adam Masterson - Gates Of The West

Spencer Bohren - Southern Slidin' Blues

Spencer Bohren is a blues/folk guitarist and singer from New Orleans, USA. I saw him live at Beverley Folk Festival in 2006, and though it seems like ages ago (primarily because it was), I can remember the gig clearly. Bohren is a master of the lap steel guitar, and in an intimate venue (such as it was), to see someone play this quaint ol' instrument with such virtuosity, is awe-inspiring.

Bohren has a hefty back catalogue, which made it all the harder to decide which one of his CDs to purchase from the merchandise guy after the gig. On being told, "this one's got loads of slide guitar", I plumped for 2004's "Southern Cross", released on the German label Valve Records

Although the quality of the recording is not always what it could be (a peril of recording for minor German record labels perhaps?), the music is impeccable. Most of the tracks are cover versions, though the few originals are equal in quality to tracks by the likes of Hank Williams (represented twice, with "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and album closer "Lost Highway") and Curtis Mayfield.

It's impossible to describe in words just how good this guy is, so here are a couple of tracks for your listening pleasure, which should illustrate my point rather well. First up is Bohren's take on the Curtis Mayfield classic, "People Get Ready", transformed from soul masterpiece to slide-driven Americana - a beautiful reinterpretation of a legendary track. Secondly, we've got the age-old gospel song, "Workin' On A Building", which is just great, even to a Godless heathen like me. Enjoy.

Spencer Bohren - People Get Ready

Spencer Bohren - Workin' On A Building