The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane get a modern makeover on a new Fruits de Mer 7"
Seasons come and go, fashions and tastes change, but some things remain constantly awesome. A well-poured pint of Guinness, log fires in autumn, and quality time with good friends are all things guaranteed to lift my spirits. Other perennial touchstones for me include the music of the Byrds and new vinyl records. They're both things that I seek out whenever I'm in need of a mood-lifting boost. A joy then to hear this forthcoming 7" by Kevin Robertson on the Fruits de Mer label, which features his take on The Byrds' song 'Why' as one of it's double A-sides. Kevin is the frontman of Aberdeen psych band The Vapour Trails but is flying solo on this vinyl release. His version of 'Why' is respectful to the original's tempo and feel and comes with wonderfully ripping psychedelic guitar breaks. Nice! I wonder of David Crosby has heard it yet. I'd like to think so.
The '60s revisited theme continues on the record's flip side with a cover Jefferson Airplane's 'D.C.B.A-25', a song about LCD no less. Now I'm not one to condone drug-taking, or indeed to condemn it. Whatever gets you through the night is alright by me, just make sure you stay safe folks! I have to confess that I'm not familiar with the original version, but Kevin's has plenty of 12-string jangle, harmony vocals, and hits the hotspot of slightly trippy folk-rock. And if you fancy having a go at the song yourself, the title gives away its chord sequence. How helpful is that! All in all this is set to be one of autumn's best 7" discs. The label has plenty more goodies on the way too, check out their upcoming releases via the links below.
Superbly
curated compilation exploring the African-American music's myriad
shoots.
A compilation album
curated with care and expertise can be an absolute joy. It's not
necessarily just a historical exercise either - In the past decade or
so seminal compilations have helped form current scenes and even
inspired bands to form. The resurgence of acid-folk collectives can
be traced to to Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs' Gather In The
Mushrooms compilation. Similarly the current raft of retro-glam
led by bands such as Giuda and Faz Waltz owes much to the Velvet
Tinmine reissue series.
Whether this latest
compilation on TAD Records will have the same inspirational reach
will only be known in due time but it is without doubt one of the
finest genre compilations to be released this year, mixing well known
tracks with lesser-known gems. Its subtitle (Explorations In
Psychrockfunksouljazz 1965-77) tells you much but doesn't spoil
the surprises and inspired juxtapositions that come your way. Much of
the music is directly inspired by the civil rights movement and
mirrors the rise of black consciousness that was also present in
literature, poetry, art and sport. Collectively this grouping
together of songs brims over with anger, intelligence, sonic attack,
superb musicianship, poetry and the sense of fun that comes with
being at an exploratory cutting-edge.
The collection opens
with John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme, Pt 1 Acknowledgement'.
Coltrane's quest to the outer limits of music and spirituality
permeate this collection and its fitting that several of the tracks
explicitly honour his influence. Outside of the jazz scene, white
rock musicians were also taking note. The following two tracks
highlight Coltrane's influence on rock music. The Byrds' 'Eight Miles
High' famously features atonal guitar lines by Roger McGuinn, his
attempt to echo Coltrane's saxophone playing. Similarly influenced by
Coltrane is 'Starship' by MC5, a manic poetic meditation reaching for
the outer limits.
It's a fantastic
opening trio of songs but there are other joys to come, the standard
doesn't dip. Other highlights include Sonny Sharrack's 'Black Woman'
its wordless vocal alternating between ecstasy and agony while chains
rattle symbolically in the background. Then what about 'Ungena Za
Ulimwenga (Unite The World)' by the Temptations, a prime slice of
psychedelic soul from the early '70s. It's a track I'd not heard
before but it had me staring at my hi-fi speakers in disbelief.
Running The Voodoo
Down Volume 2 positively explodes with spirit, ideas and open up
multiple avenues of further exploration. If you only buy one
compilation this year this should be the one.
With a new album from Teenage Fanclub on the horizon I've been immersing myself in the surprising amount of records of theirs that I own. LPs, CD & 7" singles along with appearances on compilation LPs and magazine freebies. With this in mind I present you with a Spotify playlist of songs they've covered. Some are on LPs, some on B-sides, some on tribute albums, but all given the Fanclub makeover and all an insight into their likes and influences. There were also a couple of Neil Young tracks ('Burned' and 'Don't Cry No Tears'), but they aren't on Spotify so I couldn't tag them on. Anyways, I'll stop prattling. Long live the Fanclub!
Warm
sentiments for a cold climate. Harmony drenched, folk-rock jangle
from Newcastle-Under-Lyme's finest.
The enduring power of
mid '60s folk-rock, most notably made by The Byrds, continues to
resonate down the years. That irresistible blend of melody, harmony
and treble-turned-up guitar jangle has, at least since the early '80s
inspired many a band, becoming a starting point, a sonic template for
these bands to take and twist and make their own.
Seven years on from
their debut long player Then We Begin, (yes seven years! Beat
that Stone Roses!), Alfa 9 are releasing a follow up on Blow Up
Records. Gone To Ground takes its main inspiration from The
Byrds et al, adds a classicist approach to song writing, (hooky
choruses, quality middle eights and all that) and injects it all with
a decidedly British sideways glance at life.
Take for instance Old
Man Blues, a blues-harp driven driven, humourous account of ageing
and looking back at life. It's difficult to imagine a self-obsessed
Californian band coming up with such a track but if you're from the
Potteries such things no doubt come easier.
Into The Light, along
with Green Grass Grows sees the band at their most Byrds-like, the
first being imbued with a chirpy, life-is-good feel. Conversely the
latter has a melancholic, how-will-I-be-remembered sentiment. Both
are mighty fine.
Elsewhere there's some
indie-fied country rock (Birling Gap, Nothing Feels, Ferry Song),
uptempo psychodrama (El Morocco), and swirly psych-pop like Noel used
to have a stab at (The Castle). The album has a similar feel to
Teenage Fanclub's Songs From Northern Britain, not just in its
sound, but also that it's full of warm sentiments for a cold climate.
Let's hope the band don't leave it another seven years till the next
album. In the meantime if we get a summer this year this would be a
fitting soundtrack.
