The Return Of Friday Night Is Rockabilly Night 159

Hallowe'en rockabilly special- yes, it has to be The Cramps and The Creature From The Black leather Lagoon (off 1990's top drawer Cramp-fest Stay Sick). This video is NSFW. In fact, it may not be safe for home either.

Mandy

This one's for Drew.

Mandy Smith, mainly famous for marrying the least cool Rolling Stone when she turned sixteen (and he was forty seven), had a pop career of sorts, after signing to Stock Aitken and Waterman. This song, I Just Can't Wait, smashed the UK chart, peaking at number 91. It gained a remix (the Cool Jazzy Breezy Balearic Mix) which made it popular in certain late 80s clubs and circles, especially the legendary Shoom. It was also on the compilation album Balearic Beats Volume 1. Is it a balearic classic? You can decide for yourselves. Drew loves it.



The Face picked up on Shoom and Mandy Smith's remix as this clipping  from 1988 shows...

Just to show how SAW-ish the original was (and by contrast how balearic that remix actually was)...



Don't worry- we will never speak of this again.

How Much Are They?

It's turning into a kind of interactive week at Bagging Area with reader suggestions and comments leading onto the next day's posting, in a seamless blog-segue. Or something like that. Yesterday Echorich said he needed a Balearic compilation for a drive he's undertaking across the US and went looking for a Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay and The Edge 12". I' afraid I am philosophically and morally unable to post anything involving the tax avoiding, overblown Irish rock band. And this song from Full Circle in 1982 is better anyway, featuring also some girls who turned up at the studio asking 'How much are they?'



A little bit of internet digging led to this re-working/re-edit by Utopus, which is pretty smart.

Folky

A few years ago I had an idea that doing house music songs, especially vocal sample led ones, on an acoustic guitar could work well (if done well obviously. It could be really horrible in some peoples' hands)- Pump Up The Volume, Theme From S'Express, Cowgirl, those kind of songs.

This came my way on Monday via the social media platform of reader/internet friend Paul Bob Horrocks and it's really nicely done- a version of A Man Called Adam's Barefoot In The Head by The Balearic Folk Orchestra, using voice, acoustic guitar and strings. Reflective and just right for these days.

Boy, Am I Gonna Wake You Up

We drove into town on Saturday and I had a Boys Own compilation on the car stereo which opened with Bocca Juniors' summer of 1990 song Raise. They made a video which features a bunch of kids, gorgeous singer Anna Haigh and the rest of the Boys Own crew (Terry Farley in a hat, Andrew Weatherall with long hair). Very summer 1990. Although what you don't get with this three minute version is the massive Thrashing Doves piano sample...



For that, you need this (and you really do need it)...



The follow up, Substance, wasn't nearly as good unfortunately. Weatherall said what he learnt from Bocca Juniors was that you can't make records by committee. Although this record would seem to show you can do it at least once.

Bedroom Eyes

I was playing Prince Fatty's Supersize this weekend, an eleven song compilation of some of his best stuff, not very autumnal music admittedly. These two dubs are outstanding- Bedroom Eyes Dub has echo, rimshots, organ and bass.



That Very Night In Dub has the lovely voice of Hollie Cook, a sound that could grace any record.

How Did It Feel When The Clocks Went Back?

Is just one of the lines in this Baxter Dury song, Pleasure, off his new album. It's a belting little tune, with a nagging 80s electro pop melody and some motorik backing and Baxter's hard won wisdom.



The answer is 'shit' of course. It's always shit when the clocks go back.

Keeping It Peel

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of John Peel. Webbie (from Football and Music) organises this internet event annually, paying tribute to Peel and his life and the music he loved. This track isn't from an actual Peel Session but it has John introducing the song on the radio,a bit of waffle in those familiar tones, and then Sheet Taft (Glasgow based, Creation Records, post-acid house outfit) and the long, languid, dubby and somewhat trippy Kali.

Kali

Needle In A Haystack

Today is Mrs Swiss' birthday- Happy Birthday L. She wasn't so keen at first about posing for this shot but we got there in the end.

Her favourite song of all time is The Velvelettes 1964 single Needle In A Haystack, guaranteed to make her dance at almost any social occasion. But I've posted it before so I thought I'd do the same song but by Australian beat combo The Twilights.

The Return Of Friday Night Is Rockabilly Night 158

Here's a bucket full of rockabilly, a hour and a quarter of songs opening with the incomparable Wayne Walker and working it's way through thirty-six more to get to Al Rex and his Hydrogen Bomb, while Hot Rod Rumble plays behind it. Everyone's a winner.

It's been a long week, pass the wine.

Lemon Drops

Wolverhampton's Mighty Lemon Drops were almost the archetypal mid-to-late 80s, post-punk/indie group, all dressed in black with Rickenbackers, and found within the inky pages of the NME. Look at the picture- nothing could be more post-Smiths but pre-acid house. They owed a debt to the sound of Echo And the Bunnymen, from the spikey psychedelic guitars to the tom-toms and the voice of Paul Marsh. This was their first single, released for Dan Treacy's Dreamworld label. Close your eyes and it's 1986 again.

Like An Angel

My Dream Last Night

Nobody really wants to hear about my dream last night- it wasn't even that interesting. John Holt, one of the golden voices of 60s/70s roots reggae died this week aged 69. His dream was about Ali Baba and his forty thieves. The voice, the riddim, the horns- all perfect on this one.

Found

Wasting time on social media recently I followed a link to the video for Hello by The Beloved- you know the one, funky drummer drums, crunchy guitar and a slightly silly, wide-eyed list of people to say hello to including Peter, Paul, Tommy Cannon, Bobby Ball, Little Richard, Willy Wonka, William Tell, Salman Rushdie, Kym Mazelle, Mork and Mindy, Barry Humphries, Billy Corkhill, Fred Astaire, Desmond Tutu, Zippy, Bungle, Jean Paul Sartre...

A click or two away I found Found, the closer off their Happiness album. A different kettle of fish entirely. It's like the Bunnymen on E or New Order at sunrise. Or a blissed out Beloved in 1989. Lovely.

Found

French Disko

It's a video only day today- I'm doing this on the run and haven't time to rip and stuff.

C from Sun Dried Sparrows left a comment on my Timothy J Fairplay/Editors post mentioning Stereolab and everybody needs a little Stereolab in their lives, especially the mighty French Disko played live on The Word (you'll have to put up with a couple of seconds of Terry Christian first). The driving indie guitars and droning keyboards, Letitia's vocals- pop and experimental in one handy package and a real highlight from the early 90s.



C pointed me towards Editors cover version which is driving and Joy Division-esque and, hey, actually pretty good.



And it turns out that Scandinvian aces Raveonettes cover it too, as seen here at Austin, Texas in 2008.



Still, I think if pressed, out of the three I'd take Stereolab's original.

Gone Girl

This single from March 1996, from David Holmes' first album This Film's Crap Let's Slash The Seats, is an absolute beaut. Jazzy, early hours of the morning, downtempo vibe, drums played with the brushes, stand up double bass and the lovely vocals of St Etienne's Sarah Cracknell, especially the 'you can never go home anymore' line. There were two 12" singles and a couple of cd singles with a load of remixes as well, but the original mix is hard to beat.

Gone

Honesty

I don't know much about the band Editors- I see their name about and they seem to be on the TV occasionally, one of those groups who say they're influenced by Joy Division and have a doomy sound. For some reason Timothy J Fairplay did a remix of their song honesty. It's a haunting, electronic affair with some nice bleepy bits. In all honesty, I could do with an instrumental version.

You Bring Light To Me

Underworld have been at the BBC 6 Music live thing at Maida Vale which you can watch if you live in the UK right here. They start with with a perfect opening pair of Dark And Long and Two Months Off, then a barnstorming Born Slippy and the mighty Cowgirl. Shame it gets interrupted in the middle for a brief interview but you can't have everything.

Restless Soul

                                                       Lucia Joyce by Berenice Abbott, 1927

I re-found this the other day, a white label only 12" from 1997 by Restless Soul, with a Two Lone Swordsmen remix. I couldn't remember a thing about it and it's a surprisingly funky Weatherall-Tenniswood remix. I've no idea who Restless Soul were and the internet doesn't seem to know either. It might add some light to your Saturday morning, if it needed any.

Psykodelic (Two Lone Swordsmen Remix)

The Return Of Friday Night Is Rockabilly Night 157

They loved space and science fiction in the 1950s and 60s and rockabilly wasn't immune. Like this single from Blackie Jenkins in 1967 (just checked the date, I'd have put it earlier than that somehow).

Spaceship Life

Sue

What do you think of the new David Bowie song?

Bowie crooning over dark, cinematic jazz, Taxi Driver soundtrack style jazz, side two of Low maybe, a little bit Red Snapper too. It's not an easy listen and at over seven minutes long not the obvious choice of song to spring upon the world to announce a new Best of album. Good stuff I reckon.