Rockabilly Ruled Pt. 2

 

After writing about the Cramps last week, it's time to talk about another band that at the same time brought back music that had been lost for a long time. The Stray Cats were an American band who celebrated their greatest successes in England and on the continent in the early 80s. In Dave Edmunds, they found a producer who himself was knee-deep in rock 'n' roll. With their first record, they have brought us back closer to the roots of rock music. As a band that played their earthy music as a three-man combo with guitar, stand-up bass and simple drums, they were the sensation of the year in 1981. Decades later, their sound still sounds fresh and urban, setting the standard for all subsequent epigones.

Stray Cats - Runaway Boys

Stray Cats - Rock This Town

Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut

Stray Cats - Rumble In Brighton

Monday's Long Song

 

Shelter Me was a dance festival that took place over three days in December 2020. In their own word they said Shelter Me is a conscientious caring collective set up to raise funds, through music, in aid of homelessness in the UK and tackle a problem to our so called leaders wish to sweep under the carpet. Now this collective released an album with a lot of remixes of Strange State by artists that even played at the events. All the songs included a sample of Ofra Haza's Im Nin Alu. It's difficult to select one remix and I went for Richard Sen's version because it has a hypnotic groove all over the length of the song.

When We Were Beautiful And Young

 

Last week Mick Harvey, former co-founder of the Birthday Party and member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds announced a new album after almost a decade. His latest sign of life was when he released a couple of months ago a cover version of Marlene Dietrich's A Suitcase in Berlin which will also appear on his new album. I liked this version but forgot to write about it. Now he released When We Were Beautiful And Young another song from this album. And it one of those songs that you listen once and repeat it several times. The track is ethereal and haunting – a powerful reflection of the past delivered with moving grace and presence. The arrangements recall something from Burt Bacharach with a touch of Tindersticks: dramatic and melodic, the lyrics evocative and reflective. Weeping, sweeping strings augment the dramatic scenery and makes me looking forward to the full album.

Don't Fall

1981 was that year when a lot of new bands appeared on the scene. Most of them had their roots in post-punk and new wave and many of them didn't made a bigger career. Not because they weren't good enough but probably because they sounded similar to other bands that made it big or they didn't got the right promotion. One of those bands were Manchester's The Chameleons. Their music has the same gloomy mood like The Cure and Joy Division but they always tried to involve pop into their sound. I bought their debut Script Of The Bridge and was fascinated of their songs. All of them are timeless and I can hear their influence in today's bands like Slowdive or The National. This is a great legacy for an underrated band.

The Chameleons -   Don't Fall

The Chameleons - Up The Down Escalator

The Chameleons - Pleasure And Pain

Psychobilly Ruled

 

Today Kristy Wallace better known as Poison Ivy, the founding member of The Cramps turns 71. It's a good reason to remember one of the greatest bands who brought with their unique mixture of punk and rockabilly a new genre to my ears. I always loved them and their rough and earthy sound. Only two guitars, a small drum kit and with Lux Interior a singer that turned mad on stage. I was lucky enough to see them live almost 40 years ago in one of the best performances I had ever seen. There was never a title to a record that better describes the content than Songs The Lord Taught Us. 

Happy birthday Ivy

The Cramps - TV Set

The Cramps - Strychnine

The Cramps - Garbageman

The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf

Monday's Long Song

 Last year Adam introduced me to Kidja, a DJ duo from Bucharest, Romania. I liked their album Transmissions Part 1&2 but forgot to feature them at this place. They are on duty since 20 years combining electronic soundscapes with element of new wave, industrial house and techno. It is this kind of sound that grows the more you listen to it.

Gift Horse

 

Another working week is behind me, filled with work that had to be done by a fixed date and unspeakable meetings. My personal highlight was that I finally gave my resignation to be able to retire at the end of July. After that, I had a feeling of freedom and lightness that I never expected. It's not that I don't enjoy the job anymore - it's more to do with the fact that I've created facts and now can focus on the time after I quit. 

Last Friday Bristol's post-punks Idles released their latest album Tangk that is more different than their records before. In their early days, like their colleagues Sleaford Mods and Fat White Family, they impulsively shouted their frustration with hypocritical society into the microphone. Not that they changed their aggressive heavy guitar dominated sound but they included more different styles into their sound. Gift Horse is the main track of this album and shows with metallic riffs and intelligent lyrics that they didn't lost their humor. 

Days

 

Today's Valentine's day, when lovers give each other presents and honour their love with gifts. There was a Valentine of Rome, an early priest of Christianity, who was executed for his faith on 14 February 269. He is said to have performed Christian marriages for couples, although this was forbidden at the time, more than a hundred years before Christianity was declared the state religion in Rome. In 1950, the first "Valentine's Ball" was organised in Nuremberg. From then on, the customs of Valentine's Day spread throughout Germany. Valentine's Day became widely known during the years of the Federal Republic's economic miracle thanks to increased advertising by the flower industry. I didn't celebreted this days since ages because it is just a commercial day where flower shops make the most sales. Anyway it is a day where love songs still come to my mind. Thinking of love songs there are always some that thematise the separations. And there is one song that shows a big love even if one got separated from his partner. Ray Davis wrote great songs with fantastic lyrics but Days is a highlight because he found the right words for maybe a never ending love. And CC your right a faithful cover seldom can fail.

The Kinks - Days

Kristy MacColl - Days

Monday's Long Song

 

Last Friday the sad news arrived that Damo Suzuki died at the age of 74. He was Can's lead singer on three albums. Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay detected him as a street musician in Cologne and inveted him for a gig at the same evening. His trademark was a special kind of psychedelic singing between whispering and singing. 

Rest in peace Damo

Can - Oh Yeah

Time To Listen To The Originals

 

I really like cover version. Especially when an artist rejig the original and reinterpret the song like he could be a song written by himself. During the last days some cover versions came to my ears and I thought by myself if it was necessary to release this versions. Sophie Ellis Baxter had a number one hit back in 2001 with Murder On The Dancefloor, a veritable piece of dancefloor back then. Now she's back at the top ten because her song was shaded for a scene in American movie Saltburn. Since you can find a lot of cover version and remixes especially on Soundcloud. One of them is made by Australian band Royel Otis. It is a nice one because they gave them a flavour of indie-rock. It is a nice version but I don't need it really.

Paramore's version of Burning Down The House is an example of a needless cover version. Made for a tribute album for Talking Heads that should be released soon. A version that is so close to the original that I ask myself did they ever listened to this song enough to understand what David Byrne meant when he wrote it. Absolutely waste.

  

L'Effet Domino

 

A few days ago French guitar duo The Limiñanas released released their latest collaboration with French DJ and producer Golden Bug. It seems like they found the time after several works together for a complete album. This song makes me curious for the whole album. It is a an example of great guitar works joining electronic beats. Sometimes it sounds like desert music on an electronic floor. Perfect for a ride in a cabriolet on a summer day.

Raw Power

 

During last weekend I made a musical journey back in the 70's and listened after a very long time again to The Stooges first albums. I have to admit that I detected them by their third album Raw Power in the mid 70's during the days punk changed everything. Of course I heard of them before but never got in touch with one of their albums or songs (not only because this kind of music wasn't played neather at our radio stations nor on AFN, a local radio station for American forces). I bought this record by recommendation by my local record shop owner and was surprised about what I listened to. A sound that was totally different to almost everything before. Raw Power is still  a brute, unpolished and untamed madness and delivers with Search And Destroy it's anthem. Most of the tracks explodes and James Williamson's incredibly metallic and distorted sound made the difference to all other guitar slingers at these days. This sound is rightly celebrated as the forerunner of punk.

Iggy and The Stooges - Search And Destroy

Iggy and The Stooges - Gimme Danger

Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power

Iggy and The Stooges - Penetration

Love Lights

 

From the inbox I found a new relaxed song by Triblin Sound, a DJ-project by Peruvian artist Alvaro Isla. The remix of his latest release by Stinky Jim is a relaxed piece of downtempo balearic gem. A slow melodie with a steady beat and later some spoken words make this song far over the average of relases during the last weeks. A song you could drift away and worth to be listened more than once.

Monday's Long Song

 

In the mid 70's the days of pub rock died and one of the last bands from this genre were The Motors. From the ashes of Ducks Deluxe, one of the best bands of this genre, Nick Garvey formed The Motors. Like Ducks they played up-tempo and energetic songs. The Motors biggest success was Airport but for me their first record was much better and a highlight in 1977 and with their great guitar sound probably the link to the upcoming punk and new wave.

The Motors - Dancing The Night Away

Geronimo

 

A few weeks ago I discovered an album that passed me by when it was released last year. Heavy Heavy by Edinburgh's three piece band Young Fathers was played often during the last days at my place. I got aware of them when they released their debut Dead back in 2014 with their own evaluation of hip hop. Now they are back after a couple of years with more percussive and repetitive elemens in the forground of their songs. Sometimes referencing alfrobeat and sometimes trip hop. Although their songs often use an up-beat they are always soulful and it sounds that 10 or more people singing the chorous. 

Xmas In February

 

Can't really believe that we have February now and left one month behind this year. Time is running and the day of my retirement will come soon. I searched for a song that contains February in it's title I found a song by Foo Fighters but decided to feature Lou Reed at this place. Xmas in February is from his 1989 classic New York - probably his best album in his late career. This album is full of great songs with great lyrics and one of those which I can listen from start to end.

Lou Reed - X-Mas In February