The Way Love Used To Be

 

It seems like Andy Bell is in a highly productive phase these days. Since his fantastic album Flicker at the beginning of the year he released almost every second month a new EP. Now he surprised me with Untitled Films Still an EP with four songs originally released on soundtracks. I am grateful that he took a song by Ray Davis to cover. The Way Love Used To Be originally released on Percy soundtrack is one of these songs by The Kinks that was seldom played but in it's beauty it is one of Davis' highlights.

Another song Bell chosen for this EP is a song by Arthur Russel an American cellist, composer and producer who died 30 years before. I have to admit that this song was new to me and I don't know the movie Keep The Lights On where it is from. Anyway this version is one of those songs you can listen from the start until the end and start playing it once again. 

No Spitting On The Bus

Yesterday I returned from my escape to Sri Lanka from the usual things and worries in Germany and spent a few weeks together with some very old friends in a place where we could leave all those Corona problems behind. We had a wonderful time together with relaxing, good conversations and inspirations for the future. It was a time with less internet and listening to much music to get my mind clear. One of my thoughts were to finish this blog because during the last months I felt I lost my inspiration to continue this little place in the internet but I decided to continue because I think it will be worth to write about old and new music and finally it was Adam that showed me that it could be helpful to continue even if personal tragedies showed up. So let's see what the future will bring.

On my travel back to Germany I recognized that the back catalog by the Steve Gibbons Band was released. Steve Gibbons is an English musician and singer-songwriter who had his best times in the mid 70's in the pub rock era before punk broke. His music was influenced by classic rock and roll, rockabilly and country. Like Ray Davis he also had the ability to write songs about the working class. After all a band that sadly was overlooked.

Steve Gibbons Band - No Spitting On The Bus

Steve Gibbons Band - Eddie Vortex

Steve Gibbons Band - Tulane (Peel Session 1977)

Another Band That Didn't Got The Success They Denid

 

Pat Fish formed in 1982 one of the best bands from the early 80's. The Jazz Butcher could be described powerful indie-folk band with a massive touch of great arrangements and the ability to create great lyrics to songs full of hooks. They accompanied me during a lot of years and I often came back to their music. So I felt sad when I got the news several weeks ago that Pat Fish died too early, a songwriter right between Ray Davis and Pete Townshend. But they also made great cover versions and with We Love You they made the old Stones song sound like an early Acid House track. During the last months Fire Records released a couple of their albums and a few days ago Dr. Cholmondley Repents a  four CD-Collection of their A-sides, 12-inches and rarities. A good way to enter the universe of The Jazz Butcher and their magnificent sound. 

The Jazz Butcher - Southern Mark Smith (Original 45)

The Jazz Butcher - We Love You (The Great Awakening)

Drowning Butterfles

A few days ago I discovered a record in my collection that I didn't listen to for ages. I bought this record only because the band's name impressed me. Cleaners From Venus were the project of Essex based singer-songwriter and poet Martin Newell and their music were far away from mainstream and post-punk in the early 80's. Their music can be described as an eccentric version of Ray Davis. Based on DIY-attitude Newell made songs that still works fine after all these years. Surely not the highlights of those days but little gems from a forgotten artist.

Cleaners From Venus - Drowning Butterflies
Cleaners From Venus - Time In Vain

Babelsberg

Studio Babelsberg in Berlin/Potsdam is the oldest big studio film studio of the world and the biggest film studio of Europe. It is also the title of the latest album by Gruff Rhys, the Welsh multi talented musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. But the title has nothing to do with film studio in Potsdam it is a synonym for building the Tower of Babel. He delighted me during the last years with timeless albums with timeless music. American Interior from 2014 was played often when I was at home. So I was excited to listen to his new record and I wasn't disappointed. He wrote great songs again and recorded them with the 72-piece BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The more I listen to the songs I think he moves more and more to a nowadays edition of Lee Hazlewood and he can't deny the influences of Ray Davis and The Kinks. For me, Babelsberg is one of the nicest records released this year.

Live Music On German Television

Today just another footage I found during the last days and again it is from the monthly show about new music on Beat Club. The Swede posted a few days ago the a clip from the show of The Monks and this inspired me to search for the moments of my youth and I found a 20 minute concert by The Kinks that I remember well. At this time I only knew Lola and this appearance made me investigate for more of them. It is still a pleasure to watch Ray Davis again and still I think he's one of the greatest songwriter ever.

Knee Deep In Rock History

These days I've gave myself a pleasure without dates after work having a few hours with friends and other companions to spent the evening and I had enough time to search my musical library for some gems. I don't know if it is a start to a new serious but I came back to The Kinks, a band I love for decades. Ray Davis was the one who took me to ordinary life in Britain. His songs about the regular people are still actual in these days. He is a poet - maybe for the forgotten ones over on the island - and he wrote hymns that are still great songs today. Nothing lost it's fascination about these songs. They accompanied me during my musical education and it is still a pleasure listening to them.

And as a bonus a footage from Ray's younger brother Dave - also taken from a Beat-Club show.

Songs The Lord Told Us # 8

I think that I don't have to say much about Billy Bragg at these place. Most of you will know (and maybe love) him and the music he made throughout the years. There many songs I like to listen almost every time when they shuffle up on my mobile phone. To pick out one is difficult but in my opinion Northern Industrial Town shows exactly his abilities in songwriting. It is very seldom that an artist is able to describe the working people and how they life. This song is in the tradition of Ray Davis and The Kinks who described the working people way back in England in the 60s.

Enjoy

It's just a northern industrial town

The front doors of the houses open into the street

There's no room for front gardens, just a two-up two-down

In a northern industrial town

And you can see the green hills 'cross the rooftops

And a fresher wind blows past the end of our block

In the evenings the mist come rolling on down

Into a northern industrial town

And there's only two teams in this town

And you must follow one or the other

Let us win, let them lose, not the other way 'round

In a northern industrial town

And the street lights look pretty and bright

From the tops of the hills that rise dark in the night

If it weren't for the rain you might never come down

To your northern industrial town

And on payday they tear the place down

With a pint in your hand and a bash 'em out band

Sure they'd dance to the rhythm of the rain falling down

In a northern industrial town

And there's plenty of artists around

Painters steal cars, poets nick guitars

'Cause we're out of the black and we're into the red

So give us this day our daily bread

In a northern industrial town

But it's not Leeds or Manchester

Liverpool, Sheffield nor Glasgow

It's not Newcastle-on-Tyne, it's Belfast

It's just a northern industrial town

Merry Christmas, war is over

In a northern industrial town

Billy Bragg - Northern Industrial Town

Blue Boy

It looks thus as if Ghana my yesterday's post has read. If I have still said yesterday that no African team has the possibilities to come to the final round, I must correct myself now. Watching the game between Ghana and Germany showed what can happen if a team is willing to fight and to run. It was maybe the best second half during the last couple of tournaments. I have seldom seen a game like this when both teams get rid of their tactical orders and just trying to win the game. After all I have to admit that Germany won one point and I am sure that Ghana is able to beat Portugal. But it's different to tell which teams will reach the final round. It's possible that Germany will be fruitless against the United States. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this game watching together with my American brother in law.

Today's track is from the new album by Mac DeMarco released this year. He is a Canadian and plays a guitar-based music with much influence by early glam-rock, Ray Davis and Jonathan Richman.

Mac DeMarco - Blue Boy