Deleted??? *QUOI*???

There are some albums that just should never, never be deleted (a la Nick Drake) - and here are at least two of them, plus another that is debatable and one that was barely released in the first place...

The Bothy Band - The Bothy Band (1975)

The Bothy Band were, quite simply, the best instrumental Irish traditional folk band ever - and that includes The Chieftains (I won't say the best Irish traditional band because their songs didn't always live up to the tunes and I'd have scores of Planxty people on my tail). Not content with three stunning lead instrumentalists (fiddle/pipes/flute), the rhythm section of guitar/bouzouki/harpsichord creates - when in full fling - the most incredible clattering racket this side of Jack Off Jill (I know, I said that about the Dresdens as well). Some of the climaxes to these sets of tunes are just mind-boggling.

I saw them in concert a couple of times and actually did a gig with them once, at the National ballroom in Kilburn some time around 1976, followed by a couple of hours jamming with them afterwards. I played a bit of bouzouki myself in those days, though it was probably a bit of a cheek to sit there playing it with Donal Lunny in the session as well...

I'm *staggered* that this is deleted. If there is a good response and demand I'll post the other two albums as well.

01 - The Kesh Jig & Give Us A Drink Of Water & The Flower Of The Flock & Famous Ballymote
02 - The Green Groves Of Erin & The Flowers Of Red Hill
03 - Do You Love An Apple
04 - Julia Delaney
05 - Patsy Geary's & Coleman's Cross
06 - Is Trua Nach Bhfuil Me In Eirinn
07 - The Navvy On The Line & The Rainy Day
08 - The Tar Road To Sligo & Paddy Clancy's
09 - Martin Wynne's & The Longford Tinker
10 - Pretty Peg & Craig's Pipes
11 - Hector The Hero & The Laird Of Drumblaire
12 - The Traveller & The Humors Of Lissadell
13 - The Butterfly
14 - The Salamanca & The Banshee & The Sailor's Bonnet

Post script: apparently this album *is* available, from the Mulligan Web site in Ireland - so no download, sorry. Link below goes to the Mulligan site instead.

Buy The Bothy Band first album

Modern English - After The Snow (1982)

Another CD that I'm staggered to find deleted is the second album from Modern English. I know that people generally say that their first is the classic (and it *is* very good) but this is the one I come back to time and time again. Of course, it features 'I Melt With You', which was a minor hit, but there are some other fantastic songs as well. For some reason I like to have 'Tables Turning' blaring out of my car as I drive up and down Green Lanes on my way to and from Sainsburys in Harringay. Truly great stuff, and not at all what you might expect from 4AD.

Again, if there's a good response I'll post the third album and some 12" mixes.

01 - Someone's Calling
02 - Life In The Gladhouse
03 - Face Of Wood
04 - Dawn Chorus
05 - I Melt With You
06 - After The Snow
07 - Carry Me Down
08 - Tables Turning

Download Modern English second album

Arlo Guthrie - Arlo (1968)

Something that I'm slightly less surprised to see unavailable is Arlo Guthrie's second album. After Alice's Restaurant I guess the label wanted something similar, so this live album has its share of stoned comedy raps alongside the more serious 'Meditation' and one of my favourite songs 'Wouldn't You Believe It'.

01 - The Motorcycle Song
02 - Wouldn't You Believe It
03 - Try Me One More Time
04 - John Looked Down
05 - Meditation (Wave Upon Wave)
06 - Standing At The Threshold
07 - The Pause Of Mr Claus

Download Arlo Guthrie second album

Le Cheile - Lord Mayo (1975)

Finally, an album that has almost certainly never been released on CD and almost certainly never will. While The Bothy Band were doing their thing in Ireland, a whole slew of pubs in North London were hosting small-time amateur bands of Irish ex-pats. One of these, The Favourite in Holloway, was the long-time haunt of the great Jimmy Power (ooh, the nights I spent there...), and I *think* this lot hung out there as well. Beware, though, this album has a *banjo* on it... and a *concertina*...

And I don't have their other album. Does anybody?

01 - Lord Mayo & The Green Groves Of Erin
02 - The Bucks Of Oranmore
03 - Grannies' Gravel Walks
04 - Oh Hag You Kill Me & The Drink Of Water
05 - Oliver Goldsmith's Lament
06 - The Broadway Hornipe & The Bunch Of Keys & The Boys Of Ballisodare
07 - Slievenamon & Colonel Fraser
08 - Swedish Jig
09 - Thatched Cabin Air And Reel & Master Crowley's Reel
10 - The Moyasta Reel & Trim The Velvet
11 - The Old Bush & The Galty Reel
12 - Connemara Jig & Over The Hills To America & Paddy Fahey's & Buckley's Fancy

Download Lord Mayo by Le Cheile

Oh - and lest you thought that Raymond Roland, John Roe, Kevin Boyle, Danny Meehan, Liam Farrel and P. J. Crotty were a bunch of goodfernuttin hippies...

Ooops - sorry

The link under the Quicksilver post is to the wrong album - it goes to another bootleg, not as good and from a year earlier (1967 at the Fillmore). Worth grabbing if you're a fan though. The correct link to Maiden Of The Cancer Moon is here: http://rapidshare.com/files/32143808/Maiden.zip

Where, Are My Batting Gloves?

Not much to say about these two. If you liked the Grimms albums you'll probably like these (they're basically the same people). Fresh Liver is the better of the two, Sold Out is a bit... 'sold out', really, although among the dross of 'Lord Of The Dance' and 'Hokey Cokey' there's also 'Julery Shop Lesley', which is super gosh crikey oh yarse. Oh - and 'Jennings' on 'Fishfirars' is none other than Tim Rice, who produced the album.

Scaffold - Fresh Liver (1973)

Song side
1) Knickers (McGear/McGough/Gorman)
2) Devon's Dead (McGear/McGough)
3) Plenty of Time (McGear/McGough)
4) Fagorf (Gorman/Megginson)
5) Fax 'n' Figgers (McGear/McGough)
6) Nuclear Band (McGear/McGough)
7) W.P.C. Hodges (Gorman)
8) Knickers (McGear/McGough/Gorman)

Words and Music Side
9) Aren't We All? (McGough/Megginson)
10) Twist (McGough)
11) Psychiatrist (McGough)
12) Deep North (McGough)
13) Fish (McGough/Roberts)
14) Fishfriars (McGough)
15) S.S. (McGough)
16) I Remember (McGough/Innes)

http://rapidshare.com/files/62885051/Liver.zip

Scaffold - Sold Out (1975)

1) Liverpool Lou (Behan) (produced by Paul McCartney)
2) Potato Clock (McGough-McGear)
3) Mingulay Boating Song (Trad. arr. Scaffold)
4) Ramsbottom (Fisher) (parody of Chicago [the song])
5) Beilins Boneyard (McGough)
6) Liverpool Girls (Trad. arr. Scaffold)
7) Cokey Cokey (Kennedy)
8) Pack of Cards (McGough-McGear)
9) Mummy Won't Be Home For Christmas (McGough-McGear)
10) Leaving of Liverpool (Trad. arr. Scaffold)
11) Julery Shop Lesley (Harvey)
12) Lord of the Dance (Carter)

http://rapidshare.com/files/62884525/Soldout.zip

This Here Next One's Rock And Roll

Thirty-odd years ago there was one music magazine that stood head and shoulders above all the others - the mighty Zigzag. As luck would have it, the first issue that I ever bought (no. 23, December 1971) featured the results of a readers' poll (and Rory Gallagher on the cover). So here, nearly 36 years on, I republish the results of the 'top albums of all time' part of that poll.

1) Forever Changes
2) Sgt Pepper
3) Blonde On Blonde
4) Notorious Byrd Brothers
5) Highway 61 Revisited
6) Hot Rats
7) Happy Trails
8) Doors 1st
9) Electric Ladyland
10) Live Dead
11) Liege And Lief
12) Sailor
13) After Bathing At Baxters
14) Abbey Road
15) Astral Weeks
16) The Band
17) Every Picture Tells A Story
18) American Beauty
19) After The Goldrush
20) The Velvet Underground & Nico
21) Tommy
22) White Light White Heat
23) Electric Music For The Mind And Body
24) Ummagumma
25) Court Of The Crimson King
26) Are You Experienced
27) What We Did On Our Holidays
28) Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
29) Wheels Of Fire
30) Déjà vu

Considering that this was over 35 years ago, and obviously *loads* of great albums hadn't been released or recorded - or dreamed of… or the artist wasn't even *born* yet… I think it's a pretty good list. There are only two albums that I'd definitely argue shouldn't be there - Ummagumma and Pepper. Oh, and maybe Sailor as well. I won't try to suggest replacements for them (though you're welcome to, in your comments).

I deliberately haven't listed the artists' names - it wasn't necessary in the original magazine and if you were on the same kinda wavelength as I was then it shouldn't be necessary now.

Of course, all of these albums are still available so I won't post any of them, but I will take the opportunity to repost the 'Maiden Of The Cancer Moon' QMS bootleg. It's *similar* to Happy Trails, but not the same. Recorded earlier, in 1967.

And if you haven't got Happy Trails, why the heck not???

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Maiden Of The Cancer Moon (1968)

1. Back Door Man
2. Codine
3. Mona / Maiden Of The Cancer Moon / Mona
4. Gold & Silver
5. Smokestack Lightning
6. Light Your Windows
7. Dino's Song
8. The Fool
9. Who Do You Love ?
10. Mona / Maiden Of The Cancer Moon / Mona

http://rapidshare.com/files/61178040/QMS67.zip

Oooh a bumper crop today...

Oo-Chuck-A-Mao-Mao

I see that my old soulmate over at Time Has Told Me has upped 'Lucky Planet' by Neil Innes and The World. Excellent stuff and a big thanks to him.

In return I said I'd post these - the first two Grimms albums (the third and best, Sleepers, is available from Amazon).

Grimms was formed from the ashes of The Scaffold, The Bonzos, and The Liverpool Scene, and was a 'you had to see them live' mixture of music, poetry, clowning about and general lunacy.

The name of the band was taken from the surnames of the founding members:

• Gorman (John, ex-Scaffs and later Tiswas and Cilla Black fame)
  
• Roberts (Andy, ex-Liverpool Scene & fab solo albums, later 2nd guitarist for Pink Floyd and Roy Harper)
  
• Innes (Neil, ex-Bonzo and later Rutles & Python)
  
• McGough (Roger, ex-Scaffs & Liverpool poet, later - er, Liverpool poet)
  
• McGear (Mike, ex-Scaffs & later to reclaim his McCartney surname)
  
• Stanshall (Vivian, ex-Bonzo and later Rawlinson. Sadly missed - we won't see his like again. RIP Ginger Geezer)

Viv never made it onto a Grimms album, but other people who did included Adrian Henri, Brian Patten, Zoot Money, Ollie Halsall (wizzo guitar hero, also sadly missed), John Megginson, Dave Richards, and others.

So here are the first two Grimms albums. I was fully expecting to be bored, listening to them for the first time in 25 years or more, but I wasn't. They're not exactly rock classics, but they do have some fab musos - Roberts & Innes are both good songwriters (Innes is *very* good), McGear can sing, McGough is a good poet, Olly Hassle is wizzo - basically if you have (and like) some of these albums you won't go far wrong with the rest.

BTW - watch out for the final 2 Scaffold albums (Fresh Liver and Sold Out) - coming soon to this very blog, and perfect stablemates to the Grimms albums. Same people, basically.

Great stuff.

Grimms - Grimms (1973)

01 - Interruption At The Opera House Part 1 & Small Bird Theme
02 - Three Times Corner
03 - Sex Maniac
04 - Galactic Love Poem
05 - Chairman Shankly
06 - Italian Job
07 - Albatross Ramble
08 - Humanoid Boogie
09 - Short Blues
10 - Summer With The Monarch
11 - Twyfords Vitromat
12 - Following You
13 - Newly Pressed Suit
14 - 11th Hour
15 - Con. Gov. Fig.
16 - Brown Paper Carrier Bag
17 - Soul Song (Jellied Eels)
18 - Interruption At The Opera House Part 2

Download GRIMMS - The first album

Grimms - Rockin' Duck (1973)

01 - Rockin' Duck
02 - Songs Of The Stars
03 - The Right Mask
04 - A Policeman's Lot
05 - Question Of Habit
06 - Take It While You Can
07 - Poetic License
08 - The Masked Poet
09 - Hiss And Boo
10 - Gruesome
11 - Fx
12 - Blab Blab Blab & EEC
13 - Backwards Thro' Space
14 - The Prophet
15 - Oo-Chuck-A-Mao-Mao
16 - End Of The Record
17 - Forwards Thro' Space (bonus track)

Download GRIMMS - Rockin' Duck

Saw You Running From Where I Lay

When Donal Lunny formed his own record label in the mid-70s, the first album that he put out (LUN001) was the debut by a young group called Pumpkinhead (later releases would include his own Bothy Band - the subjects of an imminent posting here - and the fab 'Andy Irvine Paul Brady', as well as Midnight Well - see below).

Pumpkinhead was essentially Thom Moore (main songwriter, vocal, guitar), Kathy Moore (vocals & autoharp), Sandi Epping (vocals, mandolin & fiddle), and Rick Epping (Harmonica, Jew's Harp, Tin Whistle & Concertina). The album was - is - a pleasant mix of original songs, traditional songs, and Irish tunes. It isn't staggeringly good, but I liked it a lot at the time and enjoyed listening to it again last week while I was ripping it from vinyl.

A year or so later Thom made another album, this time with a different bunch of people (Gerry O'Beirne, Janie Cribbs, and Martin O'Connor), under the name Midnight Well. It's not hugely different from its predecessor, though probably a somewhat better album. There are distinct American (Appalichian?) elements to both of them, and I always filed them mentally alongside the Lamb and Spirogyra albums, Loosely psych folk I guess.

Thom Moore became a successful songwriter apparently, writing for Mary Black and others - see Thom Moore.

One final thing: a couple of weeks ago I went to see Joanna Newsom at the Albert Hall (she was *wonderful*), supported by Roy Harper (who was... well, he was Roy Harper, but he played Stormcock from beginning to end, which was about the best thing he could possibly have done in my eyes) and The Moore Brothers (who were dire - Simon & Garfunkel without the songs, the voices, the harmonies or the sex appeal...). But one of the Moore Brothers is called Thom, which is unusual I think - two musical Thom Moores? He was clearly too young to be the Pumpkinhead/Midnight Well Thom Moore, and apparently he's American (not Irish), but... any connection? They certainly *look* similar...

Here's the *original* Thom Moore:

Thom 'Pumkinhead/Midnight Well' Moore, circa 1978

And here's the *new* Thom Moore - Lazarus?

Thom 'Moore Brothers' Moore, circa 2007

Watch out for the Bothy Band albums - coming soon, folks.

Pumpkinhead - Pumpkinhead (1977)

01 - Here Comes A Man
02 - Jigs (Joe O'Dowd's & Maid Of The Spinning Wheel)
03 - Richland Woman Blues
04 - Crackbone Tune
05 - Nora's Dove
06 - Reels (Paddy Fahy's & Down The Strand)
07 - Wild West Show
08 - Wedding Dress
09 - Comfort You
10 - Reels (Corner House & Hand Me Down The Tackling)
11 - Miss You
12 - 'Se Fath Mo Bhuartha & Maid Behind The Bar & Earl's Chair
13 - Are You Ready For The Country
14 - Cedars Of Lebanon

http://rapidshare.com/files/60074176/pumpkinhead.zip

Midnight Well - Midnight Well (1978)

01 - Still Believing
02 - Saw You Running
03 - Make Yourself At Home (Lullabye For A Wayward Friend)
04 - Jesse's Friend
05 - Soldier On
06 - Wheel Of Fortune
07 - Rosy-Painted Barge
08 - Nicky's Song
09 - The Mighty Turk
10 - Low, Low Northern Moon

Post script: apparently this album *is* available, from the Mulligan Web site in Ireland - so no download, sorry. Link below goes to the Mulligan site instead.

Buy the Midnight Well album

Stay A While At The Blue Hotel

My recent Dresden Dolls discovery has led me down a few interesting alleys and into a world that I was only vaguely aware of. Suffice to say that if I were 20 years younger I might have wanted to be part of the 'Dark Cabaret' scene... or I might not.

Anyway, I bought both the DD DVDs - brilliant, marvellous stuff - and was intrigued to see that Lene Lovich sang 'Delilah' with them. Not very well, in my opinion, you see I *really* like Amanda's voice. In fact, Amanda Palmer, I think I love you... Ulp...

Hum.

Anyway, back to Lene Lovich.

In the late 70s I was quite a fan of a lot of the stuff that cropping up in the wake of punk, and of course that included lots of the Stiff stuff - though I still wanted Nick Lowe to get back with the Brinsleys (I've never been entirely convinced by his solo stuff... might post Ian Gomm's 1st solo here some time, waddya think?).

If you've never heard any of the early Lene Lovich albums I recommend that you do - she's a lot more than just the wierd voice on 'Lucky Number'. I don't think this is her best album but it's very good, and not out on CD (why not?). Enjoy.

Lene Lovich - No Man's Land (1982)

01 - It's You, Only You (Mein Schmerz)
02 - Blue Hotel
03 - Faces
04 - Walking Low
05 - Special Star
06 - Sister Video
07 - Maria
08 - Savages
09 - Rocky Road

Download Lene Lovich - No Man's Land

They Came In Countless Numbers

One of the blogs that I regularly check out is Time Has Told Me - his taste mirrors mine in many ways, and more than once he's posted something that I had ripped and ready to go. Some of his posts are vinyl rips, some are CDs (and occasionally I send my high horse off for a feed and grab one or two things I haven't yet ripped from vinyl), and recently he's started posting some rather nice folky bootlegs. Check him out.

Last week he posted Neil Innes' "How Sweet To Be An Idiot", which I put up a few months ago - but his seems to be a CD rip so I suggest you go and get his rather than mine. He has some bonus tracks as well.

"Idiot" is Neil Innes' first (and I think best) solo album. The 2nd and 3rd are available from Amazon as a two-fer (only 8 quid, folks) but his 4th album has never been released as far as I can see, so here it is. And I might as well take the opportunity to repost the Rutland Weekend Television Songbook (co-credited to Eric Idle), one of my earliest posts and a very popular download.

If you're familiar with Neil Innes you'll know what to expect - witty punning lyrics & catchy melodies (Pete Atkin and Jake Thackray come to mind, though Neil is more pop/rock than acoustic guitar). And if you're not familiar with him (Bonzo Dog Band?) ...well, that's *still* what you should expect.

And if you don't like witty English singer-songwriters, how about deadly serious Finnish jazz-prog-rockers?

I picked up 'Lambertland' in Crouch End (yes, Harum Records) some time in the early 70s, attracted by a sticker on the sleeve that claimed Tasavallan Presidentii were "...like a tidied-up Traffic". Never could see the comparison, mind you.

The singer and lyrics are ludicrous, as only Scandinavian prog-rock can be ("there's room for doubt bigger than three, and rug enough... link step from the bottom up", anyone?) but Jukka Tolonen is a hell of a guitarist and over the years I've become extremely fond of this album. I don't have any of their albums (are they any good?) but I do have the solo "Tolonen!" album and "B The Magpie" (was Pekka Pohjola ever in TP?) and they're both pretty good as well.

The only other person I've ever met who'd heard of this lot was a Finnish user interface designer with Nokia when I was out in Tampere a few years ago. He made me a copy of a more recent Jukka Tolonen album but it's pretty grim guitar stuff a la Steve Vai (I think, only played it once and that was years ago).

Neil Innes & Eric Idle - The Rutland Weekend Songbook (1976)

01 - L'Amour Perdu
02 - Gibberish
03 - Front Loader
04 - Say Sorry Again
05 - I Must Be In Love
06 - 24 Hours In Tunbridge Wells
07 - The Fabulous Bingo Brothers
08 - Concrete Jungle Boy
09 - The Children of Rock And Roll
10 - Stoop Solo
11 - The Song O' The Insurance Men
12 - Testing
13 - I Give Myself To You
14 - Communist Cooking
15 - Johnny Cash
16 - Protest Song
17 - Accountancy Shanty
18 - Football
19 - Boring
20 - L'Amour Perdue Cha Cha Cha
21 - The Hard To Get
22 - The Song O' The Continuity Announcers

Download The Rutland Weekend Songbook

Neil Innes - Off The Record (1982)

01 - Libido
02 - City Of The Angels
03 - Them
04 - Time To Kill
05 - Rock Of Ages
06 - One Thing On your Mind
07 - The Worm And The Angel
08 - Not Getting Any Younger
09 - Take Away
10 - Happy Ending
11 - Stoned On Rock
12 - Knicker Elastic King
13 - Spaghetti Western
14 - Mr Eurovision
15 - Ungawa
16 - Godfrey Daniel
17 - Fortune Teller
18 - Mother
19 - Burlesque
20 - That Road

Download Off The Record

Tasavallan Presidentti - Lambertland (1972)

01 - Lounge
02 - Lambertland
03 - Celebration Of The Saved Nine
04 - The Bargain
05 - Dance
06 - Last Quarters

Download Lambertland