I use a combination of Tag'n'Rename, Bulk Rename Tool and MediaMonkey to name, catalog, tag and sort my MP3s, and have discovered that there are a lot of useful features in MM - like the ability to sort tracks by year.
So I decided to see where the majority of my MP3 music collection is located, temporally. I guessed that 1970-72 would be my peak period, and I was right. So, from my point of view, the absolute best music ever was made in when I was 14-16.
I don't have *all* these albums on physical media, some of them are downloads from assorted places, but I do own the vast majority of them on vinyl and/or CD. Certainly my record collection is 15 feet long, and these are nearly all from about 1967 until 1988 (when I bought my CD player).
Anyway, it turns out that I have:
39 albums from the 50s (Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Dion/Dion and the Belmonts account for nearly half of these)
711 albums from the 60s (539 of these from 67-69)
1190 albums from the 70s (773 of these from 70-73)
474 albums from the 80s
237 albums from the 90s, and
169 albums from the 00s.
In the 70s, I have:
210 albums from 1970
236 albums from 1971 including what were, at one point, numbers 1-5 on the album chart - namely:
Tapestry
Sweet Baby James
Sticky Fingers
Ram
Jesus Christ Superstar
174 albums from 1972
152 albums from 1973
117 albums from 1975
Less than 100 albums each from the other years in the 70s

Erk Alors - el finito already?

Nothin mp3 related, just another blatant plug for my choir. We have several performances coming up over the next few weeks in North London - see http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com for further details.

Maybe its time to retire this blog altogether. I have no more obscure vinyl albums to rip - or if I do, they are *so* obscure that even I have forgotten about them. So (unless I change my mind) TTFN.

RTFM

Somebody requested Janis Ian's Uncle Wonderful album - I don't know how many times I have to say that *I don't post albums that you can legitimately buy*. In this case you can get the mp3 album from Amazon for a fiver - though I don't know why you"d want to because 85% of it stinks.

posted from Bloggeroid

Rikki Don't Lose the Eye Of The Lens

Well now, what have we here? Two newly acquired bootlegs, that's what.
One is a bunch of tracks recorded for Dutch radio in 81/82 by the mighty Comsat Angels and converted to MP3 from the FLACs that a kindly person uploaded to DimeADozen - took me three days to download them and frankly mp3 is just as good for stuff that was recorded to cassette tape from FM radio. A mixed bag but some great stuff including Ju Ju Money, Total War and (of course) Indy Day.
The second is a real discovery for me. Having never heard any Steely Dan apart from the original 7 albums (which, of course, I have on vinyl and love), I downloaded this on impulse from another blog and was absolutely shaggered to hear how mighty they sounded live.
Link to the original Dan post and download for the Comsats are on my mp3 site http://www.witchseason.com.
PS: I can't believe I used that title for this post, it's probably my worst yet. I'll try to think of a better one.
BTW The Steely Dan recording really kicks the proverbial but suffers from the same problems that many soundboard recordings do - it's a bit flat, has no reverb, and is lacking some bottom end (particularly on the kick and bass guitar) that would be provided physically by the bass bins and so is underemphasised on the desk. Also the bass is probably DI'd so is a bit too 'clean', could do with some warmth and depth - ideally like you'd get from a big analogue amp & a stack of 4x12s.

Tottenham Community Choir (s)

Yes, there appear to be two. In fact, there are indeed two. One is called Tottenham Community Choir and one is called the New Tottenham Singers. And yes, they (we) do both rehearse at the same time - 7.30 till 9.30 on a Tuesday night - and within 200 yards of each other.

Why are there two? What - if any - is the connection? Well, there used to be one (TCC). And some of the members of TCC split off, along with our ex-MD, and formed their own choir. Fair enough, I suppose.

What's the difference? Well, I'd refer you to the respective web sites - http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com and http://www.tottenhamsingers.com - where you can read what each has to say about themselves and judge for yourselves. And for those of you who are a bit tech-savvy, you could also take a peek at the source code for the index pages, where one choir is less than complementary about the other. Oh - and you could also look at http://www.choirwars.blogspot.com where I will tell a bit more about it all.

Bye for now. Oh - and the Melanie Harrold/Joanna Carlin albums are up at http://www.witchseason.com.

Please request any re-uploads

I've been very lax and neglectful of this site recently, sorry about that. As I mention elsewhere I've almost run out of stuff to upload - but if you would like me to re-up anything that I've uploaded previously please let me know and I'll try to oblige. Any new uploads will be available for free from my new site http://www.witchseason.com - no more of this Rapidshare nonsense - at least until I run out of space.
Also, please forgive the plugs for the choir - and if you live in North London, "why not come along and sing along?"
http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com

Tottenham Community Choir site reorganised

Nothing to do with MP3s today I'm afraid, instead a shameless plug for Tottenham Community Choir. Come along and have a sing, or chat to me and request an upload!

All about us http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/aboutus.htm

 

Our history http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/history.htm

 

All about our outstanding and fantastic new Musical Director http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/md.htm

 

Our constitution - how and why we exist http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/constitution.htm

 

About our committee and how it works http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/committee.htm

 

All the latest TCC news http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/news.htm

 

Our repertoire (constantly expanding - any suggestions?) http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/repertoire.htm

 

How to find us http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/howtofindus.htm

 

Press reports about Tottenham Community Choir http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/inthepress.htm

 

If you don't read music, don't panic - read http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/reading.htm

 

How to contact us http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/pages/contactus.htm

Anyone feel like singing?

Perhaps OTT but nevertheless - if you live in North London and enjoy singing, why not join our choir? Tottenham Community Choir meets every Tuesday from 7.30 to 8.30 in Downhills School, West Green Road N15. For further info see http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com - if you do come along, say hello to me!
(PS not meeting this week, 11th April, back on the 18th)

Rainy Day (without the Dream Away)

The all star Paisley Underground album featuring assorted members of Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, The Three O'Clock, Green On Red & The Bangles is up now at www.witchseason.com

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Here Come The Re-ups

I won't bother making any further comments on the albums that I re-upload, if you want to hear what I've got to say you can leaf through the archives here.
All these reups will be directly available from witchseason.com, so bookmark that site rather than this one if it's reups you're after. This blog will have any new uploads, plus rants on other stuff that are too long to be tweeted.
First up are the two General Humbert albums, later today I'll put up the Dion session.
As always, if you can legitimately buy an album you won't find it here.
L7ers.

Witchseason - The Return

Some time ago I had an email conversation with Joe Boyd about my using the Witchseason name (he was generally OK about it btw), and in the course of that I suggested he might register the domain name(s) - if only to prevent anyone else doing so. Well, he didn't - and so I have.
Http://www.witchseason.com will go live in the next few days and I'll be using it for general anonymous stuff that isn't right for the blog, including storing a whole bunch of re-up requests (I didn't renew my rapidshare account last time so the links are going to start to go dead if they haven't already).
So if you would like me to reupload something I uploaded before but has gone dead, just ask.
I'm coming back to blogland but it won't be exclusively musical any more. Watch out for a rant about my local choir(s)...
L7ers

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Say Hello to the Bear Faced Lady

I am still here. I haven't given up, but I have almost run out of ripped vinyl. My friend Bear Faced Lady has just started a blog of her own - not music related but she has a cautionary tale of Internet nastiness to tell - pop by and say hello, say Witchseason sent you. I'll be back soon, maybe with some re-ups, but I no longer have a Rapidshare account so my posts may die quicker than they used to.

Y Viva Espana

I've been looking for this album for flamin' yonks and yonks.

Barbara Mauritz has - or had - one of the most unique voices in rock, and the three Lamb albums (see a *big* thanks to Mike Gilbert...) are extraordinary (especially 'Cross Between', which is the only one I have on vinyl). So when I learned that *the voice of Lamb* had made a solo album it went right up high on my list of albums to find.

Never found it. Until today. Casual browsing, searched for it, found it. A Spanish blog, full to the gunwales of albums that should never have been released on vinyl, let alone on CD. Grassy Arse, senor.

It's just a pity that the album isn't really much cop - the voice is great but the material is nearly all by other people and that's really not where she shines. The best track - by far - is her own 'Winter In The Valley', and that's the only one that really gets anywhere near the Lamb material (although 'I'm Bound To Be is co-written by her lamb partner). Nevertheless I'm glad I found it.

Barbara Mauritz - Music Box (1972)

01 - Sit Yourself Down (Stephen Stills)
02 - Drop Down Daddy (Sleepy John Estes)
03 - He Knows What To Do For Me (Mac Rebbenack)
04 - All The Love Of My Life (Link Wray)
05 - I'm Bound To Be (Barbara Mauritz & Bob Swanson)
06 - I Will Be There (Van Morrison)
07 - Around And Around (Chuck Berry)
08 - Winter In The Valley (Barbara Mauritz)
09 - Say That You Love Me (Loudon Wainwright)
10 - Whale (Barbara Mauritz)
11 - Music Box (Barbara Mauritz)

Download Barbara Mauritz - Music Box

Bloody hell, where have you been?

...a comment that could be levelled both at myself and at today's subject - Sally Oldfield. And yes, I have previously posted about her - see see here.

Older sister of the slightly-better-known Mike (and Terry), she made a number of excellent albums dring the 70s/80s/90s but vanished a few years ago and I've no idea where she was or what she was doing. There were a couple of rehashed compilation albums released 'as if' they were new but nothing else.

And now, today, I've discovered a Sally Oldfield MySpace page with info about a 'New' album - Cantadora - that claims to be "a new compilation of Sally's favourite tracks, recorded in her home studio over the years without any record company involvement". I'll try to find out a bit more about it before I buy it, though.

I've previously posted some of her albums - so here are those links again, plus a few more. The only albums that you can buy new - as far as I know - are Water Bearer and the new one, so here are the others. In my opinion the best ones (and they are *really* good) are Secret Songs, Playing In The Flame, Easy and Natasha, and the worst are Instincts (by a thousand miles) and Femme. In fact, these are so poor (at least in comparison to her other work) that I haven't even included all the tracks in the downloads. So sue me.

Sally Oldfield - Easy (1979)

Download Easy

Sally Oldfield - Celebration (1980)

Download Celebration

Sally Oldfield - Playing In The Flame (1981)

Download Playing In The Flame

Sally Oldfield - In Concert (1982)

Download Sally Oldfield In Concert

Sally Oldfield - Strange Day In Berlin (1983)

Download Strange Day In Berlin

Sally Oldfield - Femme (1987)

Download Femme

Sally Oldfield - Instincts (1988)

Download ItStinks

Sally Oldfield - Natasha (1990)

Download Natasha

Sally Oldfield - The Flame (1992)

Download The Flame

Sally Oldfield - Three Rings (1994)

Download Three Rings

Sally Oldfield - Secret Songs (1996)

Download Secret Songs

Sally Oldfield - Flaming Star (2001)

Download Flaming Star

Sally Oldfield - Assorted other tracks

I Sing For You (single, 1980)
Broken Mona Lisa (EXCELLENT single, 1982)
Share (single as 'The Roar Sound', 1985)
Fire And Ice (single as 'The Roar Sound', 1985)
Break Through The Rock remix (single, 1990)
The Man I Love (single, 1990)
Flaming Star (original version, from 'uncut private collection' CD, 2002)
Mystic Drum (original version, from 'uncut private collection' CD, 2002)

Download assorted other tracks

Oops – forgot

I’m also listening to It’s Immaterial for the first time in years, can’t think why I’ve neglected them. File alongside Microdisnae.

No upload today (and no witty title either)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who bothers to send me comments. It’s nice to know that some people are willing to give something in return for the music (ie feedback).

Out of interest, my current listening preferences are AFP (and you ought to know who that is), The Church, Abigail Washburn (with or without the Sparrow Quartet), Kathleen Edwards, Comsat Angels (prior to the gig next week – yay!) and Spirogyra.

All available on CD – or as MP3 downloads from Amazon/iTunes. So no, I’m not going to post them here.

Answering a few requests & questions

No, sorry, I don't have any Wes McGhee. Though I saw him and the band live a few times, and have a vague notion I might have stood in for their bass player at a gig at the Weavers Arms.

No Chris Rainbow, Paul Brett or Mick Fleetwood either.

I don't have "Previous Convictions" (Speedy Keen's 1st solo)

I don't have the Arrival album, either

I re-uploaded the Dion session a while ago - check out http://rapidshare.com/files/65816823/Dion.zip

Finally, an update on my various Web presences:

Web: http://www.jeremyb.co.uk
MySpace: http://myspace.com/witchseason
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremy-Browning/100000251004764
Twitter:@W1tchseason

Now - How do I get rid of all the Japanese spam?

My hands are shaking, don't you love me any more?

@kristinhersh tweeted (tweeted? Twote? Twit? Twat) that it's been 25 years since 'The Letter'. What a heartbreaker *that* was.

As far as I know, all the Throwing Muses and Kristin Hersh stuff is available on CD apart from one track (the extended 'Soul Soldier') that was on the vinyl version of The Fat Skier but never made it to CD. I also have some live recordings from the radio of a 1993 show in Glasgow where KH did four songs solos and then the band did five.

So today is happy birthday Letter and here's some old songs from a long time back. And 'The Letter' for good measure, in case you don't know it.

By the way, if anyone wants to follow me on Twitter I'm @W1tchseason.

Kristin Hersh & Throwing Muses tracks...

...for the 25th Anniversary of 'The Letter'

Throwing Muses - Soul Soldier (extended version from The Fat Skier)
Kristin Hersh – The Letter (from Hips And Makers)
Kristin Hersh live in Glasgow 1993 - 01 - Sundrops
Kristin Hersh live in Glasgow 1993 - 02 - Houdini Blues
Kristin Hersh live in Glasgow 1993 - 03 - Me And My Charms
Kristin Hersh live in Glasgow 1993 - 04 - Your Ghost
Throwing Muses live in Glasgow 1993 - 01 - Furious
Throwing Muses live in Glasgow 1993 - 02 - Counting Backwards
Throwing Muses live in Glasgow 1993 - 03 - Mania
Throwing Muses live in Glasgow 1993 - 04 - Bea
Throwing Muses live in Glasgow 1993 - 05 - Pearl

Download from Rapidshare

Kerrumbs, ain’t nothing happening here

Innit?

Please keep checking back – I *will* post something, sometime soon…

My Guitar Sometimes Plays Itself

I'm sure you've realised by now, as I've ranted and opinionated quite a lot on this hyar blog, that I tend to champion the unknown artists over the famous ones. If you've read my Pink Floyd rant you'll also know that I'm more than capable of dumping a previously much-loved band if they put out a real dog of an album - especially if everyone else raves over it. That's why I hate all post-DSOTM Floyd, why I hate all post-Document REM, and why I hate all post-'the-album-that-made-them-rich' anyone and everybody. And I have to say that, most of the time, I feel completely justified in my loathing. But occasionally - just occasionally - it appears that I may have been a bit rash and (dare I say it) wrong.

Take The Church.

I loved the first album (or the English version of it), really liked the second, didn't care for the third, liked the fourth (2xep) a lot, and loved the fifth. And then they made Starfish (and, more siginicantly, the 'Under The Milky Way' single) - and I thought the album stank. And so I dumped them. I considered buying Gold Afternoon Fix and Priest=Aura when they came out but decided against it and went elsewhere.

A couple of months ago I read somewhere (musta been on that internet thingy) that they had a new album coing out. I was surprised to hear they were still going but thought I'd have a listen anyway - and was really surprised.

Truth is, I have to admit that The Church have been consistently prodcing magnificent semi-psychedelic albums throughout the past twenty years, and 'Starfish' was a bit of a one-off. In fact, I almost like it - but not quite. It's still too mainstream and 'Green'-y (hi majors!). But... Priest=Aura! Sometime Anywhere! The new one! I haven't digested all the Church albums I've bought in the past few weeks but I can say with some certainty that I'm going to put them back up where they belong.

Although I don't normally share stuff that can be bought, I think it's worth taking the risk here because I truly believe that more people should hear this band - and from what I can figure out the readers of this blog might just be the kind of people who would do that, and then go buy the albums.

I haven't included the hit singles (Under The Milky Way or The Unguarded Moment) 'cos I figure you may know them anyway, but the rest of these tracks are just the ones that have grabbed me over the past few weeks while I've had The Church on nearly continuously shuffling on my ipod. There's no real difference between the two compilations, they both span the whole career of the band so download one and have a listen. If you like it, download the other. And then decide for yourself what period of their work you like, and buy the albums. Me? I like 'em all.

Apart from Starfish.

JHB Church Anthology One

01 - Bel-Air (from Of Skins And Heart, 1981)
02 - In This Room (from Sing Songs e.p., 1982)
03 - Shadow Cabinet (from Remote Luxury, 1984)
04 - Tantalized (from Heyday, 1985)
05 - Anna Miranda (from Starfish (bonus disc), 1988)
06 - Transient (from Gold Afternoon Fix, 1990)
07 - Swan Lake (from Priest = Aura, 1992)
08 - Day Of The Dead (from Sometime Anywhere, 1994)
09 - No Certainty Attached (from Hologram Of Baal, 1998)
10 - Espionage (from Parallel Universe (disk two - Mixture), 2002)
11 - Pantechnicon (from Back With Two Beasts (Jammed 2), 2005)
12 - Pangaea (from Untitled #23, 2009)
13 - So Love May Find Us (from Pangaea EP, 2009)

Download JHB Church Anthology one

JHB Church Anthology Two

01 - She Never Said (from Of Skins And Heart, 1981)
02 - Constant in Opal (from Remote Luxury, 1984)
03 - Myrrh (from Heyday, 1985)
04 - Reptile (from Starfish, 1988)
05 - Metropolis (from Gold Afternoon Fix, 1990)
06 - Ripple (from Priest = Aura, 1992)
07 - Mistress (from Priest = Aura, 1992)
08 - Two Places At Once (from Sometime Anywhere, 1994)
09 - Another Earth (from Hologram Of Baal, 1998)
10 - The Theatre And Its Double (from Forget Yourself, 2003)
11 - Easy (from Uninvited, Like The Clouds, 2006)
12 - On Angel Street (from Untitled #23, 2009)

Download JHB Church Anthology two

LINKS:

For further information check out the Wikipedia article, The Church Band home page and this fan site, and to buy the albums go to the online store.

Nothing Changes, Soldier Blue

Another long delay. What can I say? Sari.

Truth is, we moved house a few weeks ago and my turntable hasn't been out of its box since - and isn't likely to be any time soon. So I'm reduced to posting stuff that I've already ripped - or, in this case, ripped *off*.

I do have this album on vinyl, and when I finally get my deck up and running again I'll do my own rip (because this rip doesn't sound great to me), but for now you'll have to make do with this. I got it from http://baratomusical.blogspot.com/ - there's a lot of other good stuff there, although some of it is available for purchase so I can't be 100% in favour.

The early to mid 80s were an odd time, as I recall - loads of big hair, big guitars, guitars sounding like bagpipes, flanged basses - and most bands wanted to be U2 or Simple Minds. Or Springsteen. Pretty much sums up this lot - I bought this album from Steve Burgess in English Weather in Crouch End (might still have been Terrapin Trucking by then, can't remember). The fact that he recommended this to me shows how bleak the situation was - even Steve could be taken in by pomposity and bombast in place of real emotion or musical ability.

You might think that I'm not over fond of this album. You'd be right. I liked it at the time - but only in the gaps left when I wasn't listening to the Chameleons, Comsats, Cocteaus, Church, and other bands not beginning with C (Icicle Fukin Works - now *there* was a band who could do grandeur without grandiose - power without pomposity - and what a drummer... you ought to see me air-drumming to 'lovers day'... bloody hell...)

Where was I? Oh yeah, Silent Running. Someone asked for this, I have it but haven't ripped it yet, happened to find it at baratomusical. Updated the tags & uploaded. Enjoy it if you can. me - I'm off to 'lovers day' again before my current 80s trip subsides. But I *am* going to see the Comsats later this year for the first time since the mid-80s (Camden Palace with Way Of The West). Can't fukin wait.

Silent Running - Shades Of Liberty (198x)

01 - Home Is Where The Heart Is
02 - Emotional Warfare
03 - One In A Million Day
04 - Sticks And Stones
05 - That's Life (In The Real World)
06 - Young Hearts
07 - Crimson Days
08 - Shades Of Liberty
09 - Go For The Heart

Download Shades Of Liberty

He's Driving Her Stone Blind

First, I want to apologise for the lack of updates recently. I haven't gone away, and I'm still paying the subs to keep the rapidshare account open so all the old links stay live. Fact is, I like having this blog and I like sharing this music (great and not so great) and I like the feedback I get.

But with two kids, a full-time job and all the other things I have to I don't have as much time as I'd like for things like blog maintenance - so don't be surprised if there's another huge gap before the next post.

The other thing is that I'm running out of vinyl to rip. Most of the rest of my albums are now available on CD (and so I won't post them) - but every so often I discover that an album that *was* available isn't any more. So I pounce. Oh, you may be able to buy it from ebay, or from Amazon in the 'used and new' section, but the *artist* doesn't get anything from that so I have no problems with giving it away instead. I'm not going to support second-hand dealers!

On a related note I recently found myself outsite an AFP (that's Amanda *Fucking* Palmer to you) gig in Camden with a spare ticket. Touts were walking up and down the queue buying and selling tickets, but I held on to mine and then, when I got to the front of the queue, I just *gave* it to a girl hoping for a return or affordable ticket. You should have seen the look I got from the touts! Made me feel good (even though the girl snatched the freebie and ran off without even thanking me... That's yoof for ya...)

And now, back to the records.

Here's an all time classic that has recently become unavailable to buy.

John Stewart, sadly, died last year and even though I hadn't bought a new album of his in thirty years I was saddened to hear about it. Back in the early seventies he was a great personal favourite of mine (along with other ZigZag & Dark Star US singer/songwriter greats like Papa Nes, Guy Clark, Gene Clark). This isn't his best album - the incomporable California Bloodlines romps away with that (hmm - must check whether Old No 1 and Wolfking of LA are available - there's a classic triad for you) - but it's a damn fine record of a great talent.

BTW I do have the original vinyl (double) album but this rip is from my CD copy. The last two tracks aren't on the vinyl.

Enjoy - and I'll be back before long.

L7ers

J.

John Stewart - The Pheonix Concerts Live (1973)

1. Wheatfield Lady
2. Kansas Rain
3. You Can't Look Back
4. The Pirates Of Stone County Road
5. The Runaway Fool of Love
6. Roll Away The Stone
7. July, You're A Woman
8. The Last Campaign Trilogy
9. Oldest Living Son
10. Little Road And A Stone To Roll
11. Kansas
12. Cody
13. California Bloodlines
14. Mother Country
15. Cops
16. Never Goin' Back
17. Freeway Pleasure
18. Let the Big Horse Run

Download The Phoenix Concerts Live

Sorry, I wasn't listening...

Keith Tippett has been around the fringes - and centre - of the jazz/rock crossover for decades. He has played with King Crimson and Keith Christmas (vive les KC!), married Julie Driscoll, and done loads more that I don't know about. Now I'm *not* a jazz fan, and what jazz I do like has often been approached via rock connections. So I arrived at keith Tippett from Blossom Toes, Crimso, Jools, Soft Machine, and others.

I've no idea what his more recent stuff sounds like but these are the first three solo albums that he made. I say 'solo', though the first two are credited to The Keith Tippett Group and the third to Centipede - a great lumbering behemoth of around a hundred members.

I have the vinyl of 'Septober Energy', one of only two or three that I have on the RCA Neon label (along with 'Tonton Macoute', another cracker), and I'm fairly certain that the gatefold photo has a key to all the people on the album and lists - and numbers - them. Elton Dean (sax), Mark Charig (trumpet & cornet), Nick Evans (trombone), Robert Wyatt (drums), Brians Godding and Belshaw (guitars), Roy Babbington (bass)...

Robert Fripp produced the Centipede album at about the same time that he was recording King Crimson's Lizard album, and there are crossovers and parallels musically and personnel-wise.

The first two albums are akin to Soft machine 5, and if you like that you'll probably like them.

Septober Energy is a magnificent sprawling mess.
I love it - but I don't play it very often 'cos there are too many aimless bits. A bit like the Dead live - but whereas you can forgive Garcia & co for wandering off too far in a live performance it's a bit more difficult to love the whole 90-minute beast. A bit of judicious editing - and I'm talking to *you*, Mr. Robert Fripp producer - might have tightened it up and got rid of some of the worst excesses while leaving a side or two free for some other stuff. On the other hand it is (or was) a brave experiment and deserves to be heard warts'n'all. Part four is basically an extension of "Green And Orange Night Park' from the second album, and '###' is 'Let It Be' if I'm not mistaken. Which I may be.

I haven't checked whether the following companion albums are still available on CD, if not I may well post them soon. If they are available, I should buy Jools' ones if I were you. I have the B B Blunder on vinyl but never liked it much. Not sure that I do now, either.

B B Blunder - Worker's Playtime (essentially the 3rd Blossom Toes album)
Julie Driscoll - 1969
Julie Tippetts - Sunset Glow

Keith Tippett Group – You Are Here, I Am There (1970)

01 - This Evening Was Like Last Year (to Sarah)
02 - I Wish There Was A Nowhere
03 - Thank You For The Smile (for Wendy and Roger)
04 - Three Minutes From An Afternoon In July (to Nick)
05 - View From Battery Point (to John and Pete)
06 - Violence
07 - Stately Dance For Miss Primm
08 - This Evening Was Like Last Year (short version)

Download You Are Here, I Am There

Keith Tippett Group – Dedicated To You (But You Weren’t Listening) (1971)

01 - This Is What Happens
02 - Thoughts To Geoff
03 - Green And Orange Night Park
04 - Gridal Suite
05 - Five After Dawn
06 - Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening
07 - Black Horse

Download Dedicated To You (But You Weren't Listening)

Centipede – Septober Energy (1971)

01 - Septober Energy part 1
02 - Septober Energy part 2
03 - Septober Energy part 3
04 - Septober Energy part 4

Download Septober Energy

Hey For A Life On The Road

A request fluttered into my Inbox yesterday and, since I was feeling in a good mood and since it was a *good* request, I decided to grant it. Listen to me, granting favours and lording it over the blogosphere! BTW - if my prose reads stilted or unusual today it may well be because I've just finished reading Dandelion Wine for the first time in ten or more years. And I've no idea what the connection might be, so it equally may not be.

IMPORTANT: Until recently a lot of the tracks on these albums were available on compilation CDs - but now it seems they're not any more. If I'm wrong, or of they are re-released, I'll be taking them down pronto so you can buy them. Check out Andy's Web site for more info (and a fuller history of his career).

Andy 'Manley Footwear' Roberts made four-and-two-half really nice albums in the late 60s & early 70s, and only one of them (The Great Stampede) is available on CD (and even that filed under 'Folk' in Virgin!). Here are three-and-two-halves of them.

(Side tryp - sorry for the delay between posts these days. As I say, I'm working full time so don't have loads of time for blogging - also running out of albums that aren't available on CD.
Side side tryp, I see Lizardson has finally made the move - under threat from the blogmeister - to only unavailable stuffs. Good man).

So, anyway - Andy Roberts. Long-serving sideman of Roy Harper and Pink Floyd, member of the Hank Wangford Band, Grimms, and Plainsong, as well as being a founding member of the original Albion Country Band. I have often though that if I'd ever made an album it would sound like one of his. Good songs, some verging on the great and some just down-home pleasant, not always able to sort out the good from the not-so-good (all of his albums contain at least one song that, frankly, doesn't make the grade). Good, workmanlike professional playing that, though it uses the same core bunch of musos as Keith Christmas' Pygmy and Fable Of The Wings albums, never quite lifts off into that elusive 'groove'.

Andy Roberts - Home Grown (1969/70)

After leaving The Liverpool Scene, Andy Roberts made a solo album for RCA - Home Grown. It's good, better than the vast majority of similar albums that were being made at the time, but not brilliant. Three or four songs from it are very good, and a couple are great (one-armed boatman, queen of the moonlight world).

For some reason, he then switched labels and released a different version of Home Grown on B&C/Pegasus - ten or so of the same tracks but remixed, a couple of different takes of the same songs, and a couple of switcheroos. So, by my reckoning, that's one-and-a-half solo albums so far. The version of Home Grown posted here contains (in my opinion) the best versions of each of the songs, with the alternatives tacked on as bonuses.

01 - Home Grown
02 - Just For The Record
03 - Applecross
04 - The Praties Are Dug
05 - John The Revelator
06 - Autumn To May
07 - Moths And Lizards In Detroit
08 - Creepy John
09 - Jello
10 - Gig Song
11 - Queen Of The Moonlight World
12 - Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies
13 - Lonely In The Crowd
14 - The One-Armed Boatman And The Giant Squid
15 - Boris At The Organ
16 - Untitled Piece
17 - Moths And Lizards In Detroit (original version)
18 - Queen Of The Moonlight World (original version)
19 - The One-Armed Boatman And The Giant Squid (remixed version)

Download Home Grown

Andy Roberts - Nina And The Dream Tree (1971)

This, for me, is Andy's masterpiece. I love it. It would be on my list of top ten abums of all time if I ever had to make one - at least it would be on my shortlist (I think I have more than ten top abums ever). Only 'Good Time Charlie' and 'Breakdown' fail the magnificence test. This is the solo album *I* should have made.

01 - Keep My Children Warm
02 - I've Seen The Movie
03 - 25 Hours A Day & Breakdown & Welcome Home
04 - Good Time Charlie
05 - Dream Tree Sequence

Download Nina And The Dream Tree

Everyone - Everyone (1971)

After Nina, Andy formed a band with a guy called Bob Sargeant, but unfortunately the two styles of songwriting and playing bear no resemblance to each other and Andy's nice British guitar-based songs are squashed uncomortably between Bob's transatlantic jazz/soul-tinged organ-led numbers. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Andy contributes what is probably the least interesting song in his entire catalogue - 'Radio Lady'.

This isn't a rotten album, but it is an album of two halves - or two half-solo albums - the Andy Roberts half and the Bob Sargeant half (so that makes a total of three solo albums so far for Andy). In the early 70s you couldn't move for remaindered copies of this album (with its weird fold-out-drop-down front cover picture) in the remainders & bargain bins.

01 - Trouble At The Mill
02 - Sad
03 - Midnight Shift
04 - Don't Get Me Wrong
05 - Sitting On A Rock
06 - Too Much A Loser
07 - Radio Lady
08 - This Way Up

Download Everyone

Andy Roberts - Urban Cowboy (1973)

After Everyone, Andy switched labels again and made his second-best (and almost certainly his best-produced) album. Urban Cowboy was on Warners (then recently metamorphosed into one-third of Kinney, if I recall correctly - anyone got copies of Zep III with the original Atlantic catalogue number covered by a Kxxxxxx sticker?), and featured 'Poison Apple Lady' and 'New Karenski' (the first two of four or five songs about 'Karen', who inspired some of the best songs of his career), 'All Around My Grandmother's floor (which I think was intended for Plainsong), and his recording of 'Richmond' (a song about being young and seeing Jeff Beck's band in Southend) which had previously been recorded by Shelagh MacDonald (a live version by Andy was also on the '49 Greek Street' album).

01 - Charlie
02 - Big City Tension
03 - New Karenski
04 - Urban Cowboy
05 - Elaine
06 - Home At Last
07 - All Around My Grandmother's Floor
08 - Richmond
09 - Baby Baby
10 - Poison Apple Lady

Download Urban Cowboy

Andy's fifth (or fourth, officially, but depending on your point of view) solo album is available from Amazon, Virgin and HMV. Go buy it and contribute to the bank account of someone who's been a solid and significant figure in British music for forty years.

Apologies for any factual errors - I'm writing this on the train with no Internet access so have to rely on my memory. And it was nearly 35 years ago....

See you soon.

Humdrum Days Still Flying Out The Window

Two more for you today. The first is a live concert from 1984 by Modern English, recorded for an American radio station and first made available on Wolfgang's Vault. This isn't my recording or rip, all I've done is separated the songs into individual files. I can't take any credit for anything else, except the picture below which I created from a photo of the band and my scan of the back cover of the Ricochet Days 12".

As a live gig it's OK, not hugely different from the released versions of the tracks but interesting enough - the 3 original albums are, of course, magnificent. I think I've posted them here somewhere, along with assorted 12" extras. I'm sure some will let me know if I haven't.

Modern English - Live In New York (1984)

00 - Intro
01 - Rainbow's End
02 - Spinning Me Round
03 - Someone's Calling
04 - After The Snow
05 - Hands Across The Sea
06 - Machines
07 - Ricochet Days
08 - Blue Waves
09 - Life In The Gladhouse
10 - I Melt With You
11 - Tables Turning
12 - Gathering Dust

http://rapidshare.com/files/155424164/ME_live.zip

The late Marian Montgomery had one of the most gorgeous voices in jazz, and it's a pity that her recorded output doesn't really do her justice. There are a couple of her early jazz albums available on CD, and some late live recordings, but this is from a rather middle-of-the-road and bland period in 1972. Her voice manages to transcend some of the material, while some of the other tracks are less great. Never mind. I used to like this album a lot.

The eagle-eared among you may notice that she apparently sings half of the same line twice - that's my fault. Despite my best efforts to clean up my vinyl there was one jump I couldn't get rid of - so I spliced a few words from another line in to the gap. Hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment.

Marian Montgomery - Marian In The Morning (1972)

01 - Morning Of My Life
02 - Sweet Gingerbread Man
03 - Walk A Mile In My Shoes
04 - You've Got A Friend
05 - Love
06 - Should There Be A Next Time
07 - Maybe In The Morning
08 - Crying, Loving, Laughing
09 - Ask Yourself Why
10 - If You Could Read My Mind
11 - It Must Be Love
12 - Birds

http://rapidshare.com/files/154383046/MITM.zip

Ben Goldacre killed Amanda Palmer

If you care about the world, buy this book.

If you care about music, buy this CD.

 

Really.

 

Do.

Call Out The Instigators

Sorry it's so long between posts these days. It's partly because I'm working and partly because I'm running out of unreleased vinyl to rip.

I did a little experiment a while ago, one which showed I own more albums from 1972 than from any other year. As if to underline that, purely by chance, here are two albums I've had recent requests for, and both are from 1972. One I've not listened to for 20 years, probably, the other I've never played all the way through.

A few months ago I posted four tracks by Sandy Denny from the soundtrack to a rather dodgy soft-core 'adult' film from the mid-70s called 'Swedish Fly Girls'. I've now had a couple of requests for the whole album, so here you go.

I've no idea what it's like, I've only ever listened to the Sandy tracks (she sings Water Mother, What Will I Do With Tomorrow, Are the Judges Sane?, and I Need You). I've also listended to Beautiful People, but I'm quite a Melanie fan and would be amazed if it's her (even though she's credited with singing it). It *is* her song, though.

The other tracks are by Manfred Mann and/or Mose Henry (who he?), and almost all the backing tracks are by the Manfred Mann band.

Swedish Fly Girls - original film soundtrack album (1972)

01 - Queen Bee
02 - Where the Beauties Are
03 - Easy
04 - Beautiful People
05 - Outside of My Mind
06 - Water Mother
07 - The People Show
08 - Christa
09 - Broken-Glass Lives
10 - Love Is All I Need
11 - What Will I Do With Tomorrow
12 - On the Move
13 - Are the Judges Sane?
14 - Blot Jeg Meg En Mand Kan Faa (Love Is All I Need)
15 - I Need You
16 - Crystal Trumpet Smiles

Click here to download the Swedish Fly Girls album

Speedy Keen was Pete Townshend's chauffeur in the mid-60s, and was also a drummer and songwriter. Pete decided to bankroll and produce an album for him, and recruited Jimmy McCullough on guitar and Andy Newman on piano. With Pete playing bass (as 'Bijou Drains') they made an album, and released one track as a single. The result, Something In The Air by Thunderclap Newman, was one of the best - and most distinctive - English singles of the late 60s.

The band broke up, and Speedy made two solo albums. I haven't got the first one, but this is the second. You'll recognise the voice immediately (or at least you will if you're of that certain age)

Speedy Keen - Y'Know Wot I Mean? (1972)

01 - Crazy Love
02 - Almost Eighteen
03 - Nightmare
04 - Fighting In The Streets
05 - Bad Boys
06 - I Promise You
07 - Someone To Love
08 - My Love
09 - The Profit On Ecology

Click here to download Y'Know Wot I Mean

The Sand Gets In My Eyes Sometimes

Someone asked if I could post the Comsats' '7 Day Weekend' album, and I thought 'what a spiffing idea'. So here it is, along with the previous album 'Land' and all the B-sides and extra tracks from the 12"s that accompanied those albums.

These albums are far from their best work - see the first 3 albums for that - but they still knock spots off most of the other rubbish that was around at the time. The band had moved away from their indie sound and were almost making a bit for the new wave/dance market.

Wikipedia has this to say about them: The Comsat Angels were a post-punk band from Sheffield, England, active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with spare instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache." They have been credited as being an influence to current post-punk revival bands, such as Editors and Interpol. The Comsat Angels toured heavily in their native UK and in western Europe (especially in The Netherlands where they were moderately popular), but only did a couple of tours in the United States. Their music has been extensively reissued and recompiled since 1995 by various record labels, but as of this date the band has not reformed.

And if you haven't heard the first three albums, buy them now - or better still, get the 'Time Considered' compilation (session nd live versions of many of the tracks)

The Comsat Angels – Land (1983)

01 - Will You Stay Tonight 02 - Alicia (Can You Hear Me) 03 - A World Away 04 - Independence Day 05 - Nature Trails 06 - Mister Memory 06 - Mr. Memory 07 - Island Heart 08 - I Know That Feeling 09 - As Above So Below

http://rapidshare.com/files/139054426/Land.zip

The Comsat Angels - Land 12"s (1983/84)

01 - Will You Stay Tonight 02 - A World Away (dub mix) 03 - Shining Hour 04 - Island Heart 05 - Island Heart (dub mix) 06 - Scissors And The Stone 07 - Independence Day (extended) 08 - Intelligence 09 - Mister Memory 10 - Total War 11 - After The Rain

http://rapidshare.com/files/139054763/Land_12s.zip

The Comsat Angels - 7 Day Weekend (1985)

01 - Believe It 02 - Forever Young 03 - You Move Me 04 - I'm Falling 05 - Close Your Eyes 06 - Day One 07 - You're The Heroine 08 - High Tide 09 - New Heart And Hand 10 - Still It's Not Enough 11 - Citadel (bonus track)

http://rapidshare.com/files/139056005/7day.zip

The Comsat Angels - 7 Day Weekend 12"s (1985/86)

01 - You Move Me (long version) 02 - Land 03 - Eye Of The Lens (live) 04 - Day One 05 - Will You Stay Tonight (live) 06 - Independence Day (live) 07 - I'm Falling (extended version) 08 - I'm Falling (7'' Version) 09 - New Heart And Hand 10 - Forever Young 11 - Still It's Not Enough 12 - S.I.N.E 13 - Citadel

http://rapidshare.com/files/139056088/7day_12s.zip

Oh - and by the way, I'm starting a new job next week. And right now I'm off to see Amanda Palmer at the ICA!!!

That Ball Needs A Re-Gun

I had a request for some more Pete Atkin, and since I'm not sure what else to post I thought why not.

These aren't my rips, by the way - the only album of his that I own on vinyl is 'Master Of The Revels', which is a compilation (and which I've already posted - see http://witchseason.blogspot.com/2007/04/master-of-revels.html). But a couple of blog readers were able to send me their rips from the CDs (no longer available from Pete's site, and exorbitant prices 2nd hand from Amazon), and here they are.

For more info on Pete, check his unofficial Web site or the Wikipedia article - or see my original post.

Pete Atkin - Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger (1970)

01 - The Master Of The Revels
02 - Sunrise
03 - Have You Got A Biro I Can Borrow
04 - Frangipanni Was Her Flower
05 - Touch Has A Memory
06 - The Rider To The World's End
07 - The Luck Of The Draw
08 - The Original Original Honky Tonk Night Train Blues
09 - Girl On The Train
10 - Tonight Your Love Is Over
11 - You Can't Expect To Be Remembered
12 - Laughing Boy
13 - Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger
14 - All I Ever Did

Download Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger

Pete Atkin - Driving Through Mythical America (1971)

01 - Sunlight Gate
02 - The Pearl-Driller
03 - No Dice
04 - The Flowers And The Wine
05 - Where Have They All Gone
06 - The Prince Of Aquitaine
07 - Thief In The Night
08 - Driving Through Mythical America
09 - The Faded Mansion On The Hill
10 - Practical Man
11 - Lady Of A Day

Download Driving Through Mythical America

Pete Atkin - A King At Nightfall (1973)

01 - Between Us There Is Nothing
02 - Carnations On The Roof
03 - All The Dead Were Strangers
04 - The Wristwatch For A Drummer
05 - A King At Nightfall
06 - The Last Hill That Shows You All The Valley
07 - The Double Agent
08 - The Hypertension Kid
09 - Screen-Freak
10 - Apparition From Las Vegas
11 - Thirty Year Man

Download A King At Nightfall

Pete Atkin - The Road Of Silk (1974)

01 - Perfect Moments
02 - Shadow And The Widower
03 - The Hollow And The Fluted Night
04 - The Wall Of Death
05 - Senior Citizens
06 - The Man Who Walked Towards The Music
07 - Care-Charmer Sleep
08 - Our Lady Lowness
09 - My Egoist
10 - An Array Of Passionate Lovers
11 - The Road Of Silk
12 - Payday Evening
13 - I See The Joker (single version)
14 - Session Man's Blues (single version)

Download The Road Of Silk

Pete Atkin - The Secret Drinker (1974)

01 - Rain-Wheels
02 - Sessionman's Blues
03 - I See The Joker
04 - National Steel
05 - Nothing Left To Say
06 - Tenderfoot
07 - Time And Time Again
08 - Little Sammy Speedball
09 - Secret Drinker
10 - Tongue-Tied

Download The Secret Drinker

Pete Atkin and Clive James - Live Libel (1975)

01 - Song For Rita (featuring Griff Gostuffyerself)
02 - Black Funk Rex (featuring Marc Boloc)
03 - Errant Knight (by arrangement with Strongbow Spam)
04 - Ready For The Road (featuring Tesco Tex)
05 - Ballad Of An Upstairs Window
06 - Stranger In Town (featuring Ricky Fablon)
07 - Rattlesnake Rock (featuring Gladys Graveyard)
08 - Doom From A Room (featuring Leonard Conman)
09 - I've Got Better Things To Do (edited version)
10 - Lonesome Levis Lane
11 - Sheer Quivering Genius (featuring James Paler)
12 - Uncle Sea-Bird (in memorium Ralph J. Gleason)

Download Live Libel

Requested Re-Ups

Laura Nyro

Update - both Seasons Of Lights and Mothers Spiritual are, or will soon be, available from http://www.iconoclassicrecords.com/ (along with Nested). I have therefore removed the links to these downloads.

I have, however, re-upped the Eg And Alice album (see ) - for further info see http://witchseason.blogspot.com/2006/08/been-away-now-im-back.html. Download the album from http://rapidshare.com/files/126303729/EgAlice.zip.

And now, a re-up that I probably won't have to remove...

Midnight Well

http://rapidshare.com/files/125653753/MidnightWell.zip for further info see http://witchseason.blogspot.com/2007/10/oooh-bumper-crop-today_3007.html

Witchseason Is Looking For Work

Sorry there's been so little stuff uploaded recently, I've been working and haven't had time to rip and post. Now I'm unemployed again - not for long I hope! - so I'll try to be a bit more productive for a little bit. Oh - and if you know anyone who's looking for a writer/technical author (that's what I do), point them my way.

First, before I start - you may notice the revised masthead. A couple of weeks ago I emailed Joe Boyd to let him know that I'd 'borrowed' the Witchseason name and to ask whether he minded. I got a very nice message back from him in which he said that basically a) I'd done nothing wrong but b) he still felt very attached to the name and he'd rather I didn't use it - especially for creative work. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think that's an entirely reasonable and understandable response. Even though Witchseason Productions is long gone, it still has an excellent reputation and I don't want to risk that in any way. Unfortunately, it's rather difficult - or even impossible - to change the URL of a blog, so this is going to stay where it is. But I can give credit where credit is due - hence the text at the top.

And if you don't know who Joe Boyd is, you really should. Honest. You should.

SO. Anyway. Today, two albums that I've been meaning to post for yonks ('yonks'? How quaint!).

The first is the album that more or less started a genre... From what I remember, Sean O Riada just put a bunch of Irish musicians together to play the music that he had arranged for the soundtrack for a film 'The Playboy Of The Western World'. The musicians got on so well together, and the arrangements were so interesting, that the musicians decided to form a band, and they called themselves The Chieftains. They went professional in about 1965 I think, and they're still going. For some reason I'm not a massive fan - really no idea why - but I *do* like this album. In a way you could say it's 'Chieftains 0'. Oh - and please don't complain if my spelling is poor, I don't speak Gaelic.

The second is a 'sampler' album, of which there were many in the late 60s and early 70s. The famous ones were for labels like Island (Nice Enough To Eat, You Can All Join In, Bumpers, El Pea), CBS (Rock Machine I Love You, The Rock Machine Turns You On, Fill Your Head With Rock) or Harvest (Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air), but there were some pretty good ones for more obscure labels - in this case, Georgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label. I know very little about most of these tracks, but a few comments about the ones I do know about.

If you only know Julie Driscoll as the girl who sang 'Wheels On Fire', you're missing some great music. With Brian Auger she made three excellent albums, and the three tracks here (one Jools solo, one Auge solo, and one together - all from 'Streetnoise') are a pretty good example of what they sound like. You should also check out Jools' first two solo albums - '1969' (rocky, with Blossom Toes) and 'Sunset Glow' (jazzy, credited to Julie Tippetts). If you don't know Blossom Toes, 'Listen To The Silence' is one of the better (not the best) tracks from their second album 'If Only For A Moment', which is pretty damn good proggish heavyish rock. However their first album 'We Are Ever So Clean' is a British psych masterpiece. Chase it down and check it out. And Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman were half of 10CC and both play on each other's tracks here, along with Lol Creme and Eric Stewart.

The Playboy Of The Western World - Sean O Riada (1962)

01 - Tuscheol - Teama, Mo Mhuirnin Ban
02 - Scanraionn Shawn Keogh Roimh Christy Agus Teann As Scaipeadh An Sceil
03 - Christy Ag Eachtrai Do Pegeen Ar Uaigneas A Shoil - Agus Ar Alltacht A Athar
04 - Cailini An Bhaile Chuige ''It's A Man!''
05 - Christy Ag Eachtrai Do Na Cailini Faoi Mar Mharaigh Se A Athar...''Cuire Uait Iadsan'' Adeir Pegeen - 'chrochfaidis Thu!''
06 - Teann Christy Ar Choimu Pegeen
07 - An Torramh
08 - Ceol Teama
09 - Comhchealg Na Baintri Le Shawn Keogh...Tig Old Mahon Isteach
10 - Christy Agus Pegeen...Teann Christy Go Pairc Na Luthcleas I Dteannta Na Gcailini
11 - Ar Phairc Ne Luthchleas...Tig Old Mahon Aris
12 - Ar Phairc Ne Luthchleas
13 - An Rince
14 - Christy Agus Pegeen
15 - An Gaiscioch...''An Marbh Ba Mharbh Gur Beodo Bhi''

UPDATE: Hmm, that'll teach me. Rapidshare deleted my original upload - I guess calling a file 'playboy.zip' is asking for trouble. New download link below (hopefully this one will stay there for more than a couple of hours!).

Download The Playboy Of The Western World

Marmalade 100 Proof (1969)

01 - Let The Sunshine In (Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity)
02 - Kiss Of Confusion (Blossom Toes)
03 - The Journey (Gordon Jackson)
04 - Bitterness Of Death (Ottilie Patterson)
05 - Battersea Rain Dance (Chris Barber)
06 - Tropic Of Capricorn (Brian Auger and The Trinity)
07 - Pete The Poet (John McLaughlin)
08 - A Word About Colour (Julie Driscoll)
09 - Dis-Toi-Bien (Le Lievre)
10 - The Late Mr Late (Graham Gouldham)
11 - To Fly Away (Kevin Godley)

Download Marmalade 100 Proof

Perhaps This Afternoon (rotten title!)

I had a request for this.

There's been a lot of movement on the Sandy Denny front over the past year or two, with compilations, reissues and a radio documentary. So when someone emailed me to ask if I could post 'Sandy And The Strawbs' I thought "in your dweeems, busta" - but then I checked Amazon and was amazed to find it's not available.

I have the 'All Our Own Work' album on vinyl, and ripped it to MP3 several years ago. Since then I have replaced some of those MP3s with others that I have got from ripping anthologies & box sets, so I don't know which of these tracks are my vinyl rips and which are digital from CD. I suspect that all the tracks that *don't* have Sandy on them are my originals.

I also believe that there are two different versions of this album ('All Our Own Work' and 'Sandy And The Strawbs'), one is as it was recorded and one has some overdubs. I don't know which is which, and I don't know which tracks here are from which. And I don't really care, this is hardly Sandy's finest hour and I don't really need two versions of any of these songs.

Apart from WKWTTG, that is - both stringless and stringfull versions are here. (BTW this was the first time this song appeared anywhere on record - it's pre-Unhalfbricking - although an earlier demo version exists)

O - and the last 3 or 4 songs don't belong on this album but I'd already uploaded the zip before I realised & couldn't be *rsed to do it again. Think of them as a bonus.

If anyone knows where you *can* buy this album, let me know and I'll remove the share pronto.

Sandy Denny and The Strawbs - All Our Own Work (1967)

01 - On My Way
02 - Who Knows Where The Time Goes
03 - Tell Me What You See In Me
04 - Always On My Mind
05 - Stay Awhile
06 - Wild Strawberries
07 - All I Need Is You
08 - How Everyone But Sam Was A Hypocrite
09 - Sail Away To The Sea
10 - Sweetling
11 - Nothing Else Will Do
12 - And You Need Me
13 - Poor Jimmy Wilson
14 - I've Been My Own Worst Friend
15 - Two Weeks Last Summer
16 - Who Knows Where The Time Goes (With Strings)

Download 'All Our Own Work' aka 'Sandy And The Strawbs'

Vive La Revolution Qui Rit!!!

UPDATED 18th May 2008

First let me say how chuffed I am to be at one of the centres of Globs activity (the Globs - that's Global Village Trucking Company for all you googlers out there). It's been a funny old few days, reawakening a part of my life that I'd almost forgotten about. It's a real privelige to be a conduit for such ongoing excellent vibes.

Although a bit younger than most of you (51 now) I was old enough to see them live on a few occasions - the first time was at the Windsor Free Festival in 1975, My band (Landslide) played earlier in the afternoon and Clive (the drummer) and I decided to stay for the rest of the festival. That evening was saw the Globs, Gong, Byzantium, and an African band that *might* have been Osibisa but I can't remember. Two things that I do remember are 1) singing along with 'Smiling Revolution' in the darkness and 2) standing by the side of the stage watching Pip Pyle in amazement.

The other time that I definitely remember was at Hampstead Town Hall with - and Jon O reminded me of this - George Melly on the same bill. I have a notion that I might also have played that night, either with Landslide or with my other band (Narcissus). Both of my school bands played there several times.

The Globs documentary is still available on the BBC Web site for download/viewing for another couple of days - click here to watch/download it.

Clarifying a couple of things from the programme:

1) They didn't make two albums. They were featured on one side of a double album - the second 'Greasy Truckers' album - recorded live at Dingwalls Dancehall and released in 1973, and then there was a posthumous release on the mid-price Caroline label that came out n 1976. Seven of those tracks were recorded in November 1974, one (Love Wil Find A Way) for the BBC in May 1975, and one (Watch Out..) live in June 1975. Pete Kirtley played guitar on those last two, Mike Medora having left the band.

2) There seemed to be a bit of confusion around James/Jeremy Lascelles - James was the keyboard player and Jeremy was the manager.

3) The bass player on all the recorded tracks - and in the reunited band - was/is John MacKenzie, who went on to play with the Man band. But he wasn't in the band when the documentary was made.

I realise that my original vinyl rips aren't that good quality, so I've re-ripped them for you all. I've also ver slightly re-EQd the 'Watch Out' track to add a bit more top and bottom.

So here are the one-and-a-half Globs albums at a lovely high bitrate and with all the artwork (front, back & lyric sheet) from the album proper. There isn't much Globs info on the Greasy Truckers album so I've added what there is into the tags. For the GVTC album, check the lyric sheet JPGs for lineups, lyrics, dates, etc. Also check out the (brief) sleeve notes.

Global Village Trucking Company - Live at Dingwalls Dancehall (1973, vbr 240kbps)

01 - Look Into Me
02 - Earl Stonham (The Gunslinger)
03 - You're A Floozy Madame Karma (But I Love Your Lowdown Ways)
04 - Everybody Needs A Good Friend

Click here to download the Globs tracks from the Greasy Truckers album

Global Village Trucking Company - Global Village Trucking Company (released 1976, recorded 1974/75, vbr 240kbps)

01 - On The Judgement Day
02 - Lasga's Farm
03 - Love Your Neighbour
04 - Short Change & Tall Story
05 - Smiling Revolution
06 - Love Will Find A Way
07 - If You Don't Mind (Me Saying)
08 - The Inevitable Fate Of Ms Danya Sox
09 - Watch Out, There's A Mind About

Click here to download the GVTC album

Click here to download the artwork & lyric sheet for the GVTC album

(original post)

I didn't know, when I did my original post - nearly two years ago (see http://witchseason.blogspot.com/2006/06/smiling-revolution.html) - what the future held. I wish I'd said a bit more in my original post, must have been busy that day. Hopefully the documentary will have awakened more interest in these albums, and maybe even someone will release them.

Jon (for verily it is He, and He reads my blog) - is there any unreleased stuff in the vaults? If so I'd be more than happy - hell I'd love to - post them here. But then I guess if there was anything, you'd post it on YourSpace (see http://www.myspace.com/globalvillagetruckingcompany2008).

Reunions, eh? Now if we can get Byzantium back together as well (if Robin is busy I'll happily play bass... ah, dream on...)

Basically A Cretin

..which was replaced, on the album version, by 'drowning in the bathroom' which is a lot less offensive but also a lot less funny.

Ah - you probably don't know what I'm on about. Hatfield And The North? Single 'Let's Eat (Real Soon)', had a B-side 'Fitter Stoke Has A Bath', which was re-recorded with different lyrics for the second album.

The Hatfields were one of Richard Sinclair's many finest hours. His dry English voice and gorgeous bass playing were key features of that band, features which were either lacking or different in the wonderful National Health - an incredible band with a hell of a gutsy sound and two really clouty albums though without some of the wry humour and subtlety of the Hatfields ones.

Going off on a bit of a weird tangent here, prose getting slightly bizzarre, never knowing where you're going, carry me with you?

Ulp.

Right - oh, but did you see the Globs on telly last night? Meant to post a bulletin here but forgot. Never mind, it being BBC4 there are three or four repeats over the next few nights. Great stuff. Not really a festerval-goer any more so won't be at Glasto, but if they do any Lunnun gigs I'll be there. Any chance of that, Mr. Owen?

Sorry. Back to today. (but didja notice I've got a MySpace place? Look at the links section, over on the right)

Richard Sinclair made two albums in the early 90s, neither of which are available any more so here they are. Very English, kinda jazzy, kinda proggy, kinda laid-back almost-MORy. Not going to compete with Caravan or Hatfields but probably better than RS-era Camel.

Richard Sinclair - Caravan Of Dreams (1992)

01 - Going For A Song
02 - Cruising
03 - Only The Brave
04 - Plan It Earth
05 - Heather
06 - Keep On Caring
07 - Emily
08 - Felafel Shuffle
09 - Halfway Between Heaven And Earth
10 - Five Go Wilde
11 - Flowered At Bracknell
12 - It Didn't Matter Anyway

Download Caravan Of Dreams

Richard Sinclair - RSVP (1993)

01 - 01 - What's Rattlin'
02 - My Sweet Darlin'
03 - Videos
04 - Barefoot
05 - Outback In Canterbury
06 - Over From Dover
07 - Out Of The Shadows
08 - Where Are They Now
09 - Bamboo
10 - What In The World

Download RSVP