Welcome to the RPM Record Club Seven Day Soundtrack, week ending Friday 6th December 2024. So, into the end-of-year home straight...over to...
"Greetings RPMers, here’s something very old from Nick, something very new from The Unthanks and something from a couple (Kate Gathercole and Mark Waters aka Alula Down) who are new to me."
Into My Arms by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -
Bleary Winter by The Unthanks -
Wrap Your Hills Around Our Absence by Alula Down -
"Thanks to all for sharing your amazing range of music last week. Here are 3 I have listened to this week."
Mississippi You're On My Mind by Jesse Winchester -
Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues by Danny O'keefe -
Moments by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble -
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SQtrMLa6oLQ&si=mgByBYPUxFo5kwX1
"That's All Folks."
Question by The Moody Blues - "Heard it on the radio today. I had most of The Moody's albums with me when in the Navy. I was able to play them on a little battery powered Philips portable record player about the size of a shoebox where the top detached as a mono speaker The covers of the Moody's albums were always interesting, as was the music. This version is a shortened USA 45 clip."
Lucille by Little Richard with The Upsetters - "It would have been Little Richard's birthday yesterday so here he is with his backing band lip synching to Lucille.
He played and recorded with the group on and off from the mid 50's into the 60's. I saw him live twice with Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis and can vouch that he really gave his audience good value for money."
The Cask Of Amontillado by The Alan Parsons Project - "A song about revenge from this great first concept album from Alan Parsons with John Miles singing."
"Here's my picks."
Love On The Rocks by Neil Diamond -
Always On My Mind performed by Elvis Presley -
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac -
"Hello RPMers. Welcome to winter. Here are three tracks I've listened to this week."
Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette by Moving Hearts - "This line-up reads like a Who's Who of great Irish musicians..."
Untitled #6 (E- bow) by Sigur Ros - "From the enigmatically titled ( ) album."
Opportunity by Black Roots - "Another tasty slice of home-grown Reggae from Bristol's Black Roots."
"My selections this week are chosen in response to a recent purchase that I found very disappointing, since it involves two gents whom I hold in the highest regard."
I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea by Elvis Costello and The Attractions -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvRQDsH0Yho
Driving Wheel by T-Bone Burnett - "...from his superb 1980 album 'Truth Decay'."
The People's Limousine by The Coward Brothers - "This was Messrs. Costello and Burnett masquerading as Howard and Henry Coward back in the 1980s, and I think it's a terrific record. Unfortunately they have revived these aliases with a ludicrous, supposedly amusing (but decidedly unfunny) back story, and released a new album as The Coward Brothers. I see that Terry Staunton in Record Collector awarded the album four stars and said it "shouldn't be dismissed as little more than two mates larking about." I'm sorry to say that that is exactly what it seems like to me, and in my opinion they bring out the worst in each other. A tendency to be too clever for their own good perhaps? Maybe other RPMers will have a view on this."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZB5q60iXk0
"Best wishes as always."
"Although I have noticed that when we are out and about there is tinsel and coloured lights, I still don’t feel very christmassy yet. But at any time of the year a bit of fiddly folkish music often seems appropriate. JB and I have happily been following the 3rd TV series of ‘State of Happiness’ which is set in the background of the oil business in Norway in the 1980s. After living through the family’s struggles through the 60’s and 70’s, when we were recently walking out on the marshes up at Titchwell, instead of enthusing over the black backed stilt that had appeared, we found ourselves analysing the allegorical aspects of the fictitious characters behaviour and the national, societal and economic symbolism of the vast sparkly shoulder pads that Toril (the wayward barmaid) wears! (Time to deep dive into the first two series again perhaps). Possibly as a result when I opened the curtains this morning to find that the day beyond was so very overcast it seemed quite natural to breakfast listening to this album of Nils Økland playing Hardanger fiddle and Sigbjørn Apeland tootling about on Harmonium."
"In 2023 the album that this comes from, ‘Glimmer’ was quite popular in Norwegian folk circles. Listening to it you may appreciate why the translation of it's title is 'Hurry up. Hurry up'."
Skynd deg, skynd deg by Nils Økland & Sigbjørn Apeland -
"I haven’t really listened to a huge amount of Swedish folk music recently. But this caught my ear earlier in the year. Something about it reminds me of my favourite Beatles era. Lena Jonsson’s album ‘Elements’ is full of equally lovely tracks and perhaps I will return to it in the future."
Stora Steg by the Lena Jonsson Trio -
"Something that starts as reflectively but gets brighter to finish…"
Am Buachaille Ban & The Lads of Mull by Charlie and Joe Peach -
"Hello, Goodbye folks! This week is the anniversary of my first contribution to the RPM Collective musical vaults and will be my last. Among my failings, I have an aversion to repetition: it is one of my many weaknesses.
I must say several thank-yous. First to my friends Piers and Jayne who kindly arranged for me to be admitted into this fine coterie of music lovers.
Then a general thank-you to everyone who has helped to build up the huge archive of RPM material which I have so thoroughly enjoyed exploring. It's invidious to single out RPMers but I have been particularly impressed by Piers' encyclopedic knowledge ("gorgeous two tone green Gretsch Country Gent" anyone?); Jayne gets my prize for being the most eclectic contributor (in a strong field of contenders), endlessly unearthing new-to-me recordings; and I'm greatly indebted to David for introducing Bill Morrissey's music to me (RPM Week 22) - I can't stop listening to his back catalogue now.
And then to everyone else, even Philip whose musical taste has been close to mine, even though he supports Ipswich Town (see you next season at Carrow Road!): the great experience each week of listening to music I know and love; music I don't know but get to love; and music I don't like, yet it obliges me to figure out why others do.
Most of all, of course, I have to thank Tim. His dedication to creating and sustaining the RPM library is amazing. It is no little effort to collate all our offerings and publish them each week, yet he has never failed to do so even when off-duty attending folk festivals. I'm sure we all appreciate his selfless commitment to sharing our musical choices.
Tim - sincere thanks and best wishes for the continued expansion of the RPM Record Club."
("You're very welcome and thanks for all your musical choices. If you feel inclined to send in tunes on a more ad hoc basis, as some RPM folks do, then please feel free.
Contentiously, I thought Brian Jones played a Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary, which was indeed in the two-tone green referred to by Piers which was known as 'smoke green'...wasn't the Country Gent the double cut-away like wot George Harrison noodled around upon in that other band at the time...?...cats...pigeons...Discuss.😎" Tim.)
Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan - "One song, two of the greatest guitar solos of all time."
There There by Radiohead - "Thom and the boys in top form. Saw this played live in Newcastle - unforgettable energy."
Farewell Transmission by Songs: Ohia - "Jason Molina - another in the too-long line of talented musicians who never made three-score-years-and-ten, by a long chalk. He was just 39 when he died, basically of alcoholism. This is the opening number on the final Songs: Ohia album 'The Magnolia Electric Co.' (which, confusingly, is the name of the band he formed next). The song title speaks for itself."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=malJUMz2A9Y
"Thanks everyone."
"This week...more 80s neo-prog back catalogue, an Irish fiddle legend and some folk pop/punksters in reflective mood..."
We Are Sane by Twelfth Night - "I have explained a little about Twelfth Night (and my views of prog rock) back when the Isolation Room Listening Booth was in operation, IRLB week 15 to be precise...so I won't be repetitive here. (If you're interested, go check it out.) Their first 5 albums got played last weekend whilst painting our hallway; so, it was pretty prog for a bit there. Here's the live version of We Are Sane...complete with political-piss-take spoken intro...nothing has changed in 40 years; still lots of blah, blah, rhubarb."
Ard An Bhothair (The High Part Of The Road) / Port an Bhrather (The Monk's Jig) performed by Tommy Peoples with Paul Brady - "The brain is an amazing "tape recorder", isn't it? The first tune here was played by Bill, a fiddler at my weekly trad tunes session in York, now on a Monday night...and at a different pub after the pub which had been it's venue for 30 years, was recently sold and is being...refurbished; a word which now strikes dread into my heart. I recognised enough of the tune to busk my way through 65% of the melody, but couldn't place where I knew it from...and true to form, Bill didn't know the title either. Later in the week he messaged me to say he'd researched the tune and it was called High Part of the Road. From that info I then realised my brain had remembered the tune from the Tommy Peoples album he recorded with Paul Brady, and which I haven't listened to for a number of years now. The brain is indeed an amazing "tape recorder". I have reacquainted myself with the album a number of times this week."
Colours by Skinny Lister - "The brilliant Skinny Lister played at the Crescent in York last Wednesday. Totally rammed and a hugely exuberant audience who just wanted to sing and jump around all night...one of the best gigs I've been to this year. As singer/guitarist Dan is from Bridlington, the Chimney Bank mentioned in the song lyrics is quite possibly the insanely steep road that leads into Rosedale, about 7 miles away from our house, and which hosts an annual (?) cycle race. It's not a race to see who gets to the bottom first...oh no. That would be far too easy. It's a race from the bottom to the top over a distance of 0.8 miles and an elevation of 183 metres. The average gradient is 14% and at is maximum achieves 30%! Totally insane."
'Til Next Time...