Welcome to week 7 of the Isolation Room Listening Booth, songs as chosen by RPM club members week ending Friday 8th May. This time in order of how far ( I think) you live from RPM HQ, furthest first, it’s over to……
Sal –“After hearing the sad news that Dave Greenfield had passed away, there has been quite a lot of Stranglers music played this week. My first choice is a tribute to him……”
Walk On By by The Stranglers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqfqVDHNW6c
Dirge by Death In Vegas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR_pxawRvng
Heart Of Nowhere by Noah and the Whale, featuring Anna Calvi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Am7NbCmeU
John – “My choices this week are a tribute to Stranglers keyboard wizard Dave Greenfield who sadly passed away on Sunday - a victim of Covid-19. I've been a Stranglers fan for 44 years attending 28 of their gigs along the way. We have tickets for their upcoming 'Farewell Tour' but of course, this may never happen........”
Hanging Around by The Stranglers – “Probably my all-time favourite Stranglers track (from my all-time favourite album Rattus Norvegicus - see RPM Archive March 2013).”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4piHt4jvG4
Nice 'N' Sleazy by the Stranglers – “This clip is from Top Of The Pops 1978! “
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqllpnyWrY
Genetix (Live) by The Stranglers – “Dave on lead vocals on this live version of the final track from The Raven album.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws5VSzY-hZc
“R.I.P. Dave Greenfield”
Tony –“Here are my choices for this week. Looks like we'll still be selecting our favourite stuff next week as well. Best wishes to you all and stay safe.”
Why Don't You Do Right by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee – “55 years ago, almost to the day, I was in San Diego and was given a free ticket to see the reunion after 22 years of Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee at Melodyland, Anaheim Calif. I don't think there's any recording of the event but here in 1943 the two of them are together with Peggy the band vocalist.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zRwze8_SGk
Should I Ever Love Again by Wynona Carr – “Art Rupe, owner of Specialty Records, could never match the stature of his best male artists like Little Richard, Larry Williams and Lloyd Price with a female singer but the closest he ever came was with a singer called Wynona Carr. She was a good looker, very ambitious and talented as a singer and songwriter but never got lucky with a number of recordings that ought to have taken her all the way. Here's one of her best.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjzfhj1hd20
Hi Heel Sneakers by Tommy Tucker – “I loved this track the first time I ever heard it and still do. Here's an extended version of Tommy blasting it out.”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiDI4VIMQJ4
Alan –“Lots of different listening this last week, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Jefferson Airplane, various 'mod' era bands, Brinsley Schwarz and others hit the decks but, one sunny afternoon I plonked on a Little Richard mid-sixties Veejay compilation which included, amongst other tracks, re-recordings of some of his earlier hits. I hadn't played it for a while and I found myself really enjoying the album once again. So, for your delectation, here's three tracks from 'The Georgia Peach', issued in 1980 by the Charly label............"
Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin On performed by Little Richard– “An eye popping version of this Jerry Lee Lewis rock and roll classic which features some fine guitar work by the latest recruit to Richards band on left handed guitar... Jimi Hendrix! Jimi would go on to play behind many soul acts on the 'chitlin circuit' and, a few years later would remark that "I want to do with my guitar what Richard does with his voice"........ and here he is soloing throughout the song. Of course, it wasn't long before one too many 'behind the head' solos saw Jimi fast becoming the 'star' of the show and, as a result, Richard sacked Hendrix from the band.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgO2EYBLLcQ
Going Home Tomorrow performed by Little Richard – “Here's a curio; a Hendrix/Richard co-comp, according to the credits*, and the curiousness doesn't end there. How many mid-sixties blues tunes feature an electric violin, great 'stinging' lead guitar from Jimi plus a vocalist with the range of Richard? Not too many, I guess. Violin is curtesy of Don 'Sugarcane' Harris who had started out as one half of vocal duo Don and Dewey who, despite not having any hits themselves, did compose charters for the Olympics, the Premiers, the Righteous Brothers and Dale and Grace amongst others. He went on, of course, to serve under John Mayall and, most notably Frank Zappa, particularly on the classic 'Hot Rats' album.
*Actually, the song is a Fats Domino track, first released in February 1952 which does also feature some 'interesting' guitar in the break!!! Check it out.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwVrQ__-aiQ
I Don't Know What You Got (But You Got Me) - “Proof, if it was needed, of Richards ability as a soul singer par excellence. Otis Redding had started out as a singer obviously influenced by Richard's rock and roll output and here the tables are turned magnificently on a performance which Otis would definitely have been proud of. The song is composed by Atlantic/Stax composer and hit maker Don Covay (who also supplies back up vocals) and it's a real shame that this track didn't get much exposure over here in the UK when it gained a release on Fontana, bearing in mind the love of this type of soul by the mods. In the US, the single broached number 12 in the Billboard R&B charts in November 1965 but, strangely, only 92 in the 'pop' listings. Perhaps it's lack of success can be explained by the folding of the Veejay label after an application for bankruptcy in late '65 led to closure in August 1966.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PIp4E9E6YI
Dave – “Hello RPMers…….hope all's well!!! Here’s my 3 for this week…..”
Two Lovers (Waitin’ To Die) by Green on Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvjQV7ktVlk
Fred Partington’s Daughter by Del Amitri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xytYAhopMc
Motörhead by Motörhead – “From the live No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith LP. My mum bought me this album from Check Point, the newspaper shop in Fakenham!!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPXCTDmoP8c
Morra –
Devils Answer by Atomic Rooster
Width of a Circle by David Bowie
Born to be Wild performed by Slade
Piers –“……...here they are!!!! All of which were on my favourite Seeburg jukebox in the Harold Dog in 1965”
Can’t Sit Down by Phil Upchurch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKZ1q75vBEo
Green Onions by Booker T. and the M.G.s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q
Walking To New Orleans by Fats Domino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1z45jVlM34
Jayne – “Old favourites this week - good wishes to one and all from both of us….”
Bittersweet Bundle of Misery by Graham Coxon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9psls8NAW4
24 Hour Garage People by Half Man Half Biscuit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk_dC3ktuMw
A Different Bob by Colorblind James Experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RFj47Vnj9c
Philip – “For my selections this week I'm going back to my schooldays. All 3 songs were recorded in 1972 and were hits in the UK in the first half of 1973. The other thing they have in common is that they are all by artists from Detroit but none of them were recorded in Detroit.”
Superstition by Stevie Wonder (New York- Electric Ladyland I think) – “The sentiment here is particularly apposite at a time when conspiracy theories are rife, some of them even put about by a U.S. administration that is simultaneously incompetent and malicious.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftdZ363R9kQ
Feel The Need in Me by The Detroit Emeralds (Memphis- Royal Studio) – “Signed to Detroit's Westbound label, the Emeralds were sent to Memphis to work with Willie Mitchell, presumably to achieve a sound somewhere between slick Northern city soul and the deep soul sounds of the South. Whatever the intention, this is the record for which the Emeralds are remembered. (BTW my sister used to dance around the room singing this into her hairbrush).”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Axt_80nsfU
Could It Be I'm Falling In Love by The Detroit Spinners (Philadelphia) – “At Motown in the sixties, the Spinners were among a number of talented groups that generally were not given the chance to record the best material (The Isley brothers and Gladys Knight and The Pips were others who went on to do better elsewhere). When the Spinners signed to Atlantic, they were sent to Philadelphia to work with Thom Bell and had several big hits in the seventies. I think this record is the apotheosis (I looked it up to make sure it meant what I thought it did) of The Sound Of Philadelphia.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU4UTDrSwQc
Nina – “………my neighbours (are) building a "shed" the size of an extension right by my hedge. Constant banging, hammering & Crap FM at an obnoxious volume 12 hours/day for weeks. Asked them to keep it down, be a bit considerate………lots of punk is the only solution. Here's my 3 for this week…….Still not allowed to go kitesurfing, pogo-ing it is then…..”
Into the Valley by The Skids – “Stuart Adamson was a genius, gone too soon, never tire of listening to this.”
Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones – “One of my all-time faves….”
We're Mad by Toy Dolls - “Live alone, work from home, happy to be safe & well but lockdown's going on a bit now…..”
“Take care everyone, see you when we're allowed.”
Jean – “I decided to get the singles out this week. As you all know, I try not to duplicate artists for RPM meetings. I’m trying to do the same for the I.B. picks. I’ve chosen early Brit Bands and the lesser known ‘B’ sides. I thought last week’s music was quite mellow (except for Tim’s of course). Happy listening and keep well everyone. My picks are………”
The Time Has Come by The Alan Price Set, 1968 (A side ‘Don’t stop the carnival’)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKsDxzIix0c
When Will the Rain Come by The Troggs, 1967 (A side ‘Love is all around’)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnpPNIgtiBg
For Miss Caulker by The Animals, 1965 (A side ‘Bring it on home to me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IZYuv2rn3g
Tim – “Three tracks I kept humming to myself during the week…………no coincidental theme this time……….although it is good to now know from Jean that the length of last week’s Gong track equates exactly to the right amount of time needed to - “get all the kitchen equipment out, all the ingredients weighed, prepare a sponge mix and get it baking just as the track finished.” - Music and handy baking tips, to boot!”
Kenneth the Hedge by Richard Durrant – “Yes, it really is a song about a hedge. This track shows the other side of concert guitarist Richard Durrant, a kind of English-folk-prog-whimsical side, that is. Highly original writing and picked up on by Tom Robinson on Radio 6 Music when Durrant's Stringhenge album was released last year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhMuI9Un6cg
Teelin Harbour by John Doyle – “My favourite acoustic guitarist has slipped out a new album of original songs and tunes this week……..this one is a typical Doyle composition which shows how, as a song writer, he fully understands the “tradition” and composes new “folk” material in a sympathetic and enthusiastic way within those “traditional” boundaries. Great stuff!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYVGfKpkZ8
Bonus for another time: Our John playing a live concert from his living room streamed on 28th March 2020. Go to 2mins 17 secs to miss out the running-on intro........brings back memories of John playing in Elsing Village Hall in those days when we could all meet up in the same room together...........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJRBodCNZY&list=RDsvJRBodCNZY&start_radio=1
White Unicorn by Wolfmother – “I’ve been digging out some older LPs as well this week and the first (and best) Wolfmother album stayed on the turntable for the good part of a couple of days. This is my fave track………which also shows how to write a great song by just moving a D major chord shape up and down the guitar neck. I chose to use this live footage just for the guitar porn, really; Gibson SG with a Bigsby trem and a Rickenbacker 4001 bass in that lovely Maple Glo colour of theirs. Rockin’!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bXdg6U0i5c