KEEP THE CUSTOMER SATISFIED (1)

Going by the number of favourable comments left a few weeks back when I had a short series on compilation CDs, I thought I'd make a quick return to the subject matter - especially as I remain strapped for time this next few days.

This bundle of joy came out in 1990, and it's 20 tracks recorded by Manchester bands for John Peel sessions. Like all such compilations, it has something of appeal for everyone, as well as tracks that will be an instant turn-off.

The Fall - Eat Yourself Fitter
The Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
The Frantic Elevators - Hunchback Of Notre Dame
The Chameleons - Second Skin
The Passage - Dark Times
Blue Orchids - The House That Faded Out
Tools You Can Trust - Working And Shopping
Twang - Big Dry Out
A Witness - I Love You Mr Disposable Razors
Big Flame - All The Irish Must Go To Heaven
The Smiths - Handsome Devil
Happy Mondays - Mad Cyril
Inspiral Carpets - Directing Traffic
The Railway Children - Consider
Dub Sex - Swerve
A Certain Ratio - Do The Du
A Guy Called Gerald - Rockin' Ricki
Ruthless Rap Assassins - Three The Hard Way
Kiss AMC - Rawside
New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Big (Instrumental)

I guess you'll be wanting to hear things....(well you certainly ain't here for the quality of prose on offer).

mp3 : The Frantic Elevators - Hunchback of Notre Dame
mp3 : Kiss AMC - Rawside

I hope you're happy now. Especially fans of Mick Hucknall now that he's made his debut on TVV.

THE SUNDAY POST : 29 APRIL 2007

I've been struggling a bit of late - my mind has been on far too many other things to concentrate properly on the blog. I've even been neglecting all the other blogs that I try and visit on a regular basis, but I've just spent three hours or so reading through them. Except for Toad.

Toad is like the equivalent of a posh Sunday broadsheet that's full of magazines and supplements that take an eternity to get through cos there's always something of merit/interest which requires a load of concentration/attention that needs to be put to one side and read when there's nothing else to distract you. So that will be done later tonight...

All of the others had great things to say and loads of fantastic mp3s to listen to. And I've stolen from a number of them to help me on my way today. You all know who you are, and thanks for being such great friends of late. The type of friends who you don't see/talk to/meet for years on end, but then when, by arrangement you do, you realise you just have such a natural rapport that it all seems really easy. I like it when that happens.

So, reading other folks blogs this morning made me want to post these songs, all of which I have loved at different times of my life:-

mp3 : Orange Juice - Get While The Getting's Good *
mp3 : Giorgio Moroder - The Chase (12" mix)
mp3 : Black Box Recorder - The Facts Of Life

Another hard week at work beckons. Bear with me for the time being and normals service will soon be resumed.

* SORRY TO SAY, THAT WHEN I WENT INTO THE CUPBOARD TO DIG OUT THE LP ON WHICH THIS TRACK APPEARS, IT WASN'T THERE......

IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOANED TO SOMEONE YEARS AGO AND NOT RETURNED.

SO HERE'S AN ALTERNATIVE OJs TRACK INSTEAD. AW BUGGER IT, HERE'S TWO OJs TRACKS COS THEY'RE JUST SOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD.

mp3 : Orange Juice - Intuition Told Me So**

** a song that was criminally placed on a b-side instead of being a single.

mp3 : Orange Juice - Salmon Fishing In New York

GEOGRAPHY LESSONS (2)

At least yesterday I'd been to the city and could talk from personal experience. Today's just an excuse to post a half-decent and long-lost single:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Montreal

It's a bit of a coincidence that the second stop on the travelogue after Munich was the next venue on the Olympic circuit.

All I can do is quote from the opening blurb on Trip Advisor:-

The "joie de vivre" is palpable and contagious in this vibrant, culturally diverse and cosmopolitan city of two million inhabitants. Whether sipping a capuccino at an outdoor café, gambling at the huge Casino de Montreal complex or exploring historic Old Montreal, you can't escape without experiencing the excitement and energy that pervade the entire city.

Montreal draws tourists all year round; even a series of cold winter days (and it does get cold) can be avoided in the vast Underground City with its restaurants, shops, walkways and subway, or enjoyed through the broad array of winter sports. The truly international flavour here is evident in the numerous fine restaurants, with cuisine from around the world, and in the self-contained ethnic communities, such as Little Italy, a lively area of espresso bars and delectable cuisine.

For sizzling nightlife, check out the Rue Crescent's clubs, bars and restaurants. The historical division between the French and English influence has significantly diminshed, but distinctive sections still remain.

If anyone has been there they could perhaps say whether the words in green are a fair assesment.

It's not only TWP who have recorded a one-word song celebrating this particular city:-

mp3 : Saint Jude's Infirmary - Montreal

Anyone wondering who exactly Saint Jude's Infirmary are should pay a visit here.

It's nearly the weekend, so hopefully I'll find some time to do something a bit more meaningful....you can all but hope cos this is a really poor excuse for a blog right now.

GEOGRAPHY LESSONS (1)

Things still a bit hectic, and inspiration is not forthcoming for posts. So I've decided to embark on a short series of one-word songs named after cities or countries.
As you'll see from the photo above, I'm starting off in Germany.

mp3 : Editors - Munich

The photo is of the Olympic Stadium, venue of the 1972 games and home of Bayern Munich FC from around that time until 2005 when they moved to a new ground purpose-built for the 2006 World Cup.

On 31 October 1995, I made my first, and so far only visit to Munich. Jacques the Kipper was with me. We were part of 800 or so Raith Rovers fans who travelled in hope to see our team play the famous Bayern Munich in the 3rd round (last 32) of the UEFA Cup. Our team was full of players who were hardly known in their own households. Theirs was full of international stars and millionaires. It was the 200th European cup tie in their history. It was our 6th.

We led 1-0 at half-time. I have never been so excited at a football match in my life. The fairytale didn't last as we eventually lost 2-1. Bayern went on to win the cup and all sorts of titles in Germany. Raith Rovers were relegated from the top flight of Scottish football 18 months later and we've never been back.

But my memories of Munich are happy ones.

Incidentally, Raith Rovers were in the UEFA Cup that season a lot longer than some really big teams. Manchester United had been knocked out in an earlier round, while Leeds and Liverpool were eliminated on the same evening (but a few hours earlier than us due to the timing of our kick-off!!) Read here for the full results of that season's competition.

As for the band that made the song, well I'll profess to liking Editors. Admittedly, there's nothing truly original about them, but they're very good at what they do. I was lucky enough (again with JtK in tow) to catch them at the tiny King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in early 2005 just before they hit the big time, and they were an excellent live act. The second album is due out soon - here's hoping it's not as disappointing as the sophomore releases by the likes of Kasabian and The Killers with whom they were bracketed a couple of years ago.

I did a bit of googling to see if there were any significant musical happenings that coincided with the trip to Munich. And discovered that this timeless masterpiece, and favourite of buskers the world over, was released as a single the day before the match:-

mp3 : Oasis - Wonderwall

Munich is on the LP The Back Room, while Wonderwall is on What's The Story, Morning Glory. Available to buy at this on-line record store.

More geography lessons tomorrow.

NO WORDS, JUST MP3s

mp3 : The Breeders - Divine Hammer
mp3 : Interpol - PDA
mp3 : Magazine - Philadelphia
mp3 : The Vines - Outtathaway!

Find them on these LPs: Last Splash; Turn On The Bright Lights; The Correct Use Of Soap; Highly Evolved by messing around in here.

Oh, and from a compilation LP entitled Sharks Patrol These Waters : The Best Of Volume, here's a sweary song:-

mp3 : Mindless Drug Hoover - Fuck Off

More tomorrow. And hopefully I'll have time to type some words

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

I’ve actually been buying loads of new stuff in recent times, a whole bunch of 7” singles and albums on CD, and sadly haven’t really had the time to listen to them far less cast a critical ear and then crochet a few cliches and invite ridicule in the comments sections of TVV. I will endeavour to catch up over the next few weeks, but in the meantime the backlog just grows and grows and grows.

For instance, its been more than two months since I took the advice of Colin over at And Before TheThe Final Kiss and bought, among other things, the back catalogue of releases on the Greenock-based Grace Records and the debut LP of the Glasgow-based band Butcher Boy. The vinyl lies unplayed, while I still haven’t yet updated the i-pod to incorporate what is so far, one of my favourite albums of 2007.

In fact, just about everybody’s blog listed on the right-hand side have pointed me in the direction of loads of fantastic new stuff in recent times, with acts such as Airport Girl, Clean George IV, Fionn Regan, Frank Turner, The Pierces, and The Great Unwanted coming into Villain Mansions for the first time.

Nor have I had time to praise a number of things from 2006 that I was really late on picking up and haven’t yet featured (I’m talking about you lot hanging about over there at the Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club alongside Frightened Rabbit).

And then there’s the new albums from old friends like Tracy Thorn, Frank & Walters, Grinderman, Modest Mouse and The Wedding Present that have been bought, and while not entirely neglected, not given enough praise.

But then again, I could never possibly match the review given to Nick’s new lot over at Song By Toad – read it here, but beware…..sweary words are used and violent, sexual images are invoked.
(Note to Matthew – I bet those last few words get us both an increase in casual traffic……)

But in the meantime, I’ll start the backlog with a couple of new 7” singles.

Regular readers will know my love for Malcolm Middleton knows no bounds. He has now released a second single from his masterpiece A Brighter Beat, a slight reworking of one of his great pop songs, just so that it can get played on the radio. Now while I’m not a huge listener, so can’t say for certain that it has never yet been played on prime-time national radio, it doesn’t seem to have been a successful ploy. But I’ll do my bit to bring it to a wider audience in the hope you’ll head over to your local record shop and spend a few pennies:-

mp3 : Malcolm Middleton – Bleep Bleep I Love You

And as ever, it comes with a quite fantastic b-side called Pick Me Up that is only available by buying the single. Go on. You know you want to.

The second offering is a single that came out a few weeks ago that loads of folk in blogland raved about. Upon downloading and listening, I thought it was just about average, but still worth £1 of my hard-earned cash. A few listens later I haven't changed my mind on its averageness, but the b-side, Breathing In the Dark, is quite good. However, you'll need to buy the single yourself to find out if you agree with that view cos I'm only shoving up the single:-

mp3 : Tiny Dancers - I Will Wait For You

And there’s still a whole bundle of things from the 70s and 80s lying in the cupboard screaming out to be played on the USB and brought to your attention. Like this cover version that was one of four tracks on the 7" version of What You Do To Me back in 1982:-

mp3 : Teenage Fanclub - Life’s A Gas

Incidentally, Mrs Villain still has an original 1971 vinyl copy of the original recording of Life’s A Gas, and so I’ve also dusted that down and turned it into this:-

mp3 : T Rex – Life’s A Gas

Finally, while I do like Brainstorm, the new Arctic Monkeys single, I think the b-side is as good as anything they've ever recorded. It features a lively little contribution from Dizzee Rascal:-

mp3 : Arctic Monkeys - Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend

As ever, feel free to agree/disagree or start a row with some provocation in the comments section.

PS

To everyone who has sent in mp3s of other great old stuff asking that they get posted here at TVV, well I just want to say thank you and apologise for the delay in their appearance. Again, I promise to try and do something about it in the coming weeks.

Now if someone was to offer me loads of money to do this blog thing full-time and not have to work for a living, then these problems wouldn’t arise.

As ever, please go out and buy all of the above songs, especially the newer offerings.

Thank you for your patience.

HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

I now know just how hard it can be to give concise a summary of a live gig. Especially when you're not sure if you really enjoyed it or not.

A couple of nights back, Mrs Villain and myself went to see James at the Carling Academy in Glasgow.

This would be about the fifth or sixth time I've seen the band, and it is always difficult not to draw comparisons with what has happened before.

On the plus side, they were all in terrific form - especially Jim and Saul, and we got the best part of a two-hour show which had a number of hits, a number of new songs and a couple of lesser-known album tracks. But there was one truly appalling crime and one slightly lesser offence committed towards the end of the gig.....

On the down side, many in the audience were a fucking disgrace, with never-ending pints of beer/water/whatever being thrown in the direction of the stage but inevitably ending up all over unfortunate punters who were trying to enjoy themselves.

Now I don't want to indulge in a bit of stereotyping here, but the audiences that James attracted at the height of their fame in 1990/91 left a lot to be desired, and it seemed to me that many of them were back out the other night nostalgically indulging in their long-gone days of drunken hooliganism (or maybe they're still thugs that are just older and bulkier). There were plenty of piss-heads there who were only interested or who only knew the sing-a-long hits. And so, when the band played a stretch of songs that weren't singles many of them would head to the bar and get even more pissed-up.

You can also factor in that near the back of the hall, but raised above the main part of the standing area at the Glasgow Carling is a large bar. I reckon many of those idiots didn't stray too far from there, and it was they who who were specialising in chucking the contents of the glasses down on the rest of us. I think you get my drift....it was an uncomfortable evening that should have been better controlled by the stewards at the venue.

But back to James.

I think the opening salvo of Come Home was excellent, but it was hard to tell as, seems to be the case with just about every other act that performs at this venue, the sound was a bit muddied to begin with. The acoustics really are bloody awful, and I think it's the fact that it has such a high ceiling, combined with being a long way to the back end of the hall, that causes the difficulties. It took a couple of songs for the sound guys to get the balance right, and then we could hear that Tim's voice was as angelic as ever.

The set started off with the hits, went off into the obscure/new stuff, then climaxed with the hits and the inevitable airing of Sit Down.

The encore then gave the one true bit of magic in the whole night....and by magic I mean that it was one of the best concert experiences I've experienced in my entire life.

The biggest selling album the band ever made was Goldmother in 1990. The title track itself is OK, but there was an incredible remix made which was put of the b-side of a re-released Come Home. It was this funky, pulsating version that was played as the first song in the encore - it must have lasted somewhere in the region of 7 or 8 minutes - Tim whooping and dancing away, Saul jigging alongside him, and Jim and Larry out front playing as if their lives depended on it. It was truly awesome.

But the sad thing about it......loads of folk standing around beside us looking at one another and wondering whether it was a new song or not. Now I know it was quite a bit different from the album version, but surely to god, the piss-heads knew more than just the stuff on the Greatest Hits package...but obviously not.

At that point, I would have gone home happy and said that overall it was a very fine gig, with the best kept to the end. But then it was, for me anyway, badly spoiled.

Because they went on to murder Sometimes.

A few years ago, the band were at a bit of a low-ebb when the baggy t-shirt brigade moved on and left them. Record sales were down, and the arena tours were a thing of the past. James hit the road with an acoustic set that came to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall which was one of the most stunning sets I've ever been privileged to witness. The highlight was the aforementioned Sometimes with the whole band playing acoustic guitars and harmonising with Tim's voice. The definitive version of a beautiful pop song.

Last night, the guitars were cranked up to 12 and they just destroyed it. You couldn't hear Tim's above Larry's playing and I'm almost certain sure that Jim lost time with his bass playing and Dave lost the beat somewhere along the way. It was simply awful.

Now I could have accepted it if the decision had been taken not to do any slow acoustic stuff given it was almost like an indoor stadium-style gig with loads of audience sing-along things - as evidenced with the fact that the best received songs other than Sit Down were Tomorrow and Ring The Bells.

But then they played a fantastic version of She's A Star - slowed down to a crawl, with the emphasis on the voice and acoustic guitars. It was fantastic - although one moron near to us was far from impressed as it was nothing like the record.

And just as I thought the band had managed to snatch a victory with a brilliant last song.....Tim decides for the only time in the night to act out his rock-god Bono act.......down off the stage to shake a few hands and pass the mike into the audience to get them to sing Say Something. Another awful few minutes.

And then it was time to go home. Shoes covered in muck from the fluids that were almost ankle-deep at the bit we were standing and a t-shirt smelling of spilt lager. Still, as Mrs V said, there was a plus side - beer shampoos are seemingly good for the hair.

Overall, I was pleased to have been at the gig. There's a far more positive review by Ed over at 17 Seconds, and in many ways he's right. It wasn't a bunch of guys out to make a shameless quick buck with a half-hearted sort of show, and if they hadn't included Sometimes in the set, I would have been quite happy, able to forgive the one bout of posturing on the grounds that it pleased 95% of the audience. But it's just the elitist old music-snob in me, and I make no apologies for it.

It's unlikely that I'll go see the band again - certainly not ever in an environment such as the Carling - but I'll maintain that Goldmother was worth the admission price alone. And here, for your enjoyment are two very obvious mp3s:-

mp3 : James - Goldmother (remix)
mp3 : James - Sometimes

STEP BACK IN TIME

From L-R : Andy Rourke, Morrissey, JC and Johnny Marr.
If only...........


It's actually the cover of a quite brilliant birthday present given to me back in 1993 by Jacques the Kipper.

At the time in our lives, we were in the habit of exchanging C90s around every two months, made up of stuff that we thought the other would like, or old things that we were listening to again after a period of time.

Mostly, it would involve handing over a tape with nothing written on it, and an A4 sheet of paper that contained cryptic clues (e.g. - Vodka was the single word for Smells Like Teen Spirit which JtK shoved on a tape a good two months before it went massive).

But for the momentous occasion of my 30th birthday, and to mark the day when I felt I was officially old, my mucker got me honorary membership of my favourite band and typed out the full track listing without testing my knowledge:-

Reggae Kray Do You Know My Name side

1. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
2. Godstar - Psychic TV
3. Pleasantly Surprised - The Soup Dragons
4. Half Of Everything - Lloyd Cole
5. Dollar Bill - Screaming Trees
6. Wish You Were Here - Darlingheart
7. Message In The Box - World Party
8. Joanathan, Jonathan - The Rockingbirds
9. Fire Away - James
10. Doomed - Julian Cope
11. Summer Fun In A Beat-Up Datsun - Cornershop
12. Grey Cortina - Tom Robinson Band

That Toke Isn't Funny Anymore side

1. Subterranean Homesick Blues - Little Big Band
2. The Mating Game - The Monochrome Set
3. Southern Mark Smith - The Jazz Butcher
4. Circle Line - Rodney Allen
5. You've Got Me Thinking - The Beloved
6. For What It's Worth - Oui 3
7. People Everyday - Arrested Development
8. Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) - Digible Planets
9. Call It What You Want - Credit To The Nation
10. Who Do You Think You Are? - Saint Etienne
11. Birthday (Tommy D mix) - Sugarcubes

The thing that I've just realised is that at the time, I was making a serious attempt to pass my driving test (unsuccessfully), and JtK has thrown in a couple of motor-related bits of fun at the end of the first side.

I probably listened to this tape right through on a daily basis for the best part of a month - it was in the days when I was commuting daily from Glasgow to Edinburgh with only a Sony Walkman to keep my sanity, and there were only so many tapes you could keep in your suit pockets.

As with the mp3s that I download nowadays, I took the view that if I really liked a song on a JtK tape, then I'd go out and buy it, and I reckon I've probably got 14 out of these 23 tracks on CD or vinyl. But of the 5,000 or so songs that I've now got on the i-pod, I reckon there's only three of these, and none of them are on any favourite, specially made playlists.

I suppose the point I'm trying to clumsily make is that 13 years ago, I listened to these songs a helluva lot, but nowadays they hardly feature - although I still like just about everything on the tape. As such, I'm equally certain that much of the new stuff I've been buying in recent weeks will hardly be listened to in 2020 (assuming I last that long).

But I do hope that somehow, by the time I'm approaching my 57th birthday in 2020, I'll still be a regular in music stores such as Avalanche and Fopp, buying what's fresh, lively and new, having heard it first on whatever it is that has replaced music blogs.....

And now, for your amusement, here's some of the stuff I was listening to in June 1993:-

mp3 : Psychic TV - Godstar
mp3 : The Rockingbirds - Jonathan, Jonathan
mp3 : The Jazz Butcher - Southern Mark Smith
mp3 : Arrested Development - People Everyday

It hasn't always been jingly-jangly pop my whole life you know......

FROM UNDER THE COVERS??

It's a regular occurrence at TVV for the posting of what I reckon are more than half-decent or unusual cover versions.

But there's a bit of a dilemma today, in that I'm not sure whether the song in question should really be classified as a cover.

The story is thus.

Back in 2003, Cinerama released a single called Don't Touch That Dial. Like all other releases by the band, it didn't sell in any great numbers.

A few months later, the main driving force behind the band, David Gedge, decided it was time to put that project on hold and resuscitate The Wedding Present.

Fast forward to 2005 and the release of the TWP comeback album, Take Fountain, and track 7 turns out to be a song called Don't Touch That Dial.

So.....and I'd like to canvass opinions on this.......is the 2005 version of the song a cover version?

Or is it more accurate to say that David Gedge, as the singer/songwriter, can take any of his songs to whatever band he chooses and count it as an original recording?

I'm leaning towards it being a cover.......

In any event, both versions are rather splendid, and here's the evidence:-

mp3 : Cinerama - Don't Touch That Dial
mp3 : The Wedding Present - Don't Touch That Dial (Pacific Northwest Version)

Oh, and while I'm talking about all things Gedge-like, a round of applause please to the UK authorities for the rapid acceptance of Elizabeth's visa application, for it seems she will be moving across here to Simon and the Isle of Man within a matter of weeks. Read all about it here. It's always nice to read genuinely good news.

IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE??

Nope.

It's three different songs with the same song name.

mp3 : Cinerama - Superman
mp3 : Eminem - Superman
mp3 : REM - Superman

Taken respectively from Disco Volante, Life's Rich Pageant (bonus tracks) and The Eminem Show.

All available for purchase here.

I used to think the golfer Seve Ballesteros was a real-life Superman. But old age and a bad back have proved to be his personal kryptonite.

What is this song?

-
As more people read Comrade JC's blog (and you all seem to know yer music stuff inside out) I thought I'd ask here: does anyone know who this is? All I have to go on, as the tape reads, is 'African Stuff' (and I'm not even sure that's right). The problem is this - I can't get this song out of my fucking head and I'd like to know a lot more about it (like, who recorded it!?!) and some of the other songs on Side B (and they are all equally fantastic, I assure you, although this one stands out because I like the 'loops').

The Backstory: I fished this tape out of a big box full of other tapes and this box has not seen the light of day in well over a decade or so and no I cannot (fucking!!) remember who I got it from (though that is my semi-legible handwriting on the label, which is curious).

I am clueless. I do have the memory of a Ketamine Entity. Please help me. Actually, that's another thing - can anyone please send me an MP3 of the aforementioned Higher Intelligence Agency song?). Thank you one and all - especially our host for letting me (very occasionally) post at his place :)
-
Mystery Artist - 'Mystery Song' MP3 (5.05)
-

UNPLUGGED

The alternative version of an REM song the other day seems to have gone down well with many visitors judging by the number of times it was downloaded (and the positive comment left by the fabulous Toad).

Being a populist sort of a bloke, I thought I'd post a few more alternative versions of well-known songs:-

mp3 : Ash - Burn Baby Burn
mp3 : Basement Jaxx - Romeo
mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat

Even if you're not a fan of dance music, have a listen to the stripped-back version of the Basement Jaxx number as I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by how it has been turned into a bitter-sweet symphony.

The songs by Ash and Basement Jaxx can be found on bonus discs of Free All Angels and The Singles repectively, while Nick's alternative take on one of his early 'death songs' is part of the box-set, B-Sides and Rarities. Try here to buy them. Oh, and visit The Video Villain for something truly rare and special featuring Edwyn Collins & Paul Quinn.

FROM UNDER THE COVERS (15)

One of my earliest childhood memories is being taken to see Disney's The Jungle Book, and it remains one of my favourite films of all time.

Imagine my surprise when I found this on the b-side of a CD single a few years back:-

mp3 : Belly - Trust In Me

Yup....the very same song that Kaa the Python sang as he hypnotised Mowgli prior to eating him. And if anything, it's an even more creepy version than the original given you don't have a lisping cartoon snake to grab your attention. And that Tanya Donnelly always seems such a sweet thing too - I can see this version being used as part of a soundtrack as the prelude to a gruesome scene in a horror movie.

It can be found on the CD single of Feed The Tree, and if you fancy buying it, you're best to try e-bay.

GOOD MORNING MA'AM, I'VE COME TO READ YOUR GAS METER

It's Monday and there's a load of people who are returning to work today after a two-week break who are bound to be feeling lousy.

This is intended to cheer you up a bit:-

mp3 : Half Man, Half Biscuit - Architecture And Morality, Ted And Alice

Available to buy on the extended version of Back In The DHSS right here.

And here's a rare little number from a slightly more famous band:-

mp3 : REM - Why Not Smile (Oxford American Version)

Taken from the b-side of the Daysleeper single.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

In a prefect world. I'd be able to claim that all the great music I have in the vinyl/CD/tape/mp3 collection was something I had discovered off my own back. But I'd be a big fat liar.

All my life, I've relied heavily on other folk bring great stuff to my attention, and I've often paid tribute to Jacques the Kipper for all the compilation tapes he put together in the early to mid 90s in which he filled many gaps in my knowledge after I'd lost touch with things for a few years as I pursued a career and a stupid first marriage.

More often than not, I would try and track down many of these singles/LPs, and illustrated above is the cover of a great single that came out in 1990 that was first brought to my notice on a C90.

mp3 : Robert Lloyd - Funeral Stomp

Robert Lloyd was the singer in the early 80s post-punk band The Nightingales - a group I should know more about, but who just passed me by. They released three well-received LPs before breaking-up in the middle of the decade. Robert Lloyd was signed by Virgin Records but after his 1990 solo LP flopped, he was dropped. The Nightingales reformed again in 2004 and released an album in 2006.

All of that is an abridged rip-off of something that appears in wikidepia. As I say, I'm more or less ignorant of the work of Robert Lloyd/The Nightingales, and would be delighted for the views of regular or occasional readers.

And returning to the theme of other folk passing on great new songs.....

I've just come back from a visit to Tacim and his 8/1 blog. Tacim writes everything in Turkish, of which I know not a single word. But the mp3s that he provides are usually a real treat. And through him I found this:-

mp3 : St. Vincent - Now Now

Again, I must plead ignorance, but research (ie my space) has thrown up the following:-

St. Vincent is the band of singer-multi-instrumentalist, Annie Clark. The 23- year old is a veteran guitarist for two musical armies, The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Steven's touring band.

Marry Me, St. Vincent's debut record, will be available on Beggars Banquet July 2007.

On Marry Me we see a smartly crafted deluge of guitar, bass, and beats pulsing forward with warmth and immediacy alongside Annie’s classy soprano. Her lyrics can be weird or tongue-in-cheek or dead serious, capturing verily what it feels like to be 23 years old in America and caught up in the delirium of love blues and wartime blues and the various swashbuckling adventures of existence.

Horns and strings cry out brassy and full-bodied over digital keyboards. Songs rock out vigorously, break down into squiggling post-noise-rock deconstructions, roll out mellow and slow-flowing as a river. Backing harmonies and kiddie choirs loom in the distance, rise, and lilt above the stately grandiosity. And she keeps good company. David Bowie’s longtime pianist Mike Garson shows up on two songs, as does Brian Teasley from Man or Astro-man but, mostly, it’s just Annie, a multi-instrumentalist for a new era.

On the basis of one song, you can count me in........

GREAT UNACKNOWLEDGED ALBUMS OF OUR TIME (Part 5)

Time for another look at a classic album that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.

The early 80s was a great time to be a follower of new music in the north-east of England. Indeed with bands such as Hurrah, The Kane Gang, Prefab Sprout and Martin Stephenson & The Daintees all on the Newcastle-based Kitchenware Records, there was a scene that wasn’t that far removed from Glasgow and Postcard Records of just a few years previous.

It was Prefab Sprout who turned out to the most commercially successful of the acts, thanks in the main to the songwriting and tunesmith talents of Paddy McAloon, but also to the marketing men who pushed hard until the elusive breakthrough hit emerged.

The band came to prominence in 1982 with a couple of singles that were hits on the indie-chart, as well as a 1984 LP Swoon (short for ‘Songs Written Out Of Necessity’) that was well received by the critics.

By now, although the records were still coming out on the Kitchenware label, Prefab Sprout had the might of CBS Records behind them, and the band was pushed into the studio with a big-name producer for an album that was intended to be released in 1985.

There were many who predicted a disaster. McAloon was a fairly shy laid-back individual who was seemingly being put under immense pressure to deliver something that justified the large contract signed with the major label. There was also the fact that despite Prefab Sprout being a band known for melodic, acoustic-based songs, the producer was the electronic pioneer and chart-act Thomas Dolby, and no-one could imagine any chemistry between the two.

Against all the odds, a masterpiece emerged.

The first hint we all got was the release of a single – When Love Breaks Down – which kept all the majesty and magnificence of a McAloon tune but had some beautiful bits added courtesy of keyboards that were clearly the work of Dolby. Despite this, the radio stations didn’t really pick up on it, and the single failed to trouble the charts.

The album came out soon after. It had the strange title of Steve McQueen.

I thought at the time it was bloody marvelous. And I still do.

Side 1 is an album of perfect-pop, with four of the six tracks being released as a single by CBS.

Side 2 is every bit as classy, with some of the most dreamy and gorgeous bits of music from the entire decade.

With the exception of the opening track, which is a tribute to a long-forgotten country & western singer and chugs along like an express train being driven by Casey Jones, it is not an album to get up and dance to. Instead, it is one to wake up with on a Saturday or Sunday morning if you’ve had a memorable time the night before and take great joy in life itself.

Track listing

1. Faron Young
2. Bonny
3. Appetite
4. When Love Breaks Down
5. Goodbye Lucille #1"
6. Hallelujah
7. Moving the River
8. Horsin' Around
9. Desire As
10. Blueberry Pies
11. When the Angels

My original copy of this album was worn out within about 18 months of purchase and subsequently replaced. It was also one of the very first CDs that I ever bought.

The singles kept being released without denting the upper echelons of the charts. CBS executives must have been tearing their hair out, more so when a re-release of When Love Breaks Down failed again. It wasn’t until the song was released a third time a few months later, complete with new packaging, an expensive promo video and Paddy McAloon and his photogenic singing partner Wendy Smith being booked on every daytime TV programme here in the UK, that the elusive hit happened.

The whole experience seemed to unnerve McAloon who seemed far happier being out of the limelight. The band produced an album in 1987 that was rejected by the label as being too uncommercial. His response to this was astonishing, for within a year the band made an album that yielded a couple of huge hit singles. And yet, if you listen closely to The King of Rock’nRoll and Cars and Girls, you’ll realise they are thinly-veiled attacks on the music industry and superstardom. But more on that in a future posting……

For now, enjoy a handful of tracks from a truly incredible and timeless album

mp3 : Prefab Sprout – Faron Young
mp3 : Prefab Sprout – Goodbye Lucille #1
mp3 : Prefab Sprout – Moving The River
mp3 : Prefab Sprout – Desire As
mp3 : Prefab Sprout – When The Angels

Mrs V would like it to be known that Faron Young is one of her favourite records of all time.

And if you think you know the track Goodbye Lucille #1, then it may have been you heard it as the single Johnny Johnny.

But here’s something from wikipedia that made me sad:-

After being diagnosed with a medical disorder which impaired his vision Paddy McAloon released the spoken word/instrumental album I Trawl The Megahertz under his own name in 2003 on the EMI Liberty label. As of 2006, McAloon had suffered another setback: his hearing had deteriorated, reportedly due to reportedly due to Ménière's disease.

Get well soon my friend.

ABOUT THE WEATHER

The other really annoying thing about working long hours this past few days (other than having no time to blog in any meaningful manner) has been that I’ve been unable to get outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm sunshine that Glasgow has been bathed in. But now it’s the weekend, and maybe, just maybe, it will stay nice over the next 48 hours.

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
mp3 : The Cure - Hot Hot Hot!!!
mp3 : Jesus & Mary Chain - April Skies
mp3 : House Of Love - Shine On

I might even get to wear shorts when I hit the golf course tomorrow.

Oops, another guilty secret is let loose on the world. I know golf isn’t cool or twee. But I’m kind of addicted to it.

Please find it in your hearts to forgive me.

NEVER STOP

With more apologies for the brevity of postings. I offer the mitigating circumstances of a 16-hour day in the office on Wednesday.

Here’s two appropriate songs:-

mp3 : Sparks – Beat The Clock
mp3 : The Rakes – Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)

The Prefab Sprout posting remains on hold.

Ciao for now

SONGS FROM CD86 (PART 3)

This is laziness.

My excuses for writing nothing and going back to a series that hasn't made an appearance since early January:-

(1) I'm working long hours just now
(2) When I came home I was hungry
(3) There was football and cricket on the telly when I came home
(4) It was the last episode of the excellent 'Life On Mars' series on telly at 9pm
(5) There's still lots of good songs on CD86 that I haven't yet aired. Such as these:-

mp3 : Fizzbombs - Sign On The Line
mp3 : The Servants - The Sun A Small Star
mp3 : The Pooh Sticks - On Tape

Oh and if anyone is remotely interested, here's a missive from Jacques The Kipper all the way from Kingston, Jamaica:-

..... the most hip hop family in the world not down in the bar tonight. The mother was best - overweight but tight fitting white top showing offred bra, accessorised with bright red adidas tracksuit and gucci sandals. Not to mention the louis vuitton bag and loads of bling. I swear it was like a comedy pastiche. Kids were cool as fuck though. I left soon after she got up to dance!

Music is omnipresent - I wouldn't have believed it possible, even in the office. And all types. Except Coldplay thankfully. On picnic today up in the mountains at a bit in the river where folk gather to muck about in the water. Massive sound system was there all afternoon mashing up dub reggae with some surprising stuff - cf JamesBlunt, which had all the locals singing along!! Radical.

Got interviewed by compere at a sports day today as well. Bizarre as he sped talked in semi-patois and I tried to decipher the question so I could answer, though I doubt the locals understood a word I said anyway. Not really been hustled yet - got my dismissive face worked out pretty well - and out of Kingston a pretty good vibe so far. No-one seems to notice, despite being the only white in the village ! This is not what I was led to believe.Have seen some obvious call girls at the hotel on the arm of hideous fatblokes. If not actual call girls then they are trophy wives.

So far that has been the saddest thing I've seen in many ways. Abject poverty and AIDS is rife in some areas but the people are cool and doing the best they can. I accept Trenchtown may be a different kettle of fish but there's not a hope of experiencing that. And I don't think I'd want to anyway. There are the torsos in chairs by the roadside, but I kinda expected that. Much is made of the homicide rate - "Look, man, there's no way that BobWoolmer is a local killing, they'd have just shot him.". (!!). But I think just as dangerous is the roads. I need to find out the statscos it makes old-style Portugal seem like a pleasant jaunt incomparison. And the strange ? Well, despite being the most laid back in theworld, breakfast (even at weekends) ends at 9am and they come to clean your room at 8.30. I got a phonecall today at 7am !! Oh and just checked the roads - Jamaica the third highest road casualty rate in the world after India and Ethiopia. I've never been so scared sitting in a car in my life - and that's during the day time.

More from JtK as and when I hear from him.

More mp3s tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe a little bit of Prefab Sprout.

AND NOW FOR SOME FANTASTIC NEWS

This arrived in my inbox today, from Scopitones, the home of The Wedding Present and Cinerama:-

THE WEDDING PRESENT TO TOUR IN OCTOBER 2007
GEORGE BEST ALBUM TO BE PLAYED IN ITS ENTIRETY
GEORGE BEST '20TH ANNIVERSARY' TOUR

The Wedding Present will be playing a series of concert dates in October 2007 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the release of their debut album, George Best.

For the British leg of the tour the band will revisit each of the towns played on the original George Best tour of 1987. Furthermore, the album will be played in its entirety as part of the set each night.

Please visit the tour page at www.scopitones.co.uk over the summer for the latest details of all the concerts that have been confirmed so far.

At the moment, the list is:

October 2007
23 Stirling FUBAR LIVE
24 Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
25 Glasgow Queen Margaret Union
26 Manchester University
27 Liverpool Academy
28 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
29 Birmingham Academy
30 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
31 London Koko

Following these British concerts the band are planning to play selected dates in the rest of Europe.

Anyone care to join Mr & Mrs Villain in Glasgow (and possibly also Stirling & Edinburgh)?

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
mp3 : The Wedding Present - My Favourite Dress
mp3 : The Wedding Present - Something and Nothing (Peel session)
mp3 : The Wedding Present - A Million Miles (Peel Session)

WITH LOVE FROM THE EASTER BUNNY

Easter, like Xmas, is a time for giving. And I thought you might be interested in these rare tracks, taken from the 12" release of Seven Seas back in 1984.

They were all recorded for a mid-80s Channel 4 programme called Play At Home, which from recollection was a 45 minute documentary on the band filmed around their favourite haunts in Liverpool. These particular tracks were recorded in Liverpool Cathedral. The cover version is priceless, and despite the wierd opening and ending, I think this is a fantastic version of Villiers Terrace. You'll learn that the Cathedral wasn't the first choice to record the songs......

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - All You Need Is Love
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Stars Are Stars
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Villiers Terrace

Thanks to Liz over at Roaring Machine for inspiring this little bit of whimsy, partly through her own Bunnymen thing from a a couple of days ago, but for quality of stuff she has posted this past 10 days or so which I only got round to looking at earlier today.

Happy Chocolate Day everyone.

SURELY NOT.......

Two thirds of the original line-up of The Jam, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, will embark on a major 20-date UK tour under the moniker of "From The Jam". The tour follows their forthcoming May 2007 UK tour which sold out in just two weeks. Foxton and Buckler will perform all the Jam classics and greatest hits, and are currently recording an album of new songs for release in 2008.

Some folk have more sense than taste.

A GOOD EGG

A holiday weekend for many people....I'm lucky enough not to be exprected back at work until Tuesday.

But for now, there's no time just now to sit and relax. Maybe tomorrow. And if so, I'll spout some rubbish.

In the meantime, here's the obvious song for today:-

mp3 : Associates - Tell Me Easter's On Friday

From the 1981 LP, Fourth Drawer Down. Buy it, along with the classic Sulk, on a double CD for only £6 right here. Don't say I'm not good to you.

A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS (2)

There’s loads been written about The Man In Black, including a waft of biographies, some better than others. There’s even been an Oscar-winning movie about part of his life. So I don’t really need to go into too much detail.

Johnny Cash lived from 1932 until 2003. His recording career had many ups and downs over the best part of half-a-century, and it’s estimated he sold in excess of 50 million albums. He was something of a pioneer - being one of the first artists to break down barriers between country music and pop music, dressing like a goth (sans white-face make-up tho') decades before the genre was invented and patenting the fast-living, carefree drink and drugs lifestyle that other such as Keith Richards have since blazed. He was as well known and as popular by the time of his death as he was at the peak of his career some 30 years previously.

He made films and had his own networked TV show. He recorded songs with hundreds of other artists and was part of a touring ‘supergroup’.

In short, he did everything you could imagine in the life and times of a successful and charismatic musician.

I grew up with the sounds of Johnny Cash in the 60s and early 70s, sometimes in my own house, but most often when I visited and stayed over with an aunt and uncle who seemed to have all his records. In saying that, there was no way in my sultry teenage era, nor during my time at university when I thought I was cool and trendy, could I admit to having a love of any sort of country music far less having an idol in Johnny Cash. But as more and more hip bands began to include acoustic songs on their albums, it began to be easier to suggest country/blues influences without getting laughed at.

And then in the 1990s, thanks in the main to Rick Rubin and Def Jam Recordings, (but also to U2 who had performed a duet with him) Johnny Cash became fashionable again. His series of American Recording LPs, which featured a mix of Cash originals and cover versions, brought him to a whole new audience, with appearances at Glastonbury on MTV much in evidence.

I recently picked up my first ever Johnny Cash vinyl record of my own via an e-bay bargain……the 1967 CBS issue of Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits Volume 1. And from that, here’s a couple of tracks……..

mp3 : Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special
mp3 : Johnny Cash - Don't Take Your Guns To Town

And from the tail-end of his career, here’s a couple of duets

mp3 : Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer – Redemption Song
mp3 : Johnny Cash & Nick Cave – I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

And a couple of songs that namecheck the great man:-

mp3 : Sons & Daughters – Johnny Cash
mp3 : Alabama 3 – Hello, I’m Johnny Cash

Finally, if you want to hear how good a job was done by the main players in the movie Walk The Line, have a listen to these two tracks, and then go here to buy stuff:-

mp3 : Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jackson
mp3 : Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon – Jackson

ALL APOLOGIES

I've been awfully neglectful recently....not so much about putting postings up here, but getting round all my favourite blogs and discusssion boards to see what everyone's been getting up to. I promise that I'll make some time over the next couple of days.

mp3 : Billy Bragg - This Guitar Says Sorry (Peel Session)

GONE FISHIN'

Just time to squeeze in a bonus posting to wish my old mate Jacques the Kipper all the best for on his forthcoming mission.

He’s no sooner back from a boys' weekend in Madrid where he met Take That, than tomorrow he’s off for two weeks to give advice to the Jamaican government on how it can best improve its working relations with its local councils. I’m not really sure if it’s a gig he’s looking forward to, but as the cliché goes, A Man’s Gotta Do What A Man’s Do.

Here’s a couple of songs to see him on his way:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present – Back For Good (Take That cover)
mp3 : The Clash – Safe European Home

Just remember how Joe Strummer felt the first time he visited Ja’.

well, i just got back an' i wish i never leave now

who dat martian arrival at the airport?

how many local dollars for a local anaesthetic?

the johnny on the corner was a very sympathetic

i went to the place where every white face is aninvitation to robbery

an' sitting here in my safe european home

i don't wanna go back there again

wasn't i lucky n' wouldn't it be loverly?

send us all cards, an' have a laying in on a sunday

i was there for two weeks, so how come i never tell

that natty dread drinks at the sheraton hotel?

now they got the sun, an' they got the palm trees

they got the weed, an' they got the taxis

whoa, the harder they come, n' the home of ol' bluebeat

yes i'd stay an' be a tourist but i can't take the gunplay

Look after yourself buddy.

A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS (1)

Most of us who are in our 40s who retain a love for quality music will have a bit of a soft spot for Matt Johnson, aka The The.

I’ve previously crocheted a few clichés on my enduring love for the 1983 LP Soul Mining, and while that remains my favourite release by The The, mainly because it just perfectly captured my mood at the time of release, there’s been plenty more good stuff before and since that has seen the light of day.

For those of you whom want to read more about Matt and his band, I’m taking the lazy way out and referring you to either wikipedia, or to the excellent official site, much of which is written by the great man.

It was a bit frustrating being a fan of The The given the long periods between albums, compounded by Matt’s unwillingness to go on tour. By the time 1986 came around, I was into a new period in my life, post-university and not long into my first job in Edinburgh. And Infected (together with The Queen Is Dead) is the LP that I most recall when I think back to those days.

I had become involved in a community drama group, initially as a way to meet folk and try and make new friends in a strange city. It was based in Stockbridge, which for those of you who don’t know Edinburgh, has long had a reputation for being a bit on the bohemian side. The flat I was living in at the time was just around the corner from the theatre, and it just seemed that every night, after rehearsals, a large group of us would end up back in the flat via a couple of hours in the pub, and we’d end up mostly listening to The The, The Smiths and New Order. Many was the morning that I didn't make it into the office, and when I think back, I’m sometimes bemused that I didn’t lose my job over my behaviour….

Fast forward three years to 1989, and somehow I was still in my job, but had moved on to a more sensible way of living my life, when Mind Bomb hit the shops. The fact that Johnny Marr was now working and recording with Matt made this one of the most eagerly awaited LPs that I can recall. At the time, I was a quite disappointed with it, as it was just too downbeat to be enjoyable, and the tunes weren’t as easy on the ear as those on the previous two albums. But it is a record that I have grown to appreciate more and more with the passing of time, and I’m always happy when one of the tracks comes round via the shuffle on the i-pod.

Johnny Marr and Matt Johnson have each gone on record as saying that their time working, recording and touring together were among the happiest experiences in their musical careers, and proof can be found on the next album, Dusk, which contains some of the best songs Matt has ever penned, both musically and lyrically. Released in 1993, it criminally failed to spawn any huge hit singles, but was a LP that received all sorts of critical acclaim in the popular and specialist music press, and was the biggest-selling in the band’s career. And in Love Is Stronger Than Death, written by Matt as a way of helping himself to get over the tragic loss of his brother, you’ll find what I think is the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful song ever recorded.

I’ve always felt that The The could have really gone massive at this particular time, in the same as REM had done four or five albums into their career. But Matt chose an entirely different career path. The idea of a touring band was dismissed, and instead, the next project, in 1995, was Hanky Panky, an entire album of cover versions of songs by 50s country & western superstar, Hank Williams. It didn’t work. The record was very poorly received, and I honestly can’t find any way to defend it.

I really thought that was the last I’d ever hear from The The, but then in 2000, the LP Naked Self came out, almost under the radar. If this had been the debut album of some new band, it would have been praised beyond belief. Instead, there was a great deal of indifference, and sadly, a wonderful record was mostly ignored. It was, like all the previous original The The records, packed with thoughtful lyrics on difficult and often contentious issues. They were the thoughts of an angry man, a concerned man, a worried man and a pessimistic man. But it was far from a depressing and doom-laden bit of work.

I put Matt Johnson up there with Nick Cave, Billy Bragg and Steven Morrissey as the greatest lyricists of my generation. His collection of work over the past 25 years has been, for the most part, of the utmost quality. I could have put posted something in the region of two dozen The The mp3s and still feel that I’d short-changed TVV readers by missing out something essential. In the end, I’ve gone for this lot:-

mp3 : The The - Flesh and Bones
mp3 : The The - Infected (12" version)
mp3 : The The - The Beat(en) Generation (Campfire Mix)
mp3 : The The - Armageddon Days Are Here (Again) (DNA remix)
mp3 : The The - Love Is Stronger Than Death
mp3 : The The - Boiling Point

I’ve also posted a few promos over at The Video Villain. The single, Slow Train To Dawn from the Infected LP, features a then largely-unknown Neneh Cherry, while you’ll also get the alternative stripped-down version of This Is The Day from Soul Mining and a live version of Uncertain Smile.

Hope you enjoy. Buy The The product from the official site mentioned earlier, failing which, right here.

WE'RE ATTRACTED TO

Last Friday (30th March) was the eagerly anticipated gig by The Young Knives at the QMU in Glasgow.

Mrs Villain and myself were lucky enough to catch them the last time they were in Glasgow when the headlined the Gonzo on Tour date at the Barfly (see review here), and their debut album, Voices Of Animals And Men, has been on heavy rotation in Villain Mansions. Once again, we weren’t disappointed.

You only need to visit http://www.theyoungknives.com/ to see how hard the band have been working over the past 18 months promoting their album and the various singles that have been lifted from it. By now, you would have reckoned they would be fed up touring and playing the same old songs night after night, but not on the evidence of this gig.

Surprisingly, the hall was maybe only ¾ full. I say this only in as much that there are plenty of other indie-bands with far less talent and ability who sell-out far larger venues in Glasgow. Also, TYK have featured heavily on MTV2 and Radio 1 (Zane Lowe is a big fan of the band), so I was expecting a sell-out, but maybe there’s just too much of a geek factor and it’s not seen to be cool to be a fan if you’re aged 16-25.

The audience itself was also incredibly well-behaved, polite and a long way from rowdy, and this could be put down to a 50-50 split in number between the sexes, meaning that the lager fuelled, testosterone filled lads were absent. But that’s not to say there was any lack of atmosphere….it was just less manic than anticipated.

The band were on really good form. I mentioned in the previous live review that I was very pleasantly surprised at how good Henry was on the guitar – this time round it was Oliver’s drumming skills that were at the fore. It was a 50 minute set with a 10 minutes encore. There was the usual bit of piss-taking of House of Lords by Henry, there were one or two good-natured heckles from the audience that raised a laugh, but most of all, there were the songs.

Most of the debut album was given an airing, along with a couple of b-sides and one brand new song. The best received songs were, naturally enough, the singles, and in particular set-closer She’s Attracted To which got a sort of mini-mosh-pit going – and there were the Villains, clearly the oldest folk in the hall, right down at the front and in the middle, caught up in the melee. But, it was only a mini-mosh, and it only lasted a short while (the final song and the encore), so we able to cope admirably – i.e we worked up a sweat but didn’t do any damage to limbs or muscles.

mp3 : The Young Knives - Part Timer
mp3 : The Young Knives - Hollow Line

and from the 2002 EP, The Young Knives.........Are Dead:-

mp3 : The Young Knives - Walking On The Autobahn

I just hope the new stuff keeps is of the same top-drawer quality. I'd love TYK to become the XTC of the 21st century..... but still able to continually tour. Oh and if you don't already own the debut album or any of the other EPs and singles, you are missing out. So click here and spend some cash.

Oh and one final word about the gig. No rude folk talking through the quiet numbers, lesser-known b-sides or new songs. A quite refreshing change from some of the recent gigs I've been to....read what Mike has to say at Manic Pop Thrills for more details.