The Hunt for Good New Music

As a retired DJ and fanatical music fan, I'm always on the hunt for new music, anything that I haven't heard before. Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm unashamedly retro in my music tastes. There's a huge goldmine of music in the past that even a prolific listener like myself has never heard, or maybe heard decades ago and has forgotten about.

But recently, I've started to cast my net around and look for modern and relatively recent music that I missed out on, but that I might like. And it's here that I come up against a big problem. I absolutely despise modern commercial chart music. With a vengeance.

The vast bulk of modern "pop" music is formulaic, unimaginative, homogenized garbage, aimed at kiddies, while weirdly, at the same time, flooding TV screens with music videos containing countless hyper-sexualized images of half-naked young women. It's either that, or hyped up karaoke music by bland, boring X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent artists, who get their fifteen minutes of fame (while Simon Cowell and his buddies rake in the millions) singing turgid, unmemorable songs, which are forgotten five minutes after you hear them.

And then there's the ever-present "rap" and "hip-hop", filling the airwaves with obscene, sexist, mysoginistic, homophobic, foul mouthed 18+ lyrics, in which every woman and their daughter are "hos" and "bitches". This tenth-rate garbage by moronic modern-day so-called "rappers" like Kanye West and 50 Cent, is an insult to the genuine socially conscious rap and hip hop of yesteryear from classic artists like Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash (and his Furious Five).

And what about the dirge-like, virtually unlistenable, so-called "r'n'b" (actually a crap, pop variation of hip-hop), which has the nerve to have appropriated the title "r'n'b" from genuine classic Rhythm and Blues. B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton and other great blues artists would be turning in their graves (well, at least the ones who are actually dead).

With the exception of the VERY occasional surprise decent song, there is absolutely nothing in the modern commercial charts for older fans or those with more discerning tastes in music.

However, despite my retro tastes, I'm the first to admit that even though the charts are total rubbish, there is some very good modern music out there. You just have to look hard for it, as you won't find any of it in the charts. There are lots of great bands, mostly totally unknown to the general public, and many of which I'm only just beginning to discover myself. Many of these bands and artists are without any recording contracts or links to the big music companies, and are doing their own thing, playing live, recording their own albums, and bypassing the mainstream music industry altogether, dealing directly with the public via the internet, selling their music as digital downloads, CDs, or vinyl albums, as well as other merchandise such as T-shirts, mugs, badges, etc.

I've only just begun to really hunt for good new stuff in recent months. My usual tactic is to haunt Youtube for interesting new music videos, jumping around from link to link to link. When I find anything that I really like, I follow any available links to their home page or wherever they've uploaded their music to, and I take it from there. Other good places to find good new music are Soundcloud, Bandcamp and Mixcloud. And these are only the tip of the iceberg. There are countless other sites out there, and that's before we even start tracking down the websites of individual bands and artists.

So what have I found in my recent travels? I've been on a bit of a retro-surf, garage, blues binge, so most of my recent finds tend to be of those genres. Some of my favourites are the Aqualads, Southern Culture on the Skids, The Swamps, The Caesars, The Taikonauts, Los Straitjackets, and The Nebulas.

I've also recently acquired the first album by The Everlasting Yeah, which should be of great interest to older indie fans, particularly fans of classic late-1980's/early-1990's indie band That Petrol Emotion, grand old favourites of mine. The Everlasting Yeah are basically the entire membership of That Petrol Emotion, minus lead singer Steve Mack. They've put a lot of time and hard work into this new first album, titled "Anima Rising" and I wish them the best of luck with it.

Reviews of "Anima Rising" and other new stuff from some of the above bands to come in future posts.

CLASSIC ALBUMS: The Breeders - Last Splash (1993)

1. New Year
2. Cannonball
3. Invisible Man
4. No Aloha
5. Roi
6. Do You Love Me Now ?
7. Flipside
8. I Just Wanna Get Along
9. Mad Lucas
10. Divine Hammer
11. S.O.S.
12. Hag
13. Saints
14. Drivin' On 9
15. Roi (reprise)

This is certainly one of the classic indie albums of the 1990's, the second studio album by The Breeders, featuring Kim Deal in the best of her post-Pixies incarnations. This album is most famous for its second track, the gorgeous indie classic Cannonball, which is definitely the best track on the album. But Last Splash isn't a one-track pony either. As a matter of fact, there isn't a bad track on it.

Cannonball is one of the more core commercial tracks, but there are also a few other very catchy songs on the album. I Just Wanna Get Along (very MC5 in parts), Divine Hammer and Flipside are among the best of these, although the others are pretty good also.

There are also a number of excellent weirder or heavier mood pieces, which grow on you with repeated listens. Roi is my favourite of these, although I quite liked Do You Love Me Now?, New Year, S.O.S., Invisible Man (very Jesus & Mary Chain) and No Aloha.

Even my least favourite tracks on the album such as Mad Lucas, Drivin' On 9 and Hag are pretty decent tracks. Overall, a very good album.

MUSIC BIOGRAPHY: Blondie - Parallel Lives

I haven't posted to this blog in a while, so I reckon it's time to get the ball rolling again. So far, I've been posting about my favourite songs and albums, so this time I'll do something a little different. Over the Christmas holiday period, I picked up the following book in a local bookstore:

BLONDIE: PARALLEL LIVES by Dick Porter and Kris Needs (trade paperback, Omnibus Press, London, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-78305-746-7)

PARALLEL LIVES is billed as (on the back cover blurb) as "the definitive biography of BLONDIE, the iconic New York band led by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein", and is based on interviews with Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and drummer, Clem Burke. The book has come about as a result of what was to be an ongoing friendship between co-author Kris Needs and the band, which began during their first UK tour in 1977.

The book is centred around the relationship between Harry and Stein, through all the personal and financial problems, right up to the present day - despite all those problems, Blondie are still going strong. It gives a great background picture of the crazy New York rock scene of the Seventies which is worth the price of the book alone.

Fascinating book, and highly recommended for all Blondie fans.

CLASSIC ALBUMS: The Cult - Pure Cult

I’m sitting here, listening to a very good album by The Cult - Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995. It’s a cracking album, pretty much the best material released by the band, with the exception of some of their best album tracks, such as “The Hollow Man”. All the top singles are here, from the earliest classics such as “Resurrection Joe”, “She Sells Sanctuary”, “Rain” and “Revolution”, through “Lil’ Devil”, “Wild Flower” and “Love Removal Machine”, to later material such as “Star”, “In the Clouds” and “Coming Down (Drug Tongue)”.

The early material by the band was indie rock, with punkish origins, but from the mid-’80s onwards, the band reinvented themselves as a raunchy rock band in the mold of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. This gives almost a feeling of listening to two completely different bands as we work our way through this album, something I find curiously refreshing.

Overall, this is an excellent retrospective of the bands singles releases. Great foot-stomping, raunchy, full-blooded R&B based blues rock. A highly recommended album!

CLASSIC TRACKS: "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells

I've been sitting back on a quiet Saturday evening, chillin' out and listening to some good music. Playing right now, all the way from 1968, it's one of the great funk classics, "Tighten Up", by another of my favourite groups, Archie Bell & the Drells.

This is one of the early true funk masterpieces, with some great grooves and incredible dance rhythms. Aside from Bell's voice, the one thing that really stands out for me in the tune is the fantastic bass rhythm, followed closely by the funky lead. Everything that makes funk great is present in this song. I defy anybody with an ounce of rhythm in their body not to start tapping their feet or shaking their booty when "Tighten Up" comes on the radio.

I usually associate the emergence of funk with the early-1970s, but there was a period in the late 1960s where the soul music of the earlier era was beginning to give rise to a more up-tempo funky sound, epitomised by the likes of Archie and his Drells, James Brown and others. The end of the Sixties and start of the Seventies saw the evolution of soul into funk, and then into a funky disco sound that was to be the vanguard for the coming disco movement of the next decade. It was an incredible era for music.

The version that I am listening to now is the LP version, which is just over three minutes long. There are two different versions of the song, Parts 1 and 2, which are the first and last tracks respectively on the album that I'm listening to now, ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS: THE PLATINUM COLLECTION. This one features twenty of the Drell's best tracks, and "Tighten Up" is by no means the only good track on it. The album can be found here on Amazon.com, and here on Amazon.co.uk.

Here also is a link to a YouTube video of a combined version of Archie Bell & the Drells - "Tighten Up" Parts 1 & 2. At about six minutes long, it's well worth listening to.

CLASSIC TRACKS: "Separate Ways" by Journey

I'm sitting back at the moment, relaxing, and listening to one of the greatest arena rock albums of all time, the classic 1983 six-times platinum masterpiece, FRONTIERS, by US band Journey, which came out on the Columbia Records label.

This is one of my all-time favourite rock albums, and is, in my opinion, Journey's strongest album, surpassing even their previous album, the 1981 classic nine-times platinum ESCAPE.

There isn't a single bad song on FRONTIERS (even the "weaker" songs are good), but one of the best is the song that is currently playing, the first track on the album, "Separate Ways". This is a truly powerful rock song, pounding drums, driving keyboards and guitars, and above it all, Steve Perry's gorgeous, soaring vocals. Sheer bliss!

This is an excellent, strong intro to a fantastic rock album. It's also gratifying to know that it ISN'T all downhill from here, and that the rest of the album is just as good.

CLASSIC TRACKS: "Disorder" by Joy Division

I'm sitting here on New Year's Eve, with barely ten minutes to go before 2014 is upon us, listening to some excellent music. At the moment, it's Joy Division's classic post-punk anthem 1979 debut album, Unknown Pleasures, released on the fledgling Factory Records indie label.

Playing right now is the first track, and one of my favourite tracks on the album, "Disorder". This one sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album. It's fast and emotionally charged, with Bernard Sumner's aggressive, distorted guitars assaulting us in powerful, short riffs, Peter Hook's driving, pulsating base providing the rhythm, backed up by Stephen Morris' rhythmic, almost robotic, pounding drums. And over everything, Ian Curtis' powerful, monotone baratone voice driving the song forward.

This deliciously chaotic tune is a great way to begin such an innovative, classic album. Joy Division, despite their tragically short career (only two studio albums and a handful of singles), are one of my favourite groups of all time, true pioneers of the post-punk/proto-goth scene. I can listen to this song (and the whole album) over and over again without ever getting fed up with it.

I feel a review of Unknown Pleasures coming up!

CLASSIC TRACKS: "Damaged Goods" by Gang of Four

I'm listening to this one right now on a various artists double-CD compilation of indie music, FEAR OF MUSIC.

Damaged Goods is one of my absolute favourite Gang of Four tracks, from their first classic 1979 album ENTERTAINMENT, although it had actually appeared previously as the A-side of their legendary first single, the 1978 Damaged Goods EP, which was released on the Fast Product record label. This EP also featured the equally legendary tracks Love Like Anthrax and Armalite Rifle.

Gang of Four incorporated various other genres such as funk, reggae and dub into their stylistic repertoire, which gave a lot of added "oomph!" to their music. Damaged Goods is like all good punk and post-punk - angry, short, and to the point - but it is also more sophisticated than many of its punk predecessors. This track is undoubtedly one of the pivotal post-punk anthems, and had a huge impact and influence on everything that came afterwards. The sheer simplicity of the best punk and post-punk classics like this reminds me so much of the great three chord/sub three minute garage tracks of the mid-to-late 1960s, albeit with large added dollops of anger and social awareness.

My tastes in music are pretty wide-ranging and eclectic, and on occasion I like some overproduced rock, disco and dance music as much of the next guy. But there are times that I just want to have it short, raw and punchy, like Damaged Goods, New Rose, Public Image, Ever Fallen In Love or Pretty Vacant. Heady company, that, and Damaged Goods is deservedly up there among these other classic tracks.

The version I'm listening to right now is the later re-recorded version of Damaged Goods, and the purists would undoubtedly groan and roll their eyes, and assert that the original version, and only the original version on the EP is the real Damaged Goods. And when it comes to music, I have to admit that I'm almost always a purist myself. So I invariably hate most cover versions of classic tunes. But not on this occasion.

I actually prefer this re-recorded version, which is faster and snappier than the slower original EP version. It just seems to be that bit more angry and aggressive, a searing indictment of love and lust. And angry and aggressive is how I feel a good punk or post-punk song should be. Both versions are classic, but the newer one just edges it for me.

Like I said, the purists will surely disagree with me strongly (most of them probably foaming at the mouth), but I don't care! :)

CLASSIC TRACKS: "Dancing in Outer Space" by Atmosfear

The first few posts to this new blog were fairly long personal recollections of my early career as a DJ. Last time out, I posted my first full review of an album. And this time, in my ongoing efforts to add some variety to the blog, I'm trying something else. Here's the first in what I hope will be a series of many ongoing random posts highlighting favourite "songs of the moment".

These random CLASSIC TRACKS posts are not full album reviews, just a couple of paragraphs on any random, individual song that I happen to be listening to at any given time. It can be anything, old or new, but mostly will be older songs of various genres - alternative, rock, soul, funk, disco, reggae, ska - indeed ANY song that I happen to like or which holds a special significance for me.

I'll be reserving album reviews for the various CLASSIC ALBUMS posts, but this one is about a single track from an album. On the CD player at the moment is a cracking compilation album, Dancing in Outer Space, by the classic jazz funk band Atmosfear, a retropective of the band’s best work, published by Elite Records back in the year 2000, a repackaging of a CD compilation that first appeared in 1995. Right now I'm listening to the first track, the title track of the album, and (deservedly) their most famous song ever, the glorious summer of 1979 dancefloor classic (on both sides of the Atlantic) Dancing in Outer Space (all 9 minutes 34 seconds of it) by the great jazz-funk group Atmosfear. This one is the same version as the original 1979 vinyl 12 inch single release, which I used to play at the clubs all those years ago.

This song, for me, epitomizes the best in hardcore jazz funk - an incredible ground-rumbling bass line, ethereal outer-space-ish keyboards, fat, hard drums and super-smooth funky guitars (and lets not forget the sizzlin' saxophone). The ultimate in club dance music from that era, if you're any kind of fan of jazz or funk music, this one just has to set you bopping.

When I think of "dance" music, sure, I like some modern EDM, but as an old fogie I think primarily of the jazz/funk/soul/disco phenomenon of the 1970s and 80s, not all this modern hip-hop, rap and R&B (R&B? Muddy Waters and B.B. King are R&B, not the modern rubbish that has hijacked the name), although I did quite like to step out to a select few of the more modern rave/house/trance classics. Maybe I'm just showing my age, but, in my opinion, the 70s and 80s gave us REAL dance music. And Dancing in Outer Space is one of the true giants among classic 70s jazz funk dancefloor smash hits.

There are a number of YouTube links to the original 12 inch monster hit version of Dancing in Outer Space. Here's one of them.

I’m now up to track 5 on this album. I’m very impressed, so far. Not a bad track yet. Who knows, maybe Dancing in Outer Space won’t be the only classic on it. But I'll leave a review of the entire album for a CLASSIC ALBUMS post at a future date.

CLASSIC ALBUMS - Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs (1976)

Original album 1976 (Columbia Records)

Remastered Audio CD (24 Feb 2007)

Three extra live tracks

Number of Discs: 1

Label: Sony Music CMG

 

 

Track listing:

1. What Can I Say (3:02)
2. Georgia (3:56)
3. Jump Street (5:13)
4. What Do You Want The Girl To Do (3:51)
5. Harbor Lights (5:59)
6. Lowdown (5:17)
7. It's Over (2:52)
8. Love Me Tomorrow (3:17)
9. Lido Shuffle (3:43)
10. We're All Alone (4:14)
11. What Can I Say (Live Version) (3:29)
12. Jump Street (Live Version) (5:08)
13. It's Over (Live Version) (3:37)

Two of the greatest feel-good, easy listening albums of all time are Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees, both of which came out within a year or two of each other in the mid-1970's, an era which was a fertile period for such music.

Boz Scaggs is a highly talented and versatile, but sadly very underrated guitarist and musician, who worked with the Steve Miller Band in the late-1960s. When he went solo in the early 70s, he made the switch from r'n'b to producing his own strand of smooth, silky jazz-funk, a genre which was enjoying some considerable commercial success at that time. He set up stall with a bunch of excellent session musicians (most of whom were to go on to later form the acclaimed band Toto), a combination which was to prove, along with his own undeniable talent, the main driving force behind the polished, classy quality of his albums.

Scaggs produced his first two solo albums back in the 60s (1965 and 1969), but both of these were commercially unsuccessful. He moved to Columbia records at the beginning of the 1970s, and his first four albums with them all entered the charts, but were not exactly raging smash hits, except for Slow Dancer (1974), which went Gold. It wasn't until his fifth Columbia album, Silk Degrees, that his solo career went stratospheric.

The mid-to-late-1970s was by far his most successful period, during which he had no less than four hit albums, one Gold and three Platinum-selling smash hits. Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980) both went Platinum, and Hits! (1980) went Gold. But it was the 1976 smash-hit Silk Degrees that has proven to be the most enduring of all of them. This one went five times Multi-Platinum, reached #2 and spent 115 weeks on the US Billboard Charts, and was the album which skyrocketed Scaggs to the top of the "absolutely must listen to" musical league.

There are so many good tracks on this album, which produced no less than four successful chart singles over 1976-1977 - the sublime "What Can I Say?" (my personal favourite on the album), the sultry "Lowdown" (my third-favourite), the catchy floor-filler "Lido Shuffle" (my fourth-favourite) and the even more catchy "It's Over" (my second-favourite). But I also rate "Georgia" pretty highly, as were a couple of excellent ballads, "Harbor Lights" and "We're All Alone", the second of which which was to be a massive US and UK hit cover single for Rita Coolidge in 1977.

"We're All Alone" was also covered by Frankie Valli and The Walker Brothers during 1976, and Bruce Murray, The Three Degrees and country & western singer LaCosta in 1977, which means that there were at least half a dozen different cover versions of the song circulating the various charts in the US, UK and Europe during 1976-1977, and none of them were actually by original artist Boz Scaggs! Scaggs only released "We're All Alone" as a B-Side to "Lido Shuffle" in 1977.

I originally bought Silk Degrees on vinyl way back in the early 1980's, and more recently also bought the remastered 2007 CD edition (the one I'm reviewing now), which contains three extra bonus tracks, live versions of "What Can I Say?", "Jump Street" and "It's Over", all of which are also excellent, and show just what a force Scaggs and his group must have been on tour.

I can listen to this amazing album over and over and over again, and I never get fed up with it. If you are a fan of soulful, silky-smooth jazz-funk, and you've never heard Silk Degrees, you are missing one of the true classics of the genre. Do yourself a huge favour, go out and buy this great album, pour yourself a cool drink, and just sit back and let the music flow over you.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...