THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER.....IT IS NOW

Back in 2004/2005, the UK charts were seemingly dominated by a plethora of emerging guitar-led bands, very few of whom lasted the course beyond the debut LP. One of my favourite records from the period has turned out to be Capture/Release, the debut LP by The Rakes. Now I'm a bit of an avid reader of blogs, but I haven't read too many pieces that have mentioned far less praise this particular record. Which is a bit of an oversight in my humble opinion.....

And now I'm kicking myself for never writing about the band before today, for just over a week ago they announced their split....

The band never really fitted in with any genre - some thought they were from the post-punk art scene like Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park or Bloc Party, while others thought they were just another London band like Razorlight or The Libertines who owed their success to a lazy, fawning media.

I first heard the band through seeing some of their videos on MTV2 and thinking that they were infectiously catchy songs. I'll be honest and admit I never rushed out and bought anything right away, nor did I go along and catch them playing live. But in due course, maybe about a year after it came out, I picked up a second-hand copy of their debut LP and gave it a listen. Eleven brilliant pop songs in just over 30 minutes - and a record that really should have gotten a lot more critical acclaim at the time.

I bought follow-up LP Ten New Messages not long after it was released in March 2007, and it too became a bit of a favourite, although like a lot of records that I bought in 2007 wasn't listened to all that often as I spent a fair chunk of the year working in Canada and far away from the record collection. And then this blog sort of took over and bands like The Rakes, The Libertines and The Futureheads, all of whom had released some cracking stuff over a two-year period, were sort of forgotten about as I delved further and further back in time and listened to loads of old vinyl for the first time in years.

The band released a third LP earlier this year - Klang - but it has been a bit of a flop which I suspect is the reason the band have called it a day. I must track it down the next time I'm on a browse......I'm just sad that I never did more to write about the band while they were still a living and breathing entity.

So the sum of the career was nine singles and three LPs, none of which ever hit the Top 20.

Now every one of you should listen to these great bits of pop and then hang your head in shame at your inability to make these boys a roaring success:-

mp3 : The Rakes - Strasbourg
mp3 : The Rakes - Retreat
mp3 : The Rakes - 22 Grand Job
mp3 : The Rakes - Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)

For your penance you must watch an entire episode of X Factor this weekend. Go In Peace.

EVENT REVIEW : BOUNCE STREET DANCE COMPANY : INSANE IN THE BRAIN

Jacques the Kipper has been out and about again. And he's got something to recommend to you:-

Our friendly neighbourhood Villain likes a first, and I'm reckoning this may be just that for his blog - a review of Street Dance Theatre.

Earlier this week, having decided that my family needed to broaden their musical and cultural boundaries, I dragged them along to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre where the Bounce Street Dance Company were presenting their version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, "Insane in the Brain".

It was a night for 17 year old boys with the healthiest, best looking audience that I've ever witnessed at any gig or show. (Clearly not a night for the Villain then!) And what a show it was. It began with humour and ended with grief, with well nigh every emotion squeezed in-between.

If you've seen the film, you'll know the basic premise. It's set in a psychiatric hospital dominated by the sadistic head nurse, Mildred Ratched. A newcomer to the ward, Randall Patrick McMurphy, results in a power struggle between nurses and patients that, in this version, is danced out pretty much non-stop over the next hour and a half.

The constant physicality of it over that period is astonishing and the choreography of chaos throughout is fantastic, drawing us into a mad world in every sense of the phrase. Highlights for me include the night scene (Darklight -coordinated, spotlit bed dancing !), the Daytrip (including Tramptown, a black and white film short), and Electroshock (ever wondered what three people being electrocuted while hanging from a wall might look like ?). There's hardly any dialogue, and even that was superfluous so far as I was concerned, but (maybe rather worryingly) even my ten year old could follow the plot.

The music ? Well, fair to say that, in our family, me and the ten year old probably enjoyed that most, but what a selection - Luke Vibert, Mr Oizo, Missy Elliott, Meat Beat Manifesto, System of a Down, Dizzee Rascal, David Holmes and a certain Edvard Hagerup Grieg, to name some of those better known. Block rocking beats right enough.

If you want to know more about Bounce themselves, then head over to http://www.insanetour.co.uk/show.php and read it in their own words. Upcoming dates also listed there.

If you're thinking about taking your easily offended ten year old, then bear in mind that the "adult themes" include an f word, a sex doll, some brief simulated sex and a bit of death. I wouldn't let that put anyone off though. A top night out. And if your venue is anything like Edinburgh, then you'll get a chance to try out some breakdancing in the foyer beforehand.

See you at the discotheque on Friday night, JC!!!

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (2)

I've written about Friends Again on a few occasions before at TVV. Back in 1983/84 they were one of my favourite bands - one that I caught live on many an occasion, including travelling down and back on two overnight buses to London to catch my first ever gig in the big smoke.

Consisting of Chris Thomson on vocals and guitar, James Grant on guitar and vocals, Paul McGeechan on keyboards, Stuart Kerr on drums and Neil Cunningham on bass, this was a band who really should have been worldwide superstars. Early self-financed single Honey At The Core made them subject of a bidding war among major labels, and in the end it was Mercury Records who gained the signatures on the contracts. As I said before when writing about the follow-up single Sunkissed (which I selected as my all time #10 single in a 2008 rundown), I was immediately grabbed by the sound of the band, but in particular the vocal style of Chris Thomson which was a cross between Memphis and Motherwell.

The sad story of Friends Again is a familair one in the world of pop music in that that they just couldn't buy a hit single despite all sorts of critical acclaim. In desperation, the record company tried every trick in the book such as 12" singles for the price of a 7", and a 7" single with an expensive booklet and a free bit of vinyl with new versions of two previous singles, but all to no avail.

The sum of their recorded output was 5 singles (one of which was a re-recorded version of the debut), 1 EP and 1 LP. It was the EP that got them nearest a hit, reaching #59 in July 1984, but much of this was down to the marketing strategy of the record company with fans like myself shelling out for both the 7" and 12" versions - the 12" single had an extended mix and the booklet with the 7" was lovely.

mp3 : Friends Again - Lullaby No.2, Love On Board (7" version)
mp3 : Friends Again - Wand You Wave
mp3 : Friends Again - Thank You For Being An Angel
mp3 : Friends Again - Sunkissed (new version)
mp3 : Friends Again - State Of Art (remix)

mp3 : Friends Again - Lullaby No.2, Love On Board (12" version)

After the inevitable break-up, James Grant and Paul McGeechan quickly went on to form pop/soul act Love and Money , while Stuart Kerr was soon on TOTP as the stickman in the first version of Texas with their massive hit I Don’t Want A Lover. Neil Cunningham went into artiste management. Chris Thompson to all intent and purposes became a solo act under the name The Bathers, and ploughed a lone furrow akin to the softer side of Friends Again to much critical acclaim but little commercial success. Interestingly enough, when Love and Money also failed to really hit the big-time, James Grant embarked on a solo-career that was based on acoustic folk/country songs...and he still entertains us regally today more than 25 years on, a lot older and I'm sure a lot wiser.

If you do come across any old Friends Again vinyl or indeed the album on CD while browsing in any second-hand store I thoroughly recommend that you snap it up as its unlikely to be reissued again in the future.

In summary, one of the best and under-rated bands I've ever come across in my entire life. 'Nuff said.

FOLLOWING ON FROM YESTERDAY

Back in 1991, The Wedding Present released the LP Seamonsters, reckoned by many fans to be their finest ever piece of work. Certainly, it has been the highest charting LP of their entire career, reaching #13 in the UK album charts.

It was an album that was engineered by Steve Albini, but Seamonsters hadn't been their first collaboration. Instead, a few months prior to the release of the LP, the band and its then record company RCA slipped out, almost under the radar, a piece of work known as 3 Songs EP which did sneak into the Top 30:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Corduroy
mp3 : The Wedding Present - Crawl
mp3 : The Wedding Present - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)

Those of you familiar with the recorded output of TWP will know that they have never shied away from doing some cover versions, some of which work a lot better than others. Most of them end up sounding not too much like the original and more like a song David Gedge himself might have written. This particular cover however, falls somewhere inbetween as it is fairly faithful to the original and yet still manages to sound like a Gedge composition. I think its a belter of a version.....

Oh and as for Corduroy, a slightly different version of this song was made available on Seamonsters. Cant make my mind up which one I prefer mind you.....but the noise after about 35 seconds of the single is one of my favourite bits of music ever.....turn it up and play very loud for best effect.

Roll on 2011 for the 20th Anniversary Seamonsters tour. Be prepared to be deaf for days afterwards.

THIS WAS SO NEARLY THE NEXT FRIDAY SERIES

After the end of the Morrissey series the other week, I did contemplate looking at all the singles ever released by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. But I acknowledged that I couldnt inflict that on you dear listeners....not all the singles (althogh they're all present and correct in some shape or form in the cupboard, on the shleves or sitting as a file inside the PC). But it will become an occasional feature. Maybe once every six months.....

There's been 29 singles dating back to 1984. Only three of them have cracked the Top 40 - his duets with Kylie Minogue (#11 in October 1995) and with PJ Harvey (#36 in February 1996), along with this, the debut single from Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus, the double album released in the Autumn of 2004:

mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Nature Boy (single version)
mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - She's Leaving You

Nature Boy reached the giddy heights of #37 and is probably the most commercial and radio-friendly that Nick and his band have ever released. And yup, you're right it does sound awfully like a hit from yesteryear:-






Clearly I dont have an mp3 of this fantastic piece of pop (I think it dates from 1975 when I was but a child), but I do have a cover version.......

BOOK REVIEW : YOU'RE ENTITLED TO AN OPINION by DAVID NOLAN

For more years than I care to remember, I always said that my ideal night out would be to sit down in a pub alongside Bill Drummond and Tony Wilson and just enjoy the conversation that would inevitably flow. Yes, it was all a pipedream, and indeed it was something that, if it had been allowed to happen, would in all likelihood have been a bit of a disaster given the psychological make-up of my two heroes. I’m not sure if they would in fact have got on or whether the first barbed comment from one of them would have had the other storm off in a huff (possibly after a punch or two had been thrown).

But I just have a feeling that these two geniuses, who I think were among the most urbane, witty, talented, opinionated and intelligent people on the planet, would have just kept up a non-stop discussion in an entertaining and enlightening way on just about any subject under the sun or moon. And to have been in their collective company would have been a privilege as well as enormous fun.

But of course the premature death of Tony Wilson back in 2007 put paid to that ever happening, but even now, two years on from that very sad day, I’m still fascinated by the life and times of both men. And while Bill can continue to amuse and delight me with books like 17, its now down to others to keep Tony’s flame burning brightly.

The latest bit of work to do just that is You’re Entitled To An Opinion, which has been penned by David Nolan, a music journalist whose past works include Confused, a terrifically enlightening and enjoyable bio of Bernard Sumner which had revealed in a far from sordid way, lots of things about the singer which helped me get a better insight on what it was that drove him on. That particular book was an excellent example of a rock biography, clearly written by someone who was an admirer and fan but who wasn’t afraid of offering a critical comment when the music or other aspects of the subject’s life deserved it.

I’m delighted to say that David Nolan has done an equally superb job with his look at Tony Wilson, and You’re Entitled To An Opinion is a superb read with all sorts of facts and information that were new to me, particularly the early chapters on his upbringing, and the later chapters that deal with the last few months of Tony’s life as he battled a particularly violent form of cancer.

What we get isn’t just a re-hash of Tony Wilson, the music mogul who arguably did as much as anyone else to raise the profile of Manchester over the last quarter of the 20th Century and help with its regeneration as a modern, vibrant city far removed from the greyness and grime that was the legacy of its industrial past. There’s loads in this book about Anthony Wilson (or sometimes Anthony H Wilson) the journalist/reporter who many of his contemporaries reckon could have been a giant in that field if he hadn’t been so distracted by his love of music and the lifestyle of musicians. There’s also substantial details about his family/private life which prove to essential in helping readers understand some of Tony’s behaviour over the years, and in particular his ‘devil may care’ approach to business.

But of course the centrepiece of the book is The Factory Years, from the founding of a club, to the forming of a label, to the forming of THE club, to it all crashing down around their ears and the subsequent small re-launches in the 21st century.

The author has spoken to dozens of people who knew or worked with Tony Wilson, and not all them are always complimentary. But this doesn’t mean David Nolan has given us a book with all sorts of spite directed at the man who himself accepted most seemd to know him as ‘Wanker Wilson’. I lost count of the times where a narrative would end with something along the lines of ‘But that was just typical of Tony’ which should give you all an idea that this was a man it was near impossible to hate. But there are one or two life-long enemies out there who do get their say….as with all good bios, the reader is then free to make up their own mind.

Some of the anecdotes are less than serious – such as the time Tony was dispatched to Liverpool to cover a story and how his worst fears of his car getting stolen were eventually realised in a way that was both funny and imaginative. Others are moving, including Tony’s battle for the right sort of medical treatment for his illness. Others debunk some of the myths and/or legends that have grown up around Tony Wilson, without belittling his many achievements for instance the facts surrounding the Sir Keith Joseph/Mad Monk interview are laid out and while not as outrageous as the scenario painted in the film/book 24 Hour Party People, its still shows Tony at his mischievous but self-destructing best.

Available from most book stores, as well as music stores such as Fopp (which is where I picked up my own copy), or indeed on line from Amazon, You’re Entitled To An Opinion is a piece of work that will be appreciated and enjoyed by anyone who has ever had any interest in any facet of Factory Records, Granada TV or indeed the city of Manchester itself.

And here's the last song ever played at the Hacienda (not that anyone knew it at the time):-

mp3 : Sneaker Pimps - Post Modern Sleaze

And this post wouldn't be complete without these bands....

mp3 : Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Pennine Version)
mp3 : New Order - Confusion (Rough Mix)

Both taken from 12" singles that have followed me wherever I've lived over the past near 30 years.....

OUT OF THE BLUE

Mercury Rev were, for quite a long time throughout the 90s, one of those bands who got a fair bit of critical acclaim in the music papers and magazines but who were often quite difficult to track down on radio. They were, to all intent and purposes, a perfect definition of a cult band.

Between 1991 and 1997, they churned out 3 LPs and 9EPs/singles, none of which sold all that well in the UK. Back home in the USofA, they were even more unheralded, with the soft high-pitched vocal style of Jonathan Donahue often being cited as the thing that most held them back at a time when rock with a slightly harder edge was in vogue.

But in 1998, the release of the LP Deserter's Songs very briefly put the band firmly in the spotlight. It was a record seemingly not all that different in sound, mood and tone from 1995 work See You On The Other Side, but it just seemed to capture the hearts and minds of many music fans, including the staff at the NME who made it #1 LP of 1998.

I hadn't paid any attention to the band until around this time, but it wasn't the things being written about them that did it. Instead, it coincided with the time I first got satellite TV, and I did do a lot of surfing across the music channels trying to find new and edgy music or videos that I would like. and for a while a lovely promo for a song called Goddess On A Hiway was on heavy rotation.

Come Xmas 1998, and it was the usual requests from friends and relatives about what was on my list to Santa in terms of music and books, and given the critical acclaim afforded to the album, I did add Deserter's Songs and it subsequently was wrapped in glittery paper come 25th December.

It was, and remains, an LP that I don't quite get what all the fuss was about, albeit it was pleasant enough in a non-offensive way. My favourite track on it was subsequently released as a single in January 1999 and in reaching #26, became the band's first bona fide hit:-

mp3 : Mercury Rev - Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp

What is most interesting however from the CD single that I picked up for 99p is that the band and/or their label persuades The Chemical Brothers to make a remix of the song which is near unrecognisable (and the main reason for posting this single):-

mp3 : Mercury Rev - Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (Chemical Brothers remix)

And as a bonus, we were also given a really rootsy track as the bonus with a live version of a Neil Young song that was originally recorded for an XFM session in November 1998:-

mp3 : Mercury Rev - Vampire Blues (live)

And that ladies and gentlemen, is likely to be the only time I ever write about Mercury Rev at TVV. I reckon some of you might say 'hallelujah' to that.......

THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 35)

In complete contrast to the depressing stuff from Jarvis & Co the other day*, let's relax a wee bit today with some disposable fluff that got to #1 in May 1979:-

mp3 : Blondie - Sunday Girl
mp3 : Blondie - Sunday Girl (French Version)
mp3 : Blondie - I Know But I Don't Know

This was the band's second successive #1 in the UK, coming just a few months after Heart Of Glass. They didn't get the hat-trick however, as the next release, Dreaming stalled at #2 some 17 months later.

But Blondie would go on to enjoy another three #1 hits in 1980, making them, without question, the most commercially successful band of the era.

And with the unexpected success of Maria, they would also go on to have a sixth song reach #1 in 1999. But they are running out of time now if they want to try and have a fourth successive decade with a song that hits the top.....there's on;y a matter of weeks left now.

NB : * before the problems with Filden, the posting on This Is Hardcore was scheduled to appear the day before Sunday Girl......

WHEN SATURDAY COMES....

I'm off later today to the city of Dundee to watch my beloved Raith Rovers in a league match. The photo above is not some sort of visual trick. The stadium in the foreground is Dens Park, home of Dundee FC, while just 50 or so yards beyond it, on the very sane street, is Tannadice Park, home of Dundee United FC. And yes, it would have made common sense to build a joint stadium for both teams, but common sense has no place in Scottish football.

Oh and it will be Dens Park I'll be sitting in this afternoon...

I thought it would be good to write about a musician or band associated with Dundee, and the obvious ones that spring to mind were Billy Mackenzie, The Associates and The View. But then I googled for something unusual, and found an absolute gem:-

Popular music groups such as the 1970s soul-funk outfit Average White Band, the Associates, the band Spare Snare, Danny Wilson and the Indie rock bands The View and The Law hail from Dundee. Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall are former pupils of the High School of Dundee, although Tunstall is not a native of the city. The Northern Irish indie rock band Snow Patrol was formed by students at the University of Dundee and Brian Molko, lead singer of Placebo, grew up in the city.

It was the last eleven words that realty threw me. I thought it had to be an urban myth. But it seems not:-

Brian Molko (born December 10, 1972, in Belgium) is a songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Placebo. In his youth, he was known for his ambiguous sexual orientation and androgynous appearance. Since then, Molko has admitted to being bisexual and has encouraged others, with similar predispositions, to be more comfortable about their sexuality.

Born to an American international banker father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish mother, Molko's family moved frequently during his childhood including spells in Scotland, Liberia, Lebanon and Luxembourg. Brian Molko has referred to a period spent in his mother's home town of Dundee, Scotland, as "where I grew up".

I've been to Dundee quite a few times in my life, and while I really do like a lot about the city, it must have total hell for someone like Brian Molko. I wonder if he ever knowingly or unknowingly bumped into Billy Mackenzie?

Anyway, any excuse to post some mp3s by a band I dont often mention on TVV, which is a bit of a shame, because quite a few of their singles have been belters, including this:-

mp3 : Placebo - You Don't Care About Us (radio edit)

It also had some great b-sides on the 2 x CD singles, including a T-Rex cover and two remixes of one of their earlier singles, of which the LRD version is particulary stunning:-

mp3 : Placebo - 20th Century Boy
mp3 : Placebo - Ion
mp3 : Placebo - Pure Morning (Les Rythmes Digitales Mix)
mp3 : Placebo - Pure Morning (Howie B mix)

Released in September 1998 (where do the years disappear to??), this hit #5 in the UK charts and was the band's second and last (to date) Top 10 hit.

Happy Listening.

Oh and c'mon the Rovers.

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (1)

Oh, how we can giggle now at the picture sleeves, but did Edwyn Collins ever think his rig-out of jacket, collar and tie, red shorts, white socks and brogues were remotely hip? Or even fey???

Welcome along to what I hope will be a long-running and enjoyable Friday series looking at 7", 12" or CD singles that have been released over the years by bands/acts/singers that are connected to my homeland.

Let's start with our own rock royalty. Or at least one by his old band.

Postcard Records had come and gone, but the wish of its founder Alan Horne that all the bands should find fame and fortune with major labels seemed set to come true.

Orange Juice had signed to Polydor Records, but we were all delighted to see that the debut single still had the word POSTCARD printed above the Polydor symbol and indeed the famous drumming kitten was also very prominent on both the sleeve and label. Edwyn, James, Stephen and David hadn't sold out after all......

But whatt's this...a song written by Green/Mitchell/Hodges? Have they recorded a cover or is it some sort of writing team attached to their new home??

mp3 : Orange Juice - L.O.V.E...love

OK, I quickly learned that it was a cover of a song by Al Green, but being the uber-indie post-punk 18 year-old, I didn't know that at the time (in fact I wasn't really aware who Al Green was given he'd barely had a hit in the UK).

I wasn't sure what to make of this record at the time. In fact I was a bit disappointed with it in many ways as it seemed awfully polished. It even had horns on it when all I wanted was guitars. Thankfully, as I aged, so did my tastes improve and while I still wont place it in all time Top 20 of OJ songs, I do tap my feet, nod my head from side to side and croon along whenever it plays.

Tell you something though, the b-side was an instant smash:-

mp3 : Orange Juice - Intuition Told Me

What wasn't there to love about a song that contained the lines?

Please, please tell me when the fun begins?

Please, please?
As soon as you stop your whining Jim

And I whined a lot in those days. Still do in fact. And I'm happy to confess that Intuition Told Me is still a song that I rank among the Top 2 the band ever recorded......and the best one that Edwyn ever wrote for them.

Polydor had high hopes for Orange Juice. I'm guess they were staggered by the fact that it stuck at #65 in the charts on its release in October 1981.

Oh, the sleeves above? The camp one is the 7" and the other is the 12". What do you mean you need a better explanation than that??

Here's the instrumental that was available on the 12":-

mp3: Orange Juice - Moscow

I know a few folk made some suggestions a while back when I outlined plans for this series. Believe me, many of them will appear here in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, I hope you're happy enough with the opening chapter.

16 YEARS ON AND I'M STILL AMAZED BY THIS

I was an admirer of the music released by The Sugarcubes in as much that I bought singles and albums, but usually a few weeks or months after they had been released rather than on the day they hit the shops.

I was slightly sorry to learn of their break-up in 1992, and while I was interested to hear that their female lead singer was going to pursue a solo career I didn't think it was one that would have a big impact outside of her native Iceland.......(glad I never put a bet on that one at the bookies)

I first heard the debut solo LP in its entirety in a record shop one browsing afternoon. I recognised that Bjork was singing, but my first assumption was that she was doing guest vocals for someone else. It was only after the third or fourth track in row to feature her talents that I thought there was more to it, and this was confirmed by the ever-friendly indie-store sales assistant. He also told me that in the week or so since the CD had arrived in the shop it had been on very heavy rotation as it was that rare beast - ie an album that found favour with all four folk who worked in the shop.

I told him I was a fan of her former band - he replied that it was nothing at all like any of the old stuff. And he also offered me, as a well-known face in the shop who spent something in the region of £40 a week on CDs, a free copy over the weekend that I could bring back on Monday morning if I didn't like it. And if I did...well it would be added to my next bill.

I don't know how many times the CD was played over the course of that Friday night, the Saturday and the Sunday, suffice to say that not many other things got a look in.

Debut is a record that shifts from one music genre to another with the greatest of ease, class and style (another record that I think does the same is Boat To Bolivia by Martin Stephenson & The Daintees). As such, it is impossible to get bored with it. It's a combination of the songwriting genius of Ms Gudmunsdottir and magical production from Nellee Hooper (and no I haven't forgotten that he also co-wrote at least half of the songs).

I listened to this album in its entirety again in the last hour, something I probably haven't done in 10 or so years. It has not dated one bit whatsoever. It still made me smile, it made me dance and it stopped me in my tracks and made me think about loved ones present and past.

It's a truly remarkable piece of work.

It was an album that was a slow-burner. It spent ages in the UK charts but never got any higher than #3. Four singles were taken from it, and in a strange reversal from the norm, they reached progressively higher chart positions, with the lead-off Human Behaviour hitting #36 in June 1993. Venus As A Boy touched #29 in August, while Big Time Sensuality climbed to #17 on its release in November. However, in March 1994, Violently Happy reached #13.

If you don't own this record, do something about it.

mp3 : Bjork - Come To Me
mp3 : Bjork - Human Behaviour
mp3 : Bjork - Vilently Happy (Fluke - Even Tempered Mix)

Tune in tomorrow for the first in a new Friday series....

COMMERCIAL SUICIDE

After waiting well over a decade to enjoy commercial success, it was a bit of a shock when Pulp embarked on such a high-profile and deliberate fall from favour with their next LP.

The fact speak for themselves - flop albums in 1983, 1987 and 1992 before gaining a degree of popularity in 1994 with His'n'Hers. And then it was 1995 and the release of Different Class which eventually sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK alone - a quite astonishing feat for a band who up until that point had only ever had two Top 40 singles/EPs in their career.

Yes, Different Class rode in on the tails of the Britpop era that saw pop music become fashionable again and part of everyday culture, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it is a cracking piece of work (albeit not as cracking as His'n'Hers in my humble opinion).

But all was not well in Pulp-land. When they went back into the studio to begin work on the new LP, with all the hopes and expectations of not only the record label but also an adoring public, there was nothing happening. Jarvis Cocker couldn't come up with any words or tunes, and even more crucially, guitarist, violinist and key member of the band Russell Senior decided to leave.

The band eventually managed to record new material, and the first thing to emerge was the single Help The Aged in November 1997 which was about as far removed from the chant-a-long songs which had led to so many folk embracing the band. At this stage, it might still have been regarded as a one-off Cocker-like prank to choose the most awkward and difficult of the new songs to be the lead-off single, but it became clear in March 2008 with the release of the next single that Pulp were going to lose a lot of mainstream fans and not get many new recruits to replace them:-

mp3 : Pulp - This Is Hardcore
mp3 : Pulp - Ladies' Man
mp3 : Pulp - The Professional
mp3 : Pulp - This Is Hardcore (end of the line remix)

This was bleak, uncompromising stuff of the highest or lowest order, depending on your point of view. But its too easy to dismiss it as a song about porn...it could easily be interpreted as Jarvis using sex and sexual imagery to attack anyone in power, whether it be the captains of industry in the likes of film, music or newspaper or indeed on politicians who had, for a while, gotten off on Britpop only to walk away when the musicians started dishing out the criticism.

But whatever the intentions behind the song, it remains one of the bleakest and yet most brilliantly subversive bits of music ever to have been played on the radio, climbing to #12 in the UK charts. Hell, it even managed an appearance on Top Of The Pops......of which there is a so-so quality copy on you tube (which is far better than nothing).

And then there's this memorable promo:-




Oh and anyone interested in CD2 with its remixes should have a little look at this bit of writing over at the wonderful Castles In Space.

A BIG BIG JUKEBOX OF JOY

I've got fed up waiting and so I've closed down my accounts at Fileden. I can only apologise for the failure of the blog to function properly this past 5 days, especially if you've been frustrated at the inability to listen to some of the songs that have been posted in recent times.

So, I'm closing down all the old links - with the exception of the Morrissey songs from Parts 38 & 39 of the series which remain in their old place. And for the next 10 or so days, the remainder can be enjoyed right here as one giant jukebox:-

mp3 : Cinerama - Manhattan
mp3 : Cinerama - London
mp3 : Cinerama - Film

mp3 : St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
mp3 : St Etienne - Filthy (featuring Q-Tee)
mp3 : St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (a mix of two halves by Andrew Weatherall)

mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Tiny Children
mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Rachael Built A Steamboat

mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat
mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - Point Of Light

mp3 : The Boomtown Rats - Diamond Smiles
mp3 : The Boomtown Rats - Having My Picture Taken

mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (album version) *

mp3 : PJ Harvey - C'mon Billy
mp3 : PJ Harvey - Darling Be There
mp3 : PJ Harvey - Maniac
mp3 : PJ Harvey - One Time Too Many

* if anyone is interested in any of the other 7 mixes, just drop me an e-mail.

Oh and some of you might have spotted that for a few hours last Saturday morning that a posting on a few songs by Pulp was available to read but with no mp3s. It will be re-posted tomorrow morning, complete with mp3s, as the blog returns to normal.

Thanks again folks for your patience.

AT LEAST THE ACCOUNT HASN'T BEEN FROZEN...

I've established that a systematic failure at Fileden has led to quite a few folk having no access to their files and accounts just now. That's 4 days and still no sign of the problems being resolved.

I'm relieved in as much that my accounts haven't been frozen as a result of some music label taking offence at something I might have said or done, but I'm hacked off as I pay Fileden a fair amount of money every month so that anyone using the mp3 files can enjoy a quick and efficient service, and right now I'm getting no value for money.

If it doesn't resolve itself over the next 24 hours, then I will set up accounts with a new file host and sort out all the back links. And come what may, there will be a new posting going up on Wednesday morning.

Oh and this is just what I needed on top of my i-tunes library deciding to crash on me (I had all the files on back-up so it was just a long and painfully slow process of re-building it from scratch) as well as me being bed-ridden all weekend with flu-like symptoms.

Poor Me.

So in the absence of any mp3s, I hope you will enjoy some videos:-






These are for everyone who has very kindly send offers of help this past few days. Especially tart....who I know will love all three of these songs.

PS : I'm testing out another file host service.....one that got a few good write-ups from those who seem to know about these things. So, if you go back to last Friday's Morrissey post, the songs should be playable and downloadable (not that any of you would do the latter!!). Simply right-click on the song and it will open in a new window for you.......

Happy Listening

THE PROBLEMS AT FILEDEN STILL PERSIST. I'M LOOKING INTO IT.

TVV WILL RETURN SOON. JUST NOT SURE WHEN.

TEMPORARY (????) PROBLEMS

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT NONE OF THE MP3 FILES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE VIA FILEDEN. I HAVE MY CONCERNS THAT MY ACCOUNTS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED....

I DONT HAVE THE TIME TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES THIS MORNING BEFORE GOING TO WORK, BUT HOPE TO HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU LATER ON THIS EVENING.

APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.

JC

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE....WITH MORRISSEY (Part 38)

mp3 : Morrissey - All You Need Is Me

Not quite true, but an ideal way to end this long-running series which has looked, in what I hope has been an objective way, at all of the singles Morrissey has released during his solo career.

I've kept this till last, partly as I thought it was a great title to round things off, but also because of something bizarre that happened about two-thirds of the way through the series.

When I started out, I wasn't sure if I was in fact going to cover every single, mainly as I didn't have all of them in the collection either on vinyl or CD. As time went on I realised with a little bit of wheeling and dealing on ebay and discogs that I could get a hold of everything and so I went about sorting things out.

I hadn't bought all three version of All You Need Is Me on its original release in June 2008, going instead for just the CD as it was on offer in the indie record shop. Then maybe two or so months back , I noticed someone was selling both 7" singles. So I went into make a bid....and discovered that the seller was none other than Rol of Sunset over Slawit fame.

I sent Rol an email asking if, instead of a bidding war on ebay, he perhaps had a price in mind over which we might be able to come to an arrangement. To my delight he said yes. And to my delight and astonishment he said I could have them for free and that he would even pay for the postage.

It's those sort of gestures and acts of kindness that make all this blogging malarkey so worthwhile.

Rol said that he was happy to do all this as a thank you for all the postings I had done over the years and for giving him the chance to listen to some songs he had either long forgotten about or which were new and enjoyable. I still would have been happy to pay the going rate for the singles.....

So what are the three final b-sides brought forward for your aural pleasure? Well, one is a quite rare live cover version that the great man only ever performed on about seven occasions while the other two are songs that would have improved his last LP if they had been kept back for that:-

mp3 : Morrissey - Drive-In Saturday (live)
mp3 : Morrissey - My Dearest Love
mp3 : Morrissey - Children In Pieces

The more than passable cover of the David Bowie single dates from May 2007 and was part of the encore of the gig held at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, New England. It was preceded by Everyday Is Like Sunday and followed up with the last song of the evening, You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side.

My Dearest Love is a fabulous song, one that is heavily dominated by the piano and as such a real welcome move away from the brash guitars that have been such a prominent part of most tunes since Jesse Tobias joined the backing band and got involved in writing material. It's inclusion on a forthcoming CD rounding up most of the recent b-sides will hopefully bring it some deserved attention to a wider audience.

Children In Pieces may well have been inspired by the 2002 movie The Magdalene Sisters which was written and directed by the superbly talented Peter Mullan, a resident of Glasgow (and with whom I once got drunk at an awards ceremony!!). Morrissey's song deals with similar themes covered in the movie, and while the lyrics are direct and unflinching, it doesn't quite work as they are sung over an upbeat and plodding tune that is completely out of sync with the sentiments. Maybe one day Morrissey will return to the lyric and re-record it with a more appropriate tune...but I doubt it.

Both of the two new b-sides were produced by Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolla, who is best known for his score for Brokeback Mountain, while the photo on the sleeve was again taken by Jake Walters.

All You Need Is me only reached #24 in the UK charts when it deserved so much better. But as this series has shown, an awful lot of the singles suffered a similar fate.

It's not long now until Morrissey's next LP hits the shops - its called Swords and it is actually a 18-track collection made up of the b-sides of the singles taken from You Are The Quarry, Ringleader Of The Tormentors and Years Of Refusal. Like all Morrissey LPs, it has some high points and one or two low points, but is well worth investing in. And even although I have all the songs in the collection, I'll be suckered into parting with my cash just so that I can pick up the initial bonus CD with eight live tracks recorded at a gig in Warsaw, Poland on 7th July 2009.

Finally, I've done mentioned this before, but this series just would not have been possible if I hadnt been able to call on the facts, figures, info and detail on what I reckon is the best Morrissey fan site out there - Passions Just Like Mine, which is run by Stephane Dagle. Stephane also offers a fantastic selection of rarities for sale at very competitive prices, the proceeds of which help maintain his site.

Click here for more details.

Next Friday sees the official start of the series looking at great 45s from Scotland.

Morrissey? We're gonna miss him when when he's gone........

A SIDE PROJECT THAT WORKED

Lazy posting today. Here's a straight lift from wikipedia:-

Originally formed in 1998 while on a break from The Wedding Present, Cinerama started as a duo of Gedge and his then-girlfriend Sally Murrell.

The initial releases were a break from previous Gedge records as they featured soundtrack-like arrangements and string and woodwind accompaniment. Live performances included a lot of musicians to play these orchestral/pop songs.

Over the years though the sound changed back to more of a rock sound, especially once some of The Wedding Present songs were incorporated into the live set. Cinerama employed a shifting line-up of collaborators and full-blown members.

1998's Va Va Voom featured the help of The Church's Marty Wilson-Piper and Emma Pollock of The Delgados. Gedge rescued the rhythm section of the disbanded Goya Dress (Terry de Castro and Simon Pearson) in 1999, employing them as members, and former Wedding Present guitarist, Simon Cleave, was in the line-up since the group's first show.

Cinerama released a clutch of multi-format singles in support of their debut album, as well as a number of intervening releases prior to 2000's Steve Albini recorded, Disco Volante. Also notable was the band's inaugural release, on their own Scopitones record label on Valentine's Day 2000 (Manhattan), which featured a cover of The Smiths' song, London

This Is Cinerama was released just weeks after Disco Volante and they were a frequent guest on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 program.

In 2002, the dark, guitar-driven Torino was released and in the following spring the release of Cinerama Holiday collected the entirety of the group's fifth through eighth singles.

Around 2003 Murrell and Gedge split up and she then left the band. Eventually during the recording of what became Take Fountain, Gedge decided that the sound had changed so much that it would be better released under The Wedding Present name, and so Cinerama were finished although the same musicians carried on.

Cinerama were a class act. Some of the songs are amongst the best that David Gedge has written throughout his long career, and the short-lived adventure of Cinerama allowed all sorts of wonderful arrangements and instrumentalisation that would have been dismissed out of hand by hard-core fans of The Wedding Present.

And on the eve of TVV featuring the 38th and final part of the Morrissey singles series, it makes a bit of sense to bring you the single that featured a cover of song by The Smiths:-

mp3 : Cinerama - Manhattan
mp3 : Cinerama - London
mp3 : Cinerama - Film

Happy Listening.

GIG REVIEW : RICHARD HAWLEY : QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH - 13th OCTOBER 2009

More from the keyboard of Jacques The Kipper:-

"There have been a few notable be-quiffed and be-spectacled rock 'n' rollers up in Scotland these last few days. Cliff and the Shadows last week, Richard Hawley this. Cliff produces wine; Richard, going by his "merch" stall anyway, produces Worcester Sauce and tea towels. Cliff believes in God; Richard believes in the "f" word.

Live, I can't comment on Cliff, but Richard is still rocking after all these years. Last night he picked his way through an hour and three quarters of new and old, technical difficulties, and an audience that only really warmed up after an enforced break. Ultimately, in a squall of feedback, he would take us down to The Ocean, but before then he and his able crew charted our way through Troublesome waters (as ever - lots of water), and love lost and found.

But was he any good? Well, let's be clear - if you don't like Hawley's croon to start, then that's not going to change after a night in his company. Especially last night, where his trademark between every song chat was sadly lacking. Funny, but not as funny as he used to be. Maybe that was the dodgy sound last night irritating his perfectionist persona; maybe he just wants to concentrate his attentions on playing new songs from what is his most personal album to date. Either way, he did those new songs real justice. It's rare for me these days to hear songs live and figure I need to go back reassess the album, but this was one of those moments. Truelove's Gutter hasn't really grabbed me thus far, but songs like Ashes On The Fire, Remorse Code and Don't Get Hung Up In Your Soul positively sparkled played live. For Your Lover Give Some Time - a paean to "our lass" - brought a tear to my glass eye for reasons best not explored here. Add all the newies to various revitalised, and in one case totally revisited, oldies and, musically, I have never seen the new voice of Haagen Dazs better.

And I never mentioned the truly astonishing playing of a saw by band member, David Coulter, during the encore.

I think Mr Hawley enjoyed it by the end. I certainly did.

Plucking brilliant."


Thanks Jacques. I've only ever saw Mr Hawley once, and that was the warm-up act for Tindersticks at a gig in London a few years back. He was more than fine, but strangely enough when I later bought some of his albums I was left a little bit cold....

Oh and if anyone else wants to ever post a gig review, well feel free to e-mail.

A SORT OF REPEAT POSTING....

Back in May 2008, my dear friend ctel from the fantastic Acid Ted blogspot, came in and hi-jacked TVV while I was away sunning myself on holiday. To be fair, I asked him to look after the shop while I was gone, and he did so in his own distinctive and entertaining style with a short series called Confessions On The Dance Floor.

One of the songs he featured was the Andrew Weatherall mix of an early St Etienne single, which itself was a cover of a Neil Young track from days of old. Here's what ctel said:-

After all the good taste that is 45 45s @ 45, some more of those dirty little musical secrets we all have. None of that post-modern "guilty pleasures" nonsense.

Next up, Neil Young. Yeah, you were lauded in the sixties. Can't you stop now. Your whingy voice irritates me. But we all have to pretend that he's a genius.

The only track worth anything to me is "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". The third track on Neil Young's album After the Gold Rush. The song was supposedly written for Graham Nash after Nash's split from Joni Mitchell. Released as a single in October 1970, it became Young's first top 40 hit as a solo artist, peaking at number thirty three in the U.S. Musically, the song consists of the same three chords; D, G, A; repeated until the end.

Actually, I don't like Neil's verison. The only version worth a damn is by St Etienne. In 1990, Saint Etienne recorded a cover version of the song, included on their debut album Foxbase Alpha. According to Wikipedia "This cover is relatively faithful to the original but is arranged in 4/4 (as opposed to the original's waltz time), with a driving piano-bass-drum section." Whatever. What is important is that the genius that is Andrew Weatherall later remixed the song to further emphasise the dub bassline.

Get some Vera's, spark up and listen

This was their debut single and it features Moira Lambert on vocals as it pre-dates Sarah Cracknell joining the band. And although I've loved plenty of St Etienne releases over the years, I don't think they ever surpassed this piece of magic:-

mp3 : St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
mp3 : St Etienne - Filthy (featuring Q-Tee)
mp3 : St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (a mix of two halves by Andrew Weatherall)

Oh I know this is the 1991 re-issue of the single....I was never hip enough to buy it first time around....but then again my purchase did help it become the bands first Top 40 hit. Oh and another thing - while they are now known as Saint Etienne, you can see from the cover of the CD single that they were St Etienne in those days....

Allez les vertes.

GIG REVIEW - EDITORS - PICTURE HOUSE EDINBURGH : 12 OCTOBER 2009

I've been after my mucker Jacques the Kipper to help with TVV for quite a while now, but he's always telling me that he's far too busy. And doesn't it just turn it out that while I'm so stressed out with work right now he can get himself to two gigs on consecutive nights.

This evening he'll be at Richard Hawley. About last night, he had this to say:-

"Editors last night. Man, they rocked the joint. And that was a joint with the most evenly aged mix of gig goers I think I've ever seen from 14 to 64.

Not bought the new album yet but they must have played pretty much the whole thing. Brave or foolish ? Jury still out.

Last night, Matthew, we heard Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen obviously, Radiohead, early Simple Minds, someone mentioned Blur (though not for me) and possibly even a Frankie Goes To Hollywood bassline, all played to a mini-Muse backdrop. Technically they are of course far better than when last I saw them, although my friendly neighbourhood rock 'star' suggested that Tom's guitar was a bit "weedy". But (and I accept this is an unfair criticism) perhaps were more enjoyable with rough edges and playing for their musical lives. Once they've played this album to death and re-balanced their set, they'll be champion."

The last time he saw them, I was in his company at the tiny King Tut's in Glasgow as they toured the debut album before any of the singles has been hits.

Anyway, cant provide any mp3s, partly as I'm at work just now and no access to them, but mainly cos i-tunes library crashed over the weekend and is being painfully reconstructed song by song when I've got a spare moment. I'm getting through about 1,000 re-loads an hour, and with a bit of luck will have everything back in place by the weekend.

Thankfully, the TVV Risk Register sees at least 15 blog posts written up in advance and held in reserve, so the daily postings will still be coming your way. And don't worry Morrissey aficionados, the final post in the series is safe and sound and arriving at 6am this coming Friday.

A THING OF RARE AND UNCLUTTERED BEAUTY

And no, I'm still not wittering on about PJ Harvey.

I'm referring to the near four minutes of music that formed the A-side of the 1982 single pictured above.

Julian Cope might be a bit bonkers (as indeed can be evidenced from the track on the b-side of this single), but the two hit LPs recorded with The Teardrop Explodes at the beginning of the 80s contain perfect pop, timeless tunes and moments of magic.

Tiny Children was the third single lifted from Wilder and really deserved a much better fate than merely hitting #44 in the charts. It's a gorgeous lullaby, delivered with a real degree of fragility by Julian whose vocal is quite lovely, even if he does at times appera to be at the edge of his range.

mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Tiny Children
mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Rachael Built A Steamboat

As I said earlier, the b-side is a complete contrast. Weird.

If you like what you hear, then its worth investing in this bargain, the 2000 re-issue CD of Wilder which includes all the b-sides of the various singles plus the tracks on You Disappear From View, the flop single from 1982.

Happy Listening

PREPARING THE GROUNDS FOR FUTURE FRIDAYS (6)

I've never hidden my love for Malcolm Middleton, nor indeed Aidan Moffat, either as solo artists or during the ten years together in Arab Strap. So you can be assured that they will feature every now and again during the forthcoming series for Fridays which will be looking at great Scottish singles.

And as a wee taster, here's the title track from Malky's 2007 LP along with its b-side which he's never made available anywhere else:-

mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat
mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - Point Of Light

I've said this before but it really is worth repeating - Malcolm Middleton is one of the most enjoyable live acts I've seen in recent years and it is well worth shelling out some of your local currency should he be coming to a town or city near where you live.

Oh and he's also an awfy generous bloke - click here and get some freebies from his own wonderful website. And when you've done that, make sure you buy some stuff that you dont already own.

Happy Listening.

THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 34)

Not everything in this series has dealt with the cool kids in the class of 79.....

Even at the height of their fame, The Boomtown Rats divided opinions among those of us who liked new wave bands. They were dismissed in some quarters as bandwagon-jumping pub-rockers who just got lucky. I don't think there's much disagreement that while some of their early singles such as Mary of The 4th Form, Looking After No.1 and She's So Modern are great post-punk records, many of the songs that appeared on their first two albums were anything but.

Especially Rat Trap, which in late 1978 became the first single by a new wave act to officially reach #1 in the UK charts (it was also the first ever UK #1 by any act from Ireland). The fact that the follow-up single, I Don't Like Mondays, was yet another song as far removed from the three minute guitar-thrash as can be imagined was another reason for the purists to dismiss them.

But if I tell you that sometime in 1979 I went to see them at the Glasgow Apollo (not sure of the exact date, but it might have been October or November), then you can gather that I was a fan.

Nowadays, maybe as a result of overexposure on the part of Bob Geldof in the 80s, not many folk will hold up their hands and say they liked The Boomtown Rats - but there were plenty of folk like me as 7 Top 20 singles in row will testify, not to mention their 1978 and 1979 LPs going Top 10 in an era when you had to sell the best part of 100,000 copies to achieve that feat.

The tour that I saw the band on was to promote the LP The Fine Art of Surfacing. It's an album that hasn't dated all that well, but that's something that probably can be said about 70-75% of all LPs from new wave acts. Still, here's one of the singles and a 30-year old song about bloody fame and fortune ripped from the vinyl**:-

mp3 : The Boomtown Rats - Diamond Smiles
mp3 : The Boomtown Rats - Having My Picture Taken

Maybe if Sir Bob hadnt gone all saintly on us in the 80s with Live Aid then history would have been kinder to his band and they would be regarded with a degree more fondness.

Happy Listening.

** this post was written some weeks ago, and was not influenced at all by what appeared here at this highly promising new blog.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Back in 1996, I saw the promo video for Fun For Me by Moloko, a band I had never heard of and thinking that the song was damn catchy. A couple of days later I saw the CD single on sale for 99p in a wee shop in Glasgow (I still have the 99p sticker on the cover).

The single was great value in that it has seven tracks on it and lasted nearly 40 minutes (which is longer than quite a few of the albums in my collection). But then again all seven tracks were a variant on Fun For Me, and to be honest, while I liked the song, this was stretching things a bit far:-

mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Radio Edit)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Mr Scruff Vocal)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Doctor Rockit remix)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Stepping Mole mix)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Dr Plankton's Pondlife mix)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Mr Scruff Instrumental)
mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Loko Mole mix)

I'm sure that the dancing kings and queens among you might find some pleasure out of the different mixes. Personally, my favourite version is, ironically, one that wasn't on the single:-

mp3 : Moloko - Fun For Me (Album Version)

Fun For Me was a minor hit in that it reached #36 in the UK singles charts, but the band (which consisted of Roisin Murphy and Mark Brydon) would find fame and fortune in 1999 with handbag classic Sing It Back.

I cant confess to knowing all that much about 90s electronica (gimme the synth-pop of the early 80s any time), but I will happily admit to still enjoying the contents of Moloko's debut LP Do You Like My Tight Sweater even today some 13 years after its release.

Surely there's at least one of the mixes you'll enjoy.....

FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE.... WITH MORRISSEY (Part 37)

Almost five years ago to the day, (11th October 2004 to be precise) Morrissey released his 27th solo single. It was called Let Me Kiss You and was the third lifted from the LP You Are The Quarry.

Also on the 11th October 2009, Nancy Sinatra released her version of Let Me Kiss You, also on the Attack label that was Morrissey's home at the time.

Both singles charted. Morrissey's reached #8 (giving him a a third successive Top 10 placing for the first time since 1989). Nancy Sinatra's version hit #46, but was her first appearance in the UK charts in well over 30 years.

The fact of the matter is that Morrissey, along with his sidekick Alan Whyte, originally wrote the song for Nancy Sinatra to record and then, understandably, decided it was such a strong track that it should be included on his own LP. It really is one of the best ballads the great man has done during the solo years:-

mp3 : Morrissey - Let Me Kiss You

One of the reasons the single dd so well, despite being the third lifted taken from You Are The Quarry, is again down to the inclusion of previously unreleased tracks that could easily have fitted on the LP:-

mp3 : Morrissey - Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
mp3 : Morrissey - Friday Mourning
mp3 : Morrissey - I Am Two People

Trying to be objective however, only Friday Mourning, with its great lyric, fine arrangement (once you get past the first few seconds where it sounds like a late 80s Elton John tune) and heartfelt Morrissey delivery is a truly special song, with the other two tracks being let down somewhat by dull tunes - but this is in the context of all the other songs that Morrissey had released in 2004. They still are a million times better than most of the content of the late 90s LPs.

The rather fetching cover photo (how does he still get such a quiff at his age?) was taken by Hamish Brown, who has worked with some major league pop and sports stars in his time....

Oh and Nancy's version. Well, it isnt all that different really from the great man's:-

mp3 : Nancy Sinatra - Let Me Kiss You

And to round things off here's Nancy's b-side:-

mp3 : Nancy Sinatra - Bossman

Trivia fact. The harmonica on Bossman is played by Richard Hawley.

Next week, part 38 of the series, will be the final episode. I hope you'll all drop by...