THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS

I was intending to sit down and compose a long diatribe about the past 12 months, but I don't really have the stomach for it, and besides an e-mail that came in that changed my mind about the final post of 2010.

I cant deny that the year has been dominated, personally, by the sudden death of my brother David in a car crash in Ireland back in July. In among the grief and sorrow, I took great heart from the many many messages that were left on this blog and via e-mail. Thanks again to all of you for your very kind words and thoughts.

The year also ended badly for me. My best mate - not someone I mention much on the blog as he is not a music buff by any means - finished 2010 in hospital. It was 16 months ago that he received a bone marrow transplant to help him fight off leukaemia, and all seemed well until his six-weekly routine check-up showed up something the medical team didn't like. As a result he was taken back to the specialist hospital in Glasgow and the fight for his life has begun all over again. This was a totally unexpected development as he was feeling great even on the day of his check-up. Its knocked the stuffing out of me somewhat and is partly why I haven't been in the mood too much for posting in recent weeks.

These two events are what I will most remember 2010 by. And yet.....there was so much else happened that could have made this one of the best years ever.

Football wise, all three of my favourite teams achieved something special this year - I got to see Raith Rovers in a Scottish cup semi-final, I made it to Wembley to see Southampton win silverware while I watched from afar as Rochdale got promoted for the first time in living memory.

Music wise, well I cant get past the fact that I've befriended all the musicians in Butcher Boy and been in the privileged position of hearing their new record just as it has been recorded as well as see them play a number of great gigs.

Then there's the Edwyn/Orange Juice stuff - meeting and talking to the great man and his missus earlier in the year at a book-signing event and then I was stunned to see my name in a list of 'thank yous' from Domino Records within the booklet that was with the Orange Juice boxset.

Then there was the bit of DJ-ing in the summer which gave me a big kick, while I also met, for the first time, a couple of American readers (hi there Jeff and hi there Tricia) who came to Glasgow for one reason or another and that was great fun.

And I cant forget that friendships with Comrade Colin, Ed, Drew, Mike and Matthew have all been cemented over beers and gigs, while the likes of Davy, Simon, Greer, Webbie, Adam, Anglopunk, Lee, Richard and Rol, among others, have been great to 'talk to' by email.

So there was loads of small things on the plus side.......but they were, without any question, more than counter-balanced by two big things on the minus side.

So that's my take on 2010. Sorry if you came in expecting loads of talk about which songs were great and which were rubbish. Anyway, there's plenty other blogs and sites out there willing to talk at length and in a far more coherent sense than I can about what music made them tingle this past 12 months.

But here's a handful of songs that I have enjoyed:-

mp3 : Kid Canaveral - Good Morning
mp3 : Orange Juice - Bridge (Kid Jensen Session, February 1984)
mp3 : The Scottish Enlightenment - Earth Angel-With Sticks in Crypt
mp3 : Gorillaz feat Mark E Smith - Glitter Freeze

And finally, the one song that I'm willing to call my favourite of 2010:-

mp3 : Stornoway - I Saw You Blink

That might have surprised a few of you.......but there's something about its simplicity and loveliness that gave me a bit of inner peace this year.

And finally for 2010, a big favour to ask you all. Again.

Regular readers will know that I support a charity through TVV called the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, something I was inspired to do after Acid Ted temporarily went off-line. Many of you will know the story, but if you don't please click here.

Anyway, here's what the big favour is all about:-

On 1st January, ctel (aka Acid Ted) will be hosting an exclusive bit of music to raise money for research into brain tumours, in memory of his son Lawrence who passed away in October 2007.

He is offering everyone the chance to get an exclusive mix from the marvellous but mysterious Error Operator. This mix will not be available anywhere else. All you have to do is make a small donation to charity.

The instructions on how to get this download will be given in the actual posting.

I really would be grateful if as many of you as possible could get 2011 off to a great start by supporting this venture.

Thanks once again.

And Happy New Year when it comes round.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!

First of all........a huge big thank you to everyone who has sent a lovely Xmas message, either through a comment these past few days or via an e-mail. I promise I will respond to all of them....just a bit tied up just now trying to keep going without any running water thanks to frozen pipes.

So here it is.....Merry Xmas Everybody.

And keeping with the spirit of the day, TVV is handing out some goodies.

Last week, I offered the chance to win a copy of the 12” single My Beloved Girl by Edwyn Collins. Contestants were asked to give me the name of Edwyn’s wife. The answer is Grace Maxwell. Incidentally, I'd like to remind everyone that Grace was the TVV person of the year for 2009. The reasons why are here.

I’m pleased to announce that of the eight people who sent in an e-mail, the name plucked out of the hat is Richard Cundill. I say pleased, not because I wanted Richard to win ahead of anyone else, but for two reasons.

Firstly, he’s entered every competition I’ve ever set and this is his first success. Secondly, it gives me the chance to plug something he’s responsible for, namely a very well-written and informative biography of Martin Stephenson which I reviewed on publication in 2009. Click here for a reminder.

And now, its time for what I reckon will be the biggest ever giveaway on TVV.

I’m a huge fan of the way a number of bloggers such as Ed at 17 Seconds, Jim at Aye Tunes and Lloyd at Peenko have branched out and set up record labels/hosted radio programmes/promoted club nights and gigs. I got a little taste of thing earlier in 2010 when Drew from Across The Kitchen Table put a lot of work into setting up Blog Rocking Beats at The Flying Duck in Glasgow and allowed me to be part of it – and this was one of many musical highlights in 2010.

But more than anyone else, I’m a huge admirer of Matthew Young who is responsible for Song By Toad. His blog sets standards the rest of us can only ever dream of aspiring to while his weekly podcasts are works of art. He’s set up a critically acclaimed record label and having been successful in holding the occasional special night around the acts on his label, he’s now going to branch out and promote a monthly live event in Edinburgh from January 2011 onwards. And he’s a thoroughly decent bloke as well…..

Matthew is TVV’s Person of The Year for 2010. He has taken the incredibly brave decision to give up his regular job and become self-employed in the music industry in an effort to turn Song By Toad Records into something substantial. It won’t be easy, but that won’t detract Matthew from giving it a real go….

And in recognition of this award, TVV has arranged to provide one lucky reader with a copy of the entire back catalogue of Song By Toad Records – well the parts of the catalogue that haven’t sold out. I’m purchasing everything you can from Matthew, and he’s also agreed to throw in a couple of other things not otherwise readily available, and it will all be lovingly packaged and sent to someone who correctly answers this really tough multi-choice question.

What is the name of the first band to sign to Song By Toad Records:

A. Buckfast
B. Meursault
C. Sauvignon Blanc

All you now have to do to have a chance of getting your hands on this prize is send an e-mail to thevinylvillain@hotmail.co.uk giving your answer and your own name and address. The competition is open to all and sundry, no matter where you live. The closing date is Friday 7 January 2011. Good luck.

And that dear readers is the last of TVV until 31 December when I’ll share my thoughts on 2010 with anyone who is interested. I’ll end today with three tunes selected at random from the i-pod.

mp3 : Ash - Angel Interceptor
mp3 : The Horrors - Who Can Say
mp3 : Michelle Shocked - When I Grow Up

Happy Listening.

THAT'S ALL VERY WELL JENS, BUT ITS FUCKING BALTIC OVER HERE....

This was from a newspaper report on 5 December 2010:-

After a week of the heaviest snow in Scotland for nearly 50 years, forecasters are warning that it could persist into the New Year. Although they are predicting less snow, there is no prospect of the mounds of white stuff melting away.

Temperatures are expected to remain mostly below zero for several weeks, with widespread danger from ice and freezing fog.

According to the Met Office, between 30 and 50 centimetres of snow has fallen in the last few days across Scotland. The last time there was anything comparable was in November 1965.

Temperatures towards the end of the week fell below minus 10 degrees centigrade in many places. The coldest place on Thursday night was Braemar, which registered minus 20.4 degrees, with minus 16.8 in Aberdeen, minus 15 in Edinburgh and minus 10 in Glasgow.

The coldest place all week was Altnaharra in Sutherland, which registered minus 21.1 degrees on Wednesday. The remote hamlet was besieged by journalists, who found local people shrugging their shoulders and getting on with it.

The Met Office is predicting the cold weather will continue for at least the next 30 days, with periods of snow, sleet, freezing rain and fog. “For the remainder of December and into the start of the New Year, temperatures look set to remain well below average for much of the UK, with often widespread frost and ice,” warns the official forecast.

And do you know something.....they got it right. Its been a nightmare. Maybe it will inspire someone over here to write something as wonderful as this chap from Gothenburg:-

mp3 : Jens Lekman - The Cold Swedish Winter

Merry Christmas everyone. I'll announce the winner of the recent Edwyn competition tomorrow as well as reveal deatils of a new competition for the Festive Season and New Year. It's the biggest prize I'll probably ever offer at TVV......

GLASGOW GIG REVIEWS : MARTIN STEPHENSON & THE DAINTEES; BELLE & SEBASTIAN; BUTCHER BOY

Most of you, if indeed not all of you, must by now be sick of the fact that I always seem to be saying that the gigs I go to are memorable.

If so, I apologise in advance for the next few paras. But it’s a simple fact that in a five-day stretch at the end of December 2010, I was in the very privileged position at getting along to three incredible and different gigs.

(1) MARTIN STEPHENSON & THE DAINTEES – THE ACCIES CLUB, GLASGOW : 17 DECEMBER

TVV gave this one a bit of an advance plug, along with a solo gig by Martin Stephenson the night before at the Woodend Club. My plans to get along both nights were scuppered by the fact that I’m recovering from cracked ribs after slipping on black ice which is keeping me awake at nights and also that the underfoot conditions were treacherous and I was terrified I might fall down again. In fact, my attendance on Friday was also in doubt until the 11th Hour but having heard so many good things about the 2009 Xmas show at this venue, I was determined to get there even at the risk of another few hours in the Casualty unit of the local hospital.

And I’m glad I did.

Every time I’ve caught Martin Stephenson over the past three years, I keep thinking that the latest gig is the best yet. And this was no different.

Two and a bit hours of top-quality entertainment that featured all of the great songs from the past 30 years and a band that seemed to enjoy themselves every bit as much as the audience. The Daintees gigs in December have now become every bit as traditional and established as the pantomime at the King’s Theatre (oh yes they have!!!) and an early Xmas present courtesy of promoter Alan Hendry under his Sounds In the Suburbs banner. But talking briefly afterwards to guitarist Gary Dunn, it’s quite clear that the band themselves also look forward to travelling to Glasgow and performing in front of such an enthusiastic audience.

It really did feel as if the band and the audience were just one big collective happy family. But rather than being together for a sing-song and a bit of a knees-up we were content to let the talented members of the family do all the entertaining…...

Not a single second of the gig was wasted. It was a blinding set and the chat provided in-between the songs was every bit as entertaining and amusing as you get when Billy Bragg is on top form. The licensing laws brought the night to a close just on midnight which is maybe just as well as I was left with the very distinct feeling that the band would have kept on going right through the night until at least daylight was upon us. If only…..

mp3 : Martin Stephenson & The Daintees – Slaughterman

Strange thing is.....it wasnt even gig of the week.........

(2) BELLE & SEBASTIAN – BARROWLANDS, GLASGOW : 20 & 21 DECEMBER

It hadn’t been the plan to get along to two of the three nights that Belle & Sebastian were in residence at Glasgow’s best live venue, but that’s how it turned out.

I got a text from someone who had been at the gig on the 19th which said, and I’m slightly paraphrasing, that this Belle & Sebastian but not as he’d experienced them before. It was rather a cryptic message as this was a text from someone not all that enamoured by their most recent LP and who was also critical of the God Help The Girl project. I asked if it was a good or bad thing and was told just to go along and see for myself…..

And I’m glad I did....

Years ago, this was a band that seemed frozen with nerves on the stage, with a frontman whose voice always seemed to be on the verge of cracking such was the apparent stage-fright and/or shyness. They were also a band with such a complicated arrangement that the live sound was often inferior to the studio recordings. But not any more….

The sound at The Barrowlands on both nights was astonishing in its clarity and its quality, especially when you consider just how many musicians were on the stage. In addition to the magnificent seven band members, there were five musicians providing strings and an occasional additional roadie/technician who played additional keyboards. Oh and not forgetting the four members of the audience asked on to the stage to provide handclaps and dancing……

There was never at any point in time a clash of noise with one instrument drowning out some or all of the others, nor did the vocals ever dominate or get lost. Such a triumph is partly down to the genius of the men on the sound desk, but it’s also testament to the abilities of the musicians themselves. If I wanted to be hyper-critical I could say that Stuart Murdoch occasionally fluffed a vocal because he had a heavy cold that caused him to cough every now and again.

But that would be grossly unfair…

It would have been very easy to hide behind an illness and cancel the gigs, especially given that the dreadful weather conditions would have seen quite a few fans relieved they didn’t have to venture out onto the frozen tundra. But Stuart soldiered on and shirked nothing…….if anything it made him all the more determined to fulfil his role as one of the most engaging and entertaining front-men of any band out there just now.

It really is a far cry from the early days. Here’s a man who now flirts with his audience and who demands that, for effect, a female member of the audience puts mascara on his eyes. In an era when so many singers and musicians are now cosseted from their audience by safety barriers and over-zealous personal stewards, Stuart’s performance was a real throwback to the good old days as he stood on to of the monitors to deliver some of his vocals and came as close as he could to allow the fans pressed up against the crush barrier to reach out and touch him. Hell, he even actually jumped down into the audience on the second night, complete with a collecting bucket for a local charity that he and the band were promoting during the residency……

But please, the joy of these gigs was not down to the performance and antics of one man. These were two exceptional performances in which everyone played a blinder. As with The Daintees at the Accies club, the set drew extensively from the entire back catalogue, but with a bit of a twist……

It would have been very easy for the band to turn up and do the same show each night given that with tickets being £25 plus booking fee, only the most dedicated of fans would have come along more than once (my own reason for being there on two nights will unfold!!). And even the most dedicated of fans would probably have been happy.

But here’s the originals we got over the two nights (in alphabetical order):-

Dirty Dream #2
Expectations
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
I Didn't See it Coming (x2)
I Fought In A War
I Want The World To Stop (x2)
If You Find Yourself Caught In Love (x2)
If You're Feeling Sinister
I’m A Cuckoo (x2)
I'm Not Living In The Real World (x2)
Judy And The Dream Of Horses
Lazy Line Painter Jane (x2)
Legal Man
Lord Anthony (x2)
Mayfly
Me And The Major
My Wandering Days Are Over
Piazza, New York Catcher
Sleep The Clock Around (x2)
Step into My Office, Baby
Sukie In The Graveyard (x2)
The Boy With The Arab Strap (x2)
The Fox In The Snow
The Stars of Track and Field
The Wrong Girl
There's Too Much Love
We Rule the School

As you can see, around half the set changed over the two nights. And there were some songs played on the Sunday night that didn’t feature on the Monday or Tuesday.

These were shows way better than I ever dreamed of….and turns out I’m not alone with that view. Comrade Colin shares his thoughts here, while The Pop Cop waxes eloquently about the first show right here.

My own personal highlights were these:-

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian – Lazy Line Painter Jane

I never ever imagined that I would get see Monica Queen herself on stage with Belle & Sebastian – I roared my head off the first night it happened. I simply took great delight on the second night watching a similar reaction from the rest of the audience.

Oh and the performance of this stunning pop song was one of the most joyous moments in all of 2010:-

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian – The Boy With The Arab Strap (live version, Bowlie Weekend 1999)

Who would have believed a recorder solo could bring such joy???

(3) BUTCHER BOY – BARROWLANDS, GLASGOW : 21 DECEMBER

A few months back, Butcher Boy let it be known they were to be the support act for Belle & Sebastian at the Barrowlands. By the time I found this out, the first announced show on Tuesday 21 December was sold-out. So I got my hands on a ticket for Monday 20 December (and a big thank you to Sunday Correspondent John Greer for sorting that out for me). But I was crushed when I found out that the support acts were going to be different on each of the three nights……

I tried very hard to find someone who no longer had a use for the ticket on the Tuesday.

And I’m glad I did....

I don’t think I’ve ever arrived so early at a gig. Doors were at 7pm, and I was there for 7.20 just to ensure I could get as close to the stage as possible for the appearance of the support band at 8pm. There were a few of us there specifically to shout and clap and cheer for Butcher Boy – after all, you’re never quite sure just how any support band will be received by a wider audience unfamiliar with their work.

I was nervous as hell for them and quietly asked for three wishes.

Wish #1 : For the songs to sound just as magnificent in the Barrowlands as they do in the smaller venues I’ve seen them perform

Wish #2 : For the band to enjoy the experience

Wish #3 : For the audience to enjoy the experience and show their appreciation

And in the best traditions of Xmas panto, my three wishes were granted!!

It was a short set of 35 minutes that was huge on quality.

They opened with a mesmerising When I’m Asleep that deserved to be heard by way more than the 100 or so folk who were paying attention at this time. But it did the trick….it wasn’t long before more people made their way forward to listen to the beautiful noise that was emanating from the stage. I mentioned earlier about the quality of the sound the technicians provided for the lead act – they also provided a similar service to Butcher Boy who, in my very humble opinion, have never sounded better than they did last night.

The band were very quickly into their stride and basking in the growing warmth of their reception.

Findlay Mackinnon on drums and percussion looked as if he was born for this particular stage and was soon wise-cracking with the audience over on his side of the stage.

Robert Spark on bass and guitar, who I've often accused of looking scared out of his wits when he's playing live, was cool as ice and was even spotted singing along to the songs.

Basil Pieroni on guitar and mandolin was the coolest 47-year old man on Planet Earth between 8pm and 8.35pm on 21st December 2010 – and that’s a fact dear readers.

Alison Eales on keyboards and accordion was beaming with happiness, and why not given she looked fantastic with her new haircut and sounded even better.

Fraser Ford on keyboards, melodica, bass and guitar remains the quiet and serious but unassuming hero of the band who never misses a note – but even he cracked a few smiles and gave a thumbs-up to the audience.

Maya Burman-Ray, Helena Flint and Cat Robertson on cello, viola and violin respectively took the gold medal for being the most gorgeous looking and even more gorgeous sounding string section ever to play with a pop band. I’m sure that they caught the eyes and ears of quite a few folk who were experiencing Butcher Boy for the first ever time.

And then at the centre of it all was John Blain Hunt on acoustic guitar and vocals. The man who uttered these words very early during the performance - ‘it’s amazing to learn tonight that I’m a bit of a show-off.’

It was clear that John knew from the opening few seconds that the band in which he has invested so much of his life over the past 12 years were scaling new heights, and he was revelling in it. As Comrade Colin spotted, there was even a little hint of a dance on stage and a quiet and subtle Pete Townsend moment on the guitar…..things never seen before in a Butcher Boy show!! But above all else, his vocal delivery last night confirmed my view that he is easily the best and most talented singer in Scotland right now....he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Billy Mackenzie and Paul Quinn.

The set was closed with Helping Hands, the title track of the next LP. It was a hugely brave song to close with. It has a complex arrangement with changes in tempo. It also has a stunning lyric in which John delivers a love-song to his home city and particularly the south-side where he now lives.

But it’s a lyric that demands attention….and in choosing to end with such a song, Butcher Boy ran the risk that a lot of the audience having been let-down by what had gone beforehand could by now be talking amongst themselves and ignoring the support act, impatient and frustrated that there was still nearly 30 minutes before the headliners took to the stage. That’s not how it turned out…..

The 100 or so who had been there at the beginning was now about 1,000-strong (I’m basing that on the venue being half-full at this point), almost all of whom were caught up in the majesty of what they were seeing and hearing. The respect that Butcher Boy were being shown was well-earned. As was the loud and sustained applause they received as they left the stage. Support acts never get to do encores and rarely would such a thing be welcome but I’ve no doubt Butcher Boy would have raised the roof if they had given us one more tune……

mp3 : Butcher Boy – You're Only Crying For Yourself

That’s one they didn’t play last night, which surprised me a wee bit given how uptempo it is.

While this is an instrumental one they made available on a free CD with four songs from the back catalogue given away to some lucky members of the audience who were buying B&S merchandise.

mp3 : Butcher Boy - Whistle And I'll Come To You

Butcher Boy at Barrowlands on 21 December 2010 – one of the legendary gigs of my lifetime.

GIGS I MISSED IN 2010

I love going to gigs.

There will be a posting over Xmas/New Year which will boast about how many different Glasgow venues I've paid into to see bands over the years - there were a few new ones added this past 12 months as well.

But sometimes, for very good reasons, I don't make it along. Sometimes I'm a bit slow off the mark and don't get a ticket in time and decide I wont pay over the odds via a tout. On other occasions, two or more potentially great shows will be in town on the same night and its impossible to be in two places at once. Sometimes I will have a ticket that I just don't end up using for some reason or another - it might be I'm a bit under the weather, that work has to take priority, that travelling to the gig proves difficult or I'm just too plain tired to make the effort.

Here's just a few I'm annoyed at missing this past 12 and a bit months:-

Malcolm Middleton - Glasgow Oran Mor, December 2009 (I was on holiday)
Frightened Rabbit - Glasgow ABC, December 2009 (No trains cos of bad weather)
Tindersticks - Edinburgh Queens Hall, March 2010 (too tired to travel through)
James Grant/Friends Again - Glasgow City Halls, June 2010 (away on holiday)
Airborne Toxic Event - Edinburgh, Pleasance Theatre, October 2010 (too slow to get ticket)
iLIKETRAiNS - Glasgow ABC, October 2010 (family reasons)
Lloyd Cole - Glasgow Friuitmarket, October 2010 (family reasons)
Meursault - Glasgow Stereo, November 2010 (too bloody tired!!!)
The National - Glasgow Academy, November 2010 (family reasons)
The Wedding Present - Glasgow QMU, December 2010 (too busy at work that day and next)
Paul Smith - Glasgow, Classic Grand, December 2010 (hurt my ribs in a fall and scared I'd damage them further)
Arcade Fire, Glasgow SECC, December 2010 (see reason for Paul Smith)

The list is by no means exhaustive - they were just the ones that sprung to mind most easily.

It was missing The National that hurt more than anything. I didn't originally have a ticket, but Comrade Colin found one for me via a friend of his - and I was getting it at face value as well (not like the pair in the photo above which went for £90 incl postage via ebay.....I really hate how that site has legitimised touting).

I had no choice but to miss it. It clashed with being in Ireland attending the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the sudden death of my brother in a car crash earlier this year. What was particularly painful is that three years ago, when I was living in Toronto for a few months, I had a ticket for The National but was unable to go along as an emergency at work meant I had to work through the night. So that's been twice I've missed what by all accounts have been blinding gigs....I just think I'm fated never to see them.

And I do think High Violet is one of the albums of 2010.....

mp3 : The National - Afraid Of Everyone

Oh and I dont know how I can sleep easily at night when I think that I missed out on the Bizarro anniversary tour:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Crushed

The only thing that consoles me is that I did get to more quite astonishing show than the ones I missed. Including three shows in the past 5 days......which I'll try and write about tomorrow.

LIVE HIGHLIGHTS OF 2010 (Part 1)

There were loads of great gigs this past 12 months. And tonight sees the last of them for 2010. Butcher Boy supporting Belle & Sebastian at the Barrowlands. Nice way to finish.....

Its hard to say which of the gigs was the best as they all had something different to offer. But for something quick different than most, my mind goes back to the month of April and the triumph that was The Twilight Sad at the Glasgow ABC.

My words couldn't do justice to that night, so I ripped off review that was in a local broadsheet newspaper. And I make no apologies for repeating it word-for-word as it was a damn fine piece of writing:-

The Twilight Sad’s live shows have never been genteel affairs, so adding an extra PA to increase the volume could easily have been an unnecessary gimmick.

Instead, it gave the band an extra boost, on a night that confirmed just what a magnificent band the Kilsyth group have become.

They were bathed in a host of different lights throughout, as if acknowledging their step up to bigger venues, and towards the end it became a true audio-visual assault on the senses. Fancy tricks haven’t changed the band and they still brood with intensity, thanks to the hulking figure of vocalist James Graham, while shaven-headed guitarist Andy MacFarlane simply piled on distortion in increasingly imaginative ways.

And what noise it was. Heavily distorted music can often be a shortcut for a band to disguise their shortcomings, but that is not the case with The Twilight Sad. Sweet melodies still slid out, as on the folksier stylings of That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy, and there was a fantastic, bruised pop song underneath the feedback of Made To Disappear.

At times, it could be dizzying, and Graham’s gloom-infested vocals were occasionally buried beneath the torrent of noise. That salvo of sound is certainly an acquired taste, but the methodical dread that pervaded The Room made full use of the added PA to roll noise around the venue superbly, while a epic Cold Days From The Birdhouse highlighted a sensational closing run of songs that would provide a fitting soundtrack for Armageddon, such was their ringing force.

One of Graham’s few acknowledgements to the crowd was to ask why everyone was there. A fantastic gig was the answer.

It was one of the loudest nights I've ever experienced but also one of the most exhilarating. I marked the original review by featuring the band's debut single from 2007. Today features the sophomore single from the same year:-

mp3 : The Twilight Sad - And She Would Darken The Memory
mp3 : The Twilight Sad - That Summer, At Home I had Become The Invisible Boy (decomposed by Ensemble)

An alternative recording of the song was made for a mini-LP in 2008-

mp3 : The Twilight Sad - And She Would Darken The Memory (later version)

And here's a promo from a 2009 single:-



Happy Listening

IF ONLY IT WAS.....

......cos i'd be off work for a few days.....

As it is, I've got to get in for an important couple of meetings that will have an impact on whether or not I've got a job beyond 31 March 2011. I'm confident it will all work out OK in the weeks ahead - its a funding issue (I'm employed in the public sector) that should have been sorted a good while back.

Anyways, as many other bloggers have turned their attention to 25 December, I thought I'd do likewise. Here's something that Santa brought me on white 7" vinyl last year:-

mp3 : Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today
mp3 : Julian Casablancas - Old Hollywood

Listening to that b-side reminded that two years ago, David Gedge finally got round to releasing a Xmas single with a really festive b-side:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Holly Jolly Hollywood
mp3 : The Wedding Present - White Christmas

Initially a download single only, it was later made available as part of a limited edition boxset entitled How The West Was Won.

Thinking of that boxset title reminded me that R.E.M. once recorded a song with that same name and that over the years they have released a series of bit-less-than-serious Xmas songs for fanclub members over the years, including these:-

mp3 : R.E.M. - Ghost Reindeer In The Sky
mp3 : R.E.M. - Christmas Griping

Happy Listening - oh and please tune in on Christmas Day for a very special TVV competition.......

THE SUNDAY CORRESPONDENTS

WHEN IT ALL GOES PEAR-SHAPED........

I’m sure what I’m about to type has happened to all of us.

A new band comes on the scene and the noise they make on the radio and in print is quite appealing. As a music fan, you invest some of your hard earned spare cash into buying product which doesn’t disappoint. You even make an effort to catch them live on stage and come away impressed. The next thing is that you’re telling your mates and work colleagues that said band really are a bit special and well worth checking out.

But then one day, something happens that irritates you. It might be an unexpectedly duff record. It might be something you read after the most prominent member of the band has said something really stupid or even offensive. Now you find yourself on the defensive about the band and no longer find yourself championing them. Before you know it, you take on the traits of someone who has reformed part of their life after a drink or drug addiction and become a bit holier-than-thou and start denouncing the band.

Welcome to the TVV relationship with Deacon Blue.

Formed in the mid 80s, I first came across this lot thanks to them being one of a number of unknown Scottish artists who were on a compilation cassette called Honey At The Core (itself named after the debut single of perennial TVV faves Friends Again).

They had an elegant and eloquent front man in Ricky Ross. I particularly loved that, at a period in time when Glasgow had dismissed as just another former industrial city with nothing going for it, Ricky Ross was someone who was prepared to argue just how special a place it was, and how it was more than capable of getting off its knees. The music he and his band were churning out was also enjoyable. It was just the right side of anthemic and it also had a bit of a political edge. A song like Raintown could only be about a city like Glasgow, and a song like Dignity could only be about someone who came from Glasgow. The cover on the debut LP, released in 1987, was a fantastic photograph of the Glasgow of old when it was famous for shipbuilding and engineering. Yes, there was a degree of nostalgia about it all, but at a time when I had not long left the city for the first time in my life and re-located to Edinburgh, it was the sort of LP that I could put on of an evening and think of home.

Unsurprisingly, the band began to grow in popularity and soon became regulars in the singles and album charts, particularly after the release of their second LP When The World Knows Your Name in 1989. The new songs were totally different from the debut - very radio-friendly and of such mass appeal that the band were capable of selling out more than one night at the 12,000 capacity hall at the SECC.

Some of the new stuff got on my nerves, as did the fact that Ricky Ross was all over the media saying how his songwriting was developing as a craft and that he was an artist who wanted to be remembered for the timeless quality of his songs. Nor did it help that he was also using his new found fame to jump on his soapbox and tell anyone prepared to listen that the only way Glasgow and Scotland make progress was through political independence.

In other words...he turned into a pretentious, pompous self-deluding arse....and the music the band were pumping out was becoming unbearable to listen to.

But you can never take away the magic of some of the early stuff:-

mp3 : Deacon Blue - Raintown
mp3 : Deacon Blue - Dignity
mp3 : Deacon Blue - Riches

If you think I'm being harsh on Ricky, you should hear me when the name of Pat Kane of Hue and Cry is mentioned.....

PS

I mentioned the 1986 cassette of Honey At The Core. Here's the wiki link giving more information.

If anyone has a copy of it kicking around, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks

ONE SONG BY THE SMITHS....A SATURDAY SERIES (Part 24)

Anyone who thinks The Smiths were a bunch of pasty-faced wimps incapable of rocking out should give this a good listen:-

mp3 : The Smiths - What She Said

The fourth track on Meat Is Murder is a real tour de force for the musicians in the band with Johnny making all sorts of screechy guitar sounds while Mike pounds away as if his very life depended on it. Andy?? He just us very cool as he picks out a great rhythmic bass beat.

Having said that Moz also makes a big contribution to what I reckon is one of the band's most underrated songs. It rarely makes it near to the top of any lists compiled by fans or critics, yet it is the sort of track that makes it obvious that the Fab Four were far from one-dimensional.

This description of the tune by Simon Goddard a few years back is very worthy of Pseud's Corner:-

"A clever musical palindrome of premeditated fall followed by a reverse crest."

I've no idea what that means. But I'll translate it as IT RAAAAWWWKKS.

An earlyish live version of the song was made available on a free 7" given away with the NME in mid 1985:-

mp3** : The Smiths - What She Said (live in Oxford, March 1985)

** link now fixed....


A live rendition of What She Said with an intro from Rubber Ring, recorded in October 1986 was later made available on the posthumous live LP Rank

But here's one from an American gig on 28 August 1986:-

mp3 : The Smiths - What She Said (live in Laguna Hills, August 1986)

Happy Listening.

5 STUNNING COVER VERSIONS FOR FRIDAY

I heard a particular cover version for the first time the other day that just totally blew me away. It was a song orinally performed by Bruce Springsteen who is someone I don't have all that much time for - I know I should give some of his stuff a chance, but really he was just too much to handle when I was getting into my post-punk/new-wave stuff. Oh and I also reckon that by even listing one of his songs I run the risk of a dmca notice, so it will simply be labelled cryptically. The song however is from a movie a few years ago that won some Oscars, and this incredible cover is by Butcher Boy. John's voice is stunning but so is the arrangement.

And instead of the usual five great LP tracks that normally appear here on a Friday, I thought as a one-off I'd find five stunning covers, all with a Scottish connection, from the collection:-

mp3 : Associates - Gloomy Sunday
mp3 : Butcher Boy - a cover that cant be named
mp3 : Paul Quinn & Edwyn Collins - Pale Blue Eyes (12" version)
mp3 : Teenage Fanclub - another cover that cannot be named
mp3 : This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren

Billy and Alan's take on a song long associated with suicide is all the more poignant given what happened years later. One thing I didn't know until recently is that its composer had also committed suicide. This is his obit from the New York Times in January 1968:-

"Budapest, January 13. Rezsoe Seres, whose dirge-like song hit, "Gloomy Sunday" was blamed for touching off a wave of suicides during the nineteen-thirties, has ended his own life as a suicide it was learned today. Authorities disclosed today that Mr. Seres jumped from a window of his small apartment here last Sunday, shortly after his 69th birthday.

The decade of the nineteen-thirties was marked by severe economic depression and the political upheaval that was to lead to World War II. The melancholy song written by Mr. Seres, with words by his friend, Ladislas Javor, a poet, declares at its climax, "My heart and I have decided to end it all." It was blamed for a sharp increase in suicides, and Hungarian officials finally prohibited it. In America, where Paul Robeson introduced an English version, some radio stations and nightclubs forbade its performance.

Mr.Seres complained that the success of "Gloomy Sunday" actually increased his unhappiness, because he knew he would never be able to write a second hit."

The version by Associates, like most of the others in today's list, has been transformed into something that sounds like an original and not as if it dated from 1933. I've featured a live performance from 1980 rather than the studio version.....you get a great perspective of the power of Billy's voice.

I don't think I need to say to much about Paul & Edwyn's take on the Velvet Underground number except it does capture the mighty Quinn at his best and shows that more than one EC was a guitar genuius. Tragic again that illness has struck both of these great men down in recent years - Paul will never again sing in public while it will be a miracle if Edwyn is ever able to pick up his guitar and play.

Scared to dance to Madonna cos you're a hip indie-kid? Well, be scared no more.....you can throw the same moves to this as you can to the likes of Everything Flows or Starsign (on which this cover was a b-side)

And finally, the best thing ever recorded by The Cocteau Twins. This is part of the soundtrack to my student life.....and as a bit of music, is as every bit as special to be as anything by The Smiths or the New Order of the early 80s. Did you know that Song To The Siren spent 101 weeks in the Indie Charts from 1983-1985?? Well you do now.......

THIS LOT SORT OF CREPT UP ON ME THIS YEAR....

It was back in the summer when my boss at work tossed over a copy of the NME which featured a band called The Drums on the cover. He thought I might be interested in reading about them as they were a bunch of young American musicians (easily of an age that they could be my own sons) who were quoting all sorts of influences that I've championed on TVV....this interview name checked Close Lobsters who I have to be honest I thought were all but forgotten.

The interview didn't do all that much to endear me to the band. They weren't saying anything fresh or new and they were far too good-looking in my book to be worth caring about.

But I hadn't listened without prejudice. I realised this when I caught one of their songs on NME TV one day while browsing looking for a decent promo video among 20+ channels of musical trash on the Sky channels. I stuck with it and thought they might actually be worth checking out. A couple of days later another of their promos came on the telly. This was equally as good. To hell with it....I decided I'd nip into a record store and pick up their CD.

I'm really glad I did as I've played it an awful lot over the past few months.

OK, there's nothing totally earth shattering about it all. But the attraction of it all is its simplicity and infectiousness. They are more pop than anything else, but then again so were bands like Altered Images and Soft Cell (and there are times when lead singer Jonathan Pierce sounds as if he could easily win a Marc Almond soundalike contest) and lets be honest, these bands have gotten a lot of great press over the past 30 years as well as much critical acclaim.

I don't think I'm alone in my growing admiration for The Drums, but there's not many bloggers out there raving about them. They've certainly brightened up my 2010, not just for the songs on their own albums but for the song they co-wrote with Edwyn Collins on his Losing Sleep LP....one in which in a live setting, Will Collins shyly but brilliantly takes the joint vocal.

In today's ultra-disposable world of pop music where you gain veteran status if you make a second hit LP it will be interesting to see if The Drums have any staying power. But I wish them luck.

mp3 : The Drums - I Need Fun In My Life
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - In Your Eyes







Infectiously cheery......just what we need when its so cold and miserable out there.

MY BELOVED GIRL

There's a lot of interest just now in Edwyn Collins, partly because with Losing Sleep he released one of the best albums of 2010 and partly because thanks to the Coals to Newcastle box set the material of his old band Orange Juice is at long last available.

I got a fair number of comments after I posted different versions of Don't Shilly Shally the other week - and a few folk commented on how difficult it was to track down that and a lot of the other early singles from the late 80s. Indeed one passionate plea was made by a visitor from France to post the next single, and I'm delighted to oblige:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - My Beloved Girl

It was released on 7", 12" and a limited edition 7" box with postcards. All of the versions had something different to offer.

From the 7" single:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Clouds (Fogging Up My Mind)

From the 12" single:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - My (Long Time) Beloved Girl
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Clouds (Fogging Up My Mind) (Cumulonmibus Version)

From the box set:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - 50 Shades Of Blue (acoustic)
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - What's The Big Idea

OK, so I know its been less than six months since I featured all these tracks when I did a short two-day feature on Elevation Records.

For new readers, or those who may have missed the June postings, Elevation Records was set up as a joint venture between Creation and WEA in 1987. It was a short-lived affair, with just six singles and two LPs being released between April and November by The Weather Prophets, Primal Scream as well as Edwyn. None of the releases made the Top 50 and WEA pulled the plug because of the poor sales.

My Beloved Girl has the distinction of being the final Elevation single. Of the b-sides, 50 Shades Of Blue would emerge as a 7". 12" and CD single in its own right some two years later by which time Edwyn was on Demon Records, while What's The Big Idea would be re-recorded and find its way onto the LP Hellbent On Compromise which was released in 1990.
Finally.....raiding through the cupboard I've discovered that I actually have two copies of the 12" version of this single. So how about a wee competition to give it away??

To win, all you have to do is tell me the name of Edwyn's wife....and e-mail your answer to thevinylvillain@hotmail.co.uk

The closing date for entries is Monday 12 December*** after which one lucky name will be chosen at random. But it will probably be after the crazy Xmas rush that I will post out the record......

*** posting was drafted and then held over from original date and 12 December would have made sense if I hadnt done that (even though 12th wasnt a Monday!!).

New closing date for compeition is Wednesday 22 December.

Good Luck

DROP THE HEY! AND WHAT HAVE YOU GOT???

You would of course need to read yesterday's posting to make sense of the title of today's inane ramblings.

Having burst onto the scene in the middle of the Britpop era, Elastica enjoyed a fair amount of success with three Top 20 singles and a self-titled debut LP that hit #1 on its release in March 1995. Indeed, at that particular point in time, Elastica was the fastest-selling debut LP in the UK ever. Each of its 15 tracks were short and sweet - the LP only lasted 38 minutes in total - while the band were accused of all sorts of plagiarism with both The Stranglers and Wire receiving out-of-court settlements for old tunes being, ahem, borrowed from.

That shouldn't detract at all from the fact that the debut LP is an excellent listen and one that has stood the test of time.

But just as the band seemed on the verge of greatness it all fell apart, with sex and drugs very much to blame. Despite going into the studio in early 1996, no material emerged until 1999 when out of the blue a six-track EP was released:-

mp3 : Elastica - How He Wrote Elastica Man
mp3 : Elastica - Nothing Stays The Same (Donna's Home Demo)
mp3 : Elastica - Miami Nice (Home Recording)
mp3 : Elastica - KB
mp3 : Elastica - Operate (Live Version)
mp3 : Elastica - Generator

And to avoid any more court cases with the lead track, the band roped in Mark E Smith for a sing-song on a couple of the recordings.

The lead track is a superb bit of noise that clocks in at just over 2mins, its a disgrace that this was a flop. It is recorded as reaching #123 in the charts.....which means me and about 12 other folk bought it in the week of release.

Here's the promo:-



Happy Listening

DODGY TACHE ALERT

Video for Edwyn's new single.

AGRESSIVE TRASHY DANCE-POP

That was one of the descriptions meted out to Hey! Elastica, a short-lived but rather wonderful Edinburgh band from the early 80s.

There was a huge hype about them - visually they were quite stunning, while the sound they mad was tailor-made for radio play. The indie kids and students loved the sound and yet it had the potential to crossover to younger folk more in tune with mainstream pop.

They signed what I'm led to believe was a rather substantial contract with Virgin Records. Four flop singles and one flop album later, it was all over. October 1982 was the debut single and March 1984 was the LP. Seventeen crazy and wild months that left us with no more than 14 different songs and a load of happy memories for those lucky enough to ever catch them live. They could have been and should have been the Scottish B52s.

This was their second single:-

mp3 : Hey! Elastica - Suck A Little Honey (12" version)
mp3 : Hey! Elastica - Suck A Little More....

Happy Listening

NOT QUITE THE X-FACTOR.....THE PICTURES

With thanks to Comrade Colin.

NOT QUITE THE X-FACTOR....

Yesterday, many millions of UK residents willingly sat in front of their television screens and then spend ludicrous sums of money in phone calls to vote for one of four acts to win this year's X-Factor contest - the winner having a near guarantee of having the #1 single in the UK pop charts at Xmas 2010.

Thankfully, there are antidotes out there, and mine was provided by Butcher Boy.

Just three weeks ago, the band came out of hibernation to lay their first gig in ages at a small cafe in the West End of Glasgow. Yesterday was their second gig of 2010, and in keeping with the tradition of playing unusual venues, we found ourselves gathered in the splendour of the Jeffrey Room (pictured above) at the famous Mitchell Library in the Charing Cross area of the city.

The gig was preceded by a Xmas Fayre at the same venue with the band set to play between 3pm and 4.15pm. Entrance was just £5 but under 10s were allowed in free. Come 3pm, there were at least 200 people present, including the various stallholders/exhibitors at the Fayre. Many of them were family and friends of the band, with lots of young nieces and nephews in attendance. Oh and fans also brought along their kids. Comrade Colin's three boys were there, two of whom were making their concert debuts. Oh and another mate of mine - Doug - was also there with his wife and two sons - again the boys were making their concert debuts. It might not be up there with seeing Elvis or The Beatles as your first live gig, but it's quite a cool experience nonetheless...

This time the band were at full complement with drummer/percussionist Findlay MacKinnon coming up from his home in the Midlands of England.

The venue was quite stunning, but it was far from ideal for a perfect gig for a music snob like me. Too many toddlers just being themselves at the back of the room was a bit of a distraction and the lack of feedback monitors gave the band one or two problems. John's vocals were a bit muffled early on and there was a bit of a screech a couple of times when Maya was on the cello...but to be fair to the two blokes on hand to deal with the sound the problems were soon rectified (sorry I never got their names or I'd give a personal thanks right now).

The set was very similar to that played at Offshore Cafe three weeks back, albeit with a different running order:-

Days Like These Will Be The Death Of Me
The Day Our Voices Broke
Carve A Pattern
I Know Who You Could Be
I Am The Butcher
When I'm Asleep
Girls Make Me Sick
Helping Hands
Imperial
I Could Be In Love With Anyone
A Better Ghost
This Kiss Will Marry Us
There Is No-one Who Can Tell Where You Have Been
Every Other Saturday

But having the full complement made this a totally different gig altogether. Offshore was akin to an Unplugged even and while the Jeffrey Room showed just how wonderful the songs are when they have all the instruments to hand and when Basil is able to contribute his backing vocals.

Once gain, the new songs came across just as strongly as the old favourites. The only downside is that I'm now very impatient for the band to be signed to a new label and arrange a release date for the the Helping Hands LP.

There were a couple of genuinely stunning moments - the extended introduction to I Know Who You Could Be, the bit about halfway through When I'm Asleep when the entire band come as close to rocking out as they ever do, the second half of Helping Hands when John delivers a love letter to Glasgow and Glaswegians and all of This Kiss Will Marry Us. But the closing instrumental Every Other Saturday was truly majestic. I swear that even the toddlers kept quiet throughout....

As I said earlier, this wasn't a flawless performance. There were one or two nerves showing, possibly because loads of family members were in the audience, and its clear that the band are slowly building up to what will be a huge gig for them on 21 December when they open for Belle and Sebastian at Glasgow Barrowlands. They've one more rehearsal for that next weekend and then it really is game on. But they really have nothing to worry about. Butcher Boy are a band coming to the very top of their game and they are going to be mesmerising on 21 December.

Yesterday was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I'm just glad my football match was called off due to the bad weather so that I could make it along. It would have been a tough call otherwise...

mp3 : Butcher Boy - I Know Who You Could Be
mp3 : Butcher Boy - Girls Make Me Sick
mp3 : Butcher Boy - A Better Ghost

Oh and a big thanks to Robert for allowing one of Comrade Colin's boys a shot on his bass guitar after if was all over and done with and then for handing the two youngest boys free plectrums. It really made their day. Talking of Robert, here's some footage shot by his dad back in the 60s to which a demo version of Every Other Saturday has been added:-



Beautiful stuff.

PS:

Beautiful stuff (2) is this review of the gig over at Colin's place.

YOU DOING ANYTHING SPECIAL THURSDAY OR FRIDAY THIS WEEK??

Some folk look forward to the onset of Christmas because it means some special, quality time with family and loved ones. Others are more materialistic and like the idea of giving and receiving presents. I believe there's even some who like the time as it gives them a chance to ingest all sorts of food and drink they don't put anywhere near their system at any other time of the year.

Me? Well, its a little bit of all of the above and more. For in recent years, the onset of Christmas has meant getting along to a memorable Martin Stephenson gig thanks to the efforts of promoter Alan Hendry at Sounds In the Suburbs. And 2010 is going to be offer the same again....

Readers of old will hopefully know already of the great work Alan does in putting on gigs in fantastic and unusual venues, mostly in Glasgow. Sounds In The Suburbs started in 2006 as a sort of hobby for Alan as he looked to bring singers and bands to neighbourhood venues in the West End of the city. By neighbourhood venues, we're talking halls attached to sports clubs, some of which hold quite a bit less than 100 paying punters. Alan has also branched out a bit in recent years, promoting gigs by the likes of Penetration and Vic Godard in city centre venues and in Edinburgh, but the bread and butter remains the neighbourhood gigs in Glasgow.

My first experience of a Sounds In The Suburbs event was in February 2007 when Martin Stephenson played for nearly 3 hours at a pavilion of the Woodend Tennis & Bowling Club. we were treated us to all sorts of songs from his solo career, the era with The Daintees and cover versions. All night long he encouraged members of the audience to come on stage and be part of the show - a number of whom did just that. It was a genuinely unforgettable night....the added bonus afterwards at such an intimate venue was getting the chance to talk to Martin afterwards.
There have been a number of other great gigs since then, including the last two Christmases. The 2008 gig was particularly exciting as it saw the Daintees back Martin in an acoustic performance of the entire Boat To Bolivia LP, one of my all-time favourite records. I'd have been happy enough for the band to call it a day after those 12 songs but again we got an extended show of just over 2 hours of audience requests being granted - even the most obscure of b-sides that was rarely played live when the band were at their peak were given an airing.

Lasy year, Alan promoted two Christmas gigs with the Daintees - the first being at the Woodend and the second being at a larger venue of a local rugby club. Thanks to a clash with a works night out, I was only able to make the first of these gigs. As usual it didn't disappoint. But those who went along on both nights told me I missed something really special the second night as all sorts of guests joined in from within the audience, including a turn from comedian and all-round talent Bruce Morton.

This time round Alan is trying something a wee bit different. On Thursday 16th, he's promoting a solo Martin Stephenson gig at the Woodend, while on Friday 17th there's a Martin Stephenson & The Daintees gig at the Accies Rugby Club. The former will see a lot of the solo stuff played, a handful of covers versions and all sorts of Bragg-esque monologues in between. The latter will be all about songs by one of the best and most underrated bands of the 80s. Oh and I understand Bruce Morton will again be on hand to deliver some stand-up comedy....but I'm not sure if his material is as hilarious as Martin's impromptu tales of excess in the rock'n'roll world....

Tickets can be had in advance from the usual outlets, but you can save yourself a booking fee by contacting the promoter direct - soundsinthesuburbs@hotmail.co.uk

Its £12 for the solo gig and £15 for the band gig. Oh there's the bonus of really cheap prices at the bars....really cheap club prices way less than you'd ever pay at a gig anywhere else in the city.

If you've never yet seen Martin Stephenson play live, then this is an ideal opportunity to do something about it. I guarantee you wont be disappointed.

mp3 : Martin Stephenson - Mountainous Spring
mp3 : Martin Stephenson & The Daintees - Running Water





Happy Listening

ONE SONG BY THE SMITHS....A SATURDAY SERIES (Parts 22 & 23)

I'm not cheating this week. Yes, there are two songs. But they do have to be listened to back-to-back as that really was the way the band intended:-

mp3 : The Smiths - Rubber Ring/Asleep

I posted this back in May and it has proved to be the song that has had most downloads in 2010. I'll simply repeat what I said in that previous posting.

These are two of the best tracks The Smiths ever recorded....and only on the 12" of The Boy With The Thorn In His Side can you get to hear them the way they were intended.

Rubber Ring is a truly brilliant song -one of the most danceable tracks the band ever recorded. One that all four of the band play as equal a part in its magnificence as anything else in their entire repertoire. But just as you think it is going to fade away like most other songs, it it suddenly cuts out at 3:40 and after a short spoken vocal with a heavy European accent, it segues into Asleep, an incredibly moving piano-led ballad with a sense of a cold and bitter wind blowing through it as Morrissey,not for the last time, muses on taking his own life. And as the song fades out with the word 'goodbye', the piano stops and a music-box version of Auld Lang Syne - and should auld acquaintance be forgot - that just puts the icing on the cake of a truly astonishing bit of music that over the two songs lasts almost 8 minutes.

I have no idea why, on all the various compilation LPs that have been issued since, that Rubber Ring and Asleep have been separated into two separate songs. An act of wanton vandalism if you ask me.

But in case you are after the separate versions:-

mp3 : The Smiths - Rubber Ring
mp3 : The Smiths - Asleep

Sigh.

5 GREAT ALBUM TRACKS FOR FRIDAY (Part 9)

As with The Police the other week, the vast majority of the best songs ever written and recorded by Blur have been issued as singles:-

She's So High
There's No Other Way
Popscene
For Tomorrow
Chemical World
Sunday Sunday
Girls & Boys
To The End
Parklife
End Of A Century
Country House
The Universal
Stereotypes
Charmless Man
Beetlebum
Song 2
On Your Own
M.O.R.
Tender
Coffee & TV
No Distance Left To Run
Music Is My Radar
Out Of Time
Crazy Beat
Good Song

None of that lot are allowed to make the list today. Which is a relief as I'd spend ages agonising over which of them to select if they were.

But unlike Sting, Stewart and Andy, the four boys of Blur have recorded a fair number of excellent tracks that were never made available except on LPs, and five of them are offered up for your enjoyment today:-

mp3 : Blur - Advert
mp3 : Blur - B.L.U.R.E.M.I.
mp3 : Blur - Colin Zeal
mp3 : Blur - Death Of A Party
mp3 : Blur - This Is A Low

It wasn't until their third and flop single Popscene that I took much notice of Blur, and while I've since bough the 1991 debut LP Leisure, none of the tracks are total standouts. Not so however with Modern Life Is Rubbish the majestic body of work from 1993.

Not only does it contain three excellent singles, but almost all of its remaining 11 tracks have dated superbly well and the LP remains an excellent listen all these years on. Two of the tracks are include - Advert and Colin Zeal, which as tracks 2 and 3 on the LP and following on from For Tomorrow (which remains my all time favourite Blur single), you have a hat-trick of tunes as good as have opened any LP.

Advert and Colin Zeal remind me so much of what I loved about The Jam in the All Mod Cons days. One is a song about an ordinary person living a humdrum life and seeking something dramatic and dreamlike to help them escape the drudgery of their very existence while the other is about a self-deluding fantasist. And both are great guitar-driven tunes....

But no-one really fell for Blur at this point in time. The music world of the masses was in thrall to America...and in particular grunge (not that there was anything wrong with that). But the backlash when it came found Blur perfectly positioned thanks to the very Englishness of their 1994 LP Parklife which orbited them to superstardom. It's a record that is just a bit too quirky for my liking but in This Is A Low, there is a genuinely wonderful ballad that tugs at the heartstrings.....

Put the next LP The Great Escape from 1995 to one side. It's poor fare outwith some of the singles and instead focus on the self-titled comeback album of 1997.

This threw out everything that had made the band famous in the UK and caused bemusement among those who liked the poppy hit-singles. And perversely, with the release of Song 2 the band went to a whole new stratosphere, particularly in the USA. The 14 songs that make up Blur have all sorts of different influences at hand and it is a record that looking back now was an incredibly brave one to make. The band made a conscious effort to change direction and were happy to forego commercial success....but this collection of songs was just too strong for that to happen. There were loads from this LP that nearly made the final cut, but in the end its the sonic noise of Death Of A Party which is the sole selection. Their own personal sign-off to the hedonistic days of Britpop....the LP version is tremendous, but so too are the different mixes which were released on Bustin' + Dronin' a Japanese import CD released in 1998.

But if Blur was a fantastically disjointed and perverse LP, the world was stunned by the contents of 13 which was released in 1999. Its very dark and morbid in places with some of the lyrics relating to Damon Albarn's messy break-up from long-time girlfriend Justine Frischmann of Elastica, and there's far more use of electronics than before thanks to the influence of producer William Orbit. But at the same time, Coffee + TV is one of the most gorgeous bits of pop that Blur ever recorded....

B.L.U.R.E.M.I. is the track to make the list. A two-fingers of sorts to the record industry, you know that with its catchy tune and chorus a sure-fire hit-single mix of this could have been made. Instead it is smothered with all sorts of studio gadgetry that will make it somewhat unlistenable to some.....I love it to bits.

Blur released Think Tank in 2003m but without the input of Graham Coxon, and while it has its moments, none of the non-singles are able to make this list.

But who knows....if I was to write this piece in a few years time some songs not yet written never mind recorded might make it. After all, earlier this year, Blur released a brand-new song especially for Record Store Day 2010. It was limited to just 1000 copies making it hard to obtain as a piece of plastic, but it has been made freely available as a download on the band's website:-

mp3 : Blur - Fool's Day

Quite wonderful.......and if it had been a regular release, a near certainty to have been a massive chart hit.

Happy Listening.