Some current listening favourites:
Pinball/Brian Protheroe. I had no idea the former Gentlemen and Players (remember that?) star was a singer. This one and only hit from 1974 could have been out today, except for the rather dated references to pale ale, Soho and, er, pinball, surely all the rage at the time. But it's more a song about loneliness and depression really. He's got an alright voice. If you lived in a seedy London bedsit in the 70s, then this is the song for you. Or if you think that sounds like the most exciting thing in the world then, again, this one's right up your alley.
Red Wine and Promises/Lal and Mike Waterson. The Waterson sister (who's now sadly dead) and her husband join forces for this heartbreaking number a woman who drinks too much and falls over. She's probably an alcoholic. Lal, whose voice is similar but slightly softer and more melancholy than Norma's, does a tour de force here. When she sings 'I don't want no bugger's arms around me', she's drunk and helpless, but she's still got her pride. I defy you not to be moved.
Lovely Rita, Meter Maid/The Beatles. I can take or leave the Beatles as a whole - I'm a Stones man - but I saw that programme about the groups of today remaking the songs from Sgt Pepper, and I realised what a good, intricate and hard to sing song this is. And so 60s too - meter maid never caught on, did it, and lives on only in song. Nice and jolly.
Lazy Line Painter Jane/Belle and Sebastian. Now, I've only recently discovered them. Someone put Legal Man on a compilation for me and I was hooked. I had no idea that they were like they are. I love the lyrics, and love girl/boy singing combinations. They're the upmarket Beautiful South. I've no idea where to start when buying them, so guidance would be much appreciated.
Portsmouth/Mike Oldfield. Who hasn't morris danced to this while you've got friends on air flute, tambourine and that drum he played on Blue Peter? Oh, only me? I love this modern day sea shanty with no words. How does Mike Oldfield do it? And it was a hit too. Shame he's bonkers.
8 comments:
I loved the Sgt Pepper show too, it reminded me of how much that album has become part of the fabric of society. I thought Travis' version of this was better than the original, ditto Razorlight's With A Little Help From My Friends as good as.
I was once in a country dancing 'display team' at primary school. The song we danced to in front of our emotional parents? Portsmouth.
In fact, whenever it got played on Junior Choice, my family always demanded a repeat performance. The bastards.
Come on Rich, do it for us now.
YES, IN FRONT OF THE NEWARK WEBCAM!!!!!
What an excellent idea Rich
I need a pair of tight-fitting grey shorts and some white knee-length socks borrowed from my sister. Oh and Stephen Blackburn, Julie Barrett (she lives around the corner from me, shall I go and ask her?) and Clare Dalby for the best effect.
It's a good job I don't support Portsmouth FC, apparently they still run out to it at home games. I'd get my 'fucking head kicked in', wouldn't I?
Mr Peake's Whistle-Stop 'Buy In This Order' Guide To Getting Into Belle & Sebastian:
1) Push Barman To Open Old Wounds - collection of the seven EPs that they put out for their first label, considered by many to be their best work and definitely the first place to start if you've been entranced by Lazy Line Painter Jane. In a laudable moment of 'this is how compilations should be done'-ness, it also includes the 3... 6... 9... Seconds Of Light EP hidden track Songs For Children, and the short stories that accompanied each release.
2) Dear Catastrophe Waitress - their most accomplished and 'big'-sounding album, full of catchy songs and produced by none other than Trevor Horn.
3) Tigermilk - recorded in a week for no budget as part of a college course, and as a result it has a thrilling lo-fi The-Smiths-Meet-The-Velvet-Underground feel to it. It's also one of their strongest collections of songs by far.
4) The Life Pursuit - their most recent album to date, marrying an atypical hook-laden radio-friendly summer pop approach with the echoey sound of their earlier 'church hall' recordings
5) If You're Feeling Sinister - great songs but slightly muted production; it's also worth checking out the download-only live re-recording of the whole thing they did in 2005
6) The Boy With The Arab Strap - the one that won the Mercury Music Prize, although they've released even better albums since. Probably the best representation of their 'bookish' origins, and also the best embodiment of the original concept for the band, with the songwriting split equally between Isobel, Stevie and The Two Stuarts.
7) Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant - good moments but depressingly unsatisfactory as a whole, with bad feeling amongst some members resulting in downbeat lyrics and ill-advised allowing of substandard songs by the 'other ones onto the tracklisting in the name of equality.
8) Storytelling - largely instrumental film soundtrack with some superlative moments but not the ideal place for a novice to start.
Beyond this, if you're feeling brave (or indeed sinister) are various freely-available bootlegs ('The Black Session', which features some superior rejected tracks recorded for Fold Your Hands Child, and the hilarious 'Christmas At Peel Acres' are particularly strongly recommended); the various side-projects such as The Gentle Waves (superb but a little too twee for some tastes), Looper (odd but entertaining spoken-word trip-hop of the sort that B&S did on their earlier albums), Isobel's solo stuff (a strange but rewarding mixture of 'ickle girl' twee, sinister blues and Country & Western, ambient electronics and Wicker Man-esque early folk), The Reindeer Section (who defy categorisation); and the Fans Only DVD, effectively a visual overview of their career with lots of bizarre TV appearances and the like.
Fans Only
Wow, that's great, thanks TJ. I shall start now.
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