I eat ham and jam and spam a lot

ORIGINATION Monty Python And The Holy Grail
LAST LISTENED TO no idea
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT they are not big
RATING

This is without doubt the silliest song i have ever woken too. Jeez.

We're Knights of the Round Table
We dance whene'er we're able.
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot.
We eat ham and jam and Spam a lot.

We're Knights of the Round Table.
Our shows are formidable,
But many times we're given rhymes
That are quite unsingable.
We're opera mad in Camelot.
We sing from the diaphragm a lot.

In war we're tough and able,
Quite indefatigable.
Between our quests we sequin vests
and impersonate Clark Gable.
It's a busy life in Camelot.
I have to push the pram a lot.

Goombay Dance Band - Seven Tears

ORIGINATION no idea and glad of it
LAST LISTENED TO '82
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT one in a million
RATING

I bloody hate this bloody song. Really, really, really. In fact, until some time around nine o'clock this morning i had forgotten that it even existed. How i wish i still lived in that ignorance. Now i get to remember once heaing it from the back seat of a cigarette-stinking banger sitting at traffic lights at the top of Easter Road on one of those miserable satrudays. Thanks, brain.

Ray Charles - See See Rider

ORIGINATION some cd of early Ray Charles stuff
LAST LISTENED TO ages ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT teeny tiny (although i did listen to Jimmy Smith's version last night)
RATING

Some of Ray Charles' early blues recordings don't really do it for me. His version of Ma Rainey's See See Rider is one of these tracks. It was recorded in 1950 in the period before he found his own voice, when he sang in a voice similar to Nat 'King' Cole. It's a fairly competent blues, but there is nothing special going on here. The only reason for interest in it is when it is seen as part of the whole Charles cannon, which makes it one for the fans.

Gene Kelly - Singing In The Rain

ORIGINATION some easy comp
LAST LISTENED TO don't remember
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT really low
RATING

Do be do doo do be
Do be do do be do be
Do be do doo do be
Do be do do be do be

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'm…

…just slightly confused as to why i ended up with this this morning. Not that i mind, indeed, it could be so much worse (and has been recently).

Jimmy Smith - A Night In Tunisia

ORIGINATION Cool Blues
LAST LISTENED TO a few weeks ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good
RATING

Two hours sleep would render anyones critical faculties useless and it has for me. Jimmy recorded many versions of this tune, as far as i know this '58 version was one of the first. It's was recorded live at Small's Paradise, NYC, from somewhere in the borderlands between hard bop and soul jazz. It quite good.

(radio interference)

Nothing at all this morning. Well, there was faintly something, i'm sure but Desert Island Disks was on in the other room as i woke up. The first thing i can remember hearing is a recording of Mussogorsky's Night On A Bare Mountain which pretty much cleared out whatever junk was in my head before it. Not that i'm all that concerned. It's getting close on for two weeks now, since i last had a properly good song in my head in the morning. Two weeks! I really ought to have words.

Back to the radio interference, though. I find that there is something really annoying about Desert Island Disks when the guest only picks classical music. It just feels so… smug. If only Radio 4 wasn't so Radio 4 sometimes. And don't even get me started on the complete works of William Shakespeare and a bleedin' bible.

Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers - The Flick Part I (again)

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO two months agohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT really small
RATING

This tune featured a few months back, which you can find here. From the hundreds of funk singles in this room that i could have had, it's rather odd that i should get this again. It's not like i even have any special liking for it. Curious.

Belly - Gepetto

ORIGINATION don'y know
LAST LISTENED TO not really ever
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT none
RATING

If i remember correctly Belly were formed by Tanya Donelley, one time Throwing Muse and they played what i suppose became known as Alt-rock. I've always through of that term as a lazy catch-all for anything not definitely something else (bands such as REM and Radiohead are often lumped in here) but this morning i am feeling too lazy to care. Or at least short, what with the coughing, sneezing and drilling in the street outside that's been going for over an hour so far. Also, i don't really care about Belly at all. Or this song. I think it may have something to do with Pinnochio (think about it) or something.

Tina Turner - What's Chuff Got To Do With It

ORIGINATION no idea
LAST LISTENED TO never, ever, ever, not even the once, never
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT indescribably low
RATING

I hate this bloody song. I really, really hate it. I can't imagine how i have offended my sub-conscious so, to make it play this crap at me this morning. It's like acid burning into my brain. I feel sick.

Willie Mitchell - Woodchopper's Ball

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO december
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT nah
RATING

Willie Mitchell is best known as the man who not only signed Al Green for his first recording contract, but also co-produced him and co-wrote much of his material during his most popular years. However, Mitchell also had a recording career of his own that dated back to the beginning of the '60s.

As a band-leader, trumpeter and arranger, he and his band recorded instrumental soul. Their sound is very similar to what you'd get if you added a funky horn section to Booker T & The MGs. Between them, they share equal prominence in creating what would become known as the Memphis Sound. Hardly a surprise given that Stax (Booker T & The MGs label) and Hi Records (whom Mitchell recorded for and later ran) shared many musicians, most notably drummer Al Jackson, Jr. who was the drummer for both Booker T and Mitchell (and Al Green during his Hi Records years).

Woodchopper's Ball is an organ-driven piece that is one of Willie Mitchell's most Booker T-ish moments. It's got the solid 4/4 beat and all the changes that you'd expect and it's only a fraction over the two minute mark. It is the Memphis Sound. My only wish is that it could have had an organ solo, but then (i've said it before and i'll say it again) i do like a bit of organ.

Hoagy Carmichael - Hong Kong Blues (again)

ORIGINATION Honky Soul, Race Music, Hard Bop & Anachronic Jazz
LAST LISTENED TO a month back
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low
RATING

This one appeared a wee while back. You can find it here.