[repetition]

ORIGINATION Hang On In There Baby
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT stupidly high it seems
RATING

Thanks, subconscious for giving me exactly the same song today as yesterday. And there was me thinking it was meant to be the seat of imagination. Pah!

Johnny Bristol - Hang On In There Baby

ORIGINATION Hang On In There Baby
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT scraping the sky
RATING

Johnny Bristol was part of the Motown family from '61-'73, where he was a song-writer and producer. It was only after he left Motown that he finally recorded his own material. Hang On In There from '74 was his first LP and this, the title track, was his first single. It was also his biggest ever hit, reaching No.8 in the US pop charts. It is a confident, smooth piece of '70s soul, in a similar vein to what Barry White was producing: there is the laid back drums, the funky little wah-wah guitar fills and smooth and sweet, sweet strings. Over this Bristol's voice sits somewhere between the buttery smoothness of Terry Callier and the boulder-shifting rumble of White. The song builds to an enjoyable, impassioned climax, by way of some soloing brass, where supporting female backing vocals add some nice call-and-repsonse dynamics.

Little Barrie - Memories Well

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO a few days ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT goodies
RATING

I forgot to write this earlier. The blog site was down and i had work to do. And now it is too late and i want to go to bed, so tough. You'll just have to guess what it is like and where it cames from.

Ka The Snake - Trust In Me

ORIGINATION Th Jungle Book
LAST LISTENED TO years ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT the tiniest of tiny
RATING

That sneaky snake Ka has man-cub Mowgli up his tree and is trying to hypnotise him into being his lunch. It starts with a solo clarinet (or some other woodwind instrument - i can almost remember when i used to know these things) that slowly lulls, before a relaxed tango begins the (ha) dance of (near) death. Then Ka starts to sing in his superbly sibilant voice. The whole effect is so mesmerising that listening to it just now i have nearly fallen back asleep, which just won't do. I'd better go and wake up.

The Blackbyrds - Do It Fluid

ORIGINATION Night Grooves
LAST LISTENED TO januaryish
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low again
RATING

The Blackbyrds were out together by jazzer Donald Byrd using a group of his university students. They played a superior brand of jazz funk that should really be described as funk jazz. They had loads of soul, far more than was common in this genre, and none of the horrible, sparse, slappy bass lines that characterises the most tedious of jazz funk and has since given it a bad name.

Do It Fluid, from their 1973 self-titled debut is very funky. It's driven along by the kind of synth that has come to be associated with Stevie Wonder's output of that period. Along with this are some damn fine solos and a near-constant chant of either i like to party or do it fluid. It all adds up to the kind of track you can't sit still through.

First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)

ORIGINATION The Big Lebowski (film)
LAST LISTENED TO over a year ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT tiny
RATING

This is a rather fun piece of nonsensical psychedelic-pop from '67 that happily contains several levels of amusement. Firstly, there are the lyrics. For example:
Someone painted April Fool in big black letters on a Dead End sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
What? That doesn't make any kind of sense.

Now consider the second point, which goes some way to explaining the lunacy of the lyrics: the song was written by a bunch of guys who never had and never would have any psychedelic experience. They were a bunch of straight-laced white guys with a record contract who jumped on the psychedelic wagon, sorry, bus to make this pop hit.

Thirdly, and most amusingly, First Edition were one of the early points on country white-beard Kenny Rogers long walk to fame.

All in all, Just Walked In… is clearly bogus psychedelia. It is psych for people who either don't like it or don't understand it, in much the same was that Play That Funky Music White Boy is for funk. However for completely inexplicable reasons i quite like it (unlike Play That… which makes me incredibly cross). Maybe i should check my condition. Hmm…

Little Barrie - Please Tell Me

ORIGINATION We Are Little Barrie
LAST LISTENED TO last week
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fairly low
RATING

Little Barrie are a three piece (guitar/bass/drums) who formed in Nottingham in 2000. Their music is a rough funky rock that has a very spontaneous sound, whilst at the same time exhibiting a meticulously crafted nature upon closer inspection.

Please Tell Me is from their debut album released in Feb '06. It contains all the best elements in Little Barrie's arsenal: there are some fine guitar hooks, simple, funky drums and wonderfully interwoven lyrics.

Rather than going on about this, let me direct you to a review of the album on Allmusic. On this occasion, their review really is exactly on the money and it seems fairly pointless to reinterpret it here. You could also have found out more about Little Barrie on their website, but it is currently being rebuilt.

Now go and get their album, it's great!

The Smashing Pumpkins - The Everlasting Gaze

ORIGINATION Machina
LAST LISTENED TO recently
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT don't care
RATING

I don't care too much for the Smashing Pumpkins. I've found most of their music to be a bit too whiney and self-indulgent. Read any biography or the band and you're bound to find the phrase "angst-ridden" and occasionally 'prog'. Around this point you can count me out.

However, there have been the odd moments when they cast aside this shadow of misery and made songs that had a bit more fire. This track is one them. It's got a large slab of guitar and some excellently ridiculous rock lyrics (You know i'm not dead) repeated throughout. It's got a defiant anger that is the rarely seen flip-side of the Smashing Pumpkins angst.

Good as it may be though, it's not really what i want in my head this early on a sunday.

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

ORIGINATION Live At The Rainbow
LAST WATCHED tuesday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low
RATING

I watched part of the History Of Iron Maiden Part 1: The Early Days DVD mid week and this fan-favourite was on it. It was can normally be found on their first (self titled) LP, although the version on Live After Death with Brucie singing is also top.

Won't you come into my room,
I wanna show you all my wares.
I just want to see your blood,
I just want to stand and stare.
See the blood begin to flow
as it falls upon the floor.
Iron Maiden can't be fought,
Iron Maiden can't be sought.

Oh Well, wherever,
wherever you are,
Iron Maiden's gonna get you,
no matter how far.
See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head.
Iron Maiden wants you for dead.

You have been warned.

The Theme From Superman

ORIGINATION take a wild guess
LAST LISTENED TO never
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT absurd
RATING

What? Why? Sometimes i wonder if my subconscious is taking the piss. The last thing i want in my head before breaking my fast is an image of Christopher Reeve in tights. Wonderful. I'm going out to find some milk and i'm not writing any more about this crap, may it please now leave my head.