Garnet Mimms - A Little Bit Of Soap

ORIGINATION From Route 66 To The Flamingo (v/a)
LAST LISTENED TO last month
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT not muchuv one
RATING

It appears that Mimms was something of a second league soul star, at least in terms of sales. His music owes a clear influence to Motown, however it is tempered with a stronger gospel flavour than you would usually find there.

A Little Bit Of Soap comes from the happy-sounding, up-tempo, broken-hearted family of soul tunes. It tells the story of a man who has a little bit of soap that can wash the lipstick from his face but it can't wash away his tears. Running over several verses, it contains several variations on this theme. It features a quite open production, with plenty of air in between a jabbing rhythm guitar and a very Motown-esque snare-driven four/four beat. Mimms' assured tenor voice stands out clearly and is well supported by some female gospel backing voices, that at times take the lead and give a different take on the story. Towards the end some high trumpet licks give the song something of a crescendo, before the fade.

In words this almost sounds far too text book soul to be of much interest. But the track has an air to it, especially with its joyful delivery of a sad story that is undeniably uplifting. And it has that certain bounce, in common with Motown, that is always a winner. It's just a shame that he never had a hit with it.

Eddie Gale - Black Rhythm Happening

ORIGINATION Blue Note's Rare Grooves
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fairly good
RATING


Trumpeter Eddie Gale recorded this in '69 for his album of the same name. It was a rare headlining appearance for the man who had served his apprenticeship with some of the biggest names in avant garde jazz.

All of the rhythm here is panned hard left, which is a device i have always found irritating and off balance, especially when listening through headphones. Other than that, however, this is a pretty groovy tune. The bulk of the interest lies in the call and repsonse vocals of what sounds like a whole room full of people. They seem to be having a damn fine old time, chattering away and yelling inbetween bursts of singing.

Weaving under this and through the polyrhythms is a guitar line that meanders all over the place, a bit like an off-kilter Grant Green. There are also some occasional bursts of brass that are just ever so slightly atonal. It makes for an interesting fusion of soul jazz, avant garde jazz and gospel. No wonder then that it is said to have been one of the inspirations behind Archie Shepp's classic Attica Blues.

Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls

ORIGINATION Ride The Lightning
LAST LISTENED TO a few weeks ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT oh, please
RATING

Jeezy creezy! This is no way to start a week. Still, at least it's better than the last lot of monday morning messes. Those weren'y right.

The Story of Metallica
by Stewart Bremner aged 32 & 3/4
And lo, it came to pass that in the mists of time Large Oilrig, who liked to bang things, did steal the name Metallica off of a mate. Together with Growlin' James Hatstand, who collected facial hair, they made it into a band. They were soon joined by denim-clad Cliff Bellbottoms with his big black bass and Dave Mustard, who tortured guitars. But no one liked Dave and his silly hair and he was told to go away and Kirk Hamster, known far and wide for his widdling, joined them instead. His hair was a bit less silly than mean Mr Mustard's, but only a bit.

At first they were angry, which was no surprise considering they had had Mr Mustard (who had now formed Megadud) in their band. They made an album that was red and had blood and stuff on it. But, as the chicken passes the egg, so they got depressed and proceeded to record an album that was blue and went on a bit. They kept on being depressed for some time after that because Mr Bellbottoms got killed by their tour bus and was replaced by Jason Newkid (who is not the newkid any more, because the others never really liked him and he left).

After they had been depressed for long enough, during which time they made an album about a cemetery and then a grey one that also went on a bit, they went pop but that made the little girls cry. Soon they got angry again, this time because of nu-metal being rubbish and because of the internet. After making their most recent album (which went on a bit too), they found Bobby Truepillow, who had won the All-American Gurning Championships for four years in a row in the early ninties and could play the bass with his knees and they made him join their band. And lived happily ever after.


For Who The Bell Tolls is one of the best bits moments on Ride The Lightning (the blue album), which can be a bit too angst ridden for me and my dog. It goes like this: argh! the bells! the bells! the riffage! Riff riff riff riff. Widdly widdle widdle. Was that something about war? Who's to say? Riff riff riff riff. Riff riff riff riff. Riff riff riff riff. Riff riff. For whom the bell tolls. Riff riff riff riff. Riff riff riff riff. Riff riff riff riff. Time marches on. Riffs. Squeal, squeal. Widdle thump thump. Bong bong bong.

It's very hot tonight, you know.

The Who - Baba O'Reilly

ORIGINATION Who's Next
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT durn good
RATING

It begins with an arpeggiated synth, before a piano and then some excellent open-hat drums break in. For me that's what makes the song: the piano and the rock steady, flashing beats over the burbling synth. Townsend is not particularly evident and why Daltry is banging on about 'a teenage wasteland' holds almost no interest to me whatsoever. To be fair it does sound good, whatever it may mean. In a nutshell: drums, piano, synth.

De La Soul - Take It Off

ORIGINATION Three Feet High And Rising
LAST LISTENED TO last month sometime
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT mmph
RATING

When De La Soul released their debut album, it's playful grooves where somewhat at odds with the prevailing fashion in hip hop at the time. Not that it was any less relevant or had less of a message, it just sugar-coated things more.

Take It Off has always been one of my least favourite moments on the album. There really isn't much to it and the repetitious use of 'take it off' just bugs me after a while. To be fair, though, i respect its anti-fashion/label stance. Still, it feels a bit like as album filler.

Radiohead - Lucky

ORIGINATION OK Computer
LAST LISTENED TO lest weekend
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT aye, no bad likes
RATING

This is not a track i have ever singled out from OK Computer. Like the Stones All Down The Line, seen here last month, it is part of such a strong album that, even though it is a very good song it just gets lost.

On OK Computer, Radiohead made their first obvious moves away from conventional rock. Their use of sound textures and strong song writing where hugely praised and can now be seen as a step in their ongoing evolution. Every song on the album is an intricate jewel that rewards close scrutiny with a multitude of delights. Lucky is no exception and is as strong as anything else to be found on the album.

Most noticeably, there are some outstanding guitar moments here, mainly the heavily-tremeloed chords that occur throughout the song as it changes direction. It's particularly obvious around the three minute mark, where the song has been stripped down to a simple guitar and drum pattern. With the introduction of the chord, the song begins to build to its crescendo. It is a great moment and one this is just a little similar to Tommy James & The Shondells' great Crimson & Clover.

The lyrics are also strong, especially when Thom Yorke pleads to be pulled from the air crash. It's melancholy, but there is a ethereal air of hope in there too. Much like the whole song.

The Jesus And Mary Chain - Man On The Moon (again)

ORIGINATION Munki
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT goody three shoes
RATING

Back again so soon! It was here too.

Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove

ORIGINATION 12"
LAST LISTENED TO i have no idea
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT not much of one
RATING

Funkmeister and sartorial renegade George Clinton created Funkadelic in 1970 when he and his band got into some contractual bother and where unable to record under their then name Parliament. Essentially, the two bands were the same, although it came to pass that Parliament became their (mostly) funk brand and Funkadelic their wig-out funky rock one. More or less.

This binominal state continued for a good most of the '70s, with a good deal of bleed between the two platforms, forming a style that became known as P-Funk. Thus it was that in 1978 it was Funkadelic that recorded the funk-disco monster that is One Nation Under A Groove which, surely by now, you all know. Anthemic and seven and a half minutes long, it was a positive statement of unity. So good that it hit number one in the US R&B charts and has become their best-known tune. At times you can hear the influence of every big name in the field, from Sly Stone to Stevie Wonder, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Stick if on repeat and let the grins break out.

Here come the clowns!

Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. Ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, ya tad taddle addle yum pumpy tum pum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum pumpy tum tum, yum te tiddle iddle yum pumpy tum tum. aaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggghhhh! How on earth Nicola manages with this in her head all day is beyond me.

More monday morning mess

This monday's weird mess was a bit more acceptable than some of the previous ones, but i don't have enough time today to tell you all about it. So, all i can do is tell you that it started with twists of the bloopy intro from The Prodigy's Everybody In The Place, before great steaming chunks of The Temptations classic Ball Of Confusion fell all over it. The bass part of this then evolved into Aretha Frankin's Rock Steady, which to be fair sounds quite similar. That tune occured here in the not too distant past, but sadly it was another of these days where time just runs out. So there's hardly any point clicking that link. You'll just be disappointed. Still, there's always tomorrow, although looking at my diary it seems unlikely i'll do any better then. But you never know. Never say never.

Lulu - Feelin' Alright

ORIGINATION Right On! Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults 1967 - 1975
LAST LISTENED TO March
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT not much
RATING

Yes, yes, yes, that Lulu. You know, her voice is not bad, it's quite soulful. And the music, recorded in Muscle Shoals with musicians who had been involved in top-rate soul music for several years by this point, is pretty damned good too. But there are better versions of this track around (Traffic created it, before Joe Cocker went on to do the best known version), so reallly there is little reason to bother with this apart from sheer curiosity. Still, i could think of many worse ways to wake up on a grey summer sunday.

Metallica - Fade To Black

ORIGINATION Ride The Lightning
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT thatcher winning her second bloody general election and the sane world dying one bit more
RATING

Metallica's first go at the quiet/loud dynamic song structure. It'd be pretty good if it wasn't for the angst-ridden lyrics. Urgh. I mean seriously, i'm not a teenager any more, why in the hell did i even listen to this bilge last night? I should've just listened to Kill 'Em All again again. No, instead i think i shall just stick to the Mary Chain once more today. Now there's a band that know how to do the quiet/loud/LOUDER dynamic damned well. Oh yes.