PAUL SIMON - There Goes Rhymin' Simon 1973

I've seen Paul Simon in concert twice. The first time was at Western Springs in Auckland NZ on 18 Feb 1983 as part of the legendary double act, Simon & Garfunkel. This followed on from their reunion in 1981 when they got together to do the magical 'Concert in Central Park'.

The second time I saw him was with Tracy at Jones Beach in Wantagh New York on 30 Jul 1999 as part of a double bill with Bob Dylan.

If things hadn't worked out, his only claim to fame would have been a minor hit in 1957 called 'Hey Schoolgirl' as one half of Tom and Jerry (the other half being Art Garfunkel'.

Things did work out, and despite their ups and downs, disagreements, break-ups and artistic squabbles, Simon & Garfunkel made some powerful, beautiful music together.

When it came to going solo, Art never really made the same impact as his erswhile partner. I have Arts compilation 'The Art Garfunkel Album' released in 1984 which has some lovely tracks, but nothing compared to Paul Simons work.

Paul's second solo album was the eponymous 'Paul Simon' which was well received but some reviewers thought it was a bit 'dark'. Although this was his second, the first one recorded in England in 1965 didn't do much and wasn't released in the U.S. until 1981.

Then came 'There Goes Rhymin' Simon'. Funnily enough I've read some reviewers who likened his style or skill or delivery (pick a review) to people like Nilsson or John Lennon. To me the songs are totally and unquivocally Paul Simon.

I can't imagine a world where any radio station or streaming service didn't have 'Kodachrome' or 'Loves Me Like a Rock' from this album on their playlist. They are 70s anthems that stand up almost 50 years later as songs that are instantly known. They demand to be sung along to at full volume in the car, in the kitchen doing the dishes or walking along with headphones while passing people stare at you !!

Although 'Kodachrome' got to #2 on the Billboard charts it wasn't released as a single in England because Kodachrome was a trademark of Kodak and the BBC wouldn't play it on the radio. Good old Auntie Beeb !!

One song on the album sounds pretty prophetic for the times we are living in. Talking about 'American Tune', Stephen Holden in a Rolling Stone article from 1973 said "Simon sees the country as a nation of “battered” souls, but still “home,” and the American Dream either “shattered” or “driven to its knees.” - and sees  “the Statue of Liberty sailin’ away to sea.”

Even as recently as 2016 he was still making musical political points. On his album 'Stranger to Stranger' he does a song called 'Wristband'. It starts with a story of a musician who goes outside the concert during a break then can't get back in past security because he doesn't have a wristband. it becomes a song about the underprivileged ...  "whose anger is a shorthand / For you'll never get a wristband."

Everybody knows Paul Simon songs. Everybody has a favourite or favourites. Whether it's from his phenominal harmonies with Art to his solo work or his 'world music' phases like 'Gracelands' with Ladysmith Black Mambazo or 'Rhythm of the Saints' where he explored South American themes, Paul Simon is part of the landscape.

(One!!) of my all-time happy listening songs has to be 'Late in the Evening' from his 'One Trick Pony' album. Just to add to the pleasure is that Tony Levin was playing that driving bass on that track. Tony Levin is a musical hero - see him in action dancing and skipping on the Peter Gabriel concert video 'Secret World Live'. (see my Peter Gabriel post)

In conclusion - Paul Simon. Just because. 

Late in the Evening - YouTube

DIRE STRAITS - Brothers in Arms 1985

On 2nd March 1986 I went along to Western Springs, Auckland, to the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms concert. This was an amazing show for two reasons. Firstly, it gave me a chance to see a group I'd followed since their first release in 1978. 'Brothers in Arms' was their 5th studio album and I had all 5 in my collection.

Secondly, it was going to be my last chance to see ANY concerts for a while. I'd just signed a 3 year contract to live and work in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea and I was due to fly out on 16th March - exactly 2 weeks later.

I really don't need to write much about Dire Straits music. There are people living in the Amazonian rainforest or in a yurt in Mongolia who know all the words to 'Money For Nothing' so instead here's a few bits of trivia.

Through various associations - flatmates, previous bands etc - the four principals, Mark Knopfler, his brother David, John Illsley and Pick Withers got together as a group in 1977. One story has it that a friend suggested the name for the group because it pretty much summed up their financial situation .. 'Dire Straits' !! 

Their first single, 'Sultans of Swing' was named after a jazz band Mark Knopfler saw in a pub in London. The place was almost deserted, the jazz band AND the pub were a bit seedy and tatty, but at the end of the set the singer said they were the 'Sultans of Swing'. Knopfler thought that the contrast between the glitzy name and the crap surroundings was too good not to use.

The Dire Straits song and album 'Love Over Gold' got it's title from something on the cover of a Captain Beefheart album. Don Van Vliet a.k.a. Captain Beefheart was also known to sign autographs with 'Love Over Gold' above his name.

'Tunnel of Love' was written by Mark Knopfler but there's an instrumental bit at the beginning of the song taken from the musical 'Carousel', so Rodgers and Hammerstein get songwriting credit.

'Walk of Life' has one of the most memorable intro's ever .. but before the song kicks in, Mark Knopfler does some 'woo-hoos' in the background. In a 1989 interview on the BBC he said "I heard it on the radio the other day and thought, Oh my God! What was I doing that for?"

 

'Brothers in Arms' was written around the time of the Falklands War, so no prizes for guessing the inspiration for that one.

Mark Knopfler is a brilliant guitarist. No question. However, right from the early days, I'd always hear a J.J. Cale turn to his playing. I was pleased to find out later that it wasn't just me. Critics and Knopfler himself credit Cale as being an influence - although Cale was known to occassionally (maybe light-heartedly) say that Knopfler 'ripped off his guitar and singing styles'.

Eric Clapton is probably best associated with J.J. Cale, making hits of some of his songs and doing albums together.

In 2014 Clapton did a tribute album, 'The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale' and Mark Knopfler played on two of the tracks.

Despite all the Dire Straits albums and songs, my all-time favourite track is an instrumental credited to Mark Knopler .. 'Going Home (Theme Of The Local Hero)'

It's magnificent. It's starts slowly, quietly, with beautiful guitar work .. then around 2:28 it picks up and the sax kicks in and finishes on 5 drum beats that you just HAVE to do with your hands on the nearest flat surface.

Going Home (Theme Of The Local Hero) - YouTube

HALL & OATES - Abandoned Luncheonette 1973

Apart from the track 'Sara Smile' on their 1975 self titled album 'Daryl Hall & John Oates', as far as I'm concerned Hall & Oates should have packed it in after 'Abandoned Luncheonette'.

I disliked their later 'hits' with a passion. 'Your Kiss Is On My Lips', 'I Can't Go For That' ... rubbish. However, this album is a different kettle of fish.

In the mid 70s living in Auckland I had a friend who was an audiophile like me. We had vinyl test records for speaker phasing, high and low frequency sine-wave test tones, tracking, balance and positioning, turntable isolation techniques, wow and flutter measurements and messed about with the motor screws for cassette players, geek stuff coming out of every pore. We would spend hours debating tape head cleaners or the optimum balance weight position on a turntable tonearm.

He was financially better placed than I was so he would buy and sell speakers regularly and invite me over to critique them with him.

One day, as his baseline record, he played this album. Repeatedly. Making fine adjustments and tweaking as we went from track to track. Because we were busy listening for faults I really didn't appreciate the music until later when we sat back and let the album run it's course.

It's a beautiful piece of work.

'She's Gone' was the breakout single, but for me it could easily have been any of the first 4 tracks of the first side of the album.

'When the Morning Comes', 'Had I Known You Better Then' and 'Las Vegas Turnaround' were 1,2 and 3 and 'She's Gone' was 4. What a lead in - and the rest of the album didn't disappoint.

Even the album cover at the time was intriguing. An old American diner overgrown with grass and sitting amongst trees.

Who knew that years later I'd be living about 100 miles from where the photo was taken.

Not much more to say about this album other than - find it - play it - enjoy it and forgive Hall & Oates for their later mistakes.

Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song) - YouTube

PAUL KELLY - Under the Sun 1987

Here's one for my Australian friends and rellies, but let's face it, Paul Kelly should be far more internationally well known than he is. Every stage of his career has brought great songs, great songwriting and a longevity that's rare. From way back with the Dots, through the Coloured Girls, the Messengers and his solo work, Paul Kelly has remained a force to be reckoned with.

'Under the Sun' was released as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' second album in '87 but when it was put out in the US and European markets it was changed to Paul Kelly and the Messengers.

The Coloured Girls name was from a joke about Lou Reeds song 'Walk on the Wild Side'

"And the colored girls go

Do-do-do, do-do, do-do-do"

I didn't get into Paul Kelly until around 1990 when I was living in Perth. A friend played his music all the time and gave me this album. To be honest, I could have picked any album for this entry, particularly his early work. So many amazing songs to choose from .. and yes, I'm going to list my best of .. (in no particular order).

'Before Too Long', 'Darling it Hurts', 'Dumb Things', 'To Her Door', 'Same Old Walk'.. no, I can't, there's too many.

Tear my heart out every time with 'How To Make Gravy'

Make me smile and sing along to 'Every Fucking City'

... and in answer to your question, YES, I have seen 'Sydney From A 727' at night.

I'm not really going to attempt to write anything much about Paul Kelly's career .. it is long and varied and has had it's rewards, coupled with some gut-wrenching moments. His music tells it all. For a definative walk through, in 2010 he released an 8 CD set called 'The A-Z Recordings' taken from live concerts where typically over 4 nights he performed 100 songs alphabetically. He also put out a companion book named after one of those songs 'How To Make Gravy' where the song titles help to add structure to the stories.

There's a lot of Paul Kelly on YouTube but I've picked one .. 'To Her Door'. It comes from this featured album, it's the first song I heard and it's still my favourite.

There's a whole world of love and hurt and hope in 3 minutes and at the end it leaves you unsure if there was a reconciliation ..  "Could he make a picture and get them all to fit?"

There are some references that are specific to time and place ..

The Buttery is a rehab facility in NSW, Silvertop is a Sydney taxi company and Olympic was a bus company.

There's a bitter comment between the second and third verse that's missing from the YouTube version of this song which illustrates the poison in the relationship ..

'She said, "Shove it, Jack, I'm walking out your fucking door'

To Her Door - YouTube

TONI CHILDS - Union 1988

I mentioned this album when I wrote about Tanita Tikaram in a previous post and the circumstances were the same .. "In 1988 I was living and working in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, so there's no way I bought this album, or even heard it, when it first came out. It must have been 1990 before it got added to the collection."

I also said that I found similarities in their tone and delivery on some songs, but both women stand alone in their talent.

Toni Childs is classified as a 'rock/pop' artist, but on this album, to me, she comes under 'world music'.

If the recording locations were anything to go by, that's not far from the truth. London, Paris and Swaziland !!

The first 3 songs on the album were all released as singles and really cemented her popularity, particularly in Australia and New Zealand where she charted higher than anywhere else (In NZ, six Top 40 hits and 3 platinum albums). In fact, in 2012 Toni Childs moved from Hawaii and is now living in Byron Bay, Australia.

I have a story about Byron Bay and music. In the late 70s early 80s I was living on the Gold Coast in Queensland, selling carpets! In 1979 we got a call from a place called Music Farm Studios in Byron Bay. They were just getting going and were building recording studios and accomodation so that artists could come and play, relax and create. They needed carpeting in all sorts of places !!

I stayed over for 2 days measuring and advising. It was an interesting 2 days. It became one of the most popular recording studios in the country.

So back to Toni Childs. 

Not much more to say from a personal viewpoint, other than she toured as Bob Dylan's opening act for a while ! This was the only album of hers I bought, but in '89 she did a beautiful version of the Jimmy Cliff song 'Many Rivers To Cross' for the soundtrack of "Lost Angels".

Toni still sings and records, but to me this album is the one to have.

Stop your Fussin' - YouTube

ROLLING STONES - Rolling Stones 1964

I mentioned this album back in April 2020  when I did the 10 album challenge, but now that I'm going more in-depth it needs another entry.

This was the start. This was my very first album. 

It was 16th August 1964, two weeks before my 14th birthday. I went to Robells Music Box in the Market Hall in Harrogate with 13/6d - thirteen shillings and sixpence, my weeks wages for delivering newspapers at 6a.m. I came away with a piece of history.

The album didn't stay pristine for long. I was so excited that as soon as I got it home I wrote my name and the date on the back cover. Then I went one better and wrote my name, address and date on the inner sleeve.

Now, almost 60 years later, the cover lamination is cracked and bubbled, the back cover is dirty and stained and the inner sleeve is covered with dates and addresses of places I have lived and worked through 5 different countries over the years, taking this album with me everywhere I went. The thing is, the album plays and sounds as good as the day it was bought and has that essential quality - the smell of vinyl.

Andrew Loog Oldham wrote the sleeve notes and makes a very bold opening statement ..

"The Rolling Stones are more than just a group - they are a way of life." He goes on to say that it's 8 months since they embarked on their pop career !! Not bad, claiming a way of life after less than a year.

Of the 12 tracks on the album, 9 of them are covers (very good covers) 2 of them are credited to Phelge, which was the name used for group compositions, and one track - 'Tell Me (You're Coming Back) was by Jagger, Richard.

Of note is the list of additional musicians used. On the track 'Little By Little' there are a few famous names. Playing piano are Gene Pitney and Ian Stewart, on maracas we have Phil Spector and doing backing vocals, Graham Nash and Allan Clarke (both of Hollies fame, Graham Nash going on to Crosby, Stills & Nash). The first 3 are credited on the album but Nash and Clarke don't get a mention.

If the name Ian Stewart doesn't ring any bells, just think of Stuart Sutcliffe. Where Sutcliffe was referred to as 'the fifth Beatle' so Ian Stewart could well be called 'the sixth Stone'.

He was actually a co-founder of the group, but when Andrew Loog Oldham took over as manager he didn't think Ian 'fitted the image' so he was taken out of the official line-up.

He appears on the album because, even though he wasn't part of the main group anymore he became their road manager and pianist - a job he held for over two decades.

He passed away in 1985 aged just 47, but in 1989 he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the band. Good.

When this album was released in the States it was renamed 'Rolling Stones - England's Newest Hitmakers' and the track 'Mona / I Need You Baby' was replaced with 'Not Fade Away'. That must have been a culture shock for America. 'Not Fade Away' was originally written (under his first and middle names, Charles Hardin) and sung by Buddy Holly in 1957. To hear a raw heavy version with .. 'a Bo Diddley beat' must have been a no-holds-barred intro to the group.

There are about 20 versions of the original British pressing of the album. They all have identifying features, some are run of the mill and others are incredibly valuable. 

Let's get the technical stuff out of the way for the purists. Here's my copy ..

Mono recording on a red/silver Decca 'ear' label. 

Label V: The label rim reads on top 'Made in England. The Decca Record Co. Ltd.', the NCB (no full stops) and B.I.E.M. captions are on the right hand side on side A. On side B the BIEM caption is omitted and N.C.B. caption appears with full stops.

Cover B1: The back cover lists 'I Need You Baby' as track A4, the cover has ''flipbacks'': top and bottom are folded over the back cover.

It has tax code K/T.

A3 'Honest I Do' has Hurran Calvert credits on label, Reed credits on cover.

A5 Subtitle of "Now I've Got a Witness" written "Like Uncle Gene and Uncle Phil"

B3 'Tell Me' has a running time of 4:06.

Matrix / Runout stamp side A: XARL-6271-2A

Cat # is LK.4805 (with the .) on label LK 4605 (without .) on cover.

SOMETHING HAPPENS - Stuck Together With God's Glue 1990

In 1989, through contact with friends in Dublin who were mutual friends with some of the group, Tracy heard that Something Happens would be at the 'Rebel Rebel' music store on Bleeker Street in New York just prior to their first ever American show. She headed down there, introduced herself, then went to the show at The China Club. After that, there was no going back.

When I moved to the USA in 1997 to be with Tracy, she came as a package. I also got 'Something Happens'.

After releasing a live EP in 1988, their first studio album 'Been There, Seen That, Done That' was produced by Tom Erdelyi, better known professionally as Tommy Ramone, the drummer for the punk rock band the Ramones. The album contains great tracks like 'Beach', 'Forget Georgia' and 'Burn Clear', but funnily enough, one of the main criticisms I've come across about this album is poor production.

Their second album though - this one - "Stuck Together With God's Glue" was picked as one of the best Irish rock albums ever in a 1998 list that included U2 and Van Morrison.

U2 acknowledge that they used the album title directly in the words to their 1997 song 'Staring at the Sun' 

"Over me and over you

Stuck together with God's glue"

My favourite tracks from the album, in no particular order, are 'Parachute', 'Kill The Roses', 'Room 29' ... ah, what the hell, the whole album is up there with the best of them. 'Brand New God' contains one of the best verses ever written ..

"There's a girl in a dress in a sinful mess

With a face just made for kissing

What kind of god gives you a rod

And say's you can't go fishing

Brand New God"

After a couple more albums - 'Bedlam A Go-Go' in '92 and 'Planet Fabulous' in '94, the big worldwide break they were waiting for just never seemed to come, despite a successful American tour with Warren Zevon.

"Warren Zevon - Irving Plaza

Something Happens, an Irish band, backed him up, transferring some keyboard lines to electric guitar and providing lean, hard-hitting riffs behind Mr. Zevon's stalwart baritone. 

Something Happens opened the show with its own tuneful, well-constructed, sometimes optimistic songs about romance, with touches of the Beach Boys, the Beatles and Elvis Costello. But it took Mr. Zevon to unleash their more aggressive instincts."

New York Times By Jon Pareles July 18 1995

Also in '95 the group released their compilation album "The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves" which was almost a swansong for the bands recording career, and seemed like a statement about their place in music history. Other than 'Alan, Elvis & God' released in '97, which was really just a re-release of 'Planet Fabulous' with a few track changes, Something Happens left the studio and apart from appearances occasionally at Whelans pub in Dublin, music festivals here and there and the odd appearance on RTE's 'The Late Late Show', the band members essentially went back to their day jobs.

I think they are a great collective talent and a missed opportunity for people outside their circle of devoted fans to hear solid well constructed music that deserved a much wider audience.

The last word goes to a quote from the lostsongs.co.uk website .

"What do they sound like? They started off as a post-punk leaning rock band with a pop feel. They became a pop-rock mainstream act that the mainstream didn't notice. Latterly they wrote some sublime pop songs that hardly anybody got to hear, but you can if you go looking!

Imagine the invention and commerciality of James, but with a more Rock N Roll upbringing."

Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, (Petrol) - YouTube

Forget Georgia - YouTube

MARC BOLAN & T. REX ‎– Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow - A Creamed Cage In August 1974

In 1965 Mark Feld went into a studio and recorded Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' under the name Toby Tyler. Wearing a corduroy cap to copy Dylan's look, it helped reinforce one version of the origin of Mark's ultimate stage name, Marc Bolan. The story goes that he took Bolan from an abbreviation of BObdyLAN, although he once said that Decca Records chose the name for him.

Speed through a career in a modelling agency, then musically with John's Children, Tyrannosaurus Rex (with the magically named Steve Peregrine Took), T.Rex and some solo work, Marc crammed a lot into his too short life. He died just 2 weeks before his 30th birthday when the Mini he was a passenger in hit a fence post then crashed into a tree.

Along the way he was a major force in the development and popularity of glam rock.

The first album I bought was 'Bolan Boogie' a 1972 compilation with some of their hits to date .. 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)', 'Ride a White Swan', 'Jeepster' and 'Hot Love' amongst others.

Then I got this one. "Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow - A Creamed Cage In August"

I don't really expect anyone reading this to have heard of this album, much less know any of the tracks off it. If you do, please let me know in the comments. It was panned by the critics, disliked by the fans and started a decline in popularity for Marc and T.Rex as a whole.

I love it !! 

In parts it's so bad it's brilliant. It is glam, orchestral, it has background singers (The Cosmic Choir), it's theatrical and it has amazingly silly song titles ..

'Painless Persuasion v. The Meathawk Immaculate'

'The Leopards Featuring Gardenia & The Mighty Slug'

'You've Got To Jive To Stay Alive - Spanish Midnight'

Only one low charting single came from the album, 'Teenage Dream', after the previous few years full of Top Ten and Top Five hits and four number 1's.

In 2000 T.Rex got a new audience when 5 of their songs were included in the movie and soundtrack of "Billy Elliot".  'Bang a Gong (Get It On)', 'I Love To Boogie', 'Children of the Revolution', Ride a White Swan' and 'Cosmic Dancer' were brought to life in unforgettable movie moments.

Find yourself a 'Greatest Hits' album and soak in the joy of the music.

Every May 1st, make sure to play 'Ride a White Swan' in honour of Beltane, the Druid May Day Festival, and sing Marc's words ..

"Wear a tall hat like a druid in the old days

Wear a tall hat and a tattooed gown

Ride a white swan like the people of the Beltane

Wear your hair long, babe you can't go wrong" 

I've attached a link to a 1971 Top of the Pops performance - look for a young Elton John on piano !!

Bang a Gong (Get It On) - YouTube

UB40 - Signing Off 1980

Firstly, for those not familiar with what was happening in England in the late 70s - early 80s, an explanation.

This was the beginnings of Thatcherism, the rise of the National Front and mass unemployment. People out of work - 'on the dole' - had to fill out Unemployment Benefit Form 40.

In short - UB40

The band started forming in 1978 when Ali Campbell and a couple of his mates got together to play some of the reggae songs that were around. After a couple of changes and the addition of Ali's brother Robin, the band increased to 8 members settling on the line-up that would last for almost 30 years.

As they were all unemployed at the time, the name of their benefit form seemed an appropriate name for the group.

After spending almost a year practising and writing material they played their first gig for a friend's birthday party in February 1979.

UB40 were from Birmingham and were spotted by Chrissie Hynde when she saw them playing at a pub and offered them the support band spot with her group The Pretenders. Not a bad gig for an 8-piece band starting out.

The title of their first album, 'Signing Off' signified their hope that they were gaining full employment from making music and could 'sign off' from the dole.

The album was recorded on a friends equipment in his ground floor flat. The sax was recorded in the kitchen because it had better reverb and the percussion was done in the garden. The story goes that if you split the tracks down you can hear birds singing !!

'Food For Thought' was the single from the album and the song had a few firsts -

First single by UB40

First release of the label Graduate Records

First single to get to the UK Top 10 without being from a major company.

The tracks on the album were mainly "politically charged and socially concious" and with two exceptions were all written by UB40.

One of the covers was a brilliant version of Randy Newmans 'I Think It's Going To Rain Today' - one of my all time favourites.

The other cover was 'Strange Fruit' originally done by Billie Holiday.

The release also held a surprise. Apart from the 10 tracks on the 33rpm album, there was a seperate 12" 45rpm EP with 3 extra tracks.

They did the same formulae with their second album 'Present Arms', which included a 12" single. Just to keep it going, their 6th album 'Baggaridim' also had a 12" 45rpm EP, this one containing the Sonny & Cher cover 'I Got You Babe' with long time fan and supporter Chrissie Hynde.

Chrissie came back a few years later and did a cover of 'Breakfast in Bed' which if you recall from my earlier post was written for Dusty Springfield and recorded on 'Dusty in Memphis'.

It's a testament to my liking for UB40 that I have 19 of their albums in my collection and the following 6 of those are in vinyl and have travelled half way around the world with me.

1980 - Signing Off

1982 - UB44

1983 - Labour of Love

1984 - Geffery Morgan

1985 - Baggaridim

1986 - Rat in the Kitchen

If you want an introduction to UB40 you can't go past 'Labour of Love', but if you're into something deeper then 'Signing Off' is a good place to start.

I Think It's Going To Rain Today - YouTube

DONOVAN - Barabajagal 1969

"Goo goo, goo goo Barabajagal was his name now"

I'm a huge Dylan fan. H-U-G-E !!!!

I've never gone along with the Dylan/Donovan phony war that was generated in the 60s. There was always room for both as far as I was concerned. 

O.K., there may have been times when Donovan was almost a poor man's Bob, but he has his own seriously strong catalogue of work that needs no comparison to stand on it's own two feet.

His first album in 1965 "What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid" had things like Woody Guthrie's 'Car, Car' which had been done obscurely by Dylan, but there were enough original compositions as well as the stand-out 'Catch the Wind' to give Donovan his own place.

Later the same year (1965) he released 'Fairytale' and apart from 'Colours' which again was the stand-out, other tracks I personally liked were 'Epistle to Dippy', 'Sunny Goodge Street' and 'To Try For the Sun'.

After that, till the end of the 60s, as they say on the radio .. "the hits just keep on coming".

'Sunshine Superman', 'Mellow Yellow', 'There Is A Mountain', 'Jennifer Juniper', 'Hurdy Gurdy Man', 'Barabajagal'.

The album 'Barabajagal' was the last of the 60s and the first Donovan LP I bought, but by then he had made his mark, reflected in the line-up he had for this recording.

Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood playing guitar, Madeline Bell (from Blue Mink) and Rod Stewart on backing vocals and Mickie Most, one of Englands hottest names of the time, producing the whole thing.

The other two vinyls I've carried with me for the past 50 years are both 1973 releases. 'Cosmic Wheels' was all a bit glam rock-ish reflecting what was happening at the time. T-Rex, David Bowie etc.

'Maria Magenta' came from this album, but my picks were 'I Like You' and the throw away spoof song 'The Intergalactic Laxative' - just for a laugh.

The other LP, 'Essence to Essence' is only there because I didn't have the heart to melt it down. There's not much more to say about it really.

A rare treat for Donovan fans was watching the first two series of the Sky/Amazon Prime series 'Britannia'

Series 1 in 2018 used 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' as it's theme.

Series 2 went one step further and used the more obscure but compelling track 'Season of the Witch'.

A couple of myths exist about the Donovan song 'Mellow Yellow'.

It's long been thought that Paul McCartney sang the response line "quite rightly". He was on the song, but as background. Donovan himself did the "quite rightly" bit.

Country Joe McDonald (of Fish fame) was meant to have been the one who said if you got the inside of a banana peel, dried it and smoked it you'd get a hit. He may have thought so, but it wasn't true.

'Electrical banana' referred to a vibrator !!

Enjoy Donovan Leitch. Hail Atlantis!

There is a Mountain - YouTube

CAT STEVENS - Teaser and the Firecat 1971

On August 24 1972 Cat Stevens performed at Festival Hall in Brisbane Australia.

I really wanted to be there.

I was only 45 miles away !!

Unfortunately I was in the Australian Army stationed at the Jungle Training Centre in Canungra, and as it is with most armies around the world, they don't give you the day off when you really need it !!!

So I just had to buy the records.

Between 1970 and 1972 Cat Stevens released a perfect foursome of albums.

1970 Mona Bone Jakon

1970 Tea for the Tillerman

1971 Teaser and the Firecat

1972 Catch Bull at Four

Although 'Tea For The Tillerman' is often touted as the one to beat, 'Teaser and the Firecat' charted higher and longer. Having said that, the less commercial 'Catch Bull at Four' contains some remarkable tracks.

Steven Demetre Georgiou / Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam / Yusuf has had a long and illustrious career.

He was spotted by Mike Hurst (remember him from my Dusty Springfield post - he was one of The Springfields), a record deal was made and it resulted in the album 'Matthew and Son' in 1967. 

Three singles were released from that album, 'I Love My Dog', 'Matthew and Son' and 'I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun'. Also on the album was his song 'Here Comes My Baby' which became a bigger hit when it was recorded by The Tremeloes.

His follow-up album 'New Masters' bombed. There was one notable exception though. The song 'The First Cut Is the Deepest' was on there and Cat sold it to P.P. Arnold for £30. It has since been recorded and made a hit by many artists. Rod Stewart does a great version on his album 'A Night on the Town'.

In 1968 Cat fell ill. He ended up having over a year of bedrest and recuperation following tuberculosis and a collapsed lung. He spent the time writing songs. The result was the album 'Mona Bone Jakon' released in April 1970.

It got far better reviews than his previous album but two tracks stand out. 'Lady D'Arbanville' - written about his ex-girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville - was released as a single and got to number 8 on the British charts, and 'Katmandu' is notable if only for the fact that Peter Gabriel appears on it - playing the FLUTE !!

There's a story behind the album title 'Mona Bone Jakon'. Despite all the possible hidden meanings or secret vocabularies, Cat stated in a 1972 interview that Mona Bone Jakon was a name he made up to describe his penis.

Rock and Roll Man !!!

Then came 'Tea For The Tillerman'. Also released in 1970, but later in the year in November, this is a massive album. Although 'Father and Son' and 'Wild World' (also written for Patti D'Arbanville) were the single releases, just about every song on the LP is well known. To me, this is an album with 11 tracks and 11 solid, structured songs. Every one is crafted to perfection and says what it needs to.

My personal favourite? 'Longer Boats'.

Cat had taken a year at Hammersmith School of Art and for a while thought of becoming a cartoonist.

The album cover artwork for 'Tea For The Tillerman' was done by Cat himself, as was the cover for his next LP 'Teaser and the Firecat'. 

If, like me, you were at primary school in England in the 1950s (or slightly before) then you immediately knew one of the songs on 'Teaser and the Firecat'.

'Morning Has Broken' was played and sung at school assembly almost every day and was quite probably known by the young Steven Georgiou from an early age. It was published in 1931 from a poem by Eleanor Farjeon put to a Scottish tune 'Bunessan'. Cat Stevens is sometimes listed as the composer, which is wrong, but he does get credit for arrangement.

To hear it played on a contemporary music album and then be released as a single and hit the charts was all very strange! The distinctive piano in the opening, middle and closing sections of the song were arranged and played by Rick Wakeman (of solo work and the group 'Yes' fame). Rick gave an interview on BBC Radio saying he was promised £10 for playing and was "shattered" that he wasn't on the credits and that he never received the money either.

The rest of the album has song after song that just scream classic Cat Stevens.

'Rubylove', 'Tuesday's Dead', 'Moonshadow' and the glorious 'Peace Train'. 

To complete this foursomesome of must-have albums, in 1972 came 'Catch Bull at Four'. 

'Sitting' and 'Can't Keep It In' were the single releases, but do not turn the page or leave the room until you listen to 'The Boy With The Moon and Star On His Head'.

In May 2020 Yusef announced that in September he'll be releasing a reimagined version of 'Tea For The Tillerman' titled 'Tea for the Tillerman²'.

I can't wait !!

'Where Do The Children Play?' from the upcoming album Tea for the Tillerman² - YouTube

BOZ SCAGGS - Silk Degrees 1976

Last year the digital radio service we subscribe to ran a new channel for the summer.

'Yacht Rock'.

I'm not sure why but we'd not heard that term before. 

We particularly liked the unassuming jingle that Sirius XM used to promote the channel.

"Listen to your 4th or 5th favourite song .."

Turns out it's been around for a while - quote -

"In 2006, a group of buddies produced a series of short videos called “Yacht Rock.” The videos defined yacht rock as a genre of smooth music, born out of Southern California between 1976 and 1984, and featuring exceptional musicianship with roots in R&B, jazz and folk rock." 

Major artists included on the channel were The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, Seals & Crofts, Jackson Browne etc., and high on the list - Boz Scaggs, with most of the songs from this album.

Boz went to school with Steve Miller and later was part of The Steve Miller Band for a couple of their albums. Some of the Steve Miller songs appear on Yacht Rock radio.

He then used a variety of musicians on this album, three of whom, David Paitch, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate went on to become members of Toto - another popular Yacht Rock group - so the sound stayed in the family !!

The album, and indeed Boz himself, was described as 'white soul with a sense of humour', 'blue-eyed soul', soft rock' and 'blues' - or as one reviewer put it - "If yacht rock is a marriage of jazz, R&B and singer-songwriter folk rock, Boz Scaggs’ breakout Silk Degrees is one of the earliest attempts at matrimony."

Wherever you place it, Silk Degrees was and is his most popular album - 5 times platinum and 4 hit singles - 'Lido Shuffle', 'Lowdown', 'What Can I Say' and 'It's Over' all charting.

To refer back to the radio jingle, Silk Degrees probably contains one of 'your 4th or 5th favourite songs' !!

Lido Shuffle - YouTube

CURVED AIR - Phantasmagoria 1972

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For the past few posts I've been looking at mainstream stuff - Dusty Springfield, Van Morrison, Peter Sarstedt.

Here's a break from that. Something a bit more challenging. I'm not sure how many of you will stay with me on this.

Curved Air had modest chart success with 'Back Street Luv', a single from their second album, conveniently called "Second Album (1971)" - but I fell for this, their third LP and the first one I bought.

A mix of classical violin, psychedelia, prog rock and just plain hypnotic vocals by Sonja Kristina, 'Phantasmagoria' is not an album to be taken lightly. It was different enough to be intriguing and worth the effort required to listen and appreciate it.

Originally a 4 piece group called Sisyphus, they were hired to play accompaniment for a new Galt McDermott play. Galt was the force behind the rock opera 'Hair' and Sonja was in the London stage production of 'Hair' playing the part of Chrissie. Galt suggested she should join Sisyphus, everyone agreed and Curved Air became the result. Their first album 'Air Conditioning' came out in 1970.

The group went through quite a few line-up changes and break-ups / reunions over the years.

During one of those breaks Sonja worked as a croupier at the London Playboy Club !!

Reforming after their third breakup in 1974 they brought in a new drummer. Stewart Copeland. 

Yes, THAT Stewart Copeland. 

He stayed with them long enough to play on their next two albums 'Midnight Wire' and 'Airborne' and to start a relationship with Sonja. He left the group in 1976 and in 1977 he formed 'The Police'.

His relationship with Sonja led to them marrying in 1982. He adopted Sonja's son from a previous laison and they had 2 more boys of their own. They divorced in 1991.

I have 4 of Curved Air's first 5 albums. 'Air Conditioning 1970' - 'Second Album 1971' - 'Phantasmagoria 1972' - 'Midnight Wire 1975'.

Some albums and individual tracks are easier to come to terms with, some have major style changes that reflect the band members at the time and others are almost too self-indulgent to be enjoyable, but when it is used effectively, the one shining constant is Sonja's voice.

The links below are all tracks from this album.

I'll leave this out there to be dropped into your own personal 'love it/hate it' category.

Phantasmagoria - YouTube
Melinda More or Less - YouTube
Marie Antoinette - YouTube

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Dusty in Memphis 1969

Mary Catherine Isobel Bernadette O'Brien. I suppose with a name like that you had to come up with something that would fit on a record label !!

Dusty dominated the 60s in one form or another. Along with her brother Tom (real name Dion) and firstly Tim Feild then Mike Hurst they had hits as The Springfields. 1962/63 saw 'Silver Threads and Golden Needles', 'Island of Dreams' and 'Say I Won't Be There' all being popular.

As a solo artist all through the 60s she was constantly on the charts with amazingly powerful stuff like 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', 'I Only Want To Be With You', 'Stay Awhile' .. so many great songs and her own TV musical variety series. Known for her distinctive look - bouffant/beehive hair and heavy eye make-up, she became an icon for the 'Mods'.

At the start of the 70s she was massive. Then, her sales slowed down, her releases didn't sell and even though she was still around, nothing much was happening. For a long time.

During the 70s and 80s she suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction, self-harm and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although she had many relationships with women she struggled with the fear of losing her career if she was exposed.

Cut to 1987, almost 20 since the height of her fame. A collaboration with the massively popular Pet Shop Boys on 'What Have I Done To Deserve This' brought Dusty front and centre back into the limelight.

Like many people, I then started looking seriously at her back catalogue. I'd never collected her singles back in the day, so I started with compilations to fill the gaps. There was one album though that always had more weight, more reputation, more mythology than the others. A bit like 'Pet Sounds' by the Beach Boys or the Beatles 'Revolver' .. 'Dusty in Memphis' was too good, too different not be be included on it's own in any Dusty Springfield collection.

When the album was released in 1969 it was critically acclaimed but it bombed. It barely scraped into the US album charts at 99 and didn't make the British Top 40. It needed time and space and reflection before it gained it's title as one of the greatest albums of all time.

The most well known song from the album (originally written with Aretha Franklin in mind) is 'Son of a Preacher Man'.

'Breakfast in Bed' was written for Dusty by Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts and has a nod to one of her 60s biggest hits ..

"Breakfast in bed

And a kiss or three

* You don't have to say you love me *

Breakfast in bed

Nothing need be said

Ain't no need"

Although Dusty does a great version, the song probably became more well known when it was done by UB40 and Chrissie Hynde in 1988.

Dusty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. After going into remission for a while it returned and Dusty passed away in 1999 just before her 60th birthday.

'Dusty in Memphis' is a landmark album. It went a long way to earning her the title "The Queen of Blue-Eyed Soul".

Son of a Preacher Man - YouTube

VAN MORRISON - Moondance 1970

The first time I heard Van the Man I didn't even know it was him. He was lead singer in 'Them' and had hits in the early 60s with the blues classic 'Baby, Please Don't Go', 'Here Comes the Night' and the perennial favourite 'Gloria'. 'Gloria' was actually the 'B-side of 'Baby, Please Don't Go' but in the end it became the stand-out hit everyone knows and remembers.

He left the band in '67 and released his first solo single 'Brown Eyed Girl'.

Just on a personal note I cannot believe that was over 50 years ago !!

His first album 'Blowin' Your Mind!' had that song as the opening track.

Next came 'Astral Weeks' and then the featured album, 'Moondance' in 1970.

This is a good album. That's it - that's the review. If you can find it, get it.

It contains my wife Tracy's go-to stop-what-you're-doing listen-to-this track.

Her eyes glaze over, she willingly climbs on the bonnie boat, smells the sea and feels the sky and lets her soul and spirit fly 'Into the Mystic'.

As for me, when I hear the title track 'Moondance' all I see in my mind's eye is a 29 year old Jenny Agutter in the shower scene of 'American Werewolf in London' as this song takes over the soundtrack.

What can I say, I'm a romantic !

Throughout his early career there are numerous mentions of Bob Dylan being a major influence on Van. Between 'Astral Weeks' and this album, Van and his wife Janet Planet (what a name!) moved to the Catskills near Woodstock. Said Janet .. ""Van fully intended to become Dylan's best friend. Every time we'd drive past Dylan's house ... Van would just stare wistfully out the window at the gravel road leading to Dylan's place. He thought Dylan was the only contemporary worthy of his attention."

Reviewers likened a number of songs on this album to Dylan and/or Band songs. 'Come Running' was compared to 'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight' and 'Brand New Day' to the Band's 'The Weight' or 'I Shall Be Released'.

Van and Dylan did perform together .. even captured on film in Athens overlooking the Acropolis singing 'Foreign Window', 'One Irish Rover' and 'And It Stoned Me' for a 1989 documentary. 

Add in the rest of the tracks on this album and you have an LP worth every penny.

Into the Mystic - YouTube

ELTON JOHN - Caribou 1974

In Auckland in 1995 I met and started talking to an English guy about music. We got on well and chatted about all sorts of albums, genres and artists.

He asked me, "What about Elton John?" 

I said I liked his early stuff, and that I had 'Honky Chateau', 'Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player', ' Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' .. then I laughed and said ..

"I think I'm one of the 6 people who bought 'Caribou'!"

He paused, looked at me with a slight grin on his face and said .. "I was the sound engineer on that album." 

I was talking to Clive Franks - at that point about 25 years on the road as Elton's tour sound engineer and producer of three of Elton's albums. 

Despite that faux pas, we maintained a friendship - I went over to his house on Auckland's North Shore, we met up for lunch occasionally, until in May 1997 I left New Zealand to be with Tracy in the USA.

In October 1997, Clive got in touch to tell me that they were touring and would be in Amherst, Massachusetts on 5th November. He invited us to join him at the soundboard to watch him do his magic and see the show from a once-in-a-lifetime vantage point.

We drove up to Massachusetts and saw Clive on the street as we were pulling up to the hotel. He joined us, told us where to go and what to do when we got to the venue and we headed to the arena in time to have dinner with the band before the show. (Elton didn't join us.)

The soundboard was extremely complex and complicated and confusing, but Clive danced around it with the calm and confidence that only years and years of experience can bring. It was an eye-opening night.

Tracy and I had got married just 6 days earlier, so since that time if people ask about our wedding, we tell them that at the reception we had about 5000 people and a live band.

Clive stopped touring a few years later and we lost touch, but for a music fan like me it was an unforgettable experience.

Oh, the album? Caribou wasn't liked much by the critics but commercially it went double-platinum in the USA. Two singles were taken from it .. 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' and 'The Bitch Is Back'.

Clive was responsible for what is probably the most infamous fly-on-the-wall recording ever made - The Troggs Tape.

He told me all about it first hand, but here's an interview he did giving the full story. It really is worth watching.

Troggs Tape Interview

WARREN ZEVON - Excitable Boy 1978

I came late to Warren Zevon. Of course I knew all the words to his most commercial songs, 'Excitable Boy' and 'Werewolves of London' both from 1978, but his first album was released in 1969 and it was over 20 years later before I bought into his music.

This was the first one I got around 1990. It had the aforementioned couple of hits but in amongst the album tracks were songs such as 'Accidentally Like a Martyr', which is one of my all-time favourites, 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' and the almost cinematographic 'Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner'.

In the song, Roland is a mercenary who is murdered by another mercenary, Van Owen. 

David Koepp, screenwriter of the second Jurassic Park movie, named the big-game hunter in the film 'Roland Tembo' and his nemesis 'Van Owen' as a reference to this song.

In the early 90s I was managing a computer retail outlet in Auckland. One of the technicians played the Warren Zevon compilation album 'A Quiet Normal Life' constantly. I soon learned to love other tracks from his back catalogue that were, until then, new to me. If you want to get an instant Warren collection, look for this release from 1986. Apart from the well-known, you also get the almost famous 'Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me' the enigmatic 'Mohammed's Radio' featuring Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and the self explanatory 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'.

Some cover versions he did became as strong for me as the originals.

Way back in '69 on his first album he did 'Iko Iko'. In 1990 along with some members of R.E.M. he released an eponymous album under the group name 'Hindu Love Gods' with blues classics such as 'Mannish Boy', 'Wang Dang Doodle' and curiously, Prince's 'Rasberry Beret'.

In 2000 he released a single from the album 'Life'll Kill Ya' which again is one of my favourites .. a cover of Steve Winwoods 'Back in the High Life Again'.

Warren pretty much refused to visit doctors for many years but in 2002 at the insistence of his dentist he went along and was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He passed away in September 2003 aged 56, but not before releasing a last album, 'The Wind' with a host of friends backing him up - Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Springsteen, T-Bone Burnett, Tom Petty, Emmylou Harris and Jackson Browne. 

Jackson Browne joined Warren on Dylan's 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door'.

One verse in Warren's song 'Accidentally Like a Martyr' is 

' ... Never thought I'd ever be so lonely

After such a long, long time

Time out of mind"

In 1997 Dylan released an album called 'Time Out of Mind' and in 2002 he included "Accidentally Like a Martyr' into his live show setlist.

Respect between a couple of great artists.

Accidentally Like a Martyr - YouTube

PETER SARSTEDT - Where Do You Go To My Lovely 1971 (compilation)

How many songs do you know that are instantly recognisable by the opening guitar riff.

'Smoke on the Water', 'Sunshine of Your Love', 'Walk This Way', 'Whole Lotta Love, 'Layla' .. it goes on and on. Even the sax on 'Baker Street' puts the song straight into your head.

How about a laid-back French style accordion played in waltz time.

I bet you can only come up with one, but it's one that everybody knows.

Peter Sarstedt is often dropped into the one-hit-wonder pile. To be fair, he had two. 'Where do you go to ... ' was followed by, IMHO, a better song, 'Frozen Orange Juice', but unfortunately nothing else ever seemed to click for him. There were good songs out there .. 'Without Darkness', 'Step Into the Candlelight' .. and the quirky tongue-in-cheek slightly risque for it's time 'Take Off Your Clothes'. 

Sometimes, you HAVE to get a 'Best of ..' or 'Greatest Hits ..' or '20 Golden Greats ..' or some form of compilation because other releases are unavailable or don't cover the good stuff. I do have his second album released in 1969, 'As Though It Were a Movie' but it really adds nothing to the compilation album I got later.

Like Cliff Richard and Englebert Humperdink, Peter was born in India and his ex-patriate family returned to Britain in 1954. Both his brothers also had recordings - younger brother Robin got to #3 with 'My Resistance is Low' in 1976 and older brother Richard had a number 1 hit in 1961 - 'Well I Ask You' - under his stage name, Eden Kane.

Peter Sarstedt never really 'made it' past those early years and basically spent his professional life on the nostalgia circuit. 

The amount of names, meanings and symbolism in 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely' has been talked about and analysed for over 50 years now. I'll leave you to check out the reams of stuff out there. In Peter's own words though his reason for writing it mentions one of his, and my, musical heroes ....

“I wanted to write a long, extended piece because I was working in folk clubs and universities, Al Stewart had something that was half an hour long and Bob Dylan’s 'Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' took a whole side of an album." 

Peter left some pleasant if obscure album tracks, a couple of almost-known mainstream songs and a classic, love it or hate it hit that lives on and on and on.

Where Do You Go To .. YouTube