1. Louise Hull: Warning Signs 2. White Hills: Radiate 3. Vince Quatroche: New Suffolk Girls 4. The Techniques: Queen Majesty 5. Johnny Hiland: Gatton To It 6. Reckless Kelly: Idaho Cowboy 7. Barrington Levy: On The Telephone 8. The Faces: Around The Plynth 9. Fun Lovin' Criminals: Loco (Latin Quarter version) 10. Billy Swan: Jailhouse Rock/King Creole 11. The Incredible String Band: Chinese White 12. Waylon Jennings: Waymore's Blues 13. Sam Cooke: Mean Ole World 14. J.J. Cale: I'll Make Love To You Anytime 15. The Doors: Maggie M'Gill 16. mewithoutYou: Bullet To Binary Pt. 2 17. Marty Robbins: Singing The Blues 18. The Fugs: Wide, Wide River 19. Prince: We March 20. White Rabbits: Rudie Fails
North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week:
The Pirates: Shakin' At The Beeb - BBC Sessions 1976 - 1978
North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month: Nick Lowe
Last Week's Listener Thumbs-Ups:
Dean Wareham, Angel Corpus Christi, Alan Vega W. 23rd St, NYC photo: ht
Angel Corpus Christi: Big Black Cloud Nebula: The Dagger Burning Spear: Black Wa-Da-Da Alex McMurray: I Am In Hell Marvin Gaye: Anna's Song Big Joe Turner: Low Down Dog Kevin Ayers: Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes John Mayall: Streamline The Four Horsemen: Drunk Again Bo Diddley: Mona Luna: Crazy People Barrington Levy: Rob And Gone Brenda Lee: Sweet Nothin's The Crickets: My Little Girl David Bowie: Suffragette City Marianne Faithfull: Down From Dover Bobby 'Blue' Bland: I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) Jerry Lee Lewis w/Jimmy Page: Rock And Roll Elvis Presley: I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water Billy Bragg: Sexuality The Isley Brothers: That Lady Lou Reed & John Cale: Nobody But You T. Valentine: Hello Lucille, Are You A Lesbian? Nick Lowe: I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass The Crusaders: Put It Where You Want It Genya Ravan: What Kind Of Man Are You The Divinyls: Pleasure And Pain Todd Rundgren: Bang The Drum All Day Man: Bananas Shelby Lynne: Johnny Met June Twinkle: Terry Link Wray: Rumble Brinsley Schwarz: (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love And Understanding Delbert McClinton: The Jealous Kind The Sex Pistols: EMI Elliot Easton: (Wearing Down) Like A Wheel Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez: Born To Be Together Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues The Pirates: Castin My Spell Nina Hagen: New York, New York
Not a good week. Haiti was bad enough, but the deaths of Teddy Pendergrass, Mick Green AND Bobby Charles really cast a long shadow here at NoFoSo towers. This week's entire top 20 is shared, equally, by Mick & Bobby (core-artists here) who had a hand in all the songs either as a singer, writer or guitarist.
The week ended, however, on a much higher note Friday when the Slits' vocalist, Ari Up, welcomed me to her Brooklyn apartment to talk about the band's latest, and possibly finest release, 'Trapped Animal'. It was great seeing her again and good to know she's practically unchanged and as voluble, spirited and engaging as always.
Later that night, 2009 NoFoSo Alb o' The Year winner Alex McMurray turned up in the West Village with Bill Malchow & the Go Cup All-Stars adding a couple of Bobby Charles songs (He's Got All The Whiskey, See You Later Alligator) to a set heavy with the essence of New Orleans. A righteous gig, and a good time had by all. And, just to finish on another positive note, last night in Cutchogue, where going to the library is usually about the most exciting thing to do, I saw a band pepper their own top-grade originals (incl. Bad Baby, The Girl On The Cutting Room Floor, It Should Rain) with covers like Memphis, Cry Cry Cry, Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, Shake Rattle And Roll, a fantastic Peter Gunn/Shakin' All Over/James Bond Theme medley, Open Up Your Back Door, I'm A King Bee (w/guest harp-er, Charlie) and the hottest Folsom Prison Blues I've ever heard. Of course I'm talking about the Lone Sharks, who ALWAYS step it up a notch. The locals agree, too, as there were more than ever before and lotsa dancing goin' on. Even Elvis showed up. A tip of the hat, then, to the Fishermans Rest, who are trying to build a credible, live music scene out here on the North Fork.
1. The Pirates: Castin' My Spell 2. Bobby Charles: I Must Be In A Good Place Now 3. Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues 4. Fats Domino: Walking To New Orleans 5. Paul McCartney: Honey Hush 6. Delbert McClinton: The Jealous Kind 7. Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas: Don't You Do It No More 8. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: Before I Grow Too Old 9. Lemmy & The Upsetters (feat. Mick Green): Paradise 10. Muddy Waters: Why Are People Like That? 11. Van Morrison: Stop Drinking 12. Johnnie Allan: Tennessee Blues 13. The British Invasion Allstars (feat. Phil May & Mick Green):Shakin' All Over 14. Dr. John & The Lower 911 (feat Willie Nelson): Promises, Promises 15. Doctor's Order w/Mick Green: The Wildest Beast On Six Feet 16.Paul Butterfield's Better Days: Small Town Talk 17. Bryan Ferry: Goin' Down 18. The Band: The Last Train To Memphis 19. Dr. Feelgood: Going Back Home 20. Bill Haley & His Comets: See You Later, Alligator
North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week:
The Slits: Trapped Animal
Ari Up, The Slits Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY 01/15/10
North Fork Legend Of The Month:
Nick Lowe
Last Week's Listener 'Thumbs-Ups': (our audience grew considerably last week, for some reason)
The Sugarcubes: Blue-Eyed Pop The Slits: Ask Ma Nouvelle Vague: God Save The Queen Muddy Waters: Got My Mojo Workin' The Move: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher Lynyrd Skynyrd: Saturday Night Special The Flowerpotmen: Joe's So Mean To Josephine The Fleshtones feat: Alan Vega: Felt: Primitive Painters The Doughboys: Twelve Bars And I Still Have The Blues The Doughboys: Break Out The Doughboys: Queen City The Doughboys: It's Alright Carl Malcolm & Ranking Trevor: Repatriation Nina Hagen: African Reggae Lulu: Shout Faron's Flamingos: Let's Stomp Family: Burlesque Brinsley Schwarz: Trying To Live My Life Without You Nick Lowe: 36 Inches High Nick Lowe: Heart Of The City Nick Lowe: Truth Drug Nick Lowe's Last Chicken In The Shop: I Knew The Bride Bell XI: A Better Band Nina Simone: Backlash Blues Lou Reed: Last Great American Whale The Godfathers: Birth, School, Work, Death Chas & Dave: I'm In Trouble Blind Willie Johnson: It's Nobody's Fault But Mine Angelo Badalamenti: Mysteries Of Love (French Horn solo) Mick Jagger: Memo From Turner Dion: Shake, Rattle & Roll Max Wall: England's Glory The Blasters: Marie Marie The Stooges: Real Cool Time RL Burnside: Stole My Check Marvin Gaye: You're A Wonderful One Jerry Lee Lewis: Down The Line Scott McClatchy: No Surrender Genya Ravan: Back in My Arms Again Elvis Presley: That's Alright Mama (live) Smokie Robinson & The Miracles: Going To A Go-Go The Fugs: Kill For Peace Donald Fagan: Ruby Baby Conway Twitty: Is A Bluebird Blue Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited I-Roy: Maggie Breast Dwight Twilley Band: Rock And Roll 47 Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: Shakin' All Over Adam & The Ants: S.E.X. Peter Tosh: Johnny B. Goode David Bowie: Queen Bitch Chuck Berry: Nadine (Is It You?) The Famous Monsters: Breaking Up The Damned: Neat Neat Neat Bob Log III: Manipulate Your Figments Bo Diddley: Mona Felt: Primitive Painters The Star Spangles: Gangland Bobby Parker: Watch Your Step Love Spit Love: How Soon Is Now? The Balloon Farm: A Question Of Temperature The Rolling Stones: Tumbling Dice The Talking Heads: Psycho Killer BB King w/John Lee Hooker: You Shook Me Southern Culture On The Skids: 8 Piece Box The Who: Who Are You Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks: A Better Place Gene Ammons: But Beautiful Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Long Neck Bottles Althea Ranks: Jamaica 21 The Low Anthem: To The Ghosts Who Write History Books Dawn Penn: You Don't Love Me (No, No, No) Lori Carson: Something's Got Me The Patti Smith Goup: Dancing Barefoot The Rockin' Vicars: It's All Right Blur: Parklife Earthless: Cherry Red Alex McMurray: You've Got To Be Crazy To Live in This Town
Alex McMurray Sullivan Hall, NYC 01/15/10
'Outrageous Love' Sullivan Hall, NYC 01/15/10
Alex McMurray: guitar/vocals Bill Malchow: piano Scott Bourgeois: tenor sax Skip Ward: bass Louie Appel: drums
What do Billy Bragg,The Edgar Broughton Band,Paul Carrack,Carlene Carter,John Cooper Clark,Elvis Costello, The Damned,Dr. Feelgood,Ian Dury, Dave Edmunds,Peter Hamill,Hawkwind,Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, The Psychedelic Furs, Larry WallisandHoward Werth have in common?
Well (apart from being core artists on North Fork Sound) they've all had their music wrapped in the art of Barney Bubbles. Born Colin Fulcher in 1942, he obtained his National Diploma in Design (with honours) from Twickenham College of Technologyand in July 1963, created his first piece of commercial art - a poster for the Rolling Stones' appearance at the college's end-of-year dance. Now it's one of the rarest pieces of Stones memorabilia. Around the same time, he made a poster for the college's in-house group, the Muleskinners featuring none other than a soon-to-be member of the Small Faces, Ian McLagan. A love for music, fashion, art and photography played a huge part in Colin's developmentand in '67, he was inspired by a Pink Floyd event at London's UFO club topurchase four old projectors and create his own mobile light-show. He combined coloured inks with oil and placed the mixtures between glass slides which, when heated by the lamps' warmth, would 'bubble' and make gloopy shapes on walls at clubs like UFO, the Roundhouse and Middle Earth. An introduction to Oz magazine's Richard Nevilleand a move into 307 Portobello Road placed Barney bang in the centre of London's blossoming underground. He became art director for Friends (another counter-culture mag) who set up offices next door and soon freak-friendly labels like Island, United Artists andVertigo werecommissioning artwork for acts like Quintesscense ("Everything's great in Notting Hill Gate"), The Sutherland Brothers, Cressida, Cracious!, Quiver, Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind. It wasn't long before Barney's meticulous, expertly executed, pioneering designs were being used to separate stems and seeds across the nation. Reasons To Be Cheerful - The Life And Work Of Barney Bubbles by Paul Gorman tells of Barney's highs (and lows) so much better than I can and you'll find a huge amount of Barney's work presented magnificently between its covers. If you have even a half-decent record collection, you already have some of his work. Here, you can check out the rest.
Some good mail showed up at NoFoSoTowers this week. What used to be a double LP is now a triple cd - yes, the Greasy Truckers Party at the Roundhouse in 1972 is now available thanks to the gentlefolk at Liberty Records in London. So now we get cds of whole sets byBrinsley Schwarz, Man and Hawkwind, not to mention a song by Magic Michael, silence from Byzantium (thanks to a power failure) and commentary from founding Curry Club member and all-round NoFoSo fave dj, Andy Dunkley,(The Living Jukebox). The Greasy Truckers was an outfit formed by (Hawkwind manager)
Doug Smith Gramercy Park Hotel, NYC (late 80s) photo: ht scanned from a 3-D lenticular print
Doug Smith and (Brinsley Schwarz manager and - later - Stiff Records co-founder) Dave Robinson based on the Diggers, a San Francisco anarchist/street theater group who doled out advice to folks who'd been busted for drugs and free food for the homeless, amongst other things. According to the booklet, Liberty U/A'sAndrew Lauder described the Truckers as a "loose organization of individuals whose aim was to recycle money into worthwhile causes that would benefit the 'underground' community in Britain". This particular concert practically launched the careers of space-rock jammers Man and spaced-out rockers Hawkwind, who would soon re-write this early version of 'Silver Machine', put Lemmy into the vocal spotlight and have a top 5 hit in the UK with it the following year. Who can forget the magnificence that is Stacia?
Alas, Brinsley Schwarz were condemned to remain slogging around the pubs and clubs of the UK, nevertheless leaving a very tasty catalogue of albums in their wake. Brinsley himself (guitar), went on to play with Graham Parker, Ian Gomm (rhythm guitar) had a top 40 US hit with 'Hold On' and Nick Lowe formed Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, produced Elvis Costello, Paul Carrack, The Damned, Wreckless Eric, Dr. Feelgood amongst many, became Johnny Cash's step-son-in-law by marrying Carlene Carterwhile continually putting out great, great albums.
Ok, so if that doesn't make you want to fly to England immediately, how about the latest in the Suicide 10" ltd. edition vinyl series with Lydia Lunch giving us her take on murder/infanticide/suicide subject Frankie Teardrop and Primal Scream taking the piss out of Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne? C minus,Gillespie...can do better.
Lydia Lunch: Frankie Teardrop art: "Undated X-Ray of 16 year old youth" courtesy of London Metropolitan Police
Primal Scream: Diamonds Fur Coat Champagne art: detail from Untitled 2007 by Fang Lujin courtesy alexanderoch-galleries.com
Just as I posted my Cure piece, a cd showed up right out of the blue: 'Just Like Heaven - A Tribute To The Cure (American Laundromat Records) - featuring the delightful Julie Peel, Joy Zipper, Tanya Donelly and our faves, Dean & Britta, who also have a new, very good Christmas 45 out, called 'He's Coming Home' (Chimney Rocks Records). It's the old Wailers song, but don't ask me which Wailers we're talking about. It doesn't sound like the Bunny/Tosh/Marley version, nor does it sound anything like the Washington state band who did Out Of Our Tree and Louie Louie. Get it now, 'cuz I got #369 out of 500 and it'll be gone soon.
Paul Weller's new favourites, Little Barrie sent a package. Sad to say, the cd tray in my computer just wheezed its last, but since one of the items was a 7", that'll go on the radio until we're fixed.
Also, this week I re-connected with ex-Ant, Marco Pirroni. So I asked him to send the new album by the Wolfmen, his triffic new group. I heard their version of Eno's 'Needle In The Camel's Eye' 45 on Little Steven's Underground Garage and if the rest of the alb is anything like it, then it's going to be a 'year's best'.
Elvis, Nick & Robyn, Manhattan Center, April 9th '08
Nick Lowe and Robyn Hitchcock played contrasting sets inthe Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom, this past Wednesday night. Robyn's was bent, cerebral and had moments of righteous clarity while Nick's was brilliant, uncluttered pop with the occasional pervy twinge. They each backed themselves with just an acoustic guitar and both their voices get purer andbetter with age. Highlights of Robyn's set were Full Moon In My Soul, Daisy Bomb, Glass Hotel and a new commission called (I think) 'I Declare', honouring the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Apparently, David Crosby was invited to supply a song to be sung at a festival in Holland but couldn't get it together. Nick's set focused mainly on his YepRoc years and included I Trained Her To Love Me, Shelley My Love, Soulful Wind, The Beast In Me, Has She Got A Friend, When I Write The Book, Man That I've Become, Lately I've Let Things Slide, People Change, Long Limbed Girl, Cruel To Be Kind,(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding and I Knew The Bride. He debuted a tune called 'I Read A Lot' and for his encore brought out Robyn to assist him on a spin through Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' 'Hungry For Love'. Next, he brought out Elvis Costello for Indoor Fireworks and then they all didThe Beatles' 'If I Fell' and ElvisPresley's 'Mystery Train'. A very successful, satisfying show and the audience left happy. Robyn wasn't finished though, and after a change of shirt, a glass of wine and some handshakes, he sped off downtown to the Knitting Factory where Gary Lucas was curating 'A Celebration of the Music, Poetry and Art of Don Van Vliet', who is known to most as Captain Beefheart. A surprise guest, Robynjoined Gary and his NationalSteel on-stage to perform 'China Pig', 'Sure Nuff 'N' Yes I Do' and 'Click Clack' to the delight of the punters that were still there after a long night of Beefheartian artistry.Sadly, we missed Alan Vega reciting 'Orange Claw Hammer' but Gary said he done it good, Brooklyn-style.
Louise Hull
The Pirates: Shakin' At The Beeb - BBC Sessions 1976 - 1978
Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nina Hagen, ht
