North Fork Sound Top 20 - April 3rd 2011

The Wolfmen
(Marco Pirroni, Chris Constantinou)

1. The Wolfmen: Cat Green Eyes
2. Solomon Burke & De Djik (feat. Jools Holland): What A Woman
3. Ward White: Change Your Clothes
4. Primal Scream: Don't Fight It, Feel It
5. The Ovations: I'm Living Good
6. The Last Forever: In The Pines
7. Etta James: Fire
8. Earl King: Darling Honey Angel Child
9. Teddy Davis & The Discolettes: Reggae Man
10. John Campbell: Sunnyland Train
11. Prince Buster: Rough Rider
12. Angelo & Eighteen: Flight 2
13. The Maytals: Oh Yeah
14. Scientist: Blacka Shade Of Dub
15. Cyminology: As Ssafar
16. Bell XI: The Trailing Skirts Of Love
17. Jewlee: Mary Jane Blues
18. Willie DeVille: Hey! Joe
19. Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
20. Nektar: Remember The Future, Part 1

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week

Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit: Here We Rest

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month

Canned Heat

Last Week's Listener Favourites
Billy Bragg: Moving The Goalposts
Bo Diddley: I'm A Man
Bob Geldof: Systematic 6-Pack
Carlton Alphonso: I Have Changed

Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Mayfield: (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go
Dan Baird: I Want You Bad
Dave Alvin: Redneck Friend
David Essex: America

The Dead Boys

The Dead Boys: Sonic Reducer
Elvis Costello & The Attractions: High Fidelity
Flowered Up: Weekender
The Fugs: Swineburne Stomp

Genya Ravan
Bitter End, NYC
from Genya's book, 'Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs of a Rock and Roll Refugee'

Genya Ravan: Flying
George Jones: High-tech Redneck
Groove Armada: I See You Baby (full frontal mix)
Horace Faith: Black Pearl
Hot Chocolate: You Sexy Thing
Ian Gomm: 24 Hour Service
Ian Whitcomb: You Turn Me On
The Inmates: The Walk

Jean Adebambo

Jean Adebambo: Paradise
John Cale: Helen Of Troy
John Kongos: He's Gonna Step On You Again
Johnny Osbourne: Water Pumping
Johnny Rivers: Barefootin'
Laura Cantrell: When The Roses Bloom Again
Lee 'Scratch' Perry: Yee Ha Ha Ha
Little Feat: Sailin' Shoes
Little Jerry Williams: Hum Baby
Little Sonny: Wade In The Water
Little Willie G: She's About A Mover
The Long Ryders: Good Times Tomorrow, Hard Times Today
Maceo & The Macks: Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)
The Moles: We Are The Moles (pt. 1)
Neu!: Weissensee
The Records: Held Up High

The Smithereens

The Smithereens: She's Got A Way
The Star Spangles: Gangland
Wall Of Voodoo: Mexican Radio

And don't forget...'PURE' w/howard thompson - THIS Friday (8th) noon, Eastern
Listen "live" at WPKN Bridgeport CT, 89.5khFM or here
or listen "later" there
this week - new, old, Venus, funk

North Fork Sound Top 20 October 4th ‘09

1. The Wolfmen (feat: Sinéad O’Connor): Jackie Is It My Birthday?
2. The High Dials: I Am The Eye
3. Jerry Jeff Walker: I Ain’t Living Long Like This
4. Garland Jeffries: 35MM Dreams
5. Mickey Newbury: Sunshine
6. Miles Davis: All Blues
7. Chas & Dave: Edmonton Green
8. Billy Fury: My Advice
9. Mark Ashton (feat: Cyril Jordan): Get Up And Groove
10. Nick Lowe: Tonight
11. We Fell To Earth: Lights Out
12. The Goons: Bloodnok’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Call
13. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: In My Own Dream
14. Randy Newman: Baltimore
15. The Fatback Band: Yum Yum (Gimme Some)
16. Ed Sanders: Marie LeBage & Huey Long
17. The Byrds: Chestnut Mare
18. Sugarloaf: Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You
19. The Jolly Brothers: Conscious Man
20. Rubén Blades w/Lou Reed: Hopes On Hold

Sylvia & Lou Reed, ht, Vicky Germaise, Rubén & Lisa Blades
photo: Gary Gershoff

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
Mark Knopfler: Get Lucky (Reprise Records)

The Guilty Pleasure:
Pluto Shervington: Sixpence (Opal Records)

Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:

Ian McLagan, John Stainze
Austin, TX
photo: ht

Ian McLagan: Kuschty Rye
The Low Anthem: Charlie Darwin
George Gilmore & The Giblets: Cuttin’ Out (Goin’ Back Up The Line)
Vernon Reid: What’s My Name
Rocket From The Tombs: Muckraker
Marc Bolan: The Third Degree
Brinsley Forde: Your Love Is Overdue
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Do Anything You Wanna Do
The Shazam: Hey Mom I Got The Bomb
The Shazam: NFU
Vince Taylor & The Playboys: Brand New Cadillac
Brinsley Schwarz: (It’s Gonna Be A) Bringdown
Little Feat: Sailin’ Shoes
Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks: The Snizz Part 2
Ray Davies: Yours Truly Confused, N10
Delbert McClinton & Dick 50: Wouldn't You Think (Should've Been Here By Now)
The Anti-Nowhere League: So What
Lou Reed: Tell It To Your Heart
Angelo Badalamenti: Laurens, Iowa
The Grateful Dead: Truckin’
Martin Rev: Dragonfly
Jackie Brenston: Rocket 88
Abba: The Visitors
Georgie Fame: Daylight
Angus Khan: Call Me Motherfucker
The Everly Brothers: Walk Right Back
The Blaggards: Carleen (live)
Earth Wind & Fire: September
Randy Newman: Rednecks
The Action: I'll Keep Holding On
Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women: Don't Make Promises
The Pink Fairies: The Snake
Social Distortion: Prison Bound
Ry Cooder: My Dwarf Is Getting Tired
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Mr. Slater's Parrot
Dion: Born To Be With You
Can: One More Night
Dillinger: Flat Foot Hustling
Mick Ronson: Growing Up And I’m Fine
Aubrey Small: Country Road
Marianne Nowottny: Instrumental

remembering: Danny Gatton (9/4/45 - 10/4/94)

Danny Gatton, Delbert McClinton, ht
'Sun Medley' vocal session, Nashville, TN
photo: Beth Gwinn

Marco Pirroni, The Wolfmen

Siouxsie & The Banshees

100 Club, London, Sept 21st '76
courtesy www.adam-ant.net/marco/marcophotos.html

The first time I saw Marco Pirroni was at Siouxsie & The Banshees' debut performance at the 100 Club. He was 17, and along with Steve Severin (gtr), Sid Vicious (drums) and Siouxsie (vocals), they played a 24 minute 55 second set, which consisted of Siouxsie shrieking the words to the 'Lord's Prayer' and 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' over what amounted to basically one endlessly repeated guitar chord, some blues licks and the 'Satisfaction' 'Smoke On The Water' and 'Peter Gunn' riffs thrown in to relieve the monotony of Sid's thumping and feeble fills. Fortunately, Siouxsie quickly got it together and has, for the last 32 years, been a frequent presence on the charts. Last year's solo single, 'Into A Swan' counts as one of the best things she's ever done and was our single of the year, 2007.
I'm guessing Marco must have felt his talents were not being properly utilized cuz he formed The Models and, the following year, they gave us one single on Mark P's Step Forward Records, 'Freeze' b/w 'Man Of the Year' and a John Peel session. A short stint with sonic experimentalists Rema Rema and an e.p. on 4AD Records followed in '78 but T. Rex and David Bowie had shaped Marco in such a way that it was clear he wanted - and could deliver - much more so he hooked up with main Ant, Stuart Goddard, becoming first-mate in a newly reconstituted Adam & The Ants (see my Adam posting here)

Marco Pirroni

"Antmusic" video still
Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni
photo: NME

Three number 1 singles, four top 10-ers, nine top 20 singles, two number 1 albums and an Ivor Novello Award ensued, clearly demonstrating Marco's chops as a quality songwriter and guitarist. In 1987, Sinéad O'Connor had him play on her classic debut 'The Lion and The Cobra'. He stuck around for her 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' and came back for her fourth, 'Universal Mother' in 1994. While he took some time off to figure out what to do next, he put together a great compilation Sex: Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die featuring songs that were once on the jukebox in Malcolm MacLaren's boutique, SEX.

The lovely Jordan figures in the design (and I mean figures) and it's virtually a NoFoSo playlist with Roky, the Groovies, Arthur Alexander, Alice Cooper, The Strangeloves and Screamers Sutch AND Hawkins on it, so buy your copy here now.

The Wolfmen
photo: Tina Korhonen

Which brings us to The Wolfmen, a full-on rock & roll band consisting of Marco, Chris Constantinou, Phil Harvey, Preston Heyman and Daniel Strittmatter who've just released 'Modernity Killed Every Night' on the Damaged Goods label. Kicking off with a dynamite version of Eno's 'Needle In The Camel's Eye', a song I first heard on Little Steven's Underground Garage, the album powers along righteously combining just the right elements of glam, metal and rock with glimpses of the Ants, The Who, The Primals, Bolan, Spedding, Steve Miller, Butch Vig and just the right amount of Brian Jones-style 60's UK r&b harmonica (courtesy Chris C) to make it an album well worth investigating. Mostly self-produced with a little help from Chris "Merrick" Hughes and mixed brilliantly (as usual) by ex-Trident Studios alumnus, Alan Moulder, the whole thing takes many of the good bits from the last 40 years of rock & roll, kicks your door in and demands a place in your record collection.
Just before Christmas, Marco sent me a couple of songs they did with the King Of Pop(adum), the Punjabi philanthropist, Bhangra superstar and Bollywood icon, Daler Mehndi. One of them, 'Two Eyes' is available at iTunes, but look out for the other one, 'Thieves'. It's amazing. There's already talk about the next album (alledgedly called Married To The Eiffel Tower) and a tour to support its May 09 release and there's rumours about some dandy highwayman - no, not that one - coming on board for the next single...stay tuned...

Marco Pirroni
"Jackie Says" video still

Incoming...

Some good mail showed up at NoFoSo Towers 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 by Brinsley 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's Andrew 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 Carter while 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'.

ht, Marco Pirroni
CBS Records UK, 1981