The next entry in the Chop's CD Roulette series is exactly the type of album I was hoping to find. Something I've not listened to for ages, and if I'm honest am not entirely sure why I bought.
@Sidaway1 selected A9 which corresponded to Winter Words - Hits & Rareties by All About Eve (1992)
Winter Words is a compilation released by record label Mercury shortly after an acrimonious split with the band. It features all the bands best known singles from their first three (and most succesful albums) along with a number of rare and unreleased tracks. I'd been a big All About Eve fan up to that point and probably had most of this stuff already but clearly felt there was something essential I was missing. My music purchases are more varied these days, I'm certainly less completist about bands that I like. I suppose All About Eve appealed to the folk element of my musical taste. I also had a bit of a thing for Julianne Regan.
I tweeted this listen live, which was fun and provided some useful interaction along the way.
The first track is Our Summer, an odd choice for an opener as it's an unreleased version, possibly a demo. I vaguely remember it being a live fave but it gets this compilation off to a wonky start. It's a bit of a stodgy mix which doesn't help and is a little underwhelming if I'm honest. All About Eve had recently split with their original record company, Phonogram, so this was a cash in spitefully released to coincide with the band's fourth album, and first for MCA, Ultraviolet.
Track 2 is much more like it. Flowers In Our Hair was the last of the band's four self released singles and is subtly different to the version that made it on to their debut album. Though if I'm honest I didn't notice and only found out thanks to the help of Wikipedia. In The Clouds continues in much the same vein. This is one of their better tunes with a booming bass line and multi-tracked Julianne vocals. Lovely.
I'm trying to work out why I was so into All About Eve. They had a bit of a Goth connection, Julianne singing on an early Mission single and Tim Bricheno eventually leaving the band to play guitar with Sisters of Mercy, but I wasn't into those bands at all. If anything I guess between 1988 and 1992 I was going through something of a transition from Heavy Metal kid through Indie to all stops Alternative. Things got a mixed up as I discovered lots of new music and didn't always filter out the crap.
Ah, Martha's Harbour, pretty sure this is the tune that really won me over. A delicate acoustic guitar melody and a really pretty vocal from Julianne Regan. This was All About Eve at their most folky and definitely their biggest hit. You might remember them performing it on Top Of The Pops when they failed to hear their cue and ended up standing still looking silly while the song played. Think they got to go back the following week to do it properly.
Every Angel sounds a bit more rocky. Definitely one of my favourites from their live shows. Tim giving it some on the Guitar and a nice vocal from Juilianne. I think, if I'm honest, the main attraction to All About Eve for me was Julianne Regan.
I'm so shallow.
On Twitter @substandardnerd recommended Julianne Regan's other band Mice. They released one album in 1996 called "... Because I Can". I've a feeling someone lent me a copy of this ages ago and I never got round to playing it, so will try and dig it out.
Wild Hearted Woman and What Kind Of Fool round off the singles from their debut album. This compilation is helpfully in chronological order so next up are the singles from second album Scarlet & Other Stories. Road To Your Soul shows the bands sound maturing a little. Tim's guitar sounds warmer and they've taken advantage of the benefits of a plusher recording studio. Scarlet is a fine album though, I saw them play the Royal Albert Hall two nights in a row on this tour, which is a little hard to comprehend now. I had a a real cross section of friends who also liked them so went with people I probably didn't see many other bands with.
The title track Scarlet has a really nice semi-acoustic (I'm guessing) guitar intro. There's a bit of Spanish guitar too and a lovely vocal. Hints of Kate Bush which explains why at least one of my mates liked them (Hello Martyn!). December starts slowly but builds into quite a dramatic tune. There's a hint of Marillion in the guitar sound, believe it or not.
Tim Bricheno left the band after Scarlet (having split up with Julianne too). Marty Willson-Piper replaced him on guitar and Farewell Mr Sorrow was the first single from the new album Touched By Jesus. There's a fresh sound about this track, more of a pop sensibility perhaps. Marty's guitar sound is not massively different from Tim's sound, but does bring something a little different to the band. Strange Way is not quite as captivating and is the second song (and second single) written about Tim Bricheno. Ouch! Dreamer has a bit of fuzz pedal and indicates a slight shift in direction. I think Marty gave the band a new lease of life but unfortunately that wasn't reflected in sales.
We're into the rareties now which might have been the lure that coerced me into buying something with so much stuff I already owned. Paradise is up first but not hugely memorable. Candy Tree is a track that I think dates back to AAE's earliest days. I saw them play this live and was desperate to get a copy. Bit of a folk-rock vibe kicking off.
Somehow we still have four tracks to play. Drowning is first, it's got an echoey intro, quite atmospheric. Wild Flowers seems like an identikit AAE tune - Add a bit of acoustic, dig out a semi hippy lyric, get Julianne to sound wistful, job done. Ah, two "new" unreleased tracks close the album. Theft was apparently wrongly titled and should have been called If I Had You. That's blindingly obvious if you listen to the song. Then it's all over with Different Sky. Both tracks feature Wayne Hussey of The Mission on guitar, which kind of brings us full circle.
Not sure I'll be digging this out again in a hurry but it did bring back some nice memories. I suspect I've also used the word lovely more than any sane person really should.
After a few weeks of non-top five blathering you'll be relieved to see me hand the reins over to someone who actually knows his subject really well. This is @Here_comes_B second guest top five of the year. If he carries on at this rate he'll have done more top five posts this year than me! Mat's previous guest post was about bands or solo artists associated with the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I mentioned in that intro Mat was a fan of Jane's Addiction too, so here he is to complete the circle.
I grew up with the music of Jane's Addiction. It's been with me all of my adult life, through thick and thin. They're one of the bands I've always tried to see when they've been in England and I've seen them about 8 times since 1990 (with Eric, without, as a support band (for The Wonderstuff), on festival bills and headlining). I liked the sense of theatricality about them. That the visual and art aesthetic was equal to the music and the message (probably a reason why the group photo on "Strays" failed to inspire since the other LPs had featured some art). Their music seemed to encapsulate a bit of everything: love, sex, death, art etc. They also seemed to thrive on conflict, which is why Ritual de lo Habitual is my number one album of all time (I think they all pretty much hated each other by then, half were full time junkies and Perry was keeping the vast majority of the money as he wrote, sang and did some production. They didn't record it together, just went in separately and recorded their parts). When they split in 1991, I was obsessed with buying up all the music they put out separately (Deconstruction, Porno for Pyros, Dave Navarro's "Trust No One", Perry's electronica LP Song Yet to be Sung, Eric Avery solo LPs and later, the 2 Jane's sans Eric LPs they did) to try and recapture some of that Jane's voodoo magic. Here's the top 5 of the non-Jane's output.
Psi Com
5) "Xiola" Psi Com (Perry Farrell and some LA goth/punks) - This for me is the first Jane's Addiction song. I wish they'd rerecorded it under the Jane's banner. It's only got Perry on it (from Jane's) but probably has some of his most Perry-est singing ("Xiooolaaaaaaaah"). It's also about the same person (Xiola Blue) that "Three Days" is about. It's proper LA goth/punk sounding too. Dates to about 85.
4) "Fire in the Hole" Deconstruction (Eric Avery & Dave Navarro from Jane's...guest vox from Gibby Haynes)-
Surely born out of the Lollapalooza tour (Butthole Surfers played the first one I think), this track welded Texan madman Gibby Haynes onto LA psychedelic rock from Eric and Dave following the Jane's split. 2 minutes 30 in, it has a guitar solo worthy of Jane's at their peak, obviously it follows on from Gibby screaming.
3) "Kimberly Austin" Porno for Pyros (Perry Farrell & Steve Perkins of Jane's plus Peter di Stefano & Martyn LeNoble) - For all the chaos and ferociousness of Jane's, there's always been a pretty, simple side too (see "Classic Girl" or "Summertime Rolls"). This one is much the same: "I like to watch her sway, she's luck before I'm going away". Pure lovely.
2) "Sadness" Porno for Pyros (Perry Farrell & Stephen Perkins from Jane's plus Peter di Stefano) - But for the production, which is a bit tinny, this would be one of the best songs Perry has done. The right mix of psychedelia, menacing banshee vocals and interesting rhythm holding it all together.
1) "All Remote & No Control" Eric Avery - "Strays" by Jane's sans Eric was a straight up rock record in my opinion. It has its moments but lacks something. This track from Eric Avery, off of "Help Wanted", for me, demonstrates where some of that voodoo went. This LP and the one he's doing now ("LIFE.TIME" up on Bandcamp) have some truly wonderful art rock on them with Eric's lovely, almost baritone vocals. "Maybe" off the same LP has one of the all time great indierock duets, Eric singing with Shirley Manson (of Garbage, who Eric has toured with playing bass). "Fade (after Elliot's Hollow Men" off the current LP is well worth a look, while yer here). "This is how the world ends. This is how the world ends".
Honourable mentions to "Awesome" by Satellite Party (Perry & Etty Farrell, Stephen Perkins and him from Extreme) which Etty told me came from when they had one of their babies ("what I behold is awesome"). Gets me every time. Also to "Song Yet To Be Sung" from Perry's solo electronic LP of the same name. Also to "Bali Eyes" off of the 2nd Porno for Pyros LP, pure beautiful. Finally to "Underground" off of "The Great Escape Artist" which is every bit as magical as anything off Ritual or Nothing's Shocking. "I'm a hustler, hustler, I'll never give up the underground".
Next up on Chop's CD Roulette is the second album by "desert noir" maestros Calexico. A concept album about the desert of Arizona and northern Mexico that displays touches of Americana, Indie and Tex-Mex influences.
@sonikkicks selected B25 which corresponded to The Black Light by Calexico (1998)
Calexico were effectively a duo at this point, by the next album I think they had expanded into a full band, but this album still features several contributions from other musicians. Joey Burns and John Convertino had been original members of Friends of Dean Martinez before joining up with Howe Gelb's Giant Sand. They became something of a rhythm section for hire (they are both brilliant on their default instruments) and formed Calexico as a means to unleash their multi-instrumental talents. I got into them in 1999 around the same time I was discovering Lambchop and beginning to get interested in Americana.
The album kicks off with Gypsy's Curse which has a wonderful twanging double bass line intro that sets the scene perfectly. Convertino's brushed drums and the swirl of accordion help build this instrumental, evoking the dusty streets of a Mexi-Cal border town. This feels like a largely instrumental album (though playing it back made me realise how many tracks do have vocals) and Fake Fur continues the theme. More double bass but with percussion provided by maracas and marimba to give it a more latin tempo. The guitar is reminiscent of a Ry Cooder soundtrack.
The Ride (Part 2) is the first track to feature vocals. Though Joey's voice is understated and restrained. Another short instrumental follows, a melancholy violin led tune called Where Water Flows. Then the title track picks things up again. The Black Light is one of the album highlights for me, that trademark drum and double bass combo setting the tone again and a lyric about following a girl to the darkest edges of town - "Follow her hair to the dark end of the street ... Out past the border patrol ..."
Sideshow jazzes things up a little with it's "Roll up, Roll up" guitar line and fairground accordion. Similarly Chach ups the Latin ante with more maracas, a swell of horns & trumpet parping and a pretty piano coda. Missing is the longest track on the album. A slow and melancholy tune with an almost whispered vocal.
Minas de Cobre is probably my favourite track. It has some fine pedal steel guitar and a great riff. There's the tap tap sound of something wooden providing percussion, and then the horns kick in and are amazing. This sounds a little like a Mexican Tindersticks.
I'm starting to run out of words to describe each track. That's probably a sign I should find a different way to write these in future. Over Your Shoulder is a gentle guitar led tune that echoes some of what has gone before. The album continues in that vein with five sub-three minute tracks which help evoke the sense of this being a soundtrack to an imaginary film. These are mostly instrumental though Trigger has a vocal that talks of an accidental shooting. Stray has a nice bass led intro and talks of a man moving away after the death of his lover. There's some corking Trumpet parping on this one too. Old Man Waltz wraps up the run with an accordion led waltz following on from a screechy violin introduction that conjures images of silent comedies.
Bloodflow is the final installment of the story, continuing the theme of the man struggling to cope with the death of his and trying to "avoid the tap on the shoulder, from that one in the long black cape". It's an oblique lyric but it's possible the man commits suicide unable to cope with the grief. Don't hold me to that though, I'm rubbish at listening to lyrics. Whatever the truth the album ends on an upbeat note with the instrumental Frontera. It's got a booming back beat and some lovely brass melody and possibly hints at the desert remaining beyond the life of people and things. I could be reading too much into this. It's a wonderful final tune though and ends the album on a bit of a high.
Here's the first of an occasional post relating to the random selection of music from my CD collection. Read the introduction for full details but long story short, by picking a letter from A to K and a number from 1 to 68 you'll select a CD that I'll then play and blog about.
@maffrj selected B37 which corresponded to Unchained by Johnny Cash (1996)
Unchained is the second in the American Recordings series with producer Rick Rubin that revitalised his career and brought his work to a new audience (including me). I owned a Cash compilation but it was this series of albums that caught my attention and encouraged me to explore his catalogue in greater depth.
First track is Rowboat a cover of the Beck song originally on the intriguingly named Stereopathetic Soulmanure. I realise now that as much as I love this version I never got around to digging out Beck's version. Johnny's vocal is deep and rich and it's a great opener. Upbeat and catchy but with a nice country twang from the band that I believe was largely made up of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers.
More of the same follows with Sea of Heartbreak. There's a second voice in this that could be Tom Petty (it is, I just read the cover). It's another smashing tune with great lyrics that befit a song written by Hal David & Paul Hampton. More goodness from the sleeve notes, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood add acoustic guitar and percussion respectively.
OK, this is where things start to get interesting. Rusty Cage is a cover of a Soundgarden tune which has producer Rick Rubin's imprint all over it. It's a brilliant choice of tune with a deep chugging riff that hints at it's grunge origin whilst retaining the country feel. A dark country blues song.
The One Rose (That's Left in My Heart) is a bit of a come down after Rusty Cage. A Jimmie Rogers tune that's a bit too sentimental for my taste. It's quickly followed by Country Boy, a Cash original from the late fifties, which adds some pace and is a great little song.
Memories Are Made Of This is familiar, probably because of the hit Dean Martin had with it. This is a different arrangement that shakes the song free of any kitsch associations and really brings it to life. It's a little twee in places but Cash's voice is wonderful. At this point in his career he could probably sing the phone directory and make it sound meaningful.
Spiritual was written by Josh Haden for his band Spain, neither of whom I know anything about. It's a lovely track that resonates with Cash's tenor. Some lovely 12-string* guitar twanging brings out the melody. Flea of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers makes an appearance on Bass, though not sure I could tell if I'd not read the sleeve. Cash's religious faith adds gravitas to the words, I've no religious conviction but the raw emotion is plain to hear. It's the perfect lead in to The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea a Carter Family song that was recorded by The Louvin Brothers for their Satan is Real album.
Seems only fair that with them providing the music Cash also cover a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tune. Southern Accents is a goody too. Tom resists the urge to provide backing vocals on this and lets Johnny explore the full depth of his range. Which is pretty bloody deep.
Back to back Cash originals next. Mean Eyed Cat is a fast one that it's hard not to love. Meet Me in Heaven is a more sombre affair that I think was a new composition for this album. Cash already writing lyrics in 1996 that ponder death and what may be beyond it.
I Never Picked Cotton is one of favourite tunes on the album. Written by Bobby George and Charles Williams made famous by Roy Clark, there are hints of Cash's own family history. I'm not great at listening to lyrics but Cash is a brilliant story teller and the story unfolds perfectly. You can't help but be drawn in by the words.
The title track now, Unchained was written by singer-songwriter Jude Johnstone but hadn't been previously recorded. Jude did eventually get to recorded it herself on her debut LP in 2002.
I've Been Everywhere is a full on country ho-down as Cash reels off the names of places where he's been. It's a cracking list of American towns with a really tongue twisting lyric. The perfect up moment to end a fabulous record. I've played this a lot over the years and know it pretty well but it's nice to sit down and really listen, I probably don't do that enough. A fine start to this project and a highly recommended album.
One of my New Year Resolutions was to Blog a little less. It's not that I don't enjoy it but sometimes my demanding*1 one post a week regime means my posts aren't always*2 as well written as I'd like. I've hit that point in the year where I've not got any top fives ready to go and time is at a premium so I've had an idea for a new regular interactive post that might help fill the gaps. [*1 not demanding, *2 ever]
We decorated our front room over the Easter Holidays and that meant I had to empty my CD rack to move the shelves while we painted, then refill them afterwards. As I was tramping up and down the stairs, and repopulating my collection (in alphabetical order of course) I began to realise how much music I own that I've not played for ages. I figured I could get Chop's Top Five readers to pick a CD using the reference system below. I'll then play that CD and blog about it. What could be simpler?
Here's a picture of my CD shelving.
A is the top row.
K is the bottom row.
There are approximately 68 slots from left to right so number 1 is the left side and 68 the right side.
If you pick a letter from A to K and a number between 1 and 68 I'll play the CD that corresponds to.
Leave a comment on the blog, or contact me via Twitter or Facebook or down the pub and I'll let you know when I've posted you're selection.
There are some spaces (in a vain attempt to allow me to add CDs in order) but if you land on one of those I'll round it up or down to the next nearest album.
The narrow rack on the right isn't included. That's where Mrs Top Fives CDs live.
I should also probably point out there are some pretty big sections devoted to Marillion, Fish (out of Marillion) and Status Quo. You might want to avoid those.
Also the rack pretty much represents my CD buying years which roughly ran from 1987-2002. There's not much new stuff (those CDs sit in an unordered mess in my bedside cabinet) nor some of my earliest loves (which are on cassette or vinyl in the loft).
I mentioned this on Twitter the other day and already have five albums lined up. To give you a bit of a sighter here are the references and what they picked.
@Sidaway1 selected A9 - "Winter Words: Hits & Rarities" by All About Eve.
@sonikkicks selected B25 - "The Black Light" by Calexico
Happy Easter to those that celebrate it, and happy long weekend to those that just enjoy the additional bank holidays. Here's Al Westoll with the final part of his age related trilogy of top fives. As I mentioned Al's band The Phantoms play The Alley Cat Club in Soho on Thursday 18th April. If you fancy a fun night out I'll see you there, come say hi and I might even buy you a beer! THE GIG HAS BEEN CANCELLED BUT WILL HOPEFULLY BE REARRANGED AT SOME POINT SOON.
Top 5 Things that show you are getting old!
Here’s something to warn your younger readers about! Enjoy your youth while you can. All was fine until I hit 40 & then all this lot started happening!...
1. Bladder induced sleep interruptions (& Wind!)
I used to have a bladder like a camel! Now, no matter how much (or little!) I’ve drunk before going to bed I still need to get up at some ungodly hour of the night for a pee! What’s this all about? Annoying but manageable whilst at home, slightly more problematic when camping at Glastonbury ! Whilst on the subject of peeing! At some stage in your life (40 as it turns out) you suddenly can’t do something simple like just have a wee without farting at the same time! Although this point is quite amusing!
2. Moisturiser
As a smooth shiny faced kid it would have been unimaginable to think that in later life you would need to use moisturiser! I mean, that’s the sort of stuff your Nan used! But after many years of sunburn & exposure to the lovely Feltham atmosphere your dry cracked wizened visage simply cant cope without a daily application of E45! By the way, all those cracks on my face are laughter lines, not wrinkles!
3. Hangovers
In your youth you don’t give this a second thought. You can go out on the lash, drink as much as you like & wake up the next morning feeling fresh as a daisy. I got very used to these amazing powers of recovery and so was very surprised one morning after a heavy night in my late 30’s to wake up feeling like someone had hit me over the head with a brick & small mouse had nested in my mouth!
4. Weight & Exercise
Growing up as a kid & then a young adult I never gave any thought to the health or nutritional benefits of anything I ate. I just ate what I liked! Similarly I never bothered with exercise. Well obviously I did but it never seemed like it! Endless hours of football, first in the playground with a tennis ball & then later, a kick around with your mates or a Sunday morning league game running around on a wet, muddy council pitch was fun, not exercise. And then you hit 40. All of a sudden you start to get a little heavier, your six-pack starts to become more of a three-pack and you can now ‘pinch an inch’! So, you are forced to start eating vegetables and going to the gym. How tedious!
5. Your ‘Get Up & Go’ gets up and goes!
I can’t remember the last time I sprung out of bed and skipped to work full of the joys of spring. Nowadays it’s a real chore to drag my sorry aching body out of bed in the mornings and summon up the energy to face yet another day! How is it possible to wake up more tired & knackered than when you went to bed the night before? I thought sleep was meant to be restoratory!
Apparently the current life expectancy of a UK male is 78. Blimey! I’m not sure I can put up with another 36 years of this. What’s around the corner, Piles & Dementia! I’m now starting to think they had a good point in the movie ‘Logan’s Run’ (the bit about knocking it on the head at 30, not wooden acting or Jenny Agutter getting her kit of at every opportunity – although that bit wasn’t all bad!)
Note. I’ve not mentioned anything about hair! For me, going grey is not a sign of getting old as I started doing that when I was 18! I’m sure if Chop was writing this he’d have had to add something about hair loss though! (No idea what you're talking about Al - Ed.)
Part 2 of the Alun Westoll Easter extravaganza. Al is the drummer and driving force behind Feltham's finest covers band The Phantoms who will be playing with JB & The Wolfmen and Clarabella & the Cryptkicker 5 at The Alley Cat Club in Denmark Street on Thursday 18th April. See you there hep cats!
Top 5 things that as a kid I thought were fantastic and 30 years on, still are!
1. The Wizard of Oz, 1939 film
Probably the genesis of my attraction to gingers! The Wizard of Oz was my favourite film as a kid & still is today. Most people berate the fact that it’s churned out every Christmas but apart from the presents (and a sneaky swig of my Nan’s Snowball!), it’s annual repeat was one of the highlights of my childhood festivities! It’s amazing to look back at it and think it was made in 1939! It looked and sounded great then, and still does. By the way, it is possible to love this film & not be gay!
2. The Beatles, Pop Group 1960 to 1970
As a child I’m sure you can all recall those long tedious car journeys on the way to some hideous Butlins holiday camp somewhere in the UK for your annual Summer family holiday. All the way there you were forced to listen to your parents music from the back seat of the Ford Mondeo, something like Abba or The Carpenters, and whether you like it or not, that music stays with you forever. I should be thankful though. Although I’m still quite fond of Abba & The Carpenters, my parents favourite was The Beatles, and so from an early age was inducted into the brilliance of the greatest ever pop band! I was only 9 months old when they split up (the Beatles, not my parents!) but their timeless songs have stayed with me for a lifetime & still sound as fresh & innovative today as they did 50 years ago! Thank God my Mum and Dad didn’t like Barry Manilow!
3. Stephen King, The Stand, 1978 Novel
I used to love reading as a kid. First off it was classics like Treasure Island, Sherlock Holmes & Around the World in 80 Days, but as I grew older (early teens) I developed a love of horror books and authors like Stephen King & James Herbert. To this day I can recall as a 13 year old being asked to read out loud to my English Lit class at Abbotsford School a paragraph from the book I was reading at the time. I chose to read the chapter from James Herbert’s ‘The Rats’ where a couple get eaten alive by a swarm of rats whilst having it off! I digress. I’ve also always been partial to a big fat book, the more epic the better, and as a result my favourite book back in the 80s was ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King. It’s a monster of a book (734 pages) telling the tale of the fight between good & evil in a post-apocalyptic America. I’ve never tired of this story and as I’m still an avid reader, will every now & then dip into it all over again. I’ve still got the same paperback I originally had all those years ago, but it’s starting to look a little faded & dog eared! By the way, like a lot of Stephen King books, it was made into an awful TV series sometime in the 90s & later released on DVD. Do not be tempted to watch it, but do read the book!
4. The Wombles Band!
The first albums I can remember playing on my tiny child’s record player were by the ‘furriest and possibly the tidiest band’, The Wombles (in reality songwriter Mike Batt). I loved all the songs and can remember many happy hours singing along to the lyrics reproduced in the lavish gatefold album sleeves! The Wombles released 4 albums between 1973 & 1975 and I had them all (my ‘little’ nephew has got them now but seeing as he’s now 18 maybe he can give them back)! Sadly they split in 1976 when Wellington left to pursue a solo career (really)! But why are they still great now I hear you ask? Well, in June 2011 I was lucky enough to be in the front row of a packed Avalon Tent at the Glastonbury Festival to witness the Wombles reunion! The capacity crowd (made up mainly of 40 somethings!) sung along to every word, just like me! Check it out! Fantastic!
5. BBC Classified Football Results (& Baked Beans on Toast)!
For many years as a young kid the highlight of the weekend for me was staying over with my Nan in her council flat in Brentford on a Friday night. I’d then spend Saturday morning doing my homework & watching TV. My parents would then come back and we would all sit round for our tea (always beans on toast for me!) at about the same time as Final Score on Grandstand & listen to Len Martin read the classified football results. This has hugely nostalgic memories for me & to this day I still love to tune in every week and listen the how all the teams got on (East Fyfe 4, Forfar 5, etc, etc) and remember my old Nan! Ahhhhhh. Incidentally, despite now being a bit of a foodie, I still love nothing better than a nice plate of beans on toast too! Oh, and a cup of tea. Obviously.
(Editor's note: I particularly like how Al has attempted to recreate Bruce Campbell's pose in the swimming picture)
Things that as a kid I thought were fantastic but looking back were not so great
1. Live Aid, Concert (1985)
Kicking off with the inspiration behind this top 5. Fellow band member, Mark Gibson, recently lent me his DVD box set of Live Aid which I slowly worked my way through over a number of evenings. This is a prime example of something everyone (including myself until now) rave about saying what an amazing gig it was. But having now watched it all over again it’s definitely not as good as we remember! Yes, the odd bit still holds up (Quo, Queen) but mainly it’s terrible! From the Wembley gig, the performances of The Style Council, Adam Ant & Paul Young have not aged well. And as for the Philadelphia gig, it’s all quite painful, with the Thompson Twins a particular low point! See for yourself! 27 years later I’ve now taken off my rose tinted specs regarding Live Aid and well and truly stomped on them!
2. The Evil Dead, Movie (1981)
I can vividly remember being scared witless watching this film one Halloween at about the age of 12. A bunch of us got together round a friends house and scared ourselves silly watching it on VHS. Then sometime in my mid 20’s I can recall going to see a late night re-run of it at the cinema & this time laughing all the way through! The time lapse plasticine special effects & ‘raping tree’ were certainly not as terrifying the 2nd time around! I have to admit that I still love this film and rushed out to buy it when it was released on DVD. OK, so as a horror film it no longer cuts the mustard, but it’s a great watch with loads of top memories attached!
3. Swimming!
Kids love nothing better than splashing around in the pool & would stay in there for hours if it wasn’t for your parents having to drag you out. I know I used to love nothing better than a trip to Staines swimming pool. But somewhere along the line the fun seems to go out of it and as an adult it just seems like exercise. And there’s no fun in that!
4. 80s Fashion!
Growing up as a kid in the 80’s it was all about having the in-look! All the girls wanted to look like Madonna. All the boys were busy nicking VW badges to look like the Beastie Boys! For me it was a mullet haircut (which I still had when I started work in 1988!), a Gallini jumper (a hideous 3 coloured horizontal striped sweatshirt with a huge logo in the middle), dark blue jeans with a thin red (or white) pin stripe down the leg and white socks! All bought from Feltham Market (where Tesco’s is now)! For my Sister it was massive hair, leg warmers & Ra Ra skirts. Good grief, what were we thinking! Although the Parka Jacket was good! Now when I see young white kids walking around today with baseball caps on sideways (like the chavy comedian Lee Nelson) I’m amused to think that they will probably regret it too in 30 years time!
5. Madness, Pop Band, 1976 to now (unfortunately!)
I used to love this band when I was a kid. I can still remember Baggy Trousers being the ultimate anthem as a 10 year old at the Echelford School disco! I spent many hours on a Sunday night up in my bedroom listening to Simon Bates presenting the top 40 on Radio 1 & taping the Madness hits (desperately hoping no-one would make any noise whilst I hit the Play & Record buttons on my cassette player)! I used to listen to them all the time. Which was probably as annoying for my family as I found my Sisters constant rotation of Tight Fit’s ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’! Some people still love the Ska sound but now with adult ears it’s just too close to Reggae for my liking! One step beyond! BTW, why do these pop dinosaurs keep getting wheeled out every time there’s some kind of high profile gig recently? It was bad enough having to see them ponsing around on the roof of Buck House at the Jubilee gig. And just as I thought they had gone they were back again (singing exactly the same bloody song!) at the Olympics closing ceremony! Please make it stop!
It's been a week of stress. Work has been busy on many fronts and the week has disappeared all too quickly. Then our boiler, which has conducted an almost sentient vendetta against us since we moved in to our current house some ten years ago, sprang a leak so I awoke to the sound of water dripping through our ceiling ... via the light fittings. I'm feeling a bit strained, and I think I just put four sugars in my coffee. Anyway, this is all just a roundabout way of explaining that I needed a quick and quirky top five topic this week and was inspired by my friend MaRaineyBlues' attempts to list all her favourite frog related songs for Cerys Matthews' 6music show this Sunday. If I'm honest I just nicked most of these of Ma's list. No words to explain just play dem tunes.
It's Status Quo week at Chop's Top Fives HQ. I know this won't mean much to non-Quo fans but the classic line-up have reunited for a mini UK tour and I'm off to see them at Hammersmith Odeon tonight (yes I know that's not it's current name but it is it's CORRECT name). I don't think I've ever been this excited about seeing a band live. I spent a considerable amount of my teens jumping up and down to Quo records in my bedroom and perfecting my air guitar technique. In many ways it's a shame I never applied myself to anything useful with quite the same degree of enthusiasm. I got into the band just before their "End of the Road" tour in '84, so failed to see them live before they split. Of course they popped back in time to open Live Aid in 1985 which meant I saw them on telly but then that was it ...
... until Rossi & Parfitt decided to get back together in 1986. It was possibly the shortest split in the history of rock. So, I finally got to see them live in 1986 supporting Queen at Wembley Stadium, and then later the same year at Hammersmith Odeon. They were brilliant (and have been every time I've seen them since) but they were without Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan. Alan had been a founder member of The Spectres with Rossi in 1962 and John had joined on drums a year later. They were an integral part of Quo during their best years (1971-1976 in my opinion) when they became known as the Frantic Four due to their live prowess. With all four of them now well into their Sixties, and the split fairly acrimonious, a reunion seemed pretty unlikely, so I'm over the moon to get a chance to finally see them play.
I did my Top 5 Status Quo albums last year, which you can check out HERE though, with hindsight, I think now I'd reorder that to read Live/Quo/Dog/Hello/Piledriver. My problems getting the album order right pale into insignificance compared with the anguish of pinning down my favourite songs. I found it fairly easy to draw up a short list of 20 but it was a struggle to whittle that down to just 9 at which point I spent a few days performing a sort of chinese puzzle to decide which would miss out.
1. Caroline (on Hello, 1973) - It's the song I think most people would identify with Quo. Down Down might be their only number one but Caroline is really their greatest hit. As such it's easy to overlook it. I've heard Caroline a lot, but it's still a monster of a tune. The perfect opening number kicking off with a typical Parfitt riff before settling down into the familar chug. It's got the hint of a Fifties rock'n'roll classic but Quo'd up.
2. Railroad (on Dog Of Two Head, 1971) - I love the sound on the Dog Of Two Head LP. It was the last they recorded for Pye (who were never happy with the rock turn their psychedelic pop stars took) and walks a fine line between the heavier sound that was to follow and the lighter tone of their earliest releases. Railroad is probably the closest to the sound that was to follow. It's got the perfect tempo to jump up and down to. Not so fast that you can't keep going for the whole song, not too slow. Halfway through there's a trademark widdly guitar solo from Rossi and then a fantastic bit of Harmonica (by tour manager Bob Young) that bridges into the slower chugging riff that brings the song to a close.
3. Backwater/Just Take Me (on Quo, 1974) - I realise that technically these are two songs but ... BUT ... oh come-on! They are nearly always paired together. The version on the album sees Backwater end with a clatter of drums that builds straight into the start of Just Take Me. It's seamless and brilliant. Individually they're both cracking tunes, together they are outstanding. Hey, it's my blog and I'm having them.
4. Paper Plane (on Piledriver, 1972) - Just shy of three minutes and with some mild drug references in the lyrics, this is Quo at their most efficient. Their first big hit as a proper rock band and the point when they really caught public attention.
5. Slow Train (on Quo, 1974) - Following in the tradition of epic album ending tunes that had previously provided two of Quo's best live tunes (Roadhouse Blues & Forty-Five Hundred Times) this is not so well known but has been a favourite of mine for many years. Quo seem perfectly suited to songs about trains and as the video below shows their rhythym fits the sound of a locomotive very well. There's enough time for some twiddly guitar jigs and even a drum solo before it all ends.
