Journey Through The Past : Doctors of Madness : Late Night Movies All Night Barnstorms

I bought this record from that small record store in His Lordship's Arcade in Lower Hutt.  I bought it because the woman behind the counter recommended it and it was in the sale bin for only $1.  I knew nothing about The Doctors at that stage but it was a good recommendation.   The Doctors of Madness and Late Night Movies All Night Barnstorms fit somewhere between prog and punk rock and new wave, kind of  like a pre-Magazine Magazine.

There aren't any weak songs on the album.
Mitzi's Cure, Billy Watch Out, Waiting, B Movie Bedtime and Mainlines

Best use of a cello in any band until I heard the cello behind Alejandro Escovedo years later.

I ended up getting hold of one more album by the crew but by reckoning it lacks the fire of this one.  I also bought a couple of solo albums by Richard (Kid) Strange but that's another blog. 

Journey Through The Past : Cat Stevens : Tea for The Tillerman

It is easy to forget how good artists like Cat Stevens are.  His songs seem to go through periods where they are ubiquitous and then people seem to forget about him for a while and then wham they are back.  The familiarity of some of his songs mean that it is easy to under-estimate how good some of his songs are. Also while he is probably best known for his singles (and they are good) many of his albums stand as classics.

I think Tea for the Tillerman is possibly his best effort in a 5 year run of consistent and increasingly spiritual albums from the early to mid 70s.

While most people will be familiar with songs like Father and Son, Where do the Children Play and Wild World it is the other album tracks that tie it all together and give it the dynamics and variations that were missing from other singer songwriter albums of the day.  Check out Hard Headed Woman, Miles from Nowhere and the title track.

Song of the Day 48 : That's how I got to Memphis : Tom T Hall and Buddy Miller

A song that seems to be able to transition between rock, soul and country That's How I Got to Memphis was originally written by Tom T Hall but has been covered by many including Buddy Miller, Johnny and Rosanne Cash and Solomon Burke.

Song of the Day 47 : Margaritaville : Jimmy Buffett

When we traveled around the States last year I had more than my fair share of these great drinks.  We said when we got back we would get the ingredients and mix our own.  We had to wait till tonight.  Tried three different Tequilas and here we are - sorted out the favourite mix - and away we go - Thanks Jimmy Great Song.

PS thanks also to Daniel for the Parrot Head T-shirt

Journey Through The Past - R B Greaves

I bought this album online for not too much - the postage was more!  When you buy old records online you are never quite sure what you will get.  In Fiji I do not have much choice.  Anyway after a few weeks the lp arrived.  Pristine condition. White Promo Label - and added promotional material included including a signed photograph.  Pretty cool.

I bought this record because it was one of the first recorded at Muscle Shoals Sounds Studio  - so the band and production can be relied on to be impeccable.

R B was a bit of a one hit wonder - Take a Letter Maria (check out the great video - ahead of its time?).  But the album certainly points to someone whom we should have heard  more of.  Two great Sam Cooke covers and also another "hit" with a small h in his terrific and probably definitive version of Bacharach and David's Always There to Remind Me.

Observations : Junk Shop Junk Records

A while ago I read an article/blog by an American Writer on the records that he kept seeing in second hand stores and junk shops.  In recent years while Jan is looking for that bargain piece of crockery, hand bag etc I ask - "have you got any records?" and get directed to the darkest and dustiest corner of the shop with records piled in stacks (don't they no anything!).  I pull up a chair and then am usually disappointed at the lack of imagination there must have been when people were buying these - or maybe the people in the shops have the same taste as those throwing out the records and think - "that will sell".

In the last week in NZ as we passed through small towns TeKuiti, Waihi, Coromandel, Thames, New Plymouth we ventured in and I made a mental list of the recurring artists in these dusty piles.

• James Last - just about everything
• Richard Clayderman - Piano by Candlelight anyone?  Apparently  not anymore
• Roger Whittaker 
• Neil Diamond - in particular Jonathan Livingston Seagull
• Jim Reeves - anything goes 
• Val Doonican - ditto
• Mantovani - so much blandness
• Gene Pitney
• Charley Pride
• The Seekers

One alarming thing though is that I reckon I could have restocked Mum and Dad's Radiogram in the last week for less than $10.  The only ones I did not see were Peter Ustinov's great solo record of a Grand Prix and the Album of Sea Shanties - perhaps the only two I have not got that I might have bought.

When browsing every now and then a record jumps out that is worth checking out and that too usually ends in disappointment with badly ripped covers, huge scratches or just clearly worn out records.  But occasionally luck holds out and for 50c or $1 you pick up something worth a second look.  This trip it did that in Coromandel where I picked up some great Waylon, Johnny, Tom T Hall and Bobby Bare. Gave them $3 and told them to keep the change!

Junk Shop and Sale Bin Finds ; Bix Beiderbecke - The Bix Beiderbecke Legend

I first heard of Bix Beiderbecke in the Mid 1980s when the great TV series The Beiderbecke Affair aired in NZ.  The series starred James Bolam and was full of light humour and whimsical intrigue (or not).  There were a few follow up series but the first stuck in my mind.  I see you can watch the series on Youtube so I might just go back and watch it again.

Over the years I learnt a bit about Beiderbecke - a cornet player who died young and was not that well known at the time of his death and whose reputation has grown with time.  I had heard flashes of his music on the TV program but never really listened to him.

His music brings to mind the Roaring 20's and the decadence of the era.

So when I saw this album recently in a sale bin for $1 I thought , "Why not?".  There were actually 3 or 4 but I chose this one as it was in the best condition and it does play really well.
  

Journey Through The Past : Elton John : Tumbleweed Connection

I am not a big Elton John fan.  However I do respect what he can do (and still does occasionally) in terms of writing quality songs.  I saw him live once in the late 70's at Athletic Park.  Good show but I have never felt compelled to see him again. Over the years I have had a few of his albums and in weak moments I have traded them in - I do not do that often and I usually regret it.  So I no longer have my original copies of either Honky Chateau nor Captain Fantastic (with all its extras).  Although I do have the latter on CD now.

His early albums seemed deeply influenced by both The Band in trying to evoke the old west and the country side of the Stones (listen to No Shoe Strings on Louise if you do not believe me).


Tumbleweed Connection is what I consider his best, most enduring and consistent album.  Sure Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has some great songs on it but a lot of it does not stand up that well 40 years later (maybe a single album would still stand as a whole).  No flashy cover - just good songs. Cant be bad when it has Burn Down The Mission, My Fathers Gun, Country Comfort, and Talking old Soldiers with good songs in between.

Journey Through The Past : Maria Muldaur

I loved Midnight at The Oasis the first time I heard it.   Pretty sure that would have been on Casey Kasem's (RIP) American Top 40 - (how come I can not type that without first hearing his voice and then hearing the jingle).

It was certainly not a song that fitted in to what my mates and I were listening to at the time (The Who, Led Zep and Bowie) so it was a guilty pleasure that I never admitted to.

It was quite a few years later that I finally picked up the self titled album the song came from and I really enjoy it.  A classic Country album produced by a band with more of rock heritage featuring.

• Clarence White - the guitarist that kicked life into latter period Byrds.
• Ry Cooder - post stones and at the start of his own solo career
• Dr John - trading under his real name of Mac Rebennack
• Jim Keltner - the drummer to the whole west coast sound
• Jim Gordon - drummer with Derek and The Dominos - currrently still in Jail for killing his mother in a manic schizophrenic episode, 
• Klaus Voorman on Bass and friend of the Beatles, and hidden in the backup singers
• Bettye Lavette - whose late career resurgence has her as Obama's favourite singer

Great song choice including Dolly Parton's Tennessee Mountain Home, Kate McGarrigle's (Rufus Wainwright's mum) The Work Song, Dr John' Three Dollar Bill and Don't You Feel My Leg.

Recent Additions : Billy Joe Shaver : Long in the Tooth and Willie Nelson Band of Brothers

Getting a good new Willie Nelson album is always nice.  He produces a lot of albums and not all hit the mark.  I really enjoyed Heroes from 2012 and since then he has released a few albums. None of them appealed to me and I gave them a miss.  However I kept reading good things about his latest Band of Brothers so when I saw a copy on vinyl at a very reasonable price I gave up my resistance and bought it.  Very pleased I did. Another very good album.

Interestingly like Waylon Jennings' Honk Tonk Heroes 40 years ago its cornerstone tracks are written by Billy Joe Shaver.  The Git Go  is solid but Hard to Be An Outlaw, seen here when he teamed up with Billy Joe on Letterman is a great addition to both's cannons. At the same time it proves that they are both still more outlaw than the current crop of country superstars.

"Some Superstars nowadays get too far off the ground

Singing about the backroads they ain't never been down

They go and call it country

But that ain't the way it sounds 

It's enough to make a renegade like me

Want to terrorise the town

But it's hard to be an outlaw (when you're not wanted anymore)"

There are some great new Willie songs as well from the openers Bring it On and Guitar in the Corner (you can hear that he can still get great sounds out of trigger) through to the closing I've Got a Lot of Travelling Left to Do.  Let's hope so.

About the same time Willie released his album Billy Joe Shaver, released one as well - the very good Long in the Tooth.  I was disappointed that our itinerary in the US last year did not align with his 75th birthday tour. So I missed seeing him live.

While I will probably always reach for Live at Smiths Olde Bar, Tramp on Your Street or Old Five and Dimers like Me before this one  I know I will also play this as there are some great songs on this album including different versions of both The Git Go and Hard to be an Outlaw.  He can still write both hell raising songs for the Honky Tonk and heartfelt love songs.

Check out American Me, Checkers and Chess. I'm in Love and I'll Love You as Much as I Can


So pleased these two guys are still around and capable of showing the young guys how to do it with passion, grace and dignity.

Recent Additions : The Felice Brothers : Favorite Waitress

I actually picked Favorite Waitress  up when we were in the US last year.  We also managed to knock two things off the wishlist at the sametime when Jan and I saw them at Tipitinas in New Orleans.  A small gig at a famous club that I always wanted to get to.  It was especially good as I managed to chat to some of the band after the show. Then we bumped into them at breakfast the next morning.  I see they played in Auckland last week.  I arrived this weekend and missed

I think I have all their widely released album plus a couple of extras available via their websites.  Not all of them are that good.

But this one is great - best album since the great The Felice Brothers perhaps - although I do really like Yonder is the The Clock.

Some great songs in Cherry Licorice, Bird on a Broken Wing, No Trouble and Saturday Night

Favourites : Mollie O'Brien : Big Red Sun

I bought Big Red Sun at a small shop in St Kilda on a Sunday afternoon with Terry and Heather. Must have been about 12 or 13 years ago.  It was on sale and now I have NO IDEA what made me buy it.

NO IDEA.

But I am glad I did as this is an excellent Country Blues album.  I now know that Mollie and her brother performed bluegrass and sang together as Tim and Mollie O'brien and I even have one of their albums.

However this is a great piece of music - I especially like her covers of John Hiatt's Love Like Blood. Lucinda Williams' Big Red Sun Blues and Randy Newman's Rollin.  Also worth checking out No Ash Will Burn.

However the whole album is great.  Recommended if you can find it.

Song of the Day 46 : And a weird and unexpected connection : The Cat Was A Junkie and Dan Penn

Way back when I was 12 or 13 I used to spend my pocket money on 45s.  At the time my musical taste was developing but dominated by Glam Rock.  However I would also buy some 45s that ran completely against what people my age were buying and songs that somehow struck a chord with me.

The Cat was A Junkie by Ronnie Milsap was one of those - I know now that it was not a typical Milsap song.  I really did not even know who he was and it was probably a combination of a new artist finding his feet and a producer driving a scound.

However my reading about Muscle Shoals and some of its players has revealed an interesting connection.  The single and its flip side were among a handful of songs that Milsap recorded with Dan Penn and that Dan even wrote the flip side  (Blue Skies of Montana).

It seems the single was only released in New Zealand and I have it buried somewhere in our lock up.

I have no other Ronnie Milsap in my collection but am now on the lookout for that album he recorded with Dan.

Favourites : Was (not Was) : What up, Dog?

I first got What Up, Dog? on cheap cassette, then cheap cd and finally cheap album. When the boys were growing up Walk The Dinosaur was a favourite song - especially for games of Pass The Parcel at birthday parties.

The album is an interesting mixture of solid funk, good songs, mock cabaret and avant garde sounds, "stories" and collages.

Somehow it works.

Songs like Out Come The Freaks, Somewhere in America (there's a street named after my dad). Spy in the House of Love

Then there is the weird stuff like Hello Dad I'm in Jail and the title track.

One of the Was "Brothers", Don went on to be recognisd as onne of the foremost producers of the last 25 years recording with almost everyone 

Song of the Day 45 : Dobie Gray : Drift Away

Always liked this song.

Drift Away was written by Mentor Williams who revived Gray's career after success in the mid 60's with The In Crowd.  I found out recently that Mentor was Paul Williams' brother - the short dude from Phantom of the Paradise who wrote MOR seventies hits like Just an old Fashioned Love Song We've Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays and most critically The Muppets' Rainbow Connection. Drift Away is (almost) as good as them.  Actually it's better!