Song of the Day 41 : David Bowie I'm Afraid of Americans

At the time I thought of this as a late career highlight - I suppose now I have to call it a mid career highlight - 

Great Video as well and so pleased he played it in Wellington when I saw him last time.

I'm Afraid of Americans 

Junk and Sale Bin Shop Finds 3 : Beggars Banquet and Black and Blue

To get these two, with the Vinyl in great condition for a total of $4 is a real find.  The copy I found is an original NZ release judging by the white cover (as opposed to the toilet seat cover), the thickness of the vinyl and the orange Decca label.  The cover shows 45 years wear but the record plays perfectly and sounds amazing.

I first heard Beggars Banquet when a school friend Jeremy Wilkins lent it to me in what was probably the 5th form (40 years ago!). At the time it did not grab me.  Now to me it really signifies the start proper of The Stones as a rock and album band as opposed to a singles band.  While they had put out other serious albums prior to this (Satanic Majesties and Aftermath) in particular - this is the first time they really pulled it off. Of course the next three albums really grew that reputation but this to me is where The Stones (as opposed to The Rolling Stones) started.  Hard to pick a highlight from this album - Jan would say Street Fighting Man, I would probably go for the now obvious Sympathy for The Devil - a less obvious highlight would be No Expectations.

Black and Blue is quite a different album. A band trying to work out where to go and how to replace Mick Taylor who while he did not look the part is THE  Stones Second Guitarist as it was with him that they recorded their best work.  Three separate guitarist were tried on the album (Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandell and of course Ronnie Wood who could obviously look and act the part - even if he would never in my opinion make the creative input that Mick made).  While the guitarwork floundered a bit Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston made this perhaps the only Stones keyboard driven album

Not a much loved Stones' album but there are always tracks worth listening to with Memory Motel and Fool to Cry standing out to me. 

Song of the Day 40 : Christmas in Nevada : Willard Grant Conspiracy

These guys kept cropping up on Alternative Country Compilations - eventually started buying a few of their CDs as their songs were never more than interesting- Christmas in Nevada is not only one of their best songs but a great song by any standards

Christmas in Nevada

Flip the switch

And let the gamblers roll

I'm headed up from old Mexico

The border towns

All look the same

Brand new suit

And a bankers roll

Switchblade knife

And no place to go

Except where I might find

The next game

Lights go on across the town

Children's choir sings

Auld lang syne

The black jack dealers

Take their toll

I look up

From this beat park bench

Into an ocean

Of discontent

I can't wait to buy a ticket to anywhere

But home

Washing dishes

Behind the casino grill

Ain't no way

To make a kill

But on the winter nights

The water keeps me warm

I'll take my pay

And buy a gun

Steal a car

And hope it runs

Find a place

To make my name

Junk and Sale Bin Shop Finds 2 : Benny Goodman : Classics in Jazz

I bought this rather cool piece of 10" vinyl at the Salvation Army Shop in Petone.  I was not going to buy it until the attendant said all records half price.  $2 became $1 and I thought yep I have that one.

I was only familiar with St Louis Blues in terms of the tracks  on the record (and that is a great track that I probably have half a dozen versions of).  I have no other Benny Goodman (and first really heard of him when Bowie announced that "A Benny Goodman Fan painted holes in his hands so Shakey hung him up to dry" on Watch that Man back in 1973

I also have not got many 10" eps, Mum and Dad had a few (Mantovani and Mario Lanza I recall).    This was released in 1954 so it is now 60 years old and in pretty good nick.  Sounds great and his clarinet has got great tone.  I am glad I splashed out.  

Junk and Sale Bin Shop Finds 1 : Kenny Rogers and the First Edition Greatest Hits

As I mentioned in my first blog of the year over the last month or so I have dine a fair bit of bargain hunting in Junk Shops and the <$5 bins in record stores (some of which then even had half price).   In those circumstances it is nothing for me to walk out of a store with ten or more records for $30-$40.

The immediate concern is then "shit - how am I going to get those back on the plane under my 23Kg weight limit?"  I have developed a few techniques and tactics and have always managed to get it through - I am also now a very good judge of when a bag weighs 23kg but that has been helped with Jan's Christmas present to me - a portable luggage scale!!!

Recently I have found some gems and some records that many will be surprised found their way to my collection - some I bought for sheer nostalgia, some as they have always been guilty pleasures and some because one track redeems the whole record.

This record more or less falls into that last category. While it has all the big hits - Reuben James, Ruby, Don't Take your love to town and Somethings Burning.  One song took me over the line in the decision to fork out the $2 necessary and add it to my weight problem.

It is not much of a secret that Chris's and my favourite movie is The Big Lebowski.  One of the great attractions of the The Dude is is his eclectic and irreverent taste in music.  He does not care what is cool - he likes what he likes and so no arty farty metrosexual music in his collection - Creedence and this song.  All fans of the movie love this song and this sequence.



What condition is your condition in?  The record was in pretty good condition actually.

Favourites : Golden Smog : Down by the Old Mainstream

I bought Down by the Old Mainstream based on a review in Uncut.  It mentioned that this was the first full length album by the Alt Country Supergroup with members from Big Star, Wilco, The Jayhawks and Soul Asylum.  I then found a cheap copy at a record store in Manners Street (the one opposite where Chelsea Records ended its days for those of you from Wellington).

I was immediately impressed with the quality and consistency of the songs - having a little more edge than the then current Jayhawks and a little more straight up rock'n'roll than Wilco at the time.  Not a bad thing and for a while I preferred this album to new music at the time from both bands.


Pecan Pie, He's a Dick, V, Ill fated, Radio King and their great cover of The Faces' Glad and Sorry.

I went on to buy their subsequent albums, and their debut ep and while Jan really loved the follow up Weird Tales this remains my favourite

Best of 2014

I started to write this in December thinking about the good and the bad for the year.  then I just started getting a bit busy and now I am only just now getting around to review it

Albums from this year that I am sure I will be listening to in ten year's time.

• Roseanne Cash : The River and The Thread
• War on Drugs : Lost in the Dream
• Drive By Truckers : English Oceans :  While I agree with most that The Big To Do was a low
  point in their career I personally thought that Go Go Boots was one of their best.  English Oceans is just another great album.  
• Then in the middle of the year I started listening to a string of country tinged singer songwriter albums that all showed great albums can still be made and bend genres

• Robert Ellis : The Lights from The Chemical Plant : 
• John Fullbright : Songs
• Patrker Millsap : Parker Millsap : One of those albums where you have to forgiove the preaching because the music is so good.
• Jamestown Revival : Utah
• Sturgill Simpson : Metamodern Sounds in Country Music - it took a few listens but I do like this.  
• Pokey Lafarge
• Lake Street Dive's Bad Self Portraits, ooking forward to seeing them at WOMAD next year.
• Hiss Golden Messenger : Lateness of Dancers
• Hurray for the Riff Raff : Small Town Heroes
• The Felice Brothers : Favourite Waitress - a real return to form and nice to see them in New Orleans when we were there.  
• Old 97's - Most Messed Up - Another great party album - celebrating 23 years together 
• J Mascis : Tied to a Star -  while many claimed it to be a step up from his last solo album I have to admit it felt like (confident) treading water to me.
• Dirk Hamilton : More Songs from my cool life - always been a fan and its nice to now be communicating with the odd email - hoping one day we will catch up  for that beer.  This is is a great reflective collection of well written songs as usual.
• Billy Joe Shaver : Long in the tooth
• Robert Plant : Lullaby and the ceaseless roar
• Damien Jurado : Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son

Albums from 2013 that I am only just now getting into;

• John Murry : The Graceless Age  - it helped seeing him in Sydney in a small bar.  Enjoyed the show and was pleased to finally pick up a copy of the CD.  Have even managed to track down one of only 500 slabs of vinyl made!
• Shovels and Rope : O Be Joyful - and it is
• Willie Nile : American Ride

Best Vinyl Reissues

• Bob Carpenter's Silent Passage
• Jim White's The Mysterious Tale of how I shouted wrong eyed Jesus
• Matthew Sweet : Girlfriend
• Steve Earle : Train A Coming
• Blue Note's 75th anniversary series

Biggest Disappointments : 

• Ray LaMontagne's  new album was a sad let down after consistent quality for the last few years
• The Hold Steady's Teeth Dreams was not a bad album but showed that they need to rethink and grow (but not as much as Ray' please)
• Aimee Mann's album The Both - some raved - but I found this album to be forgettable and after giving it a few tries (especially after reading a positive review) and trying to work out what I was missing I doubt I will play it again.  I did pick up a copy of Til Tuesday's Welcome Home album on vinyl and while not up with their final album I know I will play it more than The Both. 

Best Music Documentary : Muscle Shoals - could I have said anything else?

Best Buys - During the year I spent a bit of time in second hand record stores searching out some lost gems

• The Youngbloods : Elephant Mountain
• Stan Getz : Jazz Samba and Getz/Gilberto both in Mono
• Billy Joe Shaver's debut album on monument
• Lulu's New Routes - a great muscle shoals album - I can almost forgive her for what she did to Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World and Watch That Man!
• Cher's 3614 Jackson Highway
• The first two Preservation Hall Jazz Band Albums
• Freddie King's Getting Ready - finally on vinyl 

Best Rediscoveries - stuff I had forgotten about but which I was reminded of for some reason or other and so went back and rediscovered just how good it was....

• Howlin' Wolf's first two albums
• Nancy and Lee : Nancy and Lee
• Dinosaur Jr's  back catalogue (or at least 5 I have)
• Buddy and Julie Miller : Written in Chalk
• Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend - on vinyl (less three tracks sadly)
• Waylon Jennings Dreaming My Dreams and Honky Tonk Heroes - does country get any better?
• Ann Peebles : I Can't Stand The Rain
• Mink DeVille : Cabretta (some call it just Mink Deville 
• John Hiatt : That late 80's purple patch - I count this as being everything from Riding with The King through to Perfectly Good Guitar.  This year through some astute buying I have managed to get some of these in near perfect condition on Vinyl.  
• Shelby Lynne : I am Shelby Lynne - great re-release package with a contemporary DVD of her first live show in LA
• Anders Osborne : His whole back catalogue - oh for some vinyl of it. 

Jazz I enjoyed most

• Stan Getz : Getz Gilberto and Jazz Samba (both in mono)
• Grant Green : Green Street
• Jimmy Smith : Dot Com Blues and Back at the Chicken Shack
• Jonathan Crayford : Dark Light - An old school friend's younger brother producing a New Zealand Classic
• Frank Sinatra : Where are you?
• Horace Silver : Song for my father  - it was sad to read of Horace Silver's passing but it was a good excuse to drag this out again 
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band

And there is nothing like a trip to Memphis and The Crossroads to rekindle a love of the blues and a few obscure fat possum releases;

• Asie Paton
• Rober Belfour,  
• Junior Kimbrough
• RL Burnside

All in all a pretty good year but a worry that what I considered the best new material was all pretty much in  and around one genre - country soul or country folk.