Everything Flows
Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub. 1,000+ blogs! This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past & present) and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you've never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite. Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me. Twitter - @murrayeaston Email - murrayeaston {AT} gmail {DOT} com
Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Euros Childs and Teenage Fanclub weekender
Thursday, 5 December 2024
I Am A Rock
I was quite moved by a recent article in The Guardian where Art Garfunkel talked of meeting up with Paul Simon for the first time in 'many years' when the duo came together for lunch. There were hugs, tears and the promise to meet up again. 'Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows? For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it's too late.'
Simon and Garfunkel are both age 83 and their tense relationship has simmered pretty much from the off, yet they recorded 5 albums between 1964 and 1970, including Sounds of Silence (1966) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970).
Even post-split and barely speaking (3-times a year) the duo would still get together to perform, most famously at a free concert in Central Park in 1981. That live album is incredible, you can feel the chemistry onstage and the appreciation of the audience in their response.
It's not been easy, there has been lots of sniping in interviews and when the duo have met up. While being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, Garfunkel thanked Simon, calling him 'the person who most enriched my life by putting those songs through me.' Simon responded; 'Arthur and I agree about almost nothing. But it's true, I have enriched his life quite a bit!' The duo performed 3 songs and then left without speaking! Thankfully things thawed and the duo played a hugely successful tour in 2003-2004. There hasn't been too much to speak of since then.
After reading The Guardian article I thought of one of my favourite (possibly my number 1) Simon and Garfunkel song - I Am A Rock, the closing song on their Sounds of Silence album. God, they really have been a couple of rocks, stubbornly refusing to communicate with each other!
Thankfully, as both are aged 83, they have made up before it is too late.
The battered Sounds of Silence LP that I own was originally my Mums. I often think back to simpler times when owning a physical album or single was the only way to hear a song. My parents didn't have a huge collection, but The Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Marvin and Tammi, Jose Feliciano and Sam Cooke were there. They must have had more when they were younger and got rid of them. I'll need to ask my Mum!
But back to the song!
Paul Simon wrote and recorded the song in 1965 on his debut solo album The Paul Simon Songbook. It's just Paul and his acoustic guitar. It's quite a raw recording, Simon strumming gently, finger picking, then hammering on his guitar at times, up close to the mic ... it's pretty cool. The lyrics are vivid and exceptionally open and honest.
A winters day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock
I am an island
I've only just discovered The Paul Simon Songbook album and it's incredible. A couple of the songs had been released the previous year on the debut Simon and Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning 3am. All but two of the remaining song would be re-recorded by the duo, including The Sound of Silence and April Come She Will.
The following year, Simon and Garfunkel re-recorded the song. The structure and melody are the same, but this time there is a full band and the glorious Paul and Art harmonies. There is a greater urgency to the song and I've never appreciated the glorious hammond organ throughout the song.
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armour
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb
I touch no-one and no-one touches me
I am a rock, I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
So many incredible 60's songs were bang on the 3-minute mark. This is another. It's quite remarkable what you can do within that time. With I Am A Rock, Paul Simon pours his heart out to express, isolation, loneliness and emotional self-protection.
I have no need for friendship
Friendship causes pain
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island
And a rock can feel no pain
And an island never cries
Both versions of I Am A Rock are added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE
Previous Trust Me blogs
Monday, 2 December 2024
Nile Rodgers at the Barrowland Ballroom
I'm still basking in the afterglow of seeing Nile Rodgers and CHIC at the Barrowland Ballroom! A phrase and tantalising thought that will bring smiles to the faces of anyone fortunate enough to have been there for years to come.
My wife, friends and I snapped up tickets immediately upon release, super excited by the prospect of this legendary hit maker and his crack band playing the best venue in the world.
We were not disappointed!
What an honour it was to see a master of songwriting, arrangements, guitar playing and production up close and personal.
I should also name Nile's current line-up of CHIC; Jerry Barnes on bass who delighted the crowd with his exceptional and energetic style, Ralph Rolle on drums - he brought the funk, Kimberly Davis and Audrey Martells on exquisite and sublime vocals, Russell Graham and Richard Hiltons on keyboards and Brandon Wright, Steve Jankowski and Ken Gioffre on horns.
These are good times
Leave your cares behind
This was 105-minutes of pure escapism, much needed from a world troubled by climate change, wars and conflict and right wing politics, with the cost of living crisis and housing emergencies impacting many.
Nile and CHIC lifted the crowd from the off with an outrageous opening medley of Le Freak, Everybody Dance and Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah). They were just getting started! Band and audience were definitely warmed up and raring to go.
More hits? Nile's got 'em!
I Want You Love was dreamy, beautiful and seductive. Kimberly Davis treated us to some truly sensational vocals afterwards, Nile looked on with a beam. What a gorgeous smile this guy has!
With so many songs to get through, Nile and CHIC merged some together. We had I'm Coming Out and Upside Down by Diana Ross from her 1980 album Diana, written and produced by Nile and Bernard Edwards, the friends who co-founded CHIC. Two slices of impeccable pop; hooks, grooves and super cool.
More?
We then had He's The Greatest Dancer and We Are Family from the Sister Sledge album of the same name that Nile and Bernard wrote and produced in 1989. Utterly brilliant disco pop.
What else did Nile get up to?
Oh yeah, he produced Madonna's Like A Virgin album in 1984. Nile told us how he wanted Material Girl to be the lead single as he could imagine everyone calling Madonna 'the material girl'. Madonna told him it was going to be Like A Virgin. So Nile played both! The crowd went nuts.
The year before, Nile produced a Bowie album and so we had a joyful blast through Modern Love. Nile then brought us into present times with CUFF IT by Beyonce and Get Lucky and Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk. A career overview was being played out before our eyes.
Lost In Music was outstanding. Everyone in the Barrowland was lost in music, the structure, arrangement and feeling of that Sister Sledge song is utterly perfect. Notorious by Duran Duran was very popular with girls and women around me, then we had the sublime Thinking Of You - sheer perfection.
Phew, Nile and CHIC kept going, Jerry Barnes on bass was co-frontman with Nile, delighting the crowd with his facial expressions and incredible riffs. Meanwhile Kimberley and Audrey on lead vocals were absolutely exquisite. Their voices were like angels.
Drummer Ralf Rolle then led the band through an extended jam called Maximum Funkocity which was superb, great fun. There was a call and response section with the crowd, hand were in the air, hand were waved ... amazing.
My Feet Dancing, Chic Cheer/Love Like This, My Forbidden Lover was a glorious run of CHIC songs before the place went truly nuts for Bowie's Let's Dance.
We were all having a good time, so there was only one way to end it. And that was with the monumental hit Good Times, with a nice segue into Rapper's Delight.
The Barrowland roar of appreciation was as loud as I have ever heard, so there was an encore of the full length Le Freak to send everyone home deliriously happy. What a night!
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Confidence Man at the Barrowland
I have no idea how many times I've attended gigs at the famous Glasgow Barrowland since I first climbed the steps to the Ballroom back in 1993, 31-years ago! I am fortunate to hold so many incredible memories of singing, dancing, sweating, bouncing and being part of a community in such a wonderful venue. In the words of the late Maxi Jazz 'this is my church'.
Over those years I've witnessed some wild nights, when the famous sprung dancefloor has been tested to the limit by 2,000 people dancing, jumping, grooving, bouncing and pogo-ing to the likes of Basement Jaxx, Underworld, LCD Soundsystem, Primal Scream, The Charlatans and Oasis.
Lately, I've found the Barrowland to be a little more chilled. A 2024 audience has seemed more content to watch, film on phones and be polite and not bump into others.
That changed on Sunday night with a joyful, euphoric and theatrical performance by Confidence Man who came to town to celebrate their new album 3AM (LA LA LA). They sure know how to host and start a party!
Confidence Man came to my attention a number of years ago as they brought their first LP, Confident Music for Confident People, out on Heavenly Recordings. I always take an interest in what Heavenly release, they have impeccable taste and a knack for picking up on cool bands.
Greg Wilson got his hands on their Out The Window single and I fell head over heels for his remix. The late great Andrew Weatherall also heard something in that song and sprinkled some magic in a remix, also taking on Bubblegum.
I meant to go and see Confidence Man at Saint Luke's a couple of years back and was gutted that I didn't go after reports indicated they had lifted the roof off the place.
Then, in late June this year, we sat down as a family to watch Glastonbury and happened to catch Confidence Man play an absolutely blinding set. I immediately checked their tour dates and bought tickets for the Barrowland.
What a night!
Confidence Man, who are fronted by the highly energetic Janet Planet and Sugar Bones with Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie on production duties, blew everyone away.
Their set was pure pop, theatre, dance, like a festival, like a club ... generating an energy from the crowd that I haven't seen in many a year. People were going crazy, the Barrowland was bouncing!
Costume changes, dance routines, cheesey poses, cheeky smiles ... I'm not going to lie, I now have a total crush on Janet Planet! And I suspect my wife has one on Sugar Bones!
They were on it from the off with the sublime electro pop of Now U Do, bounding from one side of the stage to the other, straight into Does It Make You Feel Good? The answer, was YEAH!
Confidence Man songs are sexy, funny, cool and UPBEAT with a capital U P B E A T! All My People tells the tale of someone with a toy boy. There is a great lyric - they say there's 7 wonders but my toy boy makes it 8. And hooks galore including;
With a face like that, there's no conversation
With an ass like that, there's no hesitation
C.O.O.L Party is full of funky bass and beats with Janet Planet talking about a cool party, leading to a huge fun chorus that they literally spell out.
We moved from pop to a real club atmosphere for BREAKBEAT, BREAK IT DOWN (ON THE BASSLINE), SICKO and the glorious Boyfriend (Repeat).
My boyfriend wants to talk
My boyfriend talks too much
The Barrowland crowd were lapping it up. Everyone was pushing to get on the dancefloor and it was JUMPING! Janet and Sugar were absolutely on it, relentless with their energy and dancing, projecting it out to the audience who responded wholeheartedly.
A closing blast of SO WHAT and Holiday was incredible. If the Scottish Government are interested in green energy then they should hook up to the Barrowland dancefloor the next time Confidence Man are back in town!
The encore was the title track of their latest album 3AM (LA LA LA) and that was it. 75-minutes of electro pop club perfection. 2 pop stars taking us on a merry dance of hooks, synths, bass and beats.
I do hope Confidence Man return to the Barrowland for a couple of nights next year. It is the perfect venue for them and they are the perfect hosts for a Barrowland party!
Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Unfinished Monkey Business
Recently, while snuggled up in bed with Lemsip and a cold, I decided to revisit Ian Brown's debut solo album,Unfinished Monkey Business, for the first time in ... a long time. I'd forgotten about its charmful lofi, D.I.Y vibe and soul. It certainly helped my cold!
Self financed and produced on an 8-track studio in Brown's flat, Unfinished Monkey Business was in complete contrast to the years and hundreds of thousands of pounds (possibly as much as £1 million) spent recording The Second Coming with The Stone Roses.
The Roses ended up a complete mess in the end. Brown and Squire, who formed the band and who had first met in a sandpit in nursery, fell out publicly and bitterly.
In a statement released on April Fools Day in 1996, there was nothing funny about Squire announcing his departure, saying it was; "the inevitable conclusion to the gradual social and musical separation that we have undergone in the past few years."
Undeterred, Brown and Main recruited, Aziz Ibrahim, a former Simply Red guitarist, to replace Squire and soldiered on for a further 6-months. Their Reading Festival performance saw long term fans leave the site in tears. What was left of The Roses was officially dissolved in October 96.
Squire was quick to move on, forming The Seahorses, an anagram for He Hates Roses (also The Roses Ashes) and beginning to rehearse with them as early as the summer of 96, while his former band were still going.
The Seahorses disintegrated after just one album and a stand alone single, with Squire later reflecting; "I thought 'This sounds shit, we don't deserve to be in this place.' The band sounded complacent. I don't suppose it was anyone's fault. Maybe it got far too much attention for very little effort in the early stages, because of what I'd done in the past."
It's a fair and accurate reflection.
Meanwhile, Brown's name would occasionally pop up in the NME or Melody Maker news pages with one rumour stating that he was going to work as a gardener.
However, after a short break, Brown was back writing and creating. And his material was much more interesting and inventive than Squire's post Roses work.
My Star was Brown's debut single to launch his solo career in January 1998, with lyrics about space exploration, NASA corrupters, military missions to Mars and the brilliant;
Never seeking new life, only planning war
Brown's voice is quite distorted, there has been no attempt to polish it up and the song gets better as it develops. Aziz Ibrahim on psychedelic guitar (also with a co-writing credit) is fizzing and fantastic and the I'll see you in my star hook is hammered home. I haven't listened to My Star in ages and I have to say that it has aged well, in a different way to Ian's work with The Roses. The lo-fi dreamy psychedelia charm, the lyrics, the hook ... there is just something about it.
The video was typically psychedelic, with Brown wandering round a futuristic home, eating pills and appearing in front of some Pollock artwork on a few occasions. Brown also appeared on Top of the Pops with a band including someone playing percussion on boxes of eggs. Later in the performance Ian threw some eggs at his own image.
On to the album, which opens with Intro Under The Paving Stones The Beach, all Ian's own work. Drum samples, toy guitar, the title spoken by Ian's son. It's essentially a sound collage; the beats, church bells chiming, some Indian sitar sounds, leading into the aforementioned My Star.
Brown calls upon his mate Mani for inspiration with Can't See Me. Brown found an old tape of a bass demo by Mani with a breakbeat sample (some reports indicated Reni played along with it) and asked him if he could use it. One of his old mates also inspired the lyrics, with Brown allegedly writing them after waving to Squire when he saw him across a street and John pretended he didn't see him.
Lyrics about Squire are sprinkled liberally through the album and Brown doesn't hold back. Over the cool bass groove (what other gems are hidden on old Second Coming rehearsal tapes?!) Brown sings;
The man used to fly, he used to fly easy
Now he can't see me
Earlier in the song there is the lyric he needs a dealer, as a healer, and that's not the only reference to Squire's (self admitted) fondness for cocaine at that time.
The Roses actually played Ice Cold Cube at their infamous last stand at the Reading Festival. This version is really brashy, Aziz's guitar is murky and blurred in the background, occasionally coming to the fore. It's a dark song, not (in my opinion) of Roses quality. I feel quite sad hearing it back.
I suggest you think again my friend, love is a circle with no end
A message given heaven sent, I've seen you cause your own descent
I always loved Sunshine and still think back fondly to seeing Ian singing it in a tent at T in the Park. Ian' voice was really on it that day. I think Sunshine is rather beautiful, on the album it's just Brown and his acoustic, beautifully and gloriously a little out of tune.
Then we have the near 7-minute rough gem of Lions and Ian singing with the late Denise Johnson. The drums are primitive, a bass kicks in at one point then drops out, a synth appears and is turned up loud, there is guitar, all kinds of effects, things pretty much fall apart and then Johnson repeatedly sing.
There are no lions in England, there are no lions in England
There are no lions in England, no, no, no
Corpses In Her Mouth was the second single lifted from the album, reaching a respectable 14 in the UK charts after the high placing My Star which got to the heady heights of number 5. For me, this is one of Ian's best solo singles and it kicks off the best run of songs on the album. The beats are cool, the guitar shimmers, there is plenty of space for the vocal melody and the lyrics are kinda beautifully weird.
What Happened To Ya Part 1 is deliciously ragged. Over an acoustic groove, Brown sounds confident and assured as he reflects on the Roses and Squire
You'll walk on water if they told you they like
There's just one problem, you just missed the tide
What happened to ya? Did you change your mind?
What happened to ya? We were one of a kind
Part 2 then kicks in and immediately veers off into a different full band groove, pure Roses territory - One Love mixed with a dash of The Second Coming, with Brown whispering menacingly at the start;
They got to ya, they got to ya, OK, OK, cocaine, cocaine
Aziz Ibrahim is in stunning form on guitar as Brown repeats the chorus of part 1 as his band groove on. This is as sublime a groove as King Monkey has ever been involved with.
Nah Nah is more Brown reflections, Ibrahim riffing gently over and acoustic groove. Deep Pile Dreams is pure Ian Brown, a slow stone groove. It's all Brown; playing bass over drum beats, a simple keyboard riff and a strong vocal melody.
The closing title track is Brown jamming on a keyboard over beats.
I enjoyed Unfinished Monkey Business when it came out and I've enjoyed revisiting it all these years down the line. It's honest and pure, lofi and
Friday, 15 November 2024
God Only Knows
Cover version of the month #102
Betty Everett covers The Beach Boys God Only Knows
The Beach Boys masterpiece and the sublime Betty Everett cover version of God Only Knows are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE
Previous covers of the month blogs
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
44. Witchi Tai To
45. Our Lips Are Sealed
46. Sunshine Of Your Love
47. Here Comes The Sun
48. I Think We're Alone Now
49. Don't Let Me Down
50. It's Oh So Quiet
51. Alcoholiday
52. Summer Holiday
53. Who Do You Think You Are?
54. Head On
55. Nothing Compares 2 U
Monday, 11 November 2024
Brilliant debut singles part 4
Welcome to part 4 of my new semi-regular/ongoing feature on brilliant debut singles. When bands/artists appear perfectly formed with a song that is utterly brilliant!
Sometimes, this might be with a song that they didn't write! Is that cheating?! Well, no, not if they transform the song and make it their own. Saint Etienne certainly did that with their sublime cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart that is included in this blog.
I'm also pretty sure that I'll be writing about The Byrds Mr Tambourine Man and the likes of Hey Joe by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in future blogs.
Part 4 (below) features Arab Strap, The House of Love, McAlmont & Butler, The Left Banke and Saint Etienne.
I've started a Spotify playlist HERE
Part 1 featured; The Doors, The Undertones, Pet Shop Boys, Stardust and Tracy Chapman
Part 2 featured; Booker T & The MG's, The Jackson 5, Kate Bush, Radiohead and The Sex Pistols
Part 3 featured; Teenage Fanclub, LCD Soundsystem, Boston, The Box Tops and Depeche Mode.
16. First Big Weekend by Arab Strap
Funny, emotive, original, soulful and beautifully authentic, Arab Strap's First Big Weekend documents a mid-90's weekend absolutely perfectly. It could easily have been written about me and my mates!
Aidan Moffat begins his tale over raw and sparse acoustic guitar. Like many of my own 90's weekends, Aidan's started on a Thursday. Moffat's was with a quiz where he approached an ex-girlfriends new boyfriend to say there is no issue as far as he is concerned ... he shouldn't have bothered.
Then on Friday night we went through to The Arches
A programmed (basic) drum beat kicks in and Malcolm Middleton then finds a guitar riff and some synth sounds fall in behind. Moffat then continues his tale; the travel through, skipping the queue, dancing, the aftermath, trying to keep going, falling asleep, missing the Scotland v England game, going out again, watching The Simpsons, going out to the pub on Sunday night, meeting up again on Monday night ....
Went out for the weekend and it lasted forever
High with our friends it's officially summer
First Big Weekend was like nothing my friends and I had ever heard before. It was (and is) raw, real, exciting and true.
17. Shine On by The House of Love
With shimmering psychedelic guitars and an incredible chorus that is beautifully simple, Shine On is the defining song of The House of Love.
The piercing guitar riff that introduces the song is infectious, the burst of acoustic rhythm under a short electric guitar at the end of the first verse is glorious. Later on the middle eight leads to a sensational guitar solo by Terry Bickers who was widely considered to be the best guitarist around on the independent scene in the aftermath of The Smiths and pre-Roses.
Originally released back in 1987 on Creation Records, the song failed to reach the top 100. A new version was released in 1990 and got to number 20 in the charts - the bands biggest hit.
The band, led by Guy Chadwick and with Terry Bickers on guitar, were making a mark. Alan McGee became their manager and was determined to get them a major record deal. This episode is reflected on in glorious detail in the legendary book My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry For The Prize up among the best music books I have ever read.
Chadwick was desperate for a major record deal and a lump sum of money to buy a house, he has lied about his age and is going a little crazy with ecstasy and LSD, while Bickers is having a mental breakdown on tour, while McGee is holed up in plush London hotels conducting interviews with prospective labels. It's a funny yet harrowing read.
The band definitely had something, but never captured the excitement of early recordings after Fontana (who they signed with) ordered multiple re-recordings and remixes in search of 'a hit'.
Listening back to the song, I've never really focused on the lyrics in the verses before! They are quite abstract, I guess it's always been about the guitars and the chorus for me.
She, she, she, she, shine on
She, she, she, shine on
She, she, she, shine on
18. Yes by McAlmont & Butler
And oh how positive it is, McAlmont wrote a verse but couldn't come up with a second, so Butler just told him to repeat the first with the duo hoping to commit something that could be held up as a classic single like those they loved from the 60's.McAlmont's lyrics match the positive surge of Butler's music. The strings soar and instantly sound euphoric, Butler's guitar crashes and provides a constant rhythm throughout, while seemingly simultaneously chiming and riffing.
The lyrics could easily be McAlmont's interpretation of whatever Butler told him about leaving Suede. The title, the simple Yes, is pure positivity, Butler has recovered from the dark post Suede months, he does look better and he does feel alright.
David McAlmont's vocal is exceptional and after a quick 1st verse that sounds like McAlmont relaying a conversation they are into the sky scraping chorus. The about me, about me, about me line that McAlmont yelps out is the perfect bridge into the chorus. Then they do it again for good measure, only they take it even higher and it sounds even better.
Exceptional! Check the outrageous live performance on Later with Jools and the way Butler stomps, whirls and attacks his guitar.
19. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke
In just 2-minutes and 46 seconds, The Left Banke produce heart aching pop music of the highest, purest quality. Everything tugs on heart strings. At the age of just 18, Steve Martin Caro has no God given right to sound so beautifully heart broken, while the strings, harpsichord and flute are utterly perfect, giving a sense of maturity to this band of teenagers.
The poetic lyrics speak of empty sidewalks, where perhaps lovers once walked, of tears, of pain, rain, names in a heart drawn on the wall, of being haunted and of a realisation that the writer can't follow Renee, it's not to be.
Astounding, outstanding, magical.
Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke
The Left Banke were teenagers when they wrote the Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke, especially when you consider that the band were teenagers at the time.
Released in July 1966, Walk Away Renee is one of a number of songs Brown wrote about Renee Fladen-Kamm, then the girlfriend of his friend and band mate, Tom Finn. Amazingly, Fladen-Kamm was at the recording of the single, Brown had to wait for her to leave in order to play his parts.
Remarkably, considering the depth and quality of this song, The Left Banke were all teenagers!
20. Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne (with Moira Lambert on vocals pre Sarah Cracknell) transform Neil Young's beautiful Only Love Can Break Your Heart - modernising it, taking it into the future, somehow making it even more timeless than the original.
Recorded in just 2-hours in a makeshift bedroom studio - Saint Etienne's version has a beautifully raw, unpolished quality and it remains a true gem that continues to captivate audiences to this day. It still sounds super fresh and exciting.
Saint Etienne take Neil Young's genius songwriting to new places - clubs! Ensuring that Only Love Can Break Your Heart fitted seamlessly in with the Acid House and ecstasy scene that was gripping the nation at the time of release in 1990.