Young Fathers at the Barrowland Ballroom

Photos by Allan Carroll

Tuesday nights (24th October) exhilarating, exceptional, exciting and energetic performance by Young Fathers in Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom was pretty mind-blowing. Anyone who checks out their albums can hear how talented and clever Kayus Bankole, Graham 'G' Hastings and Alloysious Massaquoi are, but when you see and hear them in a live setting, it takes your appreciation to another level.

What makes them so special?

Well, the arrangements for one. Multi-layered vocals that bounce off each other and then encourage and allow one of them to veer off on a tangent. I was reminded of Sly & The Family Stone's arrangements on a few occasions. 

And the beats and grooves. Everything stems from a groove. Some are repeated throughout the song, with just the odd little melody on top; whether guitar or xylophone. But the main thing is the groove.

Hastings produced the bands latest album, the wonderful Heavy Heavy (blogged on here) and on the Barrowland stage he would regularly walk over to a bank of equipment to tweak the sounds being created for the live instrumentation to vibe off.

Graham 'G' Hastings

Photo by Allan Carroll

In addition to the core trio of Young Fathers, Callum Easter (who played a stunning raw set in support) was back on stage playing guitar, keys/synths and xylophone, 2 female singers were on vocals and backing vocals and there was a drummer/percussionist.

The lighting was minimalistic, the backdrop was just a big grubby sheet. And it looked great!

What was my question again? Oh yeah, what makes them so special?

They have a raw energy that is somehow equally we don't give a fuck + we really give a fuck. Young Fathers care about their music, but don't give a fuck if you like it or not. They are just going to keep doing what they do. And what they do is different from anyone else out there.

So they stand out. A mile.

Photo by Allan Carroll

Hastings rarely smiles, staring out the crowd, singing from his heart, a conductor without a baton. Massaquoi is a beautiful singer, cracking dancer and can seemingly turn his hand to a number of instruments. Bankole is a fizzing ball of energy, getting up and getting down like a sex machine. Hanging off Hastings at times, bounding about like a kid in a sweet shop the rest.

Towards the end Hastings asked the crowd if we wanted more. Then nodded at a fired up Bankole and said "blame that c**t if you miss your last train home." And they kept going.

With 5 singers, we really were treated to a visual and audio box of delights. Everyone moved, everyone danced. The Barrowland crowd roared their appreciation and the famous Barrowland roar echoed around the halls after a spine tingling version of I Saw. 

Although I couldn't help reflecting back to Barrowland gigs when I was younger, when the entire dancefloor jumped and danced as one, pogo-ing, banging into each other and creating a beautifully sweaty and chaotic mess. Are those days gone? Are we too well behaved? Are too many people bothered about getting their phone out to video it? Or was it just cause it was a Tuesday night?

Hastings did casually mention Tuesday night at the Barrowland a couple of times and had to encourage the crowd to be louder a couple of times.

But the crowd were up for it. Just in a more modern way. And Young Fathers certainly were DEFINITELY up for it.

Highlights?

Get Up and Wow back to back got things going, but a beautiful In My View and Low showed a different side to the band, while I Heard was the first song of Young Fathers I really fell for. Released 10-years ago on Tape Two - I still think it's a distant cousin of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? Yeah - that good.

OK, it was all one big highlight! But Drum was hugely uplifting and joyous, Only God Knows was super energetic and catchy. Like soul, pop, gospel from the streets.

Rice was the band in full flight, hollering, layering and creating a party vibe. Geronimo is one of my favourites from Heavy Heavy, a beautiful gospel style groove, super cool.

The aforementioned I Saw was deliciously dirty, dangerous and exciting. Beautifully raw and energetic, those dynamic vocals at the start and then the mellow groove.

I saw what I saw

I keep on walking the line

 And then it all kicks in again and goes off on one, the vocals leading, the groove and beats remaining constant. Song of the year? Has to be up there. It is up there! The band extended it, keeping that groove going and the Barrowland erupted afterwards; an extended cheer that rose again just as it was dying, feet stomping, hands clapping, voices raised. 

Young Fathers didn't leave the stage. They are not people who waste time. Closing with Toy, Bankole was last to leave the stage, vibing off the audience.

Go and see Young Fathers if you get a chance.

Last photo by me. All the others by Allan Carroll.

Thanks Allan. 

3 DJ's at Mono

On Saturday 7th October, some friends and I put on a night to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Teenage Fanclub's Thirteen album. The idea was to play the album in full at Mono (where the band recently played for the launch of new album Nothing Lasts Forever) in a kind of 'in person' listening party style.

Over a months worth of rain fell on Saturday, resulting in trains being cancelled and the entire Scotrail network closing at 9pm. It wasn't a great night to be putting on a free event!

Still, Barry, Alan and I drove in and stuck to non-alcoholic beers and played records from 7.45-11.15pm and had a good chat. 

Most of the crowd were in for the amazing vegan food that Mono offers up. None of us were surprised by the messages we were receiving from friends saying they were staying in due to the weather, or indeed, that they couldn't get to Glasgow.

Here is what we played - spot doctor Alan Clarke's handwriting! I've created a playlist of all the songs that are on Spotify. Everything apart from the Chuck Jackson, J Walter Neero and KiDD songs. 

Dig in and enjoy over 3-hours of tunes played. I've left off Teenage Fanclub's Thirteen. That deserves to be played on its own.

LISTEN HERE

Anything Goes and Everything Flows DJ Mix 27

Hey

It's been a couple of months since my last 60-minute mix. 

I've gone for something a little different this time; starting and ending the mix with a couple of cool, dreamy, acoustic yet psychedelic songs. In between there is a riot of 60's beat group and psychedelia and somehow Cornershop find their way in too!

I've decided to title this mix Embryonic Journey after the sublime opening song by Jefferson Airplane, as everything that follows really stemmed from this blissful instrumental. I first heard it on the programme The Wonder Years when I was a kid. I find it so peaceful - very welcome given the chaotic world that we are living in.

Search for Everything Flows DJ Mix 27 - Embryonic Journey on Spotify or CLICK HERE

Embryonic Journey - Jefferson Airplane

Brain - The Action

Memo From Turner - Mick Jagger

Peace Frog - The Doors

Absolutely Sweet Marie - Bob Dylan

I Feel Free - Cream

Rock & Roll - The Velvet Underground

Blow-Up (Main Title) - Herbie Hancock

St Marie Under Cannon - Cornershop

My Generation - The Who

Till The End Of The Day - The Kinks

Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey - The Beatles

Open My Eyes - Nazz

Jump Into the Fire - Harry Nilsson

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron

My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Have You Seen The Stars Tonite - Paul Kantner

I Am The Cosmos

Trust me #62
I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

I Am The Cosmos was an almost mythical song that I used to read about in interviews by some of my favourite artists. Norman Blake, Tim Burgess, Bobby Gillespie all mentioned the song with a sense of awe. It kept cropping up.

Back in those days, it wasn't a case of searching on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Music. You had to try and track down the record or CD. Easier said than done for some records that my heroes referred to - many were long out of print and hadn't received a CD reissue.

Eventually I heard I Am The Cosmos on the album of the same name. I can't remember where I got the CD, but I'd hazard a guess that it was Missing Records. I was a regular in my teens, popping in to their Oswald Street store a couple of times a week after work; buying 7-inch singles, the odd album and making mental notes of what I'd buy after the next payday. 

I found out that the CD (issued in 1992) was the first time the album had been released! Chris Bell died in a car accident in 1978 at the age of only 27. His only solo material released in his lifetime was the I Am The Cosmos b/w You and Your Sister single, also in 78.

Previously, Chris Bell had formed Big Star with Alex Chilton in 1971. I got into Big Star after the many references made to the band in Teenage Fanclub articles. The beloved power pop band never really made it while they were together, but their music still leaves a mark on many to this very day. I guess it always will. 

The bands debut album #1 Record, released in 1972, only sold 10,000 copies on release and Bell left the band, disappointed by the sales, despite considerable and consistent good reviews.

Post Big Star, Bell struggled with depression. The album took him 3-years to record. Alex Chilton played and sang on some of the songs. Bell also produced (and played) on an album by a band called Prix that I intend to check out. 

I Am The Cosmos is a truly beautiful album that tugs on the heart strings through songs like Speed Of Sound, You And Your Sister and There Was A Light. Check them out - total gems. The guitar on There Was A Light is sublime, really gets me, raw emotion. 

On to the song I Am The Cosmos though. Rolling Stone described it as being; utterly transcendent, a lush, spine-tingling number in which megolomania and vulnerability come together in these unfathomable lines;

Every night I tell myself I am the cosmos

I am the wind

But that don't get you back again

What can I add? Well, it's a song that grabs my attention every time I hear it. And when I do, I will always play it more than once. 

Bell starts singing immediately, there is no intro. The guitars are gloriously soaked in reverb and Bell's voice sounds a little broken as he sings never want to be alone. 

Then there is the genius bit where he sings no, no, before going on to sing yeah.

Wanted too much to say no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah

After a drum roll, a glorious piercing (yet warm) guitar solo (with handclaps and tambourine lying beautifully under the surface) takes listeners on a 40-second journey that they'll want to experience again and again.

Bell comes back in full confessional mode, don't know what's going on inside, before closing with the mantra; I'd really like to see you again, I really wanna see you again

Just before the song fades, Bell changes things to sing; I never wanna see you again.

WOW - what a song! This Mortal Coil and Scarlett Johansson have both covered the song, but this blog is all about Bell - check the song and album.

I Am The Cosmos - Chris Bell

I Am The Cosmos is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify , or CLICK HERE Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

Strange Currencies

Trust Me #61
Strange Currencies by R.E.M

My wife and I are currently working our way through The Bear on Disney Plus. It's outstanding television. The first 7 episodes absolutely fly by at a furious pace, then in episode 8, the last in the first series, there is a feature length that really properly begins to introduce the characters to us and the storyline. It blew me away.

Last night we watched episode 2 in series 2. Strange Currencies by R.E.M plays towards the end and it is a simply perfect fit for the scene.

So here it is. Added to my Trust Me series and my Trust Me playlist.

I hadn't heard this song in a long, long time. I remember my brother Ross having R.E.M's Monster album on CD, but although Strange Currencies was released as a single, I didn't remember it at all when I heard it on The Bear. How could I forget a song as good as this? Probably because I haven't listened to Monster this century!

Anyway, that's a whole other thing, lets focus on the song.

Strange Currencies is glorious. Peter Buck's guitar sound is so warm, fuzzy and inviting. Michael Stipe sings his heart out, in full flow, hammering the chorus over driving chords that switch effortlessly to a picked riff.

Things slow down for the final verse, until Stipe is almost breathless as he sings everything he has to say, leading to the chorus again, with Stipe adding a little extra for good measure. His lyrics are so heartfelt and poetic, beautiful to read, sublime to hear.

You know with love comes strange currencies

And here is my appeal

I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance

A fourth chance, a word, a signal

A nod, a little breath

Just to fool myself, to catch myself

And make it real, real

These words, you will be mine

These words, you will be mine, all the time

The production on Strange Currencies is stunning. I've just listened to the song 7 times on headphones and I've not tired of it. R.E.M are on fire, the strings coming in at the end just lift everything higher, add even more emotion

R.E.M were a remarkable band and when you look back at their discography you realise/remember how exceptionally prolific they were. Six albums from Murmur in 1983 to Green in 1988, and then 5 in the 90's from Out Of Time in 1991 through to Up in 1998. They would go on to release a further 4.

I've now enjoyed revisiting Monster on headphone, loving the cranked up, fuzzed, or distorted guitars and the sound of a band having fun. It's like R.E.M went back being a garage band after the largely acoustic/stripped back albums Out Of Time and Automatic For The People.

Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series. For the playlist, search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify , or CLICK HERE

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

The Ballad Of Darren

The Ballad Of Darren by Blur is an astonishing album that I've revisited many times since its release back in July. The cover is a photo of someone swimming in Gourock's outdoor swimming pool.

Darren, in case you were wondering, is Darren Evans, Blur's longtime bodyguard. Evans had been nagging at singer Damon Albarn to finish a 2003 demo that has now become The Ballad, the opening song on the album.

But the more you listen to the album, the more you realise that Darren is really Damon. Recently split from his long term partner, Albarn pours his heart out on this album; there is reflection, memories, realisation, thoughts of good times, admission (the frank I fucked up starts St. Charles Square ...) and pure heartfelt honesty.

What a year for Blur. A new album, small intimate gigs and huge nights at Wembley, shows they had long dreamed of playing. Damon Albarn is the most prolific high profile artist of my generation. He is in the incredible position where he can do whatever the hell he wants. Gorillaz, a solo album on the piano, some small solo shows, a Blur album, some tiny shows, a huge stadium show .... The number of albums he has released in the last 30-years is pretty mind blowing, he is constantly creating, full of energy, intelligence and talent. 

Back to The Ballad Of Darren. The opening lyrics to The Ballad set the tone, we're immediately into Albarn's heartache. 

I just looked into my life

And all I saw was that you're not coming back

It's the soundtrack to a breakup. And it sounds f**king beautiful. The lyrics, Damon's beautiful melancholic voice, the melodies, the band playing as one ... it tugs on my heart strings.

Well I know, I can't change the time

I know I'm already breaking when I look into your eyes

The aforementioned St. Charles Square ups the pace, Albarn pleading don't leave me, don't leave me completely. It's probably my least favourite song on the album, a little brash and out of place among so many beautiful ballads and melancholic grooves.

Barbaric is absolutely subime, Coxon's jangling guitar riff cuts to big reverb chords, before cutting back again. Albarn sounds angelic. Is he singing to his lost love, or his therapist, or all of us? He is singing for all of us who have suffered heartbreak at some time or another.

And I'd like if you've got the time

To talk to you about

What this breakup has done to me

The chorus is a beauty and I love the way it changes through the course of the song. Beginning with I have lost, then you have lost (his therapist talking?) and then we have lost. 

I have lost

The feeling that I thought I'd never lose

At what cost?

The feeling that I thought I'd never lose

It is barbaric

Barbaric - the dictionary definition is savagely cruel. As in, he carried out barbaric acts of war.

Albarn's loss is savagely cruel.

Still, he has written a fucking beautiful album as a result!

Russian Strings will tug on your heart strings. Damon, heartbroken, calling out ... going on to say that the only thing left for him to do is turn is music up, put his headphones on and hit the hard stuff.

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Are you coming back to us?

Are you online?

Are you contactable, again?

Blur and Albarn strip things right back for The Everglades (For Leonard) with Damon seeking trees and calmer days.

The Narcissist is an absolutely incredible song; gorgeous guitar, Coxon providing delightful backing vocals, Albarn sounding all forlorn and then lifting things for the chorus. 

I'm a shine a light in your eyes

You'll probably shine it back on me

But I won't fall, this time

With Godspeed, I'll heed the signs

This album could be as emotional as Blur and Albarn might ever sound on record. Goodbye Albert has Coxon playing with some gorgeous psychedelic effects on guitar and Damon reflecting.

I stayed away

I gave you time

Why don't you talk to me anymore?

Don't punish me forever

Albarn is always reflecting on this album. Far Away Island has him singing over keyboards, his classic mix of melodic and melancholic at its best; I'm cut to pieces, I'm dancing alone

Closing with The Heights again has Albarn reflecting on where he is and where he and his love have been. It was love, but it's gone.

Suppose I'm on my own tonight

Suppose I've got to find the heights

I gave a lot of heart, so did you