Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
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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
Trust me #103 Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers
Stumble out into the dawn streets with a still-buzzing Tim Burgess on the glorious Life Is Sweet, his choirboy voice royally f***ed up and slumped across a mere slip of melody. Stephen Dalton, NME
What a beautiful piece of writing by Stephen Dalton for the NME! What more could I add?
The Chemical Brothers were a force of nature in the 1990's and along with the likes of The Prodigy, Underworld and Fatboy Slim, they helped create a huge melting pot of music. Alternative British music was thriving; Radiohead, Spiritualized, Massive Attack, Portishead and Primal Scream would release groundbreaking albums, pushing boundaries with their sonic soundscapes and ambitions.
Lets go back to 1992 and it was very much the case of right place, right time!
The Chemical Brothers met in Manchester and began DJ-ing in pubs while also forging ahead with producing their own psychedelic big beat sounds. Originally called The Dust Brothers, until the US producers asked them to change, their first self-pressed white label 12-inch found its way into the hands of Andrew Weatherall who began playing Song to the Siren in his sets.
Word, as tended to happen with Weatherall, got round and before long Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were remixing for Leftfield, Lionrock and Republica. In October 94, the duo, still known as The Dust Brothers, became resident DJ's at the Heavenly Sunday Social on Great Portland Street. Noel Gallagher and Tim Burgess were regulars and before long The Dust Brothers were remixing Primal Scream's Jailbird, The Charlatans Patrol and Nine Acre Court, the Manics and The Prodigy.
By 1995, The Dust Brothers had become The Chemical Brothers due to a name clash with the American producers. Tom and Ed were carving out their own space in the world of electronic music, fusing breakbeats, big beats, and psychedelic grooves into something fresh and thrilling. Their debut album Exit Planet Dust was a game-changer, and one of its standout moments and was Life Is Sweet, a track that featured none other than Tim Burgess of The Charlatans on guest vocals. Tim was a big fan of the Heavenly Social where The Chems had a residency. It seemed like a natural fit. It sounds like it most definitely was.
1995 was a super sunny summer and Life Is Sweet was one of many songs released around that time that seemed to be tailor made for the times and the weather. Life - for a 19-year old with no ties, good friends and regular nights out - was very sweet.
The Chemical Brothers were already known for their heavy, rolling beats and club-shaking basslines. But Life Is Sweet was something else: a hypnotic, groove-laden track that felt equally at home on a dancefloor as it did blasting through a car stereo on a summer evening drive down the Clyde Valley.
I'm driving in the sun
It's a hell of a way down south
Bring me back my love
Tim Burgess was a perfect and very natural fit to The Chems psychedelic soul, bringing a laid-back, almost dreamlike vocal delivery to the mix, a human warmth to the beats, bass and synth sounds.
Swirling synths, a relentless and infectious groove and Burgess' floating vocal, trying to calm the storm going on around him, but getting beautifully caught up in it.
Burgess, Tom and Ed definitely found chemistry together in this collaboration.
Released as a single, Life Is Sweet included a Daft Punk remix. Looking back, this release captured a moment when electronic music was evolving, absorbing elements of rock, hip-hop, and psychedelia to create something new and intoxicating, fresh for the 90's.
On reflection, I wish the video had documented the times - Tom an Ed DJ-ing in a packed basement in the Heavenly Social The video (below) with Tim singing and dancing along. That would be super cool to look back on.As it is, Tom and Ed are mucking about with (and blowing up and trying to fix) a large bank of equipment, while Tim is seemingly locked in a smaller room looking through a hole in the wall to watch The Chems, while in other rooms there are a series of mad people!
Remember (cause it can be difficult when you read or turn on the news) that life can be sweet, and so is this tune.
Life Is Sweet 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.
Cover version of the month #114 Primal Scream & Kate Moss cover Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra
Primal Scream's Evil Heat album, released in 2002, was a bit of a messy affair. The band were possibly a little burnt out from recording and touring 2000's extraordinary XTRMNTR, where they recorded and produced with the help of an exceptional array of guests including Kevin Shields, The Chemical Brothers and David Holmes. Their live XTRMNTR shows were a sonic kaleidoscopic exploration, with Shields joining them on stage to create all kinds of glorious white noise over techno beats.
Looking back, the Scream's run from 1991's Screamadelica, taking in Give Out But Don't Give Up, Vanishing Point and through to XTRMNTR is pretty astonishing. They knew no boundaries, pushed themselves to new levels, collaborated with Weatherall, Holmes and the Chemicals, went to Memphis to play country soul and rock n roll, benefited greatly from the addition of Mani on bass and partied harder than most.
What goes up, must come down.
Evil Heat was a bit disappointing for me. I only really revisit 2 songs from the album; the sublime and dreamy Autobahn 66 and their cover of Some Velvet Morning with Kate Moss. Truth be told, I rarely listen to much of the Scream's work post XTRMNTR. Maybe 6-8 songs or so? The band rarely play much from their post 2000 albums either.
Back to the cover version though. There is added zip and electro sleaze on the extended version of the song with Gillespie singing in a menacing whisper and Moss's vocals sounding dreamlike at times and beautifully seductive at others, especially at the end when she is purring look at us but do not touch.
Then there's the video. A masterclass in lo-fi psychedelia and effortless cool. Bobby Gillespie, all rock 'n' roll swagger, looking good, great hair, sharing the screen with the iconic Moss, wearing a babydoll dress, all sultry and seductive. Both start in seated positions, but are seemingly brought to life by the songs pulse and the psychedelic light show going on behind them.
Before long, Gillespie is up at a mic, a modern and cooler take on Sid Vicious's look while singing My Way and Moss is prowling and dancing to the beat, looking effortlessly gorgeous. It's simple, yet utterly captivating. Surreal and beautiful.
The original Some Velvet Morning isn't just a song; it's a legend, created by whispered awes in the decades since it was released. In pre-internet and social media times, this was a song that was passed down and around via mixtapes, often mentioned by bands I followed in interviews.
Hazelwood and Sinatra's Some Velvet Morning is kind of psychedelic folk by way of a western. It’s a dreamlike, almost unsettling duet, full of cryptic lyrics and a haunting, ethereal beauty.
The contrast between the two singers creates a masterpiece of tension and seduction, a truly one-of-a-kind creation. Hazlewood's gruff baritone weaving around Sinatra's innocent, almost childlike delivery;
Flowers growing on a hill
Dragonflies and daffodils
This becomes super trippy around the 3-minute mark, when the song is cut up to have Hazelwood and Sinatra singing line about, with the music completely different for each line. It's the kind of song that sounds like it came from another dimension, existing outside of time. No wonder it is still talked of in wonder.
Primal Scream's electronic transformation of the song is super cool. Hazlewood and Sinatra's version feels like a hazy journey through a fever dream. The Scream Team take it on a shimmering, swirling sonic adventure - creating a pulsing groove, synth soundscapes and swirling texture. Both have a dreamy quality that isn't easy to capture on record.
Gillespie and Moss will have shared a few velvet mornings in their time. It's a great cover version.
Hazelwood and Sinatra's original and the Primal Scream cover of Some Velvet Morning (I've opted for the version on their Dirty Hits album) 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
Thirty years ago, Britpop went into overdrive as Blur and Oasis released the singles Country House and Roll With It on the same day.
It was a chart clash that played out like a playground scrap - threats, name calling, bringing girlfriends into it, slaggings... only the playground was the entire UK, and the fight was front-page news and headline news on TV!
On one side, four council estate lads from Burnage, snarling, sneering and swaggering their way through music history, lifting riffs and melodies from the best and making them their own.
On the other, four former art school students from Colchester by way of Goldsmiths, doused in irony, retro stylings and cheeky Southern charm.
The context matters. The context mattered.
By mid-1995, Britpop was no longer just a scene, it was a phenomenon. You didn't have to tune into the Evening Session to get your fix of independent/alternative music. Radio 1 was soundtracking mornings with Elastica, Supergrass and Pulp. Anything was possible, the summer was super sunny, Tony Blair was rebranding Labour and Things Could Only Get Better. Maybe it's rose tinted glasses, maybe it's because I was 19 in 1995, but it was a time when bands really mattered, you could fall for them, believe in them and follow them.
Blur had already won the race to Britpop fame. They kicked things off with Modern Life Is Rubbish in 1993 and swiftly followed it with Parklife in April 1994. Damon Albarn was on telly more than some soap stars, promoting single after single, with his band set to release The Great Escape, their third album in three years.
But the Gallagher brothers were coming fast. Definitely Maybe was a declaration of intent and Some Might Say had given Oasis their first No.1 in April '95. The stage was set.
But here's where the fun starts. Originally, Oasis were set to release Roll With It on 14 August 1995. Blur’s new single Country House was planned for two weeks later. But whether it was competitiveness, cockiness, or marketing genius (probably all three), Blur moved their release forward to go head-to-head.
It was an act of provocation. And Oasis, never ones to back down, embraced it.
Suddenly, it was war - North v South / working class v middle class / cigarettes & alcohol v tea and irony. There were public wind ups and bickering - Noel calling Blur Chas n Dave, Damon singing Status Quo's Rocking All Over The World over the top of Roll With It on the radio, Liam saying he fancied Damon's girlfriend Justine. See the video below.
Blur had the marketing might of Food/EMI behind them, fancy CD packaging (and crucially 2 CD singles with different b-sides), a glossy video directed by Damien Hirst with Loaded girl Jo Guest and Alex James Groucho Club mate Keith Allen.
Country House was colourful, bouncy and bonkers, a music hall knees-up about a man who escapes the city for a nervous breakdown in the countryside. The jaunty song does contain a beautiful melancholic breakdown that is often overlooked when discussing the song; Blow, blow me out, I am so sad I don't know why.
Meanwhile, Roll With It was Oasis doing what Oasis did best - an arms aloft anthem. Straight up guitar music with attitude - you gotta say what you say, don't let anybody get in your way ...
The intensity of the battle increased; Blur moved a date to play Bournemouth the same night as Oasis. Noel was affronted and worried that their own chart and media battle would spill into kids fighting on the streets.
Things got ugly. Noel's comment about hoping that Albarn and Alex James would catch aids and die was utterly horrific, one that he would swiftly apologise for.
Then came the chart result, revealed on Sunday 20 August 1995. Blur won. Country House went straight to No.1 with 274,000 copies sold. Oasis sold 216,000. The media declared Blur the victors - they were Top of the Pops.
Speaking of which, Oasis had played the prior week, (17th August episode), with Noel on (mimed) lead vocals and Liam playing guitar. The following week, (24th August episode), Jarvis Cocker introduced a perky Blur, complete with bassist Alex James wearing an Oasis t-shirt.
One month later, Oasis dropped (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and the real war was over. It sold by the millions. Wonderwall became the anthem for the nation. The band played two epic nights at Earls Court that cemented their reputation as the best live band out. Within a year, they were selling out two-nights at Knebworth and playing to 250,000 people, this after squeezing in two-nights at Maine Road. They were everywhere. Oasis connected with people in a way that Blur never could.
What next
Blur retreated and reinvented themselves with a darker, more introspective sound. Their eponymous 1997 album opened with lead single Beetlebum - a song about Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin. It was beautifully dreamy, edgy and closer to The Beatles (was the title a dig at Oasis?) than anything Noel Gallagher every produced with Oasis. Although credit to Noel for his Setting Sun single with The Chemical Brothers in 1996.
By contrast, Oasis released the lumpen, cocaine fuelled Be Here Now in the same year. It sold well, contains a couple of gems, like Don't Go Away and Stand By Me, but the production is dire and there is nothing interesting in the layering of sounds, no experimentation from any of the musicians. Just Noel layering guitar upon guitar, no grooves. By this point, no-one questioned Noel or his band. His label knew his records would sell in their millions, any magazine with a Noel/Liam interview sold bucketloads and everyone wanted to be around them. They were so big that no-one dared to criticise them.
That still seems to the case in 2025. Liam's instantly forgettable solo albums received lots of 4/5 star reviews! Heaven forbid that the Gallagher's receive any constructive criticism. They sell papers and magazines, generate views and clicks in the hundreds of thousands.
Albarn has gone on to prove his creative skills in numerous guises, including his magnificent work with Gorillaz. He is a pure artist, always creating, taking in influences, taking chances. Damon's animated band guise have now released 8 exciting and eclectic studio albums with an incredible array of guests. Albarn has also released 2 solo albums and numerous collaborations. He cannot sit still for long.
Noel has also continued to write a prolific rate. By his own admission, Be Here Now and the truly appalling follow up Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (which should have been an EP) were not up to scratch. However by 2002 he was back writing sky scraping anthems like Little By Little and Stop Crying Your Heart Out. Even Liam was producing the lovely and under-rated Songbird as Oasis, lifted by the arrivals of Andy Bell and Gem Archer into the band, hit another run of form.
Over time, Albarn would find himself returning to Blur. Producing the stunning Under the Westway single in 2012 and then surprising everyone with the magnificent The Ballad of Darren album in 2023. Albarn, as an artist and writer, is getting better with every year that passes.
Of course, 2025 is all about the return of Oasis. Liam's post Oasis career has delivered nothing of note. Beady Eye never took flight, and while his solo career saw him play to huge crowds, that was largely down to him playing Oasis songs. The more Oasis songs he played, the bigger the crowds. His own material with an army of writers was like dot to dot songwriting for him - exceptionally bland.
Noel has produced some good stuff. His eponymous High Flying Birds debut album in 2011 had some gems that would have been amazing for Oasis - Everybody's On The Run, If I Had A Gun and the stunning AKA...What A Life. I'm a big fan of Noel's 2017 Who Built The Moon? album with David Holmes on production duties, while Dead In The Water is as good as anything he wrote with Oasis.
Thankfully, water has passed under the bridge since August 1995. Noel and Damon have long since made up, performing live together for the Teenage Cancer Trust in 2013 (see video below) and generally being increasingly positive about each others music and talent in interviews.
In the end, it wasn’t Blur or Oasis. It was Blur and Oasis. It was about the energy, the ego(s), the arrogance and the music. And like all good battles, the fallout was just as interesting as the fight.
My own conclusion - Oasis set out to be bigger rather than better. For a couple of years they were bigger and better, but the Knebworth comedown hit them hard.
Very arguably, over time, Damon Albarn has proved to be the most talented British artist of the last 30-years. His body of work is beautifully eclectic and his ability to find a melancholic melody is impeccable.
That said, there are not many songwriters that bring people together like Noel Gallagher. The elder Gallagher brother has written an incredible collection of songs that can be sung on terraces, at weddings, funerals and when people (and cities) are at their lowest and need a lift.
Thirty years on, lets just enjoy the fact that both have produced such fantastic bodies of work and that they continue to create and play live.
Trust me #102 Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over by The Charlatans
Released on August 7th 1995, just as the country was getting fixated with the Blur v Oasis Battle of Britpop, The Charlatans released the infinitely cooler and superior Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over , showcasing a loose, groove-infused sound reminiscent of Exile On Main Street-era Rolling Stones.
For me, this was the sound of summer sun. At T in the Park the previous month, the band had kicked up a dust storm as they played in baking hot sunshine, with this song sounding particularly sweet and soulful.
Check the TV footage that someone has thankfully uploaded to YouTube. Burgess and co are playing a blinder, finding a real dirty groove to ride at the end. My brother and I were right down the front and it was immense.
The Charlatans were in a deeply rich period of creativity during the mid-90's that saw them release 3 incredible albums and 10 singles within 4-years.
1994 – Up To Our Hips
Can’t Get Out of Bed – January 1994 / I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There – April 1994 / Jesus Hairdo – August 1994
1995 – The Charlatans
Crashin’ In – Boxing Day 1994 / Just Lookin’ / Bullet Comes” (double A-side) – May 1995 / Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over – August 1995
1997 – Tellin’ Stories
One to Another – August 1996 / North Country Boy – March 1997 / How High – May 1997 / Tellin’ Stories – September 1997
Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over begins in the groove. Acoustic guitar and piano sounding like they were made for each other. Burgess comes in with an infectious top line melody, instantly recognisable, immediately memorable. By 40-seconds he's into the chorus that includes the beautiful line you look good when your heart is on fire.
I'm coming home
You look good when your heart is on fire
It's a matter of taste yeah!
Mark Collins introduces a piercing guitar solo after the second chorus and at 2-minutes 30 the song bursts further into life with Burgess singing to an old friend/flame?
Right now, where do you come from
Kick up, yeah go find your love
I ain't knocking on your door
Things slow down to the acoustic groove, before piano and beats come back in and it all sounds beautifully simple, easy and natural.
and all your friends seem disappointed
'cause they're not your friends now
Tim and the band are in full flight as they fly to the end, finding the kind of groove they could ride for hours. I wonder if there is an old demo of them just playing on and on.
What a song, what a band ... I can't wait to see them again in The Barrowland Ballroom this December.
Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over 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.
Tim Abbot was Managing Director at Creation Records when the band signed and he was one of their biggest allies, becoming a close friend of the band. It was Tim that tracked down Noel when he left in 1994 after the infamous Whiskey A Go Go show, Tim on the cover of Cigarettes & Alcohol having it large with the band, Tim that was helping to manage the whirlwind of activity that Oasis kicked up for Creation.
Tim got Oasis from the very first time the band set foot inside Creation's office to sign the deal McGee had offered/promised them at King Tuts. He fell for their look, their attitude and their music. Oasis, in turn, recognised a kindred spirit.
Abbot filmed it all. Recognising that Oasis were special, his new book and accompanying film, The Lost Tapes, is the Holy Grail of never-before-seen footage, taking you the trip of a lifetime from tiny venues, across different countries and on to iconic shows. Raw, unfiltered, soulful and true - Oasis in their prime.
This is the Oasis I love.
I'm not interested in huge stadium shows, a merchandise overload, insane ticket prices and the brothers getting the band back together for money. Everything seems so controlled, so corporate, so organised, so orchestrated ... down to the hugs between the brothers. It's amazing what a costly divorce can lead to ...
Now, the hugs between Liam and Noel seem to be getting warmer with every passing show, but there is little other interaction between them ... at least that we have seen.
So yes, I'm a little cynical and relatively non-fussed about Oasis in 2025. They have already played to over a million people at the time of writing and are going to make millions more happy. But it's the Oasis of my youth that I still crave. When things were balanced permanently on a knife edge, it could all explode at any given moment, when the tension could be felt on stage and off.
And my God, hasn't Tim Abbot captured the essence of Oasis in this film - which, it should be added, comes in excerpts with Tim talking in between and doing a Q&A at the end. Abbot would need substantial investment to clear music and complete the film. Tantalisingly, Abbot has had 30-hours of footage edited and documented and has another 10-hours being worked on. Last night was a mere glimpse into what he has.
However, what you get to see at present includes; Noel creating the chord sequence to Don't Look Back In Anger in a bar in Montreal, the humour and banter, Guigsy riding round the outside of Earls Court on his new scooter (courtesy of The Chief - AKA Noel) past the fans as Oasis-mania really kicked in, backstage footage, Noel dragging Alan White out his bed to the bar, the desire and ambition, the rollercoaster ride that climbed ever higher but had unexpected dips along the way - before climbing even higher!
There is incredible footage of Oasis in the studio recording Champagne Supernova - Liam getting a warning from Owen Morris to look after his voice, while Liam says he is going out to the pub, but only for a couple. Liam pouring his heart and soul into singing the song, sounding incredible. As Abbot says, (What's The Story) Morning Glory is the album where Liam truly learned to sing.
Elsewhere, Noel lays down some of the guitar parts to Champagne Supernova in the mixing room, with Liam lounging on the sofa to his side. Noel absolutely nails it - he is completely in the zone and producer Owen Morris is super excited, Noel is visibly chuffed. Liam - 'it's alright.' :-)
You had to hang on for dear life as a fan back then, never mind being the Managing Director of the label and close friend of the band. Abbot tells a tale of how a fight between the brothers could erupt from something as simple as one not passing the other a bottle of beer.
His tale of Noel going missing after the infamous crystal meth episode at the Whiskey A Go Go, how he finds him, goes to Vegas and plays a role in getting the band going again is incredible. It's a little film in the making.
Abbot talks of the golden period of Noel writing song-after-song, but also of how the well ran dry and things changed after Maine Road and at Knebworth, highlighting that on reflection, they should have released The Masterplan compilation and taken a break.
Abbot's brilliant quote about Knebworth was; 'when there are more hairdressers (i.e. the Meg Mathews crowd) hanging around backstage than other bands, then you have a problem.'
He also talks of the difference of going to Mustique to write and demo in comparison to the songs that Noel had written to date. Don't Go Away, Stand By Me and All Around The World were the only old songs taken forward to Be Here Now. There is footage from the recording of Morning Glory that shows the former two on the list of songs being worked on.
Tim also talks fondly about the clothes and attitude of the band; how Liam could wear a £15 Millets cagoule and look cool. His photos from the book, and played on a slideshow between films, showcase a devastatingly handsome Liam, super cool hair, eyes you could dive into and an inner fire and soul that leaps out - even in a photo. Abbot affectionately refers to Liam as The Kid and Noel as The Chief.
The film has excellent footage from the Morning Glory and Wonderwall film sets. It's safe to say that Oasis were not fans of recording promo videos! While Tim recording the band walking on to the stage at Earls Court is electrifying.
Tim is engaging company and his passion is still there. Abbot is a super fan, following the band round their reunion shows - he says that the Saturday at Wembley was truly incredible.
His thoughts for the future?
A live album(s) put out in bootleg style. A big rest after the South American leg of the tour, European dates and ... Knebworth 2026 ....
