Baby Honey

Last week I enjoyed reading some tweets from Allan Hutton, a fellow music fan that I follow on Twitter, about tracking down a vinyl copy of The Pastels Baby Honey.

I tweeted Allan, we exchanged some messages and then Allan kindly agreed to write a guest blog for me. I'm glad I asked!

The great thing about this blog is that it highlights how some bands will always be mentioned and handed down. Some will pass people by - but bands like The Pastels will always be recommended in some shape or form - be that from bands, fans, labels, journalists or record shops.

Read on....

Baby Honey by The Pastels
Guest blog by Allan Hutton

I have to admit I was late to the party with regards to the Pastels.

I'd never been an Indie Kid, My Youth Culture rite of passage was via Punk then Mod in the late 70's and very early 80's.

Music was then and always has been a big part of my life.

I was blissfully unaware of The Pastels in the 80's as I was mourning the end of The Jam and into the Style Council, Aztec Camera, The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes to name but a few.

By the time the 90's arrived I started hearing great things about Teenage Fanclub and was getting into them. Through them I got to know about the Pastels and BMX Bandits etc.

I'm not exactly sure where I first heard the Pastels it might have been on Peel, I was intrigued by them but never owned any of their stuff until the late 90's when I got a hold of Illumination.

I really liked that album and decided to seek out their earlier stuff which had passed me by.

Among the Pastels melodic shambling clang, there was a B-side that shone like a beacon in the night for me! The jaw dropping and mesmerising, psychedelic Baby Honey. It is just one of those songs that you really get into and feel connected with. It has the deadpan coolness of the Velvet Underground and the repetition of The Fall which climaxes into a crescendo of beautiful and intense noise that you never want to end!

For me this song is and always will be the Pastels finest moment.

When I first heard it that song must have been about 14 or 15 years old therefore a vinyl copy of Million Tears with the spellbinding flip side was hard to find. I searched everywhere for a copy all to no avail.

As the years rolled by I succumbed to CD's and downloads and  kind of gave up on ever acquiring a vinyl copy and settled for the digital version on Up for a Bit!

However, the resurgence of vinyl four or five years ago rekindled my interest in records and once again I was on the hunt. However I still couldn't turn up Baby Honey! Until last week!

As I routinely searched Discogs of an evening, to my astonishment a near mint 12" copy was available. I was gonna have to pay a bit more than I would have liked, but I just bit the bullet and clicked that button! 

Two days later it was spinning on my record player and it hadn't aged one single bit as Baby Honey still sounded as enthralling now as when I first heard it all those years ago!

There is magic in her fingertips

There is magic in the lips I kiss

There is magic in her beautiful eyes

To justify the tears I've cried

The Pastels in November 2017 at the Concert for Stewart Cruickshank

Scared To Get Happy a story of indie-pop 1980-1989

Scared to Get Happy; a story of indie-pop 1980- 1989 was my early Christmas present to myself. 5 cd's of guitar pop music, a mammoth 134 songs, many of which I hadn't heard before.

I don't quite have the time to review every song on this brilliant boxset, however I decided to settle down with a nice glass of red to dig out some of the highlights.

Disc 1
Scared To Get Happy features predominantly male singers, so it's probably not surprising that 'It's A Fine Day' by Jane, an acappella female vocal, stuck out like a sore thumb. The song was written by the poet Edward Barton and this version was recorded by his girlfriend Jane Lancaster. It was sent to John Peel who played it and it was then released on Cherry Red. The song later became a huge hit for Opus III.

There are many stand outs, I really enjoyed Art Objects 'Showing Off To Impress Girls', top marks for the title alone. 'I Think I Need Help' by The Farmer's Boys also stood out and 'Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)' by Prefab Sprout is tremendous, I can imagine a young Stuart Murdoch listening to this.

The whole boxset offers music that retains a sense of innocence; the music is raw (sometimes incredibly so), not over-produced and soulful. All the better for it. I guess the height of ambition for many of the artists featured was to simply get a record out and played on John Peel.

Disc 2
'Oblivious' by Aztec Camera is one of only maybe a dozen songs I knew before buying the box set. It is stunning, a young Roddy Frame striving for pop perfection. It stands out a mile, so melodic and well structured.

The tracklisting on the boxset is roughly in chronological order and if I didn't know many band names on disc 1, then I recognised the names of Del Amitri, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions, Microdisney, The Jazz Butcher, Jasmine Minks, June Brides Revolving Paint Dream, James, Jesus and Marychain and The Loft on here. The demo version of JAMC's 'Just Like Honey' is stunning.

One band I hadn't heard of is In Embrace with their song 'This Brilliant Evening'. I was hooked on first listen. It sounds quite polished, quite 80's, compared to a lot of the songs on here. The chorus is absolutely HUGE and hits at just 25 seconds.

I don't care if you are just deceiving

Who could care this brilliant evening

I can't tell the floor from the ceiling

Who can tell this brilliant evening

'Southern Mark Smith' by The Jazz Butcher is brilliant; upbeat with spoken/shouty vocals, handclaps, a great guitar solo/instrumental and a great lyric 'I'm gonna find out what makes your heart sing.'

A very strong CD!

Disc 3
'Velocity Girl' by Primal Scream is rightly heralded as pure indie guitar pop perfection. Chiming guitars, bittersweet lyrics and coming in at just 1 minute and 24 seconds!

I don't need anyone to hurt me

No not anyone at all

Because my so called friends have left me

And I don't care at all

Leave me alone

Leave me alone

Leave me alone

The guitars are Byrds-esque, it is just beautiful. Described in the superb sleeve notes as 'possibly the quintessential indie-pop song'.

'Something Happens' by The Mighty Lemon Drops is excellent, powerful garage guitar pop with more than a nod to the 60's.

 

'Is There Anyone Out There?' by Mighty Mighty caught me immediately on first listen to the extent I played it four times in a row. The organ intro leads into a chiming/jangly intro and soon on to the lyric;

'the summer brings out the best of girls and the worst in me'

The song flows superbly, the vocals (by Hugh McGuinness) contain a hint of Morrissey - perhaps no surprise given it was released in 1986. The harmonica solo towards the end lifts the song.

Elsewhere we have 'Red Sleeping Beauty' by McCarthy, two of whom went on to found Stereolab and a brilliant slice of pinky guitar pop in the shape of 'Big Pink Cake' by Razorcuts.

'Almost Prayed' by The Weather Prophets is melodic and upbeat with excellent guitar riffs. 'A Gentle Sound' by The Railway Children was released on Factory and contains a chorus that just bursts out of nowhere, great stuff.

Disc 4
'Shine On' by The House Of Love (below) kicks things off in style and it still sounds glorious. The chiming guitar intro that you can sing to and the verse leading to the delicious chorus.

'Love Is Blue' by Hangman's Beautiful Daughter stood out for me, very 60's and with a lovely female vocal. 'Deliah Sands' by The Brilliant Corners sounds like it was recorded fresh after listening to Love - no bad thing in my book. 'Shimmer' by The Flatmates…shimmers in a lovely indie-pop way with a strong melody and chorus.

Glasgow/Scottish bands are liberally sprinkled throughout this boxset (copyright reasons prevented Orange Juice and The Pastels getting tracks on). I'd never heard of The Clouds before, although this probably isn't that surprising considering they only released one single 'Tranquil' which features here. It's a shame they didn't get round to recording/releasing anything else as there is a lot of promise in this single, featuring a young Norman Blake.

'The World Is' by The Hepburns is rather glorious with Marr-esque guitar and rightly compared with Talking Heads in the sleevenotes.

'Son Of A Gun (demo)' by The La's captures a rawness and magic that Lee Mavers would forever strive to find. I remember reading rumours of him buying old 60's recording gear and never allowing it to be cleaned so that the 60's dust remained!

Disc 5
The flowing and chiming 'The Hardest Thing In The World' by The Stone Roses starts off disc 5 with a band. Tucked away on a b-side, all the ingredients that generated so much love for the Roses are on display here.

Their Mancunian counterparts Inspiral Carpets follow them with 'Keep The Circle Around' with ferocious drumming and Clint Boon's trademark organ sound. The pace is fast and furious, a real garage punk 60's vibe going on.

'Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution' by The Pooh Sticks follow it, charming with its rawness and innocence.

Another excellent title is 'I'm In Love With a Girl Who Doesn't know I Exist' by Another Sunny Day, wistful indie pop.

I'll be writing a blog on East Village very shortly after discovering their debut album 'Drop Out' following its reissue on Heavenly Records at the end of the year. They are represented on this boxset with the tremendous warm guitar pop of 'Strawberry Window'.

I would recommend 'Scared To Get Happy' to anyone with a faint interest in indie pop. The Smiths are an obvious omission (like The Pastels and Orange Juice this is due to licensing issues) but their is so much to discover on a boxset that has been lovingly compiled.

I am finding myself googling bands and delving into their back catalogue as a result of buying this - surely one of the objectives for any compilation/boxset.

Enjoy if you delve in.