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
Cover version of the month #61 Talking Heads cover Al Green
Written by Al Green with his guitarist Mabon Hodges in 1973, then released on the album Al Green Explores Your Mind in 1974, Take Me To The River is a song that I probably first came across as a 15-year old when it featured in the film The Commitments. I must check if that is on Netflix! (UPDATE - it's not but it is on Amazon Prime).
Rather surprisingly, considering the way the song has become so well known, Green's version was never released as a single. However, his label mate Syl Johnson released it in 1975, using the same producer and musicians.
Johnson's version is very true to the original, with the addition of harmonica. It's his vocals that are just slightly different and I'd never, ever heard it until researching this blog. The vocals are rawer, I love how Johnson just goes for it a little more than Green.
In the original, Green starts with a dedication to his cousin, before launching into the song, his voice sounds effortless as he sings of love and lust before being cleansed in the river. His yelp at 2 minutes 53 seconds is spine tingling.
Love is an ocean that I can't forget
Talking Heads released their cover version in 1978 on their second album More Songs About Buildings and Food. By then Johnson, Levon Helme and Bryan Ferry had also recorded versions. This was a song that captivated people!
Talking Heads stretch the original, which was 3 minutes 45 seconds, to a little over 5 minutes. They really hone in on the groove, Tina Weymouth's bass underpins everything, David Byrne strains and plays with his vocal. The band keep it all under control, in the groove, at times they threaten to take off (most notably very near the end), but they just keep it going in that groove, lost in it.
But check out their live versions! The song features on the albums The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads and Stop Making Sense. The addition of backing vocals, the shredding of an electric guitar and an enhanced beat move the groove and the pace of the song up a notch or two. Byrne goes for it with his vocals, especially the hug me, squeeze me, love me, tease me section.
The band drop it down to the bass groove and backing vocals and it is absolutely mesmerising, then the rest of the band kick in with Byrne really pushing things. It's a stunning version, beautifully captured. The sound of a band having fun and in full flight.
Search for Everything Flows cool cover versions on Spotify for a playlist of the covers I have blogged about and read on for a full list and links to previous cover of the month blogs. I've added the studio and live versions by Talking Heads, as well as the Syl Johnson and Levon Helme versions.
Hello and welcome to the last additions to the Never Ending Mixtape for 2017. This fine list takes the total songs on the mixtape to a whopping 380!
We begin with 2 cracking tunes by Michael Head via Shack and The Pale Fountains, taking in Mancunians The Smiths and Buzzcocks, the brilliantly titled Young Lovers Go Pop!, a pile of tunes I discovered through an Andy Bell (Ride) DJ setlist including the impeccable La Ritournelle by Sebastian Tellier, we have legends like Hendrix, Glen Campbell, The Stones and Bowie, an ode to Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake by The Swedish Polar Bears, one of my most recent favourite bands in Public Service Broadcasting, two brilliant early Teenage Fanclub tracks and two songs by The Pooches from Glasgow.
Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify or CLICK HERE.
Scroll to near the end for the latest additions or simply press shuffle and enjoy at random.
Thanks to those of you that either follow the playlist, have checked it out or taken the time to send messages of encouragement and thanks for turning you on to some great music. Greatly appreciated.
Beautiful - Shack
Jean's Not Happening - The Pale Fountains
Ask - The Smiths
Young Lovers Go Pop! - This Many Boyfriends
Ever Fallen In Love - Buzzcocks
Girl You Better Change - Sag Ware Fare
Norman Blake - Swedish Polarbears
Like An Old Time Movie - Scott Mckenzie
Where's The Playground Susie - Glen Campbell
He Called Me Baby - Candi Staton
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
I Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits - Moodyman
La ritournelle - Sebastian Tellier
We Love You - The Rolling Stones
Castles Made Of Sand - Jimi Hendrix
Straight At Yer Head - Lionrock
The Other Side - Public Service Broadcasting
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Changes - David Bowie
Critical Mass - Teenage Fanclub
Every Picture I Paint - Teenage Fanclub
Heart Attack - The Pooches
I'll Be Gone - The Pooches
The Vegan Leather describe themselves as an Art Pop four piece creating complex pop music for your soul, mind, hips and feet.
Consisting of Marie, Matt, Duncan and Gianluca, they cite their influences as Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem and Metronomy.
Their This House EP was released in 2015, creating quite a stir and leading to a productive 2016 with some high profile shows, supports and plenty of praise. It's easy to hear why - the title track effortlessly mixes cool with fun, before going a little weird (in a good way). The Knife adds in more of the same; it's upbeat, funky, bassy and the female and male vocals combine deliciously. There are echoes of Franz Ferdinand - arty angular hooky pop music to get people dancing. The guitar instrumental is very Franz.
The Bottom of the Ocean is a glorious disco instrumental that builds into a cracking groove. Guaranteed to get people dancing. The feel good atmosphere of the EP continues with Days Go By; probably my favourite track on the EP, before ending with a more experimental song/filler Your House.
I've yet to catch The Vegan Leather live and all reports from friends that have seen them suggest I should do. Maybe you should to. Check their EP and video below.
Dates planned;
10/12 - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
30 and 31/12 - Supporting Paulo Nutini as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations
27/01/16 - Supporting Apothek at The Roundhouse, London
Stephen Solo is Stephen Farrell, Stephen Farrell is Stephen Solo. Music, words and melodies simply pour out of Stephen; every day, all of the time. Personally, I think he is a genius.
Stephen used to scribble things down, record things on a dictaphone, capture things at band rehearsals, spend hundreds of pounds on studio time, be elated when things worked and frustrated when things didn't. Being prolific is great in many ways, but by the time his band had rehearsed and recorded the songs, Stephen had dozens more to play with.
In 2015 Stephen got an iPhone6+. This is not a blog about an iPhone6+, it is about Stephen Solo. However the iPhone6+ plays an important part; leading to the creation and recording of Pii (short for Phone it in) that was released on Last Night From Glasgow earlier this year.
Pii may well be my album of the year. It is eclectic, eccentric, psychedelic, gentle, dreamy, beautiful, funny..... I hear elements of The Beatles, Talking Heads, Damon Albarn, Boards of Canada, Hot Chip......and Limmy.....and most importantly....Stephen.
Crying Because is one the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. You can watch the video at the end of this blog. Soundtrack To Unfilmed is a widescreen cinematic dream. Behind Your Eyes mixes the crazy with the sublime. There is so much going on in Pii, there is so much to love and as you'll find out from the interview below - there is so much freedom.
I had a wide ranging conversation with Stephen regarding the album and you can read all about Pii in Stephen's own words below. It makes me love and appreciate this wonderful album even more.
The phone stuff started with little experiments using iPhone and it's version of garage band. But it was too fiddly to use on a small screen, kind of a hassle. I've got over 400 phone demos on the dictaphone app and I'm always having to export them and the time it takes to go through ideas and make them real was just impossible.
I can always produce a fully formed and usually good idea by just doing it...it's like there is no writing involved. That's happened with the band a few times too and there's that magic moment when everyone combines without thinking.
I've always known I had the capacity to produce things in a 'throwaway' fashion and that it's always a little more enjoyable than 'working' on a tune. But I started doing it more when I got the bigger iPhone6+ and just that little screen and finger space led me to doing little videos and cartoons in the same fashion - quickly, intuitively and no thinking....once more it was more enjoyable than writing a script to a song.
Picture by Gary Sloan
The first app that got me into the zone was 'amimoog' which is a version of the classic moog synth and in just playing with a sound I'm usually already composing...if i find a sound I just get into it and see what it wants to do rather than thinking about what I want. I found certain apps can be linked to garage band through a separate program called 'audiobus' ad this acts the same way as if you were to plug in any instrument in a real studio and put it through the computer. There's always a bridge program to link things...so once I got that I had a look at what other apps could be linked together and essentially set up a virtual studio in my phone with a set up that I liked.
I got a few vocal effect apps including one that mimics the sound of specific microphones and a drum app called 'funk box' that emulates all the classic drum machines from the 80's. I find that if I get a beat I like and a synth or vocal sound set up, I'm into a song so fast that it writes itself.
Over a few nights I would wait until the wife and baby were in bed and just GO. I gave myself the rule of no writing, no stopping, no coming back to it. A tune had to be done in one session from start to finish or when I was tired or had to go to work and this instantly gave everything a special feel or sound.
Behind Your Eyes took me about 2-hours and was done sitting on the floor next to the plug point as the phone was charging. I did the vocal bent over with my head behind the couch so I wouldn't wake anyone up....I had the first verse beat and sound and set up the vocal effect and pressed record. The first words that came out of my mouth were the first take and that's what is on the album.
I then just got another sound and played some chords with a different feel and in the same way 'Behind your eyes, I'll be waiting' was the first thing to come out of my mouth. No idea where it came from but in retrospect it has a theme and means something to me now. Weird!
Behind Your Eyes - Stephen Solo
Freaks was in the same spot in the living room bent over as the phone as charging! Might even have been the next night. I was tickled pink.
Think Of The Stars was done in the office at work waiting on people arriving for a workshop. I did the chords first on the animoog and was thinking about The Beatles song Because. I then removed all the keyboards for the intro and gave it the shape...then people arrived at work and the song was stopped. I did the second half at home and just experimented not worrying about how it fitted. The end section is just me with acoustic and the closest thing lying around was a ninky none train from In The Night Garden, the kids show. It makes a cool sound when it drives around so I held it in one hand and the phone in the other and drove it around.
Tattoo Faced Man was done in the car during torrential rain after a school workshop in the East End. You can hear the rain hitting the car roof. The rain didn't stop for days and you can hear the same pelting rain at the end of When You're A Human as I did he vocal wandering around the house and standing at the open window.
Crying Because was done in one take and the entire song too me almost as long as it takes to listen to it... I went for a shower (it was first thing in the morning) and worked out backing vocals in the shower. So the whole thing was done in about an hour. This is a song about my little boy who used to cry all night. I was trying to imagine the baby monitor translating his cries.
