Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Insta - @everythingflowsglasgow
Trust me #97 Let Our Love Grow Higher by Eula Cooper
Eula Cooper started recording at the tender age of 14 and was only 16 when she released Let Our Love Grow Higher in 1970 on Super Sound Records. The original 7-inch is highly sought after and can sell for over £1,000.
Eula Cooper might not be a household name. In fact, unless you're deep into the worlds of deep cut soul or vintage 45s, you can be forgiven for never coming across her before. Cooper recorded a handful of singles in the late '60s and early '70s, mainly in Atlanta, Georgia, with labels like Tragar and Super Sound. Most slipped through the cracks at the time, but they're little treasures waiting to be uncovered. Many have been picked up on compilations, or by labels who specialise in reissuing old soul tunes.
Let Our Love Grow Higher is absolutely beautiful - a simple, pure recording where nothing gets in the way of the feeling. There is a groove that feels like the first warm day after a long winter (like the one we just experienced!). This two-minutes and forty one seconds of pure, open-hearted soul.
A swirling organ hums gently in the background. A bassline skips along with quiet determination. The drums shuffle, light and loose, but always with purpose, extra percussion sitting just behind.
And then there's Eula’s voice, pure, rich and urgent, lifting the song with every line;
Lift your head up to the sky
Let your hopes fly so high
Close your eyes and you can imagine the scene: a small studio, a few players crammed together, recording live, first takes, no second-guessing. Pure spirit caught on tape.
The bridge to the chorus is sublime;
But no-one can turn us around
The top of the ladder is what we have found
I will be your girl
You'll be the king of the world
And for the closing chorus and outro, it sounds like the band are jamming and Cooper is improvising as they take it to fade. The drums are delicious
Let our love grow higher, higher, higher, oh-oh baby
Light my fire, baby, let it grow higher
Listen to that voice! Goosebumps!
Written by Bill Patterson, Cooper delivers it perfectly. It sounds like she is hopelessly and beautifully in love, nothing can go wrong and things can only get even better. Love can only grow higher.
Let Our Love Grow Higher 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.
There are quite a lot of new songs (for a change) added to my Never Ending Mixtape this month.
I am really getting into Courtney Barnett who has a wonderful way of telling tales and making observations. Her raw guitar work and honest voice are hugely appealing and her songs are sprinkled with humour and soul. I'll be blogging on her soon.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Parquet Courts, Snail Mail, Spiritualized, Hinds and GospelbeacH all have new songs out and featuring on the playlist. Snail Mail play Glasgow later in the year and their debut album is beautiful.
Elsewhere we have the three closing tracks from the Stone Roses eponymous debut, a stunning track from Brendan Benson, Car Seat Headrest, The Pastels, Flaming Lips, Mick Jagger and The Charlatans.
Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify or CLICK HERE
Dig in and enjoy the wonderful weather.
Charity - Courtney Barnett
Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales - Car Seat Headrest
Berlin Got Blurry - Parquet Courts
San Francisco - Foxygen
French Press - Rolling Backouts Coastal Fever
Canned Tomatoes (Whole) - Courtney Barnett
Basement Scam - The Pastels
Memo From Turner - Mick Jagger
She Don't Use Jelly - The Flaming Lips
Shoot You Down - Stone Roses
This Is The One - Stone Roses
I Am The Resurrection - Stone Roses
Deee-Lite Theme - Deee-Lite
Harry Flowers - Jack Nitzsche
Metarie - Brendan Benson Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans
Heat Wave - Snail Mail
Habit - Snail Mail
The Club - Hinds
I'm Your Man - Spiritualized
Now That I'm A River - Charles Watson
Dreamin' - GospelbeacH
Elevator Operator - Courtney Barnett
A post by Teenage Fanclub's Gerry Love led me to check out the title track of How The West Was Won by Peter Perrett. The slow guitar groove is reminiscent of the Velvets and Perrett's voice sounds like an anglicised Lou Reed; scheming about dirty bombs on Wall Street, gatecrashing a Rothschild party and dreaming about J Lo and Kim Kardashian. The humour, style and delivery is just spot on, the slide guitar is glorious.
I read a couple of reviews and they were very complimentary, so I dove in to the album....and really fell for it. How The West Was Won is chiming guitars, a tight rhythm section and the sound of Perrett pouring his heart out, it is pure, soulful and true.
Perrett was lead singer for The Only Ones, author of the brilliant Another Girl, Another Planet single, a thrilling slice of energetic punk pop that was released in 1978 and somehow flopped.
The Only Ones split and Perrett vanished into a world of heroin and crack addiction. Perrett's work is often autobiographical - especially on songs like Hard To Say No and Living In My Head.
I'm gonna go for help
And talk about my fear
The only time I'm well
Is when you're near
Troika is the kind of song The Libertines would kill for, jangly guitars and a catchy melancholic lovelorn vocal.
Right from the start
When you captured my heart
An Epic Story is the sound of someone happy and the guitars sound glorious on Man Of Extremes with Perrett pouring his heart out - half singing, half talking. It's beautiful, soulful and pure. Under 3-minutes of guitar pop brilliance.
There's no place left to hide
There's no place to be free
Sweet Endeavour has a beautiful sweet spot, rising superbly, Perrett's band sounding superb behind his flowing chorus that follow his punk poetry verses.
It doesn't last forever, it took you for a ride
Life's sweet endeavour, you never even tried
You never grabbed the moment, you never crossed that bridge
Pic by Steve Gullick
The beauty in this album lies with it's simplicity, much of it sounds like the band are jamming and Perrett is singing or talking at random about whatever is on his mind and it is largely about love. It is a stunning album, raw emotion is pouring out of Perrett and he makes it sound
Perret is at his best on C Voyurger
I can't live without the girl I love
There's no point living in a world without her love
I'll wait for you
I crave for you
This is such a refreshing album - the directness, humour and sense of purpose is quite unique. Just listen to Something In My Brain as Perrett compares his life to that of a rat. This is a guy who played shows with The Only Ones 10-years ago with the aid of an oxygen mask, his lungs were so ruined by crack. He is now 5-years clean.
Just like the experiment with a rat
He could choose food or he could choose crap
The rat he starved to death
But I didn't die, at least not yet
I'm still just about capable of one last defiant breath
Rocks got into me, oh yeah
Now rock n roll is back in me, oh yeah
Take Me Home closes an exceptional album, one with a real purpose, you feel that this is something Perrett had to get out of his system. The album is remarkable, Perrett follow it by playing some shows including one at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow on 30th October. TICKETS HERE
Wild Horses - The Sundays cover The Rolling Stones
The Sundays were a band I fell for in my early teenage years. Their debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was heralded by the weekly music magazines NME and Melody Maker and the reviews sent me scurrying to buy a copy from Missing Records in Oswald Street in Glasgow. Songs like Here's Where The Story Ends were just gorgeous pop, stunning songwriting. Oh and for a 14/15 year old indie kid, lead singer Harriet Wheeler was the kind of girl you fantasised about when the streets were cold and lonely, dreamy and with a beautiful voice.
I bought The Sundays Goodbye 12-inch single. The b-side was a cover of The Stones Wild Horses, a song I was familiar with through an old battered Stones compilation album owned by my Dad.
The Stones version is a masterpiece in songwriting and delivery. The slow acoustic, Jagger's impeccable vocal (and some of his best lyrics), the beat kicking in, the rise.... it is majestic.
I know I've dreamed you a sin and a lie
I have my freedom but I don't have much time
Faith has been broken tears must be cried
Lets do some living, after we've died
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them some day
The solo is exquisite, no-one else could play like that, it is beautiful and soulful.
Who in their right mind would attempt to cover it?
Well a young indie band from Reading decided to tackle it. And of course, nothing could compare to the Stones, but The Sundays version was one that greatly appealed to the 16-year old me and after rediscovering it over 20-years down the line it still does.
Wheeler's voice aches in a different kind of way to Jagger's, hearing a female lead makes the elder me look at the song in a completely different way, appreciate it even more. Wheeler's voice is dreamy, yet soaked in reality, detached, yet present. It is potentially the boldest cover to date in this series.
The Monkees kick off the 4th instalment of the Never Ending Mixtape with their psychedelic masterpiece Porpoise Song (Theme from Head). I remember reading about Head as a teenager - did The Monkees really make a crazed LSD inspired film co-written by Jack Nicholson?
YES - and it is even crazier than it sounds.
Moving on from The Monkees we also have some psychedelic tunes by the likes of the Polyphonic Spree (who have performed Porpoise Song with The Monkees), Flaming Lips, Ride and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
You'll need to go down to the 50th song to start this section of the Never Ending Playlist embedded below, or start from the beginning! Or you can play each individual song below.
Porpoise Song - The Monkees
Wanting to feel, to know what is real
Light and Day/Reach For The Sun - The Polyphonic Spree
Seeing The Polyphonic Spree live is a little like a religious experience for me. It's not just their robes that led to some people questioning if they're a cult; it's the sense of freedom in their songs, asking questions and searching for answers, being positive, being reflective, being true to themselves and seeing how far they could take it.
Race For The Prize (remix) - The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin is an incredible album. This song used to (and may still) start Flaming Lips sets. I remember seeing them at the Barrowlands and Wayne and his band were their own roadies - true punks - they saved money when touring by sorting their own equipment. They burst on to the stage with fans dressed as animals, confetti, a light that Wayne swung above his head and played this glorious song.
The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
OOH haven't listened to this in years, what a tune, what a groove. I love everything about it, the vocals are strained and soulful.
I'll Be Around - Yo La Tengo
Just sublime, what a gorgeous riff and feel to this song.
French Disko - Stereolab
Stereolab were beloved by John Peel and that is how I discovered them. Unique punk pop with a psychedelic (disco) edge. One of those bands that can transport you away from reality to get lost in their music, grooves, imagery and imagination.
Dream Baby Dream - Suicide
Suicide were on of those bands that loads of my favourite artists would mention - Bobby Gillespie, Norman Blake, Duglas T Stewart.... among others (later on James Murphy). I first heard this on a free CD given away with Mojo/Uncut many, many moons ago and instantly fell for it.
Keep that dream burning
Dream baby dream, forever
Touch - A Certain Ratio
Not a band I am very familiar with at all but I've just finished reading Peter Hook's Substance book and I wanted to take some time to check them out. This is funky as funk. The band would regularly venture to New York and the disco/club scene had a HUGE impact on them.They play Glasgow in February.
Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
Have to include New Order as I've been listening to them a lot recently while reading Hooky's book. This and Temptation are my real favourites.
Lips Like Sugar - Echo and the Bunnymen
The Bunnymen's Songs To Learn And Sing is a sensational (compilation) album. The belief, ambition, arrogance and audacity of the Bunnymen transpired to songs like Lips Like Sugar - incredible.
Leave The All Behind - Ride
Ride were really young when they burst on to the scene with a string of EP's that led to their debut album Nowhere. It was only with the release of second album Going Blank Again that I discovered them. This just blew me away; over 8-minutes of blissed out guitar psychedelia.
For I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine, as with many songs featured in my monthly Cover of the Month blog, I heard the cover version before I heard the original. In 1996 Beth Orton released Trailer Park, a stunning album, recorded with seminal producer William Orbit. The album earned Orton the tag of 'Comedown Queen' due to its popularity at post club parties in the small hours of the morning.
Orton's wistful voice and the organic nature of acoustic guitars and strings mixed superbly with electronica to create something special. The standard of the songwriting was exceptional; She Cries Your Name, Sugar Boy and Someone's Daughter being particular favourites of mine.
I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine was the penultimate song on the album and it absolutely melted my heart. I quickly discovered that this song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector and originally released by The Ronettes. Orton actually released her version on a limited edition 7-inch before it appeared on the album.
Upon hearing the original, this swiftly became my favourite song by The Ronettes. I think the lyrics, performance and production are spellbinding. I had the good fortune to see Ronnie Spector at The Arches a number of years ago and I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine was my personal highlight from a very memorable night.
The Ronettes version starts with a heart tugging vocal over gorgeous strings and horns.
Baby do you know what you did today
Baby do you know what you took away
You took the blue out of the sky
My whole life changed when you said goodbye
And I keep crying, crying
Spector's Wall of Sound kicks in for the bridge to the chorus, the drums really go for it.
Oh baby
Oh baby
I wish I never saw the sunshine
I wish I never saw the sunshine
Cause if I never saw the sunshine
Then maybe, I wouldn't mind the rain
The simplicity of the lyrics is incredible; look how many mentions there are of baby and the repetition in the first two lines and the chorus. Yet look at how much we learn in the first verse and the poetry involved in the line 'you took the blue out of the sky' and in the chorus.
The Orton version begins with a fragile riff being picked out on acoustic guitar and Orton's voice is beautifully fragile and soulful. When she sings 'I keep crying' you can almost feel the tears.
The chorus doesn't have the dramatic Wall of Sound that The Ronettes version has, yet it is powerful in a different way. The delicate guitar riffs sound exquisite, yet everything is secondary to Orton's voice.
The second verse is heartbreaking with the lyrcs emphasising the pain and isolation being felt post break up. Ronnie Spector's voice soars at the end of the second line and into the chorus with crashing drums and everything taking off.
Every day is just like the day before
All alone a million miles from shore
All of my dreams, I dreamed with you
Now they will die and never come true
Orton's version is even more heartbreaking for me. Listening back to them both I get the feeling that Ronnie is going to be OK, her heart is broken but she'll get over it. With Beth Orton I get the feeling that she may never recover. Her heart hasn't just been broken but smashed to pieces.
After a second chorus there is a slight reflection before going straight into another chorus and then an extra bit at the end with the line Oh this pain, I wouldn't mind the rain, there wouldn't be this pain for extra effect.
And I know there wouldn't be
This cloud that's over me
Everywhere I go
Oh baby
Oh baby
I wish I never saw the sunshine
I wish I never saw the sunshine
And if I never saw the sunshine baby
Then maybe, I wouldn't mind the rain
Oh this pain
I wouldn't mind the rain
There wouldn't be this pain
I wouldn't mind the rain
I wouldn't mind the rain
Beth Orton has released a new album Kidsticks and plays St Luke's in Glasgow on 2nd October.
