Badbea by Edwyn Collins

Welcome back Edwyn Collins, it has been a while, 6-years to be precise since Understated his last LP was released. Edwyn's December show at Mono in Glasgow that year was an absolute joy. We then had the beautiful documentary The Possibilities Are Endless with accompanying soundtrack which was released in 2014.

Since then Edwyn has moved to Helmsdale on the North East coast of Scotland, building his Clashnarrow Studio from scratch and recording with bands ranging from Hooton Tennis Club to Teenage Fanclub.

It's great to have Edwyn back with his new album Badbea. I was too young for Orange Juice and it was only from Edwyn's Home Again album that was released in 2007 that I really started to form a bond with one of Scotland's greatest songwriters, digging his new stuff and digging back into his discography.

Home Again was followed by the excellent Losing Sleep which featured a string of guests including members from The Cribs, Franz Ferdinand, Magic Numbers, The Drums and Roddy Frame. The title track and the superb In Your Eyes are real favourites of mine. And then there was the aforementioned Understated.

On to Badbea. Edwyn's love of northern soul shines through, as does his humour and his wonderful ability to reflect so eloquently and poetically. There are times Edwyn reflects with a bite that goes straight to the point, and at others with beautiful melancholy. At the heart of everything there is love and hope.

Pounding drums and electric guitar usher in the opening It's All About You and Edwyn croons about the sky, the mood, the sea and the summer before leading to the chorus that you can sing on first listen. The song progresses to include horns, Chic style guitar and develop into a real groove - off to a flyer.

In The Morning is a rip roaring northern soul influenced monster containing responsive backing vocals, horns, a soaring guitar solo and Edwyn singing about his uncertainty in the morning, in the evening and in the twilight. The song has a great feel to it and flows superbly with Edwyn's vocals rising with the music as it drives to conclusion.

The reflective I Guess We Were Young is another belter, the chorus has a beautiful melody with Edwyn's band mates harmonising beautifully.

It All Makes Sense To Me slows the pace, a gorgeous acoustic number beginning with the sound of birds singing merrily as Edwyn reflects on a magical day in his life as he walks, dreams and thinks and everything makes sense. The instrumental section is lovely and Edwyn comes back in gently to repeatedly sing it all makes sense to me, it's beautiful, perfect.

The pace quickens dramatically on the punk garage guitar charged Outside with Edwyn simply stating at one point now I'm old, I don't care. Then we change direction with a bass synth, drums and handclaps starting off Glasgow to London with Edwyn singing I must admit I could not give a fuck.

Edwyn is on the train, Glasgow to London, but it's in the past. It sounds like a reflective piece on his move to Helmsdale, he was moving away from going back to reality, back to the grind. But then he sings repeatedly it's in the past, it's in the past and the song gets into a real groove.

Tensions Rising kicks in with what sounds like a nod to The Temptations Get Ready, there is a cool bass groove underpinning the song and fuzz guitar cuts loose.

Beauty is very aptly named, I played it 3 times on first listen. It is gorgeous, a slow acoustic ballad and a Collins vocal that melts the heart.

Carry on, do your thing

Look ahead, don't give in

Don't give in, don't give in

I Want You finds a psych groove that is darker than the rest of the album, I'm OK Jack is much lighter in comparison sounding almost McCartney-esque at times, while Sparks the Spark has more outstanding guitar work from Collins band which includes long term friends Carwyn Ellis and James Walbourne.

Badbea is named after a village near to Helmsdale that was built and then abandoned by crofters. The closing title track is beautifully dreamy, it has a Brian Wilson feel to it at times with Collins singing of a ruined monument to life and death.

Collins is in good form and it is fantastic to have him back. Edwyn will be playing a short set and signing his album at Mono on Tuesday 9th April while the night before sees him play Saint Lukes as part of a BBC Quay Session. I hope to make both and you can order limited signed copies from Monorail.

Photo by John Maher - blog on his Edwyn photos for the album HERE

Witchi Tai To

Cover version of the month #44

BMX Bandits cover Witchi Tai To

BMX Bandits are not the only band to have covered Everything Is Everything's 1969 single Witchi Tai To, but it was through the Bandits that I first heard the song and a recent tweet via Bandits leader Duglas T Stewart, relating to his love of the Harpers Bizarre version, caused me to revisit the song.

Back in 1993 I bought the Little Hands 4-track CD single/EP by BMX Bandits and track 3 was a beautiful home recording of a song called Witchi Tai To. It was quite beautiful, very different from anything else, I really fell for the song and it has always been a special treat when BMX Bandits played it live.

On the recorded version there is a chugging acoustic guitar and Duglas and Bandits from the time harmonise tenderly with real care before an electric guitar and beats come in. It flows beautifully, becoming like a mantra, lasting 5-minutes but I wish it was even longer.

Duglas kindly answered a few questions on BMX Bandits recording and his love of the song. I hope you enjoy the Bandits version (above) and the Harpers Bizarre one that Duglas fell for and also the original by Everything is Everything. Both feature below.

EF - Do you remember the first time you heard the song Witchi Tai To?

DTS - I was in Japan touring with BMX Bandits, I think it was 1990 and there was so many great albums available there on CD reissue that you couldn't get easily in the UK. I was particularly interested in a genre of late sixties American pop that the Japanese called Soft Rock (it means something very different here).

I met a girl called Midori who was still in her teens but seemed to know so much about this kind of music and what were the best groups and albums. She turned me on to Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends, The Millenium Sagittarius, The Innocence and recommended the reissues of Harpers Bizarre's albums.

I already knew their hit version of Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) and their version of Cole Porter's Anything Goes and loved both, so I was keen to hear more. I really loved the stuff I got by them, especially the second and third albums. Anything Goes and The Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre. The fourth album Harpers Bizarre 4 was good but weaker than the others. But it contained the track that I loved most, Witchi Tai To.

The song on the surface was very simple, it went around in a circle but there was something so unique and a spiritual feeling about it. I had no idea what most of the lyrics meant but music is an international language that goes deeper for me than words. The music, not the lyrics, is the part of songs that communicates straight with the heart and bypasses the intellect.

The recording was so beautiful, the bass line, the instrumental hook line, the harmonies. I became obsessed by it and would listen to only it on repeat over and over for hours on end. I turned Norman on to it when I got home. I can't remember if Francis and Joe also bought that album on the same trip to Japan but they also certainly loved it.

Harper Bizarre - Witchi Tai To

EF - You covered the song back in 1993 and the recording is pretty special, very tender and caring? What are your memories of recording it? It is described as a home recording - was it your home?

DTS - I'm pretty sure we recorded it at least a couple of years before it was released. I am glad you say you like the recording but it wasn't done with that much care. Francis, Norman and I were all at Norman's Gran's house in Bellshill. Norman lived there at that time and BMX Bandits had often rehearsed there. One day because we were all still enthusing about the song and the structure and that bass line, we decided to just do a version with the three of us. I'm pretty sure it only took an hour or two. We used a simple drum machine and I think we thought that it didn't compete with the Harpers Bizarre version but we enjoyed doing it. People still say how much they love our recording of it and I'm sort of surprised but I think it's because for lots of people that was what they first heard and we pretty much stuck to the Harpers Bizarre's template.

Duglas T Stewart 

EF - It flows so beautifully as a song, what is it like to play live?

DTS - I always love playing it live. I think playing it live, with Francis or Stuart or Jamie on drums and more developed harmony parts and dynamics, it's much better than our home recording version. We have often thought about doing a proper recorded version but have never got round to it.

EF - Has your appreciation grown over the years? What do you think about the song now?

DTS - Over the years I've got to know more about the song and heard other versions, some good, some less to my taste. There's a version by Brewer and Shipley which I think was a sort of hit in the U.S. but I really hate that version and I'm glad it wasn't the version I first heard or I probably wouldn't have fallen in love with the song. The song was written by a native American musician called Jim Pepper and was based on a tribal spiritual song. The original version was by his group Everything is Everything and I think that's also a really great version. Just avoid the Brewer and Shipley 'hippy sh*t' version.

I have a theory the song might have been an inspiration on two songs by Wire, Outdoor Miner and Kidney Bingos. Both songs certainly seem to contain elements of Witchi Tai To in them. Outdoor Miner is a masterpiece so if they did borrow from Witchi Tai To, I'm glad that they did.

My appreciation and love of the song has never diminished and even now I will still put on the Harpers Bizarre version on repeat for 30 minutes or an hour.

I ended up marrying Midori, who introduced me to so much great music and encouraged me to be unafraid of taking our music into new directions. We've not been together for many years now but I will always be grateful to her.

Thanks to Duglas for sharing his love for a beautiful song and for the memories of discovering and recording it.

Let's end with the original, written by Jim Pepper and recorded with his band Everything Is Everything, Witchi Tai To was derived from a peyote song of the Native American Church which he had learned from his grandfather.

I hope you enjoy the 3 wonderful versions of this song.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt

14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine

16. California Soul

18. Wonder wall 

19. Dancing In The Dark

20. Always On My Mind

21. Ceremony

22. Heroes

23. Different Drum

24. Wild Horses

25. Respect

26. Mr Tambourine Man

27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine

28. Superstar

29. Twist and Shout

30. Purple Rain

31. Baker Street

32. Not Fade Away

33. Stop Your Sobbing

34. I Don't Want To Grow Up

35. Serious Drugs

36. Dancing With Myself

37. How Does It Feel To Feel?

38. Love Buzz

39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash

41. Discoland

42. Varshons 2 by The Lemonheads

43. The Langley Schools Music Project

One Dove

Way back in 1993 I fell for a Scottish band called One Dove who released a string of impeccable singles and an album Morning Dove White consisting of electro pop so pure that it can lift you high.

And, I have to admit, I totally fell for their gorgeous singer Dot Allison who just seemed effortlessly cool. Girls like this didn't seem to exist in the Lanarkshire backwater of Carluke, only 25-miles from Glasgow, but at times it seemed like a million miles away. Especially if you got the last bus home from the Garage on a Saturday night.

The album is essentially a collection of the singles, flowing like a club mix with different versions of songs included. It works brilliantly.

Fallen, produced by Andy Weatherall, opens the album, it's buzzy synths, cowbells and a breathless Allison proclaiming she doesn't know why she is telling anyone this and asking for forgiveness. When the beat kicks in you are fully immersed in the world of One Dove, it has that purity I mentioned before and it just flows superbly.

There is a glorious breakdown when the beats and bass stop and it really is like you are falling and floating with the song and Allison - beautiful.

We then receive a blast of guitar to interrupt the purity and the flow with the Guitar Paradise Mix of White Love. The radio mix features later on the album and it was my first introduction to One Dove when it was released in the summer of 1993 when I was 17. This is simply sublime, the chorus just makes me smile, it just keeps running, flowing, feeling really euphoric.

Want to keep hold of this for you

The Guitar Paradise Mix is stretched out to over 10-minutes and the beats kick in with more breathless and sexy Allison vocals, kicking in just before the 3-minute mark. The bass is superb, it's a trippy mix by Andrew Weatherall, it has echoes of Screamadelica all over it.

White love, this love

This powerful, this pure

We then have the Cellophone Boat Mix of Breakdown, another single that was lifted from the album. There is beautiful piano/keys over big beats before everything comes together at around 1 minute 20 and One Dove find that pure flow that made me fall for them. The mix chops things up a little, coming in and out of the pureness I love.

The radio mix of Breakdown, still 5 minutes 30 seconds, comes later in the album (not on the original vinyl) and it just sensational. Allison croons about the moonlight, shadows, clouds and despair, how the small hours are hard to bear, leading to a chorus that can't help but be uplifting despite the lyrics.

Breakdown and cry (I cry for you)

Breakdown and cry (cry)

Breakdown and cry 

Cry (I do)

The last verse has the brilliant line I remember the night you left me, the moon was full, I felt empty

The mix and the album continue with There Goes The Cure, this is blissful and another song about lost love. This is super chilled until 4 minutes 30 and then cries, extra synth strings and beats come in, Allison can only repeatedly sing he's gone, this really is lush, a little cousin to I'm Comin' Down from Primal Scream's Screamadelica LP.

The clubby vibes through the album continues with Sirens, funky dub bass, hammond, handclaps, beats and Allison sounding like a siren. The feel of this song and the invention it contains is stunning, it contains so many gems, especially when you listen on headphones. The arrangement and production are incredible.

Allison is incredible on this album, she should have been a total star, sadly band and label conflicts prevented a follow up. My Friend is dub and clubby with Allison's vocals whispery and echo-y repeatedly singing about a fever.

This remarkable record continues with synth strings over the sound of a heartbeat. Transient Truth, stretches to over 9-minutes and it is super trippy, leading into the utterly glorious Why Don't You Take Me? Allison pours her heart out over music that probably wouldn't sound out of place on a Massive Attack record from this era.

Oh baby when I sit and cry

The skies cry with me

Why don't you take me

Straight to your heart

Yeah I'm asking you please

I need you now, need you, need you now

Then we have the piano reprise of White Love, Allison singing over only house/gospel style piano, she sounds like an angel. It's only 1-minute long and you wish it was longer.

And that concludes the original vinyl version of the album, although the CD and digital versions (thankfully) have the radio mixes of White Love and Breakdown.

I say thankfully as they are absolutely stunning and, at least for me, the album wouldn't be complete without them and they add to the clubby feel as DJ's would (and still do) cut back to songs they had previously played in the mix.

The writing, singing, arrangements, playing, mix and production are just sublime from start to finish, this really is an album that takes the listener on a journey. Allison is not afraid to sing about a broken heart and her band mates Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven are not short of ideas.

Morning Dove White is a gem of an album and I really hope anyone reading this blog either revisits it or checks it out. A vinyl reissue would surely be welcomingly received?

Never Ending Mixtape Part 33

Artwork by Brian Cannon, a Microdot production

As the Never Ending Mixtape flies through the 900 song mark, this month has some stunning songs, including 5 from the latest Lemonheads album, stunning electro pop from Robyn, gems from the soundtrack to Netflix show Russian Dolls, a beautiful psychedelic acoustic number from The Verve's often overlooked debut A Storm In Heaven, the epic Sprawl II by Arcade Fire, super cool stuff by The Avalanches, the still mind blowing Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles, pure pop from Marshall Crenshaw and this must be the only mixtape where The Pastels sit next to Womack and Womack.

There is much, much more to enjoy. Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify and you'll need to scroll way down to find these songs, or dig in from the start, press shuffle orzo what you choose.

I hope you find some songs you'd forgotten about or some songs you've never heard that you fall for. Read on for the full list of the latest additions.

Missing U - Robyn
Girls - Death In Vegas
Tears - Stone Roses
Settled Down Like Rain - The Lemonheads
Speed of The Sound of Loneliness - The Lemonheads
Magnet - The Lemonheads
Round Here - The Lemonheads
Things - The Lemonheads
Reflections - Diana Ross and The Supremes
If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) - The Staple Singers
Do It Again - The Beach Boys
Reach Out, I'll Be There - Four Tops
Gotta Get Up - Harry Nilsson
Dreams-Come-True-Girl - Cass McCombs
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Arcade Fire
Love Is In The Air - John Paul Young
See You In The Next One (Have A Good Time) - The Verve
Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles
In My Life - The Beatles

Waiting for the Sun - Sister John
Sky Is All We Had - J Mascis
If I Was A Folkstar - The Avalanches
Truck Train Tractor - The Pastels
Teardrops - Womack and Womack
Gepetto - Belly
It's A Hit - Rilo Kiley
Bad Weather - The Supremes
You're My Favourite Waste of Time - Marshall Crenshaw

The Good Will Out

Next week Embrace celebrate the 21st anniversary of their debut album The Good Will Out with a show at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow.

I fell for Embrace when they released the Fireworks EP back in the Spring of 1997. Fireworks was an absolute gem of a song, real heart on the sleeve stuff and the EP contained enough over 4-songs to ensure I knew this was a band with a little something about them. This was mixed with excellent interviews in the music weeklies, here was a band led by two brothers speaking from the heart at a time where another band of brothers had disappeared up their own backsides.

My friend and I went to see them at King Tut's and they had the confidence and swagger to open with All You Good Good People. I distinctly remember turning to my mate and saying 'bloody hell, that could be a Beatles song'. It had ambition written all over it, but in a soulful way, it had a gorgeous surging string arrangement beautifully mixed with a chiming guitar riff. It blew me away.

The song had originally been released on the excellent Fierce Panda label as a ltd edition 7-inch in February of 1997, swiftly leading to a deal with Hut Records who re-released the song later that year.

All You Good Good People is a stunning opener, after a 46 second intro, to The Good Will Out, it sets a high bar in terms of quality and the remarkable thing is that the band largely match it across the album.

I feel like I meant something, you always say you need more time 

Well I'll stay right here and I'll wait for good until I find a love worth mine

The way the band build things up, bring it down and then take it higher is just brilliant. It blew my mind when I saw and heard them play it back in the late 90's and I'll be singing from the heart at the Barrowland next week.

How to follow that? Well with a heart melting, sky scraping ballad called My Weakness Is None Of Your Business. Where and how in hell were this band coming up with these songs? Danny McNamara sings over a piano before guitar, bass and drums gently kick in.

When the strings kick in as Danny sings that's why, I get that shallow feeling that you like, I'll never learn that I can't win it is spine tingling.

The McNamara's pour their hearts out on this album. There is love, loss, hurt, pleading and soul bearing honesty.

For evidence I present Come Back To What You Know, what an absolute beauty, I love the line that leads to the first chorus and I am a sucker for a double chorus.

I'll never let you down

Or ever feel the way that I've been fearing now

Coming back to what you know won't mean a thing

Everyting that you've done keeps you from me

Now that I know that I need more time

Come back and let me see you're right

I'm coming back to what you know

Cause I know that I need it now it's gone

Now I know that I need more time

Come back and let me se you're right

This is a ballad that builds and delivers a punch, McNamara is all in on this album, his cards are on the table, his heart is on his sleeve and in his mouth.

Credit must go to his brother Richard on guitar and Mickey Dale on keyboards for creating the soaring arrangements which go so well with the lyrics and vocal melodies. The whole band are totally on it and the production by Youth is absolutely spot on.

It is the ballads that I love this album for, so I have to confess that I'm not a huge fan of One Big Family on record, although it is a mighty live track.

Oh my, I haven't listened to the whole album in a long time but I am listening on headphones and Higher Sights is another absolute stunner of a song.

Then we'll dance

These plans we make won't last

They'll wear and fade 

Like fools too young to run out of time

We'll always set our sights high

And Retread is Danny McNamara at his most heartbreaking with his brother at his beat on guitar. The verses have McNamara singing over an acoustic before his brother comes in with a stunning riff, but then the chorus kicks in and it has everything I fell for about Embrace in a few seconds. Danny is just singing his heart out, it's really raw and beautiful and the band are just going for it. Look at those lyrics - pure.

Now I feel so insecure

I can't save

Something I feel so much for

Won't you stay 

And leave a light for me

After the second chorus the song goes to a new level with Danny questioning will you fight? as the strings and guitars go crazy.

I can't help but think of some of the b-sides from the era that could have gone on the album in place of I Want The World and You've Got To Say Yes.  In my opinion they just don't fit in with the album at all in terms of the way it feels, or in terms of quality.  But hey, there is more than enough to make up for it

'Cause then we get to Fireworks. What a song, so gentle, so soulful, so gorgeous, so inspiring. McNamara sings of seeing enough to want to try to change things, how the fireworks inside him are all gone, when it feels right and it's wrong, and at one point he almost asks if he has let his love down before correcting himself and confirming I'll never let you down.

This is the song that made me fall for Embrace and I played it to all of my friends and a crowd of us went to see them as they moved from Tuts to the Barrowland. I think they played Tuts twice before the Barrowland but it was a swift rise on the back of a string of EP's leading to the album.

The Last Gas is another rockier and I'm just not a fan of Embrace doing rockers like this. It sounds so out of place sandwiched between the gorgeous Fireworks and the incredible That's All Changed Forever.

McNamara is pouring his heart out again on That's All Changed Forever, he does it so well. The arrangement is just perfect, the emotion is beautifully captured in McNamara's voice, in the playing and production.

There's gotta be something, worth having, worth all this

In my life at last one thing

That I can go along with

I lost half of what I could have been

When I realised you weren't meant for me

I wonder which good feeling to go with

Til i realised, that's all changed for good, forever

Now You're Nobody is a moody gem leading to the title track and album closer The Good Will Out. It is an epic 6-minute plus ballad that leads into a Hey Jude inspired sing-a-long at the end. And it works, check the incredible live performance from Glastonbury 2000 below. There is a beautiful moment when Danny McNamara comes to the front of the stage as the band strip it right back and the crowd sings, you can see what it means to him.

So there you have it, The Good Will Out (LP) revisited. I'm not going to lie, there are 2-songs on the album I don't rate, 2 more that I don't think fit, but in All You Good Good People, Come Back To What You Know, Higher Sights, Retread, Fireworks, That's All Changed Forever, Now You're Nobody and the title track you have some sensational soulful ballads that have easily stood the test of 21-years.

Roll on the Barrowland.

Langley Schools Music Project

I first heard of The Langley Schools Music project when their beautifully moving version of The Beach Boys In My Room appeared on an Uncut/Mojo CD many, many years ago. It's a version that stayed with me and when I stumbled across an article that mentioned them last year I went searching on Spotify to see if there were any other songs by them. To my great delight there are plenty and I also discovered there is an album that was released on vinyl last year. Definitely one to go searching for.

The Langley Schools Music Project is a collection of recordings of a children's choir singing songs by The Beach Boys, McCartney, Bowie and more back in the late 70's in Canada, made by music teacher Hans Ferger.

Ferger's unique approach to teaching music is captured beautifully on the recordings, he isn't interested in people singing in tune, he's more interested in capturing emotion, feeling and soul.

I never liked conventional children's music which is condescending and ignores the reality of children's lives, which can be dark and scary. These children hated 'cute' they cherished songs that evoked loneliness and sadness. Hans Ferger

The recordings were lost until a collector found them in a record store in 2000 and sent them to labels, they were rejected by 10 labels until Bar/None released a compilation CD of the two original vinyl LP's.

It's very easy to hear why people have fallen for these songs. They are recorded extremely simply with a rare purity and the sound of a children's choir singing Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, the aforementioned Space Oddity is spine tingling, generating emotion with ease.

their version of Space Oddity is a piece of art I couldn't have conceived of, the backing arrangement is astounding David Bowie

The choir singing God Only Knows is sheer beauty and brings a tear to my eyes.

I may not always love you, but as long as there are stars above you

You'll never need to doubt it, I'll make you so sure about it

God only knows what I'd be without you

And Brian Wilson's In My Room, a song about escaping the abuse he suffered from his father, becomes even more powerful when sung by The Langley Schools Music Project, the way they rise for the following verse is incredible.

Do my dreaming and my scheming, lie awake and pray

Do my crying and my sighing, laugh at yesterday

Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphey is a song i wasn't aware of and it is beautiful, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is euphoric in a new way and elsewhere you have songs from the Bay City Rollers, Fleetwood Mac, Herman's Hermits and The Eagles.

Everything Is Falling Apart

If it sounds like Teenage Fanclub are feeling their way into new single Everything Is Falling Apart, as they pick out some notes through the first 19- seconds, then you could take into consideration the fact that this is their first single since the departure of Gerard Love.  But don't worry, after a deep intake of Raymond McGinley's breath, they soon hit their stride.

Gerry's departure after the euphoric Creation Years shows at the end of 2018 hit fellow Fanclub fans hard, but it could have been worse, the band could have split completely. Of course I'll miss Gerry and his incredible catalogue of Fanclub songs, but on the bright side the band have continued to reach deep into their catalogue with Norman's songs coming to the fore. And news is filtering through Glasgow that Gerry is writing and recording.

Everything could have fallen apart...

As it is, the band are hard at it, Dave McGowan has switched to bass and good friend Euros Childs has joined on keyboards. The band reconvened post Creation shows to record in Hamburg and have since toured SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand over the last 3-weeks. They now play in Canada and the States and release their first post-Gerry single. Another new song has also been aired on tour and it sounds like the band have the bit between their teeth, buoyed by the outpouring of love and devotion displayed at the Creation Years shows and the demand throughout the world. After a short break they head to Europe and have a series of festivals through the summer including a return to the Kelvingrove Bandstand.

There may be an element of band humour (I hope) coming through with the title and chorus everything is falling apart (from our love), maybe even with the line relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend, about Euros coming in? Maybe I am reading far too much into it.

Elsewhere there is urgency and a classic flowing McGinley melody. I noted as the band blitzed their 1990's albums over 3 nights just how personal Raymond's songs are and how many begin with I ..... the only difference with his latest effort is that it takes til the second word, he then declares;

Hey, I feel

I feel something new in my life

I don't know what's real

I've only just opened my eyes

There are the harmonies and guitars that we have all come to know and love from the Fanclub. If the Creation shows told me anything, it is that I've come to appreciate their qualities and personalities even more with every year. And Raymond's qualities really shine through on this welcome new single.

On this evidence Teenage Fanclub are a band that are together, enjoying writing, recording and playing. More please.