Record Shop day!

I may be biased, having spent 13 years working in Record shops, but I love 'em. I love everything about them, from the cheapo boxes on the counter to the surly/geeky/uber-cool (delete as applicable) staff. Sadly, they seem to be dwindling to nothing if my hometown of Birmingham UK is anything to go by. We used to have a thriving Indie Record shop scene, with Rock, Dance and Vinyl specialists...but now, we're down to about four across the city. And that makes me sad.

Yeah, I am a nostalgic old fart but I ain't one of those guys who complains about change just because it's different to what he's used to. I grew up in a boom time for music retail - remember when CDs came in and we ended up buying all our favourite albums again? I was there. But before that, local Record shops were a place where you could meet your mates on a Saturday, listen to some cool tunes, get a recommendation or two and buy something...something you can hold in your hands. (That's a not-so-subtle dig at MP3s there). The big attraction for me was the guys behind the counter. Record shop staff are a different breed - if you've read 'Hi Fidelity' you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There's something about talking to someone who's passionate about music to make you want to try something different - you can read all the 'Amazon recommends' or 'people who bought that also bought this' on Websites, but sometimes you just want to talk to a real human being. 

It's Record Shop Day tomorrow, so here's what to do. Take your rent/food/baby clothes/beer money to your local shop. Buy some tunes. Any tunes. Just good tunes. Then repeat the cycle as often as you can. I'll be at Polar Bear and Swordfish in Birmingham UK (having just spent far too much money at Fopp Records in Cambridge today - what a great shop!) hopefully scooping up a handful of gems. I'm sure we can manage on toast and jam for a day or two...

Record shops are ace. Please support them.

(The book at the top of the post - 'Last Shop Standing' by Graham Jones is a fantastic chronicle of the UK Music retail scene of the last thirty odd years - highly recommended)

Rant

In the space of 24 hours, two of the best Blogs on the web have closed down for the same reasons - apathy and bad manners. ASH and Burning Wood have been providing fantastic, free  music, insightful commentary and great banter for years and to see them go because people can't be bothered to say 'please' and 'thank you' or bitch about the stuff they're getting for nothing makes me both sad and angry.

People make blogs for many reasons. Personally speaking, I write for the love of it and the lack of comments, whilst a bit annoying, doesn't really bother me too much. I get a buzz out of doing it - 'Art for Arts sake' as 10CC so beautifully put it. Other people do it because they want to provide a service and feedback is absolutely vital for them. All it takes is a 'cheers' or 'ta' and that's enough. If you feel you’re making art for no one, it can make you think twice about doing it at all.

Everyone’s got a blog. Not everyone has got a good blog. If you've got a favourite or two, be a bit more pro-active. Comment! Be nice! Money is tight the world over and if someone is providing you with top class, free entertainment (whether it's music or thought provoking or amusing prose) say 'thank you'.

Play nicely or the park-keeper will take your ball away.

(Normal service will be resumed in a few short moments...)

Rain Parade: The Dock near Jackson Mississippi, July 1984

As promised, here’s another ace Rain Parade live recording – this time it’s a soundboard from The Dock in Jackson Mississippi. Quality is great, although the sound man throws the levels around a bit, resulting in a rather ‘roller-coaster’ feel in places – especially to the first number. It’s the four piece ‘Explosions In The Glass Palace’ line up in fine form and the energy level is high. It also finishes up with a raucous version of ‘Glory’ by kindred spirits, Television, where they’re joined by members of the Windbreakers.  

The Band:

Matt Piucci: Guitar, Vocals

Steven Roback: Bass, Vocals

Will Glenn: Keyboards

Eddie Kalwa: Drums

The Dock

10CC: Cape Cod, USA, 30th May 1974

Yeah, OK, shoot me, it's another 10CC post, but it's the last for a while...unless I put the Hotlegs album up, of course...

It's from 1974, all the way from Cape Cod, from a gig where the lads supported Johnny Winter - crazy stuff happened in the 70s... Quality is - passable, but as you know, live 10CC stuff from the early/mid 70s is scarce, so grab what you can. I've kindly supplied a little sample, so you can make your mind up whether this is worth the download. It is, of course.

(Sample of 'Sand In My Face')

I know I'm a bit evangelical when it comes to this band, but humour me, eh?

Many thanks to Dan Lampinski and Carl Morstadt

MP3:   10CC Cape Cod 30 05 74

Green On Red: King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, 04 09 2006

The story of Green On Red would make a great movie. Can you imagine…Jack Black would play Dan Stuart and Owen Wilson would play Chuck Prophet. Just watch those dollars roll in. It ain’t gonna happen tho’. But it should. For now, GoR is our little secret.

This peerless soundboard is from their brief, mid-noughties reformation, recorded at a gig in Glasgow. It’s a belter. According to legend, the setlist is exactly the one they were using on the 1992 (?) tour where they fell apart for the (almost) final time. From the first notes, it’s clear that time has not dulled their edge – Prophet pulls off some terrifying solos and Stuart is fine form – loads of banter and just about sober enough to pull it off with aplomb. The whole band sounds great tho’ – tight but loose as they used to say in the 70s. They did a handful of shows, honouring the dates they blew out in the 90s (tickets were still valid, apparently…) Nothing else to say but you need this. Really, YOU NEED THIS.

(Rockpalast -  German TV 2006)

The band:

Dan Stuart : vocals, guitar
Chuck Prophet : guitar, b/vs
Chris Cacavas : keyboards
Jack Waterson : bass
and
Daren Hess : drums

Thanks to the original recorded/uploader - Evangeline and respect to Carsten, GoR's sound engineer, for a stunningly good live mix

Someone needs to coax Mr Stuart out of retirement (or out of the bar…)

Live 2006

Rain Parade: Big Club, Torino, Italy Nov 13 85

I really miss the (Old Grey) Whistle Test. For the benefit of non-UK BPFE-ers (I have to think of a snappier name than that (Big Planners? Beepees?) The Whistle Test was a great BBC music magazine programme of the 70's and 80's. What I loved most was the fact that it looked like it was filmed at the back of a furniture warehouse. The presenters were genuine enthusiasts, and in the mid 80's, any Paisley Underground band visiting the UK was guaranteed to make an appearance. That's where I first saw The Rain Parade. 

I was in a bit of a transition period at the end of '85. My Metalhead years were coming to an end and I was looking around for something with a bit more substance. I tuned to the OGWT, saw the Rain Parade and the die was cast. They were a funny looking bunch - Matt Piucci's cowboy boots and Mark Marcum's headband seemed rather incongruous, but the tunes...oh my. Fantastic versions of 'Depending On You' and 'My Secret Country' blew my tiny, Eddie Van Halen obsessed, skin-tight jean wearing, bullet belted* mind. 

 (Depending On You)

They were confusing too...some of the references were easy to spot (their first album, the awesome 'Emergency Third Rail Power Trip' contains pretty straightforward Garage Rock tunes - they're almost pastiches) - but by the time they got to 'Crashing Dream' (the album they were plugging on The Whistle Test) it was hard to discern just what the hell they were listening too. And I like that.

(My Secret Country)

This live recording (see! we got there eventually!) is a superb soundboard from an Italian gig the month before the revelatory TV appearance. Sound quality is pretty close to perfect (although the acoustic Guitar sounds a bit like a massive rubber band twanging away…) and the performance is great. 'Crashing Dream' gets a bit of a kicking from the cognoscenti because of its '80's production' - well here it is, live and raw and those songs sound bloody ace. Eat your words, doubters. This is from the master tape from which a live, picture disc was manufactured in the 80's (pictured above). The mastering was shoddy and featured just 11 of the 17 tracks’ on here. So even if you’ve got the disc, you REALLY need this.

This is my favourite live recording of my favourite era of the band. The good news is, there's plenty more to come. Woohoo!

Massive thanks go to Maurizio 'Ratpie'- the original recorder/seeder. Gratzie!

* I never had a bullet belt, I just thought that was a nice turn of phrase...

Torino

Bill Nelson Live: 'Legends' DVD filming 26 03 11



Read 'em and weep....

Bill Nelson has always been an unlikely looking Guitar hero. In the days of Page and Blackmore, both of whom wore heavily customised silk kimonos, hand tooled cowboy boots and in Blackmore’s case, Oliver Cromwell’s hat, Nelson chose to dress like he was going to a wedding reception. Radiant in formal, 100% polyester attire, he would play melodic and expressive solos whilst his similarly dressed band played his ambitious music beautifully behind him. Nowadays, Mr. Nelson has the kindly demeanour of an eccentric geography lecturer or a landscape gardener, but he can still make that Guitar sound stellar. He also sports a unique combination of Pork Pie hat, woollen winter coat and leather trousers. He makes it look good tho’. 

Bill had assembled his current band - The Gentleman Rocketeers - for a very special gig last Saturday. As part of the ‘Legends’ series of DVDs, he was having his moment in the sun, although, the gig was considerably hotter. 125 people were squeezed into a TV studio which would have comfortably held 50, surrounded by cameras, lights and force fed alcohol. It was great fun. I have to stress how small the room was- the room and stage had the same footprint as Carl Palmers drum riser and every facial tic and bead of sweat was visible by everyone. The back of the room was also the front of the room.



Many thanks to Martin Bostock of the Bill Nelson
Forum for this fantastic live pic. More are available
on the site - the address is below



Bill came on to rapturous applause from a partisan crowd. It would have been oh so easy to sleepwalk through the hits and walk off, but he chose a fascinating selection of material, from the obvious to the obscure. And it was all bloody great. After four songs where he was backed by his trusty Revox (or 21st century equivalent), he was joined by Dave Sturt , Dave Standeven, Gavin Griffiths, Steve Cook, John Spence and Jon Wallinger and Memory Lane was strolled down big time. ‘The October Man’ led nicely into ‘Night Creatures’ – the glam-obsessed lyrics sounding positively quant in 2011. From there, we had a trolley dash through four decades of Nelson. You want ProgBill? Here’s ‘Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape’…PopBill? – ‘Do You Dream In Colour?’… GuitarHeroBill? Here’s ‘Sister Seagull’…NooWaveBill? – ‘Furniture Music’. You get the picture. All played with just the right amount of reverence. Of course he played ‘Ships In The Night’ and ‘Maid In Heaven’ – the latter twice as there were shenanigans in the vocal and guitar departments. All topped off with the depressingly au courant ‘Panic In The World’ – earlier that day, just a few miles from the stage, bits of London were under siege. 90 minutes passed like 10. He thanked us and we thanked him back. 

After the gig he was happy to answer monumentally trainspottery questions from the devoted (mine was so tragic, that even here – amongst fellow ubergeeks, I cannot bring myself to repeat it…) He seems to be a genuinely straight up bloke, which is refreshing. Often it’s a BIG MISTAKE to meet your heroes….

It was an unforgettable night. There'll be a drum-roll when my credit card bill hits the mat, but I don’t care. The DVD is out on May 23rd according to Amazon and it’s a must have for Nelsonites…and everyone else, for that matter. Attendees get a free one, so if it comes in advance, I’ll whizz a sample up here.

Bill Nelson – I salute you.

 The Bill Nelson Website: DREAMSVILLE