Mudskipper: "Eggshells"

Sometimes you find beauty in unexpected places...

It was July '98 (I think) that I ventured to The Flapper and Firkin in downtown Birmingham to see my current faves The Mutton Birds plug the 'Envy of Angels' album. I purchased my customary Diet Cola beverage (60% water, 35% nobrand cola drink, 5% sweat) and settled in to watch the support band. As we all know, this can be a bit of a lottery and often we can be treated to:

A terrible local band showing off in front of masses of their mates who vanish the moment they have finished

Some terrible labelmates of the main band who should have 'Tax Loss' stencilled over all their gear

A terrible solo acoustic guitar toting Nick Drake wannabe who really should have stayed in the back bedroom

A well meaning but mis-matched and terrible band booked by the promoter who are completely inappropriate for the main band, venue, audience or indeed, each other

A terrible band who are mates with the terrible sound man who should have all their equipment seized by the government

Cynical? Me?

But tonight was different. Shambling onstage were a band from Wolverhampton, just a few miles down the road. Not the most auspicious of introductions as Wolverhampton hasn't got the greatest history of producing Kick-ass Rock and Roll. Slade are from the outskirts of Wolvo and Scott Matthews (awesome contemporary singer songwriter) was born just downwind, but it's not a rich heritage. So, these four plain looking blokes picked up their guitars and were quietly incredible. None of the songs got past mid tempo. There were no howls of anguish from a dark place. No face melting uber-shreding solos were performed. Just fantastic music. A sort of delicious hybrid of Neil Young and The Blue Nile. In fact they did a beautiful version of Uncle Neil's 'Helpless' that night. And then they shuffled off again. Don McGlashan was moved to say during the MBs set 'I don't know about you, but I thought Mudskipper were bloody beautiful'. And he was right. They were. 

But like so many Midlands bands, their low key approach was to be their downfall. They issued a stunning, self released CD and then got a deal with Pomona who released another CD featuring tracks they'd already issued on their 'first' CD. They were that kind of band. They were massive in Willenhall, but sadly, nowhere else. After a fairly intensive trawl of the Interweb, I came up with nothing, apart from one lovely quote where they were described by a local paper as 'Wolverhampton's quietest band'. What an accolade!

So low key were the band, that I didn’t even know they made an album until about three months ago when an offhand comment by a member of my band resulted in a halted rehearsal and a frantic scramble for the CD. No viral marketing for these boys, then.

Posted here for your delectation is the 'self produced' CD with a couple of tracks from the rerecorded ‘second’ album which didn’t appear on the first. The Pomona (8 track) version is still easily available second hand on Fleabay or Amazon. Expect to pay no more than three quid. Both are called ‘Eggshells’, rather confusingly.

I know you've never heard of these guys, but check out the sample above. It's a stunning album and well worth a download. If you like it, let me know. I've found out that the Guitarist is still active as a promoter on the local music scene, so I'm sure he'd love to hear any comments, however belated.

Seriously...this is a quiet masterpiece of an album

Mudskipper: 'Eggshells'

Levon Helm 1940 -2012

Without a doubt one of the coolest dudes in Rock and Roll.

Have a safe journey Levon

The Record Producers: UltraMegaSuperPost

Hi chums,

As a bit of a public service (and seeing how the original posts were bundled into files too big for me to upload to Mediafire) here are all the fantastic, BBC 'Record Producers' shows I have posted as individual files. Fill those gaps in your collection! Trade 'em with your mates! Stick them into this amazing presentation folder! - well maybe not the last one, but you get the idea. I've also snuck in a new one - Trevor Horn. Fascinating stuff. If you haven't heard these before, I really urge you to try one - the Roy Wood and 10CC shows are especially great - but I am biased...

Thanks again to Isaac Bonnell for finding the 'missing' Nile Rodgers show.

A little Nerdishness won't hurt ya! Go on...nourish your inner geek!

10CC

BeeGees

Bernard Butler

Chinn/Chapman

Tom Dowd 1

Tom Dowd 2

Trevor Horn

Mick Jones

Lieber and Stoller 1

Lieber and Stoller 2

Sir George Martin

Mickie Most

Motown

Pink Floyd

Reggae

Smokey Robinson

Nile Rodgers

Stephen Street

Stock, Aitken and Waterman

Todd Rundgren

Chris Thomas

Brian Wilson

Roy Wood

Roy Wood Part 2

Best Of The Year at BPFE

It’s been a funny ol’ year for listening to stuff at BPFE. Thanks to the discovery of a number of exciting blogs, I’m afraid my consumption of brand new music has taken a back seat to rediscovering some classics and some obscurities. I’ve loved every minute, but I’d be hard pushed to come up with a list of 10 albums that have blown me away. Instead, here are three:

Matthew Sweet: ‘Modern Art’

I have no idea why this wasn’t praised to the skies on its release. It’s a superb album with some of Sweets best melodies and some great ensemble playing. Expectations are always high when MS releases an album and for many people, he’s still in the shadow of ‘Girlfriend’ which (IMHO) is insane. There are some great songs on here and it’s nowhere near as ‘Avant-garde’ as I’d been led to believe. Lots of scrumptious, tight, Pop Rock gems, as well as Mr Sweet stretching himself out a little. If you bought this, listened to it once and then tossed it in the ‘trade’ pile, dig it out and try again. It ain’t his most immediate work, but it’s up there with his best.

'Oh Oldendaze!' from 'Modern Art'

Captain Wilberforce: ‘Ghost Written Confessions’

One day, Simon Bristoll will be a huge star and you can say ‘I told you so’ to anyone who will listen. This is his third full length album and has that ‘third album feel’ too – you know – a little bit different to the previous two, possibly reaching for something else, a la ‘Big Star Third’ or ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’.  It’s not as PowerPop as his last, frankly awesome release ‘Everyone Loves a Villain’, but the songs are marvellous – lot’s of detail, always interesting lyrics and memorable tunes. I’ve waxed lyrical before, and I probably will again, but this guy is probably the best Pop Rock writer you’ve never heard of. PLEASE buy it and make him rich.

'The Day Your Mouth Stood Still' from 'Ghost Written Confessions'

Three Minute Tease: ‘Three Minute Tease’

Anton Barbeau with the rhythm section from The Soft Boys. You cannot imagine how excited I was when I heard about this. Too good to be true? No. It’s better than that. Finally, a supergroup that doesn’t suck. I’m not sure if this has a physical release yet, but trust me, it’s breathtaking. Well, of course it is – it’s Anton Barbeau with the rhythm section from The Soft Boys...

'Love Is Onion' Live from 'Three Minute Tease'

Grant Hart: The Glee Club, Nottingham 4th December 2011

My sides…my aching sides... Grant Hart, writer of some of the most gut wrenching songs in modern music (‘2541’, ‘The Main’, ‘Diane’) performing in front of a six feet tall, three dimensional model of the word ‘Glee’. That’s an irony worthy of Alanis Morissette.

Grant is a mercurial performer…as excited as I was when I saw a short UK tour announced (well ‘announced’ is the wrong word – maybe ‘apologetically released to a couple of Internet sites by accident’ would be more accurate), my glee (that word again!) was somewhat tempered by some recent YouTube footage of a rather unwell Mr Hart wrestling with his back catalogue. Well, as we all know, camcorders and ‘phone cameras are not the most flattering of recording devices and I am delighted to reveal that Mr Hart is looking pretty darn good. As I mentioned in my last post, Grant has had quite a life and to get through all the experiences that he has had and still be able to stand upright and string a sentence or two together is quite an achievement.

This was the first time I had seen him perform solo and I wasn’t disappointed. He started well and just got better. His Guitar playing may never get him shortlisted for Dream Theater, but he accompanies his voice with aplomb. But the voice…oh my days. Possibly not quite as throat shredding as the ‘glory days’ in Husker Du, but still capable of raising the hairs on the back of your neck. ‘Admiral of the Sea’ and (of course) ‘2541’ were real highlights, showcasing what an expressive vocalist he (still) is. Not even a misbehaving Guitar during the latter part of the set (expertly fixed by the support act) could dampen the enthusiasm of a small but partisan crowd. What Hart lacks in audience repartee, he more than makes up for in intensity and he has that in spades. This was a really great show, with some Husker Du gems played alongside quality material from his most recent ‘Hot Wax’ album. I even managed to score a cheap copy of the beautifully titled ‘Oeuvrevue’ CD from the merch stand.  

I may be in a minority of one, but I really have no interest in a Husker Du reunion. For a start, given the bad blood between all three if the recent Bob Mould autobiography is to be believed it ain’t exactly top of anyone’s New Years Resolutions list. Instead, I’d prefer Grant Hart to get some kudos for three decades of brilliant tunes.  

'Shoot Your way To Freedom' - Nova Mob

Stewart Lee: Leicester Square Theatre, November 19th 2011

The very fact that Stewart Lee is a massive fan of The Rain Parade and namechecks The Long Ryders in his latest book should endear him to you. Other things in his favour are that he’s a Brummie, is a snappy dresser and is almost supernaturally funny.

I saw him play one of a long series of shows at the Leicester Square Theatre in London,  which for him, must be like some form of comedic ‘Groundhog Day’ – turn up to the same venue day after day, be funny (twice on Saturdays) and repeat forever. How he keeps it fresh, I don’t know, but he does.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with his work, he’s one of those comics who don’t tell jokes…you know, the modern ones. For this show, he’s made a virtue of the fact that he’s had no profound experiences to write about and has had to look at the trivia and minutiae of everyday life to inspire him. He manages to avoid the usual pitfalls that other comics in a similar position fall into and finds humour in the most unlikely places – primarily in the vast, out of town shopping complexes boasting names like ‘Carpet Remnant World’. Lee creates an alternate universe where animated bits of Axminster live alongside inhabitants of ‘PC World’ and ‘World of Leather’…except he makes it really funny.

I know I’m biased, for all the reasons outlined in my opening paragraph, but this may be his funniest show to date. My only reservation is the fact that he is becoming almost obsessed with negative reactions to his show and indeed, him personally. As funny as it is (and possibly cathartic and empowering for him) to lampoon the critical drubbing he’s had to endure, pretty soon it may turn into a cliché. Stewart Lee is a brilliant and unique talent and I would hate to see him be perceived as just a ‘loveable loser’ and his work become overlooked.

Any road up – he’s bloody great and on tour in 2012. You should go and see him. I laughed a lot and you will too.

Stewart Lee muses on 'Top Gear'

Let’s Active: ‘Live On a School Night’ The Ritz NYC, October 18, 1988

One of my favourite LA boots…

A stellar track listing, a more than decent audience recording and a few tasty covers make this the perfect Christmas gift for any Mitchaficionado. Pink Floyd and Moby Grape covers rub up against songs from the ‘Every Dog…’ album and beyond.

Essential.

(And, as ever, many thanks to the original uploader whose name I cruelly deleted from the info file. Sorry man!)

Live On A School Night