(08/03/13) Sing Something Simple

Alright........
Another trawl through the corners of music that you may have avoided, ignored, stepped over, passed by, misheard or not fully appreciated without my expert help.
Some more songs. All of them perfect for adding to your life.


Tim Buckley.  "Dolphins"
You know how good Jeff Buckley is? Nothing compared to his dad. This is a Fred Neil song (the guy who wrote 'Everybodys Talkin' ') about basically how great Dolphins are compared to human beings and whether people think of you when you're not there. There is nothing in life that can't be improved by 'Dolphins'

Tom Waits.   "Martha"
A love song from an old man ringing the woman he loved when they were both younger; "Those were the days of roses, of poetry and prose and, Martha, all I had was you and all you had was me" Totally heartbreaking. Tom can't sing, Tim Buckley could. Tim's version of this isn't as good as Tom's.

The Stooges.   "Search and Destroy"
"I'm a street walking cheetah with a head full of napalm" Yes it's Iggy, yes The Passenger, yes Lust for Life but this? This is his masterpiece. The nastiest, dirtiest, loudest, greatest guitar song ever. It wakes you up. Play it loud first thing in the morning; it's like injecting coffee into your eyeballs.

Vera Lynn. "We'll Meet Again"
No. Really. Just think about it for a second. An entire nation needs something that can stand as a symbol of unity, a symbol of hope for safe return as huge swathes of the populace head for an uncertain fate. What they get is a masterclass in songwriting (genuinely), optimistic hopeful lyrics, set to a gently maudlin tune with a Novachord organ accompaniment that smacks of the safety of 1930s cinemas left behind, a reminder that the old, safe world still exists, can exist agin. Honestly, listen to this without the prejudice of it being safe and establishment and realise how utterly important this piece of music was.

Ian McNabb. "You Stone My Soul"
If you think of him at all, you think of Ian McNabb as the face/voice of The Icicle Works and their one 80s hit 'Love is a Wonderful Colour'. The Icies were always much more than that. McNabb was espousing Neil Young way back before it was vaguely fashionable. They 'rocked' much more than you would imagine. This, therefore, is a soul track, a song for seduction. Lovely wah guitar, a bubbling baseline and a chorus designed specifically for a late night full crowd sway along. If he ever sees fit to give this song to an X Factor winner McNabb will make a fortune. There's no way he'll ever do that.

Paul Buchanan.  "Mid Air"
Four Blue Nile albums and one solo album in thirty years. All immaculate. This is a piano, a bit of
keyboard some muted strings and Paul Buchanan's hauntingly beautiful voice. All his best work
comes from observations of the small and ordinary and how important they are. "The buttons on your collar, the colour of your hair, I think I see you everywhere." Simple understated love and loss. 

The Wild Swans. "Revolutionary Spirit/God Forbid"
Liverpool's great secret. The great lost band of the 80s. They get two songs because this was the single. A 12" in a plain blue sleeve decorated with an impressionistic illustration of a swan. The last single from the wonderful Zoo label, imbued with the maverick spirit that the label carried with it. Chiming guitars, gloriously, epically English. Paul Simpson is a hero and everything The Wild Swans have ever done is somewhere beyond marvellous. This is a starter. Fall in love.

Wilco. "Impossible Germany"
And now America's great secret. Wilco started as an Alt. Country/Americana band but grew into something else altogether. They were described as America's Radiohead for a while due to their experiments with noise, their decision to represent frontman Jeff Tweedy's painkiller addiction with 20 minutes of buzzing mid song on their 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' album. This is more straightforward, a classic rock approach from the 'Sky Blue Sky' album with genuinely the finest guitar work on any song so far this century.

Scritti Politti.  "Lions After Slumber"
Obviously you know him as the Princess Diana hairstyle-a-like purveying glossy eighties pop hits 'Absolute' and 'Wood Beez' on Top of the Pops. This is from earlier in their career, from their incredible debut album "Songs to Remember", it's a list song, a list of his personal qualities and issues. A funk bass, squelchy synths and jazz trumpet from an album that plays with soul and reggae and R&B while name checking philosophers and economists. And it takes its title from a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem. Brilliantly, effortlessly pretentious.

"Story of the Blues"
I know. You know this. It's by The Mighty Wah isn't it? Well yes.....and obviously no at the same time. It's from the end of the period when Wylie was changing the band's name with every release; Wah! Heat, Shambeko Say Wah! and for this release only J.F. Wah! It stands for Just Fucking Wah and was obviously not the name that would be read out on wonderful Radio One. And yes you know the song but the version I'm talking about is the 12". Parts 1 & 2 together. One long piece with the extra verse "You've reached the bottom, soon the pain will ease, I've got a story that will bring you to your knees." With the last half of the song becoming Wylie's statement on life in Britain in the early 80s and ".... people who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraint....." Its about personalising the struggle that we all endured under Margaret Thatcher's Government of privilege and entitlement, of life under the 'Blues' of the title.
It's a soul revolution.

This is what you want music to do.