Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

The story goes that Jim Morrison hated Light My Fire, The Doors’ great breakthrough hit. Recorded in August 1966, it was released in January 1967, at the dawn of the so-called Summer of Love. If it was true that Morrison disliked it, I’d sort of concur with his judgment. In fact, he didn’t hate the song, but resented that he had only a small part in writing his band’s signature hit (most of it was written by guitarist Robby Krieger).

I don’t like The Doors much, and have more respect than affection for their version of Light My Fire. No, let me rephrase it. I dislike Jim Morrison and hate his mannered vocals on the song (as opposed to Ray Manzarek’s magnificent keyboard line). It is a great song that has been covered hundreds of times, usually to good effect. It is the mark of a fine song when it is difficult to fuck it up. And when a song is interpreted in so many different ways as Light My Fire is here, it incontrovertibly is a truly great song. I predict that the reader who will listen to all versions offered here in one go won’t get bored with it.

Of the 38 versions collated here, only one is gratingly bad: that by Train, which appeared, of all things, on a Doors tribute album (I have refrained from throwing Will Young’s chart-topping karaoke effort into the mix). I include Train’s version for the sake of curiosity, but the most curious interpretation here is that of Mae West, by then 79 years old. Clearly aiming for the gerontophile market, Mae purrs and pouts and outsexes Jim Morrision himself. The backing track, apparently by an outfit called The Hot Rockers, is quite good. I know nothing more about them, alas.

Some versions here take The Doors’ original as their template; more follow the path created by José Felicianio’s superior cover. The best of these, Minnie Riperton’s posthumously released take, sees Feliciano guesting (he turns up again later on a DVD rip of a Ricky Martin concert, when the somg morphs into Santana’s Oye Como Va)

Feliciano provided the blueprint for the pop and jazz vocalists, with Julie London’s flutey take and Shirley Bassey’s interpretation (which sounds much like a Bond theme) especially good. An early adopter was soul/jazz singer Spanky Wilson. I suspect that her version was as influential as Feliciano’s in attracting the many soul covers. Jackie Wilson, Clarence Carter, Rhetta Hughes (inspiring), Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (surprisingly understated), Erma Franklin, Stevie Wonder (gloriously overproduced) and the Four Tops (“sizzle, sizzle, sizzle me, baby”) all recorded their covers in 1969; Al Green and Isaac Hayes did so in 1971 and ’73. A few years later Carol Douglas and Amii Stewart issued disco versions. So did Baccara, whom I hold close to my heart, but not for their horrible 1978 version which I decline to inflict upon the kind reader.

Light My Fire has lent itself to instrumental coverage. Some of it is quite excellent (Young Holt Unlimited; Booker T. and the MG’s slower interpretation; Ananda Shankar’s Indian take), some veer into easy listening territory (Edmundo Ros’ cha cha cha flavoured version; Helmut Zacharias’ bizarre violin-dominated James Last-goes-psychedelic job). The Ebony Rhythm Band in 2004 recorded a quite splendid psychedelic retro soul version. And then there is English violinist Nigel Kennedy giving it a classical twist, with the arranging help of former Killing Joke frontman Jaz Coleman.

Bringing the threads of these different versions together is Mike Flower Pops, the outfit that specialised in recreating the sounds of the 1960s, having been invented for that purpose by restyling Oasis’ Wonderwall, scratchy vinyl and all, as a gag on allegations of the Mancunians’ alleged plagiariasm.

It is fitting, I think, that the mix should end with two recent songs from the Latin genre – Tahta Menezes’ bossa nova take and Uruguayan singer/actress Natalia Oreiro’s moody rendition – signalling that Light My Fire is indeed Feliciano’s song. Can you spot whose version is missing?

The first Song Swarm covered By The Time I Get To Phoenix. Interestingly, five of the 23 performers on that mix return here: Erma Franklin, the Four Tops, Johnny Mathis, Isaac Hayes and, of course, José Feliciano.

TRACKLISTING
1. José Feliciano – Light My Fire
2. Spanky Wilson – Light My Fire
3. Johnny Mathis – Light My Fire
4. BJ Thomas – Light My Fire
5. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – Light My Fire
6. Julie London – Light My Fire
7. Jackie Wilson – Light My Fire
8. Clarence Carter – Light My Fire
9. Rhetta Hughes – Light My Fire
10. The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band – Light My Fire
11. Erma Franklin – Light My Fire
12. Booker T. and the MG’s – Light My Fire
13. Young Holt Unlimited – Light My Fire
14. Nancy Sinatra – Light My Fire
15. Astrud Gilberto – Light My Fire
16. Stevie Wonder – Light My Fire
17. The Four Tops – Light My Fire
18. Edmundo Ros – Light My Fire
19. Ananda Shankar – Light My Fire
20. Shirley Bassey – Light My Fire
21. Larry Page Orchestra – Light My Fire
22. Al Green - Light My Fire
23. Free Design – Light My Fire
24. Helmut Zacharias – Light My Fire
25. Mae West – Light My Fire
26. Isaac Hayes – Light My Fire
27. Carol Douglas – Light My Fire
28. Amii Stewart – Light My Fire
29. Minnie Riperton feat José Feliciano – Light My Fire
30. Massive Attack – Light My Fire
31. Mike Flowers Pops – Light My Fire
32. Ricky Martin with José Feliciano & Carlos Santana – Light My Fire/Oye Como Va
33. Nigel Kennedy & Jaz Coleman – Light My Fire
34. Train - Light My Fire
35. Cibo Matto – Light My Fire
36. Ebony Rhythm Band – Light My Fire
37. Tahta Menezes - Light My Fire
38. Natalia Oreiro – Light My Fire

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More Mixes
Song Swarms

The two soul Christmas mixes focussed on soul from the 1960s and ’70s. This mix, the third for Christmas, covers mostly the era from the 1980s to the present (I think the Sweet Divines’ version of Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday is the most recent recording on this mix). One song, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, is represented twice here, but in two very different versions.

The packed file includes a front and back cover, and the mix is timed, as always to fit on a standard CD-R (plus a bonus track, which wouldn’t fit on the notional CD).

Wishing all a joyful Christmas!

TRACKLISTING
1. Graham Parker & Nona Henryx – Soul Christmas
2. Al Green – It Feels Like Christmas
3. The O’Jays – Merry Christmas Baby
4. Lou Rawls – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
5. Bobby Womack – Dear Santa Claus
6. Patti Austin – Christmas Time Is Here
7. Roberta Flack – The Christmas Song
8. The Isley Brothers – Special Gift
9. SWV - Christmas Ain’t Christmas (Without You)
10. Diana Ross – This Christmas
11. The Whispers – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
12. The Temptations – White Christmas
13. Diane Schuur – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
14. Vanessa Williams – What Child Is This
15. Martha Reeves – O Holy Night
16. The Sweet Divines – Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday
17. The Stylistics – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
18. Voyce Boxing – Let There Be Peace On Earth
19. Four Tops feat Aretha Franklin – Christmas Here With You
20. Gladys Knight & The Pips – Jingle Bells
Bonus track: Luther Vandross – This Is Christmas

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Previous Christmas mixes:
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas in Black & White
More X-Mas in Black & White
Christmas Mix (Not For Mother)
Any Major Christmas Mix
Rudolph – Victim of Prejudice

A few months ago I complained that few albums released this year had grabbed me; suddenly there came an avalanche of quality albums that compensated for my disappointment in sets by some favourite artists that I had looked forward to.

I have not been able to get on with the Ben Folds and Nick Hornby collaboration, much as I am a Folds fan and as I like Hornby’s books. Joshua Radin’s album is decent enough, but it did not attract the affection I had for his debut album. Jenny Lewis’ collaboration with Jonathan Rice bored me. Even the Weepies’ album, which does make it into my top 20, will not become my favourite of theirs.

I am quite sad to leave out of my Top 20 a few albums that could have been contenders in previous years: Shelby Lynne, Josh Ritter, Patty Griffin, Plants & Animals, Krista Detor, Audrey Assad, Belle & Sebastian, Leif Vollebekk, Merle Haggard, She & Him (which I took a while to like) and Bruno Mars.

So, on to my top 20, which is rather dominated by the Americana and country thing. It comprises albums I enjoy playing; it’s not intended to be a list of the year’s best albums, nor are they the most groundbreaking or experimental releases. These albums simply just gave me joy (which is why I listen to music). The songs listed with the album appear in the compilation linked to at the end of this post.

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Lloyd Cole – Broken Record
The music mags’ reviews were respectfully lukewarm to what is a hugely appealing set. This warm and intelligent album is Lloyd’s county record, with slide guitars, banjos and harmonicas. Funny enough, it’s a song called Rhinestone that sounds least like country and most like Cole’s stuff with the Commotions (one of whom turns up in this album). Lyrically, the album is standard Cole with clever turns of phrase and endearing self-deprecations. The vocals of Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman) are much welcome. Homepage
Lloyd Cole – Like A Broken Record
Lloyd Cole – Oh Geneviève

Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
Brian Wilson reports his earliest musical memory as hearing Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue (which bookends this set). It makes sense that the great American songwriter of the ’60s should record an album of music by the great American songwriter of the ’30s. The standards – They Can’t Take That Away from Me, Someone to Watch Over Me, I Got Rhythm, It Ain’t Necessarily So etc – are engagingly recreated, and even the overdone Summertime, so often violated by mannered interpretations, is bearable here. Of particular interest are the previously unrecorded Gershwin songs, completed by Wilson at the invitation of Gershwin’s estate. Wilson’s style is so distinctive that it is difficult to imagine how they might have sounded in interpretations by, say, Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra. They are nonetheless quite lovely. One of these originals, The Like In I Love You, sounds a lot like a song from Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man. Homepage
Brian Wilson – I’ve Got A Crush On You

Caitlin Rose – On The Town
Caitlin Rose is receiving massive buzz, deservedly so. The Nashville native’s debut album recalls Tift Merritt at her country-folkiest: mellow melodies and vulnerable vocals. It’s a mature album that belies Rose’s 23 years – even if some of these songs were written when Caitlin was a teenager. Homepage
Caitlin Rose – Own Side

Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Mavis and her family are probably best known for soul hits such as Respect Yourself and I’ll Take You There, but their primary genre was gospel. Now 71 years old, Mavis continues to work the gospel beat, using the genre’s traditional sounds as well as new approaches. Produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy — who on tracks such as In Christ There Is No East Or West marries the Wilco sound with the gospel sensibilities which Pop Staples would have approved of with— You Are Not Alone will rightly feature high on many end-of-year lists. Homepage
Mavis Staples – In Christ There Is No East Or West

Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses – Junky Star
I know a music journalist who has stated his objection to musicians going by their civilian names if these sound like those of school teachers. My pal might not review Ryan Bingham’s album because of his name, though his interest might be peaked that it also serves as George Clooney’s character’s name in Up In The Air. Or he might listen up because Bingham has won an Oscar and Golden Globe for his song The Weary Kind, the theme song of the film Crazy Heart. Don’t expect Junky Star to be a pure country album; this is Steve Earle and  Tom Waits territory, before Waits’ voice became excruciating. One almost expects Bingham, blessed with a gruff, expressive voice himself, to likewise lose his voice by the end of this powerful album. Homepage
Ryan Bingham – Depression

Dylan LeBlanc – Paupers Fields
If the critics are right, 20-year-old Dylan LeBlanc is the new saviour of the country music heritage. The happy news is that, despite his age and name, this is no male version of Taylor Swift, whose primary relationship with country resides in marketing, nor is he likely to don a black Stetson, wifebeater and sing masculine tunes about the good ole U S of A. LeBlanc is a serious country musician, of the Gram Parsons or Townes van Zandt school (true enough, Emmylou Harris turns up to lend harmonies on one track, which also invites comparison to another much-hyped prodigy, Conner Oberst). His young age is no issue: he sounds much more mature than a lad just out of his teens. Even if he doesn’t sing from experience – if he does, then he has lived the life of a man twice his age – his delivery is credible. Homepage
Dylan LeBlanc – If Time Was For Wasting

Bill Kirchen – Word To The Wise
A veteran musician and guitar maestro who released his first solo record in 1972 and not much else before 2007’s brilliantly titled Hammer Of The Honky Tonk Gods, Kirchen has issued a fun rock & roll album with the likes of Nick Lowe, Chris O’Connell, Maria Muldaur and Elvis Costello collaborating. It’s unfair, actually, to reduce the album to rock & roll: it draws from the traditions in the melting pot that produced the genre: blues, rockabilly, boogie woogie, honky tonk. It’s an eclectic album: opener Bump Wood sounds like Jerry Lee Lewis, it is followed by a Merle Haggard ballad, which in turn is followed by a blues-rock number with Elvis Costello, and so on. His duet with Asleep At The Wheel’s O’Connell, Roger Miller’s Husbands and Wives, is particularly well executed. Homepage
Bill Kirchen (with Nick Lowe and Paul Carrack) – Shelly’s Winter Love

Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs – God Willin’ And The Creek Don’t Rise
The reviewers’ meme with this album refers to Neil Young, Harvest era. If so, then I’m grateful that Lamontagne has a raspier voice than whiney Neil. Lamontagne’s fourth album is folk-rock, but heavily country influenced. Maybe a reference to the Byrds would be more apt. And when Lamontagne slows things down (even more), one might recall Joni Mitchell. A most captivating album. Homepage
Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs – Devil’s In The Jukebox

Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Regular readers will be in no doubt about my abiding love for the rich repository of soul music, but I have little patience for the current crop of high-pitched auto-tuned R&B gubbins, nor for stylised retro singers like Amy Whitehouse or the frog-voiced Duffy. Even John Legend, who does understand his soul heritage, doesn’t excite me. I am, however, hugely excited by the Gnarls Barkley singer’s album, which draws from different eras of soul. On It’s OK he sounds like namesake Al on Motown steroids, Old Fashioned draws from the 1960s, Bodies recalls Bobby Womack, Cry Baby and Satisfied a nods to ’80s soul-pop. Green has a couple guests on his album, but none are likely to blind him with dental bling, brag about their wealth or threaten to bust caps in his ass. Paradiso Girls’ Lauren Bennett turns up; it’s a delicious irony that the author of the ubiquitous Don’t Cha gets a member of a Pussycat Dolls knock-off band to guest. The other guest is Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey, on a song that sounds more contemporary  than most of the material here. It’s also a funny album: when Cee Lo subtitles the title track “Licence To Kill” it seems to be a tongue-in-cheek finger at his cliché-mongering R&B contemporaries, and the Gold Digger reference in the fantastic Fuck You is inspired. Homepage
Cee Lo Green – It’s OK

Raul Malo – Sinners and Saints
The former Mavericks frontman’s sixth solo album is eclectic, to say the least. Opener Living For Today sounds like Little Feat jamming with Lynyrd Skynyrd; that’s followed by the mariachi horns and telecaster guitar dominated title track, followed by a Tex-Mex rocker, then a country song performed as if by Springsteen (Rodney Crowell’s Til I Gain Control Again),  later a Spanish ballad, and so on. Raul Malo, a multi-instrumentalist whose powerful voice is full of character, clearly enjoyed making this album. And the result is hugely agreeable. Homepage
Raul Malo – Living For Today

The Watson Twins – Talking To You Talking To Me
Chandra and Leigh Watson (who actually are twins) harmonise the hell out of catchy tracks with shots of experimentation that takes them over the alt.county boundaries of their reputation, at times sounding like Sade if she was an Indie musicians (Savin’ Me, Harpeth River). And, yes, there are songs where they sound like Rilo Kiley, whose frontwoman Jenny Lewis they backed on their fine 2006 collaboration (Savin’ You). Homepage
The Watson Twins – Devil In You

Johnny Cash – American VI:  Ain’t No Grave
Seven years after Johnny Cash died, we get another collection of his Rick Rubin-produced American series, apparently the final release. It is a fine way of going out. There’s nothing new here, but the special poignancy of knowing that Cash recorded these ten songs in the four months between the death of his beloved June in May 2003 and his own in September, with Cash acutely aware of his mortality without descending into morbidity, and to the end insisting on communicating his deep religious faith. Some songs I can live without (Aloha Oe!), and some cannot compete with the previous versions (Kristofferson’s For The Good Times). But the minimalist arrangements and intimacy of Cash’s fragile yet forceful and soulful voice wrap the songs in a warmth and appealing sense of yearning. Buy
Johnny Cash – Redemption Day

Lissie – Catch A Tiger
Lissie Mauros reminds me a lot of Neko Case, with a heavy dose of ’80s pop influence. Or maybe Stevie Nicks, in attitude and voice – In Sleep sounds like Fleetwood Mac ripping off Blondie (Atomic-era). And, seeing as I’m grappling to find comparison to female singers, there’s a hint of Nicole Atkins, if the wonderful Atkins was a folk-rock singer. Almost every song here is utterly catchy, some even exhilaratingly poppy  (Loosen The Knot, Stranger). Homepage
Lissie – Stranger

Carl Broemel – All The Birds Say
As guitarist and some-time saxophonist of My Morning Jacket, Carl Broemel was not an obvious candidate for the release of a solo album, much less such a sweet one. This, his second solo effort after 2004’s Lose What’s Left, is a perfect Sunday morning record; played while one sips the morning coffee, bites into the croissant and opens the newspaper. Think of it as a lighter version of Ron Sexsmith, an artist influenced (and highly rated) by Paul McCartney, as clearly is Broemel. Homepage
Carl Broemel – Enough

Willie Nelson – Country Music
This is a T-Bone Burnett-produced tribute to the country songs that reside in the juke box of Willie Nelson’s memory. Cover albums are a precarious beast. Some artists feel they need to re-interpret, re-invent and update the songs they profess to love. Others will give us the very best in karaoke. Nelson just damn well sings the songs, straight and without bullshit. He knows these songs and their context, and preserves them there. The sound is timeless. And some of the song choices are inspired. Homepage
Willie Nelson – Satisfied Mind

Crowded House – Intriguer
The trouble with Crowded House is that their songs are really made to be heard live. The second post-reunion album is something of a grower. The hooks that at first seem to be absent reveal themselves over time. The album was produced by Jim Scott, who also produced Wilco’s last album. It shows, even as the album is very recognisably a Crowded House effort. Homepage
Crowded House – Twice If You’re Lucky

Walt Cronin – California I Gotta Run
Already in his 50s Walt Cronin’s gravelly baritone and sound reflect the experience of life, wistfully and defiantly. “I would never count the days of my life, but I’ll always let the dawn greet my eyes,” the former medic in the Vietnam war sings in Shinin’ Through, one of several sweet love songs on this most appealing set. Homepage
Walt Cronin – Road I’m Takin’

Tift Merritt – See You On The Moon
I am bound to love an album that kicks off with a song about making a mix-tape (“with home-made covers”). Of Merritt’s three preceding studio albums, two were filled with slow-burning ballads, one was a rootsy affair. See You On The Moon has a bit of both; she is both plugging into the templates of both Harris and Ronstadt (even if she has evidently departed the world of county). I expected that her cover of Loggins & Messina’s Danny’s Song would make me wince; happily it is tender and amiable. Homepage
Tift Merritt – The Things That Everybody Does

The Weepies – Be My Thrill
In this post’s introduction I declared myself vaguely disappointed by Be My Thrill, but this is only in relation to the album’s three predecessors. Like them, Be My Thrill is very likeable. Deb Talan and Steve Tannen are happily married, have a happy family and are (no surprise twist coming up) very obviously happy (“I was made for sunny days,” Talan sings, “and I was mad for you”). The streaks of darkness from the debut have been usurped by all the colours of the rainbow. The album is relentlessly happy (with the jarring exception of Tannen’s “How Do You Get High?”) and unless one’s demeanour is governed by inexorable melancholy, the occasional burst of happiness can be richly welcome. So Be My Thrill is a bit like a double strawberry milkshake.  Homepage
The Weepies – Please Speak Well Of Me

Sahara Smith – Myth Of The Heart
T-Bone Burnett is on a golden streak. Among his protégés is Texan Sahara Smith, a former child prodigy who has been writing songs since she was 14. Blessed with a beautiful and expressive voice, Smith writes smart lyrics set to appealing melodies, some of them very memorable. Train Man sounds much like Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. Smith might have a name that conjures images of pop muppetry, but she is a very talented artist who has created an impressive debut. MySpace
Sahara Smith – Are You Lonely

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Previous Albums of the Year

The two of you who wish you could have more of Any Major Dude With A Too Long Name, there is some respite: I am now part of the collective over at Star Maker Machine that blogs and posts music on a weekly theme. The SMM blog has long been a favourite (I think I found it through the now sadly defunct and much missed Setting The Woods On Fire country music blog). Readers who have sampled my blogroll might also have happened upon Cover Laydown (or came here via Boyhowdy’s fine blog).

Star Maker Machine is named after a phrase in Joni Mitchell’s 1974 song Free Man In Paris: “I’d go back there tomorrow but for the work I’ve taken on stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular song.” So I’ll post that song and six others (look at the URL of Star Maker Machine to see why that number) that deal with the concept of stars and stardom (or in one case, the lack of necessity to be one).

Hope to see you over at Star Maker Machine.

Joni Mitchell – Free Man In Paris (1974).mp3
Kiki Dee – Star (1981).mp3
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. – You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) (1976).mp3
Mojave 3 – Big Star Baby (2006).mp3
Roger Miller – Kansas City Star (1965).mp3
The Kinks – Starstruck (1969).mp3
Altered Images – Dead Pop Stars (1981).mp3

The first Christmas soul mix was very popular. Thank you to all the kind people who took the time to say nice things about it (and about my efforts here in general). Comments are always appreciated.

As I pointed out in the blurb for the first mix, I held back a lot of great stuff for the follow-up. So this one might be even better than the first compilation. You be the judge of that.

Be advised that in this batch are a couple of tracks that might not appeal to your mother: Rufus Thomas (Carla’s dad) makes little effort to disguise his punnery, missing out only on Santa coming only once a year. It may be necessary to point out that Clarence Carter’s Back Door Santa is not an invitation for yuletide anal sex (and here we welcome the lost and probably disappointed Google user); the back door of the title is just that: a door. With hinges.

Charles Brown, who appears here with Christmas In Heaven (not the Monty Python song), incidentally wrote one of the great Christmas pop songs: I’ll Be Home For Christmas. As in the first mix, the voice on the Rotary Connection’s track – here a psychedelic take on Silent Night – is that of the great Minnie Riperton. And there is a justification for the inclusion two takes of Silent Night: they are both excellent and very different from both, one another and the standard versions.

As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R. It also includes a really good (though long) bonus track and front/back covers.

TRACKLISTING
1. J Hines and the Boys – A Funky Christmas To You
2. Smokey Robinson – Christmas Everyday
3. Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and the Clowns – Silent Night
4. Lee Rogers – You Won’t Have To Wait Till Christmas
5. Carla Thomas - All I Want For Christmas Is You
6. Brook Benton – Soul Santa
7. Roscoe Robinson – Tis Yuletide
8. Baby Washington – White Christmas
9. Stevie Wonder – Christmastime
10. Solomon Burke – Presents For Christmas
11. Electric Jungle – Funky Funky Christmas
12. Rufus Thomas – I’ll Be Your Santa, Baby
13. Clarence Carter – Back Door Santa
14. Jimmy McGriff - Christmas With McGriff Pt1
15. The Twistin’ Kings - Xmas Twist
16. Otis Redding – Merry Christmas, Baby
17. The Soul Stirrers - Christmas Joy
18. The Persuasions – You’re All I Want for Christmas
19. Meditation Singers – Blue Christmas
20. Gene Toone – Baby Boy
21. Charles Brown – Christmas In Heaven
22. The Emotions - Black Christmas
23. Rotary Connection – Silent Night
24. Marvin Gaye – Purple Snowflakes
25. The Supremes – Silver Bells
26. The Temptations – Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
27. The Funk Brothers – Winter Wonderland
Bonus track: Ohio Players – Happy Holidays

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Previous Christmas mixes:
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas in Black & White
More X-Mas in Black & White
Christmas Mix (Not For Mother)
Any Major Christmas Mix
Rudolph – Victim of Prejudice

Christmas got funky, Christmas got soul! The analytical eagle-eyed reader may have deduced, by astute observation of the post’s title, that this year’s Christmas mix is dominated by soul music, and that there will be at least one more compilation. Indeed, there will be at least a second mix of Christmas soul tracks from the heyday of the genre – the 1960s and ’70s. I have held back a few cracking numbers anyway. Still, this is a really great bunch of songs. Whoever I got the utterly gorgeous opening track from, I am particularly grateful to. The Flirtations, one of the great girl-bands of the late 1960s, are unjustly forgotten. One singer appears twice on this selection: Minnie Riperton first duets with Sydney Barnes on the Rotary Connection’s Christmas Love, and later reappears as the lead singer of the girl group The Gems, whom she split from in 1965.

As always, the mix is times to fit on a standard CD-R. It also includes a front and back cover.

TRACKLISTING
1. The Flirtations – Christmas Time Is Here Again
2. Rotary Connection feat. Minnie Riperton – Christmas Love
3. The Emotions – What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas
4. The O’Jays – Christmas Ain’t Christmas (Without The One You Love)
5. William Bell – Everyday Will Be A Holiday
6. The Salem Travellers - Merry Christmas To You
7. Isaac Hayes - The Mistletoe And Me
8. The Staples Singers – Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas
9. Soul Duo – Just A Sad Christmas
10. Carla Thomas – Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas
11. Kim Weston – Wish You A Merry Christmas
12. Sam Cooke – Christmas Means Love
13. The Supremes – Twinkle Twinkle Little Me
14. The Skyliners - You’re My Christmas Present
15. Stevie Wonder – A Warm Little Home On A Hill
16. The Soul Stirrers - Christmas Means Love
17. The Gems – Love For Christmas
18. The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
19. Al Green – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
20. Marvin Gaye – I Want To Come Home For Christmas
21. Ike & Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby
22. Gary Walker - Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag
23. Otis Redding – White Christmas
24. Joe Tex – I’ll Make Everyday Christmas (For My Woman)
25. Soul Searchers – Christmas In Vietnam
26. Smokey Robinson & The Temptations – The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
27. Booker T. & The MG’s – Jingle Bells

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Previous Christmas mixes:
Any Major Christmas in Black & White
More X-Mas in Black & White
Christmas Mix (Not For Mother)
Any Major Christmas Mix
Rudolph – Victim of Prejudice

And this will be the final New York mix. There are still plenty of songs that I have not used, but 92 New York-related tracks should suffice. In fact, I’ll add on eight tracks to round the number up to 100.

The timeline on this mix spans 116 years, which surely is quite unusual as far as mixes go. So we have the U.S. Marine Band from 1894 and two songs from outstanding 2010 albums, by the wonderful Caitlin Rose and Ray Lamontagne. I owe the Ben Sidran track to reader Marivic (thank you).

TRACKLISTING:
1. Velvet Underground - I’m Waiting For The Man (1967)
2. Death Cab For Cutie – Marching Bands Of Manhattan (2005)
3. Wallflowers - 6th Avenue Heartache (1996)
4. Bob Dylan – Hard Times in New York Town (1962)
5. John Lennon – New York City (1972)
6. Hank Ballard and the Midnighters - Broadway (1962)
7. Ella Fitzgerald – Manhattan (1956)
8. Grover Washington Jr. – East River Drive (1981)
9. Tyrone Thomas and the Whole Darn Family – New Yorkin’ (1976)
10. Ben Sidran – New York State Of Mind (1975)
11. Albert Hammond – New York City Here I Come (1974)
12. Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs – New York City’s Killing Me (2010)
13. Dar Williams – Southern California Wants To Be Western New York (1996)
14. Caitlin Rose – New York City (2010)
15. Rufus Wainwright – Poses (2001)
16. Al Stewart – Broadway Hotel (1992)
17. Cat Stevens – New York Times (1978)
18. Eagles - In A New York Minute (1994)
19. Simon & Garfunkel – At The Zoo (1968)
20. U.S. Marine Band – Manhattan Beach (1894)

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And here are eight more, to make it a century of NYC songs:
Christy Moore – Fairytale Of New York (1994).mp3
Ben E. King – Spanish Harlem (1961).mp3
B.J. Thomas - Eyes Of A New York Woman (1968).mp3
Counting Crows – Sullivan Street (live, 1998).mp3
Swift Jewel Cowboys – Coney Island Washboard (1939).mp3
Sex Pistols – New York (1977).mp3
Shinehead – Jamaican In New York (1992).mp3
Billy Murray – Take Me Back To New York Town (1907).mp3

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NYC – Any Major Mix Vol. 1
NYC – Any Major Mix Vol. 2
NYC – Any Major Mix Vol. 3 – New York in Black & White
NYC – Any Major Mix Vol. 4

In this instalment of Murder Songs, we look at three real-life characters, from the 1890s, 1930s and 1950s.

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Woody Guthrie – Pretty Boy Floyd (1940).mp3
Charles Arthur ‘Pretty Boy” Floyd was a real-life criminal who came a cropper at the hands of law enforcement officers in 1934, at the age of 30. Wikipedia tells his story in some detail, including murders he might have committed or not. His fame rested with his career as a bankrobber. Like his contemporary John Dillinger, Floyd was regarded as something of a Robin Hood, stealing from those that steal from the poor, and then giving back to the poor; a victim of circumstance rather than a perpetrator of greed. This is how Woody Guthrie regards Floyd. He credits Floyd with one killing (the chainsaw beating the gun), but never mind that, because he redistributed the wealth. Anyhow, society’s anger should not be directed at the likes of Floyd, but at the bankers. In the age of enthusiastic foreclosures, Guthrie’s conclusion rings true even today: “Yes, as through your life you roam, you won’t never see an outlaw drive a family from their home.” So Floyd might have been involved in the killing of a couple of Feds and bootleggers, but, Guthrie suggests, that shouldn’t be held against him: “Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.” The latter and their supporters are the bad guys here. Oh, to hear Guthrie sing about bail-outs and bonuses today…

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Long before Mickey and Mallory, there were these two...

Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska (1982).mp3
Where Bruce killed a man in Wyoming just to see him die…  Here, Springsteen’s narrator is teenage serial killer Charles Starkweather. The story begins in 1958 as the narrator picks up his cheerleader girlfriend in his car (so far, so Bruce), and from here on in, “ten innocent people died”.  The girlfriend was 14-year-old Caril Ann Fugate. The killing spree kicks off in Lincoln, Nebraska, “with a sawed-off .410 on my lap. Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path”. In real life, the first three victims were Fugate’s mother, stepfather and baby step-sister. The natural born killers are caught, and in the song, our friend isn’t really sorry, because it was all good fun. Now he is facing his execution (Caril Ann was jailed until 1976), and he isn’t in a mood for repentance. “They wanted to know why I did what I did. Well, Sir, I guess there’s just a meanness in this world.” Murder songs don’t come much more chilling than that.

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The hanging of John Hardy on 19 January 1994

Carter Family – John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man (1928).mp3
A traditional folk ballad, the tale of John Hardy has been told many times in various versions since it was first recorded in 1924. The version by the Carter Family may be the definitive one. The real story of John Hardy is quickly summarised: John Hardy kills one Thomas Drews in a gambling dispute in West Virginia in 1893, is arrested, tried, and sentenced to hang, as he did on 19 January 1894 before a crowd of 3000. The song imagines Hardy in his cell, now, as the title tells us, “a desperate little man”. The devil alcohol was to blame, as Hardy pronounced from the gallows. In fact, he was so drunk as to be oblivious to being arrested in a bar. Seems that Hardy has killed more than one person, but they all must have deserved it, because “my six-shooters never told a lie”. He gets visitors, from as girl in blue and a girl in red. The former stands by him, but the girl in red “said, ‘Johnny, I had rather see you dead’.” And, whether she is a metaphor or not, shortly she will get her wish.

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More Murder Songs

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In 1977 I started to build a record collection; in 1978, the year I turned 12, I began to be really serious about music, buying singles by the Sex Pistols and Jethro Tull alike. And I became a Blondie fan before anyone else I knew was even aware of them. In early 1978 I had my first kiss (which also was the last for a while), went to my first rock concert (ditto), and made a friend whom I recently met again for the first time in 29 years (but more of that at a later stage). The first part of my 1978 nostalgia trip – on which songs are chosen only if they have the power to transport me back to the time – covers the first three months or so of the year.

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Blondie – X-Offender.mp3
What a difference a couple of months make when you’re 11. In the autumn I had bought a single by teen herbert Leif Garrett; in winter I bought a single by NYC punk scene regulars Blondie. Or, better put, my not yet impressive penis bought it. I saw the cover of the re-released X-Offender single (it had originally been issued in 1976), and fell for Debbie Harry. Like a week or so before with the Runaways record, I tingled with excitement at the thought of hearing Debbie Harry sing. The very sexy spoken intro followed by the rapid drums and that guitar which sounded unlike anything I had heard before instantly broadened my musical horizon. I am still impressed with my nascent trendspotting talents: Blondie’s breakthrough with Denis was still a couple months off, but I already was a fan, even if I knew only X-Offender and the rather good b-side, Man Overboard.

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Long Tall Ernie & the Shakers – Do You Remember.mp3
A few years before Stars on 45 afflicted us, fellow Dutch nostalgia merchants Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers visited their Sha Na Na stylings upon us in medley format. Actually, it isn’t at all bad, as these things go. In the song lead singer Arnie Treffers introduces the notion of nostalgia and memories of Buddy Holly, and then the rest of the band lets go with songs like Little Richard’s Lucille, the New Beats’ Bread And Butter and the Everly Brother’s excellent Bird Dog (one of my constant earworms), occasionally enquiring of us whether we can remember. Obviously I couldn’t, having been not even nearly alive in the 1950s. In fact, those early days of rock & roll seemed very distant to me in 1978, so that the song was something of a history lesson for me. Considering that the songs in the medley were all about 20 years old at the time, today’s corollary medley might include songs by Tracy Chapman, U2, Kylie Minogue, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Crowded House and Babyface.

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Uriah Heep – Lady In Black.mp3
Uriah Heep – Free Me.mp3
Originally from 1971, Lady In Black was re-released in Germany in 1977, and became a Top 20 hit. This and Free Me, which I bought in March or thereabouts, are the only Heep records I have ever acquired. But Lady In Black is important for a very good reason: it reminds me of my first kiss. I would like to say that it was a beautiful moment, like Kevin and Winnie’s first kiss in The Wonder Years. Alas, it was more the product of a bet. My friend, who was just half a year older than me but much more advanced, dared me and my “girlfriend” to French kiss. So we accepted the dare, rather unsure about what to do with our tongues once our open mouths met. Our tongues touched lightly before we both withdrew them in mild disgust, yet excited by the sensation. It was dark and it was winter. I felt her warm breath exhaling on my face, which was probably more sensual than the meeting of lips. And, er, her long hair was blowing in the mid-winter wind…

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Tom Robinson Band – 2-4-6-8 Motorway.mp3
Around the time I bought this, Tom Robinson was causing a bit of a furore with his song Glad To Be Gay, sentiments that were not often publicly expressed. At a time when punk was finally seeping into the German consciousness, Robinson’s proclamation was so counter-cultural as to include him in the movement. Of course, like many others who were included under the punk banner, Robinson was more of a pub rocker. Or pop rocker. Still, his lyrics were militant for their time (Motorway itself has a gay subtext, of course), and I think I can credit Robinson for making an important contribution to my unconditional rejection of homophobia.

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Bonnie Tyler – It’s A Heartache.mp3
In February 1978 I saw my first live concert, a multiple bill organised by Bravo magazine, headed by Slade. It was not in our city, so my friends Jens and Andreas and I took a train to the town where the gig was held, about 250km away. Jens, the leader was 12, Andreas and I were 11 (and some fraction which I’m sure we were willing to state as an indication that we were, in fact, closer to being 12 than 11). Times have changed, I think. I have no memory of how we found our way from the station to the arena, but we got there. The bill included a British teen outfit called The Busters (whose identifying gimmick consisted of having black hair and wearing identical denim jackets), Schlager singer Bernhard Brink (who had a white man’s ’fro) and Bonnie Tyler, who was just then having a big hit with It’s A Heartache. A year previously – hell, two months previously – I would have liked the song. Now I had tasted Blondie, and Jens and I were into punk. Tyler was for the housewives. We enjoyed Slade though. Dave Hill, he of the stupid haircut, no longer had a stupid haircut: he was now completely bold, at a time when shaved heads were very unusual. I cannot say whether it was a good gig, but I remember emerging from the hall into the cold winter’s evening air soaked in sweat.

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Sweet – Love Is Like Oxygen.mp3
My affection for Sweet was such that I bought the Level Headed LP when they made their comeback on the Polydor label, a big financial outlay which requireed much sacrifice (that is, at least that of three singles). By now, Andy Scott was wearing a middle-aged men’s beard, as though he was going to join the Beach Boys; Steve Priests looked sober and serious, and Mick Tucker and Brian Connolly were about to shear their locks. The music now was much more prog than pop rock. The lads obviously wanted to be taken seriously. Well, they might have been, had they not produced an album that was even more boring than one by Barclay James Harvest, and less deprived of the Zeitgeist than Emerson Lake Palmer. The lead single, however, was pretty good, like a song by the Electric Light Orchestra.

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Darts – Come Back My Love.mp3
The inclusion of Long Tall Ernie may have tipped off the reader that I rather enjoyed the odd bit of retro-rock & roll, even if I fancied myself at the time as a bit punk (though I didn’t dress punk, or act  punk, or hated society any more than my non-punk mates). Among the revivalists, The Darts were the greatest. I remember buying the Darts LP, alongside The Tubes’ What Do You Want from Live, on a trip to Stockholm. I still have the Darts album; the Tubes LP was lost long ago. Daddy Cool/The Girl Can’t Help It was the bigger hit, and it was that song which turned me on to Darts. But soon I preferred the cover of the Wrens 1954 song, which featured in The Originals Vol. 3 (as did the original of Daddy Cool by The Rays).

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Sex Pistols – No One Is Innocent.mp3
Sex Pistols – My Way.mp3
At the time it seemed the height of impertinence: Sid Vicious – we didn’t know yet just how undeserving of adulation that miscreant junkie was – first warbling and then quite amusingly violating My Way, by way of telling Sinatra: “Oi, old geezer, your song is shit!” We had no idea at the time that Sinatra himself hated the song and, if he had cared to acquaint himself with Mr Vicious’ interpretation, he probably applauded its defilement, in the principle of it, if not in execution. My Way just is too easy and obvious a target to be subversive, really. Roping in Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs for what was initially presumed to be the a-side was a touch more seditious. Musically, the song was, well, not very good. Biggs deserved to be locked up just for singing in public.

Of course, at the time I also had The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks LP. It is fair to say that my brother, two years younger than I, did not like their music much. So one day he scribbled on the vinyl with a ballpoint pen, apparently in retaliation to my alleged act of iconoclasm involving his poster of Winnetou, the noble Native American friend of Old Shatterhand dreamt up by the 19^th century German author Karl May (who had never been to the USA, never mind the Wild West, but whose stories are still hugely popular in Germany). As far as disproportionate responses go, my brother belonged in the camp of those who sought to exterminate and subjugate Winnetou and his people…

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The Stranglers – Nice ’n Sleazy.mp3
My friend Jens had a fine collection of punk albums, which I tried to match with punk singles. Of course, time would show that most of the stuff we called punk wasn’t punk at all. Still, Jens had albums by the Damned, Boomtown Rats, Ultravoxx and so on. I had Holiday In The Sun and later No One Is Innocent/My Way. And I had this single, a fine track with expert sneering featuring one of my favourite rock riffs ever, though I had no idea what sleazy was (till I looked it up and found the answer richly satisfying). The pun, of course, passed me by, seeing as I was still learning English. Same day I bought a single by an outfit called The Killers (not to be confused with the currently successful band). That single — it had a German shepherd on the cover – was utterly horrible.

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Brian & Michael – Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs.mp3
One of the great discoveries in 1978 was the weekly radio broadcast of the latest UK charts – it might have been the Top 10 or Top 20 – by which I got to know all the latest tunes (like Brian & Michael’s number) before they would finally make it in West-Germany. So I would sit with my grandmother’s cassette-radio portable and recorded most songs. The recorder very usefully had a fade-out button, so the shock of the inevitable cut forced by jabbering DJs was not as brutal as it otherwise might have been. At the time, I might have bought records by the Sex Pistols and the Stranglers, and by Gerry Rafferty and Kate Bush and the Rolling Stones – but I was still 12. Of course I liked Matchstick Men & Matchstick Cats & Dogs, even if I didn’t buy the record, because that certainly would not have been at all cool. And how could a song featuring a children’s choir be cool? Here it was the St Winifred’s School Choir, who would later torment Britain with songs about their collective grandma. On Matchstalk Men, they are singing the children’s song The Big Ship Sails On The Alley-Alley-O. Matchstalk Men, incidentally, was a tribute to the northern English artist LS Lowry, who died in 1976 and is mentioned in the song.

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Wings – With A Little Luck.mp3
I admit it: I liked Mull Of Kintyre, which I bought the week it came out in 1977. By the time With A Little Luck was released, Kintyre was still a massive hit in Germany, and I was beginning to get sick of it. In fact, I liked With A Little Luck better; so much so that I bought the London Town album (or it might have been on the Greatest Hits album, which I think came out before that, and which I also bought. Anyone know which came first?). It’s a charming little tune, with a synth that actually sounded warm. I liked the “with a-little-luck-a-little-luck-a-little-luck” bit, and the double “we can do it”, which sounds like it was a production mistake. Now, do I have an unnecessarily dirty mind when I detect a sexual meaning in this line: “With a little love, we could shake it up, don’t you feel the comet exploding”?

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More Stepping Back

The Grim Reaper had another busy month. He took from us the soul legend Solomon Burke, who only a few months ago delivered a new album, and the brilliant General Johnson, a wonderful vocalist whose Chairmen of the Board shone in the early ’70s, and who wrote such hits as Patches (Clarence Carter), Want Ads (Honey Cone) and Freda Payne’s Bring The Boys Home  (the video for You Got Me Dangling On A String is rather nice). Reggae fans will mourn the soulful Gregory Isaacs, and post-punk fans the passing of The Slits’ German-born punster Ari Up.

A handful of artists died young this month, perhaps the saddest of these deaths is that by suicide of Dutch singer Antonie Kamerling. I usually don’t include classical music people, but I am making one exception this month. As always, all songs listed are compiled in one mix.

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Trevor Fleming, guitarist of Northern Irish heavy metal band Sweet Savage, on October 2
Sweet Savage – Killing Time (1981)

Ed Wilson, 65, Brazilian pop star and founder of ’60s rock band Renato e Seus Blue Caps, on October 3
Renato e Seus Blue Caps – Fruit Cake (1965)
Ed Wilson – Vou Partir (A Fool Such As I) (1966)

Eddie Platt, 88, pop saxophonist, on October 3
Eddie Platt and his Orchestra – Tequila (1958)

Anibal Arias, 88, Argetinian tango guitarist, on October 3
Anibal Arias & Osvaldo Montes – Milonga de mis amores (2000)

Norman Wisdom, 95, British comedian and some-time singer, on October 4
Norman Wisdom – The Wisdom Of A Fool (1957)

William Shakespeare, 61, Australian glam rocker, on October 5

Steve Lee, 47, singer of Swiss hard rock band Gotthard, on October 5
Gotthard – Anytime Anywhere (2005)

Jack Berntsen, 69, Norwegian folk singer, on October 5

Colette Renard, 85, French singer and actress, on October 6
Colette Renard – Irma la douce (1956)

Antonie Kamerling, 44, Dutch actor and singer, on October 6

T Lavitz, 54, keyboard player with jazz-rock band The Dixie Dregs and Jazz Is Dead, on October 7
Jazz Is Dead – Scarlet Begonias  (1998)

Ian Morris, 53, guitarist of New Zealand  band Th’ Dudes, on October 7

Albertina Walker, 81, gospel singer and member of The Caravans, on October 8
Albertina Walker with James Cleveland – Lord Keep Me Day By Day (live, 1990)

Reg King, 65, singer of mod band The Action, on October 8

Joan Sutherland, 83, opera soprano, on October 10
Joan Sutherland & Luciano Pavarotti – Perdona, o mia diletta (from Bellini’s La Sonnambula) (1990)

Solomon Burke, 70, soul legend, on October 10
Solomon Burke – Go On Back To Him (1962)

General Norman Johnson, 69, singer of soul group Chairmen of the Board, songwriter and producer, on October 13
Chairmen Of The Board – Everyday’s Tuesday (1970)

Huddy Combs, 33, rapper with Harlem World, on October 13
Harlem World feat Ma$e & Kelly Price – I Really Like It (1999)

Dennis Taylor, 56, American session saxophonist and author, on October 17

Eyedea, 28, hip hop musician, on October 17
Eyedea & Abilities – By The Throat (2009)

Marion Brown, 79, jazz saxophonist and John Coltrane collaborator, on October 18

Bino, 57, Italian pop singer, on October 19
Bino – Mama Leone (1978)

Ari Up, 48, German-born member of post-punk band The Slits, on October 20
The Slits – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (1979)

José Carbajal “El Sabalaero”, 66, Uruguayan singer, guitarist and composer, on October 21
José Carbajal ‘El Sabalero’ – Borracho pero con flores (1991)

Denis Simpson, 60, singer with Canadian band The Nylons, on October 22
The Nylons – Kiss Him Goodbye (1987)

Linda Hargrove (a.k.a. Bartholomew), 61, country singer and songwriter, on October 24
Linda Hargrove – All Alone In Austin (1975)

Gregory Isaacs, 59, reggae legend, on October 25
Gregory Isaacs – Number One (1978)

James Phelps, 78, gospel and R&B singer, on October 26
James Phelps – Love Is A 5- Letter Word (1965)

Jack Brokensha, 84, Australian jazz vibraphonist/percussionist and member of Motown’s Funk Brothers, on October 28
Martha and the Vandellas – (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (1963)

Walter Payton Jr., 68,  New Orleans jazz bassist and sousaphonist, on October 28
Lee Dorsey – Working In The Coal Mine (1967)

DOWNLOAD IN MEMORIAM – OCTOBER 2010

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