The Blue Hour

'I'm going down the waterfront tonight'

Okay, so here's a weird one. One of the tricks I use to find random tracks to listen to is to search my hard drive for a particular word and copy over a bunch of tunes with the word in the title. A few weeks ago, I chose 'blue' and went from there.

I had to laugh when one of the tracks cued up while I was driving home. Evidently, I had recorded "The Blue Hour", a track from a 1984 EP by British band Raise The Dragon, at the wrong speed. I let it play for a while so I could chuckle at the helium vocals. Then something strange happened.

We went away to Denver for the weekend, and several times during that great trip, the keyboard part from that sped up track floated into my head. Evidently, there was something there. I had to wait until we returned to find the track, correct the speed, and replay it. Unfortunately, slowed down, it sounded wrong. It didn't sound 'right' at all. Even as a track re-recorded by the band (under the name Intimate Strangers, from the Charm LP) I missed the keyboard riff I heard that first time.

Thanks to Audacity, I got my remixing head on and got to work. I found that if I sped the track up to just slightly less than what I inadvertently did previously, and corrected for the change in pitch on the vocals, I now had a very listenable track indeed. Having listened to it about a hundred times, I still have no idea what it's about - but 'fire up the engines of love' definitely has a somewhat lascivious ring to it.

See what you think.

Raise The Dragon - The Blue Hour (remixed version)

Random 80's Wednesday

I bought some great vinyl in Denver over my birthday - mainly thanks to Andy at Albums On The Hill in Boulder and Black And Read in Arvada. Here's some tasters.

The Lonely Now - If I Could (from Original Intentions, 1987)
Dietplan - Counting Houses (from The Melting Pot, 1986)
Mondo Vita - Technical Difficulties (from Fins De Paris, 1983)
Tom Bright - Younger Days (from Torture Land, 1986)

Ward Brothers - Easy Prey

7" Single, released in 1986

Ward Brothers - Easy Prey (A-Side)

Ward Brothers - A Bridge Too Far (B-Side)

I've wanting to post something about the Ward Brothers for a few months now. I'm not sure why their album The Madness of It All is not available digitally, but to be fair there are a lot of releases on the Siren label (a Virgin Records sub-label) that have gone AWOL. Here's a nice introduction - their first single - coupled with a B-Side that was exclusive to this release. More from the Ward boys soon.

The Boys From Syracuse - I Cry For You

7" Single, released in 1986

The Boys From Syracuse - I Cry For You (A-Side)

The Boys From Syracuse - Some Day Soon (B-Side)

Another single that was much better than I anticipated. Credits mention the Bucherri brothers and New England Records seem to have been based in London - which leads me to suspect that the Syracuse reference was symbolic rather than literal. Good stuff.

The Frankies - Yo Yo

7" Single, released in 1980

The Frankies - Yo Yo (A-Side)
The Frankies - Holiday Magic (B-Side)

Probably a bit earlier and somewhat atypical of the kind of singles I look for. But look! Doesn't the young lass on the back cover seem familiar? Maybe, if you've watched British TV in the last twenty years. None other than comedienne Caroline Quentin, famous for playing Maddie in Jonathan Creek and Dorothy in Men Behaving Badly. She seems to have kept this gig quiet.

A fairly ridiculous track to be sure, and hardly likely to be officially licensed from Disney, what with all the sexual innuendo apparent. Her collaborator was a well travelled musician, the late Kevin Westlake, who you can read more about here.

Empire - This Is My Word

7" Single, released in 1988

Empire - This Is My Word (A-Side)
Empire - Behind Closed Doors (B-Side)

Empire was a project featuring talented songwriter, the late John Uriel, and Mark Lee Kemp. They released three singles, all very listenable, in 1988 and put together an album which was never released. The group continued to demo songs for a second album before calling it quits.

Martini Ranch - How Can The Labouring Man Find Time For Self Culture?

12" Single, released in 1988

1. How Can The Labouring Man Find Time For Self Culture? (Industrial Mix)

2. Back At The Ranch

3. Fallen Idols

4. How Can The Labouring Man Find Time For Self Culture? (Single Mix)

Download

Martini Ranch was a short lived collaborative project featuring songwriter and performer Andrew Todd and actor Bill Paxton. Apart from two singles, the duo released an album, Holy Cow. This single featured three exclusive tracks unavailable elsewhere.

New Legal Download

I didn't know that Crash Test Dummies had released a new track called "I'll Be Peaceful Then" earlier this year, so I have made it my legal download of the week.

Random 80's Wednesday

Crazy busy at work this week, after a fantastic surprise birthday trip to Denver last weekend. Nothing too mind blowing today, just wanted to put something up for you all.



Breeding Ground - Happy Now I know (1986)



The Hooters - Satellite (1987)



Timbuk 3 - Reverend Jack and His Roamin' Cadillac Church (1988)



Big Dipper - Faith Healer (1990)



Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet (1993)

I'm absolutely shocked I have not, apparently, posted this Crash Test Dummies video before. What a fantastic, creative band they were/are.

Soundtrack - Crazy

7" Single, released in 1982

Soundtrack - Crazy (A-Side)

Soundtrack - Freeze Frame (B-Side)

I posted the other Soundtrack single, Ghosts of Love, a few years back. This one popped up on eBay while I was looking for records by the new wave band Freeze Frame. As is often the case I don't know much about the band. They recorded for Rialto Records and I think the two singles were everything they did.

Fontana Mix - Catwalk

7" Single, released in 1983

Fontana Mix - Catwalk (A-Side)

Fontana Mix - Cherry Lips (B-Side)

I don't know much about Fontana Mix, who recorded for the Compact Organization and released a couple of singles and an album. Although several Compact artists have seen their work reissued, nothing as yet has surfaced from these guys.

Random 80's Wednesday

Let's see what's been playing at MFL Towers these past few days...

Wet Picnic - Cocktailed Sky (from Balls Up, 1982) 

Horizontal Brian - Everybody Wants To Be American (from Vertical, 1983) 

Salvation Sunday - Reservations (Unreleased, circa 1986) 

Z6 - You, Eugene And Me (7" Single, 1983) 

Haven Terrace - In A West Coast Town (7" Single, 1986) 

A Picture Made - God Loves A Hell Of A Man (7" Single, 1986)

Skin Side Out - Pushing You Out

7" Single, released in 1984

Skin Side Out - Pushing You Out (A-Side)

Skin Side Out - Shredding Of The Skin (B-Side)

Random 80's Wednesday

Nacey And Matthew - Jamie (from Electric Stares, 1984)
Sight Unseen - Is This Heaven (from Sounds Eclectic, 1987)
The Other Side - Is It Any Wonder (7" Single, 1987)
Grey Parade - The Empty Room (from The Reason, 1985)
Dan Barr - Bus Full Of Nuns (from WEBN Album Project 8, 1985)

"Jamie" is a terrific little song which I couldn't wait to post. I found the album by scanning through 1984 albums for sale on Discogs, and a quick google search led me to a YouTube post. I knew right away I needed this record, unoriginal it may be for sure, but I'm a sucker for this kind of sound - to me very reminiscent of Jimmy Jimmy and their bright young pop.