Let's Talk About Kecks

Songs about trousers. Well, strictly speaking, four songs about trousers and two songs about the absence of trousers - one by accident, one by design. 

Coming in at nearly 17 minutes, Fela Kuti's "Equalisation of Trouser and Pant" doubles up as my entry for Long Song Monday.

"Sunburnt Virgin Trousers" - Knocker Jungle

"Purani Jeans" - Ali Haider

"Equalisation Of Trouser And Pant" - Fela Kuti

"I'm Gonna Wear The Pants" - Rosie Flores & Ray Campi

"Mona, Where's My Trousers" - Kevin Coyne

"Donald Where's Your Troosers" - Andy Stewart

Blessed Souls

The mighty Wailing Souls are back with an excellent new album. It's called "Back A Yard" and it is out now on VP Records. They first formed as The Renegades in 1966, and a mere 54 years later they still sound great, with two of the three original members (Winston Matthews and Lloyd McDonald) still in the line-up.

The first video features a track from "Back A Yard", as does the second - this is the original but they have remade it for the new album. Before we get there here are a couple of old favourites, including one of the finest Woody Woodpecker impressions you will ever hear.

"Fire House Rock" - The Wailing Souls

"Stop The Red Eye" - The Wailing Souls

The Long Goodbye: Part 25

Part 25 of 27. We are very nearly at the end of our grand tour of the EU, and the closing stretch is a corker. We finish with Spain and Sweden, but first we are off to visit Slovenia, an excellent country - as all the others have been. 

I can heartily recommend Ljubljana, Lake Bled and Piran, jewel of the tiny Slovenian coast. On a practical level, Nova Gorica is not very scenic but you can walk from the station to Gorizia in Italy in half an hour. This is very handy if, like me, you get on the train from Ljubljana to Trieste only to discover it isn't going to Trieste after all.

Enough rambling. Time to Laibach and think of Slovenia.

"Poljubi Me In Pojdi" - Grupa Mladi Levi

"Život, To Je Feferon" - Buldozer

"Huda Maceha" - Slovenska Gruda

"Nočne Šetnje" - Borghesia

"Ker Tu Je Vse Tako Lepo" - Koala Voice

Dave Kusworth RIP

News of Dave Kusworth's death broke on Saturday. Once described as "more Keef than Keef", he was proof that being a proper rock star was about attitude, not tawdry things like commercial success. He wasn't playing the part, he was the real thing.  

We saw him once at Dingwalls about eight or nine years ago. He wasn't playing, but he turned up in full regalia - hat, scarf, velvet suit etc - and upstaged Chuck Prophet from the audience. It turned out the two were old buddies so Dave got invited up for the encores. He was looking well lubricated by that point and it was magnificent chaos. From memory he was still roaring away when the mikes got turned off.

If you are not familiar with his work I would recommend "The World of Dave Kusworth Volumes 1 and 2". It came out a couple of years ago and has highlights from his days in The Jacobites with Nikki Sudden and his various solo endeavors.

RIP Mr Cusworth. 

"For All The Perfect People" - The Dave Kusworth Group

"Pin Your Heart To Me" - The Jacobites

Thommo's Tales

Today, Sir Richard Thompson sings the folk songs of old Scotland.

"Mingulay Boat Song" - Richard Thompson

"Bogie's Bonnie Belle" - Richard Thompson

Let's Listen To Laura

Every now and then even we surfers of the zeitgeist get a bit weary of relentlessly searching out the exotic and obscure. When that happens there is nothing better than relaxing with old friends to restore your spirits and make you feel ready to get back in the saddle (or whatever the surfing equivalent of a saddle is - I must remember to repair that analogy before posting).

That's what I've been doing this week. Monday it was Gordon Lightfoot, today its the late great Laura Nyro. We'll have maybe one more old pal on Friday before getting back to the usual mix of Venezuelan freakbeat and Kazakh country and western next week.

"When I Was A Freeport And You Were The Main Drag" - Laura Nyro

"Timer" - Laura Nyro

Back on the board! That's the one!

Summer Rain

A bit of Gordon Lightfoot for you today. No particular reason, I was just feeling in the mood for it yesterday evening.

"Summer Side Of Life" - Gordon Lightfoot

"Rainy Day People" - Gordon Lightfoot

Thankfully Gordon is still with us, unlike many others recently, and he's sounding pretty good for a man of 82. Here he is in July taking part in the virtual Canada Day celebrations.