1. Murka- trad.
2. Alcoholic- originally by Leningrad
3. Why Did The Aboriginies Eat Captain Cook?-originally by Vladimir Vysotsky
4. Anarchy is Our Mother - originally by KINO
5. The Giraffe- originally by Vladimir Vysotsky
6. Vaninsky Port- trad.
7. This Russian Rock n Roll -originally by Noll
8. The Years Rush By - originally by Arkady Severny
VulgarGrad are a curious band. Australian, and fronted by Polish born actor Jacek Koman, who has appeared in such films as Moulin Rouge and Australia. They perform songs 'of the Rusian underworld'- traditional songs made famous by artists such as Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-1980) and Arkady Severny (1939-1980), along with compositions by these greats. They also cover songs by the phenomenal Sergei Shnurov of Leningrad and other Russian punk classics.
Jacek Koman-vocals
Andrew Tanner-contrabass balalaika
Renato VaCirca- drums
Ros Jones- trombone
Adam Pierzchalski - trumpet
Nara Demasson - guitar
Phil McLeod- piano accordion
I've done my best to identify the origins of the tracks featured on this album - feel free to correct / expand my efforts.
1. Oy Oy Oy - traditional song.
2. If I Were a Sultan- a song from the classic Soviet comedy Kidnapping Caucasian Style - The New Adventures of Shurik (1967), sung by comedy great Yuri Nikulin.
3. The Party on Horse-Shit Street - traditional song.
4. Super Good- by Sergei Shnurov (Shnur) from Leningrad's 2003 LP The Second Magadan.
5. Natural Born Thief [Gop-So-Smykom]- a traditional Odessa criminal folksong often sung by Arkady Severny.
6. Bolshoi Karetny- a Vladimir Vysotsky song about a street in Moscow.
7 Stop the Train! - traditional song.
8. I'm Your Cowboy - by Sergei Shnurov (Shnur) from Leningrad's 1999 lp Mat bez elektrichestva.
9. Odessa Jailbreak - written by Kelman &Timofeyev- this is a standard of the Russian underground recorded by Arkady Severny- it can be found as early as 1926 in the movie The Career of Spirska Shpandyr- sungby Soviet Jazz master Leonid Utyosov.
10. Junky, Alcoholic and Drunkard (These Are Such Undignified Words)- traditional song.
11. Black Flag- a cover of a number by Va-Bank , a Moscow Punk band formed in 1986.
12. A Piss-Up Begins with a Bottle (Plyatskovksy, Severny, Shainsky) Arkady Severny again.
13. Zhopa 'Arsehole'- another Leningrad number by Shnur.
14. Cigarette written by some geezer called Krupp and made popular by Arkady Severny.
15.Tram No. 10- traditional song
16. Odessa Jailbreak (slow version) see above.
A tribute to Mondays/ Black Grape associate Karl Power, the bloke who lined up for team photos with Manchester United ,walked out to bat for England in an Ashes Test match, took Schumacher's place on a Grand Prix podium and knocked up in Wimbledon before a Henman match.
Johnny Marr features on guitar.
The single made it to number 10 in the UK charts. 1. Fat Neck 2. Yeah Yeah Brother (Outlaw Josie Wales Mix) 3. Pretty Vacant (live on TFI Friday, 22 Mar 96)
69 Erotic Year (69 Année Érotique), Harley Davidson,Intoxicated Man, The Sun Directly Overhead (Sous Le Soleil Exactement), Sex Shop, The Barrel of My 45 (Quand Mon 6,35 Me Fait les Yeux Doux), Ford Mustang, Overseas Telegram, New York, U.S.A, Bonnie and Clyde, Chatterton, Song of Slurs (Chanson de Slogan), Jazz in the Ravine (Du Jazz Dans le Ravin), I Have Come to Tell You I'm Going (Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'en Vais), Lemon Incest, Initials B.B.
Anita Lane - vocals on 69 Erotic Year, Harley Davidson, Ford Mustang, Overseas Telegram, Bonnie and Clyde and Song of Slurs
Pink Elephants, Requiem. . . (Requiem Pour Un Con), The Javanaise (La Javanaise), Black Seaweed (Les Goémons), Comic Strip, The Ticket Puncher (Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas), Non Affair (L'Anamour), Scenic Railway, To All the Lucky Kids (Aux Enfants De La Chance), Anthracite (L'Anthracite), Manon, I Love You...Nor Do I (Je t'aime... moi non plus), The Ballad of Melody Nelson (La Ballade de Melody Nelson), Torrey Canyon, Who is 'in' Who is 'Out' (Qui Est 'In' Qui Est 'Out' ), Hotel Specific (L'Hôtel Particulier)
Nick Cave and Anita Lane sing I Love You...Nor Do I (Je t'aime... moi non plus)
Pink Elephants is not a Gainsbourg cover.
Serge Gainsbourg employed a succession of awesome bass players. On these two records the bass is provided by David McClymont, once of Orange Juice...
The Clash opening for The Who, 13th October 1982 at Shea Stadium, New York City.
Terry Chimes back on drums, Topper Headon having had the old heave-ho due to his heroin addiction (though officially due to 'exhaustion').
Kosmo Vinyl Introduction, London Calling, Police on My Back, The Guns of Brixton, Tommy Gun, The Magnificent Seven, Armagideon Time, The Magnificent Seven (Return), Rock the Casbah, Train in Vain, Career Opportunities, Spanish Bombs, Clampdown, English Civil War, Should I Stay or Should I Go, I Fought the Law
I'm going to write something here about Patti Smith being one of the most influential figures in post 1970 popular music. And I'm going to do this without referring to Bob Dylan or Rimbaud... Fuck!
When Dick Taylor was at Sidcup Art School he formed a band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with fellow students Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. The three then joined Brian Jones and Ian Stewart to form The Rollin' Stones in 1962.
Taylor left the Stones when he moved to London Central School of Art, which is where he formed The Pretty Things.
They released their debut LP in 1965. The American version included the singleRosalyn (also included here). They released 7 singles between 1964-66, but only touched the top ten once.
After a million line up changes they are still going today. Why they aren't up there with the likes of The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Stones and The Who is a mystery to me.
Being a fan of Billy Childish I really enjoy this.
Line up here:
Phil May - vocals, harmonica Dick Taylor -guitar Brian Pendleton- rhythm guitar John Stax -bass Viv Prince -drums
Later the band would record soundtrack music for theDe Wolfe Music Library under the name Electric Banana.
The nineties passed me by in a haze. I have vague memories of drunkenly watching the nightmare of the wars in the former Yugoslavia on Newsnight . I knew I was living through a period of significant change, but it just wasn't sinking in. For example I have no recollection whatsoever of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The moon could have gone out and I wouldn't have noticed.
This record stirs some memories of watching Trainspotting on video and taking increasing amounts of alcohol fuelled sick leave.
I think that the original had no tracklisting because it was hurriedly recorded and released?
Anyway, I found this in a charity shop this week. No idea what happened to my original copy. I probably left it in that strange and inhospitable country- the past.
Etre une heure, une heure seulement Etre une heure, une heure quelquefois Etre une heure, rien qu'une heure durant Beau, beau, beau et con à la fois Jacques Brel (1929-1978)
If I could be for only an hour If I could be for an hour every day If I could be for just one little hour Cute in a stupid ass way Mort Shuman (1936-1991)
If I could be him! For only an hour If I could be him! Before his grand finale If I could be me, if I could only be cute, cute, cute, absolutely banal! Nick Currie (b.1960)
five versions here:
Jacques Brel -La chanson de Jacky (1965) Mort Shuman &Wolfgang Knittel- Jackie-from Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1968) Scott Walker-Jackie-1967 (appears on Scott 2 LP, 1968) Momus- Nicky (1986) Marc Almond -Jacky (appears on The Tenement Symphony LP,1991) Bumper Burning Aquarium trivia points to anyone who can give me the connection between this song and our previous post, which was on Jules Bonnot.
Kevin Rowland's second solo Album followed an 11 year hiatus during which he experienced drug problems.
1. Greatest Love of All
2. Rag Doll
3. Concrete and Clay
4. Daydream Believer
5. This Guy's in Love with You
6. The Long and Winding Road
7. It's Getting Better
8. I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top
9. Labelled With Love (I'll Stay With My Dreams)
10. Reflections of My Life
11. You'll Never Walk Alone
Rowland - as singer and songwriter with Dexys Midnight Runners - gave us some of the great pop moments. From the bolshy vision of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels through the celtic-gumbo of Too-Rye-Ay and '85's neglected masterpiece, Don't Stand Me Down, his is a towering contribution to British music, both visually and musically.
Paul Moody Uncut, March 2007
I said to Alan McGee ... I'd really like to do this record of cover versions of songs that I really like that mean a lot to me at this time. And he said "Yeah, great idea" so we did that and that took I think two years and it came out. And then three months later Creation went down and that was the end of that one. Good record...
Kevin Rowland, 2010. Full interview here.
It's GENIUS! Rowland is a genius! I've always said I liked that record. Look, the record should have been a million-seller. It's just people's problem with a guy in stockings on the cover that stopped them buying it. But if you just put it on your iPod it's a work of genius. Alan McGee, The Guardian, 21. 09.10
A 12th number, a reworking of Thunder Road, was excluded from the album following objections from Bruce Springsteen- thanks to Bubba for providing a link to this 'missing' track- see comments.
A rare excursion (incursion?) in to the 21st century for Burning Aquarium. This is Morrissey, appearing in session for Janice Long on BBC Radio 2. The set was recorded on December 9th and first broadcast on December 17th 2004. 01 - Intro
02 - Play Easy To Get
03 - Redondo Beach
04 - Interview
05 - Noise Is The Best Revenge
06 - It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
07 - Outro
Redondo Beach is of course a cover of a Patti Smith song, taken from her classic LP Horses.
Instead I've trawled through my old files and compiled the tracks as performed by the original artists. Beware of variable bitrate!
Since I don't Have You- The Skyliners. New Rose- The Damned. Down On The Farm- UK Subs. Human Being- The New York Dolls. Raw Power- The Stooges. Ain't It Fun- The Dead Boys. Buick Mackane- T-Rex. Big Dumb Sex- Soundgarden. Hair of the Dog- Nazareth. Attitude- The Misfits. Black Leather- The Professionals. You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory- Johnny Thunders. I Don't Care About You- Fear. Look At Your Game Girl- Charles Manson.
