Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 38

Reggie Stepper: Cu-Oonh (Techniques, 1993)
I remember this record from "back" in the "day". I have strong memories of waving a beer bottle to it while trying to look nonchalant in a "fashionable" bar. That's not an easy look to master, I can assure you. Anyway, this little beauty can now be found - complete with the sort of deeply authentic crackles that only recycled vinyl Jamaican pressings can deliver - on this marvellous record that you can enjoy in your own home (raised container of "Stripe" optional).

Jesca Hoop: Murder Of Birds (acoustic) (Nettwerk, 2008)
This is one of those happy accidents where I actually played something that I'd sort of decided I didn't like (which is ridiculous). The thing I particularly like about Hoop is she is just the right side of annoyingly kooky. She's also makes interesting noises on her guitar, though I can barely believe I've just written that. But you'll see what I mean when you listen. The rest of this sort of thing is here...

Hang On A Minute, This Is A Bit Good

Tony Christie: Danger Is A Woman In Love (Autonomy Music, 2008)
I have, officially, forgotten about Amarillo. Taken from Christie's truly, truly brilliant new, Richard Hawley produced album, Made In Sheffield, ... Woman In Love is top-drawer croonology founded on the mathematical thoery that Bond-theme drama plus crinkly-eyed wisdom multiplied by a great big aching heart can only ever produce good work. I should mention at this point that the album includes a version of Human League's Louise that is so good it's actually a bit terrifying.

Old People Are Kewl

Cornet / trumpet player Spanier - a serious boozer - died a few short years after this was filmed. Lots - and I mean lots - more Spanier and others (from Louis Armstrong to Hank Williams) here, where the internet's finest obsessive 78rpm collector is uploading his collection alphabetically...

Pleasure From Unexpected Places

Boris Gardiner: Negril (CTI, 1975?)
I was just opening my post when this doozy leapt of a Strut Records compilation called Calypsoul 70 that - oh dear - doesn't exist on the internet yet. I hate it when that happens. Anyway, I've had to guess any label details for this as the track doesn't exist on the internet either. Do you know anything about this track? Does anyone? *screams into the void*

This Old Record Is Also Quite Good

Joe Tex: Looking For My Pig (Dial, 1964)
Two interesting things about Joe Tex: he had a long-term feud with James Brown after the later "stole" his wife, Bea Ford. This suggests that Mrs Tex had nothing to do with it, which seems a little unlikely, no? Secondly, less than two years after this odd ode to swine, he converted to the Muslim faith - he became Yusuf Hazziez - and, presumably, never sang this again. Which is a shame, as Looking For My Pig is not only a wonderful song, it's also one of the finest titles for a pelvicular-pointed pop stormer it's ever been my pleasure to come across. Tex died in 1982 just days shy of his 49th birthday.

More great Texual healing here...

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 32

Bud Shank: All This And Heaven Too (Capitol, 1956)
Yes, I know, it's a jazz record. Sorry about that. However, this is a lovely record, a proper slice of button-down, suits 'n' sneakers, west coast cocktail-hour loveliness from the days when rock and roll only just existed and was, clearly, destined to die on its bony arse within months anyway. There's lots more of this sort of caper here.


Sigur Ros: Fljótavík (EMI, 2008)
I'm not the world's biggest fan of Sigur Ros by any stretch of the imagination. I reviewed them live once when they were third on the bill to a bunch of really rubbish indie groups. They were very good (I can't recall if my original review was this in-depth), but our paths have only crossed a few time since. They tend to be one of those bands whose biggest fans sort of put off everyone else, but, woteva, this choon is, literally, nice. There is a chance I might get lined up against the wall and shot by an angry and vituperative EMI for posting this, so I should probably point you here and say that this recording is available in all good record stores - and a whole heap of crappy ones - in just under three weeks. Oh yes.

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 30

Sir Charles Thompson: Mister Boogie (Columbia, 1961)
I don't think that Thompson really was a Sir, but if he wasn't he should have been, if only for his services to making the world a slightly warmer and happier place. Until I heard this I'm pretty sure I was completely unaware of proto-lounge-core boogie-woogie, but now I have I feel like my life has changed for the better. In my dreams this is the music that plays when I walk into pubs. Everywhere you look, people are smoking and smiling and drinking champagne from walloping great saucers. What a world that would be...


Late Of The Pier: Space And The Woods (Parlophone, 2008)
BISH, BOSH, BISH, BOSH, WOO-HOO! ectetc. I played this for the first time yesterday and I couldn't quite believe how many great late 70s moments there were in it. I'm not a huge fan of that sort of thing really, but this has been done very well. What's more interesting is they appear to be from Castle Donnington, which makes them nearly neighbours of Silvana. Nearly, I said...

Isn't Show Business Marvellous?

The Treniers: Poontang (Okeh, 1953)
This is a truly great record. The Treniers were, arguably one of the first rock and roll groups evah. They knew all about sensational stage shows, as the picture demonstrates. But they were also the most terrible teasers because even I am fairly sure that, despite what the first lines of this song say, ""poon" is not "a hug" and "tang" is not "a kiss". And I am so thick it hurts. More of this sort of thing here.

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 27

Tintern Abbey: Vacuum Cleaner (Deram, 1967)
There is, literally, nothing not to like about this. For one, it has a great intro. For another, it has that super-heavy bass meets knitting-needle drums that just sounds better and better the more you turn it up. For a third, it features the lyric, "Fix me up with your sweet dose, now I feel like a ghost" which is, actually, quite profound. And, finally, it has an amazing backwards guitar solo that only just fits into the space they've left for it. This is the B-Side of the only single they ever recorded. I stole it from here.

Kashmere: The Genesis (YNR Productions, 2008)
Finding this in the pile was one of the moments that make opening your post worthwhile. In among the crapola indie bands and, I kid you not, lesbian blues duos, was Kashmere a British hip hop artist who has what scientists call The Whole Package. He writes brilliant lyrics, has a great voice, he looks good and has the sort of production thump that makes your windows fall out. So, for all those reasons, I hope you'll forgive the Don't Bootleg This CD! alerts that are dropped all over this track. I suppose I shouldn't have stolen it. Sorry, Kashmere.

With Love From Me To Them

Cafe Creme: Unlimited Citations Part 1 / Unlimited Citations Part 2 (EMI Italy, 1977)

"Singing with The Beedles!" they yelp, "Twisting in the 60s!" they scream, "Back In USSR!" they stumble, unable to get their mouths around that pesky definitive article. While the UK and America was experiencing the pant-tightening thrills of punk rock, Cafe Creme were recording jazz-funk tinged disco medleys of Beatles songs. I love how they're miming their own instruments on the cover and I love how they look like the guys who were left out of Toto for looking "too session-y".

Until yesterday I'd never heard of Unlimited Citations, then Silvana came back from Italy with a stack of 7"s she dug out for me from a gorgeous great market she came across in Lucca. Ahead of their time, these chaps - it would take Candy Flip another 13 years to catch on to how amazing it would be to have a version of Strawberry Fields Forever you could dance to. All this and production by French disco guru Laurent Rossi? Truly we are spoiled.

Basement Crates: 33

The Sensations: Those Guys (Treasure Isle, 1968)
I've just been watching - through no real fault of my own - the Eurovision song contest heats on BBC1. The songs were all uniformly terrible, empty, hollow, sacks of unpleasant noise. Like the being awoken by the sound of the man next door farting in his sleep, the songs were never going to cause you any real harm, but they did make your soul feel just a little bit more exhausted. I'm sure the people involved spent months working on them, yet they signify nothing. Not one of them will be remembered in 40 minutes. This Sensations track was released 40 years ago. It was probably knocked up in half a day in Duke Reid's studio, yet it feels as magical and new, as supremely poppy, yet refreshingly odd as it must have done then. I don't understand how this sort of spontaneous genius works, really. But I'm endlessly appreciative of the fact it does.

Basement Crates: 32

Rakim: It's The R (Island, 1999)
I only went downstairs to find a phone number and I found a promo copy of this. To be honest, it doesn't look like I ever played it, which seems odd, so, eight and a bit years later, I gave it a go. Verdict? Not completely amazing, but there are some nice tunes on it. Of which, this might be the nicest. I'm of opinion that Rakim's Follow The Leader is one of the greatest records of all time. But that's just me...

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 26

Betty Harris: I'll Be A Liar (Jubilee, 1963)
Is that a great publicity picture or what? I found this little beauty on a Bert Berns compilation that played so well in the office that each one of us stood up to mull over the track-listing at some point or other. My favourite was definitely Betty's track which seems to squeeze country, soul, doo-wop, blues and gospel into two minutes and fifty-nine seconds of wonderfulness. Betty's theme is that lying might well be wrong, but her man's loving "is, oh, so strong" that she just can't help herself. "If a lie brings your lips a little closer," she hollers, "then I guess I'll be a liar for the rest of my life..." That's romance for you, isn't it?

Bon Iver: Re: Stacks (4AD, 2008)
This is just flaming lovely. I remember reading something about this a week or so ago and thinking, that sounds right up my street, I must get my hands on one. Then, today, I opened the post and there it was. Literally, hooray. So, Bon is from what I imagine are the frozen wastes of North Wisconsin. If anyone reading is currently sat in their North Wisonsin garden drinking a pink gin and wearing shorts and sunglasses then I apologise. Bon plays guitar and sings, but he dresses it all up in this incredible ambience. His voice in amazing, a falsetto ache up there with Antony out of The Johnsons. If you have any sense you will like Bon's new record very much indeed.