This Old Record Is Actually Quite Nice

Jamme: Strawberry Jam Man (Warlok Records, 1970)
Lyrically, this is a classic of the, "you might like to do this, but I like to do this" genre (other examples to follow, maybe). Other folks might like to swim, say, or climb a tree. But our man here likes to eat strawberry jam. Every day, if possible. Produced by The Mamas and The Papas' John Philips, this is multi-harmonied, jingle-jangle heavy, silken-neckerchief-wearing, over-dubbed fuzz-guitar super-pop of the very highest order. Jamme were turned over and left for dead in the usual way, but age cannot wither a top tune and, oh my goodness, this is a top tune.

Lots more of this sort of thing here.

These Old Records Are Quite Nice

The Louvin Brothers: Knoxville Girl (Capitol, 1956)
"I met a little girl in Knoxville," Charlie and Ira Louvin sing, "a town we all know well..." Actually, I've never been to Knoxville, have you? Ira was, "an abusive, irritable alcoholic", apparently, but he also wrote the majority of the songs and croons like a dream here. More of this sort of thing here.

Mandy Smith: Boys And Girls [Acid Remix] (PWL, 1988)
Poor old Mandy. Just as she was about to enjoy pre-adulthood (aged 13), she hooked up with Bill Wyman (aged 47). It would never make either of them happy, but that's not our concern, is it? This record - made when Smith was a much more mature 18 (and married to Wyman) is an acid-house cash in that's never been released before. It's not exactly amazing, but it is an enjoyable window on - hey! - a vanished world. And stuff. More of this sort of thing here.

Larry Williams and Johnny Watson: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Okeh, 1967)
A LP of soul cover versions. The sort of thing that was considered a very good idea indeed in 1967. There are many, many treats on this LP - I'm rather keen on the version of Cannonball Adderly and Joe Zawinul’s Mercy Mercy Mercy - but most of this is actually lovely. More of this sort of thing here.

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 40

Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra: After You've Gone (His Master's Voice, 1939)
I've pulled this one from here, the soundtrack to Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon. There's something incredibly heartwarming about this sort of thing, despite it coming from a time when the world was tipping directly into war. There's probably a reason for all of this, my theory is that everyone was so busy wandering around in heavy grey flannel saying, "How do you do?" all the time that they never noticed all the awfulness snapping at their heels. Simpler times, no?


Elvis Perkins: Shampoo (XL, 2009)
He's an interesting fellow, EP. However, what's most interesting about him is that he writes songs that you actually want to listen to more than once. That's a rare skill - one to be remarked upon, I think. Anyway, in this case, he feels secure enough in that talent to wallop the thing itself on the B-Side of his new single. While we're talking about new releases, EP's new LP is a wee bit useful too. Good news all round then.

This Old Record Is Quite Good

The German Top Five: The Champ (Intercord, 1969)
Alan Hawkshaw's 1968 belter The Champ is one of hip hop's most beloved records, having been sampled by De La Soul, Stetsasonic and a load of other absolute buggers. This version comes from the sort of cheap, exploitative, mass-market, knocked-out-in-a-day covers LP that used to be so maddeningly popular. And it's still bloody great. I mean, I love all those LPs now, but I hated them as a kid when what I wanted was the actual groups playing the actual songs. Anyway, I stole this version from here.

BTW, the "champ" pictured is Jeff Heenan of Arbroath, who was the World Pie Eating Champ in 1974. Oh yes.