Tuesday 23 November 2010

Q#74 - October/November 2010

Q's Compilations  -Volume # 74: October - November 2010

Download links:
Please note that the zip file has a password: Q74
http://www.mediafire.com/?89tccmnru8ddtp1
 

Hello! And a warm welcome to any new listeners out there who downloaded the previous compilation from www.qcomps.blogspot.com.  Let's get started!

01) Trippy Wicked & the Cosmic Children of the Knight - Movin On: Thanks to Analog for banging on about this fine new band, despite the dodgy name (Trippy Wicked would have sufficed!) they play a refreshing blend of stoner/sludge/Seattle-ish rock, this track certainly reminds me of Soundgarden. The album, (also called Movin On) can be downloaded for free at http://trippywicked.bandcamp.com/album/movin-on. Dig it.

02) Earl Greyhound - Ghost and the Witness: I used a track by Earl Greyhound a couple of comps ago and didn’t hear a peep, despite knowing that it would tick plenty of boxes for some of my subscribers! I’m persevering, however, with a track from their 2010 release, Suspicious Package, which they have released themselves having been dropped by Some Records.

03) The Streets on Fire - No Ones Fucking On the Radio: I grabbed this track from the Magnet Magazine website (also available as a free download on last.fm), I don’t know a whole lot about the band but will be keeping an eye out for them in the future as this track is really bustling with energy.

04) The 9th Creation - Learn-N-To Live: This forgotten 70s funk gem formed in California and to my knowledge, only released one album, Bubblegum. Aside from the infectious rhythm section, the keyboard solo, which would not be out of place in either a 70s horror or porn movie, is oddly inspired. “We’re learning to live, to forgive the things of the past, yeah.”

05) The Isley Brothers - Get Into Something: Get Into Something appears to be somewhat of a standalone album in the Isley Brothers discography (though please correct me if I’m wrong) as to my knowledge they did not record another hard-funk album such as this, though the record does stumble on a couple of tracks. Many thanks to Analog again for the pointer. “If you wanna get into something you picked the right time”

06) The Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache: I just can’t think of a superlative… words don’t do justice. I heard this song recently while digging into the Rhino boxset One Kiss Can Lead to Another, a four-disc collection of girl groups of the 60s. I think this may well be my favourite song of all time and indeed, Sounds Like the Flirtations is a mesmerising collection of soul, though this track remains the highlight. WOW! “I got a lot of those heartaches, I got a lot of those tear drops, Heartaches, tear drops, all of the way, Nothing but a heartache every day!”

07) Died Pretty - Blue Sky Day: This track is taken from the Aussie band’s debut album, released in 1986, Free Dirt, which has a great mix of psychedelic sounds and Bob Dylan influences among the solid indie-rock vibe. “Your lovely eyes, could you tell that its all undone, you went for a while, everything has lost its fun”

08) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs: I’ve never been a massive fan of Arcade Fire I have to confess, with Neon Bible in particular leaving me scratching my head wondering what all the fuss was about. However, I listened to The Suburbs when it came out and there are moments I find enjoyable, maybe they’ll grow on me. I did take a particular liking to the title track. “Kids wanna be so hard, But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard”

09) Dave Sitek - With a Girl Like You: I used a track from Dave’s debut solo project, Maximum Balloon last time around but have always meant to put his contribution to the Dark Was the Night 4AD charity album. This is of course, a cover of the Troggs classic and does what you should do with a cover, change it drastically yet keeping a sense of the original, I love the horns in place of the backing vocals and Dave’s understated vocal. “Baby baby, is there no chance, I can take you for the last dance, All night long, yeah, I've been waiting, Now there'll be no hesitating”

10) Future Bible Heroes - I'm a Vampire: Here’s the Halloween track for the compilation, I have used Future Bible Heroes before but for the uninitiated it is a side project of Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields). There’s a documentary on Stephin coming out soon that I will have to see. “Dear, for whose victims I shed no tear, I am neither sweet nor sincere, And I'd rather drink blood than beer, Cause I'm a vampire”

11) Lee Dorsey - When the Bill's Paid: With the Meters as a backing band, Yes We Can (released in 1970) is a great mix of funk and soul, this track in particular features some impressive (though not surprising) bass playing by George Porter Jr. More of The Meters later. “I love you too girl, it’s outta sight, but put a little something’ in my pocket, you know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout, love is alright it’s really outta sight when the bill’s paid.”

12) Sam Dees - Claim Jumpin': Dees’ debut album, 1975’s The Show Must Go On appears to be another lost soul classic, though he has had some commercial success writing for other artists. Great vocals. “They’re stealin’ my love, right outta my hand”

13) The Meters - It Ain't No Use: Legends from New Orleans, The Meters were the house band for Sansu Enterprises, Allen Toussaint’s label. This track appears on the band’s 1974 album, Rejuvenation and is a 10-minute masterclass. “You've got me where you want me, Shackled to your love.”

14) Dan Sartain - Atheist Funeral: Another fairly new artist to me although the title of the song alone intrigued me and I was then hooked in with the rockabilly sound, Sartain hails from Birmingham, Alabama. “My girl, she’s one too, she don’t think, like they do. She don’t believe a word they say, so don’t you talk about god on our wedding day.”

15) The Fresh & Onlys - Who Needs a Man: This band had some positive reviews on the Black Cat Bone forum so I tracked down the album (Play It Strange) on Spotify. Undoubtedly inspired by the great garage bands of the 60s with a hint of 80s psychedelia. 

16) Q and not U - Hooray for Humans: I wanted to use this track on the last comp but ran out of room, another new band to me, this is on the 3-CD Dischord boxset. The band formed in 1998 and sadly called it quits in 2005. I love the fractured structure of this song and the quality of the musicianship. “No scissors in bed. Tired of waking up with a new haircut every morning”

17) Steven Wilson - Vapour Trail Lullaby: This is a newly released demo that was bundled with pre-orders of the recent PT DVD documentary Insurgentes. I recently saw PT’s Special evening with show at the Royal Albert Hall and it was a great show, though it’s a shame that PT have to bill a show as being particularly special when they are going to play a handful of older songs, that range of material should be the norm! I had to fade out around a minute before the end of the song for time constraints but you don’t miss much. “How does it feel without your drugs?”

18) Scout Niblett – Calcination: English-born Emma Louise Niblett creates, for the most part, fairly minimalistic and sparse songs, perfectly exampled here, taken from her 5th album, The Calcination of Scout Niblett, which was released this year (produced by Steve Albini). “Welcome, to my self-made sweat box.”

19) Lou Bond - Lucky Me: Another BCB discovery and yet another artist who seems to be tragically unknown, his self-titled and only album, released 1974, is a glorious mix of soul and folk, it’s an ambitious album that should really be celebrated more. “I’m free to chase the wind, free the paint the town, now that there’s no nuisance hanging around.”

Next compilation will as usual for the time of year, be a reflection of my favourite releases of the past 12-months (that I have heard at least!). The pictures on the cover are from my latest obsession - http://www.zooborns.com/ - AWWWWWW!

Peace and love
Until next time - Q

The mix is best enjoyed by burning the music to CD without 2 second gaps.

Download links:
Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/?wxunzfq5nfhs2ac
Megaupload: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6SL3FEWE