Q#100 - February - March 2015

Please note that the zip file has a password: Q100

Download mix from: https://www.mediafire.com/?csk4s0ue4luemxt

Q’s Compilations

Volume #100 February – March 2015

Well this is number 100… the first in this series was September 2002, and the first 50-or-so mixes were monthly rather than once every two months! Not quite sure how I managed to keep that up so long, but here we are. I guess I wanted to do something commemorative for it, and this is basically a collection of my very favourite songs, things that make me tick and get to the very essence of my passion for music. Of course, no amount of tinkering could actually make me happy with the end result because you worry about things left off, but as a snapshot, this is probably as good as I could have done.

01) Rush - Bastille Day (live): In an ideal world I’d just throw on 2112, but real estate is limited to 80-minutes on these mixes and time constraints do play a major part. This version is taken from the third disc of Different Stages: Live, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1978 (my Dad was actually at this show). While it’s not Geddy’s strongest vocal, there’s something about the performance and the amps seem turned up a notch from previous years. Is there a better way to open a gig than with this riff?

02) The Posies - Definite Door: Frosting on the Beater is quite possibly the best power-pop album ever made, and that’s a bold statement, but almost every song is hit after hit (not commercially speaking!). I first heard this song on a mix a friend made for me, which really just goes to show the worth of doing these things. I can only hope I’ve introduced one band to someone who went on the love them as much as I love The Posies. Thanks Andy. “Better cross your heart, make it people proof”

03) TV On the Radio - The Wrong Way: I remember reading about Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes from a magazine called Plan B (I bought it because Stephin Merrit was on the front cover), and the description was such that I just had to hear it. TV On the Radio were probably the first band of the new millennium that I got incredibly excited about… and they opened the door to a passion for new music in general. I became a fan just before the record came out but somehow missed them in Oxford by about a week. I actually spoke to Kyp Malone in New York shortly after I moved here and he thanked me for not being at that show as they almost broke up as a result of it, he said it was that bad! I doubt that, I’d have still wanted to be there!

04) The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache: The question of “what is my favourite song of all time?” has had an easy answer for the last few years, it’s this one. It’s just absolutely perfect, from the lead and vocal harmonies, the horns and don’t forget the incredible bass! They never bettered this song, or even really came close, but that’s ok when you give something this fantastic to the world.

05) Otis Redding - Security: Thinking of an Otis song to use was one of the hardest tasks for this mix. In the end I went with the classic Security, it swings and Otis’ vocals have that clear emotion that few could rival. Overall, I prefer the intensity of the live material, with In Person at the Whisky a must for any home in my opinion, but one of my most treasured possessions is my Definitive Otis Redding 4-CD box set.

06) Big Star - September Gurls: I’d probably put this forward as the most beautiful sounding song of all time, those guitars alone make my bleary-eyed every time I hear them, I’m struggling to even write about this because I just want to put this on repeat. In fact, stop doing what you’re doing and buy Radio City, assuming you’ve been leading an empty existence to this point and down have it already. That wooo-ooohhh at 2:20 kills me every time. “I loved you, well, never mind, I've been crying all the time”

07) Nada Surf - Always Love: I tend to think or Del Amitri and Rush as my default favourite/most important band but that order should probably go to Nada Surf. They were the first band I felt like I had discovered on my own, hearing Popular in the UK when it came out, where it wasn’t the hit it was in the US, going out and buying the record with what little money I had as a teenager and just pouring all over it. They’ve always felt like my band more than any other. I also think Matthew Caws is a criminally underrated lyricist. “To make a mountain of your life, Is just a choice, But I never learned enough, To listen to the voice that told me, Always love, Hate will get you every time, Always love. Don't wait til the finish line”

08) XTC - The Mayor of Simpleton: As an Oxford boy it’s hard to admit that anything from Swindon is of worth to humanity. However, XTC have contributed some of the finest pop-rock songs, this song appeals to my pathetic, hopelessly romantic side. “Well I don't know how to tell the weight of the sun, And of mathematics well I want none, And I may be the Mayor of Simpleton, But I know one thing, And that's I love you.”

09) REM - Fall On Me: The first song I ever liked was Man on the Moon, you could say I was a bit of a latecomer to music, I’d have been 10 I think when that song came out, but I put that down to pop-music in the 80s being a bit naff. REM are probably the only band I find it hard to be objective about, I just love everything (apart from Around the Sun, which is really a damp squib). If I had to pick a favourite album it may well be Life’s Rich Pageant, and this song just has all the ingredients that made them a fantastic band.  

10) Radiohead - Let Down: Oxford’s greatest export, the one-two punch they delivered with The Bends and OK Computer is surely up there with the best. I remember the weeks leading up to the release of OK Computer there was such incredible excitement, it seemed like an event that certainly no-one has come close to since (at least not locally). Picking Let Down for this mix probably just shows how much of a miserably bugger I am, but I do often find the saddest songs to be the most beautiful.  “Let down and hanging around. Crushed like a bug in the ground”

11) Red House Painters - Summer Dress: My first exposure to Mark Kozelek was hearing Have You Forgotten on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack, and I might have put that version on if I had the time, but I swiftly picked up the 2-cd Retrospective that 4-AD put out, it actually took a few listens for it to get under my skin, but now I’m firmly one of those ugly dude obsessives that Koz writes about so often!

12) Tim Buckley - Song to the Siren (Live - Monkees TV Show): This song, and this version in particular, might be the most significant of my life, it captured a certain time so perfectly and painfully. A love that seemed unobtainable. I haven’t listened to it in a while and now it just makes me feel sad. I really should have also found the time to fit Jeff Buckley on this mix as well… “Did I dream you dreamed about me?Were you hare when I was fox? Now my foolish boat is leaning, Broken lovelorn on your rocks”

13) Del Amitri - Nothing Ever Happens: My love of Del Amitri is completely unapologetic, and they are probably the least cool band to have ever existed. They were my first absolute and complete obsession. I’m still slightly amazed I got to interview Justin Currie last year: http://freewilliamsburg.com/interview-justin-currie/ and I’ll just copy and paste something I wrote from that piece: “There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Justin Currie’s ability to write moving lyrics for the lonely, heartbroken, misanthropic and disenfranchised; sprinkled with just enough hope for us all to carry on.” This song also features the greatest lyric ever written “Computer terminals report some gains in the values of copper and tin, While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs for the price of a hospital wing”

14) The Flaming Lips - Do You Realise?: I think this song captures mortality better than any other, with an unbridled realism and beauty. The Oklahomans also put on some of the best shows I have ever seen as well, but their studio output doesn’t really get the credit it deserves IMO.

15) Guided By Voices - Glad Girls: Bob Pollard is one of the most prolific artists around, to the point where he has released a lot of average material, but when Guided By Voices get it right, and they frequently do, the results are spectacular. This song shouldn’t really seem that special, but it never fails to get my pulse racing and want to jump around. While it probably isn’t a shared opinion, if I really had to pick a favourite GBV album it probably is Isolation Drills.  

16) The Church - The Unguarded Moment: In a 35-year career, have these Aussies ever released a bad album? I’m not sure (I can’t claim to have all 17), but they also lay claim to this song, which I first heard on the Children of Nuggets boxset, and I think as a result, I do prefer this single-edit as opposed to the album version.

17) Porcupine Tree – Synesthesia: I very, very rarely listen to PT these days, whose run from Up the Downstair until In Absentia (6 albums between 1993-2002) is amongst my most loved of any band. This version is from the original 1993 release, with electronic drums, which I much prefer. The album got a re-issue a few years ago with real drums but it just doesn’t work for me.

18) Ann Peebles - Trouble, Heartache & Sadness: As I was making this mix I was starting to realise how little soul I had on here, which is definitely a mistake… fortunately after a bit of fine-tuning I managed to squeeze on this lovely Ann Peebles tune. Straight from the Heart is my favourite soul record, despite the annoying trait to fade out every single song before the 3-minute mark. I never understood why Quentin Tarantino never used this in a film. “Heartache, stop knockin' at my window, I don't wanna hear what you have to say, You can go down your list of trouble, And be on your merry way”

19) Max Richter - On the Nature of Daylight: I’ll end this mix with a couple of classical pieces, the first is by Max Richter, which is fairly well known and has been used in at least a couple of movies (Stranger than Fiction and Shutter Island spring to mind), but The Blue Notebooks is a lovely collection as it is.

20) Arvo Pärt - Spiegel Im Spiegel: You might need to turn the volume up a little on this one, but I couldn’t not include my favourite piece of music of all time, and it seemed like the right thing to end with. There are many versions of this piece but by far and away the best are on Alina. I can barely get through this without feeling overwhelmed, it’s just the very best of the best. Spiegel Im Spiegel means Mirror in the Mirror in German, and the music is in the tintinnabular style, that Part basically created.

This mix probably describes me as a person better than I can with words. I love every track dearly, and I hope at least one person discovers a new favourite, or at least makes them think about a song they love to the very core of their being. Sometimes it feels like the only thing we have.

Until next time, probably not another 100, but who knows…

Peace and love - Q 

Q#86 – October – November 2012

Note that the zip file has a password: Q86

 All files available at this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?5afxxso19rf8kkv

Q’s Compilations

Volume #86 – October – November 2012

Greetings! This is my Soul mix, a sort-of companion to the funk mix of Q#76, it is not meant as a “best of” or any kind of definitive selection, but is a rough guide to the genre and a nice contrast of established greats and obscurity. Regardless, it does contain some of my very favourites and while there are some obvious omissions, I think it’s an excellent compilation. I write these notes in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, feeling fortunate and grateful that I didn’t lose power or worse, as so many have.

01) Otis Redding - I Can't Turn You Loose (live): Otis was one of the greats and of course, should need no introduction. My favourite of his releases is the In Person at the Whisky A Go Go live album, recorded in 1966 on the sunset strip in LA (released in 68). The record is a whirlwhind experience, this is the first track on the record and Redding already sounds like he’s poured an incredible amount of energy into it. I love all the false endings too.

02) The Flirtations - Nothing but a Heartache: I have used this on a previous Q-Comp (#74), but it is probably my favourite song of all time and had to make another appearance for the purpose of this mix. There’s some great bass work going on here that is often missed.

03) Ann Peebles - What You Laid On Me: Along with Otis Redding’s In Person at the Whisky A Go Go, Peeble’s 1972 album Straight From the Heart is my favourite soul album. I’ve used a couple of cuts on previous comps, of course. The only blemish on an otherwise flawless record is the insistence to fade all the tracks out during the outro, it wouldn’t have hurt to let some songs end a bit more naturally! Again, check out the bass work on this track, beautiful.

04) Betty Harris - Mean Man: Harris made an appearance on my funk mix thanks to the delightful Break in the Road, which featured The Meters, but for the most part her recorded output is straight-up soul. This is probably her best song.

05) The O'Jays - For the Love of Money: Another band that featured on the funk mix, The O’Jays straddled both soul and funk as well as anyone, and I couldn’t completely leave funk unrepresented on a soul mix. This is on the Ship Ahoy (1973) record.

06) The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack: Another funky number, The Temptations are best known for their early period hits like the timeless My Girl, but after frontman David Ruffin left and was replaced by Dennis Edwards, they went through a style change from R&B motown numbers to a harder and trippy sound. This is an extended version of the song which was previously unreleased until the Psychedelic Soul compilation, an essential 2-CD collection if you like this. 

07) Lee Dorsey – Roverboat: Backed by The Meters, Dorsey’s 1970 Yes We Can album is an effortlessly varied record. Riverboat features a psychedelic groove which just flows over the whole song, sadly it’s over before you know it.

08) Black Merda - For You: This band were a rather shocking omission from the funk mix, so I had to make sure they made an appearance on this one. Considered to be the first all-black rock band, this track shows their soulful side, which opens their second album, Long Burn the Fire, originally released in 1972.

09) Curtis Mayfield - Keep On Keeping On: Another artist that needs no introduction, most people reach for the outstanding self-titled debut or Superfly, but Roots, released in 1971 (snuggled nicely between the debut and Superfly…) is up there with anything he released.

10) Sam Dees - Child of the Streets: Ask anyone who loves soul about Sam Dees and it’s likely they will wax lyrical about 1975’s The Show Must Go On, but he remains an obscurity to everyone else, mustering a depressing 5000 listeners on last,fm. I used Claim Jumpin’ on a previous mix, the album is hard to find so you’ll probably have to make do with a download, it really deserves a proper re-issue.

11) Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, & Durr - You're All I Need to Make It: Led by Virgil Johnson’s distinctive vocal, this group sadly recorded very little, a paltry two 7” records on the capsoul label in 1971/72. This will divide fans who prefer their soul more gritty, but it really is a gorgeous song.

12) Irma Thomas - Turn My World Around: The queen of New Orleans soul, I’ve already featured two other songs from the resplendent 1973 release, In Between Tears, on previous mixes. Once again, pay attention to the bass!

13) The Four Mints - Row My Boat: Another forgotten gem in the soul world is The Four Mints’ Gently Down Your Stream album (another from 1973), which had no less than four strong candidates for this mix. Those who don’t really “do” smoother-soul would do well to give this a fair crack of the whip, there is a lot going on and it really gets under your skin.

14) The Charmels - As Long As I've Got You: The other track on this mix that I have used before (Q#79), I just love it too much to have left it off, and a bit like The Flirtations, there isn’t a song by the group that is near as good to have used instead. Another group who recorded a handful of songs then disappeared, this song was released on Stax in 1967 but has since garnered a cult following thanks to the Wu-Tang Clan, who sampled it.

15) Al Green - Tired of Being Alone: Another big hitter but I figure most casual listeners probably only know Let’s Stay Together thanks to Pulp Fiction (although, granted, this song did make #293 in Rolling Stone’s top 500 songs of all time). I’m not a huge Green listener, it gets a bit too smooth after a while but in small doses he’s as good as anyone and this 1971 single can’t help but induce an embarrassing sway from this particular listener.

16) Little Anthony and the Imperials - Goin' Out of My Head: Forming in the 50s, the group had a hit with their first release, Tears On My Pillow, after a few lineup changes, including Little Anthony pursuing a solo career, the group got back together and released this track in 1964. You’ll probably recognise the song, given that it’s been covered by a staggering number of artists (just find the wiki entry for this song).

17) The Web - The Same Old Me: Compilation and re-issue specialist label Numero released Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up in 2005, a wonderful mix of releases from Belize between 1960 and 1980. The compilation leans more towards reggae but includes this absolute gem of a tune, although perhaps part of the reason this song sits apart from the rest is that The Web moved away from Belize to the US.

18) Baby Huey - Listen to Me: Baby Huey is one of those “almost was…” stories, great voice, tight backing band, signed to Curtis Mayfield’s label, he should have been huge. He was huge, of course, physically, plagued with a glandular problem that kept his weight around the 400 pound mark, which contributed (as well as substance abuse) to his death in 1970 after a heart attack. The album was released after his death and is a bit of a patchwork attempt to fill some gaps to make an albums worth of material, which ends up giving the album a very uneven feel. We’ll never know what might have been released had he been healthy. Taken in isolation though, this song is more than worthy of being on the mix.

19) Eddie Finley And Cincinatti Show Band - Treat Me Right: Information about this group is hard to come by, but they are featured on the recently released Loving on the Flipside on Nowagain records, which I was going to buy, but the next time I went into Other Music they had sold all their copies, will try to get it later. The bass and guitar interplay on this song, coupled with Eddie’s gut-wrenching vocal is an absolute winner.

20) Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up in Flames): Part of Daptone’s revivalist label, you could be forgiven for thinking this is from the 70s, but is in fact a single release from 2007 (and featured on his debut album released in 2011, No Time for Dreaming).

21) Black Nasty - It's Not the World: Ending the mix with another relatively obscure but wonderful band, Talking to the People was released on Stax in 1973, but yielded little success, the fine mix of funk, soul and rock should have been a winning formula.

I hope this compilation has been of use, particularly for those that don’t generally listen to the genre. It was a lot of fun to put together, and I needed to put a compilation together a little earlier in the month than normal as I’m heading back home for a few weeks and didn’t want to have to worry about hitting my deadline.

Until next time

Peace and love - Q 

Q#78 - June to July 2011

Please note the zip file has a password: Q78

Download link - http://www.mediafire.com/?vv28ofslxs4c2w3

Q’s Compilations – Vol 78 – June to July 2011.

Hello! It is summer, isn’t it? Having a mad time still preparing for my visa to move to the US (interview on the 4^th, which is the last stage before point of entry), just put our house on the market for rental and then we have the simple task of finding somewhere to live in New York… I’ve also started more general blog at http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/ so please check it out if you have some time.

Anyway, this may be the last compilation I put together before the move, depends what happens. I’m running a bit late with it so the notes may be rushed, so let’s crack on with the music…

01) Fred Schneider – Whip: Produced by Steve Albini, Just Fred… is his second solo album and was released in 1996 and is full of all the abrasive and edgy guitar rock you would associate with Albini, perhaps not from the B-52s frontman himself. It’s a wonderful record though and if this doesn’t get your blood pumping them I’m not sure what will. “Your gravity keeps pulling me near, And then 40 lashes, 40 lashes from your eyes”

02) The Sorry Kisses – Sunstorms: I heard this song on 6music recently and thought it was a great slab of sugar-coated indie rock, I’m just a sucker for this kind of sound. This is from the recently released Keep Smiling album, their third album to date. “Spit in the face of those who deny, the world is bigger than you or I“

03) Beastie Boys - Say It: The Beasties finally released Hot Sauce Committee, following Adam Yauch’s cancer diagnosis in 2009 it’s great to see things moving along for the group. The album ticks all the Beastie boxes and should be a joy for any fan, not sure it will make any new ones but then you’ll know if you like them by now! “you could keep em out of service and your a complainer, you bust your ass jones like you slipped on a banana”

04) The Damned – Ignite: No particular reason but I just fancied putting this song on a mix but there’s never a bad time to throw on a Damned tune. From the Strawberries album. “My heart is beat beat beating ,like a drum, The night is in my veins we’re gonna,have some fun tonight“

05) Okkervil River - The Valley: It’s been three years since The Stand Ins and six years since their best effort Black Sheep Boy (though not to forget 2007’s The Stage Names), I Am Very Far is the band’s best effort since Black Sheep Boy in my opinion, some have said it sounds a lot like Arcade Fire but to be honest I see it as a natural progression of their own. Besides, Okkervil River have always written better songs anyway. “I hear a breeze that wheezes through the tips of the pines, where there's laughter and screaming to the rafters in the night.”

06) Meat Puppets – Orange: Lollipop is perhaps a sideways step rather than a progression from 2009’s Sewn Together which had a bit more of a confident swagger to it. The songs are a bit more sterile though this could be down to the slightly lighter tone in production, regardless of that it’s still a worthy addition to the Pups cannon. “Well, got a history. Well, got a force field. Well, want a future. Well, got a mystery.”

07) The Posies - The Glitter Prize: Released in 2010, Blood Candy comes 5 years since previous album Every Kind of Light (though that was 7 years after Success so they are becoming more prolific!) and is a much more dynamic album though it does not reach the heights of their best work like Frosting on the Beater. “it’s starting to snow, And I wanna know when it covers the ground, So send me a message, show me a sign, Radiate in time to the shimmering sound”

08) Bob Dylan - Lonesome Day Blues: Bob recently hit his 70^th birthday so I asked on Facebook what song I should put on my next mix (from what I had) and this song had the most votes. I don’t normally listen to Love and Theft, admittedly, I usually grab for Time out of Mind if I’m in the mood for more modern (comparatively…) Bob (Lovesick could be my favourite Dylan song). This is one of his more bluesy numbers, a genre I don’t tend to care for in general but it’s nice to throw in the odd curveball once in a while. “Leaves are rustlin’ in the wood—things are fallin’ off the shelf, You gonna need my help, sweetheart, You can’t make love all by yourself”

09) The Maytals - Night and Day: And here’s another curveball for you all, I’ve always said that reggae can suffer from the same problems as blues, in that if you listen to too much at once they can start to sound a bit samey. But I think it’s easier to scratch under the surface of reggae and unearth some real gems and my main source for such diversion is the Soul Jazz 100-500% Dynamite series. The Maytals influence cannot be exaggerated, of course.

10) The Impressions - My Deceiving Heart: My birthday was on the 13^th of June and one gift I received was This is My Country / The Young Mods Forgotten Story two-albums-on-one-cd package, I’m a big fan of Curtis Mayfield but didn’t really know all that much by The Impressions. Both records are incredible, this song is from Young Mods… and is just about as good as it gets.

11) Ann Peebles - Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness: Ann has been an amazing discovery for me over the last year and in particularly the album Straight from the Heart, I’m amazed this song hasn’t turned up in a Tarantino movie. “old man trouble Stop knockin’ at my door, You used to be a good friend of mine, Let me tell you hang around me no more”

12) PJ Harvey - All and Everyone: Let England Shake is yet another fine release from Polly and is another left-turn in terms of style, while some of the album retains the more ethereal vibe of White Chalk the overall sound and execution is vastly different. She still remains the best live singer I’ve seen. “Death was in the ancient fortress, shelled by a million bullets from gunners, waiting in the copses with hearts that threatened to pop their boxes, as we advanced into the sun death was all and everyone.”

13) Slowdive – Rutti: I’d wanted to put this song on a compilation for years but kept having to drop it for either time constraints or just vibe, this time I was not deterred, however. Pygmalion was released in 1995 and turned out to be the final Slowdive album. I love the slow build up and all the dreamy sounds.

14) Henryk Gorecki - Sostenuto Tranquillo Ma Cantabile: A recent online discussion on classical music led me to Symphony No 3, which absolutely blew me away. I’d heard some of it without realising it since it’s used as background music for a documentary I watched about Auschwitz (just some light entertainment a while back…) but it was the first movement which really had a profound effect on this listener. It’s a slow build up and I realise it might not tickle many taste buds for those that download this but give it a go.

As usual I hope there’s something for everyone on here, please do give me feedback as I so rarely hear anything.

Peace and Love, see you on the other side

Until Next Time

Q