Various Artists: Justice Is Our Conviction

front

State Injustice 1989.  SIJ 1

Discogs

This is a very rare, but sadly not valuable benefit album released as a fund raiser for Martin Foran who was one of many victims of the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, now thankfully disbanded.  Foran finally had his conviction overturned earlier this year, which seemed  too little too late.

It’s a rather odd mix of tracks – from the thrashy indiepop of the Mega City Four through two obscure Welsh language punk bands, an early Shamen exclusive and the majestic Dub Syndicate, here appearing with the silky voiced Bim Sherman.  There’s even some poetry from the ever reliable Brummy Benjamin Zephaniah.  As you might imagine, it’s not the most coherent of albums.  I guess inclusion relied more on support for the cause than anything else.  Despite that, much of the material here is worthwhile, and as far as I can tell, unique to this release.

The Shamen: Drop

Folder

Moksha 1987.  SOMACD1

Discogs

Luke Marshall wanted to hear this, which seemed like a good enough reason to dig it out.

If you’re only familiar with the Shamen’s drug soaked dance records, this psychedelic pop album, their debut, might come as a bit of a surprise.  It’s still recognisably them, mainly because of the vocals, but the style is very different.

It’s a strong album – the song writing is very good and they pull off the retro psychedelic sound with aplomb.  Vocal harmonies, mad guitar effects; it’s all there and remarkably well played for a debut album.  It also hangs together pretty well as a coherent whole.

New Fast Automatic Daffodils: Get Better

front

Play It Again Sam 1991.  BIAS 193-7

Discogs

I haven’t had much time lately to do vinyl rips, hence the spate of singles.

I played this recently on a whim and realised that it’s a different version of the track to the one on the Pigeonhole album, and unlike the album version, it’s produced by the legendary Martin Hamnett of Factory fame.  Oddly the B side, Pigeonhole, doesn’t appear on the Pigeonhole album.

While I prefer their later, darker material, this single is still excellent.  It has the usual choppy guitar work, interesting rhythm section and great songwriting.  This version has a great freeform guitar solo based more on feedback than anything else.

Unfortunately I only have the tightwad 7″ of this.  If anyone can let me have a lossless rip of the CD version I’d be grateful – it has a couple of extra tracks I’ve never heard.

The Fall: Bury 2 + 4

front

Domino 2010.  Rug 363

Discogs

This is a Record Store Day release, and has two alternate versions of tracks from the Fall’s album Your Future Our Clutter.  The cover and labels don’t agree on the track listing, but the A side is a variant of Bury!, the B side of Cowboy George.

It’s a storming single – both tracks really rock with great guitar riffs.  Bury! is about the grim northern town of Bury, not the act of putting something in a hole in the ground.  No idea what the B side is about though.

The Pooh Sticks: Multiple Orgasm

front

Fierce 1991.  Fright 047

Discogs

By the time this came out I’d got very bored of the Pooh Sticks, but this was in a bargain bin, and against my better judgement, I bought it.  It’s actually an expanded re-issue of Orgasm, with a bunch of studio tracks appended to the original release.

Side 1, supposedly recorded live includes most of their early tracks.  Surprisingly they’re the most proficient and well recorded versions of these songs, so my purchase wasn’t quite as ill advised as I thought.  Of course when I say proficient, I mean proficient by Pooh Sticks standards, so don’t expect too much.

Side 2’s studio recordings are a bit of a mess, and follow Fierce’s weird penchant for mono recordings.

The Shamen Vs Bam Bam: Transcendental

Folder

Desire Records 1988.  WANTX10

Discogs

I’ve just spent a relaxing hour listening to Working Week’s debut album, and was going to post it here, but it’s just been re-issued, so you’ll just have to buy it yourselves.  Instead here’s a 12″ I’ve always been rather fond of.

The Shamen earned their place in music history by their performance of Ebeneezer Goode on Top Of The Pops.  As a record it was just annoying, but I remember howling with laughter when I saw them bellowing “E’s Are Good” on prime time family TV and getting away with it.  However there’s much more to the Shamen than annoying records and BBC censor baiting; their earlier material is musically and lyrically really interesting.  The original version of this track appeared on what I think is their best album, In Gorbachev We Trust, but this version has been revamped for dancefloor duties by Bam Bam.  It contains all the usual unsubtle drug references, which are particularly appropriate on an acid house track.  OK, it’s rather dated, but it has a great synth riff and is still groovy enough to inspire a bit of dad dancing around my man cave.

There will be more Shamen material later, when I’ve checked out how much of it is now unavailable.

The Flying Lizards: Money

R-2186521-1283073491

Virgin 1979.  VS276

Discogs

I bought this when I was 13.  Back then I didn’t have much access to music – just the old records my Mum had and chart stuff.  I hadn’t figured out there was good stuff on the radio if you knew when to listen.  On the way home from school, I had to change buses outside Woolworths, which of course was never a good place to find interesting music, but they had a very well stocked and generously discounted bargain bin, so it was one of the few places I could actually afford to buy anything.  They were blessed with a terminally incompetent buying department, so they were forever getting stock of stuff no-one record shopping in Woolworths would ever want to buy – and then have to almost give it away to shift it.  Unfortunately in 1979 I didn’t know enough about music to spot these gems, so ended up with the the quirkier end of what had been in the charts recently.

This single still has the Woolworths price ticket on the cover – 20p.  I kind of liked it then, but I like it a lot more now.  It’s an extremely deadpan electronic cover of the RnR classic, Money.  Back then I didn’t even know it was a cover version – maybe I enjoy it more now I understand how it sends up the original.  I love the primitive electronics, the snooty vocals, the bonkers effects which don’t really fit with the music, and how the whole thing, especially the lyrics, somehow fits.  The B side is even better – an insane dub version.  Dub versions get done to death these days, but back in 1979, it was a pretty radical thing to do, especially to an electronic record.  The Flying Lizards did more dub experimentation in the 90s which I’ll post later.  In a way though this single, their second, started a rather dull period for the Flying Lizards.  Money was an unexpected hit, so they felt obliged to churn out endless similar covers of classic songs.  It got old very quickly.

The Loft: Up The Hill And Down The Slope

front

Creation 1985.  CRE015T

Discogs

The Loft were Peter Astor’s first band, and this, their second and final single was a highlight of Creation’s early years.  Actually, strictly speaking it wasn’t their last single, because oddly they released another one in 2006 on Static Caravan.  The title track has actually appeared here before on the Creation Flowers In The Sky compilation, but the remaining three tracks haven’t.  The last track is something of a surprise – it’s a Richard Hell and the Voidoids cover which works better than you’d think.

Astor went on to form the Weather Prophets after the on-stage demise of The Loft, who have also appeared here several times, and he also recorded for Creation as a solo artist.

I’ve never been able to see much distinction between this band and the Weather Prophets, other than the line-up of course.  Both produced some of the best indiepop of the 80s, and this single regularly makes it onto those tedious journo “best of” lists.

Unusually for Creation, this single sounds pretty good.  It’s well recorded and pressed.  I guess Alan McGee was less wasted this early in the label’s history.

Trouble Funk: In Times Of Trouble

front

TTED 1984.  TSR 230101

Discogs

A while ago I posted my only Trouble Funk LP, and I so enjoyed listening to it again, that I’ve bought some more.

This was their second album, and it’s a bit of a monster.  It’s actually a double, half studio, half live.

The studio album is a little uneven; when they’re playing the funk they’re known for it’s fantastic, but there are a couple of slower tracks (especially Share Your Love) which are pretty dire.  They must have run out of material too, because the album closes with both a vocal and an instrumental version of the same track – it’s decent enough, but we really don’t need to hear it twice.

It’s the live album though which really makes this worthwhile and you soon forget about the shortcomings of the studio LP.  A stellar performance in their Washington DC home town, they never put a foot wrong for the whole 30 minutes or so.  Apparently this is their best album, and I’m not surprised; it’s easy to hear that they only came alive in front of an enthusiastic audience.  This is big band funk at its best – it’s such a shame the band were swept away by Hip-Hop.

The live album has no track listing on my copy (which is a German pressing).  The cover and labels just show part 1 and part 2 on sides one and two respectively, but the vinyl itself has two tracks on side 2 with a silent gap in between, so I’ve ripped it in three parts.  There are plenty of sources online for the tracklisting on this disc, all identical, but I’m not convinced they’re accurate (because Let’s Get Small  features on the disc but isn’t listed).  Here it is all the same:

Part 1 :
A groove
That’s what we’re
Talking about
Take it to the bridge
Grip it

Part 2 :
Double Trouble
4th gear
Give me a quick one
Sleep on it

The cover looks like something from one of those “worst of” lists the internet is full of.  These guys shouldn’t be allowed into barber’s shops unaccompanied.  The inner of the gatefold sleeve is also hilarious:

middle

Turbines: Last Dance Before Highway

front

Big Time 1985.  BTA007

Discogs

It don’t mean a thang if it ain’t got that twang, as Peel used to say before he played this band, or indeed anyone else who’d been overdosing on Duane Eddy.  This album has the most spectacularly twangy guitar sound of anything I own, and it’s really only that which makes this album such a great listen.  The material is decent rock n roll, mostly originals but with a couple of covers (Highway 51 was also covered by Dylan on his first album), but it’s the amazing guitar work which elevates this above the ordinary.

I know nothing at all about the Turbines, and this is all I have by them.  However a bit of googling turned up a weird co-incidence.  The album is produced by Fred Gianelli, who went on to make this single with Psychic TV.  I think it’s him on the cover too.  Don’t hold that against this album though – it’s properly good.