Click Me, He’s Irish – Rory Gallagher
Today’s selection comes courtesy of my friend Todd. The guy is bonkers about the late Rory Gallagher‘s music. I must admit that I never knowingly had any exposure to Rory’s music through all my years, until I met Todd. But in Rory’s home country of Ireland, he is considered one of the best of all time.
“Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being.” So began the series of tributes paid to Rory Gallagher – the outstanding pioneer of Irish rock – published by the Irish music newspaper HOTPRESS in July 1995. Rory Gallagher was an Irish blues and rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, on 2 March, 1948, he grew up in the city of Cork. Based in London during most of his 30 year career, he toured extensively, sold 30 million records, and had a worldwide following of loyal fans. He died in London at the early age of 47, on 14 June 1995, from complications following a liver transplant. Although he had suffered health problems for some time, he toured until falling seriously ill late in 1994. – from Rory Gallagher’s Home Page
I asked Todd for a good intro to Mr. Gallagher. He recommended “Million Miles Away”, a live track from ‘Irish Tour’, Rory’s 1974 concert album, digitally remastered in 1999. The songs is a great showcase of Rory’s talents on the Fender Stratocaster.
Who else out there is a Rory G. fan?
Buy ‘Irish Tour’ on Amazon.
Photo credit: “Rory Gallagher” by jlacpo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Amazing Bielanko Brothers – Marah
I first discovered Marah through a Steve Earle interview I read where he mentioned that “Let’s Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later Tonight”, their 1998 debut album, was one of his favorite albums of the year. He went on to sign them to his label, and they released 2000’s ‘Kids in Philly’. They are a fresh, no BS, bare bones rock n’ roll band, full of such innovative and imaginative lyrics, and on top of that, they rock out with a banjo. Dave and Serge Bielanko of Philadelphia are the masterminds behind Marah. They released ‘20,000 Streets under the Sky’ last year, another great release.
If you EVER get the chance to see these guys live, please do. I saw them twice in 2000: once opening for Steve Earle at House of Blues in Hollywood, and a few days later in a small sweat-soaked bar (Long Wong’s) in my then hometown of Tempe, AZ. It was about 200 friggin’ degrees in there, and I was drinking Hefe Weizen like it was lemonade, sitting 5 feet from the band. Certainly one of the most incredible live show experiences of my life. Some kind soul recorded the show and shared it with me so I can always go back and listen to my “WOOO!”s. They have a large following in Europe and tour extensively there, so keep your eyes open overseas as well. You won’t be disappointed.
So this is my favorite song from their debut. Listen, enjoy, and check out more of their music…
Listen: Marah – “Formula, Cola, Dollar Draft”
Buy: ‘Let’s Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later Tonight’ on Amazon
Site: Marah-USA.comPhoto credit: Pete – taken at Long Wong’s in Tempe, AZ (8-12-2000)
Getting High on Life w/ C.K. Mann
You’re in for a treat this evening / morning / afternoon. Some grooves get you from the very get go. I guarantee you that 3 seconds into this song by Ghana’s C.K. Mann, you’ll be shaking your booty faster than a fat lady being tasered on an episode of ‘Cops‘. Don’t worry, it’s very natural to have this reaction to this highlife-funk beat. This song is 30 years old, but sounds as fresh as ever. Thanks to Benn Loxo du Taccu for introducing me to it in December.
And now, brothers and sisters…..shake it!
Listen: C.K. M
ann & His Carousel 7 – “Asafo Beesuon” – from Funky Highlife
Buy: C.K.’s music.The Ghost of Gary Glitter
I’m not sure what old Gary Glitter is up to these days, last I heard he was in a bit of hot water over his collection of, shall we say, underage photographs. But his influence is still alive and well in these recent tunes by Goldfrapp and Louis XIV. That’s Ms. Goldfrapp above by the way. MUCH easier on the eyes than Mr. Glitter.
I don’t know too much about these two bands/artists, but I’ve heard these songs over the last month or so, and gotta say, it’s pretty catchy stuff. I have to attribute some of the catchiness to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 1 & 2”. For those who wondering what song that is, think of any sporting event you’ve been to (at least in the U.S), it’s the song they play after touchdowns, goals, home runs, etc. Da-da-da-da-da HEY da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-HEY!! – and so on. Does that clear it up for you?
Goldfrapp is the brainchild of Allison Goldfrapp of Bath, England. Electro-pop type of stuff. Louis XIV are from San Diego, CA, and appeal to me because of their wacky twisted brand of indie pop.
So tell me if you agree. Do these two tunes channel Mr. Glitter or what???
Listen: Illegal Tender
Buy: on Amazon
Web Site: Louis XIV Official SiteListen: Strict Machine
Buy: on Amazon
Web Site: Goldfrapp Official SitePhoto credit: Wikipedia
And you Don’t Stop with Afrika
Boing Boing had a cool post today about a web site full of late 70’s/ early 80’s hip hop fliers, which prompted me to immediately head for my record collection and pull out a 1985 12″ Afrika Bambaataa single, “Funk You”. It’s a few years removed from his earlier Soulsonic Force classic “Planet Rock”, but it’s still classic early rap.
Listen:
Afrikaa Bambaataa & Family – Funk You(wma) – – this is a WMA file, and doesn’t download normally from Firefox. I recommend right clickin’ and savin’ target as…
Buy: Afrika Bambaataa’s music on Amazon“Afrika Bambaataa in Bogota” by ArturoAlmanza is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Sadies and Mister Williams break it on down
If you have a spare 6 minutes and 32 seconds, listen to
this snippetfrom NPR’s American Routes. It’s a short interview with the Canadian band the Sadies (with some clips of their tunes).The Sadies are a mix of bluegrass, country, surf and garage rock, among others…here’s a taste:
Buy: The Sadies on Amazon
One thing they talk about in the interview is their collaboration with Andre Williams, an R&B pioneer from Detroit. This man has been around since the 50’s, and it would take me all day to talk about the things he’s done, so read here for his bio. But basically, Andre had some serious drug issues in the 80’s & 90’s and ended up living on the streets. He cleaned himself up though, and has been releasing albums again with the likes of the Sadies, and a couple of guys from the Demolition Doll Rods. Now, Mick Collins and Dan Kroha are the two fellows from the DDR’s, and they wrote everything on Andre’s 1998 release, ‘Silky’ (along with Andre), including this cool rollicking surf shuffle….
Ohh, you’re gonna like this.
Buy: Silky
Photo credit: https://www.thesadies.net/gallery
Discovering Kaki King
Has anyone checked out Kaki King? Kaki is a young guitar virtuoso, who counts Michael Hedges and Alex de Grassi among her biggest influences. I saw her video last night (“Playing with Pink Noise”), and was impressed. She plays guitar in an unconventional over the fret style, and taps the fret like a percussive instrument. She has a laid back and cool demeanor that’s just fun to watch. She kicks back while her fingers are flying all up and down her fret. Check out her web site to see the full video for “Playing with Pink Noise”.
Check this tune out. Starts off innocent enough, but she achieves lift-off soon enough. Cool stuff.
Listen:
Kaki King – Close Your Eyes and You’ll Burst Into Flames(mp3)
Buy: Everybody Loves YouPhoto Credit: “Kaki King” by jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Gettin’ Magnetic on ya…
Another band I’ve come across recently in my ever-expanding tastes for indie pop/rock is Magnetic Fields. Yes, friends, the picture above is a magnetic field (from the NASA web site). Their All Music bio lays out that Magnetic Fields is essentially comprised of one fellow, “studio wunderkind” Stephen Merritt. This song strikes me as beautiful, simple and odd (sort of like the picture). See if you agree.
Buy: I (All songs on this album begin with I)
Official Site: House of TomorrowPhoto credit: “Magnetic Field Lines on the Sun” by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Freaky and Clandestine: It’s Double Oh-Oh
I finally got my turntable and computer talking to eachother again, so I’m finally able to bring you some of my choice LP cuts! I bet you’re really excited.
One of the first albums I pulled out today was George Clinton‘s 2nd solo album, ‘Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends’, which came out in 1985 (during my Prince-inspired funk discovery days as a teenager). My favorite on the album is the opener, “Double Oh-Oh”, about a super sexy secret agent. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be jumping around chanting “UH! This is for my country…UH! This is for me!” by the end of the song. I’ll try to get more tracks from this album out. A couple of them are written and produced (and partly performed) by Thomas Dolby. A cool album, lots of drum machines and synths, but hey it was 1985, and being a Prince fanatic, this was right up my alley.
Buy: Some of My best Jokes are Friends
Official Web Site: georgeclinton.comWe’re Gettin’ Root Down
Since I just took off the Jimmy Smith track from last week, I feel obligated to include another JS gem. As I mentioned before, I didn’t find out about the greatness of Jimmy Smith until last year.
Little did I know, I was grooving to Jimmy’s organ when I didn’t even know it, on the Beastie Boys’ “Root Down”. If I had any sense, I would’ve tracked down the originator of that groove when I was listening to it in the mid 90’s. *slap across the face*
Well, it’s no surprise that the original absolutely destroys the Beasties’ take on it (and I do LOVE the Beasties’ version). But man, that beat (and the way it starts, cascading into that sick groove), that rhythm, the sweet low down Hammond… Sheesh.
Buy: Root Down
Photo credit: Hammondite, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
