In The Garden

Today's challenge: name a prettier 60s tune than Triste Janero's airy, jazz-flecked"In The Garden":

...I knew you couldn't!  With a honeyed tone pitched midway between Tracey Thorn's and Debsey Wykes's, my heart was always going to flip for Barbara Baines's voice.  Original White Whale issue copies in Not Unloved friendly condition go for around the 50 pound mark so I had to plump for a second hand copy of the Jazzman reissue which coupled it with the nowhere near as lovable "Baby True" by Gettysburg Address and was mine for a much more modest 2 pounds*.  Joe Foster's Rev-ola reissued the group's "Meet..." lp on cd a few years ago (although it doesn't appear in this discography, for some reason).  I saw it in Monorail but somehow it never quite rose to the top of my lust list so I don't own it.  I'll rectify that someday, I'm sure.

Read more about Triste Janero here

* - It was actually the second time I'd bought it. Unfortunately, however, the first copy was lost in the post - just one of the many drawbacks of buying records mailorder.

September Girls (again!)

Magic multiplies when it comes into contact with vinyl so I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of some September Girls vinyl after enjoying them so much on tape and cd-r. Both are fine formats, of course, but somehow neither has vinyl's mysterious power to multiply.  "Green Eyed" b/w "Danny Wood" is nearly here - it's out on 22nd October - and it's as bold and dramatic as it is pretty.  With a melody of pure end of summer sadness swept along by a powerful fuzz undertow it's the kind of song you don't tell people about so much as evangelise about - really, I'm only 3 plays away from having a sandwich board made, booking a week off work and parading up and down Argyle Street to make the people of Glasgow sit up and take notice of September Girls.  It also just happens to be book-ended by just about the most resplendent guitar nugget I've heard in 2012; just too much.  The accompanying video is worth a spin, too:

Almost makes you nostalgic for pre-smoking ban gigs.  And those sections with the overlaid faces, Loop and Spacemen 3 woulda walked over hot coals for visuals that cool.

Delores Hall "Good Lovin' Man"

There could be hard times ahead so Not Unloved is stockpiling records with the fervour of a mad-eyed doomsday cultist preparing for The Armageddon.  Delores Hall's knockabout "Good Lovin' Man" was bought in haste after hearing it on Patrick Foisy's amusingly named Parka Avenue blog but it's such a fun, zesty record that there will certainly be no repenting at leisure.

Unplayed Keymen Records originals are kicking about on ebay for around the tenner mark.  Considering that a lot of soul reissues cost roughly that these days it's worth a punt, I'd say.

Brenda Ray is my new heroine

It's true to say that I know practically diddly about dub, reggae and lovers rock.  I do know one thing, however, and that's that Brenda Ray's music has been heard more than anyone else's round these parts of late.  The groundwork for her "Walatta" cd (recently reissued by EM Records of Japan) was probably laid almost a year ago to the week by Hollie Cook's stunning Glasgow show and impeccable debut album. "Walatta" really should have been reissued by Heavenly Recordings as Brenda's voice puts me in mind of Dot Allison (both solo and with her stupendous group One Dove) or her Heavenly labelmate Sarah Cracknell at their breathy best. Come to think of it, "Another Dream" sounds exactly how I'd imagine a Saint Etienne dub single would sound:

Those spoken word sections are uncannily Sarah Cracknell-esque aren't they?  Quality-wise, "Walatta" is from the top drawer throughout with the tone being set right from the "Sweet Jane" shimmer of the intro to opening track and wafting pop masterpiece "Star Light":

Some dub heavyweights' names appear in the credits (Prince Far I, King Tubby etc.) and many of the sounds a novice like me would associate with dub records are present and correct (the forlorn melodica, the spring reverb and the odd vaguely rum-soaked sounding male singer) but, really, it's the softness of Brenda's voice and her lightness of touch as a producer which makes "Walatta" a record to obsess over.  It's hard not to feel a little more positively about life after a period of immersion in it.  Words like 'dream', 'sweet' and 'love' are recurrent and seep into your soul so that when on "D-I-Z-Z-E-E" she mildly suggests “Come on now and get unhinged, cos I am gonna make you swing” you're more than happy to get a little unhinged and have that second custard cream whilst dancing round the kitchen in the most understated way.  Life's good when Brenda's singing.

Coming soon to Not Unloved: Brenda Ray - D'ya Hear Me! Naffi Years 1979-83

[Glaswegians: Monorail has a bunch of copies of "Walatta" on cd just waiting to take away yr dreich autumn blues!]

The Rose Garden

Everybody needs friends, right?  Friends do nice things for each other don't they? Recently, a friend (thanks Krister, I owe you one!) did me a real favour by recommending this majestic song:

Listen to that opening section - it's like early Clientele in its infinite, dreamy softness!  From then on it just gets all emotional and rushes on a Dillard & Clark run with little vocal touches that spark thoughts of how Glasgow's The Orchids frequently manage to hit heights of pure feeling that few other groups could ever hope to reach.  These days, when I hear a new 60s song, a quick check of ebay usually reveals that I'll need to part with a small fortune to buy  it on original vinyl.  This time, however, original copies don't cost too much and are pretty easy to come by.  My 'unplayed' DJ copy cost a mere 8 US dollars plus postage.   When it arrives  there's absolutely no chance that it won't be the highlight of that day and most likely the week.

The Wake "A Light Far Out"

This posting is tinged with guilt.  Guilt, because it should have been written 4 months ago when the cd was actually released.  That it has taken so long to for me to write about The Wake's latest album should in no way be taken as evidence of any lack of excitement about it - I did rush to Glasgow's Monorail Music to buy it on the day of release, after all!  I guess life just got in the way.  "A Light Far Out"(LTM) is wonderful; the best record to feature extensive use of synthesizers I've heard in a long time.  So many of the songs are given an extra touch of feeling by using the synth not as a carrier of melody but as a provider of emotional depth.  The cherished elements from previous releases are still present: Caesar's youthful vocals, some Peter Hook-inspired bass and lots of perky guitar-lines that warm the heart.  We're not talking about some facsimilie of past glories here, mind.  At times there is the pitter pat of laptop beats and on "Starry Days" a tender piano that locates the song somewhere on the Rive Gauche in the rain in 1968.  It features Carolyn Allen's sole lead vocal.  And what a vocal; so intimate, every word beautifully enunciated.  It's a real highpoint of the record as is the title track whose intro approaches The Field Mice's luminous  "Quicksilver" for tender wonder (it's those synths - so pretty, so loaded).  At 9 minutes 10 seconds and with seaside sounds, it's not your standard pop song but every single second of it is necessary and welcome.  I'd assumed The Wake to be defunct a good decade ago, Caesar and Carolyn devoting their time to their theatre company 12 Stars and to intermittently making sublime records with The Field Mice's Bobby Wratten as The Occasional Keepers (one of that group's songs, "If The Ravens Leave", is present here).  I'm so glad I assumed wrongly.

Recently, The Wake have been sharing demos, alternate versions and live tracks on their Soundcloud page.  It's an object lesson in how to use that site and well worth bookmarking.

Little Miss Love

For a brief wee while I was the owner of this 60s fuzz/jangle belter on vinyl.  The Road Runners retrospective on which it appears was listed recently in the sale section of an online store so I placed an order with a real rush of excitement only to get the deflating 'out of stock' email a few days later. Ah well, it would only have caused more stomping around the living room and general over-heating so maybe I've saved myself a heart attack and my downstairs neighbours a few nights of raised blood pressure.  Still, it would have sounded phenomenal at volume so I can't help feeling a little...bereft.