Bradford Cox just posted up 2 free compilations, entitled 'Bedroom Databank Vol.1/Vol. 2'. All the tracks were recorded at home and Volume 1 includes a cover of Kurt Vile's 'Freak Train' and a cover of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's 'This Wheel's on Fire.' Both can be downloaded here.
Like The Band? (The album features Garth Hudson on keyboards) Enjoy a bit of JJ Cale? A fan of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy? Love Neil Young? A Dylan fanatic? Or do you just need some new autumnal music?
Time passes slowly up here in the mountains
We sit beside bridges and walk beside fountains
Catch the wild fishes that float through the stream
Time passes slowly when you’re lost in a dream
Built me a cabin in Utah
Marry me a wife, catch a rainbow trout
Have a bunch of kids who call me pa
That must be what it's all about
That must be what it's all about.
Wes Anderson's films always have great soundtracks, and this one is no exception. This is also one of my favourite films. A great autumnal film that I'll definitely be pulling out in the next couple of months. It's actually hard not uploading the entire soundtrack, as it's that good, but here are 4 tracks for your listening pleasure.
This is what weekends are all about! 'New Morning' is easily one of the finest albums Dylan ever released. Often overlooked, but with songs like this, 'If Not For You' and 'The Man In Me' on it, it'll never be forgotten! 1970 was one hell of a year for music!
Slipping and sliding like a weasel on the run
I'm looking good to see you, yeah, we could have some fun
One more weekend, one more weekend with you
One more weekend, one more weekend will do.
Come on down to my ship, honey, ride on deck
We'll fly over the ocean, just like you suspect
One more weekend, one more weekend with you
One more weekend, one more weekend will do.
We'll fly the night away
Hang up the whole next day
Things will be okay
You wait and see
We'll go to some place unknown
Leave all the children home
Honey, why not go alone
Just you and me.
Coming and going like a rabbit in the wood
I'm happy just to see you, yeah, looking so good
One more weekend, one more weekend with you
One more weekend, one more weekend will do, yes you will.
Like a needle in a haystack I'm gonna find you yet
You're the sweetest girl mama that this boy is ever gonna get
One more weekend, one more weekend with you
One more weekend, one more weekend will do.
I'm pretty gutted that I can't attend any of The Brian Jonestown Massacre's Scandinavian shows, but rather than let it get me down, I thought I'd use their tour to revisit a few of their albums. I've always loved their acoustic songs and don't think there's a bad one in their catalogue. This and 'Thank God For Mental Illness' are, however, the only 2 acoustic-based albums they've released thus far and judging from Anton's more recent output I can't see another anytime soon!
'Bringing It All Back Home Again' is only 6 tracks long, but is a lazy and loose front-porch album for sunny days (if I had a front-porch that is!). 'Reign On' is perhaps the odd one out here, both in style and vocally (Miranda Lee Richards) but that's by no means a bad thing and along with 'All Things Great & Small' it's a perfect compliment for the other rawer tracks. The album is finished with the reworking of Charles Manson's classic 'Arkansas', as 'Arkansas Revisited', which was apparently recorded with Manson (see below). Whether or not this is true I don't know, but it only adds to the songs glorious 13 minutes and 26 seconds. If you've never heard any of Manson's work, be sure to check it out. 'Arkansas' is off 'Lie' and it's probably the best place to start!
Whilst none of the tracks sound like any particular Dylan song, when Anton sings:
"Well I've drank a lot of whiskey And ate way too many pills And I went around tight corners and Had my share of spills But I've survived So come and get me, I'm alive"
You believe him. Just like you believe Dylan when he sings; and like Dylan, Anton's vocals are often underrated or misunderstood and on this album they suit the songs perfectly; from delicate to cocky, his vocals are spot on.
If you're new to the band this isn't a good example of the sound they became famous for, but it is highly recommended if you're a fan of folk, blues or country. Have a BBQ, invite some friends over, crack open a beer, stick this on and tell me this isn't good??
I first read about The Felice Brothers in an issue of Uncut magazine a few years back and remember them mentioning The Band and Dylan as obvious influences and thinking I had to check them out! Anyway, I forgot about them and then a few months later I remembered the article, but for the life of me couldn't find the issue or what the band was called. All I could remember was that they were called The 'Something' Brothers and I think I ended up listening to The Avett Brothers or The Deadstring Brothers instead and thinking that both sounded pretty cool, but didn't sound like The Band or Dylan. Anyway, I can't remember exactly how I finally found them and I guess it's pretty unimportant...
The first album I heard was 'Tonight At The Arizona', which I had downloaded to check if they sounded anything like Dylan or The Band and obviously they did and that's when the love affair began. But, just to make a point, as Simone once put it in an interview...
"You have to promise not to ask us anything about Bob Dylan and the Band. A lot of people say we sound like them and we're tired of it. We're influenced by everything - Huey Lewis and the News ..."
When I first heard the album I remember thinking how sad the album sounded and how intimate it all felt. Like real folk music should feel....as if they were playing just for me. 'Roll On Arte' and 'The Ballad of Lou the Welterweight' were the first 2 tracks that hooked me in and I remember weeks later hearing a band busking and cover 'Lou' and feeling like I was part of a special club lucky enough to have heard of the band. And what a chorus! Me and my fiancee still sing it randomly to this day. Don't worry though, I went out and bought the album the following day!
"oh my mouth ain't fed, my lips aint cherry red
and my grin might show my bad teeth
and all the people i pass, they give me a glance
as if im some lower class thief
but to you I'm fine and I'm in your mind
even if I'm not around
and my arms are strong and that's where you belong,
given the love that we've found"
After hearing this album I had to hear all their other work, which up until that point included the out of print 'Iantown' (which I only recently got hold of!), 'Through These Reins and Gone' and 'Adventures of The Felice Brothers Vol. 1'. It would be these first three releases that would pretty much make-up their first official release and some songs, such as 'Frankie's Gun' and 'Whiskey in My Whiskey', would also see a reappearance on their second official album, 'The Felice Brothers'. These first three albums are still essential and contain several tracks that wouldn't make reappearances, such as the excellent 'Her Eyes Dart Around' and 'Trouble Been Hard'.
In 2008 the band released their self-titled album which would be their 2nd or 5th album depending on how you look at things. The album takes on a fuller and sound this time and isn't quite as stripped down and lonely as their first album, but nonetheless is packed full of songs begging to be seen in a live show. If anything the album is more varied, with jams like 'The Greatest Show On Earth' alongside the upbeat classic, 'Frankie's Gun', and the heartbreaking 'Goddamn You Jim' or the epic 'Ruby Mae'.
This album was quickly followed up by 2009's 'Yonder Is The Clock', which would be their first release full of songs not found on any of the 3 earlier albums. This album was picked as Uncut's album of the month and it was such a refreshing change to see them there instead of Paul Weller or The Hold Steady. haha. The review is great and you can read it here. As with their previous album, this one combined heavier tracks ('Penn Station' and 'Run Chicken Run') alongside long ballads such as 'Katie Dear' and the haunting 'Cooperstown' that really make for a complete album.
The band also released an album of outtakes, entitled 'Mixtape', from 'Yonder Is The Clock' last year, but it was only available at live shows, so unfortunately I haven't yet heard it, but hope to one day soon! Last year also saw Simone Felice's departure from The Felice Brothers to concentrate on his writing and his new band, The Duke & The King and they released their incredible debut last year and are very much their own band. If you've not heard the album, do yourself a favour and check it out.
In conclusion, this band is something very special and although they haven't got anywhere near the recognition they deserve, as long as they keep putting out albums of such quality I'll keep buying them. Of their three albums, the first 2 are in the top 100 albums for 2007 and 2008 on RYM and their third is in the top 350 for 2009 (which is a joke as it was my favourite of last year!). I also just read that they might now be coming to Sweden's 'Way Out West' festival this summer, which would be a dream come true for me, as I am yet to see them live!
Their three official albums are on Spotify for those of you lucky enough to have an account and The Duke & The King are also on there:
Incredible album. Kinda like Nick Drake in the sense that during the 70s he was pretty much ignored and only recently started to get the recognition he rightly deserves. If you like Dylan, Van Morrison, Cohen, Nick Drake or any other singer-songwriters from that era this is for you.
Take a look at this NME review from 1971:
"Another rather tuneless singer who writes his own songs, Londoner Bill Fay is 28 and has the right sound in his voice for today’s folk tunes… He plays piano and is backed by a six-piece at times, including guitarist Ray Russell, who helped produce his second LP, which is versatile and interesting’ – NME, 20/2/71"
Tuneless, but has the right sounds in his voice and is still versatile and interesting?? Huh??? The production is amazing and the LP is haunting, beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measures. It took me a while to get into this album, but once you do it'll be with you for life.
The album isn't on Spotify, but there is an excellent compilation from last year called 'Still Some Light' that collects both old unreleased versions of many of the songs found on 'Time of the Last Persecution' and some from his self-titled debut, as well as last years home recorded album full of new songs.
After listening to Frank Fairfield's album during the course of this afternoon, his sound reminded me of a Swedish folk guitarist who goes by the name The Tallest Man on Earth. Whilst not quite as traditional as Frank Fairfield, Kristian Matsson is a singer-songwriter in a Dylanesque way. He also kinda reminds me of A.A. Bondy and has toured with Bon Iver (a perfect companion/compliment for his music). What struck me most when I saw him on You Tube was his voice and at first I thought his voice was almost a little too powerful for his acoustic guitar. It was almost like when I first heard Dylan and found it hard to get into him due to his unusual singing voice. Anyway, I got hold of his debut album, 'Shallow Grave', and it became one of my favourites of 2008. And like with Dylan, his voice became one of his strongest qualities and gives the songs extra life. The album is full of great songs and I eagerly anticipate his follow-up! Check out this mini-documentary below:
With the arrival of The Byrds' 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' and The Internationl Submarine Band's 'Safe At Home' (both invloving Gram Parsons) earlier on in the year and Dylan's 'John Wesley Harding' at the tail end of 1967, elements of country were beginning to infiltrate the recent psych-dominated rock scene which had previously taken most of it's inspiration from blues and folk.
This album would be the band's fifth studio release and although not as countrified as The Byrds' release, this album should certainly rank amongst some of the earliest examples of the country-infused rock that would come into favour over the next decade.
All of the band's six albums are on Spotify and well worth a listen.
I recently made an order with some Christmas money I received from my Grandad and bought a few Dylan albums I don't yet own and also some BBC DVDs - Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Yellowstone. Anyway, one of the Dylan albums I got is 'Planet Waves' and it's one of my favourites. The final song on the CD is 'Wedding Song' and I said to Ida that when we get married I want it played at our wedding. Her choice is Barry White's 'You're The First, My Last, My Everything.'
What songs have you or do you want to get married to? Post choices in the comments.
Now, I could quite easily go through the list praising certain choices and dismissing other, but it's a list and I haven't listened to everything on it so it'd be pointless. They included Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint 3,' but missed Raekwon and many other far greater hip-hop albums released this year. I could go on, but it's their list and the magazine has introduced me to some great music over the years (The Felice Brothers!!) and they have some excellent albums in there...Felice Brothers, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Dylan, White Denim, Low Anthem etc. But as with any list that includes so many things I know and love, I will definitely try my best to listen to the ones I haven't yet heard!
Most blogs tend to release a Best of 2009 around this time of the year, but what you think was the best music of the year doesn't always match up with what you actually played the most:
1. Bob Dylan (427 plays)
2. Leonard Cohen (316 plays)
3. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (254 plays)
4. The Felice Brothers (250 plays)
5. The Brian Jonestown Massacre (195 plays)
6. Raekwon (194 plays)
7. Black Lips (162 plays)
8. Tom Waits (128 plays)
9. Blitzen Trapper (124 plays)
10. Animal Collective (112 plays)
Before I met Ida (3 years ago this Dec 18th!) I always used to have a problem listening to 80s period Dylan and Stones in particular. I guess I loved their earlier work so much I didn't want to ruin them by being disappointed by possible weaker 80s albums.
Anyway, over the last few years I have gradually started to appreciate Dylan's entire catalogue to the point where I pretty much love anything he's done. 'Saved' is a perfect example of something I would never have considered listening to until Ida said how much she liked his born again trilogy ('Slow Train Coming', 'Saved' and 'Shot of Love'). John Doe did a great version of 'Pressing On' from 'Saved' for the 'I'm Not There' OST:
This brings me to the Stones and their 80s work, which I pretty much haven't listened to. I know the hits they had, but haven't really listened to any of the albums. We pulled out Ida's 'Tattoo You' just before and even though I know it always receives good reviews, I was still surprised how good it was. It's quite a laid back album and has some nice songs. It'd make a perfect album to listen to while driving through Los Angeles at night.
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