Smashy And Nicey

Our first practice for the podcast that begins next month.

Not really about music as planned, it was middle aged men moaning about errrrrrr everything.

I'm sure we will get focused.

Sumner - That Ladybird Summer

Music is full of surprises and That Ladybird Summer is a wonderful surprise. There is so much bad Psychedelia around that when you hear something as good as this, you have to celebrate. It's a cracking slab of Psych Pop.

Sumner is a one man affair, Paul Sumner from Southport, deep in my neck of the woods, although he's ably assisted, more on that later. It would appear that Sumner inhabit a village which has the likes of Dukes Of Stratosphear in the nearby farm, Rick Corcoran running the local pub and Keith West chairing the Parish Council.

A pastoral gem of an album with a theme of growing up in a village. A nod to a bygone age for both life and music. The soundscape is idyllic, the instrumentation just right, it's a mellow delight.

I mentioned that Paul had help, well Dave Gregory plays Guitars on News At Ten and Picture Book. Picture Book is probably the stand out song, a real feel good tune with haunting harmonies.







There may be no XTC any more, but Dave Gregory really is the mark of quality these days. He's already part of two exceptional bands with Big Big Train and the outstanding Tin Spirits. His appearance here just adds to his reputation.

Cellos, Violins, Mellotron and Echoplex add to that late Sixties feel and the production is a triumph, well done Mark Wainwright and Paul.

After the 25 minutes of the first 8 songs fly past, a monster of a closer follows up and wow!! The almost 12 minute, The Battle For Barney's Farm is a masterpiece. It starts as a laid back folk pop thing and breaks out into something that resembles Mid Seventies Pink Floyd with the superb m
meandering guitar solo. It closes with an orchestrated acoustic finale. Very Big Big Train like.







A delightful album, beautifully presented, you can buy it now at Churchtown Records Bandcamp Site here.

A CD version will be available in Mid September and it certainly feels like something that Markus Holler at Sugarbush Records or John Blaney at Megadodo might like to get hold of for a limited vinyl release.

This is certainly on my top 10 list of this year so far. Highly Recommended!

Vegas With Randolph - Rings Around The Sun

Since an operation solved my hearing problems, a couple of months ago, I've been like a kid in a sweet shop music wise. I've also realised that over the past two or three years I have been largely in a permanently bad mood due to listening to music with one half good ear. It's been more like 1968 Radio Luxembourg than glorious stereo sound.

I'm also pissed off because I've missed out on Vegas With Randolph.




All the sign posts were there for me. On this, the band's third album. the involvement of Andy Reed of The Legal Matters, Brandon Schott and the excellent Wim Oudijk. I missed them all.

I even find that one of my best friends, Mick Dillingham, has been a long time admirer.

Power Pop can be such a labelling genre, holding back bands that are far more than that and Vegas With Randolph are much more than chiming riffs. There's a cleverness in what they do, melody, lyric and subject wise, a greater depth.

I'm sure there will be Fountains Of Wayne comparisons and in some cases you can hear that. More importantly, I've been looking for another Silver Sun for well over a decade and I can see similarities there. But the band are far more than Power Pop. In fact, the only real straight ahead Power Pop is Late June. Let's settle on Power Pop with Brains. In fact, the songwriting reminds me of the likes of Lannie Flowers.






The album is a natural follow on from the previous album, Above The Sun, equally excellent. The 7 part Double Play on that album is absolutely splendid.

Rings Around The Sun relies a bit less on Orchestration and multi harmony in favour of even more hooks. There seems less keyboard.

There's far more variation, the rock out of Salt Water Taffy and the FOW like Cool Things, although I'm not sure of the Only Fools Like Horses like rap. The Glam like Everybody Wants An Atom Bomb and could be the best song on the album, but one beats it.

Snow Day, despite the title, is a real fun summer singalong and My Lost Colony is all jangle, almost Tom Petty in the verse.

The absolute gem though is the title track, a superb anthem, something that would have stood high and mighty in the Brit Pop era with it's Beatlesque overtones. It then morphs into a Queen like harmony and Brian May type solo. A great song.



 


The album could suitably end there, it's a song that would end the old Side 2's. But there's a further treat to wind it all up.

The closer Drops Of Gold is a real country shuffle with a real twang and some great orchestration. This just proves the band's versatility. I'm really really impressed with the album, A real depth to the Power Pop canon, rarely seen. You wouldn't normally bother too much about the lyrics in this format, you do here.

The band are currently recording Album Number 4 and I can't wait. You can purchase all three albums for download at the band's Bandcamp Site here. There's also some newer recordings to buy there. However, I'm a firm believer that some bands should be played on CD and Vinyl and Vegas With Randolph are one of that category.

You can buy all three albums on CD for the ridiculously cheap price of 22 dollars. I listened to this album a few times yesterday on CD and it sounds even more wonderful.

As I mentioned on Facebook earlier, I'm rarely surprised by anything these days and I've been surprised by two albums in the last 24 days. This album will enrich your life and I'll leave you with one of the newer songs. another glam stomper, Three Red Hooks.

XTC = Ecstasy

I could prattle on about XTC all day and generally do. Here's a short appreciation from the ASH Archive.

Since this we've had a Deluxe Blu ray edition of Oranges And Lemons and Skylarking is on the way, released on 16 October 2016. There's also been beautifully presented Vinyl releases of Skylarking and English Settlement and Andy has written a song on the new Monkees album.

I got into XTC a little late around Drums And Wires, it was an interview on a Saturday Radio 1 program that did it and from then on I just went APE (sic) for them.

Black Sea for me still remains a fantastic album and gets forgotten about in the post Dukes fandom.

English Settlement is a tougher listen for newcomers, but well worth the effort and Jason Falkner has said that it was an album that changed his life and that's good enough for me.

I know many people, but my closest circle are virtually all XTC fans, it becomes part of your DNA and these people share a love of humour, music and looking at life in a similar way that I do.

I've wrote defences of the two XTC albums that get stick. Mummer is dark and probably commercial suicide, but come on, Human Alchemy is worth the admission alone and who doesn't tap their foot to Love On A Farm Boy's Wages.

The Big Express seems to get hammered in the light of the Dukes wonderment, but for me it is one of the most listenable albums all the way through.

If you want Psych and Pastoral XTC it's not for you, but if you want creativity, it damn well should be.

I've even wrote an attack on Skylarking, saying it's not as good as everyone thinks it is, it is of course, but what bugs me is that everything before is looked upon as some bastard child and newcomers believe XTC's career started there, the rest was practising.

My argument is that others could write songs in the Skylarking mould, but no one else could write Human Alchemy or Train Running Low On Soul Coal.

Oranges And Lemons remains my favourite album, it's just so damn good, Andy Partridge was at the height of his songwriting game.

Nonsuch is a bit of a curate's egg, when it's on, it's the best you can get, Wrapped In Gray, The Disappointed, Books Are Burning etc, but it seems too long and patchy.

I also vary with opinion on the two swansong albums.

I love the arrangements and feel of Apple Venus Volume 1 and agree that Wasp Star is more straight on XTC, but the back half of Wasp Star stands up with anything they've ever done and Church Of Women may just be the best song that Andy Partridge has ever wrote.

It appears that Partridge and Moulding will never get together again and it's great that the demos are being released via Andy's Ape website, but wouldn't it be great if they did, for just one last message to the world.

As many of you know, I'm a massive collector and I love so much music, when people ask me what sort of music I like, it's hard to define and changes too, but XTC are always mentioned.

My collection is organised, proper albums wise to a point. Bootlegs are not, but I do have my XTC bootlegs ordered to just grab at will.

You can find more information and buy some ace stuff at Andy Partridge's website at http://www.ape.uk.net

Ian Hunter - From The Knees Of My Heart (4CD)

A couple of archive ASH posts for today whilst I catch up with reviews and more importantly listening.

This set was reviewed in 2012 and is still available. An ideal purchase for those who don't want to pay £250 for the upcoming 30 disc set and an ideal intro to his new album, Fingers Crossed, which is due on 16 September. I've added some youtube clips.

This 4 CD Chrysalis Years set from the mighty Ian Hunter for £13 is cracking value, why wouldn't you order it now?

This collecting obsession started largely with two bands for me, Sparks and Mott The Hoople. After two polar opposite solo albums, both fantastic, Hunter's career looked over after the abysmal Overnight Angels album. That album led to a cancelled UK Tour due to poor sales and no American release. CBS ditched him and he seemed to be content as a sort of godfather of punk, producing the new breed. My own tastes were moving away, consumed in New Wave excitement from the likes of XTC.

Fortunately, the career wasn't done for, the great man was to return with his best album ever. Signed to Cleveland International with the E Street Band for company and with a new label deal with Chrysalis, the second wind was a hurricane.

A brief summary of what's on here before more of an appreciation of THAT album. You get the two studio albums, You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic and Short Back N Sides, the live album in the middle, Welcome To The Club and the previously unreleased (in audio format), Ian Hunter Rocks.

Ian Hunter Rocks was from the Dr Pepper Festival In Central Park in 1981 and had only been released on video. It was during the Short Back N Sides Tour with Robbie Alter on Lead Guitar. I saw Hunter on that short Festival Tour at Milton Keynes Bowl supporting Thin Lizzy, not his best album, not his best tour.


Welcome To The Club is a fantastic live album. It allowed Chrysalis to have some Hoople songs and there was a fair bit of unnecessary touching up in the studio, unnecessary because the live shows seemed more earthier and Mick Ronson's meandering riffing was toned down. A better reflection of how they were live is the second disc on the Schizophrenic Anniversary release double disc.

However it remains one of the best live albums around, Angeline is the ultimate live version. The original double LP was three sides live and one studio, all are present.

Short Back N Sides has it's moments, but it has too much messing about courtesy of Mick Jones, noises everywhere, but there are some gems, Central Park N West, Old Records Never Die and the magnificent auto biographical, Rain. There's seven bonus tracks, far less than the original double CD release but the 4 disc limitations meant that stuff had to be cut. The bonus live stuff from the Welcome To The Club CD Release is also missing.

Now to Schizophrenic! What an album. I remember fans, myself included, had got a bit sick of the album by the time the Noughties arrived as it had been such a large part of Hunter's live set for over two decades. A return to it, shows how wrong we were. It's one of the great great albums.

Back in tow with Ronson, backed by part of the E Street Band with appearances from the likes of Eric Bloom and John Cale, it never lets up. I've never liked When The Daylight Comes, surprised at it's 7 Inch release instead of Wild East, the other 8 songs are majestic. In typical Hunter fashion a mix of the Rocker and the Ballad.

Just Another Night is Stones meets Dylan (as Hunter as always been) with Ronson riffing all over it, Wild East is magnificent and sax led, Cleveland Rocks is the anthem, a reworked England Rocks from the Overnight Angels era.

Ships is about the Father to Son relationship, covered by Barry Manilow to aid the coffers. Life After Death is one of those fast Hunter blasts, Standin' In My Light a Hammond Organ led diatribe against a former manager. Bastard, a meandering record with John Cale on ARP organ all over it and the conclusion is sublime.

The Outsider is a Hunter piano Ballad but Mick Ronson summons up his Roy Buchanan act and just Nashvilles it, the solo at the end is jaw dropping.

7 Bonus Tracks with Schizo, including two versions of Just Another Night, piano ballad to Jam, the first sounding nothing like the original. Early Versions of Ships and When The Daylight Comes and the demo of Don't Let Go, eventually given to Ellen Foley for her debut album, produced by Hunter And Ronson. Alibi is inessential.

Hunter would not hit these heights for another two decades and is of course once again a national treasure, but these three years showed a return to relevance and in Schizo, an album that sounds as good 35 years on.

An essential purchase.

All Hail Sugarbush!

As I try to get a nice mix of posts up here to show what the place is about, it seems a fair idea to feature some of the companies that I rate. I've mentioned before that there is no pay to play policy here, no outside influence, we post what we like.

I don't think I've admired a label as much as Sugarbush, since Not Lame. It's as though the releases have raided my music collection.

I first came across Markus from his involvement in Orgone Box related stuff. Ahhhhhhh Orgone Box, something of an obsession for me, don't get me started on the delights of Rick Corcoran's Psych Pop as I'll type forever.

Markus has been around as Sugarbush Records for over 25 years, mainly specialising in second hand records, but it's his more recent adventures as a record label that are far more exciting. The Sugarbush label specialise in limited vinyl runs of albums for those who appreciate great taste.

The albums are like a who's who of bands and artists that should be in collection. Albums that make you buy a turntable if you haven't got one.

Pugwash, The Dowling Poole, Green Pajamas, Chris Richards, Blue Ash, Nick Piunti, Dead Beat Poets and of course, my obsession Orgone Box are just some of the artists featured.

If you "don't hear a single" on too many albums that you buy, you will on all of these. Highly Recommended to all!

I'll put a few you tube examples below for the uninitiated. Most exciting is the Jackdaw4 Retrospectacles Double Album. Two albums dear to my heart, that ges played regularly at ASH Towers, in fact far more than regularly. If you are one of the many Dowling Poole fans, you should own this. The 8 x 8 album is fantastic too and who doesn't want Pugwash on vinyl?

You can find out more and buy Sugarbush Releases here. As I mentioned, these are very limited vinyl runs, so don't miss out.

I plan to do this sort of feature once a month. There's some great labels out there like Mega Dodo and Fruits De Mer as well as fine retaillers such as Kool-Kat.

In the meantime, here's five you tube clips to convince those who are not already convinced to head off to Sugarbush.

Colours - Love Heals (The Complete Recordings 1968- 1969)

You know when you are told that you should listen to an album because it's a great lost masterpiece? Of course you do. I hear it all the time and I tell people constantly about such things, I've even done it on here in it's short life.

Colours two albums from 1968 and 1969 respectively with five Bonus Tracks in the middle.

I was sorting through stuff, I dug out the CD, released by a Cherry Red imprint in 2008, It had a had good reviews from people that I trust and admire and so I felt I should give it a go. I bought this when it came out and I'd never played it.

The reviews were so glowing, but I never got round to putting it in the CD Player, because there was so much around at the time of newer bands doing the same stuff.

The attention is on the first album, the second is very more Las Vegas and to be honest, total tosh.

The self titled debut had lots of Beatles comparisons and it's not that it's bad, it isn't, it just sounds so forced.You can admire the studio trickery, although you can imagine all the back slapping that went on. Wow that just sounds like the bit on "name your Beatles Song".

The vocal arrangements at times are a bit shoop boopy doop. The orchestrations are fine and you'd maybe expect that from two former Motown writers, but the lead vocals are just two plain and monotone.

It sounds like Motown trying to do The Beatles. The Fab Four it isn't.

I try to be positive on here. In fact we review what we like. That can make the place appear a bit gushing. I, personally, just don't bother with something I don't like, I wouldn't generally review it and there's so many good things to go at. But I suppose, it doesn't do any harm to pop the odd review of an album you don't like.

Power Pop provides a fraction of what I listen to, in fact if anything my love is Psych Pop, but it is music that should chirp you up and get you going and that's what I like about it.

When you hear something that is particularly mediocre you are disappointed and this disappointed me a lot.

For the rest of the week, I'll concentrate on newer releases as we've had a small run of posts about the past.