The Flashcubes - Sportin' Wood - A Tribute to Roy Wood

 

We go back to 2012 for me to remember my past. I am of course, a massive Roy Wood fan and a perennial Move bore. But I am also a Power Pop veteran of sorts. I generally shy away from Covers albums, but this is splendid. 

I'd forgotten that I had this, but my memory was stirred by Big Stir's current Single series of The Flashcubes covers. The band are Power Pop greats whose career stretches back to 1977. They toured Japan promoting this and it was released on the legendary Japanese Air Mail label.

I can only think of Cheap Trick who have covered Roy Wood multiple times and it would have been easy to go for the obvious songs. But there are some real surprises here and although the versions are fairly faithful to the originals, there are some different takes on Wood's magnificent back catalogue.

There is also the technological advance sound wise, so you would expect improvement there, but in many cases the songs sound as new now as they did then. The band are obvious fans and so the results are ace. It is a joy to dig this out again

There are some songs that had to be included, particularly the likes of I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Hello Susie and Blackberry Way, but there are lots that you might expect that are not here such as See My Baby Jive and Night Of Fear.

It is the surprise covers that stand out most. The first Wizzard Single, Ball Park Incident and the similar vintage Roy Wood solo single, Forever. There are also more than expected of the later Wood career. The Helicopters years provide Green Glass Windows, a great single and Givin' It All Away, a b side of Rock City, a single that I have signed somewhere.

On Top Of The World is from Wood's mid 80s album, Starting Up, another surprise addition. The bravest take though is The Rain Came Down On Everything, a splendid song from Wood's Beach Boys influenced Mustard album.

The original featured a fantastic orchestral arrangement, here Brass takes the place of part of that arrangement and there is a great Guitar solo. The harmonies here are really good, if not as elaborate as the original. 

There is a final surprise. At the end of On Top Of The World, the song breaks into ELO's Look At Me Now, thus covering the career of Roy Wood completely. Sportin' Wood is a great listen in its own right. The fact that it may turn more onto the great man whilst noting The Flashcubes is a double bonus.

The album is still available as a download at the likes of Amazon and can be bought second hand for £15 or £16, remember that it is a Japanese release. I should also have a word with Rex and Christina about talking the band into doing a cover of Feel Too Good.

You can listen to the album here. I don't know if it is on Spotify or Apple Music because welllllllllllll you know my feelings. You can find out more about the Big Stir adventures of The Flashcubes here.

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The Roves - Needle Factory

 

I come in at this point, the third album from The Roves and I certainly will listen to the previous two. There is something ace about how straight ahead the five piece are. That's not in anyway a criticism, there are plenty of roads taken on Needle Factory.

Over recent years, we have been hammered by musical drama, lockdown acoustic strumming earnestness, riff overdose and twee female vocalists. So it is really refreshing to listen to an album that just concentrates on the songs. No hidden gimmicks or sudden changes of direction, just great well played and written songs.

At times, there is a Dylan or early Jagger feel to the vocals. At times the songs sound American or London. At others there's a Scally Pop Liverpool feel or Glasgow late 80s feel. What isn't in any doubt is how well arranged and thought out the songs are. It is hard work making songs sound simple.

There's also great examples of wit in the lyrics and some great harmonies, particularly on Mr White. A song like Joanna & Miguel is wonderful Wirral Guitar Pop and yet Sundays Lost is great 60s Beat Pop. Alberto Zi & The Uptown Three is just so damn catchy.

Pure As The Word has a splendid Jangle to it, part Brit, part West Coast. Wally Pine adds more lyrical wit to the Jangle with a great Beat Pop feel. Archway Blues even sounds Ian Hunter-ish in the Mott The Hoople Island Years, maybe a little Wildlife.

Then there is Drug Deal with its Steptoe Intro. A really jaunty 70s Pop Rock affair unlike any of the material surrounding it. There really is so much to love here. Proof that you don't have to dazzle and flash to make a great album. All you need is great songs.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Most Popular Posts (Last 30 Days)

 

I don't often take more than a cursory glance at The Most Popular Reviews section on the Top Left Hand Side of I Don't Hear A Single. It is usually just to see what reviews are getting the most attention to see what is hitting readers / listeners most. 

I also look at the place more as a door opener for artists and move on to the next great album. But I have to say that I was delighted when I paid more attention to the section this morning. My first thoughts what a great set of 10 albums that they are.

It made me realise how much I Don't Hear A Single has evolved over the past six and a half years. From initially being an intended small affair via lots of mentions as a Power Pop Blog to where it is now where I think Power Pop is just a part of what it does. It really does reflect my own tastes. 

It is well worth having a look at those 10 albums to show how varied they are. It is not a Best Of Year, it is the past 30 days, the favourite 100 albums are being compiled from this weekend when the 2022 albums have finished being reviewed. 

This is simply because that Best Of only includes albums reviewed on IDHAS. I kept away from a Best Of Year for a long time, having only an Album Of The Year. I'm not a great list maker at all, I've never seen the point. But I eventually gave in.

I would remind everyone that any album reviewed on the Blog is something that is recommended. I could also have gone for a much bigger list of 150 or 200, because it has been a great year, but I think I would personally lose interest if I read someone else's list that size. The year of reviews has got something great for everyone without looking at any list. 

100 seemed just about right counted down in the usual format. Ten albums to a post with a link to a song and the original review. Previously these have covered five days, two posts a day. I may yet make them one post a day as 2023 albums are coming in and there are some great offerings.

As many know, I don't have Spotify or Apple Music etc. A number of reasons, but mainly because the internet connection and 4G here is so poor, one of the few downsides to living where we do. As is the audio quality. So listening to something that sounds poor and buffers isn't a fair way to review an album.

I do listen to downloads and can download those overnight. They are included and in many cases appear as much as physical releases. Personally, I don't think you can call something a Best of Year without including them despite your best intentions. I would never penalise an artist for not being able to afford manufacturing and distributing costs.

But, please have a look at the Most Popular 30 Day Selection, especially if you are an infrequent visitor. Plus I would also give a special mention to the Andy Bopp album which was the most popular review for two and a half months until recently.

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The Tambles - Scraping By

 

This is an album that catches you completely by surprise. You soon realise that there is far more than meets the ear here. At its heart is an excellent example of UK Beat from the second half of the sixties and The Tambles have that down to a tee, beautifully played and atmospherically ace in detail.

A great example is Home which has the sound and feel nailed. But there is much more on show, there is an ability to mix verses and choruses with the lead up sounding nothing like the chorus. Take for instance Listen, all I can think of through the verse is the Batman Theme, but then the chorus just explodes into the catchiest pop imaginable.

Then there is the opener, Reminding Me Of You is multiple songs in one. Starting off all Southern Rock and then goes all Ray Davies does Country and onto a piano led Brass affair. The Dutch quartet certainly know their stuff, it would be easy to be as one trick as Ocean Colour Scene, but they aren't set in their ways.

Can Only Hope is a bit like your Grandad doing Park Life to someone strumming Stray Cat Strut, but the chorus goes all Zutons and then there is a blistering Guitar solo. Wild Wild River is real hee haw Country, First Light Groove is splendid Psych. Got Me Going is great UK 80s lad pop, very different to everything that surrounds it. 

She's Not A Lover is a fantastic closer, Power Pop in essence with a driving riff and just a pinch of Early Beatles with a hippy outro with some Great Brass. Sister Augustine is a wonderful cross between Manfred Mann and UK Glam Rock whilst never losing its beat.

Many criticise new music in a why do we need another Kinks when we have the originals manner? I have no idea why because when you have such genre crossing joy as Scraping By, you want to celebrate it. There's an underlying wit in this awesome album. Others try to pull off different bits. This lot master it and with some style. I highly recommend the album to all.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can find out more about The Tambles here.

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Listening To This Week

 

I Don't Hear A Single largely caters for Album Reviews. Individual Songs don't get much of a look in. There is the IDHAS 10 Song Mix that is really popular, but Mixcloud have recently restricted how many mixes are archived. So I was looking for a way to let you know about songs we like on a weekly basis.

I think many of you know that I don't use Spotify or Apple Music etc. You Tube isn't ideal for anything much and a self compilation raised copyright problems and piracy. So I thought this weekly feature may be the best thing to tell you about these songs. Some may be included on future IDHAS 10 Song Mixes, but so much fights for this space,

This feature is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves.  Please investigate the artists further. We will use band camp links wherever possible. We will continue with this until someone suggests a better way to handle these songs.  This weeks selection is below.

Tucker Bingo - Animal

tucker bingo · Animal

Jowl - American Scuffle

Ainheeky - A While Awake

Michael James Tapscott - Michael, The Worst

BreakTime - Maybe No, Maybe Yes

Aakhagen - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

David Jacobson And The Space Wizards - You Should Know

ChooseWiselyAmerica - Wake Up

Barefoot On Bumblebees - Another Way

IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 45

The first IDHAS 10 Song Mix of 2023. A little longer than usual at 37 and a half minutes, but it is a cracker. Pacey this week, no real slower songs are present. Helping to shake off those January Blues and underline the strength of new music.

The Mixcloud link is below and at the foot of the page is the Mixcloud Player which takes you directly to the music. Thank you for your continued listening. The Mix is certainly more popular than we ever expected. 

Here is the playlist of the ten songs this week :

01 Fuzzbubble - Cult Stars From Mars

02 Richard Öhrn - Take This Bottle

03 Kevin Stevenson - Saturday Morning Coming Down

04 Ainheeky - Aawhile Awake

05 Bad Spring - Feel It

06 Skeleton Staff - Is This Thing Gonna Work Out

07 Best Bets - Crystal Mausoleum

08 Mean Sea - Puke Mouth

09 Pogo Pops - The Echoes Of The Day

10 Clockwork Flowers - Holding On To You

IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 45

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The Be Positives - Everything About

 

We are on the final run for the 2022 releases before the IDHAS Best 100 Albums of 2022 begins to be compiled next weekend. I may seem a little late on this album because it was released in October 2021, but I have got an excuse.

I was waiting on the Vinyl release that got delayed far into 2022. From then, the dog did indeed eat my homework and its only as I finalise the round up of the year that I realise how remiss I've been. Plus these guys are from almost home territory. So forgive me and let me tell you about it.

The Manchester quartet's second album is an absolute stormer. At times a little 60s, at times it inhabits territory that The Coral venture into and on the chirpier songs, even The Zutons. The band remind me a lot of West Coast Music Club who are of a similar vintage.

All four sing and this more than aids the variety and the opener, Heaven Owns, has you believe that the album is a little post Brit Pop, but the riffs and rhythm section gives the song a more 60s feel. Rain & Stormy Weather changes that impression with is a cross between The Housemartins and West Coast Jangle.

Dazed comes across like a Murder Ballad, a real melancholic affair with a wonderful driving Bass line, yet Please Please Me is UK Beat crossed with Garage Rock. Only What A Feel is reminiscent of Dropkick or even Teenage Fanclub, whilst I'd Rather Be With You is cracking Indie Pop.

The band even come across as Brinsley Schwarz on the Pub Rock of Goodbye, but the standout song is I Just Want To See Her. A song with tons of Medway Sound, but a fantastic slap of 60s Guitar Beat Pop. Everything About is a splendid listen from a splendid band.

You can buy the album from the band's Bandcamp site here. Everything About is released on the superb Think Like A Key label, home of my beloved Ex Norwegian and can be bought directly from their site here. The two tracks embeded are the ones available to play on Bandcamp.

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