BILLY BRAGG (& OZZIE) LIVE

I was reading some old posts on Billy Bragg's blog, and came upon this. It's from a show Billy did at Monmouth University in New Jersey last October.

"In the front row away to my right I become aware of a little kid leaping around during the songs, playing a toy electric guitar. He is active all night, windmilling his arm like a tiny Pete Townsend and throwing some classic guitar hero shapes. His name is Ossie and, the end of the show, I invite him up to perform with me during A New England. He steals the show."

Maybe there will be an equally cute moment at one of these upcoming shows:

July 19 Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, Tolpuddle, Dorset
July 23 Brewery Arts Center, Kendal, England
July 24 Wickerman Festival, Dundrennan, Scotland
July 31 Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA, USA
Aug 1 Folk Festival 50, Newport, RI, USA

More details at Billy's official site.



In other tour news, The Proclaimers have just announced their US tour dates. To get you in the mood, here's the title track from their latest album: (buy)

The Proclaimers - "Notes and Rhymes" (acoustic Zoo session)

Sept. 8 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe
Sept. 9 Foxborough, MA Showcase Live
Sept. 11 New York, NY Blender Theater at Gramercy
Sept. 13 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
Sept. 14 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Sept. 15 Chicago, IL Double Door
Sept. 17 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
Sept. 19 Denver, CO Soiled Dove
Sept. 20 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Sept. 22 Seattle, WA The Showbox
Sept. 23 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater

All tickets are on sale now. More info at the official site.

EDWYN COLLINS

Scottish musician Edwyn Collins first rose to fame in the early eighties, with his band Orange Juice. They had one big hit in the UK, "Rip It Up", and after trying for a while to repeat that success, they broke up.

Edwyn then went solo. He issued several singles, and a couple of albums throughout the rest of the eighties and early nineties, with critical acclaim, but not much commercial success.

Then, around 1994, I was working at the oft-mentioned record store, when we received an advanced copy of his third album, Gorgeous George. At the time, Edwyn was completely unknown to me, but one of my co-workers became a great deal excited when he saw it. He immediatly popped it on, and by the time Edwyn was making his lengthy diatribe againt modern music in the first song, I was hooked.

This was also the album that gave him his one and only massive international hit, "A Girl Like You".

He continued releasing critically acclaimed albums, and producing for the likes of The Proclaimers and The Cribs, until suffering a cerebral hemmorage in 2005. He had just finished recording a new album at the time, and after his release from the hospitol, he finished the production and it was released in 2007. The following year, he returned to the live stage, though he can no longer play his guitar due to the remaining effects of the hemmorage.

Here's a batch of songs you won't find on his albums:

Edwyn Collins - "Occupy Your Mind" B-side of one of the many "A Girl Like You" singles.
Edwyn Collins - "The Gospel According to Tony Day" (David Bowie cover) From the Starman tribute compilation given out with an issue of Uncut Magazine.
Edwyn Collins - "A Girl Like You" (live) Performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on October 10, 1995, and released on the compilation, Live From 6A.
Edwyn Collins - "If Ever You're Ready" B-side of "Don't Shilly Shally".
Paul Quinn and Edwyn Collins - "Pale Blue Eyes" (Velvet Underground cover) Edwyn's first non-Orange Juice release. From the Punk Rock Hotel soundtrack.
Edwyn Collins - "1977" (The Clash cover) Another Uncut Magazine exclusive. This one is from their White Riot, Vol. One compilation.

Solo albums:

Hope and Despair, 1989 (buy)
Hellbent On Comprimise, 1990 (buy)
Gorgeous George, 1994 (buy)
I'm Not Following You, 1997
Doctor Syntax, 2002 (buy)
Home Again, 2007 (buy)

SEVEN SONG CIRCLE #4

Today is 7/7, so it seems appropriate that I post another one of them 7 song circle things. Of the lists I've created, this one is probably my least favorite.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great tunes on the list, it's just that all but one of the connections are based solely on titles. I prefer to have a bit more variety throughout.

Oh well. I do what I can. At least 5 out of the 7 are non-album tracks.

On with the show:

1 UTwo - "Boy / Girl" (demo)
2 Iron & Wine - "Boy with a Coin" (alternate)
3 The Guggenheim Grotto - "Girl with the Cards"
4 Charlie Sexton with Shannon McNally - "American Girl" (live)
5 The_Cure - "Young Americans"
6 The Junk Monkeys - "Boys Don't Cry"
7 Blur - "Girls and Boys" (remix)

1 My first ever posting by the mighty band who's name I purposely misspelled in hopes of not attracting the attention of the take-down po-po. This is a demo version of a track from their first EP. A fully mastered version is now available as a bonus track on the re-issue of Boy. (buy deluxe)
2 An alternate version of the track from The Sheppard's Dog (buy), given out free and legally by the man himself on his website.
3 The only actual album track on the list, but then it should be no surprise that I'm a fan of The Grotto, and will feature them every chance I get. From Happy the Man. (buy)
4 A live Tom Petty Cover, courtesy of The Live Music Archive. The sound quality isn't great, but it's not real often I find any of Charlie's stuff. Maybe I should do a post on him someday.
5 A David Bowie cover, which was unreleased for many years, until Robert & Co. put out the rarities box set Join the Dots. (buy) So, it's kind of an album track now.
6 The Cure cover, performed by Detroit's own Junk Monkeys. This was a b-side of their single, "Bliss".
7 A remix of the classic song from Parklife. (buy) I used the remix in order to stick with the non-album theme. In all honesty, I think it's one of the worst remixes I've heard. The original is FAR better.

On an unrelated note, there are a few re-issues coming out today that visitors to this blog might be interested in:

Screaming Blue Messiahs - Gun Shy (buy)
Screaming Blue Messiahs - Bikini Red (buy)
Various Artists - Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt (buy)

GRANT LEE BUFFALO LIVE

Most folks who wander by this blog are already familiar with American folk / rock / Americana band Grant Lee Buffalo. They may never have had a top forty hit, but they did garner a large following during their years together.

They also contributed to a number of popular soundtracks, giving them a wider audience. Most notably, they recorded several songs for the cult classic movie Velvet Goldmine.

Here's a couple of live EPs they issued to promote their first two albums. The first one, Buffalondon, was recorded at the ICA on September 15, 1993. The second, Honey Don't Think, was recorded at The Empire in London on October 11, 1994.

Buffalondon Live EP:
Grant Lee Buffalo - "The Shining Hour"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "For the Turnstiles" (Neil Young cover)
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Grace"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "America Snoring"
Download the whole thing in one rar here.

Honey Don't Think live promo EP:
Grant Lee Buffalo - "It's the Life"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Mockingbirds"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Wish You Well"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Honey Don't Think"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Last Days of Tecumseh"
Download the whole thing in one rar here.

UPDATE!!:
Fuzzy EP (recorded live at Park West, Chicago 1993)
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Jupiter and Teardrop"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Wish You Well"
Grant Lee Buffalo - "Burning Love" (Elvis cover)
Download the whole thing in one rar here.

Discog:

Fuzzy, 1993 (buy)
Mighty Joe Moon, 1994
Copperopolis, 1996 (buy)
Jubilee, 1998 (buy)
Storm Hymnal, 2001 (buy) (best-of and rare compilation)

I also have the El Dorado Motorhome promotional video. If there are fans out there interested, I may up it for them.

HAMELL ON TRIAL

To those who know of Hamell On Trial, he's a bit of a legend. All the political fury and fiery rock noise of a punk band, rolled up in one guy and his acoustic guitar. In his own words, "just a little bit of wood, and a little bit of wire. Call up Smokey the Bear, 'cause there's gonna be a fire."

Ed Hamell started out playing in punk bands around New York in the eighties. Eventually, he left the bands behind and ventured into the singer-songwriter arena. Though, his sound is not what is normally associated with that genre. Loud, rapid-fire, with equal parts anger and humor is more his style.

I don't have much in the way of rarities, which is why I'm putting this on a Tuesday, instead of the usual rarities-heavy Friday post, but I wanted to give the guy a bit more hype, since he's another one that I almost never see any press for. And, hey, if you like his music, he's willing to come to your house and play in your living room. (details at his official site)

Hamell On Trial - "The Meeting" From The Chord is Mightier Than the Sword. (out-of-print)
Hamell On Trial - "Big As Life" Title track to his out-of-print major label debut.
Hamell On Trial - "White Riot / Hitsville UK" (Clash covers) From a Clash tribute given away with an issue of Uncut Magazine.
Hamell On Trial - "I Hate Your Kid" (live at the Sarah Street Grill) Thanks to the completely legal Live Music Archive, which has more than 60 of his shows up for grabs. The officially released version (which is also live) is on Ed's Not Dead.
Hamell On Trial - "Coulter's Snatch" (live at Cafe Lena) I edited part of the intro on this one. There was a lengthy portion where he stepped away from the microphone, and all you had was a minute and a half of silence. If you want the silence back, it's another one from the Archive. The studio version is on Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs.

Last minute addition (just sent to me this morning):
Hamell On Trial - "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" (Bob Dylan cover) From another Uncut Magazine exclusive tribute disc.

Try to find these:

Big As Life, 1996
The Chord is Mightier Than the Sword, 1997
Choochtown, 2000 (buy)
Ed's Not Dead, 2001 (buy) (live)
Yap, 2003 (buy)
Tough Love, 2003 (buy)
Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs, 2006 (buy)
The Terrorism of Everyday Life, 2008 (buy) (live)
Rant and Roll, 2008 (buy cd) (buy deluxe dvd) (live)

Hamell On Tour:

July 17,18,19,25,26 - Capital Fringe Festival, Washington DC
August 28 - Porcupine Mountains Music Fest, Ontonagon, MI
More tour info here.

STEVE EARLE

Steve Earle has lead an interesting life, to put it mildly. He was born in Virginia and raised in various places around the US, though he's most often identified with Texas. He dropped out of school in 9th grade, in order to pursue a career in music.

It took more than ten years for him to become known as a performer - along the way he made a living writing songs for other artists, and he became friends with several other like-minded musicians including Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.

He also had a heavy drug addiction for many years that nearly ended his career. After taking some time off in the early nineties to clean up, he came back with a vengeance, releasing his most creative, diverse, and fiercely political albums in the years that have followed.

Though he tends to be listed as a country artist, his work varies from folk to bluegrass to rockabilly, to straight-forward rock. I've also seen him referred to as "outlaw country". If you're not familiar with the term, think of it as the country boy's gangsta rap.

I had written him off as just another country act, until I heard "Copperhead Road" in the late eighties. That song lead me to buy the album, where I discovered his style was so much more broad than what I had assumed. Hell, The Pogues are his backing band for one of the tracks on that album.

Here's a batch of songs that you won't find on his albums:

Steve Earle - "Ellis Unit One" From the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. (buy)
Steve Earle - "Open Your Window" From the Pay It Forward soundtrack. (buy) Not a movie that I would recommend to anyone (even though I'm a fan of Kevin Spacey's work), but the song is good.
Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band - "Copperhead Road" (live) A very different version than the original rocker. Released on "The Mountain" single.
Steve Earle and the Dukes - "Two Girls" (Townes Van Zandt cover) Steve's latest album is a full-length tribute to his friend, Townes, who passed away in 1997. This is an older cut from a various artist tribute called Poet, (buy) which is scheduled to be re-issued in July.
Steve and Justin Earle - "Candy Man" (Mississippi John Hurt cover) From the tribute album Avalon Blues. (buy) Steve recorded this one with his son, who has followed in dad's footsteps and put out several critically acclaimed albums himself.
Steve Earle - "Six Days On the Road" From the Plains, Trains and Automobiles soundtrack.
Steve Earle - "Walking Down Death Row" (Pete Seeger cover) From the tribute album If I Had a Song. (buy)
Steve Earle and the Dukes - "When Will We Be Married?" (live) A traditional song which was made popular in recent years thanks to The Waterboys. Recorded for a BBC broadcast in 1988.

Buy some Steve Earle:

Guitar Town, 1986 (buy remaster)
Exit 0, 1987 (buy)
Copperhead Road, 1988 (buy) (buy remaster)
The Hard Way, 1990 (buy)
Train a Commin', 1995 (buy)
I Feel Alright, 1996 (buy)
El Corazón, 1997 (buy)
The Mountain, 1999 (buy) (with the Del McCoury Band)
Transcendental Blues, 2000 (buy)
Jerusalem, 2002 (buy)
The Revolution Starts Now, 2004 (buy)
Washington Square Serenade, 2007 (buy) (buy deluxe)
Townes, 2009 (buy) (buy deluxe)

Steve is currently touring in the US & Canada, with dates around the world in the fall. Details are on his official site.

In local-ish music news, Joey Arroyo will be performing during an in-store appearance at Hoodlums in Tempe on Saturday. Details at his website, or the Hoodlums website.

WATERBOYS BEAR WITNESS

A quick update. The Waterboys have just posted a video in support of Iranian protesters. Lyrics are from a W. B. Yeats poem. Music by Mike Scott.



UPDATE: I had a couple of people looking for the lyrics. Here they are, direct from The Waterboys website.

LET THE EARTH BEAR WITNESS
words by W.B. Yeats

They shall be remembered for ever
They shall be alive for ever
They shall be speaking for ever
The people shall hear them for ever

Let the sea bear witness
Let the wind bear witness
Let the earth bear witness
Let the stars bear witness!

On an unrelated note -Michael Jackson R.I.P.

I'll be back tomorrow with some fresh goodies.