THE FRAMES

Ah, look how young they were there. Yeah, you must know The Frames by now. This is the third time I've posted about them.

One wonderful blog reader recently gave me a link to a bunch of their recordings I didn't yet have. The highlight of those was the 4-song demo EP they put out around the time of their second album, Fitzcarraldo, which is also when this pic was taken.

The demos are far too good to keep to myself, so here they are, along with a few other goodies from the early days for good measure. Big big thanks to Chris on this one.

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The Angel At My Table demo EP:
The Frames DC - "Angel At My Table" (Demo)
The Frames DC - "Revelate" (Demo)
The Frames DC - "Fitzcarraldo" (Demo)
The Frames DC - "Denounced" (Demo)

A few other things:
The Frames - "Life's A Gas" (T. Rex cover) From the Turn On Your Record Player EP.
The Frames - "Last Song To You" B-side of "The Dancer" single.
The Frames - "Stamp My Name" B-side of "The Dancer" CD single.
The Frames - "Teardrops In My Wine" B-side of the "Masquerade" single.

There's still several more b-sides and rarities that I don't have, so if there's anyone out there that's got some goodies and is willing to share, feel free to drop me a line.

Get some Frames albums:

(The Frames official store)
Another Love Song, 1992
Fitzcarraldo, 1995 (buy import) (as The Frames DC)
Dance the Devil. . ., 1999 (buy import)
For the Birds, 2001 (buy)
Set List, 2003 (buy) (live)
Burn the Maps, 2004 (buy)
The Cost, 2006 (buy)

These days, several of the guys are touring with The Swell Season (see my last post).



Switching modes from Ireland over to Scotland, there's a short acoustic set from The Proclaimers available to stream over at NPR. It's from their appearance at Mountain Stage in West Virginia earlier this year.

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)

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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.

THE PROCLAIMERS at SxSW

Updating yesterday's post:

After re-watching The Proclaimers' performance at the South by South West Festival, I decided to share the audio of the whole set with everyone. Here's all the details:

The Proclaimers (Craig and Charlie Reid) acoustic performance. Live at the Lone Star Lounge, Austin Texas, March 20, 2009. 2:00 P.M. Audio ripped to mp3 @192.

Set list:
01 In Recognition
02 Letter From America
03 What Makes You Cry
04 He's Just Like Me
05 Throw the 'R' Away
06 There's A Touch
07 Sing All Our Cares Away (Damien Dempsey cover)
08 Role Model
09 Sunshine on Leith
10 I'm On My Way
11 17 (Kings of Leon cover)
12 I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

Get the complete show here: The Proclaimers - Live at SxSW

If you'd like to see some of the video of the performance, here's a couple of songs:
The Proclaimers - "Sing All Our Cares Away" (mpg)

The Proclaimers - "Throw the 'R' Away" (mpg)

The Proclaimers discography:

This Is the Story, 1987
Sunshine On Leith, 1988
Hit the Highway, 1994 (buy)
Persevere, 2001 (buy)
Born Innocent, 2003
Restless Soul, 2005 (buy)
Life With You, 2007 (buy)
Notes & Rhymes, 2009 (scheduled)

Apparently, there will be a studio version of the Damien Dempsey cover on the new album , Notes and Rhymes, which is scheduled for a July release.

THE PROCLAIMERS

The Proclaimers are a couple of Scottish twins named Craig and Charlie Reid. They’re pretty much only known in the States for their mega-hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, which achieved it’s success thanks in part to the now forgotten movie Benny and June. Your kids might recognize their song “I’m On My Way” thanks to its inclusion in one of the Shrek films.

Here’s a few things you won’t find on a soundtrack, or on any of their albums:

The Proclaimers - “I Can’t Be Myself” From the “Throw the ‘R’ Away” single. Their first single. Their first b-side.
The Proclaimers - “Make My Heart Fly” (Band Version) Released as a single. This is the first song I ever heard by them. I tried in vain for years to hunt down this version. Now here it is for you. Original acoustic version is on This Is the Story. (buy)
The Proclaimers - “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” (Acoustic Version) By far their biggest international hit. This version is from a Radio Forth session released on their website. Original version is on Sunshine on Leith. (buy)
The Proclaimers - “Guess Who Won’t Beg” Definitely my favorite of their b-sides. From the “What Makes You Cry” single.
The Proclaimers - “Invitation To the Blues” Roger Miller cover from the “Let’s Get Married” single.
The Proclaimers - “Joyful Kilmarnock Blues” (Live at the Glasgow Barrowlands, 1994) From the “These Arms of Mine” single. Original version is on This Is the Story. (buy)

Also keep an eye out for their version of “500 Miles” with comedians Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin. It was issued as a charity single, and is still in print, so I won’t post it here. You can buy it here.

The Proclaimers Discography:

This Is the Story (1987) (buy)
Sunshine on Leith (1988) (buy)
Hit the Highway (1994) (buy)
Persevere (2001) (buy)
Born Innocent (2004) (buy)
Restless Soul (2005) (buy)
Life With You (2007) (buy)