Unsung Songs #1: The Bible – “Graceland”

I was going to call this series The Underachievers, but that almost felt like it was being critical of someone, be it artist, record company or even the Great British Record-Buying Public. That isn’t what I’m trying to do. It’s meant to be more a celebration of songs I’ve liked over the years, but which, at their initial time of release at least, didn’t capture the hearts and minds of too many other folks.

To qualify, a song must have:

a) been released as a single in the UK

b) failed to make the UK Top 40 Singles chart – ever (unless I make an exception and allow a very low Top 40 placing)

c) been feted by me to various people over the years – with reactions ranging from “I can see why no-one bought it” to “did you know they’re still together – fancy seeing them?”, and most stations in between.

And so to #1…

Around 15 years ago, there was a flurry of 80s Lyric Quiz things flying around the office. These generally had some of the more interesting excerpts of songs from that decade that we were then invited to guess. Obviously most were taken from the well-known material that is still played on retro stations around three times a day (so I’m told – I rely on people who are subjected to this sort of stuff in their workplaces to keep me abreast of such developments. I’m so glad I work from home apart from a couple of days per month).

One lyrical excerpt I’d love to have seen in one of those quizzes was: “and when I die, will you build the Taj Mahal, wear black every day of your life – I doubt it”. It certainly beats the vast majority of the lyrics that did make the cut. But it wasn’t there, because it comes from a ditty that only ever got to #51 in 1989, and that was via a re-recording after two earlier peaks of #87 (1986) and #86 (1987). All of these were released on Chrysalis, but there was an earlier 1986 release on Backs Records. It seems there were others out there who really believed in this one, not just me. Looking at Discogs, I seem to have the 1986 Chrysalis version, which is reassuring, because that’s what my memory was telling me. Wikipedia seems to recall it slightly differently however, noting only the Backs release in 1986, and not the Chrysalis one that I actually have. I know this because the 1987 release had a different sleeve.

The band were formed in Cambridge in 1985 and the name I always associate with them is that of Boo Hewerdine, who wrote the song along with Tony Shepherd. Hewerdine has gone on to have a lengthy solo career, and my recollection is that there has been significant acclaim for his solo output, although I must confess to not having explored it too deeply.

Would that solo career have happened in quite the same way if Graceland and subsequent singles had fared better sales-wise?

For me, Graceland sounded a little Smiths-y, which is probably what drew me to it in the first place – and may well have turned others off it. I think it’s the pick of The Bible’s output prior to their break-up in 1989 (they have reformed twice since then and appear to be an entity at the time of writing). It lags well behind later single, Honey Be Good, in terms of Spotify plays though, which surprised me. Of course mentioning the word Graceland in 1986/7 would have prompted people to mention the then current Paul Simon album of that name, whose global success far eclipsed this humble track. I like both, but given the choice of only playing the one, this wins hands down.

TGG

March 29, 2023

1. 

   Charity Chic

   April 3, 2023

   aN EXCELLENT CHOICE

   LikeLiked by 1 person

   Reply

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The Cassette Albums #2: G. W. McLennan – “Watershed”

I’m fairly sure I was aware of The Go-Betweens before I landed at Uni in 1984. Aware of their existence, that is. I was reading enough of the music press to be aware of many bands from whom I’d heard no output – indeed in some cases, I probably still haven’t. But as I recall it, the press coverage around The Go-Betweens had always been fairly positive.

Therefore, I was rather delighted one day when browsing the Uni radio station record library, looking for something that I’d decided to play, when I stumbled across The Go-Betweens’ debut album, Send Me A Lullaby. Not that I realised at that point that it was their debut. I found some spare studio time to give it a listen at some point and quite enjoyed it, but no more than that. Nevertheless, it was good to see an album from a couple of years earlier released on Rough Trade in the collection, as there were still plenty of prog-rock loving Engineering students around, and the record library reflected this.

My next recollection of hearing The Go-Betweens was when I Just Get Caught Out appeared on an EP that came free with Sounds (research tells me this was on 28th February 1987). According to the sleeve notes, this had been specially recorded for the EP. This was the second track on the B-side of said EP, following offerings from The Cult, The Fall and The Adult Net (who may also feature in this series at some point). For a free EP, it was one of the better ones I’d acquired in this manner, but it was track B2 that I kept going back to for another listen.

That version of I Just Get Caught Out was not the version that ended up on their next album, Tallulah, which is a shame as I prefer it. But that album and follow-up, 16 Lovers Lane, cemented The Go-Betweens as the sort of band I’d enthuse about to other people – usually to complete indifference. I re-listened to Send Me A Lullaby and got a lot more from it this time, and I investigated the albums in between that I’d missed.

And then they only went and split. How dare they? I’d only just got into them. I felt royally cheated.

So that is why, upon learning of a debut solo release from Grant McLennan around 18 months later, I rushed out to purchase the album, without having heard anything from it. I can’t fully recall what the 25 year-old TGG was expecting from the album – I imagine it would have been something that picked up where The Go-Betweens left off. Listening to it now, it doesn’t exactly do that, and I guess that’s what I thought back then as well. The difference is that now I can appreciate the album on its own merits, but in 1991, in the context of the relatively recent demise of The Go-Betweens, I’m not entirely sure I would have been capable of doing that.

It’s certainly one that following the initial flurry of plays after buying it, didn’t trouble the cassette player of the Fiat Uno I had at the time. That, I think is the reason that I was keen to revisit this so early in this series. Basically, I don’t think I was mature enough to appreciate an album like this at that time.

The one song I did remember from the album without any prompting was “Haven’t I Been A Fool”, the first single taken from it, I now learn. I was however a little surprised that my memory had failed me, as I thought it was the lead track, but it isn’t – it’s the second track on side 1. This is one that I had added to a couple of playlists on Spotify as for whatever reason, it has stayed in my head despite not playing it for a number of years. The first track is actually Word Gets Around, which is a decent way to kick things off.

Listening through the album, the track Black Mule had me singing along to it well before the end, dredged from somewhere in the back of my brain – did I actually play this album more than I’d realised? Listening now, the standout track is Easy Come, Easy Go, which bizarrely, I had absolutely no recollection of whatsoever. This was also apparently a single. Once I’d played the album in its entirety, I went back and picked out favourite tracks for a further listen – all of the above plus Sally’s Revolution and Putting The Wheels Back On (which has surprisingly few plays on the aforementioned streaming service).

Overall then I was pleased to have revisited Watershed. It was never going to be a replacement for a new Go-Betweens album back in 1991 and if I did expect that perhaps it was me being the fool, but there is enough of their sound there (not really a shock), whilst to me, it does go somewhere slightly different.

What I didn’t do was purchase any further Grant McLennan solo albums – they have now joined the lengthy Things I Need To Listen To list (which exists only in my head – were I to write it down, I fear it would be a never-ending task). I was however fully on board for the Go-Betweens reunion in 2000, until Grant’s untimely death in 2006.

And what of Robert Forster? Somehow his pre-millennium solo output had avoided my radar until I started fact-checking this article. Guess what’s also now on that very long list.

There wasn’t meant to be such a long gap between the Taking Stock post and this one. Life.

I notice the colour on my photo isn’t the best – that’s down to me taking a shot in poor light rather than having left the cassette exposed to bright sunlight for a number of years!

TGG

March 23, 2023

Taking Stock

After setting up this page as long ago as 2017, it took until the 19th December 2022 before I actually posted anything on it. I’ve had plenty of ideas and created numerous lists over the five year gap. I’m not entirely sure what prompted me to start typing that evening, but I have found that stationing myself at the PC in the titular study and listening to and writing about music and various linked experiences has been quite helpful in coping with a number of stresses, including the ongoing situation with my mother’s health.

After a break during the second half of January, when I was routinely falling asleep at the times when I’d wanted to type something, I was glad to get back to it. What also pleased me was that visitor numbers actually increased upon my return, which was not what I’d been expecting at all. However, I feel that the quality of recent posts hasn’t perhaps been that great, and one or two pieces have felt like a bit of a chore when I was writing them. This seems to be borne out in visitor numbers, which have dropped off a cliff since the beginning of March. Not that I can complain – I’ve not been visiting my usual blog haunts that much in the last month or so either. I’m writing this primarily for myself, as a way of formalising my thoughts and memories about music, but I’d like to think I can do that in a way which others find entertaining. There are a couple of recent posts that I can barely re-read myself, so why should I expect anyone else to look at them?

So where to go after 18 posts and 21 YouTube links?

I have listened to another Cassette Album, so that is most likely the next thing I will write about, and I made a lot of notes whilst listening. I’m not sure if everything will make the cut, but it was one I picked out as something that I really wanted to revisit after a long time of not playing it, so I do want to do it justice.

There will be some more Seen ‘Em Live – including a couple that I’m really looking forward to writing about if the gigs are half as good as I’m hoping they will be.

I also want to start a new series – The Underachievers. This will focus on records that for whatever reason failed to make the impression in terms of UK Chart position that I feel they should have done. It may be that they did well in other countries or have done well years later or whatever. My blog, my rules as to what constitutes underachievement. Obviously this will be time-locked to the period when I took an interest in what was actually making the Charts, so that will feature music from the 20th Century. I’ve got five song titles noted down so far – and many more in my head.

And then there is what seemed like a good idea at the time – picking something from the Discover Weekly playlist based on matching the date and the number on the list. It had its moments, but last week it threw up a Top 10 hit from 1987. A song I hadn’t consciously heard in 36 years. A song so awful I opted not to share a link or write anything about it. A song that I hope I don’t hear for another 36 years (if I make it that long, I will be 92 and will probably be past caring).

But Discover Weekly will stay with different rules, and it may not necessarily appear every week. My focus with this now will be genuinely on something I haven’t heard before that’s made a positive impression on me and that I feel I want to share. I will be taking into account the full playlist and not just the track that matches the date. Bear in mind I don’t listen to the radio all that much these days, so my knowledge of new stuff is not what it was. My definition of “new” is pretty much anything recorded since 2010! Comments mocking my levels of being out of touch will of course be warmly welcomed. There was a song from 2017 on this week’s list that may feature, but I want to play it a couple more times before I decide.

So after Taking Stock, hopefully there are treasures still unlocked.

At which point Echo & The Bunnymen become the first act to feature twice on the blog.

TGG

March 8, 2023

Discover Weekly #10

And so it takes until the 10th of these before a track doesn’t get added to a playlist. I’ll be honest – I like 10cc. I grew up in Manchester and Stockport and so from an early age, saw them as a “local” band. In my twenties, I even drank occasionally in the pub across the road from their Strawberry Studios (where I’m Not In Love was recorded).

I was probably too young to realise that the band had split and that by the time Dreadlock Holiday hit #1 in 1978, two members of the band had already recorded an album of their own. In fact, I’d have been totally stumped if you’d asked me to name any members of the band. But then, I was 12 in 1978 – and I could only name a couple of Sex Pistols because I’d seen their names printed in a suitably frothing-at-the-mouth article in the Daily Mail.

It wasn’t until 1981 and the Top 10 success of Under Your Thumb, that I got to know the names Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. That’s a tune I still like a lot and the cod soul of follow-up Wedding Bells is OK as far as I’m concerned. I purchased their parent album Ismism. If I put it on the turntable today, two tracks would be a lot more crackly than the rest of the album. I’ll leave that there.

I became aware of this track around the tine that Under Your Thumb was being played on the nation’s airwaves. Presumably some enterprising DJ decided our knowledge of the duo needed broadening.

It had been released a couple of years earlier to complete indifference in the UK, but bizarrely made the Top 10 in both Belgium and the Netherlands. For me, it’s an OK song, but I find it slightly irritating – a bit like the occasional 10cc album track. So that’s why it won’t be making its way onto any of my playlists.

This is of course an early example of the video-making that would give Godley & Creme a parallel career.

As a footnote, Lol Creme has recently been playing in the Trevor Horn Band. A group that performs Video Killed The Radio Star, Two Tribes and Owner Of A Lonely Heart without batting an eyelid. Trevor Horn will introduce Creme as “this old specimen” and then the band do a great version of Rubber Bullets. I’ve caught them a couple of times at Rewind North.

This was #20 on the 20th February playlist.

TGG

March 5, 2023

Discover Weekly #9

Those of you who read #4 in this series will be familiar with a former work colleague who was a major fan of Super Furry Animals (and may well still be, but I haven’t seen or heard from him in 22 years). He and some of the music press of the time, were also swept away with the band who featured at #13 on 13th Feb playlist. To be honest, I didn’t really get it at the time.

I’m not entirely sure I get them now. I did purchase the follow-up single, Bring It On, but it’s spent many years in an inaccessible box, which perhaps tells you how I feel about this band. Nothing wrong with them, but there seemed to be a whole load of hype around them – and they were never seriously going to be the new Blur or Oasis.

As someone who gets ever so slightly obsessed with numbers, this has been added to a playlist of songs that peaked between 31 and 40 (#35 in 1998). It’s pleasant enough, but the hype at the time did the band no favours.

TGG

March 5, 2023