A Few Favourite Albums: Best Dressed Chicken In Town - Dr. Alimantado (1978)

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Best Dressed Chicken In Town - Dr Alimantado

Greensleeves

Produced by Winston Thompson (AKA Doctor Alimantado)

Released 1978

 Listen to the Best Dressed Chicken In Town that was issued in 2001 on CD with four bonus tracks:

11 Ital Galore 3:38
12 I Am The Greatest Says Muhammed Ali 2:58
13 Johnny Was A Baker 3:35
14 Tribute To The Duke 4.00

Original Tracklisting for the album:

Side 1

Side 2

Single released from the album

Best Dressed Chicken In Town

7" Yellow Vinyl 1978

A-Side: Best Dressed Chicken In Town

B-Side: Can't Conquer Natty Dreadlocks

****************

 (The Good Doctor Himself)

There are lots of links below to more music by Dr. Almantado and music that's associated to this album. Click on them to enjoy the sounds.

The Debut Album from Dr. Alimantado was actually a collection of previous recordings dating back to 1973 with Just The Other Day , Ride On (which was released as a single in 1974 on Ital Records - which was owned and run by Alimantado himself ) and Plead I Cause - which was originally titled Plea I Cause and issued as a B-Side to the 1973 single Jah Have Mercy on Ital. On the CD Reissue Ital Galore dates back to 1972 (the other bonus tracks: I Am The Greatest Says Muhammed Ali was a single with the Soul Syndicate in 1974 on Ital; Johnny Was A Baker was recorded in 1975 at King Tubbys; and Tribute To The Duke was recorded in 1977 but there was a version released under the banner of Dennis Ferron and Doc. Alimantado in 1976 on Ital Sounds.

It was the first album released from UK based Reggae label Greensleeves which had been founded in 1977 by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgewick. They had actually begun as a small record shop in West Ealing in 1975 and like other shops like Small Wonder, Beggars Banquet and Raw would move into the process of releasing records once they had moved to Shepherd's Bush in 1977.

The title track (originally called Best Dress Chicken) had been released on the Sun and Stars label in the UK back in 1975 (and in Jamaica on the Capo label the same year though it had actually been recorded in 1974).

The album employed several major reggae hits as the basis for the tracks, including Horace Andy and John Holt's version of  A Quiet Place which was also a recut of The Paragons classic Man Next Door - Got To Get Away was its actual title and was released as a B-Side in 1968 on Duke Records in the UK (on Poison Flour and I Shall Fear No Evil), John Holt's Ali Baba (on I Killed the Barber), and Gregory Isaacs' Thief a Man (on Gimmie Mi Gun which had been released as a single originally in 1975 on Ital Sounds) and My Religion (on Unitone Skank).

Best Dressed Chicken In Town is among my Top Three Favourite Reggae Albums and although there were to be other albums from him this one, more than any of them, stands the test of time.

Cover Me - The Songs of Bruce Springsteen (S4L Edition 2018)

Having had a bit of a sleepness night I thought I would try and occupy myself with a little music therapy and turned to the songbook of Bruce Springsteen and the interpretations of his songs as performed by others.

And I've gathered together 30 tracks from all manner of artists, some which are well known and a few that were quite new to me. Enjoy.

Cover Me - The Songs of Bruce Springsteen
(S4L Edition 2018)


On The Playlist
Take 'em as They Come - Jimmy Eat World
Ghost of Tom Joad - Rage Against the Machine
Atlantic City - The Hold Steady
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City - David Bowie
Fire - Robert Gordon & Link Wray
Because The Night - 10,000 Maniacs
Highway Patrolman - Johnny Cash
State Trooper - Cowboy Junkies
Born in the U.S.A. - Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires
No Surrender - Kevin Montgomery
The Fever - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
Tougher Than The Rest - Everything But The Girl
For You - Greg Kihn
Rendezvous - Gary U.S. Bonds
Reason To Believe - The Henry Girls
Dancing In The Dark - Amy MacDonald
From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) - Dave Edmunds
Mansion On The Hill - Wilt
Born To Run - Roger Daltrey
Candy's Room - Maria McKee
Stolen Car - Patty Griffin
Used Cars - Strand of Oaks
Downbound Train - The Cardigans
Book of Dreams - Dion
Growin Up - The Bouncing Souls
Protection - Donna Summer
Don't Look Back - The Knack
Thunder Road - Melissa Etheridge
Light of Day - Michael J. Fox & Joan Jett
If I Should Fall Behind - Nils Lofgren

A Few Favorite Albums: Blind Man's Zoo - 10,000 Maniacs (1989)

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Blind Man's Zoo - 10,000 Maniacs
Elektra
Produced by Peter Asher
Released 16th May 1989
US Chart #13
UK Chart #18
Watch and Listen to

Blind Man's Zoo Here:

Track listing
The links here are for Live or TV Performances of songs from the album.

Side One
1 "Eat for Two" (Natalie Merchant) – 3:26
2 "Please Forgive Us" (Robert Buck, Merchant) – 3:22
3 "The Big Parade" (Jerome Augustyniak, Merchant) – 4:00
4 "Trouble Me" (Dennis Drew, Merchant) – 3:08
5 "You Happy Puppet" (Buck, Merchant) – 3:35
6 "Headstrong" (Natalie Merchant) – 4:13

Side Two
1"Poison in the Well" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:05
2 "Dust Bowl" (Buck, Merchant) – 4:11
3 "The Lion's Share" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:00
4 "Hateful Hate" (Natalie Merchant) – 4:28
5 "Jubilee" (Natalie Merchant) – 6:07

 

Singles from Blind Man's Zoo

UK 7"

A-Side: 

Trouble Me 

B-Side: 

The Lion's Share

UK 12"

A-Side: 

1. Trouble Me

B-Side:

1. The Lion's Share

2. Party of God (featuring Billy Bragg)

Released in USA April 1989 

US Hot 100 #44

Released in UK June 1989

UK Chart #77

 7" UK EP

A-Side: 

1. Eat For Two

2. Wildwood Flower

B-Side:

1. Don't Call Us

2. From The Time You Say Goodbye

Limited Edition UK 10" EP

A-Side:

1. Eat For Two

2. What's The Matter Here (Acoustic)

B-Side:

1. Eat For Two (Acoustic)

2. From The Time You Said Goodbye

Limited Edition UK 12"

A-Side:

1. Eat For Two

2. Gun Shy (Acoustic)

B-Side:

1. Wildwood Flower

2. Hello In There

Released in UK November 1989

UK Chart #93

 

European and US 7"

A-Side:

Eat For Two

B-Side:

The Big Parade

 Released in USA July 1989

US Alternative Chart #12

 

US CD Release

1. You Happy Puppet

2. Gun Shy (Acoustic)

3. Wildwood Flower

4. Hello In There

Released in USA October 1989

Did Not Chart

Personnel
10,000 Maniacs
    Jerome Augustyniak – drums
    Robert Buck – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
    Dennis Drew – organ, piano
    Steve Gustafson – bass guitar
    Natalie Merchant – vocals, piano, pipe organ

Additional musicians
    Jevetta Steele – backing vocals
    Jason Osborn – arrangement, orchestral direction
    Krista Bennion Feeney – first violin
    Mitsuru Tsubota – second violin
    Louise Schulman – viola
    Myron Lutzke – cello
    Dennis Godburn – bassoon
    Robert Wolinsky – harpsichord
    Scott Kuney – classical guitar
    Frank Luther – double bass

******************

Two years after their breakthrough album In My Tribe, 10,000 Maniacs released their fourth LP which further cemented their place on the musical map.

Natalie Merchant said about most of the album:

    'The theme that I keep returning to with every song is betrayal. "Eat for Two" is self-betrayal. "The Big Parade" is a nation betraying its citizens. "Please Forgive Us" is a nation betraying another nation. "Hateful Hate" is a race betraying another race. "Jubilee" is, first, a man who's betrayed by nature or God..."Poison in the Well" is the question of corporate culpability when there's a toxic-waste dump that suddenly is seeping into the main water supply of a neighborhood. That corporation has betrayed those people.'

Some of those same themes are still around today in various guises and shows that all these years on it still speaks into the current situation in the USA and in other places also.
 

My personal view on the album is that it was a real step forward (though some of those dreaded critics saw differently) musically and lyrically. I thought it would be hard to top In My Tribe but I think they did with Blind Man's Zoo.

I saw them in Glasgow when they toured the album and thought they were outstanding. It's still an album that I have a lot of affection for 29 years on from its release. It's also a reminder to me that the particular show at The Pavillion was one of the first for me since moving to the City of Glasgow from London that same year.

This is the first of series that I hope to do at various times called A Few Favourite Albums. They will be my choices and maybe not necessarily huge hit albums, or ones loved by the critics. They will be albums that still hold some meaning for me years on after their initial release.

S4L Radio Show Playlist #6 Shout To Silence

It's been a wee while since the last playlist so thought I'd put another one together spotlighting the theme of Noise and Silence. I know, it sounds an odd combination but it's actually something we constantly deal with in life. Noise is all around us and sometimes we have to fight for silence in order to grab a precious moment where we can connect with God or ourselves afresh.

So here it is twenty songs with Shouts, Loudness, Screams, Banging, Noise, and eventually Quiet and Silence!

Enjoy.
 

The Playlist

Shout To Silence

On The Playlist:

Shout:

Shout - Sham 69

Shake and Shout - Secret Affair

Shout To The Devil - The Alarm

Loud:

Play It Loud - MxPx

Live Life Loud - Hawk Nelson

Scream:

To The Tune of 5,000 Screaming Children - The Juliana Theory

Better Scream - Wah! Heat

Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) - The Icicle Works

Bang:

Bang A Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex

Bang Bang - Squeeze

Don't Bang The Drum - The Waterboys

Noise:

Shout Above The Noise - Penetration

Noise Noise Noise - The Damned

A Big Bad Beautiful Noise - The Godfathers

White Noise - The Interrupters

Quiet:

All Quiet On The Eastern Front - Ramones

Quietly Alone - Kirsty MacColl

Silence:

Code of Silence (Live) - Bruce Springsteen and The East Street Band

The Silence Between Us - Bob Mould

Silence - Jars of Clay

 

 

 

 

New Music 2018: Beds Are Burning - Comeback Kid (5th May)

 Beds Are Burning - Comeback Kid

Nuclear Blast

5th May 2018

Formats:

Limited Edition 7" (500 Copies)

Digital Download

A-Side

Beds Are Burning

B-Side

Little Soldier

Just in time for the start of their Australian Tour on the 14th May, Hardcore Canadian Punks Comeback Kid have released a cover version of the classic Midnight Oil song Beds Are Burning.

It's backed with Little Soldier which was left off of their sixth album, Outsider, that was released in 2017.

The band will be playing in the UK at the end of May as part of the Slam Dunk Festival: Leeds (North 26th May), Hatfield (South 27th May) and Birmingham (Midlands 28th May). For more Tour dates check out the list here.

New Music 2018: Hard Feelings - Blessthefall (March 2018)

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Hard Feelings - Blessthefall
Rise Records

Produced by Blessthefall, Tyler Smyth, Matt Good, Howard Benson
Released 23rd March 2018

US Chart #54

Hard Feelings is the sixth studio album from Arizona Metalcore rockers Blessthefall and is their first for Rise Records.

I've been sitting on this one since it came out and finally got around to giving it a spin and man I'm impressed. There's a nice delicate balance of singing and that typical Metalcore Scream which actually makes the album a really listenable experience.

Cryptic Rock Review.

Stars and Scars Review.

Kill The Music Review.

 

Give it a blast today, you might actually enjoy it!

New Music 2018: Be More Kind - Frank Turner

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Be More Kind - Frank Turner

Xtra Mile/Interscope Records/Polydor

Produced by Austin Jenkins, Joshua Block and Charlie Hugall

Released 4th May 2018

Listen Here To Tracks from

Be More Kind

Songs on the Playlist above include:

Don't Worry (Live at SXSW 2018)

1933 (Album Version)

Little Changes (Promo Video)

Be More Kind (Album Version)

Make America Great Again (Promo Version)

There She Is (Live Acoustic Version)

Blackout (Promo Video)

Get It Right (Live Version with the bonus of Get Better from Swindon show in January 2018)

Personnel
Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

    Frank Turner – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
    Ben Lloyd – electric guitar, backing vocals
    Tarrant Anderson – bass guitar, backing vocals
    Matt Nasir – piano, organ, synthesizer, backing vocals
    Nigel Powell – drums and percussion, backing vocals

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Be More Kind is the seventh Studio Album from Frank Turner and once again he's backed by his impressive band The Sleeping Souls.

Read NME Interview with Frank Turner (January 2018) Here.

Sêan Reid of Already Heard awarded the album 2/5 stars, referring to the album's varied sonic palette as "uneasy and somewhat inconsistent" and stating that "Be More Kind is a record that requires patience, yet the musical substance that supports his empathetic lyrics makes for a difficult listen." I don't want to seem picky with a music critic but sometimes they just have to get their head out of their rear ends and just enjoy music for what it is, music, rather than trying to treat it as if it is some kind of world changing ideology to be pulled apart piece by piece at the Debate Society to make sure it fits with their own perspective on life!

I've listened to the album three times today and I really don't see how Frank's lyrics make this a "difficult listen", infact, I think this is some of the best Songwriting that Mr Turner has put out and there's an immediate connection for those who are maybe going through tough days and also a lovely sense of humanity, especially with the title track:

 "In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind"

There's nothing too "difficult" with that is there?

Frank is also one known to speak his mind a little and in Make America Great Again he sets it out clearly:

"Let's make America great again
By making racists ashamed again
Let's make compassion in fashion again
Let's make America great again"

 

He won't be getting much love from the Republicans and the Alt-Right crowd for singing stuff like:

 

 "Let's be a friend to our oldest friends
And call them out when they're faltering"

 

The decision though, as to whether this is a good album or not, ultimately comes down to you and not the critic in his office tyring to make a buck for a living. For me, I think it's fabulous. It's a nice mix of sounds as well from the loud to the quiet and actually I sometimes prefer Frank Turner when he gets a bit quieter as the sheer quality of his lyrics shine through much better.

 

Frank Turner

SXSW 

16th March 2018

New Music 2018: Never Gonna Die - Pennywise (20th April)

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Never Gonna Die - Pennywise
Epitaph
Produced By Cameron Webb
Released 20th April 2018

Formats include CD, Download, Blue Vinyl (USA) and Clear Vinyl (Europe)

Listen to Never Gonna Die Here:

Tracklist

A1 Never Gonna Die    
A2 American Lies    
A3 Keep Moving On    
A4 Live While You Can    
A5 We Set Fire    
A6 She Said    
A7 Can't Be Ignored    
B1 Goodbye Bad Times    
B2 A Little Hope    
B3 Won't Give Up The Fight    
B4 Can't Save You Now    
B5 All The Ways U Can Die    
B6 Listen    
B7 Something New

(All Songs and Music written by Pennywise)

Pennywise are:

    Jim Lindberg – lead vocals
    Fletcher Dragge – guitar, backing vocals
    Randy Bradbury – bass, backing vocals
    Byron McMackin – drums, backing vocals 

*************

The last time that Jim Lindberg featured on an album of brand new songs by Pennywise was way back in 2008 on the album Reason To Believe (Released 25th March) and then in August 2009 he left the band. He returned back in 2013 after the departure of Zoli Téglás (who only recorded one album with them - All or Nothing in 2012 - that seems to not actually be recognised by the band - it doesn't feature on their websiste at all and they don't play any songs from it at their shows!). He did feature on vocals for the 2014 album Yesterdays but a lot of that is older material that had not been previously recorded.

The album has taken awhile to record but was completed in 2017 and was announced for release back in March. It was released yesterday on Epitaph.

Some fascinating songs on the album show that they have clearly been keeping an eye on the current political climate in their homeland with songs like American Lies:

The political scene coming apart at the seams
Its the end of the American Dream
The temperature is ready to burst
The future is not what it seems for the American Dream
Time has come you know we can't stop it
You know that the end is drawing near
Knocked down the sound of it collapsing
So loud no one can hear
Mindless old tyrants
do you hear the sirens song that will herald your demise
excessive sessions on your transgressions
we're all left sifting through the lies

and in particular A Little Hope and so clearly Can't Save You Now that seems like an outright attack upon the dishonesty of Trump: "All Your Lies Can't Save You Now!"

I'm really impressed with it and actually blasted through it a couple of times last night. Along with Anti-Flag's American Fall, Never Gonna Die is an excellent spotlight on the reaction of musicians to the desperate days they are living in under the reign of Trump!

S4L Radio Show 2018 Playlist #5

It's been awhile since the last Playlist so I thought I'd throw together a new one with some of the things that I've been listening to over the last couple of months whilst absent from posting here.

As usual it's a mixed bag of everything from Country to Indie, Rock to Pop, and Folk to Gospel.

The Playlist

On The Playlist

Radioland - Ashley McBryde.

For You - Nina Diaz.

Starcrossed Lovers - The Fratellis.

Time Will Be The Healer - Glen Hansard.

Distant Colours - Manic Street Preachers.

Kandy Krush - Kim Wilde.

Virginia Plain - Roxy Music.

Long Distance Love - Rick Parfitt.

The Lion and The Lamb - Meg'n Jez (TV Smith Cover).

Oblivion Kids - Last Great Dreamers.

Just What To Say - Dashboard Confessional.

To The Music I Belong - Kate Nash.

No More Tears For Daddy - Alan Bishop (The Red Eyes).

The End of Things - Bob Mould (Live On Colbert Show).

The President Sang Amazing Grace - Joan Baez (Zoe Mulford Cover).
Absoulte Reality - The Alarm.
Physical - Julianna Hatfield (Olivia Newton John Cover).
My Father's Gun - Miranda Lambert (Elton John Cover).
Them Double Blues - John Mellencamp (Johnny Cash song).
Liberty Song - The Levellers. 

The Parting Shot
Change The World - Snoop Dogg feat John P. Kee.
 
 

New Music: Evil Spirits - The Damned (April 2018)

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Evil Spirits - The Damned

Spinefarm Records/Search and Destroy Records

Produced by Tony Visconti

Released 13th April 2018

Latest Single:

 Look Left

Released 16th April 2018

More from the latest album:

Click On The Links:

Side One

Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow.
The Devil In Disguise.
We’re So Nice.    
Look Left.    
Evil Spirits.

Side Two

    
Shadow Evocation.    
Sonar Deceit.    
Procrastination.    
The Daily Liar.
I Don’t Care.

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First post after a wee break over the past couple of months. This has been mainly down to dealing with my epilepsy issues and a few of the side effects that come from the drugs I have to take that cause issues like lack of focus etc. I'm not making any great promises that I'm going to post everyday because sometimes that's not going to be possible. The other thing is I am probably not going to be doing big and indepth pieces as I just don't seem to have the capcity to concentrate for huge periods of time and so spending three hours researching and writing is going to be a thing of the past for the moment. Apologies to those who maybe come here looking for that!

Anyway, I thought I'd kick off the return to posting with The Damned's first studio album in a decade! Was pleased to hear that the album made #5 on the UK Album Chart on release.