Anyone who knows me will tell you that I think the Trashcan Sinatras are just about the best band ever. Of course, they’ll never ‘make it’, whatever that is, but in years to come, someone somewhere will stumble across a copy of ‘Weightlifting’ and think “Where have they been all my life?” They’re a Velvet Underground waiting to happen. Seriously. ‘Snow’ is a bit of an obscurity amongst the collected works of the Trashcan Sinatras. It’s much sought after in Trashcans circles and as rare as a winning lottery ticket in my house. Naturally, I have a copy. On super-sexy 7” vinyl. Japanese Promotional copy no less. If you could get record Top Trumps this would be my winning hand. Released only in Japan and recorded with some percussion-playing Japanese musicians, it isn’t the definitive sounding Trashcans record. It wouldn’t be the first thing I’d play to someone who’d never heard them (try All The Dark Horses or Country Air from Weightlifting), but that’s no reason to give it a body swerve. Written by Randy Newman, it builds on moody atmospherics, some Doors-y sounding Fender Rhodes (I think) and some nice understated slide guitar playing. It sounds like angels crying in heaven in some places. It’s that good. Listen to it here and pass it on. Harry Nilsson does a version that sounds like ‘Surf’s Up’ era Beach Boys. Quiet, restrained and accompanied by Randy Newman on the piano. It’s a bit rough round the edges and sounds like a demo that was recorded at the end of a long day’s drinking. Which is my way of saying “Tom Waits”. Good, but not a patch on the criminally ignored Trashcans.
*stop press!
Wow! So many downloads of this track. Nice to see so many lurkers out there. Don’t be scared to leave a comment the next time.
Plain Or Pan 