Category: Gone but not forgotten

Cover Versions, elliott smith, Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Sampled

Sum Songs

Craig McAllister

Regular readers here will know that I’m somewhat a fan of Elliott Smith. I’ve posted various bits and pieces of his before. Equal parts downbeat alt. folk mumbler and upbeat Beatles-obsessed melodic genius, I could listen to Elliott all day. Stuck at the end of the Son Of Sam single (November 2000) was this, the what I assumed to be title track but left of the album of the same name Figure 8. It’s spooky as hell. A simple music box piano plays a spidery, child-like melody in the background while Elliott quietly sings these fantastic lyrics:

Figure 8 is double 4
Figure 4 is half of 8
If you skate, you would be great,
if you could make a figure 8,
that’s a circle that turns round upon itself. 

Figure 8 is 2 times 4
4 times 4 is 2 times 8
If you skate upon thin ice,
you’d be wise if you thought twice,
before you made another single move.

Amazingly (to me at least), it turns out that Figure 8 is not an Elliott original. It was written in 1973 by Bob Dorough and recorded by Blossom Dearie. It first came to the public’s attention via US TVs Schoolhouse Rock series of educational programmes – aye, the same series of programmes that brought you Dorough’s own The Magic Number. You know, “3. Is a magic number. Yes it is. It’s a …” Of course you do. Turns out Dorough is a bit of a jazz cat – he worked with Miles Davis and Alan Ginsberg, played ‘tween Lenny Bruce stand-up sets and led the band in boxer Sugar Ray Robinson’s musical revue.  

Elliott Smith stays pretty faithful to the first half of Dorough’s/Dearie’s original. But whereas his stops at downbeat and introspective, Blossom Dearie picks herself up halfway through and starts singing the 8 times table, much in the way Bob Dorough does in The Magic Number. It’s a weird, weird record, and given my love for Bob Dorough’s most famous tune, I can’t believe I haven’t picked up on the rest of his Schoolhouse Rock stuff until now. As I have just found out to my pleasant surprise, the Schoolhouse Rocks records take all the best bits of Peanuts, The Muppets and Sesame Street and those ‘Charlie Says..‘ UK public information films and ends up with something that is both extremely twee and/or child-friendly, depending on which side of the fence you’re sitting. I bet Duglas T Stewart has an original 1970s vinyl copy somewhere.

 

Cover Versions, entire show, Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find

Alex Chilton

Craig McAllister

Fuck. Just heard the news. This keyboard is awash with tiny tears as I type. It’s always the way, but why do the good guys go first? I can’t believe I’m writing about Alex Chilton in the past tense. His music, especially with Big Star, means as much to me as Them There Beatles, it really does. Whether he was bedroom balladeering or bar-room bawling and balls-out rocking, his songs hit a nerve that jangled all the way to the auditory part of my brain like one of those fancy pants chords he could tease out of his guitar.

If you’re reading this you probably know all about him. Teenage Box Top. Cult hero in coulda been shoulda been Big Star. Producer of The Cramps. Friend and collaborator with fellow enthusiasts/obsessives Teenage Fanclub. All round nice guy, he wrote and recorded some of the best pop songs you’ll hear. Seek out #1 Record or Radio City or 3rd/Sister Lovers for proof. Sometimes bleak, often uplifting, always soulful. But you knew that already. Given our track record for celebrating the artist in death rather than life, Alex Chilton may yet become somewhat ironically a Big Star.

I’m glad I caught Big Star live. Just the once, when they first played Glasgow as part of their initial reunion tour. I stood on the balcony of the QM Union looking down onto the stage where Chilton led his band through non-hit after non-hit after non-hit. The crowd knew every word. So too did Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies, similarly Teenage Fanclub-like in their obsessiveness about Big Star, and on-stage playing out their own version of Jim’ll Fix It on bass and guitar. Chilton himself played a mean guitar that night. And I mean mean in the economic sense. No frills, no pedals. Just him, a nice warm valve amp and a couple of vintage guitars. What a sound! Often overlooked in the scheme of things, Chilton was a fantastic guitar player – proof? – His version of My Baby Just Cares For Me is still up for grabs via this post.

He could play anything. Anything. Rock. Pop. Stax-inflected southern soul. Doo-wop. Jazz. E-nee-thing. He was a player’s player. A dude. And he once, sorry twice, played the 13th Note in Glasgow with Teenage Fanclub as his backing band. Naturally I found out about this the day after the second show. It was a Tuesday morning and a colleague from work casually mentioned it on the phone. Pre internet days, I’m afraid. Pissed off? You better believe it. Especially as the bootleg sounds amazing. Here‘s the entire show. No artwork. No tracklisting (I’m far too lazy/far too busy to type it out). First track is a rockin’ September Gurls. There’s covers of T-Rex, 60s pop standards and, yep, Stax-inflected southern soul. Get it and remember him this way.

Thanks for the music Alex.

Alex Chilton. December 28th 1950 – March 17th 2010

Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Sampled

Superbe? Non, Sublime! (see video for details)

Craig McAllister

Confession time. Leaving aside the ubiquitous and brilliant Je t’aime (moi non plus), until last weekend I had never heard a single Serge Gainsbourg record. I had been reading an article about his daughter Charlotte and how she had been working with Beck. The article mentioned that Beck’s Sea Change album (a favourite of mine) was heavily influenced by Histoire de Melody Nelson, Gainsbourg’s accepted masterpiece. Knowing that other favourites of mine like Jarvis Cocker, St Etienne and Stereolab were fans, it seemed obvious and (long overdue) that I should pay a visit a la maison de Serge and I duly got myself a copy of Histoire de Melody Nelson. I’m glad I did.

 

Where has this music been all my life?! I had expected Gainsbourg to come across like some Gallic garlic-breathed, Gitanes rasping Tom Waits on heat. Which, when I think about it, sounds pretty brilliant actually. But no! Sure, with his droopy eyes and beaky nose he might look like a particularly pervy old turtle (what did the ladies see in him?), but close your eyes and he sounds fantastic. Histoire de Melody Nelson is all street walking, hip thrusting bass and funk guitar. The vocals are practically spoken and drip with what I assume to be lust – my French isn’t as good as it used to be but given Serge’s track record I must assume that this is the case. After all, the guy has history….

Hee hee! The album is (whisper it again – see Sopht Rock post below) a concept album. A Rolls Royce driving Serge knocks a pretty young girl off her bike. As he runs to her aid his thoughts turn not to how badly injured she is, but how beautiful she looks. Naturellement. Sleazy? You bet. Think Marvin Gaye dressed not in a modish mohair suit but in a dirty raincoat. How come he got away with stuff like this and R Kelly ended up in the jail? Well, to answer my own question, R Kelly’s music is clearly criminal enough…
 
Histoire de Melody Nelson is equal part Funkadelic and equal part Jacques Brel. Given the combination of music and subject matter, Prince must surely be a fan. The playing on it is outstanding. Not surprising given the calibre of the musicians. No household names, but the individuals involved have impressive form.

On guitars, Big Jim Sullivan and Vic Flick. Big Jim was an in demand sessioneer in the 60s (He was ‘Big’ Jim so as not to confuse him with Little Jim(my) Page), he played with Tom Jones in his 70s Vegas Golden Era, befriending Elvis in the process, and appears, allegedly and un-credited, on almost 1000 hit singles. Vic Flick was part of the John Barry Seven. You’ve heard his guitar playing a million times before – it’s his distinctive twang that plays the James Bond Theme. As well as playing in assorted musical line ups in the 70s, keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw wrote much music for adverts, composed a ton of BBC library music and came up with Chicken Man, better known to most of you here as the Grange Hill theme. Most impressively of all, he wrote the music you hear on Countdown as the clock ticks down to zero. Bassman Herbie Flowers has many strings to his bass/bow. He is known to many as bassist in 70s classic/prog/rock fusion ensemble Sky and he is known to 80s kids as the writer of novelty pop hit Grandad, but he is perhaps best known for playing that bassline on Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side. But, hey boy, you knew that already, didn’t you?

Serge et Jane B. Lucky B.

Histoire de Melody Nelson is a short album, less than half an hour long, and sounds like one continuous piece of music. This is the best way to listen to it. I’ve posted a track below (listen out for the way he croons “merde”), but really, to get the full experience, you should allow yourself half an hour to enjoy the album as a whole. While you do, have a perv at the cover. That’s Jane Birkin on the front. And I don’t think she’s wearing much more than that pair of jeans…..

Serge Gainsbourg Melody

Following on from this week’s epiphany, my search for Serge has led me to a wonderful album called Les Annees Psychedelique. It contains every bit of French freak-out funk and jazz you could ever possibly need. One track stood out above all. Requiem Pour Un Con reminded me of an old track by The Folk Implosion. Playing the 2 tracks back to back I realised that The Folk Implosion had sampled and looped the opening drum track and fashioned it into a fantastic instrumental tribute to Gainsbourg named ‘Serge‘.

Also on Les Annees Psychedelique is Bonnie & Clyde, Serge’s 1968 duet with Brigitte Bardot. Not as famous as Je t’aime, but equally as good. I’m now off to find Serge’s original version of said track, featuring Bardot instead of Birkin on vocals. À beintôt! 

Bof!

Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Sampled

Who Loves Ya Baby?

Craig McAllister

Aye, it may be Valentine’s day and Cupid may well have shot his arrow haphazardly in my direction, but there’s no room for slushy sentimental syrup here. Only the finest in 1970s funk (of course).

A track popped up on the iPod the other day and I was convinced I was listening to a rare outtake of The Temptations Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone. It had that same stop/start bass riff, sweeping cinematic strings and double-time handclaps, and it was only the absence of vocals that had me reaching for the ‘now playing’ menu to see what I was really listening to.

It was this, an obscure funk/soul track by Brinkley & Parker. Released in 1974, Don’t Get Fooled By The Pander Man could well be the theme for a long-forgotten down market cop show. Clipped wockawockawocka guitar, brass ‘n strings and a fantastic hi-hat and handclaps rhythm which kicks in around the 1 min 30 mark, Don’t Get Fooled By The Pander Man is the sound of beige leather jackets with over-sized floppy collars, 27″ bell bottoms and stacked cuban heels. With added car chases and Chinese food in cardboard boxes. As the man himself once said, Can You Dig It?

Ah, what the heck?!

I recently put up a rare version of Ball Of Confusion which is still available here. As another bonus, here‘s the full 11 minutes + version of Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone. Like that? You’ll like this – The Temptations Psychedelic Shack. A wee bit Sly, a wee bit Hendrix, a whole lotta groove.

Sometimes, the shortest posts are the best. I know you all just scroll through the crap that drips from my typing fingers til you find the mp3 links anyway. Bastards.

Anyway, thanks (as always) for visiting. I love ya, baby! Au revoir, a bientot!

Double Nugget, Gone but not forgotten

Go Compare.com

Craig McAllister

Here’s some proof, if any was really needed, that everything in music has been done before and will be done again to the nth degree. A regular visitor to these pages once pointed out to me how similar The Libertines ‘Last Post on the Bugle’ sounded to Australian psych-heads The Masters Apprentices 1967 track ‘War Or Hands Of Time’. Making a mental note I promised to myself I’d listen to both records back to back before writing a bit about them.

The Masters Apprentices

I’d forgotten all about this shallow promise until the other day when The Masters Apprentices track shuffled up on my iPod. And I didn’t recognise it at first. “I don’t remember putting those Libertines demos on here,” I thought. Then it clicked. It wasn’t the Libertines. It was ‘War Or Hands Of Time’. And it sounded an awful lot like ‘Last Post On The Bugle‘. It really does. 

Johnny Thunders Pete Doherty

A check on the sleevenotes of the self-titled Libertines second album reveals a wee clue – Last Post On The Bugle is jointly published by EMI and MCA/Universal Music Publishing. A further bit of internet digging reveals that the track is written by Doherty/Barat/Bower. Doherty and Barat you’ll know…..but you may not know that Bower is (presumably) Michael Bower, guitarist with The Masters Apprentices. Voila! Not quite an admission of theft from Pete ‘n Carl (there’s no writing credit on the album sleeve), but nonetheless, they’ve given half the publishing over to a long forgotten hippy living on the other side of the world.

War Or Hands Of Time

When I turn cold, I will be thinking of you
When I’m far away, try to remember what I said
The day I live, I’ll still be dreaming of your love
Wait for the clouds to pass your way
Wait for me I’ll be back some day

Whereas the original track was written about a soldier embracing his sweetheart before heading off to war, Doherty keeps the melody and rewrites the song’s original lyrics to address the break up of his friendship with Carl Barat and The Libertines.

Last Post On The Bugle

If I have to go
I will be thinking of your love
Oh somehow you’ll know
You will know
Thinking of your love
Slyly they whispered away
As I played the last post on the bugle

Go Compare! As I said, proof that everything in music has been done before. Proof, also, that junkies will steal just about anything. Even the melody from an old long-forgotten slice of Antipodean psychedelic rock.

It’s a fair cop, guv etc etc

 

Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Sampled

The Godfather 3

Craig McAllister

I feel good! And so does my PC. Following a series of bangs, crashes, lost passwords and mis-firing emails, my old 20th century steam powered computer is back in the land of the living. So whilst the Antiques Roadshow were valuing it as a contemporary classic I’ve been busying myself listening to James Brown, the really early doo-wop influenced James Brown. Lo and behold, I get myself back online and discover that one of my pals has posted this on his Facebook page:

Mr Big Stuff, it’s surely a divine sign! I love the way he lets out one of those involuntary phlegmy ‘Huh!s’ towards the end. That’s why James Brown will never be bettered, if you ask me. Sadly, the self-styled Soul Brother #1 would never have done the Mashed Potato or the Tap Dancer to ‘Try Me’ or ‘Please Please Please’. Those dances were reserved for the BAM! 2,! 3! 4! BAM! 2,! 3! 4! funk-soul nuggets that earned him all those superlative-filled outrageous nick names. Tunes like ‘Cold Sweat’ or ‘There Was A Time’ or ‘Say It Loud (I’m Black & I’m Proud)’ sound great, but they look fantastic when The Entertainer breaks out one of his dance routines mid-song (Go to YouTube. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200. Just Go! Now!)

The James Brown Revue began touring in 1960. Brown hired a tight, tight band who played for their lives with one eye on the crowd and both eyes on their leader. He’d point to the horn player at any given moment and expect him to blast out a note-perfect solo. He’d jab a finger at the drummer and expect him to ‘get wicked’ just like that. His band quickly learned to do just that because he’d fine them if they missed the first bar in any one of those jerky four-to-the-floor masterpieces. If they couldn’t take it to the bridge, it was the end of the road for them as musicians. But you knew all that already. In his Revue he’d always have some female company who would do a set at the start. Many of these women learned to give it up or turn it loose, so to speak, and they became on-the-road girlfriends of James Brown.

‘Marvellous’ Marva Whitney was one such lady. James Brown chose her set, sang duets on stage with her before his performance and generally did with her what he’d do with his other female singers. After a bit, Marva got fed up of Brown choosing her material and after trying but failing to become Mrs James Brown she left in a bit of a huff, though not before she’d recorded half a dozen or so funktastic solo tracks and the odd duet with James. She swapped one religious experience for another by becoming a God-fearin’, soul-stirrin’ minister in Kansas City. Here’s 3 of the most soulful and funkiest (and longest titled) she recorded with JB’s backing band.

Unwind Yourself

You Got To Have A Job (If You Don’t Work You Don’t Eat)

It’s My Thing (You Can’t Tell Me Who To Sock It To) Parts 1 &2

You’ll probably recognise riffs, melodies and tunes from elsewhere, not least other James Brown records.

I got to see James Brown live just the once. It was kinda tragic. Half way throught his set, Soul Brother #1 left for a quick costume change and while he did so, a magician came out and sawed a woman in half to the sound of Brown’s band playing furious funk. No kiddin’! It wasn’t that great really. The time I saw Prince, he was far better. Irony, huh?

Cover Versions, Gone but not forgotten, studio outtakes

Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has re-entered the building…

Craig McAllister

Last Friday would’ve been Elvis’s 75th birthday. It’s anyone’s guess what he might’ve been doing had he still been alive these days. Maybe the hottest, most over-priced oldie ticket on the circuit. Having finally freed himself from the management clutches of illegal immigrant Colonel Tom Parker he’s a non-stop World Touring machine, kerchinging his way across the planet out-grossing the Rolling Stones, U2 et al along the way. Or maybe the fattest, lardy-assed multi millionaire grossing out anyone he comes into contact with in one of his few forrays into the real world, instead living out his final years in Gracelands surrounded by flunkies and 50 year old former beauty queens who still see Elvis, Shallow Hal style, as that bee-stung lip curled, hip-swinging sexual animal of old. Personally I like to think he’d be somewhere in between. By now, someone would’ve taken him aside, pointed him in the direction of some decent management and he’d have taken to touring when and where he felt like it, BB King style. Maybe an annual show at Prestwick Airport or something like that…

We’ll never know.

Spiritualized’s ‘Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space’ has recently been reissued as a monster 3CD package. Jason Pierce had the opportunity to work on the remaster but somewhat arrogantly (and predictably) claimed that he’d done the best possible job first time round. Eh..not quite, Mr Spaceman. On the original 1997 release, the first track, ‘Ladies and Gentlmen We Are Floating In Space’, was a delicate paen to lost love, Pierce harmonising and singing counter-melodies to himself over the sort of backing track Brian Wilson would be proud of creating. The lyrics hint at snatches of Elvis’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ in places, but never quite get there – possibly due to copyright problems a la Verve and The Rolling Stones, where Jagger and co got 100%, (that’s 100%!) of the royalties from Bittersweet Symphony. Serves that lanky idiot Ashcroft right, after running away with Jason Pierce’s girlfriend – lyrically, that’s what the whole Ladies and Gentlemen album is about. Anyway, I digress. The new Spiritualized release doesn’t change anything, but adds the fantastic sound of a gospel choir singing ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love‘ throughout it. It. Sounds. Fantastic.

And if you thought that was good…here‘s a seperated track, featuring sparse backing and Pierce doing the whole Elvis bit himself. It’s restrained, heartbreaking and druggy as fuck in equal measures. If you were a writer dealing in puns you might say there’s methodone his madness. Anyway, you’ll also find it on disc 2 of the new release.

Sometimes in my search for interesting music to put on here, I overlook the fact that often, the original un-altered version is usually the best. So here‘s Elvis doing Can’t Help Falling In Love. The same version on every Elvis hits compilation ever released, the same one you’ve heard a gazillion times before. Recorded for the Blue Hawaii soundtrack. But you knew that already.

*Bonus Track!

Here‘s take 4 of Guitar Man. I’ve written about it before, here. (Though the mp3 links have long been deleted by them pesky internet police.)

Blur Fanclub Singles, Cover Versions, demo, Dylanish, Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Kraut-y, Live!, Most downloaded tracks, Studio master tapes

Three! Free! Fae Me!

Craig McAllister

Plain Or Pan is 3 years old and what better way to celebrate than with a compilation CD…..

Add your own Ronco/K-Tel voiceover:

Featuring the most popular downloads from last year’s blog, this compilation is the ideal taster for what Plain Or Pan is about. Covers, curios and the odd hard-to-find classic, this fantastic double CD is not available in the shops or from any good online retailers. Get it only at myTunes! Free! Today! Now!

Aye. It’s the ideal companion to last year’s double CD (still available here). Kicking off with the notorious Beatles Revolution take 20  outtake/outfake? that nearly melted Plain Or Pan for good in January last year, I’ve included some odd ball covers (Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed, the Dead Weather track), Fleet Foxes spin-offs (White Antelope), one of Johnny Marr’s favourite records (The Equals), rare fanclub-only releases (Blur), hardly-heard studio gems (The Temptations), demos (Marvin Gaye, The Pretenders), rarities (The La’s white label version of Timeless Melody – only 500 exist) and a whole lot more over 2 CDs. I’m rather proud of this wee compilation. It includes some nifty home-made artwork too! Right click on CD1 and CD2 below to download each CD in one go.

 

CD1                                                 CD2

 

Complete tracklisting:

Disc 1

The Beatles – Revolution (take 20)

The Kinks – I Need You

Pop Levi – Blue Honey

The Temptations – Ball Of Confusion (unreleased version)

Booker T & the MGs – Sing A Simple Song

Ike & Tina Turner – Bold Soul Sister

Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed & the Trueloves – Ace Of Spades

Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On (demo)

Arctic Monkeys – Baby I’m Yours

Afghan Whigs – Band Of Gold

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (live)

The Soup Greens – Like A Rolling Stone

The La’s – Timeless Melody (GOLAS3 version)

Trash Can Sinatras – Snow

Super Furry Animals – Citizens Band

The Sundays – Wild Horses

Sparkelhorse/Danger Mouse feat Nina Persson – Daddy’s Gone

 

Disc 2

Glasvegas – The Prettiest Girl On Saltcoats Beach (full length version)

The Pretenders – Brass In Pocket (demo)

The Byrds – Mr Tambourine Man (vocal track)

Frank Blake – You Don’t Have To Cry

The Equals – Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys

The Fall – Lost In Music

Dead Weather – Are Friends Electric?

John Kongos – He’s Gonna Step On You Again

Grace Jones – Pull Up To The Bumper (12” mix)

Blur – Sing (To Me) (demo)

Inspiral Carpets – 96 Tears

Beck – Sunday Morning

White Antelope – It Ain’t Me Babe

Eddi Reader – Blues Run The Game

Stone Roses – Love Spreads (Guitar Track)

Neu! – Hallogallo

 

Gone but not forgotten, Kraut-y

Neu! release

Craig McAllister

Currently receiving a bit of airplay on yer more cutting edge radio shows, Portishead‘s latest release has been a big favourite round Plain Or Pan’s house this week. Chase the Tear (as in what you do to paper, not what you do when you cry) starts off bizarrely enough like Joe Jackson’ s Stepping Out before settling into a simplistic teutonic/Moroderesque/motorik/krautrockin‘ (delete where applicable) monster of a track. Sounding like the best bits of Kraftwerk and Neu! it makes terrific, no, make that Can-tastic driving music. Fun fun fun on the autobahn and all that.

Chase The Tear was released a couple of weeks ago as a download, with profits going to Amnesty International. Do the decent thing here. Or steal it here.

Bonus beats!

Here‘s Neu! doing Hallogallo. The 10 minute + lead track from their self-titled 1972 album is clearly ahead of it’s time. Bowie, Eno and even oor ain wee Simple Minds were taking notes. Thom Yorke would follow suit. It’s motorik, repetitive and very very good. I think you’ll like it.

And here‘s Kraftwerk‘s The Model. In German. Das Modell. Jah! (Just so you know, that last bit was an attempt at German, not an attempt at reggae patois.)

Cover Versions, Gone but not forgotten, Hard-to-find, Sampled

A Right Coupla Tramps

Craig McAllister

Now and again I’ll get emails from people requesting stuff. Sometimes specific (“Got any Mogwai outtakes?” – Nope.) Sometimes more general (“Can you re-post that (insert anything from the past 3 years) please – Come on! Gie’s a break! “More Smiths!” “Radiohead!” “White Stripes!” “More soul please!”) OK! OK! More soul I can do. I like my soul music a lot. I think I have all the relevant bases covered in my collection. Just to make sure, I listen every Saturday night to Craig Charles‘ excellent Funk and Soul show on BBC 6 Music. As it says on the tin, the show covers a whole range of funk and soul, from the rarest northern to the most commercial Motown, the downright wilfully obscure and elitist to the phatest tooth-loosening funk-heavy slab of right up to date contemporary release. It’s probably my favourite show on the radio, ideal for cooking to if the mood takes me. You’d like it. Click on the link above and give it a try.

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas.

Anyone know who the piano player is?

Nothing particularly obscure and elitist here though. I’ve had a bit of a Stax attack recently. My 9CD 68-71 Complete Stax/Volt Singles Box Set has been given a good going over and Carla Thomas & Otis Redding‘s Tramp has had a fair few plays. When you hear the pistol crack drums and tight-as-a-teenage boy’s trousers horn section, it’s no surprise to learn it’s been heavily sampled by hip hoppers across the globe. Especially as there’s an instrumental version that made it out the Stax vaults a few years ago. The piano riff, with it’s big bluesy bass notes really does it for me. Who says white men can’t dance? If you want to listen to the complete track, here it is. If you fancy a bit of bedroom remixing, here‘s the instrumental track.

Tramp was also covered by Lowell Fulson. A fairly straightforward rendition, it’s still worth a listen. The guitar sound during the solo on Lowell’s track reminds me a lot of this…

‘Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)’ by the Detroit Emeralds. I posted it a while ago, and I’m putting it back up purely because it’s a stone cold soul classic. It’s maybe not a piece you’re familiar with, but you’ll certainly recognise it. Doing their best John Peel impression, De La Soul took the intro, played it at 45 instead of 33 and used it as the basis for their ‘Say No Go’ single. You can read more about De La Souls’ other sampling delights here and here. And before you ask – Sorry. I cannae re-post the files. They’ve been missing since the internet police found them and nearly closed this blog down. Hence the reason I don’t re-post old stuff. The Grinch, that’s what they call me at home.

Postscript – I’m A Numpty

Oh dear! Thanks to the ever vigilant amongst you I now know that;

1. That’s Booker T in the picture above. How could I fail to recognise the greatest ever organ grinder alive? Duh.

2. Lowell Fulson wrote and recorded the original version of Tramp. Otis & Carla’s version is, indeed, the cover version. Oops. 

My team of highly paid researchers are at this moment being emailed their P45s. Thanks to James and Cold Iron Kevin who pointed  this out.