Leon Redbone: Champagne Charlie
Live version of the song from the idiosyncratic American’s 1978 album of the same name. Remember when all concert performances were wreathed in smoke, cigarette or otherwise?
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Steely Dan: Doctor Wu
‘You walked in, and my life began again. Just when I’d spent the last piastre I could borrow.’ Gorgeous track from the 1975 album Katy Lied https://am-records.com/2018/10/22/steely-dan-cool-not-cold/ .
Erma Franklin: Piece of My Heart
Written by Jerry Ragovoy (who also wrote Stay With Me Baby) and Bert Berns (who wrote Twist and Shout), this was first recorded by Erma Franklin, older sister of Aretha, in 1967. … Continue readingErma Franklin: Piece of My Heart
Zap those Brexit mutineers, Boris
THE answer to the prejudice blighting the world has been staring us all in the visage, according to an Italian psychologist. Zapping the brain with electricity would wipe out bias … Continue readingZap those Brexit mutineers, Boris
When is a disability joke OK? When it’s told by a Leftie
AM I alone in finding this year’s winning one-liner at the Edinburgh Fringe distasteful? Headlined by the BBC and sundry papers as a joke about vegetables, it runs: ‘I keep randomly shouting … Continue readingWhen is a disability joke OK? When it’s told by a Leftie
10,000 Maniacs: Cherry Tree
I was in a newsroom once when a particularly thick arts reporter loudly enquired of the chap on the next desk: ‘How do you spell illiterate?’ He couldn’t understand why … Continue reading10,000 Maniacs: Cherry Tree
Audience: Ebony Variations
Delightful rock version of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto brought to mind by M’s classical post the other day. From the 1970 album Friend’s Friend’s Friend.
Lou walks on the wild side
LAST week we saw Lou Reed quitting the Velvet Underground in 1970, dismayed at their lack of commercial success – just as their talents were about to be acknowledged. So … Continue readingLou walks on the wild side
Dr John: How Come My Dog Don’t Bark When You Come Around?
From the 1992 album Goin’ Back to New Orleans. RIP Mac Rebennack, died June 2019.
Carole King/James Taylor: You’ve Got a Friend
Carole wrote this in 1971 as a response to Taylor’s song Fire and Rain, which includes the line: ‘I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.’ She … Continue readingCarole King/James Taylor: You’ve Got a Friend