What song are you listening to right now? (Page 389 of 392)

Those Deadbeat Cats - Frankenstein's Jukebox  (2024)

Dropped through the letter-box yesterday; Ron Sayer, Daryl Blyth & Wayne Beauchamp have been at it again, putting an 80's Jukebox through the [musical] shredder and coming up with something wriggly & lively, with only a passing resemblance to the originals.

There's skiffle, [rockabilly in the US] surf-guitar, jazz and even some gratuitous ukulele in their treatments of Europe, 4 Non-Blondes, Erasure, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, Oasis, Survivor, T-Rex and even a truss-tightening A-Ha cover with high notes that should only be attempted with professional supervision...

One of those albums that's as much fun to play as I bet it was to record.

Album sampler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shy7r0tVIRo
Eye of The Tiger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLnpsqWf0EE

Haunt The Woods - Opaque  (2020)

Picked this up on Saturday night following Haunt The Woods' opening set for WATB. and it's a real treat of Alt.Rock and prog, with other stuff liberally sprinkled throughout. I'm hearing older Pink Floyd and Queen mixing it with Muse and Crown Lands with an after-taste of Jeff Buckley.

After the brief instrumental Intro, the album really kicks off with Elephant before the calmer but building Amethyst which really deserves better placing on the album. The Earth is A Rock is an outstanding track, followed by Architecture, echoing Amethyst which leads to the gentler Red, which is actually a Blues number leading to another of the band's quieter moments, Brother. The dynamics of Supernova should have made this track a single; maybe it was... Vultures is another highlight, subtle, expansive and understated, until the final two minutes when it bursts into an explosive climax.

That a band could dare to be this experimental on what was their debut album only makes me wish I'd bought the more recent follow-up too. Still, gives me good reason to catch these guys again.

Elephant - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST9gn5d1wts
Amethyst - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eobvGjc7uk
Supernova - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8gA5qbmUTw

New single from Kaleo, Lonely Cowboy, has dropped in advance of an new album (release date to be confirmed).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsXCi3C1Cw

A little understated, reminiscent of Brothers Landreth in places....

So, the local branch of HMV in town is having it's annual music clear-out; which means I had to have a nosey through the CD crates. Couldn't resist these half-price Rolling Stones: -

Goats Head Soup (Japanese SHM-CD)
Tattoo You
It's Only Rock n Roll (Japanese SHM-CD)
Some Girls
Black and Blue
Emotional Rescue (Japanese SHM-CD)
Dirty Work (Japanese SHM-CD)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (DSD)
Undercover
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (DSD)

And I don't consider myself a Stones fan....

Peter Frampton - Frampton Forgets The Words (2021)

Well, the "bargain bucket" keeps on giving... The "other-alf" found this absolute gem yesterday. How the hell have I overlooked this since it's release in 2021. Absolutely bloody flawless.

So richly toned, and the covers of the versions of Wonder's "I Don't Know Why" and Michel Colombier's "Dreamland" border the stately; though truth be told, there's not a wasted track nor superfluous note on the entire album.

This is late evening with a glass of Tomintoul music.

I Don't Know Why - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNM6ATZ7bs&t=1s
Loving The Alien - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PiCezy_2Ko&t=1s

Hawkwind - Stories From Time & Space  (2024)

Meantime, the guys who just about invented putting electronica into Rock music have just delivered their what, 36th(?) studio album, and they're still going (boldly) where no space-rock band has gone before.

This isn't the old school Hawkwind though, swathes of synths and tweets and twiddles over driving riffs; this silver machine is leaner [greener], more like their latter 70s with a touch of Floyd and some Bonzo Doh-Dah Band. These old dogs have learned some new-ish tricks, mainly how to stay relevant, and cool.

The 13 tracks, really do dovetail into each other, the instrumentals really have a relevance and are not just "time-fillers". Not an album then that you can single any one particular track, just buckle in and set the controls for Galaxy 117 and give the androids a belt and the technicians a can of hot oil - or is that the other way around..?

Our Lives Can't Last Forever - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLB55R4UOVs
The Night Sky - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5ceoIgUEA
The Starship (One Love, One Life) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5ceoIgUEA

Oli Brown & The Dead Collective - Epilogue EP  (2024)

So, the 3rd [and final] of Oli & the Dead Collective's EPs arrived yesterday.

So, there's no doubting, like the previous editions, these are deeply moving and personal slices of Oli's soul and personal journey thus far. being a "glass half full" kind of guy, the music and the art work suggests rising from a deep and dark place; light and redemption seemingly within reach.

This collection of songs don't bludgeon the listener like the Oli of the past could do, with aplomb, these tap deep into your psyche and take you down a lonely, winding road of self-exploration. I Won't Leave is a masterclass of blending gospel & blues to a bittersweet concoction you listen to over and over.

However, if you want a contender for "track of the year", then Home Sweet Home is that song; from the chiming intro to the through to the guitar build; 8 minutes of raw, visceral openness.

Oli was always among the top of his class with the guitar-chops and had one of the best and strongest voices around too. neither have been diminished in fact, the guitar is much more measured than sheer flash; the vocals are now up in the Chris Cornell flight, and the song writing; WOW, there's not many who can look so inward, so honestly and with such feeling.

If these EPs are a taster of an album to come, then brace yourselves.

So, following on from Curby's recommendation on the other page; I decided to take a chance on a 5 album box set of Minneapolis' finest, The Replacements which I found in town for not a lot of money...

Unusually in these releases through Rhino Entertainment, the albums included came in chronological order, often they are spread over 2, if not 3 sets, especially if you're trying to get the ones you want (ZZ Top are a prime example).

Anyway, on offer: -
Sorry Ma, Forgot To take Out The Trash
From 1981, this is a very brash release, has a CBGB vibe to it: not my usual going, but bristles with energy.

Hootenanny
1983's album, and the guys are starting to stretch out and reveal a more sensitive side; overall, more mature and showing interesting development.

Let It Be
For their 1984 album, the guys seem to be kicking back; certainly not as frantic and brash; a very much "coming of age" album, and the guys rubbing shoulders with REM (whoever they were...?)

Tim
1985 finds our heroes on the big labels (Sire) and the last to feature original guitarist Bob Stinson. There's loads of influences coming through, from US veterans like Roy Orbison and Duane Eddy to UK garage-band scene's Nick Lowe. If it has a fault, the mixing is a bit indifferent and I understand, it's been re0jigged several times down the years.

Pleased To Meet Me
Recorded in 1987, this is the band's only release as a trio; however, guitarist Bob "Slim" Dunlap joined the band soon after the recording sessions. In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic summed up Pleased to Meet Me "was the last time [The Replacements] could still shoot for the stars and seem like their scrappy selves and, in many ways, it was the last true Replacements album"

So, that just leaves Don't Tell A Soul (1989) and All Shook Down (1990) to chase down sometime.