MUSIC: MY 100 FAVOURITE TRACKS

Introduction.
I was a kid in the 50’s but a teenager in the 60’s and that’s when I really started listening to music and when popular music really exploded. I still like a lot of stuff from the 60’s and maybe this list will show how my taste evolved while remaining true to the music that I first loved. Or maybe not

This isn’t a definitive list and it never could be. It’s compiled mostly by going through my Itunes list of tracks –and therefore not in any meaningful order- mostly copied from my own CDs plus some downloads. A number of my CDs are packed in boxes in the garage and are inaccessible and not all of them have been copied to my hard drive so there will be a few omissions which I’ll only recognise later. It certainly isn’t a definitive guide to my taste and there are lots of artists I like that I’ve left out. The tracks I’ve included here have something special about them.
Though I’ve tried to keep it to one song per artist, I’ve sometimes included a runner up track (or three). There are some notes or odd comments but often the tracks will be left to speak for themselves.  And I’ve shoved in one unattributed but hardly obscure quote from the lyrics of one song just because I’d been listening to it recently and it amused me.

My single all-time favourite track ever and will never change.
Fotheringay: The Way I Feel.
Fotheringay was basically Sandy Denny’s band but she didn’t take all the lead vocals with her husband Trevor Lucas sometimes getting one as he does here with this Gordon Lightfoot song. Denny comes in gradually on harmonies building slowly and beautifully until it almost becomes a duet. The imagery is autumnal and reflects the breakup of a relationship but it can also be considered a metaphor for death. There’s some great understated drumming from Gerry Conway and simply gorgeous guitar playing by the brilliant American Jerry Donahue.
I love this so much that I’ve left an instruction in my will that it’s to be played at my funeral.

Runner-up: Fotheringay: The Banks of the Nile.

Albert King: I’ll play the blues for you.

My favourite Blues guitarist.

Headless Heroes featuring Alela Diane: Just one time.

For those of you saying: Who? Headless Heroes were a group put together in the studio by a pair of producers who wanted to create interesting cover versions. They picked singer/songwriter Diane for vocals. The result is sheer brilliance and a great showcase for Diane who is a singer who impresses me so much that the last time I felt this way was when I discovered Sandy Denny.

The B-52s: Is that you, Mo’Dean?
Alien abduction was never so much fun or so crazy.
BB King: The thrill is gone.
Beach Boys: Sloop John B.
Big Country: In a big country.
Their greatest hits album is one of my favourite CDs. A great Scottish guitar band lead by the late lamented Stuart Adamson. Runner-up: just about any off that CD.
Big Mama Thornton: Wade in the water.
A big woman in every sense of the word with a voice which could knock Howlin Wolf through a wall but also caress with great delicacy. This gospel tune has some great guitar work in it.
Billy Boy Arnold: Shake your hips. 
Harmonica player who came up with Bo Diddley but went off to do his own thing until Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records brought him back to great effect. There’s some great interplay between his harp and the guitar on this driving track.

Blind Willie Johnson: Nobody’s fault but mine.
A legend of gospel-blues. Hell, a legend full stop who should rank with Robert Johnson.
Blondie: Hanging on the telephone.
One of the greatest pop singles ever.
Bob Dylan: Lay, lady, lay.
Just to pick one of a dozen or more. Runners-up: All along the watchtower, Hurricane, Subterranean homesick blues, etc.
Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band: The intro and the outro.
British surrealist humour which manages to be good music.
Booker T & the MGs: Green Onions.
Bronski Beat: Smalltown boy.
Poignant effective song about being young and gay.
Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA.
Come on, I mean what else could I pick? Runners-up: The River, Glory Days, Into the fire, Cover me, etc, etc.
Buffalo Springfield: Mr Soul.
The Byrds: So you wanna be a rock’n’roll star.

Byther Smith: Give me my white robe.

Powerful blues singer/guitarist with a melancholy piece about a man gradually realising that he’s died. Runner-up: Blues on the moon.

Canned Heat: On the road again.
Let’s boogie! Runner up: Burning Hell (with John Lee Hooker).
Chicken Shack: I’d rather go blind.
Chris Rea: Steel river.
Chuck Berry: Roll over Beethoven.
Cowboy Junkies: Sweet Jane.

Cream: Crossroads.
Turbo-charged journey to hell. If this doesn’t stir you, you’re dead.
CSNY: Ohio.
Cyndi Lauper: Time after time.
Just lovely. Runner-up: True colors.

Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand: No more tears (enough is enough), long version.
I don’t like disco, I don’t like Streisand (though I do like Donna Summer) but this epic has just brilliant singing, a great arrangement and is just a great song.
The Doors: Riders on the storm.

Echo & the Bunnymen: Villiers Terrace.
Runners-up: Crocodiles, Zimbo (live), The Cutter, etc, etc.
Eric Clapton: Knockin’ on Heaven’s door.

Fairport Convention: Matty Groves.
Runners-up: Fotheringay, Crazy Man Michael, Sloth, etc, etc.

Fela Kuti: Zombie.
Brilliant piece of music as politics –the zombie is any and all soldiers of the Nigerian government and boy did it piss a lot of people off. Runners-up: Shakara, Water get no enemy.

Fleetwood Mac: Black Magic Woman.
Runners-up: The Chain, Oh well pt1. I like the blues band and the later incarnation.
Florence and the Machine: My boy builds coffins.
Frank Zappa (feat.Captain Beefheart): Willie the Pimp.
George Thorogood: Gear jammer.
Nobody plays electric slide better, or louder, than George: Put this track on and set your speakers for 11. Your neighbours will love you forever.
The Glee Cast: Bust a move.
Runner-up: Gold digger. Don’t. Say. A. Word!
Grateful Dead: China cat sunflower/I know you rider (live).

Runners-up: New new Minglewood blues, Sugar magnolia, etc, etc.

Heart: Crazy on you.
Runners-up: Barracuda, These dreams.
The Hollies: The air that I breathe.
The best of mid-60’s Brit pop when I was a teenager.
Howlin’ Wolf: Smokestack Lightning.
Human League: The Lebanon.

Janis Joplin: Ball & chain.
Jefferson Airplane: Volunteers.
Runner-up: We can be together.
Jimi Hendrix: All along the watchtower.
Runner-up: Catfish blues.
Johnny Cash: Hurt.
Johnny Clegg: Take my heart away.

This man formed a multi-racial band in the darkest days of apartheid in South Africa. He stood up to be counted and made great music to boot and, yes, that is who you think it is on stage having just sung backing vocals -I have the DVD to prove it..
Jonathan Richman: Pablo Picasso.
Joy Division: Love will tear us apart.
The Kingsmen: Louie Louie.
Like I wouldn’t include this. Runner-up The Trashmen: Surfin’ Bird.
Kirsty MacColl: In these shoes?


Larry Garner: Thought I had the Blues.

Thoughtful good-humoured blues.


 Lyrics.
“She don't like other women, she likes whips and chains.
She likes cocaine and flipping' out with great Danes.
She's about all I can handle; it's too much for my brain
She got me under pressure.”


Lazy Lester: Bloodstains on the wall.
The Levellers: Hope Street.
Crusty folk/rock that’s live and exciting and left-wing.

Lightnin’ Slim: My starter won’t start.
From the Excello label down on the bayou, the laid-back swamp blues of Lightnin’ Slim. Electric blues at its most minimalist: electric guitar, percussion, and harp (often Lazy Lester), plus the most wonderful world-weary voice you’ve ever heard in your life.
Link Wray: Jack the Ripper.
Great lyrics.
Lucinda Williams: Lonely girls.
New Country? Singer-songwriter? Who cares, she’s just great.
Luther Allison: Bad love.
Electrifying blues and his double CD Live In Chicago is one of the best live albums ever.

Mahavishnu Orchestra: One word.
Something quite extraordinary and unique.
Mike Scott & the Waterboys: Will ye go away.
Sometimes he’s Mike Scott, sometimes he’s The Waterboys, sometimes he’s both. But he’s always good. Runner-up A fisherman’s blues.
Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Man.
The master.

Neil Young: Like a hurricane.

Runner up: All along the watchtower (feat. Chrissie Hind), Southern man, Tonight’s the night. I could fill up the rest of this page with titles. For me, the greatest rock star ever.
New Order: True Faith.

Otis Redding: Dock of the Bay.

Pat Benatar: Love is a battlefield.
Pattie Smith: Babelogue/Rock’n’roll nigger.
Runner-up: Because the night.
Pentangle: Cruel sister.
Peter Gabriel: Biko.
The Police: Every breath you take.

R L Burnside: Goin’ down south.
The Ramones: I wanna be sedated.
Oh hell, just pick any of their songs at random.
The Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil.
A minor 60’s band. Had a couple of hits then disappeared. Runner-up: Wild horses.

Sandy Denny: It’ll take a long time/ Who knows where the time goes. Tie.

My precious, my precious.

Sheryl Crow: Soak up the sun.
Just a good time.
Simple Minds: Waterfront.
Steeleye Span: Thomas the Rhymer.
Everybody needs some British folk-rock in their lives. Runner-up: Gaudete.
Steely Dan: Do it again.
Stephen Stills: Soldier.
Made a couple of really good solo albums but Neil Young he aint.
Steppenwolf: Born to be wild.
Is there anyone who doesn’t like this?
The Stranglers: No more heroes.

Talking Heads: Take me to the river.
The Teardrop Explodes: Reward.
Classic Brit-pop by a madman/genius who also writes really good books.

U2: Pride (In the name of love).
Runners-up: One, New Year’s Day, With or without you. Plus a load more. One of my very favourite bands ever. Just listen to the music.

Youssou N’Dour: Leaving (Dem).

ZZ Top: Sharp-dressed man.
Doing the iconic boogie.

ANIMAL RESCUE: ANIMAL KRACKERS IN PICTURES

This post was first published in  http://catrescuesunderland.blogspot.com/.

Just for a change, and seeing as I have my brand new Which? best-buy camera to try out, I thought I'd take a few photographs of our shop which is the main source of our income. Without it there simply wouldn't be an Animal Krackers because we just wouldn't have the money we need for vets bills, kennel fees, pet food, and neutering costs.

The prime movers and organisers are Sue Hardy (my wife) and Andrea Parkin. Here they are with Benjy and Millie, Andrea's two dogs. Benjy is a recent acquisition. He was brought to our attention just after he'd been hit by a car. We paid for his leg to be amputated and looked after him until Andrea decided to keep him. He's lively friendly and happy despite being a tripod.

Here are a few pictures of the main shop area.

And that is pretty much most of it.

Behind the scenes is a kitchen/workroom area. Upstairs is an office and storeroom. and outside is a toilet, storeroom for pet items including bedding, food, traps, etc. What was a coalhouse we use for storing bags of clothing to be recycled. Plus the yard area which is a dumping ground and collection point for stuff that's unusable/unsaleable/unrecycleable which I take to the council tip in the charity's van.

 And some more people.

Finally a little something for the cat fans out there. Here are two kittens we've recently rescued. The ginger and black one is called Zoe and she's having a problem with her bowels. The other was  found near Carol's being threatened by dogs.

And here's me.

BOOKS, CD: RECENT SHORT AMAZON REVIEWS

Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (Audio CD)

The Jimi Hendrix Starter Pack -a 5 star review.

 

This isn't all the Jimi Hendrix you'll need but it is the best place to start listening. If you don't like this then you just won't like anything else he's done. Hard to believe but there are some people who don't like Jimi Hendrix but then they probably don't like rock and blues electric guitar anyway  

40 years after his death and he is still the most amazing blues and rock guitarist who ever lived and his influence is still being felt and all that in a tragically cut short four year career. Anything before Are You Experienced was basically his apprenticeship when he was learning his craft. After that he exploded.

As an introduction to Hendrix this can't be beaten, though it can be argued that various alternate takes of famous tracks which, while attractive to the hardcore fan, do the official versions (i.e. those that appeared on his albums) a disservice. I certainly prefer the original All Along The Watchtower to the alternate take which appears here. That said, CD1 can't be faulted as a comprehensive selection of his studio work. 

CD2 is a sampler of the many live recordings which have been released since his death. There's no doubt that Hendrix was brilliant live. Rougher is undeniable and understandable as his studio material was meticulously put together. There are only two live versions of tracks on the first CD and, like the rest, are noticeably longer with a whole lot more energy. Hendrix was as good live as he was in the studio, just in a different way.

After this, the only way to go is to his official studio albums and after that dive in to the plethora of live albums. Me, I rather like the compilation Blues which, surprise, focuses on his bluesier side. Me, I'd like a Blues vol.2 but sadly there's no sign of one.

I must mention the brief but fine liner notes and reasonably detailed track listing.

So, here you are: an excellent introduction to one of the greatest rock artists of all time. How can you resist? 

 

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner (Paperback)

Sparky! A 4-star review.

Other reviewers have given an adequate plot summary, so I'll spare you that. Well, not you, the Amazon readers. You get the synopsis. A mutant virus has turned thousands of Bostonians into zombies -just not the cannibalistic kind of George Romero- so other supernatural creatures have come out of the woodwork, including our heroine.

To be honest, this isn't that much different from all the other paranormal adventures/romances going around. It's set firmly in the genre of attractive and powerful female in the modern world plus supernatural entities, handsome men who may be heroes/villains/romantic interest candidates, etc. No different, just that little bit better which makes it a good read. The author is currently at work on a sequel and I'll be in line when it's finally published. Read this and I'm sure you will too.

 Darwinia  by Robert Charles Wilson (Paperback)

  A E Van Vogt for the 21st century, a 4-star review.

If that means nothing to you, let me explain. Van Vogt was part of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a term that tends to refer to the 1940's and 1950's which was essentially a period in which modern SF as we know it was born. Writers who emerged then include the greats such as Asimov, Heinlein, and Sturgeon. And A E Van Vogt. Van Vogt was known for his mind-boggling concepts and galaxy-spanning stories and this is where Wilson resembles him. Except that Wilson writes very well, has characters who act like believable human beings, and his stories make sense.

Start to read Darwinia and you think: aha! this is a parallel world novel. When actually it's nothing so simple and what it's actually about is one of those mind-boggling concepts which, unlike old VV, makes sense and really does boggle the mind. This is the third novel of Wilson's I've read and I have three more on a table next to me. While they do vary in degrees of satisfaction, I've enjoyed every one and eagerly anticipate the next book of his I'm going to read.

Mr Wilson, you're terrific. 

TECHNOLOGY: Lumix DMC-FP8EB Digital Camera Red

An Amazon 5-star review, expanded.

A short review for people who just want a point and click camera-

-like me.

For the last several weeks I've been intermittently reading reviews looking for a new decent and relatively simple to use point and click camera when I came across this in the latest Which? Magazine as the best buy in its category so it seemed a good bet.

Actually, what I really wanted was to replace my old camera which seemed unable to compensate for the fact that I'm lousy at taking photographs as anyone who looks at my cat rescuing blog will attest. I wanted a camera which will ignore the fact my hand was unsteady and produce a perfect picture every time. Ideally it would also hypnotise a cat into not moving while I was taking its picture.

Apart from a case and a memory card which I ordered separately at the same time, it came with all the essentials. The camera was £142.00, add on another eighteen quid for an 8Gb memory card and carrying case and it ends up on the affordable if a bit pricy side for a pocket point and click camera. 

The short manual is quite clear though I went through it slowly and carefully -I had to, I'm an idiot when it comes to reading manuals properly. The first thing is to charge up the lithium battery which takes a couple of hours. After that I had to set up the date and time which was quite simple. Then I wanted to set up the automatic function which needed a little care but wasn't hard. If you want to know how the record and personal functions work you'll have to wait for another review though the instructions are quite clear.

So, setup done I took a few snaps also using the zoom function and the results look pretty good. You can download them to your pc either directly from the camera (all connections included) or, if you have the card slots, use the memory card. There's no viewfinder which means you have to use the screen but then that's what I did on my previous camera and the screen is a good size.

A more detailed manual  with dozens of different settings for all kinds of pictures and including HD video (it says) is included on a CD-ROM. Because it's larger onscreen it's correspondingly easier to read and follow. I had to discover that to open it I needed to right-click on the icon and open it up with Acrobat PDF reader. Left-click and it fills Wordpad with gibberish. Editing software -PHOTOfunSTUDIO 4.0- is also included but I'm sticking with Picassa for the moment.

It's compact and smart, easy to use, good results. Unsurprisingly it looks like Which? got it right. This is a good one. 

Of course I then had to tell Susan that I'd spent a hundred and forty quid on a new camera without telling her. This is her asking me why I needed a new camera.

Because, darling, I said, I bought it for Animal Krackers so I can take better photos of the cats and dogs and whatevers we rescue and put up on websites and my blog.

And this is what she thought of that.

But here is a wonderful photograph of our Lily. Not a hint of camera shake and she didn't even move a whisker.

Yep, good camera.

MUSIC: RECENTLY ARRIVED CDs

An appearance here does not preclude a later review, as they say.

The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow.

Rock. Hot chick. Good tunes. Good voice. What's not to like?

Seasick Steve: I Started Out With Nothin And I Still Got Most Of It Left.

Blues. Authentic old white guy. £2.99 from Amazon. Why not?

Jimi Hendrix: Blues.

Rock and blues guitar god. Original and blues covers compilation. Hasn't everybody got this CD and if not, why not?

ncho Texicano

Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top.

Everybody should have at least one ZZ Top album in their collection and it should be Eliminator. Then once you've played it to death, go out and buy this 38-track 2-CD set of sheer iconic blues/rock/boogie.

Could it be I'm a blues fan, ya think?

GRAPHIC NOVELS: INVINCIBLE VOL.12 STILL STANDING by KIRKMAN & OTTLEY

An Amazon 4-star review.

Invincible is simply one of the very top super-hero titles around. It's slickly written by Robert Kirkman who manages a light deft touch even when going into some dark places. The artwork by Ryan Ottley is clear and stylish, managing to edge just onto the realistic side of cartoony. Together it's a winning combination.

Just to briefly explain the setup to Invincible newbies, Mark is the son of the world's most powerful hero who turns out to be an alien villain. As both himself and Invincible, Mark has a lot of growing up to do and a lot to deal with in terms of new enemies, new friends, and complicated relationships and it's all set in the Image Universe which allows for some fun teamups. And this comic is fun in a big way.

That said, this 12th trade paperback really darkens down the tone and it's the grimest installment so far. It begins with about 20 hostile Invincibles from alternate worlds invading Earth, one of whom specifically wants to kill Mark's girlfriend. In the aftermath of this disaster, matters get even worse with the arrival of Conquest, possibly the strongest of Mark's father's people. Now while I'm not one for issue-long super-hero fights -and this lasts for nearly three of them!- this is done really well and it's the darkest most violent and horrific installment of Invincible yet.

If you haven't tried Invincible before, don't start with this. Go and get the first one. If you have then you'll hardly be surprised to learn that this comes highly recommended. 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE: WORDS WE HATE

 A brief guest contribution to the topic by Barry Spence. Take it away, Bazza!

If ye are still intending to keep this thread going, try writing your views on this:

In the tradition of your “Quadrilogy” rant, I’ve come across a DVD box in Morrisons of five OMEN films entitled “THE OMEN Pentology”. Note that it’s not Pentilogy nor even Pentalogy - this latter prefix with ‘---a’ is common enough in correct words related to the number 5, such as pentathlon, pentagon, pentacle/pentagram (these latter two could be useful in the OMEN films), etc.. Pentology using ‘---o’ makes me think of studies of subjects such as geology, horology, sociology, etc.

Using your logic, your imbecile DVD marketing heroes presume customers don’t know the word “quintet”….

Yes, B, indeed it does make me despair for my beloved English language. It's not as if quintet is an obscure word. I'm now waiting for twoology, duology probably being too esoteric, duet is another horrifying possibilty, and as for the lovely word dyptych...

GRAPHIC NOVELS: POWER GIRL

An Amazon 4-star review

Power Girl was the character that no-one knew what to do with after DC's legendary Crisis on Infinite Earths and she's been mucked about with ever since without a stable role found for her in the DC Universe. Recently, however, it seems to have been agreed that her original origin is still the real one -that she's Superman's cousin from a now non-existent universe. Let's hope it sticks.

Let's also hope that the new and more likeable personality given to her by writers Gray and Palmiotti also sticks. No longer hypersensitive, obnoxious, serious and dull, the new Power Girl has a sense of humour, has come to terms with the fact that people (men) are going to stare and her most visible assets (see image above for a view of her Katie Price-size breasts), and is busy building up a business under her secret identity. Okay, on with the show.


Apart from the lighter touch with the writing, the main asset to this book is Amanda Conner's attractive cartoonish but substantive art style which emphasises the humour in the writing. Ironically the first story arc, at least at the beginning, is a touch grim as the Ultra-Humanite kidnaps Manhattan inorder to blackmail PG into giving him her body -not for sex but to put his brain in it. There's a team-up with the new teenage Terra whom PG appears to be mentoring and an encounter with a trio of hedonistic super-powered alien women on the run and looking for fun but which seems to result in chaos and mass property damage. Plus stuff about life in her secret identity as she attempts to rebuild her business.

(Ironically the top image is by Adam Hughes, so here's an Amanda Conner picture to make up for it.)

So, not an earth-shattering book (though Manhattan gets pretty shaken) but a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next collection in a few months time. 

DVD: MOON

 Rewritten and expanded from a 2-star Amazon review.

Caution, one spoiler is mentioned because otherwise I couldn't begin to explain why I didn't like this film and I am a fan of science fiction. No, make that complete spoilers are mentioned.

On the moon, one man monitors automated mining. He is coming to the end of a three-year stint and is shortly due to be taken back to earth. When he leaves his base to check on a problem, he has an accident from which he can not be rescued as there is no-one to rescue him. He then 'wakes up' back at the base and doesn't remember the accident.

What happens next is pretty obvious to anyone with even the slightest familiarity with SF, including the nature of the individual who wakes up. You can work it out without too much difficulty from the four sentence synopsis of the first 30 minutes. But, I'm going to do it for you.

The man who has woken up has to be a clone. If he is a clone then so is the first man. Why?  The main reason is that if you can make a clone with mostly intact  (plus false) memories of the original then there is no need (as we find out) to send the original in the first place. Also, because there is supposed to be no direct contact with Earth so Man 1 has only received relayed messages from his wife while we has seen/heard the computer talking directly to Earth. If he is on a 3-year cycle then the clone is programmed to die at the end of that period and be replaced.

All this is born out when Man 2 manages to get out of the base and rescues Man 1 who is deteriorating physically and mentally, far more so than his superficial wounds would cause. The interaction between the two clones plus the computer takes up over half the film.

This is a short film padded out to interminable length. While it does develop logically within its basic premise, sadly it is also boring and it is obvious and I really found it to be a big disappointment. It would have made an excellent 45minute tv drama but certainly no longer than that. 

BOOK; THE INVISIBLE GORILLA by CHRISTOPHER CHABRIS & DANIEL SIMONS

An Amazon 5-star review.

Approached with an open mind, this book will shake your world.

Now the authors probably don't realise it but they have actually written quite a Buddhist text, not that it's in any way religious because it isn't, the opposite if anything. But it is concerned with the illusions with which we shroud our lives, about discovering them, and seeing them for what they are; though it isn't a self-help book by any means, it's up to you what you do with it. Whichever way you choose to look at it, it is thought-provoking and readable, though at times it requires a little effort. But then anything worthwhile, like driving carefully, does that.

The first illusion is that we don't notice the unexpected -the invisible gorilla of the title- we see what we expect to see. Sometimes we don't see the wood for the trees -an innocent man was found guilty of rape because the victim concentrated too hard on remembering different aspects of his features.

The second illusion is that our memory is accurate. I know from experience that mine isn't. A simple example is watching a film you enjoyed for a second time and realising how much you have misremembered about it. The illusion of memory explains why several people can give completely different accounts of the same incident.

This is just the beginning of it but I won't go into any more because I really want you discover the contents of this fascinating book for yourself. Ironically it confirms many things that I've already thought of and it isn't because I'm a clever clogs. It's because I know I have a poor memory, because I know I'm not as clever as I'd like to be, because I know I'm not an observant person, and, unless I'm dealing with something I do know well, I'm not a confident one. To understand that statement you really do need to read this book. You'll see yourself and the world around you in a new light. That's a promise.