Good morning dearest friends,
The advantage of having had a burst appendix is that the doctor thinks I need two more weeks to recover from the experience, this means I have quite some time which I can spend in front of the computer and write silly nonsense, as it is the case right now.
Okay, as for the second part of 'I Love My Label ...', this time I had a go at Rough Trade Records. Not an easy thing to do, because the amount of stuff they released over the years by various artists is immense at the very least. But I think I found some neat tunes and I do hope you share this opinion. This is what I want to play to you today:
A cover to start with, but one of a neat tune indeed, originally done by The Five Royales. The Detroit Cobras to me surely were one of the best five 'new' bands in the last decade, all of their stuff is outstandingly good and I'll never become tired to listen to Rachel Nagy's wonderful voice, they indeed are a highly recommended band! This song is from their second album, 'Life, Love And Leaving' (RTRADCD067) from 2001. Pictured above is the front cover of the US release, but it was on Rough Trade in the UK.
Again a great song, but not my favourite one by The Go-Betweens. As it so often is the case, I like the earliest recordings best ('People Say' for instance), those though were issued on the Able Label and not on Rough Trade. This doesn't mean that 'Cattle And Cane' is a bad song in one form or another, the only problem might be that you know it already by heart. For those of you who don't: it's from the band's second album, 'Before Hollywood', released as ROUGH54 in the UK back in 1983.
'One Man Clapping' was the third full length release from James, a live album which came out in March 1989. The album was recorded at the Moles Club, Bath, UK on the 14 and 15 November 1988. The album was issued on their own One Man imprint of Rough Trade Records (One Man 1 LP), after parting company with Blanco y Negro/Sire. So at least Rough Trade are a bit involved in here, reason enough to play to you this wonderful tune! Hope it brings back memories to those of you lucky enough to having had the chance to see James play live back in the 90's ....
Led by goddess Hope Sandoval, here's to you Mazzy Star: their debut album, released in 1990, is a real treasure. It was also released on Capitol Records back then in the States and in Canada, but for the UK it was ROUGH 158. 'Apparently 'Blue Flower' is a cover by a band called Slapp Happy, they wrote the song in 1972. I must admit I never heard the original and I am not sure whether I want to hear it at all: I'm afraid it may destroy what I like so much about Mazzy Star's version.
Okay, I have to cheat a bit here, but the song really is a highlight and I have to find a way to file it under Rough Trade in one form or another. It was originally released as a 7" on Hearthan in the US in 1976, a pressing of 3000. Then, in June 1980, Rough Trade UK re-released it, again as a 7", but with a different B-Side and titled the whole package 'Datapanik In The Year Zero-A' as RT 049. But, to make life even more complicated, Radar Records, back in 1978, also released a 7"-EP called 'Datapanik In The Year Zero', this though doesn't contain 'Final Solution' at all. Either way, it really is a gem, this tune, so please enjoy and play it loud loud loud!
Of course this post wouldn't be complete without having chosen something by The Smiths out of the Rough Trade back catalogue. Not an easy task, as you might be able to confirm, because obviously they have released so many good records over the years. This one though is one you don't hear all that often, the B-Side of the 'This Charming Man' - 7", 'Jeane': RTT 136, 1983.
From the album 'Reading, Writing And Arithmetic' (ROUGH 148 from 1990). Lead vocals by the awesome Harriet Wheeler, who, one would think, has been listening to The Cocteau Twins quite a lot when she was a bit younger: nothing wrong with that, I suppose ....
A total classic which I'm sure all of you know by heart, some 31 years (Jesus, is that really true? I'm afraid it is ....) after it's release. No reason not to play it again .... because I rule and I like it a lot! A 7", catalogue number was RT 043.
As mentioned previously, bearing the quantity of the Rough Trade back catalogue in mind, this wasn't that easy all in all. I do hope though that you enjoyed my choices. Any comments, verifying the same, or not, if you'd rather, are of cause highly appreciated. As usual.
Cheers,
Dirk
5 comments:
YMG = cool
Only ever heard The Wedding Present's version of "Cattle and Cane". Thanks, that was worth the price of admission. Keep it up.
...also, always knew this from the Pale Saints' version
Love hearing originals of covers, and vice versa.
sorry, "Blue Flower"
Can't find a bad track on yr blog.
Check dis: http://festivefiftyillustrated.blogspot.com/
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