This is what I listened to this week, albums only, I listen to a boat load of singles but don’t bother listing them. Would The Loveboat be a boatload of singles? No, my wife and I took our honeymoon on one of the Loveboats, definitely not single.
Dylan Marlowe – Dirt Road When I Die – Streamed – 2023 A shot of C/W to start the week, I’m generally not a fan of modern country, but I can always sneak some in under the radar. I have Wanted! The Outlaws in my car as the CD of the day.
Dick Dale & His Del-Tones – Surfer’s Choice – – Streamed – 1962 I was working on a guitar riff, and when I surfed the internet for the chords, this caught my eye. Like C/W, I am not usually listening to surf rock, but a dose here and there doesn’t hurt.
Sorrows – Love Too Late – Streamed – 1981 Research for a review of Arthur Alexanders new album, Steppin’ Out
Roy Orbison – All-time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison Volume 1&2 – CD – 1989 I had the privilege of seeing Roy Orbison live in/about 1977, and it still ranks as one of the best shows I have seen.
Arthur Russell – Picture of Bunny Rabbit – Stream – 2023 Test run of some new music; it’s quirky but in a good way.
Tony Allen & Adrian Younge – Tony Allen JID018 – Stream – 2023 Friday’s new music, this one is a keeper. Nigeria meets the USA for a funky jazzy percussion driven album of pure joy for my ears.
Stevie Wonder – Various – Stream – 2023 I like Stevie Wonder’s music, mostly the ’70s albums.
Roberta Flack – Chapter Two – LP – 1970 I took a break from blogging and got back to the LPs. Roberta Flack had a captivating voice. I like her early material, this is her second album.
Flash and the Pan – Flash and the Pan – LP – 1979 Still listening to “F.” This is a deserted island record.
T.R. Bruce – Selling Your – Stream – 2023 I’m back to streaming some new music.
Nevis – Reverberations – Stream – 2023 The first track on this album blew me away the first time I heard it.
Flash and the Pan – Early Morning Wake Up Call – LP – 1984 More “F” ing vinyl.
Annie Taylor – Inner Smile – Stream – 2023 Inner Smile is an excellent mowing-the-lawn album. I put on my over-the-ear active noise-cancelling headphones. Inner Smile is nearly the same amount of time I need to mow the backyard lawn. Now I am listening to Inner Smile in the office and this is one sweet rock and roll album.
Guided By Voices – Welshpool Frillies – Stream – 2023 More new music from Friday.
Some of these recordings are reviewed on my blog site, WeatheredMusic.ca
Kevin – On Repeat #205 – Stream – 2023 Another playlist that I enjoyed listening to. Thanks, Kevin.
Reverberations are the repetition of a sound resulting from the reflection of sound waves. Reverberation is not an echo; it is more like the echo of an echo; repeat as needed. Reverb is common in an electric guitar setup. It could be a floor pedal, a rack component or built into the amp and activated with the flick of a switch. Reverb is also used by sound engineers, architects, and numerous others, it is literally all around us.
Reverberations is also the name of a Nevaris album released nearly two months ago. Better late than never, I hope. When the single Dub Sol hit my inbox in March of this year, I put it on repeat and got my groove on. I loved it! And then, I waited for the full release to drop, which it did on June 2nd, which will be two months ago, in a couple of days. I have listened to this numerous times over those two months as I waited for inspiration to hit me and write something about this incredible album. It hit me today.
Manhattan-based artist NEVARIS and legendary bassist-producer BILL LASWELL have crafted an energetic and soulful collaboration inspired by the energy of New York City. Dub Sol garnered the praise of CARLOS SANTANA, who called this collection “a work of supreme creativity.”
‘Reverberations‘ is the third collaboration between Nevaris, Bill Laswell and this lineup of musicians (D.J. Logic, Will Bernard, Peter Apfelbaum and Lockatron, with the addition of Matt Dickey), here focusing more on the dub aspects of their sound. Here, the musicians’ New York City roots shine through. Bass, percussion, drums and turntables take center stage on this track, with a New York sound that channels the energy and vibrancy of the city. Reverberations is released via Laswell‘s boutique label M.O.D. Reloaded.
These songs wouldn’t fit on a 45 vinyl. Correction, one piece; Locatronic clocks in at a mere 3:43. The remainder are at lengths ranging from 4:29 to 7:46. Heck, you would need both sides of a 45 to contain some of these tracks. All told, these are gathered together as a glorious 45 minutes of head bobbing, toe-tapping, and pausing whatever I’m doing while I listen to this music. Did you notice how I slyly moved from a 45 to 45 minutes? Continuity folks, all in the name of continuity.
A musician and visual artist, Nevaris is a percussionist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer whose music is influenced by Afro-Latin, dub, funk and the sounds of the streets. Born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he is of European and Mexican descent with multi-generational roots in both N.Y.C. and L.A.’s Echo Park neighbourhood. Dang, it would have been so cool if he had lived in Reverberation Park instead of Echo Park!
Before recording ‘Reverberations,’ Nevaris recorded and performed with an evolving lineup of musicians named Loud Apartment, most notably Bernie Worrell of P-Funk and Talking Heads fame.
“This record builds on the momentum from ‘System Breakdown’ and ‘New Future,’ which we released in 2020 and 2022 as Loud Apartment. There were dub aspects of those recordings, so Bill Laswell and I decided to create a recording entirely focused on that sound. It was a logical next step and came together in an organic way. We let the music go where it needed to go,” says Nevaris.
Photo Credit: Nevaris photo by Michael Black
“It’s a dub-based project, with breakbeat, funk, ambient, and afro-latin elements. It’s rhythm-based music where the pocket is essential. Lockatron is a huge part of that, as, of course, is Bill Laswell, DJ Logic and everyone else involved. Peter Apfelbaum‘s horn arrangements are also a core aspect. In my mind, it’s a cohesive piece of music that is best listened to as a whole rather than as individual songs. And Bill takes it where it needs to go with the production like no one else really can.”
In addition to his work as a musician, Nevaris is a visual and multimedia artist who has worked on various creative projects across mediums. He also co-founded Nolej Records, Nolej Studios and the Uncomun Festival.
Enough talking for now. Let’s listen to the music, please.
Reverberations is released via Laswell’s boutique label M.O.D. Reloaded.
T.R.Burge has lived in Canada. That alone gives me a good reason to like this album since I have lived in Canada for many years. Given his musical skills, I would suspect him living in one or the other of Canada’s metropolis music magnets, Vancouver on the west coast and Toronto servicing the rest. He has lived in Australia, Canada, Scotland, Siberia and England and is heavily influenced by his past experiences and travelling in his songwriting and style of playing. He studied old-style blues guitar in Sydney and spent some time in a Soviet-style music institute in Siberia, teaching children to speak English there.
For seven years, he lived in Australia, and when not playing in Auzzy bands there, he was in the outback talking to rural guys and miners about beer, no not just for fun; that was his job.
Over the past years, T.R.Burge has been based between Berlin and Manchester, playing in bands and again collaborating with other musicians. His solo releases are a product of this time, the people he’s met, and the stories he’s gathered along the way.
Ah, the stories. The stories that T.R. can tell us. Stories that run the gamut from the call for freedom in the opening track, Free Man, to Precious Stones, a song that T.R. tells us references a dream he had. Precious Stones is about aiming for the best in life and has mystical aspects.
I love the soft guitar licks that T. R. lays down, most evidently in the openings to the first two tracks, Free Man and Japanese Rain. In Japanese Rain, T.R. tells us that it “relates to a trip I took to Japan pre-Covid and what seemed like an endless night of adventures and experiences.”)
Selling You – Single – “Selling You is a song that was inspired by a particular experience whilst playing in a punk ethos band in Leeds. We had a permanent practice room above a bar in the city centre, this room was covered in cobwebs and had an old stage at one end of it, there was also a secret meeting room where the national front had met up in the 80s, it had a strange vibe, we also played in the bar downstairs at weekends, there was both light and dark experiences during that time.”
Selling You: Video, “The video for Selling You, was shot on location in Berlin; the emotional sentiment of the song felt very appropriate for Berlin, and it’s a place where I have spent a great deal of time in the last few years. The narrative in the video represents the underlying story which inspired the song. The director Emily Hagan did a great job; she lives in Berlin but is from Manchester and has done videos for band members of New Order and Johnny Marr, amongst other things.”
Selling You is probably my favourite track, followed by the strong closing notes of Ride This Rail (A hopeful lament for people to take it easy on themselves and keep pushing through, we can be so focused on getting things done and forget to take in the ride.)
Selling You is a well-crafted E.P., but I was left wanting more at the end, so I listened to T.R.s previous E.P. God Ache and then put on Selling You again; problem solved, I could hear more T.R. Burge. If you want to hear more music by T.R. Burge, please follow these links.
Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids – There’s No Face Like Chrome – LP – 1974 I enjoyed seeing Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids live in 1975. The highlight of their show was to gather at the front of the stage, bow to the audience, and then turn around and moon the audience.
I Am A Rocketship – La Cruella – Stream – 2023
The album will be out on August 4, not long from now. I have been trying to gather my thoughts into a blog about this album. I’m still gathering and listening to the album multiple times. It’s good music, and I hope my thoughts gel into a blog before the album drops.
The Beatles – The Beatles – Stream – 1968
I have clear memories of this album and a wedding party in 1972 where I imbibed too much while I listened to The White album. It is still a solid listen, my affection for the music has not dimmed, and my consumption of mind-altering substances these days is limited to coffee.
This is another new album I have enjoyed listening to. There are flavours of Patti Smith, and it certainly has a punk edge to it. There are some delicious guitar riffs, and her voice has a very punk snarl. School Girl will undoubtedly gather more trips around the virtual turntable this week.
Tantrum Zentrum – Don’t Be A Fascist – Stream – 2023 There is only only the single, Don’t Be A Fascist, on Apple Music as of today. I look forward to the whole album. The music is good, post-punk, I would call it. It’s the lyrics and the title that got my attention.
Various – 1960’s Happy Days – CD – 2004 Road trip music, this 3 CD pack got my wife and me through 4 hours on the road to visit my Mom.
Revered Billy Simmons & William Simmons – Rollscanhardly – Stream – 2009 This was a random pick on Apple Music because their name contained the word Reverend. I liked and listened to the music several times over the last few weeks.
The Johnsons – Gypsies For Life – CD – 2006 This was a CD bin-diving find. I have a previous album by them, So I Says To The Guy, that people have contacted me through Discogs to see if I want to sell it. I don’t. They are a hometown band. I like supporting the local music scene.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Taboo – CD – 2010 I enjoy the BRMC and have all their studio albums. I found them through Michael Been of the Call, Wiki it for the bigger story.
Adam Dylan Marlowe – Dirt Road When I Die – Stream – 2023 This is just an Apple New Music random sample; not my thing.
Arthur Alexander – … steppin’ out! – Stream – 2023 Another review up on WeatheredMusic.ca SORROWS – Love Too Late – The Real Album – Stream – 1981 They are part of the backstories of Arthur Alexander.
I Am A Rocketship – La Cruella – Stream – 2023 New review forthcoming.
Teenage Fan Club – Thirteen – Stream – 1993
Shaun Ferguson – La Lumber De L’ombre – L’Ombre De La Lumiere – Stream – 2023 This was a late-night search for something to put me to sleep. I thought it was Slumber!
Charlie Peacock – Charlie Peacock – LP – 1986 Another choice bin diving find and inexpensive to boot. I had it on cassette and now have it on LP. I listened to it twice.
Les Paul and Mary Ford – Les and Mary – LP – 1955 Still working my way through the vinyl stack alphabetically. A couple more in F still to go.
La Cruella – I Am A Rocketship – Stream – 2023
And of course, a tip of the hat to Kevin On Repeat.
Arthur Alexander. Arthur is … Steppin’ Out! The first step/track is “Woman,” a song that opens with a blistering drum intro, and then the electric wet reverb jumps in, taking Arthur Alexander close to a “Wipeout,” but not quite. We get a great opening track full of energy that blasts beyond the surf to a new world of music. That world revolves around Arthur Alexander’s… Steppin’ Out!.
The opening track is Woman, although it is reminiscent of surf rock revisited. It isn’t. It is full-on rock and roll. And that is where Arthur Alexander shines. He has a lifetime of musical influences, and when he lets them out, we get songs like Woman.
I had to do my homework on the second track, It’s Not Love Anymore #2. I was not knowledgeable of SORROWS, a band that Arthur Alexander was a part of in the late ’70s and early ’80s, so I was off searching for Arthur Alexander in 1981. New York was a hotbed of music in 1981, with bands playing in every nook and cranny all over The Big Apple. Out of all the venues, CBGB was the place to play, both on and off the stage. Arthur Alexander and SORROWS played CBGB and had a hit album, Teenage Heartbreak. Look them up on Apple Music or YouTube; it’s a good album.
I have enjoyed listening to SORROWS. They had a straightforward pop-rock act in the same vein as The Cars or The Romantics. They were easy to enjoy with two guitars, two lead singers, and steady bass and percussion. I can see why they would have been an excellent act to take in at any club, but especially CBGB.
Back to the future, it’s 2023, and I am moving forward to Arthur Alexander and his new album … Steppin’ Out! It has elements of SORROWS, which is only natural since it is in his musical heritage. On the other hand, … Steppin’ Out! is also fresh, and it finds Arthur Alexander exploring new soundscapes.
Track number three, (She’s a) Red Hot Lover, is a synth-pop song that sees Arthur Alexander exploring new musical territory outside the two-guitar band SORROWS. There is still a guitar solo, but the synths propel this song forward and make (She’s a) Red Hot Lover the great track that it is.
One Life (Is All You Got) I let Arthur Alexander tell you about this track.
“One of those reflective pieces… we’re here only for a short time and just passing through, so don’t sweat the small stuff; stand up for yourself and what you believe… ’cause one life IS all you got! No
do-overs! Somehow, the song reminded me of the “Aftermath” era Stones vibe, and when the breakdown comes, I wanted to really throw a left curve to the listener and make it a “WTF is this?!?!” moment. “Aftermath“?… Brian Jones fucking MADE that album! I was working on that song when I went to Europe to see my brother just before the pandemic hit. I took the tracks with me and recorded him playing Oud for the breakdown part, “This one’s for you, Brian!”… and I’m sure no one will mind that it climaxes with some of The Who’s tried and true clichés before it all crushes back into the song! ;)”
Track five is Ashes, and it reminded me of The Kinks. I don’t know why. It’s a breakup song. Nuff said.
Lulu, Won’t You Be My Girl is a bit of fun, and yes, Arthur, you succeeded. I am quoting Arthur Alexander again. “I love the old-style trad jazz, swing music and vaudeville songs from the ’20s and ’30s. The guitar break reflects my love for Django Reinhardt; it’s just too bad my playing ability does not. I was trying to make this song as corny and camp as I possibly could, and, gosh darn, I hope I succeeded.”
Norman says, “Yes, you succeeded.”
Why Can’t You Come harkens back to the SORROWS‘ edgy punkish, push-the-boundaries type of music. I love it. The lyrics have a dark edginess that the grungy guitar pushes violently across the soundscape straight at our faces. Early 80s punk, yeah, it works.
I Miss You is a fun, quick bit of mid 60’s pure pop music. It doesn’t pretend to be more than that; it is just fun to listen to.
A Little Too Much gives us Arthur Alexander playing around with the synth again. I hear some of Gary Numan’sCars floating around in this track until it blasts into a synth-infused rock and roll number, booting Gary’s synth aside with more of Arthur Alexanders’ guitar work. Interesting transitions are happening in this track; I listened intently, trying to hear everything that is going on between the notes. I’m still listening. I feel there is still more for me to hear.
Humming Blues In Four presents four short stories for us to peruse.
Silver Cloud in Arthur Alexander’s words: “Believe it or not, I wrote this one also while with the Poppees. Alas, by then, they were still in their “She Loves You” phase while I was in my “All Things Must Pass” and “Dark Side of The Moon” phase, so, of course, the band had zero interest in it. Sorrows did actually cut a demo of it which one can hear on the Bomp! “Bad Times Good Times” release, but we never got to do it “for real.” So here it is, finally, as it was intended.”
Norman’s words: “I hear more late-career Beatles, so yes, I agree with the “All Things Must Pass” assessment. I don’t hear DSotM, and I know that album inside out and backwards, and no, there are no Satanic messages when played backwards. Silver Cloud is still a good song, no matter which influencer you relate it to.
Flying Shadows
Arthur Alexander: “A total fluke, this one!… I was about to record Luis’ drums for “Fly Away,” but I still didn’t have any lyrics to put down, even a scratch vocal track for Luis to follow the song structure. Without giving it much thought, I grabbed a guitar and recorded a quick scratch track of the melody line so that at least he had something to follow and be able to tell a verse from a bridge, etc… When I listened back to it, I was stunned! It sounded like The Shadows, one of my biggest musical influences and a band probably not only responsible for me making music at all but equally responsible for where and how rock and roll went as it did, period! At least in Europe, and actually, as a consequence, the rest of the world! Hearing that inspired me to pay a real homage to my heroes!”
This turned out to be a winner for us. A great closing track with the same ethos as the opening track and a tonne of great music between those two book ends. Arthur Alexander has gifted us with a great album with … Steppin’ Out!. It sparked a desire in me to listen/relisten to some music from the early 80s as well as the joy of hearing this most excellent album.
This has been an interesting week of music listening. It is light on jazz and classical and features some good rock and roll.
I have enjoyed the music of Jose Feliciano for many, many years and still enjoy his music. The live album is a good best of collection and sounds good for a live album. Jose Feliciano – Feliciano – LP – 1968 Jose Feliciano – Alive Alive-o! Live At London Palladium – LP – 1969
Addeyee – Spår av Addeyee – Streaming – 2023
Freddy Fender – Before The Next Teardrop Falls – LP – 1975 This album is a blast from the past. Freddy has his day in the spotlight with his number 1 songs, Before the Next Teardrop Falls and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights. He continued to perform and record music until just before his death.
Perennial favourites for me, I enjoy The Clash and even play London Calling on guitar. The Clash – Combat Rock – iPod – 1982 The Clash – London Calling – iPod – 1979
Arthur Alexander – … steppin’ out! – Streamed – 2023 This is a new album that will be released on July 28th.
Backward Collective – Music For…(vol. 1) – Streamed – 2007 A bit of interesting new music. I’m not sure if I like it or not.
Revered Billy Simmons & William Simmons – Rollscanhardly – Steamed – 2009 Some more new music, I do like them.
Donna Fargo has a good voice that carries some of the golden age of country music forward. Brotherly Love is the prerequisite gospel album that all C/W artists must make. It has a few gospel standards and a few new songs. Not a bad listen.
Marianne Faithful – Broken English
Wow. Yeah, revisiting this album was a joy, and I think I will listen to it again in a couple of days. This listening was like hearing Broken English for the first time. I heard words that I had previously missed or glossed over. I heard social commentaries that I didn’t know were there. And I listened to the emotion in Marianne Faithful as she belted out songs like Why D’Ya Do It. It made me stop and allow that emotion to speak to me. Every song on this album came alive for me. I’ll hear it again in a few days and update you on what happened. It was more subdued on the second listen but still a powerful album.
LOW-RES – Därför & Varför
Some new post-punk is coming out of Sweden, a hot place for new music this year.
Maynard Ferguson – Conquistador
Courtesy of Wikipedia: Conquistador was the most successful album of Ferguson’s career, earning him his first and only gold record and a Grammy nomination (Best Pop Instrumental Performance) for “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from “Rocky”).” Boosted by the popularity of the single, Conquistador not only went to number one on the Jazz charts, but it became the first big band album to appear on the pop charts in decades, sparking a revival of interest in big band music.
When Conquistador rose to number 22 on the pop album charts, Los Angeles Times music critic Leonard Feather noted, “Conquistador earned Ferguson a unique place in the big band world: he alone was able to crack the pop charts.”
Fleetwood Mac –Kiln House
Kiln House was Fleetwood Mac’s fifth album, and Rumours was still seven years and seven more albums away. Unfortunately, many can only name one or two Fleetwood Mac albums, usually Rumours and Tusk. There is a lot more to their credit than that. This album is an excellent highlight of their blues influence. So many good British bands got their start playing the blues.This would be one of my island records, depending on how many I could take with me.
Adrian Norén:Spår av Addeyee
More Swedish music. I love it and wish I could speak it.
The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama – Oh, Lord-Stand By Me
The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama – Marching Up To Zion
I know they are not singing about it, but driving through Zion National Park is close to walking through the Holy Land.
Tropical Fuck Storm – Goody Goody Gumdrops
Although it is not my usual listening, I couldn’t ignore this band with that moniker.
Aukai – Aukai
This album is pleasant, laid-back listening.
Townes Van Zandt – Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas
This album is a good sampler that shows Townes at his best.
Rev. Billy Simmons & William Simmons – Rollscanhardly
I wasn’t familiar with these guys, but the Rev. part of his handle sucked me in.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds –Push The Sky Away
I have been a fan of Nick Cave for a long time, and I spun this album three or four times over the last month.
July 1 was Canada Day, so here is a short list of songs and recording artists celebrating this great land; I live above the 49th. I only listened to the singles for this list.
Wheat Kings – The Tragically Hip These guys are Canadian royalty. Sadly we lost Gord, but they did one hell of a farewell tour.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald & Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Gordon Lightfoot
We said farewell to Gordon Lightfoot on May 1, 2023. He was a patriotic citizen who sang about Canada frequently. For my friends and family south of the 49th, on July 4, 1995, the 91-kilogram bronze bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald was recovered from the ship’s wreckage. The ore carrier sank on Nov. 10, 1975, in Lake Superior, and 29 people died. The bell is now on display in Whitefish Point, Mich.
Oh … Canada – Classified
Get a little rap going.
Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon –The Guess Who Canadian rock and roll heroes. American Woman is one of their biggest hits.
Canadian Dream – Sam Roberts
Yes, Canada is a socialist country. Free medical care is the star of that parade. I feel that socialism is frequently misunderstood; it is not as evil as it is often perceived.
Four Strong Winds
This a song written by Ian Tyson and covered by Neil Young, a transplanted Canadian.
Song For Canada – Bob Dylan’s backing band, aka The Band, was 4/5 Canadian. I listened to The Basement Tapes today.
Ed Evanko – I Dedicate This Song To You – LP – 1979 I dedicate this listen to Ukraine.
Everly Brothers – Roots – LP – 2014 This was a Record Store Day pick.
XTC – Drums and Wires – Streaming – 1979 A blast from the past, I love it. Making plans for Nigel is a standout track on an overall solid album.
Bill Evans Trio – Waltz For Debby – LP – 1961 A solid listen start to finish.
Bill Evans – Conversations With Myself – LP – 1963 Recording with Glenn Gould’s piano, CD 318, at studio sessions on February 6 and 9, and May 20, 1963, Evans used the method of overdubbing three different yet corresponding piano tracks for each song. It was unusual when it was recorded due to this being a solo album with overdubbing, something not used much back in 1963.
Bill Evans – Sunday At The Village Vanguard – LP – 1961 An amazing album that continues to amaze me every time I listen to it.
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier – Streaming – 2006 I hadn’t listened to The Raconteurs for a while, and it was good to hear them again—great music for mowing the lawn or long drives on the highway. I did both this week and got in two listens to this album start to finish.
Modest Mouse – Building Nothing Out Of Something – Streaming – 2000 This is another great album from a band that keeps pumping out good music.
Habitat Canada – Lunar Spectrum – Streaming – 2023 Some fresh music I will blog on eventually.
Farrell and Farrell – Portrait of Us All – LP – 1979 A long time ago, I was into Christianity and listened to Christian music like all good little Christians. It hurts my ears to relisten to this album.
Mark Farner – Isn’t It Amazing – LP – 1988 From Grand Funk Railroad to being another Christian who’s music I listened to. Not as bad as some CCM but is falls short of what he did with GFR.
Popsicko – Off To A Bad Start – Streaming – 2023 Some more new music.
Writing something about this double album has been quite the project. Best Of Friends is a double album with 19 excellent tunes that run for one hour and six minutes. That’s longer than most albums and thus took more listening time. Another factor that made this longer than my average blog is that I had never heard of them before, so I had to listen to their back catalogue to hear where they came from. And to top that, I was unfamiliar with the artists that sparkle*jets u.k. were paying tribute to, so I also had to listen to their material. All of these factors meant that I was busy getting around to blogging Best Of Friends.
SPARKLE*JETS U.K., beloved icons of the Turn-of-the-Century Southern California guitar pop scene, are most assuredly back. BIG STIR RECORDS is proud to announce not only the June 30 release of the band’s first album in over 20 years, Best Of Friends, on 2-LP Vinyl and CD in record stores everywhere and streaming worldwide but a veritable multimedia renaissance for the band throughout 2023. Bringing back not just the vibes of the scene that birthed them but the songs as well, SPARKLE*JETS U.K.’s jaw-dropping new double album is both a love letter and a tribute to the artists with whom they shared stages and a thrilling revelation of those lost sounds to those who missed them the first time around. People like me!
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Track List and Original Artists:
1. Hold On Tight (Clevenger)
Originally recorded by Walter Clevenger & The Dairy Kings
2. He’s Coming Out (D’Amico / Mychols)
Originally recorded by The Masticators
3. No One Rides For Free (Anderson)
Originally recorded by The Andersons
4. One Summer Sunday (Chicoine)
Originally recorded by Kompost
5. Are We There Yet? (Bartnof)
Originally recorded by Cosmo Topper
6. Ludlow 6:18 (Marsland)
Originally recorded by Cockeyed Ghost
7. Battle Song (Daniel)
Originally recorded by Adam Daniel
8. I Want A Pony (Jenio / McGough / Sessa / Woods)
Originally performed by Candypants
9. Till We Meet Again (Magill)
Originally recorded by The Dons
10. Come Down Now (Rodewald / Stewart)
Originally recorded by TheNegro Problem
11. Automatic (Hromadka)
Originally recorded by Double Naught Spies
12. Who Really Can Know? (Flora)
Originally recorded by Florapop
13. Sunshine Tonight (Rotenberry)
Originally recorded by The Shazam
It’s a full-circle return for the Long Beach-based trio, consisting now as then of vocalist-guitarist Susan West, bassist Jamie Knight, and singer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Simmons, who also takes most drumming duties for the current edition of sparkle*jets u.k. (with Joel Valder sitting in on three tracks). The band has hardly been dormant for the decades since releasing their two widely admired albums, In, Through And Beyond in 1998 and 2001’s Bamboo Lounge, nor have they ever gone their separate ways. In addition to Michael Simmons’s continuing output as a solo artist (the acclaimed 2018 album First Days Of Summer) and with Popdudes, sparkle*jets u.k. joined the Big Stir Records family in 2019 for a special 7″ tribute to Big Star recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Jody Stephens on board. And all three ‘jets have been a part of creating the extraordinary (and very much pop-rock-oriented) music program at Huntington Beach High School. The band’s 2023 renaissance is something more significant, and this new collection is just the start, with an entire album of sparkle*jets u.k. ‘s originals already completed for release next year.
But we’re here to talk about BEST OF FRIENDS, whose mission is right there in the double meaning of its title: it consists of songs by sparkle*jets u.k. ‘s friends from the late ’90s and early 2000s in the L.A. pop scene, and it serves as a veritable “Best Of” collection for those unfamiliar with that era’s delights. Destined to have a reach beyond its impact as a superb pop-rock record, BEST OF FRIENDS is more of a multimedia event than a simple album release. Along with the singles and their inevitable companion music videos, the album’s publicity campaign incorporates a weekly podcast (also entitled BEST OF FRIENDS) which captures sparkle*jets u.k. in a candid conversation with the artists covered on the album, bridging the gap between the fondly remembered adventures and recordings of yesteryear and the fresh, bracing versions on the new L.P.
BEST OF FRIENDS is just the beginning of a new lease on the musical life for sparkle*jets u.k., and they can still write them just as well as they can play them. For now, though, turn it up loud as sparkle*jets u.k. prepares for blastoff, shattering the sound barrier between yesterday and tomorrow and paying loving tribute to their BEST OF FRIENDS.
Album Credits:
Michael Simmons: Lead and Backing Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Drums. Bass on Are We There Yet
Susan West: Lead and Backing Vocals
Jamie Knight: Electric Bass, 12-String Acoustic Guitar on Are We There Yet? & Hold On Tight
Joel Valder: Drums on I Want a Pony, In and Around Greg Lake, & Fantastic Pantsuit
Tisha Boonyawatana: Vocals and Keyboard on Fantastic Pantsuit
Anthony Grisham: Lead Guitars on Hold on Tight & The Right Idea
Blake Martin: Horns on Are We There Yet?
Nick Frater: Some handclaps
Michael Simmons produced and engineered it, 08/21-03/22 at Crab-Apple-On-Sea, Long Beach, CA. except for Fantastic Pantsuit, recorded 10/05 at Crab Apple West, Fullerton, CA.
Graphic design by Michael Simmons
Photographs courtesy of bands, and a few stolen from http://www.perry.com. Back cover painting by Rene Rodriguez
Thanks to: every artist represented here, most of whom elected to waive their royalties to allow this project to progress. We cannot thank you enough for your friendship and general awesomeness. Thanks to Christina and Rex at BIG STIR RECORDS for all they do. Thanks to our families, all the sparkle*jets u.k. past and present, all the D.J.’s, journalists, and John B. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PQn8mTl1Q4 I
I am watching their video on YouTube as I type this, good stuff. The more I listen to BEST OF FRIENDS the more I like it and the more I listen to sparkle*jets u.k. the more I appreciate them.
BIG STIR RECORDS
Burbank, CA / Croydon, South London, UK / Wherever Pop Music Is Made
Weathered Music 