I like mix tapes and compilation albums, so when Big Stir Records told me about Generation Blue, I was skeptical at first but happy to give it a virtual spin. My cautious approach was about to be changed into a enthusiastic encouragement for everyone to listen to this album and check out some new sounds.

There are 11 songs on here that I had yet to hear before I listened to them on Generation Blue , and I have yet to listen to the band’s full albums; I’ll get around to that eventually. I’m working on it. Generation Blue is a pleasant listen with some excellent bands. Shufflepucks’ opening salvo  Where The Hell Is She gets us into the mood with a fiery tune that made me want to see them live. The video of them playing this song gives us a glimpse of the energy that they put into their music. Where The Hell Is She is an excellent opening track.

For me, a stand-out track was Broken Tooth by Campfire Girls. They bring a fresh sound and excellent energy pacing through the full five minutes of this most listenable song. It is from their 2003 album Tell Them Hi. It is a bit long in the tooth, but it’s still good after all these years. Good music doesn’t get old.

Nerf Herder’s tongue-in-cheek track is called We Opened For Weezer. It’s a fun romp throughout, and good instrumentation makes it a must-listen.

Ozma gives us the track No One Needs To Know. That sentence could be misconstrued. It is a track that people should know about. It has an interesting take on faithfulness in relationships.

Overall, this is a solid album with good energy throughout, and someone put some thought into the order of the songs because they follow and then lead each other seamlessly. I’ll say well done to my friends at Big Stir.

I saw a blog where a person had listed their one to ten favourite songs. I put a spin on that list and made mine an alphanumeric list. This isn’t necessarily my favourite songs, they are however songs that I like, are alphanumeric and they fit well into such a list as this.

One by Three Dog Night – This is easily my top ten number song 

One by U2  – This is number 2 of the shared number one. One is still a good song.

Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad by Meatloaf – Meatloaf said it: Two out of three ain’t bad.

Two Birds, One Stone by Drake – We move from two out of three to two birds with one stone. This is a long and complicated song.

Three Little Birds by Bob Marley And The Wailers – Bob sang 3, one more bird than Drake.

Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd – Pink Floyd moved us away from birds to other critters. Instead of three little birds there are three different pigs, the same number as Bob’s birds, but not just one pig, it is three different ones.

Four Out of Five by Arctic Monkeys –  The Arctic Monkeys don’t tell us about animals other than humans and the monkeys in the band name, but they are staying at Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which has a Four Out Of Five rating in the travel guide.

FourFiveSeconds is a song by Rihanna and Kanye West, with instrumentals by Sir Paul McCartney. In it, the singer tells us they are four or five seconds away from ending the relationship, like George Harrison and Ringo Starr when the Beatles were recording The Beatles: Get Back.

Five Years by David Bowie is “perhaps one of the best album openers of all time,” as Reuben Tasker quotes it on Genius.

It’s Five O’clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson featuring Jimmie Buffet – This is a fun little tune, nuff said.

Five Days In May by Blue Rodeo – A bit of Canadiana, they have been touring what seems like forever. On February 7, 1985, Blue Rodeo played their first show at The Rivoli in Toronto. They have collected pretty much all the hardware a band in Canada can receive, and they deserve it.

Six by Sleeping At Last – All this counting has made me sleepy.

Six Feet Apart by Luke Combs – This song has a bit of fun with the distance we are separated from the ones we love, six feet.

seven by Taylor Swift – Thanks to my son’s girlfriend, I am developing an appreciation for Taylor Swift.

Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes is one of the most easily recognizable guitar intros. It is fun to play on the bass guitar.

7 Summers by Morgan Wallen We end our journey through time with 7 Summers by Morgan Wallen. We have seconds, hours, days, years, and seasons 4 of them: The Four Seasons (Vivaldi).

Eight Days a Week by The Beatles It has the measure of time, namely days, but it is number eight on our list.

Eight Seconds by Teak See the comment above.

9 Teen 90 Nine by Limp Bizkit – generally, I wouldn’t say I like swapping numeric digits into text, but I’ll let this one slide by.

9 by Föllakzoid, I have grown to like this track more and more as I replay it and explore the band’s other offerings. It is interesting, I will see how well it ages. Check back here occasionally so see when I do an update.

10 by Misled Children

10 Summers by Ashley Singh We had 7 Summers by Morgan Wallen; Ashley Singh gives three more. I have no problem with more summers and less winter.

I am going to throw in some random number songs. This list is far from the definitive list of numeric songs. Gather your favourites into your list; it’s a fun way to stroll down memory lane and learn about other artists and their music.

Nine to Five by Dolly Parton

Five to One by The Doors

Five-One-Five-One by Dierks Bentley

O’l ’55 by Tom Waits

Five by J.J. Cale has the song Thirteen Days

Forty-Six & Two by Tool

25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago

16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six by Tom Waits

I’ve listened to The James Clarke Five, Zoom, and The Gadflies again. This album is a keeper, and I hope James Hughes releases a vinyl version so I can listen to the whole album on my big stereo. “Long gone are the days when Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and THE CHERRY BOYS represented the 1980s Liverpool new wave scene, but Cherry Boys frontman JAMES HUGHES is still churning out fantastic music as JAMES CLARKE FIVE. Friday brings the release of his latest album ‘Zoom and The Gadflies’ via UK label Favourite Recordings.”

“This album was written and recorded over a period of two and-a-half years. As it progressed song by song, I found that it was showing a common theme inspired by the music that excited me as a child: people like Adam and The Ants, and also the likes of T Rex and the ‘production style’ of the Glam Rock era,“ explains James Hughes.

“So it gathered pace in that direction, which for me was very exciting if initially subconscious, development. But then all my music is in some way an homage to the music I love, with, of course, my personal quirks in the mix – for example the penultimate song, Buddy and Joe, which is my take to the music of Joe Meek, Telstar etc. On the other hand, D’You Not Think is inspired by psychedelic-era fairgrounds and steam organs (albeit with a ‘political’ lyric), and for me this song personifies the great fun I had putting this album together.“

This album was recorded in his home studio in London,  James Hughes produced and mastered it. He performed all instruments and vocals except Mack The Sax, who plays saxophone on ‘Gadfly Groove,’ and Karen Bates, who provides backing vocals on ‘It’s Been So Long.‘

As of March 15, the ‘Zoom and The Gadflies‘ album is available on fine digital platforms, including 

Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1VRyxQ7tms6Grakd3So0qO, Apple  https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/james-clarke-five/338084841, and Bandcamp https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com

Before you all come to the end of this blog, I want to add one more thing. As I listen to the song  ‘(Who’s Been On The) Big Rock Candy,‘ I can’t help but wonder if this started on Big Rock Candy Mountain. Harry McClintock first recorded and copyrighted “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” in 1928. I am partial to the Berl Ives version. It doesn’t matter; they are both quality songs that can stand on their own merit.

Keep up with James Clarke Five

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Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR

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I’m so far behind that I think I’m winning. I’ve been listening to a ton of excellent music recently that I should be writing blogs about but have never gotten around to. My apologies to the artists and the PR teams. I will go with the argument that a little is better than nothing.

The Cat’s Eye by Sun Atoms. This track is from 2021. When I encounter a band I am unfamiliar with, I will listen to their back catalogue. Thus, it was the amazing single The Cat’s Eye because I got invited to listen to the Sun Atoms’ new single Ceiling Tiles. Both of these are worth the time to listen to them.

Thanks to Shauna McLarnon from Shameless Promotion PR

Adam Ant. When I listen to the opening song of The Dave Clarke Five’s new album Zoom and the Gadflies, that is what I hear: Adam Ant.

It is not plagiarism. It just managed to bounce off a couple of memory chips in my brain because of a similarity. The whole album, Zoom and the Gadflies, has a retro feel. A loving glance back to the music that we grew up with, that we made love listening to, and for some like me, music that we still listen to now and again. Excuse me while I dig Adam Ant out of the box and dust it off.

James Clarke Five is James Hughes’s solo project. He is perhaps best known as a keyboardist and vocalist for Liverpool 80’s new wave band The Cherry Boys, contemporaries of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, whose members also played with The LA’s, Cast, The Icicle Works and Lightning Seeds.

Hughes now lives in London.

Thanks to Shauna McLarnon from Shameless Promotion PR

Between the Dead and the Dreaming. I don’t know anything about this recording. On Bandcamp, Between the Dead and the Dreaming is described as “dark ambient/instrumental music from Jason Herring of the Mystery Plan, the Interstellar, and Muchacho.”

It was released on February 23, 2024. That’s all I have, so it’s good that this is about the music. I like the music. Yes, it has bits of ambient moments, but it is also an album that deserves serious listening. Plenty is going on that could be lost without focused listening.

Thanks to Ten Millimeter Omega Recordings.

Rose Alaimo – A Place To Go When You Need To Hide

“The song ‘Power Lines’ is about the connections that exist between us, whether we are aware of them or not. One thing that was highlighted during Covid was how unbelievably interconnected we are. How fast the virus spread across the world was astounding, and in the middle of everyone debating mask and vaccination mandates and people becoming increasingly stressed and angry and there being more and more division between everyone, a tree was blown over on my property, taking the power lines down in front of my house. I walked outside and, after the shock of seeing this healthy tree ripped up by the roots by a strong wind, I noticed the lines that were down,” says Rose Alaimo.

“I saw how they were connected to my house, and how the main lines also connected to my neighbor’s house, and how those same lines connected every single house on the street. I never stopped to notice how physically connected all of these houses were by these power lines and how what happened to my house affected everyone else around me. It struck me as an interesting analogy to how we as humans are also all more connected to each other and to the world around us than we might initially assume. These connections may not be visible but they are definitely there. We can spread viruses to each other and we can spread anger and fear, but if we are mindful of this interconnectedness, we can also choose to spread GOOD things: kindness and understanding and peace.”

Thanks to Thanks to Shauna McLarnon from Shameless Promotion PR

 Shameless Promotion PR

GreenWing is a band on their way up the ladder out of the rabbit hole. Live, they rock the house. Recorded, they rock my speakers.

They have a new single, Enough, coming out on Friday, March 1. This song is deep, man, profound. Listen to the lyrics;

Sometime I wish it was still easy

But I won’t cling to the past 

You got to grow and change perspective

Or you’ll do the same things and it won’t last

I love them—good music, good lyrics from good guys in a good band. Check them out; they are talented and relatable.

GreenWing is pleased to announce the release of “Enough,” the second single off their upcoming sophomore album “Eatin’ It,” – set for release on March 15.

“Enough” is a song that tackles the inherent uncertainty that comes hand in hand with a sophomore release and the feelings of fear and insecurity that come when deviating away from a path that has proven successful in the past. While musing on feelings of uncertainty and fear, Singer Matt Stinn’s lyrics are framed by ambient verses full of tension provided by drummer Kolt Kimbley and Bassist Travis Williams. As tension builds, the verses rise and give way to a chorus accentuated by the one-two punch of hammering guitars provided by Stinn and lead guitarist Anthony Allegretto. “But trust, I haven’t given up on you” echoes in a sense of triumph from the band as the song turns full circle on its verses that were painted in self-doubt to accept the fact that staying the course isn’t also the best option. 

GreenWing proudly embraces change, new tonalities, and what’s next on their new single “Enough,” which is available now on all platforms.

Established in 2021, GreenWing quickly made a name for themselves with an onslaught of Canadian tour dates featuring their signature singalong hooks, infectious driving rhythms and chaotic stage presence. After the 2022 release of their debut album “Late Bloomer,” the band saw themselves enlisted for opening slots for bands such as Three Days Grace, Mom Jeans, One Bad Son, Reinwolf and more. In short order, GreenWing found its growing cult following amongst fans of Canadian Live music and released a subsequent single in 2023 entitled “Dark.” With this new release came numerous industry nominations, including being named Sask Music’s 2023 “Rock Artist of The Year.” Now turning their focus to the future, you can find GreenWing spending 2024 touring in support of their Sophomore album “Eatin’ It” – set for release on March 15, 2024

Thanks, Matt.

This EP, We’ll Always Have Vegas, from the multinational band  Modern Guilt, has me hooked from the opening guitar jangling. And not just the music; the lyrics spoke to me.

The opening track, Talking to Myself, has lyrics that speak to me so precisely that I feel they knew me when they wrote them.

Modern Guilt is lead singer and guitar player Jaz, drummer Scott Thomson, Glyn Evans on keys, and Dan Williams holding everything together on bass.

The lyrics from the opening track, Talking To Myself, sent me chills. “Got my future on an eight-track telling me to get back all that I gave away.” I spent half an hour on the internet searching for a stereo amp I owned years ago. Seller’s remorse has me trying to get back all that I gave away.

“Old songs on the radio telling me it won’t go back where it was before.”

I still enjoy listening to old songs, which occasionally give me a warm fuzzy feeling but never take me back to where I and that song were before. For a handful of songs, it’s good that the song and I don’t go back; it just stirs up negative memories. I prefer to let those songs stay where they are, firmly planted six feet under in the past.

Frontman Jaz states, “the new EP is about the fruitless, delusional and intoxicating arc of reaching into the pit of ourselves and having a good rummage around, chasing complete pleasure and the internal narratives, stories and monologues that accompany each stage of the rise and fall, from looking for the cure to emptiness and loneliness into the circus of nights in and nights out and back to the beginning again.”

Produced by Mikey Buckley, the tracks reflect the narrative and environment. ‘Talking To Myself‘ and ‘Joy Control’ are jagged and direct, while the band’s sound expands further on ‘I Wanna Show You God‘ and ‘How To Buy Happiness‘, introducing space and warmer tones through acoustics and percussion. EP closer ‘Gramophone Remedy‘ pulls the listener back; it’s an orchestral heartbeat with fragility and melancholy.

The EP will have a brand new video for the recent single ‘Talking To Myself’ directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ross Scott.

Modern Guilt will celebrate the release with an EP launch show at Sebright Arms, London, on Wednesday 6th, March.

6 MAR | SEBRIGHT ARMS, LONDON | TICKETS

DISCOVER

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | SPOTIFY | SOUNDCLOUD | BANDCAMP | YOUTUBE

GreenWing is incredibly proud to announce the release of “At The Time”; the 1st single from their sophomore album “Eatin It” – set for release on March 15th, 2024.

“At The Time” is a song that tackles the awkward moments in life when you think everything is just fine until someone close to you helps you achieve a new perspective on your situation and suddenly your eyes are opened to the reality with the newfound clarity. In the case of vocalist Matt Stinn, this was when a group of his friends lovingly staged an intervention to check on his mental and physical well being following a year that could only be summed up as “hell”. Tackling this heavy topic with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, this song’s playful vocals lean heavily on the one two punch of GreenWing’s rhythm section featuring Travis Wiliams on bass and Kolton Kimbley on drums. All these elements are topped with a tasteful sprinkling of melodic hooks supplied by lead guitarist,  Anthony Allegretto. 

“At The Time: ” is an exciting peek into what listeners can expect from GreenWing’s upcoming album and is available now on all streaming platforms!

I never got around to writing my comments on each album, so here is a short summary.

Earl Grant was a pleasant little trip back in time for some soulful tunes.

The Clockworks are new to me, but I like what I heard.

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter, I doubt if I ever listen to this again but I had to listen to the band that has Reverend in their name. i.e. Pastor Norman

I came within a whisker hair to overdosing on Stéphane Grappelli. I like his music and some of his collaborations created magic. I made it through my albums by him and look forward to the end of “G”.

Earl Grant
Earl Grant
R/B Pop
LP
1970

The Clockworks
Exit Strategy
Alternative
Stream
2023

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
SAVED!
Rock
Stream
2023

Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli
Quintet of the Hot Club of France
Jazz
LP
1974

Duke Ellington, Svend Asmuuen, Stéphane Grappelli, Ray Nance
Jazz Violin Session
Jazz
LP
1963

 Stéphane Grappelli
 Golden Hour of Stéphane Grappelli
 Jazz
 LP
 1978

Stéphane Grappelli
Uptown Dance
Jazz
LP
1978

Stéphane Grappelli & Yehudi Menuhin
Tea For Two
Jazz
LP
1978

 Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
 Jealousy (Hits Of The Thirties)
 Jazz
 LP
 1973

Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli & The Alan Clare Trio
Music of the Thirties
Jazz
LP
1978

It’s been another good week of good music.

TV Death The God, The One and The Devil Stream 2023

This is a carryover from last week, which should tell you I like this album enough to keep playing it. Straight ahead gritty rock and roll. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that, and it does that very well.

Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn CD 1967

I think many people are unaware of Pink Floyd’s pre-Dark Side catalogue. I’ll let Wikipedia tell you more.

“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is the debut studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 4 August 1967 by EMI Columbia.[7] It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founder member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, guitar); he wrote all but three tracks, with additional compositions by members Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). The album followed the band’s influential performances at London’s UFO Club and their early chart success with the 1967 non-album singles “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play”.“

In The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, we hear a band finding its way. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn could stand independently without the Dark Side of the Moon. There is solid music here that displays their psychedelic sound that is different from the run-of-the-mill bands churning out radio friendly pablum. I am relisting to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn as I write this blog and, I still love what I hear.

Harry Nillson Nillson Schmillson CD 1971

This is a highly regarded gem of an album. It is loaded with hits; in fact, I think the whole album is a hit.  Without You is a huge success and has been covered by many artists. As an aside, another great band is mewithoutYou. Side two of the album is one fantastic song after another. 

Without You, Coconut, Let The Good Times Roll, Jump Into The Fire, and I’ll Never Leave You.

Harry Nillson was an enigma. He didn’t like performing live and never toured to promote his music. But he could surely belt out the emotions in Without You. Adding to his fantastic music writing, singing and song creation is his contribution to the producing of music, whose influence is still felt today. He worked with close-harmony singing in a return to the Great American Songbook, vocal overdub experiments, and fusions of Caribbean sounds. Do your ears a favour and listen to this album.

Frank Zappa Strictly Commercial CD 1995

Strictly Commercial is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1995, two years after his death and sparked a lawsuit by his family against Rykodisc, the label that Frank released his music through. This is out of print now. I got a copy through a local used music store. Zappa wasn’t the most commercial artist; his music seldom slipped easily into genres or radio playlists. His music has to grow with you, and once you get it, you won’t want to stop listening. I listen to him frequently.

U.S. Girls Bless This Mess & Live from The Bunker Studios  Stream 2023

These are albums carried over from several weeks ago. They are a listen that Joel recommended. He knows what I like.

Peter Gabriel 1/0 Stream 2023

I/O Gabriel’s first album of new original material in over 21 years since Up (2002), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in his solo career. I/O features 12 tracks, each with two different mixes labelled the “Bright-Side Mix” and “Dark-Side Mix”. It is also Gabriel’s longest studio album, with both mixes each clocking in at over 68 minutes and the total project lasting over two hours. Get your beverage of choice, settle in a comfy chair and listen. If you like the previous music of Peter Gabriel, you will like this album. There are no real surprises in this epic undertaking. I recommend Wikipedia again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I/O_(album)

Jerusalem Ridge Looking Back CD 1993

This is, indeed, looking back. Jerusalem Ridge is comfortable in bluegrass and early Country and Western music. Hence you hear the band looking back at the music that influenced them. It’s a solid listen; we played the album on a road trip yesterday and enjoyed it.

Rose Alaimo A Place To Go When You Need To Hide   Steam 2023

Rose Alaimo explains, “‘A Place to Go When You Need to Hide‘ is a concept album, a story, about the highs and low lows of life and how they can be a lot to navigate without losing ourselves in the waves. About how we all have a place inside of ourselves, where we can go when the world gets to be too much… These songs were written during the worst parts of Covid, amid massive political unrest and racial tension in the US, an uptick in school shootings, the onset of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and more generalized anger and tension between people than I have ever seen.”

I dived into this album expecting easy-listening pop music to play in the background while I was busy with something else. I put aside the “something else” hit rewind and listened to this album intently. Rose Alaimo has crafted and blessed us with a really enjoyable listening experience.