On the one hand, I seem to be once again falling hopelessly behind with these playlists and (full disclosure) I think I am getting a bit tired of trawling through song
after song, knowing that around the corner I am going to discover another batch of songs to trawl through. On the other
hand, this one has been as rewarding a trawl as I have had in a long time. Buried in here
are a couple of songs I can't believe I didn't know existed, so that's a wrong
I am glad to have righted.
"Electro Theme No. 3", by Cecil
Leuter. Sleazy funky Moogy grooves. Originally discovered here. Song available via Dropbox. For now.
"Superman", by Mike Vickers. From
an album called "Brass Plus Moog",
which pretty much sums it up. Again, originally discovered here and, it seems, still downloadable. O-Dub put in an absolute blinder over the first
half of 2015. We thank him.
"Lady Love", by Ferrante &
Teicher. This wouldn't have been at all out of place on Soul Jazz's excellent
"Can You Dig It!" compilation, if it wasn't for the Richard
Claydermanesque grand piano that permeates its grooves and, it has to be said,
just gets in the damn way. Still.
"Green And Gold", by Roy Ayers.
Did somebody mention Blacksploitation?
"Why Am I Treated So Bad?", by
Melodiya Ensemble. If they made black action films in the USSR (Redsploitation?), this would
surely have been played over the opening credits. Rad!
"Jam It Jam (Superman Crew Jam)",
by She Rockers. The distance from State-sanctioned seventies Soviet grooves to
Old Skool electro is but a short step. Man, those hairdos are SHARP.
"Just Dropped In (To See What
Condition My Condition Was In)", by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
Whereas it's quite the trek from this fine song (as heard in "The Big Lebowski", just like every other great song ever) to bloody "Lucille". And bloody
"Coward of the County". And bloody "The Gambler". It's hard
to imagine someone like Kenny having had a hard-rockin' past. There you go.
"Sundown", by Scott Walker. For
me, this song will always be owned by Ed Kuepper. But here we have Scott, from
what is generally regarded as his Decadus Horribilus, giving it everything he's
got. Which is quite a lot, obviously, and more than you or I will ever have to give.
Bonus: album cover of the month (luxurious fonts edition).
"True Love", by Tobias Jesso Jr.
So, Tobias Jesso Jr wandered into the room laying claim (or having claim laid
on his behalf) to being the new Randy Newman, Nilsson, John Lennon and Paul
McCartney, all rolled into one. (As a test, we sat him on this playlist right
between Scott Walker and Todd Rundgren. He seems pretty comfortable.) Is that
what the world needed in 2015? Possibly.
"Hello It's Me", by The Nazz.
Hello, it's Todd.
"Shining Brightly", by Brinsley
Schwarz. I'm so confused about the back story of Brinsley Schwarz. In fact, I
give up. This song was written by Nick Lowe. Pub rock it ain't.
"Shattered Illusions", by
England's Glory. Listen closely. Recognise the voice? Yes, it's Peter Perrett,
of The Only Ones, in his early days. It's so hard to accept that a song as
magnificent as this sank without trace. (Praise be the internet.) Still
downloadable from Aquarium Drunkard. Don't sleep.
"Tong Poo", by Akiko Yano. Fans
of YMO (hello there) will recognise this song. I am finding it a bit difficult
coming to terms with the female vocals. But I'm sure I will find a way. One may, of course, focus on the early-eighties electronic pop music stylings, which are pretty tasty.
"Parallelisme", by Miharu Koshi. And
in a similar vein. Produced by Hosono.
"Speed Racer", by Fernanda Abreu.
What the hell? I think I just died and went to heaven.
"Silent Night", by Robert Fripp. Merry
Christmas.
"Falling Leaves (Gigi Masin
Remix)", by Sven Weisemann. Enigmatic. (I know, I can do better than that.
But it's a long playlist, and the song can probably speak for itself.)
"Green", by Hiroshi Yoshimura. I
should probably have placed this with the other two eighties Japanese
tracks, but it is also joined at the (un)hip with the Sven Weisemann track.
By the end of these two, you should be spiritually uplifted. Like a boss.
