THAT'S ALRIGHT

Listen to THAT'S ALRIGHT (Guitar & Vocal) by Buckingham & Nicks.
Listen to THAT'S ALRIGHT (Bass & Vocal) by Buckingham & Nicks.

An unplanned detour this afternoon. The plan was to post another version of You'll Never Walk Alone (I had a particularly preposterous version lined up) in honor of Liverpool's inevitable humiliation. Things did not go according to the plan.

Instead, I got this email from Stu:

Re: Buckingham Nicks - Designs Of Love (That's Alright)
hey bro,
needing some tips as i'm at my wits end. this tune is my fave off Fleetwood Mac's overproduced 1982 album Mirage.
never knew it was first recorded 10 years earlier as a demo. i'm trying to track down the original MP3 that has surfaced on CDR's. any clues on how to sleuth this down/narrow the search?

Well, I never give away my secrets, but this one turned out not to be too difficult. Here it is, man. Sharing it with the world, in fact! Two different versions, in fact!

LITTLE JOHNNY BROWN

Listen to LITTLE JOHNNY BROWN by Bessie Jones.

If you know how to clap and what you're clapping for you can come right right out with the song. . . . You're supposed to have your music come out even with you singing. . . .

Here's how it would go if you were doing it at home:

FORM: Ring of players standing and clapping; one player in the center.

"Mrs. Jones's concern with timing showed here with her insistence, during play, that the "comfort" (comforter) be spread down on the fourth line of the verse, so that there would be no awkward time gap to be filled in by the center player. . . ."

Little Johnny Brown, Spread your comfort down (Center player walks around the ring)

Little Johnny Brown, Spread your comfort down (Center player spreads handkerchief out)

Fold one corner, Johnny Brown (Center player folds one corner per line)
Fold another corner, Johnny Brown
Fold another corner, Johnny Brown
Fold another corner, Johnny Brown
Take it to your lover, Johnny Brown (Center player dances over to partner)
Take it to your lover, Johnny Brown
Show her your motion, Johnny Brown (Center player "makes his motion")
Show her your motion, Johnny Brown
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown (Center player does the buzzard lope)
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown
Give it to your lover, Johnny Brown (Center player hands handkerchief over)
Give it to your lover, Johnny Brown
Give it to your lover, Johnny Brown (New player takes over)

Here's how awesome it looks on youtube:



(I would remiss if I didn't mention that earlier this summer Stu recorded and shot Sam Amidon (with Valgeir & Nico) doing a cover of this tune for Stu's East Village Radio show. Great taste, even if the effect ends up being a little different... )

Photo: Martin's guest appearance (2).

Tuesday night sketches

So last night I stopped by and saw Ólöf Arnalds, recently seen/heard on this blog when Stu hosted (there's been a lot of press for Brian Wilson's latest project, but whenever I hear about it, I get Ólöf's really lovely version stuck in my head). Credit to her, she packed the house--quite an achievement for a relatively unknown artist on a Tuesday night. Credit also to Stu who pretty much single-handedly organized the show, and got a shout out to boot.

After I got home, Amy asked me with some genuine concern, "What's wrong? Are you depressed?" I said, "What in the world do you mean, I'm fine!" She said, "Why so much Elliott Smith on the blog this week then?" This is a strange thing about liking Elliott Smith's music, and I don't think Amy's concern was unusual at all. His tunes are so majestic, his technique is really masterful, yet he sounded pretty miserable on almost every song he did. I mean, if you can be accused of being depressed just for listening to him, I can only imagine what it must have been like to be him, where everyone just assumes you're a miserable bastard. I tried to pull interesting bits out of these interviews, but the tone of so many of them were oppressive: "Why are you so sad?" "When are you going to start writing happy songs?" "Does being depressed help you write?" "Is the new album going to be as lonely sounding as the last one?" Over and over.

LUCKY OLD SUN

Listen to LUCKY OLD SUN (Live in studio) by Ólöf Arnalds.

I became aware of Ólöf Arnalds midway through last year after she released her solo debut. It kinda knocked me sideways with it's simplicity and beauty. Nearly a year on and with some perspective i can honestly say that for mine, it's the best album of the past 15 years. Iceland's biggest news paper, Morgunbladid, voted Ólöf's "Vid og Vid" the best Icelandic album of 2007, accompanied by the following words: "On 'Vid og Vid' Ólöf Arnalds opens her heart and lets us in. The music is delicate but never pretentious, the lyrics are tender and the performance altogether prominent, especially the broken vocals. An incredible emotional and warm record which is sure to leave its traces." (Morgunbladid)

I first heard Ólöf cover Lucky Old Sun by Johnny Cash at a 12 Tonar instore during the Iceland Airwaves. Since my dodgy point and shoot camera made a shit sound recording I've been pining for a quality audio version of the track. As she shares a rehearsal space with Amiina, we had the good fortune of using one of their million dollar microphones.

I recorded a couple of sessions with Ólöf while I was in Reykjavik and this was taken from the first. She told me on the way to the studio that she'd recently played a gig where her entire set was comprised of country covers. On that tip she also played a kicking version of Hank Williams Please Don't Let Me Love You along with Neil Diamond's Solitary Man and some new originals.

Since we're winding this series up and it's a family affair, I thought I'd bring in Ólöf's young cousin, Ólafur Arnalds. As well as playing drums in a death metal band, Ólafur happens to make pretty lush classical music with his string quartet. As covers are the order of the day, here's his cover of a Death Cab For Cutie tune.

I hope you've enjoyed the week's tunes. I have no doubt you'll be hearing a lot more from the musicians herein.

These tunes were recorded for an Iceland Music Monthly radio show that i'm set to start producing and presenting soon. The video's are a spin off from the Iceland Airwaves Podcast series that I've been making since 2005. An exhaustive list of the videos from that series can be found here.

Heck, since I'm on a roll, why not have a listen to me talking up the current music scene in Iceland on Zan Rowe's morning program on Australia's Triple J

You'll hear tracks by FM Belfast, Seabear, Hjaltalin, and today's featured artist, Ólöf Arnalds.


Photo: come out and play, by Arnþór Snær.

ÆJI, PLÍS

Listen to ÆJI, PLÍS (live in the studio) by Reykjavik!.

A slight change of pace. I bumped into Haukur, who plays guitar and sings in Reykjavik! one eve while having some hashed fish downtown and he invited me to the band's rehearsal. Turns out they had their friend Jói \7ói recording the session as they were set to go lay down some tracks for their second album the following weekend with famed producer Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bjork, Bonnie Prince Billy).

The track, Æji, plís translates as "Oh, please". Haukur tells me that it is a song that was written about Reykjavík city politics around the time that fine city's majority collapsed. It's a pretty early incarnation of the song and Haukur assures me that the song has shaped up a bit since we recorded it.

This band puts on possibly the best live show you'll ever see. I've got a very good feeling that this next album will put them well and truly over the top and I'm not the only one. As Valgeir's Bedroom Community label mate Ben Frost pointed out to me a couple of nights later over a Tapas meal of Puffin, Foal, and Kangaroo, "If I was in A&R, I'd just sign that band already and go live on the beach in the Caribbean". Word to that.

Side note - Reykjavik! share their rehearsal space with a few other bands including Skakkamanage (check the spatial déjà vu here), Amiina, Ólöf Arnalds, and FM Belfast).


Photo: entity, by Arnþór Snær.

IN THE EARLY MORNING RAIN

Listen to IN THE EARLY MORNING RAIN (live outside his studio) by Benni Hemm Hemm.

(Just to be clear, that's Gordon Lightfoot's In The Early Morning Rain!)

Benni Hemm Hemm has been a fave of mine for a good minute and it's taken me a few visits to Reykjavik be able to organize a session with him. Benni was kind enough to let me come by a little later than we'd planned as i was being fed an outrageously good Chicken Penang curry by FM Belfast's Árni Vilhjálmsson. It turns out that Benni was in a teenage rap group with Árni called Motherfuckers In The House (MITH). By all accounts Benni was a blazing drummer before he followed Dave Grohl's lead in fronting the band. But I digress.

I've selected the second of four tunes that Benedikt H. Hermannsson and Róbert Sturla Reynisson played for me later that evening. I asked Benni if he performed any covers and he said that they'd performed a Gordon Lightfoot tune that I wasn't schooled on. After a quick internet search and lyric printout, the fellas nailed this first take. You may also want to check the first song they played, titled Whaling In The North Atlantic which Benni plans to record for his upcoming album.

Here's the video of today's selection:


Photo: colour scheme, by Stuart Rogers.

BEAUTY

Listen to BEAUTY (Live in her Reykjavik lounge room) by Lay Low.

The country-blues of Lay Low is next up in our week long live series from Reykjavik. Like most who made the Easter weekend pilgrimage to Ísafjörður for the Aldrei Fór Ég Suður (I Never Went South) festival, Lovisa Elisabet (who records as Lay Low) returned with a nasty flu. She trucked on regardless when I popped by to record her and managed to complete this one song, Beauty, before she realized that her voice was cactus.

As is the case with many musicians in Iceland, Lovisa is not content with playing in just one band. Her other, Benny Crespo's Gang, are renowned for their guitar driven, synthesized-pop-metal-rock stew. Check out their 10-minute jam Conditional Love here.

Be sure to check out the accompanying videos each day as they feature the sound synced from the featured track. So, without any further ado, the video for Law Low's Beauty (live in her Reykjavik lounge room):


Photo: fresh, by Arnþór Snær.

TEENAGE KICKS

Listen to TEENAGE KICKS (Live in Studio) by Seabear.

Howdy. Stuart popping by to bring you a week of new Icelandic tunes. Why? For mine, the music coming out of this far flung island is more compelling, unique and fresh than anything out there right now. I'll spare you my tome on why this is for now and instead let the bands and tunes do the talking.

All five of this week's recordings were made in Reykjavik during the last weekend in March. In a 26 hour period I recorded a few dozen songs with 10 bands. I filmed the sessions with a lo-fi point-and-shoot camera and synced the sound that was recorded and mixed for the most part by the bands themselves.

First up is Seabear. I caught the band in their Reykjavik studio during the recording of their second album. They played me a few songs from their debut, "The Ghost That Carried Us Away." This one, a cover of the Undertones' Teenage Kicks, was the third take after Inga tried a couple of different xylophones. The other songs recorded at the session were Seashell and Cat Piano.

(Late update, from the editor: we don't yet have permission to let everyone download the mp3, which is why the link is back to the youtube of the performance. But you can also still stream the song on the right, like usual.)

(Even later update: Permission granted! You can and should download this live track now, at the usual link above. ...plus, enjoy it all properly punctuated)

I hope to see you back here again this week. Enjoy.


Photo: set speed, by Arnþór Snær.

Saturday afternoon blues (and rock and disco and doo wop)

Don't forget to tune into Stu and Ben this afternoon if you're (like me) chained to your computer.

DRAGGIN' MY HEELS

Listen to DRAGGIN' MY HEELS by The Hollies.

This 12" special disco version of Draggin' My Heels by The Hollies is a weird one. Recorded by the sixth incarnation of the band in and featuring only one foundation member (Allan Clarke), this mix was only ever released as a promo and never charted. The song can also be found on the band's 1977 album 'The Hollies / Clarke, Hicks, Sylvester, Calvert, Elliott'.

The Hollies lurch into the late 70's disco chasm is reminiscent of Elton John's Philly soul adventure Are You Ready For Love. However Elton actually went to Philly and hired MFSB as his backing band and Thom Bell to produce. By all accounts, The Hollies slapped theirs together themselves.

The track was an underground dance staple at joints like the Paradise garage and The Loft in NYC and has turned up on a compilation or two over the years. It's well worth a good listen.

Photo: Snowy trees (4).

I'M AHEAD IF I CAN QUIT WHILE I'M BEHIND

Listen to I'M AHEAD IF I CAN QUIT WHILE I'M BEHIND by Jim Ford.

If you're into country-soul, Jim Ford is the man. He may be new to many of you as he is to me. However his songs were covered by amongst others Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, and The Temptations. Nick Lowe cites him as the biggest musical influence of his life. He even popped up as an uncredited player on Sly Stone's 'Riot' album. All this despite only releasing one LP in his lifetime, 1969's 'Harlan County'', which featured contributions from James Burton, Jim Keltner and Dr. John.

Jim Ford disappeared in the mid-70's amid drink, drugs, etc. He was tracked down in a trailer park in California in 2006 where a slew of master tapes including this unreleased song were found spread out over the floor of his mobile home. A compilation of these was released later that year called 'Sounds Of Our Time'. As many an artist has done after they receive their long overdue recognition, Jim Ford passed soon after. This tune, the sublimely titled 'I'm Ahead If I Can Quit While I'm Behind' is taken from a second album sourced from those tapes, 2007's 'Point Of No return'.

For mine the first few riffs sound like Terry Reid's 'Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace'. Not a bad place to start. Enough faffing. I'll let you sit back and decide how it affects you. Enjoy.

(late minor edits.)

Photo: Snowy trees (2).

We're stepping out...

...for a few days. For some well-earned R&R. (Well, earned by Amy, not by me!)

I've got a couple of songs lined up for next week, but we're relying on a pair of guest-bloggers to keep things ticking over. Jason will be here a week from now doing his meditations, plus we have a big time treat for you: Our friend Stu, late of East Village Radio (catch them tomorrow, 6-9!) and all sorts of adventures we've plugged periodically, is going to drop a couple of tunes on us. It's a can't miss proposition.

Anyway, we've been a little remiss in our Arsenal blogging lately, and that's set to continue, but it's a big week for us, no question. Man United tomorrow in the FA Cup, and Milan on Wednesday. Fingers crossed Man United gets stuck in Dubai and Milan disband for cheating, and they forfeit both matches...

Have a good weekend and enjoy the rollicking good fun next week!

Listen to East Village Radio!

I just got word from Stu that he and his mate Ben have finally got their own radio show on the totally fantastic East Village Radio. Their first set is tomorrow from 6-8 PM. I highly recommend tuning in! (If you happen to miss it live, you can also download it as a podcast.) Have a good weekend, all of you...