Broken Chanter at Stereo

 

On Saturday I was at Stereo to see Broken Chanter as part of their tour to launch their new album Chorus of Doubt recently released on Chemikal Underground  records.

I also managed to attend the launches of the two previous albums - Broken Chanter (CCA ,2019) and Catastrophe Hits (Glad Cafe, 2001). Not a bad hat-trick there.

I had the pleasure of bumping into JC who greeted me with a profanity the reason being my armchair supported team Dundee United had just pipped his team Raith Rovers to promotion from the Championship to the SPL. Good luck in the play offs.

JC is friendly with David McGregor (see my rubbish picture above) and recently attended a listening party  featuring the new album and also very generously gave away two copies of the album as part of a competition.

To the show. I was delighted to see that the support was Raveloe who had also supported them at the Glad Cafe. As per the last time she was excellent and you could do worse than picking up some of her stuff on Bandcamp.

David was joined by Bart Owl on guitar, Charlotte Pinter on bass and Audrey Tait on drums and they put on a stonking show. I'm pretty that all the songs from Chorus of Doubt featured with a few older songs not to mention David's amusing patter.

All in all an excellent evening. I'm listening to the album as I type and I strongly recommend that you get a hold of it.

One from each of the three albums in chronological order

Broken Chanter - Don't Move to Denmark

Broken Chanter - Extinction Event Souvenir T-Shirt

Broken Chanter - Knock My Pan In

Mike from Manic Pop Thrills gives an excellent review of the Edinburgh and Dundee shows

The Secret Sisters

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases #22 - The Secret Sisters - The Secret Sisters

First the good news - after about a month or so I have now finally ended my charity shop drought.

The not so good news. The CDs in Oxfam in Troon have gone up from 99p to £1.99. Still cheaper than the £2.99 they charge in Glasgow.

My purchase was the eponymous 2010 debut album from The Secret Sisters  on Beladroit/Universal Republic Records. They have appeared here on a couple of occasions before including the fairly recent Brothers. Sisters ... series.

This is the first time I have had anything by Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle (nee Rogers) in a physical format. Although it has 11 tracks  it is only just over 29 minutes in length. The majority of the tracks are covers but I've gone for the two original ones..

I initially filed it within the Americana section but after a  couple of listens it has been transferred to the Country section. This, and the music, meets with Mrs CC's approval.

The Secret Sisters - Tennessee Me

The Secret Sisters - Waste The Day

On the Buses 2 - Another Guest Post

 

Another Bus Guest Post - none for ages then following Brian along comes Khayem

The bus has pulled up at your stop K - 

You waited for ages for a bus and...Then Four Buses Came Along At Once. Quite literally, as that’s the title of my first offering, courtesy of Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy circa 1998.

The other single deckers trundling into view are the Night Bus To Dalton by Bad Manners and Magic Bus, originally by The Who but here by the rather worryingly named Swervedriver. Who knows where they’ll end up?

What about the other one? Oops, Der Bus Is' Schon Weg or the bus is already gone, for those of you without an O Level German fail like me. Personally, I blame Nena for standing at the bus stop with 99 bleedin’ red balloons. I mean, would you let her on?!

CC writes:

Many thanks for these Khayem - four new to me songs or in the case of Magic Bus a new version. I suspect that German buses are probably much more efficient than ours.

Does anyone else wish to extol the virtues of the humble Omnibus?

The Divine Comedy - Then Four Came Along At Once

Bad Manners - Night Bus to Dalston

Swervedriver - Magic Bus

Nena - Der Bus Is' Schon Weg

Musical Mum Memories

 

Steve Earle?

I was in the car the other day with Mrs CC and her mum when Emma by Hot Chocolate  came on the USB player. I regaled them with the tale that I was once doing the dishes with Steve Earle on the cassette player. 

"Who's that?" asked my mum "Steve Earle" I replied. "Is that the bloke from Hot Chocolate?" she replied. " No mum that's Errol Brown". Close but no cigar.

Then there was the time when the Clash were on. "Is that Spanish Bums that they are singing?" Again close but no cigar.

Finally when Blue Monday by New Order was playing she thought there was something wrong with the plumbing!

Miss you mum.

Hot Chocolate - Emma

The Clash - Spanish Bombs

New Order - Blue Monday

Sunday Highway Songs 3

 

Again a nice quiet highway for a Sunday drive.

Could it be a Highway to Heaven? The sixties Detroit soul band The Dramatics certainly seem to think so. It was a single in 1964 from their album Dramatically Yours.

Alternatively could it be a Highway to Hell? These posts aren't just thrown together you know! You can rest easy,  you are not getting the Aussie upstarts as they are far to loud for a Sunday. Rather you are getting the Bloodshot stalwarts Red Star Belgrade.

Could that be a theme for another series I wonder- Red Star Belgrade, St Etienne, Kaiser Chiefs ...

No Heaven or Hell but rather Sundown for this week's final Highway trip from Scott Hirsch a founding member of Hiss Golden Messenger.

More Highway adventures next Sunday.

The Dramatics - Highway to Heaven

Red Star Belgrade -Highway to Hell

Scott Hirsch - Sundown Highway

Saturday Shuffle 50

 

A half century of shuffles! How did that happen? 150 songs and as far as I am aware no doublers.

The good or bad news depending on where you stand there are currently 2467 songs on the MP3 player with more no doubt to follow. This series could run and run which suits me (and hopefully you!) . It doesn't take much thought and covers one day of the week with minimum effort.

It is only fitting that we start this week's offerings with something by the Reverend. Reverend Al Green that is with the song What a Wonderful Thing Love Is.

Heaven 17 have featured on the shuffle before but not with Play to Win yet another excellent song from the brilliant Penthouse and Pavement album.

We conclude this week with The Walkmen and the stonking Lost in Boston.

More like this next Saturday.

Al Green - What a Wonderful Thing Love Is

Heaven 17 - Play to Win

The Walkmen - Lost in Boston

The Home Nations 4

 

Looking at the meagre lists of songs I have by artists from Wales and Northern Ireland I don't think that I will get more than 6 weeks out of this series. In the meantime let's bash on.

England first (isn't it always?) I was going to post England's Glory by Max Wall until it dawned on me that I had a version by Ian Dury somewhere. Sure enough there is a live version as a bonus track on my CD copy of New Boots and Panties !!

Northern Ireland seems to have been well represented during the Punk era. In addition to the previously featured Undertones there was also Stiff Little Fingers. I couldn't not feature Alternative Ulster in this series.

As icons go there are few better than Alex Harvey the legendary Scottish lead singer from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Their Live album from 1975, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, remains one of me favourite live albums. Here is track 1 side 2 Give My Compliments to the Chef.

Welsh blue-eyed Soul singer Aimee Anne Duffy shone brightly for a couple of years with two great albums Rockferry (2008) and Endlessley (2010). She then disappeared as quickly as she has arrived and sadly seems to have had a somewhat troubled life since then. Here is Mercy , the second single from Rockferry, and a number one hit.

More next Friday hopefully.

Ian Dury - England's Glory (Live)

Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster

Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Give My Compliments to the Chef

Duffy - Mercy