Today, Twickenham has just two breweries within its boundaries,Twickenham Fine Alesfounded in 2004, andJawbone Brewingfounded in 2019. However, the town was home to several more breweries right up until the 20thCentury. But who and where were they? In this, the first of two films, we look to discover the location of the breweries that once called Twickenham their home.
The White Stripes were formed in 1997 by then husband and wife, Jack and Meg White. They officially disbanded in 2011 after releasing six studio albums, one live album and 23 singles. Since then, there have been a plethora of archive releases of unreleased studio tracks and live recordings. The majority of these have been released via Jack White’s Third Man Records label’s Vault series. This has been a gold mine for White Stripes fans but Vault is a subscription service and therefore not available to the general public. This does mean that the majority of these archive releases have been issued on vinyl and due to the nature of The Vault, they have not been available to all but the hardest of hardcore fans. This has given me an opportunity to address this by looking at what each of the White Stripes albums could have looked like if Jack White had followed convention and released the bands back catalogue in deluxe CD sets instead. We start with their self titled debut album.
Jack White was already an established musician in the Detroit area, having played drums in Gobber & The Peas as well as guitar in The Go, The Henchmen and Two-Star Tabernacle. He and Meg White had started dating a few years before this and were married in 1996. A year later, she started to learn the drum on Jack’s kit, making their live debut at local club, the Gold Dollar not long afterwards. A recording of that first ever gig was made and is presented as the opening three songs on Disc 3 of this set. Adopting the motifs of only wearing clothes that were red, white and/or black, they were back at the Gold Dollar a month later to play a fuller set. This was also recorded and is also presented on Disc 3.
In 1998, Dave Buick who one Detroit based independent label Italy Records approached the band to release single. This was ‘Let’s Shake Hands’ which was followed later that year by ‘Lafayette Blues’. Both of these singles are presented with their respective B-Sides on Disc 1. In 1999, the band signed to Sympathy For The Record Industry label and released ‘The Big Three Killed My Baby’ as well as their debut album. They also released a split single with another Detroit band, The Dirtbombs, on the B-Side. Their contribution was called ‘Hand Springs’. The debut album and ‘Hand Springs’ make up the rest of Disc 1.
Disc 2 comprises of alternatives takes from the first LP sessions that originally came out on ‘The White Stripes XX’ set. This disc also includes some early cover versions of Love’s ‘Signed DC’ and Otis Reddings ‘I’ve Been Living You Too Long’, both of which first saw the light of day on a 7” single as part of the eighth Vault package. ‘Let’s Shake Hands’, ’Look Me Over Closely’, ‘Dead Leaves’ and ‘Let’s Build A Home’ are alternative versions that were released with the second and eleventh Vault package respectively. ‘Dead Leaves’ would eventually be re-recorded for the bands third album.
Discs 3 and 4 comprise of live recordings. Live at the Gold Dollar 1 and 2 were originally released as part of Vault page 13. Live at the Gold Dollar III was released as part of Vault package 26. Live at the Magic Bag came out as part of Vault package 34 and Live at the Raleigh came out as part of Vault package 42.
This is the only one of these White Stripes deluxe editions that will be a four disc set. That is because there were a number of releases made from before their first LP came out and I thought this should be included due to their historical importance.
Disc 1
The debut album with single A and B sides from 1999
Jimmy The Exploder
Stop Breaking Down
The Big Three Killed My Baby
Suzy Lee
Sugar Never Tasted So Good
Wasting My Time
Cannon
Astro
Broken Bricks
When I Hear My Name
Do
Screwdriver
One More Cup Off Coffee
Little People
Slicker Drips
St. James Infirmary Blues
I Fought Piranhas
Let’s Shake Hands (Single A-Side)
Look Me Over Closely (Single B-Side)
Lafayette Blues (Single A-Side)
Red Bowling Ball Ruth (Single B-Side)
Hand Springs (Single A-Side)
Side B
Alternative takes, early versions and outtakes
Dead Leave (Acoustic Demo Fragment)
Dead Leaves (Outtake)
I Fought Piranhas (Alternative Take)
Jimmy The Exploder (Take 2)
Jimmy The Exploder (Take 3)
Let’s Build A House (Outtake)
My Little Red Book (Outtake)
Screwdriver (Alternative Take)
Slicker Drips (Alternative Take)
Sugar Never Tasted So Good (Take 1)
Sugar Never Tasted So Good (Take 2)
Wasting My Time (Alternative Take)
When I Hear My Name (Alternative Take)
Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me? (Take 1)
Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me? (Take 2)
Signed D.C.
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
Let’s Shake Hands (Alternative Take)
Look Me Over Closely (Alternative Take)
Dead Leaves (Alternative Take)
Let’s Build A House (Alternative Take)
Red Bowling Ball Ruth (Live)
Disc 3 – Live
Tracks 1-3 – Live At Gold Dollar 1 – Bastille Day (14th July 1997)
Tracks 4-14 – Live At Gold Dollar 2 (14th August 1997)
Tracks 15-30 – Live At Gold Dollar 2 (14th August 1997)
St James Infirmary
Jimmy The Exploder
Love Potion #9
St James Infirmary
Jimmy The Exploder
Red Bowling Ball Ruth
I Can Learn
Love Potion #9
Why Can’t You Be Nice To Me?
Marantette Blues (Lafayette Blues)
Jumble, Jumble
TV Eye
Big Girl (Little People)
Screwdriver
Broken Bricks
Jimmy The Exploder
The Big Three Killed My Baby
Stop Breaking Down
Suzy Lee
Let’s Build A Home
Sugar Never Tasted So Good
Do
Little People
One More Cup Of Coffee
Astro
Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground
Wasting My Time
Red Bowling Ball Ruth
Cannon/John The Revelator/Grinnin’ In Your Face
Let’s Shake Hands
Disc 4 – Live
Tracks 1-16 – Live At The Magic Bag (30th July 1999)
Tracks 17-31 – Live At The Ritz – Raleigh N.C. (26th September 1999)
Released 30 years ago today, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Live at the BBC’ was just one of a number of archive albums recorded at the Beeb that came out in the mid 90s’. Even though a number of BBC Sessions had seen the light of day on the Strange Fruit label, these tended to be a single session and not a career overview. This changed with The Beatles and their BBC sessions album from 1995 and a year later, Mac followed suit. The band were billed as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, but some of the songs were recorded after he had left with one song being recorded as late as 1971, a full year after Green had gone. What I found surprising is that there wasn’t a contribution from Christine McVie included. The songs were not in chronological order and the sleeve notes were a little on the small side making it quite difficult to read which sessions they did come from. It did not stop this from being an awesome compilation especially as the band did not record some of these songs for one of their studio albums.
As there were a good deal of songs recorded for the BBC that did not make the cut, I thought that on the 30th anniversary of this compilation there should be a follow up. I was genially surprised there has not been a second volume, especially as there was enough material to compile one. Not all of the sessions were kept by the BBC and you can tell that some of them are off air recordings.
Some have also been released on compilations down the years but did not acknowledge they were BBC sessions in the sleeve notes, once again showing the disregard Fleetwood Mac have had when it comes to the majority of their archive releases.
Like the first volume, I took songs from the same years but this time there some audible contributions form Christine McVie. She can heard singing backing vocals on ‘Station Man’ as well as contributing some keyboard parts. For the most part, I have tried to keep the material blues based which is what the band were famous for at the time.
Unlike the majority of my what-if records, this one is designed for CD in the same way the first one was*.
Disc 1
Coming Your Way
My Baby’s Sweeter
Talk With You
How Blue Can You Get?
Please Find My Baby
Buzz Me Baby
Underway
Lazy Poker Blues
Got To Move
Tell Me All The Things You Do
I Can’t Stop Loving Her
Station Man
I Have To Laugh
Stranger Blues
Love That Burns
I’m So Lonely & Blue
Disc 2
Bo Diddley
Black Magic Woman
Tiger
You’re The One
Sweet Little Angel
You Need Love
Mean Old World
Peggy Sue Got Married
Dead Shrimp Blues
Albatross
Without You
The Sun Is Shining
Wine, Whiskey & Women
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)
Leaving Town Blues
Great Balls Of Fire
The cover mirrors Vol.1, except with a blue tone instead of the sepia one of the original. Unfortunately I cannot remember where I found it online.
*This record did see a limited vinyl release in Japan in 1996, but had exactly the same songs as the standard CD which were over 50 minutes in length. Not exactly a vinyl friendly length.
This was a project I have been milling over for a number of years now. It was inspired by hearing the single version of ‘In-A-Garda-Da-Vida’ by Iron Butterfly. The original album version clocked in a side of an LP filling 17:05, but the single was only 2:52. There was some severe editing going on here butt gave me an idea. How many other songs from this era, and from North America (as I had already covered British psych quite extensively already) had single versions considerably different to the LP ones? Well, not many but there were several that were different mixes, or completely different versions. Mono was also a dying format in the USA in the late 60s and by 1968, few LPs were released in this format. However, singles continued to be so as most radio stations were still using the AM signal, which only broadcast in mono. Stereo singles were also released in this time.
When reissue programmes gathered pace in the mid 1990’s, mono was mostly ignored and so the original vinyl version of these records became sought after by collectors. Slowly, but surely, mono releases started being reissued but this tended to be album mixes. The more obscure single mixes tended to be relegated to specialist compilations or forgotten about.
This is my attempt at compiling a three disc set with as many single version of songs I could find. This includes well known acts as well as the more obscure. It is not only A-Sides as well, but some B-sides as well. Some of the artists were just starting out (e.g. Alice Cooper) whereas some were trying to adapt to a new sound having been part of the previous scene (e.g. The Electric Prunes).
In terms of the artists represented on this compilation, the vast majority come from the USA, but there are the odd interloper from Canada. I also thought this would have been the sort of compilation that Rhino would release. If this ever to come out, with the way these things are released in 2025, it would come out on vinyl and CD so the timings of each disc had to be able to fit on both forms without any loss of songs or a change in the running order. The name of the compilation comes from a song on Disc 1 by The United States of America.
CD1
LP Side 1
On The Road Again (1968 Stereo Single Mix) – Canned Heat
Heroes & Villains (1967 Mono Single Mix) – The Beach Boys
Mr. Soul (1967 Mono Single Mix) – Buffalo Springfield
32-20 (1966 Mono Single Mix) – The Charlatans
Love Street (1968 Mono Single Mix) – The Doors
She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune (1967 Mono Single Mix) – Harry Nilsson
Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies (1967 Mono Single Mix) – The Association
LP Side 2
Omaha (1967 Mono Single) – Moby Grape
Abba Zaba (1967 Mono Single) – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Rain (1968 Mono Single Mix) – Kak
Hello Hello (1966 Mono Single) – Sopwith Camel
A Girl I Knew (1967 Mono Single Mix) – Steppnwolf
White Light/White Heat (1967 Mono Single Mix) – The Velvet Underground
Brother Lou’s Love Colony (1967 Mono Single Mix) – Colours
In-A-Garda-Da-Vida (1968 Mono Single Mix) – Iron Butterfly
LP Side 3
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (1968 Stereo Single) – The Bob Segar System
Talkin’ To Your Toothbrush (1968 Stereo Single) – Mama Cass
Nickles & Dimes (1968 Stereo Single) – The Bag
Dino’s Song (1968 Stereo Single) – Quicksilver Messenger Service
Shadow In The Corner Of Your Mind (1967 Mono Single) – Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Free Up (Part 1) (1969 Promo Single) – The Surprise Package
White Bird (1969 Stereo Single Mix) – It’s A Beautiful Day
LP Side 4
The Garden Of Earthly Delights (1968 Stereo) – The United States Of America
Hold On (1969 Mono Single Mix) – The Rascals
Last Night I Had A Dream (1968 Stereo Single Mix) – Randy Newman
Coo Coo (1968 Stereo Single) – Big Brother & The Holding Company
Think Twice (1968 Mono Single Mix) – Think Twice
Scorpio Red (1968 Mono Single) – The Holy Mackarel
Change Is Now (1967 Mono Single) – The Byrds
CD2
LP Side 1
Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35 (1966 Mono Single Mix) – Bob Dylan
I Can Only Give You Everything (1967 Single) – MC5
Reflected (1969 Single) – Alice Cooper
Impressions With Syvonne (1967 Mono Single) – Don Grady
Lantern Gospel (1968 Single) – The World Column
900 Million People Daily All Making Love (1968 Single Mix) – The Seeds
LP Side 2
Sanctus (1968 Mono Single) – The Electric Prunes
House Of Painted Glass (1967 Single) – The Sandals
Please (1968 Single) – Kaleidoscope
Pancake Trees (1970 Promo Single) – Jefferson Lee
Smile, let Your Life Begin (1967 Mono Single) – The Factory
Who Is That Girl (1967 Single) – The Scott Richard Case
Bubble Gum (1969 Single) – Kim Fowley
LP Side 3
Fool (1970 Single) – Blue Cheer
Skipping Through The Night (1967 Single) – NGC-4594
Come Down (1967 Single) – The Common Cold
Not To Know (1970 Mono Single Mix) – Moon
Song Of A Gypsy (1969 Single) – Damon
Night Sounds Loud (1968 Single) – Clear Light
One Ring Jane (1969 Single) – Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck
LP Side 4
L-12 East (1968 Single) – Groundspeed
Nobody (1968 Mono Single Mix) – Three Dog Night
Hungry Woman (1967 Promo Single) – Euphoria
Raising Sorrow (1969 Single) – The Mass
Mary Maiden (1969 Single) – The Scarlett Letter
Who Do You Love (1969 Single) – The Blues Magoos
Revelation In Slow Motion (1968 Single) – Count Five
CD3
LP Side 1
Alone Again Or (1967 Mono Single Remix) – Love
Dark Star (1968 Single) – Grateful Dead
I Want To Take You Higher (1970 Mono Single) – Sly & the Family Stone
Invisible People (1967 Mono Single) – Hamilton Streetcar
White Rabbit (1967 Mono) – Jefferson Airplane
How Could I Be Such A Fool (1966 Mono) – The Mothers Of Invention
You keep Me Hangin’ On (1967 Stereo Single Mix) – Vanilla Fudge
LP Side 2
Tripping Into Sunshine (1968 Single) – T.I.M.E.
Sum Up Broke (1966 Mono Single) – The International Submarine Band
I’ll Slip Away (1967 Mono Single) – Rod Riquez
Choo Choo Train (1968 Single) – The Box Tops
I Feel Like I[m Fixin’ To Die Rag (1965 Original Mono EP Version) – Country Joe & the Fish
I Stole The Goodyear Blimp (1967 Mono Single) – The Book Of Changes
Sing Me A Rainbow (1966 Mono Single) – The Sons Of Champlin
LP Side 3
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (1969 Mono Single Mix) – Crosby, Stills & Nash
Kaleidoscoptic (1968 Single) – Shiva’s Headband
The Big Bright Pleasure Machine (1968 Single) – The Joyride
Uncle Jack (1968 Single) – Spirit
Sittin’ In Circles (1968 Single) – Steve Miller Band
If you look at a discography of The Kinks, you will see that they have released a number of live recordings down the years. The first was ‘Live At Kelvin Hall’ in 1967 and the next being ‘One For The Road’ in 1980. However, there was another, released in-between these but it was included with the 1972 studio album ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz – Everybody’s A Star’. This live album was not advertised as such. On the back cover, the tracks are listed as just being on sides 3 & 4 of the double album. All very confusing. However, what if these live tracks were not included on the ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ but were released as their own album.
On the 2nd and 3rd of March, 1972, The Kinks played two shows at Carnegie Hall in New York. The band were augmented by The Mike Cotton Sound whose horns had first been heard on the 1971 Kinks album, ‘Mussel Hillbillies’. All of the songs on the original incarnation from ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ were taken from the 3rd March, but when this album was given the deluxe treatment in 2016, songs from the 2nd March were also made available. What was most surprising was how few of the songs were same. The Kinks were known at the time for their unpredictability during their concert but it seems that they could pull out deep cuts from their earlier days. ‘You’re Looking Fine’ being the best example, as it was an album track dating back to 1966 and taken from the ‘Face To Face’ album.
With these additional recordings, it was almost possible to create a double live album. I say almost because without using the more than one version of a song, side 4 would be a little short. Luckily, the deluxe version of ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ included the song ‘History’, a studio outtake which had remained unreleased until 2016. Putting a studio track onto a live album was not unheard of, even in the early 1970s. For example, ‘Live Cream’ by Cream included the song ‘Lady Mama’ which was a totally studio recording. Putting the song ‘History’ at the end of side 4 does mean that sides now match up roughly to each other.
Double live albums became popular in the 1970s, be it as a way of showcasing the band in a concert setting. However, most were released as a contractual obligation (especially if the band had spilt up and there wasn’t a possibility of any new studios recordings), during a period of writer’s block or as a stop gap between releases. It is for this last reason that I think this album could have come out. The Kinks, and in that regard, I mean main songwriter Ray Davies was a busy boy in the 1970’s. They release eleven studio albums during this period as well as being a major concert drawn, especially in America. However, 1976 is the odd year out as this was the only one where the band did not release a new studio album. This would be the year I would have putout this live double album out.
The first LP in this double album follows the original release from 1972, except that I have taken ‘Lola’ off and placed it on side 4 to end the concert performances. Doing this means that sides 1 & 2 match up a lot more closely in terms of playing time on each side and ‘Lola’ sounds as though it should be at the end of the album. It is also an edit so we do not get the full song. The unedited version of this song was not even on the deluxe version from 2016. One thing I would change if I had been in charge of producing this album was to make a mix that made it sound more like a live experience than what we got. There are some abrupt edits between songs and it really sounds a bit shoddy. I’ve heard live bootlegs with more care and attention put into them. I would also have liked to see what other songs were recorded on these nights so I could have taken out ‘Banana Boat Song’ and ‘Baby Face’. They sound a bit out of place to my ears, and they are not complete performances. It was like Ray Davies decided to have a quick sing song of an old tune to fill out the time. Interesting to see what was going through his head at the time, but not essential.
Side 1
Top Of The Pops
Brainwashed
Mr. Wonderful
Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues
Holiday
Side 2
Muswell Hillbilly
Alcohol
Banana Boat Song
Skin & Bone
Baby Face
Side 3
’Til The End Of The Day
You’re Looking `fine
Get Back In Line
Have A Cuppa tea
Sunny Afternoon
Side 4
Complicated Life
Long Tall Shorty
She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
Lola
History (Studio Outtake)
The cover is one of those rare occasions where I have created the back of the sleeve as well as the front. That is because the picture has pretty much the who band and the Mike Cotton Sound in view (apart from keyboard player John Gosling). As this is a double LP and would have had a gatefold sleeve (this was the 70s you know), having the whole image was the right thing to do.
This post is a celebration of the lost art of the children’s record. When I was a young lad, I had numerous records for younger listeners, be it compilations of songs from Disney films, nursery rhymes or even the absolute classic ‘All Aboard’ which featured songs by the likes of Bernard Cribbins and Arthur Askey. That album was one for the inspirations of this compilation and a number of the songs on that record appear on Disc 1. The second inspiration was a compilation released by Light in the Attic called ‘This Record Belongs To’. I was initially drawn to buying that as it contained the rather wonderful ‘Pinball Number Count’ by the Pointer Sisters, which was featured in episodes of Sesame Street. I also owned a couple of records on the BBC Record label which were soundtracks to children’s shows such as Play School and Play Away.
On listening to ‘This Record Belongs To’, I wondered if there was enough material to extend this to a whole CD worth of music. It did not take me long for this to turn into a three CD set. Not every song is directly aimed at children (e.g. the songs included by Pink Floyd and the Velvet Underground), but they fit the general theme of this compilation.
Disc 1
Dance Of The Cuckoos (Laurel & Hardy Theme) – Marvin Hatley
Tip Toe Through The Tulips – Nick Lucas
Trail Of The Lonesome Pine – The Avalon Boys feat. Laurel & Hardy
Whistle While You Work – Adrianna Caselotti
The Owl & The Pussycat – Elton Hayes
The Teddy Bears Picnic – Henry Hall & His Orchestra
Buckingham Palace – Anne Kinney Stephens
The Runaway Train – Michael Holliday
Nellie The Elephant – Mandy Miller
The Bee Song – Arthur Askey
I’ve Got No Strings – Dickie Jones
I Known An Old Lady – Burl Ives
Chim Chim Cheree – Dick Van Dyke & Julie Andrews
The Ugly Duckling – Danny Kaye
The Hippopotamus Song – Ian Wallace
Daisy Bell (On A Bicycle Made For Two) – Dinah Shore
Mr. Sandman – The Chordates
Robin Hood – Dick James
The Gnu Song – Flanders & Swann
Banana Boat (Day-O) – Stan Freberg
Goodness Gracious Me – Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf – Pink & Perky
Push Like A Button – Ninette
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport – Rolf Harris
My Boomerang Won’t Come Back – Charlie Drake
Right Said Fred – Bernard Cribbins
My Brother – Terry Scott
A Windmill In Old Amsterdam – Ronnie Hilton
Puff The Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul & Mary
Lazy Moon – Oliver Hardy
Disc 2
Little Cowboy – Harry Nilsson
The Clapping Song – Shirley Ellis
Scooby Doo, Where Are You – Larry Marks
Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
Siamese Cat – The Cowslils
Simon Smith & His Amazing Dancing Bear – Harpers Bizarre
The Gnome – Pink Floyd
Lazy Sunday – The Small Faces
Barefoot & Tiptoe – Sweet Shop
Dream, Dream, Dream – Zion De Gallier
Lighthouse Keeper – Sunforest
Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane) – The Beach Boys
Lily Pond – Vashti Bunyan
Mickey The Monkey – Tiny Tim
Best Friend – Puppet
Mabel – Procol Harum
Mellow Yellow – Donovan
Everybody Wants To Be A Cat – Scatman Crothers
London Bridge – Jonathan Moore
The Scarecrow – Pink Floyd
I’m An Urban Spaceman – Bonzo Bog Do Dah Band
(Theme From) The Monkees – The Monkees
Poison Apples – The Happy Medium
Corduroy Joy – The Staines Glass
Alice – Gil & Johnny
I’m A Lonesome Little Raindrop – Tiny Tim
The Land Where Animals Are People – Brother’s Legend
I’m Sticking With You – The Velvet Underground
Cellophane Mary-Jane – Astronaut Alan & The Planets
Oo-De-Lally – Roger Miller
Pretty Tress Around The World – Ella Jenkins
Mornington Ride – The Seekers
Laurel & Hardy – Jan & Dean
Little Cowboy (Reprise) – Harry Nilsson
Disc 3
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – Steeleye Span
Play School Theme – Carol Chell & Brian Cant
Remember Your A Womble – The Wombles
Rupert – Jackie Lee
Rainbow – Tell Tale
Bang On A Drum – Rick Jones
Wotcher (Knocked ‘Em In The Old Kent World) – The Muppets
The Mandolin Man & His Secret – Donovan
Elementary, My Dear – Bob Dorough
Ernie (The Fastest Milkmen In The West) – Benny Hill
Gimme Dat Ding – The Pipkins
Snoopy vs. The Red Baron – Hotshots
Fat Sam’s Grand Slam – Paul Williams
The Smurf Song – Father Abraham
Pinball Number Count – The Pointer Sisters
Rubber Duckie – Ernie
Ricky & His Aeroplane – Derek Griffiths
Pure Imagination – Gene Wilder
Grandad – Clive Dunn
Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
Autumn’s Really Here Now – Tell Tale
You Can Sing A Rainbow – Nina Simone
Love Is All – Roger Glover feat. Dio
Running In The Garden – Miss Abrahams & The Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class
Rainbow Connection – Kermit The Frog
You Give A Little Love – Paul Williams
Play Away Theme – Brian Cant, Toni Arthur, Lionel Morton, Julie Covington
The image on the front is a Fisher Price Music Box Record Player. This was a wind-up device which played plastic records. The tunes included classics such as ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and ‘London Bridge’. I owned one back in the day and these records did better than the vinyl I was given as these were impossible to scratch. Some of the records I was given in my childhood were on the Surprise Surprise label. This was a subsidiary of EMI’s Music For Pleasure label and was designed to rerelease music specifically aimed at children. I thought that the logo of the rabbit in the box with the words Surprise Surprise above its head would be a perfect label for a release of this sort.
I’m not sure how I first heard of Hem. I can only assume that one of their songs was being played on late night radio in 2002, the year that their first album came out. I say this because I remember it being one of the first things I bought on line as I am pretty sure that it was only available on import at the time. Being so long ago, they were one of the first bands who had a website that I knew of where the band would upload songs that were not on the debut album for people to download. The bitrate of those recordings must have been very low compared to what we expect now, but it was nice to access that otherwise unavailable material.
It is hard to describe the music of Hem. Is it folkie, roots or Americana? I just think of it as beautiful. The band at the time were not really a band at all, but a studio based project for songwriter Dan Messe and producer Gary Maurer. They spent a considerable amount of time looking for a singer for this project, but after listening to a great number of bizarre and unlistenable demo tapes, they almost gave up with the project. However, Sally Ellyson contacted Messes and sent him a tape of a cappella recordings, but she did warm him she was not really a singer. However, Messe knew that Ellyson was the right person for his music and the groups debut album ‘Rabbit Songs’ duly followed.
The band then began touring and continued release music but as of this post, nothing new has come out since 2015 which is a shame. I always looked forward to a new Hem release and it was annoying when some of the songs from disc one in this collection were not available on Spotify. I would highly recommend you get yourself a copy of ‘Rabbit Songs’ and discover for yourself the beauty that is Hem especially as there looks to be a deluxe edition of that album in the pipeline, and the possibility of it being released on vinyl for the first time. Personally, I cannot wait.
To end the month, it is time to post another sampler of songs from Flying Vinyl looking at the songs that they put out on their monthly box of seven inch records for 2016.
Once again, I had a couple of rules I needed to follow.
One – none of the songs that I had used on my podcasts I made celebrating the label could be used.
Two – all of the songs had to be available on Spotify so the artist would hopefully earn some money from this, however pitiful the royalty rate is.
Three – I was looking to include artists who had been on the 2015 sampler. I did fail by including yet another song by Beach Baby, but is a cracker so I decided it should stay.
Side A
Lost Direction – Cameron AG
Baby’s Alright – Inheaven
Skin Dives – Tangerines
True – Junk Son
Joey Says We Got It – The Orielles
Dreamland – Johnny Lloyd
Making Eyes – Saltwater Sun
Side B
Make Me Better – Ten Fe
Ay Ay – Otherkin
All My Pride – Black Honey
Summer – Skinshape
Make It Go Away – Eliza Shedded
All That I Want – Royal Sons
Side C
You Stole My Blackout – Palm Honey
Cannonball – Hidden Charms
Pipedreams – Willie J Harvey
Make Up Your Mind – Trash
Make A Man – Estrons
Let’s Go Out – Alex Lahey
What We Haven’t Got Yet – Jaws
Side D
Set The Fire – Swimming Tapes
That Certain Favour – Pinemen
Sleepyhead – Beach Baby
Ice – Fake Laugh
Slipping – Treams
It’s A Secret Life – Paven
The cover is based upon the packaging that the singles came in for some of 2016.
Part one of this series looking into the releases from 2015
