Blood Records was created by the same people that brought us the subscription vinyl service, Flying Vinyl (you can hear the two podcasts we produced about them by following the links below). Where as Flying Vinyl deals with the joys of the single, Blood Records is all about the 12”, with their release schedule already including LPs and EPs. These releases are exclusive to the site and are for the most part, hand numbered. The quicker you are to order, the lower the number you will receive. They tend to be signed by the people involved as well as coming on all sorts of wonderful shades of vinyl. There have even been a number of LPs pressed on what can only be described as a zoetrope picture disc. These do have to be seen to be believed.
For this months Record Store Day (RSD), I have decided to produce a sampler disc, in the style of the classics such as ‘Nice Enough To Eat’ and ‘El Pea’ that were released by Island Records in the late 60s and early 70s. This sampler covers the period between 2018 and 2019. In that time, Blood Records released ten records but it is impossible to give a complete picture of the label as some of the LPs released were various artists affairs. The songs that have been selected from those albums has just been a case of picking one that I liked as well as fitting into the time limitations fo the format.
The sleeve artwork was taken from the Blood Records Facebook account and is one of the earlier logos with the dates covered by this compilation added.
A second volume of songs from the late 60s US Acid Rock (sort of) scene. A few artists from the first volume make another appearance here as well as some well known faces that did not. There are also some obscure artists like Michelle proving that much like the UK psych scene, there was so much good music coming out at the time that some of it disappeared through the cracks. Enjoy.
Disc 1
Codine Blues – The Charlatans
Rag Mama Rag – The Band
Let’s Work Together – Canned Heat
Combination Of The Two – Big Brother & The Holding Company
Omaha – Moby Grape
Superbird – Country Joe & The Fish
Live & Let Live – Love
Dark Star – The Grateful Dead
Sister Of Mercy – Leonard Cohen
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Bob Dylan
Lemonade Kid – Kak
Red Balloon – Tim Hardin
Think Twice – Salvation
Domesday – Stained Glass
Guess Things Happen That Way – Terry Manning
The Pusher – Hoyt Axton
Free Up – The Surprise Package
Doodle – Skip Spence
Disc 2
Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
Evil Ways – Santana
Time Was – Canned Heat
Roll With It – The Steve Miller Band
California Earthquake – Cass Elliott
Electric Saiilor – Kak
8:05 – Moby Grape
Old Man – Love
Lie To Me – Kaleidoscope
Light Your Windows – Quicksilver Messenger Service
How did a well respected resident of Whitton (near Twickenham) who had turned a neglected hamlet into the village it became end up being murdered by one of his tenants? The Squire decided to take a look.
Thanks to all those involved and special thanks to The Prince Albert pub in Whitton for allowing us to film on their premises.
As much as I like Psychedelic music, my knowledge of the scene from the USA is not as good as it is for other countries from around the world. The brand of Psych from the US sometimes is lumped under the title of Acid Rock, which generally means that songs have heavy, distorted guitars with extended jams and lyrics full of drug references, either blatant or subtle. However, like most labels of music, it is pretty meaningless.
A lot of the groups and singers on this compilation either came out of the Garage Rock or Folk Rock scenes. Those bands that developed from Garage Rock into the Psych era took with them the distorted guitar sound and sound effects, which is major contrast from British Psych which took its cues from childhood imagery and the Music Hall Tradition. As time went on, the guitars became heavier and would eventually evolve into heavy rock and metal.
For this compilation, I looked at using music from the golden age of what could be considered Acid Rock music, which is arguably between 1966 and 1970. Not all of these artists are rockers, with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Time Rose making an appearance. What I was going for here was the feel of the US in the late 60s and I hope that I achieved this. Enjoy.
Disc 1
The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag – Country Joe & The Fish
Spirit In The Sky – Norman Greenbaum
Going Up The Country – Canned Heat
Hey Grandma – Moby Grape
Alabama Bound – The Charlatans
Night In The City – Joni Mitchell
Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was in) – Kenny Rodgers & The First Edition
For What Its Worth – Buffalo Springfield
That’s It For The Other One (Edit) – The Grateful Dead*
Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
The Weight – The Band
The Pusher – Steppenwolf
The Red Telephone – Love
Karmic Dream Sequence #1 – The Millennium
Mr Skin – Spirit
In A Gadda-Da-Vidda – Iron Butterfly
*Edited at 6:26
Disc 2
Wooden Ships – Crosby, Stills & Nash
The Golden Road (To Ultimate Devotion) – The Grateful Dead
Underdog – Sly & The Family Stone
Do You Follow Me – The United States Of America
Down on Me (Live) – Big Brother & The Holding Company
Morning Dew – Tim Rose
Magic Carpet Rode – Steppenwolf
Two Days ‘Till Tomorrow – The Beau Brummels
The Crystal Ship – The Doors
Sugar Man – Rodriquez
1982-A – Sons Of Champlin
Up & Down – The Serpent Power
Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane
Fool (Single Version) – Blue Cheer
How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away – Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Bryte ’N’ Clear Day – Kak
Bummer In The Summer – Love
Murder In The Heart For The Judge – Moby Grape
Five To One – The Doors
Sure ‘Nuff ’N Yes I Do – Captain Beefheart & HIs Magic Band
On the 8th September 2000, a film had its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival. That film was ‘Almost Famous’, and it was director Cameron Crowe’s love letter to the rock scene in America in the early 1970s. Crowe himself had been contributing music reviews for an underground newspaper, San Diego Door by the time he was 13. By the time he was 16, he was writing for Rolling Stone magazine and was their youngest ever contributor. Being younger than all of the other contributors, he covered the bands that most of the other journalists didn’t like. These included Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and the Allman Brothers band. The latter band were used as his first cover story.
The script and some of the characters were based upon his experiences at that time. The songs used in the film were drawn from the time that the film is set, except for the songs that were performed by the fictional band Stillwater. These songs were written by Crowe with his then wife Nancy Wilson, who was also the guitar player in the band Heart. Two more were written by Peter Frampton who was also worked as the technical consultant on the film. He would also make a cameo as a roadie for Humble Pie, a band he was actually in between 1969 & 71. a Stillwater were actually a real band from the era and Crowe asked permission to use the name, which they agreed to after negotiating a fee for themselves. Though the film was a critical success and nominated for a number of awards as well as winning an Academy Award for best screenplay, it was not the commercial success.
It is not the film itself that I am focusing on today but the soundtrack album. This won the 2001 Grammy for the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and is a classic of the genre. It mixes period music with some of the songs written specifically for the film. The music is so integral to the scenes that Crowe managed secure the rights to using Led Zeppelin songs, something the band did not grant very often. Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ featured prominently in a scene where band tensions on the tour bus has reached a point where no one is talking to one another. ‘Tiny Dancer’ starts playing and then as it continues to play, the band and hangers on start to sing along.
What I set out to do here was to produce a deluxe edition of this soundtrack album to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the film. As with all the deluxe editions, the original sequence of songs needs to stay, even though I added a couple fo bonus songs on at the end as there was room to spare and too many good songs not leave any off. I also wanted to spread the renaming Stillwater songs out so that they would not be too many on the second disc.
‘Almost Famous’ is one of the great films about music and is rightly hailed as one fo the greatest films of all time.
Disc 1
America – Simon & Garfunkel
Sparks – The Who
It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference – Todd Rundgren
I’ve Seen All Good People – Yes
Feel Flows – The Beach Boys
Fever Dog – Stillwater
Every Picture Tells A Story – Rod Stewart
Mister Farmer – The Seeds
One Way Out (Live) – The Allman Brothers
Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
That’s The Way – Led Zeppelin
Tiny Dancer – Elton John
Lucky Trumble – Nancy Wilson
I’m Waiting For The Man (Live) – David Bowie
The Wind – Cat Stevens
Slip Away – Clarence Carter
Something In The Air – Thunderclap Newman
Paranoid – Black Sabbath
You Had To Be There – Stillwater
Disc 2
Roundabout – Yes
Burn – Deep Purple
Sweet Leaf – Black Sabbath
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Chance Upon You – Stillwater
The Oogum Boogum Song – Brenton Wood
Reelin’ In The Years – Steely Dan
Looking At You – MC5
Love Thing – Stillwater
Easy To Slip – Little Feat
Search & Destroy – Iggy & The Stooges
Go All the Way – The Raspberries
Wishing Well (US MIx) – Free
Tangerine – Led Zeppelin
Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters – Elton John
Dear Jill – Blodwyn Pig
Hour Of Need – Stillwater
Teacher – Jethro Tull
These playlists could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one or more songs not being available on that platform.
As Prefab Sprout once wrote, songs can be more about more than Cars and Girls. In this show, we are going to have a look at songs written about the glorious bicycle.
My White Bicycle – Tomorrow
Daisy Bell (On A Bicycle Made For Two) – Dinah Shore
Lady On A Bicycle – Kippington Lodge
La Bicyclette – Yves Montand
Trip On An Orange Bicycle – Orange Bicycle
Bicycles, Roller Skates & You – The Archies
The Pushbike Song – The Mixtures
Broken Bicycle – Kes Wyndham
Silver Machine – Hawkwind
Bicycle Ride – Queen
Peddle Your Blues Away – R Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenades
Terry Keeps His Clips On – Viv Stanshall
Riding On My Bike – Madness
Cycling Is Fun (Early Version) – Shonen Knife
Tour De France (Francois K Remix) – Kraftwerk
Bike Ride To The Moon – The Dukes Of Statosphear
See That My Bike’s Kept Clean – Half Man Half Biscuit
