Category: Playlists

I cannot believe that it is 30 years since the earliest releases of what would become Britpop came out. Yes, that period of the mid-90s where British bands seems to embraced the British music scenes of the late 60s, punk and glam rock vides of the 70s and even some indie influences of the 80s. This was where Cool Britannia became a thing and lad culture came to the fore. Women also got in on the act for those of you who remember The Girlie Show. Ah Britpop, the soundtrack to my university days and what days they were. I had never been into a current music scene before as I had always been looking backwards to the 60s and 70s for my musical fix. However, I was all over Britpop in a way I had not been before, and as it would turn out, since. 

Like any other music scene, it is difficult to pinpoint what the first release was. For me, the first of the so called Britpop bands I heard was Suede, even though it was only through the music press than their music. After hearing ‘Animal Nitrate’ and ‘So Young’ on the radio, I was hooked in and the first album was duly bought. It was also during this time that the infamous Channel 4 programme The Word was broadcast and through that show, I was introduced to the bands that would soundtrack the next three to four years of my life. Oasis, Supergrass and the more obscure Thrum were just some of the bands I heard there and went out the next day to buy their records. The time most associated with Britpop are between 1994 to 1997 and I have plundered these key years to produce a series of compilations, with this being the first.  

What is interesting about this movement is that it wasn’t really a movement the acts mostly associated with it wanted to be associated with. Three out of the so called big of Britpop bands have always maintained that they had nothing to do with it. Those bands being Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Suede. It also did not have much of a signature sound with the bands involved taking cues from so many periods in British music. However, one thing that the majority of he bands had was that they were guitar based.   

Those eagle eyed of you will notice that there are a number of these artist that would not normally appear on a Britpop complication. Well, you would be correct but the title of the CDs give this away. It is The Britpop Years, not just Britpop. Therefore, American bands such as the Foo Fighters, Smoking Popes and The Presidents Of The United States Of America make an appearance. Bands who would normally be classed as being from the more dance or trip hop music such Massive Attack or Portishead are here. There is even the odd interloper from 1993 and 1998. This isn’t just about Britpop. This is about the Britpop Years, the soundtrack to my time at university and the memories this music brings back. 

So, this year I will be presenting a number of Britpop themed compilations, lost albums as well as my usual content. 

Disc 1

1. Yes – McAlmont & Butler
2. Girl From Mars – Ash
3. Place Your Hands – Reef
4. Nancy Boy – Placebo
5. Breathe – The Prodigy
6. Scooby Snacks – Fun Lovin’ Crimnals
7. Wide Open Space – Mansun
8. Wonderwall – Oasis
9. One To Another – The Charlatans (UK)
10. Never Here – Elastica
11. Novocaine For The Soul – Eels
12. Richard III – Supergrass
13. Hey Dude – Kula Shaker
14. You’ve Got A Lot To Answer For – Catatonia
15. Sparky’s Dream – Teenage Fanclub
16. Good Enough – Dodgy
17. Great Things – Echobelly
18. Nice Guy Eddie – Sleeper
19. Ladykillers – Lush
20. Love Spreads – The Stone Roses
21. Stardust – Menswear

Disc 2

1. Miss Sarajevo – Passengers
2. Life In Mono (Album Version) – Mono
3. To The End – Blur & Francoise Hardy
4. Nothing More’s Gonna Get In My Way – Supergrass
5. Waking Up – Elastica
6. What Do I Do Now? – Sleeper
7. What Do You Want From Me? – Monaco
8. The Riverboat Song – Ocean Colour Scene
9. Acquiesce – Oasis
10. Your Woman – White Town
11. Do You Remember The First Time? – Pulp
12. Just When You’re Thinking Things Over – The Charlatans (UK)
13. Ready To Go – Republica
14. You & Me Song – The Wannadies
15. Love Fool – The Cardigans
16. Stripper Vicar – Mansun
17. Goldfinger – Ash
18. Stars – Dubstar
19. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From – Teenage Fanclub

A second volume of ‘Psych, Crackle & Pop’ to end this year of Psych related compilations. The vast majority of songs on ‘Volume 1’ were taken from the corresponding web page but this volume has only a smattering of songs from there. For this one, I branched out a bit adding tunes from my own collection. As I have been using the same artwork that the person who put together the original website was using, I felt that this compilation needed to have one songs form each of the artists shown on the cover. This did prove a bit challenging as I am not a fan of The Id. 

Disc 1

1. Morning Morgantown – Jude
2. Summer – Octopus
3. Keep The Motor Running – The Exception (UK)
4. Sun – Margo Guryan
5. Waiting For Someone – Mortimer
6. Let Her Come In – Sapphire Thinkers
7. We Can Help You – Nirvana (UK)
8. Turn of The Century – Bee Gees
9. Maybe After He’s Gone – The Zombies
10. How’s Ya Pa – Jawbone
11. Don’t Turn Around – The Loot
12. Midspring Dithering – Roy Harper
13. Wild Times – The Id
14. Please Excuse My Face – Kaleidoscope
15. Midsummer Dreaming – John Carter & Russ Alquist
16. Nursery Rhyme – The Pleasure Fair
17. Portobello Road – Billy Nicholls
18. Bat Mucumba – Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gai Costa & Os Mutantes
19. Night Of The Lions (Single Version) – Mark Eric
20. Hello Suzie – The Hello Corner
21. A Little Bit Of Shangri La – Our Plastic Dream
22. Glasshouse Green Splinter Red – The Kinsmen
23. Hold My Hand – the Rokes
24. Tinkerbell’s Mind – The Glitterhouse
25. On A Saturday – Kieth West
26. To Girls – Juan & Junior
27. I Said Goodbye to Hime – The Glass Menagerie
28. A Certain Kind – Sort Machine

Disc 2

1. Would You Believe (Mono Single Version) – Billy Nicholls
2. The Better Side – Freedom
3. Mr. Lion – The Marmalade
4. Why Don’t You Follow Me – Mighty Joe Young
5. Can You See Me? – Piccadilly Line
6. Somewhere Friday Night – The Turtles
7. One Hour Cleaners – The Blue Things
8. Evening’s Child – Savage Rose
9. Don’t Go Away – Margo Guryan
10. Long Hair Soulful – Bhagavad Gita
11. Ill Wind – Morgan
12. Gold Is The Colour Of Thought – The Smoke (US)
13. White Paper Sail – The Smubbs
14. Don’t You Ever Want To Think About Them? – Bear
15. Slow Motion – The Sweet
16. Similitude – Elizabeth
17. If I Knew You Were The One – Richard Twice
18. Raggedy Ann – John Randolph Marr
19. Writer In The Sun – Donovan
20. Why Are We Sleeping? – Soft Machine
21. 10,000 Years Behind My Mind – Earl Jordan
22. Together – The Illusion
23. Casey Jones – Billy Nicholls

Due to the original image being so low, I have had to recreate it. I could not get the same font for the “Psych Crackle & Pop’ name but other than that, it is as close as I could get it. 

Back in dim distant days of yore when the internet was not as regulated as it now is, many a blog sprung up sharing all sorts of wonderful music that before hand was either impossible to find and/or only a very few knew about. Many, if not all of these have fallen by the wayside either through the person running them giving up or the file sharing programme they used having been shut down (Megaupload was most probably the most notorious of these). 

One such site was Psych, Crackle & Pop, that ran for about four years, showcasing a good deal of music from the psych years from all over the world, but with most of the tracks produced by artists from the UK or USA. Every so often a new compilation of CD length would appear. I had hardly heard any of the songs and the quality of the material on the first few volumes was especially high. Whoever was making these compilations must have had an extensive knowledge of that period of music. 

Using this site as a template, I decided to make my own compilation from these tracks, with the addition of ‘Wind’ by Kim Jung Mi which seemed to be a nice fit. This is continuing the theme of Psych related compilations that have been posted this year with this and next months Volume 2 focusing more on the pop side of the genre. 

As per other psych compilations I have produced this year, this one contains some musicians who would go on to be famous later on. This includes Fairport Convention. ‘If I Had a Ribbon Bow’ was their first single when they could best be described as the British equivalent of the Jefferson Airplane. They were yet to become the folk rock behemoth of a couple of years later. Graham Gouldman was a name in the business, having written hits for The Yardbirds and The Hollies but he was yet to become a hit musician but he would achieve this in the 70s with 10cc. Aphrodite’s Child contained Demis Roussos and Vangelis, both of whom would be massive successful on their own. Timothy Grass was one of the names used by the Bill Wyman produced End before they became the hard rockin’ Tucky Buzzard.

Disc 1

1. In The Past – We The People
2. Sunday Morning – Margo Guryan
3. Baby’s Rich – The God’s
4. If I Had A Ribbon Bow – Fairport Convention
5. I Am Beside Myself – Frabjoy & Runcible Spoon
6. Children Of Tomorrow – Mike Stuart Span
7. Red, Purple & Blue – The Bag (US)
8. I Don’t Mind – Fat Mattress
9. Miss Jones – The Herd
10. Tell Me To My Face – The Hollies
11. Bus Stop – Graham Gouldman
12. The Devil Has Possession Of Your Soul – The Flying Machine
13. Chocolate Sue – The Moan
14. Ballad Of The Bad Boys (1956 A.D.) – Faine Jade
15. Super Market – Frapadokly
16. Swinger (Mono) – The Third Rail
17. Feelings – The Grass Roots
18. Let The Truth Come Out – The Sugar Shoppe
19. I Am An Angel (But I Can’t Fly) – The Amen Corner
20. I See Her Face – The Hudson Bay Co.
21. Never Mind – Elli
22. I Like – Kaplan
23. Sarah The Sad Spirit – Bob Markley (WCPAEB)
24. Valley of Sadness – Aphrodite’s Child
25. Dougal – The Bulldog Breed
26. Black Mass – Jason Crest
27. Secret – Virgin Sleep

Disc 2

1. Isha (Mono) – Chris & Craig
2. When She Comes To Say – Skip Bifferty
3. I’ll Search The Sky – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4. Hear In Here – The Association
5. Dream With Me – Jacobson & Tansley
6. Flashing Lights – Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends
7. The Ballad Of The Soon Departed – O’Hara’s Playboys
8. Catherine’s Wheel – Denny Laine
9. Roger The Rocket Ship – Bob Markley (WCPAEB)
10. Know You – Kensington Market
11. Emilys Vacation – Jake Holmes
12. Seeing With Love – The Tages
13. Baby Dear – Wildflowers
14. Dance Around Julie – Doughnut Ring
15. Wind – Kim Jung Mi
16. Ain’t It Babe – Charity Shaynes
17. Blood Of Oblivion -The Rainy Daze
18. I Had A Notion -The Sound Solutions
19. Shades Of Blue – Darius
20. I Think I Need The Cash – The Secrets
21. It’s All A Put On – The Ones
22. Sunny Day Blue – Fargo
23. Where Is My Mind – Pesky Gee!
24. Second Glance – Timothy Grass
25. We Don’t Care – Hubert Thomas Valverde & The HT’s

The front cover is taken from the Psych, Crackle & Pop blogspot with my rainbow backing to bring it in line with my other psych replaced compilations. The image itself was adapted from the rather wonderful, and now over twenty years old compilation from Mojo Magazine which was called ‘Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers’.

It’s getting near to the end of the month so it must be time for another one of my compilations looking at the Psychedelic Years. It is also the last one in the series and this one focuses on the latter period of this genre. The majority of these songs come from 1969 with the odd song coming from either side of that year. What this compilation does is show the progression psych musicians made towards the Prog Rock era.

Disc 1

1. It’s All Too Much – The Beatles
2. Dreamworld – The End
3. What’s It All About – Putney Bridge
4. It’s What You Give – Actress
5. You Might Even Say – The Pretty Things
6. Biography – Woody Kern
7. I’m Alone Today – The Fruit Machine
8. Lovers From The Sky – Contact
9. Changes In Our Time – Colin Giffin
10. Stop Look Listen – Fresh Air
11. Magic Car – Edwards Hand
12. Planting Bad Seed – Skip Bifferty
13. Story Book – The Alan Bown
14. My Clown – July
15. Far Away From Forever – Focal Point
16. The Day Of The Change – Andromeda
17. Red Lady – Phil Cordell
18. Iridescent Butterfly – Fat Mattress
19. Seen Through A Light – The Mooche
20. The Sky Children – Kaleidoscope
21. Leila – Chiitry Neogy

Disc 2

1. Circus Day – Junior’s Eyes
2. No Home Today – Kult
3. Dandelion Seeds (Single Version) – July
4. Honey Machine – Lomax All Stars
5. No Reason – Shere Khan
6. Mind Magician – Procession
7. Baby & Me – The Hammers
8. Rosie Can’t Fly – Sleepy
9. Stay Indoors – The New Formula
10. Letters From Edith – The Spencer Davis Group
11. The Price Of Love – Status Quo
12. Charles Brown – The Sweet Feeling
13. The Train That Never Came – Consortium
14. Cooks Of Cake & Kindness – The Californians
15. Remember The Times – Leviathan
16. Yellow Brick Road – The Mindbenders
17. Groovy Booby Jam – Ace Kefford Stand
18. Evil Woman – Phil Sully & The Orchard
19. The Lens – Bobak Jons Malone
20. Merry Go Round – Eyes Of Blue
21. Solitude – Warhorse

Thirty years ago, someone in some department at record label PolyGram TV decided that what the world needed (or the UK at least) was a CD compilation of prog rock songs. Prog rock (or progressive rock to give it its full title) was born out of the late 60s psych scene. It was characterised by lyrics that were designed to tell stories (or concepts), taking inspiration from fantasy along with extended soloing (designed to show off the musical prowess of the player involved), outlandish costumes and ever more elaborate stage sets. The album covers were works of art in themselves and the LPs become ever more overblown with double and even triple albums being released. It all came crashing down by 1976 but prog never really went away with bands such as Marillion and arguably Radiohead taking the genre on after its heyday. What is forgotten is that even though prog was (in)famous for its LPs, many bands in the genre actually released singles. 

Back to the aforementioned compilation. What the compiler of that CD had looked to do was produce a compilation of singles by a number of these prog bands. What I didn’t realise until years later is that some of these singles were the bands biggest hits, others were not. What I have done here in an update of this CD is to only include the biggest UK hit from each band during the heyday of the prog rock era. That is the years 1971-1976 but you will notice that some of these singles pre and post date this. To qualify, the single had to be released after the starting point of prog, which (as far as I am concerned) was the release of ‘In The Court of the Crimson King’ by King Crimson which came out on 10th October 1969. The band in question also needed to have a genuine top 40 hit in the UK. There were more prog bands than I have included here who released singles but none of them was actually a hit, so they don’t count. 

One last point. Like other genres, the scope of what is prog is quite wide. Some of the artists on the list might not be considered progressive now (or that progressive then), but many were on the progressive labels set up by the record companies in the late 60s to be the home of bands not considered pop. Some prog rock was not that far removed from rock, jazz or the blues so the boundaries can be a little blurred. Prog folk and other versions of prog were considered. Essentially, anything where the artists is progressing from what went before was fair game e.g. Kraftwerk. 

Witches Promise – Jethro Tull (No.4 – Jan 1970 (1))

Sympathy – Rare Bird (No.27 – Feb 1970)

Who Do You Love? – Juicy Lucy (No.14 – Mar 1970)

Question – The Moody Blues (No.2 – May 1970 (2))

Love Like A Man – Ten Years After (No.10 – Jun 1970)

Paranoid – Black Sabbath (No.4 – Aug 1970)

Black Night – Deep Purple (No.2 – Aug 1970)

The Witch – The Rattles (No.8 – Oct 1970)

I Hear You Knocking – Dave Edmunds (No.1 – Nov 1970)

Apache Drop Out – Edgar Broughton Band (No.33 – Mar 1971 (3))

Jig-A-Jig – East of Eden (No.7 – Apr 1971)

In My Own Time – Family (No.4 – Jul 1971)

Devil’s Answer – Atomic Rooster (No.4 – Jul 1971)

Backstreet Luv – Curved Air (No.4 – Aug 1971)

Tokoloshe Man – John Kongos (No.4 – Nov 1971 (4))

Hold Your Head Up – Argent (No.5 – Mar 1972)

Lady Eleanor – Lindisfarne (No.3 – May 1972)

Silver Machine – Hawkwind (No.3 – Jul 1972)

10538 Overture – Electric Light Orchestra (No.9 – Jul 1972 (5))

Standing In The Road – Blackfoot Sue (No.4 – Aug 1972)

Whiskey In The Jar – Thin Lizzie (No.6 – Jan 1973)

Fanfare For The Common Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer (No.2 – Jun 1977)

Virginia Plain – Roxy Music (No.4 – Aug 1972 (6))

Sylvia – Focus (No.4 – Jan 1973)

All Because Of You – Geordie (No.6 – Mar 1973)

One & One Is One – Medicine Head (No.3 – May 1973)

Radar Love – Golden Earring (No.7 – Dec 1973)

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) – Genesis (No.21 – Apr 1974 (7))

Seven Seas Of Rhye – Queen (No.10 – Mar 1974 (9))

Down Down – Status Quo (No.1 – Dec 1974)

Autobahn – Kraftwerk (No.11 – May 1975 (9))

Delilah (Live) – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (No.7 – Jul 1975)

Pandora’s Box – Procol Harum (No.16 – Aug 1975 (10))

Portsmouth – Mike Oldfield (No.3 – Apr 1976)

Blinded By The Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (No.6 – Aug 1976 (11))

Wonderous Stories – Yes (No.7 – Sep 1977)

Northern Lights – Renaissance (No.10 – Jul 1978)

1. This isn’t Jehtro Tull’s biggest hit. That was ‘Living In The Past’ that came out in May 1969 and is just before the self imposed cut off point for this compilation. 
2. The Moody Blues did have a number 1 hit in December 1964 with the distantly not prog, ‘Go Now’.
3. This entered the charts three times but its highest placing came on the third and last time. 
4. John Kongos had another hit with ‘He’s Gonna Step on You Again’ which also reached number 4 in May 1971. 
5. Not their biggest hit but it was the only one ELO had when Roy Wood was in the band which is arguably their progressive period. 
6. Like ELO, this was not Roxy Music’s biggest hit but I would argue that they stopped being progressive once Brian Eno left the band. 
7. Once again, this was not the bands biggest hit but the only one when they were at the most progressive. This was before Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett left. 
8. Queen had a number one with the very pro ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. However, I chose this song as it was the only hit single from the bands first two albums, when they were at their most progressive. 
9. Kraftwerk’s only hit during the 1970s which is arguably their most progressive period, before other bands and technology caught up to what they were doing later in the decade.
10. Procol Harum had two bigger hits than this, but they came up before the progressive era.
11. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had another number 6 hit with ‘Davy’s On The Road Again’. I went with ‘Blinded By The Light’ as it is a lot more prog, especially the full length LP version. 

Disc 1

1. Jig-A-Jig – East of Eden
2. Living In The Past – Jethro Tull
3. Who Do You Love? – Juicy Lucy
4. Love Like A Man – Ten Years After
5. The Witch – The Rattles
6. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
7. Black Night – Deep Purple
8. Apache Drop Out – Edgar Broughton Band
9. Question – The Moody Blues
10. Sympathy – Rare Bird
11. Devil’s Answer – Atomic Rooster
12. Backstreet Luv – Curved Air
13. I Hear You Knocking – Dave Edmunds
14. In My Own Time – Family
15. Tokoloshe Man – John Kongos
16. Silver Machine – Hawkwind
17. Hold Your Head Up – Argent
18. Standing In The Road – Blackfoot Sue

Side 2

1. Whiskey In The Jar – Thin Lizzie
2. 10538 Overture – Electric Light Orchestra
3. Fanfare For The Common Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4. Lady Eleanor – Lindisfarne
5. Virginia Plain – Roxy Music
6. Sylvia – Focus
7. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) – Genesis
8. All Because Of You – Geordie
9. Radar Love – Golden Earring
10. One & One Is One – Medicine Head
11. Autobahn – Kraftwerk
12. Seven Seas Of Rhye – Queen
13. Down Down – Status Quo
14. Pandora’s Box – Procul Harum
15. Delilah (Live) – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
16. Portsmouth – Mike Oldfield
17. Blinded By The Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
18. Wonderous Stories – Yes
19. Northern Lights – Renaissance

I wanted to use the original artwork of the compilation used back in 1993, but I could not find one of sufficient quality on line so I made my own, adapting a compilation that had been produced by Classic Rock magazine. 

One or more of these version were not available on Spotify. 

It’s the ninth month so it means that it must be time for another Psych compilation. As per usual, there are a number of famous artists including Fairport Convention (who were the British answer to The Jefferson Airplane at this point and not the folk rock band they would become) The Hollies, The Yardbirds and The Spencer Davis Group (even though by the time these tracks were recorded, Steve Winwood had left The Spencer Davis Group and they were not as successful after his departure). There are some artists who would become more famous later on including Graham Gouldman (he’d already written hits such as Bus Stop and For Your Love but he would find success as an artist in this own right as a member of 10cc) and Robert Palmer (then with The Alan Bown! but would find greater success with Vinegar Joe and as a solo artist). There is also a considerable number of artists who have only found success on compilations released many years after the event.

1. Toyland (Single Version) – The Spencer Davis Group
2. Mr. Sun – Tony Rivers & The Casterways
3. Difference Of Opinion – The Monatanas
4. Magic In The Air – The Attack
5. Dawn Breaks Down – The Barrier
6. Soft Winds – Orange Bicycle
7. Birthday – Peter & The Wolves
8. Girl Of Independent Means – Honeybus
9. Skizoid Revolution – Skip Bifferty
10. I Get So Excited – Real McCoy
11. A Day In My Mind’s Mind – Human Instinct
12. Dear Eloise (Mono Single Version) – The Hollies
13. Upstairs Downstairs – Graham Gouldman
14. Come On Down To My Boat – Motivation
15. Keep It Out Of Sight – Paul & Barry Ryan
16. Pantomime – Tony Rivers & The Catserways
17. The World Goes On Around You – The Mirage
18. Mrs Gillespie’s Refrigerator – Sands
19. Mr Second Class – The Spencer David Group
20. Rosemary’s Bluebell Day – The Piccadilly Line
21. Venetian Glass – Infinity
22. Lavender Popcorn – Scrugg
23. Gone Is The Sad Man – The Timebox
24. Just Another Day – Neon Pearl
25. Soldier – Lace
26. Moon Beams – The Magical Mixture
27. Music Soothes The Savage Beast – The Spectrum

Disc 2

1. Farewell (Mono) – The Yardbirds
2. Let’s Take A Trip Down The Rhine – Apple
3. Hide If You Want To Hide – The Cedars
4. You’ve Got To Hold On – The Deviants
5. In Your Tower – The Poets
6. Find The Hidden Door – The Misunderstood
7. Deflected Grey (Extended Version) – The Pretty Things
8. Little Girl Lost & Found – Peter & The Wolves
9. Hyacinth Threads – Orange Bicycle 
10. Mr. Pinnodmy’s Dilemma – The Attack
11. Bluebell Wood – Wimple Witch
12. I Will Not Be Moved – Circle Plantagenet 
13. Penny For Your Thoughts – The Alan Bown!
14. Snow White – Winston’s Fumbs
15. Eiderdown Clown – The Scots Of St. James
16. It’s All Over Now – Martin Cure & The Peeps
17. Odd Man Out – The Hi-Fi’s
18. Crossroads Of Time – Eyes Of Blues
19. Old Songs For New Songs (Variation On A Theme Of The Breeze) – Family
20. The Lobster – Fairport Convention
21. I Am Nearly There – Second Hand (With Dennis Couldry)
22. Look At Me – The Nocturnes
23. Armageddon – The Cape Kennedy Construction Company
24. Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire – Cledonaires

With Volume 8 in this series, there are, as always, a number of well known artists (The Who, Spencer Davis Group, The Rolling Stones), people who went onto be more famous in other groups (The Remo Four included two members who would go on to be in Ashton, Gardner & Dyke) and those who only found belated fame on psych compilations released many years after the event. I used a few more Mono mixes in here including ‘King Midas In Reverse’ which for my money sounds so much better with that mix than in stereo. All that phrasing spoils the song for me. 

Disc 1

1. Atmospheres – Wimple Witch
2. I’ll Be Late For Tea – Blossom Toes
3. All So Long Ago – The Sweet Feeling
4. Second Production – Mike Stuart Span
5. Never Care – Eyes Of Blue
6. Tread Softly For The Sleeper – The Hi-Fis
7. In The Deep End – The Artwoods
8. Sycamore Sid – Focal Point
9. Am I Glad To See You – The In Crowd
10. Something To Write About – Circus
11. I Can See For Miles (Mono) – The Who
12. Day & Night – The Drag Set
13. ‘Cos It’s Over – The Summer Set
14. We Love You (Single Version) – The Rolling Stones
15. In the First Place (Original Abbey Road Mix) – The Remo Four
16. Nobody Know Where You’ve Been – The State Of Mickey & Tommy
17. Nightmare – The Gass Company
18. She – Tuesday’s Children
19. She Was Perfection – Murray Head
20. Sanity Inspector (Single Mix) – The Spencer Davis Group
21. Time & Motion Man – Episode Six 
22. Cheadle Health Delusions – Felius Andromeda
23. Lullaby – Grapefruit
24. Busker Bull – The Truth
25. Magician – The Amazing Friendly Apple

Disc 2

1. Loneliest Person – The Pretty Things
2. Armenia City In The Sky (Mono) – The Who
3. In Another Land (Single Version) – The Rolling Stones
4. Through My Eyes – The Creation
5. Again – the Symbols
6. Girl I’m Wondering – The Blackbirds
7. For Your Information – The Cedars
8. King Midas In Reverse (Mono) – The Hollies
9. It – The Excelsior Spring
10. My Kingdom Cannot Lose – Still Life
11. Lovely People – The Fairytale
12. Red Sky At Night – The Accent
13. Mr. Partridge Passed Away Today – Fortes Mentum
14. Do You Dream? – Circus
15. Neville Thumbcatch – The Attack
16. Trot – Turnstyle
17. So Many Times – Ice
18. Running In The Water – The Kytes
19. Is It Love? – Jon
20. Amanda Jane – West Coast Consortium
21. Winter Afternoon – The Flies
22. Ebaneezer Beaver – The Mirage
23. Reflections Of Charles Brown – Rupert’s People
24. 10,000 Years Behind My Mind – Focus Three
25. Teargarden Lane – Jason Crest
26. Genuine Imitation Of Life – Jackie Lomax
27. Goodbye – Rainbow Folly

Something a little bit different here and a compilation I put together that is named after a book by Arthur C Clark (with an extra ‘A’ added, because it sounded better to me that way). The book actually has nothing to do with music, but I always liked the title and fancied making a chill out playlist that would share the title. This was inspired by a CD an old flat of mine had. The Ministry of Sound and their ‘The Chill Out Sessions 2” which came out in 2001. I have not been one for these mix CDs as normally I like to hear the songs start and finish without another song coming in over the top. Well, this changed with this compilation. 

I have taken some of the mixes that were made for the ‘Chill Out Session’ CD and made my own by adding songs of a similar nature to the playlist. Not only did I take some songs from there, but from a few other Chill Out CDs I had in the collection. These included number of tunes from the ‘Late Night Session’ series. Anyway, it is time to sit back, relax and float downstream. That could make a good lyric for someone. 

Disc 1

1. Music For The Funeral Of Queen Mary – Wendy Carlos
2. Here With Me – Dido
3. Since I Left You – The Avalanches
4. Daydream In Blue – I Monster
5. Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out – Bentley Rhythm Ace
6. Giving Up – Hairy Diamond
7. Worth It – Skinny
8. So Easy – Röyksopp
9. Drifting Away – Faithless
10. Erase/Rewind – The Cardigans
11. Kelly Watch The Stars – Air
12. My Friend – Groove Armada
13. Sweet Harmony – The Beloved
14. American Dream – Jakarta
15. Slip Into Something More Comfortable – Kninobe
16. Give It Away – Zero 7
17. Because (Vocal Only Mix) – The Beatles
18. Utopia (Genetically Enriched) – Goldfrapp
19. Fear & Love – Morcheeba
20. Les Fleur – 4Hero

Disc 2

1. Another Green World – Eno
2. Connjur – School In Seven Bells
3. Woman – Karen O
4. I Won’t Hurt You – Anja Garbarek
5. La Fille De La Ligne 15 – The Limiñanas
6. Eple – Röyksopp
7. Keep Asking – Vangelia
8. Love Song – Olivia Newton-John
9. Orleans – David Crosby
10. Everloving – Moby
11. Breathe – Open Door
12. At The River (Q Magazine Edit) – Groove Armada
13. Game Love – Gulp
14. Some Men – Darkel
15. 4:33 – Nils Frahm
16. Missing Photos – Last Days
17. Pyramid Song – Radiohead
18. In The Waiting Line – Zero 7
19. Should I Stay – Gabrielle
20. Passing Through – Rare Bird
21. Invisible – Grouper
22. Shine – Slowdrive
23. Wind Drive (Alternate Tag Section) – The Beach Boys

The cover is taken from the Twitter account, Images That Could Be Album Covers (@ImagesAlbum).

I had heard of Crowded House when their song and debut UK hit, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ came out in 1986. This was in a period when I didn’t buy much music and so I must have heard it on the radio or one of the few TV Chart Shows we had in the UK at the time. I liked the song but not enough to buy it. Roll on five years to 1991 when I heard the song ‘Fall At Your Feet’. At the time, this sort of well crafted melodic pop song was not the sort of thing I was listening to. Guitar gods such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Peter Green were pretty much all that was being played around this period. I took a punt and popped along to Music Inn in Ashford (Middx), another of the great lost record shops of my youth and duly picked up a copy of the parent LP. 

Putting the vinyl on the deck, I was almost put off playing anymore by the albums opening song, Chocolate Cake. I really didn’t understand what this song was going on about, and how was Tammy Bakker they kept going on about? Turns out she was married to disgraced TV evangelist Jim Bakker but as this was before the days of widespread internet, I only found this out later. It was also the albums lead single which ended up pretty much losing the band its American fan base. Crowded House had been a lot more successful Stateside than the UK with their first two albums but ‘Woodface’ would change all of this. The rest of the alum was stunning, with a set of beautiful songs that lasted stayed in the memory. This album was also quite long for an LP clocking in at over 47 minutes. Not a minute wasted either (apart from Chocolate Cake, and in time Weather With You, a song I grew tired of quite quickly). 

What I didn’t realise at the time is that this album should not have sounded like this. Neil Finn, the band’s main songwriting had delivered an album that the record company had refused to release. Neil had been working on material with his brother Tim for an album that they would release under the moniker of the Finn Brothers. Neil asked Tim if he could use some of this material for the next  Crowded House album, with Tim saying yes as long as he could become a member of the band. The Finn brothers had already been in the band Split Enz. Tim later said he was joking, but Neil took him at his word and Tim became a member, if only for a short time. I actually had a go at recreating this lost LPs back in January of 2022 (https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/crowded-house-tim-finn-1989-1991/).

In time, I would buy the two proceedings album, ‘Crowded House’ and ‘Temple of Low Men’. Neither of these would have the impact on me that ‘Woodface’ did and they did not get a lot of airtime. I missed out on the release of their forth album, ‘Together Alone’ as I feel it just passed me by. 1993 was the beginnings of the Britpop era and that was taking all of my attention. What swung me around to possibly my favourite album by them was the fact that during my University days, I ended up working in an Off License that had a CD player in it. One day a copy of ‘Together Alone’ appeared and from then on I was hooked. A bit different from the albums that preceded it but still full of beautiful songs with well crafted melodies and neat hooks. The band unfortunately split up in 1996 and even though they have reformed and released a number of albums since, none of these have graced my record collection. I’m not sure why. It must just be down to the fact that I am not a great fan of bands that reform and release new music. The Small Faces and Smashing Pumpkins being other examples. The spark they once had is no longer there.

My one regret is that I did not get to see the band live during their first incarnation, especially when Tim Finn was in the line up. Live music also passed me by at that point. I either spend the money on records or going to the gig. I pretty much exclusively spent my money on the records. 

Disc 1

1. World Where You Live
2. Love You ‘Till The Day I Die
3. Something So Strong
4. Hole In The River
5. Now We’re Getting Somewhere
6. Don’t Dream It’s Over
7. Tombstone
8. Can’t Carry On
9. Sister Madly
10. When You Come
11. Fame Is
12. There Goes God
13. Four Seasons In One Day
14. Tall Trees
15. Its Only Natural
16. Fall Out Your Feet
17. Whispers & Moans
18. As Sure As I Am
19. She Goes On
20. Into Temptation
21. All I Ask
22. How Will You Go
23. Better Be Home Soon

On my mix of ‘How Will You Go’, the hidden song of ‘I’m Still Here’ was edited out. Unfortunately, Spotify does not give me the option to do this. It does make the end of this playlist a little disjointed.  

Disc 2

1. Kare Kare
2. In My Command
3. Nails in My Feet
4. Black & White Boy
5. Scared Cow
6. Instinct
7. I Love You Dawn
8. Fingers Of Love
9. Pineapple Head
10. Skin Feeling
11. Locked Out
12. Catherine Wheels
13. Walking On The Spot
14. Time Immortal
15. Distant Sun
16. Help Is Coming
17. Not the Girl You Think You Are
18. Private Universe
19. Together Alone

As far as I can tell, nearly all of the bands LP artwork was produced by the bands bass player, Nick Seymour. Art, like music is subjective and I am not great fan of what he has produced down the years. So I took a shot of the band when Tim Finn was a member and tried to emulate the minimalist approach record companies took in the mid 90s when it came to sleeves as the artwork needed to fit into a CD and/pr cassette box and this is what I came up with.

To round out the month, here is Volume 7 of my Psych Years playlists. Unlike previous efforts, this one did not use any of the compilations I have purchased down the years as a base but it does focus on the latter years of the scene. The Rolling Stones, Arthur Brown, Family, Eric Burdon, Al Stewart and early Fairport Convention (where they were a Jefferson Airplane type band instead of the folk behemoth they became) could well be the most famous names here but there are a number of acts where members went on to be more famous elsewhere. These include The Idle Race (Jeff Lynne of ELO), Simon Dupree & The Big Sound (Gentle Giant), The Gods (Greg Lake of ELP & King Crimson) and One In A Million (Jimmy McCulloch (Wings and The Small Faces).  

Disc 1

1. The River – Octopus
2. Too Much On My Mind – The Gates Of Eden
3. A Strange Light From the East – Tuesday’s Children
4. Shades Of Orange – The End
5. Double Sight – One In A Million
6. Riding A Wave – Turnstyle
7. Evil Woman – Guy Darrell
8. I Can See The Sky – Fire
9. Everyday Is Just The Same – The Moan
10. I Read You Like An Open Book – The Tages
11. Good Job With Prospects – Actress
12. Follow Me – The Fruit Machine
13. Daydream Girl (Album Version) – Billy Nicholls
14. Two Little Ladies – The Crocheted Doughnut Ring
15. Sage Of Wrinkled Man – Fortes Mentum
16. Never Had Girl Like You Before – The Misunderstood
17. In The Valley of The Shadow Of Lone – Tuesday’s Children
18. Love – Virgin Sleep
19. Dear Delilah – Grapefruit
20. All The Love In The World – Consortium
21. Where Dragons Guard The Doors – Mortimer
22. Turn Into Earth – Al Stewart
23. I Am Nearly There – Denis Couldry & The Next Collection
24. The First Step On The Moon – The Cape Kennedy Construction Company
25. Felix – Andwella’s Dream
26. Daytime Girl (Coda) – Billy Nicholls

Disc 2

1. Haunted – Peter Thorogood
2. (Who Planted Thorns In) Miss Alice’s Garden – The Explosive
3. Gratefully Dead – Eric Burdon & The Animals
4. Hot Smoke & Sassafras – The Mooche
5. On Love – Skip Bifferty
6. Knocking Nails In My House – The Idle Race
7. Crazy Dreams – The Searchers
8. Ballad Of Harvey Kaye – East Of Eden
9. The Way (Single Version) – July
10. Mellowing Grey – Family
11. Peter’s Birthday (Black & White Rainbows) – World Of Oz
12. Devil’s Grip – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
13. Sun Shade – Fairport Convention
14. Linda Love Linda – The Floribunda
15. Me – Aquarian Age
16. Theodore – The Silver Eagle
17. Life Is Just Beginning – The Creation
18. A Fairy Tale (Alt. Mix) – Second Hand
19. Too Much In Love – Churchills
20. I Lied To Auntie May – The Neat Change
21. Rainchild – Octopus
22. 14 Hour Technicolour Dream – The Syn
23. Castle In The Sky – Simon Dupree & The Big Sound
24. Orignal Sin – Blinker
25. Plastic Horizon – The Gods
26. On With The Show – The Rolling Stones