Listen to rock playlist #058 from ‘LP’
An hour or so of music you may not have heard for a while, or at all, this time including EBB, Kate Bush and The Cardiacs
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The YouTube playlist uses the same artists and songs, but some treat you to a live version.
Listening Guide #057
EBB, ‘Reason’ [Live at the 1985]
EBB are ‘officially’ prog and yet they cannot be confined to one box. This live album demonstrates how dynamic they are sonically and gets this playlist started with a chunky long track. Their live set is a real spectacle. Have a look at the YouTube playlist to see EBB in action.
Stick Men, ‘Bash Machine’ [Brutal EP]
Effectively a King Crimson sub-project, Stick Men are Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto on bass and drums, joined by Markus Reuter playing what the band describe as ‘touch guitar’. They have a new EP, and on ‘Bash Machine’, the Crimson influence is clear, while continuing to show this band have the wind behind them in their own right.
Kate Bush, ‘The Big Sky’ (Meteorological 12” Mix) [Best of the Other Sides]
I’m happy this mix is available again. The Other Sides was originally only included in the Remastered Box Set, and that box is no longer on sale. Now we have a shorter version - streaming now, and out on vinyl and CD on 31 October. While the website says this release has been designed for people who didn’t have access to the box, why is it only the ‘best’ and not the full collection? At least we have this track and the gorgeous ‘Under the Ivy’ streaming again. This version of ‘The Big Sky’ turns the Hounds of Love track into an epic, extending and reconstructing the recording from the ground up and including Monty Python-style voices describing the clouds.
Ray Davies & The Crouch End Festival Chorus, ‘Big Sky’ [The Kinks Choral Collection]
I’m reading Andy Miller’s excellent book in the 33 1/3 series on the classic The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. I’d already decided on the Kate Bush track for this playlist when I read his account of Ray Davies’s song. I almost went for the Kinks’ take, but you might not be so familiar with these choral interpretations of the Kinks’ songs, given the extra edge by the involvement of Davies himself. If you like what the chorus brings to this, listen to the whole album. The songs are well chosen, including several Preservation Society songs, and the chorus arrangements are terrific.
Paul Weller, ‘Nobody’s Fool’ [El Dorado]
This Weller cover was also already in the playlist before Ray Davies made the cut. These Paul Weller covers are top-notch, sticking to the rule that there’s only any point in recording a cover if you bring something new to the song. Thanks to a footnote in Miller’s book, I discovered the song (never recorded) was the theme to the second series of Adam Faith’s TV drama Budgie.
Neko Case, ‘Winchester Mansion of Sound’ [Neon Grey Midnight Green]
@NekoCase writes Entering the Lung here on Substack. Her new album is a tribute to the people she has worked with and counted as close friends and who have passed over the last few years. This song is for her late friend and collaborator, Dexter Romweber of the Flat Duo Jets. Her website says, “Plagued with a sort of intuition about death, Case penned the piano epic about two years before Romweber’s 2024 passing when she found herself worrying about him.” It’s a lovely song, even more beautiful when you know the background.
Jaune Vilasca Trio/Jazznesis, ‘Anyway’ [The Music of Genesis 1970-1975]
Three more Genesis/The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway-related tracks. Jaune Vilasca put out three albums playing jazz versions of Genesis songs, including plenty of Lamb material. (I’d compile a playlist of all the Lamb songs scattered across the albums, but Vol. 1 isn’t online). Yes, TLLDOB is known as a dense prog rock behemoth, but many of the songs are properly great songs, as interpretations such as this show. ‘Anyway’ dates back to the early days of Genesis, when they were more interested in becoming established as songwriters, rather than as a band in their own right, and shows that could have been an alternative path for them.
The Phil Collins Big Band, ‘Chips & Salsa’ [A Hot Night in Paris]
Collins can do swing/jazz arrangements too. My Phil Collins series didn’t include live albums, and that meant excluding A Hot Night in Paris, where some of his solo material and a couple of Genesis songs get the treatment. This track, though, was written by Big Band saxophonist Gerald Albright.
Dave Kerzner & Sonic Elements, ‘The Lamia’ (featuring Francis Dunnery) [IT]
Another of the sublime songs from The Lamb. This was an ambitious cover of the entire double album. Highlights are streaming, but a better bet is the entire package available via Bandcamp.
The Cardiacs, ‘Is This The Life?’ [A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window]
I bought the 12” single when this was released in 1988 and then didn’t pay much further attention to The Cardiacs. My loss, although there less (than this) commercial songs and they are an acquired taste. They have recently released their final album, LSD, completed after the death of their main creative force, Tim Smith, in 2008 (there’s an excellent history of the band on their website - far more than an ‘about’ page). Cardiacs fans will tell you they are the best band there’s ever been. I want to acquire the taste.
Sarah McLachlan, ‘If This is the End’ [Better Broken]
A new album by Sarah McLachlan, her first in eleven years, is very welcome. Her early records were distinctive and melodic and were made when it was harder than now for women to be successful. She started the Lilith Fair as an all-women festival (the subject of a new documentary). If you like this, listen to ‘Angel’ from 1997 (on the Surfacing album).
Have you heard any music lately that might be a good fit for LP>PLAY? Do leave a comment and I’ll have a listen.
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Coming next on LP
LP>Play #059 will be with you in a couple of weeks. Before then, another piece about a classic or new album next weekend (I’m still to decide …)