Streetcore by Joe Strummer & the Mescaralos 2003

In the final years of his life Joe Strummer was back with a vengeance. I had seen him playing the Big Day Out (unfortunately I missed his Corner gig) and he was up there in the sunshine with his black jeans and black t-shirt rocking the crowd at the showgrounds. And he had lost nothing. He might have been a bit quiet in his years since the Clash but on this day he powered through Clash classics and his new stuff with equal zeal. Of course the crowd went mad for the old songs. That's the cross many rock stars have to bear. But the new stuff was never boring. And he just connected with the audience who hung on every word he spoke.
Then in December 2002 Joe passed away. For someone who looked indestructible he wasn't. And he left far too early.  I wore my Joe Public badge for days. This was one of my heroes. Someone who had got me into playing in a punk band in the first place.
His band got together to finish the album they were working on and in 2003 this brilliant album came out. Kicking off with one of his best songs ever "Coma Girl" he leads us through various styles of music just as he has been doing since "London Calling". I guess that's a little of the appeal of this record. In many places it sounds like the Clash. Or is it just Joe's voice?
And where the Clash is about rocking in front of the speakers or bouncing up and down on the dance floor this is an album to take out into the sunshine and relax with a beer or two. Or maybe round a campfire, the way Joe would have liked it.

Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsboug 1971

The music of Serge Gainsbourg took a long time to become part of my musical landscape. I remember, as a teenager, hearing "Je t'aime" on the radio quite a bit, so obviously it wasn't banned here as it was in other countries. It sure sounded strange. But quite alluring. It was also overdone and parodied by late-night TV hosts like Jimmy Hannan or Don Lane on IMT. It reminded me of the song "Where Do You Go To My Lovely" by Peter Sarstedt, which wore out its welcome. Though I can listen to that song again now.

It wasn't until the early '90s that his name came up again, when Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes released a track called "The Confessions of Serge Gainsbourg" and, using that theme of French chic, had a CD launch at the Continental Hotel in Prahran. My friend and former Little Murders guitarist, Rod Hayward (though he's back with us again now), was in the Coral Snakes, who were well on the way to some success. Rod would also play Mick Harvey records like Intoxicated Man, where he had covered Gainsbourg songs with English lyrics.

Inevitably, I bought myself a double CD, and it became a backdrop to dinner parties in Elwood. Or drinking wine on the decking. I even played a few of the songs when I DJed, usually "Initials B.B." It might not have got people dancing, but people always came over and told me how much they loved that song. And it was always early in the night. I didn't want to clear a packed Lizard Lounge dance floor.

When I got back into listening to and collecting vinyl a few years back, at first I searched for a Gainsbourg compilation. Then I came across this album. I'd heard a lot about it, so I thought I'd give it a chance. It also helped that the sleeve seemed to be bigger than normal sleeves, with really thick cardboard. It looked and felt different from the normal albums I bought.

Getting it home, from the time the needle hits the vinyl and the music slinks out of the speakers, I was lost in Serge's world. It just sounds so good. Almost hypnotic at times. Even the incredibly short running time of 28 minutes doesn't detract from the record's attraction. This was another world to explore.

I managed to get a few more Gainsbourg albums, but I always come back to this one.

Odessey and Oracle by the Zombies 1968

Okay it's been two years since I last wrote about albums on this Blog and in this time I've been busy sorting my records, buying more vinyl, listening to more music in album form rather than bits and pieces on my iTunes. Actually I don't think I can ever go back to listening to music on random anymore. I have discovered new and old records and built up additional albums that I can say soundtrack my life.
I'd heard about this album for years and had it on my iTunes but never really listened to it. A couple of years ago I was in Off The Hip Records chatting to owner Mick Baty when I came across it in the LP racks. I bought it on a whim but when I got it home and put it on the turntable I don't think it came off for days. And the whole family liked it too. Well except for my oldest daughter who's not really into that sort of thing.
But it's such a joyous record just putting it makes you feel good. The fact that the album came out after the band had broken up and they the spelling on the title is all messed up just adds to it's allure.
In an album full of great tracks, including "Time of the Season", it's the song "Friends of Mine" which resonates for me. Because my wife Liz and I have danced to it so many times around the living room floor it almost belongs to us.