Postcards from the man cave

It’s been too long since my last blog. COVID drags on seemingly indefinitely. Everything seems stuck in quicksand. Politics is stale; Boris Johnson’s woeful government is still popular with the British electorate who seem to have forgotten the brave new world promised by Brexit. Instead, all the promises that have failed to materialise are blamed on COVID rather than exposed for the pack of lies that they were. Voters do not seem to appreciate the irony of reckless spending by the ‘socialist’ Labour party having being triumphantly beaten by careful Tories! Stop and consider how many of Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘insane’ spending pledges have been adopted by BJ’s government. Sadly, I have given up on British people. They seem to be dreaming of Trump getting back in power and re-igniting his love affair with Boris before leading the world into a devastating war. Of course, it won’t be their fault!

Since I started to write this piece we have been hit by a shortage of lorry drivers which ‘threatens Christmas’. This rapidly escalated to a crisis when fuel deliveries to petrol stations erupted into panic buying and even fights breaking out in queues. The Government performed it’s now customary about turn offering more visas to foreign workers (the ones Brexit promised to rid us of) Within a couple of days, the Christmas deadline was further extended when insufficient numbers took up the offer. The press in Russia and Germany are taking great delight in poking fun at Britain.

It is a sign of the times that public support for the government remains strong and has not made the slightest difference in opinion polls. Kier Starmer has many qualities but I’m afraid he does not have the personality or presence to win a General election. Andy Burnham is popular with people and offers the best chance of Labour forming a government, unless David Milliband could be persuaded to come back!!

We should reflect that twenty years ago, the most devastating terrorist act of all time took place on 9/11. Twenty years on and trillions of dollars spent on wars, the world still feels a dangerous, divided planet. I have written before about conspiracy theories and the fact that perhaps, it is better that the official version of events is accepted. I still, however, am troubled that the BBC announced the collapse of building 7 of the World trade centre half an hour before it happened!

Since all restrictions were lifted in July, Pat and I have emerged blinking from our Walney Island  sanctuary and ventured forth into the wider world. There have been a couple of visits to our beloved Liverpool and a visit to Caitlin’s new drum in Ormskirk. We are still to see any bands but as more tours are announced I’m sure we will remedy that.

For the second year running COVID put paid to our planned visit to the USA. Instead, we booked a week in the Peak district. We rented a cottage in the village of Duffield, 5 miles North of Derby.

We stopped en route in Biddulph, a small town some 10 miles North of Stoke in order to walk the dog and pick up a few essentials. There was a small market in the town centre where I purchased 3 bottles of beer from the Flash brewery based in Buxton. Full marks, all three were excellent, try them if you get chance.

The cottage we rented was fantastic. Plenty of room, spotlessly clean and a short walk from the pub!

The first pub we tried was the King’s Head. First impressions were good, Timothy Taylors Landlord on tap and table service. Prices were steep and the clientele seemed pretentious. We left and walked to the Town Street Tap. This was a small place that didn’t look that promising however an old guy out for a smoke told me that is served the best beer in the village. They served three or four real ales and the same number of Craft beers plus some real ciders. C&C arrived with the dog and we enjoyed a few beers in a laid back atmosphere. We tried the White Star which was the nearest pub to our cottage. They served Landlord and had a great beer garden so a good night was had by all.

It was our first visit to this part of the country so we were looking forward to a journey of discovery. On the Saturday morning we dropped Caitlin and Callum off at Derby station as they were off to the Slam Dunk festival in Leeds. We headed for Sherwood Forest. I loved the Robin Hood story when I was a young boy and read many books and watched any tv series or film about this pioneering socialist hero. It was fantastic! The weather was glorious and I was transported back to my childhood. We gazed in awe at the Major Oak. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood’s shelter where he and his merry men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet (10 metres), a canopy of 92 feet (28 metres), and is about 800–1000 years old. The oak is now in need of a tree zimmer frame but I guess it’s only to be expected at that age! There were many fellow dog walkers and families enjoying the forest and many stopped to exchange pleasantries. It was an ambition fulfilled for me and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We had breakfast at the café when we arrived which was superb. As we finished our walk a game was just starting at Sherwood cricket club and it was nice to watch for a while. There is nothing more civilised or English as a village cricket match. On the way back to Duffield we stopped in Belper, a couple of miles from home. This little town sure loves steep fucking hills which I for one didn’t really appreciate. I was eager to checkout Groove records and supplement my collection. They had some great records on sale but at prices that would make a billionaire take a sharp intake of breath. Needless to say I departed empty handed.

We drove to Leeds later in the evening to pick C&C up from the festival. Even though I’m too old for Slam Dunk it was fantastic watching thousands of young people coming away looking like they’d had a great day.

On Sunday we thought we’d visit Matlock Bath in the afternoon. Big mistake !!! It was absolutely heaving. We drove up and down but couldn’t get a parking space anywhere near. I’ve never seen as many motorbikes. The town resembled Sturgis, South Dakota in August. The Derbyshire Hells Angels were more like the Black Widows from Every which way but loose than The Sons of Anarchy but please take that as a compliment because they were a friendly bunch. The place is too much like a seaside town for me, all tourist shops and cafes. What did come as a bit of a shock were the number of people queuing for fish and chips at the many cafes and takeaways. Perhaps living on the coast makes chippies something that we take for granted. We took the dog for a pleasant walk along the riverside and I made a mental note to return to try out the cable car. In the evening Pat and I went to the Viceroy, an Indian restaurant in the village. The meal and the service were superb. We stopped off in the Kings Head en route and I started to warm to it a little.

Monday saw us visit Bakewell. A little town with a big reputation partly due to the pudding/tart to which it gives its name. Man it was fucking busy. It was market day and it seemed like the whole of England was visiting. The weather was glorious which probably attracted people as well. The market was OK, stallholders were friendly but it was too crowded for relaxed browsing. We walked around the town which allowed me to visit Green Man records. Like the place in Belper it had a decent selection but at laughable prices. Once again I departed empty handed now feeling sorry for Derbyshire’s record collectors who are getting ripped off when compared against other areas.

I bought a Bakewell pudding for £7…………….Seven fucking quid!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday we visited Chesterfield. The town is famous for the crooked spire on the Church of St. Mary and all Saints. The aforementioned church led to Chesterfield F.C being named the Spirites.

The main reason for visiting Chesterfield was to checkout Tallbird records. Below is taken from the website;

Tallbird Record Shop was set up by me, Maria Harris, in 2013.  Having just turned 50, I wanted a new challenge, and to get back into work after years of being a housewife and bringing up children.

I’d worked in music retail for most of my adult life (with a short detour into the cinema industry in my 30s) – Richard’s Records in Canterbury, Beggars Banquet in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Alto in Carnaby Street and as a product manager for the Virgin Megastore chain.

When we moved to Chesterfield in 2006 there were two shops selling music – HMV and Hudsons, but 6 years later both had sadly closed down leaving the town without a record shop, a lamentable state of affairs which I felt had to be put right.

I took a leap of faith in the Summer of 2013 by signing the lease on 10 Soresby Street, the ideal premises for my little shop, tucked up a cobbled side street but just round the corner from the old Hudson’s shop and a stone’s throw from the Market Square.  After weeks of agonizing I finally settled on a name for the business (yes, I am a tall bird!) and sketched out an idea which my clever old graphic designer Dad turned into the shop’s logo.

We returned to Matlock Bath on Wednesday to try out The Heights of Abraham. This is a tourist attraction that  consists of a hilltop park on top of Masson Hill, accessed from the village by either the Heights of Abraham cable car or a steep zig-zag path (fuck that). The heights are named after a supposed resemblance to the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Heights of Abraham, in Quebec, Canada, where James Wolfe died in battle.[1][2]

Amongst the attractions in the park, which has been open since Victorian times, are cavern and mine tours. There are also views of the dramatic scenery of the valley of the River Derwent. The cable car was opened in 1984 to provide easier access.

Pat doesn’t like heights so it required great bravery for her to get in the cable car. The dog was fine once he was in. Everything was fine until the car stops half way up (about 600 ft) for folk to take photos. Pat’s face assumed a deathly pallor and she leapt from the car when it eventually reached the summit. It was a glorious day and the views were spectacular. There is a café and restaurant but a nice walk and breathing the cool, clean air was more than enough.

When we got back down I really appreciated how clean the air was at the top as it was now hot and muggy in the town. We stopped at a biker café for a coffee. There were 3 leather clad behemoths at the next table with their impressive hogs parked kerbside. They were all nice guys who gave us good advice about other places to try. We took a walk to the Bridge Inn, a pub with a beer garden overlooking the River Derwent. Director’s bitter was on offer and mighty fine it was too. We dined al fresco once again. Good food and beer in a fantastic setting.

A visit to the Town street Tap followed. I grew really fond of this small pub. The beer and cider were really good and the staff very friendly. As with all the pubs, dogs are welcome and there was always a bowl of water and a few treats provided. There is no TV in the Tap and no music. The art of conversation thrives in this corner of the world

On our last day in Derbyshire we visited Dovedale. This is a valley cut by the River Dove that is about 3 miles long. The land is owned by the National Trust and is apparently a very popular walk. I’m glad we went early as there were many people heading out as we were on our way back. The walk is really good with great views. The big ticket there is the stepping stones across the river. You have to do it. It’s like a rural Abbey Road zebra crossing. Everyone pauses in the middle to be photographed which causes big traffic jams! We resisted the photo opportunity but did cross the river via the Stones on both the outward and inward walks.

On the way back to our cottage we stopped at Croots farm shop which several locals had recommended. A great place where I duly spent a fortune. I’m pleased to report that everything we bought tasted great.

We visited The Bridge Inn, The Town street Tap and the White Star on our last evening in Duffield. The Tap is definitely on my favourite pub lists.

Duffield was a really friendly place. Locals stopped to pass the time of day with us tourists and gave us great advice about places to visit. In fact, everywhere we went over the week was full of friendly, helpful locals. I lost count of people who stopped to swap Beagle stories as we walked Remus.

I would happily return to the Peak district. We didn’t visit Derby or Nottingham and didn’t make it to Buxton. I would have liked to visit Bolsover as I loved its former MP Dennis Skinner. The Beast of Bolsover as he was known was one of the last truly in it for his constituents’ politicians whose passing makes the House of Commons a drearier place.

I mentioned earlier that we made a couple of trips to our beloved Liverpool. I added a few more pubs to my growing list of great places to drink. We stopped in at the Lady of Mann on Dale street. This pub is named after the eponymous Manx ferry which was built at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow in Furness. They sell Okell’s beer from the Isle of Mann and it was good to sit outside in the courtyard on a warm evening. We walked to the other end of Dale street to visit the Ship and Mitre which is a paradise for beer lovers as it serves a good range of real ales and craft beers. I fulfilled an ambition and ate at Bakchich, a Lebanese restaurant on Bold Street. I’ve been meaning to visit for years but it has always been full or we’ve had other plans. It didn’t disappoint even if it does only sell non-alcoholic drinks! We stopped in at the Pilgrim on Pilgrim street on our way to Ye Crack. We have walked past this place a few times as it doesn’t look too appealing from the outside. How wrong can one be? Caitlin had urged us to visit and it was a good tip. It’s a great pub, friendly patrons and good beer. What more can you ask?

I could write about Liverpool pubs all day long (I certainly can drink all day in them!) I’ll just have to give a shout out to one more. I noticed The Dispensary on Renshaw street on my way to 81 Renshaw street, a record shop. We nipped in for a pint after a spot of vinyl foraging. It had a good selection of beers and was a relaxing place to plan the day ahead. There are some scabrous reviews of this pub on TripAdvisor. We had no bother, you can only take a place as you find it I guess.

We visited Strawberry Fields, another ambition of mine since I read about the exhibition opening. It is OK. I learned a lot about the Salvation Army, saw the piano that Lennon played on Imagine and watched a few interesting documentary clips. We walked around the gardens where Lennon played as a kid. The original house is no more which left me feeling ever so slightly cheated. The garden is OK, nothing to get too excited about. The main attraction I guess are the iconic red gates. You can park outside and see them from the outside without paying the steep admission fee. I’m glad I saw the exhibition but must admit that it was the gates I wanted to see.

Next time we’re in Liverpool I am determined to see the Penny Lane street sign. A bunch of us are there in December so I hope to make it happen.

When I was planning our trip to the Peak district I googled Derbyshire musicians. Kevin Coyne was the only result returned. I like Kevin’s music and many influential musicians have described themselves as Coyne fans, among them Sting and John Lydon. In the mid-1970s, prior to the formation of the Police, Coyne’s band included guitarist Andy Summers. Prominent BBC disc jockey and world music authority Andy Kershaw described Coyne as “a national treasure who keeps getting better” and as one of the great British blues voices. Kevin Coyne died in 2004 and had lived in Germany since the 1980’s. I wondered whether this lack of musical heritage contributed to the piss poor vinyl scene but Chesterfield’s Tallbird records restored my faith.

We are planning our holiday for 2022 now that Uncle Joe Biden has re-opened access to America. California is now off the menu and instead we plan to visit New Mexico, a state that we are yet to visit. Biden is going through a rough time at the moment with the withdrawal from Afghanistan upsetting many of the USA’s allies despite being committed to by Trump. The Don continues to flirt with running for president again in 2024. He is still holding rallies and claiming the 2020 election result fraud. Worryingly he now has higher approval ratings than Biden and the Republican Party is still in thrall to him. Boris Johnson will be rooting for the Don. As BJ beats his chest proclaiming Brexit a huge success despite a distinct lack of evidence of any benefits, he knows he will receive support from Trump who encouraged us to leave. Biden is lukewarm on Brexit to say the least, rightly concerned on negative impact to the Good Friday agreement and the Irish economy.

It’s taken an age to write this blog. I think COVID lethargy has given me writers block. I hope to get back to writing more often. We have tickets to see Richard Thompson at the end of the month so I hope to review.

Monday 12^th April 2021 saw the first wave of the re-opening of Great Britain. Non-essential shops have re-opened meaning a much needed haircut and the ability to visit record shops again for yours truly. Pubs can re-open providing they have an outside space in which to serve patrons. Despite not having been in a pub since Christmas Eve 2020 I couldn’t get too excited about sitting in the open air on a, still cold, spring day. A combination of cold air and heavy liquid intake plays havoc with the bladder and toilet access in said pubs was not covered in Bozza’s guidelines. May 17^th sees Pubs able to welcome punters back indoors. May also has the tantalising prospect of foreign travel to countries deemed low-risk? We have a holiday to the USA booked in September and I must admit I am keeping everything that can be tightly crossed. Finally June 21^st sees the end of all restrictions; life returns to normal and Covid is finally vanquished due to the Pharmaceutical industry developing vaccines in record time and our government deploying them rapidly and efficiently.

Sounds good doesn’t it? Is it too good to be true? Time will tell I guess, but already ahead of phase one, alarm bells are starting to faintly chime. Good old Boris said that this time he will follow the scientific data and pull back if the wrong signals are seen. Today’s newspapers have scientists pointing out that there are a few hotspots across the UK where infections are starting to rise at three times the national average. They are dismayed that politicians are choosing to ignore this data in the clamour to win popular support for their policy of rapid re-opening of the economy. The USA which has also rapidly deployed a vaccination programme is seeing infections rise at a disturbing rate in a good number of states. In addition to this, there have been a number of deaths recorded worldwide caused by blood clots in people who have received the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Initially dismissed as almost insignificant by our government, they have now said that the AZ vaccine should not be given to adults under the age of 30. Purely cautionary of course! There are similar reports of clotting caused by the Johnson and Johnson vaccine being reported across the world. There are risks with any vaccine of course but anything that causes people to refuse their jab poses a major risk as countries rush to kickstart their dormant economies.

I am a libertarian at heart and long for the freedoms that I take for granted as a citizen of Walney Island but I confess that I worry about politicians that care more for votes than they do for people’s lives. Since I typed the last sentence the (devoutly right wing) Daily Mail has published a story claiming that last September Bozza angrily declared at a Downing street meeting that he would rather see bodies pile up than order another lockdown. The story has apparently been confirmed by several ‘Conservative sources’. BJ has of course denied making the statement but even his closest friends admit that Boris is a habitual liar.

So how did you get through the last year? Most of us have developed our own coping mechanisms. Sadly some have not been so lucky. There has been an upsurge in mental health issues and tragically there has been an increase in suicides.

Sometime in mid-April 2020 I started documenting every album I listened to. It had to be the full album to count. This was as a result of emails with Mark and Phil in Texas where we shared with each other our listening trends. I recorded my 500^th album listening on 5^th April 2021. I am able therefore to share with you the top 10 albums I have played the most and the top 10 artists that I have listened to over the past year.

Albums

Rain Dogs – Tom Waits 

Trouble and Love – Mary Gauthier          

Live at Blue Rock – Mary Gauthier           

The Harrow and the harvest – Gillian Welch        

Live in London – Leonard Cohen              

Blood on the tracks – Bob Dylan               

Duckwalking – Chuck Berry         

Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman

Fetch the bolt cutters – Fiona Apple       

Rough and rowdy ways – Bob Dylan

Artists

Bob Dylan

Mary Gauthier

Tom Waits

Pink Floyd

Leonard cohen

Gillian Welch

The Beatles

Steely Dan

ZZ Top

Joni Mitchell

Were there any surprises in there for me? Well, I only rediscovered Rain Dogs during the pandemic and had forgotten what a magnificent album it is. I have long thought Waits as a genius and it all really comes together on this magnum opus. Fantastic lyrics, great musicianship and offbeat tunes. A favourite of critics, it is also credited by no lesser person than Keith Richards who cites Rain Dogs as one of the best albums he has played on and he’s played on a few classics n’est-ce pas ? It still irks me that Rod Stewart had a huge hit with Downtown Train yet few people have heard Waits’ original which is much better. Otherwise, I was somewhat surprised that my top ten included three double albums (Live at Blue Rock, Fetch the bolt cutters, Rough and rowdy ways and a triple album (Live in London). Lockdown meant having more time to relax so hence I found it much easier to concentrate for longer and give these extended albums the respect they deserve. Fetch the bolt cutters and Rough and rowdy ways were both released in 2020.

Fiona Apple is enjoying a renaissance and it is good that she feels able to exorcise some of her demons on Fetch the bolt cutters. Comrades, I urge you to check out this fantastic album.

Bob Dylan was 78 years old when he recorded Rough and Rowdy ways. It is incredible that it is more than 50 years since he recorded his first album. Sure his voice has not weathered too well, he sounds like an old man. The lyrics however are as sharp as they ever were and Murder most foul, about the killing of JFK, is as powerful as anything he has ever written. Rough and Rowdy ways is a rewarding listening experience and, no matter what age you are, we are all getting older by the day. The aforementioned Rod Stewart once wrote

‘Youth’s a mask and it don’t last’

‘live it long and live if fast’

Too true brother Rod.

When it comes to my top ten artists listened to I am not surprised to see that the majority are by artists renowned for their lyrics. Good lyrics are key to my favourite songs so the presence of the following artists is therefore no great surprise; Bob Dylan, Mary Gauthier, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell. They all write brilliant lyrics which qualify as poetry to me. All have touched my soul in some way whether they made me laugh, cry or even just think deeply.

A few years ago we were on holiday on the Costa Del Sol when we got a call in the early hours of the morning to hear that my Father in law had passed away. We arranged a flight home as soon as possible and joined the rest of our family. Two weeks later we had tickets to see Leonard Cohen in Manchester. I was going to cancel but Mark emailed to say that Pat would find the show a cathartic experience and Pat said she wanted to get away for a night anyway.

Mark was as good as his word, Pat loved the show. I did myself, I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear a tear a two during the concert that lasted three hours. Cohen was 78 at the time but played one of the longest sets I have ever seen.

Live in London reminds me of that show and I still shed the odd tear when I listen to it but smile and feel a warm glow all the way through. RIP brother Leonard you’ll never know the healing you brought to Pat and I.

Only two albums surprised me in making my top 10. Duckwalking by Chuck Berry only has eight tracks and is also a compilation. Every track is pure genius. Recorded in the 1950’s Chuck Berry’s music influenced a generation of white boys to pick up a guitar and try to emulate their hero. Every track on this album is a joy to listen to. So why am I surprised? I’m surprised because Chuck Berry was a despicable person by most accounts. Even Keith Richards who idolised Chuck described him as ‘difficult’. When you read accounts of Keith trying to help Chuck you’ll understand why. If you have daughters imagine how you’d feel if they brought someone like him home. Would you let your wife or daughter go to a bathroom in Chuck’s place???

The other was Tracey Chapman. It is a truly brilliant album, such powerful, emotive lyrics. The surprise was I hadn’t heard it in many years and rediscovered it in the cheap bin on a vinyl foraging expedition. If you haven’t heard it then check it out as soon as you can. Although she quickly disappeared from public consciousness, Tracey Chapman played on the Wembley stage at Live Aid. She never really recaptured the brilliance of her first album in my opinion but that doesn’t detract from the magic of her debut.

Heaven at 27

5^th April 2021 was the 27^th anniversary of the sad passing of Kurt Cobain. He was another member of the infamous ’27 club’. This club consists of musicians that died at the ‘mysterious’ age of 27. If you Google search the occult significance of any number between one and one hundred you will find some connection with any of them. I don’t believe that there is anything more significant about 27 than any other number. That said, some of the finest musicians who ever walked God’s great earth checked out at that age. Many of the 27 club died tragically. The members of the club are not exclusively musicians. Anton Yelchin and Jonathan Brandis for instance are actor members of the club. It is, and always be, however, musicians who are the most famous members. So I pay tribute to the 10 musical members of the 27 club who have made the biggest impact on my life.

Robert Johnson

If you know anything at all about music then you are familiar with the story of Robert Johnson. Son House remembered Johnson as a “little boy” who was a competent harmonica player but an embarrassingly bad guitarist. Soon after, Johnson left Robinsonville for the area around Martinsville, close to his birthplace, possibly searching for his natural father. When Johnson next appeared in Robinsonville, he seemed to have miraculously acquired an awesome guitar technique.

Son House was interviewed at a time when the legend of Johnson’s pact with the devil was well known among blues researchers. He was asked whether he attributed Johnson’s technique to this pact, and his equivocal answers have been taken as confirmation.

Johnson allegedly met the Devil at the Crossroads of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale Mississippi and sold his soul in exchange for awesome guitar skills. Johnson died in Greenwood Mississippi at the age of 27 of suspected poisoning by a jealous husband and the club was thus formed.

Johnson only recorded 29 songs but his legacy lives on. I have stood at the Crossroads and stayed at the hotel in San Antonio Texas where he recorded his first songs in 1936. I’m sad to report that his guitar mojo hasn’t rubbed off on me!!

(596) Robert Johnson – Me And The Devil Blues With Lyrics – YouTube

Brian Jones (1942-1969)

A founding member of the Rolling Stones along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Brian Jones developed a severe substance abuse problem that by the mid-1960s had taken a toll on his health, landed him in jail and alienated him from his bandmates. He was forced out of the group in June 1969. The following month, Jones was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool; police reported that he had drowned while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Recently, new evidence has suggested that foul play may have had a hand in his death at age 27.

Like Chuck Berry, Jones was a genius who was apparently not a nice person. He allegedly treated women appallingly. He never really recovered from Anita Pallenberg leaving him for Keith Richards due to his behaviour which in turn led to him being ostracised by his bandmates.

Sadly many geniuses in all walks of life have flawed personalities. The Rolling Stones were Brian Jones’ band. He was elbowed aside My Mick and Keith however, without him, the greatest Rock’n’Roll band in the world would never have existed.

(596) Rolling Stones Paint It Black HD – YouTube

Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (1943-1970)

Known as Blind Owl because of his poor vision, Alan Wilson headed up the American blues band Canned Heat, which performed at Woodstock in 1969. A songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player, he famously re-taught the aging blues legend Son House, who had been living in obscurity for decades, how to play his own songs. Wilson, who struggled with mental illness and had previously attempted suicide, succumbed to a drug overdose in September 1970, becoming the first of three acclaimed musicians to die at age 27 in 1970.

(596) Canned Heat – On the Road Again live at Woodstock 1969 – YouTube

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)

Remembered as one of the greatest electric guitarists in history, Jimi Hendrix revolutionized rock and roll as both an artist and a producer during his brief four-year career. Most guitarists agree that Hendrix was the best. All who saw him play or jammed with him agree he was untouchable as a guitarist. His performance of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock is truly jaw dropping. Jimi was also one of Cynthia Plaster Casters’ prize scalps. She named her cast of Jimi the ‘Penis de Milo’

Jimi died in London in September 1970, asphyxiating on his own vomit while sleeping. His girlfriend claimed that Hendrix, a heavy drug user who was particularly fond of LSD, had washed down a handful of sleeping pills with red wine before going to bed.

As with many Rock star deaths, conspiracy theories abound. I doubt we’ll ever know the truth so we must just celebrate his legacy through his awesome guitar playing.

(596) Jimi Hendrix Experience All Along The Watchtower – YouTube

Janis Joplin (1943-1970)

Born in Port Arthur Texas, Janis Joplin won over the San Francisco music scene with her bluesy vocals and powerful stage presence. First as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist. Despite multiple attempts to get clean, she became increasingly addicted to heroin and alcohol as her career skyrocketed. She died of a heroin overdose in October 1970, less than three weeks after the death of fellow rock icon Jimi Hendrix.

Janis Joplin is the greatest ever female singer in my opinion. Her life story fascinates me; the bullying she suffered at High school is redolent of today’s social media trolling. I would love to have known Janis Joplin. I know we would have got on like a house on fire. In 2014 Pat, Caitlin and I went to Barney’s Beanery, the West Hollywood bar where Janis enjoyed her last drink before returning to the Landmark Motel and suffering a fatal overdose.  RIP Janis you were the greatest.

(596) Janis Joplin – Me And Bobby McGee (Audio) – YouTube

Jim Morrison (1943-1971)

A poet and avid reader of philosophy, Jim Morrison rose to prominence as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors, a band he founded with a friend in 1965. By 1969, his drinking had become a problem, making him late for performances and fuelling raucous onstage behaviour. In July 1971, Morrison died of a heart attack apparently caused by a heroin overdose while living in Paris. It is thought that he mistook the drug for cocaine and snorted a fatal amount. Morrison allegedly moved to Paris to get clean and rediscover the poet he longed to be.

Many conspiracy theories surround the death of Jim Morrison and there do seem to be many inconsistencies in official accounts of his death. His grave in Pére Lachaise Cemetery in Paris still attracts thousands of pilgrims every year paying homage to his awesome talent. RIP Mr Mojo Risin’.

(596) Riders on the Storm – The Doors HD – YouTube

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (1945-1973)

A founding member of the Grateful Dead, Ron McKernan, who went by the nickname Pigpen, did not share his bandmates’ predilection for LSD and other psychedelic drugs. However, his heavy drinking caused him to develop cirrhosis in 1970, and by 1972 his health had become so fragile he could no longer tour. He died of an internal haemorrhage in March 1973.

Pigpen lived with Janis Joplin for a while in the Grateful Dead house at 712 Ashbury street in San Francisco. Two 27’s for the price of one.

I have walked past the house a few times. It is now a genteel neighbourhood and the house must be worth millions. I wonder if the vibes of late sixties Haight Ashbury still resonate inside?

(596) Grateful Dead – Friend of the Devil (Studio Version) – YouTube

Gram Parsons (1946-1973)

Gram Parsons joined The Byrds in early 1968 and played a pivotal role in the making of the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. After leaving the group in late 1968, Parsons and fellow Byrd Chris Hillman formed The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1969. Emmylou Harris assisted him on vocals for his first solo record, GP, released in 1973. Although it received enthusiastic reviews, the release failed to chart. His next album, Grievous Angel, peaked at number 195 on the Billboard chart. His health deteriorated due to several years of drug abuse and he died in 1973 at the age of 27. His legendary status was confirmed when he died on September 18 (same date as Jimi Hendrix), 1973, in room eight of the Joshua Tree Inn, near Joshua Tree National Park. Earlier, he had confessed to his manager Phil Kaufman his wish to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the park in the event of him dying.

Parsons travelled to Joshua Tree with his high school girlfriend. Parsons spent time in the desert during the day and at local bars at night, consuming barbiturates and alcohol every day. On September 18, after being injected with morphine, Parsons overdosed. On September 19, he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Following Parsons’ death, and in order to fulfil his desires, Kaufman and Martin arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in Martin’s personal Cadillac Hearse impersonating mortuary workers. Under the impression that the pair had been hired by the Parsons family, Western Airlines released the body to them. They then took it to Joshua Tree and set it on fire. The burning casket was reported by campers to the local authorities, who investigated the incident and identified both perpetrators.

Parsons’ body was partially cremated. His charred remains were recovered and returned to his family. 

Parsons hung out with the Stones when they recorded Exile on Main Street and he recorded a great version of Wild Horses.

God permitting, Pat and I will visit the Joshua Tree National Park in September. I will raise a glass to Gram and play some of his tunes in homage.

(596) Love Hurts – Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris – YouTube

Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)

An icon of the Seattle grunge scene, Kurt Cobain formed Nirvana with a friend in 1985; the band achieved mainstream success in the early 1990s. Under a glaring public spotlight, Cobain struggled with mental illness, chronic health problems and heroin addiction. He committed suicide in April 1994, leaving behind his wife, the musician Courtney Love, and their baby daughter Frances Bean.

Another death surrounded by a fog of conspiracy theories. There are many books on the subject of Kurt’s death. I don’t think that we’ll ever know what really happened so I prefer to remember him for his genius. I love the fact that the title of Nirvana’s best known track was sprayed on the wall of Kurt Cobain’s hotel room by Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill. She wrote “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” in reference to a deodorant brand that Cobain’s girlfriend at the time wore.

The video below was filmed less than a year before Kurt died. Does he look tortured? Difficult to say.

(596) Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Live On MTV Unplugged Unedited) – YouTube

Amy Winehouse (1983-2011)

An English singer-songwriter whose powerful voice and unique style won her numerous awards and honours, Amy Winehouse battled drug and alcohol addiction for years. Her substance abuse problems were frequent tabloid fodder and inspired some of her songs, most notably the hit “Rehab.” On July 23, 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment, becoming the latest musician to have their career cut tragically short at age 27.

Amy Winehouse always seemed a victim to me. Prodigiously talented, there were always people who leeched off her.

I love having a beer in her former local, The Hawley Arms in Camden. She is fondly remembered by regulars; apparently if it was busy she would get behind the bar and help the staff out. A latter day Janis Joplin in my eyes.

(596) Amy Winehouse with Jools Holland – Monkey Man – YouTube

Spookily, while I have typed the above I have been listening to Who’s Next !!!

The last 12 months has also seen me pay much more attention to my love of reading. I have had both the space and desire to concentrate on reading weightier tomes on subjects that improve my understanding both of me and the world I live in. I often say and think that I despise politics and politicians both in society and work. Over the past 12 months I have developed a fascination with both national and American politics. I started lockdown by reading In My Life, the music memoir of former Labour Home Secretary and all round good bloke Alan Johnson. This book resonated with me so much that I felt I was reading my own memoirs.

 Thus inspired, I read the three volumes of Johnson’s autobiography; This Boy, Please Mr Postman and The Long and winding road. Musical Savants will note that all four books are named after Beatles songs. Johnson’s life story is genuinely fascinating. At times harrowing it is also a beacon of hope to those who aspire to rise from truly humble beginnings and make a difference to the lives of their fellow humans.

On the same political theme, the past five years have been truly dominated by Donald J Trump. The man truly repels me and most decent humans. I read four books over the past 12 months that are fascinating, jaw dropping and genuinely frightening;

A Very Stable Genius: Donald J Trump’s Testing of America – Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig

Collateral Damage – Kim Darroch

A Year At The Circus: Inside Trump’s White House – John Sopel

UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others – John Sopel

All four of the above books left my chin badly bruised as there are so many truly jaw-dropping events described.

One final political book was, somewhat surprisingly, my favourite

Diary of an MP’s Wife: Inside and Outside Power: – Sasha Swires

This book is the riotously candid account of Swires’ time as the wife of one of David Cameron’s ministers and a member of his privileged social set. I’m sure it has made her few friends but she is an acute observer of how the levers of government work and of how the true power in this country influences our lives.

I have also read a good few books that have helped me along my own spiritual journey;

Surrounded by Idiots – Thomas Erikson

Surrounded by Psychopaths – Thomas Erikson

The Four Tendencies – Gretchen Rubin

I recommend all three of the above if you want to understand more about yourself and also those around you!

There are too many novels that I have read over the past twelve months to document or to even call out highlights. I will leave them to a future blog as there are more than enough books above to immerse yourself in.

Pa’lante

Writing this blog has allowed me to reflect on how twelve months of lockdown has affected me and my family. As we all emerge blinking into what is hopefully a new dawn I have felt that there is something missing from my life. Sadly, on reflection, I’m missing the Don. Politics is dull in a Trump free world. I used to open the media websites at 6.0 AM as I sat down for breakfast eagerly looking forward to reading the latest batshit crazy missives from the White House. I now see why Don calls Biden Sleepy Joe. President Biden takes the responsibility of leading the free world seriously and bears the responsibility of rebuilding the American economy and promoting racial harmony with great honour. Laudable but dull compared to the Don……………..Thankfully!!!

Boris Johnson is trying his hardest but he is no better than Trump lite. Boris’ weapon of choice is Sleaze. Whether it be through lies, cronyism or good old corruption, Boris is determined to maintain his grasp of power. Sadly, in some ways COVID-19 has been a blessing for Boris. The tragedy of Brexit has largely been kept out of the headlines. The many  businesses that have gone bust or have been forced to re-locate to Europe have been kept from the front pages by the pandemic.

The successful deployment of COVID vaccines has been claimed by Boris’ government. Let’s not forget that this has been down to the dedication and efficiency of the NHS and its heroic staff. The Government has recognised their efforts by awarding them a 1% pay rise which keeps them just above minimum wage!!!

We are facing Scottish devolution, the return of the troubles in Northern Ireland which will surely lead to a push for a united Ireland, both fuelled by the devastating fall-out of Brexit.

The Labour party similarly should hang its head in shame. While its traditional Northern heartland faced economic devastation, Jeremy Corbyn surrounded himself with London sycophants and buried his head in the sand rather than try to help his party’s core base. Kier Starmer is an improvement but it is the likes of Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy who appeal to core Labour voters and I don’t believe they are afforded sufficient respect by the party leadership. 

What is really boiling my piss is the astronomical cost of refurbishing Boris’ flat. He is clearly lying about the funding. His former ally Dominic Cummings has turned on his former friend and is laying bare the duplicity of our Prime Minister. What upsets me most is of Boris Johnson wanting rid of his predecessors ‘John Lewis nightmare décor’.

I would love to be able to afford to buy John Lewis furniture so am deeply insulted by this despicable snobbery.

To those Labour voters, who now vote Tory, hang your heads in shame. They’ll never like you. You are just cheap fools who are easily conned. Please see through this corrupt and decadent idiot and think about restoring pride to the working people of Great Britain who are the true back bone of our nation

Amen Comrades.

Happy New Year comrades. I hope you have enjoyed the Christmas break and are looking forward to a better year. I expect I am not alone in being glad to see the back of 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic cast a dark shadow over pretty much the whole year. 2021 sees us back in lockdown but with various vaccines offering a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.

We Brits also begin life outside the European Union. Even as a fervent Europhile, I’m glad that it has finally been resolved so that we can start to get used to a new reality. My big worry is that our divorce from Europe results in a rabid growth in political populism. Populists depend on having enemies, be they real or imagined, to deflect from their own shortcomings. If Brexit fails to deliver the huge economic benefits its proponents promised who will be to blame? For a short time problems will be blamed on ‘Johnny Foreigner’. That can’t last long, after all we’ve got we wanted…………..haven’t we? My biggest fear is Boris Johnson replacing Donald Trump as the face of populism. The parallels are disturbing. BJ has become known for spectacular U turns, just ask Marcus Rashford. Who can forget him lambasting Opposition leader Kier Starmer for daring to propose that he follow scientific advice and impose a two-week national “circuit breaker” lockdown for England in September. In October he announced a month-long national lockdown, saying “no responsible prime minister” could ignore how bad the situation had become……………….no shit Sherlock!!!!!

Bozza has already out trumped Trump when it comes to cronyism. Remember Dominic Cummings flagrantly flouting lockdown rules early in the pandemic? He justified a trip to Barnard Castle by saying that he was worried about his vision and therefore his ability to drive back to London. In order to try it out he drove his 4 year old son on a 40 mile round trip!!!!!. Boris believed in him and he kept his job. Home Secretary Priti Patel was accused of bullying. A cabinet office enquiry, the results of which were ‘sat on’ for months concluded that she had broken the ministerial code of conduct, however, Boris Johnson ignored the findings and ruled that she did not break the code. As a result, she kept her position. Last but not least, good old Boris announced he had given a peerage to the Tory donor Peter Cruddas, in defiance of advice from the House of Lords. Earlier in the year he awarded a peerage to his own brother. Boris makes Don look like a saint!!!

I’m sure that Bozza will be yelling ‘fake news’ at critics and will refuse to talk to ‘those lefties at the BBC’. I dread Britain’s youth arriving back in European beach resorts this summer, drunkenly singing Rule Britannia and threatening bemused locals. I equally dread the SNP forcing and winning a second independence ballot thus effectively breaking up Great Britain………………Still,  Boris will get to wear a red MEGA baseball cap , MEGA being ‘Make England great again’!!!

There is plenty to cheer about. Biden will hopefully re-embrace the Kyoto treaty giving a vital boost to tackling climate change. Hopefully Joe will reverse the insular politics of Trump and once more America will become the leaders of the free world. While Trump turned inwards, Russia and China started to spread outwards. Biden may not be the greatest president but hopefully one that re-unites his country and the western world.

If the vaccines deliver, hopefully we can start travelling again. 2020 saw slim pickings for us. Overnights in Liverpool and Sheffield plus a week in Halifax were all very enjoyable but how we yearned for more. The only gig we saw last year was Elvis Costello.

We have tickets to see Chuck Prophet at the Met in Bury in June (a gig twice postponed due to ‘Rona) and the Slambovian Circus of dreams in August at Greystones, Sheffield. I’m sure there will be many more gigs as venues reopen and bands resume touring. As I type, I’m listening to Margo Price who I dearly hope makes it over to the UK this year.

In a spirit of optimism we have re-booked our USA trip which was cancelled in June 20 (another Rona victim). We are off to Texas and California in September and look forward to seeing friends and family on their home turf. I can’t wait to spend an afternoon ‘In the Chilli parlour bar, drinking Mad dog Margaritas’ with the ghosts of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. I look forward to drinking Jack and Cokes with the ghost of Lemmy in the Rainbow bar and grill in LA and raising a glass to Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison in Barneys Beanery.

I can’t wait to get back to Liverpool and maybe even squeeze in a trip to London. A gig at the Trades club in Hebden Bridge is a burning ambition for 2021.

Closer to home, I can’t wait to attend another meeting of the CRAFT club. We have taken to convening in the Old Friends in Ulverston and staying there until the rules of membership have been met.

On the music front, 2020 delivered some great albums. I have collated my personal top 10 for your delectation. I would love to think that some of you will put aside any preconceptions you may harbour and check some of them out.

Rough and rowdy ways – Bob Dylan

It’s extraordinary to think that Bob’s career is into its sixth decade! If there’s one thing Rough and Rowdy Ways will be remembered for, it’s for its first single, and Dylan’s longest studio track to date, “Murder Most Foul”. Provided its own side to itself, and allegedly recorded “a few years ago”, the idea of a 17-minute Bob Dylan song about the assassination of John F. Kennedy sounds unlikely to say the least. Thankfully, Bob is at the top of its game for this experiment. Taking his point of view from himself, to the assassins, to the car itself playing topical music through its radio; Dylan is able to build an entire world around this singular American tragedy.

There are too many highlights to draw attention to any more songs. Bob Dylan’s lyrics at times seem too eerily prescient, musing on the mortality of man and the loss of innocence. Given the state of the world in 2020 and that Rough and Rowdy Ways was recorded before the height of COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd, it feels like Bob could see the way the world was turning.

(324) Bob Dylan – Murder Most Foul (Official Audio) – YouTube

Fetch the bolt cutters – Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple’s fifth album reminded me of Swordfish Trombones by Tom Waits in the way that it marked a radical departure from her previous output. Fetch the Bolt cutters is a stark and raw album, instrumentation is mostly Apple’s piano backed by offbeat percussion. It’s the lyrics that make this album. The abuse of women is one of her themes. Here, For Her contains one of Apple’s most eyebrow-raising lyrics. “Good morning, good morning/ You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in,” she snarls. The track was written in the aftermath of the accounts of sexual assault given to the US senate judiciary committee, which failed to block the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court.

Relay, meanwhile, swaps between a cheerleading chant and R&B. It’s a spectacularly acerbic song about refusing to indulge in the game of acrimony. “And I see that you keep tryna bait me,” pouts Apple, “and I’d love to get up in your face/ But I know if I hate you for hating me/ I will have entered the endless race.”

The title track rues the mistakes Apple made as a younger woman, and bridles at those who controlled her. She invokes Kate Bush, another artist who became famous very young and quickly outgrew the confines of pop.

“I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill,” Apple sings, “Shoes that were not made for running up that hill/ And I need to run up that hill/ I will, I will, I will.” If this engrossing album opens with one kind of breathless climax, Fetch the Bolt Cutters ends with Apple panting, having finally crested the summit.

Thank you to the Guardian review which drew my attention to this great album and encouraged me to buy it ‘unheard’.

(324) Fiona Apple – For Her (Official Audio) – YouTube

The Unravelling – Drive by truckers

This album saw the DBT give a state of the nation address to America in 2020. Lyrically, the album is filled with rage: about school shootings (Thoughts and Prayers), immigrant children (Babies in Cages), the opioid epidemic (Heroin Again), the manufacturing of anger for political ends (Grievance Merchants), and “working hard for not enough” (21st Century USA). In an interview to promote the album, band leader Patterson Hood described a situation where “My daughter was in a lockdown drill at her school last week, she was locked in a closet with 27 other kids for over 20 minutes, not knowing if it was a drill or not. It’s to prepare for if someone comes and starts shooting up their school.” Bandmate Mike Cooley says “We’re starting to ask questions now, ‘Are we inflicting trauma on these kids, on the off chance this could happen?”

It’s a dark album that may alienate some of their fan base in the USA but in my opinion addresses issues that ‘normal folks’ are faced with. The (apparently equally dark) follow up The New OK is released in the UK in early January and I can’t wait to hear it. I also look forward to an album of unbridled optimism influenced by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris!!

(324) Drive-By Truckers – “Thoughts and Prayers” (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube

That’s how rumours get started – Margo Price

That’s How Rumours Get Started is the third studio album by Margo Price. The album was planned for release on May 8, 2020, but was postponed following the outbreak of the coronavirus. … The album was released on July 10, 2020. Coincidentally my birthday!

At 37 Margo Price has already lived enough to fill a book. Her parents lost their farm when she was a toddler in the mid-80s downturn that provoked the Farm Aid benefit gigs. Her musical career was jump-started by a psilocybin-fuelled psychedelic epiphany. Her early years on the Nashville side-lines saw her reduced to petty theft in order to survive,  involved a period sleeping in a tent, the death of her infant son, the latter precipitating a descent into whiskey-fuelled chaos that culminated in a car crash and a brief stay in prison. Self-funded, the recording of first album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was a last roll of the dice that Price pawned her wedding ring for.

Thankfully Jack White pricked up his ears and listened and set Margo on the road to success.

This is her third album and I’m glad to report that success has not dampened the acerbic lyrics. I can’t wait to see Margo tour this album in the UK.

(324) Margo Price ‘That’s How Rumours Get Started’ – The Blues Kitchen Presents… – YouTube

Heart’s ease – Shirley Collins

Shirley Collins was one of England’s foremost Folk singers of the sixties and seventies. Following a painful divorce in 1978 Collins lost her singing voice and retired. In 2016 Collins returned out of the blue with the critically lauded album Lodestar. Heart’s ease is a more confident album and is an absolute joy to listen to. At 85, Shirley Collins managed to deliver an extraordinary album.

(324) Whitsun Dance – YouTube

Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman

Bonny Light Horseman are a collaboration between singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson from the Fruit Bats,  and multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, based around traditional pastures.

On their self-titled debut, the trio reimagines centuries of standards for our fractious political climate, making old chestnuts feel new.

The land that time forgot – Chuck Prophet

I was really looking forward to seeing Chuck Prophet but the show we had tickets for was cancelled twice due to ‘Rona. It is now scheduled for June 2021……….fingers crossed!

In the meantime I made do with chuck’s new album. Recorded in the Catskills as it has become too expensive to make an album in his San Francisco hometown

A great set of songs about his country that fans declared a triumph. Even though there is liberal use of drum machines I loved Chuck’s latest.

Off off on – This is the kit

This is the Kit were formed by Kate Stables when she moved to Bristol. Now domiciled in Paris, she delivered her fifth album in 2020. Produced by Josh Kaufman of Bonnie light horseman, Off Off On was a worthy addition to an already impressive body of work.

Working Men’s Club – Working Men’s Club

Working Men’s Club are a young band whose leader hails from Todmorden in West Yorkshire. A line-up change saw the band evolve from a guitar band into a New Order-type rock-electronic hybrid. There are shades of fellow Yorkshire luminaries Human League and Pulp on this assured debut with the closing track Angel evoking Hawkwind. I look forward to watching this group develop. Mega stardom beckons methinks.

(326) Working Men’s Club – John Cooper Clarke (Official Video) – YouTube

Old Wow – Sam Lee

Sam Lee’s third album was one of the Folk music albums of the year. Produced by Suede’s Bernard Butler it also features a spine-tingling duet with the Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser on Wild Mountain Thyme. Another performer who I look forward to watching their career develop.

As I completed this blog Boris Johnson declared in an interview on the Andrew Marr show that Tier restrictions ‘probably about to get tougher’. FFS Boris just get on with it!!! Stop dithering man, every day’s delay will cost another 1000 lives. We did lockdown last year and all experts concurred that if we had done it earlier many thousands of lives would have been spared.

Don’t despair Brothers and Sisters. We can get through this. Focus on the positive and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. There is a Puerto Rican word – Pa’lente that means Go Forward.

(326) Hurray For The Riff Raff: ‘Pa’lante’ SXSW 2017 – YouTube

Well comrades, it looks like another lockdown is inevitable. A blind man on a galloping horse could have seen the current crisis coming. The need for economic recovery sent politicians across Europe into a frenzy of returning life to ‘normal’ with indecent haste. Travel was positively encouraged, bars and restaurants allowed to return to near normal providing social distancing was encouraged and live music was off the menu. In the U.K schools were given little choice but to re-open. Understandable, but surely the risk of a steep rise in infections was understood. At the same time, workers were pressed to give up working from home and get back to the office. Why? To rescue cafes and restaurants of course! Within two weeks workers were beseeched to go back to working from home again as infections soared. Our ‘world beating’ track and trace system was re-launched yet still seems to be a shining example of a shite app!! Boris ‘son of Trump’ Johnson staggers from one crisis to another looking increasingly clueless. I keep expecting Boris to shout ‘fake news’ at Kier Starmer as he takes yet another humiliating beating at P.M’s question time. Apparently Boris makes no decisions himself but relies on Dominic Cummings to give him the answers. Dominic Cummings is the man who, in order to check if his eyesight had been affected by Covid-19, took his 4 year old son on a forty mile drive!!! Dom apparently relies on ‘focus groups’ to provide Boris with the answers he is incapable of thinking of himself. More like ‘fuck us’ groups methinks! And then of course there is Brexit…………………….

Enough of politics, this blog is intended to be uplifting. A celebration, both of England, and of being English. Pat and I needed the break. Our trip to the States was cancelled in June and we now face our daughter heading off to University. With this in mind I booked a week in a cottage in Halifax, West Yorkshire for a week. The cottage was dog friendly and had four bedrooms and a garden. Caitlin and Callum came with us as did our dog Remus. For once, I had not exhaustively planned our trip. I had done a lot of research, printed a list of things to do, places to visit and of record shops in nearby towns but had not done the usual research into restaurants and pubs as we were ‘dogged up’.

Friday 18^th September

Today is the 50^th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death. BBC radio 6 were reassuringly aware of this auspicious occasion and played some great Jimi tunes as we drove to Halifax. Check-in time was 3.0 pm and we arrived promptly as is our want. We were not disappointed with our cottage. It was well decorated, spacious and located in a good neighbourhood. The cottage was once owned by Judge James Pickle.

James Pickles was an English barrister and circuit judge and who later became a tabloid newspaper columnist. He became known for his controversial sentencing decisions and press statements. His obituaries variously described him as forthright, colourful, and outspoken. Wikipedia

Our cottage apparently featured on an episode of ‘Through the keyhole’ when owned by the good judge

After unpacking etc I read the local information provided by the owners. They advised a couple of pubs nearby of which we chose the Three Pigeons which was advised to be dog friendly.

The Ossett brewery website describes the Three Pigeons thus;

A carefully restored Grade II listed 1930s pub. From an aesthetic perspective the Three Pigeons offers pub-goers a rather unique environment in which to enjoy their beer in from Ossett Brewery or other guest breweries.

This award winning hostelry with its art deco styling and corridor bar is in a class of its own. The five rooms off the main passageway have distinct individuality and hark back to an era of more functional simplicity.

I loved this pub from the get go. Five different rooms to choose from, great beer and friendly regulars. I tried a couple of excellent beers of which White Rat was my favourite. The landlord brought a bowl of water for Remus and a handful of dog treats which was a nice touch. Locals told us of a nearby pub, The Shears Inn, that was also dog friendly. A perfect end to a great day.

Saturday 19^th September

I doubt any of you have pondered the reason for the title of this blog. It was inspired by my ambition and burning desire to visit Hebden Bridge.

Google search Hebden Bridge and you will find numerous articles that rhapsodise about this small village. It has been named as ‘Best town in Europe’ and was named by British Airway’s High Life magazine as ‘one of the world’s funkiest towns’. It was reading an article about the Trades Club that made me want to visit the Bridge. Regularly voted one of the best small venues in the UK, the Trades club attracts world class artists such as Patti Smith, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Mark Lanegan, Laura Marling and Ali Farka Touré. I have tried to get tickets many times but shows sell out very quickly.

Hebden Bridge has attracted artists, and has developed a small New Age community. It became attractive in the 1980s and 1990s to lesbians as a place of mutual support to bring up children. As of 2004 Hebden Bridge had the highest number of lesbians per head in the UK.

I wasn’t disappointed. Hebden Bridge is a truly magical place. We visited the small market held in a small square in the middle of town. As in most affluent towns with markets, this one was excellent with high quality stalls and little if any tat. I bought Pat a ring which had been crafted from an old Silver spoon. All the jewellery on the stall had been made from reclaimed Silver spoons. Definitely quirky, but very tasteful.

My research had revealed that there were two record shops in the town. I visited Heavy Crates first. The shop sold both new and used vinyl and had an excellent selection at reasonable prices. To focus my vinyl foraging on our trip I made acquiring a copy of Tres Hombres by ZZ Top my top priority. This was due to watching an excellent documentary on the band earlier in the week. I had no look finding Tres Hombres but left with Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy and Damn the Torpedoes by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. After a stop at an artisan bakery we headed for the second record shop, Muse Music and love. This place was a café and record shop. As with Heavy Crates, there was a mixture of new and used vinyl. I listened to the owners talking to a couple of customers in the café who were rhapsodising about Hebden Bridge. They asked the owners what it was like to live in the town. They said that they lived in nearby Todmorden which they described as less touristy but very friendly and endowed with a some excellent pubs many of which had live music (in Covid free times of course!). I chatted with owner as I paid for my choices, a really nice guy. I left with Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd and Suzanne Vega’s debut album.

We met up with Caitlin and Callum and adjourned to the White Swan for a pint of Black Sheep. The pub had a nice beer garden where we could take the dog and enjoy the excellent weather.

Pat and I decided to visit Todmorden which is only five miles from Hebden Bridge. Although not as picturesque as Hebden Bridge, it seemed a pleasant enough little town. There were indeed a good number of pubs with the Polished Knob amusing us both.

We returned to Halifax and visited the Piece Hall. From its own website;

The Grade I listed Piece Hall, Halifax is a rare and precious thing, an architectural and cultural phenomenon which is absolutely unique. It is the sole survivor of the great eighteenth century northern cloth halls, a class of buildings which embodied the vital and dominant importance of the trade in hand woven textiles to the pre-industrial economy of the West Riding of Yorkshire, from the Middle Ages through to the early nineteenth century.

Dating from 1779, when it was built as a Cloth Hall for the trading of ‘pieces’ of cloth (a 30 yard length of woven woollen fabric produced on a handloom), The Piece Hall was the most ambitious and prestigious of its type and now stands in splendid isolation as the only remaining example. It is one of Britain’s most outstanding Georgian buildings.

It is impossible to overstate the scale and importance of this trade, not just to the history of Halifax and the West Riding, but to the nation as a whole over some 800 years between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries.

When it was built, The Piece Hall was a highly visible statement of the great wealth, pride and ambition of the cloth manufacturers. Although built for trade, it also embodied the most cultured sensitivities of the Enlightenment; these bluff northern manufacturers deliberately chose a design for their building which adapted the neo-classical orders of architecture derived originally from the Romans.

Piece Hall re-opened in 2017 transformed into a 21st Century town square, The Piece Hall is a place for everyone to enjoy. The immense, open air square is enclosed by a mix of independent bars, restaurants, shops and cafes. The stories of Georgian Halifax are told in specially created heritage spaces and there is an art gallery hosting visual art exhibitions.

Truly a wonderful place to visit. It shows what can be achieved when imagination and pride are allowed to triumph over rampant capitalism and the need for a quick buck. There are a number of cool, if a little pricey, shops. Pat bought me a framed photo of The Ramones from Al’s Emporium. It has replaced the Kylie calendar in my man cave…………praise indeed!

The photo below shows what a beautiful day it was

That evening the four of us and the dog walked to the Shears Inn. The pub was difficult to get to as it is located at the bottom of an extremely steep road. It was worth the nuisance though as it proved to be another friendly hostelry. I started with a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord bitter, one of my favourites. I then tried a pint of D Day Dodger from the Martland Mill brewery. I really enjoyed this excellent beer and drank several more to check that the first pint was no fluke! Callum and Caitlin both had fish and chips in the pub which they both raved about.

A grand day out as they say in Yorkshire

Sunday 20^th September

We took the train to Hebden Bridge on Sunday. This was my first trip on public transport since the pandemic began. The journey only takes 15 minutes which made it an easy commute. We had a stroll around the Sunday market before taking a walk along the canal. This was a very pleasant stroll as the sun was out making it a warm day. We walked for half an hour or so until we arrived at The Stubbing Wharf pub. It was very pleasant sat watching the canal boats go by whilst enjoying a pint or two of Black Sheep. As we got back into town we stumbled across the Trades Club. I know I will love seeing a gig at the venue so will re-double my efforts to get tickets for a show once ‘Rona recedes.

We returned to the beer garden in the White Swan for more of the excellent Black Sheep bitter. Pat and Caitlin bought the dog a tub of doggie ice cream (I kid you not!) from a charity shop. Remus was unimpressed, he much prefers the Vanilla from Cumbrian Cow apparently……………..hmm.

We took the train back to Halifax and headed for the Shears Inn for a late lunch. I had a giant Yorkshire Pudding which lived up to its name and completely outfaced me. I washed it down with more pints of the excellent D Day Dodger.

Outside the Stubbing Wharf

Monday 21^st September

Another beautiful morning so we drove to Ogden Water Country Park on the outskirts of Halifax. This nature reserve consists of a series of woodland trails that circumnavigate the Reservoir. There were lots of people about and everyone was cheerful and friendly. The views over the reservoir were stunning and you couldn’t help but to feel relaxed. After our walk we headed back into the town centre so Caitlin and Callum could check out the Piece Hall. Pat and I checked out Halifax market Hall which was OK. I then headed for Revo records. This was another good record shop with a decent selection of new and used vinyl. Once more, the search for a copy of Tres Hombres proved fruitless however I did manage to pick up a copy of Official Live Bootleg by the Blues Band, an album I’ve been trying to find for a while.

We all headed for Lunch at the Crossroads pub on the outskirts of town. Good food, good beer (Thwaites IPA) and Dog friendly.

In the evening Caitlin and Callum headed to the cinema (the new Bill & Ted film) while Pat, me and the dog headed to the Three Pigeons for a few pints of the excellent White Rat bitter. Pat took the dog for a quick toilet break outside the pub a little later in the evening. When she came back into the pub she said she had been watching fireworks light up the sky and asked the regulars if there was some sort of local celebration that evening. Her question was met with knowing smiles as apparently local drug dealers announce delivery of new supplies by letting off fireworks!! I could only shake my head in admiration at the ingenuity of the local entrepreneurs!!

Tuesday 22^nd September

Pat and I headed for Huddersfield this morning. I read that there was a flea market on a Tuesday and I hoped to find some vintage black and white photographs of Yorkshire towns. Such photos tend to be vastly overpriced in galleries so I hoped a visit to a second hand market would help me find some for a reasonable sum. No look I’m afraid but I did find a stall selling vinyl records! I got rather carried away I’m afraid picking up;

The Faces – A Nod’s as good as a wink

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – Livin’ with the Blues

Leonard Cohen – Greatest Hits

Cat Stevens – Greatest Hits  

The Mamas and the Papas – 20 Greatest Hits –

Happy Mondays – Step on 12” single

I paid £25 for the lot which I thought was a bargain.

Before leaving Huddersfield I felt duty bound to visit Vinyl Tap, the town’s only record shop. Although it was a large, well-stocked shop there was no copy of Tres Hombres in the racks so I left without buying anything.

We headed to Bronte country and the small town of Haworth. Most people know that God created Heaven and Earth in six days and on the seventh day he did rest. At this point Satan sneaked in and created Haworth!! We parked up and set off to find main st. The signposts advised we needed to walk up the amusingly named Butt Lane. It was like ascending the north face of the Eiger!!! Just as I thought we had reached the summit I realised it was a brief respite as after crossing a road there was a further punishing ascent before reaching Main street. After greedily sucking from the thoughtfully provided Oxygen tanks I almost fainted when I realised that Main street was an even steeper ascent!! Wuthering Heights indeed. I sat on a bench to get my heart rate down below 200 and smiled to myself as I heard a young woman moan at her boyfriend that they had driven 3 hours to find that all the shops were closed!! Right on sister, I wish I hadn’t bothered as well 🙂

That evening Pat and I dined at Pajoree’s Thai restaurant in Halifax town centre. We were the only customers but the food was outstanding. We chatted with Pajoree the owner. She told us her life story, how she arrived in England with a small suitcase of clothes and worked in a number of low paid jobs until she saved enough to open a restaurant. She now also runs a Thai cookery class. A lovely person and a great cook. We adjourned to the nearby Victorian Craft beer café. This was a fantastic pub which served a fine range of real ales including an Imperial Stout at £15 a pint!!! I stuck to slightly less regal offerings enjoying pints of  Titanic Anchor, Squawk Pavo, Elland Porter and Manchester cuts like a Buffalo! Pat drank still Mango Cider, a Wheat beer and a Cherry beer.

Wednesday 23^rd September

Our niece Jade came to visit today. We all headed out to Withens Clough reservoir, Cragg Vale. This place was a few miles outside Halifax on the moors. It was a damp, dull, day. Exactly the weather you feel appropriate as it helps to emphasise the bleak, forbidding atmosphere of the Yorkshire Moors. The views were beautiful and the walk around the perimeter of the reservoir was really enjoyable.

After our walk we took Jade to Hebdens Bridge. She loved the place as I thought she would. We walked around the small town centre and I showed her the Trades Club. Jade is determined to see a gig there as well. We looked in an Estate agent’s window and were taken with a Houseboat on the canal for sale for£99,000. Believe me, if I had that kind of money I would have bought it on the spot!

We headed back to Halifax via Sowerby Bridge where we dropped Caitlin and Callum off as they were embarking on a train pub crawl betweem Todmorden and Halifax!

We took Jade to see the Piece Hall and we chatted to a young guy working there. He proudly told us about gigs held there and of how magical the place looks when lit up at night. His enthusiasm was infectious and I would love to comeback one day in ‘Rona free times.

Thursday 24^th September

The last day of our holiday. Pat and I had always intended to go to Leeds or York but decided instead to stick with small market towns and so headed for Wetherby. Located North East of Leeds, Wetherby is best known for it’s racecourse. We visited the market which was very small but none the worse for it. We wandered around this small town which had a good number of independent shops and a number of interseting looking pubs. We shopped in a couple of Butchers shop and bought stuff to take home. The shop keepers were frienly and helpful, a coomon theme in Yorkshire. I would like to comeback and spend a night in Wetherby, it really did seem a friendly pace. The main car park in the town was free, how often do you see that?

I asked Pat if it was OK to make a final visit to Todmorden. There was one record shop on my list that I hadn’t visited. Frustratingly, it was no longer a record shop!! The new shop did sell some excellent art but it was not what I was looking for. I strolled around Todmorden flea market hoping to salvage the visit by finding some old prints of Yorkshire towns. Sadly there were no prints on offer but I did chance upon a nice chap selling vinyl records. I could have spent a fortune with him but restrained myself admirably. There was to be no gold at the end of the rainbow, Tres Hombres wasn’t to be found. I did leave with The Tain by Horslips and Son of Morris on which had Pat recoilling in horror when I told her I had bought an album of Morris dancing tunes……………Hey, each to their own comrades. Live and let live.

As we walked back to the car park we came across surely the best named pub in the world

The four of us and the dog went out for dinner to the Causeway foot inn near Ogden Water. The meal was superb as were the pints of Landlord it was washed down with. We stopped off at the Three Pigeons for a farewell visit and I drank a pint of  Rudgate Ruby Mild, one of the best beers I sampled over the whole week.

Halifax doesn’t sound like a go to place to visit however we really enjoyed it. There are some excellent parks, good pubs and the Piece Hall really is magnificent. We never had to drive more than forty five minutes with most journeys considerably shorter. There are a multitude of small market towns and villages close by and some great local walks. Hebden Bridge was truly the Jewel in the crown and I know we will return, hopefully to stay in the town for a couple of nights and see a gig at the Trades Club. Who knows, maybe we I will buy a canal boat and Pat and I will retire to a Bohemian lifestyle in the Bridge!!!

Thank you for your kind indulgence if you made it to the end of this blog. I genuinely hope some of you are inspired to visit this part of Yorkshire as I feel sure you won’t be disappointed.

I managed to get some reading done while away. I started with The only girl – the autobiography of former Rolling Stone writer Robin Green. It wasn’t bad but I was expecting more about the music scene of the early seventies and of life in San Francisco in those heady times. Next up was Low action, the fifth book in the Vinyl Detective series by Andrew Cartmel. I love the Vinyl detective books and the latest volume didn’t disappoint. I finished the week re-reading High Fidelity by Nich Hornby. If you have never read this book, do so, you won’t be disappointed. If you have seen the film but not read the book then hang your head in shame. I know it’s a great film but the book is set in London and is all the better for it!

Back to music for the latest blog. ‘Rona has restricted travelling and any form of social life. Pat and I went for a few beers in the Crown last Saturday for the first time since February, the first time we’ve been anywhere locally since ‘Rona breezed into town. It was great to get back in there and it felt safe and well organised. I had a few beers in Ulverston a couple of weeks ago which was really good but otherwise life outside of work has been spent listening to music and drinking at home. Sounds sad but it’s been great to indulge myself in my lifelong love affair with music (and alcohol!)

I have been watching political developments in the USA with great interest. Biden has a comfortable lead over the Don in polls and seems to me to have picked a great running mate in Kamala Harris. Don will fight dirty though. Biden’s age will be relentlessly riffed upon coupled with his ‘socialist’ agenda. More worryingly, if the rate of Covid infections and related deaths start to plateau and reduce then Don will claim credit. He will argue that doing fuck all was the right strategy all along. The US economy will start to recover and the high levels of unemployment will fall.

The American people will choose who they want as President. Quite rightly, they will ignore the opinions of non-Americans. For the sake of world peace and stability I hope they choose wisely………………….Go Joe!!!

Back to music. This blog celebrates Cover versions. Dictionary.com defines Cover version as: noun. a recording or performance of a song by a singer, instrumentalist, or group other than the original performer or composer.

I have picked some of my favourite cover versions. I have chosen covers that are more than plain copies, rather I think they all add something fresh to the originals. Please check them out, you won’t regret it, believe me.

Man who sold the world – Nirvana. Original by David Bowie

Nirvana covered this David Bowie song on their MTV Unplugged set. History shows that the emotional fragility in Kurt Cobain’s voice was uncomfortably real. Six months after recording this show Kurt Cobain took his own life. Another member of music’s ’27 club’.

Lulu (yes, Lulu) did a great version of this song but the acoustic treatment by Nirvana really works. 

Mack the knife – Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin – original by Kurt Weil

Mack the knife is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera (German: Die Dreigroschenoper). The song has become a popular standard recorded by many artists, including a US and UK number one hit for Bobby Darin in 1959. Robbie Williams covered this great song on his Swing when you’re winning album in 2001. I know someone who thinks Mr Williams’ is the definitive version. Oh how wrong that is. Frank Sinatra absolutely nails it!!! Even though this is a duet with the great Dean Martin it’s all about Frank. You appreciate what a fantastic singer Frank was. The big band swings like a mother and I can’t help but sing along (badly). My Grandma loved Sinatra singing My Way; My Mam loved Frank singing Winchester Cathedral. I share their love of Frank Sinatra but it’s his version of Mack the knife that does it for me.

Are you experienced – Patti Smith – Original by Jimi Hendrix

I’m sure you’ll agree that few people can carry off a Jimi Hendrix cover that comes anywhere near to the original. After all, Hendrix is universally regarded as the best Rock guitarist who ever lived so it is almost impossible to beat the original. Patti Smith succeeds because her cover is about the song NOT the guitar playing. This is a refreshing approach which she pulls off with considerable aplomb. Patti Smith started her artistic life as a poet and her version of Are you experienced celebrates one of Jimi Hendrix’s best lyrics. This track comes from Twelve, an album of covers by Patti Smith. The album was universally panned by critics but this track should convince you to give it a go. Every song does something different to the original and a good few of them succeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdlktMuWeb8

Gin ’n’ juice – The Gourds – Original by Snoop Doggy Dogg

Now we really get going. The Gourds are an American alternative country band that formed in Austin, Texas. The thought of a Country music band covering a Hip Hop classic is totally ridiculous yet by god this works! Hayseed Dixie have made a career out of wacky, offbeat covers but, good as they are, nothing they have recorded comes close to this masterpiece. The Gourds are not even known for cover versions; their own material is great in its own right.

I love Snoop Doggy Dogg, his laid back, laconic drawl hits the spot for me. I can’t condone the decidedly un-PC lyrics but I’m sure Snoop would agree the Gourds nailed it with their version.

Killing me softly – The Fugees – Original by Roberta Flack

Time to go in the opposite direction with a Hip Hop version of a classic song. This was the Fugees breakthrough hit and it showcased the vocal talents of Lauryn Hill. Lauryn Hill seems to be a somewhat troubled hombre. After the Fugees split she recorded the magnificent Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album but since then there has been little output. Renowned for tardiness that shames Axl Rose, La Hill has developed a reputation as a diva to rival Mariah Carey. I prefer to focus on this brilliant version of a beautiful song, completely different to but totally complimentary to Roberta Flack’s original.

Tempted – Richard Thompson – Original by Squeeze

Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook of Squeeze are one of England’s finest song writing duos. Lennon and McCartney and Jagger/Richards roll off the tongue, both duos’s rightfully revered worldwide. Difford and Tilbrook are not far behind in all but renown. Tempted is one of their finest songs. A bittersweet tale of an extra-marital affair that recalls the brilliance of Ray Davies at his best. Richard Thompson recorded his version on his 1000 years of popular music album.  The album was originally conceived after Richard Thompson, along with many other artists, was asked by Playboy magazine to nominate his choice of the best songs of the last 1000 years. He took them exactly at their word and served up a list that included the oldest-known English-language songs, a medieval Italian dance tune and various other folk songs alongside slightly more contemporary fare. Tempted was a great choice and Thompson’s version is different but perfectly complimentary. He manages to beautifully capture the aching emotion of the song suggesting he has been there himself??

Life is Life – Laibach – Original by Opus

Back to the quirky! From Wikipedia:

Laibach (German pronunciation: [ˈlaɪbax]) is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) collective, a group which Laibach helped found in 1984. “Laibach” is the German historical name for the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, itself an oblique reference to the Nazi occupation of Slovenia in World War II.

From the early days, the band was subject to controversies and bans due to their elaborate use of iconography with ambiguously repugnant parodies and pastiches of elements from totalitarianism, nationalism and militarism, a concept they have preserved throughout their career.

Hopefully you got through that! This track is awesome. After the military style trumpet intro the song starts, conjuring dystopian visions of oppressive marching, jackbooted soldiers. The deep, growled vocals are in complete contrast to the original.

Some of you won’t like this at all, some will find it disturbing, even scary. Keep an open mind, it’s only music after all. After Slovenia became independent in 1991, Laibach’s status in the country has turned from rejection to promotion into a national cultural icon, which included performances with the Slovenian symphony orchestra.

I can pay no finer compliment than vowing that this is much, much better than the original.

Working in a coal mine – Devo – Original by Lee Dorsey

Another quirky cover version. Devo hail from Akron, Ohio, a city that spawned a number of excellent bands in the seventies (Chrissie Hynde hails from Akron). The name Devo comes from the concept of “de-evolution” and the band’s related idea that instead of continuing to evolve, mankind has actually begun to regress, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society.

Devo are probably better known for their offbeat cover of the Stones’ Satisfaction however I prefer their version of this Lee Dorsey classic.

Dead Flowers – Townes Van Zandt – Original by the Rolling Stones

Speaking of Stones’ covers this is the daddy!

I love Townes Van Zandt. A troubled genius who never received the mainstream success he so richly deserved. Townes was revered by critics and fellow musicians alike but this recognition never translated into sales. This cover of a Rolling Stones song first appeared on the soundtrack of the Coen brothers magnificent film ‘The Big Lebowski’. Enough praise has been deservedly lavished on the film but I want to celebrate the brilliance of Townes’ version of this song from the Stones Sticky Fingers album. The Stones original is a country music styled rockabilly song. Townes’ acoustic version showcases the depraved, junkie chic lyrics. It’s easy to think that Townes Van Zandt wrote this song himself, surely the marque of a good cover version.

Marie – Willie Nelson – Original by Townes Van Zandt

Townes wrote many sad songs but none more tragic or relevant than this truly heart-breaking story of a doomed love affair between two homeless people. You only need to watch or read the news to appreciate that the devastation wreaked by Covid-19 extends beyond health. World economies are ill-prepared for the impact of widely predicted pandemics. High levels of unemployment will cause a huge increase in homelessness. If you look at England and America, Right wing survival of the fittest thinking is sadly prevalent. How I hate people turning their noses up at and looking the other way from homeless people. How I hate hearing people say that they are actually just scammers who are actually well off and begging to supplement their already comfortable lifestyle. HORSESHIT!!! If you think this is true then shame on you. How many people did you go to school with whose ambition was to be homeless?

Sermon over (for now). Willie Nelson’s version is not as good as Townes’s own but you can tell he shares the sentiment. They actually do a great duet of this song. Please listen to these truly tragic lyrics and appreciate that this is the new normal.

This flight tonight – Nazareth – Original by Joni Mitchell

This is a cover version that shouldn’t work. A Glaswegian hard rock band fronted by a gravel voiced singer covering a song from Joni Mitchell’s classic album Blue. Blue is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Exploring the various facets of relationships from infatuation on “A Case of You” to insecurity on “This Flight Tonight“, the songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer. Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time; the way Mitchell’s songwriting, compositions and voice all work together are frequent areas of praise. 

Amazingly Nazareth’s version really works. The chugging riff from Manny Charlton allows Dan McAfferty  to give one of his finest vocal performances. Nazareth also do a great cover of Leon Russell’s Alcatraz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRNhdzX-nnM

Joan of Arc – Jennifer Warnes – Original by Leonard Cohen

Jennifer Warnes was a backing singer, vocal arranger and guest vocalist on Leonard Cohen albums and tours from the early seventies through the nineties and up to his Old Ways album in 2012. In 1987 she recorded an album of Leonard Cohen covers, Famous Blue Raincoat. This version of Joan of Arc comes from that album and is a duet with Cohen himself. Jennifer Warnes is best known for her duet with Joe Cocker on Up where we belong from the soundtrack of Officer and a Gentleman but, for me, this duet is much better. A sad song that somehow manages to uplift the soul.

All along the watchtower – Jimi Hendrix – Original by Bob Dylan

This is the most faithful to the original cover version I have chosen. Hendrix and Dylan both possess voices that can be described as acquired tastes. What sets this version apart is unsurprisingly Hendrix’s guitar playing. There is no point in me trying to describe Jimi’s brilliance; it speaks for itself n’est-ce pas?

Slave driver – Songs of our native daughters – Original by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Bob Marley is surely one of the most difficult artists to cover. His distinctive voice and the Wailers sympathetic backing are surely one of the world’s most distinctive combinations. Songs of our native daughters are kindred banjo players Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. Together they confront sanitized views about America’s history of slavery, racism, and misogyny from a powerful, black female perspective. The Banjo’s they play are of the traditional African American design which sound much less trebly than the type heard on the Deliverance soundtrack

This cover injects Marley’s original with equal emotion from a different perspective. Very powerful.

Pocahontas – Gillian Welch – Original by Neil Young

Another song that paints American history in an unfavourable light. This could apply equally to many so called developed nations including Great Britain. The story of Pocahontas has been somewhat sanitised by the Disney cartoon of the same name. The truth is inevitably darker as is described on this great song by Neil Young. Gillian Welch does a fantastic version of this classic song. Please preserve with this video clip as Gillian and her partner David Rawlins arse about for two minutes before getting started. Believe me it’s worth the wait. Gillian’s version is better than the original.

After the gold rush – Prelude –Original by Neil Young

Another Neil Young cover, this version by Prelude was the first version I heard of this brilliant song. The song appears to have a strong environmentalist theme on first listen but the song takes listeners from mediaeval times through to a vision of the future in three verses.Many artists have covered this great song including Thom Yorke, Allison Krauss, Patti Smith and Dolly Parton. The USP of the Prelude version is that it is sung acapella. The video clip below shows the band performing After the Gold rush in 2017. They first released their cover in 1973.

The Singer – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Original by Johnny Cash

This track is taken from Nick Cave’s covers album Kicking against the pricks. One measure of a good cover version is when the performer truly makes the song their own. Nick Cave manages this with aplomb on the Singer. This song is perfectly suited to Caves’s deep sonorous voice. It was only fairly recently that I heard Johnny Cash’ original version and great though it is I think Nick Cave nailed it with his.

I started with a cover of a David Bowie song and finish with one by his old friend Lou Reed. Sweet Jane first appeared on the Velvet Underground’s Loaded album. It has since featured on several Velvet Underground live albums and also on Reed’s own Rock’n’Roll Animal album. Mott the Hoople recorded a great cover version on their All the young dudes album (another Bowie connection). The song remained a staple of Lou Reed live sets throughout his career.

My chosen cover version is by Canadian band Cowboy Junkies (great name n’est-ce pas?). This version hails from The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies, released in 1988. The music was recorded inside Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity on November 27, 1987, with the band circled around a single microphone. This a truly great album that is well worth checking out. Margo Timmins vocals on this chilled out version are spine tingling. A great way to finish.

I hope my choices inspire you to give them a listen and to compile a list of your own favourite cover versions. As I finish typing I’m conscious that there are no Beatles or Chuck Berry covers and there are many brilliant ones to choose from. I’m already slightly regretting not including Johnny Winters incendiary version of Mick and Keef’s Jumping Jack Flash. I’m sure as I hit the publish button I’ll be horrified by the classics I have forgotten to include. I really enjoyed writing this blog although I’m conscious that I am avoiding writing about my favourite albums of all time. The mere thought of compiling a list fills me with dread and I know that it will only be valid for the time it takes to type it. Since about a month after ‘Rona kicked in I have logged every album I have listened to. I hit the 200 mark last night (Ice cream for Crow by Captain Beefheart). Not all of them can make my top 20 so boiling it down will be torture!

September sees another visit to my beloved Liverpool and a week in West Yorkshire when I plan to visit Hebden Bridge at long last. Hopefully I will amass enough stories and experiences for another travel blog thus putting off writing that ‘my favourite albums’ blog a little longer.

I wrote this blog drinking Jubilee Stout from Kirkby Lonsdale brewery. Great beer at a commendable 5.5%abv.

Since the last time I blogged I have returned to work. I’m going in three days a week. I’d actually prefer to be in five days but feel I need to show some solidarity with my comrades who are still stuck working from home.

Working from home has taken its toll on my mental health. Working from home is a misnomer. It should be called working from house because it feels that your home is no longer a home. Work invades your privacy, lets people into your house you don’t want in there, restricts your freedom, makes you feel guilty for going to the toilet and missing a phone call. I hate wearing a headset and talking to a laptop screen. I hate trying to discern how people feel by the tone of their voice.

Going back to the office has let me reconnect with colleagues who I now realise are actually friends rather than workmates. Being able to talk shit with people when you are making a coffee is a fantastic feeling. Bidding people good morning or good night is heartfelt. Work feels liberating rather than suffocating.

The return of Premier league football has been something of a damp squib. Empty grounds feel weird. I watch games with the fake crowd sounds to try and get some sense of normality. The scum claiming to be Premier league winners feels inappropriate in this time of dying. Ha, it feels good to live up to the Bitter Blue hashtag. Hopefully next season we will rise again. Try and watch Howard’s way. An excellent documentary about Howard Kendall’s first tenure as Everton manager and the glory years of the eighties. Scummers, I will never forgive you for Heysel. I wept watching the Hillsborough tragedy unfold and still do when remembering that dark day but the Italian families who lost loved ones at Heysel should not be forgotten.

Similarly, watching the England v West Indies cricket feels weird. In truth, it’s not much different from a dull Tuesday at a County championship game but in normal times, the grounds would be full and the sight and sound of joyous West Indies fans intermingling with their English counterparts would melt the coldest heart.

The point of this blog is the gradual re-opening of England and our gradual re-entry. We had a trip out to Bromborough on the Wirral in early June to pick up a new CD player (Marantz CD6006, excellent!). As we were only ten minutes away, we visited Cheshire Oaks outlet mall after picking up my new HiFi addition. About 75% of the shops were open but the place was eerily quiet. Parking was easy rather than the usual nightmare. All the shops were really well organised and it felt safe. On the way back to Walney we stopped off in Lancaster. It was supposed to be market day but it hadn’t re-opened. The town centre was like a scene from a Zombie apocalypse movie. I don’t want to dwell on it but it was depressing and even slightly scary. Since then we drove through a depressingly empty Bowness on a sunny day, visited Kendal where I found a great record shop I have never been to before and found a garden centre in Foxfield where we bought a fantastic Bay tree.

Last Sunday we took our first overnight road trip. Predictably the destination was Liverpool, my favourite place on God’s great earth. Caitlin and Callum came with us which was really good. After parking close to our hotel on Vernon street we walked into the city centre passing the statue of Eleanor Rigby which feels particularly poignant in these troubled times.

I had only one thing on my mind, a visit to Dig Vinyl upstairs in Resurrection on Bold Street. On arrival I was greeted by a sign that advised that the maximum number of people allowed in was four. I patiently waited outside until I could comply. I immersed myself in the sacred art of vinyl foraging. When I raised my head I found that there were at least ten people in there, most of whom were maskless Mensa dodgers! I pointed this out to the one cell module working there who said they had stopped anyone else coming in……………..Too late Bro!!!

It could only be my first post ‘Rona pub visit after that! Callum and I headed for The Richard John Blackler, the ‘Spoons by St Johns precinct as The Globe is still closed. My god did that first pint taste good!!!

Our friends Karyn and Graeme and their son Sam joined us in there and I enjoyed a great afternoon catching up after too long. The Wetherspoons app makes ordering drinks easy…………too easy maybe!!

After a power nap and a shower it was time to sample post- Covid Liverpool on a Sunday night. My favourite pub Ye Cracke is still closed as are Peter Kavanagh’s and the Fly in the Loaf. We started in the Vernon Arms on Dale street. A great pub even if it is a scummer haunt

We then Uber’d to Crazy Pedro’s in the Ropewalks area. A favourite of Caitlin and Callum, who rhapsodised to us about the Pizzas at the Manchester branch. We got a seat outdoors on the upstairs terrace which was great. The Pizzas were superb as were the cocktails. Despite being double the age of some punters and treble the age of others, I really enjoyed it and will return

We walked through the Ropewalks neighbourhood back towards Bold street and went for a pint in the Newington Temple. Although this pub is another scummer palace, I love the relaxed psychedelic vibe. The fact that they now sell real ale is a bonus.

After that Pat and I bowed to the inevitable and left the Ropewalks to the younger crowd. We returned to Dale street hoping to check out The Excelsior. Unfortunately it closed at 9.30 pm as had the nearby Crown and Mitre. ‘Rona wasn’t going to defeat us so thankfully the Rose and Crown on Cheapside was open. Our first time in this friendly local but hopefully not our last.

So, a night in Liverpool is definitely different. It still feels good and it definitely feels safe. We went on a Sunday which is always quieter than Friday and Saturday but the way pubs have organised there selves to fall in line with social distancing rules is reassuring.

On Monday morning we walked into town and had breakfast at the Welkin before heading to Everton 2, Liverpool 1 to stock up on face masks ready for new rules coming in to play from 24^th July. On the way back to the hotel I stopped in at the bank. Who’d have thought that banks would welcome people wearing masks!!!

As I was writing this blog I learned of the passing of Peter Green. Peter was the founder of Fleetwood Mac. He was playing in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers but decided to quit and form his own band taking drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie with him. Peter Green was a fantastic guitarist. BB King said of Green  “He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”

Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970. He was suffering from Schizophrenia possibly brought on by excessive consumption of LSD. Although he returned in the late 90’s with Peter Green’s Splinter group he never recaptured the highs of his time in Fleetwood Mac.

RIP Peter Green

In a recent blog I wrote about my favourite song lyrics. In the same piece I railed against people describing the singer as ‘having a good voice’. I find this to be the most fatuous of comments. Much better would be ‘I think he/she is a good singer’. Even ‘I like his/her voice’, though not perfect, would be better. Describing someone as ‘having a good voice’ is actually an attempt at retaining credibility when trying to shield the fact that you like a potentially embarrassing song.

Hey, don’t worry about it. I think I have great musical taste but I am still proud to admit that I love Edelweiss and The lonely goat herd from the Sound of music, I love Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth and Ride on time by Black Box.

I feel that the lyric blog leaves unfinished business so therefore I feel the need to share my favourite singers. I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now so it’s time I got off the pot and shared my taste in vocalists. I will try my best not to bow to political correctness and pick equal numbers of male/female or black/white vocalists. I’ll just write about my favourites. The artists below are listed in no particular order;

Tom Waits

As you will no doubt notice as you read this blog, many of my favourite singers possess voices that are politely described as ‘an acquired taste’. Tom Waits growls rather than sings at times. I’ve loved Tom’s voice since I first heard him. What does it for me is the pathos that he manages to endow his lyrics with when he sings. Checkout ‘Eggs and Sausage’ from the Nighthawks at the Diner album. Close your eyes and you’re sat on a barstool close to Tom finishing the night with a coffee and something greasy in the vain hope of heading off a hangover at the pass. Try ‘Tango ‘til they’re sore from Rain Dogs. Tom transports me to the late night bar where I sit watching the action with him and the other barflies. ‘Jersey girls’ is probably better known from the version by Bruce Springsteen. Good as Bruce’s version is, it pales into insignificance next to Tom’s original. The emotion oozes from the grooves when you play Tom Wait’s version of this great song. The video below is of ‘Downtown Train’ from the Rain Dogs album. The pathos and emotion that Tom wrings from the line ‘all my tears they fall like rain’ is truly breath-taking. Judge for yourself.

Mick Jagger

My late Father-n law Jack hated Mick Jagger with a passion. When pressed on why, he said that Mick was the first of the ‘shouters’. In Jack’s opinion, Mick Jagger signalled the end of the era of great singers and ushered in a generation of talentless oafs who could only shout (Jack’s heroes were Matt Munro and Mario Lanza). I beg to differ. Mick has one of the more distinctive voices in music. I love the fact that he can sing in a variety of different accents but still sound like Mick Jagger. He is equally comfortable as a London boy or a New York scenester. I imagine he effortlessly adopts an Australian twang when singing over there. Mick is also a great frontman. When you see the Stones it’s hard to take your eyes away from Mick, he lives every song. To appreciate what I mean you have to consider the fact that he shares a stage with one of the most iconic rock stars of all time in Keith Richards. Mick and the Stones are approaching their 60^th anniversary and he still sounds fantastic.

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin is a member of Rock music’s 27 club. A tragically short life, one marred by the difficult time that she suffered at school in Port Arthur, Texas. Janis said that she was ostracized and bullied in high school. As a teen, she became overweight and suffered from acne, leaving her with deep scars that required dermabrasion. Other kids at high school would routinely taunt her and call her names like “pig,” “freak,” or “creep.” She stated, “I was a misfit. I read, I painted, I thought. I didn’t hate Black people. When asked on the Dick Cavett show in 1970 if she had been popular in school, she admitted that when in high school, her schoolmates “laughed me out of class, out of town and out of the state” (during the year she had spent at the University of Texas at Austin, Joplin had been voted “Ugliest Man on Campus” by frat boys).

Janis left Texas in 1963 and headed for San Francisco. Over the next two years she tried to build a career as a singer but developed a drug habit and friends clubbed together to buy her a bus ticket back to Port Arthur. After a couple of years back home in Texas where she cleaned up, went to college in Beaumont and sang in bars in Austin. Janis was tempted back to San Francisco when she was offered the role as singer with Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Janis Joplin was a fantastic singer. She could sound, raunchy, vulnerable, tender……..whatever the song called for. She was a fantastic live performer who commanded the stage. We’ll never know what direction her career would have taken had she lived.

My favourite Janis performance is her version of Piece of my heart. When Janis sings ‘Didn’t I make you feel that you were they only man’ I want to shout yes, yes you did at the top of my voice. Her version of Summertime is breath-taking as is her version of Me and Bobby McGee.

Janis had her last drink in Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood before returning to the Landmark Motor Hotel where she took a fatal overdose. RIP Janis, if only you knew how much you were loved.

Alex Harvey

Alex Harvey sang in a Glasgow accent. So did Dan McCafferty and Maggie Bell but Alex was first. The Proclaimers from Leith came later. They may have become famous through singing in a Scottish brogue but Alex was there first. He was a professional singer since the late 50’s but it was through his work fronting The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in the 70’s that I first became aware of him.

Next was my first SAHB album but I soon bought its predecessor Framed and successor The Impossible Dream. From then on I bought each new album as soon as it was released.

I loved (still do) Alex’s black and white hooped shirt and his Levi jeans as seen on the cover of Next. I’ve read that SAHB were one of, if not the, best live acts of the seventies. There are so many highlights for me. The Boston Tea party, Tomorrow belongs to me, Next and the sublime Give my compliments to the chef. The song I choose to highlight his genius is a cover.

Alex’s version of Delilah beats Tom Jones into the dirt. I love Tom’s version but Alex wins. Judge for yourselves:

Rhiannon Giddens

I first came across Rhiannon Giddens when I heard of a band called the Carolina Chocolate Drops. They won a 2012 Grammy for best Traditional Folk album. I bought said album ‘Genuine Negro Jig’ and loved it. Rhiannon subsequently went solo and Pat and I saw her at the Old Fruit market in Glasgow in 2016. At that show she told us that she had been reading books about slavery and, as an African American, how sickened she’d been about the stories she had read.

I was profoundly affected by the stories that Rhiannon told and was moved to read about slavery myself. To say I was appalled was an understatement. The way African people were treat by white people is sickening. If you ever feel even slightly aligned to right wing viewpoints on race you should be profoundly ashamed.

If you wonder why Black lives matter then listen to Rhiannon explain what led her to write the song ‘At the purchasers option’.

If you liked this performance then check out Songs of our Native Daughters. This is an  Americana/folk album by four African American singer-songwriters collaborating as Our Native Daughters. The group includes Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. The album was released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in early 2019.

It’s also worth watching Rhiannon sing this old folk song

Bob Dylan

Bob’s voice is most definitely an acquired taste. Seldom, if ever, would you find him topping a Best vocalist poll. For me it’s the whole package; the distinctive voice, sublime phrasing and unsurpassable lyrics. As I type I am listening to Bob’s new album Rough and rowdy ways, his first album of original material in eight years. I’m delighted to report that it is fantastic. Bob sounds older (he turns 80 this year), croakier but the phrasing is still impeccable and the passion still burns brightly. I must admit to wavering before finally adding Bob. The reason for this is that I really don’t rate his live albums too much. After going back and listening to Hard Rain I realised that it’s not his voice that’s the problem on live albums, rather it’s what I consider sloppy versions of awesome songs. I love Bob singing Mr. Tambourine Man, Times they are a changin’, A hard rain’s gonna fall , Quinn the Eskimo, Like a rollin’ stone, Tangled up in Blue, Shelter from the storm, Lay Lady Lay, Carribean wind, Baby stop crying, Duquesne whistle…………………I could type for the next half hour without pausing. I also love Bob’s contribution to USA for Africa’s We are the world (The American Live Aid). I will put on Blood on the tracks tonight, drink a beer or two and submerge myself in the genius of Bob Dylan.

Robert Plant

I saw Led Zeppelin in 1979………………..I’ll start again. I SAW LED ZEPPELIN!!!. Since then I’ve seen Robert Plant solo and with the Band of Joy (sublime) I saw Page & Plant on the Un-ledded and Walking into Clarkesdale tours. I honestly believe there is no better front man. He strides the stage like a leonine Greek God. They say that Robert Plant is the centre of attention in any room he walks in………….unless Jimmy Page is there!

I love the way that he has adapted his music to the way his voice has changed with age. When you listen to the higher pitched strident voice that defines the early Led Zep albums and compare and contrast with his later work with the Band of Joy or the Sensational space shifters you can sense that he is comfortable in his own skin and relaxed about the inevitability of ageing. He doesn’t try to fight it, just goes with the flow.

The music Led Zeppelin made over the 12 years they were together is absolutely magnificent, flawless and Robert Plant made some unforgettable contributions. Highlights for me are Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon song, Since I’ve been lovin’ you, The Immigrant song, Gallows pole, Black Dog, Going to California, Stairway to Heaven, The song remains the same, Kashmir, the Houses of the Holy……………like with Dylan, I could type for ages. His solo career is equally impressive Big Log, Heaven knows, Tall cool one are superb and the covers of Satan your kingdom must come down and Monkey from the Band of Joy album are sublime.

The song I have picked is a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren. A beautiful song that Robert makes his own. Tim may have wrote it but ‘Percy’ nailed it. Check it out……………please!

Bob Marley

I like Reggae music, always have. I love The Israelites by Desmond Dekker, Dat by Pluto Shervington, Bad Boys by Inner Circle, Girlie Girlie by Sophia George, hell; I’ll even be honest and confess to loving Uptown top ranking by Althia and Donna. Towering above all though is Bob Marley. Bob brought Reggae to the attention of the world. A proud Rastafarian, he unashamedly promoted the benefits of Ganja and was responsible for the acceptance and love of dreadlocks as a hairstyle!

I love the way that Bob is equally good at singing protest songs or love songs. I love Slave Driver from Catch a Fire, No Woman no cry or Waiting in Vain. Bob’s voice is so compelling, so relaxing, so convincing. It’s no wonder that he became recognised all over the world.

Bob Marley promoted racial harmony but called for recognition of the brutal way that black people have been treated through history. He believed that by recognising the sins of the past then the world could move forward under the banner of love and respect (and a fat spliff!).

If you don’t like or are uncomfortable with the political angle don’t worry, just check out one of the best and most recognisable voices in music. His love songs rival those of anyone.

RIP Bob. You succeeded in bringing many black and white people together through your music. Thanks to you, many people carry the torch for integration not segregation.

Maddy Prior

I’m proud to declare that I love English Folk music. It is surely the most derided of musical genres.

It teaches the history of Albion better than any text book. We should cherish and celebrate the magnificent musicians and singers that preserve the heritage of our country. I envy the Scottish and Irish attitude to their indigenous music where it is a source of pride rather than one of disdain.

England has produced some fantastic traditional singers. I could have picked June Tabor, Shirley Collins, Norma Waterson (or any other member of the Waterson dynasty), Martin Carthy, Richard or Linda Thompson, Rachel or Becky Unthank. I have chosen Maddy Prior, the singer with Steelye Span. She began her career in 1967 and joined Steelye Span in 1969. Maddy has also recorded solo albums and fronted her own Carnival band. There have been a couple of albums made with June Tabor under the banner of the Silly Sisters. Sadly many people only know Maddy because of All around my hat. A good song but not one of Steelye Spans finest. I have picked their version of ‘The Blackleg Miner’. This brutal, North Eastern tale showcases Maddy’s ability to use her softer tones to deliver such a powerful message. It’s also worth checking out the slap bass playing in the clip. Kajagoogoo my arse!!!!!

Dr John

Mac Rebennack was born in New Orleans 3^rd ward in 1941. His father ran an appliance shop in the East End of New Orleans, fixing radios and televisions and selling records. Rebennack senior exposed his son to jazz musicians King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, who later inspired his 2014 release, Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch.

Rebennack was originally a guitarist who at age 13 came under the wing of New Orleans legend Professor Longhair. Rebennack’s career as a guitarist was stunted around 1960 when the ring finger on his left (guitar fretting) hand was injured by a gunshot during an incident at a Jacksonville, Florida gig. This incident forced Mac into learning Piano.

Rebennack became involved in illegal activities in New Orleans, using and selling narcotics and running a brothel. He was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to two years in the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth. When his sentence ended in 1965, however, a campaign was underway to clean up New Orleans by closing its clubs, which meant that he and his fellow musicians found work hard to get, so he left for Los Angeles. As a young man Rebennack was interested in New Orleans voodoo, and in Los Angeles he developed the idea of the Dr. John persona for his old friend Ronnie Barron, based on the life of Dr. John, a Senegalese prince, conjure man, herb doctor and spiritual healer who came to New Orleans from Haiti. This free man of colour lived on Bayou Road and claimed to have 15 wives and over 50 children. He kept an assortment of snakes and lizards, along with embalmed scorpions and animal and human skulls, and sold gris-gris, voodoo amulets which supposedly protect the wearer from harm.

He never looked back recording a string of excellent albums adopting the persona of “Dr. John, The Night Tripper”. Dr. John’s act combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and elaborate stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress.

He was heavily involved in the Voodoo religion all of his life. It is well worth checking out his excellent autobiography ‘Under a Hoodoo Moon’

Dr. John loved the City of New Orleans, it’s people and music. He loved music that possessed ‘Da Fonk’ as he called it. He recorded many New Orleans standards over the years including a great version of Professor Longhair’s ‘Tipitina’. The video clip below features him playing another New Orleans classic ‘Iko Iko’ at Montreaux in 1995. If you can, check out his duet with Rickie Lee Jones on ‘Makin’ Whoopee’. I also cherish his contribution to the version of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ recorded for Children in Need in 1997. The way he sings ‘Such a poifect day’ in his New Orleans drawl sends shivers down my spine.

Another acquired taste as a singer but one who is richly rewarding to those seekers  who wish to understand the magic and mystery of New Orleans, the adult Disneyland!

Mac died in 2019, RIP Doctor John may you forever be the Night Tripper.

I’ll stop at 10. I’m conscious that I have missed off Frank Sinatra. His versions of Moon River and Mack the Knife are two of my favourite tunes. I could have easily included Phil Lynott. I am embarrassed that Mary Gauthier never made the list as her soft Louisiana drawl perfectly compliments Dr John’s New Awlins growl. No place for Willie Nelson and Gillian Welch, two more of my favourites. I considered Rod Stewart at length. His work with the Faces and early solo stuff is faultless. In the end I will never forgive him for murdering Tom Waits’ Downtown Train and Tom Traubert’s blues. I wanted to include Snoop Doggy Dogg as I love his laid back rapping.

If I compiled this list next week I’ve no doubt it would change slightly depending on what I’ve been listening to.

Compile your own list. Hopefully you will not include anyone who ‘has a good voice’. Save them for your ‘Top 10 crap songs I like’ list!!!

I went into work for the first time in 3 months on Friday. No-one asked how I was, just riffed about my barnet!!

I have feelings folks!!!

Well comrades, today we were due to fly to Los Angeles. We were looking forward to seeing our Niece Steph in LA so much. We haven’t seen her since the 30^th December 2019 when we had a great pub crawl in Liverpool.

I couldn’t wait to have a few beers in the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset. Zeppelin used to hang out there and it was Lemmy’s local. ‘Nuff said?

I also was going to spend a night in the Troubadour. This legendary LA venue hosted the first Elton John shows in the USA. That means little to me compared to the fact that The Troubadour launched the careers of Jackson Browne, The Byrds, the Eagles, Carole King, Love, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linda Ronstadt, J.D. Souther, James Taylor, Tom Waits, amongst others. Hell, John Lennon and Harry Nilsson were thrown out for heckling. I just know that I will love standing on the shoulders of giants in this venue. Steph has been there and loves it.

I had found a guy who offers walking tours of Laurel Canyon that sounded so cool. Beautiful scenery plus commentary on where Joni Mitchell, The Eagles, Guns and Roses, Neil Young and many other musical giants had lived.

We were also looking forward to Dearly Departed tours’ Charles Manson themed day. I blogged about a book I recently read about the Manson murders called ‘Chaos’. Although the book was disturbing in many ways I looked forward to visiting sites that currently only exist in my imagination.

I was looking forward to going to Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood. This bar was a regular haunt of Led Zeppelin, barred Jim Morrison for pissing at the bar and was where Janis Joplin took her last drink before shuffling off this mortal coil. I also wanted to eat at Musso and Frank’s Grill in Hollywood. Many Hollywood legends have hung out at this place but the attraction for me is that it is mentioned in a roundabout way in a Gillian Welch song.

No trip to LA would be complete without a visit to Venice Beach. We also fancied the Griffiths observatory and the La Brea tar pits. Do you see what we had to give up comrades??? Fuck you ‘Rona.

Are you with me on this people? On the 17^th June we were due to fly to Austin, Texas. Is there a better state capitol? I for one think not. Pat and I have been to Austin many times but the last time was 1999. Too long brothers and sisters.

Much as we love the city this part of our trip was all about seeing friends.  Over the past few years we have hung out with Phil in Montreal, Memphis, Nashville as well as Barrow and Ulverston. I was looking forward to Phil and Jenna taking us to their favourite bars. Phil is to good bars what Michelin is to restaurants!!

We have met Mark and Jeannie in Las Vegas and London so seeing them and their kids Larson and Liv on their home turf was another major draw. I’m sure we would have checked out a decent gig and ate some good Tex Mex.

Next year comrades!!!

San Antonio next and a chance to re-visit the Alamo. One of my favourite films when I was a young kid. There is a monument outside the Alamo that tells the story of the final battle. It moved me to tears. The night before the final Battle William B. Travis drew a line in the sand and asked those willing to die for the Texan cause to cross and stand alongside him. A bedridden Bowie requested that Crockett and several others carry his cot over the line. Only one man left and it was because of him that the story of what happened was told.

To sate my musical thirst, Ozzy Osbourne was once arrested for pissing on the Alamo wall. He was wearing Sharon’s dress at the time!

We were due to stay at the historic Menger hotel. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders in the Menger Bar. In the early 1900’s Carrie Nation, a Temperance crusader took her axe and laid waste to the bar! The Menger is also reputedly one of the most haunted places in the USA.

Our last night in Texas was going to be spent in Fredericksburg A first for us but a place that Phil scouted and declared to contain some good bars and Wineries……..’nuff said!

Back to Cali and a first visit to Palm Springs. This city in the Coachella Valley became a favourite haunt of Hollywood movie stars. Legends such as  Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., George Hamilton, Bob Hope, Albert Einstein Bing Crosby, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, and Jack Benny had homes there. Several ladies were frequent visitors including Marilyn Monroe, Dinah Shore, Kitty Carlisle, Lily Tomlin, Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Sommers. Even though the Golden age is long gone, many A listers still buy places in Palm Springs.

The attraction for me though was a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway – the world’s largest rotating tram car-travels over two-and-one-half miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park.

I saw this on a travel programme and promised myself a visit……Doh!

The Joshua Tree National park was our next destination. I love these iconic trees and was really looking forward to spending time walking and relaxing.

The Joshua Tree also has a notorious musical connection. Former Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers member Gram Parsons died there. The death of Gram Parsons occurred on September 18, 1973, in room eight of the Joshua Tree Inn, near Joshua Tree National Park. Encouraged by his road manager Phil Kaufman, Parsons visited the park after completing his latest recording sessions. Earlier, he had confessed to Kaufman his wish to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the park in case he died.

Parsons traveled to Joshua Tree with his high school girlfriend, his assistant Michael Martin and Martin’s girlfriend. Parsons spent time in the desert during the day and at local bars at night, consuming barbiturates and alcohol every day. On September 18, after injecting himself with morphine, Parsons overdosed. On September 19, he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Following Parsons’ death and in order to fulfill his desires, Kaufman and Martin arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in Martin’s personal Cadillac Hearse impersonating mortuary workers. Under the impression that the pair had been hired by the Parsons family, Western Airlines released the body to them. They then took it to Joshua Tree and set it on fire. The burning casket was reported by campers to the local authorities, who investigated the incident and identified both perpetrators.

Parsons’ body was partially cremated. His charred remains were recovered and returned to his family. Meanwhile, Kaufman and Martin were accused of grand theft and fined for burning the casket, while they also had to pay for Parsons’ funeral. Parsons’ remains were later buried in New Orleans.

Music trivia buffs will note that three years earlier Jimi Hendrix also checked out on September 18^th 1970.

You can book to stay in room 8 of the Joshua Tree hotel. Joshua Tree residents apparently hate people asking about Parsons but, hey, the guy was a great musician! Towards the end of his too short life Gram made a couple of great solo albums GP and Grievous Angel and also hung out with the Stones when they recorded Exile on Main Street. Respect Brother Gram, RIP.

For our final day in the Joshua Tree National park I had booked a visit to the Integraton for a sound bath!!! I’ll let them describe this:

The Integratron’s Signature Experience. This is an unforgettable sound experience for those who seek deep relaxation, rejuvenation, and introspection. All Sound Baths are 60-minute sonic healing sessions that consist of:

a brief introduction to the Integratron and its history and sound qualities,

30 minutes of 20 quartz crystal singing bowls played live, and

the balance of the hour to integrate the sound and relax in the sound chamber to ambient music. You will be resting comfortably in the deeply resonant, multi-wave sound chamber while a sequence of quartz crystal singing bowls are played.  Each bowl is keyed to the energy centers or chakras of the body, where sound is nutrition for the nervous system. The results are waves of peace, heightened awareness, and relaxation of the mind and body

Does this not sound awesome Brothers and Sisters?

I intended to have the full Vegan experience……………perhaps just eat some Mushrooms!!!

I had booked a stay at the Pioneer town Motel for our last night.

This place looks awesome. It was built for cowboy-movie legend Roy Rogers in 1946 to accommodate stars filming on the adjacent set, and rooms have a wild west feel, with rustic furniture, bright textiles and porch.

Next door to the motel is Pappy and Harriet’s, a restaurant and bar, that is also a 350-capacity music venue that Paul McCartney, Robert Plant and Arctic Monkeys have used for warm-up gigs and secret shows.

Steph has been and rates this place, an awesome end to an awesome trip don’t you agree comrades??

I feel sad as I type but we are determined to bounce back and re-book this trip in 2021.

The world will get through this crisis. We will meet many rocks in the road but they can be bypassed.

We all need to keep on keeping on. We can’t change, the past nor the present but we can change the future. Hopefully the world will become a better place but regardless, we can become better people.

If you want to understand the Black lives matter movement then listen to Songs of our native daughters.

Keep safe friends, I hope you and your families are well. I can’t wait to see y’all on the other side of this.

Fuck you ‘Rona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you stopped to think what floats your musical boat? Some people like a good tune, others appreciate top class musicianship. There are those who love to dance so anything with a good beat can put a smile on their face. Many people like the Singer. I hate it when a singer is described as having a good voice……………what’s that about???…………….When I hear that phrase it sets my teeth on edge! it is generally used when someone is admitting to enjoying banal, middle of the road pap justifying their lamentable taste by saying he/she’s got a good voice. All professional singers are because they can. Therefore, what people should say is I think he/she is a good singer…………..much better n’est-ce pas? You can then follow it up by apologising for your appalling taste!

I love all of the above things about music (although I can’t dance!) but I do have a particular love for a good lyric. How would I define a good lyric? For me a good lyric involves me emotionally, draws me into the song and makes me think about the words as I listen. The songs I learn to play on guitar invariably have lyrics I like. I suppose this distracts me from the tuneless whines and croaks that are my singing voice.

Below is a selection of my favourite lyrics. I hope you check out the songs. Do you have favourites? If so, please share them. I promise I’ll check them out.

The Band played Waltzing Matilda

Today is the 75^th anniversary of VE day. Victory in Europe, the defeat of Nazi Germany, the end of the Second World War. It feels hollow to me as the world is currently fighting Covid-19, an invisible enemy. A foe that renders today’s high tech weaponry impotent. I’m also suffering war fatigue. Two Gulf wars, Afghanistan and Syria make me yearn for a decade or two of peace.

The Band played Waltzing Matilda was written by Eric Bogle a Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter. The song tells the story of a young Australian who is conscripted and sent to fight in the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War.  This was a brutal campaign in Modern Turkey where there were 250,000 casualties on both sides. Bogle’s song is harrowing and seeks to show the harsh reality of a war that killed forty million people. That’s not a misprint, forty million people died in four years.

As many countries are holding VE day celebrations today the last verse of The Band played waltzing Matilda is particularly poignant.

So now every April I sit on my porch

And I watch the parade pass before me.

And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march

Reliving their dreams and past glory,

I see the old men all tired, stiff and sore

Those forgotten heroes from a forgotten war

And the young people ask “What are they marching for?”

And I ask myself the same question.

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda,

And the old men still answer the call,

But year after year, the numbers get fewer

Someday, no one will march there at all.

I first heard the song performed by The Pogues on their Rum, Sodomy and the lash album. It is the Pogues version in the link below. Please give this song a listen and reflect on the horror of war rather than the glory.

Goddamn HIV – Mary Gauthier

As the world struggles with the Covid-19 it is worth reflecting on a virus that was first clinically observed in the United States in 1981 (hey Don, no-one called it the American disease!). HIV became better known as AIDS and seemed to mainly attack gay men and IV drug users. The virus quickly became known as the gay disease and increased the hatred and mistrust of the gay community. Many Christian fundamentalists saw AIDS as God taking retribution against the sins of Gay people and drug addicts. As with Covid-19, many conspiracy theories flourished claiming that AIDS was a man-made virus specifically developed to attack ‘undesirable’ elements of society.

In April 1987, Princess Diana opened the UK’s first purpose built HIV/Aids unit that exclusively cared for patients infected with the virus, at London Middlesex Hospital.

In front of the world’s media, Princess Diana shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness.

She did so without gloves, publicly challenging the notion that HIV/Aids was passed from person to person by touch.

She showed in a single gesture that this was a condition needing compassion and understanding, not fear and ignorance.

Eventually AIDS affected the heterosexual population and unsafe rather than ‘unnatural’ sex became the enemy.

Thankfully today HIV can be successfully treated therefore need not be seen as a death sentence.

Mary Gauthier wrote this song from a young man’s perspective. It is incredibly moving as it describes how it must have felt to be a Gay man as the AIDS virus took hold. I feel I need to share the lyrics in full as I feel it would be inappropriate to share snippets:

My name is Michael Joe Alexandre

I’ve been a queer since the day I was born

My family, they don’t say much to me

My heart knows their silence has scorn

My friends have been dying, all my best friends are dead

I walk around these days, with their picture in my head

Spending my time thinking ’bout some things they said

And I don’t know what’s happening to me, goddamn HIV

And I don’t know what all of this means

I don’t think it means what it seems

We used to party all night ’til the dawn

I can still see the boys with their tight leather on

In the downtown bars, where it always is night

I can hang with my friends and feel alright

I was 30 years old when the sickness first came

And it rode through my world like a wind-driven flame

Leaving ashes, memories, funerals, and pain

And I don’t know what’s happening to me, goddamn HIV

And I don’t know what all this means

I don’t think it means what it seems

When I was a boy, I’d get scared late at night

And my momma would come, and turn on the light

But there’s nobody here with me tonight

And I don’t know what’s happening to me

Sometimes at dusk, I walk the train tracks

And I walk and I walk like I ain’t coming back

I look at the sky so endless and black

Man I swear it’s swallowing me

Goddamn HIV

Check out the moving video

Caribbean Wind – Bob Dylan

A departure from deep, meaningful lyrics for this one which is Ironic considering that it is written by Bob Dylan. I could have picked Blowin’ in the wind, Times they are a changin’, Hard rain’s gonna fall or Like a rolling stone to celebrate the genius of Dylan. Instead I have picked one of his lesser known songs; indeed it took me years to track it down.

It took me many, many years to appreciate the genius of Bob Dylan. I loved Knockin’ on heaven’s door when I it came out as a single but remained largely ignorant of the rest of his work. In my first year of work I was coerced into playing a song at a Christmas party. I worked with a guy called Wonk who loved Dylan. He eulogised about Baby stop crying from the Street Legal album, particularly the way he delivers the opening line;

You’ve been down to the bottom with a bad man Babe

Now your back where you belong

My English teacher Terry Mayes would have loved the alliteration in that first line.

Anyway, I agreed with Wonk and we played Baby stop cryin’. Needless to say we sucked and I forgot about Dylan for a good few years after that.

I read a book about Bob Dylan in the early nineties and the author repeatedly rhapsodised about the song Caribbean Wind. I resolved to give it a listen and see whether I concurred (more great alliteration, this time from me!). It took me another twenty years to track the song down. Comrades, I wasn’t disappointed. The lyrics are good but it’s the way that Bob delivers the opening lines that nail it for me. I know that Bob’s singing can be an acquired taste but there can be no doubting his genius for the way he phrases the words.

She was well rehearsed, fair, brown and blonde

She had friends who were busboys and friends in the Pentagon

I was Playing a show in Miami, in the theatre of divine comedy.

Talked in the shadows, where they talked in the rain

I could tell she was still feeling the pain

Pain of rejection, pain of infidelity.

When I read the lyrics above I can’t help thinking that they shouldn’t work. Believe me brothers and sisters they do. The way Bob sings them is awesome. Spoiler alert…….there are alternate versions of this track that start with completely different lyrics!

The last verse goes;

Would I have married her? I don’t know I suppose,

She had bells in her braids and they hung to her toes.

But I heard my destiny say to be movin’ on

And I felt it come over me, some kind of glow,

For the sake of “Come on with me girl, I got plenty of room”

But I knew I’d be lyin’, and besides she had already gone.

And that Caribbean wind still blows from Nassau to Mexico,

From the circle of ice to the furnace of desire.

And them busy ships of liberty on them iron waves so bold and free,

Bringing everything that’s near to me nearer to the fire.

Is it autobiographical? I don’t know. As it is one of Bob’s lesser known tracks there is little fan/academic speculation about lyrical meaning. It’s a great song anyway so well worth a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyhEVSj4vQY

Woodstock – Joni Mitchell

The first version of this song that I heard was by Mathews Southern Comfort. It was a number one single in the UK in 1970 (incidentally, Ian Mathews was an original member of Fairport Convention).

As I got older and became fascinated by the history of the Woodstock festival I learned that the song was written by Joni Mitchell. In 1969 Mitchell was in a relationship with Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. She did not play Woodstock because her manager told her that it would, instead, be more advantageous for her to appear on The Dick Cavett Show. She composed the song in a hotel room in New York City, watching televised reports of the festival. “The deprivation of not being able to go provided me with an intense angle on Woodstock,” she told an interviewer shortly after the event. David Crosby, interviewed for the documentary Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, stated that Mitchell had captured the feeling and importance of the Woodstock festival better than anyone who had actually been there.

I came upon a child of God

He was walking along the road

And I asked him, where are you going

And this he told me

I’m going on down to Yasgur’s farm

I’m going to join in a rock ‘n’ roll band

I’m going to camp out on the land

I’m going to try an’ get my soul free

We are stardust

We are golden

And we’ve got to get ourselves

Back to the garden

We went to Woodstock in 2016. I mean we stayed in Woodstock town in New York state. The festival actually took place in Bethel sixty miles North East of Woodstock. We drove down to Yasgur’s farm, the site of the festival. It’s no longer a farm but there is a fantastic Woodstock festival museum. I’m not a big festival fan. I’m too old now and I have always preferred hotel rooms to tents anyways. Personal preferences aside, the Woodstock festival is iconic in that it defined the spirit of the Sixties and the summer of love.

It is a tribute to the genius of Joni Mitchell that she managed to convey the spirit of the festival despite only seeing it on the TV in a hotel room. I could have picked Big Yellow Taxi or This flight tonight from Joni’s formidable canon of songs but Woodstock is a towering testament to her genius (more great alliteration, are you watching me Tez?).

If you watched the Live Aid concert from Wembley Stadium in 1985 then you will surely remember the performance of U2. They started with Sunday Bloody Sunday than they played Bad, a 14 minute version!! Bono jumped into the crowd getting them to sing along with the chorus. They were supposed to finish with their hit single Pride (in the name of love) but didn’t get to play it as Bad went on so long. Their performance garnered rave reviews and global superstardom quickly followed. Bad shares a common theme with There she goes by the La’s, Golden Brown by the Stranglers, Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones and Happiness is a warm gun by the Beatles. They are all about Heroin. Most people need to be told what those songs are about. My next choice needs no clues.

Heroin – The Velvet Underground

I have made big decision

I’m gonna try to nullify my life

‘Cause when the blood begins to flow

When it shoots up the dropper’s neck

When I’m closing in on death

Heroin is on the Velvet Underground and Nico album. While ‘Heroin’ hardly endorses drug use, it doesn’t clearly condemn it, either, which made it all the more troubling in the eyes of many listeners. It is one of two Heroin related songs on the album the other being I’m Waiting for my man. While the latter is a song about scoring the drug, Heroin is all about taking the Drug, graphically describing shooting up and the rush that follows. Heroin has killed too many people, ruined too many lives to be celebrated. Lou Reed is open and honest about it, a  common trait in his songwriting.

John Walker’s Blues – Steve Earle

In November 2001 during the invasion of Afghanistan, American forces took Taliban prisoners following a battle. One of the prisoners was John Philip Walker Lindh, an American citizen. As you can imagine this was front page news back home in the USA, the press usually referred to him as John Walker. He was returned to America and following a plea bargain was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in February 2002. Walker was released in 2019.

Steve Earle wrote this song and sings if from John Walker’s perspective. The song was not well received by the American media who labelled Earle unpatriotic.

If my daddy could see me now, chains around my feet

He won’t understand that sometimes a man’s

Got to fight for what he believes

And I believe God is great, all praise due to him

And if I should die, I’ll rise up to the sky

Just like Jesus, peace be upon him

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah

There is no God but God

I think that Steve Earle was brave to tackle such a sensitive subject. The album it came from, Jerusalem, tackles other controversial subjects such as peace in the Middle East. As a lover of a good lyric, I find songs such as John Walker’s Blues fascinating. A great track by a great artist. Checkout the video below and see how it makes you feel.

Pancho and Lefty – Townes Van Zandt

Steve Earle is Townes Van Zandt’s biggest fan. He recorded an album of covers of Townes’ songs and once famously said;

‘Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter who ever lived. I’d stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say this’

Steve Earle later pulled back a little proclaiming Dylan to be a genius. Townes Van Zandt was a great songwriter but he was also a complicated man. He was an alcoholic and a drug addict which contributed to him never achieving the fame he richly deserved.

Pancho and Lefty is a fantastic song. I like to imagine Cormac McCarthy hearing this song and deciding to become an author. This song paints the Wild West as an unforgiving place. Many have speculated on the songs meaning but Townes never revealed what inspired him to write it.

Living on the road my friend

Was gonna keep you free and clean

Now you wear your skin like iron

Your breath’s as hard as kerosene

You weren’t your mama’s only boy

But her favorite one it seems

She began to cry when you said goodbye

And sank into your dreams

Pancho was a bandit boys

His horse was fast as polished steel

Wore his gun outside his pants

For all the honest world to feel

Pancho met his match you know

On the deserts down in Mexico

Nobody heard his dying words

That’s the way it goes

All the federales say

They could have had him any day

They only let him hang around

Out of kindness I suppose

The song has been covered by Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson amongst others. I first heard it performed by local singer Ronnie D Smith and his band Geronimo’s Cadillac. It was always my favourite song in their set. For me the best version is on Townes Van Zandt live at the Old Quarter Houston.

Chelsea Hotel#2 – Leonard Cohen

The Chelsea Hotel referred to in this song is located at 204 W 23rd street in New York City. It has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists and actors over the years. Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001: a space odyssey while staying at the Chelsea. Dylan Thomas was staying there when he died. Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, Brendan Behan, William S Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg all lived at the Chelsea hotel.

The hotel has been a home to actors and film directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Lillie Langtry, Ethan Hawke, Dennis Hopper, Eddie Izzard, Uma Thurman, Elliott Gould, Elaine Stritch, Jane Fonda, Russell Brand, the Warhol film star Viva and her daughter Gaby Hoffmann, and Edie Sedgwick.

Musicians who have called the Chelsea home include include the Grateful Dead, Nico, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, Jeff Beck, Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Thunders, Willy DeVille, Marianne Faithfull, Cher, John Cale, Édith Piaf, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Madonna lived at the Chelsea in the early 1980s, returning in 1992 to shoot photographs for her book, Sex, in room 822. Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen were living at the Chelsea when she was murdered there in 1978.

Leonard Cohen stayed at the Chelsea hotel in the late sixties. He wrote Chelsea hotel #2 about an affair he had with Janis Joplin who was also staying there. I’ve heard Cohen say that he regrets being so frank in the song but I don’t think Janis would have minded. His admiration and respect for her shine through.

I remember you well in the Chelsea hotel

You were famous, your heart was a legend.

You told me again you preferred handsome men

But for me you would make an exception.

And clenching your fist for the ones like us

Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,

You fixed yourself, you said, “well never mind,

We are ugly but we have the music.”

The Chelsea hotel closed for renovation in 2011. It has still not reopened. 40 long term tenants have fought and won legal battles for their right to stay there. Ownership has changed hands three times in the last eleven years and as of May 2020 there is still no sign of the Chelsea hotel re-opening.

When the Hotel finally re-opens I am going to stay there. I walked past it on my first visit to NYC in the late eighties. New York was a different place back then. Times Square was sleazy, 42^nd street was a no-go after dark and Central Park didn’t feel safe at any time………….I loved it!!! We walked past the Chelsea hotel but to my eternal shame we didn’t go in and drink a beer with the ghosts of literary and Music legends.

Checkout the clip below, Leonard Cohen tells the story of how the song came about before playing it. A taste of history from one who helped to write it.

The ghost of Tom Joad – Bruce Springsteen

Tom Joad is the protagonist in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It evokes the harshness of the Great Depression and arouses sympathy for the struggles of migrant farmworkers. The book is rightly  regarded as an American classic. Steinbeck masterfully depicts the struggle to retain dignity and to preserve the family in the face of disaster, adversity, and vast, impersonal commercial influences. He based his epic on his visits to the migrant camps and tent cities of the workers, seeing first-hand the horrible living conditions of migrant families. His novel, with its easily accessible, colloquial style, was widely welcomed and hailed by working-class readers, though it was just as widely panned by business and government officials who took umbrage at its socialist overtones and denounced it as “communist propaganda”; some local areas, including Kern County, California, where the Joad family settles, branded the book libellous and even burned copies of it and banned it from libraries and schools. Nonetheless, it was the top-selling novel of 1939, and it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1940. The Grapes of Wrath also did much to earn the author the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Steinbeck plainly stated his purpose in writing the novel: “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Depression and the plight of the worker].”

Springsteen wrote the Ghost of Tom Joad in the mid-nineties with contemporary times being likened to the great depression and the dust-bowl migration.

Now Tom said “Mom, wherever there’s a cop beatin’ a guy

Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries

Where there’s a fight ‘gainst the blood and hatred in the air

Look for me Mom I’ll be there

Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand

Or decent job or a helpin’ hand

Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free

Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me.”

Springsteen was widely misunderstood when he wrote Born in the USA the fist-pumping title track of his seventh album. To some it felt like a celebration of being born in the USA — when really, it’s a defiant song about ‘I was born in the USA, and I deserve better than what I’m getting.’ I think plenty of people didn’t get what it was about, including the president of the United States. There is no mistaking the sentiment behind the Ghost of Tom Joad.

The clip below is from a Springsteen tribute concert. I love this because Jim James of My Morning Jacket decides to take on Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine in a guitar duel. I guess we all make mistakes!!!

Human Cannonball – Webb Wilder

Something light hearted to finish. Human cannonball sees the protagonist of the song getting a gig with a circus as the human cannonball of the songs title. They say that some kids dreamed of running away with the circus. Elvis Presley starred in the film Roustabout in which he joins a struggling carnival and helps turn it around. It’s no classic but nonetheless is one of Elvis’ better films. Webb Wilder makes joining the circus sound like a good career choice. Lyrics aside, Human Cannonball is a rollicking rock’n’roll tune that never ceases to make me smile.

Saw the ad in the paper

Said the hell with it all

Took a gig with the circus

As the human cannonball

It didn’t take long

To learn my trade

Very first show

Man, I blew the folks away

Now, the job’s a little risky

But I’m my own boss

I got to tell ya, Jack

It really gets me off

It’s a great video, check it out!

Well that’s all folks, ten of my favourite lyrics. My last blog about conspiracies was a little deep so it was great to get back to writing about music. I had a blast listening to these tracks again and I hope that you will listen to at least some of them. I don’t expect Webb Wilder is a the top of anyone’s playlist but you are missing out on a great artist (he’s also a good actor). If anyone else has a favourite lyric then let me know and I’ll check it out.

Today saw the end of my sixth week of working from home. I have written about the challenges of working from home in a previous blog. What is harder about the current situation is leisure time. Lockdown means a social life is impossible, Travel is non-existent and travel planning feels more like travel dreaming! I can proudly say I have spent less time watching tv than normal. I listen to more music and have read more books than I normally would. This blog was inspired (influenced) by a book I have just finished.

We were supposed to be visiting Los Angeles in June (‘Rona put paid to that!!!). I had done my usual in depth research and found this on the Dearly departed tours website;

HELTER SKELTER TOUR

Manson Family Murders: Scott Michaels himself hosts this 4 hour tour which visits the sites of the Legendary Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by the Manson Family. In this multi-media tour we reconstruct the lives of both killers and victims in the hours leading up to these horrific crimes, details of which are told by the killers themselves through audio recordings. We’ll discuss the several motivations for this infamous case that brought an end to the Decade of LOVE. If you’ve seen Scott’s documentary The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (Available in the DDT Shop), you know that Scott is widely acknowledged as an expert on the case. Quentin Tarantino personally called on Scott to work on Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, earning Scott a “Special Thanks” in the credits of the film.  Anyone who followed the Manson Murders and ensuing repercussions knows that this subject continues to shock and fascinate over 50 years later.

I decided that this looked like an interesting tour. As it started to look increasingly likely we would need to postpone our trip until next year the publication of Chaos meant that I could at least learn more about the events of 1969.

In 1999 Tom O’Neil was commissioned by Premier magazine to a write an article about the Manson murders to be published in line with the 30^th anniversary of the grisly events. Twenty years later his book Chaos was finally published marking the 50^th anniversary of those infamous crimes. The original commission was for 3 months. The author started out by reading Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. Bugliosi was the Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial and he wrote Helter Skelter following the end of the trial. It has long been touted as the definitive story of the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders?

Looking for a new angle on the case for his article, O’Neil’s research led him to discover inconsistencies in Bugliosi’s book. Interviews with people involved with the case helped O’Neil to unearth cover-ups at the highest levels. Deadlines came and went but such was the faith that Premiere’s editor had in the tale that O’Neil was unfolding the magazine continued to fund him for many years. The further O’Neil dug around, the more and more sinister the story becomes. The FBI, The CIA and secret Government projects all become embroiled in this tawdry tale.

Premiere magazine eventually ran out of patience and dropped the story and funding (it no longer exists). Unable to stop, O’Neil carried on with a loan from his father. His father was a lawyer who believed his son was onto something. A book contract followed although that was subsequently pulled leaving the author half a million dollars in debt! Worse, the author was threatened by an increasingly sinister Bugliosi and was suddenly dropped by previously helpful people who were involved in the case.

If you are expecting a book about Manson and the family you will probably be disappointed. They obviously feature heavily in the book but more as bit part players. The real stories are cover-ups and the intervention of dark forces from various Intelligence agencies. The early part of the book manages to evoke Los Angeles at the end of the sixties as the hippy dream began to fade. 1969 also saw the horrific murder of Meredith Hunter at Altamont and the murder of Robert Kennedy in California.

Chaos is a long book (570 pages). I became increasingly frustrated the closer I got to the end as there are too many divergent threads to the story. I did quite enjoy the book and did learn more about the Manson murders than I had previously known but ultimately the book turns into something of a conspiracy fest…………….

The ‘C’ word…………Conspiracy!!! The world loves a good conspiracy it seems.

The best conspiracies seem to involve Government cover ups and fall into two distinct categories.

1. Events that bring about political change:

The first event to discuss is the burning of the Reichstag in Berlin. In 1933 an arsonist set fire to the home of the German parliament four weeks precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Conspiracy theorists pointed to this as a ‘false flag’ event that allowed the Nazi party to dominate German politics and pursue its Fascist policies with impunity. Whether the story is true or not the Nazi party did become the de facto rulers of Germany and the rest is, as they say, history!

A false flag event is defined as ‘a covert operation designed to deceive; the deception creates the appearance of a particular party, group, or nation being responsible for some activity, disguising the actual source of responsibility’.

In 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. As a six year old boy I stared transfixed at pictures of this momentous event on the television. As young boys we stared at the full moon on summer nights convincing ourselves we could see the American flag that Armstrong planted on the Moon’s surface.

Various groups and individuals have made claims since the mid-1970s that NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened, by manufacturing, tampering with, or destroying evidence including photos, telemetry tapes, radio and TV transmissions, and Moon rock samples. Stories continue to circulate that the moon landing and subsequent walks actually took place in a television studio.

Quite what the US government achieved by faking moon landings is almost secondary. As the cold war accelerated following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Russia could claim to be superior as they had successfully put a man into space. Yuri Gagarin was trumped by the moon landings and thus America’s technological superiority was established.

As the years have passed the claims of conspiracy theorists have been largely debunked. One thing to think about though……………no-one ever bothered going back there!!!

September 11 2001

That date is burnt in the memory of all of us. It is said that people of the generation before mine can tell you exactly what they were doing when John F Kennedy was assassinated. I can’t comment, that was the year I was born. September 11 2001 I do remember. Phil was in Barrow. Phil, Pat, our 17 months old daughter Caitlin and I went for a walk along the recently opened Channel side park. On the return journey we stopped for a beer (an ice cream for Caitlin) at the Owl and the Pussycat. When we got home I took a nap in the chair with Caitlin on my knee. Pat shook me awake to watch the unfolding events on tv. I saw one of the Twin Towers smoking with an aeroplane protruding. We watched in horror as a second plane flew into the other tower. American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, which led to a partial collapse of the building’s west side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was initially flown toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, after passengers thwarted the hijackers. 9/11 is the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history.

It didn’t take long for the conspiracy theories to emerge. Most of you will have heard them so I don’t propose to detail them. There were two things that made me wonder…Firstly, it always amazed me how the passport of Mohamed Atta was found amongst the rubble of the twin towers. This fact still seems all the more amazing as neither of the aeroplanes black boxes were found! Secondly, the event that I still can’t get my head around was watching a BBC newscaster announce the collapse of Building 7 more than half an hour before it actually happened. Live footage from New York in the background clearly shows the building still standing. To compound this ‘error’, the BBC accidentally wiped the tapes.

Why would anyone think 9/11 is a false flag event? It’s too incredible isn’t it? Following 9/11 Western allies invaded Afghanistan and in 2003 invaded Iraq for a second time leading to deposing Saddam Hussain and subsequently him being executed. For the past 20 years there has been a rebirth of the war between Islam and Christianity first seen in the Crusades.

1^st May 2020

Today the world is reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. For the past few weeks speculation is rife that this is a man-made virus created in a laboratory in Wuhan province China. Despite many scientists across the world debunking this story it hasn’t stopped Donald Trump and the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly blaming the Chinese Government.  I am scared as to where this is going and how it may develop. America has led the free world throughout my lifetime. It is now challenged by the emergence of the powerhouse Chinese economy. China is also rapidly increasing its military capacity. As this danse macabre unfolds, Russia watches, smirking in the shadows. Scary times folks.

It’s easy to forget in the time of Covid-19 that conspiracies circulated about the AIDS virus. There were forums claiming that HIV was developed by Governments to attack black people, similarly that it was developed to wipe out homosexuality. Thankfully, HIV is curable now but suspicions of Government complicity continue to be rife on the internet.

2. ‘Convenient’ murders

Throughout history there are many murders or accidents that have changed the course of the world. Many of these attract conspiracy theories which claim that they were state sponsored killings.

John F Kennedy – November 1963

The daddy of murder conspiracies, the shooting of President Kennedy still fascinates the world. Lee Harvey Oswald was convicted of killing JFK. Almost from the get go speculation raged as to whether he could have been killed by the three shots from the 6^th floor of the Texas school book depository. There also emerged hazy film that suggested a second gunman had fired from behind a fence on the nearby ‘Grassy knoll’. Speculation moved onto why Oswald wanted to kill Kennedy. The world never got an answer to that question because Oswald was shot dead two days later by Jack Ruby as he was being moved from the city jail to the nearby county jail. Ruby later said he had been distraught over Kennedy’s death and that his motive for killing Oswald was “saving Mrs. Kennedy the discomfiture of coming back to trial” Ruby himself died in 1967 before the conspiracy theories had really got into their stride.

I don’t know why anybody would have wanted Kennedy dead, after all, he died the year I was born. I have watched many documentaries, seen the film JFK and read many articles. Fifty seven years later the murder of JFK still fascinates. On the 50^th anniversary of JFL’s death a Gallup poll found;

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination approaches, a clear majority of Americans (61%) still believe others besides Lee Harvey Oswald were involved. But this percentage is the lowest found in nearly 50 years.

The decade wasn’t finished with high profile assassinations. On April 4^th 1968 Martin Luther King was shot dead as he stood on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. On April 3, King addressed a rally in support of the black sanitary public works employees. In his speech King said;

‘And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord’.

After his death commentators focussed on the line ‘And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you’. It was if King foresaw the events that would take place the following day.

Most people believed that King was murdered to halt the rise of the Civil Rights movement. James Earl Ray, an American white supremacist, fugitive, and felon was identified as the killer and arrested two months later at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels on a false Canadian passport. Although he initially confessed to the murder Ray later tried to recant his story claiming he had been coerced and aided by an accomplice he called Raul. James Earl Ray died in 1998 but as recently as 2018, the 50^th anniversary of MLK’s murder King’s family still declare they believe that James Earl Ray was innocent and that the assassination was part of a government conspiracy

Just two months after Martin Luther King was killed, Robert F Kennedy was shot dead as he walked through the kitchen of the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles. Kennedy had been addressing his followers after resounding victories in the South Dakota and California primaries.

In 1968 President Johnson prepared to run for re-election. In January, faced with what was widely considered an unrealistic race against an incumbent president, Kennedy stated that he would not seek the presidency. After the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in early February 1968, he received a letter from writer Pete Hamill that said poor people kept pictures of President Kennedy on their walls and that Kennedy had an “obligation of staying true to whatever it was that put those pictures on those walls.”

Kennedy travelled to Delano, California, to meet with civil rights activist César Chávez, who was on a 25-day hunger strike showing his commitment to nonviolence. It was on this visit to California that Kennedy decided he would challenge Johnson for the presidency, telling his former Justice Department aides, Edwin Guthman and Peter Edelman, that his first step was to get lesser-known Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota to drop out of the presidential race.

On April 4, 1968, Kennedy learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and gave a heartfelt impromptu speech in Indianapolis’s inner city, calling for reconciliation between the races. The address was the first time Kennedy spoke publicly about his brother’s killing. Riots broke out in 60 cities in the wake of King’s death, but not in Indianapolis, a fact many attribute to the effect of this speech. Kennedy addressed the City Club of Cleveland the next day, on April 5, 1968, delivering the famous On the Mindless Menace of Violence speech. He attended King’s funeral, accompanied by Jacqueline and Ted Kennedy. He was described as being the “only white politician to hear only cheers and applause.”

Despite Kennedy’s high profile and name recognition, McCarthy won most of the early primaries, including Kennedy’s native state of Massachusetts and some primaries in which he and Kennedy were in direct competition. Kennedy won the Indiana Democratic primary on May 7 with 42 percent of the vote, and the Nebraska primary on May 14 with 52 percent of the vote. on May 28, Kennedy lost the Oregon primary, the defeat marked the first time a Kennedy lost an election and it was assumed that McCarthy was the preferred choice among the young voters. If he could defeat McCarthy in the California primary, the leadership of the campaign thought, he would knock McCarthy out of the race and set up a one-on-one against Vice President Humphrey at the Chicago national convention in August.

RFK left the ballroom of the Ambassador hotel and walked through the kitchen as he was told it was a shortcut to the press room. His bodyguard advised him not to take this route but Kennedy ignored him. As he shook hands with a kitchen busboy he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. Five other people were injured. Kennedy asked ‘Is everybody o.k’?

As with his brother before him it didn’t take long for the conspiracy stories to emerge.

Most of the conspiracies revolved around there being a second gunman.

The location of Kennedy’s wounds suggested that his assailant had stood behind him, but witnesses said that Sirhan stood facing west, about a yard away from Kennedy, as he moved through the pantry facing east. This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman actually fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles Thomas Noguchi, who stated that the fatal shot was behind Kennedy’s right ear and had been fired at a distance of approximately one inch.

Conspiracy theorists point to the fact that RFK was too close to the Civil rights movement for comfort. CIA involvement is darkly hinted at. A go to for conspiracy theorists.

The following Article appeared in the Washington Post in 2018, fifty years after RFK’s death

LOS ANGELES — Just before Christmas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulled up to the massive Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, a California state prison complex in the desert outside San Diego that holds nearly 4,000 inmates. Kennedy was there to visit Sirhan B. Sirhan, the man convicted of killing his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, nearly 50 years ago.

While his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines, waited in the car, Kennedy met with Sirhan for three hours, he revealed to The Washington Post last week. It was the culmination of months of research by Kennedy into the assassination, including speaking with witnesses and reading the autopsy and police reports.

“I got to a place where I had to see Sirhan,” Kennedy said. He would not discuss the specifics of their conversation. But when it was over, Kennedy had joined those who believe there was a second gunman, and that it was not Sirhan who killed his father.

 “I went there because I was curious and disturbed by what I had seen in the evidence,” said Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and the third oldest of his father’s 11 children. “I was disturbed that the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father. My father was the chief law enforcement officer in this country. I think it would have disturbed him if somebody was put in jail for a crime they didn’t commit.

We will never know if Robert F Kennedy would have become President of the United States of America. Everything I have read about him makes me think that he was the best President that never was. RIP RFK.

On 31 August 1997, Diana died in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris while the driver was fleeing the paparazzi, The crash also resulted in the deaths of her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, who was the acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris. Diana’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash. The televised funeral, on 6 September, was watched by a British television audience that peaked at 32.10 million, which was one of the United Kingdom’s highest viewing figures ever. Millions more watched the event around the world.

The death of Princess Diana sparked a flood of conspiracy theories. The initial French judicial investigation concluded that the crash was caused by Paul’s intoxication, reckless driving, speeding (65 mph), and effects of prescription drugs. In February 1998, Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of the Paris Ritz where Paul had worked, publicly said the crash had been planned and accused MI6 and the Duke of Edinburgh. An inquest that started in London in 2004 and continued in 2007–08attributed the crash to grossly negligent driving by Paul and to the pursuing paparazzi, who forced Paul to speed into the tunnel.

In 1999, after the submission of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Internet news service apbonline.com, it was revealed that Diana had been placed under surveillance by the National Security Agency until her death, and the organisation kept a top secret file on her containing more than 1,000 pages. The contents of Diana’s NSA file cannot be disclosed because of national security concerns.

There was speculation (officially denied) that Princess Diana was pregnant at the time of her death. Others speculated that Dodi Fayed had proposed to her and that the prospect of Diana marrying a Muslim horrified the Intelligence services and the Royal family.

Negative feelings from the public hinted that the end might be nigh for the royal family. It was many years before the British public trusted the Royal family again.

Well that was a quick canter through a few ‘popular’ conspiracy stories. It doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Even the most cursory of internet searches turns up thousands of such ‘scandals’.

I was inspired to write this blog after reading a book about a murder case from fifty years ago, a case so cut and dried that surely the only question is how did Manson persuade his followers to commit such foul deeds?

Human beings love a good conspiracy story. They make for great pub debates as nearly everyone has an opinion.

I wonder what would happen if we tuned into the Queen’s speech on Christmas day to hear her ‘fess up to arranging Diana’s death?  How about if Donald Trump tweeted that his authority as President of the USA allowed him access to documents that proved that the FBI arranged the murder of Martin Luther King?

Imagine the chaos these two scenarios would cause??? Do you really want to know??? Would the world really benefit from hearing that Governments routinely dispose of troublesome individuals? I for one think not. As I said earlier, conspiracy theories are great for discussion over a few beers but are best forgotten the next morning. Tom O’Neil spent twenty years researching the Manson case. Surely such obsession is not good for one’s mental health?

Stick to Sports, music, art and politics. They are far better for you.

John 8:31-32 English Standard Version (ESV)

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

In my last blog there was an’ origin of band’ names quiz. One further question;

Where did Kasabian get there name from?

Answers on a postcard…..