7 inch singles collection: Bedazzled - Teenage Mother Superior

From the remnants of Apple Mosaic its:

BEDAZZLED

A-side: Teenage Mother Superior

B-Side: Always Never
            Missing
(Columbia 1991)

You may remember the very post in this blog was about EMF and I mentioned that the guitarist had come from much lamented Gloucester band Apple Mosaic, well the singer, the fantastically monikered Laurence Carrington-Windo, formed this band. Presumably named after the Peter Cook & Dudley Moore film (and not the Liz Hurley remake). Bedazzled were less obviously dancey than EMF, but they flirted around the periphery of the 'baggy' movement which was mainly made up of jangly indie bands, who'd gone a bit funky claiming that they'd always had an element of dance music in their sound. Bedazzled's problem with this is that this particular bandwagon had long left town and they were trailing along behind unable to catch up. Evidence of how uncool they were was that around this time I remember seeing them on whatever nonsense replaced Pebble Mill at One in the early afternoons at this time period. It was presented, if my memory doesn't let me down by Alan Titchmarsh and Judi Spiers. So, yeah, they'd missed the cool train by several stops.

Teenage Mother Superior is an energetic funky workdown full of wah-wah laden effects and a full on sneer from Laurence (he was very good at the sneering vocal I recall). I always kind of enjoyed this song in an unthinking way, but having re-listened to it for the purposes of this blog, the lyrical content has made me think a bit harder. This is a good thing, one of the purposes of this blog was to make me re-assess some of my old favourites. My problem is the the hard time being given to the titular Teenage Mother Superior in the lyrics, fair enough the narrator seems to be answering her questioning of his hedonistic life-style, but he's coming off at best boorish, and at worst bullying. They need to do some mellowing out here, and maybe just agree to disagree and respect each other's lifestyles before departing amicably. So good tunesmithery, well delivered, but the hectoring lyrics now no longer sit well with me.

A nice treat as we turn over this platter to find two b-sides therein. Aware of this kind of trickery, I check the label and find it plays and 33 1/3 rpm, an adjust the speed accordingly, (I've been caught out before.) The first track, Always Never, sounds not too dissimilar to the a-side - full of guitar effects maybe falling to the rockier side of dance than the funky side this time. A track about missing out on stuff and never being able to get the time to do things - something I think we can all appreciate. I enjoy the verses of Always Never much more than the chorus which sounds a little strained.

Missing is mellower than the other other two tracks, and I'm happy for the change. Whilst still being full of typical indie-style chimes it noticeably wanders into AOR territory, but at no particular detriment to the song. Considering it's about someone who has gone missing (all be it voluntarily) it's conspicuously jaunty in tone. It's not that memorable though, and whilst I'll always be able to summon the a-side to my mind both of the b-side tracks don't have that spark (which is why they're b-sides!)

Next time something a little bit jazzy...

7 inch singles collection: Bob Dylan - Political World

It's Dylan!

BOB DYLAN

A-side: Political World

B-Side: Ring Them Bells
(CBS 1990)

I like to think of Bob Dylan in the upper echelons of curmudgeonly old men in rock - right up there in the premier division of grumpy aging rock stars alongside Lou Reed (RIP), Neil Young and Van Morrison. What all of these people have in common is the ability to make some of the most sublime, brilliant music ever, but equally be able to make some of worst dross ever recorded. Sometimes on the same album, sometimes even within the same song.

This record is from one of Dylan's "return to form" albums - Oh! Mercy. It certainly found itself in the top 50 end-of-year round-up in both Melody Maker and NME of 1990 - and probably in plenty of other music magazines too.

Political World has a statement to make - it's a political world, and everybody has an agenda, and the decisions we make have impact small or large on other people and decisions. I imagine all the old hippies listening to this revelation were nodding their heads and saying "yeah, man, tell it like it is Bob - stick it to the man", whilst the rest of us were more probably thinking something along the lines of "yes, we know, and your point is..?". I suppose there's some people out there who are naive and innocent enough not to have realised this, however they're probably not the types to listen to Dylan, so I don't think he's going to be corrupting anyone's innocence with this. If the lyrics to Political World are all cliche and truism, so is the music - but not in a bad way It's the music that started rock itself - Blues. It has a great bluesy feel, with a strong swampy rhythm that gets you going. So one to listen to for the music rather than the words. (By the way - there are no vids on YouTube of Bob Dylan doing this number - plenty of cover versions  - so no link I'm afraid - you'll have to hunt it down yourself!)

Flipping the record over we find a piano led piece of AOR, called Ring Them Bells. Whilst I'm partial to a bit of Dylan every now and then, I could never claim to be a fan, and so this styling was a surprise for me, however unlike the a-side I found it musically bland. Maybe the lyrics are better and a bit less obvious - well yes they are. In fact I'm a little confused. It could be Dylan not be clear and being obfuscatory, or it could be me being thick (there's a 50/50 chance to be honest!) Either the bells are ringing out in celebration, saying the masses are still here, and are strong, and are surviving, or the bells are ringing out a funereal death knell for the little people as they are swamped by the political world. Could be either, maybe if I listened to this song a few more times I'd have an idea, but I can't say that the notion fills me with enthusiasm. It was a little bit too dull to make me want to go back to.

Next time some more music from the 'shire...

7 inch singles collection: The House Of Love - The Beatles And The Stones

One of my favourite bands from my late teens and early twenties..

THE HOUSE OF LOVE

A-side: The Beatles And The Stones
B-Side: Love IV
(Fontana 1990)

I'm going to tell you, quite unapologetically, that I'm a big fan of The House Of Love, they were lauded for a bit by the music press around 1987/88 then fell out of favour - but I stuck with them, enjoying their epic chiming guitar pop. Mind you I was a bit a grumpy with them around the time this came out  - not because of the music, but because of the seeming infinite variety of formats they were releasing singles in. This 7 inch version is a gatefold sleeve with a poster ensconced within. There was an ordinary 7 inch version (which I don't have) , and at least one 12 inch version (which I do have), all with different b-sides making me feel a bit narked that to get all the songs I have to buy so many different verisons. The House of Love weren't the only band to be doing this at the time, but they were the only one I cared about.

The Beatles And The Stones is a song about being an individual and celebrating your uniqueness, plenty of people at different times feel isolated and alone, but the right music at those times, means it doesn't matter it can help you be who you are regardless of whether you're alone or not. Funnily enough being one with the music (in this case the titular Beatles and Stones) means you're not alone because the music is there, and out there too are other people with the same feelings and attachments to the music, and you become part of that community - making you alone, but with other loners too. At least that's what I take from the lyrics - whether Guy Chadwick had that in mind when he wrote it I don't know. The Beatles And the Stones is a languid shuffle, that feels yearning and wistful creating a instant and warming sense of nostalgia - even if you're too young to be nostalgic about those things.

On the other  side of this version of the record is an instrumental called Love IV. Unusual for the House Of Love in that their lead man, Guy Chadwick, didn't write it, but instead it was left to the bassist. It starts with a great intro that with a looping and circling guitar riff, and then carries on always threatening to break out into something, about halfway through it almost does break out with a sudden unexpected change in the riff, whilst still on the same rhythmic pulse, but this quickly settles back into the main riff again, and then it's over. Love IV is not bad, but I can't help have the feeling that they were releasing singles in so many formats that they were stuck with having to put half-formed ideas out as b-sides.

 Next time someone who is a true icon of popular music...

7 inch singles collection: The Fall - Free Range

It's the wonderful and frightening world of...

THE FALL

A-side: Free Range
B-Side: Everything Hurtz
(Cog-Sinister 1992)


Trying to describe The Fall to anyone who's not heard of them is not the easiest thing to do. Over the years they have chopped and changed styles, gone through countless members, and yet no matter how different one record is from another they all sound exactly like The Fall. This is largely down to singer Mark E. Smith's unique delivery. He is the heart and soul of The Fall - if all the former members of The Fall got together without Mr. Smith and recorded a whole load of Fall songs it wouldn't be a Fall record. If you recorded Mark E.Smith yelling the word Toast for half an hour that would be a Fall record. He is The Fall and The Fall is him.

One of the things that does distinguish The Fall is that many of their records have a choppy stop/start sound with the guitars. Free Range fits this mould admirably. As this is early 90's Fall there is something of an almost danceable groove to this song, the backbone of it being a funky beat that is throbbing and cyclical, occasional bursts of Also Sprach Zarathustra weave their way in and out of the song. All the while M.E.S. shouts apparently seemingly meaningless and random stuff over the top. In that sense Free Range is almost the definitive Fall song, but compared to much of their catalogue it is very much a by the numbers adequate piece.

Almost invariable they better song is saved for the flipside. Everything Hurtz, still has the choppiness of sound, but instead of heading to the dance floor this is a much rockier number. The shouting is toned down, and the lyrics, are much more coherent and even make a bit of sense. In the end Everything Hurtz is simply easier to listen to to, whereas Free Range is much more admirable than likeable. If I were to make a mix-tape of Fall songs for someone I would pick the B-side over the A-side for inclusion.

Next time one band singing about two other bands...

7 inch singles collection: Kirsty MacColl - Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim!

Here's something from the lovely Kirsty MacColl

KIRTSY MACCOLL

A-Side: Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim!
B-Side: Other People's Lives
(Virgin 1990)

Kirsty MacColl, often used as a backing singer for people who were no where near as good as she was, released many great records of her own during her tragically short lifetime.

This single was one of several from her excellent album Kite, and suffers the all too common fate of being one record too many - something I previously noted a few weeks back with a Fleetwood Mac record.

There isn't that much wrong with Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim! (apart, maybe, from the unwieldy title, but even that has an endearing quality to it). It's a pleasant enough ballad about lost and misplaced love - something that seems to feature a lot in Kirtsy MacColl's catalogue, and as is common in her songs she's the strong empowered woman who knows exactly what game the bloke is playing and won't let him get away with it. It swings gently in waltz time, largely acoustic with touches of steel guitar in the background, something which helps lift out of the pleasant but forgettable category, but it does kind of wash over you.

It's a shame that Other People's Lives doesn't do more to lift the record, it's a well crafted piece of pop about doomed unrequited love, but I've found there's little more that I can say about it.

I liked this record, I can clearly remember the songs, but I don't feel a connection or strong pull to either song, and whilst I'd be happy to hear either of them again. I wouldn't go seeking them out. That's a shame because Kirsty MacColl has so much more to offer than this - fortunately we'll be coming to some of them later on.

Next time something from a band whose entire recorded output is practically a genre in itself.

7 inch singles collection: Bangles - Hazy Shade Of Winter

Here's something from a film soundtrack.

BANGLES

A-side: Hazy Shade Of Winter

B-side: She's Lost You (by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts)
(Def Jam 1987)

I'd like to say that I know less the zero about the film Less Than Zero. However that wouldn't quite be true, because I know it's got these two songs on the soundtrack, and I know it's based on a Brett Easton Ellis novel. More than that though I can't tell you - I didn't catch my interest when it was released, and resolutely remains so to this day. I did think of looking it up on IMDB for the purposes of his blog, but couldn't be bothered - if you're that bothered go and it it yourself.

So if it wasn't for the film why did I buy this record. Well I have to admit that I really rather like the Bangles, and by like I don't mean fancy (well, maybe the bass player). Their brand of jangly power pop, combined with female harmonies is something that I find pretty appealing.

Hazy Shade of Winter is a cover version of a Simon & Garfunkel song. I've probably heard it a few times before in the original version, but really can't call it to mind as the Bangles version is indelibly lodged in my brain. It starts off all soft and mellow then kicks to life with a killer riff that drives along the song. All the band sing along to this allow some cracking harmonies throughout the record. The whole effect is pretty darn good, and rather enjoyable, yet for that it still seems oddly hollow - maybe if it were an original Bangles track there may be an extra spark in the performance that would elevate it from goodness to greatness.

Normally on the flip side of a record you get a another track by the same artist, but in this case we've got something else off the soundtrack of Less Than Zero - on the back of the record it lists the artists who are on the soundtrack. We we've got here, I'm pleased to say is one of the better options. Joan Jett is often cited as one of the pioneers of women in rock, but is any woman from the 60's or 70's, who played an instrument and sang. The sad truth of the matter is that most of them probably were as there weren't that many women doing this kind of thing back in those days. Actually there's still fewer woman than men these days playing rock music, but it's less noteworthy now. Anyway Joan doesn't let us down with this track. She's Lost You starts with a gentle piano boogie, which from the very beginning you can just tell it's going to very soon start to rock out, and when it inevitably does so it then maintains it's rocking groove for the rest of the record. Joan does the only think you can with this sings a bluesy rasp over the top, all of which results in an honest to goodness down-home 12 bar blues boogie. I can't say that back in the day I ever had much cause to play this side of the record, but now taking things into consideration, I think I really rather enjoy the Joan Jett track more than the Bangles one.

Next time some well crafted pop from 1990.

7 inch singles collection: Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas

Get your cash out it's time to give to charity:

BAND AID

A-side: Do They Know It's Christmas?

B-Side: One Year On
(Mercury 1985)

OK, where do we start on this one. It's a good and worthy cause, I get that, but there is something about this record which really annoys me. Could it be being urged by a collective of multi-millionaires to guilt-trip me into giving my hard earned cash to a charity of their choice, rather than one of my own. This isn't the only worthy cause out there, perhaps I think my hard won cash should go to cancer prevention, or Alzheimer's research, or to servicemen injured in the line of duty, or well the list could go on forever. The way this record was advertised, and forced upon us at the time was such that if you didn't buy you were made to feel as though you'd put a pistol to the head of an Ethiopian child and pulled the trigger whilst laughing maniacally to yourself. 

Alternatively I could dislike this record so intensely because it's rubbish. I know the lyrics aren't meant to be taken literally but "There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas" always makes my blood boil - like there ever is any snow in Africa, at Christmas, apart from the mountain-tops where it's pretty much all year round. For that matter how frequent is snow in England at Christmas these days, and exactly what proportion of Africa is Christian enough to celebrate Christmas. As I said I know much of it is metaphorical but it just gets my back up.

It's just a bad record - if Bob Geldolf had actually made a decent record (and he's capable of it), then maybe lots of people would have bought it and then he could have said all the money from this is going to help starving people in Africa, then maybe I wouldn't have minded. However the intense evangelicalism that went with this set me off on the wrong foot.

I didn't buy this the first year it was released, but got it the following year - hence why the b-side is called One Year On. This entails Midge Ure to drone sonorously one for 3 1/2 minutes detailing exactly how many tonnes of rice, trucks, goats, etc. over the tune of Do They Know It's Christmas. That said at least he is dull and boring about this - maybe he knows that any hint or trace of emotion in his delivery would make the whole thing sound even more smug and self-satisfied than it already is.

Do then ends ever justify the means? Maybe in this case it does - but that doesn't mean I have to like it. 

As I get older I get more tolerant of music which in my younger days I would have felt a vehement dislike for. Except this record - once I found Do They Know It's Christmas annoying now I find it deeply offensive.

I will now try and be less angry for next time when it will something from the soundtrack of the film Less Than Zero