Nice One Ronnie

In the days before my wife and I took a running jump onto the property ladder, and promptly hung on for dear life, we were insanely lucky to spend 5 years residing in Hampstead, London, literally seconds from the beautiful Hampstead Heath. Occasionally I would spy a very dapper gentleman strolling around this delicatessen dotted district, and was reliably informed by the local gossip that it was none other than singer Ronnie Carroll. The name didn't register, until I came upon this record a few weeks ago, in one of my regular charity shop rummages and at last I became acquainted with the stylish and eclectic talents of the man himself.

Ring-A-Ding Girl All a bit too camp for me, perfect then, when it comes to light that this was the UK entry for the 1962 Eurovison Song Contest. The singer is clearly worthy of weightier fare than this damp sponge pudding.

Speak Once shades of Nat King Cole and Matt Monroe, sensitive phrasing, and a well measured vibrato gracing the higher notes. Fine electric guitar coda. Presumably the songwriting credit "Carroll/Keyes" testifies that our boy is more than just a pretty face. Strong material.

Roses Are Red straying a little too far into cabaret material here for my taste, skillful Floyd Cramer influenced piano though.

Chain Gang a fine tribute to the genius Sam Cooke, and a bit of a revelation to hear Ronnie allowed to stretch out with something a tad cooler than the former track.

Mary Rose More MOR cabaret, tenderly sung however.

I Am .....a stunning vocal performance, and everything about this cries "class."

Side 2

Say Wonderful Things Another Eurovison candidate, this time from 1963 and the title of this collection. I can't help but feel once again though, that some of this material just isn't quite up to the abilities of the singer. Pleasant, but certainly not in my top 500.

Shiftin' Sands Of Time a far more rewarding listening experience, a warm and intimate vocal, and tastefully arranged track. Beautiful vocal finale from Mr Carroll.

Dear Heart a Mancini tune, though the way it's presented here, it would have sounded old fashioned in the 1850s. Nice, but candy floss= unsubstantial and makes your teeth feel weird after ingesting.

The Girls In Their Summer Dresses Much more fun, a bit Dean Martin here and there in the sly, wry, swoony delivery. One of the strongest cuts on the album, clever lyrics, and a cool treatsie on perving on the street corner.

Endlessly A nice change of pace, an almost soul- ballad vibe, (not surprising when the song's composer is the great Brook Benton) embellished or ruined depending on your mood, with some Bacharach infused mariachi trumpets. In fact the backing track could have been stolen from Gene Pitney's cutting room floor.

Without Love More gospel/soul ballad territory. Perhaps everything is a bit too well mannered here, I sense the arrangement is forcing Ronnie to keep from really letting rip. Which is a shame, but still a fine closer to a nifty sampler of Ronnie Carroll's work.

And so I leave the listening cave, to type up this report, ever humbly serving my fellow vinyl surfers...

Details:

Artist: Ronnie Carroll

Album: Wonderful Things And Other Favourites

Label: Wing/Philips WL 1108

Year: 1967

Barry Kirsch, I Want My Afternoon Back

With the Moog switched to the BORING setting for almost all twelve cuts on this record, I am quietly confident that I will never have cause to listen to this super dull, sometimes shambolic piece of musical history ever again. But for all that, I'm glad I've got it, and I'm glad it exists.

And how could I not buy the record with a title like "Great Hits Of The 70s Moog Style."

The cover design too is worthy of mention. Not the most vibrant disco scene I've ever seen...

Aside from the one brave and possibly drugged protagonist in the centre of the cover, the remnants of the sadly forlorn club dance-floor are, to put it politely, flagging a little.

Side 1:

The Wombling Song. A fairly tight band performance. But what's the point? A dismal way to open up an album.

Waterloo (of course, of Abba fame) Tragic drumming at the start of this. Both drummer and the bass player appear to be drunk. And who can blame them.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree features the most un-Moog sounding Moog I have ever heard, more Bontempi to these ears. The percussion that assaults and indeed insults the listener, panned extreme right, sounds like a frisky geriatric making love to a blancmange.

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep So bad I love it. I have friends who I wish were in the room with me now as it plays. The band must have been pissing themselves whilst they recorded this beast. The drummer does his best to up the ante with some choice blue note-esque drum fills, but nothing will shift this track from the "file under C for crud" category.

Long Haired Lover From Liverpool. Shave him.

Billy Don't Be A Hero Cod military drums launch this turkey. The Moog sounds slightly cooler here, with a more reverby and expansive voicing. The electric guitarist plays the one lick they've given him, often and with feeling. A desperate feeling.

side 2:

Jambalaya A mess from the outset. As the guitarist pretends he's in the Eagles, the Moog shows off more choice settings. The flutter-tone catastrophe that's unleashed for the final bars of the tune really takes the biscuit; sounds like Buck Rogers drowning in a tumble drier.

You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me I believe you

Nothing Rhymed The Gilbert O' Sullivan tune. Could have been re-titled "Nothing Gelled." Solid drumming I guess. Until the end, where it isn't.

Daniel I just had a vision of kids playing "pass the parcel" to this. It's truly grotesque, out of tune and throughly depressing. The kind of record that could haunt the record player that played it.

I See A Star I don't, I see the neighbours coming 'round to ask what the hell I'm doing playing this record. The Moog seems to develop some kind of electrical fault on the latter stages of the track.

Amazing Grace. Without doubt the most experimental of the whole album, and to think it was the one I was looking forward to the least (let there be a life lesson here for all of us.) The track is comprised entirely by stacked up Moog parts. I like it. Like a poor man's John Baker (of BBC Radiophonic Workshop fame) though John Baker of course, achieved music light years beyond this, and in the pre- synth generation. Still, at least there is something vaguely interesting about it, unlike the other eleven tracks.

Details:

Artist: Barry Kirsch

Album: Great Hits Of The 70's Moog Style

Label: Contour 2870 413

Year: 1974

FIRST RECORD BUYING SPREE OF 2010

January. The Monday morning of the year. The month to abstain, the month to pay for the excesses of the heady, happy hedonism of December. Or a fine time to do none of this, and have a quick, impromptu record hunt.

London today is cold. Everybody is immersed in their own private fog of breath steam, as they doggedly cross items off from their mental errand lists, rushing up and down and around the environs that make up the London E17 post code. I have already done the few things I left my cosy sanctuary for, and recognizing the sudden potential for a wee bit of record hunting, I, beating my gloved hands as I go, pound down the high Street to the good ship Oxfam, which is moored in all its glory at the foot of the noble and afore mentioned Walthamstow High Street.

The cranky, semi-automatic doors grind open with a wheeze. Inside, one endlessly good- willed Indian gentlemen is constantly badgered by his three kids to buy them everything or anything from the shelf of VHS videos. He seems to maintain a zen- like calm throughout these frenzied appeals. "Daad. Daad. Meeestaa Bean film. Daad, I haven't got this one. Look, Look. Please." And so on. Om.

As "Abba Greatest Hits" bubbles excitedly in the background, like a pan of boiling potatoes with too much water frothing over the rim, I once again dive into the murky waters of record collecting.

Something happens to the very fabric of time. I am sucked through a portal known only to those who regularly trawl through box after box of used lps, a place where worlds, cultures, fashions, aching knees and inner sleeves collide...

And then, the spell is broken, I have made my selections.

For £10 I leave the store happy with five albums. That's a lot of music for a tenner. Firstly I land upon the 1985 debut album by "The Kane Gang" called "The Bad And Lowdown World of.." My interest in this specimen is aroused initially by the dicovery of the "Kitchenware Records" logo on the record-the same label that the mighty "Prefab Sprout" recorded on. Has to be a sign...

I then chance upon two John Cale lps. 1982's "Music For A New Society" and 1979's "Sabotage/Live" it is always a thrilling moment when you get the sense that you're actually getting the spoils of someone's cared for collection, as opposed to random detritus from the neighborhoods' recycle bins.

My eyes then fell upon something a bit different. Don't laugh. "The New Strung Harp" by "Maire Ni Chathasaigh." A little bit of folky brew for the cold January nights, and on a label I don't recognize "Temple Records" anyone? I'll let you know how I get on with it...

Finally, I snatched a "Lyle Lovett" album from 1992, "Joshua Judges Ruth."

A fine, eclectic, possibly loopy batch of styles and visions to kick off 2010 with.

Happy New Year friends, and I will report back soon with more tales rotating at speeds of 33 and 45rpm.

Details:

Artist: The Kane Gang

Album: The Bad and Lowdown World Of

Label: Kitchenware Records KWLP2

Year: 1985

Artist: John Cale

Album: Music For A New Society

Label: ZE Records/ Island Records ILPS 7019

Year: 1982

Artist: John Cale

Album: Sabotage/Live

Label: Spy Records sp004

Year: 1979

Artist: Maire Ni Chathasaigh

Album: The New Strung Harp

Label: Temple Records TP019

Year: 1985

Artist: Lyle Lovett

Album: Joshua Judges Ruth

Label: CURB/MCA 10475

Year: 1992