El Rey The Wedding Present

New album from one of my favourite bands. Still waiting for my copy grrrr.


http://www.scopitones.co.uk/

Listen to some tracks at Myspace

http://www.myspace.com/theweddingpresent

Full review once I've had a listen!

Modern Jazz Quartet: Odds Against Tomorrow

This was the title track from the film score by John Lewis played by the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Check out this Noir of the Week posting for a great introduction to the film.

This track did more than any other in getting me interested in jazz. Its a highly atmospheric piece that shows off Milt Jacksons playing in particular.

I heard this track on an ep "European Concert"that my elder brother owned but you can find it on re-release on a CD.

Odds against tomorrow (mp3)

Melon Galia

I've been discovering a lot of good french bands via emusic and this is the first one I'd like to share with you. Tho in fact these are belgian...

Their debut album, "Les embarras du quotidien", owes a big debt to Belle & Sebastian and the Smiths, but Melon Galia are no mere copyists. They had one of the stand out tracks "Les Mensonges" (mp3 below) on the weird and wonderful "L'Humeur Vagabonde: Hommage À Jeanne Moreau" Its available from e-music. Their cd is available as below. Sadly they are now no more. Their Myspace page announced...

Melon Galia unfortunately split in 2004. So : download our songs, make the adventure go on, and check out our solo projects in Samir Barris, Soy un caballo and Le Yéti.

USA

"Les Embarassas du Quotidien" (Melon Galia)

UK

"Les Embarass Du Quotidien" (Melon Galia)

Les mensonges (mp3)

Crackle and Pop 6: Tom Waits :Downtown Train (NME Version)"

Tom Waits "Downtown Train (NME Version)" was part of NME GIV 3 7" from February 1986.

I loved early Tom Waits but got a bit lost when he started banging bones together. This was made into something horrible by Rod Stewart. Listen to this original and its fantastic steely guitar sound.

Downtown Train (NME Version) mp3

7and7is - Best of 2006

Its that list time of the year so heres my best of 2006. Its been a pretty good year for new music and both James Yorkston and Joanna Newsom were new to me this year. So in no particular order:

Scott Walker - The Drift

Lambchop - Damaged

Yo La Tengo - I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass

Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Beer

James Yorkston - Year of the Leopard

Joanna Newsom - Ys

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Forest Fire (live in London 1985)

I have had a couple of requests to repost this but I had lost my own file and I've had to transfer again from vinyl.
Its taken from an old NME free ep "Drastic Plastic" in September 1985.
This particular ep featured Prefab Sprout, Style Council, Robert Cray and the Lloyd Cole and the Commotions track Forest Fire. Details of all the other free eps can be found here.

Lloyd apparently has no memory of this when I asked about this on his weblog he replied "Was it really 1985?? I thought it was '84.. No memories, I'm afraid. Who else was on it? Was it Billy Bragg??"

Forest Fire(Live in London 1985) (mp3)

James Yorkston: New CD

James Yorkston has been constantly playing on my iPod for the past few weeks as I belatedly discovered him via the BBC TV folk progammes. The new cd "The Year of the Leopard".
is another collection of folkish tunes that insinuate into your unconscious the more you play them. He comes from Fife and is part of the wider "Fence Collective" based in the East Neuk of Fife. Reviews of the new cd can be found at The Guardian and Drowned in Sound.
Various tracks can be streamed from Domino Records.
Two links below to tracks available via James's MySpace site.

Surf Song (live) (mp3)
I Know My Love (demo) (mp3)