The World's No.1 Scootering magazine

Recommended Listening - November 2011

We have teamed up with Amazon UK to enable you to purchase the reviewed music online, where you see the 'Buy from amazon.co.uk' button, just click and you will be taken straight to the album on the Amazon UK website where you can purchase that album as well as view their catalogue of over 25,000 bargain CD's.

Broken Vinyl Club – Self Titled (Acid Jazz)

If this album had been recorded around 1964, it would possibly have been one of the great missing records of all time. Taking in garage, British R&B and adding touches of rock, folk, and country, it could easily be taken as a missing link between the various genres of the day. With hints of The Who, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Byrds, with tight harmonies thrown into the mix that at times suggest Merseyside’s biggest export since the slave trade, and this quartet’s debut is something of an atmospheric trip down memory lane.
There’s more to the album than yet another mod revival band though. They’ve managed to incorporate more contemporary sounds into their music, The Coral must figure quite highly in their musical interests, and there is perhaps an occasional smidgeon of early Oasis in their vocal stylings.

There are too many standout tracks on here to easily choose a recommended listening song – do I recommend the Who-like Horror Show with its not particularly subtle nods to Magic Bus in its riffing, the country leaning of Brave Captain, the psych-rock tinged She’s Tired or the more out and out mod sounding One Way Street – to give you a fair taste of the album? All these show a different aspect of the bands eclectic spread of aural treats, and it seems unfair to have to settle on the one. It’s not an easy choice, but given that it was their debut single, I’ll suggest you have a quick listen to One Way Street before you rush off to buy the album, which is available on shiny CD, lovely black vinyl and invisible download.

Nik

Listen to: One Way Street

Video hosted by ©YouTube

Jasmine Kara - Blues Ain’t Nothing But A Good Woman Gone Bad (Acid Jazz)

It’s very rare that I’ll review an album of cover versions; there are just too many out there to justify it. Occasionally though, one slips under my guard and hits you hard. Jasmine Kara’s debut release is one such release, and she’s set a high standard for anyone following her.

Jasmine learned guitar after coming out of a traumatic relationship and along the road discovered blues, jazz and soul, before coming to the attention of Marshall Chess, son of the founder of the famous Chicago record company that bore the same name. Taking her under his wing, he laid the labels back catalogue at her disposal, and she’s paid that trust back in full.

Jasmine’s voice just has so much soul about it, putting Sixties pretenders such as Duffy in the shade. Versatile but honest, she fills the songs with depth, warmth and feeling to an extent you very rarely hear in a modern release. Fifteen tracks make up this album, 12 of which take you through some of the high points of Chess Records’ back catalogue, from the powerful opener in the shape of Willie Dixon/Etta James’ Fire, through The Kittens’ Motown-esque Northern Soul stormer Ain’t No More Room to Terry Colliers famous jazz-soul classic Ordinary Joe.

It’s not all about the soul though. Authentic rhythm and blues gets a good look in with another Etta James’ cover In The Basement (Parts 1 and 2), these two tracks also being available on her debut slab of vinyl, and stripped back blues also has a place, showing off Ms Kara’s outstanding guitar technique on the three original pieces on the album.

Saving the best until last, the final two cuts are worth the price of the album on its own. Little Milton’s Grits Ain’t Groceries gets an excellent seeing to before she tears a hole in Marlene Shaw’s monster funk/ soul classic Liberation Conversation, hammering her way through the scat vocal interludes she leaves you crying out for more, which at the end of the day is how it should be.

Nik

Listen to: I’m rather keen on this version of a Northern Soul classic, Ain’t No More Room

Video hosted by ©YouTube

The Clique - The 64 Rave Up EP (Acid Jazz)

Now this one caused a little dilemma, mainly that the title of this section is ‘Recommended’ Listening. Now as part of their Rare Mod series, Acid Jazz have tracked down The Clique’s first demo session, had it remastered and now present it as a limited edition 7-inch EP single.

As you may imagine, being their first demo it’s not the most tuneful offering, but to be honest after a couple of listens you can hear the potential and understand how they got signed. So here we have Oom Poo Pah Doo, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, Pretty Thing and She Ain’t No Good, the latter subsequently re-recorded for their first single shortly after.

It’s good ol’ raw Sixties mod, and to be honest probably not far off what they sounded like when playing the west London pub circuit back then. So no, this ain’t musical perfection but it could well be essential for the collectors out there.

Andy

Listen to: She Ain’t No Good (single version) – from ugly ducklings come beautiful swans...

Video hosted by ©YouTube

The Tall Boys - Live At The Klubfoot (Trophy Records)
Restless - Live At The KlubFoot (Trophy Records)

www.thetallboys.com www.raucousrecords.com

If like me you sported a quiff in the Eighties then the legendary Stomping At the Klubfoot albums were probably in your collection. Showcasing the finest in music that psychobillies appreciated, you could attend the infamous London venue (at the sadly long gone Clarendon Hotel in Hammersmith) and catch psycho, rockin’, garage, trash and punk bands of an evening. And if you legged it out after the last encore, you just had time to grab those stashed tinnies from the station roof before jumping on board the last Piccadilly Line train home that night!

The first of the Stomping albums featured The Stingrays, Guana Batz, The Tall Boys and Restless, and it seems that while each band only submitted four tracks to the long player, that the tapes have been kept safe ever since. Well two of them at least. For here we have a more complete offering from both The Tall Boys and Restless, courtesy of Trophy Records, and new imprint from Western Star.

The Tall Boys featured Nigel Lewis, and drummer Mark Robertson, who had played together in the original Meteors line-up and The Escalators. Their sound was a little dark in places, psycho with a garage feel, Jame Taylor adding keyboard to some of their studio recordings apparently. Tonight though they are raw and live, with warts and all. Granted this may not be the best live recording they ever did, but I don’t know of another on CD.

You get 12 tracks in all here, from Ride a Torpedo to Acton Woman, Take A Walk (from the soundtrack to the horror film Return Of The Living Dead) and Final Kick. In fact to my previous sounds add a little Link Wray too, and despite a little off key singing, these songs set the hairs on the back of my neck a tingling. Good memories.

The 13 track Restless album does that too. A lot more rockabilly than the Tallboys, I can still sing along to Long Black Shiny Car, Bottle on The Beach, Ghost Town and Baby Please Don’t Go. The slap bass thump along, the singer talking to the punters throughout their set, happy memories indeed.

In fact if I have any criticism of these two albums it’s not of the content but the packaging. It uses the same background images on both covers, there are no sleeve notes inside, and even some of the track listing is wrong. Surely fans with images of the Klubfoot days could have been found and persuaded to loan them, along with some memories too? Apparently there are more albums to follow in the series and I really hope they’ll raise the standard to match the music.

Andy

Listen to: Ride This Torpedo, The Tall Boys

Video hosted by ©YouTube

Listen to: Long Black Shiny Car, Restless

Video hosted by ©YouTube