Might sign off the day with this beautiful rendition . . . . . from The Grand Ole Opry (bucket list venue!)
The sweetest friendship 🫶Watch as Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris share the stage after she inducted him as a member of the Grand Ole Opry! About bloody time too . . . . . . .
TONI LINDGREN - RIPPLE
Again the algorithm threw this up and boy we like Keb Mo don’t we?
Tom sings Carole King . . . . . .
Ignoring the quality of the video check these live versions out . . . . . but BEST?
Some heartless BASTARD played this to me earlier on!
Soul Asylum–Twiddly Dee
"how many songs do you know that employ the use of a Jew’s harp? are we allowed to call them Jew’s harps still? Mouth twangers? I don’t know."
stuft that’ll be a jaw harp or more recently, you know since about the sixties,(sic!)
a Mouth Harp!!
NINA SIMONE SINGLES
Nina Simone - Complete 1957-62 Singles [2020] + Let It All Out, Selected Singles 1961-1978 [2025] (4 x CDs)
Nina Simone’s story is often told through albums, but her singles reveal something different, a musician shaping her identity one recording at a time, responding to the world with clarity, courage and emotional truth. These two collections, the early Complete 1957–62 Singles and the expansive Let It All Out set, trace her evolution from a young pianist‑singer finding her voice to a fully formed artist whose work carried political weight, cultural pride and deep personal resonance.
The first set captures Simone before fame hardened into expectation. The singles from Bethlehem, Colpix and early Philips sessions show her balancing jazz phrasing, classical discipline and a quiet intensity that made even small songs feel significant. I Loves You, Porgy, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, Will I Find My Love Today, each track carries a sense of discovery. Her piano lines are crisp, her vocals poised, and the arrangements leave space for her to shape mood with subtle shifts in tone. These recordings feel close, almost intimate, as if she is still deciding how much of herself to reveal.
The second collection widens the frame. By the early sixties Simone had become a force, and the singles from 1961 to 1978 show her pushing outward, emotionally, politically, musically. Mississippi Goddam, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Backlash Blues, Four Women, songs that confront injustice with precision and fire. Alongside them sit ballads, folk interpretations, soul‑leaning arrangements and late‑period tracks shaped by exile and reflection. Her voice grows darker, richer, more deliberate. The piano becomes a weapon, the phrasing sharper, the emotional stakes higher. These singles document an artist who refused to soften her truth for commercial comfort. (Butterboy)
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This also worth checking and I think I have said before but once Nina covered any Bee Gee songs the UK Mods adopted her as one of their own oddly perhaps but they were de rigeur to be seen at Mod House Parties with a Nina Simone album under your arm! I kid you not!
Digging Your Scene, New Pop And All That Jazz 1982-1987
JAZZ POP
"Digging Your Scene captures a moment when British pop stepped away from post‑punk austerity and embraced sophistication, rhythm and emotional colour. Between 1982 and 1987, a new kind of pop emerged — stylish, literate, jazz‑inflected, and shaped by musicians who wanted melody without blandness, groove without formula, and elegance without losing edge. This compilation gathers that world in motion, revealing how diverse the movement truly was.
The set opens in smoky, late‑night territory: Everything But The Girl, Robert Wyatt, Scritti Politti, Joe Jackson, Blue Rondo À La Turk. These tracks blend jazz phrasing with pop clarity, creating music that feels both urbane and intimate. Furniture, Weekend, Carmel and Mari Wilson add theatrical flair, turning everyday stories into small dramas carried by brass, brushed drums and cool‑blue harmonies.
As the mood widens, the compilation shows how New Pop absorbed influences from Latin rhythm, soul, art‑rock and dance culture. Working Week, The Special AKA, Malcolm McLaren and Jah Wobble bring global textures; David Sylvian, China Crisis and Virna Lindt add atmospheric depth; Alison Moyet and Fine Young Cannibals push toward emotional intensity. The sound becomes a blend of groove, intelligence and experimentation, pop that moves with confidence but thinks deeply.
Later selections highlight the era’s polished charm. Swing Out Sister, Heaven 17, ABC, Basia, The James Taylor Quartet and Mondo Kané deliver bright arrangements shaped by horns, synths and crisp rhythm sections. These tracks show how New Pop evolved into a mature, radio‑friendly style without losing its sense of craft.
What makes Digging Your Scene compelling is its sweep. It doesn’t treat New Pop as a narrow genre; it reveals a cultural moment when British musicians embraced sophistication and curiosity, creating songs that felt modern, stylish and emotionally resonant. For collectors, it’s a beautifully curated map of an era often overshadowed by louder movements. For listeners, it’s a reminder that the early‑to‑mid eighties produced some of the most inventive, elegant pop of its time, music built for night streets, quiet rooms and the thrill of discovery." (Butterboy)
This looks great fun and allowing my comments about Matt Bianco being left out earlier in a survey of the Eighties Matt and the band (incl. singer Basia) and everyone from The Higson’s to Soft Cell to the Communards and The Style Council feature here amongst an eclectic range of bands see track list by hitting the header title