I Can See You - by Paddy Summerfield c. 1986

Tuesday, August 04, 2026

For Glen . . . . . . .

Glen Hansard's widow the poet Maire Saaritsa,  . . . .  has thanked gardaí and the public for the support following his death.

Speaking at her husband’s funeral, she said, “none of this could have been done without you. Most of whom I’ve not even met yet.”




Lonesome Andy & his One Man Band “I’m Going Home” (Charley Patton cover)

 Lonesome Andy & his One Man Band

Andy says: "Charley Patton (1891-1934) was one of the early heroes of Delta-Blues and one of the most important influence on development of Blues music in general...
Here's my version of his "I'm Going Home”"

Birthdays: Vini Reilly

 A very happy birthday to Vini Reilly, born in Blackley, Manchester on this day in 1953.

Please say his name, don't turn away.

The Durutti Column - Never Known (1981)

Kevin Coyne - The Dandelion Years ’69 - ’72 2007 re-issue | Plain & Fancy

I had the strongest phase of loving Kevin Coyne after seeing him and a band incarnation around the time of Millionaires And Teddy Bears  play live somewhere lost in the mists of time to me now ( I thought a festival somewhere but it now escapes me!?) and I loved the eccentric madness to his style and songwriting . . . . . enjoy this. I did!

 Kevin Coyne - The Dandelion Years (1969-1972 2007 re-issue three disc boxset)


Kevin Coyne - Siren ‎Strange Locomotion 1971 Hot Potato 

I first became acquainted with the utterly unique phenomenon that is Kevin Coyne with his second solo album, Marjory Razorblade, which is generally recognized by critics and fans as his best overall work.

And what a work it is, nightmarishly combining blues, folk, Van Morrison-meets-Beefheart vocals and simultaneously humorous and disturbing lyrics and images across its sprawling 2 LPs worth of space. After digesting Marjory Razorblade, I had to hear more from Kevin Coyne.

Since his mid-70's albums are considerably harder to find and since his solo debut, Case History, has nearly as strong a reputation as its sequel, I decided to pick up this 3 album compilation.

The Siren material in this set doesn't hold up as well as Coyne's solo work. Their self-titled first album is the better of the two; it's a wide-ranging platter of British blues, ranging from hopping, dancy numbers ("Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze" and the raunchy "Gardener Man") to acoustic and electric slide-drenched ("Get Right Church" and "Wasting My Time") to piano-powered grinders like "Rock Me Baby" and "The War is Over").

The band whips out about every instrument and style in the blues idiom, but there's not a ton of idiosyncrasy to the playing (or a lot of the lyrics, for that matter), which both makes for a slightly bland experience and mirrors the direction British blues was going--running out of fresh ideas and retreading old ground.

There's some good energy on some tracks, and Coyne has a great blues voice--growling, howling, wailing and whispering.

There's no doubt that most of the personality found on Siren is thanks to him--tracks like "And I Wonder," "Asylum" and "I Wonder Where" all stand out as breaking the mold with more interesting, off-kilter lyrics and quiet intensity that presages later work.

Strange Locomotion doesn't succeed in building upon Siren's promise. For the most part, it's more of the same in style and quality. At its best, the bluesiest stuff ("Gigolo," "Sheke My Hand") approaches the quality of Led Zeppelin a la Hats off to (Roy) Harper or the less weird tracks on Safe as Milk.

Again (but less often than on the debut) the best moments are when Coyne's fascinatingly weird personality shines through, as on the subtly twisted "Some Dark Day" and the sparkling "Soon."

 Case History. It's much more bare bones than Siren's albums, featuring mostly acoustic guitar and Coyne's distinct songwriting voice.

All of the ideas that are later fleshed out with large band arrangements and varying styles and tempos on Marjory Razorblade are visited here with quiet intensity--"White Horse" is impenetrable and uneasy, "Uggy's Song" features Coyne's knack for jagged chord progressions and dissonance, "Need Somebody" is a perfect representation of his uncanny ability to project emotional isolation and loneliness, and "Evil Island Home" is an echoey creep-out.

Themes of church oppression and eerily authentic accounts of madness appear on "My Message to the People" and "Mad Boy," respectively.

Throughout, Coyne proves his style as uncompromising and unique, from his experimental and evocative vocal style to his recognizable acoustic guitar style to his utterly inimitable songs (which is more than can be said for the bulk of the Siren albums).

This is often unsettling work on several levels, but once you connect with these songs you'll understand why so many people praise this man's work.

This reissue is of top quality--it sounds great, each album has its own disc and sleeve with original artwork, and the liner notes are informative and illuminating (especially with regards to Coyne's work in the mental health sector).

I'd recommend starting with Marjory Razorblade, which has more bang for the buck, but this is a perfect next step, as it's currently the easiest way to get ahold of Case History, plus the occasionally gripping Siren albums 
by Elliot Knapp

Tracks
Disc 1 (as Siren)
1. Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 3:04
2. Get Right Church (McDowell) 3:20
3. Rock Me Baby (Josea, King) 3:30
4. Wake Up My Children (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 3:37
5. Wasting My Time (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:49
6. Sixteen Women (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:46
7. First Time I Saw Your Face (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:52
8. Gardener Man (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 3:32
9. And I Wonder (Coyne, Cudworth) 2:45
10.The War Is Over (Clague, Coyne) 4:48
11.Asylum (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:44
12.Bertha Lee (Petway) 3:17
13.I Wonder There (Coyne, Cudworth) 5:09
14.Mandy Lee (Clague, Coyne) 2:01
15.Bottle Up and Go (Traditional) 3:12
16.The Stride (Clague, Coyne) 2:36

Disc 2 (as Siren)
1. Relaxing with Bonnie Lou (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:24
2. Some Dark Day (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:31
3. Hot Potato (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 4:07
4. Soon (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:46
5. Gigolo (Coyne, Cudworth) 4:25
6. I'm All Aching (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:03
7. Strange Locomotion (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:56
8. Shake My Hand (Coyne) 3:17
9. Lonesome Ride (Coyne, Cudworth) 2:20
10.Fetch Me My Woman (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 7:38
11.Fat Moaning Minnie (Coyne, Cudworth) 2:50
12.Squeeze Me (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:35

Disc 3
1. God Bless the Bride (Coyne, Cudworth) 3:55
2. White Horse (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth, Ferguson) 4:13
3. Uggy's Song (Coyne) 2:58
4. Need Somebody (Coyne) 4:15
5. Evil Island Home (Coyne) 5:00
6. Araby (Coyne) 3:38
7. My Message to the People (Coyne) 5:23
8. Mad Boy (Coyne) 4:45
9. Sand All Yellow (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 5:44
10.Cheat Me (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 3:13
11.Flowering Cherry (Clague, Coyne, Cudworth) 2:41
Musicians
*John Chichester - Guitar
*Dave Clague - Bass
*Kevin Coyne - Guitar, Vocals
*Nick Cudworth - Guitar, Piano
*Mick Gratton - Guitar
*Tat Meager - Drums
*Mick Sweeny - Guitar
Kevin Coyne - I’ll Go Too
Kevin Coyne (born 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK; died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. His uncompromising  attitude towards showbiz fame and fortune always left him in a position of "outsider", a position he relished. The freedom to express himself without the chains of commercial considerations (although he would not have been adverse to a Number One album) helped keep his creativity alive


I miss him! 

Leo Kottke - Mona Ray [Dreams and All That Stuff] | jt1674

  . . . . now we’re talking

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/823955199072796672/leo-kottke-mona-ray

The Soft Boys: Discography 1979 - 2002 [a continuation of the Robyn Hitchcock story ] | Urbanaspirines

The Soft Boys: Discography 1979 - 2002

A KOSTAS SPECIAL



Kostas tells us: "Led by Robyn Hitchcock, the group blended edgy pop and punk's fearlessness with a love of 
psychedelia and folk-rock. Their offbeat and hooky melodies, matched with Hitchcock's witty, surreal lyrics, set them apart from their peers, and R.E.M. were just the best known of the many bands that learned from their example. They made a striking debut with 1979's A Can of Bees, and 1980's Underwater Moonlight was an edgy, joyous masterpiece that led the way to Hitchcock's solo career. 

We have featured a fair bit of Robyn Hitchcock’s solo work here and it behoves us to check this out from Kostas as he profiles an early band incarnation of Robyn's as an near 
proto-punk pop band in The Soft Boys - download the lot you know it makes sense its from Urbanspirines 








Robyn Hitchcock On Urban Aspirines HERE

J.J. Cale - Going Down [Really] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/824014418799149056/jj-cale-going-down

Music I’d rather not . . . . . .

Tripping Mantras posted a Frank Zappa from Roxy’s and Elsewhere (Village of The Sun/Echidnas Art) and I really tried hard to post it here but strewth it is DULL! So boring, predictable, staggeringly the same as everything else he ever did and all that I have come to detest about dear Frank. Monotonous, predictable chord structures guitar licks and runs, and lyrics well please!. . . . . I couldn't even bring myself to post the music . . . . go to Tripping Mantras (jt1674) and listen by all means. Noodle soup anyone?!

 

here . . . . if you must

sorry!

It’s just because I feel I should!

Frank always said 'if you don’t like it don’t listen to it’ [I don’t - unless the Captain features, Hot Rats, Bongo Fury etc) but that avoids any critical theory and expression of my feelings . . . .

Patti Smith Group - Ask The Angels [Radio Ethiopia] | jt1674

  . . . . . .I gave Patti a miss around the time of Radio Ethiopia and am not entirely sure why . . . it just left me cold and was listening to other stuff by then . . . . . . I came back!

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/824015116616040448/patti-smith-group-ask-the-angels

Little Feat - 1975-10-18 - Rochester, NY | Heavybootz

 Little Feat - 1975-10-18 - Rochester, NY

Little Feat
Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY
1975-10-18


sbd
mp3 @ 320 [140 mb]
sq: EX 

artwork included
01 Skin It Back
02 Fat Man In The Bathtub
03 One Love Stand
04 Rock & Roll Doctor
05 Oh Atlanta 
06 On Your Way Down
07 All That You Dream 
08 Down Below The Borderline 
09 Romance Dance
10 Dixie Chicken
11 Tripe Face Boogie
12 Willin'
13 Teenage Nervous Breakdown


tt: 1:00:52



Now I have said (ad nauseam - ED - R-U-D-E-!) what I think about Little Feat and specifically Lowell George and nobody gives a blind blue fig so here’s another set from a soundboard from Heavybootz
Gotta be good huh?