Track listing:

Scroll down to see the list

These songs, or pieces of music, are

all ones that are, or have been,

important to me. They are not all "rare".

This is like a piece of the inside of my head.

Review them how you like

you won't affect my opinion of them.

I recommend you to listen to them

several times.

I look forward to hearing your collection

and will give it many careful listenings.

The lists I've seen so far contain very

few I've heard of, so this will be interesting!

---------------------
1. On the wrong side of the railroad tracks
written by Duke Ellington, performed by Dr John

2. Only a dream in Rio - James Taylor

3. Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes - Kevin Ayers

4. This must be the place (naive melody) - Talking Heads

5. Page One - Lemon Jelly

6. Cloud Cuckoo Land - Bill Bruford's Earthworks

7. Bed O'Roses no. 9 - Ian Dury

8. Woke up this morning - Alabama 3

9. Mumps (D) - Hatfield and the North

10. Jolly Coppers on Parade - Randy Newman

11. Virtually part 1 - Soft Machine

12. History Repeating (Knee length) - Propellerheads and Miss Shirley Bassey

13. Player Piano Study No 11 - Conlan Nancarrow
(performed by Joanna MacGregor)

14. Diamonds on the Soles of her shoes - Paul Simon

Oh, I wish you included that song about ducks by Lemon Jelly! :o)

Well, that one was the single!

Hi Mike,

I'm looking forward to hearing your CD. So far none of the titles rings a bell, but sometimes you need to hear a song in order to recognize it. I'm not even sure I know that song by James Taylor, althogh I'm a great fan of his music. Which album is it from?

Cheers,
Annika ;-)

I posted the CD on Friday - - I'm not sure how long the post takes.
The James Taylor track was originally on the album called "That's why I'm here" altho I have it on a "greatest hits" album.

Mike

Hi Mike,

just received your CD. I'm going to listen to it right away.

Cheers,
Annika

Hi Mike,

hm, what can I say? In fact there are only three or four tracks I like on your CD. I'll have to give it a listen again, but you know I'm not so fond of long instrumental parts. I really don't like too much speaking rather than singing either. (Cracking by SV is an exception, although I had to get used to that one, too.)
Well, I hope your CD gets better reviews by the other participants...

Cheers,
Annika

No problem at all - I don't expect everybody to have the same strange tastes as me! In fact, if you said you loved them all, I would find it hard to believe you.
You found three new things that are a match for you, that's plenty ... which ones were they?
(Personally, "Cracking" is a favourite of mine - perhaps now you could have guessed that!!)
By the way, I will soon be sending Danielle's tape to you - I hope you have better luck with that.

Cheers

Mike

Dearest Mike,
I have posted you the next cd today, I do apologise for the delay. I've been busy, very busy with my work, on site most of the time ( I'm an architect), and as you must know by now, London had a postal strike last week. You ought to have it by Thursday.

cheers
ps. hope my tape grew on you just a little bit. i must say the new cd and the previous cd's just didn't do anything for me too old stuff, reminds me of my sisters when they where in their teens. Like futuristic stuff with new sounds etc.

xx danielle

I look forward to it. I've been busy myself - I have a bid due in tomorrow!
The tape did indeed grow on me, I listen to it regularly (on my way to work). I hope you like my CD, but many months yet before you get it...

Mike

Hey Mike

Not a review yet, just a quick post to let you know that I copied your CD onto my iPod for my travelling (of which I'm doing a lot at the moment) and I LOVE IT!! Top marks!

A review will follow in due course, i.e. when I can find some time but it will follow.

Cams

1. On the wrong side of the railroad tracks
written by Duke Ellington, performed by Dr John

A wonderful track, particularly now as I write at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning with the sun shining. Reminds me a little of Randy Newman, who, interestingly, appears later. Good start Mike!

2. Only a dream in Rio - James Taylor

A nice enough track, but a little twee IMO. A big 80s sound with those plinky-plonky keyboards. Not a big hit for me I'm afraid. It's interesting that I liked the track on Annika's compilation so much. Which is the more representative I wonder?

3. Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes - Kevin Ayers

This is absolutely superb! I remember the first time I heard this, sitting on the train starting out the window and listening to my iPod – it grabbed me by the short & curlies and brought a smile to my face as I listened. Now, I'm not normally a lyrics man, at least not right away but this one COMPELLED me to listen, and I'm glad that I did! I love the monotonous voice (a la Lou Reed?) and the piano is great. Is this song fairly typical of Kevin Ayers? If so, I need more!

4. This must be the place (naive melody) - Talking Heads

Talking Heads are well regarded on all of the tape trees I've been in, but they've just never hit the spot for me; this one's no exception.

5. Page One - Lemon Jelly

Fantastic!!! I'd never heard Lemon Jelly before and listened to this blind the first time, so I didn't know what I was hearing. I love it. It puts me in a good mood. My taste is very varied and this is the sort of thing that I have too little of. I like some ambient stuff such as William Orbit, the Orb, some more dancey stuff like Leftfield and the Shamen, and will even stretch to a bit of drum 'n' bass (but not garage!) Which album's this taken from? I'll see what KazAa can serve up before I make any purchases, but let me know what you can.

See that bit where he goes "and then" followed by some silence, then "nothing". The bit that kicks in after that is joyous!

6. Cloud Cuckoo Land - Bill Bruford's Earthworks

I like this one too. I also have far too little jazz in my collection, the only CDs being two by the Joshua Redman Quartet. The sax melody makes it sound quite soundtracky to my mind, even a bit dated like something from Gregory's Girl or something like that, and that's no bad thing.

7. Bed O'Roses no. 9 - Ian Dury

No need to convert me to Ian Dury – I'm already a fan! I hadn't heard this track before though, so thanks!

8. Woke up this morning - Alabama 3

Love it!!!!!!! Man, you've got some GREAT stuff on here. Another one that compels me to listen to the lyrics. Is THIS one typical? You're compilation is going to end up costing me a fortune!

9. Mumps (D) - Hatfield and the North

This is an interesting one that I can't quite make my mind up about. Makes me think of Gregory's Girl again for some reason, as well as early Genesis (of which I'm a big fan). Yes, I do like this one.

10. Jolly Coppers on Parade - Randy Newman

Ah yes, Randy Newman. I was introduced to him on another tape tree and liked it so much that the compiler copied an album for me and sent it on. I really do like this guy.

11. Virtually part 1 - Soft Machine

This was interesting too; a sort of fusion of prog rock and jazz, huh? I could listen to more of this…

12. History Repeating (Knee length) - Propellerheads and Miss Shirley Bassey

Once again, Love it!!!! "Where does he get these wonderful tunes?" This one gets the whole body jiving and sounds great loud, the louder the better. What album's this from?

13. Player Piano Study No 11 - Conlan Nancarrow
(performed by Joanna MacGregor)

No. I can't deal with this one at all. Is this what's known as free-form jazz?

14. Diamonds on the Soles of her shoes - Paul Simon

A classic track by a great musician and a good way to end a great compilation!


Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed this compilation Mike. Highlights are too many to mention, although the one standout would be Lemon Jelly I think. The only one I didn't like was the penultimate track with the jazzy piano.

Many thanks!

Cams

I'm really glad you liked them! I will post a list of which albums the tracks come from.

It's interesting, isn't it, this thing.
It's about balancing the two sides of the brain, the intellect and the emotions, the lyrics versus the music, the left hand and the right, bringing them together.

For me, the Talking Heads piece is mainly about the words - and its almost the most important piece in the collection for me - how much it moves me - and yet at the same time it would not work at all without the music. Try just listening to the words a few times.

Conlan Nancarrow - just listen a few times - it's not long - maybe it will come back to you in your dreams or nightmares. Of course, the melody in it (which gets played in different ways at different speeds) could just be "If you knew Suzy".... do you think?

Mike
------------------

"Home, is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there.
I come home, she lifted up her wings
I guess that this must be the place.
...
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two..."

1. On the wrong side of the railroad tracks. This is on a collection (1999) called “Duke Elegant” of covers of Duke Ellington tracks. This song was written by Ellington in 1947 for a Broadway show. I’m not sure if it was ever performed on stage. Some sources say no, others say yes for a few shows. As far as I can find, there is no recording of Ellington himself performing it. If you know different, PLEASE let me know. I saw Dr John do this at a show in Cambridge.

2. Only a dream in Rio - James Taylor. (1985) From the album “That’s why I’m Here”. I’m twee and proud!

3. Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes - Kevin Ayers (1972) from the album “Whatevershebringswesing” – a very varied album with guests including Robert Wyatt from Soft Machine, Mike “tubular” Oldfield and David Bedford.

4. This must be the place (naive melody) - Talking Heads. From the 1983 album “Speaking in Tongues”. I love everything on that album; but not necessarily all of their albums.

5. Page One - Lemon Jelly – Originally on the “Midnight EP” (2000) and then collected on “Lemon Jelly KY”. Their second collection "Lost Horizons" is less consistently good in my opinion.

6. Cloud Cuckoo Land - Bill Bruford's Earthworks. This is from the 2001 album “The Sound of Surprise”. Bruford is a star, having been a key member of Yes, King Crimson, and also played with National Health. This is his own band. I’ve seen them live a few times – this is one of the most cheerful of pieces. Some others are deeper.

7. Bed O'Roses no. 9 - Ian Dury From the 1998 album “Mr Love Pants”. Dury died of cancer shortly after this was released, and the whole album reflects some of his concerns with mortality.

8. Woke up this morning - Alabama 3 (now apparently called A3 for legal reasons). From the 1998 album “Exile on Coldharbour Lane”. Another “mortality” item, perhaps. You may recognise this as the theme tune to “The Sopranos”, but if you haven’t heard the intro and the whole piece, then this will give you a better idea what it’s really about. “The South London son of a Welsh Mormon preacher meets the offspring of a Glaswegian trades unionist at an underground acid house party”.

9. Mumps (D) - Hatfield and the North. From “The Rotters Club” (1975).

10. Jolly Coppers on Parade - Randy Newman – “Little Criminals” (1977)

11. Virtually part 1 - Soft Machine. This is the one I’ve known for the longest time! It changed my life. This is off the 1970 album “Fourth”, featuring Mike Ratledge, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt, all glowering severely on the cover. “Virtually” is a piece forming one half of the album. Soft Machine was less of a band, more of a floating community, so be warned other records under their name often have a different cast list and a very different sound.

12. History Repeating (Knee length) - Propellerheads and Miss Shirley Bassey. Okay, you may have heard this too, if you watch the Graham Norton show, but it’s nice to hear it in full – what a fantastic voice! This came out as an EP in 1997 and was then collected on the album “Decks and drums and rock and roll”.

13. Player Piano Study No 11 - Conlan Nancarrow (performed by Joanna MacGregor). Nancarrow was a composer who wrote piano music too complex to be performed – so he “programmed” player pianos to play it, cutting the holes in the piano rolls by hand. Nowadays modern technology can assemble a performance of his works. This takes a few listenings, but it grows on you. Well, me anyway. And is accompanied, in my mind, by an image of this guy creating this stuff with a player piano roll and a pair of scissors!

14. Diamonds on the Soles of her shoes - Paul Simon. I don’t need to introduce Paul Simon. This was off “Graceland” (1986).

Mike

A nice enough track, but a little twee IMO. A big 80s sound with those plinky-plonky keyboards. Not a big hit for me I'm afraid. It's interesting that I liked the track on Annika's compilation so much. Which is the more representative I wonder?

It really depends. I guess James Taylor's early music differs a lot from his later stuff. His earlier work is a lot more acoustic as opposed to his later songs. I like some of his later music, but definately not everything.
Two great albums are Mud Slide Slim And The New Horizon and Sweet Baby James. Then there's of course his two Greatest Hits Albums, which are not bad either. IMO his latest album October Road goes back to his roots and is more focused on acoustic tracks.


Cheers,
Annika