JANUARY PLAYLIST

Ten tunes currently creating merriment at Monkey Mansions.

1. The Louvin Brothers – “The Great Atomic Power” (1952)

Considering Ira and Charlie Louvin feared mushroom clouds of destruction would rain down from on high blotting out the works of man they sounded remarkably upbeat about it. The reason?  God will surely save His children. Phew, that’s a weight off my mind.

2. Mel Williams – “Send Me A Picture, Baby” (1955)

When waiting to cut his new 45 for Federal Records I wonder if Mel asked for something people can whistle along to. If he did, they took him literally. What otherwise would be a standard big voiced R&B stroller is made more interesting (or perhaps annoying) by employing a whistling passer-by.

3. Faye Richmonde – “Sadie’s Still Got The Rag On” (1957)

Boys, if you’re thinking of knocking on Sadie’s door and asking her out to play, her mum reckons you’ll be wasting your time because she’s still got the rag on. Mumps, she says, but I’m not convinced. From the album My Pussy Belongs To Daddy released, presumably under the counter, in 1957.

4. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – “When The Words From Your Heart Get Caught Up In Your Throat” (1968)

That’s such a typical Smokey phrase. You can just imagine him coming up with the title and knocking the rest of the song together over lunch. The competition would’ve killed for songs like this yet Smokey could afford to chuck it away on the flip of “You Can Want”.

5. Os Mutantes – “Bat Macumba” (1968)

Mixing their Brazilian rhythms with imported US and UK psychedelic rock Os Mutantes eponymous debut album is wonderfully wigged-out from start to finish.

6. Darrow Fletcher – “(Love Is My) Secret Weapon” (1975)

I have to be careful to play this sort of stuff out of the earshot of Mrs Monkey as a pound to penny she’ll go “Turn this disco shit off” or “What’s this Luther Vandross bollocks?” If that’s also your natural reaction to a silky mid-70s soul dancer then you’d best steer clear too.

7. Siouxsie & The Banshees – “Supernatural Thing” (1981)

The Banshees wouldn’t be top of the pile of expected coverers of Ben E. King’s funk classic but they did it. The studio take appeared as the B-side to “Arabian Knights” but I’ve been playing the live version recorded for a Richard Skinner BBC session; all quirky rhythms and jagged shards of metallic noise. I'm still hoping they'll return one of these days. 

8. Slim Moore and the Mar-Kays – “How Long” (2011)

Introducing Slim Moore and the Mar-Kays is the best new soul album I’ve heard in years, not that it sounds very new, more an amalgamation of every cool Blaxploitation soundtrack. “How Long” contains just enough of a hint of hip-hop to pull it away from mere pastiche.       

9. Band A Part – “Blankets” (2011)

Despite the title this is sung in their native Spanish tongue. My grasp of the lingo is too shoddy to grasp what they’re on about but they sound enough of a sweet blend of St Etienne and Camera Obscura to get un abrazo from me.

10. Ballard – “Pretty Colours” (2013)

A rough and ready pill-eyed adrenaline rush written, recorded and released by Darren Riley quicker than it takes the Rolling Stones to assemble their stage set. 

DARROW FLETCHER at the 100 CLUB, LONDON

Darrow Fletcher occupies a special place in the hearts of many rare soul fans, in particular to the mod corner that has congregated to the left of the 100 Club stage at 6T’s Allnighters for as long as I can remember. Fletcher’s pair of 1966 thumpers “The Pain Gets A Little Deeper” and “My Young Misery” are super-strength mod dancefloor magnets, with the more traditional northern soul of “What Good Am I Without You” and the classy sophistication of “What Have I Got Now” not far behind.

For Darrow to guest at Kent Records’ 30^th Anniversary party was therefore something to savour and an extra week of waiting after his passport was deemed “too scruffy” to travel from Chicago only added to the sense of anticipation. Soul acts can be hit or miss, especially when plonked in front of aficionados after years of inactivity. The night Ray Pollard did a similar performance here in the late 80s will stay with me forever – I’ve never experienced such love and adulation shown to an artist - but others have been less successful although that’s not really the point of these types of event.

Darrow was good, no two ways about it. His voice is understandably a bit rusty and he can’t hit all the notes but he can still hold a tune. I’ve always been amazed that he was only 14 when he recorded “The Pain Gets A Little Deeper” and when he stepped on to the stage it was hard to believe this still youthful man was now 61. Whilst many soul men are all glitz, bling and white suits, Darrow is resolutely “street” wearing nothing more ostentatious than a baggy shirt and pants (that’s American pants by the way). With his tiny stature and small glassy eyes he only needed a hoody and a bike and could’ve passed for a teenage drug runner.

Starting with “Changing By The Minute” he sang nine numbers, each to rapturous applause, including the four mentioned above plus nice 70s ones like “No Limit” and “Secret Weapon” (from his new Kent LP Crossover Records 1975-79: LA Soul Sessions) before returning for an extended “Pain”. It was over far too quickly, which speaks volumes not only for how enjoyable it was but how many great songs like “Infatuation” and “What Is This” were omitted. Kent are putting the finishing touches to a long-overdue collection of Darrow’s 60s material, due out next year; if Darrow can look after his passport they should bring him back.  

Worth a purchase is the excellent CD Kent 30: Best of Kent Northern 1982-2012 which celebrates the label with some old classics and future floor fillers. 

SEPTEMBER PLAYLIST

Some highlights from this month's listening...

1. The What Four – “I’m Gonna Destroy That Boy” (1966)

Guitarist Cathy Cochran from this New York group said their records sounded “like an all-girl choir from a detention home”. Nice description, fabulous record.

2. Darrow Fletcher – “My Young Misery” (1966)

Darrow was aged between eleven and fourteen when he wrote then recorded this astonishing belter. A full collection of the material he scattered across several labels during the 60s and 70s is long overdue as I’ve not heard a bad one yet, and don’t expect to when he appears at the 100 Club on the 1^st of November.

3. Sarah Jane – “Listen People” (1966)

Many thanks to Bill from Anorak Thing for turning me on to this lovely Brit-folk single.

4. The Seeds – “Rollin’ Machine” (1966)

No other so-called garage band had as many brilliant songs as The Seeds. Their closest competitors had three, four or five. The Seeds had thirty or forty. I’ve picked this one at random. I wish Sky Saxon was still with us.

5. Big Daddy Green – “Who Done It” (1970)

From Louisiana, and he sounded like a big fella. What separates “Who Done It” from other swampy R&B 45s is the fuzz guitar that weaves its way through the grooves.

6. The Soul Children – “I Don’t Know What This World Is Coming To” (1972)

Public Enemy famously sampled the “Brothers and sisters” introduction for “Rebel Without A Pause” but the whole seven minutes of this Wattstax message song is funky vamping, hand clapping, testifying of the highest order (and cruelly cut from the film).

7. Bobby Womack – “There’s One Thing That Beats Failing” (1974)

There’s no bad track on Lookin’ For A Love Again and none better than this ender which with its spoken word parts, soaring strings, and soul man love throat does in a brisk three minutes what sometimes took Isaac Hayes quarter of an hour. 

8. The Staple Singers – “I Want To Thank You” (1975)

The Let’s Do It Again soundtrack written and produced by Curtis Mayfield and performed by The Staple Singers doesn’t rank among the finest artistic achievements of either (despite the title track being a US Billboard number 1 on the pop and soul charts) but it’s still a collaboration made in heaven and a classy LP.

9. The Adverts – “Bombsite Boy” (1978)

I was always put off The Adverts due to TV Smith being a punk with long curly hair which was unduly harsh on my part seeing how I overlooked that thing on Bruce Foxton’s head.  

10. The Wicked Whispers – “Dandelion Eyes” (2012)

Debut single from Liverpool band the Wicked Whispers could be the umpteenth single from The Coral, which is a compliment in the Psychedelic Jangle Handbook.