List #6 - top pissed up / drugged up / generally out of it gigs

Inspired by my recent Terry Reid experience (see review below) here is a list of some of the most un-together gigs I have seen.

1. The Fall The Venue, Edinburgh 1997 - MES drunk lay on the floor babbling for most of the gig left the stage for three songs which were played as instrumentals by the band, he returned to the stage and attempted to screw up the rest of the band's efforts by hitting their instruments randomly - genius
2. John Martyn The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh 2000 - Inebriated Martyn could barely play and told drunken stories egged on by a partisan crowd. Backed by some kind of jazz fusion combo living in MIDI hell.
3. Cat Power The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh 2003- Chan Marshall spent most of the gig telling stories that had no begining or end
4. The Fall The Acropolis, Calton Hill, Edinburgh 1994 - Brix had rejoined for a few gigs on this tour MES was out of it and tried to punch Karl Burns and stormed off
5. Terry Reid Academy3, Manchester - See review below
6. Teardrop Explodes (supporting Queen) - Ingliston Showground, Edinburgh 1982 - Julian Cope during his late eighties acid rambling period, mutters incoherently about the higher meaning of the film Quest for Fire. The rest of the band looked on bemused, this must have been one of the last shows that the Teardrop Explodes played, they split a couple of months later.

List #5 - Current Buns

1. Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow
2. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
3. Electrelane - Axes
4. Tom Middleton - The Trip
5. Various Artists - Welsh Rare Beat

Terry Reid

I went to see Terry Reid at Manchester Academy 3 last night, taking the opportunity to see the legendary singer/songwriter on one of his rare trips to the UK (he lives in the US).

Although seemingly without regrets, Reid has a reputation an unlucky figure having turned down vocalists jobs with Led Zeppelin and latterly Deep Purple, CSNY recorded a version of Reid’s “Without Expression” for their multi platinum Déjà vu album but it’s inclusion on the album was vetoed by Stephen Stills.

The Manchester performance was idiosyncratic to say the least, he was so noticeably drunk that he was unable to play his guitar to any real effect and barely able to string a coherent sentence together causing a member of the audience to shout out “Oi, Terry are you taking the piss, I’m really dischuffed you can hardly stand you’re staggering all over the place”. The shouter was then promptly booed by the hard core Reid fans who had followed him up and down the country on his current tour. Reid came over as a good natured piss-head somewhere between the Fast Show’s rambling old barrister, Rowley Birkin and George Best circa his 1990 Wogan TV appearance.

His singing voice however sitting somewhere between Joe Coker, Rod Stewart in his prime and Paul Rodgers remained in great shape despite suffering from a sore throat that night although his choice of material was rather MOR as he crooned through covers of Waterloo Sunset, David Mann's In the wee small hours of the morning and Cole Porter’s Every time we say goodbye. I would have like to hear selections from his classic River and Seed of Memory albums.

Manchester - Jimmy Webb

I am currently splitting my time between my flats in Edinburgh and Manchester with a view to moving down to the North West at some point after Christmas. At the moment I am working on a number of freelance web/graphics and interface design projects on my wife's laptop on the kitchen table. About 12.30 each day I nip out to Deansgate to get my lunch and to get rained on Manchester rainfall. On the plus side Manchester is much better served for gigs than Edinburgh, in fact I am going to see the legendary Jimmy Webb in concert at the Bridgewater Hall (***moved to Manchester Academy) tonight so to commemorate, here is a list of favourite Jimmy Webb tunes and productions.

1. The Fifth Dimension - The Magic Garden (Album)
2. Thelma Houston - Sunshower (Album)
3. Richard Harris - A Tramp Shinning (Album)
4. Jimmy Webb - The Highway Man
5. Judy Collins - The Moons a Harsh Mistress
6. Glen Campbell - By the Time I Get To Phoenix
7. Jimmy Webb - Where the Universes Are
8. Glen Campbell - Galveston
9. Scott Walker - If Ships Were Made to Sail
10. Jimmy Webb - Crying in My Sleep

List #4 - Some Recommended Folk Records

A few (mainly British, mainly 60's - 70's) folk classics.

1. C.O.B. - Moyshe McStiff And The Tartan Lancers Of The Sacred Heart
2. Fuchsia - Fuchsia
3. Shelagh McDonald - Let No Man Steal Your Time (comp)
4. Dransfield - The Fiddler's Dream
5. Alisdair Roberts - Farewell Sorrow
6. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
7. Bert Jansch - Jack Orion
8. Trees - On The Shore
9. Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms
10. The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band
11. Barry Dransfield - Barry Dransfield
12. Richard Thompson - Henry the Human Fly
13. Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
14. Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come
15. Shirley and Dolly Collins - Love Death and the Lady
16. The Watersons - The Definitive Collection
17. Pentangle - The Pentangle
18. Fairport Convention - Liege and Lief
19. Chris Wood - The Lark Descending
20. Various Artists - Gather in the Mushrooms

List #3 - Guilty Pleasures

Making a Guilty Pleasures type CD for my mate Brian at the moment. Some of the highlights

1. The Highwaymen - The Highwayman
2. Cyndi Grecco - Making our Dreams Come True
3. Tin Tin - Toast And Marmalade For Tea
4. Looking Glass - Brandy You're a Fine Girl
5. 20/20 - Giving It All
6. The Munx - Our Dream
7. John Sebastian - Welcome Back Kotter
8. Tony Hatch - Man Alive
9. Free Design - Bubbles
10. Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts

List #2 - Currently listening to

1. Albert Collins - The Ice Axe Cometh
2. Sam Dees - Second To None
3. Murcof - Remembranza
4. Jean-Claude Vannier - L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches
5. Albert King - The Best Of
6. Sexsmith and Kerr - Destination Unknown
7. The Move - Message From The Country
8. Miles Davis - Miles In Berlin
9. Bob Dylan - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack
10. Khonnor - Handwriting

List #1 - Ten great records that you really should own

This list presumes that you already own all the usual suspects that appear in best album ever type lists - Bryter Layter, Astral Weeks, Blood on the Tracks etc, for those that want to dig a little deeper (these are in no particular order).

1. Terry Reid - River
2. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down
3. Gene Clark - No Other
4. Alisdair Roberts - Farewell Sorrow
5. Murcof - Martes
6. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...
7. The Millennium - Begin
8. Patto - Hold Your Fire
9. Slint - Spiderland
10. David Crosby - If Only I Could Remember My Name