Chomp, chomp, chomp…

Adiós Tony Joe White

It’s almost time, once again, for Mumblin Earl’s Christmas Cracker

Okay friends let’s get this up and out there. About late November people start poking about in old posts on this blog looking for some festive fun, so here’s a new link for the last christmas mix. Another new one is not really on the cards yet, no sir – although if I get to feelin’ festive maybe I’ll dig out some old country christmas business we’ll see. I hit the christmas drinks stash a little early and pretty firmly a couple years back. I got to messing about playing some records and I cooked up this c90’s worth of xmas fer the tape deck in the truck. It has the sweet voice of darling miss Caitlin Rose, that song already made me cry this year and it ain’t even really started in with the xmas music yet, and in the second half we got a bunch of all out, solid gold, Old Record Club classics, ‘Elephant For Christmas’, ‘Merry Christmas From The Family’, ‘Christmas Tree On Fire’ and the demented ‘Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas’ whihc has an added spring in it’s step this holiday season. Rounding out with the killer one-two punch of Big Star and Darlene Love. If’n that ain’t Christmas then I don’t know what. So, best wishes to you and yours for the holidays, click the big red title if you wanna download it and spread the love or just stream it here. Whatcha think Nancy wants from Mr. T for Christmas?  “This ain’t the kinda cracker I had in mind”

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Vince Guaraldi Trio  –  Christmas Is Coming
Porter Wagoner  –  Frosty The Snowman
Jack Scott  –  There’s Trouble Brewin’
Caitlin Rose with Keegan DeWitt  –  You Never Come Home For Christmas
Lil McClintock  –  Don’t Think I’m Santa Claus
Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers  –  Christ Was Born On Christmas Morn
Youngsters  –  Christmas in Jail
Kinky Friedman  –  A Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets  –  Children Go Where I Send Thee
Violent Femmes  –  Happy New Year Next Year
Esther Phillips  –  Far Away Christmas Blues
Eddie Hazelwood  –  Blue Shadows On A White Christmas Tree
Frontier Ruckus  –  Christmas Eve, Driving Home
Tom Waits  –  Nirvana
Mark Kozelek  –  Do You Hear What I Hear?
Brian Setzer Orchestra  –  Angels We Have Heard on High
Rudi and the Rain Dearz  –  Santa’s New Bag
Hank Thompson  –  I’d Like To Have An Elephant For Christmas
Loretta Lynn  –  I Won’t Decorate Your Christmas Tree
Hank Snow  –  Reindeer boogie
Johnny Cash  –  Little Drummer Boy
Michelle Cody  –  Merry Christmas Elvis
El Vez  –  Santa Claus Is Sometimes Brown
Robert Earl Keen  –  Merry Christmas From The Family
Arthur Lyman  –  Mele Kalikimaka
Los Straightjackets  –  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Holly Golightly  –  Christmas Tree On Fire
Rev. Glen Armstrong  –  Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas
Ramsey Lewis  –  Christmas Blues
Patsy Raye  –  Beatnik’s Wish
Staple Singers  –  Silent Night
Big Star  –  Jesus Christ
Darlene Love  –  Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Adios Fats.

I Go To Bakeries All Day Long…

… there’s a lack of sweetness in my life. Happy 66th to Jonathon Richman. So many great songs. I kinda ignored this song and the other gentler numbers on ‘The Modern Lovers’ for years because I was into ‘Pablo Picasso’ and ‘She Cracked’ and obviously ‘Roadrunner’ but they’ve become so much richer as we’ve both got older. It’s forty years since this record got released although ‘Hospital’ is actually from their first recording session in 1971. Jonathon is often praised for having an unaffected, childlike sorta take on the world which is fair and fine and true and all but here he is, not even out of his teens, writing these incredibly mature songs. Romantic for sure but very adult, by which I mean grown up and clear eyed in the way he sees things. It’s almost one of those tragic cases of the first thing someone did being the best although he’s lived up to it at least. Around the same time he also wrote ‘Roadrunner’ and that’s a deathless masterpiece, an iconic rock ‘n’ roll record for the ages. It always sounds amazing. Every. Damn. Time. you know?

read Laura Barton’s great essay about ‘Roadrunner’

Trailer Parklife

I still don’t know entirely what to think about this lil’ venture here but it seems we been remiss about not sharing it with you. It may well be stupid, possibly even slightly offensive some ways but don’t take it too serious and let it bring a smile. Still, we always had a weakness for this type of thing. Hayseed Dixie, Nouvelle Vague, Senor Coconut – genre re-imaginings of familiar, generally alt-rock/pop type hits, y’know the sort of thing. In this case a bunch of loosely ‘Brit pop’ or ‘independent’ tunes done up in country style or thereabouts. The title’s a treat, the name of the band so ‘does what it says on the tin’ I just don’t know what to think about that. By now you’ll probably have decided if this is something you’re prepared to give any of your attention or not. What can I tell you ’bout it? The songs they’ve picked are generally strong enough to stand up to a beating but the new arrangements are more imaginative than a simple shift of tempo and instrumentation. They do a decent job of pushing the original versions firmly into the background, although I don’t think we’ve discovered any definitive new readings here. As it goes with these things some work better than others – Happy Monday’s ‘Wrote For Luck’ is a success, the Mary Chain’s ‘Blues From a Gun’ makes a good country tune although I always thought a rockin’ country-soul Elvis version with the Vegas period Hot Band would be a killer and this don’t quite match those imagined heights. The Mariachi brass on ‘Made Of Stone’ is a nice touch and elsewhere there’s a lot of pretty sweet organ on the record. In the midpoint head to head Blur and Oasis fair so-so. My own feelings to the side a moment, I reckon Oasis probably wrote a tune or two that’d work as country songs, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ don’t appear to be one of them though. Then again you’d think Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Star Sign’ would be a gift and yet, maybe because it’s too close, it doesn’t work so well. On the other hand, possibly the most obscure tune of the bunch Moose’s ‘This River Never Will Run Dry’ was always a country song from the point the band tried an only partly successful shift from indie art rock to americana, and it works great. So, I think, does the closing ‘Big’ despite being a fairly abstract open ended groove piece in it’s original form – nice going there boys.

I put my pain in a jar and it will be full tomorrow

Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone

Friends, how’s yer weekend going? As a little seasonal gift here’s an easter show from back when me ‘n’ Randy used to do the sunday Gospel radio show. Them Gospel shows are about the least listened to of the stuff we put up on the mixcloud so I ain’t put many of ’em there, like folks are scared they’ll catch Jesus or something. Funny ‘cos the Christmas ones is among the most popular. Y’all think eating that chocolate egg is going to make you see the easter bunny? No. Course you don’t. Calm yourselves, have a listen, this is beautiful, and very human, music.
click on the title there fer the download, or have a lissen on the mixcloud.  happy easter y’all.

The Five Blind Boys of Alabama ft Clarence Fountain – Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone
The Radio Four – Blood Done Signed My Name
Arizona Dranes – Crucifixion
Tommy Collins – Jesus keep me nearer the cross
Carl Smith with the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle – Blood That Stained the Old Rugged Cross
Gillian Welch – By The Mark
The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir – You’ve Got To Bear The Consequence
Swan Silvertones – At The Cross
Sam Cooke With The Soul Stirrers – Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Johnny Cash – Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)

 

God’s Gonna Trouble The Water

Good Morning to you all. How’s it be friends? Check this out for beauty, lovely old clip here from 1978 in which the St. James Missionary Baptist Church of Canton sing Wade In the Water. It don’t get a whole lot better than this.

Triggering

Just a little something to shine a light today, sweet little film about Willie Nelson and his guitar ‘Trigger’ that gave him that unique sound of his. One day in the not so distant future friends Willie will be gone. Not like he ain’t left a few recordings behind but I feel we should make the most of his playing while we can y’know?

Rev. Gary Davis – How Happy I Am

Friends, here we got something. more than 20 mins of Rev Gary Davis playing and singing. Don’t believe I ever seen such a thing, don’t suppose I expected it even existed. Sounds silly now but I guess he always seemed a faded figure from a world that’s gone. Man was born all the way back in the late 1800’s y’know? Anyway, turns out the ol’ Reverend walked the earth just about long enough to share it with me an’ Randy finally shuffling off to his reward in 1972. How d’you like them apples? This clip is from 1967, it’s good quality too a mix of spiritual and secular numbers. Not all that much in terms of visual drama it’s kinda like a magical photo that comes to life and plays some tunes for you. Who doesn’t want that right?