Deeper And Down

"Now you're stranded alone and the past is unknown and there is no easy way down..." Presenting a bottomless six pack for your lowdown listening pleasure. Deep art by Tinca. Easy now...

Albert King - Down Don't Bother Me
Fraser & Debolt - Don't Let Me Down
Dusty Springfield - No Easy Way Down
Billy Joe Shaver - Low Down Freedom
John Martyn - Go Down Easy
The United States Of America - Coming Down

In Bed

"You don´t have to say you love me..." Breakfast In Bed was written in ´69 by Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts for soul singer Baby Washington, who managed to score a well-deserved hit with it. But the version to treasure is the hot and horny one immortalized by Dusty Springfield just a wee bit later on her masterpiece Dusty In Memphis. "Pull your shoes off, lie down, and I will lock the door..."

Meanwhile in Jamaica, Lorna Bennett charted with a charming, but rather straightforward reggae take of the song. It was a certain Scotty who ran away with it and stole her thunder though. The priceless Skank In Bed is a weird fake duet made in heaven, with Scotty expertly toasting over Bennett´s original. "Excuse me Lorna, I wouldn´t do that to you..." Halfway into the song, Scotty abruptly cuts off the music to kick someone out of the studio. "Leave the studio mon! I don´t want you inside yeah!" After which he turns around like nothing happened and effortlessly takes the song to the finish.

Baby Washington - Breakfast In Bed MP3

Dusty Springfield - Breakfast In Bed MP3

Lorna Bennett - Breakfast In Bed MP3

Scotty - Skank In Bed MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 9

Number 9, number 9, number 9... It´s Wild Weekend time again. Musical revolution. As an alternative to all them discjockey types polluting the airwaves out there, we´ve got the iPod on shuffle. Once more it spins an eclectic six pack of tunes for the music-hungry masses, so tune in. This just might be on your wavelength.

Have been playing a lot of Kristofferson lately. So it´s only fitting that the ghost in the machine picked one of his classic songs to start off this edition. To Beat The Devil, featuring a spoken intro dedicated to his mentor Johnny Cash, gives some sound advice to all you aspiring songwriters out there. "I ain't sayin' I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing... then I stole his song." Which is followed by another songsmith par excellence, mister Tom Waits, who meets Bette Midler in a bar somewhere. Says Bette: "Your life's a dimestore novel, this town is full of guys like you..." Mutters Tom: "Ain´t that cold..." Red coincidence alert: both songs feature the line "you´ve been reading my mail". Spooky that.

Kris Kristofferson - To Beat The Devil MP3

Tom Waits - I Never Talk To Strangers MP3

Up next is a track from a cd I bought only last week: Keith Hudson´s Brand, aka The Joint. Originally from ´77, and finally re-released on the mighty Pressure Sounds label a couple of years ago, it´s one of them hard-hitting dub classics I never get tired of. Turn it up. Some typical eighties industrial postpunk up next: Adi Newton and his Clock DVA. Dark stuff from Advantage (´83), with a funky bass and screeching horns. Stood the test of time surprisingly well.

Keith Hudson - Image Dub MP3

Clock DVA - Beautiful Losers MP3

"Just a little lovin', early in the morning, that little extra something, to kinda see them through..." Some good advice from Dusty Springfield, from the still utterly amazing Dusty In Memphis. Best soul album ever to be sung by whitey, hands down. Having the Memphis Cats as her backing band and Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin in the producer´s chairs certainly helped of course. And we call it a day with the dream pairing of tenor greats Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. Here they tackle Duke Ellington´s Don´t Get Around Much Anymore in grand style.

Dusty Springfield - Just A Little Lovin´ MP3

Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster - Don´t Get Around Much Anymore MP3