Wild Weekend Vol. 45

Welcome to take 45 of Wild Weekend, the last edition of 2010. In store this week amongst others: true American Music courtesy of the Blasters, sweet rockabilly with Johnny & Dorsey Burnette, hot flamenco, and a track from an album Bonnie Prince Billy is extremely fond of: Kevin Coyne & Dagmar Krause´s Babble. Next week will see the glorious For The Sake Of The Song albums of the year extravaganza, so be prepared. In the meantime, just have a wild one.

And we´re rolling with Dave Alvin and his Blasters, bringing you an enthusiastic ode to America´s musical heritage. "We got the Louisiana boogie and the Delta blues, we got country swing and rockabilly, too... we got jazz, country, western, and Chicago blues: it´s the greatest music that you ever knew." Amen to that. Hint: buy their Testament - The Complete Slash Recordings. You won´t regret it. Next up is a prime example of one of the styles mentioned in Alvin´s song: rockabilly. After the demise of their famous Rock and Roll Trio, Johnny and Dorsey Burnette recorded this hiccupping beauty as The Burnette Brothers in the year of ´58. "Night breezes chill me, your warm love it thrills me..." Indeed it does.

The Blasters - American Music MP3

Burnette Brothers - Warm Love MP3

Black Merda from Detroit - where else? - is said to be the first all-black rock band ever, and the soulful monster that was their eponymous 1970 debut should have sold at least a million copies. But hey, maybe that´s just me. Suffice to say it didn´t happen. There´s no justice in this world I guess. Set the record straight and buy the cd reissue, brothers and sisters. We continue with another prime example of flamenco puro, a genre that proves surprisingly popular here. Make way for the deep voiced Juana La Del Pipa, the oldest singer in the Mujerez conglomerate. Simply amazing. ¡Toma la! Stop press: just bought me two tickets for the April Mujerez gig in Amsterdam. Can´t wait.

Black Merda - Prophet MP3

Juana La Del Pipa - Pero Más Flamenca No MP3

My man Bonnie Prince Billy is playing around with a band called the Babblers at the moment, covering the underrated Kevin Coyne & Dagmar Krause collaboration Babble in its entirety. Why, you ask? Listen to the fine Sun Shines Down On Me and you just might get it. It´s time for a Kevin Coyne revival, folks! And now for some sad news just in: Don Van Vliet, the incomparable Captain Beefheart, has died. He was a true original and an inspiration to many. Miss him.

Kevin Coyne & Dagmar Krause - Sun Shines Down On Me MP3

Captain Beefheart - I Love You, You Big Dummy MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 44

Welcome to Wild Weekend #44, the all-women edition. Why, I dunno. Just is. Just enjoy. On this week´s menu: soul, lofi, more soul, country, folk, and flamenco. Have a wild one.

First we´ll visit The Scene Of The Crime, soul veteran Bettye LaVette´s red hot ´07 collaboration with the Drive-By Truckers. Exhibit A: the Lavette/Patterson Hood composition Before The Money Came, a fingerlickin´ good autobiographical barroom stomper. "I was singing R&B back in ’62, before you were born and your mama too..." And to ring in the festive season in style, let´s pass the mic to the lovely Cynthia Dall, once prominently on stage in a vintage wedding dress with Smog. Quite a sight, I remember well. You can hear Smog mastermind Bill Callahan, her then-boyfriend, on guitar here btw.

Bettye LaVette - Before The Money Came (The Battle Of Bettye LaVette) MP3

Cynthia Dall - Christmas (California) MP3

More soul: everybody knows Piece Of My Heart as one of Janis Joplin´s signature tunes with Big Brother & The Holding Company, but Aretha´s older sister Erma sang it first. Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, it wasn´t that big a hit when first released back in ´67. Strange, as that pumpin´ piano alone is worth the price of admission. But Erma found justice a decade or three later, when her Piece Of My Heart finally topped the charts on the back of a jeans commercial. Next we´re moving firmly into country territory with the incomparable Tammy Wynette, who´s on a journey to the wilder side of life here. Seeing her live in concert once, mainly singing from a barstool, and with a dress change between almost every other song, is something I still remember fondly. "If you like ´em painted up, powdered up, then you ought to be glad, because your good girl´s gonna go bad..."

Erma Franklin - Piece Of My Heart MP3

Tammy Wynette - Your Good Girl´s Gonna Go Bad MP3

"Hurting like a woman and crying like a baby..." Or: another original of a song interpreted so well by Bonnie Prince Billy and Tortoise on their The Brave And The Bold covers collection. Don´t think Melanie Safka is all Lay Down and Candles In The Rain and stuff, she could carry intense teenage pregnancy psychodramas like Some Say (I Got Devil) to perfection as well. Heavy stuff. And it´s bye bye and adios for now with some hotblooded flamenco puro from one of the Mujerez. Presenting Dolores Agujeta, a hell of a singer from a famous Jerez De La Frontera flamenco dynasty. ¡Agua!

Melanie - Some Say (I Got Devil) MP3

Dolores Agujeta - Llévame Contigo MP3