Look Out Cleveland

The impeccable Punk 45 series on the Soul Jazz label brought us two new volumes this year, covering Akron and Cleveland. The former (Burn, Rubber City, Burn! Akron, Ohio Punk And The Decline Of The Mid-West 1975-80) is a decent collection featuring the Bizarros, Tin Huey and Devo amongst others, but doesn't surpass Stiff's ancient Akron Compilation. The Cleveland one (Extermination Nights In The Sixth City - Cleveland, Ohio: Punk And The Decline Of The Mid-West 1975-1982) is a dream come true though. Incredible how such a truckload of great bands thrived there in relative isolation. Pere Ubu, the Pagans, Electric Eels, and Mirrors all make an entrance, and nearly all those adventurous stabs at artrock still sound remarkably fresh today.

The Bizarros - I Bizarro
Jazz Destroyers - Love Meant To Die

Drift Away From You

Listening to their second effort For Use And Delight, you probably wouldn't have guessed that Promised Land Sound hail from the Music City, as that slick Nashville sound is nowhere in sight. This is modern country rock, quite mellow but with a raw edge here and there, and that's exactly how we like it. A real grower. Find it on the always wonderful Paradise Of Bachelors label.

Promised Land Sound - Otherworldly Pleasures

Marching Powder

As a known sucker for the exotic, I stumbled across this beauty in a record store last week and simply couldn't refuse. And indeed, my instinct followed the shining path, as there's some seriously weird shit going down on this album. Two fine examples below.

Black Sugar - Funky Man
El Opio - Una Bruja En El Cuzco

Make It Through

Yes, I do know it's December already. But I bet you'll agree that Art Pepper's majestic interpretation of Kurt Weill's September Song is one for all seasons.

Art Pepper - September Song

No Mean Feat

A shameless, but well-deserved plug for a band of a friend of mine. Quartet To Three hails from the fair city of Barcelona and its jazz nuevo inspires like a Sunday morning stroll down the Ramblas. Modern with a respectful nod to the classics, Ornette and co are never far away, but these guys don't shy away from bringing out a psychedelic wahwah guitar or a latin touch if they feel like it, either. Their cd debut, called Sin Pies, is out as we speak on the Whatabout Music imprint. ¡Vaya!

Quartet To Three - Uno Y Medio

Pay No Mind

The congregation will now rise and salute the Reverend Gary Davis, blues singer and picker supreme.

Reverend Gary Davis - Say No To The Devil

Missed Me, Too?

An indie rock opera about a day in the life of a cat? And told from a feline perspective, no less? Just my cup of tea, fellow cat lovers. Especially when Centro-matic foreman Will Johnson's side project, South San Gabriel, is involved. The Carlton Chronicles escaped my attention when it came out about ten years ago, but I'm glad this cat's finally in the bag now. Meow!

South San Gabriel - I Feel Too Young Too Die

Round The Corner

I'll be away from my desk for a week or so, but I'll leave you with this old fashioned ten pack. After all: "I'm just a soldier, fighting the sorrow..."

James Taylor - Soldiers
Neil Young - Soldier
Bob Dylan - Mary And The Soldier
Calvin Russell - Soldier
Palace Music - The Weaker Soldier
Arthur Alexander - Soldier Of Love
Bettye Lavette - Talking Old Soldiers
Jah Lloyd & King Tubby - Soldier Round The Corner
Spizz Energi - Soldier Soldier
Renzoku Shasatsuma - I Don't Want To be A Soldier

Doin' Things My Way

Thanks to the unsurpassed New York Taper, here's yet another fine live cover by my fave band of the last couple of years, Durham's Hiss Golden Messenger. These guys can boogie, lord. Most of you will know Lonesome, On'ry And Mean by way of Waylon Jennings, but it is in fact a Steve Young original.

Hiss Golden Messenger - Lonesome, On'ry And Mean (live Brooklyn 2015)
Steve Young - Lonesome, On'ry And Mean
Waylon Jennings - Lonesome, On'ry And Mean

No No No

Americana? Sure sounds like it, but no cigar, folks. Ernie Graham was a Belfast pubrocker who recorded the eponymous album pictured above back in 1971, with the great Brinsley Schwartz helping out. A true nearly-forgotten classic.

Ernie Graham - Don't Want Me Round You

Stop Your Lying

You may know Southern soul singer supreme James Carr from the immortal Pouring Water On A Drowning Man or You Got My Mind Messed Up, but there was much more to the man of course. How about these three beauties, you soul groovers you?

James Carr - Coming Back To Me Baby
James Carr - I'll Put It To You
James Carr - Forgetting You