John Ryan animator and creator of children's favourite cartoon pirate Captain Pugwash, died one week ago today. Here at Scratchy Towers, we wanted to pay our respects to a man, who brought enormous pleasure to many generations of children during their tea time television viewing treat.

I certainly remember when I was a little '45' looking forward to switching on to see the exploits of Captain Horatio Pugwash, Master Mates, Cut Throat Jake and the rest of the rather inept crew of the Black Pig ship. The character of Pugwash first appeared in the very first edition of The Eagle comic in 1950 but then made the leap to the B.B.C as a series of five minute cartoons, first broadcast in 1957. Ryan had devised a very simple but effective way of animating the character, using cardboard cutouts and he went on to make 56 episodes up to 1966. The series was resurrected in 1974/5 for another thirty episodes, this time in glorious colour, numerous books were written along the way as well as other merchandising spin offs.

So with a tip of the pirate hat and time to raise a glass of rum, we salute you John Ryan from this 'lolloping landlubber!' rest in peace.

Readers of The Eagle comic may remember one of his other creations 'Harris Tweed, Extra Special Agent' and Lettice Leefe, 'the Greenest Girl in School' who appeared in Eagle’s companion comic, Girl.

John Ryan's other notable cartoon creations were Sir Prancalot and Mary, Mungo and Midge which was aimed at a younger audience and was broadcast on the B.B.C back in 1969. It was narrated by the BBC newsreader Richard Baker and ran for just a single series of thirteen episodes. Grasping for a vinyl link to Ryan's output, has reminded me of this record which was released via B.B.C records in 1977, which has so far eluded me on my vinyl hunting, but nevertheless should make an appearance on this site because it looks like a little treasure.

The three main characters of the series were the little girl Mary, her dog Mungo and a mouse Midge, who lived with Mary's parents on the top floor of a tower block. This was a radical setting for this type of show and captures the brief period of optimism high rise living experiment in the post war years. However, one or two of the negative aspects of this social model of housing were inadvertently hinted at with Mary being too small to press the button in the lift to get back up to the eighth floor. A little ingenuity followed with Mungo getting on Mary's shoulders and Midge scurrying to the top of the pile in order to press the button.

Mary, Mungo and Midge - Opening and Closing Credits - 1969

Obituaries
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/24/obituary-john-ryan

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6726684.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/5899923/John-Ryan.html

Useful Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mungo_&_Midge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Pugwash

http://www.toonhound.com/pugwash.htm

http://www.toonhound.com/marymungomidge.htm

http://www.discogs.com/John-Ryan-Mary-Mungo-And-Midge/release/958945

The Electric Prunes - Get Me To the World on Time

'Get Me To The World On Time' I wonder if Neil Armstrong was thinking this and humming that tune as he took those first momentous steps on the moon forty years ago. This one is dedicated to all you conspiracy theorists out there who think the moon landing was a big hoax perpetrated by the American government.

The Electric Prunes, one of the classic psychedelic garage bands of Sixties era, opened their second album Underground, released in September 1967, with a song called 'The Great Banana Hoax' O.K the link is a bit tenuous as the song is about a hoax doing the rounds back in 67 about getting high on banana skins, so here's the third single of their debut album 'Get Me To The World On Time' which snuck into the U.S charts at 27 back in 1966 and just skirted the U.K top forty reaching 42.

This video clip from 'The Cyd Charisse Show' features a bizarre introduction from a couple of marionettes from the 'The Syd and Marty Krofft Puppets' and Cyd Charisse (famous dancer, actress and wife of actor/singer Tony Martin) Take note BBC, come the next round of wage negotiations with your star "talent" I suggest you show Ross and co this clip, just to remind them that they're easily replaced by six inches of wood on strings! c'mon, I'm thinking of the licence fee paying public here, it's my public duty...

The Electric Prunes are still gigging and were due to be playing with Sky Saxon on their forthcoming tour. Sadly Sky passed away last month and so there will be a memorial concert honouring Sky Sunlight Saxon of The Seeds 'Sky Saxon L.A Memorial' on 24th July at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA (more information can be found on the official site below)

The Electric Prunes - Get Me To the World On Time - taken from their eponymous debut album released in 1967. First shown on The Cyd Charisse Show 05/01/67



http://www.electricprunes.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Prunes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_and_Marty_Krofft

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001998/

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/tony_martin_f1

First Men On The Moon - 40th Anniversary (repost from 31/05/08)

Last week, those clever bods down at N.A.S.A managed to land a space probe on the surface of planet Mars. In celebration of this exciting and rather tricky feat, I have dug out some souvenir singles. The 'First Men On The Moon' was released by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C, which is the National Air and Space Museum. It's a tenth anniversary edition of the Apollo missions specifically the 1969 'Apollo 11' journey. It features the voices of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins bouncing about on the Moon or recorded in a top secret warehouse in the Ohio Desert next to 'Area 51' if you happen to believe the conspiracy theories. This particular seven inch cost someone $2 and makes a fine memento of their museum trip. Wouldn't it be nice if other such similar institutions pressed up slabs of vinyl to be sold in their respective shops instead of the usual cuddly toys and novelty diary sets of tat that currently clutter up these cash cow outlets. I would be much more eager to hand over my hard earned dosh for a lovingly crafted record commemorating the seventy millionth anniversary of the passing of the dinosaurs commissioned exclusively by the National History Museum for instance.



The second record has the the theme music from the masterful movie '2001: A Space Odyssey' from Stanley Kubrick of the book by Arthur C. Clarke R.I.P. As all you classical buffs out there will know it's an excerpt from 'The Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss II and 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss. I bring to your attention the cover artwork which looks remarkably similar to the Phoenix Lander and considering the picture was drawn half a century ago, based on guesswork, I think it's a very accurate impression.

To see if N.A.S.A have found any little green man lurking under the rocks and dust...
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Sky Saxon - The Seeds - A Tribute

Sky Saxon, chief sower of the fantastic Sixties garage punk rockers, The Seeds, died yesterday. This is a modest tip of the hat and shake of the pudding bowl mane of hair to one of the leading lights of the psychedelic garage rock scene, that emerged in the mid to late Sixties in the U.S.A and briefly burned very brightly. A genre of music later masterfully chronicled by the Pebbles and Nuggets compilation series of records.

The raw energy of the songs, combined with primitive beats, oodles of guitar fuzz and howling vocals make The Seeds still sound incredibly fresh today, even forty years after these tunes were recorded.. Sky made music that put a smile on your face, a spring in your step and that's what this music loving malarky is all about really...

If the first track below 'Can't Seem to Make You Mine' seems familiar, it's because it was recently used in the Lynx body spray advert in Spring 2009. Hopefully his very considerable contribution to music won't be overlooked, amidst the passing of another, slightly more famous pop star on the same day. So long and thanks for the music! R.I.P Sky Saxon.

The Seeds - Can't Seem To Make You Mine - From their debut album The Seeds 1966.
As performed on 'American Bandstand'



The Seeds - Mr Farmer - Taken from their second album 'A Web Of Sound' released in October 1966



The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard - Taken From their debut self titled album, released in 1966.



http://www.skysaxon.com/ (official site)

http://www.myspace.com/theseeds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seeds

http://www.skysunlightsaxon.com/

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2009/06/25/rip_sky_saxon.html

http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/the_seeds/news/13250

The Cambridge Concept Of Timothy Clover

There's a school of thought, that says nearly all of the buried vinyl treasure has now been exposed and now we're are just scavenging for the left overs. Hunting for the overlooked 'classic lost album' is apparently an endangered sport because the record companies are finally getting their acts together and digitising their back catalogue for user friendly online consumption. Soon every obscure album will be available, with just a quick search and a touch of a button, thus depriving us of the thrill of the chase. This article from the Observer Music Monthly by Tom Cox on record hunting bemoans this loss of opportunity to hunt for the pop equivalent of the Holy Grail.

It's also true to say, that there's something approaching saturation coverage of every hot new album released, from the music meedja to the wittering of a million music blogging monkeys and even the stuffy national newspapers getting in on the act. This has meant that any new act which manages to stand out from the crowd will probably get showered with plaudits these days, thus diminishing the likelihood of them falling into a hole of obscurity, only to be discovered many years later by an obsessive middle aged man, rooting around the dusty deitrus of the pop archives.

Well, it's it's a fair bet so say that, if the benchmark is set to unearth some lost nugget of garage rock gem of the Sixties or a Velvet Underground acetate demo, your average collector, like myself, is almost certainly going to fall short. However, there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had from this hobby and it's a case of not digging deeper, but to go lateral! Burrowing into the seams of genres that are often overlooked and simply broadening one's horizons is the way to go folks and can unearth some satisfying curios.

A good example of the rewards of this policy that I have undertaken, is this little beauty from 1968 "The Cambridge Concept of Timothy Clover - A Harvard Square Affair" subtitled "The Bean Town Sound" (Tower st-5114) It was recorded at Olmsted in New York City. I can only presume, of the actual album and the reason it was overlooked by other fellow vinyl vultures, must have been due to the understated cover design, for a flower power era album, is a rather underwhelming collage with a clunky title.

Now, I'm not saying that this a lost classic by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have a certain appeal and deserves more that a footnote in the development of the Sixties bubblegum psych-pop. The songs are a mish mash of traditional soft pop fused with a sunshine-baroque beat. The pleasure is in hearing the blossoming ambition of the creators, as they have obviously been inspired by the cataclysmic expansion in people's expectations of pop music in the aftermath of The Beach Boys Pet Sounds in 1966 and The Beatles riposte in the following year with Sgt Pepper.

This idea of throwing away the standard three minute pop song formula and begin to investigate the possibilities of this still adolescent genre of music reminds me of The Monkees soundtrack album to their film 'Head' from 1968 which by all accounts was a commercial disaster at the time, yet in time, has been retrospectively re-assessed as a bold musical statement and become cult viewing/listening. Another comparable bubblegum (mod) act who pushed the boat out during this fertile period was The Small Faces in 1968 with Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake.

A closer inspection of 'Timothy Clover' reveals a man who has aspirations to be smoking reefer, but he ain't ready to drop a tab and leap onto Ken Kesey's Magic Bus bus quite yet. For this wasn't a case of the squares fully turning on tuning in and dropping out like his namesake, but more like a trip to Carnaby Street to buy some new threads and keeping in vogue.

A quick root around the origins of this project reveals more band wagoning in the background to the whole story of it's inception. The creative trio behind the music were producer Larry Jaspon, Bruce Patch and Lenny Petze, who went on to co-write three songs on the sole album of cult Boston garage band Teddy and the Pandas who were signed Patch's company - Tea-Pot Productions.

The 'Timothy Clover' project was conceived as fitting into part of a made up 'catch all' label covering bands from the Boston area on the East coast of America. The scene was called 'The Bosstown Sound' 'The sound heard round the world! (refered to on the front cover of The Cambridge Concept as 'Beantown') It was dreamed up to compete with and act as a counterpoint to the established West Coast San Francisco scene. This was the brainchild of Alan Lorber of the MGM Record Label, he hoped that the resulting publicity would bolster his roster of groups including The Ultimate_Spinach, The Beacon_Street_Union and Orpheus.
An excellent overview of this scene with first hand recollections can be found here..

www.punkblowfish.com/BosstownSound.html

These notes by Larry Jaspon, on the back sleeve, give a flavour of what they were trying to achieve with this album...

"For years the names "Harvard Square" and "Cambridge" were synonymous with old world traditions and vine covered colleges. A place for the rich and famous only, where football rivalry was the main topic of discussion and the "Hasty Pudding Club" created havoc among the shop keepers . . . now it's different!!! A wave of revolution has swept thru the age-old streets. Walk here . . . and you will find yourself in a flower garden of youth. Colorful beads, strange clothing, hanging guitars...dominate the scene. Songs never before heard . . . of love and dreams, of great expectations and sad regret, of truth and existence are being sung everywhere. They are the key to this new, exciting concept of life finding birth here.

Come now - with Timothy Clover - one of them... into this world of strangeness and beauty - with words you have never heard - in a place that is now beyond your understanding.. but, perhaps. . . if you listen with an open mind. . . and without prejudice . . . the ethereal meaning of it all will become majestically and realistically clear to you . . .

"There's a lesson in ev'ry flower, misty rain can't take away" (A Harvard Square Affair)

"The Cambridge Concept of Timothy Clover - A Harvard Square Affair"

Track Listing

Side 1

1.Timothy Clover

2.Trolley Car Line
3.One Day Your A Rich Man

4.When Your Dreamin'

5.Tear Drop Mobile

Side 2

1.A Harvard Square Affair

2.His Life To Live Over

3.Cotton Candy (Can Be Yours)

4.Mt Friend John

5.Great World Next Door

The highlights of the album for me are Tear Drop Mobile which has an eye on the finer moments of 1960's psychadelic rock band H.P._Lovecraft and Cotton Candy that has hit potential, as a psych sun bleached bubblegum tune. The whole album can be downloaded for your listening pleasure at sirpsych.blogspot.com/2007/08/cambridge-concept-of-timothy-clovera.html

The best I can do for visuals is this little snippet of Teddy and The Pandas



http://www.punkblowfish.com/TimothyClover.html

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/timothy_clover

http://bob-wallis.com/pandas/later.htm

http://www.spectropop.com/Teddy/index.htm

http://www.therabbitholeusa.com/blog/

From Europe With Love

Can we have one more aeronautical album cover please? Oh, go on then! Behold the jet plane image on the 1965 release, called From Europe With Love, issued by 'World Record Club' (T 449) A continental compilation, that promises to be as sophisticated, debonair and romantic as the title suggests.

From Europe With Love has contributions from Emile Belcourt, Roberto Cadinale, Julie Dawn and Janie Marden and the Europeans. The music is arranged and conducted by Bobby Richards and his Orchestra.

Side One

Quando Quando
Non Ho L'eta Per Amarti
Et Maintenant

Je Ne Regrette Rien
Il Nostro Concerto

Mi'lord

Side Two

Volare

La Mer

Al Di La

La Novia

Never On Sunday
Romantica

This must be the definitive cover version of 'Never On Sunday' The song, composed by Manos Hadjidakis, went on to win an Academy Award and was the soundtrack to the 1960 Greek film, Never On Sunday, directed by Jules Dassin starring Melina Mercouri.

The Muppets - Never On Sunday

http://www.fromeuropewithlove.net/
(this has nothing to do with music, being a marketing/advertising site, but gets a mention for the quality logo)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_on_Sunday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Record_Club

Los Stop & Los 3 Sudamericanos

I've been meaning to display these doozies for some time now and it seems appropriate that this post should feature a couple of bands that sum up the spirit of the 'Scratchy Buckles' website ethos: groovy record covers, groovy bands and groovy music!

I was immediately taken with the cover photo of the Los Stop E.P. In the centre we have Christina looking cooler than Purdey from 'The Avengers' flanked on either side by Juan Comellas (organ), José María Serra (guitar), Fernando Cubedo (bass) and Andrés Gallego (drums) all resplendent in their co-ordinated stripey cricket blazers. The Stops come from Spain and started in 1966, they made a toe tapping mod beat for an all too brief period between 1967 and 1968, releasing six singles and a lone self titled album, as well as some E.P's. Christina belted out the songs with her powerful voice, in a Sandie Shaw style. She went on to release four singles in 1969, under the Cristina y Los Tops moniker.

The following information is dubiously translated from here

"Her artistic beginnings were with the group "Donald Duck" getting its first prize radio, Juan Alfonso, Rafa and Paco along with Cristina up this first group that won major successes.
In recording her first album with the company Belter decide to rename the group, born as The Stop, and thus continued its successes interpreting songs of Mina. The Five Latinos etc. The Stop suffered a series of updates concerning the group members when several of them are separated by Cristina and form their own group, but nonetheless Cristina continues with its success. The voice of Rita Pavone sister, Cristina, then sings the successes of both in Italian and in Spanish such as "you eat noi", music festival in San Remo. In 1967 she received the award from the Institute of Hispanic Culture with the song "The tourist 1,999,999" The Festival de Mallorca. "Health, Money and Love" was the song that finally launched to fame with "Cristina and Stop" among many more successes. Again the group melts, leaving Cristina and two components which will be named Cristina y los STOP, they are born with the hits "Hearts Content" "Que Viva Love" and "Viva Canto" Cristina was selected to represent Spain in the Eurovision Festival 1971, but in this case went Karina elected. "

Group melting stuff indeed!

My copies are stamped on the back with "Stradivarius (The shop?) Jose L Avellaneda Cardoso, Peregrina, 2 esq. a Malteses, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria". If anyone is popping that way on their holidays, I would be delighted to find out what became of this establishment.



The sleeve designs on all of their back catalogue are top notch with just the right amount of swinging sixties 'Carnaby Street' influence, fused with a yeye euro chic. Here, we have Christina doing an Audrey Hepburn pose in the rose garden, and then on 'El Tourista' The Stops are reminding us of the era of sophisticated air travel, before it's inevitable decline, when the package holidays took hold and spawned Brits going abroad to the Costa's.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x45sjb_cristina-y-los-stop-tres-cosas_music awesome!!

Los 3 Sudamericanos were strangely enough a trio who formed in 1959 in Paraguay. The following information is dubiously translated from here

"Trio formed in 1959 by Mary Alma Vaesken, Casto Dario Martinez and Johnny Torales. The latter had been sent as a child by his family to Buenos Aires to pursue their studies. He began his musical career here and then returned to Asuncion. He recorded a pair of solo LPs, one with the orchestra Lucio Milena and another with the Orchestra novels, for stamp Guarani. He sang in Paraguayan Guarani themes and Castilian, and also English versions of themes popularized by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.

Darius stood out as a child as an interpreter of harmonic and then turned on guitar. In 1956 and 1957 he joined the quintet in Asuncion The Harmony Club. The group had disbanded by opposition from parents of its members, and four of them returned to their studies. Darius, however, was decided by the music.

Mary Alma was a student teacher quinceañera, known Darius, who used to play piano and sing at family parties. It soon began a romance between Alma Mary and Johnny. All three recorded an acetate to give away to an uncle of Alma, Johnny took a copy to a radio and soon began to sound the themes in asunceñas stations. Even the trio had no name, and people started to know him as The Ghost Trio.

The name Los 3 Sudamericanos adopted it when they were summoned by Columbia Argentina in Buenos Aires to record an LP, The LP had great success in Argentina, while in Paraguay received some criticism that traditional topics Paraguayans were interpreted with modernized arrangements. They decided to settle in Argentina to continue recording. Before travelling Alma and Johnny had to marry because she was a minor"

A quick 'Sudamericano' seven inch sleeve style guide...


1965 and it's all 'Peter, Paul and Mary' 1967 and the times are a changin'


1969 Whoah! hello flower power.. 1971 soft focus frenzy!


1973 sleazy does it, guys! 1976 It's all gone 'Abigail's Party'...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5cVGL5OBig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReHghAabONI from 1969

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaR5WDALHJE

http://www.los3sudamericanos.com/

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/los_3_sudamericanos

The Flames - Soulfire!!

I took a walk in Mortlake yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon in a pretty part of town; with lots of Chazzers, needless to say. As I had a couple of hours to kill before the Missus returned from her piano lesson I thought it opportune to indulge my hobbie, which the wife has taken to calling my obsession. In among the yummy mummies, strange crockery and Beckham biographies lay this little gem, about which I knew nothing. What to do? Of course, there is only ever one thing to do, and I gladly handed over my pound, thinking I had probably acquired a priceless slab of pentecostal praise-pop.


Soulfire!! (those doubled exclamation marks just kill me), by The Flames? Reeks of faith. And that semi-abstract cover puts one in mind of a holy visitation.




But turn it over and you get four very young dudes in matching Nehru suits. Now I was confused. But thank the Gods for the internet as (oh happy day!!) I now know a great deal about this classic relic of psychedelic soul-pop from, of all places, Durban, in South Africa. The Flames were a fixture of the 60s scene in SA. This is their fourth album and things have got a little trippy, particularly on Solitude, which features sitars, a slow, stoned, conga rhythm and some sort of bass wobble-board that may or may not be a jug.

It appears that records by The Flames are highly collectable, not least because two of their members, Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, joined The Beach Boys in 1972. (The Beach Boys!! Can you credit it?!!) There is an excellent web-site dedicated to this band, my thanks go to its author, Baz Möllenkramer, for providing everything one would ever need to know about The Flames:

http://www.the-flames.com/
.

Mel Tormé - I've Got The Whole World On A String!

Yesterday, it was the British Moto GP at Donington, where the Aussie sensation and reigning World Champion Casey Stoner put in another explosive performance, finishing at the front of the pack. British hopes rested with James Toseland, who put in an characteristic home grown performance by crashing on the first corner of the first lap and limping home in 17th place. Earlier in the week, I had witnessed a BBC breakfast newsreader flirt outrageously on the interview sofa with this biking hunk, as her middle aged male co-host looked on enviously at the young hunk, ruminating on the facts that all his mature witty banter in the world wasn't ever going to be a match for a twenty years less girth, a chiselled chin and a promise of a 1500cc thrillride. This morning, on the same programme, he enjoyed rather too much, cueing up the V.T of a montage showing all of Mr Toseland's crashes/going off track mishaps from his 'weekendus horribus'

All of this two-wheeled talk brought to mind this album cover featuring a very cool crooning cucumber indeed. Mel Tormé might not have as fast a bike as Mr T, but he certainly has got the girl and she looks pretty pleased with the power of his engine as well. This is a U.K release on Allegro from 1964 which is basically a reissue of his 1958 classic 'Prelude to a Kiss' a concept album based around a brief fling between Mel and a woman, whose voice appears in dialogue segments before each song. However, this release conveniently leaves out all the chit chat thus leaving us to enjoy his velvety voice poured over masterly crafted lounge tunes. It is generally agreed that this was Tormé in top form on this record and is a high point from his back catalogue. Norton beats this.. a triumph, possibly matchless! no BS(a)... ahem, I'll get me leather coat.

Phoenix Mars Lander & Space Vinyl

Last week, those clever bods down at N.A.S.A managed to land a space probe on the surface of planet Mars. In celebration of this exciting and rather tricky feat, I have dug out some souvenir singles. The 'First Men On The Moon' was released by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C, which is the National Air and Space Museum. It's a tenth anniversary edition of the Apollo missions specifically the 1969 'Apollo 11' journey. It features the voices of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins bouncing about on the Moon or recorded in a top secret warehouse in the Ohio Desert next to 'Area 51' if you happen to believe the conspiracy theories. This particular seven inch cost someone $2 and makes a fine memento of their museum trip. Wouldn't it be nice if other such similar institutions pressed up slabs of vinyl to be sold in their respective shops instead of the usual cuddly toys and novelty diary sets of tat that currently clutter up these cash cow outlets. I would be much more eager to hand over my hard earned dosh for a lovingly crafted record commemorating the seventy millionth anniversary of the passing of the dinosaurs commissioned exclusively by the National History Museum for instance.



The second record has the the theme music from the masterful movie '2001: A Space Odyssey' from Stanley Kubrick of the book by Arthur C. Clarke R.I.P. As all you classical buffs out there will know it's an excerpt from 'The Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss II and 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss. I bring to your attention the cover artwork which looks remarkably similar to the Phoenix Lander and considering the picture was drawn half a century ago, based on guesswork, I think it's a very accurate impression.

To see if N.A.S.A have found any little green man lurking under the rocks and dust...
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Le Mans 66 and Steve McQueen

This is the album that chronicles the greatest motor race in the world. Le Mans 66 is a vinyl memento of the '34th Grand Prix d'Endurance' which captures the essence of the spectacle. The record is presented amiably by James Tilling and is made up of narrative from Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Chris Amon and Carroll Shelby interspersed with sound clips of..well um .. cars going veerrrrry fast...obviously. It captures a flavour of all the immense background activities that goes into preparing and keeping a sports car on the track, continuously, at top whack, for a whole day. You can almost smell the fumes, burning rubber, adrenalin and sweat dripping off the grooves. I was particularly impressed by the Graham Hill segment, where he visits the other team pits to check on how his colleagues are holding up, after he has been forced to retire; no storming off the track and whisking off back to Monaco on his helicopter to sulk for him, what a gent! There is a dramatic finale for Bruce McLaren in the winning Ford as there is a dead heat but this result is overturned. The rules state that as he started further back on the grid, thus he must be declared the victor, because he has travelled the furthest distance. This record is a fine tribute to the bravery of all those legendary drivers who have thrilled millions of motor racing fans with their skills, sometimes losing their lives, in pursuit of the glory of taking the chequered flag.

The only logical accompaniment to listening to this, has to be putting Steve McQueen's 'Le Mans' movie in the DVD player and watching the greatest racing drama ever committed to the silver screen in film history, except possibly for 'The Cannonball Run' or 'Smokey and The Bandit' :-)

Steve McQueen on the starting blocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPjhb3D587Q

Ford GT40 winning Le Mans 1966: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4pkiw2H02I

Steve McQueen fansite reviews the film: http://www.mcqueenonline.com/lemanshv.htm

Film facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mans_(movie)

Saint Etienne and Sylvie Vartan

This iconic beauty, who was nestling amongst the 7 inchers, jumped out at me and demanded that I invest 20p for such a chic cover. Sylvie Vartan is a legend in France, where she became a singing and dancing sensation in the genre now known as the yé-yé girls (of whom Françoise Hardy is probably the best known in the U.K) This Bulgarian born chanteuse came to prominence in the early sixties with her catchy pop sound and her rise in the affections of French pop fans was cemented when she married Johnny Hallyday. She has retained a large fan base is still recording albums and is performing a tour right now so hop on that plane/euro star pronto if you want to catch her live.

The Sylvie moniker reminded me of sophisticated indie-pop crafters Saint Etienne, who crafted many a slab of perfect pop loveliness, throughout the nineties/noughties. One of my favourites was called Sylvie, were they inspired by the original yé-yé queen for the title? I like to think so, even though the lyrics were all about sibling rivalry as the older sister planned to cut down to size, her younger sister, who had become too big for her boots by cutting into the unnamed sister's glamour territory! all set to Sarah Cracknell's sumptuous singing: as good as watching Michel Platini in full flow in 1980/1.

http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6149.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvie_Vartan

http://www.readysteadygirls.eu/#/sylvievartan/4520965445

http://chachacharming.com/article.php?id=7

http://saintetienne.com/

The Stoneman Family

When I sit out on the veranda looking out over the prairie, whilst flobbing my chewing baccy into the spit bucket, I think of the joys of taking a punt on a band that I've never heard of and coming up trumps. Now I like a bit of authentic country roots music but it's a genre I'm not overly familiar with and so buying blind in a chazzer raid gives me a chance to explore this avenue further. Two albums caught my eye recently, namely The Stoneman Family 'Live' and The Stonemans 'In All Honesty' I was delighted to find that these are chock full of banjo picking from one of America's foremost families of bluegrass/country music. Ernest 'Pop' Stoneman recorded hundreds of songs and performed with six of his 23 children as the aforementioned The Stoneman Family. His reputation for playing traditional material put him on the map alongside The Carter Family.

After his death in 1968, his children carried on with more contemporary vibe including covering John Fogerty tunes to good effect. I particulary like the cover photograph on 'Honesty' where they have a Haight-Ashbury clashing with Dollywood image. This is recommended if you loved the 'O Brother Where Art Thou' film soundtrack and appreciate authentic American folk music.

Watch a fab version of 'Goin up Cripple Creek' here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsRgZRjJfts

Listen to tracks from 'In All Honesty' here.. http://www.boomkat.com/artist.cfm?a=16749

Good discography here.. http://www.lpdiscography.com/s/Stonemans/stonemans.htm

Details of O Brother Where Art Thou

Reviews of Anthology Of American Folk Music

The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles

As a prelude to the latest Chipmunk movie heading your way to matinee performances at the multiplex, I present this vinyl beauty from 1964. On it, Alvin manages to massacre most of the early back catalogue of The Fab Four with a little help from his furry, buck toothed chums. It's a great cover though and really captures that bubblegum kid's pop culture of that era.. nutty stuff indeed. A big shout out of of sympathy for any parents out there who have to endure sitting through the cinematic version of these furry vermin.
http://www.chipmunks.com/

Bobbie Gentry

Happy New Year and may 2008 be full of lovely fresh musical delights. One of my last finds of 2007 was 60's/70's singer Bobbie Gentry. For some reason I had never bothered to investigate her back catalogue before.. perhaps I assumed that she was too middle of the road. However, I picked up 'Way Down South' on Music For Pleasure which seems to be the U.K release of her second album 'The Delta Sweete' and what a little belter it was to. She possesses a dusky voice that can knock out a southern delta stomp with aplomb. This is earthy country music in the best sense of the genre and despite the dodgy production values of my copy (it sounds like it's been mastered off an 8track player (( kids ask yer grandparents)) the quality still shines through. Now I just need to track down the rest of her recording career and I'll be sorted..

http://www.geocities.com/odetobobbiegentry/