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TEN NEGLECTED NUGGETS

This is a list of the ten neglected nuggets I compiled last month for the tweeter @thelostrecord. I had to keep each one within the Twitter-imposed 140-character length (though without the numbering 1 to 10 as here). Hence the brevity of each explanatory note:

1. Tommy Steele ‘Come On Let’s Go’, 1958: a cover but real rock’n’roll, to his credit http://youtu.be/5zJB00VwRQ0

2. James Brown, ‘These Foolish Things’, 1963: an exquisite different side of Mr Soul
http://youtu.be/4uFRJrCjThw

3. Conway Twitty, ‘I Hope I Think I Wish’, 1960s: absolutely unique record, clever song w perfect vocal
http://youtu.be/kx_MlQ4Sw6c

4. Don Sugarcane Harris, ‘Directly From My Heart To You’, issued ’71: w zinging shudder
http://youtu.be/GhkCLXqX7FE

5. Hoyt Axton, ‘Evangelina’, 1976: powerful voice; romantic mexicali magic
http://youtu.be/t43JCQbqOVI

6. Jason & the Scorchers, ‘Absolutely Sweet Marie’, 1980s: gives Bob Dylan’s great original a fond joyful drubbing
http://youtu.be/p-cF40OWeak

(Re Jason track on YouT: “as if Bob had some deep seeded premonition of the scorchers back in the day & wrote this so they could do it right.)

7. Hem, ‘Half Acre’, 2000s: slow grower by ace act, sung with deep feeling quietly stated
http://youtu.be/7Sq5Bvvx5nc

8. Teitur, ‘Louis, Louis’, 2000s: Teitur is one of the two great C21 singer-songwriters IMO & this so catchy
http://youtu.be/DoUKr38wi8s

9. Mary Gauthier, ‘Your Sister Cried’, 2000s: she’s the other; didn’t write this but owns it: despairing and funny
http://youtu.be/sTMJCIBaZwY

10. Rebecca Ferguson ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’, 2010s: snubbed by 6Music because she's ex-XFactor but she’s terrific
http://youtu.be/ViqCO35OfNU

If you like compiling lists and a great spread of tracks, please send one through (and please include audio links to them: not necessarily c/o You Tube).

17 comments:

  1. Rambling Gambling Gordon


    Kitty, Daisy and Lewis: Going Up The Country. Three teenage English siblings (+ parents) sounding anything but. Exuberant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcywnNixrQw

    Reverend Dan Smith: Babylon is Falling. Wonderfully old-fashioned harmonica playing. Hypnotic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNZ0QHvt7VA

    Richard and Linda Thompson: A Heart Needs A Home. Far superior to the original version (on Hokey Pokey) which featured piano backing. Richard’s guitar is beautifully understated and a perfect complement to his wife’s singing. http://grooveshark.com/s/A+Heart+Needs+A+Home/3Rk0xt?src=5 home

    Old Crow Medicine Show: Wagon Wheel. Inventively fleshed out from a fragment that Dylan recorded for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. A terrific toe-tapper.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX1EP6mG-E

    Eva Cassidy: Tall Trees in Georgia. Mesmerisingly poignant. Her finest moment.
    http://grooveshark.com/s/Tall+Trees+In+Georgia/3goU0i?src=5 trees

    U2: Maggie’s Farm. The reverse of all the above. It would be hard to think of a more bombastic, self-important, arrogant performance than this. Hilarious.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxHKBTjfpk0

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  2. Elmer Gantry15 April, 2013

    Paul Clayton: Spanish Ladies. Beautifully understated version from his classic album of sea shanties.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI_y1Rru9xc

    Barry More: Lonesome Robin. Nothing Barry Moore has done subsequently is as magical as this cover of a Bob Coltman song.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iBoViWyBiA

    Freddie White: Parting Glass. Great Irish singer makes a classic song his own.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTaWxMsfm1s

    Bob Dylan: Rank Strangers to me. The dross surrounding it means this cover has never got the creit it deserves.
    http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=Bob+Dylan&titel=Rank+Strangers+To+Me&cat=s [Sample]

    Eric Andersen; Dance of Love and Death. A fine song from an excellent songwriter, whose voice has gained an added grit and resonance with age.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOBqS-ylJgo

    Lou Reed; Think it Over. Proposed to my wife with this one...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3AlvGlsaCs

    Robert Wyatt, Shipbuilding: Maggie Thatcher's death brought me back to this great, great version...

    Kevin Coyne, House on the Hill: One of the best...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjUkjpJa6bY

    Phil Ochs: The Scorpion Departs but Never Returns. great song from a greatly neglected songwriter.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fphpEcZ2WVo






    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you both so much for these. Now that our Bob Dylan Discussion Weekend is over, I'm working my way through your lists. Kitty Daisy & Lewis is terrific, and such an appealing video. I'd never heard of them, but I see that video has had over half a million views on YT. The Paul Clayton doesn't appeal to me, as it happens. It carries that aren't-I-cute? tone of voice so common in 1950s folk/folk-revivalism - and way beyond the 50s, of course. It's most useful as a reminder of how unique the young arriviste Bob Dylan was. He might have taken things from Clayton, but he spins gold from its synthetic straw. In my opinion.

    Rev Dan Smith was also new to me and, clearly, the real thing, and I liked that Lonesome Robin: lovely guitar. I hope to hear more later today. In any case, thank you both again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elmer Gantry16 April, 2013

      Michael

      Would say that my first reaction to Paul Clayton was that he was a tad too smoth for my taste. Usually, I prefer folksingers with a bit more grit - like Bob himself, Joe Heaney, Dave Van Ronk or Bert Jansch...

      But, personally, I found that Clayton is a 'grower' - there is a subtlety to his singing that becomes more apparent over time. There is also a 'timeless' qualty to it that marks him out from a lot of the other Revivalists.

      Can't say I really liked the Teitur track myself - it veers dangerously close at times to boy-band territory...

      Delete
  4. Elmer Gantry15 April, 2013

    Michael

    Think I messed up the Wyatt & Kevin Coyne tracks.

    Should have been
    Robert Wyatt, Shipbuilding: Maggie Thatcher's death brought me back to this great, great version...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjUkjpJa6bY

    Kevin Coyne, House on the Hill: One of the best...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2no4xBL-zc

    Apologies...




    ReplyDelete
  5. Elmer Gantry16 April, 2013

    Mary Gauthier is the real deal, though...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Elmer Gantry16 April, 2013



    Rambling Gambling Gordon

    Wow..that Rev. Dan Smith song is amazing...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Elmer Gantry16 April, 2013

    Michael

    Should add that I went today & bought Mary Gauthier's 'Live at Blue Rock' today on the strength of that song...

    Highly impressed on a first hearing...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elmer Gantry18 April, 2013

    Michael

    Noticed I had only 9 tracks there so will add this:

    The Replacements, Sadly Beautiful: Great song by one of Jakob Dylan's favourite songwriters..
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1WKiIGqf4

    ReplyDelete
  9. Elmer Gantry19 April, 2013

    Michael

    These two songs broke into my house & demanded to be placed on the list:

    Martin Carthy, Prince Heathen: Masterly version by, perhaps, the greatest English folk singer
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vzDG6z7us

    Al Green, Belle: Among the greatest songs ever recorded:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJdzxG6sjVY

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  10. Elmer Gantry22 April, 2013

    Michael

    Have posted an alternative list of another ten neglected nuggets here:
    http://elmergantry.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/alternative-ten-neglected-nuggets-list/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Elmer Gantry25 April, 2013

    Michael

    Speaking of Eric Andersen, have just been listening to Bob's fine version of 'Thirsty Boots' which was released for Record Store Day.

    Of course, it fell off the back of a lorry...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Elmer Gantry25 April, 2013

    Michael

    Glad to see that you are also in the anti-"Bohemian Ehapsody' club...

    Have never been able to stand Queen's style of over-blown pomp-rock...

    U2 are, perhaps, the only other band I have found as insufferable . However, at least, Freddie had a sense of irony...

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    Replies
    1. Elmer Gantry27 April, 2013

      Michael

      Saddened to hear of the death of George Jones, who was, I think, the greatest singer country music has produced. He was one of those great voixes, - like Paul Robeson, Joe Heaney, Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, etc. who set the benchmark for everyone else...

      Delete
  13. Old Stormalong09 May, 2013

    Bob Dylan on Paul Clayton, 1964:

    Folk song “goes deeper than just myself singing it, … it goes into all kinds of weird things, things that I don’t know about, can’t pretend to know about. The only guy I know that can really do it is a guy I know named Paul Clayton, he’s the only guy I’ve ever heard or seen who can sing songs like this, because he’s a medium, he’s not trying to personalize it, he’s bringing it to you … Paul, he’s a trance.”

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  14. Elmer Gantry28 May, 2013

    Michael

    Speaking of neglected nuggets, this has always been one of my favourite versions of an American Murder ballad - a tradition which, of course, had an enormous influence on Tempest:

    http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Poor+Ellen+Smith+Estil+C+Ball/2NqbcA?src=5

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  15. Elmer Gantry27 June, 2013

    Michael

    Speaking of Paul Clayton, it is good to see that Justin Timberlake takes the 'method' approach to acting, intensively researching every facet of the part.

    This comes through strongly in a recent interview:

    'Joel and Ethan [Coen] and I talked about a look for [my character] Jim. We found this picture of Paul Clayton who was an Irish folk singer...'

    Well, Clancy/Clayton...close enough so who who cares?

    ReplyDelete