Way Back Wednesdays: Bridget St. John – “Autumn Lullaby”

October 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Bridget St. John performing in ‘The Schoolhouse’ in Brooklyn (2016) (Photo by NYCTaper.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and since the leaves are all looking fully browned and the rainy nights have been drawing in earlier, now marks the time for a rather seasonally themed edition of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ as we look back at some of the influential sounds of the past, since it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Hailed up as “The best lady singer-songwriter in the country” by soon-to-be BBC Radio 1 host John Peel, who produced her material and released it on his folded Dandelion label during the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bridget St. John is a Surrey-born Alternative Folk singer-songwriter and guitarist who is now approaching 76 years of age, but she has achieved many accomplishments during her career of writing and recording music despite remaining in relative obscurity. Sadly, the industry was more male-dominated at the time and she never quite received the type of recognition that she now gets in her time, but she still has recorded a large number of BBC Radio and Peel Sessions, as well as toured regularly on the British college and live festival circuit. Known for her “rich cello-like” vocal style, St. John has appeared at leading folk venues across the globe and she has performed alongside similar luminaries of her time like David Bowie, Nick Drake and Paul Simon throughout her storied history. ‘Autumn Lullaby’ serves as great mood music for a month like this, and it was the second track on the listing for her debut album, ‘Ask Me No Questions’, which was originally issued for release in 1969 and it featured guest spots from John Martyn and Nigel Cross, who played guitar and helped her to produce the music. It got a remastered release from cult favourite label Cherry Red Records in 2010, and the album received decent reviews at the time from the music press, although it found little commercial success due to a lack of promotion relating to the budgetary constraints of Peel’s Dandelion label, with AllMusic’s Richie Unterberger calling the record “Music for wandering through meadows on overcast days” in his favorable review for it. Soothe your stresses with ‘Autumn Lullaby’ below.

Some copies of ‘Ask Me No Questions’ changed hands for up to £100 before it was remastered by revival specialists Cherry Red Records, and, in 1974, she was voted as the fifth most popular female singer in that year’s Melody Maker readers poll. In modern times, St. John continues to perform live, including shows as recently as an intimate gig at Birmingham’s Moseley Folk Festival in 2018, and she still records some new music from time to time, including the cut ‘Fly’ for Mojo Magazine’s Nick Drake compilation album ‘Green Leaves: Nick Drake Covered’, issued that same year. The theme of ‘Ask Me No Questions’ was to produce autumnal-sounding songs that simply speak for themselves, and her rather woeful lyrics like “October, standing on Primrose hill, feeling the wind breathe in and out” and “As Autumn comes, I stay behind and gather sounds she leaves for me” set the scene very blissfully, with more personal lyrics like “Through water whispers, grokking weeds/I sing her autumn lullaby” and “The evergreen is ever free/I hear her, I remember this” follow up on the steam that she has built up shortly. She simply sings about the tides of change and what the changing of the seasons reveals to her intimately, but her voice is stunning and she has a whimsical power of making things just stop for a moment when you hear the vocals. The warm, low-pitched croon and the gently philosophical, story-driven brand of songwriting definitely remind me of Jens Lekman, and the subtle images of pastoral melancholy and emphasis on soft emotions feel hugely influential to the likes of Fleet Foxes and Father John Misty for my ears. The instrumentation is a wholly acoustic and nearly self-produced Folk affair, with brief washings of the guitar that are low-key and introspective whilst slightly sad and understated in tone. There are hints of comfort and inner warmth, but the sound also resembles one of longing and pining. Overall, this is a lovely no-holds-barred and divinely autumnal effort that really captures the duplicitous essence of our current season, and it really makes me want to hear the full album in a single sitting. It is a shame that chart success never followed her through these seasons and that BBC disc jockeys failed to play her work much in her time, and it is easy to wonder why. However, she doesn’t truly need it to make a strong impression because, as she aimed for, her songs speak for themselves.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Ask Me No Questions’ (LP) (Released in 1969) (via Dandelion Records)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for spending a few minutes with me today, and I’ll be back again tomorrow with an in-depth review of some new music from a London-born electronic music producer, studio engineer and DJ who is a modern icon of the LGBTQ+ community. She has released plenty of music using her side project alias of Nocturnal Sunshine and she was previously a part of the Electro-Dub duo ‘She Is In Danger’ with Lena Cullen. Her new LP is out next Friday.

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Way Back Wednesdays: The Free Design – “Kites Are Fun”

September 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Kites Are Fun’ (LP) (Released in 1967) (via Light In The Attic Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to enjoy an in-depth revisit of a pre-00’s sound of the past that has become very influential for the present for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, which is in-keeping with my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Having caught an old episode of Cherry Red Radio on a whim two or three weeks ago, I quickly learned about The Free Design, an early 60’s to mid 70’s family pop group who were formed in Delevan, New York and went on to become huge influences for the likes of The Beach Boys, Beck, Stereolab and Belle & Sebastian, despite receiving relatively little attention during their earlier stages of their career. Comprised of three of four Dedrick siblings, this “harmony group” – of many from the time – speedily recorded a two song demo and subsequently found a home with the independent easy listening record label Project 3, a platform that allowed more creative freedom for them than most competitors. The band dabbled in Neo-Psychedelia, Jangle-Pop, Sunshine Pop and soft Funk, but failed to land a hit because their label suffered from their low resources to promote their artists very aggressively. Almost four decades later, however, Light In The Attic Records had re-issued most of the quintet’s back catalog of albums and singles, revealing a band that were unfairly slept on to a new generation of new-found fans. 1967’s ‘Kites Are Fun’ was cited as a huge influence for Japanese percussionist Cornelius, and the title track was the only real single release from it, having reached #33 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts in the US, thus becoming their only single to chart. Unveil the mysteries of ‘Kites Are Fun’ below.

Indie acts such as The High Llamas and Pizzicato Five have all cited The Free Design’s music as influences for their own for their happy-go-lucky brand of late-60’s Baroque Pop and pastoral Soft-Folk, and the critics have always seemed to be in agreement with this level of praise, and the title cut of 1967’s ‘Kites Are Fun’ earned single status on Billboard’s ‘Bubbling Under The Top 100’ and ‘Top 40 Easy Listening’ surveys in the US. The sounds on the title track are so 60’s that you might want a pair of sunglasses and a convertible Cadillac to complement your easy listening experience. It is a lovely mix of sophisticated Pop music and chilled Folk melodies, however, with the hushed croon delivering lyrics like “We’d like to be a zillion miles away from everyone/’Cause Mum and Dad and Uncle Bill don’t realize Kites Are Fun” as they celebrate child-like innocence with the gentle thump of a Tambourine and a whimsical Horn section carrying us to a peaceful chorus. The lyrical themes follow the typical embrace of peace and love that strangely didn’t resonate with the ‘Hipster’ crowd of the time due to its lack of commercial success, but the band deliver plenty of high notes when the intimate lyrics such as “See my kite, it’s green and white” that use gentle rhyming schemes to emphasize the nostalgic atmosphere of the cheerful sounds. It’s not massively upbeat however, and what strikes me most about their choice of instrumentation is how they emphasize sophisticated chords that are more often associated with Chamber Folk or Classical Jazz music to blur the lines between psychedelic pop, folk music and lounge Jazz in a way that gives them an individual edge over their peer groups of the time. This renders ‘Kites Are Fun’ as a lovely listen throughout, where a subtle sense of melancholy and a strong pushing of Sunshine Pop boundaries make for a mix of late-60’s and early 70’s music that was not quite done by another band in the same way since their time. Lyrics like “But we like each other more than anything” have a somewhat comic effect, while the orchestral instrumentation, especially the Flute sounds that all get peppered throughout the choral melodies, slot the track into a relaxed Easy Listening vibe that feels emotive enough, but expands the vocabulary of the writing. Just like Kites – this is a lot of fun!

Pictured: Chris Dedrick (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Bruce Dedrick (Lead Guitar), Ellen Dedrick (Tambourine), Stefanie Dedrick (Percussion) & Sandy Dedrick (Drums) (1967) (Photo by TVTropes.org)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for ringing in the new month with me, and it is my birthday tomorrow, but I look forward to finding some time to talk about some new music regardless. Tomorrow’s pick comes from an American Bedroom Pop singer-songwriter who began making music at the age of 13 and he grew up in Moraga, California situated in the San Francisco Bay area. He’s become prolific in a short span of time, and IQ says that his music is “genre-bending”.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Phyllis Dillon – “Don’t Stay Away”

August 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

Prepare for the warmer summer heat with a sweet soul from Jamaica. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘One Life To Live’ (LP) (Released in 1972) (Reissued by Cherry Red Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and, as we do every week, it’s time to go ‘Way Back’ to the sounds of the past which have been influential to those of the present, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music each day! An OD in Jamaica, Phyllis Dillon was one of the very few vocalists of the late-1960’s Jamaican Rocksteady scene to be female in an otherwise highly male-dominated genre. She recorded a very large number of singles for Duke Reid’s lucrative label, Treasure Isle, during the late-60’s to the mid-1970’s. At the time, the Jamaican music market was nearly entirely driven by recording tracks as standalone singles, and Dillon, like most others, was another vocalist who went for years before joining the album racks in the country. Although she only made a little impact outside of her home market, Dillon was well remembered for recording vintage tunes like 1966’s ‘Don’t Stay Away’, her lucrative first release, which was heralded by Jamaica Gleaner as “perhaps the finest female performance in Jamaican music” in 2014. The self-penned song featured Tommy Cook & The Supersonics as her backing band, and, in 2012, it was sampled by Kes for ‘Tuesday On The Rocks’. After moving to the US and living a double life, Dillon initially quit her recording career in 1978, but she would return to touring and recording in the 1990’s in territories like the UK and Germany, inspired by a rekindled interest in American Ska. ‘Don’t Stay Away’ from Dillon below.

Although she had returned to the recording studio with Lynn Tatt in 1998, she only remained active in creating new projects until an illness eventually took hold of her wellbeing, and, in 2004, she tragically passed away in New York due to her battles with cancer, but she was later awarded the ‘Order Of Distinction’ by the Jamaican government in 2009. Although you probably know exactly what we’re getting here from my descriptions alone, and you would be correct, this track was a pivotal moment in black female music for her domestic market because it was a huge hit in the country. It’s not tricky to see why, as it mostly conformed to the tropes of the Dub scene at the time, but her voice certainly gave her the skill to stand out from the pack, at the same time. The lyrics are a direct and object lesson in telling her lover that he would not keep his distance if he knew how much she loved him. It doesn’t feel as sentimental as most of the similar Reggae cuts of the time, but her upbeat delivery has a great sense of honesty, rather than jealousy or scorn. Her vocals are very clear and need no distortion trickery whatsoever to get the crystal clear sincerity and the general lyrical themes of the single along to the more casual types of listeners nicely enough. The instrumentation is varied enough to prickle your ears up and take good notice too, and I especially like the smoky solo that sounds like a Harmonica towards the home stretch because it feels on-point and distinctive for the time, marking one memorable moment for the otherwise Soul-oriented melodies. The backing band pull in a deceptively simple performance that complements her tone with good cohesion, and the embellishments of Brass and Strings throughout the track give the rhythms a detailed and concise soundscape for Dillon’s pure vocals to work with effectively. On the whole, there are no surprises here, but there doesn’t need to be. A simple master-class in writing and performing easy, steady Reggae music that appeals to everybody.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘This Is Trojan: Rocksteady’ (Compilation LP) (Released in April 2018)

Many thanks to you for not staying away from the blog today, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow as we shift our attention to the potentially seminal sounds of the present! This choice in question marks, surprisingly, the first appearance on the blog from a South Korean DJ who I am a little fond of already. Now based in Berlin, she has started up her own label, Gudu Records, in 2019, and she has toured across the planet, including a time where she had studied at the London College Of Fashion.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Gilberto Gil – “Aquele Abraço”

May 12, 2021 — Leave a comment

“Gil is Tropicalia’s rude essence” – Sasha Frere-Jones, 2020. Finally, let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Gilberto Gil in Valencia, Spain (2021) (Photo by Gérard Giaume/Berklee College Of Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s a beautifal day outside, and so I’m here to sweeten it up with your daily track on the blog, as it’s still my day-to-day pleasure. First of all, my apologies for disappearing from the face of the Earth for the last couple of days. I ended up getting a small extension for my Masters work because my project wasn’t quite ready yet, and it’s been a busy road of traffic up in the head lately. I’m perfectly fine now, so don’t you worry. I’ve always set up this blog as a place of pleasure and enjoyment, and so I never wanted for it to feel like an obligation or a chore, so I just needed a minute to focus on the stress personally and the tasks at hand. It’s all good!

With those modules submitted, let me introduce you to our pick for today. For my project, I was researching ‘World Music’ and whether this term holds discriminatory context. One of the genres that I explored was Tropicalia, a movement that saw it’s artists – the likes of Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and Bahian graphic designer Rogerio Duarte, express political protest through eclectic music styles and promote messages of defiance against the ruling military coup which took over Brazil in 1964. It was a moment, rather than a movement, with the protests winding down from around 1968 onwards. It was a very busy time for the likes of Gilberto Gil, however, who was also very much a key creative figure in the revolution. Gil and Veloso were threats to the military. They were imprisoned for two months, then deported, moving to London for a little bit. He returned to Bahia in 1972, and he’s continued to work as a musician, politician and environmental advocate. He also served as Brazil’s Minister Of Culture between 2003 to 2008. “Aquele Abraço” was issued in 1969 by Universal, but Gil would perform the track during marching protests during the time of Tropicalia. The title roughly translates to “The Hug” in English. Let’s reflect on the busy time for Gil below.

‘Aquele Abraço’ was written during a time of house arrest, where Gil developed the melodies and lyrics, before putting together the instrumentation for it’s recording. It became a major hit in the charts of Brazil during 1969, and it was performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games by Marisa Monte and Seu Jorge of the Bossa Nova corporation, MPB. Reaching iconic status in his home turf, Gil’s lyrics invoke themes of neighborhoods, Samba schools, national landmarks, and the popular musicians of Rio De Janeiro. I’m not entirely familiar with how the music was made, since it was well before my time, and I cannot understand the actual lyrics. However, it’s clear enough that it’s Latin-flavored Samba with a gentle guitar rhythm. The rest of the instrumentation is very percussive, with shuffling Maraca beats and a shimmering Cuica rhythm that creates a sultry, sentimental and celebratory tone. Gil whoops and hollers his way through soft, lounge Jazz influences and psychedelically driven drum parts that get some effects going within the backdrop. It mostly feels like a love letter to his nationality and his peers, and expresses a sound that overall feels ‘exotic’ or very ‘distant’ in it’s experimentation – where sentiments of Rock ‘N’ Roll and the use of electric guitars make the rhythms feel progressive for the time. On the whole, it’s an impressive combination of relaxed and joyful, and it was too edgy to be seen as lawful by the government. That’s a pretty big thing. I have probably got a different stance on it as a Western listener with a white British ethnicity compared to the purpose of the track for the society it was aimed at, and it’s worth considering that I’m only reviewing it in hindsight. However, it’s still evident that Gil is music at it’s core – expressing to the public of Brazil that arts and culture had a role in developing Brazil as a nation during his commercial peak and soaring to the heights of Tropicalia.

Pictured: Gilberto Gil in a PR image for NN North Sea Jazz Festival on July 12, 2019 (Photo via NSJ)

That’s all for now! Join me again tomorrow as we pick up right where we left off with some brand new music. Tomorrow’s talent is a gender fluid rapper, producer and visual street artist who is also the founder of the NiNE8 Collective in London, and they share an eerily similar stage name to a certain under-rated star who scored a huge UK and US hit with ‘Bulletproof’ in 2007. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Ray Stevens – “Santa Claus Is Watching You”

December 12, 2020 — Leave a comment

He knows when you’re sleeping and he knows when you’re awake. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Christmas Through A Different Window” (Released: 1997) (via MCA Nashville)

Festive tidings to you – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up all about today’s track on the daily music blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! “Santa Claus Is Watching You” is a quirky little Christmas track, which I found out all about when I was researching some alternative or obscure Christmas tracks to spotlight on the blog this year over the world wide web. Sadly, the name of Ray Stevens did not initially ring any Jingle Bells with me (See what I did there?), but it turns out that he’s really a very prolific Country and R&B singer-songwriter originally from the state of Georgia, over in the states. He’s also worked as a television presenter, music arranger and music producer too, and Stevens has also been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, the Christian Music Hall Of Fame and he’s even received Gold certification sales for some of his albums, so he may be just a little bit before my time, is all. After all, what do I know, eh? “Santa Claus Is Watching You” was a track which he originally wrote and performed as a one-off single released back in 1962, before he later re-released the track as a part of his “Christmas Through A Different Window” seasonal LP collection in 1977. You can still buy the record, but the single in it’s original form is a rarity now, and it’s worth a decent amount of money. I do not have that kind of money. Anyways, let’s laugh along to the music video below.

Ray Stevens has also been inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, which happened just last year in 2019, and so he is still trucking along with his work. The track, specifically, has actually been doing the rounds for a long time now, and you can also get hold of it from his “The Best Of Ray Stevens” compilation album which he put out in 1967, where the track was even re-recorded, electronically, to simulate stereo. As a result of this, I sadly have no real idea of when the official music video, that you just saw above, was released. However, it’s still quite charming and memorable despite it’s dated production. The track, however, peaked at the #45 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. I think that it’s still quite funny, too. The start plays out with a showering of Sleigh Bell melodies, as Stevens calls out: “Now baby-doll, sweetie-pie, sugar-plum, honey-bunch, angel-face” above a stop-and-start combination of Piano and Guitar work, before delivering the killer hook of “Be careful what you say and do/’Cause Santa Claus is watching you” on top of the jovial, care-free rhythms. It gets more romantic and unveiling later on, as Stevens attributes “You’d better kiss and hold me tight/And give me a good lovin’ night” and “When Christmas comes, you’ll be crying too” to the repeated vocal hook. A quirky bridge of doo-wop filler lines and a list of reindeer’s names who are not a part of Santa’s elite group of Sleigh pullers follow up on the verses, to add a quirky sense of fun to the lyricism. He later claims that Santa Claus is the head of the CIA, and the track ends with some form of Spoken Word freestyle about his paranoia of being watched by the White-bearded international celebrity. It makes for a fun and entertaining listen, although the cohesion and flow of the track gets a little uneven at times, as Stevens keeps dashing through different modes of his wordplay vocal delivery and his instrumental breaks during the track. I’m not sure how appealing this track would be to children either, but I think that’s a good thing, in this case, because it makes it feel different to your bog-standard festive Pop track primarily aimed at Children that Pop singers like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are known to have performed in recent years. Stevens also manages to deliver some good comedy throughout the single too, even if the flow loses it’s way a little bit during the middle. The Rockwell of yuletide tracks – which came an odd 20 years before, perhaps. Overall, it’s still pretty hilarious.

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “Santa Claus Is Watching You” (1962) (Photo via Discogs.com/Mercury Records)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! Tomorrow marks a short-lived, but celebratory, new era for our weekly Scuzz Sundays series, because we’re going to be looking at some festive-themed emo-rock and pop-punk gems taken from the late-1990’s, up until the mid-2000’s, from tomorrow onwards. Tomorrow’s Emo throwback comes from a classic American Heavy Metal band who are often regarded as “Glam-Rock” for their prominent use of makeup and female costumes. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Rudy Mills – “A Long Story”

May 26, 2020 — Leave a comment

I could write a novel about him – but I’ll cut a long story short! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “This Is Trojan: Rock Steady” (Compilation LP Box-Set) (Released in April 2018)

Good afternoon to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Whew, it’s a hot day. That’s why I have decided to write about a classic Jamaican Rocksteady track from the sunny Kingston sounds of the late 1960’s. You can very easily put your feet up to “A Long Story” on full volume in the garden. “A Long Story” was written and performed by Rudy Mills in 1967, a single which legendary producer Derek Harriott discovered him – and started working with him – from. It has led to Mills’ being selected for spots in more than 20 compilation albums from the likes of Trojan Records and Universal throughout the decades, including use on the British ITV 2 Historical Sitcom TV series “Plebs”. Rudy Mills is still enjoying an active and lucrative career today, with his most recent release being the one-off track “Lonely” last year. Let’s have a listen to his 60’s hit “A Long Story” below!

Rudy is not one for storybook endings, then. Rudy Mills’ “A Long Story” begins as a whimsical ode to a traditional break-up with a love interest and it later becomes a Reggae anthem of keeping your chin up and moving on, knowing that’s best for a friend. Mills’ seems to be an on-looker of the situation, using a second-person tense as his reference and crooning: “She didn’t love him/She only made believe/That’s why he’s hurting/She made the grown boy sad”, after Mills’ briefly elaborates on the repeating “Yes, It’s a long story” hook with: “About a fella, Who had a girl he loved/But she hurt him, and made him cry”, two verses which are spaciously placed between a shimmering Kick Drum beat, a sparse variety of Steel Drum clashes and a lengthy series of very long, very high notes from Mills. The songwriting has a touch of irony and satire, with minimally short vocal hooks and steady, albeit slowly progressing, acoustic Reggae instrumentation. There’s a light splattering of Rock in the percussive structure, but the powerful vocals from Mills are the clear icing on the cake to the “Classic” status of this tune. To this day, it sounds old-school, but there’s a cerebral pacing to the sound and a deep irony to the lyricism that makes it feel distinct to the feel-good and sweet sounds of the genre, although it also hits those points with the warmth of the joyful and soulful Ska melodies. May you live A Long Story to tell, Rudy!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Rudy Mills’ Reggae Hits” (Compilation LP) (Released in 1969) (via Pama Records)

Thank you for reading this post! Given our current times, I ask that you please stay safe inside, don’t do anything silly and you keep on washing those hands! I will be veering into laidback electronic dance territory tomorrow with an in-depth review of a recent track from an up-and-coming solo producer based in North London who used to present an online show for NTS Radio and he has, so far, worked with the likes of Sampha, Paul Epworth, David Byrne and Westerman! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Keith & Tex – “Stop That Train”

April 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

To keep in shape, I wonder if they have a Personal Train…er! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Keith Rowe and Texas Dixon in a photoshoot to promote a tour with The Steadytones (2018) (via 4 Ecluses)

Good morning to you on this sunny Thursday! I’ve been looking forward to the hot weather and planning accordingly in the hopes of whisking you away to the even brighter and warmer shoals of Kingston, Jamaica for this Jamaican Rocksteady classic from Keith & Tex! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to do so! Keith Rowe and Phillip Texas Dixon are some of the late guardians of the 60’s Rocksteady and Dub genres from Jamaica. Rowe and Dixon were introduced to each other by a mutual friend after both growing up near the Pembroke Hall area, before finding little success in a 5-piece vocal group, but more so later when Rowe and Dixon continued their act as a duo. The two are still going strong to this day, having released the entirely acoustic Rocksteady album “Same Old Story” via Liquidator in 2017, a return to their early Reggae roots following years of more experimental endeavors. It led to tours around the UK, Hong Kong and Brazil last year as their musical journey carries on. Arguably their biggest hit is “Stop That Train”, a single which they released back in 1967. It’s been covered and sampled several times since. Let’s have a listen to the single below.

A timeless, mellow dubbed single which feels like a precursor to the Reggae Roots sound of the mid-70’s in a few ways, Keith & Tex’s “Stop That Train” is a stand-out track from the output of the Trojan Records label in the late 60’s, although I feel the slightly melancholic texture adds a low-key strength in comparison to some of their contemporary peers from their time. Built around a mid-tempo steel drum groove, Keith sings: “Stop that train/I want to get on/My baby, she is leaving me now” and “She said, my dear, I do love you/No matter what they say or do/I keep shouting” above a shimmering cymbal rhythm that keeps going and going. A slight precursor to the “Funk” boom of the 1970’s, repetition in sound in order to control a flowing groove is key. At a mid-way point, the track leads us to a beautiful guitar solo which twangs and shakes as all of the instrumentation in the background slowly dissipates, leaving the guitar riff as the sole layer. Tex joins for the chorus, as well as adding some neat, calming backing vocals to support Keith’s pace. The consistent, mid-tempo drum riff makes its return as Keith & Tex repeat the chorus with a strong male harmony and a thick Jamaican accent which emphasize the traditional reggae sound amongst a gentle keyboard riff. The rhythm is a little bit harder and deeper, with the lyricism more rough-edged, than your average 60’s Rocksteady track. The loops are catchy, but the focus on voice is the draw. A golden oldie that should not be forgotten.

Keith & Tex (Keith Rowe & Phillip Texas Dixon) performing “Party Night” live for KCRW (December 2017) (via YouTube)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope that you enjoyed it! I’ll be carrying on with the warm vibes tomorrow for an in-depth look at a fairly recent-ish single from a Haitian electronic music producer who began to produce his own material at the teen age of 15 and he’s part of the hip-hop fusion duo The Celestics! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Sly & The Family Stone – “I Want To Take You Higher”

April 14, 2020 — Leave a comment

A band who truly got up and stood up for their rights! It’s time for your new blog post!

Pictured: Sly Stone (Vocals, Percussion), Freddie Stone (Guitar), Cynthia Robinson (Backing Vocals/Trumpet), Jerry Martini (Saxophone), “Little Sister” (Backing Vocals), Larry Graham (Bass Guitar) and Gerry Gibson (Drums) (1972)

Well, That’s Easter all over and done with! Lucky for me, Jacob Braybrooke, I managed to seek out two Creme Eggs for me and my Mum today…. at 30p each! It’s not all bad then! “I Wanna Take You Higher” by the legendary 60’s alternative funk outfit Sly & The Family Stone is your daily track on the blog, which I’m writing about because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! I am rather fond of Sly Stone’s work in the San Francisco area in the golden age of the 60’s and 70’s Jazz movement, particularly on his band’s fifth album, “There’s A Riot Going On”, a more psychedelic-based affair released in 1971. However, the precursor of the band’s fourth LP, “Stand!” also hits the mark nicely. The album ushered in a new wave of Soul and it managed to outpace it’s sales targets, becoming the band’s most commercially successful album at the time, as well as being loaded with such high praise that it appeared on many year-end lists, best albums of the decade polls and even best albums of all-time lists curated by publications like Rolling Stone. In 2015, “Stand!” was deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the Library Of Congress and it was selected for preservation by the National Recording Registry. Stone is credited as the sole songwriter of “I Want To Take You Higher”, the track which I’m going to discuss below.

A fairly generic title aside, “I Want To Take You Higher” is a subliminal funk anthem which doesn’t have an energetic political message as we’d come to expect from Stone, but it was instead opting to be an uplifting precursor to disco-pop that reminds you, lyrically, about the uplifting effects of hearing the music that we love – and the thrill that it never fails to give you! Stone is highlighting the family element of his group, with each of the four vocalists getting their own verse as sole vocalists before they combine together in the chorus: “C’mon light my fire/I want to take you higher/Baby, baby, baby, light my fire”, which is delivered over a staggering line of trumpets mixed with a dwindling line of a Harmonica solo. The vocals continue to highlight the “stoner” funk-soul arrangement of the mid-tempo drum grooves and the synthesized guitar riffs: “Feelings that should make you move/Sounds are there to help you groove/Music still flashin’ me, Take your places” expands on the psychedelic elements of the Swinging 1960’s with a Jazz-inflicted fusion of R&B-soul and rock ‘n’ roll pop with a fast-paced and immediate effect of Blues and Psychedelic Soul. Although it’s one of the tracks which is connected to the creative differences the band would later have and begin to struggle working under, the group’s chemistry is solid within this palette and the funk-rock direction feels smartly composed under the slightly electronic underlayer of the track. I think it may show it’s age a little bit, but there’s no doubt that it was an innovative funk sound being explored and the moral behind it remains as relevant, thematically, as much now as it must have done in the time of it’s release. The result is a powerful, funk-driven fusion of different old-school genres that isn’t quick to lose it’s energy or the cultural perspective of time and place!

Pictured: Vinyl Artwork for “Stand!” (Released in May 1969) (via Epic Records) (buy from http://www.popsike.com)

I have previously covered “Running Away” by Sly & The Family Stone on the blog before, an iconic single taken from their fifth studio album, “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”, a legendary record which was released in 1971! You can read it here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/12/todays-track-sly-the-family-stone-running-away/

Pictured: Sly & The Family Stone in a black-and-white press shoot in 1970 (Photo Credit: William Grimes/The NY Times)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the lovely comments! I’ll be back to writing new posts on the blog tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a recent track from an Australian producer of Danish and Lebanese descent who has collaborated with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, presents a live weekly show on Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio and, of upmost importance, was the first female DJ to mix for Ministry Of Sound Australia in 2012! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: The Melodians – “I Will Get Along Without You”

February 17, 2020 — Leave a comment

I won’t get along without your likes, follows and support! It’s time for your new post!

Pictured: Tony Brevett (Vocals), Brent Dowe (Vocals), Trevor McNaughton (Vocals) (Photo Credit: Darren Farnsworth)

Good evening to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, writing about your daily track on the blog, as promised! It’s a wet, frosty and in most places, icy, February where I’m situated in the UK, with my local area of Stoke-On-Trent being hit by snow storms especially. As they say, Jack Frost’s been nipping at my toes. So, rather than moan about the weather, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to whisk you away to a bright, sunshine-glazed destination to start off your week, and I’m going to do so with an old Jamaican Rocksteady classic from 1967. A little known fact is that “I Will Get Along Without You”, by classic Jamaican vocal trio The Melodians, is actually a reworked cover of a song published by Milton Kellem all of the way back in 1951, originally titled: “Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now”. There have been many versions since, with The Melodians being credited for influencing the likes of UB40 and She & Him to produce their own versions in more recent times. Formed by Tony Brevett, Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton, The Melodians went on to receive the coveted “Iconic Award” from the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) in 2017, although the trio had a few line-up changes and different producers over the years, with Bramwell Brown, Renford Cogle and Vin joining the ranks later on. Cogle was involved from the off, writing and arranging material for the vocalists. I discovered “I Will Get Along Without You” through the “This Is Trojan: Rock Steady” compilation album, released in April 2018, where the individual tracks are comfortably sitting on the system of my student radio station’s playout software. Let’s hear the track below!

The track immediately begins with a Vintage Jazz sound, which gets created by a nestled solo from trumpets courtesy of backing group The Supersonics. The vocals sink in: “You had a heart that I used to share/And then you went away, girl/Now you come back, telling me to forgive you/But I won’t change my mind”, Brevett takes the lead as he sends his ex-girlfriend packing: “I’ve found someone who loves me more than you do/And she will never, break my heart”, with Dowe and McNaughton tweeting and whistling in perfect harmony. Brevett continues to play up the lyrical theme of joyful break-up from a romantic partner: “So don’t you ever try to change my mind/Cause’ I won’t take you back”, with Dowe and McNaughton adding: “You gotta tell her one more time”, over a light, hazy and sun-dripped acoustic guitar riff and the effortlessly smooth use of Vibraphones and Saxophones. Simplicity is key, with minimalist production work and a jaunty, swayable dance beat which reminds me of the undeniable influence that classic Jamaican music has carved into the pop sensibilities of today, even if it isn’t noticed at once. The brass instrumentation is the musical stand-out, as it adds the signature groove which carries the slow-paced harmonies along. The lyrics are fairly interesting, with a slight implication that the narrator may have cheated on his ex-partner, who cheated on him prior to this, which adds a darker tone to contrast the light-hearted quality of the traditional Dub sound. By using elements of Ska, Jazz and Soul – The Melodians have created a thoroughly enjoyable classic which holds up on it’s own two feet decades after it was originally released. It precisely hits the sweet spot of the traditional Reggae sound on the head!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “This Is Trojan: Rock Steady) (Compilation Album Box-Set) (April 2018)

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure that you check back with the blog tomorrow, as I’ll be back with an in-depth look at another old classic! However, this time – it’s a classic ambient dance anthem, released in 1991, by a London-formed dance group who collaborated with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour on their tenth studio album, released in 2010! They’re also set to play this year’s All Points East Festival at Victoria Park in London this May! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Techniques – “Queen Majesty”

January 20, 2020 — Leave a comment

Here’s a ticket to a sunny paradise on Blue Monday! Tell me now, how does that feel?

Pictured: Cover Art for “Winston Riley’s Rock Steady & Early Reggae 1968-1969” (2017) (available at Bandcamp.com)

Good evening (or night, in my case) to you, Jacob Braybrooke here, as usual, it’s been one of the busiest days of my life today, but I’m glad that I’ve finally made it to my desk to write to you about today’s musing, which is going to be a quick overview of the classic Rocksteady track “Queen Majesty” by The Techniques, released back in 1967 on the “3-Prong Push Out” compilation. This track can also be found on the “This Is Trojan: Rock Steady” compilation album, along with many other vintage Jamaican tracks from the likes of The Ethiopians, The Three Tops and The Melodians.

I specifically picked this track as it’s “Blue Monday” – which is known as the gloomiest day of the year, but I didn’t want to go down the straightforward New Order route, even if their 1986 classic is an absolute foot-tapping tune! “Queen Majesty” is a track which I picked as a way of transporting you to a blissful Jamaican paradise on a cold January day – which is an effect created by the track in perfect harmony! The vocals, mostly from the core lineup of Winstron Riley, Slim Smith, Franklyn White and Frederick Waite, are highly satisfying as the group of vocalists croon: “Queen majesty/may I speak to thee?”, although there is a darker tone to contrast the hopeful melodies of the light, upbeat drum melodies which shimmers along to the vocal rhythm of the track. The racial slur, “True, I agree, I’m not of your society/I’m not a king, just a minstrel” evokes a more somber feeling, which blends with the contrasting hopefulness and melancholy of the love-laden line: “As long as you love me/And it won’t be so hard/as long as I see love in your eyes”, as it becomes apparent that the male protagonist is leaving the community of his lover behind, but hopes to keep a long-distance relationship going. I may be reading far too much into the lyrics, but that’s the subtle beauty of the track. A will to keep going, but a power to move on!

Pictured: Full Track Listing for the “This Is Trojan: Rock Steady” compilation LP (CD Outer Casing) (April 2018)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I’ll be back tomorrow, with a look at the new track from a Spanish indie rock band, which is currently on the B-list of the BBC Radio 6Music playlist, who changed their name of “Deers” in 2014 following a legal dispute with an existing band who are called “The Dears”! Oh dear… If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/