Boxing Day Special: Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans – “The Bells Of St. Mary’s”

Put down the Turkey sandwiches, finish cleaning up the crumbs from the Christmas dinner table and eat up the leftover cakes, it’s time for a special Boxing Day blog post!

A vintage track that jumped out to me during my radio show planning like The Polar Express skids on ice – “The Bells Of St. Mary’s” by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, an early 1960’s vocal trio comprised of Bobby Sheen, Fanita James and Darlene Love, is a vocal version of a traditional 1917 classic that was originally written by A. Emmett Adams after seeing St. Mary’s Church in Southampton. The lyrics actually have no direct correlation with the festive season, but the track has since been considered a more traditional Christmas song due to being used in a scene of a Christmas Pageant in a 1945 Bing Crosby film with the same title, as well as being used in a scene for “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. The Drifters also performed a cover for the 1990 film, “Goodfellas”. Later cover versions include a 1965 version by Andy Williams and a 2008 version by Sheryl Crow. In fact, you could probably say that it’s a Hollywood treasure!

“The Bells Of St. Mary’s” by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans is a winter warmer of a vintage track, which is destined to get you in the festive feeling for this celebratory time of year. A lesser-known christmas song, it’s filled up, like a Stocking on Christmas Eve night, with solid and feel-good male harmonies and an orchestral arrangement of strings and backing vocals behind it. Sheen pours out the joy and love with: “The young loves, the true loves/That come from the sea/And so my beloved when red leaves are falling” before he proclaims: “Love bells shall ring out/For you and me”, aided by James and Love, in a call-and-response manner. It has a very traditional feeling to it, as the bells ring in the background of the track and the percussive instruments shake with the roll of a sleigh sound. The track was later released in 1963 on Phil Spector’s “A Christmas Gift For You” compilation of festive carols and it fits right in with all of the seasonal hymns we usually sing year-on-year. The album in question was a huge favourite of Glasvegas Frontman James Allen, who said in an interview for NME, “I used to listen to it every day, even in summer. I think my neighbours thought I was mental”. It’s a bit of an old one and it might come off a bit fuddy-duddy for some listeners, but it’s a timeless tune that is deserving of some more love than it usually gets for Christmas and I don’t think that Allen’s mental at all.

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a track from a UK-based Bassist and Producer who found success as part of progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer! It’s a festive track, which reached #2 in the UK Singles Charts, so it isn’t quite time for you to start looking into the new year ahead just yet!  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: Khruangbin – “Christmas Time Is Here”

It’s not here yet, but we’ve only got 12 days to go! It’s time for your festive Friday post!

One day removed from a, let’s say, very eventful snap General Election poll in the UK, it seems like a very weird day for the nation where we’re all very slowly getting back to grips with reality and slowly beginning to resume our normal lives, but there are still loads of current affairs events happening in the background that can be difficult to escape from in the 24/7 and social media society we’re living in today. What better chance, then, than to sit down with a hot mug of cocoa, coffee or tea and listen to some chilled soul/world vibes from Khruangbin? A band from Houston, Texas who manage to blend elements of classic Soul, Neo-Psychedelia and Jamaican Dub/Rocksteady to create a very unique and earthly sound. A track that I really enjoy listening to from this band is “Maria Tambien”, an almost entirely instrumental funk rhythm that feels like a journey through several different West African countries at a frantic pace. I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m giving a listen of a festive offering from the band, “Christmas Time Is Here”, a single released in time for last year’s festive season.

“Christmas Time Is Here” is a very interesting and curiously appealing mix of classically composed ambient sweetness, organic instrumentation and a slow-paced funk groove which calls back to old-school soul and psychedelic lo-fi rock. It’s a cover version of a classic track written by Vince Guaraldi for “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, a TV film starring the Peanuts Gang released in 1965. There have been countless covers since, from the likes of Chicago, Jars Of Clay and Sam Sparro. However, it’s a testament to the unique sound of Khruangbin how they manage to adapt the original format and make it sound original to them. This cover is almost an instrumental jam session by the US trio, with a beat-driven style which encompasses the Jazz roots of the original track and marries it with a luscious acoustic direction. It evokes a hypnotic effect as a result, which is created by the gentle guitar chords and the quiet vocal arrangements, along with a natural simplicity to the lyrics. It is composed beautifully and it’s an effort that helps with relaxation at this hectic time of year. Overall, it’s a track which manages to pull genres from a Magician’s hat and the band successfully mixes them together with a sound that is ultimately vintage, classic and laidback, with a broad roughness and an edge that makes it sound fresh and inspired.

Thank you for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a break from the alternative Christmas vibes to shine a spotlight on a new R&B/Soul artist from Ireland who used to work as a dealer in Poker and got her name from a Pizza menu! 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: Fun Lovin’ Criminals – “Scooby Snacks”

SCOOOBY-DOOOBY-D…OHHHH! It’s time to kick off your weekend with a Friday post!

Despite the familiar title, it turns out the song is actually linked to a form of drug/medication created by Valium and it has nothing to do with a certain sleuthing cartoon dog and his team of ghost-busting chums that we all know from a long-running TV series created by The Hanna Barbera Company. I guess that’s one mystery solved! Instead, “Scooby Snacks” is a track written and recorded by Fun’ Lovin Criminals, which also includes a sample taken from Quentin Tarantio films, namely “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “Reservoir Dogs” (1992). It’s an eclectic mix of intriguing styles, as it fuses together elements of Hip-Hop, Blues, Alternative Rock, Post-Punk, R&B and Jazz-Funk. The track didn’t receive much commercial attention when it was first released in August 1996, reaching the #22 spot on the UK Singles Chart, but it was later reissued, along with a cover of 10cc’s hit track “I’m Not In Love”, leading to the track faring a little bit better, reaching #12 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1997. It was taken from the group’s debut LP record, “Come Find Yourself” and it remains to be the group’s biggest and most famous hit, from a commercial standpoint. I first heard the track on the second or third disc of a “100 Hits… Alternative” compilation album, which I can remember buying from a HMV. It was very nifty for my radio work.

This is a track that will take you a few listens to really sink into your psyche, as almost the entirety of the multiple verses are delivered in a soft-rap style. This creates an undeniable stoner rock effect, which feels reminiscent, both in texture and stylistic convention, to the Quentin Tarantino films which it’s sampled composition was inspired by. Huey Morgan, the lead vocalist, raps “Runnin’ around, robbin’ banks” while “All wacked off the Scooby Snacks” over a rhythmic funk melody created by Brian Leiser and a two-step drum rhythm created by Frank Benbini, with the three having great chemistry as a band, with no member outshining the other on this particular track. It’s a rare feat, for many bands, to have this ability to work off the effects of each other, but Fun Lovin’ Criminals manage it with good execution. The track plays off it’s wacky lyricism with a thumping set of slide guitar chords and a well-paced sequence of alternative rock-based sections. I feel the main vocal hook does falter the overall experience a little bit, but the psychedelic elements are captured in good shape. It sounds very 00’s, but the intended tongue-in-cheek spirit and the blues vibes are also groovy. Overall, the track succeeds – and holds up – in creating a drug-fuelled thrill through a shifting variety of styles, although some of the polish is a little outdated compared to later, more contemporary, examples. Nevertheless, it’s a fun track to listen to and a nice way of layering several different elements of hip-hop, alternative rock, blues, and jazz with – mostly – cohesive results.

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a 1996 track from a new track from a London-based Post-Punk group who have just released a new album on The Leaf Label, which also has guest appearances from Iggy Pop and Kool Keith! 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: Bakar – “Hell N’ Back”

Life can sometimes feel like a big trip to Hell N’ Back, so here’s a post to cheer you up!

Bakar is a hip-hop songwriter from Camden, who likes to describe his own music as: “schizophrenic”. This is because he incorporates a multitude of different elements of genres into his music to create his own unique sound, be it funk or soul, jazz or trip-hop, garage or alternative rock, drawing on his influences like Gorillaz, James Blake, Aaliyah and Foals, to create a very exciting and inviting mix of effervescent genre-hopping monikers to his own stock. In a recent interview with Complex, Bakar explained his sound with: “If people saw me and presumed the kind of music I make, 90% of them would say rap or hip-hop. I could be on every single playlist on Spotify and feel at home there.”, growing his confidence and finding his feet as a new artist who wants to shapeshift like a Chameleon and shatter preconceptions people may have of him. “Hell N’ Back” is his latest single. It was released by Black Butter Limited.

“Hell N’ Back” is taken from his latest EP release, “Will You Be My Yellow”, which was released on September 13th, 2019. The track opens with a whistling vocal tune, which builds up to a delayed trumpet solo which sounds ripe for a lazy stoner tune that sounds easy like Sunday morning! As Bakar’s vocals kick in: “Could you tell where my head was at when you found me?/Me and you went to hell and back just to find peace”, before he proceeds to tell an upbeat story of finding peace with a close friend or lover with: “I mixed a lot of love with a lot of drugs, then I found you/She liked petty crimes, she had green eyes like Mountain Dew”, with the track evoking feelings of an early 00’s jazz record from Curtis Mayfield or Leon Bridges, although it’s also ripe with hip-hop elements due to a spoken word chorus which interlinks the different contextual themes together: “Could you tell where my head was at when you found me?/Me and you went to hell and back just to find peace/Man, I thought I had everything, I was lonely/Now you’re my everything, I was lonely”, with a slight chill pop vibe being added to make the production work on the track sound cleaner and a little bit more polished than his earlier tracks like “Big Dreams” and “Chill”. The track definitely has a vintage and old-school tinge of soul to it, due to the jazz percussion, such as the horns, which is paired with the pop-ballad style of writing. Overall, it’s a solid track that reminds me of vintage classics, while pushing Bakar forwards into his future as an artist and each of the different elements flow together pretty cohesively.

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with another weekly installment of my Scuzz Sundays, late 90’s to 00’s punk anthems, blog posts, which will take you on a trip down memory lane and back to the history of the Scuzz TV channel! 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: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (feat. PJ Harvey) – “Henry Lee”

I’ve been writing this blog every day! I’m not a tall handsome man in a dusty rain coat with a ‘Red Right Hand’, but I’m a crazy lover of music! It’s time for your Tuesday post!

“I’ve always had an obligation to creation, above all” is a very passionate quote from the triumphant legend that is Nick Cave himself, who teamed up with the equally brilliant PJ Harvey to create a track called “Henry Lee” for his 1996 LP, his ninth LP release with The Bad Seeds! The two reportedly formed a relationship in the late 90’s bolstered by the time they spend when working on the production of this track together. It was assumed to be a very passionate, albeit brief, little slice of puppy love between them, which Cave claims that PJ Harvey broke off, which left him heartbroken and very saddened. It’s a shame as they are two incredibly fascinating artists, but it’s very easy to see their chemistry and innovative concepts coming into play as a huge factor on “Henry Lee”, which reached #36 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1996. A single from “Murder Ballads”, a defining Bad Seeds record, with a notable Kylie Minogue collaboration that was successful in the mainstream, which comprises of gothic horror stories and woeful fables of serial killers being narrated in a ballad format, so the title of the record was “Murder Ballads”! Call a spade a spade?

Thus, “Henry Lee” was born, a dark love story that is romantic and sweet as it is melancholic, but it’s absolutely gorgeous all the same! It’s a privilege to be able to experience art of this quality! It’s probably not a love song that you could get away with playing as the first dance of your wedding, as it’s eery and antagonistic in nature, but the lyrics are written and the vocals are delivered with a sense of purity. They are sincere, heartfelt and honest. The piano chords aren’t flashy and the one-two punch of the guitar-focused arrangement isn’t glossy, but the simplicity of the acoustic instrumentation really hits me and the track is quietly experimental, as it feels influenced by the older Blues records and the folk sounds of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Since we’d mostly experienced Cave as a solo narrator on his records at this point, it adds a dynamic layer to the song when he brings the vocal talents of Harvey onboard, adding a little bit more to the overall sound of the track. It’s heavy-handed as it deals with dark subject matter, as the story revolves around a girl murdering a lover who stole her heart and unwittingly gave it away to another lover, but there are themes of lust and infatuation which are delivered in a very effective and provocative manner. The story, above all, is two legends of true music coming together, bringing all the different elements of their sound, to create a very compelling fragment of art-rock. The video (I’ve attached a link to it above) is also well worth checking out. Like the track itself, it’s easy to get your head around and it’s formatted in a very simplistic nature. It’s romantic and the chemistry between Cave and Harvey is chilling and ghostly, but it’s also brilliant and it’s a true snapshot of their lives at the time. It’s not really a big surprise that they dated for a short time, as it’s easy to tell from the video! It’s an underrated tune from the prolific discographies of both Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, which is made all the more gut-wrenching by the context behind the record!

 

 

Thank you very much for reading this post! As we looked at a rather depressing, if wonderful, piece of work today, I’m going to be taking a much more light-hearted approach on tomorrow’s post by looking at a chart-topping pop hit which the rhythmn got back in 1987! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – “Over Everything”

Thank you for coming “Over” to the blog! It’s time for your new Thursday blog post!

Back in October 2017, four-time Aria Awards winner Courtney Barnett and The War On Drugs’ leading man Kurt Vile collaborated for an LP called “Lotta Sea Lice”, which they recorded during the period between January 2016 to March 2017. The album received a positive reception from both fans and critics alike, with the album being placed on year-end charts by many publications, like Drowned In Sound, BBC Radio 6Music and Rolling Stone. I haven’t ever checked out the full-length LP for myself, so I’m also discovering new material for myself by writing today’s blog post for you! Lucky readers! The album was a commercial success, charting at #11 in the UK Albums Chart, #4 in the US Billboard Indie Albums Chart and #5 in the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, which is Barnett’s native country. “Over Everything” was the leading single.

“Over Everything” feels reminiscent of a classic Blues and Soul duet, which feels surprisingly diverse in comparison to the usual style of Barnett’s solo records, which are often alternative punk records filled with young adult angst and subtle humor. The melodies on “Over Everything” are filled with a mix of electro-guitar harmonies and the conjoining of Barnett and Vile’s vocal styles, which create acoustic melodies that sound country-influenced. In turn, Barnett and Vile reminisce on the days where Barnett and Vile first found a sense of solitude and pensivity within the mundane world, as Vile sings:”When I was young I liked to hear music blarin’/And I wasn’t carin to neuter my jams with earplugs” and Barnett responds: “When I’m strugglin with my songs I do the same thing too/And then I crunch em up in headphones, cause why wouldn’t you?” as the two directly call back to one another throughout the entirety of the ballad. The video sees them singing each other’s lines, reflecting on the theme that Barnett & Vile’s lives are now intertwined. Vile’s vocal style is a bit of an acquired taste, which I found a little bit grating as the song went on for it’s length of 6 minutes. However, the overall result is a thought-provoking track which allows the individual styles of Barnett & Vile to shine, while making them feel very consistent and in-sync with each other. That’s always a great thing with a collaboration, as the chemistry is there and the track sounds very well-produced as a result of this. It’s not the best work of either performer in terms of their overall discography, as the country-focused melodies aren’t my thing at all, but it’s a solid effort that will likely please the hardcore fanbase of both artists and I feel it cleverly justifies the existence of the duet.

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a brand new single from a legendary US female hip-hop artist who has released five LP records which were certified platinum in a row! 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?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Sampa The Great – “Freedom”

It’s a good job that I have the freedom to write about a different jam for you on the blog every day! It’s something that I’m very grateful for! It’s time for your Wednesday post!

“Freedom” is the new single from Zambian hip hop songwriter Sampa The Great from her debut LP, “The Return” which came out on September 13 via the Ninja Tune label. I have previously covered another track, “Final Form”, on the blog and you can still read my thoughts on that via this link: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/28/todays-track-sampa-the-great-final-form/

“Freedom” is a track that sounds very different track to “Final Form” in terms of it’s pacing, layout, tone and the influences of genres of which it derives from. “Final Form” is a track which mixes funk and soul elements, but “Freedom” seems to dip into the chillwave genre. It’s a slow jam that gradually builds up to an evocatively composed sound. The underlayer is filled with chilled-out snares and the writing has a more R&B-oriented approach compared to some of her other tracks, but the tone is soulful and relaxed, which fits the overall theme of the rest of her LP. The message is reminiscent of Joe Smooth’s “Promised Land” from ’82 and the gospel vocals in the background complement the string-based dynamic created by the funky bass section. Upon her exclamation of the track, Sampa has told the press: “Freedom is about one of the most important talks you will ever have as an artist in this industry”, “It’s likely you’ll reach a point in your career where you’ll be given a choice to compromise your artistic expression”. It’s a sentiment that’s clear when you listen to the hopeful lyricism on the track and the haze-drenched delivery of both the organic and electronic instrumentation on the track. Overall, it’s a very lovely track with a bold message of embracing diversity and it feels relevant to the political events we are facing. However, the track has an overall optimistic style when each of the layers get combined. It’s a track that further cements Sampa The Great as a premier international hip-hop talent and a potential cultural icon in the making.

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a track that is a collaboration between a female artist who sometimes likes to sit and think, but sometimes just sits. She is joined by a male solo artist who is the leading band member of The War On Drugs! 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/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors”

After being named as the “Best New Track” by Pitchfork, I felt very inclined to explore the new single from Angel Olsen, an American singer-songwriter based in Asheville, North Carolina. “All Mirrors” is the new dark and anthemic single from Olsen, which is the lead single from her forthcoming fourth LP release of the same title. This is a track which we’ve placed on the A-list of the student radio station I’m part of, as we feel that it has a very exciting and interesting sound, which is very appealing to young people. It’s a little bit alternative, but it’s fresh and very cool, which is the main thing!

“All Mirrors” starts off with a very somber tone, with the track only using a little slice of electronic instrumentation at any time. There are a light bed of synths, but Olsen’s focus is almost entirely on the emphasis on her voice and the orchestral style of the piano chords and violin arrangements on the track. Olsen croons: “See you standin’, a million moments landin’/On your smile, buried alive, I could have/Die to stay there, never have to leave there” in poetic fashion as she expresses her vulnerability of reflecting on drama in her past. In the halfway point of the track, Olsen’s production gets beefed up with a sweeping chorus of “Standing, facin’, all mirrors are erasin’/Losin’ beauty, at least at times it knew me” as the track draws influence from the synthpop genre with a set of dramatically composed guitar parts and synth melodies. The sound of the chorus resembles Olsen rising out of the ashes like a phoenix, as she reflects on the woman she’s become on a hopeful note of improving her optimism in the future. It’s a bit of an underdog story, but it’s told in a way which is effective in mirroring (pun intended) extremism and feminism in the post-modern society of the modern world. I like each of the different layers in the track, which merge together in the end to tell a solid narrative of transformation and changing of imagery, with an acoustic production that feels deceptively complex and stark in comparison to the typical formula of mainstream pop chart music. I’m excited to hear the full album as I feel Olsen has more down her sleeves to offer music nerds like me!

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a track from an American hip-hop artist who used to be a member of Jurassic-5. It’s a collaboration with an Amercian DJ who is also the producer and manager of Instant Vibes Records. If you 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: Iggy Pop – “James Bond”

If you’re itching to discover a new song, I’m here to be your very own James Bond and save the day for you! Here is your Tuesday post!

I think it’s very peculiar how Iggy Pop has remained to be a very well-known figure in the mainstream despite not really gaining much success in the mainstream charts. I think it may be down to his memorable performances in the old Swiftcover TV advertising campaign, but he is actually a very influential figure in the Punk and Grunge subgenres of rock, having been the lead of The Stooges for several decades, but I haven’t had much exposure to any of his work in my own personal journey to find exciting new sounds. That is, until this song came around!

“James Bond” is the new single from the British rock god, which is taken from his new album, “Free”, his 18th LP release (oh my goodness) as a solo artist. This is a track with a very old school Blues sound, a little bit reminiscent of the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds records of old, such as “Let Love In” and “Henry’s Dream”, which is probably why I really like it. The lyrical content feels very grand and the saxophone solo, near the end, adds a spicy kick to the flavour of the track. It expertly covers art-pop, grunge rock, jazz, garage rock and hard rock all in one go. The vocals are dry and low-pitched, but they are delivered with a lot of wit and charm, as Pop croons with his unique tempo: “Well, it’s not for a price and it’s not to be nice” and “She might stand in your way, but still she’ll save the day” as he gets to compare the sensibilities and traits of a gold-digger lover with that of the secrecy of a double agent spy. This is a surprisingly effective track which is very enjoyable to sing along to. In terms of the writing, It’s a bit of a twisted version of Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, but it manages to fuse a range of intertwining genres together with very good cohesion and precision. It’s a good fit for alternative music stations and it has drummed up a fair bit of intrigue in making me want to check out the full album. Overall, I think it’s an absolutely excellent single that is a bit of a surprise, but a delight all the same!

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a new track from a US indie rock band who released their debut LP record on limited cassette in 2011! If you liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/