Jangle-Pop

Today’s Track: Joey Pecoraro – “You Never Told Me That”

May 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

A humble fella making Music For Happiness and your Imagination. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Old Time Radio” (LP) (Available from May 21, 2021) (via Alpha Pup)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, as you may have probably imagined by now, it’s time for me to get typing up for your track of the day on the blog, as per usual, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Aged 26, the Detroit-based independent electronica producer Joey Pecoraro studied Film at The University Of Michigan. That’s where he fell in love with the films and, evidently, the Radio plays of the 1930’s and the 1940’s, and he began to make his own music in his bedroom ever since 2014. His music takes on a Chillwave sound that also incorporates elements of Lo-Fi and Instrumental Hip-Hop music. He also loves to keep his own details very brief, simply describing himself as “Joey is a guy from Michigan who makes music for your emotions” for his biography on Spotify. His new album, ‘Old Time Radio’, follows up 2019’s ‘Deep In A Dream Of You’ EP and 2020’s ‘Sea Monster’ LP, and it releases this Friday via the Los Angeles-based indie label Alpha Pup Records. Check out his new single – ‘You Never Told Me That’ – below.

I first caught wind of Joey Pecoraro’s bedroom productions by hearing ‘Train, Cold, Snow’ on KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune podcast filled of daily samplers that you can download for free, and I’ve been keeping up with the new singles from his new album with keen ears since then. An interview from last year that I found suggests that he’s been listening to a lot of Buerno Pernadas and Westerman since the Lockdown era began last Spring, which have no doubt inspired the sonic direction for his latest body of work, which seemingly sees Pecoraro experimenting with samples from radio dramas he has either filtered or looped to make them sound vintage, or has used clips from authentic radio plays of a bygone era. Either way, it feels unusual and creative, and he certainly seems to be very unique for his age, especially. For ‘You Never Told Me That’, we freefall easily into what sounds like dialogue from a dated radio play scene of the 50’s or a deleted out-take from an old-time Christmas film like ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. It’s not exactly clear what is being said, but it just establishes the tone softly and sweetly. From there, the creative direction goes into a more Instrumental style because the intellectual delivery of the script gets swiftly replaced by the sounds of insects chirping happily, twinkling Keyboard melodies and Classical String sections that seem happy to lurk out of the centre. Wordless vocals are layered above the top with a harmonic progression, as the Synths of the track continue to pave their own way for an arrangement that feels lush, relaxed and soothing. It all feels virtuosic, with seemingly obscure samples that have been tinkered away at and merticulously layered to create an absorbing atmosphere that induces calm and invites for you to have a moment to think as it’s listener. Sure, it never really goes anywhere. However, it doesn’t need to. This one disregards typical traits of Pop and Rock music like catchy hooks or poly-rhythms for the most part, and instead, it dedicates a space to convey a mood and a feeling. It also reminds me of The Avalanches, and he said that he loves them while responding to a YouTube comment from a fan asking him about them in one of his recent single uploads. This music is totally right up my street. Love this one.

  • Pictured: Joey Pecoraro in a Magnetic Magazine press shoot (2020) (Photography by Diana Georgie)

That’s all, folks! Join me again for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow, where we will be revisiting an unlikely UK Top 20 chart success upon it’s re-release in 1984 produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley who have produced records for Madness and Elvis Costello back in the day. The artist was an English stand-up comedian, whose surrealist humor is in the vein of Monty Python or Billy Connolly, who was voted the 18th ‘Greatest Stand-Up Comic Of All-Time’ by the viewers of Channel 4’s ‘100 Greatest Stand Ups’ television one-off programme 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/

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/

Easter Sunday 2021 Special: Dolly Parton – “He’s Alive” (1989)

April 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” – He has risen indeed! Easter post time…

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “White Limozeen” (LP) (Released on May 30th, 1989) (via Columbia Records)

Wishing you a Happy Easter – it’s Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for today’s track on the blog, just like always, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! No Scuzz Sundays post this week, because I’ve got something Easter themed to share with you instead today to roll with the holiday season. Dolly Parton is an artist who I don’t feel I have to give much introduction for. She’s only probably the most famous Country music star of all time, and so her discography and socio-economic impact is pretty blindingly obvious. “He’s Alive” is a track which was actually written by Worship music icon Don Francisco in 1977, released on his album ‘Forgiven’, but Parton put her own spin on the track for the closing section of her staggering twenty-ninth main album release, ‘White Limozeen’, in 1989. I’m not familiar with that record (Country music isn’t really my thing, as I’m sure that you’ve probably noticed by now), but my research indicates that she aimed to return to the Country roots of her prior work after 1987’s ‘Rainbow’ saw disappointing results. She did so to great success, with the record spending a total of 100 weeks on the US Country Albums chart, earning positive reviews, and it went certified Gold in sales. ‘He’s Alive’ looks at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from Peter’s viewpoint. Last year, Parton shared an acoustic performance of the track to her followers on Instagram, and since arguably not much has changed in the way of lockdown restrictions since then, it still feels punctual today. Let’s check it out below.

“Somebody said the other day, oh, we’ve had a rough week”, “and just think about the rough week that Jesus had, and look how well that turned out for us. I’m going to sing about that” was a lovely way for Parton to introduce her acoustic rendition of the track in the video of her performance above, and ‘He’s Alive’ had previously earned it’s original producer, Don Francisco, similarly rock solid success in the way of two notable Dove music awards following it’s release way-back-when. Parton gets her version off to a bang with her signature voice and some stirring, naturally acoustic guitar chords. Parton balances a noticeably grounded tone with some more profound odes to religious events during the track, with lines like “Looked down into the street, Expecting swords and torches, And the sound of soldiers feet” and “The stone’s been rolled away, And now his body isn’t there” narrates the story of Peter’s revelation of seeing that Jesus’ body had been risen from the tomb on Easter Sunday in a more Spoken Word form. The grand finale of the track sees Parton exclaiming “I believe it, He’s Alive” and “Sweet Jesus” above a slightly more rough guitar rhythm and nothing more, as she celebrates the revelation in unbridled joy. Parton would usually perform the track with a Choir to back her up, but she joked that “there wasn’t enough elbow room” for one last year (and there still isn’t this year…) and so, using nothing more than her acoustic guitar and her natural voice in the solo performance, she does a great job of bringing some religious context to a holiday that is commercially about overpriced chocolate and a longer weekend. It really isn’t “my thing” in the personal opinion sense, but it makes a good reminder for what the strange holiday of Easter has been built upon. Seriously, why have it on a different day every year? It’s to do with the Moon and the Equinox, but just how? Anyways – You go and have a good one.

  • Pictured: Dolly Parton at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards in Nashville (2019) (Photo via Forbes.com)

That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow for another Easter-themed post that is contemporary, and so that makes for a switch-up. Bank Holiday Monday… it looks like I forgot to book it off. I’ll catch you tomorrow then. 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: Damon Albarn (feat. Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté & Malian Musicians) – “Sunset Coming On” (2002)

April 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

As the dawn continues to roll along – I grow tired and weary. Yet – it’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Mali Music” (LP) (Released on April 15th, 2002) (via EMI/Honest John’s)

Good Afternoon to you – this is your resident crate-digger and playlist sifter Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s Easter Saturday today – even if that isn’t really a thing. So, to keep things fresh over the Bank Holiday weekend, here’s something a bit different to my typical Alternative/Indie output and something that you may not have heard before. ‘World Music’ – a controversial label – isn’t really something that British folk like me are exposed to all that often. Yet, this is an area that our national treasure Damon Albarn – the Post-Blur and Pre-Gorillaz frontman at the time – once attempted to crack back in 2002. ‘Mali Music’ was released in 2002, through UK indie label Honest Jon’s, a worldbeat album that saw Albarn collaborate with local Malian musicians like Afel Bocoum, Ko Kan Ko Sata and Bjork collaborator Toumani Diabate, who were most often credited as such. This experiment of fusing Albarn’s Western musical background with satisfying African instrumentation was a measured success. It has a cult following, but it received mixed reviews from critics upon release. The ‘World Music’ genre was mostly being dominated by the WOMAD organization to decent effect at the time, and there were concerns about whether Albarn was trying to form a monopolization on the music from the less developed nation of Mali. However, for him, it was a creative venture which allowed him to use his mainstream following to expose UK audiences to a style of music that usually goes unnoticed in the way of industry-driven commercialism in British Pop and Rock. To promote the record, he appeared on ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ to perform the (considered) lead single from the album – entitled ‘Sunset Coming On’. Check it out on YouTube below.

Co-produced by Simon Burwell, ‘Mali Music’ was another hugely collaborative enterprise for Albarn, who is also the lead of The Good, The Bad & The Queen supergroup, a theatre composer and a published author. He’s also a king. BBC News reported that, in 2016, Albarn was christened as an honorary local king of Mali for his continued travels to Mali since 2002 and his involvement in the African country’s music culture. Burwell also once said in an interview with Sound On Sound that ‘Sunset Coming On’ was mostly written about Albarn’s true feelings about Mali, and so they thought it was appropriate to make the record, and it was not left on the cutting room floor. That makes for a logical choice, since I feel that ‘Sunset Coming On’ is decently accessible for an English or an American listener to connect with immediately for it’s conventional songwriting structure. Built from the use of a Kora for the backing track, where the one verse with calming lyrics like “Feel the warmth of the sun on my face/Tell my face where I’ve been going wrong” and “Waking up, it’s been too long/This road goes on and on” conveys a laidback and easy-going mood, while perhaps reflecting on the memories that Albarn created while visiting Mali. He later goes into a freestyle on the Jools Holland performance, as a melodic motif of the steel pans and the groovy licks of the guitar beats turns the slightly mournful, vaguely personal ballad into a more ethnological, rhythm-driven piece. While the African inclusions feel a little hemmed-in at points and it may not really sound particularly African, it still is a definite highlight. The music simply sounds like it’s coming from the sincerity of the heart, and the nearly Hypnotic sounds do an appealing job of drawing you into it’s Malian setting, as the simple-but-effective coat of polish manages to make the overall vibe feel quite subdued and based on a vibrant spectacle. In isolation, it can draw you in to the ultra-hot and idyllic landscape of the African night. It isn’t perfect, but it makes for a lovely listen. It’s also a reminder of the gems that lie in Albarn’s inconsistent, but always daring and distinctly collaborative, gems seen in his discography. A superb nugget from our host’s extensive back catalog.

  • Pictured: Damon Albarn being declared as the “local king”of Mali (in 2012) (Photo via BBC News)

Thank you for reading your latest post – The time is always appreciated! There’s no Scuzz Sundays post tomorrow, as I will instead be guiding you through some loosely seasonal Easter-themed posts as we properly approach that time of the year. The two-day spread will kick off with a retro track from a Country mega-star who is also an actress, an author, an entrepreneur, and a humanitarian who may lead you to believe that she made her baby steps into pop culture with a ‘9 To 5’ job – What a way to make a living. 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: Alice Phoebe Lou – “Dusk”

March 30, 2021 — Leave a comment

I was wondering what the opposite of “Dusk” was – It dawned on me. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Glow” (LP) (Released on March 19th, 2021) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time again for me to get typing up for your track of the day on the blog, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! One of my latest discoveries is Alice Phoebe Lou – an originally South African singer-songwriter who is now based in Berlin, Germany. Lou was included on the shortlist of nominations for the ‘Best Original Song’ award at the Oscars in 2017, when her track ‘She’ from the biopic drama film ‘Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’ broke out. Since 2019, she has also remained active in her side project – Strongboi. She’s new to me, but she’s been around for a little while – and so far, she has released three studio albums and three EP’s. Love has always been a topic that she’s willingly shied away from, until now. Her latest LP – ‘Glow’ – was self-released on March 19th, a collection of mellow tracks that compares and contrasts her experiences of romance and relationships. She describes the record as a “crooner” and “Mostly love songs, sprinkled with a Punk/Grunge number here and there” and that, when writing the album, she “realised that instead of making people think, I wanted to simply make people feel” that she posted on her website, and she self-directed the video for ‘Dusk’ on a retro VHS. Check it out below.

‘Dirty Mouth’ is another solid single from the album, and I contemplated writing about that track as well. However, I’ve ultimately decided to write about ‘Dusk’ since the coin would probably land on that cut if I flipped one, in being my favourite track from the new 12-track project. As you could tell from the music video – it’s very raw, unedited and not very polished, intentionally. Love is intense, but it doesn’t always work out perfectly either. Lou wrote of the track: ” I spent more time alone than I ever had”, “I shaved my head. Had an Ego death. Fell in love. Had my heart broken. I was a raw little mess. And that was what I wrote about” in her press release. An ode to a friendship that is slowly blossoming into something more, ‘Dusk’ feels laidback and easy-going. Honeyed production and sultry vocals are the key qualities of the scene, with lyrics like “She told me she gets lonely, When the sky changes from day to night” and “That’s when her Demons come say ‘Hey’/Dusk is always harder for my baby” dancing atop a shuffling drum beat and a playful, progressive Jazz melody filled with subtle Horn sections, and a less restrained Saxophone solo near the end. A steady rhythm paves the way for the main hook, where Lou croons “The world, The whole wide world/But the world don’t matter, When we’re looking at each other” as the electric keys give it a lightly catchy edge. Befitting it’s recording process, vinyl crackles make the production seem late-night and lounge-like. I think the track would really resonate with listeners who may usually go out dating, but have been trapped inside due to the pandemic, and left to their devices to reminisce about the trials and errors of their past. It feels romantic, yet in a day-dream sense of a mild, harmless fantasy. I really enjoy her voice too because it sounds distinctive and a little unusual – this gives her a sense of unique identity. Overall, this is a solid track that personifies the saying of ‘Simple, But Effective’ for me. I can certainly see the appeal of her, and I can’t really think of any flaws I had with it. Soulful and sweet, it’s coming from an intimate space.

  • Pictured: Alice Phoebe Lou performing at Rudolstadt Festival (2019) (Photo via WikiMedia Commons)

That’s all I’ve got time for today! We’ll be taking a break away from the new music finds tomorrow, however, for a new entry in our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ feature which spotlights the seminal tracks that still hold some power today. We’ll be crossing over into Novelty territory this week – as we revisit one of the strangest tracks to ever reach the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart – back in 1996. It comes from a Northern Irish DJ who has performed under several alias over the years, including his most famous moniker of Yomanda. There’s also Celine Diablo, Subway and Working Class Hero. 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: Dante Elephante – “Game Of Love”

March 15, 2021 — Leave a comment

Play what you want – but you better not go play Mind Games on me! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Game Of Love” (Single) (Released on Feb 26th, 2021 (via Born Losers Records)

Good Afternoon to you! Jacob Braybrooke here, wishing you a happy Monday, as I report to the blog for my track of the day, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! If you cast your mind back to just two months ago, you may recall our ‘New Album Release Friday’ feature on the blog, where we took an in-depth look at ‘Mid-Century Modern Romance’, the third studio album to be released by Dante Elephante (aka Ruben Zarate), on the Born Losers Records label at the very beginning of the new year. The album sees the singer-songwriter – who is based in the Highland Park area of Santa Barbara near Los Angeles in California – shed his previous Surf-Rock and Stoner-Pop sound for a more retro guise of Disco-Pop and Dance-Rock. Produced by Paul Cherry, the LP was a cheeky little sleeper hit of a release, with some groovy tunes that have really grown on me in the last two months. The sound is nicely inspired, while nostalgic at the same time, as an overall classic-sounding Pop package that doesn’t set the world alight, but refreshingly manages to transport you away from the grim reality of our current circumstances with a passionate stride. To follow up on album stand-outs like ‘Jeni’ and ‘Find Somebody To Love’, Zarate has just released a one-off single in the form of a cover version of Santana’s 60’s Soul Pop anthem, ‘Game Of Love’. If you find the sampling below to be enjoyable, Zarate also hosts his own eccentric podcast, ‘The Dante Elephante Podcast’, which you can check out each Thursday on commercial platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and wherever else that you get your podcasts. You can have a sing along to the on-screen lyrics for ‘Game Of Love’ below.

Paired with the above music video, which is dedicated to Gregg Alexander, Zarate has been promoting his music with a live appearance on the KCRW radio station, where you’ll find him talking about the records that take him back in his very own all-Vinyl playlist titled ‘Private Playlist’ which articulates his inspiration from his heroes, including rarities from Orange Juice and Eydie Gorme. The segment is up on his YouTube channel if that sounds interesting to you, where you can also find some live performances of tracks from the new album, alongside the above music video for bonus single ‘Game Of Love’. Speaking of that track, it demonstrates some maturing of his songwriting skills and some acting chops, with Zarate busting some moves to co-incide with the more upbeat, dance-oriented chorus sections. The verses are a little more pensive though, with soulful melodies and mid-tempo synth beats that continually emerge and retreat back in the more toned down sections. The drum beat grooves are rather nice, before sensual lines like “So, please tell me why you don’t come around here no more/Cause right now I’m dying outside the door of your loving store” creep in to the soundscape with a lightly drawing scope. The chorus is more hook-led, with rhymes like “It just takes a little bit of this, A little bit of that/It started with a kiss, Now we’re up to bat” and “A little bit of laughs, A little bit of pain, it’s all in the game of love” that feel forthright and ready for summer. The percussive elements are neatly packed into the sound, and Zarate increases the tempo of the original track just a little to give it a more funky, progressive update. Overall, it’s a really lovely little track because it demonstrates a clear talent that Zarate has in making pop music that sounds old-school and vintage with a top-notch sense of authenticity, and while the results are not really a groundbreaking record, it’s one that feels charming, with an affectionate Falsetto tool that takes me from a somewhat mundane setting, and it makes me feel like I’m beach-bound on a pleasantly hot day. It’s just good Pop music.

  • Pictured: Ruben Zarate (of Dante Elephante) in a ‘GoodTimes.SC’ promo shoot (2019) (via PR)

As aforementioned, this is the second time that Dante Elephante has pulled an appearance on the little blog. Although it’s grown on me more since then, you can also check out my guidance of album single ‘Las Vegas’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/01/08/new-album-release-friday-dante-elephante-las-vegas/

  • Pictured: Cover for “Mid-Century Modern Romance” (Released on Jan 8, 2021) (via Born Losers Records)

That’s all for now – Please feel free to check back here tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look at some more brand new music recommendations. Tomorrow’s track is almost guaranteed to send you straight to the bustling atmosphere of Asian aesthetics, with an in-depth look at the superb new track to come from a promising all-female indie rock band from Nagoya, Aichi who are signed to the Sub-Pop Records label. The band have recently collaborated with Gorillaz for a track on the ‘Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez’ compilation. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: The Flamingos – “I Only Have Eyes For You”

March 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

The 1950’s bird-like vocal group with a hefty load of Flamboyance. Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Flamingo Serenade” (LP) (Released in April 1959) (via End Records)

Good Afternoon to you – As always, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s finally time for me to get my fingers on the keyboard and type up your daily track on the blog, since it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day – and in the case of Wednesdays – a track from before the 2000’s that influenced the sounds of the present. This week, we are really going WAY BACK, because “I Only Have Eyes For You” was actually written and performed back in the 1930’s, originally by the composer Harry Warren and the lyricist Al Dubin, for their musical comedy film, “Dames”, which was introduced by Dick Powell and released by Warner Bros Studios in 1934 to cult success. However, the tune was made most popular in the late-50’s when the long-storied US vocal choir The Flamingo’s released their own cover version by putting a classic Doo-Wop spin on the old track to bring the early R&B influences of the dated recording to a modern update. Needless to say, the cover version recorded by the bird-named band was a huge commercial hit – where it peaked at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #3 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart. It saw similar success in the UK, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Flamingo’s version on a list of their “500 Greatest Songs Of All-Time” at the #157 position. Billboard magazine were major fans of the group, who wrote: “Universally hailed as one of the finest and most influential vocal groups in Pop history, The Flamingo’s defined doo-wop at it’s most elegant and sophisticated” for their 2014 retrospective. On that note, let’s cast our minds back to the 50’s with the track below.

Originally formed by Jake Carey and Zeke Carey in Chicago of 1953, The Flamingos later expanded to a full line-up with specific changes over the years. but they still found widespread attention with tracks like “If I Can’t Have You” and “That’s My Desire” that cemented their places as some of the earliest, but most significant releases of the band’s heyday. This has ultimately led to the band getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011 – since we all know that old-school Rhythm ‘N’ Blues shares close ties with the development of Rock ‘N’ Roll traditionally – and the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in the year before. Some of their big awards have thanks to pay 59’s “I Only Have Eyes For You” cover, which has become one of their most defining singles. The doo-wop vocals add a fresh dimension to the less restrained nature of the original track, where lyrics like “You are here, and so am I/Maybe millions of people go by, But they all disappear from view” are slowed down and given more space to breathe. The tone goes deeper, and it feels more emotional. Words like “The moon may be high/But I can’t see a thing in the sky” paint a fantastical and romanticized view of a moonlight setting, and quicker lines like “My love must be a kind of blind love/I can’t see anyone but you” are undercut by the central hook of “I Only Have Eyes For You”, where the narrative of being joined by a old flame for your company feels soothing and inobtrusive. The interweaving “Sha Bop, Sha Bop” stabs of the backing vocal arrangement places the emphasis on the dream-like qualities of the slow backing harmonies and the near-hypnotic relaxation of the minimalist guitar licks. In fact, there’s very little instrumentation at all – with only a sparse Piano melody and a light shuffling of a Drum beat entering the fray now and again. I may probably consider it to be “Grandad Music” if I was in a bad mood today, but since I’m feeling of the right frame of mind to listen to it today, I think it’s gorgeous. Through using the effects of the deep echoes and the sentimental lyricism, it manages to bridge the gap between R&B and soft Pop releases by placing a simple emphasis on love and desire, appealing to a wide audience in the stages. A gold Oldie.

Thank you for travelling back to the good ol’ days with me as my trusty companion today! Please feel free to join me again for an in-depth look at some more recent music tomorrow, albeit it’s a release that has been in my drafts page for a little while now. Don’t let that discourage you from checking it out however, because it’s still a fascinating little track that comes from a US Experimental Hip-Hop trio who have really managed to carve out a niche for themselves by mirroring the cinematic sounds of Horror B-Movie soundtracks to acclaim and popularity in recent years. 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: The Staves – “Good Woman”

January 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s a return from hiatus – and so The Staves are higher than ever. Time for a new post.

  • Pictured: The Staves (Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor) (2019) (Photo by Sequoia Ziff/Press)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day. The beginning of the new year is always relatively light on high-profile releases, but low and behold, exciting new music is on the way to us shortly. Case in point – The Staves, who are scheduled to release their first new LP in six years, in just a handful of weeks time. The Hertfordshire-based English Indie Folk trio of sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor started out by performing together at open mic nights hosted by their local pub in Watford, and their upcoming album release marks another period of transformation for them. Titled “Good Woman”, the album was inspired by many significant events which have occured in the personal lives of the sisters. This includes the end of romantic relationships, the death of their mother, and the birth of Emily’s first child. It was largely produced by themselves, although John Congleton lent some assistance in the studio. Let’s watch them perform the titular single below.

“Good Woman” is due for release on 5th February, via Atlantic Records. The Staves shared, in a press release, some extra details about the new album, penning: “When we think about making this album, we think about moments and snapshots of all the different contexts we were in as it was made. Living in each other’s pockets and then living with oceans between us. On voice notes and field recordings and ideas in emails sent across continents”, later concluding, “And coming home”. If that wasn’t a juicy teaser, then I don’t know what is. We’ll just have to make do with the title track, “Good Woman”, for now – a track that feels mellow yet elegant, as the purity of the vocal harmonies of the three sisters gently unfold over the course of the duration. Calmly singing about the themes of femininity and motherhood, the refrain of “Well, I cover my mouth/and I straighten my back” drifts above a steady bass guitar rhythm and a discordant drum beat. The third verse is a highlight, with “Surrender is sweet, Forgiveness divine” echoing through looping backing vocals, and the acoustic guitar riffs gradually increase their tempo and weight. The sisters build up to a finale, where “I’m A Good Woman” keeps getting repeated, as subtle Synth work gets added into the mix, to evoke a triumphant mood to juxtapose the softer side of the opening verses. The instrumentation is minimal and plain, with a large emphasis being set on the vocals instead. The lyrics are well-written and neat, with the guitar work and the jangling drum beats building to a clean, polished sound. On the minus side, I think it’s fair to say that it’s all rather cheesy, and so I think that your mileage may vary on the style. However, I do love my Emmental – and I feel that the track has been produced very well. I probably wouldn’t rush out to buy it, but I think it’s excellent for what it is.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Good Woman” (LP) (Released on 5th February, 2021) (via Atlantic Records)

Thank you very much for the support – and checking up with me on the blog today. I will be back tomorrow, as we take an in-depth look at one of the brand new albums set to release over the weekend, because it’s “New Album Release Friday” tomorrow. It’s style is pretty contrasting to The Staves, as we take a detour into one of the most anticipated emerging bands of the UK’s Post-Punk scene. The South London-based band are set to release their second album, a follow-up to their debut LP, which shared it’s title with a popular BBC One TV programme that broadcasts religious factual content and live performances of hymns.  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/

New Year’s Day Special: Cee Lo Green & The Muppets – “All I Need Is Love”

January 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

To have any dislike for The Muppets would be a big crime to Kermit. Happy New Year!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Cee Lo’s Magic Moment” (LP) (Released on October 29, 2012) (via WB Records)

Let’s add in an extra HOOTENANNNNNY!!!!! Good Morning to you, it is the first day of January, and I’ll tell you what, this is the best that I have felt all year… I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about your special New Year’s Day post on the blog – because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! If you know me, I’m not really one to celebrate Novelty tracks or commercial tie-in’s here on the blog – but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a soft spot for The Muppets, the most famous TV creation of Jim Henson… or, rather depressingly, Disney’s The Muppets now. Nevertheless, here’s an odd little Festive track that was released around this time of Christmas and New Year’s a whopping eight years ago now. “All I Need Is Love” is the handiwork of Cee Lo Green, a pop culture icon and coach of The Voice in the US, who is also known for being one half of the Southwestern Alternative Hip-Hop duo Gnarls Barkley, who had an enormously huge international chart hit with “Crazy” back in 2006. In 2012, it seemed that Sufjan Stevens wasn’t the only artist to be overjoyed with the thought of the festive season. “Cee Lo’s Magic Moment” was a full-length Christmas album which came from Green in October 2012, and the album managed to sell a total of 181,000 copies in the US at the time. Interestingly enough, it was also Green’s first album release not to feature one of those Parental Advisory stickers that you used to get on physical records – on a CD. Without further ado, let’s watch Green perform the track with The Muppets below.

Come to think of it… That last fact may suprise you, but it turns out that if you search for the “Explicit” version of Cee Lo Green’s international chart hit, “Forget You”, on the internet, then you will get what’s recognizably a completely different meaning to the old track. Nevertheless, The Muppets collaboration of “All I Need Is Love” is still a perfectly safe tune for the little ones to tune into today. As you can tell – and as you would have likely predicted – the style of the track borrows heavily from the “Mah Nà Mah Nà” theme tune which The Muppets have popularized over the years. Not many people probably know, however, that according to my research, it was borrowed from Piero Umiliani, an Italian composer of film scores. The Muppets get in on the action with a comedic sample of the old theme, and a selection mini-narratives in the music video. Green’s voice isn’t bad at all, and he soulfully croons the likes of “Watches, car, the agent sent me/A sixty inch in every room/But all I wanna see is you” and “Santa don’t know what to get me, I just want to see my baby” along to the beat of The Muppets giving him interruptions and an upbeat, soaring set of Brass-based arrangements. The second verse sees Green perform duelling vocals with Miss Piggy and pals, before we get to the hook-led chorus where the gang come together for a cheerful, festive sing-a-long, on top of a Motown style of Jazz instrumentation. Sleigh bell melodies and little guitar licks evoke a happy, jovial feeling. I feel the use of The Muppets adds a good bit of character to the track, although the mash-up also lends to some very uneven cohesion, and I think the tune struggles to really flow together in some areas of the track. Yet, it’s an engaging mix of mismatch pudding and the assembling of the weird, gibberish voices just adds a sense of quirk and humor that would have made it a bit flat and forgettable otherwise, and it simply wouldn’t be as much fun without the bizzare collaboration of The Muppets being involved. Overall, I can’t deny that it’s a bit of a train-wreck and it’s probably more suited to Christmas than New Year’s to my error, but I still think it’s superbly good fun and entertaining to listen to. If The Muppets are getting some work, what’s not to like? All I’ve left to do is wish you a Happy New Year – and thank you so much for supporting me throughout the year. Here’s to an excellent 2021 – and let’s try our best to give this virus the boot!

  • Pictured: Cee Lo Green at the premiere of Marriage Boot Camp (2020) (via Jemal Countess/Getty)

Thank you for ringing in the New Year with me on the blog today. As with every day, duty will continue across the new year, and that starts off tomorrow with our first regular post of the New Year. This single was a collaboration between a Japanese electronic dance producer who has a love affair with Funk, Latin and Jazz – and a Barbadian-born singer-songwriter who is now based in Los Angeles, and she was mentored by Patrice Rushen. 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: Beverley Knight – “A Christmas Wish” (Theme from The Loss Adjuster)

December 28, 2020 — Leave a comment

Out of the ashes of Christmas week arrives a Knight in shining armor. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “A Christmas Wish” (Released on Nov 13, 2020) (via Pink Flamingo Recordings)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to get typing up about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! New from Beverley Knight – who is often labelled as the Queen of British soul music by the media – is “A Christmas Wish” – which is the soundtrack to your bank holiday Monday right here on the blog. It’s also the theme track for “The Loss Adjuster” – a new festive Comedy Drama film starring Luke Goss, Lorna Fitzgerald and Joan Collins, and directed by Jayney Mackie – which is now available wherever you buy your digital films in these harsh times for Cinema. This track is also a soundtrack of another kind too, then. Beverley Knight is an MBE, and she has recently celebrated her 25th year of her musical career by releasing a live album, “BK25”, which was recorded with the Leo Green Orchestra, in 2019. Her career has seen her release several UK chart hits and Gold-selling albums, as well as receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her on-stage and off-stage career for Musical Theatre. Let’s watch the official music video for “A Christmas Wish” below.

The new single, “A Christmas Wish”, has gained national radio airplay on BBC Radio 2, and Knight explains it’s themes as “It is wonderful to release a Christmas song, spread some holiday cheer and put a smile on people’s faces. I have said in many interviews that music has the power to heal, and that we, in entertainment, are the nation’s cheerleaders, helping people through these challenging times” upon describing that she had not been moved to record a festive-themed track in her solo career up until this troubling point of 2020. A typically strong and soulfully-driven vocal performance from Knight leads the way, as she radiantly croons hooks such as “I’ve been hoping he would see the sign/Let him see that I can be his valentine” and “Santa must have read my Christmas list/Under the Mistletoe, just waiting to be kissed” over the top of a jovial, percussive Sleigh Bell and a catchy, Power-Pop driven style of production. Her vocal presence is quite commanding, and it moves to the upbeat pace of the 1960’s-inspired Piano rhythms and the Motown-esque Jazz subtleties powerfully. A big chorus comes in at the midway point, with Knight singing: “Take my hand, and I’ll take care of you” and “Baby, I’ll make all of your dreams come true” above the intensely melodic instrumentation and the polished feel. It’s admittedly pretty cheesy, especially lyrically, and so I think your mileage could vary on this. Although this is a very radio-friendly little tune, I think the callbacks to Motown Soul flair and 60’s Pop adds a bit of style to it, as opposed to a use of auto-tune. Is it experimental? No. Is it disposable? Yes, rather. But, do I like it? Yes. Knight is not missing a step in her vocals, and it’s full of a positive energy that is pretty listenable and easy to indulge in.

  • Pictured: Beverley Knight with her blue Audi RS-7 car (2018) (Photo via The Sunday Times Driving)

Thank you for checking out my latest post! Have you managed to get any snow where you are? Let me know in the comments section below – and please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as I try to keep you warm on a cold Christmas night with a new Festive canon entry from one of our recurring favourites on the blog – a soulful British indie duo whose Japanese name translates roughly to “True Feelings” in English! 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/