Lower Whitelands

 This is where we used to live depicted in a tourist leaflet. It is considerably sanitised omitting the industrial estate and sewage works which both dominate the landscape. But we lived there 25 years. It went downhill when they built the cycle track. You would think cyclists don't have an impact but it is the legion of uncontrolled dogs that cause the trouble. Just a thought if you are analysing the impact of a cycle track.

Top artists of 2022

 Spotify wrapped is out. My most listened to artist is Fats Domino followed by Slim Harpo, Jimmy Reed, the Beatles and the Detroit Cobras. Susan has T Rex Link Wray Canned Heat, Elvis Costello and the Troggs. 

Ralph and Susan 2010

The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home (Official Music Video)

 Easily their best psychedelic song. 

Buddy Guy My time after a while (1969)

 Excellent tune 

Compulsive Gamblers - "Sour & Vicious Man"

 Here for a great song by Greg Cartwright. Don't know the date possibly 1995.

Bobby Bland Shoes 1967

 Classic soul. The sort of song that can get stuck in your head so take care.

Jimmy Reed plays the blues

 Short clip.

Jimmy Reed Houston 1975

 

Footage of the great man playing You Don't Have to Go on tv.

Handrearing Jackdaws

 Back in the 00s we hand reared some Jackdaws. This one was called Tizzy. Country people used to slit their tongues with a silver sixpence and teach them to talk but we didn't try that. They were released into the wild once grown. They used to come and visit.

Dee C Lee See the Day Belgian TV 1986

 Do you remember this one? D C Lee was part of the Style Council. This was a good single.

Sic 'em dogs on lyrics Bukka White

 Listen here

Says, I'm goin' downtown and tell the Chief Poli' you siccin' your dogs on me

She went to runnin', runnin' and cryin'
She said, Listen, son, I ain't gonna do it no more, I ain't gonna do it no more

You done got my money, now you tryin' to sic your dog on me
That's all right there, girl, how you do men, you gon' cheat again

I'm gonna tell the Chief you sic your dog on me, told me you didn't want me around
Oh, Mister Chief, she done got my money now, siccin' her dog on me

She went to running and crying, says
Sic 'em, Butcher, 'cause Spider, he won't bite

If you take me back,
I won't do it no more, baby, don't sic your dogs on me
She said, Listen, daddy, don't you drive me, don't you drive me around

Songwriters: Booker T. White, Bukka White. For non-commercial use only.

Bukka White - Aberdeen Mississippi Blues (1967)

The rough and rowdy blues of Booker White. You can imagine it on a Satruday night with people dancing. His is the real deal. 

Birmingham School of Business School the Fall 1992

 In 92 I was working in Wells - about 11 miles from Radstock across the Mendip hills. I used to work nights as a proofreader so finished at 6 am for a journey that took me through the city centre then up onto the Mendips. About 30 years ago I would have the Code:Selfish cassette set up to start with this track as I took my trip home. The car we had then was a VW Passat estate - ideal for three kids with a 1600 engine pictured. It would start with the church bells as I passed Wells cathedral. As the song reached its full power i would be into plain countryside with very few vehicles about. We flew home. It was exhilarating and confirmed my love of the Fall and the Mendips.

The Knickerbockers Love Is a Bird 1966

 First knew this song by a version by Gene Vincent. This is the original.

Booker White Jelly Roll Blues

 I love this song and clip. Booked White is one of the greatest bluesmen. 

From the French film 'Le Blues Entre Les Dents'. This French TV documentary shot all around the USA in 1972, features performances by:

Brownie McGhee. et Sonny Terry Robert Pete Williams Mance Lipscomb Walter “Furry” Lewis Roosevelt Sykes Junior Wells et Buddy Guy Bukka White Jimmy Streeter B.B. King

The incomparable Booker White. 

Spotify album of his 1930-40 recordings

All Tomorrow's Parties Velvet Underground 1967

 Their first single. https://youtu.be/8vquoQkoeqc My Uncle Graham had a copy of the first Velvets L.p. I think he had been given it by a rep. I played it quite a bit. One night I was babysitting (a teenager I was) and I had it on really loud on the headphones only it wasn't. Unbeknownst to me it was coming out the speakers too waking up everyone in the street. I was chastised. Never felt confident listening on headphones since. 

American Defense Son House 1943

 https://youtu.be/qjjg_r5uBis. Well played U.S.A. Song of the day. A field recording.

Son House with British journalist Anthony Lennane backstage at the Hammersmith Ocean in 1967

Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues 1951

It is my opinion that Sonny Boy Williamson 2 is one the true greats of American song writing - any genre. I thought I would post the lyrics of some of his songs so you can read along. This one is a very amusing take on the 'come home for Christmas' type of song. I love how he blames her for his drinking. Makes me smile and fits the persona of his songs - that of a sinner.  Listen here

Got some mighty sad news and I ain't got nothin' to say

I heard some mighty sad news and I don't have nothin' to say

My baby left me, started me drinkin' on Christmas day
Lord, I tried to fetch religion but the devil would not let me pray
Lord, I tried to fetch religion boys, but the devil he will not let me pray
That's why I gotta stay drunk all day Christmas Day
(spoken: Ooh, on a Christmas Day, You know that's one day I hate to have the blues; you know when she walked out and left me she give 'em to me, so I have to drink 'em all. I don't even have a Christmas tree in my house unless she comes home, but if she do happen to come home I will enjoy this Christmas)
Yes, run here baby and let me tell you what I got to say
Please, please run here darlin' and let daddy tell you what he got to say
Unless'n you come back to me, I'll be drunk all day Christmas Day

Midsomer Norton lights up

pics by Susan.
 

2CP

 When I was a proofreader in the book industry we used to have to read all sorts of books that were often quite traumatising and some would leave an impression. Criminal pathology was pretty nasty, lots of photos of murdered people basically. Management of the cleft palatte was also hard to see. But one we did was an advertising yearbook which wrote about successful campaigns - an insider's analysis so to speak. For the industry. I remember one chapter on the successful 'follow the bear' campaign for Hofmeister lager changing its image from 'Bear's piss' to a successful drink. One advertising piece of jargon was the industry slang term 2CP - short for 'two cunts in the pantry' about the type of commercial where one female would recommend another a product while in the kitchen. Cynical or what?

Leroy Foster 1948-52

An important part of Chicago blues history. Wiki

The Fall Just Waiting 1992

 

Here for Fall Friday from the L.p. Code Selfish. Hear the original by Hank Williams here. It's a great song in both cases.

Monochrome Set in Bristol tomorrow (Saturday) at the Thunderbolt

Here is a song from the new album.  

To find out more about the gig, tickets, supports etc. go here

The Banshees of Inisherin trailer

 So Celia up in the smoke (London) has just seen this. Looks good. 

Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN follows lifelong friends Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship. A stunned Pádraic, aided by his sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavours to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Pádraic's repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend’s resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.

Frome Pub Calendar

This looks good. Played in most of them!

https://www.fabulousfrome.co.uk/product-page/fabulous-frome-pubs-calendar-2023

This year we bring you the Fabulous Frome Pubs Calendar 2023 with striking images by Garfield Austin of the 12 oldest pubs in Frome, including an interesting little bit of history about each pub.

Size A4 - printed on beautiful thick paper that's feels a bit like watercolour paper, making each picture look like a painting.

A perfect Christmas gift for a special someone - EVEN if that someone is YOU!✨

The Devil's Music Giles Oakley

This was the book of a BBC series from 1976. I got it then as an essay prize at school. The show was good I taped it on audio cassette as this was pre Video. First time I heard Charley Patton. 

Eyesight to the Blind Sonny Boy Williamson 2 1951

 

Elmore and Sonny Boy

I am going to feature some Sonny Boy lyrics. This was first hit record and it ranks as one of his best. The subtext of the song was saying the 'whole state knows she's fine'. Not just black people or that's what I read.  

From the Devil's Music Giles Oakley

Anyway hear it here. Gideon Coe played this on 6 music the other day and endeared me to him greatly. Never tire of hearing it. It's eternal.

The below is from the Illustrated Elmore James discography.

Trumpet Records founder and owner Lillian McMurry pressed up a limited supply of this record and sent the test pressing back to the pressing plant to get more made. The plant burned down with the test pressing in it so she had to re-record the record (see bottom)

rec. January 4, 1951 in Jackson, MS; Alex 'Rice' Miller, voc, hca; Willie Love, p; Elmore James, Joe Willie Wilkins, g; Joe Dyson, dr

You've talking about your woman, I wish to God, man, that you could see mine
You're talking about your woman, I wish to God that you could see mine
Every time the little girl start to loving, she bring eyesight to the blind
Lord, her daddy must been a millionaire, 'cause I can tell by the way she walk
Her daddy must been a millionaire, because I can tell by the way she walk
Every time she start to loving, the deaf and dumb begin to talk
I remember one Friday morning, we was lying down across the bed
Man in the next room a-dying, stopped dying and lift up his head, and said,
"Lord, ain't she pretty, and the whole state know she fine!"
Every time she start to loving, she bring eyesight to the blind
(Spoken: All right and all right, now. Lay it on me, lay it on me, lay it on me
Oh lordy, what a woman, what a woman!)
Yes, I declare she's pretty and the whole state knows she's fine
Man, I declare she's pretty, God knows I declare she's fine
Every time she starts to loving, whoo, she brings eyesight to the blind
(I've got to get out of here, now, let's go, let's go, let's go now)

Oldest footage of Native Americans

 Some lovely sound and visuals. Thanks to Andy G for this.

Amazing, rare and heartfelt tribute to Native American tribes. Footage dating back to 1895, with rare vintage audio recording of Native American music. American history including the oldest known clip of Native Americans on film, a clip of Sioux Native Americans performing the Buffalo Dance at Thomas Edison's Black Maria Studio in New Jersey. The film Ghost Dance also features, created on the same day, September 24, 1895. Other films featured include Hopi Native Americans greeting TR and clips from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. It also shows 3 Native American feature films, White Fawn's Devotion, The Invaders and Last Of The Mohicans. White Fawn's Devotion was the earliest film directed by a Native American, James Young Deer. The old audio clip was recorded in 1895 by Alice Cunningham and Francis La Flesche. The song is 'He'dewachi' Dance Song and it is traditionally played at ceremonies which celebrate warriors.

Celia in London

 This week daughter Celia is visiting her boyfriend in London. She is visiting exhibitions and all sorts and I thought I would share this Sherlock pic which I thought was good with a bus in the background. 

Jimmy Reed book

 I haven't read this but looks interesting. Big Boss Man by Will Romano.

Alcoholic. Epileptic. Technically challenged. Jimmy Reed nevertheless overcame these roadblocks to become perhaps the most successful R&B/pop cross-over artist of the '50s with songs like Big Boss Man and Bright Lights, Big City. Musicians, family members, and those whose lives Reed touched offer revealing and heart-wrenching insights into this now-revered bluesman. While Reed's alcoholism was no secret, its effect on his musicianship is less understood. This engaging book tells the real story that until now has not been told.

Sam and Dave I thank you.

 On the Ed Sullivan show in 1969. For our American readers for Thanksgiving.

Susan's Dad in 2009

 Susan's Dad Malcolm Wells was a teacher and engineer but he loved motorbikes and was in this article for Motorcycle news on Frome company Difazio's. He was very fit and sprightly but he had Alzheimer's and went into care where died of covid

Everybody’s a bit of a cunt sometimes, Steve Coogan

 An amusing song.

Just be Good to Me the S.O.S. band 1983

 Original version of this funky little number 

The Wilko Johnson and Lew Lewis band.

 Bottle Up And Go! E.P.

Thunderbolt (THBE-001) Vinyl 7” 45 RPM E.P. Released UK 1983 Wilko Johnson – Guitar/Vocals Lew Lewis – Harmonica Russell Strutter – Bass Alan Platt - Drums

Photo from Dingwall's Bristol  by Henry Hutton of the Bad Detectives

Dr Feelgood Roxette

 Dr. Feelgood on the Old Grey Whistle Test back in 1975. I was 15 and this was the soundtrack to my life at that time.

Roy Harper One Of Those Days In England 1977

On the Old Grey Whistle test. Saw him about this time. Nigel was keen and he had access to a car so I would go along for the crack. Saw lots of bands i wasn't bothered about like Tom Petty, Nils Lofgren and so on but I suppose in retrospect I should have been less closed minded. Anyway this song he did and it is quite pleasant.

Sonny Boy Williamson. Peach Tree

 One of my favourite SBWII songs. I just love it. Not sure of the date of this. Late 50s I expect. 

Carrie Nations Sweet Talking c-c-candy man 1970

 Here. The fictional girl group from Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I love the guitar on this.

Magazine Look what fear's done to my body 1980

 Just heard this song on the radio. Not a huge Magazine fan but we did see them once. I liked this though.

King Biscuit Time first blues radio show Helena Arkansas

 Short film of this ground-breaking show.

The Jubilee Four the Climb with Elvis and Ann-Margret 1964

. I hadn't seen this before this evening. From Viva Las Vegas

The Fall - Service 1993

 

Here. Another nice wintery vibe on this song from the Infotainment Scan. 

Hazy shade of winter

 Simon and Garfunkel. Good one for this time of year. Wiki on the song.

Sonny Boy Williamson II Eyesight to the Blind

 

Compilation of recordings made between 1951-4,  basically before the Chess years. Here on Spotify. All the tracks are brilliant with each song seemingly better than the one before. Solid gold.

Elmore James illustrated discography

 Here to give you all you need to know of the many labels he recorded with.

The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James Steve Franz

 This book looks good. Anybody read it? Kindle edition is modestly priced.

Blurb reads

An immeasurable number of people consider Elmore James to be one of the greatest blues musicians of all time. Others say that hearing his music — even if it was just one song — was a life-changing experience for them. Now, for the first time, there’s finally a complete history of the man and his music, the beloved slide guitar legend who reputedly never made a bad record.

Born in 1918 in Mississippi, Elmore James grew up in the Delta, and cut his teeth playing in the 1930s and 1940s with Sonny Boy Williamson (a.k.a. Rice Miller) and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and — prior to his death in 1938 — is rumored to have played with Robert Johnson. Making his recording debut in 1951 with his trademark song “Dust My Broom” on the Trumpet label, James was catapulted into the national spotlight when it became a coast-to-coast R&B hit, and subsequently moved north to join the burgeoning postwar scene in Chicago. With the formation of his supporting band, the Broomdusters, James led one of the tightest blues groups in the business, recording over 40 sides with this highly acclaimed ensemble. Plagued with ill-health and union troubles, James’ Chicago career ended abruptly in 1960, when he moved back to Mississippi. Bobby Robinson, the legendary Harlem record producer, continued to record James throughout the early 1960s, in what would become an artistic zenith of his career (“The Sky is Crying,” “Something Inside of Me”). Poised to make a comeback in the spring of 1963, James returned to Chicago, only to die a short while later of a heart attack at the age of 45.

More than just a biography, “The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James” features a fully illustrated discography (slightly updated for this edition), over 20 pages of photos (including several rarities), and a special chapter chronicling Elmore’s far-reaching influence upon the blues world, with a survey of “Dust My Broom”-styled recordings of the 1950s and profiles of important slide guitarists such as Hound Dog Taylor, John Littlejohn, J.B. Hutto, Homesick James, and more.

Long beloved by blues fans, “The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James” was critically acclaimed upon its original 2003 publication. Garnering praise from every corner of the globe, it has been called a “tour de force” of blues literature (Amy van Singel, co-founder of “Living Blues” magazine), and is considered essential reading for any enthusiast of this uniquely American musical art form. It was translated into Japanese in 2006, and was named, by Edward Komara and Greg Johnson, as one of the “100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own.”

She Does it Right Dr Feelgood 1975

 This song is part of the soundtrack of my youth. One of my favourite Dr Feelgood songs on Geordie Scene Tv

Slim Harpo LP

 

This is a good collection. 

Mel Torme Comin' home baby

 Great song. Not sure of the date of this. 

Golden Brown the Stranglers 1982

 Another song from 40 years ago. Hugh Cornwell was at Tucker's Grave once when I was out there. He has said he thought the record would have got to number 1 but Jean-Jacques Burnell said in an interview the song was about heroin and so it was dropped from playlists.

From the wiki

The song has been described as "the most unlikely single from punk rock band The Stranglers. Full of harpsichords straight out of classic Baroque music."^[7]

The Motor City is Burning - John Lee Hooker 1967

The original of the MC5 tune

MC5 - Bremen, Germany 1972

00:00 Kick Out the Jams

09:16 Ramblin Rose 13:00 The Motor City's Burning 18:10 Tonight 26:20 Black to Comm

The Clash - 6 Unrecorded / Unreleased Tracks Live 1976 With Keith Levene (Audio Only)

 Here. 

Recorded at the Roundhouse, Sunday 5th September 1976 this was the band's 5th gig and the final gig as a 5 piece with Keith Levene. They played a 15 song set, 6 of them heard here were never recorded.

0:00 I Know What to Think About You 4:15 I Never Did It 6:32 How Can I Understand the Flies 8:17 Mark Me Absent 10:22 Deadly Serious (Dig a Hole) 11:58 Sitting At My Party

Photos of Midsomer Norton Carnival tonight by Susan

 Pictures from the High Street.

Pic by Celia

PiL Poptones 1979

 In tribute to Keith Levene.

From the Metal Box wiki

Poptones was one of the first songs recorded for the album, according to Levene, who stated that he inadvertently played "Starship Trooper" during the song.^[11] According to Lydon, "Poptones" was based on a story "straight out of the Daily Mirror" about a girl who was kidnapped and "bundled, blindfolded, into the back of a car by a couple of bad men and driven off into a forest, where they eventually dumped her. The men had a cassette machine with an unusual tune on the cassette, which they kept playing over and over. The girl remembered the song, and that, along with her recollection of the car and the men's voices, is how the police identified them. The police eventually stopped the car and found the cassette was still in the machine, with the same distinctive song on the tape."^[12] In his 2009 autobiography Memoirs of a Geezer, Jah Wobble highlighted the song as "the jewel in the PiL crown. [...] That [bass] line is as symmetrical as a snowflake. To give him his due Levene went mental for it. We were at The Manor. We had a drummer with us who was pretty good [...] but the bloke just couldn't get the right feel for 'Poptones'. [...] In the end Levene put the drums down on that track, his drums are a bit loose, but that is actually a good thing."^[13]

Adam Ant Desperate but not serious 1982

 This came about 40 years ago. Wasn't that keen on it and it wasn't a hit. The band in the video look crap to be honest. 

Bad to the Bone George Thorogood & the Destroyers 1982

  Yes I liked this. Became more famous later when it was featured in movies. Wiki. Of course it's Bo Diddley's song oh yea

Fred Parris and the Satins In the still of the night

 From the 1959 movie Sweet Beat.

When Yo la Tengo played Evil Going On

 

The Anvil Basingstoke

Back in 2004 we got contacted by James from Yo la Tengo asking us if we wanted to trade records which we did. At that time we hadn't heard of them but our daughter Bea had. Then they asked if we wanted to come to a gig and meet up.  They knew us as the terraplanes which was unusual as we are usually known as Animals & Men. This took a while to arrange but in the end we saw them in Cardiff and went to the Anvil in Basingstoke to meet up. We took two of our children Bea and Red with us. We went backstage and chatted. Later that evening during their encore they played a cover of our Evil Going On single which like 10 people bought back in 81. (They used to do it back in the 80s when they were starting out - they played it at CBGBs!) We were flabbergasted. It was so good.  Georgia sang - memories are made of this. 

Midsomer Norton Carnival 2022

 Tomorrow (Monday) is Norton Carnival (only outsiders call it Midsomer). Haven't had one for two years - here's me from then on Celia's balcony. I will try and get Susan to take some photos as I am terrible at it. 

2CV

 Advert from 1961. Read about this legendary French car here. When I was in France as a teenager I hung out with some anarchists who had these cars and we would drive to rural parties with the roof open. Good times.

Shiny Shiny Haysi Fantayzee 1983

 I think this is their best single. 

As long as i live Jerry Lee Lewis 1961

 Had this country rocker in my brain when I woke up.

Holy Joe Haysi Fantayzee 1982

I think this was timed to coincide with the Pope's visit but I am not certain. We bought it anyway. Wiki on the band. I hadn't seen this video before today. It's quite good.

Stourhead photograph by Neil Gould

 As I think I mentioned Stourhead is lovely at this time of year - here snapped by local photographer Neil Gould.

Reperata and the Delrons Nobody's baby 1966

 Two different radio shows in 2 different continents played this tonight. 

Animals & Men interview from 2011

 

From the L.A. Record which is a free music paper in L.A. Here. 

Courted by Adam Ant—a relationship from which they politely withdrew when he suggested hiring a studio band to re-record their songs—and noted by John Peel, Animals & Men were positioned to take whatever version of fame and fortune the first wave of U.K. post-punk had to offer. But when the big boys came calling, they turned around and walked back to their tiny mining town in the grasslands, where they stayed with their unreleased tapes until good ol’ Hyped 2 Death re-presented them to the world. Encouraged by the release of retrospective collections, A&M have not only reunited but restarted as a working band, releasing brand new, extremely ferocious songs like “John of the Sword.” They’ll play their first-ever U.S. shows this month. Founders Ralph Mitchard and Susan Wells speak now from their living room, where they play in war paint with the door open while the neighbors marvel. They will perform at the Smell Thursday. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

Susan Wells at Stourhead mid 1980s

 We really enjoyed visiting Stourhead when we lived at Frome. It was particularly good at this time of year.  We went to the first Fête Champêtre at Stourhead but we didn't really enjoy it. 

Cecil Sharp talk at Wells

 – CECIL SHARP AND FOLK SONGS OF SOMERSET

A Mendip Society talk at the Wells and Mendip Museum 

The Somerset folk singer Lucy White (1848–1923)

On Tuesday 15th November 2022 at 2.pm 

Cecil Sharp was one of the most important collectors of English folk songs in the early 20th century and did much of his work in Somerset.

At a time when the oral transmission of folk songs was dying out because of the availability of recorded popular music, he collected hundreds of songs that would otherwise have been lost.

Todays interest in folk music would not have happened without him.

Chris will be accompanied by Bernard Coulter in the performance of some songs. Together, they run a local folk club.

There is no need to book for this talk. 

Members are free, non members £3. Contact

Richard on 01275 472797 for more information.

Animals & Men Driving Stupid 2007

 Shot at the Handsome Llama Frome rehearsal room which was a great place - we recorded there also. This was when the song was still a work in progress and we filmed it to remember it. Susan forgets some of the lyrics.

Should I Stay or Should I Go the Clash 1982

 

Video here. Another 45 I bought in 1982 was this one by the Clash. It was unusual for me to buy a Clash record by 82 but I liked it and enjoyed the vocal. Don't remember playing Straight to Hell much but that's just me.