We write about the songs that make the whole world sing, we write about the songs of love and special things, we write about the songs that make the young girls cry, we write about the songs, we write about the songs.
Here's a cover version for you. It beats the original until the voice comes in, and then you think about how Nick Drake really did have a very particular voice, and how hard it is to sing like him. Then you finish your whisky and go to bed, it's 3am and there's a translation of a report on nanotechnology in Ibero-America to be done tomorrow.
I have an album by this Jose Gonzalez fella somewhere. When I remember I have it and listen to it, I think: "Hmm. That's nice". And then get bored and switch it off. Pity.
Since John Martin died last week, I have been struggling to find a song to post on here. I settled on May You Never but it's just occurred to me that I have nothing to write on the subject and I really just never got Solid Air. It's not for me.
So, instead, here's Jack Ohly. I saw him in another group, the Old Goat, performing Brazilian folk songs which he had learned while living in Sertao and had then re-arranged. It was in an upstairs room through an unmarked, unlit doorway in a Portland, Maine sidestreet where we had to sit cross-legged on the wooden floor as there was no more space on the six slim pews; three to the left and three to the right. At the back of the room was a table laid out with CDs for sale featuring Jack's songs and songs by the band Big Blood, who were also playing. The covers were folded, reconstituted card with tissue-paper inserts and the stall ran an honour system. We bought one of each.
Pulling out on the N25 towards the White Mountains the next morning, eager for a rural soundtrack, we realised we had paid $10 for the cover Jack Ohly had propped up against the pile of actual cds.
But here's testiment to young folk playing DIY music in draughty first-floor artspaces everywhere. I wrote Jack Ohly a note explaining how we had enjoyed his night and how sad we were that we had no Goat music as a souvenir and do you know? Jack Ohly posted me a copy of his record. Properly bound with string and brown paper and with a note, handwritten in worn down, 6H pencil. "I'm sorry about the problem with the packaging," it said, "I shall have to have words with my distribution department."
Dear James,
You're such a country dropper. I enjoyed the John Martyn song, and I never got Solid Air either. Jazz-folk? A foolish scheme.
If any readers in Buenos Aires could tell me of any draughty first-floor DIY artspaces where I can take James to watch Americans play Brazilian folk songs, please comment in the relevant area.
It turns out there's a new film about the Wrecking Crew which has been doing the rounds of festivals but hasn't been released yet. (For readers who've just joined us, the Wrecking Crew were a shifting group of session musicians who contributed to several major records of the 60's and 70s, see River Deep... post below). Whilst enjoying this clip I heard a snippet of this song and did a search for it and it turns out it's by The Fifth Dimension, which is odd as I was about to post their Age of Aquarius yesterday and thought better of it.
How weird were The Fifth Dimension? Look at the bloke with the beard on the left. Surely he's in the wrong business? This single, written by Jimmy Webb of "Wichita Lineman" fame, won four Grammys. Clearly, the Grammy Awards have always been a joke, it's not just a recent phenomenon.
Then I looked at their Wikipedia page and it turns out they also recorded California Soul, a song I know from Marlene Shaw's version, and which was written by songwriting team Ashford $ Simpson, who went on to have that fine 80s hit, Solid. Beardy man looks even weirder in this video:
5th Dimension also had more success with Laura Nyro songs than Laura Nyro herself. Here's them doing Nyro's Stoned Soul Picnic. There's more. 5th Dimension started out as the Hi-Fis, who split up with half of them forming Friends of Distinction, who recorded the wonderful Jenny Wants to Know.
My other previous knowledge of The 5th Dimension was from reading that Nick Drake wanted Bryter Layter to sound like Pet Sounds, Tim Buckley's Hello and Goodbye and the 5th's The Magic Garden. I don't think I was impressed with either of the latter two. I'm still trying to work out if I like the 5th in a Bacharach kind of way, or whether they're just pure cheese.
James and Daniel, or Jim and Danny to an unfortunate few, were going to be like the old men who ran 78 Records in Stockport, but writing a blog about the songs and videos they came across seemed a lot less hassle, and saved them having to move to Stockport. And so they created 78x78 Records, so that other people could know what it was like to be their friend, and what they wrote about when they wrote to each other about music. And so they will post videos of songs you might enjoy 78x78 times. And then they will stop. And then they will do something else. That's 6084 posts. They´ll endeavour to get it done quickly. They'd love to hear from you and any videos or songs you'd like them to post. You can do this by commenting in the pertinent area, or by e-mailing them your suggestions at 78discos@gmail.com
