Category Archives: Tunes

Podcast 40 – Even Moroder Best New Music
4
Dec

Well, forty podcasts in and this is the first time I’ve actually gotten my butt in gear and produced some notes to go with this week’s Beat City new music podcast.

This is the final all-new show of 2014 but there IS one more show coming up, which will be made up entirely of suggestions from YOU! If you want to contribute a track from 2014 you think should have a wider audience, the contact me via Twitter (@BeatCityTone)

Track 1 – Bob Mould – Kid With Crooked Face

Opening track on this week’s podcast is “Kid With Crooked Face” from Husker Du founder, workaholic and top geezer Bob Mould’s new album “Beauty And Ruin”, which, while it couldn’t be accused of carving out any new musical frontiers, does the job of reinforcing the old territory remarkably well.
Check out this link to the single ¬”I Don’t Know You Any More” and in particular the hilarious conversation at the beginning between Bob and the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy.

 

 

Track 3 – Run The Jewels – Angel Duster

From the best hip-hop album of the year “Run The Jewels 2”, intelligent lyrics, and a cornucopia of influences in the music ranging from dub to electronica to the human sound effects bloke off of the Police Academy films . In the words of El-P, haters “can all run backwards through a field of dicks”, a line I haven’t yet stopped chuckling about. For the final track “Angel Duster” check out the podcast but meantime this is the opening track “Jeopardy”

So many lush influences there musically. Guess the older you get (ages of ELP and Killer Mike?) ou absorb more styles of music, at least if you’re paying attention to what’s around you, you do. Passing over some of the ludicrous lyrics (check out the track Love Again for how NOT to rap about sex)

Track 4 – The Allah-Las – Had It All

Psych-pop rather than Psych-rock, this is the opening track from the album Worship The Sun “De Vida Voz”, and it owes more than a little to Love’s “Alone Again Or …”

Track 5 – Arctic Monkeys – Snap Out Of It

Sal’s Indietastic Classic for this week from the band who have gone from strength to strength since their first word-of-mouth-via-the-internet number one record I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor. I sometimes think I under-appreciate this band. It’s easy to take them for granted but take them and maybe Arcade Fire out of the stadium band equation and the landscape looks bleak indeed.

Track 6 – Fish Tank – Friends

And still the quality proggy math rock keeps coming. It’s a good time for bands who take influences from the early 70s prog scene – Trojan Horse, Knifeworld, Islet, and more – and Kent’s Fish Tank show huge promise on the basis of this single (available to download for FREE on bandcamp)

Here’s the video.

Track 7 – Juce – 6th Floor

This music is the true successor to the mighty Culture Club, you can stick yer clean cut Jungle nonsense. Proper old school funk, is this – and they can do it live, too, I seen ’em do it. Currently opening for Basement Jaxx on tour and hopefully set for great things in 2015.

Track 8 – Nadine Shah – Stealing Cars

Nadine Shah is warm, witty and engaging and her debut album Love Your Dum And Mad, apart from having the best title of 2014 was an assured debut.

This is the lead single from the new album which is coming early in the New Year.

Track 9 – Henry’s Funeral Shoe – Grown So Angry

Two piece from Llandudno. Old school. sure, taking their influences from the original, young and hungry R’n’B version of the ‘orrible Who.

Mixing it up era-wise this song has echoes of two separate Whos. The intro is pure “My Generation”, the backing is proper balls-to-the-wall Live At Leeds

Track 10 – Tiana – Fuck Like The World Ago End

I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from the “Dancehall Duchess” this year and its between this and Alkaline’s “Throat” for my favourite song about sex this year.

Run The Jewels can take note. THIS is how you make a record about shagging.

On a similar topic this is “Pum Pum Fat” from a couple of years ago. It’s quite rude.

Track 11 – Jennifer Lawrence – The Hanging Tree

Went to see the latest Hunger Games film last week and it was brilliant, apart from ending in the middle of the book to ensure the original trilogy of books becomes a cinema tetralogy and hence maximum geek-fleecing.

There’s a superb unexpected musical interlude where Caitness (Played by Jennifer Lawrence) starts singing this song which has become a symbol of resistance to the oppressor, and the song is taken up by all the freedom fighters, and theres not a dry eye in the house. Even Sal liked it, and she doesn’t normally Hold with This Sort Of Thing. Jen-La has a fair voice on her too, at least for this kind of song.

Track 12 – Sleaford Mods – 6 Horsemen (The Brixtons)

Tiswas is possibly their most popular track but this band is currently incapable of producing anything other than pure gold, and we should all cherish it, and them.
6 Horsemen is on the podcast. This is Sleaford Mods. Watch and Smile.

Listen to the EP and the LP. And their previous work

Sleaford Mods really ARE as good as everyone says they are. Angry, intelligent, funny, political, sweary, middle-aged, working class white hip hop.

Track 13 – Giorgio Moroder – 74 Is The New 24

In 1972 this was the second record I ever bought. It sounded like it would be something the Doctor and Jo Grant would listen to in the TARDIS.

In 1977 when all the young punks were supposed to loathe this sort of disco crap, nobody could really work up anything but deep love for this

The man responsible for both of these has a new album coming out in the New Year, and the podcast contains the lead track from it. I particularly love that he has the confidence to NOT chuck the kitchen sink at it production-wise in an effort to be modern and relevant. I guess once you’ve been an innovator ,you’re not going to be so keen to blindly follow trends.

And hey, if Dave Gilmour can get away with flogging the rotten corpse of the once-great Pink Floyd, who would begrudge Moroder doing the same AND MAKING A DECENT RECORD !

The veteran producer’s association with Daft Punk has made his latest album a going concern commercially (first in 30 years?) … for now this single is sparky, brilliant pop to stand alongside his finest 70s work, although of course his days of innovation are possibly behind him – this song definitely has echoes of I Feel Love. Check it out on the podcast.

Track 14 – Psyence – Phoenix

Next up Psyence. I heard about them completely randomly and accidentally via Twitter. They tweeted to say their 1300th follower would get a free single, I followed them immediately cos I do like free stuff, who doesn’t, and they replied to say I had JUST missed out. So, I am officially Psyence’s 1301th follower on Twitter and just to show there’s no hard feelings, the single Phoenix is on the podcast this week.

Meantime, this is one of their older tracks which sounds a BIT like the Donna Summer track linked to earlier, only with guitars and feedback and stuff as well.

Track 15 – GAPS – She Bears A Flower

This is so haunting and beautiful, it just gets into your head and won’t go away, like a disturbing but sexy dream.

Track 16 – Kate Rusby – Silly Old Man

Kate Rusby has a claim to possessing THE finest living voice of folk music. Her current album “Ghost” is brilliant – this is the title track, and check out the podcast for “Silly Old Man” which is equally great.

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FESTIVE FIFTY YEARS AGO – 1962 Part five
2
Jan

December 31st 2012

Final instalment of my imaginary Festive Fifty from 1962. This is my idea of what might have been included in a listeners’ Festive Fifty chart if John Peel, or similar, had been working for the BBC in 1962.

Hope you’ve enjoyed it – you may or may not agree with the selections, which is perfectly fine by me. Happy to chat about any glaring omissions / ridiculous inclusions.

Here’s the Top Ten, followed by a full rundown of the entire Festive Fifty.

10. ROY ORBISON – Dream Baby

An example of how the right singer can transform a song.

Writer Cindy Walker, a prolific sountry singer in her own right, was not happy with this song until she heard the The Big O’s take on it, which transforms it from a fairly standard yearning ballad into a sleazy bar-room wail.

9. THE CRYSTALS – He Hit Me And It Felt Like A Kiss http://bit.ly/Vc1QMj

One of the most controversial songs of the year, this was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King after hearing that singer Little Eva (“The Locomotion”) was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When asked why, Eva replied that his actions came out of love for her.

The song comes across as a simple slice of life story, told without judgment.

It’s pretty shocking and it’s hard to find any hint of irony in it.

I reckon John Peel would have played it in the face of criticism from his employers, and his listeners would have picked up on it and voted it in here as a rebellious action.

But feminism and equal rights for women were a very long way away in 1962, and it is perhaps fanciful to imagine him, or any other male DJ (and I’m not sure there was any other kind of DJ then) playing it as a political statement.

8. THE CONTOURS – Do You Love Me

Written by Berry Gordy (well, that’s what it says on the label but there’s a whol can of worms there, perhaps a topic for another day) for the Temptations, who, like the Contours at the time, had no hits to their name, but, incredible as it sounds, the Temps were unaware that Gordy had a song for them to record and had disappeared to undertake another paid engagement.

So the Contours gratefully recorded it and it became a huge hit for them – indeed, their only hit.

It’s a great record, but something of a one-off novelty without a great deal of depth to it, so it may well be that the Temptations had a lucky escape. Who knows, if they hadn’t found a gospel music showcase gig when Gordy was looking for them, it could have been them who were introduced to the world with this dance cash-in rather than the sensitive, meaningful “My Girl”. On such events do our lives change.

7. DION – The Wanderer

Another record from the simple era that was the early sixties.

Sung completely without irony it is basically a celebration of shagging around that is difficult to resist.

Always wondered what precisely he meant by the “two fists of iron” line though, in the context of a song about a womaniser. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it?

6. TONY SHERIDAN AND THE BEAT BROTHERS – My Bonnie

The first big hit, at least locally on Merseyside, for the Beatles (credited here as the Beat Brothers and backing club singer Tony Sheridan.

Legend has it that this is the song that alerted future manager Brian Epstein to the band’s existence when a teenage boy came into his record shop and asked for it.

Epstein had never heard of the record or the band. Intrigued, he began to investigate the band and ended up managing them.

This record had come out the previous year but, in this alternative Peel history, would have achieved a huge head of steam during 1962, and would have gained plenty of votes from those in the know.

5) DICK DALE – Misirlou

The origins of this tune are unclear, but it was written in the late twenties by an unknown Greek writer.

It became popular throughout the Middle East in various tempos, styles and even lyrics being added.

In 1962, Dick Dale was challenged by a fan to play a song on one string of his guitar. Dale’s family was a Lebanese-American musician, and he remembered seeing one of his uncles play “Misirlou” on one string of the oud.

Speeding up the song to a rock and roll tempo and adding the crashing drums, cinematic strings and the crazed closing piano figure, the record became a massive hit, and would be covered by pretty much all the surf bands of the era.

4) DEL SHANNON – So Long Baby

This could well have struck a chord with the listeners.

Possibly the greatest “We’re through and I’ve moved on” song ever recorded, the protagonist begins by putting a brave face on it but it soon becomes clear that he is on no way over the relationship.

The minor key and oddly plaintive horn solo bring this out further.

And all this is done in just a shade over two minutes.

3) HOWIE CASEY & THE SENIORS – The Fly

1962 was undoubtedly the Seniors’ year.

Slightly ahead of the other Mersey groups in terms of making records and tightening up their live sound, this dancefloor classic captures the feel of Merseybeat 1962 in two and a half minutes.

Things would change once the Beatles started hitting their stride though.

2) BOOKER T & THE MGs – Green Onions

Organist Booker T Jones and his band were the house band for Stax Records during the sixties.

This simple 12-bar blues tune with a soulful Hammond organ lead line that pretty much defined the sound of sixties R and B.

1) THE TORNADOS – Telstar

Named after the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched into orbit in July 1962, this was written and produced by the legendary British produced Joe Meek.

It still sounds like an alien thing today, so God only knows what effect it had in 1962.

It was a ground-breaking record in many ways. Firstly, the futuristic lead line played on the clavioline, an early electronic keyboard. Secondly, it was the first record by a British band to reach Number One in the USA, very much the shape of things to come over the next couple of years during the British Invasion.

Most of all, though, all the futuristic-sounding effects were created in Meek’s recording studio, which was a flat above a shop in North London.

I’ve really enjoyed putting this imaginary Festive Fifty together and I hope you’ve enjoyed it too.

I’ll most likely do one for 1963 next Christmas. There would be a good argument for including about 20 Beatles tracks but we’ll see …

Meantime, here’s the full rundown.

FESTIVE FIFTY OF 1962

1. THE TORNADOS – Telstar
2. BOOKER T & THE MGs – Green Onions
3. HOWIE CASEY & THE SENIORS – The Fly
4. DEL SHANNON – So Long Baby
5. DICK DALE – Misirlou
6. TONY SHERIDAN & THE BEAT BROTHERS – My Bonnie
7. DION – The Wanderer
8. THE CONTOURS – Do You Love Me?
9. THE CRYSTALS – He Hit Me (And If Felt Like A Kiss)
10. ROY ORBISON – Dream Baby
11. DUANE EDDY – The Avenger
12. HOWIE CASEY & THE SENIORS – I Ain’t Mad At You
13. ISLEY BROTHERS – Twist And Shout
14. MARVIN GAYE – Hitch-Hike
15. MARY WELLS – Operator
16. DUANE EDDY – The Ballad Of Paladin
17. BOB DYLAN – Song To Woody
18. THE RIVINGTONS – Papa Oom Mow Mow
19. THE SHADOWS – Wonderful Land
20. THE TOKENS – The Lion Sleeps Tonight
21. BOBBY “BORIS” PICKETT AND THE CRYPT-KICKERS – The Monster Mash
22. THE BEACH BOYS – 409
23. DEL SHANNON – Cry Myself To Sleep
24. DUANE EDDY – Dance With The Guitar Man
25. BOB DYLAN – You’re No Good
26. ELVIS PRESLEY – Good Luck Charm
27. EVERLY BROTHERS – I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail
28. HOWIE CASEY & THE SENIORS – Twist At The Top
29. MARY WELLS – I’m Gonna Stay
30. MARVIN GAYE – That Stubborn Kind Of Fella
31. LITTLE OTIS HAYES – I Out-Duked The Duke
32. BOB DYLAN – Talking New York
33. ELVIS PRESLEY – Return To Sender
34. GENE CHANDLER – Duke Of Earl
35. RAY CHARLES – Half As Much
36. THE VENTURES – My Bonnie Lies
37. EVERLY BROTHERS – I’m Not Angry
38. GINO PARKS – Fire
39. JET HARRIS – The Man With The Golden Arm
40. LORD BLAKIE – Maria
41. THE BEATLES – Love Me Do
42. RAY CHARLES – It Makes No Difference Now
43. THE TORNADOS – Jungle Fever
44. BOB DYLAN – Fixin’ To Die
45. BYRON LEE – River Bank Jump Up
46. DAPHNE ORAM – Four Aspects
47. EVERLY BROTHERS – How Can I Meet Her
48. GINO PARKS – For This I Thank You
49. LITTLE STEVIE WONDER – Wondering
50. SAM COOKE – Bring It On Home To Me

FESTIVE FIFTY YEARS AGO – 1962 Part Four
30
Dec

December 30th, 2012

This is my interpretation of what might have appeared in John Peel’s Listeners’ Festive Fifty in 1962, had he been working for the BBC at that time.

We’ve reached numbers 20-11.

20. THE TOKENS – The Lion Sleeps Tonight

One of those songs everybody knows thanks to The Lion King.

Originally written and recorded in 1939 by South African singer Solomon Linda, it is said to be about Shaka Zulu, the Zulu king who resisted the European settlers in the nineteenth century. Much like King Arthur, he is said to be sleeping until his country’s hour of greatest need.

There were countless versions of the song both before and after The Tokens took it to Number One in the US charts – the Karl Denver Trio had a good go at it. I first heard it performed by Miriam Makeba on one of my Dad’s
LPs, so that’s always going to be the definitive version for me.

Tight Fit were to take it to Number One in the UK in the early eighties, but we can, I think, draw a veil over that.

19. THE SHADOWS – Wonderful Land

In pop histories of the sixties, the Shadows are (ahem) overshadowed by the group from Liverpool that came along just after they did. But in the early sixties they were massive. This record stayed at Number One in the UK for eight weeks, longer than any other record in the entire sixties, although I suppose you could argue that just proved what little competition they had.

This is a majestic, atmospheric record that lives in your head a long time after the final fade-out. Hank Marvin’s trademark guitar sound is perfectly matched with the orchestral sweeps.

18. THE RIVINGTONS – Papa Oom Mow Mow

The Rivingtons had previously been known as the Sharps, and had hits both in their own right and backing Duane Eddy. This was their first hit after the name change and can lay claim to being the first garage record, certainly the first HIT garage record.

17. BOB DYLAN – Song To Woody

Dylan in wistful mode as he sings a living tribute to his hero Woody Guthrie, who he met in 1961 when the folk legend was in hospital in New Jersey.

Also namechecked here are Guthrie collaborator Cisco Houston and bluesmen Leadbelly, and Sonny Terry. It’s a clear indication of Dylan’s intention to acknowledge his influences, but also to move on and forge his own musical identity.

16. DUANE EDDY – The Ballad Of Paladin

Duane Eddy put his own unique spin on the closing theme to the Western TV Series “Have Gun – Will Travel” which starred Richard Boone. Originally a standard Western ballad, Eddy takes it by the scruff of the neck, cranks up the volume on the guitar and sets it to a proto-Ennio Morricone orchestral backing.

15. MARY WELLS – Operator

Mary sounds like she’s trying to imitate the vocal delivery of song composer Smokey Robinson here. Chugs along in a decent enough groove, but an odd choice for the imaginary listeners to make in 1962. There were far odder choices made by Peel’s real listeners in the eighties though. A clue as to this song’s unexpectedly high placing can perhaps be gleaned from the theory that the song was hyped into the upper reaches of this chart by Post Office workers.

14. MARVIN GAYE – Hitch-Hike

This song’s high placing is perhaps due to the fact that it was released very close to the Festive Fifty deadline in mid-December, and so would have been fresh in Peel’s listeners’minds.

Not perhaps as soulful or meaningful as much of his work, it nevertheless has a joy that is undeniable.

Co-written by Clarence Paul (who also wrote and produced the Little Stevie Wonder tracks listed elsewhere in this chart)

13. ISLEY BROTHERS – Twist And Shout

Their first big hit since “Shout” almost three years earlier. The song’s writer, Bert Russell, had seen Phil Spector produce a dismal version of the song by the Top Notes the previous year, and was keen to show Spector how the record should have sounded.

The result was two and half minutes of snap and energy, coming as close as possible to capturing the energy of a live performance.

Both “Shout” and “Twist And Shout” would later be covered by British artists to great effect.

12. HOWIE CASEY AND THE SENIORS – I Ain’t Mad At You

B-side to Twist At The Top. Unusually for British beat groups, they featured a black lead singer, Derry Wilkie, who actually gets a separate credit on the record as you can see from the Youtube vid.

The fact that the band started as Derry And The Seniors and ended up taking the name of the sax player tells you something about the relative business nous of the two men.

Often airbrushed out of Merseybeat history, they were in fact the first Liverpool band to play in Hamburg, paving the way for Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and others.

11. DUANE EDDY – The Avenger

Shamefully low chart position. Didn’t even make the Hot 100 in the States and failed to trouble the scorers in the UK. Snuck out in early 1962 while Eddy was in the process of changing record labels. Interesting to note exactly how much artists were at the mercy of the whims of the record company back then. Nowadays, he would have released it on a download from his website and his rabid fans would all have bought it direct.

Back at 8pm for the Top Ten. Place your bets on the Number One …

FESTIVE FIFTY YEARS AGO 1962 – Part Three
29
Dec

FESTIVE FIFTY YEARS AGO 1962 – PART THREE

December 29th 2012

Numbers 30-21 of the countdown, with some perhaps more familiar names as the chart gets closer to the top.

30) MARVIN GAYE – That Stubborn Kind Of Fella

Marvin Gaye’s first album consisted of jazz standards sung in a “black Sinatra” style which didn’t really pay off.

This single signalled a style change to a more soulful delivery, which paid off immediately after the mawkish “Soldier’s Plea”. It was Marvin’s first big hit, reaching No 8 in the US R&B chart and grazing the bottom end of the pop top 50.

29) MARY WELLS – I’m Gonna Stay

Mary Wells was the major female star at Motown during 1962, with the cruelly dubbed “No-hit Supremes” unable to produce a hit despite the label’s best attempts.

It’s a shame she’s only really remembered for “My Guy”, as she made so many other great records

This was the B-side to “The One Who Really Loves You” and is an equal, if not superior song. Peel would definitely have flipped the disc and played this more, as was his inclination.

28) HOWIE CASEY AND THE SENIORS – Twist At The Top

The first Mersey Beat band to make an album.

This would have been seized on by Peel’s Merseybeat-hip listeners.

(NB – the reason why very few Beatles songs are included here despite the Fabs doing three sessions in 1962 is because the tapes no longer exist. I could swing for the BBC sometimes, I really could.)

27) EVERLY BROTHERS – I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail

A surprising selection showing that the older listeners who had grown up the first wave of with rock’n’roll had (a) not abandoned the show and (b) developed more “mature” musical tastes.

The subject matter of the song would not really have reflected the lives of most of the Everly’s fans, but the delivery and passion are, as always, exemplary.

26) ELVIS PRESLEY – She’s Not You

Elvis achieves an operatic performance on this song, while maintaining genuine emotion.

I still maintain his baritone / basso profundo had the potential to wow ‘em at Bayreuth

Imagine him, dressed in robes, singing the role of Wotan in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Go on, imagine it.

Ah yes. No, you’re right. He couldn’t have sung opera. But this is better than bloody opera, anyway.

25) BOB DYLAN – You’re No Good

Side One, Track One of Bob Dylan’s first album.

This cheeky, raw take on Jesse Fuller’s song of rejection only lasts one minute and forty seconds but manages to define Dylan’s template for the next couple of years, complete with falling over the words, giggling, and an audacious harmonica solo.

24) DUANE EDDY – Dance With The Guitar Man

Duana Eddy’s “Peter Gunn” was, famously, John Peel’s second favourite record (I forget the first placed record) and he would have featured Duane Eddy’s work heavily.

This record, if you think about it, features backing vocals but no lead vocal, only Eddy’s trademark twangin’ gitar.

23) DEL SHANNON – Cry Myself To Sleep

“Runaway” reached Number One in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
This scraped into the Top Thirty in the UK and only reached No. 99 in the US, which was actually a slightly better performance then his previous two singles.

Seemingly, boys singing about their emotions didn’t strike much of a chord with record buyers.

Fools.

22) BEACH BOYS – 409

Although for shorthand purposes the Beach Boys are generally called a “surf band” they did songs about cars too.

This paean to the early 60s boy racers’ dream car, the Chevrolet 409, was the flip to the massive hit “Surfin’ Safari” and, in the days when B-sides were counted separately to A-sides, actually made the Hot 100 in its own right.

Not as well-known as their later hot rod song “Little Deuce Coupe” but still a great tune.

21) BOBBY “BORIS” PICKETT AND THE CRYPT-KICKERS – Monster Mash

Peel loved the occasional novelty record. Never forget that it was he who was responsible for getting Laurel and Hardy into the charts in the Seventies.

This one would have delighted as many of his listeners as it infuriated, I think.

That’s all for now. Back for the countdown of numbers 20-11 at 8pm on Saturday on Twitter (hashtag #festive50yearsago).

Stay cool, hep cats.

FESTIVE FIFTY YEARS AGO 1962 – PART TWO
27
Dec

December 27th, 2012

Welcome to the second part of the rundown of the Festive Fifty from 1962, or more accurately, my version of what might have appeared in the Festive Fifty in that year if John Peel had been (a) in the country (b) working for the BBC and (c) compiling a Festive Fifty. Enjoy!

40. LORD BLAKIE – Maria.

Lord Blakie was one of the lesser-known calypsonians to come out of Trinidad in the late fifties. Always in the shadow of the global superstar Mighty Sparrow, this was his finest hour, winning the first official “road march” with this song. He is so damn cool in this clip, too.

39. JET HARRIS – The Man With The Golden Arm.

Debut solo hit from the former Shadows bass player.

An off-the-cuff remark by Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch about Harris’ wife’s ongoing affair with Cliff Richard(!) led to Harris quitting the band in April 1962.

A mere four months later he was in the chart with this brilliant, searing arrangement of the theme from the 1955 Frank Sinatra film.

The subject matter of the film – heroin addiction – could be seen as a statement from Harris about his own addiction problems, although these involved the bottle rather than the needle.

38. GINO PARKS – Fire.

A massive blast of angry noise which was very much out of sync with the vast majority of Motown’s early 60s output.

Gino Parks can be said to have been ahead of his time – this record certainly was, by two or three years.

Unfortunately Berry Gordy’s ideas about what the “Motown sound” should be meant no place for this kind of record , and Parks had few further opportunities at the label.

37. THE EVERLY BROTHERS – I’m Not Angry.

A B-side which would undoubtedly have received more airplay on Peel’s show than its more famous A-side “Crying In The Rain”.

In 1977 Elvis Costello included a track with the same title on his debut album, and the similarities go beyond the title to include the meaning and intent of the protagonist.

By the end of both songs, the listener is left in no doubt that the guy in the song is fooling nobody, let alone himself.

36. THE VENTURES – My Bonnie Lies
Never massive in their home country in the same way their UK rivals The Shadows were in theirs, nevertheless The Ventures laid the instrumental groundwork for the surf sound that formed the second (ahem) wave of American rock’n’roll music.

This record, a hepped-up reworking of an old weepie, was only a minor hit, but its inclusion here can be traced to another, vocal version of the song that was popular in this year (in the UK at least).

35. RAY CHARLES – Half As Much

In which Ray Charles really pulls out all the showstopping stops and creates a huge, fat middle of the road record that is a million miles away from “What I’d Say”. The piano playing and voice are more restrained but still classic.

34. GENE CHANDLER – Duke Of Earl

In a later era, the likes of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey would make careers out of doing voice exercises to music, but this was probably the first worldwide hit record to be created out of a doo-wop band’s warm-up routine.

Neither a fast doo-wop number or a slow ballad, its intermediate pacing made it stand out and it went to No. 1 in the early weeks of 1962.

33. ELVIS PRESLEY – Return To Sender

Elvis’s career was at least as much about making films by 1962 as it was about making music, and this song was one of the highlights from the bikini classic “Girls Girls Girls”.

32. BOB DYLAN – Talkin’ New York

If you can argue – and you can – that the truest work of an artist is in his early, penniless, hungry years, then how much truer is that of folk music, where honesty is the most prized, maybe the only, virtue?

This is one of the two self-compositions on Dylan’s first album, and it’s a cracker, honest and true, detailing Dylan’s experiences on arriving in the Big Apple as a 20-year-old singer and trying to get noticed.

“New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years
I didn’t feel so cold then”

31. LITTLE OTIS HAYES – I Out-Duked The Duke

Answer Records were a great tradition of the fifties and sixties, briefly being revived as a record industry stunt with “F.U.R.B”, a record which didn’t really live up to it’s illustrious predecessors of two or three generations ago.

This one is a belter. Little Otis takes the basis of the tune of “Duke Of Earl” and gleefully rips out a derogatory lyric about how he “popped the Dook’s girl” while he was out of town. Magnificent.

So, tomorrow evening it’s numbers 30-21. See you then.