cubikmusik

the blues had a baby...

"Well, this is a story,
A story ain't never been told.
You know the Blues got pregnant
And they named the baby
    Rock and Roll"

(the blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll- McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters)/ Brownie McGhee)

back in january i had grand illusions of starting a blues series based on a book i have which is a collection of classic blues lyrics. 'squeeze my lemon' by randy poe. amazing stuff.

Download 07 The Blues Had a Baby (And They Named It Rock N' Roll)

while watching this one of the common themes of what the british (and white) musicians that backed the legends on stage all saying that when these guys came into town to do a show if there was a rehersal, which usually there wasn't, it would be them playing a few bars on harmonica, etc. and being told 'yeh, thats good. see ya'll tomorrow'.
great stuff.
its a feeling.
no more.
no less.

buy ' travelin' riverside blues': iTunes.
buy tune: amazon (uk) (us)

squeeze my lemon

"They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad/Wednesday's worse, and Thursday's also sad." There's a lot more to the blues than three chords played on an old beat-up guitar. Squeeze My Lemon is a collection of some of the best blues lines ever recorded. From birth ("Born under a bad sign/I've been down since I began to crawl") to death ("Everybody wants to go to heaven/But nobody wants to die") and everything in between, this volume quotes classic blues phrases by songwriters/artists B.B. King, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, Robert Johnson and many, many others. Compiled by award-winning author/Grammy-nominated record producer Randy Poe, Squeeze My Lemon: A Collection of Classic Blues Lyrics features classic photos of many leading blues artists. A great gift book, itt is highly entertaining not only for blues lovers, but for anyone who appreciates great lyrics. Categorized by subject matter (Love - Or the Lack Thereof, Bluess and Booze, Blues Behind Bars, Make Mine a Double Entendre, etc.), Squeeze My Lemon is a book you'll return to - and quote from - again and again."

"squeeze my lemon, til the juice runs down my leg" is the opening quote from this excellent book, by randy poe, that exquisitely details some of the finest blues lyrics around. I've posted just 6 times about the blues (in varying forms) and to be honest I'd say that's an accurate reflection about how much I may listen to the blues. It doesn't though reflect my love,  appreciation, but certainly lack of understanding of this great music. hence this series of posts really. by finding this book of lyrics (for a mere fiver at the temple bar book market) i (and any interested readers, can easily explore a myriad of songs, based solely on lyrics. the series will jump from category to category though so expect no rhythm in these posts.

to get the series this first post is for jim carroll over at 'on the record'. jim, thanks for all the posts and to your readers for some of the best comment threads going. cheers.

you may know this song as covered (and indeed ripped off in a manner) by led zeppelin , as indicated here. tonight we won't be uploading any led zeppelin songs for various reasons.
this is the original version by 'robert johnson' with his 'travelin' roadside blues'.

Download 26 Travelin' Riverside Blues

buy 'squeeze my lemon' book @ amazon (UK), (US).

buy ' travelin' riverside blues': iTunes.

reference: 'squeeze my lemon' blog.

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round

Here in the States it is Martin Luther King Day and so to honor the great man I am posting this inspirational recording of the song 'Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round'. I cannot fathom the kind of strength and courage that people had to have back in those times (and even today in some places) to keep on walking, marching and pushing forward for freedom that is so rightly deserved.

After the music is a video of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream speech'. If you haven't seen it please take the time to watch it at some time.

This recording is taken off the recordings on 'Movement Soul' and here is the background to those recordings from Hearing Voices:

"Beware a revolution that comes singing," someone once said. And these people sang. They also preached, they chanted, they talked. And it was all about one thing: freedom for black people, too long bound in slavery.

Movement Soul is a collection of live recordings from the freedom movement at a peak time: 1963 and 1964. Inspired moments have been chosen from mass meeting's sermons, rallies, demonstrations and individual interviews. Traditionally sung prayers and passionate sayings are intermingled with songs like "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "This Little Light of Mine" and "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round."

Many of the recordings took place at times of heightened emotion, when the community was filled with fear, exhilaration, or defiance. Here's for example, are the program notes on two high points:

"19. Selma Alabama. October 1963. It is nighttime at a mass meeting inside a large church. About 300 people are led in song by a young high school girl named Betty Fikes. The words mean a great deal to Selma residents. JIM CLARK is Sheriff Jim Clark, whose posse stands outside the church just at this moment. The week before, as people were leaving a similar meeting, the posse swinging their clubs chased people off the streets and into their houses. There have been so many demonstrations and so many arrests..."

"36. Americus, Georgia. August 1963. It is afternoon at a mass meeting in a small church. Outside, the Georgia State Highway Patrol is waiting. In the past month, nonviolent demonstrations against white-only policies have filled the jails. Demonstrators bear many bruises. Now, inside the church, a new group of ten young people are about to walk to the courthouse and sit down on the front lawn. The whole church is kneeling. A woman leads them in prayer."

MOVEMENT SOUL is about a total community: its shared dreams and common demands. It is about the power of people.

Download 01_aint_gonna_let_nobody_turn_me_round.mp3

Update-just checked the file and there appears to be issues. If you click the 2nd play/blue button you can hear the track. I will fix this when I get home tonight. Thanks
Fixed.

Buy 'Movement Soul:
Downloads iTunes (US), DanceTracks Digital (US), Amazon (US)
CD: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK)

If I Ever

I'm in a slowed down kinda mood tonight. Maybe its the red wine or the busy day. Or maybe I was just meant to find this tune. The preview is all slow and full of R&B (the old R&B-not that newfangled stuff) and thats why I bought it. Then as you start going through the tune it starts to go into a great soul driven segway and back again.Its hard to describe these kinds of tunes, especailly for one like me who's not into writing too much. :-)

Perhaps, to borrow from the artist's way of describing what he sounds like is "a box of old records falling down the stairs then landing on a record player, some in key, some not."
A good description but doesn't do the amazing sounds of this album enough justice.

Aldo Vanucci has been around for a while now, after having put out releases on the mighty Catskils label he landed with Good Living Records and has released the album that this track is taken from, Straight Lift. The album covers everything you could expect to hear from Plymouths 14th Best DJ "a bit of soul, a suggestion of funk, some party style hip hop, a cheeky cover version and some firing jazz"

Download 05_i_love_you_baby.mp3

Buy
Download  US / UK         
CD: US / UK

Cheers,
Cubik

Who Stole The Booty?

Who stole the booty indeed! A cracking bluesy tune, from the album 'Drew Missisippi'. Brought to you by the great Boo Boo Davis on the Black & Tan label from the Netherlands.
The blues with a big beat that will have your head bopping like you were hip-hopping away.
Nice one sir-a great testament to your musical tastes and talents. 

Artist: Boo Boo Davis
Tune: Who Stole The Booty?
Album: Drew Missisippi
Download 03_who_stole_the_booty.mp3
Buy tune here
Buy albums here
For those of you into live shows check out Boo Boo Davis as he comes to your town (check out all those European shows).

Now I may be like many others having being introduced to the blues (in a roundabout way) by Moby from his 'Play' album (V2) that seemed to be just about everywhere when it was released (mainly due to the fact that all 18 of its tracks were licensed for TV spots, advertising and films). The other unique aspect of the album was that it mixed electronica and the blues. Not in a cheesy way but in a way that was respectful to the blues style ( I hope I don't invite the wrath of hardcore blues fans by saying that, it is just my humble opinion). Why do I like the blues? I think becasue it has a drive to the sound that just displays energy and emotion in a way that other genres fail to do. Every note is emotive and raw. The blues isn't all about having the blues at all..its about the feeling of being alive and the good and bad that goes along with that.

So, way back when 'Play' was released I was inspired to go a digging for some more blues and along came a great compilation called 'Natural Blues' which happened to include some of the songs sampled on 'Play'.
Here is one of those tracks, Vera Hall singing 'Trouble So Hard' along with Moby's 'Natural Blues' that sampled it. The sleeve notes from Natural Blues, for this Vera Hall track tell a lot about how music was produced and recorded back then with little or no recording studios and people who would travel around finding unique songs and record them in any way they can. Trouble So Hard was 'Recorded in a field by A&J Lomax'.

Artist: Vera Hall
Tune: Trouble So Hard
Compilation:Natural Blues (buy)
Download 02_trouble_so_hard.mp3

Artist: Moby
Tune: Natural Blues
Album: Play (buy)
Download natural_blues.mp3

So, hopefully for those of you that havn't heard the blues by now will find some pleasure in listening to these songs.

Cheers,
Cubik

Happy B'day Capn'

On this day in 1941 Mr. Don Glen Vilet was born in Glendale, California. Otherwise know as Captain Beefheart, who performed along with the Magic Band throughout the years between the mid-1960's and the 1980's.
This post goes out to Captain Beefheart on his birthday; I hope that he enjoys it very much. I also want to dedicate the post to the one and only John Peel as it is through him I really discovered the joy of Captain Beefheart (and only very recently I might add). John Peel was a friend of Captain Beefheart and did much to help him with his career way back when.
JC gave me Peel's autobiography, 'Margrave of the Marshes ', for Christmas and it is just a top read. What a guy. Funny and full of passion for all kinds of music and a deep filled desire to bring new music to people. I remember listening to John Peel's show years ago and I was always enthralled by the sounds and the words from this somewhat strange man. :-)

So-two pieces of music from Captain Beefheart.
The first is a gem that I just found. It is in fact a live recording of 'Sure Nuff' from the 24th January 1968 @ Maida Vale, BBC  Studio 4 for John Peel's Top Gear show.
Download 01-04-sure-nuff.mp3

Second is 'Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles'. (Thanks FeedMeGoodTunes).
All I can say is that tune just bowls me over with its simple melody and passionate words strained with doubt.
Download her_eyes_are_a_blue_million_miles.mp3

From a tribute to John Peel comes this quote by John 'Drumbo' French from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band:
"When we came to London he was very hospitable. He brought a big bag of cereal to our hotel and told us we should eat it every day to stay healthy. He came with us to the venue and we had trouble getting through the crowds and asked him what the big event was? He said, 'They're here to see you.' We didn't even realise that he had made us a big name in the UK from his pirate radio station."

 

 

Thanks Captain.
Thanks John (you are dearly missed by many).

Cheers,
Cubik 

Demon Child

I was out with my good buddy Chad last night. We went to one of my favourite bars, The Mean Eyed Cat for some cold beers to take the edge off the Texas heat. While there we listended to  Ray Cashman. I really enjoyed listening to his 'low down, foot stomping, ass shaking blues'.
Nice one Ray.

Then I remembered Primal Scream's tune, Boogie Disease, that definitely could be descibed in the same way as Ray's music. Off their Riot City Blues album this tune is for those of you who like whiskey music and/or driving across the dry, hot desert. Not at the same time though.
I had the pleasure of meeting some Primal Scream about 7 years ago in Dublin and had a laugh.
Also got to see them play in San Diego with Chris Tugboat who wrote for CubikMusik back when we started as an email newsletter (we miss you Chris).
A rockin' show.

Enjoy.
Download 07_boogie_disease.mp3

Cheers,
Cubik