musicology #173

alternativesoundtrack2..Quadrophenia #5

(The 4 Casts - Stormy Weather)

LISTEN

day 5 and for Jimmy it's all about to start going downhill. having made his way, (on convoy), down to Brighton and spent the day getting ready for some evening action he has been ejected from the 'dance' for jumping from the balcony in an attempt to impress Steph, (the things we males do to be noticed by the ladies !!), who has mugged him off to be with 'The Face'.

having nowhere to go and no-one to go with he spends the night on the beach, (no doubt speeding off his 'nut'), and in the morning makes his way to to meet up with the boys. this is followed by the big 'tear-up' on the beach and the demolishing of a cafe that some 'greasers' have holed up in. if you've seen it you know all about the 'knee jerker' in the alley with Steph and then him having his collar felt by the old bill, where he ends up in a black mariah with his 'hero' .

Cut to this scene, where the mod attitude and deference to authority is highlighted by 'the Face's' dismissal of his financial punishment in style. but notice how the judge states that these are not the first wave of 'hooligans' to hit Brighton, in reference to the much more dangerous and violent racecourse wars of the 1920's featuring the likes of 'The Elephant Boys', the Brummagen boys, the Sabini's and cats such as Georgie Sewell and Billy Kimber...Brighton was always a hotbed of crime and violence right up until the most recent spate of re gentrification that has taken place over the preceding 10 years or so..and a trip 'down the line' was very common for London's opportunists and villains of the past.

the tune that follows is a slice of the Atlantic pie from early 1964 by a vocal group I know nothing about so I can't offer any information other than what's on the label.

stormy weather is certainly up ahead for 'young Jim'

musicology #157

vocalgroupaction2 #2

(The Royals - Make Believe)

LISTEN

day two of the vocalgroup selection finds us tuning into some ’sufferers’ courtesy of Jamaican vocal group The Royals with a mid 70’s piece on Roy Cousins’ Wambesi Label.

Roy Cousins was not only the producer and Wambesi label owner he was also the Royals lead singer. forming his first vocal group in 1962, (pivotol year for musicology), he went on to form the Royals, (originally called the Tempests), in 1965…recording for, (among others), Coxsone Dodd’s Studio 1.

sick of being ’skanked’ by producers and label bosses he set up his own in 1971 and this one (Wambesi), in 1974 which attracted many a fine singer, vocal group and deejay evolving into a major force in the 70’s and 80’s.

the cat at the ‘controls’ on the dub is none other than Lloyd James. better known as..Prince Jammy…

musicology #141

SpectrumOfLove #1

(The Radiants - I’m In Love)

LISTEN

this weeks theme is dedicated to the quest for the ‘holy grail’ .. LOVE

some ‘thing’ that we all need, and if we’re lucky .. give and receive.

the love theme stretches across the full musical spectrum and I can’t think of a genre where it isn’t included in the repertoire and it’s of particular interest to themusicologist for the simple fact that I struggle to under/overstand and therefore express it.

to be honest I think it’s partly why I listen to and appreciate the musical arts to such a degree as it seems to capture the essence of this emotion like no other form of external expression, (in my humble opinion of course), and these next six, (maybe seven), pieces are examples of that.

first up is a slice of prime 1963 Soul from vocal group The Radiants whose track ‘Voice Your Choice’ was a BIG Mod/ernist tune in London’s clubs and dancehalls on release in 1964. The production has the Billy Davis ’stamp’ written all over it, (even though there’s no mention of the cat on the label), a man whose contribution to developing Soul, as well as Coca Cola, (he wrote the famous advertising jingles), is always worthy of a mention…maybe even his own category.