» Listings for 2023

1. 2023 Albums Thing 111 - The Doors “LA Woman”

   Posted on 9:45am Thursday 15th Jun 2023

   I like The Doors (I know I said that yesterday but it bears repeating). I don’t really know a lot about them. I’ve seen the movie about them starring Val Kilmer and yes I understand that is unlikely to be a completely accurate historical document. I’ve never bought in to the cult of the Lizard King, nice looking boy, decent voice, knew how to wear a pair of leather keks but we’ll leave it there. I just happen to like the noise they make.

   “LA Woman” begins with “The Changeling”, a groovy, keyboard heavy opener that sets a mood for the record. The band wanted it as the albums lead single but were overruled by Elektra in favour of “Love Her Madly”, a careering, tumbling, out of control thing with a fantastic hook.

   There are other classics within, the title track could be the perfect soundtrack to driving around LA (I’ve done it, these type of songs make much more sense when driving along Sunset or Hollywood Boulevard with the soft top down, see Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer” or the Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy” also), and of course this album finishes with a real classic (Doors or otherwise) the utterly beguiling “Riders On The Storm”, a fitting outro for Jim Morrison who died just 76 days after the albums release.

   This is one of those records I acquired through owning a record shop. I got it as part of a collection I bought for the shop, a UK 1st issue with the rounded corners on the sleeve and the cellophane “window” with The Doors staring out at you. It’s not in pristine condition and, like “Morrison Hotel” before it, I could have sold it cheap but it plays well enough and as you now know, I like the noise they make.

   The Changeling - https://youtu.be/4py-jtiCtfc

2. 2023 Albums Thing 110 - The Doors “Morrison Hotel”

   Posted on 10:25am Wednesday 14th Jun 2023

   As I’ll confirm below, I like The Doors. This copy of their 5th album from 1970 that I now own is a UK 1st issue which, in nice condition, would sell for a very handsome sum. This copy isn’t in very nice condition so rather than sell it for a pittance I thought it could come stay with me. The sleeve is very worn all over and the record itself is scratched and marked and noisy, but it plays through without jumping. I hope someone will look out for me when I’m old and banged up like this fella is, so I decided I’d look after this one.

   I put him in a nice poly sleeve to keep his sleeve clean and protected from any more damage. I gave the record a good deep clean, with some magic gel I like to use in these extreme cases, and I then put it in an anti-static archival sleeve. Then, every now and again, I bring him out and let him tell his stories about roadhouses and the sun, he talks about frogs and queens, fools and Indian summers, which he enjoys.

   That’s gotta be better than being abandoned in the £2 bargain bin to end up who knows where and treated with less respect than he deserves. This old timer deserved better than that.

   Roadhouse Blues - https://youtu.be/yV9DJwJKWMw

3. 2023 Albums Thing 109 - Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Searching For The Young Soul Rebels”

   Posted on 9:30am Tuesday 13th Jun 2023

   “Hey Jimmy !”

   “Yeah !”

   “Now !”

   “Yeah !”

   “For God’s sake burn it down”

   ...and over the next (less than) 40 minutes Dexy’s Midnight Runners conjure up one of the greatest debut albums ever recorded. Dexy’s, in their initial Donkey jackets and woolly hats incarnation, were quite some band…or was that a gang ?

   There are a number of reasons not to like this album. The horns sound ever so slightly off key all the way through; Kevin Rowland’s falsetto can get a little wearing at times; the “pretentious” count gets waaaay too high in places…BUT…

   …”Tell Me When My Light Turns Green” is a thrilling rush of horns and Rowland duetting with himself; the horn driven instrumental ”The Teams That Met In Caffs” is as joyous and uplifting a piece of music as you’ll ever hear; “Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply” is a title to conjure with and you wonder how Kev fits all those words in to the meter sometimes; I’ll put Dexy’s version of “Seven Days Too Long” up against Chuck Wood’s original any day. Add in 2 top 10 singles (one of them a Number 1) and you’ve got some record in your hands.

   I was lucky enough to see this line-up of Dexy’s live and it was a fearsome beast. In your face, totally wrapped up in what they were doing, convinced they were right, delivering Brummie Soul, daring you to disagree. They were a gang as much as they were a band, it felt like if you did disagree with them they’d jump off the stage and give you a good kicking. Shame about the dungarees later on, but this album is a helluva way to announce yerself to the world.

   The Teams That Met In Caffs - https://youtu.be/JUp2m6kzn_0