OK I realise I just chucked the alphabetical thang outta da window but I own just 4 Xmas albums and I figured what better time to get those outta the way than now…well it is Christmas…

What we have here is Christmas songs played by a rock & roll, boogie woogie big band pressed on lush green and white splatter vinyl…ace! 

This and its follow up, that we’ll get to tomorrow, entered my world only this year. Well that’s not entirely true, I’ve had a download of this one for some years, these records I only acquired in February. They arrived as part of a collection I bought for the shop, both 2019 re-issues of albums originally issued on CD only in 2003 and 2005 respectively. My addiction to all things coloured and vinyl meant I immediately earmarked them as additions to my collection.

For anyone who has been asleep for the last 40 or so years Brian Setzer is the impossibly blonde and be-quiffed singer and guitarist who first made his name fronting Rockabilly Rebels the Stray Cats. After the breakup of that band and a try at a solo career he put together the Brian Setzer Orchestra, a 17 piece Jump Blues and Swing big band with extra added Rockabilly guitars in 1990.

This album is another collection of Christmas (mostly) standards (“Jingle Bells”, “Winter Wonderland”, “The Nutcracker Suite” you get the picture ? Yes we see) with a couple of Setzer originals all revved up to sound something like Cab Calloway or Joe Jackson’s “Jumpin’ Jive” on pharmaceutical grade amphetamines (I am in no way insinuating that any chemical stimulants were employed in the making of this album) all sprinkled with scorching boogie-woogie guitars. Like this…

Jingle Bells - https://youtu.be/juTJQr9WJfY?si=QtVPaLiqhgpDbDxK

And here we are at the last of the M’s in my collection so we are halfway through the alphabet and therefore halfway through this 2023AlbumsThing I committed to. The one certain thing is it will definitely become the 2023/24AlbumsThing before we’ve finished. And if there is anyone out there who has read all of them, kudos to you. Anyways, onward…

My Life Story are basically Jake Shillingford. We’ve known Jake since he was the guy who looked after the door at the Camden Palace in London. We’d show up (when I say we I mean myself and various members of The Wonder Stuff) and Jake would see us, usher us to the front of the queue and up to the VIP bar, ah the joys of having famous mates. He formed My Life Story in the late 80’s and they released their John Barry/Scott Walker/Anthony Newley influenced debut “Mornington Crescent” (the tube station just across the road from the Camden Palace incidentally) in 1995.

“World Citizen” was released in 2019, Jake’s first album in 19 years ! Jake writes big, sweeping orchestral sounding Indie-pop songs with lyrics not quite from the gutter but definitely looking to the stars. First song “No Filter”, a fabulous show tune style torch song, opens with the lyric “You look like a million dirty, filthy dollars” which sets a tone for where we’re going. “Sent From Heaven” is poptastic in the style of “The Size Of A Cow” or something you could hear Madness doing.

“World Citizen” is a very, very good contemporary Indie-pop record. If you like things like The Lottery Winners this will do it for you too. It reminded me what a good songwriter Jake is and has nudged me to replace my long gone copy of “Mornington Crescent”, which I fear is gonna cost me !

Sent From Heaven - https://youtu.be/K52Bh42H_CQ?si=OrJTIfhu1H4RWDmt

A cheapo Music For Pleasure compilation that my Dad used to have a copy of but that arguably contains some of the greatest pop music created in the 1960’s. Roy Wood was a musical pioneer back then and I’ll take The Move’s ’60’s singles over those of many more feted British groups of the time.

The Move had formed out of various Beat groups playing around Birmingham and the Midlands, Roy Wood From Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders, Carl Wayne and Bev Bevan from Carl Wayne & The Vikings, Trevor Burton from Danny King & The Mayfair Set and Chris “Ace” Kefford, well, I’m not sure but it’s said he was inspired to form The Move after seeing the future David Bowie in his band Davy Jones & The Lower Third at the Cedar Club in Birmingham. The idea was to gather together the best musicians in Brum into one band. They began playing covers of American bands and Motown until Roy Wood began to write. He eventually wrote all of their 9 Top 20 singles, 6 of which are on this album.

It begins with “Flowers In The Rain”, the first record played on Radio One (two pieces of music were played before it, George Martin's specially commissioned "Theme One" and Johnny Dankworth's "Beefeaters" which was Tony Blackburn’s theme tune, but “Flowers In The Rain” the first record played) . It reached #2 in the UK charts but due to a publicity stunt by the bands manager, Tony Secunda, involving Prime Minister Harold Wilson, his secretary and an ensuing court case, all Roy Woods royalties from the song went to Wilson (who, in his defence, passed them on to charity)!

Their first and only #1 was “Blackberry Way” in 1968/69. Singer Carl Wayne refused to sing it so vocals are handled by Roy Wood. The song didn’t sit well with Trevor Burton either who left the band shortly after its release. Fortunately Roy Wood did like it, saying it is his favourite Move song of all time, claiming that “it could have been performed in any era and still worked”. As it has been covered in the ensuing years by Italian band Equipe 84, Gary Holton (of the Heavy Metal Kids and “Auf Wiedersehn Pet”) and The Wonder Stuff it appears he was right.

The Move continued into 1972 when they metamorphed into Electric Light Orchestra. They left behind some superb music, singles like “I Can Hear The Grass Grow”, “Fire Brigade” and “Curly” and others on this album like “(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree”, “Omnibus” and “Beautiful Daughter” are very intricate pop music and reasons why I’ll take The Move over many other of their contemporaries (oh, and them being Brummies helps).

Fire Brigade - https://youtu.be/cHolSj-ocNI?si=dtQm1hdtbe0dJ3CW