Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #5

Posted on November 22, 2018 by platinumal

It’s been a while, but time to work through that stack of 7″ singles again. I had a few beers and listened to the tunes in my collection – good and bad – in order, both sides.

There have been a few stinkers in previous editions. This week, however, the good outweighed the cheesy for once. Just about.

Here we go:

Jimmy Barnes & INXS – “Good Times” / “Love is Enough”
Tubeway Army – “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” / “We Are So Fragile?”
Black Sabbath – “Paranoid” / “Snow Blind”
Rod Stewart – “Sailing” / “Stone Cold Sober”
The KLF – “Justified and Ancient: Stand by the Jams” / “Justified and Ancient: The White Room Version”
Bobby Gentry – “Ode to Billy Joe” / “Mississippi Delta”
Sweet – “Fox on the Run” / Miss Demeanor”
Generation X – “Ready Steady Go” / “No No No”
Atomic Rooster – “Devil’s Answer” / “Tomorrow Night”
Blondie – “Call Me” / “Call Me (Instrumental)”
The Incredible Bongo Band – “Bongo Rock” / “Bongolia”
All About Eve – “What Kind of Fool” / “Gold and Silver”
Level 42 – “Something About You” / “Coup D’Etat (Version)”
Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Me and My Shadow” / “At a Perfume Counter” / “Frenesi” / “Mamselle”
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass – “Casino Royale” / “The Wall Street Rag”
ABBA – “Does Your Mother Know” / “Kisses of Fire”
Hank Williams – “Honky Tonkin'”/ “Howlin’ at the Moon” / “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time” / “You’d Better Keep it on Your Mind”
The Rolling Stones – “19th Nervous Breakdown” / “As Tears Go By”

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #4

Posted on September 30, 2018 by platinumal

Yes, it’s that time again – a playlist of 45rpm singles that have provided me with an evenings entertainment.

I have a stack of 7″ records that haven’t been listened and filed away yet. So I spend a night listening to them, both sides, in order.

As you can imagine, there are some dodgy songs in amongst the good stuff. And this week, there are some corkers. However, the rules are: the songs MUST be listened to. I own them, so I must be responsible!

Here’s the list:

Joe Dolce – “Shaddap You Face” / “Ain’t No Hurry”
Sinitta – “Shame Shame Shame” / “Maybe Someday”
The Charlie Daniels Band – “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” / “Rainbow Ride”
Rod Stewart – “Angel” / “What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)”
Kate Bush – “Babooshka” / “Ran Tan Waltz”
Tom Jones – “Help Yourself” / “Day by Day” / “Delilah” / “Smile”
Bananarama – “Love in the First Degree” / “Mr Sleaze”
The Timelords – “Doctorin’ the Tardis” / “Doctorin’ the Tardis”
Pig Bag – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag” / “The Backside”
Blondie – “Union City Blue” / “Living in the Real World”
The Sweet – “Hell Raiser” / “Burning”
The Who – “I’m a Boy” / “In the City”
Depeche Mode – “Enjoy the Silence” / “Memphisto”
Free – “My Brother Jake” / “Only My Soul”
Nazareth – “Love Hurts” / “This Flight Tonight” / “Broken Down Angel” / “Hair of the Dog”
Lalo Schifrin – “Jaws” / “Quiet Village”
Rainbow – “I Surrender” / “Vielleicht Das Nachster Zeit (Maybe Next Time)”

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #3

Posted on September 9, 2018 by platinumal

No, not that kind of Singles Night! This is all about working through the stack of 45 rpm singles that I’ve picked up from various sources over the last few months. I play them in order, regardless of how good or bad they are, and whether I’m in the mood for a certain genre or artist or not.

And there are some stinkers in the collection. Some ripe specimens that I just had to own for some reason or other. Don’t ask me, none of it makes much sense to me either.

There are, of course, a few absolute gems in there too. Let’s see how this current session played out…

Sinitta – “Toy Boy” / “Toy Boy Instrumental”
The Jam – “Beat Surrender” / “Shopping”
Marc Bolan – “Sing Me a Song” / “Endless Sleep” / “The Lilac Hand of Menthol Dan”
Herbie Hancock – “I Thought It Was You” / “No Means Yes”
Debbie Harry – “Backfired” / “Military Rap”
The Stranglers – “European Female” / “Savage Breast”
The Cult – “Revolution (Remix)” / “All Souls Avenue” / “Judith” / “Sunrise”
Status Quo – “What You’re Proposing” / “AB Blues”
Johnny Cash – “25 Minutes To Go” / “I’m Gonna Try To Be That Way”
Tom Jones – “It’s Not Unusual” / “To Wait For Love”
All About Eve – “Martha’s Harbour” / “Another Door”
The Tornados – “Telstar” / “Globetrotter”
Dr Hook – “Sexy Eyes” / “Help Me Mama”
Kim Wilde – “Chequered Love” / “Shane”
Bow Wow Wow – “I Want Candy” / “King Kong”
Blondie – “Hanging On The Telephone” / “Will Anything Happen?”
Bananarama – “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” / “Tell Tale Signs”
Althia & Donna – “Love One Another” / “Mighty Two”

Hey, you know what? I think I acquitted myself quite well with that selection. Despite kicking off with yet more Sinitta, there were definitely some great tracks in that list. Let’s wait and see how I do next time…

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #2

Posted on July 17, 2018 by platinumal

Here we go again! Quick recap:

I’ve bought loads of 7″ singles; some good, some bad, some ugly. I decided to listen through the pile by having an evening playing them all in the order in which they were bought; oldest first, A side then B side. This is the list of what I played.

As before, some of these songs are absolute gems – some are absolute stinkers. Don’t judge me; this is already difficult enough for me to confess.

Yes, there’s another Sinitta song. I know it’s terrible, but in my defence she’s in my record collection ‘cos she’s a babe. Trust me, she’s well foxy on the cover of this single. So, sorry about that one.

All in all, though, I feel this is a much less cheesy selection than last time. There might even be a few cool choices. And remember – this is all 7 inch vinyl only!

Now, shall we proceed with the embarrassment?

Steve Winwood – “Higher Love” / “And I Go”
Sinitta – “Hitchin’ a Ride” / “I’m On My Way”
Madonna – “Papa Don’t Preach” / “Ain’t No Big Deal”
Bob Dylan – “Is Your Love in Vain?” / “We Better Talk This Over”
Peter Gabriel – “Games Without Frontiers” / “The Start” / “I Don’t Remember”
George Harrison – ” My Sweet Lord” / “What a Life”
Madness – “Shut Up” / “A Town with No Name”
Toyah – “Thunder in the Mountains” / “Street Addict”
The Jam – “Town Called Malice” / “Precious”
The Beat – “Ackee 1-2-3” / “Monkey Murders”
The Selecter – “Missing Words” / “Carry Go Bring Home”
Blondie – “Denis (Denee)” / “Contact in Red Square” / “Kung Fu Girls”
Herbie Hancock – “You Bet Your Love” / “Knee Deep”
Stevie Wonder – “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” / “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday”
Roxy Music – “The Same Old Scene” / “Lover”

Any comments/abuse on the above are welcome, I’m getting used to it. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy – will be back soon with more.

Hollywood Vampires – Gig Review

Posted on June 27, 2018 by platinumal

Hollywood Vampires + The Darkness + The Damned

Sunday 17th June 2017

Manchester Arena

It was a rare, but welcome night out for Mrs Platinum Al and myself in good old Manchester. Tickets were booked and we were off to see the big rock show. It promised to be an exciting evening, but I was unsure whether our expectations would be met.

First off the bat, our old chums The Damned! This was a real bonus for me, though the handbrake is also a fan after all these years of putting up with me playing their records. However I was a tad nervous, wondering how these esteemed gentlemen would go down with what appeared to be a more traditional rock crowd. And in such a huge venue.

Now I know I’m biased, but we were both impressed by The Damned’s performance. The band didn’t shy away from the large stage; they actually looked quite comfortable up there. I was quite a way away, mind – I think our seats were in Stockport.

Opener “Street of Dreams” was a moody yet raucous number that’s become a bit of a live favourite of mine over the years. Follow that with classic “Neat Neat Neat” and you’re off to a hell blazing start. Just as the stars align and every single person in the huge arena is going “Oooh, they’re quite good, aren’t they?” we get a minor mishap with Captain Sensible’s guitar packing in and the moment seems lost…

Not to worry, before you can say “is he the bloke who sang Shaddup You Face?” the band, old troopers that they are, are back in the game. Dave Vanian steers the ship over stormy waters and is in fine, confident voice all through.

The Damned

The icing on the cake – for me, at least – is the return of Paul Gray, a sight I’ve not witnessed since Sheffield, 1991! Paul’s bass rumbles and sounds triumphant, particularly in the “Love Song” intro. Fantastic. There’s just a drop in volume during “Ignite”, other than that, Paul is a ninja master.

Pinch’s drums are perfect, you can hear Monty (and see him bouncing about); so other than a couple of technical issues The Damned performed superbly. The set is far too short of course, but I was relieved that they seemed to go down well. From where I was sat, the arena seemed mostly full, so they didn’t suffer from support-band-empty-hall syndrome either.

I felt like I was watching my child in the school play; happily no-one forgot their lines and The Damned get a gold star.

You can certainly say that I got value for money for this gig, what with three bands on. However I was feeling a little short changed after The Darkness performed. Admittedly, I am biased in favour of The Damned. Yet I’ve seen The Darkness before, at Download festival a couple of years ago, and was much more impressed.

Not that the Hawkins boys don’t give it a fair shot; a short tight set is delivered in inimitable style with splurges of Justin’s trademark wit and swagger. Perhaps it’s just that the set is lacking some bigger numbers in the first half; following “Growing On Me” with “Love is Only a Feeling” as the third song is too much of a comedown so early on.

The Darkness

The crowd don’t seem to mind though, it all goes down very well. Let’s be honest, most of ’em are happy because they’ve heard of The Darkness and haven’t got a clue who The Damned are. Or, shock horror, don’t like punk rock. For me, with no “Black Shuck” in the set, and a mediocre version of “Barbarians”, it’s good but not great from the Darkness.

I still can’t bring myself to dislike ’em, regardless. At least The Darkness tried to bring loud, exuberant British guitar rock into the 21st century, and aren’t a wanky indie band.

There followed some musical chairs for Mrs Platinum Al and me, as we secured seats much nearer the front. This pleased the other half immensely, she would now have a much better view of the headliners (or one of them, at any rate).

And so the Hollywood Vampires took the stage, and the Big Rock Show was in it’s final phase. The air of tense expectation was only mildly subdued by the band’s arrival, as the audience were keen to experience what they could serve up. Would this be a vanity project for ageing rock stars and their pirate actor buddy? Or could they deliver something tangibly worth their collective prowess?

Led by the preposterously cool Mr Alice Cooper, the Vamps rattle through a few of their own original numbers at first, as if to prove a point. Yes, they can play – and they can write, too. It’s super confident and great fun – every song gets a chance to shine on it’s own merits.

Hollywood Vampires

Yes, that Johnny Depp

The bulk of the set is a succession of expertly reproduced cover songs, each dedicated with respect to a fallen rock comrade. Songs range from The Doors, to Motorhead, to AC/DC – with my favourite being a great version of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”.

Joe Perry delivers a spine tingling “Sweet Emotion” complete with the extended intro that builds magnificently. It’s a master class in rock star awesomeness, though Joe seems very much enjoying himself in a humble manner.

Despite the attention thrust upon him by a vast number of fans in attendance, Johnny Depp manages to not only look the embodiment of cool, but actually performs brilliantly. He appears very much in his element as part of this massive spectacle, indeed his rendition of Bowie’s “Heroes” is one of the highlights of the night.

It’s one of several moments that manages to evoke the ghosts of heroes past, as accompanying images are shown on the screen onstage. It’s not altogether subtle, but rock’n’roll rarely is. Instead the audience cheer their appreciation and nod sagely as our heroes are exhumed for us to behold.

Finally, Alice declares “School’s Out” yet again, as the whole show reaches it’s climax. Cooper is an absolute delight, the demented circus master and ring leader of this crazy gang. He is unbelievably cool and amazing at what he does: a true legend.

In the end, despite any doubts, it’s been a hell of a ride. Despite whatever misgivings anyone may have had regarding authenticity, the Hollywood Vampires delivered an excellent, well performed show that was pure fun. It was so much more than just athe world’s biggest covers band. Abandon your cynicism, this was rock’n’roll for the sheer joy of it. Which is what it’s all about, right?

The Crippens – Gig Review

Posted on May 31, 2018 by platinumal

The Crippens + Emissaries of Syn + Ballpein + Soulless System + Abominate + Spam Javelin

Saturday 19th May 2018

The Tivoli, Buckley

Six bands spanning a range of punk, hardcore, thrash and death metal – all for £7.50? You count Platinum Al in, guv’nor! Anticipating a night of good ol’ fashioned face melting tunes I was off to the Tivoli in Buckley for what seemed the first time in absolute yonks.

As I bounded into the Tiv and was drawn like a magnet straight to the bar, our first band of the evening – Spam Javelin – had started playing. They play fast, loud and fun hardcore punk, with a dose of well placed humour. I was very impressed by Spam Javelin’s set and need to check them out again. Recommended and a good start to the night!

Up next were Abominate, who’s music was essentially a revved up a chainsaw thrown into a pit of acid vipers. It’s full on death/thrash metal and by ‘eck, it is good. Intense and with a crafty helping of heavy, crunching sludge to boot – Abominate are a force of nature and very superb indeed.

Local band Soulless System were up next. Their sound is heavy, grinding and brutal thrash – though their set seems dogged by sound issues tonight. It perhaps doesn’t help that they don’t use a live drummer. It’s a shame as the band can obviously play and have some very tasty riffs. Get these boys a drummer and sort the sound and they’ll light it up.

Then what happened? Oh yeah, Ballpein played and smashed my face in. Repeatedly. Amazing band, full on hardcore punk with a metallic edge: if you want exciting, fast songs and brutal riffage this is the band for you. Ballpein are also amazingly good on stage, confident and having fun as they grind out their (not very) delicate ballads about serial killers.

Another North Wales crew, Emissaries of Syn, played next – attacking with their blend of crusty grinding noise. EOS are relentless and played a non stop set of mind warping punk thrash goodness. Great stuff and again, confidently played on the big Tiv stage. I’ll keep an eye open for more.

Finally, our revered headliners took to the stage and belted out some classic hardcore punk. Once they were Doctor and, now they’re just The Crippens, but this reformed bunch of maniacs disguised as musicians are back and slaying all before them. A great set, I have never before witnessed such a mesmerising gang of misfits in the wild. Perhaps a tear escaped as I reminisced about long ago 80’s skate rock. Whatever, I am SO glad I got to see this band live.

And that was it, another great night at the Tivoli. Well done to the bands who played; thanks to the Tiv for being brave enough to put on something a bit different; and full marks to Knoxy who organised this and helped raise some funds for mental health care in the process. A legend.

You can find all the bands above on Facebook, it’s easy.

The Tivoli website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #14

Posted on May 15, 2018 by platinumal

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 13th April 2018

It’s been a while since I last attended Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, and boy did I miss it. It was great to be back in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold with the chaps from Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music to spin some records.

If you’ve missed previous episodes (where HAVE you been?), it works like this: Each person gets a fifteen minute set to play whatever songs they like, but only on vinyl. Simple as that. Throw in some beer and some music based chat and you’re in for a great time.

As it was getting close to Record Store Day, Tom from Halcyon Dreams pitched a challenge for us would-be DJs: our set had to be comprised of artists who would be releasing music on the day.

No problem, I thought. Here’s how my set went:

Killing Joke – The Wait

To begin, a thunderously loud track from the first Killing Joke album. A riff so mighty that Metallica covered it for their $5.98 EP, this tune also has an incessant tribal beat under the choppy punk guitar. A great song from an essential album, in my opinion. I’ve been a fan of KJ for a long time and they’re still turning out screaming punk/metal/industrial noise to this day.

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Well you can’t go wrong with a bit of Johnny Cash, although I was surprised that this track really seemed to go down well with the pub crowd. Regular readers will know how big a fan of Johnny Cash I am, he’s just unbeatable. This classic song was taken from an old compilation I picked up at a record fair, crammed full of great tunes. I’m glad to say this song seemed very popular!

L7 – Everglade

Another crushing riff, this time from the “Bricks Are Heavy” album from all-girl punk rock grungers L7. My favourite song from that album, and one of my favourite bands from that era. I saw the band live a couple of years ago at Download fest, they were amazing. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that girls can’t rock – L7 were the best band of the day.

The Members – Sound of the Suburbs

And finally, an old punk rock classic on 45rpm courtesy of the Members. This track also seemed popular! I only have the 7 inch single of this song, so I could do with tracking down some more records by them. Great fun.

So that wraps up another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, and what a great night it was! My mixing skills need some sharpening up, but I really enjoyed myself. Well done Tom and Colin, looking forward to another bash soon. I know those guys are very busy, but the Vinyl Nights are always a treat. See you soon!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

PS – Great food in the Queen’s Head too. £6 for a massive mixed grill!

Gym Playlist #1

Posted on January 30, 2018 by platinumal

Have you been hitting the gym since the start of the year? Punishing yourself with cardio and weights as you fight to shed those extra pounds that attached themselves limpet-like over the festive season?

I’ve been slaughtering the gym since the start of the year, but then I always do. Not that it seems to do any good.

Whilst I’m there, pummelling away at the flab in a vain attempt to get in shape, I need some tunes to motivate me. The music in the gym is usually dancey disco stuff, which is fine if you’re dancing, but when I’m working out I need something a bit more aggressive.

Albums by various bands get a regular spin, but I also made this iPod playlist to help me focus like a Viking ransacking a monastery. Sometimes I’m so amped I feel like I could run through the wall, rather than just plodding on the treadmill.

You could do worse than to listen to this cacophony yourself.

Rocket From The Crypt – “Pushed”
Audioslave – “Cochise”
Big Chief – “Lion’s Mouth”
Metallica – “Die Die My Darling”
Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
Rage Against the Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
Anthrax – “Only”
Corrosion of Conformity – “Heaven’s Not Overflowing”
Pantera – “Fucking Hostile”
The Cult – “Rise”
Probot – “Shake Your Blood”
Suicidal Tendencies – “War Inside My Head”
Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”

There you go: 47 minutes of energetic, in your face music to psyche you up and get you in the mood to destroy. GO!!!

Christmas Playlist

Posted on December 20, 2017 by platinumal

Nothing gets me in the festive spirit like a few classic Christmas songs, or indeed, a bit of seasonal strangeness – as in this playlist. A bit of alcohol helps too, mind.

I’ve already covered my Top Ten Christmas songs, and this playlist isn’t just run down of all the usual Crimbo staples. This list is more complicated, idiosyncratic, and pointless than that.

Within my music collection are several Christmas songs, of varying fame, often collected together on themed compilations.

This list pulls together the songs that aren’t on those compilations, as well as some of the standards that do, but for one reason or another have found themselves bundled in with this bunch of misfits.

For example, there are several tunes that are always part of any respectable Christmas collection, but can also be found bunged onto Greatest Hits albums. Songs like the wonderful Slade song “Merry Xmas Everybody”: it’s on all the comps, but I selected my copy from the Slade Best Of to group together with similar songs. Shaky, The Pogues and John Lennon are other examples of this type.

Then there are the album Crimbo album tracks that are hidden away on band’s regular studio albums, such as the Ramones track (see also: AC/DC, Joan Jett). They’re not going to crop up on a Now Christmas comp, so I added them here.

Plus, there are various songs from singles (the Darkness track) and a few of dubious seasonal pedigree…

Here’s my Christmas Odds and Sods playlist. Enjoy!

Slade – “Merry Xmas Everybody”
Shakin’ Stevens – “Merry Christmas Everyone”
The Pogues (with Kirsty MacColl – “Fairytale of New York”
John Lennon – “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”
Queen – “Thank God it’s Christmas”
Ramones – “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)”
AC/DC – “Mistress for Christmas”
The Beatles – “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
The Darkness – “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews – “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Little Drummer Boy”
Boney M – “Mary’s Boy Child”
Christopher Lee – “Silent Night”
Bad News – “Cashing in on Christmas”
Roy Orbison – “Pretty Paper”
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – “There’s No Light on the Christmas Tree Mama They’re Burning Big Louie Tonight”
The Damned – “There Ain’t No Sanity Clause”
Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler – “Home for the Holidays”
Monster Magnet – “Dead Christmas”
UK Subs – “Hey Santa”
Black Stone Cherry – “Santa Claus is Back in Town”
Christopher Lee – “Little Drummer Boy”
Queen – “A Winter’s Tale”

Merry Christmas all!

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #13

Posted on October 6, 2017 by platinumal

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 29th September 2017

It’s Vinyl Night! Once again, Halcyon Dreams hosted the Bring Your Own Vinyl Night at the Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales. An evening of beer, good company and – of course – spinning tunes!

You know the drill by now, so I’ll fast forward straight to my set.

There was a theme this time, which I stumbled on whilst playing these records over the previous months. I decided to play songs that weren’t performed in the English language, which produced a few interesting ideas. Here are the ones that made the cut:

Anhrefn – Molly Melys/Rhedeg I Paris

As I was in Mold, how could I not kick things off with something Welsh? Anhrefn were a superb Welsh language punk band that I saw several times back in the early 90s. I had a cassette of their album “Dragon’s Revenge” from those days, and successfully tracked down a vinyl copy not long ago. This is actually two tracks – sorry, a bit sneaky: “Molly Melys” is a traditional folk song evoking Celtic tradition. It’s a short, mellow introduction before it suddenly erupts into “Rhedeg I Paris”, a fast paced, energetic, melodic rocker in the vein of the Clash. Fantastic!

Cypress Hill – Loco En El Coco

This is, of course, the Cypress Hill track “Insane in the Brain” but performed with Spanish lyrics. Taken from “Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol” – their Greatest Hits in Spanish – and for some reason these versions just sound even funkier in Spanish. I love the whole album for that reason. Check it out, I recommend it.

Anhrefn

Cypress Hill

Faith No More – Evidence (Italian Version)

This isn’t the “funk metal” Faith No More you may know. Rather, this is a kind of smooth jazz-funk hybrid from the album “King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime”, here performed in Italian. Apparently singer Mike Patton is multi lingual and there are versions of this track in several other languages too. It’s a great song, showing FNM stretching out and writing something across musical boundaries: and it really works.

Plastic Bertrand – Ca Plane Pour Moi

And finally, I went with this French language pop punk/faux punk/new wave confection. It’s a fun little treat that bounces along with a life of it’s own. Loads of fun to end the set.

That was it, set over. All songs in different languages. I could have chosen a few others (I have a record by Kvelertak in Norwegian) but I figured that would do.

A great night again – thanks all! Who knows if there’ll be a theme next time. I’m just looking forward to another Vinyl Night!