Lewis Taylor
Apologies in advance: Today’s post may be yesterday’s news and I may just be late to the Lewis Taylor party. Sorry, it’s just a bit of a shock to find something so great that I overlooked for so long. But enough about this blogger’s insecurities. Lewis Taylor is a British soul singer/multi-instrumentalist with a voice like warm butterscotch and an ear for music like no soul you’ve ever heard. Before you conjure images of Joss Stone or Jamiroquai, rest assured that Lewis Taylor is for real – he’s not simply playing his parents’ vinyl collection, he’s taking soul to places it hasn’t been before. But, it doesn’t hurt that he hits with velvet gloves like Marvin Gaye and arranges with the kaleidoscope mind of Prince. (He also goes his own way under the radar like the inimitable Joe Henry – not a soul man, but a darn fine musician you should seek out.) As you browse through these highlights, you’ll hear some guitar and crooning that could be Ben Harper on a rainy day, some space-jazz this side of Miles Davis fusion, and even a few moments that are more electronically out there (Radiohead’s name pops up often in other people’s Taylor descriptions, and Kruder + Dorfmeister offer a remix here). Or, you’ll hear all of the above in the same track. And, if you haven’t already fallen, you’ll love it all.
Sizzlin’ Hot Kennedy Video
Drive-By Truckers
All you Steve Earle fans out there should love the dirty Southern rock played by Drive-By Truckers. Listening to Earle’s “CCKMP” and “Putting People on the Moon” by the Truckers on a continuous loop could potentially produce one of the most serious bummers imaginable. If you like what you hear, their Southern Rock Opera released in 2001 on Lost Highway Recods is an amazing piece of work offering precisely what the title suggests. Thanks to Chuck and Tim O. for the tip on the Truckers.
Shots Fired on Tour
Captain Sensible
I thought I’d follow up my Sunday Damned post with an obvious segue to Captain Sensible, who, in the early ’80s broke off from The Damned to venture out on his own. He’s got two decades worth of charming, often biting, pop songs that hold up remarkably well. His song “Wot” made quite a splash in the UK and its ripples made it across to our side of the pond. I remember actually seeing the video on MTV. The story ends up quite cheery as Captain joined back up with The Damned for an album in 2001, where Captain questions British Democracy and gets his digs in on a little place called Neverland.
Kettel
These examples of Kettel’s finer moments, wherein cut-up jazz breaks and organic field sounds stroll hand-in-hand, make me wonder why he hasn’t received as much notoriety as, say, Four Tet. He, by the way, is Reimer Eising. To browse/buy from his catalog, check the newly madeover kracfive site. (Overdue props to Disquiet for opening my ears to Kettel a while back.)
The Damned
Nothing like downloading The Damned on a Sunday afternoon… I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to The Damned (Clay couldn’t believe I beat him to it), but you just don’t expect some of your old favorites to be this on top of things. I was turned onto The Damned years ago by a good friend who had amassed a huge vinyl collection, which I believe included, close to, if not, everything The Damned had released. I spent many hours at his house taping albums and recording mix tapes of The Damned. Then in 1993 his home was among hundreds burned in the Laguna Beach fire, burning along with it, yes, all that vinyl. I don’t know if I’ve ever really repaid him for turning me onto some great music, so hey, Randy, gimme a call and bring your iPod…
Kid Koala
The first time I saw Kid Koala spin was at the Wetlands in NYC at a Ninja Tune night some years back. He plowed through a crate of novelty records and hip-hop classics with the glee (and haste) of a two year old, mouthing the words to every last cut and leaving a pile of used vinyl on the floor. The first time I saw Kid Koala perform was at the El Rey in Los Angeles a couple years later, when I saw him recreate his turntable masterpiece “Drunk Trumpet” on stage. He used the pitch control slider to extract different notes from a single horn part on a jazz record as our collective jaws hit the floor. “Skanky Panky” is a similar experience, in that it needs to be seen and heard. Fortunately for all who haven’t had the pleasure, you can do just that on his CD/DVD, Live at the Short Attention Span Theater.
Levy
Manhattan’s Lower East Side probably doesn’t smell as good as Manchester’s hipper hipster enclaves — or anywhere else, for that matter — but the sounds coming out of the gentrified tenements these days are enough to make you forget about that whole art-rock-as-next-big-thing debacle. Case in point: Levy, named for its post-modern crooner of a lead singer, paints NYC in an appealing shade of Mancunian gray, waxing chippy to melancholy on relationships that weren’t built to last. As with that one-named icon who helped put Manchester on the map, Levy sounds best when Matt Siskin’s guitar propels the songs into the atmosphere. Put on your iPod and let Levy bounce around inside your head for a while.