Vini Back On Stage Despite Stroke

Well, I haven't blogged about the Durutti Column for some time (or about anything for that matter), so it's time to correct such an unpleasant situation with some unpleasant but not very current news. Vini Reily suffered a minor stroke a few weeks ago which affected one side of his body. He discharged himself from hospital a few days later and is now reportedly making a recovery, but to what extent remains to be seen. The good news is that he will play a show at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London on the 20th of October. The event is "Paul Morley - The Tony Wilson Interviews". I am not sure what type of set, or for how long Vini will play for. I will be attending despite my reluctance for any Mr.Morley related-matters but it should be an interesting evening regardless.

Some classic Durutti to wet appeties:

Rhythmites - Stand Strong

Good news! A couple of months ago Rhythmites finally got around to releasing their second album 21 years after the debut "Integration" in 1989. The Somerset-based reggae band have been occasionally active on the festival scene over the last few years, so this new set comes a big surprise.

"Stand Strong" feature some new songs "Fill I Up", "Consciousness" and "Dreamsworld" with some re-recorded tracks that have appeared on EP's over the years like "Rootsy", "Paranormal Dub", and revisit to the classic "A True". The former lead singer Angus is now long gone, replaced with a throatier, gruffer and occasionally out-of-tune gent called Dennis. But they are still the same band with killer horns, with non-threatening guitar solos and the trademark didgeridoo.

Really, this isn't a patch on "Integration" but then I never expected it to be. But it will do, because it's so rare to hear such a competent reggae band with well crafted songs with tight arrangements in this age of computer rhythms. All hail Rhythmites!

Here is a raw clip of the band performing at the launch party in Bath earlier on this year.

A Certain Ratio "Mind Made Up" UK Release

Just over a year ago I wrote a review of A Certain Ratio's new album "Mind Made Up" which at the time was only released in France. It's now well noting that it has gained a UK release courtesy of the excellent LTM label. Apart from one remix of "I Feel Light", the tracklisting remains the same.

After a year of repeated listening, this would rate as one of their most accessible albums alongside "Force" and "Good Together".

Here is the promo video for the track "Teri".

Play Mr Music Play

So Overground sounds went very overground for a number of months, due to time constraints and not having a half decent PC. But it is back, albeit in a sporadic format for the time being.

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about my whereabouts. All one of you..

To kick proceedings back off we have a uplifting reggae tune from the little known Derrick Pitter with "Play Mr Music Play", produced by Roy Cousins and released on his Tamoki Wambesi label. Recorded in the early 1980's, I would imagine. Enjoy.

Rabih Abou-Khalil - Selection

Lebonese born Rabih Abou-Khalil is an artist that straddles both the world and jazz genres seamlessly, forging a unique blend of styles with his unique brand of oriental jazz and he's been doing it for some time, with almost 20 album releases behind him.

It's hard to pick one album that represents the varied nature of his output, which is why this handy compilation "Selection " will prove essential for newcomers.

By and large Rabih's albums are led by the oud, his chosen instrument, which he is the master of and of course inevitably gives the music an instant middle eastern flavour and will usually be complemented by the backbone of bass, drums and percussion. What makes the sound of his recordings, which constantly range in tempo, so unique are the variations of other instrumentation that is present on the recordings. For example throughout his albums the ney makes a regular appearance on more oriental-based albums like "Taraab", "Roots and Sprouts" and "Nafas". Whilst more brass-based leanings with trumpet, clarinet, french horn, tuba, both alto and tenor sax dominating the sound on more jazz flavoured albums like "Cactus Of Knowledge", "Sultans Picnic" and "Blue Camel". The album "Arabian Waltz" featured a string quartet, whilst the duduk (an instrument associated with Armenia and with Djivan Gasparyan) is the focal point on the album "Songs for Sad Women". On the "Journey To the Centre Of An Egg" you will hear a more slow-paced mellow piano-based sound. While 2008's "Em Portugues" introduced a young Fado singer Ricardo Ribeiro to the fray with stunning results.


The vast majority of Rabih's recordings have come on the Enja label with some earlier works appearing on ECM. It's the former output that this compilation concentrates on and you get one track from twelve different albums including his genius solo set "Il Sospiro", so you get a good perspective of what Rabih Abou Khalil's musical vision is all about. He is also a fine live performer, having seen the man in action a couple of years ago.

It's worth pointing out that the artwork on Rabih's albums are more often than not quite beautiful. Take a look here.

To listen to sound samples from "Selection", this seems to be the best place.


To follow are two clips of tracks "Arabian Waltz" and "Blue Camel" both taken from "Selection",and for good measure they are followed by two tracks from the "Songs For Sad Women" album.

The Passing Of Yabby You

Some very sad news reached me yesterday that Vivian "Yabby You" Jackson had passed away at the age of 63.

For a lot of reggae fans like myself, Yabby You's music was the very embodiment of roots reggae, with his songs and rhythms yearning with soul, rawness and heaviness.

His output throughout the 1970's, as both singer and producer was some of the best reggae music ever recorded. Most of these recordings were mixed by dub master King Tubby who was more than partly responsible for the power and weight of Yabby's sound. For me Yabby You ranked alongside Augustus Pablo as one of my favourite reggae artists.

Tracks like "Love Thy Neighbour", "Conquering Lion", "Run Come Rally", Jah Vengeance", "Warn The Nation", "Walls Of Jerusalem", "Chant Down Babylon", "Deliver Me From My Enemy" and the stunning instrumental "Death Trap" have stood the test of time and I have never grown tired of them and doubt I ever will. His first two albums "Conquering Lion" and
"Chant Down Babylon Kingdom" [aka "King Tubby Meet Vivian Jackson") are perfect in every way.


Essential productions of other singers that come to mind are tracks like Michael Prophet's "Love and Unity", Tony Tuff's "No Warrior", Patrick Andy's "Living In Mount Zion", Charlie Morrison's "Selassie Memorial", Dicky Burton's "God Is Watching You", Wayne Wade's "Man Of The Living" and Errol Alphonso's "Chant Jah Victory". Really the list just goes on. He produced some fine work by the deejay's Big Youth and Trinity, but I have never been a huge fan of that style.

Jackson did resurface in the early 90s with a reissue programme and some new recordings appeared, which unsurprisingly never matched the higher heights of those early recordings.

Curiously, although visually a Rastaman, Jackson considered himself a Christian and by all accounts rejected Halie Selassie's divinity.

The man has left an amazing out-of-press back catalogue and I fear it won't be very long until it gets exploited for all the wrong reasons.

Note that nearly all of the tracks I listed above are available on Blood and Fire "Jesus Dread" 2CD set, if you can find it.

Some audio clips follow:

Pop Classics Part 9 - The Mighty Wah

Quite simply a great song from Pete Wylie's band The Mighty Wah! from 1982 and a song that gives me a warm glow and sends me spiralling back in time into my elasticated school trousers and plastic shoes.

A pop classic, you better believe it.

And "Come Back" is pretty good too.

Jah Shaka Presents The Positive Message

In the world of reggae some things move slow while some things just don't move at all. This set, compiled by legendary roots reggae sound system operator and producer Jah Shaka falls into both categories. This was supposed to have surfaced in 2007 but only saw the light of day towards to end of last year. Some things are worth waiting for.

The concept behind this release is straight forward. Shaka selects his favourite tracks that have appeared on the Greensleeves label over the past 30 years and ones that are truly representative of the much championed Shaka sound.

Although all the tracks are bonafide roots classics, some of which are predictable but I felt that was to be inevitable, so there are no real surprises, but it's great to hear the full length versions of Johnny Clarke's "Jah Love Is With I" and "Bad Days Are Going". Tracks like Black Uhuru's "I Love King Selassie" and Ras Michael's "None A Jah Jah Children No Cry", I have heard so many times I could frankly live without ever hearing them again. Some tracks I never tire of: Norris Reid "Protect Them". Barrington Levy's "Look Youthman", Wailing Souls' "Kingdom Rise Kingdom Fall", Johnny Osbourne's "Never Stop Fighting" and Dennis Brown's do-over of the Marley classic "Slave Driver".

Topped off with classics by Keith Hudson. Earl Sixteen, Eek-a-Mouse. Fred Locks and more, this is a crucial selection, even if you have these tracks, it's nice to have them all on one CD.

Twelve tracks are also available as a 7" box set, but I fear that it might already be difficult to get hold off.

Here are some clips of choice tracks culled from youtube:

Snuff, London, December 19, 2009

Ten days ago the newly re-branded venue The Garage (now the Relentless Garage - pesky sponsorship, eh) in Islington played host to the legendary Snuff, a band that I had not seen do a gig since August 1991 when the band played a "farewell show" at the National in Kilburn. The story of this band is too long to go in to, so read all about it here. But in short Duncan Redmonds (vocals/drums) is the only founding member.

Disappointingly the venue was barely half full, but regardless, Snuff played a barrage of old classics including "Not Listening", "Somehow", "Martin", "Caught In Session" and "Nick Northern" and of course obligatory cover versions such as "Soul Limbo" aka the BBC Cricket Theme, "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads" and The Specials' "Do Nothing".

A lot of people including myself have got a bit older now so there wasn't quite as much stage diving as you would have got back in the early 90's but still a highly enjoyable night to rekindle my younger days. Almost.

I didn't get any pictures of the gig and, so I don't have much in the way of visuals. So here is a clip of the current incarnation of Snuff playing earlier this year at the Shepherds Bush Empire.

Manasseh Back In Fine Style

Top UK reggae producer Nick Manasseh returns in mighty fine style with four killer cuts of the "People" rhythm on the Roots Garden label.

The three vocal cuts come from new talent Dark Angel with "People Come To", from veteran soundman Kenny Knots we have "Unbreakable" and from the little-recorded Bob Skeng, a message to all rip-off producers with "Tek Caution". Topped off with a dub cut from Manasseh himself, the rhythm has a mid-80s digital feel to it in the tradition of labels such as Unity and Jah Tubbys.

The four cuts can be picked up on two 7" 45s or you can do what I did and download all four from Boomkat for £2.95. Click here to purchase and for sound samples.

On the subject of Manasseh, Emiliana Torrini's new single "Me and Armini" has got the Nick treatment and it sounds good to me. This isn't the first time the pair have worked together. Who can forget the remix of "Sunny Road" from a couple of years ago. In case you don't know what I am talking about, I have posted an udio clip below along with "Me and Armini"

That Time Of The Year

Indeed it's that time of the year again. Eat, drink, be merry and get "Fairytale Of New York" shoved down your throat at every given opportunity. It must be great to have a Christmas hit. You would never have to work again. Think of all that annual revenue from compilations and radio play. In fact wasn't Hugh Grant's character in the Nick Hornby book and film "About a Boy" living off his late dad's earnings.

"Fairytale of New York" was penned by Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer, so I am quite confident that they are OK for a few bob, so it's the other members I feel sorry for. For this time of the year for the Pogues pantomime to be wheeled out once again.

The Pogues split in 1991 when Shane was already long gone (in all senses of the word)and then ten years later that got back together to be perform a series of concerts that proved very successful that they have been doing it pretty much every year since. Not actually existing as a band, so not writing or recording any new music, but just doing a few dates here and there, usually in December and playing the same old songs. Ching ching!

I have seen the Pogues a number of times over the years, notably at the National Kilburn, London 1986, "Picnic In The Park" in a tent in Finsbury Park, London 1987 which were exciting, chaotic, drunken and violent. They were two of the most memorable gigs that I ever attended

I did see a couple of the reunion gigs a few years ago and they were not a patch on those heady dates and seemed to be just going through the motions which was to be expected, but sill extremely talented musicians and songwriters, especially MacGowan who is surprisingly still with us.

They have left an arsenal of classic tunes. Some of my favourites are "Dark Streets Of London", "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn", "The Body Of An American", "Thousands Are Sailing", "Turkish Song Of The Dammed", "Lullaby Of London". The list goes on. The first three albums - "Red Roses For Me", "Rum Sodomy and the Lash" and "If I Should Fall From Grace With God - are essential

The Pogues are currently finishing a 12 date tour.

Some classic clips for you:

Back With Jah Vengeance

Well it's been a while since I last "blogged", what with moving house and just general happening's preventing me from doing so. What with so much upheaval, it's been difficult to settle and listen to any music. And when I do get around to it I'm not really feeling it, what with trying to fend off thoughts about DIY.

In the meantime, enjoy one of many killer tunes by roots reggae legend Yabby You. This one features Trinity and is entitled "Jah Vengeance"

The Sound Of Silence

A mixture of current happenings such as moving house, the prospect of being off-line for two weeks whilst AOL re-connect me and worse still, the unintentional deletion of all files on my MP3 player (goodbye Sony Sonic Stage) means I won't be blogging for a while. I'm sure I won't be missed that much, if at all. But just in case, there's no need to call the Missing Persons Hotline.

Adios for now, amigos.

Misha Alperin - Her First Dance

"Her First Night" on the ever-reliable ECM label is a highly enjoyable album from the Ukrainian musician and pianist Misha Alperin. This, his latest album released in 2008 is a beautiful piano-led mixture of instrumentals which effortlessly combine haunting with melancholic, dramatic with melodic, and some jaunty faster pieces complement the variations in style. Some of the more melodic pieces here are not a million miles away from "The Promise" by Vassilis Tsabropoulos', an amazing album which I raved about here, but that would only be a lazy comparison.

Alperin is joined by Arkady Shilkloper on French horn, flugelhorn and on violincello Anja Lechner. The latter I am fast becoming a big fan of through albums such as "Chants, Hymns and Dances" and "Melos" with Vassilis Tsabropoulos and "Ojos Negros" with Dino Saluzzi and various recordings with Rosamunde Quartett with whom she is a member.

I don't know if it's anything with getting older, but lately I find my musical preferences leaning towards to the more slower paced and mellow side of the musical spectrum. Not a bad thing I would say, for sometimes we need to take a step back from the chaos of daily life. Saying that, I am not a pipe and Horlicks man. Yet.

Key tracks for me include the title track "Her First Dance", "Tiflis" and "April In February", to name just three.

The best place to source sound clips is here.

Staff Benda Bilili - Barbican, London 10/11/09

Support on this show came from Muntu Valdo, a singer songwriter from Cameroon. A very able guitar player to say the least, who, as well some very competent warbling, also plays the harmonica. What more could you want? Perhaps add some fancy effect pedals enabling some impressive looping in order to confuse the less technically minded in the audience who probably thought he was miming, add some audience participation and hey presto! After 20 minutes, boredom sets in and I wonder why artists like this can get away with selling CD's at gigs for 15 pounds. This is straight from the label or artist direct to the public without the need for the distributors cut. Something not quite right there. Of course the artist needs some bread, but there is no reason why a CD selling at a gig should cost anymore than a tenner. Simple. Curiously the Staff Benda Bilili CD was being sold for 12 pound and there are eight people needing bread and lots of it too, because by the look of the energy they use up on stage, these guys need their carbs by the lorry load.

There were high expectations for this band tonight, their "Très Très Fort" album has been higly acclaimed worldwide and this, to my knowledge would be their first concert outside of their homeland.

OK, so let's get the important bit out of they way first. Staff Benda Bilili are a group of disabled Congolese street musicians move around in customized tricycles. They also who live in the grounds of a zoo. I say that this is the important bit only because this is the main marketing angle on the group. Take that away and you are left with the music. A very energetic mix of Congolese rhythms and Cuban rumba, with a combination of six vocalists of varying degrees of quality and my favourite bit, a customised hand made one string guitar which on the CD quite sounds manic and naturally is difficult to play in tune, but live it sounded even wilder and the sound gets very, very distorted and the frequency seemed to cause problems for some of the assembled audience. Great! This was very danceable stuff but looking at the stiff Barbican crowd seated as if, quite frankly, that it were a freak show (some looked positively horrified when one of the wheel-chaired musicians leapt from his wheelchair. I half expected someone to go to his aid). I would go as far as to say some of this audience have never experienced anything remotely resembling fun throughout their entire lives. There was a break-off rebel splinter group of dancers of fifteen people or so who were getting some evil stares from the stiff stuck-up posse. For the record, I didn't dance, but I shook my legs a bit.

So to round off, not exactly mind blowing but a very enjoyable evening which reminds me how lucky I am to be living in London (or at least in a few days, quite close to London) where there is such a wide variety of things to do musically and otherwise that is virtually on your door step.

Here is a live clip of the band from a recent TV appearance.

The Cramps - Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?

Here is a great clip of The Cramps on The Tube from around 1986 with the curious little ditty - "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?", a great track from the "A Date With Elvis", one of my favourite albums from that era.

Frontman Lux Interior sadly died earlier this year at the age of 62. This clip shows what a great performer and showman he was, but doesn't come near to what an exciting live experience by The Cramps was like, having being lucky enough to have seen them in concert twice.

The Biggest Reggae One Drop Anthems 2009

This is one of two fairly representative compilations on Greensleeves Records of the current reggae music trends currently popular in Jamaica. That is, good, bad and very ugly. The other compilation is "Biggest Reggae Dancehall Anthems 2009". But more about that in few days.

A few years ago the term "One Drop" seemed to refer to the more cultural end of the reggae spectrum. Nowadays it the term is bit looser, seemingly describing everything that is not "dancehall". Although you could describe some of these tracks as "dancehall". Confused? Good. Bear in mind these guys just make music and it's only the record labels that insist on having to lump everything into a genre to help sell records, which is understandable I suppose.

So to "The Biggest Reggae One Drop Anthems 2009". To start off on a positive note, the tracks here that tick some of the right boxes are: Mr. Wiliamz - "No Cigarette", which follows a recent trend by Alborosie of re-licking 80s dancehall rhythms. The tune on this occasion is Triston Palma's "Joker Smoker". Nice vibes on this one, but the subject matter is as old as dinosaurs, while Peetah (Ex Morgan Heritage) & Assassin's "Hot A Road" is a big tune for sure. I haven't heard any new Capleton for yonks so it was enjoyable to hear "Acres". But guess what it is about? Ganja! There's a surprise. Queen Ifrica with "Dem Nah Lear" holds its own. Lukie D could read out a menu and it would still sound good. Even his reading of Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown's "No Air" would be acceptable, if it hadn't been spoiled by the one called M'lonie, who sounds like a drunk teenager on karaoke for the first time. Beres just does what he does best with "Can't Say I Never Tried", while Luciano, Junior Kelly and Lutan Fyah go through the motions.

On the bottom of the pile is Gappy Ranks - "Heaven In Her Eyes". Da'ville - "Missing You Right Now", Marcia Griffiths & Busy Signal - "Automatic (Keeping It Real)" and Glen Washington - "Vibes". All of which are so lightweight they could induce sea sickness and acute nausea even if one was miles away from sea. Romain Virgo's self explanatory "Alton's Medley" is quite frankly just pointless. There are also tracks by Alborose and Sizzla, who have tracks lifted off recent albums.

So enter at your peril. One for the download massive methinks, choice your tracks and then job done. If there is anyone could could sit through this compilation more than once, I salute you and recommend you seek medical advice.

Rabih Abou-Khalil - Arabian Waltz

Rabih Abou-Khalil has a new compilation out at the moment entitled "Selection" and it is essential. I will go into more details when time allows. But in the meantime, move the furniture out of the way and and feel this one: "Arabian Waltz".

Radical Dance Faction (RDF) / Military Surplus

Radical Dance Faction always used to get tossed on the dodgy "crusty dub" pile. This is true to a certain extent considering they used to attract a hell of a lot of crusties to their gigs (what ever happened to crusties?) and their music certainly could be described as dubby. I saw them live many times during the early 90s. I particularly remember one gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden and still sticks in my mind as one of the best gigs that I ever attended. I recall that I spent a lot of time on stage that night and I'm not too sure why.

Founded by Chris Bowsher in Hungerford, Berkshire and starting out as Military Surplus in 1986 before becoming Radical Dance Faction. The band had many line up changes before splitting up in the late 1990s. Their music mixed elements of reggae, dub and punk. Chris Bowsher, more than a poet than a singer, spoke rather than singing his lyrics. He was often joined on record and on stage by the more accessible and melodic sensibilities of Linda Goodman.

Bowsher wrote about such topics as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in the song "Chinese Poem". He witnessed the Hungerford Massacre and wrote about this harrowing experience in "Hot On The Wire" and in the poem "Hungerford Poem".

They released two essential albums: "Borderline Cases" and "Wasteland". both currently unavailable. The latter set featuring hot shot reggae drummer Style Scott, a former member of Roots Radics and Dub Syndicate. A third album "Raggamuffin Statement" followed, but that was a dodgy clumsy hotpoch of recordings of live material and demo-quality material.

The band reformed a couple of years ago as Military Surplus/RDF and played a handful of gigs. One of which was in Hitchin early in 2008, which included Murph from the Rhythmites on guitar, and old time Military Surplus member Steve Swann (Dub The Earth and Revolutionary Dub Warriors) on vocals. Below are some of the pictures I took on the night

A new album was planned for last year but nothing has yet emerged..

Here are three audio clips. "Chinese Poem" and "Hot On The Wire" - both mentioned above, and are on the "Borderline Cases" album. The third clip is of "Babylon" which is on the album "Wasteland"

Kroke - Out of Sight

I first became aware of Kroke's music through the album "East Meets East" a superb timeless set released in 2003 in which they collaborated with mockney violinist Nigel Kennedy, The album was for me is an absolute triumph and introduced to me this extremely talented Polish group.

Formed in Krakow, Poland in the early 90s, originally a trio, consisting of double bass, accordion, violin, before expanded to a quartet by adding a drummer/percussionist. Originally a Klezmer band, performing "standards" but also writing and performing original compositions, you can almost smell and feel the vibes of being in Kazimierz, the old Jewish distinct of Krakow. I once got very lost there in the fog, but due to my excellent navigational skills found my way out and back to my hotel unscathed.

Anyways, "Out Of Sight" is Kroke's seventh album - not including two live albums "Live At The Pit" and "Quartet - Live At Home". In truth, anyone who has albums like "Eden" and or "Trio" will not have any real need for this. Kroke's sound has changed over the years, but this album is not a good example of it - for that you should check out "The Sounds Of The Vanishing World" or "Ten Pieces To Save The World". For me. this set borders on tedious and some tracks are just plain annoying. I just can't put my finger on it. It's a combination of too much vocals/wailing and unnecessary whistling and musically, in part, it's almost like a bad parody of themselves. Without breaking down each tracks, there are three or four good ones on here, but not enough to recommend because there is nothing new or remotely inspiring on this album.

Criticisms aside, Kroke are still truly remarkable musicians and I urge you to seek out their music and catch them live if you can.

For sound clips from "Out Of Time". Check Kroke's website here.