If I Should Fall From Grace With God

I have the 2004 CD version of this album. While CD bonus tracks are often superfluous and even unwelcome additions, here we have such fine extras as the band's collaborations with The Dubliners: 'The Irish Rover' and 'Mountain Dew'; 'The Battle March' medley; and a spirited rendition of 'South Australia'. As for the album itself - it's a slightly unfocussed collection which, for all the good things in it, doesn't quite hit home with the same force as did Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.

Among its moving parts is, of course, 'Fairytale of New York'. When first released, it seemed like a breath of fresh air: a song about Christmas that didn't partake of the of usual festive clichés. This held true the first several dozen times I heard it; and even, some years later, when it began to creep into mainstream Yuletide playlists. Now, though, I've heard it so many hundreds of times that it's become a cliché despite itself, and I personally won't be too sorry if the controversy about the f-word in its lyrics nudges it back toward unfamiliarity.

I don't think I've listened to either this or Rum, Sodomy and the Lash more than once apiece in the last decade: at this point it keeps a place on my shelves more as a memento of a former enthusiasm than anything else. There was a time I might have said The Pogues were my favourite band: I certainly can't recall a finer evening's entertainment than the one they provided at Wembley Arena (despite its being a cavernous, soulless shed of a place) when I saw them there in December '88.

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All Wrapped Up

Here's another of the compilation cassettes I bought this summer, having taken home a Denon twin-deck hi-fi cassette player from the local charity shop. All Wrapped Up is a 1983 compilation of singles by The Undertones, with Side One filled with A-sides, and B-sides on Side Two. A cassette must be the least desirable medium for such an arrangement, with a long rewind required if one just wants to hear the hits repeatedly. The Undertones were unapologetically provincial and anti-fashionable, with their songs sharply-written slices of life that pointedly avoided any mention of politics, or of the then-continuing violence in their native Derry. My favourite tracks are the obvious choices: 'Teenage Kicks', 'Jimmy Jimmy', 'Here Comes the Summer', 'My Perfect Cousin' & 'Wednesday Week'. Their later singles showed increased sophistication but lack the some of the straightforward charm of their earlier work. The B-sides, not unexpectedly, are mo...

In Heat

Having acquired the soubriquet "the walrus of love", Barry White thereafter became something of a figure of fun, something that misled me (and presumably others) into disregarding his music. Only within the last few years have I begun to pay it more attention. After picking up a copy of his '74 album Can't Get Enough last summer, which I loved, I sought out some of the music by his protegés Love Unlimited. From a Discogs seller I ordered well-used copies of Under the Influence of... ('73) and In Heat ('74) for only £6.25. The only unappealing thing about In Heat is its awful title. The songs and the singing are strong; the arrangements rich & warmly enveloping. As one would expect from White, the thematic focus is firmly fixed on amatory matters. The opening number 'Move Me No Mountain' (the only one on the record not written by White) offers a refreshing rebuttal to the kind of lyrical hyperbole in songs like 'Ain't No Mountain High E...

Bananas Are Not Created Equal

I knew Jay Berliner's name from his contributions to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady , so when I saw this curiously-titled LP at the local charity shop I was intrigued, and bought it even though I had no idea what kind of music it might contain. This was after the days when one could still buy records there for a pound apiece, but I don't think I paid more than a fiver for it. The music turned out to be an all-instrumental blend of funk, soul & jazz. Berliner's virtuoso lead guitar is only one of many attractions here. The band of first-rate session musicians behind him are all uniformly excellent too, and, crucially, sound like they're having a blast. Cornell Dupree's supporting guitar work, while less showy than Berliner's, is beautifully-judged, and the rhythm section is terrific. Arranger/conductor Wade Marcus was no slouch either, judging from the way everything comes together. Two of the funk...

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