OK Go - "Upside Down & Inside Out"

This is here for a very obvious reason.... THE VIDEO. The band that made treadmill's seem fun, when clearly they are not, deserve a little bit of our time. Especially when they tell us that this one was filmed in zero gravity. Just the idea of zero gravity would be enough to make an interesting video. But no - the treadmill video set the bar quite high for them.

The Breeders - "Drivin' on 9"

"Driven' on 9" is another song from the Breeders' great second album 'Last Splash'. While they released it first, it wasn't an original. The song was by 'Ed's Redeeming Qualities' - a Boston band who formed in the late 80's. Ed's Redeeming Qualities featured Dom Leone, Carrie Bradley, Dan Leone (Dom's cousin) and Neno Perrotta. Unfortunately Dom died of cancer in 1989 - but they continued, on and off, until about 1996. Kim Deal from the Pixies became a fan and a friend. She enlisted Carrie Bradley to play violin for her side project band The Breeders. So with that information, it's not a real surprise that they eventually recorded one of their songs. And what a song to choose... one that became a crowd favourite for them. Ed's Redeeming Qualities released the song a couple of years after on the live album 'Big Grapefruit Clean-up Job'. The violin by Carrie Bradley on both versions is outstanding. Thanks must go to Kim Deal for bringing Ed's Redeeming Qualities to our attention.



Ed's Redeeming Qualities

Primal Scream and Sky Ferreira - "Where The Light Gets In"

If you are a fan of Primal Scream then you probably already own their 'must own' Srceamadelica album - if not, here's a hint.... scan back a bit to the 'must own' part. It really is a great album. I even make a Screamadelica pizza with lots of red and yellow capsicum and cheese with blue food colouring. I have to admit that there hasn't yet been a pizza come out of the oven that looks anything like the album cover - but it will happen.

Primal Scream have had some good and bad moments since that classic album - but I'm really looking forward to their new album, based on this song alone. "Where The Light Gets In" is typical Primal Scream but Sky Ferreira's contribution is sensational.

Sky Ferreira and Bobby Gillespie might be a generation apart - but as a duo they seem to make each other a little bit cooler. In fact, let's say a fucking lot cooler!

Herbie Mann - "Push Push"

A while back a friend of mine decided to promote his record fair by playing a few records at the local Saturday market on the weekend before each record fair. I was happy to lend him my decks and probably hang around for an hour or so and then collect the decks a few hours later. Well, I was hooked and didn't leave.... we've been doing the same every month or so since. Last Saturday Brian put a record on his deck and I glanced at the cover. It was definitely a WTF moment that followed. The cover of the album looked more like the cover of a 70's porn video. It was Herbie Mann's 'Push Push' album and on went the title track. The result was fantastic. While we've heard jazz flautists many times, this was as funky as hell and even bluesy.... totally unexpected. The guitar by Duane Allman is more than just a solo by a high profile guitarist - it was more like a collaboration. A picture speaks no words, in this case.

Eleventh Dream Day - "Go Tell It"

The last post was about an amazing gospel singer who stole the show with her singing on the great Stones song "Gimme Shelter" - whereas this song is nothing like that really, but the backing vocals by Janet Beverage Bean are unexpectedly similar.

Eleventh Dream Day have been around since about 1987 after the key members Rick Rizzo and Janet Beverage Bean's bands crossed paths at a Louisville practice room. They moved to Chicago and added a couple of members to become a four piece and released their debut album in 1988... after an initial self titled EP the previous year.

About 11 albums/27 years later they released 'Works For Tomorrow' which was more guitar based than the more recent albums before it. They had added another guitarist as well. "Go Tell It" has Rick Rizzo in New York Velvet Underground mode vocally while surrounded by swirling guitars that even venture into psychedelic territory. And then the backing vocals change it all again, albeit briefly.

However you define it - it's nothing short of stunning!

Gimme Shelter. The story of the backing singer.

In 1969 while the Rolling Stones were in a Los Angeles studio mixing "Gimme Shelter" from their 'Let it Bleed' album, they thought it would be great to have the (now well known) "Rape, Murder, it's just a shot away" part of the song sung by a female singer (I presume they had the gospel style in mind). Anyway, it was the middle of the night but that didn't stop Jack Nitzsche from phoning his friend Merry Clayton and explaining that if she wasn't busy - some guys from England needed her to sing on one of their tracks. She said she was in bed, and heavily pregnant as well. Basically, the answer was no and even though she didn't know who they were, she was eventually persuaded by her husband who said it could be good for her.

In an interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Mick Jagger recalls her arriving in curlers and she just knocked it off in two or three takes. The band were obviously impressed. In fact, their excited reaction can be heard in the background on one of the takes.

Merry Clayton was the daughter of a pastor. So she was brought up singing in her father's church in New Orleans before recording with such artists as Bobby Darin, the Supremes and even Elvis... as well as being a member of Ray Charles' backing singers group. Her CV was quite impressive even before this late night phone call.

Back at the studio, Merry was curious about the "Rape/Murder" lyrics but when they explained the lyrics were part of the theme of the song. She accepted that and proceeded. The rest is history.....

While the performance became one of the most memorable vocal performances in rock music, there was a tragedy to follow the visit to the studio. She lost her baby in a miscarriage - possibly due to the stress of the late night session, although I haven't found anything to prove that. She has spoken publicly about not being able to listen to "Gimme Shelter" for a while after - because of the miscarriage.

"Gimme Shelter" encapsulates a changing world at the end of the 60's. The Vietnam war protests, political and racial assassinations... generally, a bleak outlook on the future. The death of Brian Jones and the violence at their Altamont Raceway concert, a day after the release of 'Let it Bleed', just added to those ominous times.

It should be noted that her name has been misspelt as Mary on some of the releases but the true spelling is Merry. She was born on Christmas day, 1948 - so that may explain it.





Merry Clayton recorded her own version of "Gimme Shelter" in 1970.



A little more below.....