Woody Guthrie - 3000 Unrecorded Songs

I've just watched the BBC documentary Woody Guthrie: Three Chords and The Truth and it reminded me of a few things and showed me a lot i didn't know about them man. I didn't that Guthrie and his father were racist and his father was involved in or facilitated lynchings. A lot of Guthrie's early writing was awash with racist wording and illustrations until ...

.. on his radio show he played a piece called "Run Nigger Run" , and he used THAT word in the worst ways you could, but then he got a letter from a Negro listenten, an educated guy who said up to the that point the show had been excellent, but by playing that and using THAT word he was showing disrespect and race hate towards African Americans. Guthrie took this on board and vowed never  to use THAT word again, he apologised on air and in a letter and became very active in pushing race equality. The problem is race inequality is still with use but Woody showed that people can change when educated by events.

This then brought me on to the fact that though he was struck down by the horrifying Huntingdon's Chorea which destroys the nervous system and therefor you lose control of everything, he had been a prolific writer being inspired by everything. After his death there were over three thousand sets of lyrics to unrecorded songs.

A lot of these are now being picked up by artists examples of which are seen in Billy Bragg and Wilco's "Mermaid Avenue Sessions" and the wonderful  take on "Old Man Trump" by Ryan Harvey (with Anne Di Franco and Tom Morello) and he remarked bout the number of songs that Woody had written.

Another remarkable one is "Deportees (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" , my favourite take on this is by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (see here), but this illustrates the absolute disdain the for immigrant workers not even acknowledging them as human and the same is happening today with Trump's Wall and Brexit in the UK.

The documentary is excellent watch it , listen to Woody's songs and if you need to change yourself for the better , do it.

This Land Is YOUR Land

Tonight I caught a bit of a program I was recording about the great Woody Guthrie , Three Chords and The Truth which will be available on BBC iPlayer for the next month. While it is a great song and applies to any country, but is geographically situated in the USA stating that the land belongs to the people , not to governments and not to corporations.

I didn't know it had been used at Barack Obama's Inauguration as while it was sung in schools as an almost national anthem, only the first three verses were sung because the next three were deemed offensive.

At the Inauguration all six verses were sung, and it was very uplifting and moving and I am glad to be able to share it with you on this post thanks to Youtube. The documentary is very revealing but I just had to share this with you. Here are those words:

This Land Is Your Land

Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walkin', I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said : 'No trespassing'
But on the other side it didn't say nothin'
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple, I saw my people
By the relief office, I'd seen my people
As they stood hungry, I stood there askin'
If this land made for you and me ?

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking that freedom highway
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walkin', I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said: 'No trespassing'
But on the other side it didn't say nothin'
That side was made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

Songwriters: Woody Guthrie

This Land Is Your Land lyrics © S.I.A.E. Direzione Generale, Ludlow Music Inc., Woody Guthrie Publications Inc, LUDLOW MUSIC OBO WOODY GUTHRIE PUBLICATION INC, LUDLOW MUSIC INC OBO WOODY GUTHRIE PUBLICATIONS

Enjoy , digest and remember This Land is YOUR Land

I suggest you watch and enjoy

The documentary features Billy Bragg now a UK music elder statesman (though he's younger than me), but I was surprised that I couldn't track  down a Springsteen recording of the song on Amazon as I am sure he has recorded the song, but maybe not.

#AprilSongs #14 Sunday Girl

I know it's absolutely obvious but my mind and brain has told me to follow Billy Bragg's "The Saturday Boy" with Blondie's "Sunday Girl" from their most successful and well known album "Parallel Lines".

When I was searching for options I came across The Sunday Girl a make up blog which may or may not pique your interest, but few other "Sunday Girl" songs. I need two more Sunday songs and "Sunday Girl" was not on my original list but it just means I have more choice for my final two songs in the coming weeks.

I first got into Blondie when I heard "X-Offender" from their debut album and bought the single on the Private Stock label. I followed that up with a 12" single of "Denis" when "Plastic Letters" came out and sold the pair for £50 to a collector a couple of years later., and bout the two albums for maybe six quid as I was into the music rather than the objects.

When "Parallel Lines" came out I loved Bob Fripp's guitar work on "Fade Away and Radiate" as this marked out Blondie as being more adventurous than your average band, but "Heart of Glass" (which I still like) really marked the direction they were going to take.

I only saw Blondie live once, at The King Georges Hall in Blackburn with Television in support, and absolutely great night, and great to see Blondie still producing music and playing live.

It's 2:30 AM on a Sunday morning, I wasn't intending to write this now, but it is done, so I can go back to bed now.

#AprilSongs #13 The Saturday Boy

Well it's day 13 of the #AprilSongs sequence. It's funny that 13 is considered unlucky like seeing a single magpie or a lot of other thing. Things like this used to bother me, especially 13 , single magpies and a few other things, then I started thinking how silly it was , and if I'd been brought up to believe these were good things then that is how my mind would see it. After all 13 is a "baker's dozen" where they throw in an extra item in case one is not up to scratch, so it's a definite win for you. If I see a single magpie it's a good thing, no reason , apart from magpies can look impressive in flight with their black and white colouring, so now seeing a single magpie gives me a little lift and if I see more then that's a plus, although I am aware they can be annoying bullies, but I prefer to search for the positives.

So back to the #AprilSongs sequence on Record Store Day and I have gone for Billy Bragg's "The Saturday Boy". I loved Billy Bragg's minimal instrumental style although his voice grated a bit at first, but like Bob Dylan I loved the songs and grew to like the voice. He is not everyone's cup of tea, but is now an intelligent elder statement of music involved in so many musical areas it's very impressive.

Coincidentally I was watching a documentary about Skiffle on BBC4 last night which you can catch on iplayer here for the next month and he was pointing out the similarities between the skiffle movement and the punk movement, both a do-it-yourself reaction to the mainstream and the main Skiffle man was Lonnie Donegan. That was followed by a program on Chas and Dave (here for a month) who also played with Lonnie Donegan as well.

You can always find connections, but some times the connections jump out at you. Have a great Record Store Day and the weather is looking very good. I will take some photos while I am out today and probably nip to Snackwallah for one of their excellent curries.

Waiting For The Great Leap Forward

It was raining today but I thought I would try and catch up on the steps I missed on Tuesday.  I was thinking I might get 7 or 8K in, but ended up completing my 11K for the day. I then thought I might try a few more and this pulled into place advice and wisdom from people who have helped me in the past.

My dad suggested that no matter how far you are going you should identify small targets and hit those. So you may be walking ten miles, but in that walk identify a lamp post or a tree and aim for that , then identify your next lamp post or tree, and so on and so on until you finally hit your target. You break up your task into manageable chunks and eventually you complete it.

My doctor suggested that I should walk for half an hour and work up a sweat to  properly exercise your body. That has happened several times this week, so I think I am doing the right thing.

My son in law Mark told me that once you hit half an our of walking, then your metabolism starts improving and kicking properly, so I now always make sure I do at least forty minutes in a walking session and try to do 10K a day. I'm almost half way through my Million Step Challenge and today I kept going to record my highest daily step total since I started this on the first of May. I'm just over 17K but may nip out and do a couple of thousand more before today is over.

I was thinking of the election and the effort that the Labour Party has put in while the government has just assumed it would be a walk over backed by the right wing press printing desperate front page lies to sway the electorate. There's only one song for this, Billy Bragg's "Waiting For The Great Leap Forward", I found a great live updated version for you all.

Doctor Who?

I wasn't going to write anything this morning, but I have a friend, Richard, who does a lot of walking and running and it's his birthday today, so I thought I'd post The Proclaimers' "500 Miles", a bit obvious I know, but  you know.

Then I saw this Doctor Who Cast version and it is brilliant, it's soundtracked by The Proclaimers version but it it a truly brilliant video, watch it and have your spirits lifted.

Also listening to 6Music I heard a great song by The RPMs called "Oh My God" which you can listen to here , and that led to "Satellite" by  Bouncing Souls (listen here) . The RPMs feature among their number Jack Valero , Billy Bragg's son.

Anyway it's time for work now, so have a great Tuesday everyone.

Counting Down With Polly Jean #ALifeInNumbers #14

14 is the first time I couldn't off hand think of a song so checked out my collection and there aren't all that many songs hiding in there. I decided to go with "Sixteen,Fifteen,Fourteen" by PJ Harvey and John Parrish from the album "A Woman A Man Walked By" which incidentally I was playing earlier today.

There were a few others , "The 14th of February" by Billy Bragg, "14 Black Paintings" by Peter Gabriel and 14 Days by Nick Lowe as well as various numbered Classical pieces, but the PJ Harvey one was the standout for me.

Polly Jean Harvey is one of my all time favourite artists and she was a great friend of Captain Beefheart who she would speak to about her albums and projects to get his opinions and advice.

My cold is still annoying me but hopefully it will improve in time for work tomorrow. I have had chocolate and that has soothed my throat no end.

Anyway that is my fourth post today, I don't know if that's a record for me, but this will be my last today.

Enjoy your Sunday evening and I hope you have a great start to a wonderful week.

I Love Bill's Cafe

Although this blog started out as a travel blog , well that was the idea , which acounts for about 1% of the posts , it's seldom I talk about places that I've been for there own sake , but Bill's Cafe in Old Eldon Square really does deserve talking about. I don't what first attracted me there ,maybe the simplicity of the name and I just fancied a full english breakfast. The implication of the name was a greasy spoon type , but you walk into one of the coolest places you can think of.

The people are welcoming m, there is great art in there , the menus are on vinyl records (I'd rather vinyl was played than used as a menu but what the hell) , the food is excellent , plus they have cake , coffee , and alcohol. You can get a bottle of prosecco with nibbles for about £15.

Yesterday I dropped in for a a baked potato with tuna and a San Pellegrino for dinner, and it's got to the stage where I don't have to look a the menu.

Bill's Is Great

There were a few people in and after I came in , a couple came in with a child. From one of the girls positioning she started breastfeeding her child, I assume this because she had her back to me. While she was feeding the guy cam up and took her order. The whole point of this is that nothing out of the ordinary happened , it was just totally normal, some friends of the couple came in said hi and when the child was finished and sat on a chair she was happy and well behaved.



It was just so nice to be in a place where a woman feeding her child is just an everyday occurrence.

A big up to Bill's Cafe , I love the place and you won't regret going for a coffee , drink or meal.

It's lovely and welcoming and a shining of example of how everywhere should be.

I've included Billy Bragg's Handyman Blues because the song and video make me feel as warm and loved as a visit to Bill's cafe

Have a wonderful day.

Here Be Dragons ...A Little More Bazaar #28 - 1984 - Kirsty MacColl - A New England

Georgie.....

I've loved the Grainger Market for years , and in my last post I gushed about the Little Bazaar. and I dropped by to today to ask Georgie for a photograph , she is a lovely lady and obliged . I love chatting with her as she is so positive and is perfect for the surroundings of the shop. It doesn't have an online presence so you have got to go and see it yourself. You couldn't create the atmosphere online, you have to visit and experience it. It's a great place to visit as I go into the Grainger Market for something to eat , fruit , veg and other stuff. So I had to write this so you can see her in her wonderful hat......

..and her Dragons

Anyway the musical Odyssey continues and I originally chose "When Doves Cry" by Prince but it isnt on Youtube, but more importantly my youngest daughter was born in 1984 and her name was influenced by one of my favourite singers of the time the sadly missed Kirsty MaColl who hit the charts that year with A New England but I had loved her since her first single "They Don't Know" . So you get a song written by Billy Bragg and sung by Kirsty MacColl , what's not to get euphoric about?

Enjoy your Monday Night and get yourself to the Grainger Market tomorrow , it is a veritable cornucopia

Going Forward - Digging The Past

It's the last day of may and the last blog post I did was the 888th on this this blog , I don't know if that's significant but there's probably someone who knows and old saying that means something but it was a precursor to a pretty amazing week for me personally, and that week it still continuing to throw up thing that are good , make to think , and make you enjoy life.

A friend had mentioned to me about a project to record  some unrecorded Bob Dylan lyrics from 1967 around the time of the original Basement Tapes when Dylan and the Band were jamming in a basement and the tapes were bootlegged and eventually released. I read a blog review and that inspired me to get the album and to write this post.The copy from Amazon says all about it:

Going Back

"Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes is a music event 47 years in the making. It's an historic album project from five of music's finest artists -- Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons) -- in unique collaboration with a 26-year-old Bob Dylan. Produced by project creator T Bone Burnett, the album was recorded in March, 2014 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, where the artists and Burnett convened for two weeks to write and create music for a treasure trove of long-lost lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the period that generated the recording of the legendary Basement Tapes.

 The collective completed and recorded dozens of songs, 20 of which appear on this deluxe edition."

T-Bone Burnett has lots of experience delving into the history of Americana , and his work on the soundtrack of the Coen Brothers' "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" (Itself based on Homer's Odyssey)  , is testament to that.

It got me thinking of other times people had effectively scramble under artists' beds to dig out and create  a contemporary vision of their music . When Jimi Hendrix died , unfinished tapes were taken to produce the albums Crash Landing and Midnight Lightning with varying amounts of success. You couldnt help wondering what would have really happened had Jimi lived.

War .... What Is It Good For?

Country Joe McDonald set the poems of Robert Service to music for his "War War War" album which is similar to what Burnett and Costello have done with Dylan's lyrics. I first heard "The Twins" in the seventies and it's still with me today as we see governments send men to war and abandon them when they return.

Again this is a great example of a contemporary artist, taking worthy material from the past and spreading the word to a brand new audience.





Billy Bragg and Wilco completed recordings of Woody Guthrie's unrecorded lyrics on their Mermaid Avenue triumvirate of albums. Again there is an excellent synopsis this time from the BBC that tells you all about the history of this:

"Thirty years after his death, Woody Guthrie was a distant memory when Mermaid Avenue came out in 1998. But he’s never been far away. You can hear the original Depression troubadour in the dustbowl romanticism and blue-collar unrest of every alt-country band that’s picked up a guitar – and the recession of a new century seems a good time to be remembering that.

Bob Dylan has come almost full-circle, back to the folk and blues with which he first channelled Guthrie as a teenager, and Springsteen has turned out This Land is Your Land at SXSW. But nobody has picked up on Woody as effectively – or unexpectedly – as this transatlantic get-together. Back in 98, the idea was simple: winnow out the best of the thousands of lyrics Guthrie had written without music, and turn them into songs.

The first album’s success spurred Mermaid Avenue Vol. II in 2000. And this package adds in the unreleased, more-ragged final 17 tracks from the sessions (including some non-Guthrie folk standards), without dimming the charm of the original. Wilco’s languid, dogged strumming and Jeff Tweedy’s now yearning, now rabble-rousing vocal perfectly capture the Guthrie that has seeped into every crack and crevice of Americana.

But it is Billy Bragg – the one who is an anachronism, really, a banner-waving socialist in a 21st century world of indie brats and pop divas – who guards the soul of this resurrection. The Englishman can spit the word “fascists” with rare contempt, even if few listeners will feel the political charge the word once carried.

But he brings a British folk lyricism, too, that deepens and sweetens the brew. The words show Woody’s range, from inspired poetry to rhyme-free rambling. But like a time-machine Basement Tapes, the free-flowing musical clamjamfry buoys up the folk icon in a way that makes a virtue out of inconsistency. There are memorable contributions from Natalie Merchant, Eliza Carthy and Corey Harris. And at root, really, it isn’t about musical taste any more than it’s about politics. Bawdy, smart, big-hearted and mischievous, Mermaid Avenue is simply all about a personality that is rich with life.

--Ninian Dunnett "

The Costello / Burnett project is unusual because Dylan is still with us , but it's great that Dylan can hear the results of this. There are many more examples of this sort of thing , but it's good to get your hands on something of this quality. Enjoy your Sunday

2AM

Waking up at 2AM is not good when you have a 5AM start. Last night I had a bad (for me) 2.6 Hypo and felt awful but went to sleep listening to the Oysterband and Billy Bragg. Anyway today I will be going down down to London and for the June's tunes I'm choosing The Oysterband covering New Order's Love Vigilantes and favourite of mine by two of my favourite bands!:

Billy Bragg and Bob Dylan

Was just thinking of the similarities between Bob Dylan and Billy Bragg.

• Both have voices that manage to alienate many potential listeners.
• Both have had their songs covered by others resulting in major success for the coverer - Dylan with The Byrds and Billy Bragg with Kirsty MacColl
• Both have recently released albums that rate with the best of their careers Dylan's Tempest and Bragg's Tooth and Nail , both in my collection

I love the promo for Bragg's new single , directed by Johnny Vegas I belive , who has a degree in Ceramics nicely referenced in the video:




Quarter of an hour of Bob singing "Tempest" about the Titanic's maiden voyage

And an iteresting funny take on Bob's idea by Tim Heidecker

Save The City Hall ... Remember The Mayfair

    As George Osborne announces a 33 billon bonanza for the south with the new rail links between London and "the north"  (Leeds and Manchester) , with a generous compensation package for those affected along the routes (I bet George's mates got the not nod months ago and have been buying properties up along the way , like the profiteering that occured in the East End for the Olympics) , but enough of my aleged speculation and to the point in question...

..due to the Council Tax capping and the like Newcastle City Council have decided to cut Art Funding by 100% , spend millions on refurmishing the civic centre and now are going to demolish the City Hall. I'll be honest , I'm not a husge fan of the City Hall , the seats are small and uncomfortable , but I've seen some great gigs there (most recently The Musical Box touring Genesis' Lamb Lies Down on Braodway). I think my girls first gig was there , possibly Anyt and Dec or PJ and Duncan as they were then. So it's strikes me as bloody mindedness what the council intends. If something goes nothing can bring it back . Look at The Mayfair , the greatest venue I've ever known and replaced by the slowling decaying Charver Shelter known as the Gate , while the old Odeon is left to rot.....

...anyway you can sign a petition here , and a group of musicians called the "North East All Stars" have released a single called "Save The The City Hall" . Artists included in this ensemble are the band Prelude , Paul Thompson (Roxy Music ) , Ray Jackson (Lindisfarne)  and lots of others. The song sounds like late period Lindisfarne and I think will sound great live . Pick of the bunch though is Billy Bragg and Eliza Carthy's cover of Lindisfarne's "All Fall Down" , always one of my favourites , and two other songs on the single "Marshall Rileys Army" by Alan Fish and "Mandolin Moon" by Steve Daggettmake an excellent package that may help save Newcastle's City Hall

You can get the single on Amazon here

Or iTunes here . You need iTunes on your device to buy and download it.

Hope this will help and you will get some good music for you contribution , and don't let the City Hall go the way of the Mayfair , we have enough Tesco Extras and shopping malls

Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Well after a holiday week of cloud and rain , I'm greeted this morning with glorious sunshine. Great for driving home it and hope it keeps that way until Tuesday wen it's back to work.

This week The Sun have shown how low they will stoop for a headline in their abuse of Roy Hodgson , the latest because some German didn't know who he was . 

Still remember they are part of Rupert Murdoch's News International that also owns Fox News , so could you really expect anything else? Oh and the Sun has replaced the News of The World as the scum classes' paper of choice on a Sunday.

On that note I hope you all you West Bromich Albion and England fans follow Billy Bragg's advice:

Unearthed Treasure

Just listening to Ken Bruce on Radio 2 , and a record came on that I knew , and thought a friend of mine Carol would love. I'd heard the record before and the lyrics had a stylish familiarity. The song was London from the album "Don't Stop Singing" by Thea Gilmore . The album is a project in which Thea has taken unused Sandy Denny lyrics and set them to music creating a very beautiful album . Sandy was a wonderful singer and writer and it is amazing that her words can still captivate and amaze , brought to life by the wonderful Thea Gilmore.




On a similar note Woody Guthrie's niece or daughter (sorry about this) found a huge box of her father's / uncle's lyrics and gave them to Billy Bragg and Wilco who recorded the songs , now available in The Complete Mermaid Sessions , breathing life into writings that may otherwise have been lost to us. Both these albums should be in everyone's collections , two absolute gems which I have just ordered,





You can probably even get them on iTunes , Amazon have the hard copy and download options!!