When They Go Lowe: A Collection of Nick Lowe Covers

As I was putting together this compilation of Nick Lowe covers, I

started thinking about why there hasn't even been a bog-standard documentary about him.  I mean, his decision to give up hard drugs and drinking in the late 1980s and the fact that his best albums, imho, all came out after he was in his mid-40s.  Hopefully, someone's been working on one, and it will come out this decade.  In the meantime, here's a collection of covers to remind you of his impressive catalog.

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Disc 1
You Make Me	Freakwater
Crying in My Sleep	Chris Gaffney
Blue on Blue	Esther Rose
Without Love	Foster & Lloyd
Play That Fast Thing (One More Time)	BR5-49
I Knew the Bride	Dave Edmunds
12 Step Program (To Quit You Babe)	Eric Ambel
Truth Drug	Steve Wynn
Cracking Up	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I'm a Mess	Phosphorescent
Rome Wasn't Built In A Day	JD McPherson
Where Is My Everything?	Ron Sexsmith
Faithless Lover	Charlie Musselwhite
Cupid Must Be Angry	Duane Jarvis
Endless Grey Ribbon	The Corn Sisters
Disc 2
The Beast in Me	Johnny Cash
Homewrecker	Kelly Hogan
Everyone	The Brilliant Mistakes
Far Celestial Shore	Mavis Staples
Never Been in Love	Christy McWilson & Rick Shea
Half a Boy and Half a Man	Los Straitjackets
Too Many Teardrops	Carlene Carter
Heart of the City	Geraint Watkins
Failed Christian	Dave Alvin
Soulful Wind	Guy Davis & Levon Helm
The Rose Of England	Graham Parker
Basing Street	The Minus Five
Marie Provost	Tipsy Jack
The Ugly Things	Eugene Edwards
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding	Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Everything I do Gohn Be Funky

      I'm taking a break from the Sucking in the 70's compilations (but they are still available for download).  Instead, I decided to start a new series of funk compilations (which will also include stuff from the 60s.) I'm not sure how many volumes I'm going to make, but if people have any recommendations for future volumes, especially the stuff that's a little less well-known, I'd love to hear them.

        Hope folks enjoy this first volume!

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Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On)	Lee Dorsey
Almendra	Macondo
The World We Live In	The Politicians
Good Thing	Sweet Breeze
Pop, Popcorn Children	Eldridge Holmes
Is It Funky Enough	Communicators & Black Experience Band
Shake Your Rump To The Funk	The Bar-Kays
Dazz	Brick
Viva Disco	Tunde Mabadu
Snatching It Back	Clarence Carter
Why Can't People Be Colors Too	The Whatnauts
African Hustle	Mombasa
Crumbs Off The Table	Laura Lee
Double Barrel	Dave & Ansel Collins
Cheba	The 8th Day
Wanaoh	Black Heat

Rig Rock Deluxe and A Town South of Bakersfield, Volume 3

I forget what prompted my search, but I recently discovered that the great 1996 compilation, Rig Rock Deluxe, featuring a well-curated mix of covers of old trucking songs and new compositions, was out of print.  As I lamented this, I also looked up the 1992 release Town South of Bakersfield: Volume 3 and found it was out of print, too.  I've put some of the songs from Rig Rock Deluxe on other compilations, but there's a lot of other stuff that definitely still deserves to be heard.  The latter is more hit-and-miss, but it still has a good batting average and, even though I don't love the song on this, it's still cool to hear Harry Dean Stanton sing (I just happened to watch Repo Man and Cool Hand Luke in the last couple of weeks).   Hope folks like both of the compilations and the also out-of-print 1) Rig Rock Truckstop and Rig Rock Jukebox, 2) Town South of Bakersfield Volume 1&2 are also available for download.

Rig Rock Deluxe
Truck Driving Man	Don Walser
Will There Be Big Rigs In Heaven	Buck Owens
Nitro Express	Red Simpson & Junior Brown
Miss Marie & The Bedford Blaze	Marty Stuart
Truckstop Girl	Kelly Willis
Mother Trucker	Shaver
Lookin' At The World Through A Windshield	Son Volt
Diesel, Diesel, Diesel	Del Reeves & Jim Lauderdale
Wagon Of Clay	Cheri Knight
White Freight Liner Blues	Steve Earle
Highway Junkie	The Yayhoos
Semi-Truck	Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun
Mama Was A Rock (Daddy Was A Rolling Stone)	Kay Adams & BR5-49
I'm Coming Home	Nick Lowe & The Impossible Birds
Truck Drivin' Man (Give It All I Can)	The Bottle Rockets
Six Days On The Road	Rig Rock Deluxe
A Town South Of Bakersfield Volume 3
He's Breaking My Heart	The Neon Angels
Since I Found You	Wylie & The Wild West Show
One Memory At A Time	Dale Watson & His Lone Stars
99	Patty Booker
Hot N' Bothered	Calvin Davidson
I Hope I Never Get Too Old	Harry Dean Stanton
In Your Room	Pam Dwinell
Rockin' The Dog	The Hellecasters
Foot In The Fire	Rick Shea
She's So Bad	Steve Kolander
River Of Love	Mary Lyn Dias
Nowhere Isn't Lonely	The Plowboys
Hey (What Are You Doing?)	The Ruby Trees
Ain't Life Grand	Florida Slim & The Hurricanes
Mama's Reward	Ronnie Mack
Crackin' At The Seams	Sid Griffin & The Coal Porters

The Magnificent Mulatu Astatke

         It's a pretty tough movie to watch, but I highly recommend The Nickel Boys (and the novel).  The end of the film also has one of my very favorite needle drops of all time - playing Mulatu Astatke's "Tezeta" at a crucial point in the movie.  I don't know why it works so well, but it's absolutely sublime.  I'd been listening to Mulatu since I discovered the Ethiopiques series about 20 years ago, but hearing Tezeta in the movie set me off on a listening binge (which I'm still on).  He stopped recording for a while, but his comeback albums are very good - I especially like his collaboration with the Heliocentrics.  Hope folks like it (and go watch The Nickel Boys if you haven't seen it yet.)

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Ené Alantchi Alnorem

Lalibela Fever Dream

Hager Fiker

Living On Stolen Land

Asiyo Bellema feat. Frank Holder & Niaaza Alsherif

Emnete

Kasalefkut hulu

Green Africa

Fire In The Zoo

Mulatu 

Girl From Addis Ababa

The Radcliffe (Live)

Tezeta

Yashan

The Nashville Legends Series: Buddy and Julie Miller

      While looking for a picture of Buddy and Julie Miller for this compilation, I came across Buddy's Wikipedia page.  Upon reading it, I had completely forgotten that he (and Jim Lauderdale) were part of the New York City country scene for a few years back in the late 1980s.  He and Julie did move to Nashville in 1990, so they've been there for a long time and therefore definitely qualify as Nashville legends, especially since Buddy probably has tons and tons of credits (Google Gemini says more than 1,000).  I would also note that all of Buddy and Julie's Hightone releases are still available for purchase/streaming if you find yourself wanting even more. :)

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Volume 1
Don't Listen To The Wind	Buddy Miller
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me	Buddy & Julie Miller
Any Lie	Julie Miller
That's Why We Don't Love God	Buddy & Julie Miller
Does My Ring Burn Your Finger	Buddy Miller
Let It Rain (feat. The McCrary Sisters & Steve Earle)	Buddy & Julie Miller
All My Tears	Julie Miller
Holding Up The Sky	Buddy & Julie Miller
Sneaky Snake (feat. Duane Eddy)	Buddy Miller
Jerusalem Tomorrow	Buddy Miller
Volume 2
God's Wing'ed Horse	Buddy Miller
Rock, Salt, and Nails	Buddy & Julie Miller
Angelina	Julie Miller
Love Snuck Up	Buddy Miller
The Train That Carried My Gal From Town	Buddy & Jim
The Price Of Love	Buddy Miller
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends	Buddy Miller
Everytime We Say Goodbye	Buddy & Julie Miller
Don’t Make Her Cry	Buddy & Julie Miller
Face Of Appalachia	Julie Miller

 

My Soul Has Been Psychedelicized: Volume 6

      Apologies for the delay, but kinda got waylaid by some stuff last weekend.  But I do have the sixth and final volume of my collection of garage rock.  I know ending it with Gloria might seem a little trite, but I do think that hearing it in the context of other garage rock songs from that era reminds one of how great a tune it is.

      I'd also like to mention that the guy who compiled the original Nuggets collection back in 1973, Lenny Kaye, has a new album coming out on July 17 and is touring in support of it.  I also discovered, as I was typing this, that Lenny Kaye did a Nuggets celebration tour, which you can watch here.

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Alma Agobiada	The Silver Thunders
People! Let's Freak Out	The Freaks Of Nature
Now You Say We're Through	The Puddin' Heads
Go Go Guitar	Cri Babies
I'm All Right	Jades
So What	Lyrics
Moanin'	The Bunnys
Sound Sync	The Sun
Setima Patrulla	Los Belkings
I'm A Man	Sonics
Sacrifice	The Brymers
Mr. Pharmacist	The Other Half
Liar, Liar	The Castaways
Mon père est millionnaire	Les Mystics
Train Kept a Rollin'	Rogues
She's My Baby	The Mojo Men
Daddy Rollin' (In Your Arms)	Dion
Gloria	The Shadows Of Knight

My Soul Has Been Psychedelicized: A '60s Garage Rock Compilation - Volumes 4 and 5

As I was putting this compilation together, I had an ongoing internal dialogue with myself about two particular issues.  First, I wasn't sure if I should focus exclusively on songs that were never hits to give more attention to the deserving, obscure stuff.  I'm still not sure if I made the right "decision, but I do love the songs that close Volumes 4 and 5, and they just flow so well, too.

 

Secondly, I kept debating what to call this compilation - i.e., was it "garage rock" or "nuggets?"  And in the case of the latter, what precisely defines a 60s song as a nugget?   I kind of went with the decision to make it a nugget compilation, even though I still can't really define a nugget that well, and the title says it's garage rock.  After, I put it all together, I looked at the Wikipedia page for the boxset, "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era" and was heartened to see this quote from Lenny Kaye, the set's compiler/producer,  "I would've made it more 'garage rock' as opposed to these kind of weirder things, like Sagittarius or even the Blues Project. A lot of it falls outside the parameters of what we've come to define as garage rock." I guess it's best to just give those contradictions a big hug and then listen to the music. :)

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Volume 4 The Times To Come	London Phogg
Air Conditioned Man	Thursday's Children
Pushin' Too Hard	The Seeds
Vete Ya	Los Speakers
Baby What's Wrong	The Henchmen
She Sleeps Alone	The Parade
You Were on My Mind	We Five
La Carta	Los Mustang
You Ain't Tuff	The Uniques
No Matter What You Do	The SW4
The Way	July
This Life Of Mine	The Lost Souls
Un Train	Benjamin
Eternal Prison	The Humane Society
Diddy Wah Diddy	Captain Beefheart
Psychotic Reaction	Positively 13 O'Clock
Fiesta en laguna	Los Ampex
Let Her Dance	The Bobby Fuller Four
Volume 5
Boys	Os Demónios Negros
Never Knew I Had It So Bad	Thee Midniters
Mona	Teddy Boys
Too Much Monkey Business	Satins [Portugal]
I'm Not Talking	The Galaxies
Bailemos	Termits
Can't Come Down	The Warlocks
Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White	The Standells
Graveyard	Phantom Five
Steppin' Stone	W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band
Esta Bota Son Para Caminar	Gloria Benevides
All Night Long	The Palace Guard
Bad Woman	Fallen Angels
Ain't It Hard?	Electric Prunes
Who Do You Love	The Woolies
Sweet Young Thing	The Chocolate Watch Band
I'm Coming Home	The Ministry Of Sound
Friday On My Mind	The Easybeats