SECRET SAUCES RADIO #009

Here are some notes on the ninth Secret Sauces Radio show, which can be listened to on Mixcloud here...

SECRET SAUCES RADIO INTRO IDENT

BBC Newsnight Roger Cook vs Mr Harris sample

A classic Newsnight clip of reporter Roger Cook confronting dodgy antiques dealer Mr Harris about his merchandise. What will happen next...?

1) SCREAMING TREES - Transfiguration

The opening track from the second Screaming Trees LP, 'Even If And Especially When', originally released on SST in 1987. In the last couple of months, the SST Superstore have stopped selling Screaming Trees stuff - could this mean that Gary Lee Conner has got the rights back and there will be remastered reissues of the early Trees material? I hope so.

2) MC5 - The American Ruse

From the 1970 album 'Back In The USA' - the band's second LP but first studio LP. It is a classic from start to finish, though it has absolutely no bottom end. I wonder if it'll ever be remixed?

3) CSS - La Liberación

The title track from CSS' third album from 2011. This one's sung in Portugese. Although they are Brazilian, most of their songs are in English. CSS recently played their farewell tours across the US and Europe, though I hope they come back occasionally. The Islington Assembly Hall gig was brilliant.

4) 091 - Buen Día Para Olvidar

From Spanish band 091's second LP, 'Más De Cien Lobos', which was originally released in 1986 on Zafiro records. In 2016 it was reissued on CD and vinyl with new artwork and a couple of bonus tracks. The album was produced by Joe Strummer during his exile in Granada post-Cut The Crap, though according to 091 in the Strummer documentaries 'I Need A Dodge' and 'Quiero Tener Una Ferretería En Andalucía', his mixes were not used due to label intereference, and the polished sound of the record reflects that. I wonder if those original mixes exist on tape anywhere? I'd love to hear them.

5) ELLEN FOLEY - Torchlight

Ellen Foley, first widely known for duetting with Meat Loaf on 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light' in 1977, released her debut solo album in 1979, 'Night Out', which was produced by Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) and Mick Ronson (The Spiders From Mars). Not long after, Foley began a relationship with Mick Jones (The Clash) and began recording her second LP, produced by Mick (credited as 'my boyfriend'), 'The Spirit Of St. Louis' which was released in 1981.

Recorded immediately after the sessions for 'Sandinista!' (the greatest album of all time), this LP shares essentially the same credits (sans Mikey Dread) - the music is performed by The Clash, Norman Watt-Roy and Mickey Gallegher from The Blockheads, Tymon Dogg, Davey Payne and John Turnbull. 6 of the 12 songs are Strummer/Jones compositions, while another 3 are Tymon Dogg tracks. It even has Pennie Smith photography! You may recognise Foley's voice on many Clash songs from 1980-82, particularly 'Hitsville UK', 'Corner Soul' and 'Car Jamming' - but this Ellen Foley song has Mick's voice on it!

This record is a very interesting curio worth tracking down, if you haven't already.

BBC Newsnight Roger Cook vs Mr Harris sample

The story continues...

6) THE ORCHIDS - Flower Power

The Orchids were Major Force's only girl-group, the two Japanese emcees were produced by KUDO, Takagi Kan and Tycoon To$h and released two 12" EPs in 1988 and 1989. This track is from the 1989 EP 'Life Is A Science', though it appears on the 1990 CD compilation Major Force Compact 2 (and the 2006 reissue combining volumes 1 and 2) along with the A-Side.

7) IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS - Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy

From the 1979 album 'Do It Yourself', Ian Dury's second solo album but the first to be credited with The Blockheads. This record was released with at least 34 sleeve variations on vinyl - different patterns of Crown Wallpaper. You can tell which one you have by the wallpaper code on the sleeve - the one I have is 'CROWN P87813'.

8) WOOL - Blackeye

Wool were a short-lived but very good band formed by Franz and Pete Stahl from the ashes of the D.C. hardcore band Scream. After a few 7" singles and the EP 'Budspawn', they released their only proper studio album 'Box Set' in 1994 on London Records. A live album and a couple of other 7"s followed but a second studio album failed to materialise - sessions for that album were released in two volumes in 2012, though only the first volume ever received a physical release (LP + 7"). The liner notes for 'Box Set' are a fun read, with fictitious sleeve notes as if it were a retrospective box set for a legendary '60s band (those sort of sets were becoming increasingly common at the time - if only they knew what it was like now!). For this song, they read:

"Al Bloch had recorded with a number of the Pacific Northwest's finer jump blues combos - including 'The Cheaters' and 'Wenis' prior to his stint in Wool. As borne out by this long lost demo, Bloch's fluid bass stylings brought a new level of sophistication to Wool's raunchy sound. This song was also recorded in Spanish, as a reaction to the plight of Mexico's indigenous peoples (as illustrated in B. Travens' 'Jungle Book' series)." - recording date unknown, previously unreleased.

9) KYUSS - Writhe

From the second Kyuss LP 'Blues For The Red Sun', released in 1992. It was the last Kyuss LP to feature bassist Nick Oliveri, though he would later join Josh Homme in his next band, Queens Of The Stone Age, after the recording of their debut LP, until he was sacked in 2004 before the 'Lullabies To Paralyze' album.

10) PAINTED WILLIE - Saturized

From the second and final Painted Willie LP, 1987's 'Upsidedowntown', which was released on SST on LP and cassette - never been reissued. Drummer Dave Markey was a keen filmmaker, with underground classics 'Desperate Teenage Lovedolls' and 'Lovedolls Superstar' under his belt by the time of this release. He even shot the unreleased documentary of the final Black Flag tour (that Painted Willie supported on), Reality 86'd. After the band broke up, Markey went on to shoot several legendary music videos and documentaries, perhaps most notably the '1991: The Year Punk Broke Film' featuring Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Bob Mould and Dinosaur Jr (among others).

BBC Newsnight Roger Cook vs Mr Harris sample

The story continues...

11) ALLIANCE ETHNIK - Simple & Funky (Prince Paul Remix)

French hip hop group Alliance Ethnik were formed in France by French-speaking emcees, though interestingly, many of them were not originally from France - including Algeria, Italy and Democratic Republic of the Congo heritage. Their debut album, 1995's 'Simple et Funky' had two of its singles were remixed by the devastating Prince Paul - the title track (this one) and 'Respect' (he did two different mixes). Listen to the original version of 'Simple & Funky' here.

12) ANDY PARTRIDGE - Wonder Annual

One of countless Andy Partridge home demos that never made it to the studio to be recorded on an XTC album. It dates from 1991 and was intended for 1992's 'Nonsuch' but did not see release until the first volume of Partridge's 'Fuzzy Warbles' albums of demos in 2002, and then it appeared on the blu-ray deluxe edition of Nonsuch.

I have read Partridge say that he had no desire to be a solo artist (and with the terrible treatment XTC received from Virgin records it would probably never have happened) but with the sheer amount of tracks of this quality that sat around unreleased until years later when only hardcore fans would hear them, I think it is a missed opportunity for him not to have released solo records at the time. He had a mastery of 4-track and 8-track recording in his garden shed that did not require 'proper' studio re-recording. Ah well, it exists, enjoy it.

13) MANASSAS - Rollin' My Stone

From the second and final Manassas album 'Down The Road' from 1973. Manassas were Stephen Stills' group with an all-star cast including Chris Hillman and Dallas Taylor, and they released their eponymous double album (classic!) the year prior. The second LP is a slight affair, being just over half an hour, and is generally regarded as a step-down and an example of overblown '70s coke-rock. There's still some good stuff on it, though, like this one.

BBC Newsnight Roger Cook vs Mr Harris sample

The story concludes. I love it.

14) MARC AND THE MAMBAS - Angels

From the debut untitled LP from Marc And The Mambas, released in 1982. The Mambas were Marc Almond's short-lived 'other band' outside of Soft Cell and was a loose collective of various musicians, many of them coming from the Some Bizzare roster. This track, and the title track ('Untitled') were co-writes with Matt Johnson (The The), and I hear Matt Johnson all over this one. If you're familiar with the 'lost' The The album 'The Pornography of Despair' from 1982, recorded between Burning Blue Soul and Soul Mining, you'll know what I mean.

Both Mambas records are well worth checking out, and 'Torment and Toreros' (1983) was described by Almond himself as "a nervous breakdown committed to vinyl". Worth a listen!

15) MY BLOODY VALENTINE - Several Girls Galore

From 1988's 'Isn't Anything', which many believe to be MBV's debut album (it isn't). It is a great record though and my firm favourite of theirs, as much as I like Loveless and mbv.

16) (THE) YOUNG KNIVES - Tremblings Of Trails

This track was taken from their 2006 Mercury-nominated album 'Voices Of Animals And Men' (they lost to Klaxons... also a great record), produced by Gang Of Four's Andy Gill. They dropped the 'the' after that record, and when it was reissued recently on double vinyl with all the great b-sides (as 'Voices Of Animals And Men And Shouts And Screams And Groans'), it was credited to just 'Young Knives'.

There is an earlier, very different, arrangement of this track on the 2004 demo album 'Nolens Volens' - the true great lost album of the 2000s, fuck Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong! It is pretty much impossible to find (self-produced CD-R) but you can find it online in poor bit-rate. However, the original digital deluxe editions of 'Voices...' contain the Nolens Volens versions of this track, 'Coastguard' and 'In The Pink' which are all different. I love both versions of all tracks, but I would say that the Nolens Volens version of 'In The Pink' is better by far. I really hope they release that record properly one day.

But Young Knives aren't ones for looking back, and after a wobbly period in the late 00s and early 2010s when they nearly got sucked into the indie landfill, they sacked their management and went DIY and have been releasing fucking brilliant records ever since. 2013's 'Sick Octave' still blows me away on every listen, as does 2020's Barbarians, and I am loving the new record, 'Landfill' from earlier this year. They are doing a second UK tour for the album later this year and you must get your tickets here. It will be a great gig. Love The Knives.

SECRET SAUCES OUTRO IDENT

Thanks for listening and reading. New 60 minute music mixes are uploaded to Mixcloud every Tuesday and I will post accompanying notes, with pointless trivia and endless links for you to enjoy.

See you next Tuesday!