Record of the Week

Blue Guitar
by Justin Hayward and John Lodge


Thanks go to our NotJustMum for getting this both into my head and into our iTunes library...

Although this is a record I do remember from those heady seventies, its not one that can claim to have ever had a special place anywhere close to my musical heart.

But just recently, I have been able look past any 'those boring Moody lies' prejudices I may have had and heard this track for the beautiful piece it is. Yet another Record of the Week who's joy is partly delivered by simplicity and brevity: its so short and sweet that you immediately want to play it again.

The strings are heavenly and breathtaking. The lyric is well crafted and deftly delivered. And, as well as the guitar-solo intro, we then have the outro. This creeps up on you under the guise of being the middle eight, but there is SO much going on here that its so hard to take it all in in one listen… so, you just have to play the track again!

Further investigation of the track reveals that its not Justin Hayward and John Lodge, but 10cc with Justin Hayward. And the classic, original 10cc at that. Which makes sense of the sound of those guitars in the middle with/outro… compare the sound (not the delivery necessarily) to that of the guitar sounds on Sheet Music, for example. Mind you, its always reminded me of Mike Oldfield's "…two slightly distorted guitars…" on Tubular Bells. Whatever, its a sound I've always enjoyed listening to.

Download track from amazon...
Buy the CD from amazon...

Festive Record of the Week

I Hate Christmas
Three Litre





OK. Yes... I DID choose this last year as well. Probably will again next year too. But its one of my festive faves, hasn't been heard enough and is very worthy of a place on the nations's endless Christmas playlist we get assaulted with from the end of October each year in the shops...

Anyway...

Don't be fooled by the title, it's not quite as throwaway as it at first appears to be...

But I won't spoil it too much for you; you have a listen and see what you think for yourselves.

This is one of my all time festive favourites. It combines melancholy, humbug, longing, hopes, dreams, a wry smile here and there along with all the trimmings of sleigh-bells, church-bells and a choir. Yet it starts so simply with that acoustic intro that gets stung by that chiming electric guitar after the first line.

Very merry stuff. And don't you get me started on New Year!

You can buy this on CD at amazon...
Or on eBay...

Find out more about Three Litre...
Drowned in Sound review of this single...
A review of their gig with The Darkness...
Velocity Recordings Three Litre page...

Record of the Week

Little Jody
by Blue


This was something that, once heard, I tried to track down and buy for what seemed like ages...

And it still remains one of my all time favourite tracks of all time. The guitar work is just sublime: the sound from it is deep, dirty and basic. Beautiful. Add to that a simple, succinct song structure of near-perfect proportions -- not too short and not too long -- and you have a potential classic on your hands.

John Peel thought so when he reviewed it in Sounds and made it his Record of the Week. And RSO Records probably thought so too. And why not? The band were formed and fronted by ex-Marmalade hit-writer Hughie Nicholson and, it has to be said 'Little Jody' should have been another top-ten certainty.

But we all know by now that it wasn't and remains one of life's great mystery's.

I did manage to get hold of this record: I found the debut album 'Blue' in a rack of a record shop the year following release. It remains one of my favourite and most played albums to this day (it's on the iPhone as we speak!)

Peel loved them more than just voting this record of the week as records show the band recorded a number of sessions for his Radio 1 programmes in the seventies.

Buy the album at amazon...