November’s Record Club: Cult Heroes – The Velvet Underground and Rodriguez

Glossop Record Club returns on Thursday 14th November with ‘Cult Heroes’, an evening of music from artists “whose artistic ability – genius, in some cases – has dwarfed their limited commercial success” (I nabbed that quote from the NME, I’m sure they won’t mind).

If you haven’t seen the little ‘Cult Heroes’ video, get your headphones on, turn it up and make it full screen…

Our featured albums will be ‘Cold Fact’ by singer-songwriter Rodriguez, and a choice of one of five albums by The Velvet Underground (there’s a poll below waiting for your vote).

We’re also looking for your Cult Hero suggestions – the underdogs you’ve championed, the ones who showed great promise only to fall by the wayside, or individual talents pursuing a singular vision. Here are a few to get you going:

Nick Drake. Captain Beefheart. Big Star. Jonathan Richman. The Fall.

If you’ve got your Cult Hero on vinyl, bring it (or them) along and we’ll play a song or two. If not, I’ll add suggestions to the ‘mixtape’ contenders list.

Further reading http://www.nme.com/list/ultimate-cult-heroes/216779

Rodriguez

Releasing just two albums in the early 1970s and often drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan, the Detroit singer-songwriter disappeared from the music industry seemingly without trace. This led to speculation of his demise when his music belatedly found success in South Africa and Australia in the mid 1970s. Reissues of his albums in the last 10 years have brought him greater attention, along with the feature-length documentary ‘Searching For Sugar Man’.

The Velvet Underground

Experimental. Subversive. A commercial disaster. The ultimate cult band. The story goes that they only sold a few thousand copies of their debut album, but all those who bought it started a band. Their influence is still being felt today.

The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) – includes their most well known songs. Waiting For The Man. Venus In Furs. Sunday Morning.

White Light/White Heat (1968) – an album of extremes. Loud and quiet. Melodic and cacophonous. Short and long. In fact, side two has only two tracks, one being the seventeen minute Sister Ray.

The Velvet Underground (1969) – My personal favourite and their most consistent album. What Goes On. Pale Blue Eyes. Some Kinda Love.

Loaded (1970) – The last VU album to feature any original members and a deliberate attempt at a more commercial sound. It failed, of course. Who Loves The Sun. Sweet Jane. Rock And Roll.

VU (1985) – A collection of outtakes recorded 1968-69, the sleeve notes say it’s NOT the lost Velvets album, but it pretty much is. Did much to reignite interest in the band when it was released in 1985. I Can’t Stand It. Foggy Notion. I’m Sticking With You.

Hear the winner of the poll, along with Rodriguez, on vinyl and in full at Glossop Record Club, Thursday 14th November at Glossop Labour Club from 8pm. FREE ENTRY. https://glossoprecordclub.wordpress.com/venue-and-travel-details/

Cult Heroes – The Trailer

Full details coming soon, but in the meantime here’s a little trailer for next month’s Cult Heroes session.

Glossop Oktoberfest/Bring Your Own Vinyl – Music played

A big thank you to everyone who came along to the Glossop Oktoberfest ‘Bring Your Own Vinyl’ session today. Great to chat with some of you and also enjoy the records you brought along. We went on for a little longer than planned, and didn’t get round to playing an album in full (we’ll save that for November 14th). Thanks also to Kazant Events for inviting us to take part in the Oktoberfest. Here’s what was played:

The Isley Brothers – Listen To The Music

James Taylor – Your Smiling Face

Steeley Dan – Reeling In The Years

Crosby Stills & Nash – Marrakesh Express

Neil Young – Old Man

Kevin Ayres – Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes

Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Brand New Friend

Blondie – Dreaming

The Police – Bring On The Night

Bill Withers – Harlem

The Meters – Cissy Strut

Billy Preston – Billy’s Bag

Booker T & The MGs – Boot Leg

Robert Parker – Let’s Go Baby

Howlin’ Wolf – Spoonful

John Mayall & Eric Clapton – All Your Love/Hideaway

Cream – Strange Brew

Fleetwood Mac – Oh Well/Don’t Stop

Supertramp – Coming Home To See You

Van Der Graaf Generator – Darkness

Genesis – Can-Utility And The Coastlines

Hawkwind – Orgone Accumulator

Deke Leonard – Jayhawk Special

Kursaal Flyers – The Great Artiste

Duffo – Tower Of Madness

Klaus Nomi – Total Eclipse

Kraftwerk – Autobahn (single version)

Gary Numan – Complex

The Human League – Being Boiled

ABC – Show Me

Associates – Club Country

Magazine – A Song From Under The Floorboards

The Jam – Wasteland

The Beatles – She Said She Said

The Beach Boys – I Know There’s An Answer

Donovan – Season Of The Witch

Bob Dylan – She Belongs To Me

The Byrds – Feel A Whole Lot Better

Simon & Garfunkel – Blessed

The Velvet Underground – What Goes On

David Bowie – Queen Bitch

T.Rex – Cosmic Dancer

Roxy Music – Editions Of You

Johnny Kidd & The Pirates – Shakin’ All Over

Cliff Richard – Move It

Lonnie Donegan – The Grand Coulee Dam

Buddy Holly – That’ll Be The Day

Paul McCartney – Heart Of The Country

John Lennon – Crippled Inside

George Harrison – Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)

Ringo Starr – Photography

Bachman Turner Overdrive – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song/Friends/Celebration Day/Since I’ve Been Loving You

Glossop Record Club @ Oktoberfest

This coming Sunday (20th October), we’ll be hosting a BRING YOUR OWN VINYL session as part of the Glossop Labour Club Oktoberfest, which is happening all weekend. Kicking off at 1pm, we’ll have two turntables on the go and we’ll fit in as many songs as we can, so get rooting out your records and bring some down! We’ll also be playing one album in full which will be chosen on the day.

The Oktoberfest kicks off on Friday 18th with an all-request party night. On Saturday there’s a special folk train in the day with more live music in the evening, and on Sunday it’s us! Not forgetting a mix of German Beers, Real Ales, Ciders and food. See http://www.kazantevents.co.uk/gof2013.htm for full details.

Hope to see you there.

Elvis has left the building

Firstly, a big thank you to Quiet Loner for sharing two of his favourite albums with us and introducing them with keen insight. It was a special moment when the stylus got stuck during Elvis Costello’s ‘Indoor Fireworks’, a true reminder that we really were playing music from vinyl.

Thanks also to Peak Sounds, The Radio Shed and Quiet Loner (again) for kindly donating prizes for the ‘Elvis Vs Elvis’ quiz. Who knows when Evil Elvis will strike again!

And finally, thanks to everyone who came along and making our second session a big success. I had to bring in more tables and chairs so there must have been more people than last time! Lots of great suggestions for future sessions too.

Thanks to Rich for the photos. Below is a complete list of the songs played.

 

We’ll be back at the labour club on Sunday 20th October from 1-4pm as part of the Oktoberfest. It’s a BRING YOUR OWN VINYL session, so root out your records and bring them down. We’ll be having just one featured album (to be decided on the day, but likely to be a choice of The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, Who’s Next by The Who and Led Zeppelin III).

The next Thursday session is November 14th, which will be ‘Cult Heroes’. More details on that to come, but in the meantime here’s a little teaser.

QUIET LONER PRESENTS ELVIS VS ELVIS

Elvis Presley – From Elvis In Memphis (RCA Victor, 1969)

Side One: Wearin’ That Loved On Look/Only The Strong Survive/I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)/Long Black Limousine/It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’/I’m Movin’ On

Side Two: Power Of My Love/Gentle On My Mind/After Loving You/True Love Travels On A Gravel Road/Any Day Now/In The Ghetto

The Costello Show – King Of America (F-Beat, 1986)

Side One: Brilliant Mistake/Loveable/Our Little Angel/Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood/Glitter Gulch/Indoor Fireworks/Little Palaces/I’ll Wear It Proudly

Side Two: American Without Tears/Eisenhower Blues/Poisoned Rose/The Big Light/Jack Of All Parades/Suit Of Lights/Sleep Of The Just

Elvis Vs Elvis – The Mix

Nick Lowe – So It Goes

Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Cruddup – My Baby Left Me

Specials – Do The Dog

Rufus Thomas – Tiger Man

Jerry Reed – Guitar Man

Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding

Chet Baker – My Funny Valentine

Smiley Lewis – One Night

Squeeze – Tempted

Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

The Pogues – The Sick Bed Of Cuchulalln

Little Junior’s Blue Flames – Mystery Train

Sam & Dave – I Can’t Stand Up

Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Chuck Willis – I Feel So Bad

Tony Joe White – Polk Salad Annie

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Hot Burrito No. 1 (I’m Your Toy)

Jimmy Reed – Big Boss Man

James Carr – Pouring Water On A Drowning Man

Kris Kristofferson – For The Good Times

Ray Charles – I Got A Woman

Tommy Tucker – Hi Heel Sneakers

Little Willie John – Leave My Kitten Alone

Dave Edmunds – Girls Talk

Huey Lewis & The News – Do You Believe In Love

Stan Freberg – Heartbreak Hotel

Elvis Vs Elvis… let battle commence

The second Glossop Record Club session is this coming Thursday (10th October). We’ll be at Glossop Labour Club from 8pm. Entry is free, although a donation to the labour club is welcomed. Full venue and travel details here.

Quiet Loner is curating the session, with an evening of music from (and relating to) Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. We’ll hear an album by each played from vinyl and in full (read more about the albums here), and we’ll also be doing a little ‘Elvis Vs Elvis’ quiz, with prizes including a pair of tickets for any Radio Shed Promotions gig at The Oakwood in Glossop and a ukelele very kindly donated by Peak Sounds.

Here’s (roughly) how the evening will run:

8-8.30pm: Elvis Vs Elvis – The Mix

8.30pm: 1st album

9.30pm: Elvis Vs Elvis – The Quiz

10pm: 2nd album

The ‘suggestions’ sheet will be there for anyone who wishes to make a suggestion for a future session. We’ll also be announcing the theme for November’s session along with more details of the Oktoberfest Sunday afternoon session on 20th October.

To get you in the mood, here’s Elvis singing Elvis.

Hope to see you there.

SG