Dead Ball

Sorry to hear of the death of Alan Ball yesterday.

Yes, I know that he was :

• ginger
• short
• English
• a World Cup winner
• so squeaky voiced that he sounded like he breathed helium
• not a particularly successful manager

Not a list of qualities that would endear him to your average Scottish football fan, however, it cannot be denied that he was a fair player in his time.

Most disturbing for me was the report on the BBC website which stated:

"Ball, who collapsed outside his home after tackling a bonfire,..."

Not the most sensible behaviour for a 61 year old, you get more than friction burns doing that kind of thing...

Why We Needed Punk #1

Problem Page

Friendship

Dutch Prog Rock Madness

Many years ago, in the years b.c. (before Clash), say around 1974/75, a good friend of mine bought an album by the Dutch prog rock band Alquin. This was back in the time when the more obscure the album you had the cooler you were.

The album was called The Mountain Queen and as I recall I only ever listened to it once, just after Iain had brought it home.

I remember that I wasn't too impressed with the music, and wasn't too keen on the vocals, but to this day clearly recall joking about a lyric that I found bizarre.

The line went :
"I thought I saw a coloured leaf,
floating upwards to the tree,
but no,
................it was a butterfly".

Yesterday I managed to get hold of a download of this album and I have listened to it all the way through, twice.

I actually found the music to have stood up quite well. It is very much of its time, lots of keyboards, saxophone, clattering drums, strange time signatures, and a couple of tracks running about the 20 minute mark - however the guitar playing on it is very good and the overall sound is quite enjoyable.

There is one slight problem.

I haven't heard the line about the butterfly...

I am going to have to listen to the whole thing all the way through again in case I missed it, but I am now starting to think that it may just have been a line on the album sleeve.

I have had this lyric in my head for over 30 years and now it seems to have vanished, or maybe it never existed in the first place and I am just a bit of a maddie...

Are there any passing Dutch Prog Rock experts reading this that could help put me out of my misery???

Alsjeblieft!

Let There Be Drums

Cute and utterly charming...

Link : Drum Machine

Cover Story

Patti Smith has released her new album, Twelve, which is a collection of cover versions. Some choices fairly obvious, Hendrix, Dylan, Stones, others less so, Tears For Fears, Paul Simon.

This new collection from Patti has been getting mixed reviews though the majority of people seem to like it. I have listened to it a couple of times myself and it is starting to grow on me. I think in the main it is the tracks that I know less well that sit most comfortably in their new guise.

The track listing is:

1. Are You Experienced
2. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
3. Helpless
4. Gimme Shelter
5. Within You Without You
6. White Rabbit
7. Changing Of The Guards
8. Boy In The Bubble
9. Soul Kitchen
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. Midnight Rider
12. Pastime Paradise

The Silence Is A Rhythm Too blog has links to mp3s of Patti's versions of Are You Experienced and White Rabbit.

Link : Silence Is A Rhythym Too

Here is a clip of Patti back in the early days performing a cover version that she really put her own stamp on, Gloria.