MacDogs the 2nd

Hot on the heels of what is without a doubt my favourite album of the year so far - Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey - Going back home (Chess-March 2014), here's my latest compilation/playlist - MacDogs the 2nd.

1. Wilko & Roger - Sneaking Suspicion
2. The Deep End - What's Up
3. Aynsley Lister - Upside Down
4. Albany Down - Travellin Blues
5. Texas Radio - Too hot to handle
6. Hoax - Talk is cheap
7. Union - Sawtooth mountain/You're my Jesus
8. Canned Heat - On the road again
9. Wilko & Roger - Ice on the motorway
10. Anders Osborne - Had my reasons
11. Eric Steckell - Funky C funky do
12. The Moops - Dust my broom

Should keep the pants shaking on my Shuffle this week. Clip above is the Wilko original of my opening track - the Roger D collaboration is totally faithful to it!

The King

Probably one of my oldest popular records - Elvis Presley's 'Teddy Bear' released in July 1957 on 78rpm on the RCA record label. This was a US No.1 and a UK top 10 hit spending a total of 19 weeks in the charts. 

Not too sure where this particular copy spent the first 25 years of its life, but it's been with me for the last 32!

Gigtastic

Although many have been reviewed via the Jems Music blog, there have been many more besides. Here's a selection of tickets from some of the gigs I've been fortunate enough to have been to over the past ten years or so.

Mixture tape heaven

Remember these? How about 'Wow and flutter', 'spooling', 'bias', 'auto-reverse', 'headroom', 'impedance', 'well' and 'Dolby'? Or the absolutely essential pencil?

All part of what is rapidly becoming a distant memory - the era of the mixture tape. Many a happy day spent putting together compilations from my record collection and, occasionally, from those borrowed from others. Tapes kept and tapes given away. Tracklists crafted, fadeouts and fadeins orchestrated; covers painstakenly designed, prepared and crafted. Music captured for a smile, all now fading like a distant memory. Overshadowed by a nondescript future where the playlist is king.