12 Inches of Love: ABC's 'The Look of Love'

Among the multitude of 12" singles in the collection, "The Look of Love" would, surely, at least make the discussion of my favorite. ABC shot of the gate with a trio of fantastic singles before releasing 'The Lexicon of Love,' the band's debut album. "The Look of Love" was the the last of the three (the other two were "Tears Are Not Enough" and "Poison Arrow"), preceding the 1982 album by about a month.

The 12" single doesn't include one of those traditional eight-minute extended versions. If you wanted such a remix, you would have to wait until later in the year when Trevor Horn, producer of 'The Lexicon of Love,' released a maxi single in the United States. The original 12" is made up of the song in four parts. Part One is the album version. Part Two is an instrumental. Although it only clocks in at 50 seconds longer than the album take, Part Three is the closest thing to an extended remix. Part Four is an epilogue of sorts. It's another instrumental take that lasts less than a minute. If you listen to the 12" in its entirety, it brings the record to a really satisfying conclusion.

My love affair with ABC, admittedly, was brief. I have never owned anything other than 'Lexicon'-era material. I do love it so. That album, however, along with another commercial success from the same period, the Human League's 'Dare,' were absolutely pivotal in steering me -- a curious 12-year-old music fanatic with few outlets other than Top 40 radio -- in the right direction.

ABC - The Look of Love (Part One) (mp3)
ABC - The Look of Love (Part Two) (mp3)
ABC - The Look of Love (Part Three) (mp3)
ABC - The Look of Love (Part Four) (mp3)

The Hives Bring Me Down With New Single

Today, the Hives released this video from 'Lex Hives,' the band's first album since 2007. That's an awfully long time to come up with a song that's so derivative. It will take most of you about 10 seconds to realize you've heard "Go Right Ahead" before. It was when you were a kid and your parents were listening to AM radio in the station wagon. Yep, that's more or less "Don't Bring Me Down" from ELO back in '79. I haven't had this big of a chuckle since 2001 when I thought I was listening to Tom Petty's "American Girl" and it tuned out to be The Strokes' "Last Nite." Anyway, 'Lex Hives' will be out June 5. Jeff Lynne's check should be cut by then.

Couple From Close Lobsters and a Thank You

I had been dreaming of Close Lobsters' April 27 reunion in Glasgow ever since I mentioned it in January. Of course, I knew I couldn't go. I'm pretty sure I used my dream-trip privileges for several years to come when I saw Big Country at Barrowlands in February. The next best thing would be if I could live vicariously through my Scottish pal, the Vinyl Vinyl. Would he be going? I emailed him the day of the show with the hope he would be covering it for his Year in the Life of Gigs series. I was legitimately excited when he replied he was on his way to see them. Atta boy!

About the time I assumed the band would be hitting the stage, I pulled 'Foxheads Stalk This Land' off the shelf and sang along like when I was a lad. A couple of days later, Mr. Vinyl Villain, indeed, posted his thoughts on the show, and I really felt like he took me there. I wrote a "thank you" comment after the review, but now I need to thank him again. A Close Lobsters T-shirt from the show arrived in the post today. Now I really feel like I was there. Thanks, pal.

Let's listen to some Close Lobsters. I'll assume you have already picked up 'Forever, Until Victory,' the fantastic singles collection released by Fire in 2009. Here are a few songs that aren't on the compilation.

Close Lobsters - Violently Pretty Face (mp3)
(from 'What Is There to Smile About?' EP)

Close Lobsters - I Kiss the Flowers in Bloom (mp3)
(from 'Foxheads Stalk This Land')

Close Lobsters - My Days Are Numbered (mp3)
(from 'Headache Rhetoric')

Brush Up on Your Swedish: Early Komeda

I was bitten by the Komeda bug in 1996 when the Swedish outfit released 'The Genius of Komeda,' its first album in English.

Along the way, I picked up everything by the band that I could find, including today's picks from the 'Pop Pa Svenska' album and 'Plan 714 Till' EP. These are Komeda's first works, from 1993 and 1995, respectively. The band's signature sound is already there, but I have to admit I wish I knew what Lena Karlsson was singing about. Both of these releases were originally issued on the the North of No South label, but Minty Fresh reissued them together on one disc in 2001. If you were a fan of Komeda's English-language albums, you will want to get this one, too. If you haven't heard Komeda before, check out this video for, perhaps, the band's best-known single. It can be found on the
'What Makes It Go?' album.

Komeda hasn't made a new album in about a decade, and most of the band's members are on to other things, but I'm still hopeful for another gem sometime down the line.

Komeda - Bonjour Tristesse (mp3) (from 'Pop Pa Svenska')
Komeda - Herbamore (mp3) (from 'Plan 714 Till')

On the Tube: New Song From Nick Lowe

Did you catch Nick Lowe on 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' last Friday? He sounded great. Lowe performed "Sensitive Man" from his latest album, 'The Old Magic.' The real treat, however, was for those in the live studio audience. After the closing credits, Lowe played a new unreleased song called "Tokyo Bay," and it's a real rocker. I was trying to think back to the last time we had a fun upbeat number like this from him. For some reason, "Shting Shtang" came to mind, but that was more than a decade ago. That can't be right. Nick, I wouldn't mind more like this one.



And just for fun, here's a REALLY upbeat song taken from TV in 1978.



Can you believe I had actually gone five weeks without writing about Lowe?

Tune in to Early Television Personalities

For the second time in as many weeks, I have done a little digging into a favorite musician only to find out he is very ill. I'm not sure how I missed this but, back in October, Dan Treacy of Television Personalities was in a lengthy medically induced coma following an operation to remove blood clot on his brain. He was finally brought out of the coma in December. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of Treacy's 2012 will be spent in the hospital. It is probably too much to ever expect more music from this gifted artist, but I'm going to use all three wishes to hope for his speedy recovery. If you're a social-network type, it appears you can get periodic updates on him via Treacy's Facebook page. His sister is taking care of any new news.

The reason I was looking into Treacy was because I finally ventured beyond Television Personalities' brilliant debut album to purchase the third album, 'They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles.' It's mostly comprised of early singles, demos, outtakes and unreleased tracks recorded between 1979 and 1982, and it was initially released in 1982 on the Ed Ball/Treacy label Whaam! Records. Thankfully, the good folks at Fire Records (also home to Close Lobsters) reissued it on glorious vinyl. The album has a lighter touch, but the lo-fi sound of Treacy's earliest work is still here. It kind of reminds me of Apples in Stereo's first few singles. Listen to the album opener below. Then buy it here.

Television Personalities - Three Wishes (mp3)

Time to Tune in the Walkmen Again

I have to admit it has been a long while since I was excited about a new release from the Walkmen, but these early streams have me marking my calendar on May 29 when the band gives us 'Heaven' via Fat Possum/Bella Union. Give these two songs a try. Then preorder the album. Nice to have you back in the fold, fellas.

How Was Your Record Store Day?

Did you fill up on turkey and catch up with Grandma? Wait, wrong holiday. As for Record Store Day 2012, last Saturday, I felt a little like how you feel after filling up on that turkey dinner. The list of "exclusives" was, for me, among the least exciting since the founding of Record Store Day. So, I didn't even bother to get up at the crack of dawn to wait in line with a bunch of other geeky middle-aged men, as I usually do. There was only one album I wanted, and I felt I could risk getting it later in the day. Besides, I already had a digital copy. So, if I was shut out, at least I would get a good night's sleep and I had my mp3s. I went top my local mom-and-pop store after lunch. To my utter shock, the album I wanted was sold out. The store was linked to another store in the heart of Seattle and, according to their computers, there were still two copies over there. Fortunately, the computers proved to be correct, and I got my album.

As for Record Store Day in general, I have learned the "exclusives" really aren't all that exclusive. The labels and bands almost always, ultimately, release the material later... in one form or another. I bought a few Record Store Day items just last year, and every single one of the songs on the 7" singles I bought is either already out or will be by June of this year. If I only had patience, I could have avoided this:

There is a great blogger over at Lost Turntable that posted several valid points suggesting Record Store Day is, to be gentle, not all it's cracked up to be. Give it a read.

As for my purchase, I got Mates of State's 'Crushes.' It's a beautiful piece of clear 180-gram vinyl, limited to 1,500 copies and filled with great covers, including two of my all-time favorite songs... "Laura" from Girls and "Sleep the Clock Around" from Belle and Sebastian. Now the bad news... at least for me. My linear-tracking turntable can't read the record's grooves. If you hold the album up to the light, the grooves are almost invisible on the clear vinyl. I have never had this happen before. So, after all of that, I can't actually play the record. I guess my copy will always be in pristine condition. Grr. Obviously, this won't be a problem if you have a traditional turntable, and I highly recommend the album in any format.

So, how was your Record Store Day? Did you get what you wanted? Were you there early? Was it a fiasco? What do you think of the holiday?

Mates of State - Laura (mp3)

Cover Me Impressed: 'Almost Blue'

Let me start by saying if you haven't seen 'Let's Get Lost,' the 1988 documentary on the life and times of the late jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, you have missed a beautiful but heartbreaking piece of art. Even though I haven't seen it for more than two decades, I remember everything about the experience... down to renting it from Video Beat in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park (one of the greatest stores of all time). For the first time in many years, I pulled the soundtrack off the shelf. In hindsight, we know these are the last days of the drug-addicted artist, and the small whistle heard from the nearly toothless Baker is haunting but, at the same time, it's somehow beautiful.

If you are a fan of Elvis Costello, you have heard Baker before. That's his trumpet solo on "Shipbuilding," one of two serious moments from the 1983 album 'Punch the Clock.' From the 1995 Ryko reissue liner notes, Costello says:

I opened the paper to find that Chet Baker was playing a hurriedly announced residency at The Canteen. I went alone to find Chet in a wonderful musical form despite the presence of several drunken bores who would loudly cal for more booze in the middle of some of his most delicate playing. You got the feeling that this happened most nights but it seemed particularly appropriate that the main culprit was said to be one of London's leading jazz critics. Between sets I introduced myself to Chet who was wandering about in the club untroubled by patrons. There is no false modesty in saying he had no idea who I was. Why the hell should he? However he accepted my invitation to come and play on the "Shipbuilding" session the next day. I mentioned a fee. He said "Scale". I think I probably doubled it.

It was a tense but rewarding session. Chet took a little time to grasp the unusual structure of the song but once he had it he played beautifully even if he looks pretty deathly in the studio photos. I'd also say it was one of The Attractions very best performances. At the end of the session I handed Chet a copy of "Almost Blue" a song which was modeled on his style. He ended up recording it but that's another story.

My one regret about the track is that I was tempted to put a spin echo onto a couple of Chet's phrases. I suppose I still had "Sketches of Spain" in the back of my mind. Then again at the time I didn't really understand what composer David Bedford was trying to do in the arrangement of the strings and had them rather buried in the mix. Now I'm really glad that we are all on the record.

Footnote: From then on I always went to see Chet whenever he played in London. Jazz club patrons, who'd probably never heard "Shipbuilding", looked a little startled when he picked me out in the crowd or dedicated a number. We'd have a drink and he'd say funny things about the "jazz singer" who was wowing house with less than a pink dress and little talent. however he seemed somebody that you "knew" rather than somebody you were "friends with". I even interviewed him once for a video special and sang a few numbers, including "You Don't Know What Love Is", with his trio. I think he knew I didn't want to talk about "the drugs". However, despite the fact that he once said in an magazine interview that he didn't care for that fateful echoed phrases he never raised that matter with me and I never got round to apologizing. I guess you can't change history.

I will assume you already have the studio version of "Almost Blue" from the classic 'Imperial Bedroom.' So, here's a live take of Costello with the Attractions from Sydney in 1982, followed by Baker's version (with slightly different lyrics) from 'Let's Get Lost.' Finally, here's a little bonus. Enjoy Tracey Thorn's beautiful voice on a cover from Everything But the Girl. I have this one on the compilation '82-92 Essence and Rare.'

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Almost Blue (mp3) (from 'Daze of Glory' bootleg)
Chet Baker - Almost Blue (mp3)
Everything But the Girl - Almost Blue (mp3)

One More Ride on the Bobsled

As last post proved, for a few wonderful years there, Bobsled Records was one of the most exciting indie labels out there. Besides the aforementioned Waxwings, there was Adventures in Stereo, Stereo Total and Velvet Crush, to name a few, but the best of the bunch, for me, was the wonderful orchestral pop of the Chamber Strings.

Both of the band's Bobsled albums, 'Gospel Morning' (1997) and 'Month of Sundays' (2001), still get regular play at my house, and I almost jumped through the ceiling when Kevin Junior assembled the 'Month of Sundays' lineup for a few shows and released the "I Come Apart (A Tragic Comedy)" single in 2009. The assumption was a new album wouldn't be far away. So, what happened?

Last fall, it was reported the uninsured Junior was in need of heart surgery. There was a benefit show given for him in Chicago, and a fund has been set up to help with medical expenses. This is serious business. If you want to help, give to Friends of Kevin Junior. The new album can wait. Just get better, sir. If you don't know the baroque sounds of this fine band, check out one song from each of the Chamber Strings' two Bobsled albums.

The Chamber Strings - Everyday Is Christmas (mp3)
The Chamber Strings - Last Lovers (mp3)

Waxwings Just Needed Tutoring From Stones

We all have our Waxwings... one of those bands we love and, inexplicably, don't understand how they never really made it. I was enamoured with these fellas for a few years in the early part of the last decade. I was fortunate enough to see them during that time on a very strong all-Detroit bill (with the Detroit Cobras and Brendan Benson) at the cozy Double Door in Chicago. They should be remembered for their retro sound... with plenty of cribbing from Brian Wilson and early Stones. Instead, they will be recalled for a tiff with Bob Salerno, owner of their label, Bobsled Records. It's all very rock and roll.

The Waxwings threw a record-release party for their second album, 'Shadows of the Waxwings,' in their hometown of Detroit. By most accounts, this wasn't one of the band's better shows. Salerno wanted to make sure they knew he wasn't pleased. He sent each member a letter by registered mail. The funny thing is the entire band lived together. So, yes, he could have sent one letter, but he had a point to make. It began:

"Your 'Record Release' show was an absolute embarrassment! Every single aspect of that show was chump! I CANNOT fucking believe that you did not take that show seriously!!! That was your RECORD RELEASE show! Let me say that again...THAT WAS YOUR FUCKING RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!! IN YOUR HOME FUCKING TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As the Chicago Reader reported on May 9, 2002, Salerno went on to criticize the band "for not hiring their own soundman, for failing to promote the show, for making public apologies about their performance, and for taking too long to finish their record in the first place." The best part of the rant, however, was his evaluation of the band's (lack of a) rock-and-roll persona. "Mick Jagger wouldn't be hangin' out in the club before HIS RECORD RELEASE show! "Make a fuckin' statement!!! Your faces should not have been seen for ONE SECOND before you took that stage! Do you think the Rolling Stones would be walkin' around minglin' in the crowd before their RECORD RELEASE show?? Do you think Jack White would be caught dead in the crowd before he takes the stage?? Bush leagues!!! Dean [Fertita, the band's frontman], you're just fuckin' hangin' out by the fuckin' entrance before the show, AND SOMETIMES ALONE! PATHETIC!!!"

So, how did this juicy correspondence become common knowledge? An anonymous user posted the entire letter on the Velvet Rope, a popular message board read by entertainment insiders, including those in the music industry. I wonder who did that? Needless to say, the band's second album was the last for Bobsled Records. In fact, I may be wrong, but I'm not sure there was another album done on Bobsled. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Now about the tunes. If you don't have any Waxwings, I would recommend their debut album, 'Low to the Ground.' It was well received by critics and has stood the test of time. They lost a step with the followup, 'Shadows of the Waxwings,' but it's still a good listen. There was a third album for new label Rainbow Quartz called 'Let's Make Our Descent.' Unfortunately, I don't have that one. I wish I did. Their friend Benson stepped in as guitarist, and I'm a huge fan. The Waxwings were supposed to go into the studio for a fourth album. It has been seven years since that announcement. I guess it ain't happenin'. Here is a gem from each of the first two albums.

The Waxwings - Keeping the Sparks (mp3)
The Waxwings - Almost All Day (mp3)

Cover Me Impressed: 'Temptation Eyes'

When thinking of the Grass Roots, the thought that comes to mind is, as a youngster, humming along to the horn parts of "Temptation Eyes" while the song blasted from the speakers of the family station wagon. As a song that peaked at No. 15 in 1970, it was worthy of multiple plays on my parents' oldies station.

The first time I ever heard a cover of the song was while taking in a Blake Babies show at Metro in Chicago, circa 1990. No, my memory isn't that good. At this very moment I'm looking at the setlist I swiped from Juliana Hatfield's spot on the stage. In 1991, Blake Babies would release the song as a single from the 'Rosy Jack World' EP. Later that year the band would call it quits (although we would learn at the end of the decade that it didn't take). The song would pop again on the band's 1993 compilation
'Innocence and Experience.' My favorite part of the trio's take is Hatfield's voice when she proclaims, "there's more, baby!"

Many years later, 2008, to be exact, I would hear another cover of "Temptation Eyes" that brought a smile to my face. The outtake from the Replacements' legendary 1984 'Let It Be' sessions could be found prior to '08 on the 'Boink!!' bootleg, but my first listen was when it appeared on the official expanded edition of the album. It's exactly what you expect... sloppy, wild and wonderful.

The Grass Roots - Temptation Eyes (mp3)
The Replacements - Temptation Eyes (outtake) (mp3)
Blake Babies - Temptation Eyes (mp3)