Clarence sidesteps the mince pies and sherry in favour of, erm, well some covert loving actually. It's a good job the real St Nick is making it happen for all the little kids around the world while Mr Carter chances his arm with their mummies.
Sparse atmospherics from French sound boffin Bernard Estardy, a man in high demand for his studio skills throughout the 60's and 70's working for the likes of Francoise Hardy and Nino Ferrer. This is lifted off one of his library albums of electronic mood music crafted for potential use in films and television. 'Tic Tac Nocturne' has a wonderfully cinematic quality built from not much more than an icy xylophone melody, regular tension mounting bass stabs and an underlying tempo dictated by a sped up clock. Ideal theme for an elaborate Langlaufen sequence in the Alps or similar. Further exploration of Bernard's prolific output yields rewards. Check out 'Ombilic Contact' for a two and half minute slow waltz around the rings of Saturn.
Eerie slice of lovesick balladry from the 'Queen of Rockabilly' Wanda Jackson. The bonus about having this on a 45rpm record being it also plays extra spooky at 33rpm (see youtube below) the drunk guitars sound like they're lifted from some lost Ennio Morricone western soundtrack filtered through the psychedelic mixing desks of Abbey Road with the vocals sounding a bit like Mick Jagger bombed out on high strength Afghani hash.
Happening blues stroller from the legendary Jimmy Reed, who adopts more than a slither of the moral high ground in this told-you-so tale of the corrupting big smoke. Easy to imagine Jimmy installed on his front porch, supping a beer and rocking gently to the sound of cicadas and his twelve-string drifting into the evening breeze. Tsking. Tut-tutting. Spitting tobacco into the dry Mississippi dirt.
Gonzalez hailed from Blighty and released their ludicrously be-imaged second album in 1975. Hornsy funk rock given a bit of light trimming by yours truly to de-cheese it a bit.
Hello stranger. It's been waaaay too long since the last post on this mutha. Spurred back in to action by this particular gem from the Pointer Sisters, covering Fleetwood Mac on a funky space rock tip. A really awesome groove to this one. Littered with stylish guitar inflections, nonsensical but beautifully executed lyrics about hypnosis and UFOs and eerie synth drifts inhabiting the background. Nice one ladies.
