Horse

I once rode a horse
More difficult than I thought
Not just bruised ego

Bryter Layter by Nick Drake

By all rights this should have been a huge hit. As well as Nick Drake’s sensitive vocals and folk guitar melodies, it has contributions from half of Fairport Convention, two musicians who worked on Pet Sounds and piano from John Cale of the Velvet Underground. It’s well produced and arranged, and is a joy to listen to, with breezy, wistful songs in a folk-rock style.

However, a dispute about the cover art delayed the release that had been planned for Christmas 1970 and bizarrely it was never issued or promoted in North America. As a result, sales fell far short of what they should have been leaving the 22 year old Drake in a depressed and vulnerable state. His third album recorded the following year as a solo project was to be his last, and he died in 1974 aged just 26.

https://album.link/gb/i/1704061160

Quince

Peter Quince, playwright
“Pee, po, belly, bum, drawers!”
Rude mechanical

Our Aim Is to Satisfy by Red Snapper

As I’ve said before, I think that any album on the Warp Records label is worth a spin. This one is mostly instrumental with some nice jazzy beats, mixing traditional instruments such as the double bass and trombone with danceable electronica. I really enjoyed this album, but to be honest I wasn’t quite prepared for just how filthy the track “The Rough and the Quick” was - definitely not safe for work! 

Headphones-tastic!

https://album.link/gb/i/279889278

Bean Soup

After a chilly day
A spicy bean soup brings warmth
To frozen bones

Don't Stand Me Down by Dexys Midnight Runners

For a brief moment in 1982 it seemed that you couldn’t move for roving bands of scruffy herberts dressed like tramps in ripped dungarees and neckerchiefs, playing fiddles and proclaiming (apparently completely seriously) that they were the only people who’d ever heard of Jackie Wilson. Anyhoo, after a couple of hits they vanished before resurfacing three years later with their third album.

On the plus side, they’ve managed to put on some smarter clothes and slimmed down the band to a more manageable four members. As a result the music is a little more laid back with less of the previous faux Irish too-ray-ay malarkey. On the negative side, we still get too much of Kevin Rowland’s peculiarly affected honking singing style and some left field snippets of conversation dropped in between the songs. 

There’s also a very odd track complaining about everything on Radio One sounding the same (mate, other stations are available, and maybe you should have tried listening to John Peel instead of the Breakfast Show). This would have had more impact if it hadn’t just been a blatant copy of the riff from Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon (who had to be credited on later releases of the album).

Tramp-tastic!

https://album.link/gb/i/1442855292

Hoarfrost

Father Frost steps out
Beard trails o’er hedge and briar
Glistens in the dawn