Podrophenia - A Trip To The Country

Saddle up tonight as we take a Podrophonic chug-a-bug for a trip around the highways, byways and backroads of country music. From Glam Country to Funky Country and outlaw acoustics. From bluegrass banjo to flat-pickin' and fiddling. Tune in for the hayride and hee-haw!

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PLAYLIST

Rocky Top – Lynn Anderson

Have Mercy – Loretta Lynn

Country Boy – Heads Hands and Feet

Louisiana Swing – Bud Hobbs

Ain’t No Easy Way – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Turn To Hate – Orville Peck

The Rope and The Colt -Scott Walker

The Way It Goes – Gillian Welch

Through The Morning, Through The Night – Dillard & Clark

Sin City – The Flying Burrito Brothers

Big Jet Plane – Primal Scream

Black Mountain Boy – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Diggy Diggy Lo – Doug Kershaw

Going Up The Country – Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

John Deere Tractor – Larry Sparks

Lung – Townes Van Zandt

Teenage Drug Queen – Phillious Williams

Choopee River Bottom Band – Larr Jon Wilson

Sermon – Bobbie Gentry

Poor Boy A Long Way From Home – The Black Keys

Podrophenia - Live, Unlocked & Lucky Dips

 

Behold just a few tunes from the recent *LIVE* Podrophenia - in which we bring you a double whammy of themes (any guesses from the pic?). Along with new tunes from LOUDwomen Eight Rounds Rapid The Helicopter of The Holy Ghost Buskr 

 

Sonically, we take you from a streaking themed instrumental album, to Middle Eastern funk a reggae refit of a Carpenters classic to the vocal (and original) version of Leone's spaghetti western theme..

Dig in and DL here or where-ever you get your podcasts 

Podrophenia Live and Unlocked

Podrophenia back in action tonight, with the power trio of Piley, Lord Steven Hastings and m'self - we gather together from our collective cloudbases for a socially distanced run through of tunes, chat, news stories and triv'. 

ho are the IAI Association? Why was Danny Kirwin sacked from Fleetwood Mac, do The Monkees retain their Monkee Magic five decades on? Alongside these conundrums we'll be spinning in newbies from Sparks and buried treasure from Jimmy Winston and Brian Auger ...

DL or via iTunes 

The Soundr Hour - Out of Town

Acousticus Maximus is the theme of our latest outing as we take a bank holiday trip to the wolds and wild places. where salty rockers switch heavy electrics for mellow tones and tunings, nestled in green nowhere for a campfire session - and a rock 'n' roll ramble around footpaths, falls and fells Dig in for unplugged outings from Led Zep, Free, Humble Pie, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood with rarities, out takes and home demos from John Lennon, John Martyn and more




If you're wondering what the bed is 'neath the natter - behold..

Soundr DJ · The Soundr Hour: Out Of Town

The Soundr Hour: Southern Comfort - Funky Country

Saddle up for the Soundr Hour: wherein we take a canter around funky country, gumbo grooves and swamp-land soul. From Bobby Gentry to Bonnie Raitt, Elvis outtakes to Glen Campbell getting on the good foot.. s'all here..




A couple of the clips mentioned are

Podrophenia - America

America is the theme of our latest Podrophenia as guest's Gary Bynorth and Paul Hill of Doojip are in for a live session and world debut spin of their new single 'Would I Lie To You' (and it's B side).. We've got Halloween puns, a pop quiz - an exclusive reveal on a lost sixties Southend garage tune AND - play of the new BaVard single..... Dig in and download.....

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Radio Podrophenia - Odd Bedfellows

Our February Podrophenia  brings you a hypnotic session from Mark Schubert and Dave Livings with a live El-Rey set of acoustic weavings and voodoo tunings ..

Mark also picked and played some fave albums from his own El-Rey crates...

While Piley and I bring you a batch of odd bedfellows: mashups, covers and unexpected Partnerships including - Loretta Lyn, Steve Jones, Star Wars, Jimmy Pursey, Axl Rose, The Stranglers and Peter Gabriel but who's in bed with who? Find out here...

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Radio Podrophenia - Thames Delta goes Southern Delta and Lil' Lost Lou live in session

Saddle up and settle in as Podrophenia takes a road-trip through the Southern Delta: swamp pop, southern rock, hillibilly boogie, cowboy noir - all this and a live session from Lil' Lost Lou - including two exclusive tunes - Plus there's all your Kitchen and Bathroom bands read out.

Download here or stream below or via iTunes

Vive Le Rock - Looking Sharpie....

For those about to read - we salute you: rock. rollers and rumblers - fill your bovver boots with the latest Vive Le Rock - an Aussie special, featuring a piece from you know who on the Australian/NZ only Yoof Cult - Sharpies...

Dig around the back pages you'll also find me giving a critical ear to  Johnny Thunders live L.A.M.F. A couple of reviews submitted, which didn't make the final edit due to space issues were - Beat Bespoke 6 and the Memphis Dawls - but nothing goes to waste, so dig in below


Le Beat Bespoké 6 
Detour Records 
7/10 
Turn on, tune in, freak out - Underground, overground rumbling free

The essence of Beat Bespoké volume 6 straddles the 67-72 era when mods became rockers, rockers turned hippy and hippies got heavy. The mood of these freshly-picked finds is one of frizzy hair, fuggy clubs, open air freak-outs and underground festivals. From the fuzzy stoner rock of Jerry Holmes ‘I’m The Man’ and Spontaneous Generation’s ‘Purple Purple’ to Chris Rayburn’s ‘One Way Ticket’ with its thumping drums and Are You Being Served strings, to the in-kraut sound of Marian Ruxell’s ‘It’s So Much The Better’ and the galloping garage of The Tears ‘Rat Race’ - BB6 gathers together a collection of heavy mod, garage nuggets and psych pop that wouldn’t sound out of place on the Dracula AD 72 soundtrack. A new addition to an already healthy back catalogue, and where the New Untouchables begin to give Psychic Circle's Instro Hipster series a run for their money





Memphis Dawls - Rooted to the Bone 
Madjack Records 
7/10 
Hello Dawlies – potent debut from the Jack White endorsed all-girl trio

For all of its broad country trimmings and western trappings, echoing from The Carter Family and Tammy Wynette to The Handsome Family and Doc Watson, scratch beneath the surface of the Memphis Dawls Sun Studio recorded album and I wouldn’t be surprised to find a broader book of influences subtly colouring the collection that makes up Rooted to the Bone. ‘Liar’ has the soulful horns and harmonies of Aretha in Alabama for her Muscle Shoals sessions ‘Skin Like a Cage’ could be an Allen Toussaint twist on Bacharach and David standard. While the American Gothic of ‘Shadows’ shuffles with a dark-hearted gumbo groove. And ‘Please Don't Leave Me’ takes a transatlantic hop to tap up Kate Bush, Bridget St John and The Beatles. An album of folk-soaked confessionals and galloping cowgirl anthems with a pop sensibility that saddles it somewhere between Gillian Welch and Aimee Mann

Podrophenia the Food edition - in two flavours

Come On in Our Kitchen...

Behold the latest Podrophenia is now up for download.

We've got Steve from Steve's Salt Beef bar in giving us the history of this brisket based treat, a pop in from sharp-shooting photographer - Paul Hughes and 12 food themed tunes that are so more-ish you'll come back for seconds... But how two flavours? Piley provides you with a meat-feast menu, while I offer a veggie option..

It's available for free as an mp3 DL here, from the SFOB site, or via iTunes

And, you can even stream below...

Radio Podrophenia: The World of Easy Listening

Slip into your leisure slacks, dust down your satin smoking jacket - pour something long and clinky from the drinks cabinet, and let Podrophenia soothe you with two hours of tunes as we make our March return with an Easy Listening special...

It's a theme chosen by Alan McPhail. Expect a few new spins on some cheesier artists, and lesser known nuggets by lounge-core lovelies from Piley and self: safari suited singers getting on the good foot, country twangers going funky, divas doing disco - and a Northern Soul cover that out-stomps the original...

All this and a universally exclusive airing of an Eight Round Rapid track from the due-soon album. Slink your way to Ship Full of Bombs from 8 pm tonight or chip in with the chat hereabouts 

One on the sub's bench  Hugo Strasser's Schlager take on the Sabb's

Autumn interlude... part 4: Gone to Ground

Alfa 9 drifted onto my listening post around October last year, when a promo copy of their second album Gone to Ground landed on my Plectrum The Cultural Pick review pile. Originally scheduled for an autumn/winter release,  but, as album launches often do - the date slipped with GtG  dropping into the pop-o-sphere in early 2013. And splaining  the 2012 references in my review and Vive Le Rock end of year round-up..

There is a theory that in sixties Britain, a geographic divide developed between the song-writing of northern and southern musicians.

Groups below the Watford Gap were Thames based blues-beaters, reworking Mississippi and Chicago influences into the slab-handed riffing and pentatonic rolling of the Stones, The Who and The Yardbirds,
Whereas in the north - Country and Western albums, imported through the docks informed the niftily fingered arpeggios of The Beatles, The Hollies then later The Smiths, Stone Roses and The La's.

The source of Gone to Ground's ringing chordal peels are firmly rooted in the northern hemisphere, but warmed by a gulf stream of blue-sky, tie-dyed harmonies breezing across the Atlantic from Laurel Canyon.

Alfa 9 describe their sound as 'Dreamy psychedelia' and 'Spaghetti psychedelic country' - to these ears it's Syd Barret and The Byrds in nudie suits singing songs for swingers shoegazers. An album that would have David Crosby applying approving strokes to his walrus moustache, and wouldn't appear out of place alongside any of Island's (poppier) pink label era releases.

Winging in Myles Clarke (The Who/Pete Townsend) to oversee the mix brings an air of authentic hand-stitching to the project. With its union of two country styles: Nashville, and nature (repeat references to seeds, grass, rain and sunshine weave through the lyrics) I've no doubt, when 2012 closes out, Gone to Ground's joyous, jangling and ringing will be my album of the year, where every track is a pot of gold spilling rainbows in its trail

This review first appeared in PTCP issue 14

Autumn interlude... part 3: Gazing through the fog to the other side

The third serving in this seasonal selection comes from Blitzen Trapper - 'Blitzen who?'they chorused...

Geographically the Blitzen call Portland, Oregon home. Musically the Trappers are parked midway between Wilco and Teenage Fanclub - pitching out albums of country, power pop and almost bubbleglam on the glitzier bits of the back catalogue..

But today's BT taster comes from 2008's Furr - a country-noir tale of grim business and murderous jailbirds


 
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer from Luke Norby on Vimeo.

 And from the latest album VII

 

Sometimes it's hard to be a woman

I'm a little bit country. I'm a little bit rock 'n roll

Take your partners for a rootin' tootin' tear-up as we go 'Kinda Country' on tonight's live action Radio Podrophenia - where everything from Abba covers to Zydeco stompers get pitched in the pot.

The Elvis back catalogue has been on and off the subs bench all week, as I've been doing some king-size juggling between outtakes and obscurities from the undubbed masters album One Hundred Years From Now and the blue-aired booty Cut Me and I Bleed, which in essence, is Effing and Jeffing with Elvis.
Similarly I still can't decide which way to swing on the offbeat. Either Marlene Webber's Stand By Your Man or the banjo 'n' blue beat bounce of Beverly Hillbilly Ska

And Fi Jacobs from The Railway Hotel drops in for a round up of what's on at Southend's most rock 'n' roll local during October. So buckle up from 9 for a ride around Podrophenia country

Marlene Webber - Stand By Your Man



 Granville Williams Orchestra - Beverly Hillbilly Ska



Natter-wise I'd like to try and nail look-a-likes for this 'orrible lot.  I'm claiming Mr Top Left as David Beckham - but what about the other salty ol' sea dogs..?

This masterclass in nifty-fingered frettery from Albert Lee will be appearing at some point tonight..



If you're not iTuned up - you can load up last week's Radio Podrophenia via this MP3 DL

And don't forget you can grab - Dolly does disco and northern soul here

Disco Dolly

It's Mrs Mond's birthday today - she's loves a bit of disco and a little spot of Dolly. So what say we fuse the two in one camp and funky bundle topped with a big blonde bow. Take your partners for some 12" disco-jiggery and a special dedi' to my endlessly patient, ever-glowin' birthday lovely...

Dolly Parton - Baby I'm Burnin



Dolly Parton - I Wanna Fall In Love



Dolly's roots are showing and they're Northern - one of her earliest singles from 1965...

Dolly Parton - Busy signal

Countdown To Christmas - Ho, Ho, Ho-down

The spirit of the season and a Christmas tingle finally took hold over the weekend. Fired by a medley of : the New York Dolls tinsel, glam and glitter at Friday's gig - how loud? Choco Girl popping by with homemade cards and crocheted tree trims. Piley, Coops and Marmite dropping round to record the Christmas podcast. A trip to my favourite pub decked out in festive finery and a rewatch of Scrooged starring NY Doll David Johansen as the cab-driving, stogie-chewing Ghost of Christmas past. All lit by a low-lying golden December sunlight.

All of which means it’s time to unwrap some winter warmers and set the yule blog ablaze by way of a blugrass shinding on Christmas Time's A Comin, and a ragtime tear-up on the jolliest, jauntiest version of Here Comes Santa Claus

The Grascals - Christmas Time's A Comin'



Big Tiny Little - Here Comes Santa Claus






Oh and the newly remastered It's A Wonderful Life has been bought and tucked away for a closer-to-Christmas treat..