This Side Of Low Tide

It's been a crappy week, no work/life balance to speak of, and the prospect of more rain, more work and a stinking headache that refuses to budge.

I don't know about you, but music is both a distraction and a salve, so I've created a 63-minute selection to start my Sunday in the best possible way.

A mish-mash of, er, more gentle sounds featuring the usual suspects: Rheinzand, Jesse Fahnestock aka 10:40, Transglobal Underground, Andres Y Xavi and Coyote remixing Jazxing.

I've also brought in some heavyweight legends, with Kid Loco and Kruder & Dorfmeister (dubbing up Bomb The Bass), plus a few rarities/obscurities from Cagedbaby aka Tom Gandey and The Acorn reinterpreted by Four Tet.

No mixing, no crass fading, just a sequence of songs that seems to go well together. 

Conversely, the cover art has absolutely nothing to do with the mix title.

1) The Gift Of Love (Album Version): Rheinzand (2022)

2) Evolution: Cagedbaby (2005)

3) Tumbling Down: 10:40 (2023)

4) Winter: Transglobal Underground (2021)

5) Restoration (Four Tet Remix By Kieran Hebden): The Acorn (2010)

6) Pearloma: Andres Y Xavi (2019)

7) Templos Del Sol (My Friend Dario Remix By Dario Aiello): Tambores En Benirras (2025)

8) The Wrong Number: Kid Loco (1997)

9) Vijnana (Coyote Whirling Dervish Remix By Richard Hampson & Timm Sure): Jazxing (2022)

10) Bug Powder Dust (Dub) (Remix By Peter Kruder & Richard Dorfmeister): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

1998: A Grand Love Story (ltd 2x CD): 8

1998: The K&D Sessions™: 10

2005: Cagedbaby Will See You Now: 2

2010: Make The Least Of The Day: No Ghost Reinterpreted: 5

2019: Vibraciones Y Sentimientos: 6

2021: After Cinnamon: 4

2022: Atlantis Atlantis: 1

2022: Higher Love Vol. 2: 9

2023: Transition Theory: 3

2025: Ondas Horizontales Remixes Two EP: 7

This Side Of Low Tide (1:02:41) (GD) (M)

Citizen Kane

Celebrating Jonathan Saul Kane, on the devastating news yesterday of his death at age 55. 

 

I'll aim to add some comments and notes in the days to come. For now, here's a selection of a dozen remixes from 1988 to 2004, mostly as Depth Charge, which is how I first discovered his music.

Rest easy, J.

Post Script / Sleeve notes, 20th November 2024

The first record I owned with a J. Saul Kane credit was by accident in 1990. I'd bought Nothing To Lose on 12" by S'Express in the reduced crate at a local record shop, with a pile of other records. When I got home, I found that although the sleeve was the standard issue, the vinyl inside was the remix 12". 

 

I loved the original version of Nothing To Lose, but J. Saul Kane and Yashiki Gōta's reworking transformed the song from a rousing club anthem to a melancholy imaginary film soundtrack. With beats. It was great and I held onto it. The version here is an edit featured on the 8th volume of the Deep Heat series, which I guess at the time was the 'dance' equivalent of Now That's What I Call Music. Sonique's vocal remain the anchoring point, but the remix takes it on a wildly different journey.

I became quickly familiar with Depth Charge in the early to mid-1990s, not a great surprise perhaps, given my love of Andrew Weatherall, Jack Dangers and Red Snapper and the many points of reference and crossover between these artists, musically speaking. Perhaps no surprise then to find that J. Saul Kane has remixed songs by all three during the 1990s.

The Depth Charge remix of Tow Truck by The Sabres Of Paradise originally appeared on a 12" double A-side with Chemical Brothers providing the other version. Various other reworkings of music from the album Haunted Dancehall were released on 7" and 10", but I held out for the Versus EP compilation on CD, with gathered them all together and threw in a second Depth Charge remix for good measure. All fantastic.

J also offered up two mixes of Acid Again for Meat Beat Manifesto's 1998 single. I've picked the second one mainly because it's shorter running time meant that the selection as a whole didn't push too far over the hour mark. Mix 1 is equally wonderful, believe me.

J has remixed Red Snapper twice too, though different songs, seven years apart. I was tempted to include 1996's Son Of Mook from the Son Of Mook EP, but ultimately went for Regrettable from 2003's Redone album, one of three early 21st century selections. No regrets here, it means business!

Planet Telex is a beloved Radiohead song in any version, but the Depth Charge remix seems to have appeared as a one-off on the 2CD compilation Altered States as I've never seen any reference to it being released as a promo or official single. A shame, as it deserves better than it's relative scarcity.

Midi Rain completely passed me by at the time in the early 1990s, but I subsequently traced them years later during a hunt for J. Saul Kane/Depth Charge remixes. I discovered that Midi Rain was a project/alias for John Rocca, better known to me in the 1980s as the main man with Freeez, who had a massive hit with I.O.U.

J was clearly a fan, as he provided mixes on all five Midi Rain singles and co-mixed the sole album One in 1994. Lots to choose from then, I've picked the Depth Charge remix of Eyes, Midi Rain's 2nd single in 1991.

I could go on, but it's all in the listening. And these are just a few remixes. There's plenty more to delve into and I've not even touched on J. Saul Kane's own catalogue, not least the phenomenal albums Nine Deadly Venoms (1994) and Lust (1999), the latter so huge that it had to be spread across two separate releases. 

Gone, but J's legacy will remain.

1) Dream On (Octagon Man Mix): Depeche Mode (2001)

2) Acid Again (Depth Charge Mix 2): Meat Beat Manifesto (1998)

3) Nothing To Lose (Remix By J. Saul Kane / Gota) (Edit): S'Express ft. Sonique (1990)

4) Woke Up This Morning (Depth Charge): Alabama 3 (1997)

5) Tow Truck (Depth Charge Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1995)

6) Beat Dat (Freestyle Scratch Mix By Tim Simenon & Jonathan Saul Kane): Bomb The Bass (1988)

7) Out-Side (Depth Charge Remix): The Beta Band (2004)

8) Eyes (Depth Charge Mix): Midi Rain (1991)

9) Planet Telex (Depthcharge Remix): Radiohead (1995)

10) Regrettable (Depth Charge Remix): Red Snapper (2003)

11) Knowledge 'n' Numbers (Depth Charge Mix): Screaming Target (1991)

12) Fear (Original Mix With Bats) (Remix By Eon & J. Saul Kane): Eon (1991)

 

1988: Into The Dragon: 6

1990: Deep Heat 8: The Hand Of Fate: 3

1991: Eyes EP: 8 

1991: Fear: The Mindkiller EP: 12

1991: Knowledge 'n' Numbers EP: 11

1995: Versus EP: 5 

1996: Altered States: Distorted Dance & Remix Rock: 9

1997: Woke Up This Morning EP: 4

1998: Acid Again EP: 2

2001: Dream On EP: 1 

2003: Red Snapper Redone: 10

2004: Out-Side EP: 7

 

Citizen Kane (1:02:45) (KF) (Mega)

Gather Together

Some roots music to soothe the soul, courtesy of Alpha & Omega.

Christine Woodbridge first met John Sprosen when she moved to Plymouth in the early 1980s. John had been looking for a musician to work with and, according to Christine, "It just clicked instantly, there's no other way of putting it. It was just one of these mystical things that was meant to be, I suppose."

 

Alpha & Omega "just came out of nowhere really, because we never set out with any real intentions." Christine plays bass, John the melodica, guitar and 'everything else'. After a few tryouts, Alpha & Omega's debut single Gather Together was released on 7"in 1985. It's relatively modest impact and scarcity since (depending on where you read, between 100 and 500 copies were pressed) doesn't bother Christine greatly. “It was horrible, and I sung.”

 

I first became aware of Alpha & Omega in 1994 when they provided a couple of remixes of Darkheart by Bomb The Bass. This was back in the days of multiple formats and (at least) 2 CD singles per release. I'd originally made a beeline for the 2nd CD which featured two Sabres Of Paradise versions but I was eventually drawn to the companion piece as I loved the song so much. Against stiff competition, Alpha & Omega's contributions - a vocal and a dub - were excellent. 

At this point in time, the duo were already six albums in, releasing a least an album per year since 1989. There were two more in 1994: Safe In The Ark and The Signs, Alpha & Omega sharing a side of vinyl with Iries In Roots, providing original tracks and dubs of the latter.

There must now be 30+ Alpha & Omega albums, not including compilations or last year's Record Store Day collection of unpublished versions from the vaults, Ancient A&O. Yet they're arguably one of the unsung heroes of the UK reggae and dub genre.

John never performs on stage, although Christine has toured occasionally over the years. Interviews are also rare, but there are a couple of brief ones (including the above quotes) available at Rebel Base (2009) and Dub-Stuy (2007).

I've got a pitifully small collection of Alpha & Omega albums, none on vinyl, and a handful of their remixes, including the aforementioned Bomb The Bass, Judy Green, Aketi Ray and John's son Ben Sprosen aka Alpha Steppa. 

 

I've collated an 11-track selection, spanning three of their four decades, omitting the debut which provides today’s post title (as I don't have it!) but hopefully giving a flavour of how consistent, and consistently great, Christine and John have been throughout. The influences are clear but they have created their own musical legacy that's up there with the greats. 

 

1) It's Critical: Alpha & Omega Meets Ras Tinny ft. JahYu (2016)

2) Poor Man's Dub (Version) (1992)

3) Bind Us Together Dub (Unpublished Version) (1993)

4) Talk To Me (Dubplate Mix) (Indica Dubs Meets Alpha & Omega): Judy Green (2014)

5) Over Hills and Mountains (1994)

6) Kayagum (Alpha & Omega Remix): Alpha Steppa (2010)

7) Under Contention (ft. Daddy Teacha) (1994)

8) Kongoman (ft. Jonah Dan) (2003)

9) Darkheart (Alpha & Omega #2 Dub): Bomb The Bass ft. Spikey Tee (1994)

10) Mirror Dub (Alpha & Omega Remix): Aketi Ray (2017)

11) Back Against The Wall Of Babylon (2000)

 

1992: The Sacred Art Of Dub: 2 

1994: Darkheart EP: 9

1994: Safe In The Ark: 5

1994: The Signs (Alpha & Omega Meets Iries In Roots): 7 

2000: Mystical Things: 11

2003: Spirit Of The Ancients: 8

2010: Kayagum EP: 6

2016: No Beginning No End: 1 

2014: Talk To Me EP: 4 

2017: Mirror EP: 10

2023: Ancient A&O (Unpublished Versions 1989-1993): 3

Gather Together (47:07) (KF) (Mega)

Chemical Dust

If you like your beats big, then you can't wrong with The Chemical Brothers.

Today's selection is three quarters of an hour of remixes circa 1994 to 1996, when Manchester Uni pals Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands were breaking big as The Dust Brothers and inevitably drawing attention from Michael Simpson and John King aka the original Dust Brothers. Some legal chit chat, a handshake and a name change later, and Ed and Tom continued as The Chemical Brothers.

Something big was happening (and I don't just mean Big Beat) but even then could the pair have imagined that they'd become even bigger, release albums into double digits and still be a significant musical force, three decades later? Quite something, when you think about it.

To these ears, whilst the music takes me back to experiences in a past, younger life, I still get the rush of the new when listening to these tracks.

 

Ed and Tom did a whole bunch of remixes for Manic Street Preachers and whilst La Tristesse Durera raised the bar impossibly high, their rework of Everything Must Go is an underrated banger. 

Likewise, there was a quid pro quo with The Sabres Of Paradise, Weatherall, Kooner and Burns remixing the Brothers and vice versa. Tow Truck was a speaker shredding monster from an EP of remixes from the Haunted Dancehall album.

Justin Warfield pops up twice, firstly with Bomb The Bass and the seminal track Bug Powder Dust, then on his own with Pick It Up Y'All. I really enjoyed the Rap/Hip Hop/Big Beat crossover that was firing up around this time and these two are prime examples.

 

I missed The Chemical Brothers' remixes of Republica first time around as a vinyl-only issue. Thankfully, the mid-late 1990s were a time of multiple formats, with 2-3 CD singles per release offering remixes, rarities and live versions to prise your pennies away. This rather fine dub of Out Of This World resurfaced on the Drop Dead Gorgeous single.

A standout from The Chemical Brothers debut album was Life Is Sweet which featured The Charlatans' Tim Burgess on vocals (Ed and Tom were also at the forefront of the Indie/Dance revival). Again, multiple formats for the inevitable single release but I've opted here for a rarer remix which featured on the essential Trance Europe Express compilation series. It's a Big Beat frenzy with a smattering of Tim's vocals left in for good measure.

The selection closes out with what I still think of as one of their finest moment as either The Dust Brothers or The Chemical Brothers. In 1994, they dusted up Saint Etienne's Like A Motorway. The competition was tough: David Holmes and Autechre both submitted remixes at the top of their game. However, Ed and Tom's Chekhov Warp mix is something else entirely, nine minutes of acid-drenched bleeps and squiggles, samples and dirty beats that leave you wanting to hear it all over again. There is a vocal version available but for me, the dub is the essential mix.

Pick it up y'all, we can make it to the weekend!

 

1) Everything Must Go (The Chemical Brothers Remix): Manic Street Preachers (1996)

2) Out Of This World (Chemical Brothers Dub): Republica (1995)

3) Bug Powder Dust (Dust Brothers Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

4) Tow Truck (The Chemical Brothers Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1995)

5) Life Is Sweet (Delik 1) (Remix By The Chemical Brothers, Steve Dub & Tim Holmes): The Chemical Brothers ft. Tim Burgess (1995)

6) Pick It Up Y'All (Dust Brothers Dub): Justin Warfield (1994)

7) Like A Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub) (Remix By The Dust Brothers): Saint Etienne (1994)

Chemical Dust (45:21) (GD) (M)

You can find Shake This Feeling, another 45-minute selection of The Chemical Brothers from July 2022, right here.

Nothing Compares

Celebrating Shuhada Sadaqat aka Sinéad O'Connor, 8th December 1966 to 26th July 2023. 

So much has been written about her in the hours since her passing, that I feel that there's nothing meaningful that I can add, other than she was an inspiration, fierce and defiant and passionate in the face of criticism, abuse and attack. I was heartbroken as she endured so many tragedies and low points and I hope she is now at rest, in peace, in power.

Although she changed her name several times, most recently in 2019, she continued to perform as Sinéad O'Connor. I only have a smattering of songs across her long and varied career, which is represented by the possibly more obscure choices on this selection. Twelve songs, half and half solo and collaborations, just over an hour and ending with an epic 13-minute remix of Fire On Babylon.

I have the album version of Nothing Compares 2 U (and a pretty dire Art Of Compilation remix from 1991), but I've included a 2019 performance on Irish TV which is the 'newest' song on this selection. The oldest - Heroine with The Edge from U2 - predates her debut album and appeared on the soundtrack to 1986 film Captive.

 

Shuhada Sadaqat has departed, but Sinéad O'Connor will live on through her music and the comfort, power and joy it's brought to so many.

 

1) What Your Soul Sings (Album Version): Massive Attack ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2003)

2) I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix By Super DJ Dmitry & Jungle DJ Towa Towa) (Cover of 17th century Irish poem): Sinéad O'Connor (1990)

3) The Value Of Ignorance: Sinéad O'Connor (1990)

4)  I Would Die 4 U (Cover of Prince & The Revolution): Radio Riddler ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2014)

5) Dense Water, Deeper Down: Sinéad O'Connor (2014)

6) Empire: Bomb The Bass ft. Sinéad O'Connor & Benjamin Zephaniah (1995)

7) Heroine (Theme From 'Captive'): The Edge & Michael Brook ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1986)

8) I Want Your (Hands On Me) (Street Mix By Audio Two): Sinéad O'Connor ft. MC Lyte (1988)

9) Very Far From Home: Sinéad O'Connor (2012)

10) Nothing Compares 2 U (Live @ The Late Late Show, RTÉ One) (Cover of The Family): Sinéad O'Connor (2019)

11) Kindgom Of Rain: The The ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1989)

12) Fire On Babylon (Remix By John Reynolds): Sinéad O'Connor ft. Abdel Ali Slimani (1994)

1986: Captive OST: 7

1988: I Want Your (Hands On Me) EP: 8

1989: Mind Bomb: 11

1990: The Emperor's New Clothes EP: 2

1990: Three Babies EP: 3

1994: Thank You For Hearing Me EP: 12

1995: Clear: 6

2003: 100th Window: 1

2012: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?: 9

2014: I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss: 5

2014: Purple Reggae: 4

2019: Live On The Late Late Show: 10

Nothing Compares (1:05:43) (KF) (Mega)

Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon

A little Friday fun and not to be taken too seriously...

Six Degrees Of Separation is the idea that a person can have six or less connections to any other person in the world. Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon jokingly took the idea further, positing that any actor could be linked to the Hollywood legend in six or fewer steps.

I thought I'd have a go at applying it to my music collection. How hard could it be? Surprisingly easy, it turned out (although purists may disagree). Here goes...

1) Neneh Cherry's debut solo single in 1988 was Buffalo Stance, produced by Tim Simenon aka Bomb The Bass.

2) Bomb The Bass released Bug Powder Dust in 1994 as the lead single for third album Clear, featuring Justin Warfield and a slew of remixes, including one from DJ Muggs.

3) DJ Muggs aka Lawrence Muggerud first came to prominence as a founder member of Cypress Hill. In 1992, he also formed The Soul Assassins collective. That same year, Muggs used the Soul Assassin alias to remix Beastie Boys, aka Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D.

4) Mike D. aka Michael Diamond has provided his unique vocals and raps to many other artists' songs over the years. In 2016, he teamed up with Cat Power to appear on Action, a single by French duo Cassius aka Philippe Zdar Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard.

5) Hubert Blanc-Francard's father is Dominique Blanc-Francard, who has also enjoyed a long and varied career in music production. In 1983, Dominique mixed Robert Palmer's cover version of You Are In My System and returned to remix it in 1992.

6) Robert Palmer was apparently a fan of The Comsat Angels and facilitated their signing to Island Records in the mid-80s, executive producing sixth album Chasing Shadows and providing vocals on the closing track of today's selection. And the bass player and founding member of The Comsat Angels is of course... Kevin Bacon.

This may be #1 in a series of one but it was fun to do. 

Happy Friday, everyone!

1) Buffalo Stance (Extended Mix By Bomb The Bass aka Tim Simenon): Neneh Cherry (1988)

2) Bug Powder Dust (DJ Muggs Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

3) So What' Cha Want (Soul Assassin Remix Version By DJ Muggs): Beastie Boys (1992)

4) Action (Video Version): Cassius ft. Cat Power & Mike D. (2016)

5) You Are In My System (Addictions Mix By Dominique Blanc-Francard) (Cover of The System): Robert Palmer (1992)

6) You'll Never Know: The Comsat Angels ft. Robert Palmer (1986)

 

Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon (28:20) (KF) (Mega)

Hep Hop Excursion

Side 2 of an arguably more 'chiller' than 'chill out' compilation tape, recorded circa July to September 1996.

 

This selection is weighted towards acts from or based in my birthplace Bristol - Massive Attack, Tricky, Carlton, Earthling - and recorded following (and possibly as a reaction to) the proliferation of trip hop compilations in 1994/1995. The term trip hop was apparently coined by Andy Pemberton in June 1994 and first appeared in Mixmag when he reviewed DJ Shadow & RPM's single In/Flux. However, it also became seemingly inextricably linked with "The Bristol Sound", even though many of the tagged artists either had already or would soon transcend such a label.  

 

Renegade Soundwave deliver a suitably spine-tingling take on Pop Will Eat Itself's Underbelly. I remember hearing this over the Virgin Megastore PA when PWEI's remix album Two Fingers My Friends! was released and it was enough for me to shell out for the limited edition 2CD there and then. 

 

Another album I bought on spec, having read about but not heard, was ISDN by The Future Sound Of London although I knew exactly what I was letting myself in for. ISDN is a 15-track album edited together from various live broadcasts that FSOL had transmitted during 1994 to radio stations all over the world using ISDN networking, then a relatively new technology. 

 

Hot Knives featured on the initial limited edition (of 10,000) "cruciform velcro-sealed embossed card case with separate card sleeve". What the Discogs description doesn't mention is that visually ISDN is also a dead ringer for Spinal Tap's Smell The Glove (or original motion picture soundtrack album, if you're a pedant). ISDN was reissued six months later with a more conventional sleeve design and jewel case and a slightly different tracklisting, swapping out three tracks from the original issue, including Hot Knives.

Scorn was formed in 1991 by Mick Harris and Nik Bullen, both ex-Napalm Death and quite far removed from the music of their former band. I only have two CDs by Scorn, the Deliverance EP and Ellipsis. Both are remix projects so possibly unrepresentative of Scorn’s output as a whole, but sphincter-troubling electronic music all the same. By the time of Ellipsis, Scorn had become a solo vehicle for Mick Harris, the album mostly remixing tracks from their last album as a duo, 1994's Evanescence. I have no idea what the original version of Night Tide sounds like but here Scanner aka Robin Rimbaud rebuilds the track around his trademark use of mobile phone and police radio scanners to disturbing effect.

Finally, an honourable mention for several of my favourite chanteuses, all featured here with standout tracks: Martina Topley-Bird, Róisín Murphy, Sarah Cracknell and Tracey Thorn.

 

If you're feeling the heat again today - a peak of 33°C is expected in my neck of the woods - then stick this on for 45 minutes and you may start to experience shivering and goosebumps, which may help.

1) Underbelly (Renegade Soundwave Blackout Mix): Pop Will Eat Itself (1995)

2) Aftermath (Version 1): Tricky ft. Martina Topley-Bird (1994)

3) 1 To 1 Religion (Skankapella Remix By Dobie): Bomb The Bass ft. Carlton (1994)

4) Dominoid (Radio Mix): Moloko (1996)

5) Hot Knives (Live ISDN Transmission, VPRO Radio, Netherlands): The Future Sound Of London (1994)

6) Night Tide (Scanner - "Flaneur Electronique" Mix): Scorn (1995)

7) Gone (Alter Ego Decoding Gone, Pt. 2): David Holmes ft. Sarah Cracknell (1995)

8) Protection (7" Edit): Massive Attack ft. Tracey Thorn (1994)

9) Nefisa (Faraway Moses) (Remix By Plunderphonics): Earthling (1995)

1994: 1 To 1 Religion EP: 3

1994: Aftermath EP: 2

1994: ISDN (limited edition first issue): 5 

1994: Protection EP: 8

1995: Ellipsis: 6 

1995: Gone EP: 7 

1995: Nefisa EP: 9

1995: Two Fingers My Friends!: 1

1996: Dominoid EP: 4

Side Two (45:13) (KF) (Mega)

I Got No Expectations To Pass Through Here Again

Celebrating Mark Lanegan, 25 November 1964 to 22 February 2022.

Mark Lanegan's made a couple of appearances here and I'd always intended to feature a selection from his vast body of music, though never as a posthumous tribute. But, sadly, that became an unavoidable truth on Tuesday when Mark passed on at the age of 57. Too soon, too soon.

There have been a number of excellent posts in the past few days on music blogs that I follow and admire: A Few Good Times In My Life (choice words and videos from Walter); Bagging Area (Swiss Adam's excellent 30-minute mix); and The Vinyl Villain (a stunning Imaginary Compilation Album produced in the few short hours following the news by Jonny The Friendly Lawyer). So, how to follow those?

I'm not going to pretend that I was a fan - or had even heard of - Mark Lanegan from the start. I was largely unmoved by Grunge when it dominated the early 1990s. I was largely immersed in electronica and dance music at the time, with a grudging like of Nine Inch Nails, NIrvana and other guitar-based bands, but I avoided Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc. by the proverbial country mile. Therefore, Screaming Trees and Queens Of The Stone Age remained firmly off my radar.

 

In 2007, I bought It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land, the second album by Soulsavers, having enjoyed the cinematic sweep of their debut, Tough Guys Don't Dance. That album was predominantly instrumental, with a few songs written with singer Josh Haden. The follow up couldn't have been more different, with Mark Lanegan featuring on the majority of the songs and co-writing nearly half of the album. It remains one of my favourite albums, full stop.

It was not long after that I first heard Who Built The Road, a collaboration with Isobel Campbell and, as I discovered, their second album together. I swiftly bought both, as well as the third and final album, Hawk.

 

At this point, the extent of Mark Lanegan's role as serial collaborator was becoming clear: between 2007 and 2009, I also acquired another Soulsavers album (Broken), the sole album by The Gutter Twins (Lanegan & Greg Dulli) and Future Chaos by Bomb The Bass, featuring Lanegan on the excellent Black River.  

 

Mark Lanegan continued to produce music in subsequent years, including several albums in his own name &/or as Mark Lanegan Band, a mix of self-penned songs and interpretations of others' songs. In commenting on Swiss Adam's mix, fellow blogging legend Echorich commented "Only Johnny Cash sounded more world weary and worn" and he's spot on. Lanegan's rich, earthy baritone, often on the brink of cracking, is so evocative of a life lived hard, of mistakes made, of regrets and hope, of emotion deep, deep, deep into the soul. 

 

I cannot help but be moved whenever hearing Mark Lanegan's voice, but the stories he sings - whether his own or someone else's - have the power to bring me to tears. 

In the days since his passing, I've agonised over today's selection. I wanted to capture the breadth of Mark Lanegan's work, but in doing so, would leave out so many other great examples of his music, his songwriting, his ability to transform and inhabit songs so that they were never mere cover versions, his thirst for stretching himself, ever striving forward.

I've done my best not to duplicate the songs that Walter, Swiss Adam and Jonny The Friendly Lawyer chose for their tributes. There is one exception, in the opener Black River, though I've opted for an equally excellent remix instead. I've also repeated myself by including The Lonely Night, which appeared in my Photek selection back in September, for which I make no apology.

The resulting selection is almost exclusively 21st century, with one exception. There are no songs by Queens Of The Stone Age. I have only a couple of songs by Screaming Trees and I was inclined to leave them off too, but I like their cover of The Velvet Underground's What Goes On and it seemed to fit in it's particular place in the track listing.

 

There are a lot of cover versions (seven in all), taking in the Velvets, The Cure, Nancy Sinatra, Massive Attack and The Gun Club. A stunning cover of The Breaking Hands by Nick Cave and Debbie Harry has been featured elsewhere in the blogosphere, but I think Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell's take is right up there with it. A couple of years later, Lanegan was one of a number of artists completing Jeffrey Lee Pierce's unfinished music, producing Desire By Blue River with French singer/songwriter Bertrand Cantat. I made the difficult decision not to include Lanegan's interpretation of Brompton Oratory, even more difficult when I subsequently read Nick Cave's tribute, citing it as his "favorite ever Nick Cave cover". 

 

Hit The City featured in both Swiss Adam's and Jonny's selection, so I've opted for the other song from 2004's Bubblegum to feature a divine duet with PJ Harvey, Come To Me (not a cover of the Björk song).

 

Mark Lanegan's work with Isobel Campbell inevitably makes several appearances, though only one selection from their three albums. Aside from the aforementioned Who Built The Road and The Breaking Hands, I've included a song from 2004's Time Is Just The Same EP, a solo release credited to simply 'Isobel' and featuring - I'm guessing - her first co-write with Lanegan on the second track. The start of a beautiful partnership.

 

I've also featured a trio of Soulsavers songs, two of them from the second album, two of them cover versions. The selection closes with No Expectations, a version of The Rolling Stones' 1968 song that sends a shiver down my spine whenever I hear it, and a perfect example of Mark Lanegan's ability to take a song and surpass the original. 

 

I was listening to this selection whilst writing this post and found that I constantly had to stop what I was doing and listen, just listen.

 

That's the brilliance of Mark Lanegan. Thank you.

 

1) Black River (Gui Borrato Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Mark Lanegan (2008)

2) What Goes On (Cover of The Velvet Underground): Screaming Trees (1991)

3) Desire By Blue River: Mark Lanegan & Bertrand Cantat (2014)

4) The Wild People (Alastair Galbraith Remix): Mark Lanegan Band (2015)

5) The Lonely Night (Photek Remix By Rupert Parkes): Moby ft. Mark Lanegan & Mindy Jones (2013)

6) Cold Molly (Roman Remains Remix By The Duke Spirit): Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood (2013)

7) The Breaking Hands (Cover of The Gun Club): Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell (2012)

8) Ghosts Of You And Me: Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan (2007)

9) Why Does My Head Hurt So?: Isobel Campbell ft. Mark Lanegan (2004)

10) Close To Me (Cover of The Cure): The Separate ft. Mark Lanegan (2012)

11) You Will Miss Me When I Burn (Cover of Palace Brothers): Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan & Rosa Agostino (2009)

12) You Only Live Twice (Cover of Nancy Sinatra): Mark Lanegan (2013)

13) Who Built The Road: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan (2008)

14) Live With Me (Cover of Massive Attack): The Twilight Singers ft. Mark Lanegan (2006)

15) Come To Me: Mark Lanegan Band ft. PJ Harvey (2004)

16) All Misery / Flowers: The Gutter Twins (2008)

17) No Expectations (Cover of The Rolling Stones): Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan (2007)

I Got No Expectations To Pass Through Here Again (1:10:43)

What’s Ya Flava, Flavor Flav?!

Mix CD from April 2003, compiled for my friend Paul. A hip-hop/rap/dancefloor sample-heavy mish-mash.

1) American Household (Front Hug Mix By Her Space Holiday): Logic (2001)

2) 1,2 Mic Check: Smith & Mighty ft. Kelz (2002)

3) Television, The Drug Of The Nation (Ultimatum Remix By The Stereo MC's): The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1991)

4) Never Again (Extended Mix): JC-001 (1993)

5) The Worst MC: Gonzales (2000)

6) Killer Inside Me (Killer Long Version): MC 900 Ft. Jesus (1991)

7) Pick It Up Y'all (Dust Brothers Vocal Mix By The Chemical Brothers): Justin Warfield (1994)

8) Concrete Schoolyard (Album Version): Jurassic 5 (1998)

9) Mr. Wendal (Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne): Arrested Development (1992)

10) Stoned Island Estate (Les Rythmes Digitales Remix By Stuart Price): Glamorous Hooligan (1998)

11) What Time Is Love? (Live At Trancentral) (12" Version): The KLF ft. MC Bello & The Children Of The Revolution (1990)

12) World Tour Sessions (Album Version): Public Enemy ft. Kyle Jason (1999)

13) Bashment Boogie (Shadowless Tomz Remix): Roots Manuva (2002)

14) Bug Powder Dust (Radio Mix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

15) New New York: Tes (2003)

16) Bonita Applebum (12" Why? Edit By CJ Mackintosh): A Tribe Called Quest (1990)

What’s Ya Flava, Flavor Flav?! (1:20:34)