Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest #4 - Watch Your Step - Ted Hawkins.

The fourth LP in my Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest is Ted Hawkins' album, 'Watch Your Step'.

The album is interesting because despite being a 1986 LP, the songs were recorded in the early 1970s by Bruce Bromberg. It was originally released in 1982 in the USA on Rounder Records, but this is a 1986 'made in France' version on the 'Windows on the World' label, which I can't find any information on, apart from the fact that they only did Ted Hawkins songs! So I'm guessing it was set up specifically to sell Ted Hawkins music in Europe.

The LP has a '50s soul sound - although it is hard to pigeonhole, with bits of gospel, blues and country. It also has a subtle guitar voice, really to back the vocals. I think it deserves concentrated listening, as there is more going on then a casual listen might suggest. For instance, Ted Hawkins uses his own songs, so they are personal to himself.

My favouite song is 'Who got my Natural Comb?' (Side A, Track 6), because of the rhythm. The bass was played by Dennis Walker, who has played with big names like B.B. King and Robert Cray.

I like the cover artwork because it has a geometric, abstract look, including a Yamaha acoustic! The photographer was Carl Keyes, who has also worked with Robert Cray.

I think Ted Hawkins should be a bigger name but was on the wrong side of the law too long - which shows you to make the most of your opportunities!

I also like the fact that it is 'environmentally friendly', in the sense that it was made in France for the European market, rather than being made miles away and flown halfway around the world.

Here he is on an Andy Kershaw BBC session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCykU8A1ARM

Self-Isolation School Dance Club Routine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfT_a9MjO40

Missing Carpet Blues!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhGTtdfFbFI

Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest #3 - Thank Christ for the Bomb - The Groundhogs

The Groundhogs are a London-based band, named after a John Lee Hooker song, "Groundhog's Blues". There have been lots of line-up changes over the years, but for this LP, it was Tony McPhee on the guitars and vocals, Peter Cruickshank on the bass and Ken Pustelnik on the drums. 'Thank Christ for the Bomb' was the third studio album recorded by The Groundhogs, in 1970, originally released by Liberty Records. My version is the re-released Sunset Records version (code SLS 50376) made for the UK and French market in 1976. (Sunset Records are a budget re-issue label of Liberty Records.) The original Liberty Records version was a gatefold with different rear artwork to mine.
https://www.thegroundhogs.co.uk/hogs/alist/trthank.html

In an interview, McPhee said, "Well, the idea for the title of the album came from our manager. He just had this idea that we needed to show we were getting away from blues and [...], he decided that we needed a gimmick and John said “Christ” [and the topical nuclear bomb] will cause an uproar."
https://www.earlyblues.com/Interview%20-%20Tony%20McPhee.htm
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2011/08/groundhogs-interview-with-tony-mcphee.html

I really like the artwork, with the fonts and the colours and the imagery. Alan Tanner did the artwork. Back in the sixties and seventies Alan designed album covers for bands such as Hawkwind and Procol Harem. These days he is an artist and a familiar face in Govanhill, an area on the south side of Glasgow. There's a great potted history here:
https://govanhillvoice.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/part-one-alan-tanners-music-is-the-revolution/
https://govanhillvoice.wordpress.com/2016/09/11/part-two-alan-tanners-bubble-trap/
https://govanhillvoice.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/alan-tannerss-tartanpantaloons/

The image of Pete Cruickshank on the left of the front cover is adapted from photograph Q 1 in the Imperial War Museum's photograph archive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Irish_Rifles_ration_party_Somme_July_1916.jpg

It's a really good rocking sound with blues heritage, a dark, percussive style. I'm not so keen on the unclear vocals, but I think it does suit some of the songs. My favouite song is probably 'Rich Man, Poor Man' (Side B, Track Four) closely followed by the title track, 'Thank Christ for the Bomb' (Side A, Track Four). The LP cover's not pristine, some of the glue has dried off and it has some sellotape damage, but the vinyl is in excellent condition and it was either free or just a pound or two from a charity shop (I can't remember!).

The Clocks

I thought that I would have a go at something based on a 'tick-tock' sound.

WARNING! Song includes deep bassy drones so use headphones and/or good quality speakers for optimum eerie effect!

WARNING 2! If you are scared by eerie effects, do not use headphones and/or good quality speakers!

And here it is:
https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/the-clocks

Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest #2 - Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy - Billy Bragg

The second LP in my Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest is Billy Bragg's first LP, called 'Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy'.

It's a 1983 LP, first released by Charisma in May, but this is the November ‘Go! Records’ re-issue bought by my dad in 1983. (Or maybe 1984 – it was a long time ago!) ‘Go!’ were an independent label started by an ex-employee of Stiff Records and had Billy Bragg as their first signing.

But is it an LP or an EP? It’s only 16 minutes and 7 tracks long! Also, when you first play it, it sounds a bit funny because it’s a 45 rpm record, not 33 1/3 rpm!

It’s a simple sleeve design, with a striking orange and white stripe pattern. Typical early Billy Bragg wanted it to be affordable and it reads on the front cover ‘PAY NO MORE THAN £2.99 FOR THIS 7 TRACK ALBUM’. It also has nice touches like the ‘Beware the Squander Bug’ logo, which is still an important message today with the environment and globalisation.

The songs sound simple (one man, one guitar, one amp) but are actually quite difficult to play. They have a very percussive sound, which reminds me of some of the ‘olde’ blues players, like Son House.

My favourite song is 'A New England’, though ‘The Busy Girl Buys Beauty’ is a close second.

There’s a really good write up by Billy Bragg himself on his Facebook page about the ‘made in Japan’ Arbiter guitar that he used for the LP.
https://www.facebook.com/billybraggofficial/posts/following-the-positive-response-to-my-posting-about-the-burns-steer-last-week-th/10154995597957471/

If you haven’t got Facebook, there’s also this link:
https://six-string-survivors.tumblr.com/post/17732992666/billy-bragg-week-continues-here-at-six-string

There’s a fun video on Youtube where Billy Bragg plays the whole LP as an encore. Interestingly, he uses a Telecaster here and it still sounds great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOpSIPZiI-I

Harley Benton JA-60 Mods #2

(Photo 1)
The first thing I had to do was to remove the strings.

(Photos 2 and 3)
This was followed by the bridge, tailpiece and studs. These were really easy to remove because they were only finger-tight - I didn't even have to use the screwdriver!

(Photo 4)
Then I put the new studs in, that came with the Vanson bridge. Again, these were only finger-tight. They even supply both metric and US-size studs with the bridge!

(Photo 5)
Comparison! The saddles appeared to have the same spacing, so I left them and hoped for the best with the intonation.

(Photos 6 and 7)
Time for the new bar and fitting the tremolo! This was again finger-tight, so it was still easy enough.

(Photos 8 to 10)
To remove the pickguard, I had to (carefully!) lever off the volume and control knobs and unscrew the bolts around the shafts/etc. The pickguard easily lifted off after unscrewing the screws around the outside.

(Photo 11)
I prepared the pickguard by washing it with soapy water to get all of the grease off, and then I covered the pickguard with some sticky-back vinyl (the type you get from craft and DIY shops). Putting it on was easy, and it stuck very well. The difficult bit came with trimming around the edges, because it had a bevelled edge. So I used a craft knife, but I didn't have a new blade, which was a mistake. Even so, it looks very good from a distance and it's passable close up. I'm not sure yet whether to leave it as it is, recover it, or just get a new pickguard!

I then had to put the old strings back on (after everything else), because I can't go to the guitar shop to get some new ones yet. And it took ages!

(Photos 12 and 13)
The finished result!

I'm very pleased with it, because it was the first time I've done anything like this before (although it was very easy on the whole). The tremolo plays really well. It fits the hand easily and it seems to retain the tuning, even with the old strings on! Surprisingly, the internation still seems spot on - so overall, I'm really pleased with the Vanson roller bridge.

So the final stage would be to fit the Catswhisker mini humbucker pickup in the bridge, but I'll need the guitar shop to reopen for that!

Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest #1 - Slade Alive!

The first LP for my Self-Isolation Vinyl Fest is, of course, by Slade and is called 'Slade Alive!'. It's a 1972 Polydor LP and many of the tracks are rock and roll covers; only three out of the seven tracks on there are actually by Slade!

It's a gatefold LP, which I really like, and when you open it up, it gives a panoramic landscape of one of Slade's concerts - which I really like, mainly due to the extreme tonal range on there. The photography was done by famous rock photographer Chris Walter. I don't like the picture on the inner sleeve too much, but there are some great press reviews for you to read.

My favourite track is 'Get Down With It' (Side B, Track 2, by Bobby Marchan), but the LP opens with a really great rocking blues riff in 'Hear Me Calling' (Side A, Track 1, by Alvin Lee).

The album is considered as one of the greatest live all-time albums (according to Wikipedia!).

It has been re-released on vinyl and CD, but this is the original 1972 LP, bought by my dad in 1972!

You can hear it on Youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXIRuXgCz4A

Harley Benton JA-60 Mods #1!

This all started with an idea to do a Link Wray homage based around his Yamaha SG-2, using a modern Yamaha Revstar, but the numbers worked out too expensive!

I already had a Harley Benton JA-60, which is a really nice guitar, but maybe lacks a 'wow' factor, and as that's the sort of guitar that Link Wray might play if he was starting off today, I thought I'd use that instead!

The plan is to fit a Duesenberg tremolo with Vanson roller bridge, change the 'salami' pickguard, and change the bridge pickup for a Catswhisker mini humbucker. (The Harley Benton Jazzmaster pickups are pretty good but I wanted something with a bit of attitude in the bridge.)

This will be an ongoing project, and I don't know when it will be finished, because I have to wait for my local guitar shop to reopen to solder in the pickup!

Sam's A-Z Self-Isolation Playlist - Day 26 (Z) - Townes Van Zandt

Sam's A-Z Self-Isolation Playlist - Day 26 (Z) - Townes Van Zandt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6O9eRvNs5k