Graham Parker C/D

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Practically no discussion on him here at all, other than people marvelling that Squeezing Out Sparks was the P&J #1 album of '79. It's really a great, somewhat forgotten album. His other early albums all had a few good tracks each as I recall. So, any thoughts?

― whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Sunday, 23 October 2005 00:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

His debut, "Howlin' Wind", is a classic and I actually prefer it to "Squeezing." Pretty much every song on that one is great. And all smug and bitter p&j comments aside, "Squeezing" is still a terrific LP. "Local Girls" is a personal fave.

But everything else I've heard by him has been a little bit of a let down: "Heat Treatment" is in the vein of "Howlin' Wind" but it didn't do anything for me when I got it, maybe I should play it again. I got "Stick to Me" out of a dollar bin a while ago, again, it didn't really stay in rotation. I should probably throw all of these on in the next day or so, though.

This thread will be short--Parker is far from an ILM hero. But those two LPs should appeal to people who like Van Morrison, the Band, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello's first record.

― Keith C (lync0), Sunday, 23 October 2005 01:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

That Rhino compilation is a REALLY good place to start... one of my favorite anthologies evah. Fair and balanced, to borrow a phrase.

― hector savage, Sunday, 23 October 2005 03:15 (7 years ago) Permalink

HW prolly remains his best, though HT is worth the extra time Keith is finding it takes. Parker's later discography (post-'83 or so) is very spotty, but he can still put on an intense live show, especially when he plays with the Figgs.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 23 October 2005 05:04 (7 years ago) Permalink

I bought pinback buttons ("campaign" buttons) of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker at a record store in Iowa City in 1979. Hadn't worn the EC ten minutes before someone asked me where to get one. The GP button was a dud, because no one knew who he was.

― M. V. (M.V.), Sunday, 23 October 2005 06:03 (7 years ago) Permalink

"That Rhino compilation is a REALLY good place to start..."

Actually it's probably all the Graham Parker most people will ever need.

Shame there wasn't room on it for a handful of the finer moments that The Rumour recorded without GP.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Sunday, 23 October 2005 12:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

I rate Howlin' Wind (if ever there were an album that sneaks up on you as it builds!), Heat Treatment (especially "That's What They All Say" and "Fool's Gold") and Squeezing Out Sparks (esp. "Nobody Hurts You", "You Can't Be Too Strong" & "Saturday Nite Is Dead"). Mona Lisa's Sister is good too, something of a comeback at the time. haven't investigated the sonic issues re: Stick to Me enough to know if it is/contains buried classic(s). I like his persona - "Don't Let It Break You Down" is a kind of mantra. "That's What They All Say" and "Nobody Hurts You" have great punchlines. some of the music is particularly fearsome (albeit in a neo-classical bluesy rock vein).

― Paul (scifisoul), Sunday, 23 October 2005 15:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I always thought *Stick To Me* was kind of underrated. I pretty much like everything through *Squeezing Out Sparks* (except, for, well, what was that one thing called, *The Parkerilla*? Was that just a stop-gap contract completion thing? Didn't it have, like, a side-long 12-inch dance remix of "Hey Lord Don't Ask Me Questions" or whatever? I forget.) Outside of his '80s blue-eyed-soul single (his biggest hit, right?) "Wake Up," though, everything after *Sparks* I heard pretty much bored me. (Though wait, and speaking of contract obligations, when was "Mercury Poisoning"? That was notable, obviously.) Never heard the Rhino comp; if it has much '80s stuff on it, though, I'd say avoid it. Definitive comp from my perspective (good luck finding a copy, heh heh) is *Historia De La Musica Rock* (Orbis, Spain, 1982); track listing goes Soul Shoes, Heat Treatmen (sic), Howling Wind, Back to Schooldays, You Can't Be Too Strong, Kansas City, Stick To Me, New York Shuffle, Local Girls, White Honey, Hotel Chambermaid. Between You And Me. Plus it looks really cool. Got mine for $1 at Princeton Record Exchange a few years back,

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 15:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

White Honey
Back to Schooldays
Howlin' Wind
Don't Ask Me Questions
Soul Shoes [live]
Heat Treatment
Pourin' It All Out
Fool's Gold
Hold Back the Night
Stick to Me
Thunder and Rain
Watch the Moon Come Down
Mercury Poisoning
I Want You Back (Alive)
Discovering Japan
Local Girls
You Can't Be Too Strong
Passion Is No Ordinary Word
Stupefaction
Empty Lives
No Holding Back
Another Grey Area
Temporary Beauty
Life Bets Better
Anniversary
You Can't Take Love for Granted
Break Them Down
Wake up (Next to You)
Don't Let It Break You Down
Back in Time
Get Started, Start a Fire
Soul Corruption
Little Miss Understanding
My Love's Strong
Big Man on Paper
They Murdered the Clown
The Kid With the Butterfly Net
Strong Winds (should this be on the Any good songs about farting? thread???)
Museum of Stupidity

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Sunday, 23 October 2005 15:53 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, that's WAY more than anybody will ever need. Fucking CDs, man -- They could've got rid of the whole second half of that setlist and barely lost a thing. Save your money, people-- search the dollar bins for the original vinyl. And avoid post-'79 copyrights.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 15:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'd forgotten about the "I Want You Back" Jackson 5 cover, though. That was a non-LP b-side (of "Local Girls," maybe?) in the U.S., and I definitely remember digging it at the time.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 16:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

"You Can't Be Too Strong"--one of the few pro-life songs of the era?

― Keith C (lync0), Sunday, 23 October 2005 16:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

Less few than you might think; obviously there's "Bodies" by the Sex Pistols, for starters. (There is a thread on the subject somewhere, I believe.)

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 16:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, Howling Wind, Heat Treatment,Squeezing Out Sparks, "Mercury Poisoning," "I Want You Back" and the song "Stick To Me" - like Paul I was scared away from the album. Right after Sparks he put out some really boring stuff - the song "Temporary Beauty" was a standout track on an incredible dull album.

A hook for the younger people- his drummer later went on to play with the Mekons.

TS "White Honey" vs. "Black Honey"

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 23 October 2005 17:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

Several great albums, with the brilliantly catchy "Stupefaction" single being the hightlight of his entire output IMO. Very unfair that he was never able to have a proper hit.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 23 October 2005 21:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

So where should I start - with Howlin' Wind, Squeezing Out Sparks, or the Rhino comp? I've only heard a handful of tunes, most of which impressed me as drier, grouchier Elvis Costello pub-rock. He seemed to spend most of hte 80s trying REALLY hard to score a crossover hit, no? (although "Wake Up [Next To You]" is OK).

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

Not the Rhino comp, Alfred, I promise. See my posts above.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:35 (7 years ago) Permalink

but the Princeton Record Exchange is too far away, Chuck!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

There are dollar albums everywhere! One only has to open one's eyes (and yellow pages)!

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:40 (7 years ago) Permalink

Oh, I frequent them all the time, but I've never stumbled upon a Graham Parker album (I do see lots of Terence Trent D'Arby though).

I must say: the title of and album cover for The Real Macaw is so dorky.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:42 (7 years ago) Permalink

Oh, I just adored Howling Wind and Heat Treatment... to the extent that when I first heard Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, I dismissed him out of hand as a GP copyist. GP & The Rumour also led me retrospectively to Brinsley Schwarz, for which much thanks.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Sunday, 23 October 2005 22:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

Whatever happened to the guy who was the drummer for Brinsley Schwarz-and I think he sang too- was his name Billy Rankin?

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 23 October 2005 23:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

He was in Nazareth too, Billy Rankin was. And he had a minor hit in '84 with "Baby Come Back" (not the same-titled '77 Player hit.) And, finally, he played a Gibson ES-335 decorated with a cool tartan pattern!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 24 October 2005 08:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

Surely these are two different people with the same name.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 24 October 2005 10:05 (7 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Never saw Graham Parker solo. Just saw him with a band for this first time since the Squeezing Out Sparks tour.

― curmudgeon, Monday, 30 April 2007 06:14 (6 years ago) Permalink

"for the first time"

Sometimes great, sometimes not

― curmudgeon, Monday, 30 April 2007 06:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

It's about four albums back and, natch, already out of print but his Razor & Tie record Deepcut to Nowhere is just tremendous, in my opinion. Great record.

― ellaguru, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:54 (6 years ago) Permalink

He sang "Syphilis and Religion" from that one live.

― curmudgeon, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

"You Can't Be Too Strong"--one of the few pro-life songs of the era?

-- Keith C (lync0), Sunday, October 23, 2005 11:17 AM (1 year ago)

that seems a little simplistic to me...it's not like it's a sloganeering song...i can never quite totally be sure of how he feels about it, it's a pretty brilliant bit of lyric writing.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:18 (6 years ago) Permalink

How would anyone reckon the comp "Vertigo" stacks up against the Rhino one and/or the preferred individual albums? Tracklist:

1. Between You And Me 2:29
2. I'm Gonna Use It Now 3:05
3. You've Got To Be Kidding 3:29
4. Howlin' Wind 3:56
5. Back To Schooldays 2:57
6. White Honey 3:10
7. That's What They All Say 3:51
8. Back Door Love 3:28
9. Back To Schooldays 2:59
10. Silly Thing 3:21
11. Chain Of Fools 3:12
12. Don't Ask Me Questions 5:40
13. You Can't Hurry Love 3:34
14. Soul Shoes 3:36
15. Kansas City 3:51
16. Heat Treatment 3:15
17. Hotel Chambermaid 2:59
18. Black Honey 4:00
19. Fool's Gold 4:14
20. Hold Back The Night 3:04
21. (Let Me Get) Sweet On You 2:41

Disc 2

1. The New York Shuffle 3:02
2. Watch The Moon Come Down 4:54
3. The Raid 2:31
4. Lady Doctor 2:54
5. I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down 3:28
6. The Heat in Harlem 7:01
7. Gypsy Blood 4:37
8. Discovering Japan 3:27
9. Local Girls 3:37
10. Nobody Hurts You 3:39
11. You Can't Be Too Strong 3:17
12. Passion Is No Ordinary Word 4:26
13. Saturday Nite Is Dead 3:18
14. Love Gets You Twisted 3:01
15. Protection 3:54
16. Waiting For The UFOs 3:08
17. Don't Get Excited 3:03
18. Mercury Poisoning 3:10
19. I Want You Back (Live) 3:21

― sinister Porpoise, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:34 (6 years ago) Permalink

Curiously enough, I just came across a novel with the lyrics to "Nobody Hurts You" quoted in the front.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

I got rid of the couple of Graham Parker CDs I had years ago, but I would love to have a copy of the song Discovering Japan. That song is really great.

I might have to look for a used copy of Squeezing Out Sparks, as I haven't listened to any Graham Parker since the early 90s.

― earlnash, Monday, 30 April 2007 22:49 (6 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

damn, is this guy kinda underrated. howlin' wind is a FANTASTIC debut. i've had copies of it since ~1982, and i love it more now than ever; to me it's more enjoyable than (Elvis') my aim is true, which, i think, came out around the same time; and is ~sort of~ in a similar post-pubrock vein. he lost me w/ his fifth record and i've never gone back to any but the first four, but 3 of those are quite classic, IMO.
who cares

― controlled noise pollution (outdoor_miner), Thursday, 19 November 2009 00:17 (3 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

You know, I gotta confess, Howlin Wind has never totally killed me. Never felt half as consistent hookwise or songwise as Squeezing Out Sparks. I just played it again -- "White Honey" (what drug is that about anyway?) and "Back To Schooldays" always jump out of the start and end of side one for their energy if nothing else, and on side two, the title track has an emotional intensity to it, and then "Don't Ask Me Questions" at the end blows the rest of the album out of the water. But that's not even half of an album approaching greatness. And while being a white mid-American guy in my late 40s I like the boogie, I'll be damned if the songs about gypsy women and doctor women and soul shoes aren't just great big blueshammer bar-band cliches on a plate -- they'd be decent-but-generic on a J. Geils or Southside Johnny album, and same thing here. Unless I'm missing something, in which case maybe somebody can finally explain what it is. As is, I'm pretty sure, challopsily enough, I'd prefer Stick To Me if I still owned a copy. (Don't have Heat Treatment anymore either; if I ever did.)

One weird thing, though, is that everybody always talks about Parker winning Pazz & Jop in 1979, and nobody ever seems to mention his more remarkable earlier P&J accomplishment, which was putting two albums in the top four in 1976 -- HT at 2nd. HW at 4th. 449 points total, which would've beat the pants off of Songs In The Key Of Life's 292 if things were counted that way. I feel like that's a rock critic story that's never been fully explained to younger generations (which would include me in this case) -- critics must have really loved the guy. (Stick To Me went 19th in 1977, fwiw; a major letdown!)

Xgau only briefly mentioned the '76 twofer in his essay (though I just noticed that he beat me to the math above by, uh, 33 years.) He does say, though, that Dylan had finished 1st and 4th in 1975. (Husker Du go 6th and 8th in 1985; not sure who's done anything comparable since.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 02:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

he put out an album the year after squeezing out sparks, the up escalator, and i never ever see it used and i never ever hear anyone mention it. and i've never heard it. seems weird cuz its the follow-up to a pretty popular album.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 02:33 (3 years ago) Permalink

This is the second time i was hoping to read something about Graham Day.

― meisenfek, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 02:37 (3 years ago) Permalink

Like lots of other people, apparently, I've always considered The Up Escalator his shark-jump album, which possibly means I heard it once upon a time. Finished #36 P&J, a pretty huge plummet after his poll-winner. But they both charted at #40 in Billboard, the highest he ever got. (Mona Lisa's Sister, from '88, had a genuine Top 40 single but never got higher than #77 on the album chart.) Maybe the reason Escalator copies don't show up used (I'd never noticed) is that Springsteen is one cut. His fans can be real pack rats, right?

Christgau never graded it! Weird, because he'd given four previous LPs A's or A-s, and graded a bunch of later ones. Probably had to do with him taking a vacation in 1980. This is from his '80 Pazz & Jop essay:

36. Graham Parker's The Up Escalator: By most accounts, the latest from last year's victor-by-consensus is the downer of the year, following up on everything pinched in his singing and mean-spirited in his vision. But it's hooky--"the hummable Graham Parker," Tom Carson called it--and for some that's apparently enough.

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 02:56 (3 years ago) Permalink

Oops, I goofed -- actually the Top 40 single "Wake Up" was from Steady Nerves in 1985. (Which still only peaked at #57, chartwise.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 03:00 (3 years ago) Permalink

rick springfield is apparently a big fan of the up escalator:

Rick Springfield:C or D?

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 03:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

Chuck I think part of the thing with Howlin Wind is there's a cumulative build effect, maybe best heard the first time through. cos I've gone back to this and had the same reaction of trying to break it into component parts and thinking how does this add up to that much?

so maybe a case of sum greater than the parts? also, not only does Graham's facility & confidence (the latter like Van Morrison only at his peak) seem to grow as the album goes, but the band's power shines through over the course until BLAM, everyone's giving the middle finger to GOD! (also kinda like: some of these songs are 'A's, but none is less than a 'B', and the balance improves across the album)

Heat Treatment seems like Part 2 of the same album, but riding that full-blown confidence and musical strength (all at or close to peak). that's probably my fave Parker album, even though I think of it more in terms of fave songs (most of 'em!), unlike Howlin and <Squeezing[/i], which I like for their overall feel as albums.

― Paul, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 04:19 (3 years ago) Permalink

Okay, I guess I understand that logic, just don't buy it -- I've never been one to cut albums slack for "pacing," and giving Howling Wind bonus points just because its one song that would've been good enough for Squeezing Out Sparks is saved for the very end seems kinda fishy to me....Okay, maybe "Back To Schooldays" would be good enough too, but as far as I can tell, that's it. (Don't get the building-and-building-to-transcendence claim; the second and third best songs are on the first side, not the second side.) Then again, I always thought of Sparks as a super consistent batch of individual songs that've stuck to my gills over the years; had no idea that people heard it as an overall-feel album. Still, thanks for explaining, Paul!

Btw, just noticed from his '70s book that Christgau originally gave HW a B+ and HT an A-, then upped both grades to A's later. (And then he gave Sparks an A+, but bumped that to an A, too!)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:48 (3 years ago) Permalink

Huh...just checked The New Trouser Press Record Guide; hadn't realized that Dave Edmunds plays guitar on "Back To Schooldays" (which partly explains why I like it so much) and also recorded the song himself on Get It in 1977. (And just remembered that Parker also wrote "Crawling From Wreckage," a small AOR hit and one of the hardest rocking tracks on Edmunds's excellent '79 Repeat When Necessary.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:07 (3 years ago) Permalink

are those eighties Parker albums even remotely interesting?

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

parker wrote crawling from the wreckage? well now i have one more good thing to say about him. i'll be honest, i'm not a big fan. even of the 70's stuff. the best of the 70's stuff is okay, but the costello + springsteen formula just never did much for me. squeezing out sparks wouldn't even make a best of 1979 list of mine, let alone a 70's list. i always feel like i would like his songs better if other people did them. local girls, which i like, would have been even better if elvis or nick lowe or rockpile or dave edmunds had done it. or maybe nrbq! i do like the individual members of the rumour, but i like them in brinsley schwarz and ducks deluxe.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:21 (3 years ago) Permalink

(and i don't think there is a graham parker song that i like as much as hit me with your rhythm stick, reasons to be cheerful, or sex, drugs, & rock & roll. except for maybe crawling from the wreckage! which IS one of my favorite songs of the 70's.)

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:27 (3 years ago) Permalink

Btw (side issue) the Rumour (sans Parker) album I bought a used CD of a couple years ago, Max from 1977, was really disappointing, in case anybody's considering looking around for it. (I do remember liking "Emotional Traffic," from 1979's Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts, when I used to hear it on my college radio station in the '80s, though.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:34 (3 years ago) Permalink

i like the frogs sprouts album! that's a good one.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:37 (3 years ago) Permalink

Bands nobody ever talks about anymore in the "England" chapter of the 1980 new wave guide I just bought for http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?showall=true&bookmarkedmessageid=1&boardid=41&threadid=46330 off a seemingly homeless guy set up on the sidewalk of St Marks

― Cage, Trintignant, Sheen (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:50 (3 years ago) Permalink

Excellent goofball German version of "Crawling Through The Wreckage" on Benny's best-of CD (which placed #1 on my Pazz & Jop ballot this year):

http://www.amazon.com/Amigo-Charly-Brown-Hits-gestern/dp/B001PDIRO2

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 16:59 (3 years ago) Permalink

Been a while since I've heard them, but I really like the playing on those first two GP albums. Really confident, swinging, airy pub rock stuff. It sounds like a road-tested band at their peak. The playing on Squeezing Out Sparks is a little more claustrophobic, jittery. Which is OK, just different. So basically those first two work as great groove albums, even if the good-to-great song ratio might be better on Sparks.

― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 21:31 (3 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 52 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

I believe IH and GP did a double bill
earlier at a benefit for the great Graham Maby, bass player for Joe Jackson and many others, including Marshall Crenshaw, who was left with a large medical bill after his wife's losing battle with cancer

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 2 December 2012 17:21 (6 months ago) Permalink

stage patter was priceless

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:09 (6 months ago) Permalink

society for ethical culture was an interesting choice of venue though the sound was good - vey clear and we sat in the next-to last row all the way up in the rafters. seats resembled pews but cushions made em comfortable. i know about the ethical culture school etc but the auditorium had a pseudo-church vibe that's hard to explain, the statues seemed *vaguely* biblical, depicting guys who almost kinda sorta looked like jesus or some prophet w/o being too specific. like unitarian but more secular, maybe?

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:17 (6 months ago) Permalink

How were The Figgs?

― kwhitehead, Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:33 (6 months ago) Permalink

(xp) I was way up there too, but in the second row from the rail. I hope you didn't mind my loudness during The Figgs sing-a-long to "Victoria."

I loved the way he held the audience off. Somebody requested the material we were all waiting to hear early on and he said "We'll get to that." Then there was that moment when there was a little pause he said "all right, there is an album we did back in 1979 and now we are going to side one track one off that album." Then there was still a heart-stopping moment of hesitation before they started up. Then he did a little bow and had all these choreographed dance moves he did during that part of the show. Actually I think there was a tiny hole in the mix during "Discovering Japan" because he wasn't playing guitar anymore but I think they probably boosted Brinsley after that so it wasn't a problem.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:39 (6 months ago) Permalink

DIdn't really know from The Figgs before this, I had only seen GP solo before, but they won me over.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:41 (6 months ago) Permalink

The Sparks part of the show was like when Andy Kaufman made a few minor adjustments to his wardrobe and all of a sudden turned into Elvis.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 2 December 2012 18:54 (6 months ago) Permalink

There was another story he told about fighting hard not to have a Phil Collins gated drum sound on his 80s recordings. Nonetheless when he sent around the MP3 of one of the songs to prepare for this tour the guys who hadn't played on it said "That was recorded during the 80s, wasn't it?" Today I read somewhere that he had fought with Ahmet Ertegun over this issue who proceeded to drop him from Atlantic Records! Hadn't even known he was on that label.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 December 2012 01:53 (6 months ago) Permalink

Besides the stuff off of the new album and off SoS, they began with "Fool's Gold," a little while later did "Nothin's Gonna Pull Us Apart," thereby dispatching with the first two albums. Somewhere along the line he also played the, um, title track off of Mona Lisa's Sister, "Get Started. Start A Fire" and a song off of Deepcut to Nowhere called, "I'll Never Play Jacksonsville Again." I thought at first he was talking about a "deep cut," but, as some of you must already know, it refers to the town in England that he is from. The first encore was mostly more from SoS. For the second encore, he walked out to the edge of the stage and looked dismissively at an audience member who had shouted a request , sneering "New York Shuffle?" and flapping his hand in a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me way, but that is what the band immediately started to play. The last song was "I Want You Back." Mark "Lovebug Starski" Coleman already mentioned "Stupefaction" off The Up Escalator, he can fill in the gaps or correct my errors.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 December 2012 03:25 (6 months ago) Permalink

Think I forgot "Watch The Moon Come Down."

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 3 December 2012 03:58 (6 months ago) Permalink

Graham Parker sounds more like Elvis Costello than Elvis Costello. FTW.

― Tyler Burns (burns46824@yahoo.com), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 08:01 (6 months ago) Permalink

It's fatal and it don't get better

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 10:42 (6 months ago) Permalink

Also: googler, please. This the Squeezing Out Sparks thread, not the Jumping The Shark thread.

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 18:34 (6 months ago) Permalink

Original videos for Local Girls and Protection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9A2O6CwW4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ETAZSFWWs

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 December 2012 01:43 (6 months ago) Permalink

I really like Live Alone in America, probably the first solo-electric-guitar album I'd ever heard when I was 18.

― blues bras (Eazy), Thursday, 6 December 2012 01:45 (6 months ago) Permalink

Don't know why the https, which seemed to mess up the embed. Try again

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 December 2012 01:50 (6 months ago) Permalink

RockPalast version of Stick To Me From 1978

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 December 2012 01:53 (6 months ago) Permalink

One more for now: New York Shuffle, 1978
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ipgtPCrd1O0&feature=endscreen

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 December 2012 02:09 (6 months ago) Permalink

Take off the endscreen and see if the embed works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ipgtPCrd1O0

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 December 2012 02:10 (6 months ago) Permalink

Nope.

Am I the only fule who didn't know "Hold Back The Night" was a cover?

― Roadside Prisunic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 December 2012 18:13 (6 months ago) Permalink

A little jealous of the crowd that got to see this show, now with more Rumour-era material: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/graham-parker-draws-sold-crowd-402050

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 16:11 (6 months ago) Permalink

Seeing him tonight, psyched.

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 16:12 (6 months ago) Permalink

My friend in Chicago was dying to go but I think he has to go to the office Xmas party instead.

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 16:25 (6 months ago) Permalink

Didn't even know he was in town. Good for Bloodshot Records to be benefitting from the Apatow goodwill.

― your damn bass clarinet (Eazy), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 16:27 (6 months ago) Permalink

Ha, pretty sure it's not on Bloodshot. For sure there is a third-party publicist.

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 17:20 (6 months ago) Permalink

On a label called Primary Wave.

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 17:21 (6 months ago) Permalink

Oops, thought I read somewhere that it was. Well, if it helps them sell the records of his they did put out...

― your damn bass clarinet (Eazy), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 17:31 (6 months ago) Permalink

I just saw an article in Chicago Tribune where he discusses that

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 17:34 (6 months ago) Permalink

Sun-Times, I think:

Parker is to record labels what Lindsay Lohan is to handcuffs. He has recorded for (in chronological order): Mercury (he skewered them in the rave-up anthem “Mercury Poisoning”), Arista, Elektra, RCA, Capitol, Dakota Arts (the Christmas EP), Rhino, Razor & Tie and most recently Chicago’s Bloodshot).
“It’s ridiculous to sign Graham Parker to save your record label,” Parker said with a laugh. “Paradoxically, I do quite well for Bloodshot. For this record I moved to Primary Wave, who has been getting investment deal money. For this album I need to pay for a publicist. I told Bloodshot I had this album and if I got a lot of money thrown at me I’d do it with Primary Wave. I got substantially more than most indie labels. Bloodshoot totally understood. They said they would advertise the record on their website and put up tour dates.”

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:02 (6 months ago) Permalink

That's why I thought it was on Bloodshot--they promoted it and linked to it on their Facebook page.

― your damn bass clarinet (Eazy), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:16 (6 months ago) Permalink

Yes, that was it.

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:35 (6 months ago) Permalink

there's probably an essay to write reclaiming Parker's post-SOS "lost" period: all those Up Escalators, Steady Nerves, and real macaws.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:38 (6 months ago) Permalink

There are some good songs on those records for sure. "Stupefaction" off of The Up Escalator is in the current set list. Thinking about listening to some of his long list of "official bootlegs" as a way into the later material.

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:49 (6 months ago) Permalink

Right now listening to one called 80s Reverb Rules OK recorded live in Denmark with Brinsley and Andrew B between Steady Nerves and Mona Lisa's Sister. Read what the man himself says about it here: http://chairmanparker.blogspot.com/2011/03/80s-reverb-rules-ok-graham-parker-and.html

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:57 (6 months ago) Permalink

More concise description here: http://grahamparker.net/80sReverb.html

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:58 (6 months ago) Permalink

Guess that Chicago show is underway now. Randomly listening to these self-released live albums on Spotify is really working. Material that might have been ill-served by anonymous production gets a much better showing plus it is interspersed with some old favorites and trademark comedy banter.

― TS: shambala vs. sha la la, man (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 19 December 2012 03:23 (6 months ago) Permalink

'Twas a good show!

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 19 December 2012 04:53 (6 months ago) Permalink

Happy Birthday Martin Belmont!

― Rumba de Schmillsson (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 21 December 2012 14:17 (5 months ago) Permalink

Interviews with the birthday boy:
http://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/the-rock-town-hall-interview-martin-belmont
http://jeffcramer.blogspot.com/2011/04/very-candid-conversation-with-martin.html?m=1

― Rumba de Schmillsson (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 21 December 2012 15:16 (5 months ago) Permalink

It was impossible to read that without stopping to watch or listen to 30 things I didn't know about or hadn't thought about in eons.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 December 2012 20:10 (5 months ago) Permalink

So you listened to some Carlene Carter too?

― Rumba de Schmillsson (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 21 December 2012 22:05 (5 months ago) Permalink

By which I mean to say I did exactly the same

― Rumba de Schmillsson (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 21 December 2012 23:36 (5 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Mor US East Coast touring with the Rumour in April

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:21 (4 months ago) Permalink

Saw that. Debating whether to go again

― Leopard Skin POLL-Box Hat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:24 (4 months ago) Permalink

Yeah, it was great, but don't know how different it will be, given all the songs he must play. But the fact that he is Rumour-izing non Rumour stuff is intriguing.

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:27 (4 months ago) Permalink

DC area show sold out so quick last time, I hadn't gotten a ticket. Got tickets right when they went on sale this time. Had seen him with the Rumour back on the Squeezing Out Sparks tour, and once years later with his own band.

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:30 (4 months ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

Finally saw him with the Rumour again (since 1979). Good show -- I didn't know the new album stuff, but enjoyed the selections from the first few albums.

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 2 May 2013 17:00 (1 month ago) Permalink

"Don't Ask Me Questions" was very passionately delivered. I could have done without "Lady Doctor"-- kinda generic musically and lyrically.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/graham-parker-and-the-rumour/2013/rams-head-on-stage-annapolis-md-33d8d485.html

1.White Honey
2.Fool's Gold
3.Howlin' Wind
4.Coathangers
5.I'll Never Play Jacksonville Again
6.Long Emotional Ride
7.Lady Doctor
8.Get Started, Start A Fire
9.Black Honey
10.Snake Oil Capital of the World
11.Soul on Ice
12.A Lie Gets Halfway 'round the World
13.Watch the Moon Come Down Play Video
14.Discovering Japan
15.Don't Get Excited
16.Protection
17.Stupefaction
18.Local Girls
Encore:
19.Last Bookstore in Town
20.Don't Ask Me Questions
Encore 2:
21.Soul Shoes

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 2 May 2013 17:05 (1 month ago) Permalink

Cool. When was this, Steve? Last night? I guess that website would tell me.

― Blue Yodel No. 9 Dream (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 May 2013 17:07 (1 month ago) Permalink

Actually a little while back-- April 6th, but I suddenly realized I never mentioned it here. He just played even closer to me more recently (but that might have been when I was in New Orleans).

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 2 May 2013 17:17 (1 month ago) Permalink

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