Sunday 12 January 2014

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 12/01/14 - Jungle, U2, Echoman, Talisman, Ed Sheeran,

Five tracks that thawed the Arctic Vortex this week...


Old Pa's Corner:-
Talisman - Greetings and Salutations (2013)


Talisman are a Roots Reggae band from the Reggae Haven that is Bristol. They reformed in 2011and have just released their third album and it is their first new material since 1990 would you believe.

This is great stuff and the band are as water tight as a beavers scrotem with a great prominent bass shinning through. Greetings and Salutations is the lead track from their album  I-Surrection (2013) and for good measure I have thrown in the Dub version too.

Utterley delicious! Utterley scrumsios!.  Go on treat yourselves.

Is it me or is that great bass riff a little bit too close to Seven Nation Army....it is still bloody brilliant!  Never mind the White Stripes....would anybody like to join me in a case of Red Stripe,  chilled to perfection !! my treat!.

Flycasual:-
Jungle - 'Drops' (2013)


I could have picked any of the four tracks on Jungle's debut release, The Heat EP (buy it on Bandcamp here), it's saucy interstellar Electro Soul at it's very finest. So I went for the eerie groove of 'Drops', as it was the first song I heard from the West London duo and has, hands down, the best use of a creaking door in music, ever. I haven't felt this excited about an artist (apart from Young Fathers who are a bit similar) for awhile and I'm so looking forward to hearing more. Jungle were also nominated for the BBC sound of 2014, big ting awaits!

Chess club records

Sfw:-
Ed Sheeran - I See Fire (2013)


I do not know where I was in December, but the fact I missed this was a complete school boy error. It features in 'The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug' and has got me wanting to watch the film (again). It's strange how much Ed divides opinion. Whether it is all the success he's obtained, the fact he written songs for One Direction or just pure ginger jealously. The guy has a talent that cannot be ignored...and my wife thinks he's brilliant, so I have no choice.

Shell Hunter:-
Just when you think U2 have had their day, they come back with this absolute treasure. It was written to honour Nelson Mandela for the recent biopic Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and it was seeing early cuts of this film that inspired them to write it. It could be rightfully set to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song this year and shows that these guys have still got what it takes to create a classic, with the production help of good old Danger Mouse. That'll teach me to write a band off!

You can purchase U2 tickets from MainEventSpecials.com

London Scouser:-
Echoman - 'Zero Gravity' (2013)
 
3 guys get together with the aim of making some music to feature in an ad campaign for Skoda. The resulting song inspired them to form a band, and that's 'Echoman'. I was at the cinema this week when I heard this song, I immediately liked it and scrambled to get my phone out so I could Shazam it. I wonder if they will be able to follow this up with more great tunes....

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TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 12/01/14 - Jungle, U2, Echoman, Talisman, Ed Sheeran,
4/ 5
Oleh

7 comments

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12 January 2014 at 14:27

Great to hear new stuff from Talisman - I had no idea. Tune!

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Anonymous
12 January 2014 at 19:09

Talisman! Beautiful. How I loved them back in the olden days. Great to have them back. Must get the album.

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13 January 2014 at 12:02

Old Pa, love this, the bassline does sound a bit like the White Stripes but this great Roots reggae. Brilliant dub.

Sfw, you can't knock Ed Sheeran really, he had a meteoric rise through sheer hard work and he's a definite talent, unlike some of the chancers you see on XFactor and ting. I think the British public certainly knock success but I don't quite understand why he's become so big as opposed to somebody like Keaton Henson, Fink or a Patrick Watson.

Shell Hunter, yeah this is pretty good, a real grower they still have it. Miles better than....Como estas?

LS, not bad but I hate car adverts and this unfortunately sounds just like a car advert even if I didn't know it was for a car advert. On a plus it sounds like Imagine Dragons or Awolnation so they could still go on.

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sfw
14 January 2014 at 21:20

Another great week of tracks!

OP - This is great!
FC - The is gr-great!
SH - Likey!
LS - Crikey! I Likey!

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15 January 2014 at 15:18

OP - Not being the biggest fan of redgy, I played this expecting to forward it half way through, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's everything I like about the genre, non-offensive and easy to listen to.
FC - Really liked this, the vocals sound like they could have come from the Earth Wind & Fire era of funk. It makes me proud to have once lived in West London !!
SFW - Pleasant enough. I haven't seen the 'obbit fims yet, but I could imagine this fitting in nicely based on my recollection of the LOTR films.
I'm not anti-ginger, but I've also never really understood the hype about Ed. He became famous for making kids singalong about drugs, and we all know that drugs are bad.
There's no doubting he's talented however.
SH - I haven't listened to U2 for a while, and this is up there with some of their great slow 'uns like 'One' & 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own'

And the winner is... U2 at the Golden Globes, but I'm personally plumping for Talisman

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16 January 2014 at 12:37

You can tell ED's made it too, as he has a sleeve Tattoo down his arm.

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17 January 2014 at 10:30

FC - this was excellent but too short I was just getting into it when it stopped. Must listen to some more.
SFW - I agree he has somthing...done a couple of good Dylan covers too...this is pretty good....don't think I could face another Hoobbit film for a while...feels like cash in to me!!
SH - great U2 track....like REM they are suffering from the 'too popular' stigma, but this is up there.
LS - this song defise grafity, this song defise gravity and I like it, and I like it!

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