DJTEES PLAYLIST

Singles

Todd Rundgren – I Saw The Light

Cor, love this, especially the solo. Simple and perfect.

REO Speedwagon – Take It On The Run

Smalltown America on a massive scale. Epic soft rock at its finest. Currently about to tour with Styx and Journey. On a cruise ship. Yes, honestly.

Paul Simon – Duncan

“Holes in my confidence, holes in the knees of my jeans…”

The Smiths - Cemetry Gates –

Not sure why, seem to have been thinking about Oscar Wilde recently. And not in That way.

10 CC – Art For Arts Sake. 

Witty and clever pop rock by men who looked like Geography teachers.

Dio – Holy Diver. 

Small but massive.

Journey – Who’s Cryin;’ now.

FM classic from the tight-pants-high-voice specialist, Steve Perry.

Cockney Rebel – Mr Soft. 

Early Cockney Rebel was a fascinating art-school mix of vaudeville and folk-rock. This is loveably sinister. 

Albums

Quiet Sun – Mainstream

Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera’s ambient jazz rock noodle excursion. Gongs are hit and songs are called ‘Mummy was an asteroid, daddy was a small non-stick kitchen utensil.’ So not ‘mainstream’ at all then.

Everything But The Girl – Love Not Money

Hull’s finest and largest chinned duo does mellow and yet acerbic folkie songs set against a backdrop of Thatcher’s brutal economic wastelands. Was quite profound at the time.

Extreme – Porno Graffitti

From that brief phase in the early 90s when funk metal was hip; about 3 weeks in 1991 I think it was. Get The Funk out!

David Gilmour – David Gilmour

His first solo album from 1978. Sounds very like Pink Floyd only with added Dave-power. Timeless stuff. It made the top 30 both sides of the pond.

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Before they were famous: sleazy and nasty and noses pressed up against the window. Punch the air and sing after me.

Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty

Urgent and powerful with deceptively funky bass hooks.

Libertines – Up The Bracket

As fine an expression of raw young energy and enjoyable destruction as anything since The Jam. 

Pixies – Doolittle

The rush and thrill of sticking naughty things in yourself, distilled. Plus: in love with Kim Deal.

Spirit – Spirit of ‘76

Randy California’s spirit of ’76 couldn’t have been less like the punk thing happening in UK. An album of rambling collages and great cover versions of Dylan and Hendrix numbers with added spliff enhanced guitaring. Yeah, that’ll do nicely.

Bob Dylan – Together Through Life

We have been, Bob, and we always will be. 

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Hats off to the short ponytail on the cover, and indeed everything else about this album. Revisit it and rediscover how to write bloody fantastic songs with killer melodies. Worth it for the rasp in Stevie’s throat alone.

The Who – The Who Sell Out

An awesome and witty concept, with stonking big tracks and a big bath of baked beans.

Credence Clearwater Revival  - Bayou Country

Fire up a bit of ‘Proud Mary’… you know you want to. R & B as it should be rough as gravel, strong as a California black oak.

The National - Alligator

With so many hot new things, fads and saviours of modern music sold to us by the music press, it’s easy to miss it when the real thing comes along. These guys are the real thing.

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter 

If music could shunt aside the clouds and get us all out of the city, then this would do it.

Kirsty MacColl - Kite

Smart, beautiful and would have ripped your balls off if you’d crossed her. What’s not to love?

Steve Winwood – Steve Winwood

His first solo outing in ’77 is a smooth slice of rock and soul. The success of Arc of a Diver overshadowed this one, but it’s probably a better album overall even if the cover looks like the sort of water colour painting the boy who’s ‘good at art’ would do in th 4th form.

The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love 

It’s a concept album! It has ‘movements’ rather than tracks! And yet still brilliant! Quite the achievement.

Dodos - Visiter

Sounds like it was recorded in a studio next to Buffalo Springfield, but was in fact released last year.

Gary Moore- We Want Moore

Mid 80s live album oddly featuring Jimmy Nail on the encore! Killer guitar music to gurn to. You never come back from a nuclear attack. Not if it lands on yer heed anyway.

Elliott Smith - Either/Or

That he’s not with us anymore is proof that there is no Almighty. And if there is, he’s a nasty vindictive thug who deserves no praise.

The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters

Loud, raw, visceral but tender. If there is justice in the world then they’re gonna be huge.

Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days

Whispering beauty from a man with the most impressive beard you’ve seen in some time.

Morrissey - Years of Refusal

Five or six corkers with five or six bits of filler. But when the corkers are that corking, you don’t mind about the filler.

Muse - Absolution

Massive, overblown, silly, OTT. And when did that become a bad thing, eh?

Stephen Stills- Live

Has an electric side and an acoustic side. The electric is killer – contains and rocked up Wooden Ships. Donnie Dacus does the lead. Whatever happened to Donnie?

JN & NM