British Folk – Flabbergasted Vibes

The Pogues – The Stiff Records B-Sides (1984-1987)
300 dpi cover scans | Folk-rock, Post-punk
1.93 GB (24/192) + 1.11 GB (24/96)
2023 Record Store Day Ltd. Ed || Warner Brothers 0190296503221

I just got the news that troubled genius Shane MacGowan passed away. There have been plenty of musical deaths in the last year, some of them unexpected and many more in the purview of the general vibe of this blog, that probably warranted a tribute post on this site. But I generally swore off doing commemoration posts when the musicians from my favorite eras of music began dropping like flies. Otherwise this blog would basically become an ongoing obituary column. I have been meaning to share this album since March, though. Many of the songs on it were new to me until this year, when it was released as a Record Store Day exclusive release. These are the kinds of RSD releases that characterized that “holiday” at the beginning for many people, presenting something genuinely rare and collectable, before it became flooded with pointless reissues of mainstream albums, gimmicky picture discs, and Taylor Swift exclusives that cause teenager girls and their moms to queue up on sidewalks overnight.. (Don’t get me wrong, I still spend money on RSD stuff – too much, actually – but man, there are so many garbage releases now. No offense intended to the Swifty army..)

The Humblebums – First Collection of Merry Melodies
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | Art scans at 300 dpi
1969 Transatlantic Records TRA 186 | Genre: Folk

The other week, I ran a Patreon poll for the site’s handful of patrons to ask what genre the next post should be about, and “folk” won the day. A few months ago I shared the final Humblebums record, Open The Door, which is split evenly between Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty songs. This debut album predates Rafferty’s participation and demonstrates that it was really Connolly’s project. In his place was Tommy Harvey, a competent guitarist who went on to play with Hamish Imlach, another Scotsman in the tradition of folk-comedy. The record opens with “Why Don’t They Come Back To Dunoon?”, a parody of the Jonathan King hit “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” which remained a staple in Connolly’s live performances. While I am a big fan of Rafferty’s bittersweet balladeering, this record is less bipolar and more cohesive than their other two releases because of Connolly’s total control over the mood. And of course, there is some hot banjo playing on it. (P.S. If you feel like supporting the site via Patreon, YOU TOO can participate in exciting polls and other activities!)

Tag: British Folk

The Pogues – The Stiff Records B-Sides (1984-1987) (2023 RSD release)

The Humblebums – First Collection of Merry Melodies (1969) (Transatlantic TRA-186)