That's Much Better!

Very Funny Santa, Now Where's My Real Present?

Christmas goodies chez irishrock.org. No turntable here, unfortunately, so I'm unable to give any of these a spin. It will have to wait until I get home next week:

A companion volume to 20 Greatest Irish Hits on Starlight Records, with another effective Jim Fitzpatrick cover.

UK edition of his best known album. My Dad went to school with John McNally, when he was known as Brendan MacNally.

Wow. Des Smyth the ladies man in 1976: the flares, the hair, the chest hair!, the leather belt with the big buckle. I'd never seen this LP before. Track selection looks not bad: You've Lost That Loving Feeling, The Letter, Love Potion #9, etc. Liner note by Del Shannon! CBS Ireland were busy in 1976.

Pure Northern country. Unbelieveably cheesy cover, even by Homespun Records standards. Tracy Wells, 1975.

On Phoenix Records, 1968. Any information about this label greatly appreciated, just get in touch.

Rumours of Our Demise Unfounded

Yes we are still here. Yes we do upate the website regularly. No we don't answer email very quickly. Yes you should send us anything you have to contribute. Don't ask first, just send! All materials are gratefully received and will be used.

Recent website additions:  

The Peelers, The Hitchers, Cherry Brogues, Anne Bushnell, Coitus, Big Bag of Sticks, Niall MacMahon, Bleeding Rectum (ouch!), Big Mistake, Bambi.

Label discographies updated this month alone:

Caroline Studios, Dara, Derry, Emerald Gem, Gael Linn, Hallmark, HMV, Jury's, Meglo, Mint, Play, Release, Top Spin and Unicorn.

A disciple sent me the following, another piece of the complex jigsaw linking Foster & Allen with the extreme metal underground:

Further Exhumations

Maurice Mulcahy Band - The Sound of Maurice Mulcahy - Release Records - 1970

I've yet to play this. It's obviously big band showband stuff but the track listing looks promising.

Update: Unfortunately it's the usual showband fare for the most part, rooted in 50s entertainment modes, complete with Jim Reeves soundalike. I'm reliably informed the front cover photo was taken in Youghal.

Martin Crosbie with Thelma - Yesterday When I Was Young - Olympic Records - 1975

The sharp dressed man in 1975. It's Dave Angel Eco-Warrior meets Remmington Steele on the Irish cabaret circuit. Who was the brains behind Olympic Records?

The Indians - Travelling Indian Band - Emerald Gem - 1974

Their LP covers were always far better than their records. This one's a beauty.

various - Top Of The Morning - Harp - 1979

Now this is weird. This is a compilation of tracks from the Mulligan Records vaults spanning 1976-79 and released on Harp Records, a subsiduary of Pickwick. What's weird is the Wavin sticker on the front and back cover. There were several Wavin releases in the Seventies, all re-packagings of earlier releases, mostly from Gael Linn. What's special about this one is it shows the least amount of effort I've seen put into making something a Wavin release. It's also the latest I've seen, from 1979. If anyone reading this knows anything about Wavin's involvement in releasing records, please get in touch.

Derek Larkin - Crap. Derek Larkin's Greatest Hits Vol.1 - Crap Records - 199?

A fantastically bad record. Derek Larkin (he who owned Borderline Records in Dublin) and backing band perform covers of various pop hits. It's bad, maybe, but this record has become impossible to find. Who played on this record?

Update: Derek Larkin got in touch to point out that on-one was drunk (I originally described them as drunken covers).

A German pressing of the Yes Let's EP with Ingmar Kiang, ex New Versions.

More landfill pt.2

Let's start with two obscurities from the Spin label:

Eric Black & The Lifeliners - The Yielded Life LP. Spin Records 1970.

The north is thick with religious themed LPs like this one. Is it any wonder? This scarey looking cover begs the question: What the fuck is a lifeliner? 

Tom Raymond ...At The Drop Of A Duncher LP. Spin Records 1970.

Spin are known for the religious and gospel records that pepper the discography, but what about comedy titles, you ask? I know of just one and this is it. In case you don't know, a duncher is a flat cap, and the extra large duncher Tom is wearing on the cover suggests this LP must be hilarious. The donkeys maintain their dignity throughout. Fair play to them.

Rosita and Charmaine - God's Been Good To Me LP. RCA International (UK press) 1972.

Gospel singing twin sisters from the north. The Power of Christ compelled me to buy it.

Sharon Mills - Sings LP. Herald Records, undated.

Another christian effort from the north. I must admit I know neither the artist nor the label. The credits list a full electric backing band, so there might be something interesting here. Note the cool 3-D effect on the cover. It's actually a normal flat cover. Sharon looks a bit like a nun who used to scare me when I was a small child. Not her fault, of course.

Update: the 3-D cover effect turns out to be the best thing about this LP. Despite the electric band backing, this one is strictly for the converted.

Shaun O'Dowd - Crossing Over LP. K-Tel Records 1983.

Crossing over to where, exactly?

Attention Irish disco hounds, here be the bounty ye seek!

Gems from Ruby, Vol.1 LP Ruby Records 1970.

Label sampler collecting album and single only tracks. I like label samplers as a rule but this one isn't so hot, as it's mostly country and western fare. Nice minimalist design on the cover. The splatter effect on the cover is unintentional. I intended to clean it before taking the photo but forgot. These records are often in this kind of state - and far worse - when I find them. I've become a master of restoration. 

Loads more to come, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. 

More landfill

In the same vein as yesterday, another sumptuous visual feast...

Dolores Keane, John Faulkner, Eamonn Curran - Farewell To Eirinn LP. Mulligan Records 1981.

A tough one to find. This has the German FolkFreaks logo on the back cover though to my knowledge there is no German pressing.

The Emeralds of Wexford LP. Release Records 1970.

Aims straight for the Emmet Spiceland demographic, judging by the track listing. Another not easy to find LP (though when you do, it'll be only 10p)

Update: I misread the clues. Unfortunately, this is bog standard pub/cabaret folk crooning recorded live with evil irish.trad.accordion and a ceili band drummer whose favourite song was The Yellow Rose Of Texas judging by his preference for paradiddling on the snare. What a disappointment.  

Kenneth McKellar & Patricia Cahill - The Great Duets. Decca Records 1971.

What a lovely frock. Is it my imagination or does Kenneth look slightly aroused? Must be the whiff of chiffon.

And finally...

Philomena Begley - Nashville Country LP. Top Spin Records 1978.

Words fail me. I think this is my favourite LP cover of all time. For some reason, it reminds me of this:

Oh don't worry, there's plenty more where these came from ...

Additions Pt.3

Last batch for today.
If you've records like this you want to get rid of, get in touch.

City of Cork Male Voice Choir - The Paddy Whiskey Album LP.
CBS/Irish Distillers 1985.
Part of the Cork 800 celebrations.
I prefer a Jameson myself, but I'm not really a whiskey man.

Fintan Stanley - Back Again LP. Rex Records 1977.

Really like the naive cover. It feels almost hand-made: slick paper, slightly outsize and crudely handfolded.  The record itself isn't so hot.

The Fitzgeralds of Donegal. Release Records 1970.

Fred Hanna & The Laganmen - The Lonely Woods of Upton LP. 

Emerald Gem Records 1969.

Finally, a veritable Galaxy of Stars . . .

Stars On Solo Volume 1 LP. Solo Records 1973.

Additions Pt.2

A few more...

20 Greatest Irish Hits LP. Starlight Records ca 1975-76.

Cover artwork by Jim Fitzpatrick. One of only a handful of records issued by Starlight magazine.

Dickie Rock - Dickie LP. Solo Records 1975 or 1976.

Dickie Rock post Miami. The cover shows Dickie in a rural, outdoors-y, denim clad mood. Nice! Unfortunately the record contains the usual, predictable, middle of the road track listing. I'm not sure if these are re-recordings or if this is simply another greatest hits package.

Update: these are re-recordings.

The Crehan Family LP. EMI Talisman 'Music Of Ireland' series. 1971.

Pictured as Opportunity Knocks winners on the cover, with Hughie Green. Hughie later explained to them the evils of trade unionism.

Additions June 2014

Here are some records that have come my way recently. Now that I have a tablet I should be able to keep this blog updated more regularly with the constant stream of vinyl that comes through my door. That's the plan anyway but it could just as easily turn out to be another false dawn followed by another year of silence. We shall see. Some of the following records will probably be quite appalling but I simply can't stop myself. Let's start off with two 'entertainers'...

Mike Murphy - The Likes of Mike. Release Records, 1971.
Mike Murphy croons!

Michael Moran and his Shamrock Ceili Band - A Little Bit Of Irish LP.
Tribune Records, 1968.

What a horror cover. I can only imagine the deep shame felt by his descendents. Tribune released some interesting records at the end of the sixties, but this isn't one of them.

Obscure Irish Rock ?

Spotted this on ebay today:

In detail:

The listing says:

A VERY RARE RECORD!!!!

ARTIST: MATTIE FOX & MISTY

TITLE: LIVE AT THE KENSINGTON HILTON

LABEL: RELEASE BRL-4107

MADE IN IRELAND

RESEARCH POINTS TO 1978 OR 1979 PRESSING.

NICE ORIGINAL IRISH ROCKER RARITY!!!

I don't think the seller actually played it before writing any of the above! As I actually have a copy, I can tell you that 'Outlook Misty' (it's actual title), while it may be obscure, is about as far removed from rock as you can imagine. It's a gentle, sleepy, countrified middle-of-the-road cabaret album, about as enervating a listening experience as you can imagine. There is one odd track with lyrics about social changes in Ireland which shows Mattie was of a somewhat progressive mindset. Otherwise it's completely unremarkable.

The ebay auction starts at $24.99

I'll sell mine for $19.99 - whaddya say?

100 Essential Irish Singles - Part 1

1. Shaun Davey - Pride of the Herd / The Night Flight [CBS 6816, 1978] (PS) 

Pride of the Herd was composed by Belfast born composer Shaun Davey for an advertising campaign by the National Dairy Council of Ireland in 1978. It was used in their TV adverts at the time. Such was it's impact that it was released on single by CBS Records in late 1978 and become a hit, peaking at #7 in the Irish charts in December. It's a very well known piece of music in Ireland. Initial copies came with an attractive picture sleeve.

The A-side showcases Davey's mastery of arrangement of traditional music elements, not forgetting his ear for a melody. It recalls O'Riada and is obviously a forerunner of Davey's subsequent large orchestral works of the '80s and '90s, all of which draw heavily on traditional music. 'The Pride of the Herd' has the great advantage of being much shorter. It's a fantastic piece. 

It may come as a surprise to learn that the B-side is a piece of modern experimental electronic music which includes environmental recordings made on an Aer Lingus flight. It seeks to simulate plane flight in sound and is a very successful piece. It might put you in mind of File Under Pop's Heathrow EP [Rough Trade] which came out a year later. It must be one of the earliest electronic pieces released commercially in Ireland, alongside Roger Doyle's 'Thalia' LP released the same year. There is no studio credit (the A-side was recorded at Keystone) which suggests it was a home-made DIY project, perhaps even a student piece. Too bad the Strange Passion compilers didnt consider it.

One interesting note: both labels state A Break Records Production. This same text has been spotted on a sticker affixed to early, promo-only 7 inch copies of the first U2 single, and appears to be the same label and/or production company that Paul McGuinness established to release Spud's Kitty single in 1976 . . . which was produced by Shaun Davey.

Both tracks are now available here: http://www.mediafire.com/?5e7ba0osne4601l

Help Us Find These Records

irishrock.org is constantly in need of releases by Irish artists, from The Great And The Good to the Hopelessly Obscure, to the Amateurishly Bad and all points in between, including some of the albums the Release label saw fit to inflict upon the world in 1974. Yes those really really bad ones. We need them ALL.

We are compiling discographies of all the labels active in Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s. If you can help us with this, please get in touch. If you worked for a record label or publicist or booking agent and have any memorabilia that can be photographed or scanned, again get in touch, we need to hear from you.

If you can help us find the following records, you will be declared lifelong Friend Of IRO and enter the Hall of Fame!

Nothing here yet

Go and have a look at http://irishrock.org

Meanwhile, if you have any of the following, please get in touch . . .