A warm welcome to The Horse and Feather. Here is a very short synopsis of this little place and a little bit about (what I like to call) The Barfly Sessions. The Horse and Feather began it's life as a greenhouse built onto the back of our house but by the skilled hands of my father, it was transformed into a small bar that we named The Horse and Feather after learning they were the nicknames given to two of our Irish Grandfathers way back towards the start of the last century. A small way of remembering our heritage with a sprinkling of Irish Whiskey and a nod towards the Green, the White and the Gold. When the bar is OPEN, the music comes ON and I thought now would be a fine time to whittle down some of my favourite and most played tracks which I would like to share with you. Along the way, I'll try and add some context on why these particular songs have ingrained themselves somewhere betwixt my heart and my soul and why I repeatedly go back to them time after time after time. Musical therapy perhaps. New songs, old songs, happy songs (though not too many it must be said) sad songs and perhaps a little bit of inbetween. I've grouped songs together for nightly listens and I have collectively named these THE BARFLY SESSIONS. Each
session will house several of my favourite tracks. Until I run out of
song titles or musicians that I can relate to a pub or drinking etc etc, I'll name each
Barfly Session for my own amusement. I'm sad like that but it's OK right? I fully appreciate not all these songs will be for everyone but venture down this rabbit hole with me and I promise you we'll come through the other side. Life is a book of light AND dark after all my friends. Mucho Grazie. Sláinte.
1. All good things must come to an end at some point. We've reached a full lockdown year of Barfly Sessions and Session 52 tonight will be the finale. Don't get too down about it though. Just like Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton said "We've got tonight. Who needs tomorrow?" As this is our last one, I've deliberately held back on some of my all time favourites until now. Our last session will be a slightly extended edition and we'll be playing long into the night so ensure you've enough drink(s) to see you through. It's going to be great and I'm glad you're here. The format for tonight will stay the same as previous weeks, with songs from way back right up to tracks from current times. We'll begin with Buffalo Springfield and their Stephen Stills penned anthem "For What It's Worth." This song is widely regarded as a war song or a protest song but it was written about the closing of a nightclub on Sunset Strip that was felt to have infringed young folks civil rights. It came out in 1966. History shows youth culture will continue to reinvent itself of course and over the last 12 months we've had protest marches and riots seemingly every week so this song still feels kind of apt right now.
1. Buffalo Springfield
For What It's Worth
2. Now the next band we're going to play here have been around for some time but last year they dropped one of the best songs I'd heard in ages. It just gets better with time. The band are called The Paper Kites and they hail from Melbourne, Oz. This song features Julia Stone's vocals and they really do give this song a real air of headiness. I absolutely love it. It's magical. Their album "Roses" (which houses this single) came out this year. See what you make of this.
2. The Paper Kites
Without Your Love
3. Having just turned 42 years of age, I was too young for the golden age of Northern Soul. I missed out. The best I can do now is hunt for those records in dusty old crates at car boot sales or in the markets but I know they are still out there. One of thee finest Northern Soul anthems is this by Dobie Gray from back in 1965. Just under 3 minutes of glorious...er...ness. Probably the song that opened the door and got me hooked on Northern Soul in the first place. Dobie, I have a lot to thank you for.
3. Dobie Gray
Out On The Floor
4. I mentioned I'd held a couple of songs back as I felt they'd be better left for our last session. This is one of those songs. It's off my favourite album of all time, in any universe, EVER. That album is "Grace" and the artist is Jeff Buckley. For reasons best left for another place perhaps, this album came out at the right time for me. Or maybe I should say I found it at the right time. Such a lighthouse of a record. I don't think you'll find a more sensitive or beautiful one. The soul searching and questioning felt vital. My car got broken into a few years later and this CD was taken. That pained me more than having to pay to get the damn car repaired. It was replaced but I felt so connected/attached to the original it was weird. My wife bought me a heavyweight vinyl pressing of this album several years ago which instantly became one of my most treasured records and it plays so very perfectly. It's immaculate. Anyhows, you get the drift now. It's a work of wonder and everybody should own this record.
5. The Fox is back and I'm glad about that. He's been a major part of these sessions and I'm grateful to his contributions throughout the last 12 months. I was slightly surprised by his choice for our last hurrah. Namely because he refuses to listen to this band any more. It's his firm belief there's a curse and everytime he hears their music SOMETHING bad happens to him. Who am I to argue about a curse? Maybe it's true. I admitted to Fox that once upon a time, in my very stupid teens I inhaled a bottle of Amyl Nitrate while listening to this album in my bedroom. By the time I got to this track, my head was spinning so fast I felt like I was inside a washing machine. I lay on my bed after it had finished waiting for my brain to re-arrange itself back into some kind of shape. Why do we do the things we do? I wish I knew.
6. I guess one of the positive outcomes about doing this blog each week is people telling me they discovered an artist or band they hadn't heard before. Or maybe they got into a different genre of music on the back of something they heard on here. That's really great when that happens. I read a lot of other music blogs and I do enjoy picking up on what's turning people on, be it old records or new. Sometimes you just hear a voice and you just think "wow, I need some more of that" and that was the case with Mattiel Brown. So distinctive and well... BOLD. I couldn't get enough of that delivery. "And it's the expectation/making or breaking/giving me a heart attack/And in 20 years time/will it all be mine/Or will I wish that I could take it all back?" Google tells me this came out in 2019 but I was very late to this party. No matter. I got there in the end right?
6. Mattiel
Keep The Change
7. We jump back to 1965 for track number seven. Some songs just seem to come from nowhere. How I got onto J.C Akins is a complete mystery but this song has been with me for a long long time and after 52 weeks, it finally gets it's time to shine. I know very very little about this guy or his band The Dukes and there is hardly any info out there. In this case, the music simply speaks for itself.
7. J.C Akins
I Love You
8. Whilst the last song was playing, I felt somewhat guilty about some of the songs that I hadn't included before. Especially some of (what I would call) "The Classics." I decided just now that I couldn't play a J.C Akins track and NOT play anything by Smokey Robinson. It just wouldn't be right. I hold a great deal of affection for Mr Robinson. Not just because of the quality of his music but in my early twenties, all day Sunday drinking was the normality and the ride back home from Warrington town centre would always include the song "The Tracks of My Tears" on the driver's CD player. Those were the days my friends, to coin a phrase. Anyways, this song from 1962 is a bona fide Smokey winner and I think I'll feel a little better for playing it.
8. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
You've Really Got A Hold On Me
9. Night closes in, as it always does but we've still got a couple of gems left in our locker. We've played a track off my all time favourite album earlier this evening and It now comes the time to play my all time favourite song. Those that know me well may already know this but History by The Verve is their zenith moment for me. I really do believe it's the greatest song ever written. The opening strings (performed by The London Symphonic Orchestra) are as strained as the relationships within the song itself. They lead us into those great opening lyrics and by that time you're already immersed. There's a saying isn't there? It's the hope that kills you. There is such a desperate and longing hope contained in these five and a half minutes it absolutely crushes me to bits every... single... time. The weight is immense... and utterly devastating but right at it's heart there is always that glimmer of light under the door to aim for that says you can get through it SOMEHOW. Remember what you are and accept your failures. You can do better next time. Remember all that you've seen and been through together. This song is all about life and forgiveness and grief and healing. It's everything. Your history is everything.
9. The Verve
History
10. Some weeks back (I think) I mentioned I had developed a fondness for the ukulele. It's a distinctive sound that puts me in a better mood almost instantly. This song from The Who from their "The Who By Numbers" album is a Pete Townshend effort and it's himself who sings and plays the uke on it. It doesn't try to be too clever, in fact It's beautifully simple and there's a blue eyed optimism all the way through it that gives it a certain amount of charm. I just love it and I thought it would be a decent way to bow out. Go on, have another beer. It's the weekend after all.
10. The Who
Blue Red and Grey
11. Well we're here folks. The end of the line. A line that went all the way around the sun. For those of you who came on this lockdown journey with me from the start, well, what can I say? It's been a pleasure and it's been a blast. To have reached across to The USA and to Australia, Hong Kong, Uganda and all through Europe etc etc was kind of unthinkable 12 months ago but hey, look at us. We touched base all over and surely this proves how transcendent music can be. Whether you were tuning in from a council house in grimsby or from a hammock on the beach in Hawaii, I am truly grateful we connected... if only for a fleeting moment. Lockdown has been tough on everybody and this project gave me some purpose and distraction away from it all. Touch wood, we're now out of it and we can head back to those days of being able to drink freely. Now, the first song we ever played on The Horse & Feather Barfly Sessions was my namesake Duffy. As we've come full circle, we'll finish with another Duffy track. So that's it. Thank you everybody. Take care of yourselves. Maybe we'll see one another again. All good things and Codladhsámh until then. x
"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing.
1. We have reached our penultimate Barfly Session. One more next week (to round off a full year) and then we'll have a rest. No fears though, I'll still be around. Somewhere in between stations and floating in the ether. I'll always be happy to hear your thoughts, your recommendations and your musings. There's a communications box towards the bottom of the page which you can use until such time as the t'interweb closes it's digital curtains on this blog. Until then, it's never... really... over! But on to tonight's session and as always we have some of this, some of that and some of the other. Tonight we'll begin with this spikey little firecracker from 2006. It comes off the superbly titled album Love travels at illegal speeds. A good rouser to start us off.
1. Graham Coxon
You & I
2. OK so... back in the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands (when I could easily run up three flights of stairs without breaking sweat) there was an older guy we used to know as KG who used to sell cheap amphetamines and ket in our local boozer. He also used to sing fabulously well on karaoke nights. His version of Elton John's "I guess that's why they call it the blues" was a particular highlight. But why is this relevant? Well truth be told it ain't really but this song and it's title from 1971 always takes me back to some wild lock-ins from those times and it's 110% funky so (to me anyway) that's as good a reason as any to throw it in tonight's mixer.
2. The Nite-Liters
K-Jee
3. In 2016 A Tribe Called Quest reunited for their album We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. The timing was impeccable. Trump had just installed his considerable rump into The White House and tensions were starting to pick up. This track exemplifies those times and pretty much where we all currently sit round the table. Air Sirens and police sirens sound out behind lyrics telling tales of oppression, gentrification and fake news. It's a true work of wonder. Phife Dawg features heavily on this and really sadly he died before the album was completed and released.
3. A Tribe Called Quest
We The People
4. "The past is our knowledge/the present our mistake/And the future we always leave too late." Sometimes I think Paul Weller's lyrics aren't appreciated quite enough. From social viewpoints, to scathing political commentaries and then sometimes just bittersweet lines about love and pain, Weller does it all and he does it brilliantly at times. Switching up from The Jam to The Style Council was a bold move but Café Bleu from 1984 is a fine album and a showcase for Weller's jazz and soul influences. Track four tonight is My Ever Changing Moods. I was merely 5 years old when this was released but it still sounds as fresh as spring daisies.
4. The Style Council
My Ever Changing Moods
5. Nothing from The Fox this week so it's another chance to put something else on here that you might not have heard before and it will follow on quite nicely from The Style Council who we've just heard. This next song is from Boz Scaggs and I think it's from the very early seventies but I'd have to check that to be sure. "I'll send you my best/Of regards and the rest/I'll leave up to your own sense of time" is a wonderful lyric and it rolls into a triumphant chorus. See what you make of this.
5. Boz Scaggs
I'll Be Long Gone
6. Now I'm pretty certain you won't have heard this one before. Last time I looked, it had very little plays on youuuuutuuuube which is a surprise as this song continues to amaze me even after countless listens. Life is full of endless depths and this track from Mimi Gilbert frames that completely. It's so intimate. In fact, I was so smitten with the song after I'd heard it, I sent Mimi a message asking if she'd mind me putting it on one of our Barfly Sessions. There's a moment around the 3 minute mark where she sings "When will I see that all I need/Is right here" and the drums kick in and I feel every single word. Please give this song a few listens to let it soak into your evening skin.
6. Mimi Gilbert
Dark Storm
7. This song crawled into my head just the other day and I thought "Hey, that's one for the session this week" and here we are. Yes, yes I remembered it. It's a rare sombre moment from Beastie Boys (namely Adam Yauch in this case) and it's a reflective and poignant step away from our worldly chaos. It's kind of trippy and I love it. So there we have another Barfly session completed and that's us until next week. Scroll away through previous weeks if you wanna be a rebel and stay up really late. A pair of earphones, a bottle of something cold and The Horse & Feather Barfly Sessions. You should want for nothing else on a starry April night. Be good to yourselves people. As always it's been a heap of fun and I look forward to meeting up in 7 days time. Byeeee for now. x
1. Okey Smokey. We've got a little outside fire going here which is real nice. MOST folks have a long weekend ahead (not me but that's another story.) We've got more daylight now the clocks have moved forward. The weather is positively warmer. What could possibly defeat us? We've even got the return of Andy Stelfox who has graced us with his presence once more. You've made it all this way so lets make the most of it. Hook up to your speakers or put on your headphones as Barfly Session 50 is happening right NOW! The 5th Dimension are the band I feel we should start with tonight. The song we'll play was only ever released as a B-side and you'll find it on the flipside to "One Less Bell To Answer" from 1970. That incredible voice you'll hear belongs to Billy Davis Jr. One of America's best kept secrets (IMHO as the cool kids say.) But enough already. Thanks for calling in. Lets do this!
1. The 5th Dimension
Feelin' Alright
2. For our second song this evening we need to jump just one year forward to 1971 when Harlem singer Gloria Barnes released a little known album called "Uptown." It was from this album that Dan Snaith (A.K.A Caribou) took inspiration and he used her sample for this single which came out just last year. It's got the right feel for a night like this. It's just around dusk right now and I already know this will sound fantastic.
2. Caribou
Home
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3. I've been listening to Portland singer Liz Vice a lot on my morning drives to work of late. She's uplifting. She has battled serious health issues (including needing a kidney transplant) and after seeing my wife's own battles and struggles, I take my hat off to anyone who goes through such matters and comes out the other side. Her deep rooted beliefs and sincere lyrics are so so positive. It becomes very infectious. This is one of my favourites and it will play well between our other tracks tonight.
3. Liz Vice
Empty Me Out
4. So we need a song for when the sun goes down. Well I've got one. I am fairly certain it's the first Italian song we have featured on a Horse & Feather Barfly Session and if you cynics think the only reason I would be playing an Italian song from the seventies would be to encourage more Italians to plug into the sessions each week then you cynics may well be onto something. Pizza and ice cream have long been one of my favouritest (sic) foods too I should add. What better song to accompany a quattro formaggi thin base and a bottle of cold Peroni than this absolute GEM. I love you Italy by the way. Never visited but you are very much in my plans. Tell your friends. I am a big fan.
5. So, as promised, The Fox is back. And he has been busy too. He recently sent me some pictures of the fancy new firepit he has dug out for late nights and outside contemplations. I shall look forward to that. This week, Steli has asked me to put this track on as his recommended choice. I think we all know it and it's sometimes good to have a little familiarity. Good to have you back Fox. Here's your song.
6. I've beenplaying this song so much lately you could probably say it's verging on obsessive. Finding this song was simply a happy accident but it's one I'm grateful for. I am sure I've said before how some phrases or lyrics can leap out and just stick with you. For some reason I was immediately drawn to the line "I understand the thing you did and every reason you did it." Inexplicable really but hey! You likes what you likes don't you?
6. Samia
Big Wheel
7. Here we are at our final track already. I know. Nuts right? Our final song tonight is credited to Hannah Georgas but it's a recent collaboration between herself and Matt Berninger. Those little scuttling drumbeats in the background are a genius touch and they come to life between the verses. These are the sort of songs that halt me right in my tracks. Time stoppers. So as I continue to look into the flames for answers, revelations, ideas and schemes, I bid you a fond farewell and as always, thank you for your participations. See you very soon.
7. Hannah Georgas
Pray It Away
8. What's that you say? You're still here and you ALSO want to have a night cap and look into the fire with me. Put another song on? OK. Just this once. Got the PERFECT nightcap drink for us. We're really quite alike after all aren't we?
1. Very pleased to meet your acquaintance once more. How goes it and how do you do? Good? That's good. So then... formalities over, lets crack off the seals on a few drinks and break into the weekend. Got a few blinders lined up for tonight's month end bonanza from the Horse & Feather musical library. I thought we'd keep to a loose 'n' easy freewheeling sound this evening... almost a jam session stylee. We 're gonna have a good night I just know it. Now as always with these sessions, I throw some lyrics from the title of the session at the top of the page. Rarely do I include the full song itself but tonight is different. This song from Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a terrific introduction to tonight's proceedings. Super Bluesy Swamp music magnificence. Lets go people!
1. Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Captain Bobby Stout
2. Keeping on the same road but with a more polished edge, we'll play this by Michigan youngster Charlie Burg next. This song is called "Lancaster Nights" but don't get confused. It has nothing to do with the time I went up to Lancaster in the North of England on a works jolly and fell asleep on a pub toilet. At least I'm pretty sure it isn't??? Charlie if you are reading this, perhaps you wouldn't mind confirming the facts of the matter. I lost my watch that night too. If you could shed any light on that as well it would be freakin' fantastic. On a more positive note, this is one of the coolest songs you'll hear all year.
2. Charlie Burg
Lancaster Nights
3. "My whole life looked like a picture of a sunny day." Now I ain't the cleverest bloke on the block but I'm not sure Sleater-Kinney are being entirely sincere but that was a lyric and a hook which has stuck with me over the course of the last few years and we'll put this in as a third track because I was lucky enough to catch this on the radio a few days ago and it just sounded great to me. This comes off their album called The Woods which was released back in 2005. Wow. Time goes so fast...
3. Sleater-Kinney
Modern.Girl
4. If there were hints of sardony in the last song you needn't worry about that for this next one. I find this really uplifting. Starts with a decent groove but then adds a double groove and as if that's not good enough, some time after the fourth minute it becomes a triple groove fest. A good man is Josh Rouse. An old friend of mine put me onto him years and years ago. This is off the album "1972" which is well worth checking out if you have the time.
4. Josh Rouse
Love Vibration
5. I've kept things as upbeat as I can but The Barfly Sessions would not be Barfly Sessions without a dark twist her and there. This track from Connor Desai carries real weight. Originally a Grateful Dead song (perhaps you recognise it?) but this version is full of menace and it becomes a brooding story alright. See what you think of this.
5. Connor Desai
Friend Of The Devil
6. Well I did say at the start of tonight's proceedings we'd keep things free and funky. Who better to bring in than Talking Heads to use as a demonstration of what I mean. They just HAVE it don't they? "We're gonna move (right now)/Turn like a wheel inside a wheel." Love David Byrne's lyrics. There are countless live versions of Talking Heads songs that make me slightly envious I'll not witness them in their prime like some lucky buggers did. Track six tonight is "Slippery People" and God knows I've worked with some of those. Hahaha. LOLS. Lots of LOLS.
6. Talking Heads
Slippery People
7. Our final song tonight is another of those songs that you feel gloriously lucky to have stumbled across. This track introduced me to the album "New Sounds" by the singer/songwriter Bob Desper. This album came out in the seventies and only limited copies were made at the time (and I know they go for big bucks now) but just like a slow and gentle wave moving along, it's picked up fans over the years for it's honest lyrics and pure sounds. The acoustic Martin guitar he uses matches his rich voice perfectly and the way in which it's recorded makes it feel like he's 3 feet away from you. At the age of 10 he was blinded when he hit his head on a pole and damaged his optic nerve but it didn't stop him making music and we are the grateful receivers of this. Mind how you go folks. As they might say in the deep south, you never know how the pickle is gonna squirt. 3 more lockdown sessions to go and then we're going to cool it for a while. After all, one full year ain't a bad effort is it and it"ll time quite nicely as shops, bars and restaurants will be opening up again soon and we'll be able to try and find what normal is (or indeed was.) Goodnight Sleepyheads. x
1. Well, well, well!!! What's up everybody? Thanks for dropping in again for Barfly Session 48. By now, you shouldn't need me to tell you how welcome you are or how grateful I am that you're here. That - as they say - is a given. So what is new since last time we spoke? St Patrick's Day came and went and it's my wedding anniversary this week so we'll mark both occasions accordingly. Also, I've changed my route to and from work which means I don't get to see the familiar faces and sights from the last 4 years. Funny how they make such an impression. I used to be able to set my clock by the old fella who collects his newspaper at 8.15am each morning and the lady with the limp who walks her two little dogs past the Scotland Road bus stop. Now onto new sights, faces and distractions to keep me entertained. Early days so not much to report but I do like the little shop situated opposite the church that I now drive past which is called "Bread & Wine (For Your Daily Needs.)" I'm amused by that. Anyways, onto tonights music. Currently back outside by the fire and I know the perfect song to open tonight's session. It's the first song off Damien Rice's "O" album and it happens to be my favourite too. Such a sucker for strings and raw, untempered emotion when it works as well as this. Played this album to death over the years but this is my fire pit song. Happy belated St Paddy's Day.
1. Damien Rice
Delicate
2. Keeping the Irish flame flickering, I think we'll play this by Fontaines D.C next. Early on in my working life I worked with an older bloke called Roy. We were poles apart in terms of character at the time and it's only with the benefit of hindsight and life slowing down that you realise just how decent and disciplined a man he was. He gave plenty of advice through my early twenties that I probably should have taken more notice of and he turned a blind eye when he knew I'd sloshed down an extra pint of Guinness in on my lunch break. He loved his golf, his cigars and his old records. He was a good man. This blog will be more personal to me of course but it does feel right and correct to put those words down on a page. This one's for you Roy.
2. Fontaines D.C
Roy's Tune
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3. Track three tonight is a new discovery for me and I'm crazy about this next song right now. I love everything about it. I've played it constantly since first hearing it and the clarity of the voice is stunning. It works so very well with the cracking of the logs in the flames and this song also introduced me to the omnichord which is Lael Neale's trademark instrument. This song is taken from her album "Acquainted With Night" which only came out this year. Not really a red wine drinker but surely this would sit right alongside a Merlot on a spring evening. Only one way to find out.
3. Lael Neale
Blue Vein
4. I feel I should probably speed things up a little bit at this point but I'm kind of liking this pace now and the songs are suiting this Friday evening like a warm glove. This next song is a cover of a Psychedelic Furs song from 1984 but I prefer this stripped back effort by Robyn Hitchcock. I think it's a real heart-on-sleeve record and I love it for that.
4. Robyn Hitchcock
The Ghost In You
5. Here's another artist and song I stumbled across only recently. With our government laying out plans for lockdown recovery and beer gardens across the nation being allowed to open up for business again next month, I thought this track would be apt. Bristol singer/songwriter Josh Le Blond is the man behind the track. It's got a great tone throughout and I put this one away for us to share tonight. Have a listen to this and see what you think. As always, feel free to send any recommendations, requests or comments through to me. I aways like reading your comments so yeah, go ahead and write to me using the functions somewhere near the bottom of this page.
5. Josh Le Blond
Cider In The Sun
6. For me, one of the most interesting parts of doing this blog is checking the analytics and seeing where all you folks are checking in from. Last week it was a happy surprise to see we had a viewer logging on from Uganda. I was really stoked by that. I made a mental note to include more African music and here is an opportunity to play one of thee most soothing pieces of music you'll hear this year. The man behind the track is "Cape-Jazz" pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Could be converted back onto red wine at this rate. This is just wonderful. God bless my new Ugandan friend. I hope you enjoy this one.
6. Abdullah Ibrahim
Maraba Blue
7. As previously mentioned, this week marks our wedding anniversary so I delved into The Horse & Feather archives to see how I could mark this occasion on our blog this evening. I came up with this exquisite song from Langhorne Slim and Jill Andrews. It is perfect. Siobhan, a long time ago I wrote on a card that I had set my compass to follow you through any stormy waters and here we are with our battered sails still going strong. Where the hell would I be without you? With my hand on my heart, I thank you for E V E R Y T H I N G
