Welcome to the RPM Record Club Seven Days Soundtrack, week ending Friday 14th 2022....the day Truss sacked Kwarteng for implementing the policies they both agreed upon!!!! Very strange. Hoping Truss is next.....however, while we're waiting, here's some music from the turntables of the RPM collective. Over to...

Dave -

"Hi RPMers, hope all's good with you guys. Looking forward to your tunes. My 3 this week are...."

Jackie -

Nina -

"Hi folks. Hope you're all well.

Liz in early with the scapegoats - ta ra, Kwasi.

On a much brighter note than corrupt trainwreck Government, went to see Jembaa Groove in Falmouth on Wednesday, fab turnout & utterly joyous.

2 from them..."

"Have a great weekend everyone."

Philip -

"I gather Mr Biden supposedly dismissed Liz Truss as "pretty dumb" after she asked him to take two contradictory actions simultaneously. Much the same as her approach to domestic policy then.

I might not contribute next week, but if not I'll definitely be back for week 43.

More new music this week, from Bonny Light Horseman's superb new record and Shemekia Copeland's latest excellent and varied blues album.

Best wishes to everyone."

Piers -

"An early post this morning, as it is Happy Birthday to Jayne today and we are off on a seal trip... !

We had a great weekend what with two gigs and a visit to Blakeney folk club.

Sad to say, The Pitmen Poets are making their farewell tour."

Tony -

"Here are my picks for the week. Best wishes as ever to everyone."

Alan -

"Three Irish 'minstrels' this week."

Prague by Damien Rice (hidden track on 'O' CD album released 1st February 2002. 14th Floor label.) - "Just about the only redeeming feature for CD's per se is when something unexpected like this track suddenly pops up on your player............. astounding!! Rice could be almost the archetypical wandering minstrel as, since the breakthrough of the 'O' album and three hit singles, he has devoted himself to supporting many causes whilst his recording career has become more sporadic. He had begun in Ireland with his band 'Juniper' in 1991 who, between 1995 and 1998, released two singles and an EP. Rice became disillusioned with the band's musical progress and lack of commercial success and moved to Tuscany to work as a farmer on two occasions for the next couple of years. Whilst there he wrote many demos, some of which were eventually recorded on a mobile studio given to him by his second cousin, English composer David Arnold. His first single, 'The Blowers Daughter', was rerecorded from those demos with his new studio band and became a Top 40 hit in 2001 whilst the 'O' album was being completed. The album reached number 8 in the UK, spawned another brace of chart singles and sold 650,000 in the US but was only promoted with a short Irish tour. Between this album and its follow up, '9', Rice participated in the Freedom Campaign, the Burma Campaign UK, and the U.S. Campaign for Burma to free Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi, for whom he wrote 'Unplayed Song' which he performed at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. There followed a year of touring and festival appearances as well as further songs for various benefit projects before all went quiet again until his third album was released in 2014. Since then he has only released one track, a cover of Sia's "Chandelier" which appeared on the 'Songs for Australia' benefit album."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0UOcHqFkHs

T.B. Sheets by Van Morrison (this from 'T.B. Sheets' LP, 1973 semi-legit partial reissue of 1967 'Blowin' your mind' LP. Bellaphon label) - "Early 1967 saw producer Bert Berns persuade Van to finally draw the curtains on Them (always a tempestuous period with regular line up changes and a reliance on session men in the studio), relocate to New York and blindly sign a contract with Berns to produce either an album or four singles, depending on who you believe. Van, never known to be even tempered, found out about the release of 'Blowin'....' from a friend and, following Berns death just after the release of the album, he entered into a legal dispute with Berns' widow which, thanks to Bern's alleged ties to the criminal underworld (AKA the Mafia), saw New York's clubs reluctant to book him for a considerable period of time. However, the albums lead off single, 'Brown Eyed Girl' hit the US Top 10 and has since become a staple in his live set, and the album session out-takes, 'Madame George' and 'Beside You', did prove to be an important stepping stone towards his 'proper' debut album, the classic 'Astral Weeks'. The track 'T.B.Sheets' may (or may not) be about an early lover who died of TB and, if so, then Van's viewpoint as an almost guilty observer of her illness, and his discomfort at her impending demise, is certainly unique songwriting. The song has only been performed live by Van eleven times, the most recent being February 2009."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBoFVOSRnWk

What's the Matter With Me by David McWilliams (from 'Volume 2' LP released October1967. Major Minor label) - "Similar to Damien Rice, McWilliams career was sporadic to say the least, although his recorded output was greater. He formed Ballymena's Coral Showband in the mid sixties and after recording several demos he was signed by The Dubliners manager phil Solomon who had previously represented The Bachelors and Them and, unfortunately for McWilliams, had close ties with Radio Caroline's owner Ronan O'Rahilly. Solomon placed McWilliams in the Dominic Behan household in an effort to improve his songwriting and, as a result, he was signed to CBS who released the 'God and my country' single. Following its failure Solomon signed McWilliams to his newly formed Major Minor label and placed him in the studio with Mike Leander. The first album, 1967's 'David McWilliams Singing Songs by....' hit number 39 in the UK charts and was quickly followed by 'Volume 2' which reached number 23 and contained his most popular number, 'Days of Pearly Spencer', which charted highly in most of Europe. Here in the UK, however, the single stalled at a 'bubbling under' number 51 which 'limited' its play on the newly formed Radio 1. Bearing in mind Solomon's tie-in with O'Rahilly, and the singles heavy rotation on Radio Caroline, it could be viewed that the BBC were possibly declining to play the disc due to this connection and, to further aggravate McWilliams, there appeared to be some shenanigans regarding royalties and he profited very little from its success. The album is imaginatively scored by Leander with some nods towards, say, Cat Stevens and Nick Drake, and also the psychedelic output of the time, but it's the quality of songs which impress. 'Can I get there by candlelight' and 'Lady Helen Of The Laughing Eyes' are particularly fine, but it's 'Days.....' which has proved to endure most memorably. There have been a slew of covers over the years including a 1968 Italian cover by Caterina Caselli as "Il Volto Della Vita", and a Spanish version called "Vuelo blanco de gaviota" in 1979 by Ana Belén.There was a later disco version in the '80's which reached number 1 in Belgium plus a cover version in 1988 by the French psychedelic band The Vietnam Veterans!!! Of course, its reputation was enhanced here in the UK by Marc Almond, who added an additional verse to give the song a more optimistic tone, which reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1992. There was another album for Major Minor (the provocatively titled 'Volume 3') and tours of Europe before McWilliams signed to Dawn and the EMI in the seventies but, despite this, his sales declined and he returned to Ireland in 1978 where he signed for a succession of small independent labels and began playing small venues until his untimely death in 2002."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdVNHM1G9Hk&t=115s

"Meanwhile, behind the curtains of the London abode of Nadhim Zahawi............ That slippery eel is just about to put his feet up after another long day being interviewed on TV..."

Mrs Zahawi: "Nadhim, can you bring the champagne in from the fridge please darling?"

Mr Z: " I understand but, listen, this is important, did you know that our PM has recently announced a massive subsidy towards this year's energy bills which will help offset the huge increases in fuel arising from Putin's invasion of the Ukraine? Why, just this week we've promised Ukraine an additional £2 billion pounds in assistance and........."

Mrs Z: "Yes I know darling but.......... the champagne.....?"

Mr Z: " I'm sure you understand how important these things are but, our PM has also scrapped the proposed increase in National Insurance and introduced a 1% cut in the basic lower rate in income tax as well as outlining plans for new Free Ports which will lead to............"

Mrs Z: " Nadhim!!! The champagne!!!."

Mr Z: No, I don't think you understand.............. this Government is committed to helping those less able to help themselves. Why, just last week we put forward our plans to increase benefits for those most in need, in fact we might even increase them by the rate of pay increases that the actual hardworking people earn through the sweat of their brow instead of laying about at home feeling sorry for themselves and, this is impor............"

Mrs Z: " Champagne?? PLEASE!"

Mr Z: " This is really important and I want to make this completely clear, we're totally committed to the National Health Service. In fact, just this week we've instructed Doctors that they must see patients face to face within two weeks of a phone call and, and, and, we've also instructed the police that they must, as a matter of priority, at some point in time,interview everyone who has been subjected to a burglary! So, you can see, we're doing all we can to improve the lives of................."

Mrs Z: "NADHIM!!!! THE *@#$ING CHAMPAGNE!!!!!

Mr Z: " Yes, I'll come to that shortly but, and this is important, this Governm.......... choke!! gurgle!! grunt!!!!"

Mrs Z: (removing her tightly clasped hands from around Mr Z's throat) " Don't bother............ I'll get it myself!!"

"And finally: here's a conundrum:

If less tax for the wealthy means more revenue, why don't we scrap tax altogether for everyone and then there'll be a lot more revenue?

Answers on a sugarcube, please, to your local MP!!"

Jayne -

"With all good autumnal wishes to RPMers near and far."

John -

"Hi RPMers, Hope you're all keeping fit and well. Here are three tracks I've listened to this week."

Tim -

"Three ditties rattling around the brainbox this week...."

'Til Next Time...