For this week's #threetunetuesday, #TTT, as initiated by @ablaze, I thought I'd go B-sides today. For whatever reason, Joe Meek's stuff still have been bouncing around in my head; one of my favorites that he created was North Wind. So, without further ado, I lead today off with that one:
Houston Wells & The Marksmen : North Wind
I love this song. I love the sound of the early electronica in the "north wind." Also, the lyrics are pretty dark and cold. The singer has killed his wife's lover, and killed his wife, and now is begging the north wind to help him to prevent his soul from being sent to hell. Not bad for a 1962 tune. As with most things Meek, I've read that he had a horrible time figuring out what songs to use as a-side material. This song, too, was buried on the back side of a sort of boring a-side. North Wind for the win it is!
The Kinks : Big Black Smoke
Another B-side gem from one of my favorite bands of all times, The Kinks. I bought The Kink Kronikles on CD years ago at a store called Electric Avenue. Needless to say, that store no longer exists, but this CD set still does in my collection.
The song is about a naive lass sent to (I guess) London, only to discover the big city's perils and parasitic nature. As the song progresses, you hear more and more about her being dragged into the Big Black Smoke. I always thought this song was a gem; I even hear shades of the Floyd in this one. Most people think of the Kinks as a one hit wonder band, but that really is just the tip of the iceberg. If you dig into the album above, you'll hear something much different than You Really Got Me.
The Jam : Liza Radley
Keeping up with my Electric Avenue purchases from the 1990's was another album by The Jam. The CD was called Extras and featured a bunch of outtakes from the band. One of the better B-sides included was Liza Radley; Paul Weller's stripped down acoustic guitar and the band's sparse accompaniment show they were much more than a punk band. The Jam, like the Kinks, are another favorite band of mine I found while others were listening to late 1990's FM radio. Hey, almost twenty years later, these finds still resonate with me at the very least. I can't argue with that! Thank you Electric Avenue!!
Thanks for checking out my #threetunetuesday tracks. Let me know what you think, and as always, more to come next week.