Jethro Tull - Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day
Last pick from my Dad. Enjoy.

Neil Young - Walk On
Another pick from my dad, off Neil Young’s 1974 release On The Beach.

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
Over the past few days, my dad and I have been working on repairing our fractured relationship. Recent events have made me realize just how much hurt and bad blood still exists between us, mostly because we just swept it under the rug for so many years. When he got sober, we never talked about anything, it was just supposed to go away. Fifteen years later, a lot of those bad feelings haven’t gone away, even if they had been previously forgotten and buried away.

We’ve been having a lot of long father-son talks lately, and in one of them, he said he was sending me some cash and a list of records I had go out and immediately buy if I didn’t have them already. On the list was Fleetwood Mac’s landmark classic, Rumours, which I’m ashamed to say I never owned. I stayed up all night listening to it over and over on repeat, soaking in the power of Lindsey Buckingham’s voice and John McVie’s incredible bass. It’s a record you really have to have to hear on vinyl, playing out of a good set of speakers. I’ve really been into the power of “The Chain”, Buckingham’s “fuck you” to band mate and former lover Steve Nicks. It sends shivers up my back with each listen. No one writes songs this strong anymore.

Thanks, Dad. Merry Christmas.

Lulu & The Luvers - I’ll Come Running Over
I love this song by Lulu & The Luvers, released in 1965 on Decca. It’s a fairly  straightforward 60’s R&B track, but lead vocalist Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie (now you see why she went by Lulu) has a distinct attitude and snarl… it’s amazing this song didn’t come out in 1977, alongside other powerful frontmen like Patty Smith and Debbie Harry. The Luvers only stayed together for three years, but in that time the band opened for the Beatles, made a movie, and became the first female fronted act to perform behind the Iron Curtain. Lawrie would go on to perform solo, releasing a handful of albums over the next few decades, and even had a stint married to Bee Gee Maurice Gibb.

Edit: Apparently, she was also a celebrity coach on American Idol in 2007, and performed a rendition of “To Sir With Love” with one of the contestants. I just typed out “talk about a low point in your career”, but then I remembered she was married to Maurice Gibb.

Gladys Knight & the Pips - I’ll Be Standing By
Beautiful song. One of my favorite Gladys Knight tunes.

The Life - Snake Bite
A friend of mine sent me this track. I can’t find anything about it, other than that it was released on London Records in the late 1960s. It’s pretty radical, though.

The Emeralds - King Lonely The Blue
Released December 10, 1965 on Decca. I love the guitar solo and handclaps.

The Cadets - Stranded In The Jungle
Courtesy of Rachel, here’s The Cadets cover of The Jayhawks hit “Stranded In The Jungle”, released June of 1955 on Modern Records. Meanwhile, back in the States!

Françoise Hardy - Le Temps de l’Amour
My favorite track from Françoise Hardy’s 1964 long player The Yeh-Yeh Girl From Paris!. It always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Steve Aldo & The Challengers - Can I Get A Witness?
Although he was one of Liverpool’s foremost black singers and had sung in half a dozen bands, Steve Aldo’s solo career only lasted for two singles, both of which were Marvin Gaye covers. “Can I Get A Witness?” was put out by Decca in 1964, “Everybody Has To Cry” was released two years later on Parlophone.