Log #179 - What Next? Heaven Or Las Vegas

Another clean sweep of the magazine this week: everybody out, new lot in please (often precipitated by a visit of friends over the weekend).

Next is many fans' favourite Alex Harvey (SAHB) album. I have it at no. 3 in my personal rundown.

Next from 1973 was Harvey's second album with the Sensational Band although he'd made solo albums before teaming up with the former Tear Gas band who became SAHB. Here he reveals more cabaret than on the rockier debut but there’s also rockabilly and plenty of glam.

The Jacques Brel title track is one of Harvey’s most loved covers perhaps made most famous following a literally disturbing appearance on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test — many people’s first introduction to SAHB:

Yet the band showed they could still rock out with the best of the heavy metal bands of the day with Faith Healer which, with it’s hypnotic pulsing build up, became the band’s live opener, the Led Zeppelin like shuffle of Vambo, and the latter half of album closer The Last of The Teenage Idols.

I don't know if there is a fans' favourite Bonnie Prince Billy album but mine is this one, Lay Down In The Light. Maybe he should be the subject of a forthcoming ranking. I see he has a new album out right now and I will procure it shortly - I'm fan enough to get pretty much anything he does and I very much liked the very low fi solo sample track I heard somewhere. 

I haven't yet caught him live but we're both young enough to have plenty of future opportunities!

SAHB - Next

The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas

Bear's Den - Islands

Bonnie Prince Billy - Lay Down In The Light

Randy Newman - Sail Away

Randy Newman is a classy performer who I'd also love to see live. Not right up there as a favourite of mine but a reliably great song writer. Another Elton John sort really. I always think of the Toy Story films (for which he wrote many of the songs) when I hear his voice. This 1972 release is a pretty good primer for new Newman fans containing several of his best known songs: Sail Away, Lonely At The Top, Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear and You Can Leave Your Hat On.

Heaven Or Las Vegas is my equal favourite Cocteau Twins album along with Four Calendar Cafe. A brilliant album from a unique band doing something different in the relatively barren '80s musical landscape.

Regular readers will know all about the Erlend Oye project The Whitest Boy Alive, one of the tightest, funkiest pop bands out there. Only two albums, this and Rules, both great.

Last but not least we have the lovely folk harmonies of Bear's Den. I know what you are going to say - "Isn't this like Mumford & Sons?" (after all they co-founded the nu-folk Communion Records label with Marcus Mumford). Well no, it's much better. Islands is a consistently excellent album throughout.