Tuesday, June 5

Great Britons


I like Elvis Costello well enough but here are a couple of songs of his I much prefer by other people.

Nick Lowe produced the Costello original of 'Alison', but his own pared back acoustic version really had an impact on me when I heard him sing it live on the radio a few months back. And I remember Robert Wyatt's version of 'Shipbuilding' came out before Costello's in the early '80s... and is still the best. I always loved the double bass on the record, played by another Great Briton... Bedders from Madness!

Weird reflective mood today: all this Jubilee malarkey and a chat with Matt earlier about the UK has got me thinking about what I love... and don't... about this country.

Back to bikes soon, I promise.

2 comments:

WhitelinePsycho said...

Nice pair, never knew Bedders did the bassline, Wyatt's version is almost three dimensional bleakness.

Anonymous said...

Seems like its all doom and gloom around the western world at the moment. Old bikes are a great remedy for taking your mind off all the bullshit that as individuals we seem powerless to influence. FTW.