British blues king Big Boy Bloater heads off on tour this week, but when the boys are in the van, they’ve gotta keep the tunes going, right? If you pull up behind the Bloat mobile any time soon, its likely you’ll hear these.
PARALLEL LINES, BLONDIE
My god there’s some energy on this album! Great songs, great lyrics, great guitar riffs. This album was released about the same time as I was just getting interested in music and it’s stuck with me all this time. I had it on cassette first then vinyl and now I have it in digital form. Next step is to have it beamed direct to my brain I guess!
Stand Out Track – HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE – there’s something a bit stalker like about the lyrics on this one and I do love a good stalker song!
CHRONICLE, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
I love all the Creedence albums but this here is a best of. It really is the cream of the cream. All killer, no filler! Love the swampy vibe. There’s lots of influences going on here with a heavy leaning towards rock n roll!
Stand Out Track – TRAVELLING BAND – that says it all for any band in a van tearing up the motorway!
JESUS OF COOL, NICK LOWE
This is song writing 101. Nick has a great rhythm to his lyrics and a wonderful way of seeing things. There’s plenty of black humour here and witty observations which has greatly influenced my song writing. Mention Nick Lowe to anyone on the street and many would say they’ve never heard of him, but I bet everyone knows at least a few of his songs.
Stand Out Track – CRUEL TO BE KIND – one of his biggest hits and for me it optimizes the perfect pop song!
ALL OVER THE WORLD, ELO
A marvellous selection of songs! I love Jeff Lynn’s production, it’s such a full sound. I was lucky enough to see Jeff Lynn and ELO at Hyde Park a few years ago and I was not disappointed, well not with the music anyway. The beer however was warm, flat and overpriced!
Stand Out Track – HOLD ON TIGHT – A great party track, never fails to raise the mood. Just what you need when you’ve been stuck in a stinking van for 7 hours!
WAITING ON A SONG, DAN AUERBACH
Again another master class in song writing and production. I was listening to this album a lot when I was writing PILLS. The opening title track is all about song writing so it really struck a chord and resonated with me. Love the rest of the album too.
Stand Out Track – SHINE ON ME – another high energy feel good track to keep you going when you’re squashed in the van and in desperate need of a piss with 100 miles to go until the next services!
Tickets available from: bigboybloater.comThurs 6th Sept – NOTTINGHAM, The Maze
Fri 7th Sept – NEWCASTLE, The Cumberland Arms
Sat 8th Sept – GLASGOW, Stereo
Sun 9th Sept – PRESTON, The Continental
Thurs 13th Sept – BIDEFORD, The Palladium Club
Weds 19th Sept – LONDON, The Black Heart
Thurs 20th Sept – BRISTOL, Mr Wolf’s
Fri 21st Sept – ALDERSHOT, West End Centre
Weds 26th Sept – SHREWSBURY, Albert’s Shed
Thurs 27th Sept – CHELTENHAM, The Frog and Fiddle
Fri 5th Oct – NORWICH, B2 Venue
Sat 6th Oct – LOUTH, Hoochie Coochie Club
