The Coral

This week, I'd like to introduce a band from the UK that got their start in 1996 near Liverpool, England as young teenagers. The Coral are front man James Skelly (also on guitar) , Ian Skelly on drums, Nick Power on organ , Lee Southall on rhythm guitar and  Paul Duffy on bass. They are typically described as a psychedelic folk rock with a 60's feel to them mixed with a pop/rock vibe as well. The have had much success in England since their self titled debut release in 2002 which reached #5 on the charts in the UK followed by a number one album the following year.


Fast Forward through 3 Top Five albums and in the summer of 2005 the band split after guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band to take care of some personal issues. 2007 brought the return of The Coral with a release titled Roots and Echoes. which produced the huge hit, "Who's Gonna Find Me?". In 2008 The Coral released a greatest hits/compilation album fittingly titled, The Coral - Singles Collection. It was released as a 3 LP set on Deltasonic Records and reached #13 in the UK.

 James Skelly of The Coral

I really dig these guys ;  great story-tellers, great harmonies and a great throwback sound that is refreshing in a day of bland popular music.The first clip is the song that got me hooked on them for the first time, Dreaming of You.

Next is probably my favorite song from The Coral , In The Rain. This one is a rocker as well.






And finally, another great track and amazing live version of Shadows Fall, which first appeared on their first EP which was released in 2001.




Hope you enjoy these guys. If not, maybe you'll like next week. Have an opinion on The Coral, drop me a message.

Van Morrison LIVE!

I consider myself a pretty big Van Morrison fan. I've collected his albums over the years, picking up his early CD's here and there and all the while enjoying the ride. I have his first 8 or 9 albums which I love and a few of his newer ones of which I am not a huge fan. But one album that never made the transition to CD (until last year) was his live concert titled "It's Too Late to Stop Now", which was released in 1974. Before I knew this was released on CD,  a fellow record collector from the RCG who goes by weletthegoldfishgo offered to sell me a copy of this album on vinyl. I accepted that offer and was blown away with what I had just purchased. From the first note to the last, Van takes his performances to a level I had not heard before in any studio recordings.

From the opening notes of "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" to the last words in the 10 minute plus version of "Cypress Avenue", Van strives and hits his stride in the various recorded performances. The songs were taken from several shows of that tour, including Los Angeles, Santa Monica and London. One interesting note about this album was that there were no overdubs or corrections to any of the music.A rarity in live recordings. What you hear is what was played. The only song absent from the masters is "Moondance" due to one note wrongly played during the performance.

 

Some outstanding performances of some of his classics including "Warm Love", "Caravan" and "Into the Mystic" are present as well as my favorite track on the album "I Believe to My Soul" which was originally written and recorded by Mr. Ray Charles.Amazing job on his version of that song as well.

Side one

1. "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" 
2. "Warm Love"
3. "Into the Mystic" 
4. "These Dreams of You"
5. "I Believe to My Soul" (Mr. Ray Charles)

Side two

1. "I've Been Working"
2. "Help Me" 
3. "Wild Children" 
4. "Domino" 
5. "I Just Want to Make Love to You"

Side three

1. "Bring It On Home To Me"
2. "Saint Dominic's Preview"
3. "Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket"
4. "Listen to the Lion" – 8:43

Side four

1. "Here Comes the Night" 
2. "Gloria" – 4:16
3. "Caravan" – 9:20
4. "Cyprus Avenue" – 10:20

Van seems to control what video footage is released, and I do not believe, but will need to confirm, available video footage of this particular show, so instead, I'll share some of my favorite performances.

Here is Van with The Band during The Last Waltz perfomance which included many stars accompanying The Band.

Another great song, originally recorded on Saint Dominic's Preview, "The Way That Young Lover's Do"

And, finally, a rare, live version of Van performing "I Believe to My Soul". Amazing.

Thanks for checking out Vital Vinyl this week. Hope you enjoy.

Soup for your soul

Feeling a bit nostalgic tonight, I decided to go with Blind Melon's 1995 release Soup which was released two months before lead singer Shannon Hoon's untimely death. I acquired this album through a trade with a fellow collector who desired the Nick Drake US release I had posted about in 2009. Soup is one of my all time top ten albums, so acquiring this on vinyl, while coming at the price of surrendering the Drake album, was an easy trade at the time. Especially considering this copy was sealed at the time of the trade.

Blind Melon is most famous for 'No Rain'  which at the time was the track that kicked that album into  quadruple platinum status. Until that video was released, the album had been barely moving any units. Riding the high of their debut album they went to New Orleans to record their follow up. With the release of Soup, the band music and lyrics took a darker turn in its subject matter. Songs about suicide, a serial killer named Ed Gein (who also inspired a Slayer track, Dead Skin Mask) and a mother who drover her car off a cliff with her children still aboard are laced throughout the album along side of tracks that cover the upcoming birth of Shannon Hoon's daughter, a bar brawl and bad breath. And one even sounds to me like it's about his Grandmother (Vernie).

As you make your way through the album, you quickly get a sense of the bands influences and roots in the blues. And from the initial brass-laden intro that leads into Galaxie, you even get a taste of New Orleans. With a recipe containing these ingredients, this Soup was sure to be a success.

Some personal favorites off of the album include, Vernie, Walk, Car Seat (God's Presents) and Skinned. Throughout the album Hoon's lyrics really carry the flow of the song. You can see the band is really at it's prime both musically and lyrically. Brad Smith's bass, coupled with school buddy Roger Stevens (who learned to play guitar from Smith) R.E.M. influenced guitar style, the band, in my opinion, peaks with St. Andrews Fall. Hoon's ability to grab a hold of you and create imagery in your mind is a gift reserved for the upper echelon of vocalist in music. His opening line of Big stretch/ not much sleep/ I got a couple palm trees on each side of my cheek/And it's a bright blue Saturday/And the rummage sellin the rubbish to me, sets the tone of the song. About the midway point of the song is when the 20 story fall occurs and the music takes you down 20 stories with it, culminating with a the song rebuilding and leading to a section in which special guest Miles Tackett plays a beautiful cello under Hoon's vocals that leave you feeling like your dreaming.

Another song worth mention is Mouthful of Cavities which has Jena Kraus performing backing vocals has great dynamics from beginning to the end. The two talented vocalist really blend well as they play off of each other throughout.

All in all,this album really showcases the talented musicians in Blind Melon. Although the album was not a commercial success, the album has a formidable number of supported wich have only added to the legacy of what Blind Melon leaves behind. They have subsequently released an album with a new lead singer and they continue to work with him, but Shannon Hoon's shoes are quite large to fill. I personally hope that Record Store Day requests Blind Melon to dig into their vaults and release some vinyl next year.

Hope you enjoyed this and you enjoy Blind Melon. I've posted one of my favorite tracks below. Mouthful of Cavities.