We’re round at my sister’s again. Looking after Ali and Sofi. And on this occasion I thought they might enjoy some plasticene fun. So I bought a bit, whilst on a shopping trip with Sofi to the local giant Tesco. I expected them to stock plasticene (they used to). But they don’t anymore. Shocking! Wound up getting some from a pound shop close by.
Open handed, or spread-eagled?
I opted to make a claymation style Curtis Mayfield, circa 1970. Wearing his distinctive yellow outfit, as sported on the cover of his 1970 album, Curtis.
For some reason I’ve always wanted to make a plasticene Curtis! I’d also like to animate him. I wonder if animator sister Amy might be able to help/collaborate?
Slightly less awkward pose.
I have to confess I’m rather pleased with his spectacles. Making them was tricky but fun. And I think the results are ok. I also need to make him a guitar, and poss a beaded necklace.
Dig those flying lapels!
The lapels are, as they often were back then, hoooge!!! The white shirt was actually paisley patterned. But I don’t think I’ll bother with that! I may detail his yellow suit a bit more, poss’ with some stitching type marks.
The eyes don’t quite have it, yet.
It’s not the best likeness of Curtis. And I’m not crazy about his eyes. But hopefully I can improve on them a bit? I’m pretty pleased with his mouth and nose. And even his beard and hair.
Those hands and feet!?
I tried mixing red and black to get an oxblood type shoe colour. But the black, despite only being 33% of the mix, totally dominates!
Salt’n’pepper, doing an ‘ebony and ivory’ subtext. Curtis looks rather abstracted… far away?Getting him packed for the journey home.
I’ll be making him a guitar and strap when we get home. And poss’ also the aforementioned necklace(s)? I need to research what guitar he was using round this time. I think he used an unusual ‘black keys’ tuning as well.
Trying for a side-angle shotMan, I’m chuffed wi’ ‘is glasses?. Cryogenically frozen for the trip home.
Anyway, that was great fun! I don’t ever get round to this sort of thing much any more. I very much hope I can somehow get an animation out of it.
Probably my favourite Beatles album. And a pretty groovy cover to boot. Love that period ‘rubber’ font!
Whilst this is the sixth Beatles album, it’s only the second to not feature any covers. And the strength of the all original set is superb. Arguably not just their best yet, but one of their best ever.
I’ve read that the title itself is a playful variant on the ‘plastic soul’, i.e. fake/inauthentic soul, a term McCartney used about their own Little Richard inspired B-side, I’m Down. and when you consider that their previous waxing was Help! (both out in ‘65), the quantum leaps in both breadth and depth are striking.
One of the things The Beatles went on to become so well known for, with the help of producer George Martin, was their deep dive into the use of the studio itself, and the production, as a further aspect of creativity. And in tandem, the development of the album as an artistic package and statement, as opposed to merely what the term album denotes, a collection of songs.*
Rubber Soul was written and recorded after the US summer tour in which their performance at Shea Stadium both set new attendance records, and helped push them across several thresholds. Meeting such folk as Dylan and Presley, getting deeper into pot and LSD, and further exposure to contemporary Afro-American popular music, all conspired to enhance, expand and enrich their creative aspirations.
Rather bizarrely, to my mind, it was EMI policy at the time to alter the US albums, which in this case meant removing four tracks! The UK/European release comprised:
Side One Drive My Car Norwegian Wood You Won’t See Me Nowhere Man Think For Yourself The Word
Side Two What Goes On Girl I’m Looking Through You In My Life Wait If I Needed Someone Run For Your Life
The entirety of what was originally side one is terrific. The first four tracks in particular being properly stellar. Think For Yourself is a bit of a dip, but The Word, a pre-emotive ‘Summer-of-Love-bomb’ picks things up again.
Side two kicks of with one of Ringo’s best turns on lead vocals, and two very strong Lennon numbers, in Girl and the humbly sublime In My Life (you gotta dig GM’s fake harpsichord solo!). If I Needed Someone is yet more proof that George Harrison’s best writing occurred whilst he was a Beatle.
The album ends with Run Four Life, which is very like Think For Yourself, in both tempo and feel. speaking of feel, not only has the overall sound become more complex, nuanced and personal, it’s also several shades darker, with anger and alienation entering the frame, where before it was mostly happy go lucky boy meets girl romance.
And on a sartorial footnote… I’m very tempted by this!
I’d love to have a jacket like Lennon’s!
Not sure what the source for the above alternate cover type image is. But it’s interesting to see a variant. considering how goofily dressed they sometime got later on, they’re looking pretty cool and fab, in a slightly beatnik hipster type way, here.
* Back in the days before record covers with artwork and info became a thing, shorter playing 78s were stored in what resembled what are now the inner sleeves, albeit in heavier card stock. And collections of multiple discs would actually literally make up an album, akin to a photo album.
• 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste (check the label to make sure it’s vegetarian/ vegan)
• 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 200g bag spinach
• 1 lime, juiced
• cooked rice, to serve (optional)
• dry roasted peanuts, to serve (optional)
METHOD
• Melt 1 tbsp coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and soften 1 chopped onion for 5 mins. Add 2 grated garlic cloves and a grated thumb-sized piece of ginger, and cook for 1 min until fragrant.
• Stir in 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste, 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter and 500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks, then add 400ml coconut milk and 200ml water.
• Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 mins or until the sweet potato is soft.
• Stir through 200g spinach and the juice of 1 lime, and season well. Serve with cooked rice, and if you want some crunch, sprinkle over a few dry roasted peanuts
Bubbles… what an ace track! I just acquired the rather excellent Butterflies Are Free set, which is the complete recordings of The Free Design, covering seven albums, plus a few oddments, over the period 1967-72.
I emailed Chris Dedrick – their de facto musical leader – years back, and got a lovely reply. I’d hoped to interview him for my putative music book, on music of the early ‘70s. Sadly, since then, he passed away. The ‘Big C’, alas.
Prior to getting Butterflies I had a couple of their albums on CD, and the most of the rest as digital only downloads. I also have a Chris Dedrick solo album, from ‘72, called Be Free. I don’t think I’d ever had their kid’s album, Plays For Very Important People, until now.
Initially a trio of siblings, they were augmented by a fourth family member, (?), becoming a vocal harmony quartet. They also played instruments, with Chris the most active that way (guitar, keys, trumpet, etc.). But in the studio for their recordings, they were backed by stellar sessionistas, such as (names!).
Enoch, avec le pipe!
One of the reasons they’ve remained a bit under the radar might be that they weren’t on a major label. Fearing that a major would be too constraining, they went with audiophile Enoch Light, on his Project 3 label. This ensured them total artistic freedom (and great sound!). But it also meant they didn’t have the publicity machinery of a major label promoting them.
The marks of the late ‘60s era are strong, their whole sound and vibe partaking of a groovy hipness that, ironically, dates the music a little, and is also in danger at times of coming across as a little naff. But, having said this, at the very same time they also have a beguiling mixture of naïveté and musical sophistication that has a timeless appeal. And, despite sharing certain qualities with other similar-ish ‘sunshine pop’ acts of the era, they’re pretty damn unique.
And, for me, Bubbles – posted at the head of this entry – captures this all extremely well. Bill LaVorgna’s drumming is particularly noteworthy, on this oddly funky nugget, negotiating the odd time signature with a lithely supple and elastic groove that makes the whole thing groove very nicely.
But right from the get go, the first and title track of their debut album, Kites Are Fun, sets out their stall; goofily child-like, lyrically, musically adult, and whilst outwardly joyful, there’s nearly always a wistful lonely teardrop in there somewhere. Lovely stuff, as Alan Partridge (or Shakin’ Stevens, if you credit Coogan’s alter-ego) might say.
And as a little additional bauble, the lyrics to Bubbles:
Blowin' bubbles outta the window Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles Gettin' gettin' ridda ridda all my troubles, Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'
Ma 'n' Pa are arguin' again, today I lost my best friend The kitty has a little cold, 'n ' grammama is getting older My tummy has a little pain, 'n' when does Jesus come again?
Blowin' bubbles outta the window Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles Gettin' gettin' ridda ridda all my troubles, Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'
Blowin' bubbles outta the window Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles Gettin' gettin ridda ridda all my troubles, Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'
I absolutely adore some of the Funkadelic/Parliament music. And it’s often very largely due to tremendous rhythmatics, from the drums, obviously, and bass, guitar, keys, etc.
One of the engine room crew responsible for some of this musical wizardry was Tiki Fulwood. As the years go by, and my appreciation for musicians like Fulwood grows, I want to know more about them.
This post will, I hope, grow into a little biog/tribute to this superb musician. First of all, I’ll link to a few things I found on the web about him, such as this, from George Clinton’s website.
Tiki, funky cowpoke, in wide-brimmed hat.
I was surprised to learn that Fulwood had played the drums not only on lots of fab Funkadelic stuff, but also on two stone cold soul pop classics, Tyrone Davis’ Can I Change My Mind and Turn Back The Hands of Time. Dude should be a legend for those alone!
Another more in depth piece can be found here, posted to the ‘rate your music’ website, by someone going by the tag soulmakossa. Whoever you are, thanks for this superb piece!
In my search for all things Tiki, I also found this, from another drummer (props to Ben Woollacott), giving his take on one of Fulwood’s opening fills, in this instance from the Funkadelic track Goold Old Music.
