The Giant Panther

Back there when I was in seminary school, there was a person there who put forth the proposition that you can petition the lord with prayer...sorry Jim. I just meant that many moons to the south I was a twenty something music junkie and I was listening to XTC early and often. The first time I heard Making Plans For Nigel I was hooked no questions asked. Then came Senses Working Overtime. Life Begins at The Hop. Generals and Majors. Sgt Rock (is Going To Help Me). Not in any particular order mind you; I was just soaking them in via my post college crappy restaurant job network of music lovers. XTC was sort of presented to us then as the UK Steely Dan. Say no more I said. You didn't often see their photos. They didn't tour (at least by time I was aware of them). They were different. Drums and Wires had a cool color sketch on the album cover. I wanted in. They were mysterious. They were cool. I was a big fan in what seemed like five notes. That just didn't seem to happen often to me.

Around 1984 the hits stopped coming for some reason. The Big Express was a commercial flop (though it is critically acclaimed in some circles) and the record company wanted more radio friendly singles. Enter Todd Rundgren. The Eclectic Wizard; A True Star. Andy Partridge wanted no part of him if the rumors are true, but off to Woodstock the lot of them went. I've never been to Woodstock, but I'd love to see the site of Max Yasgur's Farm or the land where Music From Big Pink was recorded. I know Bob Dylan and others found refuge there, but the mystic of the place is legend. During the sessions Colin Moulding allegedly quit and came back the next day. Suffice to say there was tension. The result, for me anyway, was stupendous. If memory serves XTC's alter ego, The Dukes of Stratosphere, were shortly pushing their own CD around the same time as Skylarking. I believe that took some of the edge off because some of the band members were able to express other ideas separately in another forum. By the way, if you like The Beatles, like 97% of everyone who ever lived, check out The Duke's Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. In fact go download The Mole From The Ministry right now. What a great track that is...anyway, to put a bow on Skylarking...this record is fantastic. I know many of you will only know the throwaway track "Dear God" that really catapulted this CD into the fore, but "Mermaid Smiled (the track removed and replaced with Dear God when Virgin/Geffen records figured out Dear God had sales potential)" or any other track on this CD is just as good. Skylarking is one of those CDs where you have to listen to it end to end. In theory you could swoop in and grab "Earn Enough For Us" or "That's Really Super, Super Girl" and feel like you've grabbed the best tracks on this CD, but that would be a mistake. People might complain about Todd Rundgren's heavy production on this recording, but I'm not one of them. It's just gorgeous. 21 years later it still finds it's way into my CD player. Hopefully you'll agree. Oranges and Lemons is terrific as well, but Skylarking is XTC's masterwork.

It's a beautiful crisp autumn day here in New England. I live for this! Let's post two! Thanks Ernie (Banks). First I should just mention that no matter how many times I hear the first chord of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart I get chills. Write it down. Chills. (S)He's Lost Control Again. I just saw, finally, the movie 24 Hour Party People. For the uninitiated, this film centers around the story of Factory Records, home to Joy Division, New Order, The Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, and The Happy Mondays. The unfortunate story of Ian Curtis (played by actor Sean Harris) was featured briefly, but this is the tale of Tony Wilson and Shaun Ryder, of all people. Some of you may know Shaun as the allegedly drug addled lead singer of The Happy Mondays. Pills N' Thrills and Bellyaches might just be the ultimate ecstacy soundtrack for the alternative set, but more on that another time. This Independent film was never going to garner any Oscars, but I love stuff like this. Having lived the lite version over here in the states I was all over the Manchester Sound. Loved it. The Charlantan's UK's Some Friendly was a favorite among others. Anyway, the reason I tell the story is because I know many of New Order's fans checked out after the band imploded in flames after Republic. I remember seeing them mail it in one night at Great Woods here in Massachusetts. I think Public Enemy was on the undercard. It was sad to see them so not interested. The legendary New Order! This was no way for them to go out, but it sure seemed like the end. "Regret" was the only real listenable track on Republic for me. They were done. Stick a fork in them.

New Order has a great legacy for my money. Technique was brilliant. Low Life was brilliant. Perfect Kiss. Bizarre Love Triange (I can still see Michelle Pfeiffer in Married To The Mob). I hated to see them go out this way. Well, I'm here to tell you they haven't. I don't know what went on for what amounts to ten years, but if you failed to pick up a copy of Get Ready. For Shame! This is a fantastic record in my book. It's got everything New Order fans love and there isn't one weak song on it (alright I'll give you Rock The Shack). This proves decisively that New Order still lives. No one can tell me otherwise. If I can turn one person out there to this record I'll have done my job. For the rest of you that loved that era, but have long since pulled the plug on your love of New Order; get out there and buy this one. Turn on the Way Back Machine and Get Back to where you once belonged. I'm leaving you with 60 Miles an Hour, but it could have been any number of tracks. Enjoy.

New Order - 60 Miles An Hour.mp3

As someone who absolutely lived, musically speaking, the 70's, 80's, & 90's as well as the present decade, it amazes me how some records remain a mainstay in your mind. It doesn't matter that I personally bought 158 other CDs in 1990 (according to my cataloguing software) and that many of them history will show were superior to this release. It doesn't matter that this record is more known for a song called "There She Goes" which, if the rumors are to be believed, is a reference to heroin coursing through the veins of the protagonist. It also doesn't matter to me that it sold very poorly or that they can barely give away copies these days. I was surprised to find out when I went to do some research on the band for this post, that they are from Liverpool or that Steve Lillywhite, of Simple Minds and U2 fame, produced the record. I don't know how I missed that, but I did. It sure doesn't sound like a record that was shunned by the band and abandoned to be pieced together by Lillywhite after they failed to get along during the recording sessions. If you believe what has been printed, the band allegedly played poorly in the sessions in the hopes of getting the project scuttled and getting a divorce from their producer. I don't know about any of that, but I still love this record to this day. I can't put my finger on it, but it somehow consistently hits my aural pleasure center.

If you like your alternative rock jangly and poppy, sort of like R.E.M. before they went completely soft, you will like this record. I'm no musician or engineer, but it feels like it was recorded in a hollow edifice. It sounds like an acoustic guitar punched up and recorded in 3D somehow. I know that makes no sense. Suffice to say it's a rockin' acoustic guitar record. The harmonies are terrific. Whether you are paying close attention to the music or you just have it on in the background I'm betting your soul will hear it. I do know not enough people like me latched onto this as the treasure trove of, well, Timeless Melodies that it is. Normally I would give you a destination to go support this band, but I think they don't want to be found. Enjoy.

My name is John Jay and I was recently invited to blog on The Giant Panther and I'm genuinely excited about the opportunity. In the past The Panther has catered to the Indie scene and new music in general. It will continue to do so. If everything goes well my contribution will be a bit of wild card swooping in from time to time potentially turning on or reminding some folks of some recordings from the past. I'll be something like an unestablished columnist with a by-line I don't really deserve. I'm going to try and have fun with it until my ratings head south. I'll just write about whatever music I feel like and hopefully entertain a few folks in the process. I want to thank Chrissie Hynde in advance for inspiring my use of the word insipid. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. For my first post I'm pulling from the obscure file. It was a tough decision, but I didn't want to stray too far off the beaten path right off the bat. Hope you enjoy it.

About four years ago around Christmas time I was combing the year end critics lists for discs I might have missed and I stumbled across an artist from Fat Possum Records called the Heartless Bastards. I'm a big Blues fan so I was familiar with Fat Possum. It is home to tremendous Blues artists like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. I had a reasonable economy (with a nod to Johnny Rotten) at the time so I tossed a CD called Stairs and Elevators into my shopping cart and had it sent to me. Good move. This is a rock record as opposed to a Blues record just so we are clear. I guess you could call it a garage blues record. It does have some Smithereens like overtones to it, but it's got more of a heartland feel to it. I must have played this CD 50 times over the next year all the way through. My collection is fairly large so this doesn't happen that often. I can't explain it, but I loved it. It rocked. This three "man" band hails from Dayton, OH if I have my facts straight. I hope they are friends with their Ohio neighbors The Black Keys somehow. That would make sense. OK, my time is up for now, but I'll back. I hope you support these guys somehow. They deserve it more than your run of the mill band. I'm leaving you with a temporary sample in the hopes that you might buy this recording as I did.