The Album Review Club - Week #141 - (page 1860) - JPEG Raw - Gary Clark Jr.

Just listened to Gypsy Blood. Its OK - I quite enjoyed the melodies, and Jackie Leven's singing stayed just on the right side of "annoying vocalisation syndrome". Even though he went full-on Sloth from the Goonies on "Hell Games".

I liked the guitar, general flow and anthemic chord changes on tracks like "Human Face" and "Hey Sweetheart", but I didn't feel that there was anything strong enough to pull me back in for a 2nd listen.

And of course, this album is yet another where the band must have signed up to a secret treaty that I'm going to call The Crimson Pact. It appears to have only three rules:-

1. You only have two options for your last track: it must either be way too long or even longer.
2. It must consist, either fully or partially, of band members p***ing about on their instruments with no apparent direction.
3. It must yield a response of "Do you think that this one would be best left on the cutting room floor, brother?" from at least half of your test audience.

I'll give it a 6/10.
 
RobMCFC said:
Just listened to Gypsy Blood. Its OK - I quite enjoyed the melodies, and Jackie Leven's singing stayed just on the right side of "annoying vocalisation syndrome". Even though he went full-on Sloth from the Goonies on "Hell Games".

I liked the guitar, general flow and anthemic chord changes on tracks like "Human Face" and "Hey Sweetheart", but I didn't feel that there was anything strong enough to pull me back in for a 2nd listen.

And of course, this album is yet another where the band must have signed up to a secret treaty that I'm going to call The Crimson Pact. It appears to have only three rules:-

1. You only have two options for your last track: it must either be way too long or even longer.
2. It must consist, either fully or partially, of band members p***ing about on their instruments with no apparent direction.
3. It must yield a response of "Do you think that this one would be best left on the cutting room floor, brother?" from at least half of your test audience.

I'll give it a 6/10.
Click to expand...
Ah you’re referring to the “bonus” track which in this case isn’t much of one. The original album ends with When a Man Dies which is barely a minute long
 
RobMCFC said:
Just listened to Gypsy Blood. Its OK - I quite enjoyed the melodies, and Jackie Leven's singing stayed just on the right side of "annoying vocalisation syndrome". Even though he went full-on Sloth from the Goonies on "Hell Games".

I liked the guitar, general flow and anthemic chord changes on tracks like "Human Face" and "Hey Sweetheart", but I didn't feel that there was anything strong enough to pull me back in for a 2nd listen.

And of course, this album is yet another where the band must have signed up to a secret treaty that I'm going to call The Crimson Pact. It appears to have only three rules:-

1. You only have two options for your last track: it must either be way too long or even longer.
2. It must consist, either fully or partially, of band members p***ing about on their instruments with no apparent direction.
3. It must yield a response of "Do you think that this one would be best left on the cutting room floor, brother?" from at least half of your test audience.

I'll give it a 6/10.
Click to expand...
This.
Im hovering between a 5 and a 6.
Och Aye The Noo! It’s Christmas.
6/10.
 
journolud said:
Doll by Doll- Gypsy Blood


We can probably all name an album that we would consider to be “lost classics”, in fact I think there have been one or two on this thread already. That runs the risk though of getting the bewildered and bemused response of those who don't get it, or worse... So there is a temptation to keep it to yourself and the curiosity to know if anyone else will see it or hear it the same way as you.

Anyway, I’m not going to make the claim for Gypsy Blood as a lost classic. Try British rock’s lost masterpiece instead, as described in the link below, assuming you have subscribed to the Telegraph or are sufficiently interested to take out the free trial…

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture...c/3664428/British-rocks-lost-masterpiece.html

For a more accessible fan view see below.

https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/204/

I wish I could say I was there at the time with Doll by Doll and their legendarily uncompromising live shows. I wasn’t though, I came to them by the time the show was more or less over and sort of by accident when I picked up a copy of a single from their third eponymous album for 10p from Sifter’s, not because I’d heard of them but because well, it was only 10p and I liked the sleeve. That single was the magnificent Main Travelled Roads but we’re not here about that.

Gypsy Blood was their second album. I’m not sure even now how it should be categorised. Doll by Doll were around in the days of punk but this isn’t punk. I like the term Caledonian Soul, coined, unless anyone tells me different by Van Morrison (although he is Irish, duh) for his backing band on the It’s Too Late to Stop it Now tour. I don’t think this is Caledonian Soul though, although Doll by Doll are Scottish and they’ve got soul or passion or whatever you might want to call it. Whatever it is it swoops and soars. The lyrics hint at mysticism but an earthy kind of mysticism and there are moments the music goes in unexpected directions that can be startling and uplifting.

It would be too easy to say that Doll by Doll were Jackie Leven’s band. Essentially they were but I don’t think they would have been what they were without the other three members, particularly guitarist Jo Shaw. This was kind of borne out by their fourth album Grand Passion, a Jackie Leven solo album by any other name.

I won’t do a track by track run down, suffice to say that the first two, Teenage Lightning and Gypsy Blood, both great songs by the way, are short and to the point and perfect for making sure you are paying attention. By the third song, Stripshow the album really starts to unwind and show what the band are about. Next up The Human Face just takes off and well, it either gets you or it doesn’t. After that Hey Sweetheart is almost a “traditional” song and offers a little breather.

Side two opens with Binary Fiction,the first of two Jo Shaw tracks, the rest having being written by Leven or credited to the band. It’s followed by Hell Games, another classic, Forbidden Worlds and Highland Rain. The latter’s closing chords sound a bit like a door closing but it’s not the end, neither is Endgame, Jo Shaw’s second and an enigmatic song before Leven sees us out with a little whimsy on When a Man Dies. Oh, I did do a track by track rundown. Sort of

By the time of their third album Leven was getting frustrated with the lack of recognition and the original band split up. The third had edged towards a more commercial sound anyway and this was more evident on their fourth Grand Passion which had some good songs on it but ironically lacked the passion of the first two albums in particular.

I did get to see Doll by Doll as they toured Grand Passion; they played the Gallery in Manchester which was a pretty small venue near the old Free Trade Hall. I remember (the title of their first album by the way ie Remember) that the gig felt like it was of a band or performer out of time with a whiff of faded grandeur.

After a fairly lengthy hiatus Jackie Leven returned to launch a prolific solo career to much critical acclaim but again a very limited public response. I was lucky enough to see him once. A couple of obituaries following his untimely death at the age of 61 here. His story is interesting.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/15/jackie-leven

Jackie Leven: Musician whose songs were peopled by loners and lost lovers | The Independent | The Independent

And a little more on Doll by Doll

Doll By Doll – Nostalgia Central
Click to expand...
Forgot to say, nice write-up by the way. This is what this thread is all about and discovering a new artist by way of a 10p record you liked the cover of is as good a way as any and is obviously a good bit of nostalgia for you.

I agree that they don’t sound like a punk band. I probably wouldn’t have liked it if I thought that.
 
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