Super selections and wonderful words by Balearic Mike.

If you were to look up “folk funk” or “once lost masterpiece” in the musical dictionary, you would almost certainly see a picture of this incredible record…

Susan Christie – Paint A Lady – Finders Keepers Records 2006

Susan Christie was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, and had a long-term friendship / relationship with cult producer John Hill, who she’d known since junior high school. The pair scored a novelty-folk-pop hit in 1966 with the song, I Love Onions (a statement that Balearic Wife strongly disagrees with!), but their subsequent follow ups in a similar style were flops. However, ABC-Paramount offered the duo an album deal, and they set about recording what became Paint A Lady. Time was booked in the legendary Philly recording studio, Sigma Sound, and they took with them a wide range of influences from folk, country music, and psychedelic pop-rock. To this mix, Sigma’s famous rhythm section, bassist Kirk Hamilton and drummer Jim Valerio, added the funk. Unfortunately, the label didn’t see the potential, and upon hearing the first few tracks declared the album un-commercial and pulled the plug. With this, Susan, who was beginning to start a family, decided to instead pursue a career recording jingles – allowing her to dedicate more to her children, and still be involved in music. Susan and John privately-pressed 3 vanity copies, which the disappointed couple then saved along with the master tapes in their basement. There the album languished until the early noughties, until record executive Keith D’Arcy happened to ask Susan if she had any unreleased material. Upon hearing the album D’Arcy was blown away, and he passed a copy to Andy Votel at Finders Keepers. Andy released the album for the first time in 2006 – which features one of my favourites of his incredible record cover designs – to warm critical acclaim.

 

Paint A Lady is a masterpiece from start to finish, with not a bum note or rim-shot out of place. Imagine, if you will, that Nick Drake had recorded his first 2 albums with The Meters as his backing band, and you’re getting close to the incredible sound of this record. It seems to effortlessly contain the influence of `60s UK folk, with a more American, Southern country-funk sensibility. I honestly can’t believe that such a perfect and unique artistic statement could have remained lost to the world for so long, and that, but for the curiosity of a handful of musical archaeologists it could have remained that way. The following year Susan would join Bonnie Dobson and Wendy Flower on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London for a concert named ‘Lost Ladies Of Folk’, organised by Andy Votel and his wife, the recording artist, Jane Weaver. Susan would also feature on Jane’s album, The Fallen By Watch Bird, in 2010. 

Paint A Lady is still in print, and was remastered and re-pressed a few years ago, so do yourself a favour, and if you don’t already know this wonderful set of songs, rectify that immediately. In 2022, the opening song, Rainy Day, featured in the Oscar winning film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

This is already one of my favourite records of the year, and it almost didn’t happen…

Steve Cobby – The New Law Of Righteousness – Declasse 2023

As you will know by now, I’m a big fan of Steve Cobby’s music, and have been since the tsunami of releases – under his many aliases – Fila Brazillia, Solid Doctor, Heights Of Abraham, 2 Loops Lautrec, White Dopes On Funk… – began back in the 1990s. Since 2014 Steve’s been self-releasing a series of solo LPs, which are all really wonderful, however this year’s offering, The New Law Of Righteousness, for me is his finest yet… and it almost didn’t make it onto vinyl. Thankfully, Steve finally decided to commit to some copies, and I’m so glad he did.The album is a simply stunning, genre-defying thing of beauty, with subtle influences of Chinese and East Asian musical styles throughout. Flowing effortlessly between the sundappled Balearic lounge music of opener, Viva Melvin, to the wonky, moog-funk-samba of Leaving Civilization Behind Us. The Four F’s might be closest to classic Fila Brazillia – a dreamy slice of cosmic jazz-funk, with a deep, bass synth part and skipping house rhythm – while the incredible The World And Your Place In It is a squelchy, chugging, slo-mo, acid groove, that sounds like it was tailor-made for an ALFOS set. Everything Is Smoothed By Time is a Carl Craig-esque fusion of techno and trip-hop. Haunting and atmospheric, yet funky as fuck! My favourite, though, is All The Faith I Had Had Had Had No Effect, a gorgeous, Laurel Canyon-esque daydream, with pretty Pat Metheny-like jazz guitar and skittering electronic percussion. The album then finishes with the gurgling acid-ambience of Growing In Lunar Soil, and the gorgeous Ikigai, an Eastern-tinged piece of acoustic folk-tronica. It’s a glorious record, massively Balearic, and incredibly beautiful, cut loud on 2×45 RPM 12”, plus there are only 250 copies pressed. Go Buy one. Now!

I saw this amazing concert film at the cinema for the first time this week…

Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense – EMI 1984

I own 2 vinyl copies of Stop Making Sense – the 1984 original, and 1999 180-gram reissue – plus a video and DVD. I must have watched the concert film and listened to the records hundreds of times. I recall that after The Trip Festival we all stayed up and watched it 3 times, back-to-back before heading to bed… But I’ve never, until now, seen it on the big screen. It is quite simply a phenomenal live performance, and a wonderful snapshot of a band at the height of their powers. The fact the band also happen to be one of the most important, inventive, and incredible groups to have ever made music together really takes this stratospheric. I have to admit that the LP is always going to be a slight letdown after the concert film, but only because the film is so completely amazing. Taken on its own, the album is also bloody brilliant, with ‘the heads’ powering through super-charged versions of some of their finest numbers, and the sound augmented by the wonderful addition of some excellent singers and players. We have Bride Of Funkenstein Lynn Mabry, and Edna Holt (of “Serious, Sirius, Space Party” fame) on backing vocals, Parliament / Funkadelic stalwart Bernie Worrell on synths, percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist Alex Weir, all contributing, massively, to the sound of the group. Some of these live versions really do top their respective album versions, with Slippery People, a particular favourite, reminding me of my first steps onto the dancefloor as a teenager. When I was still in high school, I had a group of older friends who took me to these regular discos at Warrington’s Royal British Legion (oh, the glamour!). It was full of underage drinkers, and I learned to dance, with my friend Pete, in this shithole. The live version of Slippery People, released as a single, was always played, and would always entice me onto the dancefloor, where, eventually, we would spend the entire night. I had no idea that I would end up spending my entire life there!

For more from Balearic Mike you can find him on both Facebook and Instagram – @balearicmike. 

Mike has a Mixcloud page packed with magnificent, magical, music, and you can catch him live on 1BTN, from 12 noon until 2 (UK time) every 1st and 3rd Friday.

You can also check out the super silk screen prints of “Balearic Wife” over at @jo_lambert_print