Roy Harper – Live at Les Cousins – 30th August 1969

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Roy Harper – Live at Les Cousins – 30th August 1969

It was the end of August in London. 1969 – at the height of the sixties Underground. These were the heady days of revolution. The world had changed for ever. The old world had been swept away by a wave of youthful rebellion. These were the days of new sensibilities and attitudes; the rebirth of individuality, spirituality and political awareness, coupled with a sexual revolution. The freaks were taking over and questioning everything.

It felt like we were caught up in the great tsunami of social upheaval and creative endeavour. It was sweeping all before it. We were making up new rules. I was twenty years old and living in London, the heart of what was going on. We were young, free and wanting to taste it all. There was a great feeling of optimism.

That’s how it felt.

It is a shame it proved so ephemeral.

On that summer day it was a hot in London. Allen Ginsberg had been spotted on Charring Cross Road. Bob Dylan was playing at the Isle of Wight but I was going to a much more important event – I was off to see Roy Harper play Les Cousins.

Roy had been signed to the prestigious EMI Harvest label. They were gathering up the best of the Sixties Underground – like Pink Floyd and Edgar Broughton, and giving them carte blanche to record.

At last Roy was being recognised as a major force. He was being given the best recording facilities in the world – at Abbey Road Studio – as well as a sympathetic producer. The deal had energised Roy. He had virtually unlimited studio time, the best facilities and a great production team. Not only that but he had a collection of songs that were the equal of anything he’d written before. It felt like the bits of the jig-saw puzzle were finally coming together and Roy would at last be able to do justice to his material.

Work had begun on what was to become Flat Baroque and Berserk. Roy and Pete Jenner had hit it off, became buddies and shared musical views. There was synergy in the studio.

Roy saw ‘I Hate the Whiteman’ as the centre-piece to the album. It was a song that was full of social observation and vitriol for the plastic lifestyle of western civilisation. It epitomised Roy’s attitude at that time (and up to the present). Roy had been singing it live with great gusto and passion. It had massive impact on audiences.

When it came to recording the song for the album Roy wanted it to have all the immediacy and power of a live recording. He did not want it watered down. He felt that it was an important statement. Somehow he managed to persuade the powers that be at EMI that it was worth recording live.

Roy selected Les Cousins as the venue – the place he had started out, a warm, intimate place that felt like home to him, and arranged for EMI’s portable recording machine to be set up. This gig was to be professionally recorded on the best equipment available.

I knew in advance what was going down, so it was with a great deal of excitement that I found myself descending those steep stairs into the cellar that was Les Cousins.

The club was small; a room with a little stage in the corner with small tables and chairs scattered around. It was always dimly lit and created quite an atmosphere, particularly when filled with a lot of smoke and packed with people. I secured a place to the side and at the front and waited nervously.

Roy seemed a bit uptight to me. He was eager to get this right. I think it is one of those times when the more you try to be normal and relaxed the more you’re not. Roy launched into his set and I could see he was pouring everything into it. I lived every moment, willing it to be brilliant. The passion was electric. It was so intense that he broke a string from the sheer force he was pushing through the guitar.

When it came to Whiteman I was on edge, wanting it to be perfect, wanting Roy not to fluff a note or forget a line. It sounded pretty good to me. I thought they’d got it.

I’m not sure what happened. I heard that Roy did not think that the live recording was quite good enough and merely used the spoken introduction on the album. In any case, the track used on the album was superb.

The rest of the concert (not quite in its entirety) lay on the shelf for thirty years. Darren Crisp resurrected it and persuaded Roy to put it out as a CD.

It is quite a unique performance – capturing Roy in full flood at the height of his youthful energies. It gives a rare insight into what those early gigs were like. Roy was on fire. The songs soared and the less cynical Harper laid into the establishment with real venom. Then there was the banter in between the songs – often as interesting and important as the songs themselves.

Darren asked me to write the liner notes and I was more than happy to oblige.

Live at Les Cousins is part of history and a superb relic of an era – as well as being a musical gem.

Rock Music Books – Opher’s Best

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Opher Goodwin’s Top Rock Music Books

Here is a list of some of my top Rock Music books (all available in paperback or kindle and some in Hardback):

Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song  Phil Ochs was the ‘The Prince of Protest’ in the sixties. The only real rival to Bob Dylan, he was the archetypal Greenwich Village topical songwriter. Whether protesting the Vietnam War or campaigning for civil rights, workers’ rights and social justice, Phil was always there. Phil was the man to take up causes, write songs, play at rallies and even risk his life. His clear voice and sense of melody, linked with his incisive lyrics, created songs of beauty and power. As his career progressed, with lyrics and music becoming more highly poetic and sophisticated, he still never lost sight of his cause. Towards the end of the sixties he joined with the YIPPIES in protest against the Vietnam War. But idealism became Phil’s downfall. He was an idealist who could see no point in continuing if he was unable to make the world a better place. Phil lost all hope and descended into depression, which, along with excessive alcohol consumption, led to his suicide in 1976. Shortly before he took his life, Phil asked his brother if he thought anyone would listen to his songs in the future. Well here we are; sixty years later, still listening. The songs of Phil Ochs are every bit as relevant as they ever were and they are making the world a better place!Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789523263: Books
Ian Dury On Track: Every Album, Every Song Paperback – 25 Sept. 2025  “We only ever get glimpses of Ian Dury; nothing is as it seems. From irascible rogue to national treasure, pop star to social commentator, cockney geezer to artist, he was a man greater than the sum of his parts. Part teddy boy, part punk, part vaudeville act; he was unique. The music that emanates from this powerful personality echoes the heart and drive of their complex creator.
   Dury began his career as a frontman with post-punk outfit Kilburn And The High Roads, but had his greatest success with backing band The Blockheads, which featured Chis Jankel and Wilko Johnson at various times. He found true commercial success with the albums New Boots And Panties and Do It Yourself. Dury went on to a critically acclaimed solo career and worked with The Blockheads again on the 1997 album Mr Love Pants. He also had a slew of non-album hits, especially the UK number one ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’.
   In this book, Opher Goodwin dissects his albums and songs to tease out their spirit and reveal the inspirations behind them. 
   This is Ian Dury: a Blockhead, a genius.”		Ian Dury On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781789523744: Books
Leonard Cohen  On Track: Every Album, Every Song Paperback – 30 May 2025  An enigma, Leonard Norman Cohen was possibly the most improbable bohemian intellectual songwriter/singer in music history. He was certainly the working-class hero, the peoples’ poet, the suicidal lamenter of doom and the purveyor of popular songs. But the truth is even more complex. Throughout his life, there were juxtapositions of the most unlikely life choices and influences. To have fashioned a mishmash of ideas, styles and influences into a successful, long-lasting musical career is nothing short of amazing. He blended secular, mystical, sexual and religious themes into ambiguous poetic tapestries and devised an intricate, unique musical style. He possessed a deep baritone voice that, although mesmerising, was sometimes in danger of sounding monotonous. Leonard was able to fuse these elements into a distinctive amalgam that somehow worked on many levels. He did not look the part, play the game or conform to any rules, but Leonard touched hearts and minds all over the world, while writing some remarkable songs, including ‘Halleluyah’ and ‘Suzanne’. Focusing equally on his popular early albums, his more experimental mid-period and his final, late-career renaissance, this book analyses and interprets every album and every individual song to shed light on the phenomenon of Leonard Cohen.Leonard Cohen On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781789523591: Books
The Beatles – White Album – rock Classics    Arguably the greatest album by the best rock band ever, The Beatles – also known as The White Album – proved to be a watershed recording. Coming as it did, after manager Brian Epstein’s death; after the disillusionment with the Maharishi; in the middle of the break-up of long-term relationships, and following on from the psychedelic masterpiece Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it heralded changes of style and the marked the start of the falling apart of the previously tight-knit group.The album’s diversity and creation are analysed and its background and dynamics revealed. This extraordinary double album reflects a remarkable time and period. As the sixties came to an end, so too did the band. They mirrored the times they lived in. The album also followed on from their first highly criticised TV flop Magical Mystery Tour, the success of the first global satellite triumph of ‘All You Need Is Love’, and the highly ambitious Apple business venture. George Martin ducked out and ructions broke out between band members. But, among all the pressures and stress they found time to write and record an incredible array of songs; songs that synergised into a spectacularly successful album with a fascinating story. This is the tale of every track and every facet of this remarkable record.The Beatles: White Album – Rock Classics: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789523331: Books
Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home – Rock ClassicsOne of the most pivotal albums in the evolution of rock music, few other recordings have had more impact than the 1965 Bob Dylan classic, Bringing It All Back Home. In the mid-sixties, rock music was about to explode into psychedelia, prog and jazz fusion. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan had made an enormous impact on songwriting with his first four all-acoustic albums. He had created a different way of writing songs, by embracing themes such as civil rights, anti-war protests and social issues, which lifted the subject matter from teenage love songs to serious poetic works of art, rife with symbolism. But with Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan shot his lyrics through with surreal hard-edged beat poetry while the music contained both acoustic songs and blues-based loud electric rock. It alienated him from many of his peers in the folk community but nonetheless contains classic cuts like ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ ‘Maggie’s Farm’ and ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. Dylan had opened the door to experimentation. The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Doors, Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Cream all listened and responded. In its wake, Songwriting rose to new heights with few boundaries. After Bringing It All Back Home, music was forever changed.Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home: Rock Classics: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789523140: Books
Captain Beefheart On Track: Every Album, Every SongCaptain Beefheart (Don Vliet) was undoubtedly the creator of the most bizarre and wonderful music. A child prodigy sculptor, he applied his artistic approach to music, creating ‘aural sculptures’. He befriended Frank Zappa in High School, collaborating on a teenage rock opera and sci-fi/fantasy film entitled Captain Beefheart vs The Grunt People. It was from this film that Don took his name. Of course, a magic character had to have a magic band. Captain Beefheart On Track: Every Album, Every Song : Opher Goodwin: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Roy Harper On Track: Every Album, Every SongRoy Harper must be one of Britain’s most undervalued rock musicians and songwriters. For over fifty years he has produced a series of innovative albums of consistently outstanding quality. He puts poetry and social commentary to music in a way that extends the boundaries of rock music. His 22 studio albums 16 live albums, made up of 250 songs, have created a unique body of work. Roy is a musician’s musician. Roy Harper: Every Album, Every Song (On Track): Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789521306: Books
In Search of Captain Beefheart – A Rock Music MemoirThe sixties raged. I was young, crazy, full of hormones and wanting to snatch life by the balls. There was a life out there for the grabbing and it had to be wrestled into submission. There was a society full of boring amoral crap and a life to be had in the face of the boring, comforting vision of slow death on offer. Rock music vented all that passion. This book is a memoir of a life spent immersed in Rock Music. In Search of Captain Beefheart: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781502820457: Books
Bob Dylan 1962 to 1970 On Track (Decades)  Bob Dylan is the magician who sprinkled poetic fairy dust on to the popular music of the early sixties and his songwriting sparked a revolution and changed rock music forever. The diminutive poet/singer claimed he was merely a ‘song and dance man’ but Dylan altered popular music from intellectually bereft teenage rebellion into a serious adult art form worthy of academic study. Bob Dylan 1962 to 1970 On Track (Decades) : Opher Goodwin: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Neil Young 1963 to 1970: Every Album, Every Song    In the realm of singer songwriters, few have been as influential as Neil Young, whose music has always been creative and relevant throughout six decades. Neil is a chameleon for whom boundaries of genres do not exist. He has delved into folk, country, r&b, rock ‘n’ roll, grunge, hard rock, electronic and pop and made them his own.Neil Young 1963 to 1970: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789522983: Books
Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years    Nick speaks!  I first met Nick when he was a young child and over the years he has become a close friend. This book illuminates the genius that I feel is Nick Harper and is designed to accompany ‘The Wilderness Years’, a trilogy of vinyl albums. Nick talks candidly about many aspects of his music and career. I include, with Nick’s permission, the lyrics of all the songs featured in the trilogy. There are also many photos dating from his childhood to the present day.Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9798815185630: Books
Here There and Everywhere – A novelI was in conversation with a good friend who, like me, is a Rock Music fanatic. We have both been everywhere, seen everyone and have had our lives hugely affected by music. However it is not who you have seen but what you failed to catch that you dwell on. I said to him that it would be brilliant if we had a time machine and were able to go back and see all the major events in Rock history; Robert Johnson play in the tavern in Greenwood, Elmore James in Chicago, Elvis Presley in the small theatres, The Beatles in Hamburg, Stones in Richmond, Doors in the Whiskey, Roy Harper at St Pancras Town Hall…………….. and a thousand more. Then I realised that I could. The Blues Muse: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781518621147: Books
Rock Routes – A History of Rock MusicThis charts the progress of Rock Music from its beginnings in Country Blues, Country& Western, R&B and Gospel through to its Post Punk period of 1980. It tells the tale of each genre and lists all the essential tracks. I was there at the beginning and I’m still there at the front! Keep on Rockin’!!Rock Routes: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781514873090: Books
Opher’s World Tributes to Rock Geniuses  If you like Rock Music you’ll love this! – 195 tributes to Rock Acts of Genius. – Each one a gem of a picture. You’ll find out what makes them so brilliant and a lot more besides! This is the writing of a true passionate obsessive. These are Ophers tributes to Rock geniuses – loving pen-pictures to all the great artists and bands that have graced the screens, airways, our ears, vinyl grooves and electronic digits – (well a lot of them anyway). These tributes make you thrill to all the reasons why they were so great.Opher’s World Tributes to Rock Geniuses: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781508631279: Books
537 Essential Rock Albums  – Pt. 1This is not your average run through an opinionated list of somebody’s favourite albums. This is much more than that. By the time you get to the end of the book you will be in no doubt as to the type of person who has written this and what their views are. This is Opher at his most extreme and outspoken. He’s been there at the front through thousands of shows, purchased tens of thousands of albums and listened to more music than seems possible to fit into a single life.537 Essential Rock Albums – Pt. 1 The first 270: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781502787408: Books

Rock Routes – 1 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Music

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Music

Rock ‘n’ Roll is nothing more than black Rhythm & Blues played by white musicians with a bit of Country & Western thrown in for good measure. There are exceptions to this but this definition allows us to see the complicated interwoven relationship that exists between the music that became known as Rock ‘n’ Roll and its black cousin Rhythm ‘n’ Blues. Throughout their short evolution the two styles have become so closely associated that it is almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. Indeed there is a great deal of confusion as to which type of music an artist is playing within the confines of a single performance or album.

Does it matter?

Not really. It only matters if you want to explore the various avenues that lead to the stuff you love.

You might find a few more things to get enthusiastic about.

You may get to understand why you appreciate it.

It is possible to trace the roots of Rock music right back to the 18th and 19th centuries with the introduction of African rhythms and beat to the European Folk Tradition. This was a meeting of spirits that was to reach fruition in the Southern States of America, particularly New Orleans in Louisiana and Memphis Tennessee. It was a merger that first gave rise to Country Blues, Cajun and Gospel. It led to Rhythm ‘n’ Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Honky Tonk and Country Boogie. In the early part of the 1950s it gave birth to a vigorous hybrid that came to be known the world over as Rock ‘n’ Roll.

It took the world by storm and altered all our lives. It was a revolution. It was strongly allied to the prevailing youth culture of teenagers that emerged after World War 2.

The very name itself set the whole tone for everything that followed. It was coined by Alan Freed who borrowed it from the black slang for sex. It set generation against generation and rocked the world. It instigated a sexual revolution and social change on unheard of proportions. It upset the prevailing racial and gender attitudes and provoked the move to equality and freedom that prevails today. It set in motion a climate of questioning that altered the deferential way people thought about politicians.

The moment Elvis shook his hips the world would never be the same. Even Elvis did not have a clue that would happen. He was as bemused as everyone else. It took on a life of its own. It was powerful.

To understand where it began and where it went we have to go back to the very beginning. The story of Rock begins with the fusing of the two cultural traditions in the latter part of the 19th century to produce a new type of music that we now refer to as Country Blues. This was first written about by W C Handy who recalls hearing a black musician playing this style of music at the railway station in Tutwiler Mississippi in 1903. He was playing an old guitar by running up and down the frets with a penknife. W C Handy was hearing Country Blues, bottle-neck style, for the first time. He was captivated.

Rock Routes: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781514873090: Books

Rock Routes – The history of Rock Music – The introduction

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Introduction

Rock is dead. That is what Jim Morrison proclaimed in 1970. He was wrong.

Rock is alive and well.

Rock as a universal unifying force for Youth Culture is dead. For most young people it would appear that music is incidental to their life. It has become a consumable product to be bought and discarded. For those to whom it is central it has become an easy recognisable cult with dedicated devotees.

It was not always the case.

In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s music was the focus for social change. It was the unifying force for fashion, politics, attitude, morality and social perspective. Rock was the vehicle that youth culture rode on. Its influence was universal. Rock ‘n’ Roll, Beat music, Psychedelia and Punk were world-wide phenomena. It is salutary to look back at the 60’s psychedelic phenomena and see long-hair bands complete with kaftans, bell-bottoms and accoutrements springing up all over the world including Peru, Afghanistan, Australia, Tokyo, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Everyone wanted to be part of the scene. They all wanted to be the Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Hendrix or Doors.

Everything now is controlled by the ‘Biz’ and run for profit.

I guess it was ever thus. It did not seem like it though. It seemed that the music was a revolution that was changing the world. It was made by us and controlled by us. It was not a product. It was an emotional portrayal of how we felt. It was ours, of us, by us and for us.

But then I’ve always been an idealist.

Well – I lived through it all. I’ve seen most of them and got to meet some of them. I have enjoyed a life-time of Rock Music. It has been central to everything I have done. It has affected my philosophy and impinged on every aspect of my life. I’ve lived it.

I am sitting here in 2013 looking forward over the next few weeks to a programme that includes Nick Harper, Roy Harper, The Magic Band, North Mississippi Allstars and Leonard Cohen. Wow! I’m looking forward to it. I’m 64 and still rockin’.

Back in the 1980s I ran an adult education on the history of Rock Music. I had great fun even though it cost me a fortune. My vinyl collection grew exponentially.

This book is an extension of that course. I first wrote a four volume book totalling 1500 pages entitled Rock Strata. It told the whole story of Rock Music through from the early 1900s to 1982. A publisher loved it. He loved my charts. He just thought it was a little too long. He wanted me to cut it down to 200 pages.

This is the rewrite of that attempt!

This book is the history of Rock Music up until 1982. I stopped there. I could have continued but it all rather broke up into fragments. There have been a number of those fragments that I continue to love but others I get frustrated by. I hate overproduced muzac for the hard of thinking. I hate product.

Rock Routes: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781514873090: Books

Roy Harper albums – my own ratings

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Before I start to indulge myself in assessing the merits of Roy’s output, which I fully recognise is a potential disaster from the very beginning (and would probably change day to day – or following another listening); I first need to clarify a few points.

These are my very own subjective judgements. I fully realise that everybody else has their own preferences, all equally valid.

I’m sure your own  ratings are based on a number of factors – your personal preferences for genres of songs, the time when you first discovered Roy, relating periods in your life to sentiments in the songs, the musicality of a piece – and a host of other reasons.

With me the songs that really matter are the ones that delve into the social matters. I love the poetry and the ideas. I love the epic songs (not to say that I do not rate the others as well).

The other point to note is that I do not believe there has been a bad album. I just like some more than others.

I just thought it would be fun to have a go and might stimulate everyone else to disagree. It might also get some of you delving into your collection for a replay. It did with me.

So let the fun begin:

AlbumRatingWhy
Sophisticated Beggar8 A great album. Has a nice feel to it. Stand out tracks – Legend, Forever and China Girl.
Come out fighting Ghenghis Smith9As an eighteen year old in the midst of A-Levels I really related to this. The poetry and philosophy. Circle was great.
Folkjokeopus9Should have been a ten but for me the production let it down. McGoohan’s Blues, She’s the One and One for Al(l) are amazing.
Flat Baroque and Berserk10Fantastic album – I Hate the Whiteman and Another Day, Tom Tiddlers Ground and East of the Sun.
Stormcock10I’d give this one 11. Four superb masterpieces. Me and My Woman is incredible.
Lifemask10Has to be a 10 just for the brilliance of The Lord’s Prayer. But there is also All Ireland, Highway Blues and South Africa. – Brilliant
Valentine8Had some highlights such as Male Chauvinist Pig Blues, Commune. I’ll See You Again and Twelve Hours of Sunset but lacked a real epic song.
Flashes from the archives9I love Flashes – I was there at the gigs and it captures that for me. I wish he would do an up to date version of Kangaroo Blues.
HQ10A superb album – one of his best – The Game, The Spirit Lives, Hallucinating Light and Cricketer – sublime.
Bullinamingvase10One of those Days in England – another epic – plus These last Days, Naked Flame and Cherishing the Lonesome – Perfecto.
Unknown Soldier9Short and Sweet, The Fly Catcher and the Unknown Soldier – a great album
Born in Captivity8Love these acoustic versions of Work of Heart, Drawn to the Flames and No Woman is Safe
In between every line9I love this album – great live versions that capture the moment – I like the continuity too.
Whatever Happened to Jugula8Hangman, Elizabeth, Frozen Moment and Twentieth Century Man were great – but it did not quite work for me. I think I was expecting something more.
Work of Heart8Work of Heart almost makes it as a masterpiece but is not as strong for me as The Lord’s Prayer or Me and My Woman. Then you have Drawn to the Flames and I still care.
Descendants of Smith (Garden of Uranium)9Garden of Uranium, Desert Island, Pinches of Salt and Still Life – but lacks a real walloping song.
Loony on the Bus8Love that riff in Loony On The Bus. Then there’s Ten Years Ago, The Flycatcher and Sail Away.
Once8Once and Black Cloud of Islam make this for me.
Burn the World9A brilliant single – and we are burning the world.
Born in Captivity 2 (Unhinged)9Great Live album (missing Short and Sweet off the tape??)
Death or Glory8The Fourth World, The Tallest Tree, Miles Remains, On Summer’s Day – all great but lacking an epic.
Commercial Breaks8Interesting version of Ten Years Ago, Too Many Movies, The Fly Catcher and Sail Away.
Live at Les Cousins9A doorway into the Roy of 1969 – a little tentative but superb. A piece of history.
Heavy Crazy10Atmospheric live album with some great versions of old favourites.
BBC Tapes – 1-69-10Fabulous insight into Roy live in the studio from the 60s through to 78.
Poems, Speeches, Thoughts and Doodles8Roy the poet – loved these.
Dream Society8These Fifty Years, Broken Wing, Songs of Love and Drugs for everybody
Green Man8The Green Man is superb – then the Monster.
Royal Festival Hall8A great live album and memento of a superb evening.
Today is Yesterday8A compilation of outtakes from the first album and some singles and rarities. Interesting to me.
Beyond the Door8Good live material
Man and Myth8This won a lot of awards and is a great album – Time is Temporary, the Enemy and Cloud Cuckooland
Live at the Metropolis9A superb live album. More controlled.
Songs of Love and Loss9A collection of love songs.
East of the Sun9A great compilation of love songs
Counter Culture9Another great compilation
From Occident to Orient7A rip-off compilation (Can’t fault the music)
Hats off7A rip-off compilation

The only ones dropping below an 8 are the two rip-off compilations that Roy had nothing to do with.

What an incredible catalogue of brilliance.

I wonder how you’d rate them?

Straight to Hell! Loved this – made me laugh!

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If only there was a hell for all the greedy, self-serving psychopaths!!

Top Ten Rock Bands

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Here are the Top 10 Rock Bands of All Time (according to AI):

  1. The Beatles
  2. Led Zeppelin
  3. The Rolling Stones
  4. Pink Floyd
  5. Queen
  6. The Who
  7. Nirvana
  8. U2
  9. AC/DC
  10. Guns N’ Roses

Top six are all British. One is Irish. One is Australian and only 2 are American!

Of course, my choice would be a little different:

1.Beatles

2. Stones

3. Roy Harper

4. Captain Beefheart

5. Bob Dylan

6. Ian Dury

7. Pink Floyd

8. Who

9. Billy Bragg

10. Love

11. Doors

Today’s Exercise Music

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I was doing my exercise today, pounding my treadmill. I use headphones and an old IPod loaded with stuff I like. I put it on shuffle so that I get a bunch of different songs in no particular order – variety and the unexpected!

This is what I got today:

Doors – Soul Kitchen

Jet Harris/Tony Meehan – Diamonds

Fugs – Mr Mack

Little Richard – Reddy Teddy

Beatles – Across the Universe

Beatles – I Should Have known better

New York Dolls – Personality Crisis

Eric Burdon – Winds of Change

Traffic – Who knows what tomorrow may bring

Jefferson Airplane – Triad

Doors – Unhappy Girl

Frank Zappa – Cosmic Debris

David Gray – My Oh My

Cramps – Goo Goo Muck

Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love

Hank Snow – Moving On

Rolling Stones – Harlem Shuffle

Captain Beefheart – Petrified Forest

Larry Williams – Don’t Bug Me Baby

Jimmie Rodgers – TB Blues

Edgar Broughton – Evil

Frank Zappa – Titties and Beer

Roy Harper – I Hate The Whiteman

Chuck Berry – It Wasn’t Me

Beatles – Here comes the sun

George Harrison – All Things will pass

Bob Dylan – When the ship comes in

Jack Kerouac – Leavin’ Town

Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World

An interesting mish-mash (certainly took my mind off my body complaining as I pounded away!)

Gym Music

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Just back from the gym doing my forty minutes interval training followed by some weights.. Pretty knackered.

This is what was in my headphones:

Randy Newman

The Clash,

Beatles,

Peter Le Farge,

Simon and Garfunkel

Esquerita

Don and Dewey

The Eels

Nirvana

Everly Brothers

Jerry Lee Lewis

Roy Harper

Stiff Little Fingers

Prince Buster

Jack Kerouac

Good to listen to something good while you sweat!!

So What was Mankind’s greatest invention?

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Fire??

Language??

Medicine??

Education??

Art??

The wheel??

Vaccination??

Music??

Soap??

The combustion engine??

Dance??

The microscope??

Harnessing electricity??

Writing/reading??

Ice-cream??

Cement??

The telescope??

Comedy??