What is Mod? Mr. Suave's Mod, Mod World is one of the web's original modcasts celebrating mod music, and mod-influenced music from past eras including soul, ska, garage, sixties R&B power pop, punk, britpop, acid jazz, lounge, easy listening and more. SEARCH
No matter what the neighbors think, this is one cool and smooth modcast. I've enlisted Ken from The Shingles to join me in delivering a Christmas dozen -- that's 14 great songs. This is one holiday modcast that will go down in the history books with some great stuff from Miles Davis to The Very Foundation, from Farrah to Girl Trouble. It's all good, and it's all merry, and you're going to love it.
Paddy Roberts -- Merry Christmas You Suckers
Jimmy Severe and the Blue Christmas Boys -- Silver Bells
Boss Martians -- 3 Ghosts
Girl Trouble -- Holly Jolly Christmas
Farrah -- Christmas is Cancelled (This Year)
The Very Foundation -- All Lit Up (For Christmas)
LeeVees -- Applesauce Vs. Sourcream
Jeffrey Foskett -- Christmas Time Is Here
Eugene Edwards -- Dear Mom And Dad
Miles Davis & Bob Dorough -- Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)
Mike Sammes Singers -- Do You Hear What I Hear
Tahta Menezes -- Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
Lou Rawls & Brian Setzer Orchestra -- So They Say It's Christmas
Martin Newell & Andy Partridge -- Christmas In Suburbia
In the pantheon of the original sixties mods only The Who stands taller than the Small Faces, and it is arguable that, above and beyond all other sixties groups, the Small Faces are actually the kings of mod. It wouldn't surprise me to look up mod in a dictionary and see a picture of Small Faces and a list of their best their songs used to represent what mod is.
The Small Faces played a hard driven sort of rythym and blues rock and roll, all with tinges of soul and blues throughout. They had the power chord guitars of other sixties rock gods, but they also had a sort of soul that try as they might none of the other bands, not even The Who, were ever able to match.
Most of that was in large part to the big, bold, bluesy voice of frontman and guitarist Steve Marriott. Marriott's voice was one of a kind. The kind that can only be understood when you're hearing it; words don't do it justice. Marriott wore his emotion on his vocal chords. His voice dripped with a honeyed sort of sound that could be both sweet and bitter, both sharp and soft.
Marriott was backed by one of the most accomplished bands that the British invasion had ever seen from the bass licks of Ronnie Lane to the frenzified drumming of Kenny Jones, to the swirling, psychadelic sounds of Ian McLagan's keyboards. As good as the band was, it was still Marriott's voice that propelled them to the heights of the British music scene.
Small Faces took the British invasion R&B sound and highlighted it over the power pop of bands like The Who and The Kinks. They emphasized the blues, and incorporated a very soulful, sort of delta blues style into their early works. Marriott's voice suited such a style, and the band was able to produce a number of critically acclaimed songs that did well in British charts, but were virtually unknown in the US. Songs such as "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" and the UK #1 hit "All Or Nothing". And that was just off of their debut album.
From 1967 to 1969 the band changed labels, had fights with their producers and business minders, and still managed to produce some mind-bendingly fantastic music. Their sound ran the gamut from the soul laden R&B of their earliest work, to poppy psychadelia, to down and dirty freakbeat. Through it all is the blue-eyed soul of Marriott's voice, some of the era's best drumming courtesy of Jones, and a superbly honed and polished late-sixties sound from Lane and McLagan. While they didn't tear up the charts in the UK (and other than the achingly poppy psychadelia of "Itchycoo Park" never made a run at the US charts) they did produce a catalog of some of the sixties best music. Songs like "Tin Soldier", "Don't Burst My Bubble","Understanding", and "Get Yourself Together", became the foundation of the mod sound of the sixties. Eschewing the crashing, crunching, almost threatening guitar assualts of The Who's power chords, Small Faces instead opted for a an intense type of soul music that went beyond the dancefloor and invoked a sort of non-violent aggression.
They originally lasted only four short years (never mind a short attempt in the late seventies at reuniting -- with less than sucessful results), and yet have impacted as many decades of music. The bands of the first mod revival in the late 70s and early 80s mined the Small Faces' catalog, never able to do the songs justice. The Britpop scene of the 90s fared better, as many of the bands invoked the Small Faces as their biggest influence rather than trying to parrott their sound. The effects were most vivid with that era's two biggest groups Blur and Oasis, both showing signs of having studied and absorbed the Small Faces best points.
Soul man J. J. Jackson was primarily a song writer, penning tunes for soul jazzsters like Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy Withrspoon, but also for The Pretty Things, The Shangri-Las and others. But, he managed to save one great song for himself, 1966's "But It's Alright", which he later rerecorded for even more chart success. Even though that's one of the great soul songs ever, in my opinion, I'm forgoing that one to bring you another, grittier, floorshakin bit of soul from Jackson. This is "I Dig Girls", complete with its cool Dragnet styled opening.
Frank Sinatra may not have embodied the sound of mod, but he certainly had the essence of it in his life and works. He spanned too many decades to count and in every one had some sort of musical impact, right up until his death in 1998. I could go on and on, but most readers are familiar with the Chairman, and if you're not, let me recommend you listen to his music (all of it, but especially his work with Capitol in the 50s and 60s), and check out a few of his films like The Man With The Golden Arm, Guys and Dolls, and Ocean's Eleven -- the last for its cultural cachet, not it's acting chops.
More than anything though it wasthe voice, the musical charisma, that Sinatra had that pushed him head and shoulders above all other entertainers. He could lay down a jazz patter, swing with the best of them, and deliver a pop song in such a way that would blow it right to the top of the charts, no matter how new or old it might be. He collaborated on musical projects with everyone from Count Basie to Burt Bacharach to Nelson Riddle, and mead each his own. When Sinatra sang a song, it pretty much became his.
The song here isn't one of his most famous, but it is my favorite, "Bim Bam Baby". It's a swingin' tune that he turned out somwhere between 1949 and 1952. No matter, it was during one of the lowest points in his early career, and right after that he left Columbia for Capitol records. Still, it's a fantastic song, a harbinger of the rock and roll to come later in the decade, and perfect for Sinatra's over-confident delivery. There's no not liking 'ol blue eyes.
Once more into the vault my friends, once more into the vault. Step back in time, to a time when the modcast was young and fresh. Take a giant step outside your current listening constraints and journey with me back to Christmas of 2008. I've opened up the vaults and dusted off a classic modcast that I think you'll enjoy. Again.
And coming later this week a brand new Christmas modcast from Mr. Suave and friends, so stay tuned!
The temperatures in Seattle have dipped uncomfortably low so that must mean it's about Christmas time. So, here is my annual foray into holiday shenanigans. This year's modcast has all the elements of a classic -- old and new, power pop and punk rock, garage and indie faves, traditional --and not so traditional-- holiday cheer. Everything from The Wombats to the The Yobs, and some interesting stuff inbetween from The Andersons, Young Fresh Fellows, The Shambles, Girl Trouble, The Wondermints and more.
It dawned on me today that I've been doing the mod-a-day posts for nearly a year and haven't highlighted The Bishops. So, I'm rectifying that little mistake with this post about one of the best contemporary mod bands around.
The Bishops are twin brothers Mike and Pete from London and got their start back in 2002 along with drummer Chris McConville. The trio have released a number of singles, and now have two solid LPs to their credit.
Kicking off their 2007 self-titled debut was "Menace About Town", reminiscent of both The Monkees and The Tell Tale Hearts, and that was followed by the driving, power pop of "Breakaway", and then the powerpop stylings of "The Only Place I Can Look Is Down". In just three short songs the band staked claim to the sixties as one of their foundational influences, as well as proving they had more modern, indie rock cred as well.
Their sophomore effort, For Now, came this past year and didn't disappoint. It is smoother, and shows signs of maturity, but without losing any of the intensity that The Bishops brough to their earlier work. The album is lighter, sharper, at times a bit softer, and at the same time has a more rockin' feel to it with lots of melody. It's got more modern echoes than their debut as well. Where the influences of The Who, The Hollies and The Jam were front and center before, here there is a bit more of a Britpop sound with tastes of everything from Blur and Oasis to Ordinary Boys and Kaiser Chiefs. There is more orchestration, which at times makes the album seem more poppy and less garage like. The band rides this change with super tight musicianship and an overall professionalism that definitely moves them from the bush leagues to the big show.
Holiday is an indie band with that twee sound that borrows so heavily from the sixties, and is so obviously influenced by soul music, and yet is somehow reluctant to make that too obvious. Nevertheless, you can't hide good taste in influences. They have a way of shining through, just like crappy Nightranger influences have a way of sinking an album before it rises, thankfully.
Anyow, Holiday is a twee like band that produced some absolutely dreamy pop music in the 90s. The sound was very orchestrated, in that sort of soft, dreamy, sugary way that most indie pop bands were during that period. The vocals are sweetly harmonized, the guitar is just oh-so-slilghtly reverbed, there's some nice placed hand claps, and some twanginess throughout that will never make you think country music, even though that's where it originated. The songs are all full of catchy hooks, dreamy melodies and very, very well polished, to the point of being overrehearsed.
There's a self-titled debuted, and then there's a second album that shows the band advancing lightyears ahead, Ready Steady Go. Both are good, but Ready Steady Go is not to be missed if you're a fan of sixties styled pop music rounded out by modern sounds and sensibilities.
