For One Night Only

I can’t really concentrate on this blog today. This is the second time I’ve started it. My mind is being drawn elsewhere. I hope you’ll understand as I’m trying to do this while also listening to a test pressing of a vinyl cut of my forthcoming solo record. It’s not multi tasking, it’s really just stupidity.

However there is a certain perfect symmetry too. The only reason I do any of this stuff is because of what I’ve heard coming from records…and in my case…vinyl records. In the old days it was simply a case of records arriving in the house and listening to all of them. They came in from my grandparents, my parents, my sister and her boyfriends and my visiting cousins. They ranged from Electric Lady Land to The Rolf Harris Show to Benny Goodman’s Countdown, and I listened and learned to love them all. Abbey Road appeared for a few brief months then disappeared as my cousin Pat returned to England and Thunderclap Newman got left behind by my cousin Brian; I never called to tell him but secretly treasured it. If someone left behind a great record there was very little motivation to return it.

One of the greatest joys for me is saying to someone, ‘sit down and listen to this.’ It’s probably one of the reasons I detest pop music being played in supermarket. I’m sorry, but God Only Knows was never meant to be played over Market St in Morrisons. So on Tuesday nights I love nothing more than a pile of records and a playlist to share some music with whoever happens to be listening. It really is a joy. I often feel I’m getting in the way just announcing what I’m playing…some night, I’m going to edit myself out all together.

For the next few weeks there will be no Another Country and no music in the evenings on BBC Radio Scotland. You can choose instead to hear the highlights of the Edinburgh Festival…go figure…it’s not my idea. So, for our last show for a month or so we’ll leave you with a bumper edition. Live in the studio we will be joined by Angaleena Presley warming up for her appearance at Perth’s excellent Southern Fried Festival.It’s the second time Angaleena has come to see us and she’ll be playing session versions of her songs from ‘Wrangled.’ She’ll be talking about women and country music which she’s singing about too as well as that final song with Guy Clark which appears on the record. We’ll also ask her about her fellow Pistol Annies, Ashley Munroe and Miranda Lambert.

In side two of tonight’s show we’ll catch up with our old friend but new recruit, Bill DeMain, the AC’s very own newly appointed Nashville Correpondent. There is so much news coming out of Music City we felt the need to have our own man on the ground. Bill is a songwriter, journalist and curator of ‘Walkin’ Nashville,’ so we feel we have the best man for the job.

In between all of that we’ll still play some new records and choice cuts. Look out for new records by The Americans, William The Conqueror, Heather Lynn Horton and John Murry. There will be much to love from the past too including records by The Carter Family and Clint Black. Join us live this Tuesday (repeated this Friday) on BBC Radio Scotland FM.