Sesh midday today with Bob in Massachusetts, which reminded me of that great Bee Gees Best Of (1969). Pre-disco Bee Gees were something else. With disco, they were something else again, exchanging their double-breasted jackets for high-waisted pants that almost reached your neck (you didn’t need the double-breasted jackets anymore). Plus, there was an array of buttons on the pants in case you missed them. The creases were sharp too, you could cut yourself if you weren’t careful but if you also aren’t careful you won’t investigate what happened in the latter half of the sixties and listen to their fantastic sound and their songs, and that’s without your phone in your hand or even on a table near you, they didn’t have mobile phones then, you know. People sat and listened to records with the cover in their hands.

I went to take the recycling and on the deck outside, shirtless and baking, was Pedro the window cleaner. He’ll be here tomorrow at 3 PM. When he was here yesterday, he asked, how often do you want your windows cleaned, weekly? I hadn’t considered it as a regular job, but in a polluted street, I suppose they get dirty fast. Tomorrow he’ll need a chisel to remove five years of neglect. I carried on into the day, it was very hot again, and I considered having a shower before I went down to Tubitek but decided it would be better to do it when I came back. At Tubitek there were three records waiting for me, the new Yes, the new Soft Machine, and the new Lucinda Williams. I also decided to get the latest Bruce covers album. I like jumping around from punk and new wave festivals to prog and American music.

I dropped in at the music store where Vítor was unpacking a box. I’d met him at the festival and we talked about Captain Sensible’s beret made of gaffa tape. Allegedly he’d left his somewhere and that symbol obviously made a difference to him, as it might to Richard Thompson. I can’t imagine Peter Perrett or Ian Hunter without their dark glasses or Angus without his school uniform, it’s showbiz, you know.

I dropped in at the supermarket where in one of the aisles a man sneezed like thunder. I avoided the aisle and went a different way. I considered something sweet at the bakery counter but managed to resist. I got in, starving, and warmed up some soup, but it didn’t taste right, so I threw it away. I wish I’d done that in Liverpool before I got food poisoning on tour in March. It should only take a second to realise something’s up because if you don’t – something’s coming up.

Talking about the bakery, I got a message from Greg in Sydney today asking me if I was aware of Spectrum’s 1971 album Milesago. I sure am, and I played it today on YouTube. I couldn’t find it on Spotify. There are some cracking early seventies Australian groups to explore, Spectrum, Indelible Murtceps/Ariel, Tamam Shud, Tully, and Bakery, to name just a few.

Music today has been many things from Quiet Sun to Hatfield and the North, but I’m sticking with Spectrum – Milesago (1971) as it may be a little more off most people’s radar.

Music Of The Daze