The Fat Angel Sings

Without you probably knowing it, Danny Thompson is the sound of your lives. You may not know his name, but you will know his music. Born in 1939, his 70 year career on the double bass, has seen him go from playing as a teenager on American Air Force bases and Soho strip clubs in the mid to late 1950s to being at the forefront the British R’n’B and pop world of the early 60s, whilst still part of the house band at the original Ronnie Scotts jazz club at 39 Gerrard Street. And if that wasn’t enough, Danny also played on famous sessions, like the recording of the theme tune of ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Congratulations’ by Sir Cliff.

In the late 60s, he became a founder member of Pentangle, and as part of that UK folk scene, he also memorably worked with Nick Drake and John Martyn. In more recent years, he has been in demand by the likes of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and Billy Bragg to name but a very few and in 2022, he was in the studio with Paul Weller.

Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Martyn.

For four years, between 1964 and 1967, he was a member of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, led a trio that included guitarist John McLaughlin, and was a founding member of the British folk-jazz band Pentangle. Since 1987, he has also recorded four solo albums.

Danny is ready to tell his story, and man, can he tell a story. And what a story it is. To take this to the next stage, we welcome interest from a broadcaster or an individual to potentially invest in the project.

What we don’t have here is “Omelette Punk,” or “Country-Rawk,” or anything but stripped-down Rock’N’Roll from Missouri’s Still Animals. The 10 tracks on this eponymous debut are short, and to the point. In a perfect world, real kids everywhere are dancing to it on real radios while ditching real lame study hall, and they Look Kool doin’ it.

This is the sound of St. Louis: the city’s lead and limestone from a dead era, revitalized, and without a lick of gentrification. A couple of the cats here picked up their axes for the first time for this band, and the others cut their teeth touring with some excellent punk and hardcore combos. “Still Animals” fully represents uncharted territory for this crew, and it sounds to Slovenly like they were born to kill in their simplicity and ineptitude. We demand they don’t get any “better” (it’s in the contract).

Album recorded by Andy Peterson in a 130 year old limestone Mound City basement.

Releases March 1st, 2024, Slovenly Recordings 2024

Giant Sand is back in London town for the first time in aeons. They’re rather tickled to be playing the Fire Records 40th anniversary show with Kristin Hersh and Steve Wynn from The Dream Syndicate. 

On this date in 1966, the song “Pushin’ Too Hard” by Los Angeles garage-psych band The Seeds peaked at #36 on the US charts. The song was originally released in November of 1965, but didn’t do much. After the release of the band’s self-titled album in July 1966, an LA DJ started playing the song extensively and it stayed on the charts for 11 weeks, helping to bring psychedelic rock to the masses.

“Pushin’ Too Hard“, was originally titled “You’re Pushing Too Hard“, written by vocalist Sky Saxon and produced by Saxon with Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1965, re-issued the following year,

Sky Saxon wrote “Pushin’ Too Hard” while sitting in the front seat of a car waiting for his girlfriend to finish grocery shopping at a supermarket. The lyrics can be interpreted as the protagonist warning his girlfriend against controlling him, or as a rant against society as a whole. The song contains two chords which alternate throughout, as well as instrumental breaks featuring an electric piano solo—played by Daryl Hooper—and a guitar solo played by Jan Savage.

The song became the signature tune for the group and a template for their musical style – so much so that Creem magazine later wrote, not disapprovingly, that “the Seeds, of course, managed to work ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ into every song they ever did.” It was included on the influential “Nuggets” compilation in the 1970s, and earned a reputation as a protopunk garage rock classic. The song also featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s exhibit showcasing “The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”. The Seeds performed “Pushin’ Too Hard” during a 1968 episode of the television sitcom The Mothers-in-Law. Saxon revisited the song on his 2008 solo album “The King of Garage Rock”.

Billy Joel Debuts New Song, ‘Turn The Lights Back On, Eight days after Billy Joel released his first new song in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On,” the track made its concert debut at the legend’s monthly show at Madison Square Garden. The stunning recording, which arrived at 7 a.m. ET on February 1st, 2024, offers the classic rock legend’s rich vocal, along with beautiful orchestration. Joel, who turns 75 on May 9th, wrote the song with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler, Arthur Bacon, and Wayne Hector. It was produced by Wexler.

Six songs into his February 9th concert at MSG, Joel understatedly said, “We just put out a new record,” as the hometown audience erupted with a roar. “This is the first time I’m gonna play it live anywhere. We did do it at the Grammy Awards but that’s a TV audience. They were all very well dressed. Let’s see if this thing works.”

Joel initially alluded to the song on TikTok, following his debut on the platform. He has delivered a classic “Billy Joel-style tune,” embodying the hallmarks of his signature sound. In the lyrics, he asks, “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?” His last new single was 2007’s “All My Life.”

Billy Joel has released a video for his new single, “Turn the Lights Back On,” that uses groundbreaking technology to show the Piano Man “performing” the song during various stages of his career. 

Pearl Jam will release their twelfth studio album, “Dark Matter”, on April 19th via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records. To support the upcoming release, today the group has announced a 35-date worldwide tour this May, along with releasing the project’s title track. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt, “Dark Matter” marks the band’s first full-length since 2020’s “Gigaton“.

In 2023, the members of Pearl Jam headed to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they recorded the album live.

Eddie Vedder said about the album: “I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate. We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”