Bluebells - Exile on Twee Street

  by Tony Gaughan

published: 1 / 10 / 2014

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'Exile on Twee Street' sums up beautifully both the period of the early 1980s and Alan Horne's Postcard label, where the Bluebells were once earmarked to join fellow Scots, Aztec Camera, Orange Juice and Josef K. This is a collection of very early demos is mostly unheard, although several re-recorded versions appeared on releases after the band signed to London Records when Postcard folded in 1981. The collection opens with the cover 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool', which was written by Brill Building songsmiths Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller, and originally appeared on the debut album 'Sisters'. The feel of 'Some Sweet Day' is very close to Orange Juice's early days on the iconic Glasgow label. Robert Hodgens AKA Bobby Bluebell was a big part of that scene, hanging out with Alan Horne and most of the acts. The album is 20 tracks long, and the extensive booklet tells the story of the Glasgow scene with a fairly lengthy interview with the band and plenty of early snaps of it. 'Happy Birthday' and 'No One Ever Waves Goodbye' are clearly very early lo-fi demos, but they do stand up and clearly Phil Spector's iconic almost live production style influenced these recordings at the Hell Fire club studio in Glasgow with David Henderson, who should not be confused with Davy Henderson of the Fire Engines and Win. The big hits they had aren't on this, but a very early recording of 'Sugar Bridge' which they re-recorded with Elvis Costello is there with B- sides 'Holland' and early compositions such as 'Red Guitar' as well as darker songs like 'Small Town Martyr' written about the Falklands War. If you are a fan of the band at all you will want to own this the collection of early demos, which is completed by a live recording of Lou Reed's 'Set Me Free'.

Track Listing:-

1 Everybody's Somebody's Fool
2 Some Sweet Day
3 Happy Birthday
4 No One Ever Waves Goodbye
5 One Last Love Song
6 Wishful Thinking
7 Oh Dear
8 You're Gonna Miss Me
9 East Green
10 Red Guitar
11 Sugar Bridge
12 Forevermore
13 Holland
14 Honest John
15 Stand up Cowboy
16 Small Town Martyr
17 Learn to Love
18 All the King's Horses
19 Tender Mercy
20 I'm Set Free

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/bluebellsofficial

Label Links:-

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/CherryRedRecords
https://twitter.com/cherryredgroup
https://www.youtube.com/CherryRedRecords

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