By Jan 
Things are quietly drifting along under the pale musical sun this month! Hats off to Morrissey, who has finally succeeded in delivering a beautifully enchanting album to the world. “Headache” (#1) stands as a calm testament to the enduring inventive musical talents of “Mysery Mozzery,” as Johnny Marr once dubbed him in less pleasant times. After six years, Morrissey’s comeback album is being warmly received everywhere! Only the title track and the misfired cover “Amazona” by Roxy Music fall short in the end. For the rest, a few more gems from the album are sure to surface in the coming months!
“I Played The Fool” (#2) is another comeback song that will undoubtedly stick with us this year! Michael Stipe, of R.E.M. fame, is back in action! He co-wrote the song for the new season of the HBO comedy series “Rooster”! Everything about the track feels as if Stipe never left!
Speaking of comebacks, we shouldn’t forget to mention The Godfathers (#10 – “Lesbian Cafe”), Neil Diamond (#25 – “Wild At Heart”), and The Sheila Divine with “I Climbed Inside a Whale” (#29)!
The local contribution is limited this month: only ’t Hof Van Commerce (#16 – “Van Die Daegn”), The Hickey Underworld (#27 – “Capt Fragile”), and Fred Angst (#30 – “Idioten”) represent the home front.
There are also quite a few remakes in the list this month. It starts at #7 with The Dandy Warhols, who deliver a tasteful reworking of “Goo Goo Muck”! Most people know the song from the ’80s version by The Cramps, but it actually dates back to 1962, when it was first recorded by Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads.
One spot lower, it’s good old Bruce’s turn. He brings a late-night version of “A Rainy Night In Soho” (#8) by The Pogues. The track will appear on “20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan.” We’ll have to wait until autumn for that triple compilation!
The Damned have been firmly present in the chart for months now. Their takes on pop and rock classics are not always equally impressive, but for “Heart Full Of Soul” (#9) by The Yardbirds, they really pulled out all the stops!
Midway through the list, we once again encounter Donovan! He gave “The Sensitive Kind” (#20) by J.J. Cale a fresh polish on the album “What’s A Girl,” which he released late last year. Digital only, mind you, and made up entirely of rare, previously unreleased songs and outtakes.
We close with “Universal Soldier” (#39), the protest song best known in the version by that same Donovan Leitch mentioned earlier! Now reworked by Depeche Mode and featured on a new charity release for children, “Help 2.” A host of artists contributed to the project, including Arctic Monkeys, Beck, Damon Albarn, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Kae Tempest, Pulp, and Wet Leg.
This new War Child Records compilation arrives 30 years after the first “Help” release in 1995. Children in need—indeed something we must continue to focus on!
(Jan VH)
Playlist
1 – Morrissey – Headache
2 – Michael Stipe & Andrew Watt – I Played The Fool
3 – Joe Pernice ft Aimee Mann – Deep Into The Dawn
4 – Mumford & Sons ft Chris Stapleton – Here
5 – Gorillaz ft Mark E. Smith – Delirium
6 – Memorials – Dropped Down The Well
7 – Dandy Warhols – Goo Goo Muck
8 – Bruce Springsteen – A Rainy Night In Soho
9 – Damned – Heart Full Of Soul
10 – Godfathers – Lesbian Cafe
11 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby – I Danced With Another Love In My Dream
12 – The Enemy – The Last Time
13 – Buzzcocks – Seeing Daylight
14 – Cast – Devil And The Deep
15 – Kevin Morby – Die Young
16 – ‘t Hof Van Commerce – Van Die Daegn
17 – Kula Shaker – The Winged Boy
18 – Muse – Be With You
19 – Long Ryders – Ramona
20 – Donovan – The Sensitive Kind
21 – Tori Amos – Stronger Together
22 – Train – The Weekend
23 – Bill Callahan – Pathol O.G.
24 – Twilight Sad – Attempt A Crash Landing – Theme
25 – Neil Diamond – Wild At Heart
26 – The Veils – Lungs
27 – The Hickey Underworld – Capt Fragile
28 – U2 ft Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia – Yours Eternally
29 – The Sheila Divine – I Climbed Inside A Whale
30 – Fred Angst ft Janis Vancoppenolle – Idioten
31 – Bill Janovitz – Whether
32 – Butthole Surfers – Jetfighter (revisited)
33 – Death Cab For Cutie – Riptides
34 – Cypress Hill ft Aleman – Wacha Trucha
35 – Melissa Etheridge – Bein’ Alive
36 – They Might Be Giants – Wu-Tang
37 – Stranglers – Vlad The Oligarch
38 – Tucker Zimmerman – Sun In Scorpio
39 – Depeche Mode – Universal Soldier
40 – Dry Cleaning – I Need You