Cooling Marshes, Kent, 7th December 2014

Monday 15 October 2012

Birds on 45 (pt. 5)

Another entry in the series that combines two of my favourite pastimes - birdwatching and record hunting. Celebrating the birds that have made it on to 7" record sleeves, here are three more singles with three more birding cover stars...I've had fun digging these up:

Savages - Flying to Berlin b/w Husbands (2nd press) on Pop Noire Records, 2012

Once I'd set eyes on it, it was only a matter of seconds before this single from London quartet, Savages, was flying across the busy floor of Rough Trade and into my clammy mits. I mean look at it - it's got a beautiful sleeve illustration, it's on clear vinyl and it's a welcome entry for Buzzard into the Birds on 45 Hall of Obscurity. The sharply hooked bill, uniform plumage (with hints of more distinct feathering) and general jizz would I think make this good for a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo). I've seen a Buzzard take a snake before, flying off high with it dangling from its talons; it was an amazing sight, but instead these two appear to be sharing a deeper moment, both perhaps lamenting the degree of misunderstanding that often prevails upon their encounters with humans. The elegant and finely detailed pencil sketch is by Gemma Thompson who also plays guitar in the band. This isn't a music blog so I'll stick to what I know; as such I think this is a pretty good record and certainly one of the more memorable releases from a 'new band' type deal I've heard recently. It's dark and urgent and hard to ignore, if you like gothy/post punk stuff and you know who I mean, you should check them out. I hear they're great live too. Two quality tracks, a Buzzard - top marks.

Chapel Club - O Maybe I b/w Machine Music on East City Records, 2011

Here's another great 7" bird sleeve, this time courtesy of Chapel Club. The notes on the back identify this as a Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus), drawn by a John Cassin (1813-1869). I didn't know anything about this species but a quick check reveals it is a strictly marine member of the Cormorant family found fairly widely along the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to the Gulf of California. The distinct blue and yellow facial markings are typical of an adult in breeding plumage (nice article here from Grrl Scientist). Brandt's are named after the 19th century German naturalist, Johann Friedrich von Brandt - hands up who knew that? Incidentally, John Cassin, who drew and painted this fine piece has also been remembered through the names of several North American birds. He was an American ornithologist and the country's first taxonomist. Interesting stuff, and unfortunately more so than the record itself, which had no impact on me whatsoever. Sorry chaps, good cover though.

Husker Du - Eight Miles High b/w Masochism World (live) on SST Records, 1984

Oh hell yes. It took me quite some time to clock that this scorching single from one of my favourite bands actually had birds on the cover. Maybe that's because, unlike the previous one, it's the least remarkable thing about this astonishing record. But on the bird front, here we have thousands of them. Given this record was born out of the freezing streets out of Minneapolis-St Paul, it's fitting that Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) should take the stage here. Unlike our feral population of bread-munching park geese, it's reasonable to think these are genuine 'Canada's'. They are largely migratory in the far north of their nearctic range - a fact that formed the basis for the unlikely Hollywood movie 'Fly Away Home'. In the film Anna Paquin takes to a micro-light dressed as a goose to guide some newly fledged geese on their first migration. There's a lot of cheering at the end, and hugging, and the evil property developers lose. Oh come on, you loved it (rumour has it that Vladimir Putin is a fan and is being lined up to star in the sequel). Anyway, it's uh, unlikley that any bird could fly Eight Miles High, although another species of geese does I think hold the record for the highest flight (nice one -ed). I read that Bar-headed Geese have  been recorded migrating over the Himalayas which surely takes some beating. Anyway, what more to say? On a good day I think this record just about renders 90% of my collection obsolete; the startlingly original cover of the Byrd's 'Eight Miles High' is something to behold and 'Masochism World' on the flip side is aggression of the best kind. I like Canada Geese a whole lot more now.

As ever, if you can think of a record cover I've missed, please feel free to get in touch below.

Previous posts in the series:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

3 comments:

  1. Which bird is C Ronaldo most like?

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  2. Ha! Er...good question. Ring-necked Parakeet? They're noisy little show offs?! P

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  3. Oh a very very good guess but no.
    Its a Great-Northern Diver. Ho ho.
    I am sure that is funny if you like birds. Or football. Your answer were better!

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