Birds on 45 (Pt 6): the 33' Special

Things have been a bit serious on here of late and since this post has been gathering dust on the bedroom floor for a while, I think it's about time I gave it a spin...here's another pointless tribute to birds in vinyl cover art:

Birds on 45 - the 33' 'special':

'Four Cornered Night' by Jets to Brazil (Jade Tree Records, 2000)

There was a time when Jade Tree Records ruled the world. It was one of those labels you trusted cos there were rarely surprises; every song was about that girl you kind of liked but were too useless to do anything about, and the illusion of comfort that provided was...comforting. Mostly it was just fun pop-punk with a bit of 'post-hardcore' or whatever you want to call it thrown in and dressed up smart, which is great when your teens are crashing around you and you have no idea what you're doing in a small midlands town. Most of those records faded from my memory pretty quickly but this one hangs on - in no small part to its beautiful cover art.

It looks great doesn't it? I was chuffed to find a copy the year before last because I'd forgotten how good it was. I'm sorry to say I can't find the artist to credit but I've always thought it pictures a (Lesser) Yellowlegs, although I could be wrong. It also happens to be a really good album. After years of punching out classics in Jawbreaker (I knew I'd get them in this blog eventually), Blake takes it easier here and his voice sounds good.

Now quite literally 'jetting' to Brazil, feast your eyes on this wondrous behemoth of birding vinyl cover art lunacy, uncovered by my friend Lisa in New York  last year:

'Ney Matogrosso' s/t (Ariola Discos, Brazil, 1981)

Step up and take a bow Ney Matogrosso. 

I would've loved to have been present in the boardroom of Ariola Discos when he discussed his modest plans for the sleeve of the record: "well I thought I'd keep it simple y'know - just my head suspended over an illuminated city scape and a Harpy Eagle emerging phoenix-like from my forehead while spotlights spell out my name in the night sky above". 

A HARPY EAGLE. I love this guy. I would dearly love to see a Harpy Eagle too - the huge monkey and sloth-eating raptor of South American rainforests, it's right up there on my bucket list. 

And, I wager, the tunes contained herein are actually not all bad either - if soulful, upbeat Brazilian pop music is your bag. He has an obviously striking voice and lends it here to a number of songs veering from smooth teen balladeering to jaunty gypsy-type folk and one or two that sound like theme songs from a 70s Brazilian TV sitcom (if such things existed). The easygoing vibe is reflected in the pastoral imagery of song titles such as 'Viajante' (Traveller), 'Mata Virgem' (Virgin Forest) and my favourite 'Folia no Matagal', which apparently translates literally as 'revelry in scrub'. YouTube it, he's quite a showman.

Fresh from unearthing that gem, Lisa also came back with this soundtrack LP of birdsong from North America. It might be cheating to include it here I suppose, but it still ticks all the boxes. Cover-wise, a gull is the star; I know little about gulls across the pond so I perhaps won't hazard an ID guess here but feel free to comment below if you're desperate.

'Solitudes' Vol 4 by Dan Gibson (Dan Gibson Productions Ltd, 1981) 

While essentially an album of recorded 'birdsong', the sub-title 'Environmental sound experiences' sums this up best. Rather than being a series of track-to-track excerpts, here the pioneering sound-recordist and producer Dan Gibson lets nature unfold in real time, with minimal editing to spoil the experience as he paddles around the streams, lakes and falls of Niagara. Check out this sleeve photo of him with his 'specially designed stereo parabolic microphone' in his canoe:

What a cool guy. 

Among the species featuring here are Ring-billed gull, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Thrasher, Northern Oriole, Song Sparrow, even American toads. All the hits. I like the poetic tone of the sleeve notes too - 'Soon we are right alongside the staggering cataract' he writes as he passes the storm of water at the base of the falls, before opting for more seductive fare:

'Meditation is a method of relaxation that doesn't come easily to everybody. We need help, a stimulus of some sort, a trigger...Side B might do it.'

Godspeed! You Black Emperor eat yr heart out.

Liner notes: thanks to Lisa A

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