keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 111 Or The Pound In Your Pocket!

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 111 Or The Pound In Your Pocket!.

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 111 Or The Pound In Your Pocket!

Adieu – the Monkey & Me are off to Greece to do a little Euro-Bonding over the Meze, Grilled Fish (& Bananas) & Ouzo – taking lots of small domination notes and a Large Sun Hat for the wee shuffley thing – But as our first track Today by the Momentous Nancy Wilson asks, “Are We Loosing Touch” – You Bet Not, although the Second Track Today is LeAnn Rimes with, “How Do I Live” – But Don’t Worry, We’ll be Back in Late August and keepitonshuffle will return Refreshed, Re-tooled & Upright – Big Hopes for Us Too – We Need some Sun, Sea & S… though – As Serge Gainsburgh so artfully sung!

Esther Phillips rocks in next with, “Use Me” & we’re chugging along – Great Song, Great Chorus – Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmm; & this is followed by some Righteous Northern Soul from 1967 with Jimmy Conwell &, “Cigarette Ashes” – A Classic Floor-Filler & We might need to Hydrate!! Excuse Us…

Some Philly Soul now from Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, so there’s not let up with, “Bad Luck”; & this then slips into a Gospel version of, “My Sweet Lord” by Billy Preston who was at that time signed to the Apple Label and of course played keyboards on ‘Let It Be’!

Ashford & Simpson brighten our day once again off their Album, ‘Is It Still Good For You’ – & catch Teddy Pendergrass’s cover of that particular track when you can – This Classic today though from that Classic song-writing duo is, “You Always Could” – & Not only that, the Shuffle Monkey & I – Always Will; & this then seques into a bit of a Gear Change with Neil Diamond &, “Feels Like Home” – Which is off His recent Album, ‘Dreams’; & then we reverse nicely into Spanky Wilson as one would, with a great cover of Cream’s, “Sunshine Of Your Love” – Groovy Groovy Groovy – & remember you can check these tunes out on iTunes & You Tube and any other streaming medium that is legally available and possible… Just catch some of these tunes occasionally – Music is a Joy – & The Shuffle Monkey is Nodding, of course, but as He also says and as Teddy Pendergrass is now singing – It’s so Good Loving Somebody when, “Somebody Loves You Back” – Get The % Right, You All!!

Elton John & Leon Russell stride in the room here at Shuffle Towers now, &, what a Tag Team with a great song, “In The Hands Of Angels”; We then have a Double from Van Morrison with firstly, “Domino” – Which is off His ‘Street Choir’ Album – & then, “Everyone” off ‘Moondance’ – The Shuffle Meister doesn’t often do Doubles but when He does – He does!!

Tom Jones next with a Classic Jim Reeves song, “He’ll Have To Go”; Which is Followed by the Mighty Dells &, “I’m In Love”; & then we Trip back to the Super 70’s with Wizard and, “See My Baby Jive”; & then First Class hit us left of centre with, “Beach Baby” – Right Here In The Sand!!

Marvellous, Evocative stuff – & as we Glide towards the Finish line – it’s Raul De Souza with, “Festival” – Bring the Party on, &, preferably on the Beach! We can almost feel the hot sand between our Toes (& Paws) – & smell the Pine Resin & Wood Smoke – & for our Final Two Tunes the Happy Monkey lays out a NU-Soul interpretation by Eric Benet of the Classic Harold Melvin track, “Wake Up Everybody” – We’ll be sleeping in our clothes to get up for the Flight – & Finally, the Shuffle Monkey, Msr Le Shuffle to his French Matespulls out a Golden Ticket with Julio Igelesias &, “Por El Amor De Una Mujer” – THis is Bottled, Sun Sea & S…. Well done Shuffle Maestro – & so we pull the Plug & lock the doors on Shuffle Towers& Say Tutty Bye from Us, For Now – Summers Here & Don’t forget to Be Awesome whilst Keeping The Faith – Perhaps our first Track on our return will be ‘Autumn Leaves’? Perish the thought, but who knows – only the Shuffle Monkey Keeping It On Shuffle 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 110 Or A Dance Turned Into A Romance, When We Danced Across The Floor!

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 110 Or A Dance Turned Into A Romance, When We Danced Across The Floor!.

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead – Blog 110 Or A Dance Turned Into A Romance, When We Danced Across The Floor!

Ah – The Sheer Romance contained in those Words – &, as if He is sensing the Mood Leonard Cohen plays us in Today with, “Ain’t No Cure For Love”!! And this is followed by a rip-roaring Chairman Of The Board with, “You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String” – Which We think was also on the Soundtrack of ‘There’s Something About Mary’? And then Jim Manns backs on with a Great Track, “I Got To Have Your Love” – Love Love Love once again – It’s The LOve Train – The MerryGoRound of the Heart – & Once again the Shuffle Monkey is as ever On Message!!

And we continue in a Romantic Vein as next we have his Right Royal Spanish Squibiness Julio Iglesias with, Quiereme Mucho (Yours)”; Followed by Nina Simone – & you can hear a Pin Drop, as she sings for us Jacque Brels’s, “Ne Me Quitte Pas” – in French!!

Saturday Night Forever Next and Crown Heights Affair give us the 12″ Version of their Disco Classic, “You Gave Me Love”; And the Funky Beat Goes On & On with one of Henry Stone’s ‘Hidden Treasures’ – Peter Brown &, “Do You Wanna Get Funky With me” – Do You Wanna… Oh Yes Please!!

Gear Change now as we swing into the magnificent Mel Torme with, “Ordinary Fool” – & this Track has a great Harmonica Line working its’ Cool Magic through it – Just Listen & you’ll see what the Monkey & Me mean; & a contemporary of Mel’s – the equally magnificent Sammy Davis Junior hits us next with, “Let’s Get It On” – & No, It’s not the TREX Glam-Rock Belter!!

We move into the Home Stretch now with Lenny White & Tweeny Nine &, “It’s Magic”; Then the Four Tops serenade us with, “Baby I Need Your Loving”; & Finally Today it’s Leroy Hutson once again with a Masterpiece called, “Everybody’s A Masterpiece” – Superb & like Hegel’s Hidden Hand, We’re pretty sure here at Shuffle Towers that the Hand of Curtis Mayfeild is writ large on this Great Song with a Great Message – So, Go be A Masterpiece, Be Awesome, Keep The Faith & the wee shuffley thing & I will Most Certainly Keep It On Shuffle!! 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 109 Or Albert Camus Rocks!

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 109 Or Albert Camus Rocks!.

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 109 Or Albert Camus Rocks!

‘Even in the midst of Winter, I find within myself an Invincible Summer’ – The Monkey & Me think Msr Camus was right on the money  with This – Wear It on Your Sleeves (& don’t wipe your nose) whilst Keeping The Faith & Be Awesome! And the first two tracks today send us into a Spiritual Orbit with firstly the very apt, “This Is Your Life” by Norman Connors, with Phylis Hyman doing the vocal Honours; & secondly we have The Rhythm Makers with, “Soul On Your Side” – Which has certainly been Sampled a Few times!! A Great Start 🙂

And we now move to another Goody & one of our Favourite Songs here at Monkey Towers – “Since I Fell For You” – this Version from The Mighty Mix is by Glen Campbell – Rock on Rhinestone Cowboy & nicely played the wee shuffley thing! Meli’sa Morgan follows from her Album, ‘Do Me Baby’ – Quite, But Try to be Subtle My Dear – & this Track is called, “Getting To Know You Better”!

DISCO rears its Head next as we Gallup over to Nick Straker who’s having, “A Walk In The Park” – We think He’s German, Which might explain it – But take your Umbrella we say with that Bloody Gulf Stream!! & Leroy Hutson follows with a Natural High Two-Step entitled, “Nice & Easy” – Nice, Nice, Nice; & this is followed by little ole’ Cee Lo Green with, “Georgia”!

La Grande Dame, Dalida now – Une Francais L’Epic – & this Track has been remixed by Ceronne no less and is called, Laissez-Moi Danser” – Ceronne started as a Drummer the Shuffle Monkey’s just told Me! Some Great Mexican Hip Hop follows & its’ Blistering – Great Stuff to Run Too, as Cartel De Santa lay it down with, “Vato Sencillo”; & coming swiftly behind the Shuffle Meister throws in a GEAR CHANGE with Steely Dan &, “Rickki Don’t Loose That Number” – Now WE ask you, is that not Monkey Magic – Cartel De Santa followed by Steely Dan – What a Double Bill and you couldn’t make it Up – But it works, Coz for the Monkey & Me it’s in such Juxtapositions that the ‘Invincible Summer’ can be Found – It’s Life Affirming!!

OK already, what Next – Some 1980’s Soul with a bit of a Beat – Lillo Thomas with, “Let Me Be Yours” – Banging! And this is followed by a Tom Moulton remix no less of Nat Turner’s, “Ruby Lee” – Some Quality Philly Soul rubbing shoulders in the Mix – a Great Philly Re-Grooved Treat!! And talking about Tracks that have been sampled – This next Cute Cut certainly has – Locksmith &, “Far Beyond” – Four-To-The-Floor & Get Down with Monkey Madness – we’re just Kicking it up to the Break and hitting those Cow Bells – Go Listen & You’ll Hear What We Mean – Righteous & Its Funky!!

What could Follow that You Ask – Msr Le Shuffle what Oh what are you Smoking – Its Dr Hook (Probably with His Medicine Show) & most definitely with the delectable moochy smoochy waltz-time of, “If Not You”; Can the Shuffle Monkey Top that for sheer Elan – Most Certainly, Yes – For Tom Middleton comes to Monkey Towers with both his Decks and Mixes up Usha Uthup who is singing, “Chhupke Kaun Aya” – Or to put it another way, as you’ll know – “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” Indian Stylee – Michael’s never sounded Better – Let’s All give a Little Whoop Out! And Finally today we close down and catch our Breath with Mel Torme playing it cool and singing, “Lulu’s Back In Town” – Which is Good News for the Monkey & Me – So Keep The Faith, Be Awesome and Keep It On Shuffle – You Know It Makes Sense, Even if it is Madness 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 108 Or It’s Too Late To Stop Now!

The Shuffle Monkey has only gone and got himself a legit job at the National Office For Statistics (NOS) – He tells me though that he’s only there to make up the numbers!!

Seriously though – He knows his stuff and we both agree to agree that, ‘It’s Too Late To Stop Now’ – Van Morrisons Live LP from 1974, is quite possibly the best Live LP ever… Contentious? Perhaps, though it certainly has its’ fans in the know, including Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners & Today the Shuffle Meister opens with, “Bring It On Home” – from that Album, which of course was written and originally recorded by the late great Sam Cooke: Well, that’s Awesome in itself, but it looks as though we’re in for a Double Dose of Awesome Today, as the next track comes off Dexy’s latest Album, ‘One Day…’ which we were raving about a few weeks ago and this track is called, “You” – Fantastic!!

Pavement follow and they’re right up our Street with, “Carrot Rope”; & then we have A wee shuffley GEAR CHANGE with a Laura Lee classic, “Dirty Man” – A True Chess Diva; & Msr le Shuffle throws in another GEAR CHANGE for the next track as we swan dive into a Guilty Pleasure – &, it sure is with Neil Sedaka singing, “Laughter In The Rain” – & Neil will be touring the UK in the Autumn!!

The Beatles bounce in next with, “Michelle” off ‘Rubber Soul’; & a bit of a Star Funk groove ups the beat count next with Rocket &, “Here Comes My Baby” – Oh Yeah!; & this Glides into some Snowboy produced Jazz Funk with Pete Escovedo &, “Cabo Frio”!

Big GEAR CHANGE follows with Andy Williams & a live version of, “May each Day”; & then General Johnson storms across the floor & straight out of the Soul Cellar with, “Don’t Walk Away”!

And finally Today, three great tracks to play us out – Firstly, ‘Autobahn” – That’s Senor Coconut’s version, not Kratwerk’s original; Secondly we have the great Yarbrough & Peoples with, “Wrapped Around Your Finger” – & we are still looking for, ‘What’s That You Slipped Into My Wine’, here at Shuffle Towers; & lastly we have the mighty Beach Boys with, “God Only Knows” – Be Awesome, Plant your feet and square up to life, &, Keep The Faith, Coz the Monkey & Me are Keeping It On Shuffle 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 107 Or Our Night With Maude!

And who better to start us off Today after we’ve left Maude sleeping then, Betty Wright &, “I Love The Way You Love” – Oh Yeah! Of course, the Monkey & Me are actually riffing on the Eric Rohmer film, ‘My Night With Maude’ – with that guy Jean Tring-something, who was also in, ‘Un Homme et Une Femme’ – You know the film with the theme tune with the coda – dum dum dum, da da da da da, da da da, da da da, da da da da da… Anyway, it had a Cinema run again a couple of years ago and the Shuffle Monkey & I caught it at the Cameo in Edinburgh – Always support your local independent Cinema – & now it’s out on DVD…

Next up is First Choice with a banging piece of Salsoul Disco, “Let Me Down Easy”; & this is followed by the wonderful Jacques Dutronc with, “Thomas” (Instrumental); & Lee Garrett storms up behind this with, “You’re My Everything” – This is the sound of a hot summer in the 1970’s & it’s got a great Bee Gees key change in the last third – Magic!!

Willie Nelson saddles up and follows with his version of, “Midnight Rider”; & then The Beatles mosey on down with, “Norwegian Wood” – which of course is off the ‘Rubber Soul’ Album!

Scritti Politti agit-prop propels us into the 80’s with, “Absolute”; & I hope your buckled in as the Shuffle Meister drops us back into the 1970’s with a tasty slice of Soul from Barbara Mason &, “Give Me Your Love”; & coming quickly behind this is that old cowboy Kenny Rogers & Dotti West with, “We Love Each Other”; & then we have a fab and groovy Gear Change into Queens Of The Stoneage – Promise me you couldn’t have imagined a Kenny & Dotti to the Queens follow-on in your wildest dreams, but the Monkey can – & this track from these Seattle Grunge Heads is, “Little Sister”, taken from the aptly named Album – ‘Lullabies To Paralyze’!!

Chicago can’t be ignored and they blow our House down next with another slice of Pure Pop Balladry called, “What Kind Of Man Would I Be” (Single Version) – Masterful; & another masterful Live performance follows from Mel Torme with, “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life” – Magic! And then the Mighty George Benson pops over with, “I Remember Wes”!

And two mighty Tracks from the 1970’s to plays us out and what Crackers – Firstly, The Spinners with, “Ain’t No Price On Happiness” – Pure Soul Magic – Go & Listen! And lastly, the Mighty Mighty Tavares Brothers with, “The Mighty Power Of Love” – Oh Yeah!!

So, Be Awesome – Keep The Faith – & here at Shuffle Towers we’ll Keep It On Shuffle, Promise 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 106 Or Getting It Wrong Is The New Getting It Right!

Oh, Save Us Please – The Fashionista’s are now saying that the Yummy Mummy’s don’t want to be seen as having it all sorted and looking just So anymore, just because they can afford to – Oh no, out goes the Boden styling (other labels of course may apply??) and in comes stuff to wear with an Edge and a bit of an Attitude, to show that they are down with the Poor(er) amongst ‘Us’ – So, it’s Ok then to now look like you haven’t got it all sorted – mmhm, Well, it passed the Monkey and Me by the first time round and we’ve had a Raft of Kids between us – although clearly not with each other – That would be a Werner Herzog film… Anyway, the Guff you can squeeze to milk some column inches – & we can say that as one of us used to be a Journalist, 100 years ago – & it weren’t the one with Paws in this relationship!

Still, something far more interesting to Msr Le Shuffle & I – &, far more likely to up your standing in the Pub Quiz Team – & a Shout Out for Inveralmond Brewery while we’re about it – Did you know that when it opened in 1897, The Connaught Hotel in London’s Mayfair was known as The Coburg? And they didn’t let Monkey’s in then and they still don’t now – even if they are wearing a Tie – We know,  we’ve tried!! Twice…

And so to Business, &, first off Today is Jane Birkin with, “Qoui” – Questions, Questions, So Many Questions; & to follow and still in French is Celine Dion with, “pour QueTo M’aimes Encore”; whilst Robert Plant barges in with, “Even This Shall Pass Away” – Highly recommended as He’s got quite a little groove going on & it certainly sounds as though Beck’s had an influence – which would close a circle as Jane Birkin’s daughter – Charlotte Gainsburgh’s latest Album was produced by Beck – We Know, You Know!! And behind Mr Plant, David Bowie crashes through the safety fencing with, “Always Crashing In The Same Car” – off the mighty and game changing Album, ‘Low’!

A Great GEAR CHANGE next with a Great Group and A Great Song – The Persuasions with an Acappella version of, “Up On The Roof” – Go Hear It!! And then a quick one-two into Euro Disco Land with Madileen Kane &, “You Can” from the aptly named Album, ’12” & More’ – You just couldn’t get away with it Now, could you… Well, perhaps not with a straight face – but the Monkey & Me are impressed – Not Hard!! And Major Lance comes and Lances that Boil with a Touch of Northern Soul called, “Don’t Fight It” – Majestic; And then we have The Velvet Underground coming down from a hard Saturday Night with a Trippy, “Sunday Morning”!

The Shuffle Meister digs even deeper next and pulls out some fantastic Jazz Fusion Funk with his Socks, from Brother Jack McDuff & this sweetie is called, “Ju Ju”; & the Jazz continues with the Japanese Group The Natives with, “Love To You”; & this is tailed by the Splendid Dusty Springfield &, “You Didn’t Have To Say You Love Me”!

A guilty pleasure follows and a return to Une Francais with, “J’attends Siffler Le Train” by Richard Anthony – &, of course, we know the Track better in English by it’s title, ‘500 Miles’!! And what better than a bit of DISCO next from the early 1980’s & BMP with, “Loc It Up” – & we don’t care if there is a bloody drum machine !-)
And Finally today four Super Tracks to play us out – Firstly, its’ Jimmy Ruffin &, “Tell Me What You Want” (Extended Mix) – Secondly, “It’s Your Love” by Ethel Beatty which of course originally appeared on Roy Ayer’s Uno Record Label; Thirdly we have some more Jazz Fusion with David Benoit &, “Life Is Like A Samba”; & Lastly we 2-Step out with the Mighty Gladys Knight & her band of little Pips singing, “Just Walk In My Shoes” – Well take ’em off first, we say!! So Be Awesome, Plant Your Feet, Keep The Faith & We’ll Keep It On Shuffle 🙂

keepitonshuffle@whateversinmyhead.com – Blog 105 Or, We Won’t Grow Old Togther!

The Monkey & me have riffed on this before, I’m sure – There’s a French saying, ‘Nous Ne Vieillirons Pas Ensemble’ – & Today’s first Track is an absolute Corker – It’s called, “Has It Come To This”, but the Artist’s Unknown? The Lyrics though go, ‘We Cry More Than We Smile, We Frown More Than We Laugh, We’ve Even Stopped Referring To Each Other As The Other’s Half – We Talk More Than We Listen, We Take More Than We Give, There’s A Name For What We’re In, But Love Ain’t What It Is!’ – Of Course, You Need The Music, But it’s a Gem – I have a sneaking Feeling, &, the Shuffle Monkey’s nodding (or is he eating a Custard Cream), that it could be Regina Belle singing – But if you know, let the Monkey know, &, He’ll tell me – You can Tweet @desfume!

Next up is Boz Scaggs with, “We’re All Alone” – & it’s a rather Good version, so Thank you Shuffle Meister – But I’m detecting a wee bit of a Theme here? Mmmhm, & to follow we have Peaches & Herb with, “We’re In This Together” – Come on wee shuffley thing – Square Up Your Beret, Adjust your Neckerchief, &, Get Down; Maybe not quite Yet though it would seem because Prince bursts through the Clouds with, “Purple Rain” – Which I think is maybe Prince speak for that feeling when you leave someone for someone else…; Clearly the Shuffle Monkey has stuck he’s wee paws in and is having a right Romantic Fug & next up he gives us Olivia Newton John with, “If Not For You” – Written of course, by Bob Dylan; & this is then followed by Beth Nielsen Chapman with, “Even As It All Goes By”!

And it looks as though we’re going to continue in this mellow moody for a Tad longer, as next up is Jimmy Webb with Linda Ronsdadt &, “All I Know” – Which Linda also covered with Arron Neville; & behind this is the Eagles with, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”: Ok. Ok Msr Le Shuffle where are we going Next? Ah Ha, it’s the Pigeons – How apt a follow to the Eagles?? & their version of Wilson Pickett’s, “In The Midnight Hour” – So the Groove Count is on the up; & this is followed by an even Groovier cut from Grey & Hanks with, “Dancin” – Oh Yeah, Shake Your Booty Down! Which brings us to our Final Track today and it couldn’t really get Funkier – Oh Yes, Yes, Yes, it’s Brass Construction &, “Movin” – & the CD this comes off is also signed by the Great Man Kenny Dope who remixed this version – So, Get Down on Your Good Foot, You All – & Keep The Faith, Be Awesome & Keep It On Shuffle 🙂