Paul Orwell

First It arrived in lovely blush pink vinyl. Then in red. There have been a raft of releases from Paul Orwell and his “side project” The Shoots that have been essential listening over recent months and years.

Blowing Your Mind Away and Organised Blues

Paul Orwell’s music first came to my attention a few years ago with some limited edition forty-fives on Heavy Soul, which were snapped up after only a few hours following their on-line release. Then came an album, Blowing Your Mind Away, in 2015. It was initially only available on vinyl, was limited to 500 copies, and, like the singles that preceded it, was sold out within hours. That album was packed with instantly memorable tunes, harmonies and the sort of guitar refrains you might have encountered at Haight Ashbury, or the Kings Road, in 1966. The monochrome video for one of the most memorable tunes, You’re Nothing Special, was trailed on the Fred Perry Subculture website in the weeks before release, complete with models and authentic Blow Up references. The reverse of the sleeve proclaimed that “this music should be played loud”, a piece of advice that was followed on many occasions.

It was followed, the following year, by Organised Blues, an album of Hammond organ instrumentals, designed to get you grooving round the dancefloor - or the kitchen - as effectively as the debut. I remember reading an interview Paul did with Merc where he described this new record as "an album that kids would take to a party in the 1960's". You couldn’t argue with that as a rationale for the album. Don’t Do As I Do (Just Do As I Say), Coke Without The Cola, Red Telephone and the rest were equally infectious and full of pent up mod energy that fired up the soul shoes on your feet. You had to admire the attitude that led to the recording of Organised Blues. It was the record Paul wanted to make so he went off and did it, eschewing any consideration of making a "sensible" follow up to Blowing Your Mind Away. Then there was the Hard Shakes ep, a four track forty-five, which came out at a similar time, covered similar ground and did so with panache.

Smut

More singles followed. Then, last year, The album Smut arrived and was rammed with a selection of full-on garage rock anthems that blast the cobwebs away. This is the one in the blush pink vinyl.  Its more 1969 than 1966, dirtier, naughtier than its predecessors, the tougher edges of Let It Bleed compared with Revolver, perhaps.

Stick on Smut and, two drumbeats later, we’re in. The opener, Use Me, comes through fast and furious, with its straight ahead attack to the senses, complete with the immortal line “Juliet is in the sewer, Romeo is in the gutter”, and a wonderfully trashy edge that sets the tone for the album. Its followed by Son Of A Loaded Gun which has always struck me as possessing more than a little bit of a Bolanesque vibe. This tune and others, particularly, Out Of Here, make me wonder if this is how T Rex would have sounded if they had started today. The whole thing comes at you full on, a delicious mixture of hot guitar hooks, organ and piano refrains. Hear them in the guitar motif on Hot Bitch, the piano introduction on Hot Air – Loud Noise, I’ll Be Your Murderer, Hey Hey Junkie and the rest. Then there’s the dirty bass and guitar introduction on Out Of Love. And the whole thing concludes with slightly more laid back Hello Apollo.

Then, just when you thought this particular seam had been exhausted, along came Use Me the ep. It’s the one in red vinyl, a lovely deep red. Its a complete package, the design and music complementing each other perfectly.  The new tunes were recorded at the same sessions as Smut. Along with the title track, there are three more new tunes on here: the classic garage rock of Running Scared, all hard guitar chords mixed with full-on keyboards, the down and dirty groove and “sex, drugs and rock and roll” of Lose Control and the more heartfelt vibe of Live A Little Die A Little, a tune that hints at Orwell’s work with The Shoots.

The Shoots

Then there's that side project. For most, The Shoots would be a full-on career. They are a collaboration between Orwell and Kevin "Lord" Essien, who is It described as "vocal extraordinaire" on the tin and you wouldn't argue with that sentiment one iota.

They released an album of classic R&B anthems last year, full of garage beats, up front guitars and pure soulful vibes. Add in a strong northern soul element and the whole thing quickly gets deep inside. The vocals are tinged with emotion, touched by a mood immersed in the black plastic that would be spun every weekend at Wigan Casino and elsewhere. The straight ahead feel of the opener, Black Widow, takes you quickly into the action and gets the adrenalin going. The heartfelt vibe on tunes like Two Steps, On The Sunnyside Uptown, Lay Some Hurt On You, Mr Rain and Wash it Down With Whiskey is interspersed with a vibe that makes you want to put on your soul shoes and head for the dancefloor. And the hundred mile an hour northern soul pace of Forget Me, in particular, makes it worthy of frequent plays.

Then, they too, release an ep – Mr Doom & Gloom - to follow it, again comprising tunes that got away that were recorded at the original album sessions. The ep features songs that encapsulate the harder, more British R&B flavoured feel than the soulful vibe of the album. Catch My Breath, Mr Doom & Gloom, The Wild Walk and Taste all contain those hard-edged guitar riffs, strong, screaming, bluesy vocals add keyboard refrains that come in and out, augmenting the overall sound perfectly. There are the “aaah aaah” Mony Mony reminiscences of The Wild Walk - “we’ll do the jive and monkey too, the mash potato and the boogaloo, we’ve got a new dance and it goes like this”, the swampy guitar introduction and keyboards on Taste, along with hard, bluesy guitar on the introduction to Catch My Breath that wouldn't have been out of place at the Ricky Tick club (think The Yardbirds in Blow Up) or elsewhere around '65. All in all, a welcome addition to R&Beat.

Paul Orwell is reputedly working on a new project, intriguingly entitled Acid Goth. I’m looking forward to its release, to see what direction he’d going in next. But, if you can’t wait until then, or if you’re looking some full on garage rock tunes, this little package is perfect.  If you can find them, of course.  All brought to you, like so many great records of late, by Heavy Soul.

“Lord can you save my soul, Lord can you save my rock and roll”, he sings on Save My Soul on Smut. On this evidence that thing called rock and roll is saved.