It’s been a lazy Sunday here in ‘lovely’ Harrow, so to keep me entertained I spent the morning compiling a Sunday Spotify playlist. I can feel a Spotify obsession coming on – so much cheaper than buying blank CDs and you can email your playlists to your mates – genius. I kind of miss doing the covers and writing the sleevenotes, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.

Anyway, I wanted some tunes that would suit my slightly knackered, lazy, hazy Sunday mood and I think I achieved what I sent out to do – from the classic Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground (obvious, I know – but it’s simply the best, er, Sunday morning song ever – it does what it says on the tin) to the epic Lay Back In The Sun – Spiritualized’s druggy, shimmering psychedelic/gospel epic.

No-one wrote about the sun better than Brian Wilson, so it’s over to the mighty Pet Sounds for the life-affirming You Still Believe In Me.

Like Pet Sounds? Listen to the album Freedom Wind by The Explorers Club – it’s a homage to Wilson’s masterpiece, as Don’t Forget The Sun proves. Gorgeous.

I’ve been on a bit of a, yikes, folk trip today, so threw in some Nick Drake,  John Martyn and Beth Orton, and then dipped into Van Morrison’s criminally-neglected Veedon Fleece for Bulbs. Someone did me a copy of this little-known Van the Man album a while back and I’ve been slowly getting into it – if you dig Astral Weeks, you’ll like it, too.

You’ve got to have some world-weary crooners on a Sunday morning, haven’t you? Hence the inclusion of Kris Kristofferson’s Sunday Morning Comin’ Down (from which I half-inched the title for the playlist – I love the line  “I found my cleanest dirty shirt,” as a bachelor, I can relate to this very well) Scott Walker’s lovely country ballad Duchess (from the classic Scott 4) and Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra’s spectral Some Velvet Morning – those cinematic strings, Hazlewood’s booming voice, the sexual suggestions – “I’m gonna open up your gate,”- blimey, it’s all a bit saucy for a Sunday. 

I Threw It All Away is one of my favourite Dylan songs from one of my favourite Dylan albums – Nashville Skyline. I know the album’s flawed and isn’t considered one of his best, but I love its laidback country-soul feel – perfect for a Sunday – and the tune I’ve chosen just makes me think of all the mistakes I’ve made in my life. Hmm, maybe Sunday morning isn’t the best time to be reminded off all yer f*** ups – oh, well.

You’ve got to have some Beatles on a Sunday, but there’s no bloody Beatles on Spotify, so I had to make do with the 1960s Karaoke Band (?), doing Good Day Sunshine. For the record, Revolver is the best Beatles album – and probably my favourite album of all time – so inventive, varied and not clogged-up with the music hall material that blighted Sergeant Pepper.

Weller nods to Revolver with Here’s The Good News (love the brass arrangement and the trombone solo), so that had to go on there. Still on a ’60s trip, I dug out some Donovan, (Sunshine Superman) although Season of the Witch is his best tune.

I’ve been having a few discussions over the new Bruce Springsteen album Working On A Dream – it’s had mixed reactions. I really like it – it’s not perfect, agreed, but it does have a nice West Coast vibe going on, with a Byrds and Beachboys feel – Surprise Surprise is simply dumb jangly pop of the highest order.

Suede’s Lazy from Coming Up reminds me of being in bed with a lover on a Sunday morning, hungover to death, but grateful that you haven’t got to venture outside and deal with the general public and the mundanity of everyday life. Morrissey’s Lazy Sunbathers – from his finest solo album, , Vauxhall and I, seemed like a natural successor. I am lazy and I hate sunbathing.

I saw Blur’s Hyde Park comeback show last week – marvellous. Badhead is one of the best songs on Parklife – a neglected gem of a tune that addresses hangovers and has a whoozy, melancholy feel – it gets me every time.

Squeeze’s Chris Difford is one of my lyrical heroes – he wrote the words for Some Fantastic Place, which was about his musical partner Glenn Tilbrook’s ex-girfriend, who died. It’s a spiritual, uplifting song – reminds me of George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord –  and I just adore the guitar solo from Glenn, which leads the song to its anthemic climax, heading skywards with organ and gospel vocals. Wonderful stuff.

Which leads us to Spiritualized’s Lay Back In The Sun – yet more gospel. And to think I don’t even go to church on a Sunday.

If you’ve got Spotify, you can listen to my playlist here: http://tinyurl.com/kk8afl

 

Earlier in the year, myself, Matt Hill and Will Dobson went into the studio to begin work on our James Bond song – a labour of love, some may say obsession, for all of us.

The original song started out as a lyric, written by me, written following a screening of Quantum of Solace. I loved the film (I saw it four times in the cinema!), but I felt let down by Jack White’s awful title song, so suggested to Matt that we could do better.

With a glass of red wine late one night, I penned the words – a few weeks later, Matt wrote the tune and recorded a rough acoustic demo. We then rewrote the song – changing the words, adding some more and writing an extra section, until we had a demo we were happy with.

I wanted to capture the feel of an old Bond song like Goldfinger, or From Russia With Love, but to also make it sound relevant to Daniel’s Craig’s new era of 007. I think my words mix the camp rhymes of say, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, but with a touch of darkness and revenge, inspired by the last two Bond films – so the song’s kind of retro modern, if that makes any sense.

Anyway.. keyboard boffin and producer, Will Dobson, came onboard to write an arrangement for horns, strings and piano. As I write this, the song is in the final stages of production, Will now having added bass, synths, drums, percussion and lots of other instrumentation to create an epic Bond masterpiece.

With vocals & guitar by Matt, it’s shaping up to be the best Bond song in years – a moody, contemporary sound, but with a big nod to the classic ’60s 007 hits we all know and love.

We’ll be releasing more information soon, but, just like the next Bond movie, the project is still a closely guarded secret.

One thing’s for certain- we will return.