Duran Duran “Do the Madison” 1984/2023. Two-LP bootleg (Gimme Recordings) on clear vinyl. Today, April 26th, is Duran drummer Roger Taylor’s birthday (b. 1960). Do the Madison is from the band’s sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden on March 21st, 1984 during their Sing Blue Silver tour to promote Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The unofficial release is the complete live radio broadcast of the show, aired by the NYC radio network Westwood One. The recording and production is so-so (for a Duran release): the mix gets weird in spots, with Simon’s voice sounding a bit tinny and either too low or waaayyy up front (and a few slightly cringy notes during “New Moon on Monday“) and occasionally the saxophone goes on a bit of a bender. (and oh god the recorder/wood flute duet on “The Chauffeur” is brutal, in a bad way). But overall the band is tight, on the top of their game and clearly thrilled to be playing the Garden.

The concert features songs from Seven and the Ragged Tiger: the singles “The Reflex” (Simon: “this song is about a dancer!”), the aforementioned “New Moon on Monday” and a slightly funked-up “Union of the Snake” plus some deeper cuts like “The Seventh Stranger” and “Cracks in the Pavement.” The bulk of the show is from Rio, including the hits “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Save a Prayer” and “My Own Way” and of course “Rio” as the final song. Duran’s performance of “New Religion” is perfection (Andy’s guitar and John’s bass playing are on fire). There’s a few from their debut Duran Duran like “Friends of Mine,” “Careless Memories” and “Planet Earth.” However I’m super-disappointed that this record does not include “Girls on Film.” I’ve read that the March 21st concert featured “Nile Rodgers and Tony Thompson joining Duran Duran on stage for a performance of “Girls on Film”, which lasted for more than 12 minutes.” (Duran Duran Wiki Fandom) Fortunately you can listen to it here.

Pink Floyd “Meddle” 1971. Harvest Records. Vaguely trippy prog-rock, Meddle was Pink Floyd’s sixth studio LP and “is considered a transitional album between the Syd Barrett-influenced group of the 1960s and the Waters-led era of the 1970s.”  I’m in desperate need of a nap today and this record is the most likely in my to-do pile to get me in a mellow mood. I recall listening to this record a fair amount in college (lol, of course I did), especially the track “Fearless;” I forgot how beautiful that song is (it also has a Zeppelin-esque guitar riff which is probably why it’s my top track). It was released as the b-side of the single “One of These Days,” a mostly-instrumental that features a rare vocal “performance” by drummer Nick Mason; he says the line “One of these days, I’m going to cut you into little pieces,” which “was aimed at Sir Jimmy Young, the then BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 DJ who the band supposedly disliked because of his tendency to babble. During early 1970s concerts, they sometimes played a sound collage of clips from Young’s radio show that was edited to sound completely nonsensical, thus figuratively ‘cutting him into little pieces.'” (wiki) I also recall listening to the bluesy “Seamus” in college but I’m not nearly as fond of that track (same with “San Tropez“). The entirety of Side B is made up of the song “Echoes” which is a bananas 23 minutes long and many consider one of Floyd’s best. I’m not sure about that but it definitely is making me sleepy.

The Quilz “Little Red Riding Hood” 2023. Prickly Records. Dream-pop new wave synth duo from Milwaukee. They will be debuting a new song this evening at Cactus Club but in the meantime I’m spinning their almost-most-recent release (they have a Christmas song from late ’23 but ’tis not the season for that). “Little Red Riding Hood” is their interpretation of the malevolent 1966 hit single by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. The Quilz version still has more than a touch of evil, but singer Becky Heck adds a sunny 60’s girl group vibe with her clear layered vocals. Side B is “Whole Wide World” (originally by legend Wreckless Eric, 1977): guitarist/bassist Sage Schwarm does a faithful and respectful rendition of the original while Becky’s vocals keep the rawness of the original, adding in an 80’s style femme vibe (it’s great!). I cannot find The Quilz’s version of “Whole Wide World” online so here’s a video for their 2022 song “Where Evil Grows” (the video shot in the park a block or so from our house; the song appears on The Quilz LP Beneath the Covers With the Quilz) originally by the Poppy Family (1971).