Gene Vincent died on this day (October 12th) in 1971. He is missed, he is mourned, especially by me, so is it too unethical to remind you all that I wrote a book about the man, and it would be nice if it was more widely read? I mean, it’s a really good little book, infinitely collectable and absolutely guaranteed to make you the envy of all your hipster friends. And if this has over stepped the bounds of respect for the iconic dead, here is a clip – killer in its magnificence – of the late great Ian Dury singing Sweet Gene Vincent (watch for a dementedly inspired solo by my old friend Wilko Johnson) and also Gene himself doing Baby Blue.
The secret word is Gone
Mick, the decades that separate us are nevertheless joined by what is unquestionably one of the greatest albums of of the 20th Century, "New Boots and Panties." I have introduced that LP to loads of folk, and it is always a pleasure to have them request it when they visit. The tension that builds up to "Blockheads" is always great, and the breather of "Sweet Gene Vincent," right after the best paean to women by a freak (i.e., a man) that is "wake Up. . . " is never not welcome.
ReplyDeleteAnd that album cover shot? A brilliant dichotomy of the young and olde, the short and tall, the brashly naive and grievously knowing.
I remain upset that there are so many version of the LP, and that none let one appreciate the album as it were originally released.