THE COAL PORTERS

LAND OF HOPE AND CROSBY

Prima Records
SID 002

LOS LONDON

Prima Records
SID 004

Over the period that this organ has been missing in action our good friend Sid Griffin has continued on his merry workaholic way. Aside from his journalistic pursuits he's now got his Prima label up and running, and he's gigging regularly with The Coal Porters. Always great fun to see, the band give us a rollercoaster ride through their take on our shared back pages.

For the purposes of these two releases, from 1994 and 1995 respectively, The Coal Porters are a floating ensemble. The material was recorded at various times, at various places, between London, Nevada, and the West Coast. Contributions are provided by such good chaps as Billy Bremner, Dave Woodhead and Wes McGhee.

A combination of Long Ryders type rockers, sweet love songs, and pertinent archaeology; the playing , production, and songwriting is all high calibre stuff. Check the powerful start of 'Hope and Crosby'- the horn based 'Imperial Beach', The lovely 'Windy City' with its distant echoes of 'Get To You'. The Sir Douglas-like 'What About Tomorrow and the Ochsian inflections of 'Crackin' At The Seams'. Then there's the lost Gram Parsons song 'Apple Tree', affecting and affectionate, with McGee on dobro and Kate St John's cor anglais. The Great Enthusiast does us proud again.

(from BoB#46 Aug 1996)