TRAVELS WITH BRINDLE – No. 1 In Heaven

When covering other people’s material, there’s no point in phoning it in, and creating something that’s a flat but respectable reconstruction. It’s much better to make things your own, and re-imagine everything from the ground up – as with Type O Negative’s ‘Summer Breeze’ and Lalo Schifrin’s frankly bizarre disco rehash of the ‘Jaws theme, just to give a couple of great examples.

This concept isn’t lost on singer songwriter Chelsea Spear and her solo ukulele pop project Travels With Brindle. Their 2025 release ‘Number One In Heaven’ takes the bulk of the Sparks 1979 LP of the same name and melds it in her own image. Taking the six songs and stripping them down to basics, Spear allows for a closer inspection of some basic melodies. But does it work?

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #70

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. It’s a proper mixed bag this week, with the return of a multi-million selling singer songwriter, who is contrasted by a sharp edged alternative metal track; something that leans towards country rock, the return of a favourite pop vocalist and more besides…

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Kimono My House: 50 Years Later

From the label that brought you 50th Anniversary tribute albums covering Alice Cooper’s classic ‘Killer’, Bowie’s absolutely legendary ‘Ziggy Stardust’, and Budgie’s oft-overlooked ‘Never Turn Your Back On A Friend’, comes something way more…outlandish. Bringing together various acts from the rock and metal underground, ‘Kimono My House: 50 Years Later’ re-imagines the 1974 Sparks album. As you might expect, the results are mixed. As you’ve probably already guessed, very few of the bands have been brave (or should that be foolhardy?) enough to imitate Russ Mael’s legendary falsetto. It remains unclear whether any of the musicians have taken the method route and grown toothbrush moustaches to enhance their involvement. What we have here – somewhat against the odds – is a very interesting record.

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The Real Gone Advent Calendar 2019

We’ve hit December 2019 and that can mean only one thing. It’s time for The Real Gone Advent Calendar!

As is traditional, over the next twenty four days, we’ll be posting a new link. It might be a video. It might be audio only. It might be an old favourite. It might be something brand new and unfamiliar. The only way to find out is by coming back each day and opening a new window.

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