(SCOTT)-Thanks for this Jonder, one with which I was unfamiliar, which is what I enjoy most about doing this, the serendipitous manner in which we can all discover great music, previously unknown to us! Thanks for the contribution, as always!
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Scottish guitarist Mick Slaven is a talented axeman for hire who has performed with Del Amitri, the Jazzateers, Bourgie Bourgie, and Deacon Blue. Slaven's trio The Leopards have backed singers Lloyd Cole and Vic Godard, as well as Postcard Records alumni Malcolm Ross (Josef K), James Kirk (Orange Juice), and Paul Quinn.
If you don't know those names, don't fret. The Leopards aren't the Sound of Young Scotland. The Leopards are more akin to the psychotic swamp-rock of the Scientists and the Screaming Blue Messiahs (whose LP's will get the deluxe reissue treatment this year). If you aren't familiar with the Scientists or the Messiahs, you need to fix that right now. I'll wait here until you get back.
The Leopards' first album, They Tried Staying Calm, came out in 1997 on the Creeping Bent label. (A second album, 2011's Never Been The Same, was only released digitally.) They Tried Staying Calm is the sound of a lunatic strangling his guitar, pushing the whammy bar on his Fender Jaguar to the breaking point, all the while unspooling frenzied tales of motorbikes, madwomen and mortality. The rhythm section sticks to him like glue. The band has no intention of staying calm. Here's a short sample song: https://youtu.be/7a8Rw7Wd1EY
A wonderful Youtube user named FruitierThanThou recently posted a Peel Session by The Leopards, which includes their cover of the T.Rex song "Electric Slim and the Factory Hen" (there's a touch of glam in The Leopards' sound). I have ripped the audio from that four song session, and added The Leopards' version of "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" from a compilation CD.
ALBUM TRACKS: 01 Ju Ju Girl/ 02 Surf On/ 03 Motorcycle Baby/ 04 Theme E/ 05 Burning/ 06 BONUS TRACKS: 15 You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory/ 16 Ju Ju Girl/ 17 Electric Slim and the Factory Hen/ 18 Shout Baby/ 19 Theme E/ (Tracks 16-19 from Peel Session 10/12/97). Thanks to FruitierThanThou, who shares LOTS of great Peel Sessions on Youtube