A Little Knight Music

 

This weekend looking for something to watch on tv as you do I where I came by a feature Gladys Knight & The Pips on the BBC being shown on BBC1 that brought back some memories.

For me Gladys Knight began around 1972 as I beginning to hear new music for myself, listening to the radio, watching what were all too brief music shows on tv and even venturing out with my parents and siblings to that  institution called "The Record Store" to buy new music.

I think - cos it's a mighty long time ago - the first album I heard by her and her band The Pips was Greatest Hits and the first I remember getting myself because it was an import was the British compilation Help Me Make It Through The Night which was issued in 1973 which I still own followed by that first Buddah album 'Imagination'.

Of late I've gotten around to collecting the five cd series issued by Motown UK in 2006 that features 10 albums by Gladys knight and the pips spread with two albums per cd.
It's not like I'm unfamiliar with some of these titles as I have lps of them some in mono as issued by Tamla-Motown in the UK and so the stereo is new to me although I'd of preferred to have mono for the earlier albums as it's that nothing in centre, with all else hard left and hard right stuff that is so distracting especially on headphones.

Following a period whilst signed to two labels releasing the 45's Letter Full Of Tears and Every Beat Of My Heart re-recorded for their Motown Greatest Hits album, they signed up in 1965 to Motown, recognizing the talent but it's fair to say Berry Gordy didn't really know what to do with them.

 

Everybody Needs Love issued in 1967 was their first Motown album and is a mixture of songs written for them and covers showing from the get go the call and response Gospel infused style they were to become famous for.The Tittle track, Take Me In Your Arms (and love me) ans well as they take on I heard It Through The Grapevine. 

The first cd couples this with Feelin' Bluesy from 1968 which is all covers as Berry Gordy didn't want then muscling on the Supremes territory but this nonetheless proved to be great vehicle for displaying Gladys voice on tracks like It Should Of been Me (Yvonne Fair had a top 5 UK hits with this in 1976) and The End Of Our Road.

The second disc in the series sees Silk 'N Soul issued in 1968 and is another covers but they were teamed with Norman Whitfield who just put another of a twist to enable the material to become theirs.with songs such as The Look Of Love, I Wish It Would Rain and Every little Bit Hurts.
1969 saw the issue of the second album on this cd, Nitty Gritty, a rousing piece of psychedelic Soul that contains not only the title track, a re-interpretation of Cloud Nine and Didn't You Know You have to Cry Sometime.

Disc three is a gem containing the If You Were My Woman and Standing Ovation albums from 1971.
The first album is a mixture of songs written for the group such as the title track and I don't Want To do Wrong as well as covers such as Let It Be and One Less Bell To Answer.
Standing Ovation was an album of covers - the group felt very much pushed back and were to leave for Buddah Records soon - but among the covers includes their sensual remake of Help Me Make It Through The Night and Make Me The Woman Go Home To written for by Clay McMurray

Extracts from the Toy Box

Well from the least expected places there seems to be more girls like me from what I've seen so if you're reading this for the first time, welcome.
To business now, following on from that bit of a resorting of casual sporty clothes I found a few things from my childhood I want to share.

I loved the wombles at the time, really I did having pictures, records and having watched the Tv series and here's my Great Uncle Bulgaria which is a late 1990's version as I think I lost the original like you do.
Also I found a C70 battleship made by Lesney of England in 1976 which is in very good shape with just a few marks on the underside. I wasn't really into war related toys  much so I think someone bought it me (kinda forget who just now) so I just kinda took care of it putting it on a shelf so it wasn't played with unlike my dolls or thumbed like my annuals.

I gave it a bit of a dust before taking this picture

May study weekend

I don't actually know where to put myself today as the weekends events have left me feeling very different about me (and some of this will go elsewhere), what I can do and really about my life so far in.

As well all know, the one big difference this year with the exception of days when I am truly too unwell to work or away on meets such as Camp, my weekends  are taken up with something deliberately challenging.

Two days of concentrated study where I pretty much have to work on just that, sat at a desk, in uniform with no distractions working from the study guides with just fixed recess periods with no dawdling, back chat or refusing to start being accepted.

Really.

This weekend has seen me work on my English looking at how people who write stories try to draw you into the character, getting you to think you were involved and learning how to compare and contrast different texts on the same subject by style, language, use of humour and summarize any differences effectively.

I had set questions to answer on it and I managed 90%.

Concentration is my main thing, I'm awful at it, often leap frogging from task to task often more around what I find interesting rather than what needs to be done and thinking about how  might get the thing finished.

Some days tend to be better compared to others but that's one of my problems apart from just forgetting tons and tons of things within minutes of been told that.

Perhaps getting back to more of this straightaway rather than leaving it a day or so and plenty of practise at making my own strategies for getting stuff done would help a lot more?

Getting going or not....

 

Err I'm having a bit of a bad day here just trying to get anything done really, piles left in no real order as I'm flitting from one thing to another thinking I can start something without really seeing any one thing through.

Perhaps if I stayed with you you might be able to help me with all of that and a lot more?

Perhaps something more along these lines just might help a little?

May Bank Holiday edition

It's a May Bank Holiday next Monday and I have things to be doing not least a few things for the local community which at least keep me fitter than if I didn't  even if the weather as ever is all over the place as it was on Monday with strong winds and all that.

Charming considering this coming weekend people in part of the North-west Midlands are out celebrating over1000 years of the history of Staffordshire which in its original form is the home two large urban conurbations at its far ends and was ranked as the fifth most populous County in England.

From Flash to Enville and from Gnosall (but sadly have they have no Gnu's) to Uttoxeter it is a country rich in contrasts, countryside and industrial heritage.

 In Lichfield, the county has a most wonderful cathedral.

Naturally we are moving into Summer now so out comes our games kit as we get new clothes  ready for the great outdoor season to get a bit of a tan and let our skin get fresh air around it after hibernating although some parts of me easily get a tan....