John Peel's Record Box, 1-4 Al Casey to Andy Capp

A lot of blogs have already tried to collect these releases but this is the first chance I've had, so I thought I would try and get through some of the tracks while the music scene is still pretty quiet. There are still a few holes in my list, but hopefully they will be filled by the time I get around to writing about them. I am working with the (mainly alphabeticised) order of the Times list. I've heard the As and Bs of 1-4 so here we go...

1. Al Casey - Surfin Hootenanny + Easy Pickin (Pie International records, 1963)
This single was a huge Billboard hit in 1963 so it may even be possible to track down some vinyl copies. Nowadays it is quite easy to find on this compilation on Ace Records.
This isnt your typically Trashmen/ Dick Dale surf guitar tune, it's lighter than that, with female vocals and a very wide stereo sound, courtesy of the production by the legendary Lee Hazlewood. I think he also wrote it. They pay homage to a lot of the other surf acts (like Dick Dale) in the song. The Bside is more throwaway, but then that was half the idea with bsides I guess.

2. Al Ferrier - I'm Not Drinking More + Don't Play Blue Eyes' (Master Trak records, 1980)
Originally a Louisiana rockabilly/ cajun artist who was on Goldband from the mid-1950s, this is a much later recording and is pure country. I had assumed it was a 1980 reissue, but this interview shows that he was recording at Goldband in the early '80s so it probably is a 1980 release.
This is very hard to find nowadays, I have a dull sounding mp3 of the A-side which was transferred from vinyl, and the B-side is an mp3 taped off the radio, complete with Peel back anno! The best thing about submerging myself in this list is that I feel like I have entered an epic lost Peel show, full of surprises, songs you love and songs you would fast forward if you had taped the 2-hour broadcast. As this reminds me too much of the country n western I was brought up with, I would have wind it on past this, but a few listens later I'm kinda impressed by Ferrier's slightly off-centre delivery. Country but not (quite) as we know it.

3. Alan Price Set - I Put a Spell on You (Decca, 1966)
A big hit in the '60s and relatively easy to get your hands on as it is on a few compilations. The first artist in the list I had heard and the first track I recognised as well. Things I know about Alan Price - he was in the Animals, he wrote the music for the 70s movie 'O Lucky Man' and he appeared in DA Pennebaker's Don't Look Back alongside Dylan. The A-side is a busy organ-dominated British blues take on the classic song, and it does have a similar arrangement to 'House of the Rising Sun'. B-side "Iechyd Da" is a standard jazzy blues instrumental, dominated by the organ and horns. First Welsh language title in the list, although Price was from the North East and this has no words!

4. Andy Capp - Popatop + Reco - The Lion Speaks (Treasure Island, 1969)
Now that I'm old I'm supposed to know a lot about jazz and reggae and the like, and I do know a bit, but not an awful lot, so feel free to correct me by leaving a comment.
This is early dub reggae dating from 1969, Andy Capp was engineer Lynford Anderson, who helped a lot of Lee Perry's early dub experiments happen. This was actually siting in my iTunes under Lee 'Scratch' Perry as it was on his Battle Axe compilation. This sits nicely with the Perry material of the same period, and they although do experiment with a stop/start dubby rhythm it's actually infectiously catchy.
I didn't know much about Rico and the Rudies, except that Rico was a trombone player and had releases on Trojan records, but i found this great website which tells you all about him. This sits eccentrically amongst all the other reggae in the box as it has Rico's trombone all over it! Just great really.