Pulled along by love (The Mutton Birds) (LP 4451 - 4452)

The Mutton Birds  Envy of Angels (CD, EMI Records, 1996) ****  

The Mutton Birds  Rain, Steam & Speed (CD, shhhh! Records, 1999) ****  

Genre: NZ Music, pop rock.

Places I remember: The Warehouse, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Come Around (Envy of Angels)

Gear costume: April, She's Been Talking (Envy of Angels)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I have only scratched the surface of The Muttom Birds by owning these two albums. Maybe weirdly, I have far more of Don McGlashan's other work, either with Front Lawn or solo. He's a singular NZ talent and I should get their other albums at some point.

The band on Envy of Angels (their third album) is made up of Don, Ross Burge (drums), Alan Gregg (bass), and David Long (guitar, keyboards). They recorded the album in Wales, as they had relocated to England just prior. Therefore, many of the songs deal with the sense of being away from home. Something I can relate to. It's an excellent album - not every song is a masterpiece, but it's close.

Rain, Steam & Speed was their fourth and final album (there are plenty of compilations out there). It's not as consistently strong as Envy of Angels but it is a cut above loads of other bands (NZ or otherwise).

Where do they all belong? As I said, I probably need those first two Mutton Bird albums.

Lucky stars (Don McGlashan) (LP 3185 - 3188)

Don McGlashan  Warm Hand (CD, Arch Hill Recordings, 2006) *** 

Don McGlashan and The Seven Sisters  Marvellous Year (CD, Arch Hill Recordings, 2009) ****  

Don McGlashan  Lucky Stars (CD, Self-released, 2015) ***  

Don McGlashan  Bright November Morning (Vinyl, Self-released, 2022) ****  

Genre: NZ Music, pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Lucky Stars 

Gear costume: Harbour Bridge (Warm Hand), Song For Sue (BNM)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Don McGlashan has become a legend in NZ music circles thanks to his seminal work in From Scratch, Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, Muttonbirds, and his solo career.

Sidebar: We are close in age (I'm two years older) and we attended Auckland University at the same time - we once shared a University of Auckland poetry course and on a weekend poetry retreat we had a difference of opinion about Dylan's Live at Budokan album (he liked it, I didn't). Now, here I am, casting willy nilly opinions about his own work. Funny old world innit.

Let's get to it shall we? 

Warm Hand was his first of four solo albums to date. It's a considered series of songs with a fairly consistent pace going on. 

His observational style of writing (something that kicked off in The Front Lawn) emerges as a strength again. Harbour Bridge is a fine example, but so is Courier. Great pedal steel from John Sergovia on those songs too. 

Second album - Marvellous Year, is with the band he assembled to tour behind Warm Hand - The Seven Sisters. It's a tougher sounding album, not as polite as Warm Hand, and I like it more for that reason. 

Lucky Stars is a great song and the album it houses is very assured. Don is well into his mature artist years by this time. For me, the first half of the album is stronger than the second.

No such issues with Bright November Morning. I've written about his latest solo album (and his best so far) on a sister blog - Destination Records. You can read the fulsome comments here.

Where do they all belong? I enjoy his solo albums more than his work in other bands for some reason. I'll be at the front of the queue for his next one.

Car headlights creep across the sea (The Mutton Birds) #500

The Mutton Birds She's Been Talking/ He Turned Around/ Inbetween Man (EMI, 1997)

Don McGlashan is the main man of The Mutton Birds. 

A talented musician - he's been in a few seminal N.Z. bands - Blam Blam Blam and Front Lawn. I especially liked the humour of Front Lawn - a kind of precursor to Flight Of The Conchords.

He's a nice guy too. He and I were once doing the same English papers at Auckland University back in the late 1970's, early 1980's.

She's Been Talking is a typical catchy Mutton Birds song and Don's distinctive tones are a lovely feature.

Hidden Gem: He Turned Around is absent from the parent album Envy Of Angels.