| ALBUMS | |
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| SID017 - HOW DARK THIS EARTH WILL SHINE The Coal Porters | |
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1) Fair Play, Virginia 2) Yonder Over Canaan 3) Morning Song 4) June Apple Breakdown 5) No Tongue Can Tell 6) Leaves On The Trees 7) Maybe I'll Cry Tomorrow 8) Idiot Wind 9) Teenage Kicks/Old Joe Clark 10) Polly 11) New Cut Road |
| Available
Now! in shops and by mail
order (£10)
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| SID013 - THE CHRIS HILLMAN TRIBUTE CONCERTS The Coal Porters | |
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My Uncle/When The Ship Comes In/Summer Wind/Draft Morning/Older Guys/Time Between/Wheels/The Lost Highway/Sin City/Cody, Cody/Brand New Heartache/The Girl With No Name/I Am A Pilgrim/The Fallen Eagle/So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star?/You Ain't Goin' Nowhere |
| A fine tribute
album to one of the most important people in the development of folk-rock
and country-rock, Sid Griffin. No, we mean Chris Hillman! 16 great
songs from various stages of Chris Hillman's career recorded live
in the acoustic bluegrass style. Here is a review from the British
newspaper The Observer on Sunday 5th August, 2000: In the country-rock hall of honour, Gram Parsons and Roger McGuinn get the acolades ahead of their collaborator, Chris Hillman. Here, London's own piece of living Americana, Sid Griffin, balances up the dues with loving cover versions Hillman favourites such as the Burrito Brothers' 'Older Guys' and the Byrds' 'Draft Morning', all delivered live in acoustic bluegrass mode. The clucking banjos and fiddle relocate the songs from rock to the country tradition - beautifully so in the case of 'Sin City', though it's debatable whether 'So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star' needed the rustic treatment. |
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| SID008 - EP ROULETTE The Coal Porters | |
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Everything/Emily In Ginger/Who'll Stop The Rain/Help Me (remastered)/Don't Fence Me In/Me Here At Your Door (live) |
| This limited
edition six track CD EP contains two completely new songs; a new Cole
Porter cover; a live version of Me Here
At Your Door recorded direct to two-track
at BBC Radio Scotland in Glasgow; a track previously only available
on a Finnish John Fogerty tribute album; and a remastered version
of a Los London favourite. Expect to pay no more than £4.99
for this disc in the shops, or £4 by mail order. Unavailable
in Zimbabwe due to copyright restrictions. Go to the Emusic download page for tracks from this album.  |
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| SID004 - LOS LONDON The Coal Porters | |
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Me, Here At Your Door/Crackin' At The Seams/Chasing Rainbows/A Woman To Love/ Apple Tree/It Happened To Me/Santa Mira/After It's Broken/A Jacobite At Heart/Someone's Gonna Love You Too/Help Me/Ain't No Way I'll Be Your Cowboy |
| The second fab
and groovy full length release from the Coal Porters, including ten
Sid Griffin originals and a cover of a very rare Gram Parsons song,
Apple Tree,
previously recorded only by Johnny Rivers. Note:
this is electric rock & roll and not bluegrass! Guest artists
include Billy Bremner of Rockpile, John Bennett of the High Llamas
and ex-Freddy Fender drummer Gringo Starr. Go to the Emusic download page for tracks from this album. |
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| SID002 - LAND OF HOPE AND CROSBY The Coal Porters | |
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Imperial Beach/Death Like A Valentine/She Loved Me/What Am I Doin'(In This Thing Called Love)/How Did We Get This Far?/You Can See Them There/Windy City/Playing Dumb #1/ Everybody's Fault But Mine/What About Tomorrow?/All The Colors Of The World |
| First full length
release from the Coal Porters. Features ex-Long Ryders Sid Griffin
and Greg Sowders with lead guitarist Billy Bremner (ex-Rockpile),
Chris Cacavas on keyboards (ex-Green On Red), drumming by Gringo Starr
and a special appearance on woodwinds by Kate St. John of Dream Academy
& Van Morrison fame. It was awarded 4 stars in Q and chosen by
Brum Beat
as one of the best albums of 1994. Go to the Emusic download page for tracks from this album. |
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| RUB17/RUBV17 - REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE The Coal Porters | |
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Roll Columbia Roll/I Tell Her All The Time/ The Light That Shines Within/Rhythm And Blue Angel/Stealin' Horses/Sittin' In An Isle Of Palms (live BBC rec)/Stuck On An Island/The John F. Kennedy Blues (live)/The March Of The Tapdancin' Rats |
| The first Coal
Porters release, available as an Australian vinyl 12" EP on Rubber
Records containing the first five tracks only, or as a full length
UK album on Utility Records. (Note: keyboardist
Andy Kaulkin, second from left on front cover, is now the head of
super hip record labels Anti and Epitaph Records in Los Angeles.)
Go to the Emusic download page for tracks from this album.
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| APPEARANCES ON SINGLES AND
COMPILATION ALBUMS Listed in reverse chronological order: |
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| Idiot Wind - The Coal Porters | |
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An Uncut magazine fifteen track release entitled Tracks Inspired By Bob Dylan features The Coal Porters' version of Dylan's Blood On The Tracks classic and was taken from the Coal Porters' album How Dark This Earth Will Shine. Available to British consumers who purchased Uncut in December 2004 this is one of two Dylan-themed CDs Uncut attached to the then current issue, the other being Tracks Which Influenced Bob Dylan. However only Tracks Inspired By Bob Dylan has any Coal Porters involvement although Sid's friends Billy Bragg and Robyn Hitchcock are found on it as well. |
| Tracks Inspired By Bob Dylan (Uncut 2005 01-B) | |
| Older Guys - The Coal Porters | |
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"While the film is a disappointment, giving a very distorted version of the events of Gram's body being stolen by Phil Kaufman, the soundtrack to Grand Theft Parsons is a joy. And while the Coal Porters version of "Older Guys" was neither in the movie nor inspired by it (being recorded several years earlier) nonetheless it sound great in such august company; an uptempo, vibrant version of a great song. Also on the soundtrack are Starsailor, R&B great Eddie Floyd, Primal Scream, Gillian Welch, Wilco, Rory Gallagher, Evan Dando, the Flying Burrito Brothers and yes, Gram too." Eddie Ashworth in Cinematic & Arts Review |
| Grand Theft Parsons: Music From & Inspired by the Motion Picture, Cube Soundtracks FlyCub20106 | |
| I Am A Pilgrim - The Coal Porters | |
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A collection of 19 tracks inspired by The Byrds and featuring I Am A Pilgrim originally found on The Chris Hillman Tribute Concerts. Other artists include Roger McGuinn with Crowded House, the Cosmic Rough Riders and Blue Oyster Cult. |
| Eight Miles High: 19 Tracks Inspired by The Byrds, Uncut 2003 08 |
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| Take My Name - The Coal Porters | |
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An exclusive release of a new recording of a great song co-written by Sid Griffin and Greg Trooper on this Spanish compilation of 23 rocking pop tracks by bands based all over Europe. Well worth hunting down...get on eBay now! |
| The Bam Balam Explosion Vol. VI, Bam Balam Records BBR008 | |
| The Rate Of Exchange - The Coal Porters | |
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A full-on rocking electric band version of this song which was first featured acoustically on Little Victories is included on this compilation of alt-country styled acts spawned by the Postcard 2 internet mailing list to coincide with Twangfest '99. As rockin' a track as Sid has ever recorded and now their ex-bass player, a convicted felon, informs us Prima sent the wrong mix in of the track and that the best version is still in the Prima vaults! |
| Edges From The Postcard 3, Hayden's Ferry Records 99042 | |
| Ohio - The Coal Porters | |
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First released on cassette only, Ohio is also included on this 37 track 2CD Neil Young tribute compiled by Jos Starmans of Neil Young's Dutch fan club and released in April 1999. Only available via eBay or if you know Jos personally. |
| This Note's For You Too!, Inbetweens Records IRCD004 (2CD) | |
| Six Days On The Road - The Coal Porters | |
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This is a 24 track CD or 25 track double vinyl compilation of modern rocking country acts. Other featured artists include The V-Roys, Chris Cacavas, The Beat Farmers and Mojo Nixon and Jello Biafra. Full details can be found at the Vinyl Junkie web site. The Coal Porters track is unavailable elsewhere (thank God too, as Sid doesn't like the recording). |
| Cowpunks, Vinyl Junkie VJCD002 (CD)(also available as 2 x LP) | |
| Roll Columbia Roll - The Coal Porters | |
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The Rebels Without Applause track is included on this compilation of acts who have appeared at the now-defunct "The Weavers" pub in North London and fit into the category of rootsy country Americana. Eighteen artists are featured, including Wes McGhee, Cathryn Craig, John Stewart and Katy Moffat. |
| Get Weaving Volume 3 - Country and Americana, Weaving Records GWCD 006 (CD) | |
| Who'll Stop The Rain - The Coal Porters | |
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A version of the Creedance Clearwater Revival hit contributed to this John Fogerty tribute album compiled by Rubber Rabbit Rock'n'Roll Records from Finland. (Sid has a huge following in Finland, much bigger than Fogerty's or CCR.) This track is now also available on the Coal Porters' EP Roulette. |
| John Fogerty: Wrote a Song for Everyone, Rubber Rabbit Rock'N'Roll Records 5R00196 (CD) | |
| The Light That Shines Within - The Coal Porters | |
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An acoustic version performed live by Sid and John Bennett, who went on to the High Llamas before retiring to run a computer repair shop in Essex, on Dutch radio, 11th Dec. 1994. Only available here. |
| Sunday Morning Sessions, Munich Records MRCD 176 (CD) | |
| Ohio - The Coal Porters | |
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A Neil Young cover contributed to a covers cassette compiled by the Dutch Neil Young fan club. Also features Prisoners Of Rock'n'Roll by the Long Ryders (taken from Metallic B.O.) and Walk On by Gutterball, who included ex-Long Ryder Stephen McCarthy. This track was later released on a CD compilation. Or look for Jos Starman. |
| Neil Young Under Cover | |
| November Nights - The Coal Porters | |
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A version of a rarely heard Gram Parsons song contributed to this tribute album, released in 1993. The album also features Stephen McCarthy's very fine One Hundred Years From Now. Only available via eBay it seems but it is worth noting Rolling Stone in the States made special mention of this track in their review of the album. |
| Conmemorativo - A Tribute To Gram Parsons, Rhino Records R2 71269 (US), Cylops/Polygram (Europe) (CD) | |
| Hot Child In The City - The Coal Porters | |
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A version of the Nick Gilder song, contributed to an album of 70s covers compiled by Pravda Records of Chicago. Nick Gilder...a nice guy Sid used to see in L.A. in the late 1970s all the time...call home, Nick, we miss you! |
| 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!, Pravda Records PR6342 (CD) | |
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Also included on 20 Supersonic Mega
Exposive Hits!, Runt Records RUNT04 (CD) An Italian compilation of tracks from Pravda Records' K-Tel style collections. The Coal Porters' Nick Gilder cover is on it. |
| Crackin' At The Seams - The Coal Porters | |
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The first appearance of this track, later overdubbed and remixed for Los London, on this collection of bands from the Los Angeles area. This early version is only available herein. A fine CD it is! That is NOT Sid's Mom & Dad on the CD cover. |
| A Town South Of Bakersfield Vol.3, Restless Records 72592-2(CD) | |
| I Tell Her All The Time - The Coal Porters | |
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The same version as appears on Rebels Without Applause found here on a CD given free with BigO magazine, which is based in Singapore, in 1993. |
| Death Valley 92328, Big O CD9304 (CD) | |
| Sittin' In An Isle Of Palms - The Coal Porters | |
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A studio version of the track from Rebels, given free with issue 12 of a German magazine called Howl. |
| Rebels HOWL12 (7" single) | |
| Watching Bluegrass Burn - The Coal Porters | |
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A single given free with the double issue 39/40 of Bucketful Of Brains in March 1992. The other side of this record features REM performing a cover of Mission Of Burma's Academy Fight Song. Apparently this 7" vinyl single did over ten thousand copies! Sid's friends called this photo of him "the David Cassidy look". |
| BOB32 (7"single) | |
| All The Arms We Need - The Coal Porters | |
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Free single with issue 13 of Lemon magazine of Australia in 1992. |
| APP005 (7" single) | |
