FOREVER AUTUMN

All the leaves are brown…

In the wake of the autumn equinox, it seems perfectly fitting to put together a compilation to reflect the change of seasons. I can’t lie, I dread autumn almost as much as winter – I’m certainly no fan of the dark nights or slowly encroaching cold, though I’m more than fond of the late September skies, the yellows, browns and reds of the fallen leaves and the rich vegetable bounty that hoves into the seasonal cook’s radar. It is time to get hearty in the kitchen, for heavy casseroles and stews, for a warming glug or three of Shiraz, a little candlelight, and some (mostly) melancholic sounds to match.

It’s easy to tie yourself up in all sorts of self-imposed knots when making a compilation – little rules start to form almost unconsciously (like setting the mood with a short instrumental, following it up with a big bang, sequencing the whole shebang as if it were a double album) and I’m guilty on all counts. Yet, as here, it’s sometimes better to ignore your own restrictions and mix it up a bit more. After much time-consuming dilly-dallying, this is my final selection: a beautifully symmetrical 20 tracks that squeeze, with seconds to spare, onto a single CD. Get burning…

1. FELT: AUTUMN

(The Final Resting Of The Ark, 1987)

Okay, guilty as charged – it’s a short mood-setting instrumental! Yet this brief peak into the singular talents of one Martin Duffy (later of Primal Scream) makes one wonder if he didn’t hitch a ride on the wrong wagon. There’s more of similar quality on Felt’s lounge classic Train Above The City but be warned: it’s an acquired taste.

2. DAVID SYLVIAN: SEPTEMBER

(Secrets Of The Beehive, 1987)

Definitely not a big bang! The former Japan leader whispers his way into his most pastoral offering with the gentlest words of longing: “We say we’re in love/While secretly wishing for rain/Sipping coke and playing games/September’s here again…”

3. THE YOUNG GODS: SEPTEMBER SONG

(The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill, 1991)

There’s so many versions of this Weill standard – from Sinatra to Bowie, James Brown to Lou Reed – but I favour the Swiss noiseniks brooding, ominous take, if only for the sheer depth charge of Franz Treichler’s guttural growl.

4. AIR: CHERRY BLOSSOM GIRL

(Talkie Walkie, 2004)

Just to leaven the dark early mood here’s a slight slice of gossamer pop from Godin and Dunckel – all surface prettiness, little depth, and a short ray of light from the imminent shade… 

5. RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS: SEPTEMBER

(Jacksonville City Nights, 2005)

… Which arrives fully formed in Adams’ haunting country refrain for a friend lost to suicide – one of his simplest and prettiest songs to date.

6. THE VINES: AUTUMN SHADE

(Highly Evolved, 2002)

The undoubted highlight of a vastly overrated debut album from the pen of tortured talent Craig Nicholls, Autumn Shade marries a sumptuous melody with some languorous guitar soloing, a cooing chorus and cinematic keys.

7. FIONA APPLE: PALE SEPTEMBER

(Tidal, 2000)

Recorded when Apple was a precocious 18-year-old, this haunting piano/cello/voice elegy to the changing seasons chimes with the times, and almost begs for a film noir video treatment.

8. THE WHITE STRIPES: DEAD LEAVES AND THE DIRTY GROUND

(White Blood Cells, 2001)

Time for the big bang – the Stripes three-chord paean to loneliness from their breakthrough album still sounds remarkably lean and keen. It’s a shame, then, that Jack White seems hell-bent on spreading his Midas touch thinner than a steamrollered Michael Winner.

9. EARTH WIND AND FIRE: SEPTEMBER

(I Am, 1978)

Back to the disco in gaudy hot pants for some galvanising grooves from Chicago’s foremost funkateers; Phil Bailey’s faultless falsetto urging us to dance our blues away. Er, only if we must.

10. JON HOPKINS: AUTUMN HILL

(Insides, 2009)

A brief but effortlessly charming instrumental to signal September’s end and a deeper immersion into autumn’s chilled charms.

11. THE THE: I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR TOMORROW (ALL OF MY LIFE)

(Soul Mining, 1983)

Slap-bass aside, much of Matt Johnson’s debut still sounds on the money. Self-laceration on wax, its opening lyrical gambit – “I’m hiding in the corner/Of an overgrown garden/Covering my body in leaves/And trying not to breathe” – seals autumn’s credentials as the season of doubt.

12. MALCOLM MIDDLETON: AUTUMN

(Into The Woods, 2005)
Said seeds of doubt are given a firm rebuke in two choice words of prime Anglo Saxon as Falkirk’s unsparing troubadour turns the changing times onto himself.

13. AMY WINEHOUSE: OCTOBER SONG

(Frank, 2003)

A pre-beehive, Blake and breakdowns Winehouse on a winning Salaam Remi produced jazz tip, tipping a nod on the way to vocal forbear Sarah Vaughan. 

14. YO LA TENGO: AUTUMN SWEATER

(I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, 1997)

Restrained atmospherics, bongos, and a heavy organ refrain bond this tale of longing and fine knitwear from Hoboken’s most prolific. And praise the lord it’s not got an Americanized (sic) title like, say, Fall Jersey.

15. GORILLAZ: NOVEMBER HAS COME

(Demon Days, 2005)

MF Doom – or DOOM as he now has it – is in the house. So more tricksy, almost impenetrable lyrical manoeuvres over the sparsest of Gorillaz beats, with Albarn chiming in on the choruses.

16. SIMON & GARFUNKEL: SCARBOROUGH FAIR

(Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, 1966)

Redolent of the season more than explicitly autumnal, Paul and Art’s update of the old Scottish ballad The Elfin Knight captures the pair at their harmonious prime, though is perhaps better digested as part of The Graduate.

17. MORRISSEY: NOVEMBER SPAWNED A MONSTER

(Bona Drag, 1990)

Difficult solo period Morrissey as he struggled to summon up a second album, November… still holds up better than his other singles of the time, its slightly contrived subject matter set into some relief by Mary Margaret O’Hara’s chilling cameo.

18. LAMBCHOP: AUTUMN’S VICAR

(Is A Woman, 2002)

Lovely, lilting obliqueness from Kurt Wagner’s growing brood, with sage advice for the squirrel population: “The nuts today you store could come handy in the future”.

19. SANDY DENNY: LATE NOVEMBER

(The North Star Grassman And The Ravens, 1971)

Denny’s star may have only shone fleetingly but it shone brightly, and this vulnerable opening track from her debut shows why she’s still revered way beyond folk rock circles.

20. MILES DAVIS: AUTUMN LEAVES

(The Best Of Miles Davis, 1992)

Like September Song there’s numerous takes on this French standard, from Piaf to Coldcut, yet it’s this restrained effort that captures its majesty the best. Davis recorded numerous versions – as a Blue Note single and on many live sets – so be careful you nab the right one or you’ll run out of spa…