The Saturday List #460 - My top ten songs with amazing brass arrangements

 As we count down to The False Dots album launch at The Dublin Castle, Camden on Sunday the 17th November at 2pm, we will be looking at all things musical over the next couple of weeks. I thought I'd start with some brass. There is a reason we are starting with my favourite brass arrangements. Last year, Tom Hammond, an amazing trumpet player joined the band. Tom only features on one track on the album as it was largely recorded before he joined the band, but he has transformed our sound and he is an intrinsic part of our sound now. I never really listend too much to the brass before Tom joined. I have had an education. This week we've been recording tracks for our 2nd album and I am absolutely chuffed with the what we have done. Anyway it inspired me to put this list together. Now these songs are a personal choice. I am sure there are far better, but for me these really do it.

1. Save me by The Saints. Aussie proto punks third album "Prehistoric Sounds" has some amazing brass as the band not only developed beyond three chord guitar thrashes. This really inspired me. It is a cover of an Aretha Franklin song. I love Aretha's version as well, but this was such a massive part of my journey that I have to have it here. 

2. A message to you Rudy by The Specials. I've spoken many times about the huge impact The Specials had on me. I really didn't know which Specials song to pick, it could be any, but this one has such a lively skank, which the brass is intrinsic to, so I went for this one. I am of the opinion that The Trombone was invented by God solely for Ska music and it's the only genre where it really works.

3. Night Boat to Cairo by Madness. IF you've ever seen Madness or been in a disco when this is played, you will get this choice. I am biased as Lee Thompson is a mate, but I loved it even before he was. 

4. Higher by Sly and The Family Stone. I first discoverd them when I watched Woodstock the movie at The Scala in 1979, in a haze of smoke. I was a punk, I wasn't interested in Soul music. Then this came on. I've seen the band a few times, they are the best live act on the planet, with the possible exception of the Ramones. The brass section in this is absolutely impecabble.

5. Torch by Soft Cell. I am not sure if it's a sax or a keyboard sounding like a sax, but the brass line in this is amazing. I always had a soft spot for the band following their take on Tainted love. 

6. Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. No credible list could leave this out. Such a great groove.

7. Reward by The Teardrop Explodes. Julian Cope is a genius. I saw the band at its peak at The Lyceum.

 I'd not seen too many bands with brass sections at the time. This was an amazing night. Oddly, the main reason I went was because I liked Manicured Noise. I'd not seen any of the top three bands, who were all brilliant, but as I recall The Teardrop Explodes stole the show. 

Reward is such a good song and I find it strange how the band are more or less forgotten. 

8. Ali Baba - John Holt. Perhaps the greatest ska brass arangement of all time.  It is a quite unearthly sound, it transports you to that carpet floating above the desert. I am a massive fan of the way Ska bands use brass and this is one of the finest example of the way you can really use brass to push the dynamic of a song. 

9. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and The Comets. This is the track that started the whole rock and roll thing. It is amazing to think that when the film came out, Teddy Boys smashed up the Hendon Odeon, an outrage that was on the front page of the Daily Mirror. 

10. We all love a party by The False Dots. As it's my list, I had to choose this one. Plenty of songs by The False Dots had brass arrangements previously, but I'd never got involved. This was the first one which I had a major input into. Most of the work was done by myself, Tom and Fil, sorting out lines and refining them. I think it's a pretty good arrangement.