Saturday, June 20, 2009

Jesse Rae - The Thistle


Here is the only album by funky Scotsman Jesse Rae (not to be confused with Oregon "roots pop with a blues edge" band Jessie Rae; why they would choose a name that is so close to an established musician's is a mystery to me). Wikipedia says:
Jesse Rae is a Scottish singer from St Boswells,[1] who is particularly remembered for his single "Over the Sea", which reached number 65 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985.[2][3] The video for the single – which features a kilted, helmeted, claymore-brandishing Rae in both New York City and the Scottish Highlands – won a Vira award.[4] An album entitled The Thistle was released in 1987 on WEA but failed to chart. As a songwriter, he is also remembered for the 1982 Odyssey hit single, "Inside Out".[5][6] In 2007, he stood for the Scottish Parliament as an independent in the Scottish Borders electoral constituency of Roxburgh and Berwickshire.[7] He
gained 318 votes for a 1.2% share of the vote.[8]

The opening track is Rae's own recording of his hit for Odyssey, "Inside Out". What the article doesn't mention is the funk pedigree of The Thistle: it was produced by Zapp leader Roger Troutman, who also plays on most of the songs, and his brother Lester plays drums or percussion on about half of the tracks. As if that weren't enough, Funkateer Bernie Worrell plays on five tracks, and P-Funk guitarist Michael Hampton puts in a couple of appearances as well. That said, the album is definitely a product of the 80s, and while it's among the best of 80s pop-funk, it's not exactly timeless. But it's got plenty of good licks, and the thickest Scottish brogue you will ever hear on a funk record. Get the vinyl rip here or here, and check out the videos below. Oh, and about the outfit: Rae "rarely appears in public without his steel helmet and full Scottish garb."



17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. Haven't heard it in 20 years. I need to hunt down a copy of It's Just The Dog In Me now.

Eric.

Fantod said...

You're welcome. I'm taking a bit of a break right now, but in a week or two I'll post some Jesse Rae 12-inches.

F

hayley said...

i love that jesse rae only wears that outfit! hilarious

La Ci said...

Hi

I hope you'll check out my new single FUZE

we are getting lots of hits on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55o3lQb3wSU


if you need more info on me there's also

www.La-Ci.com

thanks

Anonymous said...

I am from scotland and this guy is a national embarrasment

Dan The Man said...

hey! he worked with Bernie Worrell and Roger so he's cool in my book! I'm gonna track this LP down (is it on Amazon?).

Anonymous said...

jesse rae and the thistles are playing new soul city live at the ironworks in inverness on friday the 26th of march. everybody welcome.

Anonymous said...

Hi, the Thistle is not his only album - I have one here entitled Compression

ralphy t said...

Jesse, i played in your band in 1990.Taught me a lot. Good to see you're gigging again.

diamonddave said...

Hi, I maybe missing something here, as I'd love to d/l this LP - over the sea was a classic (I had it in pic disc) - but how do I d/l it. I can;t seem to find the link?
Thanks

Fantod said...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SD0ZIJIS

the vapours said...

Hey Anon. Your spelling is a national embarrassment...

x

Dave Turner said...

Jesse has also released "The Best O'" and "Funk Warrior" CDs and "The Thistle" will be reissued this year as a double CD set, with many unreleased songs and version. I should know, I'm the executive producer on all these albums!

lucio said...

can you repost the link please, even though i try to get to the album is no edited in argentina and no delivery either on ebay of vynil down here, so pretty much imposible to get it, thanks

Unknown said...

Both CDs are available via Amazon uk and The Thistle should be out in March as a 2CD set!

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