The Bonus Track: Damon’s 'Song of a Gypsy', The Roots do Sesame Street and Nina Nesbitt

Caravan of love

You may think that the vault marked “Long Lost Psychedelic Classic” had been cleared out some years ago, but you’d be wrong. For here comes the first official release for Damon’s Song of a Gypsy, a record that has – in its original 1969 vinyl form – been known to change hands for up to $3,000 on eBay (only 500 were pressed).

Damon’s story is typical for those times: drugs, crime, spiritual redemption. The usual. None of which detracts from the music on Song of a Gypsy. Which is, as you’d expect, far out. The remastered album is released next month on Now Again but you can listen to “Don’t You Feel Me” here:

Everything’s a-ok

It’s more than a week old now and has been doing the rounds on the usual social-media suspects, but what’s the point of a column about fun things in the outer reaches of the musical stratosphere if you can’t just post a link to Jimmy Fallon, the Roots and the Sesame Street gang in this clip from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon chat show. Enjoy:

Watch this face

If you’re wondering who’s singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” on the John Lewis advert, it’s the half-Swedish, half-Scottish 19-year-old Nina Nesbitt. Nesbitt starts her UK tour at London’s Koko on Thursday and you can remind yourself of “Stay Out”, her hit from earlier this year here:

Dig this!

The big winners at last month’s Americana Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium were newcomers Shovels & Rope, who won Emerging Act and Song of the Year for “Birmingham”, which you can check out here:

Next week’s biggie …

Kevin Harley reviews Paul McCartney’s first album of new material in six years, New. Listen to the Mark Ronson-produced title track here.