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Not Quite the American Dream

by Diesel Park West

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    Leicester England's Diesel Park West has been cranking out stellar, topical rock'n'roll since their debut, Shakespeare Alabama, from 1989. The band's latest effort, Not Quite the American Dream, was made during the lockdown of 2020 and explores more thought provoking avenues all put to sturdy rhythms and hung on superb melodies. "Secondary Modern Man" is the best song Kinks song Ray Davies never wrote and "Best of You" could quite possibly make Paul Weller bristle with jealousy. If you are at all interested in classic British rock'n'roll with a little bit of social commentary thrown in the mix, this is the record for YOU.

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1.
Best of You 03:58
I’’m only eighteen and I work in a bar I’m learning to smoke and play guitar I’ve got a degree in la la la la la There’s some over thirty seem old and uncertain While others are happy to have gotten this far Car share house share car Well there you are Yeah, I’m rushing around with my head in a cloud How do you do? I’m gonna make it all come true Ah, look out kid I know where you are but That’s when they take the best of you I feel fine and the future's mine Well you know it is Or at least it's mine to loose Didn’t you have that too? Ah come on you know you did Ah you’re rushing around with you’re feet off the ground And you’re gonna make a dream come true? Ah look out kid I know you are but That’s when they take the best of you Yeah they take the best of you Yeah I’m sliding around And who knows Anything goes I might do a protest or two Ah look out kid I know how you feel I know the deal But that’s when they take the best of you No no no no no This cant be true Yes it is Ah they take the best of you Yeah they take the best of you No no no no no This cant be true ‘Fraid it is They take the best of you No no no no no No no no no no This can't be true No no no no no No no no no no This cant be true They take the best of you When you’re sleeping When you’re not looking
2.
Young lives, striped ties, break time come get knocked down straight back up Always something more to learn and see fuelled by intellectual curiosity Cos I needed to know exactly what was happening I wanted to know so’s I could make a plan I needed it bad now I’m a secondary modern man With just enough to make an impression Just enough like a line in the sand Just enough for a secondary modern man A bird in the hand worth three in the bush Well one on the floor and two in the shrub Now I’ve even forgotten what I didn’t know It's easy come but it's easier to go And I needed to learn about creatures and kingdoms I wanted to suss politics and faith I needed it bad but all they ever really gave was Just enough lucid conversation just enough clarity Just enough yeah always just enough for me I couldn’t think of anything better to do When my baby said "well why don’t you just rock n roll you?" Oh just enough Give us a shot of sincerity cos when you look down your nose we bare our teeth Just enough dangle of a promise Just enough charged battery Just enough temptation and fruit on the tree Just enough to keep me at the coalface Just enough to tie me to the lathe Just enough to keep me fed and afraid oh God help us Just enough to recognise my background Not quite the American dream Just enough was always just enough for me Yeah just enough to make an impression Just enough like a line in the sand Just enough now I’m a secondary modern man
3.
Justify justify means justify the end Get away with anything, live to tell the tale You can even hit on me I will not defend It’s the green not the principle That swings it in the end In the end you’lll grow to believe it And then you’ll be strong and free Justify means justify justify the end You can reach infinity Call everyone your friend Don’t feel nothing feel like running Feel like getting out Been so long on the treadmill Crowded out by doubt All the martyred handwringers Practitioners of sound Really don’t care ‘bout me And wish that I’d check out Of their lives that used to be so ordered Like their wives so fragrant, neat, and trim Box of air ain't really like the bbc Just another illusion made flesh for she and he I have never been the same since what they did to me There’s a cold case on the file lets open it and see What it is oh that they hold against me What they have but don’t want me to see Justify means justify means justify the end Get away with anything and rise another day Justify means justify means justify the end Re-write history keep the mystery Tell them you’re for sale Justify means justify, justify the end Surrender shuffle on the double live to tell the tale Justify means justify, justify the end Surrender shuffle on the double live to tell the tale
4.
Hey baby don’t you mention the war Hey don’t talk about no more Yeah it was a real hard time And it's not too far down the line at all So don’t bring it up no more Hey, don’t you want our seed to grow? Well we’ve both done stuff I know I can't sift it out The good the bad nor the fall out no more Just don’t mention the war Yeah it was a real hard time And not too far down the line at all But don’t bring it up no more Yeah see your light down low I can see that, that distant glow Ah such a welcome sight Leading straight to you’re door Just don’t mention the war
5.
Even in a drought it rains on me I want coffee and get served tea Optimism’s a fallacy I get freaked out constantly Hey you, sacrifice Hey you, get back in line Hey you, sacrifices if we make any more we’re gonna need a license If I was a priest it’d be part of the job but I’m a neo-lazy slob Curtains drawn, TV on Afternoon ‘n spliff lit up Ah hey, you sacrifices Hey you, we’re gonna whip your hide Hey you, sacrifices? We make any more we’re going to need a license Monopoly all rights reserved You keep silent you keep you’re job I’m the swirling mass of society So much to say but I’ll keep it brief Whereas you’re Mama Whereas you’re Mama Whereas you’re Mama Whereas you’re Mama Whereas you’re Mama gone? Ah now why’s it always the ones who don’t? Who set the rules that make the most? Not like poor old David Stubbs who aint been paid for a single book Hey you, sacrifices Hey you, keep on trying Hey you, sacrifices if we make any more we’re gonna need a license I’m the last one here The last redoubt I’m still standing I can't get out Look out now Hey you, sacrifice Hey, what you talking about? Hey you, sacrifices we make any more we’re gonna need a license Hey you, sacrifices What you talking about Hey you, sacrifices? If we make any more we’re gonna need a license
6.
Peace March 03:58
Meet me by the marble statue gates where we will be safe We can catch up later with something to eat I know a place But I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again No I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again Again...Again Hear what I say You’re so full of virtue you can’t walk it's complicated Believing things to set your conscience straight But only pretending I dont need to show my credentials to the gathering No, I don’t want my face in no Guardian Hear what I say Again...Again...Again It's all just play I don’t wanna show my credentials to the gathering I don’t wanna walk in youre peace march again No I don’t wanna hold a sign saying "look at me” I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again A bottle of wine to loosen the anarchy you’re sure is inside me But I don’t want a place in your peace march again No I don’t wanna hold a sign saying “look at me" Oh I don’t wanna stop the city from working I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again No, I don’t want a place in your peace march again I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again Again...Again...Again Hear what I say Where's your daddy? Where's your four by four? Bet you didn’t walk But Colin and Lorraine both gotta catch the train Got a mortgage and don’t notice their lives Got a mortgage and don’t notice their lives slipping away I don’t wanna walk in your peace march again Again...Again...Again Hear what I say Again...Again...Again Hear what I say I don’t want a view from your peace march again Until I choose Until I choose Yeah, until I choose Until I choose
7.
I’ve got a woman I can spend my time with most of the day most of the day I know someone I can spend my head with all day Yeah, most of the day When she get here I don’t feel frightened I don’t feel hungry I feel enlightened I feel ok Not the least uptight And every day Ain't just survival Oh oh can’t just give it away Oh oh can’t just give it away I’ll regret it if I did some day I got a woman I can roll the dice with all day All day I got a woman I can spin the wheel with All ways all ways When she get here I don’t feel frightened I don’t feel hungry I feel enlightened I feel ok Not the least uptight And every day Aint just survival Ah oh can’t just give it away Ah oh can’t just give it away Ah huh can’t just give it away I’ll regret it if I did some day I know someone I can fly like a bird with all day Yeah all day I know someone to celebrate with most of the day Yeah, all of the day When she get here I don’t feel frightened I feel ok Not the least uptight I don’t feel married I got no rival And every day ain't just survival Ah oh can’t just give it away I’ll regret it if I did some day I’ll regret it if I did some day Ah oh can’t just give it away I’ll regret it if I did some day I’ve got a woman I’ve found my song with most of the day
8.
Hello little dreamers you’ve woken up Now you drink from a political cup Tasting the truth as you sup But I’m still here still watching you move I think what you want is lunch on the moon Yeah, lunch on the moon Lunch on the moon We all want lunch on the moon And why don’t we sing this song forever? Lunch on the moon Yeah, lunch on the moon Well we all want lunch on the moon Yeah, grass is blue and the earth is a cone You want revolution from you’re comfort zone huh? You want lunch on the moon You wanna change the world Well, good luck with that You’ve got no idea but you’re full of it You don’t know nothing You just suck it up And the grass is blue, yeah, the earth is a cone You want revolution from you’re comfort zone You want, you want lunch on the moon We all want Lunch on the moon Lunch on the moon Lunch on the moon We all want Lunch on the moon Pie in the sky We all want We all want
9.
Sometimes it makes no difference You’ve got nothing or you have it all You’ll wake up one cold morning Blocking up the hall Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Sometimes it makes no difference Where the four winds blow Stars shatter when they fall, don’t they? That’s all you need to know Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all come round As the door opens Let another one close Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Sometimes it makes no difference If you’ve signed in blood A lifetime lived together Then a hole where your best friend stood Round and round and round we go And yeah it all comes round Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Understand it all comes round Round and round and round you go No matter who you are Keep on the track Keep on the track Keep on the track Cos it all comes round Sometimes it makes no difference Where the four winds blow Stars shatter when they fall don’t they? That’s all you need to know
10.
All that’s sacred all that’s good All that learning from the neighbourhood Blazing rows solid vows Count for nothing now Rip your heart out Cover your face Sell your car Trade your place Don’t sing no more Don't roll the drum Wake up lonely if you want Yeah, leave the lights on in the day Might as well cos it's gone away Gone gone gone Yeah, it's gone gone gone The party's over Bread's gone stale Pockets are empty Even nature's failed Lord gimmie protection From the dusty haze In the year without days No one to follow or repair the roof You know I might be the living The living proof Of twilight child raised like a god Well we all were really Those who’d never had it so good Yeah, the party's over gone for good Yeah, gone gone gone Gone gone gone And I wish I’d never loved no one but you you you Yeah you you you Yeah I wish I’d never loved no one but you but you Yeah you What about faith? Gone What about family? Gone What about trust? Gone What about knowledge? Gone What about opinion? Gone Speaking without fear? Gone What about The Beatles? Ah, you needed more than love But it's gone gone gone Yeah, gone gone gone And I wish I’d never loved no one but you but you but you Yeah I wish I’d never loved no one but you but you but you Gone gone gone
11.
I’m living on cliché It's like the junk food blues Somebody’s parking Is spoiling my view But as long as they’re happy well that’s ok As long as they’re happy well that’s ok As long as they’re happy We get one shot of physical One shot of spiritual One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away It's all in the air Yeah, all in contention Billy Bragg is gonna give us direction as long as he's happy that’s ok As long as he's happy that’s ok cos we get One shot of spiritual One shot of physical One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away Are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? Oh yeah……yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah ah na na na na na how about you? We get one shot of spiritual One shot of physical One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away Runaway father Had to let them go Couldn’t believe no more in a happy home Politician out on campaign Doesn’t really believe a word he says But as long as he's happy Well, that’s ok Well, that’s ok As long as he's happy cos we get One shot of spiritual One shot of physical One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away We get One shot One shot Before they come and take us away Take us away Take us away One shot of happiness One shot of happiness One shot of happiness Just a one shot of happiness One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away One shot of happiness Before they come and take us away One shot of happiness One shot of happiness One shot of happiness One shot of happiness One shot of happiness One shot of Happiness
12.
If I had yesterday we’d have more time to play but I am fifty eight years away from you I’m gonna set you up to make your own and catch the wind that will take you where it's good to be Though you can always say ”je parle francais" I learned it long ago someone taught me what he knew Just as time fades and stories become real Life stays the same but with a different feel Now you’ll appreciate old things as well as new things Strength to carry burden cos nothing is for certain I’l watch over you for all eternity that much I guarantee You see a light? It may be me If I had yesterday we'd have more time to play but the candle burns just one way Oh, if I had yesterday That’s it for today lets put those things away that was a real good game, disputed penalties Such a sunny day look it’s such a sunny day Such a sunny day in underrated autumn Such a sunny day, such a sunny day How many did you see? You know those swans on the water If I had yesterday we'd have more time to play but I am fifty eight years away from you

about

What a long, strange trip it’s been. Thirty-three years after their debut album Shakespeare Alabama introduced a sparkling new talent, Diesel Park West are back with a new album. Not Quite the American Dream, their first album since 2019’s Let It Melt and their 10th in all, finds the band in top form. It sends a clear message that Diesel Park West is not only alive and kicking but thriving artistically.
Back in the day the ever-burgeoning American fanbase took to the Diesel's brand of melodic jangle. When the Hoodoo Comes received plenty of airwaves time on American alternative radio stations coast to coast. Back home in Britain even the most popular national station, Radio 2, initially fell in love with them: “It threw a curveball and we weren’t expecting that,” chuckles Butler. “It was such fun to watch.” Shakespeare Alabama went on to sell about 150,000 copies driven largely by American record sales. But the band was never able to capitalize on those sales in the UK and as the major label system crumbled and grunge rolled into dominating America, Diesel Park West's commercial prospects diminished. They were bounced from Parlophone to Ryko and then into DIY land.
“Why are we still here?” questions John Butler, leader, songwriter and only member to have lasted the course since they formed in 1980 as The Filberts. “I’m still driven by the desire to write and you know what? It gets easier - the songs just keep falling out of me. And there’s more...We’ll turn up at rehearsal, wired, knackered and pissed off but when we start playing, within a few minutes it feels like we’re the greatest band in the world. That’s why we’re still here!”
By any reasonable yardstick, Not Quite the American Dream isn’t merely a great Diesel Park West album, it’s a great album. All twelve songs are solidly memorable with hooks abounding. Let It Melt – their first full length recording in seven years - was a reminder of Diesel Park West’s core strengths: classic songwriting in the rich vein of Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, Gene Clark and the Byrds but underpinned by a love for ferocious rock’n’roll and a knack for the socially conscious lyric. But Butler, already a master craftsman, ups his game a notch further on this latest offering.
The album was recorded at D-line Studios in the band's native Leicester during March-April and October-November of 2020 but the Covid pandemic brought restrictions and Butler was forced to emerge as the primary guitarist in a band that once featured no less than three (two of them left handed!). His knack for economical guitar melodies makes one harken back to the days of the late James Honeyman-Scott (Pretenders). Check Best of You and Secondary Modern Man for proof. Although the record was recorded in the UK it was finished in, of all places, Texas. That's where Salim Nourallah and John Dufilho (Deathray Davies/Apples in Stereo) completed tracking and mixing. So, why Texas? Butler says, "Well, why the fuck not? The whole world could do with being a bit "Texas " right now. Maybe that's why so many people are heading there now from the coasts." Nourallah adds, "Texas because I've been a fan since I saw them play the Marquee in New York City in 1992 and I wanted to do my best to help make a record that gets them some of the attention they so greatly deserve."
Despite the band's ties to the US, not only in the form of musical influences and a record label that has backed their creative resurgence, Not Quite the American Dream is quintessentially British with its Leicester street scene cover and socially conscious songs. Narratives found within its grooves ultimately question Butler's place not only in working-class culture but also as an unsung underdog in the pantheon of classic English writers. "The inspiration came via that first Covid year which ironically was a fantastic summer in England. I was playing guitar, putting stuff down, writing lyrics in the sunshine with a backdrop of unprecedented news..." Gone Gone Gone sums it all up succinctly: "The party's over, bread's gone stale/pockets are empty, even nature's failed/Lord give me protection from the dusty haze in the year without days..." Butler had the time and solitude to reflect and write and he put that time to good use. Secondary Modern Man is perhaps one of his most telling reflections and also the best Kinks song Ray Davies never wrote. Butler’s autobiographical take on the postwar British education system bobs along to an ebullient melody and rollicking drumbeat. Secondary modern school was where the eleven year olds with "no credible future" were sent. John Butler was one of those kids. What the system offered was: "Just enough to keep me at the coalface/just enough to tie me to the lathe /just enough to keep me fed and afraid/just enough to recognise my background, not quite the American dream..."
Don't Mention The War coins an expression which originates from English sensitivity toward Germany and puts it to a swinging T-Rex meets the Stones beat. "Its origins are actually semi-comedic, especially how "hurt feelings" is not a trait associated with our neighbors over the North Sea. However, as far as the song goes, I've used it as a metaphor for getting it together with an ex or an off-on fractious relationship."
The deceptively jaunty Surrender Shuffle takes up the autobiographical theme again with a few of Butler's best barbs thrown in for good measure. "It’s the green, not the principle, that swings it in the end." With so many years fighting to survive in the cut-throat business of music Butler's experiences run deep. "I couldn’t possibly have written this 25 years ago."
Both the wry Lunch On The Moon, with its punchy chorus and psychedelic ending, and Peace March, which harkens to some of the great Who singles, are the work of a man who will not surrender his creative individuality. But perhaps the most startling departure is the album closer, If I Had Yesterday. Unusually for Butler, it’s deeply personal, a love letter packed with wisdom to one of his grandchildren. "Even now I can hardly listen to it because it’s almost intruding on my own emotions." There’s more of course and as with most great albums, you’ll have a new favorite after every play. None of this should be a surprise: Diesel Park West Have been making timeless music for decades.
Martin Collomon, designer of the earliest DPW singles had this to say about the band's origins: "Balfe (head of Food records) needed a new name for this band and asked me for suggestions. I took out a sheet of A4 paper and drew three columns on it. In each column I put in words I liked. I told Balfe to pick one from each column. He did. The three words were Diesel, Park and West...in that order." Back in the beginning Butler used to say Diesel stood for power, Park for the band’s more bucolic aspects and West for their American inspirations. But in 2022 he says, “Those three words have been an intrinsic part of my own and other people's trip since 1987, they've become a life force all on their own. They no longer mean what they once did. In 2022, it’s a mantra. We haven’t got a huge back catalogue of hits, but we’re still here...perhaps because we haven’t had those hits!"
When asked, "What's next?" Butler retorts, "Who can tell but what I'd like to happen is that this unit, this band named after dirty fuel a place of relaxation and a point on the compass has recognition enough to display it's wares and performance abilities to those who think the vapid rock on display these days is as good as it gets. People NEED us...some just don't know they do yet and I aim to change that."

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released May 6, 2022

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PSR Music Group Dallas, Texas

We used to be Palo Santo but now we're Happiness under the PSR music Group. Salim Nourallah and Alex Dezen run this thing so you can have an option for music that doesn't involve the Sony Music Group.

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