Terry Reid at Cluny 2, Newcastle

Last night I made what has become in recent years, something of an annual outing, to see the legend that is Terry Reid. The venue was the intimate Cluny 2 on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The audience were enthusiastic and Terry seemed genuinely pleased and even visibly moved to be back, supported as always in these parts by some of his County Durham family members.

In my view, the thing about Terry Reid has always been his incredible voice but I have to confess that in the past two years, I have witnessed a deterioration in his vocal range which somewhat limited my own personal enjoyment of this year's event. Nevertheless he is never anything but entertaining as in between songs, he regales us with stories of his many and varied experiences since embarking on the journey as a rock musician when he was a mere 15 years old.

I referred in a previous post of his tendency to name-drop yet to Terry himself it is no such thing. The names he drops into his stories are (or in some cases were) genuine friends. So among those who got a mention last night were Robert Plant, Graham Nash, Richie Havens, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Jack Nicholson and even Tommy Cooper. All of his tales appear to be ad-libbed and are delivered in the eccentric way that only Terry Reid can. The guy certainly has a way of connecting with his audience and consequently those around me lapped it up. I noticed also that there were a fair number of shall I say younger people scattered among the crowd possibly a consequence of Reid's recent collaborations with Rumer, Michael Grimm and DJ Shadow. Bringing the back catalogue of Terry Reid's work to a younger audience surely cannot be a bad thing.

Perhaps there has been a shift in the raison d'etre for seeing Terry Reid live these days and people are attending as much for the storytelling anecdotes as they are for the music. If so, maybe I need to make that adjustment if I intend to see him live again next year. 

Regarding the music, Reid played a mixture of covers by Brian Wilson, Marty Robbins, The Louvin Brothers, interspersed with his own 'To Be Treated Rite', 'Without Expression',  'Brave Awakwening', 'Seed Of Memory' and a rare outing for 'Rogue Waves'.

Something that should appeal to those who relish hearing his tales of life in the rock'n'roll fast lane, was the news that a documentary on his career is currently being filmed. I must confess that I will be looking forward to that being broadcast.

So in my view last night was a bit of a mixed bag, which you could say sums up the life and career of Mr Reid. Nevertheless I have since found myself humming strains of 'Seed of Memory'. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Stairway to Heaven - A Rip Off Or Not?

About a year ago I posted comments about a Michael Chapman gig I attended at which he claimed that Led Zeppelin ripped off his guitar part from 'Kodak Ghosts' and used it to open their own 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's a nice story and while Chapman may harbour some resentment about the amount of cash Zeppelin made from that song (over £300m to date), he appeared pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

On the other hand US lawyers acting on behalf of the late Spirit guitarist Randy California, are seeking a writing credit claiming that the opening guitar part of 'Stairway To Heaven' was actually taken from the song 'Taurus' which was written by California in 1968. They are consequently seeking compensation for copyright infringement.

All rather sad really and I suspect that besides Led Zeppelin, the only ones who will wind up rich will be the lawyers themselves. 

Personally I can see similarities in all three songs, yet all three are also very different. I like them all so have posted links to each of them below.

You can then make up your own minds.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

TAURUS

KODAK GHOSTS

Well, I Never Knew That #2 - Duke Ellington's Music Teacher

It turns out that Duke Ellington was taught music by the appropriately named, Mrs Clinkscales. 

It's true! Mrs Marietta Clinkscales did indeed teach the young jazz virtuoso his piano scales. Hence a collection of fine Ellington recordings being named 'Mrs Clinkscales To The Cotton Club'.

Well I never knew that.

Just Some Bird I Fancy

I have spotted this handsome fellow hanging around the local park and marina but I usually can only get THIS close.











While out enjoying the sunshine earlier today, I spotted him (or her) much closer. 



And he (or she) was unperturbed when I moved.......




.... even closer still.

I think it's a grey heron but I'm no expert so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyhow I moved on and left him (or her) to enjoy the view in peace.

Hauxley to Amble Circular Walk

The Northumberland coast is wonderful to visit at any time of year but when the weather is dry and sunny and there is no wind to speak of, it is a particular treat. I know the coast and country between the small fishing town of Amble and historic Warkworth and have walked there many times, indeed I have made mention of Warkworth in some of my previous posts. However, I have never begun a walk in Hauxley which lies 3 miles south of Amble, so this was something new to me.

The starting point was the Hauxley Nature Reserve which was at one time an open cast coal mine. Now there is no evidence of the industrial past as a lake, islands and reedbeds have been created to attract a host of birds and other wildlife. There are several strategically placed hides for bird watchers and the site offers some wonderful views across the nearby Druridge Bay.












Our walk took us around the edge of the lake and down onto the beach where we turned north to begin our walk towards Amble.

From the beach we gained splendid views of Coquet Island which lies only three quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometres) off the coast and conseqently appeared to us to be almost in touching distance. The island is owned by the Duke of Northumberland and is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds because of the colonies of sea birds that nest there. Among them are almost 20,000 pairs of puffins.

The island also has the remains of a medieval monastery and a 19th century lighthouse the first keeper of which was William Darling the elder brother of the famous Grace Darling.

(If you do not know the story of Grace Darling, you can read about her at this website: http://www.gracedarling.co.uk/)

We entered Amble from the south and as usual found the smell of local fish and chips quite enticing but we all managed to resist the temptation and stuck with our packed lunches. 













From the pier we had good views across the estuary of the River Coquet towards the magnificent Warkworth Castle but on this occasion, Warkworth was not to be our destination as we turned back south and wandered through beautiful countryside back to our starting point.






























Yet another very enjoyable walk in Northumberland and with splendid views, fresh air, good weather and great company, what could there possibly be not to like?

Song For The Bearded Lady - Nucleus

Thankfully I didn't have to endure watching the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening but all of the hullabaloo about the Austrian winner Conchita Wurst has reminded me of 'Song For The Bearded Lady'. Written by Karl Jenkins it appeared on the 1970 album 'We'll Talk About it Later' by Ian Carr's Nucleus.

Never mind 'Rise Like a Phoenix'. Wrap your ears around this track.

Song For The Bearded Lady

The Globe Jazz Co-op - First Views

The first jazz club in Newcastle to be owned and run by a co-operative membership took its first steps last week when the premises were purchased and the keys handed over. How appropriate that it should happen on April 30th which just happened to be International Jazz Day.

Last night was my first visit to The Globe on the western edge of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne for the purpose of meeting other members, having a look around the premises and being able to contribute ideas towards various aspects of the future club. For example, how did we all like to see the premises looking in future.

As these pictures of the upstairs show, there is much work to be done.

Other issues for consideration involved what type of events we wished to run, what education programmes could be held in the premises, and a host of other things including what types of refreshment should be available. There are clearly busy but interesting times ahead.

Downstairs things were already taking shape and those of us present enjoyed some food, a few drinks and some live entertainment. 

Jazz of course!

Neil Young - A Letter Home

Is Neil Young taking the piss?

Albums of cover songs are all well and good as long as the artist adds something to the original. Much as I admire Patti Smith, I found that listening to her 2007 album, 'Twelve' simply made me want to go back and listen to the original versions of 'Are You Experienced?', 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Gimme Shelter' and Neil Young's 'Helpless'. So on the subject of Neil Young, I report that he has now released his own album of cover versions in which he tackles among others, Gordon Lightfoot's 'Early Morning Rain', Dylan's 'Girl From The North Country', Tim Hardin's 'Reason To Believe and the Bert Jansch song 'Needle Of Death' which inspired his own 'The Needle And The Damage Done'. All great songs I must confess.

However, not only does Young not add anything to the original versions (or the scores of other covers that have been done of these songs), but through the quality of the recording, he actually takes an awful lot away from the enjoyment of hearing them.

Let me jump back to previous posts I have written on the subject of Neil Young pontificating about the quality of modern day digital recording techniques and particularly of compressed music files. So strongly does he feel about this, that he has released his own Pono music player which he claims retains the original sound quality laid down at the recording sessions. 

Yet despite voicing these feelings, for 'A Letter Home', Young has recorded all twelve tracks at Jack White's refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph recording booth. Consequently the sound replicates recordings made in that era complete with crackles and clicks. The experience is akin to listening to a very old and worn 78 RPM record. In fact I have some recordings made in the early 1920's that actually sound better!

Please don't misunderstand me as I am not against such sounds in the right context. The music on the 'Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music' and the more recent 'Rise and Fall of Paramount Records'  actually benefits from the authentic early 20th century sound. In my view it just would not sound right any other way. But the songs included in Young's collection have all be recorded elsewhere in fine quality and I really see no need for him to make them sound like something they are not.

Could Neil Young possibly be trying to make a point, or is he just taking the piss?

Here he is performing 'Needle of Death'. You be the judge.

As a postscript I should just add that it is not all bad. One of the songs is the bittersweet 'Changes' which originally appeared in the 1966 album 'Phil Ochs in Concert' and anything that pushes the music of the late Phil Ochs into the limelight is OK by me.

Regarding cover versions, if you do want to hear some well known songs that have been uniquely interpreted, look no further than 'Cover Version' a collection put together by Steven Wilson in which he offers totally new takes on tracks by Prince, Abba, Alanis Morissette, Momus, The Cure and Donovan. Now that's how cover albums should be!

Here  is his version of the Alanis Morissette song 'Thank You'

Beautiful and dare I say better than the original?.

Abbey Road Studios Revisited - Literally

It was just over two years ago that I started writing this blog and one of my first posts documented my first visit to Studio 2 in Abbey Road Studios. It was a remarkable experience and at the time, one I thought would never be repeated. Having been presented with the hefty book 'Recording The Beatles' by Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, I was straining at the leash for another visit and fortuitously three of my friends who had missed out first time round, were eager to put that right. Our tickets were booked and travel arrangements sorted and so it was that on a sunny Sunday morning we set off from Newcastle Central Station full of eager anticipation. And yes, the train we caught was the 'One After 909'. 

It boded well! 

Outside Abbey Road Studios was the usual throng of activity as hordes of tourists trekked backward and forward across that iconic zebra crossing. Buses and taxis blasted their horns and one youngster in a sports car revved his engine to incredible levels before screeching off leaving behind a good portion of his tyre tread. Oh well, it takes all sorts!

Inside the studios we received a warm welcome from the staff and after being given our list of do's and don't's, we were allowed down the photo lined staircase and into the wondrous space that is Studio 2.

As on my last visit, we had about an hour to wander around examining pieces of recording equipment and a variety of keyboard instruments. Having browsed through the aforementioned book, I was a little more knowledgeable about some of the equipment but to be honest, for me, that first hour is more about soaking up the atmosphere of that place. I swear that the spirits of John and George live on there. After all, Studio 2 was like a second home to them for the best part of 8 years.

The main event was once again a talk by the authors of the book but whereas my last visit was to celebrate 80 years of recording at Abbey Road, the theme this year was the sound of Abbey Road Studios. Consequently the talk focused more on how some of those famous sounds were achieved. To add some spice and some wonderful personal anecdotes to the talk, we were joined by Ken Scott who of course worked as an engineer with The Beatles and others between 1964 and 1969. He later went on to produce a host of albums by people such as David Bowie, Supertramp and many others.

Having had the personal contact with The Beatles, his stories added a dimension that was of course missing with Kehew and Ryan, so it was well worth me making my second visit. My favourite insight was into the recording of 'Glass Onion' where after several fractious attempts to add Paul playing a recorder to the only available tape track, Scott pressed the wrong button and erased a whole series of snare drums immediately thinking that his days were well and truly numbered. John however loved the effect and so the track was saved and Scott survived to work with The Beatles again.

As we slowly made our way out at the end, we were allowed admission to the studio canteen where the fab four spent some of their free time while in the studios. Through the back is a very pleasant garden and there I was able to take a snap of this Abbey Road street sign which being unadorned by graffiti must be something of a rarity.

All in all, it was another wonderful day. I wonder if I will ever return for a third visit. 



Watch this space.

Chris Wood at The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle

I must confess to being totally astounded to hear that Chris Wood was to play at one of my favourite local pubs. The Cumberland Arms is situated above the Ouseburn valley in Byker, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne and besides offering a range of fine ales, has also boasted a plethora of activities including it's own knitting circle.

The upstairs room hosts comedy and music gigs but I admit that I never expected to see Chris Wood perform there. Nevertheless, play there he did and I was determined not to miss it. So that was my destination on Saturday evening.

I have been a fan of Wood's music for several years and have had the good fortune to see him live on a number of occasions either solo, with the Imagined Village or with some-time partner, Andy Cutting. For this gig, Wood was on his own armed with just his trusty acoustic guitar and some very fine songs.

The thing that amazes me about Chris Wood is that he always manages to make everything look so bloody easy. His in-between-song patter is humourous and engaging, his rich vocals are sublime and the sounds he conjures from just that one acoustic guitar are, to use his own words, 'absolutely gorgeous'. As he pointed out, if the guitar sounds great, he can get away with playing crap songs.

So among the 'crap' songs he played for us were 'None The Wiser', 'Hard', 'Jerusalem', 'A Whole Life Lived', 'The Sweetness Game', 'The Cottager's Reply', 'My Darling's Downsized', 'Cold Rainy Windy Night' and the chilling yet wonderful, 'Hollow Point'. Crap songs indeed! If you are familiar with them, you will know what a good set it was and if you are not, well you really should be.

To watch Wood play 'Hollow Point' at the 2011 Folk Awards, click here.
Or perhaps you prefer 'The Cottager's Reply' for which you need to click here.

After two hours, he was still finishing his set, but sadly I had to leave to catch a late night metro home. I had an early start on Sunday morning, but that is another story for another time.

Box Sets #13 - The Ultimate Jazz Archive

In the ever popular 'Box Sets' series, I am unsure how I will ever be able to follow this one which just happens to be number 13.

'The Ultimate Jazz Archive' is exactly that. Surely there will never be a more comprehensive collection of jazz recordings and if there is, I can't wait to see it.

Issued by German company, Membran Music Limited, this box contains no fewer than 168 CD's.
Yes I did say 168.

Each jewel case contains 4 CD's packaged as 42 mini sets which cover just about every aspect of jazz music spanning the years 1899 to 1956. Thus we get 36 discs devoted to classic jazz, ragtime and Dixieland, 28 discs covering blues, 60 CD's on swing, bebop and modern jazz, 20 on big bands with another 20 on jazz vocalists and finally 4 CD's of boogie-woogie.

Each individual CD covers a major artist during a particular period of time, though some artists whose work spanned several decades, get two discs devoted to their work. Consequently Duke Ellington appears in Set 2 spanning 1924-1927 and again in Set 37 for the period 1941-1947. Similarly Billie Holiday is represented by the periods 1933-1936 and 1952-1955. Curiously, despite redefining jazz several times during his career, Miles Davis is only represented in one set (though he does also appear on other sets most notably, Charlie Parker). However, this is a very minor gripe. I mean, how could one complain about such a wonderful array of jazz talent in one package which also includes 2 booklets containing artist biographies?

The range of artists covered is quite incredible and is too long to list here. Consequently I have provided a link at the end of this post to a complete track listing. One thing I will say is that it is reassuring to have blues so well represented within the package as I've never been one of these purists who regard blues as a totally separate entity to jazz.

I will of course now have to rewrite my list of Desert Island Discs. This set just has to be in it!

For the full track list, click here.