I notice that there are a few new albums on the horizon which have caused a wee flutter of anticipation here in the White Room.
In April there will be a new offering from Calexico. Called 'Edge of the Sun' it will be their first release since 'Algiers' in 2012. You can listen to the track 'Cumbia de Donde' by clicking here.
On the same date, Villagers will release the follow up to the brilliant '{Awayland}'. The track 'Hot Scary Summer' is also currently streaming and can be heard on this link.
I see that both bands also happen to be touring to promote the albums but the bad news for me is that they will not be appearing in my area. Which means I either travel or miss them altogether. Decisions, decisions!
Pretty much imminent is an album 'New York Before the War' from Jesse Malin. It will be his first new album in five years so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with. In my view he is a very underrated artist. I note that he is touring also though the date he hits my area, I have other plans so I will have to miss out. I've seen him on several occasions previously and he never fails to deliver a first class show. Unfortunately on the eve of my 59th birthday he was playing in Newcastle but I was otherwise engaged. My son was able to attend and as he happened to be carrying his birthday card to me, he was cheeky enough to get Malin to sign it for me. A nice little memento for me to keep.
No doubt I will have more to say about Jesse's album in due course.
Also in April I see a new album is due from the Alabama Shakes. I wonder whether 'Sound & Color' will match their debut 'Boys & Girls'. Have a listen to 'Future People' by clicking here and see what you think.
Yet another anticipated release in April comes from Bill Fay. We waited 41 years for his last album, 'Life is People' but thankfully only three years for his latest which will be called 'Who is the Sender?' A track called 'War Machine' is currently available to stream if you click here.
Finally I am looking forward to summer for the release of another album by Sun Kil Moon. It will be called 'Universal Themes' but the exact release date has not yet been announced.
It looks as though 2015 could be another great year for new music.
More sad news today as I heard about the death of John Renbourn at the age of 70. He was, as you all will know a wonderful guitar player and also a founding member of the eclectic band, Pentangle.
I recall seeing Pentangle a few years ago at Sage Gateshead when they were doing a reunion tour. I was of course pleased to have gone, not just because they were still fine performers but because we have since lost Bert Jansch and now John. So, the opportunity will never arise again.
I recall Renbourn performing one song playing sitar which required him to sit cross legged on the stage. At the end of the song, the band left the stage to take a break, leaving the portly Renbourn to try to struggle to his feet, something he was able to make a joke about. A
couple of years after that I was fortunate enough to see him again, this time playing alongside former Incredible String Band member, Robin Williamson.
Like his former friend and colleague Bert Jansch, John Renbourn left behind a vast legacy of recorded work for us to enjoy. I suggest you go enjoy some now and perhaps raise a glass to yet another departed friend.
Much of my recent time for listening to music has been devoted to traditional and contemporary folk.
Part of the reason for this is my total immersion in the brilliant current album 'Mount The Air' by the Unthanks. Another reason is that I and a few like minded souls get together once a week to play a selection of well chosen folk songs utilising whatever modest skills we have on guitars, mandolin, concertina, flute and whistle. Recent additions to our repertoire have included 'Farewell to the Gold' the Paul Metsers song that was covered by Nic Jones on his amazing 1980 album, 'Penguin Eggs'. Also, the Alex Glasgow song 'Close The Coalhouse Door' which was of course covered by the Unthanks on their 2011 album, 'Last'.
So, recently there has been time for little else but folk music, which is of course, no bad thing.
On the subject of contemporary folk, a very fine album has just been released by a singer and multi-instrumentalist named Inge Thomson. Hailing from Fair Isle, a tiny rugged island nestling between Shetland and the Orkney Islands to the far north of Scotland, her music is steeped in nautical influences. And so it is with 'Da Fishing Hands' which sets Thomson's music to the words of musician and poet Lise Sinclair who happened to be Thomson's cousin, but who tragically died last year following a short illness. She was only 42. Though this tragedy adds a poignancy to the album, the songs and arrangements stand on their own merits.
Like Fair Isle itself, the sea dominates the music which is mesmerising and atmospheric throughout. Thomson sings and plays accordion, glockenspiel and provides various electronic effects while she is very ably supported by Steven Polwart on guitar, Sarah Hayes on flute, Fraser Fifield on saxophones, pipes and whistles, and Graeme Smillie on bass. Together they have created a stunningly beautiful album that is at once heartbreaking and spellbinding. I am totally loving it.
Have a listen here to the tracks 'Here We've Landed' and 'Wind and Weather / The Fishermen and the Sea'
Better still, grab the album, listen to it from start to finish and ENJOY.
I'm totally stunned tonight to hear the very sad news of the passing of Andy Fraser former bass player with Free.
I was fortunate enough to see Fraser back in those great days but even more so to see him performing live only 18 months ago at a convention to celebrate his old band. Although he has battled AIDS and cancer in recent years, on that occasion he looked and sounded fit and well.
I feel privileged to have seen him and will forever regard him as one of the best bass players of his generation. In my view no song demonstrates this better than the Free classic. 'Mr Big'.
Listen to it here.
Goodnight Andy. Rest in peace.
On Saturday evening I paid an all too rare visit to Newcastle City Hall. As I attended many of my first concerts at that venue, it was something of a homecoming for me, as it was indeed for the Newcastle based folk band, The Unthanks.
If the name is unfamiliar to you, then perhaps you have an aversion to folky type music sung in a northern dialect. If so, may I suggest you give a listen to the wonderful new album 'Mount The Air'. Also a flick through various press reports and internet sites will reveal that among The Unthanks legions of followers are, Ryan Adams, Martin Freeman, Elvis Costello, Colin Firth, Robert Wyatt, Nick Hornby, Ade Edmondson and members of Radiohead. A pretty diverse collection I think you will agree.
The support act who opened both parts of the show were a Stockton-on-Tees based trio who call themselves the Young'uns. I first caught them live exactly two years ago when they ably supported Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer. On this occasion they performed all of their songs unaccompanied and totally captivated the audience with their vocal harmonies and their witty in between song chatter.
The Unthank sisters, Rachel and Becky eventually took centre stage and were surrounded by a very capable bunch of backing musicians. Strangely in these times, with the exception of the electric bass, there was not a guitar to be seen. Instead, the band weave their magic with drums, piano, harmonium, a string quartet and a young lady who performed wonders on trumpet and flugelhorn. Focusing mainly on the current album, they ended the first set with the absolutely awesome 10 minute title track. I have always loved the acoustics of the City Hall and it was a perfect setting to replicate the wonderful sound the band achieve on this superb album.
The second set was a little more eclectic featuring songs by Antony Hegerty, Robert Wyatt and ending with a great version of King Crimson's 'Starless' before the band returned to encore with a reprise of the end section of 'Mount The Air'.
If I have one complaint about the performance, it concerned the amount of chatter. While it was always engaging and allowed the natural personality of the girls to come across, it also affected the overall flow of the songs and in my view, interrupted the dramatic effect of their wonderful music. However, that is merely a small personal viewpoint.
Clearly the girls were overawed at this homecoming reception. This was their first performance at the City Hall. I hope it will not be their last.
Daevid Allen passed away yesterday at the age of 77. He had recently been involved in a battle against cancer and only in February decided against any further surgery and announced that he only had six months to live.
I first became aware of his music and his eccentric character through the early works of the band, Soft Machine. I still have in my music collection a copy of his 1971 album 'Banana Moon' though I confess that I have not avidly purchased all of his recorded output with Gong and the various spin-offs from that venture. If I'm completely honest, some of the stuff was just a bit too far "out there" for my tastes.
Yet, as I've said on these pages before, I have immense admiration for artists who are prepared to push the boundaries and take chances with their chosen art form. Daevid Allen (occasionally known as Divided Alien) certainly fit into that category. He was one of the original anti-establishment hippies, yet despite his hippie leanings, he was also arguably one of the artists responsible for the UK punk movement.
Don't believe me? Well think on this. Without Soft Machine and their influence on Syd Barrett, there would have been no Pink Floyd. And without the likes of Pink Floyd, what would punk have had to rail against? Musically too, there were elements of punk in Allen's output. Have a listen to 'Time of Your Life' the opening track from the aforementioned 'Banana Moon' and see if you don't agree.
Time of Your Life
Then to balance that have a listen to the following track, one of the many versions of Robert Wyatt's superb Memories.
Beautiful!
RIP Daevid.
I had an interesting pub discussion last night on the latest debacle surrounding Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. It appears that the grumpy one couldn't get a steak, threw a punch at a BBC producer and has subsequently been suspended. Not exactly earth shattering events, yet it appears to have caused quite a rumpus and our pub discussion would I suspect be just one of thousands that would be taking place in scores of pubs and bars both here in the UK and no doubt in other parts of the world. It would seem that Clarkson and Top Gear have a phenomenal following. Why, I'm not entirely sure!
I have no particular aversion to Clarkson. If I see him on TV I don't grab the remote control to switch to another channel. However I do find his pompous, arrogant attitude rather wearing. My view is that he seems to find his talent and humour to be far greater than it actually is. However I see that over 400,000 people have now signed an online petition to have him reinstated, so clearly he has a massive following a fact that will no doubt fuel his already grossly inflated ego.
I was recently sent an article written on the subject of Clarkson by comedian Steve Coogan. In it he summed up Clarkson and his diminutive chum Richard Hammond as the school bully and the little chap who tags along with the bully to avoid being beaten up himself. I thought that that description summed up the relationship perfectly. Their brand of laddish pranks have all too often caused hurt, embarrassment and distress to far too many people. Quite frankly they are sexist, racist and homophobic and there should be no place for such things in the world today. And certainly not on the BBC. The thing is, that if the BBC take the ultimate step and sack Clarkson, he will inevitably be snapped up by some other broadcaster who will be only too happy to pay obscene amounts of money to secure his so called talents. Haven't we seen it all before with the likes of Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Andy Gray and Richard Keys?
How tragic and ironic that on the evening of the above discussion, I also learned of the sad death of Sir Terry Pratchett. Here we had a man of immense talent whose imagination and ability to make us laugh far exceeded anything that Clarkson and his cronies would ever be capable of. I liken Pratchett in that respect to the late, great Douglas Adams and like Adams, he will be sadly missed but they leave behind a remarkable body of work that will bring enjoyment to millions for many many years to come.
RIP Sir Terry.
Following my enjoyment of his 2013 album 'The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)' I was looking forward immensely to Steven Wilson's latest offering, 'Hand. Cannot' Erase.'. The fact that it is a concept album did not put me off one bit as the concept quite appealed to me being loosely based on the sad but fascinating tale of Joyce Carol Vincent.
Lest you missed the story or have simply forgotten, the body of Vincent was discovered in her London bedsit in January 2006. The sad but shocking part of the story is that it had lain there undiscovered for two years! Like most people upon hearing the story, I assumed that Vincent was an elderly lady who had no friends or family to speak of, but it transpired that she was only 38 years old and was a beautiful, intelligent and socially active woman. How then could it have taken anyone so long to discover that she was 'missing'?
Attempts have been made to answer such a question, most notably in the 2011 film, 'Dreams of a Life'. Now, Steven Wilson has taken the themes of social detachment and urban alienation and woven eleven songs around this heartbreaking tale. Yet, the fundamental questions still remain unanswered and bring me to one of my own concerns about modern life. We are now so caught up in the the experience of what so called social media has to offer, that I sometimes wonder whether we are somehow missing the point of what social interaction should actually be about.
Let me give an example of what I mean.
A few weeks ago I met with a friend for a drink and a bite to eat in a city centre bar. As we chatted over our drinks, I noticed a group of four young women at an adjoining table. Throughout their own meal, each of them clutched in one hand, a mobile phone and as they chewed, their thumbs rapidly tapped out messages on the tiny keypads. Occasionally they would share messages with the other girls at the table, or they would lean together to take a 'selfie' which would then no doubt be sent off into the virtual network to be seen by other 'friends' who could not be present (or were perhaps enjoying their own social gathering elsewhere).
Where, I wondered, was the real social interaction between these four young women. You know, what we used to call - conversation? Sadly it seemed to be non existent. Having finished their own meals, they left still clutching their mobiles, still staring intently at the shiny screens. To be honest, I found it all rather depressing. Despite these girls having access to a whole network of 'friends or contacts' did that make them less lonely or isolated than Joyce Carol Vincent? I wonder.
Anyway, you may by now be wondering what I think of the actual album. Well, there is no doubting the quality of the musicianship and as one would expect from Steven Wilson, the brilliance and clarity of the production. However I find the album less jazzy than it's predecessor and somehow lacking the charm and warmth of 'Raven'. Maybe it will just take me longer to get into and I intend to persevere, but I somehow feel it will fail to make it into my list of best albums of the year.
We shall see.
