RIP Chris Squire

Shocked and saddened yesterday when I heard the news of the death of Yes bass guitarist Chris Squire. He was only 67.

Yes were one of the many bands I got into in the late 1960's and I stuck with through the classic early 1970's albums 'Fragile', 'The Yes Album' and 'Close to the Edge'. Squire was always very much to the fore with his intelligent bass lines and his deft vocal harmonies to Jon Anderson's lead. As such, he was an integral part of the band, so much so, that he was in fact the only member to feature on every studio album.

He had a forceful personality and was a force to be reckoned with on stage and in the studio. I know he will be sadly missed by his fellow musicians and his legion of fans, myself included.

R.I.P. Chris.

The Okeh Blues Story

There has been much publicity in the last couple of years concerning the Paramount record label. This has mainly been down to the absolutely superb releases via Third Man and Revenant Records, 'The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records Volumes 1 & 2'. Personally I can't praise these packages highly enough and the musical content has been a revelation.

Having said that, there is something of an irony in the fact that fans of old time jazz, blues and vaudeville music are getting excited over these releases whilst other notable labels from that era (the 1920's and 1930's) are hardly getting a mention. It's ironic because it is a pretty well known fact that Paramount paid scant regard to the quality of their product, paying their roster of artists less than their rivals and even using substandard materials in the manufacture of their discs.

Consequently the work of artists who featured on labels such as Brunswick, Vocalion, Victor and Okeh among others are often consigned to the bargain bins. Great news for those who care to do their research and purchase these collections, but sadly it means they do not gain the publicity of the more expensive sets. In my view that's a great shame as those labels feature some truly great blues artists.

And that is why I grabbed 'The Okeh Blues Story' a double album containing 50 tracks all for the princely sum of five English pounds (yes, £5). A quick glance through the list of artists featured on this collection will show that there are some pretty well known names represented here. But there are quite a few names that were new to me and will possibly be new to you. For example I was unfamiliar with Little Hat (George) Jones, Peter Chatman (it turns out that he was later better known as Memphis Slim), Snitcher Roberts, Peter Cleighton (it transpires that he later became known as Doctor Clayton) or the wonderfully named Sloppy Henry (the recording name of Waymon Henry).

Okeh was founded in 1918 in New York by Otto K E Heinemann and was named after his first two initials. Besides releasing popular music of that time, Okeh also released music in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish and Yiddish. This appealed to the large number of immigrants residing in the US. In 1920 however, the label found themselves with an unexpected smash hit on their hands following the release of 'Crazy Blues' by Mamie Smith. From then on, the label went from strength to strength with a fine roster of so called 'race recordings' aimed primarily at the African-American market. In 1926, the company was taken over by Columbia but the Okeh name was used until the 1960's. Then in 1994 Sony resurrected the label as a vehicle for blues artists and one of the first signings was Keb' Mo. The label folded again in 2000 but a couple of years ago was again resurrected, this time as a jazz label.

'The Okeh Blues Story' is a fine addition to anyone's blues collection and has to be regarded as a real bargain at such a low price. If I have one small quibble, it's the fact that there is scarcely any information about the artists or the songs included in the set. Notes written by Michael Heatley, are restricted to two columns on the inside cover of the digipak  and whilst they are interesting, there could have been so much more. Nevertheless at such a low price I would not let that put you off buying this package. If you really want the information, you could do what I did. Seek it out on the internet!

Musings on Weekend Celebrations

I have just had a hectic but lovely weekend. Sunday being Father's Day here in the UK I had a visit from both sons bearing cards and gifts. Bless them. Also nine week old grandson Hendrix chipped in.

However the main cause of celebration this weekend was because my old mum had her 90th birthday last week. A family gathering was arranged for Sunday but as luck would have it she had to go into hospital on Saturday for a minor operation. Nevertheless she was back in action in time for the cake and festivities.

They were made of tougher stuff back then I guess.

Sun Kil Moon - Universal Themes

It has been sometime since the demise of the Red House Painters (15 years to be precise) and while Mark Kozelek using the moniker Sun Kil Moon, may have initially kicked off his 'solo' career in similar vein, that is no longer the case. 

Things began to get interesting round about the release of the poetic and emotional 'Admiral Fell Promises' in 2010. For me, the development reached fruition last year with the superb and intensely personal 'Benji'. Now, a mere 16 months after the release of 'Benji', Kozelek has released the even more astonishing and unusual, 'Universal Themes'.

Casual listeners who are not familiar with his post 2010 work may well be put off by the style and structure of the 'songs' on offer here, for Kozelek defies the usual conventions of songwriting. Forget what you may be used to - a couple of verses followed by a chorus. What we get from Kozelek is a stream of consciousness that emerges almost like a conversation set to music. Furthermore, the songs have a habit of changing at unexpected times so a track that may start off rocking like something by Neil Young and Crazy Horse ('With a Sort of Grace I Walked to the Bathroom to Cry) suddenly and without warning changes to a slow burning guitar blues with words almost spoken over the top. Other tracks dissolve into spoken interludes backed by gently plucked nylon strung guitar.

The themes of the songs are quite simply about life (Kozelek's) and death though perhaps not quite as much of the latter as was featured in 'Benji'. The death referred to in the opening track is that of a possum Kozelek and his girlfriend initially find injured. Interspersed with a tale of going to see the band Godflesh play, the track is in truth a meditation on mortality. 

There are a lot of subjects covered in the eight tracks on this album (none of which are  under 6 and a half minutes in length) and the subject matter is not always easy. I am occasionally put in mind of Bob Dylan's 'Ballad in Plain D' a track I like but which was so close to a situation Dylan was less than proud of that even he later confessed his regret at writing it. Perhaps Kozelek will one day look back at these confessional songs and have some regrets. Personally however, I suspect he will not give a shit.

Slowlight Quartet at Newcastle's Jazz Cafe

Someone once said something along the lines of "Rock music is 3 chords played to thousands of people while jazz is thousands of chords played to 3 people". That's true in some cases I'm sure but there were far more than three of us in the appreciative crowd at the Jazz Cafe of Friday evening. And while Paul Lorraine may not have literally played thousands of chords on his Nord keyboard, he is clearly no 3 chord merchant. Judging by the majority of the songs on offer, he is also a damn fine composer.

The event was to celebrate the release of a seven track EP recorded live at the Manchester Jazz Festival last year. Earlier in the day the lads had performed at the Gala Theatre in Durham and perhaps that had served as a rehearsal for the Newcastle crowd who were treated to a fine selection of the Slowlights trademark melodic jazz originals. Kicking off with 'Morning Sun' they made quick adjustments to the piano sound level before continuing with  'Moving Target'. The two sets then featured many old favourites including 'If These Walls Had Ears', I Want to Live Long', 'Shifting Ground', the beautiful 'Iris' and of course their "greatest hit", 'In Flight'.

But there was some material that was new, at least to my ears. One example was a track which I believe was called 'Seven Hills' which used some technical wizardry that's way beyond my understanding, to allow Tom Quilliam to play chords on his saxophone. However it was done, it was different and wonderful. As was a very fine cover of Lennon & McCartney's 'Norwegian Wood'.

These four young men are clearly superb musicians individually but it is as a unit that they truly excel. Something I hadn't witnessed before was Jonathan Marriott taking a drum solo but that's exactly what he did to lead us into their final number. Dropping one of his mallets left him undeterred as he recovered in time to do the roll that opens the superb 'Peregrine' and as he began clicking off the tempo on the rim of his snare, the band slot into the rhythm as if they had been born playing together. 

How much longer they will remain playing together is a moot point as hints were dropped that this may be their final gig in this area. The gasped reaction from the audience matched my own. We all hope they will be back again very soon. Meanwhile I will just have to content myself listening to the superb music on the aforementioned EP.

Check out for yourself the music that's available on the Slowlight Quartet website.
http://www.theslowlightquartet.co.uk/

Music Reviews - Are They Still Relevant?

I wrote recently about how reading an NME review of the debut Roxy Music album in July 1972 inspired me to rush out and buy that album. Back in those heady days when so much music was sublime but funds were tight, it would be commonplace for me and my friends (and millions other like us) to be swayed by the words of our favourite music critics. We knew who we could trust and if they said an album was good, then it was usually good. Our meagre pocket money or salary would be handed over the record store counter and treasured LP records would be proudly carried home and played until they virtually wore out.

Now we are living in different times. In this internet age, anyone with a computer can readily and easily listen to pretty much anything they desire. I routinely provide links myself to tracks on YouTube. Spotify would be yet another option. I personally cannot recall ever failing to find a specific track I have been seeking on one or other of these mediums. And there are dozens more like them. Also, it is becoming easier than ever to hear streams of songs or even albums weeks, or in some cases, months before they are officially released. Consequently we can hear the music ourselves and make our own decision as to whether it is worthy of our hard earned cash.

Which obviously raises an interesting question. Is there any longer a need for music reviews?

True I will read reviews for new books and films as these are harder for me to obtain or visit the cinema to see without splashing some cash. But I now find that I never read music reviews. Or to be more accurate, I listen to the music first, make my own mind up (and occasionally provide my own thoughts on these pages) and only then do I sometimes have a glance at sites like Pitchfork or Metacritic to read what others think. This is quite deliberate. I want to make up my own mind about a product without being influenced by the thoughts and opinions of people I don't know. On the other hand, I will gladly accept recommendations from friends whose opinions I respect and whose tastes I generally share. 

As these random thoughts were passing through my mind, I tried to recall the last time a music review influenced me to make a purchase. After much deliberation I decided it was June 2013 when, on a rail journey to London I read a newspaper review of a forthcoming album by These New Puritans. The album was 'Field of Reeds',  the review intrigued me and anyone who has regularly read my scribblings will know how highly I rate that album. That was a rare event indeed.

So what about the role of a music review to recommend a product? As I have said I will accept suggestions from friends but is that not restricting me to a relatively small circle of recommendations consequently confining my musical tastes? In my own case I believe I can honestly give a negative answer to that question. My own musical tastes, as I trust these pages will testify, include rock, pop, jazz, blues, soul, folk, bluegrass and avant garde music. To open my mind and ears to new music I only need to play a themed radio program or a so-called 'curated playlist' on Spotify or Pandora or any number of other alternatives offering music in any number of musical genres you care to name. Recent "discoveries" using this method have included Keb Mo, Inge Thomson, Lord Huron, Bill Frisell, Kathryn Williams and the Wave Pictures. A pretty diverse bunch I think you will agree.
I'm not saying that this method is infallible and that some very good stuff will slip through my 'net' but by and large it works for me.

So, is there a role for music reviews in this day and age and if so what is it? Maybe you would care to share your views.

The Mysterious Origins of Keep a Knockin'

I have written on previous occasions about recent or contemporary musical artists "borrowing" or "stealing" songs from the past and claiming them as their own. Another example came to light for me during the course of this past week.


I was listening to Volume 2 of 'The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records' and came across the track 'Keep a Knockin' an' You Can't Come In' by James "Boodle It" Wiggins. You can hear it for yourself by clicking here. What immediately struck me was the similarity between that track and 'Keep a Knockin'' by Little Richard which you can listen to here.

I checked Little Richard's 1957 recording and found it credited to Penniman (Richard's given name), Williams and Mays though the version I have by Fleetwood Mac on 'Live in Boston' is simply credited to Richard Penniman.

So who actually wrote the song?

Well, as is so often the case in the blues genre, the answer is unclear. Some claim that the song was written by J Mayo Williams (possibly the Williams referred to on the Little Richard recording). He was a talent scout for Paramount Records and gained the nickname "Ink" owing to his ability to get artists to sign or make their mark on Paramount contracts through fair means or foul (he was known to ply suitable candidates with drink to cajole them into signing). There are also stories that suggest that he claimed writing credits for a number of songs yet I have no evidence that he was actually a musician or songwriter, in fact he had previously been a professional NFL football player.

According to the liner notes from the album 'Stomp 'em Down; Piano Blues 1927-1937' (Black Snake Records, 1970), the song had its origins in New Orleans, not in blues, but in jazz under the title 'Bucket's Got a Hole in It'. This was recorded by a host of jazz artists including Louis Armstrong. You can watch Satchmo performing it live in 1962 by clicking here and you will clearly hear that the second verse begins with the line "You keep a knockin' but you can't come in'.

How Little Richard came to claim the song as his own is therefore yet another mystery in the world of music copyright. Yet it has proved to be extremely successful gaining Richard a number 8 hit and being covered by artists including the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Mississippi John Hurt, Mott The Hoople, The Blasters and the Flaming Groovies.

Regarding "Boodle It" Wiggins, unfortunately little is known. He was born in Louisiana (date unknown) and recorded with Paramount between 1928 and 1929. The track referred to was recorded in Chicago in February 1928 with Bob Call on piano and Wiggins on vocals and kazoo. His final recordings were made in October 1929 with Blind Leroy Garnett replacing Bob Call on piano and he died either later that year or the following year.

Incidentally if you happen to own a good quality copy of Wiggins' Paramount 78 RPM recording, you have yourself a disc worth up to $1500.

Get searching in those attics and basements.

Goodbye Sepp Blatter and Good Riddance

Well, I certainly didn't see that coming.

After his re-election last week, I assumed we were in for four more years of sleaze and corruption at football world governing body, FIFA. However, yesterday it was announced that Sepp Blatter had resigned his post as president.

Perhaps he read my comments in these pages a few days ago and decided to do the honourable thing for the sake of football.

More likely the news that he is also to be investigated along with his money grabbing cronies, forced him to fall on his sword. Whatever the reason, it has to be a great day for football.

Now FIFA must elect the right person to lead them and ensure that everything possible is done to eradicate the corruption. If that includes having another vote on the venues for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup competitions, then so be it.

As a footnote I noticed that one wit had posted online this picture of a new mystery candidate for the FIFA presidency role.

Now who could that be?

Lionel Messi Wonder Goal Against Athletic Bilbao

Having spoken the other day about the seedy underbelly of world football, I thought I should redress the balance by posting this clip of the amazing solo goal scored by Lionel Messi in the Copa Del Rey Final against Athletic Bilbao.

Click here and watch in awe.

I confess that I was left with my mouth hanging open when I witnessed this on Saturday evening.

I have lived long enough to have witnessed at first hand great players like Pele, Puskas, Best, Maradona and Ronaldo. But for me, the greatest of them all is Lionel Messi.

What a player.

Now THIS is what football should be all about.