As a fan of the music of Miles Davis and being interested enough in the man to have read his autobiography and the brilliant biography by Ian Carr, I was very keen to see 'Miles Ahead' which marks the directional debut of Don Cheadle who also stars in the role of Davis.
Having attended a lunchtime showing in a local cinema, I found myself on my homeward journey trying to make some kind of sense out of what I had just witnessed. As anticipated, the music was superb though the great clips were usually far too brief, but I have the records at home so I can listen to those whenever I please. So, what of the film?
The basic story centres on the so called "silent years" between 1976 and 1980, when Davis became a virtual recluse, rarely if ever straying from his New York home. He had turned 50 in 1976 and was recovering from a hip replacement operation but was also suffering from inflammation of the joints making it almost impossible for him to pick up and play the trumpet. The prodigious amounts of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes that he took, certainly did not aid his recovery. In the film, he is visited by a writer (Ewan McGregor) who claims to represent 'Rolling Stone' magazine and who is seeking a story but also has hopes of provoking Davis back into playing again.
All well and good, except that the story then flips back and forth as Davis recollects the tumultuous relationship he had with the dancer Frances Taylor, who in 1958, became his first wife. We get glimpses of how he controlled and abused her and there is a recreation of the famous incident when Davis was assaulted and arrested by police officers outside Birdland after having escorted a white female customer to a taxi cab.
Meanwhile back in the 1970's, the bogus journalist appears to win the confidence of Davis but a recently completed tape of a Davis session is stolen and the film recounts the efforts made to recover this precious recording. It is during these scenes that the film gets a bit surreal and for me, loses it's direction. The tape though was not a piece of fiction but actually dated from a session on 2 March 1978. It was a session that produced only one six or seven minute recording with Larry Coryell on guitar, and Davis, not on trumpet, but on organ and synthesiser. After this short attempt to return to the business of making music, Davis retreated back to his home, where he remained for a further two years, only emerging in 1980 to begin recording what would become The Man With The Horn'.
My overall impression of the film is very mixed. It was generally well directed and for me, captured the periods (the late 1950's and 1970's) very well but I just felt that the storyline was rather contrived and all became too surreal during a boxing match late in the film. Credit must be given to Cheadle however, for his portrayal of Davis. So convincing was he, that there were long periods when I totally forgot that I wasn't watching Davis himself.
I don't really see this movie winning any major awards but if, like me, you are a fan of Miles Davis, then I suggest you get yourself along to a cinema to see it. Just don't expect to see the Miles Davis life story or to learn anything new.
After a wonderful day with family celebrating the first birthday of my grandson, Hendrix, I drove home last night to the news of the deaths of Prince (at 57) and Lonnie Mack.
I admit that I was never much of a fan of Prince, however I could recognise that the guy had an immense talent and as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and with the amazing ability to combine musical genres, he deserved all of the accolades and commercial success he received. If you happen to need any convincing of what a great guitarist he was, then I suggest you take a look at this clip from the George Harrison tribute concert in 2004.
'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'
His death at such a young age was a huge shock to me.
Lonnie Mack on the other hand I could identify with more easily being one of the major driving forces behind the role of the electric guitar as a lead instrument in blues, country and rock music. Am I stretching a point by suggesting that without Mack, we may have had no Duane Allman, Jeff Beck, Mike Bloomfield or many others? I don't think so.
One lesser known fact about Mack is that he played bass guitar on the recording of 'Roadhouse Blues' by the Doors in November 1969. However he will be best remembered for his lead work such as on his 1963 hit 'Memphis'
Here is 'Memphis' by Lonnie Mack.
I can't recollect ever doing three posts in one day since I started this blog, but I've just been stunned at the news that Victoria Wood has passed away at the age of 62.
So that's 2-0 to cancer today. When the hell are we going to totally eradicate that bastard?
RIP Victoria and thanks for all those laughs over the years.
Way back in the early days of this blog, I posted pictures of some signs I saw in China which made me chuckle because of the translation into English.
http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/chinese-warnings.html
Recently I came across the following translation which has been taken directly from the brochure of a Beijing Hotel which shall remain nameless.
"Our representative will make you wait at the airport. The bus to the hotel runs along the lake shore. Soon you will feel pleasure in passing water. You will know that you are getting near the hotel because you will go round the bend. The manager will await you in the entrance hall. He always tries to have intercourse with all new guests".
"This is a family hotel so children are very welcome. We of course are always pleased to accept adultery. Highly skilled nurses are available in the evenings to put down your children. Guests are invited to conjugate in the bar and expose themselves to others. But please note that ladies are not allowed to have babies in the bar. We organise social games so no guest is left alone to play with themself".
"Our menus have been specially chosen to be ordinary and unexciting. At dinner our quartet will circulate from table to table and fiddle with you. Every room has excellent facilities for your private parts. In winter, every room is on heat. Each room has a balcony offering views of outstanding obscenity. You will not be disturbed by traffic noise since the road between the hotel and the lake is used only by pederasts".
"Your bed has been made in accordance with local tradition. If you have any other ideas please ring for the chambermaid. Please take advantage of her. She will be very pleased to squash your shirts, blouses and underwear. If asked she will also squeeze your trousers".
I suspect that there may be many people now clamouring to stay at this particular hotel particularly among those seeking views of outstanding obscenity or those who would like their trousers squeezed.
Sad news that multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn has passed away at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.
I saw him several times as part of Richard Thompson's band and I constantly thought, is there any instrument this guy CAN'T play?
He will be sadly missed.
Well another Record Store Day has come and gone here in the UK and once again I have managed to avoid it. Not that I have anything against the event you understand, in fact as a collector of records myself, I believe that anything that promotes this fine hobby of ours has some merit. However, I have the distinct feeling that the whole event has, in the 9 years of it's existence, become something of a rip-off with too little by way of quality and too many vastly inflated prices.
The event was conceived as a way of giving a sales boost to independent record stores, and for a while it appeared to work. However, talking recently to the owner of such a store, he told me that the whole thing had become something of a blessing and a curse. Yes, on the day itself, he anticipated doing good business but his experience of the last few years is that sales declined dramatically in the weeks preceding the event. His theory was that perhaps people were saving up to splash out on the big day.
Nevertheless the event this year has again generated a lot of excitement and from what I read online, there are a whole load of people who are very happy with their purchases. Personally I might have found myself tempted by the deluxe version of 'Wrecking Ball' by Emmylou Harris and almost certainly by the self titled second album by Traffic which was limited to only 500 copies. For some inexplicable reason it is an album I do not own and one which I feel I really must get on vinyl - the way that I first heard it back in 1968.
Perhaps one of these days, when all the fuss has died down.
This morning I read an interesting piece in the online BBC Entertainment & Arts section. It dealt with the current resurgence in the sale of vinyl records and the research produced some surprising findings.
As expected many of the people questioned confessed that despite the ease of obtaining and listening to music through live streaming websites such as Spotify or YouTube, they now enjoyed the physical aspect of actually owning and handling a record. In my view, there were no surprises there, as it was those very same feelings which drove me back to collecting vinyl myself. What I did find surprising is that there is evidence to suggest that people are using the streaming services to listen to music that they might not otherwise hear, and then actually going out and purchasing the recordings they like. If true, then this flies in the face of the arguments that have been used in the past that such streaming sites are killing music sales.
What I found most surprising of all though, was the finding that of those surveyed, 48% of people who bought vinyl last month, have yet to play it. And 7% don't even own a turntable!
Which begs the question - why?
I suppose that one positive thing to come out of such revelations is the fact that vinyl collectors in the future should have no problem finding mint copies of their sought after records.
Two years ago I wrote about the similarity between Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' and the instrumental 'Taurus' which featured on the first album by US west coast band, Spirit.
Here is my original post from May 2014.
I now see that recent reports state that a US judge has decreed that a jury must decide and a trial has been scheduled for 10th May. Here is what The Guardian had to say on the subject.
As I said two years ago, Led Zeppelin may lose money and the estate of the late Randy California may gain, but at the end of the day, the only real winners in this whole sad affair are the lawyers. I mean they have been raking it in for at least two years now and I have a feeling the matter will not be resolved any time soon.
Meanwhile, sitting quietly on the sidelines is Michael Chapman, who also claims that Zeppelin ripped off his song 'Kodak Ghosts'.
Personally I think he is wise to stay out of it.
Yesterday I met up with friends for a spot of lunch followed by a visit to a fairly recently opened vinyl cafe. Unfortunately while my flat white coffee was very good indeed, the venue was unable to entertain us with a selection of music played on vinyl. Something to do with waiting for a new stylus I understand.
Oh well!
Despite that minor setback, a good time was had by all I believe, but during our chat it struck me that here we are in April already and usually at this time of the year I have started to develop quite a list of favourite albums of the year. However that is certainly not the case this year and I confessed to owning only one album that was actually issued in 2016. The album in question is of course 'Blackstar' by David Bowie.
So where the hell is all the good stuff this year, or am I missing something? I admit to having been tempted by 'The Ghosts of Highway 20' by Lucinda Williams but when I tried streaming the record, I found myself unable to sustain the melancholia of the album for anything close to the full 84 minute duration. It was just all so terribly depressing.
I have also flirted with the possibility of buying 'You Can't Go Back if There's Nothing to Go Back To' by old favourites Richmond Fontaine, a band I have seen live on a couple of occasions and whose complete back catalogue I own. One of my lunch friends encouraged me to go for it and I am not entirely sure why I have been reluctant. Perhaps it is because we know it is to be the swan song of Richmond Fontaine as Willy Vlautin looks set to concentrate on his writing career and possibly his other band The Delines. Maybe my thoughts are that Vlautin has already turned his attention to other matters so we may have already heard the best from Richmond Fontaine. I'm certainly not ruling the album out and may defer my decision until I hopefully see them at a venue near here later this month.
Other records that have been on my radar this year are 'Where Have You Been All My Life' by Villagers and the self titled 'Jesu & Sun Kil Moon', but so far I have not been tempted. Even worse is that when I look at a list of forthcoming releases, I am hardly filled with eager anticipation.
It's a good job that I have a very healthy music library to delve into.
I had a really nice Easter weekend thanks for asking.
It might have been marred on Saturday however - nay my whole life could have been changed forever - when I narrowly avoided my first road accident in over 30 years. Only thanks to the fact that I still have decent reactions, I was not going at an excessive speed and my car did not skid, was a catastrophe averted.
And what was the cause? A young woman stepped off the pavement in front of me while staring at the small screen of her mobile phone. Making things potentially even worse was the fact that with her free hand she was manoeuvring a push chair containing her young child. So, as you can no doubt imagine, it would have been the innocent child who would have taken the main force of any collision.
I'm astounded that any parent would put their child in such danger but I am sad to say that this was not an isolated incident. There is scarcely a day that passes without me seeing such things occurring, though thankfully they don't usually require me to stamp on the brake peddle.
During a conversation with friends the other evening someone asked the question whether we would be happy to get into a computer driven car, something that appears to be on the very near horizon. I replied that personally I would feel happier to climb into such a car than one driven by one of the numerous idiots I see driving while clearly texting on their phones. At least the computer would, I assume, not be distracted by such things and would be fully focused on the task in hand.
The above incident made me wonder how children can survive the scourge of the mobile phone. Assuming that they do survive the early years of being pushed around by distracted parents, they then attend schools where all of their friends are permanently glued to their mobile phones and where, according to one article I read recently, every playground row is shared with friends via social media invariably resulting in "savagely cruel verbal attacks." The article concluded "we should weep at the damage being done to young minds and the gutlessness of grown-ups to do much about it." In my view, it is not just the gutlessness of adults; it is the fact that they are themselves setting such a terrible example. Every day without fail I see young children having to amuse themselves while their parents gaze blankly at the screens of their smartphones. Of course from about the age of eight the children will have their own mobile phones and then everything will be alright. Won't it?
On this occasion I'm revisiting an album I have been familiar with since soon after it was released in July 1968 when a few of us 6th formers would hang out in the school music room at lunch times and those who could afford to purchase LP records would bring in their current favourites for our enjoyment. That was how I first heard Music in a Doll's House' the debut album by Family.
Since then I have owned the album on LP, CD and in 1999 I purchased the double See For Miles CD package which coupled the album with it's follow-up, 'Family Entertainment'. The main motivation for buying it on that occasion was the inclusion of both sides of the very hard to find first Family single, 'Scene Through The Eye of a Lens' / 'Gypsy Woman'. That record was released in the autumn of 1967 on the Liberty label and despite being hailed since as something of a classic, it failed to dent the charts. Incidentally, if you stumble across an original copy, you will probably have to fork out something like £200 for it.
At around that time, drummer Harry Overnall was replaced by Rob Townsend and in December 1967, the band commenced work at Olympic Studios, London on the tracks for what would become 'Music in a Doll's House'. The intention had been to use New Yorker Jimmy Miller as producer (he had been at the controls for the single) but although he continued to have an input, he was becoming heavily involved with the Rolling Stones who were recording 'Beggars Banquet' also at Olympic Studios. Consequently much of the production was handed to Dave Mason who was flitting in and out of the band Traffic.
Although it is often referred to as a classic of it's time, I feel that that the album has never really gained the recognition it deserves. I've lived with and loved this album for close to 50 years now and I never tire of hearing it. If I ever do get round to actually compiling a list of my top 20 albums of all time, I feel certain that it will be in there. Consequently despite owning CD copies, it was a record that I simply had to own once more on vinyl. And now I do. And if ever a record has convinced me that vinyl is the way to listen to music - then this is it. (Anyone want to buy a CD copy?) There is an awful lot going on in the tracks of this record and instead of straining to hear some of my favourite parts, I find that they now leap out of the speakers and fill the room. It is quite astonishing and the quality belies the age of this recording.
The eagle-eyed among you will however note from these photos that while the record I have is catalogue number K44057, the cover is for the far rarer original mono version (RLP 6312). I have to confess that my heart skipped a beat when I saw the cover, as the mono copy is extremely rare as well as being somewhat different to the stereo version. Oh well, perhaps one of these days I will stumble across one of those.
It is of course now a well known fact that the Beatles had intended calling what would become the double white album, 'A Doll's House' but Family scuppered that plan. Musically the album is very different from what Family would eventually become best known for though, to be fair, Family were a very eclectic band musically and were very difficult to categorise. I mean, can you imagine four more different singles than 'Today', 'The Weaver's Answer', 'No Mule's Fool' or 'Burlesque'? 'Music in a Doll's House' was far more psychedelic than later releases with tracks seamlessly running into each other and in some cases being connected by short, instrumental "variations on a theme" of some of the main tracks. The songwriting was mainly credited to Roger Chapman and John 'Charlie' Whitney though producer Dave Mason chipped in with one song 'Never Like This' which contained surrealistic lyrics somewhat akin to Traffic's 'Hole in My Shoe'. Stylistically it fitted onto the album perfectly.
The track 'Old Songs, New Songs' has on many CD issues of the album, been erroneously titled 'Old Songs For New Songs'. Thankfully, my LP gets it right. It is a great track which features jazz saxophonist Tubby Hayes and his band playing out a rip-roaring finale. The arrangement had been done by an 18 year old Mike Batt who inadvertently wrote the parts in the wrong key. The ever professional Hayes realised the error and simply transposed the parts by ear as he played along to the backing track. Unfortunately soon after the sessions, Hayes had to undergo major heart surgery and in 1973 he died while having further surgery at the age of 38.
'Music in a Doll's House' is a great album and a welcome addition to my vinyl collection.
For your enjoyment, here is the track referred to above, 'Old Songs New Songs'
Old Songs New Songs
My fairly recent return to the joys of collecting vinyl records has enabled me to listen to albums that I have either long since lost or that simply passed me by when they were originally released. Falling into that latter category is, the 1970 Fleetwood Mac album, 'Kiln House'.
I was a fan of the Peter Green incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and when he left the band after the wonderful 'Then Play On', I must have made the decision to stop buying and listening to their albums. Of course all that changed with the 1975 release of 'Fleetwood Mac' the precursor to the earth shatteringly successful 'Rumours'. I then revisited some of those so-called "wilderness years" Fleetwood Mac albums but somehow 'Kiln House' always evaded my attention.
Perhaps it was the reviews at the time which were not terribly complimentary about the album. With 'Then Play On'. Jeremy Spencer had been in competition with the songwriting skills of Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. He lost the battle and consequently played only a minor role on that album. The departure of Green enabled Spencer to take more of a leading role and for 'Kiln House'; the writing credits are divided fairly evenly between him and Kirwan (aided by the other band members). Once he had overcome his Elmore James obsession, Spencer turned his attention to 1950's rock and roll and a popular part of the Fleetwood Mac live act involved him doing a very passable imitation of Elvis Presley. This is carried onto 'Kiln House' from the opening number 'This is a Rock' which recreates the sound of the young Elvis during his Sun Records period. The country ballad, 'Blood on the Floor' could also be Elvis and the Side 2 opener 'Buddy's Song' is little more than a list of Buddy Holly quotes set to the melody of 'Peggy Sue Got Married'. Despite being written by Spencer, it gets credited on the album cover to Ella Holley, the mother of Buddy.
The Jeremy Spencer compositions are all pleasant enough but it is the writing of Danny Kirwan that really give this album a lift. 'Station Man' fades in very gradually and is a gentle rocker featuring nice slide guitar and some fine drumming from Mick Fleetwood. It was a song that Fleetwood Mac would return to and perform live during the early Buckingham/Nicks years.
Side One of the album ends with 'Jewel Eyed Judy' which is credited to Kirwan, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie though Fleetwood later claimed that the words were actually written by his wife Jenny and Christine McVie about a close friend of the band, Judy Wong who later married Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick.. It is one of the most beautiful pieces on the album with a gorgeous melody and a catchy refrain. The track was issued as a single backed by 'Station Man' but incredibly failed to chart. Incidentally, Jenny Fleetwood was the former Jenny Boyd, a sister of Patti Boyd who famously married George Harrison and Eric Clapton and inspired songs by both. Patti clearly wasn't the only muse in the Boyd family as the Donovan song 'Jennifer Juniper' was written for Jenny.
Kirwan also demonstrates with 'Lady Gray' (sic) that he can write an instrumental to rival the beautiful Peter Green number one hit, 'Albatross'. Another highlight of the album is the final Danny Kirwan track 'Tell Me All The Things You Do' which allows the band to really rock out and features some great guitar work but also demonstrates what a fantastic rhythm section Fleetwood and McVie were. Try listening to this without your feet tapping and if they don't, check that they aren't nailed to the floor.
Although uncredited on the album, Christine McVie (formerly Christine Perfect) was recruited on piano and she would subsequently become a full member of the band, being of course the wife of John McVie. She also created the striking artwork that adorns the cover of the album. It would appear that someone bought her felt pens and crayons for Christmas that year.
This album was the first release by the band on which they totally abandoned the blues that had dominated their earlier recordings. Neither Spencer nor Kirwan would last that much longer in the line-up but with 'Kiln House' they had clearly pointed the direction in which the band would move en route to the massive commercial success they would ultimately enjoy with 'Rumours'.
I have been listening to the album a lot over the past few weeks and have been thoroughly enjoying the experience. I now wonder how it took me 45 years.
Spring arrived and best of all, the family were reunited.
This is just the male side - three generations of us.
Brilliant!
I discovered last night that Keith Emerson had died and have awoken this morning to the even more tragic news that he may have committed suicide. I understand that he was suffering from a condition that made it impossible for him to play his beloved keyboards and consequently chose to end his own life. If true, this is very sad indeed.
I confess that apart from the first album, I was never much of a fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer but I certainly appreciate what an immense talent, Emerson was. I did quite like his earlier band, The Nice and was fortunate to see them live in the late 1960's performing at The Plaza Ballroom in Tynemouth. To say that he was a showman is a massive understatement.
Emerson is just the latest in an ever growing list of fine musicians who have been taken from us this year. Another signal to us all that we should hang onto life and enjoy every moment while we can.
It is with a very heavy heart that I write these words after waking this morning to hear the sad news of the passing of Sir George Martin.
Like many others of my generation, I grew up listening to the music of The Beatles. During those heady days of Beatlemania, it was all about John, Paul, George and Ringo but we gradually came to realise that a great deal of what they achieved on record was down to their producer George Martin.
I firmly believe that without him at the helm, their recordings would have sounded very different and certainly albums like 'Revolver' and 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' would never have come about. For George Martin had the unique ability to understand the sounds that The Beatles wanted to create and he had the musical and technical talent to make it happen. It was a perfect partnership and they were fortunate to find each other.
RIP Sir George, and thank you for all that wonderful music.
It would appear that popular music is derogatory about growing old, or so claims a piece of research conducted by Jacinta Kelly, a senior nursing lecturer and her team at Anglia Ruskin University.
I confess that I have not read the full report (published in the 'Journal of Advanced Nursing') but from what I can gather, the research team trawled a database of songs from the 1930's to the present and found 76 songs making reference to old age, of which 55 made "negative" references. A pretty high proportion I will admit. But what exactly were these negative references?
Well, it would appear that the worst offenders were Pete Townshend's famous line from 'My Generation', which proclaims "I hope I die before I get old." Then even The Beatles get criticism for the song 'When I'm Sixty Four' which appears upbeat and harmless but which contains the lines
"When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?"
The research opines that to question whether someone will still be lovable in their old age is, to use the words of Jacinta Kelly, "concerning".
Paul McCartney wrote the song 'When I'm Sixty Four' when he was only 16 years old, so I'm sure that any clumsiness in the lyrical content can be forgiven. But is it really so bad? After all the song is just a young man addressing his lover and considering them growing old together. Is that so wrong? McCartney's father Jim was 64 when the song was eventually released in 1967 and I wonder if he found it offensive. I somehow doubt it as he would have seen it for what it was, a cute novelty song in the music hall tradition in which the elder McCartney had been involved and which Paul himself had grown up with.
Had the research picked up on the fact that the singer of the song (the male) mends fuses and digs the garden while the woman knits sweaters and prepares the meals, I could have understood any perceived criticism of sexist stereotyping.
I was 16 myself when I first heard the song and found it mildly humourous though the joke wore thin after two or three listens. I certainly didn't find it offensive then and now that I'm the very age referred to in the song, I can say with some authority that I still don't.
The report concludes that the message from such songs is that the elderly are "frail and a burden" and because popular music is very pervasive, the portrayals of old age could reinforce negative stereotypes. And this is "concerning" to the research team.
What I find concerning is that the research team appear to consider people of my age to be frail or a burden. Also I am concerned by the fact that time and money have been spent on such futile activities. Do these people have nothing better to do?
I hear that there is sleet and possible snow back home.
Do I care?
Not a bit!
Of course all that will change when I touch down in the UK tomorrow.
I read in a local paper recently that the Rex Hotel in Whitley Bay is due to close. This will mean absolutely nothing to those of you that do not reside in the north east of England but I felt compelled to scribble a few words because of what the hotel represented for me during my formative years.
For it was in the downstairs ballroom that I first got to see a number of local bands and a few more well known names from farther afield. Among the latter were The Alan Bown in 1969 who had recently replaced vocalist Jess Roden with Robert Palmer, who of course in later years would go on to greater commercial success. Another band I saw there were Family who played a great gig supported by Raw Spirit on 30 October 1969. Local legends Lindisfarne were regulars there but before teaming up with local folk singer Alan Hull. At that stage, they were a blues band performing under the name of Downtown Faction.
The venue had two stages, one at each end of the massive dance floor. This meant that both the main band and the support could be set up and there was no need for a lengthy break between acts while the sets were changed. There was some seating beneath the overhanging balcony but the majority of seats and tables were on the balcony itself, overlooking the dance floor and stages. I also remember the barman (Don I think he was called) who served up either Newcastle Brown Ale or a mixture of Jubilee Stout and cider which was known as a Black Velvet. (Actually I have since learned that this is a poor man's Black Velvet as the real thing is made with Guinness and sparkling wine).
Once I was old enough (17) to blag my way into licensed premises, the Rex was my usual haunt on Saturday and Sunday nights. It was very much a part of my musical education and gave me a love of live music that endures to this day.
In recent years I think the hotel itself has had it's share of adverse publicity. Despite it's prime sea front location, with wonderful sea views, the place is obviously in need of renovation and failure to secure the necessary funding has resulted in the closure. Nevertheless, because of my own associations with the building, I will be very sad to see it go. I hope it doesn't join the ever growing list of local music venues that have been demolished. These include Newcastle's Club-a-Gogo and Mayfair Ballroom, the Tynemouth Plaza and the Whitley Bay YMCA.
I wrote about three years ago on the poor quality fare being served up on our TV screens here in the UK and I went on to praise the intelligent and entertaining programmes that were coming to our screens from the USA ('The Wire') and Scandinavia ('The Killing' and 'The Bridge').
Not a great deal has changed in those intervening years I'm afraid as far as UK TV is concerned. We still appear to be obsessed with reality programmes many of which deal with the lives of the super-rich or, at the other end of the social spectrum, those on benefits. Or soap operas which all appear to be bloody miserable, and now, to the myriad of cookery programmes we can also add baking. Yes, baking!
Good grief!
Thankfully we still get some great shows from the US and to those I listed last time, I can now add the wonderful 'Breaking Bad'. Possibly the best of all the great dramas to hit us from the states.
Of late, some relief has come in the form of some dramas from various parts of the world under the broad umbrella of 'Walter Presents'. Screened to us via Channel 4, the shows have included 'Deutchland 83', an espionage thriller set in the early 1980's at a time when East and West Germany were still divided and so called Cold War tensions were very high resulting in a strong belief that the nuclear button could be pressed at any time. Also I am currently engrossed in a French political drama that has been given the English title 'Spin'. We are now into Series 2 and it is coming across like a sexier version of 'House of Cards'. Well, it is French, so it would wouldn't it?
Getting in on the act of their Scandinavian neighbours and filling the same Saturday evening slot on BBC4 is the Icelandic crime drama 'Trapped'. It concerns a male torso pulled from the sea and believed to have come from a Danish ferry. The ship with its passengers and crew all have to be detained while an investigation is undertaken. The problem is that the investigating team are stranded in Reykjavik because of adverse weather, leaving the initial enquiries to be made by the overworked local cop. Having only seen the first two episodes I am totally gripped.
Of course it is not all bad in the UK. The BBC are always excellent at period dramas and they have excelled themselves with the twenty part 'Dickensian'. This is a kind of prequel to the great novels of Dickens, most notably 'A Christmas Carol', 'Oliver Twist' and 'Great Expectations'. The whole thing is centered around the murder of Jacob Marley and with just the right amount of tension and humour, and of course, the trademark BBC attention to detail - beautifully recreating the gas-lit, cobbled streets of Victorian London, it just had to be a winner. And it was, If that doesn't encourage more people to read the works of Dickens, then nothing will.
With the BBC adaptation of John le Carre's 'The Night Manager', the second series of 'Breaking Bad' spin-off, 'Better Call Saul' and of course the return after 13 years of 'The X-Files'. things are indeed looking up.
The trouble now is trying to find the time to watch them all.
Having joined all and sundry in making the inevitable comparison between Ryley Walker, Bert Jansch and John Martyn, I obviously regarded Walker and Danny Thompson as a perfect fit. The 76 year old Thompson has now added his superb double bass skills to the work of them all - and many more besides. Despite there being a 50 year age difference, Walker also saw that Thompson would be the perfect playing partner and the two agreed to tour together.
I love Walker's last album 'Primrose Green' and since purchasing the record last year, there has been scarcely a week when I have not played it. Consequently I wasted no time in obtaining tickets for this event and was more than happy to make the 75 mile round trip to Stockton and back. It was certainly worth the effort as playing live allows Walker to stretch out his familiar songs.
If I did have one slight concern before the event, it was how the songs would fare when stripped of the wonderful instrumental accompaniment that adorns the album versions. Would I miss those gorgeous vibes and the superb drumming? My concerns were totally unfounded as Walker has an uncanny knack of sounding like two or three guitarists at once. And he makes it all look so damned easy. Throw into the mix, his unique voice which he uses like another instrument, moaning, howling and yelping to flesh out the more usual sound of his vocals and the absence of other instruments became superfluous.
The contrast between the two on stage also worked very well and it is clear that they are forging a respectful friendship while touring together. Walker is all energy and came across at times like an excited puppy while regaling us of tales from the road including his recent introduction to the delights of Yorkshire pudding. Thompson on the other hand conserved his energy for his wonderful playing. Standing or leaning against his stool, he remained almost motionless but made the occasional humourous quip with the timing of a true comedian.
If I had one criticism, it was that the show was a little too short. The pair left the stage after and hour and returned to perform only two songs, so we got only about 75 minutes in total. I could have done with a lot longer but then, I did have a drive of almost an hour ahead of me.
Nelle Harper Lee who died yesterday aged 89 is perhaps proof of the adage that everyone has one book in them. But in the case of Lee, what a book!
'To Kill a Mockingbird' was published in 1960 and the following year won the Pulitzer Prize. Since than, Lee has been bestowed with numerous awards yet she never published another thing. The more recently released prequel 'Go Set a Watchman' has even been revealed to be an early draft of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
Still if you are only going to leave one work behind, then it might as well be something as majestic as 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It's a damn sight more than most of us achieve.
Far more prolific was the Italian writer Umberto Eco who also passed away yesterday aged 84. I actually came to his work via the film of his groundbreaking 1980 novel, 'The Name of the Rose'. As is usually the case, I found the book to be far better than the film. I then became immersed in the labyrinthine 'Foucault's Pendulum' which, at the time I read it, appealed to my own interest in conspiracy theories and esoteric organisations such as the the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians and the Cathars. It was light years ahead of Dan Brown's cheesy but far more successful 'The Da Vinci Code', but isn't that usually the way?
Sadly two vastly different but equally brilliant writers have now left us. But what a legacy they leave for us to enjoy.
The recent and widely voiced opinions that 'Blackstar' the final album from David Bowie is his best ever, started me wondering whether people were being influenced by the circumstances surrounding the recording and release of this record. To be honest I even made a similar claim myself in an earlier post, though I would like to think that I was being objective about the quality of the music and not the circumstances of it's release. Whether it is deemed Bowie's finest work will I guess, only be judged in the fullness of time - perhaps in the next five or even ten years.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to speculate on what influences us on the merits of not just music, but all kinds of art. For example, last year I spent a full day in London's National Gallery and was exposed to numerous paintings that I had never seen "in the flesh" so to speak. Some of them had previously left me unmoved, yet when witnessing them in all their glory, while armed with a guide book and the obligatory audio guide, I came to realise why they were so highly regarded. Given an understanding of the background, what the artist was trying to achieve and perhaps what was in the artist's mind at the time, gave me a fuller understanding of those great works.
And so it can be with music.
For example, last week I listened for the first time to the Billie Holiday LP, 'Lady in Satin'. I was less than impressed and found myself agreeing with many of the contemporary commentators of 1958 (the year of it's release), that Holiday had lost much of the upper range of her voice and that she was just a shadow of her former self. Such comments were of course quite factual. Holiday had endured many years of addiction to hard drugs and alcohol and had even served a spell in prison for possession of drugs. Her lifestyle had adversely affected her health and of course her voice.
My mistake however, was in listening to the record unemotionally with only my ears.
Later, while listening again, I also read the informative notes that accompany my copy of the record. I then learned the real background to this recording.
Having heard an album called 'Ellis in Wonderland' by conductor and arranger, Ray Ellis, Billie Holiday declared an interest in making a recording with him backed by an orchestra with string section. This was something Holiday had not done before but Ellis was delighted and after agreeing which songs would be recorded, he set about arranging them. The recordings took place at late night sessions (to suit Holiday's lifestyle) at Columbia Studios in New York over three consecutive days beginning on 19th February 1958. At the first session, four songs were recorded beginning with the Gene DePaul / Don Raye classic 'You Don't Know What Love Is'. Upon arrival, Holiday had seemed nervous and unsure of herself having never recorded in this format before. Nevertheless, fortified with neat gin she sang her heart out and the recordings were deemed successful.
It was on the second session, during the recording of a further four tracks that cracks appeared as Holiday arrived in an already intoxicated state with a bottle of gin in one hand. She was totally unfamiliar with the arrangements and Ellis became angry with her and described the session as a complete mess. In his own words; "I had broken my back to create the arrangements, trying to imagine how she'd sing the pieces and she wasn't able to sing them the way I'd conceived the tunes - and for that I hated her."
What Ellis (and many others) overlooked at the time was the fact that Holiday had carefully selected these songs not because she was familiar with singing them but because the lyrics reflected her own personal life. She had recently published her autobiography 'The Lady Sings The Blues' a candid account of her life written in collaboration with William Dufty. That process caused her to reflect on her own tragic life and consequently she chose to record songs that were lyrically almost personal to her.
One of the songs recorded at that second session was 'I'm a Fool to Want You'. The words had been written in 1951 by Frank Sinatra on the subject of his tumultuous marriage to Ava Gardner, but during this performance, Holiday managed to make the song her own. Upon listening to the playback with Holiday present, Ray Ellis later confessed, "I would say that was the most emotional moment. There were tears in her eyes." Later Ellis listened to the whole album himself and only then realised just how great her performance really was.
Opinions about the merits of this album are still divided. True, the voice of Billie Holiday is not what it once had been but her phrasing is sublime and throughout she sings from the heart. The album may be correctly classified as jazz, yet Holiday reveals a blues sensibility. After all is singing from the heart not what the blues is all about? So, thanks to becoming more aware of the background to this recording, I can now listen not only with my ears but also with my heart and doing so has transformed my listening experience. Certainly there is pain within this recording, but there is also great, emotional beauty.
Have a listen to the opening track 'I'm a Fool to Want You' and judge for yourself.
'Lady in Satin' was to be Holiday's penultimate record and the last to be released during her lifetime. She died aged 44 on 17 July 1959.
I was given this book by my son for my birthday last June and I have been reading it ever since. It's not that the book is particularly long (288 pages) or difficult to read, it's just that it is the kind of book that makes you pause to listen to the music that is being referred to within the text. Helpfully the book comes with a 19 track CD which includes some of that music by various artists and also some interesting clips from interviews conducted by the author Gayle Dean Wardlow during his extensive research.
So, the book has taken me seven months to finish but it has been an enjoyable and worthwhile experience and I have learned a lot about many of the singers and musicians whose music has brought me much pleasure in recent years. Of course some of those names are very well known to us, such as Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson, but other characters are possibly less well known. For example among my favourite blues recordings are 'Future Blues' by Willie Brown, 'Cottonfield Blues' by Garfield Akers (accompanied by Joe Callicott), 'Woman Woman Blues' by Ishmon Bracey and 'Outside Woman Blues' by Blind Joe Reynolds. All are written about extensively in this book AND are included on the CD.
The subtitle of the book is 'Searching for the Blues' and it is clear that the research conducted by Wardlow in tracking down the story behind these elusive and often mysterious figures, has been long and painstaking but the results are always interesting and he clearly has an extensive knowledge and deep love of this musical genre.
Much of the material in the book has been previously published in blues magazines such as 'Blues Unlimited' and '78 Quarterly' but it is nice to have all of this information brought together in one volume. I should add that the book is also lavishly illustrated with photographs and documents, many coming from Wardlow's own personal collection.
If you are interested in the blues and wish to learn more about some of the almost forgotten Delta bluesmen, then I highly recommend this book.
For a taste of the music included, here is a link to Willie Brown's Future Blues
My own blog reminds me that it was in October 2013 that I last saw Steven Wilson at this very same venue. On that occasion he was promoting his great album 'The Raven That Refused to Sing...And Other Stories'. I decided there and then that if the opportunity presented itself, I would return to see him perform live again. This decision was reinforced by the fact that he is currently promoting the even more ambitious work 'Hand. Cannot. Erase' which was one of my favourite albums of 2015.
Once again upon entering Newcastle's City Hall on Saturday evening, I was transported back to my teenage years when I was a regular at that venue, seeing the likes of Jethro Tull, Family, Terry Reid, Savoy Brown, Ginger Baker's Airforce and Yes. The venue still retains a certain aura for me and although I cannot claim to be a regular visitor these days, I am always enthralled to enter, take my seat and just soak up the atmosphere of the place.
The show began as last time out with a video showing on the giant screen at the back of the stage. Slowly the band took to the stage in pairs and launched into the opening of the album 'Hand. Cannot. Erase'. They then performed the album in it's entirety before taking a 15 minute break.
When they returned we were treated to a selection of older songs including three from Wilson's most recent project 'Four & a Half' which as he explained is a mini album of songs which didn't fit into any of his past projects. He went on to say that he hates the term mini album but explained that it was only 37 minutes long, which just happened to be the average length of an full album when he was growing up. He also during the evening made reference to David Bowie who of course has a great song 'Lazarus' on his current album. By way of tribute, Wilson performed his own song of the same title.
I won't document the whole setlist here, as there are other ways for you to find such information. However I should mention particular highlights for me which included 'My Book of Regrets' and the Porcupine Tree song 'Don't Hate Me'.
Throughout the whole show, the performances were superb as one would expect from such a fine set of musicians. I am loathe to single out any individual but I was particularly impressed with Nick Beggs who played bass guitar, Chapman Stick, keyboards and sang backing vocals. And yes, it is the same Nick Beggs who hit number one in 1983 as part of Kajagoogoo.
To finish, Wilson performed another Porcupine Tree song, 'The Sound of Muzak' followed by what he regards as his finest song, 'The Raven that Refused to Sing'. I wholeheartedly agree with him. It was a great ending to a great night.
It has not been a good January. I am becoming concerned that I may be wearing out certain keys on my computer keyboard. Namely R, I and P.
Today I have learned of the death of Paul Kantner at the age of 74.
Kantner was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane who for me were probably at the vanguard of the West Coast US bands that I became attracted to in the mid to late 1960's. I vividly recall hearing 'White Rabbit' playing on Radio Luxembourg one night with the signal drifting in and out as it was prone to. The song just blew me away and I became an avid collector of the albums of the Airplane.
I suppose it is inevitable that we should now be hearing of the passing of members of that generation but these were musical heroes for many and the news is hard to take. I think that God must surely have enough members for his great band in the sky. So no more for a while please.
PLEASE!!
It was with sadness that I read today of the death at 79 of Ray Pointer.
His name may be unfamiliar to you but I mention him in these pages because he was the first professional footballer I ever met when he paid a visit to our school. At the time his was a well known name as he played centre forward for Burnley who in May 1960 had clinched the English First Division title. His visit occurred because he was a native of nearby Cramlington and being an impressionable youngster I immediately adopted Burnley as my "second team" for a while.
Pointer scored a total of 133 goals in 270 appearances for Burnley (118 goals in 223 league appearances) and he went on to represent England on three occasions. Not long before his visit I had seen him playing for Burnley in the 1962 FA Cup final, though sadly they lost 3-1 to a Tottenham Hotspur side featuring the great Danny Blanchflower and Jimmy Greaves who both scored.
Pointer passed away earlier today at a care home in Blackpool.
RIP Ray, and thanks for making a bunch of school kids very happy.
For reasons that should be obvious to everyone, my thoughts in recent weeks have turned to the music of David Bowie. As I first became a fan of his music during the five years covered by this set and it remains my favourite period of his career, I was obviously drawn towards this package released in September last year. My own albums from that era were in need of an upgrade, so the decision was made and the credit card was put into action.
But what exactly does one get within this package? Well, there are no fewer than 13 LP records broken down as follows:
- David Bowie AKA Space Oddity (remastered in 2015)
- The Man Who Sold The World (Remastered in 2015)
- Hunky Dory (Remastered in 2015)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (2012 remaster)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (special 2003 mix by Ken Scott)
- Aladdin Sane (2012 remaster)
- Live in Santa Monica 1972 (2 LP)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (soundtrack 2 LP)
- Pin Ups (Remastered in 2015)
- Re:Call - a collection of non album singles, B sides and alternate versions (2 LP)
Also there is a sumptuous LP sized 82 page hard backed book containing a short introduction by Ray Davies, background information about all of the enclosed albums and numerous previously unpublished photographs including alternative artwork for many of the records. There are also contemporary articles about each of the albums from magazines such as 'Rolling Stone' and 'New Musical Express'. Best of all though are notes about the recording, production and mixing of each album by in turn, Tony Visconti and Ken Scott. The detail provided in these notes makes the listening experience all the more enjoyable and I have arrived at the conclusion that this book is perhaps the finest in any music set I have ever encountered.
There are far too many anecdotes to repeat here, but one from Ken Scott concerned Bowie's vocal performance on 'Five Years'. Scott reveals how almost all of Bowies vocals were performed live in one take. And so it was with 'Five Years' although the very final phrase "We've got five years" had to be re-recorded as by the end of the song Bowie was in tears and sobbing so much that the words were indecipherable.
Musically of course the collection is superb representing the period when Bowie emerged as a true rock icon. I am no audiophile but I find the sound on all of these discs absolutely outstanding. I am of course very familiar with all of the studio albums (less so with the live ones) yet I find I am still hearing parts that I had either missed altogether or had forgotten. In part this may be down to the helpful notes by the producers, for example Ken Scott refers to the bad edit as the drums enter on 'Starman'. I had never noticed it before. Also the fact that the listener can hear virtually no cymbals at all throughout 'Ziggy Stardust'. Why? Well, simply because Mr Scott had developed something of an aversion to them at that time and preferred to let Bowie's 12 string acoustic guitar drive the rhythm along. And it clearly worked.
I should add that one of the things I particularly like about this package is the fact that the albums have all been kept as they were originally and all of the "bonus" material is included on the separate 'Re:Call' discs. Just the way I prefer it.
I confess that this item involved an expensive outlay, though I considered it a bargain when I recently spotted a copy in a local record store for considerably more, but the expense was worth it to hear what I consider to be the absolute best of David Bowie in such wonderful audio quality. Now, I have the difficult task of weaning myself away from these albums as there are other musical delights demanding my listening attention.
Top of the pile is the new album from Lucinda Williams, of which more in due course I suspect.
Bowie has gone but life goes on.
As a fan of the music of Miles Davis and being interested enough in the man to have read his autobiography and the brilliant biography by Ian Carr, I was very keen to see 'Miles Ahead' which marks the directional debut of Don Cheadle who also stars in the role of Davis.
