Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

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.

 

The Unthanks - Mount The Air

If you have read this blog before, you will probably be aware that musically I tend to be drawn to artists who are inclined to push the boundaries of their chosen genre. Hence my liking for Miles Davis, Captain Beefheart, Bjork, Frank Zappa, Can, Robert Wyatt and more recently, These New Puritans.

Which brings me rather nicely to The Unthanks of whom it has been claimed "regard folk music in the way Miles Davis regarded jazz; as a launch pad for exploring the wider possibilities." This concept truly appears to have reached fruition with their latest album, 'Mount the Air'.

I first heard this album before heading off to see the Decemberists in Leeds at the weekend. By rights I should have been listening to the Decemberists on my return journey from Yorkshire. Instead I found myself repeatedly playing this rather wonderful album.


In case you are unaware, The Unthanks hail from my own part of the world -  Tyneside. Augmented by other musicians, they are a pair of sisters, Rachel and Becky Unthank who are the daughters of a certain George Unthank who folk purists may remember as a singer with the Northumberland folk group, the Keelers. They initially recorded as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset but changed their name in 2009. Since then they have produced a couple of studio albums plus a trilogy of 'Diversions' which featured music by Antony & The Johnsons and Robert Wyatt as well as songs inspired by and dedicated to the shipyards of this region. Their interpretation of the songs of Antony Hegarty and in particular Robert Wyatt, certainly met with my approval.

Clearly they have taken all of these influences and brought them to fruition with this latest album.

I earlier mentioned pushing boundaries and they certainly do that with the 10 minute title track which opens the album. Appearing to take influences from Miles Davis's 'Sketches of Spain' the piece is almost symphonic in its arrangement. I suspect that much of the credit for this has to go to Rachel's husband Adrian McNally whose work on piano dominates this album. Yet the sisters come into their own when harmonising together such as on the track 'Magpie' in which their voices weave around a single drone. It is mesmerising stuff.

Elsewhere on the album, the band rework The Beatles 'Golden Slumbers' into a song of their own, 'Last Lullaby'. Not many acts can get away with that but the Unthanks create something totally new and original. 

In truth there are just too many high spots on this album for me to mention them all here. There are I suspect some who will criticise the local 'Geordie' dialect used or the fact that the album is quite long. Suffice to say that neither of these things concerns me one bit. In fact, to my mind, the album could be even longer still and I'm usually of the view that records should be no longer than 45 minutes. My opinions may eventually change but for now this album will continue to dominate my listening time. And I have also secured tickets to see them perform the album live at Newcastle City Hall next month. I can't wait.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/video/2015/feb/13/unthanks-mount-the-air-album-you-should-hear-video 

The Decemberists at Leeds Academy.

Like last Saturday evening, I spent this one at a venue I had never attended previously. The purpose of my visit to the Academy in Leeds was to see the Decemberists perform live, my first experience of such an event.

Whereas at the Independent in Sunderland last week I stood within touching distance of Hiss Golden Messenger among a crowd of about 100, there were a couple of thousand of us packed into the Academy and I soon realised that my height of 5 feet 8 inches is inadequate when stuck towards the back of such a large standing crowd. Consequently these written impressions are based upon the fact that I could only see about 50% of what was going on up on the stage.

Nevertheless the Decemberists cannot be faulted for their performance. Surely Colin Meloy must be one of the finest front men around at this time. From the first seconds as he wandered onto the stage alone and began 'The Singer Addresses His Audience' he held that audience captivated. Gradually the other band members joined him on stage and we were then treated to a selection of material from throughout their career. Highlights for me personally were 'Lake Song', 'Carolina Low' and 'Make You Better' from the most recent album plus 'The Rake's Song' and 'Calamity Song'. Despite it being St. Valentine's night there is little in the catalogue of Decemberists songs that really create a romantic mood. This was a fact that was humorously acknowledged by Meloy. 

Nevertheless the audience loved it and after an encore which included 'The Sporting Life' ending with a portion of the Smith's 'This Charming Man', the band returned to the stage for a final time to present a theatrical version of the 'The Mariner's Revenge Song' (from 2005). Cue much opportunity for audience participation. 

Clearly Colin Meloy and colleagues had the audience in the palms of their hands right to the very end.

The tour continues so catch them if you can.

The weekend also gave me the opportunity to spend time with my youngest son including a very pleasant Sunday morning stroll and a lunch in the nearby historic town of Beverley. Lovely!

Cran (Irish Folk) at King's Hall, Newcastle

Following me hearing an interesting talk and presentation on a guy's charity raising motorcycle ride across South Africa in the company of Princes William and Harry, I hurried into Newcastle to see Cran performing at the King's Hall.

Cran have secured a well deserved international reputation over the past 20 years with their brand of traditional mainly Irish folk songs and dance tunes. Made up of Sean Corcoran on vocals and bouzouki (not an instrument I normally associate with Irish folk music), Desi Wilkinson on flute and whistles and Ronan Browne on uilleann pipes and whistles, they entertained a large audience with a range of music that included jigs, airs, reels and downright bawdy songs. It was also nice that the programme notes included background information on all the pieces they performed. Sadly there was too much information for me to include here.

However for more information on the band members and their unique music, here is a link to a PDF file. http://www.ronanbrowne.com/cran/CRAN_MUSIC/CRAN_MUSIC/Tech_files/CRAN%20Biography.pdf

If you are into Irish traditional music then I suggest you check out their albums or better still try to catch them live. 

I'm now about to head off to Yorkshire to spend the weekend with my youngest son and during that time we will both be heading into Leeds to catch the Decemberists playing live. I have my copies of 'We All Raise Our Voices To The Air' and 'What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World' ready for my journey. More of this in due course.


 

Hiss Golden Messenger at Independent, Sunderland

The Independent in Sunderland is a venue I have not attended before but a visit by the band that produced my second favourite album of last year, was not to be missed.

I attended with a pal who is writing a 'proper' review of Hiss Golden Messenger's show, so as usual I will confine myself to reporting on my own personal thoughts and feelings about the gig and will leave the hard work to him.

What struck me most about the evening was how we can have a band who not only featured in my 'best of' list for 2014, but also featured heavily in most other music critics lists, yet here they were performing before just over 100 people in this tiny venue. While I am not complaining at being able to see these guys in close proximity, I am left shaking my head in wonder at the fact that the likes of Mumford & Son can pack out stadiums these days. There just ain't no justice, but we all knew that anyway didn't we?

Anyhow, M. C. Taylor and pals (Scott Hirsch on bass, Phil Cook on guitar and piano and another guy I don't know on drums) delivered a mighty fine set taken largely from their most recent album, 'Lateness of Dancers'. They had also obviously done their homework as Taylor was able to make reference to the rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle and he spoke of the famous horse punching incident of a couple of years ago. If you have no idea what I'm on about, you can get a report of that incident here.

Regarding the performance, I may have missed some of the subtle nuances of the album versions (such as the sublime female vocals on 'Southern Grammar' and the lush organ that weaves its way through songs like 'Mahogany Dread') but the band had clearly restructured these numbers for live performance giving some of them an added bite. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the set and it was all over far too soon.

Incidentally, Taylor made reference to bluegrass singer and banjo player Alice Gerrard who at 80 is still making fine music (backed most recently by Hiss Golden Messenger) and who has been nominated this year for a Grammy award.

Regarding the venue, I was suitably impressed and had hoped to return next month to see GoGo Penguin, only for me to discover that it is sold out. Shame!

Ones that got away - 2014 albums I missed

As I've said before, it is impossible to hear every new album release and consequently there are always going to be some gems that pass you by. And such is the case with a couple of albums that were released in 2014 but have only come to my attention since the new year.

The first of these is 'Paradise Outlaw' by Pieta Brown. Incredibly this is her sixth studio album and I have not heard the previous five. In fact I thought I had never heard of her yet it appears that she is the daughter of Greg Brown who has released a host of albums, some of which I own, and who featured heavily on Anais Mitchell's folk opera, 'Hadestown'. Also it turns out that Pieta guested on the wonderful Calexico 2008 album 'Carried To Dust', which is also in my collection. I must begin paying more attention to album credits!

'Paradise Outlaw' reminds me somewhat of the aforementioned Anais Mitchell in some of its musical textures though her voice is quite different. Backed by herself on beautifully picked banjo, with husband Bo Ramsey on guitar, Brown creates some lovely sounds across this album most notably on the gorgeous 'Ricochet'. Incidentally the album title comes from the title of a book of photographs and essays on the American 'beat' poets. 



Hers is most definitely a name I shall be watching out for in the future and maybe I will even get round to exploring her back catalogue.

The second album I regret missing last year is 'Heigh Ho' by Blake Mills, a guy whose name has appeared on the credits of scores of albums in recent times. While his session work may have revealed him to be a very very fine guitarist, this album demonstrates that he is also a damn good songwriter. While his first album ('Break Mirrors') may have slipped under the radar, I believe that this one could set him on the road to becoming a major artist in his own right. I will steer clear of delving into each song but strongly recommend that you give this album a spin if you have appreciated the best works of Ry Cooder, Lowell George, Randy Newman or David Lindley. I trust you will not be disappointed. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - the Play.

On Saturday I made an all too rare visit to Newcastle Theatre Royal. Having thoroughly enjoyed Mark Haddon's book I was intrigued to see how this work would transfer to the live stage. I must confess that prior to my visit I had some misgivings as to whether I would find the transition enjoyable.

For me one of the key aspects of the book is how well the reader connects with the lead character, the 'mathematician with some behavioural difficulties', Christopher John Francis Boone. The book is narrated by Christopher so we get to know his innermost thoughts and feelings as events take place around him. I just could not see how this would work in the theatre.

Thankfully it does.

The narration falls to Siobhan, Christopher's teacher and mentor, who reads aloud Christopher's writings. The technique combined with a sparse but very effective stage set up works extremely well.

So, if like me you are having misgivings about going to see this play, I can only suggest you put them to one side and go. If you enjoy the book, I am sure you will also enjoy this performance.

Click here to see what others had to say about the performance.