I can see why they might need the comb
Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson off of UK synthpop duo Hurts apparently had a strange and supposedly very strict clause added to their record contract. They said that they wouldn’t sign with them unless they were given a comb and an umbrella! Do you know of any other strange clauses in recording contracts?
On Mr Bowie‘s 69th birthday he continues to amaze fans and casual listeners alike. The release of ‘Blackstar’, his 27th (including Tin Machine releases I think that is correct) studio album was not as big a surprise as when he dropped “Where Are We Now” on his birthday two years ago. But compared to ‘The Next Day’ album from 2013 ‘Blackstar’ is in a different universe, well mostly anyway. You could call it some kind of jazz rock fusion but it is much more than that. It is Bowie taking things that he has enjoyed and dabbled with in the past; jazz, art, his own history, A Clockwork Orange, film soundtracks and probably a lot more and blending them all together to make what I believe will stand the test of time and become a classic Bowie album.
Many reviews are saying that it is his best album since; ‘Scary Monsters’, ‘Outside’, ‘Heathen’ and many others. Feel free to take your pick. Personally I think it is a great album, although it will be a real challenge for the casual listener to get into it I think. Having said that it took a Bowie fanatic like me six or seven listens to the title track to really understand it properly.
The album includes some previously released, although reworked songs; ”Tis A Pity She Was A Whore and ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’. In addition both the title track and ‘Lazarus’ taken from the current stage musical were both released along with their excellent accompanying videos in recent weeks. The three songs that haven’t had much of an airing so far are probably my favourite part of the album (“Girl Loves Me”, “Dollar Days” and ” I Can’t Give Everything Away”) and I would love to watch him perform them live, although that is probably a forlorn wish. If you’re an avid Bowie fan you have probably already heard the album. If you’re not, then give it a shot and give it a chance it might not be an easy listen first time around. But it is very fair to say that Bowie still has it!
Given that Radiohead recently shared what might have been the theme to the latest James Bond film, ‘Spectre’ I was reminded of some other Bond theme trivia. The theme song to 1979’s ‘Moonraker’ was originally issued to Frank Sinatra and Kate Bush. Not as a duo, although that might have been somewhat intriguing. Eventually it was recorded by Shirley Bassey.
Rita Coolidge released “All Time High“, the theme to ‘Octopussy’ in 1983. That song had previously been turned down by Mari Wilson. Whatever happened to her?
Then in 2008 Jack White and Alicia Keys provided the frankly unforgettable “Another Way To Die” for ‘Quantum Of Solace’. But I wonder what might have been had Amy Winehouse recorded it as per the original plan?
WOO HOO I HAVE THE WINNING BID FOR THE RECORD PLAYER! I AM SUCH A HOUND DOG!
If I ever win big on the lottery I always felt that I wouldn’t spend extravagantly. That remains mainly true, however I have just seen some of the lots from a fabulous auction of a large amount of Elvis Presley’s possessions and memorabilia. The auction is at Elvis’ old pad Graceland on January 7th, the day before what would have been Mr Presley’s 81st birthday. The link to the Invaluable Auctions site is here. Three things that particularly interested me were;
Lot 24: Elvis Presley Stage-Used Guitar from January 14, 1973 “Aloha from Hawaii” Concert – Given to Fan in the Front Row on July 24, 1975 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Lot 114: Elvis Presley 14K “TCB” Necklace Gifted to Bodyguard Sam Thompson
Lot 11: 1956 Elvis Presley Enterprises RCA Victor Model 7-EP-2 Portable Turntable – With Facsimile Signature
So there you have it, my three favourite items from this very interesting auction being run by Invaluable Auctions. If you would like to make this old bloke happy then I would be happy for you to buy me any of the above lots. It won’t set you back more than $516,000 based on the high-end estimates and obviously I would be eternally grateful. Just to show how grateful here are a few great Elvis songs for your pleasure.
My oh my have I been tardy on completing my recent reviews! Anyway a few weeks ago I accompanied the beautiful Catwoman (a.k.a. my wonderful wife Catherine) to see Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott at the O2 Academy in Sheffield. As singers they are both extremely talented and Mr Heaton still has a knack for writing some superb and timeless songs. The band was also on top form.
There were some excellent performances from their new album including “Man Is The Biggest Bitch” and a rousing, foot stomping take on the excellent “Heatongrad”. Their performance of “DIY” from their previous had the whole place bouncing. Obviously there were the obligatory Beautiful South songs, my favourite of these was “Rotterdam”. The Housemartins back catalogue also made a few appearances with “Fun Fun Fun” and “Happy Hour” proving both their longevity and greatness. But perhaps for me the highlight of the night was “Caravan Of Love” absolutely sublime!
If you have never seen Heaton and Abbott live then I suggest you get yourself a ticket for their next gig near you, even if you have to sell your Grandma’s commode and your Granddad’s stair lift. You will not be disappointed even if your grandparents are disappointed in you!
On Tuesday 27th October I went to see perhaps Canada’s finest underground band; Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool as part of Liverpool Music Week. More of GY!BY later, but first let me mention the venue. Camp and Furnace is a cavernous yet magnificent place for rock gigs. I am sure that I will return sometime.
The British support band are called the Dead Rat Orchestra. If I were to say Beardy Folk from the Middle Ages that could describe both the band and the band members. They play old songs, and I am talking circa 17th century here, back-dropped by loud, fuzzy, sonic electronica. It really should not work, but it does and in a great way too. Having listened to them on-line and a couple of their CDs that I purchased on the night I believe that they are a better live band than they are a recording band. However that is not to say that their recorded output doesn’t cut the mustard, because it clearly does. If you get the chance to see them then you really should, I somehow doubt that you’ll be disappointed. The Dead Rat Orchestra are neither dead nor are they rats. But they are a bloody good band.
As for the headliners Godspeed You! Black Emperor how can you not love that name? In my opinion possibly one of the best named bands of the last twenty or so years. I referred to them earlier as an underground band and I guess you could say perhaps more of a cult band. They have a fiercely loyal following, many of whom were there at Camp and Furnace. A few people who I spoke to on the night had been to see the band on many occasions. They are an instrumental band, so if you’re looking for fun sing-along ditties they’re not for you. But the sound they make is something special. It moves you both physically and emotionally. The film loops that back drop the stage for every tune are incredibly clever and fit the music perfectly. I don’t know if the band have ever produced a film soundtrack but I believe they could create a masterful atmospheric background to a superior horror movie. I will definitely see them again and I recommend that you do too. Unless of course you’re a Justin Bieber fan; in which case how did you end up here at this blog!
I have worked in the fantastic city of Liverpool for a few months and I recently had the opportunity to attend a book signing by someone who technically might be described as a newly published author. He is known as Declan McManus by many but as the magnificent Elvis Costello by most! He has recently launched his memoirs; “Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink”. The book runs to just shy of 700 pages and when I have read it I will no doubt be posting a review of it in this very blog.
However I wanted to just give you a brief review of what was a fabulous night at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool last month. Elvis was interviewed about the book, his life and his career by author Mark Billingham who is also very clearly a Costello fan. Elvis himself used a tablet linked to a couple of large screens on the stage to show us some wonderful pictures of himself and some great ones from his family history. There was also a brilliant video of his Dad Ross McManus singing “If I Had A Hammer” with the Joe Loss Orchestra in the 1960s.
It was quite an intimate setting and Elvis came across as a really decent bloke. He is articulate, humorous and polite. He read a few passages from the book and told a number of anecdotes that were a mix of the emotional and the amusing. I think that many of us in what looked like a sell out crowd had our fingers crossed that he might sing a few songs and we were not disappointed. At the end he took up his acoustic guitar and played a great version of “Stranger In The House” and a supremely powerful showing of the timeless classic “Shipbuilding”. The latter was preceded by a story about the evacuation of British children overseas during World War 2. In particular the tale of a ship transporting many of these children to Canada that was sunk. For me it’s a moving song in the first place, this made it even more so.
I was happy to queue up for forty minutes afterwards to get my copy of the book signed by the great man himself. In fact I sneakily got him to sign the latest copy of Mojo which had a picture of Mr Costello on the cover. Finally let me say a big thank you to Elvis Costello, Mark Billingham and Waterstones for putting on such and excellent night’s entertainment.
This is just a brief post to say that I have been somewhat lazy about blogging lately and neglectful of all my blogs. So I hope to make up for that over the next few days and at least post the small backlog of reviews and events that I have been to recently. After that there will be an official blog break from mid November to mid December to enable yours truly to recharge in warmer climes. But for now please enjoy a few lazy and lazy related tunes!
This was my third visit to the O2 Academy in Liverpool in just over a week and there hasn’t been a poor night yet! Not that I want one mind you. Anyway tonight was going to be the first time that I had seen Reel Big Fish for around ten years. But before we move on to them there is the little matter of the support bands to deal with. First up were the rather fabulous local (well they are from the Wirral) purveyors of a really original British style of ska with a fun punk attitude, which echoes the Jamaican roots of the style with a nod towards the late seventies UK revival of this wonderful form of reggae. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Broken 3 Ways. If they are playing anywhere near you then believe me I will be very, very disappointed indeed if I hear that you didn’t go and see them.
Next up were the California-based ska pop punk band Suburban Legends. Are they suburban? I don’t know. Are they legends? Well I reckon then can become so! They played some great covers of, would you believe it, Disney songs. This sort of thing shouldn’t really work, but it does with this band. The fact that they can carry off ska punk style versions of “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” and “Under The Sea” with such aplomb is the mark of a great band in my opinion. They supplemented Disney with a few originals and a rousing version of Neil Diamond‘s “Sweet Caroline“. Could this night get any better?
Actually it could get better and it did. Is it even possible to not enjoy a Reel Big Fish gig? I don’t believe that it is. This was a phenomenal set by a band that remains at the peak of their power after more than twenty years of success. From set opener “Everyone Else Is An Asshole” to the superb cover of A-Ha‘s “Take On Me” at the end of the encore the quality and the pace never dropped. they played around with some potential and fun covers; “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Don’t Stop Believing” respectively. But perhaps the best cover of the night was a stonking work out of the ska classic “Monkey Man”, Toots Hibbert would be proud of that one! This band has so many great songs and they played a stack of them tonight; “Your Girlfriend Sucks”, “The Kids Don’t Like It”, “She Has A Girlfriend Now”, “Don’t Start A Band” and “Your Girlfriend Sucks” were some of my favourites from this set. I will not be waiting for ten years before I see them again. Go and see them yourselves right now. That’s an order!
Two gigs in two nights you say? Don’t mind if I do. This is the first time in ages that I have been to gigs on two consecutive nights, not withstanding of festival experiences anyway. So I was back at the O2 Academy 2 in Liverpool again last Thursday night. It was to be the first time that I had seen the headliners, Swim Deep live. The support were none too shabby either.
Taking to the stage first were the wonderfully named (in my opinion) Catholic Action. They play tuneful, powerful Indie Pop with songs that are full of great hooks. This is a very talented band. I believe that they are largely from Glasgow.
Next up to entertain a pretty packed venue was the Magic Gang. They brought us classy tunes and classy harmonies all the way from Brighton. They are definitely magic and most probably a gang too. Well worth checking out.
I kind of liked Swim Deep’s first album ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ and I did listen to their new release ‘Mothers’ before I went to this gig. They have improved immensely, although it would be fair to say that they were pretty damned good to start with. I reckon they are one of those bands that sound even better live than they do on record. The energy that they put into this show was phenomenal there was hardly time to draw a breath. If you have never seen them you really should make it happen at least once. Swim Deep could be described as an electro indie pop band. However I truly believe that they are much broader and deeper (pun intended) than that. I would love to hear what you think of them. I know that the relatively young crowd went mad for them and incidentally I was possibly the oldest punter in the audience, which had it’s fair share of screaming girls and muso boys.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 