Re-releases of Leonard Cohen’s first three albums set to disappoint

I bought all the Leonard Cohen LPs, on vinyl, soon after release. All of them. And then, eventually, replaced them with CDs. And I bought all the later CDs on release.

So I rate Leonard’s work music highly – on my musical street map, he occupies the top floor in The Tower Of Song, below Dylan’s penthouse suite, and alongside neighbours like Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Neil Young.

So I should be excited about the imminent re-issue, with bonus tracks, of the great first three albums. But I’m not. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll even buy them.

Because the “remastered, expanded” CDs, with new liner notes, due at the end of April, will have a mere five “new” tracks – in total.

I’ll probably keep my money in my pocket, hoping to contribute later to the restoration of Leonard’s shrunken retirement fund by buying, instead, tickets for any English gig he might play.

For Leonard Cohen, but only for him, I’d break my vow to avoid all crappy music venues, and go see him perform in an arena. Maybe even in a stadium.


Gerry Smith

Another (different) TV gig of Bryan Ferry promoting Dylanesque

If you missed Friday’s delightful Bryan Ferry Dylan covers gig on BBC TV, there’s a second chance to see the material performed in a different gig recorded for competing TV station Channel 4.

It airs at 1210-0115 next Saturday night, 3 March, ie two days before the keenly awaited album goes on sale here.

Gerry Smith




My review of Friday’s TV gig:

Bryan Ferry excels in Dylan covers gig: review/setlist/video link

The 45 minutes of Bryan Ferry’s Dylanesque promo gig, which has just finished on BBC1 TV, saw England’s rags-to-riches rocker delivering an inspired set. Ferry was backed by a lively band – a rock quartet, filled out by piano, keyboards/viola, horn(s), and a pair of tumultuous gospel-tinged backing vocalists.

The broadcast component of Ferry’s set, recorded at the lovely ex-church, LSO St Luke’s, London, was a rich mix of Ferry/Roxy favourites, interleaved with Dylan covers:

SETLIST:
1. The In Crowd (Ferry – Another Time, Another Place)
2. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan – JWH)
3. Slave To Love (Ferry - Boys And Girls)
4. Make You Feel My Love (Dylan – TOOM)
5. Let’s Stick Together (Ferry – Let’s Stick Together)
6. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Dylan – H61R)
7. Don’t Stop The Dance (Ferry – Boys And Girls)
8. Gates Of Eden (Dylan – BIABH)
9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Ferry - Another Time, Another Place)
10. I Put A Spell On You (Ferry – Taxi)
11. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall (Dylan – TFBD)
12. Jealous Guy (Roxy – single)

Ferry’s treatment of the five Dylan covers was both soulful and reverential. He worked the nuances of each tune. His occasionally melodramatic delivery served to highlight the majesty of both the Dylan and the other songs in the set. He delivered some well-felt, lively harp on songs 6 and 8, too: bonus!

It was instructive (if predictable) to hear how well the Dylan material sat alongside the old Jerome Kern standard, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

The only slight weakness of a delightful gig was the choice of final tune – a weak song by an over-rated writer, with an appropriately weakly whistled outro.

Overall, this was a lovely show – the best rockpop gig I’ve seen for some time. Now, is it too late to I book for Ferry’s forthcoming UK tour… ?

You can see a splendid 15 min video, with clips of the gig, plus a Ferry interview discussing the Dylanesque release (due 5 March – yummy!), as well as an album review, and related Roxy Music stuff:

www.bbc.co.uk/music



Gerry Smith

Bryan Ferry excels in Dylan covers gig: review/setlist/video link

The 45 minutes of Bryan Ferry’s Dylanesque promo gig, which has just finished on BBC1 TV, saw England’s rags-to-riches rocker delivering an inspired set. Ferry was backed by a lively band – a rock quartet, filled out by piano, keyboards/viola, horn(s), and a pair of tumultuous gospel-tinged backing vocalists.

The broadcast component of Ferry’s set, recorded at the lovely ex-church, LSO St Luke’s, London, was a rich mix of Ferry/Roxy favourites, interleaved with Dylan covers:

SETLIST:
1. The In Crowd (Ferry – Another Time, Another Place)
2. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan – JWH)
3. Slave To Love (Ferry - Boys And Girls)
4. Make You Feel My Love (Dylan – TOOM)
5. Let’s Stick Together (Ferry – Let’s Stick Together)
6. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Dylan – H61R)
7. Don’t Stop The Dance (Ferry – Boys And Girls)
8. Gates Of Eden (Dylan – BIABH)
9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Ferry - Another Time, Another Place)
10. I Put A Spell On You (Ferry – Taxi)
11. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall (Dylan – F)
12. Jealous Guy (Roxy – single)

Ferry’s treatment of the five Dylan covers was both soulful and reverential. He worked the nuances of each tune. His occasionally melodramatic delivery served to highlight the majesty of both Dylan and the other songs in the set. He delivered some well-felt, lively harp on songs 6 and 8, too: bonus!

It was instructive (if predictable) to hear how well the Dylan material sat alongside the old Jerome Kern standard, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

The only slight weakness of a delightful gig was the choice of final tune – a weak song by an over-rated writer, with an appropriately weakly whistled outro.

Overall, this was a lovely show – the best rockpop gig I’ve seen for some time. Now, is it too late to I book for Ferry’s forthcoming UK tour… ?

You can see a splendid 15 min video, with clips of the gig, plus a Ferry interview discussing the Dylanesque release (due 5 March – yummy!), as well as an album review, and related Roxy Music stuff:

www.bbc.co.uk/music



Gerry Smith

Neil Young new product prices – encore

I was whining here recently about the price of new Neil Young product from some retailers, pointing out that the Heart Of Gold DVD was variously priced: £22 at Fopp, £25 at HMV, and £12 in FNAC, Valencia.

My cheapskate instinct in foregoing all three offers was justified this week when I ordered it from amazon.co.uk for under £6, delivered.

Great news for the grown-up music buyer, but it bodes ill for bricks and mortar retailers - unless they smarten up, and pronto.



Gerry Smith

The Bible and Bob Dylan

I’ve been re-reading Scott Marshall’s handsome study, Restless Pilgrim: the spiritual journey of Bob Dylan (Relevant Books, 2002, 188pp, pbk).

It’s diligently researched, referencing an abundance of sources, and finely written - a well-informed introduction to the spiritual dimension of Dylan’s output as it has developed since the early 1960s. It’s a helpful entrée into a richly complex subject.

Quite apart from the well-crafted text, the design of Marshall’s book makes it a must-have in any half decent Dylan collection: it’s the most beautiful artefact in my Dylan library.

If you can’t get hold of a copy of the book, Scott Marshall has covered similar ground in four extensive articles on the web (links supplied by James Dring). Dylan fans owe Marshall a debt of gratitude for making a key topic approachable:


www.jewsweek.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Article%5El1034&enVersion=0

www.jewsweek.com/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Article%5El1541&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Stories



Gerry Smith

Amy Winehouse: music for grown-ups

If you’re reading this outside the UK, the name Amy Winehouse will probably be new you – word is that she has yet to be promoted overseas.

If you’re in the UK, you can hardly have escaped Ms Winehouse. Back To Black, her chart-topping second album, her colourful lifetyle, and triumph at last week’s Brits awards, have made her the best-publicised English pop persona since, er, Oasis.

Back To Black, the new album, released before Xmas, has already stacked up 700,000 sales. Frank, her fine debut album, was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2003.

A challenging, ballsy songwriter with an authentic soul/jazz/r&b voice, and on-stage charisma, Winehouse is a massive new talent. Lovely tone. Fine range. Convincing actress. And – bonus – she swings.

But, because she was cross-promoted at launch to the supermarket crowd, along with a bunch of less talented Brit “jazz” singers, I’d dismissed her along with the rest of the wannabes. Mistake. Amy’s the first pop star to have made me pay serious attention for many years.

Music for grown-ups? From a boozy, potty-mouthed, loose-lipped 23 year old? You bet. Best check out Amy Winehouse - rapido!


Gerry Smith

At The Movies – notable omission from fine new Van Morrison release

Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide:

“I was interested in your comments on Van Morrison’s new "movie tunes" album. Great track list, although the notable omission was TB Sheets from Scorsese's Bringing Out The Dead… given, of course, that the average movie-goer who would swoon over Moondance and Someone Like You would reel in horror at TB Sheets."



Original posting:

Van Morrison At The Movies - Soundtrack Hits

As a former Van Morrison obsessive – serial show attender, completist collector, and daily fanlist contributor - I already own every track on the new CD, Van Morrison At The Movies - Soundtrack Hits, set for release on 12 February.

No matter, I’ll still be buying the new release, simply because it’s a fitting tribute to Morrison’s abundant talent, as writer, singer and musician.

Van Morrison of the Noughties might no longer ring my bell (it’s instructive that the tracklist, below, has no recent songs), but this doesn’t diminish my admiration for the sheer majesty of his back catalogue. That his songs have been chosen for the soundtracks of so many movies speaks volumes about his artistry.

Tracklist:

1. Gloria (performed by Them) - from The Outsiders
2. Baby Please Don't Go (performed by Them) - from Wild At Heart
3. Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile) - from Pope Of Greenwich Village
4. Domino (Live) - from Clean & Sober
5. Moondance (Live) - from An American Werewolf In London
6. Queen Of The Slipstream - from Extreme Close-Up
7. Wild Night - from Thelma & Louise
8. Caravan (Live) - from The Last Waltz
9. Wonderful Remark - from King Of Comedy
10. Brown Eyed Girl - from Born On The 4th Of July
11. Days Like This - from As Good As It Gets
12. Into The Mystic (Live) - from Patch Adams
13. Hungry For Your Love - from An Officer And A Gentleman
14. Someone Like You - from French Kiss
15. Bright Side Of The Road - from Fever Pitch
16. Have I Told You Lately - from One Fine Day
17. Real Real Gone - from Donovan Quick
18. Irish Heartbeat - from The Matchmaker
19. Comfortably Numb (Live) (Edit) - from The Departed



Gerry Smith

New Neil Young product - and why HMV is getting less of my music spend

When, aeons ago, I first discovered HMV’s massive London Oxford St (aka Circus) store, it was like a premonition of what Heaven might be like. For years thereafter, I could easily waste half a day immersing myself in the sheer breadth and depth of the product on offer, before shuffling off home, wallet considerably lighter.

HMV remained my music supplier of choice until a couple of years ago. But – familiar story – my music buying has gradually widened, to take in supermarkets, Amazon, iTunes and, most notably, Fopp.

Seeking to catch up with new Neil Young product recently, I was reminded why my infatuation with HMV has cooled. Just compare some prices:

* Living With War – Raw: £15 at Fopp, £12 FNAC, Valencia, £21 at HMV, £7.11p on iTunes,

* Heart Of Gold DVD: £22 at Fopp, £25 at HMV, £12 in FNAC, Valencia

* Live At Fillmore: £11 at Fopp, £13 at HMV, £3.16 on iTunes

* Live At Massey Hall: CD-WOW is taking pre-orders at £7.99, delivered; I don’t use HMV online, after an unsatisfactory experience, but the in-store price is unlikely to compete.

From an annual spend of £500-£1,000 at HMV, I’ll be surprised if I spend 20% of that this year. If there are many other consumers like me out there, the company’s in trouble – a pity, because I still have a soft spot for it. I can still be wooed back - but HMV’ll have to try harder, and not only on pricing.




Gerry Smith

Bryan Ferry, premier contemporary crooner, to play TV gig

Bryan Ferry’s forthcoming Dylan covers album, Dylanesque, due in early March, gets a mainstream TV preview next week:

“BBC1 Friday 23 February: 11.15pm - BBC1 Sessions: Bryan Ferry. The Roxy Music frontman performs an intimate concert at LSO St Luke's London, ahead of a new album of Bob Dylan songs next month.”

The album tracklist includes Dylan classics like:

All Along The Watchtower
All I Really Want To Do
If Not For You
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Positively 4th Street
Knocking On Heaven's Door
Simple Twist Of Fate

The album will be a must-buy for all fans of Ferry/Roxy Music and many in Dylan’s fanbase (count me in, twice over). Although the cognoscenti regard all the Ferry solo releases as inferior to all the Roxy Music albums, his cover versions - including Dylan’s A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall on his first solo album, in 1973 – generally garner high praise.

Ferry’s 1999 album, As Time Goes By, a collection of standards by the great Broadway writers such as Cole Porter, is a beautiful CD. It’ll be instructive to see how Dylan’s work sounds alongside The Great American Songbook.

For my money, Ferry is the leading contemporary crossover crooner, by a country mile – way, way ahead of competitors like Rod Stewart, Van Morrison and Sting.



Gerry Smith

Grown-up gig bookings for 2007

Normally by this time I have a few dozen grown-up gigs already lined up for the year ahead. But so far, apart from half a dozen Royal Opera House bookings, I’ve only booked two shows – Jim Moray in Grantham, a small East Midlands country town which happened to be the birthplace of dear old Margaret Thatcher, and The Fall, in Hove, adjacent to Brighton on the south coast.

The two rockpop bookings are repeats of 2006 gigs which were outstanding. They’re also priced well below the prevailing level of poprock tickets, which are becoming excessive.


Gerry Smith

HMV and Fopp: all change in music retailing

Not so long ago, music retail in the UK was dominated by two chains, HMV and Virgin. A number of niche operators, Andy’s Records, Music Zone, and MVC included, briefly challenged their dominance before bowing out of a fiercely competitive marketplace.

But the chains are still under threat, from three directions – digital downloads, online sales (Amazon et al) and the supermarkets. And Fopp, favourite retailer of Music for Grown-Ups, is getting better and bigger all the time.

Thanks to Mike Ollier for reporting what’s happening where he shops:

“Bugger ~ Music Zone in Sunderland has closed down... they went into administration, as you probably know.

“This Saturday I wanted a DVD of Kevin Smith's and went into the dreaded HMV... I hate giving them my money. As usual, I was shocked to see the DVD was £17 (dunno why I'm always shocked, but I still am at the audacity with which they can charge such prices). I coulda got it on the net but I really wanted it so, whilst gnashing my teeth, I paid... my hands were like Arkwright's till and the assistant wrenched the note from my hand.

“I went through the mall (hey look, Kevin Smith is rubbing off on me) and.... huh.... Music Zone has been taken over by Fopp. Yippee. But I'd just bought my DVD in HMV and was sad again!

“They had no new releases, though, and it hasn't been branded and is, unfortunately, a small store but still... Julie will know where to find me on my days off work. I can't wait for them to open properly!”

New Joni “not yet ready for gardening” Mitchell album

Grown-up rockpop aficionados will be cheered that Joni Mitchell, who “retired” several years ago, has changed her mind and decided she’s not yet ready for full-time gardening. I could have told her she was far too young/talented to quit – retirement’s for the little people.

In an extensive relaunch interview in yesterday’s Sunday Times Culture magazine, Mitchell reveals plans to release a new album, with the working title Shine.

Let’s hope she tours to promote it, too. A Mitchell UK visit is long overdue - I can’t remember a Mitchell gig here for over twenty years.



Gerry Smith

Il Trovatore in London last night: lame

Oh well. Some you win, some you lose.

After the soaring brilliance of La Fille du Regiment, I came back to Earth with a bump at last night’s lame Covent Garden production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

There was some impassioned singing from Stephanie Blythe – what a big voice – and, especially, main man Marcelo Alvarez. But that’s about all you could say about this pedestrian gig.

Why Il Trovatore is so popular among opera buffs completely escapes me. It has some lovely music, OK. But very little dramatic structure - constant set changes spoil any flow it might have. The narrative is wayward. The songs appear as if from nowhere.

So directing Verdi’s “masterpiece” – it’s normally ranked alongside La Traviata and Rigoletto as the peak of the composer’s creativity - must be a hard call, but this production simply exposed the opera’s shortcomings.

The acting was notable by its absence; the final prison scene, with top gypsy girl, awaiting the stake, managing to snatch a last kip on the floor, in the midst of high drama, was risible. As a result, you felt nothing for any of the wretched characters or the denouement.

The orchestra – normally a highlight at Covent Garden – needed to be rather more assertive. I’m a big fan of Alvarez, but he needs to renew his gym membership or he could find the range of roles on offer dwindling rapidly - which would be a great pity for one of the great modern tenors.

If all operas were as dull as last night’s Il Trovatore, I'd have to reconsider my options.



Gerry Smith

A feast of John Coltrane

The buzz continues surrounding the release of Fearless Leader, the new John Coltrane box set.

In a collaborative celebration of Coltrane’s legacy, four of the sax player’s record labels are pooling resources to create a unique online experience – The Traneumentary, consisting of a regular podcast and a blog, running from now until June, with input from some top jazzers like the great McCoy Tyner. (Don’t be put off by the dreadful name for a wonderful resource.)

http://www.traneumentary.blogspot.com/



Gerry Smith

At last – three vital Ella Fitzgerald Songbook compilations

Readers tempted by weak recent wannabe renditions of the Great American Songbook who now feel ready to explore the grown-up real thing will be tempted by a trio of marvellous new Ella Fitzgerald compilation albums.

As well as the magnificent new compendium, Ella Fitzgerald, Very Best Of The Songbooks 2CD, issued last week, they can look forward to two budget priced compilations on 19 March pulled from the best Songbook recordings, covering the great work of Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers.

The new releases fill a glaring gap in the Ella catalogue – single disc compilations from The Duke Ellington (Day Dream: best of the Duke Ellington Songbook) and the Gershwin sessions (Oh Lady Be Good: best of the Gershwin Songbook) have long been favourites in these parts. But they have highlighted the two obvious gaps in Fitzgerald product, now to be filled.

Kudos: Verve!



Gerry Smith

New issue of UNCUT - encore

Thanks to Mike Ollier:

“Your article about the new UNCUT just beat me to it.

“Reasons why I've cancelled my subscription: the lazy Smiths article, the look at a 20 year old Metallica song, the Q&A from readers to Kevin Rowland, the Best of the Byrds article, just in case there is someone out there who hasn't investigated them or read the thousands of other articles about them elsewhere etc, and so on... a thinner than usual edition, at that. Lazy journalism.

“I personally love movies ~ one of the reasons I started to get UNCUT. But their reviews are distinctly fourth rate. Are they written by a first year media student? Quite often, seriously bad movies get 4/5 stars... and giving anything by Oliver Stone anything over one star is a serious miscalculation in my book.

“Another reason: labelling the De Niro interview as an exclusive. He was also interviewed by The Guardian and The Observer last week; he has a new film to promote in which he stars and directs… . Do they really think they are the only people he will speak to?!

“One of my other reasons for cancelling UNCUT: it used to champion alt.co/Americana artists, but that seems to have stopped.

“And the final nail in the coffin for me is the "...and finally" thing in the back where the writer talks about hobnobbing with stars for "what used to be Melody Maker". Why?”

“You can't like everything in a mag, but even if I don't like an artist (I hate Metallica, for instance), at least I’d like to read something new about them.

“Pah!

“PS: Re your list of tasty new releases: one other new release on 19th Feb ~ Jackie Leven's "Oh What A Blow That Phanthom Dealt Me". And Lucinda's "Car Wheels..." came out last November and was included in my best of the year submission!”

The Smiths grace new (March) issue of Uncut

Most months, attracted by some tempting cover designs, I eagerly scour the three rockpop mags on the supermarket shelves - MOJO, Uncut and The Word. And, nearly every month, I put them back, unbought, disappointed by the small proportion of content that really interests me.

The new Uncut is a case in point. A spell-binding Smiths cover, and a promising long feature on their Top Songs. But, blow me, when I open the mag, I find it’s yet another of those self-serving celebfests – telling me what Rockaday Johnny or some such thinks about Girlfriend In A Coma and the rest. I just don’t wanna know, thanks.

The rest of the mag has some mouthwatering features – notably on new product by Lucinda Williams, Bowie, Bryan Ferry, The Fall, Nico, Soft Machine and Uncle Bobby D. All look eminently readable.

Problem is, alongside the Smiths cover feature, they occupy a total of about 26 pages - of 140 – less than 20%. The rest of the issue is devoted to the kind of poprock (and movies) which just doesn’t ring my bell.

So I passed on the new Uncut. Yet again. It fared rather better than the competition, though: I didn’t even bother picking up the new MOJO, with yet another (yawn…yawn) Beatles yawn...yawn...) cover (yawn…yawn…).


Gerry Smith

Exciting new releases by favoured musicians for grown-ups

Only one month old, 2007 is already a big year for new releases by favoured musicians for grown-ups. Artefacts on my shopping list include:

* January
Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels, 2CD set
Miles Davis, Best Of The Warner Years
Ella Fitzgerald, Very Best Of The Songbooks 2CD
Joni Mitchell, remastered, expanded 2CD reissues of Court And Spark, Hissing Of Summer Lawns, and Hejira
(no sign of any of these where I shop yet, though)

* February:
12: Van Morrison, At The Movies
19: Lucinda Williams, West
26?: Dylan, Don’t Look Back 2DVD, plus book etc

* March
5: Bryan Ferry, Dylanesque
12?: Neil Young Live At Massey Hall, Toronto

* April
2: Waterboys, The Book Of Lightning

* Later/?
Doors, Legacy, new 2CD compilation
Stones, Scorsese film


Many of the big beasts in the Music for Grown-Ups jungle are stirring at the same time…



Gerry Smith