Mozart would easily make any Music for Grown-Ups Top 10, possibly a Top 5. His genius is apparent across his vast catalogue, from great church music to the top operas, exquisite piano concertos to rousing symphonies. In another age, he’d have been The Beatles and Dylan and Miles Davis rolled into one.
BBC Radio 3 has been running its landmark series, Composer Of The Week, every weekday, for many years. Over five days, it explores the art of musicians, both celebrated and virtually unknown, with effortless expertise. Presenter Donald Macleod is a fine educator.
Composer Of The Week is one of only a handful of radio programmes I’d miss if it ceased. I’ve been listening to it for years, but have never heard any Mozart programming.
Well, from Monday 3 to Friday 7 December, Composer Of The Week is finally covering Mozza. While all five programmes are must-record, the pick of the bunch is Thursday, which covers Wolfie’s Freemason links, hence The Magic Flute, with great French soprano Natalie Dessay as Queen Of The Night.
The five programmes are broadcast each day on BBC Radio 3 at 1200-1300, repeated 2045-2145. And they’re streamed on the web, and then archived for seven days after broadcast.
This is the Music for Grown-Ups radio highlight of 2007: it simply doesn’t get any better than this!
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
Gerry Smith
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Rockpop for grown-ups: a vintage year for best-of CDs
If you’re wondering about buying rockpop for grown-ups best-of CDs as Xmas presents, you’re spoilt for choice this year. A pile of exciting new releases has made 2007 a vintage year for this oft-derided but very popular form of release.
Stunning best-ofs praised here this year (you can find them via the Archive) include:
* Doors – Very Best Of The Doors (2CD/DVD/booklet version preferred)
* Dylan – DYLAN (3CD version preferred)
* Van Morrison – Still On Top (3CD version preferred)
* Mick Jagger – Very Best Of
* Rolling Stones – Rolled Gold+
* Led Zeppelin – Mothership (2CD/DVD version preferred)
* Ella – Forever Ella
* The Very Best Of Miles Davis: the Warner Bros Sessions 1985-1991.
Mamma mia! Any one of them would bring a broad smile to my face on Xmas morning. Supermarkets and online suppliers (eg play.com) generally undercut the music megastores on such product – so you can save lots by shopping around.
Gerry Smith
Stunning best-ofs praised here this year (you can find them via the Archive) include:
* Doors – Very Best Of The Doors (2CD/DVD/booklet version preferred)
* Dylan – DYLAN (3CD version preferred)
* Van Morrison – Still On Top (3CD version preferred)
* Mick Jagger – Very Best Of
* Rolling Stones – Rolled Gold+
* Led Zeppelin – Mothership (2CD/DVD version preferred)
* Ella – Forever Ella
* The Very Best Of Miles Davis: the Warner Bros Sessions 1985-1991.
Mamma mia! Any one of them would bring a broad smile to my face on Xmas morning. Supermarkets and online suppliers (eg play.com) generally undercut the music megastores on such product – so you can save lots by shopping around.
Gerry Smith
Friday, November 23, 2007
Morrissey and Bjork gigs go on sale today
It’a always the same … you wait months for a gig by a key musician for grown-ups, then two turn up at the same time.
Tickets for Morrissey and Bjork gigs go on sale today – Mozza for a week’s residency in January at London’s refurbished Roundhouse, Bjork on a short Anglo tour next spring.
Whoopee! See you there?
Gerry Smith
Tickets for Morrissey and Bjork gigs go on sale today – Mozza for a week’s residency in January at London’s refurbished Roundhouse, Bjork on a short Anglo tour next spring.
Whoopee! See you there?
Gerry Smith
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Maria – sumptuous new Cecilia Bartoli release
Maria, the new Cecilia Bartoli project, is being marketed with an élan that almost matches the great Italian mezzo’s artistry. The release is packaged in a choice of three formats:
* simple CD in jewel case (£10-12)
* de luxe CD, with delightful digipak booklet (c£14)
* sumptuous large format package with the CD, DVD and a book of Bartoli’s Maria memorabilia (c£30).
The Maria being celebrated is not Callas, as you might reasonably expect, but Malibran, a rather obscure 19thC Spanish opera singer for whose art Bartoli has a very high regard.
The Maria release continues Bartoli’s programme of putting under-appreciated artists back before the public eye. Outstanding previous releases have successfully repositioned Gluck, Salieri and Vivaldi as great writers for voice.
Not content with being the world’s best mezzo, the divine Ms Bartoli is on a mission to teach an inattentive world about forgotten artists.
She’s one of Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite singers – in any genre. On the opera or concert stage, or on record, she’s one of the great voices of the age.
If you want to try just one opera singer, Cecilia Bartoli should be your first choice.
www.ceciliabartolionline.com
Gerry Smith
* simple CD in jewel case (£10-12)
* de luxe CD, with delightful digipak booklet (c£14)
* sumptuous large format package with the CD, DVD and a book of Bartoli’s Maria memorabilia (c£30).
The Maria being celebrated is not Callas, as you might reasonably expect, but Malibran, a rather obscure 19thC Spanish opera singer for whose art Bartoli has a very high regard.
The Maria release continues Bartoli’s programme of putting under-appreciated artists back before the public eye. Outstanding previous releases have successfully repositioned Gluck, Salieri and Vivaldi as great writers for voice.
Not content with being the world’s best mezzo, the divine Ms Bartoli is on a mission to teach an inattentive world about forgotten artists.
She’s one of Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite singers – in any genre. On the opera or concert stage, or on record, she’s one of the great voices of the age.
If you want to try just one opera singer, Cecilia Bartoli should be your first choice.
www.ceciliabartolionline.com
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Summertime in England – with Van the Man
Holidaying in Europe this summer, Adelaide Van Morrison devotee Andrew Robertson finally caught up with his main man in SW England. His report of two Van gigs is such a thoughtful rumination on where Morrison’s live art stands these days, it doesn’t matter that it’s a bit dated:
Some quick context: my only other Van concert was here in Adelaide during his only Australian tour in 1985, so it's been 22 years since I've seen him live. Much has been said and written about that Australian tour, so I won't revisit it here - suffice to say that the fact he hasn't been back probably confirms the reports that it was not a happy experience.
Since 1985 of course, Van has played a huge number of concerts, many of which have been extraordinary. As a listener from afar, I still rate the Caledonia Soul Orchestra of the ITLTSN era as the peak of his live performances, but having said that I would have been very happy to have been in the audience at Montreux 90 or Dublin 96, to name just 2. But it wasn't to be. Instead I found myself at Poole and Plymouth in 2007.
The night before leaving Australia, however, we had the great fortune to see Bob Dylan in Adelaide. Some people thought we were crazy going to a concert the night before a gruelling Adelaide to London journey, but no way would I have missed Dylan. This was his fourth concert in Adelaide in the past 10 years, something Van should try to emulate!
And it was the best - although I reflected afterwards that the set list included none of what I consider Dylan's "icon" songs eg Hard Rain, Desolation Row, Johanna, Watch Tower, Rolling Stone. It wasn't wishful thinking to hope for those songs, because looking at the set lists in the concerts before Adelaide, he alternated between Watch Tower and Rolling Stone as the finale, and had done one of the others in every concert.
In Adelaide he closed with Blowin' in the Wind, a stellar performance and interesting bluesy arrangement that was a fitting end to a great concert.
The standing ovation that followed seemed to go forever, and while the crowd wanted more, one sensed that this ovation was more of an expression of gratitude than a clamour for another song.
It was quite a moving moment, Dylan stood there looking at the audience, doing strange hand movements that were half finger pointing and half thumbs ups. He seemed uncomfortable with the attention, but was graciously accepting it - as if he could feel the honest appreciation being expressed.
To me it felt like the ovation was partly for the great concert he had just delivered, and partly for the lifetime of inspiration he has provided to us all - with a sense that this may have been the last time we'll see him making it all the more important to just say "thanks Bob".
Anyway, as I reflected afterwards, this was a great concert that was Bob's setlist, not mine. It included about half the tracks from Modern Times, his most recent album and as I've said, none of those "drop dead" tracks that have made Dylan Dylan. Even Blowin' in the Wind, as great a song as that is, and as relevant as it still is, has been so popularised that it suffers from the "familiarity syndrome". A bit like Satisfaction for the Stones and, say, Moondance for Van.
Do you see where I'm going with this? This was the perfect concert for me to see before seeing Van, because I knew it was likely that I was going to get a similar concert from him - more of his recent output, less of what I consider to be his "icon" songs, and probably a "popularised" encore. Would I have enjoyed Dylan more if he'd sung my set list? I don't know - but what I do know is that I really loved the concert that he gave, end of story.
Don't get me wrong, there were some great songs - notably Masters of War and John Brown, which along with Blowin' in the Wind gave the concert a bit of an anti-war theme; Lay Lady Lay, You Ain't Going Nowhere, Highway 61 and It's Alright Ma among the oldies; and from Modern Times, Workingman's Blues was probably the highlight of the night, Beyond the Horizon and Ain't Talking were also great. And so on. Incidentally, it was the first ever live performance of Beyond the Horizon - but I didn't find that out until someone at the Poole concert told me (the all pervasiveness of the internet is amazing - there were already people with boots of that concert only 3 days later on the other side of the world).
Enough of Dylan. That was Tuesday night in Adelaide, by Thursday morning we were in London, and on Friday on a train to Poole, which we were told was the venue for the first Pokers and Linda Gail gig - considered by some to have been the end of the era of the last great band of Van's.
Anyway, that's all history, all I know is that Poole was great - and I thought the band was great, particularly the keyboards, pedal steel and violin.
Chris Farlowe joined Van on 6-7 songs and having read posts from people who don't like him, I was initially concerned that this might blow the concert. On the contrary, I enjoyed Farlowe's contributions and also thought he brought the best out of Van. If I could pick one song as my highlight, it was probably Cry for Home with Farlowe doing the "Tom Jones part" as Van put it. Their duets on Sometimes We Cry and Baby Blue were also highlights, as was Tupelo Honey - and indeed Stranded. Perhaps my only complaint about Farlowe's presence was that they encored on Stand By Me and although I like that as a song, I thought our 90 minutes with Van was too precious to spend any of it on a song like Stand By Me (if he'd wanted to do a cover, there were plenty of others I would have preferred).
While Farlowe looks like a bit of a caricature, I thought he sang powerfully and gave a really committed performance which seemed to lift Van to greater heights. Does Tupelo Honey need another singer to duet with Van? In principle, no, but it worked and when Van was belting out "men of granite, men with insight" etc, I felt that it was all the more powerful for having had the other voice leading into it.
Perhaps there have been nights when the two of them make light of it all? If so, Poole wasn't one of those nights. Or perhaps it was simply that this was the first time for me, not the umpteenth - I'm not sure I'd want to see Farlowe again, notwithstanding that I thought he did a great job.
If Cry for Home wasn't THE highlight of the night, it would have been Not Feeling It Any More - a great song, and one that allowed the band to stretch out.
Other highlights included Magic Time, a superb I Can't Stop Loving You (on which Van played piano), Don't Start Crying Now and Little Village. This was an eclectic collection of songs (reminding me of the Dylan concert in that sense). But one that simply worked.
I particularly liked Little Village, and saw how some songs can be so much better live - while it was one of the better songs on WWWTP, I still couldn't really warm to it (perhaps just because of the context - WWWTP was an album I just couldn't get into) however live it became a different song. I know I'm telling most of you what you already know!!
I even enjoyed the so-called Las Vegas version of Have I Told You Lately - what's not to like? Again, perhaps because it was my first time hearing it. Would I have preferred the original arrangement? It's an irrelevant question - just like, would I have preferred the sand on the beach at Positano to have been soft and white like in Australia? If so, I should have stayed home and gone to the beach with an iPod to listen to Avalon Sunset! The fact is, I liked the different arrangement, just as I liked the countrified (banjo driven) Bright Side of the Road. And if Dylan can rearrange Blowin' in the Wind ....
All in all, a great concert. And I was very pleased to hear the other Van fans saying the same after the concert, so it wasn't just me.
A very pleasant drive through the English countryside from Poole to Plymouth for the second Van concert in two nights - most people who knew we were doing that thought we were crazy (including, I suspect, my wife Gayle) but so be it!
Plymouth was spellbinding. And it was a very good decision to go to both - there were 9 different songs at Plymouth. And no Chris Farlowe meant that the dynamic of the night was completely different.
Two highlights: Foreign Window and Celtic New Year that morphed into The Healing Game. These were awesome, and worth the trip on their own. In Healing Game we got a taste of Van taking it down, then bringing it up to a great climax - I can only begin to imagine some of the concerts from days gone by where he's done that to a much greater extent, but what he did that night in Plymouth was, for me, simply wonderful.
Other new songs in Plymouth included Blue & Green, Jackie Wilson, Moondance, Help Me, St James Infirmary and Stop Drinking - with the exception of the latter, a great selection of songs. I've read of people being sick of Moondance - and I will never know how I would react if I'd heard it live 50 times or whatever, but to hear it once was for me a huge highlight. Same with Help Me, which he really delivered on.
This was a seriously good concert - with Little Village again, Foreign Window, Celtic New Year / Healing Game and Blue & Green, it had an ethereal feel to it, interspersed with some rollicking good times with Bright Side and Jackie Wilson, and some sophisticated swing with Moondance and Magic Time. Among the others.
I was rapt - this was the concert I'd come for. And again, after the show, the other Van fans agreed. What was particularly pleasing was how "into it" Van seemed on both nights - and how much sax he played.
Some quick context: my only other Van concert was here in Adelaide during his only Australian tour in 1985, so it's been 22 years since I've seen him live. Much has been said and written about that Australian tour, so I won't revisit it here - suffice to say that the fact he hasn't been back probably confirms the reports that it was not a happy experience.
Since 1985 of course, Van has played a huge number of concerts, many of which have been extraordinary. As a listener from afar, I still rate the Caledonia Soul Orchestra of the ITLTSN era as the peak of his live performances, but having said that I would have been very happy to have been in the audience at Montreux 90 or Dublin 96, to name just 2. But it wasn't to be. Instead I found myself at Poole and Plymouth in 2007.
The night before leaving Australia, however, we had the great fortune to see Bob Dylan in Adelaide. Some people thought we were crazy going to a concert the night before a gruelling Adelaide to London journey, but no way would I have missed Dylan. This was his fourth concert in Adelaide in the past 10 years, something Van should try to emulate!
And it was the best - although I reflected afterwards that the set list included none of what I consider Dylan's "icon" songs eg Hard Rain, Desolation Row, Johanna, Watch Tower, Rolling Stone. It wasn't wishful thinking to hope for those songs, because looking at the set lists in the concerts before Adelaide, he alternated between Watch Tower and Rolling Stone as the finale, and had done one of the others in every concert.
In Adelaide he closed with Blowin' in the Wind, a stellar performance and interesting bluesy arrangement that was a fitting end to a great concert.
The standing ovation that followed seemed to go forever, and while the crowd wanted more, one sensed that this ovation was more of an expression of gratitude than a clamour for another song.
It was quite a moving moment, Dylan stood there looking at the audience, doing strange hand movements that were half finger pointing and half thumbs ups. He seemed uncomfortable with the attention, but was graciously accepting it - as if he could feel the honest appreciation being expressed.
To me it felt like the ovation was partly for the great concert he had just delivered, and partly for the lifetime of inspiration he has provided to us all - with a sense that this may have been the last time we'll see him making it all the more important to just say "thanks Bob".
Anyway, as I reflected afterwards, this was a great concert that was Bob's setlist, not mine. It included about half the tracks from Modern Times, his most recent album and as I've said, none of those "drop dead" tracks that have made Dylan Dylan. Even Blowin' in the Wind, as great a song as that is, and as relevant as it still is, has been so popularised that it suffers from the "familiarity syndrome". A bit like Satisfaction for the Stones and, say, Moondance for Van.
Do you see where I'm going with this? This was the perfect concert for me to see before seeing Van, because I knew it was likely that I was going to get a similar concert from him - more of his recent output, less of what I consider to be his "icon" songs, and probably a "popularised" encore. Would I have enjoyed Dylan more if he'd sung my set list? I don't know - but what I do know is that I really loved the concert that he gave, end of story.
Don't get me wrong, there were some great songs - notably Masters of War and John Brown, which along with Blowin' in the Wind gave the concert a bit of an anti-war theme; Lay Lady Lay, You Ain't Going Nowhere, Highway 61 and It's Alright Ma among the oldies; and from Modern Times, Workingman's Blues was probably the highlight of the night, Beyond the Horizon and Ain't Talking were also great. And so on. Incidentally, it was the first ever live performance of Beyond the Horizon - but I didn't find that out until someone at the Poole concert told me (the all pervasiveness of the internet is amazing - there were already people with boots of that concert only 3 days later on the other side of the world).
Enough of Dylan. That was Tuesday night in Adelaide, by Thursday morning we were in London, and on Friday on a train to Poole, which we were told was the venue for the first Pokers and Linda Gail gig - considered by some to have been the end of the era of the last great band of Van's.
Anyway, that's all history, all I know is that Poole was great - and I thought the band was great, particularly the keyboards, pedal steel and violin.
Chris Farlowe joined Van on 6-7 songs and having read posts from people who don't like him, I was initially concerned that this might blow the concert. On the contrary, I enjoyed Farlowe's contributions and also thought he brought the best out of Van. If I could pick one song as my highlight, it was probably Cry for Home with Farlowe doing the "Tom Jones part" as Van put it. Their duets on Sometimes We Cry and Baby Blue were also highlights, as was Tupelo Honey - and indeed Stranded. Perhaps my only complaint about Farlowe's presence was that they encored on Stand By Me and although I like that as a song, I thought our 90 minutes with Van was too precious to spend any of it on a song like Stand By Me (if he'd wanted to do a cover, there were plenty of others I would have preferred).
While Farlowe looks like a bit of a caricature, I thought he sang powerfully and gave a really committed performance which seemed to lift Van to greater heights. Does Tupelo Honey need another singer to duet with Van? In principle, no, but it worked and when Van was belting out "men of granite, men with insight" etc, I felt that it was all the more powerful for having had the other voice leading into it.
Perhaps there have been nights when the two of them make light of it all? If so, Poole wasn't one of those nights. Or perhaps it was simply that this was the first time for me, not the umpteenth - I'm not sure I'd want to see Farlowe again, notwithstanding that I thought he did a great job.
If Cry for Home wasn't THE highlight of the night, it would have been Not Feeling It Any More - a great song, and one that allowed the band to stretch out.
Other highlights included Magic Time, a superb I Can't Stop Loving You (on which Van played piano), Don't Start Crying Now and Little Village. This was an eclectic collection of songs (reminding me of the Dylan concert in that sense). But one that simply worked.
I particularly liked Little Village, and saw how some songs can be so much better live - while it was one of the better songs on WWWTP, I still couldn't really warm to it (perhaps just because of the context - WWWTP was an album I just couldn't get into) however live it became a different song. I know I'm telling most of you what you already know!!
I even enjoyed the so-called Las Vegas version of Have I Told You Lately - what's not to like? Again, perhaps because it was my first time hearing it. Would I have preferred the original arrangement? It's an irrelevant question - just like, would I have preferred the sand on the beach at Positano to have been soft and white like in Australia? If so, I should have stayed home and gone to the beach with an iPod to listen to Avalon Sunset! The fact is, I liked the different arrangement, just as I liked the countrified (banjo driven) Bright Side of the Road. And if Dylan can rearrange Blowin' in the Wind ....
All in all, a great concert. And I was very pleased to hear the other Van fans saying the same after the concert, so it wasn't just me.
A very pleasant drive through the English countryside from Poole to Plymouth for the second Van concert in two nights - most people who knew we were doing that thought we were crazy (including, I suspect, my wife Gayle) but so be it!
Plymouth was spellbinding. And it was a very good decision to go to both - there were 9 different songs at Plymouth. And no Chris Farlowe meant that the dynamic of the night was completely different.
Two highlights: Foreign Window and Celtic New Year that morphed into The Healing Game. These were awesome, and worth the trip on their own. In Healing Game we got a taste of Van taking it down, then bringing it up to a great climax - I can only begin to imagine some of the concerts from days gone by where he's done that to a much greater extent, but what he did that night in Plymouth was, for me, simply wonderful.
Other new songs in Plymouth included Blue & Green, Jackie Wilson, Moondance, Help Me, St James Infirmary and Stop Drinking - with the exception of the latter, a great selection of songs. I've read of people being sick of Moondance - and I will never know how I would react if I'd heard it live 50 times or whatever, but to hear it once was for me a huge highlight. Same with Help Me, which he really delivered on.
This was a seriously good concert - with Little Village again, Foreign Window, Celtic New Year / Healing Game and Blue & Green, it had an ethereal feel to it, interspersed with some rollicking good times with Bright Side and Jackie Wilson, and some sophisticated swing with Moondance and Magic Time. Among the others.
I was rapt - this was the concert I'd come for. And again, after the show, the other Van fans agreed. What was particularly pleasing was how "into it" Van seemed on both nights - and how much sax he played.
Monday, November 19, 2007
This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV
Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Mon BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
Paul Jones Blues Show
Catfish Keith drops by to play some slide guitar.
Mon BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
Jools Holland
Try to put up with him, for tonight his guest is Edwyn Collins.
Weds BBCR3 19.00 ~ 20.45
Performance On 3: We All Love Ella - A tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (mentioned on these pages last week by our esteemed editor). Claire Martin, Juliet Roberts, Lizz Wright and, er, Jamelia. Eh? All recorded with The BBC Concert Orchestra.
Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood (2 of 6)
Jazz pianist Zoe Rahman visits Charles in Glastonbury.
Weds BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Hep To The Jive: The Cab Calloway Story (2 0f 3)
The bandleader’s star rises.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Thanksgiving
Bob carves the turkey with Fats Waller and Cisco Houston.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Sonny Rollins (1 of 2)
Fri BBC3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
More from the London Jazz Festival with The Charles Tolliver Big Band in concert at The Queen Elizabeth Hall.
TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
World Music tonight ~ Toumani Diabate, Fanfare Ciocarlia, CJ Chenier and The Waterboys with Sharon Shannon and Steve Earle on a joyous reading of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Brasil, Brasil
Samba, Hip Hop and Baile ~ all explored in this first part of three looking at the music of Brazil. A history lesson and great music.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
Worldy stuff with Orchestra Baobab and Kano (with Damon Albarn) and then Dion ~ no details, but Dion's new blues album is said to be brilliant, so I'm gonna use my FFF.
Sat ITV2 22.55 ~ 00.10
The Music Of Parkinson (1 of 3)
No, no ... don't go! Though The Parky Effect has given us Jamie Cullum and other easy listening fare, there is also a long history of great acts on his show ~ we're promised Duke Ellington, Bing, Sammy Davis Jnr, Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin, among others.
Radio For Grown-Ups
Mon BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
Paul Jones Blues Show
Catfish Keith drops by to play some slide guitar.
Mon BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
Jools Holland
Try to put up with him, for tonight his guest is Edwyn Collins.
Weds BBCR3 19.00 ~ 20.45
Performance On 3: We All Love Ella - A tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (mentioned on these pages last week by our esteemed editor). Claire Martin, Juliet Roberts, Lizz Wright and, er, Jamelia. Eh? All recorded with The BBC Concert Orchestra.
Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood (2 of 6)
Jazz pianist Zoe Rahman visits Charles in Glastonbury.
Weds BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Hep To The Jive: The Cab Calloway Story (2 0f 3)
The bandleader’s star rises.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Thanksgiving
Bob carves the turkey with Fats Waller and Cisco Houston.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Sonny Rollins (1 of 2)
Fri BBC3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
More from the London Jazz Festival with The Charles Tolliver Big Band in concert at The Queen Elizabeth Hall.
TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
World Music tonight ~ Toumani Diabate, Fanfare Ciocarlia, CJ Chenier and The Waterboys with Sharon Shannon and Steve Earle on a joyous reading of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Brasil, Brasil
Samba, Hip Hop and Baile ~ all explored in this first part of three looking at the music of Brazil. A history lesson and great music.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
Worldy stuff with Orchestra Baobab and Kano (with Damon Albarn) and then Dion ~ no details, but Dion's new blues album is said to be brilliant, so I'm gonna use my FFF.
Sat ITV2 22.55 ~ 00.10
The Music Of Parkinson (1 of 3)
No, no ... don't go! Though The Parky Effect has given us Jamie Cullum and other easy listening fare, there is also a long history of great acts on his show ~ we're promised Duke Ellington, Bing, Sammy Davis Jnr, Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin, among others.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Ella Fitzgerald profile on TV tonight
BBC FOUR is screening its eagerly awaited one-hour Ella Fitzgerald profile tonight, as part of its intermittently excellent Legends series. (Repeated next Tuesday at 2000).
So why does Music for Grown-Ups go ga-ga at the mere mention of Ella’s name?
Simply because Ella Fitzgerald is the foremost female interpreter of popular song. Her recordings of many songs of her era stand as the definitive renditions. All of the musicians celebrated in Music For Grown-Ups have an unmistakeable sound - you recognise them instantly when you catch a snatch of their music on radio or TV.
There are some who prefer Billie Holiday (qv) to Ella Fitzgerald as a jazz vocalist. Holiday is superior at portraying the archetypal loser, the victim of poverty, racism and addiction - Ella can't match Holiday's evocation of pain (but, then, neither can anyone else).
But Fitzgerald has a wider emotional palette. She can do the full range – loss, joy, humour, ambiguity, puzzlement and everything in between - better than Holiday (and everyone else). And her use of the techniques of the jazz vocalist - scatting, mimicry of instruments, phrasing, improvisation, and swing, to name the more important - is unparalleled. For female jazz singers, as for balladeers, Ella Fitzgerald is the benchmark.
Her golden period, the Verve years, resulted in some of the creative highlights of the twentieth century, notably with the Songbook series of albums, recorded in the late 1950s. The collection has stood the test of time - after 50 years, the eight albums, over 16 CDs, covering 245 songs, stand as the high point of both Ella’s and Granz’s illustrious careers, arguably the greatest recording project in popular music.
So where should the novice, unfamiliar with Ella Fitzgerald’s great legacy, begin? Easy: with the Cole Porter or Gershwin Songbooks. Or with one of the compilation CDs: the premier collection is 2007’s The Very Best Of The Songbooks: The Golden Anniversary Edition, a judicious 2CD, 21-track set.
The outstanding 2003 Verve compilation, Ella Fitzgerald: Gold (2CD) also comes highly recommended; often available heavily discounted, it’s great value as a standalone, but it also serves as a sampler for the Songbooks as well as the wider Fitzgerald catalogue.
Gerry Smith
So why does Music for Grown-Ups go ga-ga at the mere mention of Ella’s name?
Simply because Ella Fitzgerald is the foremost female interpreter of popular song. Her recordings of many songs of her era stand as the definitive renditions. All of the musicians celebrated in Music For Grown-Ups have an unmistakeable sound - you recognise them instantly when you catch a snatch of their music on radio or TV.
There are some who prefer Billie Holiday (qv) to Ella Fitzgerald as a jazz vocalist. Holiday is superior at portraying the archetypal loser, the victim of poverty, racism and addiction - Ella can't match Holiday's evocation of pain (but, then, neither can anyone else).
But Fitzgerald has a wider emotional palette. She can do the full range – loss, joy, humour, ambiguity, puzzlement and everything in between - better than Holiday (and everyone else). And her use of the techniques of the jazz vocalist - scatting, mimicry of instruments, phrasing, improvisation, and swing, to name the more important - is unparalleled. For female jazz singers, as for balladeers, Ella Fitzgerald is the benchmark.
Her golden period, the Verve years, resulted in some of the creative highlights of the twentieth century, notably with the Songbook series of albums, recorded in the late 1950s. The collection has stood the test of time - after 50 years, the eight albums, over 16 CDs, covering 245 songs, stand as the high point of both Ella’s and Granz’s illustrious careers, arguably the greatest recording project in popular music.
So where should the novice, unfamiliar with Ella Fitzgerald’s great legacy, begin? Easy: with the Cole Porter or Gershwin Songbooks. Or with one of the compilation CDs: the premier collection is 2007’s The Very Best Of The Songbooks: The Golden Anniversary Edition, a judicious 2CD, 21-track set.
The outstanding 2003 Verve compilation, Ella Fitzgerald: Gold (2CD) also comes highly recommended; often available heavily discounted, it’s great value as a standalone, but it also serves as a sampler for the Songbooks as well as the wider Fitzgerald catalogue.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sonny Rollins and Chick Corea headline at London Jazz Festival – from Friday
The London Jazz Festival, which runs from Friday 16 until Sunday 25 November in a variety of venues, showcases some compelling big names, including Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Jan Garbarek and Tord Gustavsen.
My copy of the programme, printed before his recent death, also advertises a gig by Joe Zawinul, the biggest name of all, and a gig I intended to catch. The obsolete listing is a reminder of music’s sad loss.
The opening night gig, We All Love Ella, with numerous vocalists covering the Fitzgerald songbook, doesn’t ring my bell, even though I’m big Ella fan. I didn’t buy the recent album of the same name, either – I don’t get it, when you can listen to the real thing instead.
www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk
Gerry Smith
My copy of the programme, printed before his recent death, also advertises a gig by Joe Zawinul, the biggest name of all, and a gig I intended to catch. The obsolete listing is a reminder of music’s sad loss.
The opening night gig, We All Love Ella, with numerous vocalists covering the Fitzgerald songbook, doesn’t ring my bell, even though I’m big Ella fan. I didn’t buy the recent album of the same name, either – I don’t get it, when you can listen to the real thing instead.
www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Top 10: Dylan on DVD/VHS
The sheer quality of The Other Side Of The Mirror: Dylan at Newport 1963-65, the new DVD release, has forced it straight to the top of my official/semi-official Dylan DVD/VHS recordings list.
Here’s my new Top 10:
1. The Other Side Of The Mirror (2007)
2. Hard Rain
3. No Direction Home (2005)
4. Don’t Look Back De Luxe reissue (2007)
5. Masked And Anonymous (2003)
6. Eat the Document (1966)
7. Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
8. The Last Waltz
9. Unplugged (1995)
10.Sydney, with Tom Petty (1986)
A Concert for Bangladesh and Bob Dylan - American Troubador (Biography Channel, 60th) almost made the list. I’ve seen, but haven’t bothered to collect, Renaldo & Clara and Hearts Of Fire – which speaks for itself, really.
How does your Top 10 Dylan on DVD/VHS compare? Has The Other Side Of The Mirror gone straight to the top of your list, too?
Gerry Smith
Here’s my new Top 10:
1. The Other Side Of The Mirror (2007)
2. Hard Rain
3. No Direction Home (2005)
4. Don’t Look Back De Luxe reissue (2007)
5. Masked And Anonymous (2003)
6. Eat the Document (1966)
7. Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
8. The Last Waltz
9. Unplugged (1995)
10.Sydney, with Tom Petty (1986)
A Concert for Bangladesh and Bob Dylan - American Troubador (Biography Channel, 60th) almost made the list. I’ve seen, but haven’t bothered to collect, Renaldo & Clara and Hearts Of Fire – which speaks for itself, really.
How does your Top 10 Dylan on DVD/VHS compare? Has The Other Side Of The Mirror gone straight to the top of your list, too?
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV
Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood
From his humble abode in Glastonbury, the conductor welcomes Vashti Bunyan and highlights 'voices' ~ Maria Callas, James Brown and Youssou N'Dour.
Weds 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Hep To The Jive: The Cab Calloway Story
What it says on the tin.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Luck
Bobby plays Guitar Slim and Kay Starr this evening.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Jez Nelson introduces a special, extended show this week, live from Pizza Express. It's the first night of the London Jazz Fest and details of performing artistes featured tonight are, as yet, undecided.
TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.30
* European Roots: Klezmer In Germany
Klezmer music? In Germany? Oddly, there is apparently a huge demand for it there; this programme looks at why this might be.
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
Americana is tonight's focus ~ Joan Baez and Nanci Griffith. Am I the only one who doesn't get Joanie? (No, you’re not - I'd rather listen to paint drying - Ed). I really think she destroyed the Rolling Thunder Official Bootleg. So, one to miss then. Except Steve Earle is also on. So, one to tape then!
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Legends: Ella Fitzgerald
"The First Lady Of Song" is profiled in the excellent Legends strand tonight, the only respite from Children In Need.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
Not as good as last week's show (boy, didn't RT blister the walls?) but King Creosote and PJ Harvey are on. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are subjected to Jools' unique chat stylings; FFF at the ready (that's Fast Forward Finger) to miss glorified pub-rockers The Stereophonics and Don Henley from The Eagles.
Radio For Grown-Ups
Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood
From his humble abode in Glastonbury, the conductor welcomes Vashti Bunyan and highlights 'voices' ~ Maria Callas, James Brown and Youssou N'Dour.
Weds 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Hep To The Jive: The Cab Calloway Story
What it says on the tin.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Luck
Bobby plays Guitar Slim and Kay Starr this evening.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Jez Nelson introduces a special, extended show this week, live from Pizza Express. It's the first night of the London Jazz Fest and details of performing artistes featured tonight are, as yet, undecided.
TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.30
* European Roots: Klezmer In Germany
Klezmer music? In Germany? Oddly, there is apparently a huge demand for it there; this programme looks at why this might be.
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
Americana is tonight's focus ~ Joan Baez and Nanci Griffith. Am I the only one who doesn't get Joanie? (No, you’re not - I'd rather listen to paint drying - Ed). I really think she destroyed the Rolling Thunder Official Bootleg. So, one to miss then. Except Steve Earle is also on. So, one to tape then!
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Legends: Ella Fitzgerald
"The First Lady Of Song" is profiled in the excellent Legends strand tonight, the only respite from Children In Need.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
Not as good as last week's show (boy, didn't RT blister the walls?) but King Creosote and PJ Harvey are on. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are subjected to Jools' unique chat stylings; FFF at the ready (that's Fast Forward Finger) to miss glorified pub-rockers The Stereophonics and Don Henley from The Eagles.
Xmas is coming, the goose is … #1 - Led Zep
If, for some unfathomable reason, you don’t already own the complete works of Led Zeppelin, yesterday’s new compilation release, Mothership, is just what you’ve been waiting for.
Mothership: The Best Of Led Zeppelin (2CD & DVD in the Deluxe Edition) is exactly what it claims. The well-chosen package is a fine sampling of the great first four albums and the rather less essential second four.
The DVD in the Deluxe Edition is two hours culled from the fabulous DVD box set, Led Zeppelin, released a few years ago.
Expect to pay about £10/£13 (Deluxe).
Track List: Mothership: The Best Of (2CD & DVD Deluxe Edition)
CD 1
Good Times Bad Times
Communication Breakdown
Dazed and Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Whole Lotta Love
Ramble On
Heartbreaker
Immigrant Song
Since I've Been Loving You
Rock and Roll
Black Dog
When The Levee Breaks
Stairway To Heaven
CD2
Song Remains The Same
Over The Hills And Far Away
D'Yer Maker
No Quarter
Trampled Under Foot
Houses Of The Holy
Kashmir
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Achilles Last Stand
In The Evening
All My Love
DVD
We're Gonna Groove
I Can't Quit You Babe
Dazed & Confused
White Summer
What Is & What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
Whole Lotta Love
Communication Breakdown
Bring It On Home
Immigrant Song
Black Dog
Misty Mountain High
Going To California
In My Time Of Dying
Stairway To Heaven
Rock and Roll
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Kashmir
Whole Lotta Love
Gerry Smith
Mothership: The Best Of Led Zeppelin (2CD & DVD in the Deluxe Edition) is exactly what it claims. The well-chosen package is a fine sampling of the great first four albums and the rather less essential second four.
The DVD in the Deluxe Edition is two hours culled from the fabulous DVD box set, Led Zeppelin, released a few years ago.
Expect to pay about £10/£13 (Deluxe).
Track List: Mothership: The Best Of (2CD & DVD Deluxe Edition)
CD 1
Good Times Bad Times
Communication Breakdown
Dazed and Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Whole Lotta Love
Ramble On
Heartbreaker
Immigrant Song
Since I've Been Loving You
Rock and Roll
Black Dog
When The Levee Breaks
Stairway To Heaven
CD2
Song Remains The Same
Over The Hills And Far Away
D'Yer Maker
No Quarter
Trampled Under Foot
Houses Of The Holy
Kashmir
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Achilles Last Stand
In The Evening
All My Love
DVD
We're Gonna Groove
I Can't Quit You Babe
Dazed & Confused
White Summer
What Is & What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
Whole Lotta Love
Communication Breakdown
Bring It On Home
Immigrant Song
Black Dog
Misty Mountain High
Going To California
In My Time Of Dying
Stairway To Heaven
Rock and Roll
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Kashmir
Whole Lotta Love
Gerry Smith
Monday, November 12, 2007
Major artists, according to WH Auden
Reader Martin Cowan intended this quote to apply to Bob Dylan; it can be equally applied to many core musicians for grown-ups, from Miles to Mozart, Bach to Beck:
“I came across this in last Sunday's Observer compilation from its archives. WH Auden was writing in 1971 about Stravinsky after his death, but his words seem rather apt for someone else we know:
“ ‘The minor artist, that is to say, once he has reached maturity and found himself, ceases to have a history. A major artist, on the other hand, is always re-finding himself, so that the history of his works recapitulates or mirrors the history of art.
“ ‘Once he has done something to his satisfaction, he forgets it and seems to do something new which he has never done before. It is only when he is dead that we are able to see that his various creations, taken together, form one consistent oeuvre. Moreover, it is only in the light of his later works that we are able to properly understand his earlier.’ "
“I came across this in last Sunday's Observer compilation from its archives. WH Auden was writing in 1971 about Stravinsky after his death, but his words seem rather apt for someone else we know:
“ ‘The minor artist, that is to say, once he has reached maturity and found himself, ceases to have a history. A major artist, on the other hand, is always re-finding himself, so that the history of his works recapitulates or mirrors the history of art.
“ ‘Once he has done something to his satisfaction, he forgets it and seems to do something new which he has never done before. It is only when he is dead that we are able to see that his various creations, taken together, form one consistent oeuvre. Moreover, it is only in the light of his later works that we are able to properly understand his earlier.’ "
Friday, November 09, 2007
Two cheers for key Rolling Stones compilation
The Rolling Stones catalogue has been anthologised over and over again. Most of the compilations, especially of the vital 1960s Decca material, are repetitive and unnecessary.
One, however, stands out - Rolled Gold, released as a double LP in 1975 but not, until Monday, on CD. Bang per buck it’s easily the best Stones album, and one of the finest releases of the rock era.
True to form, however, the Stones’ first record label has played fast and loose with the legacy. The new 2CD version of Rolled Gold+ is only an approximation of the classic UK vinyl release: it has 11 additional tracks, and the running order is very different.
Putting on a positive spin:
* a great album is (almost) finally available on CD
* as the “+” in the title indicates, you get extra tracks
* presumably it has the cleaned-up versions from the recent Decca SACD project.
Rolled Gold+
Disc: 1
1. Come On
2. I Wanna Be Your Man
3. Not Fade Away
4. Carol
5. Tell Me
6. It's All Over Now
7. Little Red Rooster
8. Heart Of Stone
9. Time Is On My Side
10. Last Time
11. Play With Fire
12. I Can't Get No Satisfaction
13. Get Off My Cloud
14. I'm Free
15. As Tears Go By
16. Lady Jane
17. Paint It Black
18. Mother's Little Helper
19. 19th Nervous Breakdown
20. Under My Thumb
21. Out Of Time
22. Yesterday's Papers
23. Let's Spend The Night Together
24. Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow
Disc: 2
1. Ruby Tuesday
2. Dandelion
3. She's A Rainbow
4. We Love You
5. 2000 Light Years From Home
6. Jumpin' Jack Flash
7. Street Fightin' Man
8. Sympathy For The Devil
9. No Expectations
10. Let It Bleed
11. Midnight Rambler
12. Gimme Shelter
13. You Can't Always Get What You Want
14. Brown Sugar
15. Honky Tonk Women
16. Wild Horses
If you’re short of a Stones comp, Rolled Gold+ is an essential buy. Avoid the Special Edition, unless you’re a collector who doesn’t mind paying extra for special packaging – in this case, a pop-up digipak case.
Gerry Smith
One, however, stands out - Rolled Gold, released as a double LP in 1975 but not, until Monday, on CD. Bang per buck it’s easily the best Stones album, and one of the finest releases of the rock era.
True to form, however, the Stones’ first record label has played fast and loose with the legacy. The new 2CD version of Rolled Gold+ is only an approximation of the classic UK vinyl release: it has 11 additional tracks, and the running order is very different.
Putting on a positive spin:
* a great album is (almost) finally available on CD
* as the “+” in the title indicates, you get extra tracks
* presumably it has the cleaned-up versions from the recent Decca SACD project.
Rolled Gold+
Disc: 1
1. Come On
2. I Wanna Be Your Man
3. Not Fade Away
4. Carol
5. Tell Me
6. It's All Over Now
7. Little Red Rooster
8. Heart Of Stone
9. Time Is On My Side
10. Last Time
11. Play With Fire
12. I Can't Get No Satisfaction
13. Get Off My Cloud
14. I'm Free
15. As Tears Go By
16. Lady Jane
17. Paint It Black
18. Mother's Little Helper
19. 19th Nervous Breakdown
20. Under My Thumb
21. Out Of Time
22. Yesterday's Papers
23. Let's Spend The Night Together
24. Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow
Disc: 2
1. Ruby Tuesday
2. Dandelion
3. She's A Rainbow
4. We Love You
5. 2000 Light Years From Home
6. Jumpin' Jack Flash
7. Street Fightin' Man
8. Sympathy For The Devil
9. No Expectations
10. Let It Bleed
11. Midnight Rambler
12. Gimme Shelter
13. You Can't Always Get What You Want
14. Brown Sugar
15. Honky Tonk Women
16. Wild Horses
If you’re short of a Stones comp, Rolled Gold+ is an essential buy. Avoid the Special Edition, unless you’re a collector who doesn’t mind paying extra for special packaging – in this case, a pop-up digipak case.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Thanks to Mike Ollier:
“The question raised by this release is ‘Who needs a Zeppelin reunion?’
“Not Robert Plant. For the last 30 years he has crafted a series of critically acclaimed and decent selling albums; both solo, with Priory Of Brion and Strange Sensation and the Page/Plant album Walking Back To Clarksville (one track off that is featured here), which rehashed some LZ songs coupled with world music sounds.
“When asked recently, Plant said that the LZ show was a one-off, and one can’t deny that Ahmet Ertegun deserves a right royal send-off. But that doesn’t mean there has to be a full reunion (which Page said would happen in a separate interview). Plant himself said on last week’s Culture Show that he and Alison Krauss would be touring this superb album, which is all together better news.
“For this album is wonderful. Plant’s testosterone-throated bawl has been softened, at places to a whisper and, shock-horror, Percy can sing! Krauss, at times with her band very cloying, has reined in the sweeter side of her oeuvre and produced one of her strongest albums for some time, too. It’s all helped along by Oh Brother Where Art Thou producer/guitarist T Bone Burnett (one of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder tour stalwarts), guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), mandolin maestro Norman Blake and Dennis Crouch on double bass.
“This isn’t the leap of faith that some critics are claiming; Plant has for years dabbled with folk (Led Zep II), world music and blues and Krauss is well known for her predilection for rock music (she interviewed Def Leppard for a magazine last year).
"And some people are calling it a duets album, but that’s not quite true either. Plant dominates the album, but there are almost solo tracks from both artists. They harmonise beautifully together and the whole album is beautifully played and is perhaps wrong to be thought of as a Plant/Krauss project because the musicians all play their part.
"Stand-out track has to be Roly Salley’s Killing The Blues, with the two voices dovetailing perfectly with the delicate playing by the band. Gorgeous. The Everly Brothers country rocker Gone Gone Gone is an altogether tougher sounding vehicle; it sounds just like Don and Phil themselves, if one had been a bare-chested rock God. And the other a bluegrass chanteuse!
“Plant tells the tale of the Fortune Teller on a minor-key blues, which has a perfectly tortuous electric guitar solo as its coda with not a note wasted (take note, Mr Page), whilst Krauss shines on Gene Clark’s (one of two of his songs) Through The Morning with Greg Leisz chipping in with pedal steel. Of course Krauss also plays fiddle throughout the album - pity Percy doesn’t break out the harmonica.
“When it’s finished, you just want to play it again. And again. It’s to be hoped there will be further CDs from this, on paper, unlikely pairing; it would be a shame to let something this good slide away.”
“The question raised by this release is ‘Who needs a Zeppelin reunion?’
“Not Robert Plant. For the last 30 years he has crafted a series of critically acclaimed and decent selling albums; both solo, with Priory Of Brion and Strange Sensation and the Page/Plant album Walking Back To Clarksville (one track off that is featured here), which rehashed some LZ songs coupled with world music sounds.
“When asked recently, Plant said that the LZ show was a one-off, and one can’t deny that Ahmet Ertegun deserves a right royal send-off. But that doesn’t mean there has to be a full reunion (which Page said would happen in a separate interview). Plant himself said on last week’s Culture Show that he and Alison Krauss would be touring this superb album, which is all together better news.
“For this album is wonderful. Plant’s testosterone-throated bawl has been softened, at places to a whisper and, shock-horror, Percy can sing! Krauss, at times with her band very cloying, has reined in the sweeter side of her oeuvre and produced one of her strongest albums for some time, too. It’s all helped along by Oh Brother Where Art Thou producer/guitarist T Bone Burnett (one of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder tour stalwarts), guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), mandolin maestro Norman Blake and Dennis Crouch on double bass.
“This isn’t the leap of faith that some critics are claiming; Plant has for years dabbled with folk (Led Zep II), world music and blues and Krauss is well known for her predilection for rock music (she interviewed Def Leppard for a magazine last year).
"And some people are calling it a duets album, but that’s not quite true either. Plant dominates the album, but there are almost solo tracks from both artists. They harmonise beautifully together and the whole album is beautifully played and is perhaps wrong to be thought of as a Plant/Krauss project because the musicians all play their part.
"Stand-out track has to be Roly Salley’s Killing The Blues, with the two voices dovetailing perfectly with the delicate playing by the band. Gorgeous. The Everly Brothers country rocker Gone Gone Gone is an altogether tougher sounding vehicle; it sounds just like Don and Phil themselves, if one had been a bare-chested rock God. And the other a bluegrass chanteuse!
“Plant tells the tale of the Fortune Teller on a minor-key blues, which has a perfectly tortuous electric guitar solo as its coda with not a note wasted (take note, Mr Page), whilst Krauss shines on Gene Clark’s (one of two of his songs) Through The Morning with Greg Leisz chipping in with pedal steel. Of course Krauss also plays fiddle throughout the album - pity Percy doesn’t break out the harmonica.
“When it’s finished, you just want to play it again. And again. It’s to be hoped there will be further CDs from this, on paper, unlikely pairing; it would be a shame to let something this good slide away.”
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Grown-Up Music Heaven on radio tonight
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of the BBC. Ninety nine per cent of its output, on TV and radio, leaves me cold. And I object to paying nearly £150 a year to finance it all.
But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And, for one hour tonight, BBC radio transforms itself into Grown-Up Music Heaven.
At 2230, Radio 3 is broadcasting part three of its profile of the stupendous soprano, the divine Renee Fleming, one of the greatest living musicians.
Follow that? Not easy, but at 2300 Radio 2 has a profile of Big Joe Turner, one of the most important (and enjoyable) pre-rock popular musicians.
So, two of the biggest names in the grown-up musical firmament, one after the other. Magnifico.
And you can listen online, as broadcast, and for seven days after.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
Gerry Smith
But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And, for one hour tonight, BBC radio transforms itself into Grown-Up Music Heaven.
At 2230, Radio 3 is broadcasting part three of its profile of the stupendous soprano, the divine Renee Fleming, one of the greatest living musicians.
Follow that? Not easy, but at 2300 Radio 2 has a profile of Big Joe Turner, one of the most important (and enjoyable) pre-rock popular musicians.
So, two of the biggest names in the grown-up musical firmament, one after the other. Magnifico.
And you can listen online, as broadcast, and for seven days after.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV
Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Wed BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Mike Harding: Folk On Two
From the Electric Proms, one of the worthier performances; The Waterson/Carthy clan pay tribute to Lal Waterson. Norma & Mike Waterson, Eliza and Martin Carthy and Oliver Knight.
Wed BBCR2 00.20 ~ 04.00
* 41st Country Music Association Awards
Live from Nashville, but worth taping just in case Alison Krauss and Suzy Boggus (touring the UK soon) are nominated. However, be warned, The Eagles are making an appearance: your fast-forward button should put paid to that. There is a highlights show the following day at 7.00pm.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan
Radio Bob continues its merry way whilst, in a parallel universe, Radio BBC don't (yet again) update their website.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Shorty Rogers
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On Three: The Redrush Mahanthappa Quartet live from Leeds.
TV For Grown-Ups
Wed BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* George Melly's Last Stand
An interview with his widow Diana, detailing George's last days and the battle he underwent to record one final album.
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.30
* European Roots: The Secret History Of The Alphorn
Jazz and fusion using the oft-ridiculed Swiss instrument. The self-appointed arbiters of Alpine good taste, The Yodelling Association, are not happy. I'm not making this up.
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
Second programme of the series with folk superstars Show Of Hands, guitar virtuoso Martin Simpson and venerable arbiter of ‘60s/’70s folk plays, John Tams.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Legends: The Dankworths
Cleo and Johnny (or is it Johnny and Cleo?) are profiled this week, a duo who did as much as anyone to try to bring jazz to the masses these past 50 (and more) years.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
A better line-up this week ~ Crowded House play 3 tracks from their new album and guitar god Richard Thompson terrifies any sweet young things caught in his crossfire. Also, interviews with Michael Stipe and Anton Corbijn, who should be familiar as a rock photographer and latterly video director and now director of the acclaimed Joy Division flick, Control.
Sat BBC2 11.40 ~ 01.10
* Country Music Awards
No details, but might be worth taping just in case some non-Nashville, 'real' country music pokes its head over the parapet.
If you're staying up, switch over after that's finished for 'American Splendour' ~ the Harvey Pekar inspired biopic with a great performance from the ever excellent Paul Giamatti.
Radio For Grown-Ups
Wed BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Mike Harding: Folk On Two
From the Electric Proms, one of the worthier performances; The Waterson/Carthy clan pay tribute to Lal Waterson. Norma & Mike Waterson, Eliza and Martin Carthy and Oliver Knight.
Wed BBCR2 00.20 ~ 04.00
* 41st Country Music Association Awards
Live from Nashville, but worth taping just in case Alison Krauss and Suzy Boggus (touring the UK soon) are nominated. However, be warned, The Eagles are making an appearance: your fast-forward button should put paid to that. There is a highlights show the following day at 7.00pm.
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan
Radio Bob continues its merry way whilst, in a parallel universe, Radio BBC don't (yet again) update their website.
Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Shorty Rogers
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On Three: The Redrush Mahanthappa Quartet live from Leeds.
TV For Grown-Ups
Wed BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* George Melly's Last Stand
An interview with his widow Diana, detailing George's last days and the battle he underwent to record one final album.
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.30
* European Roots: The Secret History Of The Alphorn
Jazz and fusion using the oft-ridiculed Swiss instrument. The self-appointed arbiters of Alpine good taste, The Yodelling Association, are not happy. I'm not making this up.
Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Cambridge Folk Festival 2007
Second programme of the series with folk superstars Show Of Hands, guitar virtuoso Martin Simpson and venerable arbiter of ‘60s/’70s folk plays, John Tams.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Legends: The Dankworths
Cleo and Johnny (or is it Johnny and Cleo?) are profiled this week, a duo who did as much as anyone to try to bring jazz to the masses these past 50 (and more) years.
Fri BBC2 23.35
* Later with Jools Holland
A better line-up this week ~ Crowded House play 3 tracks from their new album and guitar god Richard Thompson terrifies any sweet young things caught in his crossfire. Also, interviews with Michael Stipe and Anton Corbijn, who should be familiar as a rock photographer and latterly video director and now director of the acclaimed Joy Division flick, Control.
Sat BBC2 11.40 ~ 01.10
* Country Music Awards
No details, but might be worth taping just in case some non-Nashville, 'real' country music pokes its head over the parapet.
If you're staying up, switch over after that's finished for 'American Splendour' ~ the Harvey Pekar inspired biopic with a great performance from the ever excellent Paul Giamatti.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Profiling Renee Fleming, world-class soprano
American soprano Renee Fleming is one of the best contemporary female singers. Whether performing in full-dress opera or dominating a concert stage with a multi-lingual recital, her richly expressive soprano is a wonder of the age.
You can hear what all the fuss is about on radio, as Fleming is the subject of the four 30 minute programmes in this week’s Artists Focus on BBC Radio 3 at 2230-2300, from tonight until Thursday.
Three of the programmes cover her operatic repertoire and one (Wednesday) is devoted to her recent jazz excursions.
You can listen online, as broadcast, and for seven days after:
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
Renee Fleming is a great artist: this series promises to be one of the musical highlights of 2007 for grown-ups.
Gerry Smith
You can hear what all the fuss is about on radio, as Fleming is the subject of the four 30 minute programmes in this week’s Artists Focus on BBC Radio 3 at 2230-2300, from tonight until Thursday.
Three of the programmes cover her operatic repertoire and one (Wednesday) is devoted to her recent jazz excursions.
You can listen online, as broadcast, and for seven days after:
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
Renee Fleming is a great artist: this series promises to be one of the musical highlights of 2007 for grown-ups.
Gerry Smith
Friday, November 02, 2007
Trailing Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby was arguably the first pop megastar: he had 36 number one hits in the USA, before WW2. Without his pioneering crooner style, late 20thC music would have been very different. He adapted quickly to exploit the newly invented microphone, thus finding a mass audience via radio.
No Bing Crosby, no Sinatra, no Tony Bennett … .
The Bing Crosby Trail, which starts on BBC Radio 2 at 7pm tonight, is a timely reminder of the singer’s central role as a poprocker for grown-ups. Whether you’ll want to persevere for all six half-hour programmes in the series is a different matter: I’ll be re-listening to my Best Of Bing compilation instead.
Most Radio 2 shows can be heard online as they are broadcast and for up to seven days afterwards.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
Gerry Smith
No Bing Crosby, no Sinatra, no Tony Bennett … .
The Bing Crosby Trail, which starts on BBC Radio 2 at 7pm tonight, is a timely reminder of the singer’s central role as a poprocker for grown-ups. Whether you’ll want to persevere for all six half-hour programmes in the series is a different matter: I’ll be re-listening to my Best Of Bing compilation instead.
Most Radio 2 shows can be heard online as they are broadcast and for up to seven days afterwards.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
Gerry Smith
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Jazz Café - back on top
After a lengthy period when the Jazz Café failed to tempt me along to the Camden club, recent programming has been putting the venue back on top of the London scene. Autumn highlight was a residency by the great Cassandra Wilson – a coup for a small venue.
The new programme offers more mouth-watering gigs, including:
Nov
5-6 Marcus Miller
17 Joyce
18-20 Orchestra Baobab
Dec
3 Souad Massi
15-16 Robben Ford
26-31 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Jan
1-6 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
11-13 Lee Scratch Perry
16-17 Georgie Fame
30-31 Pharoah Sanders
March
21-23 Rakim
A deeply impressive roster, and there’s more.
Rave on the Jazz Cafe!
www.jazzcafe.co.uk
Gerry Smith
The new programme offers more mouth-watering gigs, including:
Nov
5-6 Marcus Miller
17 Joyce
18-20 Orchestra Baobab
Dec
3 Souad Massi
15-16 Robben Ford
26-31 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Jan
1-6 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
11-13 Lee Scratch Perry
16-17 Georgie Fame
30-31 Pharoah Sanders
March
21-23 Rakim
A deeply impressive roster, and there’s more.
Rave on the Jazz Cafe!
www.jazzcafe.co.uk
Gerry Smith
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
