Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:
Thurs 1 May
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 2 May
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2230 Thelonious Monk, Jazz Library - BBC Radio 3
Mon 5 May
1200/2045 Schubert, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days
… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Trains
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio with The Monkees!
Fri BBCR2 19.30 ~ 21.15
* Friday Night Is Music Night; A tribute to Billie Holliday
BBC6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan
BBCR322.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Thelonious Monk
BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Cheltenham 2008 Jazz Fest ~ Tim Berne’s Science Friction, Iain Bellamy and Peter Brotzman.
Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisited
Prince ~ a look at the tiny one’s enduring work which will probably ignore the last ten years.
TV For Grown-Ups
A terrible week on TV:
Tues
BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
The first Motown signing Mable John (Little Willie’s sister) is on, but not much else ~ repeated but longer on Friday
Fri
BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.05
* James Taylor: One Man Band
A night with Taylor fills me with the horror that I’ll die in a sugar-coated hell, but there’s little else this week.
Fri
BBC4 22.05 ~ 23.40
* Hotel California: From The Byrds To The Eagles
Shudder.
BBC2 23.40 ~ 00.20
* In Concert: James Taylor
1971 gig
Much more interesting is the movie Downfall at 21.00 on More4 ~ a brilliant study of Hitler’s last days in the bunker. Yes, I’d rather be with Adolf than James!!
Sat
BBC3 21.10 ~ 22.55
High Fidelity - A great movie, a great soundtrack and a special appearance by Bruce Springsteen. Nick Hornby’s novel is transplanted to Chicago where the excellent John Cusack tries to work out what he wants from life whilst working in his record shop, Championship Vinyl. The movie also handed Jack Black his first starring role ~ though don’t hold that against it, he is good in it. A load of brilliant cameos and a 10/10 film.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Van Morrisonfest on BBC Four: a mixed bag
Last weekend’s trio of Van Morrison features on BBC Four, an all-too-rare appearance by the Ulsterman on the grown-up TV channel, was a mixed bag.
The main event, a live show performed in February at LSO St Luke’s for the BBC Four Sessions series, promoting the new album, showcased Morrison the peerless live musician as he is today.
With an accomplished 11>13-piece band, he showed how he’s still cutting it as a great performer. Improvisation has always been his calling card, and the scatting, swing and dynamics of this performance were exquisite.
The artistry was most evident in benchmark performances of three varied classics - I’m Not Feeling It Anymore, Vanlose Stairway and Help Me.
But even stirring performances of the new material couldn’t rescue it for this viewer: reverence for the bulk of the magnificent Morrison catalogue is matched by disdain for most of the material recorded since Back On Top, most of Keep It Simple, the new album, included.
Van Morrison on Later … was a compilation of weak clips from three shows, in 1999 and 2005. Of the six tunes, only a stirring Philosopher’s Stone, was memorable.
BBC Four then pulled a fast one with its third programme, the 60 minute Van Morrison at the BBC, by including all six clips already seen on Later… . A great pity, because the rest of the songs, notably And The Healing Has Begun, from Saturday Review of November 1986, were beautiful performances of great songs.
Occasionally, in all three programmes, I pondered: “why on Earth did I kick my two-gigs-a-month Van habit?” The post-Millennium material peppering all three supplied a ready answer.
Gerry Smith
The main event, a live show performed in February at LSO St Luke’s for the BBC Four Sessions series, promoting the new album, showcased Morrison the peerless live musician as he is today.
With an accomplished 11>13-piece band, he showed how he’s still cutting it as a great performer. Improvisation has always been his calling card, and the scatting, swing and dynamics of this performance were exquisite.
The artistry was most evident in benchmark performances of three varied classics - I’m Not Feeling It Anymore, Vanlose Stairway and Help Me.
But even stirring performances of the new material couldn’t rescue it for this viewer: reverence for the bulk of the magnificent Morrison catalogue is matched by disdain for most of the material recorded since Back On Top, most of Keep It Simple, the new album, included.
Van Morrison on Later … was a compilation of weak clips from three shows, in 1999 and 2005. Of the six tunes, only a stirring Philosopher’s Stone, was memorable.
BBC Four then pulled a fast one with its third programme, the 60 minute Van Morrison at the BBC, by including all six clips already seen on Later… . A great pity, because the rest of the songs, notably And The Healing Has Begun, from Saturday Review of November 1986, were beautiful performances of great songs.
Occasionally, in all three programmes, I pondered: “why on Earth did I kick my two-gigs-a-month Van habit?” The post-Millennium material peppering all three supplied a ready answer.
Gerry Smith
Monday, April 28, 2008
Exciting new Fall product
These are exciting times for fellow fans of Manc contrarian Mark E Smith (main man in The Fall).
* Today sees the launch of Imperial Wax Solvent, which has been attracting rave reviews –“best in years”…
* Wednesday: free gig (1900) at HMV, 150 Oxford Street, just east of London’s Oxford Circus, sponsored by music monthly MOJO: for details check out
www.mojo4music.com
* and an important new approved biography, Renegade – The Lives And Tales of Mark E Smith, has just been published.
In-depth interview in:
www.telegraph.co.uk
And lengthy extracts in:
www.guardian.co.uk
Gerry Smith (no relation)
* Today sees the launch of Imperial Wax Solvent, which has been attracting rave reviews –“best in years”…
* Wednesday: free gig (1900) at HMV, 150 Oxford Street, just east of London’s Oxford Circus, sponsored by music monthly MOJO: for details check out
www.mojo4music.com
* and an important new approved biography, Renegade – The Lives And Tales of Mark E Smith, has just been published.
In-depth interview in:
www.telegraph.co.uk
And lengthy extracts in:
www.guardian.co.uk
Gerry Smith (no relation)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Bjork in Plymouth: superlative performance art
Bjork established herself as a leading talent fifteen years ago, with her debut release, Debut. Her elliptical lyrics, exploring the big themes and her richly eclectic musicality - shifting effortlessly between dance beats and roots, Minimalism and jazz, as well as knowing pop and artrock - have long marked her out as a precious musician for grown-ups.
Her six studio albums reveal a restless, morphing creativity. The first four are filleted on Greatest Hits, which repays repeat listening and careful scrutiny – every home should have one.
So Tuesday’s Plymouth gig, on the short English leg of the Volta tour, was approached with keen anticipation: a rare chance to check out the poster girl of grown-up pop at first hand.
Bjork didn’t disappoint.
Her 90-minute show was superlative performance art. Interspersing Volta songs with classics from the back catalogue, Bjork treated the largely local audience – there were few signs of travelling hardcore in this far-flung location – to a spectacular show.
The trademark vocals, ranging from intimate whisper to banshee howl, delivered the idiosyncratic songbook with a consistent force. From the opening bars, when she bounded onto stage like a dervish possessed, to the soaring finale when she led the West Country choir in “Declare Independence!”, she acted out her unique catalogue in dance as well as voice.
In a lifetime’s gigging, you’d be lucky to see a more energetic, more committed performer.
The show was an ambitious, complex theatrical production, with three keyboardists, a drummer and a horn section of 10, the Wonder Brass (nice touch, that). Plus costumes, flags, emblems, fire, laser show, confetti storm … the circus was in town …
Bjork’s Plymouth show sounded and looked fabulous. But it all meant something, too. Working out what, exactly, will provide hours more fun.
Musicality, originality, ideas, ambition, execution, charisma… the gel’s got it all.
Gerry Smith
Her six studio albums reveal a restless, morphing creativity. The first four are filleted on Greatest Hits, which repays repeat listening and careful scrutiny – every home should have one.
So Tuesday’s Plymouth gig, on the short English leg of the Volta tour, was approached with keen anticipation: a rare chance to check out the poster girl of grown-up pop at first hand.
Bjork didn’t disappoint.
Her 90-minute show was superlative performance art. Interspersing Volta songs with classics from the back catalogue, Bjork treated the largely local audience – there were few signs of travelling hardcore in this far-flung location – to a spectacular show.
The trademark vocals, ranging from intimate whisper to banshee howl, delivered the idiosyncratic songbook with a consistent force. From the opening bars, when she bounded onto stage like a dervish possessed, to the soaring finale when she led the West Country choir in “Declare Independence!”, she acted out her unique catalogue in dance as well as voice.
In a lifetime’s gigging, you’d be lucky to see a more energetic, more committed performer.
The show was an ambitious, complex theatrical production, with three keyboardists, a drummer and a horn section of 10, the Wonder Brass (nice touch, that). Plus costumes, flags, emblems, fire, laser show, confetti storm … the circus was in town …
Bjork’s Plymouth show sounded and looked fabulous. But it all meant something, too. Working out what, exactly, will provide hours more fun.
Musicality, originality, ideas, ambition, execution, charisma… the gel’s got it all.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days
Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:
Wed 23 April
2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues to Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 24 April
1050 Callas, Pagliacci, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2
Fri 25 April
0050 Portishead in Portishead, C4
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2200 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions
2230 Wes Montgomery, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
2300 Van Morrison, archive footage from Later - BBC Four
2335 Eric Burdon and Marshall Chess, Later - BBC2
Sat 26 April
1830 Opera On 3, Live from the Met, La Fille du Regiment, starring Dessay and Florez, the best opera you’ll hear all year – BBC Radio 3
1900 Icons Revisited – Prince - BBC Radio 2
Sun 27 April
2250 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions (rpt)
2350 Van Morrison at the BBC, more archive footage
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days
… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Rich Man Poor Man
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan:
On his myspace blog Mike Scott (Waterboys) has said he thinks this show isn't very good ~ how wrong he is folks.
Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Wes Montgomery
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Dave Douglas and Keystone
Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisted
Prince ~ a look at the tiny one’s enduring work which will probably ignore the last ten years.
TV For Grown-Ups
Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
More live music, that's live, as it happens ~ oh yes! Featuring Was (Not Was)
Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Sessions: It's Van night on BEEB4 ~ yippee! Van Morrison Live at LSO St Luke’s with a selection from his new album plus some classic older stuff like Vanlose Stairway ~ well worth a look. John Platania now back in his band and the slide player Sarah Jory, too.
Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Van Morrison On Later
A selection of Mr Happy's appearances on Later.
Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later - See Tuesday
Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
C5 did the naughty on me and swapped the listings around ~ this week it's Ms Carthy. I think.
Not Music, But We Like It
Congrats to the wonderful Gavin And Stacey on winning two BAFTA Awards ~ and don't forget HIGNFY on Friday at 9, or on Saturday in the extended programme.
Wed 23 April
2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues to Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 24 April
1050 Callas, Pagliacci, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2
Fri 25 April
0050 Portishead in Portishead, C4
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2200 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions
2230 Wes Montgomery, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
2300 Van Morrison, archive footage from Later - BBC Four
2335 Eric Burdon and Marshall Chess, Later - BBC2
Sat 26 April
1830 Opera On 3, Live from the Met, La Fille du Regiment, starring Dessay and Florez, the best opera you’ll hear all year – BBC Radio 3
1900 Icons Revisited – Prince - BBC Radio 2
Sun 27 April
2250 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions (rpt)
2350 Van Morrison at the BBC, more archive footage
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days
… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Rich Man Poor Man
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan:
On his myspace blog Mike Scott (Waterboys) has said he thinks this show isn't very good ~ how wrong he is folks.
Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Wes Montgomery
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Dave Douglas and Keystone
Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisted
Prince ~ a look at the tiny one’s enduring work which will probably ignore the last ten years.
TV For Grown-Ups
Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
More live music, that's live, as it happens ~ oh yes! Featuring Was (Not Was)
Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Sessions: It's Van night on BEEB4 ~ yippee! Van Morrison Live at LSO St Luke’s with a selection from his new album plus some classic older stuff like Vanlose Stairway ~ well worth a look. John Platania now back in his band and the slide player Sarah Jory, too.
Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Van Morrison On Later
A selection of Mr Happy's appearances on Later.
Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later - See Tuesday
Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
C5 did the naughty on me and swapped the listings around ~ this week it's Ms Carthy. I think.
Not Music, But We Like It
Congrats to the wonderful Gavin And Stacey on winning two BAFTA Awards ~ and don't forget HIGNFY on Friday at 9, or on Saturday in the extended programme.
Monday, April 21, 2008
I'm Not There, masterly Dylan biopic - DVD extras
The release of the masterly Dylan biopic I'm Not There DVD release is being variously advertised as 6 May (US) and 9 June and 14 July (UK).
Thanks to Bernard McGuinn for supplying this list of the DVD Extras. They’re welcome, though such an impressive movie hardly needs extras – it’d fly off the shelves without them anyway:
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Audio Commentary with Director Todd Haynes
- Premiere Featurette
- The Making Of I'm Not There
- Subterranean Homesick Blues Music Video
- Audition Tapes - Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin
- Gag Reel
- Conversation with Todd Haynes
- Making of the Soundtrack
- Dylan Filmography
- Dylan Discography
- New York Times Article on the Film, by Robert Sullivan
- Lyrics
Gerry Smith
Thanks to Bernard McGuinn for supplying this list of the DVD Extras. They’re welcome, though such an impressive movie hardly needs extras – it’d fly off the shelves without them anyway:
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Audio Commentary with Director Todd Haynes
- Premiere Featurette
- The Making Of I'm Not There
- Subterranean Homesick Blues Music Video
- Audition Tapes - Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin
- Gag Reel
- Conversation with Todd Haynes
- Making of the Soundtrack
- Dylan Filmography
- Dylan Discography
- New York Times Article on the Film, by Robert Sullivan
- Lyrics
Gerry Smith
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Radiohead box at a bargain price
I usually avoid HMV these days – too expensive – and have warmed to Zavvi since it was bought out from The Bearded One.
But … HMV’s current sale has a tempting offer on the Radiohead albums box:
Radiohead - Album Box Set: 1993 - 2003: Deluxe: 7cd: Ltd
HMV 15/04/08: Was £55.00 Your saving £25.01. CD £29.99, free delivery
Radiohead
Release date: 10-12-2007
Availability: in stock
Number of Discs: 7
Catalogue Number: 5172292
Label: PARLOPHONE
On 10th December Radiohead are releasing a limited edition deluxe 7-CD box set collection of all their Parlophone albums from 1993-2003. Each CD within the box will be re-packaged in a digipack sleeve featuring original artwork and booklet.
The first six albums Radiohead recorded for Parlophone are collected in this box set, charting the band's journey from the indie rock chancers of 'Pablo Honey' to the seasoned experimentalists and political commentators of 'Hail To The Thief'. In between we see the band's incarnations as prog revivalists on 'OK Computer' and chart-friendly emotional giants with 'The Bends'. Also included is the 2001 live recording 'I Might Be Wrong' which notably features the unlikely live favourite 'Idioteque' from 'Kid A', perhaps their most experimental release. Radiohead's is a difficult career to summarise, but this completist option is possibly the most rewarding choice.
Radiohead burst onto the Britpop scene in the early 1990s with a clamorous, post-U2 take on guitar rock, buoyed by the hit "Creep." They subsequently developed their songwriting and production skills on THE BENDS and achieved iconic status with their breakthrough album OK COMPUTER, making art-rock cool again in the process. The mercurial band's long-awaited follow-up three years later was a sharp left turn full of ambient electronics and Can-like sonic deconstruction, and they've continued the trend with subsequent albums and solo projects. The connecting thread through all the band's phases has been Thom Yorke's intense vocal frenzy.
track listing
disc 1
1. You
2. Creep
3. How Do You
4. Stop Whispering
5. Thinking About You
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar
7. Ripcord
8. Vegetable
9. Prove Yourself
10. I Can't
11. Lurgee
12. Blow Out
disc 2
1. Planet Telex
2. Bends
3. High And Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. Nice Dream
7. Just
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
disc 3
1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. Tourist
disc 4
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. Kid A
3. National Anthem
4. How To Disappear Completely
5. Treefingers
6. Optimistic
7. In Limbo
8. Idioteque
9. Morning Bell
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack
disc 5
1. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box
2. Pyramid Song
3. Pulk/pull Revolving Doors
4. You And Whose Army
5. I Might Be Wrong
6. Knives Out
7. Morning Bell/Amnesiac
8. Dollars And Cents
9. Hunting Bears
10. Like Spinning Plates
11. Life In A Glasshouse
disc 6
1. National Anthem [live]
2. I Might Be Wrong [live]
3. Morning Bell [live]
4. Like Spinning Plates [live]
5. Idioteque [live]
6. Everything In It's Right Place [live]
7. Dollars And Cents [live]
8. True Love Waits [live]
disc 7
1. 2+2=5
2. Sit Down Stand Up
3. Sail To The Moon
4. Backdrifts
5. Go To Sleep
6. Where I End And You Begin
7. We Suck Young Blood
8. Gloaming
9. There There
10. I Will
11. Punch Up At A Wedding
12. Myxomatosis
13. Scatterbrain
14. Wolf At The Door
Gerry Smith
But … HMV’s current sale has a tempting offer on the Radiohead albums box:
Radiohead - Album Box Set: 1993 - 2003: Deluxe: 7cd: Ltd
HMV 15/04/08: Was £55.00 Your saving £25.01. CD £29.99, free delivery
Radiohead
Release date: 10-12-2007
Availability: in stock
Number of Discs: 7
Catalogue Number: 5172292
Label: PARLOPHONE
On 10th December Radiohead are releasing a limited edition deluxe 7-CD box set collection of all their Parlophone albums from 1993-2003. Each CD within the box will be re-packaged in a digipack sleeve featuring original artwork and booklet.
The first six albums Radiohead recorded for Parlophone are collected in this box set, charting the band's journey from the indie rock chancers of 'Pablo Honey' to the seasoned experimentalists and political commentators of 'Hail To The Thief'. In between we see the band's incarnations as prog revivalists on 'OK Computer' and chart-friendly emotional giants with 'The Bends'. Also included is the 2001 live recording 'I Might Be Wrong' which notably features the unlikely live favourite 'Idioteque' from 'Kid A', perhaps their most experimental release. Radiohead's is a difficult career to summarise, but this completist option is possibly the most rewarding choice.
Radiohead burst onto the Britpop scene in the early 1990s with a clamorous, post-U2 take on guitar rock, buoyed by the hit "Creep." They subsequently developed their songwriting and production skills on THE BENDS and achieved iconic status with their breakthrough album OK COMPUTER, making art-rock cool again in the process. The mercurial band's long-awaited follow-up three years later was a sharp left turn full of ambient electronics and Can-like sonic deconstruction, and they've continued the trend with subsequent albums and solo projects. The connecting thread through all the band's phases has been Thom Yorke's intense vocal frenzy.
track listing
disc 1
1. You
2. Creep
3. How Do You
4. Stop Whispering
5. Thinking About You
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar
7. Ripcord
8. Vegetable
9. Prove Yourself
10. I Can't
11. Lurgee
12. Blow Out
disc 2
1. Planet Telex
2. Bends
3. High And Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. Nice Dream
7. Just
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
disc 3
1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. Tourist
disc 4
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. Kid A
3. National Anthem
4. How To Disappear Completely
5. Treefingers
6. Optimistic
7. In Limbo
8. Idioteque
9. Morning Bell
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack
disc 5
1. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box
2. Pyramid Song
3. Pulk/pull Revolving Doors
4. You And Whose Army
5. I Might Be Wrong
6. Knives Out
7. Morning Bell/Amnesiac
8. Dollars And Cents
9. Hunting Bears
10. Like Spinning Plates
11. Life In A Glasshouse
disc 6
1. National Anthem [live]
2. I Might Be Wrong [live]
3. Morning Bell [live]
4. Like Spinning Plates [live]
5. Idioteque [live]
6. Everything In It's Right Place [live]
7. Dollars And Cents [live]
8. True Love Waits [live]
disc 7
1. 2+2=5
2. Sit Down Stand Up
3. Sail To The Moon
4. Backdrifts
5. Go To Sleep
6. Where I End And You Begin
7. We Suck Young Blood
8. Gloaming
9. There There
10. I Will
11. Punch Up At A Wedding
12. Myxomatosis
13. Scatterbrain
14. Wolf At The Door
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days
Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:
Wed 16 April
2045 Debussy, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2230 King’s College Cambridge, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 17 April
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2
Fri 18 April
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Sun 20 April
1200 PJ Harvey, Private Passions - BBC Radio 3
Mon 21 April
1200/2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Tues 22 April
1044 Freni/Domingo in Puccini’s Manon, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days
… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Tues BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
* When Rockabilly Ruled ~ OK?
Mark Radcliffe looks at the '70s revival, so expect The Stray Cats, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, The Polecats etc ~ incidentally, the Vincent Vincent and the Villains album Gospel Bombs is an absolute treat if you are into rockabilly.
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Prison
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: Days Of The Week
Smiley Lewis, Tom Waits and The Undertones ~ Bob's taste is wide-ranging and eclectic and usually spot on.
Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Ken Colyer
Selected recordings on what would have been the trumpeter's 80th birthday
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Japanese foursome Gato Libre live
Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisited - Bruce Springsteen
TV For Grown-Ups
Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
I don't get this Tuesday night show ~ OK it's live (as Jools is at pains to let us know each programme) but why watch it tonight when the show is an extra half-hour in its traditional Friday slot (and you can record and edit out the cack)? Anyway, tonight (and Friday) guests include Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings ~ the band that normally back Amy Winehouse - with their 'regular' singer, and very good they are too. Also Toumani Diabate.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Amazing Journey ~ The Story Of The Who
Is there anything left to say about the Oo? Interviews with all protagonists and lots of archive footage
Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later
See Tuesday
Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
Sorry, I forgot to let you know about these programmes featuring 'young new' folk artists talking about their inspiration. I say 'young' cos last week's (Kate Rusby) and this week's feature (Eliza Carthy) have been around for years ~ never mind, these are in a dumb time slot (hence me not telling you!) and look like they belong on BBC4 on a Friday ~ typical of the way that most TV treats music lovers.
Not Music, But We Like It Slot
Friday BBC1 9.00pm has the return of Have I Got News For You (hurrah) which is repeated in its longer form on Saturday evening on BBC2 ~ host is Jack Dee who is usually pretty good in the chair.
Wed 16 April
2045 Debussy, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2230 King’s College Cambridge, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 17 April
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2
Fri 18 April
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Sun 20 April
1200 PJ Harvey, Private Passions - BBC Radio 3
Mon 21 April
1200/2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Tues 22 April
1044 Freni/Domingo in Puccini’s Manon, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3
Gerry Smith
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ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days
… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:
Radio For Grown-Ups
Tues BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
* When Rockabilly Ruled ~ OK?
Mark Radcliffe looks at the '70s revival, so expect The Stray Cats, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, The Polecats etc ~ incidentally, the Vincent Vincent and the Villains album Gospel Bombs is an absolute treat if you are into rockabilly.
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Prison
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio
Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: Days Of The Week
Smiley Lewis, Tom Waits and The Undertones ~ Bob's taste is wide-ranging and eclectic and usually spot on.
Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Ken Colyer
Selected recordings on what would have been the trumpeter's 80th birthday
Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Japanese foursome Gato Libre live
Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisited - Bruce Springsteen
TV For Grown-Ups
Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
I don't get this Tuesday night show ~ OK it's live (as Jools is at pains to let us know each programme) but why watch it tonight when the show is an extra half-hour in its traditional Friday slot (and you can record and edit out the cack)? Anyway, tonight (and Friday) guests include Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings ~ the band that normally back Amy Winehouse - with their 'regular' singer, and very good they are too. Also Toumani Diabate.
Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Amazing Journey ~ The Story Of The Who
Is there anything left to say about the Oo? Interviews with all protagonists and lots of archive footage
Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later
See Tuesday
Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
Sorry, I forgot to let you know about these programmes featuring 'young new' folk artists talking about their inspiration. I say 'young' cos last week's (Kate Rusby) and this week's feature (Eliza Carthy) have been around for years ~ never mind, these are in a dumb time slot (hence me not telling you!) and look like they belong on BBC4 on a Friday ~ typical of the way that most TV treats music lovers.
Not Music, But We Like It Slot
Friday BBC1 9.00pm has the return of Have I Got News For You (hurrah) which is repeated in its longer form on Saturday evening on BBC2 ~ host is Jack Dee who is usually pretty good in the chair.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Bjork – new tour
Bjork’s English tour, which kicked off in Manchester on Friday, is attracting rave reviews, notably this in the Da1ly Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/14/bmbjork114.xml
Ms Gudmundsdottir has reportedly forsaken a greatest hits show in favour of an in-depth exploration of Volta, the current album. Which is exactly what a musician for grown-ups should do – greatest hits gigs are for adolescents (of all ages).
Watch this space - as I gear up for my first Bjork show, in Plymouth next week.
Gerry Smith
Bjork’s English tour, which kicked off in Manchester on Friday, is attracting rave reviews, notably this in the Da1ly Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/14/bmbjork114.xml
Ms Gudmundsdottir has reportedly forsaken a greatest hits show in favour of an in-depth exploration of Volta, the current album. Which is exactly what a musician for grown-ups should do – greatest hits gigs are for adolescents (of all ages).
Watch this space - as I gear up for my first Bjork show, in Plymouth next week.
Gerry Smith
Friday, April 11, 2008
Bach for Beginners?
Johann Sebastian Bach is arguably the greatest of all musicians for grown-ups. He spent his entire life channeling the Creator. To put it simply: if you don’t know Bach, you don’t know music.
But if you’ve yet to explore Bach’s magnificent catalogue, you can sample an hour of it at 2000 tonight, on Sacred Music (BBC Four). If the programme fulfils its enormous potential, it should be a thrilling Bach for Beginners
Sacred Music, a four-parter, has been a mixed bag – the Palestrina programme, in Rome, was more engaging than the other two, set in Paris and London. The English programme, in particular, was dull. Tonight’s programme, last in the series, should be the strongest of the series; it certainly deals with the killer subject.
Gerry Smith
But if you’ve yet to explore Bach’s magnificent catalogue, you can sample an hour of it at 2000 tonight, on Sacred Music (BBC Four). If the programme fulfils its enormous potential, it should be a thrilling Bach for Beginners
Sacred Music, a four-parter, has been a mixed bag – the Palestrina programme, in Rome, was more engaging than the other two, set in Paris and London. The English programme, in particular, was dull. Tonight’s programme, last in the series, should be the strongest of the series; it certainly deals with the killer subject.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Bjork’s English tour starts tomorrow
Bjork’s starts her short English tour, in Manchester, tomorrow. She then plays seven more dates over the next three weeks. I’ll be reviewing the 22 April Plymouth show.
I haven’t seen the diminutive Icelander before, but she’s been a favourite on CD for years – her refreshing artistry marks her out as one of the leading musos for grown-ups of her generation.
BJORK’s ENGLISH TOUR, 2008
11 April Apollo, Manchester
14 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
17 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
20 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
22 April Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
25 April Civic Hall Wolverhampton
01 May Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
04 May City Hall, Sheffield
Info: www.bjork.com
Gerry Smith
I haven’t seen the diminutive Icelander before, but she’s been a favourite on CD for years – her refreshing artistry marks her out as one of the leading musos for grown-ups of her generation.
BJORK’s ENGLISH TOUR, 2008
11 April Apollo, Manchester
14 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
17 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
20 April Hammersmith Apollo, London
22 April Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
25 April Civic Hall Wolverhampton
01 May Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
04 May City Hall, Sheffield
Info: www.bjork.com
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
New Stones album
As expected, following Monday’s release of Shine A Light, the new Stones double CD, you simply can’t escape the Glimmer Twins: they’re all over the airwaves and the High Street.
As always when you get a new Stones product, Jagger& Co are dominating the media agenda and on this occasion they’re aided and abetted by the powerful Scorsese publicity machine.
I’ll be attentively recording/watching the promo, Rolling Stones: Shine A Light Movie Special on ITV1 at five past midnight on Saturday/Sunday night.
But I think I’ll give the new album a miss, even at the £10 supermarket price. I know from experience that it’ll be available at £5 in six months time. There’s nothing on the new release shouting “buy me, now”. And I’ve already got eight official live Stones albums - more than enough.
Album tracks:
Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down The Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne And Reefer
Tumbling Dice
You Got The Silver
Connection
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
Paint It, Black
Little T and A
I’m Free
Shine A Light
Gerry Smith
As always when you get a new Stones product, Jagger& Co are dominating the media agenda and on this occasion they’re aided and abetted by the powerful Scorsese publicity machine.
I’ll be attentively recording/watching the promo, Rolling Stones: Shine A Light Movie Special on ITV1 at five past midnight on Saturday/Sunday night.
But I think I’ll give the new album a miss, even at the £10 supermarket price. I know from experience that it’ll be available at £5 in six months time. There’s nothing on the new release shouting “buy me, now”. And I’ve already got eight official live Stones albums - more than enough.
Album tracks:
Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down The Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne And Reefer
Tumbling Dice
You Got The Silver
Connection
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
Paint It, Black
Little T and A
I’m Free
Shine A Light
Gerry Smith
Monday, April 07, 2008
A breathtaking Boheme from the magnificent Met
Saturday’s live broadcast of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Boheme, starring Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi and Ramon Vargas as Rodolfo, was breathtakingly beautiful.
I heard much of BBC Radio 3’s live broadcast while stuck in a traffic jam on the M2, returning from Dover. Never has been stuck on a motorway been so enjoyable.
Angela Gheorghiu, in particular, was devastating. Her command of the big set pieces was one of the highlights of my years of opera gigging. The power of her depiction of Mimi reminded you repeatedly of Callas: there is no greater compliment on Music for Grown-Ups.
If this La Boheme sounded so good on radio, without the acting, the setrs, the costumes and the surtitles, it must have been stunning in the Metroplitan Opera House.
If this production ever plays Covent Garden, I’ll willingly queue round the block.
Brava Gheorghiu!!
Gerry Smith
I heard much of BBC Radio 3’s live broadcast while stuck in a traffic jam on the M2, returning from Dover. Never has been stuck on a motorway been so enjoyable.
Angela Gheorghiu, in particular, was devastating. Her command of the big set pieces was one of the highlights of my years of opera gigging. The power of her depiction of Mimi reminded you repeatedly of Callas: there is no greater compliment on Music for Grown-Ups.
If this La Boheme sounded so good on radio, without the acting, the setrs, the costumes and the surtitles, it must have been stunning in the Metroplitan Opera House.
If this production ever plays Covent Garden, I’ll willingly queue round the block.
Brava Gheorghiu!!
Gerry Smith
Friday, April 04, 2008
Lovely gigs in 2008
After a couple of years in which my gigging became a bit narrowly focussed and predictable – mainly opera, with a bit of jazz, world and rock – 2008 is promising to be rather more richly eclectic.
Having already seen three compelling gigs – Morrissey at the Roundhouse, Dorothea Roschmann singing Lieder at Vienna’s Musikverein, and Salome at Covent Garden, I’m keenly anticipating lots more varied shows, including several key musicians for grown-ups who’ve been on my must-see list for years:
April: Bjork
May: Roberto Alagna; John McLaughlin
June: Don Carlo; Ariadne; Pentangle
July: Leonard Cohen; Marriage of Figaro
Dec: Cecilia Bartoli
Having re-found the taste for eclectic gigs, I’m eagerly looking for others – top live music for grown-ups is one of the greatest thrills of all.
Gerry Smith
Having already seen three compelling gigs – Morrissey at the Roundhouse, Dorothea Roschmann singing Lieder at Vienna’s Musikverein, and Salome at Covent Garden, I’m keenly anticipating lots more varied shows, including several key musicians for grown-ups who’ve been on my must-see list for years:
April: Bjork
May: Roberto Alagna; John McLaughlin
June: Don Carlo; Ariadne; Pentangle
July: Leonard Cohen; Marriage of Figaro
Dec: Cecilia Bartoli
Having re-found the taste for eclectic gigs, I’m eagerly looking for others – top live music for grown-ups is one of the greatest thrills of all.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days
Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:
Wed 2/Th 3 April
2230 Karita Mattila (Finnish soprano), Artist Focus, BBC Radio 3
Fri 4 April
1900 Classical City to City (1/4) – Venice, BBC Radio 2
2000 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four
Sat 5 April
1130 Haydn’s Creation – CD Review, BBC Radio 3
1830 La Boheme (inc Gheorghiu) – Live from the Met, BBC Radio 3
Sun 6 April
1900 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four
2000 Mozart’s Sacred Music, BBC Four
Gerry Smith
Wed 2/Th 3 April
2230 Karita Mattila (Finnish soprano), Artist Focus, BBC Radio 3
Fri 4 April
1900 Classical City to City (1/4) – Venice, BBC Radio 2
2000 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four
Sat 5 April
1130 Haydn’s Creation – CD Review, BBC Radio 3
1830 La Boheme (inc Gheorghiu) – Live from the Met, BBC Radio 3
Sun 6 April
1900 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four
2000 Mozart’s Sacred Music, BBC Four
Gerry Smith
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