MUSIC for GROWN-UPs

No new content for a while

2010-01-28T09:28:00.001Z

The site has suffered from a succession of IT problems over the last few months; they’ve prevented me posting new content as frequently as I’d like.

In order to sort out the problems once and for all – and to take the opportunity to upgrade the site – we won’t be carrying any new material for a while. Please accept my apologies for not using any material you may send for the duration.

The site has a considerable following, so we intend to be up and running as soon as possible. Please keep checking back.

Thanks to all contributors and readers for your support over the years.

See you soon.

Gerry Smith, Editor

Bob Dylan and Miles Davis: Sony’s big box sets compared

2009-11-13T23:29:00.001Z

As far as Bob Dylan and Miles Davis, its major assets, are concerned, Sony does a creditable job managing the treasures locked away in its priceless vaults.

However much hardcore fans might moan about the slow drip-feed of the unreleased Dylan legacy, Columbia Legacy is to be commended on its Bootleg Series.

Columbia Legacy also manages its Miles Davis assets pretty astutely, though some Miles aficionados whinge that Sony has released too much inconsequential blathering by the Prince Of Darkness!

But the imminent release of the Complete Miles Davis Columbia Album Collection will leave Bobfans drawing unfavourable comparisons with the Zim equivalent, 2003’s Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series.

The two reissue projects are similar in key respects – all the albums in both collections have remarkable upgraded sound and both boxes reintroduce the original album artwork, in seductive digipak format.

But, in other ways, the new Miles box is more compelling:

* it pulls together all of the label’s Miles albums – Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series was selective, with only 15 titles, against the Miles box’s whopping 52, many of them double albums!

* many of the Miles albums carry worthwhile bonus tracks – the Dylan reissues eschewed any.

* even if you already own most of the original recordings, the incentives to buy the Miles box are persuasive – a newly released live DVD, a couple of previously unreleased CDs-worth of music, a substantial 250 page book by two leading Miles experts, and striking packaging.

* value: the “street” launch prices of the two boxes are similar, but the Miles box gives you far more bang for your buck.

Bottom line: I already had virtually all releases by both musicians. I passed on the Dylan box; I’ve ordered the Miles box.

Gerry Smith

More on: New Age rock: But Is This Music for Grown-Ups? #1

2009-11-05T00:57:00.000Z

Thanks to Phil Swann:

“You ask: But is this music for grown-ups?

“I’d say – not a chance.

“An essential ingredient of music for grown-ups is that it’s original. This kind of stuff is just so derivative. How can people listen to this when they can spend the same time listening to the original music?”

New Age rock: But Is This Music for Grown-Ups? #1

2009-11-04T14:20:00.000Z

The record label have sent me details of a new album “which transforms popular rock bands like Bob Dylan, The Beatles and U2 into relaxing meditation music.”

But is this music for grown-ups?

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Information and song samples:

www.modernmeditations.com

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

Slated for release November 17, the ³Modern Meditations² series¹ ³Rock Classics² and ³Modern Classics² 12-track collections feature meditative renditions of some of rock music¹s best-known
and most beloved songs. Also available on November 17 is an album dedicated to the songs of The Beatles. Aimed at introducing a brand new, modern rock perspective on ³new age² music fare, the ³Modern Meditations² series will be available for purchase at all traditional music retail outlets and online services, as well as distributed to many high-end lifestyle retailers.

Featuring the work of renowned producers from across the globe, ³Modern Meditations² has transformed contemporary rock favorites into meditation music for the rock & roll generation. Shimmering rock guitars and warm percussion create lush instrumental soundscapes. While yoga, Pilates, and meditation have all entered the mainstream, the music has not. The ³Modern Meditations² series aims to introduce an alternative to traditional new age fare to the growing modern rock audience.

The first of two compilation releases, ³Rock Classics,² features serene instrumental versions of songs from classic rock¹s most revered artists including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Led Zeppelin and many others. ³Modern Classics² dives into the contemporary rock catalog with tranquil renditions of songs by The Verve, U2, The Cure, Oasis, R.E.M., Nirvana and more.

Radiohead @ Reading 2009: spellbinding

2009-10-30T13:39:00.001Z

I’ve been re-watching a video of Radiohead’s recent Reading gig. Their performance was spellbinding.

Radiohead @ Reading 2009 had it all: an inspired festival set-list from across the seven-album catalogue (below)… impressive stylistic range… virtuosic musicianship…

Not to mention Thom Yorke, who reached a special place, playing, er, Thom Yorke to perfection. And a stage set which enriched the music, emphasising its sheer ambition.

Set-list:

Creep
The National Anthem
15 Step
There There
Karma Police
Arpeggi
Just
Give
Jigsaw
Paranoid Android
Everything In Its Right Place

Those of us who are resolutely anti-outdoor gigs (and festival-averse) were well served by Britain’s Ministry Of State Culture, aka the BBC, bringing Reading into our homes.

And while I’m hardly in the target demographic for BBC3, the digital TV channel targeting acne-ravaged bed-wetters, this superlative concert illustrated a core Music For Grown-Ups belief: great art knows no boundaries.

Gerry Smith

Dylan Different: jazz singer Ben Sidran covers Dylan

2009-10-26T20:54:00.000Z

I’m not over-fond of Dylan cover albums, but when a favourite singer – Bryan Ferry, most recently – interprets Bobsongs, I usually buy and enjoy.

So I’m looking forward to Dylan Different, an album of covers by jazz singer/pianist Ben Sidran.

Sidran crossed my radar with his contribution on the grossly under-rated Van Morrison album, Tell Me Something (1996), a collection of Mose Allison covers which also featured Georgie Fame and Mose himself.

I searched out Sidran and saw him play a tiny London gig. He was outstanding – laconic, droll and a beautifully lyrical musician. Very similar to Mose Allison, in fact. Watching him perform at close quarters for a couple of hours a was sheer delight.

Ben Sidran’s Dylan Different, due 16 November, is a must-buy in these parts.

Tracklist:

Everything Is Broken
Highway 61 Revisited
Tangled Up In Blue
Gotta Serve Somebody
Rainy Day Woman
Ballad of a Thin Man
Maggie's Farm
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Subterranean Homesick Blues
On The Road Again
All I Really Want To Do
Blowin' in the Wind

www.bensidran.com

Gerry Smith

Krautrock for beginners

2009-10-23T20:34:00.000+01:00

After last week’s Synth Britannia, a minute, unnecessary examination of the generally lightweight genre of late ‘70s/early ‘80s Anglo electronic pop, BBC4 atones tonight with Krautrock, a new doc exploring the legacy of rather more substantial musicians like the great Can, as well as Neu!, the Tans and Kraftwerk.

And it’s followed by a rare transmission of the legendary Kraftwerk gig, Minimum/Maximum.

They’re showing twice tonight, and repeated over the weekend.

You can also see them online for 7 days after broadcast:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Highly recommended - unlike the vapid English pop pap of last week’s programme, this is quintessential electronica for grown-ups.

Gerry Smith

New Sting CD - If On A Winter's Night – due next week

2009-10-19T20:33:00.000+01:00

Sting has always been a Music for Grown-Ups favourite and I’m looking forward to his new CD, on which Mr Sumner continues to ignore musical genre.

Bravo, bonny lad!

If On a Winter's Night is due next week on Deutsche Grammophon.

Gerry Smith

Here’s the PR promoting the new CD, and a link to a sound sample:

Sting will release a new album dedicated to his favorite season – Winter - a season which has inspired countless songwriters over the centuries and produced a wealth of music exploring all of its many guises. "If On a Winter's Night..." presents an arc of songs that conjures the season of spirits, resulting in a haunting, spiritual and reflective musical journey.

“The theme of winter is rich in inspiration and material,” comments Sting; “by filtering all of these disparate styles into one album I hope we have created something refreshing and new.” He continues, "Our ancestors celebrated the paradox of light at the heart of the darkness, and the consequent miracle of rebirth and the regeneration of the seasons.”

In collaboration with esteemed producer and arranger, Robert Sadin, “If On a Winter’s Night…” features traditional music of the British Isles as its starting point. Sting and guest musicians interpret a stirring collection of songs, carols, and lullabies including The Snow it Melts the Soonest (traditional Newcastle ballad), A Soalin’ (traditional English "begging" song) Gabriel's Message (14th century carol), Balulalow (lullaby by Peter Warlock) and Now Winter Comes Slowly (Henry Purcell).

Two of Sting’s own compositions are also featured on the album, Lullaby for an Anxious Child and The Hounds of Winter, which originally appeared on his previous release Mercury Falling, alongside Hurdy Gurdy Man, - a musical reworking and English translation (by Sting) of Der Leiermann from Schubert's classic winter song-cycle Winterreise.

For this exploration of the themes and emotions of Winter, Sting is joined by friend and long time colleague, guitarist Dominic Miller. Additional guests include an ensemble of three remarkable musicians from Northern England and Scotland: Kathryn Tickell (fiddle and Northumbrian pipes) Julian Sutton (melodeon) and Mary MacMaster (metal string Scottish harp), along with Daniel Hope (violin), Vincent Ségal (cello), Chris Botti and Ibrahim Maalouf, (trumpet), Cyro Baptista and Bijan Chemirani (percussion), the Webb Sisters (vocals) and Stile Antico (vocal ensemble).

Audio stream for “Soul Cake”:

http://decca.edgeboss.net/wmedia/decca/sting/soulcake.wax

Bob Dylan’s Christmas In The Heart – reviewed by Matthew Zuckerman

2009-10-12T18:48:00.001+01:00

Well, Christmas In The Heart arrived in the post today -- nice efficient service from Isis. They always manage to get the new releases on the doormat the day before official release. Many thanks to Derek and Tracy (& great to see you at the Mott the Hoople reunion show!)

The deluxe version is just the regular jewel case in a cardboard sleeve, with five cards -- blank inside -- all with the album cover and envelope.

As for the album, I downloaded it on to my iPod and listened to it as I walked the dog around the local cemetery. What immediately struck me -- well, not immediately, but what started to dawn on me by the second or third song and was clear by the fourth -- was that this is not just a little dashed off side project.

Like it or not, the emotional commitment that Dylan has given to these songs makes Christmas In The Heart very much the new Bob
Dylan album.

For many people, certain albums -- Bringing It All Back Home,
Highway 61, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot of Love -- were too associated with something they hated (rock & roll, country, schmaltz, Christianity) for them to want or be able to appreciate the albums for themselves.

You can add Christmas In The Heart to that list.

Those who cannot accept the fact that Bob might want to have such an album in his catalogue -- as Bing Crosby, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington and many other of his favourite singers have done -- will find the album a closed door.

But for anyone else, it could be a small delight.

I have only listened to the album once, and do not have time to write more than the most fleeting impressions. All I would say is listen to the musicians (Bob's road crew plus David Hidalgo and a few others -- and a startlingly fine piece of harmonica playing on one track); the really very fine melodies; the instrumental and vocal harmony arrangements that both recapture the slick 1940s/50s studio sounds that Bob grew up with and breathe life into them, humanizing them; the battered and beaten voice sometimes flaring and phlegming up but still hitting all the notes – and singing with the same intense intimacy that he invested in A Simple Twist of Fate.

And then there's Must Be Santa. Bob Has often talked about his love for polka. And with this manic -- yet always controlled -- performance you can see why. I wonder what the world would have done if Bob had mixed his folk lyrics and surreal verse with a polka outfit like the one backing him here instead of a rock & roll band. Would we have booed?

And would we all -- supporters and booers alike -- follow him down his various roads, as we have done in this layer of the multiverse?

I digress, and I must end. I have much to do and time is short.

Outstanding new releases from Kraftwerk, Sting, Cecilia Bartoli, Joyce Didonato, John Coltrane and Miles Davis

2009-10-09T00:02:00.000+01:00

Forget the Beatles remasters. Forget Dylan’s Xmas album (due in the UK on Monday).

There are some exciting new releases by Music for Grown-Ups favourites about to hit the streets, notably:

* Kraftwerk’s back catalogue – remastered, released singly and in a collectable box set, The Catalogue. Prima!

* Sting’s tempting foray into traditional and classical song – If On A Winter’s Night.

* Top mezzo-soprano outings – Cecilia Bartoli with Sacrificium; and Joyce Didonato with Rossini.

* John Coltrane’s early work on Prestige as a sideman with a variety of bands (except Miles’s), collected as Side Steps

* All of Miles Davis’s Columbia albums – 70 discs! - in a single box.

A bumper autumn in store…

Gerry Smith

Paris, by Malcolm McLaren: Recent Discoveries #1

2009-10-02T22:18:00.001+01:00

Thanks to neighbour Mike Middleditch who lent me a copy of Paris, by Malcolm McLaren.

It’s a heady mixture of dance beats, jazz inflections and not a little Maghrebian influence. All in the service of spoken vocals by McLaren as he successfully evokes the spirit of the French capital.

Particularly evocative are the trance-like songs featuring Gallic icons Francoise Hardy and Catherine Deneuve.

A lovely disc, unexpectedly engaging: recommended.

Gerry Smith

JOHN MARTYN: Music for Grown-Ups Insider’s Guide #2

2009-10-01T22:46:00.000+01:00

By Martin Cowan

Criminally underrated in his lifetime, especially when compared to such highly praised colleagues and contemporaries like Nick Drake and Richard Thompson, John Martyn was a highly innovative vocal and guitar stylist.

More “rock’n’roll” than rock’n’roll, his death-defying escapades became legendary, as did the dichotomy between the at times disturbed and disturbing man and the moving and beautiful music he created.

Assuaging his demons – whatever they were – with drink, drugs and out of control behaviour, Martyn was a deeply romantic poet whose blurred and slurred singing style challenged the listener in much the same way as Van Morrison.

Putting aside such over-anthologised gems as “Solid Air”, “May You Never” and “Sweet Little Mystery”, Martyn’s extensive catalogue is hard to fillet.

Quickly tiring of the fast finger picking style espoused by the Bert Jansch school of guitar playing (heard to good effect on his second LP, 1968’s The Tumbler), Martyn soon moved into more experimental and jazz-flavoured areas by amplifying his acoustic guitar and using distortion.

Feeding his uniquely percussive guitar playing through an echoplex unit, Martyn achieved layer upon layer of startling and innovative guitar noise, best heard on live solo recordings.

There was so much more to the man’s output than those ‘70s touchstone releases Bless the Weather (1971), Solid Air (1973) and One World (1977).

1981’s Glorious Fool is astonishing in its range and diversity (from the libidinous “Perfect Hustler” to the keening protest song “Don’t You Go”) and as the years rolled by, Martyn continued to experiment with sounds and textures.

Listeners should check out the intimate “Number Nine”, the trip hoppery of “A Little Strange”, the quasi religious “My Creator” and the wilfully bizarre “Back to Marseilles.”

Over a recording and performing career that spanned 40 years, John Martyn proved himself to be a soul singer extraordinaire, an artist with his heart on his sleeve, and someone who was wounded by, and yet in thrall to, love.

John Martyn: A 2CD primer

Disc 1
1) Don't You Go GLORIOUS FOOL 1981
2) A Little Strange AND.1996
3) Seven Black Roses THE TUMBLER 1968
4) Hurt In Your Heart GRACE AND DANGER 1980
5) Parcels ROAD TO RUIN 1970
6) Perfect Hustler GLORIOUS FOOL 1981
7) Couldn't Love You More ONE WORLD 1977
8) All In Your Favour AND. 1996
9) Walk To The Water BLESS THE WEATHER 1971
10) Don't Want To Know (live) PHILENTROPY 1983
11) Wildflower GLASGOW WALKER 2000
12) Sunday's Child SUNDAY'S CHILD 1974
13) Piece by Piece PIECE BY PIECE 1986
14) John The Baptist STORMBRINGER! 1970
15) The Cure COOLTIDE 1991
16) Ways To Cry INSIDE OUT 1973
17) Back To Marseilles ON THE COBBLES 2004
18) Small Hours ONE WORLD 1977

Disc 2
1) My Creator ON THE COBBLES 2004
2) A Day At The Sea THE TUMBLER 1968
3) Fine Lines INSIDE OUT 1973
4) Save Some (For Me) GRACE AND DANGER 1980
5) You Can Discover SUNDAY'S CHILD 1974
6) Suzanne AND. 1996
7) Let The Good Things Come BLESS THE WEATHER 1971
8) Number Nine COOLTIDE 1991
9) Hung Up (live) PHILENTROPY 1983
10) Please Fall In Love With Me GLORIOUS FOOL 1981
11) Stormbringer! STORMBRINGER! 1970
12) One World ONE WORLD 1977
13) Rope-soul'd SAPPHIRE 1984
14) Ain't No Saint INSIDE OUT 1973
15) Go Down Easy SOLID AIR 1973
15) The Field Of Play GLASGOW WALKER 2000
16) Never Let Me Go WELL KEPT SECRET 1982
17) Call Me Crazy SUNDAY'S CHILD 1974

Music for Grown-Ups will be publishing similar Insider’s Guides to other musicians from all genres. If you’d like to contribute to the series, please contact website Editor Gerry Smith - before you start writing - gerrysmith@musicforgrownups.co.uk

TOM WAITS: Music for Grown-Ups Insider's Guide #1

2009-09-24T16:03:00.001+01:00

By Martin Cowan

Tom Waits may be the only true genius operating in rock music today.

Shedding his boho beatnik image seven albums into his career with an astounding left turn (1983’s Swordfishtrombones LP), Waits is one of the few writers and performers who has actually improved with age.

There is little doubt that Waits can be a challenging listen, his growled vocals taking some getting used to.

Whether his songs are blues stomps or schmaltzy ballads, like no-one else he adorns the material with a deliberately “lo-fi” sonic ambiance, featuring bizarre instrumentations and the deliberate distortion of his voice.

Waits is something of an enigma, fiercely guarding both his privacy and the artistic integrity of his music (he has successfully sued would-be advertisers using his songs). He rarely tours or gives interviews, and the mystique that surrounds him is probably unique in modern rock.

Highly respected, with quite a sideline in movie acting (he has starred with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman), it is in the quality of the music where Waits’ originality really shines.
Clues to his post-Swordfish direction are there in some of his earlier songs (“Barber Shop” from 1976), but nothing quite prepares the listener for the bizarre and plain bonkers bent of some of the later material (“Cemetery Polka” 1985, “Russian Dance” 1993).

A poetic lyricist who crafts melodies that are simultaneously original and yet sound traditional, Waits is a master songwriter who maintains a rigid control of his output, writing and producing his CD releases, along with his wife Kathleen Brennan. Waits attributes his change of direction to Kathleen, and he is happy to credit her with saving his life from his drunken barfly days.

There is much to reward the dogged listener, and the schizophrenic nature of Tom Waits is no more evident than when comparing “Pony” and “Filipino Box Spring Hog” from 1999’s Mule Variations LP and the insane “Kommienezuspadt” with anything else from the Alice LP from 2002.

Waits has described his music as “grand weepers and grim reapers” and there is no better summary of the output of this unique, startling and innovative creative artist.

TOM WAITS: a 2CD primer

Disc 1

1) Cinny's Waltz FOREIGN AFFAIRS 1976
2) Lullaby BLOOD MONEY 2002
3) Lie To Me ORPHANS 2006
4) Johnsburg, Illinois SWORDFISHTROMBONES 1983
5) Barber Shop FOREIGN AFFAIRS 1976
6) Alice ALICE 2002
7) Road To Peace ORPHANS 2006
8) Last Rose of Summer BLACK RIDER 1993
9) Franks Theme FRANKS WILD YEARS 1987
10) Saving All My Love For You HEART ATTACK AND VINE 1980
11) Clang Boom Steam REAL GONE 2004
12) World Keeps Turning ORPHANS 2006
13) Straight To The Top (Rhumba) FRANKS WILD YEARS 1987
14) Pony MULE VARIATIONS 1999
15) Such A Scream BONE MACHINE 1992
16) Hang Down Your Head RAIN DOGS 1985
17) You Can Never Hold Back Spring ORPHANS 2008
18) Whistlin Past The Graveyard BLUE VALENTINE 1978
19) November BLACK RIDER 1993
20) Time RAIN DOGS 1985
21) Spidey's Wild Ride ORPHANS 2006
22) If I Have To Go ALICE 2002
23) Take Care Of All Of My Children ORPHANS 2006
24) Diamonds and Gold RAIN DOGS 1985
25) Woe BLOOD MONEY 2002
26) Black Box Theme BLACK RIDER 1993
27) Cemetery Polka RAIN DOGS 1985
28) I'm Still Here ALICE 2002 Disc 2

1) Fawn ALICE 2002
2) Somewhere BLUE VALENTINE 1978
3) Russian Dance BLACK RIDER 1993
4) Cold Cold Ground FRANKS WILD YEARS 1987
5) Filipino Box Spring Hog MULE VARIATIONS 1999
6) Whistle Down The Wind BONE MACHINE 1992
7) Down Down Down SWORDFISHTROMBONES 1983
8) Day After Tomorrow REAL GONE 2004
9) Starving In The Belly Of A Whale BLOOD MONEY 2002
10) Kentucky Avenue BLUE VALENTINE 1978
11) We're All Mad Here ALICE 2002
12) A Little Rain BONE MACHINE 1992
13) Goin Out West BONE MACHINE 1992
14) No One Knows I'm Gone ALICE 2002
15) Let Me Get Up On It BONE MACHINE 1992
16) Jayne's Blue Wish ORPHANS 2006
17 Low Side Of The Road MULE VARIATIONS 1999
18) In The Neighbourhood SWORDFISHTROMBONES 1983
19) Telephone Call From Istanbul FRANKS WILD YEARS 1987
20) Briar and the Rose BLACK RIDER 1993
21) Bend Down The Branches ORPHANS 2006
23) Kommienezuspadt ALICE 2002
24) I Don't Wanna Grow Up BONE MACHINE 1992
24) Come On Up To The House MULE VARIATIONS 1999
25) Presents ONE FROM THE HEART 1982

© Martin Cowan 2009

(Music for Grown-Ups will be publishing similar Insider’s Guides to other musicians from all genres. If you’d like to contribute to the series, please contact website Editor - gerrysmith@musicforgrownups.co.uk - before you start writing.)

The Beatles: over-rated

2009-09-10T00:01:00.000+01:00

You’d need to be media-averse to have missed today’s launch of the re-masters of The Beatles’ albums. Newspapers, mags, tv and radio, in this part of the world at least, are overflowing with Fab Four hype.

It’s all gone over my head, though: the Beatles were – and are – over-rated.

I loved the first two albums and the early singles: massively refreshing, the Fabs swept away half a decade of appalling pop pap.

Yes, the Beatles were the biggest pop musicians ever, far more popular than everyone else. And yes, their influence was far wider than the pop charts.

But they were less interesting than the Stones; and they weren’t even my fave mid-1960s Scouser popsters – take a bow, Gerry… The Searchers… The Big Three… and several more Merseybeat bands.

To compare the Beatles’ legacy, as many halfwit journalists have done in the current frenzy, to that of Dylan is plain stupid – it’s like comparing Dylan with Madonna or Abba. The Beatles were show biz entertainers. Dylan is the 20thC’s dominant musician.

I haven’t played a Beatles record for over 20 years; there’s little chance of that changing, re-masters or not.

Gerry Smith

Radiohead at Reading

2009-09-03T00:07:00.001+01:00

If you didn’t catch headliners Radiohead’s gig at Reading Festival on TV last weekend, you can still check it out on BBC Red Button (and maybe online at iPlayer).

The gig was sensational. Playing a one hour (on TV) greatest hits set, Radiohead showed just why they are revered: a memorable, diverse, anthemic songbook, musical vision and innovation rarely encountered in rockpop, and a charismatic main man in Thom Yorke.

And the Reading staging did justice to the great music pouring from the speakers.

Marvellous stuff – Reading underlined Radiohead’s claim as the most interesting rockpop band since The Stone Roses.

If you can’t catch the BBC recording, consider buying the recent Best Of CD.

Gerry Smith

Two Miles Davis tribute programmes on BBC radio this week

2009-08-24T23:40:00.000+01:00

You can hardly accuse BBC Radio of ignoring Miles Davis.

Last night’s Jazz Line-Up on BBC Radio 3 featured Julian Joseph’s celebration of the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, in the company of trumpeter Henry Lowther, who performed with Davis's regular collaborator/arranger Gil Evans.

Lowther also met Miles whilst playing in Hollywood, as well as seeing him perform in England not long after the release of Kind Of Blue. He talks about the impact the album has had on his own playing, and provides musical insights and illustrations highlighting the importance of this landmark recording.

Title: So What
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 1
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 8m45s

Title: Freddie Freeloader (studio Sequence 1)
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 7
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 30s

Title: Freddie Freeloader
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 2
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 9m32s

Title: Blue in Green
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 3
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 5m23s

Title: All Blues
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 4
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 11m27s

Title: Flamenco Sketches (Alternate Take)
Artist: Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Bill Evans/Cannonball Adderley/Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb
Album: Kind of Blue
Label: Legacy 8869 733552
Track: 5
Comp: Miles Davis
Publ: Sony
Dur: 9m29s

And tomorrow, Tuesday 25 August, at 2230, BBC Radio 2 celebrates the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis' In A Silent Way, and explores the extraordinary music that Miles produced in the period dubbed the "Electric Era" from 1969-75.

The documentary includes newly sourced interview material from musicians who collaborated with Miles including Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Liebman.

You can listen to many BBC radio programmes online for 7 days after broadcast:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

The Stone Roses’ first album: best rock album since… ?

2009-08-14T22:39:00.001+01:00

The Stone Roses’ eponymous first album is the best rock album since… ? Beggars Banquet? Into The Music? The Queen Is Dead? It’s one of the top rock albums, and contender for best ever debut rockpop release.

Every grown-up music collection should have one. There’s no need to pay the extra for the new anniversary release (PR puff below) – it only has one extra. But if you don’t possess The Stone Roses, you should pick up the now heavily discounted original and play it loudly, repeatedly on long car journeys.

Great art. Highly recommended.

Gerry

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Promo for new release:

To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of The Stone Roses debut album this iconic release has been remastered by John Leckie (Pink Floyd, Radiohead) who produced the album back in 1989, and singer Ian Brown.

The Stone Roses debut is rightfully cited as one of the UK’s greatest debut albums of all time, and is an album that helped change the face of British music at the end of the 1980’s by reintroducing a swagger which had been lacking from the UK scene since The Rolling Stones when they were in their prime.

The album follows the same track listing as the original (is there a better start to an album than ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, ‘She Bangs The Drums’ and ‘Waterfall’?) but now finishes with the full length version of the single ‘Fools Gold’ which was not included on the original release, but is one of the band’s finest pieces of work.

This remastered edition is an essential purchase for all the original fans as well newcomers who want to check out British Indie Guitar music at its finest. Many bands have been influenced by The Stone Roses over the last 20 years but only Oasis have come close to producing a landmark record of to rival them.

‘The Roses’ never reached the soaring heights of this album again, but it has left a legacy in the UK music scene that few will surpass. Classic is a word thrown around far too easily, but this is a genuine classic album that should be in your collection.

The Stone Roses (20th Anniversary Special Edition) by THE STONE ROSES

1.I Wanna Be Adored
2.She Bangs The Drums
3.Waterfall
4.Don't Stop
5.Bye Bye Bad Man
6.Elizabeth My Dear
7.(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister
8.Made Of Stone
9.Shoot You Down
10.This Is The One
11.I Am The Resurrection
12.Fools Gold

Dylan “too selfish”, according to female singer-songwriter

2009-08-10T23:37:00.001+01:00

Singer-songwriter Dory Previn regards Bob Dylan as selfish. In an interview with Jonathan Wingate published in Record Collector (Jan 2008?*), she tells of a gig she performed where Dylan asked to meet her backstage:

“Yes that was the worst… you can’t have a chat with him because he’s too selfish, so he won’t give you anything…“

Dory Previn was a cult favourite in the early 1970s. Her bleak confessional lyrics documented her mental health problems, marital breakdown, and a world going wrong.

In my list of favourite women rockpop artists from the 1970s, I’d place her second only to Joni Mitchell, and well ahead of every other female writer/performer.

(* The interview, pulled out the monthly mag Record Collector, looks as if it promoted the Jan 2008 release of The Art Of Dory Previn, a must-have compilation CD summarising the gifted singer-songwriter’s legacy.)

Gerry Smith

Blues Britannia – must-watch TV broadcast, Friday 7 August

2009-08-06T21:43:00.001+01:00

BBC4 repeats its intermittently enlightening night of blues programming tomorrow night, Friday 7 August.

The core programme is a new BBC4 doc, Blues Britannia, a 90-min examination of how Anglo musicians took the blues, turned it into a key popular music form and exported it to the world (and back to the US, or so the story goes).

It covers the 1950s missionary work of jazzer Chris Barber and bluesman Alexis Korner, leading to the ‘60s R&B boom and the ascendancy of the Stones, right through to Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, Cream and finally to Led Zep.

It’s a valuable primer, though the self-satisfied succession of old men in full-on reminiscence mode can be irksome; the narration, by Nigel Planer, isn’t to my taste, either.

The central argument (indeed, the party line peddled by Brit musos of a certain age) about the US market being oblivious to the blues until the English Invaders sold it back to them, has always struck me as self-serving bullsh*t: Music for Grown-Ups would welcome the views of American readers on the matter.

Blues Britannia airs at 2200 tomorrow, with related programmes before and after. And can be viewed online via BBC iPlayer for a week after transmission.

Gerry Smith

Van Morrison - a greater talent than Dylan?

2009-07-23T23:19:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Need to take issue with Andrew from Adelaide on a couple of points:

1) Dylan v Van

I'm not sure you can compare Van's "Astral Weeks", "Moondance", "St Dominic's Review" and "Veedon Fleece" (released over a 6 year period) with Dylan's "rolled gold" classics as selected by Andrew, "Freewheelin’", "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Blonde on Blonde" which were not only released over just 4 years, but the last three were recorded and released over a ridiculously tight time frame:

* Bringing It All Back Home (14 and 15 Jan 1965); (2 days)
* Highway 61 (15 June, 29/30 July, 2/4 August 1965 (5 days)
* Blonde on Blonde (14 -17 Feb, 8/9 March 1966 (6 days)

So, three undeniable classic LPs recorded in 13 days over a 14 month period! Can anyone else match that? And wasn't he touring during that time too...?

2) Dylan's second golden era

Planet Waves 1973
Blood on the Tracks 1974
Desire 1975
Hard Rain 1976
StreetLegal 1978

3) Classic songs

I would suggest that Dylan has more classic songs in his songbook than Van that are more well known to the public at large eg Blowin in the wind, lay lady lay, knockin on heaven's door etc

4) Sustained sequence of clunkers

Can anyone top Van's output of clunkers from 1995 to the present?

 Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996)
 The Healing Game (1997)
 Back on Top (1999)
 The Skiffle Sessions - Live in Belfast 1998 (2000)
 You Win Again (2000)
 Down the Road (2002)
 What's Wrong with This Picture? (2003)
 Magic Time (2005)
 Pay the Devil (2006)
 Live at Austin City Limits Festival (Live) (2006)
 Keep It Simple (2008)
 Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Live) (2009)

That's not to deny the brilliance of "Astral Weeks" which is unique in the Van canon, and possibly one of the greatest albums of all time.

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Van Morrison - a greater talent than Dylan?

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

No surprise that Oh Mercy was rated the best Dylan album of this period (1978-89) – it was, indeed, the only album of that period that I would rate as a classic Dylan album or potentially a Desert Island Disc.

To provoke debate among other music lovers (and perhaps to annoy Dylan Diehards) I would like to repeat my previously expressed view that this confirms Van Morrison as the greater music talent, and indeed, the greatest in contemporary music.

The same period (1978-89) was Morrison’s second golden era in which he produced 6 “rolled gold” classics, as follows (in chronological order):
Into The Music
Common One
Beautiful Vision
No Guru No Method No Teacher
Poetic Champions Compose
Avalon Sunset

In addition, several other worthy additions to his canon (also in chronological order):
Wavelength
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
Live at the Belfast Grand Opera House
A Sense of Wonder
Irish Heartbeat (with the Chieftains)

And not one weak album, not one that is not a worthy addition to my music collection.

A very significant difference to Dylan’s output from the same years, as your reader poll confirms.

Ah, but what of Dylan’s early years, do I hear you – and Bernard McGuinn – say (defiantly)?

OK, ignoring Bob Dylan, on which he only wrote 2 tracks, Dylan’s only golden era comprised 7 albums of which 4 were “rolled gold” classics:
Freewheelin’
Bringing It All Back Home
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde on Blonde

While 3 were simply excellent:
The Times They Are A-Changing
Another Side
John Wesley Harding

In Van Morrison’s case, ignoring Them and the Bang output, his first golden era also comprised 7 albums of which, similarly, 4 were “rolled gold” classics:
Astral Weeks
Moondance
Saint Dominic’s Preview
Veedon Fleece

While 3 were simply excellent:
His Band and the Street Choir
Tupelo Honey
Hard Nose the Highway

I would argue that Morrison’s “best of the best” (namely Astral Weeks) is better than Dylan’s but putting arguably subjective judgments aside, my point is that Morrison had two golden eras compared to Dylan’s one (not that Dylan hasn’t had other great albums – Oh Mercy being a case in point – however he hasn’t, in my opinion, had another sustained period of such extraordinary excellence).

Let the debate begin…

Andrew in Adelaide

London signing for new book tomorrow (Wednesday)

2009-07-14T23:42:00.000+01:00

If you’re in central London tomorrow evening (Wednesday 15 July, 6-9pm), you’re warmly invited to attend the signing event for my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

I’ll be signing copies from the numbered limited edition; Music For Grown-Ups is not available from High St bookshops.

The evening is hosted by AMUTi, the specialist collectable and book dealer, at its delightful gallery/shop near King’s Cross/St Pancras/Euston railway stations.

I’ll be giving a short talk about music for grown-ups, before enjoying a drink with the audience.

You’ll be able to marvel at AMUTi’s unique selection of music-related rare books and collectables.

If you manage to make it, please ensure that you ID yourself to me as a reader of this website - I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Details:

www.amutionline.com

Gerry Smith

London signing for new book this Wednesday

2009-07-13T23:57:00.001+01:00

If you’re in central London this Wednesday evening (15 July, 6-9pm), you’re warmly invited to attend the signing event for my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

I’ll be signing copies from the special numbered limited edition; Music For Grown-Ups is not available from High St bookshops.

The evening is hosted by Amuti, the specialist collectable and book dealer, at its delightful gallery/shop near King’s Cross/St Pancras/Euston railway stations.

I’ll be giving a short talk about music for grown-ups, before enjoying a drink with the audience.

You’ll be able to marvel at Amuti’s unique selection of music-related rare books and collectables.

If you manage to make it, please ensure that you ID yourself to me as a reader of this website - I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Details:

www.amutionline.com

Gerry Smith

London signing for new book next Wednesday

2009-07-09T19:41:00.001+01:00

If you’re in central London next Wednesday evening (15 July, 6-9pm), you’re warmly invited to attend the signing event for my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

I’ll be signing copies from the special numbered limited edition; Music For Grown-Ups is not available from High St bookshops.

The evening is hosted by Amuti, the specialist collectable and book dealer, at its delightful gallery/shop near King’s Cross/St Pancras/Euston railway stations.

I’ll be giving a short talk about music for grown-ups, before enjoying a drink with the audience.

You’ll be able to marvel at Amuti’s unique selection of music-related rare books and collectables.

If you manage to make it, please ensure that you ID yourself to me as a reader of this website - I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday!

Details:

www.amutionline.com

Gerry Smith

Roger McGuinn, ex-Byrd, tells his Dylan stories

2009-07-08T22:51:00.000+01:00

Completing a short English solo tour in St Albans last week, Roger McGuinn spared us his born-again folkie stuff and focused mainly on the luminous Byrds legacy.

His likeable 90-minute performance thrilled the crowd of 500 ageing pop-pickers, well up for a night of comforting nostalgia. In delivering it, McGuinn, using only his 12-string Rickenbacker and his 7(!)-string Martin HD-7 acoustic, demonstrated that he’s a fine multifaceted musician and singer, and an engaging, generous-minded raconteur.

His debt to Dylan was all over the evening. As well as My Back Pages, the opener, McGuinn explored the Zim locker with Mr Tambourine Man, All I Really Want To Do and You Ain’t Going Nowhere, plus the Dylan-influenced Ballad Of Easy Rider.

He recounted his story of the writing of The Ballad Of Easy Rider – how Dylan, too busy to supply a song for the movie soundtrack, scribbles a few lines of lyrics on a paper tissue, gives it to lead actor Peter Fonda, tells him to fly coast-to-coast and hand it personally to Roger - “Give it to McGuinn, he’ll finish it…”.

McGuinn also recounted how, when The Byrds first played Dylan their version of All I Really Want To Do in the studio, he expressed a liking for the song - before being reminded that he’d written it!

Gerry Smith

Renee Fleming: world-class

2009-07-07T14:43:00.000+01:00

Last night’s London performance of La Traviata was a spellbinder.

The Royal Opera House tends to specialise in world-class productions; this gig was right up there – one of the top shows I’m ever likely to witness.

Verdi’s La Traviata is over two hours of seamlessly melodic, memorable arias, duets, trios and choruses, following each other in dizzying succession.

Its plot and social context might be iffy to modern sensibilities, the action a trifle melodramatic, but the finesse of the music – and the libretto – makes this Verdi’s (and opera’s) most popular work. But it’s a difficult opera to get right: I’ve seen two other productions which were underwhelming.

With leads like last night’s – Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson and Joseph Calleja were all outstanding – faultless direction and a house band at the top of its game, this was the kind of gig that most opera buffs dream about.

American diva Renee Fleming confirmed her status as Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite soprano, with an immense, nuanced performance. Her voice surpassed all the demands made on it, her creamy mid-range tone complemented by angry lower range notes and some sublime highs. Her subtle changes - slightly tipsy after swigging from a bottle or two, increasingly frail near death – were the hallmarks of a great musician. Fleming’s acting, as the doomed tart with a heart (and, alone in this company, a moral code) – was exquisite throughout.

Renee Fleming: a world-class soprano.

Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen-fest on TV this Friday

2009-06-17T22:29:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Part of the new Leonard Cohen DVD, Live in London, shot at his 2008 O2 show, is repeated on Friday 19 June on BBC4, followed by two documentaries - Songs From My Life and What Leonard Cohen Did For Me.”

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All three programmes are highly recommended. And don’t forget: you can probably watch them online - some BBC programmes are accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission (though copyright restricts the territories in which they’re available):

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Pete Seeger's 90th birthday party at the Garden in NYC

2009-06-10T00:59:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Larry Kosofsky:

“As a Clearwater employee, I was lucky to receive two tickets to Pete Seeger's 90th birthday party at the Garden in NYC.

“A fantastic, memorable night, with too many performers to list and many highlights, some of which I'll list:

* Dave Matthews nailing "Rye Whiskey" with just voice and acoustic guitar;
* Pete leading 20,000 people in "Amazing Grace" with hymnal harmony;
* Kris Kristofferson, Taj Mahal, Guy Davis, Arlo Guthrie and others singing Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" - bringing back memories of the infamous Newport '65 performance when Pete (supposedly) threatened to axe the amp cable (I was at that one, too);
* Roger McGuinn doing "Turn, Turn, Turn";
* the McGarrigle Family, Teddy Thompson, Tom Paxton, Jay Unger and Molly Mason;
* Steve Earle;
* Richie Havens nailing "Freedom" and making it sound fresh;
* Bruce illuminating Pete's character in a pungent paragraph and then singing "the Ghost of Tom Joad";
* Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, Tony Trishka, the Preservation Hall
Jazz Band;
* Joan Baez with her arm around Ruby Dee;
* Billy Bragg;
* Ani diFranco and Bruce Cockburn;
* my congressman, John Hall (of Orleans) up there wailing "This Land is Your Land" with everyone on stage...
* and of course Pete...

“I know I've omitted a few, but the event was videotaped by PBS and should be broadcast sometime this summer. It was a down-home jamboree and sing-along, and it was a privilege to be there.”

New Dylan Studies textbook: adequate, good in parts, grade B-

2009-05-29T23:43:00.001+01:00

The new Dylan Studies textbook, The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan, is good in parts. While the book’s aim – to showcase the range of thinking about Dylan’s art - is admirable, its execution is only partly so. As you’d expect from a book by almost twenty academics and writers, it’s uneven.

Editor Kevin Dettmar’s Introduction is a wide-ranging survey of the field of DylanLit. But, even here, I found myself challenging basic premises: according to Dettmar, “Dylan’s is arguably the most important canon in all of twentieth century American popular music”.

Arguably? Who would argue otherwise? Dettmar could safely delete “arguably”, “American” and “popular” and his assessment might still undervalue Dylan’s art. And the Editor’s depiction of Dylan’s voice as “unlovely”, the voice of a “crow”, rather than a nightingale, also raises questions.

The book is split into two parts. The first, Perspectives, has nine short thematic chapters. David Yaffe’s location of Dylan in the poetic tradition, particularly his detailing of Zim’s debt to Ovid, is a key piece. Anthony Decurtis is engaging on Dylan’s songwriting.

Lee Marshall is perceptive on Dylan Studies, warning against treating him merely as a lyricist – the music and vocal performances are also important. But Marshall’s assertion that you can’t study high and popular culture in the same terms makes me slightly uneasy: it’s perfectly feasible to compare and contrast, say, Puccini and the Everly Brothers.

The fourteen-page piece on religion has some insights, but I’d have welcomed more. Few of the other thematic chapters ring bells in this parish. Wild horses couldn’t persuade me to read the chapter on Dylan and gender politics, though I wouldn’t expect many in the book’s fresh-faced, right-on audience to share my prejudice.

Part 2 reviews eight “landmark” albums. The book would have been better doubling the thematic coverage, instead. Dylan’s catalogue has already been reviewed to death and these new pieces add little to the mountain of press and fan evaluations. Except, that is, the essays on “Love And Theft” and Highway 61 Revisited. They’re both insightful, rapping on the magnitude of Dylan’s achievement.

Having graduated from the academy well before deconstruction, structuralism and the like took root, I was disappointed not to find a detailed, readable assessment of Dylan’s art filtered through the Post-Modernist lens. I suspect that PoMo academia has much to offer the seeker after Dylan Truth.

As is traditional in books about Dylan, you encounter erroneous rock-ist clichés – “first to release a themed album”; “first pop writer with grown-up lyrics”: er, no - in both cases. (I didn’t come across their sibling, the hoary claim that Dylan was the first musician to be bootlegged, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it.)

The sub-editorial rigour you expect from a CUP book is fitful – for example, we encounter a Martin “Scorcese”, and find Dave Van Ronk in “Mcdougal” Street. If the book emanated from a Squirrel Press of Nether Wapping, it wouldn’t matter much, but it’s published by one of the world’s great university presses. Time to reassess the “Cambridge” brand?

Dylan’s great body of art can withstand rigorous, high-minded scrutiny, placing him in the wider flow of both high and popular culture: I much prefer BobLit by intellectuals with writing skills to the musings of brain-lite rock hacks. But earlier, admittedly more extensive, academic studies by profs such as Ricks, Marshall and Negus are not matched by The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan.

For a Dylan book to have lasting value, it needs to enrich our understanding of the man’s work - as creative artist, songwriter, thinker, performing musician and curator of American music. The Cambridge book does it intermittently, but not enough.

So, The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan achieves a grade of B-. It’s adequate, good in parts, but it needs more analysis and less narrative.

Gerry Smith

Info: www.cambridge.org

Miles Davis artwork on show in London

2009-05-28T13:02:00.001+01:00

Apart from holding down the job of Jazz Main Man, Music for Grown-Ups favourite Miles Davis was also a painter and drawer, especially in his later days.

An exciting exhibition of his work is showing in London next week. I’ll be reporting on what I find there on Music for Grown-Ups: watch this space…

The Exhibition will be held from Monday 1st June through to Saturday 6th June inclusive from 11.00 - 5.30 p.m. daily at The Exchange Court Gallery, 1-5 Exchange Court, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London, WC2R OJU.

All artwork is for sale and admission is free.

For directions, please go to their website:

www.1-5exchangecourt.com

and go into 'Location'.

Gerry Smith

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Here’s the press release:

The last exhibition ever of drawings and oil paintings by the late Miles Davis, considered by many to be the world's greatest jazz musician, will be showcased at The Exchange Court Gallery in Covent Garden from Monday 1st June 2009.

The Exhibition also includes some of the love notes Miles wrote to his girlfriend before his death.

Acquired from the private collection of Jo Gelbard, his sculptress
girlfriend, who inspired most of his work during the last five years of his life, the Miles Davis Exhibition will run until Saturday, 6th June, 2009.

In 1980 Miles began to focus his talent in a new direction and started seeking expression and creativity not just through music, but also through visual art.

He established himself as an immensely accomplished painter with bold and vibrant canvases full of colour and movement, reflecting the
constant changing moods and tempos of his music compositions. His painting reflects his well documented fascination with and love of women, together with evocations of African tribal art.

This work, since his death, has been largely under wraps with only a handful of one-off shows showcasing these fabulous works. Well-known celebrities such as Prince, Phil Collins and Diana Ross now own work from previous collections.

The exhibition is in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Miles Davis' 'Kind Of Blue', acknowledged by music critics to be the greatest jazz album of all time.

Please click over to the master web site

2009-04-30T00:25:00.001+01:00

This blogging site will not be updated for the next few days. Sorry for the inconvenience.

You can still see all the daily updates by clicking over to the master web site:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

This site will be operating normally again from 11 May. See you soon.

Gerry Smith

Bob Dylan, Miles Davis… and Mozart – your top musicians for grown-ups

2009-04-29T23:14:00.000+01:00

Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and Mozart are the favourite musicians of grown-up listeners.

Dylan (currently on an eight-date British tour), Davis and Mozart head the Top 10 poll, which includes rockers from the 1970s (Neil Young) and the 1980s (The Smiths/Morrissey) alongside pre-rock pop stars (Sinatra) and classical composers (Beethoven).

The Top 10 Musicians for Grown-Ups, as nominated by readers, are:

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1. Bob Dylan
2. Miles Davis
3. Mozart
4. Neil Young
5. Frank Sinatra
6. Bruce Springsteen
7. Tom Waits
8. Beethoven
9. Van Morrison
10. The Smiths/Morrissey

The Top 10 Musicians for Grown-Ups

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Given the focus of the website, there are few surprises in the ranking, though my own list wouldn’t place Springsteen or Tom Waits so high.

Thanks again to all readers who nominated their Top Musicians for Grown-Ups: analyzing your votes produced a wonderfully eclectic ranking of great musos from many genres.

The lucky winner of my new book, Music For Grown-Ups - who requested privacy - has been informed.

Gerry Smith

Together Through Life: first impressions

2009-04-27T23:18:00.001+01:00

An evening with Together Through Life was a pleasant experience: better than expected, not as strong as secretly hoped.

First impressions:

* musically engaging – urban blues and Tex-Mex styles more suited to Dylan than the easy crooning and plodding rockabilly of the previous two albums.

* lyrically - worth careful scrutiny, though words seem a trifle lightweight on a superficial hearing.

* the De Luxe package is intriguing: extra content a mixed blessing - already have TTRH show on tape, doubtful will ever listen to CD; DVD a hoot, presumably intentionally; bits of paper not destined for the bedroom wall or the car windscreen. Another beautifully designed artefact – for the third studio album in a row.

Dylan’s USP, to me, is poet, philosopher and musician, in that order. This CD’s songs, though more immediately attractive than those on the two previous albums, are probably destined to be cherry-picked for a revised “recent songs” compilation, few if any of whose constituents would make my Top 100 Bobsongs.

That said, I usually revise my opinions upwards after getting to know a new Dylan album.

What do YOU think of Together Through Life?

Gerry Smith

Dylan in London last night: energized, committed, triumphant

2009-04-26T11:07:00.001+01:00

Last night’s show in the London O2 Arena was an unexpected triumph.

Dylan was in overdrive from the very first bar of Maggie’s Farm to the closing note of Blowin’ In The Wind. His performance was as energized and committed as any of the shows I’ve seen since 1978 (and my mother has seen since 1965!)

The set opened like a freight train and rarely lost momentum. The setlist (below) was well chosen, with only half the songs repeats of the previous night’s gig.

Highlights – there were many – included Hollis Brown and Workingman’s Blues. The few longueurs, notably Spirit On The Water, were lounge-rhythm songs from the last two albums – they sound better on the hi-fi than on stage.

I’ve rarely heard Dylan sing so well – confident, expressive, assertive, his voice seems to have re-found the strength of 20 years ago.

The sound was first class from my seat, in the gods one too many mornings away from the stage. Dylan was commendably up in the mix. It was a relief to hear the music so clearly, as the jokey intro “… Colombian recording artist…” had sounded muddy, boomy.

I’d gone to the gig with trepidation, not only because of the embarrassing lack of public transport (some jobsworth wag had decided to close the Jubilee Line, the only serious transport link to distant central London, for the day), but also from a fear that Bobby might be getting past it.

The fears were groundless – Bob’s voice, his playing of keyboard and harmonica and his general energy levels were a revelation.

There’s years of the Might Zim left yet. Bob’s still the Man! Why did anyone ever doubt it?

SETLIST:
1. Maggie's Farm
2. The Times They Are A-Changin'
3. Things Have Changed
4. Chimes Of Freedom
5. Rollin' And Tumblin'
6. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
7. 'Til I Fell In Love With You
8. Workingman's Blues #2
9. Highway 61 Revisited
10. Ballad Of Hollis Brown
11. Po' Boy
12. Honest With Me
13. When The Deal Goes Down
14. Thunder On The Mountain
15. Like A Rolling Stone
16. All Along The Watchtower
17. Spirit On The Water
18. Blowin' In The Wind

Gerry Smith

Top Musicians for Grown-Ups: Part 2 – rankings 11-20

2009-04-24T18:33:00.000+01:00

Thanks to all readers who nominated their Top Musicians for Grown-Ups: analyzing your votes has produced a wonderfully eclectic ranking of great musos from many genres.

These musicians were placed in rankings 11-20

11. Rolling Stones
12. Elvis Costello
13. Herbie Hancock
14. Ella Fitzgerald
15. Hank Williams
16. Bjork
17. Bach
18. Cecilia Bartoli
19. Ray Charles
20. Richard Wagner

Next week: The Top Ten revealed. Make sure you drop by!

Gerry Smith

Top Musicians for Grown-Ups: Part 1 – the honourable mentions

2009-04-22T23:04:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to the many readers who nominated their Top Musicians for Grown-Ups: analyzing your votes has produced a wonderfully eclectic ranking of great musos from many genres.

Let’s start with a list of the honourable mentions:

Ryan Adams
Marcelo Alvarez
Beatles
Beethoven
Ketil Bjornstad
Callas
Eric Clapton
The Clash
Len Cohen
Bryan Corbett
Ray Davies
Natalie Dessay
Doors
Eels
Everly Brothers
Ella Fitzgerald
Bryan Ferry
Renee Fleming
Howlin’ Wolf
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Tord Gustavsen
Joy Division
Mark Knopfler
Kraftwerk
Mark Linkous
Gustav Mahler
Bob Marley
John Martyn
Olivier Messiaen
Conor Oberst
Luciano Pavarotti
Primal Scream
Puccini
Stan Rogers
Andy Sheppard
Paul Simon
Stephen Sondheim
Sting
Stone Roses
Joan Sutherland
Ali Farka Toure
Big Joe Turner
Verdi
Waterboys
Gillian Welch
Cassandra Wilson
Amy Winehouse
Warren Zevon

Part 2, to follow, will cover musicians voted in positions 11-20; Part 3 will reveal your Top 10 Musicians for Grown-Ups.

Gerry Smith

Dylan, Morrison, Cohen, Young: wrinkly rockers keep on keepin’ on

2009-04-20T23:06:00.001+01:00

Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, the key rockers for grown-ups, are very active in their wrinkly years:

* Dylan’s touring Europe (London this weekend); new album next Monday;

* Morrison is rolling out his Astral Weeks Live gig – London shows at the weekend, like earlier US shows, were praised to the skies; new album of the LA gig recently released, DVD coming soon;

* Cohen’s recent world tour was wildly successful, CD/DVD recordings of the London show capture the brilliance;

* Young’s 2008 shows were the best in years; new album just released.

Deeply impressive; in spirit, if not in body, all four top rockers for grown-ups look as though they’ll stay forever young…

Gerry Smith

Sony Legacy’s Playlist series: why?

2009-04-17T20:02:00.000+01:00

Have you seen Sony Legacy’s new Playlist series, covering about 50 artists?

It’s a puzzling product range.

The Very Best Of Bob Dylan ‘60s, released just before last Xmas, was followed last month by The Very Best Of Bob Dylan ‘70s.

They’re decent compilations – let’s face it, it would be hard to foul up a 14-track selection from the greatest living songwriter. But, given the availability of so many other official Sony Dylan compilations, you have to question the logic.

At least they’re better intros to the artist than the Playlist devoted to Dylan’s contemporary, Van Morrison. Sony only have access to the interminably reissued Bang sessions – ie the pop material recorded before Morrison found his true voice with his masterpiece, Astral Weeks.

Sony Legacy’s Playlist series: why?

Gerry Smith

Lua by Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch - a duet made in Heaven

2009-04-16T22:26:00.001+01:00

Of all the rockpop musicians I’ve seen in the last ten years, none give better gig than Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch. They’re both outstanding writers and performers, the cream of their generation.

And they’ve just released a duet of Oberst’s classic song, Lua. I’m usually very skeptical about duets, but Lua is a duet made in Heaven.

It’s squirreled away on Dark Was The Night, a new compilation album, though the single track is also available from iTunes.

Highly recommended – you won’t hear a better duet for grown-ups. Ever.

Gerry Smith

Bob Dylan in London, 25 April: no Jubilee Line Tube to the O2 Arena

2009-04-15T23:53:00.001+01:00

A few days ago I asked: “how EXACTLY do you plan to get to the O2 Arena – several (6?/10?)miles outside central London - and back into town after the show?”

Thanks to Cornelia Grolsch and Gordon Macniven for responding – “by Tube” (aka Underground/Subway/U-Bahn). Well, that would normally be the obvious route.

But there is no Jubilee Line Tube running to the O2 on Saturday 25 April, the day of the Dylan gig. Just take a look at this official announcement (thanks to Paul Ryles for the link):

http://www.theo2.co.uk/images/PDF/misc/bob_dylan_transport_25_april.pdf

Gerry Smith

Bellini’s I Capuletti at Covent Garden: disappointing

2009-04-13T17:51:00.000+01:00

On the face of it, Saturday’s I Capuletti e I Montecchi at the Royal Opera House had a lot going for it:

* Anna Netrebko, regarded by many as the finest living soprano

* Bellini – top bel canto composer

* The Romeo and Juliet story – a sure-fire winner.

But I Capuletti e I Montecchi was disappointing; we left at half time, relieved to be out.

The casting was bizarre – a (fine-voiced) mezzo played the role of Romeo. So the sexual chemistry between the star-crossed lovers was confused, mainly absent. Is Bellini’s the first lesbian version of Romeo and Juliet?

Netrebko has a big voice, with a rich tone and you feel that she’s always in charge. But she hasn’t floated my boat on the four occasions I’ve seen her sing live. When you’re lucky enough to see a lot of world-class singers, you tend to develop impossibly high standards; I don’t share the current lionisation of Ms Netrebko.

In Act 1, the music was dull, the libretto weak and the production clunky. The acting was unconvincing. I can’t comment on Act 2, but my expectations would have been low.

Gerry Smith

Handel week on BBC Radio 3

2009-04-10T20:04:00.000+01:00

Approaching the mid-point of its broadcasts of all 42 Handel operas on Thursday afternoons, BBC Radio 3 continues its spectacular celebration of Handel’s great art with a fine week of special programming, starting tomorrow.

You’ll be able to catch many of the programmes online – via BBC iPlayer.

Highlights include:

* Easter Sunday, Michael Berkeley recalls nine guests who have chosen Handel pieces in Private Passions;

* Radio 3 Requests features listeners’ requests with a Handel focus;

* Mon-Fri: Composer of the Week is dedicated to Handel’s oratorios, including Esther, Messiah and Judas Maccabeus.

* Messiah from Westminster Abbey on the exact 250th anniversary of his death, Tuesday April 14th.

* the European Broadcasting Union Handel Day on April 19th presents twelve hours of musical celebrations from across the continent.

Details: www.bbc.co.uk/radio3; Handel pages in Composers of the Year website: www.bbc.co.uk/composers/handel/

As a long-time admirer of Radio 3, but scornful critic/reluctant funder (via taxation) of the bloated BBC, I’d willingly pay a subscription to hear this kind of quality programming. Pity that I also have to pay for all the other crap that seeps from the broadcaster.

Gerry Smith

Spotify: heartily recommended

2009-04-09T22:10:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Rob:

“Following on from your Neil Young new album pass….

“I too was about to order the CD and then realised that I could listen to the entire album for free and legally over the net.

“You must have heard of spotify:

http://www.spotify.com/en/

“It really is brilliant. The free version has one 30 second advert every 20 minutes. You can upgrade for £9.99 per month and have no adverts.

“You can hear thousands of albums: you choose which albums and tracks, you can jump around from track to track etc….

“It’s like having access to tens of thousands of albums on your computer. Ignore the wacky styling, they have a deep catalogue, stretching back to 30’s jazz & blues.

“I even found some interesting Dylan tracks from soundtracks / compilations etc. and I discovered a sublime Enio Morricone soundtrack “La Storia Vera Della Signora Dalle Camelie”

“I would heartily recommend it.”

Bob Dylan’s Euro tour 2009: highlights so far

2009-04-08T12:59:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks in, the 2009 Euro tour has had some spellbinding set list inclusions, once again illustrating the depth of the Dylan songbook.

The performances I’d love to have heard include:

* Senor, Billy 4, Chimes Of Freedom - Stockholm

* The Man in Me, Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll - Malmo

* Gotta Serve Somebody, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Desolation Row - Copenhagen

* Shooting Star, Dignity - Hannover

* The Wicked Messenger, My Back Pages - Berlin

* Man In A Long Black Coat - Erfurt

* One More Cup Of Coffee - Munchen

Magnificently eclectic! Roll on London!

Gerry Smith

New Neil Young album: er, pass…

2009-04-07T22:23:00.000+01:00

I almost bought Fork In The Road, the new Neil Young album, on auto-pilot.

Then I remembered the recent Young albums I can hardly bear to listen to any more – Greendale, Living With War et al: heavy-handed political diatribes with leaden lyrics for a lumpen audience.

So I checked out the early reviews of Fork In The Road to get an idea of the new album’s content – and found it’s eco-warrior stuff… commentary on the US economy…

By an expat multi-millionaire entertainer?

No thanks.

On the other hand, the set lists for the tour Young has just started in the Maritime Provinces look tempting – wish I’d booked for Nottingham!

Gerry Smith

Last night’s St Matthew Passion: the very highest of high art

2009-04-06T23:05:00.001+01:00

Bach’s St Matthew Passion at the Barbican in London last night was the very highest of high art.

Composer: JS Bach is the Main Man, the patron saint of all musicians. This is one of his finest works.

Orchestra: Leipzig Gewandhaus – the definitive interpreters of Bach’s sacred music.

Choirs: St Thomas’ Boys Choir (Leipzig) and Tolz Boys Choir (Bavaria). I doubt I’ll ever witness a superior choral performance. Each passage made you feel you were entering Heaven itself.

Soloists, notably Johannes Chum (Evangelist): outstanding.

Music does not come any more inspiring than this.

Bach’s St Matthew Passion was the second of a trio of sacred music gigs for Easter that I’ll be attending. To come: Bach’s St John Passion at King’s College Cambridge on Wednesday.

I’ll have to reconsider my policy of buying cheapskate seats at the Barbican, though.

Last night I was flanked by two objectionable septuagenarians. The one on the left – the greasy, lank long grey hair was the giveaway – stunk; his clothes clearly hadn’t had much contact with a washing machine.

The obese boy on my right had serious breathing problems, which intruded badly in the quieter passages, especially the soloists’ arias.

I’m all for access, but unfortunates with seriously anti-social conditions should be encouraged to stay home. Or someone less tolerant might be provoked to throw them over the balcony.

Gerry Smith

New issue of MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter circulated today

2009-04-02T23:36:00.001+01:00

The latest issue of the re-launched MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter was circulated today.

The fortnightly free service carries listings of the last 6 weeks content on the MUSIC for GROWN-UPs website, alerting subscribers to articles they may have missed.

To ensure you receive future issues, free of charge, please sign up in the subscriptions area in the left margin of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Handel’s La Resurezzione, at the Barbican tonight

2009-03-31T23:51:00.001+01:00

Handel’s La Resurezzione, at London’s Barbican tonight, was a two hour delight: exquisite, uplifting, life-affirming.

The star was Handel himself. He wrote this masterwork, only his second oratorio, in 1708, at the age of 22. It’s a lyrical, driving, compelling work, packed with engaging leitmotifs and stunning melodic runs.

Tonight’s other star was conductress Emmanuelle Haim and her fabulous chamber orchestra, Le Concert d’Astree. They were equal to the task of interpreting such great music. But, then, they always are.

The quintet of vocalists was most commanding when singing as a choir at the end of both parts. In the arias, bass Lorenzo Regazzo (Lucifer) and soprano Kate Royal (Magdalene) were magnificent.

Tonight’s Handel was the first of a trio of sacred music gigs for Easter that I’ll be attending. To come: Bach’s St Matthew Passion on Sunday, followed by St John Passion next Wednesday. Not bad for an atheist!

Rave on those Baroque master musos!

Gerry Smith

Free download of Beyond Here Lies Nothin’, from new Bob Dylan album

2009-03-30T15:52:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Peter Brookes and Martin Cowan for news of the free MP3 download of Beyond Here Lies Nothin’, the opening track from the new Bob Dylan album.

It’s available for 24 hours from bobdylan.com.

Hmm… interesting - with an unusually rich musical palette, it sounds like no other recent Dylan release. The lyrics, as always, will demand careful scrutiny, but they sound, on first hearing, like an intelligent, simple pop song.

Roll on album release date!

Gerry Smith

The 20 best classical divas?

2009-03-27T13:21:00.001Z

Today’s edition of The Times has an intriguing ranking list of The 20 best classical divas, by Neil Fisher.

I’m a sucker for ranking lists, so I devoured this feature article and learned a lot, especially of new names to look out for like Veronique Gens.

Fisher’s list ranges from Katherine Jenkins at number 20 to Anna Netrebko in top spot.

Such listings are always subjective. I’ve seen most of the “divas” featured, and my list would be very different. I’d have Netrebko in, but not at number 1; ditto Gheorghiu, but not at 2. I’d promote Renee Fleming from 5 to 2, and Cecilia Bartoli from an absurd 7 to number 1.

For many of the other divas, I’d concur – though I’d exclude the three Brits – Jenkins, Kate Royal and Amanda Roocroft: sadly, “diva” and “Brit” are mutually exclusive in contemporary opera.

www.timesonline.co.uk

Gerry Smith

Handel and 1959 jazz: top music for grown-ups

2009-03-25T22:25:00.001Z

There’s some enticing music for grown-ups being broadcast in the next 48 hours.

BBC Radio 3 continues its Handel Opera Cycle, the inspired season of all 42 operas, with Floridante, starring Music For Grown-Ups favourite American mezzo Joyce DiDonato; Thurs 26 March @ 1400.

And on Friday 27 March BBC4 TV airs an alluring new documentary, 1959 – The Year That Changed Jazz, looking at the effect of four LPs, by Miles, Dave Brubeck, Mingus, and Ornette Coleman; it’s on at 2200, repeated at 0120.

Like many BBC radio and TV programmes, you can also catch them online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Top 50+ rockpop artists

2009-03-24T22:39:00.000Z

Thanks to Jan Slattery for sending the results of a reader poll in stylish Americana/Dadrock monthly Paste last July to find its readers’ favourite 50+ rockpop artists.

Paste readers’ top 5 were:

1. Dylan 23%
2. Tom Waits 15%
3= Neil Young/Bruce Springsteen 13%
5. Elvis Costello 9%

I get the art of four of them, but I’ve never understood the attraction of Tom Waits. This poll suggests I try harder.

Music For Grown-Ups’ own recent survey results: coming soon.

Gerry Smith

Astral Weeks Live in LA: fan broadcasts on Australian national radio

2009-03-23T23:27:00.001Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson who travelled from Adelaide to LA for the Hollywood Bowl Astral Weeks Live and reported in loving detail here on Music For Grown-Ups:

“I have just come back from doing an interview about Astral Weeks live at the Hollywood Bowl on The Music Show on Radio National down here in Oz.

“The weird thing is, because we have a half hour time difference between Adelaide and the east coast, I went live to air in the east coast, but because I was in the Adelaide studio, I heard the segment “live” in the car when I was driving home.

“Hard to tell what it’s like when you listen to yourself, but I think it came across well.

“It was a strange experience though, sitting in a small studio all alone with headphones on talking to someone in another state and knowing it was going live to air – listening to it afterwards it sounded like quite an intimate conversation, even though I couldn’t see him or read his body language.

“By the way, Andrew Ford, the presenter, was one of the authors of Speaking In Tongues, which imho is the best Van book going.

“Here’s a link to their website, where they tell me you can listen on line for the next four weeks:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicshow/

Third issue of MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter just circulated

2009-03-20T20:54:00.000Z

The third issue of the re-launched MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter has just been circulated to subscribers. If you didn’t receive a copy and wish to ensure that you get future issues, please subscribe (free of charge) using the box in the left margin of the main website:

http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

MUSIC for GROWN-UPs

celebrating great musicians:
from Sinatra to the Stones, Miles to Mozart, and Dylan to David Bowie.

Exclusive news and views, emailed free to subscribers on alternate Thursdays.
Editor: Gerry Smith (info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

MESSAGE TO SUBSCRIBERS:

Thanks to all readers who entered the competition to win a copy of Music For Grown-Ups, my new book, by nominating their Top 5 musicians. Please watch the website: the Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups will be revealed very soon.

Please continue to send me your news and views - of gigs you've enjoyed, new releases, and back catalogue discoveries - for posting on the web site for the benefit of your fellow grown-up music lovers.

Gerry Smith, Editor (email: info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

NEW on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
to read the articles listed, please log on to http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

* Definitive Beethoven by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
* Buddy Holly's great legacy
* New Bob Dylan album: revealing interview on Together Through Life
* Bach, Handel and The Smiths
* New Dylan CD - possibly Best Album Of 2009, according to MOJO

* Herbie Hancock on radio and TV next week
* Sacred music for Easter by Bach, Handel and Haydn at King's College Cambridge
* Bryn Terfel and Anja Kampe shine brightly in Wagner's Flying Dutchman
* Free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter re-launched - second issue

PREVIOUSLY on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrownups.com/

* The new Bob Dylan album, according to Rolling Stone
* Mozart, Handel, Purcell: a classical feast on Radio 3
* Leonard Cohen Live in London - new CD and DVD
* Jim Moray last night
* Van Morrison's new release - Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl

* John McLaughlin's brilliant Corea
* Is Bob Dylan losing credibility? A resounding no!
* Free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter re-launched
* New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey... : Encore #1

* New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Young
* Bartok, Baaba Maal, Bob Dylan
* Your last chance to win a copy of new Music For Grown-Ups book
* A fine Buddy Holly documentary
* Jose Carreras and Roberta Flack play Adelaide

* Morrissey, Dylan, Beethoven
* Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Beck
* John Martyn RIP
* Bob Dylan, American folk, Handel
* Astral Weeks - live

MOST VIEWED RECENT ARTICLE on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

Buddy Holly's great legacy

Idly browsing the supermarket CD racks to see what pap the populace is currently wasting its money on, my attention was grabbed by The Very Best Of Buddy Holly and The Crickets, a new 50 track double CD retailing at under £10.

I was probably attracted by the strikingly lovely cover artwork - red background to a pair of those geeky "library frame" spectacles which were Buddy's trademark.

But it was also the sheer surprise of seeing a Holly disc in the top 50 racks.

Then the penny dropped - it's the 50th anniversary of the Texan rockabilly's death, so a prime catalogue exploitation opportunity for whichever multinational conglomerate now owns the legacy.

Along with the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison, Holly created the definitive late '50s soundscape (you can forget Elvis). The new album is a fine sampler of Buddy Holly's great art (track list below) - this disc has his best-known work.

But there is an earlier single disc album of the same name; it has the first 37 of these tracks and is all the Holly most people will ever need. As it's widely available - eg from play.com - at a mere £5, it's a better choice, and highly recommended.

The Very Best Of Buddy Holly & The Crickets (2009)
Disc: 1
1. Heartbeat
2. That'll Be The Day
3. Peggy Sue... (...continued)

(You can see the full text online at: http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/)

ADMIN

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(c) Gerry Smith 2009

Definitive Beethoven by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

2009-03-19T21:20:00.001Z

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony (Barbican, last Saturday) was definitive - one of those rare gigs which leave you feeling “it just doesn’t get any better than this”.

The band, 70-odd players led by octogenarian maestro Bernard Haitink, was richly melodic, feverishly paced. They did justice to Beethoven’s great piece. The strings were manic, the horns deeply moving. You just didn’t want the teasing final movement to end – just one more tease, please…

In a recent critics’ poll for Gramophone magazine, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra topped the list – “Best orchestra in the world” - out-ranking the Berlin Phil, the Vienna Phil and the Chicago SO, among others. At the Barbican, you could see why: power, pace, subtlety. They were all into the music, performing as one.

But the first half of the concert had been a drag. Mozart’s Symphony 35 (“Haffner”) was missable, unengaging. Debussy’s La Mer was mediocre, meandering. A dispiriting experience all round.

At the interval, tempted to make a quick exit to miss the second half, I mused on my general indifference to orchestral music – my classical tastes veer strongly towards vocal, notably opera. Orchestral concerts I’ve attended have been, too often, Dullsville-on-Stilts: it’s easy to see why classical audiences can be mistaken for a WW2 vets convention.

Saturday’s Beethoven performance challenged these silly prejudices. Orchestral music this good is as life enhancing as any other genre. Like any gig for grown-ups, it just depends on the set list. And the band.

Gerry Smith

Buddy Holly’s great legacy

2009-03-18T22:20:00.000Z

Idly browsing the supermarket CD racks to see what pap the populace is currently wasting its money on, my attention was grabbed by The Very Best Of Buddy Holly and The Crickets, a new 50 track double CD retailing at under £10.

I was probably attracted by the strikingly lovely cover artwork – red background to a pair of those geeky “library frame” spectacles which were Buddy’s trademark.

But it was also the sheer surprise of seeing a Holly disc in the top 50 racks.

Then the penny dropped – it’s the 50th anniversary of the Texan rockabilly’s death, so a prime catalogue exploitation opportunity for whichever multinational conglomerate now owns the legacy.

Along with the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison, Holly created the definitive late ‘50s soundscape (oh, forget Elvis). The new album is a fine sampler of Buddy Holly’s great art (track list below) - it has his best-known work.

But there is an earlier, single disc, album of the same name; it has the first 36 of these tracks and is all the Holly most people will ever need. As it’s widely available - eg from play.com – at a mere £5, it’s a better choice, and highly recommended.

The Very Best Of Buddy Holly & The Crickets (2009)
Disc: 1
1. Heartbeat
2. That'll Be The Day
3. Peggy Sue
4. Oh, Boy!
5. Rave On
6. Think It Over
7. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
8. Love's Made A Fool Of You
9. True Love Ways - Buddy Holly
10. Raining In My Heart
11. Everyday
12. Wishing
13. It's So Easy
14. Listen To Me
15. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
16. Words Of Love
17. I'm Gonna Love You Too
18. Well...All Right
19. Bo Diddley
20. Blue Suede Shoes
21. Shake Rattle & Roll
22. What To Do
23. Midnight Shift
24. Love Is Strange
25. Crying, Waiting, Hoping

Disc: 2
1. Peggy Sue Got Married
2. Maybe Baby
3. Early In The Morning
4. You're So Square (Baby, I Don't Care)
5. Reminiscing
6. Valley Of Tears
7. Learning The Game
8. Look At Me
9. Fool's Paradise
10. Take Your Time
11. Not Fade Away
12. Blue Monday
13. Girl On My Mind
14. Love Me
15. Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
16. Rock-A-Bye Rock
17. Send Me Some Lovin'
18. Moondreams
19. You've Got Love
20. Ready Teddy
21. You're The One
22. You Are My One Desire
23. Changing All Those Changes
24. That Makes It Tough
25. It's Too Late

Gerry Smith

New Bob Dylan album: revealing interview on Together Through Life

2009-03-16T12:03:00.000Z

Bob Dylan is very forthcoming in the first interview about his new album, Together Through Life, just posted on bobdylan.com.

He agrees with interviewer Bill Flanagan that it has a “Chess feel – mood… intensity… more of a romantic edge (than Modern Times)… I see that my audience now doesn’t particular (sic) care what period the songs are from…”

(Bill Flanagan wrote the liner notes for the DYLAN 3CD box.)

Together Through Life is released in the US on Tuesday 28 April, so presumably the day before in Europe. Amazon.com is already taking orders for “regular” cd, deluxe cd and vinyl editions (thanks to Peter Brookes for his link).

Gerry Smith

Bach, Handel and The Smiths on BBC Four tonight

2009-03-13T15:17:00.000Z

BBC Four, sometime* patron of music for grown-ups, has a wonderfully eclectic roster tonight – JS Bach at 1930, followed by some divine Handel and then a doc on, and clips from, Rough Trade, the seminal London indie record label which introduced The Smiths and Pulp, among others, to an unsuspecting world.

This is inspired programming by the digital TV channel for grown-ups.

*BBC Four’s music programming generally brings great musicians to a new audience, but some of its recent output has been dire – ill-chosen pap, schlock-filled profiles of show biz entertainers, blah blah… - somebody is slipping up….

Gerry Smith

New Dylan CD – possibly Best Album Of 2009, according to MOJO

2009-03-12T23:37:00.000Z

Thanks to Peter Brookes for the tip that MOJO, the achingly beautiful London-based Heritage Poprock monthly, has scooped the pool with an early review of the new album.

According to writer Michael Simmons:

“YESTERDAY, MOJO HEARD seven of what may turn out to be ten or eleven Bob Dylan originals…

“… ample proof of an artist steeped in the past but thoroughly living in the present, cognizant of everything, not afraid to point fingers or laugh at fools or fall in love.

“It's a powerful personal work by a man who still thinks for himself… it'll be in the running for Best Album Of 2009.”

Simmons reviews the seven tracks in detail – his article is well worth your time:

www.mojo4music.com/blog

Gerry Smith

Herbie Hancock on radio and TV next week

2009-03-11T21:11:00.001Z

Jazz pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock, one of the world’s great musicians and long-time favourite of Music For Grown-Ups, makes a couple of welcome broadcast appearances next week.

On Monday 16 March at 2315 BBC Radio 3’s Jazz On 3 has excerpts from Hancock’s gig at the London Jazz Festival last November.

And then on Wednesday 18 March at 2405, in the last episode of Channel 4’s patchy Spectacle series, Elvis Costello interviews (and, presumably, plays alongside) the great pianist.

A rare treat for lovers of grown-up music!

Gerry Smith

Sacred music for Easter by Bach, Handel and Haydn at King’s College Cambridge

2009-03-11T00:41:00.001Z

You don’t have to be a believer to appreciate the great Christian cultural legacy – soaring Gothic cathedrals, the cadences of the English language of the King James Bible, and a canon of sacred music that could keep you enthralled for a lifetime.

Easter’s the high point of the Christian calendar, which usually means some great sacred music gigs.

This year’s Easter offering by King’s College Cambridge is mouth-watering. The highlights are Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St John Passion and a celebration of Haydn.

I’m going to the Bach gig on Wed 8 April. King’s is one of the great iconic music venues of the English-speaking world; it’s my first visit, so I’m counting the days.

www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/foundation

Gerry Smith

Bryn Terfel and Anja Kampe shine brightly in Flying Dutchman

2009-03-09T23:04:00.000Z

Bryn Terfel and Anja Kampe shone brightly in the current London production of The Flying Dutchman.

This fine Royal Opera House version allows Wagner the breathing space he needs to deliver a deeply moving piece of art. He might not be the easiest of composers to love, but Wagner’s the heavyweight I respect most of all. His music is uniquely engaging, his libretti don’t waste a single word.

You expect greatness from Welsh bass/baritone Terfel, Britain’s major star in the operatic firmament. And he didn’t disappoint.

German soprano Anja Kampe is a premier league Wagnerian in the making. This breathtakingly powerful performance was her Covent Garden debut. I hope we’ll see lots, lots more of her.

Gerry Smith

Free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter re-launched – second issue

2009-03-06T21:35:00.001Z

The second issue of the free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter has been sent to subscribers.

If you’re a subscriber, you should have already received your copy by email. If you haven’t, it’s probably because:

* your spam filter has rejected it - please ensure that my sending email address – info@musicforgrownups.co.uk - is in your spam filter’s Friends list

* you’ve changed your email address since registering to receive the free newsletter; if so, please re-register your new email address via the Music For Grown-Ups Home Page – it only takes seconds.

And if you’re not already a subscriber – why not register now, from the Music For Grown-Ups Home Page – it only takes seconds.

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Receiving the free Newsletter is a foolproof way of catching up with new content on the web site that you may have missed.

The Newsletter is now mailed to subscribers on alternate Thursdays.

Thanks for your interest.

Gerry Smith, Editor

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
RELAUNCHED FREE NEWSLETTER - JUST MAILED TO SUBSCRIBERS

MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
celebrating great musicians:
from Sinatra to the Stones, Miles to Mozart, and Dylan to David Bowie.

Exclusive news and views, emailed free to subscribers on alternate Thursdays.
Editor: Gerry Smith (info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

MESSAGE TO SUBSCRIBERS:

Welcome to the second issue of the new series of the MUSIC for GROWN-UPs newsletter, now published on alternate Thursdays. Thanks for all your kind messages received after the newsletter was re-launched two weeks ago.

Thanks also for all the messages of support and, especially, your orders for my new book, also called MUSIC for GROWN-UPs - check it out at http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

And thanks to readers who entered the competition to win a copy of the new book, by nominating their Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups. Please watch the website: your Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups will be revealed very soon.

If you haven't visited http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/ for a while, please take another look - you'll find more articles and a sharper, easier-to-use design. And please continue to send me your news and views - of gigs you've enjoyed, new releases, and back catalogue discoveries - and I'll be pleased to post them on the web site for the benefit of your fellow grown-up music lovers.

Gerry Smith, Editor (email: info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

NEW on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
to read the articles listed, please log on to http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

* The new Bob Dylan album, according to Rolling Stone
* Mozart, Handel, Purcell: a classical feast on Radio 3
* Leonard Cohen Live in London - new CD and DVD
* Jim Moray last night
* Van Morrison's new release - Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl

* John McLaughlin's brilliant Corea
* Is Bob Dylan losing credibility? A resounding no!
* Free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter re-launched
* New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey... : Encore #1

PREVIOUSLY on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrownups.com/

* New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Young
* Bartok, Baaba Maal, Bob Dylan
* Your last chance to win a copy of new Music For Grown-Ups book
* A fine Buddy Holly documentary
* Jose Carreras and Roberta Flack play Adelaide

* Morrissey, Dylan, Beethoven
* Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Beck
* John Martyn RIP
* Bob Dylan, American folk, Handel
* Astral Weeks - live

MOST VIEWED RECENT ARTICLE on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

Leonard Cohen Live in London - new CD and DVD

Raving about last July's Leonard Cohen London show (MUSIC For GROWN-UPs review reprinted below) to whoever would listen, I suggested that the multi-camera big-screen live video mix was so good that the gig was destined to end up on DVD.

Well, I never!

Leonard Cohen Live In London on DVD and 2CD is now being advertised for (UK) release on 30 March.

Both could be strong contenders for Rock Album of the Decade.

Which to buy, though? Simple: both. DVD for the house, CD for the car.

Rave on, Lenny!

Gerry Smith

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Leonard Cohen in London: Hallelujah!

Death-bed scene: "Well, Dad, that's the money sorted out: you seem to have blown most of it on live music. As a matter of interest, what were your top five gigs?"

I think I'd have to include last night's London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome).

The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.

For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate) celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.

The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen's performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving...

(You can see the full text online at: http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/)

ADMIN

Why not bookmark http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/ now, to make it easy to re-visit the site?

The MUSIC for GROWN-UPs newsletter is delivered free, by email, on alternate Thursdays. It's sent to you because you have subscribed via the web site.

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(c) Gerry Smith 2009

The new Bob Dylan album, according to Rolling Stone

2009-03-04T22:05:00.000Z

Thanks to Peter Brookes and Patrick Jacobi for news that Rolling Stone has covered the new album:

“… dark new disc with a bluesy border-town feel … arrives in April, … raw-country love songs, sly wordplay and the wounded state of the nation … 10 new originals… feel of Dylan's last two studio records… seductive feel … struggling-love songs…”

You can see the full text at:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/26445175/dylan_records_surprise_modern_times_followup

Mozart, Handel, Purcell: a classical feast on Radio 3

2009-03-02T22:14:00.001Z

There’s classical riches aplenty to feast on in the next few weeks:

* Mozart: the great man’s latter days are celebrated in Radio 3’s Composer Of The Week on BBC Radio 3 this week – 1200 and 2200.

* Handel: all the operas on Radio 3, every Thursday afternoon from 2 – they’re revelatory.

* Purcell: a feast of the 17thC composer as Radio 3 devotes the weekend of 21/22 March to the great man.

Great musicians… great radio station…

Many BBC Radio 3 programmes are broadcast live online. Some are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen Live in London – CD and DVD

2009-02-27T20:44:00.001Z

Raving about last July’s Leonard Cohen London show (Music For Grown-Ups review reprinted below) to whoever would listen, I suggested that the multi-camera big-screen live video mix was so good that the gig was destined to end up on DVD.

Well, I never!

Leonard Cohen Live In London on DVD and 2CD is now being advertised for (UK) release on 30 March.

Both could be strong contenders for Rock Album of the Decade.

Which to buy, though? Simple: both. DVD for the house, CD for the car.

Rave on, Lenny!

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Leonard Cohen in London: Hallelujah!

Death-bed scene: “Well, Dad, that’s the money sorted out: you seem to have blown most of it on live music. As a matter of interest, what were your top five gigs?”

I think I’d have to include last night’s London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome).

The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.

For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate), celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.

The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen’s performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving.

Hallelujah! What a writer! What a performer! What a charismatic, inspirational man.

Band – 6 plus 3 vocalists – were accomplished accomplices. Horn-man Dino Soldo was particularly impressive. Sound quality was the best I’ve heard at an amplified gig. Staging, lighting, vision/mixing on big screens were all benchmark quality.

I’d waited many years to see Leonard, the second best writer/performer of the rock era. It was well worth the wait.

SETLIST (approximate):

1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on a Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
18. First We Take Manhattan
19. Sisters of Mercy
20. If It Be Your Will
21. A Thousand Kisses Deep
22. So Long, Marianne
23. Closing Time
24. I Tried to Leave You
25. Whither Thou Goest

A perfect 10, then?

Not quite. A churl could point to the slight unevenness of the setlist: it flagged a bit towards the end of the second half. The finales were underwhelming – the welcome Webb Sisters duet was wrongly positioned; Closing Time is dramatically and melodically too weak to close a show.

And there was an ever-present threat that the show might tip over into mainstream showbiz hoopla – Leonard’s frequent name-checking of the band palled early; he was far too nice to the assembled hordes; and you suspected that the “spontaneous” jokes had been the same at most gigs on the tour.

For most performers, all this would have been a turn-off. For Leonard, we can make an exception.

Gerry Smith

Jim Moray last night

2009-02-26T12:59:00.000Z

Last night’s Jim Moray gig at The Stables in Milton Keynes was occasionally brilliant, but only intermittently engaging, and probably the weakest of the six Moray shows I’ve seen.

Moray and his regular collaborators performed beautifully, as usual. The 18-song two-hour setlist was beyond reproach, drawing from Moray’s three albums and beyond. Barbara Allen and the closer, Valentine, were standouts.

And yet…

The trio performed manfully all night but were clearly troubled by sound problems. Accordionist Nick even had a public discussion (on mic) with the soundboard op late in the second half.

The addition of a full set of rock drums was a problem. I’ve no ideological objection to drums or rock – I really enjoyed the full-on Jim as Rock God set at Madame JoJo’s in London, which launched the second album – but this line-up simply didn’t work.

The drums, especially the somewhat lumpen bass, detracted from the finely sculpted, richly melodic instrumentals – these are three gifted young musos. It drowned out Moray’s fine vocals, too. The mix was clearly wrong.

And Moray must despair at ever reaching the audience he so richly deserves. Last night attracted about 100 people, even after all the PR from the recent awards for his magnificent new album, Low Culture.

Regardless. Jim Moray is a major young talent. His updating of English folk is bringing its delights to a wider audience (fr’instance me, babe). Music For Grown-Ups will be following him faithfully.

If you’re yet to taste the delights of the Jim Moray catalogue, here’s the detail:

www.jimmoray.co.uk

Gerry Smith

Van Morrison’s new release - Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl

2009-02-25T17:03:00.000Z

Thanks to Anne Ritchie:

Because I’m often too quick at making judgments, I thought I’d better give Astral Weeks Live another chance before posting my original negative review (First draft, below) and consigning the CD to the never-to-be-listened-to-again shelf.

OK, come to the album with an open mind. Judge it on its merits, without making too many comparisons with the sublime original. Look for positives.

Many of the tracks swing. Van actually seems to be enjoying making music with this band. I like his idiosyncratic playing of the guitar (as I always did) and his mimicry of instruments. The opening track sounds better than it did on first hearing. The middle of Slim Slow Slider and the beginning of Cyprus Avenue still excite.

Still don’t like the straining vocals of Beside You or The Way Young Lovers Do, though. Van is no crooner. Sweet Thing is still disappointing.

So, it’s musically richer than I’d first credited it. And of course the songs themselves are a great improvement on those of the last decade or so. But I probably won’t play Astral Weeks Live again.

Why would I, when I could listen instead to masterpieces like the original studio recording? Or It’s Too Late To Stop Now?

And I’m still unsure about the forthcoming concert.

First draft - ditched

I wished I’d listened to Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl before booking tickets for Van Morrison in Cardiff in June.

When I first heard of the project there was a frisson of excitement. Before the doubts set in. Who was it who said:“Don’t look back!”

That was a persistent niggle. But some very positive reactions to the LA concerts convinced me that perhaps it was time to reopen up to the music that had meant so much to me before Van the artist morphed into Van the entertainer.

But listening to the new album only strengthened the doubts. I didn’t like the throwaway delivery of the opening track, the unconvincing emoting (especially in Slim Slow Slider), some mannered scatting, the neat endings of many of the songs. I didn’t feel the mature voice was appropriate to expressions of youthful love. There was little of Morrison’s delightful trademark wonderment on display.

I did like the musicianship, though – apart from the dated pipes and soppy vocal backing in Listen To The Lion. I thrilled to hear Richie Buckley again and I found Ballerina perhaps better than the original.

But I doubt I’ll ever be playing the new album again.

It did send me back, though – way, way back, to the original, to that freshness, spontaneity, and originality that great young musicians still exhibit (check out Conor Oberst or Jim Moray, two favourites of this web site).

John McLaughlin's brilliant Corea

2009-02-24T22:22:00.000Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

John McLaughlin’s and Chick Corea’s Five Peace Band graced Adelaide last week with a concert of effortless brilliance.

This was not a band as much as it was an ensemble, all five musicians being equal – albeit that McLaughlin and Corea were both (if that is possible) first among equals.

It seemed to me that Corea rather than McLaughlin was the bandleader, even though it was McLaughlin standing centre-stage and whose name was first on the bill – but it was Corea’s keyboards that the music seemed to be built around.

How often does one get to hear two Miles Davis alumni play? And yet, it wasn’t two Miles Davis alumni playing, it was one Five Peace Band. This was a concert at which the music was the star, not the players. So perfectly did the band meld that the music they created became bigger than any of them. They were one whole – and that cliché about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts was never more true.

Reflecting after the concert, I was struck by the fact that I didn’t really remember any great solos – of course they had played them, but they were not the experience of the night, because that would have individualized it, whereas this night was about the totality of the music.

Jazz is sometimes considered to be serious, but this jazz was joyful. I think after every song they all acknowledged each other. If it was a Corea composition, he would acknowledge each band member and McLaughlin. Similarly McLaughlin with his compositions. This respect for each other was uplifting, and it uplifted the music. The respect for the music was reverent – but not in a stuffy, religious, can’t-touch-it kind of way. It was earthy and honest, reflected in their big beaming smiles and warm embraces. There was no distance between band and audience.

Christian McBride on bass is as good as they come – he had also played in Adelaide a couple of years ago with Pat Metheny, another great concert. Kenny Garrett on sax was outstanding, and Brian Blade did amazing things on his drums. These guys were all of the calibre of Miles Davis alumni, even though, of course, only Garrett is. Could anyone have played better? Billy Cobham? Wayne Shorter? I don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter – but I think there comes a time when the music just can’t be played any better, and this ensemble achieved that, at least to my ears!

Songs included McLaughlin’s New Blues, Old Bruise (great song title!) and Senor CS from Industrial Zen, and an expansive Raju; Corea’s Hymn to Andromeda; Dr Jackle, an old Miles Davis track (although I am not sure whether he wrote it); and a couple more.

So that’s the story of John’s brilliant Corea and Chick’s brilliant career.

Andrew in Adelaide

Is Bob Dylan losing credibility? A resounding no!

2009-02-23T22:30:00.001Z

Over on Dylan Daily, regular contributor Martin Cowan mused whether Dylan’s credibility is in decline.

Not so, insist several readers:

* Thanks to Chris Floyd:

My response to Martin Cowan's -- what to call it? bill of potential indictment, maybe? -- is this:

He is neither on the ball nor off his rocker. He is simply exercising his right to be somewhat trivial and presumptuous -- a right that all humans have, and should freely exercise whenever they wish.

It also seems a bit silly to me. He says that how Dylan is to be "judged" following his next shows and next album is "crucial." Crucial to whom? Perhaps to someone who invests a bit too much of their own self-image in the image of a singer or some other celebrity; I can't see how it would be "crucial" to anyone else.

If Dylan's next shows are found to be, by some measure or other, lesser than "Cohen's glorious performances," then -- what, exactly? Does that lower Dylan's "credibility"? And again -- credibility to whom, and for what?

Has Dylan got something to prove? Even after all these years, even after all he's done? Even if he does give a sub-par show, puts out an album someone doesn't like, or, god forbid, associates his music with commercials, like Hank Williams used to do -- what does this matter?

It can only matter to someone who requires perfect heroes to fulfil their own emotional needs. I understand that need; we all have it to some degree, I'm sure. But it is, in the end, a rather juvenile impulse. And its seems somewhat odd to apply it to Dylan, of all people -- an artist who has been very much concerned with the fullness of our human reality, which of course includes failure, decline, disappointment, etc. etc., and not the production of fantasy figures we can mindlessly adore -- or attack and reject when they, inevitably, "let us down."

Dylan is a 67-year-old man who likes to make music, and makes it as best he can. Should he stop doing all that, just because it might make someone feel all wiggly for one reason or another? Should he stop playing great records on the radio because someone doesn't like it?

Finally, one last question: is someone holding a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to go to Bob Dylan shows and buy Bob Dylan records and listen to Bob Dylan's radio show?

If you don't like them, fine. Don't go, don't buy, don't listen. Go find someone else whose "credibility" serves whatever needs you have.

As I say, it all seems a bit childish and pointless to me.

* Thanks to Liam Mogan:

Martin Cowan's 'shock-jock' musings on Bob's credibility seem like a calculated attempt to jolt Dylan nuts out of their collective smugness.

I find it quite funny really and not totally serious. (Credibility? I think he's been reading too many copies of his son/daughter's NME. Either that or he has recently bought The Guardian for the first time in his life.)

Rather than rant on about how great our hero is I'd rather point to Mr Cowan's strangely formal way of addressing that other elder statesman, 'Brooooce'.

I seem to remember that those oh-so-worthy behemoths of late ‘70s rock-journalism, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone etc employed a number of writers who suffered from similar, almost ceremonial, courteousness. Maybe that's why he's so obsessed with 'cred', man.

Seriously, good on you Martin for daring to shake the tree. To answer your 3 key questions

1. No, Modern Times wasn't that good (at a push you could say 2 songs were worthy additions to the canon)

2. Adverts - Er, for the Money?

3. Theme Time - I got bored midway through Series 2. Don't listen religiously anymore, but still beats on most other Radio Shows with a big stick whenever I catch it.

I do remain excited by the new album though - you gotta have some hope and faith in your life. The o2 shows? Nah, you just know they're going to be spoiled by the usual fairweather fans, moaning loudly about the fact that the songs 'don't sound the same as on the record', whilst chewing on a big fat hot-dog.

Just a quick question though Martin. As a regular contributor to the Dylan Daily, how's your 'street-cred' these days?

* Thanks to Joe King:

I would not presume to have the measure of "Dylan Daily" readers' views but, once ISIS had posted news of the new album on its website, the story was quickly picked up by other websites, including UNCUT and ROLLING STONE. This may not amount to "excitement" but it does show that Dylan news provokes great interest.

I will not be attending the O2 Arena show either but simply because that venue is so very large. Should the extra show in London be in a smaller venue, then I will most likely try to attend.

Was MT really that good? No. It was good in parts but not nearly as good as the critics wrote.

Why is he doing these ads? We don't know what's in Dylan's mind but I would suggest these possibilities: (1) for the money, (2) to reach a different audience now that Martin Cowan is, as it were, falling by the wayside, (3) there is nothing wrong about doing ads. I don't recall a single adverse comment about the use of Woody Guthrie's "Car, Car" in those Audi adverts. Do I sense a double standard here?

Have we all had enough of Theme Time Radio? No, no, no, no, no. May it continue for a lot longer.

Comparisons with Cohen and Springsteen? If either had achieved as much as Dylan, I might take the question seriously. That is not to put them down, merely to state the self-evident. Whether they receive more acclaim than Dylan in 2009 is neither here nor there in the scheme of things.

And thanks to Fred Bals, writer of the very fine Dreamtime blog:

”In a word, "No."

“In more than one word:
* If the activity on the various Dylan forums and at Dreamtime are any indication, fans are eagerly looking forward to a new album... and it hasn't even been officially announced yet.

* I can't speak to the second question, since I'm in the U.S., but I do know if he releases a new album, I'll be first in line for tickets when the N.E.T. comes back to the U.S.

* was MT really that good? Personal opinion of course, but I think there's lots to like about MT, especially When the Deal Goes Down and Beyond the Horizon. Of course, I'm a big Bing Crosby fan. :-)

* why is he doing these ads? Why shouldn't he? Mr. D's commercial affiliations doesn't impact my appreciation for his talent one whit. Should he be going, "Oh, no, my music is too pure to sell biscuits."?

* have we all had enough of Theme Time Radio? Jesus, the man is mad. Along with Chronicles, TTRH is one of the best non-music achievements Bob Dylan has ever produced. I hope he does it for a dozen more years.

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Dylan’s declining credibility?

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

Is there any excitement among Dylan Daily readers for either:

* a new Dylan album or

* "in show and in person" at the O2 or any of the other venues on the UK tour?

Personally, I remain to be convinced that a new album will reveal anything startlingly original and I won't be going to any of the shows.

In fact, it occurs to me that Dylan's credibility is on the wane at the moment:

* was MT really that good?

* why is he doing these ads?

* have we all had enough of Theme Time Radio?

How he is judged following these shows and any new release will be crucial. The shows are likely to be compared to Cohen's glorious performances, and Mr Springsteen's new platter seems to be going down a storm.

Interesting times.
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Is Martin on the ball? Or is he off his rocker? Please let The Dylan Daily know what YOU think. Gerry Smith, Editor

Free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter re-launched

2009-02-19T16:06:00.000Z

After a lengthy delay, the free MUSIC for GROWN-UPs Newsletter has just been re-launched.

If you’re a subscriber, you should have already received your copy by email. If you haven’t, it’s probably because:

* your spam filter has rejected it - please ensure that my sending email address – info@musicforgrownups.co.uk - is in your spam filter’s Friends list

* you’ve changed your email address since registering to receive the free newsletter; if so, please re-register your new email address via the Music For Grown-Ups Home Page – it only takes seconds.

And if you’re not already a subscriber – why not register now, from the Music For Grown-Ups Home Page – it only takes seconds.

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Receiving the free Newsletter is a foolproof way of catching up with new content on the web site that you may have missed.

The Newsletter is now mailed to subscribers on alternate Thursdays.

Thanks for your interest.

Gerry Smith, Editor

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
RELAUNCHED FREE NEWSLETTER - JUST MAILED TO SUBSCRIBERS

MUSIC for GROWN-UPs: celebrating great musicians:
from Sinatra to the Stones, Miles to Mozart, and Dylan to David Bowie.

Exclusive news and views, emailed free to subscribers on alternate Thursdays.
Editor: Gerry Smith (info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

MESSAGE TO SUBSCRIBERS:

Hello again. Apologies for the break in sending you your copy of the MUSIC for GROWN-UPs newsletter. I curtailed it for a while to focus on finishing my new book, also called MUSIC for GROWN-UPs - check it out at http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

This newsletter is now published on alternate Thursdays, and you'll receive your copy at the email address you've already registered. I hope you like it and will tell fellow grown-up music fans about it.

If you haven't visited http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/ for a while, please take another look - you'll find more articles and a sharper, easier-to-use design. And please continue to send me your news and views - of gigs you've enjoyed, new releases, and back catalogue discoveries – and I’ll be pleased to post them on the web site for the benefit of your fellow grown-up music lovers.

Gerry Smith, Editor (email: info@musicforgrown-ups.com)

NEW on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
to read the articles listed, please log on to http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

* New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Young
* Bartok, Baaba Maal, Bob Dylan
* Your last chance to win a copy of new Music For Grown-Ups book
* A fine Buddy Holly documentary
* Jose Carreras and Roberta Flack play Adelaide

* Morrissey, Dylan, Beethoven
* Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Beck
* John Martyn RIP
* Bob Dylan, American folk, Handel
* Astral Weeks - live

PREVIOUSLY on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrownups.com/

* Top Grown-Up Gigs of 2008
* Win a free copy of new book, Music For Grown-Ups
* Handel: Composer Of The Year, star of Music For Grown-Ups, the new book
* Prog Rock: music for grown-ups? Well, yes, sort of
* Beck, Roberto Alagna, Pentangle: least loved gigs of 2008

* Astral Weeks - Live in LA
* Purcell, Prog Rock, Michael Brecker
* Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and John McLaughlin - top gigs for grown-ups
* Handel, Keith Richards, Prog Rock
* Roy Orbison profile - good music, weak analysis

MOST VIEWED RECENT ARTICLE on MUSIC for GROWN-UPs
http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/

Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Beck: one week in Australia

Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide:

I have just enjoyed the most incredible week of music so I'll see if I can manage to share it with you...

Last weekend was the Australia Day long weekend and on Saturday night we saw Neil Young at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Ordinarily we would have stayed the whole long weekend in Sydney, as it is such a great city, but before I had booked flights and accommodation, it was announced that Leonard Cohen would be playing in Adelaide on the holiday Monday - so naturally I booked that. That meant coming home from Sydney on the Sunday, which turned out to be fortuitous because it was then announced that Jeff Beck would be playing in Adelaide on the Sunday night. Don't things have a way of working out in the end?

And then it was announced that Neil Young would be playing the Big Day Out circuit, including Adelaide, so I saw him again on Friday night - so that was 4 amazing concerts in one amazing week. Probably only surpassed by Van Morrison's Astral Weekend at Hollywood Bowl. Although the week I saw Dylan in Adelaide then Van twice in 2 nights in England, all in the same week back in 2007, was pretty good too!

So let's begin with Neil Young in Sydney...

(You can see the full text online at: http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/)

ADMIN

Why not bookmark http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/ now, to make it easy to re-visit the site?

The MUSIC for GROWN-UPs newsletter is delivered free, by email, on alternate Thursdays. It's sent to you because you have subscribed via the web site.

To unsubscribe your email address, please go to the web site Home Page (http://www.musicforgrown-ups.com/); in the Subscribe area in the left column, please enter your subscribed address in the "Your Email" box; select "Unsubscribe"; and then click "Go"; you'll be automatically unsubscribed.

(c) Gerry Smith 2009

New albums from Springsten, Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Young: Encore #1

2009-02-18T23:37:00.001Z

Thank to Pat Kenny:

“Like you, I prefer to celebrate rather than knock the output of great musicians – as all those listed above undoubtedly are.

“But, having bought the three albums already released, I have to admit I’m underwhelmed.

“Springsteen’s CD sees him treading water… Van the Man should have resisted the temptation to update his untouchable masterpiece… and does Morrissey have anything left to say?

“I’m not optimistic that the new Dylan or Young albums will be Earth-shattering, either.

“Time for me to take a rest from rock, and catch up on some recent jazz releases. I feel a Miles/Coltrane/Herbie/Wayne period coming on.”

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The big beasts in the rockpop jungle are stirring, with new albums from Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Neil Young.

Springsten kicked off the season with Workin’ On A Dream. I’ve yet to hear it. Please let me know what you think.

Van Morrison was the second to stir with Astral Weeks Live last week. The original is one of my top three albums in any genre. After half a dozen plays of the new version, I’m suspending judgment.

Morrissey followed yesterday with Years Of Refusal. What do you think of it?

New Dylan album rumours are flying fast. Some have a new 10-track studio album already in the can and due for release at the end of April.

And it seems that Neil Young’s eternally delayed Archives box has been put back yet again to accommodate an original new CD, Fork In The Road, on 30 March.

Great days for grown-up rockpop fans!

All of these musicians are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of this page/

the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

New albums from Bruce Springsten, Van Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Neil Young

2009-02-17T23:29:00.002Z

The big beasts in the rockpop jungle are stirring, with new albums from Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Morrissey, and maybe Dylan and Neil Young.

Springsten kicked off the season with Workin’ On A Dream. I’ve yet to hear it. Please let me know what you think.

Van Morrison was the second to stir with Astral Weeks Live last week. The original is one of my top three albums in any genre. After half a dozen plays of the new version, I’m suspending judgment.

Morrissey followed yesterday with Years Of Refusal. What do you think of it?

New Dylan album rumours are flying fast. Some have a new 10-track studio album already in the can and due for release at the end of April.

And it seems that Neil Young’s eternally delayed Archives box has been put back yet again to accommodate an original new CD, Fork In The Road, on 30 March.

Great days for grown-up rockpop fans!

All of these musicians are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Bartok, Baaba Maal, Bob Dylan

2009-02-16T11:30:00.000Z

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC this week

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups every week of the year. And it’s all free - well, sort of….

All of these musicians are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Mon 16 Feb
1200 & 2200 Bartok, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3 (1/5, continues Tues-Fri)

Wed 18 Feb
2315 Baaba Maal live, Late Junction – BBC Radio 3

Thurs 19 Feb
1400 Handel’s opera Silla – BBC Radio 3
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online - please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Late entries to win a copy of new Music For Grown-Ups book

2009-02-13T22:53:00.001Z

Thanks for the flurry of late entries, including Top 5s like:

* Dylan, Mozart, Len Cohen, Cecilia Bartoli and Marcelo Alvarez

* Bach, Miles, Dylan, Mozart, Ella

* Warren Zevon, Stan Rogers, Paul Simon, Ray Davies, Stephen Sondheim

The competition closes in one hour and I’m looking forward to drawing the winner and compiling a ranking list next week.

Thanks again to all who entered – the response was excellent, the ranking list looks like it will be a revelation.

Gerry Smith

Your last chance to win a copy of new Music For Grown-Ups book

2009-02-12T23:16:00.001Z

Your last chance to win a copy of the new Music For Grown-Ups book is fast approaching - the deadline for entries is 2359 GMT on Friday 13 Feb.

All you’ve got to do is email your ranked list (1 to 5) of your favourite musicians to info@musicforgrown-ups.com - please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks to readers for the many recent entries, including some welcome unusual choices like: Andy Sheppard, Bryan Corbett, Tord Gustavsen and Ketil Bjornstad (as well as the Beatles!)

Recent entries have also included nominations for: Ryan Adams, Eels, Bruce Springsteen, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Bob Dylan, Franz Schubert, Louis Armstrong, John Martyn, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Cecilia Bartoli, Muddy Waters and Hank Williams.

Most of these great musicians are celebrated in the book!

Gerry Smith

Music For Grown-Ups competition: hurry – only two days left

2009-02-11T23:37:00.000Z

Thanks to readers for yet more entries in the competition to win a copy of my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

If you intend to enter, please remember that the deadline is fast approaching - 2359 GMT on Friday 13 Feb.

All you’ve got to do is email your ranked list (1 to 5) of your favourite musicians to info@musicforgrown-ups.com - please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Recent entries have included nominations for:

Ryan Adams, Eels, Bruce Springsteen, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Bob Dylan, Franz Schubert, Louis Armstrong, John Martyn, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Cecilia Bartoli, Muddy Waters and Hank Williams.

Nearly all these great musicians are celebrated in the book!

Gerry Smith

A fine Buddy Holly documentary

2009-02-10T21:53:00.000Z

Last week’s BBC4 Buddy Holly documentary, from Arena in 1985, was a nice mixture of dramatic original footage and analysis by expert talking heads. As well as Crickets, both a Beatle - Paul McCartney – and a Stone – Keefe – testified to Holly’s overwhelming impact on their own musical development.

Recommended.

You can still catch it online – until midnight on Wednesday 11 Feb – on BBC iPlayer:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Buddy Holly, like 170 other great musicians, is celebrated in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Music For Grown-Ups – yet more book competition entries

2009-02-09T16:13:00.000Z

Thanks to readers for yet more entries in the competition to win a copy of my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

Remember - the deadline has been extended to Friday 13 Feb.

All you’ve got to do is email your ranked list (1 to 5) of your favourite musicians to info@musicforgrown-ups.com - please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Recent entries have included nominations for:

Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Bob Dylan, Franz Schubert, Louis Armstrong, John Martyn, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Cecilia Bartoli, Muddy Waters and Hank Williams.

Nearly all these great musicians are celebrated in the book!

Gerry Smith

Jose Carreras and Roberta Flack play Adelaide

2009-02-09T11:28:00.000Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

So a couple of weeks ago it was Neil Young, Jeff Back and Leonard Cohen.

This week’s fare was Jose Carreras and Roberta Flack, both of whom played with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (separate concerts on separate nights).

Quite an eclectic couple of weeks!

The ASO is a great orchestra, who just a few weeks ago played Carnegie Hall in New York. They often do collaborations like this – I have seen them with Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham doing a Mahavishnu Orchestra set, Kurt Elling the jazz crooner and scatter, The Whitlams (great Aussie band), and so on.

Sometimes they mesh well, other times they don’t, but I think this is more about the way the featured artist chooses to use them. Roberta Flack was a case in point – she didn’t really use the orchestra effectively, or at least, I didn’t think so. So there was a bit of a sense of missed opportunity.

Carreras still has a fine voice, but to be honest I think I would rather see him in an opera than in concert. Reason being that he only ever sang two songs at a time, then went off stage – no doubt to rest his precious voice and fair enough, but it meant that the concert never gathered any momentum. The stop-start nature of it meant that it was hard to get emotionally involved and after all, isn’t that what makes the concert experience?

When he went off, Fiona Campbell, an Aussie mezzo-soprano, sang and she was very good too. Or sometimes the orchestra would play a piece on their own. It was all good, and hard not to be impressed by, it’s just that it was like an exhibition performance rather than a real music experience – a bit like the difference between watching an exhibition tennis match and a Grand Slam final, the tennis might still be good, and the players might be the same and therefore as good as ever, it’s just that the atmosphere, tension and excitement are different.

Roberta Flack on the other hand got a real vibe going in the second half of her show. The first half was only half an hour and seemed to be over as soon as it had started. But the second half was an hour and she had a great band who really cooked once they got going. The band comprised drums, bass, keyboards, an outstanding horn player and two singers – I was going to say “backing” singers but they were really more than that.

The horn player played sax, clarinet and flute and he was the star of the show – although the drummer came close. The bassist played a five string bass and there being no lead guitar, he often played bass as if it was a lead instrument, not just part of the rhythm section.

Roberta Flack played piano and while no virtuoso, she was good. And her voice was excellent, especially for someone in her 70s).

This concert varied between very smooth middle-of-the-road to good lounge jazz, but was always engaging. The favourites were all good, and delivered with feeling. She didn’t do Hey That’s No Way, but having heard Leonard Cohen himself sing it a couple of weeks ago, that was fine by me.

She said she is making a Beatles album and I thought, don’t tell me she’s going to play A Day In The Life as well, but no, she did Here Come The Sun in a very interesting, slow, jazz-inflected interpretation. Probably my highlight of the night.

Nothing booked for next week (what am I going to do?!) but John McLaughlin and Chick Corea the week after that – really really looking forward to that one!

Andrew in Adelaide

Morrissey, Dylan, Beethoven

2009-02-06T22:43:00.000Z

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 7 days

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups every week of the year. And it’s all free - well, sort of….

Nearly all of these musicians are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Sat 7 Feb
2200 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Sun 8 Feb
2100 Folk America (3/3) – Blowin’ In The Wind – BBC4
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6Music

Mon 9 Feb
1200 & 2200 Beethoven (last 12 years), Composer Of The Week
– BBC Radio 3 (1/5, continues Tues-Fri)

Wed 11 Feb
2000 Morrissey (interview/live gig) – BBC Radio 2

Thurs 12 Feb
1400 Handel’s opera Teseo – BBC Radio 3
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Fri 13 Feb
2000 Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Sound Of The Sixties - BBC4
2010 Festival (Newport Folk, 1963—6) - BBC4
2140 Sings Dylan (cover versions) – BBC4
2230 Roger McGuinn et al, Folk America At The Barbican – BBC4

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online - please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Win Music For Grown-Ups book – competition deadline extended to 13 Feb

2009-02-05T21:35:00.001Z

Thanks to readers for lots more entries in the competition to win a copy of my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

In view of the continuing stream of entries, the deadline has been extended to Friday 13 Feb.

All you’ve got to do is email your ranked list (1 to 5) of your favourite musicians to info@musicforgrown-ups.com - please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Recent entries have included nominations for John Martyn, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, Mark Linkous, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Beethoven, Cecilia Bartoli, Muddy Waters and Hank Williams – nearly all of whom are profiled in the book.

Gerry Smith

Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Beck: one week in Australia

2009-02-05T21:11:00.000Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide:

I have just enjoyed the most incredible week of music so I’ll see if I can manage to share it with you…

Last weekend was the Australia Day long weekend and on Saturday night we saw Neil Young at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Ordinarily we would have stayed the whole long weekend in Sydney, as it is such a great city, but before I had booked flights and accommodation, it was announced that Leonard Cohen would be playing in Adelaide on the holiday Monday – so naturally I booked that. That meant coming home from Sydney on the Sunday, which turned out to be fortuitous because it was then announced that Jeff Beck would be playing in Adelaide on the Sunday night. Don’t things have a way of working out in the end?

And then it was announced that Neil Young would be playing the Big Day Out circuit, including Adelaide, so I saw him again on Friday night – so that was 4 amazing concerts in one amazing week. Probably only surpassed by Van Morrison’s Astral Weekend at Hollywood Bowl. Although the week I saw Dylan in Adelaide then Van twice in 2 nights in England, all in the same week back in 2007, was pretty good too!

So let’s begin with Neil Young in Sydney. He was supported by My Morning Jacket who I thought were great. I don’t know much about them, but understand they play a variety of styles – that night they played mostly softer, more acoustic, country influenced music. If anyone can recommend which of their albums I should start with, I’d be interested to hear.

Shakey played a really great concert, with a set list that was about as good as you could hope for. Of course, it would be easy to come up with another whole set list of favourites he didn’t play, but when you walk out happy with everything he did play, it’s a good concert.

It was mostly electric, a short acoustic set in the middle, but mostly electric. However, without Crazy Horse he didn’t really extend out the songs with long, loud, grungy solos. I wondered if that was just Neil, like where he’s at right now, or whether it was a conscious decision to try to balance the “two Neils” for a mixed audience. For the grunge lovers, it was certainly loud and guitary enough. But for the folkies it wasn’t too grungy. I’m happy with both Neils, and was very happy with the way he played it on the night. A case in point was Cinnamon Girl, which probably only went for 3-4 minutes, like a single rather than an album track or an extended live version.

The only other time I’ve seen Neil Young was the Greendale tour with Crazy Horse, and their second set – after Greendale – went for 90 minutes with just 6 songs. A real blast. Raw power. Great songs.

Anyway, back to Sydney where he started with Love And Only Love, so it was a powerhouse opening. A real highlight was Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which came very early in the concert and it was obvious he was on top of his game. He looked great, no sign of any health issues. And in great voice – his voice doesn’t seem to have changed over the years, unlike others (most notably Dylan).

No doubt in my mind that the highlight of the night was Cortez the Killer. Slow, powerful and menacing, the song just took hold of you – and took hold of him, as he doubled up to rip those notes out of his guitar. Doesn’t he have a great guitar style that is quite unique to him, and it’s songs like Cortez that really showcase that (Powderfinger too, but unfortunately we didn’t get that). Spirit Road was a very spirited performance, and reminded me how much I liked Chrome Dreams II (Ordinary People would be great live wouldn’t it?).

He then went to the organ (a proper one with pipes) and did a heartfelt solo version of Mother Earth, which led into the acoustic set. Highlighted by The Needle and The Damage Done, which still resonates today and which he still seems to feel deeply, but then there were some unexpected songs – Unknown Legend and One of These Days, both songs I really like from Harvest Moon, but not songs I was expecting. Similarly Words, from Harvest, which was great and led back into the electric finale.

I know I’ve forgotten a few, but he closed with Rocking in the Free World then came back to encore with The Beatles’ A Day in the Life which if you didn’t know otherwise you would have thought was his song. I’m sure Lennon would have approved. For a bit of theatre at the end he destroyed every string on his guitar in that cacophonous crescendo, before hitting two notes on a xylophone (or something like a xylophone). A nice ironic touch.

Jumping forward to Friday night, Neil played the Big Day Out in Adelaide. These are outdoor, all-day concerts for kids, with mosh pits, crowd surfing and the like. And bands I’ve never heard of and music that doesn’t really reach me (with exceptions, obviously – except that I don’t know what they are). I should stress, that’s my opinion only – but most new young music I hear doesn’t attract me to find out or listen more. Anyway, for the Big Day Out I was intending to go and listen and see if I could find some other music I liked. But then this monstrous heatwave descended on Adelaide so I decided not to – it was over 40C (that’s well over 100F). I skipped the whole day and arrived a bit after 8pm for Shakey’s set at 8.30 by which time the sun had gone down and a bit of a breeze was blowing. I got a great spot, a bit side on to be out of the mass of people, but still close to the stage.

Neil came on wearing a loose shirt and cargo shorts (!), no jacket, no hat. Again he looked great and I think they must have had enough cooling on the stage because he didn’t seem at all bothered by the heat. If anything, on the night he seemed more relaxed and into to it than Sydney (not that there was anything wrong with Sydney!). He started with Love and Only Love again, then ripped into Hey Hey My My. I wondered if the younger audience knew the significance of the song, in respect to Kurt Cobain’s suicide note – but judging from the incredible response to the whole set, I decided they all knew Neil’s work pretty well. The audience was still predominantly young, although quite a number of other “old farts” like me had turned up (probably mostly only for Neil too).

I half expected him to delete the acoustic set in this concert, thinking that “grungy Neil” might have been more appropriate for the audience, but I was wrong. And the acoustic set got huge audience response, especially Heart of Gold. As well as HoG, he also did Old Man, so that was two new acoustic songs we hadn’t heard in Sydney.

Another killer Cortez, but this night a new highlight would emerge: Like A Hurricane. Most of my friends think I’m crazy, but it is definitely worth going to more than one concert in the same tour (as everyone on these lists knows)! He unleashed his full throttle on Like A Hurricane, long, loud, spectacular.

And what an ending, reaching a massive guitar driven and drum crashing crescendo while Neil somehow wailed the chorus line above it all. A moment to remember! So with Hurricane and Hey Hey My My, there were two different electric songs to Sydney, as well as the two different acoustic ones. Another great Day In the Life to close, another 6 guitar strings destroyed.

Then Jeff Beck on Sunday night was a revelation. The reviewer in our local paper described it as guitar poetry or guitar sculpture, not mere guitar playing. And that wasn’t a bad description. I always liked Rolling Stone’s description of Clapton’s and Duane Allman’s playing on the Layla album: never have guitar heroics sounded so sweet. And Jeff Beck’s concert was in that category. Especially if you add “subtle” to “sweet”.

One thing that struck me. He used the same guitar, unchanged, all night – what’s with these other guys who change guitars after every song (is it just to keep the roadies busy?).

As probably everyone knows, the other interesting thing about him is the way he uses his fingers rather than a plectrum. And on one song he used the slide thingy on his “picking” hand rather than up the fretboard. Apologies if I’ve got the technical terminology wrong! Anyway, it sounded great – but more importantly, it sounded like music, it was right for the song, not a gimmick.

I’m not familiar enough with his body of work to list the songs – the only album I have of his is Blow by Blow, although I might now go and get some more. I was told that the set list was similar to the Ronnie Scott’s CD/DVD that has just been released which I will definitely be getting.

But one song I did recognize was The Beatles’ A Day in the Life, which I just couldn’t believe I was hearing – the very next night after Neil Young had encored with it. In Jeff Beck’s case, he closed his set with it before coming back for two encores.

This was a seriously great concert, one I was so pleased I didn’t miss. And for us Aussies it was great to see Tal Wilkenfeld, the young (22yo) female Aussie bass player, who was outstanding. Jeff Beck was quoted as saying she’s like Jaco Pastorius in Kylie Minogue’s body – great quote!

The best concert of the week, though, was Leonard Cohen. As every review I’ve read has said about this tour, from all over the world (including on MFGU) this was a privilege not a concert.

It was another weather-affected day in Adelaide, the concert being an outdoor affair, A Day on the Green at a Southern Vales winery, an hour south of Adelaide. Incidentally the promoters of A Day on the Green describe them as a Big Day Out for Grown-ups!

The first act, Augie March, started around 5pm in the real heat of the day. We just couldn’t sit out there, so had to just listen to them in the background from the shade of the cellar door. We did go out for Paul Kelly – he is unmissable – and he did a great set even though it must have been most uncomfortable. He just had Dan Kelly supporting him on lead guitar and backing vocals, no other support but it worked really well. I think Dan is his nephew.

Leonard Cohen’s first set started around 7.20 still in full sun and let me tell you, it was blazing. The sun was just going down an hour later as the first set finished, so after a short break it was quite pleasant for the second set. I wondered why they didn’t just push the whole thing back, but anyway it didn’t affect the quality of the music.

How to describe Leonard Cohen? I am not sure I have ever seen a performer so happy to be there, so impishly playful yet so masterfully intelligent, so humble yet so self confident, so respectful of his musicians yet so revered by them, and so equally respectful of his audience while having us eat out of his hands, in awe.

Excellent band – drums and bass, electric guitar, acoustic 12 string and mandolin, keyboards, sax and other “blowing” instruments, three wonderful backing singers and Leonard (who occasionally strummed a guitar or tinkled a keyboard, although seemingly unnecessarily).

This was poetry set to music, as everyone who appreciates Leonard Cohen knows. But I think compared to earlier Leonard Cohen, the music has become more integral to the songs rather than just the accompaniment to the words. A very complete and uplifting experience.

The highlights were many. In fact every song was a highlight – and there were many of them because I think he must have played for almost 3 hours.

Without trying to put them in any order, we were graced with: Suzanne, So Long Marianne, Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye, Tower of Song, Hallelujah, Bird on a Wire, I’m Your Man, Dance Me to the End of Love, and some of the more recent ones like Boogie Street, In My Secret Life and A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Having seen Van the Man doing Astral Weeks live at the Hollywood Bowl in November, and that being my all-time concert high watermark, this one came close – that’s how good Leonard Cohen was. Perhaps equal to Springsteen’s The Rising tour, which was my previous high watermark (at least I think it was – so easy to change your mind about these things!).

So that’s been my week – how about yours?

Andrew in Adelaide

John Martyn RIP

2009-02-04T23:04:00.001Z

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“No doubt you have seen that the great John Martyn has sadly passed away, aged just 60.

“Criminally overlooked in his lifetime, his vast output over 40 years holds up remarkably well and defies the simplistic categorisations of "folk" or "jazz".

“This was soul music of the most tortured kind, with Martyn's heart-on-sleeve song writing and naked vocals enhanced by the genius of his guitar playing.

“Much has been made of his superb 1970s output, including phenomenal live performances both solo and with long time sparring partner Danny Thompson, but he continued to write and record strong songs through the 80s and 90s.

“Releases such as "Glorious Fool", "Cool Tide" and 2004's "On The Cobbles" are as good as anything in his entire catalogue.

“Eccentric, innovative, joyous and moving - I can only hope that now in death he will at last reach as large an audience as his talent deserved.”

Normal service restored

2009-02-04T23:00:00.001Z

Apologies to all readers and contributors for the lack of site updates and email acknowledgments on Monday and Tuesday – I got caught up in the traffic disruption following heavy snowfalls.

Normal service has been restored!

Gerry Smith

Bob Dylan, American folk, Handel

2009-01-30T00:30:00.001Z

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups every week of the year. And it’s all free - well, sort of….

Friday 30 Jan
1400 Cecilia Bartoli in Handel’s opera Rinaldo Act 3 – BBC Radio 3
2100 Folk America (2/3) – BBC4

Sat 31 Jan
2200 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Sun 1 Feb
2000 Folk America (2/3) – BBC4
2100 Neil Young, Don’t Be Denied - BBC4
2200 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) - BBC4
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6Music

Tues 3 Feb
2355 Joni Mitchell, In Concert – BBC4
0105 Joan Baez, In Concert – BBC4
0135 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) - BBC4

Wed 4 Feb
2100 Buddy Holly, Arena (1985) – BBC4

Thurs 5 Feb
1400 Handel’s opera Il Pastor, overture & Act 1 – BBC Radio 3
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2
0055 Later… Folk America – BBC4

Fri 6 Feb
1400 Handel’s opera Il Pastor Acts 2&3 – BBC Radio 3
2100 Folk America (3/3) – Blowin’ In The Wind – BBC4
2200 Dylan At Newport – The Other Side Of The Mirror – BBC4
2320 Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, In Concert - BBC4

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online - please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

All of the musicians listed above are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Astral Weeks - live

2009-01-29T23:33:00.001Z

Long-time readers might recall that Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks is one of the favourite albums of Music For Grown-Ups.

And regular readers might remember seeing the recent rave review of Astral Weeks Live: Andrew Robertson travelled to the two Hollywood Bowl gigs from his home in Adelaide, South Australia. As he reported here, it was the concert-going experience of his life.

Well, now, aficionados on the US East Coast and in England and Wales get a chance to exult in a live performance of this masterpiece.

Morrison’s Astral Weeks Live moves to MSG in NYC on February 27 and 28; and to Bristol’s Colston Hall on Sat 20 June and Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Sunday 21 June.

I’ve booked Cardiff: Mama!

The live CD from the Hollywood Bowl gigs is released on Monday 9 February, with a DVD to follow.

Now’s a good time for all those old Morrison fans (frinstance me, babe) who’ve sidelined the Man over the last six or seven years - disappointed by successive album releases and live shows – to celebrate his great art over and over again.

Van Morrison gets an extended profile in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

Gerry Smith

Win Music For Grown-Ups book

2009-01-28T21:33:00.001Z

Your entries continue to pile in.

In addition to artists already mentioned, recent musician Top 5s have included: Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Olivier Messiaen and Beethoven.

Seriously eclectic – like the new book and the web site!

Please keep ‘em coming….

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Win Music For Grown-Ups book

Many thanks to readers for all the entries so far.

Lots more musicians who were expected are showing, including Van Morrison, Neil Young and Mark Knopfler.

As well as some unexpected names as diverse as Ali Farka Toure, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Gustav Mahler, Callas and Joan Sutherland.

Keep ‘em coming… Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Win Music For Grown-Ups book

Many thanks for all the entries so far.

Lots of expected musicians are showing, including John Lennon, Brahms, and Herbie Hancock.

As well as some unexpected names – eg Elvis Costello, Schoenberg and Can.

Keep ‘em coming…

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Win a free copy of new book, Music For Grown-Ups

Music For Grown-Ups, my new book, profiles 171 musicians from all genres. If I had to choose a Top 5, there would be some obvious contenders to consider, including: Dylan, Miles Davis, Bach, Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Handel, Coltrane, the Rolling Stones and The Smiths/Morrissey.

But who are YOUR Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups - the five you prefer to listen to before all others?

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Gerry Smith

Top Grown-Up Live Shows of 2008

2009-01-27T22:24:00.002Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

2008 was another great year for live music, even in little old Adelaide – although my highlight was on the other side of the world, at the Hollywood Bowl.

Trying to select my top five, I came up with:

1. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks live at the Hollywood Bowl (counting both nights as one, as they were both the clear highlights of my life, let alone 2008)

2. Sting – Songs from the Labyrinth at the Sydney Opera House (music from the ages, definitely music for grown ups)

3. The State Opera of South Australia – Turandot at the Adelaide Festival Theatre (our very, very good local opera company, doing a performance that was as good as any opera I’ve seen)

4. Philip Glass – The Book of Longing (Leonard Cohen’s poetry set to music by Philip Glass – deliciously, eclectically grown up – but to be surpassed in 2009 by Leonard Cohen himself who I saw only yesterday)

5. Billy Cobham & Colin Towns, with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – A Celebration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra (an innovative collaboration between a very good classical symphony orchestra which also loves to stretch out into other genres, and a giant of jazz with Colin Towns as musical director and conductor to harmonise it all into one)

Honourable mentions:

* Ornette Coleman – another jazz giant

* John Mellencamp – my big surprise for 2008, a truly excellent show from an evolving artist

Win Music For Grown-Ups book

2009-01-26T22:08:00.000Z

Many thanks to readers for all the entries so far.

Lots more musicians who were expected are showing, including Van Morrison, Neil Young and Mark Knopfler.

As well as some unexpected names as diverse as Ali Farka Toure, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Gustav Mahler, Callas and Joan Sutherland.

Keep ‘em coming… Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Win Music For Grown-Ups book

Many thanks for all the entries so far.

Lots of expected musicians are showing, including John Lennon, Brahms, and Herbie Hancock.

As well as some unexpected names – eg Elvis Costello, Schoenberg and Can.

Keep ‘em coming…

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Win a free copy of new book, Music For Grown-Ups

Music For Grown-Ups, my new book, profiles 171 musicians from all genres. If I had to choose a Top 5, there would be some obvious contenders to consider, including: Dylan, Miles Davis, Bach, Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Handel, Coltrane, the Rolling Stones and The Smiths/Morrissey.

But who are YOUR Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups - the five you prefer to listen to before all others?

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Gerry Smith

Folk America: a must-watch/record series

2009-01-23T19:28:00.000Z

Folk America, the central trio of one-hour documentaries in BBC 4’s timely new series of the same name, are must-watch/record programmes.

If they’re as good as BBC 4’s similar earlier series – Folk… Jazz… (etc)… Britannia they could well be the best documentaries of 2009.

The series starts tonight at 9pm: Folk America - new series exploring the revival of American folk music (Part 1), and is repeated late tonight and on Sunday. Part 2 - Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie et al – airs next Friday at 9pm, with repeats.

As for the rest of the programmes in the series – er, no thanks, not really my cup of tea.

Online access: Some BBC TV programmes are accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

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Folk America on UK TV

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

A feast of viewing is on the horizon for Dylan Daily readers and Grown-Ups everywhere, as follows:

* Friday 23 January 2009 BBC4
8.00 Seasick Steve: Bringing it all back home (documentary about the blues singer)
8.30 Seasick Steve at Reading 2008 (live performance)
9.00 Folk America - new series exploring the revival of American folk music (Part 1)
10.00 Folk America at the Barbican - Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers - concert
11.00 Desperate Man blues - profile of Joe Bussard

* Tuesday 27 January 2009 BBC4
11.15 Richie Havens in concert
11.55 Tom Paxton In concert
12.25 Judy Collins in concert
1.00 Joan Baez in concert
1.40 Crosby and Nash in concert

* Wednesday 28 January 2009 BBC4
8.30 - Tonight in Person - Peter Paul and Mary

* Friday 30 January 2009 BBC4
8.00 BBC4 session - Bruce Springsteen at the LSO, his tribute
to Pete Seeger
9.00 Folk America (part 2 - Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie et al)
10.00 Later...folk America (Norah Jones, Johnny Cash,
Emmylou Harris etc)
11.00 Arena Rock Docs - Woody Guthrie

Online access: Some BBC TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Win new Music For Grown-Ups book

2009-01-22T11:49:00.000Z

Many thanks for all the entries so far.

Lots of expected musicians are showing, including John Lennon, Brahms, and Herbie Hancock.

As well as some unexpected names – eg Elvis Costello, Schoenberg and Can.

Keep ‘em coming…

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Win a free copy of new book, Music For Grown-Ups

Music For Grown-Ups, my new book, profiles 171 musicians from all genres. If I had to choose a Top 5, there would be some obvious contenders to consider, including: Dylan, Miles Davis, Bach, Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Handel, Coltrane, the Rolling Stones and The Smiths/Morrissey.

But who are YOUR Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups - the five you prefer to listen to before all others?

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Gerry Smith

Win a free copy of new book, Music For Grown-Ups

2009-01-19T22:30:00.001Z

Music For Grown-Ups, my new book, profiles 171 musicians from all genres. If I had to choose a Top 5, there would be some obvious contenders to consider, including: Dylan, Miles Davis, Bach, Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Handel, Coltrane, the Rolling Stones and The Smiths/Morrissey.

But who are YOUR Top 5 Musicians For Grown-Ups - the five you prefer to listen to before all others?

Please email your ranked list (1 to 5) to info@musicforgrown-ups.com before the end of January and I’ll compile a readers’ ranking. Please use TOP 5 as your subject header.

All responding readers will be entered in a free draw and the winner will be selected by lucky dip.

Thanks in advance. And good luck!

Gerry Smith

Key artists in your new book, Music For Grown-Ups?

2009-01-15T21:51:00.000Z

Thanks to Clem Anderson:

“I’m intrigued by your new book, Music For Grown-Ups, and have ordered a copy from your site. Can we assume from the Home Page illustrations that Miles Davis, Dylan and Callas are the key artists?"

Not quite – but you only need to substitute JS Bach for Callas and then you do have my Holy Trinity! For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Top gigs of 2008

2009-01-14T17:20:00.000Z

Thanks to Glen Colegate:

I only went to about 20 last year but the top 10 – if you’re interested – were:

Mark Oliver Everett – St James’ Church, Piccadilly, London – Jan. Twas the day his wonderful book came out and was a one-off acoustic show sans eels

Robert Plant/Alison Krauss – Wembley Arena – Tbone, buddy miller in the band...and front row tickets – perfect

Bob Dylan – Lorca, Spain – hot night, 3or 4 thousand people in a tiny bullring in a Spanish hill top town and Bob well up for it!

Fleet Foxes – University of London Union (ULU)- couple of weeks before the album came out and the buzz has already started – and they deliver big time

Jenny Lewis – Koko - it’s just like 1972 never happened – indie pin-up and crack band make loud noise - crikey!

Terry Reid – Borderline – didn’t wanna go after god-awful Ronnie Scott’s show a couple of years ago but with a yank stoner band, no booze inside him, a bit of inspiration and kicking off with Ballad of Easy Rider, the voice shows he’s back in the game

Neil Young - Hammersmith Apollo – he saw, he came, he did Ambulance Blues – yep – he did Ambulance Blues

Leonard Cohen – Brighton Centre – arena that only holds four and half thousand seated- much better than the o2 methinks!

Dylan, Haydn, Handel

2009-01-13T22:34:00.000Z

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups every week of the year. And it’s all free - well, sort of….

Wed 14 Jan
1200 & 2200 Handel, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)

Thurs 15 Jan
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Sun 18 Jan
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6Music

Mon 19 Jan
1200 & 2200 Haydn, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)

Thurs 22 Jan
1400 Handel’s opera Agrippina Acts 1 & 2 – BBC Radio 3
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Friday 23 Jan
1400 Handel’s opera Agrippina Act 3 – BBC Radio 3
2100 Folk America – Birth Of A Nation (1/3) – BBC4

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online - please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

And Dylan, Haydn and Handel are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups, published on 15 Jan 2009.

For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Handel: Composer Of The Year, recommended in Music For Grown-Ups, the new book

2009-01-12T22:35:00.002Z

Handel is one of four Composers Of The Year selected by BBC Radio 3 for 2009.

The major celebration concerns the broadcasting of every one of his 42 operas, which started last week. And this week, Handel’s the subject of the consistently fine Radio 3 series, Composer Of The Week, broadcast at 1200 and 2200 each weekday and online at:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Handel’s also highly recommended in Music For Grown-Ups – the book I’ve been working on while writing this daily column for the past six years – and now available.

Music For Grown-Ups - the book – celebrates 171 musicians from all genres, summarizing their art, recommending their best CDs and explaining why you might wish to give them a try.

Like the website, the book’s coverage is “seriously eclectic”, covering genres from rock to jazz, opera to country, blues to folk and many, many more.

Copies bought directly from the Music For Grown-Ups master website are supplied with an exclusive bonus not available from any retailer.

For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Music For Grown-Ups – the brand new book – now available

2009-01-08T22:51:00.002Z

Music For Grown-Ups – the book I’ve been working on while writing this daily column for the past six years – is now available.

Music For Grown-Ups - the book – celebrates 171 musicians from all genres, summarizing their art, recommending their best CDs and explaining why you might wish to give them a try.

Like the website, the book’s coverage is “seriously eclectic”, covering genres from rock to jazz, opera to country, blues to folk and many, many more.

Copies bought directly from the Music For Grown-Ups master website are supplied with an exclusive bonus not available from any retailer.

For full details, please click on the book cover at the top left of the Home Page of the master website:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Handel, Dylan, Morrissey

2009-01-06T22:40:00.001Z

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups every week of the year. And it’s all free - well, sort of….

Wed 7 Jan
1200 & 2200 Purcell, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)

Thurs 8 Jan
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Sat 10 Jan
2300 Roy Orbison, Legends – BBC4
2400 Roy Orbison And Friends: A Black & White Night – BBC4
(2350, Morrissey, new single video – C4)

Sun 11 Jan
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6Music

Mon 12 Jan
1200 & 2200 Handel, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)

Thurs 15 Jan
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Fri 16 Jan
2000 Karajan: Beauty As We See It – BBC4

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online - please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

And nearly all of the musicians listed above are profiled in my new book, Music For Grown-Ups, published on 15 Jan 2009 – details at:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

Gerry Smith

Prog Rock: music for grown-ups? Well, yes, sort of

2009-01-05T22:32:00.000Z

BBC Four’s suite of programmes on Prog Rock confirmed the view that even Prog has some music for grown-ups.

The genre both attracts and repels this listener. On the positive side:

* Prog encompassed some gifted musicians, notably Robert Fripp, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman.

* its leading lights were clever innovators; they were creatively courageous in ditching rock’s blues roots; some of their mixing of rock with classical and jazz fusion worked well.

But much Prog is off-putting, mainly because:

* where the music has lyrics, they’re rarely worth listening to.

* even the best musicians veer towards over-indulgence.

* apart from the major players, the bands are so samey that they undermine the genre’s claim to be innovative.

That said, I enjoyed (re)discovering albums like In The Court Of The Crimson King – King Crimson, and The Ultimate Collection - Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I wouldn’t listen to them frequently, but they are engaging, musically interesting and challenge my prejudices.

But I didn’t linger long over The Ultimate Yes or anything by Caravan or Genesis.

Gerry Smith

Prog Rock: music for grown-ups?

2009-01-02T20:44:00.001Z

It’s a central commandment of this web site that every music genre contains at least some music for grown-ups.

Even Prog Rock? Genesis? ELP? King Crimson?

Well the commandment’s about to be tested to destruction by BBC Four TV’s series of Prog programmes to be broadcast tonight and over the weekend.

You can watch them online:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Let me know whether you agree that Prog – yes, even Prog - has at least some music for grown-ups!

Gerry Smith