Thomas Quasthoff and Esbjorn Svensson celebrated on Radio 3

Regular readers will know of my fondness for BBC Radio 3: it’s as near as English radio gets to a Music For Grown-Ups station.

This week’s schedules included two pieces of programming which were outstanding even by Radio 3’s toweringly high standards:

* German bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff is ever more prominent, and I’d been wondering what all the fuss is about. After hearing the four-programme profile in the Artist Focus series, I now know. What a talent!

* the tragic death of pianist Esbjorn Svensson, founder of EST, the magnificent trio named after him, in a diving accident near his Stockholm home last weekend, has saddened the world of jazz. EST took their tumultuous brand of populist jazz to a mainstream European audience, including many younger listeners; they’ve been one of the brightest stars in the improv universe for some years.

Radio 3 paid tribute to Svensson in Jazz on 3 at 2330 on Friday 20 June, by replaying extracts from no fewer than four EST gigs recorded for the BBC over the last dozen or so years.

RIP: Esbjorn Svensson, a great musician.

Many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed and/or archived. You can access them via Listen Again:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio3





Gerry Smith

Conor Oberst’s English gigs

My, my, my.

The year 2008 is turning into an annus mirabilis for this grown-up rockpop fan. After fulfilling long-held ambitions of seeing Morrissey and Bjork in concert, I then booked to catch Beck and Leonard Cohen: which will give me four ticks out of a must-see list of about eight artists.

Tomorrow I hope to add Conor Oberst (erstwhile Bright Eyes), who’s just announced English gigs this summer.

At this rate, before very long, there’ll be no-one left on my poprock must-see list. Joni Mitchell… Radiohead… Paul Weller… and, er, that’s about it.




Gerry Smith

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

Tempting TV/radio broadcasts in the next 10 days:


Wed 18 June
2230 Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone), Artist Focus (3/4) - BBC Radio 3

Thurs 19 June
2230 Thomas Quasthoff, Artist Focus (4/4) - BBC Radio 3
2300 Paul Weller: Live at the IndigO2 – ITV2
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2

Sat 21 June
1900 The Definitive History of UK Dance Music (1/3) – BBC Radio 2

Sun 22 June
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music

Mon 23 June
2045 Franz Liszt, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)

Fri 27 June
2000 La Fille du Regiment (Dessay, Florez in once-in-a-lifetime London 2007 production) – BBC4


Online access: many BBC radio and TV programmes are available online, streamed and/or archived. You can access radio programmes via BBC Listen Again and TV via BBC iPlayer: please see BBC channel web sites for details.




Gerry Smith

Don Carlo at London’s Royal Opera House: mediocre, missable

Verdi’s late-career Don Carlo is a fanciful rewrite of political shenanigans at the Habsburg court in mid-16thC Spain, just as its imperial power was peaking.

The score is only intermittently engaging. The libretto is tosh – a propagandist’s fairy tale. It’s dramatically weak, too, with some incomprehensible character motivation. And it’s far, far too long – Don Carlo could easily lose half of its 3 hours 30 running time without adversely affecting the telling of the tale.

So Saturday’s performance at London’s Royal Opera House was always going to be an uphill struggle.

The singing ranged from competent to utterly wonderful. Marina Poplavskaya, the Russian soprano playing Elizabeth, has a beautiful tone and impresses throughout her range. Baritone Simon Keenlyside was his usual Covent Garden self – commanding, authentic, inspired. It’s not difficult to see why he’s such a house favourite. I’d queue to watch these two fine artists sing almost anything.

Putative star Rolando Villazon, who missed much of the last year suffering from burn-out, was again, sadly, under the weather – suffering an “allergic reaction” in the first half, we were informed. He gamely continued, but was on half throttle thereafter.

I share the consensus view that Villazon’s a major tenor talent, but I’m becoming less inclined to book to see him – my last Villazon outing had been the ghastly popopera concert pairing with Ms Netrebko.

Great house band, as always. Staging/direction OK, a bit iffy.

Don Carlo, overall? Mediocre. Missable.




Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen tour hits Europe

After a series of warm-ups in Canada, the Leonard Cohen tour finally hit Europe over the weekend, with two gigs in Dublin which, just like the overseas shows, were praised to the skies.

Leonard is reportedly in great voice and form, playing looooooooong gigs of about 25 songs. (By comparison, Dylan shows are a regulation 17 songs long).

Cohen plays Manchester (why?) for four nights from Tuesday 17 June, then moves to continental Europe. I’m salivating at the prospect of the London show, on 17 July.

Here’s the second Dublin show setlist – it looks wonderful:


DUBLIN 14 June

Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Ain’t No Cure For Love
Bird on a Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who by Fire
Anthem

Tower of Song
Suzanne
The Gypsy’s Wife
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
Democracy
I’m Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep (Recited)
Take This Waltz

Waiting for a Miracle
First We Take Manhattan

That Don’t Make it Junk
If It Be Your Will (1st 2 verses recited by Leonard, remainder sung by Webb Sisters)
Closing Time

I Tried to leave you

Whither Thou Goest


I’m following the tour on the marvellous fanlist –


www.leonardcohenforum.com





Gerry Smith

NOW that’s what I call Music for Grown-Ups! #1 - Late Junction, Radio 3

Thanks to Peter Truin:

“Dylan singing The Cuckoo, from Live at the Gaslight, was played on Radio 3's Late Junction on Tuesday night.

“It came after Glenn Gould playing a voluntary by William Byrd, eight minutes of change ringing on hand bells, and a field recording of a cuckoo.

“It was soon followed by the loop - pedals of the Danish minimalist rock band, Svartbag ...

“As the promotion for the programme says - ‘an eclectic mix’!"

MOJO the most grown-up rockpop mag in 2008 first half

MOJO, Uncut and The Word, the three London-based rockpop magazines, occasionally cover music for grown-ups, though only about 20% of their content – mainly their cover features - is of interest to this website.

In the first half of 2008, MOJO has had the most grown-up covers - five out of a possible six. Its covers have featured Radiohead, Mozza, Stones, Paul Weller and the Sex Pistols.

UNCUT has had four grown-up covers: Dylan, Stones, Led Zep and Bowie. While, so far in 2008, The Word has had three: Mozza, Elvis Costello and Radiohead.

It’s a reversal of the tally for the whole of 2007, which was headed by The Word, with 9 covers, followed by UNCUT (8) and MOJO (a mere 5 covers).




Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Thurs 12 June
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2

Sun 15 June
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music

Mon 16 June
2230 Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone), Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)


Online access: BBC radio and TV content is variously available on the internet, streamed and/or archived, subject to copyright. You can access radio programmes via BBC Listen Again and TV via BBC iPlayer: please see BBC channels’ web sites for details.



Gerry Smith

Major new Dylan interview/video promoting Drawn Blank exhibitions

Dylan has done a full-length interview for The Times (Friday 6 June) to promote several imminent UK Drawn Blank exhibitions - the original artwork and Limited Edition prints in London’s Halcyon Gallery, and prints in several provincial galleries such as Smart Gallery, Batley and Harrogate (Yorkshire):

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article4074327.ece

Make sure you also catch the five minute video on The Times website, in which the Halcyon President introduces seven of the key paintings from the show.


And keep watching sisiter site DylanDaily.com – I’ll be attending and reviewing these very important exhibitions. Barring a surprise UK tour, Drawn Blank is the biggest Dylan event in England in 2008.

www.halcyongallery.com

www.smartgallery.co.uk





Gerry Smith

Fine new introduction to Radiohead

If you’ve resisted the charms of Radiohead, but now want to check out what all the fuss is about, The Best Of Radiohead, released on Monday, is a long overdue new sampler.

Of course, some of the band’s fans are very sniffy about the release – “they’re an album band and you can’t cut up album tracks like this… it’s against the band’s wishes … blah, blah, blah… .”

But if you’re new to their music, this is a good way in. Just don’t expect easy listening singalongarock.


Tracklist:
1. Just
2. Paranoid Android
3. Karma Police
4. Creep
5. No Surprises
6. High and Dry
7. My Iron Lung
8. There There
9. Lucky
10. Fake Plastic Trees
11. Idioteque
12. 2+2=5
13. The Bends
14. Pyramid Song
15. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
16. Everything In Its Right Place

The 16 tracks sample the first six studio albums, with six songs from The Bends, four from OK Computer, the band’s masterpiece, two each from Kid A and Hail To The Thief, and one track each from Pablo Honey and Amnesiac (there’s nothing from the live album, or In Rainbows, the most recent release).

I bought my 1CD version from Bang CD for £5.99 delivered. If you spot the 2CD version of The Best Of for about £10, better buy that, instead of the single CD version.



Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 4 June
1900 Pentangle (on tour), Mike Harding (‘s folk mag) – BBC Radio 2

Thurs 5 June
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2

Fri 6 June
2230 Teo Macero, Jazz Library - BBC Radio 3

Sun 8 June
0200 Van Morrison live from 1978, Live At Two – BBC 6 Music
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2- Around The World) – BBC 6 Music


Gerry Smith

John McLaughlin, London, Saturday: virtuoso jazz guitar

Rounding off a month-long Euro tour to promote Floating Point, the new CD, John McLaughlin played a sell-out gig at London’s Barbican on Saturday. For over two and a half hours, his band, The Fourth Dimension, revisited McLaughlin’s back pages and introduced some recent sounds.

It was an outstanding gig – one for the scrapbook. The standing ovation was the only possible response.

As hoped, the leader’s picking ranged between divine and tumultuous. Technical brilliance and jaw-dropping agility, allied to endless innovation and a beautiful tone, made this an electric guitar master-class. There might be a stronger contender for the title of world’s leading guitarist, but I don’t know of one.

Jazz-fusion is a collaborative enterprise, though, and McLaughlin was well served by a trio of master musicians. An inspired Mark Mondesir kept the groove going all night. Gary Husband, doubling up on keyboards and second drums, and up for it from the off, should be paid twice for this gig. Stand-in bassist Dominique Di Piazza anchored the riffing with firmness and finesse.

Highlight? In addition to McLaughlin’s virtuosic melody lines, the finale featured a complex, heated percussive discussion between Mondesir and Husband, prompted, interrupted and encouraged by fills from the two guitarists. Rhythm improvisation simply doesn’t get any better than this.

Saturday’s London gig was one of those rare shows which moves you for days afterwards, inspiring you to investigate the musician’s back catalogue in its entirety. Pleasures in store.

Way back in the 1970s, I missed John McLaughlin the first time round. Or, to be more accurate, I DIS-missed him. Jazz-rock? Naaah - far too grown-up for me. Elton John, 10cc, Melanie …, mate. I cringe at the memory of those wasted years.

More recently, I found McLaughlin via Miles Davis. Not difficult for a Davis fan – John plays on no fewer than nine Miles albums, including fusion masterpieces In A Silent Way (my favourite album in al music), Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson. Miles even named tracks after him on two different LPs.

I’ve been dutifully seeking out gigs and by the musicians who play on In A Silent Way. Herbie Hancock? Seen him. Wayne Shorter? Yep. Dave Holland? Sure. Joe Zawinul. Tick. And now the great John McLaughlin. Which leaves only Tony Williams and the Great Man himself. I’m hoping to catch those two in Music Heaven.




Gerry Smith

Gramophone online – major new resource for grown-up classical fans

Readers occasionally ask Music for Grown-Ups “which is the best recording of… “ (any classical piece, say Haydn’s Creation).

My knowledge of classical for grown-ups usually falls short of discriminating between competing versions, so I point them to the best collection of online classical reviews, in the Gramophone magazine’s archive. It’s a peerless, rich resource, distilling the wisdom of countless experts.

So it’s welcome news that the self-styled “world’s best classical magazine” plans to increase its online content well beyond CD reviews. From September, all new editorial content will be available online. And then, early next year, the website will be extended further to incorporate downloads, online CD sales and ticket purchases.

The new site - gramophone.net - promises to become the major resource for grown-up classical fans. Rave on Haymarket, publishers of the monthly Gramophone magazine!

www.gramophone.co.uk






Gerry Smith

No Depression, high quality Americana mag: RIP

Americana, like most musical genres, is a mixed bag. It has a core of unmissable folksy/country/bluesy musicians – Hank, Gillian Welch, Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, John Hyatt, Lyle Lovett, Ralph Stanley and a few more are quintessential musicians for grown-ups.

But there aren’t many more. In fact, I’d cross the street to avoid most of the musos covered in Americana mag, No Depression. Below the top level, most Americana sounds like gnarled nostalgia to me, sung by an army of mostly superannuated left-field guitar pickers way too deep into their own mythology.

Regardless, No Depression is a high quality, stylish magazine, covering Americana with passion and authority.

Or, rather, it was such a mag. Because, after 13 years of publication, Issue 75 May-June 2008, is the last: collapsing CD sales claim yet another victim.

Undaunted, No Depression’s founders plan to serve the community they’ve developed by expanding their web site.

May they live forever young. And prosper.


www.nodepression.com






Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Thurs 29 May
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - Devil) – BBC Radio 2

Fri 30 May
2100 Johnny Cash: the Last Great American – BBC Four
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2 – Dreams) – BBC 6 Music

Sun 1 June
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music



Gerry Smith

Celebrating Chess Records

Let’s not mince words here: Chess Records, the Chicago label which gave the world the electric blues, thence rock ‘n’ roll, ranks among the most important creative enterprises. Ever.

In the postwar years, Chess’s roster of artists made up the blues premier league – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson were merely the tip of the iceberg. Then Chess recorded Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

Without Chess, no rock ‘n’ roll. No Elvis. No Dylan. No Stones.

Marshall, scion of the Chess dynasty, has been in London to promote Chess Moves, a hip-hop remix album of the label’s legendary recording artists, out next Monday.

The one-hour interview he did for Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2 was a wonderful Chess primer. You can hear it for the next week here:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2


And the Marshall Chess interview in today’s Independent newspaper is a valued complement:

www.independent.co.uk




Gerry Smith

Wilfrid Mellers, music critic for grown-ups: RIP

I was saddened to read this week of the death of composer/writer/academic Wilfrid Mellers, latterly Professor Of Music at York University.

Uniquely among the music academics I’ve encountered, Mellers was passionately interested all musics, not just the European art variety. He wrote accessibly - for those beyond, as well as within, the conservatoire. And he contextualised his musician subjects by explaining the times and societies from which they sprang.

The best known of his 20-odd books are celebrations of Bach and Beethoven, but A Darker Shade Of Pale: A Backdrop To Bob Dylan (Faber, 1984, 255pp) is the Mellers book with which I’m most familiar.

Mellers was a skilful early advocate of grown-ups crossing genre boundaries. May he rest in peace.



Gerry Smith

True hi-fi sound and Neil Young’s Blu-Ray Archive

Thanks to Jerry Crew:

“I just read your entry regarding Neil Young’s ever-moving target of an archive project, now to possibly be issued on Blu-Ray.

“As a music aficionado (though certainly not an audiophile), I must say that I have completely re-invigorated my interest in the simple joy of listening after having recently discovered SACD and DVD-Audio, especially in multi-channel format.

“Of course the tie between that statement and the Neil Young announcement is that Blu-Ray is quite likely the hi-resolution, multi-channel successor to those prior formats. Now I question why I avoided purchasing the hi-resolution formats prior to now, especially considering they have been available since the early ‘00s.

“To briefly summarize the benefits: 1) even in stereo mode only, the sound quality is, practically without exception, wonderful on every disc (something that cannot be said about all standard CDs), 2) the multi-channel experience, especially coupled with the higher resolution, takes it to yet another listening level. The traditional “sound stage” created by stereo imaging becomes a “sound womb”, if you will, when played back in multi-channel.

“Speaking monetarily, there are several reasonably priced, high performing “universal disc” players, capable of SACD and DVD-Audio, and soon, I’m sure, Blu-Ray. Check out Oppo’s 980H for one.

“If you already have a decent surround sound-capable receiver and speakers (5.1 set up), you can start listening for under $200 USD with the addition of a universal player. Also, while SACD and DVD-Audio disc were initially priced at 2-3 times the going rate of the standard CD, they can often now be found for the same price, or perhaps even less, with some smart shopping (which is also part of the thrill), than their standard CD counterparts.

“Finally, as I perceive that your tastes are probably more classically-oriented than mine (adult dance music notwithstanding), there are a plethora of classical titles available on SACD, with more issued every day.

“OK, I will step down from my soapbox, but I would encourage you to give the various hi-res, multi-channel media a try if you have not already.

“Here’s a link to an excellent site devoted to SACDs:

www.sa-cd.net

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 21 May 2008
2130 6 Music Plays It Again – Paul Weller (1/2) - BBC 6 Music

Thurs 22 May
2130 6 Music Plays It Again – Paul Weller (2/2) - BBC 6 Music
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - Flowers) – BBC Radio 2

Fri 23 May
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2 – Smoking) – BBC 6 Music
2230 McCoy Tyner, Jazz Library, BBC Radio 3

Mon 26 May
2045 Delius, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Jools Holland, interviews Marshall Chess - BBC Radio 2

Tues 27 May
2230 David Bowie, Icons Revisited – BBC Radio 2


Gerry Smith

Neil Young Archive soon? Possibly maybe

Ask any hardcore Neil Young fan about the singer-songwriter’s Archive project and you’re likely to get a knowing smirk. The legendary multi-volume project has been mooted and dropped so often that most reasonable people despair of ever seeing it during their lifetime.

But Young’s recent promotional activity - at an IT industry conference, of all places – suggests the first tranche of product might finally be nearing release.

Volume 1 (of 5) was promoted as a 10 disc set, with 128 tracks, and archival printed matter (letters, notes, reviews etc) from Young’s first decade as a creative artist, 1963 to 1972. The musical content looks spellbinding.

The bad news? It was promoted at the Sun Microsystems JavaOne conference in San Francisco as a Blu-ray (high def DVD) product - which requires a dedicated player or a Sony PlayStation 3.

But the installed user base of these machines is so comparatively small, especially among Young’s key Baby Boomer demographic, that Music for Grown-Ups would be staggered if Warner/Reprise didn’t also release the Archive on CD, regardless of Young’s well-aired scorn for the technology.

Watch this space …



Gerry Smith

Miles Davis CD/DVD package – bargain of the year

With the price of music product dropping like a stone, it takes a pretty special deal to stop me in my tracks, but the Miles Davis package I saw in Fopp, Cambridge, recently did just that: it has to be bargain of the year.

Fopp’s offer? A Sony box pairing Kind Of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all, with the wonderful DVD of Ian Carr’s 2001 documentary two-parter, The Miles Davis Story. Both are must-haves.

Fopp’s price?

£3: cheap at five times the price.


Gerry Smith

Postings switched to master site in week commencing Monday 12 May

I won’t be adding any new articles to this blog site in the week commencing Monday 12 May, during some behind-the-scenes work on my small portfolio of web sites.

New articles will continue to be posted for much of the week on the master site, musicforgrown-ups.com, so please take a look there:

www.musicforgrown-ups.com

I’ll be posting daily here again from Monday 19 May, so please make a note to return then!

Sorry for any inconvenience



Gerry Smith, Editor

New Paul Weller interview

Celebrating his 50th birthday and promoting 22 Dreams, his highly praised new album (due on 26 May), Paul Weller is treated to a full-length interview in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts

Recommended.



Gerry Smith

Dance music for grown-ups

Whenever I hear dance/electronica, I like it. Basement Jaxx, Moby and Dizzee Rascal ring my bell. I don’t know much about the genre, though, so I’m finding the current issue of Mixmag magazine very useful.

Celebrating its 25th birthday, the dance monthly profiles “the 25 biggest names in electronic music: Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx, LCD Soundsystem, The Prodigy, Moby, Mylo, Richie Hawtin, Roisin Murphy, Dizzee Rascal, Paul van Dyk, Goldie, Sven Vath, Felix Da Housecat, Erick Morillo, Sasha, Faithless, Underworld and more”.

If, like me, you mistakenly chose to ignore an important strand of contemporary music, and now want to catch up, the current issue of Mixmag is for you – it’s a shopping list compiled by experts.

www.mixmag.net



Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 7 May
1200/2045 Schubert’s later work, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)

Fri 9 May
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2200 Kings Of Cool – The Classic Crooners – BBC Four
2230 Jack De Johnette, Jazz Library - BBC Radio 3
2330 Bill Frisell, Jazz on 3 - BBC Radio 3

Sun 11 May
1300 Bach In Leipzig, Early Music Show – BBC Radio 3



Gerry Smith

Roberto Alagna, Barbican: disappointing

Well, you can’t win ‘em all.

After a run of outstanding gigs, I expected another at London’s Barbican on Friday. After all, Roberto Alagna is one of my favourite tenors. And the programme was entirely Verdi. The omens were good.

And if you went by the delirious reaction of the pension-age faithful, this was an Earth-shattering gig. As the doe-eyed fan proudly confessed to me after the gig: “Roberto’s marvellous … he can do no wrong… “.

Despite my predilection for the singer – I’ve always been impressed by Alagna at Covent Garden, and warm to his easy, affable Sicilian manner (he acts more like a Palermo midfield ball-winner than a
precious keeper of the operatic flame) I felt Friday’s concert gig was well below the standard of other recent concert stagings I’ve seen, notably Bartoli and Fleming.

Reasons?

1. setlist – some poorly chosen Verdi
2. use of full orchestra and choir – Alagna had to compete with well over 100 other musicians on stage; at times, he was drowned out
3. orchestra and choir had too many songs, sans Alagna
4. performance – some of his tempi and pitch were hit and miss; he seemed to pull out of a few top Cs
5. the singer’s shameless guying to the crossover popopera audience
6. the fourth encore – a Sicilian pop song devoted to his lovely wife Angela, seated in row 10 – he will love her till he dies, apparently. FerChrissakes, Roberto!

I really wanted to dig this gig, but it left me disappointed, despite four encores. It won’t stop me booking for Alagna every time he appears at the Royal Opera House, though.




Gerry Smith

Beck touring Europe/US

The year 2008 is turning into an annus mirabilis for gigs by great musicians for grown-ups.

I’m regularly ticking off people I’m keen to see. Last week: Bjork. Tomorrow: Roberto Alagna. Coming soon: Leonard Cohen.

And I’ve just booked to see the wonderful Beck (Hansen) at Southampton Guildhall on Tuesday 1 July. (He’s also playing Manchester and London, plus continental European and US dates.)

It doesn’t get much better than this!


www.beck.com




Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:


Thurs 1 May
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2

Fri 2 May
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2230 Thelonious Monk, Jazz Library - BBC Radio 3

Mon 5 May
1200/2045 Schubert, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)


Gerry Smith


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days

… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:

Radio For Grown-Ups

Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Trains
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio with The Monkees!

Fri BBCR2 19.30 ~ 21.15
* Friday Night Is Music Night; A tribute to Billie Holliday

BBC6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan

BBCR322.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Thelonious Monk
BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Cheltenham 2008 Jazz Fest ~ Tim Berne’s Science Friction, Iain Bellamy and Peter Brotzman.

Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisited
Prince ~ a look at the tiny one’s enduring work which will probably ignore the last ten years.


TV For Grown-Ups

A terrible week on TV:

Tues
BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
The first Motown signing Mable John (Little Willie’s sister) is on, but not much else ~ repeated but longer on Friday

Fri
BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.05
* James Taylor: One Man Band
A night with Taylor fills me with the horror that I’ll die in a sugar-coated hell, but there’s little else this week.

Fri
BBC4 22.05 ~ 23.40
* Hotel California: From The Byrds To The Eagles
Shudder.

BBC2 23.40 ~ 00.20
* In Concert: James Taylor
1971 gig

Much more interesting is the movie Downfall at 21.00 on More4 ~ a brilliant study of Hitler’s last days in the bunker. Yes, I’d rather be with Adolf than James!!

Sat
BBC3 21.10 ~ 22.55
High Fidelity - A great movie, a great soundtrack and a special appearance by Bruce Springsteen. Nick Hornby’s novel is transplanted to Chicago where the excellent John Cusack tries to work out what he wants from life whilst working in his record shop, Championship Vinyl. The movie also handed Jack Black his first starring role ~ though don’t hold that against it, he is good in it. A load of brilliant cameos and a 10/10 film.

Van Morrisonfest on BBC Four: a mixed bag

Last weekend’s trio of Van Morrison features on BBC Four, an all-too-rare appearance by the Ulsterman on the grown-up TV channel, was a mixed bag.

The main event, a live show performed in February at LSO St Luke’s for the BBC Four Sessions series, promoting the new album, showcased Morrison the peerless live musician as he is today.

With an accomplished 11>13-piece band, he showed how he’s still cutting it as a great performer. Improvisation has always been his calling card, and the scatting, swing and dynamics of this performance were exquisite.

The artistry was most evident in benchmark performances of three varied classics - I’m Not Feeling It Anymore, Vanlose Stairway and Help Me.

But even stirring performances of the new material couldn’t rescue it for this viewer: reverence for the bulk of the magnificent Morrison catalogue is matched by disdain for most of the material recorded since Back On Top, most of Keep It Simple, the new album, included.

Van Morrison on Later … was a compilation of weak clips from three shows, in 1999 and 2005. Of the six tunes, only a stirring Philosopher’s Stone, was memorable.

BBC Four then pulled a fast one with its third programme, the 60 minute Van Morrison at the BBC, by including all six clips already seen on Later… . A great pity, because the rest of the songs, notably And The Healing Has Begun, from Saturday Review of November 1986, were beautiful performances of great songs.

Occasionally, in all three programmes, I pondered: “why on Earth did I kick my two-gigs-a-month Van habit?” The post-Millennium material peppering all three supplied a ready answer.


Gerry Smith

Exciting new Fall product

These are exciting times for fellow fans of Manc contrarian Mark E Smith (main man in The Fall).

* Today sees the launch of Imperial Wax Solvent, which has been attracting rave reviews –“best in years”…

* Wednesday: free gig (1900) at HMV, 150 Oxford Street, just east of London’s Oxford Circus, sponsored by music monthly MOJO: for details check out

www.mojo4music.com


* and an important new approved biography, Renegade – The Lives And Tales of Mark E Smith, has just been published.

In-depth interview in:

www.telegraph.co.uk


And lengthy extracts in:

www.guardian.co.uk





Gerry Smith (no relation)

Bjork in Plymouth: superlative performance art

Bjork established herself as a leading talent fifteen years ago, with her debut release, Debut. Her elliptical lyrics, exploring the big themes and her richly eclectic musicality - shifting effortlessly between dance beats and roots, Minimalism and jazz, as well as knowing pop and artrock - have long marked her out as a precious musician for grown-ups.

Her six studio albums reveal a restless, morphing creativity. The first four are filleted on Greatest Hits, which repays repeat listening and careful scrutiny – every home should have one.

So Tuesday’s Plymouth gig, on the short English leg of the Volta tour, was approached with keen anticipation: a rare chance to check out the poster girl of grown-up pop at first hand.

Bjork didn’t disappoint.

Her 90-minute show was superlative performance art. Interspersing Volta songs with classics from the back catalogue, Bjork treated the largely local audience – there were few signs of travelling hardcore in this far-flung location – to a spectacular show.

The trademark vocals, ranging from intimate whisper to banshee howl, delivered the idiosyncratic songbook with a consistent force. From the opening bars, when she bounded onto stage like a dervish possessed, to the soaring finale when she led the West Country choir in “Declare Independence!”, she acted out her unique catalogue in dance as well as voice.

In a lifetime’s gigging, you’d be lucky to see a more energetic, more committed performer.

The show was an ambitious, complex theatrical production, with three keyboardists, a drummer and a horn section of 10, the Wonder Brass (nice touch, that). Plus costumes, flags, emblems, fire, laser show, confetti storm … the circus was in town …

Bjork’s Plymouth show sounded and looked fabulous. But it all meant something, too. Working out what, exactly, will provide hours more fun.

Musicality, originality, ideas, ambition, execution, charisma… the gel’s got it all.




Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 23 April
2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues to Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)

Thurs 24 April
1050 Callas, Pagliacci, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2

Fri 25 April
0050 Portishead in Portishead, C4
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
2200 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions
2230 Wes Montgomery, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
2300 Van Morrison, archive footage from Later - BBC Four
2335 Eric Burdon and Marshall Chess, Later - BBC2

Sat 26 April
1830 Opera On 3, Live from the Met, La Fille du Regiment, starring Dessay and Florez, the best opera you’ll hear all year – BBC Radio 3
1900 Icons Revisited – Prince - BBC Radio 2

Sun 27 April
2250 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions (rpt)
2350 Van Morrison at the BBC, more archive footage



Gerry Smith

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days

… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:


Radio For Grown-Ups
Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Rich Man Poor Man
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan:
On his myspace blog Mike Scott (Waterboys) has said he thinks this show isn't very good ~ how wrong he is folks.

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Wes Montgomery

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Dave Douglas and Keystone

Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisted
Prince ~ a look at the tiny one’s enduring work which will probably ignore the last ten years.


TV For Grown-Ups
Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
More live music, that's live, as it happens ~ oh yes! Featuring Was (Not Was)

Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Sessions: It's Van night on BEEB4 ~ yippee! Van Morrison Live at LSO St Luke’s with a selection from his new album plus some classic older stuff like Vanlose Stairway ~ well worth a look. John Platania now back in his band and the slide player Sarah Jory, too.

Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Van Morrison On Later
A selection of Mr Happy's appearances on Later.

Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later - See Tuesday

Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
C5 did the naughty on me and swapped the listings around ~ this week it's Ms Carthy. I think.


Not Music, But We Like It
Congrats to the wonderful Gavin And Stacey on winning two BAFTA Awards ~ and don't forget HIGNFY on Friday at 9, or on Saturday in the extended programme.

I'm Not There, masterly Dylan biopic - DVD extras

The release of the masterly Dylan biopic I'm Not There DVD release is being variously advertised as 6 May (US) and 9 June and 14 July (UK).

Thanks to Bernard McGuinn for supplying this list of the DVD Extras. They’re welcome, though such an impressive movie hardly needs extras – it’d fly off the shelves without them anyway:

- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Audio Commentary with Director Todd Haynes
- Premiere Featurette
- The Making Of I'm Not There
- Subterranean Homesick Blues Music Video
- Audition Tapes - Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin
- Gag Reel
- Conversation with Todd Haynes
- Making of the Soundtrack
- Dylan Filmography
- Dylan Discography
- New York Times Article on the Film, by Robert Sullivan
- Lyrics




Gerry Smith

Radiohead box at a bargain price

I usually avoid HMV these days – too expensive – and have warmed to Zavvi since it was bought out from The Bearded One.

But … HMV’s current sale has a tempting offer on the Radiohead albums box:

Radiohead - Album Box Set: 1993 - 2003: Deluxe: 7cd: Ltd

HMV 15/04/08: Was £55.00 Your saving £25.01. CD £29.99, free delivery


Radiohead
Release date: 10-12-2007
Availability: in stock
Number of Discs: 7
Catalogue Number: 5172292
Label: PARLOPHONE


On 10th December Radiohead are releasing a limited edition deluxe 7-CD box set collection of all their Parlophone albums from 1993-2003. Each CD within the box will be re-packaged in a digipack sleeve featuring original artwork and booklet.

The first six albums Radiohead recorded for Parlophone are collected in this box set, charting the band's journey from the indie rock chancers of 'Pablo Honey' to the seasoned experimentalists and political commentators of 'Hail To The Thief'. In between we see the band's incarnations as prog revivalists on 'OK Computer' and chart-friendly emotional giants with 'The Bends'. Also included is the 2001 live recording 'I Might Be Wrong' which notably features the unlikely live favourite 'Idioteque' from 'Kid A', perhaps their most experimental release. Radiohead's is a difficult career to summarise, but this completist option is possibly the most rewarding choice.

Radiohead burst onto the Britpop scene in the early 1990s with a clamorous, post-U2 take on guitar rock, buoyed by the hit "Creep." They subsequently developed their songwriting and production skills on THE BENDS and achieved iconic status with their breakthrough album OK COMPUTER, making art-rock cool again in the process. The mercurial band's long-awaited follow-up three years later was a sharp left turn full of ambient electronics and Can-like sonic deconstruction, and they've continued the trend with subsequent albums and solo projects. The connecting thread through all the band's phases has been Thom Yorke's intense vocal frenzy.

track listing

disc 1
1. You
2. Creep
3. How Do You
4. Stop Whispering
5. Thinking About You
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar
7. Ripcord
8. Vegetable
9. Prove Yourself
10. I Can't
11. Lurgee
12. Blow Out

disc 2
1. Planet Telex
2. Bends
3. High And Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. Nice Dream
7. Just
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

disc 3
1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. Tourist

disc 4
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. Kid A
3. National Anthem
4. How To Disappear Completely
5. Treefingers
6. Optimistic
7. In Limbo
8. Idioteque
9. Morning Bell
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack

disc 5
1. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box
2. Pyramid Song
3. Pulk/pull Revolving Doors
4. You And Whose Army
5. I Might Be Wrong
6. Knives Out
7. Morning Bell/Amnesiac
8. Dollars And Cents
9. Hunting Bears
10. Like Spinning Plates
11. Life In A Glasshouse

disc 6
1. National Anthem [live]
2. I Might Be Wrong [live]
3. Morning Bell [live]
4. Like Spinning Plates [live]
5. Idioteque [live]
6. Everything In It's Right Place [live]
7. Dollars And Cents [live]
8. True Love Waits [live]

disc 7
1. 2+2=5
2. Sit Down Stand Up
3. Sail To The Moon
4. Backdrifts
5. Go To Sleep
6. Where I End And You Begin
7. We Suck Young Blood
8. Gloaming
9. There There
10. I Will
11. Punch Up At A Wedding
12. Myxomatosis
13. Scatterbrain
14. Wolf At The Door


Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 16 April
2045 Debussy, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2230 King’s College Cambridge, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)

Thurs 17 April
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 1 - rpt)
– BBC Radio 2

Fri 18 April
2100 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music

Sun 20 April
1200 PJ Harvey, Private Passions - BBC Radio 3

Mon 21 April
1200/2045 Vivaldi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Natalie Dessay, Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)

Tues 22 April
1044 Freni/Domingo in Puccini’s Manon, Classical Collection – BBC Radio 3



Gerry Smith

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


ALTERNATIVE SELECTION: on air in the next seven days

… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:


Radio For Grown-Ups

Tues BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
* When Rockabilly Ruled ~ OK?
Mark Radcliffe looks at the '70s revival, so expect The Stray Cats, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, The Polecats etc ~ incidentally, the Vincent Vincent and the Villains album Gospel Bombs is an absolute treat if you are into rockabilly.

Thurs BBCR2 ~ 23.00 ~ 00.00
* Theme Time Radio With Bob Dylan: Prison
Repeats continue on terrestrial radio

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: Days Of The Week
Smiley Lewis, Tom Waits and The Undertones ~ Bob's taste is wide-ranging and eclectic and usually spot on.

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Ken Colyer
Selected recordings on what would have been the trumpeter's 80th birthday

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Japanese foursome Gato Libre live

Sat BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Icons Revisited - Bruce Springsteen


TV For Grown-Ups

Tues BBC2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Later Live
I don't get this Tuesday night show ~ OK it's live (as Jools is at pains to let us know each programme) but why watch it tonight when the show is an extra half-hour in its traditional Friday slot (and you can record and edit out the cack)? Anyway, tonight (and Friday) guests include Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings ~ the band that normally back Amy Winehouse - with their 'regular' singer, and very good they are too. Also Toumani Diabate.

Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Amazing Journey ~ The Story Of The Who
Is there anything left to say about the Oo? Interviews with all protagonists and lots of archive footage

Fri BBC2 23.35 ~ 00.35
* Later
See Tuesday

Sun C5 11.00 ~ 12.00
* My Music
Sorry, I forgot to let you know about these programmes featuring 'young new' folk artists talking about their inspiration. I say 'young' cos last week's (Kate Rusby) and this week's feature (Eliza Carthy) have been around for years ~ never mind, these are in a dumb time slot (hence me not telling you!) and look like they belong on BBC4 on a Friday ~ typical of the way that most TV treats music lovers.


Not Music, But We Like It Slot
Friday BBC1 9.00pm has the return of Have I Got News For You (hurrah) which is repeated in its longer form on Saturday evening on BBC2 ~ host is Jack Dee who is usually pretty good in the chair.

Bjork – new tour

Bjork’s English tour, which kicked off in Manchester on Friday, is attracting rave reviews, notably this in the Da1ly Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/14/bmbjork114.xml

Ms Gudmundsdottir has reportedly forsaken a greatest hits show in favour of an in-depth exploration of Volta, the current album. Which is exactly what a musician for grown-ups should do – greatest hits gigs are for adolescents (of all ages).

Watch this space - as I gear up for my first Bjork show, in Plymouth next week.



Gerry Smith

Bach for Beginners?

Johann Sebastian Bach is arguably the greatest of all musicians for grown-ups. He spent his entire life channeling the Creator. To put it simply: if you don’t know Bach, you don’t know music.

But if you’ve yet to explore Bach’s magnificent catalogue, you can sample an hour of it at 2000 tonight, on Sacred Music (BBC Four). If the programme fulfils its enormous potential, it should be a thrilling Bach for Beginners

Sacred Music, a four-parter, has been a mixed bag – the Palestrina programme, in Rome, was more engaging than the other two, set in Paris and London. The English programme, in particular, was dull. Tonight’s programme, last in the series, should be the strongest of the series; it certainly deals with the killer subject.


Gerry Smith

Bjork’s English tour starts tomorrow

Bjork’s starts her short English tour, in Manchester, tomorrow. She then plays seven more dates over the next three weeks. I’ll be reviewing the 22 April Plymouth show.

I haven’t seen the diminutive Icelander before, but she’s been a favourite on CD for years – her refreshing artistry marks her out as one of the leading musos for grown-ups of her generation.


BJORK’s ENGLISH TOUR, 2008

11 April Apollo, Manchester

14 April Hammersmith Apollo, London

17 April Hammersmith Apollo, London

20 April Hammersmith Apollo, London

22 April Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth

25 April Civic Hall Wolverhampton

01 May Empress Ballroom, Blackpool

04 May City Hall, Sheffield


Info: www.bjork.com




Gerry Smith

New Stones album

As expected, following Monday’s release of Shine A Light, the new Stones double CD, you simply can’t escape the Glimmer Twins: they’re all over the airwaves and the High Street.

As always when you get a new Stones product, Jagger& Co are dominating the media agenda and on this occasion they’re aided and abetted by the powerful Scorsese publicity machine.

I’ll be attentively recording/watching the promo, Rolling Stones: Shine A Light Movie Special on ITV1 at five past midnight on Saturday/Sunday night.

But I think I’ll give the new album a miss, even at the £10 supermarket price. I know from experience that it’ll be available at £5 in six months time. There’s nothing on the new release shouting “buy me, now”. And I’ve already got eight official live Stones albums - more than enough.

Album tracks:

Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down The Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne And Reefer
Tumbling Dice
You Got The Silver
Connection
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
Paint It, Black
Little T and A
I’m Free
Shine A Light



Gerry Smith

A breathtaking Boheme from the magnificent Met

Saturday’s live broadcast of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Boheme, starring Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi and Ramon Vargas as Rodolfo, was breathtakingly beautiful.

I heard much of BBC Radio 3’s live broadcast while stuck in a traffic jam on the M2, returning from Dover. Never has been stuck on a motorway been so enjoyable.

Angela Gheorghiu, in particular, was devastating. Her command of the big set pieces was one of the highlights of my years of opera gigging. The power of her depiction of Mimi reminded you repeatedly of Callas: there is no greater compliment on Music for Grown-Ups.

If this La Boheme sounded so good on radio, without the acting, the setrs, the costumes and the surtitles, it must have been stunning in the Metroplitan Opera House.

If this production ever plays Covent Garden, I’ll willingly queue round the block.

Brava Gheorghiu!!



Gerry Smith

Lovely gigs in 2008

After a couple of years in which my gigging became a bit narrowly focussed and predictable – mainly opera, with a bit of jazz, world and rock – 2008 is promising to be rather more richly eclectic.

Having already seen three compelling gigs – Morrissey at the Roundhouse, Dorothea Roschmann singing Lieder at Vienna’s Musikverein, and Salome at Covent Garden, I’m keenly anticipating lots more varied shows, including several key musicians for grown-ups who’ve been on my must-see list for years:

April: Bjork

May: Roberto Alagna; John McLaughlin

June: Don Carlo; Ariadne; Pentangle

July: Leonard Cohen; Marriage of Figaro

Dec: Cecilia Bartoli

Having re-found the taste for eclectic gigs, I’m eagerly looking for others – top live music for grown-ups is one of the greatest thrills of all.



Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 2/Th 3 April
2230 Karita Mattila (Finnish soprano), Artist Focus, BBC Radio 3

Fri 4 April
1900 Classical City to City (1/4) – Venice, BBC Radio 2
2000 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four

Sat 5 April
1130 Haydn’s Creation – CD Review, BBC Radio 3
1830 La Boheme (inc Gheorghiu) – Live from the Met, BBC Radio 3

Sun 6 April
1900 Sacred Music (3/4) – Tallis and Byrd, BBC Four
2000 Mozart’s Sacred Music, BBC Four



Gerry Smith

Morrissey – a post-Punk Dylan?

A couple of weeks before a Morrissey gig, a thirty-something friend had defined Mozza as “a post-Punk Dylan”.

Though a recent convert, I’m a great admirer of Morrissey (and The Smiths). I went to see Mozza solo at his enthralling recent London Roundhouse gig with the challenging Dylan comparison in mind – it had had me ruminating for days.

Morrissey, ex-front man of English post-Punk indie pioneers The Smiths and a solo artist for over twenty years, is certainly the nearest musician there is to a Dylan for a younger generation.

Like Dylan, Morrissey’s main strength is as a writer: he’s a superior pop lyricist to anyone of his generation. Like Dylan, Morrissey is revered by a large, loyal fanbase. Like Dylan, Morrissey/Smiths had a profound impact on the direction of popular music. And, like Dylan, Morrissey has a charismatic stage presence.

But comparisons stop there.

Dylan has far more depth and breadth than the Mozz. His writing and music draws on far more sources than Morrissey’s. Both his artistic canvas and his palette are far richer than Mozza’s.

In a nutshell, Dylan is a great artist with universal resonance: he explores what it is to be human. Morrissey is a great entertainer with a narrower focus: he explores what it is to be Morrissey.



Gerry Smith

Palestrina portrayed

Giovanni Palestrina is one of the great sacred writers. His masses, from his mid-16thC tenure in the Vatican, are one of the high points of Western culture.

Missa Papae Marcelli of 1567, using six voices, and Missa Brevis are the best-known. Even if you don’t know them by name, you’ll almost certainly recognise the melodies as they’re commonly used as scene-setters, denoting “Renaissance/High Church”, on television.

Though few classical music listeners would rank Palestrina in their top five composers, many great musicians, better known than Palestrina, would beg to differ - he has always enjoyed a high reputation among later composers, who could wonder at his exemplary craft.

And his reputation as a great cult composer among the listening public has been growing, slowly but inexorably: 450 years after his peak, Palestrina could well be a coming man.

The second part of BBC Four TV’s Sacred Music was a revealing tribute to the glory of Palestrina’s music. You can catch a repeat, back-to-back with the first programme, on BBC Four on Sunday, 1900-2100.

And in a fortnight, the richly shot series reaches the Main Man – Johann Sebastian Bach.

Great art. Wonderful arts television. Highly recommended music for grown-ups.



Gerry Smith

New Dylan and Stones books @ bargain prices

Thanks to Peter Bonor:

“Zavvi in London’s Oxford St (former Virgin Megastore) had the new Flametree paperback edition of Highway 61 Revisited (Legendary Sessions) by Colin Irwin at £5 (down from about £12) a couple of weeks ago.

“They also had piles of the companion volume by Alan Clayson on the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet.”

Morrissey, Beck and Bjork playing in English fields

Asked to list my top 5 rockpop favourites who are not ravaged by age, I’d have to include Morrissey, Beck and Bjork.

And all three are booked to play gigs in English fields, albeit rather posh fields, in the same July weekend this summer.

Mozza and Beck headline the Friday (4 July) at the O2 Wireless Festival in London’s Hyde Park, while Bjork is booked for the 5 July one-day Knebworth Festival, 35 miles up the A1.

Hmmm … difficult … seen Morrissey recently … could miss him … ; Beck isn’t touring theatres, by the looks of it, so would it be worth risking the weather, the drunken karaoke, the tedious chips-on-both-shoulders ex-colonials waving flags promoting their silly little countries? … probably not …; better try booking Bjork on her Anglo tour instead.

Three keynote younger poprockers for grown-ups. Pity about the venues: open-air gigs aren’t about music - they’re for adolescents, of all ages.



Gerry Smith

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed/Th - nothing

Fri 28 March
2000 Sacred Music (2/4) – BBC Four
2230 Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sat 29 March
2000 Buddy Holly, Icons Revisited (1/10), BBC Radio 2

Mon 31 March
2045 Manuel de Falla, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Karita Mattila (Finnish soprano), Artist Focus - BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
2300 Maths And Music - BBC Radio 3, (1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)



Gerry Smith

Ornette Coleman, Billy Cobham and Philip Glass at outstanding Adelaide Festival

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

“Adelaide has been the place to be in March 2008 with the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Adelaide Fringe and Womadelaide all on at the same time!

“By way of brief background, the Festival is biennial and probably likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future whereas both the Fringe and Womad converted to annual events a couple of years ago and despite some fears of overkill, have continued to grow in size and popularity.

“This year’s Festival has been outstanding, with the strongest music program I can recall – we’ve seen not one, but two rolled gold jazz legends, the Australian premiere of the opera Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears) and The Book of Longing, a wonderful collaboration between Leonard Cohen and Philip Glass.

“The Fringe program included Ron Sexsmith who I unfortunately had to miss due to work commitments and fascinating presentation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which comprised two versions of the same work – one by a classical pianist who played it as written, followed by “improvisations on the same work” by an Australian jazz pianist and composer called Paul Grabowski (who I understand has an international reputation so some readers may know of him).

“On the jazz front, we had Ornette Coleman with his extraordinary band, then Billy Cobham and Colin Towns presenting a Celebration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, two very special concerts indeed.

“Ornette Coleman’s band comprised a drummer (his son), double bass, two electric basses and him. Hardly a traditional combination but then, what about Ornette Coleman was traditional?

“The double bass was played more like a cello, mostly with a bow, and was more like a “lead” than “rhythm” instrument. Ornette played primarily saxophone, but also some trumpet and violin in what could only be described as a virtuoso performance. Watching him shuffle onto the stage looking like an old man (except for the psychedelic suit!) my expectations weren’t high – I wasn’t sure he’d even have the strength to blow a note. But with instrument in hand he transformed and became the music. The standing ovation he received confirmed that the audience knew it had seen something the likes of which we wouldn’t see again.

“Billy Cobham was also amazing. The band was not called the Mahavishnu Orchestra but the program was called a Celebration of which I thought was appropriately respectful. All pieces but one were John McLaughlin compositions, including Birds of Fire. The band included Guy Barker who I saw playing with Georgie Fame at Ronnie Scott’s a few years ago, and I think he has also played with Van the Man.

“This concert was with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the integration of the orchestra and the jazz ensemble was faultless. Indeed, last year I saw Herbie Hancock with the ASO doing a setlist that was centred around the Gershwin’s World album however although it was a great concert, I left thinking the orchestra hadn’t been really necessary because the orchestra and the band had seemed to play separately.

“Not so with Billy Cobham and Colin Towns who as the conductor seemed to pull it all together. The band included a trombonist called Marshall Gilkes who was a revelation – I grew respect for the trombone which I had previously thought of as secondary to the trumpet and sax.

“The star of the show, of course, was Billy Cobham – his endless energy and awesome power, his infectious smile and of course, his drumming. And anyone who’s played with Miles has to be worth seeing!

“Hard to choose, but perhaps The Book of Longing was the highlight, if I had to pick one. An eight piece ensemble including Philip Glass on piano, plus four vocalists (tenor, soprano, baritone, mezzo soprano) really made the poetry come to life. There were some recorded pieces of Leonard Cohen reading, but mostly the poetry had been set to music and sung. The arrangements were simple but beautiful, so they didn’t overpower the poetry. Visually the performance was supported by projections of Leonard Cohen’s art. Magical.

“So Adelaide may well be down under, but from time to time we feel like we are the centre of the universe!

“Best wishes from Andrew in Adelaide.”

FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

Wed 19 March:
2045 Schoenberg, Composer Of The Week (3/5) – BBC Radio 3
(Plus programme 4 on Thurs, 5 on Fri)

Good Friday 21 March:
1830 Bach’s St John Passion - BBC Radio 3
2000 Sacred Music (1/4) – BBC Four (repeated Sat 1900)
2230 Anita O’Day, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 23 March:
2030 Sacred Music - live concert – BBC Four

Monday 24 March:
2230 Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour (Instruments) - BBC Radio 2



Gerry Smith

Shine A Light, the new Rolling Stones film & album: encore

The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band – and self-promo specialists - in the world. No doubt about that. Whenever new Stones product is about to hit the streets, boy do you know about it!

With a few weeks to the launch of Shine A Light, the new film/double live album, the Stones are everywhere once again – in the mag racks (on the covers of current issues of both major heritage rock monthlies, UNCUT and MOJO); on the radio; in newspaper and magazine website advertising; and, I’d bet my life on it, TV/radio programmes, ads and interviews will be lined up ready to roll nearer the release dates.

Some people disdain the Stones’s strong commercial impulse. I applaud it - great musicians, great self-promoters; rich men, satisfied customers.




Gerry Smith



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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:

Shine A Light, the new live Rolling Stones 2CD, recorded at the Beacon, New York City in late 2006, is set for UK release on Monday 7 April. (Tracklist below.)

It’s followed on Friday 11 April by the nationwide UK release of the film of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese. And preceded on Wednesday 2 April by the film’s UK premiere – in London, but also to be shown in 100 cinemas nationwide: tickets cost £12.50.


Album tracks:

Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down The Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne And Reefer
Tumbling Dice
You Got The Silver
Connection
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
Paint It, Black
Little T and A
I’m Free
Shine A Light

I’ll be passing on the CD and the cinema show, but waiting to buy the DVD in about three months – unless it’s as ludicrously overpriced as the last two Stones concert DVDs - Forty Licks and The Biggest Bang – which, combined, cost a cool £100 – about £75 too much - when I last looked in HMV!



Gerry Smith

Sacred music – BBC Four’s promising new series

BBC Four, the TV channel for grown-ups, continues its exciting programming of high quality music with a promising new four-part series on sacred music, starting on Good Friday.

Sounds like Musical Heaven to me … not to be missed …

This is what they’re saying about it:

“Taking the viewer on a pilgrimage spanning six centuries … performed by the award-winning choir 'The Sixteen' conducted by Harry Christophers …

“In the opening programme 'The Gothic Revolution' begins at St Paul’s Cathedral … travels to Paris to discover how, at the close of the twelfth century, plainsong (chant) became polyphony (music of ‘many voices’) – the birth of harmony in the west.

“The next stop in the series is Italy. In 'Palestrina and the Popes' … links between the papal intrigues of Renaissance Rome and the music of the enigmatic Palestrina, 'The Prince of Music'. Palestrina’s work is considered by many to be unsurpassed in its spiritual perfection, but running underneath it is the turbulent story of the counter-reformation, which would have a dramatic impact on the composer’s life and music …

“ episode three 'Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors' … the effect of Henry VIII’s break with the Pope and the subsequent tumultuous history of the founding of the Protestant Church in England through the careers of two professional church musicians who were also superlative choral composers …

“ … Germany where Luther’s Protestant Reformation led to a musical revolution and ultimately to the glorious works of Johann Sebastian Bach …

“A 90-minute celebratory concert accompanies the documentaries with music from the series for Easter Sunday performed by Harry Christophers and 'The Sixteen', specially recorded at LSO St Luke’s in London.”




Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen European tour

Have you booked yet? Better hurry up!

Booking for London O2 and Manchester Opera House opened this morning. The Manchester option on Ticketmaster didn’t let me buy, so I booked for London O2, very reluctantly – far too big, far too expensive … .

I wouldn’t have booked this venue at these prices for anyone else, not even St Bob … industrialised fun … blah … blah …, but I’ve never seen Lenny; I’ll just have to train myself to look forward to it.


Gerry Smith

Bob v Neil and 30th Anniversary Concert

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Further to the recent discussion about Bob versus Neil, readers may be interested in following this link:

www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/dylan.htm


“And further to comments about the Dylan audience booing Sinead O'Connor, I seem to remember from John Bauldie's coverage of the event at the time that the audience was made up of record company suits, showbiz types and corporate guests - I believe it likely there were very few ‘real’ Dylan fans present ... “

OPERA ROUND-UP: Strauss’s Salome, Natalie Dessay, and a Mozzafest

Recent opera highlights for grown-ups:

* David McVicar’s new London production of Strauss’s Salome (Royal Opera House) demanded respect, but it failed to engage fully. It had some compelling sub-Wagnerian sounds from the pit, but the principals didn’t really fire my imagination. Occasionally inspired, mostly disappointing.

* Natalie Dessay’s star continues to rise. Following her triumph in last year’s La Fille du Regiment in London – one of the most exciting performances I’ve seen, in any musical genre, in recent years - the French soprano has released some outstanding new product, including Bellini’s La Sonnambula and a must-have compilation, Airs d'Opéras Italiens


Airs d'Opéras Italiens - tracklist

Verdi La Traviata
E strano!... Ah, forse è lui - Follie! Follie... Sempre libera
Bellini I puritani
O rendetemi la speme - Qui la voce sua soave - Vien diletto
Donizetti Maria Stuarda
Allenta il piè, Regina - Oh nube che lieve - Nella pace del mesto riposo
Verdi Rigoletto
Gualtier Maldé... Caro nome
Bellini I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Eccomi in lieta vesta - Oh! quante volte
Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor
Eccola... Il dolce suono - Ardon gli incensi -
S’avanza Enrico - Spargi d’amaro pianto


* Mostly Mozart, the Barbican’s welcome annual mid-summer Mozzafest, bravely pitched against The Proms season on the other side of London, runs this year from 10 July to 2 August, and booking is now open.

Highlights include Cosi Fan Tutte, by Garsington Opera, La Clemenza di Tito, starring Alice Coote, and Mozart’s Requiem.

The programme is well worth a look:

www.barbican.org.uk





Gerry Smith

Keep It Simple - more on the new Van Morrison CD

Promoting Keep It Simple, the new Van the Man album released in England next Monday (17 March), Lost Highway Records are hosting “good quality, non-pirated, preview tracks - full versions of ‘That's Entrainment’ and ‘Behind The Ritual’”:

www.losthighwayrecords.com

And, for the next few days, you can hear Morrison’s interview with bluesman Paul Jones from his Monday BBC Radio 2 show:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?radio2/paul_jones

After an unpromising, solipsistic start – “the album addresses the propaganda about myself” (oooh, noooooooh, I groaned - not that stuff again …), the interview found Morrison in jovial, generous mode.

Result? An unusually compelling listen, and an intro to what could well be Morrison’s best album since The Healing Game.



Gerry Smith

Yes - Neil Young IS upstaging Dylan

Thanks to Dave Dingle:

“Neil Young upstaging Bob? You better believe it!

“Having seen Bob over 100 times (an amateur compared to some, I know), I was struck last week by Neil doing a full one hour acoustic set, the like of which we haven’t seen from Bob since the 1960s, and a storming electric set ... active, prowling the stage, playing his own lead …

“I was left with the feeling that going to see Neil was an altogether more satisfying experience than Bob in recent years, stuck behind the piano, or even doing his few guitar songs.

“Sad to say, my conclusion is that Bob will never undergo the kind of renaissance that Neil obviously has!”


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:

Neil Young upstaging Dylan?

Neil Young’s current London shows, with long setlists drawn from across his catalogue, have been getting rave reviews.

According to Martin Cowan:

“Interesting to compare Neil Young's 23/24 song sets from his current tour with the 17 that Dylan serves up these days.

“I have been pondering lately on Dylan set lists (further to my last email) and concluded that if he cut short some of the instrumental "noodling", he could play a few more songs and perhaps be a little more generous with that superlative song book. Just a thought.”


Here’s a sample of Young’s ever-changing setlist, from 8 March at Hammersmith Apollo, courtesy of Bad News Beat:

01. From Hank To Hendrix
02. Ambulance Blues
03. Sad Movies
04. A Man Needs A Maid
05. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (grand piano)
06. On The Way Home (grand piano)
07. Harvest
08. Journey Through The Past (upright piano)
09. Love In Mind (upright piano)
10. Mellow My Mind
11. Love Art Blues
12. Love Is A Rose
13. Heart Of Gold
14. Old Man
---
15. Mr. Soul
16. Dirty Old Man
17. Spirit Road
18. Down By The River
19. Hey Hey, My My
20. Too Far Gone
21. Oh, Lonesome Me
22. Winterlong
23. Powderfinger
24. No Hidden Path
---
25. Roll Another Number



Gerry Smith

This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:


Radio For Grown-Ups

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: Texas
Carter Family, Ernest Tubb and Jimmie Rodgers. And no show about Texas would be complete without one of my favourites ~ the late, great Doug Sahm and also Ry Cooder & Freddie Fender with Across The Borderline. Great stuff.

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Oscar Peterson
Tinkling the ivories.

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
A broadcast for some un-broadcast stuff that wasn't deemed good enough for broadcast, so it wasn't. And now it is. Oscar, Ella and Django are featured in another listeners' pick.

Sat BBCR2 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Live And Exclusive: Van Morrison
Van da Man showcases his new album, 'Keep It Simple.'


TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.00
* Transatlantic Sessions
Repeat

Fri BBC4 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Tin Sandwich, anyone?
The history of the harmonica ~ Larry Adler, Sonny Terry, Stevie Wonder, Brendan Power and lots of others look at the story of the 'umble gob iron. Believe me, if you had to stand next to a harp player on stage blowing the bloody thing into your lugs ("waaaaahhhh") you wouldn't be amused and would certainly give this prog a miss, no matter how many good reviews it had (which it has).

Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* The Chieftains
Ooo look, it must be nearly Paddy's Day ~ they're wheelin' out the Irish stuff (see next prog also).

Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.35
* Folk Hibernia
The revival of Irish folk.

Still, it's better than Sport Relief ~ I'll give them money if the guarantee they keep Patrick Keilty off my screen.

Leonard Cohen tour dates

The Leonard Cohen tour dates, announced this morning, are disappointing if you’re English: a choice of Manchester – I’d rather visit Baghdad – and London’s cavernous O2 Arena – ditto. Looks like Montreux or Nice for me!


http://www.leonardcohenforum.com


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:

Leonard Cohen European tour 2008 (You heard it here first #2)

In mid-2007, like a voice in the wilderness, Music for Grown-Ups was confidently speculating that Leonard Cohen would tour Europe this summer, after years without live shows.

Well, blow, me: Leonard’s 2008 European tour dates are set to be announced early next week!

Watch this space …

XXXXXXXXX


Leonard Cohen live - looking a bit more likely

Earlier speculation about possible Leonard Cohen London shows (see below) looks a bit more accurate with the news that Lenny is appearing in a free pre-show “conversation” with Philip Glass at The Barbican at 6pm on Sat 20 0ctober.

The show itself is a performance of Glass’s treatment of Book Of Longing, Cohen’s new volume of poetry, set for voices and instruments (but not, note, Leonard himself).

Leonard Cohen? Free? What?

Well, there’s a snag – you need a ticket for the main gig to get in to the pre-show talk. And the main gig is, er, sold out. It was already sold out in the new Barbican programme - which arrived today. I wonder where it was first advertised?


XXXXXXXXX

Leonard Cohen set to tour?

Leonard Cohen’s portrait on the cover of new issue of The Word, following loads and loads of recent UK press, makes me think that we’re about to see Leonard touring England - after such a long break.

He can’t surely be doing the press rounds in support of the slightly expanded reissues of the first three albums, or Anjani, his companion’s, new album of Leonard material. There simply has to be a bigger picture.

I’ve never seen Lenny live, but, then, who has? He hasn’t toured – anywhere - in 14 years…

If, like many grown-ups, you’re excited by the interface where pop culture (rock) meets high culture (literature), Lenny is certainly your man.

Watch this space…



Gerry Smith

Neil Young upstaging Dylan?

Neil Young’s current London shows, with long setlists drawn from across his catalogue, have been getting rave reviews.

And, according to Martin Cowan:

“Interesting to compare Neil Young's 23/24 song sets from his current tour with the 17 that Dylan serves up these days.

“I have been pondering lately on Dylan set lists (further to my last email) and concluded that if he cut short some of the instrumental "noodling", he could play a few more songs and perhaps be a little more generous with that superlative song book. Just a thought.”


Here’s a sample of Young’s ever-changing setlist, from 8 March at Hammersmith Apollo, courtesy of Bad News Beat:

01. From Hank To Hendrix
02. Ambulance Blues
03. Sad Movies
04. A Man Needs A Maid
05. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (grand piano)
06. On The Way Home (grand piano)
07. Harvest
08. Journey Through The Past (upright piano)
09. Love In Mind (upright piano)
10. Mellow My Mind
11. Love Art Blues
12. Love Is A Rose
13. Heart Of Gold
14. Old Man
---
15. Mr. Soul
16. Dirty Old Man
17. Spirit Road
18. Down By The River
19. Hey Hey, My My
20. Too Far Gone
21. Oh, Lonesome Me
22. Winterlong
23. Powderfinger
24. No Hidden Path
---
25. Roll Another Number



Gerry Smith

Van Morrison on radio promoting Keep It Simple, the new album

In advance of next Monday’s (17 March) UK release of the new Van Morrison album, Keep It Simple, Van The Man is busy in promo mode.

You can catch him tonight on BBC Radio 2 at 1900-2000 on the Paul Jones blues show, with, we are told, five live songs and an interview.

Then, on Saturday (15 March), Radio 2’s Music Club (2000-2100) has a concert presenting the new album, recently recorded in London - Van Morrison Live & Exclusive.

Here’s hoping Morrison has re-ignited the spark which made him one of the top poprock writer/performers for grown-ups for almost 40 years from the early 1960s.


Gerry Smith

Shine A Light - new 2CD and concert film from the Rolling Stones

Shine A Light, the new live Rolling Stones 2CD, recorded at the Beacon, New York City in late 2006, is set for UK release on Monday 7 April. (Tracklist below.)

It’s followed on Friday 11 April by the nationwide UK release of the film of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese. And preceded on Wednesday 2 April by the film’s UK premiere – in London, but also to be shown in 100 cinemas nationwide: tickets cost £12.50.


Album tracks:

Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down The Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne And Reefer
Tumbling Dice
You Got The Silver
Connection
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
Paint It, Black
Little T and A
I’m Free
Shine A Light

I’ll be passing on the CD and the cinema show, but waiting to buy the DVD in about three months – unless it’s as ludicrously overpriced as the last two Stones concert DVDs - Forty Licks and The Biggest Bang – which, combined, cost a cool £100 – about £75 too much - when I last looked in HMV!



Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen European tour 2008 (You heard it here first #2)

In mid-2007, like a voice in the wilderness, Music for Grown-Ups was confidently speculating that Leonard Cohen would tour Europe this summer, after years without live shows.

Well, blow, me: Leonard’s 2008 European tour dates are set to be announced early next week!

Watch this space …



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:

Leonard Cohen live - looking a bit more likely

Earlier speculation about possible Leonard Cohen London shows (see below) looks a bit more accurate with the news that Lenny is appearing in a free pre-show “conversation” with Philip Glass at The Barbican at 6pm on Sat 20 0ctober.

The show itself is a performance of Glass’s treatment of Book Of Longing, Cohen’s new volume of poetry, set for voices and instruments (but not, note, Leonard himself).

Leonard Cohen? Free? What?

Well, there’s a snag – you need a ticket for the main gig to get in to the pre-show talk. And the main gig is, er, sold out. It was already sold out in the new Barbican programme - which arrived today. I wonder where it was first advertised?


XXXXXXXXX

Leonard Cohen set to tour?

Leonard Cohen’s portrait on the cover of new issue of The Word, following loads and loads of recent UK press, makes me think that we’re about to see Leonard touring England - after such a long break.

He can’t surely be doing the press rounds in support of the slightly expanded reissues of the first three albums, or Anjani, his companion’s, new album of Leonard material. There simply has to be a bigger picture.

I’ve never seen Lenny live, but, then, who has? He hasn’t toured – anywhere - in 14 years…

If, like many grown-ups, you’re excited by the interface where pop culture (rock) meets high culture (literature), Lenny is certainly your man.

Watch this space…



Gerry Smith

Rock gigs with unacceptable ticket prices

It’s a pleasure to see Music for Grown-Ups favourite Neil Young receiving plaudits for his current European tour promoting Chrome Dreams II.

Young’s setlists, a career-spanning trawl through one of rock’s premier songbooks, plus three or four tracks from the new album, and the show format, a solo acoustic half, followed by an electric set with a small band, made we wish I’d booked for this week’s London shows.

Until, that is, I remembered why I didn’t book in the first place – the ticket prices: £75 or £55, plus all the usual add-ons, plus transport, and you’re looking at £175 for two for a couple of hours of pleasure. No thanks: greedy consumerism gone bananas.

There’s a trend towards US-style prices, especially for American artists. Like Young, Springsteen’s upcoming shows are priced beyond what I think he’s worth. And they’re not alone.

You can still book for most vital home-based poprockers (except the Stones/Led Zep et al) – Morrissey to Van The Man - for about £35, but if you’re price-sensitive, forget American touring bands. They’ll charge what the market will bear – and good luck to them - but I won’t be booking.



Gerry Smith

This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:


Radio For Grown-Ups

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: Colour
Charles Mingus, Ella Mae Morse, Joni Mitchell and Screamin Jay Hawkins

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Eric Dolphy
The man who matched Mingus and Coltrane is profiled

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
The Gannets, the jazz offshoot from rock band The Guillemots

Sat BBCR2 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Mark Lamarr's Redneck Music (4/4)
Texas soul and Western Swing in the last of Mark's entertaining series.


TV For Grown-Ups
Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.00
* Transatlantic Sessions
Repeat for the sessions recorded at Strathgarry House

Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* What's Going On?
The life and tragic death of Marvin Gaye

Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Motor City's Burning
Detroit's impact on music ~ from John Lee Hooker to Tamla and on through to Iggy and The Stooges and lots of interesting points in between.

Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.45
* John Lee Hooker and Friends

Fri/Sat BBC4 00.45 ~01.35
* Iggy Pop & the Stooges At Glastonbury
This year's incendiary live set which featured some great garage/punk rock and a stage invasion. Unmissable if you missed it first time round.

Sat BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.30
* Soul Deep ~ The Story of Black Popular Music
Looking at Motown and its legacy, a repeat of the acclaimed series, but the real prize is on at midnight…

Sat BBC4 00.00 ~ 01.45
* Standing In The Shadows of Motown
Absolutely superb doc looking at the work of the in-house band at Tamla, The Funk Brothers. They've played on a huge amount of records, able to play any style and, with James Jamerson, virtually inventing modern bass playing.

Songlines at 50

The 50th “Collector’s” edition of Songlines, the London-based world music bi-monthly, is currently gracing the news-stands, with several special features capturing my attention, including a couple of genre-defining short surveys – 50 Great Moments In World Music, and 50 Years of World Music – and the mag’s selection of the 50 top world albums.

Making this issue a must-buy is the high quality cover-mount sampler CD, with tracks by Music for Grown-Ups faves like Ali Farka Toure, Youssou N’Dour, Khaled, Fela Kuti and Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan.

I normally only look at Songlines after its leafing through its competitor fRoots, but this (recommended) issue will force me to take more interest in future.



www.songlines.co.uk



Gerry Smith

Neil Young and the Chrome Dreams II DVD

Having been a long-time Neil Young fan, I guess I’m in for the duration. After all, his back catalogue is one of the richest in rockpop.

But, though I’ve dutifully bought the last few studio albums, I’ve hardly listened to any of them. Greendale (2003), Prairie Wind (2005) and Living With War (2006) have disturbed my hi-fi a mere once or twice each. If I want to listen to shrill preaching, I can go to a nasty little church.

But the trio of heritage dadrock releases - Live At the Fillmore East (1971>2006), Live At Massey Hall (1971>2007) and Greatest Hits (2004) – have fared rather better. They remind me why I like Young.

Chrome Dreams II (2007) sounds as if it’ll get some play, too. But I’m bemused by the Chrome Dreams II de luxe release. Disc 2 has the album repeated in “DVD” format; the DVD pictures are stills of cars in Young’s garage.

What’s he up to? Should someone tell him that tape/slide presentations had become redundant 35 years ago?

Wakey, wakey, Shakey.



Gerry Smith

Mags go under: No Depression and Resonance follow Straight No Chaser

Music magazines, especially specialist niche titles, are feeling the pinch.

Hot on the heels of the demise of London-based urban mag Straight No Chaser comes news of two more casualties. No Depression, the alt-country/Americana bi-monthly, has announced it’s to close its doors following the May-June issue, after 13 years of playing a lead role in fostering the emergent genre.

And Resonance, the stylish NW coast-based champion of hip pop culture, is closing after 14 years of documenting cutting-edge indie rockpop, film, books and the visual arts.

But why are music mags going t*ts up like this?

Simple. Reduced CD sales because of free digital downloads means record labels reduce adverting spend. Competitive discounting by online retailers and supermarkets mean small music retailers close down, reducing distribution outlets. And web sites (like this) supply free news and views which people used to buy in magazines.

Serious fans of grown-up music will miss all three fine magazines.



Gerry Smith

This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your exclusive listening/watching guide … thanks to compiler Mike Ollier:

Radio For Grown-Ups

Tues BBCR2 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Dance

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Laughter - Big Joe Turner, The Maytals and Gene Chandler

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Rex Stewart - the essential recordings of the cornet player

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3 - Spindrift in concert

Sat BBCR2 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Mark Lamarr’s Redneck Music (3/4) - the relationship between country and rock ‘n’ roll.


TV For Grown-Ups

A Friday night repeatfest on BBC4, but they are good shows and if you haven’t seen ‘em, you should!

Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.00
* Transatlantic Sessions - repeat for the sessions recorded at Strathgarry House

Fri BBC4 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Legends: Al Bowlly ~ The Very Thought Of You - more excellence in the Legends series with a repeated profile of the pre-war popular crooner.

Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Emmylou Harris’ 10 Commandments Of Country - yet another repeat, but a worthy one as Emmy and her crack band take us through some superb country/bluegrass songs.

Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.35
* Emmylou Harris at the BBC - a selection of appearances Emmy has made over the years

Fri BBC2 11.35 ~ 12.35
* Later With Jools Holland - Andy Fairweather-Low with Chris Barber and his band are the ones to tape and watch later this week… Ha - so that’s why it’s called ‘Later’!

Coffee bar chain to release new Dylan influences compilation

A well-known chain of foreign-owned coffee bars is to release Artist’s Choice - Bob Dylan, next week. The new CD assembles 16 tracks of the type Dylan has played on Theme Time Radio Hour, by musicians of the Stanley Brothers, Junior Wells and Billie Holiday vintage.

But, as with its Dylan Live At The Gaslight 1962 CD release, the “global” coffee bar company doesn’t supply online outside the US/Canada. How terribly quaint!

I assume the new CD won’t be available from local coffee bar outlets, either - I failed to find any evidence of the Gaslight CD in its central London branches last year.

I’d start to boycott the chain if I hadn’t been doing so for years. I never darken the doors of their coffee bars. Not for any ideological reasons, though – I just can’t bear to drink coffee from grossly oversized mugs, or to sit amongst serried ranks of shiny happy customers with too much time and money to waste. I choose to waste mine in Caffe Nero or Coffee Republic.


Gerry Smith

Billy Fury – Liverpool’s foremost poprocker for grown-ups

The Beatles: Liverpool’s foremost poprockers for grown-ups, yeah?

Naaaah: not even the foremost 1960s Scouse beat band (The Searchers, if you’re wondering).

No, Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite Scouse poprocker, by a country mile, is Billy Fury, best known for a slew of hit singles like Halfway To Paradise, which elevated the classic Goffin-King ditty into pop art.

Until recently, though, Fury’s rich legacy was hidden, thanks to a confusing multiplicity of sub-standard compilation albums. Whenever I’ve attempted to play The Collection, a disappointing album in my collection, I’ve quickly switched it off, wondering why I ever thought so highly of Billy Fury in the first place.

Pap like covers of Hippy Hippy Shake and Glad All Over are not where it’s at, pretty baby. Fury was a powerful singles artist, but what’s been available hitherto have been compilations juxtaposing a few singles with filler.

Thankfully, Fury’s catalogue has now been massively improved by His Wondrous Story: The Complete Collection, a high quality compilation which has been in the Anglo album charts for weeks. It’s a complete collection of Fury's singles, for the first time on a single CD.

Play.com is selling it for £8.95 delivered – bargain of the month, I’d say.



Track List

Halfway To Paradise
Maybe Tomorrow
Margo
Colette
That's Love
Wondrous Place
A Thousand Stars
Don't Worry
Jealousy
I'd Never Find Another You
Letter Full Of Tears
Last Night Was Made For Love
Once Upon A Dream
Because Of Love
Like I've Never Been Gone
When Will You Say I Love You
In Summer
Somebody Else's Girl
Do Really Love Me Too
I Will
It's Only Make Believe
I'm Lost Without You
In Thoughts Of You
Run To My Loving Arms
I'll Never Quite Get Over You
Give Me Your Word
Love Or Money
Devil Or Angel
Forget Him



Gerry Smith

Asda supermarket keeping me out of HMV

I used to be a habitual HMV customer – and a strong advocate of the retailer on this site - but I gradually kicked the habit. Because, while CD prices have been plummeting from online suppliers and supermarkets, HMV’s prices look stubbornly high.

I was reminded of the gap last weekend after leaving my local HMV branch empty-handed (again), after recently visiting Asda, Wal-Mart’s English subsidiary.

Sample price comparisons of product currently interesting me were startling:

* Morrissey Greatest Hits De Luxe: HMV £19, Asda £14

* Van Morrison Best Of v3: HMV £13, Asda £5

* Morrissey Who Put The M in Manchester DVD: HMV £18, (has been widely available elsewhere @ £5)

* Led Zep DVD: HMV £30, (has been widely available at Asda and elsewhere @ £13)

HMV might well manage to turn round its ailing chain, but until its prices are back in line with the marketplace, I won’t be contributing.



Gerry Smith

Stunning rock photography in Birmingham

Birmingham’s Snap Galleries has an exciting season of rock photography coming up:


1. Art Kane - Visionary Portraits 1958-68 now on show

2. Eric Meola - New Bruce Springsteen photographs

3. Elvis Presley from 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

4. Lawrence Watson - Britpop icons and more

5. Art Fairs in London and Harrogate in March 2008

6. Bob Dylan from 1966 by Barry Feinstein - next exhibition

Snap Galleries Limited, Unit 7 - Ground Floor, Fort Dunlop, Fort Parkway, Birmingham B24 9FD. Tel: 0121 748 3408/from US: 011 44 121 748 3408.

www.snapgalleries.com




Gerry Smith

This Week's Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your exclusive listening/watching guide … a warm welcome back to compiler Mike Ollier:


Radio For Grown-Ups

Mon BBC R2 20.00 ~ 22.00
* Mark Radcliffe: shorn of fellow talking head Maconie, Radcliffe is a much more inspirational broadcaster, with some excellent guests this week. Tonight it's maverick Grammy winner Steve Earle and on Thursday Noddy Holder reviews the TV for the week. Bound to be more insightful and humorous than my attempts.

Mon BBC R2 22.00 ~ 22.30
* Big Band Special: Tribute to Joe Zawinul

Tues BBC R2 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Food

Thurs BBC R2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* The Music Club Presents: Patti Smith talks us through her career. In half an hour?

Fri BBC R6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: ??? Glad to see that the Beeb keeping on top of things in my absence. Oh, they haven't ... .

Fri BBC R3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Abdullah Ibrahim: choosing highlights from his own career, the South African pianist.

Fri BBC R3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3: Dave Liebmann and Evan Parker in concert from the Vortex, London

Sat BBC R2 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Mark Lamarr's Redneck Music (part 2): I've never liked him as a comedian, but he's becoming a fine radio presenter ~ his regular shows on RnR and reggae are a delight, as he reins in his ego and puts on his music fan hat. Probably a trilby. Here, he journeys to America's backwoods to find the birthplaces and inspiration of some of the forefathers of country music; tonight he features Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams



TV For Grown-Ups

A bonanza on ITV4 this week, though you'll need a recorder.

Weds/Thurs ITV4 22.00 ~ 00.20
* Quadrophenia: One of my favourite teaching aids; the brilliant Phil Daniels' Jimmy tears up Brighton to a marvellous soundtrack. Watch and see a litany of future TV/film stars in early roles. One of the best English films ever made, all about growing up and identity.

Weds/Thurs 00.50 ~ 02.00
* The Who ~ Live In Boston: Concert film from 2002

Thurs/Fri 00.20 ~02.40
* The Kids Are Alright: Who doc.

Fri ITV4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Marc Bolan ~ 20th Century Boy: Tribute to the Elfin one

Fri/Sat & Sat evening ITV4 01.00 ~ 02.40
* This Is Spinal Tap: A rockumentary, if you will, of '80s HM group's disastrous US tour. 11 out of 10.

Fri/Sat ITV4 00.45 ~ 02.05
* The Clash: No other details, I'm afraid.

Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.30
* Legends: Jacques Brel ~ Ne Me Quitte Pas: Repeated profile, but none the worse for it.

Fri BBC4 20.30 ~ 21.00
* Brecon Jazz Festival: Fusion

Fri BBC4 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Caledonia Dreamin': The emergence of Scotland's Postcard Records

Fri BBC4 23.00 ~ 23.35
* Edwyn Collins: Home Again: Profiling one of Postcard Records' brilliant singer/songwriters, this doc follows Ed's rehabilitation from a brain haemorrhage and his struggle to produce a new album.

Fri BBC2 11.35 ~ 00.35
* Later With Jools Holland: Here's hoping he doesn't play piano on Steve Earle's songs.

Massive Attack to curate Meltdown, the music festival for grown-ups

London’s South Bank Centre has just announced that Bristol band Massive Attack are to be Artistic Directors of its 15th Meltdown festival, to be held Saturday 14 - Sunday 22 June.

Massive Attack follow a run of directors from the top echelons of music for grown-ups, including John Peel, Scott Walker, David Bowie, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Morrissey and Patti Smith.

Emerging from the Bristol club scene in the late 1980s, Massive Attack are innovators; they’ve worked with collaborators as diverse as Tricky, Portishead, Liz Fraser, Sinead O’Connor, Mos Def and Damon Albarn.

Meltdown, the highlight of London’s summer music scene, is almost guaranteed to offer an outstanding programme of gigs for grown-ups, far more engaging than all the contemporaneous summer festivals in muddy fields catering for kiddy campers (of all ages).

Meltdown takes over all 21 acres of South Bank Centre - including the riverside, Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall - for nine days of concerts, DJ sets, talks, films, and visual art.

Watch this space for the line-up for Meltdown 2008. You’ll have to book quickly, though - demand for Meltdown festival tickets is always high.




Gerry Smith

Free! Music for grown-ups on air in the next seven days

Over the next seven days, I hope to catch/record these tempting TV/radio broadcasts:

(Wed 13 Feb – nothing)

Thursday 14 Feb:
1400 Focus on Berlin, inc Bach’s B Minor Mass - BBC Radio 3

Friday 15 Feb:
2030 Brecon Jazz - BBC4
2100 Legends - Edith Piaf – BBC4
2230 Jazz Library – King Oliver - BBC Radio 3
(to Sunday): Smiths Weekend - MOJO Radio

Saturday 16 Feb:
1800 Live from the Met – Puccini’s Manon (Karita Mattila)- Radio 3
1910 The Culture Show – inc Moby – BBC2

(Sun 17 Feb – nada)

Monday 18 Feb:
(to Friday) 2045 Composer Of The Week – Verdi - BBC Radio 3
(to Thursday) 2230 Artist Focus – Susan Graham, mezzo - BBC Radio 3

Tuesday 19 Feb:
2230 Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour – Food - BBC Radio 2
2330 Jason and Iyare’s A-Z OF Street Music 1/6 - BBC Radio 2




Gerry Smith