Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide for sharing his delight at a
Dadrock bonanza about to hit Australia, after posting it on a Van the Man discussion list:
“… how fantastic things have suddenly become!
“This time next week, Gayle and I will be somewhere over the Pacific, on our way to LA to see VAN MORRISON at Hollywood Bowl. And to meet half the Van list, at last count!
“Today, I just bought 3rd row seats to see LEONARD COHEN right here in Adelaide in January. I had read the glowing reports about his recent Northern Hemisphere tour on various websites and from a number of Van listers, but I’d thought that was a once only and wouldn’t make it to Oz – so I couldn’t believe it when I found a pre-sale offer in my inbox today! Supported by Paul Kelly, who is Australia’s most distinguished singer-songwriter and always great.
“But that’s not all – we also have NEIL YOUNG here in January. Enough said.
“Then JOHN McLAUGHLIN and CHICK COREA in February, which I am really looking forward to. I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 70s with Jean Luc Ponty on electric violin, and I think that concert changed the way I appreciated music
“Then JACKSON BROWNE in March, this time with band – last time was solo acoustic, and I recall reviewing that on the list, one of the truly great concerts I’ve seen. I haven’t heard his new album yet, not sure it’s been released here yet, but Jackson Browne remains an enduring favourite.
“And as I’ve previously mentioned, after Van but before Christmas, we still have John Mellencamp in Adelaide and STING at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE doing his classical lute concert, Tales from the Labyrinth. Having seen Sting earlier this year in the Police reunion concert, which was the perfect pop show, but before that also having seen Sting the jazz artist in another perception-changing concert, I am really looking forward to being introduced to the lute!
“What more could a poor boy want?”
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Leonard Cohen celebrated in new MOJO
As Leonard Cohen prepares for the next leg of his triumphant world tour, the new (“December”) issue of MOJO, the London-based heritage rock monthly, has an impressive 11-page feature on the great poet-musician. Recommended.
Most of it’s taken up by a probing new interview and a buyer’s guide to the Cohen discography, both by Sylvie Simmons.
MOJO also has a Lenny cover – a recent portrait complete with grey goatee beard and rakish peaked cap – and a free CD of new covers of Cohen songs.
(The US edition apparently has a Metallica cover, lending support to the line peddled here that the US doesn’t really get Laughing Len as much as Europe – or Canada.)
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
RELATED RECENT ARTICLE, (18 July 2008)
Leonard Cohen in London: Hallelujah!
Death-bed scene: “Well, Dad, that’s the money sorted out: you seem to have blown most of it on live music. As a matter of interest, what were your top five gigs?”
I think I’d have to include last night’s London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome).
The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.
For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate), celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.
The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen’s performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving.
Hallelujah! What a writer! What a performer! What a charismatic, inspirational man.
Band – 6 plus 3 vocalists – were accomplished accomplices. Horn-man Dino Soldo was particularly impressive. Sound quality was the best I’ve heard at an amplified gig. Staging, lighting, vision/mixing on big screens were all benchmark quality.
I’d waited many years to see Leonard, the second best writer/performer of the rock era. It was well worth the wait.
SETLIST (approximate):
1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on a Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
18. First We Take Manhattan
19. Sisters of Mercy
20. If It Be Your Will
21. A Thousand Kisses Deep
22. So Long, Marianne
23. Closing Time
24. I Tried to Leave You
25. Whither Thou Goest
A perfect 10, then?
Not quite. A churl could point to the slight unevenness of the setlist: it flagged a bit towards the end of the second half. The finales were underwhelming – the welcome Webb Sisters duet was wrongly positioned; Closing Time is dramatically and melodically too weak to close a show.
And there was an ever-present threat that the show might tip over into mainstream showbiz hoopla – Leonard’s frequent name-checking of the band palled early; he was far too nice to the assembled hordes; and you suspected that the “spontaneous” jokes had been the same at most gigs on the tour.
For most performers, all this would have been a turn-off. For Leonard, we can make an exception.
Gerry Smith
Most of it’s taken up by a probing new interview and a buyer’s guide to the Cohen discography, both by Sylvie Simmons.
MOJO also has a Lenny cover – a recent portrait complete with grey goatee beard and rakish peaked cap – and a free CD of new covers of Cohen songs.
(The US edition apparently has a Metallica cover, lending support to the line peddled here that the US doesn’t really get Laughing Len as much as Europe – or Canada.)
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
RELATED RECENT ARTICLE, (18 July 2008)
Leonard Cohen in London: Hallelujah!
Death-bed scene: “Well, Dad, that’s the money sorted out: you seem to have blown most of it on live music. As a matter of interest, what were your top five gigs?”
I think I’d have to include last night’s London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome).
The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.
For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate), celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.
The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen’s performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving.
Hallelujah! What a writer! What a performer! What a charismatic, inspirational man.
Band – 6 plus 3 vocalists – were accomplished accomplices. Horn-man Dino Soldo was particularly impressive. Sound quality was the best I’ve heard at an amplified gig. Staging, lighting, vision/mixing on big screens were all benchmark quality.
I’d waited many years to see Leonard, the second best writer/performer of the rock era. It was well worth the wait.
SETLIST (approximate):
1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on a Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
18. First We Take Manhattan
19. Sisters of Mercy
20. If It Be Your Will
21. A Thousand Kisses Deep
22. So Long, Marianne
23. Closing Time
24. I Tried to Leave You
25. Whither Thou Goest
A perfect 10, then?
Not quite. A churl could point to the slight unevenness of the setlist: it flagged a bit towards the end of the second half. The finales were underwhelming – the welcome Webb Sisters duet was wrongly positioned; Closing Time is dramatically and melodically too weak to close a show.
And there was an ever-present threat that the show might tip over into mainstream showbiz hoopla – Leonard’s frequent name-checking of the band palled early; he was far too nice to the assembled hordes; and you suspected that the “spontaneous” jokes had been the same at most gigs on the tour.
For most performers, all this would have been a turn-off. For Leonard, we can make an exception.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tell Tale Signs… and Neil Young Night on TV
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“Pitchfork has a cracking review of Dylan’s new release, Tell Tale Signs:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com
“And just a reminder that this Friday, 31 October, sees BBC4 indulging in Neil Young Night, with the following line up:
9.30pm - In Concert: Neil Young - a 1971 gig by the singer/songwriter, showcasing songs from Harvest
10.00pm - Neil Young - Don't Be Denied. Tracing the musical journey of the legendary sing/songwriter through interviews and unseen performance footage.
11.00pm - CSNY/Deja Vu. A record of the 2006 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young "Freedom of Speech" tour that was built largely around Young's "Living with War" album.
“Also of interest on the same evening on the same channel at half past midnight is a repeat of Hotel California: from the Byrds to the Eagles.”
“Pitchfork has a cracking review of Dylan’s new release, Tell Tale Signs:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com
“And just a reminder that this Friday, 31 October, sees BBC4 indulging in Neil Young Night, with the following line up:
9.30pm - In Concert: Neil Young - a 1971 gig by the singer/songwriter, showcasing songs from Harvest
10.00pm - Neil Young - Don't Be Denied. Tracing the musical journey of the legendary sing/songwriter through interviews and unseen performance footage.
11.00pm - CSNY/Deja Vu. A record of the 2006 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young "Freedom of Speech" tour that was built largely around Young's "Living with War" album.
“Also of interest on the same evening on the same channel at half past midnight is a repeat of Hotel California: from the Byrds to the Eagles.”
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Fela Kuti to Neil Young, John McLaughlin to Mahler, Mozart to Ryan Adams
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Hidden among its vast output, BBC TV and radio has some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
The next ten days sees an unusually rich feast of great musicians:
Wed 29 Oct
1200 & 2200 Mahler, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 30 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355, David Byrne, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
0055, Ryan Adams, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 31 Oct
2130 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) – BBC Four
2200 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2300 CSNY/Déjà Vu – BBC Four
Sat 1 Nov
1600 John McLaughlin, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
1800 Cosi Fan Tutte, from Vienna – BBC Radio 3
1900 The Fourth, the Fifth, the Minor Fall (Leonard Cohen’s masterpiece, Hallelujah) – BBC Radio 2
2400 Bud Powell, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 2 Nov
2315/0240 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 3 Nov
1200 & 2200 Dvorak, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 4 Nov
2230 Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat Revolutionary – BBC Radio 2
Thurs 6 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355 Beck, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 7 Nov
2355, Randy Newman, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Hidden among its vast output, BBC TV and radio has some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
The next ten days sees an unusually rich feast of great musicians:
Wed 29 Oct
1200 & 2200 Mahler, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 30 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355, David Byrne, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
0055, Ryan Adams, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 31 Oct
2130 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) – BBC Four
2200 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2300 CSNY/Déjà Vu – BBC Four
Sat 1 Nov
1600 John McLaughlin, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
1800 Cosi Fan Tutte, from Vienna – BBC Radio 3
1900 The Fourth, the Fifth, the Minor Fall (Leonard Cohen’s masterpiece, Hallelujah) – BBC Radio 2
2400 Bud Powell, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 2 Nov
2315/0240 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 3 Nov
1200 & 2200 Dvorak, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 4 Nov
2230 Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat Revolutionary – BBC Radio 2
Thurs 6 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355 Beck, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 7 Nov
2355, Randy Newman, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, October 27, 2008
Richard Thompson – inspiring… spectacular…
Thanks to Larry Kosofsky in New Paltz, NY:
“Caught Richard Thompson at the 1859 Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, NY last night. He delivered two solid hours of inspired singing and spectacular guitar playing.
“No-one out there does what Richard does, and if you have a chance to see him, don't let it slip by. He gave us wonderful versions of old favorites like "I Feel So Good", "Valerie", "Beeswing", "Dimming of the Day", "'52 Vincent", and some newer tunes as well.
“His mordant humor was well evident, of course, and he richly deserved the standing ovations he received.”
“Caught Richard Thompson at the 1859 Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, NY last night. He delivered two solid hours of inspired singing and spectacular guitar playing.
“No-one out there does what Richard does, and if you have a chance to see him, don't let it slip by. He gave us wonderful versions of old favorites like "I Feel So Good", "Valerie", "Beeswing", "Dimming of the Day", "'52 Vincent", and some newer tunes as well.
“His mordant humor was well evident, of course, and he richly deserved the standing ovations he received.”
Friday, October 24, 2008
Drawn Blank exhibition set for UK tour
Drawn Blank, the magical exhibition of Dylan paintings, is set to tour UK galleries, starting late November.
The tour starts with a show at The Lightbox gallery in Woking, Surrey, in the heart of the “stockbroker belt”, on 25 November.
Organisers Halcyon Gallery promise a roll-out of additional dates for 2009 - watch this space.
And if you missed the London and Chemnitz shows, try to get to Woking – you won’t be disappointed.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
Dylan’s new art show: magnificent
Dylan’s new art show was unveiled to the world’s press (and the Editor of The Dylan Daily) yesterday morning.
I spent a couple of hours marvelling at the inspiring art on display. Four floors. Almost a hundred original canvases, many finished in several different versions. Twenty-nine Limited Edition signed prints. Lovely art. And so much of it – an entire building devoted to Dylan! And his signature on every piece.
I don’t know much about art, blah, blah … . But I adored this collection. Women, men, portraits, life studies, places - odd places, on the margins, everyday objects. Drawn, printed, then painted in vivid colours. Echoes of German Abstract Expressionism, I’m told. Dylan’s draughtsmanship might be stylistically naïve, but all the pieces evoke emotion. And his use of colour is remarkable.
As you’d expect, the collection displays a distinctive artistic vision. And yes, there are reminders of the Dylan worldview familiar from the songbook.
Would we be making so much of this show if the artist wasn’t Dylan? Who knows? Who cares? It’s Dylan’s art. And it’s inspiring.
Dylan Daily readers who can make it the Halcyon Gallery in London by 13 July owe it to themselves to see this magnificent show: it’s a big Dylan event, and it’s worth a long trip.
Drawn Blank opens Saturday and runs for a month. Be warned, though: they’ll probably be queueing round the block – so you’re strongly advised to book a timed visit, online (see below).
And if you were thinking of buying one of the originals, you’ll need big bucks – for the few original paintings not already sold.
TOMORROW ON THE DYLAN DAILY: Preview of the Drawn Blank Limited Edition exhibition and sale.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Here are the two Halcyon Gallery press releases:
Halcyon Gallery holds first gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan art
The Drawn Blank Series launches in London on 14 June 2008
Location: Halcyon Gallery, 24 Bruton Street, London, W1J 6QQ
Exhibition opens: 14th June 2008
Exhibition closes: 13th July 2008
Opening hours: Monday - Sunday: 10am - 6pm. Last admission: 5pm
Nearest tube: Bond Street or Green Park
Visitor information: 020 7659 7640
Website: www.halcyongallery.com
Booking information: For details on how to book free timed tickets to the exhibition, visit www.halcyongallery.com - booking fees will apply
Mayfair's Halcyon Gallery presents the first ever gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan's artwork, The Drawn Blank Series. This new exhibition of paintings is the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Bob Dylan's art ever assembled. While Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, The Drawn Blank Series casts a vibrant new light on the creativity of one of the world's most important and influential cultural figures.
The paintings in The Drawn Blank Series visually echo the stylistic hallmarks of Dylan's prose, poetry and music. Just as Dylan's songs are constantly reinvigorated and rediscovered through his live performances, so these paintings revisit images and scenes which were captured in all their immediacy by the artist.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Halcyon Gallery to hold first gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan art
The Drawn Blank Series launches in London on 14 June 2008
One of London's most prestigious galleries, Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, will present the first ever gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan's artwork, beginning 14 June 2008. The Drawn Blank Series exhibition is the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Bob Dylan's art ever assembled. While Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, The Drawn Blank Series will cast a vibrant new light on the singular creativity of one of the world's most important and influential cultural figures.
Based on drawings and sketches made by Dylan while on the road during the period of 1989 through 1992, the paintings in The Drawn Blank Series visually echo the stylistic hallmarks of Dylan's prose, poetry and music. Just as Dylan's songs are constantly reinvigorated and rediscovered through his live performances, so these paintings revisit images and scenes which were captured in all their immediacy by the artist.
The Drawn Blank Series has resulted in a collection which is at once a significant independent achievement and a fascinating extrapolation of themes and images which haunt his music.
Accompanying the originals exhibition at Halcyon Gallery, a unique and impressive collection of limited edition graphics, signed by the artist, will be available through selected galleries throughout the UK from 14 June 2008.
Paul Green, President of the Halcyon Gallery, commented, "This is an incredible opportunity for viewing this powerful body of work which gives an insight into the artists' soul; and which have already been the subject of widespread critical acclaim. Halcyon Gallery is privileged to be hosting this unique exhibition."
Bob Dylan is one of the world's most popular and acclaimed songwriters, musicians and performers, having sold more than 110 million albums and performed literally thousands of shows around the world in a career spanning five decades. His most recent album, Modern Times - lauded by critics around the world and selling more than 2.5 million copies to date -- entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #1, as well as debuting within the Top Five in 21 other countries.
Bob Dylan was recently awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In 2001, he received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for best song from a motion picture for "Things Have Changed" from the movie Wonder Boys. Dylan's Chronicles - Volume I, his recent memoirs released in October, 2004, was a world-wide best seller, spending 19 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1982.
Situated in the heart of Mayfair, London, Halcyon Gallery is one of Europe's leading art galleries, representing some of the finest contemporary painters and sculptors working today. Halcyon Gallery is committed to supporting and nurturing outstanding living artists, as well as specialising in fine art and masters original paintings, drawings and sculpture.
2008 marks the 25th anniversary of Halcyon Gallery and the opening of a magnificent new flagship gallery at 24 Bruton Street. This elegant Georgian building has been renovated to create a stunning exhibition space suitable for the finest art and joins Halcyon Gallery's existing space at 29 New Bond Street.
For further information about the exhibition of the original Dylan works at Halcyon Gallery please visit www.halcyongallery.com
The tour starts with a show at The Lightbox gallery in Woking, Surrey, in the heart of the “stockbroker belt”, on 25 November.
Organisers Halcyon Gallery promise a roll-out of additional dates for 2009 - watch this space.
And if you missed the London and Chemnitz shows, try to get to Woking – you won’t be disappointed.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
Dylan’s new art show: magnificent
Dylan’s new art show was unveiled to the world’s press (and the Editor of The Dylan Daily) yesterday morning.
I spent a couple of hours marvelling at the inspiring art on display. Four floors. Almost a hundred original canvases, many finished in several different versions. Twenty-nine Limited Edition signed prints. Lovely art. And so much of it – an entire building devoted to Dylan! And his signature on every piece.
I don’t know much about art, blah, blah … . But I adored this collection. Women, men, portraits, life studies, places - odd places, on the margins, everyday objects. Drawn, printed, then painted in vivid colours. Echoes of German Abstract Expressionism, I’m told. Dylan’s draughtsmanship might be stylistically naïve, but all the pieces evoke emotion. And his use of colour is remarkable.
As you’d expect, the collection displays a distinctive artistic vision. And yes, there are reminders of the Dylan worldview familiar from the songbook.
Would we be making so much of this show if the artist wasn’t Dylan? Who knows? Who cares? It’s Dylan’s art. And it’s inspiring.
Dylan Daily readers who can make it the Halcyon Gallery in London by 13 July owe it to themselves to see this magnificent show: it’s a big Dylan event, and it’s worth a long trip.
Drawn Blank opens Saturday and runs for a month. Be warned, though: they’ll probably be queueing round the block – so you’re strongly advised to book a timed visit, online (see below).
And if you were thinking of buying one of the originals, you’ll need big bucks – for the few original paintings not already sold.
TOMORROW ON THE DYLAN DAILY: Preview of the Drawn Blank Limited Edition exhibition and sale.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Here are the two Halcyon Gallery press releases:
Halcyon Gallery holds first gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan art
The Drawn Blank Series launches in London on 14 June 2008
Location: Halcyon Gallery, 24 Bruton Street, London, W1J 6QQ
Exhibition opens: 14th June 2008
Exhibition closes: 13th July 2008
Opening hours: Monday - Sunday: 10am - 6pm. Last admission: 5pm
Nearest tube: Bond Street or Green Park
Visitor information: 020 7659 7640
Website: www.halcyongallery.com
Booking information: For details on how to book free timed tickets to the exhibition, visit www.halcyongallery.com - booking fees will apply
Mayfair's Halcyon Gallery presents the first ever gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan's artwork, The Drawn Blank Series. This new exhibition of paintings is the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Bob Dylan's art ever assembled. While Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, The Drawn Blank Series casts a vibrant new light on the creativity of one of the world's most important and influential cultural figures.
The paintings in The Drawn Blank Series visually echo the stylistic hallmarks of Dylan's prose, poetry and music. Just as Dylan's songs are constantly reinvigorated and rediscovered through his live performances, so these paintings revisit images and scenes which were captured in all their immediacy by the artist.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Halcyon Gallery to hold first gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan art
The Drawn Blank Series launches in London on 14 June 2008
One of London's most prestigious galleries, Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, will present the first ever gallery exhibition of Bob Dylan's artwork, beginning 14 June 2008. The Drawn Blank Series exhibition is the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Bob Dylan's art ever assembled. While Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, The Drawn Blank Series will cast a vibrant new light on the singular creativity of one of the world's most important and influential cultural figures.
Based on drawings and sketches made by Dylan while on the road during the period of 1989 through 1992, the paintings in The Drawn Blank Series visually echo the stylistic hallmarks of Dylan's prose, poetry and music. Just as Dylan's songs are constantly reinvigorated and rediscovered through his live performances, so these paintings revisit images and scenes which were captured in all their immediacy by the artist.
The Drawn Blank Series has resulted in a collection which is at once a significant independent achievement and a fascinating extrapolation of themes and images which haunt his music.
Accompanying the originals exhibition at Halcyon Gallery, a unique and impressive collection of limited edition graphics, signed by the artist, will be available through selected galleries throughout the UK from 14 June 2008.
Paul Green, President of the Halcyon Gallery, commented, "This is an incredible opportunity for viewing this powerful body of work which gives an insight into the artists' soul; and which have already been the subject of widespread critical acclaim. Halcyon Gallery is privileged to be hosting this unique exhibition."
Bob Dylan is one of the world's most popular and acclaimed songwriters, musicians and performers, having sold more than 110 million albums and performed literally thousands of shows around the world in a career spanning five decades. His most recent album, Modern Times - lauded by critics around the world and selling more than 2.5 million copies to date -- entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #1, as well as debuting within the Top Five in 21 other countries.
Bob Dylan was recently awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In 2001, he received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for best song from a motion picture for "Things Have Changed" from the movie Wonder Boys. Dylan's Chronicles - Volume I, his recent memoirs released in October, 2004, was a world-wide best seller, spending 19 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1982.
Situated in the heart of Mayfair, London, Halcyon Gallery is one of Europe's leading art galleries, representing some of the finest contemporary painters and sculptors working today. Halcyon Gallery is committed to supporting and nurturing outstanding living artists, as well as specialising in fine art and masters original paintings, drawings and sculpture.
2008 marks the 25th anniversary of Halcyon Gallery and the opening of a magnificent new flagship gallery at 24 Bruton Street. This elegant Georgian building has been renovated to create a stunning exhibition space suitable for the finest art and joins Halcyon Gallery's existing space at 29 New Bond Street.
For further information about the exhibition of the original Dylan works at Halcyon Gallery please visit www.halcyongallery.com
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Compelling Miles Davis cover on current issue of JAZZIZ
The current (September) issue of JAZZIZ has a compelling, beautiful Miles Davis cover, announcing a feature article questioning the primacy of Kind Of Blue among the jazz classics.
Cover and feature – a total of seven pages – were more than enough to persuade me to pay £7.95 for an imported copy of the mag at my local Borders.
The article, by Marc Myers, is a challenging piece – “the album’s impact on jazz has become somewhat inflated over time… the tracks all suffer from a dull similarity…”. It’s published to coincide with the release of the Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition.
The Miles cover is only the second issue of JAZZIZ I’ve ever bought. The first was in the early ‘90s when I was getting into jazz; I decided that its approach wasn’t for me.
Credit to its Boca Raton, Florida publishers, though – it’s beautifully designed and it was well ahead of the jazz-lite curve. Its success indicates that it supplies its market with the easy jazz/lifestyle content they want.
www.jazziz.com
Marc Myers blogs at:
www.jazzwax.com
Gerry Smith
Cover and feature – a total of seven pages – were more than enough to persuade me to pay £7.95 for an imported copy of the mag at my local Borders.
The article, by Marc Myers, is a challenging piece – “the album’s impact on jazz has become somewhat inflated over time… the tracks all suffer from a dull similarity…”. It’s published to coincide with the release of the Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition.
The Miles cover is only the second issue of JAZZIZ I’ve ever bought. The first was in the early ‘90s when I was getting into jazz; I decided that its approach wasn’t for me.
Credit to its Boca Raton, Florida publishers, though – it’s beautifully designed and it was well ahead of the jazz-lite curve. Its success indicates that it supplies its market with the easy jazz/lifestyle content they want.
www.jazziz.com
Marc Myers blogs at:
www.jazzwax.com
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
HMV has bargains, too
Just as Music for Grown-Ups was bemoaning the price of new Miles and Dylan boxes at HMV, sister site Dylan Daily carried a report of HMV bargains:
Dylan on Dylan and I'm Not There – heavily discounted
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“I thought Dylan Daily readers would like to know that branches of HMV are currently offering Jonathan Cott's book, Dylan on Dylan, for £3 (RRP £8.99) and the DVD of I'm Not There as part of their 3 for £20 promotion.”
(And Fopp, HMV’s recently acquired subsidiary, is also discounting the single DVD version of I'm Not There – to £8 the last time I visited a Fopp store. Gerry Smith)
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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
New Dylan and Miles box sets - big price differences
The new Dylan and Miles box sets - Tell Tale Signs Deluxe and Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition – are big Sony launches destined to fill many grown-up Xmas stockings.
There’s a marked variation in prices from the different retailers, though. The best prices I’ve seen are from Zavvi online - £79 (Dylan) and £50 (Miles).
When I called in on Saturday, HMV Oxford Circus had a couple of eye-watering price tags: £95 (Dylan) and £85 (Miles), though the HMV combined web price is much lower - only £10 above Zavvi’s.
With every passing week, I find myself less and less inclined to buy from the big bricks-and-mortar London megastores; I used to be a big customer.
And their small branches seem to have given up on music. My local HMV now focuses on DVD and games, with music taking only a small proportion of floor space; I probably won’t bother going in there again.
Gerry Smith
Dylan on Dylan and I'm Not There – heavily discounted
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“I thought Dylan Daily readers would like to know that branches of HMV are currently offering Jonathan Cott's book, Dylan on Dylan, for £3 (RRP £8.99) and the DVD of I'm Not There as part of their 3 for £20 promotion.”
(And Fopp, HMV’s recently acquired subsidiary, is also discounting the single DVD version of I'm Not There – to £8 the last time I visited a Fopp store. Gerry Smith)
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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
New Dylan and Miles box sets - big price differences
The new Dylan and Miles box sets - Tell Tale Signs Deluxe and Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition – are big Sony launches destined to fill many grown-up Xmas stockings.
There’s a marked variation in prices from the different retailers, though. The best prices I’ve seen are from Zavvi online - £79 (Dylan) and £50 (Miles).
When I called in on Saturday, HMV Oxford Circus had a couple of eye-watering price tags: £95 (Dylan) and £85 (Miles), though the HMV combined web price is much lower - only £10 above Zavvi’s.
With every passing week, I find myself less and less inclined to buy from the big bricks-and-mortar London megastores; I used to be a big customer.
And their small branches seem to have given up on music. My local HMV now focuses on DVD and games, with music taking only a small proportion of floor space; I probably won’t bother going in there again.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Neil Young to Billie Holiday, Mahler to Goldfrapp, Jay Z to David Byrne
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Hidden among its vast output, BBC TV and radio has some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
In the next ten days, for example:
Thurs 23 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Mike Skinner, BBC Electric Proms – BBC2
Fri 24 Oct
2200 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4
0035 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2 (rpt)
Sat 25 Oct
2400 Billie Holiday, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 26 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
2400 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4 (rpt)
Mon 27 Oct
1200 & 2200 Mahler, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (4/4)
Tues 28 Oct
2235 Jay Z, Imagine… - BBC1
Thurs 30 Oct
2355, David Byrne, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
0055, Ryan Adams, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 31 Oct
2130 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) – BBC Four
2200 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2300 CSNY/Déjà Vu – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Hidden among its vast output, BBC TV and radio has some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
In the next ten days, for example:
Thurs 23 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Mike Skinner, BBC Electric Proms – BBC2
Fri 24 Oct
2200 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4
0035 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2 (rpt)
Sat 25 Oct
2400 Billie Holiday, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 26 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
2400 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4 (rpt)
Mon 27 Oct
1200 & 2200 Mahler, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (4/4)
Tues 28 Oct
2235 Jay Z, Imagine… - BBC1
Thurs 30 Oct
2355, David Byrne, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
0055, Ryan Adams, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Fri 31 Oct
2130 Neil Young, In Concert (1971) – BBC Four
2200 Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied – BBC Four
2300 CSNY/Déjà Vu – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, October 20, 2008
New Dylan and Miles box sets - big price differences
The new Dylan and Miles box sets - Tell Tale Signs Deluxe and Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition – are big Sony launches destined to fill many grown-up Xmas stockings.
There’s a marked variation in prices from the different retailers, though. The best prices I’ve seen are from Zavvi online - £79 (Dylan) and £50 (Miles).
When I called in on Saturday, HMV Oxford Circus had a couple of eye-watering price tags: £95 (Dylan) and £85 (Miles), though the HMV combined web price is much lower - only £10 above Zavvi’s.
With every passing week, I find myself less and less inclined to buy from the big bricks-and-mortar London megastores; I used to be a big customer.
And their small branches seem to have given up on music. My local HMV now focuses on DVD and games, with music taking only a small proportion of floor space; I probably won’t bother going in there again.
Gerry Smith
There’s a marked variation in prices from the different retailers, though. The best prices I’ve seen are from Zavvi online - £79 (Dylan) and £50 (Miles).
When I called in on Saturday, HMV Oxford Circus had a couple of eye-watering price tags: £95 (Dylan) and £85 (Miles), though the HMV combined web price is much lower - only £10 above Zavvi’s.
With every passing week, I find myself less and less inclined to buy from the big bricks-and-mortar London megastores; I used to be a big customer.
And their small branches seem to have given up on music. My local HMV now focuses on DVD and games, with music taking only a small proportion of floor space; I probably won’t bother going in there again.
Gerry Smith
Friday, October 17, 2008
Favourite ‘50s Rock Artist: Roy Orbison - Reader Survey #2
The favourite ‘50s rock artist of readers of Music for Grown-Ups is Roy Orbison.
When we surveyed readers over a period of a couple of months the results were:
Roy Orbison 26%
Elvis Presley 24.6%
Chuck Berry 21.9%
Buddy Holly 17.8%
Everly Brothers 9.5%
Little Richard 0%
Gerry Smith
When we surveyed readers over a period of a couple of months the results were:
Roy Orbison 26%
Elvis Presley 24.6%
Chuck Berry 21.9%
Buddy Holly 17.8%
Everly Brothers 9.5%
Little Richard 0%
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Favourite Classic Rock Album: Reader Survey #1
The Favourite Classic Rock Album of readers of Music for Grown-Ups is... Astral Weeks by Van Morrison.
When we surveyed readers over a period of a couple of months the results were:
Astral Weeks (Van Morrison) 35% of votes
Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan) 21%
Revolver (The Beatles) 15%
Tonight's the Night (Neil Young) 14%
Exile on Main Street (The Rolling Stones) 13%
Gerry Smith
When we surveyed readers over a period of a couple of months the results were:
Astral Weeks (Van Morrison) 35% of votes
Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan) 21%
Revolver (The Beatles) 15%
Tonight's the Night (Neil Young) 14%
Exile on Main Street (The Rolling Stones) 13%
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sun Ra to Louis Jordan, Jakob Dylan to The Streets, Monteverdi to Goldfrapp
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Hidden in its vast musical output, BBC TV and radio broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
In the next ten days, for example:
Wed 15 Oct
1200 & 2200 Claudio Monteverdi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 16 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Gillian Welch, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Sat 18 Oct
2400 Sun Ra, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 19 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 20 Oct
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (3/4)
Tues 21 Oct
2320 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2
Thurs 23 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Mike Skinner, BBC Electric Proms – BBC2
Fri 24 Oct
2200 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4
0035 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2 (rpt)
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Commercial TV highlights:
Fri 17 Oct
2420 The Beatles, All You Need Is Love (part 14), More 4
Gerry Smith
Hidden in its vast musical output, BBC TV and radio broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (well, sort of… ).
In the next ten days, for example:
Wed 15 Oct
1200 & 2200 Claudio Monteverdi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 16 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Gillian Welch, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Sat 18 Oct
2400 Sun Ra, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 19 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 20 Oct
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (3/4)
Tues 21 Oct
2320 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2
Thurs 23 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Mike Skinner, BBC Electric Proms – BBC2
Fri 24 Oct
2200 Goldfrapp, BBC Electric Proms – BBC4
0035 Jakob Dylan, Later… With Jools Holland – BBC2 (rpt)
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Commercial TV highlights:
Fri 17 Oct
2420 The Beatles, All You Need Is Love (part 14), More 4
Gerry Smith
Monday, October 13, 2008
In the field of opportunity… it’s Neil Young time again
The Neil Young PR machine is in full swing, in advance of a new album, the launch of the Archives series, and an important BBC Four biodoc.
Thanks to Martin Cowan for these links:
For the Neil fans, this in today's Observer Music Monthly:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/12/neil-young-documentary
This puff for the forthcoming BBC4 doc:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/
Thanks to Martin Cowan for these links:
For the Neil fans, this in today's Observer Music Monthly:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/12/neil-young-documentary
This puff for the forthcoming BBC4 doc:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/
Friday, October 10, 2008
Kind Of Blue – 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition
Columbia Legacy have pushed the boat out to mark the half century of the Miles Davis masterpiece, Kind Of Blue - a massive seller, with wide appeal well beyond the core jazz audience.
The new Collectors product includes:
* the most recent version of the CD, slowed down to correct pitch and with bonus track. (It normally retails for a discounted £5).
* a CD of earlier recordings by the KOB line-up. (Otherwise available on Miles ‘58 Sessions and as part of Jazz Track)
* out-takes (from the Miles/Coltrane box, and bootlegged on The Making Of Kind Of Blue).
Plus artefacts you’d find impossible to buy elsewhere – 2 DVD programmes, book, photo set, poster - or would probably no longer have a use for – a vinyl version of the LP. The rigid, tight packaging has been criticised for scuffing the discs.
It’s available from play.com for £55 (delivered).
The intended audience is in the title – collectors, who will love it. Fans of Miles music - rather than Miles artefacts - will already have the audio material and will mostly ignore it.
Grown-up listeners who don’t know the great album should spend £5 on the latest (slowed down) CD version - Kind Of Blue is timeless great art (though second to In A Silent Way in Music For Grown-Ups’ Top Ten Miles releases).
Gerry Smith
The new Collectors product includes:
* the most recent version of the CD, slowed down to correct pitch and with bonus track. (It normally retails for a discounted £5).
* a CD of earlier recordings by the KOB line-up. (Otherwise available on Miles ‘58 Sessions and as part of Jazz Track)
* out-takes (from the Miles/Coltrane box, and bootlegged on The Making Of Kind Of Blue).
Plus artefacts you’d find impossible to buy elsewhere – 2 DVD programmes, book, photo set, poster - or would probably no longer have a use for – a vinyl version of the LP. The rigid, tight packaging has been criticised for scuffing the discs.
It’s available from play.com for £55 (delivered).
The intended audience is in the title – collectors, who will love it. Fans of Miles music - rather than Miles artefacts - will already have the audio material and will mostly ignore it.
Grown-up listeners who don’t know the great album should spend £5 on the latest (slowed down) CD version - Kind Of Blue is timeless great art (though second to In A Silent Way in Music For Grown-Ups’ Top Ten Miles releases).
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Dylan’s Tell Tale Signs DeLuxe Edition – exclusive review of CD3
Thanks to Liam Mogan:
Just a few notes on the Exclusive Deluxe Edition:
Price
I paid £84.99 for it, which is considerably cheaper than the bobdylan.com price (although the package doesn't include the 7" single). The main question I suppose is it worth the money? The answer is no - £70.00 for an extra disc of material and a bit of packaging is daylight robbery. Sony must know they are only ripping off the diehards on this one. But, hey, I suppose was always going to buy it and I could have just bought the 2 disc edition and downloaded the extra disc. It still rankles though.
Packaging
The packaging is ok - nothing spectacular. The cds come in a small book format and the cd single artwork come in a exact replica. They both fit into a stiff cardboard case (it seems pretty heavy duty). It's basically quite similar to the Bob Dylan Scrapbook that was released a couple of years ago (but not as imaginative). The cd book has a few pictures and Rats Sloman's liner notes (expanded for this edition, obviously). It also has an attempt at listing the musicians who play on each track, but for some (especially the TOM sessions) it seems to just list every musician who played on those sessions as a whole! The cd single artwork is something of missed opportunity. I've looked through it once and probably never will again. Surely Sony could have come up with something more interesting? Maybe an overview of Bob's career during the period Tell Tale Signs covers, interviews with producers, players etc, more essays, historic reviews for the original albums etc.
Music
Obviously it's what is on the third cd that really matters and suffice to say there are some awe-inspiring tracks on here. What amazes me about the alternate takes, especially, is the legitimacy of each version. There is virtually no re-treading of musical ideas anywhere. I'm sure that there could have been twice as many alternative versions included and this expanded edition could have run to 5 discs easily, (even more with live tracks). These are my feelings on them
Duncan & Brady - This is not a good start. A traditional track ruined by a completely incongruous backing track. All manner of instruments clutter up the tune which whizzes along without purpose or direction. Bob sounds disinterested and slightly embarrassed. At worst it sounds like something from Knocked Out Loaded, at best an out take from Under the Red Sky. No wonder Good As I Been To You/World Gone Wrong followed.
Cold Irons Bound (live) - Bob and his band fire up the stage with a truly incendiary, power-charged version of a track which always sounds better live. The guitar interplay is dynamic and Bob's voice is focussed and elemental. Truly jaw-dropping.
Mississippi - The third(!) version on the set of this song has a slight reggae feel and whilst it has a certain charm seems a bit too calculated - as if Lanois (possibly) has instigated an attempt at a different style to shake things up.
Most of The Time - A more subtle version of the OM track. Less-obviously produced with a more rootsy feel (the acoustic guitars are more pronounced). I like this track a lot, Dylan leans into each word as if he means it. A gem.
Ring Them Bells - A great solo version. Piano and voice sound in perfect harmony. Its clearly the basis for later versions and rightly so. Without the shimmering guitars and intrusive echo it sounds just like it should.
Things Have Changed (live) - The band are in a tight groove and the overall feel is more relaxed that the studio version. Bob obviously likes this track and takes care over his delivery. A superb version.
Red River Shore - This take is slightly different from the one on Cd1 in that the band come in at the beginning as opposed to dropping in with each verse. After only a handful of listens its hard to say which one I favour. Safe to say both are beautiful works of art which only add to Bob Dylan's status as THE musical genius of the 20th century. (I can see why it was left off of TOM though - it just wouldn't have fitted in)
Born In Time - Similar to the version on Cd1. I prefer this version as, once again, it sounds less over-produced with Bob's voice in the foreground.
Tryin' to Get To Heaven (live) - Dylan as Sinatra! This is astonishing and as good an example of Bob's skill as a shape-shifter as anything he's ever done. From the simple guitar figure to the beautiful phrasing this lifts the doom-laden TOM version onto a different level altogether. The song is changed into a life-affirming tribute to a life well lived. Somebody shouts 'F**kin' Beautiful' at the end, which while apposite, completely breaks the spell Dylan and the band have just created! Someone should have Pro-Tooled it out.
Marchin' To The City - A definite 'filler'. It adds very little to the previous version and sounds slightly generic. The organ is very annoying indeed. One to skip.
Can't Wait - This is the best version of this song bar none. It starts spookily and mysterious and the slow pace adds depth to the lyrics and the performance. As the band comes in, their accompaniment is totally sympathetic. Great Vocals too. I could listen to this over and over.
Mary & The Soldier - I couldn't think of a better place to end than this spot-on cover. As good as anything on the 90s acoustic albums. Dylan sounds completely at home with just voice and lone guitar. The disparity between this and the first track on this disc, Duncan & Brady, is staggering.
I can only agree with most reviewers (the general reaction appears to be one of mass-adulation) that this collection re-affirms the sheer immensity and ever-changing nature of the genius that is Bob Dylan. Personally I can't wait until the next one....
Just a few notes on the Exclusive Deluxe Edition:
Price
I paid £84.99 for it, which is considerably cheaper than the bobdylan.com price (although the package doesn't include the 7" single). The main question I suppose is it worth the money? The answer is no - £70.00 for an extra disc of material and a bit of packaging is daylight robbery. Sony must know they are only ripping off the diehards on this one. But, hey, I suppose was always going to buy it and I could have just bought the 2 disc edition and downloaded the extra disc. It still rankles though.
Packaging
The packaging is ok - nothing spectacular. The cds come in a small book format and the cd single artwork come in a exact replica. They both fit into a stiff cardboard case (it seems pretty heavy duty). It's basically quite similar to the Bob Dylan Scrapbook that was released a couple of years ago (but not as imaginative). The cd book has a few pictures and Rats Sloman's liner notes (expanded for this edition, obviously). It also has an attempt at listing the musicians who play on each track, but for some (especially the TOM sessions) it seems to just list every musician who played on those sessions as a whole! The cd single artwork is something of missed opportunity. I've looked through it once and probably never will again. Surely Sony could have come up with something more interesting? Maybe an overview of Bob's career during the period Tell Tale Signs covers, interviews with producers, players etc, more essays, historic reviews for the original albums etc.
Music
Obviously it's what is on the third cd that really matters and suffice to say there are some awe-inspiring tracks on here. What amazes me about the alternate takes, especially, is the legitimacy of each version. There is virtually no re-treading of musical ideas anywhere. I'm sure that there could have been twice as many alternative versions included and this expanded edition could have run to 5 discs easily, (even more with live tracks). These are my feelings on them
Duncan & Brady - This is not a good start. A traditional track ruined by a completely incongruous backing track. All manner of instruments clutter up the tune which whizzes along without purpose or direction. Bob sounds disinterested and slightly embarrassed. At worst it sounds like something from Knocked Out Loaded, at best an out take from Under the Red Sky. No wonder Good As I Been To You/World Gone Wrong followed.
Cold Irons Bound (live) - Bob and his band fire up the stage with a truly incendiary, power-charged version of a track which always sounds better live. The guitar interplay is dynamic and Bob's voice is focussed and elemental. Truly jaw-dropping.
Mississippi - The third(!) version on the set of this song has a slight reggae feel and whilst it has a certain charm seems a bit too calculated - as if Lanois (possibly) has instigated an attempt at a different style to shake things up.
Most of The Time - A more subtle version of the OM track. Less-obviously produced with a more rootsy feel (the acoustic guitars are more pronounced). I like this track a lot, Dylan leans into each word as if he means it. A gem.
Ring Them Bells - A great solo version. Piano and voice sound in perfect harmony. Its clearly the basis for later versions and rightly so. Without the shimmering guitars and intrusive echo it sounds just like it should.
Things Have Changed (live) - The band are in a tight groove and the overall feel is more relaxed that the studio version. Bob obviously likes this track and takes care over his delivery. A superb version.
Red River Shore - This take is slightly different from the one on Cd1 in that the band come in at the beginning as opposed to dropping in with each verse. After only a handful of listens its hard to say which one I favour. Safe to say both are beautiful works of art which only add to Bob Dylan's status as THE musical genius of the 20th century. (I can see why it was left off of TOM though - it just wouldn't have fitted in)
Born In Time - Similar to the version on Cd1. I prefer this version as, once again, it sounds less over-produced with Bob's voice in the foreground.
Tryin' to Get To Heaven (live) - Dylan as Sinatra! This is astonishing and as good an example of Bob's skill as a shape-shifter as anything he's ever done. From the simple guitar figure to the beautiful phrasing this lifts the doom-laden TOM version onto a different level altogether. The song is changed into a life-affirming tribute to a life well lived. Somebody shouts 'F**kin' Beautiful' at the end, which while apposite, completely breaks the spell Dylan and the band have just created! Someone should have Pro-Tooled it out.
Marchin' To The City - A definite 'filler'. It adds very little to the previous version and sounds slightly generic. The organ is very annoying indeed. One to skip.
Can't Wait - This is the best version of this song bar none. It starts spookily and mysterious and the slow pace adds depth to the lyrics and the performance. As the band comes in, their accompaniment is totally sympathetic. Great Vocals too. I could listen to this over and over.
Mary & The Soldier - I couldn't think of a better place to end than this spot-on cover. As good as anything on the 90s acoustic albums. Dylan sounds completely at home with just voice and lone guitar. The disparity between this and the first track on this disc, Duncan & Brady, is staggering.
I can only agree with most reviewers (the general reaction appears to be one of mass-adulation) that this collection re-affirms the sheer immensity and ever-changing nature of the genius that is Bob Dylan. Personally I can't wait until the next one....
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Gillian Welch to Claudio Monteverdi, Louis Jordan to the Beatles
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Hidden among the musical dross dominating its massive output, the multitude of BBC TV and radio channels broadcast magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (sort of).
For example:
Thurs 9 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Sun 12 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 13 Oct
1200 & 2200 Claudio Monteverdi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (2/4)
Thurs 16 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Gillian Welch, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Commercial TV highlights:
Fri 17 Oct
2420 The Beatles, All You Need Is Love (part 14), More 4
Gerry Smith
Hidden among the musical dross dominating its massive output, the multitude of BBC TV and radio channels broadcast magnificent music for grown-ups - every week of the year. And it’s all free (sort of).
For example:
Thurs 9 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Sun 12 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 13 Oct
1200 & 2200 Claudio Monteverdi, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2 (2/4)
Thurs 16 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2320 Gillian Welch, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Commercial TV highlights:
Fri 17 Oct
2420 The Beatles, All You Need Is Love (part 14), More 4
Gerry Smith
Friday, October 03, 2008
Fine tribute to Charles Mingus in Composer Of The Week
Music for Grown-Ups is a big fan of BBC Radio 3 and its flagship series like Composer Of The Week.
The series, dealing in depth with a single composer over five one-hour programmes, covers all the big classical names, as well as introducing names you’ve never heard of. It’s the highlight of many music-lovers’ weeks.
All praise to the team for risking the wrath of staid, hidebound listeners in the classical ghetto by running this week’s programmes on jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.
Regular presenter Donald Macleod has been helped out by jazz buff Brian Priestley to produce a revelatory suite of programmes.
Here’s what’s being played this week:
Better Git It In Yo' Soul
Half-Mast Inhibition
Mingus Fingers, Lionel Hampton and his orchestra
Inspiration - Parts 1 and 2, Charlie Mingus and his 22 piece Bebop Band
Eclipse, Charles Mingus Octet with Janet Thurlow (vocal)
Getting Together
Pithecanthropus Erectus
................................................
Haitian Fight Song, The Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop
Ysabel's Table Dance
Scenes In The City
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
Moanin'
.........................................................
Jelly Roll, Mingus Ah Um
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Gunslinging Bird
Open Letter to Duke, Mingus Ah Um CBS 450436 2 Tr 5
Original Faubus Fables
Meditations (excerpt)
Passions Of A Man
.......................................................
I Can't Get Started
Epitaph Part 2
Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
..................................................................
Don't Let It Happen Here
Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too
Sue's Changes
Epitaph: Ballad (In Other Words, I Am Three)
Online access: like many BBC radio programmes, Composer Of The Week is being broadcast online (streamed) and is archived for online listening for seven days after broadcast:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
The series, dealing in depth with a single composer over five one-hour programmes, covers all the big classical names, as well as introducing names you’ve never heard of. It’s the highlight of many music-lovers’ weeks.
All praise to the team for risking the wrath of staid, hidebound listeners in the classical ghetto by running this week’s programmes on jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.
Regular presenter Donald Macleod has been helped out by jazz buff Brian Priestley to produce a revelatory suite of programmes.
Here’s what’s being played this week:
Better Git It In Yo' Soul
Half-Mast Inhibition
Mingus Fingers, Lionel Hampton and his orchestra
Inspiration - Parts 1 and 2, Charlie Mingus and his 22 piece Bebop Band
Eclipse, Charles Mingus Octet with Janet Thurlow (vocal)
Getting Together
Pithecanthropus Erectus
................................................
Haitian Fight Song, The Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop
Ysabel's Table Dance
Scenes In The City
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
Moanin'
.........................................................
Jelly Roll, Mingus Ah Um
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Gunslinging Bird
Open Letter to Duke, Mingus Ah Um CBS 450436 2 Tr 5
Original Faubus Fables
Meditations (excerpt)
Passions Of A Man
.......................................................
I Can't Get Started
Epitaph Part 2
Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
..................................................................
Don't Let It Happen Here
Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too
Sue's Changes
Epitaph: Ballad (In Other Words, I Am Three)
Online access: like many BBC radio programmes, Composer Of The Week is being broadcast online (streamed) and is archived for online listening for seven days after broadcast:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Astral Weeks – live in LA
Astral Weeks, Van Morrison’s masterpiece, is Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite rock album. So it’s a delight to be able to pass on the news that Morrison will be playing Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 7 and 8 November.
On both nights, the second half of the Hollywood gig will be a cover-to-cover re-creation of the magnificent LP, with a band including original recording session players Jay Berliner and Richard Davis. Hardcore Morrison fans will also be cheered by the reappearance on a VanMan stage of revered horn player Ritchie Buckley.
The gigs will be recorded for a new album, Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl, to be released on the singer’s new label, Listen To The Lion Records, in January 2000.
Mamma!
Gerry Smith
Astral Weeks, Van Morrison’s masterpiece, is Music for Grown-Ups’ favourite rock album. So it’s a delight to be able to pass on the news that Morrison will be playing Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 7 and 8 November.
On both nights, the second half of the Hollywood gig will be a cover-to-cover re-creation of the magnificent LP, with a band including original recording session players Jay Berliner and Richard Davis. Hardcore Morrison fans will also be cheered by the reappearance on a VanMan stage of revered horn player Ritchie Buckley.
The gigs will be recorded for a new album, Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl, to be released on the singer’s new label, Listen To The Lion Records, in January 2000.
Mamma!
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Bob Dylan’s new release, Tell Tale Signs – reaction and best price
A couple of hours in the company of Bob Dylan’s new release, Tell Tale Signs last night, courtesy of NPR Music’s streaming of the 2CD version, served as a reminder – as if it were needed! – that its author is an immense, unmatched talent.
The 27-track compilation is eloquent testimony to Dylan’s abundant creativity over the last 20 years. It underlines the continuity in his art and enriches your appreciation of the work, particularly the two strongest albums of the period, Oh Mercy and TOOM, as well as introducing many of us to almost a dozen new recordings demanding careful scrutiny.
Yes, it could have been done very differently, but I, for one, consider that Sony’s Bootleg Series programme is – still - a wonder to behold.
As for the main purchase options – one, two or three compact discs: I just don’t understand why anyone would buy the single CD version; the 2CD is the standard version, which 90% of readers are likely to buy; and the 3CD version is clearly aimed at collectors (the extra disc is destined to be massively bootlegged, but the packaging extras and artwork can’t be).
The target (UK) price for the 2CD version is £12.99 delivered – play.com, 101.cd, cd-wow and hmv are all discounting to that price, from the list £16.99. I contemplated asking my son to get me one in Paris next week, to get the French packaging, but with the FNAC online price at euro27, I plumped for play.com instead.
Roll on Monday: rapture in store! Thanks, Bob… Columbia – just keep ‘em coming!
Gerry Smith
The 27-track compilation is eloquent testimony to Dylan’s abundant creativity over the last 20 years. It underlines the continuity in his art and enriches your appreciation of the work, particularly the two strongest albums of the period, Oh Mercy and TOOM, as well as introducing many of us to almost a dozen new recordings demanding careful scrutiny.
Yes, it could have been done very differently, but I, for one, consider that Sony’s Bootleg Series programme is – still - a wonder to behold.
As for the main purchase options – one, two or three compact discs: I just don’t understand why anyone would buy the single CD version; the 2CD is the standard version, which 90% of readers are likely to buy; and the 3CD version is clearly aimed at collectors (the extra disc is destined to be massively bootlegged, but the packaging extras and artwork can’t be).
The target (UK) price for the 2CD version is £12.99 delivered – play.com, 101.cd, cd-wow and hmv are all discounting to that price, from the list £16.99. I contemplated asking my son to get me one in Paris next week, to get the French packaging, but with the FNAC online price at euro27, I plumped for play.com instead.
Roll on Monday: rapture in store! Thanks, Bob… Columbia – just keep ‘em coming!
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Louis Jordan to Charles Mingus, Elvis to Dave Holland and Bobby Dylan to hip-hop
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Tues 30 Sept
2230, Dazed & Confused: the Led Zeppelin Legacy – BBC Radio 2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (2/2)
Wed 1 Oct
1200 & 2200 Charles Mingus, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 2 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 3 Oct
2100 Once Upon A Time In New York (hip hop, disco and punk) – BBC Four
Sun 5 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 6 Oct
2315 Dave Holland Sextet, Jazz On 3 - BBC Radio 3
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2
Thurs 9 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
And on commercial TV:
Fri 10 Oct
2420 Elvis Presley, All You Need Is Love (part 13), More 4
Gerry Smith
Tues 30 Sept
2230, Dazed & Confused: the Led Zeppelin Legacy – BBC Radio 2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (2/2)
Wed 1 Oct
1200 & 2200 Charles Mingus, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 2 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 3 Oct
2100 Once Upon A Time In New York (hip hop, disco and punk) – BBC Four
Sun 5 Oct
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 6 Oct
2315 Dave Holland Sextet, Jazz On 3 - BBC Radio 3
2330 Choo Choo Ch’Boogie: the Louis Jordan Story - BBC Radio 2
Thurs 9 Oct
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
And on commercial TV:
Fri 10 Oct
2420 Elvis Presley, All You Need Is Love (part 13), More 4
Gerry Smith
Monday, September 29, 2008
Africa Now! World–class line-up in London in October
London’s Barbican – probably the leading UK venue staging music for grown-ups, from across the spectrum – excels itself next month with AFRICA NOW, featuring giants of African music like Baaba Maal, Oumou Sangare, Amadou & Mariam, Rachid Taha and many more, on 23 October.
It‘s the first time I’ve been aware of so many of Africa's greatest artists performing under one roof. They’ll do solo and ensemble sets.
Tickets: £10-25. Giveaway!
www.barbican.org.uk
Gerry Smith
It‘s the first time I’ve been aware of so many of Africa's greatest artists performing under one roof. They’ll do solo and ensemble sets.
Tickets: £10-25. Giveaway!
www.barbican.org.uk
Gerry Smith
Friday, September 26, 2008
Alex Turner: outpacing Dylan?
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“I'm not sure what readers' stance is on trendy scallywags The Arctic Monkeys, but I find myself somewhat surprisingly commending Monkeys main man Alex Turner's Mercury Prize short-listed side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.
“Turner's way with a word recently led to him rubbing shoulders with such esteemed writers as Cohen, Joni and Dylan himself in the Guardian's Great Lyricists booklet series, and it is a combination of his sharp lyrics and the impeccable classic ‘60s sound textures on the Shadow Puppets' "Age of the Understatement" LP which has set my pulse racing these last few weeks.
“Indeed, perusing the sharp and spiky lyrical twists and turns made me wonder when Dylan, famously held up as the world's greatest lyricist, was able to conjure up such original and poetic word play - not in recent times, I fear.
“This, from the opening title track, is offered as an appetiser for those who might dare to explore further:
"’She's playful/ the boring would warn you/ be careful of her brigade/ in order to tame this relentless marauder/ move away from the parade.
“’She was walking on the tables/ in the glasshouse/ endearingly bedraggled in the wind/ subtle in her method of seduction/ twenty little tragedies begin’."
All lyrics quoted are used for the purpose of criticism or review.
The Last Shadow Puppets, by Alex Turner and Miles Kane, published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd/Deltasonic Music Ltd, Copyright © and (p) Domino Recording Co Ltd 2008.
“I'm not sure what readers' stance is on trendy scallywags The Arctic Monkeys, but I find myself somewhat surprisingly commending Monkeys main man Alex Turner's Mercury Prize short-listed side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.
“Turner's way with a word recently led to him rubbing shoulders with such esteemed writers as Cohen, Joni and Dylan himself in the Guardian's Great Lyricists booklet series, and it is a combination of his sharp lyrics and the impeccable classic ‘60s sound textures on the Shadow Puppets' "Age of the Understatement" LP which has set my pulse racing these last few weeks.
“Indeed, perusing the sharp and spiky lyrical twists and turns made me wonder when Dylan, famously held up as the world's greatest lyricist, was able to conjure up such original and poetic word play - not in recent times, I fear.
“This, from the opening title track, is offered as an appetiser for those who might dare to explore further:
"’She's playful/ the boring would warn you/ be careful of her brigade/ in order to tame this relentless marauder/ move away from the parade.
“’She was walking on the tables/ in the glasshouse/ endearingly bedraggled in the wind/ subtle in her method of seduction/ twenty little tragedies begin’."
All lyrics quoted are used for the purpose of criticism or review.
The Last Shadow Puppets, by Alex Turner and Miles Kane, published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd/Deltasonic Music Ltd, Copyright © and (p) Domino Recording Co Ltd 2008.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Neil Young’s legacy examined in the new issue of WIRE
Thanks to Bryn Wilson:
“I’m excited, like you, by all the new Neil Young stuff. You and your readers might be interested in a lengthy article in the latest issue of WIRE - Adventures in Modern Music, the avant-garde music monthly.
“WIRE #296, October 2008, with the Richie Hawtin cover, has a multi-page feature article in its The Primer slot: The Alternative Neil Young. It’s a comprehensive survey from a WIRE perspective, looking at Young’s discography with an original, leftfield slant – a relief from the normal mainstream entertainment view you get in the heritage rock mags.”
“I’m excited, like you, by all the new Neil Young stuff. You and your readers might be interested in a lengthy article in the latest issue of WIRE - Adventures in Modern Music, the avant-garde music monthly.
“WIRE #296, October 2008, with the Richie Hawtin cover, has a multi-page feature article in its The Primer slot: The Alternative Neil Young. It’s a comprehensive survey from a WIRE perspective, looking at Young’s discography with an original, leftfield slant – a relief from the normal mainstream entertainment view you get in the heritage rock mags.”
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Five new Neil Young products imminent
Like all Neil Young fans still gnashing their teeth at having missed the highly praised European tour earlier this year, I’m looking forward to a slew of new product about to hit the streets, particularly:
* The new release, the oft-bootlegged Sugar Mountain gig, due next Monday
* Don’t Be Denied, a 60-min bio-doc due on BBC Four TV in late October
* The Riverboat, another live gig, from the Archives project, due November
* the multi-disc Archives Volume One, pencilled in for November, but serially delayed.
But I’ll be avoiding the new film chronicling the Living With War tour Young completed in 2006 with CS&N.
Gerry Smith
* The new release, the oft-bootlegged Sugar Mountain gig, due next Monday
* Don’t Be Denied, a 60-min bio-doc due on BBC Four TV in late October
* The Riverboat, another live gig, from the Archives project, due November
* the multi-disc Archives Volume One, pencilled in for November, but serially delayed.
But I’ll be avoiding the new film chronicling the Living With War tour Young completed in 2006 with CS&N.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Led Zep to Mingus, Howlin’ Wolf to Jacqueline du Pre and June Tabor to Bob Dylan
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Wed 24 Sept
1200 & 2200 Brahms, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 25 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 26 Sept
1930 Jacqueline du Pre/Elgar Cello Concerto – BBC Four
2335 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later… - BBC2
Sat 27 Sept
1600 Betty Carter, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
2400 Duke Ellington 1940-1974, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 28 Sept
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
0140 Masked And Anonymous (Dylan – film, with music) – BBC2
Mon 29 September
1200 & 2200 Charles Mingus, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 30 Sept
2230, Dazed & Confused: the Led Zeppelin Legacy – BBC Radio 2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (2/2)
Thurs 2 Oct
2255 June Tabor, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 3 Oct
2100 Once Upon A Time In New York (hip hop, disco and punk)
– BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wed 24 Sept
1200 & 2200 Brahms, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
Thurs 25 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 26 Sept
1930 Jacqueline du Pre/Elgar Cello Concerto – BBC Four
2335 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later… - BBC2
Sat 27 Sept
1600 Betty Carter, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
2400 Duke Ellington 1940-1974, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
Sun 28 Sept
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
0140 Masked And Anonymous (Dylan – film, with music) – BBC2
Mon 29 September
1200 & 2200 Charles Mingus, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 30 Sept
2230, Dazed & Confused: the Led Zeppelin Legacy – BBC Radio 2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (2/2)
Thurs 2 Oct
2255 June Tabor, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 3 Oct
2100 Once Upon A Time In New York (hip hop, disco and punk)
– BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, September 22, 2008
Jazz Magazine: if only…
Jazz rings my bell. Especially classic jazz from the USA, released between 1945 and 1975… Miles, Coltrane, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker are at the core of my collection.
Now I like a lot of London-based musos and have paid to see many deliver engaging gigs – Stan Tracy, Andy Sheppard, Alec Dankworth, Guy Barker, Alan Skidmore and the like are all very fine musicians but I don’t think even they would claim to be world-class.
I buy music mags and have tried the various London jazz monthlies. Jazzwise comes nearest to satisfying my needs, but I baulk at its bias towards Anglo jazzers. Countries tend to excel in different musics. England for the best in poprock. Germany for the best classical. Italy for opera. And America, not England, for jazz.
I am, though, deeply impressed by Jazz Magazine, published monthly in Paris: it focuses on the postwar US giants with a healthy leavening of contemporary European artists. The current issue has a Wayne Shorter cover, and recent months have seen Zappa and Hendrix, as well as Miles, Keith Jarrett and Steve Coleman on the cover: a very agreeable mix.
If I lived in France, I’d pick up most issues from my local papetiere, j’en suis sur!
www.jazzmagazine.com
Gerry Smith
Now I like a lot of London-based musos and have paid to see many deliver engaging gigs – Stan Tracy, Andy Sheppard, Alec Dankworth, Guy Barker, Alan Skidmore and the like are all very fine musicians but I don’t think even they would claim to be world-class.
I buy music mags and have tried the various London jazz monthlies. Jazzwise comes nearest to satisfying my needs, but I baulk at its bias towards Anglo jazzers. Countries tend to excel in different musics. England for the best in poprock. Germany for the best classical. Italy for opera. And America, not England, for jazz.
I am, though, deeply impressed by Jazz Magazine, published monthly in Paris: it focuses on the postwar US giants with a healthy leavening of contemporary European artists. The current issue has a Wayne Shorter cover, and recent months have seen Zappa and Hendrix, as well as Miles, Keith Jarrett and Steve Coleman on the cover: a very agreeable mix.
If I lived in France, I’d pick up most issues from my local papetiere, j’en suis sur!
www.jazzmagazine.com
Gerry Smith
Friday, September 19, 2008
A feast of Roxy Music: encore…
The two main Roxy Music programmes on BBC Four tonight were a mixed bag.
The Roxy Music Story, a new documentary, successfully evoked Ferry’s genius – he had the vision for a wholly original new rockpop combo and the talent, drive and organization to execute it.
Roxy were one of the most important English rock bands. More enduring, to this writer at least, than the Beatles.
The programme mixed delicious performance clips with all the talking heads you’d hope for. The story was well told. The judgments were sound. Recommended.
Roxy Music: Frejus, turned out to be most of The High Road, the long-available video of the 1983 gig on the French Riviera. By then, the joins were showing.
“Roxy Music” had been watered down into Bryan plus backing musicians – a pity because Andy Mackay delivers a solo which demonstrates what a superior alto sax he could blow when the spirit moved him.
But when an American blues-rock anthem – Like A Hurricane – is the gig highlight, you knew that the Roxy magic had long gone. And – final indignity - one of the musos was wearing jeans!
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
Here’s a reminder to (fellow) fans of English art rock: tomorrow sees a feast of Roxy Music, with three different programmes on BBC Four:
2100 The Roxy Music Story – a new documentary
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – interview and gig from the 1970s
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – presumably clips from BBC shows like Old Grey Whistle Test.
They should be viewable online for a week via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Rumours of a new Roxy album that abound don’t interest this Roxy/Ferry fan. The legacy is the quartet of early 1970s masterpieces: Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life. The Best Of Roxy Music (2001) is a fabulous compilation, widely available at about £5.
Roxy Music bridged the gap between pop and high culture. That’s why their art lives on, true music for grown-ups, while the work of most of their poprock contemporaries is best avoided.
Gerry Smith
The Roxy Music Story, a new documentary, successfully evoked Ferry’s genius – he had the vision for a wholly original new rockpop combo and the talent, drive and organization to execute it.
Roxy were one of the most important English rock bands. More enduring, to this writer at least, than the Beatles.
The programme mixed delicious performance clips with all the talking heads you’d hope for. The story was well told. The judgments were sound. Recommended.
Roxy Music: Frejus, turned out to be most of The High Road, the long-available video of the 1983 gig on the French Riviera. By then, the joins were showing.
“Roxy Music” had been watered down into Bryan plus backing musicians – a pity because Andy Mackay delivers a solo which demonstrates what a superior alto sax he could blow when the spirit moved him.
But when an American blues-rock anthem – Like A Hurricane – is the gig highlight, you knew that the Roxy magic had long gone. And – final indignity - one of the musos was wearing jeans!
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE
Here’s a reminder to (fellow) fans of English art rock: tomorrow sees a feast of Roxy Music, with three different programmes on BBC Four:
2100 The Roxy Music Story – a new documentary
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – interview and gig from the 1970s
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – presumably clips from BBC shows like Old Grey Whistle Test.
They should be viewable online for a week via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Rumours of a new Roxy album that abound don’t interest this Roxy/Ferry fan. The legacy is the quartet of early 1970s masterpieces: Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life. The Best Of Roxy Music (2001) is a fabulous compilation, widely available at about £5.
Roxy Music bridged the gap between pop and high culture. That’s why their art lives on, true music for grown-ups, while the work of most of their poprock contemporaries is best avoided.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A feast of Roxy Music
Here’s a reminder to (fellow) fans of English art rock: tomorrow sees a feast of Roxy Music, with three different programmes on BBC Four:
2100 The Roxy Music Story – a new documentary
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – interview and gig from the 1970s
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – presumably clips from BBC shows like Old Grey Whistle Test.
They should be viewable online for a week via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Rumours of a new Roxy album that abound don’t interest this Roxy/Ferry fan. The true legacy is the quartet of early 1970s masterpieces: Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life. The Best Of Roxy Music (2001) is a fabulous compilation, widely available at about £5.
Roxy Music bridged the gap between pop and high culture. That’s why their art lives on, true music for grown-ups, while the work of most of their poprock contemporaries is best avoided.
Gerry Smith
2100 The Roxy Music Story – a new documentary
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – interview and gig from the 1970s
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – presumably clips from BBC shows like Old Grey Whistle Test.
They should be viewable online for a week via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Rumours of a new Roxy album that abound don’t interest this Roxy/Ferry fan. The true legacy is the quartet of early 1970s masterpieces: Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life. The Best Of Roxy Music (2001) is a fabulous compilation, widely available at about £5.
Roxy Music bridged the gap between pop and high culture. That’s why their art lives on, true music for grown-ups, while the work of most of their poprock contemporaries is best avoided.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Cream of BBC radio relegated to the graveyard shift
Music for Grown-Ups highlights BBC radio’s varied output and spares few superlatives in praising the best of its programmes.
Two particular favourites here are Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour (series 2) and Jazz Library. There have been few radio series as good as these - ever.
Until recently, both series were broadcast from 10pm on Friday night: I know I’m not the only listener who regarded them with gratitude as the reward for a week of toil.
So what did BBC radio do? Moved them both to midnight - Theme Time Radio Hour on a Sunday (BBC 6 Music), Jazz Library on Saturday (Radio 3).
Who in their right mind will listen to them in those slots? I’d wager that the small audiences for this delightful pair of programmes has dwindled to virtually zero. I’m an enthusiast, but even I forget to tape the bl**dy programmes at these times.
Anglo Dylan/jazz fans are badly served by these new schedules.
Gerry Smith
Two particular favourites here are Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour (series 2) and Jazz Library. There have been few radio series as good as these - ever.
Until recently, both series were broadcast from 10pm on Friday night: I know I’m not the only listener who regarded them with gratitude as the reward for a week of toil.
So what did BBC radio do? Moved them both to midnight - Theme Time Radio Hour on a Sunday (BBC 6 Music), Jazz Library on Saturday (Radio 3).
Who in their right mind will listen to them in those slots? I’d wager that the small audiences for this delightful pair of programmes has dwindled to virtually zero. I’m an enthusiast, but even I forget to tape the bl**dy programmes at these times.
Anglo Dylan/jazz fans are badly served by these new schedules.
Gerry Smith
Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Oscar Peterson, Brahms, Roots Manuva, Elbow, Howlin’ Wolf, Jacqueline du Pre and The Streets
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Wed 17 Sept
1900 Joan Baez, Mike Harding show – BBC Radio 2
2100 Anne Sofie von Otter, Performance on 3 - BBC Radio 3
Thurs 18 Sept
2300 PJ Harvey, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 19 Sept
2100 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – BBC Four
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – BBC Four
Sat 20 Sept
2400 Oscar Peterson, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
0025 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
Sun 21 Sept
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 22 Sept
2200 Brahms, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 23 Sept
2200 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later Live… - BBC2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (1/2)
Thurs 25 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 26 Sept
1930 Jacqueline du Pre/Elgar Cello Concerto – BBC Four
2335 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later… - BBC2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
And on commercial TV:
Sun 21 Sept
2315 The Streets, South Bank Show – ITV1
Gerry Smith
Wed 17 Sept
1900 Joan Baez, Mike Harding show – BBC Radio 2
2100 Anne Sofie von Otter, Performance on 3 - BBC Radio 3
Thurs 18 Sept
2300 PJ Harvey, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 19 Sept
2100 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – BBC Four
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – BBC Four
Sat 20 Sept
2400 Oscar Peterson, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
0025 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
Sun 21 Sept
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 22 Sept
2200 Brahms, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Tues 23 Sept
2200 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later Live… - BBC2
2330 Howlin’ Wolf – BBC Radio 2 (rpt) (1/2)
Thurs 25 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 26 Sept
1930 Jacqueline du Pre/Elgar Cello Concerto – BBC Four
2335 Roots Manuva, Elbow, Later… - BBC2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
And on commercial TV:
Sun 21 Sept
2315 The Streets, South Bank Show – ITV1
Gerry Smith
Monday, September 15, 2008
Delightful London revival of Don Giovanni
The new London run of Don Giovanni, the third revival of this production since the Millennium, is an unalloyed delight.
Singing and acting by the principals was outstanding. Simon Keenlyside – magisterial, dominant, Joyce DiDonato – rich, powerful, and Ramon Vargas – subtle, delicate, in particular, delivered world-class performances. It’s rare to see such talents together on the same stage. The lesser principals were formidable, too.
You can’t go far wrong with a good production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni – the score is relentless, engaging, the sections of musical genius seemingly queuing to follow each other, with hardly a let-up, for three hours. Da Ponte’s libretto, by turns comic and tragic, drives the action, remorselessly.
The Royal Opera House band, purposefully conducted by Charles Mackerras, brought out the glory and the subtlety of this great work.
Chorus, direction, staging, lighting, sets, dancing – all were exhilarating.
Friday’s Don Giovanni was one of the musical highlights of my life: music for grown-ups doesn’t come much better than this.
Great art: bravo Mozza, bravo Covent Garden!
Gerry Smith
Singing and acting by the principals was outstanding. Simon Keenlyside – magisterial, dominant, Joyce DiDonato – rich, powerful, and Ramon Vargas – subtle, delicate, in particular, delivered world-class performances. It’s rare to see such talents together on the same stage. The lesser principals were formidable, too.
You can’t go far wrong with a good production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni – the score is relentless, engaging, the sections of musical genius seemingly queuing to follow each other, with hardly a let-up, for three hours. Da Ponte’s libretto, by turns comic and tragic, drives the action, remorselessly.
The Royal Opera House band, purposefully conducted by Charles Mackerras, brought out the glory and the subtlety of this great work.
Chorus, direction, staging, lighting, sets, dancing – all were exhilarating.
Friday’s Don Giovanni was one of the musical highlights of my life: music for grown-ups doesn’t come much better than this.
Great art: bravo Mozza, bravo Covent Garden!
Gerry Smith
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Brian Eno at 60
Few recent radio broadcasts have promised as much as tonight’s Late Junction at 2315 BST on BBC Radio 3: “Robert Sandall celebrates Brian Eno at 60, with music from four decades of Eno’s career.”
As most grown-ups regard Eno as a seminal musician, this could well be a landmark broadcast. Presenter Robert Sandall is an expert commentator on the artier end of rock and other contemporary musics. Watch this space.
And listen online for seven days at:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
As most grown-ups regard Eno as a seminal musician, this could well be a landmark broadcast. Presenter Robert Sandall is an expert commentator on the artier end of rock and other contemporary musics. Watch this space.
And listen online for seven days at:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Yet more new Dylan work set for release this autumn
The flow of new Dylan product shows no sign of abating just yet.
Hot on the heels of next month’s new album, Tell Tale Signs, and new children’s book, Forever Young, comes news of yet more previously unpublished Dylan work.
Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, by Dylan & photographer Barry Feinstein (due from Simon & Schuster on 17 November, hardback, 160 pages) has two dozen of Dylan’s “prose poems” - written at the request of Feinstein, to accompany his mid-‘60s photos documenting Hollywood’s downside.
Barry Feinstein also photographed Dylan many times, of course - his best-known piece is the cover of The Times They Are A-Changin’, and he recently published his Dylan portfolio as Real Moments, a large format photobook.
Gerry Smith
Hot on the heels of next month’s new album, Tell Tale Signs, and new children’s book, Forever Young, comes news of yet more previously unpublished Dylan work.
Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, by Dylan & photographer Barry Feinstein (due from Simon & Schuster on 17 November, hardback, 160 pages) has two dozen of Dylan’s “prose poems” - written at the request of Feinstein, to accompany his mid-‘60s photos documenting Hollywood’s downside.
Barry Feinstein also photographed Dylan many times, of course - his best-known piece is the cover of The Times They Are A-Changin’, and he recently published his Dylan portfolio as Real Moments, a large format photobook.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Joan Baez
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:
Thurs 11 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2315 Brian Eno at 60, Late Junction – BBC Radio 3
Sun 14 Sept
1200 Private Passions - BBC Radio 3
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
Wed 17 Sept
1900 Joan Baez, Mike Harding show – BBC Radio 2
2100 Anne Sofie von Otter, Performance on 3 - BBC Radio 3
Thurs 18 Sept
2300 PJ Harvey, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 19 Sept
2100 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – BBC Four
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thurs 11 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2315 Brian Eno at 60, Late Junction – BBC Radio 3
Sun 14 Sept
1200 Private Passions - BBC Radio 3
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
Wed 17 Sept
1900 Joan Baez, Mike Harding show – BBC Radio 2
2100 Anne Sofie von Otter, Performance on 3 - BBC Radio 3
Thurs 18 Sept
2300 PJ Harvey, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 19 Sept
2100 The Roxy Music Story – BBC Four
2155 Roxy Music: Frejus (live) – BBC Four
0125 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music – BBC Four
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, September 08, 2008
John Martyn: new career retrospective and tour dates
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“The great John Martyn celebrates his 60th birthday on 11 September and I would suspect that there are many - including Martyn himself - who are surprised to find him reaching this milestone, given the years of Hell-raising and health issues.
“This momentous event coincides with a superb 4CD career retrospective released by Universal, appropriately entitled ‘Ain't No Saint’.
“Further details about the box set are available from the John Martyn website here:
http://www.johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/no%saint
“Happily, Martyn appears to be in better health these days. He has a new album nearing completion and will shortly be going on the road for a winter tour of the UK.
“Tour dates here”:
http://johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/tour
“The great John Martyn celebrates his 60th birthday on 11 September and I would suspect that there are many - including Martyn himself - who are surprised to find him reaching this milestone, given the years of Hell-raising and health issues.
“This momentous event coincides with a superb 4CD career retrospective released by Universal, appropriately entitled ‘Ain't No Saint’.
“Further details about the box set are available from the John Martyn website here:
http://www.johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/no%saint
“Happily, Martyn appears to be in better health these days. He has a new album nearing completion and will shortly be going on the road for a winter tour of the UK.
“Tour dates here”:
http://johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/tour
Friday, September 05, 2008
New Neil Young album – promising
Sugar Mountain, the new Neil Young album due for UK release on 29 September, sounds promising: speculation abounds that it’ll be an official version of a long-popular live bootleg with a similar title.
Shakey sources also tell me that the long-awaited, oft-delayed Archives vol 1 is still (still!) set for release in November; we live in hope…
Recent gigs suggest that Young has finally shaken off his eco-politico concerns to focus on celebrating his great legacy. Amen.
Gerry Smith
Shakey sources also tell me that the long-awaited, oft-delayed Archives vol 1 is still (still!) set for release in November; we live in hope…
Recent gigs suggest that Young has finally shaken off his eco-politico concerns to focus on celebrating his great legacy. Amen.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Dessay, Kozena, Villazon: a trio of quality operatic releases
Classical buffs bemoan the dramatic decline in the number of CD releases; some buffs are already tolling the bell for the classical recording business.
As a casual buyer of classical CDs I see it differently - why bother buying everything when you can hear a lot of what you fancy on the remarkable BBC Radio 3?
And I just don’t see the need for endless recycling of the repertoire: who on Earth needs yet another recording of Beethoven’s Ninth or Verdi’s La Traviata?
The kind of CDs I tend to buy – operatic extracts and recitals by favourite sopranos, mezzos and tenors – keep me well sated.
Favoured recent releases include:
* Natalie Dessay - Italian Opera Arias
* Magdalena Kozena – Ah! Mio Cor: Handel Arias, and
* Rolando Villazon – Cielo e Mar.
Three magnificent voices captured at the peak of their powers - should keep me happy for a while.
Gerry Smith
As a casual buyer of classical CDs I see it differently - why bother buying everything when you can hear a lot of what you fancy on the remarkable BBC Radio 3?
And I just don’t see the need for endless recycling of the repertoire: who on Earth needs yet another recording of Beethoven’s Ninth or Verdi’s La Traviata?
The kind of CDs I tend to buy – operatic extracts and recitals by favourite sopranos, mezzos and tenors – keep me well sated.
Favoured recent releases include:
* Natalie Dessay - Italian Opera Arias
* Magdalena Kozena – Ah! Mio Cor: Handel Arias, and
* Rolando Villazon – Cielo e Mar.
Three magnificent voices captured at the peak of their powers - should keep me happy for a while.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes: recommendations
Deeply impressed by last Tuesday’s Conor Oberst gig (reviewed here on Music For Grown-Ups last week), I’ve been exploring the compelling indie-rocker’s back catalogue to ID the pick of the crop.
The first two big albums, from 2005, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, were already firm favourites. They’ve now been joined on my playlist by the breakthrough CD, Lifted (2002) and the live set, Motion Sickness.
Last year’s Cassadaga (2007) is also a fine record. The recent switch from Bright Eyes, resulting in the admirable Conor Oberst CD (August 2008), completes the list.
Half a dozen fine albums, all Music For Grown-Ups hot recommendations: there are few more interesting artists than Oberst in contemporary music.
Gerry Smith
The first two big albums, from 2005, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, were already firm favourites. They’ve now been joined on my playlist by the breakthrough CD, Lifted (2002) and the live set, Motion Sickness.
Last year’s Cassadaga (2007) is also a fine record. The recent switch from Bright Eyes, resulting in the admirable Conor Oberst CD (August 2008), completes the list.
Half a dozen fine albums, all Music For Grown-Ups hot recommendations: there are few more interesting artists than Oberst in contemporary music.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days
Music for grown-ups on BBC radio/TV in the next 10 days:
Thurs 4 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 5 Sept
2100 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2230 Billy Strayhorn, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
2250 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Sat 6 Sept
2230 Kings of Rock and Roll – BBC2
Sun 7 Sept
1930 Berlin Phil (inc Shostakovich Symphony 10), Proms – BBC4
2350 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
0050 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Thurs 11 Sept
2315 Brian Eno at 60, Late Junction – BBC Radio 3
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thurs 4 Sept
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 5 Sept
2100 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2230 Billy Strayhorn, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
2250 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Sat 6 Sept
2230 Kings of Rock and Roll – BBC2
Sun 7 Sept
1930 Berlin Phil (inc Shostakovich Symphony 10), Proms – BBC4
2350 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (s2) – BBC 6 Music
0050 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Thurs 11 Sept
2315 Brian Eno at 60, Late Junction – BBC Radio 3
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, September 01, 2008
Ape! - record retailers fight back
I decided long ago that bricks and mortar record retailers were finished. Free downloads and online CD sales have killed off virtually every shop I used to patronise. My own CD consumption has held up, but increasingly I buy online.
So imagine my surprise at the weekend when I was lured into a tiny CD shop in Brighton town centre by a sign outside promising “CDs for £5”. They certainly know how to attract passing cheapskates, I thought, let’s give ‘em a chance… It’s a while since I’ve had the pleasure of a good browse…
Inside Ape! (lovely name, that), I could hardly believe the range of modern popular musics stocked – indie to electronica, rock to dance – or the depth and choice of catalogue they’d achieved in such a small retail space. A helpful, knowledgeable lad at the till completed a compelling retail offer.
Intending to stock up on Bright Eyes albums, following the tumultuous Conor Oberst gig last week, I found myself buying a handful of CDs.
If I lived in Brighton, I’d be visiting Ape! - and flashing the plastic - far too often for my own good. Record retailers this good deserve to succeed in the face of online competition.
Ape! also supply online:
www.awasteofpixels.com/apeshop/index.php
Gerry Smith
So imagine my surprise at the weekend when I was lured into a tiny CD shop in Brighton town centre by a sign outside promising “CDs for £5”. They certainly know how to attract passing cheapskates, I thought, let’s give ‘em a chance… It’s a while since I’ve had the pleasure of a good browse…
Inside Ape! (lovely name, that), I could hardly believe the range of modern popular musics stocked – indie to electronica, rock to dance – or the depth and choice of catalogue they’d achieved in such a small retail space. A helpful, knowledgeable lad at the till completed a compelling retail offer.
Intending to stock up on Bright Eyes albums, following the tumultuous Conor Oberst gig last week, I found myself buying a handful of CDs.
If I lived in Brighton, I’d be visiting Ape! - and flashing the plastic - far too often for my own good. Record retailers this good deserve to succeed in the face of online competition.
Ape! also supply online:
www.awasteofpixels.com/apeshop/index.php
Gerry Smith
Thursday, August 28, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days
Music for grown-ups on BBC radio/TV in the next 10 days:
Sun 31 Aug
2000 Verdi’s Requiem, Proms – BBC Radio 3
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 1 Sept
2330 Orchestra Baobob at WOMAD, World On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Thurs 4 Sept
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 5 Sept
2100 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2230 Billy Strayhorn, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
2250 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Sun 31 Aug
2000 Verdi’s Requiem, Proms – BBC Radio 3
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 1 Sept
2330 Orchestra Baobob at WOMAD, World On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Thurs 4 Sept
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 5 Sept
2100 They Came From Manchester – BBC4
2230 Billy Strayhorn, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
2250 Factory: Manchester From Joy Division to Happy Mondays – BBC4
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Conor Oberst in Portsmouth: a magical gig
Last night’s Conor Oberst gig in Portsmouth was a stunner. The city’s sold-out Wedgwood Rooms, a tiny venue holding about 500, standing, was treated to a committed, energetic Oberst show, with powerful support from his Mystic Valley Band.
The 1 hour 40 minute show took you on an eclectic, richly musical tour, veering from country rock to confessional singer-songwriter balladry and new wave/indie rock to the Chicago blues.
The core of the set was a trio of songs from the fine new album (also called Conor Oberst): Moab, Milk Thistle, and I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital).
A highlight - one among many - was a rousing blues version of Corrina Corrina, the trad ballad popularized by Bob Dylan (on The Freewheelin’…). It showed the Mystic Valley Band – three guitars, drums and keyboards/synth/flugelhorn – at their best. The impossibly young lad playing bottleneck seized his opportunity to excel.
The Mystic Valley Band were a fine complement to Oberst all night long – having clearly bonded creatively and socially during the gestation of the new album in remote rural Mexico.
Conor Oberst (the artist formerly known for Bright Eyes), an engaging, immensely likeable performer, overcame a heavy cold just to be there – he was sweating profusely, spluttering, drinking, even spitting (!) all night long. Many less committed musos would have stayed in bed in the hotel with a hot water bottle and a pile of pills. Oberst worked very hard - and enjoyed it.
The head cold – and the mainly rock-out setlist - meant that Oberst’s signature, keening, tremulous vocals, were reined in, except in the ballads. Watching him from 10 feet away reminded me just what a gifted musician, songwriter and performer he really is: few contemporary rockers can touch him.
I half believe that rock is dead, but gigs like last night’s magical Conor Oberst show prove that it has plenty of life left - it just depends who’s playing.
Catch this tour! Buy the new album!
Gerry Smith
The 1 hour 40 minute show took you on an eclectic, richly musical tour, veering from country rock to confessional singer-songwriter balladry and new wave/indie rock to the Chicago blues.
The core of the set was a trio of songs from the fine new album (also called Conor Oberst): Moab, Milk Thistle, and I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital).
A highlight - one among many - was a rousing blues version of Corrina Corrina, the trad ballad popularized by Bob Dylan (on The Freewheelin’…). It showed the Mystic Valley Band – three guitars, drums and keyboards/synth/flugelhorn – at their best. The impossibly young lad playing bottleneck seized his opportunity to excel.
The Mystic Valley Band were a fine complement to Oberst all night long – having clearly bonded creatively and socially during the gestation of the new album in remote rural Mexico.
Conor Oberst (the artist formerly known for Bright Eyes), an engaging, immensely likeable performer, overcame a heavy cold just to be there – he was sweating profusely, spluttering, drinking, even spitting (!) all night long. Many less committed musos would have stayed in bed in the hotel with a hot water bottle and a pile of pills. Oberst worked very hard - and enjoyed it.
The head cold – and the mainly rock-out setlist - meant that Oberst’s signature, keening, tremulous vocals, were reined in, except in the ballads. Watching him from 10 feet away reminded me just what a gifted musician, songwriter and performer he really is: few contemporary rockers can touch him.
I half believe that rock is dead, but gigs like last night’s magical Conor Oberst show prove that it has plenty of life left - it just depends who’s playing.
Catch this tour! Buy the new album!
Gerry Smith
Monday, August 25, 2008
Bach’s St John Passion: the Proms highlight
Last night’s Proms performance of Bach’s St John Passion, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC4 TV, was suitably divine.
The English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir were exquisite. The solo voices, led by Mark Padmore (tenor) as the Evangelist, sang beautifully. Conductor John Eliot Gardiner kept it all moving along with firmness and finesse.
Quite apart from the powerful photography/direction and the use of subtitles to translate the text from the German, the digital TV technology was well employed to enrich the experience, with useful textual info on composer, work and performers.
Until last night, I’d hardly been excited by the Proms 2008 season but this Bach was spectacular. I only wish I’d been in the hall to witness it.
You can hear/watch it for another 6 days:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
The English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir were exquisite. The solo voices, led by Mark Padmore (tenor) as the Evangelist, sang beautifully. Conductor John Eliot Gardiner kept it all moving along with firmness and finesse.
Quite apart from the powerful photography/direction and the use of subtitles to translate the text from the German, the digital TV technology was well employed to enrich the experience, with useful textual info on composer, work and performers.
Until last night, I’d hardly been excited by the Proms 2008 season but this Bach was spectacular. I only wish I’d been in the hall to witness it.
You can hear/watch it for another 6 days:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Friday, August 22, 2008
Mutations – the electronica primer I’ve been looking for
I’ve been developing an interest in electronic music for some time. But I searched in vain for a guidebook to the varieties, history and big names in the music.
Until last week. Then I bought a copy of Mutations: A History Of Electronic Music (edited by Peter Shapiro, Caipirinha Productions, NYC, 2000, 255pp, $29.95).
It’s a lively collection of essays on the electronica sub-genres, from Krautrock to disco, house to jungle and techno to ambient: exactly what I’d been searching for. They’re complemented by interviews with major players – Teo Macero, Robert Moog, Can, for starters. Plus loads of telling photos, artist bios, and lists of recommended listening. And it’s an achingly beautiful artefact.
I’m loving it. Highly recommended.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
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
Until last week. Then I bought a copy of Mutations: A History Of Electronic Music (edited by Peter Shapiro, Caipirinha Productions, NYC, 2000, 255pp, $29.95).
It’s a lively collection of essays on the electronica sub-genres, from Krautrock to disco, house to jungle and techno to ambient: exactly what I’d been searching for. They’re complemented by interviews with major players – Teo Macero, Robert Moog, Can, for starters. Plus loads of telling photos, artist bios, and lists of recommended listening. And it’s an achingly beautiful artefact.
I’m loving it. Highly recommended.
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
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
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Bob Dylan Inc?
I keep hearing rumblings of discontent about what’s alleged to be the growing commercialisation of Dylan’s creativity.
One Dylan Daily reader confided a few days ago: “incidentally I'm pissed off with all the latest money-grabbing (or should that be grubbing) antics of Bob Dylan Inc - absolutely no need for any of it!”
It was provoked by the fanciful price for the top spec super-duper version of the forthcoming album, Tell Tale Signs.
There have been similar stirrings in the past, of course, principally about Dylan’s involvement in TV ads.
While respecting the views of those who are uncomfortable when art mixes too readily with commerce, I take a more relaxed view of the merchants in the temple.
I don’t blame anyone, creative artist or not, for maximising the return for their labour, as long as what they do doesn’t offend my moral sense.
But record companies and concert venues testing whether the market will bear silly prices doesn’t offend me – it’s capitalism in action. I can choose to ignore them. And it hardly ranks alongside selling people into slavery or biting off the heads of babies.
It’s Sony’s commercial decision to set prices for Bob product. If they get it right, people will buy. If not, they’ll be left with eggy faces (and unsold stock).
Me? I wouldn’t touch the Tell Tale Signs Special/Limited DeLuxe Collector’s Edition @ $130 with a four metre bargepole. But, then, it’s not aimed at me - I dare say that if I was a serious collector, I’d have placed my order weeks ago.
I’ll be snapping up the standard Tell Tale Signs 2CD on release day, though!
Gerry Smith
One Dylan Daily reader confided a few days ago: “incidentally I'm pissed off with all the latest money-grabbing (or should that be grubbing) antics of Bob Dylan Inc - absolutely no need for any of it!”
It was provoked by the fanciful price for the top spec super-duper version of the forthcoming album, Tell Tale Signs.
There have been similar stirrings in the past, of course, principally about Dylan’s involvement in TV ads.
While respecting the views of those who are uncomfortable when art mixes too readily with commerce, I take a more relaxed view of the merchants in the temple.
I don’t blame anyone, creative artist or not, for maximising the return for their labour, as long as what they do doesn’t offend my moral sense.
But record companies and concert venues testing whether the market will bear silly prices doesn’t offend me – it’s capitalism in action. I can choose to ignore them. And it hardly ranks alongside selling people into slavery or biting off the heads of babies.
It’s Sony’s commercial decision to set prices for Bob product. If they get it right, people will buy. If not, they’ll be left with eggy faces (and unsold stock).
Me? I wouldn’t touch the Tell Tale Signs Special/Limited DeLuxe Collector’s Edition @ $130 with a four metre bargepole. But, then, it’s not aimed at me - I dare say that if I was a serious collector, I’d have placed my order weeks ago.
I’ll be snapping up the standard Tell Tale Signs 2CD on release day, though!
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days
Music for grown-ups on BBC radio/TV in the next 10 days. It’s the thinnest week of the year, as the audiences have deserted their radios/TVs for Med beaches:
Wed 20 August
1200 Rameau, Composer Of The Week (rpt) – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2230 Angelika Kirschlager (mezzo), Proms Artist Focus – BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 21 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 22 August
2230 Charlie Haden Quartet, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Sun 24 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Thurs 28 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wed 20 August
1200 Rameau, Composer Of The Week (rpt) – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2230 Angelika Kirschlager (mezzo), Proms Artist Focus – BBC Radio 3
(3/4, continues Thurs)
Thurs 21 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 22 August
2230 Charlie Haden Quartet, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Sun 24 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Thurs 28 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, August 18, 2008
HMV’s in-store mag: strong new issue
I’m not a massive fan of HMV Choice, the music chain’s in-store mag.
It covers an attractively eclectic range of music – everything except rockpop, in fact. But its style reveals its purpose - a sales catalogue. And it covers a lot of new crossover pap you couldn’t give me for free.
That said, the latest issue HMV Choice covers new releases by an unusually high proportion of Music for Grown-Ups favourites, including Jim Moray, Wynton Marsalis, John McLaughlin, Juan Diego Florez, Rolando Villazon, Ry Cooder, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirschlager, Cassandra Wilson and Eddie Cochrane.
Quite a roster!
You can pick up a free copy of HMV Choice in-store.
Gerry Smith
It covers an attractively eclectic range of music – everything except rockpop, in fact. But its style reveals its purpose - a sales catalogue. And it covers a lot of new crossover pap you couldn’t give me for free.
That said, the latest issue HMV Choice covers new releases by an unusually high proportion of Music for Grown-Ups favourites, including Jim Moray, Wynton Marsalis, John McLaughlin, Juan Diego Florez, Rolando Villazon, Ry Cooder, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirschlager, Cassandra Wilson and Eddie Cochrane.
Quite a roster!
You can pick up a free copy of HMV Choice in-store.
Gerry Smith
Friday, August 15, 2008
De La Soul lead eclectic roster at Jazz Cafe
De La Soul, with a seven night residency from Monday 25 August, lead an eclectic roster at London’s Jazz Café.
Also scheduled are:
October
23 Grandmaster Flash
30/31 Sly & Robbie
November
7/8 Robben Ford
27-29 James Taylor Quartet
December
27-31 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
January 2009
2-4 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
9-11 Lee “Scratch” Perry
30/31 Fred Wesley
Deeply eclectic. Deeply impressive. Lovely intimate (standing) venue for grown-up music. Highly recommended: check it out!
www.jazzcafe.co.uk
Gerry Smith
Also scheduled are:
October
23 Grandmaster Flash
30/31 Sly & Robbie
November
7/8 Robben Ford
27-29 James Taylor Quartet
December
27-31 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
January 2009
2-4 Roy Ayers Ubiquity
9-11 Lee “Scratch” Perry
30/31 Fred Wesley
Deeply eclectic. Deeply impressive. Lovely intimate (standing) venue for grown-up music. Highly recommended: check it out!
www.jazzcafe.co.uk
Gerry Smith
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The greatest tenor?
After the sad demise of Pavarotti, most opera lovers would probably rank Placido Domingo as the top living tenor. Me too.
BBC Music Magazine polled a panel of 16 critics a few months ago and Domingo outranked Pavarotti (and even Caruso) to take top spot.
But I’d be just as happy to queue to see an exciting younger talent who always thrills the house on his regular visits to Covent Garden – the Argentinian Marcelo Alvarez.
The top five tenors in the BBC Music poll were:
1. Domingo
2. Caruso
3. Pavarotti
4. Wunderlich
5. Bjorling
I hardly know the recordings of Wunderlich or Bjorling, so I must investigate: joy to come!
Gerry Smith
BBC Music Magazine polled a panel of 16 critics a few months ago and Domingo outranked Pavarotti (and even Caruso) to take top spot.
But I’d be just as happy to queue to see an exciting younger talent who always thrills the house on his regular visits to Covent Garden – the Argentinian Marcelo Alvarez.
The top five tenors in the BBC Music poll were:
1. Domingo
2. Caruso
3. Pavarotti
4. Wunderlich
5. Bjorling
I hardly know the recordings of Wunderlich or Bjorling, so I must investigate: joy to come!
Gerry Smith
Melody Gardot – Discoveries #1
I’m usually very wary of musicians who suddenly appear on the radar, as if from nowhere. I suspect that some corporate exec or other has decided the s/he is to be the next big thing and has invested a lot of money to ensure that it happens.
The problem with over-promoted musos is that they can’t possibly live up to the advanced billing.
Having suddenly become very aware of her, I automatically put American chanteuse Melody Gardot in this category.
But then, watching Channel 4’s Live From Abbey Road for the first time on Friday, to catch the great Herbie Hancock, I stumbled upon Melody in a live performance from Herbie’s recent album, River: The Joni Letters.
My, my – what a distinctive voice. Gardot’s beautiful tone and her innate swing enlivened Mitchell’s Edith and The Kingpin, an already great song.
I’ll be watching closely for more recordings and performances from Melody Gardot, one of my most striking recent music for grown-ups discoveries.
The problem with over-promoted musos is that they can’t possibly live up to the advanced billing.
Having suddenly become very aware of her, I automatically put American chanteuse Melody Gardot in this category.
But then, watching Channel 4’s Live From Abbey Road for the first time on Friday, to catch the great Herbie Hancock, I stumbled upon Melody in a live performance from Herbie’s recent album, River: The Joni Letters.
My, my – what a distinctive voice. Gardot’s beautiful tone and her innate swing enlivened Mitchell’s Edith and The Kingpin, an already great song.
I’ll be watching closely for more recordings and performances from Melody Gardot, one of my most striking recent music for grown-ups discoveries.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days
Music for grown-ups on BBC radio/TV in the next 10 days:
Wed 13 August
1200 Rossini, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (1/2, rpt) - 6 Music
Thurs 14 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2330 John Cale, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (2/2) - 6 Music
Fri 15 August
2300 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC2
Sat 16 August
1830 Handel, Belshazzar, Proms – BBC Radio 3
Sun 17 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 18 August
1200 Rameau, Composer Of The Week (rpt) – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Angelika Kirschlager (mezzo), Proms Artist Focus – BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Friday 22 August
2230 Charlie Haden Quartet, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wed 13 August
1200 Rossini, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (1/2, rpt) - 6 Music
Thurs 14 August
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2330 John Cale, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC Four
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (2/2) - 6 Music
Fri 15 August
2300 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions (rpt) – BBC2
Sat 16 August
1830 Handel, Belshazzar, Proms – BBC Radio 3
Sun 17 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 18 August
1200 Rameau, Composer Of The Week (rpt) – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2230 Angelika Kirschlager (mezzo), Proms Artist Focus – BBC Radio 3
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Friday 22 August
2230 Charlie Haden Quartet, Jazz On 3 – BBC Radio 3
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, August 11, 2008
Room To Roam secures the Waterboys’ legacy
Today’s reissue of 1991’s Room to Roam, the Waterboys’ Celtic folk outing, completes the reissue programme of the impressive first decade of recordings, and secures the band’s legacy.
The new release has the original album plus a rich offering of previously unreleased material.
Tracklist:
CD 1
In Search Of A Rose (2008 Digital Remaster)
Song From The End Of The World (2008 Digital Remaster)
A Man Is In Love (2008 Digital Remaster)
Bigger Picture (2008 Digital Remaster)
Natural Bridge Blues (2008 Digital Remaster)
Something That Is Gone (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Star And The Sea (2008 Digital Remaster)
A Life Of Sundays (2008 Digital Remaster)
Islandman (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy (2008 Digital Remaster)
How Long Will I Love You (2008 Digital Remaster)
Upon The Wind And Waves (2008 Digital Remaster)
Spring Comes To Spiddal (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Trip To Broadford (2008 Digital Remaster)
Further Up Further In (2008 Digital Remaster)
Room To Roam (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Kings Of Kerry (2008 Digital Remaster)
CD2
In Search Of A Rose (Full Band)
My Morag (The Exile's Dream)
A Man Is In Love (Alternate)
The Wyndy Wyndy Road
Three Ships
Sunny Sailor Boy
Sponsored Pedal Pusher's Blues
The Wayward Wind
Danny Murphy / Florence
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy (Live)
Custer's Blues (Live)
Twa Recruitin' Sergeants (Live)
A Reel And A Stomp In The Kitchen
Down By The Sally Gardens
A Strathspey In The Rain At Dawn
A Song For The Life (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Kings Of Kerry (Outdoor)
It’s available from play.com at a giveaway £8.95 delivered! That has to be the bargain of 2008.
Head Waterboy Mike Scott has been assiduous in tending his rich legacy. He started curating an enhanced reissue programme of the core repertoire – the first five albums – in 2002, with the release of the 1983 album The Waterboys – as a Collectors Edition, with many new tracks, over 2CDs, in enhanced sound and with informative and beautifully designed and illustrated cover art. It was followed by the 2CD Collectors Editions of Pagan Place, This is the Sea and Fisherman’s Blues.
Room To Roam now completes the set. Kudos Scott for raising the bar - this is a case history in just how to do it.
Gerry Smith
The new release has the original album plus a rich offering of previously unreleased material.
Tracklist:
CD 1
In Search Of A Rose (2008 Digital Remaster)
Song From The End Of The World (2008 Digital Remaster)
A Man Is In Love (2008 Digital Remaster)
Bigger Picture (2008 Digital Remaster)
Natural Bridge Blues (2008 Digital Remaster)
Something That Is Gone (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Star And The Sea (2008 Digital Remaster)
A Life Of Sundays (2008 Digital Remaster)
Islandman (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy (2008 Digital Remaster)
How Long Will I Love You (2008 Digital Remaster)
Upon The Wind And Waves (2008 Digital Remaster)
Spring Comes To Spiddal (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Trip To Broadford (2008 Digital Remaster)
Further Up Further In (2008 Digital Remaster)
Room To Roam (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Kings Of Kerry (2008 Digital Remaster)
CD2
In Search Of A Rose (Full Band)
My Morag (The Exile's Dream)
A Man Is In Love (Alternate)
The Wyndy Wyndy Road
Three Ships
Sunny Sailor Boy
Sponsored Pedal Pusher's Blues
The Wayward Wind
Danny Murphy / Florence
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy (Live)
Custer's Blues (Live)
Twa Recruitin' Sergeants (Live)
A Reel And A Stomp In The Kitchen
Down By The Sally Gardens
A Strathspey In The Rain At Dawn
A Song For The Life (2008 Digital Remaster)
The Kings Of Kerry (Outdoor)
It’s available from play.com at a giveaway £8.95 delivered! That has to be the bargain of 2008.
Head Waterboy Mike Scott has been assiduous in tending his rich legacy. He started curating an enhanced reissue programme of the core repertoire – the first five albums – in 2002, with the release of the 1983 album The Waterboys – as a Collectors Edition, with many new tracks, over 2CDs, in enhanced sound and with informative and beautifully designed and illustrated cover art. It was followed by the 2CD Collectors Editions of Pagan Place, This is the Sea and Fisherman’s Blues.
Room To Roam now completes the set. Kudos Scott for raising the bar - this is a case history in just how to do it.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, August 07, 2008
London’s O2: a grown-up music venue
Don’t get me started about arena gigs. I f**king hate ‘em.
Rubbish sound. Nasty buildings. Crap sightlines. Muck served as food and drink, poor access, overpriced parking… . They make me feel like a conforming ant, a ripped-off consumer who’s lost all self-respect, just by being there.
Arenas are appalling places: you couldn’t design a worse environment for enjoying music for grown-ups if you tried.
So, after being repeatedly alienated by the worst concert-going experiences on offer in England – Wembley Arena, Newcastle Arena, London Arena (now closed), NEC, Sheffield Hallam Arena et al – I decided some years ago that enough was enough, regardless of who was playing.
Even if it was the Second Coming, they’d have to manage without me.
Then Leonard Cohen announced his tour, but bizarrely decided to waste four nights in far-flung Manchester, limiting his performances in English England to the O2 Arena (aka the Millennium Dome/New Labour’s Folly).
Simple choice: keep avoiding arenas or get to see the great Leonard Cohen for the first, maybe the last, time.
So I booked the O2 - very reluctantly, baulking at the inflated ticket price. And I had very mixed feelings as the gig got nearer, even on the Tube approaching the venue.
My mood lightened immediately on alighting at North Greenwich station. Impressive, I conceded: looks great, works… . The mood was maintained on the short walk to the venue – a quality environment, vision, design, investment… .
And inside the O2 perimeter it was just as good – an exciting, well-specified building, housing a wide range of high quality food outlets, relaxed atmosphere, loads of helpful staff.
Agreeably surprised, but still harbouring doubts, I entered the arena and found my seat. Very, very high, but not vertigo-inducing, as I’d feared.
Hmmm! Amphitheatre beautifully designed: there were 20,000 people in, but in didn’t feel like it. Access clear and easy, seating comfortable, sight lines perfect, though the stage was miles away.
Then the acid test: the gig itself.
The show was outstanding – a great setlist and Cohen performance helped, but it was outstanding technically, too: crystal clear sound, probably the best I’ve heard outside a village hall; three enormous video screens, filled all night with broadcast-quality pictures; and beautiful lighting.
A mighty gig – in an arena: I was mightily surprised. The show was obviously a Leonard organisation production. But the point is – the O2 Arena accommodated it, comfortably.
London’s O2 is a wonderful grown-up music venue. If you ever see a bum gig there, blame the artist’s management, not the venue.
I’ll be going again.
Gerry Smith
Rubbish sound. Nasty buildings. Crap sightlines. Muck served as food and drink, poor access, overpriced parking… . They make me feel like a conforming ant, a ripped-off consumer who’s lost all self-respect, just by being there.
Arenas are appalling places: you couldn’t design a worse environment for enjoying music for grown-ups if you tried.
So, after being repeatedly alienated by the worst concert-going experiences on offer in England – Wembley Arena, Newcastle Arena, London Arena (now closed), NEC, Sheffield Hallam Arena et al – I decided some years ago that enough was enough, regardless of who was playing.
Even if it was the Second Coming, they’d have to manage without me.
Then Leonard Cohen announced his tour, but bizarrely decided to waste four nights in far-flung Manchester, limiting his performances in English England to the O2 Arena (aka the Millennium Dome/New Labour’s Folly).
Simple choice: keep avoiding arenas or get to see the great Leonard Cohen for the first, maybe the last, time.
So I booked the O2 - very reluctantly, baulking at the inflated ticket price. And I had very mixed feelings as the gig got nearer, even on the Tube approaching the venue.
My mood lightened immediately on alighting at North Greenwich station. Impressive, I conceded: looks great, works… . The mood was maintained on the short walk to the venue – a quality environment, vision, design, investment… .
And inside the O2 perimeter it was just as good – an exciting, well-specified building, housing a wide range of high quality food outlets, relaxed atmosphere, loads of helpful staff.
Agreeably surprised, but still harbouring doubts, I entered the arena and found my seat. Very, very high, but not vertigo-inducing, as I’d feared.
Hmmm! Amphitheatre beautifully designed: there were 20,000 people in, but in didn’t feel like it. Access clear and easy, seating comfortable, sight lines perfect, though the stage was miles away.
Then the acid test: the gig itself.
The show was outstanding – a great setlist and Cohen performance helped, but it was outstanding technically, too: crystal clear sound, probably the best I’ve heard outside a village hall; three enormous video screens, filled all night with broadcast-quality pictures; and beautiful lighting.
A mighty gig – in an arena: I was mightily surprised. The show was obviously a Leonard organisation production. But the point is – the O2 Arena accommodated it, comfortably.
London’s O2 is a wonderful grown-up music venue. If you ever see a bum gig there, blame the artist’s management, not the venue.
I’ll be going again.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next 10 days
Tempting TV/radio broadcasts in the next 10 days:
Thurs 7 August
1200 Bruckner, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(4/5, continues Fri)
2300 Bert Jansch, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 8 August
2100 Ella Fitzgerald, Legends – BBC Four
2335 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road - More4
Sat 9 August
2410 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road (rpt) - C4
Sun 10 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 11 August
1200 Rossini, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
1900 James Hunter, Paul Jones blues show - BBC Radio 2
2040 Puccini, Il Tabarro (with Barbara Frittoli), Proms - BBC Radio 3
Wed 13 August
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (1/2) - 6 Music
Thurs 14 August
2330 John Cale, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (2/2) - 6 Music
Fri 15 August
2300 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions – BBC2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thurs 7 August
1200 Bruckner, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(4/5, continues Fri)
2300 Bert Jansch, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 8 August
2100 Ella Fitzgerald, Legends – BBC Four
2335 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road - More4
Sat 9 August
2410 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road (rpt) - C4
Sun 10 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 11 August
1200 Rossini, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
1900 James Hunter, Paul Jones blues show - BBC Radio 2
2040 Puccini, Il Tabarro (with Barbara Frittoli), Proms - BBC Radio 3
Wed 13 August
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (1/2) - 6 Music
Thurs 14 August
2330 John Cale, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2400 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses Story (2/2) - 6 Music
Fri 15 August
2300 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions – BBC2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Jim Moray and Conor Oberst - two best albums of 2008
Jim Moray, English nu-folkie with attitude, and Conor Oberst, mannered purveyor of tremulous Americana, are particular favourites of Music for Grown-Ups.
They’re both in their 20s. Their outstanding catalogues prove that music for grown-ups doesn’t have to issue from superannuated (or dead) artists, but can be delivered by musos of any age.
By coincidence, both these exceptionally talented young men have just released fine new albums – Moray’s Low Culture and Oberst’s Conor Oberst
Happily, they are the two best albums of 2008. Better still, I’ve got tickets to see both performing live in small venues in the next few weeks.
Mamma!
Gerry Smith
They’re both in their 20s. Their outstanding catalogues prove that music for grown-ups doesn’t have to issue from superannuated (or dead) artists, but can be delivered by musos of any age.
By coincidence, both these exceptionally talented young men have just released fine new albums – Moray’s Low Culture and Oberst’s Conor Oberst
Happily, they are the two best albums of 2008. Better still, I’ve got tickets to see both performing live in small venues in the next few weeks.
Mamma!
Gerry Smith
Thursday, July 31, 2008
No new content on Friday or Monday – see you again on Tuesday
I’m taking advantage of the fine summer weather to get the garden sorted, and am turning off my computer for a few days.
So there’ll be no new content on Friday or Monday. I’ll be back posting new copy on Tuesday 5 August.
Make sure you drop by!
Gerry Smith
So there’ll be no new content on Friday or Monday. I’ll be back posting new copy on Tuesday 5 August.
Make sure you drop by!
Gerry Smith
Splendid jazz programming - on classical radio station
I never listen to Classic FM. I tried when it launched, but it’s far too lightweight for my tastes; I much prefer BBC Radio 3.
After trialling it seriously, I never listened to Classic FM’s sister station, Jazz FM, either, or its successors, Smooth FM or theJazz.
So I don’t have much time for the hugely successful company behind Classic FM. It has created a big new market, but I’m not part of it.
Imagine my surprise, then, when, on long drive, I happened upon – and warmed instantly to - Classic FM Jazz, a two hour programme which runs nightly from midnight.
It had some fine programming – established greats like Bill Evans and Chet Baker; fringe voice like Blossom Dearie, which had me guessing (and floundering); and credible, interesting new sounds.
It was agreeably presented by Helen Mayhew, who taught me a lot, without appearing to. And very few of the relentlessly tiresome ad breaks which do much to diminish the station’s daytime output.
Classic FM Jazz: a real find; I’ll be returning whenever I’m driving after midnight.
Gerry Smith
After trialling it seriously, I never listened to Classic FM’s sister station, Jazz FM, either, or its successors, Smooth FM or theJazz.
So I don’t have much time for the hugely successful company behind Classic FM. It has created a big new market, but I’m not part of it.
Imagine my surprise, then, when, on long drive, I happened upon – and warmed instantly to - Classic FM Jazz, a two hour programme which runs nightly from midnight.
It had some fine programming – established greats like Bill Evans and Chet Baker; fringe voice like Blossom Dearie, which had me guessing (and floundering); and credible, interesting new sounds.
It was agreeably presented by Helen Mayhew, who taught me a lot, without appearing to. And very few of the relentlessly tiresome ad breaks which do much to diminish the station’s daytime output.
Classic FM Jazz: a real find; I’ll be returning whenever I’m driving after midnight.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next 10 days
Tempting TV/radio broadcasts in the next 10 days:
Thurs 31 July
1900 Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione – Proms, BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Sun 3 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 4 August
1200 Bruckner, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Thursday 7 August
2300 Bert Jansch, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
Fri 8 August
2100 Ella Fitzgerald, Legends – BBC Four
2335 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road - More4
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thurs 31 July
1900 Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione – Proms, BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Sun 3 August
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 4 August
1200 Bruckner, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
Thursday 7 August
2300 Bert Jansch, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
Fri 8 August
2100 Ella Fitzgerald, Legends – BBC Four
2335 Herbie Hancock, Live From Abbey Road - More4
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Leonard Cohen - still reverberating
Twelve days on, the monumental Leonard Cohen gig at London’s O2 is still reverberating. I still wake up humming Lenny tunes. I’ve been buying Lenny CDs for family (I already had them all - on vinyl and tape). And I’ve been buying all the missed Cohen books – by and about Leonard.
That’s what tours are all about, of course – revving up interest in the product range.
Before retiring Lenny from Music for Grown-Ups (for the time being), here are a few final observations:
* Whereas I used to consider Cohen’s early albums the peak of his output, it’s now clear that there are two outstanding trilogies in the (small) catalogue: the first three and an even stronger later group – Various Positions, I’m Your Man and The Future.
* Various Positions (not, as previously thought, I’m Your Man)is the key starting point for the late-career renaissance. Two of its songs – Hallelujah and If It Be Your Will - number among Len’s finest.
* If the tour’s merchandising operation doesn’t fill the Cohen coffers, I’d be surprised. To this cheapskate, some of the prices were outrageous. I didn’t mind shelling out £10 for a lovely (slim) souvenir booklet.
But the new box set, The Collection at £40? Gimme a break!
It’s a wonderful box, with five albums: Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Various Positions, The Future, I’m Your Man and Ten New Songs.
But for £40? It’s widely available elsewhere at around £25. And I recently bought all five CDs (plus a bonus, Love And Hate) from my local Tesco store/Play.com for a grand total of £14.
* there’s now a gaping DVD LIVE-shaped hole in Leonard’s discography. I’m betting that a disc of footage of the highly-praised tour will go on sale for the Xmas market. I’ll certainly be buying.
* I was surprised and amazed at the high quality of the London venue, the O2. More to follow.
Gerry Smith
That’s what tours are all about, of course – revving up interest in the product range.
Before retiring Lenny from Music for Grown-Ups (for the time being), here are a few final observations:
* Whereas I used to consider Cohen’s early albums the peak of his output, it’s now clear that there are two outstanding trilogies in the (small) catalogue: the first three and an even stronger later group – Various Positions, I’m Your Man and The Future.
* Various Positions (not, as previously thought, I’m Your Man)is the key starting point for the late-career renaissance. Two of its songs – Hallelujah and If It Be Your Will - number among Len’s finest.
* If the tour’s merchandising operation doesn’t fill the Cohen coffers, I’d be surprised. To this cheapskate, some of the prices were outrageous. I didn’t mind shelling out £10 for a lovely (slim) souvenir booklet.
But the new box set, The Collection at £40? Gimme a break!
It’s a wonderful box, with five albums: Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Various Positions, The Future, I’m Your Man and Ten New Songs.
But for £40? It’s widely available elsewhere at around £25. And I recently bought all five CDs (plus a bonus, Love And Hate) from my local Tesco store/Play.com for a grand total of £14.
* there’s now a gaping DVD LIVE-shaped hole in Leonard’s discography. I’m betting that a disc of footage of the highly-praised tour will go on sale for the Xmas market. I’ll certainly be buying.
* I was surprised and amazed at the high quality of the London venue, the O2. More to follow.
Gerry Smith
Monday, July 28, 2008
Classic rock photographs in London gallery
I must have walked within 50 yards of Blink Gallery, at 11 Poland St London W1, a thousand times without ever realising it was there. Then, for some reason last week, I headed down Poland St, south off Oxford Street, opposite HMV Oxford Circus branch, for the first time.
And there it was – a fabulous small gallery of two floors of framed, signed limited edition rock musician photos.
Pride of place goes to two Dylan pics by Jerry Schatzberg:
* Bob Dylan Pliers 1965 5/20 £2k + VAT 16” x 20” Silver Gelatin print, and
* Bob Dylan 1965 8/30 £2k + VAT 16” x 20” Silver Gelatin print.
Most readers would recognise both from the Blonde On Blonde cover shoot.
The Dylan pics are surrounded by other iconic shots documenting the best of Brit rock, from the Stones to Paul Weller. My favourite is is a wonderful tableau from the Beggars Banquet shoot, and there’s Hendrix, Oasis, Bob Marley et al, if jokey Stones debauchery isn’t your bag.
If you’re in London’s West End with a spare fifteen minutes, a visit to Blink Gallery is highly recommended. It’s free to look, and if you have a couple of thousand pounds to spare, you can buy, too.
(aficionados of soft porn: please brace yourself for a pleasant surprise before clicking the link below)
www.blinkgallery.com
Gerry Smith
And there it was – a fabulous small gallery of two floors of framed, signed limited edition rock musician photos.
Pride of place goes to two Dylan pics by Jerry Schatzberg:
* Bob Dylan Pliers 1965 5/20 £2k + VAT 16” x 20” Silver Gelatin print, and
* Bob Dylan 1965 8/30 £2k + VAT 16” x 20” Silver Gelatin print.
Most readers would recognise both from the Blonde On Blonde cover shoot.
The Dylan pics are surrounded by other iconic shots documenting the best of Brit rock, from the Stones to Paul Weller. My favourite is is a wonderful tableau from the Beggars Banquet shoot, and there’s Hendrix, Oasis, Bob Marley et al, if jokey Stones debauchery isn’t your bag.
If you’re in London’s West End with a spare fifteen minutes, a visit to Blink Gallery is highly recommended. It’s free to look, and if you have a couple of thousand pounds to spare, you can buy, too.
(aficionados of soft porn: please brace yourself for a pleasant surprise before clicking the link below)
www.blinkgallery.com
Gerry Smith
Thursday, July 24, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next 10 days
Tempting TV/radio broadcasts in the next 10 days:
Thurs 24 July
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2400 The Chess Records Story – BBC 6 Music (4/4)
Sun 27 July
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 28 July
1200 Gluck, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2115, Steve Reich, The Lebrecht Interview – BBC Radio 3
Thurs 31 July
1900 Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione – Proms, BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV is accessible online via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thurs 24 July
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2400 The Chess Records Story – BBC 6 Music (4/4)
Sun 27 July
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Mon 28 July
1200 Gluck, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri)
2115, Steve Reich, The Lebrecht Interview – BBC Radio 3
Thurs 31 July
1900 Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione – Proms, BBC Radio 3
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV is accessible online via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Proms 2008: the highlights
The Proms, the annual summer festival of (mainly) classical music held (mainly) at London’s Albert Hall, started its 2008 season last Friday with the inauspicious withdrawal through illness of Finnish soprano Karita Mattila.
The Proms used to seem like a two month-long gathering of all the geeks, swots and hapless toff and jerks in England (and Colonies). The festival came across as a celebration of the smug, self-satisfied bourgeoisie.
Having overcome such dispiriting prejudice, I now reserve my criticisms for the Proms programme itself. It always has gems, sometimes a multiplicity. But it’s largely a succession of one tedious 19thC symphony after another, albeit played by a rich variety of leading orchestras. I tend to home in on the vocal music.
Proms 2008 highlights I’m waiting for include:
Thurs 31 July – Monteverdi’s Poppaea (Danielle de Niese)
Mon 11 August – Puccini’s Il Tabarro (Barbara Frittoli)
Sun 17 August – Beethoven Mass in C
Fri 22 August – Mahler 5 etc (Angela Kirschlager)
Sun 24 August – Bach’s St John Passion
Sun 31 August – Verdi’s Requiem
Mon 8 Sept – Mahler 6 (Chicago SO)
That’s less than 10% of the total festival, but a mouth-watering prospect nevertheless.
To its credit, the BBC transmits all 76 concerts live on the indispensable Radio 3, with a few also on BBC Four TV. But, as with so many big events, the BBC’s presence transforms the Proms. In applying its Middle England gloss to the events it covers, the BBC changes them. It’s what makes its Wimbledon output inferior to French TV’s coverage of the Paris Open. And makes Glastonbury virtually unwatchable.
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details. Archived radio and TV is accessible online via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
The Proms used to seem like a two month-long gathering of all the geeks, swots and hapless toff and jerks in England (and Colonies). The festival came across as a celebration of the smug, self-satisfied bourgeoisie.
Having overcome such dispiriting prejudice, I now reserve my criticisms for the Proms programme itself. It always has gems, sometimes a multiplicity. But it’s largely a succession of one tedious 19thC symphony after another, albeit played by a rich variety of leading orchestras. I tend to home in on the vocal music.
Proms 2008 highlights I’m waiting for include:
Thurs 31 July – Monteverdi’s Poppaea (Danielle de Niese)
Mon 11 August – Puccini’s Il Tabarro (Barbara Frittoli)
Sun 17 August – Beethoven Mass in C
Fri 22 August – Mahler 5 etc (Angela Kirschlager)
Sun 24 August – Bach’s St John Passion
Sun 31 August – Verdi’s Requiem
Mon 8 Sept – Mahler 6 (Chicago SO)
That’s less than 10% of the total festival, but a mouth-watering prospect nevertheless.
To its credit, the BBC transmits all 76 concerts live on the indispensable Radio 3, with a few also on BBC Four TV. But, as with so many big events, the BBC’s presence transforms the Proms. In applying its Middle England gloss to the events it covers, the BBC changes them. It’s what makes its Wimbledon output inferior to French TV’s coverage of the Paris Open. And makes Glastonbury virtually unwatchable.
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details. Archived radio and TV is accessible online via:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Dylan/Cohen: perfect asymmetry?
Thanks to Jane Milton:
“I enjoyed Anne Ritchie’s piece on Bob/Len. (What follows is my attempt to ensure that this web site carries articles by women on two successive days - for the very first time, if I’m not mistaken.)
“I’m a Bob devotee but have found solace with Lennie in several periods when Dylan has been floundering.
“Leonard’s first two ground-breaking albums were released when Dylan was putting out albums like Nashville Skyline, well below the standard of his mid-60s masterpieces.
“Then, when Leonard’s output floundered, in the second half of the ‘70s, Dylan was back on top.
“And then when Bob went AWOL in the late 80s, L Cohen delivered two more masterpieces – Various Positions and I’m Your Man.
“Has anyone else noticed how their discographies seem to be in perfect asymmetry? For one who loves both, it’s been a lucky coincidence.”
“I enjoyed Anne Ritchie’s piece on Bob/Len. (What follows is my attempt to ensure that this web site carries articles by women on two successive days - for the very first time, if I’m not mistaken.)
“I’m a Bob devotee but have found solace with Lennie in several periods when Dylan has been floundering.
“Leonard’s first two ground-breaking albums were released when Dylan was putting out albums like Nashville Skyline, well below the standard of his mid-60s masterpieces.
“Then, when Leonard’s output floundered, in the second half of the ‘70s, Dylan was back on top.
“And then when Bob went AWOL in the late 80s, L Cohen delivered two more masterpieces – Various Positions and I’m Your Man.
“Has anyone else noticed how their discographies seem to be in perfect asymmetry? For one who loves both, it’s been a lucky coincidence.”
Monday, July 21, 2008
Leonard Cohen – the Canadian Dylan?
I saw Leonard Cohen for the first time last week, at London’s O2 Arena. It was a magnificent gig.
So thanks to Anne Ritchie for her timely article on Leonard and Dylan:
“Just as Ira B Nadel’s book, Various Positions - A Life Of Leonard Cohen, was turning a little tedious, with its microscopic examination of the (French) Canadian (Jewish) literary scene and references to authors I’d never heard of (and was unlikely to ever want to discover), my interest was reawakened in the middle chapter (Chapter 7), when Bob Dylan appeared for the first time.
“We had arrived at 1966, when Cohen, aged 31, was about to embark on his singing career. At an all-day poetry get-together, none of his fellow poets had heard of this Dylan who Cohen was raving about. One of his friends went out immediately to buy Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, but when they were played they had little impact. Only Cohen was impressed, declaring he would become the Canadian Dylan: music seemed more lucrative than literature.
“En route to Nashville, Cohen stopped off in New York, where he stayed, on and off, for two years. There he was introduced to fellow Canadian Mary Martin, an assistant to Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. It was Martin who arranged for fellow Canadians the Hawks, later known as The Band, to back Dylan. (She also managed Van Morrison for a time.)
“With Martin as his manager, Cohen established himself in the New York music scene. John Hammond, who had also discovered Dylan, signed him to Columbia Records.
“At this point in Various Positions, we see various members of Dylan’s circle from Cohen’s perspective: arguments with Joan Baez over drugs, his infatuation with Nico… .
“It was not until autumn 1969 that Cohen and Dylan met for the first time. Dylan heard that Cohen was at another Village folk club and summoned him to the Kettle of Fish. Their mutual admiration is no secret. Cohen has described Dylan as a Picasso – exuberant, wide-ranging, and assimilating the history of music. Dylan is reported to have gone backstage at several Cohen concerts, and even called in to the recording studios with Allen Ginsberg to sing back-up on Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On, a notorious track on the Phil Spector-produced album, Death of A Ladies’ Man.
“As author Nadel remarks, Cohen and Dylan share some qualities in their song-writing, notably sophisticated lyrics and elegant melodies. They both draw heavily from The Bible. Nadel adds that neither had much of a voice.
“I’d agree that early Lennie can sometimes embarrass with flat notes, but his speaking voice is rich and sonorous and his singing improved with confidence. Dylan could always sing. Listening to his early songs, forty five years down the line, I am often surprised by the force of his singing, the phrasing and the way he holds onto notes. And though his singing voice has seen better days, his speaking voice continues to charm.
“Cohen’s trademark is the most felicitous turn of phrase, both in speech and song. Phrases in his songs impress me with their beauty even when I struggle to comprehend them. Often described as hypnotic, his melodies can draw you in to an intimate world. Only in later songs, as in those in The Future, does Cohen seem to break out from his enclosed world - though his two most recent albums, Ten New Songs, and Dear Heather, see him once again retreating into Planet Leonard.
“Various Positions gives a detailed, informative picture of Leonard Cohen the man and consequently many insights into his (relatively limited) musical output.
“By comparison, Dylan’s vast and varied output reflects a boundless curiosity. It reveals a man looking outwards as well as inwards.”
So thanks to Anne Ritchie for her timely article on Leonard and Dylan:
“Just as Ira B Nadel’s book, Various Positions - A Life Of Leonard Cohen, was turning a little tedious, with its microscopic examination of the (French) Canadian (Jewish) literary scene and references to authors I’d never heard of (and was unlikely to ever want to discover), my interest was reawakened in the middle chapter (Chapter 7), when Bob Dylan appeared for the first time.
“We had arrived at 1966, when Cohen, aged 31, was about to embark on his singing career. At an all-day poetry get-together, none of his fellow poets had heard of this Dylan who Cohen was raving about. One of his friends went out immediately to buy Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, but when they were played they had little impact. Only Cohen was impressed, declaring he would become the Canadian Dylan: music seemed more lucrative than literature.
“En route to Nashville, Cohen stopped off in New York, where he stayed, on and off, for two years. There he was introduced to fellow Canadian Mary Martin, an assistant to Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. It was Martin who arranged for fellow Canadians the Hawks, later known as The Band, to back Dylan. (She also managed Van Morrison for a time.)
“With Martin as his manager, Cohen established himself in the New York music scene. John Hammond, who had also discovered Dylan, signed him to Columbia Records.
“At this point in Various Positions, we see various members of Dylan’s circle from Cohen’s perspective: arguments with Joan Baez over drugs, his infatuation with Nico… .
“It was not until autumn 1969 that Cohen and Dylan met for the first time. Dylan heard that Cohen was at another Village folk club and summoned him to the Kettle of Fish. Their mutual admiration is no secret. Cohen has described Dylan as a Picasso – exuberant, wide-ranging, and assimilating the history of music. Dylan is reported to have gone backstage at several Cohen concerts, and even called in to the recording studios with Allen Ginsberg to sing back-up on Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On, a notorious track on the Phil Spector-produced album, Death of A Ladies’ Man.
“As author Nadel remarks, Cohen and Dylan share some qualities in their song-writing, notably sophisticated lyrics and elegant melodies. They both draw heavily from The Bible. Nadel adds that neither had much of a voice.
“I’d agree that early Lennie can sometimes embarrass with flat notes, but his speaking voice is rich and sonorous and his singing improved with confidence. Dylan could always sing. Listening to his early songs, forty five years down the line, I am often surprised by the force of his singing, the phrasing and the way he holds onto notes. And though his singing voice has seen better days, his speaking voice continues to charm.
“Cohen’s trademark is the most felicitous turn of phrase, both in speech and song. Phrases in his songs impress me with their beauty even when I struggle to comprehend them. Often described as hypnotic, his melodies can draw you in to an intimate world. Only in later songs, as in those in The Future, does Cohen seem to break out from his enclosed world - though his two most recent albums, Ten New Songs, and Dear Heather, see him once again retreating into Planet Leonard.
“Various Positions gives a detailed, informative picture of Leonard Cohen the man and consequently many insights into his (relatively limited) musical output.
“By comparison, Dylan’s vast and varied output reflects a boundless curiosity. It reveals a man looking outwards as well as inwards.”
Friday, July 18, 2008
Leonard Cohen in London: Hallelujah!
Death-bed scene: “Well, Dad, that’s the money sorted out: you seem to have blown most of it on live music. As a matter of interest, what were your top five gigs?”
I think I’d have to include last night’s London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome). The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.
For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate), celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.
The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen’s performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving.
What a writer! What a performer! What a charismatic, inspirational man.
Band – 6 plus 3 vocalists – were accomplished accomplices. Horn-man Dino Soldo was particularly impressive. Sound quality was the best I’ve heard at an amplified gig. Staging, lighting, vision/mixing on big screens were all benchmark quality.
I’d waited many years to see Leonard, the second best writer/performer of the rock era. It was well worth the wait.
SETLIST (approximate):
1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on a Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
18. First We Take Manhattan
19. Sisters of Mercy
20. If It Be Your Will
21. A Thousand Kisses Deep
22. So Long, Marianne
23. Closing Time
24. I Tried to Leave You
25. Whither Thou Goest
A perfect 10, then?
Not quite. A churl could point to the slight unevenness of the setlist: it flagged a bit towards the end of the second half. The finales were underwhelming – the welcome Webb Sisters duet was wrongly positioned; Closing Time is dramatically and melodically too weak to close a show.
And there was an ever-present threat that the show might descend into mainstream showbiz hoopla – Leonard’s frequent name-checking of the band palled early; he was far too nice to the assembled hordes – few would have deserved his compliments; and you sensed that the “spontaneous” jokes had been the same at most gigs on the tour.
For most performers, all this would have been a turn-off. For Leonard, I can make an exception.
Gerry Smith
I think I’d have to include last night’s London leg of the Leonard Cohen tour at the O2 (aka Millennium Dome). The septuagenarian charmer delivered almost three hours of intense beauty, deep joy and not a little glee.
For the assembled 20,000, it was a predictably reverential (if unexpectedly intimate), celebration of a major, rarely seen, talent.
The setlist (below) was remarkable, Zeitgeist-marking signature songs succeeding each other, relentlessly. Cohen’s performance was energetic, engaged, generous. His singing made you suspect that maybe he really does have the gift of a golden voice after all. His spoken renditions, particularly of A Thousand Kisses Deep, were deeply moving.
What a writer! What a performer! What a charismatic, inspirational man.
Band – 6 plus 3 vocalists – were accomplished accomplices. Horn-man Dino Soldo was particularly impressive. Sound quality was the best I’ve heard at an amplified gig. Staging, lighting, vision/mixing on big screens were all benchmark quality.
I’d waited many years to see Leonard, the second best writer/performer of the rock era. It was well worth the wait.
SETLIST (approximate):
1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on a Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
18. First We Take Manhattan
19. Sisters of Mercy
20. If It Be Your Will
21. A Thousand Kisses Deep
22. So Long, Marianne
23. Closing Time
24. I Tried to Leave You
25. Whither Thou Goest
A perfect 10, then?
Not quite. A churl could point to the slight unevenness of the setlist: it flagged a bit towards the end of the second half. The finales were underwhelming – the welcome Webb Sisters duet was wrongly positioned; Closing Time is dramatically and melodically too weak to close a show.
And there was an ever-present threat that the show might descend into mainstream showbiz hoopla – Leonard’s frequent name-checking of the band palled early; he was far too nice to the assembled hordes – few would have deserved his compliments; and you sensed that the “spontaneous” jokes had been the same at most gigs on the tour.
For most performers, all this would have been a turn-off. For Leonard, I can make an exception.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
FREE! Music for grown-ups on air in the next 10 days
Tempting TV/radio broadcasts in the next 10 days:
Thursday 17 July
2045 JS Bach, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(4/5, continues Fri at 2230)
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 18 July
2000 Karita Mattila, First Night Of The Proms – BBC2/BBC Radio 3
Saturday 19 July
1900 Moments In Love: The History Of Chill-Out Music – BBC Radio 2
Sun 20 July
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Monday 21 July
2400 The Chess Records Story – BBC 6 Music
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Tues 22 July
2200 Don’t Look Back (classic doc - Dylan’s 1965 UK tour) – More 4
(repeated 0105 Wed)
Thurs 24 July
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV is accessible online via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Thursday 17 July
2045 JS Bach, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(4/5, continues Fri at 2230)
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Fri 18 July
2000 Karita Mattila, First Night Of The Proms – BBC2/BBC Radio 3
Saturday 19 July
1900 Moments In Love: The History Of Chill-Out Music – BBC Radio 2
Sun 20 July
2400 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Series 2) – BBC 6 Music
Monday 21 July
2400 The Chess Records Story – BBC 6 Music
(1/4, continues Tues-Thurs)
Tues 22 July
2200 Don’t Look Back (classic doc - Dylan’s 1965 UK tour) – More 4
(repeated 0105 Wed)
Thurs 24 July
2300 Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
Online access: many BBC radio programmes are available online, streamed. Please see the BBC channels’ web sites for details.
Archived radio and TV is accessible online via
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Gerry Smith
Monday, July 14, 2008
Bach, Mozart, Leonard Cohen: a fine week ahead
After a dull period for this grown-up music lover, and not a few disappointing gigs, this looks like a very promising week:
* Marriage Of Figaro at Royal Opera House on Saturday; Barbara Frittoli stars, as the Countess.
* JS Bach is Composer Of The Week on BBC Radio 3 – 2045 from tonight until Friday.
* But the highlight, if only for its extreme rarity value, is Leonard Cohen’s gig at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday. I don’t fancy the venue one little bit, but you’ve got to catch Lenny whenever and wherever you can.
JS Bach… Mozart… Leonard Cohen: three of the biggest hitters of all - a very fine week ahead. Watch Music for Grown-Ups for in-depth reports from row 1!
Gerry Smith
* Marriage Of Figaro at Royal Opera House on Saturday; Barbara Frittoli stars, as the Countess.
* JS Bach is Composer Of The Week on BBC Radio 3 – 2045 from tonight until Friday.
* But the highlight, if only for its extreme rarity value, is Leonard Cohen’s gig at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday. I don’t fancy the venue one little bit, but you’ve got to catch Lenny whenever and wherever you can.
JS Bach… Mozart… Leonard Cohen: three of the biggest hitters of all - a very fine week ahead. Watch Music for Grown-Ups for in-depth reports from row 1!
Gerry Smith
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