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

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


Radio For Grown-Ups

New Year's Day BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Time

Thurs BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* My Country Jukebox
Nick Barraclough talks with some big-name stars about what they listen to. Barraclough's country tastes are often questionable, but his guest this week is Emmylou Harris so good taste is guaranteed.

Fri BBCR6 2100 - 2200
* Theme Time With Bob Dylan: ??

Fri BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Milt Jackson

Fri BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
More highlights from the past year of programmes: Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman, Gwilym Simcock, Eddie Prevost and Jon Rose with Frances-Marie Uitti.


TV For Grown-Ups - Turgid (Part 2)

Fri BBC4 20.10 onwards
Nothing worth looking out for till Friday on BBC4 ~ a new series in the usually good 'Britannia' strand focusing on pop. The first programme is at least watchable as its focus is the start of the Rock 'n' Roll years with Cliff, Billy Fury and Val Parnell and the skiffle craze. The show is bookended by two of Cliff's worthier efforts, Espresso Bongo and The Young Ones.

Jools Holland's usually reliable Hootenanny on New Year's Eve takes a sharp nosedive with not one act worthy of screentime ~ Sir Thumbs-A-Loft, the annoying Mika, and Kylie (OBE for 'Services To Music'? As Tom Lerner said when told of Henry Kissinger's Nobel Peace Prize, "Satire is dead."). And I bet Russell Brand is in the audience just to complete the whole sorry mess.

Bah humbug.

DYLAN 3CD Limited Edition – time to reconsider

Until I received the DYLAN 3CD Limited Edition as a present on Xmas morning, I’d been, like many readers, unmoved by the release: a missed opportunity … nothing new … repetition of earlier releases … blah, blah, blah …

Sure, I’ve bought all this music before, many times over. Sure, I’d have preferred another Bootleg Series release, especially a proper Basement Tapes. And, sure, I may never play the 3CD collection end to end.

But I can now see why Columbia released DYLAN. Clearly, it’s intended primarily to promote the back catalogue to younger consumers. But, beyond that, it’s a fitting tribute to a lifetime of timeless recordings by the biggest name on the label: the Dylan songbook is showcased here as never before.

And the packaging is appropriately reverential. From the three beautiful CD mini sleeves to the lavish 40 page booklet, and the set of 10 collectable cigarette card-type reproductions of show posters to the cloth-finished box, with its velvet lining and clever magnetized closing flap, this is an artefact assembled with skill and care.

DYLAN Limited Edition celebrates one of the great creative forces of the modern world. If, like me, you rejected it on release, it might be time to reconsider, especially if you can pick it up at discount – it’s doing the rounds at half price (£17).



Gerry Smith

Top operas in Xmas TV schedules

Mike Ollier rightly bemoans the poor quality of poprock on TV over the holidays. But the classical coverage is far, far better. In particular, there’s some fabulous opera from the Royal Opera House. Here’s what they say about their offerings:

* Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias: BBC Two, 24 December, 4.30pm
This profile examines the musical career of Pavarotti through the arias with which he was most closely associated, including his debut in La Bohème and his huge success in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, which won him the title 'King of the High Cs'.

* The Magic of Carmen: BBC Two, Boxing Day, 1.15pm
Evocative, dramatic and colourful - the opera Carmen is a tale of passion, betrayal and revenge which features some of the most popular music ever written. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera, introduces us to Francesca Zambello's celebrated production.

* Carmen: BBC Two: Boxing Day, 1.45pm
A screening of the recent acclaimed production from the Royal Opera House.

* La fille du regiment: BBC Four, 30 December, 7.30pm
A broadcast of the celebrated recent production from The Royal Opera introduced by Dawn French.

I endorse the recommendation for the great Pavarotti. But having seen both Carmen and La Fille Du Regiment productions at Covent Garden, my take is different. The Carmen was poor – but the problem is the opera itself, not the production.

La Fille du Regiment was sublime – one of my top gigs of all time, in any genre. Natalie Dessay was breathtaking – music for grown-ups doesn’t just doesn’t get any better. (Forget Dawn French, though - a bit part to appease the suburban amateur celeb-obsessed cultural tourists.)

If you watch nothing else on TV this holiday, try this spectacular production of La Fille du Regiment.


Gerry Smith

Van Morrison plays Providence, Rhode Island

Thanks to Mark Feldman:

Van returned to RI to the Providence Performing Arts Center where he last performed 35 years ago.

Despite my seasonal Grinchiness, I enjoyed the show but won't grade it better than a B (and that's grading on a curve!).

Van's voice and delivery remain wonderful and he is definitely "a workin' man in his prime". His gutteral grunts and animalistic chants remain the highlight of the shows for me as we scat into unexplored territories. Too bad he has to do all the heavy lifting and dump the jute on the burning ground by himself. I miss his having a backup band that can challenge him musically and take us all higher but I guess this is his current comfort zone and I'm OK with it as long as he keeps singing like he did last night.

When the band took the stage, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Ned was not there (thanks, Santa!). However, Ned's sluggish residue tainted the first several tunes.

"Domino" was surprisingly lethargic; "Magic Time" was swell; HITYL warrants a new "Disneyland" designation instead of Vegas now that it's even more Musak-y; "It Once Was My Life" was OK but the band was still having tempo problems; the band finally found its groove with "In The Midnight"; "Cleaning Windows" was OK; "Stranded" a treat as always; the plodding, sloppy tempo returned on "Talk is Cheap".

“In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck" was super with a great vocal; "Chopping Wood" brought us back down to earth; "Moondance" is always a treat even though the CB singers Muzak'd the swing out of it; Van's pentacostal vocals on St. James always please; Van sang hard on "I Can't Stop Loving You"; "Bright Side" then here we go into BEG/Gloria, right?

WRONG!; encores with "Help Me' - good version not great but the Old Man has big balls to deny 'classic hits' radio fans who fork over $175/ticket the chance to hear BEG or Gloria. Don't go gentle into the good night, Mr. M... You ARE my Snoidian role model!

Highlights/Observations:
1. No Ned - a plus
2. Nothing performed from "Pay The Devil" - hmmm....
3. No "Precious Time" - another plus
4. No BEG or Gloria! Encore of Help Me
5. At end of show, ushers handed out adverts promoting the release of the new album "Keep It Simple" on 11 March08 (and availability of "Pay The Devil"?)
6. Time for Crawford Bell singers to go join Ned on the dole and bring in some horns with punch and chicks who can REALLY sing backup and not Nashvillesque mundane harmonies (where's Katie K. and Candy D.?)
7. Quiet and courteous full house audience - a US rarity these days
8. Van played harp, sax, guitar & keyboards
9. Pre- & post-show gathering was delightful - thanks to all for being so much fun. Fine mix of newbies, grizzled vets and know-it-alls . Thanks also to Simon & Wavelength for posting meetingplace info.

I'll be happy to host the next Providence meeting in 35 more years ...

Led Zep reunion: c(r?)ockrock karaoke?

Last week’s Led Zep reunion gig in London generated strong, opposing reactions among music lovers.

In the classic rock corner, the nostalgics, grizzled hippies and heavy metal boneheads who considered themselves lucky to be able to shell out £125 to watch a
c(r)ockrock karaoke show, alongside 20,000 others (plus the reputed millions who’d liked to have taken their place), made me smile, if benignly. The fawning media hacks who fed the hysteria were not a pretty sight.

In the post-Punk/alt-modern rock corner, the scornful younger fans (and their rabble-rousing media accomplices) who resurrected the “kill all hippies” vibe which drove Led Zep off the album charts in the late 1970s, seemed just as objectionably intolerant as they did 30 years ago.

Led Zep deserve a more measured approach: great band … four or five great albums … landmark instrumentation … took classic rock as far as it could go … but mostly silly lyrics … Percy had a great ballad voice, but veered perilously close to a Chipmunks parody on faster rockers … laughable stage attire … thank God for punk … blah blah … .

If I didn’t already own all the Led Zep recordings, I’d be delighted to receive Mothership, the new compilation (2CD plus DVD version), for Xmas and would spend many happy hours with it. Their best music is timeless.

But you couldn’t pay me to attend a Led Zep reunion gig: heritage rock/nostalgia isn’t my bag, man; arenas are an insult to any listener who takes music seriously; and the prospect of being surrounded by 20,000 pairs of smelly trainers for three hours in an enclosed space is just too awful to contemplate.



Gerry Smith

Best music for grown-ups in 2007

Tis the season for list-making … Music for Grown-Ups is keen to carry your list of the best of 2007: please email your picks to gerry@musicforgrownups.co.uk

Thanks to valued regular contributor Mike Ollier for starting us off in such fine style:

“Can I be the first with my list of the year? Here goes:

CD Of The Year
* Steve Earle ~ Washington Square Serenade
Earle's move to New York and 7th marriage (yes, 7, to singer Allison Moorer) seems to have re-invigorated him. A cracking modern country folk album; make sure you get the edition with the DVD on which Earle eulogises about Dylan while walking around Greenwich (that's Village, not London suburb) and shamelessly telling a native about his home town.

* Robert Plant/Alison Krauss ~ Raising Sand
'Percy can sing' shock! Quite captivating collection of American folk roots which gave Plant a compelling reason to resist Jimmy Page's overtures of extra Zep dates (as I write I notice that gigs have been announced for a Plant/Krauss tour). Also, special mentions here for guitarist Marc Ribot and producer T-Bone Burnette.

* Levon Helm ~ Dirt Farmer
The best Band album since Robbie Robertson left. Helm's voice is fantastic, a miracle when you consider he's just beaten throat cancer. Produced by Dylan acolyte Larry Campbell who also plays some superb guitar and fiddle, the album also provides further proof (as if any was needed) of what a fantastic drummer Helm is.

* Danny & Dusty ~ Live In Frankfurt
A Green On Red and Dream Syndicate side project featuring Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn. A 2CD set with live DVD for 12quid; messy, loose and soulful and rocks like a rocking thing.

Honorable Mentions
John Fogerty ~ Revival
Bruce Springsteen ~ Magic
Arcade Fire ~ Neon Bible


Re-Issues Of The Year
* Tandy ~ For A Friend/Did You Think I Was Gone
Tandy are the best band you've never heard of; folk, blues and country rock-tinged, 7 albums into a 10-year career and leader Mike Ferrio is writing better than ever. These were two 500 limited edition own label releases that were picked up by Brooklyn indie 00.02.59 Records and re-released to reach a wider audience. A twofer for a tenner at today's exchange rate … go on, you won't regret it. I will personally buy the album back if you don't like it.


Compilations Of The Year
* Uncut's Neil Young CD
A real treat, a collection of some of Mr Grumpy Trousers' finest songs given a makeover by Cowboy Junkies, Jay Farrar, Dream Syndicate etc.

* "The Sandanista Project" Various Artists
Remember the Clash album? Yeah, it was terrible, right? So, this is gonna be worse, right? Wrong! It's 25 times greater (really) and even gets better as it goes on so you get to hear those tracks that were buried away on side 6 and never listened to. Biggest names here are Willie Nile and Amy Rigby, but John Langford trumps out with Junco Partner.

* Mick Jagger ~ Very Best Of…
Some bad uns on here, especially the early '80s synth and drum stuff which hasn't weathered well. But the second half of the album is terrific and shows that Mick was a viable option to the Stones and unfairly vilified by some sections of the press. Interesting videos, too.


Not Compilation Of The Year
* Van Morrison ~ Still On Top: The Greatest Hits
The music's fine (though no place for Summertime In England?), it's the packaging which is crap; the non-chronology of the selections (if I wanted that I'd press shuffle on my player), the awful cover painting with the dog from Veedon Fleece lolling about (oddly, no selection here), the terrible painting of Van as some sort of English dandy with a brolly, the dreadful sleeve notes which are basically a (bad) discography and in which the writer seemingly lost interest half-way through, and, finally, nothing from Astral Weeks. Pah! And just to compound my feelings, the re-releases in January 2008 have poor 'extra' tracks selections on them, too.


Gigs Of The Year
* Tandy/Mary Lee's Corvette ~ 13th Note, Glasgow
A great club, a great, appreciative knowledgeable audience, great beer, and two great bands all equal a great night. A special mention here for Konrad Meisner (drummer for The Silos in his day job), who almost stole the show when his drums were lost by the airline. He used a cardboard box, sat on a tea chest (kicking it as a bass drum) with a selection of shakers and brushes. All superbly mic'd up by the expert soundman in the venue. Mike Ferrio on top of his game and Mary Lee's warmly humorous personality and perfectly crafted songs made this a great gig.

* The Yayhoos ~ The Cluny, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A dose of straight-down-the-line, Faces/Stonesey style rock 'n' roll from Dan Baird and Keith Christopher (Georgia Satellites), Eric Ambel (Steve Earle's Dukes, Joan Jett's Blackhearts) and Terry Anderson. It was big and loud, it wasn't clever, but by God it was more fun than a night out with Scarlett Johannson. In a curry house. And Match Of The Day afterwards.

* Laura Cortese & Neil Cleary ~ The Morden Tower, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Promoted by the superb Jumpin' Hot Club, this small venue is situated up a back alley in Chinatown, built into the old city walls and is about 1,000 years old. Normally a poetry venue (Ginsberg played here), there is no bar, the toilet is outside and back down the narrow steps and you need a key, it's certainly not warm in there and if there's 30 people in it's a sell-out. A GREAT venue in which to see superb songsmith Neil Cleary and fiddler extraordinaire, Laura Cortese. She plucks, pulls, taps, scrapes and plays the violin whilst singing to create a fresh sound; her version of The Cure's Just Like Heaven is a great idea (and available on her MySpace page) and Josh Ritter's BlueJay is touching and heartfelt. She's my discovery of the year.


TV of The Year
* New York Doll (BBC4)
The tale of Arthur 'Killer' Kane, bass player from the NYDs. You don't have to be a fan of the band to enjoy this full-length rockumentary (and I'm certainly not) but you'd have to have a hard heart not to enjoy, and weep, at this incredible tale. The BEST programme on music I've ever seen.

* Iggy & the Stooges ~ Glastonbury
Rabble-rousing punk which caused a stage invasion and Iggy was loving it. As with the NYDs, I've never been a Stooges fan, but this was one of the freshest, most exhilarating sets of live music I've seen for years (and I didn't get wet).”

Why so little discussion of Van Morrison’s Still on Top?

Thanks to Jerry Crew:

“I’ve been waiting to see someone’s take on Van’s Still on Top compilation, but have seen precious little discussion of it, either here or on various Van-related lists.

“No doubt, this is due at least in some part to this having been the third compilation album of the year. However, I think it is worth noting, that, at least to this Van fan, this compilation holds together and flows start to finish better than any of the three Best-of compilations or the At the Movies compilation.

“Why? The total and complete absence of Van’s various and frequent dabbling in what I consider to be side projects. No blues or jazz covers, no country, no skiffle – just the ‘Celtic Soul’ that initially drew me to Van and has kept me a fan through thick (‘70s to early ‘90s) and thin (most everything since).

“The only tracks that really sound out of place alongside the larger body of work are the early Them numbers – Gloria, Baby Please Don’t Go, and Here Comes the Night. I don’t recall having read if Van had anything to do with the track selection on this album as he did on Best of Volumes 2 and 3, but it appears that with this collection, either Van or Polydor get what many, if not most, fans are about.”



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Original article:


Rockpop for grown-ups: a vintage year for best-of CDs

If you’re wondering about buying rockpop for grown-ups best-of CDs as Xmas presents, you’re spoilt for choice this year. A pile of exciting new releases has made 2007 a vintage year for this oft-derided but very popular form of release.

Stunning best-ofs praised here this year (you can find them via the Archive) include:
* Doors – Very Best Of The Doors (2CD/DVD/booklet version preferred)
* Dylan – DYLAN (3CD version preferred)
* Van Morrison – Still On Top (3CD version preferred)
* Mick Jagger – Very Best Of
* Rolling Stones – Rolled Gold+
* Led Zeppelin – Mothership (2CD/DVD version preferred)
* Ella – Forever Ella
* The Very Best Of Miles Davis: the Warner Bros Sessions 1985-1991.

Mamma mia! Any one of them would bring a broad smile to my face on Xmas morning. Supermarkets and online suppliers (eg play.com) generally undercut the music megastores on such product – so you can save lots by shopping around.



Gerry Smith

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

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


Radio For Grown-Ups

Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~ 23.00
* Charles Hazlewood (6 of 6)

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Friends and Neighbours
I'm reeling in shock as the BBC website actually updates … Bob plays Marilyn Monroe, Carole King and Howlin Wolf amongst others. You can't accuse the man of having narrow musical taste, can you?

Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Cab Calloway

Fri BBC3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Tyft, featuring Hilmar Jensson, Andrew D'Angelo and Jim Black.

Sat BBCR2 20.00 ~ 21.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Dogs
It's holiday time and so R2 roll out the Sideshow Bob theme time hours ~ result! Another 5 to follow this over Xmas … details next column.


TV For Grown-Ups

Mon C4 22.00 ~ 23.55
* Film: O Brother Where Art Thou?
The Coen Brothers very funny adaptation of Homer's Odyssey with one of the finest soundtracks assembled for a movie.


Otherwise, it's DVDs this week if you wanna see music, cos there's bog all on the telly. And it's not just music: the only thing I can muster up any enthusiasm for is my Man Of The Year, Charlie Brooker with a Screen Wipe review of the year’s TV on BBC4 on Wednesday evening. Expect to laugh.

Karlheinz Stockhausen RIP

Serious music lost one of its great innovators with the death this week of Karlheinz Stockhausen.

The German avant-gardiste was one of the most challenging musicians. But when your music is feted as the most important in the modernist canon and your name is freely associated with pioneers in other genres like Miles Davis (qv) and Brian Eno (qv), listeners seriously into music owe your work a fair hearing. And, for all its austere, egghead associations, Stockhausen's best work is reasonably approachable. His trademark sound incorporates Eastern religious influences and mysticism. His is the most successful employment of electronics in serious music. His best-known work is Young Boys’ Song, a landmark in electronica. Licht, a series of seven operas, has its supporters (and detractors).

Most popular in the hippie era of the 1960s, when he influenced West Coast rock bands like the Grateful Dead, Stockhausen was, for a time, very influential in the newly ambitious pop culture – his portrait is included on Peter Blake’s sleeve for Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: hipper than that it was not possible to be.

If Miles Davis listened to Stockhausen, and if the fabled Montreux festival concert venue named one of its auditoria after him, you owe it to yourself to check out what all the fuss is about.

BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting a 90 minute tribute at 2230 tomorrow in its Hear & Now slot: a must-listen for grown-ups.



Gerry Smith

Rolling Stones – must-have photos book now deeply discounted

As soon as it was published, I knew that Bent Rej’s impressive book of exquisite photographs, The Rolling Stones In The Beginning (Mitchell Beazley), was a must–have. It’s a lovely large format collection of intimate pics following the band as they morphed from hopefuls to megastars in the early 1960s.

But I knew that I would eventually save most of the hefty £40 price tag, just by waiting for a reduction.

Lo and behold! Just in time for Santa, it’s now widely available, deeply discounted, all over the High Street. I’ve variously seen it at £10/£9 and as low as £8 (TK Maxx). For the Stones fan in your life, The Rolling Stones In The Beginning is perfect.



Gerry Smith

Music that stopped me in my tracks …

Music that’s stopped me in my tracks recently:

1. Maria Callas – the Casta Diva aria, from Act I of Bellini’s Norma, on Radio 3 on Sunday morning’s Private Passions. It was so powerful that I had to sit down and listen carefully, to catch every last syllable. Great music, great voice, great acting: it just doesn’t get any better than this.

2. Amy Winehouse – the Valerie single, while in a shop later the same day. The whole shopful of customers simply stopped shopping for the duration. What a soulful interpreter; what mastery of a lyric; what swing. Here’s hoping the gel deals with her demons and goes on to produce a lifetime of great work – both for her sake and for everybody else’s.



Gerry Smith

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

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


Radio For Grown-Ups

Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood
Could be anything this week. BBC … blah blah … website … blah blah …

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: last week was Eyes.

Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Sonny Rollins (part 2 of 2)

Fri BBC3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
Bassist Simon H Fell, live from Huddersfield.


TV For Grown-Ups

Mon C4 23.50 ~ 00.20
* Led Zeppelin: Live at Madison Square Garden 1973
Couldn't get a ticket for tonight's O2 gig? Then here's a (measly) half hour of Zep in their pomp ~ Black Dog and Since I've Been Loving You amongst the highlights: though by my reckoning that's 30mins gone, when you take into account the adverts. However, anyone who really likes Zep will have seen this stuff anyway.

Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 21.00
* Gergiev Conducts Three 20th Century Greats (2 of 3)
Second of three concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.30
* If It Ain't Stiff
A repeat of the watchable doc on Stiff records.


I take back what I said about last week's TV … and the radio is crap this week, too.

Leeds – epicentre of early ‘70s rock

The pre-eminence of the capital of Yorkshire as the epicentre of early 1970s rock is underlined by a feature article in the new issue of Leeds, The University of Leeds Alumni Magazine.

Living The Legend, a seven page feature, tells the story of how a handful of students made the Uni the hottest gig on planet Earth from several years from 1970. They booked some of the biggest rockers of all, at the peak of their powers, including:

24 Jan 1970 – Led Zeppelin

14 Feb 1970 – The Who

16 May 1970 – Leonard Cohen

13 March 1971 – Rolling Stones

At least two of the gigs produced legendary recordings – The Who Live At Leeds, and Get Yer Leeds Lungs Out, the highly regarded Stones bootleg.

The student unions of many Anglo unis organised world-class rockpop gigs, but none equalled the line-ups offered to Leeds students in the early 1970s.



Gerry Smith

The Word - most grown-up rockpopmag in 2007

The major Anglo rockpop mags – MOJO, UNCUT and The Word - are alluring artefacts. I can rarely resist picking up the new issue in the supermarket. Every 150-page issue has at least a few pages worth skimming – though usually not enough to persuade me to buy a copy.

The magazines occasionally feature musicians for grown-ups on the front cover, even if the articles they advertise normally lack allure.

If I had to guess which mag has most grown-up musicians on the cover, I’d rank them: 1 MOJO, 2 UNCUT, 3 The Word. This year, I’d have been hopelessly wrong – The Word
(9) had most covers featuring musicians likely to discussed here and MOJO (5) fewest; UNCUT was second, with 8.

Rockpop mag covers (2007):


Jan: MOJO Joy Division; UNCUT Radiohead; The Word Doors

Feb: MOJO Beatles; UNCUT Smiths; The Word Amy Winehouse

March: MOJO Who; UNCUT Iggy Pop; The Word Joni M

April: MOJO Arctic Monkeys; UNCUT Floyd; The Word Rufus Wainwright

May: MOJO 100 Songs; UNCUT Macca; The Word Nick Cave

June: MOJO Bob Marley; UNCUT Stones; The Word Leonard Cohen

July: MOJO Police; UNCUT Dylan; The Word Van M

Aug: MOJO Stones; UNCUT P Weller; The Word J Marr

September: MOJO Floyd; UNCUT Hendrix/50 gigs; The Word Floyd

October: MOJO Oasis; UNCUT Led Zep; The Word Bruce S

November: MOJO Led Zep; UNCUT Neil Young; The Word Led Zep

December: MOJO Amy; UNCUT Lennon; The Word Amy/07


This year saw a total of 22 (of 36) covers featuring musicians for grown-ups. I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to work out which they were!



Gerry Smith

Springsteen 1 Arsenal 0

Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning for a couple of English gigs on Bruce Springsteen’s May 2008 Euro tour.

The London gig, at the Emirates stadium, new home of Arsenal, the Francophone African football franchise, was briefly tempting: I’ve a high regard for Bruce’s best work, notably Darkness and The Rising, and I’ve long wanted to catch him live.

Briefly? I was tempted for all of a minute – before reality kicked in.

Do I really want to spend a summer evening driving (very slowly) to the toilet known as inner North London to spend a couple of hours at a massed karaoke, surrounded by middle-aged beer-bellied drunks (and their boyfriends/partners/husbands), wearing dribble-stained black T-shirts, scruffy jeans and smelly trainers?

And pay well over £100 for two for the privilege?

Probably not: a stroll in the local blueball-carpeted beechwood seems infinitely more attractive.

Stadium rock – by anyone – just ain’t music for grown-ups.



Gerry Smith

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

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


Radio For Grown-Ups

Weds BBCR2 22.00 ~23.00
* Charles Hazlewood (4 of 6)
Musical humour this week. Surely an oxymoron (unless it's applied to Spinal Tap or The Leningrad Cowboys).

Weds BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Hep To The Jive: The Cab Calloway Story (4 of 4)
Concluding part and Cab is appropriated by ad men and appears in The Blues Brothers. What a sorry end.

Thurs BBCR3 23.15 ~ 01.00pm
* Late Junction
Penguin Café Orchestra are featured tonight.

Fri BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan:
Right, BBC can't get their arses in gear so, I'll tell you what it was last week ~ Cars.

Fri BBC3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library: Dave Brubeck
87th birthday celebration (did they do a 86th?) of the time signature definer.

Fri BBC3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On 3
CDs Of The Year with Jez Nelson spinning them. Do you spin CDs? Is it all on mini disk, mp3s or whatever? Do you care?


TV For Grown-Ups

Fri BBC4 19.30 ~ 21.00
* Gergiev Conducts Three 20th Century Greats (1 of 3)
Firts of three concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra

Fri BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Brasil, Brasil
Last of three brings the story up to date, and politics still shapes the musical landscape and music still shaped politics. Gilberto Gil is Minister of Culture.


Yup, that's your lot. Quite possibly THE worst week (certainly for TV) that I've seen since I started doing this.