Dylan in London, 1962/63

If you missed Bob’s Big Freeze, Tuesday’s one-hour Radio 2 documentary on Dylan in London in 1962/63, you can still catch it online - until next Tuesday, 2 Dec (2230 GMT).

It’s a richly detailed account of Dylan’s first trip outside North America. Martin Carthy claims the trip was vital in Dylan’s development as a writer, exposing him to sources which inspired some of the big early anthems like Spanish Boots, Girl From The North Country and Bob Dylan’s Dream. The first masterpiece LP, Freewheelin’, followed in mid-1963.

Strengths? Apart from the evocative music clips, it’s a well-researched feature - as you’d expect from a co-production by long-time Dylan scribe Patrick Humphries. The number and variety of eye witness accounts is impressive.

And don’t be put off by the extraneous noises in the first few minutes of the playback – Nigel Ogden on the organ, and a trail for another Radio 2 show.

Bob’s Big Freeze: recommended.


www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer



Gerry Smith

Maria Callas: favourite female opera singer

Maria Callas receives the same level of media attention as Bob Dylan or Miles Davis. It’s easy to see why; she’s Music for Grown-Ups readers’ clear favourite female opera singer, as our poll a couple of years ago established.


Favourite female opera singer: results

Maria Callas 46.8%
Cecilia Bartoli 28.1%
Anna Netrebko 9.3%
Magdalena Kozena 9.3%
Renee Fleming 6.2%
Angela Gheorghiu 0%


Gerry Smith

Roy Orbison: readers’ favourite ‘50s rocker

Gearing up for the start of In Dreams: Roy Orbison, the four part series starting on BBC Radio 2 next Monday (1 Dec) at 2330, I dug out the poll conducted here a few years ago which showed Orbison to be even more popular among readers than Elvis!

Favourite ‘50s rockers:

Roy Orbison 26%
Elvis Presley 24.6%
Chuck Berry 21.9%
Buddy Holly 17.8%
Everly Brothers 9.5%
Little Richard 0%

Much as I rate the Big-O, I’d personally rank him after Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.


Gerry Smith

Roy Orbison, Charlie Parker, Olivier Messiaen

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

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

Thurs 27 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2
2300 Georgie Fame, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2400 Van Morrison, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 28 Nov
1930 Mahler’s 2nd Symphony – BBC Four
2100 The Clash: Westway To The World – BBC Four
2200 The Clash Live – Revolution Rock – BBC Four

Sat 29 Nov
1600 Charlie Christian, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
1730 Berlioz, La Damnation de Faust (from the Met) – BBC Radio 3
2400 Charlie Parker, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 30 Nov
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6 Music

Mon 1 Dec
1200 & 2200 Olivier Messiaen, Composer Of The Week
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri) – BBC Radio 3
2330 Roy Orbison, In Dreams (1/4) – BBC Radio 2

Thurs 4 Nov
2300 Salif Keita, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 5 Dec
2315 fRoots magazine’s Album of the Year, World On 3 – BBC Radio 3


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

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer




Gerry Smith

More Rolling Stones pictures and striking Oasis artwork

Rock and roll art is really taking off, with new shows following each other in rapid succession.

Smart Gallery, in Harrogate, North Yorks, is now selling a set of Stones photographs from 1963. Rolling Stones – 1st Photo Sessions by Philip Townsend comprises six images retailing as a giclee signed limited edition boxed set of mounted images (£895) or individually framed at £275 each.

www.smartgallery.co.uk


Meanwhile, Snap Galleries, which mounts an exciting programme of rock photography exhibitions at its Birmingham HQ, is showing the London-centric art market just what it’s missing with a temporary taster exhibition in the basement of a clothes retailer in London’s Covent Garden.

In the run-up to Xmas, Snap/Covent Garden has a lovely show of Oasis artwork with Michael Spencer Jones’s portfolio of album and singles cover photography.

While Oasis are not really musicians for grown-ups, the Out Of The Blue collection, on sale as limited edition photographs, box sets and a beautiful limited edition book, are striking artifacts which will excite many younger rock music lovers.

www.snapgalleries.com



Gerry Smith

Lucinda Williams – channelling Van Morrison?

On Sweet Honey, her new album, Lucinda Williams seems to be channelling Van Morrison. Her new song The Knowing (track 9), sounds eerily like a Van Morrison song from his mid-‘80s Beautiful Vision period. (It isn’t.)

From the vaguely New Age lyrics to the smouldering vocal delivery, from the mantra-like repetition to the quietly impassioned humming (where else have you heard Williams humming on record?), from the tempo to the instrumentation, the similarities are legion.

I’d lay good money that Lucinda Williams had been hearing a fair bit of vintage VanMan music while she was writing Sweet Honey.



Gerry Smith

The Clash, Mahler and Georgie Fame

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… .


Sat 22 Nov
2400 Art Tatum, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 23 Nov
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6 Music

Thurs 27 Nov
2300 Georgie Fame, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Fri 28 Nov
1930 Mahler’s 2nd Symphony – BBC Four
2100 The Clash: Westway To The World – BBC Four
2200 The Clash Live – Revolution Rock – BBC Four


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

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer




Gerry Smith

Leonard Cohen – in depth – on UNCUT magazine’s website

UNCUT magazine has a Leonard Cohen feature although, unlike the current MOJO, Lenny doesn’t grace the cover (Paul Weller does).

Stealing a march on its great rival, UNCUT has cleverly used the out-takes from the interviews with Cohen associates for a series of traffic-building bonus articles on its website.

Recommended.

www.uncut.co.uk



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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:

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

Music for grown-ups in a tiny town in deepest England

On Saturday I travelled 100 miles up the A5 to see a gig. The A5 used to be the major road linking London with Birmingham. The Romans built it, as Watling Street, but the opening of the M1 in the mid-‘60s made it redundant. So now it’s a lovely, empty, winding country road linking historic coaching towns like Towcester and Tamworth.

My journey was to see a performance in Lichfield by Jim Moray, nu-folk innovator oft lauded on musicforgrown-ups.com.

It was my first visit to Lichfield and I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a delightful little place, an oasis from a bygone era – apart, that is, from welcome modern innovations like clusters of friendly skateboarders, handy fast food joints and the welcoming smoke-free pubs offering shelter from the persistent drizzle (and live football).

What made Lichfield particularly enjoyable was the sandstone medieval cathedral, surely one of the loveliest, if lowest profile, churches in Europe.

Inside, away from the rain, Saturday’s visitors were treated to a rehearsal by a Heavenly choir, preparing for an evening gig. I’d loved to have made the concert, but it clashed with the Moray show (review to follow).

But what an impressive cultural offering! In a tiny town in deepest England you never hear about, the locals had a choice of world-class music for grown-ups: Jim Moray at the Guildhall or Gaudeamus Omnes, a programme of celestial music by Taverner, Byrd and Palestrina, by the Lichfield Cathedral Chamber Choir.

What riches!




Gerry Smith

Van Morrison’s Astral Weekend at Hollywood Bowl

Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide


If ever I was going to fly to the other side of the world for a weekend to see a concert - make that two concerts - November 7th and 8th at Hollywood Bowl was the time to do it.

In a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Van Morrison played Astral Weeks - arguably the greatest album in contemporary music - live both nights to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release in 1968.

Set lists:

Friday 7th November

Wavelength
Saint Dominic's Preview
And The Healing Has Begun
It's All In The Game >> You Know What They're Writing About
Troubadours
Angeliou
Moondance
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Astral Weeks
Beside You
Slime Slow Slider
Sweet Thing
The Way That Young Lovers Do
Cyprus Avenue
Ballerina
Madame George

Listen To The Lion


Saturday 8th November

Wavelength
Saint Dominic's Preview
Caravan
It's All In The Game >> You Know What They're Writing About
Here Comes The Night
And The Healing Has Begun
Summertime In England
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Astral Weeks
Beside You
Slime Slow Slider
Sweet Thing
The Way That Young Lovers Do
Cyprus Avenue
Ballerina
Madame George

Listen To The Lion


When the first night started with Wavelength, Saint Dominic's Preview and And The Healing Has Begun, I knew we were in for a totally magical experience. You would hardly get a better encore than that, let alone an opening sequence. I have to admit to tears in Healing, I was simply taken!

My own assessment was confirmed by this online review of the Friday night concert in the LA Weekly website on Saturday: “Sell the rest of your portfolio. Forgo fancy dinners for the rest of November. Break your lame date and call your soul mate. Do what you have to do, I swear, to get a ticket to tonight's Van Morrison show at the Hollywood Bowl. If you at all have ever been moved by a Morrison song, if you've wondered whether age has worn his voice, tore away at his heart or passion, you should make a pilgrimage.”

It is seriously impossible to describe these concerts - as an Aussie, I've only seen Van live a handful of times, but the Van faithful from all over the world who were there, many of whom had seen him countless times, all agreed that this was the high water mark.

For me, this weekend was about Van's musical legacy. There have been some people questioning why he would be doing Astral Weeks again and how it might be about money, and getting some rights back from Warner Brothers, and so on. But I don't think so - if he had wanted to make money, I'm not sure that Astral Weeks was the most astute business decision - more likely Van Morrison "At the Movies" live at Hollywood Bowl would have been more popular.

In an emailed interview with Van, published in the Los Angeles Times, he made one comment that really struck me: "But I prefer writing and crafting the spiritual-leaning songs the most." And for most of us Vanatics, those are the songs that resonate - but those are the songs that have been (mostly) absent from the last few albums.

So this “Astral Weekend” was about Van reclaiming some of what made him Van Morrison - I think it was a very personal journey for him. But one that he couldn't help sharing, even though sharing doesn't (apparently) come easily to him.

Others have said they were worried that he couldn't do justice to Astral Weeks now after all these years. But he did - it wasn't a repeat version, but it was a very faithful re-creation, true to the original, but informed by the 40 years in between. Nobody complained about the It’s Too Late To Stop Now version of Listen to the Lion starting with a piano intro, rather than guitar as on the original studio version, so why would there be a problem with Van changing the instrumentation and arrangements in the live versions of the Astral Weeks songs - as long as they were true to the spirit of the originals. Which they were!

To the concerts...

Anyone familiar with Van’s canon will recognise those set lists as extraordinary. To get All In the Game, Troubadours and Angeliou was completely beyond my wildest imaginings – it meant we got the whole of Side 2 of Into The Music, plus Troubadours, in addition to the whole of Astral Weeks!

Angeliou was exceptional, especially when he told the story that had no words - as only Van can, with those vocal sounds that come from who knows where (did you dig that sound?).

Closing out the first half with Moondance, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria didn't even seem to disappoint those who've heard them 100 times before, I think because the arrangements were so good. Moondance was so crisp and clean, and Van's sax playing was great. Gloria was a stunner, morphing into Who Do You Love, and having a really bluesy grunt to it. And BEG was, well, just the perfect pop song delivered perfectly.

Then the second half started, Astral Weeks - this was very hard to believe, that there we were, and it was happening. It was 1972 when I first heard Astral Weeks, it blew me away then, it has continued to blow me away ever since, and it blew me away on Friday night.

I think the Friday night highlight was an astonishing Slim Slow Slider in which Van was attacking his acoustic guitar, again and again and again and again, with wild bursts of the most frenetic strumming you've ever seen, and singing BOTH that he was breaking down AND that he mustn't break down.

If proof was still needed that this was about the music, Slim Slow Slider was it - if it was just a money-making exercise, he didn't have to drive himself into such a frenzied state. He was, at once, breaking down and not breaking down, casting such an emotional spell you couldn't help but be drawn into it. But like Astral Weeks (the album) has always done, it reveals the depths of pain while also opening the door to redemption. Beside You the same. Ballerina the same. Not so Astral Weeks itself (the song), which I've always found to be full of inspiration and hope - to be born again, to be born again.

Running Sweet Thing and Young Lovers in sequence seemed just right, and brought joy back to the stage after the depths of Beside You and Slim Slow Slider (not that listening to those two wasn't a joyous experience, of course).

Then running Cyprus Avenue, Ballerina and Madame George together made for another inspired sequence and closed out the album, I mean concert, beautifully. Only to be followed by Listen to the Lion, which I had hoped would close out the first half because I really didn't expect an encore after Astral Weeks (an encore after Madame George?!!). The tears were back in Lion - after all, it is my funeral song, and it is the one, out of all of his songs, that I so wanted him to play! And he did.

On Saturday night, after opening with Wavelength again, things went to a whole new level with an inspired Saint Dominic's Preview – lines like "Warner Brothers have paid out for the wine" and "when you're in the phoney state you're in" and "snipers on the rooftops" suggested that there was fire burning in that belly tonight!

I didn't expect Caravan - and while he wasn't kicking, the arm thrusts were straight out of The Last Waltz and the band suddenly became the Caledonia Soul Orchestra. And what was Van doing, BOTH turning up AND turning down that radio. He was just going for it - tonight was his night, no doubt.

Then Game took off - if Saint Dominic was taken to another level, Game went to another galaxy, and it just went on and on, and took us all with it. Tinges of disappointment that we weren't going to get Healing again - but we did, and again, I had shivers up and down my spine when I heard those first few guitar chords. Healing was very, very special for me, both nights.

Here Comes The Night was a personal treat – as a kid I used to take a transistor radio to bed, under the covers so my parents couldn't hear, and Here Comes The Night and Mystic Eyes, along with Gloria, began my lifetime relationship with Van (even if I didn't know it at the time).

But was Summertime in England the biggest surprise of all? It was agreed by everyone I spoke to at the “Van fan” gatherings that there would NOT be a SIE at these shows - even though it would have been first choice for many. Again, not a song that Van would have chosen if he was being guided by commercial interests. But what a surprising version - it started at the end and even though I kept thinking he'll come back to the beginning with a very soft, taken right down "would you meet me in the country in the summertime in England..." it didn't happen. Nevertheless, a magical highlight and perfect as it was.

Astral Weeks (the album, not just the song) on Saturday night also, in my opinion, went to another level. I was trying to describe to someone after the show what the difference was - and even though I couldn't really find the right words to explain it, it seemed to me that he differentiated the songs more clearly. On Friday night, there was a bit of a sameness about his vocal delivery (excluding the extraordinary bits, scatting, etc) whereas on Saturday night each song took on its own personality. For example, Beside You was delivered more like on the album, much starker vocal delivery, almost harsh, but in a way that befits the song.

The highlight (if it's possible to pick one) on Saturday night was Ballerina - after which he got a standing ovation from a crowd that knew Madame George and (hopefully) Listen to the Lion was still to come.

Speaking of standing ovations, on Friday night the crowd just clapped and cheered for what seemed like 10 minutes before the house lights came up. Yes we wanted more, but it was more than that - it was a genuinely enthusiastic acknowledgment of what we had witnessed. And this included people in the audience who were not Vanatics. I was really hoping that Van hadn't left straight after the show because I thought it would have done wonders for his soul to have heard such heartfelt appreciation.

On Saturday night, my tears happened in Madame George - not sure if it was just the occasion, or whether it was the song, but certainly Madame George on Saturday night was as good as it gets. On a weekend that was better than it ever gets.

Emmett Till: Bob Dylan’s weakest song?

(A recent thread from The Dylan Daily.)

Emmett Till: Bob Dylan’s weakest song?

The Dylan Daily celebrates the art of its subject – and writing is the very core of Dylan’s art.

The deeper and longer I delve, the more I find to respect Dylan’s achievement as a wordsmith. I’m still hearing exciting new things in Dylan 45 years after first raving about that new American folkie.

So stumbling across a weak Dylan composition always comes as a surprise. But there are a few poor songs. I’ve long loathed John Brown – an interminable shaggy dog story. But I’d forgotten until I re-heard it a few days ago the awful The Death Of Emmett Till.

Dylan would eventually work the same theme into a masterpiece, Hattie Carroll. But Emmett Till shows what happens when an artist gets it wrong. It was a good call to leave it on the cutting room floor – it would have spoiled Freewheelin’, a near-perfect album.

Emmett Till - Dylan’s weakest song - surely?


Gerry Smith


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Dylan’s weakest song #2

Thanks to Skip Johns:

“Like you, I loathe The Death Of Emmett Till. It makes me cringe. But there are a few even bigger shaggy dog stories in Dylan’s songbook. Two in particular – Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands and Highlands.

“I must have tried a hundred times, but I’ve never yet managed to listen to either song to the end.

“Let’s put it in context, though – weak Dylan songs are a tiny proportion among hundreds of timeless compositions.”


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Dylan’s weakest song #3

Thanks to Peter Truin:

“I think Emmett Till is a good song, with its very powerful message about the racism that was prevalent in the US at the time. Musically, it may be a little like House of the Rising Sun, but it sounds good to me. I am sure there are many later songs (and a few early ones) much more worthy of the epithet "Dylan's weakest song".

“As for Skip Johns' choice, well I couldn't be further away from his views, as Sad Eyed Lady is in my opinion the best Dylan song, and Highlands is also one of my favourites.

“Although we all like Dylan, as there are so many "sides of Bob Dylan" it's probably not surprising that we can have such differing views of what is good and what is not.

“However, surely there must be more chance of a concensus if we look at some of the songs on "Knocked out Loaded" or "Under the Red Sky". How about "Wiggle Wiggle" or "They Killed Him" as my nominations?

“There may well be others I like even less, but I really don't want to listen to the songs I know I don't like very much, just to decide which one I think is the worst ... there's no fun in that, is there?”


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Dylan’s weakest song #4

Thanks to Jeff Whitely:

“Dylan’s weakest song? Take your pick from most of “Love And Theft”. Top contenders: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Summer Days or Floater.

“Whenever any of them pops up in a gig, they kill the vibe Bob’s just created with a run of masterpieces. Dreadful.”


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Dylan’s weakest song #5

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Just a thought to add to the debate - my own personal view is that "Sad Eyed Lady..." is one of the greatest songs in his canon. Great lyrics, a haunting melody, a late-night vibe - just fantastic.

“Mind you, I do think critics have poured unjust praise on some songs just because they are long - I have never been convinced of the merits of "Brownsville Girl" or "Highlands".

“Meanwhile, "Under The Red Sky" is in my top five Dylan albums, and I don't really see any difference between something like "Wiggle Wiggle" and something like "Yea Heavy and a Bottle of Bread".

Miles Davis exhibition in NYC

The Genius Of Miles Davis: The Columbia Years, an exhibition of photographs from the Sony archive, opens on Friday 21 November at New York’s Morrison Hotel Gallery.

Featuring rare and unseen work by Sony staff photographers shot between 1965 and 1985, sixteen 30 x40 prints will be on show and available for sale in limited editions.

The exhibition marks another stage in the development of Sony’s new ICON Collectibles division as a profit centre set up to exploit the record company’s rich photographic archive of over one million images, including major musicians for grown-ups like Miles, Dylan, Ella, Tony Bennett and Johnny Cash.


www.morrisonhotelgallery.com





Gerry Smith

Exquisite Rolling Stones exhibition

Fans of the Rolling Stones, especially the masterpiece album Beggars Banquet, will want to catch the exhibition currently showing at Blink Gallery, 11 Poland St., London W1.

It has full-size iconic colour shots from Michael Joseph’s two-day photo-shoot in London (interiors) and Derbyshire (exteriors). A few of the photos were used the Beggars Banquet LP artwork.

There are a dozen large format interior shots – exquisite, varied tableaux of signature Stones louche debauchery - plus six from the outside shots, including the most chemically enhanced game of cricket ever staged.

All the work is for sale in limited editions of 20 (interiors) and 30 (outside shots), with prices ranging from £1700 to £5500 + VAT.

This fine exhibition runs to 6 December. Highly recommended.


Gerry Smith

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EARLER RELATED ARTICLE

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 after clicking the link below)


www.blinkgallery.com




Gerry Smith

Youssou N’Dour, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell

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… .

Thurs 13 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
0030 Youssou N’Dour, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 14 Nov
2100 Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow – BBC Four
2230 Paul Weller, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Sat 15 Nov
1600 Herbie Hancock, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
1900 Come In From The Cold: The Return Of Joni Mitchell –
BBC Radio 2 (1/2)
2230 Stockhausen, Hear and Now – BBC Radio 3
2400 Lee Konitz, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 16 Nov
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music

Tues 18 Nov
2230 Come In From The Cold: The Return Of Joni Mitchell –
BBC Radio 2 (2/2)
2315 Esbjorn Svensson (a 2006 gig), Late Junction - BBC Radio 3

Thurs 20 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355 Mariza, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four



Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast online, streamed. Please see the channels’ web sites for details. Many archived BBC radio and TV programmes are accessible online for a short period via:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer




Gerry Smith

Powerful new Elektra at Covent Garden

I went along to the opening night of Covent Garden’s new revival of Elektra with an open mind, expecting to be challenged, perhaps disappointed. After all, Salome, Elektra’s precursor and the last Richard Strauss opera I saw in London, had been a let-down.

No need to worry. This was a powerful performance, with a forceful score, stirringly played by the ever reliable house band under Mark Elder, and a finely chiselled libretto by Viennese Wunderkind Hugo von Hofmannsthal which had me gasping in delight more than once.

Elektra, the lead soprano role, is unusually demanding, both vocally and emotionally – the troubled heroine (?) is on stage for the entire 110-minute performance. Susan Bullock was equal to the task, engaging you throughout with her singing and acting.

Anne Schwanewilms, playing Chrysothemis, her rather less bloodthirsty sister, was a revelation. I’ve rarely heard such a convincing big soprano voice. Her’s is enormous. But a delight, too.

Elektra’s a modern opera, so you don’t get much melody, and no pretty arias and duets a la Puccini or Mozart. But no matter - its strength lies in the power of the writing and the subtle portrayal of character under stress.

This new Elektra is richly stimulating, demanding yet rewarding.

And recommended.



Gerry Smith

Jazz issue of Guardian music weekly

Today’s issue of London newspaper The Guardian has turned its weekly film/music supplement into The jazz issue, to mark the start of the London Jazz Festival next week.

It’s a refreshingly original compilation of articles, including an interview with pianist Herbie Hancock and features on the jazz vocabulary, jazz and classical musicians, jazz re-workings of a Radiohead tune, celebs drooling over Kind Of Blue (yawn…) and the paper’s pop critic’s diary of his attempts to get into the music.

A stimulating weekend read - recommended:

www.guardian.co.uk



Gerry Smith


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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE

London Jazz Festival - delights in store

The annual London Jazz Festival, which runs in a multitude of venues from to 14 to 23 November, has delights in store for lovers of improv music, especially:

15 Nov – Herbie Hancock Sextet
15 Nov - Bill Frisell
19 Nov - Herbie Hancock Sextet
23 Nov – Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett et al.

www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk

Classic Miles Davis albums - at a giveaway price

As copyrights expire, under the 50-year rule, more and more great albums are starting to enter the public domain. You’ve been able to pick up dirt cheap reissues of 1940s greats – Sinatra, Ella and the like – for years, but mid-1950s masterpieces are now being reissued on el cheapo labels.

Elvis Presley’s 1956 recordings were the first to get the £2 supermarket treatment: the floodgates have opened.

The best deal I’ve seen so far is a new reissue of classic 1950s albums by Miles Davis’s first great quintet, including Coltrane, for three different labels – Prestige, CBS and Philips.

Last week, I bought Miles Away (3CD box, on the Not Now label) at Fopp for £5. Worth a punt, I mused – though it’s probably crappy off-air live recordings.

Not at all. It contains remastered versions of no fewer than six original must-have Miles albums: Cookin’, Relaxin’, Steamin’, Round about Midnight, Miles Ahead and l’Ascenseur pour l’Echafaud. A wonderful package.

If you’ve been thinking of sampling Miles Davis, but have put it off – now’s the time.

Classic Miles albums at 83 pence each? Whatever next?


Gerry Smith

Neil Young on BBC FOUR TV: a mixed bag

Last Friday’s welcome Neil Young Night on BBC FOUR was a mixed bag.

In Concert: Neil Young – the 1971 BBC gig, showcasing songs from Harvest – will have been familiar to most Young fans. If you could get beyond NY’s faux bashful hippy façade (I could) it was a wonderful performance.

The new documentary, Neil Young - Don't Be Denied, tracing the Canadian’s evolution through interviews and unseen performance footage, was generally excellent, a must-add to any decent Shakey collection.

Strengths? The two probing interviews with Young. Weakness? It spent too much time on the 1970s, only covering the last quarter century in about 20 minutes. Some of us regard Neil Young as an important contemporary musician, not a museum piece!

I found CSNY/Déjà Vu - a record of the 2006 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Freedom of Speech tour, built around Young's Living with War album – simply unwatchable. I dislike the material; the people don’t interest me.



Gerry Smith

John McLaughlin to Dvorak, Beck to Chick Corea, Paul Weller to Youssou N’Dour

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… .

Wed 5 Nov
1200 & 2200 Dvorak, Composer Of The Week – BBC Radio 3
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri)

Thurs 6 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355 Beck, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 7 Nov
2355, Randy Newman, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Sat 8 Nov
1600 John McLaughlin, Jazz Library (part 2) – BBC Radio 3
2400 Chick Corea, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 9 Nov
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music

Thurs 13 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
0030 Youssou N’Dour, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 14 Nov
2100 Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow – BBC Four
2230 Paul Weller, 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

Celebrating Astral Weeks, Van Morrison’s masterpiece

This is a big week for Van Morrison fans, as the Ulsterman celebrates Astral Weeks, his masterpiece, with live performances over two nights at the Hollywood Bowl.

Here’s all you need to know - online streaming arrangements, preview features, archival reviews, and a new Morrison interview - on John Gilligan’s invaluable web site:

http://vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com

Thanks to Bernard McGuinn for the tip.



Gerry Smith