cathedrals of sound

Life of Live - The Fleadh

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000Z

Before music promoters discovered the idea for family and middle aged festivals that have now popped up all over the place , there was the Fleadh. The laid back atmosphere and the type of bands that featured meant that whilst not exactly family friendly it did attract a wider range of music fans quite a few seemed to also bring their kids along.

What started as an Irish music festival had broadened out the bill by the time I started going so that in recent years Crowded House and the Beautiful South has headlined rather than the likes of Van Morrison. You still got to see a load of up and coming Irish bands some more traditional than others, however the main attraction of going the first time was to see James , Mike Scott of the Waterboys and World Party. Although small (one outdoor and one tented stage) the quality of acts meant that throughout the day I wanted to be in 2 places at once ( I think James pipped Billy Bragg after much soul searching)

Seeing World Party was a real thrill as they hadn't played live for ages, partly due to a serious illness that Karl Wallinger had suffered, and being on the tented stage meant I could get down to the front (I'm too much of a wimp to attempt this with the main stage!)

They played a set made up of singles and despite horrendous technical issues they didn't disappoint.

I was less sure of Mike Scott as his solo material hadn't really caught my imagination like the Waterboys did. However he had Ian Mcnabb on bass and Anthony Thistlewaite back in the band and treated us to a greatest hits set. I kind of hoped in the giddy excitement that Karl Wallinger would get invited on stage and a full blown reunion would occur leading to a new waterboys lp. Having since read more of what the 2 have had to say about each other I should have guessed this was never going to happen (I still wonder if they took a sneaky look at each other's set)

I've posted The Mike Scott solo track that would've fitted right in on a follow up to This is the Sea lp if the fiddles hadn't taken over

Love Anyway - Mike Scott

Destined to remain a cult? - Felt

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000Z

Lawrence , former lead singer of Felt and Denim and now of Go Kart Mozart is one of the pop world's true eccentrics . I love the neatness of his goal with Felt , which he stuck to of 10 singles , 10 lps in 10 years and then split up. I love his obsession with hair and cryptic unwieldy song titles. I love the fact that what must be 30 yrs in the music business and he is still searching for that elusive breakthrough to stardom, but most of all I love his way with a catchy tune.

For the last 3 years filmmaker Paul Kelly followed Lawrence around putting together a film portrait of the man and his mind. The result is Lawrence of Belgravia. The film follows a period of Lawrence's life for times he is effectively homeless living in hostels, however the lows are dealt with swiftly and the focus instead is on what makes Lawrence tick which is a much more interesting place to be

At the start of the film Lawrence moves into a new flat having been evicted , and struggles with the concept painting the walls with the life of a pop star, something he wonders if Lou Reed ever had to do.

It is that contrast of optimistic dreams of pop stardom with the grind of everyday life that is at the core of the film

The Quietus have an interview with Lawrence about the film here and there is a review in the Guardian here
You can see Paul and Lawrence being interviewed about the film here

There is a great website about Lawrence and all his bands here

I've no idea where you can see the film or if it will go on general release. If not hopefully it will be picked up by channel 4 or get a dvd release

In the meantime here are Felt at their jangly best

Rain of Crystal Spires - Felt

Not Another Singer Songwriter - Ally Kerr

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000Z

Not sure how I've missed Ally Kerr especially as he ticks 3 ofthe boxes on my list of music I like.. by

A) being Scottish

B) being a singer songwriter

C) being compared to Belle and Sebastian

It took an appearance on a great compilation cd sent to me that got me finding out more

He has released 2 lps with a 3rd on the way. Both Off the Radar and Calling out to You are full of sweetly sung , deceptively simple , addictively catchy pop songs.

I get the Belle and Sebastian comparisons but if anything he reminds me more of The Hit Parade who I've written about a few times on the blog.

Lie a crispy creme doughnut to much of Ally in one go could leave you with a strange hankering for some death metal but each lp on its own gives you 40 mins of humming along with a smile on your face... although the pretty tune do hide a bite in the lyrics.

I've posted one of the more reflective tracks from the 2nd lp

Footprints - Ally Kerr

You can buy both lps signed by Ally here at his website and they are both as good as each other

Finally here is the video for the gorgeous There's a World

My Indie Past - Weather Prophets

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000Z

Formed by main man Peter Astor after the messy break up of early Creation signings The Loft (also taking one of the Lofts best songs with them in Why Does the rain), big things were expected of the Weather Prophets who hit the sweet spot of thoughtful lyrics and jangly guitars.

As a result Alan McGee who managed the band got them signed after some early singles on Creation to a major label off shoot. The resulting lp Mayflower didn't quite really take off and the band were eventually dropped.

Peter Astor went on to have a still going strong solo career , including recording under the name Wisdom of Harry.

Short lived maybe but they left behind this glorious bit of jangly pop that takes me back to being at poly in leeds and trawling the racks of Jumbo records searching for the next jangletastic tune (the heady days of student grants)

Almost Prayed - The Weather Prophets

You can find a fuller biog here. I think Mayflower is now one of those lost lps that goes for silly money on ebay however there is a compilation of the Creation material that you can get here

I'm not being rude hnest!

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000Z

One of the biggest things i enjoy about writing this blog is when people take the time to leave comments. With this in mind I try and reply to each one quickly.

For some reason Blogger is stopping me from leaving comments on my own blog where someone else has already left a comment ie it makes replying impossible. The blogger forums suggest it is a problem with Internet Explorer and Blogger and that their engineers know about it (the cynic in me thinks that it wont be top of the fix pile as it may encourage people to move to Google's Chrome)

So thanks for all the comments , I'm not ignoring them honest. Hopefully it will get fixed soon and I can catch up.

In the meantime - can I echo Trev's thanks on the tip off from Jay re the ex lead singer of Semisonic's solo lp, tell Echo I also saw EBTG on the Walking Wounded tour and especially thank Drew for his comment re his son which really struck a chord with me

Thanks again and please keep up letting me know your thoughts and listening recommendations

If you like Talk Talk then ...........

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000Z

Among all the you have just won £1 million on the lottery and My name is Martika and I want to be your friend emails, I got sent a request from Toby Benjamin who is working on a book on Talk Talk with James Marsh who used to design all their distinctive lp and single covers.

It sounds like it will be a real labour of love

Celebrated illustrator, and Talk Talk cover artist, James Marsh has remastered and chronicled all of the iconic artwork that he produced for the band throughout their 10 year reign in the 80’s. The book will feature James’ original cover concept sketches, hand written lyrics from Mark Hollis, as well as various ephemera, posters, and related items of interest to fans. There will also be lovely unseen photos of the band from 3 sessions with photographer Richard Haughton.
Renowned rock music writer and enormous Talk Talk fan Chris Roberts is writing the main essay and there are also 80 written contributions from bands, label owners, DJs and creatives, all of whom have been inspired or influenced by the music and art of Talk Talk

Among those contributing will be Guy Harvey , Karl Hyde , Sir Peter Blake , Nick McCabe from the Verve , Richard Wright from Pink Floyd, The The's Matt Johnson and as they say many many more.

A website has been set up to get people to register their interest I guess in the hope of getting a decent publishing deal.

The website is here so if you have an interest in the band and their lasting legacy then pop along and register (all this does is keep you up to date with the project's progress

You can buy a lot of James Marsh designs for talk Talk on t shirts and mugs etc here

Finally as a reminder about how good they were

Misery Monday - Semisonic

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

On my first trip to the states, me and the wife to be drove for 3 weeks around California scanning the airwaves listening to American Radio. One band Semisonic were on what seemed like every station every hour with their track Closing Time. Beaten into submission we bought the lp at a stop off. Overall it is pretty straightforward catchy pop/rock songs that seemed like they were made for the radio.

The last track though combined some Beatley strings with a tale of letting love slip away

Gone to the Movies - Semisonic

Now the rain comes down the windows and it
Drops onto the forehead of the waiting boy
He surveys his rental kingdom and he
Wonders if he's really lost his joy

Another fool would go down to the
Only place she went to lose herself
She's gone to the movies now and she don't need your help

Now the rain turns into snowfall as the
City sky reflects the silver street below
And it covers up the cars and the Wall-
Flowers cd ended half an hour ago

Another fool would dig the broken car out from the snow
And drive to find the show
She's gone to the movies now and she's not coming home
She's gone to the movies now and she's not coming home

Now he looks around his place and anyways
There's nowhere she could sit besides the bed
And he wonders if the car will start tomorrow
Or he'll have to take the bus instead

Any other fool would be out on the roadway
Trying to spot her rusted Pontiac
She's gone to the movies now and she's not coming back

Lazy Sunday - The Fixx

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy Sunday and this week's top of the shuffle pile is from one of those British bands who were "bigger in america"

I just like the fact that everything about this is so gloriously early 80s

Shuttered Room - The Fixx

Come on home - Tracey Thorn

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000Z

I've featured Everything But the Girl a couple of times on Life of Live and with the release of 2 recent fantastic solo lps I was hoping maybe Tracey Thorn would be venturing out again. Alas that doesn't seem to be the case, however she has kind of filmed a mini concert in the luxury of her own living room. (well at home anyway) Follow the link to her website here and if you scroll down the right hand sidebar you'll come to the 3 tracks and fall in love with that voice again.

To complete the set go here to read a interview with Tracey that she gave on the release of Love and Its Opposite

Life of Live - James

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000Z

The next James concert was once the lp Whiplash had been released. the whole lp is a patchy affair, giving them one of their biggest hits in She's a Star , a track that would continue to be a Live favourite in Tomorrow , but also some techno tinged stuff that didn't really work. At pints it felt like too many cooks with some much going on that the songs didn't have space to breathe. I think it is summed up by the fact that a version of the best track Tomorrow had already appeared on the experimental wah wah lp released just after Laid.

The concert sticks in the mind for the fact Tim Booth came on in a strange long haired mask doing his manic dancing throughout a very long intro to I think Come Home. the fact that he wore the mask on the back of his head meant that as he twisted and twirled he was literally two faced. when he finally whipped it off a big cheer went up for for his new head shaved look. Oh to be a pop star where simply being bald creates hysteria!

Tomorrow - James

Life of Live - Echo and the Bunnymen

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000Z

Despite being a big fan I only got to see the Bunnymen play live when they toured their "comeback" lp Evergreen. The lead off single Nothing Lasts Forever was a magnificent comeback with Mac's voice at its world weary best. I don't play the rest of the lp much these days as nothing could quite reach the dizzy heights of that single.

The lp was quite a lush affair and I thought that would be replicated in the concert. Instead the guitars were turned up , the dry ice pumped out and what we got was a blisteringly loud rock out as the band galloped through the best of their back catalogue

One of the best tracks was from Porcupine

Heads will Roll - Echo and the Bunnymen

I was tempted to go and see the recent Ocean Rain concerts but having read some of the blog reviews I'm glad I missed them and can remember the ultimate could have been contenders band as they were on that Shepherd's Bush night

Misery Monday part 10/26 - Lovetrain

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000Z

Misery Monday continues the Dear John theme. This time from short lived band Lovetrain who mined the Deacon Blue , Big Dish seam of polished guitar pop. I've posted this track before but it is good enough for a second outing

This one has the kiss off given to someone who can't let go

Can't you leave the past behind
There are better things to think about
The torch you carry should have burnt out long ago

No you never cross my mind
And I don't have time to to talk about
Some good old days that took an age to gain their rosy glow.

But the killer for me comes at the end

No you never cross my mind
Except about this time of year
When trees are bare and Autumn rain falls down like tears

Torch You Carry - Lovetrain

Lazy Sunday - Talking Heads

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy Sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a track from Talking Heads final lp Naked. Not the strongest track from a bit of an under appreciated lp, but I like the manic drumming

Ruby Dear - Talking Heads

My indie Past - Perfume

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000Z

Another everyone has a great single in them indie band. In the mid 90s I went through a phase of buying a lot of vinyl singles (some kind of sad little personal crusade against the over priced cd singles). The singles were often form indie bands and were bought on the strength of a review or recommendation.

One of the best was by Perfurne who had formed from the ashes of Blab Happy. Lover was their third single and benefited form a killer chorus. I bought the subsequent cd but have lost it somewhere among various house moves, although the fact that I've not sought it out suggests I thought Lover was thee best things on it. The band called it a day in 1997.

Lover - Perfume

places to visit follow up

2012-01-13T19:20:00.000Z

A quick update on the recent places to visit I did last week as I missed a couple of great blogs off

First up is a relatively new blog only a month old but already 20 + posts! What you get is a fantastic eclectic mix of music. You can find Turn Your Record Player On here . As I said it is early days so go and visit and leave a comment, it is setting itself up to be a great blog

Finding this blog then took me to Slam and Dive which has some hard to find stuff of a mainly indie post punk variety

A Year in Books 2012 - Drood by Dan Simmons

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000Z

I think Drood by Dan Simmons is one of the most frustrating books I've read in a while, especially as it starts so promisingly. It is a strong concept, mixing fact and fiction , our narrator is Wilkie Collins (author of the Moonstone and Woman in White) who takes us on a journey with his friend and literary rival Charles Dickens, into the Victorian London underworld a land of poverty, crime, opium addiction, hypnotism, cults, serial killers,murder, the supernatural and madness. As you'd expect from the author of the Moonstone, his tale is told in a high gothic style.

When Charles Dickens , at the peak of his powers, is caught is a train crash, he is one of the few unscathed and in dealing with the dying and injured he comes across the shadowy Drood , devoid of lips and eyelids and dressed in top hat and dark cape, he instils in Dickens a sense of dread. Dickens enlists the help of his friend Collins to track down the elusive Drood which soon turns into an obsession that seems to take over Dickens's soul. Collins at first is a reluctant helper, but slowly he gets sucked further and further into Drood's world that slowly the obsession becomes his own, an obsession that is born form an almost Salieri like jealousy of Dickens

Simmons has made Collins a fascinating narrator, pompous, arrogant and self inflated , he shows all the qualities and traits that he uses to justify his growing hatred of his best best friend. The changing relationship between Dickens and Collins, as professional rivalry becomes something much darker, is well handled and the passages with the just the 2 of them are among the best in the book

Simmons manages to build a great sense of foreboding and populates his book with a cast of grotesque characters that would have fitted in perfectly to a Dickens novel. However, this constant building of dread is difficult to pull off over 800 pages and as a result the middle part if the novel drags so that by the time the ending comes there is a sense of ...is that it?

What starts as part of Collins character but ends with the plot tied in knots is how unreliable a narrator Collins proves to be. With his imagination , his physical illnesses , his opium addiction and his mental instability time and time again you aren't sure if what has happened is real or simply in Collin's fevered head. No doubt there are clues a plenty and a couple of solutions are offered , but by the end I was past caring.

Apparently Guillermo Del Toro has the film rights. I think he needs to make a decision , is this the ramblings of a bitter , drug addicted novelist of a visit to the gothic heart of evil as 800 pages of guessing gets a tad tiresome. What is frustrating is that there is a sneaky feeling that if I re read it a lot would become clearer , but life's too short

What could have been a great 400 page novel was an 800 page bit of a mess

Life of Live - James

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000Z

I am beginning to struggle now to remember which tour is which as the James concerts start to come thick and fast.

i think this one was a pre tour to Whiplash. I remember that Tim Booth mentioned when they played a number of new songs (that would later feature on the lp) that Brian Eno was in the audience to give the new songs a listen before the recording process started. We all came away convinced the new lp would be a killer. Which shows how things can change in recording as although it has some killer songs, overall I think it is their weakest lp to date. There was a bit of a flirtation with techno and overall the lp had a much more electronic feel.

Reading Stuart Maconies excellent history of the band , it does seem that recording was a bit fraught, with one or two band members fighting hard to keep the band together and getting the LP made through a shear force of will

I've not posted any tracks form the LP s I'll do that when I cover the tour that followed its release. Instead here are 3 b sides from the time

Van Gogh's Dog feels like the seed of one of those pretty tunes that Jame usually finish lps with

Chunney Chops built around a repeating riff feels like something born from a jam

Gone to Far follows a manic electronic rhythm

Misery Monday - Billy Bragg

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000Z

Misery Monday and this week is a bit of a repeat. It's a track that featured on about my 4th post when I think I only had a couple of readers (and one of those was probably looking for organ recitals). It fits the bill because I can never hear it without getting something stuck in my eye.

a simple tribute by Billy Bragg to his father who died when he was young. The imagery is so powerful for its simplicity while a repeated piano refrain pulls both the song along and the emotional chords

It is always at the same part when if I'm singing along in the car my voice gets a tad croaky.

I offer up to you this tribute
I offer up to you this tank park salute

I guess it just tunes into a generation thing. I gets me thinking about my own dad and my son and how we will all cope with the inevitable. It comes from the third lp of for me Billy Bragg's purple patch of Talking to the Taxman, Workers Playtime and Don't Try This at Home.

For all the politics these 3 lps have some of the best falling in and out of love and relationships songs going

Tank Park Salute - Billy Bragg

Kiss me goodnight and say my prayers
Leave the light on at the top of the stairs
Tell me the names of the stars up in the sky
A tree taps on the window pane
That feeling smothers me again
Daddy is it true that we all have to die

At the top of the stairs
Is darkness

I closed my eyes and when I looked
Your name was in the memorial book
And what had become of all the things we planned
I accept the commiserations
Of all your friends and your relations
But there's some things I still don't understand

You were so tall
How could you fall?

Some photographs of a summer's day
A little boys lifetime away
Is all I've left of everything we've done
Like a pale moon in a sunny sky
Death gaves down as I pass by
To remind me that I'm but my father's son

I offer up to you
This tribute
I offer up to you
This tank park salute

Lazy Sunday - Dream Academy

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile is the final track from the Dream Academy's debut lp. Has a neat echo of Life in a Nothern Town. Hard to think it, but the largely acoustic style with strings did feel a bit different at the time

you may dance with him all night long
live your romance out in a popular song

The Party - Dream Academy

Ahk-toong Bay-bi - follow up

2012-01-07T14:14:00.000Z

Before Christmas I did a strange covers posting that featured the Achtung Baby tribute cd, featuring the songs of that lp covered by a variety of artists. I got may copy with Q magazine however you can buy the full lp from itunes here

It is priced at 6.99 not (sure if pounds or euros). Better still the proceeds of the sale go to Concern Worldwide charity who are working to tackle the urban food crisis in East Africa

Even if you don't like U2 or the bands that cover the tracks then pay a visit to Concern Worldwide's website here to see the good work they are doing and make a donation. If you downloaded a copy of So Cruel which is the track I posted (and is still up) then why not make a donation direct to the Concern site

Places to visit

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000Z

Thought I'd give a mention to a few of the blogs I've been visiting, apart from the usual ones in the sidebar all of which remain as good as ever.

First up is Side room singles. When you only post once or twice a month they had better be good ones. This Australian bog is basically a trawl through the authors 7 inch singles posted 10 at a time in the order that the are piled up . It makes for some great mixtures. Not sure how long / many more singles they have to go but it is worth going back over the archive - even if just to see the covers

Next up is the glorious Waiting for the Night Boat that has some classic 12 inch singles from the 80s

Sunset on Slawit has another blog on the go - The Mixtape blog which kind of does what it says on the tin ie the posts make up one endless mix tape of loosely themed songs

For those who want more insightful book reviews than I could ever do the you should visit Seamus's blog here. The blog features the challenge of reading 100 books in a year (2011). Although I hope he keeps going this year now I've given a link!

Scott Pack is a publisher who also runs a blog that is good for picking up on titles that can slip under the radar and he is found at Me and My Big Mouth

For all things indie go to the This River Will Never Run Dry, it uses indie in its loosest definition and features some great and unusual stuff.

Finally for a complete nostalgia trip go to Like Punk Never Happened where you can view complete issues of Smash Hits (currently up to early 1982) Be warned once you start you won't be able to stop

Pining for Glasgow

2012-01-06T14:00:00.000Z

Sometimes I do miss living in Glasgow and now is one of those times. Not only are Love and Money playing a gig to preview their new lp but I've just found out that for 1 night only Big Dish are reforming to play a selection from their 3 lps.

I first saw the band in Leeds Poly Becketts Park band night. Becketts park was where the halls of residence are for the poly and every tues they used to have a band play to a load of people more interested in drinking as much cheap beer as possible than listening to a band play(not the best audience)

The first week on my first year it was the Big Dish who kept everyone hooked and went down so well that they eventually ran out of songs and had to replay part of their set. For future Tuesdays that was a good as it got.

Anyway Jan the 21st will see the band play their one off gig as part of the Celtic Connections festival at the ABC in Glasgow. You can get tickets here and if you do get a ticket then I'm immensely jealous

Strange Covers - Japan

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

From The Quiet Life lp where Japan moved away from the glamish rock sound and look of the first 2 lps and settled on a sleazy Roxy Music sound.

In the days pre internet you forget about how difficult it was to find out about bands the copy of the Book of British Hit Singles in Smiths ,which at times we treated abit like the local library, was well thumbed by me and my friends trying to find out about a band. This was mainly through bands either mentioning inspirations or songs they covered.

I'd never heard the Velvet Underground before (I did grow up in the fens!) until I heard this cover and ended up buying their Loaded lp second hand (probably not the best starting point). I played it a couple of times and decided to stick with Japan!

That probably sums up my music taste - I often like the pale imitation rather than the real thing (same thing happened with Echo and the Bunnymen and the Doors , Teardrop explodes and Love)

All Tomorrow's Parties - Japan

Life of Live - Boo Hewerdine

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000Z

We are noew entering a phase of Life of Live when I started to take much fewer risks in concert going and started to see the same people time and time again (At one point we saw Boo Hewerdine so many times that at one point my wife did wonder if it classed as stalking). As a result concerts tend to blur into one another.

I'm guessing this one for Boo Hewerdine was part of touring his 3rd lp Thanksgiving. This lp marked a move towards a quieter more reflective sound. I cant remember too much about the concert except that this track was one of the highlights. A great kitchen sink drama of a relationship lyric matched by Eddi Reader's outro vocal

Murder in the Dark - Boo Hewerdine

And I know a game
Two of us can play
And there are no rules
You'd break them anyway
When I reach for you
And you turn away
That's murder in the dark

If you want to buy Thanksgiving and I heartily recommned you do , then you can get it direct from Boo's website here

Misery Monday Part 8 - Kirsty Macoll

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000Z

Misery Monday this week comes from Kirsty Macoll's Titanic Days , sometimes referred to as her divorce lp.

It was written (with Mark Nevin) and recorded during the break up of her marriage to Steve Lillywhite who was at the time also her producer.

A song so personal that at the time Kirsty couldn't bring herself to include it on the lp and gave it to Eddi Reader instead.

A lyric devastating in its simplicity, it eventually surfaced on the 2 disc re release

Oh dear John
I hate to be the one to break the news
But it's concerning me and you
This is the letter no-one ever wants to write
You may not believe me but it's the hardest thing I've ever done
My eyes see other glories
Other dreams and other stories
And I want to live before I die
Dear John
Ten years on
I still dream and we still hesitate
The passion's all but gone
Oh dear John
Seems we have a bad day every day
I want to sleep my life away
This is the letter no-one ever wants to read
And though it hurts like hell
It may be what you need to tell you
I never wanted to be cruel
But I'm so tired of being the strong one
And I don't always have the energy
And you always leave it up to me
Dear John
My eyes have seen the glory
There's more to life than my life story
And I'll probably never find him
But I have to keep on looking
And I'm very very sorry dear John

Dear John - Kirsty Macoll

A year in books 2011 - Stone's Fall - Iain Pears

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000Z

Although it is now 2012, this is the last book I finished in 2011.

I'd only read one of Iain Pear's previous novels , The Instance of the Fingerpost took the historical murder mystery to a new place in that over the witness accounts of 4 different characters the mystery of what is truth gradually emerges. It was such a clever device and so well executed I felt that anything that came after would be a bit of a let down.

I relented when I was given a copy of Stone's Fall as a present and I wish I'd done so earlier! The novel is split into 3 parts. Part one starts in 1909 with industrialist John Stone falling to his death from an open window. His widow hires a reporter to explore a strange clause in the will. As the journalist starts to dig deeper into Stone's empire, he becomes entangled in both industrial espionage and his own growing obsession with his employer , Stone's widow, Elizabeth

Part 2 is told in the form of a letter to the now retired journalist and takes the action back 20 years to Paris when Stone first met Elizabeth. The writer of the letter works in finance but is recruited into the foreign office as a kind of early spy. He learns of a plot to financially ruin London and so begins a frantic diplomatic mission to overt the crisis. In this section we learn more of Elizabeth's background.

For the final part John Stone , who up to this point has remained in the back ground, moves to centre stage. The action this time is set in a hypnotic Venice in the 1860s. At first this feels like the most stand alone of the sections. The links to what is to come aren't obvious although we learn about the seeds of his empire and about Stone direct from himself, rather than the often conflictive impressions of others.

If this was simply a life told at 3 points in time then that would have been enough as the book is so skilfully written. The section on Venice and Paris capture a sense of time when abroad did mean a foreign country.The dull worlds of industry and finance are described in the same way as the world of spies and espionage. The echoes with the current financial woes are obvious but add an extra depth

The ending though is the killer. As I mentioned the 3rd part seems more self contained so when the link back to Stone's eventual death arrives it is a stunning blow purely because it is so neatly and beautifully crafted, so devastatingly simple but far from obvious. It is the kind of ending that leaves you completely satisfied and wanting the start the whole book again

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Happy new year to anyone who pops by now and then and especially to those of you who leave comments or drop me a line from time to time

I hope 2012 is your best year yet

A Year in Music - Best of 2011

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000Z

I don't think it has been a classic year but at least with all these have been released in 2011 so I guess for once the title isn't too far off. So here are my best what are yours?

Just missing out - John Foxx with a gloriously 80s sounding comeback lp, the wonderfully named Brad Pitt Orchestra, Elbow rising to the challenge of probably the first lp that was expected to sell and Shirley Lee's (of Spearmint) wildly ambitious Spring Summer Autumn Winter.

10 - Ed Sheeran +

yes I know he is everywhere and all that , I sleep on coaches , I've toured for ages , I've written millions of songs has got a bit tiresome, but ignore the hype that is a low key lp full of warmth, clever lyrics and subtle tunes

9 - Diamond Mine - King Creosote and Jon Hopkins

A concept lp of sorts about life in a Scottish fishing village, songs by the marmite vocals of King Creosote and field work from Jon Hopkins creates a lp of mood to get lost in. Only complaint is that it is too short and sweet

8 - Into the Murky Water - The Leisure Society

A step away from the folk towards the pop and arrangements that would fit nicely on a Prefab Sprout lp - an lp that gets better with each listen

7 - 50 Words for Snow - Kate Bush

2 lps in a year (even if one is reworkings) blimey Kate is getting prolific! In isolation the songs are okay but put hem together and the whole lp is a triumph of emotion and mood. Mainly built around voice and piano some of the guest appearances can jar but that is a minor quibble

6 - Last Night on Earth - Noah and the Whale

Insanely catchy , the spirit of 80s FM music crossed with a bit of Lou Reed Transformer and only an echo of they nu folk past. Each track could be a single.

5 - Under the Dark Cloth - Duke Spirit

Not everyone's cup of tea, the Duke ploughs his own furrow . Here are orchestral songs inspired by photographs in the New York Metropolitan Museum. "I love you yes I do" this aint

4 - Helping Hands - Butcher Boy

Richer in sound , more inventive in structure , each lp they make gets better and better

3 - Coldest Winter for 100 Years - Wild Swans

Return of 80s could have been contenders with a real state of nation address . By far the best thing they've done and probably surprise of the year for me

2 - A Different Kind of Fix - The Bombay Bicycle Club

A move away form their acoustic lp of last year Flaws, there a great influx of styles and imagination whilst sticking to the guitar Bass drums indie feel. I think they are going to be around for a long time yet

1 - Boots Met My Face - Admiral Fallow

Elbow meets Mumford and Sons meets Deacon Blue - should be an unholy mess but somehow works - played it to death when it first came out

So that is it for 2011 - let me know what I've missed

You can find a compilation of the above here - it is only going to be up for a couple of weeks.

A Year in Film - Best of 2011

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000Z

This is an even more misleading title than the best of books as I now only really ever see films on dvd or Sky so it is a mix of 2010/11 ie my favourite films I've seen this year. i warn you now as i get older I seem to be getting more populist in my film taste (I blame too many art house films in my 20s). So if you are a fan of Terence Malik then I'd probably look away now!

Here are mine so what are yours?

10 - Somewhere

yes I know nothing happens and who wants to know about the tribulations of privileged films stars, but it is strangely hypnotic

9 - Bridesmaids

Despite the fact i spent the first 20 mins thinking one of the characters was Ricky Gervais in drag, I wasn't too distracted not to spend alot of the time laughing out loud. It is crude and coarse but it has a heart

8 - This Town

Ben Aflecks second feature as director and he balances some power house performances with the subtlest of touches

7 - The Secret in Their Eyes

Probably has lots of analogies with Argentina's political history, but i enjoyed it as a straight murder mystery / love story. See it now before the usual awful remake

6 - True Grit

Good enough to finally be able to forgive them for having to sit through the Lady killers

5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Told you I was populist. Amongst the noise and the bangs it is worth it for Alan Rickman's performance as Snape alone

4 - The King's Speech

Populist and predictable. 3 actors at the top of their game

3 - Winter's Bone

Has the US ever seemed such a foreign country as the Us in this film. The central performance is outstandingly good

2 - Animal Kingdom

Plays out like an Australian Scorsese

1 - Social Network

Somehow made geeks , computers and rich kids compelling viewing

A Year in Books - Best of 2011

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000Z

Okay maybe not a best of 2011 more a favourites of what I've read in 2011 but that doesn't have a snappy title.

10 - Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar by D J Connell

Muriel's Wedding meets Strictly Ballroom where it all comes good at a hairdressing competition. Genuine smirk out loud moments

9 - Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

A puzzle box of a novel that combines high finance, murder , espionage and love.

8 - Palo Alto by James Franco

Short stories of dead soul youth in minimalistic style that recalls early Brett Easton Ellis from annoyingly multi talented actor

7 - Forgetting Zoe by Ray Robinson

Harrowing tale of the capture and imprisonment of a young girl but a tale told of the capacity to survive with heart and sense of hope ... and much better than The Room

6 - Imperial Bedrooms - Bret Easton Ellis

Revisiting the characters of Less Than Zero, with the characters older put playing out the same parts with a whole new set of insecurities. - mixes the banal , with the horror and sharp shocks of emotion

5 - Boxer Beetle - Ned Beauman

Debut novel packed with more ideas than a lot of authors manage in their whole career. Unlike anything else you are likely to read in long time

4 - Beatles - Lars Saabye Christensen

Coming of age novel following 4 friends who bond over music with each chapter loosely themed around one of the fab 4s song titles

3 - Something to Tell You - Hanif Kureishi

Another Kureishi book and another mid life crisis, but this time told with real warmth and humour as well as a cast of supporting characters that you can really care for

2 - Last Night in Twisted River - John Irving

Not his best but better than most. It is as ever epic in scope but personal in its core relationships, funny , tragic and wise ... oh and reassuringly a kind of bear and a farting dog feature

1 - A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan

Short stories disguised as a novel. Forget the last clunky chapter, this is joy with at its heart the power of both music and love

Boxing day and pop music

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000Z

Time to work off that turkey and still the only song I've got with boxing in the title

Boxing and Pop Music - Everything but the Girl

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000Z

Here's wishing you a fantastic christmas and hoping you have a wonderful time with people you love

Christmas in the City - Alien Envoy

A Year in Books 2011 - Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000Z

For once a novel that has made me laugh out loud as the jacket quotes promise!

DJ Connell's debut novel takes the cliched view of the macho Austrlain and turns it on its head
Julian is growing up in Tasmania where to be a boy means bbqs and ball games. What it certainly doesn't mean is wanting a doll for your birthday and a career in hairdressing.

Whilst Julan's dad is desperate to practise fast bowling at his son, Julian is more interested in forming an after school club where boys hang around naked.
Julian grows up convinced that he has star quality and "small screenability". His father can't understand why he isnt more like his daughter , "The Locomotive whose fast bowling arm is also the one she punches with.

As Julian pinballs between school and a series of dead end jobs , he plans for stardom. As each plan goes belly up the lies he tells become even more outrageous.

With his parents splitting up , job failure after job failure and an ever increasing waistline it looks like his shot at fame is doomed before it begins. However like all feel good stories, it all comes down to the nail biting climax , in this case the Tasmanian hairdressing competition.

DJ Connell, in Julian has created a fresh and unique voice and then surrounded him with a variety of characters equally as colourful. Amid all the bright colours and comedy there are also moments or real pathos

The nearest I can think to describe it is imagine the world of Strictly Ballroom mixed with Muriel's Wedding in a book and I don't think you'd be far out

You can buy Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar here

Strange Covers - Ahk-toong Bay-bi

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000Z

I've got a bit of a strange relationship with U2 that swings between thinking they are fantastic (Zooropa , Achtung Baby , Unforgettable Fire) to them having me reach for the off button (Rattle and Hum, Pop, all that flag waving of the first 3 lps) to what is more worrying indifference (The last 2 lps have completely passed me by - not sure I could even name a track from either of them)

However recently the anniversary of the release of for me their high water mark in creativity has signalled a rush of activity. Big collectors box sets , a BBC 4 documentary (strangely completely devoid of the sense of fun and mischief that seeped into the lp and tour it was celebrating), Glastonbury ,etc.

Q magazine have marked the occasion by giving away a version of the lp made up of cover versions. Some are straightforward (The Fray try to out U2 U2, some are a misfires (I don't really get Glasvegas and there version of Acrobat does nothing to change that) and some that take the song to a different place. (Patti Smith , the Killers are interesting versions and One gets the Damien Rice treatment)

The most effective is by Basildon's best who were having their own rock and roll moment at the time having released the all conquering Violator

So Cruel

novelty part 2

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I posted my one novelty record. However this comes close to a second. It cae out on a limited release lp Skellington by Julian Cope (I can still remember buying it in Fopp on the Byres Road). It was ,along with another limited release Droolian which I also had, worth quite abit of money at the time.

As I hardly ever played the lps (Droolian I think I played once and immediately knew I'd never play it again) I eventually decided to sell them both... only for literally the next day the announcement came out that both would shortly get a wider cd release.

My own fault record buying is for listening to gold is for investing in

Anyway this is a heartfelt tribute to Robert Mitchum .... one hell of a guy!

Robert Mitchum - Julian Cope

The part in Ryan's Daughter when you lose your wife

I've never seen a more dignified man in my life

Scratch that, I've just looked on Amazon and it seems they are back up to silly prices!

Christmas download from Black

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000Z

Colin Vearncombe otherwise known as Black has released a free xmas download for all members of his mailing list. For the price of your email address you can download a copy of new track Best Man a gorgeous piano ballad

The link can be found here - go on it is great early xmas present! Get in quick it is only available until Boxing Day

Misery Monday part 7/26 - Del Amitri

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000Z

Although I prefer the pre long hair and side burns Del Amitri they have produced some killer sad songs when the turn down the Neil Young tendencies. Not the saddest one they've done , I think that would go to First Rule of Love or One Thing Left to Do but something in this song strikes a chord.

Maybe it is the image of the couple in the car driving through the night in silence , maybe it is the simple use of "hon", the wondering at what exactly "the thing we've done" is? My guess is they have both left partners and he has a nagging doubt..

When you're driving with the brakes on
When you're swimming with your boots on
It's hard to say you love someone and its hard to say you don't

Driving with The Brakes on - Del Amitri

Strange Covers - Divine Comedy

2011-12-18T00:00:00.000Z

If you really don't like the Divine Comedy or Duke Special or dont get much of a thrill from exploring youtube then fear not this is the last post in the mini series

Finally up is a cover of David Bowie's Life on Mars, played with Yann Tiersen who I don't know much about excpet that he plays very small pianos

Strange Covers - Duke Special

2011-12-17T00:00:00.000Z

Both Neil Hannon and Duke Special seem happy to have a go at the odd cover version.

Here is a stunning version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Power of Love

Duke Special v Neil Hannon - part 4

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000Z

Final part and again dont let the tongue in cheek interview put you off , stick around for a great version of Abba's The Winner Takes it All.

Duke Special V Neil Hannon part 3

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000Z

Part 3 sees Neil Hannon take the lead on his Songs of Love followed by Duke Special lead his Our Love Goes Deeper Than This

Duke Special v Neil Hannon part 2

2011-12-14T00:00:00.000Z

Part of the Neil Hannon and Duke Special duel sees a stunning version of Duke Special's No Cover Up performed by Neil Hannon and is the best thing on the programme. Duke Special returns the favour with a non too shabby version of Hannon's Mastermind.

Duke Special V Neil Hannon part 1

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000Z

One writing yesterdays post I stumbled across a few other youtube gems that has created a week's mini theme. Neil Hannon and Duke Special have written together in the past but were brought together to be interviewd and perform on Irish television.

The mock we cant stand each other is a bit smug at times however the playing is magical. They take turns at the piano with playing or dueting on each others songs.

The programme is split into 4 parts so over the next 4 days I'll cover off the whole thing.

Part one sets the scene (don't get too disheartened by the cringeworthy opening , stick around until the songs start.)

music and pictures - Duke Special

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000Z

AS I've mentioned before this year has been a bit thin for me as far as lps I really love is concerned. However at the end there has been a bit of a rush.

The new one by Duke Special is well its a bit special. Not one for the simple pop song anymore, the lp was a kind of commission.

I'll leave the sleeve notes to explain

After performing a small festival in new york in march 2010 I was asked by spectrum , an initiative of the museum to visit the following day. They wanted to consider a collaboration with the dept of photographs and an exhibition of the work of Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen and Paul Strand. The songs on this recording are the result of a year's living with the images, reading about the photographers and their subjects, their equipment and the times in which they lived and worked. They were first performed in March 2011 in New York at the Metropolitan museum of art.

The songs co written with Boo Hewerdine. Neil Hannon and poet Padraig O Tuama are lush orchestrated affairs which at their heart have some gorgeous tunes and story telling lyrics.

My only gripe with the lp is that lyric booklet doesn't sow the photos concerned but has one of those magic eye like things that you need to do something with you smart phone to access.

You can buy the lp from Duke Specials website here

Better still you can see the original concert here

Lazy Sunday- The Bluetones

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile is a track from The Bluetones debut lp. It skips along nicely!

Vampire - The Bluetones

Novelty Time

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000Z

Everyone should own at least one novelty record and here is mine. A totally over the top vocal performance by the late great Jon Pertwee (the first new romantic?) to the Dr Who theme. I've had a strange desire to frilly dress shirts and a cape ever since.

Who is the Dr? - Jon Pertwee

Who needs flashy sets and CGI when you can have this..........

A Year in Books 2011 - Blood's A Rover - James Ellroy

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000Z

James Ellroy is probably best known for the LA quartet of novels that included LA Confidential. By the end of that series of novels with their myriad of complex characters and labyrinth plots, Ellroys' writing had developed an almost free form jazz like quality, where short sharp statements and dialogue made no sense in isolation but meaning came from an almost improvisational flow.

The Blood's a Rover is the third novel in a trilogy that paints the LA Quartet's theme and style on a much wider canvas. Through 3 main characters Ellroy takes us to the diseased heart of a whole country. Fact and Fiction are merged and conspiracy is over layered on conspiracy to an extent that would have Oliver Stone blushing.

Bloods a Rover finishes a story started in American Tabloid that had the Bay of Pigs and JFKs assassination at it's core , and continued with the Cold Sixty Thousand that delved into Vietnam and the assassination of Martin Luther King.

The final book focuses on a struggle between Edgar Hoover, the Mafia and Howard Hughes for the dark soul of a county. Caught in the middle are 3 characters all of who have moral compasses that don't exactly point north. It is part of Ellroy's skill that despite doing some truly horrific things there remains a core sense of caring what happens to his characters and a sense of shock and sadness when the body count starts to rise

Ellroy has gradually toned down his more free form excesses with the story telling in this book almost linear.

What makes all 3 books work so well is how Ellroy manages to juggle endless characters that orbit around the central trio , a plot that has your head spinning with a pace that never lets up. It is an exhausting but extremely rewarding read

Not quite the best in the series that goes to the Cold Sixty Thousand but a fitting end to a wildly ambitious trilogy in which Ellroy has created the polar opposite of the American Dream

You can buy book one American Tabloid here .. if you do stick wit it. The first few chapters may get you scratching your head but the rhythm of the writing soon gets you hooked.

life of a song - The Waterboys

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000Z

One of the Lps I've bought this year is In A Special Place by the Waterboys. This is basically a load of piano backed demos that went on to form the basis of the This is the Sea lp.

It got me thinking about the life of a song and how its personality must grow and change as it moves through various versions until it is taken on by others and covered.

Even with the original artist the song will continue to evolve. I've seen the waterboys live a few times and songs get new arrangements , new lyrics seemingly with every tour.

Luckily Mike Scott seems on a bit of a mission to release everything he has committed to tape, with a 2 cd set of This is The Sea as well as the Secret Life of the Waterboys all released prior to In a Special Place.

I've chosen This is the Sea to show 3 versions. The first is as appears on the lp (apparently edited down form about 20m verses!) , the second a faster alter ego and the third is the live version. All have there own personality

This is the Sea - The Waterboys

That was the River - The Waterboys

This is the Sea Live - The Waterboys

......and finally through the wonders of youtube a cover version that takes it to another place

If you are intrested in how the songs on This is the Sea were born then you can buy In a Special Place here

Misery Monday - Ricky Ross

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000Z

Misery monday this week turns to remembrance. Ricky Ross's 5th solo lp (if you count the one released pre Deacon Blue) is the one I like best. This is partly due to the production of David Scott who brings some of the Pearlfisher's richness of sound but mainly due to the fact that the songwriting is consistently high

The song for this monday is dedicated to Deacon Blue guitarist Graeme Kelling who died form cancer before the lp was released . It's a great tribute and relates to the final times the 2 spent together.

I know you couldnt see
But I was there to watch you sleep
And I figured out Jesus was wanting you more

In the End - Ricky Ross

Lazy Sunday - Stranglers

2011-12-04T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy Sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a single by the Stranglers. It a bit of a precursor to their more melodic approach , a kind of speeded up Golden Brown. I could never resist the "God Forbid" refrain

Duchess - The Stranglers

2 for the price of 1

2011-12-03T00:00:00.000Z

Trevor Jones, one half of Miracle Mile and now top blogger hissyfit has release two fantastic solo lps that I've written about before (Keepers and Hopeland)

Both lps have a number of spoken word tracks as well as more traditional songs. Trevor has pulled the best of the "song" tracks together onto one lp Ghost of Song , just in case the idea of the spoken word elements put people off taking the plunge. He honestly puts it that the 2 lps didn't sell that well and he doesn't want the songs to get lost.

If you want something warm and melodic for a winter's evening, then get hold of a copy , it is songwriting of the highest quality, the aural equivalent of a malt whisky.

Like all good lps that grow on you - its an lp for life not just for xmas! (I dont think I'll be asked to do the band's marketing anytime soon!)

Even better you can buy the lp for £10 and get any Miracle Mile lp for free -you can find the link and a bit more detail about the lp here

my indie past - What next for the Bodines?

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000Z

One of my favourite bands from the C86 era were the Bodines who I've written about here.

Once they were picked up and then unceremoniously dropped by a major label after their debut lp they seemed to reappear and then disappear a couple more times for one off singles and then nothing.

The lead singer appeared a couple of years after the final single in Medalark Eleven. They released one lp which moved towards a more groove based sound that formed the basis of what a lot of indie bands were doing at the time.

It did however contain this gorgeous bit of pop that echoed the Bodines at their best

I Call Your Name - Medalark Eleven

A Year in Books 2011 - The Secret Speech

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

Tom Rob Smith's debut Child 44 garnered lots of critical praise for the author and managed that trick of appealing to both the literary (it made the Booker long list as that year's usual token nod to crime fiction) and the mass market thriller fans. It centred on the search for a serial killer of children in Stalin's Russia where there is no such thing as murder. Leo Demidoc ,KGB officer, was therefore stuck investigating crimes that, in terms of the party, officially didn't exist. Reviews likened it to Gorky Park.

The book however was much more than an edge of your seat thriller (although it was also a really good edge of your seat thriller) with themes of betrayal and loyalty combined with a knowledge and detail in the writing that painted a convincing social history of the USSR at this time.

The follow up picks up with Leo and his family again after the death of Stalin and the consequences of Khrushchev's recognition of the state's crimes and pledges of reform (the secret speech of the title).

The plot revolves around Leo and his family being targeted as a result of a betrayal Leo had carried out when acting undercover 7years earlier. The action shifts from Moscow to the Siberian prison camps before finally ending up in Hungary to witness the crushing of rebellion.

Reading other reviews this sequel seems to divide opinion. For some it maintains Child 44's thrill of climax after climax bringing to life a lost and hidden time. For others the plot stumbles from one messy scene to another until it ends up in the realms of hollywood fantasy.

For me the book lies somewhere in the middle. The set pieces are thrilling and the whole book moves along, as did Child 44, at a break neck pace. However unlike Child 44, increasingly as the book progresses a sense of reality goes out of the window and I found myself thinking "hang on a minute". The nuances of the first book have been replaced with a bit more of wham bam approach (can see the film adaptation already in my head)

Overall a bit of a disappointment but still enough there to make me want to know what happens in the final part of the trilogy and hope the heights of Child 44 are reached again

you can buy the Secret Speech here (although I'd go for Child 44 every time)

strange covers - Leisure Society

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000Z

Into the Murky Water the 2nd lp by the Leisure Society is fast becoming one of my favourites of the year. I came to it a bit late to the point where they had released a "special" version with an extra disc of tracks that didnt make the final cut of the lp.

Included is this cover - its not in the Lee Marvin gargling gravel style and if anything feels like it comes from earlier time and place

Wandering Star - The Leisure Society

You can buy Into the Murky Water here

Misery Monday part 5 - The Catchers

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000Z

Misery Monday and another tale of love gone wrong. This time from Irish band Catchers' second and final lp Stooping to Fit.

Built around some gorgeous sweeping strings recorded with Nike Drake collaborator Robert Kirby. The almost whispered vocal gives the whole thing a slightly darker sinister edge

When I get over you
remind me what to do
watch my step with the next one

When I Get Over You - The Catchers

The band split in 1998 after 2 well received but poorly selling lps of melodic pop music. The lead singer re emerged as The Sleeping Years whose myspace site is here . There are a few tracks to listen to including a cover of the Gobetweens Cattle and Cane which is enough in itself to get me trying to track down the lp

lazy sunday - Visage

2011-11-27T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile is a bit of new romanticism with Steve Strange's ode to the cigarette. What do I like about it? well it combines a roxy sax , ultravox keyboards and that great ability to take itself really seriously but with its tongue in its cheek (I think?)

Tar - Visage

strange covers - Romeo and Juliet

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000Z

This could have been its own misery monday post. The sad tale of an ex girlfriend moving on to bigger and better things. I think I've read based on a relationship that Mark Knopfler had with an aspiring actress.

Dire Straits were one of those band that I could take or leave until Brothers in Arms which seemed to be everywhere at which point they became a bit of a symbol for everything I didn't like in music and don't get me started on Twisting by the Pool.

However I always loved this song and the lines

You promised me everything
You promised me thick and thin
Now you just say oh yeah Romeo I used to have a scene with him

get me every time

As you get older you don't quite have the taste blindness of youth and I now think Mark Knopfler wrote some great songs. This is still the best and I still can't stand Twisting by the Pool or Stings demand for mtv

This is a live version by the Killers which sticks closely to the original although the difference in the world weariness of the two vocals is why I think the song must have been at least partly autobiographical

Romeo and Juliet - The Killers

A Year in Books 2011 - The Alternative Hero

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000Z

Tim Thornton used to be the drummer with indie/folk artist Fink but has branched out to write what is described by the Guardian as "The indiest book of all time" and they are about right.

We follow under achiever Clive as one Saturday he bumps into the person he spent most of his teenage years idolising. Lance Webster was the lead singer of the Thieving Magpies who were on an upward trajectory until the singer had a meltdown at a festival , Brooke up the band , self destructed a solo career and then disappeared into anonymity.

Clive decides to take this chance to follow Lance, try and befriend him and find out what really happened. So starts an elaborate deception that makes Clive question whether at the age of 30 he should

1) grow up
2) quit idolising rock stars
3) move on a bit form the music he was obsessed with at the age of 17.

The story zips between the present day and Clive's schooldays as he discovers music and all that comes with it. So far so Nick Hornby. However what makes this work is that this is set in a time before Brit pop made indie music mainstream. It focuses on why some bands from that time with big sales, large fan bases and hit singles have disappeared from the cultural radar - The Wonder Stuff , Carter , Jesus Jones, EMF, Pop Will Eat Itself. Then there are others who didn't sell anymore records or play bigger gigs but have somehow earned a place in our cultural history the Charlatans , The Las , The Happy Mondays, Primal Scream.

This is the crux of Clive's frustration , the Thieving Magpies sit in the former and not the latter camp and he wants to understand why and somehow give them the legacy they deserve.

It picks a chord that we all can feel, we all have had bands that we feel passionate about and just cant understand how an earth they aren't massive and worshipped as the geniuses that they quite clearly are (that at the heart is what Bigger than the Beatles is all about) the difference is Clive gets the opportunity to do something about it..... or so he thinks

The detail of the tours and the gigs are spot on and could only be written by someone who was "there" as is the completely made up Thieving Magpies band complete with convincing discography at the back. You end up desperate to hear Look Who's Laughing , War on the Floor and Everyone Behaves Like a Cunt so Why Can't I even though you know they don't exist.

Nothing deep or difficult just a great way of connecting back to a time when you really got excited about new bands .. I mean really excited and a time "before Britpop came along and fucked it all up"

You can by the Alternative Hero by Tim Thornton here

Strange Covers - God Only Knows

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000Z

I first heard teh Beach Boys song on David Bowie's less than stellar Tonight lp. For that version he went big voice and big production.

Terry Hall has underplayed it a bit and as a result I like this version alot more , its got that easy listening vibe which reminds me of being forced to listen to radio 2 on long car journeys.

God only Knows - Terry Hall

Monday Misery Part 4/26 - And I Fell Back Alone

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000Z

This week's misery moment witnesses the slow breakdown of a relationship from the inside, no bitterness just a weary resignation

If we walk through each other
As we leave the room,
You don't have to tell me that it's over.
Whoever you were then,
I never really knew.
And you got no need to know me now.

You can't see the bottom from the top.
You don't see the edge before you drop.
And I fell back alone.
And I fell back alone.
And I fell.

Is love trying all the right moves
To stop the walls from coming up.
But I can't look over this at all.
I'm in some different place,
Strangers pictures on my wall.
I drew them yesterday
I never thought I'd find the time at all.

You can't see the bottom from the top.
You don't see the edge before you drop.
And I fell back alone.
And I fell.

Forever doesn't mean for ever.
It just means maybe some other time or place.
But how can two souls still eat together
When life has lost its taste.

How can we live together
In bed and face to faceAnd not see anyone at all.
It's time to make a wish
And let it float on down the stream
And we can cry a little
For a time that could have been

Live it all my love.
Live it well my love.
Live it long my love.
Live it all my love.

You don't see the bottom from the top.
You don't see the edge before you drop.
And I fell back alone.
And I fell back alone.
And I fell.

And I Fell Back Alone - World Party

Lazy Sunday - General and Majors

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000Z

Lazy Sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a liitle bit of social politics from xtc. What do I like about it , well you can't beat a bit of whistling in pop!

General and Majors - xtc

A Year in Books 2011 - The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000Z

Jonathan Coe has written some great books, The Rotters Club got the bbc adaptation treatment, Oh What a Carve up combined social commentary with Carry on and the House of Sleep is one of those hidden gems.

After the last novel was launched by the author announcing it was "joke free" (The Rain Before it Falls is still a great piece of story telling) , The Terrible Privacy returns to the territory of character based humour.

Maxwell Sim is not having a good time of it at all. His wife has left him taking his daughter with her, he is off work with stress,he's been mugged and he is struggling to come to terms with the distant and cold relationship he has with his father.

There is light on the horizon, a chance encounter with a younger woman, and the offer of another well paid job.

The job in question is working on a promotional campaign for a radical new tooth brush that involves driving to northernest part of the UK, filming a diary on route. Maxwell takes the opportunity to call in on his ex wife , his father's old flat, the parents of his best friend and finally his best friend's sister, who has always carried a torch for him.

On route Maxwell gets to understand his past and key relationships through 3 "stories within stories" something his wife has written for her creative writing class, something his best friend's sister has written as part of her psychology degree and finally something his father wrote as a break from the past just before emigrating to Australia. Although at times a bit contrived, this is one of the best things about the novel, the way Coe uses different voices to give Maxwell ,and through him us, gradual insights and understanding, until a sense of self awareness and desire to change emerges.

Without these elements the book strays a tad too close to the territory of The Rise and fall of Reggie Perrin as Maxwell's hopes and dreams, as well as his sanity, start to slowly unravel. Although in Maxwell's case there is no dream secretary just a growing relationship with the car sat nav.

The empathy we cant help but feel for Maxwell more than the humour stops the whole thing spiralling into a sense of despair, both for Maxwell and what it says about living in modern Britain.

It is difficult to sum up what I feel about the book as for 300+pages it was a great piece of writing and then I got to the last 6 pages which you could say are a brave experimentation with character or form , or you could see it as one of the worst endings ever. Two weeks later and I'm still pissed off about it , partly because what had gone before was so good

If you want to take the risk then you can buy The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim here. If you have read it , let me know what you thought of the ending.

life of live - Julian Cope

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000Z

I'd been a massive fan of Julian Cope's early solo work and had stuck with him through his series of sprawling double lps in which great single lps were hiding. However by the late 90s he seemed to have forgotten what he was really good at ... writing great pop songs and a bewildering set of release after release seemed to up the experimentation but lose out on the tunes.

The tour was billed as an audience with Julian Cope and promised the man on his own telling stories and singing songs from his complete back catalogue. Having read his autobiography Head On which is still one of the best musician autobiographies I've read, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

He was on fine form , playing the english eccentric to the hilt, the songs worked well and his voice filled the concert hall. He was as ever funny , charming and a little bit mad and bounced off the audience like the seasoned pro he was.

The only slight downer was that it hit home that to me the later stuff didn't really stand up to the golden teardrops and first 3 solo lps period.

Subconsciously this must have had some form of impact as I've not bought anything or really even tried to seek anything out that he has released since (about 20 lps in various guises). Helped by the fact that when I heard about his side group Brain Donor and the heavy rock sound, I knew we had parted for good!

If I've missed out on anything then please let me know - 20 Mothers was the last thing I got to listen to
I've posted one of the songs he played that night from the 2nd of his doubles , Jehovahkill. It showed he could still write a killer chorus

Fear Loves This Place - Julian Cope

A Year in Books 2011 - Forgetting Zoe

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000Z

Ray Robinsons is one of the literary equivalent of the Bigger than the Beatles series. He is one hell of a talented writer who with is 3rd novel deserved the major break through, only for the similarly themed The Room to get there first and steal a chunk of his thunder.

Zoe is a normal 10 year old girl , when she is snatched on her way to school in Northern Canada by Thurman Hayes and for the next 8 years abused and imprisoned on a remote ranch in Arizona, 4000 miles away from her mother and her island home.

What is great about the book is that Robinson resists the temptation to go down the route of painting Zoe's years of capture and abuse. Instead the relatively short novel and his sparse style means that the horror comes more from what isn't said rather than what is. For example Zoe's scars are casually refered to as old dog bites, and having met Thurman's dogs previously imagination takes over as to what this exactly means.

The novels structure broadens to show the wider horror of the situation , the impact on Zoe's mother, Zoe's conflicting feelings for Thurman as her period of captivity comes to its conclusion as well as the horror of repeated abuse as we see the history of Thurman's relationship with his father and his mother played out within his relationship with Zoe.

It is difficult to write about the novel without giving away big spoilers. I'll just leave it by saying that the combination of brutality and compassion, the fact that all the characters are so well drawn and distinctive, the at times claustrophobic sense of tension means if you give it a go, you'll think deep and hard about the a novel that has stayed with me long after I finished reading

You can buy Forgetting Zoe by Ray Robinson here

Monday Misery Part 3 - Amsterdam Weeps

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000Z

A Follow up to last week's post on Emmett Tinley's new lp, this week's sad song comes from hs debut Attic Faith

A slow build of a meloncholy song that even when he starts to give his lungs a full work out, speaks of loneliness and regret

we meet like strangers and drink to happiness

Amsterdam Weeps - Emmett Tinley

sunday extra

2011-11-13T10:25:00.001Z

If you have not already wonder over to hissy fit where there are some fantastic you tube clips of the Blue Nile

In response to Trev's question here is the b side to Happiness. O Lolita has a bit of that tonal, tolling bell style that featured a bit more prominently in High. Really like the skittery drum beat that appears form nowhere and then disappears just a quickly

Too good to be a lost b side

O Lolita - The Blue Nile

Lazy Sunday - Elvis Costello

2011-11-13T00:30:00.000Z

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile is still one of the finest things Mr Costello has written. What I like about it is that ,as ever ,the saddest songs are the best

Alison - Elvis Costello

New Music - Emmett Tinley

2011-11-12T00:00:00.000Z

The first part of the year was a little sparse in terms of new music, to a point where I thought my year's top 10 would be pretty much made up of re issues, but there has been a bit of a rush as the nights draw in.

One of the best is the 2nd solo lp from Emmett Tinley former lead singer of Irish band Prayerboat. Six years after his debut solo, it has been worth the wait.

It is one of those subtle lps with mainly acoustic backing and a sprinkle of strings.

What makes the lp stand out though is that Emmett Tinley has one of those soaring spiritual voices that are just perfect for autumn evenings,

I've posted the lead off track which I think works best with an accompanying single malt

Takes a Long Time to Heal - Emmett Tinley

If you like this then give the whole lp a go as it is pretty representative of the other 9 tracks

You can buy the lp here direct from the record label

Life of Live - James

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000Z

Life of Live jumps out of sync for this post. Last friday I went to see James play at the Royal Albert Hall complete with full choir and orchestra. It could have been awful self indulgent tosh but it was in fact truly magical.

An all seated affair with the band on promptly at 8 , no support , an interval and only the encore suggesting it was a rock gig (that and the fact that I'd been drinking since 4 and had a kebab before going in)

It started with a slow build as songs were pulled from their complete back catalogue. They tended to be the slow/mid tempo ones and so the start of the set featured songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear live. The band, choir and orchestra fitted together so well and created a real swell of sound that filled a place where many a band I've seen have struggled not to get lost.

After the interval more familiar singles started to appear often given a completely new lease of life by the backing arrangements.

What was a surprise is even songs from the stripped down Stutter worked just as well as the lusher later tracks.

I've posted 4 tracks taken at the concert and hats off to whoever took them as the quality is great and he or she must have spent the whole gig with their phone in the air (normally a pet hate of mine)

Looking at them a few things strike me , not sure why the harpist is wearing a hard hat and keep your eye on the french horn player who looks totally bemused by the whole thing.

First 2 are from early james - Hymn from a Village and Fairground, the 3rd from late james- Bubbles and ending with a version of Sometimes which shows a band totally in control of what they can do - if you only look at one make it that one and tell me you don't wish you were there!

Home grown Americana part 2 - Broken Family Band

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000Z

The second part of homegrown Americana features The Broken Family band from Cambridgeshire. Their debut lp Cold Water Songs sounded as if the band had the deepest american roots. At times pure country at others more country rock or american folk. All fornted with a vocal that was a lifetime fo pain

The lp got rave reviews and lead to sessions for John Peel.

Four more lps came and the sound progressed to have a more indie feel although shadows of the earlier sound remained

I've posted my favourite song by them which comes from the lp Hello Love which features some swoonsome backing vocals, a guitar line that you don't want to end, all put together to feel like a long lost Velvet Underground love song (if such a thing wasnt a contradiction in terms)

You Get Me - The Broken Family Band

The band finally broke up in 2009 fittingly with a final concert in Cambridge

You can listen to a selection of their songs as well as get a full discography at their website here

You can buy their cds here and depending on your preferences I'd go for either the rootsier Cold Water Songs or the Rockier Please and Thankyou

Home grown Americana pary 1 - Witness

2011-11-09T00:30:00.000Z

This week I thought I'd feature a couple of bands that sound like they come from deep in the heart of America rather than in Suffolk and Lancs.

First up is Wigan band Witness who were still un named when they were signed. Initially helped then hindered by a friendship to Nick McCabe of the Verve. The constant comparisons with that band are odd in the extreme as the 2 sounded nothing like each other. If anything the band Witness most remind me off is REM, with maybe a dash of Tom Petty

Over 2 lps Witness went about producing songs of the quality that REM could have done with over their later lps. Both lps , Before the Calm and Under the Sun garnered rave reviews (with the debut especially having the music press all a froth) which didn't translate to any kind of sales

The big record label shenanigans (this time Universal) meant as usual one rejected lp and some strange promotional placing of songs , in this case 2 on the soundtrack of American Pie 2!!

The band eventually split after they were dropped by the label, ending with a hometown gig in Wigan.

I've posted my favourite track , which comes from the second lp , despite the world weary vocals has the kind of down beat but up beat feel that Elbow have since made their own

Closing up - Witness

There is a comprehensive band site here with reviews , interviews and discography

You can buy both lps here where Amazon has the second lp for a ridiculously cheap 33p!!

Misery Monday part 2 - Raining in Baltimore

2011-11-07T00:01:00.000Z

This came out at a time when I really wasnt that interested in American Music , could never get my head around grunge and all that loud bit queit bit loud bit stuff

Also this was the kind of "mature" and "adult" music that should have had me running for the hills. However somethign in this lp struck a chord. Im not sure what , if you break it down the vocals are whiney, the music plods along and doesnt do anything special or memorable. However, together it all fits perfectly. Never better on this track of despair for missing love, which has me doin gmy best load american wail as I sing along in the car

This circus is falling down on its knees
The big top is crumbling down
It's raining in Baltimore fifty miles east
Where you should be, no one's around

I need a phone call
I need a raincoat
I need a big love
I need a phone call

These train conversations are passing me by
And I don't have nothing to say
You get what you pay for
But I just had no intention of living this way

I need a phone call
I need a plane ride
I need a sunburn
I need a raincoat

And I get no answers
And I don't get no change
It's raining in Baltimore, baby
But everything else is the same

There's things I remember and things I forget
I miss you
I guess that I should
Three thousand five hundred miles away
But what would you change if you could?

I need a phone call
Maybe I should buy a new car
I can always hear a freight train
If I listen real hard
And I wish it was a small world
Because I'm lonely for the big towns
I'd like to hear a little guitar
I think it's time to put the top down

I need a phone call
I need a raincoat

Raining in Baltimore - Counting Crows

Lazy Sunday - Mcintoshross

2011-11-06T00:01:00.000Z

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a track from Deacon Blue's husband and wife team. The lp Great Lakes dabbles in Americana. What I like about this track is that it skips along and any song that has daddyo in the lyrics has to be worth a listen

Gloria - McIntoshRoss

You can buy the Great Lakes here

New Music - Countryside Beggars on Horseback

2011-11-05T00:01:00.000Z

I picked up this band from a post on the wonderful Sunset over Slawit blog. The post was about a new singer who records under the name The Countryside. What got my initial interest is that the singer, Graeme Slattery is a former guitarist with the Devlins , another bigger than the beatles contender, but that is for another post.

The second thing was that he mentions is that Graeme counts as his influences , Blue Nile , Aztec Camera and Prefab Sprout, anyone of which would have had me following the link pronto.

After listening to a couple of tracks I downloaded the lp Beggars on Horseback. It is full of of mellow melody reflective of the fact the lp is influenced by the singers move from a life in the city to living in a converted stable in the heart of the country

You can listen to the lp on soundcloud here. Give it a full listen because this is one of those lps where the overall mood is stronger than any individual song. Just right for a come down after the giddy thrills of bonfire night!

You can buy the lp or individual tracks via Amazon here

Life of Live - Blue Nile

2011-11-03T00:01:00.000Z

I've been to some concerts where the sense of anticipation and build up takes the whole experience to another level.

I've written before about my love of all things Blue Nile and being a fan involves as much hope and patience as enjoyment.

When I found out that they where touring with their 3rd lp Peace at Last and playing the Royal Albert Hall I immediately got a ticket and started counting down the days.

With only 3 lps to choose from they seemed to cover most of their back catalogue. The reputation for perfection (although reading the book Nileism is seems more like the ultimate procrastination) came through in the sound which was rich, deep, and clear and managed to fill the hall's cavernous space (I've seen a few bands where the sound seemed to have got lost in the Hall's dome)

On the LP there is a slight move to guitar backing and live Paul Buchanan's crisp acoustic guitar was to the fore. I can't remember much about individual tracks just being on a continuous emotional high as well as doing a bit of "there is something in my eye" during Family Life. That and the fact that with some of the newer songs they sounded positively upbeat!

The band were clearly taken aback by the waves of adoration and appreciation a couple of times standing on stage not seemingly knowing what to do as applause and cheering just kept going

Afterwards I was on an almost religious high only to be brought right back down again when my wife said "It as okay , sounded a bit 80s though didn't they" The clearest justifiable grounds for divorce .. or at least a big sulk you'll ever find.

There a couple of sound only versions from that concert and I've posted a visual for one 10 years later

A Year in Books 2011 - The Fry Chronicles

2011-11-02T12:01:00.000Z

I'm a bit behind on a year in books as for some reason I'm racing through them at them moment so here is ayet another one and appologies if you are only really interested in the music posts

Stephen Frys 2^nd part of his autobiographyfollows after the strangely titled Moab is My washpot. That first partdealt with his school days and whilst there was a strange fascination readingabout his insecurities and self destructive streak that eventually lead to acriminal record for stealing a family friends credit card, it did feel a bitlike a prologue .

The Fry Chronicles picks up with Fry starting life inCambridge and ends with him sitting down to write the first series of a Bit ofFry and Laurie. In between we get the footlights , time as a book reviewer, a failed comedyseries , Saturday Night Live , Blackadder and a west end/broadway hit musical,.In fact so much happens in such a short few years that while things zip alongthere are times when you want a more leisurely stroll and think no hang on asec I want to hear a bit more about that

He handles the Cambridge years really well and manages tocapture the sense of history, tradition and priviledge without alienating thereader into resenting the open doors , the silver spoon and the exclusivity.

He balances the fact that he fell in with an amazinglytalented bunch of people by giving justas much space to key people in his life who aren’t in the public eye. For everyEmma Thompson there would be someone else that had me rushing to google. Theanecdotes are funny and enlightening and the clever structure means they alwayshave a point instead of the bookbecoming just a list of stories that some autobiographies end up being.

The insecurities remain and sometimes he does protest toomuch in a I’m really not confident , I really do care too much on what peoplethink , type way (after 2 books we get the message)

He admits that one of his biggest fears is that people willsee him as a wasted talent , someone who flits from one thing to another, ajack of all trades etc. Could he have become the best at something rather than that clever funny man who is headingfor national institution?

To some extent you can see his point but you also feel throughthe book that it would also have been a bit of a loss and certainly a lessinteresting read if he had.

If you don’t like him then this book won’t change your mind,but if you are interested in a cultural world that seems like a differentlifetime then Stephen Fry’s journey is a good one to follow.

I’ve also read Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan 2^ndpart of their end of world , vampire trilogy The Fall (part one was the Strain). Like the first book it is good harmless action packed page turning fun and cryingout to get a Walking Dead type tv treatment .

Misery Monday part 1/26 - Eels

2011-10-31T00:01:00.000Z

New Monday and no new moon but a new theme. Driven by the fact that most of my favourite songs aren't really sunnyside feel good ditties , mondays will be taken over by sad songs (not much different to other posts then)

First up is a bit of slacker sadness. Some sad songs are driven by the lyric , by the melody , or by the knowledge of the what the writer was going through. The best kind of put all of that together.

I've written before about how Mark Everett has had more than his fair share of sadness. As a reminder

Father - a genius who developed the theory of multiple universes, who died of a heart attack , Eels discovered the body.

Sister - committed suicide

Mother - died of cancer

Cousin - was an air stewardess on the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

As a result the It's a Motherfucker refrain has a air of weary resignation about it as the song contemplates either life after a loved one leaves or dies I'm never really sure, the sense of permanency suggests the latter
Its a simple tune (the saddest often are) of piano backed with some gorgeous strings and at just over 2 mins it leaves you wanting more which only adds to the sense of loss

It's a motherfucker
Being here without you
Thinking 'bout the good times
Thinking 'bout the bad
And i won't ever be the same

It's a motherfucker
Getting through a sunday
Talking to the walls
Just me again
But i won't ever be the same
I won't ever be the same

It's a motherfucker
How much i understand
The feeling that you need someone
To take you by the hand
And you won't ever be the same
You won't ever be the same

It's a Motherfucker - Eels

Lazy Sunday - Kevin McDermott Orchestra

2011-10-30T00:01:00.000+01:00

Lazy Sunday and top of the shuffle pile comes from Scottish "could have been a contender" Kevin Mcdermott's debut lp Mother Nature's Kitchen..... another lost classic

I like the fact it comes across as kind of celtic Springsteen.

Where we Were Meant to Be - Kevin Mcdermott Orchestra

A Year in Books 2011 - Last Night on Twisted River

2011-10-29T00:01:00.000+01:00

John Irving’s books need to be savoured , read at the righttime when you know you will have long periods of un interrupted reading. I like the fact that they are bigbooks both physically (anything less than 600 pages and I would feel a bitcheated as happened with Widow for aYear) and in the saga sense of the journeys he takes his characters on.

With that in mind I tend to save his books up for holidays ,which can be a test of will power as his books can sit on the to read pile for6 months or more. It is a measure of how much I like him as an author that Iwant to link the memory of his books to a place and a time. Son of the Circusmeans Dubai with 5 friends , Until I Find You Cape town for a wedding, A PrayerFor Owen Meany inter railing aroundItaly.

Two weeks in Devon gave me the chance to finally start LastNight on Twisted River a reassuring 700+ pages epic.

I can’t help but find comfort in the fact that Last Night onTwisted River could only be a John Irving novel, there is a fartingdog, bears, death of loved ones and at its core the relationship between aparent and a child.

All this helps me overcome the fact that Irving succumbs toone of my pet hates , a writer making their main character a writer andspending time writing about writing.

The story starts in a Nova Scotia logging community where wemeet the town’s cook and his son Danny as well as typical Irving characterssuch as Six Pack Pam ,Injun Jane and most importantly Ketchum a throwback frontiersman. As ever there are family secrets this timearound the death of Danny's mother and what really happened on the night she fellthrough the ice. Small details early on are echoes of major plot drivers to comelater, the scar on Ketchums’ head his hatred of his own left hand. Nobody doesthe tricky skill of foreshadowing better

The book start to really get going when Danny accidentlykills the local sheriffs girlfriend, mistaking her for a bear in a scene thatshows Irvings skill at making the farcical and ridiculous seem perfectly acceptable and natural.

Danny and his father have to, with Ketchum’s help, fleetwisted river and so begins a 50 year chase ,as they struggle to stay ahead ofthe sheriff, that takes in a naked sky diver, the art of cooking, a deathly bluePontiac, sex, births marriages with death continually casting its shadow.

Even the fact that Danny grows up to be a successful writerfits with the plot although there are a couple of name drop walk on parts thatare a bit cringe worthy. It is as if using real people breaks the spell that Irvingweaves around his characters

There is always a sense of sadness when I finish an Irvingnovel as I know it could be another 5 years until the next one. This time the feelingis more acute as at the back of the is a list of his other novels and the yearsthat they were released and it suddenly hits me that there might not be thatmany more. I’ve searched hard for someone who comes near and often beendisappointed when a reviewer describes abook as “like John Irving”. I struggle to think of a book especially by abritish writer to come close .. maybe Iain Banks’ Crow Road.

Nobody does the tragic and the comedy, the big themes and thepersonal journeys or simply tells a story as well and ,whilst not his best, andunlikely to win a new readership, Last Night on Twisted river is head andshoulders a majority of other fiction published.

You can buy Last Night on Twisted River here

Life of Live - The Gobetweens

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000+01:00

By the time I got to see the Gobetweens live they had becomemy favourite band and along with the Trashcan Sinatras the ultimate should havebeen bigger than the beatles band

The band were touring to promote their perfect 16 loverslane (continuing the tradition of two Ls in their lp titles)

The arch art cool songs Robert Forster combined perfectlywith the melody based approach of Grant Mclennan.

I didnt know at the time that this tour and lp would markthe end of phase 1 Gobetweens as theband would split up shortly after.

Is there anything better than seeing your favourite bandplay live just after they have released their best lp.

The set list was perfect , there was none of that “ I wishedthey’d played ....” I’ve got no sense of any highlights just one continuous high. The audience wasfull of people who revered them as much as I did. It was one of those gigs thatyou come out of and just think well when can we do that again

The band dynamic was just right it was a lot later when readinga book on the band that I found out that they were having their own FleetwoodMac moment with 2 interband relationships going on, coming to and end. Althoughlistening to the words on the lp it should have been obvious.

The gig was also special as I went with my future wife andone of my friends from school John who was down from Sheffield and had got meinto the gobetweens in the first place when he had taped their first 4 lps forme.

I’ve posted one of their best singles that if there had beenany fairness in the world would have given them at least a hit the size of anearly smiths single (for some reason it has always reminded me a bit of whatdifference does it make)

Spring Rain - Gobetweens

From a slightly earlier time but worth it for Robert Forster's jacket!!

A Year in Books 2011 - The Trout Opera

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000+01:00

When I think of great Australian novels that I've read and by great I dont mean in terms of quality of writing but more ones that say as much about the country as its characters, I get as far as Peter Carey's Illywhacker and that is about it.

However, Matthew Condon's The Trout Opera pushes it close. Centurian Wilfred Lampe has been chosen to appear at the Sydney Olympic's opening ceremony as a living representative of the country's history. However, things dont quite go to plan and Wilfred ends up an almost prisoner in a hosptial while the Olympic pr team start to fret about what they've got themselves into. It is here that Wilfred looks back on his 100 years of life during which time he never moves from the river that he loved.

With such a small stage I was worried that I'd be reading a 700 page opus detailing the joys of nature and particularly of fishing (with apologies to all anglers, something that attracts me as much as setting up an ant farm or breeding guinea pigs).

This fear never materialises for a number of reasons, the skill Condon shows in painting small town life and the dramas big and small that fall on Wilfred and his neighbours as well as when the wider world impacts the town of Dalgety such as a the body of a friend brought back from the first world war, or the men of science exploring the local mountain ranges

The biggest reason is that Wilfred's memories of the Bush are contrasted with modern day Australia and an ex junkie Aurora , recovering from the death of her baby and on the run from her abusive drug addict partner.

Both Aurora and Wilfreds worlds bring tradegy however the feeling is that those in modern world are more self inflicted, whilst in the Wilfreds world they are like the ever present snowy river, just part of the natural movement of life

Condon populates both worlds with a series of eccentric characters with situations ranging from the comic of the boy Wilfred's appearance in a school opera to the moving death of his father.

Gradually the lives of Wilfred and Aurora start to converge and as the saga comes to an end their shared history emerges.

If I made it sound as a simple waring to the dangers of progress then I've over simplified things, overall it is a celebration of Australia.

If I were to have one misgiving it would be the end is just a tad too neat. Overall Trout Opera is a great read but it lacks what made Illywhacker so good , the lightness is never as strong as the dark and some of the set pieces feel, good as they are, like a missed opportuntiy. There isnt the humour to balance the adversity just love and family (which I guess is more than enough).

You can buy Trout Opera here

cheers

2011-10-25T00:30:00.000+01:00

Nothing much to say except tonight raise a glass to the memory of John Peel in celebration of Keep it Peel Day

Not Another Singer Songwriter part 26/26 Sufjan Stevens

2011-10-24T00:01:00.000+01:00

For the final Not Another Singer Songwriter, I'm featuring a couple of tracks by Sufjan Stevens. His music falls into the realm of chamber pop (made up genre but I like it .... pop songs with interesting structures and almost orchestral backing)

Probably best known for his throwaway announcement that he was going to record for each of the USA states. Always a fan of ambition over execution I was a tad disappointed when he stopped at 2.

Right from the start he wasn't that interested in making straightforward lps , his second release was an electronica lp , a song cycle covering the animals in the Chinese zodiac.

His last lp was released in 2010 and as ever was wildly ambitious with a multitude of instruments backing songs of various genres, however nothing has really captured my imagination as Greetings from Michigan and Come on Feel the Illinoise.

Both lps combine history of the state , local characters and landmarks with personal themes of faith, love and regret.

The combination of his soft sweet vocals with the lush arrangements can at times feel like eating too much chocolate (so maybe 50 lps would lead to instant aural diabetes) and I tend to follow listening to the lps with somethng loud and guitary but for invention , ambition and some great pop tunes both lps are worth a go. If I was going to plump for one then Illinoise just steals it for the scarily haunting John Wayne Gacy.

Vito's Ordination Song - Sufjan Stevens

Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens

So 26 Singer songwriters and now its time for a new theme. Most of my favourite songs seem to come from a place of sadness, so next week starts 26 of my favourite sad songs please feel free to play along!- misery monday

Lazy Sunday - The Wedding Present

2011-10-23T12:01:00.000+01:00

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a track from under rated Wedding Present lp Watusi.

What I like about it apart from being for the Wedding Present almost funky is yet anohter top quality complicated love life lyric.

It's a Gas - The Wedding Present

A Year in Books 2011 - Transition

2011-10-22T12:01:00.000+01:00

I am a big fan of Iain Banks and have read everything he has published under this name with the Crow Road still one of my favourite novels. I say this name as he also writes as Iain M Banks science fiction novels. I've not read any of these although I did pick one up once, not being a big science fiction fan I struggled and lasted only 30 pages or so , not really giving it a chance.

In a couple of his earlier novels the genres have blurred a bit with alternative realities forming a key part of both The Bridge and Walking on Glass. I'd enjoyed both of these so wasn't too worried when early reviews of Transition talked about the fact that it could have come under the Iain M Banks moniker. I also wasn't worried by the decidedly mixed reviews after all I remember Complicity suffering the same fate and I loved that one.

After 50 or so pages I was a tad worried. Banks starts with a number of narrators painting a picture of a world of endless alternative realities constantly branching out to form more and more worlds. One world contains the Concern who over see the other realities mainly using a drug controlled ability that allows certain individuals to jump between these realities, temporally inhabiting a host body, before jumping back. I can hear your heart sinking as well from here.

The main narrative is delivered by Temudjin, an assassin carrying out the Concern's orders by killing those with the potential to do evil but beginning to question the moral consequences of his actions. We also hear from Madame d'Ortolan, a powerful member of the Concern's leadership with designs on ultimate control; her Nemesis Mrs Mulverhill; the Philosopher, a state-sponsored torturer; Adrian , a greedy drug dealer with ambitions to become a City trader (these sections are the closest we get to a straight modern day setting); and Patient 8262, faking a mental disorder in a state institution to escape... well initially we arent quite sure what.

It does get confusing and as each person takes centre stage in turn slowly the world of the Concern and the motives of each individual are revealed, but they leave with as many questions as answers.

However my faith in Iain Banks kept me going and I'm glad I did as the character's narratives slowly weave around each other and forms an exciting thriller of good v evil with an edge of your seat climax set in Venice.

Using the idea of parallel worlds Bainks looks at bigger issues such as the responsibility of power and intervention in other cultures which means you cant help but draw comparisons with Iraq , and Afghanistan.

Although his imagination is what drives the plot forward and brings the core concepts to life the real skill is that amid the big concepts and ideas are a set of characters drawn with all the usual human frailties

This isn't usually my cup of a book , but I really enjoyed it and was reluctant to leave the worlds of the Concern which in turn left me with a lingering "what would I do if I could......"

you can buy Transition here

Strange Covers - Abraham, Martin and John

2011-10-20T12:01:00.000+01:00

Last of the Bible posts for a while. This is a cover of Abraham, Martin and John. This was originally recorded by Dion but has since been covered countless times by artists such as Bob Dylan and Marillion!!.

One of those covers where the words are changed. Originally a tribute to Lincoln, King and Kennedy, the Bible add in a verse about a Stephen... but not sure as to Stephen who?

It features a lovely bit of sax (apologies if that description makes the thing sound like gravy!)

Abraham, Martin and John - The Bible

Blog Heaven

2011-10-19T17:05:00.002+01:00

Quick note to say that I've finally got round to updating blog heaven on the right hand side bar.

I'm sure you know most of these already but feel free to have a look and pop over and visit some great places

Cult of the b side - The Bible

2011-10-18T12:01:00.000+01:00

I recently posted about the wonderful Bible reunion concert. Well they werent that bad with their b sides either.

I'm not sure which of the seemingly endless releases of Graceland that this one comes from but it would have fitted perfectly on the first lp

High Wide and Handsome - The Bible

Not Another Singer Songwriter - Ed Harcourt

2011-10-17T12:01:00.000+01:00

Some singer songwriters go for the quiet, reflective sound and others go for a bigger band driven noise, not afraid to try the unexpected. Ed Harcourt is the second type , although this doesn't mean he cant do subtle and acoustic it is just that he seems to be healthily adverse to have any two tracks to sound the same. His songs often veer off at strange tangents

His debut Here Be Monsters seemed to come out of nowhere and grab a Mercury award nomination. Since then 4 more studio lps have followed as well as a couple of compilations.

Commercial success continues to evade him (only one lp an done single have scraped the top 40) although he has had more luck in Europe

The latest lp Lustre was released on his own label and contains some of his strongest songs.

I've posted 3 tracks. The first is the title track from the last lp and shows a rich lush sound which builds and builds

Lustre - Ed Harcourt

The next one is from the lp Strangers and shows he can write a sing along chorus withe best of them

Born in the 70s - Ed Harcourt

The final one shows how he likes to play around with backing tracks to combine on one hand a simple tune but overlays a element of complexity to keep things interesting

Shadowboxing - Ed Harcourt

Finally here is the video for his one brush with the top 40, which is a shame as he has written far better , catchier , chart friendly songs then this one good as it is

You can buy his lps here - there is a compilation called Until Tomorrow and i would start with this or his latest Lustre which you can also listen to at his website here

Friends Again Week part 5 - James Grant

2011-10-16T12:01:00.000+01:00

James Grant's solo lps have seen him continue the more mellow sound of the final Love and Money lp.

Sawdust in My Veins was the first one, released in 1998 was followed a couple of years later by My Thrawn Glory. Both lps are largely acoustic and showcase a voice that is one of the best to come out of Scotland.

An lp of poetry set to music was released in 2002 followed by the quiet and introspective Holy Love in 2004. There was then a 5 year wait until 2009's Strange Flowers where the volume and tempo was turned up a tad which resulted in I think the best of his solo releases, although all of them are worth exploring

The Streets You Walk Everyday - James Grant from Holy Love

This is the Last Time - James Grant from Sawdust in My Veins

My Thrawn Glory - James Grant from My Thrawn Glory

A video for My Father's Coat from Strange Flowers can be found here

When not recording for his own lps he has written and played live with Capercaillie's Karen Matheson.

You can find his website here (complete with natty guitar string thing) where you can buy his lps , get the chords and lyrics , stream some songs and read his blog

Finally a live example of a voice to melt into

So that ends Friends Again week - out of one Scottish band emerged over a dozen of my favourite lps, not band for a group that broke up after their first lp.

Friends Again week part 4 - Bloomsday

2011-10-14T12:01:00.000+01:00

Having a break from recording as the Bathers, Chris Thomson was joined by 2 ex Commotions (Neil Clark and Stephen Irvine) to form Bloomsday. The band lasted for one lp , Fortunay. Another great lost lp, the sound was rockier than the Bathers but the romantic sweep and big gestures of the lyrics remained.

The lead off single Strange Honey got quite a bit of airplay (at least that is how I remember it) but didnt dent the charts.

My favourite track had Syd Straw on backing vocals and Chris Thomson raises his game and does one of his best vocals

Forever Through Traps and Lies - Bloomsday

Friends Again Week part 3 - The Bathers

2011-10-13T12:01:00.000+01:00

Whilst James Grant looked west to the US of A Chris Thomson went for a much more European feel. Unusual Places to Die, written in Rome, came out in 1987 on the newly formed Go discs (along with the Beautiful South and Trashcan Sinatras). A much more acoustic which would evolve into an almost orchestral sound backed Thomson's vocals that seemed to be the lovechild of Tom Waits and Van Morrison.

For some reason the lp wasn't really promoted by Go Discs and despite some great reviews didn't sell that well. It is one of those lost classics of the 80s

Candide - The Bathers

The Bathers were like Aztec Camera more a collection of musicians built around one singer songwriter than a band and among those who worked on the 2nd lp were James Locke from the Chimes (whatever happened to them?). and James Grant guesting on backing vocals. The music lost some of its pure pop and became almost chamber music. The vocals were now pure Scottish Tom Waits and the songs big dramatic European romances.

Sweet Deceit was released by Island records in 1990. The lp featured on track rerecorded from the the first lp this time with James Grant on backing vocals (as a result it is the most straight forward pop song on the lp and not really representative of the other tracks)

Hush a bye

Perpetual Adoration - The Bathers

The next 6 years saw the band release 3 lps on the German Marina label.

Lagoon Blues and Sunpowder built on the sound established in Sweet Deceit, mixing instrumentals , orchestral backing with more straight forward catchy songs but with lyrics that felt more akin to the romantic poets than pop songs. I've posted a couple of the more straightforward songs from these 2 lps

Gracefruit - the Bathers (from Lagoon Blues)

She's Gone Forever - The Bathers (from Sunpowder)

However it is with the final Marina lp that I think Thomson produced his classic. The Waitsian vocals were toned down a bit, the arrangements and song structures a bit more straight forward. It is an lp full of highlights including this gorgeous love song again with James Grant guesting on backing vocals

If Love Could Last Forever - the Bathers (from Kelvingrove Baby)

The band moved labels again this time to Wrasse records and with some comings and goings in personnel Thomson was joined by Callum Mcnair (who is credited on co writer on a number of tracks on the resulting lp) and Hazel Morrison. Pandemonia

"Pandemonia is the Bathers latest album. Pandemonia is a frank poetic interpretation of love with its heart felt highs and lows. On "pandemonia" Chris has utilized a number of guest musicians including contribution from Isobel and Richard from Belle and Sebastian Many of the songs have been written from personal experience and many revisit "the" relationship as it unfolds. Track "twenty two" is a sunny remembrance of a first sighting of a future love. "huntly in love" meditates on the perfection of love found and "sundown and longing" and the "fragments" dwell on love lost. The "Belle sisters" is all about three sisters with whom Chris has built up a friendship. "pandemonia" for some may personify a noirish femme fatale. For Chris "pandemonia" is one of his own demons which he failed to deal with and as a consequence caused great suffering and heartache in others whom he adored! "

Quite clearly record company promotional gubbins but it does somehow capture the over the top romanticism and heartbreak that the Bathers music is all about.

Trocadero Girls - The Bathers

An lp of tracks re recorded from earlier lps appeared Desire Regained. I've not heard this lp, and part of me put off by some negative reviews, is not sure what the point was.

In 2010 rumours of new material surfaced but nothing has been heard and there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon

Amazon has the lps to buy here however most of them are ridiculously over priced, so it may be better to hope one pops up on ebay - good luck it is a body of work that deserves much more credit and exposure

As far as visuals go first up is the usual mid 80s great song awful video and then 3 songs from an appearance on music programme The Beat Room

Friends Again Week part 2 - Love and Money

2011-10-11T12:01:00.000+01:00

When Friends Again called it a day citing the usual musical differences , although listening to the direction Chris Thomson and James Grant went next in this case it was probably genuine, James Grant took the 3 other band members and formed Love and Money. He took the Friends Again sound and moved it west upping the soul and the rock ( move signalled by the fact that an early single Candybar Express was produced by Andy Taylor of Duran Duran)

The debut lp All You Need is Love and Money was released in 1986 and I remember the Record Mirror especially writing glowing review after glowing review.

The lp is a bit disjointed with the rocker numbers clashing a bit with a smoother more soulful sound.

My favourite track from the lp was definitely in the second camp and showed off what a great voice James Grant had hidden away in backing vocals for Friends Again

Dear John - Love and Money

The record company felt they were on to a good thing and spent a small fortune on the follow up Strange Kind of Love whose cover is still one of my favourites.

Produced by Gary Katz who produces Steely Dan the rough edges were smoothed off. Despite constant touring including high profile support slots the 3 singles all failed to break the top 40, which must have been a killer for the band as blued eyed soul of Hue and Cry , Deacon Blue even Wet Wet Wet all went on chart success.

For me the best track is this gorgeous world weary song of doomed love which shows slick and smooth in pop music doesn't have to be soulless

Strange Kind of Love - Love and Money

Having failed to provide a return on investment the record company pressure was now on the band and the next lp Mother Boy was rejected by the label. Some of the songs from this lp have popped up as b sides of singles or rerecorded for some of James Grant's solo lp but along with It's Immaterial's lost 3rd lp I'm still hoping it sees the light of day at some point.

It must of spurred the band on as they came back with their best lp Dogs in Traffic preceded by slightly odd jazzy sounding My Love Lives in a Dead House (not really top 40 material!). By now the harder guitar sound had disappeared completely, but what was left could have you swooning

Winter - Love and Money

The final lp Little Death was released in 1993 on an independent label and has a rootsier sound, closer to what would appear on James Grant's subsequent solo lps.

This track always takes my back to living in Glasgow

I remember are you turned and walked away
I saw the last ship on the river today

The Last Ship on the River - Love and Money

The band broke up after the lps release although they are currently back together touring (playing the whole of Strange Kind of Love and Dogs in Traffic) . I never saw them live first time around so have my ticket for Shepherd Bush Empire and cant wait.

Sadly bass player Bobby Patterson wont be there as he died in 2006

Strange Kind of Love has recently been re released with some added demos and new sleeve notes. You can by it here and wonder at world where Wet Wet Wet can sit at number one for what felt like months but this band never made the top 40 once

Friends Again week

2011-10-10T00:01:00.000+01:00

I'm taking a slightly different tact with not another singer songwriter this week, I'm going to focus on 2 singers who combine former lead singer , not another and bigger than the beatles all in one go. This week I'm going to post about James Grant and Chris Thompson.

First off I'll start with the band where it all began - Friends Again.

Formed in Glasgow the band burned brightly for a short while with 5 singles (3 of which sunkissed , honey at the core and state of art released on their own label and are just glorious pop tunes) and one lp - Trapped and Unwrapped

Produced by Bob Sargeant who had more success with Haircut 100, the guitars jangled like Orange Juice and Aztec Camera but put through the mixer with a some country and some funk.

They were hotly tipped by the music press but in band tensions about future direction led them to self combust.

The following from the all music guide sums it up nicely

"While many of their compatriots wrote new wave pop songs propelled by jangling guitars, in Glasgow, Scotland's Friends Again distinguished themselves from their peers by combining '60s-influenced rock with funk, R&B, and country. Featuring Chris Thompson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Grant (lead guitar, vocals), Neil Cunningham (bass), Paul McGeechan (keyboards), and Stuart Kerr (drums), Friends Again formed in 1982. The band produced three singles, Sunkissed, Honey at the Core, and State of Art on Moonbot Records before signing to Mercury Records. The group released a self-titled EP in 1983 and then recorded their debut album, Trapped and Unwrapped, in 1984. The LP explored the band's various musical influences, veering from '70s-style funk (Lullaby No. 2) to soulful balladry (Old Flame) sung with Thompson's David Bowie-esque croon. However, the LP received mixed reviews, namely for Bob Sargeant's slick production, and it was also a commercial failure. Longing for an outlet for his own songs, Grant left the group in 1984, and Friends Again immediately fell apart. Grant formed Love and Money in 1985, delving deeper in the funk, R&B, and country influences that guided Friends Again. McGeechan, Kerr, and Cunningham followed Grant in Love and Money while Thompson created The Bathers in 1987".

I've posted the extended version of one of those glorious first 3 singles

Sunkissed - Friends Again

Below is the video for State of Art - sadly the video hasn't dated half as well as the song!

And finally a live version of the third piece of perfect pop - big hair , sharp cheekbones and big guitars played with short shoulder straps how could it go wrong!!?

Lazy Sunday - Counting Crows

2011-10-09T00:01:00.002+01:00

Lazy sunday and top of the shuffle pile this week is a bit of californian angst. What I like about it? well it is the voice of lost dreams

Miller's Angels - Counting Crows

close to silence follow up

2011-10-08T00:01:00.000+01:00

I recently wrote about Talk Talk s later lps and Mark Hollis's solo lp in a post here

For a much more intelligent and fascinating insight into the last lp Laughing Stock visit The Quietus here. You can also listen to tracks from the lp as you read about its conception. It is a great bit of writing.

A Black Bargain

2011-10-06T19:26:00.000+01:00

A while back Not Another Singer Songwriter featured Black , or as he now records Colin Vearncombe.
However he has recently released a cd under the Black name called Any Colour You Are and made it available as a download from his website here

It is a compilation of 16 tracks that have been released on his own label - thus his 2 biggest hits are included in rerecorded form - the version of Sweetest Smile is stunning. There are studio recordings and live tracks spanning about 20years and the various lps and eps he has released

I've not posted a track as Colin is offering an amazing deal. By including the discount code below you get the whole lp for the princely sum on 75p!!

You can listen to the tracks and buy the lp here

Discount code is mrg4song

New Music - Cancel the Astronauts / Mahoney and the Moment

2011-10-05T00:01:00.001+01:00

I've had a couple of emails arrive recently with new music on them and top notch the bands are too.

First up is American band Mahoney and the Moment who play a melodic music that is a little bit folky , a little bit country and a little bit pop. They have just had their lp released (cover above) and you can buy it as well as stream it here

Second up is Scottish band Cancel the Astronauts

They have a great new single Seven Vices out that you can get from their website here.
It has guitars that jangle and great lyrics. To give you an idea here is one of the b sides

Playing Hard to get - Cancel the Astronauts

It is always a good sign when the b sides are just as good as the a side!

A year in books 2011 - The Great Perhaps

2011-10-04T00:01:00.000+01:00

The Great Perhaps – Joe Meno

Another American big family saga,The Great Perhaps is a kind of The Corrections light. This time we follow the Caspers. Dad is obsessed with the chase for a living giant squid that by the time he notices his family is falling apart he is lost as to what to do about it. Mother Madeline despairs about her husband whilst feeling bemused by the sexual attention of a work colleague. Amelia the eldest daughter is plotting revolution via the school newspaper and her school project (an anti superbrands film has been replaced by building a home made bomb) whilst younger sister Thisbe is discovering her sexuality but really just wants to be able to sing lead in the school concerts. Finally grandfather is plotting a final escape from his nursing home whilst daily reducing the words he says until he has faded to nothing.

What makes the book different from the other family sagas is that we see the world through the eyes of each character rotated through the chapters. For most of the time this works really well , It falls down a bit with the grandfather’s chapters as these look back over his life as a German immigrant both in the family tailoring business and later in an internment camp and the break down of the relationship with is own father. It is not that these aren't well written it is more that they just seem to come from a completely different book entirely. It is because the voices of the other 4 family members fit so well that the excursions into the past jar so much.

At times there is a sense of a quirkiness that feels a bit contrived , such as the fact the father suffers from a condition that means he falls into a fit and passes out whenever he sees a cloud . This is okay in itself but when Madeline starts seeing a cloud man I started to think wait a minute. There is plenty of deep thought and angst from all of the characters mixed with a gentle humour and an appreciation of the absurd. I did care what happened to each of the characters but finished with a sense of disappointment. I like the American big family novels because the best ones marry the slightly absurd that you’d find in all families with, humour and sadness as well as a way of finding bigger truths in the small scale trials and tribulations. The Great Perhaps does a bit of all of this but doesn't really excel at any of them

Not Another Singer Songwriter - Thomas Dybdahl

2011-10-03T00:01:00.000+01:00

A while back I did a post on a Norwegian singer songwriter Dylan Mondegreen which you can find here.
Following another recommends I ordered a cd by Thomas Dybdahl. More Jeff Buckley than Prefab Sprout, the Norwegian has released 5 lps. The one I bought "Songs" is a compilation of tracks and has been released to introduce him to the UK/US.

The songs are mainly introspective and vary from traditional singer songwriter fare such to tracks that have a more experimental arrangement and structure, all mixed in with a bit of a pop sensibility.

I've posted 2 tracks that show the 2 different sides

Cecilia - Thomas Dybdahl

Songs - Thomas Dybdahl

You can find more information and get a free download from his website here

You can buy the songs lp here If you liked the Tom Baxter or Duncan Sheik posts earlier in the series then I would give this a go