Journeys And Endings...

No, this post has nothing to do with the group that boasted Steve Perry as a singer and became one of the foremost "corporate rock" bands in the early-to-mid 80s...nor does it have to do with the Arthur Brown-led Kingdom Come album, released in the early 70s. It does have to do wth Pixie's and my holiday last week. We had a fab time in Symonds Yat, though the place does seem to have a bit of a creepy Twin Peaks kinda vibe, especially the hotel near where our cottage was. I half-expected to see the "Log Lady" down by the banks of the Wye River.

We took a lot of day trips to places like Tintern Abbey, a spectacular set of ruins set right over the Welsh border (and for you psych trivia fans, also a group that took their name from it and released a quintessential English psychedelic single called Vacuum Cleaner). We also visited Chepstow Castle, also just o'er the border into Wales--and were treated to a hail storm just as we were reaching the top of one of the towers..when the lightning started we flew back down the stone steps for (relative) safety. Still, you do get a majestic view of the River Severn from it's walls.

Pixie was on a mission for good West Country cider, so we hit Weston's Cider Farm and she quickly snapped up some cider-with-ginger, her favourite flavour. A trip to Gwatkin Cider Farm proved less profitable for her cider with ginger hunt, but they have some tasty varieties nontheless. A visit to Shipley Gardens racheted up the "creepy factor" a few notches, as the place was deserted, aside from a few staff and a guy who I took to be the owner--a classic English eccentric, all bushy grey eyebrows, tousled hair and cardigan sweater. He kept asking us if we wanted to go to the tea rooms..as did everyone else we encountered--we started to think they were recruiting for some weird forestry cult.

A place to check out if you're in the area is a small town called Hay-On-Wye. It boasts probably the largest number of used bookshops in a small area that I've ever seen--apparently there's a big literary festival that happens in the town also, though it wasn't going on last week. Pixie and I managed to check out about 6 of them in a couple of hours. I didn't too many things I had to have, except a nearly mint copy of David Toop's (the bloke who wrote Ocean Of Sound and Exotica) Haunted Weather and a guide to German psych/electronic music by D.E. Asbjornsen called Cosmic Dreams At Play, modeled after Vernon Joynson's Tapestry Of Delights and Fuzz, Acid & Flowers tomes. There was also a used vinyl/CD shop in town, but it was closed the day we visited (D'Oh!)

We also did manage a get-together with our mate Singing Bear, who drove up from his home. We exchanged CDs--he gave Pixie a 2-disc'er full of Welsh pop and rock...and I got a copy of Frank Zappa & The Mothers' Uncle Meat--which I own on cassette, but never replaced it (cheers, Bear!). I was meaning to get a Japanese mini-LP version--but I'm presuming those are long gone by now. A troop down to the Wye Knot Inn (geddit?) followed, where we all had dinner and pints and talked about English and American life, politics and of course, music. Bear gave us the rundown on which Wurzels records to buy, and I asked him where he managed to find a copy of Babe Ruth's First Base CD (just two of the many musical tangents we explored during the convo). After that, it was back to the cottage for a couple more rounds--and then time to crash. We all packed up the next morning...Bear had to get back home and Pixie and I got on the road back to Oxford. She and I stopped off at the Rollright Stones, an ancient rock ring that's been preserved by the local Druids, located near Chipping Norton...had lunch..and then on home to unpack and rest. A very fine week away, in my estimation!

In other news, I have put my notice in at Borders--I have been meaning to for some time now--and even had an interview for a job at the Bodleian Library (didn't get the gig). Things have been coming to a head for quite a while, and I've had a few, shall we say, "conflicts" with management over scheduling and the endless tinkering with displays and that. The store has been "re-fitted" the past two months--and I had been saying that I would more than likely leave just after that was complete. So I have. The only thing is that now I'm pounding the pavement in search of a new job--as I didn't have another one lined up. Ah well...one door closes....

That being said, I won't have money to spare until I find a new job--so I won't be buying anything new. This does pain me, as the re-issued Concert For Bangladesh, George Harrison's all-star 1971 charity show, with Ravi Shankar and Bob Dylan, among others, has just come out. The Island Records 3-disc set, Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal (named after a Dr. Strangely Strange track) is out--and a couple more Lindisfarne re-issues, too. The new Kate Bush album, Aerial, is out on November 7th--I've heard the single (King Of The Mountain)..and it's not bad--the album should be better than The Red Shoes, which I liked, though I admit it's not great compared to, say, Hounds Of Love. I did buy the new Boards Of Canada record, The Campfire Headphase..and the Grandaddy EP, Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla., for Pixie. Hopefully I'll have some more stuff comin' atcha soon!

If Yat For You

Pixie and I are off to Symonds Yat, located near the Forest Of Dean (sadly not owned by Yes cover artist, Roger), for the week...so no blogging. We will be attempting a meet-up with Singing Bear, of Keep It With Mine fame. We'll also be visiting a few cider farms..and possibly a record shop er two. In the meantime, check out the archives and the links. Be back soon....

3, That's The Magic Number...

I caught the Magic Numbers show at Oxford Brookes Uni this past Tuesday night. I know the common complaints about them....they're "drippy", or they project "fake happiness"...or (gasp!) they're "fat and hairy"...goodness me, no! What a horrendous crime in the age of Britneys and Girls Aloud and Justin Timberlake. I'll say this, though, these days I'd rather watch "forced happiness" than a bunch of doom-and-gloomers any time--and the Numbers delivered the goods--this was my third gig--and it was the best so far.

Pixie decided not to go, due to a toothache--so her brother Richard agreed to make the show instead. We arrived (a bit late, after watching Louis Theroux at Borders--he was promoting his new book) just as The Absentee were finishing their set--not a big loss, as they play indie-by-numbers stuff. Richard snagged us a couple o' pints at the bar. David Kitt was second on stage and ambled through a 45-minute set of folkie-dirges, singing in a James Taylor-like baritone. I've heard his latest record, The Blue And Red Notebook, and I wasn't that impressed--especially his ill-advised Beatles cover (And Your Bird Can Sing). He was O.K. live--but he definitely could've benefited from a backing band. Brookes seems cavernous compared to the Zodiac--and the "one-man-onstage-with-a-guitar" schtick (occasionally with a drum machine) wasn't enough to hold the chattering crowd's attention. There were some genuine moments of greatness, but then he would slam down three chords for far too long--and the moment would be gone.

The Numbers took the stage, which by now was decorated with huge cloth likenesses of the band surrounded by X-Mas lights, to cheers from the crowd. They tore into The Mule (from their debut album)--then into Forever Lost, which really got the crowd energised. They followed those with a few more from the record, including a nice I See You, You See Me (which lead singer/guitarist Romeo Stodart dedicated to a couple in the crowd who were childhood sweethearts and are still together)--the only problem was the chattering of the crowd during the slower, quieter tunes. They then played their contribution to the new Warchild album, Help, called Gone Are The Days. The real surprise of the night was an astounding cover of Neil Young's Cowgirl In The Sand--and they played the full 9-minutes, not a truncated 3-minute version--Romeo got to show off his axe chops with style--and his sister Michele once again proved she's no slouch on bass. After that, it was another surprise, a new tune called (I think) Keep It In The Pocket, which is the "B-side" to the new single--it bounced along--though the crowd seemed bemused, not knowing the song--I thought it made a fine addition to their live set. Angela Gannon's excellent singing helped propel the tune--and her melodica-playing gets stronger and clearer all the time. Her brother, Sean (the John Entwistle of the group), provides rock-solid drumming. They returned to their debut with Don't Give Up The Fight...and a sweet Hymn For Her, which again, was partly ruined by chatter, especially the xylophone duet between Michele and Angela (one advantage of seeing them at the Zodiac--far less of that). They wrapped up the main set with Love's A Game...and left the stage to the roar of the crowd.

The "Dambuster's March" led to them taking the stage for quite a long encore--starting with a killer folkie cover of Beyonce's Crazy In Love--the girls' harmonies were perfect...and it was nice to see Romeo get out the acoustic, which I had never seen him do. I'll leave aside observations about whether it was intended as irony--but the Numbers made the best of it. Romeo then grabbed his electric git-tar, and they proceeded into the opening bars of Mornings Eleven, which got the biggest cheers of the night--the whole front section of the crowd bopping up and down and clapping along with the rhythm. Wheels On Fire, one of my fave Numbers tunes, followed and Angela and Romeo's vocals were in fine form for it. I must say that the acoustics at Brookes seem far better than the Zodiac's...and tunes like "Wheels.." benefited from that. For the finale--they country-rocked out The Beard--for almost 10 minutes (!)--and turned the place into a mini-hoedown--Michele even got to do a bit of a bass solo..and Romeo took a couple of blinding lead spots--that was the best encore I've seen them do!

They definitely exceeded my expectations for this gig..and the sheer enjoyment of the music won out over my annoyance with the punters' chatting (especially the berk directly behind us). The venue was decent (it was my first Brookes gig)--aside from the aforementioned snags. The choice of support acts could've been better--but the Numbers made up for any of that--viva The Magic Numbers!..oh and cheers to Richard for the lift home after the show.

Setlist ~ The Magic Numbers - Oxford Brookes Uni - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (taken from the official M.N. message board):

The Mule
Forever Lost
Long Legs
Which Way To Happy
I See You, You See Me
Gone Are The Days
Cowgirl In The Sand
Keep It In The Pocket (?)
Don't Give Up The Fight
Hymn For Her
Love Me Like You
Love's A Game
encore:
Crazy In Love
Mornings Eleven
Wheels On Fire
The Beard

The Future Sound Of Robert Zimmerman

It's been a giddy muso-week for me. First, the Bob Dylan two-parter docu by Martin Scorsese, No Direction Home (which covers roughly from 1961-1966), premiered on BBC2 on Monday--with the second part showing on Tuesday. I haven't watched the second part yet (I had to work a late shift that night, luckily Pixie got that ancient device, the 'video-cassette recorder', working and taped it for me). The format was tried-and-true, tracing Dylan's humble beginnings in Hibbing, Minnesota, centering on his fascination with music at an early age. His (somewhat sparse) narration concerning his musical discoveries were illustrated by footage of the musicians involved--films of Hank Williams and Muddy Waters performing, for example. The best quote from the man in almost the entire first part was "I had a job in my father's shop sweeping the floor, I think it was supposed to teach me the value of hard work...or something like that..." He also got into trouble with a couple of friends who were rabid record collectors, after making off with 50 or so rare Woody Guthrie albums from their collection. They caught up with Dylan and got their records back, using the services of a local thug to scare him into handing them over.

By this time, Dylan was making a bit of a name for himself on the Minnesota folk circuit--but was finding it increasingly too small-time for his liking. When he heard that Woody Guthrie was in the hospital in New York City, he packed up his few possessions and headed there to pay his respects. While playing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village, Dylan also became a presence at a sort-of "folk museum", where he was encouraged to start writing his own songs by it's owner. He was then 'discovered' by John Hammond, who engineered a recording deal at Columbia Records, at that time not known for signing young, 'edgy' folk singers with vocal abilities very very different (to say the least) from Doris Day and Johnny Mathis. The film then chronicled the release of his first album, through his involvement with the civil rights movement, his meeting with Joan Baez (Dylan claims to have seen her on television long before they met and thinking "That girl could use a singing partner..")--and his triumphal sets at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival. Along the way, the film would "cut ahead" to scenes from the 1966 English Tour--the stunned reaction of the fans (most seemed bewildered by his rock-n-roll direction, some seemed outright hostile towards it). In one hilarious bit, Dylan is hustled into the back of a waiting limo after a show and decries the audience booing him: "Stop booing, they're always booing me..I can't stand it.." and almost morphs into a Woody Allen 'nebbish-on-amphetamines' character.

Overall, I really enjoyed the first half--I've read a couple of biog books on Dylan, but I still learned more about his background--and though the film contained far more interview segments by people who were around Dylan, than by the man himself--his own segments were illuminating. I was also surprised at how articulate he is--I've barely ever heard his speaking voice--only the in-between-song banter on live show bootlegs--and those (especially the '66 shows) sound like those imitations that people like to do of him--you know, the cliched nasal voice with certain syllables of words emphasized, like the countless 'Saturday Night Live' sketches in the late 80s. Not so in these interview segments, at all. I also thought there was far too much Pete Seeger--I mean, I understand he was an influence and all--but this is the same man who tried taking an axe to the power supply when Dylan 'went electric' at Newport '65 (that's probably covered in the second half). Still, aside from that minor quibble, "No Direction Home" tackles the enigma of Bob Dylan and those tumultuous years with great skill.

This week also saw the release (on Monday) of the new Future Sound Of London/Amorphous Androgynous record, Alice In Ultraland. I, for one, have been waiting patiently for this for three years--since their last full-length, The Isness, was out. For those who didn't dig the new direction into a less-overtly electronic/organic psychedelic direction--you'll probably want to avoid this one as well. Yep, the sitars, tabla, flutes, fuzzy guitars and funky bass riffs are still here. This time around, though, the record definitely seems a lot more cohesive--and I'm sure it was put together with a sequence in mind. "The Isness" was recorded over five or six years, from fragments of tunes that Garry 'Gaz' Cobain would send from wherever he was on his sabbatical to his partner in F.S.O.L., Brian Dougans. They then painstakingly assembled the tracks when Cobain returned to England. On "Alice..", it almost seems like Cobain and Dougans have stepped back a bit...and are 'conducting' the various guest musicians--such as Baluji Shrivastav (sitars, tabla) and Mikey Rowe (guitars, keyboards), both veterans of "The Isness" sessions. Cobain does contribute more of his hippie-dippy-style lyrics, but you only really notice them on High And Dry..and on The Witchfinder, Dave Sanderson takes over vocal duties. Dougans, for his part, throws in the odd electronic whoosh here and there, and some environmental sounds into the mix. Was "Alice In Ultraland" worth the wait? Sure, as it means that F.S.O.L. didn't get discouraged by the lack of response to "The Isness" and are forging ahead with their vision. Yeah, it's still more "The Psychedelic 60s Sound Of Pink Floyd/The Beatles" than the "Future Sound Of London", but it seems like referencing the past while having one foot in the electronic scene can create a future sound of their own (maybe not London's). They also get props for reviving EMI's Harvest label, the one that was formed to house all of the "progressive" acts from 1969 to the late 70s. A concious move, to be sure--but it does seem to tie F.S.O.L./Amorphous in neatly with some of their main influences at the moment. Naturally, "Alice.." will be ignored by most radio programmers and techno-hipsters alike, but if you're looking for some decidedly non-commercial, new progressive music --take a listen to this.

The Steve Hackett re-issues were released by Virgin/Charisma--four in all, covering Voyage Of The Acolyte (originally released in 1975), Please Don't Touch (1978), Spectral Mornings (1979) and Defector (1982). I've got "Voyage.." and "Please Don't Touch" so far..and I've listened to "Voyage...". The mix sounds pretty good--and the live bonus tracks compliment the studio tracks. I'd forgotten what a strange record it is, with sections of tunes seeming to appear "out of nowhere", then disappear just as quickly. I guess Hackett took something away from the (probably) equally weird sessions for Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway--though "Acolyte.."s structure isn't anywhere near as formal as Peter Gabriel's "Lamb.." story idea. "Please Don't Touch" was the follow-up, and Hackett's first one after leaving the Genesis fold for good. The songs are far more 'three-minute' oriented, unlike "Voyage.."s sprawling prog-rock epics--and Hackett is abetted by Richie Havens, Randy Crawford, plus two members of Kansas (Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart). I suppose songs like Racing In A sounded like Hackett's idea of a pop single in 1978--and it's catchy enough--but some of the old weirdness sticks around, like in the title track (though the warning/suggestion on the old version to play the track as loud as possible, unless you have a heart condition or are in a severly hallucinogenic state of mind, has been left off of the new re-issue) and The Voice Of Necam. The bonus tracks on "Please Don't Touch" consist mainly of demo versions from the sessions.

In The See-Dee Victrola This Week...

Just a selection of titles on rotation in the stereo machine:

Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World: It's out and it's fairly good (to my ears)..sure, it does seem to be "more of the same" from the moody Mancs, but there are some subtle changes here and there--the Can-like bass line of Mexican Standoff and the 'political' nature of the title track's lyrics. For all of the "I've-heard-it-before" stuff--you can't beat a thing of beauty like the album opener, Station Approach. This band still amazes me.

Bob Dylan - No Direction Home: Volume 7 of the "Bootleg Series" is serving as a soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese biopic of Bobby Z. It's showing on BBC2 next week, I'm definitely watching it. The 2-disc set serves up alternate versions and live cuts of some of his best known stuff from the 1961-1966 period. Many of these may already be known to hardcore Dylanophiles, but a lot of them were new to me. The live Maggie's Farm, from the Newport Festival in 1965 absolutely cooks...and a lot of the Highway 61/Blonde On Blonde-era out-takes are interesting as well. Big-ups out to Singing Bear, who graciously copied it for me and saved me £25.

Various Artists - Meridian 1970: Another S.B. gift, this one compiles long-forgotten tracks from that year (in which I was born, incidentally). Hand-picked by uber-critic-dork, Jon Savage, it highlights that strange straddling point of two decades, when "rock" would begin to splinter into many sub-genres. It's actually a decent selection, with a funky/trippy instrumental by Free (Mouthful Of Grass), Steve Miller's broadside at "the establishment", man (Military-Industrial Complex Hex) and the last stand of one of 60s rock's wild men (Skip Spence's Cripple Creek). You also get some of the usual suspects: Nick Drake, The Move, Jefferson Airplane and Rod Stewart (back when he was actually sorta cool).

Richard Thompson - 1,000 Years Of Popular Music & Front Parlour Songs: Two more sent fresh from Bear Mountain. "1,000 Years..." finds R.T. in a live setting, doing just that--performing various tunes from the past...well...thousand years. Of course, he does weigh in more from the past 40 years or so--but he gets props just for attempting stuff from hundreds of years ago. There is also an (almost) irony-free version of Oops I Did It Again (though I couldn't help having an ironic smirk on my face while listening to it). "Front Parlour Songs" is R.T.'s newest studio album--and his first all-acoustic, all solo one (you could argue for Small Town Romance--but that's live and he was mostly performing stuff he did with ex-wife Linda). It's another one where you get the "I've-heard-this-before" feeling with some of the cuts--but Let It Blow has instant-Thompson classic written all over it.

Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box: One of the glossies, I dunno, Uncut or Mojo--had it's "Top 100 Rock Icons" issue out a week or so ago. I usually try to avoid these kinds of thing now, but I couldn't help sneaking a peek at the list. They had Wayne Coyne (of the Flaming Lips) talking about "Metal Box", saying that Johnny (Rotten) Lydon had created some psychedelic grooves so completely different from his old band, as to confound the crits and fans alike. "Metal Box" has been recommended to me before--but I never got around to listening to it, so I bought it last week. It's definitely Can-inspired...the Krautrock vibe comes right out of the speakers, though it's a lot sloppier than Czukay, Karoli & Co. It's one of those weird things that seems so completely not of it's time, in this case, 1979. Jah Wobble's bass-playing is definitely the strongest element in the densely-created mixes--and yes, my disc is housed in a miniature replica of the original vinyl's metal tin.

Richard Hawley - Coles Corner: It's kinda strange listening to his solo stuff...if you've ever heard Pulp or Longpigs (he used to be in both). "Coles Corner" is very 50s-crooner mixed with some reverbed, sleepy guitars. He's got a nice, smoky voice that goes well with the haunted, late-night soundscapes. If you're expecting some rockin', though...move along...off with you, then..

Jefferson Starship/Paul Kantner - Blows Against The Empire: The first solo excursion from any of the Airplane folk was released in 1970--featuring Kantner and Grace Slick and a cast of San Fran rock luminaries. "Blows.." is a sci-fi concept album about some intrepid Earth revolutionaries hijacking a starship and flying off to found their version of utopia. Some of the sound effects are pretty impressive, and Kantner gets balls-to-the-wall with the lyrics, even more than on the Airplane's confrontational Volunteers album, released the previous year. Still, a few of the tracks go on a bit too long and Kantner could've used an editor for some of the lyrics. It remains a nice document of those involved finding their experimental muse again--and after this it was only on to 70s arena dullness and 80s chart insipidness. This disc is the re-issue with bonus tracks consisting of demo versions and a couple of studio out-takes, plus a live version of Starship from the Fillmore West in 1970.

Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production Of Eggs & Live In Paris: I haven't heard these much--but Pixie insists they're good. She says he sounds a bit Jeff Buckley-ish. One is a studio album and the other a live bootleg.

Thanks again to Singing Bear and see you soon....

What It's All About...

A few years of waiting paid off, as Pixie and I were finally able to catch Alfie live last Thursday (September 8). I think it was their first ever Oxford gig--or at least their first in a long time. They're touring the UK to support their new-ish record, Crying At Teatime. After missing the Elbow gig on Monday night--we were definitely up for this one.

We made our way to the Zodiac at 7:30--and entered the downstairs room, where they were playing. Some metal band called The Mission (who would be the butt of a few jokes during the evening) were upstairs. The downstairs space seems a bit cozier, more intimate. We met up with Owen, whom we know from the Flaming Lips board, for the first time--as he's running the merch stand on the tour. After grabbing drinks and catching up with Owen for awhile, the support band, Diefenbach (from Denmark, no less) took the stage. They do a kind of well-played, amped-up indie rock , but didn't seem too much different from a lot of stuff out there at the moment. They were applauded by the small crowd nonetheless.

Pixie and I got to meet Lee Gorton, Alfie's lead singer, right before the band went onstage--he seems like a nice bloke--and he even "road tested" a story on us, about the sound guy at the previous night's gig at the Scala Theatre in London, before telling the story after the set opener, a cooking version of their new single, Your Own Religion. They followed this with their "hit" from their 2003 record (Do You Imagine Things?), People. The crowd was definitely into it--and Gorton was always the showman, adding banter in between each tune. The rest of the band frequently swapped instruments (including a cello), so there was constant activity onstage. It was back to their first album, If You Happy You Need Do Nothing, for You Make No Bones--then a few from "Crying At Teatime", including 'Til The End, which was introduced as a "Pentangle, Donovan kind of thing". Later on, Gorton talked about "every band's dream is to be their heroes" saying that Alfie wanted to "be E.L.O."--when this brought a few chuckles from the audience, he said "it's not cool, but I don't fuckin' care." With that, they performed their super-groovy E.L.O. pastiche, Chop Chop. After that, it was the closer to "Do You Imagine..", Hey Mole--in all of it's slow-riffin' glory. A few more from "Crying At Teatime" followed, including the title track--and then, in what seemed all too soon, Gorton said "good night" and that the set was over. They exited the stage and the crowd called out for an encore. They were back for just a couple minutes--which were "the songs we dropped from the set, because they didn't really fit". These were Isobel (from "Do You Imagine..") and Bookends (also from "If You Happy...")--nicely played and a fine end to the evening. The show did seem a bit short--but it was worth it due to the excellent musicianship and crafted melodies. As I say, these guys should be a bigger attraction than Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party, but it's just as well to have them a well-kept secret. See 'em if you can!

Setlist for Alfie at The Zodiac, Oxford (downstairs) - Sept. 8, 2005

Your Own Religion
People
You Make No Bones
Look At You Now
Til The End
Kitsune
Chop Chop
Hey Mole-->All Too Heavy Now
Where Did Our Loving Go
Crying At Teatime
encore:
Isobel
Bookends

Elbowed Out

Pixie and I decided we weren't going to the Elbow gig tonight at The Zodiac, due to exhaustion. It's the last gig 'till November--D'Oh! Well, if I spot a review in Nightshift (the local free music rag)--I'll post it here. We'll catch 'em another time--sometimes ya gotta take a rest.