News, Views and Music Issue 145 (Intro)

May 26^th:

Dear friends – get this for how out of touch our beloved Prime Minister is. David Cameron used a speech last week to praise the modern UK record industry for their innovation and inspiration. He’s clearly talking out of his top hat again because even modern music fans agree that the current music scene in B retain is stagnant and repetitive. Cameron clearly offered the praise because the record industry grew infinitesimally in 2011 according to new figures – what the Camermoron forgot to check was that a) that growth was all because of Adele’s ‘21’ record (the biggest seller in Britain since last week’s review album ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and b) the UK had its worse year by some margin in 2010 and things really could only have got better. This raises a whole debate of course – is an industry successful simply because it makes money or is it something bigger? After all, the Spice Girls were prime leaders in the huge record sales in Britain in the mid 90s, even outselling Oasis, and yet not even their biggest fans would claim the Old Spices had any claim to music making talent. What we dearly need is a new sound from a new band with a new direction, one that’s able to write about a pretty grim time in our history without shirking away from it or simply offering ‘escapism’ (though there’s a place for that too). Talking of ‘Dark Side’, when put on the spot Cameron named this as his ‘favourite album’ and yet when asked to comment about his favourite tracks went ‘umm err umm’ and went on to the next question (is it just me or is the UK’s most famous and best known albums simply a safe option?) Assuming for the moment that Cameron wasn’t lying (erm, it wouldn’t be the first time) let’s hope Cameron digs out his old album and listens to the track ‘Us and Them’ next time he wants to criticise disenfranchised youth who’ve been left with nothing (‘With, without...and after all, isn’t that what the fighting’s all about?’) As I’m writing this news is breaking that culture secretary Jeremy Hunt really has been a naughty boy re donations from media moguls and yet still Cameron is sticking by him (I have no evidence whatsoever to support this but doesn’t that seem a bit, well, strange to you? Is there another bigger scandal Cameron doesn’t want getting out?!...)

In other news, I’ve just heard our Eurovision entry for this year – and we’re going to get hammered. I’m all in favour of the complaints of the British press that our last few entries have been trying too hard to go for the youth vote – but surely getting in the 75-year-old crooner Englebert Humperdinck in to sing is going too far the other way? AAA fans know him best as the man who stopped The Beatles getting a record breaking 20-odd run of unbroken #1 singles, but the real reason to hate him is his music (‘Release Me’ and ‘The Last Waltz’ are two of the worst – certainly the slowest – songs to come out of the 60s. The fact that the former song is the best selling song from the whole of 1967 is a depressing statistic that I’ve pondered on many a time). Bring back Frances Rufelle or Lulu, that’s what I say...

Alas other breaking news is that Bee Gee Robin Gibb has died at the age of 62, shortly after being released home from hospital, leaving Barry as the only surviving Gibb brother (4^th son Andy often gets forgotten but not by me – or anyone else who knows of his sterling work on Stephen Stills’ under-rated ‘Thoroughfare Gap’ album). Robin was a true pioneer who never got the credit he deserved, either for his amazing voice or his ability to write heartbreaking timeless songs that voices what so many people are thinking. He will be truly missed and there might well be a Bee Gees top five coming your way sometime soon...

In the meantime, it’s on with the news...

                                      

♫ CSN News: There’s yet another new CSN-related DVD out, this time featuring all three of the trio (we reviewed last year’s Crosby-Nash In Concert’ in last issue’s top five). There still isn’t a title for the set yet and not much news but we do know that it’s been recorded on the band’s current (ie 2012) tour and will feature at least three news songs (in addition, perhaps, to the two that appeared on the C-N DVD). The trio still don’t have a record contract so it’s frustrating to hear so many songs of such quality thrown away amongst ‘hits’ set like these – please, somebody reading this, CSN are too important and too good to have to reduce their talent this way, hire them now!!! By the way, the set also comes with a double CD of the audio soundtrack and new interviews with David, Stephen and Graham. More news if and when!

♫ Pentangle News: Following on from the recent flurry of Bert Jansch BBC sessions, BBC6 are now repeating a set by his Pentangle colleague John Renbourn. The show will be part of the ‘Live Music Hour’ slot on Thursday, May 24^th at 3am and was originally recorded at the Paris Theatre in London in 1980.

♫ Pink Floyd News: Dear readers, you may have heard me point to some sort of strange synergy before on this site that leads documentary makers to start or broadcast projects mere weeks after I’ve reviewed an album at random. Well, despite the fact that the re-issue came out nearly a year ago BBC4 are only now showing their documentary behind the making of Pink Floyd album ‘Wish You Were Here’ (one of the three box sets we reviewed last week!) The programme will be shown at 8pm on Friday, May 25^th and again at 1am that night and will be followed by a repeat of the excellent ‘Floyd Miscellany’ collection of music videos compiled to celebrate the re-release of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ last Easter.

♫ Otis Redding News: We’re sad to report the news that Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, the bassist with Booker T and the M Gs has died at the age of 70. The bassist – who played on all of Otis’ six records and backed him in concert – also played with AAA star Neil Young when the MGs backed him in concert in the 1990s. Dunn had been ill health for some time but his death in his sleep from unknown causes was unexpected (he played a gig in Tokyo just hours before his death). A cancer scare led to the cancellation of a planned collaboration with Young, although bootlegs of the concerts still exist and may well be issued in the future as part of the ‘Young Archives’ series. It’s for his work with the STAX label, though, and especially his recordings with Otis than the bassist will be forever remembered. His death is a sad loss to music lovers all over the world. More news if and when we hear it.

♫ Rolling Stones News: The event in Stones history nicknamed ‘World War 3’ by fans only ever had an uneasy truce, with Mick and Keef’s arguments over solo records versus commitment to the band still festering today if interviews and autobiographies are to be believed. Fan hopes were high that the Stones might still patch up their differences for a conciliatory tour in this, their 50^th anniversary year, but alas the omens don’t look good. Mick Jagger’s been promoting his recent flop ‘supergroup’ with Bob Marley’s son and the Eurhythmic’s Dave Stewart a lot recently and booked an appearance on the acerbic American skit show ‘Saturday Night Live’. The Stones often appeared on the show as both guests and hosts in the 1970s and 80s and hopes were high that this might be the case again when Keef revealed he wanted to appear alongside his old partner. Alas, his appearance has been axed and Mick will be going solo – a fact that might well have repercussions for some time to come. More news if and when we hear it...

♫ The Who News: Finally, another BBC6 repeat which was on last Saturday, May 19^th) in the Live Music Hour slot (and still available on I-player). It lasted for all of nine minutes but what we had was amazing: four songs from The Who at the very beginnings of their career and playing songs like ‘Good Lovin’ (which they never played on record – the Grateful Dead also did this one) and ‘Just You and Me’ (unreleased till the 1990s) plus the rather more obvious ‘Anyway Anyhow Anywhere’ and ‘Leaving Here’. Well worth a listen.

ANNIVERSARIES: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear AAA members born between May 23^rd and 29^th (Pete Sears (bassist/keyboardist with the Jefferson Starship/Starship 1973-86) who turns 64 on May 27^th; Papa John Creach (violinist with Jefferson Airplane/Starship 1970-75) would have been 95 on May 28^th and Ray Laidlaw (drummer with Lindisfarne 1970-72 and 1978-2002, plus drummer with Jack The Lad 1973-78) turns 64 on May 28^th), happy birthday to you. Happy 30^th birthday also to Rob Jones, Who Stones and Small Faces collector and all round top guy. Anniversaries of events include: The Beach Boys release their ‘response’ to Beatlemania with ‘I Get Around’ (May 23^rd 1964); Another legendary release – The Who’s double album ‘Tommy’ turns 41 on May 23^rd; The Beatles’ posthumous album Let It Be’ sets a then-record amount for pre-order sales (3.7 million – May 23^rd 1970); the Grateful Dead play their first ever date in the UK in Newcastle some five years after their debut despite their cult following in Britain (May 23^rd 1970); Jefferson Starship find that their planned free concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park – a venue they made their own 10 years before – has now been outlawed after authorities ban the use of electronic instruments at outdoor events. The ban inspires the #1 Starship hit ‘We Built This City’ some eight years later (May 23^rd 1977);  milestone ‘comeback’ single ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash restores the Rolling Stones to the top of the charts for the first time in three years (May 24^th 1968); Simon and Garfunkel become the first artist since The Beatles to replace themselves at the top of the album charts when ‘Bookends’ replaces ‘The Graduate Soundtrack’ (May 25^th 1968); The Who perform a secret gig to a handful of fans to end the rockumentary film ‘The Kids Are Alright’  - it will be the last time Keith Moon plays with the band (May 25^th 1978), John and Yoko begin their second bed-in at a hotel in Montreal (May 26^th 1970), Ronnie Lane becomes the first member to leave The Faces to form his own band ‘Slim Chance’ (May 28^th 1973) and finally, Roger McGuinn plays his first solo gig after the break-up of The Byrds (May 29^th 1973).

News, Views and Music Issue 141 (Intro)

April 22^nd:

Well, here we are again after our time away and we’re back with a ‘normal’ issue of everyone’s favourite monkeynuts newsletter for you (well, if you can call a review of an album of easy listening songs by one of our foremost rock and roll singers and a similar top 10 in any way ‘normal’). Did you miss us?! We really didn’t mean to leave such a break but I came to find not only my next medical questionnaire waiting for me (a full six weeks early because – and I quote – ‘the department want to keep on top of things’. This from the same company who have an 18 month delay in hearing appeals and complain that they make so many mistakes because they are understaffed!), but a request for my last four months of earnings (and while I’m digging out the figures for that I thought I might as well go ahead and complete my second tax return...) Hence the extra week’s absence, sorry. The good news about being away, though, is that I have a bucket-load of AAA music with me that I’ve been waiting to review properly for some time – so expect review of the latest Art Garfunkel and Nils Lofgren albums that I never got a chance to buy in the past few months and reviews of last year’s box sets dedicated to The Beach Boys’ ‘Smile’, The Who’s ‘Quadrophenia’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘The Wall’ (perhaps as a three-way review,I’m not sure yet).

Meanwhile, the world seems to have gone mad. Someone is suing the Government – but not the Coalition who deserve it but the past Labour Government (this will start a trend...), there was a protest at the annual British Boat Race about ‘elitism’ by a protestor who was neither unemployed or particularly poor (what a waste that protest could have been...), the new Titanic nearly came to blows on the 100^th anniversary of her doomed voyage (what a shame I missed Radio 2’s unprecedented eight hours of coverage based on news reports of events happening 100 years past – and they’d better do the same for the 100^th anniversary of Monterey and Woodstock!), the Minister for Water got into trouble for breaking his own announcement of a hosepipe ban and through it all David Cameron sickly grinned and explained how we really are in it together, all of us except for politicians and millionaires who did rather well out of the budget this year (can it be right that the Lord of a house pays less tax than his cleaner?! Hmm...) Worst of all, Britain’s 2012 Eurovision entry has been announced and, lordy, it’s a strange choice; I take back everything rude I ever said about Jedward representing Ireland because we’ve got...Englebert Humperdinck. Yes that’s right, the same man who stopped The Beatles getting a near-clean run of #1 singles. And believe me, age hasn’t suited him, he looked (and sounded) middle aged in the 60s but now...(something tells me we aren’t going for the youth vote this year). And why on earth aren’t we allowed to pick the songs anymore?...

One other thing I’ve purchased this month is the DVD of ‘The Three Cabelleros’, the Disney film that always gets forgotten nowadays, possibly because its release during WW2 meant less people than normal got to see it. Despite the time-period it’s clearly psychedelic in both colour and sound (and weirdness come to that!). I’m willing to bet that more than a few of the AAA crowd saw it in childhood and thought ‘I’ll have a bit of that...’ (you could make a similar claim for parts of ‘Fantasia’, in fact I feel an AAA cartoon-driven top five coming on...) Anyway, if surrealism-filled brightly-coloured anarchy is your thing, I urge you to see it (if it isn’t then go see ‘Bambi’ or ‘Dumbo’, two other classics unfairly dropping off the Disney radar these days, or if imaginary green dragons keen on huming is more your thing then see ‘Pete’s Dragon’, the main theme ‘Candle On The Water’ is by far the best song to appear in a Disney film and the fact that at long last we have a decent vocalist for it (Helen Reddy) is the icing on the cake). By the way, have you ever been to Baia? No me neither, let’s go... (you might need to be a Disney fan to get that reference!)

Right that’s enough moaning (till the next issue!)  It’s on with the news...

                                                

♫ Beatles News: We mentioned last issue that ‘Ram’ was set to be the fourth release in the ‘Macca Deluxe’ series and with a due release date of the end of May. We can now tell you that there’s a release date of May 22^nd and that the contents look more exciting than they did for two of the past releases ‘McCartney’ and ‘Band On the Run’. Like all the other releases ‘Ram’ will be available in a variety of releases including a remastered single disc, 2 disc set with bonus tracks and the full whammy with hard-back book and DVD. Unusually, though, this album will be made available in mono and stereo – quite why a mono mix was made as late as 1971 though is  not explained (the last previous Beatles-related album to come out in mono was ‘The White Album’ back in 1968)  Bonus tracks include the single ‘Another Day’ and B-side ‘Oh Woman Oh Why’, plus period B-side ‘Little Woman Love’, two popular refugees from the ‘Cold Cuts’ rarities album, the superb ‘A Love For You’ (still not officially released) and ‘Hey Diddle’ (not released till 1990 as the B-side of ‘Put It There’), two outtakes from the ‘Rupert Bear’ film started after ‘Ram’ and back when it was still intended as a long-running film not a short cartoon (‘The Great Cock and Seagull Race’ and ‘Sunshine Sometime’, although sadly the best Rupert outtake track ‘Sea-Storm-Cornish Wafer’ is not included!) and the noisy jam ‘Rode All Night’. There’s also a re-release for the rare ‘Thrillington’ album made up of crooner easy listening instrumental arrangements of the ‘Ram’ album, released by McCartney under a pseudonym in 1978! (See, what we tell you below about Macca always threatening to make albums like this really is true!) The DVD looks better than the others in this set too, containing a documentary on the making of the album (frankly, something the other three sets badly needed for the money involved), promos for ‘3 Legs’ (rare) and ‘Heart Of The Country’ (common as cow muck), Macca working on ‘Hey Diddle’ and a rare clip op of the first line-up of Wings on tour playing ‘Eat At Home’. Best of all might well be the menus, featuring clips from the top-10-Beatles-rarities promotional disc for Ram ‘Brung To Ewe’ (Macca makes up[ his own songs and jingles and everything!) And the music itself is of course superb for the most part (I still don’t get the fuss over ‘Uncle Albert’, one of Macca’s most ordinary songs) – ‘Ram’ is one of only four Macca albums to make our ‘classic’ albums list (see review no 47) and features some of the most unfairly overlooked songs in the solo Beatles’ canon. We await the chance to get re-acquainted with this album with baited breath.

In other words, Paul was at Liverpool’s Cavern Club some 49 years after he last played there as part of the Beatles (alright clever clogs he was back there in 1999 as well), this time to be there for son James who was making one of his rare appearances on these shores to promote his debut album. James has a particularly nice cover of Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ in his set, as can be seen on Youtube!

♫ Hollies News: More news on the ‘Radio Fun’ 2 CD set of BBC sessions we mentioned last issue. The full tracklisting has been revealed, alongside a rather lovely six minute preview on Youtube (visithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czwfF-8mKxQ to hear extracts from seven of the songs). They are: Here I Go Again, Jennifer Eccles, Bus Stop, I’ve Got A Way Of My Own, Wings, Step Inside, Wishyouawish, Shake (never released on album!), Put Yourself In My Place, Ride Your Pony (never released on album!), I Take What I Want, Little Bitty Pretty One, Away Away Away, Charlie and Fred, I can’t Let Go, Hard Hard Year, If I Needed Someone, That’s How Strong My Love Is, To You MY Love, So Lonely, Nobody, Set Me Free, She Said Yeah!, You Must Believe Me, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Too Many People, Look Through Any Window, Too Young To Be Married, I’m Alive, The Games We Play, He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother. Av salivating list of tracks I’m sure you’ll agree, especially the ones from AAA classic ‘Butterfly’ heard on ‘normal’ instruments and the version of ‘Wings’ as heard on the Youtube preview even includes a ‘missing’ verse cut from the final version! (Not that many people know even that version...) Hopefully all the chat and interviews between songs will be intact too (at least, that’s what we heard when this project was announced a few months ago). Two points though: where are possibly the two best Hollies BBC songs I’ve heard, ‘Nitty Gritty’ (from The Beatles’ Ticket To Ride’ special 1965) and ‘Pegasus’?   Incidentally, did you know that the Hollies once covered ‘Let It Be’ in concert? No I didn’t either before it ended up on Youtube! The album is due for release on May 7^th, expect a review sometime then!

♫ Pentangle News: We just missed including it in our last issue but last Monday (April 16^th) saw the broadcast of a rare BBC set from the short-lived group The Bert Jansch Conundrum in 1980. Running to about 25 minutes, it was the main feature of that day’s ‘Live Music Hour’ slot on BBC6 and featured a rare chance to hear Bert’s guitar backing and harmonies wrapped around not his own or Jacqui McShee’s voice but that of his bandmates.

ANNIVERSARIES: Happy birthday to the AAA clan who share a birthday in the weeks since our last issue. First up, April 4^th-10^th: Spencer Dryden (drummer with the Jefferson Airplane 1966-70) who would have been 73 on April 7^th and Gene Parsons (multi-instrumentalist with The Byrds 1968-72) who turns 67 on April 9^th. Anniversaries of events include: The Beatles occupy all five places on the top five American singles chart, a feat never equalled before or since (April 4^th 1964: Can’t Buy Me Love/ Twist and Shout/ She Loves You/ I Want To Hold Your Hand/ Please Please Me – a further seven Beatles singles are also registered in the top 100 for that week!); The official first day in the office at the Beatles’ ‘Apple’ headquarters in London (April 6^th 1968), the date in 1962 when two r and b loving teenagers called Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first meet Brian Jones in his guise as bluesman ‘Elmo Lewis’ and agree to form a band (April 8^th), the premier of Neil Young’s ‘shakey’ film ‘Journey Through The Past’ (April 8^th 1973), the death of ‘fifth Beatle’ Stuart Sutcliffe after suffering a brain haemorrhage aged 21 – an event that had huge ramifications for the bands’ music (April 10^th 1962) and finally, eight years later McCartney announces that the Beatles are to break up (well that’s what’s gone down in history anyway, he actually says that he can’t see a time in the near future when the four will play together again as part of a questionnaire released with copies of his first album ‘McCartney’ out on April 10^th 1970).

Next AAA birthdays and anniversaries between April 11^th and 17^th: Jack Casady (bassist with Jefferson Airplane 1965-72) who turns 67 on April 13^th and Billy Kreutzmann (drummer with the Grateful Dead 1965-93) who turns 66 on April 17^th. Anniversaries of events include: April 12^th saw the premier of the film ‘That’ll Be The Day’ starring Ringo as a teddy boy and various members of the Who backing Billy Fury (1973); The Beatles record Help! on April 13^th 1965, Pete Townshend performs his first ever solo concert at London’s Roundhouse on April 14^th 1974, the Rolling Stones release two very different LPs on April 15^th ten years apart in 1966 and 1976 – ‘Aftermath’ and ‘Black and Blue’ respectively, British viewers get to see the very weird TV special ‘James Paul McCartney’ on April 16^th 1973– screened as part of a deal with publisher Lew Grade to drop a publishing dispute arguing that Paul’s wife Linda couldn’t possibly have had a hand in writing some of the ex-Beatles’ biggest songs and finally, Janis Joplin’s posthumous album ‘Pearl’ becomes a runaway success in the charts after its release on April 17^th 1971.

Finally, AAA birthdays between April 18^th and 24^th: Erm, there aren’t any. Sorry about that. Moving on, anniversaries include: The Cavern Club is sold on April 18^th 1966 after gradually falling revenue; The first meeting between the Beatles and the Stones during the latter’s gig on home soil at London’s Crawdaddy Club. Despite what you may have read in biogs and press releases of the time the band gets on very well indeed and become firm friends over the next decade (April 21^st 1963); Janis Joplin wows the crowds at London’s Royal Albert Hall during her first – and as it turned out only – European tour (April 21^st 1969); as part of the conditions of not giving Keith Richards a life sentence for drugs possession, the Stones perform the first of two shows for the blind in Toronto – rumour has it a blind fan Keith had looked after on each of the Stones’ Canadian tours wrote to the judge telling him how kind the guitarist had been to her hence the rather odd court condition (April 22^nd 1979) and finally, John Winston Lennon changing his middle name to Ono ‘because she changed her surname and my name now has more O’s in it which is considered lucky’ or something like that; April 22^nd 1969).