Hmm. The NME’s review really enjoys pissing on Mr. Bellamy’s parade. The best bits on The Resistance usually occur when the band push their sound to polarising extremes. Hence why “I Belong To You (+ Mon Cœur S’Ouvre À Ta Voix)” is an absolute riot, in spite of its threat to break into Elton John doing cabaret at any given moment. Yes, Bellamy’s French accent resembles a daytripping tourist on acid. Yes, there is a celebratory “Woo!” at the beginning that belongs firmly on Broadway. But, as with so many of Muse’s best songs, it is the wavering on the right side of ridiculous that is the song’s making. Understandably therefore, the clarinet solo near the end is a work of genius – beautifully written; played with just the right tone and character; interlocking marvellously with the rest of the music.

So why, after all this star-struck amazement and wonder, does the band then have to ruin their credibility with utter rubbish like “Guiding Light” – a song so mediocre and in thrall to U2 at their very worst that it should be locked up in a secret cupboard in the headquarters of Magic FM.

Muse – I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S’Ouvre A Ta Voix)

fun. are exactly that. With members spanning The Format, Steel Train and Anathallo you would expect greatness but on the first listen of the album I was left disappointed. To me it sounded as though they had lots of ideas but little understanding of how to harness them. This left the album sounding messy, chaotic and not unlike the artwork of this single, an explosion of colours and shapes that don’t always sit together harmoniously. On second listen I had a completely different response, but even on that original playback, ‘I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)’ was the stand out track. Undoubtably this is largely down to the opening line of ‘Have you ever wondered about our old nu-metal friends and what became of them?’, but I think that the stripped down intro helped to ease me into the inevitable circus that the song was destined to become.

I put my initial disapproval of fun. down to their mass of influences. Piebald spring to mind initially, while they also seem to possess the theatrical elements of Say Anything and ‘The Black Parade’ era My Chemical Romance. This leads onto Queen and those power-rock bands of the late 70s and early 80s, and The Beach Boys also deserve a mention. And then each song seems to have their own influences, some sound like they belong on the soundtrack to a cheesy 80s romantic comedy or sitcom, some sound like they should be playing in surf shacks. ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)’ sounds like a nursery rhyme as played by Elton John, and if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea then you were obviously kept in a cupboard all day as a child.

For a song that seems to be all about looking back to how much fun they used to have, they sure seem to be having fun playing it. The constantly changing tempos and melodies, along with the occasional first person and colloquial lyrics, make this song seem as though it has many different voices and stories. The outcome of this is that it manages to sound exactly like one of those conversations when a group of old friends sit around chatting about the past because they’re no longer friends in the present, and it should be sad but everyone seems to be smiling.

At first I wasn’t a fan of fun. but I feel that this is largely because it doesn’t really work as background music. This song is demanding and headache inducing if you’re only partly invested in it. If you do give it the time then it is visual and seems to resemble an extremely short story or photograph of a time that you wish that you were part of, a soundtrack to a film that you can’t wait to see. I highly recommend.

The other day I walked past a store and noticed several flat screen TVs blasting the same concert footage from every window.  I’m not sure who the singer was.  From various angles it could have been Beyonce, Mariah Carey or Britney Spears or someone else entirely.  The honey skinned, blonde-ish sultry chanteuse in question was clad in a shimmery itty bitty bikini and shaking various parts of her anatomy much to the delight of the crowd.

I stopped for a moment, mesmerized.

Based on the size of the audience at the concert I’m guessing she was an A-List singer and a huge draw to potential shoppers.

Based on the fact that I could not hear her voice, but could see various, jiggling and exposed parts, I was incredibly sad.  Why should a talented young woman have to rely on dressing up as a stripper to gain attention for her vocal talents?

I’m not much of a TV watcher, but a few recent musical interludes further fueled my rant on musical exposure of  young women.

Ray Davies appeared on David Letterman last week clad in scruffy pants with a shirt that may or may not have matched.  His performance was sublime with nary a choreographed hip shimmy in sight.  Shakira, on the other hand, who appeared on the show earlier in the week, seemed too busy awkwardly contorting her body to concentrate even on lip syncing.

Lady GaGa appeared on the American Music Awards the other night clad in a pair of flesh colored shorts while draped in some sort of neon snake like body belt.  Think Elton John in his early days, only without pants or a shirt and you’re close.  Her fierce talent was eclipsed by her regularly exposed posterior.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a great live musical performance.  What I don’t love is the notion that it’s become the norm for young female singers to perform dressed as burlesque dancers or strippers to gain some sort of mass approval of their music.  There is enough pressure on women and too much emphasis based on the ideal of female beauty over the realities and struggles that most women face.

Two more pop culture references and I promise that I’m done.

1. Tween sensation Justin Bieber’s appearance at a mall recently set off a riot by over 3,000 screaming young girls.

2. According to The Wall Street Journal “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” beat out both “The Dark Knight” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” by taking in $72.7  million on its first day – the largest opening-day box office gross on record,

My point? Young girls have incredible buying power and clout and what they’re spending on and eager to see over all else is a squeaky clean barely pubescent boy and a film extolling the virtues of abstinence.  It’s only when women get older that they become less desirable and respected a demographic to music marketers and/or the film industry.  Somewhere in the middle of all of that, the more musically inclined amongst them are expected to primp and pout and shimmy while singing for their supper.

Rachel, who can’t imagine anyone asking Aretha Franklin to don a bikini for a photo shoot

Like what you’ve read? Need a style expert, pop culture column, fun speaker or snappy sound bite? write to me at rachelblogs@gmail.com

It’s getting towards that time of year when the tuneless unlistenable sentimental charity singles that you aren’t allowed to criticise start to mass-singalonging their way out of the woodwork, so what better time to celebrate the most tuneless, unlistenable, sentimental and not-allowed-to-criticise-tastic (seriously – a previous long-forgotten blog post on this very subject drew some extremely stern rejoinders) of them all… Chicken Shed Theatre’s I Am In Love With The World.

Cast your mind back, if you will, to 1997, a year that brought us Blue Jam, Supergrass’ best album by far, and Phil Cool celebrating the eleventh anniversary of drinking some Citrus Spring. This was also the year, of course, of Princess Diana’s fateful flight from the paparazzi, yet weirdly, despite the unwelcome repercussions of the ridiculous outpourings of grief still being felt to this day, the effect of this defining historical moment on popular music was negligible to say the least. The weeks that immediately followed saw The Verve being stopped from being famous, Denim’s offensively upbeat Summer Smash being given a release date of ‘never’, Radio 1 briefly turning into wall-to-wall ’meaningful’ Oasis album tracks, and Elton John releasing poignant tribute Croco-Di Rock, though even that only topped the chart for about three minutes and then… what else?

Well, the answer would be ‘nothing’, if it wasn’t for a certain charitable organisation. Founded in the seventies, Chicken Shed Theatre is a long-running project with the laudable ambition of giving ‘mixed ability’ youngsters the opportunity to participate in the creative arts. This is all truly wonderful stuff, but even that cannot really excuse the woefulness of I Am In Love With The World, issued as a single in tribute to their former patron. This woefulness has nothing to do with the performance; oh no, you can only admire the gutsiness of the contributing youngsters, particularly that lead-singing girl who despite an endearing lack of technical ability has the guts to roar like an eighties ‘rawk’ power-balladeer without the slightest shred of self-awareness. It’s just the song itself, an utterly empty anthem-by-numbers with ridiculous phatic cliched lyrics. Worse still, or worse still for anyone who wasn’t particularly fond of hearing it, it was promoted as ‘Diana’s favourite song’ on account of the fact that she had heard it once, which in all fairness means that Georgie Fame could have re-released Wake Up Morph under a similar pretence. Still, as a cultural snapshot of that curious weekend in that curious late August, it’s right up there with the blase Fred Harris-remembering launch of TV Cream, and that local radio DJ who accidentally played Fall On Me by REM instead of Everybody Hurts when he was trying to be ‘reverential’. Though anyway, the version by The Curious Orange on This Morning With Richard Not Judy was better.

So, there, I’ve said it. Go on, kick off in the comments box. It’ll make a change from all the people shouting about Stewart Lee or Russell T Davies betraying the glorious legacy of Mission To Duh. And if you’d rather sing along at home, here’s those lyrics in full:

I am in love with the world, and its failure to commission a third series of The Tripods
I am in love with the world, and its blatant underuse of Maury Parkman and Adam Monroe on Heroes
I fell in love with the world, when it refused to release series 3 of KYTV on DVD
Let your heart fall in love with Tony Hart
And Morph
And The White One Too

I stopped working on this about a year ago. It’s based on a combination of the suits from Alien, and Armageddon. Click through to see how detailed I got.

We have assembled live performances from Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Bob Dylan into a “Rock and Roll Legends” collection.  Now available for purchase and download on iTunes Stores, these performances were captured live between 1965 to 1987, are among the most treasured moments in rock history.   Title by title information follows…

GEORGE HARRISON
→While My Guitar Gently Weeps 
George Harrison teamed up with Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr in this celebrated performance at the 1986 Prince’s Trust Rock Gala.   One of the few live performances that featured Harrison, Clapton, and Starr, and a best-selling video worldwide.  Running Time:    5:48   File Size:   74.8 MG
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PAUL McCARTNEY
→I Saw Her Standing There 
Paul McCartney is joined by Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and other music legends at the 1986 Prince’s Trust Rock Gala.   The performance was recorded on June 20, 1986 at Wembley Arena (London).  Running Time is 4:00 minutes.  File size is 51.8 MG.
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→Get Back 
McCartney teams up with Tina Turner to rock the crowd with this Beatles hit at the Prince’s Trust Rock Gala in 1986.   “I had never considered going back on tour until I got the royals rocking at The Prince’s Trust concert,” said McCartney.  “I joined Tina Turner on stage …and the packed crowd went crazy. I had missed playing live shows but I didn’t realize how much until I did The Prince’s Trust gig. That concert left me feeing so good….”  Read more about ithere.   Running Time is 3:57 minutes.   File Size  is 50.8MG
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→Long Tall Sally 
Paul McCartney leads Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Elton John and other legendary rock all-stars in this timeless Little Richard tune.  The fans at Wembley Arena go wild in this send-off to the 1986 Prince’s Trust Rock Gala.   Performance recorded on June 20, 1986.  Running Time is 2.55 minutes.  File size is 30 MG.
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ERIC CLAPTON
→ Tearing Us Apart 
Clapton previews his new blues anthem, Tearing Us Apart, with Tina Turner (who performed the duet on his August album, which would be released after this performance at The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala).   There is a real joy to the performance, and the sparks are flying between Clapton and Turner.   Read more about it here.   Running Time is 6:00 minutes.   File Size is 74.2 MG.
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→Note: Eric Clapton also appears in a back up role on the following videos:  While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I Saw Her Standing There, Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting), and Long Tall Sally

ELTON JOHN
→Your Song 
Elton John performs an intimate, solo version of his timeless love song on a grand piano overlooking the crowd at Wembley Arena in London. Elton has remarked that “I don’t think I’ve written a love song as good since, ” and this performance is often cited as the best live version of his signature tune.   Read more about it here.   Running Time is 4:37 minutes.  File Size is 59.9 MG.
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→Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) 
One of the stand-out highlights from the Grammy Award winning 1987 Prince’s Trust Concert, this classic features Elton John with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, and other legends of rock history.   Packed with live energy as the rock stars happily feed off each other.   Read more about it here.   Running Time is 5:17 minutes.   File Size is 68.9 MG.
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BOB DYLAN
→Maggie’s Farm 
When Bob Dylan brought an electric guitar to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he changed the course of music for good.  Dylan’s performance of Maggie’s Farm is “the most written about event in rock history,” and this video has a pulsating drive and urgency that is unlike any other live performance, before or since.  Read about it here.   Running Time:  5:19.  File Size:  68.6 MG.
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ANA Blog Report:

Click here to go to ANAB to check Elton John “Sixty Years On”

 
THE ROLLING STONES
Formado en 1962, este grupo de rock británico lo integran Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman y Charlie Watts, aunque desde su inicio el grupo ha sufrido varios cambios de integrantes. Rivales de los Beatles, con quienes compartían época y lista de ventas, los Rolling Stones siempre optaron por la faceta más rockera que han seguido explotando desde aquella época. En la actualidad, a pesar de la edad de los integrantes y de las incidencias, el legendario grupo sigue unido y en activo para mantener vivo el famoso símbolo de la lengua que les caracteriza.

ELTON JOHN
Marcó la historia de la música durante la década de los setenta y los ochenta, y hoy día, Elton John goza de la popularidad de pertenecer a la élite musical e incluso aristocrática de Inglaterra (la Reina Isabel II lo nombró caballero en 1998). En 1947 nacía en Pinner uno de los compositores e intérpretes más queridos y al mismo tiempo odiado por el público pero enormemente galardonado en su trayectoria musical, con diversos Grammys . En el año 1997, Elton John presentó en homenaje a la princesa Diana el tema “Candle in the Wind”, que ha resultado ser la canción más vendida en la historia de la música.

SPICE GIRLS
Si los Beatles y los Roling Stones tuvieron sus décadas, a este grupo de música pop formado por: Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Mel C, Mel B y Emma Bunton, le llegaría el éxito mundial en la década de los noventa de una manera arrolladora. En 1996 lanzaron su primer trabajo que puso a bailar a medio mundo, pero el éxito declinaba y en 1998 la integrante Geri abandonaba el grupo. Años más tarde cada integrante intentaría con más o menos éxito su trayectoria como solista. En 2007 se reunieron todas las integrantes para dar el último adiós como grupo con una gira y un disco recopilatorio.

COLDPLAY
Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland y Will Champion se conocieron en la Universidad, donde crearon el grupo de música pop que en el año 2000 debutaría en las listas de todo el mundo, pero sobre todo de Europa, donde alcanzaron gran éxito, difícil para una banda independiente. Poco a poco para Coldplay se van sucediendo las buenas críticas con los éxitos en las listas de ventas, el reconocimiento mundial y los premios.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS
El “chico malo” del pop británico nació el día 13 de febrero de 1974, y desde sus inicios en la música con el grupo Take That, fue forjando una carrera musical que le llevaría a abandonar el grupo por diferencias con los otros miembros. Rápidamente comenzó su carrera en solitario en la que ha cosechado grandes éxitos sobre todo en Europa. Atravesando diferentes rachas entre problemas con drogas y alcohol, y grandes momentos de éxito, Robbie Williams ha sabido forjarse una imagen de cantante rebelde y donjuán que le caracteriza. actualmente es uno de los cantantes más representativos del Reino Unido.

AMY WINEHOUSE
Su portentosa voz la ha aupado al éxito, pero sus graves adicciones con las drogas y el alcohol la llevan a la autodestrucción. Desde pequeña, esta rebelde chica nacida en un suburbio de Londres en 1983 sabía que quería cantar; en 2003 su primer disco “Frank” estaba en la calle con grandes críticas de los especialistas. Desde su primer disco hasta la actualidad, Amy Winehouse se enfrenta a una dura batalla contra sus graves adicciones, pero a pesar de todo, su voz sigue teniendo gran reconocimiento y sigue aupando sus canciones en las listas de ventas de muchos países.

Justo cuando me decidía a escribir este post me ha venido a la cabeza que Elton John, en sus años de esplendor, cantaba aquello de “saturday night’s alright for fighting”. Y la noche hoy en Barna debe haber sido guerrera.  Dejando aparte el fútbol (el Barça ha empatado y recibirá al Madrid como líder ), este sábado 21 debería ser recordado por la oferta de directos coincidentes.

Actuaban hoy Imelda May en Luz de Gas, Quireboys en Apolo 2, Rickie Lee Jones en Bikini y Depeche Mode (creo que con Soulsavers de teloneros) en el Palau Sant Jordi. Si no hubiese habido multitud de conciertos estos últimos meses (he acudido al menos a uno por semana desde finales de septiembre, casi todos en jueves) tal vez me hubiese dado por Depeche, que sin entusiasmar al menos tienen una docena de canciones de la última época bastante buenas.

Pero ante la abundante oferta, ya no del mes, sino del dia, Depeche Mode quedaban forzosamente descartados a las primeras de cambio. La elección entre las otras tres opciones, en cambio parecía a priori más complicada. Rickie Lee Jones no se deja ver demasiado por aquí, de hecho, ni se prodiga mucho discográficamente. Tuve la ocasión de verla hace una década también en la misma sala Bikini y me gustó muchísimo, pero reconozco que no la he seguido demasiado… y deberia remediarlo. Posiblemente sería mi segundo descarte, pero éste ya a mi pesar.

Los Quireboys son, sin dudarlo ni un instante, mis favoritos de toda esta colección de artistas. Desde su debut, ese A Bit of What You Fancy (1990) que es uno de los grandes discos de la historia del rock y que sigue siendo la base de sus conciertos, son uno de esos grupos que jamás falla, y a pesar de que les he visto incontables ocasiones sobre un escenario -siempre ganádose mi respeto y admiración-, volvería a verlos año tras años… salvo que hubiese algo que aún fuese más especial. Este video corresponde a su actuación del pasado año en KGB, sala que aborrezco sobremanera, dicho sea de paso, pero que no consigue estropear un gran show de rock’n'roll.

Por cierto, que según relata el propio Paul Guerin , guitarra del grupo, alguien le robó la otra noche en Gijón: “Tonight’s gig in Gijon is in the very swanky Sala Acapulco… mucho red velvet and mucho red wine, a fine combination. Showtime is 9pm which is very early for a gig in Spain but I’m sure they have their reasons, we only get to play 75 min’s tonight due to some ancient bylaw or something daft like that but never the less another killer show. I’ve just had a “Rebell Yell” Humbucker pick up made for me by Bare Knuckles pick up’s and fitted to my main Les Paul and I’m over the moon with the sound I’m getting from my rig. Griff’s Zematus and my Les Paul sound killer together (yawn..yea I know, I’m sorry, but that was just for the guitar players out there). The Spanish audiences are very passionate which is always fun to play to but I must point out that I have noticed a new rock phenomena creeping into the art of audience participation. Mass air drumming, don’t get me wrong I’m all for it as long as it doesn’t take over and make rock guitar hero worship a thing of the past but I reckon I can sleep easy at night knowing that mass air keyboarding will never raise its ugly head in my lifetime. The low point of the evening was when someone stole my Marshall Guvnor’ pedal and my brass slide during the signing session, Ronnie Wood gave me that slide nearly twenty years ago and some thieving hound thought it was ok to pocket it. If any of our Spanish fans knows who has it I would really like it back. No questions asked”.

Finalmente, me quedaba la joven revelación irlandesa, Imelda May, a quien ya me perdí hace unos meses en su paso por el Primavera Club (era ahí, ¿verdad?) y con su Love Tattoo parece dispuesta a marchar con paso firme a la cabeza del rock’n'roll de corte más clásico. Y posiblemente, por tratarse de artista al inicio de su carrera casi, y en excelente de forma, y naturalmente porque de mis centros de interés este sábado 21 era a la única que no había visto en vivo, mi elección estaba clara.

Así se lo comenté a amigos y familiares… hasta que se lo comenté a mi mujer y me recordó que ella quería ir a Depeche Mode y alguien tenía que quedarse con los niños. Y claro, con el ritmo de directos que he llevado estas últimas semanas, ¿cómo le iba a decir que no?. Así que aquí estoy, posteando un dia de conciertos buenísimos en barna, y a punto de irme a dormir, que se hace tarde. Ya me contarás, si has estado en alguno de los que yo me he perdido.

“Till we find our place
On the path unwinding“

Lepiksen ideoimassa bloggaajien Sunnuntaiklassikko-sarjassa on tänään teemana reipas pikkujoulumusa, kiitos SusuPetalin, joka on kertonut kaipailleensa svengibiisejä. Asetun (taas, voi ei!) kapinallisen rooliin ja vaadin ehdottomasti myös hitaita kappaleita pikkujouluissa soitettavaksi. Perusteluna on tällä kertaa ikä: eihän sitä näin vanha enää jaksa koko iltaa viettää tanssilattialla pomppimalla kuin kenguru.

Valitsemani biisin voi vallan mainiosti soittaa vaikkapa illan viimeisenä antamaan lohtua kaikille väsyneille ja elämässään eksyneille. Koskettimet ovat hallussa ja sointi kohdallaan tässä juutuubista poimimassani videossa, jossa Elton John tulkitsee Turkin Ephesusissa taltioidussa konsertissa alun perin Leijonakuningas-elokuvaan säveltämänsä laulun Circle of Life.

Tämä päivä kuluu toisaalla, enkä valitettavasti ennätä kommentoida muiden sunnuntaiklassikkoja vasta kuin myöhään illalla tai maanantaina. Siihen asti menoa siivittää Sir Johnin “Aina uuteen käy tie elämän…“

Disney schmückt ja gerne seine Zeichentrickfilme mit dem wohlklingenden Wort “Meisterwerk”, dabei wissen wir doch wohl genau, dass eigentlich nur ein Disneyfilm sich wirklich als solches bezeichnen darf. Der König der Zeichentrickfilme: “Der König der Löwen”.

König Mufasa ist der Herrscher über ein weites afrikanisches Land, selbstverständlich ist er ein Löwe. Sein vollkommenes Glück komplettiert die Geburt seines Sohnes Simba. Jahre später ist aus Simba ein abenteuerlustiger kleiner Prinz geworden, der trotz Verbot seines Vaters sich und seine beste Freundin Nala in Gefahr bringt, aber Papa Löwe kann die beiden retten. Doch bei einer hinterhältigen Intrige von Mufasas Bruder Scar, kommt der König ums Leben und Simba flieht auf Anraten seines Onkels, der kurzerhand das Zepter übernimmt und zusammen mit einer Horde Hyänen seine Tyrannei einläutet. Simba wächst währenddessen in der “Wildnis” (zumindest aus seinen Augen betrachtet) mit dem Warzenschwein Pumbaa und dem Erdmännchen Timon auf. Doch als seine Jugendfreundin Nala den wahren Thronfolger aufspürt muss er sich entscheiden, seiner Vergangenheit entgegenzutreten oder weiterhin ein sorgenfreies Leben nach “Hakuna Matata” zu verbringen.

Was soll man großartig zu dem Film sagen. Es ist der erfolgreichste Zeichentrickfilm aller Zeiten und das große Aushängeschild der Disney-Filmschmiede der 90er. Selbstverständlicher ist diese Fabel auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent ein Familien- und Kinderfilm. Aber auf gewisse Art und Weise verstecken sich hinter den bunten Bildern und der märchenhaften Geschichte teils sehr erwachsene Details – allen voran der Konflikt von Simba, wer er eigentlich sein will und sein muss.

Philosophisch betrachtet bietet “Der König der Löwen” einiges an Zündstoff – von der Ideal-Herrschaft von Mufasa, über das sorgenfreie Leben Timons, Pumbaas und Simbas bis hin zu der Selbsterkenntnisfrage, die sich Simba stellen muss. Oberflächlich sieht anders aus. Erfreulich tiefgründig (für einen Film, der sich an äußerst junge Menschen richtet) präsentiert sich Disneys Meisterwerk. Dadurch dass Simba als von der Zukunft schwärmender und naiver Jüngling dargestellt wird und dass ihn Probleme im Erwachsenenleben plagen, birgt die Hauptfigur für die ganze Familie reichlich Identifikationspotential – und von wie vielen Familienfilmen kann man sowas schon behaupten.

Gleichzeitig ist Simba wohl die einzige Figur, die nicht nur eine weiße Weste oder eine schwarze Seele trägt. Auf diese Weise wird der Löwenprinz und Thronfolger deutlich von den anderen Figuren abgehoben und das Auge des Zuschauers konzentriert sich noch mehr auf die Hauptfigur als ohnehin schon.

Wie bunt die afrikanische Steppe dargestellt wird, mag jungen Zuschauern durchaus gefallen, macht aber auch filmtechnisch einen bezaubernden Eindruck. Wenn man sich auf den Film einlässt, können die Farben und Szenen durchaus symbolisch übertragen werden und zeichnen wieder für einen tiefgründigeren Hintergrund des Films verantwortlich. Als Simba von seiner Zukunft als allmächtiger König über sein Reich träumt, verschwimmt die welt um ihn in einen Farbrausch, wodurch seine kindische und naive Vorstellungen an das Königdasein unterstützt werden. Scars perfider Clou, den König zu stürzen und sich selbst das Zepter in die Hand zu drücken, wird von Feuer und dem Deformieren des Bodens unter ihm auch filmisch gespiegelt. Das Hyänenmeer, das ihm in dieser Szene gespannt zuhört und bedingslos zustimmt, lässt auf Untertänigkeit und Blindheit unter Tyrannen schließen.

Alleine aus diesen Gründen sollten sich Eltern die Zeit nehmen und mit ihrem jungen Nachwuchs solche Familienfilme aus Disneys Filmschmiede angucken. Die Kinder freuen sich über die süßen, kleinen Tiere und den mutigen Helden, während die Eltern sich sogar Gedanken über die laufenden Bilder machen dürfen. Nicht vergessen werden ,darf die Musik von Elton John und Hans Zimmer, die beide je einen Oscar erhielten. Wahrscheinlich lief der Film ja eh schon in fast jedem Wohnzimmer, falls nicht, sollte das nachgeholt werden. Schon weil dabei Erinnerungen an die jüngste Kindheit (mein erster Kinobesuch) wiederauflodern können.

Two Paul McCartney performances from the 1986 Prince’s Trust Rock Galas have been released for the first time on iTunes Stores, and are now available for purchase and download.  These include live versions of “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Long Tall Sally.

Paul McCartney is backed by an “all-star” band featuring Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil  Collins, Mark Knopfler, Mark King, Bryan Adams, and others, making this one of the more memorable events in music history.

These new videos join with McCartney’s performance of Get Back , with Tina Turner, which was released on iTunes Stores last summer.

Love Song.
Life Is a Circus.

After he and Hermione Farthingale broke up, Bowie reduced Feathers, their former folk trio with John Hutchinson, to a duo, writing songs with two-part harmonies. He and Hutch became a Simon-and-Garfunkel double act: Hutch singing low and playing the straight man; Bowie offering a new character—a chatty, fey persona able to crack up the audience between numbers.

Among Feathers’ concert repertoire at the time (February-April 1969) were Bowie compositions like “When I’m Five,” “Space Oddity,” “Sell Me a Coat” and “Ching-a-Ling,” along with a number of covers, including Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam” and “Au Suivant,” Leonard Cohen’s “Lady Midnight” (likely a Hutch suggestion, as he was up on Canadian folk) and even Victor Young’s standard “A Hundred Years From Today.”

When Hutchinson and Bowie made their demo tape (which eventually sold Bowie to Philips/Mercury) in April, they mainly concentrated on newer Bowie compositions like “Janine” that would later wind up on Space Oddity. There were a few covers done for the session, however, suggesting that Bowie was considering them for possible inclusion (Bowie would soon make it a habit of having at least one cover per LP). They were:

“Love Song” was written by Lesley Duncan and later covered by Elton John on his 1970 LP Tumbleweed Connection. Duncan had a similar trajectory to Bowie—she cut a string of failed singles throughout the ’60s until finally breaking through at decade’s end (when John covered “Love Song”). Hutchinson has the lead vocal.

And “Life Is a Circus” was by the obscure folk group Djinn (so obscure that they’re often listed in Bowie references as an “American folk group,” though they were apparently Brits, led by the late Roger Bunn, a sort of ‘fifth business’ character in early ’70s London).

Having a wife and child to support, Hutchinson soon realized he couldn’t survive playing the occasional meagerly-attended folk gig. So he left Bowie and went to work as a draughtsman. It wouldn’t be the end of Bowie’s association with Hutch, one of the more sympathetic figures in Bowie’s life, however, as he would later return at the end of the Spiders from Mars era.

Both are available on bootlegs like The Beckenham Oddity.

Top: Gilbert and George perform Singing Sculpture, Cable Street, London, 1969 (Tate).

Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky

Elton John sang these lyrics with melodic conviction through our truck’s fuzzy radio reception this morning.  I was late (again) for chapel, yet when this song buzzed in I felt myself relax and begin to sing along.  (Singing when alone is about the only opportunity I get for singing nowadays [living with introverts has its challenges...]).  Since I cut teeth on KDWB AM 630 radio, I suppose I’ve heard Elton’s Daniel hundreds of times since its early 1970’s release–it runs deep in my psyche, yet I’m not sure I’ve ever actually listened to the words of this verse.  So go figure, while racing to go adore, I hear them as if for the first time. 

Although I know many Daniels (and some very cool Daniels at that),  Daniel from the Old Testament flashed before my mind’s eye.  Need some help?  Well, he is most well known for his dip in the lion’s den found in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  The story goes something like this:  Daniel refuses to bow before any king ordained gods and openly worships God instead, so he is thrown into a pit of hungry lions, lions whose mouths are closed by God.  Daniel lives, God gets the glory-oh yeah!  This is only one story, though: Daniel, time and time again throughout his life, chose unswerving trust in God and time and time again, God rescued, honored, lifted Daniel (even after years in a prison for something he didn’t do).  God gives Daniel the gifts of interpreting dreams and prophecy that prove to be invaluable for the people of his day as well as the people of our day.  He stands tall before God and, as Elton sings, he is my brother.

My brother…my brother…in Christ he is my brother…even though his “eyes have died” and he sees “more than I”, he is my brother.  Singing happily in a Mercury Mountaineer I wondered: have I been so dense all these years of struggling with earthly family issues that I’ve not seen the Family I’m part of?  Have I really never realized deeply who I’m eternally kin with?  Do I see Moses, Daniel, Ruth, Elijah, Mary, Jesus, Paul, St Patrick, Teresa of Avila, Padre Pio and Mother Teresa as my Brothers and Sisters?  Do I dare to ponder that these departed souls root me on and want nothing but the best for me just like my biological brother does?  Could it be that they check in to see how I’m doing like my brother and I do with each other?  Do they show up, stick close and pray hard when heartache visits, like many siblings do for each other?  Do they feel my pain, “the pain of scars that won’t heal”? 

Wow!  Have I been blind!  The Apostle Paul in the New Testament states over and over that followers of Jesus are Brothers and Sisters in Christ, yet I haven’t REALLY taken that in.  I need to sit with this a bit and ingest:  I have Family (not just a cloud of witnesses, like Hebrews 12 says) who, although physically dead, are real and present and trying to help me walk by faith with God.  They stand in His brilliance and undoubtedly pray for me as I try to hang with the Big Guy……………………Oh my gosh, even when I feel alone, I’m not alone, none of us are.  And with them we’re safe for they never betray, abandon, neglect or belittle…they’re life-givers, they’re fellow siblings of faith who are free of the sin nature that we on earth struggle with, yet they know all about that struggle.  They get it and “see more than I”.  They’re safe souls we can trust, they’re like Brothers and Sisters in the flesh but oh so much more, for they perpetually live in the holy Presence of God. 

It’s not just me and Jesus, it is me and a sea of supportive Siblings too.  As I reach for God, maybe they help extend my arms.  As I weep for others, maybe they weep with me.  As I stumble in faith, maybe they’re Ones who get beneath and lift until sure footing is found… 

Surely, each is a shining, holy ”star in the face of the sky” that I’m only just beginning to see…

In today’s news, Sarah would rather be Rafiki the baboon than be Elton John. How did we get onto this Lion King style debate? I have absolutely no idea. And apparently she got slapped by a lion this summer. Well, she’s never dull anyway, and she called her own dog a slut. Right now she’s repeatedly showing me pictures of her bum crack. I know, I was disturbed too. We all have a plan to go on the big wheel in the center of Edinburgh, which may result in me having a tiny but obviously fatal heart attack. Bitch just called me a warthog! I hate her sometimes. Right now we are sitting with Ben, who looks like a young Tom Hanks. He even has the crazy beard that Tom Hanks had in Castaway! I hated that movie. Ok, we get it, you got shipwrecked and now you’re a freak who talks to coconuts. I really want to go to South Africa now! Damn Sarah and her life adventures. I got up at 8 o clock this morning and now I am reaaaally pissy. Oh, and happy birthday Mum!

Ciao!

1. Billy Field – You weren’t in love with me
2. Camera Obscura – Destitution
3. Department S – Is Vic there?
4. Fantastic Something – The night we flew out of the window
5. Gregory Gray – Books to read twice
6. Herbie Armstrong – Do You
7. Le Change – Back seat of my car
8. Nevada – In the Bleak Midwinter
9. Phillip Goodhand-Tait – Everyday
10. Robert Wyatt – I’m a Believer
11. Rouen – Ordinary Life
12. Rouen – Young for Today
13. Scarlet Party – 101 Dam-Nations
14. Southern Comfort – Return to Frog City
15. Still Life – Away from this Town
16. Stockholm Monsters – National Pastime
17. The Farmers Boys – In the Country
18. The Records – Starry Eyes
19. Tonight – Drummer Man
20. Villa de Ville – Everything Counts

Obscure Seventies songsmith on Elton's label gets welcome revival

 

Phillip Goodhand-Tait

Goodhand-Tait is his real surname, although at school and into the mid 1960s, he was known as Phil Tait. His mother taught piano and his father was an active trades unionist. In 1957 the family moved south to Guildford where Goodhand-Tait attended Pewley school. Before long, he was singing in beat groups several nights every week under names such as Phill Tone and the Vibrants. In 1961, they renamed themselves Phill and the Stormsville Shakers, a group formed with Paul Demers on drums, Ivor Shackleton playing guitar, and Kirk Riddle on bass. “Stormsville” was the title of a 1960 Johnny and the Hurricanes album and ‘Shakers’ was meant to indicate the frantic nature of their performances.

In 1964 the Shakers played the Ricky-Tick club circuit, and backed Memphis Slim. He toured in the early 1960s as Phillip Goodhand-Tait and the Stormsville Shakers (his backing band from Guildford) supporting the likes of Larry Williams.

He wrote songs for Larry Williams; Roger Daltrey (“Oceans Away” – on the album ‘Ride a Rock Horse’ - and “Parade” and “Leon” – both on the ’One of the Boys’ album); Gene Pitney (“You Are” and “Oceans Away”); Zoot Money (“No One But You”) and Love Affair (“Bringing on Back the Good Times”, “A Day Without Love” and “Baby I Know”).

By 1971, he had branched out, and wrote the score for the film, Universal Soldier. In 1976 he played the harmonium on Chris de Burgh’s LP Spanish Train and other stories.

This track is of course a cover of the famous Buddy Holly song slowed down to make an emotive piano-based ballad and featured on the 1971 DJM (Elton John’s label who was a big supporter) album ‘I think I’ll write a song’.

It soundtracked many a teenage romance.

Fantastic Something

Fantastic Something were a UK based duo made up of two Greek born brothers, who had a hit in the early 80s called “If she doesn’t smile”. They disappeared after just two releases. The other one ‘If she doesn’t smile’ I also own – special requests will be treated sympathetically. They were on the great Cherry Red label. A glorious sound.

Camera Obscura

In the early Eighties there were a number of bands like Eyeless in Gaza, White Door  and Thomas Leer around who produced atmospheric synth music. Camera Obscura released this single and then fled – nowadays there is an excellent Glaswegian India band with the same name. The layer of soil thickens above the grave of the original and lamented Camera Obscura.

Department S

The late, great Vaughan Toulouse lent his vocals to this and many other great songs. The three remaining members of the band regrouped a year or so back to record a cover of Alvin Stardust’s ‘My Coo cachoo’

However, this song and their other great song ‘Going Left Right’ will never be bettered.

Rouen 

Rouen hailed from  the town of Bewdley in Worcestshire in the 1980s and signed to Virgin.
They realeased one album and a few singles, getting a listed on Radio 1 for one single – ‘Young for a Day’.

The band comprised of Nick Cox Keyboards with Nick Allsop, J Johnson, Mark Roslanowski and Nick Sellars.

Two tracks are recalled for duty here – ‘Young for a Day was the minor hit – ‘Ordinary Life’ is completely impossible to find anywhere else – so fill your boots.

Scarlet Party

Scarlet Party was formed in Essex in the early 1980s. The founder members were, singer/songwriters Graham Dye and brother Steven Dye, with drummer Sean Heaphy

They began to perform at many top venues, to a well established following, and had already recorded an album of original material, and were signed to a major record company, when joined by fourth member, Mark Gilmour, brother of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, on lead guitar.

The debut single, ‘101 Dam-Nations’ was released on EMI’s famous Parlaphone label, on 16 October 1982, along-side a special re-release of Love Me Do, celebrating The Beatles’ 20th anniversary at EMI. This helped to get Scarlet Party noticed, and with the voice of Graham Dye, uncannily resembling that of John Lennon, a television, radio, and magazine, publicity campaign, helped to reinforce the connection. The single was enthusiastically received (Kate Bush described it as her favourite), and reached number 44 in theUK Singles Chart. The follow-up single “Eyes of Ice”, was released in February 1983, on ice-clear vinyl, which was a request from the band, and all art-work for the sleeve was created by Graham Dye, using coloured pencils. EMI then decided not to release the completed album, which was to be called ‘Scarlet Skies’.

‘Scarlet Skies’, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1981-82, but has never been officially released. The linked songs explore themes of war, love, and alienation, in styles reminiscent of both the mini pop operas of The Who, and the progressive concept albums of Pink Floyd.

The band recorded more original songs written by the Dye brothers, as a four piece, until the departure of Mark Gilmour at the end of 1983, and then, once again, as a three piece, also working on other projects, including a musical cartoon adventure based on the band, none of which were taken on by EMI.

Scarlet Party continued performing live shows, joined briefly by new member Micky Portman on bass, and recorded several more tracks at Abbey Road Studios. However, the band now feeling disheartened, and disappointed in EMI, decided to call it a day at the end of 1985.

Graham Dye went on to work as lead vocalist, on several albums by The Alan Parsons Project, and more recently, a new version of ‘101 Dam-Nations’ was made, featuring Graham and Steven Dye, together with Phil Collins  playing the drums. The brothers requested the help of Alan Parsons to produce the recording, which is not yet available. A shame.

Gregory Gray

Scottish-born singer/songwriter Gregory Gray released three fine albums of quirky, danceable pop from 1986 to 1995. However, his story goes back further than that and involves both a brief involvement with a second-string group of Northern Irish bubblegum popsters and a name change to disassociate himself from that chapter in his past. Gregory Gray was born Paul Lerwill in the village of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, on May 20, 1959. Lerwill picked up the guitar as a teenager and at the age of 19, he joined Rosetta Stone, a bubblegummy pop group led by Ian Mitchell, formerly of the Bay City Rollers. Known as “Flash” during his stint in Rosetta Stone, Lerwill stayed with the group until 1982, long past their brief notoriety amongst the pre-pubescent crowd. Following that, Lerwill changed his name to Gregory Gray to disassociate himself from his sugary past and formed an obscure group, called Perfect Crime, who were in more of a Waterboys-meets-U2 vein. He was a friend of Bono from the much more popular U2.

Finally signing a solo deal with CBS in 1986, Gray released his first album, Think of Swans, later that year. An artsy, often obscure record that maintains the Waterboys influence from his Perfect Crime days, Think of Swans was a complete commercial stiff and Gray was dropped after its release. After woodshedding for several years, Gray signed with Atco Records and released his much poppier second album, Strong at Broken Places, in 1991. That album was produced by Gray’s friend Davitt Sigerson, who later became the president of EMI Records. Sigerson signed Gray to EMI in 1995 and released the Stephen Hague-produced Euroflake in Silverlake, a Pet Shop Boys-like album of quirky electro-pop. Unfortunately, it followed his previous two albums into commercial oblivion and Gray gave up on his solo career, moving from Northern Ireland to New York in the late ’90s and forming an Underworld-like dance rock group, Mary Cigarettes.

Nevada

Their version of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ is possibly my favourite Christmas song of all. Sadly I can’t tell you anything about them as they are not recorded anywhere – and Last FM talks about a death metal Russian band of the same name – the two are not connected. I remember as a teacher in the Winter of 1981 scouring the second hand record shops of Brighton to acquire all the old favourite Christmas songs to compile into an all time best Christmas album on C90. I then duplicated a 100 at the University language centre and proceeded to pay for my indigent Christmas with the proceeds of a hunderd two quids gathered in from the students in my care. This was pre’That’s what I call Christmas’ days – so this probably represented a bargain.

Southern Comfort

These were the band that made up the others behind Iain Matthews in Matthews Southern Comfort, famous for their version of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’ in 1970. After Iain left to go solo the band carried on and had a very minor hit with ‘I sure like your smile’. On the B side of this was this track – ‘Return to Frog City’ from the Harvest album ‘Frog City’ with a great slide guitar erformance from the legendary Gordon Huntley who sadly died in 1985. I played this into the ground in 1971 which may explain its white blitz sound.

The Records

Living as I did in Southend in the Seventies, it was an exciting time to be a music fan. Will Birch was at the centre of the scene as drummer with Eddie and the Hot Rods which he had quit to form The Records with fellow Essex man John Wicks. The Records were far more impressive in potential than fellow bands such as the Kursaal Flyers and even Dr Feelgood – they had pure pop class. By fans of the genre, they are considered one of the most seminal British power pop acts of all time. They are often referred to as The British Big Star. They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite included here: ’Starry Eyes’. In the 70s and 80s, the only constant members of The Records were John Wicks, Will Birch and Phil Brown. Today, former members of The Records record and perform as solo artists. Lead singer John Wicks tours in his group John Wicks And The Records, while guitarist Jude Cole continues to record and perform as a solo artist.

Although the original version of UK rock group The Records disbanded in the 1980s, their music continues to be a major attraction in the world of rock and roll. Their hit single ‘Starry Eyes’ is still played on classic rock and college rock radio stations throughout the continents.

John Wicks currently works as a producer/songwriter and has formed a new all-star lineup known as John Wicks And The Records. Wicks performs classic songs from his days with The Records, which he co-founded with drummer/songwriter Will Birch in the 1970s. At a John Wicks And The Records concert, expect to hear classic songs from his years in The Records in addition to all-new material.

John Wicks And The Records continue to play sold out shows around the world, having performed with the likes of Guided By Voices, Dramarama and the Electric Prunes among others. Although they played CBGBs in the past, it seemed only fitting when John Wicks And The Records chose to perform as part of the CBGBs farewell concert series when the legendary rock and punk venue prepared to permanently close it’s doors in 2006.

Guitarist/singer, Jude Cole, was the only American to play in The Records. Today, Jude Cole produces numerous artists and co-owns Ironworks Studios with actor Kiefer Sutherland. Hailing from London, England, The Records performed with such acts as Elvis Costello, The Cars, The Jam with Paul Weller, Robert Palmer and Joe Jackson. The Records formed at the height of rock and roll in the 1970s and recorded three major label albums for Virgin Records. They released several singles including Starry Eyes, Teenarama and Hearts In Her Eyes. Albums included “Shades In Bed,” “Crashes,” “Music On Both Sides,” “Paying For The Summer Of Love” and “A Sunny Afternoon In Waterloo.”

The songs of John Wicks/Will Birch have been covered by artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Michael Monroe from Hanoi Rocks, Blackpool Lights, Too Much Joy, The Methadones and British beat group The Searchers.

The Farmers Boys

The Farmer’s Boys were from Norwich. They formed in the early 1980s and were briefly called “Bang Goes My Stereo” before changing their name to The Farmer’s Boys. The band’s first single, “I Think I Need Help”, was release in April 1982 with a few more releases in the same year. In January 1983 “More than a Dream” was reissued as their first single for EMI. Several more singles including this Shadows cover and two albums were released before the band split in 1985.

Baz and Mark went on to form The Avons in 1985. Mark later joined The Nivens, Stan formed Dr Fondle and Frog joined The Higsons and played keyboards on a Julian Cope tour in the late eighties. Original guitarist Andy left early on to join Serious Drinking. In 2000, Baz, Mark & Stan got back together as The Great Outdoors.

These songs have been rescued from the very depths of Stannard’s Library, converted digitally from their original vinyl state and lovingly brought to your attention. Some of these artists will never record again and have not been washed up on the beach of any long forgotten compilation. I humbly offer them here for your edification and delight. You may never see their like again.

http://rapidshare.com/files/308992682/Roy_s_Library_5.zip

vs. William Shatner

And the winner is…