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Another live gig stream – Amanda Anne Platt

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For the benefit of those who enjoy Amanda Anne’s music, and as a potential introduction for those who don’t know her, she’s doing a live stream this evening. It’s directed at her European audience as she apparently did one last week which was normal-is time for US audiences, but early hours for this side of the Atlantic. So to make up for that she’s starting at 2:00 EST, which is 7:00 BST. Here’s the confirmation: Amanda Anne Platt’s live stream notification We will be tuning in. I hope you do too.

DONOVAN – our trail-blazing hero

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As all Afterworders already know, any and all great music composed since the early 60s is indebted to one man and one man alone – take a bow DONOVAN (oh! you already have).

Now I see that the great man is dedicating a concert in April at London’s Cadogan Hall to Greta Thunberg.

But, thank the Lord for DONOVAN, for without him poor Greta would be lost:

The pioneer songwriter of Ecology will perform his classic Top 20 hits with his young band (‘Mellow Yellow’, ‘Sunshine Superman’, ‘The Hurdy Hurdy Man’, ‘Season of The Witch’, ‘Jennifer Juniper’, ‘There is a Mountain’, ‘Catch The Wind’, ‘Colours’, ‘Universal Soldier’) plus selections from his new release, Eco-Song, 21 climate change compositions by Donovan.

Donovan stood alone among his superstar peers singing out his climate change warning to the world. Donovan says, ‘It took 50 years from my first climate change protest song in 1968 and now, at last, here comes Greta the Great! It’s about time… and we have so little time left!’

Just think, without DONOVAN writing that first song there would be no Friends Of The Earth, no Greenpeace, no climate activists and Greta would still be in school. The world » Continue Reading.

Jason Isbell – count the days until May

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are releasing a new album in May, according to Rolling Stone. The album, titled Reunions, will be out on May 15th. Dave Cobb is once again the man at the control panel. There is no news of any UK or European tour dates yet. Here’s a taster of what to expect – Be Afraid

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jason+Isbell+Be+Afraid

…Frazey Ford is coming to town…

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Rejoice , the many fans of Frazey that hang around here, she’s coming to the UK in 2020.

First there is a date in January, appearing in Glasgow at Celtic Connections (the 23rd) then more dates later on in June.

She’s at the following venues:

Monday 1st, London Union Chapel Thursday 4th Nottingham, Glee Club Friday 5th, Newcastle, Gosforth Civic Sunday 7th, Leeds Brudenell Club Wednesday 10th, Bristol, Hen & Chicken

I guess there could be more as there are gaps in the schedule. London tickets are already on sale. I can’t wait.

It’s All Because We Stole The Koh-i-noor

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I had a call from “BT OpenReach” telling me that my router had been compromised by hackers and I needed to take action to fix it. I told the guy I’d have to boot up my computer, which was old and slow, so it would take a while. I put the phone down for about five minutes and got on with what I’d been doing. When I picked the phone up I told him he was absolutely right and that the hackers had already got to my router because I didn’t have internet access. He asked me to reboot the router. I said it was in another room and I’d have to put the phone down while I sorted it out. About another five minutes passed before I got back to him and told him it was back up. I spent a few minutes playing dumb, misunderstanding his instructions. He gave me a web address and asked me to enter it as he spelled it out, letter by letter. Then he asked “What can you see?” I said “A picture of Bugs Bunny” He replied with something unintelligible, then said “You think you’re funny man, but I’m smarter than you”. » Continue Reading.

Judy Collins & Jonas Fjeld – Winter Stories

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What does it sound like?:

At the age of 80 (she hit that milestone last May), at a time when some of her contemporaries are losing their voices and their creative wellspring is running dry, Judy Collins has produced a late career gem.

No doubt she would maintain her voice is not what it was, and I’m sure it must have lost some of the power of years long gone, yet it still sounds absolutely gorgeous, full of richness and pitched absolutely beautifully.

This collection is a collaboration, like her last release from a couple of years ago, Everybody Knows. This time, instead of the star billing with Stephen Stills, she is collaborating with the not particularly well known Jonas Fjeld. Chatham County Line also contribute, and I understand Fjeld has been a regular collaborator with them in recent years.

He sings in quite a husky baritone. He doesn’t have the greatest range, but he he contrasts nicely with Judy and they combine together to excellent effect. Let’s face it, Judy proved she can accommodate herself to all sorts, when she pioneered singing acapella along with the songs of humpback whales many years back on Farewell To Tarwathie.

Ostensibly » Continue Reading.

The Delines

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Venue:

The Union Chapel, Upper Street, London N1

Date: 08/11/2019

It’s so hard to put your finger on what makes a great performance. You see and hear it, right in front of you, but defining what it is exactly that elevates the playing of the songs you’re hearing from being merely good to the absolutely brilliant is immensely difficult.

There is a focus and intensity, building on the foundation of great songs. There is togetherness among the band members and a togetherness between the performers and the audience – a bond between us all; from us in the audience to them on the stage that further elevates things.

It’s certainly nothing to do with theatricality, though I guess showmanship is a different thing – it’s that ability to communicate the music and the lyrics.

Certainly there is little theatricality from The Delines, yet for this performance my eyes were riveted to the stage and my concentration was total and my enjoyment was unbounded. This was a great, great performance. One of the very best gigs I’ve been to for many years. One of the best I’ve been to in my life.

I only discovered The Delines earlier this year. » Continue Reading.

Steve Earle on Austin City Limits

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You can view the whole of Steve Earle’s recent appearance on Austin City Limits via the link. He’s playing his recent tribute to Guy Clark, which he titled, very appropriately, Guy. It’s time limited and only available until November 17th.

Greenslade: Sundance – A Collection 1973-1975

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What does it sound like?:

I was very fond of Greenslade in the early 1970s.

I first saw them supporting Rory Gallagher. It seemed a bizarre combination – Greenslade a band consisting of two keyboard players, bass and drums supporting a guitar hero. It was a double bill of convenience as both acts were managed by Gaff Management (more notable for managing Rod and The Faces) and at the time it seemed a strange line-up, though in retrospect I now think it was eminently sensible. After all, what guitarist wants to front a band, only to be shown up by the brilliance of Rory half an hour later?

Anyway this album brings together a mostly good selection taken from Greenslade’s four studio albums (though not necessarily my choice – for instance from the Bedside Manners Are Extra album, I would have selected Chalkhill ahead of Time To Dream).

Let’s get the negative aspect out of the way first; that being Dave Lawson’s vocals. While never the strongest singer, when I listened back in the 1970s I don’t recall being bothered by them at all, but now, especially when he strays out of his natural range, I find him grating, » Continue Reading.

Valerie Carter – That girl could sing

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The Dodgers have made a recommendation for me of a new release – Ooh Child by the late Valerie Carter. It’s her two albums from the 70s “Just A Stone’s Throw Away” and “Wild Child”. I’d not heard them, so had a listen to the first one earlier. It’s an excellent production, very tasteful, superb playing from various members of the then LA scene including Jackson Browne, Lowell George and Linda Ronstadt. The trouble is, it just doesn’t have the overall heft to make it an essential purchase. It’s just very pleasant. But I can’t question the quality of her voice, which is why she was a first choice for people like Jackson Browne as a backing singer. And JB did compose an excellent song dedicated to her – That Girl Could Sing. She is also supposed to be the inspiration for Steve Winwood’s Valerie. Though as the lyrics are by Will Jennings, I’m not wholly convinced about this. I’m sure you know it, but there’s no harm in listening to it again, despite that ever so 80s production. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKNICg-REA

However as this is a thread about Valerie Carter, it would be remiss to ignore her, so this is the » Continue Reading.

Lucinda Williams & Buick 6

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Venue:

The Barbican, London

Date: 27/07/2019

A 16mm home-movie of the Williams family flickers on the screen at the back of the darkened stage, where the unseen Buick 6 create a skeletal soundscape of slide guitar blues notes, bass pulses and scattered percussion, which all precede a prerecorded spoken introduction from Lucinda. Anticipation builds until she emerges into the light to introduce this celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the release of Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. She seems incredibly nervous, moreso than I have ever seen her before. After a spoken introduction she launches into Right In Time. Musically it’s a straight version, played as on the album, but she’s changed the phrasing, which keeps throwing the version I’m singing along to myself in my head. The album is played in its entirety and the sequence of songs remains unchanged. Pretty much every song gets an introduction, talking about the inspiration or the circumstances of its creation. A lot of the information is new, some of it I’ve heard before. I won’t repeat anything here, to avoid spoiling anything for anyone going to other UK dates, but it all adds to the pleasure of hearing these songs » Continue Reading.

Kathleen Edwards fans – a time to celebrate nears

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I know there are fair few fans of Kathleen around here. The good news is that seven years after the release of Voyageur and going on to take an indefinite break from music after touring in support of the album, she has gone back in the studio. She is posting on Instagram (her account name is kittythefool) pictures from a studio in Kingston, Ontario where she is recording with band regulars Jim Bryson and Gord Tuff. No expected release date has been mentioned nor any information about a tour in support of whatever results from the sessions. But it’s good to know she’s put serving coffee at her Quitters shop at least on temporary hold.

Randy California v Elton John – Captain Fantastic is Captain Bulls**t

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Last week I downloaded a torrent of a Spirit gig recorded in Chicago in May 1975 (the same tour that resulted in the Spirit of 76 album). The version of Hey Joe that they performed is rather bizarre as Randy changes the lyrics to launch a continued attack on Elton John. I searched online to see if I could uncover the source of his beef with Elton – other than the huge album sales and ticket prices mentioned in the song – and in doing so found that there is a version on YouTube. Here it is. Meanwhile I’m none the wiser about the cause of Randy’s disdain. Do any older Afterworders have any insight into this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en_gVClmZGM

What I’m hearing on the doorstep…

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I’ve just heard Jo Swinson of the Lib Dems on Newsnight. She referred to “what I heard on the doorstep“. Over recent weeks I’ve heard any number of politicians of all persuasions referring to “what we’re hearing on the doorstep“, yet we had no-one from any party whatsoever come around and canvas our opinions/voting intentions during the Euro election campaign. No one I’ve spoken to has had anyone canvas on the doorstep. Canvassing seems to be a thing of the past. I live in North London. What are experiences from elsewhere in the country? Have politicians actually heard anything on the doorstep or are they making up these conversations simply to back-up their position?

Gavin Bryars and Academy of St Martin in the Fields et al – Never Failed Me Yet

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Venue:

The Tanks, Tate Modern, London

Date: 12/04/2019

This was a truly unique musical experience, though I can admit to only enjoying about 15% of the complete performance. Some forty years ago, Gavin Bryars got hold of a fragment of tape of a homeless man singing an unknown religious melody – “Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet”. He created a loop of it, so that it ran for as long as anyone cared to play it for. Bryars composed music to play along with the voice. Over the years he has released a number of versions of performances of the piece, constrained only by the medium – a vinyl version (24 minutes), a tape (30 minutes), the on to a CD version at 74 minutes. There was also a version performed with Tom Waits. Last night through to this morning Never Failed Me Yet had its ultimate performance. A non stop 12 hour rendition, starting at 20:00 Friday evening and ending at 8:00 this morning, performed at The Tate, with free admission. I went along for the first hour and arrived back in time to catch the final 45 minutes. The performance opens with the old man’s voice. He » Continue Reading.