Jan Akkerman occasionally performs in a line-up homage-ing his late 60s band Brainbox, with vocalist (and maraccas icon) Bert Heerinck. Here they are with retro grooves (and no vocals) at the Retro Revival Festival last month.
Jan Akkerman risks offending Johnny C
@Johnny-Concheroo might ‘enjoy’ this: Jan Akkerman, on some kind of curious Dutch road-trip TV show (conveniently subtitled by the YouTube uploader) discussing the history of the Les Paul in rock music, and puncturing the hype about one notable 60s exponent.
New Van!
Hurrah! There’s a new Van album coming out. A promotional single featuring snatches from all the songs has been circulated, grafted on to the formula slow blues attached. Pretty much all the songs on the album, of course, can be sung to this track. Sing-a-long-a-Van…
Let It Rhyme, Every Time – Let It Rhyme, Every Time – I See A River, see a river, see a river – Going Down To Bangor, down to Bangor, down Memory Lane, Out In The Cold Again – Gonna Look Behind The Hill In Tiburon In Tiburon – next door ta Avalon – Share Your Love With Me, Holy Guardian Angel, high in the art a’ suffering one, hand me down my greatcoat and my big boots, Keep Me Singing, Keep Me Singing, keep me churnin’ out lists a’ things, lists a’ things, smokin’ dope in Kendal, with Wordsworth an’ Coleridge, Lambert an’ Butler, Flanagan an’ Allen, Bill an’ Ben, Flowerpot Men, remember when remember when – we did the twist, we did the mashed potato, the potted herring, the pasty supper, the Caledonia Swing, Caledonia Swing – it ain’t Too Late, it ain’t Too Late, ‘cos The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword, » Continue Reading.
New McLaughlin 1969 recordings in July!
…a hitherto unreleased collection of Betty Davis (Mrs Miles) recordings with McLaughlin and others of that Miles milieu.
I anticipate Johnny C will be very excited.
http://lightintheattic.net/releases/2429-the-columbia-years-1968-1969
The NO politics ‘music for the weekend’ thread!
Here’s my suggestion: those among us with strong views about recent politics events who need to talk about it, STAY on the ‘take control’ thread. Let’s not let it bleed across the forum – let’s no of us fall out about it all.
What are you up to this weekend?
Me, I’m about to go into Belfast to see GT’s Boos Band from Glasgow at a free Belfast Blues Fest show – yay! And tomorrow, it’s Welsh Sarah’s ‘Our Back Yard’ Festival in Gilford, Armagh, headlined by Wookalily! Double yay!! 🙂
John McLaughlin: because he’s happy…
The Mahavishnu Orchestra asked us to ‘Be Happy’ in 1975. In a very example of the maestro playing ‘normal chords’, John and a new collaborator tells us he told us so…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUI5mGpkn0U
New Zealand (jazz-)rocks!
For a small and allegedly sleepy, backward civilisation, New Zealand’s musical community has great taste. Here are a bunch of Wellington musos who seemingly got together recently to perform a load of Mahavishnu Orchestra covers. Several have just appeared on YouTube. Hurrah!
The players are:
Hannah Fraser Johnny Lawrence Daniel Hayles Tyson Smith Shaun Anderson
The Mahavishnu Orchestra performed only two concerts in New Zealand (in their Mk2 version, in 1974). It seems their trip was not wasted.
RIP Henry McCullough
Two years ago Henry (Eire Apparent, sweeney’s Men, Grease Band, Wings…) had a series of strokes that left him in a near coma. I’ve just heard fromk his agent, Nigel Martyn, that Henry passed on two hours ago. RIP.
It’s Jeffrey Beck!
30 seconds of a track, or free DL if you pre-oder…
https://rhinouk.lnk.to/LiveInTheDarkEC?eml=2016June14/3534012/6126539&etsubid=83535128
Harry Beckett – cool 1974 Brit jazz-rock-soulful vibes on vinyl for only 12 quid!
At the risk of causing our vinyl-moratorium-struggling friend Vulpes ‘The Vulpmeister’ Vulpes yet more despair, the great Richard Williams has recently flagged up this tantalising brand new archive offering ‘Still Happy’ from Brit-jazz legend Harry Beckett: 30 pristine minutes live at the BBC in 1974, on limited edition vinyl for a mere £12 (plus free download) or just £6 for the download!
Link to the label’s Bandcamp ordering facility attached.
Let’s groove!
Wookalily Rocks! In a Swedish style…
At last, after endless gigs with crappy sound systems, misbehaving banjo pick-ups, noisy punters, forgotten plectrums, unplugged cable TV sessions and dodgy cameraphone clips Wookalily have finally SORTED THE WHOLE THING OUT – and not only that, but this PA/public relations epiphany has happily coincided with a brilliant live performance, a convenient camera crew, a gay disco classic, and a huge white room with NO PUNTERS WHATSOEVER!
The Wookas doff their collective cap at Abba and feature the closest they’ve yet got to fusion solos – terrific flute, banjo and bass improvisations. And WookaLyndsay, not only causing jaws to drop having only taken up the bass four or five months ago – and having to sing at the same time… and being left-handed… – is not even wearing shoes!
This is a blistering performance – let’s rock!
Anne Briggs: New Music!
Okay, that was a bit of a teasing headline… No, there is not newly recorded music by the mesmerising English traditional singer who retired in 1973 (bar a few gigs in 1992 and appearances in a couple of documentaries), but David Suff, maestro at Fledg’ling Records, has valiantly battled the demons of BBC bureaucracy to access, at last, three tracks she performed live on BBC radio’s ‘Folksong Cellar’ in August 1966. And, in the process, has found a fourth unreleased track from the same period, ‘The Verdent Braes of Skreen’, which she never otherwise record.
I’ve had a reference copy of the other three tracks for some years, and they are wonderful performances, especially ‘Polly Vaughan’ – gentler and more beguiling, to my mind, than the Topic studio take. ‘Recruited Collier’, the opening song, is perhaps the most beautiful and poignant in her whole recorded output.
I understand the EP (on vinyl) comes with a well illustrated booklet, including unseen photos.
David’s series of reissued vinyl EPs and new vinyl singles, on Topic and Fledg’ling, have been a joy thus far – Anne’s ‘The Hazards of Love’, Davy Graham’s ‘3/4 AD’, reproductions of several Shirley Collins rarities, new singles » Continue Reading.
It’s Sandy Brown, live in Eastern Europe, 1968!
Sandy Brown was one of the great characters of British jazz – traversing/transcending all the factions in a career from the 50s to the early 70s (and an untimely passing). He made trad jazz, ‘mainstream’ jazz, a proto jazz-rock record in 1968 with John McLaughlin on guitar (‘Hair At Its Hairiest’, yes, a jazz version of ‘Hair’ – available in full on the Fellside/Lake CD titled ‘Work Song’, a lost gem well worth seeking out), wrote for ‘The Listener’ and designed recording studuios for a living – including, from memory, the one in Lagos that Macca used for ‘Band On The Run’. He wrote a very eccentric autobiography in the third person, posthumously published as ‘The McJazz Manuscripts’.
I heartily recommend exploring his works.
I’ve just noticed this half-hour TV concert on YouTube, so pour a glass of McWhisky and enjoy the great man (with a borrowed/so-so rhythm section) on some foreign platform before the flood…
‘Beyond The Horizon’: beautiful new tune from Jan Akkerman
Other opinions are, of course, available, but this is a new recording that Jan has streaming on his website and I see he’s been playing it live recently too, with sax man Benjamin Herman (jammin’ with Herman…). Bliss!
Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill – Three days in Donegal, 1999
Colin H on Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
A number of people around here seem to be fans of The Gloaming. I wish Martin Hayes and Dennis all the success they can get, though the band, for me – just as a selfish punter – dilutes what they did/do as a duo. Here’s something I wrote for ‘The Independent’ back in, I think, 1997, based on a glimpse of their touring world over three days in Donegal.
…..
Dennis Cahill is having a bit of a bad day. No, make that a week. “I think this is the first time I’ve convinced Debbie that touring isn’t one long vacation” he growls, in distinctive Chicago drawl. “I mean, you’ve all the aggravation with airports and none of the relaxation when you get there. I tell you, if I ever make a million I’m gonna give $50,000 to Debbie and Amy and send ‘em off on tour – see how they deal with it…”
The phrase ‘blistering barnacles’ comes to mind, and it’s hard to suppress amusement. Dennis is Captain Haddock to Martin Hayes’ Tintin, cavorting around the world having adventures, meeting faintly ridiculous people on a regular basis and dealing » Continue Reading.
Wookalily doco this Friday on BBC4
Okay, there may be an element of exaggeration there, but the Wookaladies are featured in this Friday’s first episode of ‘The UK’s Best Part-Time Band’ on BBC4.
The episode apparently features the NI-Scotland-Wales semi-final (filmed at the Limelight, Belfast), which was great fun (I was there, though I didn’t see @Johnny-Concheroo, who is traditionally at everything).
The Wookas get that far – do they get further? We shall see…
Rayleigh? It’s no trouble…
Anybody round here live near Rayleigh in deepest Essex?
PM me if you might be able to do me a simple favour (expenses covered, of course)…
1968-72: How many did Johnny C…?
The tracklist on this new underground compo inspired the question. Well, Johnny, how many?
DISC ONE 1. STRAY – All In Your Mind 2. THE OPEN MIND – Cast A Spell 3. THE MOOCHE – Hot Smoke And Sassafras 4. CRUSHED BUTLER – My Son’s Alive 5. CHICKEN SHACK – Going Down 6. CYCLE – Father Of Time 7. THE DEVIANTS – I’m Coming Home 8. THE PINK FAIRIES – Do It 9. FACTORY – Time Machine 10. THE GROUNDHOGS – Cherry Red 11. WICKED LADY – I’m A Freak 12. CHARGE – Rock My Soul 13. HAWKWIND ZOO – Sweet Mistress Of Pain 14. STONEHOUSE – Nightmare 15. THE IRON MAIDEN – Falling 16. BARNABUS – Apocalypse
DISC TWO 1. WRITING ON THE WALL -Bogeyman 2. DEEP PURPLE – Fireball 3. JERUSALEM – Primitive Man 4. EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND -Love In The Rain 5. HELLMET – Trust 6. SECOND HAND – Rhubarb! 7. LITTLE FREE ROCK – Dream 8. IRON CLAW – Skullcrusher 9. DARK – Zero Time 10. THE VELVET FROGS – Jehovah 11. THE MOVE – Brontosaurus 12. STACK WADDY – Bring It To Jerome 13. SAMUEL PRODY – Mr Make Believe 14. BARE SOLE – Flash » Continue Reading.
Tubby Hayes: A Man In A Hurry
Colin H on Tubby Hayes
‘A Man In A Hurry’ is a terrific documentary about British jazz great Tubby Hayes (tenor sax/flute/vibes), a short fat man (1935-73) from London who was full of energy, had world-class talent, and was incredibly prolific on record, on stage and on screen, particularly in the period from the mid-50s to the mid-60s.
When you scour 1960s Melody Makers at the British Library, as I have done periodically, for information on other fragments of culture, your eye is often drawn to things outside your remit, and for me, Tubby Hayes is one of those. It’s clear he was a big deal at the time. Somehow, he faded away toward the end of the decade and, like fellow British modern jazz greats Joe Harriott and Phil Seamen (one might add Graham Bond to that list), would die prematurely in the early 70s – all of them having to a fair extent become yesterday’s men, and at least partly through substance abuse.
I’m fascinated by 1960s British jazz, of all types, but had little knowledge of Tubby Hayes. It turns out that Mark Baxter and Lee Cogswell, producer/writer and director/editor, respectively, of this wonderful film, could say » Continue Reading.
“Did I just hear you mention Jimmy Clitheroe…?”
A funny thing happened to me a couple of days ago at a cafe in east Belfast. Myself and Kyle ‘The Kylemeister’ Leitch, whom some regard as ‘the godfather of punk’ in Belfast (even Terri Hoooley, who’s made a career out of that very epithet!), were quaffing Americanos at an outside table and putting the world to rights when a gentle soul in glasses at the next table said, “Did I just hear you mention Jimmy Clitheroe…?”
He did. It transpired the fellow had seen Clitheroe at an end of the pier show in Blackpool many years ago. Obviously, I had to then find a way to explain why his name had just come up in our conversation. It was like this…
The Kylemeister, in between anecdotes about old punks, had said, ‘Van’s not been back here since he was turned away…’ (The cafe in question is one of The Man’s haunts but one day a few weeks back he turned up and all the tables were full. Sometimes being The Man is no good when The Seats are unavailable.)
At this point, I may have mumbled a brief bit of Van impersonation involving pasty suppers, Mahalia Jackson, creme anglais » Continue Reading.
“Goin’ down by Avalon with Puddleglum the Marshwiggle an’ the Belfast City Council’s Parks and Leisure Committee…”
At last, Avalon can be found on an Ordnance Survey Map. It appears to be located in a suburban park in East Belfast. In fact, as I type, I could walk there in 10 minutes. I’ll pass on the Afterword’s ‘hello’ to King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Guinevere, Merlin, Sir Galahad, ‘Justin’ and all the rest of the guys. I fully expect to find a short fat man in a Blues Brothers outfit in a paroxysm of transcendence, “playin’ R&B with the fauns and the satyrs, eatin’ pies with Reepicheep an’ Aslan, Mahalia Jackson comin’ through the ether, Bix Beiderbecke and Georgie Best crossin’ the bridge, take me back, take me back, take me way back…” etc etc etc
Janet Holmes: the loveliest voice you’ve never heard (now digitally available)
Back in 2001, off the back of Market Square Records’ ‘People On The Highway: A Bert Jansch Encomium’ 2CD tribute album, the great Duffy Power – who performed a stunning version of Bert’s ‘I Am Lonely’ – was blown away by my friend Janet Holmes’ singing on a cover of Pentangle’s ‘People On The Highway’ on the album, and suggested we try some joint recordings.
The logistics between London and Belfast in that largely pre-internet era proved too much for a full album collaboration, but a few joint Janet & Duffy recordings on some of Duffy’s songs were completed before the project faltered. (These recordings, and others by Duffy from the period, were released on Market Square a few years later as his final album ‘Tigers’, which I was delighted to sleevenote – highly recommended. An outtake arrangement of one song from this period, ‘Nine Lives Gone’, appears on my recent ‘Sunset Cavaliers’, which is dedicated to Duffy.)
I don’t like failing in projects. So two things happened next back in 2001: I determined to source material for a ‘Duffy Power at the BBC’ album, for Duffy; and I determined to fund an album for Janet.
Some amazing material, » Continue Reading.
Sham 69: A front row seat in Edinburgh
For those who missed Sham in Edinburgh in March, here’s a front row view with quality sound and vision of the first 37 minutes.
Billy Fury – time for a re-reappraisal?
I watched the recent bought-in Billy Fury doc on BBC4. It was clearly made as a homage, with non BBC4 production values, but included a lot of interviewees and a few bits of vintage TV – though limited (perhaps necessarily given what survives/was affordable) to mostly rather drab ballads from the early 60s. (From memory, there was a more compelling Fury doc on Arena in the 80s.)
Respect is certainly due to Billy for his being the pioneer of a rock artist writing his own songs, with ‘The Sound of Fury’ album in 1960.
But is the reverence for Billy a little overblown? Does his music really stand up, or are we overdoing the accolades because of his tragic early death and James Dean looks? Is it more what Billy represents than his music that we doff our caps at?
Discuss…
Here is is doing something a bit more exciting: ‘Long Live Rock’, from 1973:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM8Nk7bmbOQ
A vox pop query about vinyl and download codes…
I’m considering various vinyl/CD/download code options for a project. Because I’m not really a music download kinda guy – I choose not have any gadgets for playing the stuff, so it’s not part of my own ‘lifestyle’ – I don’t have a well-informed sense of how used/how popular the combination of vinyl + download code is. Any of the AW massive have any advice on this?
The need for vinyl + ‘something’ (either download code or, slightly belt+braces, a CD inserted with the vinyl) is because I’m looking at a vinyl-length album but around 30-35 minutes worth of relevant additional tracks.
