The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Apple Music/iTunes

by 21 Comments

If this has previously been discussed please forgive me – I have had a look but cannot find my exact problem. To start from the beginning – I own a 10 year old iMac which is perfectly serviceable (I think) and good enough for my purposes. However my iTunes has completely screwed up. I have spoken to Apple who were not much good so I’ve decided to lay my problems at the door of The Massive. I started subscribing to Apple Music in June 2019 and I think this may have been where the problem lies. A lot of my music (and 99% of it is legitimate purchases which I have downloaded from CD to the iMac) is now showing with the cloud symbol – no problem really as I just have to download the music from the Cloud. Herein lies one of the problems as my iMac is a bit old and is still using High Sierra OS and the feature to which they direct me “Sync your iPhone” or whatever it’s called doesn’t appear on my computer. Every so often there’s a track or an album which Apple has decided that it doesn’t like and I am not » Continue Reading.

Bennett Wilson Poole

by 16 Comments

Venue:

The Hawth, Crawley

Date: 16/01/2019

Bennett,Wilson Poole brought a touch of sunshine to a damp and chilly Crawley last night. I, and I’m sure many others (from the remarks I heard whilst leaving) let the venue feeling uplifted by a set of wonderful songs beautifully sung and backed with fine guitar playing (especially Tony Poole’s exquisite jangly 12 string Rickenbacker). The band performed the whole of their debut album plus tracks from their previous bands Grand Drive,Dreaming Spires and Starry Eyed and Laughing. They also previewed a couple of tracks which have been cut for their eagerly awaited follow up album due later this year. They finished with a rousing version of the Wilburys “Handle with care”. It’s only January but I may well have seen the best gig of the year

The audience:

Mainly men “of a certain age”

It made me think..

What absolute joy can be gained from listening to accomplished musicians doing something they love and at which they shine. I floated out of the venue

Ry Cooder

by 8 Comments

Venue:

Cadogan Hall

Date: 18/10/2018

I was lucky enough to witness an evening of sublime musicianship from Mr Cooder and his band of merry men. The evening started off with a short set from “number one son Joachim” and his accompanying bass player Sam Gandell. Joachim was playing a strange instrument which I read was an electronic zither – he has a decent voice – very 70s in tone and the gig has made me want to pick up a copy of his album “Fuchsia Machu Picchu”. After a short 15 minute break Ry Cooder wandered on to the stage clutching a mac book and proceeded to wow the sold out audience with songs from pretty much all of his albums including a brilliant version of Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man” including some lines about Trayvon Martin. It’s not enough really to mention the titles of the songs and a review can never do the gig justice but I remember “How can a poor man stand such times and live”, “Down in the boondocks” and a superb version of “Jesus on the mainline” as being wonderful. Several songs featured from the new album “The prodigal son” and, on these he » Continue Reading.

Heads down no nonsense mindless boogie

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What does it sound like?:

Well this was an eye opener and no mistake – I remembered Sounds championing the NWOBHM and this never really appealed back then – perhaps time has diminished my antipathy – or perhaps I’m missing my youth (and the hair that I would, no doubt, have shaken !).

My idea of heaven – decent guitar, bass and drums in tune with each other and a singer who can actually sing reasonably sensible lyrics. My idea of hell – instruments all playing over each other, very little tune and a singer who screams muffled screaming vocals.

This compilation has, thankfully, an awful lot more of the former than the latter !

I’d actually heard very few of these bands – heard the names of a lot of them but was only really aware of the better known – Saxon, Samson, Girlschool (and the Girlschool track here included is excellent).

I’d previously assumed that I knew what I was getting when I saw the names Satan, Venom, Savage and Demon Pact on an album cover. In some cases I was dished up roughly what I thought I was going to get but, in the majority » Continue Reading.

Spirit – It shall be – The Ode and Epic Recordings 1968 -1972

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What does it sound like?:

Spirit were “Out of Topanga Canyon from the Time Coast” according to an early press release. Visually they were quite different to the norm as the drummer, Ed Cassidy, was shaven headed, always dressed in black and performed behind the biggest drum kit most people had ever seen. He was stepfather to the group’s guitarist – Randy California (who had played with Hendrix in the latter’s band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in 1966). Other members of the band were Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes who later formed Jo Jo Gunne and John Locke Cassidy had played in many jazz bands in the 50s and was a highly respected musician – not surprising, therefore, that the band’s first album was more than tinted with jazz. The elaborate string arrangements and overtly psychedelic songs were, one could say “of their time”! By the time of the second album “The Family that plays together” (would they have got away with that in these tremulous times ?) the band were a lot more together and the album actually included a US top 30 hit in “I got a line on you”.

Between “The Family that plays » Continue Reading.

AFTERWORD CD SWAP

by 18 Comments

Regarding the new CD swap can anyone recommend an MP3 tag stripper that works for an Apple Mac. I’ve tried doing it in iTunes and with “Tag Stripper” and “Tag Editor” but with no luck. Cheers

Steeleye Span

by 6 Comments

Venue:

The Harlequin, Redhill

Date: 19/11/2017

Just occasionally I like to go out on a bit of a limb and to see someone whose output I should know but don’t. An artiste whose music doesn’t bother my collection. This is what brought me to see Steeleye Span – I mean I’d always been aware of them but, apart from the two hit singles, had never bought anything by them. The gig didn’t disappoint – the band took to the stage and Maddy Prior announced that they were going to play the whole of their first album “Hark the village wait” in the first half of the show and then a selection of other songs in the second half. It became immediately apparent that either Maddy Prior has a bit of a cold or that her voice is on the way out as she appeared to be straining a little to get to the high notes a la Ian Anderson. However she has the advantage over Mr Anderson in that she has other vocalists who can fill in when her voice is straining a bit which does mask any shortcomings. The musicianship in the band is astonishing – seven individuals » Continue Reading.