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  1. Beginning of the month was the second half of my holiday in Cyprus, so managed to read Utopia Avenue and the David Hepworth book Nothing is Real.
    Got back caught a crappy cold and stayed in bed, before surfacing in time to enjoy a week in the Dales. Watched all the episodes of Ghosts US which I preferred to our homegrown version, also read the Jake Thackray biography so listened to him and George Brassens.
    I contributed to the Fairport book Gonna See All My Friends so read that too when it arrived.
    Travelled to Whitby to see Ruth and Sadie Price, daughters of folk singer Bill Price who died in the early eighties. Good to see them again as I hadn’t seen them in years, along with their mum who I hadn’t seen in 30 years.
    Not much else though.

  2. Well, I had me gall bag out, day 9 today, and surprisingly plain sailing. I was expecting far more grief. The only misstep was the anaesthetic knocking my bladder for six, so I couldn’t pee until the next day, meaning an overnight stay, lodged in with the UK snoring champeen of 2022. Keyhole, so unable to spin out my sick leave any longer than the proffered fortnight. (So I have another week!) Curiously reticent yet to risk the planned feast of cheese, bacon, salami and chicken chilli madras, so maybe I am a changed character, as befits this new svelte 13 stone 2.
    I cancelled my beloved Peat and Diesel the night before surgery, my wife feeling I should go to bed early that night, so now wishing I had ignored her. I had had to cancel Jarlath Henderson the night after surgery, for more realistic reasons, so delighted the Cowboy Junkies had the good grace to play the week before I went under the knife. Mighty fine they were too, in the splendour of Buston’s Opera House. I did append a review to the earlier CJ thread, should anyone be remotely interested.
    Telly has been a mix of this and that. Gangs of London was preposterous nonsense and we loved every minute. Binged the Crown, or the one written by the Charles Appreciation Society, as the wife put it. The 2nd series of White Orchid is proving excruciatingly excoriating and is terrific. Getting towards the conclusion of odd slow burning time travel murder whodunnit, Shining Girls, with Elisabeth Moss exuding her TM gawky awkwardness. Looking forward to the end and snacking into the second series of Gary Oldman’s Slow Horses. Film wise, on telly, natch, included The Norseman, prime ham from viking times, so OTT it cam at you from UTB, and the exquisite slow burn of The Wonder, a new slant on science versus religion in the Irish bog country last century.
    The record of the year came out and has been played a lot. What record? The new Jeb Loy Nichols, doncha know, United States of the Broken Hearted. Imagine if Adrian Sherwood were to produce, well, Jeb Loy Nichols, and his dustbowl dirges, and that is exactly what it sounds like. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
    I got me laptop back and am busy re-filling it with music, which has invited a wonderful soak in past passions. Jings, my taste in music was ever as cutting edge as it remains, with very few rejects being ejected to make room for future exhilarations.

  3. Read:

    I ended up reading another Tim Powers classic, On Stranger Tides, on my commute, because it was the only paperback I had. I’ve had it for years but never in the mood for it, wasn’t too keen now either but took the plunge. It was fine, but not one I’d recommend to someone wanting to try Powers for the first time. Yes, it had some entertaining lore and magic and interesting characters, but it was too long and the last third or so reminded me of the first Terminator movie, where I tend to shout at the screen: “Just bloody die already, FFS!” And after all that we get an epilogue that isn’t an epilogue, just yet another final chapter with some guesses and hopes about their future… Pirates aren’t my favourites either, so that I still gave it (a low) 7 out of 10 is a testament to his imagination and ability to write. Not one I’m going to re-read, however.

    I also read a book of essays on topics like memory and oblivion, via photographies and old science archives (“science”, as in specifically race biology), the loss of context and how old notions are being used and lies told as truth by right wing extremists, among other topics. Written by a Swedish historian/author and after a slow start it got very interesting (and quite upsetting in parts).

    I finished (well, almost) my crime novel project that I started in August, and also tidied up my TBR by finishing a couple of short story collections that had been read earlier in the year bar a couple of stories. I also finally picked up The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, which I left half-way through (also in August), again, and will try to finish it in December if I have enough time. I’ve loved it from the start, just needed some lighter reads for a while after Linda’s (=Carolina) death. But I suspect that it may spill over into January…it’s very long and dense!

    My biggest reading news this month is that I’ve started using an e-reader for my commute. I bought one earlier this year, but didn’t have the motivation to start using it until now. My reasons for switching – reluctantly – to the e-reader are: I mainly buy hardback books these days (better font-size, looks better on a shelf, won’t be such a struggle to re-read in my old age…) and they are too heavy to lug around in my bag; on my commute home at night (around 23:00) it’s very dark and I have to wait for a long time at two bus stops with no other light than from the lampposts; everything is so expensive now that I feel a need to cut down on the cost of buying books (which I’ve spent a large part of my income on…)
    The e-reader has its own light, the font size can be adjusted to my needs, it weighs next to nothing, and I can load up on classics from Project Gutenberg and get my commute entertainment for free. So that’s what I’m doing now. Downloaded a bunch of free classics, some of which I’ve read before but a long time ago, some that I’ve never gotten around to. It’s not as pleasant as reading an actual physical copy of a book, but it’s very convenient (especially at this time of year when it’s pitch black when I travel home at night).
    At the moment I’ve returned to a childhood favourite, Edgar Allan Poe (Still trying to avoid War and Peace…)

    Heard:

    I keep going back to the posthumous album from Dr John, which is better with each listen and really makes me wish that he’d used some voodoo to get to live to be at least 150 years old…

    The new First Aid Kit album Palomino is failing to fully grip me so far, bar a couple of tracks. Musically it’s slowly improving on each listen, but there’s something a bit generic about the sound and the lyrics that only makes it a “nice” experience, not a moving one. Maybe I just haven’t been in the right mood for it – occasionally something sparks and make me take notice, so I live in hope.

    Alice Boman is another Swedish favourite who has a new album out, called The Space Between. Too early days to arrive at a verdict yet, as I’ve only had time to listen to it twice, but very promising so far! If you enjoy quiet, sad and dreamy songs sung in a brittle and slightly breathy voice, this is for you. Featuring Perfume Genius on one track, which should give you a hint!

    Seen:

    No. When I’m at work I keep thinking of films I want to watch, but when I get home I’m too tired or too busy to watch, or have forgotten all about it. No TV. Just a few things on YouTube, quickly consumed and just as quickly forgotten.

    AOB:

    Almost finished my kitchen reno, thank god…what a slog it’s been. Christmas is coming too soon, as usual. Veey cold weather and more snow on its way, they say. Elecricity bills aside, I’m all for it – the colder the better, I say!

    • I just posted my top 20 albums of 2022 and almost immediately after I posted it I realised i had left off Dr John.
      Big mistake as Julia Roberts would say.

  4. SEEN
    Four episodes into The English and the arrival of Rafe Spall starts to hint at how everything will tie up. Gorgeous visuals, and great to see something paced so slowly. I’m also four into the Adam Curtis series on Russia – both profound in offering an insight into Why Putin – and hence our world now – but also utterly depressing. Small doses only.
    Films – ended a run of WW2 classics with the shockingly bad 633 Squadron. The flying is great but everything else is awful. No wonder the cinema business nearly went bust in the sixties. Now onto the new Sight and Sound list…

    READ
    November dominated by The Satanic Verses. Long, dense and in the two long sections about the history of the prophet even a white westerner with little knowledge of the Koran can see what might be controversial. The first 100 pages are bewildering, but it settles down to tell something like a proper story after that. And much-vaunted pomo thriller True Crime Story, centred around the lives of Manchester students caught up in a missing person case, is just shockingly bad.

    HEARD
    The Swifty album starts like a stone cold classic, but after the first 3/4 songs trails off a bit. The Arctic Monkeys album gets better on each listen. Of the 1000 albums listens, how good is Screamadelica? The best album of the nineties perhaps.

  5. Heard:
    Ruts DC – Counterculture?
    Jim Bob – The Essential Jim Bob (compilation)
    First Aid Kit – Palomino

    and 2 of those make my year end list (and the other would be on the Compilations list, if it existed)

    Read:
    Nothing except Mojo and selections of wikipedia

    Seen:
    London Bouleverd – as Gangster flicks go, it was better than some. Few too many sub-plots going on though
    Just started on The Bay on ITV Player
    (ITV Player is now stuffed full of ads that you can’t forward – I think this is due to the coming ITVx service)
    Hannah Fry’s Genius Of Modern Life on BBC2 is described by Mrs D as “dull and nerdy”, but I think it really interesting
    (OK, maybe it’s because I am dull and nerdy)

    • As both “inquisitive”* and dull, I think Genius Of Modern Life isn’t nerdy enough. But I suppose it is supposed to be entertainment, not the Open University.

      Useless fact: she’s from the same home town as me, and my mum went to the same all-girls school as her. And we’re both ging-ers (although she’s a lot more copper than me).

      (*) AKA nosey pain in the arse

  6. Watched: the superlative Andor and The Peripheral. Both political SF. If you dont know the phrase “The Jackpot” to describe our current environmental crisis, you should. Both need a second season – Andor has one. The Peripheral changes totally from the book by episode 4 or 5. So it is a mini-stub.

    Read: the Reckless series of graphic novels by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips. Excellent hard boiled noir. And, various Judge Dredd omnibusses – you know about them. And the latest Rebus, A heart full of headstones. You know what to expect. Mostly. Ageing in real time means there will not be many more.

    Listened: a whole bunch of homework for the 2022 album of the year. Spotify (which I rarely use) now has a 20 hour playlist which I am working through. I’ll be done by Christmas. November was of course 30 days of Dead, and I think a better than usual selection.

  7. SEEN SEEN AND MORE SEEN
    Deadstream is a comedy horror film that works well in both departments. Made me laugh anyway. The protagonist, a youtuber called Shawn, livestreams his night in a haunted house to his followers. Shawn has some great lines and extra humour comes from the many live chat comments by his followers that scroll by on the side of the screen, so fast you’d have to pause the film every two seconds to catch all of them. (To give a typical example, when Shawn recites a curse in Latin to ward off the evil spirits that are tormenting him, one fan comments “Imma use that one on my boyfriend, lol”.) A real hoot!

    My Policeman – Poignant drama showing what it was like to be gay in the ‘50s. Harry Styles seems fine as a lead actor.

    Triangle of Sadness – Enjoyable satire in which a cruise ship for the super rich gets sunk, its passengers wash up on an island and the only person with survival skills is the woman who cleaned the toilets on board the ship. A bit spoilt by ending too abruptly.

    Moonage Daydream – absolutely loved it.

    Am I Being Unreasonable? How brilliant is disabled child actor Lenny Rush? Very. A total natural with a gift for comedy and drama. And his chemistry with Daisy May Cooper was a joy.

    The Patient – Domhnall Gleeson plays a serial killer who goes to a therapist (Steve Carrel) to try and cure his urge to kill. He kidnaps the therapist and chains him to the floor of his living room so they can continue therapy sessions with open acknowledgement of his murderous activities. Interesting premise, very dark humour, 20 minute episodes that lend themselves to binge watching. Both Gleeson and Carrel are excellent.
    But I’d rather go on about how brilliant Lenny Rush is. Nice article about him here:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63741945

  8. Read
    I have been on a bit of a Nige Tassell binge this month & read 3 of his great books. Both The Bottom Corner about non league football & The Hard Yards about a year in the Championship were great reads & if you are the sort of person (like me) who will happily watch any game at all, you will enjoy.
    The 3rd of my Nige Tassell trilogy was Whatever Happened To The C86 Kids? which i really loved. I was born in 83 so although i know the legend, it is something that I did not experience. I’ve loved discovering some new bands, particularly the Bodines who are 15 minutes up the road from me, and it is a great read. The fantastic Half Man Half Biscuit have a chapter & as they also feature quite heavily in the football books, I am holding out hope that he does a full book about all things Blackwell / HMHB at some point in the future……
    The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer has already been reviewed on the site & I wholly agree. It was a compelling read & had me chuckling away to myself at times. I assume some TV network will be working on making it into a series.

    Seen
    The month started with Dustin O’Halloran at Stoller Hall in Manchester & it was incredible. First time I have seen a solo show of his & it was one of my gigs of the year for sure.
    A friend gave me a ticket for Sigur Ros at Manchester Apollo as he could not attend, it was a nice surprise to get to my seat & find I was on the centre of the front row so it felt like a personal show. They were great too.
    The month was rounded off with the excellent Sorcha Richardon at Manchester Yes & Idlewild at (what is fast becoming my favourite venue) Manchester New Century Hall.

    Heard
    Fans of The Walkmen may like the new solo album called Flowers from bass player Peter Matthew Bauer. It’s been on heavy rotation this month & is a great listen.
    The new podcast series of Rockonteurs with Guy Pratt & Gary Kemp has been brilliant. I’d have happily listened to the Richard Hawley episode for about 6 hours, it was great. I would heartily recommend to anyone not already listening!

    AOB
    Either a poorly child or Covid has meant we have missed a few shows this month, notably the comedian Mark Simmons who I am desperate to see & Yard Act, The latter of which we could not give the tickets away due to it’s clash with Englands 0-0 bore draw with the US. Surprisingly I had the ticket insurance on the booking so have submitted a claim in the hope of getting my money back. It’s not something I have done before as can usually give a ticket away if for some reason we can’t make it. This claim has been an absolute nightmare & I think it is going to drag on.

  9. Seen

    The Prisoners at Rochester Royal Function Rooms-I’ve written a full gig review before on here so I won’t repeat much other than to say it was fabulous and by all accounts the other three nights were too. I really hope they play some more. One of those nights when you remember why you love live music in small venues so much.
    The Monochrome Set at the Boilerhouse in Guildford on 3rd Dec. The Set were my first live gig back in the early 80’s and I’ve seen them quite a few times since, the only ever presents in the line up being singer Bid and bassist Andy Warren. Now a four piece of guitar/vox, bass, drums and keyboardist, the band were in good form with a setlist equally covering new and old. A word here for support band Oldfield Youth Club, whose frontman Simon Rivers used to front sardonic South West London band The Bitter Springs. OYC are a delight-if you like The Fall, Half Man Half Biscuit or The Nightingales you might find much to admire here.

    Heard

    The Soup Dragons “Raw TV Products-Singles and Rarities 85-87.” I have had to listen to this on Spotify as it hasn’t arrived yet due to the postal strike, but this is a joyous and well put together compilation from the pre-indie dance and fame days. Rough, raw but tuneful in a Buzzcocks morphing into a Smiths-y sort of way, this is the version of the band to remember and when I’m Free was a hit I recall thinking it was a shame they didn’t pursue this vein for longer.
    Thee Moot “Mood Swings and Roundabouts” If you like your eighties British garage bands, Thee Moot are a Berkshire blend of The Prisoners, The Playn Jayn and Mood Six with a dash of very early REM. Think paisley shirts and mod-esque powerpop tunes. I saw these in a Twickenham pub during the heat this summer and have only now got around to playing this album from earlier in the year.

    Watched

    Not much. Continued with The Blacklist, with James Spader. Getting more ridiculous by the episode but still fun. Although by no means royalists, and this is still very much led by Mrs L, we’re still watching The Crown although this latest series is way less interesting than the others. Something about Dominic West just irritates anyway and as he’s playing Charles then it’s probably a combo I should really take with an even bigger pinch of salt than ever. Or maybe just avoid…

    Read

    Not a lot this month, although I’m a short way into David Hendy’s The BBC: A People’s History and it’s a fascinating read so far. I have also re-read/”flicked through again” a couple of music bios from earlier the autumn, such as Nigel Tassell’s excellent C86 book, and Douglas MacIntyre and Grant McPhee’s “Hungry Beat” which is a definitive guide to the late seventies and early eighties Scottish indie scene. Fast and Postcard are both covered, so it doesn’t just focus on the usual Glasgow subjects there is a nice balance with the eastern side of the country as well.

  10. There’s a lot of work to do round here lately what with one thing and another. And no remuneration either.

    Read: Barney Hoskins Small Town Talk. After visiting the site of the festival it was interesting to read this book for all the background to how the festival came about and some of the people involved. One thinks of the actual town of Woodstock as more of a pleasant haven, separate from the shambolic goings on down the road but actually the presence of Dylan and The Band inevitably attracted others and the whole scene got pretty squalid and spoiled eventually. So many casualties and mistreatment of others by musicians.
    Now reading the Jann Wenner memoirs. A lot of fascinating information and experiences. Maybe too much about making the magazine, what was on the cover, the articles for that issue etc. Skim reading here and there. He was there though to be fair, he knew the stars.

    Seen: Watched the film I’m Thinking Of Ending Things. It’s kind of brilliant really as long as you don’t expect answers to what it all means. A couple’s visit to the boyfriend’s parents leads to some odd turns of events with hilarious results, almost in Eraserhead territory. Jessie Buckley who plays the girlfriend is extremely good.

    Heard: I like the Wet Leg album. It’s a lot of fun. Best of the year possibly. Makes a refreshing change from all the moody, worthy stuff that gets most of the plaudits. The Harry Styles one is enjoyable too.

  11. I’ve been listening to a lot of old blues records – Little Milton, Little Walter, Muddy Waters Chess Singles – and some great Ethopian Jazz, especially the pianist Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. I’ve also been enjoying Max Richter’s remake of The Four Seasons.

    I had missed out on the news that Dr John’s last LP was out – I will hunt that down forthwith, thanks @Locust and @stevet

    I read Jimmy Breslin’s biography of Damon Runyon. Breslin captures Runyon well – he was pretty committed to the Broadway lifestyle, and at best a semi-detached husband and father. It’s packed with great anecdotes and chicanery. I also enjoyed the most recent in the Rivers Of London series – Among Our Weapons, by Ben Aaranovitch. Nicely plotted, with good use of the mystical threads in the story.

  12. Read: I’ve fallen back on old favorites, and recently that’s been Brookmyre. His opening slavoes are usually worth the price of the book alone.

    Heard: Absolutely nothing new. I’ve been going through artists and playlists trying to work out what I can stand to listen to. Frequent readers will understand why. Less frequent readers: brain injury, and its a long story. Currently getting frequent rotations: Ms Gentry, Ms Harris and Ms Parton.

    Watched: Andor, on Disney+. No, wait, Come back. It was brilliant. By any known TV measure, it was brilliant. By Star War measures, it was ESB/Rogue 1 levels of excellence. Stellen Skarsgard, Genevieve O’Reilly, no stupid furry creatures, philosophical thought worth considering, not dependent on special effects, only one “space battle” that lasted 30 second and was excellent… it was a great show that happened to be Star Wars. I also started Mystery Road: Origins, and they nailed casting of Young Jay Swann. If you get the chance to watch any of the Mystery Road stuff, or Goldstone, do it. It’s a modern Western, set in WA, and it’s very, very, very good.

  13. I’ll do a quick “Listened” just to update you on my love affair with 70s Genesis this year and going through their albums one by one. I’ve previously updated how much I’ve loved Supper’s Ready and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, etc. However, now I think I’ve truly reached the end of my interest with And Then There Were Three, the 1978 album after Steve Hackett left. I’ve tried it three times now, but nothing is sticking with me at all, and I can’t remember a single tune (with the exception of Follow You Follow Me – a pleasant enough pop song in a forward-looking eighties style, but not really my bag). I admire the band for continuing to build on their success, and reinventing themselves as key band members leave, and overall I have a new admiration for Phil Collins, but I think here is now truly where me and Genesis must part ways.

      • Argh, you guys! I’m curious now and maybe I should push on to Duke then after all. Is And Then There Were Three seen by Genesis fans as a bit of a dip then?

        I’m just surprised how much it’s just not reaching me. Listening back to Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering just now and I realise how much better they are. Something definitely changed with the band’s approach in 1977/78, and I don’t think it’s just the departure of Steve Hackett. (I’m new to them though, and not an expert in any sense!) It feels like they got carried away with new synth and guitar sounds, drum sounds as well, plus their own approach to songwriting, and And Then There Were Three is the first album of theirs which to my ears sounds distinctly dated. (The cheesy synth sound right at the start of the first song sounds like the Bontempi keyboard I got for Christmas 1982).

        • ATTWT – not an appalling album, just a bit “meh” after what had come before it. OOAA, of course.
          I’m not really a Genesis fan (although I’ve got all the Gabriel-era albums, plus Duke and, in fact, ATTWT – arf!). I suppose the critics would say it’s a transitional album, between the Hackett era and the all-out race for commercialisation and sales.

          Duke is a throwback (although certainly not 100% progressive). I’d have been interested to hear the Duke Suite, if they had followed their initial idea and made it a side long epic. And it would have been even better with Hackett aboard.

  14. Read:
    Well, I re-read Colin’s Dazzling Stranger, as a direct consequence of the BBC set arriving. Also been continuing my plough through Tony Benn’s diaries from the Callaghan era; and the Steely Dan On Track book which is a rather better read than some others from the same series – quite a witty author, with some thoughts to convey.

    Seen:
    Not much new – Call My Agent (the French one) on Netflix; some old movies on DVD – The Cruel Sea, Ice Cold in Alex, Scott of the Antarctic, Metropolis. Now sitting by the letterbox, waiting for the arrival of King Crimson at 50.

    Heard:
    Holmboe symphonies, bit of late Mahler and Bruckner, and a whole raft of neo-Canterbury bands off BandCamp. And, of course, Bert Jansch live at the BBC – as fine a set as I’ve heard in a month of Sundays. I know it’s not a competition: but if I could only afford one big box set, I’d have chosen this over Revolver – and, in fact, I did!

    AOB:
    The walk (see elsewhere).
    Also, first bass-playing gig in about 15 years – filling in for the absent regular in my friend’s Quo covers band. Nearly all 1970s, so minimal rehearsal required (although it has drastically skewed my Spotify 2022 Wrapped), lots of fun and an enthusiastic crowd. Followed about 48 hours later with a bout of covid – not a coincidence, I suspect. Now testing negative and back on my feet, but still can’t taste the good coffee or the good whisky. Ho hum…however, I am grateful that it was a mild dose overall.

  15. SEEN:

    A welcome return for the Cambridge Jazz Festival after a couple of years’ absence, managing as usual to pull together a busy fortnight of varied music scattered across a range of interesting city venues.

    This year, Zara McFarlane was “artist in residence” – performing two very different concerts. First up, she joined the Cambridge University Jazz Band – a very slick and accomplished 20-piece – for a few jazz standards in front of an almost full house at West Road Concert Hall. She looked a little uncertain at times but sang beautifully – leaving the stage while the band went through its paces with music by Maynard Ferguson and a cookin’ version of Tower of Power’s “What is Hip?” with the 14-strong horn section blaring away superbly.

    Her next session a week later at a small college theatre was more intimate – just her and rising piano star Deschanel Gordon – and she seemed far more at ease, working through an almost two-hour set of her own material from her four albums. She was just wonderful – even dropping in a version of “Police and Thieves” before her own “Fussin’ and Fightin’” to finish the show.

    There’s been a welcome groundswell of jazz harpists recently though too often they’re relegated to provide a bit of colour to the tepid parping of Matthew Halsall and the like. Alina Bzhezhinska, however, fronts her own trio paying homage to her influences kicking off with her take on Dorothy Ashby’s “Soul Vibrations” and a later nod in her excellent set to Alice Coltrane. She also touched on her Ukrainian roots with a couple of heartfelt originals dedicated to her homeland.

    Meanwhile, Bill Laurence, of Snarky Puppy fame, was in more reflective mood in a solo piano set at Stapleford Granary, a lovely venue to the south of the city. His new album “Affinity” has a strange harsh tone to it but on a Steinway sounded much better with nods to Bill Evans in a beautifully paced set.

    The real highlight though was jazz singer Kurt Elling who I’ve wanted to see for decades. He’s gone through several stylistic changes in his career but during Covid he veered off in a new sort of funky blues direction via his album “Superblue.” He was so entertaining – veering between vocalese, scat singing and occasionally playing it straight alongside a superb band with Charlie Hunter doing his bass, rhythm and lead thing from the same guitar and an unbelievably funky drummer in Marcus Finnie playing “side on” to room. Even the normally placid Cambridge crowd was stirred, roaring the band on as the set progressed. Best gig of the year.

    READ:

    Several books on the go but can’t seem to finish them.

    HEARD:

    Some interesting releases around including a newly discovered solo piano set by the late Esbjorn Svennson, which has its blissful moments. Also, the soundtrack to new film “Bones and All” – a moody downbeat set based around simple acoustic guitar motifs – from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

    The Acid Jazz label is doing some new things with a couple of old soul veterans. There’s a full album with Gloria Scott which pretty much picks up where she left off with her Barry White-produced album in the mid-70s – all slick rhythms and swirling strings – and Gloria herself in fine voice. More downbeat, Billy Valentine has a new single – a version of Curtis Mayfield’s “We the people…” ahead of a new album in the new year which should be good.

    Meanwhile from Soul Jazz Records – Disco Reggae Rockers – a superb collection of largely UK-produced lovers rock versions of 80s soul hits, including this super rare version of Diana Ross’s “It’s my House” by Risco Connection. Ideal party starter!

    • Superb post!

      I wish I could have attended the Cambridge Jazz Festival. Zara is wonderful but I hope her next album is better than her last when, for me, her concept suffocated her passion. I agree with you about Kurt. He is fabulously consistent. Sometimes, I wonder if he dipped a little, the height of his peaks would be more appreciated, but he’s up there all the time. That gig sounds amazing.

    • West Road Concert Hall is a superb venue. Every time I go I think “I should come here more often” but somehow never seem to know what’s on. I’m obviously not on the right mailing list.

    • I always enjoy your posts and am inspired by your recommendations, Morrison.

      But “the tepid parping of Matthew Halsall” ? No way – that’s fighting talk!

  16. Until I wrote this up, I hadn’t twigged what a busy November it had been, with something on every weekend.

    Hosted Winter Wilson at the folk club on the first weekend. Some here may have seen them when they toured in support of Fairport a few years ago. A classic, well established musical and emotional partnership from the folk circuit, but probably little known beyond it. Boy did they connect with our full house and left me floating for a few days.

    Second weekend saw a long awaited return of Audlem Bagpipe and Hurdy Gurdy Day – hurrah! A happy afternoon of well-arranged cacophony in a pub back room, civilians walking outside on the towpath staring in disbelief and, occasionally, evident disdain. Then it was a hop on the pushbike and off to Chester for the Autumn Trilogy of young folk acts, offered by the organisers of Chester Folk Festival. Greg Russell is a son of the city and previous winner of the BBC2 Young Folk Award, many years ago. It’s the second time I’ve seen him this year and what strikes me is that, whereas most acts I just let the music and the ambience wash over me, with him, I come away having listened to every lyric.

    Christina Alden & Alex Patterson hoofed over from Norwich to Huddersfield for the third weekend, offspring in tow, a much newer minting of that musical/emotional partnership, but again with plenty of well worked harmonies and sharp observations and allegories.

    As for the fourth weekend – hell! – three legends in their own genres. Martin Carthy for another packed night at the folk club. Unfortunately, he was under the weather – it can’t be easy touring at 82 – but his guitar style is still unmistakeable and fascinating, and the audience still hang on his every word. A Blowzabella bal in Holmfirth on Saturday night; any casual reader of my posts will know what this means to me. Finally, front row seats for the mighty Bellowhead at Bridgewater Hall, and they were magnificent, literally spectacular. They acknowledged with dignity the recent loss of one of their number in Paul Sartin, as they accompanied his voice. I had feared that they might find it difficult to be Bellowhead without him, but by the end of the show, I got a much stronger impression that this reunion tour won’t be the last we see of them. I was easy about them splitting when they did, feeling they had run their course, but now I’d say that both the band and their audience are rejuvenated.

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