FEATURE: A Buyer’s Guide: Part Thirty-One: Tegan and Sara

FEATURE:

 

 

A Buyer’s Guide

 PHOTO CREDIT: Pamela Littky

Part Thirty-One: Tegan and Sara

___________

FOR this outing of A Buyer’s Guide…

I am featuring Tegan and Sara. They are a fantastic Canadian indie pop band formed in 1998, comprised of identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain and Sara Keirsten Quin. The pair have released nine studio albums and numerous E.P.s. I really love their music, so I wanted to highlight it here. Each album is different and interesting so, if you have not heard of them or need a guide to their back catalogue, then I have recommended the four essential albums, an underrated one, their latest studio effort, and an accompanying book. Have a look and listen to the suggestions below because, if you are not familiar and steeped in Tegan and Sara’s music, then I really feel that…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Gries/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

YOU ought to be.

_______________

The Four Essential Album

 

If It Was You

Release Date: 20th August, 2002

Labels: Vapor/Sanctuary

Producers: John Collins/David Carswell

Standout Tracks: Monday Monday Monday/I Hear Noises/Living Room

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-and-Sara-If-It-Was-You/release/2031242

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/03KYia16AlAgoGNUneay0J

Review:

“Three songs on If It Was You stand above the rest, the best examples of the duo's growing songwriting talents and the best combinations of their folk influences and their new, louder direction. The Britpoppy "Want to Be Bad", with its combination of a shuffling drum beat, acoustic guitars, and ethereal electric guitar solo licks with an excellent vocal performance by Tegan (at least, I think it's Tegan . . . they sound so much alike). According to their bio, "Under Water" was inspired by Sara's attempt at writing a children's book, and it possesses a real sing-song quality along with some more 12-string guitar (think The La's), with its very pretty chorus of "All I need is time / Time to love you" and the odd facetious aside ("Your silly love songs / A bird's chorus and such"). Tegan's fun, bluegrass stomp of a song "Living Room" is the album's catchiest tune, as she describes the view through a neighbor's uncomfortably close window and the voyeuristic desire to keep staring: "My windows look into your bathroom / I spend the evening watching you get yourself clean / I wonder why it is they left this bathroom so unclean / So unlike me."

It's good to see that Tegan And Sara know the difference between singing an emotional song well and just trying too hard to get the message across; most singers their age simply beat a song to death with their vocal histrionics, ripping off Alanis Morrissette, et al, but these wisecracking sisters possess a maturity and easygoing feel that's sorely lacking in the Young Female Singer/Songwriter subgenre. If It Was You doesn't break new musical ground, but that doesn't keep it from being one of the more pleasant surprises to surface in recent months” – Popmatters

Choice Cut: Time Running

The Con

Release Date: 24th July, 2007

Labels: Vapor/Sire/London

Producers: Tegan and Sara/Chris Walla

Standout Tracks: Are You Ten Years Ago/Burn Your Life Down/Floorplan

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-And-Sara-The-Con/master/58207

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4QjGIZZqvNrdkgw4LZKLZK?si=0lqdh8kGTXqX7gvQRXR-0g

Review:

“Although identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin first appeared in the music scene in the late '90s playing the kind of folk-rock and folk-punk more associated with other Lilith Fair (in which they participated) artists of the time, by the time 2007 rolled around they had moved into much poppier territory. It was a progression, to be sure, from This Business of Art to their fourth Vapor full-length -- one that can be heard in the time spent on production, the louder guitars -- but that still may not prepare listeners for The Con. Produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, the album is full of quirky, Aqueduct-like keyboards, punchy bass from Weezer's Matt Sharp and AFI's Hunter Burgan, and even some guitar help from Kaki King that stretch and shove their way into the spaces between Tegan and Sara's hook-driven melodies and clean harmonies, more complex than anything they've done before. Though each sister writes and sings lead on seven tracks, it is Sara especially who writes the more intricate pieces ("Relief Next to Me," "Like O, Like H"), showing a more adult songwriter, one who has matured since her first work came out, while Tegan draws more from simpler emo and pop-punk arrangements ("Nineteen," "Hop a Plane"), her songs more straightforward, both compositionally and lyrically, than her sister's. But this isn't to say that there's a kind of disparity or harsh contrast on The Con. Much like the duo's voices, which share a timbre, a clear relationship, even if their actual tonality differs, the songs on the album complement each other, play off the other's strengths, and make the record very much an entity instead of simply a collection of tracks, setting it off as an impressive step forward in their already commendable discography” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: The Con

Sainthood

Release Date: 26th October, 2009

Label: Sire

Producers: Chris Walla/Howard Redekopp

Standout Tracks: Hell/Red Belt/Paperback Head

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-And-Sara-Sainthood/master/203376

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5WEzg0qwsaTxv798ACtVTH

Review:

“The danceable, buzzy, ’80s-influenced pop-rock of Tegan & Sara has become increasingly common of late, thanks in part to fellow travelers like The Gossip and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That means the Quin sisters may not get the credit they deserve for the way they construct and deconstruct songs. More than just a throwback act, Tegan & Sara have a lot in common with Spoon in the way they tug at the edges of classic girl-group pop and R&B, emphasizing rhythmic punch while keeping their melodies clean and lyrics memorable. True, there’s something faintly robotic to the approach—more so than ever on the duo’s sixth LP, Sainthood, which is more or less a copy of 2007’s superb The Con—but the songs are so well-tooled that it’s hard to hold their precision against them.

Consider Sainthood’s “Arrow,” which puts a staccato beat under the repeated image of an arrow’s feathers brushing by; the lyrics offer a straightforward expression of unrequited love, contained within a song packed with restless energy. Throughout Sainthood, Tegan & Sara invest small, relatable subjects—the embarrassment of unconscious gestures, the loneliness of sexual yearning—with the urgency of a teenage love-note. And after wallowing in romantic martyrdom for roughly half an hour, the Quins end Sainthood with “Sentimental Tune” and “Someday,” a rousing one-two finale that aspires to real joy. It’s another inside-out move for Tegan & Sara; they’ve pulled apart self-doubt and found the self-regard that lines it” – The A.V. Club

Choice Cut: Alligator

Love You to Death

Release Date: 3rd June, 2016

Labels: Vapor/Warner Bros.

Producer: Greg Kurstin

Standout Tracks: That Girl/Dying to Know/White Knuckles

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-and-Sara-Love-You-To-Death/master/1009307

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0zqoBumDciJGNoOsvfTP5U

Review:

“Indeed, for all Tegan and Sara’s adoption by the queens of teen pop, Love You to Death feels like a distinctly grownup album, unafraid to explore nuanced, mature themes. There’s something unflinching about 100x’s description of a failed relationship, and there’s a disturbing darkness lurking around Dying to Know: if you were the ex addressed in the lyrics, you’d strongly consider applying for a restraining order, or at the very least changing your mobile number.

That Buzzfeed profile also found the duo – who once doubted that gay women could ever make it into the US pop charts at all – wondering how far their newfound success might go, whether they might end up headlining Madison Square Gardens or the O2. Maybe, maybe not; the pop world is pretty fickle, after all. But listening to Love You to Death, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine” – The Guardian

Choice Cut: Boyfriend

The Underrated Gem

 

So Jealous

Release Date: 14th September, 2004

Labels: Vapor/Sanctuary

Producers: Sara Quin/Tegan Quin/John Collins/David Carswell/Howard Redekopp

Standout Tracks: You Wouldn't Like Me/I Know I Know I Know/Fix You Up

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-and-Sara-So-Jealous/master/58198

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2yNhqBKfZPzrxRJqGMbSz9

Review:

“Tegan and Sara's third album, So Jealous, is by far their most ambitious and liveliest record, opening up their punk-folk sound with a heavy dose of new wave sensibility and pop hooks. They started moving in this direction on their previous album, but here they dive headfirst into slick, shiny surfaces, insistent synths, clean guitars, and bright, playful melodies that sound sunny even in minor keys. This musical revamp doesn't betray their nervy emotionalism. Instead, it focuses them, giving their music style and flair that focuses them while making the duo more accessible. And So Jealous is indeed the Tegan and Sara album that could play to a wider audience, but the group remains an acquired taste for one reason: their thin, squeaky voices and close harmonies can be grating to the uninitiated. Nevertheless, for those who have acquired that taste, So Jealous is the most satisfying album Tegan and Sara have yet made” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Walking with a Ghost

The Latest Album

 

Hey, I'm Just Like You

Release Date: 27th September, 2019

Label: Sire

Producer: Alex Hope

Standout Tracks: Hey, I'm Just Like You/Don't Believe the Things They Tell You (They Lie)/We Don't Have Fun When We're Together Anymore

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Tegan-and-Sara-Hey-Im-Just-Like-You/release/14185107

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4tnkPLLedgamtrRCDdpqwX

Review:

“When, on ‘Hello, I’m Free’, a souped-up version of the demo ‘Hello’, Sara Quinn sings a repurposed line such as, “Right now, I wish I was older”, her original snarled cry for connection strikes a slightly different tone. This time you sense that maybe she was singing about a vaguer and more elusive kind of experience, rather than age itself.

But set aside ‘Hey, I’m Just Like You’s nifty concept and you’ll see that the record stands up without novelty value. ‘Hold My Breath Until I Die’ is a slightly macabre slab of slinking heartbreak; ‘Keep Them Close Cause They Will Fuck You Too’ glimmers and claws; and on the title track they finally score their first ever explicit song rating. It only took them nine studio albums to drop the F-Bomb – and here, it’s spat with delicious relish.

Some will perhaps hail this record as a return to the duo’s rockier roots, though that’s not necessarily true. Over the course of two decades, it’s been impossible to pin Tegan and Sara to one specific record or sonic direction. Place their snappy 2016 release ‘Love You To Death’ next to the synth-pop curveball ‘Heartthrob’, the punchy indie of ‘The Con’ or the biting ‘If It Was You’, and you’ll see a band that loves shaking things up. Their only truly consistent quality is their ability to cut straight to the emotional core.

Presented as verbatim reproductions, the songs on ‘Hey, I’m Just Like You’ would function as a pile of dogeared artists sketchbooks  – but picked up again and turned into hefty indie-pop bangers, this serves as an honest, vulnerable, and occasionally brutal reminder of what Tegan and Sara have always been best at” – NME

Choice Cut: I'll Be Back Someday

The Tegan and Sara Book

 

High School

Authors: Tegan Quin/Sara Quin

Publication Date (paperback): 17/11/2020

Publishers: Little/Brown Book Group

Synopsis:

“From iconic musicians Tegan and Sara comes a nostalgic memoir about high school, detailing their first loves and first songs in a compelling look back at their origin story.

'Genius' Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors

'A gift' Ellen Page, actress

'Utterly charming' Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties

Before they became international musicians and LGBTQ+ icons, twin sisters Sara and Tegan Quin came of age in 90s Canada. They argued relentlessly, skipped school, dropped acid and fell in and out of love - sometimes with their best friends.

One day they found their stepdad's guitar and their lives changed course forever.

High School is a revelatory joint memoir. It captures two sisters wrestling with their sexual and artistic identities and those breathtaking years when the future seems wondrously possible” – Waterstones

Order: https://www.waterstones.com/book/high-school/tegan-quin/sara-quin/9780349011981

FEATURE: Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure: Jennifer Lopez – If You Had My Love

FEATURE:

 

 

Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure

Jennifer Lopez – If You Had My Love

___________

I did have another song earmarked…

for this feature for today. I was going to include Michael Jackson’s Earth Song but, as there is still wariness about people supporting Jackson’s music, I have kept it aside. I may include it at some point, but I was nervy about throwing it out there. Instead, I am thinking of Jennifer Lopez. She has just put out a single, In the Morning, and its cover is a naked shot of her. It is an amazing photo and, at fifty-one, she looks unbelievable! That shot shows the sort of passion and confidence on the song and, so long after her debut album, On the 6, Jennifer Lopez remains a fantastic and popular artist. Her latest album, A.K.A. of 2014, received mixed reviews, but I hope there is another album coming along as her latest track shows her in fine form! Apart from music, Lopez is also a renowned and skilled actor – her role in Hustlers (2019) gained aplomb and critical congratulations. I promise the next song in this feature will be non-1990s – I might include something from the last couple of decades -, but I was keen to focus on Lopez as I think she is one of those artists who splits people. Many people see her music as a bit of a guilty pleasure because it, perhaps, doesn’t contain as much depth as a lot of her peers’ work. Although Lopez’s albums have divided people through the years, I think her 1999 debut album is a fantastic work.

This is me going back to school days but, when On the 6 arrived on 1st June, many of my friends were aware of Lopez but they were not fans of her music. A Spanish edition of the album was released on 24th November, 1999 (it would have been nice to hear Lopez sing in Spanish more on the non-Spanish release). There are some great songs through On the 6. Lopez worked with producers like Rodney Jerkins, and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs - so there was so much experience on board to help mould the songs! There was a transformation between Lopez’s 1999 debut and 2001’s J.Lo – that moniker coming into full force on an album that was less immediate and memorable as her debut. I will bring in a review for On the 6 soon, but I think one of its best songs, If You Had My Love, deserves new love. Again, it is a song that only gets played on certain songs and I think some would feel a bit wary of confessing a love of the track! I really like the tone of Lopez’s voice: sultry and warm with plenty of versatility and strength. A lot of R&B/Pop artists in 1999 were known for being a bit processed and generic, but I think you can hear something different and unique about Lopez. She displays plenty of passion and personality through the entire album; If You Had My Love is a gem and song that showcases Lopez’s skills as a vocalist and interpreter.

Many felt that Lopez’s voice was a bit thin, lacked punch and was not that rounded. If You Had My Love was the first single released from the album on 4th May, 1999. It is a slinky, sexy and catchy song that was written by Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, and Cory Rooney. The blend of R&B, Latin rhythms and Pop makes the song accessible, but it also sounds a lot broader and more nuanced than a lot of music from that time. If You Had My Love was a big hit for Lopez, and it reached number-one in many nations. Even if the rest of On the 6 did not get a hugely positive reaction from some, If You Had My Love has been highlighted as a standout. It is interesting learning a bit about the passage before her debut single and how Jennifer Lopez came into music. Working on Selena (1997), a biographical film about American singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, that inspired her to launch a music career. Her decision to launch a musical career was seen as a risk as transitioning from film to music was not always smooth and successful. In a Wikipedia article on the song, we learn more about If You Had My Love:

“According to Cory Rooney, one of the song's co-writers, Lopez was almost finished recording On the 6 when Rooney and Jerkins played a CD playlist of songs for Michael Jackson, which included "If You Had My Love." Rooney believed the song was "perfect for Jennifer", and hoped that Jackson would not take it. Rooney recalled: "The music begins and Michael starts moving and shaking to it and he goes, 'Man, I like this one.' My heart sunk. Then he says, 'I don’t like it for me, but I like it. It's gonna be a hit for someone else.'"

 Rooney said that he and LaShawn Daniels wrote "If You Had My Love" later that day. Conversely, journalist Damien Shields stated in 2015 that Rooney had Lopez record the song in 1998, and that it had already been allocated to her when Jackson heard it. Jackson thought it had a "really great groove" and briefly considered recording it. Shields said: "Everyone's like, 'Shit, now we’re going to have to argue with the King of Pop because that's already going to be Jennifer's first song and it's already in motion and is going to radio in two months.' How do you possibly tell Michael Jackson no?" Jackson passed on the song, believing it was better suited for a female singer. "It was the only one of Rodney's songs that he gravitated towards, but he also had the intuition to know that a female should sing it for it realize its best potential," Shields noted.

Lyrically, the song resembles a conversation, in which Lopez confronts her admirer in an "insistent" manner with a number of ground rules before they can begin a relationship. MTV's James Dinh said Lopez "lets her insecurities get the best of her" on the track. Billboard writer Leslie Richin wrote that it "served as a cautionary tale for admirers who might one day have a chance with the budding starlet. Bottom line: liars and cheaters need not apply." In the song's opening lines, Lopez states: "Now if I gave you me, this is how it's got to be / First of all I won't take you cheatin' on me / Tell me who can I trust if I can't trust in you / And I refuse to let you play me for a fool.”

In the chorus, she poses the question: "If you had my love / And I gave you all my trust... / Would you lie to me / And call me baby?” Lopez explained in her book True Love (2014) that the lyrics refer to "the beginning of a new relationship and what I expect and what I want," saying that "there's a little bit of fear in there too, and a feeling of, what will you do if I give you my heart?" The verses consist of her "trying to lay down the rules", while the chorus expresses "all of the fear" that she feels. Jocelyn Vena of MTV News noted that "If You Had My Love" marked the beginning of Lopez exploring the topic of love, which she has continued throughout her career”.

If You Had My Love is a fantastic debut single and I am glad that this song was marked as the first from the album. Other singles from On the 6 such as Waiting for Tonight are great, but I have a very soft spot for If You Had My Love. I think there was snobbishness and dubiousness from many when people learned Lopez was an actor coming into music. I think some dismissed the album without really listening to it, but soon Lopez was this major star and appearing in huge films!

Subsequent albums have seen her increase in confidence and explore new styles, but I think she was at her very best on her fantastic debut! I want to bring in a positive review from AllMusic before concluding with my feelings about If You Had My Love:

“Jennifer Lopez's debut album, On the 6, showcases the actress' sultry, versatile voice in a number of settings, including pop ballads, Latin pop, and R&B. Star producers like Sean "Puffy" Combs, Trackmasters, and Emilio Estefan, Jr. lend their talents to the album, making On the 6 a perfectly polished and varied album, which features a musical blend Lopez calls "Latin soul." Smooth ballads such as "Should've Never," "Too Late," "Could This Be Love," and "No Me Ames," a duet with Latin superstar Marc Anthony, dominate the album's first half; while these songs show off the gentler side of Lopez's vocal gifts, they tend to sound too similar. It's on the R&B and Latin-tinged tracks where Lopez really shines. Along with the insistent first single "If You Had My Love," cuts like "Feelin' So Good" and "Let's Get Loud" have a fiery, soulful sound more in keeping with Lopez's public persona. On the 6's second half capitalizes on this spicy, upbeat side, particularly on "Waiting for Tonight" and "Open off My Love," which draws inspiration from rap, R&B, and Latin styles with its sparse arrangement of horns, keyboards, and beats. The tropical remix of "No Me Ames" and "Una Noche Mas," the Spanish version of "Waiting for Tonight," emphasize Lopez's distinctive heritage, which elevates On the 6 from a star's vanity project to an individual but accessible work of pop songcraft by a widely talented performer”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 GRAMMY Awards/PHOTO CREDIT: AP Images

Few would have predicted Jennifer Lopez would be recording music over twenty years after On the 6 came out in 1999, but it is down to her incredible pull and talent as a performer that she is still very popular and has this enormous fanbase! I think the fact she is a great actor feeds into her music and helps when it comes to her recordings and live performances. At fourteen tracks, there is a lot packed into On the 6 and there is a blend of English and Spanish songs. Maybe there are one or two songs that could have been removed, but I think the songwriting and production is amazing and the tracklisting is spot on. Opening the album with real panache and sultriness, If You Had My Love is a song that deserves more airtime and respect now. I know that some see Jennifer Lopez’s music as a guilty pleasure and many prefer her an actor rather than an artist. I have always had a lot of time for her music and, despite one or two weaker albums, she remains very underrated. On the 6 is a phenomenal album and you can see why If You Had My Love impressed critics! Despite the fact I first heard the song back in 1999 at school, the tremendous If You Had My Love is…

STILL in my head and thoughts.

FEATURE: Pull Out the Pin: Kate Bush, the Producer

FEATURE:

 

 

Pull Out the Pin

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush working hard in the studio in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow) 

Kate Bush, the Producer

___________

I was looking through all features I have…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankkowitz

put out regarding Kate Bush, but I don’t think I have dedicated an entire one to her as a producer. Recently, BBC Radio 6 Music tweeted asking people who their favourite producer was. We can all name people like Sir George Martin, Quincy Jones, Tony Visconti or the well-known producers but, to me, Kate Bush must be seen as one of the greatest and most influential producers ever. I think many people associate her as being a singer and songwriter but, actually, I think her production work is as important as anything! Whilst Bush had a very limited production role on The Kick Inside, and Lionheart – none on the former and a slight role on the latter -, she began to become much more involved with production from her third album, Never for Ever, in 1980. Andrew Powell produced her first two albums wonderfully, but I think there was always a desire from Bush to be more involved putting songs together and calling the shots regarding the other musicians. As the artist, she would be able to give instructions to the musicians but, when it came to takes and getting things to sound like she wanted them then the majority of that would have been done by Powell. Bush has said in interviews how important it was for her to produce her own work and, so many years down the line, the thought or working with a producer would not have been welcomed - the fact that she might not have taken direction well.

I can see what she means regarding someone else moulding her music when, actually, she knows what she wants her songs to sound like – so it seems redundant having someone else leading her. 1979’s The Tour of Life was, in a sense, Bush’s biggest production role to that point, and I think the success and reception the tour received confirmed to her that she should produce - and one can feel her confidence and ambition growing! As I said before, it would not have been possible or reasonable for Bush to produce her debut album alone, as she was still very new to the music industry - and having more experienced hands putting the album together was something EMI would have been insistent about. I can see why Bush was eager to produce right from the start because, although she was in great hands, maybe the vision laid out on her first couple of albums was not as she saw it. From 1980, she was expanding her sound and producing these more experimental, layered and diverse songs. Maybe she was marketed and directed a certain way in the early days but, when she was allowed more reign, she transformed into a stunning producer! Bush did co-produce with Jon Kelly on Never for Ever, but I think a lot of the more original and unusual choices regarding sound and direction were hers. That is definitely true when she solo-produced 1982’s The Dreaming. The fact that the album is so rich and overflowing with texture is testament to her talent; in lesser hands, it could have been a disaster. With so many options and technology around her I think her production work on the album is amazing!

Even though Bush was working at different studios for that album and really did push herself to the physical and emotional limits, I think the fact so many did not know how to view and experience the album when it came out is testament to Bush’s endless fascination with the studio and how to use it o progress her work. Her production style is never too raw or polished and one does not get endless vocal layers and needless sound effects – that would happen a bit in The Red Shoes in 1993 but, for the most part, she strikes a great balance. I think the mark of a top producer is knowing when a track has had enough work done to and, in some cases, how little things can improve a song. I am not sure what the working procedure was like on Bush’s first two albums but, by all account, she was a delight to work with and would only need occasional prodding – a few occasions of Bush smoking weed and not being too focused have been revealed but, I think, that just adds to her coolness! She was definitely focused as a producer and, when working with musicians, she would do as many takes as required to get the sound right. If a particular musician did not give the right performance then she would change it. She was diplomatic and kind, but she was also uncompromising when it came to her vision! When reading about Bush and life in the studio, you get all these different sides.

Whereas a lot of producers would be quite hands-off with musicians and not interact too much, Bush was very communicative and hospitable. Whether it was getting tea and making sure people were fed or working through a song until everything clicked, it must have been a huge pleasure for musicians who got to work with her! Maybe at the start there was the impression from some of the musicians and people around her that she was slightly out of her water but, as she asked more questions and learned more about the process, Bush really stepped into her groove. 1985’s Hounds of Love saw her move from the city to the country and construct her own studio with modern equipment. There was resistance from EMI after The Dreaming’s relatively poor commercial performance - but Bush was determined to produce. The key that unlocked Hounds of Love’s success was changing her environment and really fulfilling a desire to unite home and work. Graeme Thomson notes in his biography, Under the Ivy: The Life & Work of Kate Bush, that, as early as Lionheart, Bush wanted to create a recording environment where she was less on the clock and she could have this homely environment where the comfort and lack of stress allowed her to excel as an artist and producer. I think, because things started to blossom from 1983, Bush could throw herself into work more without burning out.

Even though Bush’s musical path was less academic and more self-taught, she worked hard with musicians to explain what she wanted to hear; small kernels would blossom and there was this collaborative environment where magic happened. She added a further percussive layer to Jig of Life, and Charlie Morgan was handed a selection of Irish instruments. I love the fact that Bush was as accomplished and experimental a producer as anyone she worked with. Maybe inspired by her childhood and being surrounded by so much different music, she was using a range of instruments and creating music that was so bold, original and different to anything else! I think albums like Hounds of Love sounds so great is because Bush created this warm and inspiring atmosphere for her musicians and team – and that continued going forward. Even though, by the time of The Red Shoes in 1993, her sound was a little more compressed and not quite as warm as her earlier albums – due to changing technology and the more edgy sound of digital recording -, she was still creating these brilliant albums that sounded like nothing she released before.

Even though other musicians worked on her albums post-1993 she was working at home, and I think Bush was keen to have as few bodies in her studio and to keep things a bit simple. 2005’s Aerial is quite different in terms of the family/home dynamic – Bush became a mother in 1998 and would have to balance motherhood and music; she would record in bursts -; what resulted over the double album is immense. Her partner, Danny McIntosh, would pick up musicians and played guitar, whilst her trusty engineer, Del Palmer, was there setting up and organising the nuts and bolts. I think we underestimate and undervalue Bush’s legacy in terms of her production and how big a part of their success and legacy is down to her being behind the desk! It is amazing to think how much work she put into her albums from Never for Ever onwards in terms of writing, performing and producing! She is an amazingly likeable, intuitive, hard-working and inspirational producer who has influenced a legion of fans and fellow musicians. From her studio methods and eclectic approach to genre and various sounds through to her working methods in the studio, there is no domain where she is not queen! As a producer, I think that Kate Bush must rank as…

ONE of the best ever.

FEATURE: Second Spin: Dolly Parton - Better Day

FEATURE:

 

Second Spin

 Dolly Parton - Better Day

___________

ON 19th January, it will be…

the seventy-fifth birthday of the iconic Dolly Parton. Her latest album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, is her forty-seventh – and it received some positive reviews. It is amazing to think how successful and consistent Parton has been and how long her career has lasted. From Hello, I'm Dolly in 1967 through to now, she has released some truly terrific albums! One of her best, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, turned forty earlier this month and, from working with Porter Wagoner through the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s to her solo work, there has been nobody like Dolly Parton. She has been in the news recently, as it was revealed she played an important role when it came to funding a successful COVID-19 vaccine:

“Country star Dolly Parton has said she feels "very honoured and proud" to have given money to research into one of the most promising Covid-19 vaccines.

In April she announced she was giving $1m (£750,000) to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

That was one of the trial sites for the Moderna vaccine, which is nearly 95% effective according to early data.

Speaking on BBC One's The One Show on Tuesday, Parton said she was "so excited" to hear the news.

"I'm sure many millions of dollars from many people went into that," she told co-presenters Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas.

"But I just felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that will hopefully grow into something great and help to heal this world".

From her music, through to her Imagination Library, there seems to be no end to Parton’s positive sides! Although she is an artist who has remained loved through her career, there has been a few albums that have gained mixed reception. 2011’s Better Day got some love from some, but there were others that were less keen on it. I would encourage people to listen to the album as it is underrated and contains some of her finest songs of the last decade. Better Day debuted at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 albums chart with first week sales of 17,500. The album also debuted at number-eleven on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In the U.K., the album was released on 29th August, 2011 and debuted at number-nine on the UK Album Charts - becoming Parton's highest-charting studio album here as well as becoming a number-one on the UK Country Albums Chart. It is clear that the fans love the album, but there have been some who were not so convinced! Parton said in interviews how the songs are thematically linked in terms of hopefulness and inspiration. From warfare and natural disasters to economic strife, Parton was looking around and felt an album with a sunnier heart was what we needed! In this interview with The National Post, she talked about her songwriting:

“I don’t write just to relieve my own anxieties, I write for the people who can’t express themselves,” says Parton, who was encouraged to pursue a career in music after a chance meeting at the Grand Ole Opry with Johnny Cash. “I can’t save the world, but I might be able to save someone today if I can put them in a better mood. The music’s designed to be like a ray of sunshine for all those folks in the dark.”

“I write a little something every day — half a song or a melody or else two or three songs — writing’s the easy part,” she says. “The only difficult part of the matter is seeing everything that you start all the way through. I take my music very seriously, but I’ve never looked at myself that way. I’m only out here to try and make people feel good”.

Better Day is very much a resistance against a lot of tension and strife that was in the world in 2011. I think, in an even tougher year, Better Day seems more appropriate! I want to bring in a couple of reviews soon – one is positive whilst the other is a bit more mixed – but, before then, I want to source from an interview in The Guardian from 2011. I was not too aware of Parton’s background until a few years ago; I did mnot realise what her early life was like. Maybe it is not linked directly to Better Day, but it makes for interesting reading:

“Speaking of those millions, a huge part of Parton's legend is her poverty-stricken backstory and she makes as many references to what she calls her "hillbilly ways" in conversation as she does in her songs. "I'm just a simple silly country girl!" she says more than once. It should perhaps be interjected here that this simple silly country girl owns 15 properties spread out between Tennessee and California. Her management takes great pains to tell me later that Parton prefers to travel by bus than plane when she tours, as though this proves her simplicity. But it transpires that shipping the Dolly buses to Australia for her upcoming tour will cost $1m each. As Parton has said of herself many times, it costs a lot to look that cheap.

Parton was born and raised in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, the fourth of 11 surviving children. Her father, a sharecropper, couldn't afford to pay the doctor who delivered her and so gave him a sack of cornmeal, leading to Parton's oft-repeated joke about how she's been "making dough ever since". She began singing on the radio as a child and went to Nashville to start recording and singing songs as soon as she graduated from high school.

"Back in those days people said it was hard for women to get into the business but I always felt being a woman served me well. I had all these brothers and uncles so I understood the nature of men and I didn't go in there feeling all intimidated. I just went in there and said: 'Hey! I have a good product here and we can all make some money here if y'all wanna get involved with it”.

I think songs like Together You and I, and Just Leaving are really strong Parton cuts and there is plenty of gold to be mined across Better Day! It is an album I have been listening to a bit as, because of its optimism and desire to cheer, there is a lot to recommend. In their review of the album, Popmatters had this to offer:

“Musically, the album is more reminiscent of the pop sheen of her '80s albums crossed with the earnestness of her late '90s/early '00s bluegrass albums. The specificity and spunk of her last album, 2008's Backwoods Barbie, have been more or less forsaken for an attempt at intimacy, where the songs all resemble messages between people, whether it's from one lover to another, from one person to their god or from Dolly Parton to all of humankind. Often, a song could be all of these. They seldom seem to be about one specific person or set of events; they’re more purposefully generic, designed to resonate with the most people at once. Think of this as Dolly’s Life Lessons.

 The exceptions, in the general vs. specific balance, are the jokey “Country Is As Country Does”, where Parton (assisted by Mac Davis, in the album’s lone co-write) maintains that she’s inherently country, even when doing rich-people things like eating sushi in a mansion, and “Get Out and Stay Out”, the most devastating of the love songs. It’s devastating because it’s a tale of how love can turn into abuse, and because she sings it delicately, to reveal her character’s frailty, which is more powerful since the song becomes a forceful kiss-off and statement of self-determination. By the end, she’s built up to a fervor, one filled with joy at the expression of independence. On “I Just Might”, she sounds even more fragile, lost; again building with determination -- “I just might make it work / I just might make it after all” – though there’s uncertainty in that “just might” phrase.

These songs leave room for weakness, even as Parton often resembles a motivational speaker. “Shine Like the Sun” captures her essential message well: Don’t give up, we all hurt, but we all can heal and move forward, can always improve. Life is filled with lies and tears, but we should always keep pushing ahead. The same message is turned outward in “Let Love Grow”: Take a chance, be good to people, and great things can happen. “Hindsight’s always out to blind you / Look ahead and not behind you.” The song turns into a joyous singalong: “If I could, I’d ease your doubts for good,” she sings, always the maternal figure, watching out for us all”.

There are constructive points in that review but, to me, I think Better Day has very few flaws and (the album) hits all the right notes! I think Parton’s previous album, Backwoods Barbie, of 2008 was another strong album that deserved more acclaim – I think she was in fine form through these years. In a more positive review, AllMusic remarked the following:

“As she cruises into her mid-sixties, it’s comforting to know that Dolly Parton has lost none of her joy and vitality, and her 41st studio album, Better Day, released on her own Dolly Records imprint, is an energetic, spirited, and hopeful outing that rocks and soars with enough musical sunshine to light up even the grayest day. It simply crackles with joy and hope, and where in lesser hands such boundless good will might seem artificially forced and naïve, Parton pulls it off because, well, she’s Dolly Parton. Lost sometimes in her status as a pop and country icon is the fact that Parton has always written good songs, and she penned all 12 here, and her longtime guitar player Kent Wells, who produced things, has given her a big and bright contemporary country sound that should garner her a good deal of radio time in a fair and equitable world. There are several gems here, including the rocking and soaring opener, “In the Meantime,” the simply lovely “Somebody’s Missing You,” which features background vocals from Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, and the clever title tune, “Better Day,” which starts off with a spoken intro from Parton before morphing into a blues, and it is easily the most positive and hopeful blues song anyone is ever likely to hear. Parton has stated that there’s enough trouble and bad news in the world these days and that she wanted to record the brightest and most hopeful album she could make, and she’s done that. Better Day has the feel and tone of gospel, the rock and punch of contemporary country-pop, and it stays steadfast in its mission to add something positive to the world. She may be a senior citizen as far as the IRS is concerned, but Parton has never sounded fresher or more spirited, and with “Somebody’s Missing You” in particular, she shows she still knows how to write a timeless song”.

Go and spin Better Day if you can, as it is an album that ranks alongside the best of Parton’s more recent albums – if we look at how many albums she had put out! -; one that has some brilliant music and some incredible performances. This year has seen some positive and fun albums come out, but I feel there is a lot of anxiety and sadness right now. For that reason, an album like Dolly Parton’s Better Day…

MEANS quite a lot right now.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: MOBO Awards Nominees

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Tiana Major9 is nominated for three MOBO Awards (including the Best Female Act)

MOBO Awards Nominees

___________

THIS year’s MOBO Awards…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Nines/PHOTO CREDIT: Filmawi Efrem

takes place on 9th December, and the nominees were announced earlier this week. As you can see, Hip Hop king Nines leads the nominations. The North West London MC has picked up five nominations: Best Male Act, Best Hip Hop Act, Album of The Year for the critically-acclaimed Crabs in a Bucket, Video of The Year for Clout, and Best Album (2017-2019) for 2018’s Crop Circle. Like I did with the GRAMMY nominees a couple of days ago, this Lockdown Playlist is a collection of songs from many of those nominated for MOBOs. The award ceremony is always eclectic and packed with talent (if, as I say with all playlists that rely on Spotify, if you see any tracks greyed out, just search ‘The Lockdown Playlist: MOBO Award Nominees’ and it should take you there). As we can see from the list of nominations for 2020, the quality is as…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Stormzy

HIGH as ever.

FEATURE: The November Playlist: Vol. 4: Angels Like You Are So Lucid

FEATURE:

 

 

The November Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Rina Sawayama

Vol. 4: Angels Like You Are So Lucid

__________

THIS is a fulsome week…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Miley Cyrus/PHOTO CREDIT: Mick Rock

of new releases where some major artists have given us some treats! Among the new cuts this week include songs from Rina Sawayama, Miley Cyrus, Tori Amos, Liam Gallagher, Arlo Parks, The Smashing Pumpkins, Phoebe Bridgers, FLOHIO, Jennifer Lopez, King Princess, Taylor Swift (ft. Bon Iver), Billie Joe Armstrong, AJ Tracey (ft. slowthai), and Sam Fender. There is also music from NewDad, Maxïmo Park, Field Music, Cosha, and Maddy Storm. Have a listen to the terrific releases this week, as there is a reliably great mixture that will kick your weekend off in style! On a very cold day, I think that these songs can bring some…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tori Amos

HEAT and comfort.

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Artists

__________

Rina Sawayama – LUCID

PHOTO CREDIT: Harry Durrant

Miley Cyrus – Angels Like You

PHOTO CREDIT: Des Willie courtesy of Atria Books

Tori Amos – Better Angels

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Cummings

Arlo Parks – Caroline

PHOTO CREDIT: Georgia Flynn

Liam Gallagher – All You’re Dreaming Of

FLOHIO – Roundtown

PHOTO CREDIT: Molly Matalon for FADER

Phoebe Bridgers – If We Make It Through December

The Smashing Pumpkins – Starrcraft

PHOTO CREDIT: Mert & Marcus

Jennifer Lopez – In the Morning

Cosha – Berlin Air

PHOTO CREDIT: Warner Records

Billie Joe Armstrong – Kids in America

PHOTO CREDIT: Mr King

Daniel Knox - Fall Apart

King Princess – PAIN

AJ Tracey (ft. slowthai) – Graveyard Shift

The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter to Creatives

Maddy Storm – The Art of Giving

Taylor Swift (ft. Bon Iver) – exile (the long pond studio sessions)

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Martin

Field Music – Home for Christmas

Maxïmo Park – I Don’t Know What I’m Doing

Eli & Fur - Otherside

Anna Straker – Break Up Song

YUNGBLUD – mars

NewDad – I Don’t Recognise You

PHOTO CREDIT: Evelin van Rei

Low Island – In Your Arms

Sam Fender – Winter Song

Daisy Godfrey – Fade Away

Sabrina Claudio, The Weeknd – Christmas Blues

Call Me Loop – Rosé

Daniel Avery - Petrol Blue

Steps – To the Beat of My Heart

You Me at Six – SUCKAPUNCH

Zeplyn – Bad Love

Rosie Carney - Sulk

LAOISE – Movies

Julia Church – Cups and Balloons

Will Joseph Cook – Boundary Street

Jenn Grant – Winter Wonderland

Greta Isaac – Power

Julia Carlucci – Ocean Avenue

Nicole Millar – Boring!

PHOTO CREDIT: Lola Stephens

Mandrake Handshake – Gonkulator

Nice Swan Records · Mandrake Handshake - Gonkulator

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: BBC Radio 6 Music’s Top-Ten Albums of 2020

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

IN THIS IMAGE: The cover for SAULT’s phenomenal album, UNTITLED (Black Is) - which BBC Radio 6 Music declared their favourite album of 2020 

BBC Radio 6 Music’s Top-Ten Albums of 2020

___________

ON Tuesday…

IMAGE CREDIT: @BBC6Music

BBC Radio 6 Music announced their favourite ten albums of this year. Lauren Laverne read out the list on her breakfast show; the winning album was UNTITLED (Black Is) by SAULT. The top-ten was quite interesting and, whilst there weren’t not too many female artists in the ten – two in total -, there was ample variation and solid music! You can see the nominated ten here - but this is what was said about SAULT’s 2020 masterpiece (one of two albums they put out this year!):

“There are few concrete details that we truly know about SAULT, the mysterious UK-based collective that span genre lines and keep their true identities firmly under wraps. What we do know, however, is that the music they’ve been steadily releasing since emerging seemingly out of nowhere in 2019 has been so breathtakingly singular that - unlike many similarly enigmatic acts - the autobiographical question marks that still surround those behind the project almost feels like an afterthought.

After a prolific 2019, which saw the release of two studio albums (‘5’ and ‘7’), SAULT upped the ante in 2020 with a dual offering of double albums: 'UNTITLED (Black Is)’ in July, followed by ‘UNTITLED (Rise)’ in September. Of the intent-signalling former of these releases (which features Michael Kiwanuka on a track), the band issued a statement that read: “We present our first ‘UNTITLED’ album to mark a moment in time where we as Black People, and of Black Origin are fighting for our lives… Change is happening… We are focused.”

 Aptly described by one critic as “a robust collection of funk, soul, meditative spoken-word and protest chants meant to score the full spectrum of Blackness”, it’s a record that delves into the past by reshaping inherited genres and sounds into something entirely modern and self-contained. Whoever SAULT may be, you’ll find few other artists this year creating music quite as urgent and revolutionary.

Gilles Peterson: “I’ve been following SAULT for a while now, and loved their two records in 2019. So when I heard that there was a new album coming this summer, amidst such a tumultuous year, I just had a feeling that would do something special, and they absolutely came through.

They sent it to me on the morning of my show, and I listened to it from beginning to end. And I was like, “I’m playing the whole thing!”. It’s that strong. It’s undoubtedly going to be my record of the year, I can’t imagine anyone is going to come close to it.

It was basically that sense that you got when you listened to a record like The Specials – ‘Ghost Town’, or Gil Scott-Heron, The Clash - those classic records that have just lasted forever, that have political energy, and are of the moment, which is so important in music. That’s what it’s all about - forget the decadence and the escapism - this was a real record; this was about how we can all make a difference through music”.

Because BBC Radio 6 Music have declared their chosen ten albums of 2020, this Lockdown Playlist (Run the Jewels’ RTJ4 tracks might not be available for some, so you will need to navigate from there; you can also search in Spotify under ‘The Lockdown Playlist BBC Radio 6 Music’s Top-Ten Albums of 2020’) takes two songs from each of the ten albums. You can see that this year has been…

 IMAGE CREDIT: @BBC6Music

AN incredibly strong one.

FEATURE: The Green on the Grey: Kate Bush’s Majestic Under the Ivy: The Single That Never Was

FEATURE:

 

The Green on the Grey

PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Kate Bush’s Majestic Under the Ivy: The Single That Never Was

___________

I do not want to suggest that…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Kate Bush’s Under the Ivy was ever pencilled in as a potential single but, on 1985’s Hounds of Love, she was in such rich form that, alas, Under the Ivy was included as a B-side to Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)! The song has said of taken on its life and, not only is it the title of Graeme Thomson’s much-referenced (on this site) Under the Ivy: The Life & Work of Kate Bush, but the track features high in poll’s of Bush’s best tracks – MOJO placed it at number-seventeen in their recent feature about Bush (remarking how it was bafflingly provided as a B-side and is, literally, “a hidden treasure”; LOUDER ranked it at sixteen in their list of her greatest songs. Given the fact that many consider Under the Ivy as one of Bush’s top-twenty tracks, it is surprising that the song was never included on Hounds of Love! I guess, when you consider the songs on the album, then it might not have fitted time-wise. That said, thematically, it could have worked on either side. It could have been on the first side and slotted after Mother Stands for Comfort (and before Cloudbusting) and maybe it would have slotted on The Ninth Wave as a possible dream-type song - maybe coming between Watching You Without Me, and Jig of Life. I am going to dissect the track in a bit more detail soon.

Before that, I wanted to bring in some details from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia - where we learn more about Under the Ivy:

“'Under The Ivy' we did in our studio in just an afternoon. (Peter Swales, 'Kate Bush'. Musician, Fall 1985)

It's very much a song about someone who is sneaking away from a party to meet someone elusively, secretly, and to possibly make love with them, or just to communicate, but it's secret, and it's something they used to do and that they won't be able to do again. It's about a nostalgic, revisited moment. (...) I think it's sad because it's about someone who is recalling a moment when perhaps they used to do it when they were innocent and when they were children, and it's something that they're having to sneak away to do privately now as adults. (Doug Alan interview, 20 November 1985)

I needed a track to put on the B-Side of the single Running Up That Hill so I wrote this song really quickly. As it was just a simple piano/vocal, it was easy to record. I performed a version of the song that was filmed at Abbey Road Studios for a TV show which was popular at the time, called The Tube. It was hosted by Jools Holland and Paula Yates. I find Paula’s introduction to the song very touching.

It was filmed in Studio One at Abbey Rd. An enormous room used for recording large orchestras, choirs, film scores, etc. It has a vertiginously high ceiling and sometimes when I was working in Studio Two,  a technician, who was a good friend, would take me up above the ceiling of Studio One. We had to climb through a hatch onto the catwalk where we would then crawl across and watch the orchestras working away, completely unaware of the couple of devils hovering in the clouds, way above their heads!  I used to love doing this - the acoustics were heavenly at that scary height.  We used to toy with the idea of bungee jumping from the hatch. (KateBush.com, February 2019)”.

There has been speculation that the song could be about suicide but, to me, it is more about capturing an innocence and embracing passion under the ivy. Bush – or whether she is playing a protagonist -, asks the man to find her away from the party and in this secluded space; the first verse alone summons up so many gorgeous and evocative images and possibilities: “It wouldn't take me long/To tell you how to find it/To tell you where we'll meet/This little girl inside me/Is retreating to her favourite place”. I will talk about why Under the Ivy would have fitted as an album track but, consider the child-like imagery and the way Bush/the heroine is sort of regressing and trying to escape something quite hectic or sad, it seems, to me, it would have been a perfect vision summoned up during The Ninth Wave!

I love how Bush wrote the song quickly because there were songs on Hounds of Love that were quite a task to get together (especially The Big Sky). Although Bush views the song as a last gasp of innocence or this sort of wonderful bonding in a garden, one can interpret the song in other ways. It is such an interesting and deep song where one cannot help but immerse themselves in. Consider the lines: “I sit here in the thunder/The green on the grey/I feel it all around me/And it's not easy for me/To give away a secret/It's not safe”. There is definite emotion and tension in Bush’s heart, but I feel there is this desire and need to embrace someone and fulfil a desire inside her. I have seen some view Under the Ivy as Bush/the heroine submitting and disappearing but I don’t feel that way. There is a video of Bush performing the song, but I would have loved to have seen Under the Ivy visualised through an official music video. I could just imagine all the gorgeous colours and scenes that we would see in the video; maybe with Bush directing it, it would definitely be a stunning video! Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) reached number-three in the singles chart in the U.K. and, whilst that has a lot to do with the song itself, I think this remarkable B-side also contributed.

There can be no doubt that Under the Ivy is Kate Bush’s greatest B-side - and it is one of music’s greatest ‘what-ifs’. I have speculated where it could have fitted on Hounds of Love and, as I said, it would have been okay on either side. The Ninth Wave seems to be the best place for Under the Ivy; where we could have seen the heroine adrift at sea casting her mind to a party where she had this beautiful moment – possibly towards the end as there is light at the end of the tunnel. Sonically, it would have been perfect after Watching You Without Me and the more spirited Jig of Life. At 2:16, adding Under the Ivy would have taken the running time for The Ninth Wave to 28:28, which not only provide nice symmetry but it would have added even more body and wonder to a great suite! Maybe Bush would have felt The Ninth Wave a little bloated at eight tracks if Under the Ivy were included. Alternately, it could have fitted on the first side maybe, as I mentioned, after the dark and eerie Mother Stands for Comfort. I think it would have been a great accompaniment to another child-like song, The Big Sky, which appears before Mother Stands for Comfort; we would get this nice run of three songs were childhood, in some form, is examined.

Maybe, as Cloudbusting also nods to a child – in this case, Peter Reich, son of Wilhelm Reich, working on a cloudbusting device -, it would have been too samey. I reckon it could have worked alright. The running time for that first half would have been about twenty-three minutes and, as Under the Ivy is such a short song, I don’t think it would have overloaded the first half – and it would have meant that there was six tracks on the first half (it would have balanced out the two halves better). I guess Bush did need a B-side for Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) and, as it was the first single from Hounds of Love, she wanted to go in strong with an incredible B-side! I think Under the Ivy could have worked as part of a double A-side. Bush had other great B-sides that she released through the promotional campaign for Hounds of Love – including My Lagan Love (from Cloudbusting), and Burning Bridge (Hounds of Love) -, but there is something utterly wonderful and unmatched on Under the Ivy! I know Under the Ivy was released on a flexi-disc in Poland but, apart from that, there has not been a lot of attention for it as a standout track. It surely ranks as her greatest ‘lost’ track and, to me, it is in her top-twenty all-time best songs.

One can find Under the Ivy included on the album, The Other Sides, which was given a stand-alone release in 2019. Alongside Ran Tan Waltz, and You Want Alchemy, Under the Ivy is one of those lesser-known tracks that should be covered in greater depth – and get some more airplay on radio. It is a shame we never got to see an official video for the song, but the fact the song exists at all is a blessing. It just shows the sort of creative level Bush was during Hounds of Love that a song as majestic as Under the Ivy could be written so quickly and considered only as a B-side! Whilst it may seem personal to Kate Bush, I think many listeners can transport themselves inside the song and make the lyrics relevant to themselves. Listening to Bush perform Under the Ivy on The Tube in 1986 elicits shivers, and one can see that the song means a lot to her! It is such a remarkable moment in a career full of them and, if you have not heard the song, I would urge people to buy The Other Sides as it displays the variation and eclectic nature of Bush’s B-sides. Even though Under the Ivy was not given an outing on Hounds of Love I think, as a song, it is utterly engrossing.  It is a completely wonderful track and…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

AN evergreen treasure.

FEATURE: Brilliance Overload: Sugarbabes’ One Touch at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Brilliance Overload

Sugarbabes’ One Touch at Twenty

___________

I wanted to do a quick feature…

on an album that turned twenty yesterday (27th November). It is amazing to think that Sugarbabes were dropped by their label after One Touch sold fewer copies than they hoped. The Pop market was pretty competitive in 2000, and it was a bit unfair that a new group had such expectations on their shoulders! Sugarbabes have gone through various iterations, but I think they were strongest on their debut. I remember the album coming out when I was in sixth form college, and I was hooked and really fascinated by the group. Prior to 2000, I think my experience with female Pop groups was the likes of All Saints and Spice Girls. To be fair, I think Sugarbabes were more eclectic than those groups from the start. I always felt Sugarbabes were far cooler and edgier than any other group there because they had this confidence and quality that was both accessible but unique. They could also put out more emotive songs, and I was really struck by that diversity and richness. Original member Siobhán Donaghy left the group in 2001. She initially stated that she wanted to pursue a fashion career, but she was eventually diagnosed with clinical depression amid reports of in-fighting between the Sugababes members. Only after one album, such a promising group were faced with split and disaster! Their second studio album, Angels with Dirty Faces, was released in 2002 and is not nearly as successful and memorable as One Touch. It has been ten years since the group released their final album, Sweet 7, and there is a distinct Sugarbabes-sized hole in music!

I forgot that the Sugbabes’ debut turned twenty yesterday, and I saw an article on CLASH – which I shall quote from soon – that highlighted it. I think the year 2000 was this very excited yet strange year where we said goodbye to the epic ‘90s and many were wondering how music would change and where it would head. There were some interesting and hugely popular girlbands still operating like Destiny’s Child, and All Saints, and Sugarbabes arrived with their own style and brand. I like the fact that the group - Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy – co-wrote many the songs on One Touch. Of course, Overload is probably the most notable and popular single from the album. It was released on 11th September, 2000 and reached number-six in the U.K. There are other clear highlights like Soul Sound, Run for Cover, and New Year - and it is a surprise that the album did not do huge business! I will source from one of many positive reviews in a second but, right now, I wanted to bring in some observations from CLASH. The following is taken from a very illuminating retrospective:

“One Touch' opens with 'Overload', perhaps the most definitive opening statement of any British girl group, give or take a 'Wannabe'. Its refrains of teenage preciousness - "Strange fear I ain't felt for years/The boy's coming and I'm close to tears" - are paired, counter-intuitively, with a forthright bassline, reverberating clatter, random whooshes and later, surf guitars. It is impossibly groovy but held together with some diffident insouciance; an unbothered ditty crooned by teenage girls filing their nails.

This was very much the template for the Sugababes’ entry onto the music scene; a bunch of teenage girls somehow above it all. Live performances of 'Overload' had the three girls half-heartedly performing a routine on barstools, only magnifying this effect. To a market saturated with bright-eyed and eagerly performed pop, it must have been some hook.

Vocally, it is even more accomplished. The murmured quietness that forms the ambiance of the album frequently breaks out into flourishes from all three vocalists. The fact that they were teenagers is a fault only in comparison to the vocal heights all three themselves would go on to scale. Buena, as one of the voices of her generation; Buchanan, as the rich, honeyed gel to multiple incarnations of Sugababes; and Donaghy, as a crystalline bell jar on her own.

But on this first, lone outing, there is a certain magic when those voices come together, with quiet intimacy and nervous chemistry, particularly in their seamless harmonies - gorgeous and stirring one second, and wispily fluttering away in the background the next.

These technical aspects are perfect complement to the album’s high point which is its lyrical substance. The three members co-wrote most of the songs here, and their ruminations on growing up and finding your way through love and life here, despite the markers of adolescence attached to them, seem universal in many ways.

The jittery nervousness of approaching a new crush ('Overload'); the confident reproach of an uncommitted lover ('One Foot In'); and the bold excitement of revelling in a new love (the title track) are, after all, hardly limited to teenagehood. In the best of girl group tradition, most of the album reads like hanging out with a close friend, full of confessions and building up esteem”.

It is wonderful that there was some love and good vibes for One Touch on social media yesterday; it is kind of sad that such a promising group faced struggles and record label disappointment. Maybe their label, London, launched Sugarbabes as rivals to the American girlgroups that were coming through or dominating in the 1990s. There are blends of American and British influences through One Touch, but I feel the trio managed to create their own identities and there is a nice mixture of sounds throughout their debut. Perhaps a comparative lack of feelgood tunes and big energy put some off. I still find it baffling, even when we bring in the standards back in 2000, that Sugarbabes were sort of written off right away! I want to bring in a review from a review in Drowned in Sound from 2000:

“However , just when you thought if you saw another girl-group you'd lock yourself in a cupboard and slowly starve yourself to death only wishing it was they that were suffering your fate , Sugababes come along smelling of authenticity , kneeing convention in the balls , breathing indie-cool and screaming "The NME like us. The f*ing NME !!!!"

It is , in contrast to the other non typical NME acts to have featured in the NME this year (Kelis anyone ?) , understandable why. For a group of 16-year olds they write remarkably mature and sophisticated songs that could theoretically attract admiration from George Micheal and Damon Albarn (Not Bono though , no "own instruments" just yet).

Whereas the Spice Girls are currently the botched genetic epression to meld Destiny’s Child , Artful Dodger , Mariah Carey and early-Madonna , the Sugababes are the genetic experiment to throw together the conglomerate worldly dance-funk of modern Madonna and the loved-up tearful ballad William-Orbit-ingrained-into-it’s-soul brilliance of the All Saints. This experiment was almost perfect and even though the album contains nothing quite as brilliant as the debut single ‘Overload’ , which Radio One has almost certainly burnt into your brain by now , but it is still the finest collection of pop-songs released this year by a new artist. An album that kicks the collective asses of both Girl Thing AND Coldplay.

Just admit it , you loved ‘Overload’ and admit that you were wrong in your preconception that anything resembling anything Svengali-cultivated was totally soulless. Just take a listen to forthcoming single ‘New Year’ (“Older than my years / Drowning in my tears “ )

They ARE better than 90% of the corporate indie scene and underline the falseness of mainstream contemporary sounds. That Limp Bizkit’s anger is just as compulsively phoney as any marketable facet embraced by the Spice Girls. Fred Durst’s “difficult” childhood no different to Mel C’s apparent clinical epression. (Have you ever wondered where Fungus got the inspiration for ‘A fanclub would be nice’ ? Now you know)

Motwon Junk this ain’t. Unlike Girl Thing , they aren’t “Another Invented Disease”. Sugababes are 4REAL and if they come head-to-head with the Manics next summer who’s your money on”.

Nostalgia can be quite a dangerous and misleading thing, but I think the Sugarbabes exciting debut is packed with some great tracks and really confident performances that stand up now and sounded great back in 2000. Unlike many girlgroups, I think there is so much vocal strength and individuality in Sugarbabes; despite some in-fighting, they have a connection on One Touch. Twenty years later, the album still pops and really produces some surprises! It makes me wonder whether we will ever see a fresh and cool girlgroup like Sugarbabes come along because, apart from Little Mix, there are not many options! In a rather difficult and challenging 2020, I would recommend people revisit…

A classic from the year 2000.

FEATURE: Inside the Pages of MARINAZINE: Reviving the Fanzine

FEATURE:

 

Inside the Pages of MARINAZINE

Reviving the Fanzine

___________

I discussed this a while back…

Fan art 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xbRyRivMoa

— Marina (@MarinaDiamandis) November 20, 2020

when I covered the Kate Bush fanzine, HomeGround, that ran for years and stopped when she released 50 Words for Snow in 2011. I wonder whether there are fanzines anymore because, when I was growing up, they were very much a thing. It was a way for fans to bond with artists and, at the end of it, we got this eclectic and interesting magazine-cum-newspaper that was made with a lot of love! There are articles that discuss the history of fanzines (or just zines) - and there is one artist who is releasing her own fanzine. MARINA (formerly Marina and the Diamonds), as this NME article explains, is putting out MARINAZINE.

 “The singer, whose last album ‘Love + Fear’ was released in two parts last year, is expected to return in the coming months with her fifth album (her second since she shed the ‘And The Diamonds’ part of her moniker).

Marina released her new single ‘Man’s World’ earlier this month, and now she’s announced a physical, limited edition zine entitled MARINAZINE.

MARAZINE will include essays, artwork, photography, poetry and more, according to Marina, who tweeted news of the zine on Saturday (November 21). She added that she wants fans to submit their work to feature in the first issue.

In August, the musician posted a series of photographs and videos from an idyllic writing session, writing: “GOOD ENERGY! Bursting with sun beams to tell you that I’m close to finishing writing my 5th album in a little corner of paradise.”

There is currently no album title nor release date publicised for Marina’s new record”.

MARINAZINE! https://t.co/zHMsy5TiPL

A beautiful physical zine that will accompany each single release. Submit your essays, artwork, photography, poetry or any other form of expression for the chance to be featured in the first issue, "Man's World". pic.twitter.com/c1LRAq9kQH

— Marina (@MarinaDiamandis) November 21, 2020

I wonder whether other artists will follow suit. There have been some great fanzines through the years, and I do think that there is too much reliance on the digital nowadays. One can connect with artists through social media, but it would be nice to bring back the physical in a way. We do not really have fan clubs anymore. There was the day when you could be part of a fan club and, when a band or artist went on tour, you could get discounted tickets and exclusive stuff. Maybe there is a bit of it still, but it has definitely diminished over the past couple of decades. I don’t think that artists nodding to the past is gimmicky or insincere. In fact, I think more and more artists are trying to involve their fans more with music and have a sort of physical connection. By producing fanzines that have artwork, letters and all sorts of other bits is not only a way for fans to join together but I think they act as interesting objects to own. I always prefer a physical record to digital and a real book to something online. Similarly, music journalism is always more rewarding in a physical form - and I guess the fanzine died out because of the Internet and the fact that we can now digitally interact. It will be interesting following MARINAZINE and, hopefully, we can see more fanzines come from various artists going forward! Beyond gigs, it can be hard having a relationship with fans beyond the tweets and digital updates. I will be interested to see if other artists…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @craftedbygc/Unsplash

COME out with their own fanzines.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: GRAMMY Nominees

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé received nine GRAMMY nominations - she remains the most-nominated female artist of all time/PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew D. Bernstein 

GRAMMY Nominees

___________

ON Tuesday…

IN THIS PHOTO: Post Malone/PHOTO CREDIT: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Universal Music

the nominees for this year’s GRAMMYs was announced. There were some definite talking points and, whilst it is good that the Best Rock Performance Category is dominated by women, the Album of the Year category has some notable omissions – many felt Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters should have received a nod! On 31st January, we will find out who has won what and, to honour the announcements, this Lockdown Playlist collates some of those nominated. I have included an array of names and, whilst I could not cover all of the eighty-three categories, there is a healthy amount! As usual, there may be problems accessing some songs in the playlist below (you can access a link here) so, if that is the case, then you can search ‘The Lockdown Playlist: GRAMMY Nominees’ in Spotify and access it all there – it is just one of those annoying things about Spotify! Take a listen to the brilliant names who, on 31st January, will be competing at…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Fiona Apple

A hugely prestigious event.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Jimi Hendrix Fire

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: David Montgomery 

Jimi Hendrix Fire

___________

ON this day (27th November)…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Linda McCartney/National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution

seventy-eight years ago, the genius Jimi Hendrix came into the world. Although we lost him at the age of twenty-seven in 1970, the music he left has inspired scores of guitarists. Recording with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and  Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys, Hendrix’s vocabulary and dexterity on the guitar is immense! I wanted to put together a Lockdown Playlist on his birthday containing album tracks, live cuts, in addition to rarer tracks that many people might not have heard of. In his short life, Hendrix laid down so many staggering works and, to me, he was an underrated singer. His voice is so commanding, expressive and versatile and that, combined with his guitar and Noel Redding (bass), and Mitch Mitchell (percussion) – in The Jimi Hendrix Experience -, led to some truly wonderful music. To tip my cap to, perhaps, the greatest guitarist who has ever lived, here are some epic Hendrix licks, jams and guitar explosions that displays his…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Berkofsky

ENDLESS talent.

FEATURE: Let the Record Show: The Ongoing Boom of Vinyl Sales and How It Could Lead to a Growth on the High Street

FEATURE:

 

Let the Record Show

PHOTO CREDIT: @amartino20/Unsplash 

The Ongoing Boom of Vinyl Sales and How It Could Lead to a Growth on the High Street

___________

I am going to do a related Lockdown Playlist…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @amartino20/Unsplash

that combines songs from the forty best-selling vinyl albums of this year as, whilst other areas of the economic map are struggling and businesses are closing, things are looking rosy for vinyl and record shops. Whereas things are a bit fraught regarding venues and other sides of the music industry, it is clear that people have a huge appetite for vinyl. It is not just vinyl that is on the rise: cassette sales are also increasing and, in a year when streaming services are being criticised for not paying artists enough, more and more people are paying money for vinyl records. The Guardian reports some good news:

“UK sales of vinyl records are set to reach a three-decade high as fans unable to attend live music events during the pandemic channel their spare cash into building up their record collections.

Vinyl sales are up almost 10% this year, well on track to break the £100m mark by the end of 2020, making for the best year since 1990 when Sinead O’Connor and New Kids on the Block topped the charts. Sales by volume are also set to beat last year’s 4.3m.

It marks a remarkable bounce back given the market for physical music, from vinyl and CDs to cassettes and DVDs, plunged by almost half in April as the first lockdown shut high streets across the nation.

“We have seen 250% growth from the bottom of lockdown to where we are now,” said Drew Hill, managing director of Proper Music, the UK’s biggest independent distributor of vinyl and CDs. “I thought it could be catastrophic for the industry but during lockdown the kind of people buying records also probably went to a lot of gigs. They can’t do that so it seems fans are spending the money they used to on going to gigs each month on records.” Last week, Kylie Minogue wound back the years as Disco topped the vinyl album chart.

PHOTO CREDIT: @iampatrickpilz 

The pandemic has also fuelled the ongoing revival of cassettes, with sales up 85% so far this year, putting total sales on course to top £1m for the first time since renewed interest wound back the years for the format.

However, the picture is much less rosy for CDs, already facing inexorable decline at the hands of the streaming revolution, with sales down 30% in the year to date, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). If that trend continues in the final weeks of this year CD sales will reach about £150m, the worst year since 1987.

Natasha Youngs, co-owner of Brighton-based record store Resident, said that owners have worked hard to shift sales online but it has proven difficult given vinyl fans’ love of the in-store browsing experience.

“We’ve had to adapt our business to provide our customers with as close to a normal service as possible and customers have really responded,” said Youngs. “As a result our online sales are considerably up year on year. But this in no way compensates for the sales we have lost over the counter. We can’t provide the face-to-face service that we pride ourselves on – it is missing a vital element of what a record shop is all about”.

I was worried, when the pandemic started, that we would lose so many record shops and there would be this depletion on the high street. Instead, many have offered online deliveries - and this has kept them in business.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rocinante_11/Unsplash

For many record shops, they have seen sales increase hugely and, thanks to Record Store Day being split over three different days, shops have seen huge queues and enormous demand! I think this popularity and craving for vinyl will continue into next year. As things improve and we start to see a return to normality, I think more and more people will come out and support their local record stores. Thinking about the report and how sales are rising, I wonder whether this will lead to a revival in the high street. At the moment, rent prices are forcing many record shops away - and that is still an issue they face. I am thinking about chains like HMV that have seen shops close, and I think that there could be this new demand that sees many reopen. Of course, vinyl sales alone cannot save and sustain chains like HMV, but it would be wonderful to see new independents open because, at the moment, I know it can be hard locating a nearby record shop. Look at central London and, maybe because of extortionate rent prices, it is really hard finding a record shop! That is the case with many cities but, because vinyl sales are exploding, there is a possibility that the revenue from sales could cover rent prices were there to be new shops opening. It is definitely heartening to see so many record stores survive and report great trading.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rocinante_11/Unsplash

Few would have anticipated this during a pandemic but, rather than this being benevolence and people supporting shops through some sense of guilt, there is just this genuine love of vinyl and desire to support artists. Though the browsing experience is a little different this year, that has not put people going to their local record shop and inspecting the racks! I do think that digital music is great but, in terms of sound quality and the listening experience, nothing can replace vinyl. Alongside this, cassettes are seeing a resurgence…so it is strangely like going back in time! I do think it would be wise of the Government to think about the rental prices and how businesses are struggling. I am not the only one who would welcome new record shops on high streets. Online ordering is convenient, but the sensation and process of going to a record store and spending time selecting vinyl is unbeatable! Going forward, and I think there will be a further increase in vinyl sales as we head to Christmas. In a year of bad news and disappointment, having some good news and cheer is definitely inspiring. Let’s hope that the rise in vinyl sales continues into 2021. In the run-up to Christmas, be sure to support your local record shops(s) by picking up some great vinyl and…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jamessutton_photography/Unsplash

PUTTING the needle down.

FEATURE: Open to Interpretation: Envisaging a Kate Bush Covers Album

FEATURE:

 

 

Open to Interpretation

IN THIS PHOTO: Solange Knowles has covered Kate Bush during her live performances 

Envisaging a Kate Bush Covers Album

___________

JUST recently…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

I put out a feature into the world that suggested why, at a time like now, we need more Kate Bush projects in the world. I have kicked around the idea of a new Kate Bush covers album because, in 2020, there has been a lot more attention and love for her music. There are cover albums online like this one, and there has been a reissue of an older covers compilation. These collections are great and, whilst they do put new spins on familiar songs, I do think that there is a chance to have a new and more expansive collection. Maybe recording one for a charity like Crisis – which Bush herself is a supporter of -, there are so many artists out there influenced by her work that have either not covered her work live or versions of Bush’s songs have not appeared on any of their albums - a percentage of the proceeds would go to the charity, whereas the rest would cover the recording and other costs/go to Bush herself. I mooted recently how it would be great if someone like John Grant tackled a song such as The Man with the Child in His Eyes (from The Kick Inside, 1978) - as I adore his voice - but, really, there is an ocean of choice regarding artists and songs! Everyone from Rufus Wainwright, Anna Calvi, Mica Paris, Guy Garvey, St. Vincent, Madonna, Emma Pollack, Field Music, Björk, Big Boi, Charli XCX, Regina Spektor, Beth Orton, Florence Welch, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Billie Marten, Ellie Goulding, KT Tunstall, Alison Moyet, Grace Jones, Gemma Hayes, Boy George, Hayden Thorpe, Bat for Lashes, Stevie Nicks, PJ Harvey, London Grammar, Bright Lights, Elton John, Bright Lights, Annie Lennox, First Aid Kit (who covered Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) live) and Brett Anderson have been influenced by Kate Bush in some form - or cite her music as important (Saint Saviour covered Army Dreamers a few years back and it blew me away!). One can keep that list going - and some curveballs like IDLES or some unknown artists mixing in the pack would add some definite variety! - but, whilst they have talked about her and, in some form, write their music with a bit of Bush in the mix, there have not been a lot of covers - maybe it seems odd covering Bush’s songs on their own albums.

Over the past year, there have been a few Kate Bush covers from some lesser-known artists and, through the years, everyone from The Futureheads and Placebo have taken on Bush’s catalogue. Maybe people think that it is a bit intimidating covering her music and it seems a bit daunting. I can appreciate that! Consider the vocal sounds and pitch on The Kick Inside and it would be hard to reinvent the songs on that album and retain the beauty and original wonder. I think albums such as The Dreaming have so much invention and different vocal sounds on them; that opens the door for artists to have a look and give particular songs a new slant. Bush reworked some of her songs on Director’s Cut in 2011 but, even though she focused on tracks from The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes, I still think other artists could take those songs and put their own print on them. There are lesser-known Bush tracks and B-sides that could be given a fresh boost and, when you look at the sheer number of artists who owe a nod to Bush – including Tricky, Neil Hannon, The Anchoress, k.d. lang, FKA twigs, Little Boots, Perfume Genius, and Alison Goldfrapp -, I would love to hear what they do with some of her songs! Also, Peter Gabriel has recorded with Kate Bush a few times, and it would be wonderful to see what he would do with one of her songs! Maybe there would be a battle over particular songs that many people would want to cover – including Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) -, but it would be fascinating hearing diverse artists take these songs to new places.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tricky

I don’t think one can be precious when it comes to artists covering icons and, whilst I am not completely sold on some of the Kate Bush cover versions that have been put out, there have been some good attempts! There are articles like this and this that rank the covers and, looking at those names, and I would particularly like to hear Solange’s cover of Cloudbusting (that she performed at Coachella in 2014), and Tori Amos’ take on And Dream Of Sheep from her live set put on a record! Hearing studio versions of these tracks alongside rising artists and familiar names bringing together a covers album would be awesome! I think of it more as a tribute to her because, as there has not been a documentary for a few years, I think a covers albums would show what love there is for Bush from so many different artists. One might have to put out a double album - and I can easily imagine around about twenty-five/thirty or so worthy and stunning covers from a selection of brilliant musicians (maybe a selection of artists could each take a song from Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave?). Maybe it would need to be on several vinyl records, but I think a lot of people would buy it and, as I said, a proportion of proceeds could go to Crisis. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is a song that Chromatics, Placebo, and First Aid Kit have all covered and, whilst their versions are brilliant, there would be room for another. It would take a great producer to bring everyone together and, whilst Kate Bush herself would not do it (that would be weird), I think the legendary Tony Visconti would be perfect; there was a brief moment before Bush produced The Dreaming herself when Visconti’s name was in the frame - Bush admired Visconti’s production and his work with David Bowie especially.

There are so many songs that have not been covered so, for that reason, it would be interesting to see what artists come up with. Of course, I would urge people to hear the original Bush recordings - but a tribute/covers albums could be a way in for many people. I will keep this short but, whilst one does not want to overload the market with Kate Bush-related products to an extent, I think there would be huge demand at a time when Bush’s music is as popular as at any other time! Maybe an album could collect together studio recordings others have done of her tracks, but I think wiping the slate clean and inviting a range of artists to take on songs fresh in the studio would be better. I have not really opened this up to people to see what the opinion is but, with no real contemporary tribute album to her, there is definitely a gap in the market. One could dream of which artist could take which song, but I’d love to hear a new recording of St. Vincent doing Hounds of Love, or Tricky taking on Breathing – both artists talked about these tracks in the BBC documentary of 2014, The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill. Maybe it could be a possibility after the pandemic has died a little and it could mean artists could get to the same studio – Abbey Road Studio 2 - or Studio 3 for tighter and more intimate takes - seems like the perfect place (Bush worked at Abbey Road Studios on the albums Never For Ever, The Dreaming, and Hounds of Love in Studio 2, and the orchestral parts for the albums The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes). The plan of getting international artists together might be tricky in terms of cost and logistics but, if most artists could get there and others could do it from different studios, then that could work. Of course, if the recordings have to take place remotely, then that would be fine - it is more about getting the songs down than the importance of where it is recorded. It is a theory/speculative project right now, but a Kate Bush tribute album would open up…

 IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent/PHOTO CREDIT: Scandebergs for GQ

SUCH interesting possibilities!

FEATURE: Time and Time Again, Line and Line Again: Kate Bush and Acting: Les Dogs, The Line, the Cross and the Curve and Beyond

FEATURE:

 

 

Time and Time Again, Line and Line Again

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 197/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

Kate Bush and Acting: Les Dogs, The Line, the Cross and the Curve and Beyond

___________

I have spoken before about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

how film and literature has played a role in Kate Bush’s music through the years. Whilst she was not necessarily a veracious reader, a lot of her best moments were either inspired by literature or a classic text – James Joyce’s Ulysses famously, can be felt through The Sensual World’s title track (it was re-recorded for 2011’s Director’s Cut under the title Flower of the Mountain; Bush was able to include Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from the novel after being granted permission by the estate). Film and T.V., I think, have been a more powerful tool of inspiration for Bush regarding her music. This article from the BFI highlights how horror and the gothic have influenced many of her songs:

“Despite a well-publicised reluctance to perform in front of an audience (with her 2014 Before the Dawn concerts a glorious exception), Kate Bush has embraced film, and many of her music videos are works of art in themselves. ‘Cloudbusting’ may be the most celebrated, an exhilarating and moving short conceived with Terry Gilliam and starring Donald Sutherland, but the video for ‘Experiment IV’ – a darkly comic tale of government conspiracy starring Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, and Bush as a horrific banshee – has to be seen to be believed.

Movies – specifically gothic horror movies – have had an acknowledged influence on Bush’s back catalogue. ‘Hammer Horror’, named after the British production company, tells of a death and subsequent haunting on the film set of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. One of her most unnerving tracks, ‘Waking the Witch’ from Hounds of Love, imagines the drowning of a woman accused of sorcery and seems indebted to Michael Reeves’s Witchfinder General (1968). Sutherland was cast in the ‘Cloudbusting’ video following his appearance in Don’t Look Now (1973), and she borrowed the choral section of ‘Hello Earth’ – the Georgian folk song ‘Tsin Tskaro’ – from Werner Herzog’s remake of Nosferatu (1979)”.

From the powerful imagery of The Shining (film) to an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Bush has been struck by the screen and she has, in kind, made her videos so powerful and visually arresting. I often look at some of Bush’s videos as little films. From Army Dreamers, to Cloudbusting, she approached her videos almost as films. From Hounds of Love onwards (until 2005’s Aerial), Bush directed/co-directed her videos and put her visual stamp down. I have spoken about her videos before, but I have been re-watching them quite a lot and flipping the view: Kate Bush as an actor in front of the camera. One can say a musician is like an actor in a sense, because they perform in their videos and that involves a lot of the same disciplines an actor would have. This is also true of live performance, where one needs to act and project, both physically and verbally. Despite relatively few live outings, Bush mounted a huge production in 1979 with The Tour of Life, and she did so again with 2014’s Before the Dawn. In her videos, we got different sides to her and these guises are intriguing and so engaging all these years later! If there is a certain amount of acting skill required for live work and videos, I think things are a bit different with something non-musical and straighter.

Especially early in her career, Bush was offered various acting roles, and she was offered a part opposite Oliver Reed in Castaway in 1986 – the role went to Amanda Donohoe. Maybe the idea of being naked with Reed was a bit unwelcome and intimidating, but I do think that she wanted to focus on music. Although Bush’s music has been used in films such as Vampire Diaries, Palm Springs and The Golden Compass, she has not stepped into acting as much as many would have liked. I guess she would have been sent scripts that typecast her a bit, either as a sexual figure or someone who was a bit odd. Maybe people were reacting to her videos, but I wonder how many scripts and treatments came her way for serious roles that would have allowed her to stretch her wings? The reason I bring this up is because I think the little we did see of Bush on screen outside of the music videos is quite powerful and intriguing! Because she did not tour or perform widely between 1979 and 2014, aside from making albums, there would have been this opportunity to take on film and T.V. roles. Bush has this filmic quality, and I think she could have handled a range of different roles. From an old-fashioned Hollywood starlet, an aspiring artist in London (playing herself to an extent), to a vampirical heroine or something meatier, I have been imagining Bush’s IMDB profile being beefed up to include these acting roles!

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during filming for The Line, The Cross and the Curve in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

I know she was offered roles in biopics, and it would have been interesting to see her translate her love of film into bigger acting roles. I will come to a couple of acting roles Bush did undertake, but I have been wondering whether it was the intensity of recording or the lack of appealing roles that kept her away from the small and big screen. Certainly, she had (and has) a charm and allure that would have won critics. Just look at every one of her music videos (where she appeared), and Bush has this radiance and flexibility where she could easily inhabit so many different looks and pull them off! The fact that she went on to direct her videos meant that she wanted to take greater charge in that sense, so maybe working with another director on a film would have been a bit much. Look at people like Lady Gaga and other great artists who appeared in film (including one of her idols, David Bowie) -, and it would have been tantalising to see Bush follow suite. Prince appeared in a Rock musical version of Purple Rain (in the film of the same name), and I often wonder what it would have been like if Bush had done the same with Hounds of Love, or even The Dreaming.

Her albums provoked big visions and possibilities, and I guess music videos are a way of portioning out these performances. Even though Bush did bring Hounds of Love to the stage I a big way in 2014, I think many of her fans would have loved to have seen her in a tasteful and challenging drama; maybe appearing in a crime caper – one similar to her single from The Dreaming, There Goes a Tenner. Bush had a real love of comedy and possessed a flair for the comedic. Her Comic Relief duet with Rowan Atkinson on the song, Do Bears… , shows she did have great comic timing - she would have excelled as a comic actor. Rather than me listing what-ifs and musing, I wanted to bring in a couple of times where Bush engaged in different acting projects – one of which was a short film composed of her own music. One of the things that a lot of people might know is that Bush appeared (in a silent role) in a television film called Les Dogs. As The Kate Bush Encyclopaedia explains and illustrates, it was a very interesting role (and one of two times when Bush worked alongside Miranda Richardson):

“1990 television film written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, directed by Peter Richardson, and part of The Comic Strip Presents series of programmes. A wedding photographer becomes enraptured by a bride's beauty, and the story drifts into the surreal realm of his imagination.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1990 

Kate made her acting debut in the role of bride Angela Watkins in this film; Miranda Richardson and Alexei Sayle portrayed Angela's parents, Tim McInnerny and Julie T. Wallace played her in-laws, and Danny Peacock earned the envy of millions in the role of her newlywed husband while Peter Richardson earned the further envy of millions as her lover.

“Peter Richardson worked on the video [for The Sensual World] and it was a lot of fun, and we stayed in touch as friends. When he was working on The Comic Strip series, I got a script and he asked me if I'd play a part. I felt very honoured to be asked”.

I do really like Bush in Les Dogs, and it is almost a shame that she was not given more responsibility and dialogue. I think she manages to shine on screen without speaking and, as I said earlier, there is this magnetic quality that Bush has! Maybe it is her beauty and dance ability that brings her videos to life like nobody else; perhaps it is her love of film and T.V. that means she has this ambition to tackle various looks and approaches, but I feel Bush is just a natural actor! Three years after Bush appeared in Les Dogs, she was seen in the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve.

This was a period where Bush put out an album (The Red Shoes), but there was a lot of personal loss and stress that meant she could not fully commit to other roles. As actor, writer and director of The Line, the Cross and the Curve, there was a lot being taken on at a time when things were pretty hectic! Maybe the nerves of performing live is a reason why Bush did not commit to acting and exploring that side but, despite some mixed reviews, I think there is a lot of promise in The Line, the Cross and the Curve. From a visual sense, the film is gorgeous and there are some spectacular moments! Even if Miranda Richardson provides steadier acting and dialogue, I do think there is potential in Bush’s acting and, if she was being led by another director, she would have turned in quite a sturdy and impressive performance. She was, despite some headaches, committed to her role, and it was a great learning experience. Here are some more details about the film:

“In this version of the tale, Bush plays a frustrated singer-dancer who is enticed by a mysterious woman (Richardson) into putting on a pair of magical ballet slippers. Once on her feet, the shoes start dancing on their own, and Bush's character (who is never referred to by name) must battle Richardson's character to free herself from the spell of the shoes. Her guide on this strange journey is played by Kemp.

The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 13 November 1993. Kate got up on stage before the screening to thank "everyone who'd been a part of making the film" and to speak of her trepidation because her opus was following a brilliant Wallace & Gromit animation by Aardman called 'The wrong trousers'. Subsequently, the film was released direct-to-video in most areas and was only a modest success. Soon after its release, Bush effectively dropped out of the public eye until her eighth studio album Aerial was released in November 2005.

Two years after UK release, due to the late promotion in the US, the film was nominated for the Long Form Music Video at the 1996 Grammy Awards. The film continues to be played in arthouse cinemas around the world, such as a screening at Hollywood Theatre in 2014 where the film was screened along with modern dance interpretations to Bush's music”.

One can never say never regarding Kate Bush and acting, but with such a stunning career under her belt, I could imagine Bush adding to that with some brilliant film and T.V. roles. It would have been amazing to think, because I have always associated Bush to be – through her videos and live performances – such a multifarious and striking performer.  If there had been film and T.V. acting roles between albums, it would have added another string…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

TO her amazing bow!

FEATURE: The F-List: Making Music Festivals Gender-Balanced in 2021

FEATURE:

 

 

The F-List

IN THIS PHOTO: Charli XCX/PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz 

Making Music Festivals Gender-Balanced in 2021

___________

I have talked a lot about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Redwood

the gender discrepancy at festivals and how, even last year, there was a huge imbalance regarding male and female artists. This year, before the pandemic struck, I was going to sort of say how we had turned a corner, as Glastonbury announced a line-up with more women than men for the first time; other festivals were at least moving closer to fifty-fifty. Look through the best and most popular albums of the past five years and you can see female artists scoring huge. Many of the brightest new artists around are women and, when you look at the best of what is around now and the most engaging artists coming through, there is more than enough talent to ensure that the majority of music festivals can be gender-equal. There is a document, the F-list, that has collated a directory of musicians that, fortunately, makes it impossible for festival organisers to avoid! This BBC article explains more:

“When festivals finally resume in 2021, the line-ups could be more gender balanced than ever before, thanks to a new database of female artists.

The F-list provides details of more than 4,500 musicians in all genres of music, and is free to use.

It was compiled by equality campaigner Vick Bain, who first uploaded it as a sprawling online spreadsheet.

The directory proved so popular that she has re-launched it as a fully-searchable, not-for-profit website.

IN THIS PHOTO: Annabel Grace Steele 

It aims to improve representation of women at all levels of the industry - from session musicians and arrangers, to producers and festival headliners.

"The problem for women in the UK music industry is they are still in the minority when it comes to professional work," Bain told BBC Radio 4's Today.

"Only 20% of musicians signed to record labels are women and about 15% of festival headliners are women. So they don't have much presence, professionally, even though they consist of nearly half of all music degree students."

The launch of the F-list website aims to correct that problem, while a concurrent community interest company will champion equality and diversity in the industry.

"We are going to raise awareness, we're going to create initiatives to help facilitate training and development, we are going to increase knowledge about gender inequality," said Bain. "We want to be a major authority for promoting women in music."

Sitar player Anoushka Shankar will be the inaugural president of the enterprise, having become aware of how gender imbalance impacted her own career.

"As a musician with 25 years in the industry, I have seen how women just aren't booked the same way as men," she told Mishal Husain.

"[And] I noticed that, even as a female artist and a self-proclaimed feminist, I was hiring way more male musicians than female and it was something I had to try and actively correct”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rina Sawayama/PHOTO CREDIT: Jess Farran for DIY

I have talked a lot about how it is inexcusable that we are still striving for equality at festivals given the incredible women in music. Just this year, stunning albums from Laura Marling, Nadine Shah, Dua Lipa, Fiona Apple, Waxahatchee, Charli XCX, Taylor Swift, Grimes, Rina Sawayama, Lady Gaga, Jessie Ware, Chloe x Halle, Hayley Williams, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kylie Minogue have dazzled critics. There are headliners in there and, at the very least, a huge range of sounds covered. There is argument from organisers and fans of some Rock festivals that there are not many women who can provide as hard a sound as male bands. That is patently not true and, from female-led bands like Amyl and The Sniffers, and Rews through to solo female artists, there is more than enough choice! The great newcomers of the past couple of years also provide plenty of food for thought – Arlo Parks is one of my standout artists from this year. It is not hard to balance festivals without compromising and losing quality. Back in February, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis talked about her desire to create a fifty-fifty gender split - and it was not long after that the line-up or this year’s (proposed) Glastonbury went online with more women than men – a rare female headliner in the form of Taylor Swift too!

“Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis says the festival has to achieve a gender balanced line-up as soon as it can.

"Our future has to be 50/50," she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"It's a challenge. Everyone's finding it hard - but the acts are there," she says, adding that past Glastonbury line-ups have "always been male-heavy".

IN THIS PHOTO: Emily Eavis/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Benett

Her comments come after criticism that many festivals don't have enough female or female-fronted acts on their line-ups.

Emily was named godlike genius at the NME Awards in London, where Glastonbury was named best festival in the world.

"When I look back at past Glastonbury line-ups, I realised it's always been male heavy.

"Unless you consciously change and really address it, then it will stay the same because we're always going to be flooded with male acts".

There are no excuses now that the F-list is out and there is this catalogue of great women! That will only build and update as more and more great artists come through, so I think festivals that are especially lax when it comes to gender equality – Reading and Leeds must be near the top of the pile! – need to resolve to change their ways and push progression. Not only is the over-reliance on male artists boring and formulaic – the same acts booked time and time again -, but there are so many women and female-fronted acts that are being denied a platform! I am not sure what the state of play will be regarding festivals next year and whether there will be announcements soon, but I think Glastonbury are hoping to go ahead in June – whether it is with the same line-up as this year I am not sure. Festival organisers have plenty of time to plan and use the F-list as an invaluable glossary of names that they can borrow from when formulating a more gender-balanced, diverse and exciting line-up. This year has been awful, but next year has the potential to be a lot brighter; not just in music but in society in general. When it comes to music and festival line-ups, let’s hope that organisers reference the F-list hard so that, in 2021, we can see…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Amyl and The Sniffers

SOME real progress!

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Amazing Freddie Mercury Vocal Performances

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Still/Redferns 

Amazing Freddie Mercury Vocal Performances

___________

TODAY (24th November) marks twenty-nine years…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Freddie Mercury with Queen/PHOTO CREDIT: Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images

since the world lost the remarkable Freddie Mercury. The Queen frontman has been responsible for some of the most powerful vocal performances in history. Although I was a little too young to remain Band Aid in 1985, few will forget the stunning set from Queen! Through the years with the band, Mercury helped bring the band to the masses. Although many find some of Queen’s lyrics a bity silly, Mercury elevated them and made them sound so important and grand! I am not sure whether there is a single performance of his that is better than the rest but, to mark the sad passing of one of the finest singers ever, I have compiled a selection of Freddie Mercury’s…

VERY best vocal turns.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Drug Store Romeos

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Melanie Hyams 

Drug Store Romeos

___________

THE band take their name from…

the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire and, whilst being based in Fleet, Hampshire might sound worlds away from that play and relevant quote (“No, I have the misfortune of being an English instructor. I attempt to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drugstore Romeos with a reverence for Hawthorne and Whitman and Poe!”), Drug Store Romeos are now based in London and looking to release their first E.P. I have been listening to their latest track, Jim, Let’s Play, and there is a mix of dreamy vocals and a hazy feel, combined with Trip-Hop beats and elastic strings. Even though they have not been going too long, the incredible three-piece have released some great tracks! I am going to bring in a few interviews so that the band themselves can give some insight, but I think that 2021 is going to be a good year for them! They would have hoped, having moved to London, that they could have gigged a lot this year and honed their skills but, with everything happening, that has been put on hold until next year. If you need a good introduction to Drug Store Romeos, then this interview from The Line of Best Fit from August provides detail:

“Hampshire itself is not so much notable for its vibrant youth culture as it is for its cricket pitches and (sort of) proximity to London, and after sitting down for a long and varied chat with Sarah, Charlie and Jonny from the band, it appears that they have shed the small-town mentality, if it ever existed at all.

 Referencing their inconspicuous musical upbringing, there is more than a hint of sarcasm in Charlie’s tone as he describes the “great music” which comprises the Hampshire music scene. The irony is compounded by reference to Fleet’s most notable venue, a library-cum-music-hall where Jonny recalls a time where, “they had the Bananas in Pyjamas do their thing”. Sarah interjects: “One time there was literally Harry Styles’ second cousin’s, best friend’s, sister’s dog and I saw it.”

Instead, the band found musical stimulation through interaction with each other. Jonny and Charlie are school friends, whilst Sarah completed the lineup later, in response to a Facebook advert: “They wanted a bassist and I wanted to be in a band.” For Sarah, the “obsession” to be in a band trumped any sort of concern. “I would meet up with random strangers online and then travel to like Portsmouth with a guitar,” she says. In this case, Sarah’s lack of proficiency on the bass guitar was remedied by the suitably rock and roll exchange of cigarettes for lessons with Jonny.

Gesturing towards new music and a potential unity in the sound, Charlie contends that the space between these distinct singles is where the rest of an impending album will occupy. What remains consistent in this exciting potential album is how the band collaborates, a process which itself involves its own quirks. This is no truer than in lyric writing, with words a medium of expression which the band unanimously agree is one of their sharpest musical tools”.

I think the group are going to find plenty of opportunities and gigs when venues reopen next year because, not only are they determined and passionate, but the music they are putting out is very different to anything else. I like the way they melt styles like Trip-Hop and Pop with something altogether theirs. Listen to a song like Quotations for Locations, and there are these hazy and soothing vocals that are slightly similar to The Sundays or even The Cardigans, combined with this backing that one might expect to hear scoring a song a lot heavier. That blend of emotions and weights makes their music so layered and nuanced. In an interview with DORK, Charlie from the band discussed the influence and under-use of Trip-Hop:

“Charlie adds: "I think trip-hop is an underutilised style in music because there are a few trip-hop bands like Portishead and Bowery Electric, but I think there is a massive hole where bands could use that drum style and the [same] kind of atmosphere, but use it [to make] like a three-minute pop version." He continues, "A lot of our songs aren't trip-hop really, so maybe it was a bit bold to put trip-hop in the title. We might back step from that." In a kind of defiance and sticking to the roots of how she joined the band in a 'fake it 'til you make it' kind of attitude, Sarah adds: "It sounds like a genre, so we've just got to make it."

In the same interview, the band talked about their path to where they are now. Many might assume they have just arrived from Fleet and have only been playing for a few months or so. They have had quite an eventful and busy past:

“To those who are hearing of Drug Store Romeos for the first time, it would be an easy mistake to assume that they are still in the toddler stages of their musical careers. In actuality, they've already had quite the ride. From cutting their teeth at The Five Bells in New Cross, to being the wedding band for a certain Breaking Bad actor – they've already played a plethora of gigs. But the most interesting of them all? A nursery. Charlie's mum invited the band into her classroom of two-year-old children, so that they could perform a post-punk rendition of 'Old McDonald Had a Farm' allowing the children to participate via a microphone that was hooked up to a delay pedal, and try their tiny hands at the instruments afterwards. (Yes, reader, they gave us a snippet of what it was like, and yes, it is just as magnificently bizarre as you're imagining.)

Charlie describes Drug Store Romeos as an "abstract, playful band". The kind of people that "think it's important that every day you look outside and think 'well, I'm alive!' and then everything you see, you're kind of appreciative of and excited by." Given that their supergroup would consist of Alex G on drums, Henry Rollins playing the harp, Skrillex shaking maracas through a distortion pedal, and Beyoncé on bass, it's safe to say that they have quite the eccentric imaginations”.

Drug Store Romeos are an original prospect and are going to, one would think, put out an E.P. soon that collects together their singles and adds in a couple of other gems. Like very artist I feature, I like to discover what their influences are and the type of acts that have compelled them. Looking at an interview from DIY, and that subject was raised:

“Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)

Charlie: We were into bands like Beach Fossils, DIIV, Mac Demarco, Sunflower Bean, Wolf Alice and (Sandy) Alex G.

At 16 I decided that I wanted to feel the way that this type of music made me feel all the time. Especially when dealing with negative emotions I found it had strong healing powers that soothed the feelings vs amplifying them like punk did. The members of these bands were also pretty much all soft 22 year olds that we related to. Most of them came from a DIY bedroom perspective whilst being popular enough to tour the world playing to people our age. To us this was so enticing - to think maybe one day we could be at a similar level

Also clean guitars through Roland JC 120 amps sound...um... cool!

Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this year?

Charlie: We’re recording our album this year and I really can’t wait”.

I will wrap things up soon but, with an awesome new track out, they will be finding their music picked up by new people. I think Let’s Play, Jim is one of their strongest efforts, but one cannot ignore the previous two tracks, Frame of Reference, and Quotations for Locations. These are glistening cuts that exemplify and underline the confidence the trio have and the incredible sound that defines their work. In this interview, we get some more insight into two wonderful songs:

“Can you tell us more about the stories behind your singles ‘Frame of Reference’ and ‘Quotations for Locations’?

Charlie: Here are some tidbits that we haven’t shared before. For ‘Frame of Reference’, over the email we asked the mixer to make one sensible mix and another one that was an “experimental and sound changing mix in which it has a raw 70s/80s/90s new wave weirdo post punk power pop kinda feel.” Then when we went into his studio to listen to both mixes to finalise it, we decided to use the bass sound and the drum fill sound from the experimental mix and everything else from the sensible one. The backing echo synth is taken straight from the original demo. We spent a while in the mixing stage deciding between four different versions of the flanger effect on the synth that happens just before the drums come in!

For ‘Quotations for Locations’, the chorus lyrics were “Manny molovile sings like a madman” for about eight months until I decided to rewrite them whilst I was feeling depressed on Christmas. This was one of the first songs written in the time period in which we went from playing a show a week to none at all so that we could go completely in on ourselves. This song marked the change from our previous shoegazey indecipherable reverb vocal sound to us deciding that dry and upfront vocals were the direction that we wanted to head in”.

I shall leave things there but, in a year that has been a bit rubbish, there have been some real bright spots in music! Among the newer artists rising and putting together their earliest steps, Drug Store Romeos are among the finest. I am interested to see where they head from here and how their career pans out. I guess an E.P. might arrive next year and, when venues safely open, they can get out there and bring the songs to the stage. They already have quite a rosy and growing fanbase, and I am glad that their music is getting some decent airplay! I hope the band have a restful rest of 2020 and, looking ahead to next year, I think they will make some big steps. Follow Drug Store Romeos if you have not done already and show some love to…

A great young band.

______________

Follow Drug Store Romeos

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/drugstoreromeos/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DrugStoreRomeos

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/drugstoreromeosband/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV3a1gCmTYMlwRJTr-he-uQ

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7MMjkDVrjxW9iObeZeeejh

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Songs from the Forty Best-Selling Vinyl Albums of 2020

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

Songs from the Forty Best-Selling Vinyl Albums of 2020

___________

AS we are hearing in music news…

that vinyl sales have increased this year, it has made me think about the most popular albums on that format. As this article lets us know, there has been a blend of classic albums selling well and new releases competing:

“Topping the overall year-to-date list is Fleetwood Mac’s classic album Rumours. The record - released in 1977 - remains a popular choice on vinyl and regularly features in the weekly Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40. Just over 19,000 sales of the album have been logged on vinyl in the UK this year.

Other new releases that rank in the Top 10 best-sellers on vinyl this year include Harry Styles’ Fine Line (5), Lady Gaga’s Chromatica (6), and Fontaines DC’s A Hero's Death (7).

Further down, Scottish musician Gerry Cinnamon places 11th with his 2020 Number 1 album The Bonny, Biffy Clyro’s latest chart-topping collection A Celebration Of Endings is 13th, and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia places 23rd. Rising British band Sports Team bow at 40 with their debut album Deep Down Happy”.

As the list of the forty best-selling vinyl albums has been announced (the chart positions are true as of 23rd November), I have compiled a Lockdown Playlist that takes songs from those albums (the only album I could not find on Spotify is 80s - Various Artists, but I have linked a song included on that album at the end; if there are any songs that cannot be played, then the playlist is here - and you can open the artist’s page and access the album there). As you can see and hear, there is a satisfying and eclectic mixture of the older…

IN THIS PHOTO: The cover of Lady Gaga’s 2020 album, Chromatica

AND the new.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Fugees – The Score

FEATURE:

 

 

Vinyl Corner

Fugees – The Score

___________

I am surprised that I have not…

included this album in Vinyl Corner before! I was aware of the Fugees when they released their debut, Blunted on Reality, in 1994, and it as an album that did pretty well and got some great reviews. It is a tragedy to think that their breakthrough second album, The Score of 1996, was their last! This is an album that was a big part of my early life, and I recall hearing songs from the album in 1996 and being blown away! I would urge people to buy The Score on vinyl, as it is an essential purchase for anyone who loves great music. Not only is The Score and album that transformed Hip-Hop in the 1990s, but it is a varied and busy album that contains some great samples. We all know the big hits like Ready or Not, Fu-Gee-La, Killing Me Softly with His Song, and No Woman, No Cry (the latter two are covers), but I think every track from the album is a winner! There are a great mix of samples, but I especially love the fact Ready or Not contains samples of Boadicea by Enya, God Made Me Funky by The Headhunters, and an interpolation of Ready or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love) by The Delfonics! It is such a deep, detailed and inspiring album that, I think, showcased the M.C. skills of Lauryn Hill best.

She, Pras Michel, and Wyclef Jean would go on to have successful solo careers but, like the Fugees themselves, Hill’s solo career has been so brief! Her only solo album to date, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill of 1998, is, debatably, more important and influential than The Score - and one wonders when she will follow it up (if ever). Even though the Fugees only recorded two albums and disbanded by 2007, it was clear that the three members were bonded through The Score. It is reported that Hill was crying when delivering her lines to Ready or Not. The emotion of the song and the issues she and the other members were going through was clearly having an impact! One can feel real emotion and strength through the album. There are a variety of producers on The Score, and I think they each bring something to the plate and helped shape its eclectic nature and confidence. The blend of sampled melodies and live instruments makes the album so rich and interesting, and it is no surprise that The Score is considered one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever. I will bring in a couple of reviews but, through the years, journalists have explained the impact and legacy of The Score. In 2013, NME detailed why The Score is such a staggering and original record:

“At the time, Fugees (formerly Tranzlator Crew) were in their 20s – Lauryn Hill was just 21. They’ve described the recording process in interviews as relaxed and organic; you can’t hear the tension between Wyclef Jean and Hill that would lead to the band’s break up a year later. That’s not to say it’s all cupcakes and unicorns: ‘The Score’ contains grisly portraits of life in the ghetto. It’s a theatre of pandemonium, pain and pride shot with colour, dialogue, sound effects and some of the finest lyrics commited to tape. Hill herself saw it as:

“An audio film. It’s like how radio was back in the 1940s. It tells a story, and there are cuts and breaks in the music. It’s almost like a hip-hop version of ‘Tommy’, like what The Who did for rock music”.

Their approach to gender roles was revolutionary

The most potent difference about ‘The Score’? Gender. There are very few mixed sex hip-hop groups, and there are even fewer groups in which the female is centre stage. Exceptions – Digable Planets, Arrested Development and Juice Crew – didn’t break through the mainstream in the same way. The Black Eyed Peas are excluded for their disgraceful recent output. It’s refreshing to hear an album completely without sexism or misogyny. As a female hip-hop fan I often cringe at mentions of porno lyrics casting females as “pussies”, bitches, and nothing more. There’s no danger of that here. Hill’s narrative as a woman and her emotions are given space to breathe, most significantly in ‘Manifest’, a song about a guy who “stole the heart beating from my chest”, and ‘The Mask’, in which she takes on a guy trying it on in a nightclub. And, simply speaking, I like male voices, I like female voices – I want to hear them both at the same time.

The album also marked a departure from the commercial success of gangsta rap; it was alternative hip-hop, if you like, that challenged the perceived ideology of the genre. Pras makes it implicit in ‘The Mask’: “Well did you shoot him? Naw kid I didn’t have the balls, That’s when I realized I’m bumpin’ too much Biggie Smalls”.

Their references were colourful and weird

Obscure references punctuate ‘The Score’, setting it firmly in the 90s as a piece of historical art. From politicians (Clef compares Bill Clinton to Batman, for example) to Biblical references, scientific mentions to strange animals, and the miscellaneous mentions of Dick Van Dyke, Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and Zsa Zsa Gabor, it’s a vibrant mix.

‘The Score’ is one of the finest albums ever made. There’s a poignancy to it as well; it was Fugees final record after a nasty break up. Afterwards, Hill made the extraordinary ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, Pras did ‘Ghetto Superstar’ and Jean’s recorded with The Rock and went for the Haiti president job. A 2005 tour received mixed reviews. The end of the Fugees embalms ‘The Score’ in 1996, protecting its legacy and integrity. It is, without doubt, one of the greatest albums ever made”.

There are interesting articles out there that provide story and background, and I would especially recommend an article from Pitchfork published in 2016. We get a retrospective view from those who worked on the album twenty years after its release - and it makes for very interesting and insightful reading. I will just bring in the one review, I think, for The Score, but it is one that sort of says it all. This is what AllMusic wrote when they reviewed the album:

“A breath of fresh air in the gangsta-dominated mid-'90s, the Fugees' breakthrough album, The Score, marked the beginning of a resurgence in alternative hip-hop. Its left-field, multi-platinum success proved there was a substantial untapped audience with an appreciation for rap music but little interest in thug life. The Score's eclecticism, social consciousness, and pop smarts drew millions of latent hip-hop listeners back into the fold, showing just how much the music had grown up.

It not only catapulted the Fugees into stardom, but also launched the productive solo careers of Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, the latter of whom already ranks as one of the top female MCs of all time based on her work here. Not just a collection of individual talents, the Fugees' three MCs all share a crackling chemistry and a wide-ranging taste in music. Their strong fondness for smooth soul and reggae is underscored by the two hit covers given slight hip-hop makeovers (Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry"). Even when they're not relying on easily recognizable tunes, their original material is powered by a raft of indelible hooks, especially the great "Fu-Gee-La"; there are also touches of blues and gospel, and the recognizable samples range from doo wop to Enya. Their protest tracks are often biting, yet tempered with pathos and humanity, whether they're attacking racial profiling among police ("The Beast"), the insecurity behind violent posturing ("Cowboys"), or the inability of many black people in the Western Hemisphere to trace their familial roots ("Family Business"). Yeah, the Chinese restaurant skit is a little dicey, but on the whole, The Score balances intelligence and accessibility with an easy assurance, and ranks as one of the most distinctive hip-hop albums of its era”.

The Score remains this staggering album that took Hip-Hop in a new direction and was so different to a lot of the harder-edged and far less intriguing music that was being made. It is amazing to think what the Fugees could have achieved if they recorded a third album, but one sort of got a glimpse listening to each of the members’ first solo albums. I think Lauryn Hill especially was really finding her voice and, on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she confirmed her place as one of the finest artists of her generation. Nearly twenty-five years after its release and The Score remains this wonderful, hugely significant album that I think everyone should buy on vinyl and…

REALLY treat themselves to!