FEATURE: Supergrass’ In It for the Money at Twenty-Five: One of the Most Important Albums of the 1990s

FEATURE:

 

 

Supergrass’ In It for the Money at Twenty-Five

One of the Most Important Albums of the 1990s

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I have already written one feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Natkin/Getty Images

about the upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary of Supergrass’ second studio album (on 21st April), In it for the Money. An album that everyone needs to own, I think that it is among the most important and best albums of the 1990. Whilst Supergrass’ 1995 debut, I Should Coco, is a remarkable album, In it for the Money is an even stronger and more varied follow-up. Released in a year when Britpop was starting to wane, there is a combination of the celebratory and experimental on In it for the Money. Jubilant sounds and infectiousness mixes with acoustic moments and the Oxford band venturing into new territory. Recorded at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, there is still a lot of the fun and vibrancy Supergrass displayed on their debut. I feel that In it for the Money is a more textured and deeper album in terms of its sounds and lyrics. I feel the first seven tracks have a lot in common with what is on I Should Coco. In it for the Money took Supergrasss to a new level and confirmed they as a band to watch. If some felt their debut was a fluke or novelty, or Supergrass would not be able to match it on their sophomore album, they were proven wrong. Capitalising on momentum but also not rush-releasing a follow-up, In it for the Money is a defining album of the ‘90s. Twenty-five years after its release, the songs still seem so fresh!

Rather than the songs being of a decade and not able to resonate and impact years down the line, In it for the Money still explodes with life and meaning! It is an album that cemented the reputation and promise of a remarkable young band. Led by her charismatic and hugely talented Gaz Coombes, there is so much presence and range on the album. From the snarling Richard III to the Beatle-esque Going Out, through to the gorgeous and hypnotic It’s Not Me, In it for the Money covers a lot of music ground but retains consistency and identity. The reception for In it for the Money has been largely positive. In 1997, many were seeing the album in the context of what else was around and what Supergrass promised on their debut. With retrospective reviews, it is about how In it for the Money has stood up. A lot of albums from 1997 have been lost or not stood up. In it for the Money is as engrossing and will sound so important for decades to come. Pitchfork reviewed an expanded edition of In it for the Money last year:

“In It for the Money isn’t so much a departure from I Should Coco as a progression. Often, it feels as if Supergrass are attempting to offer a crash course in the history of British rock, cramming in elements borrowed from the swinging 1960s and 1970s classic rock, then filtering these well-known sounds through the irreverence of punk. They still sound vigorous—witness the rampaging single “Richard III”—but they lack the exuberance that fueled their first album. The shift was necessary for their long-term survival. “Alright” threatened to pigeonhole Supergrass as loveable teenage imps, a role they played to the hilt in the song’s supremely silly video. (They played their part so well that Steven Spielberg believed Supergrass would be ideal candidates for a gen-X spin on the Monkees.)

Supergrass turned down Spielberg, choosing instead to do the things normal rock’n’roll bands do: play an enormous amount of shows before hunkering down in the studio to make another record. It helped that Supergrass had arrived just as the Britpop wave crested, its rising tide not only lifting the shaggy group into the Top Ten but putting them squarely within a happening scene. They shared space on charts and festival bills with the amiably straightforward likes of Cast, Sleeper, the Bluetones, and Ash, yet they were qualitatively different, possessing punk-pop smarts to rival Elastica, a brawnier musicality than Oasis, and a self-evident sense of humor.

All of this comes to a head on In It for the Money, an album where the riffs and jokes are wrapped in woolly psychedelia, blaring horns, and splashes of sweet melancholy. Where I Should Coco blew by at a breakneck pace, In It for the Money unfolds with a deliberate sense of drama, slowly coming into focus with the menacing swirl of the title track and proceeding to ebb and flow across its 12 songs. The record feels so unified that it’s remarkable to realize they entered the studio in 1996 with only two completed songs in tow, forcing them to write the bulk of the album during the recording sessions. Along for the ride was Rob Coombes, a keyboardist who was the brother of Supergrass frontman Gaz. He’d been on the band’s periphery for a while, hammering out the piano to “Alright” and playing woozy organ on “Going Out,” the stopgap 1996 single Supergrass released between their first and second albums, but he’s an integral part of In It for the Money, earning writing credits on all 12 songs and adding distinctive color throughout. (Rob Coombes would officially become a member of Supergrass in 2002.)

Listen closely—or spend some time with the clutch of monitor mixes and rough versions that fill the second disc of the new 3xCD deluxe reissue of the 1997 album—and it’s apparent that Supergrass did indeed write In It for the Money in the studio. Many of the songs are rooted in vamps that blossom into full songs: The slinky funk that propels the verses of “Cheapskate,” the circular stomp on “G-Song,” the lazy, shambling gait of “Hollow Little Reign” all bear telltale signs of compositions that began as group jams. None of these songs sound tossed off, though, littered as they are with overdubs, backwards guitars, and sound effects. Supergrass couldn’t resist any bit of studio trickery when they were making In It for the Money, yet they retained their sense of concise craft. The record feels vibrant, not overstuffed.

The triple-disc reissue of In It for the Money can dampen some of the album’s energy. Some fine B-sides, such as the tuneful neo-music-hall ramble “Melanie Davis,” are buried among the alternate mixes and working versions on the second disc, a collection of ephemera that plays better as individual tracks than as an album. The disc of live recordings is another story. Anchored by a full show from January 1998, a concert given nearly a year after the release of In It for the Money, the live disc shows Supergrass at full roar, turning these studio creations into breakneck rockers.

The title of In It for the Money is a nod toward Frank Zappa’s anti-hippie classic We’re Only In It for the Money. Supergrass may not sound anything like the Mothers of Invention, but their choice reflects the extent to which they were steeped in rock history. Supergrass never attempted to be innovators. They were magpies who busied themselves with figuring out how to assemble pieces of glam, psychedelia, punk, and pop in fresh, surprising ways. They would continue to hone their craft, making sleeker albums than In It for the Money, yet the group’s enthusiasm and imagination are at a peak here. They sound delighted to discover their full potential, and that giddiness remains infectious decades later”.

Twenty-five on 21st April, In it for the Money is a remarkably important album. One of the key releases of the 1990s, I wanted to revisit an album that has some classic Supergrass in it. From the anthemic Tonight to Sun Hits the Sky, all of the tracks are absolute gold! The majestical In it for the Money, twenty-five years after its release remains…

A spellbinding album.

FEATURE: One for the Record Collection! Essential May Releases

FEATURE:

 

 

One for the Record Collection!

IN THIS PHOTO: The cover for Harry Styles’ forthcoming album, Harry’s House 

Essential May Releases

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MAY is fast approaching…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Zola Jesus

so I wanted to look ahead to albums due for release then. As I always say, these albums are confirmed as of the time of writing this feature (11th April), so things could change between now and then. That said, I am keen to explore those slated for release. The week ending 6th May has quite a few golden albums worth pre-ordering. The first is Arcade Fire’ WE. The legendary Canadian band follow up 2017’s Everything Now with their sixth studio album. This is one that you definitely need to pre-order:

“Produced by Nigel Godrich, Win and Régine, and recorded in multiple locales including New Orleans, El Paso and Mount Desert Island, WE paradoxically distills “the longest we’ve ever spent writing, uninterrupted, probably ever" (per the band’s Win Butler) into a concise 40 minute epic – one as much about the forces that threaten to pull us away from the people we love, as it is inspired by the urgent need to overcome them. WE’s cathartic journey follows a definable arc from darkness into light over the course of seven songs divided into two distinct sides - Side “I” channeling the fear and loneliness of isolation, and Side “WE” expressing the joy and power of reconnection. On the album’s cover, a photograph of a human eye by the artist JR evokes Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. This stunning image - embellished by the distinctive airbrush color tinting of Terry Pastor (utilizing the same physical technique he employed on David Bowie’s iconic Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust covers) – is the visual expression of WE”.

Another marvellous album due on 6th May is Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s Endless Rooms. An album that I would urge everyone to pre-order, it is shaping up to be among this year’s most promising albums:

“Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever return in 2022 with Endless Rooms, the Melbourne quintet's third album proper. Described by the band – comprised of Fran Keaney, Joe White, Marcel Tussie and brothers Tom Russo and Joe Russo – as them “Doing what we do best: chasing down songs in a room together”, Endless Rooms stands as a testament to the collaborative spirit and live power of RBCF.

While initial ideas were traded online during long spells spent separated by lockdowns, the album was truly born during small windows of freedom in which the band would decamp to a mud-brick house in the bush around 2hrs north of Melbourne built by the extended Russo family in the 1970s.

There, its 12 tracks took shape, informed to such an extent by the acoustics and ambience of the rambling lakeside house that they decided to record the album there. The house also features on the album cover. For the first time, the band self-produced the record (alongside engineer, collaborator and old friend, Matt Duffy), creating their most naturalistic and expansive document yet. The result is a collection of songs permeated by the spirit of the place; punctuated by field recordings of rain, fire, birds, and wind.

“It's almost an anti-concept album,” say the band. “The ‘endless rooms’ of the title reflects our love of creating worlds in our songs. We treat each of them as a bare room to be built up with infinite possibilities”.

There are another three albums due on 6th May that you need to order. Sharon Van Etten’s We've Been Going About This All Wrong is an essential purchase. Available on a range of physical formats, Sharon Van Etten is one of the greatest songwriters and artists in the world:

“Sharon Van Etten has always been the kind of artist who helps people make sense of the world around them, and her sixth album, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, concerns itself with how we feel, mourn, and reclaim our agency when we think the world - or at least, our world - might be falling apart. How do we protect the things most precious to us from destructive forces beyond our control? How do we salvage something worthwhile when it seems all is lost? And if we can’t, or we don’t, have we loved as well as we could in the meantime? Did we try hard enough? In considering these questions and her own vulnerability in the face of them, Van Etten creates a stunning meditation on how life’s changes can be both terrifying and transformative. We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong articulates the beauty and power that can be rescued from our wreckages.

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is as much a reflection on how we manage the ending of metaphorical worlds as we do the ending of actual ones: the twin flames of terror and unrelenting love that light up with motherhood; navigating the demands of partnership when your responsibilities have changed; the loss of center and safety that can come with leaving home; how the ghosts of our past can appear without warning in our present; feeling helpless with the violence and racism in the world; and yes, what it means when a global viral outbreak forces us to relinquish control of the things that have always made us feel so human, and seek new forms of connection to replace them.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Schmelling 

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is intensely personal, exploring themes like motherhood, love, fear, what we can and can’t control, and what it means to be human in a world that is wracked by so much trauma. The track “Home To Me,” written about Van Etten’s son, uses the trademark “dark drums” of her previous work to invoke the sonic impression of a heartbeat. Synths grow in intensity, evoking the passing of time and the terror of what it means to have your child move inevitably toward independence, wanting to hold on to them tightly enough to protect them forever. In contrast, “Come Back” reflects on the desire to reconnect with a partner. Recalling all the optimism of love felt in its infancy, Van Etten begins with the plain beauty of just her voice and a guitar, building the arrangement alongside the call to “come back” to anyone who has lost their way, be it from another person or from themselves. Hovering between darkness and light, “Born” is an exploration of the self that exists when all other labels - mother, partner, friend - are stripped back.

The ten tracks on We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong are designed to be listened to in order, all at once, so that a much larger story of hope, loss, longing and resilience can be told. This is, in itself, a subtle act of control, but in sharing these songs it remains an optimistic and generous one. There is darkness here but there is light too, and all of it is held together by Van Etten’s uncanny ability to both pierce the hearts of her listeners and make them whole again. Things are not dark, she reminds us, only darkish”.

The penultimate album from 6th May you want to snap up is Sunflower Bean’s Headful of Sugar. Again, available on a range of formats, the New York band are putting out an album that everyone should get a copy of:

“New York trio Sunflower Bean - vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming (she/her), guitarist and vocalist Nick Kivlen (he/him), and drummer Olive Faber (she/they) – release their long-awaited third album Headful of Sugar via Lucky Number.

A psychedelic headrush, fuelled by the agony and ecstasy of contemporary American life, Headful of Sugar is about outsiders disillusioned with the modern world who, despite their alienation, refuse to be subdued; buoyed by the relief found in interpersonal relationships that counteract the daily barrage of cheap entertainment and convenience.

If their acclaimed second album Twentytwo in Blue, released in 2018, was a self-described “ode to the fleeting innocence of youth,” then Headful of Sugar shoves the listener into a new, dangerous world, one that is less safe but also less suffocating. “Tomorrow is not promised, no tour is promised, no popularity is promised, no health or money is promised,” bassist/vocalist Julia Cumming says. “Why not make what you want to make on your own terms? Why not make a record that makes you want to dance? Why not make a record that makes you want to scream?”

Headful of Sugar was produced and mixed by UMO’s Jacob Portrait, co-engineered by Olive Faber and Portrait, and recorded between Electric Lady and Sunflower Bean Studios”.

The final album due on 6th May you need to invest in is Warpaint’s Radiate Like This. This is an album that I am very excited about and will be checking out. If you have some spare pennies, then go and pre-order a copy:

“Radiate Like This - Warpaint’s much anticipated new record, not to mention their first in almost 6 years - arrives with its own very modern mythology intact, continuing the strange, brilliant, beautiful story of the band and quite neatly picking up where Heads Up left off. If the previous album was the coming of age, Radiate Like This presents Warpaint mk II in all their glory, a luminous coalescence of sound and vision which stubbornly belies its genesis, with the quartet of Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Stella Mozgawa and Jenny Lee Lindberg all recording their parts separately in various cities. “It’s the first time we’ve ever made an album like that, but in a weird way, it made us take our time with everything”, muses Kokal. “The process felt more meditative, less rushed”. This new sense of quiet confidence can be heard all through the album, in the hushed, slow build of first single “Champion” the beguiling push pull of “Proof”, the delicate intricacy and complexity of tracks like “Melting” and the winking “Send Nudes”. It’s an album that pulsates with ideas, energy and- most crucially – gorgeous melodies. Listen on in wonder”.

Florence and the Machine’s fifth studio album, Dance Fever, is out on 13th May. An artist (Florence Welch) who is always supernatural and otherworldly, the new album is going to be one you will need to pre-order:

“Florence releases her 5th studio album Dance Fever via Polydor Records.

Dance Fever was recorded predominately in London over the course of the pandemic in anticipation of the world’s reopening. It conjures up what Florence missed most in the midst of lockdown -clubs, dancing at festivals, being in the whirl of movement and togetherness -and the hope of reunions to come. It’s the album that brings back the very best of Florence – the festival headlining Boudicca, wielding anthems like a flaming sword.

Just before the pandemic Florence had become fascinated by choreomania, a Renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people - sometimes thousands - danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death. The imagery resonated with Florence, who had been touring nonstop for more than a decade, and in lockdown felt oddly prescient.

The image and concept of dance, and choreomania, remained central as Florence wove her own experiences of dance - a discipline she turned to in the early days of sobriety - with the folkloric elements of a moral panic from the Middle Ages. In recent times of torpor and confinement, dance offered propulsion, energy and a way of looking at music more choreographically.

PHOTO CREDIT: Autumn De Wilde

Starting, as ever, armed with a notebook of poems and ideas, Florence had just arrived in New York in March 2020 to begin recording the record with Jack Antonoff when Covid-19 forced a retreat to London. Holed up at home, the songs began to transform, with nods to dance, folk, ‘70s Iggy Pop, longing-for-the-road folk tracks a la Lucinda Williams or Emmylou Harris and more.

Once back in London, ‘My Love’ was one particular track that shapeshifted from one entity to another with the help of Dave Bayley from Glass Animals. Welch had written the song in her kitchen as a “sad little poem”, and when she recorded it acoustically it just didn’t seem to work. Bayley suggested using synths and it soon expanded with floor-filling, chest-thumping energy.

With Dave’s love of synths and Florence’s fascination with all things gothic and creepy a kind of “Nick Cave at the club” sound started to emerge to shape the record. Lyrically, she took inspiration from the tragic heroines of pre-Raphaelite art, the gothic fiction of Carmen Maria Machado and Julia Armfield, the visceral wave of folk horror film from The Wicker Man and The Witch to Midsommar.

Dance Fever is an album that sees Florence at the peak of her powers, coming into a fully realised self-knowledge, poking sly fun at her own self-created persona, playing with ideas of identity, masculine and feminine, redemptive, celebratory, stepping fully into her place in the iconic pantheon”.

I would also advise people to pre-order Mandy Moore’s In Real Life. Due on 13th May, it is a great album that you will want to investigate further:

“On her new album In Real Life, Mandy Moore shares a window into her world and all that illuminates it: the quiet heartaches and ineffable joys, crushing setbacks and life-changing leaps of faith. The Los Angeles-based artist’s seventh full-length brings a new level of self-possession to her songwriting, imbuing each track with both detailed storytelling and lucid self-reflection”.

Although there are not a lot of other details online about it, the title track alone proves that In Real Life is going to be fantastic. Mandy Moore is one of the more underrated artists around. I hope that her new album will change that.

Let’s skip ahead to the albums out on 20th May that are definitely worth your money. The first, Everything Everything’s Raw Data Feel is going to be sensational! The Manchester band always release such original and captivating music. They are promising something special and must-listen with Raw Data Feel. Make sure you pre-order the album:

“Twice Mercury Prize nominated, 5 time Ivor Novello nominated and critically acclaimed, Everything Everything release their new studio album Raw Data Feel.

On Raw Data Feel, Everything Everything set about revolutionising modern pop music, with Higgs abandoning his own brain and letting technology do at least some of the thinking: feeding LinkedIn T&Cs, Beowulf, 4Chan forum text and the teachings of Confucius into A.I. automation processes and using its responses as a basis for the record's lyrics, song titles and artworking.

Produced by Everything Everything guitarist Alex Robertshaw and production partner Tom Fuller (aka Kaines and Tom A.D). This new phase is a rapturous return and - staying true to form - sees the band continue to push the ribbon on melody and rhythm with a heavy helping of electronic exploration”.

One of the most anticipated and hyped albums of this year is Harry Styles’ Harry's House. Although I am not a massive fan, there is no doubt that this album is one that should be checked out. From the album’s excellent cover to the fact there are some excellent collaborators in the mix. Styles’ album is one I want to point people in the direction of. I am looking forward to hearing what he has to offer:  

“Harry’s House is the third solo studio album from Grammy award-winning global superstar Harry Styles. The 13-track full-length album was recorded in multiple locations across the UK, Los Angeles and Tokyo from 2020 to 2021. It was written by Harry alongside frequent collaborators Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson, and Mitch Rowland”.

Porridge Radio’s Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky is going to be huge! A truly tremendous band, make sure you do not miss out on an album that is guaranteed to stay in your head long after you have heard it!

“When Porridge Radio’s Dana Margolin, one of the most vital new voices in rock, began to consider the themes of her new album, three vivid words began to emerge: joy, fear and endlessness. The artwork of the band’s third full-length, Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky, is a surreal image that evokes the ducks and dives, slippery slopes and existential angst of life in recent times. “To me, the feelings of joy, fear and endlesses coexist together,” says Dana. “You’re never just happy or unhappy.” Following Every Bad’s release in 2020, Margolin was quickly becoming regarded as one of the most magnetic band leaders around. But if Every Bad established Dana’s bravery in laying herself bare, her band’s third record takes that to anthemic new heights. While there are moments of guttural release, she also finds soft power on songs. “I used to think I had to be loud to be heard,” she admits, “but now I’m definitely less afraid of being gentle.”

The band’s first new single, Back To The Radio, sets out their stall, a lurching call to arms that contrasts Dana’s lyrics of panic and closing herself off. This song is just one of example in WDBLTTS that explores something that has long been an important part of Porridge Radio’s process: playfulness. “I think the album needed to have that balance,” Dana explains. Balance: that’s the word the album seems to be eternally striving for – joy, fear and endlessness in harmony but also self-acceptance. Dana is more aware of how she’s creating a persona as her star continues to rise, and how she’s singing personal songs that now belong to other people which gives her purpose. She says, “I wrote these songs for myself, but I think everyone wants to feel like what they’re doing is useful in some way. I’m ready to embrace it all now, whatever happens”.

SOAK’s If I never know you like this again is going to be truly awesome and must-buy. Their album is one I am pumped for and would urge people to pre-order and add to their May collection:

“With their new album, If I Never Know You Like This Again, Soak has finally shaken the hangover of their starry debut Before We Forgot How To Dream, and the pressures that came with it, hiding in the wings of their ambitious follow up album, Grim Town. Having come up through BBC introducing at the tender age of 15 before signing to Rough Trade Records as well as winning the RTE Choice Music Prize, The Northern Irish Music Prize and the youngest ever Mercury Prize nominee, Soak has again and again been described as ‘the voice of a generation.’

Showing from a young age an intensely artistic awareness of the poetry of memory, Bridie Monds-Watson, aka SOAK, would incessantly photograph and video everything, documenting and organising the material so it was always there for them to revisit. ”I always want to remember exactly how I felt at a certain moment.” Now, at 25, Soak’s third album If I Never Know You Like This Again, is naturally made up of what Bridie intimately calls “song-memories”.

Working closely with Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers), with whom Bridie has been collaborating with since the age of 15, and armed with influences from Pavement, to Radiohead to Broken Social Scene, they wrote most of the album together before recording it with the rest of the band in Attica Studios, Donegal. Throughout the album Soak pushes and pulls at melodies, but never milks their brilliance. Bridie masterfully glides their vocal melody slightly off-kilter above excitable compressed high hats and flourishing guitar lines. With the new direction of a grungier, more lo-fi production the swooning guitars are given a contemporary pop-edge, reflected in the rich and robust musicality of songs like ‘Bleach’, ‘Last July’ and ‘Pretzel’. There’s a constant pulsating beat at the album’s centre, propelling it towards a kind of dewy happiness, like the end credits of a 90s coming-of-age film. Bridie’s lyrics move through the songs almost as effortlessly and they sing them, and the songs when read, read like poetry. With this album Bridie is, as the title suggests, freezing time in the pursuit of truth: capturing their life into existence.

In the world of If I Never Know You Like This Again, a life is lived only because it's remembered”.

Prior to moving onto 27th May, there is one more from 20th May you need to reserve some money for. Zola Jesus’ ARKHON is one to pre-order, as it is a wonderful release that will entrance and enrapture you. Here is an artist like no other; creating music of the highest order:

“There is a way a voice can cut through the fascia of reality, cleaving through habit into the raw nerve of experience. Nika Roza Danilova, the singer, songwriter, and producer who since 2009 has released music as Zola Jesus, wields a voice that does that. When you hear it, it is like you are being summoned to a place that’s already wrapped inside you but obscured from conscious experience. This place has been buried because it tends to hold pain, but it’s also a gift, because once it’s opened, once you’re inside of it, it can show you the truth. Zola Jesus’s new album, Arkhon, finds new ways of loosing this submerged, stalled pain.

On previous albums, Danilova had largely played the role of auteur, meticulously crafting every aspect of Zola Jesus’s sound and look. This time, she realized that her habitual need for control was sealing her out of her art. Arkhon sees Zola Jesus’s first collaboration with producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Mandy soundtrack, Candyman soundtrack) and with drummer and percussionist Matt Chamberlain, whose prior work appears on albums by Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie

Arkhon runs the spectrum from songs whose weight lies in their bare simplicity, like “Desire,” an elegiac piano composition about the end of a relationship that was recorded acoustically in a single take, to towering, groove-oriented tracks like “The Fall” and the tight, interlocking percussion and samples of a Slovenian folk choir in “Lost,” which propel narratives of collective despair and mutual comfort in kind. Through these turns, Arkhon reveals itself as an album whose power derives from abandon. Both its turmoils and its pleasures take root in the body, letting individual consciousness dissolve into the thick of the beat. Despite the darkness curled inside reality, there is power, too, in surrendering to what can’t be pinned down, to the wild unfurling of the world in all its unforeseeable motion. That letting go is the crux of Arkhon, which marks a new way of moving and making for Zola Jesus”.

I will end with a few albums from 27th May that you need to look out for. Miraa May’s Tales of a Miracle is an incredible album from one of this country’s greatest talents. You absolutely need to pre-order an album from a sensational songwriter who is going to go very far:

“One of the most prodigiously talented artists in the UK, Miraa May releases her much-anticipated debut album Tales of a Miracle. Already having co-written for the likes of Jorja Smith on her single ‘Be Honest’, Mahalia on her single ‘Jealous’ and Little Simz for her short film ‘I Love You, I Hate You’, the Algerian born singer has enlisted a female dominated team to deliver this exquisite body of work. The project is a personal ode to her childhood adversities, and intimately describes her survival as the miracle that rose from them. 'Wild Things' embodies all that Miraa has to offer as an artist: honesty, strength, vulnerability, humour and passion. Much like the three singles before it ('Go Girl' with pop heavyweight RAYE, 'In My Feelings' and 'Big Woman' featuring powerhouse Stefflon Don); 'Wild Things' appears to have the makings of an instant smash hit and parades the magic of Miraa May effortlessly. In a career first for Miraa the track has secured a first play as Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World. The unstoppable graft of the young singer has enabled her to capture the hearts and ears of over 920k monthly listeners. A noticeable feat by Spotify, who have made her the current face of their flagship female playlist 'EQUAL'. With love, integrity and energetic female energy woven into each track - This compelling debut is sure to make long lasting impressions within the industry, cementing Miraa May as one of the best singer/songwriters to come out of the UK”.

Wallis Bird is an artist that I really admire. Her forthcoming album, Hands, should not be ignored. Make sure that you pre-order this album from a remarkable and incredibly impressive artist. I cannot wait to discover what Hands holds in store, as Bird is a sensation:

“If 2019’s exceptional Woman represented an ambitious state of the world address, Hands – also known as Nine and a Half Songs For Nine and a Half Fingers – finds Bird turning the spotlight onto herself, raising issues that are sometimes far harder to confront, only to emerge optimistic and whole. Among these are issues of trust, alcohol abuse, stagnation, self-censorship and self-improvement, some addressed through personal recollections of crucial moments accumulated over the last two years. Each, however, is delivered by a voice uncommonly blessed with joy, ingenuity and empathy.

Where its predecesor was bathed in soul music, Hands adapts sounds from Birds’s early childhood. Barring the intimately confessional ‘I’ll Never Hide My Love Away’, its songs are flushed with bright colours, many familiar from the 1980s and ‘90s. Its bookends are ‘Go’, whose smooth R&B inflections provide a neat bridge from the album’s forerunner, and ‘Pretty Lies’, its euphoric conclusion powered by forty chunky chord progressions. In-between, Hands rarely pauses. The jubilant ‘What’s Wrong With Changing’ appropriates the rhythmic discipline of Janet Jackson’s Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet., and ‘I Lose Myself Completely’ revels in Trevor Horn’s work, while the grinning ‘No Pants Dance’, written after witnessing neighbours celebrating lockdown’s end, would have delighted Prince, and ‘Dreamwriting’ – “a reminder to myself of one of my most favourite memories in recent years” – is full of warmth, lyrically and musically. ‘Aquarius’ dreamy chord changes and unexpected pedal steel, meanwhile, help unleash some of the prettiest instrumental sections 2022’s likely to enjoy, and there are pensive moments, too, not least ‘The Dive’, which describes a gesture Bird treasures as “one of the most brave and romantic memories I own” and which wields a muted trumpet and Mediterranean guitars while its melody skips along dreamily as though through a summer meadow. If the sonic palette is different, then, Hands is still defiantly, happily Wallis Bird”.

I will finish up by recommending Alfie Templeman’s Mellow Moon. Pre-order this gem. This is the debut album from an artist who has been building traction since 2018. This is an album that you definitely will want to investigate:

“Mellow Moon is the debut album from Alfie Templeman - an album that "feels like something of a miracle, landing somewhere between an otherworldly trip and a joy-filled ode to life back on earth". Like all journeys, the change in mood is palpable throughout Mellow Moon, with songs like the nostalgic '3D Feelings' or 'Broken', which is about "all the little wobbles of being a teen and figuring yourself out,” that bristle with the energy of a life being lived again.

There’s nuance in there, too. Candyfloss suggests that life can sometimes appear too good to be true, something Alfie has felt since was a kid. “There’s always a downside to the cool shit,” he says. “Candyfloss is what it all appears to be until you get deeper into it.”

The result is an easily accessible comfort place. Across 14 tracks Alfie closes his eyes and imagines another world, one where he’s at ease and not distracted by life’s many challenges. Inspired by modern influences like Steve Lacy, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges, as well as Alfie’s constant cosmic guide Todd Rundgren, Mellow Moon flows with an ease that belies its difficult creation. "It’s a moment in my life that I want to remember forever. I’ve put so much effort into this and it’s a real experience to listen to.”

Acting as both an intimate diary entry and a communal call to arms, Mellow Moon is Alfie’s most complete work to date and a platform from which he will surely use to propel himself further into the stratosphere. If ever proof were needed that music is a salvation or a transportative force, this is it”.

If you need guidance as to which albums to save some money for next month, I hope that my suggestions were of some assistance. There are many other great ones that you could look out for but, to me, the above are the very best. It is a busy and diverse month that promises something for everyone. There are plenty of brilliant albums that you can…

ADD to your list.

FEATURE: Produced or Engineered By… The Legendary Eddie Kramer at Eighty

FEATURE:

 

 

Produced or Engineered By…

The Legendary Eddie Kramer at Eighty

__________

A truly legendary and hugely respected…

producer and engineer, the brilliant Eddie Kramer turns eighty on 19th April. Having worked with some of the biggest artists in history, there are few in all of music who are as skilled in their field. I thought I would mark his upcoming eightieth birthday with a playlist featuring songs from albums where he has a producer or engineering credit. Before that, this AllMusic biography tells us more about the sensational Eddie Kramer:

“Unquestionably, one of the most renowned and well-respected producers/engineers in all of rock history is Eddie Kramer. The amount of legendary rock artists he has worked with over his long and illustrious career is staggering -- the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss lead his long list of credits, as well as the original Woodstock soundtrack. Born in South Africa, Kramer studied classical piano, cello, and violin as a child, eventually attending the South African College of Music, and moving to England at the age of 19. Shortly after his arrival in England, Kramer recorded local jazz groups in a home-based studio, plus installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. By 1964, Kramer was hired by Pye Studios and was immediately assigned to work with such esteemed artists as Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, and the Kinks.

During the mid- to late '60s, Kramer made a name for himself with the rock crowd by engineering classic recordings by Traffic, Small Faces, the Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet), and the Beatles (their singles "All You Need Is Love" and "Baby You're a Rich Man"), becoming a much in-demand studio man in the process -- leading to his fruitful association with Jimi Hendrix. Kramer engineered all four of Hendrix's groundbreaking albums the guitarist issued during his brief career -- 1967's Are You Experienced? and Axis: Bold As Love, 1968's double album Electric Ladyland, and 1970's Band of Gypsys. Along with his production/engineering duties, Kramer also helped Hendrix create and design a custom-built recording studio in New York City, Electric Lady. Although Hendrix wouldn't live to see its completion in the early '70s, Electric Lady almost automatically became one of the world's most popular recording studios.

In addition to his work with Electric Lady, Kramer continued to man the boards for other projects, including the best-selling Woodstock soundtrack, which made Kramer one of the most in-demand producers of live albums by rock artists of the era. He worked on live recordings by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, the Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, and Derek & the Dominoes. Add to it several of Led Zeppelin's most enduring albums (Led Zeppelin II, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti, and the motion picture soundtrack The Song Remains the Same), as well as overseeing several posthumous Hendrix collections throughout the remainder of the decade (Cry of Love, Hendrix in the West, War Heroes, among others), and you'd think Kramer's plate was full. But this proved not to be the case.

In 1973, two unknown musicians were owed money from Electric Lady from session work they'd done for the studio. But instead of asking for the money, the duo (Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley) asked if Kramer would be interested in producing their new group's demo tape. Kramer accepted, touching off a relationship with theatrical heavy metallists Kiss that would last throughout the '70s -- resulting in such hard rock classics as their breakthrough Alive, plus Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, Alive II, Double Platinum, and Ace Frehley's 1978 solo album (in a strange twist of fate, Kramer chose to work on Kiss' Alive release instead of on the debut of another up-and-coming rock outfit, Boston).

Kramer spent the '80s producing and engineering primarily heavy metal acts (Fastway, Anthrax, Alcatrazz, Raven, Loudness, Triumph, Whitesnake, Ace Frehley's post-Kiss solo outfit, Frehley's Comet, etc.), with varying degrees of success. But the '90s saw Kramer once again getting involved with Kiss for their Alive III set, as well as numerous Hendrix projects (once Hendrix's family got the rights back to his music, Kramer was put back in control of overseeing subsequent releases) -- including the tribute albums Stone Free and In From the Storm, plus such further archival releases as First Rays of the New Rising Sun, Live at the Fillmore East, Live at Woodstock, BBC Sessions, and the four-disc box set, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. During this time, Kramer also co-authored the Hendrix-related books Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight and Jimi Hendrix Sessions.

Eddie Kramer continues to engineer/produce artists (including Buddy Guy's Grammy-winning 1995 release, Slippin' In) Kramer has also issued a three and a half hour instructional video, titled Adventures in Modern Recording, and appeared in the 1997 Hendrix documentary The Making of Electric Ladyland”.

To mark the approaching eightieth birthday of the decades-revered engineer and producer, the playlist below are songs from albums that he has a credit on. The songs below show why Eddie Kramer is one of the greatest engineers and producers ever. The music he has had a hand in ranks alongside…

THE greatest we will ever hear.

FEATURE: Groovelines: TLC - Waterfalls

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

TLC - Waterfalls

__________

I am currently writing…

features about Paul McCartney, as it is his eightieth birthday in June. As part of this run, I looked at his album, McCartney II (1980). One of the best songs on that album, Waterfalls, inspired one of the best songs of the 1990s. TLC’s Waterfalls, whilst not a cover of the McCartney song, does definitely nod to his track. The line “Don’t go chasing waterfalls” is directly taken from Macca’s song. Written by Marqueze Etheridge and Organized Noize with a verse by TLC's Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, it was TLC’s third single from their second album, CrazySexyCool (1994). One of the definite anthems and iconic tracks from a phenomenal album, I wanted to spend more time looking inside Waterfalls. It addresses the illegal drug trade and HIV/AIDS. One of the first number-one song to refer to AIDS in one of its verses, Waterfalls is a very important and historic song. So much more than a mere Pop song, it makes you think and sing along. It is also sad that one of its writers, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, is not with us to see the song’s success. We sadly lost in her in April 2002. Twenty years after her passing, I know she would be proud to see how Waterfalls has taken off and become such an iconic track! I will end with a bit concerning the critical reception to the TLC smash. Before that, The Guardian spoke with TLC’s two surviving and current members, Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas about Waterfalls back in 2018:

“Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas, singer

Anything that’s self-destructive, that’s chasing a waterfall. We wanted to make a song with a strong message – about unprotected sex, being promiscuous, and hanging out in the wrong crowd. The messages in Waterfalls hit home. I think that’s why it’s our biggest hit to date.

When it first went to radio, nobody got it. They didn’t understand what we were talking about. It needed the video to bring the words to life. Even I don’t think I really fell in love with the song until I saw it. The moment I did, I knew it would be a hit.

The timing was perfect. Organized Noize produced the track. They’d been working with Outkast and Goodie Mob and that funky, soulful sound that was their signature. CeeLo Green sang backing vocals – way before he was a big star. P Diddy did some interludes on the album, CrazySexyCool, too. But obviously, once our voices got on there, it became a TLC record.

The song made us much more relevant – not just a fun girl group. We were bringing awareness to subjects people were nervous talking about. It was groundbreaking for us: from then on, we were seen as the real deal.

We definitely wanted to be role models. We felt like a lot of females didn’t have other females pulling for them – so every song we put out was a girl-power song. We told it from a woman’s point of view. Women liked that and men respected it.

Aids is still out there. You still have bullying. You still have drugs. But you have to continue to bring awareness so that people can become more responsible and want to do the right things. You can never have too many records like Waterfalls.

Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, singer

I always loved what you’d call alternative music. Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Duran Duran, Billy Idol. Bennie and the Jets by Elton John was my thing. I was born in Iowa and moved to Atlanta when I was a child. Every time I tell people I’m from Iowa, they go: “There’s black people there?” I actually have a T-shirt that says: “Yes, there are black people in Iowa.”

I wanted Waterfalls to be our version of alternative music. When I heard an early version, I thought: “My god, this is perfect.” It was so left of what we’d done on our first album. It was amazeballs. When we had finished recording it, we played it for Clive Davies, the big kahuna at the label. He was the boss of Arista, which distributed our label La Face. He didn’t like it. He said it was too deep. He didn’t think people would bump up the street to it.

So went to LA Reid, who ran LaFace. We bought a giant poster and wrote on it: “Please believe in us, we’ll make the best video ever.” He went against Clive and put up the money. We called in  to direct the video. The first time he showed us the concept – which showed a kid getting killed selling drugs and a guy contracting HIV – we started crying. Aids was an epidemic at the time. Not long after the song came out, I was doing a book-signing and a man came up to me and held my hand. “I didn’t kill myself because of you,” he said. “I felt like nobody understood. But I felt like you guys understood how people can end up in my situation.”

We filmed the video in the lake where they shot Jaws. I was so worried about falling in

The day before recording, I’d been in a car with Lisa [“Left Eye” Lopes, who was killed in a car accident in 2002]. We saw a beautiful rainbow. That’s how her rap starts: “I seen a rainbow yesterday.” She’d been through a lot with the house burning down, she’d been locked up in the centre for drug and alcohol treatment. That was serious, what she said was real. It was for herself and everyone else who had been down the wrong path, chased the wrong things. And she really did see that rainbow – and it made her feel good about life and remember how precious it is. That song still has meaning 25 years on.

I will never forget the day we filmed that video. I can’t swim. It was 6am and I’m on this little plastic thing in the middle of 80,000 tonnes of water, in the lake where they shot Jaws at Universal Studios. That’s why my feet are planted. I do not move. I was so worried about falling in.

When we showed the video to Clive, he was like: “I knew it would be great!” And we were looking at him like: “What? Hush up!” We eventually fired people and got out of our deal. We were so underpaid. We made a lot of people wealthy. Being a black woman in the industry means you have so much going against you.

I’m not fearful about anything. If I believe in something and want to to talk about it, then that’s what we’re doing. I’m just happy that we were able to succeed in what we set out to do – make a difference”.

Before wrapping up, it is worth noting what critics thought of Waterfalls. Today, undoubtedly, it is one of the greatest songs ever, Its endurance, legacy and popularity is undeniable! This Wikipedia article collates critical reception and reaction to Waterfalls:

“Waterfalls" received critical acclaim from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com stated that "slinky, gently insistent backing horns and guitar combine with smooth, languid vocals to create an instant R&B classic." Lamb noted that the song is "a disturbing commentary on street violence and its impact on the lives of young black men." Daryl McIntosh from Albumism said it is "a rare example of perfect production, poignant songwriting, and flawless vocal delivery." McIntosh added, "The lyrics offer cautionary tales of the allure of street life and uncontrolled sexual exploration. Interwoven by the melodic chorus". Christine Werthman from Complex wrote that "Waterfalls" "is drenched in water-droplet synth notes, live drums, rising horns, and a bass line that walks wherever it pleases." She noted that "it's a heavy song, but the warnings in the verses are buoyed by a rich, singable chorus, which certainly helped it get radio play." Entertainment Weekly described it as a "Prince-inspired ballad" that "hint[s] at the artistic greatness TLC might achieve if freed from commercial concerns." Music Week gave it four out of five, calling it "yet another radio-friendly hit", adding that "TLC swap wackiness for a more mature affair". James Hamilton from the magazine's RM Dance Update deemed it a "slinkily croaking and coing girls' US smash rolling slow sombrely worded message song". Nigel Butler of Sputnikmusic compared it to esteemed artists such as Sly and the Family Stone, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Butler wrote, "The arrangement and instrumentation is absolutely fantastic - if a bunch of great melodies had an orgy, the result would something a little like this - and the lyrics are the best on an album that maintains a shockingly high standard of songwriting. Left-Eye drops the album's best rap on this track too."

The song was nominated for two Grammys at the 1996 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Billboard named it No. 11 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. It was also ranked 13th in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years and 8th on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1990s. In 2010, Billboard awarded the song the top position of summer songs in 1995”.

One of those tracks that is not just a relic of the 1990s, Waterfalls is a timeless work that will continue to be discussed and loved generations from now. Even though it has its origins in a Paul McCartney song from his 1980 album, McCartney II, it is very much TLC’s baby. There is no doubt that the awesome Waterfalls is…

A true masterpiece.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Gracie Abrams

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Gracie Abrams

__________

ONE of the most talented and important…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Meg Young for CLASH

young artists in music today, I thought it was time to include the amazing Gracie Abrams in Spotlight. The twenty-two-year-old Pop artist from Los Angeles is a sensational songwriter and artist. Her debut E.P., Minor, was released on in July 2020. Her second E.P., This Is What It Feels Like, was released on 12th November, 2021. I wanted to include a few interviews conducted around the release of that sensational E.P. I am also going to include a review of it. CLASH spoke with Abrams back in November:

“The daughter of producer J.J. Abrams and producer Katie McGrath, Abrams grew up in a creative household. But the inklings of a music career really began with journaling, where her barebones thoughts would fill her pages. At eight, her parents enlisted her in drum lessons. While those didn’t take, she pursued piano and guitar. In-between, she found kindred spirits in artists like Elliott Smith and Joni Mitchell. “Growing up my parents would play [Coldplay’s] ‘Yellow’ in the house, and that kind of production is nuts,” Abrams laughs. “And it definitely made me feel like I could imagine different things, sonically.”

When the singer-songwriter started making her own music, she shared it privately at first, but later on SoundCloud and Instagram where she began garnering a following of her own. By 2019, she signed to Interscope. And even now, her parents’ involvement has remained non-existent — aside from support. “I love them, but I definitely would also love to be able to not be associated with what they do for work when it comes to what I do for work,” Abrams notes. Still, she’s “grateful and so aware of the privilege of being a part of this family,” she adds.

Despite releasing ‘Minor’ last year, Abrams has barely slowed down. In March, she teamed up with Benny Blanco for the stripped-down single ‘Unlearn’, and by May, she shared the downtempo pop anthem ‘Mess It Up’ rife with insecurities. “I felt like I was finding myself in situations where I would get really close to something being great and somehow find creative ways to break it all down,” she says of the track.

While Abrams doesn’t have concrete plans for a new release following ‘Mess It Up’, she’s continued to write and knows her music will be a departure from what fans heard on ‘Minor’. That, she says, came from “a more urgent confessional standpoint where I just like had the first real breakup of my life.” Now that she’s emerged from that transitional state, her work is coming from a different place. “I've been considering how to introduce myself more personally through this music,” Abrams says. “Not that it wasn't a reflection of me with ‘Minor’, because it so literally was, but it felt like a breakup record.”

Shifting her vision has also been a gift — it’s given — the pop singer the space to dream about future collaborations. For Abrams, she’s most intrigued by the prospect of teaming up with James Blake. “I just feel like watching him produce would be the craziest experience of all time,” she says. “Every time he puts anything out, it's raging jealousy that I feel. So, to be in the same space as him, I would love that more than anything.”

But right now, connecting with fans in person is something Abrams is really fantasizing about — something she couldn’t say a few months ago. “I've never heard anybody sing my songs back at me before,” the singer says. The thought makes her emotional: “I don't know what that's going to feel like, but I can imagine”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Meg Young for CLASH

I would advise everyone to listen to This Is What It Feels Like, Mature, nuanced and utterly engrossing, Gracie Abrams’ second E.P. is a remarkable release. Having released her debut E.P. during a pandemic, it would have been strange and hard to make an impression. Her second E.P. confirms her as one of the finest Pop artists in the world. The Forty-Five talked with Abrams about her (at the time) forthcoming and anticipated E.P. She has a remarkably level and wise head:

“Releasing her debut EP into the thick of the pandemic netted Gracie a unique duality in her musical success – an explosively popular and resonant project, but whose feverish reception played out entirely virtually, almost on “mute”. She has played to fans on “bedroom tour” for the last year, and made her Jimmy Fallon debut with a live-streamed performance from the foot of her childhood bed. The view from the front rows of her Sydney and Berlin “shows” looked the same, from the crumpled bedsheets in the corner to the glow of the desk lamp beside her.

This autumn, Gracie performed her album for a live audience for the first time. Watching her onstage at the London Omeara on her last night of tour, the palpability of the experience is contagious. She physically takes in the room, her eyes peering from corner to corner full of wonder as fans address her with familiarity and endearment in their hollers and cries. She peppers her performance with little waves and outstretched arms, directed at specific members of the audience each time as if she recognises each person from somewhere in particular. “This is literally crazy,” she beams in disbelief. 

The foundation of her musical craft, writing is also what gives Gracie the methodology and discipline to work on herself and keep growing. A lifelong and rigorous journaller, Gracie shares that almost all of her songs began as diary entries. She practices journaling almost like a science, using it as a grounding point and a way of working through things. Through this process, she has felt ready to shift her songwriting focus away from the minutiae of the Gracie Abrams relationship universe onto other themes. “As I grow up, I’m interested in being less self-centred, if you know what I mean. It’s so easy when we’re little to truly believe that we are the centre of our own universe, which is true, but of course only to a degree. I don’t want to be consumed by the relationships in my life and every detail of them. There is so much more that I’m inspired by that isn’t just the romantic relationship I’m in, or my immediate friendships. I’m looking to hold up less of a mirror to myself.”

As I grow up, I’m interested in being less self-centred, if you know what I mean. It’s so easy when we’re little to truly believe that we are the centre of our own universe, which is true, but of course only to a degree.

In music today, though, making everything about you is almost the name of the game. Gracie knows this, but wants to try fighting it anyway. “Joni Mitchell did not have Instagram. She did not have people telling her to post photos of her face all the time. I know we work in totally different times with different audiences, but I care much more about writing than the ‘artist’ stuff that’s all about me. I’ve always just loved how writing makes me feel.” She is begrudging about the trappings of streaming, algorithms fuelled by pictures of yourself, and the apparent necessity of all these ingredients for a viable music career. “In this job where my name and face are on everything I do, not only do I not recognise that person all the time, but I refuse to allow that to be everything about me.”

Her forthcoming project, ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, is an opportunity to channel this new perspective. It features her latest single, ‘Rockland’, which she wrote with The National’s Aaron Dessner, one of her heroes, at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York. Gracie is intentional and excited about this next chapter of her music. “I allowed myself a different kind of patience in making this project. I’m happy it isn’t ‘minor’ again, as this feels like more of an introduction to who I am as an individual instead of in relation to another person.”

The process of writing ‘Rockland’ alone was already different from how she made ‘minor’. “When you’re out at Long Pond, it feels like the place writes the song for you.” Creating the song with Dessner was effortless. “Aaron was in the booth layering a guitar riff. He was being a perfectionist, fine-tuning it a thousand times. I was outside the booth listening to him, and he couldn’t hear me. I went into a trance listening to him and ended up writing the whole song that way. When he came out of the booth, I had the full song ready. That was the whole process. It was bizarre, an almost 50-50 collaboration. We made it on the second day we met”.

There are a few more things that I want to include. I will get to a review of This Is What It Feels Like. NME featured Gracie Abrams last year and asked her about an E.P. that is more multi-layered and stronger than her debut:

“Abrams’ 2020 EP ‘Minor’ might have taken us into her very personal stories of heartache and break-ups, but she sees her more multi-faceted new project ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ as being a better introduction to who she is. “I took lots of months of failing, being unable to write and then just got very honest with myself,” she says. “When I wrote ‘Minor’ it was definitely in the middle of a break-up and feeling like it was what I needed to write about. I felt a weight was lifted when I put it out, but I feel like I had more patience with myself making this project and got a lot more honest with myself about my relationship with me versus my relationship with others.”

Writing and recording at Long Pond also gave her the space to dig deeper in her subject matter and tackle things she’s “never really addressed in songs” before. “It felt super necessary and I will carry it with me forever,” she explains.

Gracie’s generation pushes her to do her best work, in music and beyond

Gen Z are often spoken about as the generation that will save us all and for Abrams her peers are a constant source of inspiration to do better – whether that’s in music or other parts of her life. During the 2020 US election, the singer-songwriter worked as a poll worker in her area – something she says she was “inspired by friends to get involved with”.

“Unfortunately, for a really long time younger people had assumed we would be OK in the hand of the older generation, but clearly we can’t rely on them to shape the future that we want to see,” she notes.

“Being involved really mattered to me, but also when I think about songwriting, for example, and where I pull inspiration from, it’s not just other music or relationships in my life. It’s seeing people that are passionate about whatever it is they’re passionate about. I feel so compelled to do my best work when I see young people absolutely kicking ass – whether it’s political or from a writing standpoint, or at school or working in their local communities”.

Prior to getting to a final interview, there were a collection of really positive reviews for This Is What It Feels Like. Ones to Watch had their say about a remarkable E.P. that everyone needs to listen to:

“All throughout This Is What It Feels Like, Gracie Abrams brings her raw introspection to the most intimate of emotional experiences, including self-betrayal, insecurity, and painfully failed attempts at connection. True to her DIY roots, the 12-track record finds her taking a more significant role in the production process, working with The National’s Aaron Dessner, Joel Little, and her frequent collaborator Blake Slatkin to dream up each track’s minimalistic yet kaleidoscopic sound. Abrams also left her hometown of LA to write and record in such serene settings as the woods of Maine and Dessner’s Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley - a move that quickly brought greater clarity to her creative vision.

This Is What It Feels Like continues to explore the sonic and emotional territory heard on her previous project minor. The tone throughout is primarily cynical, but the vibe isn’t all negative. For example, the opener “Feels Like” finds Abrams in the throes of love and expresses that she “would do whatever you wanted/We don’t have to leave the apartment.” Listeners also can see Abrams broadening and slightly experimenting with a more rustic sound on “Rockland.” The track oozes with folky flavors that morph and blend with her gentle vocals and intricate guitar-picking, courtesy of Dessner.

Other tracks of note are the bright yet bleak, Haim-esque “The Bottom,” which examines Abrams’ self-awareness and self-loathing. She puts up her walls and warns the person trying to get close to her, “I’m going to drag you right down to the bottom” and “I’m happier when I’m sad.” Meanwhile, the poppy, “dance while you cry”-inducing, “For Real This Time,” and the soft, acoustic “Augusta” are also great examples of the aural growth and range Abrams has developed since minor.

Abrams is a name that has been popping up everywhere over the last year, and it’s easy to see why. Her smooth and soft vocals have a colorful, dreamy, imaginative element to them, making it a voice you can easily get lost in. In addition, her music elevates her organic, narrative-driven songwriting and passionate relatability”.

Rounding off, I wanted to include a quick-fire interview from Office Magazine. It is a good round-up and overview of when the inspiring Gracie Abrams got into music; a few of her inspirations and earliest memories:  

“When did you first get into music? 

My first instrument was the drums when I was 8. 

How did you discover your sound? 

I feel like everything I’ve ever been exposed to has informed my sound and I hope it only continues to develop as I live and breathe and all that. I loved musicals growing up so maybe that’s partly where I fell in love with storytelling in songs. 

Where do you find inspiration for your songs? 

People and my relationships with them. It’s such a joke because I’ve written some of my favorite ones based on literal minute-long interactions with people I know nothing about. I think I’m just a very romantic person, unfortunately.

 

How have the past two years been for you creatively?

Two years ago it was tough and as of November I’ve felt like myself again. I feel back in my body and I think therefore I actually connect to the words I’m writing. It’s a relief in a way I can’t even describe to you. 

You’re going on tour with Olivia Rodrigo, that’s so exciting! What are you doing to get ready for tour? 

I know, it’s gonna feel like a month long slumber party. Or like sleep away camp. We were talking about it this morning, being like, “thank god…” It’ll just be nice having each other on the road, I think. Touring is bizarre and incredible but also sometimes just disorienting schedule wise, so to get ready for it I’ve just been reminding myself that I’ve got her there with me.

 What is your favorite part of touring and performing in general? 

Oh my god. I mean, it’s all of it. Half of it is confronting the fear of performing I grew up with and then the other half is just being in such disbelief I get to meet new people every single night and feeling so immediately connected to all of them. Every show feels like a family reunion. And then it’s the joy of being in cities I’ve never gone to before, exploring when we have time off, all that. 

How does it feel to be prepping to be back on stage after this pandemic? 

Touring is obviously a complete 180 from our lives in quarantine. It’s daunting, but I’m constantly pinching myself because it’s such a dream to get to do it. 

What is going to be next for you after the tour is over 

Writing always”.

Go and follow Gracie Abrams and listen to her latest E.P. I know that she will be putting out more music soon. Her latest single, Block me out, came out a week ago. I wonder whether she is planning an album or another E.P. Whatever comes from her, it is going to be phenomenal. I am excited to see where Abrams heads. The Californian is…

SUCH a wonderful artist.

____________

Follow Gracie Abrams

Official:

https://www.gracieabrams.com/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/gracieabrams

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gracieabrams/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/gracieabrams

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4tuJ0bMpJh08umKkEXKUI5?autoplay=true

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXDwwxNVRXPcPk7ABkakdA

FEATURE: Good for the Blood Circulation, Good for Releasing the Tension: Kate Bush’s Sublime and Extraordinary Symphony in Blue

FEATURE:

 

 

Good for the Blood Circulation, Good for Releasing the Tension

Kate Bush’s Sublime and Extraordinary Symphony in Blue

__________

WHILST I have mentioned the song…

on a few occasions, I don’t think I have spotlighted and gone into detail about Symphony in Blue. The opening track from Kate Bush’s second studio album, Lionheart (1978), it was one of a few new tracks she wrote for the album. With the remainder of Lionheart’s songs coming from her archives, Symphony in Blue is a song that may reflect a sense of where Bush’s head was at the time. As Lionheart was the second album she put out in 1978, there was this hectic schedule and sense of her feet never touching the ground. Along with the other newly-written songs, Coffee Homeground and Full House, there is a sense of unhappiness, reflection, paranoia and anxiety running throughout. Whereas the latter two are quite edgy and have dread in their bones, there is something elegant, sumptuous and beautiful about Symphony in Blue. One of Kate Bush’s best songs, one hardly hears it played on the radio (if ever at all). Although she did move away from the piano-and-vocal dynamic of The Kick Inside and Lionheart by the time Never for Ever came along in 1980 (not entirely, though her musical palette was broader), Symphony in Blue is a remarkably sensuous, hypnotising and accomplished song. Still only twenty when Lionheart came out, it is remarkable reading the lyrics of Symphony in Blue. It is believed that the lyric of the song is an attempt at describing Bush’s  belief system. The descriptions of God, sex and the colour blue seem to be inspired by reading about Wilhelm Reich's theory in A Book of Dreams.

I am going to get to the lyrics soon enough. With terrific accompaniment from her band (drums and percussion: Stuart Elliott, bass: David Paton, electric guitars: Ian Bairnson and Fender Rhodes: Duncan Mackay), Symphony in Blue is an overlooked masterpiece. Bush’s voice is angelic, feminine and swooping, though it also has so much character, emotion and maturity running throughout. An extraordinary performance and one of her finest set of lyrics, Lionheart opens wonderfully strong! I think the album as a whole is terrific and gets undue criticism. At ten tracks, it is quite lean and focused, and yet there is diversity in terms of sound and themes (perhaps more so than her debut album). With sex, death, life and so many deep subjects gracefully and poetically written by Bush, there is not a wasted word in Symphony in Blue. The song is structured so there is a verse about the colour blue, and thoughts/emotions associated with it. The following verse expands on that before getting to the chorus. The second half does the same with the colour red. I love the opening verse: “I spent a lot of my time looking at blue/The colour of my room and my mood: Blue on the walls, blue out of my mouth; The sort of blue between clouds, when the sun comes out/The sort of blue in those eyes you get hung up about”. Maybe it is about depression or a feeling or resignation. The idea of a blue mood, blue language and someone’s blue eyes nods to lust and anger and defeat. It is a rich and complex verse that is followed superbly: “When that feeling of meaninglessness sets in/Go blowing my mind on God: The light in the dark, with the neon arms/The meek He seeks, the beast He calms/The head of the good soul department”.

That idea of the power of faith and the notion that God provides light amidst the darkness. I love that last line and the concept of a ‘good soul department’! Bush’s incredible way with words means she can write verses that are unique and complex, and yet they have universal sentiments so that everyone can relate in some way. The vocal and intensity rises slightly as the verse comes in. Almost like the sun poking through the clouds, one hears a sense of energy and rush coming: “I see myself suddenly/On the piano, as a melody/My terrible fear of dying/No longer plays with me/for now I know that I'm needed/For the symphony”. Whether this refers to Bush finding purpose through music or she is using the piano as a metaphor for something larger in life, I am not too sure. Bush’s voice flows and twists through the verse so that all of the words come to life. The ‘blue’ half of the song seems to be about philosophical, religious and spiritual depth. The ‘red’ half is much more physical. Sex and passion come more to the fore: “I associate love with red/The colour of my heart when she's dead; Red in my mind when the jealousy flies/Red in my eyes from emotional ties/Manipulation, the danger signs”. It starts with blood and danger. That colour red being associated with forms of jealousy and fear, again, is very powerful and memorable! I think that Symphony in Blue contains some of Bush’s finest lyrics.

Before the verse comes in, Bush uses the colour red more to do with blood rushing to the head and the cheeks: “The more I think about sex, the better it gets/Here we have a purpose in life: Good for the blood circulation/Good for releasing the tension/The root of our reincarnations”. Other artists have used the colours red and blue to contrast one another. I was thinking about The Beautiful South’s Old Red Eyes Is Back (“Blue is a street without an end/Red is the colour of my hell/Blue is a greeting from a friend/Red is the colour of farewell”). Covering sex, rage, God, low mood and jealousy, you get so many visions and scenes racing through the mind as the song plays! Symphony in Blue was released as a single in Canada and Japan. I think that it could have been a successful single in the U.K. I would have loved to have seen a video made for the song! Bush performed Symphony in Blue during 1979’s The Tour of Life. The song also appeared in the 1979 Christmas special. A track that a lot of people do not know about, I feel we need to hear the majestic and utterly stunning Symphony in Blue played a lot more. A gorgeous composition, astonishing vocals and some of Kate Bush’s most remarkable lyrics, few of her albums have opened as strongly as Lionheart! If ever you need convincing that the album is well worth diving into, then Symphony in Blue should convince! A beautiful deep cut that does not get fair recognition, Symphony in Blue is a wonderful song that…

BLOWS the senses.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Cracking Easter Songs

FEATURE:

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: @jeshoots/Unsplash

Cracking Easter Songs

__________

BECAUSE it is Easter Sunday…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Victor Larracuente/Unsplash

I thought it would be appropriate to put together a playlist of Easter-related songs. Maybe they refer to chocolate or Easter themselves, or have Easter in the title. In any case, they are related to the day. It is a time of year that I look forward to myself. In terms of holidays, it is less represented than, say, Christmas or Hallowe’en. Even so, there are songs out there one can apply to Easter. A day for togetherness, celebration and treats, the Lockdown Playlist below is a selection of songs that have an Easter theme or are related to the holiday. I hope that these songs help to…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @tonicuenca/Unsplash

LIFT your mood.

FEATURE: Levitating: Dua Lipa: A Modern-Day Pop Icon

FEATURE:

 

 

Levitating

PHOTO CREDIT: Dua Lipa 

Dua Lipa: A Modern-Day Pop Icon

__________

SOME people find the term ‘icon’…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Cameron McCool for Vogue

a bit premature and exaggerated when describing a modern artist. Surely, to obtain that sort of status, they need to have put in the hard graft and spent years or decades in the business. I think an icon can be applied to someone who has a raw and undeniable talent and has made a big difference in music so far. Someone who this applies to and can go on to become as big as the all-time best Pop artists is Dua Lipa. I am going to focus on a couple of interviews and reviews for her latest album, Future Nostalgia, in a minute. She has just started a U.K. tour. It has been two years in the making, so the sense of relief and excitement (from her and her fans) is palpable. I will start with a review of her gig in Manchester. There are so many promising artists emerging at the moment. Pop artists are taking the genre in different directions. The scene is as fertile and varied as it has ever been. The reasons why Dua Lipa is such a modern icon is because her music is very much her own, and yet she has this sort of flair for the 1980s. Not that she is entirety swayed by the decade, yet her best music reminds me of the Pop of the ‘80s. She has a great sense of style and her own identity, a range of interviews that show her as very intelligent, open, vulnerable, impassioned, ambitious and assured.

Someone who is grounded yet complex, there is as much to admire about her as a person and as an artist. A great songwriter, dancer and a very strong role model – for artists and fans alike -, Lipa is the full package! Future Nostalgia’s incredible reception and amazing range of songs confirmed her as one of the greatest Pop artists of her generation! I think that her subsequent live performances and interviews have cemented this. Whilst we may never see a Pop artists that has the same sort of legacy and potency as Madonna in terms of the changes of character and evolution, in addition to the way she dominated Pop culture for decades and did it on her own terms, Dua Lipa is someone who is an icon for sure. She is also a remarkable live performer. The Guardian were in attendance when Dua Lipa played in Manchester last night (15th April):

“She isn’t the kind of powerhouse singer who decorates her vocals with elaborate curlicues and tracery – her voice’s strength is its hint of husky intimacy, which vanishes live – nor is her show the kind of eye-popping spectacle that dazzles you into submission, inflatable lobster notwithstanding.

There’s some fantastic staging, particularly when she and her dancers take to a smaller stage in the centre of the crowd and a square lighting rig descends: hemmed in by its beams, they effectively conjure up the atmosphere of a nightclub dancefloor.

PHOTO CREDIT: Samir Hussein/WireImage 

Equally, there are points where it can seem a little low-wattage. A balloon drop during One Kiss looks like it’s been subject to the cost-of-living crisis: there really aren’t that many balloons. She looks fantastic in a sparkly catsuit, but hers is not a career founded on bewitching charisma or outsized personality. In an era where the key to pop success is supposed to be relatability, she exudes a kind of cool, well-spoken distance: “Like modern architecture,” she sings during Future Nostalgia’s title track, “John Lautner coming your way”.

But a huge star she undoubtedly is, complete with an arena full of fans going nuts at whatever she does, even when what she does is the stuff pop starlets playing arenas invariably do: a dance routine that involves sitting backwards on a chair, a moment where she’s hoisted aloft by her dancers and carried prone around the stage, still singing.

And the gig also provides an answer to why, albeit a prosaic one. What Dua Lipa has, and has in profusion, is a noticeably better class of song than any of her British pop peers. It was a state of affairs noticeable on her debut album, as underlined by the night’s performance of New Rules, a confection made entirely of earworms and memorable lines (“if you’re under him, you’re not getting over him”), and one that becomes unignorable when the set draws on Future Nostalgia.

Tonight, songs that appeared potentiated by the privations of lockdown feel even more potent ripped from the context of the kitchen disco and rattled out at a breathless pace: Love Again’s canny reworking of the old Al Bowlly sample first used on White Town’s 1997 hit Your Woman; Break My Heart, with its knowing echo of INXS’s Need You Tonight.

An artist with a plethora of hits, she’s smart enough not to deviate from the script with anything unexpected – like a house DJ’s set, the tempo is more-or-less fixed throughout; the mid-paced beats of Cool are about as slow as her set gets – and she keeps the interludes between anthems as brief as possible. Indeed, occasionally the interludes are non-existent: a version of Hallucinate elides into a take on Cold Heart, her collaboration with Elton John, the latter appearing in video form.

Rather than outsize personality or powerhouse vocals, this is exactly what people want at this precise moment in history: a live show that delivers on Future Nostalgia’s lockdown promise of uncomplicated good times and seamless big tunes”.

There are a couple of interviews with Dua Lipa that caught me. I am fascinated by her background and how she has transitioned into one of the world’s biggest and most important artists. Vanity Fair spoke with Dua Lipa last year:

“Lipa was born in London in 1995, about three years after her parents, Dukagjin and Anesa, emigrated from Pristina, a midsize city in Kosovo, then still part of Yugoslavia. Though the war that would make Kosovo a matter of global concern wouldn’t begin until 1998, Pristina in 1995 was already a difficult place to live for its ethnic Albanian majority. Dua’s grandfather, Seit Lipa, was head of the Institute for the History of Kosovo when it was targeted for closure by Serbian law in 1992, a move that a special rapporteur for the United Nations later called a sign of burgeoning human rights violations.

In London, where the family joined a growing exodus from Kosovo, Lipa’s parents spoke Albanian and raised her with an awareness of their culture. Dukagjin is a musician, and Lipa remembers a house full of music. In December, Anesa told CBS Sunday Morning that her daughter seemed destined to be a performer early on, and when I asked Lipa about it, she said, “Probably the amount of times I annoyingly interrupted her dinners at home with friends and was like, I’m going to put on a show now.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Venetia Scott

“Everything was Albanian at home, and English was my school life,” Lipa said. “I had so much family in Kosovo, but also because of the situation and not being able to go back, I had never really met my family.” Because she was young during the open conflict that lasted until the summer of 1999, Lipa didn’t know much about it. “I guess my parents also didn’t want to upset me at such a young age,” she said. “After the war, my dad’s father passed away and my dad couldn’t make it back in time, because obviously all the borders were closed, but it was just one of those things they didn’t tell me until a little bit later on.”

Still, Lipa always had a sense that she had another place to return to and was excited when the family, which by then included her younger siblings, Rina and Gjin, moved back when she was 11. “I was returning to a place where I almost already felt I belonged,” she said. “It was really exciting for me to get to go to a place where also I felt, in some way, I would be more normal.”

In Pristina, she became an amateur anthropologist of a culture she was already a part of. It started with the larger things, like realizing that her Albanian wasn’t yet up to snuff for academic work and struggling through a few years of bad grades. She also started to learn, via her friends, more about the region’s conflict. “These stories, they stay with you forever,” she said. “The people that they’d lost during the war, and the amount of friends I had that had lost their fathers or their uncles or brothers, or how people were violently taken away from their homes.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Venetia Scott 

She made friends and watched the way teenagers in the city coalesced in Mother Teresa Square. In the mid-aughts, a few prominent businessmen realized that bringing international artists to the country could help reassure the world that Kosovo was safe. Because hip-hop was easily the most popular genre there, 50 Cent became the first major star to perform in Pristina’s stadium in 2007. That show’s success led to more, and Lipa saw a pretty impressive list of American rappers such as Method Man and Redman and Snoop Dogg in concert before the age of 15. It was an early exposure to what it means when music functions as a universal language.

Lipa credits her time in Pristina with instilling her with political convictions. Though her music isn’t explicit on the topic and her persona as a pop star is slick and playful, she’s always been willing to take a side, even when it could spark controversy. Those who watch her closely will have noticed her full-throated support for Black Lives Matter, her enthusiasm for voting Labour in 2019, and her persistence in celebrating her Albanian identity despite occasional negative reactions to the symbology she’s used to express it.

“It mainly came because of my roots in Kosovo, and wanting to take a stand on that and talk about that and the refugee situation. And then slowly starting to understand how, you know, the politics of war, how that all happens, why so many children are displaced,” she said. “Things stemmed from a personal experience into then wanting to learn more and trying to also be a voice for lots of other people.”

It’s also a matter of using the platform she regards as a privilege: “As my profile is growing, especially online, I feel like I need to use that to do something better than, you know, posting cute pictures or whatever.”

Lipa’s sense of what will work on the dance floor—and her ability to translate that around the world—is reminiscent of Kylie Minogue, the Australian artist whose long career has made her the doyenne of dance-forward pop songs. So it’s only natural that Minogue took an interest in Lipa once she encountered her music. Eventually the two met and were able to collaborate in a distinctly 21st-century way, in a busy frenzy of remixes and Minogue’s guest appearance on Studio 2054, a livestream concert that attracted 5 million viewers in November.

“I think it works with how so many people hear music now,” Minogue told Vanity Fair of the circumstances that led her to work with Lipa. “She’s delivering quality all the way and I totally appreciate that even though she is making it look easy, it takes a lot of hard work and devotion.”

As Mawson pointed out, Lipa and her team were lucky to release the album at a time when other pop stars had decided to wait things out. Still, something about Future Nostalgia seems tailor-made for a moment when traditional sources of fun have shut down but you still need joy as a lifeline. Lipa lights up when she reminisces about the impromptu gatherings she’s seen coalesce around her: those teenage hangs in Mother Teresa Square, watching the 2014 World Cup broadcast in London. Before the pandemic, she would throw dinner parties and turn her apartment into a dance floor. “My flat is quite small. So it’s always quite fun when you just fill it up,” she said with a laugh. “It just gets fun and sweaty.” It might be why she was a perfect ambassador to a new way to party—“Club Living Room,” as her songwriting partner Coffee put it.

Over the course of the spring—in between writing and recording songs for another album, which Lipa has already given a title, currently known by only a few collaborators—she left the flat behind for a while and went on a victory lap befitting a global star, with blockbuster performances at the Grammys and the Brit Awards, and a performance at Elton John’s Oscar livestream that included two different high-collared Balenciaga gowns.

For an artist, something on the level of Future Nostalgia could represent the pinnacle of a pop career. It brought Lipa the respect she had been hoping for while giving her plenty of opportunities to have fun despite the difficulties of 2020. Now she’s in uncharted waters, and it’s up to her to find a place in pop’s pantheon”.

Prior to rounding with a couple of reviews for Future Nostalgia that help explain why Dua Lipa is a modern-day phenomenon, there is a Vogue interview. It explores (among other things), Lipa’s relationship with the Internet, and how she remains unchanged and rooted in spite of her celebrity and status:

“Calculated in sheer numbers (more than two billion YouTube views for her 2017 single “New Rules” alone), Lipa’s career might seem almost clinically successful, yet her real secret is an emotional one: the ability to connect. The “smile through the pain” ennui of Gen Z is her speciality, and she describes her oeuvre as “dance-crying” music or “dark pop”. On this album, however – and its thrilling new additional tracks – “dance” and “pop” take precedence. “I had to fight inner demons,” she tells me. “I wanted to write songs that were more sad, more about heartbreak, because I thought that writing happy songs would turn into cheesy songs. I had to fight that because I was like, ‘I am happy. I deserve to be happy.’ I should be able to write about that without the fear of feeling like I’m compromising my authenticity because I’m not crying about something or someone.”

Indeed she is not. She has been with Anwar for more than a year and a half, and last summer adopted a rescue puppy called Dexter. Her sizeable smile widens at the mention of Anwar, a guarded giddiness. Being highly visible yourself is one thing, being half of a highly visible couple another entirely. How does she navigate it? “We have all these incredible memories and experiences, and if there’s something that we want to share together, then OK, that’s fun,” she says of posting couple moments on Instagram. “But at the same time, we’re quite private – we’ll only show you as much as we want you to see. It’s a little bit of give and take, trying to find the right balance of being so excited and being in love, and wanting to share that with the people around me, but at the same time not wanting to put too much out there. I want to be able to just be happy in this relationship without having other people’s opinions.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Emma Summerton

Like many, Lipa has a complicated relationship with the internet. Yes, it has been integral to her rise – it was where she made her name, and continues to do so. The #dualipachallenge, set to “Don’t Start Now”, lent itself to one of summer’s biggest TikTok routines. (“You know that song your kid listened to, like, 5,000 times trying to perfect a dance on TikTok?” she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “That was me. You’re welcome.”) But she has struggled with social media, highlighting its adverse effects on women in her 2019 Cambridge Union speech.

Last year, #dualipaisoverparty trended on Twitter, after a video of her in a strip club surfaced. Then there was the time she trended for a bad dance routine and, while she is willing to laugh at herself – she retweeted the most savage memes – her management now runs her account. Twitter was the first social media platform she had. She used it to connect with fans she’d meet post-shows, which now sounds absurd. “I would go into interviews and people would say, ‘How do you deal with hate?’And I’m like, ‘Hate? I don’t get hate, what are you talking about?’ It was so early on that people didn’t even care to try and say something mean.” As her star rose, however, things “got really hectic”. Despite her better judgement, she started endlessly scrolling hateful comments about herself. “I would get anxiety,” she says. “And I was like, ‘This shouldn’t be the way that I’m experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime experience.’ It was messing with my confidence. I’d be super-nervous, wondering what everyone’s gonna say.”

While life in the public eye can take its toll, Dua asserts that much has remained unchanged. “My home life is really normal,” she says. “The people I surround myself with have known me for the longest time. My job doesn’t define my circle, and that makes a world of difference”.

Future Nostalgia is one of the best-reviewed albums of 2020. She is working on her third album at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how this worldwide Pop icon follows up such a celebrated album. The Line of Best Fit observed the following when they reviewed Future Nostalgia:

“Future Nostalgia is Dua Lipa cementing her status. She’s already created this decade’s perfect workout song (complete with workout video) with “Physical” and single-handedly brought back the woodblock (“Don’t Start Now”), but each song here is so meticulously crafted that any could’ve been the lead single.

The likes of Prince, Moloko and Chic have their fingerprints all over these 11 songs. It’s peak disco-revivalism, with “Levitating” feeling right at home in a roller disco. But it never feels like she’s copying other people’s homework. Even when she’s sampling INXS on “Break My Heart” or White Town on “Love Again”, her creative voice is always at the forefront, building fantastic bangers.

“Pretty Please” is a stripped-back slow burner that lets the thumping bass and shimmering guitars take you to a dancefloor right before the lights come up. “Hallucinate”, meanwhile, is a blissful early ‘00s club floor-filler. The kind that gets limbs and sweat flying everywhere with abandon. “Cool” is the only real misstep. It lacks that Dua Lipa personality; as though you could quite easily paste someone else’s vocals in and it’d still be a perfectly fine summer bop.

It’s the kind of unabashed frankness of tunes like “Good In Bed”, featuring a line about getting the “good pipe in the moonlight”, that drives a great Dua Lipa song. From the title track's “I know you ain’t used to a female alpha” to the dismantling of the patriarchy on “Boys Will Be Boys”, it’s this approach that makes her tunes more than just club bangers. Even when she swings to socio-political issues, it fits seamlessly.

Bores argue that all pop music is copy-paste manufactured, but if that’s true, then why doesn't all pop music sound this incredible? Future Nostalgia is an artist in total control. It’s built on such an addictive carefree spirit that it’s hard not to let loose and go with it. The greatest pop star of this generation? That’s for you to decide. But Future Nostalgia makes a very convincing argument that Dua Lipa just might be”.

An album that accrued so much applause and huge appreciation, it was the moment when Dua Lipa was confirmed as the most talented Pop artists of our time. I think this will only solidify and intensify as she prepares her third studio album. DIY were definitely overwhelmed and stunned by Future Nostalgia:

“In times of increasing uncertainty and worry, we could all use a little something to uplift us - and Dua Lipa has stepped up to the plate. Releasing hotly-anticipated second album ‘Future Nostalgia’ a week early due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, she took to Instagram to explain her reasoning: “I hope it brings you some happiness, and I hope it makes you smile, and I hope it makes you dance. I hope I make you proud.” And, well, ‘Future Nostalgia’ delivers on this and then some. A sassy and euphoric offering, ‘Future Nostalgia’ sees the superstar embracing her firm position amongst the pop greats.

Across its 11-track run, it’s a non-stop party, from the punchy titular opener that channels Prince grooves, to the dancefloor-ready ‘Levitating’, to the goosebump-inducing sample of White Town’s ‘Your Woman’ on ‘Love Again’, and the penultimate ‘Good In Bed’ with lyrics Lily Allen is going to wish she thought of first. By the time closer ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ hits, Dua’s already smashed it out the park, and the euphoric ballad cutting down inequality with her impassioned chorus of “boys will be boys but girls will be women” only further cements what this album has proved: Dua will be going down in pop history as one of the best”.

As she plays some big U.K. dates and prepares for a busy year of gigs and promotion, there will be so many new fans going to see her after the success of Future Nostalgia. A grounded and relatable Pop artist who is huge is hard to find. With songs that will endure for years and influence artists coming through, there is no doubt Dua Lipa is a Pop icon! Although there are some incredible established and new Pop artists making inventive and fascinating music, there is nobody doing things like Dua Lipa. Her peers and contemporaries should…

FOLLOW her lead.

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty: Twenty-Nine: Here, There and Everywhere: His Greatest Beatles Track?

FEATURE:

 

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

Twenty-Nine: Here, There and Everywhere: His Greatest Beatles Track?

__________

IT is a subjective question…

but, if you had to narrow down the best Paul McCartney song, which would you choose? My personal favourite of his from The Beatles is Paperback Writer. In terms of Wings, it would have to be Band on the Run. I think my favourite solo McCartney would be Coming Up. Although my favourite Beatles song he wrote is Paperback Writer, I don’t necessarily think it is the best. I would say that McCartney’s own favourite of his Beatles compositions is from 1966’s Revolver. Here, There and Everywhere is a masterful love song from a man who has written more than his fair share of classic love songs! There is something about the purity, beautiful and sentiment of the song that means it has endured for over fifty-five years. Before continuing on, the Beatles Bible provides details regarding one of Paul McCartney’s greatest moments as a songwriter:

“Paul McCartney’s favourite among his own compositions, ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ is often cited as his finest love song.

It was written alongside John Lennon’s swimming pool in Weybridge, while McCartney waited for Lennon to wake up.

I sat out by the pool on one of the sun chairs with my guitar and started strumming in E, and soon had a few chords, and I think by the time he’d woken up, I had pretty much written the song, so we took it indoors and finished it up.

Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Mile

Paul McCartney’s favourite among his own compositions, ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ is often cited as his finest love song.

It was written alongside John Lennon’s swimming pool in Weybridge, while McCartney waited for Lennon to wake up.

I sat out by the pool on one of the sun chairs with my guitar and started strumming in E, and soon had a few chords, and I think by the time he’d woken up, I had pretty much written the song, so we took it indoors and finished it up.

Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

‘Here, There And Everywhere’ was particularly highly regarded by Lennon.

Paul’s song completely, I believe. And one of my favourite songs of The Beatles.

John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

Interestingly, McCartney claims to have had a demo version in March 1965, while The Beatles filmed Help! in Obertauern, Austria.

John and I shared a room and we were taking off our heavy ski boots after a day’s filming, ready to have a shower and get ready for the nice bit, the evening meal and the drinks. We were playing a cassette of our new recordings and my song ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ was on. And I remember John saying, ‘You know, I probably like that better than any of my songs on the tape.’ Coming from John, that was high praise indeed.

Paul McCartney
Anthology

While the song was written with Jane Asher in mind, McCartney found inspiration for his vocals from a less likely source.

When I sang it in the studio I remember thinking, I’ll sing it like Marianne Faithfull; something no one would ever know… So that was a little voice, I used an almost falsetto voice and double-tracked it. My Marianne Faithfull impression.

In the studio

Recording for ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ took place over three days. On 14 June 1966 The Beatles recorded four takes, only the final one of which was complete and with vocals. The group overdubbed the first of the harmony vocals that would be so important to the final sound.

The harmonies were performed by Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison, and were arranged by George Martin, who was somewhat modest about his contribution.

The harmonies on that are very simple, just basic triads which the boys hummed behind and found very easy to do. There’s nothing very clever, no counterpoint, just moving block harmonies. Very simple to do… but very effective.

George Martin
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

On 16 June they recorded takes 5-13 of the rhythm track, the last of which was deemed to be the best. Onto this they overdubbed more harmony vocals along with McCartney’s lead vocals and bass guitar. The following day McCartney double-tracked his lead vocals, and the song was complete”.

Because Paul McCartney is eighty in June, I wanted to spend some time exploring various songs and albums. Before rounding up the forty features, I will cover other songs he wrote for The Beatles. Here, There and Everywhere is important, as McCartney himself regards it so highly. His vocal is sublime. The maturity and sense of realisation is there from the first lines: “To lead a better life/I need my love to be here”. Without a wasted syllable or note, it is a short and gorgeous love song straight from the heart. The poetry in the track is evident and moving: “Everywhere/Knowing that love is to share/Each one believing that love never dies/Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there”. Such a remarkable song that will mean something to everyone, I wonder whether McCartney has written a better love song!? It proves how sensitive, tender and intuitive it is when articulating this undying love, devotion and compassion. Maybe he will change his mind in years to come, though McCartney has highlighted Here, There and Everywhere as his favourite Beatles song. Among a fine and varied catalogue, picking one song is pretty tricky! The more you listen to Here, There and Everywhere, the more you can see why…

THE song means so much to him.

FEATURE: Inside Kate Bush’s The Dreaming at Forty: Track Two: There Goes a Tenner

FEATURE:

 

 

Inside Kate Bush’s The Dreaming at Forty

Track Two: There Goes a Tenner

__________

BEFORE Kate Bush’s The Dreaming…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush and an extra during the shoot/rehearsals for the There Goes a Tenner video in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from the book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

turns forty in September, I am writing a few features about it. One run I am doing is a track-by-track guide. I have reached the second track on the album, There Goes a Tenner. To many, it is the worst track on the album. One of the reasons people think that is because the track was released as a single and only reached ninety-three. Released in November 1982, maybe people had heard the album and felt it was not necessary to buy the single. The Dreaming is more of an album that you need to listen to in full. It is not something that has many ready singles you can separate from the rest Bush corrected that with 1985’s Hounds of Love. I actually like the fact The Dreaming is an album that you need to treat as a single work. Because of that, maybe There Goes a Tenner gets overlooked. It is a fun song where Bush adopts a cockney accent. Playing a robber during a heist, I feel it is an underrated song that people should listen to. Before I continue with my thoughts on the track, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia collates a couple of interviews where Bush discussed There Goes a Tenner:

“It's about amateur robbers who have only done small things, and this is quite a big robbery that they've been planning for months, and when it actually starts happening, they start freaking out. They're really scared, and they're so aware of the fact that something could go wrong that they just freaked out, and paranoid and want to go home. (...) It's sort of all the films I've seen with robberies in, the crooks have always been incredibly in control and calm, and I always thought that if I ever did a robbery, I'd be really scared, you know, I'd be really worried. So I thought I'm sure that's a much more human point of view. (The Dreaming interview, CBAK 4011 CD)

That was written on the piano. I had an idea for the tune and just knocked out the chords for the first verse. The words and everything just came together. It was quite a struggle from there on to try to keep things together. The lyrics are quite difficult on that one, because there are a lot of words in quite a short space of time. They had to be phrased right and everything. That was very difficult. Actually the writing went hand-in-hand with the CS-80. (John Diliberto, Interview. Keyboard/Totally Wired/Songwriter (USA), 1985)”.

I think that each track on The Dreaming has its place. The fact is that, until this point, the album was the most diverse Bush had delivered. With each song completely different and with its own style, I can understand why the singles did not fare so well (apart from the first, Sat in Your Lap). There Goes a Tenner is a song that warrants more acclaim. As with all songs on The Dreaming, the lyrics are great. There are plenty of lines on There Goes a Tenner that grab you. My favourite sections are “I've been here all day/A star in strange ways/Apart from a photograph/They'll get nothing from me/Not until they let me see my solicitor/Ooh, I remember/That rich, windy weather/When you would carry me/Pockets floating/In the breeze”. Even though the accent is not everyone’s favourite part of the track, the fact Bush adopts this persona and accent is great. She commits to the part and the video, which I think is one of her most interesting, was a plea from EMI. The video for The Dreaming’s title track was less conventional and cinematic in terms of its shots and feel. That single did not do too well and, not helped by the video, there was this demand to make There Goes a Tenner’s video more conventional and less complex/expensive. Even though the Paul Henry-directed video was not shown a lot, I think that it is really great. An underrated song from The Dreaming, I think that it should get more airplay and attention! There Goes a Tenner is one of ten wonderful tracks from…

A spectacular album.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Dana Gavanski

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Clementine Schneidermann 

Dana Gavanski

__________

IT is a timely moment…

to spotlight the wonderful Dana Gavanski. The London-based Canadian singer-songwriter released her fantastic debut album, Yesterday Is Gone, in 2020. On 29th April, she prepares to release When It Comes. It is an album that you need to pre-order:

“There’s something mesmerising about the fingertips of Dana Gavanski. Conducting each note with a light gracefulness, they appear to dance whilst aiding their owner in expressing the stories behind each of her lighter-than-air tones. Stories which, on her new album When It Comes, may never have been heard if not for healing ‘lost’ vocal cords and a lesson in taking the rough with the smooth.

“In many ways this record feels like it is my first,” Dana tells. “When I could use my voice, I had to focus so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before… it’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost.”

Arriving where introversion and extroversion meet, When It Comes is Dana’s most vulnerable record to date. A Canadian-Serbian artist unafraid of extremes, she seamlessly blends her love of music from the 50s-70s with mythology. Led by instinct in its purest form, Dana’s latest chapter is an ode to the voice as an instrument – its power, and how intricately it can deliver words to tug at, and tie knots in, every heartstring. “Words can be taken quite literally, but to me, a lot of the time, they are pivots. They point in a direction but don’t necessarily stay there,” she says.

Recorded in London, the original ideas for the record were played out on Dana’s toy Casiotone. Returning to Capitol K’s Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) with partner James Howard, the pair co-produced the songs together and felt very much at home. “James has an effortless musicality and we work together so well. The TRC is a special place, like a community centre,” she recalls. “It’s very understated but important to the people who come through it. It’s a rehearsal space, a recording studio, and there are a handful of music studios.”

Opening with music box sweetness, ‘I Kiss The Night’s twinkling piano melody paves the way for the baroque Wurlitzer-like nursery rhyme of ‘Bend and Fall’ and mystical lullaby ‘Under The Sky.’ Alongside humour and caricature (‘The Reaper’), mythological romance and spirituality (‘Knowing to Trust’) and idiosyncratic carnival arpeggio grooves (‘Indigo Highway’), the squelchy staccato and subtle jazzy flecks of ‘The Day Unfolds’ and tension release of ‘Letting Go’ dazzle like bokeh in a Nick Drake haze. The autumnal hymnal of ‘Lisa’ meanwhile, was one of the first, more fictional tracks written for the record, from the viewpoint of the sea, watching the protagonist pass by day after day, offering a metaphorical reflection on the natural world around us. “We don’t realize we are surrounded by all this beauty; we’re shut up inside, rushing to get to work, buying books online without ever leaving home. It’s about focus, recognising what’s in front of you”.

I am going to come to a fairly recent interview that she gave. Before that, and if you have not followed or know about the amazing Dana Gavanski, you need to spend time with When It Comes. It is going to be one of this year’s most impressive albums:

“Arriving where introversion and extroversion meet, When It Comes is Dana’s most vulnerable record to date. A Canadian-Serbian artist unafraid of extremes, she seamlessly blends her love of music from the 50s-70s with mythology. Led by instinct in its purest form, Dana’s latest chapter is an ode to the voice as an instrument – its power, and how intricately it can deliver words to tug at, and tie knots in, every heartstring. “Words can be taken quite literally, but to me, a lot of the time, they are pivots. They point in a direction but don’t necessarily stay there,” she says.

Just as Dana’s debut Yesterday Is Gone and her covers EP Wind Songs were lauded for their intimacy captured through an innate sense of melody to convey a mood, they traced a timeline of Dana’s teenage years in Vancouver, a move to Montreal and visiting family homes for kitchen talks with her “Baka” (grandma) in Belgrade / Serbia. Her latest was started in Montreal before ending in Belgrade and whilst expressive with French Yé-yé flourishes – offers something altogether more atmospheric and widescreen.

“Yesterday Is Gone consisted of straightforward pop songs, this album is about searching for something to excite me back into songwriting,” Dana reveals. “It’s about finding the origins of my connection to music, that tenuous but stubborn and strong link - why it draws me and what if anything, I can learn from it. The album title has a heaviness to it but also a lightness, depending on your frame of mind. It’s about being open, and letting it come whatever it is, without judgement.”

Recorded in London, the original ideas for the record were played out on Dana’s toy Casiotone. Returning to Capitol K’s Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) with partner James Howard, the pair co-produced the songs together and felt very much at home. “James has an effortless musicality and we work together so well. The TRC is a special place, like a community centre,” she recalls. “It’s very understated but important to the people who come through it. It’s a rehearsal space, a recording studio, and there are a handful of music studios.”

Opening with music box sweetness, ‘I Kiss The Night’s twinkling piano melody paves the way for the baroque Wurlitzer-like nursery rhyme of ‘Bend & Fall’ and mystical lullaby ‘Under The Sky.’ Alongside humour and caricature (‘The Reaper’), mythological romance and spirituality (‘Knowing to Trust’) and idiosyncratic carnival arpeggio grooves (‘Indigo Highway’), the squelchy staccato and subtle jazzy flecks of ‘The Day Unfolds’ and tension release of ‘Letting Go’ dazzle like bokeh in a Nick Drake haze. The autumnal hymnal of ‘Lisa’ meanwhile, was one of the first, more fictional tracks written for the record, from the viewpoint of the sea, watching the protagonist pass by day after day, offering a metaphorical reflection on the natural world around us. “We don’t realize we are surrounded by all this beauty; we’re shut up inside, rushing to get to work, buying books online without ever leaving home. It’s about focus, recognising what’s in front of you.”

Now planning her headline tour with an expanded 5-piece line-up and taking to the stage for the first time since touring with Porridge Radio, Damian Jurado and Chris Cohen, Dana is currently perfecting her live performance by practising a voice ever more elaborate, and perfecting those subtle hand gestures to match. “I’m so inspired by David Bowie’s performances and discovered he practised mime with Lindsay Kemp early on in his career,” she says of seeking inspiration. “I’ve done some mime classes since and it’s become good practice to go deeper into the body and be less controlled by the humility of the mind”.

Back in February, writewyattuk had a detailed chat with Dana Gavanski. Such a compelling artist, she is equally fascinating when it comes to interviews. I would suggest you read the entire thing. I have selected a few sections that caught my eye:  

“When talented singer-songwriter but self-confessed introvert Dana Gavanski lost her voice at a key stage of her fledgling career, it was a wonder that self-doubt didn’t conspire to sink her rise to indie fame. But like the Croatian sea organ heard on a life-affirming soundscape composition she recently made for national radio, it’s clear that Dana is made of sterner stuff than she suggests.

What’s more, this South London-based Canadian-Serb clearly has good people around her, near and far, seeing her through a stop-start couple of years due to the pandemic (she was holidaying in Serbia with partner and musical co-worker James Howard when the country closed its airports, leaving them unable to return at first) and big life moves.

Dana reveals of aptly-named second album, When It Comes, out on April 29th via Full Time Hobby (and set to be released in the US via Ba Da Bing Records and Flemish Eye in Canada), “In many ways this record feels like it is my first”.

She added, “When I could use my voice, I had to focus, so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before… it’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost.”

Accordingly, Dana’s most vulnerable record to date is, “an ode to the voice as an instrument – its power, and how intricately it can deliver words to tug at, and tie knots in, every heartstring”.

I hear that, but feel the instrumentation, not least the LP’s electronic touches, adds something else again, carrying on where she recently left off.

Dana’s debut LP, 2020’s Yesterday Is Gone, and that year’s covers EP, Wind Songs (her cracking interpretation of King Crimson’s ‘I Talk to the Wind’ accompanied by Chic, Tim Hardin and Judee Sill covers, and a Macedonian folk song) were lauded for their intimacy, the first record tracing a timeline of her teenage years in Vancouver, a move to Montreal and visiting family homes for kitchen talks with her ‘Baka’ (grandma) in Serbia.

But while this LP started coming together in Montreal and was completed in Belgrade, it’s more of a London creation, while at the same time – as her label put it – ‘something altogether more atmospheric and widescreen’.

Dana explained, “Yesterday Is Gone consisted of straightforward pop songs, this album is about searching for something to excite me back into songwriting. It’s about finding the origins of my connection to music, that tenuous but stubborn and strong link – why it draws me and what if anything, I can learn from it”.

A simply amazing artist who I hope more people tune into, I have been a fan of Dan Gavanski for years. Although she has been making music a while, maybe not everyone knows about her. With the upcoming arrival of When It Comes, that will all change. It is a sensational album that will mean a lot more ears and eyes…

TURN in her direction.

______________

Follow Dana Gavanski

Official:

https://www.danagavanski.co.uk/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/danagavanski

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/danagavanski/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/danagavanski

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyr3p8wwQLjCxtDAO4eWZOQ

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GSLjV7vq6pSsNAEFwWSbn?si=WjWh2ezCRO-wA5N-CqTmsQ&nd=1

FEATURE: Live and (Just About) Kicking… The Worry for Artists and Their Physical and Mental Health Whilst Touring

FEATURE:

 

Live and (Just About) Kicking…

PHOTO CREDIT: @rkok/Unsplash 

The Worry for Artists and Their Physical and Mental Health Whilst Touring

__________

ONE exciting thing that is happening…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @yrss/Unsplash

is that venues are open again and gigs are back in full swing! Although the pandemic is not over, things are open and there is great accessibility to live music. I wonder how long it will last and whether there will be further lockdowns in the future. It is unfortunate that there were lockdowns, as many venues had to close permanently because of the loss of trade. I hope the Government properly subsidise venues and ensure they are covered if we do return to lockdown. Festivals are going ahead through the summer, and it will be the first time many have been to a festival for over two years. Although it is great for punters and music fans that have been deprived of seeing live music in the flesh for a long time, I do wonder what it is like for the artists. It is great that they are performing and are resuming life as it was before 2020. I have seen quite a few posts from artists who are catching COVID-19 because they are in close contact with so many people. I guess this is an issue that could affect a lot of gigs this year. Already many are being cancelled or rescheduled because of this. The other problem I see is exhaustion and stress from touring. As a lot of artists are now trying to reduce their carbon footprint, many are using public transport rather than planes or cars. Things have had to change in that respect. The life of a touring artist is tougher now than ever. Having missed out on gigs for so long, so many are performing flat-out for the rest of the year.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @sebastianervi/Unsplash

It’s wonderful that they have enthusiasm and want to see as many fans as possible. I do worry whether this will have an impact on their general mental health afterwards. Not only is there that ever-present danger of catching COVID-19 and having to be derailed for a little bit. This sense of making up for lost time means they are pushing themselves the limit! Cramming in more gigs this year then they would at any other time, so many artists are competing for spaces and slots. Many venues were fully booked up a while ago, whereas others are struggling to accommodate demand. For those artists who have been playing at venues, they are getting back into the routine. Sort of like retraining themselves or working muscles that have been atrophied for a long time, I am reading social media posts from some who are already feeling quite strained. The overall impression and reaction from artists is positive. They are pumped to be back on the road and doing something that was not possible until fairly recently. Relying on gigs for income, there are a mass of artists who are probably working harder than ever. Sleeping less and not getting as much rest as they should, I do have a concern of what all this intense performance – after quite a time away from the circuit – will do shortly.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @abbiebernet/Unsplash

I guess there is no real way of being able to recoup lost earnings and only perform at select venues and times. So many artists are in the same storm. That desire and love of being back touring, but there is also that risk of their health being jeopardised. Not only is it the physical demands of going back to gigs; there is also that fatigue and the stress of packing so much. As the pandemic still looms large and can affect any artist at any time, it is a time that is both strange and a relief. I do hope that artists will be okay but, as there is this sense of catch-up and relishing a return to near-normality, a lot of the impact and effects of rigorous performance might not be felt right away, or it is being supressed. It is wonderful live music has made a big return. There are great charities like Music Minds Matter that provide support to anyone who is struggling or finding their mental health has taken a hit. Musicians are a sensible bunch, though they also want to please their fans. I can only imagine how fantastic it is for them to be back on stage making that direct connection! There are many who are already finding things quite hard and tiring. Conflicted as they want to gig and deliver to the fans, many are not giving themselves room to breathe and time to relax. I hope that they do. It is a moment when the pandemic is calming slightly in one sense, but also making a big return in another. It is fairly precarious, meaning it is hard for artists to know what to do when it comes to their schedule and how many gigs they take on. Although it is so important to make sure fans are happy and get to see gigs, it is even more important that artists and touring crews…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Dan Burton/Unsplash

FIND time to look after themselves!

FEATURE: Getting Their Priorities Right… Why Self Esteem’s Hugely Acclaimed Second Studio Album Should Win This Year’s Mercury Prize

FEATURE:

 

 

Getting Their Priorities Right…

Why Self Esteem’s Hugely Acclaimed Second Studio Album Should Win This Year’s Mercury Prize

__________

ALTHOUGH awards are not everything…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Suzie Howell for The New York Times

and the true mark of a successful and worthy artist, I do think that there is a discrepancy when it comes to Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor). I shall come to it soon, but her latest studio album, Prioritise Pleasure, was released in October. One of the most acclaimed and remarkable albums of the past decade, it has won a slew of five-star reviews. She and her group have a busy spring and summer ahead as they head to various festivals and venues. One of Rotherham’s proudest and most amazing daughters, Rebecca Lucy Taylor released the best album of last year. Although, on stage and on record, others help bring her music together, it is very much her central and blinding talent that has blown people away. A queer artist who composed a warts-and-all album that will stand the test of time. It was disappointing to see that she missed out on receiving BRIT honours and any gongs from NME. In the case of NME, one would have thought they would have given her some due credit! As I said, awards are not everything, but Prioritise Pleasure is an album that should be picking them up left, right and centre! After her debut album, Compliments Please (2019), missed out on a Mercury nod, there is no way her second album can be ignored. There will be stiff competition from the likes of Little Simz and her album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Surely the other frontrunner, I do think that Prioritise Pleasure should be given the gong. For one, it would go to an artist born outside of London. Come September, I would expect to see Self Esteem rocking up to the Eventim Apollo pretty much assured that she will win the prize.

The dozen shortlisted albums are not announced until 28th July, but there is this split between the overwhelmingly positive reviews (I have literally not read a review that is anything less than hugely effusive!), the ecstatic and passionate audiences that have witnessed these electric and timeless live shows and the seeming absence of awards. Many people think awards shows are pointless and they have no meaning. I think that they do acknowledge excellence, and it is a huge incentive for artists. In the case of the Mercury Prize, it is literally about the best album of the year from a British or Irish artist. Drilling down to the importance of a single album, there is that desire to recognise a great upcoming artist, but also not have that be the main focus. Self Esteem is a relatively new artist. As her first studio album was a few years ago, it is not the case of this very long-running and established artist being given the prize. Like I said, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is from Rotherham (born to a steelworker dad and secretary mum). The last few years and more have been dominated by London artists taking away the prize. It is very boring and seems to suggest that being from the capital is the main criteria for the winner! Not to take anything away from Little Simz (who was born in Islington), but I would be disappointed if the Mercury went to a London artist again this year. It would show no imagination, and it would solidify claims that the prize is Londoncentric.

I am going to finish with a few interview samples, where Rebecca Lucy Taylor has talked about her work and inspirations behind Prioritise Pleasure. Like any valid award show, the Mercury Prize should award the best album of that year. More than eligible for inclusion, you only need to read a couple of sample reviews to understand that Prioritise Pleasure is more than an amazing album – it seems like a watershed moment and something that will inspire so many other artists! Funny, honest, open, powerful, varied and impossible to dislike, Prioritise Pleasure is almost like Rebecca Lucy Taylor has done a Madonna in the 1980s: going from the budding Queen of Pop in 1986 with True Blue and having it confirmed on 1989 with Like a Prayer. Not to make too many Madge comparisons, but I hear shades of several Madonna albums in Pritotise Pleasure (Erotica, Like a Prayer, Ray of Light and Confessions on a Dance Floor among them). A modern-day icon and heroine whose third album will be the most anticipated of this age, there is no doubt in my mind that Prioritise Pleasure should walk away with the Mercury Prize. I have seen the release schedule for albums due that could challenge. From those released already from the likes of Little Simz, Yard Act, IDLES, Wet Leg and Adele, to upcoming promise from Florence + the Machine and Kelly Lee Owens, I still think that this is (finally) Self Esteem’s year!

This is what DIY said in their hugely positive and fulsome  review for Prioritise Pleasure. So many other reviews are as rapturous and adoring:

“On her 2019 solo debut ‘Compliments Please’, Rebecca Lucy Taylor set out the stall for her project Self Esteem as an assertive but nuanced pop star. It’s with ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ that she’s upped the ante considerably. A powerful and potent look at - quite simply - the experience of being a woman in the present day, this is an album that encapsulates the fear, anger, dread and exhaustion that has become so commonplace in so many female lives. And yet, it’s a record that still offers comfort and levity; there’s a wittiness and dark humour that traverses the likes of ‘Moody’ - its opening line being the iconic “Sexting you at the mental health talk seems counter-productive” - and ‘Fucking Wizardry’, all the while remaining honest and raw, but free of judgement. When the record’s opener ‘I’m Fine’ closes with a voice note of a woman in her early twenties explaining that - if approached by a group of men - her friends’ reaction is to begin barking like a dog - because “there is nothing that terrifies a man more than a woman who appears completely deranged” - Rebecca’s response is to begin howling herself.

It’s also an album that sees Rebecca continually pushing herself to explore new sonic avenues; eclectic instrumentation and bold sonics are the backbone of the record, with tracks switching from spoken-word manifestos (‘I Do This All The Time’) through to more traditional R&B pop formats (‘Still Reigning’) via gigantic gospel-backed offerings (‘Prioritise Pleasure’), and back again. Most importantly, though, this is a record that doesn’t compromise. An uncomfortable and unnerving listen at times - as any album dealing in this level of openness arguably should be - it’s also an absolutely necessary one. Through her own personal stories - and those of others - ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ manages to challenge accepted norms and help to exorcise long-buried demons; it’s powerful to the last drop”.

Prior to coming to some reviews and rounding off, I wanted to include The Line of Best Fit’s review. They gave Prioritise Pleasure a full ten of ten, and they were not holding back on the praise:

“It’s in this pursuit of pleasure that Taylor snatches the opportunity to embrace emotion in abundance. “Don’t be embarrassed that all you’ve had is fun” she preaches on gripping centrepiece “I Do This All The Time”, her vocals backed by a choir. The inclusion of these choral outbursts throughout the album help to reinstate Taylor’s messages of unity, with the sea of vocals welcoming washes of sonic euphoria.

The thunderous outcries of “How Can I Help You'' convey a retaliation against societal norms and the unrelenting standards that women are expected to yield to. “But I don’t know shit, do I?” she snarls, supported by tribal rhythms and a cavernous bass drum beat that simply demands you realise your own self worth. Similarly across the title track, Taylor’s rhythmic flourishes allow the powerful chorus to explode into the importance of prioritising yourself. Elsewhere, “Moody” - a highlight of the record - not only contains a funk-pop pre-chorus that’ll make Dua Lipa green with envy but also the wickedly witty line “Sexting you at the mental health talk seems counterproductive”.

In between those intense flashes of emotion though, Prioritise Pleasure also makes space for contemplation and quiet vulnerability. In “Still Reigning” for example, we see her step back from the flag-waving hedonist into a more empathic, nurturing role. “The love you need is gentle, the love you need is kind” she muses, like a warm hug from the big sister you never had. Although perhaps the most stark and goosebump inducing moment on the record is during opener “I’m Fine”. In a spoken word snippet taken from a National Youth Theatre workshop on the topic of consent, we hear an unnamed woman recount that “There is nothing that terrifies a man more than a woman who appears completely deranged” - a bleak reminder of the fear of male violence shared by countless women and the normalisation of it in our society.

Commanding, assertive, and powerful, Prioritise Pleasure is everything pop music should be. Wholly unafraid to tackle difficult subjects with ease, in Rebecca Taylor we also have the makings of a serious pop behemoth”.

In August, Self Esteem spoke with NME ahead of the release of an album that would soon announce her as one of the most important and extraordinary artists of her generation:

“There was a lot of promotion around the release of Prioritise Pleasure. As one can imagine, for such a quality album, there was a lot of demand and requests from the press. I wanted to source a couple of interviews (segments from them), just to give a more personal sense of what Prioritise Pleasure means and where Self Esteem is in her career now.

“Though Self Esteem’s 2019 debut album ‘Compliments Please’ won Taylor plenty of fans with its barbed take on pop music, ‘I Do This All The Time’ represents her breakthrough moment ahead of ‘Prioritise Pleasure’. Her June rendition of the song on Later… with Jools Holland was one of the most powerful television performances of this year; as the lights burst into technicolour, Taylor throws her head back and beams with pure, undiluted glee. Though she initially set out to build a discography rather than one huge moment, she’s grateful for the steam it has gathered all the same.

“Mostly, I’m excited that the song isn’t a poppy sure-fire breakthrough,” she points out. “I still love that song; I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever made in my whole career.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel

Many of ‘I Do This All The Time’’s lyrics refer to Taylor’s own experiences – the voice creepily calling her a “sturdy girl” is based on a real-life tour manager, while many of the reassurances – “don’t be intimidated by all the babies they have / Don’t be embarrassed that all you’ve had is fun” – answer to the pressures that Taylor still feels.

“I was born in the ’80s, in Rotherham,” she says. “There was no way I wasn’t going to grow up thinking this is all well and good, but when I’m married and I have my children then I’m sorted. I still have that wiring. I start dating someone, and I’m like, ‘is this it?’ I have to go, hang on, is this what?’” Gradually undoing that same wiring, she says, has led her to some positive realisations – around the idea of a chosen family, for example. “I have a family and they’re not just people I’m related to,” Taylor says. “Humanity and connection and love doesn’t just have to be sexual. It’s all hard work, isn’t it?”

The advice-dispensing, spoken-word track has won understandable comparisons to Baz Luhrmann’s 1997 single ‘Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen’, a spoken-word song that issues sage nuggets of wisdom over woozy, lounge music. The sheer volume of comparisons eventually led Taylor to tweet about hypothetical male mourners who might crowd around her open casket following her death in order to whisper: “It’s like a Baz Luhrmann for women”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel

And, true to its title, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ as a whole is an album that champions putting yourself first – even if it makes certain people uncomfortable. “I’ve done years of therapy, done plenty of work on myself, and read every fucking book you can fucking read about it, and it comes back down to true self-acceptance and self-love,” Taylor says. “It’s the answer to everything, but it’s still something that you’re meant to not do. I go down this road a lot, and I get quite upset. But then I think, no – just keep in my little part of the world, my group, accepting myself, loving myself, and then make my little silly songs and do my little silly dances. And if someone can learn from that and pass it forward, at least I’m doing something?”

This same boldness is also evident in ‘Prioritise Pleasure’’s sound, which often springs up from a particular kind of steamy, slower-burning pop, and warps it – and for every chipper nu-disco bass-line, there’s a left-field touch of abrasiveness. “Sexting you at the mental health talk feels counter-productive,” Self Esteem belts out on ‘Moody’, her sheer honesty jarring with a snappy alphabet-chant chorus.

On the thumping title track, she reflects on the freedom she feels both as a solo artist and a woman as stuttering synths assemble into a gigantic grinding wall. “Prioritise pleasuring me, no need to wait for bended knee,” she demands, “I’m free.” Though she doesn’t view herself as a pop star, Taylor enjoys inhabiting that world anyway – and has little time for snobby attitudes towards pop music”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel

I am going to finish off with an interview from The Guardian. They (among many others) named Prioritise Pleasure as their album of 2021. It is an album that is very important to Rebecca Lucy Taylor as it is to those who have listened to it:

“Prioritise Pleasure is the Guardian’s album of the year. How do you feel?

It’s fucking cool, innit [laughs loudly]. My PR told me at my gig in Manchester and then just walked off, like the ultimate mic drop. Also, I’ve done the double as well, with the single of the year. Amazing.

Did you expect the album to break through in the way it has?

No. I’d absolutely made my peace with being told I’m underrated. But I also don’t feel like things have massively changed – I still feel like I will be fighting for ever. But I get my own Travelodge room [on tour] now and – I’m not joking – that’s bliss to me. Before I was always sharing.

Why do you think the album connected in the way it did?

I keep doing this joke that everyone’s as depressed as me now because of the pandemic, so maybe it’s that. I used to feel very alone and I couldn’t understand why I found everything so difficult. On this album I’m starting to feel like, certainly for women, or for people who struggle not to live the perfect 2.4 children dream, it’s society that’s caused it to be shit for us. I think a lot of people are realising that as well, and maybe I’m vaguely eloquent enough to make sense of it all.

A few months after your debut Compliments Please came out, you were worried about whether or not you even could make a second album.

It had been a risk to do [Self Esteem], and I felt so accomplished, actually, on that first record. Then I was hearing “Hmm, but it didn’t really sell and no money was made” from the label. Are you kidding? All this work hasn’t been enough? That feeling of “maybe I’ll get dropped” was horrible but it managed to thicken my skin and I realised I wanted to do this regardless. I was prepped and ready to do [a second album] anyway, but then I didn’t get dropped.

When did you start writing it?

I did How Can I Help You at the end of 2019. Then I wrote a lot of it at the start of 2020 and spent the whole pandemic listening to the demos just ready to make it. I had to just sit and think about it longer than usual.

Was it important to have the lyrics be pretty plain-speaking and direct?

I think so. I was in an indie band [Slow Club] for so long and I remember wanting to say really simple things I felt, but to get it OK’d I would have to deploy a metaphor or think about how Bob Dylan would say it [laughs]. So my lyrics sound like they do now because I’m not having to get it through someone else’s lens any more. When I was younger I’d get my disposable cameras developed and none of my pictures would be of the scenery or any cool things I saw, it was all just my friends. All I care about are people and the things they do. I’m interested in horrible life, and lyrics are the horrible life bit for me.

There’s a black humour to some of the songs – is comedy an inspiration when it comes to lyric writing

No, not really. I’ve definitely curated a kind of [does a goofy voice] “I’m funny” thing to survive being a woman, and it seeps into who I am. It also is who I am. But it’s sort of the last level for me when it comes to things I need to stop doing. Gaga doesn’t have to do jokes! It naturally comes out of me because that’s just me, but I think it’s when I feel like people expect it that it pisses me off.

Your moniker was sort of about wish-fulfilment – if I put it out there in the world it will happen. Do you think you’re getting there now?

It comes in and out. These past six months I have been very emotional. I’m really used to knowing why but I don’t know why this time. I think it might be that something is happening in me where I think I might love myself, finally. And that just makes me cry loads, but in a beautiful way. It just feels like there’s no going back now, and life will throw all sorts of shit but I finally feel like I’m on an even playing field with people who don’t suffer with this bullshit. I feel limitless”.

Although there is a way to go before we learn which dozen albums are in contention for this year’s Mercury Prize, there is no doubt Self Esteem’s Prioritise Pleasure will be among them. I also feel that Wet Leg, Little Simz, Yard Act, IDLES, Adele, Florence and the Machine, Black Country, New Road, Charli XCX, and Pillow Queens will be in the running.

PHOTO CREDIT: Suzie Howell for The New York Times

Having won so much acclaim, and being named as one of the defining albums of last year by some (and the absolute best album by many others), the sheer momentum and importance of Prioritise Pleasure means it should finally win a big award! The incredible and enormously memorable gigs that have been performed after the album’s release, and the fact Self Esteem is now a bigger name in the U.S., leads me to believe it will walk away with the Mercury. Even if Self Esteem is not brand new, giving it to an artist from Yorkshire who is still early on in her career and has put her heart and soul into every song means that it would be a welcomed break from the slew of London artists who have won in recent years. An album that is still reverberating and stunning to listen to, it is a great shame that it has not been garlanded with much-deserved awards. Rarely has an album that has amassed such critical acclaim and sold so well (Prioritise Pleasure reached number eleven in the U.K.) been overlooked when it comes to awards. A modern-day queer icon and hugely honest and down-to-earth artist who is writing with so much wit, revelation, depth and maturity, there is so much to recommend. The videos for the singles are so well-shot and choreographed; the live performances have won so much love, and Rebecca Lucy Taylor herself is so fascinating to listen being interviewed. Such a real and respected woman, it will be fascinating to see where she goes next. Prioritise Pleasure, for many reasons, needs to get the Mercury Prize come September. To me and so many others it is…

THE very least it deserves!

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty: Twenty-Eight: The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl

FEATURE:

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

Twenty-Eight: The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl

__________

ON 4th May, 1977…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles perform at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California on 23rd August, 1964/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

the world received The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl. It is a live album (in the U.S.; 6th May in the U.K.) by the iconic band, featuring songs compiled from three performances recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in August 1964 and August 1965. It was the band's first official live recording. I am including this as part of my run of Paul McCartney features ahead of his eightieth birthday in June. One reason I am doing so is because the forty-fifth anniversary of the live album is coming. The album does have a reputation as being the black sheep of the band’s catalogue by some. I think it is an important album that contains some of the band’s best live performances. Such a historic set of gigs and live album, I think Paul McCartney was pivotal. Not only in terms of his musicianship and singing. His showmanship and crowd interaction were incredible! Before rounding off, I am going to come to a great insight from the Beatles Bible. They tell the story of The Beatles’ gigs at The Hollywood Bowl:  

“The Beatles’ first official live album was recorded over three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, in 1964 and 1965.

George Martin had originally wanted to record The Beatles’ concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 12 February 1964, during their first US visit. Although Capitol Records agreed, he was denied permission by the American Federation of Musicians.

As the effects of Beatlemania became all pervasive, the label decided to release a live album to capitalise on The Beatles’ US success. During their first full American tour Capitol agreed to record the group’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 23 August 1964.

George Martin was at the venue, working with Capitol Records’ producer Voyle Gilmore on the recording. The concert was seen by 18,700 people.

George Martin made such a speech. It sounds like he changed it but I doubt it. There’s not much he could do. It was recorded on three-track machines with half-inch tapes. The Hollywood Bowl has a pretty good stereo sound system so we plugged our mikes right in there. I didn’t do an awful lot. There wasn’t much we could do. They just played their usual show and we recorded it. It wasn’t that bad. I kept thinking, ‘Maybe we’ll get permission to release the tapes.’ So I took them back to the studio and worked on it a while. I worked on the applause, edited it down, made it play and EQd it quite a bit.

The Beatles heard it and they all wanted tape copies. I had five or six copies made and sent over. That’s where the bootlegs must have come from. We had a system at Capitol and we knew where all our copies were. The Beatles said they liked the tapes, that it sounded pretty good, that they were surprised but they still didn’t want to release it.

I thought the first concert was a little better than the second. I don’t know if I would have put them together like they did because doing it that way they have sacrificed an album. They really could have made two albums.

Voyle Gilmore

The Beatles performed 12 songs at the concert: ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘You Can’t Do That’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Things We Said Today’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘Boys’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

The Hollywood Bowl was marvellous. It was the one we all enjoyed most, I think, even though it wasn’t the largest crowd – because it seemed so important, and everybody was saying things. We got on, and it was a big stage, and it was great. We could be heard in a place like the Hollywood Bowl, even though the crowds was wild: good acoustics.

John Lennon, 1964
Anthology

George Martin was initially reluctant to tape the concert, and after mixing the tracks on 27 August Capitol decided the quality of the recording was not suitable for release. They did, however, include a 48-second extract from ‘Twist And Shout’ on the 1964 documentary album The Beatles’ Story.

We recorded it on three-track tape, which was standard US format then. You would record the band in stereo on two tracks and keep the voice separated on the third, so that you could bring it up or down in the mix. But at the Hollywood Bowl they didn’t use three-track in quite the right way. I didn’t have too much say in things because I was a foreigner, but they did some very bizarre mixing. In 1977, when I was asked to make an album from the tapes, I found guitars and voices mixed on the same track. And the recording seemed to concentrate more on the wild screaming of 18,700 kids than on the Beatles on stage.

George Martin
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

The Beatles returned to the Hollywood Bowl the following year, playing two further sell-out concerts on 29 and 30 August 1965. Capitol Records again recorded the two shows.

They played the same set on both nights: a truncated version of ‘Twist And Shout’, followed by ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’, ‘Ticket To Ride’, ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Help!’, and ‘I’m Down’.

The album

Although they had hoped the 1965 recordings would be better than the previous year’s, Capitol decided that the quality was insufficient for release. The tapes remained in the record company vaults for several years, and in 1971 were given to Phil Spector to see if an album could be prepared. However, Spector’s work came to nothing, and the tapes remained unreleased for several more years.

Capitol called me a few months back and asked if I could help find the tapes in the library and, of course, I knew right where they were. They wanted to get permission to put them out and thought it would be useful if George Martin was involved, since he knew the boys and had made all their other records.

Voyle Gilmore, 1977

In the mid-1970s Capitol president Bhaskar Menon gave George Martin the tapes and asked him to compile an official live album. Although impressed with The Beatles’ performances, he found the sound quality disappointing. Nonetheless, in January 1977 he began working with studio engineer Geoff Emerick to clean up the master tapes and assemble a set of songs for release.

Bhaskar Menon, the president of Capitol Records, is an old friend of mine. He mentioned these tapes to me and asked whether I would listen to them because capitol was thinking of releasing an album. My immediate reaction was, as far as I could remember, the original tapes had a rotten sound. So I said to Bhaskar, ‘I don’t think you’ve got anything here at all.’

There have been an awful lot of bootleg recordings made of Beatles concerts around the world and they’ve been in wide circulation. But when I listened to the Hollywood Bowl tapes, I was amazed at the rawness and vitality of The Beatles’ singing. So I told Bhaskar that I’d see if I could bring the tapes into line with today’s recordings. I enlisted the technical expertise of Geoff Emerick and we transferred the recordings from three-track to 24-track tapes. The two tapes combined 22 songs and we whittled these down to 13. Some tracks had to be discarded because the music was obliterated by the screams.

George Martin

The recordings were transferred to 24-track tapes to be edited, filtered and equalised. No redubbing of voices or instruments took place. Eventually an album was assembled consisting of recordings from all three Hollywood Bowl concerts.

Six songs were included from the 23 August 1964 concert tapes: ‘Things We Said Today’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Boys’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

Due to an error, the tracklisting for The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl lists all the recordings as dating from 1964 or 30 August 1965. However, three of the songs – ‘Ticket To Ride’, ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’, and ‘Help!’ – originated from 29 August 1965. Unfortunately a technical fault left Paul McCartney’s vocals and introductions inaudible during the first four songs of the first 1965 show, rendering a substantial portion of the recordings unusable.

Five songs from 30 August 1965 appeared on The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl: ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, and ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. The album version of ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ was a composite edit incorporating parts of the 29 and 30 August performances.

Some of The Beatles’ on-stage announcements were inconsistent when presented in album form. A Hard Day’s Night and Help! are both referred to as their latest albums, owing to the different recording dates.

“The release

The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl was released in May 1977, at a time when Beatlemania was a far cry from current musical fashions. Nonetheless, the public appetite for live Beatles recordings was proven when a set of bootleg recordings from Hamburg’s Star-Club was released in 1977.

Once the technical work had been completed, EMI needed approval from the four Beatles before the album could be released. I had to go to New York anyway, so I rang John Lennon and told him about the recordings. I told him that I had been very sceptical at first but now I was very enthusiastic because I thought the album would be a piece of history which should be preserved.

I said to John, ‘I want you to hear it after I’ve gone. You can be as rude as you like, but if you don’t like it, give me a yell.’ I spoke to him the following day and he was delighted with it. The reaction of George and Ringo was much cooler.

George Martin

The Hollywood Bowl recordings were issued with a gatefold sleeve, inside which was a selection of live photography and memorabilia. The back cover featured sleeve notes written by George Martin.

I have an acetate of it, right from ’64 and I had the tapes in the studio in England a few years ago. The thing is, it’s only important historically, but as a record it’s not very good.

While each of The Beatles was on EMI/Capitol, the LP wouldn’t have been released because we didn’t like it. But as soon as we left, and we lost control of our material, it was released. The sound quality on the album sounds just like a bootleg, but because Capitol is bootlegging it, it’s legitimate.

George Harrison

The album was a commercial success, selling more than a million copies worldwide. It topped the New Musical Express chart in the UK and reached number two on the Billboard chart in the US.

The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl was reissued in the UK in September 1984 on EMI’s budget label Music For Pleasure. However, it was given minimal promotion and failed to chart, and was deleted the following year.

I haven’t heard it. Geoff [Emerick] keeps telling me to, because he did it. He thinks it’s good, but I’m just not that bothered. I’ve got a lot of those tapes anyway in my private collection. I’ve got original demos and original tapes so I’ve heard a lot of them. But I must have heard it, because I’m on it.

Paul McCartney, 1977

Despite the warm public reception, the album is yet to be reissued digitally. Needle-drop transfers from original pressings of the album have been traders by bootleggers, although the complete recordings from all three concerts are also in circulation.

Other releases

The Hollywood Bowl recordings were also used to bulk up the sound of the film The Beatles At Shea Stadium, and were incorporated into the soundtrack on 5 January 1966.

John Lennon’s spoken introduction to ‘Baby’s In Black’ from 29 August 1965 was also included on the 1996 single ‘Real Love’, along with the full version from the 30 August performance.

In 2006 the Love album included a version of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ which combined the studio version with the live recording from 23 August 1964.

A new album, Live At The Hollywood Bowl, was released in September 2016 to coincide with the Ron Howard documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years. The audio had been remixed by George Martin’s son Giles.

The album contained 17 songs: eight from the 1964 show, two from the first 1965 show, six from the second 1965 show, and a composite version of ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ from the two 1965 recordings (similar to the 1977 album).

Sleevenotes

Over twelve years ago the Beatles appeared for the first time at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It was not long after they had made their first impact on the United States, but already two years after I had signed them to a recording contract for EMI. Frankly, I was not in favor of taping their performance. I knew the quality of recording could not equal what we could do in the studio, but we thought we would try anyhow. Technically, the results were disappointing; the conditions for the engineers were arduous in the extreme. The chaos, I might almost say panic, that reigned at these concerts was unbelievable unless you were there. Only three track recording was possible; the Beatles had no “fold back” speakers, so they could not hear what they were singing, and the eternal shriek from 17,000 healthy, young lungs made even a jet plane inaudible.

A year later, in 1965, John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared again at The Hollywood Bowl and again Capitol taped the show for posterity, and there the tapes remained for over a decade. Neither the boys nor I considered they should be used because they consisted of titles that had already been issued as studio recordings, we often spoke of making a live recording, and in fact the ill-fated Let It Be album began as an attempt to make a live record of new material.

It was with some misgivings therefore that I agreed to listen to those early tapes at the request of Bhaskar Menon, Capitol’s president. The fact that they were the only live recordings of the Beatles in existence (if you discount inferior bootlegs) did not impress me. What did impress me, however, was the electric atmosphere and raw energy that came over.

And so, together with my recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, I set to work to bring the performance back to life. It was a labor of love, for we did not know if we could make them good enough for the world to hear – let alone John, Paul, George and Ringo.

We transferred the vintage three track tapes to modern multi-track, remixed, filtered, equalized and generally polished the tapes. Then, by careful editing from the two performances, we produced the performance that you hear now, obviously there has been no overdubbing. All the voices and instruments are the original performance (some of the vocal balances, with three singers on one track are evidence enough). But it is a piece of history that will not occur again.

Those of us who were lucky enough to be present at a live Beatle concert – be it in Liverpool, London, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney or wherever – will know how amazing, how unique those performances were. It was not just the voice of the Beatles: it was expression of the young people of the world.

And for the others who wondered what on Earth all the fuss was about, this album may give a little clue. It may be a poor substitute for the reality of those times, but it is now all there is.

In the multiplatinum, sophisticated world we live in today, it is difficult to appreciate the excitement of the Beatles breakthrough. My youngest daughter, Lucy, now nine years old, once asked me about them, “You used to record them, didn’t you, Daddy?” she asked, “Were they as great as the Bay City Rollers?’ “Probably not,” I replied. Some day she will find out”.

Ahead of its forty-fifth anniversary, I wanted to investigate and spotlight one of the most important live albums ever. From the iconic The Beatles, I think Paul McCartney was a big reason as to why the shows and songs are so thrilling and tight. It must have been so daunting performing at such a large venue with a huge crowd, even though The Beatles had performed to huge audiences long before 1964. Playing to such a wild American audience relatively new in their careers is quite a task. They handled it expertly and delivered some sensational shows! As part of this run of forty features ahead of Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday in June, I am highlighting various aspects of his career. Key moments, albums and parts of his personality. As The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl is forty-five on 4th May, I wanted to spend a bit of time with it now. All of the band were tremendous during the gigs, but I think there was something that extra bit magic about…

PAUL McCartney’s performances.

FEATURE: A Kiss from the Rose of Lee: To Have Been There: The Short-Lived Wonder of the KT Bush Band

FEATURE:

 

A Kiss from the Rose of Lee

PHOTO CREDIT: Vic King 

To Have Been There: The Short-Lived Wonder of the KT Bush Band

__________

I almost missed the anniversary…

IN THIS PHOTO: The original site of the Rose of Lee pub (on 162 Lee High Road) in Lewisham, where the KT Bush Band performed their first gig in April 1977

but, in April 1977, a bit of history was written. Kate Bush had already recorded songs for her debut album, The Kick Inside, before this. It would be a few months before she stepped back into AIR Studios to finish the album. A useful way of getting live experience (that she would bring into the recordings of her debut album), the KT Bush Band was this short-lived venture that played to small audiences across the summer of 1977. To have been at one of those gigs must have been such an experience! Before moving on, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia provide background about the formation and success of the KT Bush Band:

“Band formed in 1977 by Brian Bath, Vic King, Del Palmer and Kate Bush. After practicing in Greenwich and East Wickham Farm, they made their live debut in April 1977 at the Rose Of Lee in Lewisham. The set list consisted of standards like Come Together, 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine', 'Tracks Of My Tears', but also early versions of Kate Bush songs like James And The Cold Gun, Saxophone Song and Them Heavy People. During the summer of 1977 the band played various venues in and around London, a grand total of 20 gigs.

When Kate Bush started recording her debut album The Kick Inside, she actually recorded versions of 'Them Heavy People' and 'James And The Cold Gun' at De Wolfe Studios in London with the KT Bush Band, but in the end, the band members were not used for the album recordings. Also, an attempt to release a single of the KT Bush Band's version of Johnny Winter's 'Shame Shame Shame', recorded at Graphic Sound studios in Catford was halted either by Kate's family or EMI Records. Although many of the band's gigs were filmed, photographed and recorded, none of these have surfaced.

In 2016, Brian Bath reformed the KT Bush Band together with Vic King and new members Steve Bevan on drums and Jodie May on vocals. They have played various live gigs in the UK”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

I wanted to celebrate forty-five years of a slice of Kate Bush history many might not be aware of. Many see Bush much more as a recording artist rather than a live performer. Although she only conducted one tour (1979’s The Tour of Life) and a residency (2014’s Before the Dawn), she did do a lot of live T.V. performances. Coming before all of that was the modest gigs at in 1977. Starting out as small pub gigs, buzz grew and, before long, the KT Bush band had this giant following! As great as Del Palmer and the rest of the band were, I feel most people were there to see and hear Kate Bush! Whether it was because of her allure and magnetism or the incredible vocals and performance, many people would not have heard anyone like her! We mark album anniversaries and stuff like that, but there are these important occasions like the KT Bush Band coming to life. Although the band are around today, they, obviously, do not include Kate Bush. Brian Bath’s recollections are illuminating:

“I had some regular musical friends – Paddy Bush, Vic and Del, and we played together often. One day shortly after a gig at Whitechapel Art Gallery, Paddy said that Kate was looking for some live experience and wanted to join a band, as she was about to record her first album with EMI. I said I would definitely endeavour to sort out a band.

My immediate reaction was to get the old TAME band from school back together. I rushed around to Del Palmer’s house, explaining that tons of gigs would come our way, that Kate was a great singer, had great looks and with her theatrical tendencies she could front a band for sure!

It seems Kate had also approached Vic at the Whitechapel gig, and with us all on board it wasn’t long before we had a rehearsal organised. So, we met up with Kate and she was more than eager to get the band out there. We immediately started work rehearsing a set of songs that would blow the socks off of any competition on the pub circuit. Kate needed a good vocal microphone so we all went with Pa Bush to the Fender Soundhouse in Manchester Square, and from the range available Kate chose the favourite professional mic of the time, a Shure Unidyne.

Rehearsals for the KT Bush Band began in earnest. After a first try in a room at the swimming baths, we cleared out and set up our equipment in the Barn over at Kate’s home, The Farm. It was midwinter and absolutely freezing.

I remember setting my amp up in the old disused fireplace. Maybe if I played loud enough it would warm us up! Things began well. Kate spoilt us all with gallons of tea and biscuits, and fun was had by all.

We needed a gig to try the band out on, so I went to the Rose of Lee pub in Lee Green, London, one evening, and got the guvnor interested in the band. I said we would guarantee 20 people in the first week, bodies up to the bar the second, down to the other end the third, and packed on the fourth! This is precisely what happened.  What a gig it became – dry ice during “James and the Cold Gun” at the end of the evening where Kate went around with a pretend rifle, mock shooting at the audience!

As we were all working at the same time as performing, we juggled late nights, and early starts with exhausting schedules : Up at 7am, home at 5pm, off to gig, home at 2am, back to work – and around it went!”.

Although it was brief, those who got to see the original incarnation of the KT Bush Band will never forget what they heard! I am glad the band continues to this day. Forty-five years ago, Kate Bush and her band started these modest (at first) pub gigs that were designed to give her some live experience. They soon exploded and, demand-wise, she could have kept doing them for years. As it was, Kate Bush would go on to become one of the most loved…

ARTISTS of all time.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Stand Atlantic

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Stand Atlantic

__________

I am doing a few Spotlight features…

but this one is with a band who have been around for a decade. They formed in Sydney, so I am not sure how many people in the U.K. know about them. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Bonnie. The mighty Stand Atlantic signed with Rude Records in 2017. They released an E.P., Sidewinder, in September 2017. Their debut album, Skinny Dipping, was released in October 2018. Their second album, Pink Elephant, was released on 7th August 2020. There are not that many interviews online with the band from the past couple of years. I am going to concentrate on a couple of great interviews to promote Pink Elephant. This is timely, as Stand Atlantic are preparing to release their new album, F.E.A.R. (Fuck Everything and Run) on 6th May via Hopeless Records. They are a terrific band that are gaining popularity and press in the U.K. and U.S. Dubbing them one of the most interest Pop-Punk bands around, Upset chatted with them in 2020. At a time when the pandemic was in full flight, they were putting out music of the highest order:

“Along with a handful of fellow Australians, Sydney pop-punkers Stand Atlantic are ripping up the rulebook, throwing the codes and conventions in the proverbial bin, and bringing a whole new flavour to the genre with their strikingly vibrant second album, 'Pink Elephant'. From its pop-sensible arena-ready sing-alongs to its explosion-of-colour cover, vocalist and guitarist Bonnie Fraser, guitarist David Potter, drummer Jonno Panichi and bassist Miki Rich are done with being down as 'just another pop-punk band'.

"We wanted to show that it's so easy to just stick a label on a band from a certain scene. We wanted to prove that we're more than that. Genres don't exist anymore, and people just do what they want," says Bonnie defiantly, not letting the confines of her hotel room during self-isolation following her return to Australia stop her from taking a stand against the old guard. "We wanted to prove to ourselves that we're not one-trick ponies, and we like writing songs no matter what style that is."

One trick ponies and one-hit wonders, they are not. While 2018's 'Skinny Dipping' was a dazzling debut of pumped-up pop-punk, 'Pink Elephant' rearranges and reinvents their sound. They've spent some time slipping, sliding, and shapeshifting through genres, resulting in experiments in early-era PVRIS electro-rock ('Shh!'), synth-pop ('Blurry'), singer-songwriter acoustics ('Drink to Drown') and late-night laid-back R'n'B-meets-pop-punk vibes ('Silk & Satin'). Like a sponge, they've soaked up the suds of the washing bowl of popular music.

"Music is always changing in terms of trends, and that's not to say that we set out to follow any trend, but there's so much music coming in that it's hard not to get inspired by new sounds and new things.

"I wouldn't say there was any 'we want to sound like this band', it was kind of like, 'yo, this song by this band is really cool'. That song itself might not even sound like the rest of that band; it was just the process of taking little factors of different sounds we've heard. It's just a big conglomeration of everything."

While Stand Atlantic were working on their sound, they were also writing a record in realtime, drawing off of the day-to-day experiences and emotions they were working through. As a result, Pink Elephant is at once a collection of perfectionate, polished pop-punk and a riveting, raw expose of their struggles.

"The whole album is about having tough conversations, whether that's with yourself or somebody else. It's fucking scary to think about needing to talk to someone about something or have someone confront you about something you're doing wrong”.

'Pink Elephant' addresses the elements (and elephants) of Bonnie and her bandmates' lives that they've been brushing under the rug and running away from, bringing them into focus as part of a cathartic process.

"For me, writing lyrics is the only way I can truly express my feelings. I've said this a million times, I'm not very good at talking about my feelings, and I feel like I lose confidence as soon as I start opening my mouth and try talking about something. I don't know why the fuck that is, but when I start writing songs, like, it's kind of the way I wish I would talk about things, but I don't know how so I just sing about them. That's a cathartic experience for sure. It helps me get over things. For example, if I'm angry at my mum or something, I write a song about it, and it's like me putting it to bed and getting over it".

I am going to wrap up in a minute. Before then, it is worth highlighting an interview from Depth Magazine. Their incredible lead, Bonnie Fraser, spoke about the mighty Pink Elephant:

“Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Pink Elephant (except maybe just how good it is), is how much personality is contained within the album’s eleven songs. Fraser commented that the intention was to just get weird with it, saying “It’s hard to avoid when you’re writing about your life, the lyrics are coming from my head so they’re going to be a bit weird every now and then because that’s just who I am.”

Along with the weirdness that characterises the band so well, Fraser expressed that it was integral that Pink Elephant also felt like a Stand Atlantic album at heart, despite how much the band changed. “As much as I say we wanted to change and we wanted to try these new things, we were still very aware of our roots and I think we wanted to make sure that we still had that foundation and starting point to bounce off.” Summing it up quaintly, she simply stated “I think that’s good and I think it’s part of the reason we were able to still have it so far away from home and still have it somehow hit home.”

Every song on Pink Elephant defines Fraser’s confrontation with her own ‘pink elephants’ – with just some examples on the album being those in the form of mental illness, personal relationships or the pressure of being in a band. The song “Jurassic Park” talks about the impact of mental illness on family and partners, while the effervescent “DWYW” talks about the claustrophobic pressure of the band having to follow up their first album.

It’s this cathartic release that Fraser says remains her only really way of dealing with these issues outside of her own head. “It’s literally the only way,” she says, continuing by saying, “90% of the time after I write a song about how I’m feeling, I then understand how I was feeling which is super weird because music is such a permanent outlet for your feelings.” Whether or not she believes it’s a good release remains unknown, explaining “At the time of writing I’m still trying to figure out what I’m saying and how I’m feeling, but then once I’m done I realise I have this summation of how I’m feeling and I understand why. Maybe that’s immature emotionally but fuck it, I just know that’s the way I process my feelings.”

With her it comes with the medium, while others confide in those around them she doesn’t find the same comfort in discussing these issues with others. Describing what music means to her she continued, “At this point it’s kind of like a crutch. Having said that, I’ve definitely opened up a lot more in terms of sharing my feelings and all that kind of shit in real life. Songwriting, even since I was a little kid, has just always been the only way that I’ve properly had an outlet.”

While the formation of the lyrics of Pink Elephant followed a similar process to the releases before it, certain aspects of the songwriting process changed drastically. “Things didn’t really change in terms of the core of how we were writing songs, but in terms of location, who was involved and the time it took us to write it all – that was all very different,” she explained.

Recalling the differences between the writing process of Pink Elephant and Skinny Dipping she fleshed out the biggest changes. “With Skinny Dipping we were kinda just in and out of the studio, in three weeks we wrote a whole album and recorded it in four more, but with Pink Elephant it happened over the course of 18 months,” she says. It wasn’t just the time the album took that changed, with Fraser continuing “Some of them I did in LA. Some of them were written on a cliff at Bondi. It was just really random and all over the place, which kinda sums up the album stylistically as well which is weird!”.

Stand Atlantic are a band that everyone should know about. With a new album coming next month, I know the band are going to be busy touring and getting the new music out there. With such a terrific archive already under their belt, the Australian band are destined for huge things. Even if you do not like Pop-Punk or similar sounds, I promise they will captivate you. Here is a band that are…

ONES to watch.

____________

Follow Stand Atlantic

Official:

https://www.standatlantic.com/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/StandAtlantic

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/standatlantic/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/StandAtlantic/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1W2Fv4YUnjC8hx2qQd6fGh?si=psKJyp5GTrGC18isiZA-jw&nd=1

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHoYnwpzqQT3EEnWi7eXr0g

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty Paul McCartney and Me: The Interviews: Martyn Strong

FEATURE:

 

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney in 1964/PHOTO CREDIT: RA/Lebrecht Music & Arts  

Paul McCartney and Me: The Interviews: Martyn Strong

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IN the lead-up to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Martyn Strong

in June, I am doing a run of features about the great man. Within this, I am conducting interviews with broadcasters, musicians, people in the media, and McCartney fans and asking what his music means to them. Today, musician Martyn Strong discusses what Paul McCartney means to him. Martyn has been following all things Beatles since he was 10 years old, taking up the guitar at 13 just so he could play Beatles songs. He still plays, but he spends most of his time keeping a local radio station on air and hanging out with his wife and two teenage children. Getting to as many gigs as he can afford in a year. In this very personal and interesting interview, Martyn Strong discusses what the magical, iconic and genius Paul McCartney…

MEANS to him.

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Hi Martyn. In the lead-up to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday on 18th June, I am interviewing different people about their love of his music and when they first discovered the work of a genius. When did you first discover Paul McCartney’s music? Was it a Beatles, Wings or solo album that lit that fuse?

It was primary school, and a mate asked me what music I was into. I didn’t really have an answer, so when I got home, I rifled through my parents record collection, I discovered this awesome-looking record cover with loads of characters on it. I asked Dad if he’d let me play. I wasn’t allowed, as a 9-year-old, to touch the hi-fi system, and the record blew me away – it was, of course, Sgt. Peppers. We then spent the evening listening to the Beatles albums he had. Then, three or four months later, Paul issued McCartney II and that was it: I was in love with the Beatles and Paul McCartney.

Like me, you must have been engrossed by The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+. How did it change your impression of The Beatles at that time, and specifically Paul McCartney’s role and influence on the rest of the band? Did you have any favourite moments from the three-part documentary?

Yes. I think the Get Back film completely reframes the history of The Beatles; their break-up, their genius, and the love between all four of them. This was a band at the peak of their talents, but they had lost their way a little and were trying to get back (pun intended) to something they had lost, which seemed to be a confidence in themselves. But, like many people who spend a great deal of time together, there were of course tensions and this can be seen. But they were still creating amazing and exciting music.

I think we see Paul’s role was just trying to keep them together as a band, as a gang and as a ‘family’. I think we’d all been told Paul was the over-dominant, over-bearing, dictatorial member getting the rest to play the things he wanted them to play, when in reality he just wanted them to play and make great music. I think the Get Back films really changed our perception of Paul’s role as the one who really tried to keep it all together, rather than being the man to break them up.

Favourite moments. I’ve loads. I loved the footage on the rooftop that was so cool. I loved when Paul says: “It's going to be the most comical thing in 50 years time, they broke up because Yoko sat on an amp”. John saying, just use “cauliflower as a holding word until you get the right word’” to George when writing Something. Paul saying “It’s just us; it’s always been just us, and we’re best when our backs are up against the wall”. And finally, the genius of their songwriting. Seeing Get Back, The Long and Winding Road, Don’t Let Me Down, Two of Us etc. being written was just immense, and I can’t deny there were a few emotional tears shed while watching.

“I’ve always really loved the way McCartney never sticks to one specific way of songwriting”.

You are a songwriter. How has McCartney impacted you in terms of what you write? Has he been a big influence on you in that sense?

Oh yes. The way Paul uses words as sounds to make up a lyric has been a massive influence on me. So things like This One, where he uses “The swan is flying” (the song’s line is “The swan is gliding above the ocean”) has shaped my songwriting. The way he and The Beatles never stick to musical convention but add in a chord or melody that really shouldn’t be there but works so well. I’ve always really loved the way McCartney never sticks to one specific way of songwriting. It’s never just ABACAB type writing, but each song has a new element. Whether that’s a big story-style song like Band on the Run or Beautiful Night to the catchy little pop songs like C Moon or We All Stand Together, he gives songwriters the ability to experiment with styles – meanwhile, always coming up with a great hook.

Is it possible to express and explain what McCartney’s music means to you? How impactful has it been in your life?

Paul’s music has been the soundtrack to my life from the age of 9 to now (51). Each album takes me to a place where I was at that time. Tug of War takes me to back my cousins house, as that’s where we first listened to it. McCartney II to a summer in 1980 in my dad’s Cortina. Flowers in the Dirt to my first dates with my now-wife, and also to the first time I saw McCartney live in 1989. I could  go on forever. Paul’s music and the Beatles have been there each step of the way. When I need picking up, it’s there I go to. Even listening to things like Standing Stone and the Liverpool Oratorio take me to places where only Paul and I could ever go to!

If you had to select your favourite Beatles, Wings and McCartney albums (one each), which would they be and why?

I couldn’t really choose a favourite from each, so that’s a really hard question for me, as they all stir emotions in me whenever I listen to them. But, I’ll try…

For The Beatles, I’d probably opt for Rubber Soul, as it’s the first Beatles album I bought with my own money, and an album I spent an entire Christmas playing (annoying my parents). Special mentions for Sgt. Peppers (my introduction), The White Album (The Beatles) and Revolver.

“It’s a truly complete album, and the addition of Elvis Costello (I’d choose Spike as my favourite Costello album) just makes it perfect”.

For Wings, this is tougher, but I would probably opt for London Town. I love the vibe of this album, love the songs and, again, it takes me to a special place both musically, emotionally…and it’s about a city I love! Special mentions for Venus and Mars and Red Rose Speedway. Some excellent songs on these.

Solo McCartney, I’d opt for Flowers in the Dirt. It’s a truly complete album, and the addition of Elvis Costello (I’d choose Spike as my favourite Costello album) just makes it perfect. Plus, special mentions for McCartney II, Flaming Pie and Pipes of Peace.

McCartney is confirmed for Glastonbury as a headliner this year. I feel it will be one of the most uplifting and important gigs ever. What do you think we might expect from his Saturday night slot?

I agree. I think this will be one of the gigs of this century. I think we’ll see tributes to John and George. Perhaps even Ringo joining him on stage. I think he’ll do a greatest hits set-list of Beatles/Wings/McCartney songs, but I’d really like him to do some of the more obscure McCartney stuff for the fans who’ve made the trek to Glastonbury and those of us who couldn’t get tickets but will be watching it. I think there will be a few surprises in store from him.

I am not sure whether there are plans for any Beatles. Wings or solo McCartney reissues this year. I would love to see The Beatles’ Please Please Me get the Giles Martin treatment. How about you?

I agree. I thought the Anthology stuff gave us loads of good material, and I absolutely loved hearing the Esher tapes from The White Album. I think any of the early records given a polish by Giles Martin would be great, although I’d love him to take McCartney and polish that up too.

There was a period when the music of The Beatles and McCartney fell out of favour or was seen as uncool. I guess, when Britpop broke, it regained popularity. Did your relationship with McCartney’s music change during that 1980s and 1990s?

No. I was always out of step. At comprehensive school early-‘80s, I was one of only a few true Beatles fans. While others were listening to Heavy Rock or Goth, I was listening to The Beatles and telling others how they’ve been influenced by The Beatles! When they regained their popularity, I was probably a bit like ‘I told you so’. Always been a fan of The Beatles and Paul McCartney, and I have always argued for him. I even love The Frog Chorus.

“He creates things some of us can only dream of creating”.

On that point, I think McCartney is one of the most enduring, consistent and surprising artists ever. What do you think the secret to his longevity is?

First and foremost, I think McCartney is a musical genius. He creates things some of us can only dream of creating. He’s also not afraid to take risks and experiment, from big numbers like Jet, Live and Let Die to The Frog Chorus and C Moon through to Liverpool Oratorio and Standing Stone, he tries new things. Even McCartney III sees Paul’s love of trying new things out - and to critical acclaim.  That, and he is a normal working-class guy from Liverpool, family man…and I always feel if I met him he’d shake my hand and have a chat rather than be all super-starry.

If you could get a single gift for McCartney for his eightieth birthday, what would you get him?

It would just be a big heart with ‘thank you’ written through it. I’d love to say thank you for seeing me through the good times, the hard times and those times when we needed him most he’s been there. So anything with thank you written on it.

Were you to have the chance to interview Paul McCartney, what is the one question you would ask him?

Who is the one person he’d like to have worked with but never got the chance to…who would that be.

Will he release Give My Regards to Broad Street on Blu-Ray. I loved the film. And did he ever play the game released on the ZX Spectrum?

To end, I will round off the interview with a Macca song. It can be anything he has written or contributed to. Which song should I end with? 

You Gave Me the Answer. For me, it sums up my relationship with his music. Whatever the question, there is the answer in his music. Thank you, Paul.

FEATURE: Fitter Happier: Looking Ahead to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Radiohead's OK Computer

FEATURE:

 

 

Fitter Happier

Looking Ahead to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Radiohead’s OK Computer

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RELEASED on 21st May, 1997…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Radiohead in New York in 1997

Radiohead’s seismic third studio album, OK Computer, celebrates twenty-five years next month. In fact, it was not released in the U.K. until June. OK Computer was released first in Japan. I wonder what the Japanese market made of OK Computer back in 1997! Considered a modern masterpiece and one of the most important albums ever, not all the reaction to OK Computer was positive in 1997. Maybe critics reacted to what Radiohead had done on 1995’s The Bends and felt OK Computer was a move in a strange direction. More Electronic and a bit more experimental, it was a year when there was a lot of pioneering albums released. Radiohead would step further into Electronic music with the follow-up, Kid A (2000). OK Computer is a remarkable album that, since its release, has only grown in its reputation and popularity. In 2009, a Collector's Edition was released. I am going to come to an article that discussed the recording of OK Computer and how the band came to work with Nigel Godrich. In terms of the songs on OK Computer, some of Radiohead’s best and most enduring work can be found. From Paranoid Android to Let Down through to Karma Police, it is a genius album. I know others will write about OK Computer before its twenty-fifth anniversary. Although they will do a better job, I wanted to have a say and draw attention to the anniversary. Before getting to a couple of reviews, there are articles that explore OK Computer in more depth. In November, Audio Media International looked at the recording of the iconic OK Computer:

“But back in 1997, computers were still clunky desktop affairs. With their gradual infiltration of our daily lives then a pretty unthinkable idea for most, the rapid development of computing – not least the potential of the internet – led a swelling company of forecasters feeling uneasy, particularly as an unknowable new century ominously loomed.

That foreboding anxiety is central to Radiohead’s critically lauded OK Computer. Via its 12 tracks, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood and Philip Selway anticipated a soulless, tech-saturated future. Yorke’s lyrics alluded to the fast-paced, casual violence of an interconnected world (Paranoid Android), Hordes of faceless, insect-like commuters, heads-down within a sprawling modern city network (Let Down) a resulting sense of social isolation (Climbing Up The Walls) and a prevalent back-watching paranoia – a gnawing fear that a 1984-like authority would deem you cancel-able and bundle you off somewhere unpleasant (Karma Police, Lucky). It’s a vision that, in retrospect, seems eerily prescient.

Prior to OK Computer’s release, Radiohead were mainly regarded as being an angst-ridden guitar band, having only really dented the public consciousness with 1993’s unrepresentative outsider-anthem Creep. While 1995’s The Bends foreshadowed a much more colourful musical scope, it wasn’t until OK Computer that Radiohead’s reputation as sonic frontier-expanding experimentalists was established.

ENLISTING THE RADIOHEAD PRODUCER

The sound of their new album was always intended to be a departure, and while The Bends had featured occasional forays into diverse instrumentation, a greater prevalence of off-the-wall arrangements defined OK Computer, and would shift the perception of Radiohead in the eyes of the world at large. Though the quintet had the desire to self-produce, they enlisted Nigel Godrich to help with the recording sessions, having assisted John Leckie back on the sessions for The Bends. The technically-minded Godrich proved to be an indispensable element to the record’s production, so indispensable in fact, that the band would subsequently use him as the man to helm on all their successive albums. He would become the Radiohead producer.

Though initial sessions took place at Radiohead’s newly constructed Canned Applause studio in Didcot, creeping dissatisfaction with the environment as the right creative space to work up their ideas pointed them towards a much more atmospheric recording location.

Bath’s St Catherine’s Court proved a better fit. A 16th century mansion owned by actress Jane Seymour (and previously used by The Cure to record their Wild Mood Swings album), St Catherine’s Court’s roomy ambience and natural reverberation would impart discernible character into the recordings. A notable example is Exit Music (For a Film)’s gloomy vocal, which was captured half-way up the Court’s stone staircase. “It was the band and me and Peter ‘Plank’ [Clements] who was their roadie.” Godrich told Rolling Stone, “Literally, it was just me [as Radiohead’s producer] on the album. I didn’t have an assistant; I didn’t have any help. Plank had never been in the studio before, but he’d help me lugging the stuff around. It was the seven of us plus the cook and Mango, Jane’s cat. The gatekeeper looked over the cat. He’d say, ‘Don’t let the cat in the TV room since it pisses on the carpet.’”

“I think that’s one of the things that makes this record different is the fact that we managed to capture these old sorts of 15th through the 18th century rooms that we recorded a lot of the album in.” Colin Greenwood told NPR’s All Things Considered. “You set up a bunch of microphones in a room and the ambience is going to be different from room to room.” To further expand the spacious ambience, Radiohead’s producer brought along his EMT 140 Plate Reverb.

Setting up a control room in the house’s library, Godrich and the band recorded most elements live “When you’re recording a band, it’s a bunch of microphones, a mixing desk, and a multi-track tape machine. That’s it. There’s a bit of computer jiggery-pokery if need be. but basically they’re a band, and they play together really well.” Godrich told The Mix. Among the gear that Godrich, Plank and the band installed at St Catherine’s Court were an Otari MTR-90II two-inch tape machine and both MTA series 980 and Soundcraft Spirit 24 mixing desks. While most of the gear was relatively traditional, Godrich used the then-new Pro Tools  software to polish the mixes. Fittingly, further toes would be dipped into computer music-making as the sessions continued.

At this stage, the band were primarily a guitar band. Godrich mic’d up Thom, Jonny and Ed’s guitar amps with a set of fairly straightforward Shure SM57s. Yorke stuck to his Fender Twin Reverb, while Ed and Jonny leaned on a classic Vox AC30 sound for clean tones, with Greenwood’s Fender 85 and O’Brien’s Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb being unleashed when a crunchier overdrive was needed.

On the bass front, Colin Greenwood’s sunburst Fender Precision bass was output via a malleable Gallien-Krueger 800rb head in tandem with a beefy Ampeg SVT 8×10 cab.

EVERYTHING OK?

The songs that were being crafted at St Catherine’s Court were sounding like the best the band had yet written. Scene-setting opening cut, Airbag was defined by both Greenwood’s soaring riff in A major, and a hypnotic drum loop (captured with an Akai S3000 rack-mounted sampler, later edited on a Mac). Taking cues from the likes of DJ Shadow. While Thom and Phil were responsible for capturing the required loop, Godrich felt its character lacked edge. Running it through Greenwood’s pedalboard, imparted the right amounts of distorted bite, phasing and occasional wah to its sound.

The multi-sectioned Paranoid Android would take a while to find its shape. Starting with an acoustic-oriented arrangement, the track expanded into a head-banging, heavy-riff dominated rocker, before coalescing into an ethereal, haunting mid-section. Though both of the track’s ‘heavy’ sections were pretty similar, they were recorded months apart. This lead Godrich to have to manually merge each element to just one piece of 24-track tape. Trimmed down by Radiohead’s producer from 14 minutes to a more palatable 6 minutes and 30 seconds, the song would become a crucial statement of the band’s innovative intent, bubbling with both off-kilter guitars and synthesiser textures.

Among the synths that were harnessed on the album, there included an original Novation Bass Station (for the cavernous grind of Climbing Up The Walls) a Korg Prophecy – used to create the theremin-like sounds under the surface of Airbag. The analogue sound of a Moog and Mellotron were also called upon, as well as a quirky ZX Spectrum-based synth for the bubbling outro of Let Down.

On that subject, the uplifting Let Down was recorded in the master ballroom at 3am. Yorke had been Inspired to write its nihilistic lyric when sat in a pub one night. Propulsed by Greenwood and O’Brien’s sparkling arpeggiated Fender Starcaster on Rickenbacker riff (played in 5/4, as opposed to the track’s bpm of 4/4 to add a sense of floaty groundlessness) Let Down was perhaps the most optimistic-sounding record on an album that was shaping up to be darker than anything the band had previously written.

That darkness was evident on two other key tracks, the haunting, nursery-rhyme like arrangement of the now-ubiquitous No Surprises and the chilly uncertainty of Karma Police. Despite being recorded as a song in its entirety, Karma Police wasn’t quite working for Yorke. “We went out for a pint and he sort of complained about how he didn’t like the second half. He asked ‘Can we construct something from scratch’.” Recalled Godrich in Rolling Stone, “It was the first time we’d done that. From the middle section to the outro, it’s a completely different technique of building up a song. It’s not like the band playing. It’s just samples and loops and his sort of thing over the top, which sort of was the forerunner of a lot of things to come, good or bad.” Alongside this sonic maelstrom is Ed O’Brien’s self-oscillating delayed guitar, using a DMX 15-80s digital delay.

Karma Police bled into the electronic voice-delivered Fitter Happier. Less a song as such, and more an eerie stream of consciousness list of the travails of modern existence at the end of the 20th century, Fitter Happier’s distinctive voice was actually named ‘Fred’, and originated from a Macintosh’s SimpleText program. “The others were downstairs, ‘rockin, and I crept upstairs and did this in 10 minutes,” Thom told Select. “I was feeling incredible hysteria and panic, and it was so liberating to give the lyrics to this neutral-sounding computer.”

Across the sessions, the band pushed boundaries both sonic and conceptual, yet there was still room for more traditional fare. The squalling riff-age of Electioneering harked back to the likes of The Bends‘ more frenzied guitar freakouts, while the Bosnian war-inspired Lucky originated as Radiohead’s contribution to the Help compilation. While these tracks didn’t require too much left-field engineering, Godrich was keen to capture Yorke’s vocals as clearly as possible, using both a Neumann Valve 47 and Australian Rode Valve mic on Yorke’s vocals across the album. “I haven’t used much processing, just a bit of plate reverb, or a short delay.” Radiohead’s producer told The Mix, “Some singers just have a great tone, and [Thom] is one of them, so it’s not hard work. The vocals haven’t ended up very loud because it’s not a pop record, but it’s something I’m very conscious about. I’m always thinking, can you hear what he’s saying, because his lyrics are so great.”

With the album recorded, string recording took place at Abbey Road Studios, while full mixing took place at both AIR and Mayfair studios. The project then returned to Abbey Road for mastering. From all involved, especially Radiohead’s producer, there was a building sense that something monumental had been achieved”.

The way Radiohead evolved from their 1993 debut, Pablo Honey, to 1997’s OK Computer is amazing! The band started when Grunge was huge. Rather than follow the Britpop sound or stick too closely to Alternative and Rock, OK Computer was the band – and especially Thom Yorke as a lead songwriter – really broadening their horizons. The New Yorker looked back at OK Computer in a feature from 2017:

“Yorke was twenty-seven when he started working on “OK Computer,” and just coming off several years of touring. (“I was basically catatonic,” he told Rolling Stone. “The claustrophobia—just having no sense of reality at all.”) Though Yorke insists that “OK Computer” was inspired by the dislocation and paranoia of non-stop travel, it’s now largely understood as a record about how unchecked consumerism and an overreliance on technology can lead to automation and, eventually, alienation (from ourselves; from one another).

The disparity between these two things—the idea that everyone has gone on believing that the record is about the rise of machines, when Yorke keeps telling us it’s about how much he hated touring the world in a dumb bus—is fascinating, and at least partially attributable to the record’s fretful instrumentation. (Its lyrics are abstract enough to suit just about any imagined narrative.)

Radiohead came of age in the public consciousness in the citadel of grunge, an era in which rock was more introspective than ambitious; grunge was, in many ways, a fierce response to the bloat of the seventies and eighties, and indulgence of any sort was quickly sniffed out and vilified. (Nirvana, for example, never felt on the verge of incorporating a glockenspiel.) Radiohead wasn’t a grunge band (if anything, it was in danger of being rolled into Britpop), but its insistence on a kind of brainy largesse—on bringing in unexpected instrumentation, approaching rock from an unapologetically cerebral place—felt almost countercultural.

Musically, “OK Computer” was inspired by Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew,” an aggressive and beautiful jazz-fusion album from 1970. Davis’s producer, Teo Macero, was a student of musique concrète, an experimental French genre in which tape is manipulated and looped to create new musical structures; much of “Bitches Brew” was pieced together after the band had gone home. Accordingly, its paths are not foreseeable, or even particularly human—navigating “Bitches Brew” remains a heady and disorienting experience, in which it is very easy to forget which end is up, or which way is out. “OK Computer” was made mostly live—it was started in a converted shed in Oxfordshire (the band called the space Canned Applause) and finished at St. Catherine’s Court, a stately stone mansion near Bath, owned by the actress Jane Seymour—but Radiohead and its producer, Nigel Godrich, shared Davis and Macero’s yen for disorientation. The reigning sound of the record is panic: darting, laser-like guitars, shaky percussion, moaning.

“OK Computer” was critically lauded upon its release—Spin named it the second-best album of 1997, calling it “a soaring song-cycle about the state of the soul in the digital age (or something),” and a Times piece marvelled at its ubiquity, noting that “although the band’s first video is six and a half minutes long and features twisted animated sequences in which children are shown drinking in a bar and paying women to flash them, it has been in heavy rotation on MTV.”

Still, I’m not sure that anyone really knew how to metabolize its precise disquiet until exactly this moment—which makes the timing of its reissue feel nearly fated. For me, revisiting some of these tracks now incites a bizarre kind of déjà vu—as if I am barely but finally remembering some whispered warning I received two decades back. The second half of “Paranoid Android,” one of the record’s darkest and most popular tracks, features Yorke singing in a strange, ghostly harmony with himself. “From a great height,” he repeats in his crystalline falsetto, stretching the final word until it sounds like some abstract plea. Meanwhile, a second, feebler voice opines, “The dust and the screaming, the yuppies networking, the panic, the vomit, the panic, the vomit.” Is this terribly dramatic? Sure. But if you have ever glanced around a bar—or a subway car, or a coffee shop—and seen a dozen sentient humans all tapping away on a device, forgoing awkward, fleshy engagement for a more mediated and quantifiable digital experience, and felt a deep and intense terror in your gut, then perhaps you’ve experienced some version of what Yorke’s voice is doing here: splintering, dissociating, freaking out. Many other bands have expressed worry about the proliferation of devices and the strange divisions computers have wrought, but I can’t think of another song that sounds as much like a person getting swept into a black hole”.

OK Computer is an album so majestic and all-conquering; it is hard to ignore or undervalue it. Such a wide-ranging and nuanced album, it still elicits big reactions twenty-five years later. I want to end with a couple of reviews. The A.V. Club wrote this in their review of one of the most important albums ever:

“Who could have guessed, when Radiohead's obnoxiously overexposed debut single "Creep" came out in 1993, that the band's two subsequent albums would be such elegant artistic triumphs? The Bends, Radiohead's 1995 sophomore release, was a creative success from start to finish, held together by stunningly dramatic songs like the hit "Fake Plastic Trees." But as good as The Bends is—and it's very, very good—the new OK Computer is on an entirely different level. It isn't necessarily better than The Bends; it's not nearly as instantly accessible, for starters. But it's much more ambitious and far-reaching, packed with meandering, shape-shifting, busy, spaced-out epics that are as unpredictable as they often are beautiful. It's hard to imagine anything here finding a great deal of success in a Hanson-saturated radio world. But OK Computer needs to be heard as a whole anyway: The songs blend together in such a way that they'd seem out of context when heard between Spice Girls and Collective Soul. That isn't to say there aren't marvelous moments spread throughout OK Computer—there's nary a weak spot—but you won't soon forget "Airbag," "Exit Music (For A Film)," "Letdown" or the amazing epic single, "Paranoid Android." You'll discover more the more you listen to it, and that fact alone makes the album downright essential”.

To finish off, I will bring in AllMusic’s take on a masterpiece from 1997. Although Radiohead have released other genius albums, OK Computer, to many, was the first. It was a clear sign that the band were in their own league and had come a long way from their somewhat listless 1993 debut:

“Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even The Bends are nowhere to be heard here. Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous -- such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" -- the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)." OK Computer is the album that established Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s”.

Even though the U.K. release was not until June 1997, next month, on 21st, is when OK Computer was first released. It will provoke a lot of new evaluation and revision of an album that is still without equal. Such a remarkable album that will be discussed and loved for the rest of time, it is hard to believe that OK Computer is…

ALMOST twenty-five years old.

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty: Part Twenty-Six: Following in His Footsteps…

FEATURE:

 

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

IN THIS PHOTO: George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney outside McCartney’s Liverpool home at 20 Forthlin Road/PHOTO CREDIT: Keystone Press Agency/Keystone USA via ZUMAPRESS.com 

Part Twenty-Six: Following in His Footsteps…

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IN June…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Outside 20 Forthlin Road, Liverpool/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Hickey/Alamy Stock Photo

we mark the eightieth birthday of the peerless Paul McCartney. Not to say that home and hearth is entirely responsible for how we turn out and approach the world. That foundation and inspiration is very important. For Paul McCartney, his childhood home was vital. Soaking up everything around him, this is where the world’s greatest songwriter started out. One can only imagine a young McCartney penning songs in a Liverpool hallowed space. NME reported how a very important address is being opened for aspiring and unsigned artists:

“Paul McCartney is opening up his childhood home for unsigned artists to use as a base to write, perform and gain inspiration from.

The Forthlin Sessions initiative, backed by the former Beatle‘s brother Mike, will see artists chosen by Mike and local partners to write music at the same place where Paul and John Lennon forged their distinguished songwriting partnership.

20, Forthlin Road in Liverpool is where the pair wrote hits including ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ (from 1963’s ‘Please Please Me’) and ‘When I’m 64’ (from 1967’s ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’). The property is now owned by the National Trust.

Mike told Sky News: “This house to me, is a house of hope. And I hope it will be for the young people that come through the doors.

“I would be in the other room learning photography, but whilst I’m doing all that I could hear guitar noises coming from this room,” he said.

“In there were what turned out to be two of the world’s greatest songwriters, McCartney and Lennon. They were rehearsing from a school book on the floor, that’s why this house is so unique.”

Paul and Lennon would play the piano in the living room or rehearse in the bathroom due to its better acoustics.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Mike added. “Inviting young people to this house and giving them the opportunity of doing the same as us, coming from nothing and seeing where it takes them”.

Not to say that anyone who stays at the house and writes will turn into Paul McCartney. It is a rare opportunity for artists to share common space with McCartney. It does make me wonder whether we will ever see another songwriter like him. Maybe not to the same level in terms of musicianship and invention. That is not to say that those early Pop songs Macca wrote cannot be replicated or matched! In any case, I wanted to spend this feature wondering about 20 Forthlin Road. It may seem pretty ordinary from the outside but, over six decades ago, it was home to Paul McCartney. Imagining McCartney and Lennon at a young age thinking of songs and shooting the breeze is a wonderful thought! You can almost hear them talking and imagine what would have happened there! Today, I don’t think it would have been possible for McCartney to be as productive and inspired. With too many distractions and amore developed and busier local community than he grew up in, there wouldn’t have been the room for inspiration. Having McCartney and Lennon playing piano in the bathroom would have been quite a sight! In such a technological and busy age, it seems almost unimaginable how simple and sparse it would have been there!

 PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney

The fact that McCartney is opening up his childhood home shows how generous he is. Although McCartney has been writing songs for over sixty years, he would be the first to admit that his early years were among the most important. Before things got crazy with The Beatles, he was living in Forthlin Road and there was this simplicity. With no technology at his fingers, this was McCartney (and Lennon) working on songs and ideas in their raw state. In 2022, when we are surrounded by tech and crutches, I wonder whether songwriters who got there will be going back to basics. When McCartney turns eighty in June, there will be a lot of celebration and new spotlight. I wonder how many people will spend time discussing and writing about Paul McCartney’s childhood homes. I feel they are as important to his story and legacy as anything else. A crucial and monumental part of Liverpool music history, young artists will get the opportunity to stand in the same space as a young Paul McCartney. I myself – not that I am a songwriter – would love to go to Forthlin Road in Liverpool. The lucky songwriters who will get to spend time at McCartney’s childhood house will share this moment of history. It is unlikely that aspiring artists will…

HAVE that rare access and opportunity again.

FEATURE: Big Love and Wonder: Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night at Thirty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Big Love and Wonder

Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night at Thirty-Five

__________

ONE of Fleetwood Mac’s greatest albums…

the superb Tango in the Night is thirty-five on 13th April. It was produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut. Although there are a couple of weaker songs on the band’s fourteenth studio album, some of their best material can be found on Tango in the Night. From Lindsey Buckingham’s opener, Big Love, to Stevie Nicks and Sandy Stewart’s Seven Wonders, Tango in the Night gets off to a tremendous start! Christine McVie’s classic, Everywhere, completes one of the strongest opening trio of songs in music history. Elsewhere on Tango in the Night, there is the incredible title track and Little Lies. As Rhino wrote in their article, even though the material on Tango in the Night is superb, Fleetwood Mac were not unified and solid when they started recording:

“Fleetwood Mac was in pretty rough shape when the band got together to record what would become the group's 14th studio effort, Tango in the Night. The record was originally conceived as a Lindsey Buckingham solo project; it was Mick Fleetwood who  coerced the guitarist into morphing it into a full Fleetwood Mac release.

"That was in my estimation when everybody in the band was personally at their worst," Buckingham recalled years later. "If you take the whole subculture that existed in the 1970s, and what it led to -- and how it degraded -- by the time we did Tango in the Night, everybody was leading their lives in a way that they would not be too proud of today. It was difficult for everybody."

That included singer Stevie Nicks, who spent most of the laborious 18-month process making Tango in the Night out on the road promoting her third solo album, Rock a Little. Ultimately spending only two weeks at Buckingham's home studio over the course of recording, Nicks customarily got drunk on brandy before singing her vocal takes. Most of them were left on the cutting room floor.

Once the dust settled, Fleetwood Mac released Tango in the Night on April 13, 1987. Much like Rumours, the behind-the-scenes drama was the genesis for hit records. Lead single "Big Love" cruised up the charts, peaking at #5 on the Hot 100 for the week of May 21, 1987. The song was also a hit on the dance floor, with an extended remix of the track twirling all the way to #11 on the Billboard Dance Sales chart in June 1987.

The second single from Tango in the Night was another radio winner: "Seven Wonders." The Stevie Nicks showcase made a formidable chart run, breaking into the top 20 to peak at #19 on the Hot 100 for the week of August 15, 1987.

It was Christine McVie who shined on third Tango in the Night single, "Little Lies." Peaking at #4 on the Hot 100 in November 1987, the song soared all the way to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the week of October 10, 1987.

Christine McVie again took the spotlight with the album's fourth single, "Everywhere." The song followed "Little Lies" up the Adult Contemporary chart, hitting #1 on January 15. 1988. Over on the Hot 100, "Everywhere" broke into the top 20 to peak at #14 in February 1988.

Tango in the Night was a massive success for Fleetwood Mac, reaching #7 on the Billboard 200 chart over the week of May 23, 1987. The #1 album in America that week: U2's The Joshua Tree.

"The album was well received," Mick Fleetwood told Classic Rock in 2013. "Somewhat sadly, the kudos of that was never really fully attributed to Lindsey because he wasn't present... He was coerced and persuaded to do that album - mainly by me. And, to his credit, he put aside everything that he'd dreamt of doing, including making his own album, for Fleetwood Mac; but then realized that he'd made a mistake... Lindsey was not being heard. We just didn't get it."

Tango in the Night is the last Fleetwood Mac studio album to date that features the classic lineup of Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and John McVie. Selling more than 15 million copies worldwide, it stands as group's second-most successful release behind Rumours.

Lindsey Buckingham quit Fleetwood Mac after the release of Tango in the Night. The band recruited guitarists Billy Burnette and Rick Vito to make up for his absence on the subsequent tour. It wasn't until 1997 live album, The Dance--released 10 years after Tango in the Night--that Buckingham would return to the fold”.

Receiving a large amount of positive reviews, Tango in the Night is Fleetwood Mac’s  second-biggest-selling studio album (after Rumours). The album was a success in the United States, where it peaked at number seven for three weeks, spending more than seven months within the top twenty. Tango in the Night It was certified 3× Platinum in October 2000 for selling three million copies in the United States. It is a remarkable album that ranks alongside the very best of Fleetwood Mac. Before finishing off, I want to quote a couple of reviews. The second relates to the 2017 reissue. AllMusic underline how strong and consistent Tango in the Night is:

“Artistically and commercially, the Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham/Mick Fleetwood/Christine and John McVie edition of Fleetwood Mac had been on a roll for over a decade when Tango in the Night was released in early 1987. This would, unfortunately, be Buckingham's last album with the pop/rock supergroup -- and he definitely ended his association with the band on a creative high note. Serving as the album's main producer, Buckingham gives an edgy quality to everything from the haunting "Isn't It Midnight" to the poetic "Seven Wonders" to the dreamy "Everywhere." Though Buckingham doesn't over-produce, his thoughtful use of synthesizers is a major asset. Without question, "Family Man" and "Caroline" are among the best songs ever written by Buckingham, who consistently brings out the best in his colleagues on this superb album”.

I don’t think there are too many big plans around the thirty-fifth anniversary, Five years ago, Tango in the Night was re-issued. Pitchfork note that the album is abstract, in terms of the way love is written about, and the fact Fleetwood Mac were falling apart:

“Still, it’s McVie whose work is most realized by Buckingham’s impressionism. Her “Everywhere” is the best song on the record. Like “Big Love” it too is about encountering an idea too big to contain within oneself (love, again). But where “Big Love” apprehends it with icy suspicion, “Everywhere” responds with warmth, empathy, and buoyancy, describing a kind of devotion so deeply felt that it produces weightlessness in a person. Its incandescent texture is felt in almost any music that could be reasonably described as balearic. Elsewhere, “Isn’t It Midnight,” McVie’s co-write with Buckingham and her then-husband Eddy Quintela, seems an inversion of the values of “Everywhere,” a severe ’80s guitar rock song that gets consumed by a greater, more unnerving force by its chorus, as if it’s succumbing to a conspiratorial dread. “Do you remember the face of a pretty girl?” McVie sings, and Buckingham echoes her in an unfeeling monotone (“the face of a pretty girl”) while behind him synths chime in a moving constellation, UFOs pulsing in the dark.

This is the essence of Tango in the Night: something falling apart but held together by an unearthly glow. More of a mirage than Mirage, it is an immaculate study in denial (its most enduring hit revolves around McVie asking someone to tell her “sweet little lies”). It’s a form of dreaming where you could touch the petals of a flower and feel something softer than the idea of softness. In this way, Tango seems to emerge less from Buckingham’s pure will and imagination than from a question that haunts art in general: How can one make the unreal real, and the real unreal?

The remaster of Tango in the Night isn’t as topographically startling as last year’s Mirage, where new details seemed to rise out of the mix as if in a relief sculpture; it sounded good on CD in 1987. The reissue does sound warmer and brighter, and the instruments feel less digitally combined, which lifts background elements to the surface, like the seasick drift of the bass notes in “Caroline” and the coordinated staccato harmonies in the title track. The reissue also includes two discs of b-sides, demos, and extended remixes, several of which were previously unreleased. “Special Kind of Love” is described as a demo but sounds like a completely developed Buckingham song, gentle and simple, with every edge expressively filigreed; it could’ve been a potential second sequel to “You and I.” “Seven Wonders” appears in an earlier, more relaxed arrangement, with Lindsey’s guitar warmly swanning between the notes that would eventually be reconstructed in perfect digital isolation by a synthesizer.

The demos also reveal the ways in which the songs could fold into and out of each other. On the “Tango in the Night” demo you can hear Buckingham, at the edge of every chorus, begin to invent the trembling choral part that opens “Caroline.” Nicks’ eventual solo track “Juliet” is present in two of its primordial forms—as the instrumental “Book of Miracles” (credited to both Buckingham and Nicks) and as a five-minute “run-through.” The run-through is especially curious, reducing “Book of Miracles” to a formulaic blues-rock over which Nicks’ voice produces a just-barely musical static, full of wobbles and distortions and exclamations. After the take she says, ecstatically, “I thought that was wonderful! I didn’t play! I did not play because I am so smart!”

Nicks exhibits a strange, dissonant giddiness in this moment that isn’t present in any of the band member’s memories of the recording process. At the time, in his interview with the Times, Buckingham imaginatively described Tango in the Night as a restorative process. “This album is as much about healing our relationships as Rumours was about dissension and pain within the group,” he said. “The songs look back over a period of time that in retrospect seems almost dreamlike.” Twenty-six years later, Buckingham summarized the experience to Uncut in more severe terms: “When I was done with the record, I said, ‘Oh my God. That was the worst recording experience of my life.’”

The jealousy and resentment he felt toward Nicks for the success she experienced in her solo career, and the prevailing feeling that his architectural work on the band’s records went unnoticed and unappreciated, had built to a flashpoint. Later in 1987, the band met up in anticipation of the promotional tour for Tango, for which they had already secured dates and signed contracts. At the meeting, Buckingham announced he was quitting the band. “I flew off of the couch and across the room to seriously attack him,” Nicks told Classic Rock in 2013. “...I’m not real scary but I grabbed him which almost got me killed.” They spilled out of McVie’s house and into the street. Buckingham ran after Nicks and threw her up against a car. She “screamed horrible obscenities” at him, and he walked away, from the moment and the band. What’s left, after these harsh fragments of reality are swept away, is Tango in the Night: a remarkably complete album, a lavish garden growing out of negative space. Just a dream”.

Tango in the Night’s title did almost point to a last dance for Fleetwood Mac. 1990’s Behind the Mask did not feature Buckingham predominantly. It was a bit of a low point for the band. Tango in the Night was this amazing album that was created at a time when things were strained. Like Rumours, out of turmoil and dissolvement, the band created something remarkable and enduring. Maybe not as timeless as 1977’s Rumours, Tango in the Night is full of incredible material. This remarkable album is one of Fleetwood Mac’s…

VERY best works.