Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan Bristol 25th January 2007

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan – St Georges Bristol – 25th January.

Isobel Campbell’s soft tones are darting around the black hole of Mark Lanegan rasp as he sings “the flame that’s burns’. The crowd is in rapture, clapping along with some spirited prompting from Isobel Campbell. It’s a new composition for the crowd to absorb and the first signs of something stirring up on stage. A spark at last in evening that was threatening to hang suspended. Mired in good intentions but lacking soul

The genesis of The Ballad of Broken Sea’s, written and arranged by Campbell with Lanegan adding his vocals in America, always posed the question of chemistry. How would a studio based project recorded by vocalists in different studio translate on stage? How well do they know each other? Would it gel?

They wandered onto the stage at St Georges to loud applause from the eager crowd. They are a striking pair up on what once had been an altar. Lanegan in his scuffed apparel, dark denim, a menacing presence. His frame and manor mark him out as dark avenger, Harry Powell in The Climate of The Hunter singing the Nick Cave song book. He struggles with the mike stand extending it up reach his height. Isobel Campbell’s looks slight, a furtive, benign jumble of June Carter Cash and classical musician. Dressed in an emerald green 50’s frock and a fetching pink bow tied around her waist. A chair and a cello beside her position on the left of Lanegan.

Revolver opens the show but fails to ignite. Lanegan voice is even deeper live, a low rumble. He grips the mike and stares out into space, his baritone as dark and bleak as a murder victim’s grave. It fills the empty spaces, the hidden hollows in this old church with ease. Unfortunately Campbell ’s voice seems paper thin in contrast, getting lost in the wide open acoustics of the cold stone walls.

It wouldn’t be an issue if there vocals blended as sweetly as they do on record. The light and shade is missing, only Lanegan’s darkness seems to have turned up. The opening tracks are underwhelming. A combination of nerves, lack of familiarity and the difficult atmosphere of St Georges ruining any chance of building a momentum.

There is no audible communication between Isobel and Mark, they look lost, like a couple on a first date or an aging partnership after one hell of a row. It gets worse. Lanegen keeps disappearing off stage. Maybe he is watching Celebrity Big Brother. Maybe downing a drink or ten, as you can’t bring them into the stage area. He could be doing both at the same time, it would be more entertaining that the opening section of the gig.

During one of Lanegan’s absences the gig starts to take flight. Reaching for a series of notes at the top end of her range and missing them Campbell visibly relaxes. It dawns on her that she can take risks and fail. Fail and not be rebuked by the audience. Her confidence blossoms and the mood improves markedly. There is a lightness in her voice, a playful skip in her step.

Lanegan returns and they rattle through a couple of well chosen covers. Bob Dylan’s Little Sadie has been previous recorded by Lanegan and he comes alive during the delivery. The version of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s Sand is enlivened by a funky little stylophone solo from Campbell . It helps that the stronger cuts from The Ballad of Broken Seas are keep over to the end. The Circus Is Leaving Town is tight and focused, the riff bouncing off the heads of the congregation. Honey Child What Can I Do finally delivers on the promise of the LP. The voices blend perfectly, they soar upwards alive with a passion. Then its over, a beaming smile from Campbell and a wave from Lanegan. A great end to an imperfect gig.

Tony Heywood (c)

Isobel and Mark Live in London on the same tour....

Plague Songs

The concept LP seems to have had a shot in the arm in recent years. From Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs via Sufjan Stevens recent projects and the prog metal of Mars Volta the left field seems to have embraced the concept LP to its heart.Plague Songs is slightly different. A concept LP ? Sure, but from an arty and obscure genesis this collection was birthed. Ten songs, ten plagues and one of the most original and arresting anthology of music you will hear this year. The soundtrack to a live art installation of the ten plagues of Egypt set in the rainy English seaside town of Margate. Part Wickerman, part Blair Witch part mixtape for the end of the world.The beauty of the collection, its strength lies in the wide variety of contributors and their differing takes on the source material. Plagues Songs glides effortlessly from the sodastream pop of Imogen Heap into the charcoal black nightmare of Scott Walker onto the bluesy piano based lament of Rufus Wainwright. Each artist has taken the subject matter and buckled the narrative, corroded the source. The approaches differ across a broad spectrum of musical tone and voice. The opening track by Klashnekoff mixes biblical quotes, stuttering grime beats and dense vocals flows to evoke dread and tension. King Creosote's Relate the Tale take the plague of frogs and tells it from the perspective of a frog, his dulcet tones riding atop a jaunty acoustic backing. It’s surprisingly effective and touching. Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt tackle the plague of files with a maze of ambient noise and fly buzzing. Scott Walker pares back the mesh of the nightmarish Drift into a murmur of percussion and vocals. His voice hushed and mumbled is thrown against a choir of pitch shifted shrill cries. The result is a cacophony of disquiet and fear. As clammy and claustrophobic as the plague of darkness it describes.Yet for all its dark subject matter there is light and humor on show. Stephen Merrit takes the plague of Lice and sets it against a New Order style backing and laces it with his dark wit. Cody Chesnutt soaks the plague of boils in New Orleans horns and a funky shuffle. The stand out track is The Tiger Lillies Hailstones. A broken boned tale of taking class A drugs in a tin shack. .Marytn Jacques vocals blend perfectly with the bowed saw and piano melody of pure grief. Startling and wonderful. This is an engaging and arresting listen. Get yourself a little bit of the plague

Written for KevChino.com

Original Review post

http://www.kevchino.com/index.aspx?review=1147

Billy Bragg - Vol 1

The first time I heard Billy Bragg sing was on breakfast TV. He ripped through a rousing version of It's Say Here and I dropped my school bag in shock: I had never witnessed anything like it. Punk rock folk music if you please.

The sound of a cheap untreated electric guitar, a pin sharp eye for details and the spirit of The Clash without the rock 'n' roll posing. The self confessed big nosed bard of Barking shredding the idea of press freedom, the royal family and tabloid double standards in under three minutes. I had never realised that music could jab like that, carry real meaning and be delivered with such white knuckle conviction. I was hooked.

Listening to Billy Bragg's work in a block like this I am struck by how consistent, strong and passionate his song writing is. Vol 1 contains seven CDs: the first three studio LPs plus the International mini LP and various EPs, live tracks and B-sides. There are also two DVDs of live material. It's a testament to Billy Bragg's ability that there is no filler on here at all.

I have always felt that to define or stereotype him simply as jukebox for the likes of Arthur Scargill is to miss the point. There's no denying that he is a political songwriter, and a brilliant one at that, but there is so much more to this Karl Marx set to music. Much later in his career he sung of having "a socialism of the heart", and from the opening bars of his debut LP you are in little doubt that this is true. On the songs on these CDs - be they protest songs, love songs or a genre breaking mix of both - it is the humanity, warmth and empathy that shines through.
The songs on Life's A Riot With Spy vs Spy and Brewing Up With Billy Bragg still sound raw, vital and basic. You get Billy, his gruff vocals and the sound of a budget guitar plugged into a practice amp. The music here makes the The White Stripes sound like ELO. In an age when someone like Tears For Fears would spend two months on a drum sound the rawness of these recording was startling and revolutionary. It was a conscious attempt to distil music back to its very core.

If you compare Man In The Iron Mask from the first LP and Myth of Trust from the second you get a clear example of his skill as a wordsmith and writer. Both are tales of affairs, the first told from the point of view of the injured party, the second from someone who is cheating on their partner. Man In The Iron Mask is pure pain loneliness and defeat. It's a love song of sorts that subverts the macho swagger of rock music with something more human and truthful. On Myth Of Trust Bragg peels away the bravado of the love affair and exposes the rotten, self-serving disgust at the centre. This ability to cut through to the core is something that places him above the vast majority of his peers.

The songs come thick and fast, the love songs Saturday Boy, St Swithin's Day, A Lover Sings; the politics, Island of No Return, Ideology, To Have And Have Not. When the political meets the personal on tracks like Levi Stubbs' Tears, Between The Wars and Home Front, Bragg was forging a new type of soulful folk music, a blend of left wing politics and warm heartfelt observation. In a post Blair world where socialism has become a four-letter word, we need the likes of Billy Bragg more than ever. It's shameful that in days like these no-one has taken up the torch.


The rare tracks are a treat for any long term fan: A13 Trunk Road To The Sea spins Route 66 through Essex to Southend. Back To The Old House is a glorious cover of The Smiths track, the live version of A Lover Sings has Johnny Marr throwing in the riff from This Charming Man.
It always made me chuckle that Bragg managed to fuse, soul, Woody Guthrie-styled politics and killer tunes to a degree that Paul Weller never managed after The Jam. Soul music doesn't live in stylised backing tracks or the clothes that you wear but in the heart and soul of the performer. This is soul music and Billy Bragg is a soul singer. You need to hear these songs: they will make you life better.

Original Review for Music OHM

http://www.musicomh.com/albums5/billy-bragg-2_0306.htm

Tom Waits

The wonderful Tom Waits is back in the news with the release of Orphans.
Have a listen to this great interview around the time of Blood Money and Alice.

He discusses his musical development, Johnny Cash covering his songs. He quest to grow old quickly, he voice is like gravel and whiskey cocktail. A wonderful half hour.

Tom Waits Interview

Sugarcubes reunite !!

The mighty beautiful and wonderful weird Sugarcubes are set to reunite for the first time since 1992.

This is the offical press release from Bjork site.

"Nearly 20 years ago The Sugarcubes put out on their own label Smekkleysa SM, their first single Birthday. This release was the start to the splendid career of The Sugarcubes, and impressive releases of Icelandic artists in Iceland and abroad alike. These first steps made by The Sugarcubes have made and everlasting impact and influence on the Icelandic export of music.

It is therefor with unbound joy we announce the 20th anniversary concert of Birthday and The Sugarcubes in Reykjavik on the 17th of November. The Sugarcubes will take to the stage for the first time in 14 years.

All profit from the concert goes back into Smekkleysa SM who will continue to work on a non-profit basis for the future betterment of Icelandic music and artists.

World domination or death! yes thank you!"

Here is a little bit of Bjork and the band to remind you of why they are so special:

Joy Division Live

This is some amazing footage of Joy Division live and on fire.

Its starts against a dirty looking back drop, all muddy browns and greys, flock wallpaper and shadows. The music starts with a crack of a snare, a motor beat, Can relocated to the dark back rooms of Manchester. The bass rumbles with melody, the guitar rips out sheets of noise and barbwire riffs. The singer voice a low, heavy in tone, short hair a purple shirt. He holds the stage recites his words, grip the mike stand like a crutch. After 40 seconds he releases his grip on the mike, a look to the left and then the right, his head jerking and then comes the release. Like a boxer on strong speed, a fly trapped in a neon light, his arms flaying around, his eyes closed lost in the moment, free in the noise and fire. It’s brief and the camera cuts away, the shadows falling onto Peter Hook the bass player. Ian Curtis is driven by his demons or is he trying to drive them away. The power in this brief performance is mesmerising, terrorizing and immensely powerful. If you have ever wondered why Joy Division are held in such high esteem than sit back and watch this.



This video is taken from The Factory Flick (Factory FAC 9 1979)
This is an 8mm film premiered at the Scala Cinema, London, on September 13 1979, comprising:
1. No City Fun - Joy Division (12 min)
2. All Night Party - A Certain Ratio (3 min)
3. Red Dress - Ludus (3 min)
4. Joy Division (17 min)
No City Fun, filmed by Charles Salem, was based on Liz Naylor's article in Manchester City's City Fun fanzine and features music from Unknown Pleasures.
Joy Division is a film by Malcolm Whitehead that includes Unknown Pleasures rehearsals at T J Davidson's studio, an interview with Joy Division's manager Rob Gretton recorded March 23 1979, and three songs performed at Bowdon Vale Youth Club on March 14 1979.

Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy Review

The sound that The Jesus and Mary created was famously described as like hearing a chainsaw in a hurricane. It¹s a barbwire kiss. It¹s a nightmare of static and honey. Based around the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid their debut LP still sounds as raw, electrifying and chaotic as it did in 1985. This is pop music eviscerated. Beautiful melodies debased by screaming feedback. Classic chord progression burnt and buried beneath sheets of shrill white noise. Pop toyed with and tarnished.Psychocandy is the perfect title for this collection of dazzling melodies haunted by the ghost of the Velvet Underground. The band exploded onto the indie scene in the UK in 1984-85.Their harsh black leather take on the outside stance offering stark relief to the fey strumming that dominated at the time. Bathed in a dissolute wasp nest of feedback these where howls of romantic nihilism. Simple, short, brutal exercises in the art of the classic pop single. This is Phil Spector¹s wall of sound bashed out by John Cale and Iggy Pop.From the opening scream of Just Like Honey the Reid brothers drop nothing but classic track after classic track. The basic reverb drenched drumming is provided by Bobby Gillespie. His lack of technical ability amplifies the beautiful naivety of the songs. It¹s the battle between the sonic battering and the sweetness of the music that gives the material it¹s power. These are dark places, dank with desperation but brisling with aggression and strident song writing. Anyone with a faint interest in the glory of guitar music should own this record already. If you don¹t have a copy and you love your music loud, difficult and loaded with attitude then buy this album. Revel in its beautiful chaos

Venus Bogardus

The Venus Bogardus are a something special. When a bands bio is not constructed out of lame cliché after leather trousered cliché but reads like a university critical studies reading list then you know this is different. The bio starts..riot grrl, dada, modernism, absurdism, surrealism, secession, romanticism, gothic...now that something to make you take notice. Add treated guitars, noise and poise a riot grrl drummer and lashing of artful arrogance and you have something akin to sweet perfection.

Is it me or are the terms of glamorous indie rock n roll seemly becoming more restricted by the hour? Didn’t indie once mean independent of sprit, independent of thought, independent of sound? Well it now means skinny boys in Pete Dochery hats singing bad poetry over punk skiffle. What a relief to find sprit, noise, thought and rigour applied to the form.

This the no-wave jamming with classic pop harmonies. The Jesus and Mary Chain if they owed a book shop instead of living on the dole. Art, noise, heavens above something to write home about.

http://www.myspace.com/venusbogardus

http://www.venusbogardus.com/index.html

17 Seconds A Music Blog

Have been trawling through the blog sphere and found this wonderful music blog.
Written with passion, style and elan its a great place to go a read someone writting well about music that moves them.

A Scotmans living in Edinburgh, Ed has a fine way with words and great taste in music. There are reviews of new releases, video links and other gems awaiting you.

Whats keeping you go see:

http://www17seconds.blogspot.com/

Mark Eitzel and All The Lost Anchors of the Pacific

Eitzel new band, play music with spooky harmonies and new twist on his old sound. The band features Dan and Jan Carr and Kristin Sobditch. The wonder indiefolkforever have stuck up a couple of tracks from last weeks live debut.

The tracks are All The Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco and Spinning.
Both tracks see Mark in fine form cracking jokes with the crowd.
To hear them go here:

http://indiefolkforever.blogspot.com/