And the tension builds:
Gig: Fairport Convention at Sunderland’s Fire Station. I’m ashamed to admit that despite having dug Fairport’s records for over three quarters of my now pension age life, this was the first time I’ve caught them live (though I’ve seen Richard Thompson many times). These five 70-plus gadgies knocked me out over a thoroughly entertaining two hours including goodies old and (nearly) new. And how many bands can still boast in their current ranks THREE members that played on an album made in 1970? Needless to say, the ‘Full House’ numbers were rendered wonderfully - but so was the whole set. They’re a good laugh too;
Richard & Linda Thompson ‘Hokey Pokey’ - ace second album that I like even more than ‘Bright Lights Tonight’. How much younger does Richard sound on this;
Jim Capaldi ‘Short Cut Draw Blood’ & ‘Let The Thunder Cry’ - two highly respectable LPs that deserve far more attention that they received. Songs are mostly excellent and Jim’s vocals likewise. Had he starred in a different band we’d all be hailing his singing from the rooftops;
Steven Wilson ‘Insurgentes’ - the first album released under SW’s own name (as distinct from his earliest PT efforts) is his moodiest and most distinctive. If it reminds me of Radiohead it’s not in its sound or songs, more its ethereal vibe. A slow burner and a keeper, this;
Big Big Train ‘The Likes Of Us’ - despite major line-up changes (including the sudden death of their former lead vocalist), BBT return with a new album full of their customary craft, imagination and charm. So much more than just another prog band, these;
Killing Joke ‘…what’s THIS for?’ - Adam and the Ants on steroids;
Patti Smith Group ‘Radio Ethiopia’ - I guess I’m in a minority preferring this to ‘Horses’ but hey, I just do, okay? In fact, it’s my fave of all of her albums. She’s never shown more edge than here;
Clearlight ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ - pretty cool French prog from 1975, with a Hillage soundalike axeman and a way out of tune piano;
Tom Verlaine ‘Dreamtime’ - and this, after ‘Marquee Moon’, is my choice Verlaine platter. I miss you, dude;
The Beatles ‘Mono Masters’ (selections) - proof that some of The Fabs’ best stuff was relegated to B side or EP status. And weren’t the four “new” ‘Yellow Submarine’ tracks sublime? It’s all too much;
Richard Barbieri ‘Planets + Persona’ - kind of like ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ brought into the 21st Century, and I mean that as a compliment;
Paul Weller ‘Soul Wandering’ 45 - great, uptempo taster for Paul’s new album. I also played his 2022 ‘Glad Times (Soul Steppers)’ remix which had eluded me until now. Disco lives!
Nick Lowe ‘Dig My Mood’ - oh, I do Nick. And that this is probably your best album. Sheer Brentford class;
Randy Travis ‘This Is Me’ - mid-90s album I hadn’t played for at least twenty years. It really shone out of my speakers. The poor dude has been held back after a bad stroke but he’s left a substantial legacy of quality country records;
Tony Bennett & Dave Brubeck ‘The White House Sessions 1962’ - I dunno if JFK was present at this gig but, if he was, what a treat he had;
Dizzy Gillespie ‘Jumbo Caribe’ - Diz goes Latin with Verve (capital V intended);
John Coltrane ‘Live at Birdland’ - Trane’s classic quartet caught live and in the studio in 1963, just before Trane’s dive into abstraction. McCoy Tyner is on particularly good form;
Jan Garbarek Quartet ‘Afric Pepperbird’ - early ECM classic now reissued on audiophile vinyl. A career high for Garbarek in my opinion, and one of the finest jazz albums in my collection. I favourably reviewed this in Unsung aons ago, and I still stand by every word, except to add that I now consider its four short “filler” tracks excellent too;
Dino Saluzzi ‘Andina’ - I know no other bandoneon players than Saluzzi, but I do know that I love the sounds he makes from his. This 1988 album is haunting and beautiful;
Bizet: Symphony in C and John McCabe: Symphony no.2 (both CBSO/Louis Fremaux) - Fremaux brings out all the Gallic joy of Bizet’s young masterpiece as well as all the tumult and calm of McCabe’s unsung work. Proof that the Birmingham orchestra was in rude form well before Simon Rattle took over;
Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 5 (Nat Orch Washington/Gianandrea Noseda) - one of the most vibrant and exciting new Beethoven CDs I’ve heard for years. I also played their First and Seventh which were almost as good, but just short of great, an exceptionally fast take on the Seventh’s last movement notwithstanding. A rather murky recording doesn’t help;
Beethoven: Symphony no.9 (Ukrainian Freedom Orch/Keri-Lynn Wilson) - oh dear, I really wanted to like this but it’s severely compromised by what must be one of the most perfunctory readings of the slow movement I’ve ever heard;
Mozart: Symphonies 39, 40 & 41 (Orch of 18th Cent/Frans Brueggen) - another album that offers refreshing takes on old warhorses. Brueggen remained a vital conductor even in his final years;
Dvorak: String Quartet Op.96 ‘American’ (Janacek Quartet) - an echt-Bohemian performance from 1963 that more than holds its own today;
Lead me not into temptation.
Keep safe and smiling
Dave x
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