Monthly Archives: October 2011

Don’t Bang the Drum

The hour-long version of this week’s Later with Jools Holland will go out tonight on BBC Two. The shorter live version was shown on Tuesday and one of its highlights was the performance of Mad As the Mist & Snow by Mike Scott & The Waterboys. This is the Sea is one of my favourite albums, though its follow-up, Fisherman’s Blues, was more of a commercial success. That album included a song called The Stolen Child, which was based on a poem written by WB Yeats. Mad As the Mist and Snow is taken from the band’s tenth release in three decades, a whole album of the Irish poet’s work called An Appointment with Mr Yeats. The prolific North Carolina songwriter Ryan Adams has released over a dozen albums in the last decade and Ashes & Fire is his latest. The former Whiskeytown member performed a solo acoustic version of Lucky Now on the show. Camille from Paris made a return appearance to play a track from her fourth album, Ilo Veyou. She performed a quirky and amusing number called Mars Is No Fun that could’ve been written from the perspective of an offspring of the narrator of Bowie’s Life on Mars. All the way from Wellington in New Zealand, The Phoenix Foundation performed a catchy tune called Buffalo. That’s also the title of their 2010 album and it’s their fourth since forming in 1997. Emeli Sandé has already been on Later this season and she came back to perform Read All About It with London rapper Professor Green. It will appear on his second album, At Your Inconvenience. I skipped through Coldplay‘s two songs that bookended the show as I’m not a fan. However, I do like Lady GaGa’s version of one of their songs. Later goes out every Tuesday and Friday on BBC Two

The Stolen Child (WB Yeats) – The Waterboys

Lovesick Blues (Hank Williams Sr cover) – Ryan Adams

Pretty Face – Camille

Pot – The Phoenix Foundation

Viva La Vida (Coldplay cover) – Lady Gaga

Clockwise from top left: Professor Green, Coldplay, Mike Scott, Camille, The Phoenix Foundation, Ryan Adams

Mixing Pop & Politics

“It’s surprising how quick a little rain can clear the streets,” sang Billy Bragg on a wonderful rendition of The Saturday Boy at Dolan’s last night. The Limerick streets are used to rain, of course, and if they were empty on a Monday night it was because everyone was at the Warehouse to welcome the Bard of Barking to town for the first time. It’s hard enough to get people to come out any night to see a solo singer backing himself on guitar, but it was a testament to his standing that he attracted a full crowd on a cold and wet Monday night in October. I got to Dolan’s early and filled my stomach with some tasty Guinness stew and later washed it down with pints of porter in the Warehouse as I joined some friends to check out the opening act. Paddy Nash hails from Derry and he did a fine job warming up the crowd. He was quite comfortable with the audience and explained that he had walked out on his job in the film industry when they wouldn’t give him the week off to follow Billy around the country. A song called Billy Bragg Jeans was inspired by a story Paddy heard about Billy buying a pair of jeans for a few quid in a charity store. He also gave us a song called Rubber Bullets that was sung from the perspective of a child growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. His best song, and the one the audience enjoyed the most, was called Ballad of a Nobody. This was a witty song that told the story of an average man with an average life and had everybody in stitches as its key line was repeated each time

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Bon Hiver

This week’s episode of Later with Jools Holland doesn’t feature too many big names, but at least a couple of the acts will be worth watching. The Canadian singer, Feist, has released her fourth album and it’s called Metals. She co-wrote Brandy Alexander with fellow Canadian, Ron Sexsmith, for her third record and recorded his composition, Secret Heart, on her second one. The version below is from a radio session. Feist has performed with the Wisconsin musician Justin Vernon in the past. He is better known as Bon Iver and received a ton of critical praise for his debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago. His self-titled follow-up was released earlier this year. Below, he sings a Feist song that appeared on an Australian radio session. Ben l’Oncle Soul is the pseudonym of Benjamin Duterde from France. He followed up the 2009 mini-album Soul Wash with a self-titled debut last year. His soulful rendition of Seven Nation Army appears on both. Londoner Lianne La Havas brings a little bit of soul to Final Form by Manchester’s Everything Everything. You can also download four free live songs from her website. And now for something completely different. It’s not often that metal bands appear on Later, but Mastodon are a metal band that hail from Atlanta, Georgia and don’t sound too bad on their lengthy version of Orion by Metallica. Some normality is restored by a former member of the Rat Pack named Buddy Greco, a singer and pianist who shares his birthday with yours truly. He’s promoting the very first release of Live at the Sands, recorded in Las Vegas in 1967. I’m in Love had been a hit for him earlier that decade. Later goes out every Tuesday and Friday night on BBC Two

Secret Heart (Ron Sexsmith cover) – Feist

The Park (Feist cover) – Bon Iver

Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover) – Ben l’Oncle Soul

Final Form (Everything Everything cover) – Lianne La Havas

Orion (Metallica cover) – Mastodon

I’m In Love – Buddy Greco

Clockwise from top left: Ben l’Oncle Soul, Feist, Bon Iver, Buddy Greco, Lianne La Havas, Mastodon

American Tunes

Paul Simon turned 70 this week and here are seven songs from both phases of his career as performed by female artists. The first four were originally released as part of his musical partnership with Art Garfunkel. The Bangles’ hit version of A Hazy Shade of Winter from 1987 is the most well-known of those. Lucy Wainwright Roche’s America appears on her 2010 debut called Lucy and Joan Baez’s Dangling Conversation is taken from her 1967 release, Joan. Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini’s interpretation of The Sounds of Silence is from a 1996 compilation called Stone Free. The final three songs represent Simon’s solo career and begin with Hearts and Bones by Crooked Still singer Aoife O’Donovan from 2004. Susan Werner sings Something So Right on her 2007 Last of the Good Straight Girls album. Finally, Julie Doiron’s downbeat reworking of Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard was recorded live in Minneapolis in 2002. Happy belated birthday, Mr. Simon

A Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel cover) – The Bangles

America (Simon & Garfunkel cover) – Lucy Wainwright Roche

Dangling Conversation (Simon & Garfunkel cover) – Joan Baez

The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel cover) – Emiliana Torrini

Hearts & Bones (Paul Simon cover) – Aoife O’Donovan

Something So Right (Paul Simon cover) – Susan Werner

Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard (Paul Simon cover) – Julie Doiron

Three Is The Magic Number

It had been a while since my friend John and I had been to a gig in Limerick, but we made that right last Wednesday night. John’s a big fan of British and Irish folk music and I quite like singer-songwriters. Both categories were catered for at the Belltable on October 5th as three talented musicians from the British Isles came to town. James Yorkston, Adrian Crowley and Alasdair Roberts were the trio and Limerick was their first stop on a four-night tour that would take in Cork, Dublin and Kildare on the subsequent nights. It was my first visit to the Belltable since its refurbishment earlier this year and I must say I was impressed with what they’ve done to the foyer and the theatre area. Fife native James Yorkston was first up and he tried out a load of new songs on us. I’ve been a fan of his music ever since I heard his song Woozy with Cider and it was a pleasure to finally hear his wonderful voice in person. I’m afraid I can’t recall any of the titles of the new songs, but his quiet delivery and plucked guitar on one was reminiscent of Thom Yorke. He’s no Jimi Hendrix on guitar and spent some time tuning it between tunes, but also engaged in a bit of banter with the audience while fiddling with his strings. Yorkston was joined by Alasdair Roberts at the end of his set as the two paid tribute to a folk legend. Bert Jansch had passed away that morning and Yorkston revealed that his very first paid gig was supporting the Glasgow-born musician. He last met him when he supported him in Paris a few years ago. He admitted that he didn’t know him that well, but you could tell that Jansch’s music meant a lot to him. He and Roberts delivered an emotional version of a traditional ballad about a sailor who takes advantage of a servant girl that brought the first half of the show to an end

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Games Without Frontiers

Nine years after his only other appearance on Later with Jools Holland, Peter Gabriel returns this week to promote his latest release, New Blood. It’s a follow-up to last year’s Scratch My Back, in which he delivered a whole album of orchestral versions of other people’s songs. New Blood fulfils a similar function, as he orchestrates over a dozen songs from his own back catalogue. His version of Suzanne (below) is taken from a 1995 tribute to Leonard Cohen called Tower of Song. Noah & the Whale make their first appearance on Later and will play some songs from their third album, Last Night on Earth. Their version of Paul Simon’s You Can Me Al appeared as a b-side in 2008 and I think it’s pretty good. The Horrors have been going as long as Noah & the Whale and also released their third album earlier this year. The band’s lead singer, Faris Badwan, has a solo project named Lumina and his cover of The Black Lips’ I’ll Be With You appeared as the flip side to The Lips’ Drugs single from 2009. The Horrors were unsuccessful Mercury Prize nominees that year and this year Ghostpoet found himself in the same position. Peanut Butter & Melancholy Jam is the title of his only album and Cash & Carry Me Home was its first single. Lana del Rey is the pseudonym of London-based New Yorker Elizabeth Grant. She’ll be making her first television appearance on Later and I look forward to hearing her perform Video Games. Later goes out every Tuesday and Friday on BBC Two

Suzanne (Leonard Cohen cover) – Peter Gabriel

You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover) – Noah & the Whale

I’ll Be With You (Black Lips cover) – Lumina

Cash & Carry Me Home – Ghostpoet

Video Games – Lana del Rey

Clockwise from top left: Noah & the Whale; The Horrors; Lana del Rey; Peter Gabriel; Ghostpoet

The North Sea Scrolls

Luke Haines recently announced that he’s about to release the follow-up to 2009′s 21st Century Man. The new album has the rather improbable title of 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s And Early ’80s. And, apparently, it does exactly what it says on the tin. I’ve been following Haines’ career ever since the release of New Wave by The Auteurs in 1993. The band were always on the margins of Britpop and Haines later changed musical direction to form the electonic group Black Box Recorder. Haines has also collaborated with other musicians and has released a few solo records. He’s even written a couple of memoirs, beginning in 2009 with Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part in its Downfall. Haines was quite uncomplimentary about his fellow Britpoppers, with Blur and Radiohead amongst his victims. I’ve seen him once in concert, when he performed recently at Cabaret Voltaire during the Edinburgh Festival. The show was advertised as the North Sea Scrolls and all I knew beforehand was that he’d be joined on stage by a number of companions. When I got to the gig, I was delighted to discover that Cathal Coughlan was one of those guests and that they would also be joined by the writer Andrew Mueller and the cellist Audrey Riley

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