I'm in the process of re-listening and re-evaluating my record collection, in no particular order. I'll be sharing the results of my evaluation and thoughts on the music in this blog.
I'd bet that those first few notes of the keyboard intro are instantly recognisable all over the globe, this was after all a No.1 hit in most of Europe, also entering the Top Ten in the US. But nowhere -not even in their native Sweden- do they generate the emotional response they do in Greece. In the summer of 1987, Greece hosted the European Basketball Championship. We hoped our national team would do respectably playing in front of the home crowd, but the end result seemed unavoidable: unless Yugoslavia managed to steal the win, as they had done on three occasions in the past, the championship would go to the sole European athletic superpower: since they had first entered the competition forty years previously, The Soviet Union had almost always returned home with the cup. The Greek team nevertheless performed a miracle by eliminating stronger opponents one by one, finally triumphing over the Soviets at overtime with 103-101. This was an incredible, unbelievable, victory. At the time, Greece was thought of as this poor, backwards corner of Europe. At sports, we had no distinctions whatsoever. Yet for once we stood tall and dared to look the giant in the eye, and bravery won the day. No-one who watched this game -which includes the whole country- will forget the feeling of elation of that day, or the song blasting from the stadium speakers as the referee blew the final whistle: Europe's "The Final Countdown".
Somehow the band didn't capitalize on their popularity in Greece by touring there - had they done so in the late 80's or early 90's, it would have been a huge event; even when I caught the band live (at the Lokerse feesten in Belgium, more than 3 decades after that EuroBasket final) this album's title song stirred something in me. Nowadays, of course, "The Final Countdown" -especially the keyboard part- is considered the ultimate cheese. Even people reviewing the band semi-favorably in forums bypass the title track and name a couple of other songs as their favorites. At the time, though, everyone who bought the album did it for the big hit; by 80's standards, it wasn't cheesy, it was anthemic. The second most popular track off this LP was "Carrie", a typical 80's power ballad that also sounds very much of its time. Truth be told, it's not that different from Aerosmith ballads of the same period, yet Aerosmith retain some credibility while Europe are ridiculed- not so much for their songs, mind you, as for their haircuts. The third big song off the album was "Rock The Night", a nice rocker in the vein of Bon Jovi. The band knew these three songs were their biggest bets for success, and frontloaded the LP by placing them at the beginning of Side 1. This has the unfortunate effect of making the rest seem like filler: nothing else sticks out - but on the bright side, nothing annoys either. The vocals are a matter of taste: the lead singer employs lots ofsustained high notes, and frequent oo-oh's and yeah-yeah's. The choruses consist, more often than not, by group harmonies on endless repeat. The keyboards have that dated synthetic 80's feel, but you do get the impression that the keyboardist is more ambitious; a wannabe Jon Lord who got stuck with an overtly commercial producer and crappy sounding equipment. The guitarist is an accomplished soloist, and he's given the chance to shine without dominating the songs, while the rhythm section also do a good job. The production may be a bit too slick for some, but it all adds up to a well crafted AOR album that often sounds like a cross between Asia and The Scorpions. Apart from the starting three, special mention should be given to "Cherokee", a commercial hard rocker about the plight of American Indians, sort of a softer analogue to Iron Maiden's "Run To The Hills". Here, as well as on the Side 2 closer "Love Chaser", there's a proggier note akin to Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow. "Danger on the Track", "Heart Of Stone", and "Ninja" are decent AOR rockers, while "Time Has Come" is a forgettable power ballad. "On the Loose" kicks off with a heavy riff and features a shredding solo - it's the closest The Final Countdown gets to heavy metal, which really isn't that close at all. So, should you add this album to your collection? Only if you feel nostalgic for 80's FM radio... or if you're a Greek eager to relive a fleeting moment of glory. Decent, but dated - 3,5* really.
**** forThe Final Countdown, Rock the Night, Cherokee
*** for Carrie, Danger on the Track, Ninja, Heart of Stone, On the Loose, Love Chaser
I recently received this LP as a present from a very good friend. Reading the sticker on the album sleeve (well, thankfully not the sleeve itself but the plastic shrink wrap), this band sounded very much like something up my alley. So why didn't I know about them until now? I'm talking to you, MOJO magazine! I've hardly missed any issues in the last 25 years, and not a word about Birtha? Shame! What is your Buried Treasure column for?
So this is one of very few all-female classic rock bands - actually, apart from them only Fanny and The Runaways come to mind. Heart were led by the Wilson sisters, but they were a mixed gender band. Their roots can be traced back to the mid 60's and L.A. teeners The Daisy Chain who released a flower power-inspired LP in 1967. The next year, bassist Rosemary Butler and lead guitarist "Shele" Pinizzotto paired with keyboardist Sherry Hagler and drummer Olivia "Liver" Favela to create Birtha, a band that sounded nothing like its predecessor. This is earthy, blues-inspired hard rock. Vocal duties are shared among the group, but it's Favela's Joplinesque blues growl that impresses the most, especially on the funky hard rocker "Too Much Woman (For a Hen Pecked Man)", an Ike & Tina Turner cover featuring a cool fuzz guitar solo and piercing shrieks. The second (and last) cover "Judgement Day" (original by Redbone) has another, more restrained, soulful vocal, but it's the organ and drum solos that steal the show here! The rest of the album is all band originals, spearheaded by lead single "Free Spirit" - another Favela-sung hard rocker with wild guitar solos. "Fine Talking Man" builds up from a subterranean bass riff to a soul belter. The singer (Rosemary?) does her best Joplin impression; even though she's a few whiskey-and-cigarette cases short from sounding like Janis, she deserves an A for effort. On the soulful "Feeling Lonely", she gives a more convincing blues/soul performance. Side 1 closes with an introspective ballad, sung by Shele. Nothing special on its own, it nevertheless provides a much needed respite from all the previous shrieking. Side 2 opens with "Work On A Dream", a literally workmanlike rocker. I like the groovy organ here, but I find the insistent harmony vocals somewhat tiresome. The album closes with the gospel-like "Forgotten Soul". Midway through the song the band switch gears, falling into a heavy groove, while Olivia's voice changes from evoking Aretha to doing Steve Marriott. Most reviewers immediately make comparisons between Birtha and Fanny, which is somewhat fair I guess. Apart from both being all-female bands from L.A. operating around the same period, soundwise there are also similarities. I'd say Birtha is the heavier of the two, going deeper into funk and hard rock territory, which I love - even though the strained vocals suggest they may be trying too hard at times. They constantly stunned audiences who didn't expect such an aggressive sound from a "chick band", which was also the selling point their marketing team tried to make - even promoting them with the "Birtha Has Balls" slogan. Attention-grabbing as it was, it may not have done the girls any favors, as it suggested they were copying male rockers rather than doing their own thing. They worked hard, relentlessly touring all over the US, Canada, and Europe, and also recording a second (allegedly inferior) album, but to no avail; so they called it quits in '75. Apart from a CD compiling both albums that surfaced some 25 years ago, nothing has been heard from them since. A controversial reissue label from Australia rectified that in 2023 by releasing this nice gatefold reissue of their debut. Whether properly licensed or not, it's nice that Birtha's music is back in circulation. Hopefully they'll get the attention they deserve this time!
**** for Free Spirit, Fine Talking Man, Feeling Lonely, Too Much Woman (For A Hen Pecked Man), Judgement Day
*** for Tuesday, She Was Good To Me, Work On A Dream, Forgotten Soul
Another regular feature in my post (after the R.I.P.) is the End of the year retrospective. Alas, record companies neglect to send me any records to review, which means that, by the end of each year, I've listened to very few new albums. What I do is collect the retrospectives of music magazines and present their choices. I used to buy 4 music magazines every December; but now Q's publication has stopped and Classic Rock doesn't come with a CD anymore so I stopped buying that, too. I do continue presenting Classic Rock's best-of-the-year-lists however, because it's so different from MOJO and UNCUT's. These two often coincide, and this year they agree on very high placements for Lankum's False Lankum ,PJ Harvey's I Inside the Old Year Dying, and Lana Del Rey's Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. Nothing surprising about that, PJ Harvey and Del Rey have been consistently brilliant lately. Lankum I've heard on the magazines' sampler CDs and a little bit on youtube; I agree their take on Irish folk is refreshing and exciting while respecting tradition. It's rare for a folk band to top this list, but they're worth it. Speaking of folk, on the other end of the age spectrum from Lankum we have 88-year old Shirley Collins with Archangel Hill (MOJO list's No.22 and UNCUT'sNo.36). Can she still cut it, or is she only getting the "national treasure" treatment because of her age? It's definitely the former! As long as her artistry and composure remain intact, she doesn't need any kind of vocal prowess. This reminds me of an interview of hers a few years back: asked if she would record any Irish ballads, she answered that she wouldn't be good at it, because Irish ballads should be sung with passion while English ones call for a more restrained and dignified delivery. I found this revelatory, because I previously thought that the two musical traditions were very similar, but her observation suddenly made sense to me - which is why I share this with you, even though it's irrelevant to this specific post. Back to albums of the year, it seems that MOJO's list closed pretty early, since they didn't include the new Rolling Stones LP, Hackney Diamonds (Uncut's No.18 and Classic Rock's No.1). Their first album of new material in 18 years, and the first after Charlie Watts' demise, it evokes their glory days without ever reaching the same heights. I'd call that pretty satisfactory, nevertheless. Other old timers whose records feature among last year's best are Paul Simon, The Pretenders,John Cale,Iggy Pop, and Peter Gabriel. A lot of bands from the 80's and 90's also made well-received comebacks, Blur even topping Mojo's list. Teenage Fanclub,Yo La Tengo, Depeche Mode, andSlowdive also belong to the same category. The magazines' giveaway CD's contain many interesting samples from the year's best albums - I specifically enjoyed the tracks by Wilco,The Coral, Jason Isbell, and Robert Forsterbut the one that surprised me the most was the entry by Corinne Bailey Rae - a rough piece reminiscent of the Riot Grrrl movement rather than her old pop self. I just had to listen to some more samples to make sure she's being creatively eclectic rather than going through a midlife crisis. Lastly, I find it interesting that only Classic Rock acknowledged the existence of a new Metallica album - with Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance, one would expect it to fit somewhere in Mojo or Uncut's 75-album long list. I'm sure Metallica will be quite upset about that omission while they're counting the millions they earned from their latest stadium mega-tour.
MOJO1. Blur - The Ballad of Darren 2. PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying3. Lankum - False Lankum 4. Robert Forster - The Candle and the Flame 5. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy 6. Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd 7. jaimie branch - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) 8. Paul Simon - Seven Psalms 9. Everything But the Girl - Fuse 10. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings 11. Wilco - Cousin12. The Coral - Sea Of Mirrors 13. The Necks - Travel 14. Grian Chatten - Chaos For The Fly 15. BC Camplight - The Last Rotation of Earth 16. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily - Love In Exile 17. boygenius - the record 18. James Holden - Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities 19. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies 20. The Pretenders - Relentless 21. billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps 22. John Cale - Mercy 23. Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever 24. Lisa O'Neill - All Of This Is Chance 25. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World26. ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross 27. Mozart Estate - Pop-Up! Ker-ching! and The Possibilities of Modern Shopping 28. Fatoumata Diawara - London Ko 29. Billy Nomates - CACTI 30. Sparks - The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte 31. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin 32. Bill Orcutt - Jump On It 33. SBT - Joan Of Allay 34. Corinne Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows 35. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori 36. Shirley Collins - Archangel Hill 37. Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM 38. Gaz Coombes - Turn The Car 39. Slowdive - everything is alive 40. The Tubs - Dead Meat 41. Gina Birch - I Play My Bass Loud 42. Lloyd Cole - On Pain 43. Kassa Overall - Animals 44. Ian Hunter - Defiance, Pt. 1 45. Susanne Sundfør - blómi 46. Rickie Lee Jones - Pieces of Treasure 47. Animal Collective - Isn't It Now? 48. Dexys - The Feminine Divine 49. Osees - Intercepted Message 50. Jana Horn - The Window Is The Dream 51. Rogê - Curyman 52. Hamish Hawk - Angel Numbers 53. King Krule - Space Heavy 54. Blake Mills - Jelly Road 55. Eddie Chacon - Sundown 56. Janelle Monáe - The Age of Pleasure 57. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes 58. Lonnie Holley - Oh Me Oh My 59. Róisín Murphy - Hit Parade 60. Iggy Pop - EVERY LOSER 61. Baaba Maal - Being 62. Gabriels - Angels & Queens 63. Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We 64. The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony 65. Public Image Ltd. - End of World 66. Jonathan Wilson - Eat the Worm 67. Cécile McLorin Salvant - Mélusine 68. Billy Valentine - Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth 69. bar italia - Tracey Denim 70. Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy - O Yinne! 71. Edgar Jones - Reflections of a Soul Dimension 72. Margo Cilker - Valley Of Heart's Delight 73. Irreversible Entanglements - Protect Your Light 74. Say She She - Silver 75. Robert Finley - Black Bayou
UNCUT1. Lankum - False Lankum2. Paul Simon - Seven Psalms3. Wilco - Cousin4. PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying 5. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World6. Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd 7. Lonnie Holley - Oh Me Oh My 8. The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein 9. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings 10. John Cale - Mercy11. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes 12. Slowdive - everything is alive13. Blur - The Ballad of Darren 14. Corinne Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows 15. Margo Cilker - Valley Of Heart's Delight 16. The Clientele - I Am Not There Anymore 17. Lisa O'Neill - All Of This Is Chance 18. The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds 19. The Coral - Sea Of Mirrors 20. Hiss Golden Messenger - Jump For Joy 21. The Necks - Travel 22. Shirley Collins - Archangel Hill 23. Sam Burton - Dear Departed 24. Robert Forster - The Candle and the Flame 25. Kassi Valazza - Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing 26. boygenius - the record 27. Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View 28. SBT - Joan Of All 29. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori 30. Wednesday - Rat Saw God 31. Baaba Maal - Being 32. jaimie branch - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) 33. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily - Love In Exile 34. Sunny War - Anarchist Gospel 35. Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever 36. Billy Valentine - Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth 37. Eddie Chacon - Sundown Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross 39. Califone - villagers 40. Israel Nash - Ozarker 41. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V 42. BC Camplight - The Last Rotation of Earth 43. Blake Mills - Jelly Road 44. Everything But the Girl - Fuse 46. Modern Nature - No Fixed Point In Space 47. Cian Nugent - She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living 48. Allison Russell - The Returner 49. Margo Price - Strays 50. Craven Faults - Standers 51. London Brew - London Brew 52. Dexys - The Feminine Divine 53. Tinariwen - Amatssou 54. Ryuichi Sakamoto - 12 55. Pretenders - Relentless 56. Cian Nugent - She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living 57. Kara Jackson - Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?58. Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada 59. Sparks - The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte 60. Setting - Shone a Rainbow Light On 61. Fatoumata Diawara - London Ko 62. Deer Tick - Emotional Contracts 63. Meg Baird - Furling 64. Osees - Intercepted Message 65. Dot Allison - Consciousology 66. Jim O'Rourke - Hands That Bind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 67. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You 68. Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM 69. Alabaster DePlume - Come With Fierce Grace 70. Animal Collective - Isn't It Now? 71. Steve Gunn & David Moore - Let the Moon Be a Planet 72. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin 73. Grian Chatten - Chaos For The Fly 74. Jim Ghedi And Toby Hay - Jim Ghedi and Toby Hay 75. Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble - Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble III
CLASSIC ROCK1. The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds 2. Metallica - 72 Seasons 3. Foo Fighters - But Here We Are 4. Ian Hunter - Defiance Part I 5. Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex 6. The Struts - Pretty Vicious 7. Queens Of The Stone Age - In Times New Roman 8. Mammoth WVH - Mammoth II 9. Skindred - Smile 10. The Pretenders - Relentless 11. Iggy Pop - Every Loser 12. Crowne Lands - Fearless 13. Rival Sons - Darkfighter 14. Great Van Fleet - Starcatcher 15. The Cadillac Three - The Years Go Fast 16. Ayron Jones - Chronicles Of The Kid 17. Danko Jones - Electric Sounds 18. Those Damn Crows - Inhale/Exhale 19. The Damned - Darkadelic 20. Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament 21. Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A Dream 22. Sparks - The Girl Is Crying For Her Latte 23. Duff McKagan - Lighthouse 24. Extreme - Six 25. Creeper - Sanguivore 26. Joe Bonamassa - Blues Deluxe Vol 2 27. Uriah Heep - Chaos & Colour 28. Geese - 3D Country 29. Alice Cooper - Road 30. The Answer - Sundowners 31. Def Leppard - Drastic Symphonies 32. The Hives - The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons 33. Black Stone Cherry - Screamin' At The Sky 34. Maneskin - Rush 35. The Cold Stares - Voices 36. The Inspector Cluzo - Horizon 37. Peter Gabriel - i/o 38. Starbender - Take Back The Night 39. Grace Potter - Mother Road 40. Vega - Battlelines 41. Jethro Tull - Rockflote 42. Yes - Mirror In The Sky 43. Royal Thunder - Rebuilding The Mountain 44. Black Spiders - Can't Die, Won't Die 45. DeWolff - Love, Death & In Between 46. Ann Wilson & Tripsitter - Another Door 47. Brothers Osborne - Brothers Osbourne 48. The Defiants - Drive 49. Green Lung - This Heathen Land 50. Paul Rodgers - Midnight Ride
Another year is over, which inevitably means more loss for music lovers everywhere. We don't live in the 70's anymore when every pop star death was a shock; many of our music idols aren't young any more, and their passing is less of a surprise. Still, however full their lives have been and great the artistic legacy they leave behind, it's sad to have to say goodbye to, among others, legends like Tina Turner, David Crosby, and Jeff Beck. Music-wise 2023 was an especially bad year for Brazil and Ireland: Within a few months, we lost the three great ladies of Brazilian music (Gal Costa, Rita Lee, and Astrud Gilberto), while Irish singers Sinead O' Connor and Shane Mac Gowan, both only middle-aged, also passed away. The latter's best-known song has become a holiday season classic, and I guess it's only fitting for it to be the last video I post this year:
So, please take a moment to celebrate their work and art, and to give a mental
Thanks for The Music to:
[January 1] Fred White (Earth, Wind & Fire), 67
[January 1] Sebastian Marino (Overkill/ Anvil), 57
[January 1] Gangsta Boo (Three 6 Mafia), 43
[January 3] Alan Rankine (The Associates), 64
[January 3] Notis Mavroudis (Greek guitarist),77
[January 5] Gordy Harmon (The Whispers), 79
[January 6] Jeff Blackburn (Moby Grape/The Ducks), 77
[January 10] Dennis Budimir (The Wrecking Crew), 84
[January 10] Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds/The Jeff Beck Group), 78
[January 11] Yukihiro Takahashi (Yellow Magic Orchestra/Sadistic Mika Band), 70
[January 12] Lisa Marie Presley (singer, daughter to the King), 54
Who is the Reverend Horton Heat? Until now I had never asked myself that question, despite having 3 of their CD's. Well, they're a trio comprised by Jim Heath (AKA The Reverend) on guitar & vocals plus Jimbo Wallace on bass and Scott Churilla on drums and they've been going at it as far back as 1985. Their self-described sound is "country-fed punkabilly" and -given their music- I wasn't surprised to learn they come from Dallas, Texas. In 2005 they decided to put out a Christmas record covering their favorite holiday songs. For this one they've pulled all the stops and delivered a fun record for the whole family, giving their surf/psychobilly sound some jazz infusions. They're at their best when they're themselves though: "Run Rudolph Run" rocks its heart out and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is a garage rock dynamite fusing Santa with Batman (the one from the 60's series, of course). "Frosty the Snowman" starts off slowly but soon turns to a hard rocker with wild boogie-woogie piano. "Santa Bring My Baby Back" is given a faithful rockabilly rendition and the ballads ("Silver Bells" and "Pretty Paper") are also played straight-not a great idea, that. The surf instrumental versions, on the other hand, are all cool: Jingle Bells, We Three Kings, What Child Is This and Winter Wonderland. "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" is a country/rockabilly number and one of my favorites and "Santa on the Roof" is its psychobilly brother, a Reverend original that should be added to the classic holiday repertory. For once, I can summarize a whole album in just 3 letters: F-U-N. The Reverend are obviously having fun playing and you'll have fun listening.
**** for Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy, What Child Is This, Run Rudolph Run
*** for Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me), We Three Kings, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland
** for Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Pretty Paper
Let me add my own personal holiday greetings to everyone to has wandered into this blog. Best wishes for a happy Christmas and great New year! Enjoy...
Have you ever heard a band for the first time and thought they must have been made with you in mind? Well, I kinda had that impression when I first heard Sons and Daughters. I'm a big fan of the post punk Americana of Gun Club and The Violent Femmes, and of early Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but I also love bands featuring female lead vocals by dynamic frontwomen. Somehow an amalgam of all this materialized in Glasgow Scotland circa 2001. It was started by two members of Arab Strap (Adele Bethel on lead vocals/guitar/piano, and David Gow on drums/percussion) who were later joined by Ailidh Lennon (bass/mandolin/piano) and Scott Paterson (vocals/guitar). The Repulsion Box (2005) was nominally their 1st LP, released two years after their debut mini album Love the Cup. Not that Box is a "normal" length CD: 10 songs bristling with nervous energy, it's all over in half an hour. "Medicine" is introduced with pounding drums and scratchy guitars and features a manic lead vocal by Adele. "Red Receiver" starts off similarly to Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off", and doesn't disappoint: once again a very energetic piece, with Adele's unbridled shouting combined perfectly with Paterson's more controlled baritone and backing vocals reminiscent of The Bad Seeds. A bit of mandoline adds folk flavor, while there's also a slow bit where the music stops while the two singers continue with the sole accompaniment of handclaps. "Hunt" begins with a burst of noise and continues in the same vein, reminding me of Birthday Party. The most "difficult" track on the record gives way to the most "commercial": lead single "Dance Me In" - and it's telling that they're not too dissimilar, after all. "Taste The Last Girl" is the second single, even though not, in my opinion, among the highlights. "Rama Lama", on the other hand, certainly is. Here Scott takes most of the lead - really most of the songs in this album are duets between the two singers, while often Adele takes on lead with Scott backing her up. "Rama Lama" shows a strong spaghetti western influence, with quieter sections driven by low bass and percussion followed by outbursts dominated by Adele's shrieks. Not to demean any of the other members, who are all excellent at what they do, but it's her ability to sing, shout, holler and scream like there's no tomorrow that drives this band above all else. In this she reminds me of another personal favorite, coincidentally also from Glasgow, Sue Tompkins. Sons and Daughters made two more albums before their final dissolution in 2012; all are good but this is really my favorite. Highly recommended!
***** for Medicine, Red Receiver, Dance Me In, Rama Lama
**** forHunt, Choked, Taste the Last Girl, Monsters
Like any grammar school essay, this review will start with a Wikipedia definition "Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments". It became immensely popular in the UK during the late 50's, to be subsequently forgotten; but not before leaving an important legacy in its wake: the success of skiffle convinced British youths that one doesn't have to be black to play jazz and blues, or a hillbilly to play country; if a Scotsman like Lonnie Donegan can do it, they thought, so can we. So they went on and bought themselves their first guitar - or made themselves one from scratch, using a cigar box and some wires. Thus, in 1956 Liverpool, John Lennon started a skiffle group called The Quarrymen; pretty soon Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined in. The skiffle craze passed the Irish sea, infecting Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison who also proceeded to form bands playing in this idiom. Individual Rolling Stones started their career playing with Alexis Korner, who was Chris Barber's guitarist at the time. Barber introduced trad jazz to the UK; his idea to include folk and blues songs into his repertoire is what gave birth to British Skiffle music. Donegan, a former member of Barber's band, struck out on his own, and had a huge hit in 1955 with a sped-up version of traditional folk blues "Rock Island Line". For a few short years, he was the biggest star of British radio, to be subsequently completely forgotten - by everyone, it seems, except Van Morrison, who organised his reunion with Chris Barber's band for this concert and CD. It's obviously a work of love, a most warm and convivial affair. Barber plays bass and trombone, while Donegan and Morrison share the lead vocal duties; if the latter is the better singer, the former's voice carries more authenticity to the project. Dr. John adds his New Orleans-style piano on two songs, "Good Morning Blues" and "Goin' Home". The presence of an American could be construed as an anomaly in an album that offers homage to a British phenomenon, but, seeing as it all began as an attempt to bring the music of New Orleans to Britain, one can see it as the closing of a circle: an American jazzman paying tribute to Brits paying tribute to American jazz and folk. The material leans heavier on jazz and blues than folk and country, somewhat inverting the analogy of original skiffle. The choice of overtly familiar material (traditionals, songs by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Jimmie Rodgers etc.) is the weakest feature of this collection; one can immediately recall a better-known (or better performed) version of each tune here. I was surprised to hear them close the CD with "I Wanna Go Home", which I knew as The Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" from Pet Sounds. Little did I know that it's a traditional Bahamian tune which has been recorded by various folk singers over the years - Donegan's own version predated The Beach Boys' by 5 years. According to the liner notes, the concert is unrehearsed, which sounds unbelievable considering the perfect coordination between the musicians. I guess the lack of rehearsal time accounts for the fact that they chose these famous songs that everybody was already very familiar with. Ultimately, there's not much here that's novel or particularly interesting; just a fun, good-natured, exercise in nostalgia by the progenitors of British blues and rock - which is enough for me. It certainly was nice to see Donegan rise from decades of obscurity; this (his last ever) recording, together with a honorary MBE by the Queen in the same year, served as belated recognition of his important contribution to British music before his sudden death from a heart attack in 2002.
**** for It Takes A Worried Man, Goin' Home, Good Morning Blues, Outskirts Of Town, Goodnight Irene, I Wanna Go Home
*** forLost John, Don't You Rock Me Daddio, Midnight Special, Dead Or Alive, Frankie & Johnny, Railroad Bill, Muleskinner's Blues, The Ballad Of Jesse James
