Monthly Archives: February, 2014

ORANGE JUICE-RIP IT UP.

ORANGE JUICE-RIP IT UP. Buoyed by the commercial success of their 1982 debut album You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever, Orange Juice were well on their way to becoming one of the most influential groups of the early eighties. Their timeless brand of perfect pop had won over critics and music lovers. Released to critical …

Continue reading

NEW YORK DOLLS-TOO MUCH TOO SOON.

NEW YORK DOLLS-TOO MUCH TOO SOON. Never in the history of music has an album title proved to be so prophetic than the New York Dolls’ sophomore album Too Much Too Soon. Released in 1974, Too Much Too Soon features one of the hardest rocking and hardest living bands in musical history. Unfortunately, The New …

Continue reading

DERECHO-COFFEE AND DISRUPTION.

DERECHO-COFFEE AND DISRUPTION. Late in 2013, Cambridge based rock band Derecho released their sophomore album Coffee and Disruption. This only reinforced what people knew about Derecho. Here was a band going places. They’d come a long way since forming in late 2010. It was definitely a case of three years well spent. Derecho had spent …

Continue reading

BOB FRANK-BOB FRANK.

BOB FRANK-BOB FRANK. In 2007, Jim Dickinson described Bob Frank as: “the best songwriter you never heard.” That’s no surprise. Jim Dickinson first met Bob Frank way back in the summer of 1963. Back then, Bob was part of a group of singers and songwriters hanging out in an old butcher’s shop in Crosstown Farmer’s …

Continue reading

NEU-NEU 2.

NEU-NEU 2. Although Neu never enjoyed the commercial success their music deserved, they’re without doubt, one of the most influential groups in musical history. They’re perceived as one of the founding father’s of Krautrock. They’ve influenced everyone from Brian Eno, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Radiohead, Primal Scream and a generation of electronic music producers. That’s …

Continue reading

LADY DAISEY-IN MY HEADPHONES.

LADY DAISEY-IN MY HEADPHONES. Previously, Lady Daisey’s music has been described as: “sunshine for your soul.” That might seem like hype or hyperbole. It’s not. From the moment you press play On Lady Daisey’s new album In My Headphones, you’re captivated. Powerful, sultry, seductive, soulful and sassy, describes Lady Daisey’s voice. The thirteen tracks on …

Continue reading

STEIN URHEIM-STEIN URHEIM.

STEIN URHEIM-STEIN URHEIM. Last year, 2013, Stein Urheim’s collaboration with Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Daydream Twin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen, the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy Award. No wonder. Over the last few years, Stein has established a reputation as one of Norwegian music’s most innovative artists. The story begins back in 2009. That’s when …

Continue reading

ORANGE JUICE-YOU CAN’T HIDE YOUR LOVE FOREVER.

ORANGE JUICE-YOU CAN’T HIDE YOUR LOVE FOREVER. Bearsden, a leafy suburb of Glasgow, was an unlikely place to form The Nu-Sonics, a  post-punk band. Named after a line of budget guitars, The Nu-Sonics were formed by Edwyn Collins and his school friend Alan Duncan. They were then joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who …

Continue reading

VAMPS ET VAMPIRE-THE SONGS OF SERGE GAINSBOURG.

VAMPS ET VAMPIRE-THE SONGS OF SERGE GAINSBOURG. Maverick, bon viveur, raconteur and rebel. These are just a few of the words that describe French singer, songwriter, poet, composer, artist, actor and director Serge Gainsbourg. He’s one of the most influential and controversial figures in French culture. Serge did things his way. Often that proved controversial. …

Continue reading

THE SEEDS-RAW AND ALIVE.

THE SEEDS-RAW AND ALIVE. Originally, The Seeds started life as a garage band. That was the past. Music was changing. So were The Seeds. The Beatles’ had just released their psychedelic masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. This was the way music was heading. Hearing this seminal psychedelic opus resulted in The Seeds changing direction. Realising …

Continue reading

COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA-AFRIQUE.

COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA-AFRIQUE. By 1970, Count Basie was sixty-six and a legend of jazz. The Grammy Award winner had achieved just about everything. Count Basie had come a long way since he dropped out of school to play the piano at a silent movie theatre. Soon, he was playing regularly. Whether it was …

Continue reading

LONNIE LISTON SMITH AND THE COSMIC ECHOES-ASTRAL TRAVELLING.

LONNIE LISTON SMITH AND THE COSMIC ECHOES-ASTRAL TRAVELLING. Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman was the perfect label for Lonnie Liston Smith and The Echoes’ unique brand of cosmic jazz. Through working with some of the most innovative and creative musicians in the history of jazz, Bob must have realised that often, large record companies aren’t the …

Continue reading

MOTORPSYCHO-BEHIND THE SUN.

MOTORPSYCHO-BEHIND THE SUN. This year, Motorpsycho, one of Norway’s most successful bands, celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary with the release of Behind The Sun, which will be released on 10th March 2014, on Rune Grammon. Motorpsycho were formed in Trondheim, central Norway in 1989. Since then, Motorpsycho have become a musical institution. They’ve released over twenty-albums. …

Continue reading

GEORGE DUKE-A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR.

GEORGE DUKE-A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR. By 1979, when George Duke released A Brazilian Love Affair, he was one of the hardest working men in music. Not only had he released fifteen solo albums, but had moved into production. Then there was George’s work as a sideman. The list of musicians George has played with reads …

Continue reading

KATE BUSH-LIONHEART.

KATE BUSH-LIONHEART. Kate Bush is no ordinary singer-songwriter. Far from it. She was discovered aged sixteen, by Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd. He recommended her to EMI. They signed Kate. In 1978, aged eighteen, Kate released her debut album The Kick Inside. Some of the songs on The Kick Inside, had been written when she …

Continue reading

GEORGE DUKE-DON’T LET GO.

GEORGE DUKE-DON’T LET GO. There aren’t may artists who’ve worked with such an eclectic range of artists as George Duke. Among the artists George Duke has worked with are Frank Zappa, Anita Baker Flora Purim, right through to Jean Luc-Ponty, Cannonball Adderley, Billy Cobham and George Clinton. Whether it was jazz, rock, soul, disco, R&B …

Continue reading

ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN.

ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN. Back in the early seventies, Al Green was King of Hi Records. He was Southern Soul’s superstar. His Queen was Ann Peebles. She released seven albums on Hi Records between 1969 and 1978. Her third album for Hi Records was I Can’t Stand The Rain, which was recently released …

Continue reading

KROKOFANT-KROKOFANT.

KROKOFANT-KROKOFANT. What do you get if you cross a crocodile with an elephant? A Krokofant. For those not familiar with this surreal hybrid, then you’ve never heard the popular Norwegian children’s song. The Krokofant has been described as “a lumbering trumpeting beast with a fearsome array of teeth in its snapping jaws.” However, Krokofant is …

Continue reading

GATO BARBIERI-THE THIRD WORLD.

GATO BARBIERI-THE THIRD WORLD. It was through working with Charlie Haden’s on his album Liberation Music Orchestra that Gato Barbieri first met Bob Thiele. Gato played tenor saxophone and clarinet, while Bob produced Liberation Music Orchestra. This would be one of the final albums Bob Thiele produced for Impulse. He was about to leave Impulse, …

Continue reading

BLY DE BLYANT-HINDSIGHT BIAS.

BLY DE BLYANT-HINDSIGHT BIAS. Bly De Blyant are the equivalent of international musical superheroes. They dare to create innovative, groundbreaking and genre-melting music. To do this, they combine musical genres and influences. This includes everything from classic rock, jazz, Krautrock and math rock. It’s an inventive and innovative combination. No wonder. This is what we’d …

Continue reading