| Monday
31st March
Just a quick plug for a charity gig that takes place next
month. My old muckers Chariot are joining three other bands (Love
My Crime, 3AM and The Ed Hudson Band) to raise cash for a fellow rocker,
Graham Barnell,
who's suffering with leukaemia and in search of a bone marrow donor.
It's at The Phoenix in London's Cavendish Square on April 10. I'll
be there.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
30th March
Ho-hum,
yesterday's 0-0 stalemate with Blackpool was pretty dull. Palace's
loan players all made an impact, for various reasons. Borrowed from
Wet Sham and Chelski respectively till the season's end, Kyel Reid
and Scott Sinclair both looked useful though Nathan Ashton (from Fulham)
was so far out of his depth that Warnock correctly removed him early
to prevent embarrassment.
Post-game I zoomed across London to join a threadbare crowd at the
Underworld in Camden. Though Classic Rock's insistence that the band's
'I Love You' is "the debut album of the year" is somewhat
over-zealous, Big Linda are certainly an excellent new group of note.
Confusion with stage times meant that I missed some of their set,
but I will check them out as headliners as soon as possible. Sadly,
I was left underwhelmed and unmoved by Gentleman's Pistols. A few
extra punters had wandered in by the time the Tokyo Dragons arrived
to close proceedings, though if a third-full Underworld is all they
can manage on a Saturday night, severe question marks must be raised
against the band's long-term future. It pains me to say this as the
Dragons are good fellas with a handful of good tunes, but no amount
of beery bonhomie disguises the fact that genuine star quality is
thin on the ground.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
29th March
The final of the acts for this summer's Sweden
Rock Festival are out, and I'm so glad the flights are booked.
The Poodles and Sweet Savage are among the last additions, joining
a mouth-watering line-up that already includes Judas Priest, Def Leppard,
Poison, Triumph, Whitesnake, Ace Frehley, Ratt, Tesla, Sebastian Bach,
Hanoi Rocks, the Hensley & Lawton Band, Derringer, Carcass, At
The Gates and Dare reunions, Lizzy Borden, Blue Öyster Cult,
Sir Lord Baltimore, Fastway, Gotthard, Shakin' Street... Phew... June
can't come quickly enough...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 28th March
I'm a mega-fan of Norwegian black metal band Emperor, whose
sound over the course of four full-length studio albums evolved from
a primitive, terrifying, misanthropic roar to something infintely
more focussed and challenging (check out their 2001 swansong 'Prometheus:
The Discipline Of Fire & Demise' for proof). After Emperor's surprise
reunion in 2005/06, frontman/muti-instrumentalist Ihsahn
released a debut solo album called 'The Adversary' that brilliantly
combined black metal, progressive rock and symphonic metal elements.
So I was more thrilled to attend yesterday's playback session of a
new Ihsahn disc called 'angL' that arrives via Candlelight Records
on May 26.
Described by the man himself as "a natural progression from 'The
Adversary', but with a somewhat heavier touch", 'angL' is indeed
a first-class follow-up. Its nine tracks were consistently strong,
but special attention will inevitably fall on 'Unhealer', which features
a guest appearance from Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth. Though
disappointed by a fade-out that seemed premature, the song is a stunning
collision of two of metal's biggest and most consistently interesting
talents. When Ihsahn agreed to field a few questions, I asked whether
there might be some sort of tour. He refused to rule out the possibility,
but as a contented family man didn't seem especially enthused by the
prospect (partly, he explained, because the idea of being obligated
to fill out the set with Emperor songs is a turn-off). Shame.
High-tailing it from Islington into the West End, Nightwish were already
two songs into their set by the time I reached the Astoria. I used
my VIP pass to stand right at the front of balcony in an area reserved
for guests (a few feet away from Hermam Li of DragonForce, to be precise).
From this vantage point, the view and sound were as utterly breathtaking
as the response of the fans. The band must've been overjoyed at such
a vindication of their enforced line-up change.
Completing a great day, Fopp Records was still open as I headed home,
and I happily picked up producer Tony Visconti's autobiography Bowie,
Bolan And The Brooklyn Boy plus a couple of solo CDs from Adrian Belew
(of King Crimson fame) for less than the price of a pint apiece -
well, significantly less than you'd pay in the Astoria anyway!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
27th March
Last night was taken up by Nightwish's second gig (of three)
at London's Astoria. Save for the fact that it lasted for just 85
minutes, it was spectacular. Anette Olzon is a very different animal
to Tarja Turunen, but as I'm becoming tired of pointing out to people,
Nightwish had no alternative than to shed Turunen if they were to
continue. And as Tarja is the absolute best at what she does, they
had to try something a little different with last disc, 'Dark Passion
Play'. In my own opinion, and also according to just about everyone
I spoke to afterwards, that goal was achieved. I guess the real measure
of their success will be how many people go back and see them next
time. Anyway, I'll probably check 'em out again tonight. Here's the
set-list: 'Bye Bye Beautiful', 'Dark Chest Of Wonders', 'Whoever Brings
The Night', 'The Siren', 'Amaranth', 'The Poet And The Pendulum',
'Dead To The World', 'The Islander', 'Last Of The Wilds', 'Sahara',
'Nemo' and encores of 'Wishmaster' and 'Wish I Had An Angel'.
Post-show I had a couple of quick drinkies in the Crobar, just around
the corner from the Astoria, then picked up a bottle of foul (but
very cold) Hock wine as liquid sustenance for England's friendly international
with France. Decided by a penalty, the 1-0 defeat was probably a fair
result; the national side still has a long way to go.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
24th March
What
the frick's going on with Velvet Revolver? A few nights ago singer
Scott Weiland informed a crowd in Glasgow that they were watching
the band's final bout of roadwork. Now Weiland and drummer Matt Sorum
are laying into one another like there's no tomorrow. "Unfortunately,
some people in this business don't realize how great of a life they
have," reckons Sorum, pointedly referring to his band's singer.
Now, according to Weiland, the drummer is "too immature to have
a real relationship, let alone children." On Radio 1, guitarist
Slash has just said: "Well, let's put it this way — this
is not Velvet Revolver's last tour." It doesn't take Einstein
to figure out that the band will be replacing Weiland when he disappears
for imminent the Stone Temple Pilots reunion. Wonder who'll get the
job? Much as I'm a an of STP's 'Purple' album, I always thought Sebastian
Bach should've got the job anyway...
Oh, hang on - R.E.M.'s future is also in doubt. That pretentious asswipe
Michael Stipe has just been on the telly saying that if the band's
new album doesn't sell, they'll consider chucking in the towel. HOORAY...
NOBODY BUY IT! The vile R.E.M. deserve to die in a horrible, painful
and drawn-out gardening accident of some sort.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
23rd March
With the clock ticking towards the final whistle it had looked
as though Palace were destined to lose 2-1 to relegation candidates
Sheffield Wednesday. So when Matt Lawrence lobbed the ball home in
the third minute of stoppage time to rescue a priceless away point
for the Eagles, a bit of a party began here at Ling Towers. I know
'cos I've just cleared away the empties. The play-off dream lives
on (just about)...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
22nd March
Abysmal weather having scuppered the plan to visit our caravan
for the bank holiday weekend, last night I headed across London to
the Barfly for a gig by Pearl
Aday, Meat Loaf's daughter. Pearl's sound is said to be "in
the vein of Janis Joplin, Aerosmith and all great hard rock, blues-filled
artists", but with her full-length album still six months away
from release it was tough to know what to expect. Maybe that'd explain
the sparse turnout? Whatever, the fact that Aday's fiancee, Anthrax's
Scott Ian, was playing rhythm guitar in her band was more than enough
of an attraction for yours truly.
Pearl has been quoted as saying: "There is no real female rock
anymore. I will be the chick to bring it back." For me, however,
the 45-minute performance flitted between isolated moments of greatness
such as 'Nobody' and the merely passable. Those covers of 'Nutbush
City Limits' and 'Cherry Bomb' by the Runaways both rocked, but I
will reserve judgement until September, when the Joe Barresi (Tool/QOTSA)-produced
album which, besides Ian, features cameos from Ted Nugent and Alice
In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, finally hits the racks.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
21st March
I've
never been particularly fond of the French, though find myself agreeing
with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, who recently hailed the debut
album from Gallic melodic-proggers Demians
as "a must for everyone that appreciates the art of epic and
ambitious 21st century rock music". Said eight-song disc, 'Building
An Empire' (due via Inside Out on May 19), is quite superb, ebbing
and flowing with beauteous majesty.
Here's some unexpected though extremely welcome news: Lita Ford is
set for a comeback. The former Runaways guitarist/singer, who retired
from music to become a full-time mum, has been confirmed for this
summer's Rocklahoma Festival. "Close My Eyes - Kiss Me Deadly
- can't forget the leather pants!" says Lita in a statetment.
Er... no, nor can I.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
19th March
So glad that I ventured over to the 100 Club last night.
My pal Jerry Ewing has been making all the right noises about The
Storys for quite a while, and his praise for Swansea's answer
to The Eagles (cough... splutter...) turns out to be well directed.
Quite a crowd had gathered to watch the country-rock sextet, who are
about to drop their second album, 'Town Beyond The Trees'. Their delightfully
mellifluous songs are rooted in acoustic retro-rock, spiced up by
well-placed bursts of electric geetar (notably during the epic 'So
Long') and unobtrusive keyboard touches, but what really elevates
them from the norm is their sensational four-part harmonies. Having
already gigged with Elton John at his own personal request, The Storys
can be seen and heard in the new movie The Bank Job. I can't recommend
them highly enough. Here's what they
played.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 17th March
The subject of 'Phoenix', Asia's new album (due April 11
via Frontiers Records), has fuelled some heated debate over at the
the melodicrock.com forum. Like all Asia followers, I too had sky-high
expectations of the first studio album in 25 years to feature the
band's four original members, but find myself sharing some of those
misgivings. 'Phoenix' boasts some quality material, notably during
its first half, but the wishy-washy likes of 'Parallel Worlds', 'Wish
I'd Known All Along', 'Orchard Of Mines' and the woeful 'Over and
Over' let the side down badly. And as for 'Heroine', well... it sounds
like Wetton and Downes programmed 'The Smile Has Left Your Eyes' into
a computer, punched a few buttons and left the machine to write a
sequel. The album certainly improves with repeated spins, but didn't
the classic Asia albums offer a more instant form of gratification?
They did for me, at least...
Anyway, last night I went to see Asia at Shepherds Bush Empire. The
idea of the band playing each other's pre-Asia material still underwhelms
me. And if they insist upon doing so, couldn't '...Crimson King' have
been swapped for something from King Crimson's 'Red', or 'Fanfare...'
for another ELP standard like 'Pirates'? However, when Asia played
Asia songs, they were excellent. Previewing just two tunes from 'Phoenix',
they made what I felt were the right choices - 'Never Again' and 'An
Extraordinary Life', the songs that open and close the record. John
Wetton looked fit 'n' healthy and sang marvellously, though it's still
disconcerting to see the owlish Steve Howe throwing uncomfortable
rock star shapes in a pair of OAP slacks he might've borrowed from
a local librarian. Here's the set-list: 'Daylight', 'Only Time Will
Tell', 'Wildest Dreams', 'Never Again', 'Roundabout', 'Time Again',
'Cutting It Fine' (outro part only), 'Clap', 'The Smile Has Left Your
Eyes', 'Ride Easy', 'Voice Of America', 'Open Your Eyes', 'Fanfare
For The Common Man', 'Without You', 'An Extraordinary Life', 'In The
Court Of The Crimson King', 'Video Killed The Radio Star', 'The Heat
Goes On' (including drum solo), 'Heat Of The Moment', 'Don't Cry'
and 'Sole Survivor'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 16th March
Yesterday's improved second-half performance brought Crystal
Palace three precious points against basement side Barnsley, a fairly
comfortable 2-0 victory ensuring the Eagles leapfrogged above Clowntown
Pathetic in the table. And with my second team, Leyton Orient, stuffing
Scumwall 1-0 away from home to reignite their own play-off chances,
all seems rosy with the world this fine Sunday morning.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
15th March
Though I've collected all of their records so far and thoroughly
enjoyed an interview at the start of the campaign for the current
'The Bedlam In Goliath' disc, until last night I'd never seen The
Mars Volta onstage before. It was well worth the wait. The former
At The Drive-In pair of frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez played for two and three-quarter hours, rounding
up (I think) just ten songs in that time. Their sound is a combination
of heavy metal, prog-rock, space-jazz, prog-fusion and psychedelic
acid-rock influences, so it's no surprise that so many Rush fans seem
to have adopted them. A 26-minute version of 'Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus'
saw Bixler-Zavala squealing in a voice as high as the king of helium-charged
hystetrics, Geddy Lee, Rodriguez-Lopez also getting to perform several
lengthy guitar soliloquies. They seemed to lose momentum a little
towards the middle, but at times the band's genre-defying, like-it-or-lump-it,
lemon-squeezing antics reminded me of Santana, Van der Graaf Genator,
Led Zeppelin and so many other bands from the 1970s. Here's the night's
actual setlist, though the final three
songs were not aired, most likely due to the venue's 11pm curfew.
P.S. Jobsworth Of The Week award goes to the Brixton Academy employee
that told me: "You can't chew gum in here" before the concert
began, bringing out the rule book to verify his point. Please re-arrange
these words: 'Life, a, insignificant, get, twat, you, little'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
14th March
Last
night's Childline Rocks charity concert at the IndigO2... er, rocked.
Like all good gala events, I came away from it counting myself a fan
of a band I'd never really known too much about - The Zombies. Keyboard
player Rod Argent is a man whose music I'm extremely familiar with,
but I don't own anything by singer Colin Blunstone. I'll be spending
some of the coming weekend seeking out a reasonably priced copy of
their 1967 album 'Odessey And Oracle', a sumptuous 'Time Of The Season'
being one of the evening's real highspots. It was a bit special to
see Russ Ballard return from the wilderness to participate in a mini-reunion
of Argent for a rendition of 'Hold Your Head Up'. Elsewhere, Thunder's
Luke Morley performed Deep Purple's 'Mistreated' and 'Might Just Take
Your Life' with Glenn Hughes and Ian Paice. Thunder's Danny Bowes
shared vocals with Hughes on the latter. Fish seemed to be experiencing
a few voices troubles during his annoyingly short slot (The Big Man
sounded much better on a version of SAHB's 'Faith Healer' during the
final run-in that also saw Ballard return to sing 'Since You Been
Gone'). Three members of Marillion - Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery
and Pete Trewavas - also interrupted the recording of the band's 15th
album to play a short unplugged set that included a movingly stark
take on Rare Bird's 'Sympathy'. Before a grand finale in which everyone
joined in 'With A Little Help From My Friends', the event was graced
by Roger Daltrey who belted out a couple of songs and forgot he was
due to finish with The Who's 'Behind Blue Eyes'. Daltrey was almost
outside the venue before being dragged back in again, blaming the
incident on what might politely be termed a 'senior moment'. "Don't
worry, it'll come to you all before too long," he joked.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
13th March
Last night was spent glued to Sky Sports as Palace made the
difficult away trip to West Bromwich Albion. I feared the worst when
Kevin Phillips flipped the ball over Speroni to give the Baggies the
lead after 30 minutes, but according to former Eagles legend Jon Salako,
who was covering proceedings for Sky, Palace's equaliser - a first
senior goal for 17-year-old Norbury-born academy protégé
Victor Moses, followed by a flamboyant somersault in front of the
visting supporters - was well deserved. In fact, Salako actually claimed
"only one team will win it" as Palace dominated proceedings
before a late rally from WBA. The much-prized point, secured away
from home against the division's best team, moves CPFC back into play-off
contention once more. Phew.
P.S. Just received the latest three releases from Krescendo Records,
including 'Sweet Revenge' by Robin George/Glenn Hughes, the Pat Travers
Band's 'Crash And Burn', and an album I've always wanted on CD, 'Hot
Tonight', the 1984 debut from Lionheart. Used to hang around with
the self-styled 'NWOBHM supegroup' quite a lot during my days as a
pimply fanzine writer; I might even have been with them in the rehearsal
room on the day that 'Towers Of Silver' was written. All these years
later, Kevin Beamish's production is way too elaborate and Chad Brown
(who later entered the Eurovision Song Contest!) is guilty of some
over-singing, though the songs remain bloody marvellous.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 12th March
Do you recall the e-petition to get Lemmy Kilmister a knighthood?
Well, I just received an email response from 10 Downing Street. Presumably,
it came from Gordon Brown, who I know for certain is a huge fan of
Uriah Heep. However, there's no need for the Lemster to invest in
a suit and tie anytime soon. "Lemmy's achievements in music are
well known and respected. It is easy to see why so many people want
to see his record formally recognised. This is underlined by the hundreds
of people who have signed the e-petition," says the relevant
website posting. So far so good, eh? However, the message ends with
the terse summation: "Your support has been carefully noted."
What the fugg does that mean?! Politicians... doncha just hate the
way they sit on the fence?!?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 9th March
Please don't drop any paperclips or rustle that Sunday newspaper
too loudly. Some of us are badly hung over. The drinking began well
in advance of Palace's hugely welcome victory over Colchester United,
continuing long into the night after Finnish madmen Children Of Bodom
had worked their neo-classical magic on a sold-out Astoria. I've been
a huge COB fan since the band's 'Hatebreeder' album back in 1999,
so it's great to see them doing so well for themselves. As with the
Symphony X gig two nights earlier the front-of-house mix was terrible,
but two tracks aired from the forthcoming 'Blooddrunk' album (the
title cut and 'Tie My Rope') were welcomed like old favourites by
the fans. It was good to hear them revive 'Children Of Decadence'
(from 2001's 'Follow The Reaper'), too.
Leaving my usual spot in the balcony for a mid-show toilet break/drinks
top-up, who should be hovering in the bar but Saxon's Biff Byford?
"That's not a Barnsley shirt", Mr Byford correctly observed
upon spotting my Centenary CPFC garb. Barnsley had knocked Chelsea
out of the FA Cup earlier that evening, so I offered him my hearty
congratulations - it's always been a trait of mine to support the
underdog. My liver fits that same category this morning, following
an ill-advised jaunt to Bodom's after-show party at the Intrepid Fox.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 8th March
Woo-hoo! The latest two releases from Rock Candy Records
are here. Michael Bolton's 'Everybody's Crazy' was, of course, a landmark
in the genre of melodic hard rock. And yet I'm even more excited to
acquire Romeo's Daughter's self-titled debut on CD at last. Though
'Heaven In The Backseat', 'Don't Break My Heart' and 'Wild Child'
are all long overdue their spaces on the iPod, I'd actually forgotten
how consistently strong 'Romeo's Daughter' is. Maybe that's because
during the vinyl era I had to keep dashing off for a cold shower every
time Leigh Matty purred the line: "I don't care where we go/Or
what we do/Just wanna do it with you... do it with you" during
the sublime 'I Cry Myself To Sleep At Night'.
Starkly contrasting the frustration of the previous day's Symphony
X gig, last night it was an absolute joy to see Hanoi Rocks laying
waste to the Astoria 2. There are few more watchable frontmen around
than the gravel-voiced, bug-eyed, endearingly hyperactive Michael
Monroe. Bidding farewell to departing drummer Lacu on the last night
of their European tour, the Finns' 95-minute, 22-song performance
was loaded in favour of current disc 'Street Poetry' but still rounded
up most of their definitive tunes. Quite simply, if you've never seen
Hanoi Rocks before then you're missing out on something very special.
This is what they played: 'Fumblefoot And Busy Bee', 'Hypermobile',
'Malibu Beach', 'Street Poetry', 'Highwired', 'Day Later Dollar Short',
'Bad News', 'Power Of Persuasion', 'Teenage Revolution', 'High School',
'Fashion', 'Back To Mystery City', 'This One's For Rock 'N' Roll',
'People Like Me', 'Don't You Ever Leave Me', 'Tragedy', 'Boulevard
Of Broken Dreams', 'Oriental Beat', 'Powertrip', 'Motorvatin'', 'Taxi
Driver' and 'Up Around The Bend'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
7th March
Ever have one of these days when all that you touch turns
to shit? As we're closing the latest issue of Classic Rock it wasn't
the most convenient of days to have locked myself out of my office.
Then at lunchtime I slashed my thumb on a tin of beans, right at the
joint, where it always takes aeons to heal. Heading up to town for
the Symphony X gig, my usual train from Catford Bridge was cancelled.
To top it all, despite the sign outside the Astoria stating that support
band Epica were due onstage at 7.15pm, the Dutchmen (and woman!) were
already into their stride by the time I entered the Astoria at around
7.05 - for Christ's sake! Nothing to do with my foul mood, Epica just
weren't very good on this occasion, mainly due to flame-haired singer
Simone Simons recovering from a 'flu bug.
After tremendous support slots with Stratovarius and Dream Theater,
I'd been dying to see Symphony X headline at last. Sadly, they were
hampered by a dismally inadequate sound. From my position in the balcony
- pretty much the same place that I always stand - it took nine songs
for Michael Romeo's guitar to soar and caress the way the records
do. The last half an hour of the show proved what Symphony X are really
capable of, but by then I'd written off the evening along with the
rest of a wretched day. The best part came when Russell Allen asked
the crowd in his best Brian Blessed-style roar: "Are you not
entertained?!" Sadly, not on this occasion. But here's what they
played: 'Set The World On Fire', 'Domination', 'The Serpent's Kiss',
'Masquerade', 'Paradise Lost', 'Through The Looking Glass (Pts 1-3)',
'Inferno (Unleash The Fire)', 'Smoke And Mirrors', 'Sea of Lies',
'Revelation', 'The Divine Wings of Tragedy Part VII - Paradise Regained',
'Immigrant Song'/'Eve Of Seduction', 'Out Of The Ashes and 'Of Sins
And Shadows'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
6th March
Lovingly produced by Trevor Horn of Yes/Buggles fame, 'This
Is Hazelville' was among my fave platters of '06. Last night the London-based
band responsible, Captain, made a low-key stop at the 100-capacity
Soho Revue Bar as part of a gentle run-in towards the summer unveiling
of a follow-up disc, to be titled 'Distraction'. Given the show's
intimate location - odd that it took place so soon after the death
of owner Paul Raymond (that's the porn king variety; not UFO's keyboard/rhythm
guitar maestro), there were a few comments from the stage about pole-dancing
and "sweaty crotches". Alongside old favouries 'Glorious'
and 'Broke', several of its selections were previewed, including first
single 'Keep An Open Mind' (due on April 14), 'Echoes Of Fashion'
and 'Animal'. I loved 'em all! The voices of guitarist Rik Flynn and
keyboard player Clare Szembek still gell to absolute swoonsome perfection,
and at encore time the band returned for an excellent cover of The
Cure's 'Love Song'. Looking forward to saluting the Captain again
very soon, and here's the set-list: 'Little Echoes', 'Broke', 'Keep
An Open Mind', 'Animal', 'This Heart', 'The Gamble', 'Build A Life',
'Safe Harbour', 'Motto', 'Glorious', 'Love Song' and 'Lost The Bottle'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
5th March
So, disappointingly, Palace failed to beat Cardiff City.
Six points from home clashes with the Sheepshaggers (last night) and
relegation-threatened Colchester United (this coming Saturday) would've
thrust the club right back into play-off contention, but despite a
late second half rally from the Eagles, and Clinton Morrison missing
an unmarked header from a Ben Watson corner that Stevie Wonder would've
had no trouble burying, the game petered out goalless. Looks like
it's mid-table mediocrity again this term and another season in the
Fizzy Pop League next year. Sigh...
En route to freezing cold Selhurst Park I began leafing through The
Grand Illusion: Love, Lies And My Life With Styx, the autobiography
of that band's former bassist Chuck Panozzo. Inspired by Phil Ashcroft's
excellent review of the book in the latest Fireworks magazine I'd
contacted Panozzo to request a copy for Classic Rock. Though he still
sometimes appears with Styx, Panozzo was diagnosed with the AIDS virus
in 1998 and spends much of his time as an activist for gay rights.
Besides delving onto his musical career - you cannot sniff at sales
of 54 million albums, or the fact that Styx were the first band to
achieve four consecutive triple-platinum albums - the book also catalogues
the pain and confusion that Chuck felt during four decades in the
closet, ensconsed in the testosterone-charged world of hard rock,
before finally informing his band-mates of his sexual orientation.
As Panozzo explained in his covering email: "A gay rocker raised
in an era of female groupies and macho man ideology gave me a unique
opportunity to expose a side of myself that I had kept hidden. Hopefully
it will continue to inspire people, no matter what their orientation,
to be themselves."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
4th March
After a quiet period loadsa good gigs are on the way. Last
night I went to the Water Rats, a small venue down the road from King's
Cross station, to check out Ginger's acoustic show. Actually, I don't
know whether 'acoustic', 'unplugged' or whatever are accurate descriptions
- put it this way, there was no drummer and the arrangements were
pretty stripped down, though there were also some moments of typical
raucousness. The oddest thing of all was that the set's first half
was incredibly structured. The tracks were all inter-linked and the
normally talkative Ginger didn't even address the crowd until (I think)
nine songs had zipped by. From there onwards, though, it felt as though
things were being made up on the spot. Bemused and delighted punters
were invited up to bang away on various percussive instruments and
Ginger tried (unsuccessfully, in the instance of Ace Frehley's 'New
York Groove', which nobody in the crowd knew!) to throw in a few covers.
Nowhere else on earth are you ever likely to hear a medley of crooner
classic 'Moon River' and the Wildhearts' own 'Loveshit'. Great fun.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
3rd March
RIP Jeff Healey. As well as experiencing his live show several
times, I had the pleasure of interviewing the blind Canadian guitarist
last February, whilst he was recuperating from surgery for the cancer
that killed him at the tender age of 41. Despite having been given
a list of things that were supposedly 'off limits', Healey ended up
discussing just about everything I wanted him to, including the allegation
that he had turned his back on the blues, only returning to the style
that had made his name to underwrite the music - traditional jazz
- that he really wished to play? "I suppose so," admitted
Jeff. "That may be a disappointment to some, but fuck it. As
long as we trot out three or four of Healey Band staples from 20 years
ago, I can usually get away with what I want. We're just having fun
with music; we're the quintessential bar band." Healey's now
gone to a better place, and he can jam there with whoever he darned
well likes.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
2nd March
A few emails have enquired whether, besides penning the sleeve
notes, I was responsible for compiling the new Status Quo anthology,
'Rock Legends'. The answer is in the negative. In fact, I only saw
a finished copy of said album yesterday morning. Had I assembled the
track listing I'd have used the 'Rocking All Over The World' version
of 'Can't Give You More' (as opposed to the one from 'Rock 'Til You
Drop'), and of course the full, unedited take of 'The Mystery Song'.
But it's not a bad l'il compilation. Thanks to Matt Read at Universal
for kindly sending the whole set of the 'Rock Legends' releases, completed
by Dio, Skynyrd, Free, the Allmans, Creedence Clearwater Revival and
Mötley Crüe.
Still basking in the relief of Palace's 1-0 win at Preston North End,
a victory that revives feint hopes of reaching the play-offs, I spent
this morning at a record fair. The bus journey to Orpington was spent
absorbing 'The Scarecrow', a spendid concept album from Edguy frontman
Tobias Sammet's side-project Avantasia that features cameos from Alice
Cooper, Rudolf Schenker, Bob Catley, Michael Kiske, Kai Hansen and
many more. It's only March, admittedly, but 'The Scarecrow' is my
album of the year so far.
Returned to Catford weighed down by a slab o'vinyl, including 'Guilty
Until Proven Insane' by Aussie band Skyhooks (featuring the original
version of 'Women In Uniform', as covered by Iron Maiden), a couple
of classic Renaissance discs from the 70s, some obscure jazz-rock
and the Average White Band's 1977 double-live 'Person To Person'.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
March 1
Can it really be March already?! Here's this month's Playlist
and YouTube.
|
