Classic Album Review: Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session
Originally released 1988, Latent Recordings

1. Mining For Gold
2. Misguided Angel
3. Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)
4. I Don't Get It
5. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
6. To Love Is To Bury
7. 200 More Miles
8. Dreaming My Dreams With You
9. Working On A Building
10. Sweet Jane
11. Postcard Blues
12. Walkin' After Midnight

Cowboy Junkies sophomore effort provided them with both their artistic and commercial breakthrough, and took the low-fi, whispered midnight blues of their early years to it's zenith.

The album's unique recording circumstances have been well documented. On November 27th 1987, the band gathered around a single microphone at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity to perform a combination of original songs and covers from (amongst others) the likes of Hank Williams and The Velvet Underground, who's classic 'Sweet Jane' would become one of the Junkies most enduring hits in its new bare-bones form. Michael Timmins' original compositions pack a powerful emotional punch, and are far from dwarfed by such lofty company. Indeed the beautifully sad 'To Love Is To Bury' and concert-favorite 'Misguided Angel' are amongst the album's greatest moments, as is their interpolation of the well-worn 'Blue Moon'.



Cowboy Junkies emerged from Trinity with a unique, haunting, gossamer masterpiece of a record, and the finest roots release of the 1980s.

Both the band's sparse, methodical approach to the material, the awe-inspiring Margo Timmins languid, dreamsome delivery and the brief recording time ensure that there's nothing out of place on 'The Trinity Session'. The project has a raw immediacy and cohesion rarely heard outside of early 1930s and 40s blues recordings and is an essential listen for all roots music fans.

In 2007 the band returned to the Trinity church to revisit the album with guest musicians including Vic Chesnutt and Natalie Merchant. The beautifully shot DVD of this performance also comes highly recommended.

Classic Album Review: Dusty Springfield - From Dusty, With Love

Dusty Springfield - From Dusty With Love
Originally released April 1970 on Philips records

1. Lost
2. Bad Case Of The Blues
3. Never Love Again
4. Let Me Get In Your Way
5. Let's Get Together Soon

6. Brand New Me
7. Joe
8. Silly, Silly Fool
9. The Star Of My Show
10. Let's Talk It Over

Dusty is often referred to as the greatest soul singer that England ever produced, and she's absolutely deserving of such high praise. From early hits like 'I Only Want To Be With You', 'The Look Of Love', 'Son Of Preacher Man' and 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', to the sophisticated, soulful adult pop of the 'Dusty In Memphis' album, and fan favourites such as See All Her Faces and Cameo, Dusty's commanding, versatile voice is unparalleled. Like other genre-defining artists, she is the subject of frequent comparisons - most recently to 'new soul' acts like Adele and Duffy but the truth is her skill and range set a high benchmark in music that has yet to be matched or bettered.

Though her star diminished somewhat in the mid to late 1970s, Dusty's voice remained as disarmingly powerful as ever, with a combination of personal tribulations, record company politics, and weak material playing the most part in her lack of success throughout the decade. As is well documented, it took the Pet Shop Boys to bring Dusty back in to the limelight, featuring her on their huge 1987 hit 'What Have I Done To Deserve This'. They would go on to produce and write much of her successful electronica leaning album Reputation in 1990.

Today's album was released just as Dusty was first beginning to slip from the public consciousness in 1970. A combination of lack of public interest and lack of promotion sealed From Dusty With Love's' fate, but as the Memphis album's spiritual twin, it's ripe for reassessment.

Misleadingly titled 'A Brand New Me' outside of the UK, I personally I find it to be one of her most solid albums, and an extremely enjoyable listen. Like many of our 'classic albums', it's runtime is brief to say the least - just over 25 minutes - but the 10 hook-filled songs are beautiful vehicles for Dusty's voice. The album is produced by the team of Gamble and Huff, who would later work on two of The Jacksons late 70s releases, and they bring with them an authentic Philadelphia soul sound that is a perfect match for Dusty's sultry, defiant and pleading performances. The musicianship on the album is superb, with backing vocals from The Sweethearts of Sigma, a Sam Reed led horn section, and Don Renaldo providing strings. The result is every bit as lush and transformative as you'd expect.

The short run time packs in everything from gospel, blues, pop and soul, but Dusty is always front and centre. Though rarely heard and underappreciated, songs like 'Bad Case Of The Blues', 'Never Love Again' and the heartwrenching ballad 'Joe' can stand shoulder to shoulder with her most well known tunes as A+ examples of Dusty Springfield's mastery of her her craft.

Classic Album Review: Karen Dalton - It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best

Karen Dalton It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love you The Best
Originally released 1969 on Capitol Records

1. Little Bit Of Rain
2. Sweet Substitute
3. Ribbon Bow
4. I Love You More Than Words Can Say
5. In The Evening (It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best)
6. Blues On The Ceiling
7. It Hurts Me Too
8. How Did The Feeling Feel To You
9. Right, Wrong or Ready
10. Down On The Street (Don't Follow Me Down)

Yesterday I talked about The Beach Boy's Today, an album often overlooked in favor of it's critically acclaimed successor. The same could be said of today's selection, It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best by Karen Dalton.

It's followup, In My Own Time, is most often considered to be the pinnacle of Karen's woefully brief recording career - a career that has only recently come to be appreciated on a wider scale. Vinyl copies of Karen's two studio albums had changed hands, been copied and passed around for decades, eventually forming the kind of cult appreciation afforded to those dubbed 'musician's musicians'.

Finally, over the last few years her albums have seen the kind of deluxe reissue treatment they deserve thanks to small labels Light In The Attic Records in the US and Megaphone in Europe, and both a live album and a disc of home recordings have been added to her discography. All are worth checking out.

However, neither of Karen's original albums were particularly successful upon their first release, and the woman who Bob Dylan described as his favorite singer from the Greenwich village folk scene of the 1960's passed into obscurity. She would never release a further album during her lifetime, which was cut short in 1993 when she passed away, reportedly following an 8 year battle with AIDS.

Of her 2 studio offerings, 1971's In My Own Time is lushly produced, jazz oriented, and provides a warm, accessible environment for Karen's unusual voice, which is frequently compared to that of Billie Holiday. It is indeed an underground classic, but to find the woman Bob Dylan spoke so highly of, you have to look to her debut. It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best takes an altogether sparser, more stark approach. It's uncompromising, raw and challenging while also beautiful and vulnerable. Karen plays the banjo like no one else I've ever heard, and much like Lady Day, her material has those unflinching, not-to-be-messed-with, yet sensitive and sympathetic characteristics at its core.

Her versions of traditional folk songs 'Ribbon Bow' and 'In The Evening' are particularly affecting, and her take on 'It Hurts Me Too' rivals Elmore James' as a personal favorite. If you're in the mood for it, the stark intimacy and hushed tones of the album are absolutely arresting, and the delivery of the material has an authenticity that personally I've never found from her contemporaries like Joan Baez and Judy Collins. Uncloaked and uncompromising, Sweet Mother K.D. is the pure heart and the dark soul of folk blues.

Paul McCartney announces end of year European Tour

New European Tour Announced Including Paul's Only UK Date In 2009

Following a massive tour of the US this summer, Paul McCartney today announces his first European Tour since 2004. This December will see Macca play seven special arena shows across Europe, culminating with his first ever public performance at London's O2 Arena, which will be his only UK date of this year. Other firsts on this tour will include shows at Berlin’s O2 World venue and Dublin’s The O2. Paul's legendary live performances are a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience. The audience gets to re-live some of the greatest moments in music from the last 50 years, many of which have become the soundtrack to living.

Paul commences his tour in Hamburg – a city he is very familiar with. Incredibly, it's now 49 years since The Beatles historic visit, which created rock folklore and put Hamburg on the map as a musical Mecca for hundreds and thousands of music pilgrims over the years. This will be Paul’s first time back in Hamburg (as well as Arnhem, Cologne and Dublin) since his 2003 "Back In The World" tour. Meanwhile, the people of Berlin will get their first Paul McCartney concert in 16 years, since 1993's "New World Tour"! December will take Paul back to Paris for the first time since he played an intimate club show at the Olympia in 2007.

London's O2 Arena will host Paul's final show of 2009 where he will bring the year to an end on a high. This will be his ONLY live show in the UK this year! Paul’s last UK show was a massive sellout concert at Anfield Stadium in 2008. At the time the Liverpool Echo wrote, "If Anfield had a roof, Macca would have blown it off." The O2 Arena does have a roof so it’s set to be a massive night of excitement and rock n' roll Macca style! Although this is Paul's first public performance at the O2 Arena he is very familiar with the venue. In 2004, before the O2 Arena was up and running as the world’s greatest music venue, Paul used the Millennium Dome (as it was known then) for rehearsals for his massive stadium "04 Summer Tour" which ended with Paul headlining the Glastonbury Festival which has gone down in rock history as the greatest festival moment ever. Although his rehearsals at the Millennium Dome were meant to be top secret, he was soon rumbled when a near by resident complained about the rock n’ roll noise upsetting his cat!

Speaking about the tour, Paul said: "This is my chance to bring our current show home to where it all began. Starting in Hamburg, ending in London and rocking everywhere in between. I'm very much looking forward to ending the year on a high."

What a year 2009 has been for Paul. He kicked it off by teaming up with Dave Grohl to perform "I Saw Her Standing There" at the Grammys, where he was also nominated for two awards. In April, Paul performed in New York at the David Lynch Foundation's benefit concert, "Change Begins Within". He was joined on stage with Ringo Starr for a special finale. Paul also headlined the Coachella Festival (his first US festival appearance) and performed a show to mark the opening of The New Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, a gig which sold out in seven seconds, setting a new sales record with tickets selling at a rate of 600 a second. July 11th took Paul to Halifax, Nova Scotia for his first ever concert there, which took place on the Halifax Commons. The mayor of Halifax described the show as the largest and most exciting concert in its 260-year history.

Following Halifax, Paul embarked on a five-week tour of the US; 'Summer Live '09'. The tour commenced with the inaugural run of shows at New York's Citi Field Stadium, which was the site of the former Shea Stadium where The Beatles made history in 1965 when they played a concert that set the precedent for the modern day stadium rock show. Critics hailed the Citi Field performances, seen by over 120,000 people, as the concert experience of a lifetime. The tour concluded in Dallas on the 19th of August.

For those of you who won't be able to make it to one of the European shows this Christmas you can re-live the Macca magic with 'Good Evening New York City', a multi-disc CD/DVD featuring performances recorded at New York’s Citi Field from Paul's 'Summer Live '09' tour.

THE DATES IN FULL:
2nd December - Hamburg, Color Line Arena
3rd December - Berlin, O2 World
9th December - Arnhem, Gelredome
10th December - Paris, Bercy
16th December - Cologne, Koln Arena
20th December - Dublin, The O2
22nd December - London,The O2 Arena

London ticket details.
Tickets available from Monday 26th October:
Box Office: 0844 856 0202
24hr Credit Card Hotline: 0871 230 1103
www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Classic Album Review: The Beach Boys - Today!

The Beach Boys Today!
originally released March 1965
Capitol Records

When it comes to The Beach Boys, most fans and critics agree, Pet Sounds was unquestionably their masterpiece. It's landmark sound saw the 23 year old musical prodigy Brian Wilson take the Phil Spector produced pop production that he loved and turn it into something entirely his own. It's timeless, unique, endlessly moving and for some people has never been matched.

But Pet Sounds' direct predeccessor, The Beach Boys Today! is often unfairly overlooked, and rarely discussed. Reissues have been few and far between, and all but the diehard fans seem to have forgotten it's existence.

It's impossible to overestimate how key this album was to the band's development. Today! is the junction where the innocent, fun-in-the-sun Beach Boys of the early days meets the sophisticated and poignant genius of Pet Sounds, and consequently is one of the band's most satisfying albums.

Fittingly, the album is divided into one side of upbeat pop tunes, and a second of the kind of longing, lovelorn ballads that would make the Boys' next album a classic.

But first side one, which opens with a storming version of Bobby Freeman's frequently covered 'Do You Wanna Dance', which gives Dennis Wilson his first ever lead vocal slot. While he may technically not be a great singer, he brings a nervous energy to the song that really brings it to life. Undoubtedly its a great party song, and a killer jolt of energy to kickstart the album.

Brian and Mike feature significantly for the rest of the half. It's almost like the end of an era - it was their songwriting partnership that gave the band it's first taste of success with songs like 'Catch A Wave', 'Fun, Fun, Fun' and 'I Get Around', but as Brian's creativity flourished, he would increasingly look to outside collaborators like Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks to fulfil his vision.

The always pitch-perfect voice of Al Jardine takes lead on Help Me, Ronda. Unfortunately the titular character's 'h' isn't all that's missing in this version - so is much of the musical sparkle and polish that would make this song's later single release a huge hit. While this early cut has potential, it's hard to argue that the single version isn't vastly superior.

The second half, not surprisingly is where Today! really comes into its own, offering a side of The Beach Boys that had only been hinted at before on songs like 'In My Room', 'The Warmth Of The Sun' and 'Don't Worry Baby'.

Songs like Please Let Me Wonder, She Knows Me Too Well and I'm So Young are simply beautiful, incredibly moving and perhaps represent Brian's peak as a lead vocalist. The harmonies are lush, plaintive and amongst the group's best - and The Beach Boys early 60's lineup always had the best harmonies in all of music available on tap.

Lyrically side 2 of Today! is much more introspective, emotionally invested, and meaningful than much of what had gone before. Musically, it's nothing short of stunning. Brian's arrangements feature session musicians like Steve Douglas, legendary bassist Carol Kaye and even a young Glen Campbell to fill out the sound, which incorporates vibraphones, saxophones, timpani drums and other instruments that had rarely been used in pop music until that point. Listening now leaves you in no doubt of where the group were headed, and that it was this experimental approach that would come to full fruition on Pet Sounds.

Clocking in at under half an hour, as a standalone album or simply listened to as a companion to it's followup, The Beach Boys Today! is a true classic.

- Michael

GUNS N' ROSES announce Asian and Canadian dates

Guns N' Roses will bring their Chinese Democracy World Tour to Canada in January 2010. The Winnipeg, Manitoba concert at the MTS Centre on January 13th is the first of thirteen Canadian concerts on the GN’R world tour, which begins in Asia on December 11th, with tour updates and announcements planned throughout 2010.

Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy Tour:

December 11 - Taipei
December 13 - Seoul
December 16 - Osaka
December 19 - Tokyo

January 13 - Winnipeg
January 16 - Calagary
January 17 - Edmonton
January 19 - Saskatoon
January 20 - Regina
January 24 - Hamilton
January 25 - London
January 27 - Montreal
January 28 - Toronto
January 31 - Ottawa

February 1 - Quebec City
February 3 - Moncton
February 4 - Halifax

Michael Jackson - This Is It - Listen Now

Brian Wilson signs with Disney Records

BEACH BOYS CO-FOUNDER TO RECORD TWO ALBUMS, INCLUDING COVERS OF GEORGE AND IRA GERSHWIN CLASSICS

WILSON TO CRAFT COLLABORATIVE COMPOSITIONS FROM PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED MUSIC FROM GEORGE GERSHWIN

Burbank, CA – October 8, 2009 - Two giants of popular entertainment have come together as Brian Wilson, the pioneering musical genius who co-founded the Beach Boys and wrote many of the band's greatest hits, has signed with Walt Disney Records.

In the months ahead, Wilson will record two new solo albums for the label's Disney Pearl imprint, including one featuring covers of classic songs by great American songwriters, George and Ira Gershwin. For that recording, the Gershwin estate has given Wilson access to rare, unfinished pieces of music by George Gershwin, with which he will craft collaborative compositions unlike anything the world has seen.

He will follow that with an album of classic Disney songs, which the artist promises to “Brian-ize” with his trademark vocal stacks and unique arrangements. Release dates for each album have yet to be determined.

Said David Agnew, Walt Disney Records president and general manager of the Disney Music Group, “We are honored to be in business with one of the greatest musical artists of all time. It is impossible to overstate the impact Brian has had on contemporary music and culture -- it has been nothing less than profound. We look forward to partnering with Brian on this exciting new voyage in his musical journey.”

“I've always tried to make music that entertained people,” Wilson said. “I also wanted my music to last, to be able to speak to any generation. Thankfully, nearly 50 years since the Beach Boys were born, that seems to have come true. Now, a new musical chapter begins for me, and teaming up with Disney means it's going to be a chapter to remember. I promise.”

Wilson chose to record George and Ira Gershwin songs because he considers the late composers of classics like “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Summertime” as a critical influence on him. “I've always loved George Gershwin. The earliest music I remember hearing is 'Rhapsody in Blue,'” says Wilson, referring to Gershwin's groundbreaking 1924 orchestral piece. “Along with Irving Berlin, Gershwin basically invented the popular song, but he did something more. He had a gift for melody that nobody has ever equaled yet his music is timeless and always accessible. This is the most spiritual project I've ever worked on.”

Said Todd Gershwin (George Gershwin estate) and Michael Owen (Ira Gershwin estate): “The Gershwin families are delighted that the legendary musician Brian Wilson has chosen to record a collection of George and Ira Gershwin songs for his next project. In every generation, American music has been pushed forward by visionaries, from the Gershwin brothers to Brian Wilson. This latest interpretation will be a new opportunity to discover the magic of Gershwin music."

Like Gershwin, Brian Wilson is one of the great composers of the last 100 years. The Southern California native, along with his brothers, a cousin and a friend, formed the Beach Boys while still in his teens. With Wilson as chief songwriter and arranger, the band not only enjoyed dozens of hits, but changed music forever thanks to Brian's innovative melodies and harmonies. Songs like “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn't It Be Nice,” and the #1 smash “Good Vibrations” remain indispensable staples in the rock 'n' roll canon. The band's “Pet Sounds” (1966) is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Wilson continued to make great music after the Beach Boys, with 10 solo albums including his breathtaking “Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE,” which he began recording in the 1960s and finally completed in 2004 to thunderous critical acclaim and Top 20 chart success (as well as earning a Grammy). A member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center honoree and recipient of multiple Gold and Platinum records, Brian Wilson has earned his well-deserved pop music immortality.