Rock of ages. The movie

Tom Cruise as the decadent 80-ties hair band, drug and booze fuelled rock singer Stacy Jaxx? Sure ....... and I had great fun. Reminiscing over all these hard rock songs that, for the most part, I never truly liked, but hit that familiar snare somewhere deep down. (The most horrible songs can do that, as you'll have experienced too and I mean real horrible songs.) The story line is 100% familiar, the setting somewhat different, the hair not even that unlike 'Grease', come to think of it. From the moment 'Paradise city' kicked into the score, the makers of this movie had me. For some reason or other I always forget how incredibly good and sheer exciting this Guns 'N' Roses song is.

Rock of ages apparently is a musical that was filmed. I know nothing of musicals, hardly ever seen one and I did not even know I was going to a filmed musical. Set in Los Angeles in 1987, when hair bands and spandex are the thing. The Bourbon room is the venue where it all happens, but is under threat from the IRS, mismanagement and the Mothers for God fighting the filth of rock music and the influence of rock on their kids with banners on the streets. All is done with great irony, Michael Jackson like dancing by 40+ ladies kicking out their legs, pure sex, singing about banning the rock monster on Sunset strip forever. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand singing their love for each other ending in a long kiss. And Tom Cruise having the time of his life and singing. Mary J. Blige as owner of the 'Venus Club', Paul Giamatti as the slick manager Paul Gill. There are many familiar faces in Rock of ages, topping it off with Catherine Zeta-Jones as the vengeance fuelled, spurned "Mother of Prevention". But who would have thought that redemption lies just on the other side of a portion of some good old fashioned hard rock as a lascivious hardrocker finds undercooled vulcano reporter about to erupt? One thing is seriously askew though: Tom Cruise can show his Mission Impossible IV rock hard trained body off all the time, but where did the lewd Stacy Jaxx get it from? Hoisting JD bottles up by the crate? Carrying white powder sacks by the 60 kilos worth?

In the meantime boy meets girl, loses girl, finds girl again and sing together forever and happily ever in the background of a hard rock celebration. One of the highlights is the way 'We built this city' ("on rock and roll") is fused with "We're not gonna take". Utterly brilliant! This trick is performed several times when original musical score songs are fused effortlessly with e.g. 'More than words' or 'I love rock and roll'. While Cruise's staple song of this movie, Def Leppard's 'Pour a little sugar on me' is just great to watch. 1970 Roger Daltrey is very near in this one.

When 'Paradise city' kicked in during the title role, I realised that I had a totally great time with this movie. Where the first bus scene made me burst out laughing loud and not from enjoyment. With no more than circa 15 other people of which three left at the first song. I was already looking at these 60-ish ladies, "are you sure you want to see this"? "Sorry, wrong movie", they said apologetically. I will never be a fan of 80-ties rock, but here I couldn't have asked for more this Friday night in Leiden.

Wo.

A snippet of 'Pour some sugar on me' and the trailer can be found here.

Early takes, volume 1. George Harrison

You can listen to 'All things must pass' here.

Oh, no. Not another outtake album, was my thought when I read a review of this George Harrison offer. Usually they cost a lot and after listening to it once, perhaps twice, the album (or even boxset) simply disappears into the cupboard with all the other trophies. Of course, curiosity got the better of me anyway and here I sit listening to Early takes and already writing. And then to think it's starts with a bare version of 'My sweet lord', his staple no.1 solo hit song. My head started playing all the overdubs outside of acoustic guitar, drums and bass. Disappointment kicked in after the first notes. Highly sceptical I got to song #2 on Early takes, volume 1. That's when the magic kicked in. The sheer beauty of 'Run of the mill' and all that followed, the pleasant familiarness of Harrison's voice and the quality of his songs captured me, held me enraptured for just over 30 minutes. The basic setting of the studio try outs suits George Harrison like a glove.

The last years in The Beatles George Harrison started to write his best songs till then. In fact, coming up with songs like 'While my guitar gently weeps', 'Old brown shoe', 'Here comes the sun' and of course 'Something' (played to this day by Paul) he made his songs stand out in comparison. They were nothing but the tip of the iceberg. All these songs started flowing out of him leading to his first solo album(s) 'All things must pass' and hits like 'My sweet lord' and the even better 'What is life'. It remains a question that will never be answered what would have happened to them if The Beatles had decided to record a new album in 1970 any way. Maybe a few would have found their way to The Beatles albums. 'All things must pass' as album title?

It's from this period that these recordings stem from mostly. They are playful, fairly bare, the essence of the songs, showing the quality of Harrison's song writing, a variety of songs that he's clearly comfortable with. Doing covers of Bob Dylan's 'Mama you've been on my mind' and the Everly Brothers' 'Let it be me'. And let's not forget he's "only" practising his songs with the other musicians in the studio or recording demo's on his own. "That is all and then it's finished", you can hear George say somewhat sheepishly at the end of 'Woman don't you cry for me'.

The acoustic guitar sound is so Beatles and so is his voice of course. The songs as such may not be as some go way beyond what The Beatles ever done. The very country like 'Behind that locked door" has a pedal steel guitar crying away in a way that is totally Beatles alien. Perhaps a Bob Dylan influence as George and Bob had been writing and recording together around this time?

George's voice holds up great in the studio. In the end he may not have had a voice to be a lead singer carrying a whole show. Here though it's magnificent. So clear as if he's singing right in front of me in the living room. He shows us his different voices, soft voiced in 'Let it be me', a countryish drawl in 'Woman don't you cry for me'. Here a compliment must be given to the producers of this album. The sound is just, I say it again, magnificent and at times simply fragile. George Harrison stripped to the essence George Harrison. Exit Phil Spector, enter George. All things must pass, indeed. Said song is just so beautiful on this album. If anything, Early takes, volume one is a true gem.

Perhaps it helps that, believe or not, I never got around buying 'All things must past', so most songs on this album sound new to me. To me they're new. It makes me truly appreciate this album for what it is and I can't see it as a reissue, outtake album. Thanks for this unexpected present, Harrison family.

Wo.


You can order Early takes, volume one here


and here

Temple beautiful. Chuck Prophet (2)

You can listen to Temple beautiful here.

Chuck Prophet is on my radar since somewhere in the mid-nineties. If I remember correctly his album 'No other love' was my introduction to his music, an album with several beautiful songs on it, but on the whole disappeared somewhere in the cobwebs of my ever expending discography. My impression of near the 20 years of following his career, is that through these years his songs seem to come more easily to him. Just a little smoother, slightly poppier than before, perhaps a slightly brighter coloured, making me remember his songs just a little easier and making me come back to them more easily.

His previous effort 'Let freedom ring' rotated in the cd tray and iPod for quite some time. (I even have a painting of the cover in my living room.) And the same goes for his new album Temple beautiful. The album is Chuckful with pop-rock songs of the highest quality. Made with love and a keen eye for detail. Every note appears in the place where it belongs, all oohs and aahhs pure ear candy and some delightful guitar solos showing, almost as an afterthought, what a great guitar player Prophet is.

In the past ten years I was lucky enough to see Prophet and band play very up close in the Q-Bus in Leiden three times. A reschedule of his tour prevented this in May last, but who knows what the future holds. Prophet is a great performer, with the songs to boot, able to create an intimate atmosphere within a wall of rock. No mean feat.

Temple beautiful gives him several live favorites for the future. Despite the fact that I do not understand that Chuck Prophet is not a stable factor in the B-class of rockstars, playing larger venues at a regular basis, at least it gives him the freedom to play what he likes and refresh his setlist with new songs. People may actually be interested in them. It's not the quality of the songs offered. On Temple beautiful Chuck Prophet is at the top of his game. Opener 'Play that song again' holds everything this album promises. Staccato guitar playing, a great, small break introducing the directly memorable, melody laden chorus, including oohs, and a slightly strange bridge section. 'Castro halloween' does the same but adds some great guitar soloing. The fun only gets bigger when the happy memories of the 'Temple beautiful' gets laden on us, with some honking horns in the background (and excitement, even for a Californian, is equal to Manchester United).

There are some dips on temple beautiful also. Towards the end there's the song 'Little girl, little boy'. Which reminds me somewhat of Nick Lowe's 198something hit 'Half a boy, half a man', but then without the fire. 'White night big city' also misses some urgency, although it has its moments. By that time Temple beautiful has already offered its share of great songs. So I'm not complaining. Next to that, Chuck Prophet's lesser songs would still shine out on albums from many a lesser artist. Prophet tops it all of with the mysteriously titled 'Emperor Norton in the last year of his life (1880)', a true ballad, with clear, Americana like guitar playing. Temple beautiful is one of the gems released in 2012 so far. If you haven't heard it yet, it may be about time that you did.

Wo.

You can order Temple beautiful here

or here

The idler wheel. Fiona Apple

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Anything you want'.

Is er het afgelopen jaar een plaat verschenen waar ik zo naar heb uitgekeken als naar The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (vanaf nu The Idler Wheel) van Fiona Apple? Ik denk het eigenlijk niet. Fiona Apple overrompelde me 16 jaar geleden met het prachtige Tidal en deed dat drie jaar later nog eens dunnetjes over met het misschien nog wel mooiere When the Pawn Hits .. (de complete titel was nog een stuk langer dan die van The Idler Wheel). Hierna leerde ik dat je soms lang op een Fiona Apple plaat moet wachten, want pas zes jaar later verscheen Extraordinary Machine; het derde meesterwerk van de singer-songwriter uit New York. Inmiddels zijn we weer zeven jaar verder en ligt dan eindelijk de vierde plaat van Fiona Apple in de winkel. The Idler Wheel is zeker geen makkelijke plaat. Aan de ene kant is het een typische Fiona Apple plaat, want zowel haar donkere en emotievolle stemgeluid als haar minstens even donkere pianoklanken (Fiona Apple gebruikt maar zelden de rechterkant van het klavier) herken je uit duizenden. Het zijn met name de songs die dit keer een stuk complexer in elkaar steken. Redelijk toegankelijke delen waarin de stem van Fiona Apple en haar stemmige pianospel domineren, worden afgewisseld met delen waarin complexe ritmes, onverwachte wendingen en niet alledaagse zang de toon zetten. The Idler Wheel kost hierdoor wat meer energie dan de eerste twee platen en het deels uit behoorlijk toegankelijke songs bestaande Extraordinary Machine, maar alles wat je in The Idler Wheel stopt krijg je uiteindelijk dubbel en dwars terug. Na de vaak volle arrangementen van producer Mike Elizondo op Extraordinary Machine, is The Idler Wheel een bijna kale plaat waarop het pianospel van Fiona Apple en de opzwepende en soms wat jazzy ritmes van percussionist Charley Drayton domineren. De combinatie van de sobere maar behoorlijk complexe klanken en dit keer bijzonder indringende vocalen (Fiona Apple was al niet bang voor flink wat emotie in haar muziek, maar gaat nu nog een flinke stap verder) zorgt voor een serie songs die in eerste instantie vooral intrigeren, maar je uiteindelijk genadeloos opslokken. Ik geef eerlijk toe dat ik bij eerste beluistering wat teleurgesteld was in The Idler Wheel, maar nu ik de plaat flink wat keren heb gehoord ben ik zwaar verslaafd aan de nieuwe plaat van Fiona Apple en vind ik hem alleen maar beter worden. Fiona Apple deed op Tidal, When The Pawn... en Extraordinary Machine al precies waar ze zelf zin in had en doet dat op The Idler Wheel in nog veel sterkere mate. Het levert een buitengewoon fascinerende plaat op die waarschijnlijk niet in de smaak zal vallen bij een groot publiek, maar liefhebbers van eigenzinnige popmuziek vol avontuur, bezwering en toverkracht hebben al heel lang geen plaat meer gehoord die zo goed is als The Idler Wheel. The Idler Wheel is het vierde meesterwerk van Fiona Apple en met afstand de beste plaat van dit moment. Er zit vandaag geen krent in de pop maar een ruwe diamant van een enorme omvang die na iedere slijpbeurt mooier en indrukwekkender wordt. Wat een prachtplaat.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt The idler wheel hier bestellen


of hier

WoNo Magazine 12.3 is available

Dear blogpost readers,

WoNo Magazine 12.3 is available on this link. It is a special commemorating the passing away of Donna Summer and Robin Gibb, staples of the disco era, with personal memories of WoNo Magazine readers.

Unfortunately WoNo Magazine also lost its photographer and front page editor Michel van Latesteijn, known to us as "Latie", who died two weeks ago at the age of 40. He is remembered by Marcel R. van der Kwaak in our latest issue. Marcel's contribution has been edited into my co-editor's radio show 'Kairos' and is to be aired on the Concertzender at Sunday 1 July at 18.00. Here's further information on the show. At a later stage we will add an on demand link to the show on this page, should you not be able to listen on Sunday. We extend our sympathies to Michel's mother, relatives and friends and wish them the strength to cope with this loss.

Despite these tragic events we hope you enjoy #12.3 and welcome your responses to the articles and your recollections.

On behalf on .No,

Wo.

Hein's hoekje, deel 4: Toploader in Paradiso

Foto K. van der Borght

Foto K. van der Borght

Foto K. van der Borght

Hein is 11, speelt gitaar, schrijft voor de schoolkrant en voor WoNoBloG

Was bij Toploader. Met me moeder en Wout. Met als de zanger helemaal gek. Niet als van gek gek. Maar hij ging helemaal los op de muziek. En iedereen ging ook uit ze dak bij DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT want het is ook een te gek nummer. Helaas ik kon nog niet alles verstaan maar wel erg veel.  Dus daarom vond ik het nog even leuk met die te gekke muziek van Toploader (aanrader) in het begin ging het allemaal welletjes totdat we uit de tram kwamen. Mijn moeder wist niet meer waar Paradiso was. Maar gelukkig gokte ik goed en hebben we het gehaald. Toen waren we daar maar ja Wout had de kaartjes. En toen net toen Wout kwam gingen de deuren open. Dus net op tijd. Dit was Hein de Haan en ik hoop dat jullie het leuk vonden om te lezen hoe ik uit mijn dak ging.

Hein met Toploader

Je kunt 'Onka's big moka' hier bestellen.


Je kunt 'Magic hotel' hier bestellen.

Toploader in Paradiso

You can listen to 'A balance to all things official' here.

If someone had told me a few months back that I would be going to a Toploader show I would have looked at him or her somewhat awkwardly. For two reasons: 1. I wasn't aware that the band was back together again and 2. They were never really my favourite sort of band. Sure, I had both their albums, the fantastically title 'Onka's big moka' and the more, okay almost, down to earth titled 'Magic hotel'. Both contain (Brit)poppy songs with a slightly soulful twist, that never really stuck in my brain, with the exception of their big hit 'Dancing in the moonlight', which still can be heard on the radio frequently.

So to my surprised my girlfriend's youngest said: "For my birthday present I would like to go to Toploader". This form of birthday present has become the thing we do and to mutual agreement. What surprised me most, is that he wasn't even born when the song he knows was released, that of course being 'Dancing in the moonlight'. So there we went on Friday 22 June of 2012, but not after hearing the band live at 3FM in the morning. The eleven year old was noticed by singer/keyboardplayer Joseph Washbourn, standing totally in front of the stage greatly enjoying himself: "You weren't even born when we made this. Amazing".

Foto Wo.

Paradiso was frighteningly empty when we arrived. Wouldn't anybody come? In the end I think the 'Bovenzaal' was filled more than half. Those that decided to stay home, were proven wrong. The audience, among whom several fans of the first period, some with their kids, were treated to a short, but increasingly better show. The band is downsized to a trio these days (or this gig), but all sorts of backing tracks pumped the sound up, without becoming unconvincing. Toploader captured their audience and brought smiles to the faces of people.

The music was advertised by Paradiso as indierock. Of course we can argue what this is, but Toploader's music may have some inklings of rock, but I hear more Stevie Wonder than Johnny Marr in their music. It's strange that they missed the boat somewhere down the (at least in a significant part) piano driven music of the megabands of the zeroes, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Keane, Muse, Snow Patrol, The Killers, etc. Several of their songs can compete easily, but perhaps a very little extra is missing. That magical element that makes a song stick in the brain automatically, this little thing 'Dancing in the moonlight' has, but is a cover song. There could have been a spot for them in there, but the band disappeared in 2003. Who knows what could have happened for them?

Joseph Washbourn is a good singer. His voice is extremely pleasant to listen to. There was some great harmonising as well, but sometimes there was this little extra who, who's and ahh, ahhs in the background amiss. As a trio the band is down to basics and this clearly lays a constraint on Washbourn's aspirations as a front man. There were some lead vocalist's moves, but the keyboard is an instrument that keeps someone tied to his seat. The trio played good, tight and put enough swing into their presentation to make people move. They played a lot of songs from their new album, 'Only human', "because of the future". Quite rightly so, but I have my doubts if I'm honest. The music needs one extra element -and I'm not saying the "Coldplay" element, as that band has lost their magic about 8 years ago. It's the world that didn't notice the change- bit that little something that makes their songs stand out in the crowd. If I knew what that is, I might just not have been writing here.

Over all: A fun show, where I never would have been without an eleven year old. You can read his review very soon. And yes, would have missed something worthwhile.

Wo.

You can order 'Only human' here


or here

That's Why God Made the Radio -Beach Boys

You can listen to 'That's why God made the radio' here.

With That's Why God Made the Radio starting at #3 in the Billboard charts, the Beach Boys have beaten the Beatles, with having produced top ten albums over a time span of 49 years, which is two more years than the Beatles. Only Frank Sinatra beats them with 3 more years. Lennon, Harrison and Sinatra, are of course dead, which does kind of hamper their production. None the less this is an achievement they totally deserve, with having produced yet another awesome album.

That's Why God Made the Radio could have been produced in 1969, on general it is jolly, while keeping the balance by Wilson's more nostalgic songs. It contains some beautiful chords progressions and the vocal melodies are, as always, sublime. Maybe there is no song on it with the level of perfection of Good Vibrations, but then again, how many albums do have songs of that level?

The album did receive quite some negative critiques in the international magazines. For instance the Belgian magazine Humo thinks the album is hardly worth listening to. According to Humo, the Beach Boys simply use all the ingredients from their old hits, instead of producing something new and revolutionary. They use the lead single That's Why God Made the Radio as an example, since it contains the words: “Radio,” “God,” “Dashboard,” and “Cruising.”

This mostly shows how Humo is better at giving presents with their magazine, than saying something useful about music. Apparently nobody told them that it is a reunion album, precisely made to remember people about the old days, to create the same atmosphere as 30 or 40 years ago. Would we want to listen to a Beach Boys album which does not contain the word “beach” anywhere? No! Of course not, that is why the song Beaches in Mind is on the album. People precisely want to recognize the Beach Boys they know, they want to be remembered of their past.

There are several moments on the album where the Beach Boys specifically refer to moments that passed long ago. As Rolling Stone notes the song Pacific Coast Highway is a reference to Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, and in the song Beaches in Mind from the second verse on they sing: “love, love, love” on the background, as a clear tribute to the Beatles. And of course the Beach Boys still use at least 3 vocal lines at the same time. They even admit themselves that they are still the same as 30 years ago, in the song Spring Vacation, when they sing: “Spring Vacation, Good Vibrations, Summer Weather, We're Back Together, Easy Money, Ain't Life Funny?”

All in all this album contains everything you can expect from a Beach Boys reunion album: some spectacular melodies, brilliant references to their past, funny lyrics, some nostalgia about their past, but most of all a very good album, with some real summer in it. The whole album simply yells sunny beaches, cocktails, and late night open fires on the beach with friends. 

By Joes de Natris, 22 June 2012

You can order That's why God made the radio here

or here

Noten kraken, aflevering 2 De afrekening

You can listen to 'Jesus walking on the water' here 

and 'Hallowed ground' here.

De band stond op een hoek te spelen. Onder een luifel, zodat de klanken beter te horen waren in de drukke winkelstraat. Een trio. Basdrum, snare en cymbaal, staande bas en een zanger met elektrische gitaar. Er kwam flink wat herrie onder de luifel vandaan, maar het beviel het winkelende publiek, want zij bleef in grote getalen staan. “Het zijn net de Stray Cats”, kon je een man horen zeggen. “Net zo veel opwinding, maar dan toch net anders. Die teksten. Voor zover ik het versta, is het allemaal hel en verdoemenis. “Starting to make plans to kill my own kind? WTF”. Zijn vrouw knikte. Zij verstond ook zoiets raars. Maar er was iets waardoor zij bleef kijken. Totaal gebiologeerd. “Remember that God saves”, hoorde zij nu zingen en ondertussen leek het erop dat de zanger zijn eigen kinderen ging ombrengen. De rillingen liepen over haar rug. Er was iets obsessiefs aan de zanger, zijn ogen leken wel uit te puilen. De lange lok op zijn voorhoofd zwiepte woest op en neer, schuim vloog van zijn lippen. Dit zijn geen Nederlanders, dacht zij. Dit soort waanzin gecombineerd met religie zag zij wel eens op tv. Amerika, ergens anders komt dit niet voor. Mensen die zingend en zwaaiend door de kerk lopen. Extase, is dat het woord niet? Ze zien er dan wel gelukkig uit. Dat is hier wel anders. Al die stijfheid en ondergang. Reddeloos verloren. Daar zingen de mensen zich rechtstreeks de hemel in. Dat is toch veel mooier. Maar ja, dat kan hier toch niet. Past niet bij ons nuchtere slag hier in Nederland. Ik zie mij al staan, ik moet er niet aan denken. Wat zingt hij nu? “Jesus walking on the water, sweet Jesus walking in the sky”? Wat nu weer? Opnieuw viel het contrast haar op tussen de twee op de achtergrond. Die stonden gewoon te spelen. Wel de contrabas soms stoer ronddraaiend of er net zoals die Stray Cat er even op gaan staan en doorspelen, hè. Maar die zanger, die was bezig een aantal demonen af te schudden. Gebiologeerd bleef zij staan kijken, haar man af en toe aanstotend. Na het nummer over Jesus pakte de drummer een hoed op en begon langs de mensen te lopen om geld op te halen.

Ondertussen plaatste de zanger zijn gitaar op een standaard en liep terug naar de microfoon. “The prophet is a fool and the spiritual man is mad”, klonk het over de straathoek heen. Wat gaat er nu komen?, zag je de mensen denken. Daarna een woord wat zij niet verstond, maar wel dat er sprake was van “great hatred’. We krijgen een preek, dacht ze, maar er was iets waardoor niemand weg liep. “Nu komt de tijd van de afrekening, het einde der tijde komt nabij. Want waar gaat u zijn als de bommen vallen en uw bestaan wordt bedreigd als nooit voorheen?” De man zwaaide woest met zijn arm boven zijn hoofd. Wie wees hij aan? Alles en iedereen leek het. Niemand en niets werd uitgezonderd. Opnieuw liep er een rilling over haar rug. Het lijkt wel een profeet, zo een uit het Oude Testament, waar vroeger op school en in de kerk over werd verteld. “Ik zie de bommen vallen als ze naar beneden komen. Iedereen kijkt rond, rent, zoekend naar een schuilplaats, die niet meer te vinden is”. De man kijkt haar aan, rechtstreeks in haar ogen, alsof hij een speciale boodschap heeft voor haar alleen. Wat wil hij van me? Onbewust laat ze de arm van haar man los. Ik ben alleen en weet niet waar te gaan. Hij wel, hij daar achter de microfoon straalt uit dat hij het wel weet. Wat zegt hij nu? “Ik ben veilig, want ik sta op wat gezegende grond moet zijn”.  Zij krijgt een gevoel alsof er maar een persoon op aarde is die haar nog kan redden en dat die daar voor haar staat. Ze trekt haar tas met twee handen voor haar buik om zich te beschermen tegen dit overweldigende gevoel dat haar overspoelt. Ja, ik kan gered worden van het einde der tijden. “Want wat anderen ook beslist hebben of zullen gaan beslissen. Ook al verbranden zij de lucht, de zon, de wolken, mijn ziel bevindt zich in gezegende grond”.

Ondertussen kwam de man met de hoed langs. Ze knipte haar tas open en pakte haar portemonnee. Wat moet ik geven? Mijn ziel wordt gered. Hoeveel is dat waard? Jan keek naar haar. Wat doet ze nu, dacht hij? Hij zag haar een briefje van 25 uit haar portemonnee pakken. Is ze gek geworden? Een scène wilde hij niet maken, want iedereen zou dat direct zien. Het is beter om dat thuis pas te bespreken. Ze stopte het briefje in de hoed en de man keek haar dankbaar aan. Het viel haar op dat er al best veel geld in de hoed zat. Blijkbaar waren meer mensen geraakt door het woord en de muziek.

“Vergelding zal uw deel zijn. Als de profeet de netten van vogelvangers op zijn al zijn wegen vindt, zal uw zilver tot distels vergaan. Maar mijn hoop is er een die niet is af te breken, ook zie ik dat angst de overhand neemt. Mijn hoop is mijn schat en die stop ik diep weg in gezegende grond”.  Ondertussen had zij haar portemonnee dicht geknipt en weg gestopt in haar tas, die ze opnieuw stevig tegen haar borst drukte. Ik moet meer weten van deze man, dacht zij. Na afloop ga ik met hem praten. Ook al is mijn Engels niet goed genoeg, ik zal mij verstaanbaar maken.

De drummer nam weer plaats achter zijn drumstel. “Zorg voor uw schat en zorg dat deze veilig is. Alleen dat zal u redden”, zei de zanger. De drummer zette weer een nummer in, na enige tijd gevolgd door de gitarist en bassist. Het publiek hield de adem in. De wijsheid zal nu komen. In volle verwachting en devotie wachtte het publiek op die straathoek in een heel gewone Nederlandse stad in 1985 op het woord van de waarheid, van redding, van het al dat over hen uitgestort ging worden. De vrouw trok haar hoofddoek, waaronder haar krulspelden zaten, recht, zodat ze mooi gekruld op het feest kon verschijnen die avond. Het feest ter ere van het 50 jarig huwelijk van oom Piet en tante Mia, de schatten. De spanning werd om te snijden. Het intro naderde zijn einde.

Ja, daar komt het. Hij doet zijn mond open. “I dig the black girls, o so much more than the white girls”. De spanning op de straathoek verdween in een keer. Alsof er een enorme ballon leeg liep. De vrouw haakte haar arm weer in de arm van Jan en zei: “kom, we lopen verder”. Jan, die zowaar, misschien wel tot zijn eigen verbazing, zijn heupen in beweging had gezet op het aanstekelijke ritme, trok haar terug. “Wat nou, Ria. Het begint nu net echt leuk te worden”. De nieuwe ruk aan zijn arm zei hem voldoende. Even geen tegenspraak; dat zijn zo van die lessen die je geleerd hebt na bijna 25 jaar samen.

Glazu

Het verhaal is geïnspireerd door het nummer van Violent Femmes, ‘Hallowed ground’ geschreven door Gordon Gano van de elpee Hallowed ground. De andere nummer die worden aangehaald ‘Country death song’, ‘Jesus walking on the water’ en “Black girls’ komen eveneens van deze elpee uit 1984. Het schijnt dat de groep deze plaat zelf in de ban heeft gedaan. Hij was ook heel lang niet op cd te verkrijgen en misschien nog steeds niet. Waarom weet ik niet, want het is een toonbeeld van inspiratie en diepgang, ironie en religie en behoort al bijna 30 jaar tot een van mijn favoriete platen.

Tekst ‘Hallowed ground’ van Gordon Gano. Het nummer begint met een Bijbelspreuk:

"the prophet is a fool, the spirtual man is mad,

For the multitude of thine inequity, and the great hatred." (Hosea 9:7)

You can order Hallowed Ground here

Young man in America. Anaïs Mitchell

You can listen to 'Coming down' here.

Surprises in music come to me every once in a while. I had never heard of Anais Mitchell until recently an acquaintance tipped me to listen to Young man in America. So I did, being the sort of guy who follows up tips when he feels like it and so was treated to a deliciously "small" singer songwriter album with loads of ear candy on it. Once I got on the good side of Mitchell's slightly nasal tone of voice, things only got better and better.

Looking up Anais Mitchell on Wikipedia it is clear that she's no new kid on the block. Young man in America is her fifth full length album, following up Hadestown, an album of collaborations with the like's of Bon Iver, Ani Difranco and others. Do not forget to listen to this album also is my advice, as it is a true treat.

This album ranges from slightly more poppy songs to the barest of songs like 'Coming down' in which naked emotions are only accompanied by a piano at first and an accompanying male voice of Chris Thile before the song fleshes out just a little. Enough to add a small spike to the deeply melancholy mood Mitchell spreads out over the listener, mainly by sole piano notes.

Producer Todd Sickafoose managed to grasp the pureness of Anais Mitchell's music. Her almost childlike voice is given a setting that makes it clear to all wanting to listen, this is very much grown up stuff happening here. At the basis this is folk music that is presented to us, but hidden quite well. It's necessary to listen carefully to notice typical folk changes in the chords or the way a phrase is sung. In the combination of the fairly bare playing that accompanies Mitchell, an atmosphere of delicacy is created that suits her very well, and me by the way.

I have never been one for lyrics. Regular readers of the blog will have noticed this. All signs point at that I should with Anais Mitchell as she writes whole stories. (Hadestown can even be called a folkopera, I understand.) One song on Young man in America is based on a story her father wrote over 30 years ago. He is the man on the cover. I'll promise to listen next time I put the album on.

Anaïs Mitchell is compared in the press to several lady singer-songwriters, but I have never heard a song by any them as far as I'm aware. So I can't really help you, listener, convincingly here. On a few songs she reminds me of Joan Wasser (as Policeman) on her 'Real life' album. Only slightly, as Wasser's album is more translucent. So Mitchell's album is more like nothing I've heard before and I like it. That's the main thing isn't it?

Wo.

You can order Young man in America here


or here

Interview with Pokey LaFarge

by Wout de Natris

© 2012 WoNo Magazine and WoNoBloG

While reading the interview you can listen to 'La la blues' here.

Late April I was exposed to the energy and music of Pokey LaFarge and his band the South City Three for the first time. (Read the review here.) Greatly enjoying what I heard, but also full of questions. What makes young guys want to play music that was made for the last time by their grandfathers, way before the time of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the two bands that totally upset the face of popular music in the U.S. from 1964 onwards? I had the change to discuss this after the gig and we sort of parted with the intention to do an interview after the EU tour. So here it is.

In my review of the gig I wrote that I could only think of one hit song in the last 40 years sounding like Pokey LaFarge and band. What made you decide this is the music for me?

------ I decided long ago that acoustic music, specifically but not relegated to early American music forms were the most pure and honest. First, it was bluegrass, than older more varied forms of old time music. Including all the different forms of early country and 'hillbilly' music and blues. Then came the many different forms of jazz. Including hokum and jug band music. However I've always listened to many different types of folk music. I just love early Calypso, Eastern European music, African music. Anything that's got a lot of soul.

You all must have started out with different music. What did you listen to when younger? (I had the

chance to discuss this with Adam outside of the Q-Bus.)

I guess when I was real young, say till about thirteen or fourteen  I was listening to classic rock and some hip hop. I still like that stuff but again it's more few and far between compared to the other types of music I listen to and play.

And who influences you most at present?

Lefty Frizzell, Emmett Miller, Lord Invader, Tom Waits, Jack White

Has St. Louis, your home town, inspired the band and/or the music in any way?

Sure, it's like living in a broken down-going out of business museum. Our history is everywhere. It's a very distinctly American city. It has a lot of the goods and a lot of the bads. 

Is South City a part of St. Louis or is it just a name?

Tis the southern part of the city of St. Louis

The sound on your album Riverboat soul is clearly authentic but in stereo. Do you try to record with authentic gear?

Well sure. I think that would be important, don't you?

Foto Wo.

Adam and Pokey play very authentic looking guitars. Are they?

Adam now plays a Gibson 1939 L-12 Archtop and Pokey plays a 1946 Epiphone Spartan Archtop

Lyrically, are you more inspired by stories of old or today?

Mostly today because I'm very inspired by the world today. I choose to tell my story because I am driven to make the most of MY self. The point is to better people lives. So if I have to tell an old story or recreate a story of a person from the past then I'll do it for the sake of the story.

A statement I often read in the last years is that pop music, from the lyrics point of view, does not

have relevancy towards society any more. In the lyrics of your band there is something to be found

on hard times. Is this 2012 or 1935 hard times?

I let you answer that.

If I take my train of thought one step further. If music is sometimes a release from reality, you

musically escape to music of the thirties, the Great Depression, when the present western world is in a depression. What is your view on this?

I don't really think of it like that. Some of my favorite music was made by Americans post depression. The depression part is not completely irrelevant but it's more important not to stigmatize this music with the depression. Let's not forget that a lot of the roots music of America was recorded in the 20's; pre depression, the high time, the roaring 20's. Yes, a lot of the recordings were made by people who were poor and struggling. That has been the case since the beginning of time. Look at Lefty Frizzell-the father of Honky Tonk music. He first recorded in '51. Dirt poor. Man, there's always a depression going on. 

You said on stage that you won a prize for Riverboat soul. How important is winning such a prize for the band?

Well, it is nice as a human being to be rewarded for the hard work you put into what it is you do. Positive reinforcement helps at times to keep you motivated and confident in what you do.

I read somewhere that Pokey played with the Hackensaw Boys. How was your time with one of my

favourite bands? Any recollections?

The fastest music I've ever played. Those boys taught me a lot. They showed me Virginia!

The band recorded for Jack White’s label. How did this come to pass?

He heard us on WSM 650AM in Nashville and called me up. 

Where does the name Pokey come from? I got a bit curious reading the website.

Mom. Not sure what it means in your country but it has a lot of different meanings here. It means slow or lagging behind the crowd.

What are your plans for the near future?

Writing and camping, canoeing and biking with my girlfriend. Basically enjoying home life off the road for a little while.

You can order Riverboat soul here

or here

Elmwood. Drive Like Maria

Listen to 'I'm on a train' here

Another album that sort of crept up on me over the past weeks. At first I had the idea that it was a bit too much QOTSA and related bands, but not unpleasant to listen to. Now I'm quite convinced that Elmwood is a good album in its own right. Despite the fact that this is an "old" album, from 2009 and the band has a new album out this year, WoNoBlog puts Elmwood in the limelight.

Drive Like Maria is a Dutch-Belgian band that is active since 2005. The four piece know how to rock out as well as chug it out. Their first single 'I'm on a train' is a great example of how the band manages to play like QOTSA and have their own accents in the music, by putting an acoustic guitar in the mix and a great seventies like lead guitar sound. A mandolin is also not exactly a snare instrument one expects when listening to a (stoner) rock album. Nevertheless 'Talk to me' starts with a mandolin, before Dave Grohl like dry sounding powerhits flagellate the drums. Drummer (and singer) Bjorn Awouters only barely doesn't kill off his drum kit.

John Congleton produced Elmwood. One of the other bands he's produced is Black Mountain. Everybody who gave their album 'Wilderness heart' a listen, won't be surprised that there is a mainly acoustic Led Zeppelin-like song on this ablum. What is a surprise though, is Janis Ian singing with Bjorn Awouters. Folk/pop singer Ian has a carreer now spanning circa 35 years and is not exactly associated with power pop/stoner rock that Drive Like Maria excels in. The combination works and gives the album a little extra. Ian features on two quieter songs where her voice blends in perfectly. The contrast with other songs is quite high, like the full out rocker (with absurdist lyrics) 'Fist full of bananas'. And then listen to that song's chorus. Great riffing, great singing, great melody and to top it all off, great soloing by Nitzan Hoffman.

It's because of this mix of songs that Elmwood grew on me. I only heard the album circa a month ago for the first time and started liking it more and more, because of the variety, where at first only the QOTSA stuff stuck out. The slow bluesy 'Die a little more' is a gem in which Janis Ian features again. She doesn't have a young voice any more, but fits this song. She may never before have sung on a song as hard as this one. Drive Like Maria knows how dynamics can make a song stick out. 'Die a little more' comes alive, dies off, comes alive, dies off. Well done!

And because I almost always forget the bass player, here a special line dedicated to Robin van Saaze. The foundation of this album is great!

The album maintains this level of dirty rock, that makes me think of driving through the desert in a flatbed with the speakers way high, and a deliciously cooled beer waiting for me at the end of the road. Elmwood doesn't have much to do with the Low Countries, but who cares when music this good is made here and produced in or near the arid country of Texas. Song by song Drive Like Maria captured me and in a convincing way. So, I also just found out that they have a new album called Drive Like Maria and that former Krezip drummer, Bram van den Berg, joined the band. This seems a somewhat unlikely combination, but who knows? Another album to check out some day soon. For now I'm happy with Elmwood.

Wo.

You can order Elmwood here


or here

Hospitality. Hospitality

Je kunt hier naar Hospitality luisteren

Het debuut van het Amerikaanse trio Hospitality lag al een tijdje op de stapel en leek daar niet meer van af te komen, tot een van de lezers van deze BLOG me nog eens op de plaat wees. Hierna is de plaat vrij snel in de cd speler verdwenen en tot dusver is hij daar niet meer uit gekomen. Hospitality maakt op haar debuut honingzoete popmuziek met een scherp randje. Bij de eerste noten lijkt het heel even op The Sundays of Sixpence None The Richer, maar wanneer de gitaren wat feller uit gaan halen hoor ik ook wel wat van The Pixies of Sleater Kinney, terwijl de band in de van flink wat extra zonneschijn voorziene popliedjes opschuift in de richting van bands als Belle And Sebastian en Camera Obscura. Ster van de band is zangeres  Amber Papini, die steeds weer weet te verleiden met wonderschone zwoele vocalen, maar nergens doorslaat in te zoete klanken. De mooie stem van Amber Papini wordt omlijst door een uiterst sober geluid, waarin naast een oerdegelijke ritmesectie vooral de mooie en veelkleurige gitaarlijnen opvallen. Het zijn gitaarlijnen die de lente onmiddellijk laten beginnen, al is Hospitality ook niet bang voor een paar wat donkerdere gitaarwolken. Slechts in een aantal tracks is gekozen voor een net wat voller geluid, waarin onder andere voorzichtige elektronica en blazers de revue passeren. Hospitality schotelt de luisteraar betrekkelijk eenvoudige popliedjes voor, maar ze zijn wel  alle tien raak. Ondanks het feit dat de tien tracks op het titelloze debuut van Hospitality allemaal in grote lijnen hetzelfde recept volgen klinken ze allemaal anders. Dit ligt vooral aan het mooie gitaarwerk dat steeds net wat andere accenten legt; van psychedelisch tot punky en van breed uitwaaierend tot bijna Afrikaans of jazzy. De stem van Amber Papini schurkt hier steeds lekker tegenaan en voorziet de popliedjes van Hospitality uiteindelijk van onderscheidend vermogen. Het debuut van Hospitality is zo’n plaat die maar een paar noten nodig heeft om je te verleiden. Normaal gesproken vervliegen dit soort platen snel, maar de muziek van Hospitality blijft vooralsnog aangenaam kleven. In Nederland heeft deze plaat tot dusver schandalig weinig aandacht gekregen. Nu de plaat voor de zoveelste keer voorbij komt en steeds aangenamer prikkelt, kan ik alleen maar concluderen dat we hebben zitten slapen en heel snel wakker moeten worden. Het debuut van Hospitality is immers één van de grote lenteplaten van 2012.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Hospitality hier bestellen

of hier

 

Viva la vita. Damiano della Torre

You can listen to 'Almost spring' here.

Damiano della Torre is, among many things, the producer of Beth Wimmer's latest cd 'Ghost and man'. The beautiful sound of the album and the intricate playing on the album, mostly by Damiano himself, made me curious to his own work. Although his latest effort 'Viva la vita' stems from 2010, it may be unknown to most readers of WoNoBloG. So here's a review introducing Viva la vita.

If anything sticks out at the first listen, it's two things: that the songs in Italian are sung with more confidence and sparkle more and that his influences range from Hendrix to Zucchero. With the name of Adelmo Fornaciari, nicknamed Zucchero, I gave away most of my knowledge of Italian rock music. Through the decades there has been an odd Italian record that became a hit in The Netherlands, but it's not standard. I haven't even heard anything for years by Eros Ramazotti. In 2001 I picked up an album of the rock outfit Negrita in Rome, which I've played for a while. One of the songs on Viva la vita, 'Cosa sento dentro', reminds of this album quite a lot. Good riffing, sharp guitar soloing and a very pleasant organ in the background. Not to forget good singing, with this rough edge Italian male rock singers all seem to have. To the best of my recollection, I do not own any other Italian album than Negrita's 2001 offer.

Della Torre has several albums to his name with his band Radiosky and has been active as a session musician and producer since the 1990ties. Viva la vita is his first solo offer. Clad in a new age travellers outfit and showing all sorts of coloured smoke in the cover booklet he literally seems to offer his listeners his new music.

Stylistically Viva la vita is all over the place. We race through pop's history. Jimi Hendrix lead lines hidden in the back ground of 'Call me', fairly slick rock-soul songs of the seventies in 'Don't look back'. Full out rocking in 'Facciamo bene l'amore', which ranges towards Neil Young at his hardest with a great organ solo. In 'Sveglio' he sounds close to my Spanish favourite of many a year, Jarabe de Palo. Some up tempo reggae-ish 'Freedom' and seventies jazzrock soloing in 'Guarda'. In general there is some really good guitar playing on this album to enjoy, in very different styles.

Della Torre nearly plays all instruments himself. So listening to Viva la vita makes me feel a little in awe, that these songs were built layer for layer by one man. He has kept a good overview of where he was and where he wanted to go, as the album is sounding meticulously. There is playing by Della Torre's friend and colleague Max Gini on saxes and other copper and woodwork, who is sadly remembered by songs on Beth Wimmer's 'Ghost and man' album.

All in all the album is not 100% to my taste, as not all the styles are my cup of tea. Still there are several songs which I think are really good, so that the album is on the good side of my scale and will be played again in the future. For those loving Italian rock singers, they should check Damiano della Torre's album out straight away and all other's can give it a try too.

If I'm allowed a personal advise, I would say to Damiano to sing in Italian only. It sounds an awful lot cooler and suits his tongue better. That I haven't a clue what he is singing about, is of less consequence. I know a great rock song when I hear one. Allow me here to mention 'Facciamo ...' again. For now let's make do with the message Della Torre gives us that I do understand: Celebrate life!

Wo.

You can order Viva la vita via www.damianodellatorre.com

Not your kind of people. Garbage

You can listen to 'Not your kind of people' here.

When Butch Vig all of a sudden turned up in the limelight as a musician in the mid nineties this was news. By then famous for producing 'Nevermind' and 'Siamese dream' (and with hind sight 'Gish') he turned out to be the drummer of a new band called Garbage. Three middle aged men and a young Scottish singer called Shirley Manson. The band proved not overly productive. To be honest I'd expected not to hear from them again after the not so successful, nor particularly special album 'Bleed like me' from 2005. Of course the band had had some success before. Even a few hitsingles, but not much which kept me up at night, not being able to sleep from sheer excitement.

In 2012 this part has not changed as I tend to be a good sleeper. What has changed, is that I've played Not your kind of people more than all previous albums together. There's a snare played inside of me resonating from 'Automatic Systematic habit' all the way to the bit tacky ballad 'Beloved freak'. The album has a little bit of everything, ranging from electrified, spiced up rock to some great pop songs.

Garbage is around for almost 19 years in 2012, but Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker have been making music together for much longer. It was only when they started making music that led to Garbage, they had the idea to look for a female vocalist. This became Manson after one of the guys saw a video of her band Angelfish on MTV.

'Control' is one of the songs that show the prowess of Not your kind of people. It starts off sounding like a ballad. It could be Madonna or Adele, the song could go any way. At 0.38 all hell bursts loose. Garbage lets it rip into a great rock song, with a mean, almost dissonant harmonica and Manson changing from an angel to a snarling bitch. The band has always worked hard to be more than a simple rock band. Electronics have no mysteries to the band members and all sorts of effects are woven into or on top of the music and vocals. To great effect too.

Another asset is the diversity in the songs. More so than I remember from previous albums. The title song is a tacky song deep down, but the sound treatment makes it down right interesting. Added to the mix is some great vocal harmonising. The way simple oohs and aahs can be placed/sang, still amazes me every time this is done in just the right way. Manson does the trick here. I also definitely like the guitar in the left ear corner. The driven 'Felt' is another great example of the different songs that are on the album. Plain catchy.

What may be the biggest difference is that I have the idea that Manson is singing better (or that the songs are more suited to her voice). On previous albums I always had the idea she was straining her voice, while here she's singing great. Using the different shades of her voice to perfection. As if the band and its singer have finally really found each other. All this has led Garbage to their best album to date. It will not be a commercial success like its first two albums, Garbage and Version 2.0, but nothing is nowadays. Not your kind of people is a great rock album with different shades and colours, a true addition to my record collection. It made me change my opinion of them. My kind of people after all?

Wo.

You can order No your kind of people here


and here

The Hackensaw Boys live in Q-Bus, Leiden

Foto Wo.

You can listen to The Hackensaw Boys perform 'Nashville' here.


Just to kick this review off, band and audience were smoking in the over two hour show The Hackensaw Boys gave in the Q-Bus on Thursday 14 June. Back for the first time since the two shows in 2004 that introduced me to the band and made me a great fan.

Within the band hardly anything is the same, but what hasn't changed is that the music the band plays touches as well as enthuses people. With one main difference since 2004: the band clearly has a fan base in The Netherlands and one that is growing as I saw a several parents with children and under 20 kids in the audience. And quite rightly so!

Having seen the band play many times through the years a few things fell to my attention. Perhaps there have been too many changes in the band in too short a time as the hierarchy was upset in a visible way or better there clearly was a hierarchy where this was missing before. This made the band less of a unity than before, not the one engine machine made up out of six different parts. The other was that the diversity in the music itself was missing as the solos on mandolin, harmonica and banjo were mostly missing. Tour manager Thomas Wevers was added to the line up on mandolin and banjo and did a great job, but was serving as were the other new(er) members. Two acoustic guitars and two fiddles do not make up for that. The moment I started noticing this, somewhere around three quarters to an hour into the show, something happened: the magic kicked in that gives this band the extra. Energy pulsing from the stage and back to the stage from the audience. I did not give a single thought to the lack of diversity after that.

Foto Wo.

What it did do, is that it sounded even more classic American folk than before, for all I know as a Dutch outsider that is. The fiddle being more dominant, the thought of square dancing at small town country fairs in the 19th century was never far away. This is only one of the strengths of the band though, as they also muster some great songs, ballads and "serious" songs which depict certain moods perfectly. People can party and listen at the same time and do.

Foto Wo.

What also was a clear pleasure was hearing David Sickmen's songs again sung by himself. Even though his voice was strained past the maximum, it was great to hear songs like 'Alabama shamrock', 'Smiling must mean something' or 'We are many' again. I'm not taking away anything away from Ward Harrison's songs, though I did miss 'Restaurant girl' on the set list or the great fun songs of Ferd Moyse IV's, nor from the song writers of the band's past, as we were treated to several of these songs. It's the combination that makes The Hackensaw Boys so good.

The Hackensaw Boys' great trick of speeding up during songs was displayed a few times. Despite being a guitar player myself, I always look in awe at the speed of playing and I'm plain glad that it's not me keeping time up there.

So after circa two hours, curfew time set in in the Q-Bus and the band got off stage and played on acoustically in between the audience for two songs and then it really was over. "What kind of venue is this"? asked one band member to me after the show, as if they had wanted to play on for another hour or so. And who knows, perhaps they did. All were clearly having a very good time.

And now we will have to see in which the way the band will evolve. Up to now it has survived all changes. I will be there at the next step.

Wo.

There's more on WoNo Magazine's blog on The Hackensaw Boys read:
- the review of their latest EPs here
- an interview with Ward Harrison here
- an interview with David Sickmen here