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Sweet Sounds Of Heaven. The Rolling Stones ft. Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder
And
another single already. I'll admit, when I put it on for the first
time, when working and after a little over a minute the phone rang, so I had to switch the song off, I
was disappointed. Where was that 'Shine A Light', 'Sweet Virginia',
'Loving Cup', kind of twist that puts your world upside down? Where was
the spark setting it alight? What was the world clamouring about? The
rest of the day was so busy because of that phone call, that I was not
able to go back to You Tube until well into the next day. And then the
magic happened: I was totally blown away by the power of Sweet Sounds Of
Heaven. WHAT A SONG!. At 80 the band obviously wants to go out with the
biggest bang. The Stones are not afraid to bring in some help. This song
is credited as with Lady Gaga and somewhere Stevie Wonder is in there
as well, I suppose the Hammond organ. This is the best Stones song since
'Saint Of Me'. It is a song that sends shivers down my spine and brings
tears to my eyes. Where Angry was good and sounded inspired, this song is going
into the Stones stratosphere. Just imagine this live. We don't need
'Gimme Shelter' any more. This is as good, if not better. The more I
play it, the better the song becomes. Thanks to the song I'm singing
'I've Got Dreams To Remember' and 'Can I Take My Gun To Heaven' as well.
The Rolling Stones go gospel and soar through the roof straight into
the musical heavens. I honestly did not know they had this in them any
more. What a great inspiration this band is to all people slowly ageing.
On the day U2 went on its week long Las Vegas foray, without Larry Mullen jr. but with Krezip drummer Bram van de Berg, it released a new single to celebrate the start. Hearing it on the radio early in the morning, I noticed how light the song sounded, what a pop vibe the song had. And, yes, that 'Call Me' vibe around the song as well (and not that other great Blondie single 'Atomic'). I think that this lightness is what is most striking, because U2 can be heavy handed, even, no especially in its most famous songs. There are enough U2-musical features in Atomic City all fans will recognise. A light tone is added, what makes Atomic City very pleasant to listen to. The band's best? No, that remain 'Vertigo' and 'New Year's Day', but certainly a nice addition.
And,
Well before the start of WoNo Magazine in 2001 I remember a discussion with my erstwhile colleague Bernd on the age of rock musicians and especially The Rolling Stones. Bernd was a huge U2 fan. I foresaw a long career for that band, then well into their thirties and the Stones in the mid fifties. Time to quit, said Bernd and I hope U2 does as well in time, he added.
I haven't spoken to Bernd well over a decade, so I do not know what he thinks of these singles. My point is, a musician is never too old to write a great song. The Stones have at 80 and U2 adds a quite decent song to its repertoire this week. Who knows what is still in store for us?
The
Maureens return to the blog as well with its first release since well
before the pandemic. Again, perfect pop jumps and hurtles from my
speakers. The details in the music profess to the great care that has
gone into arranging Alison, including a small tip of the hat to indie
pop heroes Johan: "yeah". Alison is a song that grows with each spin. I
simply love the bass part that meanders though the song almost
like a lead instrument. The electric guitar and keyboard make little
explorations out of the mould of the song with a few extra notes that
are in the right spot to set the song alight. They speak so clearly
because of the tightness of the song as a whole. On top of it all, the
singing is, as always, exquisite. The Maureens is a band that deserves
so much more attention. Not many bands in this country, and beyond, come
this close to perfect pop songs. With a new album announced, I can't
wait to hear more.
Also
Ebony Lamb returns to the blog. She has released a new single for her
upcoming first solo album. Drive Me Around is a lush and warm song in
the style that her fellow New Zealander Reb Fountain also excels in. The
single is a song that one can play with an acoustic guitar around a
fire on the beach, while a guitar is not the instrument I hear a lot on Drive
Me Around. The electric piano and something like a mellotron are the
instruments that steal the show. They give the song its tremendously
warm vibe. The kind that wraps a musical arm around you when you need it
most. The drums, bass and rhythm guitar give the song the backbone that
makes it unbendable. They allow the floating, sustained piano and the
meandering mellotron. Over it Ebony Lamb sings as if she's floating on
air, defying gravity. "I still want you to drive me around", she sings.
It sounds to me as if she has found a totally new form of
transportation. What a beautiful song.
The Vaccines will never make an impression like 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)' ever again. The band's jump unto the international podium lasted something like one minute and 20 seconds and all was said and done by that time. Now well over 10 years down the line, the band announced a new album for January, 'Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations' and releases Heartbreak Kid. Expect all that you like to hear from the U.K. band. Up tempo, indie rock with a (Brit)pop cum sing-a-long element, etc. Heartbreak Kid brings what The Vaccines is good at. The downside is that there are no surprises but with a song like this I can totally live with this fact. Something did change tough. Lead guitarist Freddy Cowan left the band this year, so only two of the original members remain standing. Nothing has changed in the sound. This is classic The Vaccines, so all fans can look forward to hearing more in the near future.
Teddy's Hit was promoted from Excelsior's junior label, run by singer-songwriter Tim Knol, to the real thing with the release of its new single Firenze. This song combines everything I abhorred in the 1980s and love what they do with it as the inspiration for music in the 2020s. Teddy's Hit is one of the many, many bands playing the music their parents grooved to when in high school or university. Starting with 'Once In A Lifetime' accents, just listen to the bass and lead guitar and Gang of Four rhythms. Talking Heads and I found our way slowly but surely, most other bands never did. And then listen how Teddy's Hit incorporates, a little pop, an early Bowie piano part, bongos and what not, making Firenze so different. Like the sun shining on the Italian city in the title while overlooking the Arno river, instead of wallowing in the gloom of the end of the world by the atomic apocalypse. In short, Firenze in its own small way is a great single.
Another single from Melle on the blog. The fourth this year if I've counted correctly. Melle Boddaert is cutting out a musical path for himself. I will start with stating that 17 doesn't make the same impression on me as at least two previous singles did. At the same time I hear that 17 is an ambitious song with a wide ranging arrangement and a big sound supporting the, often, multitracked voice. The lyrics, like expected, look back on a youth gone by already. As a young 20 something this is however still close by and yet gone forever. Musically it leads to a song that reflects that feeling of loss, without despair setting in. There is power within Melle's memories, he shares with the listener. Not so much happy but certainly vibrant. Melle shows that he is an artist to keep track off.
Wie had dat gedacht, dat ik uitkijk naar een nieuwe Spinvis. Het heeft wat jaren geduurd. Wij Kunnen Niet Zoveel is uitgebracht ter viering van de start van Spinvis' nieuwe toernee. Is er een trend gezet (zie U2 hier boven). Spinvis presenteert een dromerige song in de beste Massive (Attack) traditie. Breed uitwaaierende electronica met violen (of zo) voor extra aangezet effect. De achtergrond zang is meer een extra instrument dan zang, een extra muzikaal tapijt om overheen te zingen. Daarover heen praatzingt Erik de Jong een tekst waar op het eerste gehoor geen touw aan vast te knopen is en misschien wel nooit. Het doet er duidelijk niet toe, want het is gewoonweg prachtig wat hier gebeurt. Lnagzaam maar zeker groeit en groeit Wij Kunnen Niet Zoveel. De muziek zwelt aan en aan en aan, om pas helemaal op het einde zachtjes uit te doven. Deze single is Spinvis op zijn best.
When Lou Mansdorf tells me to listen to a single, I usually do. Enter Tony Marsico on this blog. Looking at the clip, I was totally surprised to see something I hadn't see since I do not know when. 'Thunderbirds', when I was boy they were totally real to me. We did not even have a television set ourselves, my parents didn't want one, but somehow I saw something of the series somewhere. Fast forward decades and decades and it is unbelievably slow and fake. Of course, it was a puppet series, except I literally never saw it again until today. It was a feeling more than memory. Yes, that was what they looked like. The strange thing is, I have no idea what the Tracy boys are called, all the others I do know. Weird, isn't it? Alan pops up as I write. The blond one?
Back
to Tony Marsico. First, thanks for this trip down memory lane. Rocket
Girl is a nice song alright. Poppy, rocky, and touching on a lot of the
right strings. Do check it out. Where is my 'Shooting Star' single by Cliff & the Shadows?
The mystery of what it is in the water in New Zealand is something that may never be solved. The fact is that so many acts that come from the island state in the Pacific resonate within me. These numbers are definitely disproportionate compared to many other countries. Take Office Dog. Its single Big Air has this bounce, it is oozing positivity, while at the same time being totally credible and certainly very alternative in the rocking kind of way. As such the band fits in with the Flying Nun label, that btw has already released the album 'Spiel' recently. The rest of the world has to wait until late January. Big Air is a punk rock single in the style of traumahelikopter here in NL or DIIV in the U.S.. Toughness is combined with a sense of melody that goes way beyond making noise from anger and/or frustration. Office Dog doesn't mind to put a smile on the face of the listener, while sharing all the energy it has within it. The result, an energetic song that allows for listening, singing and dancing all in one. The best of all musical worlds indeed.
Wout de Natris
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