Pee Wee Ellis & The Spirit of Christmas.

I have never been a great one for Christmas albums. I think I have only bought two of them previously, The Beach Boys Christmas album when I was about fifteen, back in the 1960’s, and Sweet Bells by Kate Rusby a few years ago at her Christmas show in Bath. However, when I saw this album quite a while ago in a shop in Warminster I had to buy it. It is The Spirit of Christmas by Pee Wee Ellis. As you probably know Pee Wee was the saxophone player, arranger, and music director in Van Morrison’s band for many years. That is one reason I bought the CD, the other reason is because I had the pleasure of meeting Pee Wee in Bradford On Avon fifteen years ago, and you couldn’t meet a nicer person. I was very sorry to hear that he had passed away in September 2021. When I bought the album, I didn’t play it for months, but today I remembered it and thought now was the right time to give it a good listen.

Pee Wee is joined on the album by his old friend from James Brown and the J.B. Horns Fred Wesley on trombone. Also, Clare Teal who Van Morrison fans will know from his Duets album. Clare has also been an occasional guest of Van on stage. I remember seeing her at Glastonbury Abbey and the Royal Albert Hall. Both she and Pee Wee lived in the West Country which might be why they worked together so often. On piano and keyboards is Jason Rebello who I think is also based locally in Bath. Gary Winters is on trumpet, Tony Remi on guitar, Patrick Scales on bass, and Guido May on drums. This album was made in Cologne in 2013, and I think some of the other musicians might be based in Germany because I had never heard of Lisa Bassenge, Lillian Boutte, or Peter Fessler before, but they are all great singers. I see on the sleeve notes that the production co-ordinator is Pee Wee’s wife Charlotte.

The album opens with Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas with Clare on vocals. Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer is presented here as a jazz instrumental arranged by trumpet player Gary Winters and some passages in it are reminiscent of A Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. The George Michael song Last Christmas doesn’t sound like Wham here. It has become a jazz song with Peter Fessler scatting away to his hearts content. Christmas In New Orleans was originally popularised by Louis Armstrong, but here it is sung by Lillian Boutte and she does a wonderful job of it. Christmas Time Is Here was written by Vince Guaraldi who you will know from Cast Your Fate To The Wind, but he wrote this tune in 1965 for a TV show called A Charlie Brown Christmas. Pee Wee’s arrangement features some wonderful piano playing by Jason Rebello. 

In The Upper Room was written by a great American lady called Lucie E Campbell who was a civil rights activist as well as a composer of hymns. Lillian Boutte sings this great gospel song and Pee Wee performs an excellent solo on tenor sax. Here, In The Bleak Midwinter is transformed by a bluesy arrangement with guitar and trumpet to the fore. Ezekiel Saw The Wheel is a lively upbeat song by Lillian. White Christmas is sung by Peter who also plays acoustic guitar on this track. Van fans will know bass player Laurence Cottle from his contributions to Van’s Keep Me Singing and Roll With The Punches albums. Here he arranges Snowfall written by Claude Thornhill.

Stille Nacht (Silent Night) is sung here as a jazz arrangement in the original German by Lisa Bassenge. Pee Wee again plays a wonderful solo (See video below). Clare returns to sing What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? Written by Frank Loesser who you will know from such songs as Baby Its Cold Outside and Let’s Get Lost. Jason excels himself on piano on this track. The album officially comes to a close with The Christmas Song which was written by Robert Wells and Mel Torme. I thought the album was finished, but after about a minute of silence the band return for a jam session which I’ll call Merry Christmas. I really enjoyed hearing this excellent album today on a cold December afternoon. I’m not sure if it is still available, but I’m sure you could track down a copy. If you like Christmas and great soulful jazz music, then this could be just what you need.

 

Stille Nacht (Silent Night) by Pee Wee Ellis.

Neil Young - Harvest Time (Official Film Clip)

R.I.P Christine McVie. I'd Rather Go Blind (1969)

I Did It Otway.

The night after I got home from London, I had a call from a neighbour Phil. “John Otway is playing in Trowbridge tomorrow night if you fancy going”. “Ok, that sounds like fun, I’ll see you in the pub at 6.30”. The next evening, we caught a taxi from The Crown to the railway station and hopped on the train for the short journey to Trowbridge. The Village Pump is a little folk club in the yard of The Lamb pub which has somehow managed to survive for about fifty years and has hosted some great musicians during that time. This isn’t the first time I have seen Otway perform. I think apart from Van Morrison I have seen him more times than any other act, often by chance, such as tonight. When we arrived, the pub was absolutely packed, not with Otway fans, but with football fans because tonight England were playing USA in the World Cup, and everyone wanted to watch it on the big screen. We managed to get a drink and went outside into the fresh air of the yard. After a few minutes who should also emerge from the pub but John Otway himself. 

We had a little chat and Otway kindly signed a ticket which I had brought along. It was from his 50^th birthday party concert at the London Palladium which me and Kim went to in 2002. We talked about that great concert which Otway remembered vividly. Dr Feelgood were also on the bill that night, and sadly their great guitar player Wilko Johnson died this week. He was great friends with Otway who paid a little tribute to Wilko during his show this evening. Then it was time to take our seats. We found a table at the back, but this club is so tiny everyone gets a great view.

I didn’t write down the set-list, but Otway played two sets of about 45 minutes each with an interval in the middle. As well as the songs, there is also lots of crazy hilarious banter where Otway tells stories about his long career. He began with the first of his two hit singles which was Really Free, and anyone who watched The Old Grey Whistle Test on the BBC in the 1970s will never forget his performance of this song, and Cheryl’s Going Home which he also performed in Trowbridge. He also sang his other hit Bunsen Burner which took me right back to that magical night at the Palladium when he sang it for the fans in the pub across the road. Another great song was Beware Of The Flowers which was the flipside of Really Free and I think should have been a huge hit in its own right. Louisa on a horse from his first album with Wild Willy Barrett was another highlight in Trowbridge, as was Josephine, and I Can’t Complain from the equally great Deep and Meaningless album. 

I also enjoyed The Middle of Winter. A personal favourite of mine is the poignant Poetry & Jazz which shows what a great lyric writer Otway can be. Of the more humorous songs, there were I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor sung in the style of Bob Dylan, Crazy Horses by The Osmonds which featured a manic solo on the theremin, Blockbuster by The Sweet, House of the Rising Sun which involved a lot of audience participation. Body Talk where he had microphones all over himself. He finished with the Wild Willy Barrett song Head Butts in which he repeatedly head butted the microphone, which must have hurt. During the interval I bought some Otway Christmas cards at the merchandise stall which were 5 for £2.00 and Otway’s biography called I Did It Otway, Regrets, I’ve Had a Few!. Otway signed it for me. I didn’t realise that the price for the book had been reduced, so when I got my change I said, “I wasn’t expecting that much change”. “You haven’t read the book yet”, Otway replied, which I thought was funny. I got Phil to take a picture of me and Otway. So, thanks to Phil for getting me a ticket, and thanks to the one and only John Otway for a great night in Trowbridge.

Me & Otway.

A Visit To London.

It was pouring with rain on Monday morning as I headed for the railway station to catch the 10.37 train to London. Little did I realise what lay ahead. All went well until the train stopped at Basingstoke. We waited and waited, and the train didn’t move. After about half an hour the conductor made an announcement. “We apologise for the delay which is due to a signal fault”. I had arranged to meet my friends Jacky & Bill at Waterloo Station at 12.44, so I phoned them and said we had a delay.

 Another half an hour went by, and we were still in flaming Basingstoke. Luckily for me I was reading a book about Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hahn which stopped me from getting angry and losing my cool. Finally, they asked us to get off the train and make our way to platform 4 where another train would take us to Waterloo. We eventually arrived at Waterloo two hours late. It was great to see my friends who had waited patiently for me. Then we caught a bus to Dulwich where I was grateful to have two pints of cider and relax. I had enough of travelling for one day, so we just stayed locally that evening and went for a meal in a place called The Great Exhibition which is named after the Great Exhibition which was held in 1851 at the nearby Crystal Palace.

On Tuesday the weather had improved. It was a very pleasant sunny day, so after watching a World Cup game we went for a walk around Dulwich Park. London has some wonderful parks, and the trees look magnificent at this time of year. It was near here in Peckham Rye that William Blake claimed to have seen the Prophet Ezekiel under a bush, and he was probably ten years old when he had a vision of angels in a tree. His biographer, Alexander Gilchrist, told the story: 'sauntering along, the boy looks up and sees a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every branch. Returned home he related the incident, and only through his mother's intercession escaped a thrashing from his honest father, for telling a lie.' A month later, he had another vision of angels walking towards him through the rye.

Sadly, I didn’t see any angels, but I took quite a few photos of the trees. I got Jacky to take my photo under an oak tree that is classed as one of the ‘Great trees of London’. After that we had a look at Dulwich Picture Gallery which was opened to the public in 1817 and houses one of the country's finest collections of Old Masters, especially rich in French, Italian, and Spanish Baroque paintings, and in British portraits from Tudor times to the 19th century. I found some of the sculptures in the grounds quite fascinating as well. On the way back home, we passed an old burial ground where the village stocks stood in the middle ages. That evening we went to the local pub and then went home to watch another World Cup game.

On Wednesday morning I said cheerio to Jacky and Bill after my too short visit and caught the 175 bus back to Waterloo. I had plenty of time before my train, so had a look at the National Windrush Monument, which was unveiled in June 2022 by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. The monument memorialises the British West Indian immigrants who came to the United Kingdom on board HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, who subsequently became known as the Windrush generation. The inscription accompanying the monument includes a poem "You Called..and we came" written by Professor Laura Serrant OBE. I must say that it is a wonderful and moving tribute to the people who came to this country after the war to help rebuild Britain. It just seems a shame that it took so long for them to be recognised. Then I caught the 12.20 train home, and was grateful that this return journey was relatively uneventful.

The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan.

I finished reading the new book by Bob Dylan last night. It is called The Philosophy of Modern Song and is Bob’s first book since the autobiographical Chronicles in 2004. I learned a lot from Chronicles, and this new book has been even more educational for me. A beautiful book of 340 pages containing 66 essays by Bob about songs that mean something to him. It is a collection of pieces Bob wrote over a ten-year period. The book is dedicated to Doc Pomus who along with his song writing partner Mort Shuman wrote dozens of hit songs, many of which are covered in this book. As well as the great writing, the book is lavishly illustrated with some stunning pictures and photographs. The front cover is a good example. I recognised Little Richard and Eddie Cochran, but who was the mystery woman with them? It turns out that her name is Alis Lesley. I looked her up on Wikipedia and YouTube. (See video below) Apparently, she was briefly famous in 1957 when she was styled as ‘The female Elvis Presley’. Her real name was Alice, but she changed it to Alis to sound more like Elvis. So, even before I opened the book, I had learned something.

That is typical of the whole book. As well as writing about many singers and songs I was very familiar with, Bob has introduced me to musicians and songs that I didn’t know existed. Songs like Take Me From This Garden of Evil by Jimmy Wages. He was a rockabilly singer who went to school in Tupelo, Mississippi with Elvis Presley. He recorded a number of songs for Sam Phillips at Sun records, but none of them were released at the time. Every song mentioned in this book that I hadn’t previously heard I looked for on youtube and listened to, which added to the pleasure of reading the book. Detroit City is a song I remember by Tom Jones in the 1960s, but now, thanks to Bob I much prefer the original by Bobby Bare. Other singers and songs I have discovered from this book include Johnnie & Jack who sang Poison Love, Old Violin by Johnny Paycheck, A Certain Girl by Ernie K-Doe, Feel So Good by Sonny Burgess and many, many, more.

As well as talking about the history of the songs, Bob uses them as a starting point for setting off on long stream of consciousness type explorations of all manner of subjects, often in quite nightmarish detail. For instance, he imagines the song There Stands The Glass as being the story of a war veteran who has committed atrocities, described in harrowing detail. We know Bob has a very vivid imagination from songs such as Desolation Row, but some passages in this book go even further. It is no wonder Bob once said, ‘If my thought-dreams could be seen, They’d probably put my head in a guillotine’. He uses the Pete Seeger song Waist Deep In The Big Muddy to comment on how people get led into all sorts of messy situations by inept leaders. Bob doesn’t take sides though, he just observes, and doesn’t offer solutions. In the same essay he mentions ‘whining leftys’ and ‘badgering right-wingers’. He does show a lot of sympathy for the native American people though as shown in another song I hadn’t heard before Doesn’t Hurt Anymore by John Trudell. 

When looking at the song War by Edwin Starr he says that the people who vote the masters of war into power are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Bob says that if you want to see a war criminal, then just look in the mirror. He looks at relationships with the same world-weary eye. When discussing Cheaper To Keep Her by Johnnie Taylor he casts an eye at the multi-billion-dollar divorce industry racket, and it sounds like he is speaking from bitter personal experience. He also reflects ruefully on old age and a youth driven world in Old and In The Way by Charlie Poole. I was quite impressed by Bob’s knowledge of British history, When talking about Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood he mentioned the case of Derek Bentley whose words ‘Let him have it Chris’ were misunderstood by his accomplice and led to him being hanged for the shooting of a London policeman in 1953. I didn’t think Americans would have much interest in British criminal history.

When you look at the songs covered here, you get the feeling that Bob likes early rock & roll and soul records. Also, the great American songbook with songs by the likes of Perry Como and Bing Crosby being studied. Bob seems quite sympathetic to Colonel Tom Parker as well, who a lot of people blame for Elvis’s demise. Although there are essays about the likes of Cher, Nina Simone, Judy Garland, and Rosemary Clooney I couldn’t help but notice that the overwhelming majority of songs were by male artists. Also, as you know I’m a big Van Morrison fan, so I was hoping that Bob might talk about some Van songs. Sadly, Van only gets one tiny mention when Bob is talking about Willie Nelson. Bob is obviously a huge Willie Nelson fan, and he puts him on a par with Hank Williams. 

One thing is certain, which is that Bob and Van were both influenced by the same people. There are pieces about Little Walter, Mose Allison, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, and many other artists who we know Van admired. There are also songs such as All In The Game, There Stands The Glass, and Your Cheatin' Heart which Van has covered. I have really enjoyed reading this book and listening to the songs for the last few days. Bob Dylan fans will love it, but so will anyone with an interest in the history of popular music. Highly recommended.

ALIS LESLEY - So Afraid (1957) Unissued Recording

Living.

I went to the Odeon cinema in Trowbridge with my friends Dave and Kate last night for the second time this year. The previous occasion was to see Belfast. I made the effort last night because I wanted to see the new film starring Bill Nighy called Living. Bill has been my favourite British actor for a long time, even more so since I discovered that he is a huge Van Morrison fan. I met Bill one night at Nell’s club in London when he was sitting next to me at a Van gig. In real life his demeanor is just as self-effacing, honest, and polite as you see him in interviews on the television. When I met him, he was there as a music fan, not as a famous actor. Another reason I wanted to see this particular film is that the screenplay is written by the great Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro. I have enjoyed reading several of his books over the last few years. Like Bill, I know that Kazuo is also a great music fan. I imagine that when they met, the talk would have been more about music rather than acting and writing.

Living is adapted from a 1952 film called Ikiru by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, which in turn was inspired by a 1886 Russian story The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. I think Kurosawa has been a major influence on the writings of Kazuo Ishiguro because I can detect very similar themes in this film to his great novel Remains of the Day. The film is set in London in the 1950s. Bill plays a bureaucrat called Mr Williams who works in the stultifying atmosphere of County Hall which seems to be designed to stop anything being achieved. Nobody accepts responsibility, and everything is pushed from one department to another. Mr Williams reminded me slightly of the butler Stevens in Remains of the Day. 

Bill Nighy & Aimee Lou Ward.

One day Mr Williams has some dramatic news which causes him to reassess his life. I won’t tell you any more about the plot because I hope you will see the film for yourself. I must say though that I also thought Aimee Lou Wood was brilliant as young Margaret who helps Mr Williams discover the secret of how to be happy. I hadn’t heard of the director Oliver Hermanus before, but he has done an excellent job in capturing the mood of 50s London. The cinema-photography and lighting are also wonderful, as is the soundtrack by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch which includes music by Sibelius, jazz by Vic Damone, and another string to Bill Nighy’s bow is that he is a great singer, as shown in his performance of The Rowan Tree which must have been difficult because he also had to appear drunk and emotional whilst singing. That song is also performed in the closing credits by Lisa Knapp who I mentioned in my previous post about her husband Gerry Diver.

Kazuo, Bill, & Oliver.

Despite the grim subject matter of the film, I left the cinema feeling very uplifted because the message is so life-affirming and positive. When the awards season gets underway before too long, I want to see prizes for best actor, best supporting actress, and best screenplay. Thank you very much.

Lisa Knapp: The Rowan Tree, from the film 'Living'.

Speech Project by Gerry Diver.

In the evenings when there is nothing on the TV worth watching, which is quite often, I usually listen to BBC 6Music on the radio. Often, I don’t pay much attention, but occasionally I hear something that makes me stop and listen. A week or so ago Tom Robinson played a track called My Margaret by Gerry Diver. It featured the voice of an Irish lady talking about the death of her mother. I found the combination of the voice and the music had a mysterious haunting quality which made me want to find out more. I found out that the woman who was speaking was the Irish singer Margaret Barry and her words were taken from a 1953 interview she gave to the musicologist Alan Lomax. In case you haven’t heard of Margaret Barry, she was born in Cork in 1917 into a family of travellers and street singers. As well as singing she also played the banjo and fiddle. By the 1950s she was so popular that she even sang at Carnegie Hall in New York. She was a huge influence on later singers such as Luke Kelly of The Dubliners. I also found out that the track was on an album called Speech Project released in 2011. When I learned that the likes of Christy Moore, Shane MacGowan, Damien Dempsey and Martin Hayes contributed to the album I decided to order a copy which arrived yesterday.

Gerry Diver.

Gerry Diver is a multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and producer who was born in Manchester to an Irish family. He studied the violin at university in Cork with Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. The idea for this project came about when he heard an interview with the accordionist Joe Cooley and was struck by the musicality in his speech. He noticed that Joe’s voice drifted in and out of musical notes like a slip jig reel. In the interview with Joe made shortly before he died in 1973, he talks fondly about the eighteen years he spent in the USA. This forms the basis for When In New York which is one of two tracks here with Joe’s voice. The other is called Old Time Musicians. Gerry takes key phrases from what his subjects say and then loops them in a kind of cut and paste technique throughout the music he composes inspired by their words.

Christy Moore is featured on two tracks called Fulham Broadway and Million Times. I have always thought that Christy has a very musical lilting speaking voice. You can hear it on such songs as Lisdoonvarna or Lost Tribe of the Wicklow Mountains on his album Lily, so his voice lends itself perfectly to this project. Damien Dempsey is featured on a track called Feel No Pain where he talks about the spirituality of music, and says that atheists are rarely good singers. One of the longest pieces is Music For Tape Loop in which Shane MacGowan talks about the Irish diaspora. Another person with a very expressive voice and a way with words is the fiddle player Martin Hayes who I know from his work with The Gloaming. He talks about the importance of authenticity in music, on a track called Sincerely Felt. The fiddle player Danny Meehan recites a W.B.Yeats poem The Ballad of Father Gilligan on a track called Famine. The album ends with House Ceilidh in which Margaret Barry recounts how after she had been at a fair, she would be invited to someone’s house. The furniture would be pushed back and there would be singing and dancing until 7.00 in the morning.

The music composed for this album includes violins, viola, dulcimer, guitar, harpsichord, recorder, whistles, bodhran, cello, bones, flute and pipes. The only name I recognised from the musicians was Gerry’s wife Lisa Knapp who also provides vocals on one track. I’m pleased that I bought this album. I think I might be biased because I come from an Irish background, but I have thought that Irish speaking voices are very suited to musical accompaniment, ever since I heard Ronnie Drew on the Celtic Poets album by Jah Wobble. Well done to all concerned in the making of Speech Project. I have shared House Ceilidh to this blog page to give you an idea of the album.

House Ceilidh

Hanging In The Gallery

It is another cold rainy Saturday here today, in contrast to yesterday which was like a little window of sunshine in between two bad weather fronts. I made the supreme effort to shake off my lethargy and caught the 11.02 bus to Bath. The good thing about going on the bus is that the bus stop is near my house, so it saves me the twenty-minute walk to the railway station. Also, it is free because I have a senior citizen’s bus pass. The downside is that it is so slow. It took over ninety minutes to travel the few miles to Bath, stopping every few minutes. I must say though that once we got past Bradford On Avon the countryside looked magnificent in the autumn sunshine. Eventually we arrived in the beautiful city of Bath.

I made my way to York Street which is just by the abbey. The reason for me coming here is because I wanted to see an art exhibition in a York Street gallery. The exhibition has been on since the beginning of October and I wanted to see it before it ended today. There were three artists work on display. There were sculptures and work by two other artists which were very good, but it was Helen’s Still Life paintings that I had come to see. I have known Helen for about thirty years since she and her family lived in Westbury. They moved away and I hadn’t seen Helen for at least fifteen years until this summer when she visited me with a mutual friend Maggie. That is how I found out about her forthcoming exhibition in Bath. In all those years I wasn’t aware of what a wonderful artist she was. I think in those days she was probably more concerned with bringing up the children rather than painting. I’m very pleased that her hard work has been recognised and she has become so successful.

I’m not an expert on art by any means and appreciating Still Life paintings isn’t something I have really considered before, but Helen’s pictures are exquisite. The way she captures light, and shadows is wonderful. Each painting must take hours and hours, if not days and weeks to complete. It must be incredibly difficult to capture a moment in time because light and shade are constantly changing. The concentration that is required for every little detail has to be admired. There was one painting I particularly admired of freesias in a jar of water. To be able to paint still water in a glass jar is an incredible achievement. 

To reach this level of perfection must be like a form of meditation I imagine, because the artist must be so totally focused on the subject, you can’t have any distractions. Just looking at the pictures evokes a feeling of calm in the viewer. It does with me anyway, the paintings are like a portal to mindfulness. I won’t say any more for fear of sounding pretentious, but I asked the attendant if it was ok to take photos and she said of course it was, so I snapped a few of the paintings. (See photos) I think you will agree with me that Helen’s work is wonderful.

I left the gallery after about an hour of admiring the art works. Right across the road from there is my favourite Bath bookshop Topping & Company. It used to be at the top of Milsom Street but has now taken over an old Quaker chapel in York Street. I spent about an hour in there as well. It is a booklover’s paradise. They have many signed first editions including recent publications signed by the likes of Greta Thunberg, Ian MacEwan, Joan Armatrading, Bob Mortimer, Nick Cave, and many others. In the end, after much umming and aahring I bought a biography of Nico and a book by Thich Nhat Hanh.

After that, I had a stroll around Bath. I noticed in the Parade Gardens near Pulteney Bridge there are still flower beds in bloom. It is November, what is going on?. I bought a vegetarian pasty in Milsom Street and sat on a bench near the abbey to eat it while listening to a busker who was a brilliant guitarist. I gave him 50 pence, then decided I’d seen enough for one afternoon. I couldn’t face another 90 minutes on the bus, so made my way to the railway station. I was glad I made the effort to get out and about, and Helen’s paintings were the highlight. On the train on the way home, thinking about the paintings brought the words of a great song by Dave Cousins of The Strawbs into my head, Is it the painter or the picture hanging in the gallery? Or is it but a still life of his own interpretation, of the way that God had made us, in the image of his eye?. I shared the song below if you want to hear it.

Hanging In The Gallery by Dave Cousins.

Leonard Cohen Chelsea Hotel #2 Live

Inside The Dream Palace.

Although it is quite warm for the time of year the skies are grey and we have had buckets of rain the last few days. It is Thursday afternoon now and I haven’t ventured out since Monday, but I have been quite happy staying up all night at the Chelsea Hotel. What I mean by that is, I have been reading a book called Inside the Dream Palace, The life & times of New York’s legendary Chelsea Hotel. It was published in 2014 and written by Sherill Tippins. A few months ago, after I wrote a piece about the artist Vali Myers which mentioned her meeting with Patti Smith at the Chelsea, a friend of mine who read the article thought I might like to read this book and kindly sent me a copy. I finally got around to reading it this week and I must say I found it a most enthralling read indeed. Just in case you are one of the few people who haven’t heard of the Chelsea Hotel I’ll just give you a quick few details about its history. It was opened in 1884 as a visionary utopian co-operative of apartments for people of all backgrounds. At the time it was New York’s tallest building. 

In 1905 financial problems caused it to be converted to a residential hotel. It became a haven for artistic creative types from all over the world who were drawn to the Chelsea because of it’s relaxed welcoming bohemian atmosphere. A journalist described it as ‘The Ellis Island of the Avant Garde’. It became a home to writers, musicians, painters, fashion designers, and all manner of creative people who influenced each other. A whole cavalcade of people I have admired fill the pages of this book. There is Thomas Wolfe whose books Look Homeward Angel and Of Time and the River I read decades ago because he was a big influence on Jack Kerouac’s early writing. Thomas Wolfe was encouraged to live at the Chelsea by Edgar Lee Masters who wrote Spoon River Anthology. I had never heard of him before, so this book is quite educational in introducing me to different writers. 

Jack Kerouac stayed at the Chelsea as well and had an encounter with Gore Vidal. I think it was a similar experience to the Chelsea meeting between Janis Joplin and Leonard Cohen which was immortalised in Leonard’s song Chelsea Hotel No2. As well as Jack, there are many other Beat related characters here such as Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Gary Snyder, Hubert Hunke and Gregory Corso raging through the lobby. I didn’t know that Arthur C Clarke lived here while he was writing the screenplay of 2001, A Space Odyssey for Stanley Kubrick. Brendan Behan lived a drunken existence at the Chelsea for a while until it was making him so ill he had to return to Ireland, but while in New York he managed to dictate Confessions of an Irish Rebel. 

Another Celt with a penchant for drink was Dylan Thomas who made many long visits to New York, on the last occasion without his wife Caitlin who complained that she was ‘left to rot in this bloody bog’. Dylan came back to his room one night and said, “I have had 18 straight whiskies, I think that’s the record”. He died a few days later. I found some of the stories quite amusing, such as the painter Jackson Pollock who when praised as a genius for his ‘action painting’ drunkenly ranted, “Do you think I would paint this shit if I could draw a hand?”

Bob Dylan wrote some of his greatest songs while living in the Chelsea, such as Visions of Johanna which mentions the ‘Lights flicker from the opposite loft, In this room the heat pipes just cough’. The heat pipes were notoriously noisy apparently. He wrote Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands here as well, and Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat which I didn’t know was about Edie Sedgwick until I read this book. There is a lot about the tragic story of Edie, and of course Andy Warhol. Also, Valerie Solanos who wrote the S.C.U.M Manifesto and shot Warhol, but luckily he survived. Leading on from that is The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed. When Warhol made the film Chelsea Girls Dylan said, “That’s the end of the Chelsea Hotel, you might as well burn it down’. 

Bob was wrong of course. Patti Smith and her boyfriend Robert Mapplethorpe found inspiration here when they arrived penniless. It was where Patti found her voice with encouragement from other residents. Something else I didn’t know was that Patti met both Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix here in 1970 shortly before they died. One of the most tragic events was the deaths of Nancy Spungen and Sid Vicious in 1978/79. I’m not convinced that Sid killed Nancy. I think it was probably a drug dealer who did it to get their money. The police didn’t seem very interested in finding out what really happened. It did cast a cloud over the hotel’s reputation, and I don’t want to dwell on that. 

There are many, many amazing colourful characters in this book, such as the elderly artist Alphaeus Cole who was given a long-term low rent agreement by the hotel because they didn’t want him worried about money. They thought the agreement would only be for a couple of years, but he lived to be 112. I enjoyed this book immensely. I don’t know if it is the definitive work on the history of this great and iconic building because it is the only one I have read, but I heartily recommend it to anyone who is interested in the counter-culture of the 20^th century.

Van Morrison, Born To Sing: No Plan B. (Revisited)

I don't think I will be going out today. It looks like rain is on the way. I have been listening to a Van Morrison album which was released almost exactly ten years ago. This is what I said about it back then. In hindsight I think I was a bit over-enthusiastic......................................

It has been a long  four and a half year wait for Van Morrison's 34th  studio album since Keep It Simple was released on St Patricks Day 2008. That is the longest gap between albums for Van since he arrived in New York to begin his solo career way back in 1967. Apart from Van, Paul Moore on bass is the only musician from Keep It Simple to play on the new album Born To Sing,No Plan B. I must say that it has been worth the wait. As on Veedon Fleece and Astral Weeks Van has managed to capture a mood on Born To Sing and hold it for most of the album. I think on some of Van's previous albums although they contain some great songs they are a bit disjointed in terms of mood, but I find this album very consistent and a valuable addition to Van's fine body of work.The opening track Open The Door (To Your Heart)  is the weakest track on the album, but it is the most radio friendly, so i can understand why it was chosen as the first single from the album. Van's voice sounds wonderful. At 67 years of age the voice is intact. Other singers who have been around as long as Van are shot away vocally. The melody is fine and the arrangement, but what lets the song down badly is the lyrics which are poor by Vans high standards.The lyrics are mainly a string of clichés which are unconnected with each other. Van often takes a song title that he likes, for instance Have I Told You Lately That I Love You and then writes a totally different song to the original. American soul singer Darrell Banks recorded Open The Door To Your Heart in 1966, although Van may be more familiar with the version by Jackie Wilson. In the title Van puts 'To Your Heart' in brackets maybe to stop confusion with the earlier different  song. Although it isn't a great song by any means it does draw the listener in to the mellow groove of the album.

Track two is a vast improvement, Going Down To Monte Carlo which Van informs us is only 25K from Nice.Here he paints an aural sketch of a man escaping from some diabolic pressure, sitting in a restaurant while some awful pseudo jazz plays in the background. Van has used this technique of painting a picture of a moment in time before in songs like Snow In San Anselmo.I like it..The protagonist in this quasi-autobiographical song is trying to escape from people who are driving him mad. Those words hark back to Vans Why Must I Always Explain?. Van also mentions Sartre in this song as he did on his previous Blue Note album What’s Wrong With This Picture.Van and Jean Paul go back a long way, back to Tupelo Honey and 'they can't stop up on the road to freedom'.This is a great song of existentialist dread.The listener is rewarded with repeated playing.The jazzy instrumental ending is very nice indeed.

The next song the eponymous Born To Sing is more immediately accessible. Van was born to sing thats for sure, he had no choice.As Leonard Cohen might have said he was born with a golden voice.I think this song could be a contender for the next single from the album. Radio 2 listeners would love this song. The young brass section of Alistair White and Chris White make an outstanding contribution to this album.They have been in Vans band for two years now and considering their youth they seem to have an intuitive feel for where Van wants to go with a song.

End Of The Rainbow is one of the strongest tracks on the album with a world weary Van sadly reflecting on the state of the world to a  lilting jazz accompaniment. Some may say that the lyrics are bleak and miserable but the song reflects the times we live in.There is no gravy train stopping here.I like music director Paul Moran's  piano playing on this song.

I don't know why Van has revisited Close Enough For Jazz. It appeared on the Too Long In Exile album as an instrumental. Maybe Van thought as he was back on the Blue Note jazz label he ought to make the album jazzier. Here he adds vocals.It reminds me of his work with Georgie Fame. It is pleasant enough,  but i think it is one of the lesser tracks on the album. Mystic Of The East is one of my favourite tracks. As you know the word mystic has appeared throughout Vans long career.Mystic Eyes, Into The Mystic, Mystic Avenue etc. The title slightly reminded me of his song Aryan Mist which mentioned gurus from the east and gurus from the west. I didn't like this song as first but it guru on me!. Van is the mystic of the east, East Belfast that is.There is some very nice organ playing on this track. The protagonist is deep in the heart of down.Would that be County Down?.He can't find his brief. Those words also remind one of the Hymns To The Silence album.

Another song that reminds one of an earlier Van song is Retreat And View. Van used those words in Beside You on the Astral Weeks album 'And you roam from your retreat and view'. What does he mean by that?. In 1967 Van spent a short time in a monastery which is a retreat i suppose, and recently Van has spent a long time retreating from the world and now he has reappeared and views the world anew. This is another great track that grows with each playing. The instrumental passages are wonderful.If you like songs such as When The Leaves Come Falling Down then you will love this song after a few plays.

If In Money We Trust is totally different and is a scathing indictment of the values of modern society. Van quotes Friedrich Nietschze who said God Is dead.Like Sartre Van also mentioned Nietschze on his previous Blue Note album. I read that Van said he thought of the song when looking at a dollar bill and trying to work out what it all meant. It is certainly a strange thing to have as your god which it certainly is to the bankers and the other beasts with their noses in the trough. Musically the track is quite funky compared to the others.

 I really like Pagan Heart which is the most different of all the songs. I bet Van would have loved to have dueted this song with his friend John Lee Hooker. There is great blues guitar and piano on this track. References to Robert Johnson and the crossroads. A really nice blues jam which dies away to a whisper.

The last track is Educating Archie in which Van lets rip with venom against the modern world. Where he sings 'What happened to the individual and what happened to you?' reminds me of an earlier song  'What ever happened to PJ Proby and what ever happened to me?'.Van must have been in a really bad mood when he wrote this one. Educating Archie as you know was a BBC radio show of the 50's featuring a ventriloquist. Van must have listened to it as a kid.In a way i suppose it is the equivalent song to Carry On Regardless on the Magic Time Album. 

In conclusion,  this is a very satisfying album indeed. It knocks spots off Keep It Simple which although it had a couple of great songs such as Behind The Ritual and the title track, in hindsight was very uneven.This album holds the attention throughout. I know some of the veteran Van fans will say "Its not a patch on Astral Weeks or St Dominic's Preview". Well, that was breakfast, this is dinner. Others will say that its just more of the same, there is nothing new here. Well in a way that is the story of Van's career, he has revisited the same themes and images many times. Monet painted the same water lilies over and over, each time showing different shades of light and dark. Van is the same, he has matured. He has the finest body of work of any solo artist in music and this is a fine album from a mature artist for adult  people not for people who are trying to recapture their spotty youth when they sat around in student bedsits listening to Moondance.