Private Moments by Graham Robins.

An advance copy of the new EP from Graham Robins called Private Moments popped through my letterbox yesterday. I was extremely pleased about that because there has been a big silence from Graham for quite a few years now, so it is great to know he is back on the corner again making great soul connected music, same as it ever was. I think it was 2011 when I first became aware of Graham’s music when Simon Gee of Wavelength magazine sent me a copy of the very Van Morrison influenced The Shipping News album. That was followed up by the equally great Parish Papers & Short Stories in 2015, and Majestic Halls in 2017.  I reviewed all those albums previously on my blog site. 

There are just three tracks on this new EP which I think might be a teaser for a brand-new album planned for next year. Graham wrote all three songs. The excellent horn arrangements are by Paul Devonshire. As well as Graham on vocals and acoustic guitar the recording features a great six-piece band consisting of Max Milligan on electric and acoustic guitar, Stuart Lynas on piano and Hammond organ, Robbie Matthews on bass, Paul Devonshire on whistle and saxes, Matt Wynch on flugel horn and trumpet and Paul Hornsby on drums.

Of the three songs, my favourite is the opener Have You Fallen In Love At First Sight? It is an epic soulful ballad, up there with the best songs Graham has ever produced. Graham’s emotional delivery and all the band are terrific. I think Paul’s whistle playing also gives the song a nice underlying Irish Celtic feel. The title track Private Moments is a very catchy danceable song. I think it would be even more perfect with a couple of girl backing singers in the mix, but it is pretty great as it is. When I read the title of the final song Shovelling Coal I immediately thought of the great soul classic Working In A Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey, but Graham’s song is about his grandad who worked on the railway and smoked forty cigarettes a day. When I listened to this upbeat song the humorous, sometimes sad lyrics about his grandad actually brought Ooh La La by Rod Stewart & The Faces into my mind. It is a very enjoyable song.

My only complaint about this EP is that it is too short. If Graham has a few more songs of this quality up his sleeve then I am definitely looking forward to a new album. Graham will be promoting his new music at the Bear Club in his hometown of Luton on Wednesday, 8 November, so if you live in the Luton area I advise you to get along there and enjoy the soulful sound of Graham Robins & his band. You can find out more about Graham on his website here- http://www.grahamrobins.com/

An Evening With Eckhart Tolle In London 2023.

I haven’t been inspired to write anything on my blog page for a while, but I had a very enjoyable visit to London yesterday which I thought I would tell you about. This is what happened. I caught the 10.47 train from Westbury to Paddington which was at least 45 minutes late by the time we arrived in London, but no matter, I had plenty of time on my hands so decided to saunter through Hyde Park to my hotel in South Kensington. It wasn’t sunny but quite warm and very pleasant looking at the birds on the Serpentine and the squirrels scampering about among the autumnal trees. I emerged from the park at the Albert Memorial and walked up Queensgate where I found my hotel. It is the same hotel I stayed at when we saw Van Morrison at the Teenage Cancer Trust concert quite a few years ago. After I checked in, I had a nice nap for the rest of the afternoon. When I woke up at about 6.00 I had intended walking the short distance to the Royal Albert Hall but it was raining, so I hailed a cab and arrived about an hour early. 

The rain eased off and I hung about outside for a while chatting to people. It was nice talking to people who had the same interest in Eckart Tolle. Finally, I entered the historic building. At the merchandise stall I bought a couple of Eckhart’s books that I hadn’t seen before, Oneness With All Life and Practicing The Power of Now which is a collection of passages from his writings. Then I bought a glass of lemonade which lasted me all evening and took my seat. I was right up in the top circle but that didn’t matter because you got a great view, and they had big screens as well.

Eckhart was introduced and he sat on a chair with just a small table next to him and spoke seemingly without any notes to 5,000 people for two hours. That is the length of a football game with extra time. It didn’t seem like two hours though. The time flew by because he is such a great speaker. One thing I like about Eckhart as well as his wisdom is that he has a great sense of humour, so his talk was punctuated by intermittent laughter from the audience. At other times you could almost hear a pin drop in the huge hall in the stillness between his words. I remember seeing Krishnamurti talk in the 80s at Brockwood Park and he was very serious, also I didn’t understand half of what he was saying, you had to concentrate really hard to try and grasp his message. With Eckhart though he says very deep and intellectual truths in a straightforward way which anyone can understand. 

In case you don’t know anything about Eckhart this is what it says on his website.  ‘Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today. With his international bestsellers, The Power of Now and A New Earth—translated into 52 languages—he has introduced millions to the joy and freedom of living life in the present moment. The New York Times has described him as “the most popular spiritual author in the United States”, and Watkins Review named him “the most spiritually influential person in the world”. Eckhart’s profound, yet simple teachings have helped countless people around the globe experience a state of vibrantly alive inner peace in their daily lives. His teachings focus on the significance and power of Presence, the awakened state of consciousness, which transcends ego and discursive thinking. Eckhart sees this awakening as the essential next step in human evolution’.

I don’t think anything Eckhart said last night was particularly new to me because I have read The Power Of Now, Stillness Speaks and A New Earth and watched his videos on almost a daily basis on YouTube for the last three years or so. However, when I saw that he was speaking in London I knew it would probably be the only time in my life when I would have the opportunity to be in his presence, so I am very glad I bought a ticket. Among other things, he has taught me that we are not our thoughts. There is a much deeper consciousness than that. We all have to think obviously, but our thoughts are mainly just the product of the conditioned egoic mind. Most thinking is just a lot of mumbo jumbo that comes into your head uninvited and is usually negative and a waste of energy. 

The only time that exists is Now, yet most people waste their lives mulling over the past or thinking about hypothetical situations that might or might not happen in the future. How great it is to be able to turn off the constant commentary that is going on in your head. It is much nicer to just accept the present moment for what it is, relax, be aware of your breathing, and watch the world go by. Going for a nice walk every day and getting in touch with nature is the perfect antidote to the modern world. Anyway, I won’t bang on because Eckhart is far more articulate at expressing these things than me. There are lots of books and videos out there if you want to learn more. I think you should because the world is in a right mess at the moment, run by unconscious lunatics, and the only hope of A New Earth is a spiritual revolution. I’m not talking about organised religion which has done untold damage in the past, but an awakening to the universal consciousness which we all share. Thank you very much Eckhart Tolle for a wonderful evening.

 

Meditation: Eckhart Tolle