Free by Iggy Pop

I have known about Iggy Pop since the 1970s, but never had any interest in listening to his music, not even when he was associated with David Bowie who I admired a lot. I thought Iggy was a bit of a lunatic who became famous due mainly to his crazy antics on stage. However, In recent years I have grown to like him as a person, mainly due to his excellent radio show on Friday evenings on BBC 6Music. Iggy has played some great music that I would never have got to hear only for him. He also has a great voice for radio. I rate him alongside Bob Dylan as a musician who has tried his hand at radio presenting. I still do not think I would have gone so far as to buy an album by Iggy though. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine Colin who is a huge fan of Iggy Pop and has most of his work gave me a copy of Iggy’s most recent album called Free. Colin had discovered that he had accidentally bought it twice. I played it for the first-time last week when me and Curly went out for the day. I really liked it. The album is nothing like what I had expected from Iggy Pop. I have been playing it again this morning, so I thought I would tell you about it.

It is called Free because that is how Iggy wanted to feel. He was feeling drained from touring and wanted to get away from what was expected of him. As a fan of other people’s music, he wanted guitarscapes instead of riffs, and wanted space in his music. Also, he wanted to get away from the ‘effluent of his own mind’ and interpret the poetry of others. Iggy only contributes towards the composition of three tracks on this album, but it is his vocals throughout. The principal collaborators are Leron Thomas whose trumpet playing, and keyboards are a dominant sound and guitarist Sarah Lipstate whose professional name is Noveller. The title track Free opens the album with just Iggy’s great vocals accompanied by trumpet and a dreamy soundscape of guitars. Love’s Missing was written by Iggy and Leron and features bass and guitar by Aaron Nevezie and Chris Berry on drums. The next track is called Sonali. I did not know what that meant, so I looked it up and it is a Bengali girl’s name. This track is awash with piano and synthesisers by Kenny Ruby. The bass of Robin Sherman introduces James Bond, the catchiest of all these songs and the lyrics are quite humorous. It was released as a single I believe. The trumpet introduction to Dirty Sanchez gives it the feel of a spaghetti western. It is written by Leron Thomas who wrote most of these songs. Glow In The Dark features moog synthesiser and keyboards provided by Florian Pellisier. Page has a more stripped back sound of just Iggy, Aaron and Leron.

Lauren Laverne & Iggy.

The final three tracks are my favourites on this album which develops into a poetry reading with musical accompaniment. We Are The People was written by the late great Lou Reed. Iggy discovered it in a book of Lou’s poetry and related to Lou’s view of their country. It is just Iggy reciting the words, with trumpet and keys. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night is arguably the most famous work of Dylan Thomas, published in 1951. Iggy’s reading of it is sublime, and the accompaniment is perfect. The last track is called The Dawn and Iggy himself wrote the words. Because of the subject matter in the lyrics, I wonder if it is his response to the Dylan Thomas poem? I do not know, but the words are great. Iggy is 74 now and this album shows that he has no intention of going gentle into that good night. I am pleased that Colin gave me this CD because I have enjoyed listening to it very much indeed and it has totally changed my view of the one and only Iggy Pop.

Rise Up Like The Sun by The Albion Band.

I got a new album in the post today which I will tell you about. It is not the CD I originally ordered which was Bright Phoebus by Mike & Lal Waterson, a legendary rare album that I was eager to hear. The eBay shop where I ordered it from sent me a message to say it was damaged, and did I want a refund, or order something else? I looked to see what else they had in stock and ordered Rise Up Like The Sun by The Albion Band. I bought this album on vinyl when it was first released in 1978 and loved it. In my view it is one of the classic albums of the Folk-Rock genre. The CD which arrived today also has four bonus tracks which I had not heard before.

The Albion Band was the brainchild of Ashley Hutchings, also in the band are Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks. Richard Thompson is a guest on the album as well, so you have most of Fairport Convention from their golden era of late 60s/ early 70s here. Ric Sanders who later joined Fairport is also in the band. Other members are, John Tams, Phil Pickett, Pete Bullock, Michael Gregory and Graeme Taylor. There is also a star-studded cast of guests, including the wonderful Kate McGarrigle, Julie Covington, Linda Thompson, Pat Donaldson, Martin Carthy and Andy Fairweather-Low. The opening track Ragged Heroes was written by John Tams who sings it with Martin Carthy & Andy Fairweather-Low helping out on vocals. The next song Poor Old Horse is a classic and my favourite song on this great album. It starts slowly but builds relentlessly. I think it was developed from a sea shanty with great chord progressions and chanted backing vocals from seven singers. Afro Blue /Danse Royale is a combination of a John Coltrane jazz piece and a medieval tune. Ric Sanders was responsible for this track, and you can see the jazz fusion influences he brought from his previous band Soft Machine. Phil Pickett contributes some wonderful medieval bagpipe sounds into the mix.

Ampleforth / Lay Me Low is a traditional fiddle tune leading into a John Tams arrangement inspired by a Shaker psalm. Time To Ring Some Changes was written by the great Richard Thompson. House In The Country is another favourite of mine because it features the voice of Kate McGarrigle. It is an early 20^th century song in the traditional style about homelessness which is still an issue today unfortunately. The Primrose is two variants of a very lively traditional tune which was learned from melodeon virtuoso John Kirkpatrick. The final song Gresford Disaster is an epic ballad tale of a coal mining disaster which happened in North Wales in 1934. I know all about it because I went to college near that coalmine, and we did a drama production based on the story. The four bonus tracks are great and include The Postman’s Knock, a jolly song which was released as a single, Pain And Paradise is another song developed from a sea shanty, it features guest vocals by Viola Wills. There is another version of Lay Me Low and finally another Richard Thompson song Rainbow Over The Hill featuring Linda Thompson on vocals. I have loved listening to this great album again today. I am still determined to find a copy of Bright Phoebus though. When I succeed, I’ll let you know. Have a nice weekend.

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan, 80 Years Forever Young.

 I thought I'd celebrate Bob's 80th birthday today by dusting off a story that I wrote a few years ago that was published in a book called Bob Dylan, The Day I Was There................
The year was 1978 and the times they were a changing. Punk rock had swept the country and the old guard was being pushed aside. It was announced that Bob Dylan was to arrive in Britain for five nights at London's Earls Court. The news was greeted with derision by the new wave but for anyone over 25 this was the best news in years. It was Dylan's first visit to Britain for 9 years, since his legendary appearance at the Isle Of Wight festival in 1969. Excitement spread like wildfire throughout the land. The tickets were to go on sale at various venues around the country one Sunday morning at 9.00.Each person was allowed to buy four tickets. The nearest venue to us was the Colston Hall in Bristol.
The night before the tickets went on sale I began to get worried that we would be at the back of the queue and miss out on the tickets. "I think we should be in the queue now," I said to my friends.

We set off for Bristol with our sleeping bags sure that we would be the first in line at the box office. When we got to Colston Hall we were surprised to see a line of people stretching from the box office to the corner of the street. To our horror when we got to the corner we found the queue stretched all the way along the next street as well. There were already thousands of people camped out to get Bob tickets. This was the amazing appeal of Bob Dylan in those days.
There was a fantastic atmosphere on the streets of Bristol that night as a mini Bob fest was held, people sat on the pavement drinking and chatting and listening to Dylan on tape recorders and the sweet smell of marijuana drifted up Colston Street. Next morning the bleary eyed revellers began to shuffle forward when the box office opened. Finally with a sigh of relief I had the precious tickets in my grasp. We were going to see Bob Dylan!

A few weeks later we found ourselves in the vastness of Earls Court arena, Bob was just a tiny figure in the distance and this was before the age of huge video screens. If my memory serves me well he was wearing a top hat. The band were superb though and included three girl singers who were excellent. I think this was the best band Bob had in his career. It's so long ago now in the mists of time that I can't remember a lot about the concert apart from Bob getting a huge round of applause when he first played the harmonica on Love Minus Zero No Limit, also the crowd gave a huge cheer when during It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding Bob sang "Sometimes even the President of the United States has to stand naked", this was only four years since Nixon resigned don't forget. I think my favourite song that night was  I Want You which Bob had slowed right down to a haunting  ballad. There were also songs from his brand new album Street Legal which were excellent. I think the last song he did was Forever Young and during this song people started holding up cigarette lighters and candles until there were 15,000 little lights inside Earls Court. It was an amazing sight. The whole concert was a deeply moving spiritual experience.

Then it was announced that Dylan was to end his European tour with a huge outdoor concert at Blackbushe Aerodrome near Camberley in Surrey. It was to be known as The Picnic. Some picnic this was! Once more we set off to see Bob. The official figure of the attendance that day was 165,000 but anyone who was there knows that the real figure was about three times that. It was vast, I think it is only rivalled by the Stones concert in Hyde Park as the biggest concert ever in Britain. As well as Bob, Eric Clapton was on and Joan Armatrading and Graham Parker And The Rumour who were a hot band in those days. All the glitterati were there, during Bob's set Ringo Starr and George Harrison could be seen at the side of the stage. A good friend of mine sent me a bootleg of this concert a couple of years ago. This is the setlist from that amazing night,

My Back Pages, Love Her With a Feeling, Baby Stop Crying, Just Like Tom Thumb Blues, Shelter From The Storm, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Girl From The North Country , Ballad Of a Thin Man, Maggie's Farm, Simple Twist Of Fate, Like a Rolling Stone, I Shall Be Released, Is Your Love In Vain, Where Are You Tonight?, A Change Is Gonna Come, Mr. Tambourine Man, Laissez-Faire, Gates Of Eden, True Love Tends To Forget, One More Cup Of Coffee, Blowin' In The Wind I Want You, Señor ,Masters Of War, Just Like a Woman, To Ramona, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, All Along the Watchtower, All I Really Want to Do, It's Alright Ma, Forever Young, Changing Of The Guards, The Times They Are A Changin'.
It took us hours to find our car afterwards and it was dawn before we finally made it to the main road to head home. There would never again be a concert in Britain like Dylan's concert at Blackbushe which was the hippies graveyard. For me it represented the end of an era. The following winter was the winter of discontent and in 1979 Thatcher seized power and a darkness descended upon the country which she held in the grip of her icy claw. I saw Dylan again in 1981 but it wasn't the same. By then I was disillusioned because if Bob Dylan was the voice of a generation how come someone like Thatcher got elected? For me it was only Glastonbury Festival which kept the flame of hope alive during those dark years of unemployment and poverty. I lost interest in Bob for a while especially when he reached his nadir with the Saved album and then his shambolic awful performance at Live Aid, but in recent years I have returned to playing Bob's records and there is no doubt to me that he is one of the greatest poets who ever lived and anyone who ever saw Bob perform live is privileged.
So thank you for writing the best songs
Thank you for righting a few wrongs
You're a savage gift on a wayward bus
But you stepped down and you sang to us
(Words by Joan Baez)

For My Crimes by Marissa Nadler.

It is Wednesday morning. I have not written anything for about ten days, so I thought I would tell you about the CD I am listening to at this very moment. It is called For My Crimes by Marissa Nadler. I heard a song a few weeks ago on BBC 6Music and thought, “What a wonderful voice”. It was the voice of a siren, not a police siren, but one of those mythical Greek creatures. I looked her up on the internet and next thing I knew I had ordered her most recent album. When it arrived, I played it a couple of times and could not get into it at first. I thought it was a bit ‘samey’. Because of the excitement of Van Morrison’s new album, I forgot all about it until yesterday, and now it is growing on me with every listen. This is Marissa’s eighth album released in 2018. The cover is one of her own paintings for she is also an artist. The painting does not have a title but seems to depict a shipwreck or a fire. Probably a metaphor for a doomed relationship which seems to be the subject matter of the songs. The photos in the booklet show that Marissa is exceptionally beautiful in a goth sort of way. The music has a dreamy, ethereal quality.

The title track For My Crimes is very dark and seems to be set on Death Row with the protagonist asking not to be judged by their crimes. It is probably symbolic for being the guilty party in a failed relationship. The song tells me that Marissa is a very accomplished guitar player as well as having a beguiling voice. I see Angel Olsen who I have written about previously provides some lovely ghostly backing vocals. I think all the musicians on this album are female. I Can’t Listen To Gene Clark Anymore is a beautiful song, one of my favourites. It is about not being able to play favourite songs because it brings back painful memories of lost love. Marissa must be quite familiar with Gene Clark’s No Other album which I have also written about previously. Sharon Van Etten also sings on this track and I should mention the wonderful string arrangements on this album by Janel Leppin. Are You Really Gonna Move To The South? features the harp of Mary Lattimore who also has a successful solo career. Lover Release Me is a plea to end an unhappy prison of a relationship. Blue Vapor is an outstanding track with a full band sound featuring saxophone and Patti Schemel from the band Hole on drums. Interlocking has Eva Gardner on bass. Hands can interlock, but so do the links of chains. I think that is the message. All Out Of Catastrophes is another dark song in which Marissa’s lover calls her Natalie by mistake. There is a hint of psychosis when she throws her keys at his head.

Dream Dream Big In The Sky is more positive, where she wants to actually be with someone. The arrangements are exquisite. You’re Only Harmless When You Sleep is cold, like moonlight on a tombstone. “We’re only lonely when we’re in the same room” is one line. It is like the alienation of an Edward Hopper painting in a song. Flamethrower has imagery of things like a body being burned in the desert. Didn’t that happen to Gram Parsons? Said Goodbye To That Car is the final song where getting rid of an old car with 119,657 miles on the clock represents the ending a relationship. Even then, there is a suggestion of menace, where she mentions in passing that the car took a bullet in the roof in New Haven, but she does not say how or why. Only time will tell if I listen to this album very often. It is a grower though. The overall sound of the voice, guitar and strings is quite beautiful, even if the subject matter is dark. I have shared a video on this blog page of Marissa performing I Can’t Listen To Gene Clark Anymore. I like it, but you  can judge for yourself.

ADDENDUM: When I wrote this review yesterday I didn't know a lot about Marissa. A friend who read my review told me that she is married to Ryan Walsh who wrote the book Astral Weeks which is about the Boston music scene in 1968. I thought that the songs might be autobiographical, but I think now that Marissa might get a lot of ideas from films or books. She seems to have an interest in crime and horror stories which might explain some of the lyrics, and shouldn't be seen as being about her personally.

Marissa Nadler - I Can't Listen to Gene Clark Anymore (Live with Sharon ...

Review: Latest Record Project, Volume 1, by Van Morrison.

Friday: It was with a feeling of trepidation that I set off on Friday afternoon for my local record shop in Warminster. I had read some scathing reviews of Van Morrison’s new album and also lots of negativity from so-called fans who were slagging off the album even before hearing it. When you have been a fan for nearly 50 years you know it is too late to stop now, and I had to hear it even if I didn’t like it. In the shop I opted for the deluxe edition of the 2CD set because it contained a booklet of lyrics and I like reading the lyrics. While I waited patiently in Spoons for my friend Sian to arrive I perused the album cover. It does not exactly inspire confidence in the music because the design looks bland and lazy. It is an arrow made up of lots of dots. If you look closely, you will see that among all the little circles there is one solitary square. Does that mean that Van is a square peg among many round holes? Maybe I am reading too much into it. I was pleased to see that a lot of the songs were recorded near here at Pete Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Box and also at the Bath Spa Hotel. I wish that Van had never sold his nearby Wool Hall studio in Beckington where he made so many great records, but that is another matter. I got Sian to take my photo with the album for publicity purposes. Later that day in the pub in Westbury my friend Curly gave me two positive reviews that he had torn from the Daily Mirror & The Times which cheered me up. That night I listened to about fifteen of the songs and quite liked what I heard.

Me with CD.

Saturday Morning: It was pouring rain and windy, so I sat in my kitchen and listened carefully to all the songs on CD1. This is what I thought. Latest Record Project is a lively upbeat song to start the album. Richard Dunn’s Hammond organ is to the fore on this and many of the other songs. I like the sha la la backing sound of Dana Masters and the Crawford Bell singers. Where Have All The Rebels Gone? Is nice rock n roll with Dave Keary starring on guitar. I am not sure who the rebels are that Van is referring to. Maybe he means people who said they would support his live music campaign during lockdown, and then disappeared when it became clear that it was obviously a mad idea. Psychoanalysts’ Ball is one of the best songs on this album. It is soulful and heartfelt and has a sad world-weary feel. Like someone who has tried all sorts of new age therapy to no avail. Musically it has some delicate vibraphone by Teena Lyle and classical guitar by Dave Keary. An excellent song. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished again has the great organ sound and the excellent backing singers give the song a 1960s feel. The lyrics are a very bitter commentary on the greed of a woman. For someone who has always jealously guarded his private life some of the words of these songs must be quite painful to sing. Tried To Do The Right Thing is another great soul song. Jim Mullen is the guitarist on this song. The harmonies of the backing singers are wonderful, especially on the very last line which reminded me of Brian Wilson. I don’t like The Long Con very much. Van really spilled his guts on this song. Not being able to see his children during lock-down, being drained by lawyers and ex-wife and not being able to have an income must have been exceedingly difficult, but millions of people have suffered in the last year.

Real World Studios.

 He is not the only one. If people part with their cash to hear music, they want to be uplifted, not depressed. Thank God For The Blues is much better and more positive. Big Lie features his old pal Chris Farlowe and is ok I suppose. Richard Dunn again excels. Him and Dave Keary are the stars of this ensemble. I love the groove of A Few Bars Early, it reminds me of the soul sound of Booker T & The MGs or something like that. The lyrics mention a song called ‘It’s Later Than You Think’. There is a song of that name by Louis Prima who Van has long admired. It would be great to hear this track in a small club. It Hurts Me Too is not the song I thought it was, because I love a song with that title by Karen Dalton, but Van has changed most of the words to express his own personal pain about his private life. Somebody said this album was about ‘petty’ grievances. I bet they would not think it was petty if they were in that situation.

Only A Song is a disclaimer pop tune, probably designed to get some radio play. It is ok. I think Van must have been watching a David Attenborough documentary about penguins when he wrote it. I think Diabolic Pressure might have been recorded earlier than most of the songs because it features Paul Moore, Paul Moran, Jeff Lardner, and Chris & Alistair White. Maybe an outtake from an earlier album. I don’t like it much anyway. Deadbeat Saturday Night is a rant about being banged up all alone with nothing to do. He quotes Samuel Beckett with ‘More pricks than kicks’. I quite like this song and find it humorous. The final track on CD1 is Blue Funk which has a good groove and is enlivened by Van’s sax playing. Van complains about the TV junk, well, listen to some music, read a book, or go for a nice walk then.

Saturday afternoon: I played CD2. This is what I thought. I don’t like the opening track Double Agent much. It reminds me a bit of a Van song called ‘Man Has To Struggle’. I don’t understand what the song is about. It seems a bit like a John Le Carre novel. Double Bind has an eerie bluesy organ sound. Is the double bind about being ruled by either Conservatives or Labour? Is the Nigel mentioned, the Farage? I hope not. Van used to say he wouldn’t touch politics with a barge pole. There is mention of ‘weird scenes in the diamond mine’ which is quite similar to the title of a Doors album. Love Should Come With A Warning is co-written with Don Black. Why a person like Van who has written some of the greatest songs of all time needs to work with Don Black baffles me. The sound is great though and reminds me of Ray Charles and also The Isley Brothers ‘This Old Heart Of Mine’. Breaking The Spell is like ‘Meet Me In The Indian Summer’ revisited. An optimistic Van mentions breaking the spell of the ‘lower vibrations’. I have just been reading about that and lower vibrations include fear, sadness, anger, resentment, guilt, jealousy, anxiety, stress and need, so there! 

Up County Down is a jaunty novelty song. Van claims he can remember when there were twelve shillings in a pound. Oh no you can’t. It was twenty shillings in a pound, twelve pence in a shilling. There is another reference to ‘The Doors’ when they played at The Whiskey. Dave Keary plays some nice banjo & mandolin. Duper’s Delight is another outstanding soulful track with the band stripped back to just five players.  Duper’s Delight is a neologism coined by Paul Ekman in his book Telling Lies (1992). It means the pleasure of being able to manipulate someone. It is often made visible to others by flashing a smile at an inappropriate moment. My Time After A While features Van on alto sax and some Jerry Lee Lewis style piano by Stuart McIlroy. Crawford Bell and the other backing singers are great. The lyrics are painful and personal. He’s Not The Kingpin features another old pal PJ Proby, but I don’t think he adds much to the song. There is a lot of percussion and vibraphone provided by Colin Griffin and Teena Lyle. I wonder if the song is about Trump? ‘If He’s a traitor, sooner or later, he’ll take the fall’. I am only guessing at the meanings of these songs. Mistaken Identity is another collaboration with Don Black. It features a famous quote by Socrates ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ which is very profound. Dave Keary plays some tasteful jazzy guitar, but the sound is very ‘easy listening’. I like Stop Bitching, Do Something. It has a rhythm like Buddy Holly or The Stones Not Fade Away. The organ and alto sax are great. I am put off Western Man by the lyric content which is quite paranoid about us being taken over. You would think someone with Van’s supposed wisdom would have a holistic view of the world. There is nothing on this album about climate change, our major problem which can only be solved globally. The words about ‘caretakers taking over the big house’ brings images of the occupation of Congress to me. It is a shame because musically the song has a nice country feel to it and Dave plays banjo for a bit of variety.

 I read that  They Own The Media shows that Van is anti-Semitic. I can’t see anything in the lyrics to suggest that. I agree with him that there are some nasty people manipulating people through the media. You only have to see the rubbish headlines in the tabloid press to realise that. Rupert Murdoch or the Barclay brothers are not Jewish as far as I know. The music reminded me slightly of ‘I Put A Spell On You’. Lots of songs on the album remind me of earlier work. Why Are You On Facebook? Is my least favourite song on the album. I’m not saying that because I’m on Facebook, but because it is boringly repetitive. I think social media has been a godsend during lockdown. When you don’t see anyone apart from shop assistants for weeks on end Facebook is a link to the outside world. Jealousy brings the album to a close. Musically it sounds great with Van’s voice which is as good as ever, the backing singers, and splendid saxophone. It is just the negative lyrics that let the song down.

On Saturday evening I watched a splendid live stream concert by Van which showcased a lot of these songs, and they came to life and sounded better than on the album. That is often the case with Van. The records are just a template for live performance. Blue Funk and Do The Right Thing especially sounded great live. My main criticism of this album is that it is too long. If just the best twelve or fourteen songs were released as a single album I think the critics would be hailing it as Van’s best album this century. Sadly, a lot of people will always point out what is worst, rather than what is best. For a musician of 75 years of age to produce this work under the most difficult circumstances is a great achievement, so well done Van Morrison. 

Van Morrison - Duper's Delight (Official Audio)