The Mavericks: The Name Of The Game. Bath Forum, April 24 2024.

Very Sad News: R.I.P Raul Malo of The Mavericks.

Van Morrison, The Forum Bath, November 19th 2012

Great news. I was pleased to hear today that Van Morrison is returning to  The Forum in Bath on April 29th  2026, so I thought I'd dust off my review of the last time he played this venue 13 years ago.

It was a dark ,rainy and windy night when I boarded the 5.38 train from Westbury to Bath. 

My sister Margaret got on the train at Bradford On Avon and we were soon in Bath and headed to the Lamb & Lion to meet our friends. Soon it was time to head for the Forum where we took our seats in the front row right in front of Van. The band started with an instrumental and Van joined in on sax. Then it was A Town Called Paradise from the No Guru album which has featured a lot in Van's recent concerts. Another song from that album followed, Thanks For The Information which isn't one of my favourite Van songs, but his voice still sounds as good as ever. Open The Door (To Your Heart)  was followed by one of my favourite songs, Got To Go Back'. It was great but maybe a tad too jazzy for me I wish it had been more true to the original. This was followed by Baby Please Don't Go' which Van must have sung the last time he performed in Bath in March 1965 when Them played at Bath Pavilion and they were riding high in the charts with Here Comes The Night.  

The next song  was All In The Game but sadly it wasn't quite as brilliant as I hoped because Van cut it short before he made it real one more time.  Dave Keary hardly had time to change his guitars between the songs. I must say that this band have really evolved over the last couple of years into a really tight unit. They all deserve a mention. The brass section of Alistair White and Chris White, drummer Jeff Lardner, Paul Moore on bass, Dave Keary on guitars, Paul Moran on keyboards and trumpet and Bobby Ruggerio on percussion. Close Enough For Jazz was next which was ok but not one of my favourite tracks. 

The next three songs were the highlight section of the show for me. Enlightenment, Haunts Of Ancient Peace, and Mystic Of The East'. followed by These Are The Days' from the Avalon Sunset album which was recorded right here at Wool Hall Studios in Beckington just a stones throw from this venue. In all my years of seeing Van perform I have never heard him sing Drumshambo Hustle before. Then it was Moondance'.This was followed by Brown Eyed Girl which I don't usually pay much heed to, but enjoyed tonight. Then it was a real crowd pleaser Jackie Wilson Says  followed by Ballerina from the best album of all time Astral Weeks. He sang Help Me the song that is always in his repertoire and then he said, "A big hand for the band", bowed and walked off, leaving the band to play on for a few minutes as he left the building. On the train on the way home I thought that although it wasn't as good as Bournemouth in March the concert did have some great moments and I hope Van returns to the beautiful city of Bath before too long.

New Album Coming In January From Van Morrison.

 

R.I.P. Steve Cropper. Booker T & The MG's - Green Onions .1967

Down In The Valley by Charlotte Greig.

Today I thought I’d tell you about an album that I’m listening to at this very moment. The mood of it is quite fitting for this cold and cloudy December day. It is called Down In The Valley by Charlotte Greig recorded in 1999. I discovered her music while reading about another singer Anne Briggs. The article said that Anne was an influence on Charlotte, so I checked Charlotte out on YouTube and decided to order an album. I also discovered that Charlotte Greig was a bit of a polymath. As well as being a singer songwriter, she was also a playwright, novelist, and journalist.  On this recording there are eight songs written by Charlotte plus four traditional songs. As well as singing, Charlotte also plays harmonium and dulcimer which reminded me of Nico and Joni Mitchell. I did read that Charlotte also cited Nico as an influence. She is accompanied by Julian Hayman on guitar; there is also bass and drums.

The opening song Trees has a pastoral and melancholy mood and contains samples of a traditional folk song The Trees They Do Grow High sung by Walter Pardon. Trees are a recurring theme through several of these songs. The Cruel Mother is a traditional song that has been recorded by many artists over the years including Shirley Collins, Joan Baez and my personal favourite Anne Briggs. The title song Down In The Valley to my ears is the most accessible song on first listen with the title being the refrain last line of every verse. Black Name is quite a brooding song as the title would suggest. Take Me Home is an intimate love song (See video below) The next track The Wondrous Cross is a well-known hymn written by Isaac Watts in 1707. House Of Pain and Here I Stand continue the mood of underlying melancholy that pervades many of the songs. 

I much prefer To Make You Stay composed by Lal Waterson who I have written about previously on this site. The Bells Of Paradise is another trad song given a drone like arrangement by Charlotte. All Through The Night is like a sister song to Down In The Valley where high trees are again mentioned. Shadows as well as trees are a recurring image throughout these songs as in Shadows In A Dream  a short and sweet song to bring the album to a close. Sadly, Charlotte died at the relatively young age of 59 which is a tragic loss because she was obviously a very talented creative artist in many fields of expression. I was pleased to see on Wikipedia that both her sons are musicians as well. I have enjoyed listening to her music again this afternoon. 

However, I suspect that this recording doesn’t represent her best work. I wonder if her fans who are more familiar with her work than me would consider it one of the best of her six albums. I say that because when I first searched her music on youtube I liked other songs like Rosalie, I Wish, I Wish, Seven Seas, and Twin Stars (Shared Below) more than many of the songs on Down In The Valley. I don’t regret buying this album though and am very grateful to have discovered her music. Listen to the videos below and decide for yourself. Cheers.

Charlotte Greig Take Me Home