The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - live, Southampton 29/05/18

Review: Van Morrison & Joey DeFrancesco, You're Driving Me Crazy.

When I heard that Van Morrison was bringing out a third new album in six months I must admit my first reaction was, “Not another one, you must be joking!”. In the past whenever Van had no new songs of his own to offer it seemed to me that he would return to his ‘roots’ and produce a ‘genre’ album that I was sometimes disappointed with. After listening to the new CD this afternoon though I am really pleased that I bought it because it is a very enjoyable splendid addition to his great body of work. It was 1968 when the young Van walked into a New York recording studio to work with a group of jazz musicians who he had never met before. In two sessions they produced one of the greatest records of all time which was Astral Weeks. Fifty years later Van entered a studio on the other side of that great continent to collaborate with another jazz musician Joey DeFrancesco and his band. Van has made albums with other people before such as Mose Allison, Georgie Fame, Lonnie Donegan, Linda Gail Lewis and The Chieftains. They haven’t always been popular with the fans, but I think apart from The Chieftains album this new one with Joey DeFrancesco is Van’s most successful collaboration to date. It is definitely his best album in the jazz medium, that’s for sure.

The album opens with Miss Otis Regrets which is a Cole Porter song first made famous by Ethel Waters in 1934. I think I first heard it sung by Kirsty McColl. Joey plays some nice trumpet on this track. Hold It Right There is a song originally by Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson who is another artist I probably would never have heard of only for Van. Daughter Shana helps out on vocals and Joey’s organ playing and the saxophones of Van and Troy Roberts are excellent. All Saints Day has never been a favourite Van song of mine but here it comes to life mainly due to Joey’s virtuoso organ playing. Van delves right back into Astral Weeks with The Way Young Lovers Do and I like this version with Joey again demonstrating what a wizard he is on the organ. The Things I Used To Do is an Eddie Jones (Guitar Slim) composition. It was a huge hit in 1953 and actually produced by Ray Charles. This new version is great due to Troy’s tenor sax, Dan Wilson’s fabulous guitar playing and Van on harmonica. Travellin’ Light was originally a hit for Billie Holiday in 1942 with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was also recorded by the Jimmy Giuffre 3 in 1958, I’m sure Van knows that version. We mustn’t forget the contribution of Michael Ode on drums to this album, especially as there is no bass player in this ensemble. Van has recorded Close Enough For Jazz three times and until now I haven’t really rated it as one of his better songs. This version is fun though and Van is clearly enjoying it, scatting away to his heart’s content and the band are all in the groove. There is laughter at the end which shows they had a great time making this album. I didn’t rate Goldfish Bowl either when it came out in 2003 but Van must think we weren’t listening properly and has re-recorded it here. It is a 7.08-minute romp with all the band showing their skills. One fan said this song was a highlight when it was performed in London last weekend and I can see why now.

Me looking at the album.

Evening Shadows is a song that Van wrote with the late great Acker Bilk. The clarinet of Acker is missing here but that is more than made up for by Troy’s saxophones and Joey’s keyboard skills. Magic Time seems to be a favourite song of Van’s because it has been part of his live repertoire for a long time now. It is an ideal song for the small jazz clubs where Van likes to play. Troy and Van excel themselves on their saxes with this song. I first heard You’re Driving Me Crazy in 1961 when it was a hit for The Temperance Seven. I remember them singing it on The Billy Cotton Band Show. It was written in 1930 and has been recorded by dozens of people since. You can hear Van laughing with pleasure during this song after a solo by Dan. Everyday I Have The Blues is a song made famous by Peter Chatman better known as Memphis Slim although most people probably know the version by B.B. King. This version by Van and Joey is great and the enjoyment they had recording it is apparent at the end when Van exclaims, “I gotta hear this stuff”. Have I Told You Lately is one of Van’s greatest and most famous songs, but I have never been enamoured with the faster ‘Las Vegas’ arrangement that he has often performed live. I do like this version though with Shana joining in on vocals and the exquisite guitar playing of Dan Wilson. Sticks And Stones was written by Titus Turner and was recorded by Ray Charles in 1960. For the final track Van sees what the band can do with his great instrumental Celtic Swing and they don’t let him down. A great way to bring this most enjoyable album to a close.

I have really enjoyed listening to this album today on a rainy Saturday afternoon. All the ensemble obviously enjoyed making the record and their enthusiasm is infectious. I think it will be more than just jazz fans who enjoy this record. A big hand for the band !

The Roots Of Van Morrison.

This has been my favourite music of the last week or so. It is a two CD set called The Roots Of Van Morrison, further down the road. A friend told me about it and I ordered a copy. I had to be a bit patient because it had to come from Japan. It was worth the wait because I like all thirty tracks on it. The only small problem is that the sleeve notes are in Japanese but that is a minor consideration.

The first CD is the original versions of all the songs Van covered on his Roll With The Punches album of last year. There are also four bonus tracks. One of the many things I like about Van is that through him I have discovered lots of other music, either by him mentioning other singers in his lyrics or by his cover versions. I knew about the likes of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and a couple of others from when I was a kid, but I don’t think I would be aware of people like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ruth Brown, Bobby Bland, Louis Prima, King Pleasure or Little Walter if it wasn’t for listening to Van. On this first CD I think my personal favourites are Teardrops From My Eyes by Ruth Brown which I don’t think I have heard before and the classic Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke. Every track is great though.

The second CD is a collection of sixteen other songs Van has covered during his long and illustrious career. Some of these songs have been favourites of Van’s live repertoire for decades such as Help Me by Sonny Boy Williamson, It’s All In The Game by Tommy Edwards and I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles. I love Bobby Bland’s Ain’t Nothing You Can Do. It makes you realise how faithful to the original Van’s version is. I also love the songs by Leadbelly, Hank Williams (See video below) and Louis Prima.  My personal favourite is I Can’t Stop Loving You which takes me right back to hearing it first in about 1960. If you look at the picture of the tracks on this album, then I’m sure you will agree that it is packed with great songs. It shows what good taste in music Van has. I highly recommend this album. You won’t be disappointed.

John Prine - Sam Stone

Oblivious by Mick Blake

This cold Sunday afternoon I have been listening to Oblivious by Mick Blake. I first heard of Mick Blake two years ago at a Christy Moore concert when Christy sang a song called Oblivious which I had never heard before. After the gig I asked a friend Hilary who wrote the song and she told me it was Mick Blake.

I bought Mick’s album when it was released on St Patrick’s Day last year and I meant to write a review of it at the time but somehow I never did until today. I think the first thing to say it that this album won’t appeal to everyone. Listeners who just want to be entertained and hear love songs and humorous ditties will be disappointed. The songs on this album carry a powerful political message and are designed to give people something to think about. When the CD arrived in the post I was quite struck by the cover design. It is called White Horses by Kim Haughton and depicts two horses in front of some half-built houses where the work has stopped, during the crash of 2008 no doubt. I was pleased to see that Mick had signed the CD for me which was good of him.
The title track Oblivious is the first song and I can see why Christy Moore was drawn to it. This song and others on the album are concerned with how the dreams of those who struggled for Irish independence 100 years ago have been squandered by the politicians of today. I particularly liked Catch Cries because it is inspired by the poetry of W.B. Yeats especially September 1913 and The Fisherman. One verse includes a recording of Yeats himself reading a section of September 1913. The Rich Man’s Feast  is a well-researched song which refers to how a Turkish sultan and the Chocktaw nation tried to assist the people during the famine, much to the annoyance of Queen Victoria and how the modern neo-liberal idea that nothing must interfere with the markets is making history repeat itself. Heaven is a very moving song about suicide and tries to give a message of hope. The Giveaway is sung with ironic dark humour and is about how the countries assets are given away to foreign interests, even the children, who are educated but have to go abroad to find work. Also, how the airports are used by foreign military although Ireland is supposed to be neutral. Purple Ribbons is the true story of Mary Boyle who went missing in 1977 aged only six. She is Irelands youngest missing person. Some people may find the song quite difficult to listen to. I think Mick might have been inspired to write it as an appeal for justice and to keep it in the public awareness because somebody knows the truth about what happened. Sean MacDiarmada was an Irish political activist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 and was a signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and was executed for his part in the Rising at age 33. He is the subject of a song on this album because the injustices that he saw in Leitrim such as evictions and bailiffs have returned in the modern age. Another Child Another War  begins with the story of Anne Frank and then the cruel irony of children dying in Palestine. Mr Tepper like The Giveaway uses dark humour to illustrate a serious issue. It begins with a recording of Mr Tepper himself bragging about his ill-gotten gains on Bloomberg TV. The final song is Leitrim (A brief history) and compares how the warnings about the famine were ignored and how the warnings about the Celtic Tiger economy were ignored as well. 

That brings me to the end of this review. Although Mick Blake has used the problems of Ireland as his subject I think we can see that it applies to Britain and other countries as well. Just look how great institutions such as the NHS are being sold off by stealth to privatisation. I better stop now, or I’ll start a political rant. You could go on and on. There is plenty of food for thought on this album, that's for sure. I have put a video of Mick singing one of his songs below if you would like to hear it.

Oblivious - mick blake

Who Could Love You More - The Lost Brothers