Van Morrison - Too Late

Down By Avalon on August 6th 2016

Van Morrison on Cyprus Avenue was undoubtedly the Van gig of 2015 but Van's concert at Glastonbury Abbey must be a contender for the Van concert of 2016. This is what happened. When I woke up on Saturday morning I opened the curtains and the light came shining through. "Brilliant", I thought to myself. It was a hot sunny day and I kicked my heels for hours waiting for the afternoon. Finally I met the others in the pub and fifteen of us set off in a minibus from the Market Place in Westbury at 4.15. There was me, Sian, Colin, Sharon, Mark, Angela, Chris, Chrissie, Jacquie, Phil, Marty, Ann, Phil, Tommy the driver and his sister & her husband. I got Tommy to play the Into The Music album by Van and we passed the time chatting and drinking wine.

In next to no time we arrived outside Glastonbury Abbey where about 10.000 people were still pouring into The Abbey grounds. As soon as we set up camp Jacquie served up a picnic while we listened to the Wells Cathedral School Big Band. I didn't avalot of food, I concentrated on the wine. After a while me and Sian decided to go for a walk and see if I could find any of the other Vanatics. It was great to bump into Howard and his family and Sue & Colin who I hadn't seen since Belfast last year. It was really nice to meet Simon & Sandra in the George & Pilgrim pub and we had a chat with them out the back of the pub for a while. Finally time was getting on and we returned to the Abbey.

Jamie Cullum was just finishing his set when we returned. I wasn't all that fussed about seeing him but a lot of the others later said he was really good. There is a Van connection with Jamie because when he was only 16 he was credited as an assistant engineer on Van's Days Like This album which must have been a valuable experience for him.
Finally I heard the familiar sound of Moondance  and said to Sian, " Come on, he's on, lets get down the front". Half way to the front though she didn't want to go any further saying it was too crowded, so that's where we stayed for the rest of the concert. I was pleased that Van had changed the intro to the concert though. Then Van introduced Clare Teal who actually lives in Glastonbury these days so she must have enjoyed singing to her neighbours.  They sang Way Young Lovers Do from the Astral Weeks album and Carrying A Torch which was one of the highlights of  the Duets album from last year. Clare departed and Van sang By His Grace  which was very spiritual and fitting for the mystical surroundings of the abbey. This theme continued with When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God? from the Avalon Sunset album and the lyrics of the song are perfect for this concert, ' The sun was setting over Avalon, the last time we stood in the west'.

The mood was much more up-beat then for Precious Time which went down a storm for those in the audience who just wanted to party and have a dance. Then Van said, "This might blow your mind", and introduced Joss Stone. Joss is local to the West Country as well. I think she lives in Devon somewhere. Some people I spoke to afterwards thought her performance was too over the top while others thought she was great. Anyway, They sang Wild Honey also from the Duets album and the classic Crazy Love. After Joss left the stage the dancing started again with Wild Night  and then the audience sang along with Have I Told You Lately in which Dana got the chance to show she is just as good a singer as Clare or Joss.

The medley of  Baby Please Don't Go/ Don't Start Crying Now  followed and Here Comes The Night. I thought Van's choice of songs for this gig was perfect with songs for the party people and also songs for those who preferred the less well known music. Haunts Of Ancient Peace was another brilliant choice of song for these surroundings which inspired Van to write some of his most spiritual music in the first place. Van played the keyboards on this song. Van even mentioned the church of Saint John which is actually in Glastonbury High Street which shows how familiar he is with this town.

Dana got the chance again to show how good she is when Van and herself sang Sometimes We Cry. This was followed by Whenever God Shines His Light  which isn't one of my favourites but this audience loved it. In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/ Joe Turner Sings Flip Flop And Fly was a great medley of songs and included  Raincheck  which shows Van has no intentions of fading away anytime soon.
Think Twice Before You Go and Rock Me Baby were next and then Van played sax on I believe To My Soul which was great. Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria brought the proceedings to a close. When Van left the stage during Gloria the band played on as fireworks started erupting in the sky and we went back to base to collect our stuff. It must have been about midnight when we got back to Westbury after a brilliant night. It wasn't the greatest Van concert but for a great night out in nice weather with some great friends it was perfect. Thank you very much to Michael Eavis for organising such a great event.

Van Morrison Have I Told You Lately- Live at The Glastonbury Abbey Extra...

Lily By Christy Moore. Review

The new album by Christy Moore called Lily popped through my letterbox about a week ago but I have been so busy lately that it is only today that I have had time to write a review.
This is the first Christy album I have bought since I bought Folk Tale at a gig at Bath Pavilion about three years ago and thanks to my friend Hilary I managed to get Christy to sign it. Anyway, I love the new album Lily. As soon as I opened the package I was struck by the cover artwork which is very eye catching. Inside is a painting called 'Lilies' by the Irish expressionist artist Brian Maguire. Like Christy Brian is also an Irish artist with his heart in the right place. I have just been reading about him. There are also some very informative notes by Christy about the various songs.
I love the opening song Mandolin Mountain which Christy tells us was written by the late Tony Small. I had never heard of Tony before but I have now, thanks to Christy. I have been listening to him on youtube the last few days. The lyrics are very inspiring such as 'Love is for the patient ones, the honest and the good'. It is the kind of song that makes you aspire to be a better person. I must say Christy's voice sounds better than ever on this album when lots of other singers of his generation can't hit the notes any more. Also Christy enunciates every word perfectly so that even on the first listen of a song you know what he is singing. A lot of other singers can't tell talk from mutter!
I first heard The Tuam Beat written by Padraig Stevens many years ago when it was a track on a Saw Doctors single called The World Of Good. Christy's version is just as much fun and I must say I love the banjo playing on it by Cathel Hayden. Although it is a joyful fun song there is still that little political message, 'Fair play to the travelling man'.
The Gardener is the perfect song for this time of year. I first heard it at Christy's Brighton concert a few weeks ago. It is written by Paul Doran and reminds me that I must get out in my own garden which I have neglected lately.
Lily is a song that reminds me a bit of a song from Folk Tale about a little Honda 50 but that doesn't bother me. I like the reference to the 'waters of the fen' which reminds me of my childhood in Peterborough. I see that the song is co-written with  Wally Page who Christy has collaborated with before.

I have always liked Peter Gabriel who is another artist of great political integrity. He actually lives near here in the village of Box. We had a walk around Box a few months ago to admire his Real World Studio. I wasn't familiar with Wallflower  though until I heard Christy's version. Peter's version was actually banned in South Africa during the Apartheid era which is a good sign in a way because when they are so rattled they ban your songs it shows you have got them on the run. Both Peter and Christy have recorded great songs about Steve Biko in the past.
Another powerful political song is Oblivious  written by Mick Blake. I had never heard of Mick Blake till Christy sang this song in Brighton and now Mick is a Facebook friend. Such is the power of Christy.  The song is about how the dreams of the people who founded the Irish republic have been squandered by the scoundrels and fools and how people don't even get angry about it. The great deception has happened all over the world with the bankers and speculators gambling with other peoples money and awarding themselves bonuses for doing it and it's not even classed as a crime. I bet Christy didn't get a massive annual bonus when he worked in a bank.
John Spillane is another singer who I have discovered via Christy. I love his songs such as 'Dance Of The Cherry Trees' & 'The Mad Woman Of Cork'. The Ballad Of Patrick Murphy is the fifth of John's songs to be recorded by Christy and tells the sad and true tale of a fisherman murdered by the Murricaune who were gangsters in the service of the crown.
Lightning, Bird,Wind, River Man is a delightful happy song written by Declan O'Rourke. I have actually seen Declan twice playing live. Both occasions were purely by chance. The first time was at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park in 99 and the second was in the Acoustic tent at Glastonbury in 2005 I think it was. We left before the end to see another Declan who was Declan McManus better known as Elvis Costello. Anyway, on both those occasions I didn't pay much heed to Declan O'Rourke because I wasn't familiar with the music. However, if he is capable of songs as great as this one I will certainly give him another listen.
Green Grows The Laurel is a traditional song that Christy first heard sung by John Reilly in 1965 and more recently by Helen Grehan. Christy has added a verse of his own. It is a beautiful haunting ballad.
Dave Lordan is a poet and playwright who was born in Derby in 1975 and grew up in West Cork. The Lost Tribe Of The Wicklow Hills was written by him and Christy recites it brilliantly to bring this great album to a close. It shows what a great speaking voice Christy has. He would be great for talking books reciting Irish myths and legends or something like that but I expect Christy has enough on his plate as it is.

I have really enjoyed listening to this album so thank you very much Christy, Declan, Jimmy, Seamie, Mairtin, Cathal, Vickie, Andy and anybody else associated with this wonderful album.

Jackson C. Frank- Blues Run the Game (1965)

Review : Christy Moore At Brighton Dome 2/4/2016

It had been nine long months since I last saw Christy Moore. That was on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury last summer so I was really looking forward to Saturday's concert at the Brighton Dome. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable Christy concerts I have seen. That was partly because for the first time ever I was lucky to get a front row seat, but also because Christy, Declan Sinnott and Jimmy Higgins were on such good form.
The three of them came on stage promptly at 8.00 and began with the powerful North And South Of The River which was followed by Yellow Furze Woman. Both of these songs received warm applause from the audience. "Thank you very much", said Christy, "We've been hanging around all day, waiting for 8 O'Clock". City Of Chicago from his Ride On album was next, followed by Go, Move, Shift, written by Ewan McColl with extra verses by Christy. This song was greeted with a lot of cheers which suggested to me that there were quite a few members of the travelling community in the audience.
I wasn't familiar with the next song How Long. It is a very moving song written by Jackson Browne. I think Christy must be quite a fan of Jackson. Declan's guitar playing was quite exquisite on this song. Matty was next and the audience started clapping along. Christy stopped and said, "It's not that kind of a song", and started again and this time the audience listened. I love this song but I'm still not sure what a 'curra line' is. The second Jackson Browne song of the evening followed which was Before The Deluge. The perfect song for Spring time was next which I had never heard before. I put in my notes, The Garden Song so I hope that's right. No doubt young Colm will put me right if I have got that wrong. Shane McGowan's classic song A Pair Of Brown Eyes got the audience singing along with, 'a roving,a roving, a roving, I'll go'. Ride On, the title song from the album that first got me into Christy's music three decades ago was performed brilliantly. When Christy reached for his bodran an audience member shouted something out and Christy said, "You should have been here earlier, the support band were feckin' great". He then sang  The Well Below The Valley which the audience loved. Christy said that he first heard Nancy Spain in Jersey, sung by Barney Rush and it was the first time he ever flew to a gig.

I had never heard of the next song before which was Oblivious and written by Mick Blake who I had also not heard of. One of the great things about Christy which he has in common with Van The Man is that he can lead you on to discovering other great musicians who you might have missed otherwise. I have heard of Peter Gabriel, but I didn't know his song Wallflower before. The lyrics are really powerful and I just read that the song was actually banned in South Africa.
The mood was lightened a lot by the next song which I had never seen Christy perform live before but I knew really well by The Saw Doctors. It is Tuam Beat. I did actually meet the writer of this song Padraig Stevens outside a Saw Doctors gig at the Colston Hall Bristol one night. Christy's version is just as much fun so I hope he has a big hit with it. That was followed by another fun song which was Don't Forget Your Shovel. There was a song for a girl in the audience called Tallulah next which was Reel In The Flickering Light.

The mood was more sombre then for the very moving Missing You written by Jimmy MacCarthy. The Spanish Civil War song Viva La Quintar Brigada which is one of Christy's greatest self-penned songs was next and Declan picked out some really sweet notes on his guitar during this one. Christy said he would take one request and a lady in the audience asked for Victor Jara which I was really pleased about because I love this song which was co-written by Arlo Guthrie and Adrian Mitchell. It is 43 years since Victor was murdered by the Pinochet regime and he should never be forgotten.
The political songs continued with Ordinary Man and then Magdelene Laundries which I hadn't realised was written by Joni Mitchell. I saw a film recently about the Magdelene Laundries and it was horrific how people could be treated by a so-called church. Another of the humorous songs followed which was Delirium Tremens. I have noticed though that even with Christy's funny songs there is often a serious message. This song was dedicated to Andy who had just completed 900 days off the booze. Well done Andy. Natives  written by Paul Doran was next followed by Christy reciting On The Mainland followed by the Bobby Sands song Back Home In Derry. Johnny Duhan's song Voyage was followed by the ever popular Lisdoonvarna and Declan really went to town on his guitar during this song.

Christy and his two companeros left the stage but we knew there would be an encore which was Black Is The Colour which the audience sang along with and finally a song I don't think I have heard before called No Time For Love written by Jack Warshaw. I had never heard of him before either, but I just looked him up and Jack is an American singer-songwriter who has lived in Britain since 1965. There are some terrible gaps in my music knowledge. It was a great song to end the night on.
Afterwards it was nice to have a little chat with Hilary from Kerry who put me right on a few song titles. Thank you Christy, Declan & Jimmy for a wonderful concert at Brighton Dome.

Review: Tom Russell, Mesabi.

It was colder than moonlight on a tombstone this afternoon. I didn't mind though. I put the oven on in my kitchen and put my new CD on the music machine and had a nice time drinking wine and listening to some great music. The album is by Tom Russell and is called Mesabi. That was a new word to me so I looked it up and Mesabi refers to a huge range of iron ore deposits in Minnesota USA. That was a surprise  because this album has a very Mexican Tex/ Mex sound to my ears. I came across Tom Russell because a Facebook friend asked if I knew his work. I was in my local music shop ' Raves From The Grave' in Warminster on Friday and I asked if they had any Tom Russell. There was just one album in the Country Music section which was Mesabi. This album isn't country music as I know it though.

                                                        Mesabi is also the title of the opening song which I really like. It has references to Howling Wolf, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens but I think the song is a homage to Bob Dylan. It mentions Duluth and  'Don't Think Twice, It's Alright' and Bethlehem I guess is the Bethlehem Steel Corporation and 'The Troubadour Kid' can be none other than His Bobness. As you know Bob came from Minnesota. The second track is When The Legends Die  which has lots of horse racing links such as Silky Sullivan ridden by Willie The Shoe ( Willie Shoemaker). It also mentions being drunk in the kitchen which I can identify with as I have spent many an hour drinking in the kitchen and playing music. I am very pleased to see that one of my heroes from nearly 50 years ago Van Dyke Parks plays piano on some tracks on this album. I used to love his work with Brian Wilson many moons ago. The third track Farewell Never Never Land  is really nice as well with its lush brass intro. Someone else who I really like, Gretchen Peters features on this song. It is the sad story of Bobby Driscoll who was a famous child actor for Walt Disney. He died in 1968 aged only 31 from drug abuse. I love these songs that tell a story even if the outcome is quite tragic.

                                                                                 The next song is The Lonesome Death Of Ukelele Ike  which features Fats Kaplin on yes, ulelele. The song mentions Hannibal, Missouri which is the hometown of Mark Twain. The next song is Sterling Hayden which recounts the actors sad decline. I think you will realize by now that a lot of the songs are inspired by Hollywood. Tom Russell is obviously a big film buff. The song recounts various episodes in Sterling Hayden's life such as kidnapping his kids and sailing to Tahiti. Another film song follows which is Furious Love,( For Liz). This is a homage to the one and only Elizabeth Taylor and her life at the Plaza Hotel in Juarez. My favourite song after two listens of the album is A Land Called 'Way Out There'. It is a truly epic song which recounts the car crash in which James Dean died. I think Tom might think the driver of the other car Donald Turnipseed was to blame. John Phillip Sousa is mentioned in the lyrics which isn't surprising considering the amount of brass instruments deployed in this song.( Scroll down to listen ) Roll The Credits Johnny is another movie inspired song. I wish I knew who the small blonde leading lady in the tight black jeans was. A Heart Within A Heart is a really nice moving song featuring Regina & Ann McCrary on vocals. And God Created Border Towns is a song co-written with Angie Meyers who also plays piano. It is a sad lament about migrants and American guns fueling drug wars in Mexico.Lots of nice accordian and trumpets on this song. Goodnight Juarez is another sad song on the same theme of a beautiful tourist town ruined by violence. Jai Alai  is a song about a sport like Pelota and probably originates in the Basque country of Spain or somewhere like that. I have never heard of it before and am guessing from the lyrics.Anyway, it was recorded in El Paso which is where I think Tom Russell lives these days and there is some really nice flamenco guitar on this song. Love Abides is just Tom on his own on vocal and guitar and is a really nice song. Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall is a fabulous duet with the one and only Lucinda Williams. Finally The Road To Nowhere is a song from the film of the same name directed by Monte Hellman and is a great song to end this wonderful album.

                                                                                       I must say I spent a very nice afternoon listening to this album so thank you very much Mike Pearce for the heads up about Tom Russell. I will certainly look out for more of his albums in the future.