Author Archives: Rob Jones

About Rob Jones

I am a writer, music fan, and Dad living in the Greater Vancouver area, British Columbia, Canada. Contact me on Google Plus
Apr19

The Band Play “Don’t Do It” Featuring Levon Helm

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The Band Play “Don’t Do It” Featuring Levon Helm

Levon Helm,1976 (Photo: David Gans)

Listen to this track by Canadian-American modern roots music architects The Band, here featuring the impossibly funky drummer-singer Levon Helm. It’s “Don’t Do It” as taken from the landmark 1972 live album Rock of Ages, a Holland-Dozier-Holland composition originally recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1964,  but utterly redefined here by Helm and his bandmates.

This version of the song was released as a single, scoring #34 on the Billboard top 100. More importantly, it would become a live staple for the group into the 1970s, featuring most prominently in the milestone farewell concert The Last Waltz as a closing number, and an opening number to Martin Scorcese’s film of the same name.

But, what makes the Band’s take on the song so special is largely down to Helm, on one of his most distinct vocal spotlights, weaving in and out with Rick Danko’s burbling bassline,  Richard Manuel‘s ‘rhythm piano’, Garth Hudson’s organic sonic colours, Robbie Robertson’s tearaway guitar stabs, and of course the horns, arranged by Allen Toussaint.

Among other things of course is that this song is one of the key documents that proves not only how potent the Band were as a live unit, and about their uniqueness in general. It also demonstrates something about Levon Helm as a musician. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr19

Dry The River Perform “The Chambers & The Valves”

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Dry The River Perform “The Chambers & The Valves”

Here’s a clip of 21st century folk-rock meets post-punk London five-piece Dry The River. It’s their single “The Chambers & The Valves”, the third release from the band’s 2012 record Shallow Bed, their first full length. The group released this song on an EP of the same name in 2009, during a time when they were building up momentum to their debut.

The band  formed that year, then consisting of Peter Liddle (Vocals, Guitar), Will Harvey (Violin) and Jon Warren (Drums), later to be joined by Matt Taylor (Guitar) and Scott Miller (Bass). They’ve since signed to Sony, and Shallow Bed was released in North America on April 17 of this year. Despite being a London-based band, and having built up an audience by way of appearances at key European festivals, the band recorded this song and the rest of the record in Bridgeport, Connecticut under the watchful eye of producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National).

The band also garnered attention starting off as a completely self-contained entity, releasing their initial EPs on their own, and making their own videos. It was one of these that caught the attention of Sony. Here’s an excerpt from an interview on NPR, talking about how YouTube led to being signed by Sony. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr16

Thomas Dolby Performs “Oceanea”

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Thomas Dolby Performs “Oceanea”

Here’s a clip from multimedia technology boffin and pop song tinkerer Thomas Dolby. It’s “Oceanea” as taken from his 2011 album A Map of The Floating City, his long-awaited full-length release after a long hiatus as a recording artist. Dolby’s last traditional studio album was 1992′s Astronauts & Heretics, put out just before he delved into other commercial avenues.

These avenues included software production for delivering music over the Internet (Beatnik), the founding of a company to produce it (Headspace) , multimedia projects like Gate To the Mind’s Eye, and, incredibly, his pioneering work with cellphone ringtones of all things.This is not to mention his frequent involvement in TED conferences, being as he is a proponent of technology, progressive ideas, and how one affects the other.

But, Dolby had always been interested in making records even if the gap between them had become pretty wide by the 21st Century. So, by the mid-2000s, he set to work in returning as a recording artist, and with this record. That’s a long gestation period, maybe.

But, Dolby had a number of projects attached to the creation of this album. One was the design and construction of the studio in which the album was made; a refurbished 1930s-era lifeboat, powered by solar and wind power, christened The Nutmeg. Another was a move with his wife and kids from the United States, where he’d lived for many years, and back to England. And that’s where this song,”Oceanea” comes in. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr12

The Animals Perform “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place”

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The Animals Perform “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place”

Listen to this track by serious-minded R&B figureheads from Newcastle The Animals. It’s their 1965 hit song “We’ve Got To Get Out Of This Place”, a single released in July of that year, and used subsequently in seemingly every single movie about Vietnam ever (I think it must be a rule).

Up until this point, the Animals hadn’t quite reached the screaming heights of the Beatles or the Stones. But, they were established on the scene with those bands from the early to mid 1960s, and were known as being as close to the “real thing” as any band working in the London rhythm & blues scenes. They were respected.

They also had a hit or two under their belts, pretty much owning “The House of the Rising Sun”, even if it was something of a well-travelled folk tune before they recorded it. But, “We’ve Got To Get Out Of This Place” was perfectly matched to Eric Burdon’s old-man-living-in-a-young man’s-body vocal delivery. This is a tale of worldly wisdom before one’s time, aware of the cruelties of life, the pointlessness of toil, and the fleeting nature of beauty and innocence; heavy stuff.

The irony that this tune, a stalwart anthem of so many war movies about Americans in far away countries, is more closely associated with sentiments much closer to home.

Read the rest of this entry →

Apr9

The Fierce & The Dead Play “666…6″

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The Fierce & The Dead Play “666…6″

Here’s a clip of British post-rock instrumentalist four piece. It’s their track “666…6″, a feature off of their most recent EP, On VHS,  the first release to feature the four-sided version of the band; Matt Stevens (guitar), Stuart Marshall (drums), Kev Feazey (bass), and newcomer (but, old friend) Steven Cleaton on second guitar, keyboards, and “fx”.

The Fierce & The Dead (from right); Steve Cleaton, Matt Stevens, Stuart Marshall, Kev Feazey

The track reveals the range of influences, particularly those of guitarist Matt Stevens, with this track, and others, originally intended for his next solo record. Radiohead, Mogwai, Robert Fripp, and Celtic Frost (and others besides) all make up the band’s approach, marrying melodic, ambient, and hard-edged facets of progressive instrumental rock music that is gaining attention in prog circles, and beyond. These efforts were helped along by the recent Fierce & The Dead record If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe. This EP is a chaser to that record, turning up the intensity.

As a solo artist, and as a part of the band, Stevens has been a major proponent in putting his music across via a dedicated online fanbase, as well as generating a following offline as well, particularly in the last year when the band have been especially active as a live act. This video was created with a YouTube audience primarily in mind, featuring some pretty odd imagery that also helps to highlight the dynamism of each player.

This track in particular demonstrates how much varied textures are important to the band, with thundering riffs set next to more delicate fingerpicking, atmospheric electronic flourishes, crisp and dextrous drumming, and bald and brawny bass lines each taking center stage.

I personally appreciate the value of tightly arranged playing that still lets you hear the moving parts at the same time. It’s not an easy thing to pull off. And that’s what stands out for me on this track.

On VHS  is available for download right now. So, you should.

For more information, you should also investigate the official Fierce & The Dead website.

Also, check out this candid video interview with Matt and Kev of The Fierce & The Dead about their humble beginnings as blossoming musicians among other things, including the making of the new EP.

Enjoy!

Apr5

Kori Pop Debuts Video “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” From Songs For Little Bean

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Kori Pop Debuts Video “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” From Songs For Little Bean

Watch this video by Hamilton Ontario-based singer-songwriter, and filmmaker Kori Pop. It’s the entirely DIY video featuring her take on the children’s favourite “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (with a “Mary Had a Little Lamb” coda),  a track off of her self-released album Songs For Little Bean.

The record is a collection of children’s songs and lullabies originally planned as a gift for friends, parents to Kori’s goddaughter. But, after Kori saw how well her goddaughter responded to the material, she decided that the rest of the music-listening public needed to hear the songs, too.

Before this, Kori Pop had kept herself pretty busy. After making her debut, From The Outskirts, Kori Pop involved herself in a number of projects which engaged the interpretive side of her skills as a singer, and musician. Cover versions of the B-52s’ “Love Shack”, Alanna Myles’ “Black Velvet”,  and The Beatles’ “Being For the Benefit Of Mr. Kite” , were all given the Kori Pop treatment.

In addition, she was involved in a show as one of four local performers in Hamilton lovingly titled Heavy Pedal. The show featured some major piano, with not a guitar or Marshall stack in sight. But this new record was something of a labour of love, with her voice multi-tracked to create a sort of choral children’s album of favourites, plus a couple of original compositions too.

I talked with Kori via email about this record, and about what it means to be an interpretive singer of familiar folk songs and pop songs, as well as being a writer of originals. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr2

Al Stewart Sings “Nostradamus”

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Al Stewart Sings “Nostradamus”

Al StewartListen to this track by Anglo-Scottish history buff and singer-songwriter Al Stewart. It’s “Nostradamus”, his 1973 song as taken from his fifth LP Past, Present, and Future, released first in Britain at the end of that year, and in the spring of 1974 in North America. The song reveals Stewart’s approach to songwriting in an era before his trans-Atlantic breakthrough Year of The Cat album in 1976.

Al Stewart had been developing his craft for a while by the time he wrote and recorded this tune, having been a fixture on the London Soho folk music scene in the mid-60s, and appearing at the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970. This record was the beginning of a time when he was finding his feet as a songwriter tackling character-driven songs in historical settings. In this one, we get a tour of historical references, as interpreted by one Nostradamus, an apothecary and seer of the 1500s in France who allegedly forsaw, among other events, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Rise of Nazi Germany.

But, whether or not there is any credence to Nostradamus’ visions, or more accurately how they have been interpreted in retrospect, the song concerns itself with a greater theme when it comes to history and how human beings perceive it.  Read the rest of this entry →

Mar29

Hi-Fiction Science Perform “Kosmonaut”

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Hi-Fiction Science Perform “Kosmonaut”

Listen to this track by 21st century art-rock purveyors, and progressive Bristolian collective Hi-Fiction Science. It’s their Krautrock meets Afrobeat meets post-punk 2011 track “Kosmonaut” as taken from their self-titled album Hi-Fiction Science, released on their own imprint Negative Drive.

The band arose “out of the ashes” of another band, Suncoil Sect, in the late 2000s. It’s comprised of Maria Charles (Vocal), Jeff Green (Bass/Keyboards/Percussion), James McKeown (Guitar/Keyboards/Percussion),  Matt Rich (Keyboards/Samples), and Aidan Searle (Drums/Percusssion).

The Bristol-based band manages to fuse influences as diverse as Public Image, Ltd. with Can and Neu!, while throwing in some groove-oriented jams for good measure.

This is an art-rock approach that seeks a wider audience, gaining airplay via Stuart Maconie on BBC6 . And more recently, the band tied themselves into a continuum of progressive British music by providing a cover version of The Pretty Things’ “Private Sorrow” on the Fruits De Mer compilation album Sorrow’s Children.

“Kosmonaut” came out of a single drum pattern, growing into a groove, and with added spoken-word material added later on.On hearing it, I was interested in the amalgam of art-rock textures against what is clearly a groove-oriented approach to composition. So, I asked drummer Aidan Searle about what inspired this track. Talking it over with his bandmates, Searle said,

‘The track was initially born out of collective improvisation triggered by the afrobeat drum pattern. Inspiration from Can and Metal Box-era PIL both fed into the track’s subsequent evolution. The spoken word passages were developed at a later point to give a sense of narrative that reflected the atmosphre of the music’.

Where did that spoken-word section come from?

The initial inspiration for words came from Hunter S Thompson’s early ’70s lament in Fear and Loathing for the failure of the ’60s to fundamentally change the nature of society.

Which is all very well and good. But, Searle mentions that this tune is a band favourite in a live setting. What makes it so fun to play?

“Kosmonaut” is one of our earliest compositions and is a consistent feature of our live set - it’s great to lock in on the ‘Death Disco’ four to floor beat in the first half of the track.

For more Hi-Fiction Science news and releases, check out Hi-Fiction Science on Facebook.

Enjoy!

Mar26

Colin Blunstone Sings “Caroline Goodbye”

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Colin Blunstone Sings “Caroline Goodbye”

Listen to this track by former-Zombies frontman and light-as-air-voiced (I won’t use the word “breathy”) solo singer Colin Blunstone. It’s “Caroline Goodbye”, a single off of his first solo record One Year.

The record was released after a year out of the music business, when Blunstone did time in a straight job, working as an insurance clerk. After years of making cool records, most of which did nothing on the charts, the Zombies had broken up. This was just before they had success with their biggest hit, “Time of the Season”, recorded in 1967, but hitting big in North America nearly two years later.

By then, the band were no more. Rotten timing (of the season) was the Zombies’ curse.

But between 1970 and 1971, Blunstone went solo under his own name (after a period of releasing singles under a pseudonym), leaving his straight job behind, to record his first album. He had the help of his former colleagues in the Zombies (guitarist Chris White, and keyboardist Rod Argent) who wrote three tracks between them, and produced the album.

Blunstone’s return with his debut is widely recognized as his best effort as a solo artist. And this song reflected something of a new career phase for Colin Blunstone. Read the rest of this entry →

Mar22

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Sing “Home”

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Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Sing “Home”

Listen to this song by Californian multi-membered collective Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. It’s their song from 2009′s Up From Below album, “Home”, sort of a Johnny Cash/June Carter duet, as interpreted through an orchestral pop lens, and packed full of charm.

The band was conceived by principle songwriter Alex Ebert, who in addition to having been in power pop band Ima Robot, also imagined the figure of Edward Sharpe when he embarked on a solo career. The idea for the character was centered around Sharpe as a being sent to earth to save humanity, but caught blindside by love on the way.

Source: pandora.com via Amanda on Pinterest

The character was a central figure in a novel Ebert was working on, and eventually spilled over into this new musical project.  So, shades of Ziggy Stardust, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and the aforementioned Johnny Cash, then. Perhaps a dash of Polyhonic Spree can be thrown in there, too, just because the band includes eleven members, and sometimes more with supplementary players.

One such member is guitarist and vocalist Jade Castrinos, the other half of the duet here, which gives the song a vintage feel of a country song that features the compelling push-pull of two voices, including some  spoken-word dialogue that really creates an immediate chemistry.

Also, this song is just plain sweet, a perfect breath of fresh air with a tone of innocence that really makes it stand out. It’s  a straight up, old-fashioned love song in an era when it seems to be uncool to tell someone how much you love them in a pop song without adding a layer of something in between – loving someone “like a love song”, for instance.

The song itself has made an impact internationally, and on the Billboard alternative charts.  The band has performed it, and other songs off of the debut at festivals all over the world. It’s been heard on TV shows from Gossip Girl, to Ugly Betty, to Community.

The follow up to Up From Below is expected this year.

For more information about Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and listen to more of their music, check out the Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Facebook page.

Enjoy!