It takes a certain kind of madness to normalise in your way of thinking that a trip from Paisley in the West Of Scotland down to Swansea in South Wales as a short and perfectly manageable trip. That being the case, the madness is deep within me!
Last weekend saw another trip down to catch Man on the final date of their UK tour. A carful of four means that the petrol worked at £35 per head - plus the cost of a couple of rooms in the Travel Inn and food and drink............hell, it's cheap at the price, isn't it.
The answer is a resounding yes when you catch sight of the mighty Manband in the sort of imperious form that they were in on Saturday evening. Having failed to manage to venture further north than Leeds on this tour (and with that date proving not possible for us travelling Scots) the ecstatic reviews that had greeted the return of Phil Ryan to the ranks meant that not making the trip to catch the final night of the tour was simply an unacceptable compromise to a man's right to rock.
Having landed in Swansea at about 4.30 pm (having left Glasgow at the back of nine) we made sure that we knew where the venue was. Being a little familiar with Swansea I knew roughly where it was - too roughly it turned out as I turned off the shopping area too soon and in the wrong direction. Now if I'd just had the wit to walk a further 100 yards down the road and then headed left we'd have found it without a roundabout trip.
Having established where we'd be going, we then consulted on what our choice of food was going to be. A curry seemed to be the majority view so I led our small but perfectly formed party in the direction of a rather nice Indian restaurant where we'd enjoyed a fine meal in December when I was last in Swansea. We got there at just after 5.30 pm to discover they didn't open until 6 o'clock. Call this civilisation? Anyway, we repaired to the local Wetherspoons and enjoyed an ale until opening time rolled round and we returned to the restaurant for another fine meal. Very good quality but not quite what I would call Glasgow portions!
We headed to the venue at about half past seven (which would prove to be about two hours too early given that the band didn't appear until 10 o'clock) to find the Milkwood Jam a rather nice club. The room is quite small but the stage was reasonably sizable in comparison and it looked like it was well designed to cater for bands. And unlike at Sin City in December, the music being played still allowed pleasant conversation whilst drinks were enjoyed.
As noted, the wait was rather long and we could always tell that the band were not about to be starting given the presence of various members at the bar. Bob Richards was the last to make an appearance but I'm sure they all managed a further pint or two after that.
Now don't mistake that for any suggestion that they were the worse for wear when they took the stage. Far from it, as Bob's powerhouse drums led the band into an incredibly powerful version of Love Your Life. I had known that this was going to be the opening number but, even so, there was still a need to pinch myself that this number was being played after so many years.
This was followed by Something Is Happening which is a Phil Ryan song from the album The Welsh Connection. A bit harder hitting than the album version but with great harmonies. Sterling stuff.
It was clear that Phil's return has re-energised the band (although they were still mightily impressive as a four piece) and the more significant role that he takes in the overall sound both added to the overall quality of the sound and the individual contributions - everyone seemed to have raised their game.
With the absence of both Micky Jones and Deke Leonard the band seemed to have achieved the impossible and found themselves a comfortable area in which they can respect their heritage and also introduce their new material. A difficult trick to pull off and one which, to be honest, I would have doubted possible a couple of years back.
This was aptly demonstrated by the next number which was All Alone from the Diamonds And Coal album. Phil's presence meant the organ riff took its prominent position again, and the number featured a solo from the organ which was not present previously in either the live or studio versions of the song.
The rest of the set was a balance of the new (Man Of Misery, Freedom Fries), the prehistoric but still fresh sounding early numbers (Sudden Life, Shit On The World) and some well worn classics (C'Mon, Many Are Called...., Romain, Manillo, Bananas, Spunk Rock). Without exception, all were immaculate and considerably enhanced by Phil's presence.
This is not to downplay the contributions of the others. George played as well as I have seen him, and I think seems to find it more comfortable to play with the keyboards as part of the set up. Josh now looks very comfortable on stage and although he didn't solo as much as George, his contributions were notable. Bob seems to have upped the ante and produced even more of a powerhouse performance than I've come to expect. And Martin was........well, Martin. I don't think anything more needs to be said, does it. Thankfully, he was back to the boilersuit tonight. (And I thought his tribute to the late Ray Williams was one of the nicest points of the evening).
The only downside to the night was the fact that the clocks went forward one hour so we lost an hour's sleep that would have been much appreciated. After a large breakfast we headed back north on Sunday morning arriving back home at about six o'clock.
I do hope that this last month can be a springboard for the band from which they can come up with new material for a new album, as well as investigating some of the lesser played parts of their back catalogue for the live set. What price Keep On Crinting or Never Say Nups To Nepalese?
So when's the next trip? I can hardly wait!
Monday 31 March 2008
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Concert Review : Neil Young
Neil Young's Continental Tour '08 tour rolled into Edinburgh on Sunday 3rd March and it was with some anticipation that we headed through to our capital city.
The advance notices of the tour had highlighted that Young was playing a set with a considerable smattering of old and unreleased songs from some of his now legendary "missing" albums. Ironically, none from the original Chrome Dreams but that is as typical as he seems to get.
Split between an acoustic set and an electric set, he certainly did his best to provide value for the considerable price of the tickets. To be honest, though, I'd have gladly sacrificed his wife's opening set for a further 20-30 minutes of classic Neil. If we're being blunt, Pegi wouldn't have a hope of progressing beyond the bars and club of her locale if left to her own devices and without the obviously good connections.
Young was spectacular in his own quiet way during his acoustic set, and I am pleased to say that his version of Ambulance Blues was well up to its' prior billing. One of his classic songs. The rest of set was split between the familiar (After The Goldrush, Heart Of Gold, Old Man) and the less so (Sad Movies, Try, Love Art Blues) plus some genuine surprises like Harvest and A Man Needs A Maid played with Young going between solo piano and electric strings. It was also intriguing to hear Old Man, a song written by a 24 year old man, being sung now by Young when he is at or near the age of the titular individual. "Old man, take a look at my life - I'm a lot like you are" seems to have different meaning when sung in 1972 from the 2008 version.
The electric set was a little less good largely because the current band just isn't Crazy Horse. Some of the songs were excellent (Oh Lonesome Me, Too Far Gone and No Holding Back being particular standouts) but the Horse classics whilst well-played only seemed to emphasise that Talbot and Sampedro weren't part of the current touring line-up. Not that they were bad, but Crazy Horse are such a force of nature and the players stamp their authority on the numbers that it is always a little challenging to hear them attempted by others (who might be superior players in some objective fashion).
One disappointment from the US leg of the tour was that Bad Fog Of Loneliness and Winterlong had been dropped from the set in favour of Down By The River and Hey Hey My My. Given my previous comments, I would probably have preferred to hear the less well known numbers, and would probably have had a greater appreciation of the band as a consequence.
These, however, are quibbles. Neil Young is one of the supreme artists of our time and part of the thrill is to hear him mix up his considerable repertoire. It's a sign of a true artist that he's willing to take such risks, and also to accept that some things don't quite work as a quid quo pro for finding that others excel.
Haste ye back, Neil
The advance notices of the tour had highlighted that Young was playing a set with a considerable smattering of old and unreleased songs from some of his now legendary "missing" albums. Ironically, none from the original Chrome Dreams but that is as typical as he seems to get.
Split between an acoustic set and an electric set, he certainly did his best to provide value for the considerable price of the tickets. To be honest, though, I'd have gladly sacrificed his wife's opening set for a further 20-30 minutes of classic Neil. If we're being blunt, Pegi wouldn't have a hope of progressing beyond the bars and club of her locale if left to her own devices and without the obviously good connections.
Young was spectacular in his own quiet way during his acoustic set, and I am pleased to say that his version of Ambulance Blues was well up to its' prior billing. One of his classic songs. The rest of set was split between the familiar (After The Goldrush, Heart Of Gold, Old Man) and the less so (Sad Movies, Try, Love Art Blues) plus some genuine surprises like Harvest and A Man Needs A Maid played with Young going between solo piano and electric strings. It was also intriguing to hear Old Man, a song written by a 24 year old man, being sung now by Young when he is at or near the age of the titular individual. "Old man, take a look at my life - I'm a lot like you are" seems to have different meaning when sung in 1972 from the 2008 version.
The electric set was a little less good largely because the current band just isn't Crazy Horse. Some of the songs were excellent (Oh Lonesome Me, Too Far Gone and No Holding Back being particular standouts) but the Horse classics whilst well-played only seemed to emphasise that Talbot and Sampedro weren't part of the current touring line-up. Not that they were bad, but Crazy Horse are such a force of nature and the players stamp their authority on the numbers that it is always a little challenging to hear them attempted by others (who might be superior players in some objective fashion).
One disappointment from the US leg of the tour was that Bad Fog Of Loneliness and Winterlong had been dropped from the set in favour of Down By The River and Hey Hey My My. Given my previous comments, I would probably have preferred to hear the less well known numbers, and would probably have had a greater appreciation of the band as a consequence.
These, however, are quibbles. Neil Young is one of the supreme artists of our time and part of the thrill is to hear him mix up his considerable repertoire. It's a sign of a true artist that he's willing to take such risks, and also to accept that some things don't quite work as a quid quo pro for finding that others excel.
Haste ye back, Neil
Sunday 16 March 2008
Concert Review : Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash
I mentioned in a previous post about the current situation with two Wishbone Ash's treading the boards. There's the band led by Andy Powell who go out as Wishbone Ash and the one led by bassist Martin Turner who are advertised as Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash (MTWA).
Turner was the principal (if not the sole) writer in the band in their 1970's heyday and was always the best and most distinctive singer. He also had a recognisable and perhaps unique bass style which helped to make the classic Ash sound alongside the twin guitars of Powell and, in turn, Ted Turner (no relation) and Laurie Wisefield.
Turner left (or was he pushed) Wishbone in 1980 over a disagreement with his colleague over the direction that band should go in - they seemed somewhat anxious, if not desperate, to do something that would increase their commercial standing and, amongst other ideas had been toying with the idea of bringing in a lead singer which resulted in Turner upping and leaving. After that, they released the workmanlike Number The Brave (which featured an underused John Wetton who also apparently offered the band Heat Of The Moment - oops!!) and the increasingly mediocre Twin Barrels Burning and Raw To The Bone.
The original quartet reconvened in 1989 for the instrumental album Nouveau Calls (see what they did there!) followed by two studio albums in Here To Hear and Strange Affair after which Turner decamped again. By this time drummer Upton had left and, over the next couple of years, the band was down to solely Andy Powell as last man standing from the original line-up.
1996 brought a Powell-led Ash album called Illuminations which was reminiscent of previous glories even if, in some cases, there may have been too much of a sense of pastiche about the material.
However, Tony Kishman who had sung on the album was unable to commit to a UK tour and he was replaced by none other than Martin Turner!! The tour was a memorable one and there is a particularly good bootleg called Depths Of Winter which captures the band in fine form.
Needless to say, though, whatever it is that irks these two individuals reared its head again and the partnership foundered after these gigs.
Since then Powell has lead Wishbone Ash through a succession of albums, second guitarists and a couple of drummers to the present day. The albums range from excellent (Bona Fide) to the very good (Clan Destiny) to the frankly mediocre (The Power Of Eternity). They have played regularly mixing old classics with new materials to the faithful rounds the clubs of Europe and the USA. However, there was always just a certain something lacking.........
In the past couple of year, Martin Turner clearly found his playing boots lying at the back of his wardrobe. Needless to say, his own name in itself would not suffice to attract the punters and, following some level of discussion and agreement with Powell, went out as Martin Turner's Wishbone. This didn't last long and some promoters went ahead and billed them as MTWA and this is how it now stands.
The band have released a couple of excellent live albums and, in a bizarre and risky move, have rerecorded the classic Argus album. They are currently touring playing this in its' entirety alongside other Ash material (many of which have not been played live for years or at all).
My son and I took a trip down to Stanley in Co. Durham to catch them on 23rd February. The show was excellent and it was great to see Martin's considerable presence on stage again. The material was well played and sung and, it has to be said, had more of a distinctive Ash feel to things in a way the Powell-led band can't touch. That's largely down to Martin's bass-playing and singing. They are hopefully playing in Glasgow in June and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
Meantime, Wishbone Ash will be in Glasgow on 10th April and I'll be along to the Ferry to catch them. I'm one of those who is happy to have both bands in circulation, but it's still clear to me at least that the combination of Andy and Martin would provide something more substantial together than they are perhaps likely to be able to to do apart.
Next year is the band's 40th Anniversary and Martin has made some conciliatory noises and hoping that differences can be put aside to allow some sort of celebration involving the original band as a one-off event (or, hopefully, series of events) allowing those concerned to follow their own paths thereafter. Let's hope something that can come of this - I'll be there for it.
Turner was the principal (if not the sole) writer in the band in their 1970's heyday and was always the best and most distinctive singer. He also had a recognisable and perhaps unique bass style which helped to make the classic Ash sound alongside the twin guitars of Powell and, in turn, Ted Turner (no relation) and Laurie Wisefield.
Turner left (or was he pushed) Wishbone in 1980 over a disagreement with his colleague over the direction that band should go in - they seemed somewhat anxious, if not desperate, to do something that would increase their commercial standing and, amongst other ideas had been toying with the idea of bringing in a lead singer which resulted in Turner upping and leaving. After that, they released the workmanlike Number The Brave (which featured an underused John Wetton who also apparently offered the band Heat Of The Moment - oops!!) and the increasingly mediocre Twin Barrels Burning and Raw To The Bone.
The original quartet reconvened in 1989 for the instrumental album Nouveau Calls (see what they did there!) followed by two studio albums in Here To Hear and Strange Affair after which Turner decamped again. By this time drummer Upton had left and, over the next couple of years, the band was down to solely Andy Powell as last man standing from the original line-up.
1996 brought a Powell-led Ash album called Illuminations which was reminiscent of previous glories even if, in some cases, there may have been too much of a sense of pastiche about the material.
However, Tony Kishman who had sung on the album was unable to commit to a UK tour and he was replaced by none other than Martin Turner!! The tour was a memorable one and there is a particularly good bootleg called Depths Of Winter which captures the band in fine form.
Needless to say, though, whatever it is that irks these two individuals reared its head again and the partnership foundered after these gigs.
Since then Powell has lead Wishbone Ash through a succession of albums, second guitarists and a couple of drummers to the present day. The albums range from excellent (Bona Fide) to the very good (Clan Destiny) to the frankly mediocre (The Power Of Eternity). They have played regularly mixing old classics with new materials to the faithful rounds the clubs of Europe and the USA. However, there was always just a certain something lacking.........
In the past couple of year, Martin Turner clearly found his playing boots lying at the back of his wardrobe. Needless to say, his own name in itself would not suffice to attract the punters and, following some level of discussion and agreement with Powell, went out as Martin Turner's Wishbone. This didn't last long and some promoters went ahead and billed them as MTWA and this is how it now stands.
The band have released a couple of excellent live albums and, in a bizarre and risky move, have rerecorded the classic Argus album. They are currently touring playing this in its' entirety alongside other Ash material (many of which have not been played live for years or at all).
My son and I took a trip down to Stanley in Co. Durham to catch them on 23rd February. The show was excellent and it was great to see Martin's considerable presence on stage again. The material was well played and sung and, it has to be said, had more of a distinctive Ash feel to things in a way the Powell-led band can't touch. That's largely down to Martin's bass-playing and singing. They are hopefully playing in Glasgow in June and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
Meantime, Wishbone Ash will be in Glasgow on 10th April and I'll be along to the Ferry to catch them. I'm one of those who is happy to have both bands in circulation, but it's still clear to me at least that the combination of Andy and Martin would provide something more substantial together than they are perhaps likely to be able to to do apart.
Next year is the band's 40th Anniversary and Martin has made some conciliatory noises and hoping that differences can be put aside to allow some sort of celebration involving the original band as a one-off event (or, hopefully, series of events) allowing those concerned to follow their own paths thereafter. Let's hope something that can come of this - I'll be there for it.
Thursday 13 March 2008
Music Review : God Walked Past - A History of the Manband
It's been a while since I've posted anything - the original intention of finding something to spend 20 minutes a night to share my thoughts with the outside world (or the three people who actually check out this site, whichever is the lesser!) lapsed into a case of leaving it until manana. And we know where that leads....and has lead. Anyway, occasionally something happens to break that spell and make it seem absolutely imperative to power up the laptop, log on and type furiously. Such an occasion was the receipt in the post today of God Walking Past which is Part One of a history of Man covering the period from 1968 to 1972. Jeez, still 36 years to go to the present day - just how many volumes will there be?!?!
As my acquaintances will be well aware, I am more than capable of talking at tedious length about the Manband....and occasionally for even longer than that!!! The good news for them is that all I'll need to do in future is to point them in the direction of this DVD (and its' successors) for this truly does provide the answer. The film is 3 hours and 6 minutes long with interviews with most of the major protagonists (but, sadly, not the mighty Terry Williams), footage of the band past and present playing the numbers from the early albums plus excerpts from footage of the seemingly ever-present camcorder owned by Bob Richard from the 1999 German tour. Mind you, that probably counts as a European Tour as they also venture into Switzerland.
Lovingly put together by the team at Effigy Music the films shows how the band developed out of The Bystanders and the other rising bands in the Welsh scene to become one of the pioneering and ground-breaking acts of the latter days of the 1960's and on into the 1970's. It covers the recording of the first four albums leaving the tale with the release of Do You Like It Here Now? Are You Settling In? which is one of the definitive cornerstones of the Man canon and one which I'll happily go head to head with all comers to defend.
Support is provided by many talking heads well known to Manfans including Michael Heatley, Ron Sanchez and Pete Feenstra as well as appearances from uberfan Tweke Lewis and John McKenzie who were in later versions of the band (and who will doubtless appear in the next volume which can't appear soon enough) along with a brief appearance by George Jones. I was a little surprised to hear Pete being just a little equivocal about Do You Like It Here Now, and impressed by Michael's marvellous ability to speak and hold up a copy of the CD at the same time - what a man!! I tended to agree entirely with what Ron had to say, whilst trying to make out what books or CD's he had on the shelf behind him! There's also a bit of a love-fest between the Manband and Nektar as each recall their time together in Germany in the early 1970's.
The interviews with Micky, Deke, Martin and Clive were warm, humorous and informative and depicted a bunch of very longstanding friends and colleagues with an immense amount of respect for one another and their contributions to the history of the band.
Bob's videodiaries of the 1999 tour just demonstrate the ability of the band to just keep on keeping on. It's amazing to think that they can survive each other day to day whilst travelling about in the van - six guys plus all the gear. It reminded of the last time Man played at the Ferry in Glasgow - in discussion with Martin my wife said she couldn't understand why they still travelled up and down the country to play gigs. Martin's response was definitive - "It's what we do". And long may they do so.
If you're a fan of the band, chances are you'll already be planning to get this - you won't be disappointed and you'll end up with a feeling of well-being about the world and a daft grin as I have at this point. If you're not a fan of the band, then a sample of this will point out the error of your ways in fine fashion.
As my acquaintances will be well aware, I am more than capable of talking at tedious length about the Manband....and occasionally for even longer than that!!! The good news for them is that all I'll need to do in future is to point them in the direction of this DVD (and its' successors) for this truly does provide the answer. The film is 3 hours and 6 minutes long with interviews with most of the major protagonists (but, sadly, not the mighty Terry Williams), footage of the band past and present playing the numbers from the early albums plus excerpts from footage of the seemingly ever-present camcorder owned by Bob Richard from the 1999 German tour. Mind you, that probably counts as a European Tour as they also venture into Switzerland.
Lovingly put together by the team at Effigy Music the films shows how the band developed out of The Bystanders and the other rising bands in the Welsh scene to become one of the pioneering and ground-breaking acts of the latter days of the 1960's and on into the 1970's. It covers the recording of the first four albums leaving the tale with the release of Do You Like It Here Now? Are You Settling In? which is one of the definitive cornerstones of the Man canon and one which I'll happily go head to head with all comers to defend.
Support is provided by many talking heads well known to Manfans including Michael Heatley, Ron Sanchez and Pete Feenstra as well as appearances from uberfan Tweke Lewis and John McKenzie who were in later versions of the band (and who will doubtless appear in the next volume which can't appear soon enough) along with a brief appearance by George Jones. I was a little surprised to hear Pete being just a little equivocal about Do You Like It Here Now, and impressed by Michael's marvellous ability to speak and hold up a copy of the CD at the same time - what a man!! I tended to agree entirely with what Ron had to say, whilst trying to make out what books or CD's he had on the shelf behind him! There's also a bit of a love-fest between the Manband and Nektar as each recall their time together in Germany in the early 1970's.
The interviews with Micky, Deke, Martin and Clive were warm, humorous and informative and depicted a bunch of very longstanding friends and colleagues with an immense amount of respect for one another and their contributions to the history of the band.
Bob's videodiaries of the 1999 tour just demonstrate the ability of the band to just keep on keeping on. It's amazing to think that they can survive each other day to day whilst travelling about in the van - six guys plus all the gear. It reminded of the last time Man played at the Ferry in Glasgow - in discussion with Martin my wife said she couldn't understand why they still travelled up and down the country to play gigs. Martin's response was definitive - "It's what we do". And long may they do so.
If you're a fan of the band, chances are you'll already be planning to get this - you won't be disappointed and you'll end up with a feeling of well-being about the world and a daft grin as I have at this point. If you're not a fan of the band, then a sample of this will point out the error of your ways in fine fashion.
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