LINK: Interview with Jon Anderson, the voice of Yes

http://chicagomusicmagazine.com/interview-with-jon-anderson-the-voice-of-yes/

A few weeks ago I did an interview with Jon Anderson, who is someone I have admired ever since someone played a rough cassette recording of Close to the Edge on the school bus back in the early 1970s. I have been keeping a weather eye out ever since, and whenever there is an interview with him, I post a link. Like this one:

Alex Kluft What was the first record you bought?

Jon Anderson: “Rebel Rouser” by Duane Eddy.

CMM: How did you get into music?

JA: My brother had a band and we always used to sing together when we worked on the local farm. We were always singing, every since I was a little kid. We had a band in 63’ 50 years in the business, would you believe?

Read on...

For tour dates visit www.jonanderson.com/tour.html

Jon Anderson 'OPEN' digital download available: http://www.amazon.com/Open-Single/dp/B005XT5Z8U/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336499182&sr=1-1

Jon Anderson 'Survival & Other Stories' available through Gonzo MultiMedia: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE: Judge Smith Interview (Part Four)

And so my mammoth conversation with Judge Smith about his songstory Curly's Airships trundles on.

Talking to Judge is always a pleasure, but my dear wife Corinna told me that transcribing interviews with him is so mucheasier than with some people whom I could mention, because he speaks slowly, in well-modulated tones, and is easy to follow.

Today's episode is quite possibly the most arcane interview we have ever posted as it covers so many peculiar, and disparate, things whilst always coming back to Curly McLeod and his airships..

Jon: So how did the idea for Curly come about in the first place

Judge: I wanted to do a long narrative piece because I thought it could be done and it was something that I’d always been interested in. You know that Van der Graaf Generator went in for the long song and it always irks me somewhat that rock music was still expected to fit into a relatively short timeframe and I wanted to do something that I could stretch out and tell a whole story. And so what I had to do was find a story to tell and I like airships, I knew the story of the R101 and thought it covered a lot of bases that appealed to me; airships, the 1920s, the British character, the language and slang of the first part of the 20th Century and the paranormal, all of which I am very interested in so that’s what led me to do it. So it was finding a subject to do the song story, it wasn’t I am desperate to tell the story of the R10, how can I possibly do it? I knew it had to be something that I found really, really interesting because I knew it was going to take a long time. I didn’t anticipate 7 years.

Jon: A project of yours which keeps on getting referenced whenever I’m writing anything about you is the Kibbo Kift musical.

Judge: That was one of the ones written with Maxwell Hutchinson. And in fact Mel Smith also directed a production of that musical as well.

Jon: Was that ever recorded?

Judge: There is a demo of most of the songs. But the only recording we have is a so called – a pair of microphones hung up on the ceiling and they record everything I think for legal purposes in case there is a disaster and I’ve got a tape of the show like that, but it’s not a listenable proper edition really

Jon: Oh what a pity, because again after talking to you I did some research into it. Very interesting. Particularly as I did some research into Ernest Thompson Seton some years ago.
I was writing about him 15 years ago because I did a lot of research into singing mice.

Judge: Singing mice?

Jon: They were things that were sold in pet shops in the late 19th and early 20th Century and there was a vogue for singing mice and dancing mice in late Victorian times. Singing mice were mice that were bred with lung conditions and squeaked like canaries, and dancing mice went round and round in circles because they were epileptic.

Judge: That’s awful

Jon: That’s terrible, but one of these singing mice became a star on the very early BBC and its name was Mickey, and having somewhat of a hatred for Walt Disney I spent about three years trying to build up a thesis which turned out not to be buildable that the whole Walt Disney empire was built on a piece of animal abuse around a mouse with tuberculosis. Then I got involved with Seton. He wrote a book called Ralph of the Woods and in that there is a red Indian who tells the story of the singing mouse..

Judge: Well John Hargrave, the founder of the Kibbo Kift was very much influenced by Thompson Seton and it was the beginning of the Kibbo Kift. As a result of writing this musical a lot of the old membership came out from the woodwork and the result was the formation of the Kibbo Kift foundation which is a body set up to gather in and preserve all the records and memorabilia of the movement and an amazing amount of material still existed and I was inducted as a trustee of the foundation – a very junior member, myself and Maxwell, because we had written this musical regenerated some interest in the movement and of course with the way of the world I am one of the few people left, most of the members have now passed on. And so I really am running the foundation more or less single handed.

Check out: http://www.kibbokift.org/

Jon: That’s a song story in itself.

Judge: Well we’ve achieved our aims in that all the collection of objects and regalia, robes, costumes, carvings, illuminated manuscripts are all in the Museum of London and the archive or written records is at the LSE Library. And it is now done and only recently I finished doing the cataloguing of the last part of the archives so our job is pretty well done now.

Jon: Are you going to being doing a book on it?

Judge: I was offered a commission to do Hargrave's biography by a grown-up Bloomsbury publisher years ago, but I turned it down. I am not a professional writer. I would have to become a professional writer – you know Jon, you are a writer...biographers....

Jon: It’s a horrible job

Judge: What a ghastly job, you know it just goes on and on and then you don’t make any money at the end of it – a bit like rock ‘n’ roll really ... but I thought it was better to have those working conditions and come out with stuff of my own rather than burying myself in another man’s past. There is a book there – a very good book there for somebody, an extraordinary story.

Jon: And I want to hear the Kibbo Kift songs.

Judge: Most certainly. I would be interested to know what you think. I can send you the script as well. But again, whether it would see the light of day again I don’t know. It’s half my project and so obviously I am more inclined to spend time on projects that are entirely mine.

Jon: I like the way that when you and I start talking about things, these are the least formal interviews that I do. We end up talking about different things.

And that was it. Judge and I chatted about non interview stuff for about ten minutes, we said our goodbyes and parted company. I am certain, however, that we shall be talking again soon.

Mimi Page - Jigsaw (Strike Force Charlie Remix)

Another submission for the Mimi Page remix competition.

BRIEF PARISH NOTICE

Just a quicky. Corinna and I will be away from Thursday to Monday (approximately). Graham will be running the Gonzo Daily, and the CFZ Blog Network in our abscence. He is usually assisted by Lizzy Clancy, but as we are away for her wedding, I think she will have other things on her mind this weekend...

LINK: Auburn reviewed track by track

http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/index_cdreviews_display.cfm?id=103497
Review by G. W. Hill

While the vocals on this album sound like rather Macy Gray, the music combines world music, symphonic elements and progressive rock along with some jazz. The mix is compelling and rather unique, and at times has some other sounds within it. All in all, this is quite an effective release and I like it quite a bit.

Track by Track Review

Shame on You
There are world music elements here and the vocals have a real alternative rock vibe. Still, overall this is sort of an acoustic based energetic progressive rock.

Strong
A similar, but more restrained vocal element is heard on this number. The music has more of a ballad-like sound to it. This is mellow and has some symphonic instrumentation over the top. It grows out with more layers of sound emerging as it continues.

Indian Summer
World music merges with acoustic based progressive rock as the vocals work over the top. There is really a jazz-like concept to it.

Free Spirit
Classical elements combined with world music bring this one into a mellow and acoustic based, soulful progressive rock mode.

Day Dreamin'
Bouncy and fun, this is a tasty number. It’s got a real shuffling kind of rhythm and almost an island kind of feeling to it.

Stop the Clock
Mellow and slow, this is more ballad-like and certainly more of an organic progressive rock ballad. There are really some pretty elements in the overlayers here.

Too Far from Home
Folk music and country are both heard on this number. It’s probably not prog at all, but that’s OK. It’s one of the tastiest pieces of the whole set.

All Comes Back to You
Bluesy and mellow, this is a cool cut. It’s another without a lot of prog in the mix, though. Still, it’s a great change of pace. There’s a cool guitar solo on this number.

This Is the Life
Moving back into proggy territory, this is a pretty balladic number. It’s gentle and intricate. It gets more powerful later in the piece and it might well be the strongest number of the whole set.

LINK: Mimi Page review

http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/index_cdreviews_display.cfm?id=103506

Mimi Page Breathe Me In Review by G. W. Hill This might wind up as one of my favorites for the year. Yes, it’s that good. There’s a lot of electronic sound here, but in a lot of ways it’s quite close to the music of Kate Bush. The vocals certainly have a Kate Bush or Tori Amos element to them. No matter what you call this, though, it’s a great disc that really works very well. I’ll be spinning this for years to come. I’m sure of that. Track by Track Review My Vanilla Sky There’s a great electronic music sound here. This is sort of like a Kate Bush kind of vibe. It’s a good tune. Since "Vanilla Sky" is my all-time favorite movie, I have to wonder if this song has something to do with the film. Black Valentine We get more of a stripped back musical element on the early portions here. Then it works out to more fully realized sounds and this is another great tune. It could be something that might get played in a club due to the rhythmic track at times, but it’s also got a lot of progressive rock element in place. It drops back to a mellower movement with intricate keyboards. I’m reminded a bit of Tori Amos at times here. Colorblind Starting tentatively, this cut builds out with a cool bass line driving it. As the vocals join, the only accompaniment is the bass and drums. Bits of piano are heard at the end of the lines of singing. This one really calls to mind Tori Amos quite a bit. There are sections here with more of a house or techno texture, but a lot of this is stripped down. All I Need A lot of this is closer to a mainstream pop rock sound, but there are drop backs to stripped down music and we’ve got plenty of progressive rock on display here, too. New This one is a lot mellower. It is basically just piano and voice. It really does call to mind Tori Amos. Gravity The rhythm section leads off here and we get waves of sound laid over the top of that before the vocals join. This is moody, atmospheric, and so cool. This Fire I love the echoey kind of vocal delivery here. This is another track that in some ways doesn’t feel far removed from a lot of pop music that might be played in a dance club. Still, there’s a real artistic, progressive rock element here. Parts of this call to mind Art of Noise a bit, too. The Starving Artist The backdrop to this is more purely electronic music, but there is also pretty melody over the top. Page’s vocal delivery here really has a soulful power to it. Come What May A slow moving, lush arrangement serves as the backdrop for some beautiful vocals. This is very much like a cross between modern progressive rock and electronic music. It’s a wonderful cut that works really well. It’s one of the highlights. Considering the general consistency and strength here, that says a lot. Phenomenon Atmospheric electronica is the main mode here. This one’s not bad, but seems to pale a bit in comparison to the track that preceded it. Jigsaw Piano and vocals are the order of business here. This is not only mellower, but it’s also quite pretty. Breathe Me In The title track has a lusher arrangement. It’s more of a mainstream pop rock tune. This is good, and probably one of the more accessible tracks. Still, there are enough progressive rock elements here to keep it interesting. I can make out hints of Asian music at times.

LINK: ‘Leave it to me’: Rick Wakeman’s genius first-take contribution to Bowie’s “Space Oddity”

Dan Wooding, author of 45 books, was the first journalist to ever write a story about the young Rick Wakeman. That gives him a unique perspective on the legendary keyboardist’s work with prog-rock pioneers Yes, but also his interesting solo work and sideman projects over the years.

Wooding’s new 2012 authorized biography on Wakeman, called Caped Crusader takes us inside the early Yes years, as Wakeman assumes the keyboard chair for founding member Tony Kaye. But there’s much more to Wooding’s tale.

Wakeman left Yes in the middle part of the decade, producing a trio intriguing individual albums called The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, all between 1973-75, before returning for what would be a series of reunions with Yes. (Wakeman was also a member of the band from 1976-80, part of the splinter group Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe beginning in 1989 and then in Yes again until 1992, followed by two more stops in 1995-97 and 2002-04.)

Read on...

JEFFERSON STARSHIP: UK Tour dates

Tue, 09 Oct Kinross, Backstage at The Green Hotel

Wed, 10 Oct Edinburgh, The Queens Hall

Thu, 11 Oct Glasgow, The Ferry Glasgow

Fri, 12 Oct Blackburn, King George's Hall

Sat, 13 Oct Grimsby, Yardbirds Club

Tue, 16 Oct Bilston, The Robin 2

Wed, 17 Oct Southampton, The Brook

Thu, 18 Oct Haywards Heath, Clair Hall

Fri, 19 Oct London, The Borderline

Sat, 20 Oct London, The Borderline

Mon, 22 Oct Paris, FR Le Bataclan

EXCLUSIVE: Judge Smith interview part three

I really enjoyed talking to Judge Smith the other evening. We were supposed to be talking about the imminent re-release of the Curly's Airships songstory, but we ended up talking about all sorts of other things as well.

Check out:

Part one
Part two

..and you will see what I mean.

As today's segment opens, we were talking about the musical version of The Fall of the House of Usher that he did with Peter Hammill et al about 20 years ago:

Judge: There are some magnificent tunes on that piece. I think it’s got some of Peter’s most wonderful melodies ever on that piece. It’s recorded in quite an austere fashion, but it has no compromises but the tunes themselves are just magnificent I think.

Jon: That’s something it’s a pity you didn’t get to a wider audience

Judge: Well at one time it was going to be put on at the Barcelona Olympics (1992). It was scheduled to be produced as a site-specific production, I think in the old Ministry of Health building in Barcelona.

But unfortunately really quite late in the day it fell through. Local and regional politics, local and euro funding and all the rest of it. It was a big, big disappointment so it did almost get produced.

Jon: Then it finally came out in 91 or 92? And then disappeared again and came out again in the late ’90s.

Judge: Yes, the first release was not very auspicious in terms of the actual record company involved and then Peter wanted to rework it and do a lot of really quite radical changes to the musical arrangements and the vocals and put it out again on his own label. And they’re both very interesting recordings I think

Jon: Well I think that was the nearest reference point to Curly

Judge: That’s interesting.

Jon: I think there were a lot of points between the two and not just because it had Peter on it, but they both had a very similar feel to them

Judge: Oh that’s interesting. It’s not a connection that I’ve would have made.

Jon: They’ve certainly got more in common than I think than Curly has to either of the other two song stories

Judge: Quite possibly. Well being around someone who writes extraordinary tunes it does rub off on one. It tends to raise your game and working with Peter, of course knowing his stuff, has raised the threshold at which a tune becomes acceptable to me. I think that won’t do, that’s predictable, and I am sure that being somewhat in the shadow there has had at least that beneficial effect.

Jon: That’s something that all three of the song stories – to me anyway – have got in common. Being a musician , when I’m listening to something I sing along with it and you usually know where the tune is going to go, and with yours, you don’t. You get wrongfooted, because you go off at a tangent that one wasn't expecting.

Judge: Oh yes, I’m very pleased to hear that. I like stuff that jumps around a bit. I like wrong-footing people’s musical anticipation.

Jon: I think there’s as much cheeky humour in the way that you write the music as you do the words.

Judge: Thank you again. I find it difficult to do things without jokes in them. I find it difficult to take things seriously, even though I take them very seriously

Jon: I know exactly what you mean

Judge: I am currently what my friend John Ellis would say, ‘cream-crackered’

Jon: You sound exhausted

Judge: I am a bit to be honest. David Minnick is doing all the heavy lifting on this project but he wants me to record my vocals in a particular way, and that is very demanding for me. I have to provide two identical vocals. I’m double tracking my vocals. And because I’m quite a random sort of singer, it’s very, very difficult to do. And I find it pretty tiring, but the results are very interesting. It’s not something I do myself, but he’s said ‘that’s how I want to do it’, and the whole point of getting him involved is for him to be the producer.

I’m really looking forward to hearing it

It’s extraordinary stuff to be honest. The sound...he is a wonderful musician. Absolutely extraordinary musician so I am very, very lucky indeed to have that relationship.

And there, once more, we shall knock it on the head for today. We will be back with more tomorrow, and quite possibly the next day as well..

EXCLUSIVE: Hawkwind in Southampton

Graham is back from his trip away, and has video of the Southampton show for you all. Also, our opther roving reporter Davey Curtis was at the Stamford and Middlesborough shows, so expect a plethora of reviews, pix and vids over the next week or so.



Can there be a finer Hawkwind moment, these days? - waiting for them to start with "The Awakening" and expecting them to do a decent job of it. I'd seen the show a week before, in Bridport, and was necking back the lagers, so please don't expect good camerwork here. The sound is pretty good, though, and Mr Dibs does a fine job on this classic narrative that was composed by Bob Calvert in the early 1970s.

This was my first-ever visit to The Brook, in over 37 years of seeing the band. Nice venue, good people, great show. What more can one say.

Clip-posting is LEGAL under Hawkwind trading rules, so if any copyright company scum try to lay claim to this footage with their automated digital thuggery, then they can piss off. SCUM!! -- It's HAWKWIND that have the rights to this footage!

MIMI PAGE: Let Us Prey (original film score)

mimi writes: Scored a short film a few months ago called "Let Us Prey"....it was a very dark and heavy subject matter thus...the spooky instrumentals. ♥

Two Deluxe Multimedia Releases From Erik Norlander And The Galactic Collective Now Available!

Email: SergeEnt@aol.com
Website: http://www.thetank.com
The official release date for the DVD/CD sets, Erik Norlander - The Galactive Collective "Definitive Edition" and "Live in Gettysburg," is August 6th, 2012 when the titles will be available at retailers worldwide, but you can get them now from Gonzo Multimedia in the UK and on June 21st from Think Tank Media in the USA.

In 2009, master keyboardist, Erik Norlander, went into the studio with a new set of virtuoso musicians to record re-imaginings of his favorite instrumental compositions as a project called "The Galactic Collective." In 2010, Erik released a preview of the project on CD-R through Chian Productions in Ohio. In 2011, Erik took the project on the road and recorded the results. Now in 2012, we finally have the complete document of Erik's massive undertaking in two remarkable releases, one in studio, the other on stage. Each title includes a video DVD and two audio CDs released by Erik's company, Think Tank Media, in partnership with UK prog giant, Gonzo Multimedia. All discs are replicated -- not CD-R or DVD-R -- and each contains deluxe, full-color 5x7" booklets with extensive liner notes written by those directly involved with the project.

Read on...

EXCLUSIVE: Judge Smith, the 'Curly's Airships' interview (Part Two)

Yesterday I posted the first part of a long and rambling interview that I did the other evening with the incomparable Judge Smith. It was meant to be about the imminent rerelease of the first of his groundbreaking songstory albums which tells the story of the Imperial Airship Scheme and the R101 disaster, but in fact we talked about all sorts of other things as well.

That's the problem when you have someone like me whbo has a grasshopper mind, interviewing a polymath like Judge. The conversation gets so engrossing that before long you completely forget that you are supposed to be conducting an interview...

Jon: You’ve got so many other things you are doing always.

Judge: It has been a rather long run of projects. Once The Climber started it hasn’t stopped really and it’s been too much to be honest. It’s been one thing after another really. The Climber and Orfeas happened – not simultaneously, but half of one and then half of the other. I got half way with Orfeas and then had to put it aside to do The Climber because there was the opportunity to do it and then I had to go back to Orfeas and once I had finished that I spent a long time making a demo of my Requiem Mass which is the first big piece I ever wrote in the mid-70s and it was written at that time.

It is a big piece; choir, brass and a rock band and it was put into a full score by my friend Michael Brand, the arranger, who helped me turn my imaginings into a musical manuscript. The connection is, he arranged a big orchestral piece on a Peter Hammill album, and it’s never been recorded.

My friend Ricardo Odriozola, who has been so helpful for me on Orfeas offered to get this pencil score into the 21st Century and get it digitised and give me the opportunity to revise it and make some changes I always had in mind for it. And we did that work which was fantastic and then I had to put it on to tape, just as a demo, so it’s done with samples, just to – as a proof of concept – to show what it might sound like and sooner or later I’ve got to make a decision as to whether I try and actually record it, but it would be a very big undertaking and would cost a lot of money. A full choir, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, a rock band and a good vocalist, because I can’t sing it. It needs a proper rock singer, a good singer. So I don’t know whether that will ever happen, but that took up a long time and then immediately I dived into the present project which is an album I’m doing with the American producer David Minnick..

Jon: Oh the guy who did the speech music?

Judge: That’s it, the guy who worked on those narrative passages in Orfeas. Speech music is what I call it. It doesn’t actually have a name. It’s got a history – it’s got quite an underground thread running through - the experimental music of the 20th Century, but as far as I know it hasn’t got a name so I called it speech music just for my own convenience.

Jon: I love the concept.

Judge: It’s fascinating stuff. I think I probably will go back to it but I am not sure what form or for what project. But it is very demanding for me, you really need to be a better musician than I am to make the most out of it. But even though David is an expert, it doesn’t feature on this next project of ours which is an album of songs - a relatively conventional song format album.

Jon: Does it tell stories?

Judge: Well the individual songs tell stories because that tends to be what I do. But no there isn’t one over-arching narrative. It’s a bunch of songs, like a proper album.

Jon: When is it going to be out?

Judge: Well, I don’t know – I’ve got several more vocals to do. David has some sessions with brass and strings to go and it’ll be finished when we are both happy with it. Later this year, when I can raise the finance to press it and issue it..

Jon: I didn’t realise the other day that you had done the songs for Not the Nine O’clock News.

Judge: Yes I did a few. That was fun.

Jon: Which were yours?

Judge: Well the one that people remember is Gob on You.


Jon: I used to sing that with a terrible punk band back in the day

Judge: Really? [laughs]

Jon: We did an absolutely diabolical version of it and I stole two of the lines for a song I did as well.

Judge: It has actually been covered by a perfectly legitimate punk band.

Jon: There is such a thing as a legitimate punk band?

Judge: Well... yes I see what you mean. Chaos UK.

Jon: That’s a name I never thought I would hear again.

Judge: Chaos UK have covered 'Gob on You' which I suppose is a legitimate piece of pride for me.



Jon: Well I stole the line "sex is boring, pain is fun, I wanna cut my fingers off one by one, there ain't no point in staying alive, I wanna be dead by 25" for one of my soungs thirty years ago so I owe you a couple of beers.

Judge: I did several others. And I can’t remember which ones get done and which ones were rejected so if I said I did that one but not that one, some Not the Nine O’clock News completist would say...that was never broadcast

I submitted a lot – I think there were about three in the end that they actually did. The big disappointment was they did one of my numbers for the very last song on the very last show which was called 'Happy Bloody Christmas', and it was very elaborate set-up done with a live audience and members of the cast came out into the audience and beat them up for not singing along and so forth. Only unfortunately, they handed Rowan who is an absolutely delightful man by the way, they handed him his microphone the wrong way round, so he sang the whole thing into the little wire coming out of the end. And so, of course, it was unusable so they went for... they did something dramatic and serious. They did 'Imagine' or something like that. The last segment of the last show. So it was a great shame and that was quite a good song.

Jon: How did you get involved with doing that?

Judge: Because before Mel was a TV performer he was a theatrical director and he directed a musical of mine at the Sheffield Crucible. A musical called The Ascent of Wilberforce Three which I wrote with Maxwell Hutchinson. We were a sort of musical writing team for a considerable length of time. We wrote several musicals together and Mel directed it. And that is how I got to know Mel. So when he joined this new comedy programme, I had an opportunity to submit songs.

Jon: I suppose that is the way the business works

Judge: Yes. But I’m not facile enough to get anywhere in television. You’ve got to be able to do things quick, which I can’t do.

Jon: But then again, if you had done that you might not have got around to writing Curly.

Judge: Possibly yes. Perhaps if I’d of had any legitimate career I wouldn’t have done anything so incredibly stupid as to do Curly.

Jon: The thing I found interesting. I listened to the three song stories in exactly the wrong order. I listened to Orfeas first, the The Climber and then Curly last of all. And the nearest reference point I got to that was the musical version of Edgar Allan Poe that you did with Peter Hammill twenty odd years ago?

Judge: Oh right yes. The Fall of the House of Usher – that was a good experience.

Jon: Because Richard and I got hold of a copy of that I can’t remember how we got it, or from where it came, but I remember sitting down with Richard listening to it far too loud, years ago and totally, totally getting it.

And so this seems to be a convenient place to break for today. There will be more tomorrow, and quite possibly the day after that...

MICHAEL DES BARRES HAS A MASSIVELY SMASHING NEW WEBSITE: so what am I going to do now?

http://www.mdbimmedia.com/

Many congratulations to Michael and his media team for his magnificent new website. It is everything that one could have wanted and more besides.

And therein lies the problem. With the forthcoming release of Michael's new album Carnaby Street I had various plans for what I would write, and what I would ask Michael and his band in interviews.

Now...wait for it... THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR MICHAEL'S NEW WEBSITE HAVE DONE IT ALL ALREADY... so I am going back to the drawing board. No doubt I will think of something, and in the meantime you can enjoy exploring his new site.

http://www.mdbimmedia.com/

LINK: Rick Wakeman review

http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/reviews99.htm#wakeman

STYLE Progressive rock electronica.
In The Nick Of Time is a live album recorded back in 2003 that showcases some of the outstanding solo material composed over the decades by keyboard legend Rick Wakeman. Supported by The New English Rock Ensemble, Rick's music here takes on a massive live rock character. The drums are thunderous, the lead breaks (both from Rick on synths and Ant Glynnes on guitar) are masterful and grandiose, the vocals are those of dramatic rock opera epics and even bassist Lee Pomeroy gets to dazzle during a blinding spotlight section of the concluding Wurm. The heaving progressive pomp and unashamedly extravagant arrangements give the music a dynamic enormity firmly rooted back in the seventies.

ARTWORK In The Nick Of Time is a jewelcase presentation with a generous twenty page booklet included. The Front cover sets a galactic tone that is expanded throughout the package with effulgent red orange nebulae vomiting out stars, planets and snaking keyboard ribbons. Rick's image hangs in the void to one side of the titles semi-transparent. Track titles are listed with times on the rear along with publishing information. The booklet opens with a five page section "Rick's Attempt at a Definition" wherein Rick explains the title of the album; thoughts on prog; something of his personal history: a bit of a rant about Yes and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and plenty of thoughts on the development of the man's music. There are numerous live performance photographs, posters, biographies of the band and a whole page of credits and thank yous.

OVERALL Rick Wakeman is surely one of the most well known keyboardists alive - his work with various rock and pop giants (David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Yes) as well as some huge early solo releases (The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth ...) establishing a loyal following that would remain for decades. In The Nick Of Time is an archival live recording that sees the maestro in fine form back in 2003 promoting the Out There album. Tracks include developments of favourite solo compositions such Catherine Parr/Beware Your Enemies and White Rock; pieces written for vocals such as No Earthly Connection; a reimagining of the Yes classic Wurm as well as pieces from the then newly released Out There album of 2003.

For more information you can visit the official Rick Wakeman website or you can purchase the album directly from the Gonzo Multimedia website.

Rare TV Performances By Capt. Beefheart and his Magic Band 'The Lost Broadcasts' To Be Released On DVD

Rare TV Performances By Capt. Beefheart and his Magic Band 'The Lost Broadcasts' To Be Released On DVD

London, UK - Don Van Vliet, (1941-2010) better known to his legions of fans as ‘Captain Beefheart’ was one of the most enigmatic figures in rock music. Unashamedly an artist, rather than a pop star, he forged his own idiosyncratic furrow through popular culture, producing some of the most innovative and uncompromising music ever committed to recording tape. From the age of three he painted and sculpted, and had an obsession with animals and the natural world. As a teenager he was friends with Frank Zappa, and as early as 1963 they recorded a demo under the name ‘The Soots’. Sadly this was unsuccessful, and the world would have to wait a few more years before Beefheart’s own unique take on the blues would be heard by anyone outside his own particular circle of friends. His first album, ‘Safe as Milk’ came out in 1967, and Hunter Davies’ eponymous biography of The Beatles notes that John Lennon was an early fan. It is not surprising considering that the primal rock and roll that Lennon idolized and the pioneering surreal blues of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, had much the same cultural genesis. Probably the most important album of the Captain’s career was the Zappa produced 'Trout Mask Replica' which was released in 1969. Its mixture of blues, free-form improvisation and heavily structured Van Vliet avant-garde compositions proved too much for many listeners but eventually ensured him a place in the history books. High profile fans of this album include the late John Peel, who would remain a champion of Beefheart’s until he died.

In 1972 Captain Beefheart released two albums; ‘The Spotlight Kid’ and ‘Clear Spot’. He also toured the UK and Europe with the Magic Band, even performing two concerts at London's famed Royal Albert Hall. On April 12th , in the middle of the European leg of the tour, Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band stopped off at the Beat Club studios in Bremen, Germany to film a session for later transmission. Of the four songs filmed that day only one track has ever been broadcast. The band at that time included: Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) vocals, harp; Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) guitar and bass; Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad) guitar; Orejon (Roy Estrada) bass; Ed Marimba (Art Tripp) drums; and Winged Eel Fingerling (Elliot Ingber) guitar. Author Jon Kirkman describes the recordings: “The session kicks off with a bass solo entitled ‘Mascara Snake’. This short piece was named after a former member of the Magic Band Victor Hayden (Don's cousin), who had appeared on the 'Trout Mask Replica' album. The solo is played by Mark Boston, although at this point former Mothers of Invention bassist Roy Estrada had joined The Magic Band following his departure from Little Feat in early 1972. The other songs in the set here include a track dating back to 'Trout Mask Replica' (‘Steal Softly Thru Snow’) and also a track that would be featured on 'Clear Spot' some eight months later (‘Golden Birdies’).

Now, over 40 years later, much to the excitement of Capt. Beefheart fans worldwide, premier UK label Gonzo MultiMedia will be releasing these historic Beat Club sessions on DVD titled 'Capt. Beefheart and his Magic Band – The Lost Broadcasts'. These films have not been seen in over 4 decades and are the complete sessions from April 12, 1972. Only one song was broadcast at the time and then never to be seen again. This DVD contains all the material filmed during that session now available for the very first time!

Pre-orders are being taken now at https://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15486/Captain_Beefheart_and_his_Magic_Band-The_Lost_Broadcasts.html

Tracks: 1. MASCARA SNAKE (BASS SOLO) 3:06, 2. CLICK CLACK 1 3:44, 3. CLICK CLACK 2 1:26, 4. GOLDEN BIRDIES 1:58, 5. BAND INTROS 0:56, 6. I'M GONNA BOOGLARIZE YOU BABY 1 4:26, 7. I'M GONNA BOOGLARIZE YOU BABY 2 5:02, 8. STEAL SOFTLY THRU THE SNOW 3:33, 9. I'M GONNA BOOGLARIZE YOU BABY 3 5:19

For more information: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/

ONCE AGAIN THE CONTENTS OF MY POSTBAG ARE INTERESTING..

...interesting enough for me to make an astonished if silly face upon being presented with three Patrick Moraz albums and a biography of The Stone Roses.

Why I am wearing a T Shirt that I bought nine years ago from Philadelphia airport, I am not quite sure.

MICHAEL DES BARRES: Pain Killer

I knew that this song was special from the first time that I heard it months ago, which is why I basically bootlegged it and posted it on Gonzo Daily. I saw a rough cut of this video some weeks ago and had to be restrained bodily from posting it then. It was so good that I wanted to share it with you. Now I can.

I truly think that this album Carnaby Street is going to be one of the major musical events of 2012. I am massively enjoying being a part (albeit a minor one) of the process...

JUDGE SMITH: The 'Curly's Airships' interview... (Part One)

..in fact it turned out to be our widest and most rambling talk yet. Partly because the two of us are now comfortable with each other, partly because Judge is exhausted after what would be a punishing schedule for a man half his age, and partly because I am in a spectacularly unfocussed headspace at the moment, this interview, was possibly the least formal that I have ever done.

I enjoyed it. I am pretty sure Judge enjoyed it, and I hope that you will too...

Jon: I was very impressed with Curly

Judge: You’ve done a wonderful review of it. I am so touched, Jonathan. A very kind and generous review.

Jon: It’s no more than it deserves. It is a remarkable piece of work.

Judge: Thank you. I have had some wonderful responses from people which I’ve collected since it first came out, and if it’s right for people it’s very right for people.

Jon: It is the one of the song stories that most sounds like you were once in Van de Graaf Generator

Judge: Oh yes. It’s got Hugh Banton all over it basically. That’s so distinctive.

Jon: I thought his organ playing was absolutely extraordinary on it.

Judge: Yeah, he’s amazing. He runs a successful organ building company so it and he gives every impression of being a middle-aged business man, and stick him behind the keyboard and you get extreme, violent, astonishing organ playing that you would expect from a kind of long-haired madman.

Jon: It is, some of that playing is completely insane.

Judge: Yeah, he’s just fantastic. It was a very complicated thing to do because Curly was recorded in analogue on a 16-track machine that I had to take up to Cheshire to his home on numerous occasions to record the organ stuff. It was a very complex procedure to get all his organ stuff done.

Jon: I was thinking that. When I was reading the liner notes it almost the last great dance of analogue recording. Three or four years later it would have been done completely different.

Judge: Yes, it was the last thing I did analogue. As soon as it was finished I dismantled the studio so I knew I wasn’t going to go on any longer with it, and sold all my kit and braced myself to join the digital world. Which I don’t regret at all – it certainly makes my life more easier. I’m not particularly romantic about analogue.

Jon: It’s actually interesting, because half the people I talk to now for Gonzo are telling me how they make incredibly complicated albums all on a laptop and it is interesting to hear something that was recorded in the old fashioned way.

Judge: There’s a lot to be said for it, but for my particular circumstances being not a performer of music, being a writer rather than a performer, being digital is a huge advantage. I am an old-fashioned writer in many ways, but it is still an awful lot easier for me to get that stuff down onto a computer than it is onto reels of iron oxide.

Jon: I am itching to see Curly done live.

Judge: Well, I like performing very much on stage. I haven’t done nearly as much of it as I’d like, particularly in recent decades. I did perform quite regularly with a band in the ‘70s called The Modern Beats which was a London pub band, which was great fun. We gigged quite a lot and I did enjoy that ever so much. But that wasn’t doing original material. We did early ‘60s pop songs played in a very new wave, or punk-style. Our by-line was 'Too fast, too loud and twenty years too late'. But it was a fun band. But since then, it has been few and far between really. Both recording and performing are costly things to do. They require a lot of resources and a lot of time to get a band together for example. And I felt I wanted to spend what time I had, and what resources I had at my disposal, on making records rather than running a band. It is a regret in many ways. I do enjoy performing live.

Jon: I would love to see Curly on the stage.

Judge: I think it could be done. I do have a scheme for doing it, mind you I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to carry it off now, but it would be possible to do. I would like to. It could be done as an illustrated lantern slide show where Curly McLeod presents an old-fashioned lantern slide show with a long pointer as if he’s giving a lecture to the Women’s Institute.

Jon: Gosh what a lovely idea

Judge: So it could be done as a one man show.

Jon: And with backing tapes rather than a band?

Judge: Yes. In fact, when I mixed Curly’s Airships with the amazing David Lord, we mixed everything two ways, with and without the lead voice so it would in theory be possible to put together a performance tape as it were that could be sung to live. But I rather doubt if it is every going to happen.

Pushing a project like that is a full time job, and it is a full time job for someone with a lot more drive and chutzpah, and bottle than I can generally summon up.

We will continue tomorrow, and the next day after that, and quite possibly after that as well. However, for the record, I would love to see Curly staged the way that The Who did Quadrophenia about fifteen years ago (released on DVD about five years back) with a band playing it live interspersed by narration and film clips. If I had the resources I would do my best to persuade Judge to stage it. But I haven't, so this must remain just a rather pointless pipe dream...

Check out Judge's artist page at Gonzo: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/6774/Judge%20Smith

IN WHICH OUR HERO IS ONCE AGAIN SUSPECTED OF UN-BRITISH ACTIVITY

I am currently filming a video for Merrell Fankhauser, and it seemed like a good idea (for reasons which will become apparent when I finish the damn thing) to film outside a certain Government base in North Cornwall. While we were filming Corinna said to me jokingly that she was expecting the Men in Black to pay us a visit over the next couple of days. Much to my horror (and her amuseument) when we got back from shopping yesterday afternoon there was a message from the CID to telephone them..

It would be so good for my anarchist credibility to claim police brutality at this point, but in fact the chap couldn't have been nicer, and burst our laughing when I explained what I had been doing, and both he and I wondered why the shadowy forces of counter-intelligence hadn't noticed that I had been accompanied by two young teenagers, one wearing a rubber alien mask.

Never mind. I am off the hook and no longer suspected of being a foreign spy, and the video is shaping up to be a good 'un..

MY POSTBAG GETS INTERESTING AGAIN

And yes, the postman has brought me something interesting in the mail again, after weeks of dull letters. The lovely Liz from Auburn has sent me her back catalogue on CD. My Auburn library is now complete...

MIMI PAGE: All Is Not Lost (lullaby)

MIMI WRITES: Just an idea I wrote this past hour, posting before I go to sleep...a little lullaby for you ♥. I always try to stay positive even when things stink. "All is not lost"


Check out Mimi's Gonzo artist page

FROM MICHAEL DES BARRES' WEBSITE: Carnaby Street Limited Edition (CD+DVD)

Carnaby Street, the new album from The Michael Des Barres Band, will be released on July 9th. But there will also be a Limited Edition of the album that comes with a Bonus DVD.

Here’s some info on the contents of the DVD:

“The Bonus DVD includes an in-depth interview with MDB about the reasons behind the album, his band, his take on the music biz, what he listens to and where he’s at. Entertaining and informative stuff. A video of the break out song “You’re My Pain Killer”. 4 live videos of tracks from the album, recorded at the legendary Hollywood night club “The Viper Room”. The Power Station’s appearance at Live Aid and a rare video of Silverhead performing their signature song “16 and Savaged”, plus an audio of Swan Song act Detective’s much heralded song “One More Heartache”… A comprehensive look at MDB’s past and present! You will determine the future!”

Limited Edition (CD + DVD) pre-order links:
gonzomultimedia.com (USA/Canada) $14.99
gonzomultimedia.co.uk (UK/Europe/Rest of the world) £9.99

CHECK THIS OUT: Mimi Page - The Starving Artist (The Oscillatorz Remix)

Check out Mimi's Gonzo artist page