Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Elles Bailey - Beneath The Neon Glow  (2024) *Deluxe Edition*

Well, another hour / 16 tracks of super smooth Country/Soul/Blues crossover from Elles and her superb band. She's found the perfect formula for her particular vocal talents and is not changing recipe, aside from one thing. Instead of uprooting and heading off to Nashville to record, she & the band moved no further west than Devon (England).

The deluxe version has 6 tracks over the "standard", 4 of which are acoustic, only Turn Off The News being a repeated track from the main album.

1972 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-ZisSWvMs
Ballad of A Broken Dream - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzvHsYsA9Hk
If This Is Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IjYbju9MQ0

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

The Black Keys - Attack & Release (2008)
                         Brothers  (2010)

Can't believe yesterday for the princely sum of £1 (the pair, not each!).

Attack & Release:-
So He Won't Break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBU8MucDlVk
Psychotic Girl - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdBU9Ah4qd4

Brothers:-
Everlasting Light - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE2U01cUHE0
These days - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fm4PigYQgk

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

So, A Passion Play, not universally acknowledged as a master-work in Jethro Tull's canon; it's didn't chart well in the UK (though was a #1 in the US) has always been a bit divisive among fans. Reading the book notes though, it's easy to see why. Following an aborted working session at the acclaimed Chateau d'Herouville (France), Jethro Tull promptly returned to the UK (despite the heavy income tax situation of the day) to commence recording. However, Anderson decided to ditch all the work that had been done in France and to start over, on completely new songs. A bold step, especially with deadlines looming, but the band managed; this was the first time the band had recorded successive albums with the line-up unchanged, so maybe the chemistry was working.

However; this "rush" shows through; while the musicianship across the board is outstanding, there's signs that maybe they were overcooking things; arrangements were very complex with intricate changes throughout. While A Passion Play wasn't strictly a "concept album" as it's released predecessor Thick As A Brick, it came over a very involved "prog" album. The theme it seems, is somebody's journey through purgatories after finding themselves after a road traffic accident; though the songs are very much separate tracks. To my ear though, none have an immediate hook. It didn't help the band, or album that it was debuted here in a complete, live run-through, which also confounded previously loyal critics.

That said, the 2nd disc of this set, the Chateau d'Herouville sessions has Steven Wilson breathe his magic over the tapes that Anderson brought back from France of the aborted original [untitled] album, though from Wilson's own account, he did very little aside from take out some later trimmings and drop a couple of takes of Anderson's flirtings with soprano sax. From these shelved recordings, Skating Away On The Thin Ice of A New Day and Only Solitaire appearing on the Warchild sessions, and the former was a live favourite though very little else was heard until an 11 minute section entitled Chateau D'Isaster appeared on a 20th anniversary Jethro Tull compilation and the later Nightcap compilation.

For me, despite it's unfinished status, this is Jethro Tull in full-flight. Anderson's writing/singing as ever is to the fore, but while everyone else is in fine fettle (a miracle if you read the booklet), it's John Evans who really shines through on keyboards; this is his golden moment. From the pictures of the tape boxes, the 60 minutes of music is labelled up to "Side 3", so presumably this could have been a double album from Jethro Tull, pending the record label having them trim it down, an unlikely scenario given the crest of the wave they were riding at that time.

So, if there's any criticism, A Passion Play needed more time to be trimmed of it's excesses and Jethro Tull wasn't punching over it's weight so much as punching over it's audience's head. It's still a "hard" album to listen to, but casually; you really need to sit and absorb it. As for the French sessions, well Anderson did leap-frog this work but fortunately a lot did resurface in the soon to appear Warchild.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

7,024

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

BansheeUK wrote:

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

So, A Passion Play, not universally acknowledged as a master-work in Jethro Tull's canon; it's didn't chart well in the UK (though was a #1 in the US) has always been a bit divisive among fans. Reading the book notes though, it's easy to see why. Following an aborted working session at the acclaimed Chateau d'Herouville (France), Jethro Tull promptly returned to the UK (despite the heavy income tax situation of the day) to commence recording. However, Anderson decided to ditch all the work that had been done in France and to start over, on completely new songs. A bold step, especially with deadlines looming, but the band managed; this was the first time the band had recorded successive albums with the line-up unchanged, so maybe the chemistry was working.

However; this "rush" shows through; while the musicianship across the board is outstanding, there's signs that maybe they were overcooking things; arrangements were very complex with intricate changes throughout. While A Passion Play wasn't strictly a "concept album" as it's released predecessor Thick As A Brick, it came over a very involved "prog" album. The theme it seems, is somebody's journey through purgatories after finding themselves after a road traffic album; though the songs are very much separate tracks. To my ear though, none have an immediate hook. It didn't help the band, or album that it was debuted here in a complete, live run-through, which also confounded previously loyal critics.

That said, the 2nd disc of this set, the Chateau d'Herouville sessions has Steven Wilson breathe his magic over the tapes that Anderson brought back from France of the aborted original [untitled] album, though from Wilson's own account, he did very little aside from take out some later trimmings and drop a couple of takes of Anderson's flirtings with soprano sax. From these shelved recordings, Skating Away On The Thin Ice of A New Day and Only Solitaire appearing on the Warchild sessions, and the former was a live favourite though very little else was heard until an 11 minute section entitled Chateau D'Isaster appeared on a 20th anniversary Jethro Tull compilation and the later Nightcap compilation.

For me, despite it's unfinished status, this is Jethro Tull in full-flight. Anderson's writing/singing as ever is to the fore, but while everyone else is in fine fettle (a miracle if you read the booklet), it's John Evans who really shines through on keyboards; this is his golden moment. From the pictures of the tape boxes, the 60 minutes of music is labelled up to "Side 3", so presumably this could have been a double album from Jethro Tull, pending the record label having them trim it down, an unlikely scenario given the crest of the wave they were riding at that time.

So, if there's any criticism, A Passion Play needed more time to be trimmed of it's excesses and Jethro Tull wasn't punching over it's weight so much as punching over it's audience's head. It's still a "hard" album to listen to, but casually; you really need to sit and absorb it. As for the French sessions, well Anderson did leap-frog this work but fortunately a lot did resurface in the soon to appear Warchild.

Your rock candy baby
Your hard sweet and sticky

7,025

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Thanks for all the info Banshee.
I had heard of some of this before. A Passion  Play was an album for me I passed  on getting back in the day. I had a friend who had it and upon a listen just never grabbed me. I  would like to hear the other sessions though and even revisit the album again after many years .

Your rock candy baby
Your hard sweet and sticky

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

BansheeUK wrote:

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

Funnily enough listened to this today. I've got a lot of these Tull reissues, but didn't get this one back in the day, likewise with Songs from the Wood.
I think due to demand for these sets they have started repressing them, I managed to get the Songs from the Wood one last year.

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

NickSlikk2112 wrote:
BansheeUK wrote:

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

Funnily enough listened to this today. I've got a lot of these Tull reissues, but didn't get this one back in the day, likewise with Songs from the Wood.
I think due to demand for these sets they have started repressing them, I managed to get the Songs from the Wood one last year.

A Passion Play; Warchild; Stand Up & Heavy Horses sets were each re-released [UK] on Friday. Heavy Horses I managed to get first time around, so of this set Warchild was the one I particularly wanted and it seems from availability, so do others. For the content of the box, Stand Up seems to be a little overpriced, so I'm hoping things will cool a little as I'd like to get it as a completist.

The Live album, Bursting Out did have a 2024 40th Anniversary remix/release a few weeks ago, but again, for what it includes in the box, a touch on the pricy side.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

BansheeUK wrote:
NickSlikk2112 wrote:
BansheeUK wrote:

Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (1973 - 2014 remix; 2024 reissue)

Not sure what is going on here, but this is the 40th Anniversary box-set of Steven Wilson's skilled remix of Tull's 1973 album, re-issued 10 years after, though fortunately NOT re-labelled as 50th Anniversary since it contains no changes.

Funnily enough listened to this today. I've got a lot of these Tull reissues, but didn't get this one back in the day, likewise with Songs from the Wood.
I think due to demand for these sets they have started repressing them, I managed to get the Songs from the Wood one last year.

A Passion Play; Warchild; Stand Up & Heavy Horses sets were each re-released [UK] on Friday. Heavy Horses I managed to get first time around, so of this set Warchild was the one I particularly wanted and it seems from availability, so do others. For the content of the box, Stand Up seems to be a little overpriced, so I'm hoping things will cool a little as I'd like to get it as a completist.

The Live album, Bursting Out did have a 2024 40th Anniversary remix/release a few weeks ago, but again, for what it includes in the box, a touch on the pricy side.

Yes, I'm holding back on Stand Up, some of these sets are silly money, I will pay silly money, but nothing too daft...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (Elevated edition) 1969 - 2016 remix; 2024 reissue)

I was going to hang back from getting this re-reissue as it's the priciest of the batch and comes with the least audio extras, but the 111 page booklet, and recreated "pop-up" cover makes up for the lack of discs. That, and a handy £10 voucher sealed the deal.

What we have here then is Jethro Tull's sophomore album, and the stories behind it. Coming up to the recording, the band, still a 4-piece at this time were without a guitarist as [diplomatically phrased] Mick Abrahams had left due to "musical differences" as Ian Anderson wanted to shift the band away from Blues as he felt uncomfortable under the banner. At the time, the band could easily have played the burgeoning Folk scene, or the waning Jazz scene: somehow, they seem to find a gap between the 3; the term "Prog" not yet raising it's head. That gave them a quintessential "British" feel, and a good advantage for the US market which they were soon to take head-on.

The search to replace Abrahams took in names such as Tony Iommi (then in the band Earth) and Davy O'List from the recently split The Nice, who Tull had supported previously. With no clash of egos or animosity, neither found a good fit with Anderson, Cornick & Bunker, so left. That Martin Barre was chosen is the stuff of legend as he recounts he had at least 2 crap auditions but Anderson saw a malleable quality and similar work ethic, so Barre was sort of invited to "hang around". Side note, Barre never thought himself a "lead" guitarist, and ironically his preferred instrument was the flute: Anderson & Barre do duet on Reasons For Waiting.

Musically, A New Day Yesterday and Nothing Is Easy are the most Blues songs, probably being the earliest written, but after that, the album steps out into new territory in terms of genre. As the woodcut cover stands out in it's uniqueness, so does the music. All the tracks are Anderson credited though each band member added their own flourishes. It must have worked to give the band a #1 UK album. Once again, Steven Wilson excels at the rejigging; even though the album was recorded on 8-track (heady days of technology), there's been a lot of cleaning and subtle nudging.

As for extras, there's not that much; there's cleaned up takes of the single Living In The Past & b-side Driving Song and an alternate studio take of Bouree. There are also 4 mono track from a BBC session from June 1969. The "main" bonus is a mono recording by Sveriges Radio of the band's 2nd show at the Stockholm Konserthuest in January 1969 and one track from the fist show; To Be Sad Is A Mad Way To Be [with alternate lyrics]. The main set runs well over an hour, despite only 8 songs, but shows the band stretching out on improvised parts, something Barre wasn't really comfortable with at first but the tour schedule they had that year, especially in the US, he soon found his feet. (Interestingly though, the band turned down the opportunity to play Woodstock, with their labelmates Ten Years After.) There is footage of two songs on the DVD disc.

This then, is a springboard album; if the band hadn't taken the leap to do things their way, would they have lasted as long? While 3 of the tracks were regularly featured in the live shows for many, many years, the others are worth a deep-dive.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Jethro Tull - WarChild [Theatre edtition] 1974 - 2014 Remixed; 2024 re-issue.

Well, the good news is that this will be the last of these, unless they get sorted and give Under Wraps the "40th Anniversary" treatment.

To the nitty-gritty then; as you'd expect, the remix of the original WarChild album is superb though it may not have been as straight-forward as Ian Anderson at the time was interested in the nascent Quad-sound of the time: not the great techno-phile but more aware of possibly being left behind. As it is, there's little-to-no notes on the remixing process this time, though the booklet, as ever is informative and well illustrated.

WarChild is touted as Tull's stepping away from "concept" albums and back to more track-based music, though there is a sort of central character theme to the album. However, "album" is not quite the right term as Anderson also envisaged a movie as the project and an accompanying soundtrack, which can be heard on the 2nd disc. back to the music side; as mentioned on A Passion Play, a couple of numbers were salvaged/re-used from the aborted French recording sessions, Only Solitaire; Skating Away On The Thin Ice of A New Day; and Bungle In The Jungle was pieced from animal-based tracks. While the album isn't generally rated as a Tull high moment, it does stand quite well.

Again, the 2nd disc provides something of a treasure trove with the associated recordings, 3 of which were previously unreleased as of 2014 (Good Grandmother; WarChild II; & Tomorrow Was Today). The biggest vein of gold though are the WarChild orchestral recordings, buried for 40 years. As mentioned earlier, WarChild was envisaged as a movie project as well as an album; in fact Anderson had a conceptual outline drafted but seems it met with more indifference than interest. In a chicken/egg sort of situation, (film are usually scored after they are made), an 30 minute's worth of music, separate to the album, was scored and arranged by long-time associate D Palmer, with the rest of the band enthusiastically contributing, more a Deep Purple "In Concert" than an E.L.P. extravaganza. Much of this has been unheard until the remix box-set's original release, except for Waltz of The Angels; though some snippets were used as walk-on/walk-off music on stage.

It's a shame there is no concert footage of the time as the album was released at an unusual time for the band; due to an ill-advised press statement following Passion Play's critical drubbing on it's debut, Terry Ellis (manager) did the "band will no longer be touring" spiel and it mean that WarChild came out to an absence of live shows, which was the last thing the band wanted. Turned out they were 10 months off the stage. However, a tour was set up, starting in Australia & Japan 9where they had to re-do the groundwork having missing there for 2 years). For these days, they took with them an all-girl string quartet, which would have been interesting bar the sound mixing issues. For the 4 night run at the legendry Rainbow in London, the show incorporated the TV dance troop Pan's People (hence the track Pan Dance on disc 2), to entertain or distract the audience, depending where you were seated. As it was, the tour ran from Aug 1974 through to April 1975.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

The Karma Effect - Promised Land (2024)

From one of earache Records newer signings, and joining favourites like Jack J Hutchinson and Kris Barras, comes this London quintet and their own blend of 80s nostalgia fuelled offering of raw energy, infectious melodies. Opener Livin' It Up and track 3, Wild Honey are infectious, intense and catch earworms that have you smiling like a loon, but it's the title track, Promised Land that showcases what this band is about. There's no mistaking the influences of Aerosmith, Poison and liberal doses of Black Crowes.

Livin' It Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWUVCQ1-vAs
Promised Land - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMjtAaFc6Q
Wild Honey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdLcsPzr9aA&t=1s

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Shovels & Rope - Something Is Working Up Above My Head (2024)

Can never resist a slice of alt:punk:folk:country-garage-revival  (not necessarily in that order) and once again Trent & Hearst deliver with a collection that maybe a little less dynamic as earlier albums, but is still compelling.
Throughout, Hearst and Trent illustrate how love (and the creative process) can be both synergetic and fractious, as two people navigate the spectrum between individuality and collaboration.
If you've not come across this duo before; there's is a homemade, dark sort of, well, see the first line.

Love Song from A Dog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLse0H-uW0M
Te Amo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeNFlXyUCgU

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Inkubus Sukkubus @ The Central; Gateshead. 27th Sept.

Do You believe in Vampyres, little one?

Well you should, because Inkubus Sukkubus swung through Gateshead on a whistle-stop North east visit last night. I've been wanting to catch this band for an embarrassingly long time, but always seemed to be thwarted. Despite having 27 signed CDs and assorted badges, I've not yet got a t-shirt.

So last night's shenanigans then, was it worth the [30 year] wait? Oh boy yes, and then some. Okay, so I admit, there's no "live" drums and there's backing track, but that still leaves room for driving bass from Roland Link, the searing shreds of Tony McKormack and over course, the honey-tinged powerhouse of Candia's vocals. I know this may have been my debut gig, but the freshness and energy on stage, you wouldn't know the band is in their 35th year. Tony cutting guitar-hero shapes while Candia cavorted around the stage like a 32 year old (that was probably the age of the last blood-donor..?). As for the set-list, well, with over 25 albums in the back-catalogue, can't have been an easy pick; from their more Goth origins to the folklore based songs. However, with the likes of Vampyre Erotica; I Am The One; The Goat; Paint It Black; Heart of Lillith; Belladonna & Aconite; it was almost cherry-picked for me.

If there was a fault, it was that the set flew past too quickly. It certainly went down well with the sizable audience, which included a number of old-school Goth, shaking off the cobwebs and some young bloods. As for me, well, it's not often I let my darker side "Wiggles" off the leash, but he certainly enjoyed the night. Goes to show, often patience is rewarded, but please, make sure the next time is before 2054....

A word about The Central; this building was built in 1856, probably to cater for the growing railway business south of the Tyne. Due to it's unusual shape, the pub is often called "The Coffin". The performance room holds I'd estimate 100, cosily and is one of the oddest shaped rooms I've been in - imagine a Cubist artist designing a cheese wedge, then add a fireplace. However, though it's quirky, it's a lovely venue, with a very, very good bar downstairs.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

7,034

Re: What song are you listening to right now?

In a row:

Ryan McGarvey - Rio Grande, new on Spotify, thanks to Joe!?!?
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - The Middle
JD Simo & Luther Dickinson - Come and Go with me