Sunday 31st May
Be
a love and pass the Ambre Solaire… thanks. Here in
the garden at Ling Towers the weather is scorching. While
Mrs L grilles our nosebag on the BBQ I’ve been leafing
through the new issue of Fireworks magazine. As a fellow
footie fanatic I laughed aloud to read that Geezer Butler
of Heaven And Hell confessed to having one eye glued to
the TV screen for an important Sunday fixture whilst he
spoke to the title’s correspondent. And talking of
footie, I just received a hilarious text from a CPFC-supporting
buddy. It reads: “You will be so proud of me. I’ve
been in Br***ton [home of Palace’s deadly rivals,
the Seaweeds] all week for work. Last night I got bevvied
up and took a piss through the letterbox of their club shop.
Eagles forever!” Now **that’s** what call devotion
to the cause!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Saturday
30th May
The
Airrace reunion is finally underway. Last night, along
with my good friend Steve ‘No Relation To Pete’
Way, I journeyed to the unlikely surrounding of The Twist
in Colchester to witness the first public performance
from the UK melodic rockers since they supported Krokus
at the Dominion some 24 years ago. Frankly, with its ropey
sound system and rudimentary facilities, The Twist was
a bit of a khazi, though the group’s original members
– singer Keith Murrell, guitarist Laurie Mansworth,
keysman Toby Sadler and drummer Jason Bonham – gelled
well with new bassist Dave Boyce (ex-Samson) and Dean
Howard of T’Pau/Ian Gillan/Toby Jepson on rhythm
guitar to deliver a powerhouse display. Murrell is a first-rate
frontman and Sadler’s dynamic keys give them a delicious
pomp-rock edge, while Bonham in particular delighted in
trouncing the band’s powder-puff studio sound. From
time to time Toby also chips in with humorous additions
to Keith’s stage banter. When Murrell reminded us
that this show was occurring to commemorate the 25th anniversary
of the band’s solo album ‘Shaft Of Light’,
Sadler brought down the house by quipping: “We’re
also celebrating 25 copies sold [of the same album].”
The
only overlooked ‘Shaft Of Light’ selection
was ‘Do You Want My Love Again’. Four songs
originally demoed for its eventually terminated follow-up
have been exhumed from the vault and now feature in the
live set, also seeming likely to grace an EP before too
long. In the meantime, various summer festivals beckon
and Airrace will also be popping up from time to time
on Thunder’s farewell tour. Here’s the set-list:
‘Caught In The Game’, ‘Not Really Me’,
‘Wrong Way Out’, ‘First One Over The
Line’, ‘Promise To Call’, ‘Keep
On Going’, ‘Brief Encounter’, ‘One
Step Ahead’, ‘Didn’t Wanna Lose Ya’,
‘So Long’, ‘All I’m Asking’,
‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘Open Your
Eyes’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
29th May
It’s
a beautifully sunny day – possibly a bit silly to
be stuck inside but I’ve finally found the time
to watch the bonus DVD that accompanies the special edition
of Heaven & Hell’s ‘The Devil You Know’
album. It contains the off-camera interviews I conducted
with all four group members in the control room at Rockfield
Studios in Wales before Christmas during the countdown
to the record’s completion. I recall some of the
conversation as being a little vague and wafflesome, especially
as the fellas had been supping extra-strong local cider
the night before (at one point, Ronnie James Dio announces:
“We started chucking around some ideas [for the
title], one of which was ‘Haemorrhoids’!”),
but I’m absolutely thrilled to bits by the way it’s
been tightened up during the editing process. There are
some revealing quotes, also some insight into the band’s
behind-the-scenes tomfoolery (largely instigated, it seems,
by Tony Iommi), and what a rare joy not to have to go
through the whole transcription process – stop,
rewind, play… ad infinitum – afterwards.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
28th May
My
promo CDrs of those two Def Leppard re-issues are finally
here (see yesterday’s diary). I’ve already
given ‘Pyromania’ a darned good throttling,
but the bonus disc… wow. Just wow. 15 songs from
a rip-snortin’ display at the Los Angeles Forum
in 1983. It’s genius – sheer genius. Takes
me back to seeing Leppard that same year at the Marquee
Club (where they were joined onstage by a ‘refreshed’
Brian Robertson), then from a half-full Hammersmith Odeon
balcony a month afterwards. Oh, how times change. Almost
a decade later, drummer Rick Allen had lost an arm, guitarist
Steve Clark was dead from alcohol poisoning and über-producer
Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange had left the group
(and engineer Mike Shipley) to their own devices, but
I always liked ‘Adrenalize’, the second disc
of which adds a mixture of tasty-looking concert cuts,
demo outtakes and B-sides.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
27th May
As
Metal Hammer have kindly asked me to review the expanded
re-issues of Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’
and ‘Adrenalize’ albums, I sat by the front
door to pounce on the postman. Alas, though neither CD
appeared in today’s bundle of goodies, as a consequence
of having recently conducted a phoner with their ever-interesting
creator, I gratefully received a finished copy of Yngwie
Malmsteen’s ‘Perpetual Flame’ and ‘Angels
Of Love’ albums – the latter being an instrumental
acoustic disc. Best of all, however, was ‘Nazareth
– The Anthology’, a 38-song, double-disc distillation
of the veteran Dunfermline group’s most essential
moments. Complete with re-mastered sound and some pretty
good sleeve
notes, though I say so myself, it’s an excellent
taster for a full catalogue revamp. If you’ve been
meaning to get into Naz, you won’t find a better
place to start.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
26th May
So Jason Bonham leans across the table, smiles and
asks: "Do you realise that this is largely your fault?"
Half an hour or so earlier, as we waited for Bonham and
Laurie Mansworth to arrive, Keith Murrell had said pretty
much the same thing. Ulp! It seems that my enthusiasm
for Airrace's 1984 album, 'Shaft Of Light', not to mention
my friendship with Laurie Mansworth - a man who requires
little or no encouragement in any regard - might have
played a role in the band's imminent reunion tour [for
dates go to: www.myspace.com/airraceband].
How flattering!
I had met up with drummer Bonham, singer Murrell and guitarist/founder
Mansworth ahead of the band's first rehearsal session
in 25 years (the debut with Bonham, at least). The guys
hadn't seen each other
in quite a while, and there was some horseplay as we congregated
around the tape recorder, but I got a great interview
which traced the group's formation in September 1982 to
their reservations regarding working with producer Beau
Hill, being managed (briefly) by Peter Grant and shows
with Queen, AC/DC, Meat Loaf, Ted Nugent and Krokus, before
an eventual demise during the build-up to a second album
that now seems likely to be belatedly realised in 2009.
When it came to Led Zeppelin, Bonham spoke fondly and
in great detail about having performed with Page, Plant
and Jones at the fabled O2 Arena show and, yes, also expressed
great disappointment that the band didn't take things
further in the guise of Zeppelin, or otherwise.
Leaving the Airrace fellas to their drinks and misty-eyed
recollections, I headed over to the Embassy Club to check
out another perhaps unlikely (though, in my book, long
overdue) reunion. Until last night's show, Stampede hadn't
played together for 26 years! Considering it was a bank
holiday, a large(-ish) crowd had gathered to welcome back
original vocalist Reuben Archer, his stepson and guitarist
Laurence (of Grand Slam/UFO fame) and bassist/keysman
Colin Bond, with the much-travelled
Clive Edwards replacing untraceable original sticksman
Eddie Parsons. Well, the night was a big success. The
band debuted three riff-heavy yet typically hummable new
songs - 'Send Me Down An Angel', 'Humble Pie' and 'Who's
Having Fun?' - and Reuben, who always reminded me of Phil
Mogg, almost caused a double-take during 'Back Door Man'
from 'High Stakes And Dangerous Men', the album Laurence
and Edwards cut with UFO in 1992. Having jotted down the
set-list I was annoyed and puzzled that Stampede overlooked
'Dedication', the Grand Slam demo composition posthumously
re-constructed after Phil Lynott's death as a Thin Lizzy
tune, in favour of reprising 'Send Me Down An
Angel', though they ain't getting' any younger - maybe
the poor ol' dears got confused?! Hahaha. Here's what
Stampede did actually play: 'Hurricane Town', 'Moving
On', 'Shadows Of The Night, 'Send Me Down An Angel', 'Missing
You', 'Humble Pie', 'Days Of Wine And Roses', 'Photographs',
'Who's Having
Fun?', 'Back Door Man', 'The Runner', 'Baby Driver' and
the repeated 'Send Me Down An Angel'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 25th May
Jeeeezus, what a humdinger of a hangover. Yesterday
saw London basking in sunshine: perfect weather for the
afternoon BBQ to which Clan Ling had been invited. Gulping
down ice cold cider and eating food cooked beautifully
by my friend Steve O’Connell, I cheered heartily
as Scumwall’s sea of Palace cast-offs lost out to
Scunthorpe in a dramatic League 1 Play-Off Final, before
watching the Premier League’s relegation showdown.
Middlesboro looked dead and buried before kick-off, it
was just a matter of which other club would join them.
I was happy that it turned out to be Newcastle, not merely
for having engaged a certain Mr I Dowie on their management
payroll, but for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I always
support the underdog (Hull, in this instance). Secondly,
St James’ Park is an appealing awayday destination.
Thirdly, I'd seen Palace relegated there in 1995 with
barely a sniff of sympathy from the supposedly loveable
Geordies, who have always believed themselves ‘too
big and important to go down’. Bollocks to that.
On another visit to St James’ maybe a decade earlier,
killing time before a gig at the City Hall, I’d
paid on the day, stood on a terrace and watched the game
amid eight or nine other thousand others. So who are all
the plastic Geordies that now fill the ground? Strategy-wise,
Newcastle’s relegation was also pretty comical (they
did, after all, elect to hire Penis Wise as Director of
Football). And as the Guardian put it this morning: “Middlesbrough
went down making comparatively small errors. West Brom
sank playing good football. Newcastle, on the other hand,
went under with their underpants on their head."
Not too long ago, Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd
boasted of having "52,000 fans at each home game”
and with unparalleled selfishness added: “The last
thing we [ie the Prem’s fat cats] are worried about
is clubs in the third division.” Despite having
sold his interests in the Toon, I wonder how Mr Shepherd
will feel when next season’s fixture list spits
out Newcastle United vs Scunthorpe?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
22nd May
Having enjoyed a piledriving debut album, ‘Rhymes
For The Hated’, and heard positive reports of the
band’s recent spot at Hammerfest, last night I dropped
by central London venue The Fly to check out Hexagram.
Though the three-piece band from Portsmouth hadn’t
pulled much of a crowd, they didn’t let it bother
them. Guitarist Aaron Miller (who sported a classic Pantera
shirt) and bassist Mart O’Hara (who flew the flag
for the Phil Anselmo-fronted Down) don’t try too
hard to conceal their influences. With Miller cranking
out those riffs on a seven-string Dime model guitar, to
have done so would’ve been pretty dumb. But the
band’s punchy, sometimes sludge-laden brand of thrash
is right on the money. Hexagram still have some corners
to be knocked off – six of them, to be geometrically
precise – but they’re headed in the right
direction.
Had I such a thing as a 2010 diary, one date would already
be flagged up. On Saturday February 6th, the Hammersmith
Apollo is the place to be. Todd Rundgren is set to perform
his classic 1973 album, ‘A Wizard, A True Star’
in its entirety for the first time ever in Britain. Cool!
The approaching bank holiday weekend offers a banquet
of sporting activity, including the Play-Offs finals at
Wembley Stadium, the last day of the Premier League and
the second one-day international between England and the
West Indies. I haven’t said much about cricket at
this page of late, but that doesn’t mean I’ve
not been following England’s gradual improvement
with the bat ‘n’ ball. There are now only
47 days (and counting) till the next Ashes series…
BRING IT ON!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
21st May
For
the past few days I’ve been lost in the beauty of
‘Octahedron’, the latest album from The Mars
Volta (due out via Mercury Records on June 22nd). Last
night I had the great pleasure of an interesting chat
with the US band’s guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López,
who made me laugh aloud whilst recounting his disbelieving
memories of the night that The Mars Volta won a Grammy
for the Best Hard Rock Performance category. Afterwards,
I sat down to sift through the second issue of Classic
Rock Presents Prog. With Muse as its cover stars it’s
on sale now and, believe me, there’s plenty to read…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 20th May
The
contents of today’s mailbag included a package from
Eagle Vision. Much of the coming weekend will be spent
absorbing two double-DVD packages, ‘Kissology: The
Ultimate Kiss Collection, Vol 1 1974-1977’ and Deep
Purple’s ‘History, Hits & Highlights,
’68-’76’. I’ve a sneaky feeling
they’ll be a lot more fun than mowing the lawn (which
I’ll probably have to do as well should Mrs L get
her way).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
19th May
Though
it received a cautious thumbs up from yours truly, the
jury seems to be out on Stratovarius’ new album,
‘Polaris’. Surfing around ahead of last night’s
gig at the Islington Academy, I was surprised to see the
band’s former guitarist, songwriter and producer
– who else but Timo Tolkki? – joining the
queue to put the boot in. “It sounded like there
was no soul in the songs, although technically it is very
good,” reckoned Tolkki. Stratovarius are pretty
famous for shooting themselves in the foot, and whoever
thought it would be a good idea for the band to go out
on tour before the release of ‘Polaris’, which
dropped yesterday, must shoulder some of the blame for
a venue that was somewhere between half and two-thirds
full.
I’d
been dying to see the opening act, Eden’s Curse,
but their six-song, 30-minute set was plagued by abysmal
sound and equipment problems. Make no mistake, the likes
of ‘Masquerade Ball’, ‘Just Like Judas’
and ‘Angels And Demons’ (the studio version
of which features a guest appearance from Pamela Moore,
AKA Queensrÿche’s Sister Mary) are fantastic
tunes, but robbed of their subtleties we must wait till
another day to fully appreciate them in a live format.
Special guests Firewind were hindered by the same PA issues,
the flamboyant guitar work of former Arch Enemy/Dream
Evil musician Gus almost completely inaudible for the
first three songs. But gradually they pulled through,
even daring to preview a recent composition called ‘Losing
Faith’ that’s due to appear on a new studio
album early in 2010. The crowd, who somewhat surreally
punched the air and went wild through a metalized cover
of Michael Sembello’s disco hit ‘Maniac’,
loved them.
Thankfully,
the sound improved for the headliners, who were introducing
new guitarist Matias Kupiainen as Tolkki’s replacement.
Interacting marvelously with Jen Johansson’s classically-trained
keyboard flurries, Kupiainen performed well and I felt
Stratovarius did justice to the older songs. The annoyingly
short 80-minute set featured only three tunes from ‘Polaris’,
namely ‘Higher We Go’, ‘Winter Skies’
and an encore of ‘Deep Unknown’, all of which
were greeted by patience and enthusiasm from the audience,
who only really lost their rag when Strato refused to
play the classic ‘Destiny’. Here’s what
they **did** include: ‘Hunting High And Low’,
‘Speed Of Light’, ‘The Kiss Of Judas’,
‘Higher We Go’, ‘A Million Light Years
Away’, ‘Will The Sun Rise?’, ‘Winter
Skies’, ‘Phoenix’, ‘Forever’,
‘Visions’ and ‘Eagleheart’, plus
‘Deep Unknown’ and ‘Black Diamond’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
17th May
Last
night’s Wishbone Ash anniversary show at Shepherd’s
Bush Empire was hugely enjoyable. Any band that lasts for
40 uninterrupted years deserves credit, and guitarist Andy
Powell – the sole remaining original member –
has negotiated many ups and downs along the way. It made
me feel old to calculate that I have attended their shows
for 28 of those years, first sighting them at 1981’s
Reading Festival. Another of my favourite acts, It Bites,
opened the show. Annoyingly, John Mitchell’s guitar
lacked, er, bite for the first few numbers, but after a
slightly standoffish start the Wishbone crowd gradually
warmed to the group, who all wore fetching white outfits.
Their hour-long set included three numbers (‘Ghosts’,
‘Oh My God’ and ‘The Wind That Shakes
The Barley’) from latest disc ‘The Tall Ships’,
accompanied by ‘Yellow Christian’, ‘All
In Red’, ‘Ice Melts Into Water’, the full
version of ‘Old Man And The Angel’, ‘Midnight’
and ‘Kiss Like Judas’.
For
the headliners, who were filming a DVD, the sound sharpened
up considerably. On such a historic occasion they dropped
in a few unexpected choices such as ‘Engine Overheat’
(from 1982’s underrated ‘Twin Barrels Burning’)
and even ‘Cell Of Fame’ (which appeared on ‘Raw
To The Bone’ three years later). The latter was aired
to accommodate a guest spot from ex-bassist/frontman Merv
‘Spam’ Spence, who can still belt out a song
like a good ’un. Mark Birch, the band’s singer/guitarist
from 1998-2001, joined proceedings for an acoustic-based
rendition of ‘Everybody Needs A Friend’ which
concluded with a scorching electric solo from Powell, and
Ben Granfelt (guitarist 2001-2003) joined Powell in trading
licks with Granfelt’s former Gringos Locos partner
and current Ash six-stringer Muddy Manninen on ‘Almighty
Blues’ and the excellent ‘Faith, Hope &
Love’. But in welcoming additional musos onto the
stage I felt that Powell was opening a serious can of worms.
Given original bassist Martin Turner’s recent astonishing
outburst in Classic Rock (“Fuck you, Andy Powell,
we won’t be your support band”), there was little
likelihood of Martin, guitarist Ted Turner or drummer Steve
Upton turning up to celebrate the anniversary as the fans
**really** craved. Given the levels of bitterness and rancour
that are involved, not to mention the determination to control
the band’s name, it’s looking as though the
original line-up will never be seen together again. Anyway,
here’s the set-list: ‘Blind Eye’, ‘Runaway’,
‘Right Or Wrong’, ‘Growing Up’,
‘Sometime World’, ‘Rainstorm’, ‘The
Way Of The World’, ‘Everybody Needs A Friend’,
‘The King Will Come’, ‘Throw Down The
Sword’, ‘Cell Of Fame’, ‘Almighty
Blues’, ‘Faith, Hope And Love’, ‘Engine
Overheat’ and ‘Phoenix’, with encores
of ‘Jailbait’ and ‘Blowing Free’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
16th May
I’m
liking the look of the bill for the third annual Hard
Rock Hell festival, which takes place at Prestatyn in
December. With the reunited Rock Goddess having confirmed
they are to appear, alongside Girlschool, Hydrogyn and Lauren
Harris, there will once again be a strong female presence
on the stage. Elsewhere it will be cool to see Queensrÿche,
W.A.S.P., the New York Dolls (whose Todd Rundgren-produced
newie ‘Cause I Said So’ is extremely popular
here at Ling Towers), the Quireboys and Sonata Artica among
others.
Well,
that didn’t take long. Crystal Palace’s first
pre-season friendly of 2009/2010 has been announced –
away to Brentford on the evening of Tuesday July 21st. There’s
a pub on each corner of Griffin Park, as I recall from my
last visit (another friendly, under the management of Alan
Smith). Think I’ll get up there nice ‘n’
early and see how many laps I can do.
Today’s
postbag is bursting, I’m happy to say. The first thing
I’m about to bung onto the stereo is ‘Cheat
The Gallows’ by Bigelf, a band that will be appearing
on the European leg of Dream Theater’s Progressive
Nation tour later this year (indeed ’twas none other
than Mr Portnoy who recommended I check them out). I’m
also dying to play two classic re-mastered, re-issued Procol
Harum CDs; ‘A Salty Dog’ (1969) and ‘Home’
(1970).
P.S.
Grrr… I’ve just been up in the loft seeking
my ‘Twin Barrels Burning’ T-shirt ahead of tonight’s
Wishbone Ash 40th anniversary gig. Couldn’t find it
anywhere, so instead I will don an ‘Eat Me In St Louis’
jobbie in honour of the support band, It Bites. However,
the trawl though various trunks did unearth some rarely
worn garments including one that celebrated Warlock’s
‘Hellbound’ tour (1985), another from ‘Lock
Up The Wolves’ by Dio (1990) and Rough Cutt’s
self-titled debut album from 1985… even a white Skagarack
shirt that I must’ve bought when the Danish melodic
rockers played the Marquee in ’86.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
15th May
Yesterday’s
postbag contained a pressie from guitarist Stuart Smith
– ‘Live In America’, a concert CD from
the US incarnation of The Sweet, led by bassist Steve Priest.
It’s really, really good. Priest has assembled a first-class
unit, completed by Smith (obviously…), vocalist Joe
Retta, keyboard player Stevie Stewart and drummer Richie
Onori. Together they offer a full-blooded, stadium-flavoured
take on the original band’s bubblegum hits (including
‘Blockbuster’, ‘Action’, ‘The
Six Teens’, ‘The Ballroom Blitz’, ‘Fox
On The Run’, ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’, ‘Teenage
Rampage’ and ‘Teenage Rampage’), tempering
them with such harder-edged all-time classic album cuts
as ‘Sweet FA’, ‘Turn It Down’, ‘Set
Me Free’, ‘AC/DC’ and, best of all, the
gargantuan-riffed ‘Windy City’. I admit, a month
or two ago I interviewed Steve Priest and didn’t exactly
hit it off with him. Neither was I too impressed by the
confrontational things Steve had to say about Andy Scott,
the guitarist who maintained the group’s legacy for
much of the last quarter-century during Priest’s ‘retirement’.
So expectations regarding this new line-up of the band were,
to be frank, minimal. Well… I’m happy consume
a big slice of humble pie.
Still
in the realms of Sweet-dom, a re-issue of The Elastic Band’s
1970 album ‘Expansions On Life’ (Grapefruit
Records) also just dropped onto my desk. The Elastic Band
were a very much overlooked psychedelic-based launching
pad for the aforementioned Andy Scott. This lavish re-packaging
adds bonus tracks and extensive sleeve notes… cool!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 13th May
This
morning finds my CD collection all the richer, though my
hearing and brain cells have taken yet another pounding.
Though I was torn between checking out Million Dollar Reload,
who were playing up the road at the Underworld, and a latest
encounter with Heaven’s Basement, the latter’s
show at the 100 Club finally won (admit it… which
numbskull thought it would be clever to have two similar
groups vying for an audience on the same night in London??!!).
As
the 100 Club was HB’s biggest headline date in London
to date, it was encouraging to see them pulling a sizeable
and enthusiastic crowd than included Thunder’s Luke
Morley. Though based around a six-song EP that was issued
a few months ago, their set seems to be in a constant change
of flux. Impressive new songs such as ‘Life Of Me’
are being added as the more disposable ones are quietly
disposed of (a fate that surely that awaits the unremarkable
‘No Pity’). Heaven’s Basement seem willing
to play just about anywhere equipped with a stage, some
electricity and bar, and as well as becoming super-tight
they are learning to vary the dynamic of the show via such
numbers as ‘Deadman’, ‘Mirrors’
and ‘Such Is Life’. The only real downer on
a great night was the fact that the vocals of Richie Hevanz
– whose new-look spiky haircut and eye make-up were
pretty shocking – kept dropping in and out of the
mix. Anyway, here’s the set-list: ‘Tear Your
Heart Out’, ‘Can’t Let Go’, ‘Misunderstood’,
‘No Pity’, ‘Deadman’, ‘Reign
On My Parade’, ‘Mirrors’, ‘Life
Of Me’, ‘Executioner’s Day’ and
encores of ‘10 Minutes and ‘Such Is Life’.
My
thanks go to Derek Oliver, who was also at the HB gig, for
handing over a package of the latest Rock Candy Records
re-issues, including three releases from The Babys (‘Head
First’, ‘Union Jacks’ and ‘On The
Edge’), Sammy Hagar’s ‘Street Machine’,
the cult classic Billy Satellite album and – nurse,
the screens… – ‘Citadel’ by pomp-rock
messiahs Starcastle.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
12th May
Last
night was my first opportunity to check out Krusher’s
rock club, a Classic Rock-sponsored bash which takes place
at London’s Embassy Club each Monday, from 9pm till
2am. Though the facilities at the Embassy are first class,
Krusher is an amiable host and the music seemed to tick
all the right boxes, I felt a bit like a fish out of water,
very quickly realising that my once prodigious days of nightclubbing
are long gone. So it was lucky that my old boozing buddies
Chariot were due to hit the stage at 10.15 – leaving
plenty of time to catch the last train home.
Just
like they always do, the Londoners offered enough raw, meaty
British metal to feed a squadron of starved Commandos, blasting
out a mixture of old favourites from the 80s and material
from 2006’s comeback disc ‘Behind The Wire’.
I’m rapidly growing to love ‘To The Extreme’,
a tune destined for a new studio album that’s still
bring completed and I stand my by oft-stated belief that
people would enjoy Chariot if they were given a reasonable
chance. But as excellent as last night’s performance
might have been, and with bubbly guitarist/frontman Pete
Franklin donating every last drop of sweat to the cause,
an air of professional resignation permeated proceedings.
Attendances have gradually dropped away since the band reunited
in 2004 and before the show, in a bout of gallows humour,
we joked that forming a Chariot tribute band – quite
possibly named Ben Hur – might be a last-ditch way
of salvaging the situation. I wasn’t the only one
to leave the Embassy doubting the likelihood of seeing the
band again, in its present incarnation, at least…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
11th May
So much reading matter, so little time. Over the weekend
I finally finished Heavy Metal Music In Britain, a sociological
study of hard rock that I’ve been reading on and off
for two months (see original entry, March 6). The book did
tell me a thing or two I didn’t know, notably its
claim that a youthful Robert Plant made a pilgrimage to
Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he knocked randomly on doors
in the hope of tracing descendents of his hero Robert Johnson.
If true, that’s fascinating. And possibly a bit sad!!
But precious brownie points are deducted for lumping Canadian
band Anvil in with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal,
also for the chapter that correctly points out the literary
origins Iron Maiden’s ‘The Flight Of Icarus’,
‘Ghost Of The Navigator’ and ‘Alexander
The Great’ but which overlooks the fact that ‘The
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’, debatably their best
ever composition, was based upon a poem by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge. Truthfully, the book seems to serve little genuine
purpose and is probably too pretentious for its own good.
It’s great to see someone – anyone – attempting
to examine the genre with a clear, academic mind. But knowing
Tony Clarkin as I do, the guitarist would hoot with laughter
at the claim that Magnum were “diluting the HM aesthetic”
by recording the Russ Ballard song ‘Rockin’
Chair’. Neither do I think Clarkin would appreciate
the band’s hit ‘Start Talkin’ Love’
being likened to Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna
Give You Up’.
Though I’m not a fan of the Rolling Stones (not **at
all**…), my passion for the music of The Faces recently
prompted me to buy Ron Wood’s autobiography. Titled
Ronnie, it’s an easy-to-read page-turner, with all
the name-dropping and anecdotes you’d have wished
for. And yet my enthusiasm quickly drained away when, 68
pages in, Wood makes the outlandish claim that Peter Grant
offered him the chance to join Plant, Jones and Bonham in
a band called the New Yardbirds. It states: “I considered
it for two seconds and told Peter, ‘No, I’m
happy where I am [with The Faces], thanks’. [So] the
New Yardbirds hired Jimmy Page instead and changed their
name to Led Zeppelin.” Hmmm… so Zeppelin wasn’t
Page’s band all along, huh? He didn’t hire the
other members of the group? Wow, I’m so glad you told
us that, Ron. Hold on a moment while I make quick calls
to the author’s of every single rock encyclopaedia
that’s ever been published.
Talking
of all things Zep, Dave Lewis has kindly sent me the latest
issue of his excellent, three-times-yearly magazine Tight
But Loose, which focuses upon the 40th anniversary of
band’s immortal self-titled debut. As ever it’s
essential reading, assembled with the eye of a super-fan.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
10th May
With
Mrs Ling away from for the weekend, yours truly is in charge
of entertaining our two young sons. Asked what they would
most like to do on a Saturday night, a visit to the cinema
was proposed. At a push, I wouldn’t have minded seeing
Coraline, which seemed to offer a modern animated take on
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. I was dismayed to
learn that, of all things, the boys had their hearts set
on Hannah Montana – The Movie. Okay, but… well,
look… there were principles to be observed. So I took
them for a nice restaurant meal, purchased their tickets,
walked them into the foyer (having carefully donned a disguise)
and left ‘em to it, sitting in the pub next door till
collection time. Hannah bloody Montana, my ass. When it
comes to either of the boys following in my footsteps…
well, I ain’t exactly holdin’ my breath.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
9th May
Last
night was spent in the company of Little Feat at a venue
that is fast becoming my favourite in the whole of London.
The acoustics at the IndigO2 are absolutely superb and
having been given a ticket in the very front of the King’s
Row balcony area, my glorious view matched the music’s
sonic perfection. Though there are differing opinions
regarding the continued existence of Little Feat, whose
legendary frontman Lowell George passed away exactly 30
years ago (how odd that the band didn’t make any
direct mention of this fact from the stage), my view is
that unlike Thin Lizzy, for example, they still have enough
members from their classic era – including guitarists
Paul Barrère and Fred Tackett, keyboard player
Bill Payne, percussionist Sam Clayton and drummer Richie
Hayward – to justify soldiering on. Equally relevant
is the sheer quality of their songs, which offer an droolsome
organic distillation of rock, folk, funk, country, jazz
and Cajun R&B. Despite a few notable omissions from
the almost two-hour performance, including ‘Oh Atlanta’,
‘Feats Don’t Fail Me Now’ and ‘Sailin’
Shoes’, nobody went home without sporting the broadest
and warmest of smiles.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
8th May
Managed
to squeeze a lot – the final stages of a Classic Rock
news deadline, two interviews and a great gig – into
yesterday’s busy schedule. During the afternoon I
met JD Souther, the country-rock legend who co-wrote so
many of The Eagles’ hits (including ‘Best Of
My Love’, ‘New Kid In Town’, ‘Heartache
Tonight’ and ‘Victim Of Love’). Souther
has a reputation as a tough guy to interview and there were
indeed a couple of cagey moments, but mostly it was harmonious.
I got what I wanted, and JD was able to plug the rather
good new solo disc, ‘If The World Was You’.
Interview
#2 was a quickie with Dan Reed, ahead of his gig at Shepherd’s
Bush Hall. Chattered for a while with the evening’s
special guests, Jeff Scott Soto and Tommy Denander, who
were loitering in the bar while Reed conducted his soundcheck.
Soto winced visibly each time his mobile phone buzzed, explaining
with customary cheer that he is tired of being asked whether
is about to join Queen following the apparent resignation
of Paul Rodgers (who a few days ago was quoted as saying
his is “pretty much done” with being in the
band). It was great to catch up with Dan. One of the most
polite and self-effacing people I’ve met in this business,
he offered thanks for my observations regarding his comeback
performance at the Borderline (see 8th November ’08)
and revealed that his long awaited debut solo album will
be released on November 1, at which time there will be a
tour with an electric band that is set to include Denander.
It’s
tough to compare that Borderline show, which featured Reed
alone on vocals and acoustic guitar, with events at Bush
Hall. The second gig was longer and the addition of keyboards
and those guests offered far more musical depth. Conversely,
with the Bush hall crowd being slightly reserved, the riotous
Borderline scenes offered more emotional impact. The set
suffered from some omissions (um, where was ‘Tiger
In A Dress’?!) but I loved the way Reed torpedoed
his slightly stuff reputation with a version of… ulp…
‘The Wombling Song’ (“Those guys were
recycling even before Al Gore”). Used sparingly, guitar
virtuoso Denander and ex-Journey singer Soto contributed
greatly as those marvellous tunes held our rapt attention.
Dan spoke candidly of the journey that returned him to the
music scene via mountains of cocaine, rivers of booze, the
running of a nightclub and, finally, a monastery. Intriguingly,
he also shed a little light upon the whereabouts of the
other members of The Network. Guitarist Brion James, for
example, owns a scuba diving shop in Honduras; bassist Melvin
Brannon II tours with Edgar Winter and Steve Salas; keyboard
player Blake Sakamoto runs a music production company in
Portland and drummer Dan Pred produces videos and commercials.
“I’m often asked whether we will work together
again” continued Reed, “and I would love to
play with those guys, but you can’t resurrect the
past. It would be about money.”
Here’s
the set-list: ‘The Wombling Song’, ‘Cruise
Together’, ‘She’s Not You’, ‘Coming
Up For Air’, ‘Halfway Around The World’,
‘Rainbow Child’, ‘On Your Side’,
‘Sacred Ground’, ‘Promised Land’,
‘Stronger than Steel’, ‘Candlelight’,
‘Lover’, ‘Long Way To Go’, ‘Ritual’,
‘Brave New World’ and ‘Losing My Fear’
with encores of ‘The Rush’, ‘All My Lovin’’
and ‘Get To You’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
7th May
There’s
bad news for fans of Emerson Lake & Palmer. Keith Emerson
has pulled the plug on his upcoming solo tours of Europe
and America, citing the long-running “nerve damage
and dystonic factor” that have plagued his right hand
for some time. “I am also going to have to cancel
the proposed Emerson Lake & Palmer tour which we were
going to do at the end of this year,” comments the
keyboard player, adding forlornly: “I will, of course,
continue with my physical, chiropractic and acupuncture
therapy in the hope that this will eventually get me back
on form.” I hope he gets well soon.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 6th May
Wow,
that didn’t take long. There’s already some
YouTube
footage of Joe Bonamassa’s jam with Eric Clapton
at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s filmed on someone’s
phone from the other side of the venue, and there’s
no mistaking the coiffure of yours truly, nodding away
to the music in the front row of the balcony directly
above the drummer’s head. I had no idea that the
ol’ barnet was still so distinctive after it ceased
to be such a fiery shade red/strawberry blonde. The sound
quality of the clip’s not too bad, either…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
5th May
That
Joe Bonamassa has gone from London’s Borderline, attracting
60-odd punters for his first appearance, to selling out
the 4,500-capacity Royal Albert Hall within two years says
all you need to know. Having seen and written about one
of those Borderline dates – I wrote: “Wherever
Joe Bonamassa chooses to go from here, the world is at his
feet” – last night I felt proud of the 31-year-old
New Yorker. When you arrive to find that esteemed broadcaster
Paul Gambaccini is in the next seat along, you’re
not about to watch something run of the mill, and Bonamassa
pulled out all the stops at the Albert Hall, using two drummers
(one of whom was Anthon Fig, of Ace Frehley fame) and a
horn section. Occupying the space that would sometimes be
filled by an orchestra, behind and slightly above the stage
and with a view so good you almost felt like you were a
part of the show, my friend Steve Way and I sat back and
enjoyed a thoroughly absorbing performance that will soon
be available on DVD.
To
the crowd’s amazed joy, Eric Clapton jammed on ‘Further
On Up The Road’, Paul Jones of the Blues Band dropping
by a little later to play some astonishing harmonica on
‘Your Funeral My Trial’. But the show was all
about Bonamassa whose ripe playing and the occasional burst
of showmanship held the attention from start to finish.
Exiting the stage for the last time Joe’s relieved
parting comment – “Thank you London, for making
this the greatest night of my life” – seemed
an apt summation of the previous two and a half hours. There
was an after-show reception, at which I spotted Mike Rutherford
from Genesis, Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and ex-Whitesnake
man Bernie Marsden, but still recovering from the previous
night’s excesses and with a week of Classic Rock production
deadline hell ahead I didn’t hang around for long.
Here’s the set-list: ‘Dejango’, ‘The
Ballad Of John Henry’, ‘So It’s Like That’,
‘Last Kiss’, ‘So Many Roads’, ‘Stop!’,
‘Further On Up The Road’, ‘Woke Up Dreaming’,
‘High Water Everywhere’, ‘Slo Gin’,
‘Lonesome Road Blues’, ‘Happier Times’,
‘Your Funeral My Trial’, ‘Blues Deluxe’,
‘Story Of A Quarryman’, ‘The Great Flood’,
‘Just Got Paid’ and encores of ‘Mountain
Time’ and ‘Asking Around For You’.
P.S.
This month’s Playlist and
YouTube are now up.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
4th May
I’m happy to say that Crystal Palace gave a good account
of themselves on their last day of the season, a 0-0 draw
helping to destroy the automatic promotion ambitions of
the visitors, Sheffield United. Quite rightly, a fiscally-driven
decision had been made to relocate CPFC’s own fans
from the Arthur Wait Stand to accommodate a rumoured 7,500
away supporters. Being surrounded by a few choice members
of the Arthur Wait Massiv, the club’s loudest fans
who sing from start to finish, was great. My friend Kev
and I joined in heartily, though it was disappointing that
certain terrace anthems (The Famous Alan Mullery Went To
Rome To See The Pope and My Old Man Said Be A Brighton Fan,
for instance) are almost unknown to today’s generation
of supporters, who really only lent their voices to chants
of, “Let’s all laugh at Charlton”. Nevertheless,
I was amused by the Massiv’s tribute to Shefki Kuqi:
“He used to be shite/But now he’s alright/Walking
in a Kuqi wonderland” – talk about being damned
with faint praise.
After
several more drinks in the Norwood area, Kev and I put my
lad Eddie onto a bus home and headed up to town for more
alcohol, descending upon a release party for the new Praying
Mantis album, ‘Sanctuary’ (released on June
8), at Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush. Having already
reviewed ‘Sanctuary’ for the May 27 issue of
Classic Rock I can vouch for its quality, so my heart went
out to Mantis when bassist Chris Troy informed me that singer
Mike Freeland was recovering from a heavy cold – of
all the days, etc. Freeland held things together during
the eventually abbreviated performance (which included four
songs from ‘Sanctuary’, plus assorted oldies),
but the circumstances were less than ideal. And I was starting
to have a few problems of my own, including remaining vertical
after 12 hours of solid swigging… hahaha. Anyway,
here’s what Mantis played: ‘Cry For The New
World’, ‘Children Of The Earth’, ‘Restless
Heart’, ‘Cry In The Rain’, ‘Lovers
To The Grave’, ‘In Time’, ‘Highway’,
‘Turn The Tables’ and an encore of the timeless
‘Captured City’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
3rd May
So…
the last day of the football season is here… for Crystal
Palace, at least. Very soon my eldest boy Eddie and I will
be off to Selhurst for an afternoon of topsy-turvy emotions;
excitement, frustration, jealousy…
It’s
extremely unusual for the Eagles, having failed to make
the play-offs and accumulated enough points for safety,
to be uninvolved (directly speaking, at least) at the top
or the bottom of the table. And yet I find myself eternally
grateful for an unbeaten run at the start of the year, without
which we’d undoubtedly have been scrapping for survival
with the Clowns, the Saints and Norwich. Given the runaway
success of Neil Warnock’s first season and the purchase
of Nick Carle – who seemed to be the missing piece
of the jigsaw – I was optimistic that Palace would
have pushed on, but here were on the final day of ’08/’09
playing host to what looks like being someone else’s
promotion party – the irrelevant bridesmaids of Sky
TV’s advance coverage of Birmingham, Reading and Sheff
Utd.
In
the recent extending of his contract till 2011 Warnock has,
at least, pledged another year to CPFC. That’s a good
thing… I think. The reason for fending off his retirement
for another 12 months is “stability”, apparently.
Neil has settled unexpectedly well in the south and has
a good relationship with the Palace faithful (“They
have been incredible, I wish I’d have come down [here]
earlier”, he volunteers), but he’s over-egging
the pudding with the claim: “I don’t think I’ve
enjoyed myself so much in years”. I’m glad that
**someone** in the vicinity of SE25 has been having fun…
Apart from getting to pass quality time with my lad and
having spent way more time and money boozing with my long-suffering
mates than I probably ought, it feels like a wasted campaign.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
2nd May
After
a sun-drenched day in England’s capital city, I savoured
a bottle of ice-cold cider during the train journey to Hampton
Court Palace for Rick Wakeman’s live performance of
the 1973 album, ‘Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth’.
What a great night it turned out to be. Steeped in history,
Hampton Court is an imposing location for a rock venue.
On the green before Henry’s Gate vendors had even
entered the historical spirit of the occasion to offer roast
hog sandwiches and delicious vintage cider (though, thankfully,
instead of holes in the ground there were real toilets).
Taking my seat I bumped into Dave Lights, the legendary
former Iron Maiden (now UFO) lighting engineer, who had
been hired to illuminate the Palace’s myriad turrets,
chimneys and spires, enhancing their already picturesque
qualities behind a stage packed with bodies and instruments.
Let me say, it worked!
Backed
by a full rock band that included his son Adam on additional
keys, plus The English Chamber Choir and The Orchestra Europa
(conducted by Guy Protheroe), Wakeman did a sensational
job, donning a luxuriant, flowing glitter cape to play ‘Jane
Seymour’ on an elevated platform and tittering, like
everyone else, at the antics of narrator Brian Blessed –
a truly inspired choice. “Can you hear me?”
boomed Blessed to commence proceedings, adding, “Oh,
you must be deaf”. Blessed must have been swigging
some sort of extra song mead, as his commentaries grew wilder
and more deranged as the night went on. In a monologue to
introduce ‘Catherine Of Aragon’ he declared:
“Henry didn’t even attend her funeral…
miserable sod.” And as the audience erupted he apologized:
“Ah, that bit wasn’t in the script”. Genius!
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
1st May
For
one of the biggest and most famous cities on the planet,
London’s public transport system leaves plenty to
be desired. Take yesterday, for instance. Knowing that
I was supposed to be at Roadrunner Records’ Ealing
office at 11.15, I left my abode on the other side of
the capital two hours earlier… should’ve been
plenty of time for a simple overground train ride and
one change on the Tube. But I found myself stuck on a
train outside Ealing Broadway as a points problem was
rectified. Hardly a great feeling when you are keeping
one of the greatest timekeepers in the world – Dream
Theater’s Mike Portnoy – waiting. The interview
was excellent, however.
In
the evening, following a beautiful warm day, my friend
Andy Beare and I downed a few cold ones at Angel Witch’s
Camden Underworld show. I’d been warned to check
out special guests The Gates Of Slumber, a doom-metal
band from Indiana that has just been signed to Rise Above
Records. I’ll be honest, the venue – which,
happily, was packed! – went mad for them, but either
the soundman did a totally inadequate job of mixing guitarist
Karl Simon’s vocals, or… or… well, the
fella is just not cut out to front a band. I hope it’s
the former option as there were some fine bludgeoning
tunes in the band’s 50-minute set.
The
front of house mix for Angel Witch was a good deal less
stellar than their last appearance at the Underworld (see
diary, 21.12.08). They played pretty much the same set-list,
though as headliners enjoyed the luxury of adding a few
songs – namely ‘Extermination Day’,
‘Flight 19’ and, unexpectedly, ‘The
Night Is Calling’ (from the oddities album ‘Sinister
History’). The audience’s reaction, which
will be seen in the not too distant future on a DVD, was
ecstatic. A fantastic night.
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