Showing posts with label palace brothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palace brothers. Show all posts

Sunday 6 October 2019

Log #158 - Plant Returns To His Roots

Eddy Bamyasi


The Decemberists Picaresque
 Robert Plant Band Of Joy
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Raising Sand
Belle and Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister
Palace Brothers Palace Brothers (Days In The Wake)
Felice Brothers Yonder Is The Clock

Listening back now it is difficult to understand why Belle and Sebastian became such indie media darlings. If You're Feeling Sinister is pleasant enough acoustic whimsy which may have been fresh and original at the time (1996) but it's pretty lightweight stuff - a lightweight that is giving further airiness by simple nursery rhyme like melodies, that are echoed by trumpet on several tracks, and lead singer Stuart Murdoch's fey vocals. 

I'd pass over this much admired album for the stronger (albeit less well received) follow up, The Boy With The Arab Strap

More brothers this week - the Palace Bros joining the Felices. This Palace Brothers album actually being a solo acoustic guitar album pretty much from one Will Oldham, better known as Bonnie Prince Billy, plus real brothers Ned and Paul. Also slight and very short, like a few of his albums actually, but there's always quality with Oldham and I don't think I've ever heard a bad album from him: An artist of whom I could invest in many other albums, with confidence of not being disappointed. My personal favourite to date?: Lie Down In The Light.

Continuing to enjoy Picaresque. Having dipped into some other albums from the boys and girls I do conclude, as my friend told me, they all sound very different. This one shows The Decemberists' indie folk side, but I've also heard the band branch out into heavy rock, synth pop and even prog - a multi talented band. I will investigate further albums and examine whether they can really pull off these multiple styles. I suspect Picaresque will remain a favourite and probably their default sound (and I'm pleased I started here).

When listening to Robert Plant's solo music it is tempting to compare it to Led Zeppelin - a comparison Plant himself has been keen to distant himself from via ventures into different styles and collaborations with various world artists (his alternative takes on some classic Zeppelin tunes met with mixed reactions from fans). He has also reportedly been the sticking point in any attempts to reform the band, save for the famous O2 gig way back in 2007 now. However the voice is still strong and still his and particularly when playing with a rock band the comparisons are inevitable. When I hear a track I therefore find myself thinking where would this sit in the pantheon of Led Zep music? Which album would it suit, and indeed would it have been good enough to make any of the albums?

Would any Plant solo music make it on to a Led Zeppelin album?

The answer to the last question is on the whole positive. In both of the albums featured here there are songs that would have been good enough for the mighty Zep - although note that this whole premise is off the mark as both albums consist entirely of covers! Perhaps more valid to say the best performances or tracks are the equal of some Led Zeppelin tracks. 

His Band of Joy project is probably Plant's most deliberate and closest approach to past glories (save for the Page/Plant reunions in the 90s).

Band of Joy were originally formed in Birmingham in 1965 with John Bonham (and Dave Pegg, later of Fairport Convention) before disbanding in 1968 without recording any albums (two albums were released by a new version of the band, without either of their Led Zeppelin members, in the late 70s and early 80s). Then Plant himself revived the band's name again in 2010 for this album and a tour, albeit without any of his original colleagues.

The preceding country rock Raising Sand album with Alison Krauss came out in 2007 just before the fabled Zeppelin gig. Critically acclaimed it went on to pick up five Grammys including Album Of The Year for 2009.

With a preponderance of Nashville session players in Band of Joy's ranks the expectation was for a follow up (further sessions with Krauss herself were apparently on the cards but never came to pass).  There are indeed some up beat light touch R&B / country tinged tracks favoured by the mighty Zep themselves in later albums, but generally the album has an intense depth of distorted grungy guitars. There are a even a couple of covers from low-fi Minnestota rockers Low - Silver Rider is a magnificent slow burner which could have come off Neil Young's Zuma album:









Sunday 23 December 2018

Log #117 - Birdsong In The Bush

Eddy Bamyasi

It's Christmas time which means that although I rarely go as far as playing any Christmas Carols (see last year's Christmas log where Eddy famously described all Christmas music as tripe) I do make some concessions towards Christmassy type music in the form of choral works which represent half the magazine here.

Pierre Bensusan - Intuite
Kate Bush - Aerial
Palace Brothers - Days In The Wake
Various - Twentieth Century Choral Music
The King's Consort - Essential Purcell
Charles Stanford - Anthems and Services

Henry Purcell was an English baroque composer (1659 - 95). This series of choral works sung by the King's Consort sounds like opera music although most of the tracks are individual songs. You will probably think you've never heard any before but some are more famous than you realise particularly When I Am Laid In Earth (Dido's Lament) which does indeed come from an opera; (Purcell's only) Dido and Aeneas.





Sad, but very beautiful.

Charles Stanford (1852 - 1924) was an Irish composer best known for his choral works. Teaching from Cambridge he was responsible for inspiring a number of 20th Century English composers who subsequently became more famous than himself including Vaughan-Williams, Bliss, Elgar, Bridge and Holst. This 18 track Naxos compilation probably contains the nice track I once heard on the radio which encouraged me to buy the record but I can't remember or recognise which one it was now!

Finally in this section we have the Vasari Singers performing works by Tavener, Part and Gorecki. These three 20th Century minimalist composers (the John Tavener here not to be confused with the 16th Century John Taverner with an extra 'r') are often grouped together. The modern John Tavener (1944 - 2013) is probably most famous nowadays for his piece Song For Athene performed at Princess Diana's funeral, a song originally written poignantly for another young woman who died in a traffic accident.

French solo acoustic guitarist Pierre Bensusan specialises in laid back easy going jazz and celtic flavoured instrumentals using lots of single note lines and harmonics. This sense of space allows the musicality to come to the fore in contrast to some of his contemporaries where demonstration of frenetic technique tends to overshadow the actual music. 

The track featured here is his tribute to fellow guitarist and friend the late Michael Hedges (I am disturbed to find I don't appear to have any of his albums in CD form - an oversight you must rectify with Aerial Boundaries asap Ed.):





Lead album this week is Kate Bush's Aerial double LP. Coming out in 2005 it was her eighth album and first for 12 years. This ambitious rock album is a beautifully presented, produced and performed affair. The whole package reminds me of David Sylvian's classy solo works (and believe it or not there is even a track that reminds me of Who's Next). 

The tracks merge into a satisfying whole - in fact the whole of the second half entitled A Sky of Honey is a concept piece based on a single summer's day embellished with birdsong (the cover art shows a birdsong sound waveform, not a silhouetted mountain range reflected in water). 

Finally, although there are one or two songs that recall the vocal histrionics of Wuthering Heights such as Mrs. Bartolozzi, wary listeners should not be put off. Over 25 years on from Kate Bush's breakthrough hit this record demonstrates a very mature and assured vocal perfectly in keeping with the music.





Sunday 16 December 2018

Log #116 - Before Billy Became Bonnie

Eddy Bamyasi


Mouse On Mars - Vulvaland
Radiohead The Best Of
Palace Brothers - Days In The Wake
Griffin Anthony - The Refuge
Tangerine Dream - Encore
Death In Vegas - Trans- Love Energies


The Radiohead compilation was released in 2008 but actually only contains selections from the band's first 6 albums up to Hail To The Thief (2003). No surprises it's mostly early period biased with 6 tracks from their second album The Bends (1995) and only one from the excellent Amnesiac (2001). The tracks are not sequenced in chronological order which actually works well, helping make it quite a good coherent standalone album (or double album in old money with 17 tracks). I'm only just rediscovering Radiohead and don't have all their albums but this would seem an excellent summary either for a new fan wanting to discover more, or someone who only feels the need for one Radiohead album.

1. "Just" (from The Bends, 1995)
2. "Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997)
3. "Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997)
4. "Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)
5. "No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997)
6. "High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995)
7. "My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995)
8. "There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
9. "Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997)
10. "Optimistic (Radio edit)" (from Kid A, 2000)
11. "Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995)
12. "Idioteque" (from Kid A, 2000)
13. "2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
14. "The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995)
15. "Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001)
16. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995)
17. "Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000)

Lots of tracks is a frequent bugbear I have with CDs (quantity winning out over quality). This is fair enough for the Tangerine Dream live album Encore as it was originally a double vinyl album. The single CD contains 4 "side long" pieces with evocative titles in keeping with the tour's location (the album was recorded during the band's North American tour of Spring 1977):

Cherokee Lane, Monolight, Coldwater Canyon, and Desert Dream.

Like most of TD's live concerts the tracks are generally originals but variations on the studio tracks do weave in and out of the performances.

The Death In Vegas album is also a lot of listening - over 100 minutes in my version which contains the bonus CD. The very first track is entitled Silver Time Machine but then weirdly it is the second track Black Hole that sounds like a cover of Hawkwind's Silver Machine. There are indeed a lot of influences in this music - krautrock, electronica, grunge, industrial, techno, 80s synth and indie. Definitely a candidate for the music map:



I have to say this map looks a bit sparse (the programme is based on users' preferences so I imagine there isn't much data on Death In Vegas). I certainly don't get the Up Bustle and Out reference.

Initial standout track is the ravetastic Your Loft My Acid:




Much more to discover on this band and album for sure. What fun.

Over staying a welcome is not an accusation that can levelled at our next two miniatures: the Palace Brothers and Griffin Anthony albums are a very manageable in both length and structure - a return to the basics of acoustic instrumentation and old fashioned song writing after (it has to be said) Eddy has been a bit "off on one" in recent posts.

Will Oldham is a confusing artist in terms of the names he goes by. Palace Brothers was his first moniker way back in 1993. Even more confusing this album (his second) originally had no title. In fact my copy is not titled (in keeping with the very understated music the cover of the album shows the singer in blurred silhouette against some net curtains). Later versions were given the Days In The Wake title although this was still not printed on the cover. The Palace Brothers name was then replaced by Palace Music before Oldham settled on his most famous stage name Bonnie "Prince" Billy which he has largely stuck with since 1998, just occasionally releasing an album under his real name.

The primary purpose of the pseudonym is to allow both the audience and the performer to have a relationship with the performer that is valid and unbreakable.

He has also revisited his back catalogue and in 2004 released Sings Greatest Palace Music where he re-recorded his solo Palace era music with a country band. About half of the tracks on Days In The Wake reappear in their more up tempo band setting on Sings Greatest....I love the album of reworkings although I have read original fans didn't like it and it received a bewilderingly scathing review in Pitchfork. Perhaps it was significant I heard Sings Greatest...before the originals. True, the versions are very different. They are almost different songs. But so what, Dylan and Young have been reworking their songs for years.

Palace period Will Oldham before he became Bonnie "Prince" Billy

One thing that is constant is Will Oldham's weak and fragile voice which literally cracks under the slightest of pressure. I love it. It may be weak in the traditional sense but it is packed full of emotion and is perfect for his songs.

He's also not afraid to stop when he's said enough. This album is small and perfectly formed with it's 10 tracks clocking in at a remarkable 27 minutes. Not the only time Oldham has served up a very short album (the delicious Master And Everyone springs to mind).

A weak voice is not an issue with country maverick Griffin Anthony who has one of those effortlessly laid back drawls synonymous with easy going country music. His Refuge is a pure and simple album which sounds like it was recorded in your front room. I guess with a bunch of crack Nashville sessions players too. Sure it's country (with a generous sprinkling of contemporary "alt" and "americana") and the lyrics confirm this - old tales of war vets, goldrush prospectors, and god fearing, hard fighting, working men fallen on hard times. But Griffin isn't afraid to rock out too - Only Hope Remains could be a stadium filler, or even get funky in places - On The Level with it's stuttering guitar strum sounds like Bill Withers. Nicely done.

***

It's that time of year when the year end best of lists start to emerge. I think many years ago there would be some degree of consensus in the press. There was less music around and a more focused genre of music attached to each era. Now anything goes and anyone can make a record.

One of the best lists around is produced by Brighton's local Resident Records. If you are in the area it is worth picking up a free copy of their Annual - actually I think the nice boys and girls there will send you one (or possibly add one to any online orders). It is worth a read and you're sure to discover new music. You can view online here too:  The Resident Annual.

I'll be doing my own 2018 review in the next week or so.



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Leading Artists (by appearance)

neil young (26) van morrison (22) john martyn (18) tangerine dream (18) felice brothers (16) pink floyd (14) led zeppelin (13) black sabbath (12) brian eno (12) whitest boy alive (12) bonnie prince billy (11) can (11) david sylvian (11) radiohead (11) talk talk (11) beatles (10) cluster (10) cocteau twins (10) laura marling (10) nick cave (10) afro celts (9) beck (9) bob dylan (9) fennesz (9) genesis (9) iron and wine (8) loscil (8) midlake (8) paolo nutini (8) tom waits (8) autechre (7) foals (7) nucleus (7) richard hawley (7) stars of the lid (7) camel (6) david bowie (6) dj vadim (6) efterklang (6) elo (6) fairport convention (6) harmonia (6) holger czukay (6) kings of convenience (6) low (6) luke vibert (6) matthew e white (6) miles davis (6) sahb (6) the doobie brothers (6) tord gustavsen (6) war on drugs (6) william basinski (6) arovane (5) bear's den (5) black keys (5) boards of canada (5) bob marley (5) calexico (5) edgar froese (5) father john misty (5) hawkwind (5) jan jelinek (5) king crimson (5) mouse on mars (5) nils frahm (5) public service broadcasting (5) robert plant (5) sigur ros (5) takemitsu (5) arbouretum (4) badly drawn boy (4) budgie (4) carly simon (4) carole king (4) decemberists (4) emeralds (4) four tet (4) handsome family (4) hidden orchestra (4) jethro tull (4) jj cale (4) john legend (4) klaus schulze (4) kruder and dorfmeister (4) manuel gottsching (4) opeth (4) penguin cafe orchestra (4) ravi shankar (4) soft hair (4) steely dan (4) the unthanks (4) tim hecker (4) trees (4) ulrich schnauss (4) KLF (3) alan parsons project (3) alex harvey (3) alison krauss (3) alva noto (3) barclay james harvest (3) bon iver (3) bonobo (3) caitlin canty (3) caribou (3) chicago (3) coldplay (3) curtis mayfield (3) david crosby (3) deep purple (3) depeche mode (3) eilen jewell (3) enid (3) fleetwood mac (3) floating points (3) free (3) gorillaz (3) gram parsons (3) grateful dead (3) grobschnitt (3) incredible string band (3) james morrison (3) jill scott (3) john grant (3) john surman (3) keith jarrett (3) kraftwerk (3) lal waterson (3) last shadow puppets (3) lift to experience (3) lynyrd skynyrd (3) mahavishnu orchestra (3) manitoba (3) mike oldfield (3) mike waterson (3) monolake (3) neu! 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