Marianne Faithfull

It’s called Easy Come, Easy Go but this is a difficult album to like. “Like” is too small a word for this perfectionist collection of songs and musicians - all classics and masters in their own right, and all eager to create new masterpieces through their association with Marianne Faithfull. You will not like this album: you will either love it or hate it.

Personally, I love it. More Marmite than Mars Bar, it includes an eclectic mix of soul, blues, country and jazz numbers from writers as diverse as Morrissey and Dolly Parton.

Guest musicians include rocker Keith Richards (renewing the longstanding relationship between Marianne and the Rolling Stones), folk superstars Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Rufus Wainwright, to name but the most famous stars in the constellation. Marianne Faithfull is old-school, and cannot be compared to today’s singer-songwriters such as Amy Winehouse or Laura Marling. She only ever does cover versions - but again, “cover” is too small a word. In the sleeve notes she’s called an “interpreter of songs” and that is exactly what she does. She interprets them as only an older woman can, having loved and lost, been betrayed and jilted, seen enough of the nasty side of human nature. Her deep manly voice carries the full range of emotions, and develops characters in many of the songs which tell stories. She conveys the despair of a jilted woman whose fatherless baby is stillborn, the dark secrets of a paedophile murderer and also the tender hopes of lovers in ‘There’s a Place for Us’ and the high camp of Morrissey’s ‘Dear God Please Help Me’.

There are examples of almost all music genres in this collection - soul, folk, country, jazz. This might be a sampler, proving the versatility and musical accomplishment of a woman who has the perfect diction of Petula Clark and the vocal power of Dusty Springfield as well as the pulling-power to persuade the very best session musicians to join her comeback.

Each song is beautifully orchestrated, with a big, full sound different every time yet somehow locking together to make a coherent album. You might want to download just your favourite track (mine is the Morrissey number - track 4 on disc 2. It sounds deceptively short and simple but the melodramatic orchestration lends a touch of dark humour and the sexy lyrics gain in spiciness when you realise that Marianne is old enough to be your gran!)

If you listen to the whole album a few times it will grow on you as an album, a statement by a woman who was famous as a muse, a girlfriend and a singer of other people’s songs. The statement says “I’m still here ” and “I’ve still got it”. In that sense you might think, if you wanted to poke fun, that it is not the Mars bar but the Cadbury’s Caramel that symbolises this new Marianne (look at the advert with the fancy female hare batting her eyelashes at the tortoise). However I have no wish to poke fun. This is a serious musical achievement. It is not music for girls who’ve been dumped by their boyfriends (try Dido). These songs sound sad but yet provide sustenance for your soul.

(We Are) Performance

Sitting down to listen to ‘Let’s Start’ by (We Are) Performance for the first time, I am swiftly interrupted by my inquisitive mother – “ooh that sounds nice”, she says. And there it is – the first thing to notice about this tune is its potential for universal appreciation. There is something for everyone. Not only would it fit in perfectly with the more synth-inclined music lovers amongst us, but it wouldn’t look out of place in the rock ‘n’ roll/indie music libraries of my brother, or even the laid back and easy listening selection preferred by said mother. The key is the way the heavy synthesisers mix with the guitars and drums, and on top of that, the distinctively 80s Killers-meets-Morrissey vibe of the vocals.

‘Let’s Start’ begins with a whirlpool of possibilities until the melody sneaks in; a strongly inoffensive, mediocre melody in catchiness but a bit of a grower. Soft and sweet, the chorus counteracts the shotgun resonance of the snare which penetrates throughout. Approaching the middle eight – innovatively placed at the end of the track – the guitars come into play, bringing with them a complete change of ethos.

In all, this track is a breath of fresh air for anybody not yet fully appreciative of the electro vibe, and blends well into an all-round winning single by (We Are) Performance. The layers can be picked apart and fully grasped with a few listens – and this can only be a good thing, because we can’t get enough of good music!

Morrissey - Years Of Refusal

Ah, Morrissey. You and I have never really got on, have we? Well, that I mean I’ve never really been a fan. One thing it’s impossible to deny though, Stephen Patrick Morrissey is most certainly an interesting character. The man a certain music publication once described as the “most influential artist of all time” has inspired more bands and vegetarians than you could shake a lettuce leaf at. This, his ninth solo album, has been described by the man himself as his strongest work to date, a big claim, when you consider the large back catalogue he possesses.

It’s fitting then, that album number nine, titled Years of Refusal should be the album in which I realise how wrong I’ve been. It kicks off with pace in the upbeat ‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull.’ First single ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ may come across as optimistic and full of joy, but beneath that melody, lies a dark, unloved heart. Here Morrissey claims he can only find love in the stone and steel of Paris. As throughout the album, and his career, the imagery in the lyrics is dark, gloomy but always striking.

Fans may well recognise ‘That’s How People Grow Up’ as the lead single from 2008’s Greatest Hits collection. The decision to include this track, as well as ‘All You Need Is Me’, which also featured, could easily have come across as lazy, but luckily it still sounds as fresh, and as strong as it did the first time round.

The album highlight is also its bleakest moment, but since it is Morrissey that comes as no real surprise. The stunning ‘It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore’ is an angry, yet beautiful ballad. The power in his voice throughout the song’s chorus, combined with the gentle, loving delivery of the lines “all the gifts that they gave can’t compare in anyway/to the love I am now giving to you/ right here right now on the floor” make it genuinely difficult not to feel moved. The track is an instant classic, and can stand proudly alongside anything from his previous releases.

Nearly thirty years after the formation of The Smiths, Morrissey still remains one of the most prolific and exciting musicians the country has to offer, just as long as he stays miserable. I’m only sorry it has taken me so long to discover that. Heaven knows I’ll be miserable soon.

Eugene McGuinness

With all the evasion skills of Dr. Richard Kimble, Eugene McGuinness refuses to be defined by where he’s from, and will not be pinned down on what sort of music he concocts. And that doesn’t give a music fan much to work with, but here goes.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, ‘Fonz’ is a slightly schizophrenic song. It makes a basis of the sort of twangy garage rock guitar that found its feet post-Britpop with American bands like The Strokes, but with a very very British feel.

The staccato rhythm of percussion keeps the song chugging along nicely, with an upbeat angle and plenty to recommend it to any indie disco dancefloor, sounding not unlike punks like Television.

Former wunderkind McGuinness makes a virtue of his curiously almost atonal singing – he has the vocal range of Morrissey circa Meat Is Murder, but paying a far greater attention than that singer to what his voice is doing compared to the music which surrounds it.

Lyrically, McGuinness is knowing and deft – such couplets as “Things aren’t so glossy/Without a posse” and the excellent “And so we synchronised our watches/And arranged for the meeting of our crotches” lift the song well above the ordinary – and he slots words neatly into every nook and cranny of this short, sharp shock of a tune, again not unlike Morrissey back in the day.

Calling to mind a stuttering soloist like Jack Peñate, McGuinness’ grasp of the straightforward pop hit is unerring, the song, at a mere two minutes 23 seconds, not risking a second of its welcome overstayed.

The video has a nice line in artschool chich, with the self-conscious moptop singer stop-motioning around the set along with other band members who, on occasion, disappear through solid walls and appear to do a variety of speedy instrument changes throughout.

A neat, sharp song from a seriously talented singer/songwriter – he may attempt to avoid pigeonholing, but Eugene McGuinness can be firmly filed under ‘quality’.

The Smiths

With details of Blur’s reunion emerging earlier this week, our brains were already a-quiver… and now there’s even more reason to be excited. Well, perhaps more than usual.

A certain Johnny Marr told BBC 6 Music that he’d been mastering a Smiths compilation that’s due for release soon, and talked about his involvement:

“I think everyone was glad that I stepped up to the breach. I didn’t have to do it, it could have come out anyway – but I just felt like it was doing a disservice to the band and the people who were buying the records.

“Over the years there have been releases of the records and I wasn’t happy with the way they sounded. So I rolled my sleeves up and fixed that, and I’m pretty happy with the way that turned out.”

Limited Morrissey tickets are still available here - and don’t forget that Mr. Marr can be seen with The Cribs now, as a fully-fledged member of the band. Tickets are still available!

Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors

Excuse these exciting newses if they sadly slipped through the net of your mind, but alas, we’re here to tell you all about them.

Morrissey’s announced a stellar bunch of new dates to go alongside his Manchester and London appearances, and they’re available right here from Friday morning – save the link to your favourites now to avoid disappointment.

This is what’s on offer:

Stirling Albert Halls Stirling 04/05/2009

Caird Hall Dundee 05/05/2009

Barrowland Glasgow 07/05/2009

Liverpool Empire Liverpool 10/05/2009

Symphony Hall Birmingham 13/05/2009

Great Yarmouth Brittannia Pier Great Yarmouth 15/05/2009

Corn Exchange Cambridge 16/05/2009

Hull Arena Hull 19/05/2009

Borough Hall Hartlepool 20/05/2009

Salisbury City Hall Salisbury 25/05/2009

Mile End Troxy Ballroom London 26/05/2009

Academy Brixton London 28/05/2009

 

Morrissey - Years of Refusal

That lovable legend Morrissey has just announced three UK tour dates, for which tickets will be released at 10am tomorrow (Friday 5th December 2008).

The former frontman of The Smiths is touring in support of his new record, Years of Refusal, which is released in the UK on February 23rd.

Morrissey will play London’s Royal Albert Hall on Monday May 11th 2009, followed by two dates in his hometown at Manchester Apollo on May 22nd and May 23rd 2009 – his 50th birthday.

Click here to buy your tickets!

Official Secrets Act

Official Secrets Act

, London’s best new and unashamedly poppy band, have been warming the cockles of hearts owned by the cream of Radio 1 and BBC 6Music.

Super-cool Zane Lowe and veteran music legend Steve Lamacq have been championing these likely lads who present us their polished indie-pop with a darker side.

Debut single ‘So Tomorrow’ is an utterly singalongable affair, and won 6Music’s Rebel Playlist, a feature on Lamacq’s show where bands new and old battle it out for the love of the listeners. Official Secrets Act beat their more established colleagues The Futureheads and The Holloways with a whopping 81% of the votes. The band were also named as Zane Lowe’s prestigious Fresh Meat. Impressed? You should be.

With lyrical nous to worry Morrissey and pop structures that would sit well in the annals of Blur, The Clash, and anything Lou Reed’s had his mitts on, OSA are definitely going places.

Catch them live on their UK tour:

DECEMBER

1 - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, GLASGOW
2 - Dry Bar, MANCHESTER
3 - Bodega, NOTTINGHAM
4 - Underground, RUNCORN
5 - Barfly, BIRMINGHAM
6 - Cockpit, LEEDS
8 - Hamptons SOUTHAMPTON
9 - Barfly – Single Launch, LONDON
11 - Start The Bus, BRISTOL
18 - Hertfordshire University, HATFIELD
 

http://www.myspace.com/officialsecretsact

Well, Morrissey is on the brink of releasing a greatest hits collection to celebrate twenty years plus of going it alone. This new single, one of two new songs to appear on that forthcoming album, possesses spikier riffs and a generally quicker pace for old Maudlin Morrissey’s vocals.

Therefore, the chance to compare this approach against the old one is afforded the perfect opportunity. Maturity is espoused and life perspective is proffered with assurance and wisdom. Is this the start of a new Morrissey?

http://www.truetoyou.net

The first moot point when listening to any new band is that inevitable question: “Who do they sound like?” Well, for the record, Rosemary sound like an English pop-rock band; English in the way that Morrissey, The Jam or The Kinks are, for example. You know the word: quintessential.

Their debut single ‘Suburban Kings’ is a gallivanting pop-trip, much in the mould of Supergrass (think ‘Mansize Rooster’ for the rhythm section). Singer Tim Hill’s gravelly vocal is set off at delicious counterpoint with bassist Martin Brett’s honeyed response. It’s lovely and summery, and you can’t help but hope that Rosemary don’t remain as understated as Supergrass have in their decade in the business.

As a mission statement, ‘Suburban Kings’ may well sum up Rosemary’s sound and intentions. It has the simple but potent chord patterns that The Beatles used in songs like ‘I Feel Fine’, and intersperses some edgier chord changes in the manner of The Buzzcocks – always putting harmony first. But it could be hasty to make conclusions on this band from their first offering. Something tells me that the inevitable album will be a relishing and even more revealing prospect. Indeed, the buzz around their first release has led to it selling out.

The band have been on tour practically non-stop for almost two years, as the gigography on their website shows. This incessant gigging has clearly gone some way to creating the tight sound of the band, which will stand them in good stead and promises for an exciting live prospect.

You can catch Rosemary playing live at the following places:

Sep 21 2006: (DJ SET) Suburban Kings Clubnight Tap n Tin, Chatham

Sep 29 2006: PURE GROOVE CLUB NIGHT, London

Oct 11 2006: Club NME, Leicester

Oct 12 2006: Buff Club, Glasgow

Oct 13 2006: Reach Out and F*** Somebody Clubnight, Telford

Oct 19 2006: Suburban Kings Club Night Tap n Tin, Chatham

Nov 10 2006: Lucorum – supporting Bromheads Jacket, Barnsley

For more information, and to listen to the band, please visit their www.myspace.com/rosemarymusic