Is Stan Bowles having some sort of testimonial mate? They don't make them like that any more... Hope it's a sell out, he is the most skillful player I've ever seen apart from our own Le Tiss of course!..
We just had a benefit match and farewell for Stan as he is suffering from Alzheimer’s. A real shame but that's life I suppose!
Another First Heard.... and an unusual one, but I hope you'll like it. My sister was a Walker Brothers fan [well we all liked them a bit, just not enough to buy their LPs, but older family members did buy their singles] and she bought Scott Walker's first solo album, Scott. I must admit that, back in 1967 or so, this wasn't my cup of tea. But I heard it recently on Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service, an edition devoted to Scott Walker [<- click the link to see]. And I heard this song for perhaps the first time in nearly 50 years. And to me, this time, it sounds great. I shall be investigating more Scott Walker in the future. Such A Small Love:
One of the few benefits of becoming 'cough' a little older is not being so constrained by genre or subculture. My parents taste in music was pretty naff but I am forever in their debt as they introduced me to Nat King Cole. His jazz stuff is a complete contrast to the 'popular' stuff. However 'Nature Boy' is an unclassifiable classic. The live version on YouTube is great but the full orchestrated one fascinates me, it has all the over the top ingredients I normally dislike but just works.
Ok, a "first heard" from me. It's In A Free Land by the band from Minneapolis that are the subject of my avatar, Hüsker Dü and started a lifetime love affair with the songwriting and music of lead guitarist, Bob Mould. I was knocked out by the guitar sound on this and was suprised to find out that there were only 3 members in the band and later found out that this was a sort of change in direction for the band who were part of the Hardcore Punk scene in the States.
Zen Arcade was the next album that they released and it still remains a pretty remarkable record. It tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse, sort of like a punk Quadraphenia. The album incorporates elements of jazz, psychedelia, acoustic folk, and pop, and also features piano interludes, all of which are rarely touched on in the world of hardcore punk. Bands such as Pixies, Nirvana and Foo Fighters have said that they were influenced by this and other Hüsker Dü albums. This is him leaving home... Joining the army.. His girlfriend dying of an overdose... Despair... Waking up to find that the whole odyssey had occurred in his subconscious during a night of troubled sleep; the challenges of his life—for better or worse—remain in front of him.
I found Bob Mould's other group, Sugar, more accessible than Husker Du (can't be arsed with umlauts!). Can't remember if it was ever a hit but this one did at least get a lot of airplay.
Yeah, love Sugar too and all of Bob's solo stuff...Dave Grohl says (almost sheepishly) that he ripped Bob off mercilessly! Here's one off of his last album...
