Leave It, Yes
Sunday 30 September 2018
Saturday 29 September 2018
Wilson Phillips - Go Your Own Way
From the California album, this is Wilson Phillips with Go Your Own Way
Friday 28 September 2018
Whitesnake - Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
Whitesnake and apparently there Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
Whitesnake - Walking In The Shadows Of The Blues
Moving onto Whitesnake and The Definitive Collection album, this is
Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
Another cracker from Ultravox, Dancin With Tears In My Eyes
Wednesday 26 September 2018
Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
From the album Wild One, this is Thin Lizzy with The Boys Are Back In town
Sunday 23 September 2018
The Scorpions - Wind Of Change
From the album Born To Touch Your Feelings, this is The Scorpions with Wind Of Change
The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man
From the album Mr Tambourine Man, this is The Byrds with Mr Tambourine Man
The Black Sweden - Smoke On The Water/Mamma Mia
This is the Black Sweden from the album Gold and Smoke On The Water, Mamma Mia
Saturday 22 September 2018
The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever
Song For Whoever from the album Carry On Up The Charts by The Beautiful South
Camel Live at the Royal Albert Hall
We have just been to see Camel at The Royal Albert Hall, I'm going to start this review with some negative comments none of which were under the bands control. First comment regards mobile phones, I consider these to a blessing and also one of the worst things technology has ever come up with.
The reason I say this is that the only way I could see some of the band was second hand through a mobile phone display from someone in front of me, the second issue was the seating in the Arena area of the Albert Hall. If you had somebody tall in front of you then you either got a stiff neck from trying to look over their shoulders or through their mobile phone screens or put up with seeing what you could see when they moved.
Now let's move onto the good stuff, the band came on stage and immediately launched into Moonmadness, the first Camel album I bought almost 40 years ago. Some bands strive to copy the album experience on stage, some bands don't even try, Camel don't do either of these. They take the original music and wind it up, not to an 11 but to a 12. These are four men thoroughly relaxed and obviously enjoying themselves on stage while playing music completely and utterly flawlessly.
The band is led by the legend that is Andy Latimer, the only original member and writer of most of the music. Dave Gilmour may play guitar to perfection, but Andy brings the guitar alive and can make it laugh and cry. In my humble opinion he is the best by far.
We have on bass guitar, the aptly named Colin Bass, he ambles round on stage effortlessly strumming away at his guitar and singing along on vocals and is a wonderful musician in his own right. A really nice person to talk to and very down to earth.
On drums we have Denis Clement, I'm sure he grows a couple of extra limbs while on stage and he is the rhythm behind the bands playing.
Finally we have the newcomer, Pete Jones. Pete lost his eyesight at 15 months and is in my opinion a musical Daredevil. Apart from a brilliant singing voice he is also superb on keyboards and to trump this he picked up a saxophone and came up with some amazing sax solos. In the past you used to hear Mel Collins on the saxophone during a concert. Pete blows him away and again is an amazing talent in his own right.
Put all these four people together and you get an amazing quartet called Camel, far more than the sum of all four corners. This concert had the most energy of any concert I've attended, the only failing was that it should have gone on longer.
I hope a new album and tour are on the horizon, myself and the rest of the fans that filled the Albert Hall want this, long may the beast of the desert continue to wander and brighten up our lives with it's music. Through this band I have come to know people of all cultures, religions and nationalities, united in the love of the music, the United Nations of Camel.
Back to mobile phones, I decided not to take a camera, I did take my phone and snapped a few pictures, but most of the time I let the music wash over me. Here's the pictures I took.
The reason I say this is that the only way I could see some of the band was second hand through a mobile phone display from someone in front of me, the second issue was the seating in the Arena area of the Albert Hall. If you had somebody tall in front of you then you either got a stiff neck from trying to look over their shoulders or through their mobile phone screens or put up with seeing what you could see when they moved.
Now let's move onto the good stuff, the band came on stage and immediately launched into Moonmadness, the first Camel album I bought almost 40 years ago. Some bands strive to copy the album experience on stage, some bands don't even try, Camel don't do either of these. They take the original music and wind it up, not to an 11 but to a 12. These are four men thoroughly relaxed and obviously enjoying themselves on stage while playing music completely and utterly flawlessly.
The band is led by the legend that is Andy Latimer, the only original member and writer of most of the music. Dave Gilmour may play guitar to perfection, but Andy brings the guitar alive and can make it laugh and cry. In my humble opinion he is the best by far.
We have on bass guitar, the aptly named Colin Bass, he ambles round on stage effortlessly strumming away at his guitar and singing along on vocals and is a wonderful musician in his own right. A really nice person to talk to and very down to earth.
On drums we have Denis Clement, I'm sure he grows a couple of extra limbs while on stage and he is the rhythm behind the bands playing.
Finally we have the newcomer, Pete Jones. Pete lost his eyesight at 15 months and is in my opinion a musical Daredevil. Apart from a brilliant singing voice he is also superb on keyboards and to trump this he picked up a saxophone and came up with some amazing sax solos. In the past you used to hear Mel Collins on the saxophone during a concert. Pete blows him away and again is an amazing talent in his own right.
Put all these four people together and you get an amazing quartet called Camel, far more than the sum of all four corners. This concert had the most energy of any concert I've attended, the only failing was that it should have gone on longer.
I hope a new album and tour are on the horizon, myself and the rest of the fans that filled the Albert Hall want this, long may the beast of the desert continue to wander and brighten up our lives with it's music. Through this band I have come to know people of all cultures, religions and nationalities, united in the love of the music, the United Nations of Camel.
Back to mobile phones, I decided not to take a camera, I did take my phone and snapped a few pictures, but most of the time I let the music wash over me. Here's the pictures I took.
The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her
Onto The Beautiful South from the album Blue Is The Colour, this is the album version of Don't Marry Her.
Thursday 20 September 2018
Supertramp - Lord Is It Mine
From the Breakfast In America album, this is Supertramp with Lord Is It Mine.
Saturday 15 September 2018
Spock's Beard - Something Very Strange
From the album Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep this is Spock's Beard with a track called Something Very Strange and it really lives up to it's name as it's the first track in a few albums that's actually memorable and one you can listen to.
Friday 14 September 2018
Almost 40 Years Ago
Way back in 1976 I started my first job as an apprentice TV engineer is a shop in Portland Street in Swansea. About a year or so later I was Watching a music show called The Old Grey Whistle Test and heard a band called Camel perform a few tracks from an album called The Snow Goose.
The downstairs part of our shop was given over to a record shop called The Sound Advice Rock Shop. I my opinion this is probably the best name ever for a record store. We didn't have the Snow Goose in stock, so I spent nearly half of my weekly wage on a cassette of their next album called Moonmadness, unlike The Snow Goose this had vocals on it and I was blown away. I have followed the band to this day but never managed to get to seem them until 2000 when they performed at The Lomax in Liverpool, I queued and eventually got into the area they were performing and was right at the back far away from the main stage. I heard a noise behind me, there was a smaller stage and to my delight they appeared on this one, I was at the front, there was an acoustic set during the performance and it was a brilliant night.
I was lucky enough to get to meet them afterwards outside and then for various circumstances didn't get a chance to see them again until The Snow Goose tour at the Batbican in London.
It was nice to hear a refreshed version of one of my favourite albums and afterwards there was a long drive back home to Swansea.
Sadly Guy LeBlanc on the left in the above picture and on the right in the bottom one left us, a victim of that evil disease cancer.
I got to seem them again in 2015 when the appeared at the Wulfrun Hallin Wolverhampton and managed to have a chat with Andy and Colin after the show.
On Monday, about 40 years from when I bought that Moonmadness cassette, We'll be off to the Royal Albert Hall to see them perform the whole of the album and other tracks.
They have a new keyboard player, his name is Pete Jones, incredibly talented keyboard player with a really good voice, Denis Clements is on drums, Colin Bass on Bass guitar and Andy Latimer on guitar, flute and the man behind the band.
Let's hope another album comes our way soon.
To get you started, here's a track called Mother Road from the album Dust and Dreams performed by the current line up
The downstairs part of our shop was given over to a record shop called The Sound Advice Rock Shop. I my opinion this is probably the best name ever for a record store. We didn't have the Snow Goose in stock, so I spent nearly half of my weekly wage on a cassette of their next album called Moonmadness, unlike The Snow Goose this had vocals on it and I was blown away. I have followed the band to this day but never managed to get to seem them until 2000 when they performed at The Lomax in Liverpool, I queued and eventually got into the area they were performing and was right at the back far away from the main stage. I heard a noise behind me, there was a smaller stage and to my delight they appeared on this one, I was at the front, there was an acoustic set during the performance and it was a brilliant night.
I was lucky enough to get to meet them afterwards outside and then for various circumstances didn't get a chance to see them again until The Snow Goose tour at the Batbican in London.
It was nice to hear a refreshed version of one of my favourite albums and afterwards there was a long drive back home to Swansea.
Sadly Guy LeBlanc on the left in the above picture and on the right in the bottom one left us, a victim of that evil disease cancer.
I got to seem them again in 2015 when the appeared at the Wulfrun Hallin Wolverhampton and managed to have a chat with Andy and Colin after the show.
On Monday, about 40 years from when I bought that Moonmadness cassette, We'll be off to the Royal Albert Hall to see them perform the whole of the album and other tracks. They have a new keyboard player, his name is Pete Jones, incredibly talented keyboard player with a really good voice, Denis Clements is on drums, Colin Bass on Bass guitar and Andy Latimer on guitar, flute and the man behind the band.
Let's hope another album comes our way soon.
To get you started, here's a track called Mother Road from the album Dust and Dreams performed by the current line up
And here's Song Within A Song from Moonmadness
Thursday 13 September 2018
Spock's Beard - The Ballad Of The Impact
Onto the album Octane, this is The Ballad Of The Impact from Spock's Beard
Spock's Beard - South Side Of The Sky
This is Spock's Beard from the album Snow with their version of South Side Of The Sky, originally by Yes. So far this is by far the most mediocre album of theirs and this in my opinion is the best track and it's not a patch on the original.
Wednesday 12 September 2018
Spock's Beard - At The End Of The Day
From the 5th album V, this is Spock's Beard with At The End Of The Day
Tuesday 11 September 2018
Spock's Beard - Day For Night
From the Day For Night Album, this is Spock's Beard with the title track, Day For Night
Spock's Beard - Flow
Flow: True Believer/A Constant Flow of Sound/Into the Source. This is Spock's Beard.
Spock's Beard
June, Spock's Beard
Ok, so this track is about the month but the opening lines:
"June, came upon us much too soon, then was gone"
make me think of someone I never had the chance to meet.
June
Came upon us much too soon
Then was gone
Gone
Like the mountains of the moon
At dawn
Then the sun came up on a sleepy day
And never went down at night
And the crowd kept on singin' Waste Away
But it just didn't feel right
And the prince and the drummer and the fire girls
Couldn't get our guitars in tune
And I knew it was over when the sound man said
"I wish we were still in June"
June
Telephones in private rooms
Hot bath
Bathe
In the smell of the buzz' perfume
Man, I want to go back
CHORUS
And I knew
It couldn't be true
It wasn't free
It wasn't for me
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah etc
June
Came upon us much too soon
Then was gone
CHORUS
And we knew
It couldn't be true
Spock's Beard - Cakewalk On Easy Street
Cakewalk On Easy Street, Spock's Beard
Wednesday
It's suppository time again
Ain't it grand?
Friday
I get my leg back on again
I'll get to stand
'Cuz it's a cakewalk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a good time
The best you ever had
It's the new-fangled way
Air-raid
Sirens in the night again
Not far away
I'm failing
At everything I try to win
But that's O.K.
'Cuz it's a cakewalk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a cakewalk on easy street
I have nothing bad to say
'Cept all my friends have gone away
Half of me is plastic and wood
But at least I've got my arms - that's good
'Cuz it's a cake walk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a good time
The best you ever had
It's the new-fangled way
It's a cakewalk on easy street
It's suppository time again
Ain't it grand?
Friday
I get my leg back on again
I'll get to stand
'Cuz it's a cakewalk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a good time
The best you ever had
It's the new-fangled way
Air-raid
Sirens in the night again
Not far away
I'm failing
At everything I try to win
But that's O.K.
'Cuz it's a cakewalk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a cakewalk on easy street
I have nothing bad to say
'Cept all my friends have gone away
Half of me is plastic and wood
But at least I've got my arms - that's good
'Cuz it's a cake walk on easy street
It's a new kind of day
It's a good time
The best you ever had
It's the new-fangled way
It's a cakewalk on easy street
Spock's Beard - The Good Don't Last
Onto probably my favourite Spock's Beard album, The Kindness Of Strangers, this is
The Good Don't Last.
Spock's Beard - Beware Of Darkness
From the album Beware Of Darkness this is Spock's Beard with the title track originally written by George Harrison. I believe the opening line says.
"Watch out now, take care Beware of farts that linger".
Spock's Beard - The Light
Onto a band called Spock's Beard, named after the appearance of Mr Spock in the Mirror Mirror episode of Star Trek. This track is called The Light from the album The Light.
Sunday 9 September 2018
Snow Patrol - Crack The Shutters
From the album a Hundred Million Suns, this is Snow Patrol with Crack The Shutters
Saturday 8 September 2018
Friday 7 September 2018
Thursday 6 September 2018
Sabah Habas Mustapha - Denpasar Moon
Moving from Scotland to Indonesia, this is Colin Bass as
Sabah Habas Mustapha and Denpasar Moon
Runrig - Headlights
A Scottish band called Runrig now, this track is called Headlights and the album is Scotland's Glory
Roy Orbison and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - I Drove Al Night
Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra I Drove All Night
Roy Orbison and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - In Dreams
From the album A Love So Beautiful this is Roy Orbison and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and In Dreams
Wednesday 5 September 2018
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Follow You Follow Me
Follow You Follow Me, the Genesis track from The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Many Too Many
Time to chill a bit with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and their version of Many Too Many originally from Genesis.
Roger Waters - Perfect Sense
Perfect Sense, something the album doesn't always make, this is Roger Waters
Roger Waters - What God Wants
Roger Waters goes back to depressing mode with the Amused To Death album,
this track is called What God Wants.
Roger Waters - Radio KAOS
Probably one of Roger Waters more cheerful albums and probably my favourite of his, this is the full album and the story behind it is like this:
Billy is a 23-year-old Welshman from the South Wales Valleys. He is mentally and physically disabled, confined to a wheelchair and only able to work his upper body.[2] Though he is perceived as mentally challenged, his disability has actually made him not only a genius, but also superhuman, as he also has the ability to literally hear radio waves throughout all frequencies without aid.[3]
Billy was living with his twin brother Benny, who was a coal miner, wife Molly, and their children. Unfortunately, Benny has lost his job in the mines due to the "market forces." One night, Benny and Billy are out on a pub crawl when they pass a shop full of TV screens broadcasting Margaret Thatcher's "mocking condescension." Benny vents his anger on this shop and steals a cordless phone. Next, in theatrical fashion, Benny poses on a footbridge in protest to the closures; the same night, a taxi driver is killed by a concrete block dropped from a similar bridge by Benny ("Who Needs Information" – track 2). The police question Benny, who hides the phone in Billy's wheelchair.
Benny is taken to prison, and Molly, unable to cope, sends Billy to live with his uncle David in Los Angeles, California, United States. Since Billy can hear radio waves in his head ("Radio Waves" – track 1), he begins to explore the cordless phone, recognising its similarity to a radio. He experiments with the phone and is able to access computers and speech synthesisers, and learns to speak through them. He calls a radio station in L.A. named Radio KAOS and tells them of his life story about his brother being in jail ("Me or Him" – track 3), about his sister-in-law not being able to cope and sending him to L.A. to live with his uncle Dave ("Sunset Strip" – track 5), and about the closures of the mines ("Powers That Be" – track 4).
Billy eventually hacks into a military satellite and fools the world into thinking nuclear ICBMs are about to be detonated at major cities all over the world while deactivating the military's power to retaliate ("Home" – track 6, and "Four Minutes" – track 7). The album concludes with a song about how everyone, in thinking they were about to die, realises that the fear and competitiveness peddled by the mass media is much less important than their love for family and the larger community. ("The Tide Is Turning" – track 8).
In the sleeve notes, Waters dedicated the album "to all those who find themselves at the violent end of monetarism."
Thanks to Wikipedia for this.
Best thing about it is that it the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir on it.
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We have just been to see Camel at The Royal Albert Hall, I'm going to start this review with some negative comments none of which were u... -
Not actually about Christmas but it was a Christmas hit even though the story behind it is really quite sad, getting near the end of the Chr...
