Bob Dylan says goodbye to Tom Petty

I was moved to see a video of Bob Dylan performing the late Tom Petty's 'Learning to Fly' at his show on 21st October, a day after what would have been Tom's 67th birthday.

Bob and Tom go back a long way: in the midst of the difficult decade that was the 1980s, Dylan teamed up with Petty and his band The Heartbreakers for the inaugural Farm Aid event in 1985. The partnership proved so fruitful that Bob and Tom stayed together, staging successful tours in both 1986 and 1987. In 1988, Petty and Dylan formed the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, releasing an album that year and a follow-up (minus Orbison, who passed away in December 1988) in 1990.  Dylan and Petty shared the stage for the final time in 2003.

More importantly than what they achieved together as musicians, Dylan and Petty appear to have enjoyed a close and genuine friendship. When Bob performed 'Learning to Fly' on 21st October - putting a huge amount of care into his singing - it was as if he was saying goodbye to his friend, while fondly recalling the good times they had shared. I am sure Tom heard, and I am sure he approved.

Liam Gallagher: As You Were (2017)

As You Were is Liam Gallagher’s first solo album, borne out of similar circumstances to Keith Richards’ first solo album in 1988: he wants to make music, but his old band isn’t getting back together any time soon. Almost reluctantly, Liam took the plunge and announced his debut album late last year, and since then has engaged in an extremely entertaining press tour, where his uncharacteristically at-peace-with-the –world demeanour suggested that he was quietly confident with what he had produced. But was it just bravado? Could Liam deliver the goods on his own?

The answer is yes, but the truth is that Liam is not on his own. Openly admitting to his limitations as a songwriter, Liam has co-written half of the songs on As You Were with established pop songwriters. This is a very good move, since the last two albums Liam released (with his post-Oasis band Beady Eye) were sorely lacking in strong hooks and melodies for Liam to sink his teeth into. The remaining six songs are credited to Liam alone, including the excellent ‘Bold’ and some sneering rockers like ‘I Get By’ and ‘Greedy Soul’, but it’s the tracks that involve other writers that really push the album to the next level.

‘Wall of Glass’ opens the album and immediately gets your attention with a duel between a wailing harmonica and a screeching electric guitar; ‘Paper Crown’ and ‘For What it’s Worth’ are lovely ballads with very hummable choruses; ‘Chinatown’, my favourite song on the album, has a wonderful acoustic guitar riff that gradually becomes hypnotic and draws you into the song’s mellow atmosphere; and ‘Come Back to Me’ has a great effect where Liam’s voice comes from different parts of the speaker at different points, making it sound like Liam Gallagher trading vocals with another Liam Gallagher.

Speaking of Liam’s voice, I think this is the best it has sounded in 20 years. His vocals on the first few Oasis albums were, for me, the highlight of those discs, but as the years went by it often felt as though he had stopped trying. Here, with something to prove for the first time in years, he really unleashes his voice and puts 100% into every song. It’s like the 1990s version of Liam has awoken from some kind of deep freeze, replacing the imposter who took his place in the early 2000s.

The instrumental backing on the album is polished, but not overly so, with just the right amount of grit left in. There is subtle but very effective use of horns and strings across the album, which adds extra texture, and the playing is tight and lean with no wasted notes. The backing musicians generally stay in the background throughout, placing the emphasis on Liam’s rejuvenated vocals.

This is a really great album from Liam and I’m really happy for him, especially since not so long ago he appeared to be close to leaving music altogether. Bring on album number two!  

Impractical Jokers "Where's Larry?" Live at the O2 Arena, London

 

There are lot of funny TV shows out there, but there aren’t many that can make you laugh out loud until you’re actually in pain. For me, Impractical Jokers is one of those shows, so when I found out they would be performing a live show at the O2 Arena in London on 13th October, it was an easy decision to snap up some tickets and head on down.

If you haven’t seen it, Impractical Jokers is a show where four lifelong friends put each other in public situations and then, via earpiece, tell them what to do or say, with painfully embarrassing (and hilarious) results. With less likeable people the format could become obnoxious, but luckily the four Jokers are very likeable. Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, Bran “Q” Quinn and James “Murr” Murray have been performing together for over fifteen years as The Tenderloins, earning an impressive reputation as both an improv act and the writers and stars of their own very funny YouTube sketches. They know each other inside out, which gives them a great chemistry and rapport with each other. Most importantly, none of them are afraid to be the butt of the joke, and the emphasis is always on making fools of themselves rather than other people.

Even though I was already a big fan of the TV show, I wasn’t sure how well it would transfer into a live setting, or even what form the show would take. After the Jokers walked onstage to a massive ovation from the crowd, I sensed a slight feeling of unease in the audience, which I think was due to a large portion of the crowd not knowing what to expect.

As it turned out, the show was essentially a four man stand-up act, mixed with some new filmed sketches and some clips from the show. It took a little while for the Jokers to find their rhythm, but before long they were effortlessly playing off each other and the audience. In a venue as huge as the O2 it can be hard for performers to draw everyone in and make them feel included, but the Jokers succeeded, and by the end it felt like we were in a tiny comedy club in New York.

The stand-up format allowed each of the four Joker’s time to shine, but out of the four of them I was most impressed with Sal, who looked really comfortable on stage and, at times, felt like the glue holding everything together. That isn’t a knock on the rest of the guys; everyone was great (Joe is probably one of the craziest and most fearless people walking the face of the Earth), and The Tenderloins are definitely more than just the sum of their parts.

All in all, a really good show, and I’ll definitely be back next time.