Sunday, 22 October 2017
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.
Wednesday, 18 October 2017
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!
Monday, 16 October 2017
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.
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