It's A Shame About Ian....

Considering they are one of my favourite bands of all time I'm not really sure why I have never done a post on Echo And The Bunnymen before. Sadly this was not the post I intended but is a review of sorts of their gig last night at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.

Ocean Rain is, for me, one of the greatest albums ever made and last night was a one off opportunity to see and hear it performed in its entirety, accompanied with strings.

The gig was split into two parts with the first being a 40 minute set comprising mostly classic Bunnymen tunes such as Rescue, Dancing Horses and a terrific version of Never Stop. So far so good. During this part there was a lot of banter between McCulloch and the crowd, most of it lighthearted and in no way shape or form did it affect the performance.

No idea what occurred during the interval before the band re-appeared to perform Ocean Rain but Mac's mood had changed completely and instead of banter we had him challenging members of the crowd and generally being abusive to sections of the audience. His ramblings between songs were largely incoherent, some lyrics were forgotten and most tracks were not finished. Sadly it got worse with McCulloch storming off stage seemingly due to him not liking the crowd's singing. There was also a fair amount of abuse being thrown at him in return from sections of the crowd, most of it understandable in the circumstances.

After about 20 minute the band re-appeared with only the pinnacle of the album still to play. Instead of the band playing Ocean Rain, however, they played The Killing Moon again at McCulloch's request. Then the most bizarre twist of the evening occurred when he threw his mic down whilst berating Will Sergeant before exiting stage left leaving the rest of the band and the six piece string section not knowing whether he would return. As there was no sign of that the show was effectively over.

In the end we did not get to hear the mighty Ocean Rain but saddest of all was the condition of McCulloch himself who was in no fit state to perform.

Ocean Rain was proclaimed by McCulloch upon it's release as "the greatest album ever made" and although that may not be entirely accurate it is certainly up there and deserves it's place at the top table. Such a shame that the good people of Glasgow did not get to hear it in all its majesterial glory. 

Great Debut Albums....Part 3

Appearing during a low point in UK music history, Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy took the music back to basics - just Billy Bragg and an electric guitar. Life’s a Riot presented Bragg as an unlikely cross between Woody Guthrie and Joe Strummer — one guy with a handful of songs, a powerful belief in the common people, and a big distorted electric guitar, blasting out songs about love and politics.Play it today and it still crackles with an immediate, righteous energy.

Life's a Riot played a huge part in forging my worldview and sadly so little of what he was singing about back in 1983 has changed. Seething with anger and sexual frustration, Billy's songs spoke to the young and alienated for whom the Thatcher revolution meant nothing. The songs still stand up today particularly the classic New England, The Busy Girl Buys Beauty, Lovers Town Revisited and To Have and To Have Not which is unfortunately as relevant now as it was twenty five years ago.

At a mere seven songs and 16 minutes, Life's a Riot is a short release but somehow seems just right. His broad Essex accent increases the coarse appeal, accentuating the reality of the songs and providing the perfect conduit for a suite of lyrics that matched polemic with romantic observation. If you like your music cut back to the raw and full of emotion this is the Bragg album to have.

Billy Bragg - To Have And To Have Not

From Margate Via California....

I came across Two Wounded Birds yesterday when I had a bit of time to check out some new music on the web and although summer appears to be most definately over in the West Of Scotland for this year I was very taken by their obvious love of the tunes of one Brian Wilson.

The Beach Boys comparisons come more to the fore with titles such as Keep Dreaming Baby and Summer Dream, although it quickly becomes apparent that even their most upbeat tunes are tinged with more than a hint of darkness. There's bits of early rock'n'roll and hints of Duane Eddy amongst many others and some of the tracks would sound great on a Tarantino soundtrack. There is also a clear punk ethos to the band’s music as well with a clear link to both the Ramones and one of the founding fathers of the genre, Doctor Feelgood.

Two Wounded Birds are romantic, rock and roll obsessives who create well-crafted, timeless pop that sounds more like it comes from California than the unlikely environs of Margate....

Two Wounded Birds - Keep Dreaming Baby by Vinyl Junkie Recordings

Ritorno Dalle Vacanze....

I wasn't really sure when I finished work a couple of weeks back for my late "summer hols" whether we would be going away anywhere. As it turned out we decided to have ourselves a break over in Italy thanks to a friend of my wife whose sister has a flat in a lovely little town called Laveno, which is about 40 miles away from Milan.

Laveno is a lakeside town on the western shores of Lake Maggiore, lined with beuatiful porticoed buildings and there are elegant 17th and 18th century villas throughout the town as it rises to the meet the lower slopes of Mount Sasso del Ferro. It really is a stunning little town that had the added advantage of no tourists - apart from us obviously !! As it sits on the shores of Lake Maggiore there are plenty of boat trips you can take including a boat and train all day trip that that we took into Switzerland and back. Fabulous scenery all the way and a truly stunning train journey back with the Swiss alps in the background.

Another "highlight" was the cable car from Laveno to Mount Sasso del Ferro which is affectionately known as the "bucket lift". This is due to the fact that the two-man cabins are open top and resemble giant buckets. I freely admit that it was one of the scariest things I have ever done as you go up the mountain for 16 minutes to a height of 3484ft in nothing more than a large metal container that just holds 2 people and is completely open to the elements with just a door handle keeping you in....

All in all, lovely place, lovely people, great food but as always it's also nice to be home....

The Pixies - The Holiday Song

Arcadian Kicks....

Anyone who has followed Spools Paradise since I started the blog in late October last year will be aware I don't do too may postings on "new" bands.

Over the next few weeks I intend to redress the balance slightly and post some musings and sounds from newish bands that have caught my intention.

Fisrt off is a five piece from South Staffordshire called Arcadian Kicks. Two girls, three boys all in their late teens who are heavily influenced by the likes of Blondie, early Fleetwood Mac and Led Zepellin and are managed by Jon Brookes from The Charlatans.

Combining melodic harmonies with hard-edged sax, soulful guitar and pounding rhythms, this is one young band that are worth checking out. They have described their sound as "Spectoresque, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin... a bit of light shoegaze and Yeah Yeah Yeahs mixed up"

Don't know much more about them but I like what I have heard so far....hopefully you will too....

Black & White (Unmastered) by The Arcadian Kicks

The Honey Tangle....

Drawing from influences such as Blondie and The Byrds, Brix Smith and various ex members of The Smiths amongst others, took a break from guitar duties with The Fall to release one album under the moniker of The Adult Net.

"Glossy, jangly, sweet-natured pop music that would sound perfectly at home in the Top 40 radio play lists of some alternate universe" was the best description I could find and pretty much sums up what they were all about.

It may not be the best album ever made but is still a great album for a warm summer's day so obviously not the best album for today in the West Of Scotland...

Never mind, just lie back and enjoy the sugar sweet charm of The Adult Net and just imagine you are somewhere warm...it works...honest...

Adult Net - Where Were You(When I Needed You)

Scotland's Best Kept Secret....

Hard to believe that it is two years since the last album release from Scotland's best kept secret, Trashcan Sinatras. Quite why Trashcan Sinatras are not a household name is simply beyond comprehension. Their albums should be available in every store, their songs played on every radio station, their back catalogue discovered and rediscovered by music fans of all ages. Maybe one day....

Beautifully crafted pieces of pure pop magic is a description I like when it comes to the music of Irvine's finest. They do take a while between albums, but when they do emerge with another collection it's always worth the wait. Perfect music for a Sunday afternoon sitting outside on the patio.

There's not much more that I can add to the acclaim already heaped upon this band. It's such a pity that more people are not aware of the strength of the songwriting and gorgeous melodies that they have been releasing for over 20 years now.

In The Music was, for me, easily the best album of 2009. It's a beautiful, melancholy treasure of an album with genuine heart and gorgeous melodies throughout that is the perfect album for a warm summer's day and as there appears to be some sun in the sky in the West Of Scotland today this seems to be the perfect day for a perfect album....

Trashcan Sinatras - I Wish You'd Met Her