Wow! An unconventional opening for a book review maybe, but ‘“wow!” nonetheless.
Hoyt Axton’s songs were heard most widely when recorded by others. Steppenwolf recorded his “The Pusher” in 1967. It featured on their early 1968 debut album but was most pervasive in summer 1969 after it was included on the soundtrack of Easy Rider. Axton himself didn’t release a version until 1971, when “The Pusher” appeared on his Joy to the World album. The title track, another of his best-known compositions, had charted earlier that year for Three Dog Night. Back in early 1963 "Greenback Dollar", which Axton had co-written, was a US hit for The Kingston Trio.
This was a very fine concert indeed, plus a lot more. The first half was a very carefully planned series of unveilings around the theme of Béla Bartók and Hungarian folk music, the second an overwhelming performance of his Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.
I’ve long cherished south London folk singer Lisa Knapp’s Hunt the Hare - A Branch of May EP, released in a limited edition in 2012, so to have Till April Is Dead: A Garland of May come in the full bloom of May is a charm indeed.
“Harry's new album is F*CKING INSANE!” tweeted Father John Misty recently, setting the expectation bar very high for a collection that, sources close to the former One Direction member had indicated, would be “deeply personal” (or, at least, as deeply personal as a Grammy-winning songwriting team would allow). Then, with the release of lead single “Sign of the Times” came comparisons to Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Not an overlong Robbie Williams piano ballad sung by someone with decent range, then? No. Pink Floyd. And Bowie.
The comparisons and preposterous hyperbole seem stranger still on the realisation that, while this may not sound like a One Direction album, it certainly feels like one. As with all 1D releases, many of the tunes presented here feel thoroughly road-tested – and mainly because they have been. If there is clear blue water to be found, it's simply in the choice of previous owners.
That's not to say they're not good, however. Opener and standout track “Meet Me in the Hallway” actually warrants the Pink Floyd comparison, in as much as it’s essentially an uptempo reworking of Dark Side’s “Breathe”, with the falsetto refrain from “Sign of the Times” dropped in, presumably to give maximum return on its earworm investment.
“Carolina”, meanwhile, is Beck’s “Devil’s Haircut”, covered by Supergrass, but with the rocket removed from its arse and handed to the stylist. It sounds built-for-purpose, but bearing in mind that the purpose seems to be uncomplicated fun, that’s fine by me.
Most notably, “Sweet Creature” is practically twinned with the Beatles’ “Blackbird” – by which I mean you’re more likely to tell them apart by name than rigorous DNA analysis. However, throughout all this, Styles’ voice holds up perfectly well and lends the songs a pleasing coherence, if falling short of the identity necessary to make the collection a complete success.
The same can’t be said for the mid-album rockers “Only Angel” and “Kiwi”, which see the singer posturing rather than performing. The former features a bluesy, Stones-y riff – neatly studied, and designed to do the same sort of job, but lacking the ferocity of the source material. It’s like sending out a housecat to bring down a gazelle.
Ultimately, it’s a decent enough debut, but Styles isn’t trying to reinvent the form and comparisons to artists who did are as unhelpful to him as they are inaccurate. He’s a perfectly capable pop singer with some solid songs. When on earth did that stop being enough?
Overleaf: Watch the video for "Sign of the Times"
Flawlessly uniting atmosphere and melody is challenging. Especially so when creating music is approached unconventionally and with the desire to be individual. Having set her bar high, Juana Molina triumphs on all counts, again proving herself as a virtuoso artist who executes her vision with enviable assurance.
We live in a time of particularly polarised opinion, and Paul Weller remains a divisive figure. To some he’s the Changing Man, the Modfather, the Most Modernest Modernist that ever was. To others, however, he’s come to represent the very chromosome that turns perfectly good songwriting into "dadrock" and creates the sort of tuneful terrain on which Kasabian can flourish.
From Muswell Hillbilly to Beverly Hillbilly, Ray Davies – Sir Ray – has long been infatuated with America and it must have been a great disappointment when the Kinks were banned from touring there in the mid-1960s. Then in the 1970s and Eighties they were reborn as a stadium rock band, criss-crossing the States and losing their audience back home.
Sharon Shannon’s not yet 50 – and she’s been performing for more than 40 years, joining a band at home in County Clare when she was eight and touring the US with them at 14. Since then she’s worked with an impressive array of artists, from the Waterboys through Steve Earle to Nigel Kennedy. Arguably, it was The Woman’s Heart project (1992), showcasing Irish folk musicians which included Mary Black and Maura O’Connell, that propelled Shannon to international success.
This is a well-travelled Winter’s Tale. Declan Donnellan has long been a director who's as much at home abroad as he is in the UK, and with co-production support here coming pronouncedly from Europe (there's American backing, too), Cheek by Jowl have made it abundantly clear where they stand on the issue of the day.