musicforthemonth.com » Andy Gill

Robert Plant: ‘I feel so far away from heavy rock’

Laughing Dog — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:16:22 +0000

Ahead of the release of his new album, Band of Joy, Robert Plant talks to Andy Gill about the move from fronting the biggest band in the world to his success in exploring a diverse range of styles, from vocal harmony and country to North African and Arabic.

Read the article here

However, I must be honest with you and say that in the two videos below he looks like someones Dad doing his best to wreck a classic song at a Xmas Karaoke

Now I know it’s Youtube so it was probably shot on a mobile phone or small video camera – but to me it just looks, sounds and feels so horribly wrong.

What do you think?

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – ‘Mojo’

Laughing Dog — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:52:21 +0000

I’m not a big fan of these guys, only ever buying their Anthology, which is of course a great record as it has all their hits and more. But a certain music critic named Andy Gill gave this album 5 stars- which is unusual for him as he rarely promotes old established acts, concentrating more often than not on up-and-coming or relatively unknown artists.

When this guy gives a new album 5 stars I will, more often than not buy it, even though I may not have heard too much about them – rarely am I disappointed. This is the case with ‘Mojo’ the 12th album from Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers as it is a very good album with no weak songs on the album. There are no surprises here, you get what you paid for, 15 classic rock/blues songs played apparently live without any overdubs by a band as tight as a monkeys ……… you know how tight I mean.

It almost made it as my ‘Album of the Month’ but yesterday I heard a new album by a new singer/songwriter that is simply outstanding – can’t wait to share with you on July 1st. Hope you enjoy the sample of Tom.

Kraftwerk – Trans Europa Express

Laughing Dog — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:52:30 +0000

Kraftwerk have recently remastered eight of their albums and all this week I’ve been listening to Trans Europa Express – the album which most reviewers say is their best.

Now in 1977 when this was first released, I was only 13 and I can clearly remember a friend of mine bringing this album over to my house and playing it. I was not impressed – I was just starting to listen to real music (Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash etc) and not yet ready to broaden my musical horizons for 4 rather gay-looking Germans. Of course, I was wrong – this album is a classic.

What is so nice for me (and I have mentioned this in one of my discussions Old or New? I just don’t seem to know anymore) is that I recognize that I have not listened to and enjoyed many classic albums of the 70’s and 80’s – which means now I listen to these with new ears/old heart – deep joy. And this album definitely falls into the classic album category.

I am not an authority on Kraftwerk or any music of this genre but I do know great music when I hear it and just love the strong classical melodies, the precise percussion, the use of vocal vocoding and the general feel to the music – I can’t believe I refused to like it all those years ago.

The album received much critical acclaim:
#1 in Slant Magazine’s 25 Greatest Electronic Albums of the 20th Century. [4]
#253 in industry magazine Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. (2002)
#36 in music magazine NME’s “100 Greatest Albums of All Time”. (2003)
#71 in Channel 4′s (UK) “The 100 Greatest Albums”. (2004) [5]
#56 in TV network VH1′s “100 Greatest Albums (of Rock & Roll) of All Time”. (2001) [6][7]
#6 in Pitchfork Media’s Top 100 Albums of The 1970s.
With even Andy Gill of the Independent calling it “Probably the most influential album released in the final quarter of the past century”

These guys were/are true innovators, (visit their website it’s amazing) and remember this album is 32 years old and still sounds so fresh – timeless even. A must-buy recommendation for you and please feel free to recommend music like this I may enjoy.

Track listing for German release
Side one
# Title Length
1. “Europa Endlos” 9:41
2. “Spiegelsaal” 7:56
3. “Schaufensterpuppen” 6:17

4. “Trans Europa Express” (1)
6:36
5. “Metall auf Metall” 1:46
6. “Abzug” 5:18
7. “Franz Schubert” 4:25
8. “Endlos Endlos” 0:45

Album of the Month, Sept 09 – Joe Henry ‘Blood from Stars’

Laughing Dog — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:05:05 +0000

I hope, for those who have visited my blog over the short few weeks that it’s been live, have noticed that I don’t favour any particular type/genre of music – I just like great music. Last month’s song of the month was Bruce Springsteen ‘Working on a Dream‘, the album – Scott Matthews Elsewhere; CDS reviews include Faust, Bell X1 and Aynsley Lister. What do these artists have in common? Nothing really except when I hear the music I go “mmm – I like that” – simple but effective.

So this month’s Album of the Month is Joe Henry’s `Blood from Stars’, a truly wonderful collection of songs that although a wee bit dark brings hope – hope that music as good as this is still being produced, still being enjoyed. Even though it probably won’t be well marketed, probably won’t zoom to the top of the charts (do they have still have charts?), it has made me content, jovial, cheery, joyful, exultant, on cloud nine (OK I’m running out of adjectives) but you get my point – the album is good.

I came across this album on Andy Gill’s page in the Independent (UK newspaper) – I like this guy, his taste in music is similar to mine (although he does like his rap) – so when he gives a new album 4 or 5 stars I normally buy it regardless of who it is. Most of the time this works as Andy does not give 4 or 5 stars easily; he appreciates good music, is very hard to please, always appreciates the music nothing else.

So the album, well it’s kinda classed as a bluesy, but I don’t agree with that – it has if anything a more earthy, rootsy feel to it. I hear Americana, folk, jazz, Memphis, Delta, Tom Waits and all that is great about the independent, unconventional music that so often comes out of America. It’s basically a good singer/songwriter doing what he does best – singing songs.

Backed by a terrific band including Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) on guitar, renowned session bassist David Piltch, Jay Bellerose on drums and much-admired jazz pianist Jason Moran, you can’t help being swept away by the quality of the music – I would eat a finger to see these guys live. You have to remember the pedigree of this guy, apart from several excellent solos albums he’s produced the likes of:

* Elvis Costello / Allen Toussaint 2006 – The River In Reverse
* Solomon Burke 2002 – Don’t Give Up on Me (Grammy)
* Ani DiFranco 2004 – Knuckle Down
* Rodney Crowell 2008 Sex and Gasoline (Grammy nomination)
* Loudon Wainwright III 2007 – Strange Weirdos

So, is it worth buying? Good question – only you know how you will spend your hard earned cash – but yes if you like my blog and the small sample of music presented here, then YES, buy it.