Music

Another Revisit – Solomon Burke

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Solomon Burke

Another oldie, and it stays on the site for the same reason as Bishopstock – and the chance of ever seeing the ‘King Of Rock’n’Soul live have long gone – sadly, he died in October 2010. Below is the original review of the London Barbican gig, written all the way back in November 2002. It all began a little cheesily – an opening two perfunctory jams by the competent, but not particularly exciting backing band and an oversized red throne centre stage, flanked by buckets of red roses, awaiting the great man. You knew he was big, but nothing really prepared you for the man mountain who finally made his way to centre stage.

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Bishopstock 2000

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Van Morrison

Sunday

First up on the Sunday (and an interesting choice to kick start the second day) was Corey Harris. He had to battle the worst of the day’s weather and his acoustic, intimate music is hardly suited to raising the crowd on a damp early Sunday afternoon – and yet he worked perfectly. Remarkable guitar work, heavy on feel and touch and less on pure technique, coupled with wonderfully expressive vocals, the performance went down well with the crowd and set us up for the rest of the day. The fact that Corey could then be seen wandering in the audience after his set listening to the artists following him speaks volumes about the event; by and large, any egos had been left at the door (or the next field possibly!)

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Bishopstock 2001

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Bishopstock

Saturday

Saturday kicked off at 12.00 on the dot with Amor, the band led by ex-Hoax member John Amor. Good, solid, heavy riffing blues with a contemporary edge. Very different to the Hoax but none the worse for that and a fine start to the first day. Ana Popovic was next up, a vocalist and guitarist with a growing reputation. Her performance got stronger as the set developed but I didn’t hear anything truly exceptional or noteworthy in the set.

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Doo-Wop Dilemma

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On a roll now with posts that are R&B related but can still find a place in the main musings section of this site. Well, no-one said I couldn’t include a little contemporaneous R&B material and post it on the main site without detracting from the older R&B material I ported over from the old Shades Of Blue website of yester year. So, along with the previous post, here comes another one.

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The ‘Black Country’!

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No, the title is not a reference to the deep, dark and somewhat disappointing direction that the country has taken – although given the recent, traditional tropes more usually associated with a right of centre party but now apparently adopted by a supposedly socialist (or even social democratic) government, one might be forgiven if this article was little more than an excuse for a conspiratorial rant – but we’re better than that! So no, this is simply a brief and hopefully more aesthetically pleasing meditation on the sometimes quite pronounced overlap of black artists and country music!

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Forget the Rhythm….

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Apparently, it’s all about the blues!! I should have seen it coming but I’m no clairvoyant (although it does sound a tad like a blues song I think). Following the last post, @ForeverBlues decided a blues variation of the theme would be most welcome. Now, I’m really a fan of the R&B genre because by definition and, unsurprisingly, it covers both the ‘rhythm and the blues‘! Be that as it may, I’m still partial to the more straight forward musical form and have included a number of blues performers in both the original, long gone Shades of Blue website and on the cut down version that appears on the stripped down The R&B Primer (and in the booklet, to be absolutely clear).

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So….It’s Only One Then

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Or, more accurately, a Starter R&B Collection that justifies itself by qualifying as a single purchase. On the basis of a recent R&B query I may have rather rashly promised an actual post on the subject, intrigued as I was by the premise. Could one single purchase really provide the depth required to meet the challenge, even if I did stretch the definition to include multi CD compilations. I have nonetheless answered the query as best I could but, to do so, I have violated one or two of the criteria I established to arrive at the decision. They are, in no particular order, timespan, availability, price and, subjectively, quality. Guess on which one(s) I almost immediately reneged!!

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The Apex – Shock Revelation

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So, what is this shocking news that has rocked the establishment on a November Thursday evening? Well, it’s not the Apex itself, which was pretty much business as usual, but the astonishing news that our overnight stay in Bury was at the Premier Inn North just off the A14 and not at our usual and much coveted Premier Inn not far from the Abbey Gardens. Let’s just say that the individual charged with the responsibility of booking the hotel was more than a little remiss and didn’t get the rate for which she was striving, having delayed for far too long. I’ve suggested counselling and even a little therapy but so far there has been no take up! Watch this space.

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The Artist and the Art….

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Tangentially prompted by a recent posting in the R&B Q&A section (specifically about Van Morrison and his lack of presence in the Primer section of this website), I have somewhat precariously decided to place an R&B music derived article into the main musings section – although, in my defence, this is fundamentally about more than one artist’s simple inclusion in a fan’s on-line tribute to a musical genre…it goes beyond the specifics of Larry’s question and debates the merits of valuing an artist’s work, irrespective or in spite of the individual’s own personal characteristics. As such, it has a far broader reach than Van The Man and yet he remains very much at its core. A complicated and divisive topic, but I’ve started now…..

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Another Tick in the Box

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Back yesterday fron a one nighter in Stoke by Nayland at the Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort, which also happens to be the home of Fleece Jazz. The latter has a thirty year history of presenting modern and contemporary jazz (and a little blues). Originally based at the Fleece in Boxford, then briefly at Kersey Mill, it found its current home at the Stoke by Nayland hotel in 2009.

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It’s That Time Again…

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and that time is a gig by the perennial favourite Eric Bibb. Astonishingly, it’s been over four years since we last saw Eric in concert (as this time, it was at the Apex in Bury St. Edmunds). More worryingly, it’s been nigh on three years since we ventured to ant live music at all, prior to our reintroduction via The Young’uns in Aldeburgh recently.

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