Leonard Cohen - From The Shadows

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Not a great live recording

This is a live recording of a good concert from 1976, but it's not a great release by any means and to me it has the feel of trying to cash in on Leonard Cohen's recent death which has left so many of us very sad indeed.

This is a recording from an FM radio broadcast of a concert in Paris in 1976.  This concert was less than 3 weeks before the Montreux concert which is already available in several guises, including the Once More For Marianne release from last year.  This covers pretty much the same set list with, as far as I can tell, the same band, so its value is questionable.  Add to this a slightly odd quality about the sound in places which makes the backing vocals very harsh and the band sound fragmented somehow, and a French continuity announcer speaking between the songs in the second half of the disc, and it doesn't add up to a must-have release, to say the least.

I'm a huge fan of Leonard Cohen, and even I can't really see the point of this.  If you want a record of the man performing in 1976, Once More For Marianne is a far better bet (in spite of its offensively exploitative title); for modern live Cohen, Live In Dublin is excellent, and if you don't already have it, spend your money on the magnificent You Want It Darker.  This one is for completists only, I reckon.

The Nashville Sound of Success 1958-62

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A fantastic compilation

This is a fantastically enjoyable compilation – and for some of us who are Of A Certain Age it's incredibly evocative, too.

Frankly, it scarcely needs a review from me; a glance at the tracklist will tell you most of what you need to know.  This is a collection of 45 really great songs from Nashville either side of 1960, including incredibly well-known stuff from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everlys, Johnny Horton and many others, plus some less well-remembered gems like Calude King's Wolverton Mountain.  And anyway, any collection which includes Big Bad John is just fine with me.

Seriously, this is great stuff.  The sound quality is excellent and it's terrific value.  If you have any interest in Country and Country-ish music of this period, don't hesitate.  Very warmly recommended.

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Live In London #1

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Completely brilliant

This is a fantastic disc.  The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain are a bunch of superb musicians who combine real musical wit and humour with genuine musical brilliance. The result is a collection of hugely enjoyable tracks which make me smile broadly and also enjoy for the sheer musical creativity.  There are wonderful arrangements of well-known songs which, in addition to the underlying humour can be genuinely beautiful and rather touching – try Teenage Dirtbag, for example, or the quite wonderful effect of overlaid songs in Melange.

I love the wit, musicality and genuine affection for the music and I can recommend this very warmly indeed.

The Doors - London Fog, May 1966

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Fine performances but poor sound and overpriced

I can't quite agree with the rave reviews of this box.  It's good to have this early Doors material available, but the quality of the recording isn't all that good and marketing a short recording of this quality as a high-priced box-set looks to me like pretty cynical exploitation of genuine fans.

The performances are, of course, terrific.  Morrison gives his usual electrifying, menacing vocal delivery and the band are tight and inventive so you really wish you could have been there.  It's a straight, unedited recording of the gig with tune-ups and general hubbub - and applause which makes you realise that it was a very small audience in a bar. 

All that is OK if not ideal (personally, I don't need lengthy pauses and tuning sounds) but the sound quality is a problem.  The overall quality is lo-fi; the instrumental sound could be a lot worse, but the vocals are a bit fuzzy and muffled and the balance is poor – and pretty terrible at times.  The drums are so inappropriately dominant that it sounds as though the mic was in the middle of the drumkit while Morrison was outside the room trying to make himself heard through the door.  As a listening experience it's a struggle for me and not one I want to repeat regularly.

Fans like me who still have and play our original LPs bought in the late 60s and early 70s will almost certainly want this for interest – which is exactly what Rhino are counting on.  Frankly, I think this is a bit of a rip-off and it's not something I'll play very often…but, hell - it's The Doors from 1966 and there's no way I wouldn't have it in my collection.  As an album, though, I'd say it was one for pretty hard-core fans only.

Let's Go Down And Blow Our Minds

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A very good collection

This is a very good collection of often pretty obscure British psychedelia from 1967.  I was around then, but I didn't know most of what is on this 3-CD compilation; I'm glad to make their acquaintance now.

What you get is 80 tracks, all with that distinctive '67 psychedelia sound.  Some are brilliant (like Elmer Gantry's Flames, for example), most are good, with the very occasional turkey – and there is absolutely no excuse for the song by the QPR Supporters, in my view.  :o)  Some, possibly most, of your personal preferences will probably be different from mine, but anyone with any interest in this period will find a wealth of stuff here to enjoy.  The selection is varied and knowledgeable, and the sound quality reflects the originals pretty closely, I think; there seems to be little or no remastering, which is the way I like it.  At under twenty quid for three CDs, it's good value, too.  Recommended.

Bob Harris Country: Sessions 2016

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A fine collection

This is a fine compilation of sessions recorded for the Bob Harris Country programme. 

A look at the tracklist tells you most of what you need to know: it's a sequence of top-notch musicians playing live with largely acoustic, stripped back versions of fine songs.  There are (to me) familiar tracks in brilliant live versions by people like Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark and also some wonderful discoveries like the superb Girl In A Country Song by Maddie and Tae (an interesting juxtaposition with the following Dwight Yoakam track, by the way).  Some songs here don't do much for me – but that's a matter of taste rather than quality and in any collection of 30-odd songs by different artists I'd expect to like some and be less keen on others, and overall this is a classy collection.

So - a very good, well recorded selection which shows the sheer quality of musicianship around at the moment in a way that only live performances really can.  Warmly recommended.

Ian Whitcomb - The Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley

Rating: 4/5

Review:
An enjoyable collection

I stumbled across Ian Whitcomb's excellent book After The Ball in a second-hand bookshop sometime in the late 70s, I think.  It's a terrific history of popular music from about 1880 to the 1970s – including the era covered here.  It sparked an interest in me, which is why I tried this set. 

In this double CD, Whitcomb has collected and performed a good variety of songs from the Tin Pan Alley era, roughly 1910 to the outbreak of the Second World War.  They're a real mixture from schmaltzy love songs to jokey novelty numbers; not all are great but there's some very good stuff here and the whole is very enjoyable.  I have appended a track list to this review.

Whitcomb's performances, in his trademark falsetto, are pretty good, although I find too many at a time a bit samey.  However, picking a few to play is always a pleasure, and there's a treasure trove of interesting and enjoyable music here.  I can recommend this to anyone with an interest in music of this period, or just with an interest in the history of popular music.

Disc One

1.	At the Ball, That's All
2.	They Didn't Believe Me
3.	I'm Crying Just For You
4.	Kismet - An Arabian Song and Fox Trot
5.	If I Could Be With You (One Hour To-Night)
6.	Oh! I Wish I Was Tarzan
7.	You Went Away Too Far
8.	Who's Sorry Now
9.	The Charleston
10.	Dance and Grow Thin
11.	Wonderful One
12.	I Was a Fool
13.	Me-ow
14.	Every Now and Then
15.	Da, Da, Da, My Darling
16.	Just the Same
17.	Sweet Cider Time When You Were Mine
18.	Play a Simple Melody
19.	Everywhere You Go
20.	My Cutie's Due (At Two-to-Two Today)
21.	My Sweetie
22.	Old New England Moon
23.	The Flower Garden Ball
24.	Honey Bunch
25.	Who Wants a Bad Little Boy?
26.	Chong (He Come From Hong Kong)
27.	The Honeysuckle and the Bee
Disc Two
1.	Mandy, How Do You Do?
2.	Robinson Crusoe's Isle
3.	My Wife Is Dancing Mad
4.	What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
5.	That Twentieth Century Rag
6.	I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier
7.	When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band to France
8.	When the Bees Make Honey (Down in Sunny Alabam')
9.	A Precious Little Thing Called Love
10.	She Lives Down in Our Alley
11.	Emma Louise
12.	For Me and My Gal
13.	Rosy Cheeks
14.	I'm Sorry I Made You Cry
15.	It's All Over Now
16.	Dream Train
17.	Mandy
18.	Till We Meet Again
19.	A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet
20.	A Cottage for Sale
21.	Twelve O'Clock at Night
22.	Girl of My Dreams
23.	I'll Take Care of Your Cares
24.	The House of Dreams

Doc Watson - The Vanguard Years

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A brilliant box

This is a simply brilliant compilation of some of Doc Watson's great recordings from 1963-1971. 

The music and playing doesn't need much comment from me; Watson was a magnificent guitarist and musician and his virtuosity in many places is just breathtaking.  It's not just virtuosity for its own sake, though; he really gives every song meaning life with his guitar work and the effect is just great from start to finish.

The sound is generally very good.  Some of the older recordings do show their age slightly, but the playing is so good, who cares?  This is a great box, showcasing a genuinely great guitarist; it's an absolute pleasure throughout and very, very warmly recommended.