New music
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Ray DaviesSunday, 11 October 2015
The Kinks have turned 50 last and nagging talk of a reunion is still in the ether. In the absence of the real thing, there is a double-disc greatest hits album surfing the wave of latter-day Kinksmania. Meanwhile a kind of Kinks reunion stormed the... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Georgie FameSunday, 11 October 2015
Georgie Fame: The Whole World’s Shaking – The Complete Recordings 1963–1966Last month, theartsdesk’s Reissue CDs Weekly tackled a collection of albums by Faces which, despite great remastered sound and noteworthy bonus tracks, was a... Read more... |
CD: Peter Andre - Come Fly With MeSunday, 11 October 2015
In terms of musical gravitas, style and general swag, Peter Andre ain’t no Frank Sinatra. He’s not even a Michael Bublé, but like Strictly Come Dancing in which the pop star is currently appearing (and which, by superfluous marketing cohesion, this... Read more... |
CD: John Newman – RevolveSaturday, 10 October 2015
Coming to this, the second album from big-voiced, baby-faced David Gahan lookalike John Newman, I was keen to see how he’d progressed. After the occasionally satisfying blend of old soul and new production on Tribute, would Revolve allow him to... Read more... |
They say it's John's birthdayFriday, 09 October 2015
Not just a mere rock star but spiritual guru, peace campaigner, political icon, thorn in the flesh of Richard Nixon and the CIA, and ultimately martyr. John Lennon, who would have been 75 today (9 October), has proved an impossible act to follow.... Read more... |
Alan Broadbent & Georgia Mancio Songbook, Watermill, DorkingFriday, 09 October 2015
Fashions in art and music come and go in less time than it takes to read a Buzzfeed list. So there was something uncannily satisfying about star pianist Alan Broadbent’s admission that he’s been working on last night’s collection of entirely new... Read more... |
CD: Youssou N'Dour et Le Super Etoile de Dakar - FattelikuFriday, 09 October 2015
Athens, 1987: Youssou N'Dour opens for Peter Gabriel on a world tour. It's a wonder – and to his credit – that the British rock star should dare follow such a powerful performance. Few bands at the time could produce such a seductively joyful sound.... Read more... |
Sebadoh, Ramsgate Music HallThursday, 08 October 2015
The three-toed sloth moves at a maximum – that’s maximum – of 10 feet per minute. It’s thought to be the slowest animal in the world. While on a train hugging the north Kent coast however, I reckon I could give it a, figurative, run for its money. I... Read more... |
Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind, Rainbow, BirminghamThursday, 08 October 2015
“It’s good to be back in fucking Birmingham, but come a bit closer and let’s pretend it’s a rock ‘n’ roll gig,” called frontman Jim Jones from the stage of the Rainbow, before bursting into the swampy blues of “Aldecide”. The audience needed no... Read more... |
CD: Caravan Palace - <I°_°I>Tuesday, 06 October 2015
For a band that makes such a vivid and irresistibly danceable sound, Caravan Palace’s ascent – ten years and three albums now – has been a stealthy one, built on the traditional virtues of word-of-mouth, and selling out gigs. On paper,... Read more... |
CD: Mouse On The Keys - The Flowers of RomanceMonday, 05 October 2015
The Mule Musiq family of labels, from Tokyo, is one of the great secret goldmines of the dance music world. The house, disco, techno and ambient music they put out from top worldwide producers can very often be tasteful to the point of innocuousness... Read more... |
Squeeze & John Cooper Clarke, Symphony Hall, BirminghamSunday, 04 October 2015
Considering that they have never been known for their sartorial elegance, Squeeze are looking pretty smart and stylish these days. Band leaders Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook took to the stage in Birmingham looking especially dapper, with Tilbrook... Read more... |
