Burning Down The (Amy) Winehouse

Surprise. It's another television appearance from North London's favourite screwed up singer, Amy Winehouse.

She made global news by not being allowed a visa to America to perform on last night's Grammy Awards. People are killing each other in Nigeria and Amy's still making the news. Go figure.

Thank god Madonna is releasing a new album in April.

What I don't understand about the Winehouse effect is that there are probably 7.5 million struggling musicians out there who would kill to be as successful as Amy, but everyone's favourite Devil Doll can't even string a sentence together. It must be fun to be inarticulate and sell millions of albums in the process.

"Camden's Burning," she cried out during one of last night's slurry acceptance speeches.

Cue for standing ovation from the American hipsters and the rock'n' hip-hop elite.

Close up of Justin Timberlake smiling with the instant nod of approval.

Even Lou Reed digs Amy's album. Is there no stopping this madness?

It's like some George Romero Night of the Living Dead movie that refuses to die. The zombie (Amy Winehouse) just keeps coming back from the dead. How does she do it?

On a more positive note, I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the following blurb written by E. Jasmin on the News Tribute blog, entitled - "Will Someone Give That Girl A Ham Sandwich?"

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/ej/2008/02/11/will_somebody_get_amy_winehouse_a_sandwi

"The thing I was most looking forward to was Amy Winehouse who performed via satellite from London. We can look past some of her spacey, strung out demeanor, considering what she’s been through lately. (You Tube it if you don’t know already.) Oh, and the fact that it took her something like 15 seconds to remember she needed to give an acceptance speech after she won her next award – ahem – for some reason."

"But will someone please give that girl a ham sandwich? Extra mayo. Side order o’ cheesy fries. They could show a clip of that performance at Calista Flockhart and Mary-Kate Olson’s next intervention. I thought Amy’s legs might snap every time she did that weird knee-knocking thing during her oh so appropriate set list, “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab.” Her voice still sounds good. All jokes aside, congrats to Amy for racking up a whole shelf of well-deserved awards. And here’s hoping she can get her life back together before it's too late."

Now what was the movie called starring Bette Davis? Oh yeah, "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane". Amy Winehouse or Bette Davis? You decide.

Eric Burdon & WAR To Reunite For One Concert

ERIC BURDON AND WAR will reunite for one performance only at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday 21st April 2008. This will be the first concert Eric Burdon and War have performed in 37 years since they originally disbanded in 1971.

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/live_nation/war.htm

Originally the front man of the Animals, the legendary Eric Burdon is considered to be one of the greatest blues singers in the world. His contribution to music by joining forces with War; possibly the most popular funk groups of the 70's, makes this one-off concert one of the hottest must-see tickets of 2008.

With a distinctive sound that captured the heart and soul of 1970's America, Los-Angeles based WAR played the music that made people dance and think.Their 1970 album Eric Burdon Declares WAR included two No. 1 worldwide hits - Spill the Wine, and Tobacco Road.The follow-up 1970 album, The Black-Man's Burdon featured the hit singles They Can't Take Away Our Music and a cover of the Jagger-Richards seminal track Paint It Black, amongst many others. Both albums became cultural touchstones of the early seventies.

Although WAR's lyrics were sometimes political in nature (in keeping with their racially integrated line-up), their music almost always had a sunny, laid-back vibe emblematic of their Southern California roots. Shortly after the sudden death of Burdon's close friend Jimi Hendrix (Jimi overdosed on the night he jammed with Eric Burdon and WAR at Ronnie Scott's), the singer moved away from the group, and WAR went on to become a creative force and released many successful albums in their own right.

Eric Burdon & WAR rode the fine line between brilliance and excess during their time together, performing & recording with a sense of risk, imagination, and adventure.

"The diversity of influences on us was not only musical, but was social as well,” says singer-keyboardist and founding WAR member Lonnie Jordan. “As a result we tried to be entertaining while also spreading the word of peace, harmony and brotherhood. Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood.”

The London Royal Albert Hall reunion concert also dovetails a massive reissue campaign that will see Rhino Records releasing all of Eric Burdon and War's seminal albums. The two 1970's albums Eric Burdon Declares WAR and Black-Man's Burdon will be released in the UK on Monday 24th March, followed by the release of their 1976 compilation album Love Is All Around on Monday 31st March.

All of War's subsequent studio albums will follow through the month of April. The reissue campaign will end on 14th April with the release of The Best of Eric Burdon and WAR and The WAR Anthology.

ERIC BURDON & WAR
MONDAY 21ST APRIL 2008
LONDON ROYAL ALBERT HALL

Tickets on sale From Thursday February 14th, 9am GMT

24 Hour Ticket Hotline: 0844 576 5483
Venue Box Office: 020 7589 8212
www.livenation.co.uk

Tickets: £35.50 / £30.00 / £27.50 (plus booking fee)
Website: www.royalalberthall.com
Show time: 7:30pm

Vote For Joe Jackson

Hilarious new tribute video to Joe Jackson directed by Sarah Schaefer just went up on YouTube.

Some comedic moments about one of Britain's best loved singer/songwriters. The video is nicely timed with the recent release of his current album "Rain". I almost split my pants watching the video. Check it out.

The Cops - Get Ready For Seattle's Best New Band

A strange thing happened the other week. I was surfing the net for info about Joe Jackson's new 'Rain' album and I ended up on a blog called Cherrybombed (http://cherrybombed.com/index.php?s=the+cops), which I think is Seattle based.

On the blog, the blogger gave their top 10 rundown of what they considered to be the hottest bands in Seattle. One of those bands was 'The Cops'. They're even better than the Strokes!

Upon further investigation, I tracked down a copy of their 'Free Electricity' album (their second album) and was completely knocked for six. This band are brilliant and could blow up into the next big thing, especially here in the UK.

Immediate impressions - lead vocalist sounds like an angry and pissed off Joe Strummer. Elements of Clash Sandinista meets Television, Wire with the Dolls thrown in. 'Light It Off' is a knockout song, while 'Them Cats' reminds me of some crackhead dickheads who should know better. And the songs keep rolling in 'Secret Lives', 'Mega Suicide', 'Cold Crushin', 'Free Electricity' and the atonal organ enhanced 'N-99'.

This is an exciting record from a potentially exciting new band (well, not so new - they've been touring for three years in the US).

Look no further - http://www.thecopsmusic.com/, www.myspacec.om/thecops. 'Free Electricity's is available on the Mount Fuji label in Seattle.

Do the right thing. Call the Cops.

Check out what Music Remedy.com has to say about the band -

The Cops are a band of the people; born out of repression, revulsion, frustration and all the other things that make life so horrible and rock bands so great. After spending much of 2006 on the road they now present to you their razor-sharpened 2nd full-length, Free Electricity.

Dynamiting the walls of classic rock and rebuilding on the crumbling foundations, The Cops have constructed a set filled with scratching, twitching, aching, unholy rock music that still manages to be both familiar and crucially entertaining.

Topical without being political and political without being preachy, Free Electricity is eleven dark, roughhousing manifestos broadcast from roughly 5.3 meters below the sidewalk of every major street in the world. No fuss, no muss, no stupid hippie haircuts. No shit.

The Cops formed in July of 2004 with Michael Jaworski on lead vocals and guitar, John Randolph on guitar and David Weeks on drums. Seattle label Mt. Fuji Records released both their debut EP Why Kids Go Wrong in March of 2005, and the critically acclaimed full-length Get Good or Stay Bad in November of 2005.

Former Supersuckers and Hater bassist, Drew Church, replaced Brian Wall on bass in early 2006, just in time for a tour supporting Cursive and Jeremy Enigk. Following the recording of Free Electricity guitarist Brandon Bay was added to the mix to make The Cops a full-fledged 5-piece rock band.

The band has toured the US consistently for the past 3 years supporting the aforementioned Cursive & Jeremy Enigk as well as tours with The Hold Steady, Constantines, and others. Free Electricity was recorded with the band’s spiritual godfather Kurt Bloch (The Fastbacks & Young Fresh Fellows) and mixed by the multi-talented producer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, Old Haunts, The Briefs).

The Cops new record makes good on their debut while showcasing a band hitting their stride as a powerful force in rock music. The Control Group released Free Electricity on November 6th, 2007.

“On Free Electricity, the Cops' staccato stop-and-go six-string rhythms couple with abusive drumming to create a surprisingly danceable set.” – Spin.com

"The Cops are the Seattle rock act most likely to blow up global-style any minute now. Currently at work on another full-length effort coddled by local rock n' roll sage and apparent busybody Kurt Bloch, The Cops are going to have a tough time staying off everyone's radar real soon."
- The Stranger

New York City is Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega's 2007 album, "Beauty & Crime" was dedicated to the memory of her brother, Tim Vega who lived on Ludlow Street." You can't help but feel the emotional impact and melancholy of this magical collection of songs. Produced for Bluenote Records, Vega's album comes as an unexpected surprise.

A devoted fan since god knows when, I kind of lost touch with Suzanne's work after the Mitchell Froome produced 1996 album "Nine Objects of Desire". I loved the song 'No Cheap Thrill', but more importantly, I loved the sound of the entire album and it's nod towards electronic experimentation.

In 1991 she returned with 'Songs in Red and Gray' which saw her move back to her acoustic guitar-based folk roots. The album was cool, but "Beauty & Crime" is so much better.

Somehow, 2007's "Beauty & Crime" seems to have struck something of a sentimental note with a lot of her devoted fans, including me.

On this album, Suzanne seems to be looking back into her past as she reminisces about her old friends and haunts, and her brother Tim. The opening track, 'Zephyr & I' seems to be an old friend of hers in the 1970s (and also a grafitti artist friend of her brother, Tim). The area was West End Avenue by the Hudson River. It's a simple track embellished by Vega's signature whispery vocals.

What's also cool about the 'Zepher & I' is that the opening riff is a direct steal from Lou Reed's "Vicious". The Reed riffs repeats several times before Vega digs into so doo-wop backing chorus. Suzanne's clever. but what's more, this is her New York Lou Reed album but from a very different perspective.

She follows this with the autobiographical 'Ludlow Street' where her brother Tim used to live. "This time," sings Suzanne, "when I go back to Ludlow Steet, I find each stoop and doorway's incomplete without you there." This is a far cry from the recent hype of irritating female singer/songwriters like Feist (I couldn't get past track two on Feist's new album - it's soooo irritating to listen to).

Which brings us to track three (my favourite song on the album) - 'New York Is A Woman'. Clocking in at 2 minutes and 54 seconds, for me, this song represents the mindset of the album.

Suzanne Vega's always been about New York City, and although she hooked a lot of people with the mindbending 'Luka' back in the eighties (about a kid being beaten up by her parents), the Big Apple becomes the ultimate metaphor for the woman you can't help but fall in love with. It's a one-sided affair of the mind. It's a teaze.

"New York city spread herslef before you, with her bangles and spangles and her stars. You were impressed with the city so undressed, you had to go out cruising all the bars."

Vega follows the song with the delightful 'Pornographer's Dream' - another gem of a song with some beautiful orchestration.

The album flows effortlessley with 'Frank & Ava', 'Edith Wharton's Figurines', 'Bound' and 'Unbound'. The album was recorded at Sear Sound, NYC, Jimmy Hogarth's Studio in London, and at Olympic Studios in London. The London Studio Orchestra contributed strings and horns, while the album includes guest appearances from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and singer KT Tunstall.

This is a passionate, if not understated, intitmate, beautiful collection of songs from one of America's greatest modern day folk singers. I'll be playing this for many more days and nights to come. Sounds particularly good when you play it in your car and is a great alternative to the rubbish that is currently being played on most radio stations.

The final track, 'Anniversary' is obviously about 911 and every family that survived the tragedy of the Twin Towers. It's a fitting way to end the album with the ultimate aftermath of New Yorkers trying to pick up the pieces. 'Beauty & Crime' is clearly the work of a genius singer/songwriter.

Contact Music gives thumbs up to Joe Jackson's 'Rain'

Contact Music.com published a glowing preview of Joe Jackson's highly anticipated album 'Rain'. Beware - the new album is being hailed as Joe's best album since 1982's "Night and Day".

Says Contact Music -
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/joejacksonx04x12x07

"Very much in keeping with the eclecticism of Jackson's wonderful three-decade spanning career, Rain is another genre-stretching effort from an artist who continues to extend the boundaries of his craft. Reflecting the title, the record is melancholic in places, but also boasts plenty of humor, swing, sophistication and barbed social commentary as well as some out and out rockers. The common thread running through the record is its simplicity; where Jackson's distinctive piano and voice, Maby's intricate and melodic bass and Houghton's tough and tender drums are all you hear."

"A rich yet stark production by Jackson and mixed by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, Rain boasts a broad, grand sound, open yet tightly wound and focused at the same time, that emphasizes Jackson's sterling songcraft -- a unique amalgam of pop, rock, jazz and classical ideas and lyrics with deep, sympathetic glimpses into the human spirit written by a man who is keenly sensitive, sharp and complex."

Raindrops keep falling on Joe Jackson

One of the best singer songwriters from the heyday of 1979, is back with a new studio album in January 08. The new album, "Rain" is Jackson's best album since 1982's milestone "Night and Day", which featured the infectious "Steppin' Out".

Joe Jackson, best known for his 1979 debut album "Look Sharp", which was recently voted as one of the "1000 Most Important Albums to Hear Before You Die" in the UK's Guardian newspaper, is set to release his first studio album in four years, "Rain". Back in the late seventies Jackson and the Police were the big selling artists on the now defunct A&M Records (home of The Carpenters).

I've been fortunate to have a listen to an advance copy of the new Rykodisc album. It's a welcome return to Joe's original stripped down no-nonsense sound of piano, vocals, drums and bass guitar.

If you thought the songs on 1979's "Look Sharp" were a fluke, think again, because Joe is the true master of singer/songwriting. What's more, for the album he brought in a little help from Graham Maby (bass) and Dave Houghton (drums) - the same musicians who played on his first three albums; "Look Sharp" (1979), "Im The Man" (1979) and "Beat Crazy" (1980).

Released by Rykodisc, standout tracks include the opening number the emotive opener "Invisible Man", the rockin' "Citizen Sane" and the stunning ballad "Wasted Time".

Joe's last studio album, "Volume 4", was released back in 2003, so getting this new platter has been a long time coming, but worth the wait. Joe is still looking sharp, and lyrically, he cuts through popular culture with a swiss army knife.

It will be wonderful to see Joe in concert at the London Sheperd's Bush Empire on Sunday 2nd March 2008. Hopefully, it won't be raining, but seeing that it rains practically every day in London, I'll try to remember to bring my umbrella.