RIP Edgar Froese, legendary electronic music pioneer & innovator

 
RIP Edgar Froese 6 June 1944 – 20 January 2015
Edgar Froese the legendary founder & the only ever present member of of the German electronic music pioneers "Tangerine Dream" passed away after suffering a sudden pulmonary embolism on 20th Jan 2015. He was 70 years old. 

News of the musician’s death earlier this week was shared on via the group’s FB page on January 23, with the post confirming that Froese had died “suddenly and unexpectedly” in Vienna on Tuesday (January 20). 

“The sadness in our hearts is immensely [sic],” the post reads. “Edgar once said: ‘There is no death, there is just a change of our cosmic address.’ Edgar, this is a little comfort to us.” 

Edgar Froese has a very extensive catalogue of music, both as Tangerine Dream's leader & as a solo artist. 

If you have never had any exposure to tangerine Dream & Edgar Froese's wonderful ambient electronic pioneering "Krautrock" music, I recommend "Ambient Highway" series (5 disc series Introduction + 5 discs) from his solo work to start with. As for Tangerine Dream's catalogue of work, their 70s albums, the recently re recorded works in the BOOSTER series would be a great introduction.

RIP Edgar Froese, you legend, pioneer & electronic music innovator. 

RIP JJ Cale

The world of music lost one of its legends in July. JJ Cale (Dec 1938- 26th July 2013) died of a heart attack.

JJ Cale, the modest publicity shy legend once famously said of his music "I am happy with the money it brings me, I leave the fame to others"

He inspired countless other legendary musicians, including Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfeller & Johnny Cash & his songs inspired many & was a source of imitation for others

Live Concert Review: The Waterboys mesmerised fans with their first ever Sydney concert at State Theatre

To many casual music fans, The Waterboys are just another "One Hit Wonder" 80s pop band with their beautiful "The Whole of the Moon" hit in the 80s.

To the more serious fans, and of course to the hardcore fans of Mike Scott, their only remaining founding member & the creative genius behind their wonderful collection of 10 albums, 2013 is their 30th anniversary.

And it's amazing how Mike Scott & the band are only now touring Australia for the very first time. They played their first ever Sydney concert at the magnificent State Theatre on Wed night.

As a huge hardcore fan I bought a single ticket & tagged along. Alongside the rest of the audience I was treated to a brilliant & in fact gutsy performance.

Here is why the Waterboys gave Sydney one of the best live concerts of the last few years:

Waterboys have over the years produced a luscious collection of songs & many fan favourites. Mike Scott is heavily influenced by Irish folk music & at his best is a brilliant pop/folk songwriter. Their latest album which was released in 2011 is called: "An appointment with Mr Yeats". It is Mike Scott's penned music to the Irish Poet W.B. Yeats poems, a life long favourite of Mike Scott's.

Whilst writing music to poems is never an easy task, Mike Scott has again done a superb job with his heavily influenced Irish folk music melodies & the album by itself is great. It is theatrical & at times even feels like a concept album. ie not an easy project to perform live.

Therefore, for an indie band touring Australia for the very first time, the safest bet would be to woo their adoring fans by playing favourites & to throw in a few of the better songs from their latest album (as the legendary band The Eagles found out in 2011 when they opened their Sydney concert with 3-4 songs from their new album & the audience looked stiff bored until they started playing their classics)

But, no! Not Mike Scott & the Waterboys! As advertised, Mike Scott & his capable band members started without any support acts & for the first 90 minutes performed the entire "An appointment with Mr Yeats" album.

Mike Scott's theatrical singing, the band's beautiful playing & Scott's obvious passion for the poems of Mr Yeats gently brought the audience initially into submission shortly after to shear adoration!

The Waterboys did sing a few of their most popular classics in the encore, including their two best known songs "The whole of the Moon" and the uniquely irreplaceable "Fisherman's Blues". But those were simply the icing on the cake!

Unlike many other concerts I have been to, I did not walk out lamenting the fact that they did not perform at least 7-8 of my favourite songs! I left knowing that I had watched a once in a life time concert & only regretting that I would not be going to their saturday night performance at the Opera House

Ps: With my sincere thanks to Mark C who spotted me sitting by myself & generously offered me to take his spare ticket right in front of the stage.

Classic Pop Albums Review: America's 1982 "A View from the Ground"

By the late 70s the hugely successful hit making trio of America were down to two original members as Dan Peek had left to pursue a solo career. The band had not had any major chart success for a few year.

"A View from the Ground" was America's triumphant return to the Top 10 Charts in 1982 with the catchy opening track, the Russ Ballard penned hit "You can do Magic".

The second song "Never be Lonely" is a great pop song and the rest of the tracks are a mix of great ballads such as "Inspector Mills" & "Right before your Eyes" as well as more upbeat pop tunes like "Desperate Love" & "Even the Score".

Overall, this album is one of the classic pop releases of the early 80s and whilst a relative success, should have done far better as it is full of quality pop songs. America continue to tour to this day but have been unable to repeat the success of their 1982 release.

My recommendation: If you like the Guitar based early 80s pop, this album is a must have! Rating: 9/10

Classic Album Review: Toto's Grammy Award winning 1982 materpiece "Toto IV"

Toto IV is the fourth studio album by Toto, & undoubtedly their magnum opus. The album won the band multiple Grammy Awards (in the days when Grammies were actually prestigious!) & reached No 4 in the USA Billboard charts as well as UK Charts. It also achieved worldwide commercial success including a No 1 position in the Australian ARIA Charts.

Toto IV is a masterfully produced album (Grammy winner for production) & a collection of songs which are a rich fusion of rock, pop & jazz. In many ways Toto reached their peak too early with this album & it was inevitable that they would never again reach the commercial & critical success they achieved with Toto IV.

There are two main aspects that make this album one of the finest pop albums of all time:

a) By the time Toto recorded this album, all band members were amongst the most sought after "Studio Musicians" around the world. ie Toto in its own way was a band of highly skilled super musicians & the chemistry produced an album much bigger than the sum of the parts.

b) "Africa" & "Rosanna" are generally acknowledged as two of the greatest pop songs ever written, with the pop culture stories of Rosanna's subject matter being the actress Rosanna Arquette who had at the time broken up with Steve Porcaro.

However, the high calibre of the above two songs resulted in plenty of rather jealous & unwarranted criticism of the rest of the songs in album over the years. AS I mentioned the criticism is totally unwarranted as the rest of the songs are a great fusion of pop, jazz & rock songs & sit comfortably well with the two above mentioned masterpieces.
Th songs generally combine David Paich & Steve Porcaro's brilliant keyboard with Steve Lukather's masterful guitar riffs & (the late) Jeff Porcaro's jazz influenced drumming. The icing in the cake is Bobby Kimball's soulful voice (both lead & backing vocals) complimenting David Piach & Steve Lukather's vocals.

For example, Steve Lukather's "I won't hold you back now" the third Billboard Top 10 hit from the album is a classic love ballad worthy of its enduring popularity nearly 30 years later. whilst my other favourites are the highly underrated "Make Believe", "It's a Feeling" & "Lovers in the Night" all of which are a display of a band at the absolute height of its musical creativity.

Toto never reached the dizzy heights of Toto IV again. The lukewarm reception to their more pop influenced subsequent albums in the 80s & the tragic death of Jeff Porcaro in early 1990s opened up the inevitable "change in personnel" floodgates & the musical confusion that usually follows as a result.

This album however still sounds crisp & relevant nearly 30 years after its release in the USA & is a must in any rock/pop collection.
My Rating: 5/5

"Classic Overlooked Albums Review" Albert Hammond's "Your World & My World"

This has to be the easiest album review I have ever done for two simple reasons:

1. Check any of the reviews of this album on the net & you are most likely to read a 5 star rating

2. Unfortunately, this album, although reissued in the 90s, is hard to come by even on the Internet.

Having said that, if you are a fan of the late 70s, early 80s genres which have been variously described as "Soft Pop", "Adult Rock" etc, this album will blow you away.

Albert Hammond, whose most well known song is "When I need you", and his claim to fame in recent years is being the father of the Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond Jr, has in my view written a once in a life time set of songs with gorgeous tunes and heart felt lyrics in this album which are simply hard to replicate. And listening to the rest of his work proves this.

"Your World & My World" was released in 1980 with little international success & only cult college following in the USA. Amazingly, the cult following continues as the album turns 30 in 2010 simply because both the songs and the lyrics are still fresh, and more importantly the crisp production & Albert Hammond's voice remain as fresh as ever.

If you are curious enough and have broadband, leave me your email in the comments section at the bottom of this review & as a promotional gesture I will email you one or two of the songs.

My rating: 10/10, one of the greatest soft pop albums of all time

Concert Review: Icehouse and Hall & Oates Feb 2012 Sydney Entertainment Centre

I must qualify this review by stating that whilst I have many favourite classic rock Aussie bands, from Chisel to Midnight Oil to Oz Crawl, Iva Davies & Icehouse have always been my most favourite Aussie band of all time, and in my view "Great Southern Land" tops the many fantastic songs written about Australia, its landscape & its native aborigines, by many fine acts.

It was therefore unbelievably exciting when I found out Iva Davies had put a band together & was touring Australia as Icehouse again (I had seen them live 3 times in the 80s). The fact that they were going to tour with their great mates Darryl Hall & John Oates (the most successful pop duo of all time) made the occasion even more special.

And Iva & his band did not disappoint! Iva, who's always been known for his mastery of digital & computerised technology from his early 80s days, has used his time away to produce a much sharper & crisper sound for the band, has fine tuned the fans' favourite live songs, and most importantly has preserved his divine voice over the years.

The fans were overjoyed by the end of the set & if anything, the band could have stayed on stage & continued with their other big hits such as 1) no promises 2) paradise 3) Street Cafe 4) Baby you're so strange 5) Mr Big 6) Touch the fire etc etc....except that they had to make way for Hall & Oates instead

The ultimate compliment to the band came in scores of fans who simply left after the Icehouse set & did not bother to stay to see the great Hall & Oates! A young couple next to me asked me who the band after Icehouse was!!! & left satisfied.

The icing on the cake for a great night of entertainment could only be a legendary pop act such as Hall & Oates, the most successful pop duo of all time! And they did not disappoint either. Their band was great & their songs so familiar to the crowd.

They showed their confidence by starting their set with their most successful chart topping song of their unbelievable careers, "Maneater". Not many acts would start their set with one of their all time greatest hits, But Hall & Oates did, and afterwards did not disappoint with the

rest of their set either!

All in all most fans left the night fully entertained & feeling they had got full value for their money.

"Great but Overlooked Albums" Review Series: " Robin Gibb's 1983 Solo Album: "How Old Are You?"

I originally wrote this review in late 2009. Since the news of Robin Gibb's liver cancer broke out last weekend, I thought it was worth enlightening everyone once more about this not well known yet brilliant solo album he released in early 80s.

Our thoughts are with Robin & his family as he fights his cancer:

Let me start by saying that I belong to the majority of music fans who find solo works by members of most great rock and pop bands generally disappointing. The world of music is littered with critically panned solo albums, mostly as a result of split in bands due to artistic differences, and some released during a break between group albums. The fact that very few of such solo albums have experienced mainstream commercial success is a concrete proof that artistic tension and collective songwriting dynamics of bands usually contribute significantly to the quality of the end product, a major ingredient which is of course missing in solo works.

Of course, like everything else in life, there are some distinct exceptions to this rule. Take Phil Collins and Sting as examples. Both have had major commercial success in their solo careers as well as with the bands which originally made them household names. Nevertheless, in my view, Collins achieved his success with far more inferior songwriting quality than the collective work in Genesis, whilst Sting achieved his success with a change of musical style whilst continuing to write quality music.

There is also another significant sub category. Quality solo albums which achieve very little commercial or critical success due to the artists' over-exposure to fans and media due to their success as a member of a band.

Robin Gibb's 1983 solo album belongs to this rather tragic category, tragic because worldwide fans do not get the chance to listen to the music as a result of it. Whilst the album charted in mainland Europe, and the single Juliet did well in Germany and a few other western European countries at the time, its obscurity in USA resulted it as only being available as an "Import" in America.

The album has plenty of Bee Gees influence and whilst at the time the relationship between the Gibb brothers was rather strained, some of the songwriting and backing vocals are shared. The lyrics are simple but Robin Gibb's voice adds to the beauty of the love songs and the drum machine and sequenced 80s production have stood the test of time.

The stand out song is "another lonely night in New York". It is as good as any pop ballad written in the 80s and in fact Robin Gibb re recorded a more HipHop/R&B sounding version of the song for his 2003 solo album Magnet.

Other standouts are the single "Juliet", "Don't stop the night" and "Danger" even though I actually enjoy listening to this album in its entirety.

If you are a fan of the "Synth Pop Ballads of the 80s" and like Bee Gees, this album would be a great listen as we get to the end of 2009, especially if like many other music fans, you are coming out of your "I hate the 80s synth pop"!

My Score: 5/5 as an 80s Synth Pop Album, 4/5 as an extended Bee Gees solo Album

Pink Floy'd Wish You Were Here released as an "iTunes LP": A great addition to any serious record collection

Before I start writing about this great new release on iTunes, I must first disclose, and those who have read my previous posts would know this, "Wish You Were Here" is my most favourite rock album of all time!

What Pink Floyd achieved in 1975, in their tribute to their founding wayward member "Syd Barrett" is unique. After all, this was meant to be the follow up to their masterful best selling 1973 album "Dark Side of the Moon" & rock music history is littered with bands failing to repeat their success with an even better album, which is the case here!

I have written reviews on this album in several occasions. This post however is more about the reissuing of the entire Pink Floyd catalogue & in particular as a new concept called "iTunes LP' on iTunes (RIP Steve Jobs). ie I am not sure if this exact version will be available as a hard copy in music stores or is unique to iTunes.

According to iTunes description, this is a new remastered release of the original album, plus previously unreleased live & studio tracks, screen films, memorabilia & more.

For any serious Pink Floyd fan, this "iTunes LP" is a must have & great value for money. The extra tracks include several jewels:

- Live performances of "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" at Wembley in 1974 prior to the release of the album in 1975

- An alternative version of "Have a Cigar" without Roy Harper on lead vocals (album version) as well as an alternative version of their epic "Wish you were here"

- 1974 live performances of songs titled "Raving & Drooling", & "You've got to be Crazy"which finally found their way as the songs "Sheep" & "Dogs" in their 1977 album "Animals"

- Concert screen video of Shine on, and of course PF fans know Pink Floyd are famous for their concert screen videos.

All in all, whilst I will buy the "Discovery Box Set" which features all 14 Pink Floyd albums remastered, I will be looking out for more of the iTunes LPs to purchase as well.

My rating: 10/10 Must have for any serious Pink Floyd & rock fan

Touring Australia this Summer: Classic Pop Albums of the 80s: "H2O" by Hall and Oates is close to perfection!

Daryl Hall & John Oates will be touring Australia this summer & are supported by Icehouse. They remain one of the most successful pop duo act in the USA pop history with nearly 40 songs in the Billboard Top 100 Pop Singles Chart to their credit. Their fusion of pop & blues/soul which they termed " Rock & Soul" delighted millions of fans around the world during the late 70s to mid 80s (and beyond).

Their unique style is non better demonstrated than in H2O, their most successful release commercially. H2O reached No #3 in Billboard Album Charts & sold 2 million copies in USA alone at a time when Michael Jackson "thrillermania" was still in full force. The album produced three Top 10 hits including the No 1 Hit classic "Maneater" (samples of which were used by Nelly Furtardo in 2008)

One of the way I judge 80s albums contribution to pop music is by listening to them & deciding whether the synthpop drum machine generated beats sound tired & outdated. H20 and almost its entire song list pass this test with flying colours and in doing so earn a deserved "Classic" tag for this album. The songs are far from elaborately produced. In fact many reviewers command Hall & Oates for their "stripped down" production of this album which they suggest in fact is one of the main reason its production still sounds fresh today. The other main reason is of course the "rock/soul" feel of the album.

My favourite songs on the album, "Maneater", "Crime Pays", "Art of Heartbreak", "One on One", "Family Man", "Open all Night" & "Delayed Reaction" "At Tension" are all beautifully structured songs with simple melodies immersed in Daryl Hall's soulful voice. ("Family Man" was a cover of an earlier minor hit by the legendary Mike Oldfield.)

On top of all that, the album is simply fun to listen to! It's a must in any great 80s music collection. I would give it an 8.5/10 due to a few patchy spots in a couple of the songs. Nevertheless, this album is a great introduction to their great pop style & why they were such a phenomenal success.

Even more exiting is their tour will be filled with many classic Top 40 hits of late 70s & early to mid 80s & considering that Iva Davies & Icehouse will be there too, is a must see for all pop fans, old & young!

Roger Waters, the masterful rock lyricist to bring Pink Floyd's "The Wall Live" to Australia in February 2012

Roger Waters will at last bring his live world tour of The Wall to Australia in early 2012.

I need to start this post by qualifying two points:

1) When it comes to the acrimonious split between Roger Waters & the rest of Pink Floyd band members in the mid 80s and what has followed ever since, I am firmly in the David Gilmour & Pink Floyd camp & resent Roger Waters for his pompous & arrogance which resulted in him being literally left out of Pink Floyd ever since.

2) However, the genius of Roger Waters is clearly on display in Pink Floyd's best albums & The Wall is his magnum opus.

The Wall is universally regarded as the greatest concept album in rock history. Roger Waters wrote most of the songs & just about all the lyrics for the album.
The album was performed live a mere 18 times in selected USA & European venues upon its release in late 1979 & Roger Waters & a cast of pop/rock artists re performed it once more at the site of the Berlin Wall before its demolition after the fall of eastern Germany.

Meanwhile, Pink Floyd fans worldwide have had to content with the numerous (and in some cases very good) Pink Floyd cover bands performing The Wall live around the world (including Australia) since 1981!

And now thanks to Roger Waters, Australia will finally get to see "The Wall Live" in early 2012!

Why should you consider going to see it if you are not a huge fan, or are not familiar with Pink Floyd's music?

Besides enjoying "the theatre" of the best ever concept album in rock history, the music, it is most importantly Roger Waters' shear genius when it comes to lyrics that makes The Wall (and other Waters' penned songs) rock classics.

The earliest signs of Roger Waters' lyrical genius emereged in the late 60s when he penned his first major Pink Floyd song in their second album (A Saucerful of Secrets) & beautifully named it "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun":

Witness the man who raves at the wall
Making the shape of his questions to Heaven.
Whether the sun will fall in the evening
Will he remember the lesson of giving?
Set the controls for the heart of the sun.
The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun.

This was followed by great album titles such as "Atom Heart Mother" (a collective Pink Floyd chosen title) & subsequent maturity of Roger Waters' lyrics in the albums "Echoes" & "Dark side of the Moon" & culminated in the masterfully written album "Wish you were Here" with beautiful melodies & great lyrics as well as timeless song names such as "Shine on you Crazy Diamond", "Welcome to the Machine" & of course "Wish you were Here":

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage? ............

Roger Waters' lyrical masterly continued with The Wall, his final Pink Floyd Album "The Final Cut" & throughout his solo career ever since as he continued to develop & express his political & social views into his lyric writing talents. This is where & why Roger Waters in a unique talent. He expresses political & social views in a masterful way no other noted rock identity has ever managed to do!

Here's brief selection of Roger Waters lyrics in the album The Wall:

If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life
.......Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet..............

When we grew up and went to school
There were certain teachers who would
Hurt the children in any way they could
By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town, it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psychopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives.

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.
Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm.............

Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the
promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue
sky?

And the lyrics are not all that are extraordinary about this once in a life time event! The theatre, the music & of course watching Roger waters perform The Wall is a once in a life time event which will sadly never be seen again! A must see show! I will be going to every single night it will be performed in Sydney!

Classic Album Review: Supertramp - Famous Last Words, a great Album ending one of the finest songwriting collaborations of all time

The last (7th) studio album collaboration by Supertramp's original singer/songwriter team of Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson is a fine pop album which is unfairly criticised as not delivering the same quality of music as their previous four classic rock productions. This criticism is however not warranted for a variety of reasons. It is a fine album with almost every single song worthy of a listen. The main point which however makes this album a classic is the meaningful if melancholic lyrics which puts both Roger and Rick amongst the greatest rock lyricists of all time.

The album was nevertheless written under difficult circumstances:

1. The album was written at the height of personal tension between Roger and Rick (and reportedly their respective wives who were not best of friends). For the first time they wrote and recorded their own songs in separate studios without any face to face collaboration. (although Roger has since claimed that this was always the case and he gave songwriting credit to Rick for many of the songs he had written over the years by himself)
2. This was a typical "under pressure" follow up album to the chart topping and 15m+ selling "Breakfast in America".
3. Whilst undoubtedly this album has a pop focus, it still remains a fine album with a classic rock edge.
2. The lyrics in songs such as "C'est Le Bon", "Waiting for so long" and "Know who you are" are in the "must Listen to" category of rock lyrics. They are amongst the greatest Supertramp lyrics of all time and as profound and meaningful as rock lyrics can ever get.

This album is not initially as easy to listen to as e.g. Breakfast in America. However, both the melodies and the lyrics become more and more meaningful with further listens.

Neither Roger Hodgson in his solo career afterwards, nor Supertramp without Roger managed to reach anything close to the success level of Supertramp up to and including Famous Last Words, yet again another case of lost synergistic creativity. although Roger Hodgson has managed to write and produce some fine songs and great lyrics for his solo albums.

I highly recommend this album to all Supertramp and classic rock fans.
My Rating Rating: ***** (5/5)

Classic Album Review: Roy Harper's Stormcock, a unique masterpiece of unrivalled grace and beauty

You may ask why I am bothering to review a 1971 album by an artist who only serious folk rock fans would have heard of? I could write a blog just to answer this simple question.

This album is indisputably one of the greatest (folk) rock albums of all time by the artist who has for years been referred to as "Classic Rock's Best Kept Secret"! Of course this does not by any means suggest that Roy Harper is an obscure musician. He has uncredited playing role in some of Led Zeppelin albums and Jimmy Page admired Roy Harper for not selling to commercial temptations and wrote the Led Zeppelin song "Hats off to Roy Harper". And of course Pink Floyd famously asked him to do the lead vocals for the song "Have a Cigar" in their phenomenal Wish You Were Here album.

Stormcock however is a once in a generation gem and Roy Harper's best ever work. It was Roy Harper's fifth album and originally released in 1971. The best way to describe this album is to simply state that every serious music fan from Bob Dylan's folk rock to Led Zeppelin's harder sound to Pink Floyd's psychedelic genius would fall in love with this album, only if they'd get the chance to listen to it.

Roy Harper manages to melt his intelligent and meaningful lyrics into his beautiful voice and great but simple acoustic guitar melodies. The album's chaotic structure (the two longest songs have different sections) makes it simply perfect. Jimmy Page plays in one of the songs with Roy Harper and the lyrics deal with a variety of topics such as hypocrisy of religion as well as love and war!

The jewel in the crown is nevertheless the epic love song "Me and my Woman". I must confess I have listened to this song at least a million times and and am yet to find the right words to describe its beauty and grace.

The album was digitally remastered and released in 2007. Whilst almost all digitally remastered albums from the 60s and 70s truly kill the original intended feel of the work, this remastered version is in fact very good and I have even purchased it!

If you are a serious music fan, you must listen to this album. It's grace and beauty will spellbound you for the rest of your life. Stormcock is a unique never to be repeated masterpiece and is undoubtedly one of the greatest albums of all time.

My Current Favourite Top 5 Indie Female Singer Songwriters (in no particular order)

The world of music has had a rough ride since the creation of Napster file sharing software in the late 90s. However, during the past 10-15 years one of the greatest things that has happened to the industry is the massive number of female singer songwriters blossoming in acoustic guitar/folk/country genres across the world. There are many of them around. The following are my current 5 favourites (I am a fan of many others but listen to various works by the following 5 regularly at the moment:

Jen Cloher: This talented Melbourne based singer/songwriter & her band of varying members "The Endless Sea" are undoubtedly one Australian music scenes best kept secrets! Jen Cloher's debut ARIA nominated album "Dead Wood Falls" in 2006 was a mixture of beautiful piano based ballads & luscious country based melodies full of personal experiences. Whilst I love listening to Dead Wood Falls in its entirety, my favourite tracks on the album are "Spring" & "Rain". The song "Rain" in particular could have & should have been a huge hit in the US country music scene and is a great example of Jen Cloher's powerful vocal range & melodic voice.

Jen Cloher recently released "Hidden Hand", the follow up to her firs album. Hidden Hand lyrics are more intimate & personal. whilst the album overall has more upbeat melodies, the country based feel of most of the songs make is an extremely enjoyable & easy to listen work. My favourite tracks are the title track "Hidden Hands", "Time among the Pines" & "Fear is like a Forest".

Tristan Prettyman: is a native of San Diego California & one of the most popular acts in the Live circuit in Southern California. If you happen to be travelling to San Diego & decide to check the city's live music scene, you won't be disappointed if you are lucky enough to see Tristan Prettyman. She has so far released two main albums (amongst other works such as EPs) are "Twenty Three" and "Hello....x", both of which are great acoustic albums full of great acoustic melodies & lyrics filled with personal experiences.

Katie Melua: This Georgian born British raised singer/songwriter is a mainstream name in UK & parts of mainland Europe. Her 3 albums "Call off the Search", "Piece by Piece" & ""Pictures" have collectively sold very well. Her signature song is "Nine Million Bicycles" from her second album, a song which caused a small scientific stir across Britain with its absolutely beautiful lyrics. Katie Melua's style is a combination of love ballads/pop & jazz genres making her music suitable for most occasions.

Natalie Merchant: is by most accounts a veteran of the music scene & a great talent with a soulful voice. She started as the lead singer of the US indie/folk band 10,000 maniacs in the late 80s & early 90s (a band well worth a listen). Her soulful voice inevitably took her to the solo path & some of you may remember her debut solo album in 1995 "Tigerlily" which was both a commercial & critical success & spun off the international single "Carnival". The reason I am including Natalie Merchant in my list of current favourite female singer/songwriters is because after 7-8 years of avoiding the spotlight, she has just released a new solo album "Leave your Sleep", which is about to be released in Australia.

Duffy: Yes, I know Duffy is yet to release a second album following her worldwide smash hit album "Rockferry" in 2007. And yes, the fiercely nasty rivalries in the British music scene will always be given plenty of oxygen by the tabloid media's obsession with comparing the likes of Duffy, Adele, Feist, Jem & Dido with each other. However, the combinations of Duffy's great voice, the beautifully crafted songs & clever production make Duffy's Rockferry one of the greatest albums of the noughties (and beyond) and hence why to this day it is still charting in parts of Europe. As a result she makes my current list simply because I have not stopped listening to it since I bought it nearly 2 years ago!

There are plenty of other very talented female singer/songwriters around, including in Australia of course. I hope this blog post wets your appetite to discover them & enjoy their plentiful collective talent!

Best ever Pop/Rock Cover Versions

Like most other pure music fans, I generally dislike cover songs, even when performed by talented acts capable of bringing their own interpretation to songs. But I particularly get annoyed when classic pop/rock songs are almost murdered by:

a) DJs & dance acts who use unnecessary drum machines & sequencer beats,
b) Inept singers who simply do not possess the vocal range
c) Cover versions killing the heart and soul of the original by overuse of technology
d) Hip Hop/Urban acts who ruin classic songs with their over "samplig" of classic songs

Having said that, I do have a special list of original pop songs which I love, but believe the cover versions/interpretations are in fact better than the original versions:

Here's my list, in no particular order & not exhaustive by any means. Therefore, I look forward to comments & additions to the list:

Original by: Bob Marley, Covered by Eric Clapton: I Shot the Sheriff:

Some of the best & most well known songs by the legendary Eric Clapton are cover songs. In my opinion, his version of Bob Marley's "I shot the Sheriff" is a great production in its own right.

Original by: JJ Cale, Covered by Eric Clapton: 1) Cocaine, 2) After Midnight (Cover version featured in Cross Roads, not the earlier version)

Eric Clapton is also a life long admirer & friend of the reclusive legend JJ Cale. Not only Clapton has covered two of JJ Cale's songs, he & cale released an album together in 2006 in which they re recorded Cale's song "Dont Cry Sister".

But Clapton's most famous cover of Cale's songs is "Cocaine. Clapton adds spice(1) to the song with a great lead guitar which is missing from the almost perfect original. As well as this, he has twice covered "After Midnight" & used to performed this song in his live sets. Clapton's pure guitar/bass/drums version recorded in late 80s is my favourite version. It was specially recorded for his 4 disc set "Cross Roads" is a brilliant song which sadly only appears in the mentioned 4 disc set.

Original by: John Lennon, Covered by Roxy Music: Jealous Guy

John lennon's Jealous Guy is almost as good as "imagine" However, Bryan Ferry's soulful voice, & Roxy Music's masterful production make Roxy Music's version a much more romantic song than the original.

Original by: Bob Dylan, Covered by Jimi Hendrix: All along the Watchtower

Like Eric Clapton, two of Jimi Hendrix's greatest & most loved songs are actually covers!
What a pairing! Bob Dylan's version is a folk song whilst Jimi Hendrix adds his unique guitar riffs to his version, something which only Hendix could do! A great song worthy of being better than its legendary original.

Original by: The Leaves, Covered by Jimi Hendrix: Hey Joe

it is almost impossible to imagine anyone but Jimi Hedrix perform "Hey Joe". But the very rare out of print version by the Leaves is the original version released as a single unsuccessfully before Hendrix recorded his materful version with the help of Mitch Mitchell & Noel Redding, as the first ever single by "Jimi Hendrix Experience".

Original by: (traditional Spiritual Song) earliest recording by The Weavers, Covered by Nina Simone: Sinner Man

If you wish to fully appreciate Nina Simone's work on this cover, watch the final scene of the 1999 movie "Thomas Crown Affair" starring Pierce Brosnan! It will give you goose bumps!

Original by: Bob & Earl, Covered by the Rolling Stones: Harlem Shuffle

In mid 1980s, Mick jagger & Keith Richards decided the Rolling Stones needed to lift its "dinasaur" image. They decided to cover Harlem Shuffle but made it more funky whilst preserving its soulful originality. The result is simply great song & a much better version than the original.

Original by: Bruce Cockburn, Covered by Barenaked Ladies: Lovers in a Dangerous Time

Bruce Cockburn is a much loved & publicity shy Canadaian folk singer who briefly shot to international fame in the mid 80s with his environmentally driven worldwide hit "If a Tree Falls in the Forest". One of his other well know songs in canada is Covered by another better known Canadian band, "Barenaked Ladies".

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this song and/or the acts mentioned, all I can say is get your hands on Barenaked Ladies version (in their Greatest hits). the brisk yet acoustic production simply immerses in the rather controvertial lyrics & will become an all time favourite!

Original by Jackie DeShannon, Covered by Smokie: Needles & Pins

Needles & Pins is a song which most people think was originally recorded by the 60s band "The Searchers". But Searchers & subsequently many other acts including Tom Petty in fact covered this original song by Jackie DeShannon. however, the English band "Smokie"'s version simply leaves all other covers for dead. Chris Norman's voice is a perfect fit to the melody & the lyrics.

Original by Neil Diamond, Covered by UB40: Red Red Wine

To the continuous annoyance of Neil Diamond who to this day goes as far as changing this song half way through his live performances to a raggae song, the fact remains that UB40 shot to worldwide fame with this great cover interpretation of the song & simply made it their own as a result.

Original by Jimi Hendrix, Covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Little Wing

This cover is not so much a superior version because Jimi Henrix's original is simply brilliant. The great blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaghan, the heir apparent to Jimi Hendrix, shortly before his tragic death recorded this instrumental almost 7 minute interpretation of Jimi Hendrix's original two & half minute song & ended up with a masterpiece of his own worthy of its own accolade as a separate song.

However, having two guitar masters doing two completely heavenly version of this song makes Stievie Ray Vaghan's version an imperative mention in my list.


Original by the Beatles, Covered by Joe Cocker: With a Little Help from my Friends

This is yet another song which the cover is markedly different to the original.Joe Cocker's version with female backing vocals & his soulful voice made his version a superior outcome & a classic in its own.



Leonard Cohen,in my view is a great modern poet and treasured musician. But he's not much of a singer! Therefore many of his songs have been covered by more able singers. The following two are the peak of teh crop & my favourites:

Original by Leonard Cohen, Covered by Jennifer Warnes: First We Take Manhattan

Original by Leonard Cohen, Covered by Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah

Original by Tim Hardin, Covered by Rod Stewart: Reason to Believe

I am not by any means Rod Stewart's biggest fan! But whilst Tim Hardin's original version of this song is very good, Rod Stewart's husky voice simply makes his versionone of his best songs of his career.

Whilst I have many other examples I could have added, I am leaving this to others with their comments.

Sleepy Jackson's 2003 album "Lovers", Australian Indie music at its best

This multiple ARIA nominated debut alum by Sleepy Jackson is undoubtedly one of the best Australian indie rock albums of the 2000s. Sleepy Jackson were originally formed in Perth and took their name from a narcoleptic band member!

Essentially led by the multi instrumentalist Luke Steele, who comes from a musical family, they moved to Sydney & released their debut album in 2003. Luke Steele's latest project was the highly ambitious & multi ARIA winning debut album by Empire of the Sun in 2008.

"Lovers" is a compilation of Luke Steele's influences from pop harmonies to folk, electropop & indie guitar songs. His lack of direction is in fact the reason this album is so enjoyable. The only other musician who seem to do this variation of styles very well is in my view Moby.

Having said that, Luke Steele maintains a distinct style and sound which is easily identifiable in this album & his latest work (Empire of the Sun).

The album flows easily and is very easy to listen to as each song takes your mind away to a different place with different styles & influences evident in each song, from the Beatles to David Bowie to The Eagles & the Aussie trend setters the Church.

The standout songs are "Rain falls for Wind" & "Acid in my Heart". These two songs in my view are examples of the Australian indie scene at its best & in quality match works by the trend setting Aussie indie bands of the 80s & 90s such as the Church.

The two main singles are the catchy pop songs "Good Dancers" & "Vampire Racecourse". Other notable songs are "Mourning Rain", the pop influenced "Tell the Girls..." & (the Eagles sounding) country/folk influenced "Miniskirt". Even the song "Morning Bird" with an apparently young girls singing is a joy to listen to, even though highly out of phase with the rest of the album.

All in all one of the best albums out of Australia in the last decade.

My Rating: Essential for any music collection, 8/10

Updated Post: Selected Songs from the Best 100 Rock Albums of the Decade (in chronological order from 2000 to 2009)

This post was originally complied in September. I have edited the songs based of the feedback I have received, and since I am about to do the best of the 80s, I am reposting it again! Afterall, since music & fashion are all about recycling, why can't I recycle my blogs!? :)

Rock bands (and solo artists) have had a revival during the current decade compared to the 90s.
(This blog defines rock bands as a group of musicians (or a solo performer) who play musical instruments and are able to reproduce the the majority of their recorded music as a live act with only minor computerised assistance.).

This revival is impressive since it's been achieved despite many hurdles. Shows such as Pop Idol have become a generational music staple and carefully crafted lip syncing acts dominate the critical teenage music market. At the same time illegal downloads, MP3-4 type formats and iPod have destroyed the classic Record Shop business format and CD sales have dramatically declined in the past ten years. On top of all that genres like hip hop and rap have continued to dominate the critical USA market.

However, whilst the decade has seen many fine bands from both sides of Atlantic and Australia, most have clearly not managed to match the quality of the music of the legendary bands of the 60s and 70s. Nevertheless, I am not suggesting that the decade has not produced great songs worthy of the "classic" tag. Therefore, I have decided to list of my favourite songs of the decade and invite anyone who reads this blog to add their own favourite. However, there are three simple rules for the sake of clarity:

1. Any song suggested must have been originally released in the year 2000 or later...late 1999 is also acceptable in order to account for the occasional timing delays in case of some releases between Europe and USA
2. Bands/Solo performers who use a lot of sequenced/electronic samples do not qualify for this Top 100! The classic "Drummer, bass player, guitars, keyboards, sax and singer" must be clearly present.
3. Solo act with a band may also be included (as opposed to solo acts who are clearly dance acts eg Kylie Minogue's "Can't get you out of my head" or Madonna's "Hung up" do not qualify, but Richard Ashcroft does)

Here are my most favourite rock songs of the decade, in an approximate chronological order from 2000 to 2009. I have kept the list based on 100 albums from various acts and welcome comments with your suggested additions.

1. (Band) Coldplay, (Song) a) Yellow. b) Don't panic
2. Doves, Firesuite
3. Radiohead, Optimistic
4. Richard Ashcroft (Verve), a) A song for the lovers b)Brave new world
5. Tex Perkins, Please break me gently
6. U2, Beautiful day
7. The Whitlams, No aphrodisiac
8. Gomez, We haven't turned around
9. John Myer, Neon
10. Kenny Wayne Shepard Band, Black on blue
11. Radiohead, a) Knives out, b) I might be wrong
12. Starsailor, Poor misguided fool
13. Travis, a) Sing, b) Side
14. Turin Brakes, The door
15. Interpol, Untitled
16. Alex Lloyd, Green
17. The Roots, Seed 2.0
18. The Whiltlams, Kate Kelly
19. 3 Doors Down, Here without you
20. The Cardigans, For What it's worth
21. The Coral, Don't think you're the first
22. The Dandy Warhols, a) Heavenly, b) You were the last high
23. Death Cab for Cutie, We looked like giants
24. Jack Johnson, a) Taylor, b) Cupid
25. Jet, Are you gonna be my girl?
26. Muse, Endlessly
27. Opeth, In my time of need
28. Pete Murray, So beautiful
29. Radiohead, Punch up at a wedding
30. Snow Patrol, a) Run, b) Ways and means
31. Stereophonics, Maybe tomorrow
32. The Waifs, Lighthouse
33. Buckethead, Earth heals itself
34. The Cat Empire, Two shoes
35. Eskimo Joe, A song is a city
36. Evermore, It's too late
37. Franz Ferdinand, Dark of the matinee
38. Green Day, Boulevard of broken dreams
39. Interpol, A time to be so small
40. Placebo, To the bitter end
41. John Butler Trio, Zebra
42. Keane, Everybody's changing
43. Maroon 5, This love
44. Missy Higgins, Ten days
45. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, a) Spell, b) Let the bells ring, c) Supernaturally
46. REM, Final straw
47. Razorlight, Golden touch
48. Rocket Science, Being followed
49. Ryan Adams, English girls
50. Sarah Blasko, Don't you ever
51. Tristan Prettyman, When it rains
52. Xavier Rudd, Shelter
53. Athlete, Wires
54. Coldplay, Square one
55. Death Cab for Cutie, Your heart is an empty room
56. Dream Theatre, These walls
57. Elan, Midnight
58. Elbow, Great Expectations
59. Katie Melua, Nine million bicycles
60. Kings of Leon, King of the Rodeo
61. Pearl Jam, I am mine
62. Pete Murray, Better days
63. Stereophonics, Deadhead
64. Tristan Prettyman, Please
65. Wolfmother, a) Woman, B) Mind's eye
66. Turin Brakes, Fishing for a dream
67. Angus & Julia Stone, Paper aeroplane
68. Eskimo Joe, Black fingernails, red wine
69. Evermore, Running
70. Jen Cloher, a) rain, b) Spring, c) Peaks & valleys
71. John Mayer, Waiting for the world change
72. Keane, Nothing in my way
73. Muse, Map of problematique
74. Silversun Pickups, a) Crazy eye, b) Well thought out twinkles
75. Snow Patrol, Shut your eyes
76. Arcade Fire, a) Neon Bible, b) Keep the car running
77. Interpol, Wrecking ball
78. Katie Melua, All in my head
79. Amy Winehouse, a) Back to black, b) You know I am no good
80. Linkin Park, a) What I've done, b) Get through
81. OneRepublic, Apologize (with Timbaland)
82. Radiohead, Weird fishes
83. Travis, Eyes wide open
84. Turin Brakes, For the fire
85. The Audreys, Small things
86. Death Cab for Cutie, I will possess your heart
87. Duffy, a) Breaking my own heart, b) Mercy
88. Elbow, The fix
89. Empire of the Sun, We are the people
90. Fall out Boy, I don't care
91. Fleet Foxes, Tiger mountain peasant song
92. Gabriella Cilmi, Sweet about me
93. Kings of Leon, Sex on fire
94. The Last Shadow Puppets, a) Standing next to you, b) The age of the understatementThe c) My mistakes were made for you
95. REM, a) Accelerate, b) Houston, c) Sing for the submarine
96. TV on the Radio, Love dog
97. 3 Doors Down, She don't want the world
98. The Verve, Columbo
99. Silversun Pickups, a) The royal we, b) Growing old is getting old
100. The Fray, You found me

Album Review: Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", Arguably Roger Waters at his best lyrically, & Gilmour & Wright at their best instrumentally. The result is one of the greatest albums of all time!

Music in my view is a religion, it's personal & private & should be respected by those who may disagree with your musical opinions! What sounds unique & irreplacable to my ears may sound out of tune to someone else's and vice versa.

At the same time, like proven scientific discoveries, opinions in the art of songwriting are at times fully aligned.

Pink Floyd's 1975 album "Wish You Were Here" combines both of the above into one album. It is religiously loved by many fans around the world & at the same time is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and in that I mean all genres & not simply progressive/space rock as Pink Floyd are known for, and yet it has never been accused of being pompous or self indulgent.

The reason the album is not pretentious is probably because it is a heartfelt dedication to the wayward Pink Floyd founding member "Syd Barrett', who was suffering from LSD induced schizophernia & the major songs "Wish You Were Here" & "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" are written about.

At the same time, the band, at the height of their international success, make a direct and pointed attack on the music industry & its money grabbing & at times sleezy record executives (with the famous line.."The band is just fantastic, That is really what I think, Oh by the way which one's Pink?")

Even before I start a brief review of the songs in the album, let me state some of the other interesting points about this album which by themselves would make it unique and in a calibre of its own::

• The cover/sleeve photos,all designed by the great Storm Thorgeson are amongst the most brilliant front & back & sleeve photos of all time. The front cover being a man shaking the hand of another man on fire! (see above for all photos on album's sleeve/cover/back)
• The album was the potential "career ruining" album for Pink Floyd because it was the band's next album after their massive & legendary 1973 album "Dark Side of the Moon" (which ended up remaining in the Billboard Top 100 Album Charts for 10 years in a row and is still one of the Top 5 highest selling albums of all time)
• The lyrics & song titles represent Roger waters at his absolute best & the highest point of his creativity. at the same time, David Gilmour's & Richard Wright's contribution to the 27 minute epic "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" is Pink Floyd at its synergistic best. (David Gilmour also wrote the music to waters' lyrics for the title song Wish You were Here)
• Gilmour's fantastic lead guitar & Wright's unique keyboard sounds (plus mason's simple yet brilliant drumming & Waters' bass) make the the album haunting & meloncholic whilst amazingly enjoyable to listen to.
• Syd barret is reported to have turned up to the studios during the recording of the album & not recognised by any of the band members initially (due to his much older looking appearance as a result of drug use & mental illness)

Instead of teh usual song by song review, and since the album only contains 4 songs(1), I rest my case with simply reprinting the lyrics for Shine on you crazy diamond & Wish you were here (both about Syd barrett).

Simply read each one, preferably whilst you are listening to the song, and see for yourselves the creative genius of the"sums much bigger than the parts" at work in Pink Floyd. enjoy! They are universally acclaimed as two of the greatest rock lyrics of all time by Roger Waters. Look out for great phrases which I have highlighted in italics.

Shine on You Crazy Diamond
(Song 1 on the Album, Parts 1-5)

Remember when you were young,
You shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

Now there's a look in your eyes,
Like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

You were caught on the crossfire
Of childhood and stardom,
Blown on the steel breeze.

Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon,
You cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

Threatened by shadows at night,
And exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

Well you wore out your welcome
With random precision,
Rode on the steel breeze.

Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

(Song 5 on the Album, Parts 6-9)

Nobody knows where you are,
How near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

Pile on many more layers
And I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

And we'll bask in the shadow
Of yesterday's triumph,
And sail on the steel breeze.

Come on you boy child,
You winner and loser,
Come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!

Wish You Were Here

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?


And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

I hope you can see what I mean!

My rating: The greatest album of all time: 10/10

The Last Shadow Puppets: The age of understatement

Not all side projects work out! and very few turn out to be more brilliant than the participants' work with their main bands.

The Last Shadow Puppets prove that side projects can be great classics. I am yet to listen to the new Arctic's Album released in late 2009 but would nevertheless consider the Last Shadow Puppets' work as arguably the best work Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (Rascals) have ever done and one of the greatest pop albums of the current decade.

The album also proves the future of pop is still bright whilst brilliantly talented musicians like Alex Turner are interested to experiment. The symphonic pop arrangements with their obvious 60s influence (which they fully credit) and the simple yet clever melodies make this album a "Must Have" in any serious music collection.

"Standing next to me" is probably one of the best classic style pop singles of the modern era (after taking into account the very clear musical influences it is based on). It has now been my No 1 suggestion to my friends since May 2008 when I first heard it. My other favourite songs are the fast paced title song "The age of the understatement" and the slower . "My mistakes were made for you". The albums other songs are all great to listen to & the overall flow of the songs is effortlessly smooth.
My rating: 8.5/10 a supurb effort by 2 of the most talented & exciting musicians of the modern era

"Accelerate" by R.E.M: Fans rejoice! REM are back at their best!

Before I start this review, I have to confess: I belong to a very tiny minority of REM fans who actually liked their last album "Around the Sun", an album which drove away the last remaining hardcore REM fans in a final disappointmenting blow as the band continued to experiment in studio at the expense of just about all their strengths. However, I must emphasise even in my case, I like that album as an average pop album & certainly not as a REM album.

REM seemingly fell apart in the 90s once the original drummer Bill Berry left after "New Adventures in HiFi". The great drum sounds & beats, trademark guitar riffs & Michael Stipe's voice all somehow deserted subsequent experimental REM albums & so did fans in droves!

And then, out of nowhere the band decided to reintroduce all of the above & more, in a back to basic album "Accelerate" in 2008. Fans were rightly delighted, the great drum beats, guitar riffs & Michael Stipe's signature voice are all back in this great album which belongs to the Top 40 if not Top 20 best albums of the decade.

The songs are simple & short (the whole album is less than 35 minutes long), and there are many great tracks with the title track "Accelerate", "Houston" and "Sing for the Submarine" the most outstanding of the lot.

Some of the lyrics in the album, like all other R.E.M albums at times lack clarity & can be a little bit weak. But then again I have never been REM's biggest fan as far as their lyrics are concerned!

Overall, a must inclusion in any good music collection & arguably one of the best albums of 2008.

My overall rating: 8/10