It was a missed opportunity that the Winter TU US tour was postponed. To make up for this you can still purchase the “Official Bootleg” that was due to be sold on the aforementioned tour.
This CD weighs in at 36 minutes and 50 seconds (slightly longer than your average “new” improv on a KC re-re-re-packaged re-re-re-release) but despite its slight stature give you an insight into the live TU beast. The music is taken from the band’s second night at the Third Eye Gathering in August. I was at the first show and missed the second, but heck, I now hold a portion of that very show in my grubby little mitt.
The first two tracks finds the band finding their feet and I remember these being played at the show I saw. They are very muscular tracks and if you enjoy the ProjeKcts, you will get a big buzz from these songs.
The band are joined on stage by Eddie Haskell and his singing saw for the third track “Sumo” and it sounds as if someone is torturing a little puddy tat live on stage. Interesting in a LTiA/Jamie Muir kind-of-way.
By track four, Eddie has stopped stroking his saw and has moved over to the jew’s harp (boy, I bet the politically correct brigade are having a field day with that. “It’s not jew’s harp anymore, it’s a JAW’S HARP, I bet they are bleating!”. Anyhoo, it continues the vibe.
The last two pieces on the CD are my absolute favourite and re-inforce my idea for having a female vocalist in King Crimson. The band are joined by Azam Ali who provides some really ethereal vocalising. One way I describe “Bells” is to imagine “The Power to Believe, Part II” but take away the guitars and have a human voice providing the lead. That’s what this is like…
Despite it’s shortness, this is a really sweet collection. Shame that they didn’t compile tracks from both nights (with GGT + Tony Levin) because that would have been just peachy.
But heck, I can’t complain about this…except for the $8 it cost me to get it shipped to the UK. The CD is housed in a flimsy cardboard sleeve and DGM saw fit to use a standard padded envelope, so by the time it had been squeezed through my letterbox and gone through the Alex The Wonderdog patented letter mangling procedure, it could hardly be described as pristine. Oh well…c’est la vie, eh?
Great stuff…more please!
Category: Reviews
This a collection I have been looking forward to for a while. Owning his CV and making of US laserdisc, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the DVD version so I could retire my old laserdisc player (again).
This disc spans his career and features all the usual suspects including that Sledgehammer video we all know and love (even though it has probably outworn its welcome by now). The interesting thing is that all of the tracks on this DVD have been remixed for 5.1 sound.
Being someone who pooh-poohs 5.1 mixes, I was pleasantly surprised by the opening Sledehammer mix, which seemed to be based on the 12-inch remix that was done. Anyway, PG really opened up the mix on this one and you can pick out all the instruments clearly. The remixing works well for all of the tracks and breathes new life into Shaking the Tree where you can hear Yossour N’dour’s vocals much more clearly.
HOWEVER, I have a few issues with this DVD. You see, our Peter loves nothing better than to fiddle around with his material. While some tracks (Blood of Eden) sound lovely in 5.1, other tracks have been butchered at his hands. For example your honour, I put forward the case of the missing drum parts in Big Time. This punchy little number starts without any drums! Then they appear four bars into the song. Sacrilege.
In Games Without Frontiers the sliding guitar parts (provided by RF, I believe) have been removed and replaced by synths and Kate Bush’s vocals don’t sound like they used to. Also, this video has fallen victim to the politically correct, left-wing, liberal thought police. Gone are the sections of the video with PG hosting a dinner party for the children. Gone are the bizarre images of PG on all fours marching with the dolls. Instead we have more black and white images taken from the 1950s. Shame on you Peter!
Luckily, my two most favourite PG tracks, Shock the Monkey and Digging in the Dirt, come out unscathed and I was very impressed with the picture quality and knocked out by the sound. The menus are well thought-out and match the DVDs cover styling and there are some extras, including a very old video of Peter riding the escalator for the single “Modern Love”. Wow, they really knew how to make videos in those days!
So for your cash you get a load of videos you probably haven’t seen before, a pot-load of mixes you have never heard before and some good trailers for his other DVD releases. This is a must for any PG fan, though I still find it hard to deal with the savage changes to the material. But then I reckon I need to get out more.
Verdict: one for the Xmas stocking!
Setlist
My Room
The Siren Song
A Better Time
Gone Ahead
Vision
The Comet, The Course, The Tail
If I Could
Amnesiac
Shingle Song
Patient
Easy to Slip Away
Bubble
Four Pails
Stranger Still
Traintime
Still Life
In The End
This concert was part of the “Mind Your Head 2004” season of shows on the South Bank. The last time I had seen pH was way back in 1997, but both me and The Missus were sick with the flu and were so dosed up with cold medicines that neither of us remember the show too well.
Anyway, this was a solo performance from Hammill and he came on promptly at 8.00pm to a round of applause and immediately performed “My Room”, one of my favourite VDGG numbers, at the piano. I said to the Missus, “OK, we can leave now!” when he had finished. He received raptuous applause and remarked how happy he was to be here. Of course, for those of you who don’t know, pH suffered a heart attack last winter and has only just started to return to live performance.
He then worked through a number of songs at the piano including a track from his new “Incoherence” album and the song “Vision” from “Pawn Hearts”. It was good to hear so many older songs performed such as “A Better Time”, “The Comet, the Course, the Tail”, “Shingle Song” and “So Easy to Slip Away”. It was real mixed bag.
He then moved onto the guitar and performed a couple of songs. My attention was distracted by a rather drunk fellow, who decided to descend from his seat and plonk himself in the aisle right next to me. He proceeded to lurch and falter from side to side, occasionally grunting approval at the proceedings, but most often staring wildly in space and not really “attending” the concert. Luckily, once pH returned to the piano, this drunken fool returned to his seat. Hurrah!
Other songs such “Patient”, “Stranger Still” were well performed and towards the end of the set he even had time to trot out another VDGG track in the shape of “Still Life”. He promised us one encore, which he delivered and then it was off in to the night air.
Because of pH’s immense back catalogue I have missed some of the that he played out. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan, but I am useless at compiling set-lists. I leave that to the proper pH fan-boys.
And I would love to thank the loudmouth Yank whose shouts of “I love you Peter” and “You are fucking awesome, man” etc, always came during the quiet bits. I hope you had a good time.
Anyway, a great gig and I look forward to catching him again with his full band. Not exactly a fun-filled evening (pH’s work isn’t exactly a laugh-a-minute) but a worthwhile excercise in sitting still and concertrating for 1 hour 45 minutes.
So my copy of the Crimson Chronicle arrived today. To recap, this is a 208-page softback book detailing the band King Crimson from its inception as Discipline to the recording of Three of a Perfect Pair.
So how to do you review a book made up of pictures? Hmmm…well there are lots and lots of pictures and they are of the band and band members so that’s a good thing right? Anyway, some of these pics we’ve seen before in the Frame by Frame booklet or on the KCCC releases that cover this period. But there are an awful lot of new photos that I haven’t seen, which is good.
Like you get to see more of the band during its initial rehearsal phase and if you are an equipment junkie, you get to see all their luvverly guitar equipment. The book follows the band chronologically and so you see them perform as Discipline, record the album and then play as King Crimson. OK – some of the shots are repetitive, because it’s just four guys playing in a rock and roll band night after night, but if you are a fan-boy this will tickle your fancy no end.
The book is divided into sections and there are some captions with the photos but most often the images are presented as is with a separate caption list at the back of the book. This is a niggle because you have to keep turning to the back of the book to see where the photos were taken, but this is just a niggle on my part because I don’t want to crease up my nice new book.
There are clever quotes at the beginning of each section and each band member even gets their own separate chapter. For the completist or those of you who didn’t see the band during the 80s (like me) then this is a great purchase. If you don’t get much from photo books like this then this ain’t gonna float your boat either.
I was going to scan some of the pics but this seems like a defeatist action when I can send you to:
http://www.tonylevin.com/crimchron.htm
Because I was an early buyer Tony Levin even signed my copy, which means when I finally do hit the breadline, I’ll recoup some of my losses on eBay. I jest, of course! Now what would be really nice is if someone would put together a similar photobook of the 1969-74, a bit like the YPG scrapbook but without all the words. That would make a lovely companion piece to this.
Anyway, I’ll catch up with you all in 2024, by which time Tony Levin will have compiled volume two of this particular tome.
REVIEW
The California Guitar Trio + Tony Levin
TU+4
At the Third Eye Gathering, Irvine, CA. USA
27 August 2004
This is done from memory, so it is a bit feeble. I should have made notes on the day, but what the fuck, I was just lucky to be there.
There was hardly a mad rush to the front of the stage, so The Missus and myself stood smack dead centre of the performance area. I hadn’t seen the California Guitar Trio since they last opened for King Crimson in the UK in1996. I am not a particular follower of their music, but I’ve always enjoyed their live performances and this night was no exception. There was a mix of old and new (as far as I know, but I am no CGT expert) tunes on show including an excellent rendition of Heart of the Sunrise, complete with Tony Levin on funk fingers – though the song was held up slightly by the loss of the aforementioned funk fingers. They are under the case, Tony!
With Pat Mastelotto on drums and TL on bass, the trio was expanded and I really enjoyed the more rhythmic stuff. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the new tracks from the band’s new “Whitewater” album. I had downloaded a track “Atlantis” from their website to familiarise myself with the material and so I recognised this one when it appeared on the setlist. My only quibble was that the sound mix was a little muddy and I even though I was standing at the front of the stage, it was hard to tell who was playing what lines – such was the cruddy sound mix.
The band finished with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and the mic was lowered right above our heads – so if there are any recordings of this, the two voices at the front were the Brits, doing their best to remember the words!
TU came on shortly afterwards and two vocal loops taken from Queen were used as a backdrop to some early noodling. It was quite weird to have Freddie Mercury in the room with us, but it made for an interesting experience. The TU band, made up from drummer Pat Mastelotto and Warr guitarist Trey Gunn, play improvised, rhythmic electronica. It is reminiscent in places to some of the KC improves, but is more for the hips. While you can’t necessarily dance to it, you can have a good jiggle if so inclined. It became a very intense experience and I felt a part of this music. Every so often PM and TG would begin to spar with each other, deliberately trying to catch the other performer out. This interplay was good fun to watch and lifted the performance. It’s hard to describe the music. It is quite different from the TU album. It is heavy in places. It will hit you in the chest if you let it.
At the end, the special guests came on and it turned out to be Tony Levin and the California Guitar Trio. The trio began with a circulation and the rest of the players joined in. This was a bit messy in terms of sound because when the electric players hit their stride, the poor CGT were wiped out of the mix. Luckily, someone decided to push the CGT to the max.
Overall, it was a good evening of music and something I would not be able to see in the UK. I came away very satisfied, but I couldn’t believe that more of the so-called hardcore fans didn’t make an effort to see this event. But hey, you guys are the losers. I travelled 5000 miles and it was worth the fucking jetlag and the expense.
Phil Manzanera is, most undoubtably, the most underrated modern guitarist of his age. For those of you who aren’t aware of him, he is most famous for being the plank spanker in Roxy Music. He is also famous for producing Brian Eno’s “Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)” album and being the brains behind the 801 Live band/album.
His solo career has been patchy…and that’s coming from me, a fan who cites this guitarist as one of his main influences. His first solo “Diamond Head” is an essential purchase and is a who’s who of rock at the time. His subsequent works have veered from OK (K-Scope, Listen Now) to brilliantly futuristic (Primitive Guitars) to mediocre (Southern Cross).
Luckily, 6PM owes more to “Diamond Head” than to any other of his albums and features many of the performers that appeared on that original 1975 release. Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt, Paul Thompson, Andy McKay and Bill McCormick all appear and are augmented by performances from Chrissie Hynde and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. To quote PM himself, this is an album he has waited 26 years to make.
The opening track “Broken Dreams” is a paean to his dead father and his a direct nod to the acid-rock of the late sixties. It sounds like Floyd amongst others. “Green Spikey Cactus” is far more left-field and features some incendiary harmonica from Chrissie Hynde. With a superbly catchy chorus, this track is a real summery song. Come on, let’s come together right now!
This upbeat feeling continues with “Love Devotion”, song about love obviously, but trust me, it isn’t mawkish. It’s a love song for boys, OK? Again, it is up (with a bit of down) and has another sing along chorus. “Wish You Well” is a much more sombre affair and is a tribute to Ian McDonald (not that one – the one who played on 801 & Diamond Head) who committed suicide last year and features a bass solo from his brother, Bill MacCormick. With a few dodgy couplets, this is prolly my least favourite track on the record.
The title track is guitar-led instrumental, which features some signature playing from PM and when you hear this, you will hear the precise tone and playing that inspires my own noodlings on the electric banjo. Then it is back to the songs again with “Waiting for the Sun to Shine” which is most apt in this wash-out of a British summer we are experiencing and is my “Song of the Summer”. Again, it is catchy, upbeat and if it was fronted by some blond 20-year-old lad, it would be a massive success on the hit parade.
Towards the end of the record is a series of songs that are linked together…yup we are talking prog, my friends. The Cissbury Ring – as that’s what the collection is called – is a musical journey around the South Downs. Starting with “Cissbury Ring”, another upbeat track that sounds like it has been nicked from my old pals Supergrass. “Porlock” is an instrumental that features the ethereal trumpet of Robert Wyatt (I forgot to mention that RW plays his share of the drums on this record too, yahoo!). The collection ends with the trilogy of songs “Shoreline/Always You/Sacred Days” which veer from bleak to introspection to optimism. The last two tracks feature some strong guitar playing from David Gilmour…in fact the last track features some guitar sparring from DG & PM.
I must admit that I didn’t have any expectations when I heard about this. Luckily, the album didn’t disappoint and it is a very strong collection of songs. They aren’t going to be to everyone’s tastes – some might dismiss them as being a little light or a little fey, but I think that this is the strongest collection of songs PM has put out since Diamond Head. I was also surprised by PM’s vocals. His influences are worn on his sleeve from Pink Floyd to Robert Wyatt to Kevin Ayers. It’s all here if you know what you are looking for. It’s a very English record.
I am thoroughly enjoying this record and recommend it. And the packaging is pretty snazzy too (if you like digipaks, that is).
This concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall marked the end of the 10th Rhythm Sticks festival, which celebrates all manner of percussion and drum music.
I’m not a big jazz fan, so I don’t know if I am sufficiently educated to give a critical view of the concert, so I’ll just fluff my way through with some general thoughts.
The opening band “Polar Bear” are a four-piece band augmented by a female singer and a guy who makes terrible noises on an Apple Mac laptop. The band itself started off well and I was very impressed with the interaction between the drummer/band leader Sebastien Rochford and double bass player Tom Herbert. In fact, I enjoyed Herbert’s contribution the most as he was a good solid player and provided a good foundation for some of the free-form stuff going on. The two saxophonists, Peter Wareham and Mark Lockheart, blew very well and they took it in turns to solo and react with each other. It was a 45 minute set and the band started off very well, flagged in the middle, and caught our interest again with the final stomper of a song “King of Aberdeen”. Interesting and if I see their CD around, I might even give it a go.
The main attraction was this expanded Earthworks band, featuring members of Tim Garland’s Dean Street Underground Orchestra. I’d never seen Earthworks before and I knew with this configuration I was flying into uncharted waters. Tim Garland was the band leader for the night, leading the group through a combination of material from the Earthworks and Dean Street Underground Orchestra. A lot of the Earthworks material was almost unrecognisable because it had been re-tooled for a 9-piece band. There was lots of great soloing and it was all good fun. I had a few issues with the mix – I couldn’t hear the drums and bass clearly enough – but I think this was down to the sheer amount of sound coming from the stage. There was even a namecheck to KC from Tim Garland during the show.
It was a really interesting and engaging evening of music I had never heard before. The Missus pointed out that this was the first gig where NO GUITARS were present. That was refreshing, indeed. Now I really want to hear Earthworks as a four-piece!