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Bob Harris Saturday Show 02/06/07 - a review by Cherskiy

 
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Cherskiy



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 3701
Location: near Amble, Northumberland

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 5:46 pm    Post subject: Bob Harris Saturday Show 02/06/07 - a review by Cherskiy Reply with quote

The Wire Daisies were in session on tonight’s show: Bob has played one or two of their tracks in the past which I have enjoyed, so I was wondering how they would perform live. Needless to say it was a rather enjoyable live set during the middle hour although they didn’t really have a lot to say for themselves – I got the feeling that Treana Morris was a little overwhelmed by being live on the radio!

12 Stone Toddler was definitely a new artist for me – as if I’d forget a name like that! “Twang” was taken from their album “Does It Scare You?” and like a lot of the other tracks this Brighton-based band has issued, is virtually indescribable, albeit in a good way. There seems to be a bit of everything here – almost nods to the likes of Helicopter Girl, Goldfrapp, the Steve Miller Band, Frank Zappa – diverse elements that separately shouldn’t really work together but definitely do. Worth a repeat listening at least, if only to try to discern the influences involved.
Another week, another Fountains Of Wayne track – this time it was “Hotel Majestic” from their latest release, “Traffic And Weather”. A slightly more demure song than others Bob has featured recently, the trademark harmonies and backing disappearing here in favour of Chris Collingwood’s vocals taking a quieter turn. Still great, though – a little bit more than simple album filler material.
The Jeff Healey Band is an old favourite on this show, blues guitar being one of the staples along with the acoustic, folk, roots and country genres. “Confidence Man” is the opening track from “See The Light” and demonstrates Jeff Healey’s expertise with the guitar, although I thought there was a spark or two missing from this compared with some of the other exponents Bob has featured recently.
Next week, the show covers some of the Canadian artists playing at the North By North East music festival in Toronto live, and Bob used this weekend’s show to highlight some of the great artists coming out of the country in recent years. One such is Kathleen Edwards, whose debut album “Failer” I bought virtually sight unseen when it was released, a decision I have never regretted. “Back To Me” was the follow-up, from which “In State” was taken, a fine example with which to listen to her emotive vocals, wonderful hooks and engaging country-rock. A live appearance is scheduled on Bob’s Thursday show this week (no doubt after I’ve published this review) and I can’t wait!
Jim Bryson was another new name, although he is one of Kathleen’s guitarists when she tours. He came up with a solo project a few years back, his album “The North Side Benches” yielding the track “The Lost Occasional”. Another Canadian, his song possessed some interesting arrangements but at the same time possibly suffered from interminable gaps, no doubt part of the mid-section but it gave the impression that the track was losing its way. Overall, I wasn’t that impressed, I’m afraid.
Both Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens have had tracks played on Bob’s show in previous years, but so far they’ve never appeared on a track together. This was remedied on “The One I Love”, part of the “The New Frontier: Americana, The Next Generation” collection. Rosie’s breathy, delicate vocals shone on this acoustic cover of REM’s hit, Sufjan providing simple yet effective backing harmonies and intricate guitar. A chill-out track if there ever was one.
Fresh on the heels of last week’s excellent live session, Debbie Palmer and Stu Hanna (a.k.a. Megson) were back on the show in the form of the recorded version of “Follow It On” from their newly-released album “Smoke Of Home” (which I am just itching to order). This is simply acoustic music at its very best – have a look at last week’s review for more information on this duo. Of course it won’t get picked up by the daytime R2 play list, will it?
Josh Pyke sounded a little like Sufjan Stevens’ individual efforts, “Sew My Name” from “Memories And Dust” bringing this Australian artist to my attention for the first time. His “Feeding The Wolves” album attracted some good reviews and based on this track I’m not particularly surprised.
I have heard of Aqualung before – Bob has played some of their material in the past – but largely their output has passed me by. The start of “Rolls So Deep” from “Memory Man” started off gently but soon got cranked up a little without losing its appeal. Sublime pop, this – on this, Matt Hales’ vocals are occasionally subdued, sometimes uplifting, but never dull. Bob thinks there’s a hint of the Beach Boys here: not too sure of that myself, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Surf’s up! The Chantays provided the instrumental “Pipeline”, which was lifted from a new collection called “The Birth Of Surf”. Tell me you didn’t instantly think of ‘Pulp Fiction’ or “Taxi” (the original French version, not the abysmal US remake) when you heard this the first time around!
C C Adcock has featured on Bob’s show before too, this time “Stealin’ All Day” from his album “Lafayette Marquis” was played. Great stuff, too – the guitar did most of the work here but that wasn’t a huge problem, setting up his edgy vocals to good effect.

The West Country’s Wire Daisies introduced themselves to Bob: they are Alden Evans (guitar), Treana Morris (vocals), Steven Jackson (drums) and Ol Beach (keyboards). “Come Home Safely” kicked off their live set, Alden’s intricate acoustic guitar and Treana’s occasionally angelic, often powerful vocals excelling in an intimate studio setting. Her voice reminds me of Anne McCue at times, then she shifts pitch and power to emphasise a particular set of lyrics. This song is a hidden track on the new album “Wire Daisies”, released three years after their first, “Just Another Day”. The band is lucky enough to have their own recording studio in ‘a little barn’ in Cornwall, with many of the songs on the new album consisting of ‘live’ takes and few edits, far removed from one contemporary recording that was mentioned with no less than 32,000 digital edits! “Rocket Girl” was up next, again from the new album and something that Bob has already played this year. A slightly different take on Treana’s vocals here from the recorded version where her pitch is truly remarkable, although there were hints of her full range throughout the song. This is the new single, which should really be picked up by mainstream R2 airplay as it is really, really good. Wire Daisies have provided support at gigs for diverse acts such as Deep Purple and Robbie Williams, the venue for the latter holding some 75,000 people which Treana described as ‘terrifying’ though ‘really good’. Janice Long invited them along to do sessions on her show during their early days, their initial ‘leg-up’ being provided by ex-Queen member Roger Taylor who ‘discovered’ them playing their weekly gig at a pub in Helford River, Cornwall. Talk of doing something not on the album (‘something new and different’) scared Treana too much so she stuck with another track from the new release for the final live song, namely “Let Me Love You”. This is a live Wire Daisies staple – minimalist backing allowing her distinctive vocals (stronger here) to shine through. Forthcoming gigs include support for The Levellers among others. For me, this live session seemed a bit rushed, although there was a nice bit at the end where Treana played how “Time Will Tell” originally started as a song – which led in nicely to Bob playing the album version, which sounds nothing like it! This is a much more energetic track, bouncy guitars and drums complementing her exceedingly strong vocals here. All in all, an enjoyable session.

I wasn’t entirely convinced at times by the vocals on the Dave Matthews’ Band track “Crash Into Me”, from the album “Crash”, but the musicianship was superb. Bob certainly liked it, though.
Porcupine Tree was another new band for me – “Sentimental” from their album “Fear Of A Blank Planet” certainly started off well enough with some interesting arrangements and dark, almost brooding vocals courtesy of Steven Wilson. After that the song never really went anywhere but stayed faithful to this recipe: although there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, there just seemed to be something lacking.
The album “The Charm And The Strange” by Simon has already featured on Bob’s show this year, and he played another track this week, namely “Beatbox”. Her real name is Simon Wilcox and she’s a girl, despite using the name ‘Simon’. Pleasant enough vocals, reasonably interesting backing instruments and arrangements, plenty here to warrant another listening and further investigation of the album.
Daisy May (May Erlewine) has had some recent airplay with “Shine On” from her untitled collaboration album with Seth Bernard released last year. Reminiscent of Patsy Cline in places, this contemporary artist obviously draws her inspiration from traditional, country and roots arrangements – and boy, is she good! Backing is almost irrelevant since her voice is so strong, although closer listening will appreciate just how good the minimalist accompaniment is, together with Seth Bernard’s harmonies. With four albums to her name already, she’s clearly destined for success in the States where this sort of music will be lapped up by appreciative audiences.
Another regular on Bob’s show earlier in the year was Corinne West, her “Second Sight” album yielding the track “Hand Full Of Gold” tonight. Bluegrass, alt-country and traditional influences are all on display here, woven together with her strong yet beautiful vocals into a rich musical tapestry. “Second Sight” is her debut album and has achieved acclaim in the States, not surprisingly really given just how good this track is. It’s not released on this side of the Atlantic for a couple of months yet, unfortunately.
Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen comprise Dolly Varden, the opening track on their album “The Panic Bell” being “Complete Resistance” and very enjoyable it was too, in a meandering, almost aimless sort of fashion. Bob likened it to Squeeze although that’s a little bit of a stretch.
The Barenaked Ladies rounded off the Canadian artists featured tonight, “Celebrity” being the opening track on their 2004 album “Everything To Everyone”. The usual witty lyrics continue here, although the band’s trademark quirkiness appears to have been replaced by something a little darker, more introspective and self-examining. Still, “Celebrity” is a great track, the harmonies here approaching the high standards set by the Fountains Of Wayne.

Next week’s programme is a live link-up with the North By North-East Festival in Toronto. Can’t wait!
_________________
Author: “To the Ends of the Earth: A Snapshot of Aviation in North-Eastern Siberia, Summer 1992”
(Free to read via Kindle Unlimited)
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