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Bob Harris Saturday Show 10/02/07 - a review by Cherskiy

 
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Cherskiy



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

PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 2:02 pm    Post subject: Bob Harris Saturday Show 10/02/07 - a review by Cherskiy Reply with quote

I've been meaning to come up with a review of one of his Saturday shows for a few weeks now. Couldn't have picked a better one to start with, I suppose.... Very Happy

Despite being a self-confessed fan of Americana music, Bob has always tried to feature upcoming and established British singer-songwriters on his weekend programme, especially those who for whatever reason have never quite made the jump to national play-list material. The live session during his ‘second hour’ this week featured one of these artists, namely Thea Gilmore, who has had a fairly prolific career spanning some seven albums in at least as many years, including “Loft Music”, “Rules For Jokers” and the current release “Harpo’s Ghost”. Thea delivered an excellent three-song set, book-ended by Bob playing tracks from her albums “Burning Dorothy” and “Songs from the Gutter”.
The second half of the ‘second half’ had an added bonus in the shape of North Carolina-based Roman Candle (who Bob has featured on and off for about four years now) with a three-track set.

Personal highlights:

Draytones “Keep Loving Me” – thumping start to the programme with some classic guitar work (he ended last week’s show with it and calls it the best tune of 2007 so far). This single is due for release on 26th February and it would be a crime if the regular R2 play-list didn’t pick it up.
Porcupine Tree “Trains” from “In Absentia” – progressive rock for the new millennium, I suppose, although they’ve been going for the best part of 20 years, and a cursory look at Amazon reveals a huge back catalogue. Hmmm – definitely worth a second listen.
Octoberman “x-pat” from “These Trails are Old and New” – Vancouver based Marc Morrisette (any relation to Alanis?) Understated, almost world-weary lyrics, delivered simply and yet brilliantly. I can see Fish Records picking this album for resale in the UK if they haven’t done so already. The album is available on Amazon so it’ll be on my wish list by the close of today.
Laura Veirs “Ocean Night Song” from her forthcoming album “Saltbreakers”. In the past, Laura has been labelled as a nerdy version of Norah Jones, but she (and her band) really have a quirky style all of their own. Classed as alt-folk, her previous albums are also worth a listen, including the one I was introduced to her work by, “Year of Meteors”. Water and the sea seem to be regular lyric fodder for Laura and this is no exception, the accompaniment reminiscent of waves and whales. Definitely worth a listen.
Joi – “Forget Me Not” from “Without Zero” – classed as Indian techno, but certainly not harsh in the style of current ‘dance music’. I’m not a fan of Asian backbeat or even ambient music but I could get used to relaxing to this on the strength of “Forget Me Not” at least. However, some of the other material on the album is classed as ‘scratch’ so I’m probably better off just staying with this track, as the albums Joi have released seem to be a mishmash of varying styles.
Tony Furtado “California Flood” from “Thirteen” – Bob keeps tracks by some largely unknown Americana artists. Very laid back style clashing with an omnipresent beat but enough to warrant a closer look at the album.
Grayson Capps “Buckshot” from “If You Knew My Mind” – Bob featured him live last September. Probably best described as telling dark stories via country blues laced with understated humour, “Buckshot” is a great introduction to this artist who seems to have lived his lyrics, so heartfelt is their delivery.
Thea Gilmore sounds like a slightly huskier version of Joni Mitchell on her albums, despite being English. She’s been criticised for her trans-Atlantic vocals before but I can’t see why, as far as I am concerned it works just fine. “Are You Ready”, the first of the three live songs, was an powerful indictment of Bush’s rise to power through a voting farce, her strong yet calm and more English-sounding voice augmented only by a couple of perfect-sounding acoustic guitars (the other played by her partner, Nigel Stonier). Stripped down music at its very best. “Teacher, Teacher” followed, a response to someone asking her whether she’d mellow after the birth of her first child – her riposte: “Mellow? After watching the latest Big Brother?” It will be on her new album scheduled for later this year – her eighth. Some good conversation followed about her different touring styles – with a band or just stripped down acoustic (the theme for the 2007 tour starting soon). “December in New York” was the last of the three live tracks, another carefully and beautifully crafted song. She’s playing the Sage in Gateshead at the end of March – I must try and get a ticket….
Bob just couldn’t resist playing “Lip Reading” from “Songs from the Gutter” afterwards though – an example of Thea’s ‘band’ style output which wouldn’t work in an acoustic setting.
A quick change over ensued whilst Bob played a trailer, Roman Candle coming in for their live set. “Something Left to Say” from their “Wee Hours Revue” album preceded the live tracks, an enjoyable introduction to this North Carolina based band. “Winterlight”, “Modern Radio” and “Wish I Was in New York” followed. Thad Cockrell gave Bob a copy of their CD with “Winterlight” on when he came onto the Country programme. Bob loved it and started playing it on his weekend show. I can see why – an impressive slice of Americana, almost Springsteen-esque in terms of lyrics and use of harmonica. “Modern Radio” followed this trend, almost channelling Dylan in places (together with an obligatory nod to him, given the lyrics). The conversation that ensued about experiencing moonshine in a “moh-tyle” summed this band up completely. “I Wish I Was in New York” continued the musical theme, bringing to a close their impressive live debut on R2.
Swindon’s finest, XTC, opened the final hour with their hit “Senses Working Overtime”, part of the band’s “Fossil Fuel” singles collection. Took me back a bit, I used to like XTC (and even admired Andy Partridge’s appearances on TOTP despite his long-standing battles with and eventual surrender to stage fright) and really should buy this. “And all the world is football-shaped….”
Nashville-based Colleen McFarland's third album is “Beautiful Lie”, and Bob featured “A Thousand Miles Away” from it. Whilst I personally veer more towards alt-country, I can still appreciate a great voice when I hear one. Bob’s sure to feature her on his Country programme in the near future.
The Indigo Girls have been on my radar for a little while now (especially following a recommendation on this forum), so I was pleased to hear Bob play “I Believe in Love” from their album “Despite Our Differences”, which is released in the UK tomorrow. Amy Ray and Emma Saliers manage to produce great harmonies despite their different styles (rather like Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp’s collaboration in The Wreckers). A simple song, well written and well executed. More fodder for my ever-growing wish list on Amazon – seems I’m going to have to start buying eight albums a month instead of four to keep pace!
Lucinda Williams releases her new album “West” next weekend, and Bob played “Learning How To Live” from this. He’d devoted the whole of last week’s Thursday programme to a conversation with the artist and tracks from the album – I know she’s one of his favourites and her raw, almost rough style shines through on this song. Time Magazine described her as America's greatest songwriter and its almost hard to argue.
Future of Forestry “Speak to Me Gently”, from the album “Twilight” - Bob has played this track twice already this year and it’s clear why, due to the laid back delivery. Don’t know a great deal about them but a quick look on Amazon shows they released an EP with this on before the album.
Simon “Beatbox“ from “The Charm and the Strange” – hmm, a look at her Myspace site shows her listed under ‘Simon Wilcox’ which I would have thought is a bloke’s name. Oh well, she’s got a good voice and is backed up by two former members of Echo and the Bunnymen.

Rebecca Worthley is next week’s live artist.

And for those of you who like SOTS, Bob also played tracks from Dion and the Belmonts, plus Del Shannon.

Three hours of perfect radio. That’s how it should be done. Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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Behind Geddon's Wall



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I caught the segment with Thea Gilmore, and was extremely impressed, both musically and during the interview
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