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Bob Harris Saturday Show 28/04/07 - a review by Cherskiy

 
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Cherskiy



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

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 6:56 am    Post subject: Bob Harris Saturday Show 28/04/07 - a review by Cherskiy Reply with quote

Tonight’s live session was provided by Martha Tilston, daughter of folk artist Steve Tilston and who has carved out a fair reputation for herself on the Fish Records website, which promotes and sells CDs by a variety of acoustic and folk artists – well worth a look if you like the sort of stuff Bob plays regularly. Not a great deal for me to report on tonight, however, except a change to the play-list put up on his website – the Fratellis fell through the cracks somehow, possibly due to the midnight news coming a couple of minutes early.

If you’re only familiar with the Fountains of Wayne through the well-played “Stacy’s Mom” from their 2003 album “Welcome Interstate Managers”, then you might want to delve a little bit more into their back catalogue. Bob played “Radiation Vibe”, the opening track from their 1997 self-titled debut release, energetic backing competing for first place along with harmony-laden choruses that almost bite. Whilst this track won’t exactly set the world on fire, it shows that the band had a lot of promise back then.
A more recently emerging talent is that of Jesse Malin, who despite having some previous success in the New York post-punk scene, has yet to make it big on his own. With the help of Bruce Springsteen, his latest solo album, “Glitter in the Gutter”, is doing quite well and “Broken Radio” was Ken Bruce’s Record of the Week recently. “Don’t Let Them Take You Down” is an excellent example of his gutsy, hard-edged vocal range and angst-ridden lyrics. Malin does seem to have the staying power to succeed (this is his third solo album) and some mainstream UK airplay won’t have hurt his cause any: it should help sales for his UK tour which starts next month.
Vanessa Peters was the first of the evening’s new artists for me, Bob playing “Signposts” from this Austin-based singer-songwriter’s new album “Little Films”. This folk artist appears solo and together with an Italian band for tours called “Ice Cream on Mondays”, but their albums appear to be collaborative efforts. Three EPs and three full-length albums later, she seems to be quite well-known in her home state of Texas. Nothing hugely original here but very pleasant listening all the same – unobtrusive backing that takes nothing away from her excellent delivery.
The Orchids were new to me as well, their recent release “Good to be a Stranger” yielding the track “Down to the Ocean”. They struck me as being fairly similar to the Go-Betweens from at least a decade ago, coming up with some decent harmonies whilst not exactly over-stretching themselves in the process. This is something of a comeback for the group, though – a thirteen year hiatus between albums!
“Rocket Girl” goes a long way in proving that those who predicted the Wyre Daisies were capable of breaking into mainstream airplay, were right all along. Treana Morris provides some delicious vocals on this, the new single from their forthcoming release, an eponymously titled album due out in a couple of weeks time. Comparisons with Dolores O’Riordan (of Cranberries fame) aren’t far off the mark although Morris has a style and range all of her own, whilst this particular track shows off the rockier image that the band displays at times alongside the more folk-orientated ballads they can also pull off to great aplomb.

So to the live session, courtesy of Martha Tilston. She told Bob she never went into folk music to follow her father, but liked the fact that the songs ‘have hung around for a hundred years or so’. Her backing musicians consisted of Tim Cottrill on mandolin, Matt Kelly on fiddle and Matt Tweed on bouzouki and bass. “Artificial” was the first live track, taken from her current album “Of Milkmaids and Architects”, about when she was working as a temp in an office, dreaming about jumping over tables and escaping! She has an almost haunting but nonetheless enchanting voice, which goes well with the accompaniment in an acoustic setting – although the arrangement here is undoubtedly folk in nature, its lyrics are firmly rooted in the present. With a previous (short-lived) career as an actress, Bob asked whether this helped her put across her songs on stage – it did. The next live song was “Falcon”, a song about looking at the world from a different perspective. Acoustic guitar was to the fore in the backing here, perfectly complementing her seemingly effortless delivery, despite the speed at which she sings some of the lyrics here. This track is available for free download on an album she ‘secretly’ released last year on the net called “Ropeswing” – she said you have to know someone who has it to get it! “Milkmaids” is her second ‘proper’ album (“Bimbling” was the ‘official’ debut, although a collaboration with Matt Tweed called “Rolling” had a limited release a year or two beforehand), and by way of closing her set, Bob played “Winter Flowers” from this. She explained it was about the feeling that you don’t want to be with someone any more. A sad theme but a beautiful song all the same, the studio production for the track hardly differing from her live session heard just minutes beforehand. If anything, the album track was slightly more measured, whereas her live material was much more up-tempo. Considering I’d never heard her before, I was converted straight away and have made a mental note to buy both “Bimbling” and “Of Milkmaids and Architects” as soon as possible.

Linda McLean’s second album “No Language” has been on my wish list for a few months, so I was pleased to see Bob featuring the track “Only One” tonight. Another Canadian in the mould of Sarah Harmer and Kathleen Edwards, she is another artist who blurs the edges between traditional roots and contemporary sounding musicians such as Sarah McLachlan. Pleasant vocals, interesting but unobtrusive guitar style all add up to a worthwhile package here.
Three albums followed Alana Davis’s strong 1997 debut with “Blame It On Me”, the latest being “Surrender Dorothy”, her rich, almost smoky vocals adding something to her cover of the Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” that Bob played tonight. The daughter of a black jazz pianist and a white jazz singer, she has forged her own career although it’s clear to see the influences from her parents’ background here.

Joan Armourplating features in a specially-recorded concert next weekend.
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Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
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Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent show Cherskiy, especially enjoyed the Martha Tilston live set, but the one song that just sticks in my head, as I think it's a tremendous song, was Twang with Either Way. You must have been busy this week Cherskiy as I have missed you not posting on last Saturday's show, till today.

BB Twisted Evil
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Cherskiy



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

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi BB, yes, have been fairly busy this week at work (seconded to a different department) and at home (trying to get this month's magazine produced) so couldn't get the review finished until this morning, and that was a rush job, unfortunately. I think I must have fast forwarded through the last hour of the show as I can't remember the Twang track at all! Sad

As you say, Martha Tilston's set was extremely enjoyable. Bob's show has become something of a mecca as far as acoustic artists go, and those who can turn their live sessions around to this form of music - I suspect we'll see many more famous and not-so-famous names as various tour dates pick up during the summer and autumn. Once "North By North-East" gets underway, Bob'll be recruiting a whole wadge of Canuckistans to come across later in the year, just you wait! Very Happy
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Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
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Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Cherskiy, just listening again to Bob's Saturday show as I do my ironing for my hols next week. Sidecar is away with her sister this week so I can do my own thing like playing music as loud as I like, Just now Vanessa Peters has just finished & Neil Young has just started, rattling the walls, well 18 Till I Die, or Tubthumping is my anthem.
You should,IMHO, try and have a quick listen to Twang, a Brummie band, before his show tonite as Bob was very impressed with them as well.
I like Canute musicians, they seem to be more laid back than the Yanks and I have been a Gordon Lightfoot fan since the 60's and more recently, well than the 60's, KD Lang, they are in good company with Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bryan Adams & Joni Mitchell.

BB Twisted Evil

PS I always read your report on Bob's show and really enjoy it even if I don't post a reply, so keep em comin.
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