Ever wondered the source of the music that goes with the Persil Small and Mighty ad pictured here?

It is the best rock band in the world at the moment, the small and mighty White Denim.

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In fact, you probably did not hear it here first, it is all over the media. Even in the Daily Mail (that well known organ obviously has its finger on the pulse of Yooth Kulture). That being inspite of a press conference being set for Tuesday 18th October to make “an announcement”.

It now seems common knowledge that the reunion will start next year and 2 concerts in Manchester being widely touted.

While not a big fan myself it is good to see an iconic band coming together again. It seems that Ian Brown and John Squire have put those “musical differences” behind them. That was the big stumbling block to the band getting together again.

For younger readers The Stone Roses’ first self titled album in 1989 was hailed by may as the best debut album, ever. (Mainly, their PR team to start with and then music journos, and then the more gullible of the public. A good debut, even a great debut, but the best ever? I think not. Think of Zappa’s Freak Out, The eponymous Bob Dylan album, A Girl Called Dusty, Please Help Me by the Fab Four, I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges. AND obviously, The Velvet Underground with Nico debut.

Nothing wrong with hype, the music industry lives off it, but a bit of realism would be nice.

Anyway, expect huge competition for the tickets – and suitably large prices. I will be hovering my lap top when they go on sale, so perhaps I will see you there. I will be the old fart saying “yeah, not bad but not as good as Iggy, Frank, Don, Lou et al………….

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This is an old rumour but I have just found out that this is true, Carly Simon wants to be spanked before she goes on stage!

Stage fright is something I understand. I could not get up and play in front of people (maybe that is because of my profound lack of talent). I admire even the worse pub rock band that gets up and does it – and I have a seen them (no names etc. but they have been playing in my home town of Clitheroe, Lancs UK, for a number of years).

That CS needs to be spanked beggars belief. If she had a dispassionate view of the great songs that she has written and recorded like “He’s So Vain” and er, all the others (help me with this) then she should not have stage fright.

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Am I the only one?  Kate Nash has a single out, or perhaps its some random tune from an album – I could not care less.  However, bits of Do-Wah-Doo have an uncanny resemblance to ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ by the Only Ones (which is, obviously the best single ever released, ever).  I just hope that Peter Perrett is getting a cut….

Compare the two. The similarity comes when La Nash runs out of lyrics……

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The Small Faces will reunite to play the Vintage Festival (Goodwood August 13th). There are likely to be more dates and a tour announced in the near future.

Trouble is, it isn’t really The faces. It’s Some of them. Rod Stewart will not be there (too busy) he is going to be replaced by Mick ‘I am the best singer in the world’ Hucknall. Obviously, Ronnie Lanes will not be there (dead) he will be replaced by Glenn Matlock (ex-Sex Pistols). However, 3 out of 5 ain’t bad and Matlock is a proper musician (just ‘cos he was in the Pistols and a punk does not mean he could not play, quite the opposite).

My problem with the line up is the inclusion of the Haddock hounded Hucknall ( see previous about Hucknall for explanation). Rod Stewart may have been a cocky, jumped up jack-the-lad, raspy voiced, tit, but he was a

good

cocky, jumped up jack-the-lad, raspy voiced, tit.

Hucknall, does not rock, he does not have the voice to front a really rocking band. Would I go and see them? You betcha, then I could write about how crap they (he) were (was).

One really good part of this story is that Ronnie Wood has stopped drinking, a prerequisite for this booking and proposed tour. There had been fears for his health, and the health of the Stones. Perhaps Jagger’s talk did Ronnie some good, (see here). Although, if Ronnie is now sober why has the Faces gig and tour come before the Stones’ ? What else is hampering them from getting onto stage? Mick wants it Ronnies was up for it Charlie loves to play, with anyone anytime. What is left that could be getting in the way?

What is Keef up to at the moment?

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I can’t believe this but apparently his gingerness, the one known as Mick “I am the best singer in the world” Hucknall is scared of Haddock.

Tony Roebuck co-wrote ‘Fairground’ (apparently it was a hit) with the Ginger one – I have nothing against ginger people, just Hucknall – he sucks – revealed this strange but true fact after he (Roebuck) fell out with the less-talented-than-a-stone-singer.

Even stranger the big H is reported to have enjoyed relations with several well known ladies; Catherine Zeta-Jones, Martine McCutcheon, Helena Christensen and glamour model Kathy Lloyd among them. Go Figure, there is no correlation between female fame and taste.

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Why does Wreckless Eric deserve a Facebook appreciation society any more than any musical artist?

Is it because he has a great voice, hardly. Is it because he is a great guitarist that wrings all the emotions of your soul from six metal strings? Nope. Is it simply that he is still alive, some sort of national treasure like Johnny Rotten? No, although I am very glad he is still alive, obviously.

Wreckless deserves all the recognition and plaudits available (and more) for one simple reason. He has produced a body of work worthy of recognition as one of the greatest living songwriters to come to prominence in the late 70s. He marries his words to sparse arrangements that have the energy and directness that real rock evoked, and continues to evoke, emotional and conscious responses from his audience. He writes about real life about the pain and joy, the beauty and ugliness of the human condition.

In other words he is an artist working in music and song.

Ex art student (he thought he would meet lots of girls), rejected as a Butlins‘
Redcoat (he thought that would be a way of meeting lots of girls), some time banana quality checker and packer (no girls there) he knows the human condition.

Problems with alcohol, drugs, girls, handling fame and fortune (or no fortune and more notoriety than fame) has shaped his music. From the stunning first song that demanded our attention (Whole Wide World) to Same and the magnificent 33s & 45s via Reconnez Cherie his songs have always touched and moved.

Yet, somehow, he is not an aging rock star lauded for their past with no future like so many of the heroes of that time. He remains an artist of today, still writing singing and performing.

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So the long wait is over.  11 years since her last concerts in the UK and The Big Houston is back.

Trouble is that the H was rubbish.  I was not there (of course) but from the reports;

15 minute costume changes

Microphone and technical problems

Out of Key

The backing singers had to sing songs

Her brother sang a song

She talked too much sang too little (but if she was out of key…)

She started sentences that trailed away into………..

Although sad, it is nice to have my prejudices reinforced.

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I was re-reading Wreckless Eric’s great book ‘A Dysfunctional Success’. He tells of how Stiff Records decided that he could not write tunes (I beg your pardon?) and so they brought in Martin Page and Brian Fairweather to help him out. This must be for Big Smash. It was a thoroughly dispirating experience for Wreckless and the result not what he wanted……….

Anyway the Page Fairweather duo (they had matching baseball jackets with ‘Fairweather Page’ on the back – OMG) wer later responsible for “We Built This City On Rock ‘n’ Roll”.

‘Nuff Said (as Stan the Man says) they should be burnt at a stake!

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One in a short series covering well known and popular albums that I can not stand……..

What is wrong with Rumours ?

The first thing is that it is not Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood was and always will be the band with Peter Green, not a band without the man with the golden guitar. Yes, he was off somewhere on planet Green but to continue the band without him was like the Stones without Brian Jones (OK, like the Stones without Keef).

Something else I really, I mean really, disliked about this version of Mac was that they were so smug. Smugger than the smuggiest thing in the world. smugger than a cat that had all the cream and then found even more cream. I thought that they were a bit full of themselves……

As you will remember, Green was in Mayall’s Blues Breakers having replace Clapton. Mayall gave Green some time in a recording studio as a gift and with Fleetwood and McVie (who were also in the Blues Breakers) he recorded 5 songs and Fleetwood Mac were formed. They were a blues rock band. They were supberb.

With Rumours Mac placed themselves firmly at the forefront of soft rock. Soft rock, rock with a pretty face, tea and cumpet rock, rock without attitude. That is their main crime against rock.

Those, very personal objections aside what else is wrong with an album that contained so many hummable tunes?

The production is too slick, the harmonies too, well harmonic, the songs steeped in honey (with no lemon). Rock should be relevant and scratchy. It should make you think, not sleep. It should not be suitable to use a s lift (elevator) music. It should be music not musac.

I know that I am in a minority of 1. I know that Rolling Stone, Q, Mojo, and the rest of the universe all believe this to be one of the best records ever produced.

They are wrong.

Fleetwood Mac’s line-up consisted of guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood, keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie, bassist John McVie, and vocalist Stevie Nicks

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