Everybody Got To Be Free

Where is the time going? I've got a couple of posts in the works, but just can't seem to get them completed. One of these days I'm gonna get myself organizized!

To keep things ticking over, here are a couple of versions of the same groove, by an unlikely pair of Richards - Little and Roy.

Colorama

Here's a mighty fine tune from Colorama's 2010 album 'Box'. Full-length album number three (there's also a mini-album or two knocking about) is due any day now - indeed it may already be available in Japan, as much of their previous work has debuted out there before gaining a domestic release. Carwyn Ellis fronts the band in tandem with his role as musical director for Edwyn Collins.

'Etiquette' is beautiful, timeless and a perfect soundtrack to this balmy evening.

Colorama - Etiquette by colorama

But I'm Different Now - Paul Weller at 54

I must admit that I'd grown a bit tired of Paul Weller. I still enjoyed the odd single, but the albums had ceased to engage me and the live shows I caught in the mid 1990s and early 2000s were....dull. Despite the fact that I fitted age-wise into the bracket myself, I came to look upon his oeuvre as Dad-rock - the ultimate insult!

So I was sceptical, to say the least, when I read the early reviews for '22 Dreams' in 2008 which were, almost uniformally ecstatic. Eventually, as the praise kept coming, I checked the album out. The reviews were on the button. It wasn't so much as a return to form, as an artistic rebirth which has continued with 2010s 'Wake Up the Nation' and the fantastic new album,'Sonik Kicks'. Suddenly all bets are off and no musical style is out of bounds. I loved The Jam, but at the moment I'd argue that Paul Weller is on the form of his life.

Today he's 54 - Happy Birthday Paul, I'm sorry I ever doubted you!

Happy Birthday Bob!

Thirteen songs into the sixth and final night of Bob Dylan's legendary February 1990 Hammersmith Odeon residency, the piano which had sat to the side of the stage throughout the whole week, remained untouched.

Finally, after concluding the acoustic set with Mr Tambourine Man, Bob put down his guitar and ambled ever closer to the piano as the crowd willed him on. He sat down, summoned his inner Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and gave us this...




Not his greatest song by any means, but what a performance - and listen to the reaction of the audience!

Happy Birthday Bob!

Richard Burton Dubwise

When a mash-up works it can be utterly inspired and this is one such occasion. Take a slice of  Richard Burton's narration of 'Under Milk Wood' and lay it over the 'Ali Baba' riddim and this is the spine-tingling result.

Low

The problem with (still) not having proper access to my physical music collection, is that if a tune doesn't pop up on my MP3 player for a while, it's in danger of slipping off the radar. Such is the case with this sumptuous beauty, which I played endlessly during the early part of 2011 and rarely since.

I'm not too sure about the accompanying clip - I find it distracts rather than enhances - so maybe, like me, you should sit back from the keyboard for a few moments and let this one wash over you.

Bay 7, Bed 26

A little under two weeks ago, as I prepared to heave myself into the shower, I had what my Mum would have called 'a funny turn'. It felt as if someone stuck a needle into either side of my neck at the top of my spine and injected bolts of pure pain which spread instantly up and across my skull, leaving me barely conscious. It was, to say the least, a scary experience.

I stupidly tried to ignore the event and struggled on for several days, groggy and unsteady, before finally calling in to see my doctor, who referred me immediately to a neurologist and within hours, for the first time since my birth 52 years ago, I found myself in hospital.

A small bleed to the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage) was a strong possibility - not dangerous itself, but potentially a precursor to something far more serious if it re-occurred. The specialist emphasised this point by snapping his fingers and saying it could be 'game over'. Dramatic, but he got my attention.

Thankfully, after three days of tests, including a lumber puncture (straight into the top five of the all-time most unpleasant experiences in my life) and brain scan, the diagnoses was that I had suffered a Thunderclap Headache, which may sound innocuous, but believe me, is not. A little rest and mild medication and I should be fine.

As the youngest and otherwise healthiest in my ward I was witness to the limitless patience and compassion offered by the medical staff during their 12 hour shifts to old, frail and confused men, some clearly approaching the ends of their lives.  I also briefly got to know some remarkable people who continually overcome seemingly insurmountable health problems and are determined not to 'go gentle into that good night.'

I may write about a few of those I met during my short stay in Bay 7, Bed 26, but I won't forget any of them.