A Lark Ascending

anyone? Great fun...though breaks no new ground. He's keen on Monteverdi as a source! I like it.

The Bollani is a trio disc with his Danish rhythm section Jesper Bodilsen-Morten Lund, should be a great one. I like the sound of that - there are two excellent earlier discs with this partnership.

Quite! I love your swamps...I keep expecting to see ghostly Confederate soldiers emerging. And Hardbopjazz' flower would make a great CD sleeve!

I love this picture, Bev! It really is an amazing place! That's the medieval monastery - but in the 18thC the site was turned into a landscaped garden. You follow a river in a gorge from the ruins round a 45 degree bend, landscaped all the way with formal lakes and walks at different levels. About a mile of wonderful, ever changing scenery.

Five years working on my garden is at last paying off:

The Big Bands are Back too!

Very sad - first Elton, now Hugh. From one of the most influential bands in shaping my musical tastes.

If the Magnificent Goldberg were here he'd refer you to the Rev. J.M. Gates "Death Might Be Your Santa Claus" which might go back to as early as 1926.

A nice story, if very imitative of Louis de Bernieres. Idyllic Basque community in first half - loving families, comic characters, harmless mischief; then sudden tragedy with the bombing; then the rebuilding. He also throws in vignettes of Picasso, the planning of the Condor Legion etc as Bernieres did with Mussolini in Captain Corelli. Still, very enjoyable and has made me want to read:

This new compilation might be of interest to anyone wanting to dip their toe into this marvellous little lake: Disc: 1 1. Cocaine - John Martyn, Theo Johnson 2. She Moves Through The Fair - Fairport Convention, Joe Boyd 3. Withering Tree - Jimmy Miller, Traffic 4. Seven Black Roses - Al Stewart, John Martyn 5. A Sailor's Life - Fairport Convention, Joe Boyd, John Wood, Simon Nicol 6. The Ocean - Joe Boyd, John Martyn, Beverley Martyn 7. Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal - Dr. Strangely Strange, Joe Boyd 8. Living In The Past - Alexander Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Terry Ellis 9. Matty Groves - Fairport Convention, Joe Boyd, John Wood 10. John Barleycorn (Must Die) - Chris Blackwell, Steve Winwood, Traffic 11. Banks Of The Nile - Fotheringay, Joe Boyd 12. One Of These Things First - Joe Boyd, Nick Drake, John Robert Wood, Robert Kirby, Paul Harris, Ed Carter, Mike Kowalski 13. Sir Patrick Spens - Fairport Convention, Frank Kornelussen, Jerry Boys, Joe Boyd Disc: 2 1. Dirty Linen - Fairport Convention, Joe Boyd, John Wood 2. On The Road To Find Out - Cat Stevens, Paul Samwell-Smith, Del Newman 3. Late November - Sandy Denny, John M. Wood, Richard Thompson, Harry Robinson 4. Flowers Of The Forest - Joe Boyd, Mike Heron 5. Spring Season - Amazing Blondel 6. Time Slips Away - Bronco 7. The Man Who Cannot See Tomorrow's Sunshine - Claire Hamill, Michael Coles 8. The Siege Of Yaddlethorpe - Amazing Blondel, Paul Samwell-Smith 9. Dear Old Battlefield - Stan Schnier, The Incredible String Band 10. Dark Eyed Lady - Robin Williamson 11. Poor Ditching Boy - John M. Wood, John Wood, Richard Thompson 12. The Nutting Girl - John M. Wood, Morris On Band 13. Bushes And Briars - Sandy Denny, Trevor Lucas 14. Black Jack David - Mike Heron, The Incredible String Band 15. Sailing - Muff Winwood, Sutherland Brothers 16. Over The Hill - John Martyn, John M. Wood 17. Things Behind The Sun - Nick Drake, John Robert Wood 18. Haste To The Wedding/The Triumph/Off She Goes - Ashley Hutchings, John Kirkpatrick Disc: 3 1. Hanged I Shall Be - Albion Country Band 2. Eibhli Ghail Chiuin Ni Chearbhail - John Martyn 3. Withered And Died - John Wood, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson 4. Spencer The Rover - John Martyn 5. Darlin' Cory - Bryn Haworth 6. The Sun Never Shines On The Poor - John Wood, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, Simon Nicol 7. Stone - Ronnie Lane 8. Dimming Of The Day / Dargai - Richard Thompson, John Wood, Linda Thompson 9. Upton Stick Dance - Ashley Hutchings 10. Calvary Cross - John M. Wood, John Wood, Richard Thompson 11. I'm A Dreamer - Jerry Boys, Jerry Donahue, Sandy Denny 12. May You Never [bBC - John Peel 4/2/77]] - John Martyn, Tony Wilson, Mike Robinson 13. Meet On The Ledge - Fairport Convention, Glyn Jones, Robin Black

There's no official announcement of the changes in any obvious place on the UK site. I assume they sent me an e-mail but I generally delete those without reading them (they're normally telling me that some heavy metal band is now on e-music!). I'm expecting things to change but will wait and see. In the meantime, those of you wanting to use up one credit might like to chance this: I've not listened yet, but at 54 minutes for one credit it's worth a chance!

In other parts of the world, people are still being tested in the same way. I'm not saying that, put in the circumstances, we'd not respond accordingly. But we in the West have not been tested in that way - any conflict has been largely far away from us and carried out by a small proportion of the population (with Vietnam, perhaps, being the exception). I won't get cynical about what that generation went through. We've just had local and European elections here and there on the lists are political parties espousing racist, right-wing dogma as if it all never happened. We can't be reminded enough about what those people (in many cases unwittingly) fought against and fought for.

That's actually where I made the mistake, All The Young Dudes was later...their earlier albums are much better (IMHO). It's nice to hear Mick Ralphs pre-Bad Company. If I remember right, they were one of many second division bands (talking success, not quality) in the early 70s, playing a common blues-rock veering towards hard rock (with pastoral bits!). 'All the Young Dudes' came as a result of major left turn - a Bowie influence, a decision to ride on the outer edges of Glam Rock. They struck gold. The only song I know from the earlier era is a storming rocker called 'Thunderbuck Ram' which was on a great Island compilation called 'Bumpers'. A lot of my later rock listening stemmed from that record.

I love Crosby's contributions too. Have always though that - when focussed - he had an unusual way with a song, using chords that few rock/pop musicians would try (Joni Mitchell did that more consistently). Of course he could also write throwaway stuff...but then so could the other Byrds. So could Neil Young (most of what I've heard in recent years, unfortunately). The lyrics of 'Triad' make wonderful evidence to chide the male self-absorbtion of the beautiful people. But I rather like its gentle, floaty sound. I'd place 'If I Only Could Remember My Name' as one of the great albums of the era; though I like many of Clark's songs I've never heard an album by him that holds together as well. But that's probably the direction I came from - CSNY were my entry point. Although I knew the Byrds by some singles I only explored their music in more detail after the era had passed and only became aware of Clark as a separate individual much later.

The new pricing structure is up on UK e-music but there's no indication that they are taking my existing plan away. Just a warning that if I move away from it I won't be able to go back.

You read about, listen to, watch footage of those events. And we thing we've got problems! I cannot even remotely imagine stepping out of a landing craft onto one of those beaches - I'm sure I'd be swimming the other way. Amazing people.

Good to read such a warm, generous comment, Jim.

This one's very nice too (though the cover doesn't help his cause!).

...gets my vote. Lovely solo album.

Yes, maybe we should be thanking our lucky stars for the three or so years of giveaway prices we've enjoyed rather than bemoaning the introduction of a more realistic pricing structure. Just as long as they continue to carry the Soul Note, Biscoito Fino, Label Bleus etc.

This can't be accurate. There are no Radiohead songs.

Rather sad, but this seems how things go. Something quite unique starts and becomes a middle league success. Those who run it get drawn into the possibility of going into the big league and enter mainstream territory. The distinctiveness vanishes, step by step. As, very often, does the business! As long as e-music continues to offer the range of music it does and prices don't exceed iTunes or Amazon I'll stick with it, though probably cut back once the price hike hits Europe. One thing I wish they'd be is a bit more discriminating - for yesterday's new releases you had to wade through yet another low budget label releasing a zillion early jazz collections, the music of which is available elsewhere.

I lived in Singapore from 1965-68. We were deluged with American pop culture there - comic books, the latest TV series etc - on a level way above what I'd known in the UK (I suspect union rules in Blighty forbade the entry of a Marvel comic unless a copy of the Beano went the other way). I can recall looking enviously as a 10 year old at the massive Civil War sets of soldiers and dreaming of possessing them. One thing we did have was a 'Show'n Tell'. All quite bizarre as the records/slide sets we had to play on them were also clearly American - I still have memories of watching one on George Washington and the Great Colonial Insurrection (though I think it had a more partisan title). We also had Australian Corn Flakes which tasted very different to English Corn Flakes.

The Sheppard and Sclavis are already out here. The Sheppard is nice but not one I think I'll come back to often. The Sclavis is meant to be quite rocky, based on the Odyssey. The Surman looks really interesting - been a while since he's done a quartet date. Hope the Bollani is less dour than his first ECM solo.

You didn't know the Queen had an iPod? The Queen's corgis have iPods!