Back to Back to Black (Amy Winehouse tribute album)

Last year Q magazine compiled a track by track cover version of U2's Achtung Baby to coincide with the album's 20th anniversary, and to be honest, I found that particular issue rather hard to track down, scouring a number of local newsagents before finding a solitary copy in WH Smiths.

And understandably so, since I was impressed by the calibre of contributing artists taking part to pay homage to the classic album.

Having fallen for this trick a number of times before from the predictable Mojo magazine and their re-covered Beatles albums featuring a whole host of people that I hadn't heard of and hadn't done a great job either, I was dubious of the magazine's ploy.

In this case tho, Snow Patrol, The Killers, Jack White and Depeche Mode, had all been drafted in, and the result was a startling reinterpretation of one of rock's well respected artefacts.

And so, to mark a year since the sad and untimely passing of Amy Winehouse, Q's latest cover mount is a song by song reconstruction of the modern classic, Back To Black, originally released in 2006.

The Cribs and The Manic Street Preachers head up the talent this time around, alongside The Temper Trap, The View, St Ettiene and up and comers Dry The River and Hollie Cook.

It is my sad duty to report that even with these artists on board, the album fails to impress, the over all feeling of it is far too muddied, cluttered and lacking focus, bleakly paralleling Amy's final years in the media spotlight.

Not to say that there are not good tracks on there, just that they are few and far between, Hollie Cook's reggae light take on You Know I'm No Good stands out as a highlight on the first half of the album, and at the half way mark The Temper Trap seem to mimic Spandeu Ballet balladry on Love Is A Losing Game (my opinion of which, the verdict is still out on), from here on in tho, the quality somewhat improves.

Karima Francis tackles Tears Dry On Their Own and buoys it with enough emotional weight to make it work and claim it for her own, Swindle and Zed Bias both inject a controlled dose of dub step into each of their more zion-skewed cover versions, and both sound all the more refreshing for their challenging takes, meanwhile The View's attempt at Addicted doesn't stretch itself too much, but satisfyingly adds a cheeky twist to Amy's ode to cannabis.

yet even with these positive points going for it, it does still leave half the tracks to be filed under forgettable, or even worse, skippable.

perhaps the reinterpretations were just handled incorrectly, or perhaps it is just too soon, perhaps it is because the memory of Amy Winehouse and her unique contribution to the music world still resonates with us too much, and no matter how fondly we look back on it, we are not yet far enough removed for this project to feel right.

Back To Black's impact on the musical landscape was phenomenal, inspiring a renaissance in self-empowered female artists, as well as bringing a flavour of Motown and soul back into the charts ahead of the inevitable imitations that would follow.

But very few would ever get close to Winehouse's troubled talent and her noir fuelled delivery, so closely intertwined with her turbulent life, indeed, with the lead single Rehab, she laid her problems bare for all FM radio listeners to hear.

so I must conclude that while Q and the artists involved made an admirable effort, it falls some way short of living up to the already considerable legacy that Amy Winehouse left with us in such a tragically short career.

Barbarossa - Butterfly Plague E.P

evocative synths and scattered drum machines breath life into the beautifully delicate Butterfly Plague E.P, creating a perfect example of how to tug on the heart strings with just a few simple concepts, a fragile voice and a little technology.

since catching Barbarossa live at a charity gig late last year and gorging myself on whatever sounds of his the Internet could offer me, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of new material.

a folky nuance on display in previous offerings is hard to shrug off, by no means a bad thing, as it lends the tracks a genuine warmth and earthiness, a certain campfire feeling that draws you in and engages with you on a personal level.

indeed, Temporary and the Stones are both shot through with heartfelt emotion and completed with vocal turns that are so entrancing so as to mark out Barbarossa as a leading light in post-break up anthems, destined to be played on repeat in the bedrooms of the lonely across this land.

and it pains me to say anything against it, but I certainly wish that this release offered up just a little more...

those, like me, that have been waiting for the return of Barbarossa are dreadfully teased with just two brand new tracks, supplemented by a re-recording of 2006's sublime Stones (and an additional remix of the hypnotic title track exclusively for those that still consume their music on vinyl).

so it is that the Butterfly Plague E.P serves as a timely taster of a unique talent, a talent that I would plead effervescently with others to witness live at all costs, and I plead with Barbarossa to grace us with more material pretty sharpish (please).

Misha B

As the years keep progressing, I must admit that with each passing series I am subjected to more and more x-factor than I'd care to admit to.

And even when my viewing is kept to an absolute minimum, the contestants of 2011 are the ones that I had a greater awareness of and as a consequence, actually formed opinions on.

for all my kicking and screaming, there was one episode (and one performance in particular) that silenced my moaning and had me having to pick my jaw backup from off the floor.

Misha B was an absolute revelation to me, and her unique rendition of the already ubiquitous Rolling In The Deep was a thoroughly brave choice, refixing it with her own larger than life interpretation that was far too good to simply stand as just another entry in the UK's largest karaoke competition.



It would have made me happy to have seen her win the whole thing, but to be honest, she was far better than that, she didn't belong there, but it gave her a welcome exposure that it would have been hard to find elsewhere.

Now the time has come for her to throw off the shackles of Simon Cowells talent show albatross and make a name for herself independent of the normal reality tv expectations of drab cover versions.

more recent efforts by ex-X-contestants seem to have wizened up to the fickle music business and far more time and thought are put into post-TV careers.

But Misha B should be the star that outshines the rest of her peers, if she is willing to flaunt her obvious talent and exploit her previous TV notoriety to reach the maximum audience possible, she should live up to my high expectations.
 

Akira The Don - Unkillable Thunderchrist

Starting a mixtape with an accapella rap is certainly making a statement.

And what a statement, the beat drops and inside of 60 seconds we have already witnessed a dozen or more pop-culture references, including Salvador Dali, the Farrelley Brothers, Charlie Sheen and the 2012 olympic stadium, and chances are there may have even been a fair number that I haven't even picked up on.

It is this richness of reference points, combined with an honesty and wit that has seen welsh rapper Akira The Don blazing his own unique trail with every release.

Unkillable Thunderchrist is a ridiculously over-inflated title for the rappers 27th mixtape, which comes a year after the release of the second album proper, yet with suitable scope and a magnificent pomp, it hardly seems inappropriate given Akira's larger than life character and tendency to put the world to rights through the power of song. 

In terms of content (though not quality) it certainly is a mixed bag, from the self-explanatory Wu Tang riffing D.R.E.A.M (debt rules everything around me), onto Lemmings, sampling the classic computer game of the same name while broaching recent issues such as the mis-handling of the possible fuel crisis and the sinister Kony 2012 propaganda, right through to more personal experiences like watching Terminator underage, school's sex education and the exuberance of time mis-spent after a move to London.

Fans of rap prefixed with the term 'gangsta' may turn up their nose at a droll cover version of Justin Beiber's Baby, delivered over an elevator style Muzak track, but with an array of guest raps provided by collaborators old and new, there should be plenty more besides for those that are still immune to rampant Bieber Fever.

Indeed, it is the 7 minute opus, Give Me Something (11:11), at the heart of the mixtape that features Akira The Don solely on production duties and is instead headed up by Manchester MC, Envy, that is the absolute highlight of this release. A moving tribute to her late mother, recounting both the hardships and the happy memories that flood back as a simple drum beat kicks over a delicate guitar sample.

Although this is followed by the aforementioned Baby cover.

You have been warned.

Lois and The Love: Live @ The Macbeth

Intimate Hoxton bolthole, The Macbeth, is hosting the second date of a three gig residency by up and coming London band, Lois and The Love, and considering the sizeable crowd that has turned out for the second gig in as many weeks, there surely must be something about this band, whose buzz has been steadily building as they work towards the release of their debut EP later this summer.

Already with a number of London gigs under their belt, the band stepped up their game as they infiltrated the blogosphere in February with single Rabbit Hole, a Juliet Lewis and the Licks-esque romper stomper of a track that certainly kicks out the jams.



So any expectations are definitely delivered on when witnessing Lois and The Love doing their thing live, 'their thing' incidentally is a rock and roll spectacle, shot through with a blues-rock stomp and a down to earth garage band vibe, but it is no wonder that practising in garages or rehearsal rooms couldn't contain them, once you have feasted your eyes on the snake-hipped onstage cavorting of Lois herself.

All of the energy and immediacy of the live performance is heightened as their energetic lead pulses across the stage, yelping and wailing like a woman possessed, and putting in a frenetic vocal performance, and it is this exuberance of self-confidence that the band exudes that makes the atmosphere in a venue this size absolutely electric.

Watching them make short work of the fans assembled today, I recognise a flair that I have seen before, it is the appeal of a new band that you have found, a band you may have simply stumbled upon, but that tick all of the right boxes.

Perhaps others at this gig are experiencing them for the first time after deciding to stick their head into a free gig to see what the fuss is about, or perhaps it will be catching them on one of the smaller stages of a festival over the summer, but whatever the circumstances, I recognise that Lois and The Love deliver a performance that is as enjoyable for the crowd as it is for the band.

And that certainly bodes well for the future.

 

the third and final free gig at The Macbeth is this coming Wednesday 16th May

Coldplay's Chris Martin admits ten year tinnitus torment

back in February, during tinnitus awareness week, i ran a post concerning our nation's coverage of the problem that i, among with many other people are afflicted with, and the fact that the tinnitus angle of the story is swiftly swept aside as the red tops prefer to focus on the celebrity angle

but what should turn up on the front cover of the daily mirror today

Chris Martin's agony and anguish caused by his own tinnitus problem 

yes, it is finally real news now that the Coldplay frontman has voiced the fact that he has been suffering from tinnitus for the past ten years

he now lends his voice to a new campaign called Loud Music for a rebranded RNID (now Action on Hearing) alongside Plan B and Gary Numan and this news blitz has resulted in coverage on BBC, ITV and Sky news programmes and seen far more people discussing the condition on twitter today

and all of this welcome attention can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned

i have suffered with tinnitus myself for a number of years, and sadly it is all too often the case, as it was for me and it is for other sufferers, that it only ever becomes a problem that you care about when it is too late and the damage is already done

the hardest part to understand is why Chris Martin has not stepped forward a moment sooner in the past to make the larger public far more aware of a serious problem that affects music fans the world over, but it is better late than never and now I hope that with the support of high-profile touring artists will see a far more visible attempt to carry on spreading this awareness at the gigs, venues and festivals that will be housing Coldplay and Plan B this summer and beyond.

for more information on tinnitus and how to protect your hearing, visit http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/ and http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/

how original is The Voice?

it's a Saturday night and I am home infront of the telly.

it may be time to admit that my life has slowed to a worrying pace as i join my girlfriend, and probably the rest of the nation, watching BBC's The Voice. 

yes, dire times indeed, but at least it fuels my mind for blog fodder.

you'll be relieved to know that I haven't been tuning in every week, but there have been a number of weeks when I have caught the 'blind' auditions and found it to be an interesting alternative to the standard X-factor format (although I can hardly claim to be an expert on it), it wasn't quite reinventing the wheel but the real difference that stood it apart was the fact that some contestants were able to choose between mentors if chosen by more than one of the judges, and that these judges could only fill ten slots on their team, meaning will.i.am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and the other one from The Script were all playing their own games to out-psych their competition and also bide their time to pick a strong team.

the very concept of The Voice was the strength of an individual's voice, so presumably everyone was vetted and there is no need for 'novelty' acts to fill the airtime, and anything that places Cassius Henry back in the public eye is alright by me (hey, can we maybe get Aaron Soul making a comeback next year?)





the real challenge would be to see how the mentoring and the representing of theses teams played out and whether this show would continue to pique my interest.

singing against each other in a boxing ring didn't sound bad if only the show wasn't on so long for me to not even bother tuning in when I noticed a repeat on BBC3 that dragged on for an hour and a half. and so, the live shows.


oh, hang on, this seems familiar.

like I said, i'm no expert, but isn't this what happens on the X-factor?

oh, and the result show is tomorrow.

I must admit I care a lot less now.


celebrities mentoring contestants as we yet again search for another new reality tv star...

oh hang on, this really does seem familiar.

other than the new spin on the selection process, it appears that the BBC is pretty much pulling the same shtick that it did ten years ago with Fame Academy only this time we have will.i.am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and the one from The Script working full-time instead of Ronan Keating and Mariah Carey casually dropping by to offer advice

yeah, the beeb found something real special when they picked up The Voice

and maybe we'll have found someone really special by the time the show runs its course

although if the contestants were told that they have the chance of becoming the next Alex Parks, maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have bothered