CD Review: Muse - HAARP

Following on from my much documented Muse euphoria (after seeing them live in March), I ordered the HAARP package. This package is based on two live concerts that Muse held in the new Wembley stadium over two days in June 2007. The CD captures the one day while the DVD is of the other day. Fortunately for me it did actually arrive and I have been listening to/watching it ever since. It is described as a live CD that includes a bonus DVD, but to me I view it as the other way round i.e. a live DVD with a live CD to accompany it (there are more songs on the DVD than there are on the CD).

Separating them out, let’s take a look at the CD first. If I consider what makes a live album great, it is very difficult to pinpoint one single thing. Obviously there are some factors that have to be good, such as song selection and recording quality. But the truly great ones capture something extra. In the case of AC/DC’s ‘If you want blood..’ there is a raw energy and excitement that make the album crackle with energy. The crowd chanting ‘Angus, Angus, Angus’, and Angus himself giving it his all as solo after solo sneaks in and boogie woogies all round your head, cannot be equalled. Then there is Iron Maiden’s ‘Live after death’ with Bruce Dickinson exhorting the crowd to ‘scream for me Long Beach’, a now classic quote. Others such as the Eels’ ‘Oh what a beautiful morning’, Talking Heads’ ‘Stop making sense’, Little Feat’s ‘ Waiting for Columbus’, Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s ‘Pack up the plantations’, Nick Cave’s wall of sound on ‘The abattoir blues tour’ and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘One more from the road’ have something special that makes them great. There are also some weird anomalies such as Lou Reed’s ‘Take no prisoners’ where the level of self, and audience,-loathing makes this a one of a kind too, but that is the exception rather than the rule. In each case it may be a different factor but in the end it is all about what the artists choose to reveal to their audiences, and the fun that they have playing their music (except for Lou).

On this CD, sound quality is really good, with the live mix coming across well. The track-listing covers all aspects of their career so far and my only beef is that there is no ‘Feelin’ Good’ on the CD. In terms of the ‘something extra’ discussed above, the band give it their all with an energy that is infectious. While not much dialogue takes place with the audience, there are enough quips and ‘thank yous’ to ‘Wemberley’ to keep this alive and energetic. What is astounding is the way that the band sound better with every song. Towards the end, Matt’s voice sounds stronger than when he started.

The DVD however is what makes this package worthwhile in my opinion, especially if you have been to a Muse concert. It functions as a perfect document of what a Muse concert is like and had my daughter and me reminiscing all the way as we recognised elements of the concert we had experienced in Johannesburg. Here the track-listing is far more comprehensive than the CD, covering 6 more songs (including Feelin’ good). As a bonus DVD, this far exceeds expectations. The sound and visual quality is of the highest standard, hence my comment about it being the actual item in the package with the CD as a bonus. Their concerts in general are grandiose, high energy, affairs, and in the case of these Wembley showings even more so. The energy and spectacle is thrillingly captured in this format. Musicianship is flawless with Muse the band delivering like a well-oiled machine.

In terms of extras, there is not much. There is a ‘making of’ type documentary that is interesting enough, but what would have been nice are some interviews with the band members, and a photo gallery. This brings me to the one thing that I would raise as a criticism. This is definitely not a band that gets very involved with their audience. They keep to themselves. Ultimately I suppose that their interaction is more at the emotional level, and at this they are very good. They manage to generate excitement, elation and euphoria with their craft. This to me is preferable to singers or bands who hold long one-way conversations with their audiences and then deliver an average performance. But, some insights into the band members and what they are like as people would have been very welcome.

Well I don’t want this blog to become a Muse blog in general and therefore will have to get over the band at some stage.

Don’t forget, your comments are most welcome.

CD Review: Bob Dylan - Modern Times

CD Review: Bob Dylan – Modern Times

In my explorations in the World Wide Web I have noticed that this album caused some controversy on its release in 2006. Several authoritative publications rated it as a 10/10 or full marks on whatever scale they use, and then very vocal commentators disagreed with that saying that it is not ‘Blond on blond’ or ‘Highway …’. This interested me and I decided that I should form my own opinion. The first thing that you should know is that up until now, I have never owned or heard a full Bob Dylan album – there I said it. Of course I have heard most of the most famous songs, and who does not totally enjoy Hendrix’s version of ‘All along the Watchtower’, but I have no prior experience of a Dylan album. Why I make this point is that, hopefully this will mean that I can provide a view on the album without having any pre-conceived ideas, and also make no comparison to prior work.

Although I must mention that the CD sleeve tells one almost nothing, I have determined that the band on the album is the same that has been touring with Dylan recently and the album was produced by Dylan himself.

In my mind, the antecedents of this album seem to align themselves for the production of a gem. Namely, there is no external pressure on Dylan to produce a best seller or hit single, I don’t think that he needs the money and his last two albums have been hailed as a return to form. Therefore he can go into the studio for the right reasons, to have fun recording a new album with nothing to prove.

So, what is the album like?

The answer is that it rocks! This bunch of old guys, lead by main old guy, Bob Dylan, lay down some funky grooves. The drum and bass section are rock solid. Every song bounces along on some of the coolest rhythm tracks one can imagine. The rest of the band is even better. Then Dylan adds more lyrics to each song than one can believe possible. He just keeps going and he’s got a lot to say. I always thought that his voice would start to grate after a couple of songs into any album, but in a strange way he manages to keep things fresh each time.

The question is: what does he sing about at such length? And interestingly, apart from a couple of barbed political numbers (which are thought-provoking and insightful), the story is the same as any guy has – guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, girl frustrates the hell out of guy. Listening to this album is like having a real heart-to-heart discussion on life with your most beloved Uncle. Here he is at 70 odd years, and still describing with such vivid clarity what you have been through, and what you can expect to go through for the next half of your life too. It is encouraging and empathetic in a way that leaves me motivated and glad to be alive and in a relationship. This may sound as if males may get more out of the songs than females, but what I would say is that if you as a female wonder what guys talk about – have a listen to this, you may gain some insights. I know I am generalising dangerously here. You are welcome to disagree; this is only my opinion

As I mentioned, there is not much information on the sleeve notes so I don’t see any song-writing credits. However I recognise some of these songs such as ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ and ‘When the Levee breaks’, but I am pretty sure the lyrics are largely his own. My personal favourite track is ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ closely followed by ‘Nettie Moore’. Dylan can pull rhymes out of thin air with nonchalant ease. His craft in this area is awesome to behold (sonically that is). Every song is strong and of high quality both musically and in terms of the lyrics – they have already become old friends to me and I can’t help smiling when each song starts and I anticipate what he is going to be singing about. Dylan is one witty guy who really loves music and still has a lot to say. The love of music is very tangible and this is why I like the album so much. In recording this album, Dylan also performs a very important role in an ‘oral history’ type of way by updating some near-traditional old songs, polishing them up and delivering them to generations who may never have heard them. Hopefully this will encourage people, especially other musicians, to examine their roots from time to time.

The band sounds comfortable and un-hurried. Dylan has taken some time to get into a studio, gather his thoughts and deliver a carefully prepared package of songs for his audience. My interpretation of the message is that people should stick together, enjoy life and don’t forget to stop and laugh at yourself every now and then.

I think that I should explore some of Dylan’s back-catalogue.

Or would that destroy the impression I now have?

Please add comments if you have them, they are most welcome.

CD Review: The Goo Goo Dolls - Greatest Hits Volume One The Singles

While always a big fan of the ‘Dizzy up the girl’ album, I had never heard anything else from the Goo Goo Dolls, and was not sure on where they stood in my personal ranking of great bands. I think I placed them in that twilight area of mediocre type American rock bands along with Matchbox 20, Collective Soul and Counting Crows i.e. bands that are capable of some very good moments, but also, of far more very average moments.

The Goo Goo Dolls always struck me as a bit different in the sense that they at least had a more distinctive sound, using less traditional open-tuning on their guitars, and the distinctive vocals of John Rzeznik. Tunes like Slide, Broadway and of course Iris came across as very satisfying. Another aspect in the make-up that has impressed me has been the absence of media hype. John Rzeznik keeps a relatively low profile and the Dolls seem to be happy to carry on with their mission, which to me seems to be that of putting out solid ballad type rock.

So then, the question is – how great is a Greatest Hits album from the Goo Goo Dolls? They have stamped it as Volume One (the singles), which must imply that they expect plenty more Hits in the years to come. Of the 14 tracks, 5 are from ‘Dizzy up the girl’ but it must be mentioned that ‘Name’ is in the form of a new version, and 'Feel the Silence' is a remix (and also not from Dizzy...). This does then push the balance over whether to decide to buy the album rather than just stick with ‘Dizzy up the girl’. My question is, however, why not tag on the original versions of both those songs too, for the completists? Sure it’s great to have a new version of ‘Name’ – but it’s not the ‘Name’ that was the single, was it?

OK, I got a bit side-tracked there. How good is the album? It’s got all the best bits of ‘Dizzy up the girl’, and then the best of the rest too, so to me it’s pretty good. This compilation is evidence of a master song crafter and acts as an impressive display of his wares. Great to sing along to as well, who can resist the ‘..there’s a young man sitting in an old man’s bar…’ of ‘Broadway’, or ‘…Oh May, do you wanna get married…’ of ‘Slide’, or even the ‘da na na na da na na na da daa…’ of ‘Iris’ (you know what I mean)?

If you don’t have anything by the Goo Goo Dolls already, this is a good place to start. If you already have all their albums, then maybe don’t bother. Here’s hoping that they can give us another as good as this one at the end of the next decade!

Recommended Radio Station in Johannesburg

Okay, You may or may not know, but traffic in Johannesburg (that's the biggest city in South Africa in case you don't know) has become something of a nightmare. Without much in the way of alternative safe public transport systems, this leaves you sitting in your car for fairly long periods of time. Not a problem if you have some decent rock music to listen to during the ordeal. But sometimes things go wrong i.e. your CD player is empty, you have listened to Radioheads 'In Rainbows' twice already during this trip or some type of malfunction takes place. This should not be a big problem, as there is always the radio. Having travelled to a lot of the big cities in the world, I have found that you can always tune into something rocking on the radio.

Not here in Johannesburg! Or at least not until recently......

It was not always like this. A decade ago 5FM played some good rock music. Even earlier than that they played some excellent rock music. We had the likes of Chris Prior, Rafe Lavine and Barney Simon laying down some brilliant sessions. Rafe did the Heavy Rock late at night. A classmate of mine reported that he had to do pushups all night to try and keep awake waiting for Rafes show to start (it did not show - he was the skinniest guy I knew). Well those days are gone. 5FM now is strictly Pop and Hip hop, I suppose their target market likes it... Then we have 94.7 or Highveld radio, they seem to specialise in Wimp-rock. And that's about it for Rock music.

There are of course some good stations, but just not delivering the rock I need. Classic FM delivers a quality classical music format. Kaya FM delivers solidly in the Soul and RnB categories (http://www.kayafm.co.za/frontpage.php) . But that is generally not what I want.

Well ...... now we have UJFM. This is the local 'College radio' station. The DJs are kids from the University and the music is mainly Rock. Their accents tend to be great, the punchline for the station is 'Your Noise of Choice' but when they say it it comes out ' Your Norz of Chorz'. Even better, there are not many advertisements. In an hour you could hear anything from Slipknot, to Snow Patrol. In fact it was the first place that I heard the excellent Wolfmother single 'Woman'. On top of this they have a solid representation of local music too.

All is not rosy, as their signal is not that strong, and I tend to lose it for the part of my trip to and from work that passes through a dip, but such is the lack of quality rock on any other station, I sometimes prefer to listen to something like the Queens of the Stone Age's 'Little Sister' through an exreme static hiss rather than change that dial. Check out more about the station at this website: http://www.ujfm.co.za/

DVD Review: David Gilmour -Remember That Night Live at the Royal Albert Hall (DVD)

Well at face value this DVD looks like it has lot of potential. First of all David Gilmour takes on his new Album 'On an Island' and decides to play it live in it's entirety. Next he assembles most of the musicians who played on 'On an Island': Richard Wright, Phil Manzanera, Jon Carlin, Guy Pratt, Steve DiStanislao, and Dick Parry. Then he even rounds up special guests: David Crosby, Graham Nash, David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. This almost sounds too good to be true, even in danger of becoming overblown and stultified when considering the big names involved. Things can go horribly wrong with so many big egos involved in a project like this...... so do they?

Not at all - the individuals involved gather around Gilmour as true team members and seem to get on with the business of professional entertainment! The DVD pack that I purchased consists of two discs. The first is the concert DVD. This disc include an entire performance of the 'On an Island' Album which is excellent. The band look relaxed and as if they are enjoying themselves - and the sound is excellent. In fact the concert recording audio and visual are of the highest quality. What about the content? Well 'On an Island' is a pretty relaxed album that made it to 1 in the UK charts, so if you liked that, what's not to like. Then in addition Gilmour also performs some tracks by his usual band, maybe you have heard of them 'Pink Floyd'? Here a broad period is covered from early Syd Barret PF era recordings such as 'Arnold Layne' (done with Bowie on vocals) to later classics such as 'High Hopes'. Also included are some relative 'obscurities' such as 'Fat Old Sun' and 'Dark Globe' amongst others.

All in all one could not ask for more - this disc is excellent.

So still not sure whether to buy the DVD package or not? Check out disc 2 'Bonus Features'!

This disc includes several other (non Royal Albert Hall) live performances, and several Documentaries. The quality of these live recordings varies, but the must haves on this disc are the documentaries. You get to join the tour and travel around with the band through Europe and a little on the USA west coast. You get to see the environment in which Gilmour works with intriguing looks at his house-boat based recording studio nestled somewhere on the Thames, and you get a view of Gilmour and some of the band Jamming in a barn in the middle of nowhere (I think). In addition, a reasonable amount is revealed here relating to Gilmour as an individual. My interpretation: someone with a sense of humour, but also very firm on who is right or wrong in any situation. Another key factor: never compromise on quality! This comes through in the entire DVD package - content is strong on both discs, the packaging is great and in my view value for money too.

Overall recommendation: Buy it!