I've got an exciting new system for this blog now. From now on it's going to be in 3 sections: Last Week, This Week, and A-Z of Music.

That's it! There may, in exceptional circumstances, be other special feature sections, we shall see.


Last Week

No gigs in the past 7 days. (or 8 actually, as I'm a day late). I'm loving my new keyboard though, and can't wait to get out and gig a bit more with it. I've been using it in more rehearsals lately, and the sounds and playing action are making it all the more fun. Come to think of it, this must be the first time in over a decade when rehearsals have outnumbered gigs! So there you have it, I do practice after all.

Speaking of gigs, the highlight of the week was on Monday night, going to see Chris Rea in Sheffield. Having travelled down the road to Hell, or the M1 as it's known, we reached our own Heaven in the shape of the Kellham Island Tavern in Sheffield, a lovely pub, and not five minutes from the stock car track, but that's another matter. The concert was very moving, every bit as good as the one 2 years ago in Newcastle, which must make this gig rank pretty high in my list of best gigs seen...

It takes a lot to move me at a concert these days. The years of cynicism and pressure (or clubland as it's also known) have left me almost as jaded as a major Record Label A&R man. But the amount of energy and passion in this performance had me hooked from the start. Brilliant band, awesome playing, and that voice... Funnily enough this time it was the blues numbers 'Easy Rider' and 'Dancing Down The Stoney Road' which got me the most. But everything about this man's music, especially played live, is perfect to me. I just love it.

Last weekend there was also a win for the Bulls, and a weekend trip to East Anglia for the stock cars, where it miraculously stayed dry again.


This Week
Tonight (Wed 31st) sees the return of the Paul Jeffery Band at Harrys Bar, Wakefield. This will feature the new keyboard so as far as I'm concerned, it's going to be great already. We start at 9 and it's a unique atmosphere in this tiny venue.

That's the only gig, as we're then into Easter which is always a breathlessly busy time for me. A simple diet of one Bulls match and 3 stock car meetings will pass the time very nicely thank you. I may well be away from my desk next Tuesday too as in Yorkshire we have this thing called Easter Tuesday, which doesn't really exist anywhere else I can think of, but most places take the day off, as is traditional in some quarters of the county. So I will most likely talk to you again later next week. Until then, have a Happy Easter!


A-Z of Music

OK, here we go....

AL STEWART (Best of): I know Al Stewart should technically be under 'S' but in the world of internet search engines he appears under 'A' as well. I picked this one out because over the years a few people have compared my sound to his. And having never listened to any of his music this was either mystical or a coincidence.
I'm a little perturbed to say I didn't really get into his music at this early stage. So I'm not sure where that leaves my 'sounds like' plaudits. It's middle of the road with a capital MOR, and on the bland side. I think 'Year Of The Cat' is his best known song, but it again failed to really move me. As usual, there was good musicianship throughout, but it didn't hit me very much.

ALMAN BROTHERS (Hits): Best known for Jessica (or Top Gear as we know it here), there was some good ol' southern rock mixed in with instrumentals. Not perhaps bang on my wavelength, but I enjoyed what I heard.

ANTHONY PHILLIPS (The Geese and The Ghost): As a big Genesis fan, I wanted to check out this lesser known solo work from their founder member. It's largely instrumental, very pastoral, and a bit strange at times. But there are some good moments and lots of sounds in common with early Genesis, particularly the 12-string acoustic guitars. Looking at a discography I notice that it was released in 1977 and features Mike Rutherford as co-producer and instrumentalist. It also features Phil Collins singing a couple of tracks, now I thought I recognised that voice!!

ALBERT COLLINS (Iceman): As a lover of Guitar Heroes Expo 92 from Seville, I've long known the hard attacking electric blues of Albert Collins. This is the first album I've heard on CD, and it doesn't disappoint. A lot of the songs are stock blues arrangements, 12-8 songs, fast shuffles etc.. but it's extremely well-played and the production is immense.