Gems 41 - a playlist of classics and future classics including Radiohead, Van Morrison, and The Cure
Gems 41 - a playlist of classics and future classics including Radiohead, Van Morrison, and The Cure
The weekly playlist compiled by Ian Sharp of LP.
Welcome to Gems, my weekly playlist ranging from classic to current tracks. Each playlist is now an hour long, and the Spotify and Apple Music playlists follow after the listening notes.
Side 1
Radiohead 2. Seasick Steve 3. Snow Patrol 4. Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore 5. Mavis Staples 6. Van Morrison 7. Oddgeir Berg Trio
Here in the UK, the Labour Party have just won the general election by a landslide, a result last achieved in1997. What were we listening to all those years ago? Radiohead’s OK Computer was a top selling album, and the obvious track to pick is ‘Electioneering’.
Seasick Steve continues the Glastonbury theme from Gems 40. If his backstory as a hobo, hopping freight trains and not discovered as a musician until he was in his seventh decade is in dispute, his skill at playing dirty blues on a beaten-up homemade guitar isn’t.
Another track from the new Snow Patrol album is out. The band say it’s not a new single, so it’s hard to be sure what a single is these days. Anyway, the new album is shaping up well.
Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore play folk music, both quiet and loud types. This song draws you in with guitar hooks and a simple yet twisty melody.
Mavis Staples continues to produce excellent music and here’s a new single written and produced by MNDR, who works in the studio with a system similar to Brian Eno’s ‘Oblique Strategies’. She calls her version ‘Emotional Strategies’ - tarot-style cards used as a quick way to think differently and snap out of a feedback loop or unblock emotions.
It seems Sir Van Morrison releases a new album every month or two. Next is New Arrangements And Duets in September, but he’s also currently promoting Live At Orangefield, out at the end of the week.
The Oddgeir Berg Trio takes us from Morrison’s take on R&B (in the original definition of the genre) into piano jazz, and close side 1.
Side 2
8. Ezra Collective 9. The Cure 10. Bryan Ferry 11. Ryan Adams 12. Yes
A little more jazz to start side 2. The Ezra Collective are a Mercury Prize winning British jazz quintet who have a mission to inspire us to “Dance - No One’s Watching” and ‘The Philosopher’ is the right company for doing just that.
Easing back into the wonderful world of rock ‘n’ roll - well, indy alternative rock - here is The Cure. I need to write more about their music not only because they’re from my home town of Crawley, but because at their best they’re great. This is the version of ‘Close To You’ from their Starting At The Sea singles collection, with added horns.
Bryan Ferry has reissued some singles, at least to stream. ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ is, of course, a Bob Dylan song. Ferry makes it his own and complies with the rule that, if you’re going to make a cover, do something different with the song.
Another cover from Ryan Adams, this time of a Neil Young song. ‘After The Gold Rush’ first came to my attention when Prelude had a hit single with a beautiful acapella cover. Adams’ version differs from Prelude and differs from the Young original. Lovely stuff.
Finally, a third cover by Yes - not something they often do. This turns Paul Simon’s song ‘America’ into a 10-minute prog rock epic - you’ll love it, or possibly hate it. It works for me, and I can listen to the original as well with equal pleasure. This obeys the cover version rule in spades.
Video Gem of the Week
Prelude with a live television performance of ‘After The Goldrush’. Beautiful song, exquisite performance.
Messages and comments are open. I’d love to know which track you enjoyed most this week. WOMAD takes place at the end of July and I’ll compile a themed playlist for that festival too.
LP is back with the final archive Glimpse on Monday, and new content resumes in the week following.
A quick reminder: Pre-orders for my book for the SonicBond Rock Classics series: ‘The Who - Who’s Next’ are open now via Burning Shed.
Enjoy the music,
Ian
Thank you for taking the time to listen to Gems, and read the notes. LP also includes a weekly 5-minute read (a Glimpse) about a classic album, and long-reads for paid subscribers. If you have not yet subscribed please do - paid subs are invested in buying new music and keep me writing, and free subs demonstrate your support for music writing.