I ask Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett legendary guitar players with Little Feat how many goddamn sessions they have played on - the list is endless !! From Paul laying down smokin' riffs with Robert Palmer in the heady Island Records days and Fred acting as in-house guitarist for Jimmy Webb in the seventies their CV is more than impressive...
... and one balmy, hot April evening (tonight) I am playing one of my all time favourite albums "Some Change" by Boz Scaggs and scanning the sleeve credits discover Fred Tackett plays guitar on "Sierra" a track I first heard back in 1994 when on vacation in La Coruna, North Spain !!
with Paul and Fred
For any Marillion fans out there my review of their soundcheck @ Forum, London in 2007 that I wrote for Marillion The Web UK
http://www.theweb-uk.com/members/reviews/2007/SWETour/LondonMarc.htm
just a heads up on Smoke Room a new signing to the hip Mostar Records label who deliver on their new single "Sadly It's Forever" a nice slice of down-tempo, atmospheric electronica which wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack to Yolande Zauberman's Clubbed To Death movie. Fans of Massive Attack and Nightmares on Wax will instantly warm to this moody, cinematic number. Pour yourself a nice chilled glass of sauvignon blanc and put the headphones on...
http://www.mostarrecords.com/releases/
Nashville honey Caitlin Rose checks into a very "un-Americana" Exeter and plays a pretty much sold out gig at the Phoenix venue which laps up Caitlin's latest "Own Side Now" album which showcases her as (new) country's leading lady with beautiful torch songs steeped in pedal steel and electric guitars and even throws in a cover of the classic Rolling Stones number "Dead Flowers" and Patsy Cline's "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray"
Caitlin is also a delight to watch and the whole evening passes by way too quickly. I catch up with Caitlin post-show and find out to my great delight that Jimmy Webb is a "favourite" of hers and with that the clink of beer bottles toasts a fantastic Americana evening despite the very reserved Exeter audience in tow.
with Caitlin Rose
Great news to hear Thunder are reforming for a one-date at this summer's High Voltage Festival. This may somewhat surprise Thunder fans as the once EMI signed rockmeisters only ended a 'farewell' tour in the summer of 2009. Nevertheless, Thunder's return is most welcome. I last met guitarist Luke Morley a few years back at the Childline Rocks concert at the O2 Arena prior to Luke forming his current band The Union.
with Luke Morley
I jumped off the Waterloo tube into the cold night air of the Southbank and strolled to the beautiful, stunning Queen Elizabeth Hall, the London Eye lit up in blue neon mesmerizing.
My reason this evening for my visit to the Southbank Centre is to see Jimmy Webb tour his current album "Just Across The River" and now chalking up my seventh Jimmy Webb gig this show did not disappoint and in the beautiful acoustics of the QEH amplify the classic, timeless Webb back catalogue which included tonight such gems as "The Highwayman", "Macarthur Park", "Galveston", "Up, Up and Away" and "Witchita Lineman".
To see Jimmy Webb alone at the piano and perform these songs is utterly a wonderful thing and with Mark Knopfler in the audience I am on cloud nine.
Unfortunately, Jimmy was not doing an official signing session after the gig as he was still recovering from a flu bug which had cancelled the Brighton and Cambridge gigs over the weekend but I did manage to meet Jimmy briefly outside the Artist's Entrance at the QEH and did manage to get my Letters album signed before Jimmy sped away in his chauffeur driven car so I attach below a photograph from a previous Jimmy Webb outing taken @ Ronnie Scott's in September 2007 where I attended Jimmy's 3 night residency.
with Jimmy Webb @ Ronnie Scott's
the two beautiful sirens in the shape of Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire who make up Smoke Fairies are gracing the stage at the Exeter Phoenix this cold January evening and having caught them at the Acoustica Festival last year I know I am in for a treat. The girls from Chichester play a moody, swampy guitar drenched set playing all the songs from their debut album "Through Low Light And Trees" and also an excellent cover of Killing Joke's "Requiem"
I had the great pleasure of meeting Katherine and Jessica after the show and I congratulated them both on a fantastic gig. Highly recommended.
with Katherine and Jessica
