Blog on the Tracks

Writer/reviewer Simon Sweetman covers music for The Dominion Post, North And South and TV One's Good Morning show. He cares far too much about music and the list of bands he loves is far longer than the list of groups he has shown no love.

A week in the life of a music reviewer

12:17pm 03 Feb 2012

23 comments

Many of you (well, two people at least - and that's plural) have asked me to take you through a day in the life of a music reviewer. In a way I think I do that by offering a blog-post each day. That's what I'm thinking for the day, reacting to - it might even include what I've been listening to lately. I also update The Vinyl Countdown every day - a retrospective blog. The goal there is to review my record collection more so than the actual albums - I revisit the vinyl I've been collecting for years and share memories. The record might trigger a story from the past as was the case with this Elvis Presley LP (to offer one example).

But I'll do my best to run you through a week - this week. The truth is it's not very exciting. For a start I do not work fulltime as a music reviewer. I write this blog and do my reviewing outside and away from a "real job". There is no typical week in the life of a music reviewer but I guess this week's been busy, particularly since the year is just starting, music-wise: gigs are happening, albums are being released by the labels. Let's have a look inside my mind...

Monday: I had finished reading Nile Rodgers' autobiography - so that was Monday's Blog On The Tracks post. Also, my review of the Dresden Dolls gig was in that morning's Dominion Post newspaper. The gig was on Saturday night. I wrote the review on Sunday morning. After work I checked out a bunch of new albums that had arrived. Most of them were, in one way or another, really good/interesting.

Jono McCleery's album, There Is was a treat. I also really enjoyed Richmond Fontaine's latest, The High Country - it's basically a musical novel, a narrative concept album. I'm a big fan of the band and I look forward to a few more spins of this latest album. I've loved all three of Willy Vlautin's actual novels and he's a great songwriter. There was also the new one from The Phenomenal Handclap Band, an improvement on their previous one. An album that will get at least one more whirl. And Luke Vibert has released a new/old album under his Plug moniker, Back On Time. Vibert's a clever dude and this one gets a tick. I listened to these albums while writing Tuesday's blog and working on a book I'm writing. I probably haven't told you all about that. Don't worry (or: worry) I will.

Tuesday: I was on childcare duties for the day - which (of course) was wonderful. I also got to squeeze in the DVD of Bruce Springsteen playing Darkness On The Edge Of Town live from this amazing box-set. I was, apparently, very unkind to Bruce last week when I posted about his new single and the upcoming album. It has sent me back to the Springsteen material that I do really like. There is plenty. It was nice to be reminded I guess. I'm not sure Oscar quite gets the appeal of Bruce yet but he's only 12 weeks old so there's no rush. I think he likes the Putumayo Kids Present: New Orleans Playground album. And if he doesn't then I do. It will be one of the more tolerable albums in our early shared music-listening experience.

The spine-tingling sound of Jono McCleery

09:09am 02 Feb 2012

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Here's something I've just heard and I really like. It won me over instantly. That doesn't happen all that often these days. The album is called There Is. The artist is Jono McCleery.

In 2008 he self-released Darkest Light. Last year he created There Is. The album comes to us from the Ninja Tune label.

I was struck instantly by the voice - time spent listening to John Martyn and Nina Simone, something deeper than just the surface-level Jeff Buckley appreciation. And his cover of Black's Wonderful Life (compare/contrast here with the original) is superb.

The tune Tomorrow definitely takes on a John Martyn feel with a long introduction setting up a mood before McCleery sings. Imagine a newly restitched version of Martyn's One World with glimpses of glitch-hop and traces of electronica. Strings and tinkling pianos in support of the hushed finger-picking.

You might hear Nick Drake one minute, Bill Withers the next, but McCleery has his own sound within all these obvious influences.

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Giving the drummer some (more)

08:55am 01 Feb 2012

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I'm still working through crates of records that had been in storage for a while, still rediscovering old gems. And without realising that a theme was emerging, I started listening to a bunch of solo albums by drummers.

There are plenty of drumming jokes - including me on some pots and pans apparently (as this person was keen to point out). But one typical drum-joke riff is the idea that it's time to finish rehearsal when the drummer offers up one of his/her own songs. Actually most drumming jokes tend to pick on the male drummer - images of running drool and Animal from The Muppets. The female drummer is clearly far more sophisticated (Sheila E even plays solos in heels!).

The excesses of the 1970s and 1980s meant that there were plenty of awful solo albums by drummers. But of course there were some lost masterpieces, some sublime treasures. Drummers who compose, sing, and play other instruments offer - obviously - a very different product to a drummer who can adequately play drums. Jim Capaldi and Robert Wyatt offer a lot more on their albums than Peter Criss and Ringo Starr, for instance. Grant Hart and Sheila E. have more to give than Keith Moon and Charlie Watts.

Pacific Ocean Blue In most cases the best drummers earn their place as the band's wicketkeeper - the safe hands at the back, involved in every play, occasionally the man of the match but not so much the spotlight-stealer. I've heard Jim Keltner's solo project and I'm glad he's spent most of his career focusing on the music of others, serving the songs rather than cluttering up the canon with hackneyed, unnecessary rewrites of tunes that sounded better the first time. He is one of my favourite drummers - one of the safest pairs of hands in the business, such a great feel-player. I have dozens of records that he has made better for his contributions in his role as a session player, as a band member. He doesn't need to be the leader. It doesn't work for him.

Ringo Starr had plenty of personality and charisma. Arguably he can sing - he was given a novelty number on each Beatles album - and he wrote a few songs too. I will always defend Ringo's playing - he is a great drum innovator. But his solo records are, mostly, horrible. At best they're redundant. Pointless exercises - you could be forgiven for thinking the accountant suggested them to channel expenses and serve as a tax writeoff.

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St Vincent returns to NZ

08:39am 31 Jan 2012

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I was very pleased to hear the news that St Vincent will return to New Zealand. This time St Vincent (her parents call her Annie Clark) will bring her band - it should be a ripper.

Two years ago St Vincent was a late addition to the International Arts Festival bill. Slack promotion meant she played to a room that was only quarter-full. She was, despite that, the standout musical act of that arts festival for me.

St. Vincent At the time she had the two albums to draw from, 2007's Marry Me and 2009's Actor. Now she has last year's Strange Mercy as well. Last time the performance was Clark and violinist Daniel Hart and it was great - but I like the idea of seeing the full St Vincent live experience.

Strange Mercy is an album that takes a while to grow; that's the way with so many of the best albums. I've spent a lot of time with this record now and any fears of it being too sophisticated, too intellectual have fallen away. I've given in to the great power of this music. The compositions are tightly wound but they are glorious and Strange Mercy succeeds due to its title track in particular as well as Cruel, Surgeon and Chloe in the Afternoon.

I spent a lot of time with Marry Me and Actor after the last gig. I knew the records beforehand but Clark's performances took me back to the source and what I love about Strange Mercy and Clark's career as it is playing out is the progression. You can hear and feel it across her three records to date, each one offering something more than the last, something different.

The incredible story of Nile Rodgers

09:20am 30 Jan 2012

20 comments

Over the weekend I read Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny, the autobiography of Nile Rodgers. It's a great book - one that music fans should definitely check out. It has so many of the crucial elements of a cracking read for those who love music bios. There's success, a look behind the scenes at the making of some of pop's biggest records and insight into what drives some of music's legends. This is all part of Rodgers' story but the book also tells of his upbringing and his life outside music. And there's an element (or two) of survival.

Nile Rodgers' Autobiography So you get the dishing of some dirt. You get the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. And there's a story of redemption - of overcoming obstacles. The classic yarn then - a textbook, even.

I loved it not just because I'm a fan of so many of the songs and albums that Nile Rodgers has created or co-created. I enjoyed the telling of the tale - a first-time writer sharing his incredible story, offering the parts of the story that matter most to him. It keeps you wanting more, it sends you back to the music - so much of it still sounding remarkable, innovative, fresh and exciting.

So, Nile Rodgers the musician created Chic and the big hits Le Freak and Good Times. He and his musical partner, the band's bassist Bernard Edwards, would go on to create the mega-hits We Are Family and I'm Coming Out. Production and writing credits for Sister Sledge and Diana Ross were followed up by Rodgers' work with so many of the big names of the 1980s: David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, The Thompson Twins and many more.

And because Rodgers had success during the disco years and then on into the excess of the 80s, there are plenty of stories about cocaine and booze, about clubbing until all hours, sex in bathroom stalls - but it's served up as a cautionary tale. Choose to read all of that how you will. Some people might simply enjoy reading about the decade of decadence; if that's the case you might be a little disappointed because I'm sure there are plenty of stories Nile has conveniently skipped across.

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