The Fat Angel Sings

With a career that encompasses five Grammys, numerous chart successes and personal and professional accolades, as well as collaborations with some of the world’s most prominent artists, Michael McDonald remains an enduring force in popular music.

Universally acclaimed singer/songwriters Michael McDonald and Willie Nelson are joining forces with David Hidalgo of Los Lobos for a rendition of “Dreams of the San Joaquin” to benefit RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the United Farm Workers of America. The classic song, written by Randy Sharp and Jack Wesley Routh and made famous by both Kenny Rogers and Linda Ronstadt, tells the story of a worker in the fields of San Joaquin Valley during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression in the ’30s and ’40s.

“Dreams Of The San Joaquin” released May 7th, 2021

If you ask Deadheads to name their all-time favourite Grateful Dead show, a resounding answer would likely be 5/8/77 at Cornell University’s Barton Hall in Ithaca, NY. Of course, choosing a favourite Grateful Dead concert is remarkably subjective, ultimately swayed by personal experience more than any other factor. Yet, for many the set the band performed on 5/8/77 stands alone—so much so that an entire book, “Cornell ’77: The Music, The Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead’s Concert at Barton Hall” (Conners, 2017), has been written on it.

So why is that? First, you have to consider the point in the band’s career. The Grateful Dead had grown from a psychedelic novelty in the 1960s to a reckoning force of musical creation, putting out albums like “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” at the start of the 1970s.

Tragedy had struck, however, when beloved keyboardist and founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan passed away from a number of health complications. His death occurred shortly after the band’s famed “Europe ’72” trip, leaving the members heartbroken. While 1973 and 1974 were great in their own right, the band took a hiatus shortly after, only playing four shows throughout all of 1975.

The time off did the band members well, as each got to work on their own music without the pressures of their collective creative entity. By the time they returned, the Grateful Dead were freshly equipped with new music and released the “Terrapin Station” album towards the end of 1977. A few tracks from that release were already in rotation, including “Terrapin Station” and “Estimated Prophet”—songs that would become legendary in the Grateful Dead’s canon.

That, more or less, brings us to the 5/8/77 Cornell show. By the middle of Spring in 1977, the Grateful Dead were in a true peak. Their line-up was settled, and their catalogue was packed with so many glorious songs. Semantically, what separates this show from similarly potent performances on adjacent days was its distribution. A soundboard recording from Betty Cantor-Jackson made its way onto a tape, and magically wound up in the hands of Grateful Dead fans nationwide. Because of the widespread access to these high-quality recordings, the show became a well-known go-to show among Deadheads in the know.

The sound is colourful and vivid, an excellent complement to a prime Dead performance. What makes this such an exceptional performance isn’t that it’s the Grateful Dead at their most experimental… but at their warmest…. If this isn’t the best Grateful Dead show ever – a hard thing to quantify – it’s nevertheless at the sweet spot of providing hardcore Deadheads with plenty to savour while offering a good introduction for neophytes, which is more than enough to make it essential. “

The show itself is flawless, packing so much energy into first set tunes like “Jack Straw” and “Brown Eyed Women.” The second set featured just about all the songs a fan could want, like “Scarlet, Fire,” “Estimated,” and a “St. Stephen > Not Fade Away, St. Stephen, Morning Dew” run that is purely sublime. The band ended the show with their classic exclamation point, “One More Saturday Night.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in May of 2017, guitarist Bob Weir spoke about the mythical status the 5/8/77 Cornell show has attained among fans.

For me it was just another tour. I remember feeling like we were hot back when were doing it. But, for instance, that Cornell show that that people talk about, I can’t remember that specifically. It didn’t stand out for me on that tour. The whole tour was like that for me. I think that show became notable because there was a particularly good audience tape made of it. And that got around. I think it was the quality of the recording was good and the guy’s location was excellent. And whoever it was that made that recording made every attempt to get it out there so that people could hear it.

According to Weir, “[Our label] was freaking about the phenomenon of tapers showing up at our shows. They were insisting that we put an end to this. And we just didn’t want to do that. We didn’t feel comfortable doing that, so we didn’t. [Laughs] And through simple benign neglect we get credit for inventing viral marketing.”

Four years ago on May 5th of 2017, the band released an official re-mastered version of the show, Cornell 5/8/77, as a 5-LP (vinyl),  3-CD special remastered release of sound engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson‘s soundboard recordings from the storied performance. 

The Band: Drums: Bill Kreutzmann Rhythm Guitar: Bob Weir Vocals: Bob Weir Vocals: Donna Jean Godchaux Lead Guitar: Jerry Garcia Vocals: Jerry Garcia Keyboards: Keith Godchaux Drums: Mickey Hart Electric Bass: Phil Lesh

Setlist: The Grateful Dead live at Barton Hall , Cornell University Ithaca, NY 5/8/77

Set One: New Minglewood Blues, Loser, El Paso, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Deal, Lazy Lightning > Supplication, Brown Eyed Women, Mama Tried, Row Jimmy, Dancing In The Streets

Set Two: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet, St. Stephen > Not Fade Away > St. Stephen > Morning Dew Encore: One More Saturday Night

Cornell 5/8/77, available now on Dead.net as a 3-CD or 5-LP Vinyl set.

Behind the odd name Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes you’ll find one of the most promising bands on the Scandinavian indie scene. The band are now set to release their highly anticipated debut album “Sweetie” and will tour both Scandinavia and UK to coincide with it.

The band – consisting of Siri Sjöberg, Tilde Hansen, Elias Mahfoud and Edvin Arleskär – formed in 2015 after bassist/vocalist Tilde tweeted out “Does anyone/anybody know someone who wants to play in a band together with a bassist and a singer that haven’t played in a band for a year and are dying of boredom?”.

Debut single Desire was released early 2016 and was followed by three more singles 2016-17, all receiving attention from both Sweden’s biggest music sites and influential international sources such as DIY, Billboard and CLASH – all hailing their dynamic and dreamy indie pop that constantly have been developing during the band’s career. 

The band made their festival debut at Umeå Open in 2017, a show which Swedish magazine Hymn hailed the show as “the festival’s most energetic”. Debut EP Four Waters with four brand new tracks was released on November 24th 2017, being described as “an illustration of the sonic genius of the little band with the great name, who in less than a year continue to leave us speechless with their music” by The Revue.

After following their debut EP with two packed London shows and their biggest Stockholm show to this day, the band took some time off to write new material. In 2019, the quartet returned better than ever with the shimmering new tracks “Change of Heart” and “Moon”, both taken from Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes’ long-awaited and just announced debut album “Sweetie” that will be released on Rama Lama Records both digitally and on crystal transparent vinyl.. 

Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes on the album:
“It feels impossible to not portray the future. The album is a concoction of stories from our lives – what it means to be young today, with the challenges and dreams we have ahead of us. The songs are collections and fragments of thoughts about our future, what we can, should and want to do. We have written simple and we have written challenging. And we have finally landed in a collection of songs that formed our album. Our first. “Sweetie.”

Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes have really made a mark since entering the scene in 2016 and with a debut album and international tours in the pipeline it just seems to be the start. credits

Released February 14th, 2020

Seadog is the Brighton-based project of musician/songwriter Mark Benton and Tom Chadd along with their eclectic troupe of performers. They create dream-pop songs combining a variety of influences into a myriad sound of lullabies with anthemic electric and acoustic textures.

Seadog are currently working on their forthcoming second album “Internal Noise” at Bella Union Studios, Brighton. 

First single from Seadog’s forthcoming second album, “Internal Noise”.

“Tidal Wave ticks all the boxes for me…but above all, it sounds like it’s flying and I have a soft spot for songs that sound like they are flying.” Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)

“Really love Tidal Wave, lovely melody and the chorus lifts off so well.” Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)

The limited edition 7” lathe cut featuring a wonderful remix by Fruity Water will be available for preorders very soon out on the Gardener’s Delight label

Releases May 14th, 2021

The albums “Human Touch” and “Lucky Town” are front and centre in this month’s archive release, coming from the first of two nights at the Boston Garden in ’92. Core tracks are joined by underplayed highlights as Bruce showcases 16 cuts from the companion albums in a strong 28-song set. Listening anew proves refreshing, as several HT/LT songs and other arrangements are distinct from the many E Street Band performances that followed. 

It has been some time since the Live Archive series revisited Bruce Springsteen’s 1992-93 World Tour in support of Human Touch and Lucky Town. This chapter in his live performance history can be tricky to contextualize, in part because it’s a rare full-band tour that does not list E Street as its home address. As such, there’s no point comparing “Born to Run” played by the 1992-93 band to an E Street Band performance from any year, because there is simply no comparison. That’s okay. It was never their mission.

The selection of Boston 12/13/92 is driven by a setlist that features 16 songs from Human Touch and Lucky Town, many of which never graduated to the Reunion era. Bruce assembled his new, expanded band with that recent music in mind, not “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (though, to be fair, they play the latter rather well). The one constant from E Street to the new crew was Roy Bittan, with whom Springsteen co-wrote “Roll of the Dice” and “Real World” for Human Touch.

I’ve always viewed the 1992-93 band as an attempt to mix roots-rock with gospel-influenced soul music and reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s 1986 True Confessions tour, which saw him backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers augmented by the Queens of Rhythm backing singers. In fact, it was the late Debbie Gold, a mutual friend of both Dylan and Springsteen, who encouraged the former to work with Petty and helped the latter assemble his 1992-93 touring musicians.

If anything, Bruce was tipping that mix toward soul. The catch was that much of his new music featured heavy synthesizers and keyboards. Synthesizers and classic soul can mix marvelously (see Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love”), but it requires very particular attributes. There are many words one could use to describe the extraordinary talent of Roy Bittan as a keyboard player, but funky is not one of them.

Boston 12/13/92 effectively captures the strengths and stretches fundamental to the 1992-93 tour. Listening anew proves refreshing, as several HT/LT songs and other arrangements are distinct from the many E Street Band performances that followed. As fluent as many of us were in the sound of that tour at the time, hearing it now is an entertaining time tunnel to a unique period.

Jon Altschiller’s multitrack mix puts Bittan first chair on the bandshell, and you’ll hear the Professor loud and proud as the show starts winningly with “Better Days,” “Local Hero,” and “Lucky Town.” The aforementioned “Darkness” follows, with Roy hard right channel, guitarist Shayne Fontayne hard left. It isn’t a classic version, but a compelling one just the same, with intriguing vocal rephrasing from Springsteen, a frequent event this night. The song ends not with Bruce’s voice but a gorgeous vocal run from Angel Rogers.

“The Big Muddy” gets an infrequent airing here. It’s a kind of swampy, narrative cousin to “Atlantic City” that rides a big Bruce vocal and sinewy synth work from Bittan. “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)” taps television news audio a la U2’s Zoo TV tour, but the attempt to graft the social issues of a post-Rodney-King-verdict America on to a humorous ditty about modern media remains a difficult sell.

Things get back on track with an excellent version of “Trapped” that showcases the powerhouse voices Bruce assembled as his choir. I love the way he biblically tweaks, “good conquers evil, the truth sets you free.” “Badlands” is highly credible, too, filled with small arrangement changes that pulled me into a song that has been played the same way by the E Street Band forever.

The emotional heart of Lucky Town is the life-affirming “Living Proof,” written by Sprinsteen after the birth of his first son. Boston gets an excellent performance, vocal nuances reinforcing that Springsteen is in the moment. The same can be said for “If I Shall Fall Behind.” I prefer this arrangement to the Reunion edition, with lush harmonica and dark synthesizer tones along with a robust Bruce vocal. Listen for how the harp and keyboards play off each other at the end.

Bruce makes the title literal in “Leap of Faith.” We can clearly hear when he enters the crowd, with a funny “Whoa, oh!” soon followed by a surely deserved “Yikes!” The backing singers are at their church-choir best, lending the song gospel gravitas. Bobby King moves front and centre for “Man’s Job.” Beneath those period synths a classic soul song is fighting to be heard, one that could have been the uptempo A-side to a “Back In Your Arms” B-side in a parallel universe where Bruce cut singles for Stax.

“Roll of the Dice,” carried by Roy’s memorable piano melody, is the signature sound of Human Touch and in its live incarnation brings out the best of this band. It also provides another showcase for the talented Mr. King—when Bruce says, “Take me to heaven, Bobby,” the singer responds by holding a long, sweet vocal note.

From the sublime to the, er, stretches. “Gloria’s Eyes” is a slight and underpowered set opener, there’s no getting around it. The fact that Springsteen never played the song again after this tour, solo or band, seems to validate that characterization. “Cover Me” gets the second set properly ignited. While it is a synth-soaked arrangement, Bruce does some excellent and distinctive guitar soloing. “Brilliant Disguise,” featuring special guest Patti Scialfa, sounds just like it should, in a pure and emotive reading.

Next comes the vexing case of “Soul Driver,” a fine song in search of the right arrangement. “Soul Driver” debuted at the Christic Institute shows in November 1990 in a memorable, vocal-led acoustic reading. The studio incarnation on Human Touch is an odd, lilting number with a massive snare sound. In Boston, a keyboard sound from somewhere in the marimba/kalimba neighbourhood starts the song, then a wailing guitar joins, but no drums or rhythm part to speak of. The result is superior to the album version and paced more like the Christic, but “Soul Driver” remains an unrealized if tantalizing prospect.

The pairing of “Souls of the Departed” into “Born in the U.S.A.,” however, is fully realized. Where “57 Channels” struggled, “Souls” blossoms, news audio setting the stage for the show’s most powerful performance as Springsteen’s lyrics and a hard-hitting arrangement tap into the American darkness of 1992. It was a masterstroke to connect “Souls” to “Born in the U.S.A.” with Jimi Hendrix-inspired strains of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The second set rounds the bend into another arrangement challenge, “Real World,” and the outcome is even more confounding. Again, the stunning solo piano debut performance of “Real World” at the Christic shows in 1990 is the lens through which all other versions are viewed. As on the studio version, synthesizer carries too much of the load in Boston, losing the majesty the piano reading has in spades.

But the instinct that this song could be a showstopper—an uplifting, full-band anthem—is understandable. In the end, Bruce and the band give “Real World” everything they’ve got, and through sheer willpower and commitment, the song does transcend the arrangement and dated synth sound in an otherwise overlong performance. Ah, what could have been.

The set ends with the good fun of “Light of Day,” and everyone on stage gets the chance to shine. Zack Alford feels especially at home on this one, clobbering his drum kit to drive the “Light of Day” train to the station.

The encore opens with a sharp “Human Touch,” again featuring Miss Patti Scialfa, and manager Jon Landau straps on an axe for “Glory Days,” earning a funny introduction by Springsteen in the process (“The master of managerial disaster”). The 1992-93 arrangement of “Thunder Road” has aged nicely, with Bruce on acoustic guitar and Bittan offering sweeping organ accompaniment. Bittan’s keyboards also fare well on “My Beautiful Reward,” a lovely coda to the show and to the entire Human Touch/Lucky Town body of work. But maybe there’s time for just one more.

It was only 37 degrees at showtime (“I came thousands of miles through some real shitty weather just to get here,” Bruce points out out during “Light of Day”), but it did make the bonus gift of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” that much more fitting.

It’s been 28 years since Springsteen toured with the “other band,” but their soulful mission lingers; the Boston 12/13/92 set is unique to the Live Archive thus far for being centered around the songs he packed especially for their journey. While the 1992-93 experiment wasn’t always successful, Springsteen’s attempt to explore a different sound offers refreshment to ears so accustomed to hearing a beloved but familiar style of performance. It is worthy of a deep relisten.

The Band:

• Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica; Zack Alford – Drums; Roy Bittan – Keyboards; Shane Fontayne – Electric guitar; Tommy Sims – Bass; Crystal Taliefero – Electric and acoustic guitars, percussion, saxophone, backing vocal; Gia Ciambotti – Backing vocal; Carol Dennis – Backing vocal; Cleopatra Kennedy – Backing vocal; Bobby King – Backing vocal; Angel Rogers – Backing vocal
• Patti Scialfa sings on Brilliant Disguise and Human Touc”; Jon Landau plays guitar on Glory Days

words by Erik Flannagan

The new track also features on the band’s debut album, “It Won’t Always Be Like This”, out on July 9th through Polydor Records. Inhaler today release their new song “Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)”. The track is a swaggering indie-pop anthem and the latest slice of indelible songcraft from the quartet, who are made up of Elijah Hewson (vocals and guitar), Josh Jenkinson (guitar), Robert Keating (bass) and Ryan McMahon (drums). 

The release of Inhaler’s debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This will be released on Polydor Records. Their first full-length sees the Dublin band hone the impressive promise of their early singles into something truly special. “We really had the opportunity to explore our sound,” says Hewson. “Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)” blends the band’s sonic adventurousness with their undeniable knack of big choruses and captivating hooks. It was recorded in London’s Narcissus Studios with the band’s long-term producing foil Antony Genn.

Inhaler will play a full tour of the UK and Ireland later this year. The dates in September, October and November include brand new UK tour dates alongside the band’s rescheduled tour of Ireland as well as an additional two new shows.

Debut Album – “It Won’t Always Be Like This” Out 16th July

Tues 5th October: Nottingham Rock City

The band’s ‘Newborn’ and ‘Any Day Now’ Eps are also being released for Record Store Day in June,

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their 2001 debut album, “Asleep In The Back” Elbow have announced the release to streaming services of a collection of rare tracks on May 7th. In addition to this and as previously announced, as part of Record Store Day 2021, exclusive coloured vinyl 10” editions of ‘The Newborn EP’ and ‘The Any Day Now EP’ will be released as part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations.

Alongside the original studio album and a number of B-sides, the collection includes tracks taken from their debut ‘Noisebox’ EP, featuring the original recording of “Powder Blue”, and their two releases for Manchester independent Uglyman Records, the ‘Newborn’ EP and the ‘Any Day Now’ EP.

Fans will also be able to hear six tracks from the band’s headline show at London Astoria on October 24th during the album tour, three tracks recorded for Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session on Radio One, transmitted in April 2001, and remixes of album tracks including fellow Mancunian Andy Votel’s take on “Powder Blue”.

On its release, “Asleep In The Back” announced elbow as one of the brightest hopes for UK music as shown by their nomination in the 2001 BRIT Awards for Best New British Band. The album was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Prize, narrowly missing out to PJ Harvey and secured the first of the band’s 9/10 album reviews from NME who said of it, “Radiohead finally have a competitor worthy of healthy comparison”. The same title would describe lead track, “Newborn”, as “A single of such magnificent flight and depth it darkens the skies above most other British guitar groups”, and make the ‘Any Day Now’ EP their single of the week.

Elbow would go on to make history as the only UK group to ever secure four consecutive 9/10 album reviews from the magazine.

On the release of the ‘Newborn’ EP, singer Guy Garvey was quoted as saying: “Honesty is a word that surfaces over and over when we are writing which is why I think the romance in our music is always balanced with realism. We are each other’s biggest influences. Basically, this is where we have been for all our adult lives.”

Twenty years later, “Asleep In The Back”, and the recordings made around its release, re-emphasise that bond at the core of the group and remind us of the beginnings of that incredible journey. An audio guide to the starting point of one of the most unique and compelling stories in modern British music history.

“Asleep In The Back” won fans across the board, with The Guardian praising Garvey as ‘a master of the arresting image’, in the first of many tributes to his lyrical prowess, and The Daily Telegraph heralding ‘a wondrous and ambitious album’. Following its release, Elbow would go on to become a constant presence in the UK album charts, a mainstay ‘must watch’ at UK festivals and, ultimately, achieve multi-platinum status, UK Number One albums, BRIT Awards, Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello wins and universal acclaim.

Vocals: Guy Garvey ,Guitar: Mark Potter , Bass Guitar: Pete Turner , Keyboards: Craig Potter , Drums: Richard Jupp

“Asleep In The Black” is out now

The Art-funk collective who started their journey back in 1977. formed in Flixton, Greater Manchester. Back in March 2020, ACR gathered at Oxygene in Salford for an informal weekend of studio time. With no fixed agenda, and no preconceived ideas, the band members Denise Johnson, Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele, Jez Kerr, Donald Johnson and Martin Moscrop – all got together in part to celebrate completing the mix of their first new album in over a decade, ACR Loco.

The sessions that followed are unmistakably ACR: the energy and chemistry of the band evokes the unbridled joy of their live performances and the effortless fusing of the genre that has become their trademark.

ACR: “We’re so happy with the results and the outcome and hopefully this release
gives an insight into how much fun and energy Denise would always bring to a
session when we recorded together.”

This EP will always be a striking and heartbreaking memory of Denise Johnson and her magnificent soul voice, who sadly passed away last year in July. She was only 56. Rest in peace.

ACR about Denise: “Denise was on top form and you will hear in places that she
isn’t actually singing words because we hadn’t written all the lyrics yet. At the end of
‘Down and Dirty’ you can hear us cheering in the background as Denise had completed
yet another fantastic vocal take and was laughing and saying ‘I enjoyed that’. We wanted
to keep all her laughter and our response in the track as it has such warmth and it
highlights the real Denise, always laughing and smiling and full of passion.”

ACR are as relevant as back in their Factory days. The band still knows how to fill a dance floor. ACR still has a sassy sonic soul. Have yourself a party. Start with foreplay track ‘Wonderland’, then get steamed-up for the funky-as-hell-stomper ‘Keep It Together’, keep on movin’ and groovin’ with Talking Heads vibe ‘Down And Dirty’ before chilling out to ‘Feel No Fear’. That felt mighty good, right? You betcha.

Taken from the forthcoming release, ACR: EPA, Featuring the everlasting vocals of Denise Johnson

Released May 7th, 2021