Friday sees the official release of ‘Little Weight’, 40 Watt Sun’s fourth studio album.
“Little Weight” is the follow up to 2022’s “Perfect Light” and sees Patrick Walker take a different approach to writing and recording. Whilst “Perfect Light” was written and recorded over a long time period, with a wide cast of musicians, for “Little Weight” Patrick was determined to simplify the record-making process and recapture more of the rawness and spontaneity of the band’s earliest recordings. Setting aside a designated amount of time, under specific – often isolated – conditions, the crafting of the songs that make up “Little Weight” took place. A pre-planned series of retreats provided the space and opportunities to focus, within which Walker and his collaborators – drummer Andrew Prestidge and bassist Roland Scriver – were able to do their best work.
Designated time to work without distraction allowed them absolute freedom to create, whilst deadlines added to the urgency of the final recordings captured at Holy Mountain Studios in London in December 2023. Engineering and mixing was undertaken by Chris Fullard (Sunn O))); IDLES; Ulver), who was assisted by Stanley Gravett, before Adam Gonsalves mastered the tracks in Portland, Oregon.
The album’s cover art is by Tekla V?ly. Commenting on the writing process Walker says: “The conditions I created to make this record – without too much extraneous, unnecessary back and forth – means that what we recorded here have an added nearness to the first emotions that I first wanted to express and which inspired me to sit down to write; things often lost over time and usually difficult to recapture.” Whilst he remains unwilling to be drawn to discussing the specifics of his songs, 40 Watt Sun has once again produced a collection of vignettes that are steeped in poetic beauty, longing, love, and melancholy nostalgia.
With its ethereal, buzzing acoustic riffs, helix of resonant drones and vocal delivery that often sounds like an ancient form of prayer, Julie Beth Napolin’s “Only The Void Stands Between Us” sure-footedly takes its place in the post-’70s experimental folk lineage.
“This is cosmic folk of the highest calibre. Julie’s vocal melodies grow in your mind like they were planted on the shortest day of the year. An absolute treat for all of us temporal adventurers.” ~ Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance)
Jesse Malin’s first release since the acclaimed tribute and benefit album “Silver Patron Saints: The Songs ofJesse Malin“. The triple-vinyl set is out now, and all proceeds benefit Malin’s Sweet Relief artist fund. Produced by Diane Gentile and Dave Bason, the album features Bruce Springsteen, Billie Joe Armstrong, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello, The Hold Steady, Tommy Stinson, Alison Mosshart with the late, great Wayne Kramer, Tom Morello, Counting Crows, Dinosaur Jr., The Wallflowers, Spoon, Susanna Hoffs, Frank Turner, Rancid and many others.
The full album track-listing is a proper trawl through his career from the glorious D Generation days right up to the very recent past. The world of rock’n’roll has come together to produce an album of Jesse Malin’s songs performed by other artists both as a tribute to Jesse and also to raise money for his ongoing treatment to recover from a rare spinal stroke which left him paralysed back in May 2023.
“Silver Patron Saints” not only serves as a fine tribute to an artist who has been within the very heartbeat of the New York rock’n’roll scene for such a long time, but also demonstrates what a huge songwriting talent Jesse really is.
Music was principally born out of the art of storytelling as well as its spiritual connotations and I have always considered it to be one of the most powerful and potent forces in the world as we know it. Let’s face it, little else can bring people together from such diverse and disparate backgrounds into one huge melting pot of love and emotion and, at its finest, it can strike right to the very core and fabric of your soul. And for me it was Bob Dylan who so eloquently transformed the art of song writing in the 60’s to bring it into the modern era and help to shape so much of what was to follow, documenting those pivotal times that were ever changing along the way.
One of those artists who picked up that songwriting baton was Jesse Malin, a youthful punk from Queens in New York, who had his own view on the world around him and found music as a way of both releasing his emotions and expressing his views on life. Spending his very young and formative years developing his art in the New York underground, foraging through the hardcore and glam punk scene whilst absorbing all that was around him, and also crucially making many influential friends along the way, Jesse found himself as a core element of the very heartbeat of the New York rock’n’roll scene, treading the boards with the great and the good from all walks of life.
But then of course maturity does start to bring a scene shift to your perspective on life and influence the kind of art form through which you wish to portray your feelings as an artist. And that shift emerged in 2003 when Jesse decided to take a more personal and reflective approach through his art which started with his debut solo album, “The Fine Art Of Self Destruction” which, quite rightly, received huge critical acclaim. I had the good fortune to interview Jesse during a UK tour in 2004 for a mates’ Community radio station programme and what struck me immediately was how every song we discussed had a real context and a story behind it.
Not only does Jesse’s music subsume so much of the great influences that he has absorbed over the years and reconfigure it in a whole new unique form and context, but he has always written with such passion, honesty and sincerity, always seeking to portray the PMA mantra that he has so avidly promoted throughout his life and career. Little wonder that I have seen Jesse perform live more than any other artist.
Set against this context, it was this overwhelming sense of positivity and determination that was so cruelly challenged on a fateful day in May 2023 when Jesse suffered a rare spinal stroke condition which left Jesse paralysed from the waist down. It was at this moment when the world of rock’n’roll turned on its heels and recognised it was now Jesse who needed their support, especially with the huge medical costs that were to follow in Jesse’s long battle to achieve any form of physical recovery.
Aside from establishing a Jesse Malin Fund as part of the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which had been established to raise funds to support artists in difficult situations, this is when a gathering of artists started coming together to record some of Jesse’s songs from throughout his career. This has now manifested itself into a 27 song album under the banner of “Silver Patron Saints – The Songs Of Jesse Malin” to raise vital money for this Fund.
One look at the stature of the artists involved in this project tells you all you need to know about the impact and influence Jesse has had in the rock’n’roll world. The track listing reads like a who’s who of the great and the good, really demonstrating the love, respect and support towards an artist who has given so much to so many over the years. Let’s face it, it’s not often you can include names such as Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Ian Hunter, Billie Joe Armstrong, Counting Crows, Graham Parker, Wayne Kramer, Rancid and Willie Nile all in the space of one review. A truly eclectic bunch indeed which reflects on Jesse’s immense reach, impact and influence within the music business.
So on with the show and where better to start than Bruce Springsteen with whom Jesse has collaborated on numerous occasions. Here Bruce delivers a version of “She Don’t Love Me Now” filled with real heart and soul together with a suitably glorious sax solo to close it. Counting Crows give “Oh Sheena” the full-on rock treatment with all the urgency that the original demanded, whilst The Hold Steady give “DeathStar” a suitably hard edge.
No such compilation would be complete without a version of “Brooklyn” which became an instant classic when it appeared on Jesse’s debut solo album over 20 years ago. We have become accustomed to two different versions of this song – both band and stripped down acoustic – and this falls somewhere in the middle, but still draws out the heartfelt sentiment which sits at the core of the narrative, especially with the impassioned vocal. Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello give “Room 13” an alternative country feel, with shimmering vocals which seems even more poignant for this reflective song given how much time Jesse has spent in hospital beds over the past 15 months.
Shane is presented by Rocky O’Riordan as an appropriately sensitive version of this tribute to Shane MacGowan, with the line “everybody sends their love” applying equally here to Jesse as he battles back to try and find some kind of new normality. “Greener Pastures” features Graham Parker in a wonderfully countrified blues arrangement, again with the poignant sentiment “greener pastures always come to you, you can make it if you try”, which aligns so strongly with Jesse’s ongoing mantra for PMA which I am certain will get him over the line in his recovery.
“Black Haired Girl” is attacked by Billie Joe Armstrong with the driving energy which is exactly what we have missed and look forward to on Jesse’s return to the stage. Meanwhile “Riding On The Subway” starts off as if Tommy and Ruby Stinson are busking on the street before it explodes into life with the band hitting the strong beat full on. St. Mark’s Sunset is given a lively arrangement by the Walker Roaders which is closer to being an Irish jig, whilst “Dead On” is performed by Ian Hunter with a dark and moody vibe replete with Ian’s classic husky vocal tones which breed sincerity throughout the song.
“Almost Grown” gets a full-on alternative country treatment courtesy of Danny Clinch and ChristopherThorn, alongside Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, whilst Aaron Lee Tasjan gives “Shining Down” an ethereal feel, quite appropriate for a song written in the wake of Tom Petty’s untimely loss to the world of rock’n’roll. Willie Nile runs with “All The Way From Moscow” in straight up no nonsense NYC rock’n’roll style, the way it was always meant to be, whereas “Prisoners Of Paradise” is given a total makeover by Bleachers with a significantly toned down arrangement underpinned with a skiffle style beat.
And just to prove that this album covers the full breadth of Jesse’s immense and hugely impressive back catalogue, we get the full-on hardcore treatment of “God Is Dead” by Agnostic Front taking a song from Jesse’s first band Heart Attack, and also two from the songbook of glam punk outfit D Generation, “No Way Out” (featuring Rancid) and “Frankie” (featuring Murphy’s Law). And even after all these, there are so many more songs on this album which I haven’t even touched on which make it the excellent collection that it is.
As for Jesse’s current state in terms of his recovery, the great news is that he is making progress and is continuing a strict daily regimen with physical therapy and stem-cell treatments. As Jesse comments, “I am getting some strength back in my legs, but it moves a lot slower than I would like. I don’t want to portray it like I’m ready to do the James Brown splits onstage. I definitely have a long way to go, but I’m blessed and so grateful for the amazing fans and friends that I have.” And Jesse is also now emerging back into the public eye through his own online personal updates and interviews which is truly heartwarming.
Building even further on this is the news that Jesse Malin will finally return to the stage at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the beginning of December for the biggest hometown shows of his career. The show on 1st December has already sold out, with some tickets remaining for the show on the 2nd All proceeds from the shows will benefit Jesse’s Sweet Relief Artist Fund. Jesse will perform a full set with his band, followed by special guests at each show that include Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, Butch Walker, J Mascis, Adam and David Immy of Counting Crows, The Hold Steady and Alejandro Escovedo, with more yet to be announced. Aside from the important funds to be raised for such a worthy cause, these are going to be two truly amazing shows.
As for “Silver Patron Saints”, well if you have ever been wary of compilations of cover versions of an artist’s songs as much as I have in the past, then put your fears to one side because this is a classic album which will stand the test of time and serves as a very fine tribute to Jesse’s songwriting talents and the respect which is directed his way from the music business right across the world. So dig deep and invest some of your hard earned cash to this very worthy cause for what I regard as one of the most important releases of 2024 on so many levels….trust me you will not be disappointed.
Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a 4 CD clamshell boxed set that gathers together all the recordings made for the classic “Potatoland” album by SPIRIT. The album was born in 1973 following the release of guitarist Randy California’s “Kaptain Kopter and the Fabulous Twirlybirds” album (made shortly after his departure from Spirit). To promote his solo album California assembled a band to tour featuring original Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy and bass guitarist Larry “Fuzzy” Knight. Initially playing concerts in the Los Angeles area, the trio recorded two live performances at the studios of KPFK-FM in September 1972.
Soon after the trio reverted to the name Spirit to undertake live work in Europe. Following these concerts Randy California and Ed Cassidy began work on the album “The Adventures of Kapt. Kopter and Commander Cody in Potatoland”.
The recordings were offered to Epic Records (who had released the Spirit albums) but they were rejected by the label. The recordings remained consigned to the vaults whilst a reactivated Spirit recorded a series of albums for Mercury Records between 1975 – 1978. Whilst in England on a subsequent solo tour, a fan presented Randy California with a petition of 5000 signatures requesting the release of “Potatoland”. Inspired by this, California revisited the original master tapes and overdubbed new parts to the music and the album saw a release in this form in 1981 on Rhino Records in the USA and Beggar’s Banquet in the UK, where it peaked at number 40 in the album charts.
This new edition of “Potatoland” gathers together both the original 1973 version of the album and the 1981 release, along with 2 CDs of the complete KPFK-FM radio concerts from 1972, all newly re-mastered.
The set also features 21 bonus tracks comprising studio out-takes, demos and two songs recorded live on the BBC TV “Old Grey Whistle Test” show in 1973. The set also features an illustrated booklet with an essay by Spirit official archivist Mick Skidmore and a replica of the “Adventures in Potatoland” comic book included with the 1981 album release.
The expression of hard-fought optimism encapsulates Our Girl’s second LP; dealing with themes of sexuality, relationships, community, and illness.
Recorded at Rockfeld studios and produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Dry Cleaning), Fern Ford (The Big Moon, Prima Queen), and Soph Nathan (also of The Big Moon), this album, filled with warmth and honesty, marks a significant artistic step forward since their acclaimed debut album, “Stranger Today”. Stepping into a production role for the first time, Soph Nathan recalls: “Working on this record taught me to trust my gut. I realised that we needed to make it sound and feel exactly how we wanted, otherwise what’s the point?” Lauren Wilson, who completes the line up alongside Josh Tyler, continues: “It feels more confident to me… a lot more considered, we’ve had time and space to write.”
This creative clarity permeates the album: both intimate and expansive, tonally nuanced and richly textured, it contains Soph Nathan’s most explicitly personal songwriting to date. This speaks to the journey the bandmates have each gone through in the years since their last LP, resolutely and fiercely committed to Our Girl, these three great friends not only know themselves better, but they know what they want to say, and exactly how they want it to sound.
A beguiling collection of bluesy, druggy, idealistic leftovers from the Airplane’s 1965-1970 history, this nine-song album was one of the first instances of a major American rock band plundering its vaults for rarities — it’s also as good a record as any of their official original albums. Musically, it’s full of superb material, including the six-and-a-half minute Jorma Kaukonen-authored blues workout “In the Morning”— an after-hours jam from the “Surrealistic Pillow” sessions (with Jerry Garcia on one of the guitars and John Hammond blowing the harp) that’s as fine a piece of music as anything that made it onto the album — the Signe Anderson vocal blow-out “High Flyin’ Bird,” and the Grace Slick-Paul Kantner sung version of “Go to Her” off of Surrealistic Pillow.
The closing two tracks on side one and the first track from side two come from the recording sessions for “Surrealistic Pillow”, which took place from October through November, 1966 at RCA Victor’s Music Center of the World. Tracks from the “Takes Off” and “Surrealistic Pillow” sessions appeared later as bonus tracks on the respective 2003 remasters, albeit with different mixes.
The first three tracks come from the recording sessions for Jefferson Airplane “Takes Off” which took place in December, 1965 at RCA Victor’s Music Center of the World recording studio in Hollywood. These tracks feature vocals by Signe Toly Anderson and Skip Spence on drums. “Runnin’ ‘Round This World” had been previously released as a B-side on the “It’s No Secret” single.
“Up or Down” comes from the early recording sessions for “Bark” which took place in February 1970 at Pacific High and Wally Heider Studios before Marty Balin chose to leave the band. “Mexico” and “Have You Seen the Saucers?” had been previously released as a non-album single in 1970,
Released as Grunt CYL1-0437. It features previously unreleased material from 1966, 1967, and 1970 as well as both sides of a non-album 1970 single.
Kaleidoscope (originally the Kaleidoscope) was an American psychedelic folk group who recorded four albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970. The band membership included David Lindley who has been a performing musician with Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and others, who later released numerous solo albums and won additional renown as a multi-instrumentalist session musician, and Chris Darrow who later performed and recorded with a number of groups including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The first single, “Please”, was released in December 1966. It was produced by Barry Friedman, as was their first album “Side Trips”, released in May 1967. The album showcased the group’s musical diversity and studio experimentation. It included Feldthouse’s “Egyptian Gardens”, Darrow’s “Keep Your Mind Open”, and versions of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher” and Dock Boggs’ “Oh Death”.
Between them, the group played a huge collection of stringed instruments in such psychedelic songs as “Egyptian Gardens” and “Pulsating Dream.” They played fusions of Middle-Eastern music with rock in longer pieces such as “Taxim,” which they performed at numerous venues including the Berkeley Folk Festival on July 4, 1967, and the Newport Folk Festival and the Family Dog at The Avalon Ballroom (San Francisco) in 1968. Live, band numbers were sometimes interspersed by solo instrumental turns from Feldthouse or Lindley, and occasionally Feldthouse brought belly dancers or flamenco dancers on stage.
The band performed many different styles, including rock, blues, folk, jazz, Middle-Eastern and also featured music by Calloway and Duke Ellington in their repertoire.
Several of their 45s were pretty good. One of the best, “Nobody,” was a most unusual fusion of R&B and psychedelia that found the group backing veteran rock and blues greats Larry Williams and Johnny “Guitar” Watson.#
The band’s second album “A Beacon from Mars” was released in November 1967, to generally good reviews but poor sales. The album was a mix of Middle-Eastern, country, folk and rock musical styles. The title track, inspired by a Howlin’ Wolf musical riff originally in his song “Smokestack Lightning”, was recorded live in the studio, and featured a long psychedelic electric guitar solo by Lindley, which later caused Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to refer to Kaleidoscope as his “favourite band of all time.”
In live performances of the tune, Lindley used a violin bow on his electric guitar, probably influencing Page to use the same effect later. Another live “no overdubs” track on the album was “Taxim,” with solos from Lindley on a “harp guitar” and Felthouse, who played oud and saz on the lengthy cut.
The band recorded their third album, “Incredible! Kaleidoscope”, in 1968. It featured “Seven-Ate Sweet”, a long progressive instrumental piece in 7/8 time signature which they had been playing live since the early days of the group.
Kaleidoscope’s fourth and final album from their Epic Records era, “Bernice”, featured more electric guitar work than the earlier albums, and more country influence.
Kaleidoscope contributed two new songs (“Brother Mary” and “Mickey’s Tune”) to Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point” The band split up soon afterwards.
One of the most revered, reviled and talked about records in all Australian music history “(I’m) Stranded”, by The Saints, finally gets the vinyl box set treatment.
A joint collaboration between long standing L.A garage label In The Red, Universal Music Australia and spearheaded by Feel Presents and Saints founder Ed Kuepper, the deluxe edition of “(I’m) Stranded” will feature 4 x vinyl long players covering all the band’s studio and live recordings from 1976 thru 1977 and includes;
• The iconic debut album remastered for vinyl for the first time in over 40 years. • A five-song live performance from Paddington Town Hall Sydney 3.4.1977 appearing on vinyl for the first time. • A full live performance from the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival, London November 1977 appearing on vinyl for the first time. • All three tracks from the 1977 “This Perfect Day” 12” single and all four tracks from the 1977 “1-2-3-4” double 7” single. • The previously unreleased 1976 demo mix of the full “(I’m) Stranded” album. • In addition to all that vinyl “(I’m) Stranded” deluxe edition will also features a 28 page 12” x 12” photo essay of the band covering their origins from 1973 through the end of of ’77, authorised band history, an 8” x 10” 1976 promo photo and a “(I’m) Stranded” sticker.
“It’s been an exhausting yet thrilling process being involved in the creation of this box set. It’s been 51 years in the making and has possibly turned out even better than I anticipated. It’s by far the most extensive appraisal of the band, both aurally and visually, that has ever been made available and hopefully reveals some things people may not have known about the band.” – Ed Kuepper
Linking music and literature, building a bridge between the written and the sung–only the greats have managed to do this in the past. Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, and Patti Smith were just some of the shining stars that Anna B Savage orientated herself towards as a teenager. Born on the anniversary of Bach’s death, the young musician spent her birthday every year in the Green Room of the Royal Albert Hall watching her parents perform compositions by the grand master. That shaped her.
Today, thanks to albums such as her debut, “A Common Turn” (2021), and the incredibly sensual art-pop opus “in|FLUX” (2023), the singer-songwriter is one of the truly exceptional talents on the British independent scene. In her music, otherworldly vocals nestle up against chamber orchestral compositions, delicate arrangements rise up and blow away, and the musician’s highly eclectic sound grows song by song into an experience that lingers for days and weeks. Potentially life-changing. A sense of rootedness is at the heart of Anna B Savage’s third record “You and I are Earth“, a record that is as much about healing as it is an unbowed sense of curiosity, and, more imply, “a love letter to a man and to Ireland.”
Following on from her critically acclaimed records “A Common Turn” and in “FLUX”, “You and I are Earth” manages to convey a sense of intimacy, while also being open-ended. Gentleness is as radiant a touchstone on the record as earthiness, something that Savage attributes to the place she finds herself at present, both geographically and emotionally. And quite literally the record bears witness to a particular piece of earth-Ireland, and Savage’s relationship to it as her new home.
Ethel Cain has unveiled the first single off her new project “Perverts”,Cain has said that the follow-up to 2022’s great “Preacher’s Daughter“,
“Perverts”, is on the way, due out on January 8th via Daughters of Cain, and we now have a few more details about the project. It’s 90 minutes long and takes inspiration from drone, noise, slowcore, ambient and beyond. Ethel wrote and produced it over the past year between Coraopolis, PA and Tallahassee, FL, and she wrote a piece about it, “The Consequence of Audience,” .
Sharing the first single from “Perverts”, the haunting track “Punish,” Of the song, she says, “I wonder how deep shame can run, and how unforgivable an act could be that I may still justify it in some bent way to make carrying it more bearable.
Would I tell myself it’s not my fault and I couldn’t help myself? Would anyone truly believe that? Would I?”
The Fat Angel Sings 