The Fat Angel Sings

The album “While Across a Crowded Room” isn’t considered among his best works, songs like the tension filled “When the Spell is Broken,” the spellbinding ballad “Love in a Faithless Country” and the harder-rocking “Fire in the Engine Room” are important to anyone’s Richard Thompson collection. He was still reeling from a contentious divorce from Linda Thompson at the time as titles of those songs and others such as “She Twists the Knife Again” make it clear. Of course Thompson isn’t known for cushy love songs, but this is yet another example of how his witty, incisive wordplay, stunning guitar work and knack for catchy melodies makes even the edgiest lyrics often sing-along worthy.

Thompson always has enormously gifted backing musicians, but this band, which includes the singing/guitar playing duo of Christine Collister and Clive Gregson (they also had a clutch of excellent albums together) along with the great Gerry Conway on drums was one of his finest. Collister’s vocals in particular are beautiful and pointed as they substitute for Linda Thompson on reprises of tunes recorded with his ex-wife and revisited here. Gregson is a wonderful second guitarist even if “Summer Rain,” his solo moment, slows down the set’s momentum as does Collister’s eight minute impressive but snoozy “Warm Love Gone Cold.” Thompson guitar is searing throughout, whipping off his typically inventive guitar on six-string showcases like “Shoot Out the Lights,” “Wall of Death” and especially a spectacular, nearly nine minute, concert closing, pre-encore “Tear Stained Letter.” He ramps up the drama on “For Shame of Doing Wrong” with wonderful harmonies from Gregson and Collister, the dark, yearning ballad “How I Wanted To” and a riveting “Love in a Faithless Country,” the latter performance alone is worth the price of admission.

As a teaser for Thompson fans, the final tune “Skull and Cross Bones” (an obscure rockabilly cover originally by Sparkle Moore) with a typically insane guitar solo, never appeared on any Thompson studio album. With its “you’re a jinx to my soul” lyrics, it seems like another kiss-off to his ex-wife.

Even with a few too many ballads, this is not only a long awaited expanded title to Thompson’s huge catalogue, but an essential addition to any fan’s collection and a reasonable place to start for anyone unfamiliar with his now-legendary talents.

 The “Perro” Tapes, the Perro Sessions and the ’70 David Crosby Sessions. Each with a slightly different track count and running order. In short, Perro (Planet Earth Rock & Roll Orchestra) was the name given to a loose camaraderie of Bay area players and their simpatico southern California brethren, including, but not limited to, members of CSNY, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and beyond. Regarding the sessions leading up to Crosby’s 1971 LP “If I Could Only Remember My Name”, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Greg Rolie and Mike Shrieve. While never commercially released, a number of the “Perro” tracks would later appear (re-recorded) on various studio efforts by the principals involved, namely said David Crosby LP.

A fully realized embodiment of the sound of California’s folk/rock/psychedelia movement of the time, the record is arguably Crosby’s finest moment. As such the “Perro” sessions further harness that fleeting zeitgeist. A rough-hewn, faded, snapshot. Writing about this set, here, in 2006, a commenter criticized the sessions noting that while the musicianship was “as strong as you would expect from the cream of the Marin County scene, the whole thing has the feel of a stoned weekend jam in someone’s living room.” I suppose one man’s trash truly is another man’s treasure, as, for me, therein lies the session’s charm. Yes, it does feel like “a stoned weekend jam in someone’s living room” – albeit one with some exceptional players.

What is the “Perro Sessions” Read on…courtesy of Wiki: The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra is a nickname given to artists who recorded together in the early 1970s. They were predominantly members of Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Their first album together was “Blows Against the Empire”, when they were known as Jefferson Starship. The name changed to Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra for the next album, David Crosby’s “If I Could Only Remember My Name”. During the sessions for Crosby’s album at Wally Heider Studios, the musicians of each band were invited to the sessions and rehearsed hours of material, and everything was recorded.

Material played during these recorded sessions in 1971 was used for Crosby’s album (the “Perro Chorus” is credited on the song, “What Are Their Names”) and several other solo albums after Crosby’s . The name Jefferson Starship was later used for Paul Kantner and Grace Slick’s new band formed in 1974. Paul Kantner recorded a solo album in 1983 as a tribute to this time, Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra.

An Airplane & Crosby, Stills Nash favourite written by David Crosby…recorded here at Elektra records producer Paul Rothchilds house (producer of the Doors & Love etc..) in Los Angeles ’67 he works on what was at the time a brand new song and its facsinating to hear the man at work playing around with the basic tune and doodling around with shapeless words…

Later Paul Kantner would add two complete verses with Stephen Stills adding just the one …both the Airplane and CSN used the song to good effect on album’s with the CSN version used at the beginning of the ‘Woodstock” movie as people walk along in darkness kicking up dust in the evening light….

One of my favourites songs ..that opening line ‘if you smile at me, I will understand…’ Crosby copped from a notice board outside a baptist church in Florida….

When the Crosby, Stills & Nash box-set was being put together, some mystery reels were found. All of the CSNY tape collection was brought in to one place for the first time, including personal collections of Barncard, Joel Bernstein, Nash and Stills.

The material on the Perro tapes was very interesting, but had nothing to do with CSNY. There were 4 reels of 2 track mixes made in 1971 during the sessions (obviously there is more that has never been mixed). The tapes were put into storage in Graham Nash’s vault. Paul called Nash in 1992 and requested DATs of those tapes. This was the first time they had been outside of the CSNY organization. They were copied at A&M Post Production audio and my personal DAT was made at that time. The roots of PERRO go back a lot further than 1971. 1 guess it had its inception in the early years of the ’60s (prior to the Airplane, the Byrds et al) when Kantner, Crosby and Freiberg used to hang out, play music, get high and rap together around Venice Beach. That was the initial bond, the start of it all.

Track listing: 0:00​ – Kids and Dogs 6:51​ – Jorma & Jerry’s Jam v1 21:09​ – Mountain Song (v 2&3) 30:21​ – Loser (Versions 1-4) 39:01​ – Mountain Song (v4) 47:24​ – The Wall Song 53:34​ – Eep Hour 58:30​ – Jorma & Jerry’s Jam v2

Besides the wonderful Perro tapes, also there is a bootleg of David and the Dorks at the Matrix, which was the members of the Grateful Dead and David Crosby playing many of the tunes from those sessions and David Crosby’s ensuing “solo” album.

New Zealand singer/songwriter/guitarist Marlon Williams is released a new album, “My Boy”, on September 9th via Dead Oceans. On Wednesday, he shared its third single, “River Rival” via a video for the new song. Steve Gullick directed the video, which simply features a wet Williams singing the song in one close-up shot, no edits.

Williams had this to say about “River Rivals” in a press release: “This tune began with an idle Google search. The Latin noun ‘rivalis’ means people competing for the same source of water. That got me excited and seemed to hit upon a central occupation of the record as a whole. Resource scarcity, very generally construed, is at the heart of most conflict: economically, materially, socially. Musically, it started out as a bleary-eyed Nick Drake-esque acoustic rambler but somehow, perhaps counterintuitively, it felt too heavy that way so with a bit of fussing and redressing (largely in pre-production with Mark Perkins) it gradually morphed into the cyclical synth rock-roller before you. Under Tom Healy’s guiding hand, Cass (Basil) and Paul (Taylor) then built up the rhythmic intensity, each stanza pushing the point a little more urgently every time.”

Of the video he says: “I reconnected with my buddy and ‘Vampire Again’ collaborator Steve Gullick to make the video in a studio in Cambridge while on the recent tour with Lorde. I was so tired I couldn’t be bothered blinking.”

In May Williams shared the album’s title track (also its opening track), “My Boy,” via an amusing video. Then in June he shared the album’s second single, “Thinking of Nina,” a song inspired by the Cold War spy drama The Americans. It was shared via a film noir-esque video.

Williams opted not to record “My Boy” with his long-time backing band The Yarra Benders. Instead he demoed half the album with Mark ‘Merk’ Perkins. Then he worked with producer Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, The Chills) at Neil Finn’s Roundhead studios in Auckland in late 2020. There he worked with LA-based drummer Paul Taylor (Feist), bassist Cass Basil (Ladyhawke, Tiny Ruins), and Healy on guitars and synths. There were also appearances from Delaney Davidson and Elroy Finn (on drums and percussion). Dave Kahn is the only member of The Yarra Benders to play on the album.

“Having new personalities in the room allowed me to escape myself,” said Williams in a previous press release. “When everyone’s still working out each other’s roles, there’s an unsettling and exciting tendency to go off in different directions…. It happened naturally. I was listening to more steely, New Romantic stuff, like Duran Duran, John Grant, Perfume Genius, the Bee Gees. All those things fed into the machine.”

Of the themes on “My Boy”, Williams said: “There’s a lot of male shapes on the record. Growing up an only child, I had to outsource my brothers and build a world around me. So while masculinity is a big theme, it’s really subsumed by broader explorations of vitality, and the social and cultural value placed on legacy.”

The alter ego of Brooklyn wunderkind Jed Smith (Jeanines, Teenage Stride), Mick Trouble has released an EP and two albums worth of wonderfully ramshackle pop that pays homage to Television Personalities and other DIY punk of the late ’70s, full of fake British accents, British references and big hooks. “The Oddities & Sodsities” EP, which tips its hat to The Who (the title) and The Beatles (the cover art), collects “b-sides and flexidisc singles” but he keeps quality levels high.

“Theme to We Are the Buzzcocks” is probably the best of the bunch, a very witty songs about the group and their legacy as do-it-yourself pioneers with knowing nods to The Fall, Factory Records and The Damned (to name three): “We are the buzzcocks / say a prayer for ol’ Mark E / you could get Hannet for a fee / or cap’n sensible for free.”

There’s also a quiet version of “Not ‘alf Bad” from Mick’s debut LP (shades of “I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives” in this version), and an Ace cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “The Saddest Story Ever Told.” Like many artists of the era he’s aping, even his throwaways are great.

released July 12th, 2022

After releasing their acclaimed, eponymous debut in April, Isle of Wight rock duo Wet Leg return with two songs for the Spotify Singles series. Instead of covering two songs, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers rework “Convincing” a cut from their debut, and Ashnikko’s “Daisy” from her 2021 mixtape “Demidevil”. “I remember going to stay with Rhian around the time we recorded “Chaise” with Jon McMullen and she had told me about this artist she’d been listening to loads,” says Chambers of the Ashnikko cover. “She sang and played ‘Daisy’ on the guitar in the morning while we had coffee. It feels like another little circle coming ’round in our Wet Leg world getting to make this cover.

Adds Chambers about the reworking of “Convincing.” “Since live music has opened back up, we play some tracks just as they were recorded, but ‘Convincing’ is one of the songs that has gone through a little shapeshift over time as we’ve been playing gigs for the last year. This version we recorded with James leans into the more mellow and woozy world it exists in our live sets.”

The results are slight detours from the raucous sound they established on Wet Leg. Instead, the songs are patient and glittering, perhaps a signal as to what’s to come from the band on their next project. Fifteen months ago, Wet Leg, comprised of duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, released its debut single “Chaise Lounge” and since then, they’ve rocketed to stardom, garnering 140 million streams and selling more than 250,000 albums.

Before embarking on their 2023 UK and European tour in support of Harry Styles , the band also announced four headlining dates in December in the USA.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ first live album in 13 years: “Live at the Fillmore” recorded in 1997 and to be released November 25th. The show featured special performances from The Byrds leader Roger McGuinn and blues legend John Lee Hooker. The Heartbreakers played at the legendary San Francisco that year 20 times, 6 of those occasions belong to the album which will contain between 33 and 58 songs, depending on the format.

Highlights from the release include Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” J.J. Cale’s “Crazy Mama,” The Rolling Stones’ “Time is On My Side” and more from The Kinks, Everly Brothers, Bill Withers, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s. The collection also features special performances with The Byrds’ frontman Roger McGuinn and blues legend John Lee Hooker. Other standouts include extended versions of original tracks “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “It’s Good To Be King.” 

The music is being released in a collaboration between the Petty estate and Mike Campbell, a member of the Heartbreakers and former co-writer and collaborator of the late Tom Petty.

Before starting the 20-show run at the Fillmore, Tom Petty outlined his plans in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle: 

“We’re musicians and we want to play. We’ve made so many records in the past five years, I think the best thing for us to do is just go out and play and it will lead us to our next place, wherever that may be.”

The shows at the Fillmore ended up being some of the most joyful, honest, inspirational and prolific experiences of the band’s career, creating a unique bond between the group and their fans. This album features more covers than originals, paying tribute to the artists and songs that shaped Petty’s love of music as he was growing up—before he became a legendary songwriter and performer in his own right.

“Playing the Fillmore in 1997 for a month was one of my favourite experiences as a musician in my whole life. The band was on fire and we changed the set list every night. The room and the crowd was spiritual… AND… we got to play with some amazing guests. I will always remember those nights with joy and inspiration.”—Mike Campbell

The Fillmore was a laboratory for the band. The captivating sold out performances were such a hit, the Heartbreakers were even nicknamed the “Fillmore House Band.” At the final show, Petty noted as he took the stage: “We all feel this might be the highpoint of our time together as a group… It’s going to be hard to get us off this stage tonight.”

The record will be offered in a 3 LP version simulating one of the concerts and a comprehensive box set featuring 58 songs and 14 humorous spoken word tracks that highlight Petty’s connection with his band and his fans from the stage. The shows were taped during the last six nights of the band’s historic residency. The compilation was meticulously curated by producers Ryan Ulyate and Mike Campbell and executive producers Benmont Tench, Adria Petty, Annakim Petty and Dana Petty.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers famously played 20 nights at the legendary Fillmore venue in San Francisco in 1997. 6 of the shows were professionally recorded and this release features some of the high points of the residency. The small venue allowed the band to vary their sets each night; they included re-arranged and distinctive versions of their hits, deep cuts, and many cover versions—paying tribute to the artists that Tom and the band had been influenced by.

The 2 CD set includes 33 tracks, 18 of which are covers—2 hours of music. The tri-fold board package includes a 16-page booklet with previously unseen photographs. 

3 LP Set: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers The 3 LP set includes 33 tracks, 18 of which are covers—2 hours of music. The tri-fold sleeve includes a 4-page insert.

4 CD Set:  The 4 CD deluxe edition includes 58 tracks, 35 of which are covers – over 4 hours of music. The 4 CDs are packaged in a box with a 32-page booklet (with previously unseen photographs), 3 custom guitar picks, a replica All Access laminate, and an embroidered patch (“The Fillmore House Band” —a term that was bestowed on The Heartbreakers during the shows at the Fillmore).

6 LP Set: The 6 LP deluxe edition includes 58 tracks, 35 of which are covers—over 4 hours of music. The 6 LPs are packaged in a box with a 24 page (12” x 12”) booklet (with previously unseen photographs), 3 custom guitar picks, a replica All Access laminate, facsimiles of 3 set lists, a reprint of the 8-page Fan Newsletter published in 1997, and an embroidered patch.

6 LP Uber Deluxe: Available exclusively on the Tom Petty webstore, The Uber deluxe edition is housed in an authentic hand-made custom-sized cymbal road case designed and manufactured by Made Worn in Los Angeles. The packaging also includes a replica “All Access” laminate, a reprint of the 8-page Fan Newsletter published in 1997, an embroidered patch, exclusive 7 additional replica set lists, an exclusive foil lithograph (12” x 12”), exclusive vinyl record player slip-mat, custom guitar picks in a tin, and a replica embroidered “Fillmore House Band” baseball hat.

The long-awaited “Live at the Fillmore” (1997)—Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ first live album in 13 years—is due November 25th on Warner Records. 

Sometimes the trick is to strip it all back, to keep it so simple life has a way to throw you some curb balls – to devolve back into the apeman and embrace the wild spirit in our bones.
This is that album and it has been my honour to have been given the chance to find myself and be myself fully – embracing my music and my life as it comes – in its own way – free of the patterns of the past.
— Ryan Adams

Today I want to say thank you and I love you, in the language we speak to each other – with my music. “Devolver” is for you, please feel free to download for free – this is your party and this album is me celebrating you. 

In my darkest moments you lifted me up, creatively and personally and that love was instrumental in how I got here today, to safety and in a place of healing – one year sober. 

Please accept this album as token of my appreciation for all the love you have shown me through the years, for your encouragement to continue on when I didn’t think I could and for standing with me, rebuilding this dream house brick by brick. 

Sometimes the trick is to strip it all back, to keep it so simple life has a way to throw you some curb balls – to devolve back into the apeman and embrace the wild spirit in our bones. 

This is that album and it has been my honour to have been given the chance to find myself and be myself fully – embracing my music and my life as it comes – in its own way – free of the patterns of the past.

Devolver Tracklist:

1. Don’t Give It Away
2. Stare At The TV
3. Alien USA
4. Banging On My Head
5. Marquee
6. Eyes On The Door
7. Too Bored To Run
8. Free Your Self
9. Get Away
10. I’m In Love With You
11. Why Do You Hate Me

So thank you. This one’s for you.  You are truly loved and appreciate with all that I am. 

XO

DRA 

On September 23rd in 1978: Derry, Northern Ireland the punk-pop band, The Undertones, released their debut ‘Teenage Kicks’ EP on Belfast’s indie label Good Vibrations label; it featured the title track plus “True Confessions”, “Emergency Cases” & “Smarter Than U”; after the band signed to Sire Records that October, the label obtained the rights to the EP & re-released it, whereupon it reached UK #31; the title track famously became known as influential BBC DJ John Peel’s favourite song of all time…

John O’Neill attributes the spark of the performance to playing Belfast on a combined Good Vibrations bill on the evening prior to the recording.

“I remember thinking that night. I’m not sure how good we are, but we’re at least as good or better than the other Belfast bands. That made us confident going in to record the next day. We called it the “Teenage Kicks” EP because obviously we were teenagers, and it just had a good ring to it – the “True Confessions” EP wouldn’t have been as good. But even when we played the song live then, I don’t think it stood out more than any other song. We obviously thought it was one of our best, ‘cos we put it on the EP. But we thought “True Confession”s was the best song on the record.”

It may be one of the most cherished recordings ever, but the story behind the release of The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks” in 1978 is long on happy accidents. Derry’s only punk band didn’t originally plan it to be the lead track on their debut EP (a record that itself was intended solely as an epitaph) and they even had to persuade their singer to rejoin the band just to do the recording. But when DJ John Peel got to hear it, everything went a bit mad. Not that it turned the heads of our heroes. Famously ambivalent to rock-star behaviour and the trappings of fashion – “You wore what your ma bought you back then” – they would be together for a brief but fertile four-album, five-year career.

They weren’t always popular. If you inspect the back cover of “Teenage Kicks” you’ll find a photo of some arcane Derry graffiti: ‘Undertones – shit, pish, counts, wankers’.

“At the time, punk wasn’t that well known in Derry,” reflects guitarist John O’Neill. “We had a core following of 50 people or so, but apart from that we were treated with a lot of suspicion.”

John Peel’s favourite ever song and not hard to understand why. Timeless teenage frustration in 2 and a half minutes of raucous pop punk heaven. Play it loud and feel free to pogo — you know you want to.

“Teenage Kicks” EP was released on the Good Vibrations label, run by Belfast maverick Terri Hooley, in September 78.

Stevie Nicks has released her signature take on Buffalo Springfield’s timeless protest song “For What It’s Worth” as a digital download and streaming single. A Dolby Atmos mix of the track is also available now on all platforms that support the format.

In 1981, six years after joining Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks went solo for the first time with her debut album ‘Bella Donna’. A massive success, it sold more than five million copies in the U.S., topped the album charts and produced four hit singles, including her signature anthem, “Edge Of Seventeen.” More platinum albums followed – ‘The Wild Heart’ (1983), ‘Rock A Little’ (1985), and ‘The Other Side Of The Mirror’ (1989). In 2019, Stevie Nicks made history by becoming the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – first as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998, and most recently in recognition of an extraordinary solo career that spans nearly 40 years.

My version of “For What It’s Worth” is out now! Originally written in 1966 by Stephen Stills, and recorded by Buffalo Springfield, this song has always meant so much to me.