The Smiths: a light that will never go out

Let’s be honest, I’d seen the listing in the TV/radio guide and decided naaaah – not even worth recording… it’ll be yet another tedious, glum Manc love-in, blighted by the usual show biz bonehead yap-yap production values of BBC Radio 2.

But, three days later, curiosity led me to “Listen Again” via the web to Radio 2’s Salford Lad, the first in a two-part documentary on Morrissey/The Smiths. I am rather partial to The Smiths’ music, after all…

Confounding my prejudices, it was a lovely programme. Most of the motley crew of interviewees, presenter Stuart Maconie included, had something worthwhile to say. Some of them even said it well.

Mixing the voices of key players, especially Morrissey and Marr, with some spectacular music reminded you just how good The Smiths really were.

I won’t be missing the second part, aired on Saturday 28 April at 2000. It covers Morrissey’s solo career, a yawning gap in my musical knowledge.

You can hear the first programme via the web until Saturday, then the second for the following seven days:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2


Radio 2 billing (with corrections!):

“Saturday 21/28 April 2000-2100
“It is almost twenty years since Morrissey, England’s most thoughtful and enduring lyricist and singer, launched his solo career. Ever since his emergence as front man with the Smiths in the 1980s his songs have been pored over, analysed and quoted.

“In this two part series for BBC Radio 2 Stuart Maconie tells the story of the Manchester lad who became a British icon. We hear from friends, fans, colleagues and fellow musicians including: Richard Boon, Mike Hinc, Jo Slee, Andrew Paresi, Willy Russell, Badly Drawn Boy, Zoe Williams, John Hegley, Preston, Stephen Street, Tony Visconti, Andy Rourke and Suggs.”



Gerry Smith

Forever Ella – fitting tribute to the First Lady of Song

Forever Ella, released in the UK on Monday and readily available as a supermarket sub-£10 impulse buy, is a fitting tribute to mark today’s 90th birthdate of the magnificent First Lady of Song.

The 20 track CD (not to be confused with an equally excellent but very different 1995 compilation of the same name – they share only three tracks) covers Ella’s main bases, with six tracks from the Cole Porter songbook and most of the other tracks from the other songbook projects, plus a couple of Louis Armstrong duets.

If you bought Gold, the wonderful last (2CD) Fitzgerald compilation, you already have half the songs on Forever Ella. On the other hand, collectors are catered for by new orchestral backing by the London Symphony Orchestra on Cry Me A River, and new remixes of the last two tracks.

Verve has developed the attractive cartoon Ella cover artwork which made Gold and the latest Ella/Louis Armstrong compilation stand out on the shelves, though they’ve changed the colour palette from blue to yellow. Gorgeous.

If you don’t possess any Ella Fitzgerald recordings, make Forever Ella your first. It’s a beauty.

Best price I’ve seen: amazon.co.uk (£8.99). If you can wait a few months, you’ll probably be able to pick it up for about £6 with the cat food and cornflakes.


Tracklist
1. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
2. Cry Me A River
3. Manhattan
4. Best Is Yet To Come
5. I Get A Kick Out Of You
6. Cheek To Cheek
7. Don't Fence Me In
8. Get Happy
9. Night And Day
10. Let's Face The Music And Dance
11. Summertime
12. Someone To Watch Over Me
13. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
14. They Can't Take That Away From Me
15. Let's Fall In Love
16. You Do Something To Me
17. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
18. Fine Romance
19. Wait Till You See Him
20. Angel Eyes



Gerry Smith

ON AIR: Uncle Bob, Miles, Dinah Washington, Ella

Must-record broadcasts for grown-ups:

Today:
2100 BBC 6Music: Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour
2230 BBC Radio 3: Jazz Library, Miles Davis – first two decades
0010 BBC Four (TV): Dinah Washington profile

Saturday:
1600 BBC Radio 3: Ella Fitzgerald appreciation


Gerry Smith

The Doors – stunning new photo exhibition

Thanks to Guy White, Gallery Director, for details of a stunning new exhibition of Joel Brodsky’s iconic photos of The Doors.

Snap Galleries aim to get you to say “WOW!” when you enter their Birmingham exhibition space. I found myself “WOW!”-ing, involuntarily, even as I opened the link below.

The recently deceased Brodsky’s collection is one of the most striking portfolios of photography in music history: Snap’s wonderful exhibition is a fitting showcase.

Details from Guy White, Snap Gallery:
“… your subscribers might be interested in the exhibition of ultra large Jim Morrison / Doors photographs that we are launching at our gallery from this Saturday, 21 April 2007.

“Here's the link to all the info:

http://www.snapgalleries.com/scalinglizardking.html

Snap Galleries Limited
Unit 7 - Ground Floor
Fort Dunlop
Fort Parkway
Birmingham
B24 9FD
Tel 0121 748 3408
info@snapgalleries.com

Well worth a visit if you’re anywhere near.



Gerry Smith

The Best Of Van Morrison, Volume 3 - due in June

The Best Of Van Morrison, Volume 3 will be released in the USA on 19 June. The 2CD album has 31 tracks, dating from the early 1990s to mid-Noughties, including previously unreleased collaborations, as well as duets with greats like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Ray Charles.

Disc 1
1. Cry For Home (with Tom Jones) (previously unreleased)
2. Too Long In Exile
3. Gloria (with John Lee Hooker)
4. Help Me with Junior Wells (live)
5. Lonely Avenue / 4 O' Clock In The Morning (+ Jimmy Witherspoon, Candy Dulfer & Jim Hunter) (live)
6. Days Like This
7. Ancient Highway
8. Raincheck
9. Moondance
10. Centerpiece (with Georgie Fame & Annie Ross)
11. That's Life (live)
12. Benediction (remix) (with Georgie Fame & Ben Sidran)
13. The Healing Game (re-mix)
14. I Don't Want To Go On Without You (with Jim Hunter)


Disc 2
1. Shenandoah (with The Chieftains)
2. Precious Time
3. Back On Top (remix)
4. When The Leaves Come Falling Down
5. Lost John (with Lonnie Donegan) (live)
6. Tupelo Honey (with Bobby Bland) (previously unreleased)
7. Meet Me In The Indian Summer (orchestral version) (remix)
8. Georgia On My Mind
9. Hey Mr. DJ
10. Steal My Heart Away
11. Crazy Love (with Ray Charles)
12. Once In A Blue Moon
13. Little Village
14. Blue and Green
15. Sitting On Top Of The World (with Carl Perkins)
16. Early In The Morning (with B.B. King)
17. Stranded


Yippee! UK date, and discussion of the release, to follow.




Gerry Smith