The promotion campaign for “Double Take” features some of the artists involved (Rod Stewart, Paul Carrack and Huey Lewis) talking about the first time they saw Frankie Miller. Now, that’s a great idea.
Freshers’ Week, Dundee University, 1976 and the first gig of the year was Frankie Miller’s Full House. I went to the gig with my new mate Steve (still a mate and writing great reviews for MusicRiot). The band were superb and we left the gig raving about Ray Minhinnet’s guitar work, Chrissy Stewart’s bass playing, but most of all about Frankie’s stunning soul voice. He started the ballad “With You in Mind” a cappella, and with perfect pitch, before the band dropped in underneath the vocal; I was completely hooked from that moment. I’ve seen an awful lot of gigs since then, but I’ve never heard a band that nailed it so completely, song after song.
So let me put “Double Take” into some kind of personal and historical context. As Frankie slowly fought back from the brink after a brain haemorrhage in 1994, you would hear occasionally from friends on the Scottish music scene about his progress; not frequently, but often enough to know that things were gradually improving, and it carried on like that until 2012 when word started to leak out that a project with Frankie’s old demo tapes was in progress. It’s taken over four years and probably a few unexpected twists and turns, but the final result is “Double Take”, nineteen unreleased Frankie Miller originals reconstructed from demo vocals, and all but one reimagined as duets with singers that wanted to be involved with the project. Although Frankie’s biggest chart hits (“When I’m Away From You” aside) were interpretations of other people’s songs, he also wrote a shedload of great songs for himself and other artists.
The nineteen songs on “Double Take” are pretty representative of Frankie’s songwriting output, covering soul, blues, rock, country and ballads. And that’s the staple diet of Scotland, right there; forget your deep fried Mars Bars. All of the songs have been arranged around the original demo vocals (with Frankie involved in quality control), but the quality of the voice is so good that almost everything sounds like a full-scale production. To be honest, given the choice, I’d rather listen to Frankie Miller demos than most singers’ finished product.
The guests on “Double Take” are a mix of megastars and people that Frankie knew and worked with in the past. Without listing the whole lot, how about Joe Walsh, Elton John, Kid Rock, Delbert McClinton, Kim Carnes and Willie Nelson. Add those to the ones listed at the top of the article and you’ve got a huge amount of respect across musical styles for Frankie’s work. Great news for fans of Frankie from the mid-seventies is that Full House appear on three songs in the middle of the album. “When It’s Rockin’” (with Steve Dickinson) is a horn-driven rocker, “Beginner at the Blues” (with Delbert McClinton) is a slow blues and “To Be With you Again” (with Kim Carnes) is a mid-tempo ballad. For a while there, I was back in that night in1976.
With so many songs and such a variety of arrangements, it’s difficult to pick standouts, but the gospel choir of “Where Do the Guilty Go” (with Elton John) and the country ballad “I Want to Spend My Life with You” (with Willie Nelson) are hard to beat, while the hauntingly simple “I Do”, with only Frankie’s vocal over a sparse arrangement is the perfect closer for the album.
This has been a long journey for some very dedicated people, culminating in an album that can only add to Frankie Miller’s legacy by bringing those powerful vocal performances to a wider audience and unearthing so many unreleased songs. This is a classic.
“Double Take” is out on September 30th on Universal.
Here’s a sneaky little peek for you:
Not so much a review, more of a heads-up. This is one to watch out for; it’s “Some Ungodly Hour”, the debut album from ArchiveX. It’s a melting-pot of his musical influences pieced together over a period of three years with help of a variety of musical collaborators. The variety of styles means that it’s almost impossible to pigeonhole, but the press release calls it ‘Soul-Ambient-Electro-Roots’, so let’s stick with that. The album was inspired by a period spent singing with the a well-known San Francisco gospel choir and, although the aim wasn’t to make a gospel album, the choral style had an enormous influence on the overall sound and contributes to the impact of one of the two lead tracks, the gospel-house “Drink the Water” (featuring Dr Kucho).
The album’s second lead track, “Hard Times” is a cover of the old Ray Charles blues and the two songs together give some idea of the variety of influences. There’s also a remix package in the pipeline for future release.
The album’s released on Friday September 30th.
You can have a look at the trailer for the project here.
We’re all big fans of Hannah Wood and Abbe Martin, better known as Sound of the Sirens here at Riot Towers. Since seeing them for the first time less than two years ago at The Half Moon in Putney, they’ve been working incredibly hard to bring their own unique blend of perfect harmonies, dynamics that range from a whisper to a whirlwind and a bunch of songs that combine memorable melodies with lyrics that are poetic and profound. It’s not necessarily cheerful but the overall experience is always life-affirming.
After a reasonably busy 2015, which included Glastonbury, both Carfests, a live appearance on Radio 2 and an appearance on TFI Friday, Hannah and Abbe have really put the pedal to the metal this year with appearances all the major festivals from the Isle of Wight to Cropredy. Now the festival season’s over, it’s time for a rest, yeah? No chance, they’re working on the new album and they’re going back on the road headlining a mini autumn/winter tour. If you want to see this force of nature in action, here’s where to go:
Friday October 14 Bush Hall, Shepherd’s Bush, London
Saturday October 15 Deaf Institute, Manchester
Tuesday November 29 Notes Café, Southampton
Wednesday, November 30 Gwdihw, Cardiff
Thursday, December 1 Exeter Cathedral
If you go along to any of these gigs, make sure you take along some extra cash because you will want to buy CDs at the end.
Roger Roger; just to clear up any confusion it’s not a call-sign, it’s Lucas and Madeleine Roger, two twins from Winnipeg and their debut album, “Fairweather” is co-produced by their father Lloyd Peterson. Glad we got that cleared up. Each of the siblings brings their individual flavour to the album and the songs are split almost evenly between them. Madeleine’s songs are in the classic introspective, story-telling style, while Lucas brings a guitar-slinging slacker feel to the album with his contributions. Each takes lead vocal on their own songs and adds harmonies as the final ingredient on their sibling’s songs; the final confection is very tasty indeed.
“Fairweather” is a very clean-sounding album that doesn’t need too many production tricks to enhance the nine songs or Lucas and Madeleine’s vocal and instrumental performances. The album as a whole evokes the seventies Laurel Canyon singer/songwriter era (and Madeleine can sound a lot like Joni Mitchell), but there are hints of later styles, particularly in “Another Girl’s Shoes” which has the melancholy feel of The Gin Blossoms or Matchbox Twenty. The biggest production on the album is “Mad Trapper”, which combines an early Eagles feel with an over-driven guitar riff, Hammond and some nice harmonies.
The album’s opener, “13 Crows” is the moving story of an old man’s reminiscences as he nears the end of his life, set against a chiming guitar riff that has more than a passing resemblance to the main theme from Beethoven’s Ninth. It’s catchy and thought-provoking, setting the tone for the rest of the album. The clean production and the two superb voices tie in the album’s disparate elements, such as the contrasting songwriting styles and arrangements, creating an album that’s mellifluous and intelligent.
If you want recommendations, the title song is a lovely, melancholy picture of a person whose life revolves around missing opportunities, while the closing song, “Scott Free” tells the tale of a woman in a doomed relationship with a bad boy. “Fairweather” is a lovely album packed with catchy melodies woven round stories of smalltown characters and misfits.
“Fairweather” is out in the UK on Friday October 7th.
Just imagine this; your best friend tells you they’ve set the date and venue for their wedding and it’s only a few weeks. Then they go on to tell you that haven’t sorted out the catering, the entertainment or even the ceremony they want; they haven’t even got a partner. You’d be wondering about their sanity and looking for a quick escape. Well, that’s what the Music Venue Trust has done. They booked The Roundhouse for an event called Fightback on Tuesday October 18th. At the time of booking, no artists had been booked and none of the usual infrastructure (sound, lights and security) put in place.
It’s an example of a desperate situation eliciting a desperate remedy. The event aims to raise funds for a service to help smaller venues threatened with closure, but it’s also about raising awareness of the difficulties currently facing live music venues in city centres. It’s not just a London thing; it’s happening across the country as developers see venues and music pubs as prime targets for conversion into expensive accommodation. And it’s not just a logical economic progression; there are some dodgy tactics being employed (illegal demolition by CLTX Ltd of the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale for starters) and the odds are stacked in favour of the developers.
Music Venue Trust is trying to redress that imbalance by offering support to venues threatened by closure. The idea of announcing a gig without having any of the elements in place is drastic, but we’re talking about it and about the issues around it; it’s creating solidarity across the music business around tackling venue closures. At the time of writing, one band has been confirmed; The Carnabys, who are patrons of the Trust and donated the profits from pre-sales of their latest album to the cause, have confirmed their participation and others will follow.
It’s up to you now. If you want to support the event you can book tickets here.
Musicians love making jokes about each other; we’ve all heard the drummer jokes. Another old chestnut was the line about parking next to the banjo player’s Porsche. OK, they might not be driving Barbie-magnets yet, but, with the rise of Americana, the banjo’s regaining a lot of credibility. Personally. I’d rather hear a banjo than a ukulele any day of the week. In the hands of a maestro like Chicagoan Al Scorch, the banjo takes on a whole new character. It transforms from the kid that no-one would pick for the football team to a menacing, sneering, leather-jacketed Brando in “On the Waterfront”.
But, before I get too carried away with Al Scorch, what about some context? I was visiting Songwriters’ Night at The famous Troubadour in Earl’s Court with an element of trepidation. On my last visit eight months ago, most of the audience talked non-stop throughout the evening, drowning out some very good but quiet singer-songwriters. No such problems this time; as soon as the performers walked on stage, every conversation stopped.
First on stage was Freja Frances (or just Freja) who played a set of delicate, almost fragile, but ethereal, introspective piano-backed ballads. A few nerves, maybe, but belief in the strength of the material pulled her through, helped by respectful silence from the audience. You can hear two of the songs she played on the night, “Papercuts” and “Porcelain Doll” on Soundcloud; they’re well worth hearing.
Miles Horn ramped up the tempo and the volume a few notches with electric guitar backing (plus a couple of songs at the piano) as he ran through a set of melodic and introspective songs starting with “The Great Abyss”. His voice is strong (although he admitted that the falsetto in “Why Don’t You Love Me” was a bit misjudged) and combined with his interesting guitar style and original melodies hints at Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook (never a bad thing in my opinion). He’s very assured on stage and, apart from the one mistake with a new song (which he predicted in advance), the set was spot-on, creating a rapport with the audience and giving some background to the songs. Have a listen to “Something Beautiful” and “Slow Motion” here.
Al Scorch and fiddle player Jess McIntosh were something else. They’d brought along a strong following from earlier in their UK tour, but they could have generated audience participation in a mortuary. They’re both very fine players who bring a very punk approach and huge amounts of energy to traditional instruments, creating a buzz from the opening of “Pennsylvania Turnpike” to the close of the set, which was based mainly around Al’s superb new album “Circle Round the Signs”, featuring “Lonesome Low”, “City Lullaby”, “Lost at Sea”, “Everybody Out”, “Insomnia” and “City Lullaby” plus a few others including the poignant “Two Flags” and the crowd favourite “Little Dog”. Both players are lively, but Al is a one-man whirlwind, stomping around the stage, stamping his feet in time and shouting out his declamatory and inflammatory lyrics. By the end of the set, following a banjo and fiddle version of the extended live rock song ending, the performers were running with sweat and the audience wasn’t so far behind them. This was the last gig of the tour, but watch out for them next time around.
You certainly can’t accuse Time Out of ignoring up and coming talent; they’ve been running the Rising Stars event in various venues across London, including Jazz Café (newly refurbished and looking very nice indeed), 229 The Venue and Green Note featuring half a dozen unsigned acts performing showcase sets. They’ve covered a wide spectrum of styles and featured all sorts of line-ups from solo artists to full bands. The one thing they all have in common is quality; the September selection was no exception.
Mark Sullivan opened the evening with a set of soulful acoustic songs backed only with his acoustic guitar and a loop pedal (oh, and a stunningly powerful voice). He threw everything into the performance and finished with a cover of the unplugged version of “Layla”; job done. If you were expecting Malory Torr to turn up wielding a ukelele, you would have been disappointed, but not for long. Backed by bass, drums and keyboards (and some lovely harmonies), she delivered an atmospheric set including a cover of “She Drives Me Crazy”. Joe Slater (from Liverpool) played a short set in singer-songwriter/Jake Bugg style, finishing off with the by now, obligatory cover, “Live Forever” this time. And then it all got a bit loud.
Nick Howe played a barnstormer with a full band and a beatboxer. Powerful songs, a band who were on top of their game, and a cover of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” were the highlights. Wang Dang Doodle hark back to the golden age of blues harp players with Laurent Mouflier’s gritty voice and superb harmonica playing topping off the glorious noise created by Mylon Kosmas, Francesco Cuturi and Ben Heartland. Stellify completed the line-up on the night with their classic rock sound of big riffs and thunderous bass and drums.
Another great night, with only one reservation and it’s about the audience rather than the performers. Why is it that audiences at showcase events (not just Rising Stars) drift away after seeing whichever act has brought them there? Wang Dang Doodle and Stellify played storming sets to a half-empty hall. It wasn’t even 10:30. The artists and Ray Jones and his Time Out team put a lot of work into making these events successful; why would you leave halfway through?
You can see some photos from the night here.
When you list all of the component parts of Freakwater’s sound, it shouldn’t work; it really shouldn’t. There’s a strong current of traditional Appalachian roots running through “Scheherazade” with string band-style banjo and fiddle settings and vocal harmonies, but you can pick out Nashville country, sixties psychedelia, surf punk and even gipsy jazz in the mix as well. It’s dissonant at times, with unexpected juxtapositions and an air of brooding menace lurking just under the surface even in the more cheerful songs; even the most upbeat, “Take Me with You” is all about a desire to escape to a perceived better life.
The opening track, “What the People Want” sets the tone for the album with sinister minor key banjo and fiddle interplay and Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin’s signature harmonies; it’s disturbing but strangely hypnotic. There are plenty of traditional elements in Freakwater’s sound; minor keys, ¾ time and traditional instruments, but the album’s defined by the unexpected. The Nashville licks that would normally have a crisp, clean Telecaster sound are scuffed up with a bit of distortion on “Memory Vendor”, which starts its journey as slow country but somehow picks up some gipsy jazz inflections along the way. And surely you didn’t expect a wah-wah guitar and fiddle wig-out on the menacing reworking of “Rock-a-Bye Baby”, “Down Will Come Baby”.
The combination of disparate elements makes the album a challenging proposition, but ultimately rewarding if you’re willing to take the album on its own terms.
“Scheherazade” is out now on Bloodshot Records.
If you want to see Freakwater live, they’re touring the UK and Ireland in October, playing the following places:
Friday October 7 Oslo, Hackney, London
Sunday October 9 The Tunnels, Bristol
Tuesday October 11 The Eagle Inn, Salford
Wednesday October 12 Broadcast, Glasgow
Thursday October 13 Cluny 2, Newcastle
Friday October 14 Phil Grimes Pub, Waterford
Saturday October 15 Cleere’s Bar & Theatre, Kilkenny
Sunday October 16 Whelan’s, Dublin
