The Archivist: Ultravox - Vienna

 

I must admit that my love of music has always stemmed from harmonies more than anything else. Brought up on a diet of Beach Boys, Beatles & The Association, my early (ears) were exposed to what beauty of the human voices could achieve.

 

 

When I started to form my own musical tastes, I quickly moved into the early American singer songwriters such as James Taylor, Jackson Browne etc and British Prog rock such as YES - who had brilliant three part harmonies courtesy of Jon Anderson (high), Chris Squire (even higher) & Steve Howe (low).

 

 

Follow this with bands such as The Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Poco, etc through the seventies. 

 

 

Punk & New Wave for me had no harmony. It was all about energy and taking the piss out of prog rock and the music I loved. Only the Clash and later The Jam had any relevance for me at the time. Mainly because they were more 'musical' and could actually play their instruments.

 

Along with Prog came the offshoot Kraut Rock. Krautrock as the name implies, was a collection of bands that based their sounds around electronic keyboards and came from Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some excellent sounds and music came out of these bands and they had a huge influence on the electronic movement that happened in Britain at the end of the 70s and into the 80s. I remember the very first Gary Numan appearance on Top Of The Pops in 1979 and thinking that this would influence a lot of new bands.

 



 

 Which it did.

 

One of these bands was Ultravox.

 

 

Ultravox were formed from the ashes of a group called Tiger Lilly back in 1976 when Keyboardist & Violin player Billy Currie, Guitarist Stevie Shears & Drummer Warren Cann were joined by Vocalist John Foxx & bass player Chris Cross. They produced two albums which were critically acclaimed but sold poorly.

 

 

For their third album, Systems of Romance, the band enlisted legendary German producer Conny Plank and saw their sound move more toward the electronic German sound that was so clearly an influence. But tensions within the band rose and finally came to a head when John Foxx left to go solo leaving Currie, Cann & Cross to join other bands.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

In a twist of fate, they teamed up with Vocalist, Guitarist & Keyboard player Midge Ure who had previously had success with pop band Slick and Glen Matlock's Rich Kids.

 

 



 

 

 

With the Teutonic sound still in effect and with the pop sensibilities of Midge now in place they went on to record their debut album as the new Ultravox. The recordings became the brilliant Vienna.

 



 

The new sound and direction was evident from the first track Astradyne. It was a seven minute exploration of new sounds and Midge's soaring vocals.

 

 

 

Every track on Vienna is a killer cut. The first single released was a chart hit - the pulsating Sleepwalk, Passing Strangers and All Stood Still were also released as singles.



 

 

 

 

 

 

However, nothing could prepare the charts for the glorious title track, Vienna. It had a multi million pound video which was almost on every other song on MTV. With help from the video, the track shot up the charts. But as is the history of the British pop charts and the eccentricity of the great music buying public, it was kept off the top slot by Joe Dolce's Shaddup Your Face. A complete travesty. If any song deserved to get to number 1 it was Vienna. Maybe it stalled because the album was so successful and most people had the track anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The album was a huge hit and from this success Ultravox went on to produce some really good albums throughout the 80s and a plethora of hit singles.

 

 

And Midge became the unrecognised initiator of Band Aid and the Live Aid concert in 1985 together with Bob Geldof. Another Travesty.

 

 

 

Midge Ure & Billy Currie also went on to lend their writing and production skills to other ventures proving what great songwriters they really are.

 

 

 

Even John Foxx went on to record some brilliant albums after the split from the band  and continues to produce great music as a musician and artist.

 

 

 

 

After splitting up in the early 90s, Ultravox reformed in the late 2009 and in 2012 released a new album called Brilliant.

 

 

And Vienna has to feature in the cult BBC drama Ashes To Ashes - set in the 80s - to great effect when you finally hear it.

 

 

 

Twitter - @UltravoxUK

 

@midgeure1

 

@CCrossky

 

 

 http://www.ultravox.org.uk/

 



Thank You For The Music: Phil Everly

 

Today we lost Phil Everly

 

The younger brother by two years, Phil, together with his brother Don was half of the duo, The Everly Brothers. From the 1950s, their close harmony singing and guitar playing were constantly on the radio as hit followed hit.

 

Their influence probably reached further than any other of the Rock n Roll era artists as they influenced Rock, pop and country performers.

 

 

Their influence can be seen in artist such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Hollies, Simon & Garfunkel, CSNY, The Bee Gees - the list goes on.

 

 



 

 

Their influence stretched to Scandinavia too.

 

 

And today's artists still feel the Everly Brothers influence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIP Phil - your legacy is assured

 

 

http://everlybrothers.net/

 

The Archivist: Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel Of Love

 

I have loved Bruce Springsteen ever since I saw him way back in the day on The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was somewhere around the Born To Run album. I had a friend who worked in a local record store and he used to let me take the albums home and record them, so I often had tapes before I managed to save up for the albums. I remember doing this for BTR and Darkness On The Edge Of Town. But I did buy both albums as soon as I saved the money. I had integrity back then. 

 

So, I the bought the first 3 albums and have been a massive fan of his music ever since.

 

On June 4th 1984, Bruce Springsteen was to release the album that made him a MEGASTAR. Born In The USA.

 



 

 

Nothing really prepared the world for this album. The previous album, Nebraska, was a lo fi home recorded dark beauty of a record that would turn out to be many a muso's Bruce of choice -  for the geeks ( http://brucebase.wikispaces.com/Nebraska+-+Studio+Sessions )  - but for the American public, Born In The USA shone like a beacon through the gloom on many a workingman's tough existence. It had songs of hope, nostalgia and (misplaced) patriotism. The album produced no less than 7 hit singles. It went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide and life for Bruce would never be the same again.

 

 

 

 

Following Born In The USA and it's subsequent tours, Bruce spent the time compiling his 75-85 Live Album which was released to huge acclaim.

 

 

Now Bruce has always been prolific and continued recording sessions at his home studio. However the next album was going to be different. This was not going to be an album without the legendary E Street Band in the title.  Bruce played a lot of the instruments himself on what would become his next album - and my favourite Bruce album after Born To Run - it was the brilliant Tunnel Of Love. This is not to see that the various E Street Band members did not contribute, they did. But the change in sound to a more Country style was not the same sound that Bruce had acquired with his backing band up to this point.

 



 

 

For a detailed fan analysis of Born To Run, please check out the link to a fellow musician's Trevor Jones' Blog. He thinks the same as I do sometimes :)

 

http://hissyf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/my-album-for-life-1-bruce-springsteen.html

 

 

 

So on October 9th 1987, Bruce released Tunnel Of Love

 



 

 

The album, although going triple platinum, did not and probably could not match the success of Born In The USA. Tunnel was a different beast entirely, focusing more on relationships and their trials and tribulations.

 

 

 

 

There were 4 singles released from Tunnel Of Love with varying success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the sound and feel that Bruce achieved with Tunnel Of Love and his maturing voice suited the Country style presented on many of the tracks. It's something I hope he will return to in the near future.

 

 

Bruce recorded several tracks at the Tunnel Sessions which were not released on any albums - although a few were later released on the TRACKS compilations.

 

 

 

 

 

Although some have never even been played live, officially.

 

 

But some have

 

 

 

 

 One track I wish he would release was a co-write with Southside Johnny which Johnny himself

 

walking through midnight

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PunmN3Tr_54

 

 

Tunnel of Love still holds a special place in my heart and after the majestic Born To Run, still remains my number two favourite Bruce Springsteen album.

 

Twitter - @springsteen

 

http://brucespringsteen.net/

 

 

 

 



The Archivist: Anthony Phillips - The Geese & The Ghost

 

 

As you all know by now, I'm a Son Of Prog. As a SOP, I am a fan of Genesis. They have had several incarnations over the years since their formation from Charterhouse many moons ago back in 1967.

 

 

Anthony Phillips was the very first of the Genesis guitarists. He is a brilliant musician and gave very early Genesis a lovely pastoral side to their music. Very similar to what Steve Hackett brought to the table after Anthony left the band following the release of their second album Trespass. But Anthony didn't have the attack of Steve and his music remains very gentle and accomplished. The legend has it that Anthony was crippled by stage fright and with Genesis becoming more popular and theatrical in performances he could not stand the upset of live performances. So in 1970, Ant decided to leave Genesis.



 

 

although his influence is still felt on the following album Nursery Cryme, where two tracks, The Musical Box & The Fountain of Salmacis are based on two Ant instrumental pieces.

 

 

Following his departure from Genesis, Ant then on to study classical music and composing. Concentrating on classical and 12 string guitar, although he can also play the piano.

 

Then in 1977, he released his first solo album and what I can only describe as one of the loveliest albums I have ever heard. The Geese and the Ghost.

 

 

The album features Genesis members Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins. Ant had always been close to Mike Rutherford and they wrote music together from 1973. This is one of their earliest recordings from 1973 but which didn't make it on to the Geese & The Ghost album initially but was included in the two disc reissue.

 

 

The Geese & The Ghost contains songs and longer instrumental pieces. It opens with Wind Tales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And closes with Collections and Sleepfall

 

 

Phil Collins contributed lead vocals on two songs - the second one being the beautiful God If I Saw Her Now

 

 

 

If you are interested in Prog Rock - there is an excellent series that comes out on Youtube by Darren Lock where he talks about new, old & reissued Prog rock releases. He's a normal fan who just likes talking Prog. Track him down. Here's his review of The Geese & The Ghost as an example.

 

 

 

From this initial first solo album, Ant went on to release further solo albums. His third, called Sides, released in 1979 contained a beautiful song about one of my favourite books by my favourite author, Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I got to play this one on my one and only radio broadcast back in 1983.

 

 

 

 

 

When Sides was first released, initial copies came with a free album called Private Parts & Pieces. These were initially deemed as non commercial pieces of music that Ant did not consider fitted in with his conventional solo albums. But they are beautiful pieces of music. Ant's record company are in the process of reissuing all these albums, a lot of which were pretty hard to come by and are well worth the investment if you find yourself enjoying his music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ant also collaborates with other musicians such as the composer Andrew Skeet

 

 

 

 

Ant is now up to Private Parts & Pieces XI and has released 26 solo albums. So there is so much music to investigate and enjoy.

 

http://www.anthonyphillips.co.uk/

 

and if you like the cover, it's the work of Peter Cross. Check him out too.

 

http://petercrossart.com/

 



The Archivist: George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1

 

Firstly, let me say that I don't care about his Sexuality, lifestyle choices or off the pitch shenanigans. I just see George as an excellent songwriter.

 & musician

 

From the Hi Colour 1980s came the pop duo Wham. Now, I challenge anyone to admit that they thought out of that duo would come a global superstar and a brilliant songwriter.

 

 

 

 

After 3 albums, Fantastic, Make It Big and The Final, George Michael left Andrew Ridgely to go solo but had already had a solo number one with A Different Corner while still in Wham. This showed a new, more sophisticated sound which George was going to mine seamlessly for his solo career.

 

 

His solo career actually kicked off in 1987 with a duet with Aretha Franklin and became a HUGE number 1 single all over the world.

 

 

Following this song, he released the album Faith which would launch a stellar career on both sides of the Atlantic and see him becoming the most successful male solo artist in the world. Faith has sold over 25 million copies and has made George one of the most successful recording artists of all time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Faith did show signs of a growing maturity in his songwriting

 

 

There is no doubt about his credentials as a songwriter but the touring and success of Faith took it's toll. He did not release his next album until the end of 1990. Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 was George's attempt to be finally taken seriously as a songwriter. Gone was the happy pop and image conscious products of previous albums, this was a new, serious George. Even it's title encouraged listeners to take him more seriously.

 

The first single had no George on it whatsoever and was a lyric only production. The majestic Praying For Time.

 

 

 

 

 

I think that the move George made was the right one. I love the lightness of touch and simpler more acoustic based songs on the album.

 

 

George, for me though, still has one fatal flaw in his music. He continues to follow the path that he is a dance music creator. Very much like Madonna. But I think this album shows that he can produce better music when he concentrates on songwriting and not on producing and chasing contemporary soundscapes. The dance oriented songs were the weakest ones on this album.

 

 

 

There is a depth and maturity on Listen Without Prejudice that shines through the majority of the tracks. And, unlike some of the following albums such as Older, the songs are not maudlin or depressing.

 

 

It caught the record buying public, especially in America, off-guard. It only sold 2 million copies in the USA and a total of 8 million worldwide.

 

I wish that George would go back to this template, concentrate on the songwriting and give us another Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 (the dance oriented Vol 2 was supposed to be released a year later). He has it within him. He just needs to believe in his own talent again.

 

 

Twitter - @GeorgeMichael

 

@GeorgeMOfficial

 

http://www.georgemichael.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 



Songs In The Key Of MY Life: Annie Lennox - Into The West

I love a good film soundtrack. I think soundtracks have really become the new classical music of our times. I suppose the test is whether this music will last. I really believe that some of them will.

The best soundtrack over the last 50 years has been Howard Shore's soundtrack to The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. It's hard enough to produce one soundtrack but to write and record three is a tremendous feat.

And at the end of the last film in the Trilogy, The Return Of The King, comes a brilliant song called Into The West. It was written by Annie together with the films producer, Fran Walsh and composer Howard Shore. It actually won the Oscar for Best Original Song.



Howard Shore is a very clever guy. Throughout all three films he has woven tiny snippets of the song into the various themes of the characters and set pieces. So that by the time we finally hear the song right at the very end while the credits roll, we keep catching familiar phrases and notes.  Walsh And Lennox also included various phrases and words that had been spoken by the characters while still telling the end of the story. I remember seeing it in the cinema and watching people crying their eyes out after being put through the emotional wringer of the final movie. I was among them. After the emotional investment we had made for almost 10 hours, it was the least we could do!!

Annie's Oscar winning performance

http://www.annielennox.com/

http://www.howardshore.com/