Gonna be a Revival tonight

A late addition for one of the albums of the year - The Soulsavers, featuring Mark Lanegan, 'It's not how far you fall, it's how you land'. (which sounds like a line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to me...).

The opening song is a contender for classic 'track one side one' status - Revival, featuring Lanegan and gospel singers over beats and programming, terrific stuff. Dunno how this record escaped my notice, but Andy dug it out during my weekend at Penco Towers and I was very taken with it...a great version of the Stones' 'No Expectations' too.

The new PJ Harvey record sounds intersting - she's chucked out the guitars and has dressed in white and sat in front of the piano...lazy music journos are calling it her 'Boatman's Call', the single 'When Under Ether' is lovely. Also trying out the Thurston Moore solo record ahead of his appearance at ATP - a lot more 'musical' than one might be entitled to expect - lots of acoustic guitars in the John Fahey / Bert Jansch style, and a surprisingly melodic album.

Lovin' men, lovin' women, lovin' all God's creatures...

Well maybe I was being a little hasty about the new Alabama 3 record...it has definitely grown on me in the last week or so, and I'm sure by the time I listen to it with over at Penco Towers on Saturday night it will have the status of a classic (helped by two or three bottles of red and some good strong cheese). Sure there are some dud tunes, but the good certainly outweighs the indifferent. Holy Blood might find it's way into my 2007 best of..

Doesn't look as though many of the music mags or broadsheets have bothered to review it, but they are perhaps busy showering ill-deserved plaudits on the new Babyshambles record.

Rockin with Rita

No mate, Chelt'nam.

Bought a few cds this week...a mixed bag.

Monday was pretty exciting as the new Alabama 3 record was released. The new stuff they played live in July had sounded great, but the record is underwhelming. I did say that about the last few albums, and they inevitable grew on me, so I hope the same will happen with M.O.R. A lot of it sounds like very mediocre Rolling Stones, there's less wit and too much of Larry Love's 60 B&H a day growling vocals. I'll stick with it, might improve when I am disequilibriated.

About as far removed from Alabama 3 as it would be possible to imagine are Amiina, who are four Icelandic ladies who, judging by their LP sleeve, are very keen on knitting. They've played previously with Sigur Ros, about whom I know very little, but this record is terrific - a late night listen.

Then there's the recent Ted Chippington box set, on a recommendation from Graham...four CDs of walking down the road meeting blokes. I remember Ted being played on the Peel show in the 80's, and his single 'Rockin With Rita', which as far as I can tell isn't on this box...Taking deadpan mundanity to new levels...

Tracks of the Year

I guess it's time to start thinking about what tunes may be appearing on the this year's best of CDs...I have been compiling a long list for a while now, which points to the likes of Malcolm Middleton, LCD Soundsystem, Rachel Unthank, Findlay Brown, Fujiya & Miyagi, Richard Thompson, The Fall, Von Sudenfed, Modest Mouse, Gallows...and others unnamed making the final selection.

It's been a shit year for gigs in Nottingham. I don't think I've been to Rock City since Bonnie Prince Billy in January, and the last time I was at the Rescue Rooms must have been Robyn Hitchock (one of the gigs of the year) very soon afterwards. There are one or two things worth seeing over the next few weeks - Broken Family Band, Alabama 3, Rachel Unthank, but it has to go down as a very dry year for Nottm gigs...