What qualifies as "New" music?

Article first published as What Qualifies As "New" Music? on Blogcritics.

Sometimes the best place to look for "new" music is in the past.

Without decrying the state of the music industry or dismissing current artists or the media that hangs on them, it is possible to find yourself feeling the latest releases are not to your taste.

Familiar artists may have drifted off into producing albums of "standards" rather than the pop or rock of their earlier career, and perhaps you just can't connect to the music your kids are playing.
All is not lost. One avenue to explore is the back catalogue of your favourite artists. This can work particularly well if they were previously in a less than famous band before achieving their solo success. Another factor that may help is if you are on a different continent to the artist's original home.
These factors can have conspired to keep the artist's earlier work shrouded from you, thus making the music new to your ears.

With all the Internet search tools now at your disposal, it is now much easier to find both the artist history and to listen to and then source the albums.

One example of where this worked for me was with Paul Young. From the U.K., he had some big hits in Australia in the '80s. Many years later I was able to trace backwards and listen to some of his work with the Q-Tips, his previous band that I had been unaware of.

What I found in those recordings were the qualities that got him signed and then made him into a solo star. The soulful voice, song selection and delivery were all there. Plus, there was an additional energy supplied by the band itself, including a lot more up-tempo numbers and some of the rough edges that were later removed to make him a teen Idol.

The album I selected, Live At Last by Paul Young and the Q-TIPS, was a live album, and it was clear the band members were enjoying themselves. Perhaps the performance was not note perfect, but I had nothing to compare it to so it didn't matter.


The album contains 20 tracks, mostly of British soul with a party feel. The CD is now hard to come by but Amazon has it available as an MP3 download that is much cheaper anyway.

You could do much worse than have a listen to this album, and unless your were in the U.K. in the early '80s, I'm sure this will qualify as new music to your ears.

So, try searching out the back catalogue of your favourtite artists, as you might find some "new" music of your own.

Georgie Fame - Live Birthday Album

Georgie Fame is truly a blast from the past. His big hit "Yeh Yeh" dates from December 1964 and since the sixties he has only released a handful of singles.

However he has remained a constant on the music scene through his work with artists such as Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Count Basie and Muddy Waters. He was one of the first wave of UK musicians that were influenced by Black musicians from the US and has stayed true to those Jazz and Blues influences from that time.

  The Album I'm listening to is a live album recorded for his 55th birthday celebration. Recorded on a single night it is the essence of a "Live" album. The Album is not simply a greatest hits collection. (he didn't have that many hits) but is a reflection of his life in music through tributes to his influences and his interests. The whole concert is done with a big band and everything from the opening number "Yeh Yeh" is arranged for and performed with class by the band which generates the feel that only a big band can create.

Most of the songs will be unfamiliar at first but I wouldn't cut a single one. Each can be listened to on its own but the best effect comes from listening to the whole album. Taken together they give a sense of the occasion and it feels like you are there enjoying and celebrating the music. Because it really is about the music much more than it is about Georgie Fame. It is a celebration of the Jazz and Blues influences through the celebration of one of its most faithful disciples. Georgie believes in this music and I do too.

If you like your big band music to be a little more showbiz then there is always Robbie Williams. he brings his star power and personality to an excellent album that proves in the end that with big band music the singer is never greater than the song and the brass. If you watch the video then Robbie shines. If you listen to the album Robbie is good but the music shines. The Robbie Williams album will be much easier to find.