Angelique Kidjo - Now Touring Australia

Angelique Kidjo - With a voice even more impressive than her full name, which according to Wikipedia is Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo This singer from Benin has been at the forefront of African Music for a long time.

The first CD I picked up of hers was a greatest hits collection titled "Keep On Moving" Some of the track names looked familiar and once I listened to them the tracks were definitely ones I had heard before but I couldn't tell you where. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is more familiar by Jimi Hendricks. "Agolo", "Batonga" and "Wombo Lombo" turned out to be tracks I was also familiar with. The standout however was "Sumertime" the Gershwin penned song from 1935's Porgy and Bess. This version is certainly the best I have ever heard. Backed only by what sounds like a sparse bass line and a A Capella choir Angelique stuns with her vocals.  The A Capella treatment features on most of the tracks on the album to great effect with the African rhythms

A search of the web will turn up many collaborations with famous western musicians and it is no surprise that she is held in great regard by Musicians everywhere.

Currently touring Australia I unfortunately missed out on tickets to see her at the Sydney Opera House which would be a fitting setting.

HAPA - gateway drug to Hawaiian Music

My first purchase of a "Hapa" CD falls into the category of albums purchased because of the cover art. Browsing through the world music section at Borders many years ago (When the Borders at North Ryde was new and different) I came across this album and was immediately struck by the contrast between the two figures. The figure on the left looks pretty unremarkable for an album of Hawaiian music but what is with the guy on the right? From the sunglasses to the kilt and the black boots everything was different from the expected. And the guitar, not just the violin style head and tuning keys but the strange angle it was being held at. A quick check of the track list on the back confirmed my suspicions. Besides tracks with Hawaiian titles there were some old surf classics (sleepwalk and europa) plus a cover of the U2 anthem Pride(in the name of love). So expecting some fusion/melding of Hawaiian Music with other influences I purchased the CD.

I'll admit that some albums I have purchased based on the covers have not been great successes musically. This is certainly not one of those. This album remains a favourite (and no surprise to regular readers) I have since purchased every available album by this duo.

It turns out that the groups name "HAPA" in Hawaiian means "of mixed blood, person of mixed blood" which fits perfectly with the album cover, the set list and the groups overall approach. Which is not to say everything is a mixture or dilution of Hawaiian culture and music. It is more a case of Hawaiian Music being approached with the reverence and respect that it deserves and some Hawaiian influences being applied to other music and vice-verse. 

This album is perhaps the least traditional of the Hapa albums and the unusual U2 is pretty much the only track on any of the CD's that does not have some Hawaiian connection. Each of their other albums has a unique character, they even did an album of Surf Music but the combined Guitar and Vocals on the Hawaiian tracks are the standouts.

I recommend this album in particular but all of the "Hapa" albums are well worth a listen. Just beware, after listening to these albums you may find yourself going in search of more Hawaiian Music and end up in a ukelele band wearing a grass skirt, (worse things could happen)

If you want to catch some of their other work the track olinda road is featured in episode 20 - series one of the new Hawaii-5-O

www.hapa.com

Heat Wave and more tropical music

With the second straight day of Summer here in Sydney I'm thinking about tropical songs.

I'll be posting about some authentic Hawaiian music later in the week but for now I'm thinking about the not so authentic kind. (and I don't mean Elvis in A Hawaiian shirt doing "Rock-A-Hula")

Big production numbers, where full orchestras and scores of dancers appear from behind palm trees. Songs where the heat mentioned is not the kind they have when the sun is out.

Exhibit A to clarify the genre is this clip of Marilyn Monroe doing "Heat Wave" from the movie "There's No Business Like Show Business". Complete with Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor, this clip is from the time when Marilyn's navel could not be shown on screen, but I think the message is still pretty clear. The Song starts around the 2:40 mark.







Continuing with this theme I'm reminded of some albums under the name of Don Tiki which are all coconut drinks, grass skirts and full orchestration. The first CD I purchased was "The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki" which was apparently "recorded in PULSATING POLYNESIAN POLYPHONICS" on the TABOO records label. I don't think I need to tell you there is little surfing or fishing going on in the tracks on this album. On the back cover a bartender is preparing some exotic drinks while no fewer than 23 pineapples can be seen stacked on the bar ready for the evening rush. Tracks such as "Barbi in Bali" and "Hot Like Lava" are just some of the delights.

  The next album is "Skinny Dip with Don Tiki". This time I've shown the back cover where the full glory of the Tiki theme can be seen. Don Tiki himself is nowhere to be seen on any of the albums and is just part of the well maintained illusion of a south pacific fantasy. Including tracks such as "The Natives Are Restless" followed by "Primitiva" and "Heat" this album contains more of the fully orchestrated music which reminds one of the islands of Hollywood movies. More of this type of music can be found by searching for "Martin Denny"







More can be found on the Don Tiki Website:-

Anyway, certainly worth a listen late one (warm) night with some frozen umbrella drinks.

And for anybody who is still wanting some Elvis...here he is:-





Album Links at Amazon.com:-

Summer is here...at last.

January 1st 2012 and summer has finally arrived in Sydney Australia. (well at least for a couple of days) After what seems like an eternity of below average temperatures and rain we have warm weather and blue skies predicted for the next few days. I'm sure that by February we will have weeks of warm weather and will all be complaining about that instead but for teh moment the arrival of Summer is to be celebrated.

Summer Music, what to play ?  Summer and driving were always the domain of mix-tapes and now the playlists have taken over its time to create new playlists for this summer.

Old Favorites will always be a large part of any summer playlist for all except the youngest teens and in many ways nothing says summer more that The Beach Boys. I have never mastered either the surf or hotrods (but then again neither has Brian Wilson) Yet the songs have been played so many times in Summer tehy are now linked forever in my brain.




The "Sounds of Summer" album contains 30 Beach Boys tracks most of them remastered in 1999 or 2001. From the original classics such as  "California Girls", "I Get Around", "Surfin' USA", "Help Me Rhonda" and "Surfer Girl" To later tracks such as "Kokomo" from the soundtrack for the movie "Cocktail" this collection has them all (some in glorious mono)






After dusting off last summers playlists and discarding most of the new tracks added last year it would be time to add whatever this years Summer hit will be. A little difficult at this stage because summer has only started today and the big hits of Summer 2012 are yet to emerge. However that is one of the advantages of playlists over mix tapes. As the summer progresses you can add in and shuffle your playlists to keep them fresh.

The best summer songs often have summer in the title as with this track from 2007 by Kid Rock:-



 

As this song pays homage in a big way to the 1974 track "Sweet Home Albama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd we may as well revisit that, add both tracks to one of our playlists and marvel at the outfits and debate the significance or otherwise of the Confederate Battle Flag in the background:-





One more favourite of mine goes back even further back to 1972 and a track by The Raspberries before they broke up and launched Eric Carmen onto his solo career. The video here is not of the band themselves but a slideshow put together by another fan:-




These tracks and more beside seem to make it to my summer playlists most years.

What are your favourite Summer Tracks?

Free Music - 100,000 artists

millions of tracks, over 100,00 artists and available in Australia for free...for one month anyway. That is the promise.

JB HiFi are launching a music subscription service in Australia. They are currently sending out invitations to people on thier mailing list with the URL for beta testing.

So if you follow this link you will be able to sign up for the one month free trial to see for yourself what subscription music is all about. One of the best things about this trial is you don't have to sign up for the paid version yet and don't have to give any credit card or payment details.

JB-HiFi Now beta

So what is subscription music and how does the JB-HiFi offering stack up?

The basic idea is that instead of purchasing CD's or even individual downloads and keeping them on your computer/iPod you subscribe to a music service by paying a monthly fee. In return for which you get access to the entire music library the service provides. JB-HiFi are claiming millions of tracks and over 100,00 artists.

You don't actually download the tracks you select, you have to use the application or web interface the service provides to stream the music as required. If you stop paying the monthly subscription then you stop having access to the music. Jb-HiFi are currently offering a web interface which allows you to search for and select music from the library and add it to your favorites or you playlist. There is the promise of a mobile app in the near future to make it easier to use the service from your android/iPhone.

Is it worth while? It was free so I signed up to find out. The first big advantage for me is that it is actually available in Australia. Most of the subscription services launched so far are not because of the antiquated mess that is copyright and licensing law.


I found the web interface a bit difficult to navigate at present but the system is still in beta. First up I tried searching for artists to put their claims to the test. A search for "Elvis Presley" produced a list of all of his released albums so our resident Elvis tragic will be catered for. Searching for my favorite Russian bluegrass band "Kukuraza" was not so successful with no results being displayed.

I then tried "The Beatles", a test that I knew was unlikely to succeed as the Beatles music has only just been licensed for iTunes and are probably not available elsewhere. No actual Beatles albums were displayed. There was a cover album from Finland which had some novelty value and an even more interesting album called "Butchering the Beatles" which was a collection of rock/metal artists giving their impression of Beatles classics. I have to admit that Alice Cooper's version of "Hey Bulldog" rocks.

It is in this area of finding new music that the service has some advantages. Apart from just searching for artists yourself you can search for and "follow" other users to see what they are listening to as well as searching for "Whats Hot" If you select and play some music you can see who else has played this track and look at their favourtites as well as having the service list similar artists.

If you want to find out what I'm listening to you can search for and follow "SJB" (at no charge) You can even view profile information other users have opted to share if you find a musical soul mate. You can add tracks to "Mixes" which serve as playlists for you to come back to whenever you log in.

I next checked out the "What's Hot" page looking for more current music. I was able to listen to Amy Winehouse on Lioness: Hidden Treasures and suddenly the service was looking good. I could play the entire album, add it to a mix and play it as many times as I want (for free in the next month)




The next album I checked out was by Reece Mastin. I had never heard of him before but I believe he was a contestant on one of the TV Talent shows and I thought I had seen a music video of his yesterday. Again I was able to listen to the whole album to make a judgement of what songs I wanted to hear again. Personally I enjoyed "Good Night" the single from the album but would not bother again with most of the covers. Still the service worked well and the quality of the streaming was more than acceptable. 

Currently for me this would serve as a way to find and try music before buying a copy for my collection because I have a whole ecosystem built up with a server and wireless players throughout the house and iPods and iPhones for each family member.

The prices listed at present are as low as $ 80 per year which is good value on a monthly basis if you buy more than 1 CD or download every two months. I would have to see and test the mobile app to see how that works and how much data that takes from my cap. I'm always concerned that the price will go up in future and having some gaps in the service (e.g. The Beatles) also makes it impractical for me as my only source of music. But for free, for one month...well worth giving it a try.

All I Want for Christmas is...Elvis on an old 78

One comment on my Christmas Music post mentioned Elvis Presley as their Christmas Favorite.

Elvis has been around for as long as I can remember and his unique style and presence would certainly serve to burn those memories deep if your early childhood Christmas was Elvis themed. Amazon.com shows 483 results for the search of "Elvis Christmas" so there is no shortage of material despite his untimely demise over 30 years ago.

More about Elvis's Christmas Music later on but first I want to talk about my first memories of the King.

In the early 60's as a child I spent quite a bit of time with my Grandparents in a flat above a fish and chip shop in Whetstone London N20. In fact I was living there for the year when I first attended school. To help keep me amused while they worked all hours in the shop below one weekend my Grandmother purchased an old wind up gramophone from the junk shop further down the block. Similar to the one shown here it was a portable version, probably from the 1930's and it played old 78 RPM discs. Powered by a spring, if wound tight you could play a whole song at a time. The discs were large, hard and brittle. If dropped onto a hard surface they would chip or smash. Being hard they did not scratch as easily as the softer vinyl LP's I later became familiar with. In fact it was the needles that suffered each time the record was played. The needles were small pieces of soft metal pointed at one end. They had to be inserted and tightened into the arm and they had to be replaced after a few songs as they would bend out of shape.

Possibly purchased with the player from the Junk shop I now had a number of 78's to play. These included Gracie Fields singing "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World", The Laughing Policeman and Elvis Presley's 1957 smash hit Teddy Bear. Shown here on a much later turntable, the copy I had was in a simple paper cover and backed with "Loving You". Now to this day I have a soft spot for Gracie Fields but over the course of the next few years I'm certain that pounds of needles were sacrificed playing Teddy Bear. (they were purchased half an ounce at a time)

Moving on through 45's, LP Albums, Cassettes, CD's and digital downloads this has remained my favorite Elvis song. There was even a time when I created an Elvis mix tape which consisted of 23 straight recordings of Teddy Bear.

Now back to Elvis and Christmas. There are three different types of Christmas Music from the King:-


1. Traditional Carols - Elvis brings his Gospel background to these and sings them straight. So while the voice is unmistakable they are perhaps the least 'Elvis' of his Christmas offerings. Not a lot of hip movement here.

2. Other Christmas songs like Silver Bells where he tries to put his style on a classic. Sort of half traditional and half Elvis. Some hip movement.

3. Then there are the numbers where he goes Elvis all the way. Sometimes when I listen to his version of "White Christmas" it seems so exaggerated to almost be a caricature of himself. But I just have to remind myself that he was the original and back then everything he was doing was revolutionary and not seen through the prism of all the impersonators and imitators that have followed.


Whichever type of Elvis Christmas music you prefer I can certainly see that if your first Christmas Album was Elvis then that would stick with you to this day and for you that would bring back the ghosts of Christmas past...but hopefully in a good way.


Of the 483 options at Amazon.com here are a few to consider listening to again...

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.