Something Old...
Famed for unusual songs and album titles—such as ‘Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with Needles’ and ‘Free Radicals (A Hallucination of the Christmas Skeleton Pleading with a Suicide Bomber)’. They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which is why I cant wait for my annual fix of elaborate costumes, balloons, puppets, video projections, complex lighting, confetti and front man Wayne Coyne's signature man-sized plastic bubble!!!
The 93 hit ‘She Don’t Use Jelly’, taken from the aptly named ‘Transmission from the Satellite Heart’ has to be up there with my favourite tracks ever made and thus perfect as this weeks track. The band have since maintained critical respect and huge album sales through brilliant albums such as 99's ‘The Soft Bulletin’, 2002’s ‘Yoshimi battles the Pink Robots’, 2006's 'At war with the mystics' and 2009’s ‘Embryonic’
Something New...
The 5 piece 20 something lads bring 60’s inspired Garage Rock n Roll with style. They are brilliantly descried by the top local club as “...a little bit of Jagger swagger (not in the sh*t rat faced Cher Lloyd way) a hint of Hendrix and a double dose of Morrison’s madness”. For me though there sound is best summed up to put party back into garage rock making real music with a contemporary feel that harks back to early Coral but well...with more passion.
After playing live together for many years all over the North West they have perfected their unique sound with songs inspired by the humble and mighty Chester City. Having supporting the likes of Embrace’s Danny McNamara and Mr. Nice himself, Howard Marks on their UK tours they have won many a fan, including that of heroes Inspiral Carpets.
Master pianist and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder has been blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Tamla Motown at the age of 11, a very brief discography is necessary to illustrate his true genius.
At the age of 12 he first album that features a young Marvin Gaye on drums, by the mid 60’s he had already created his first truly classic song in the form of ‘Uptight (Everything’s Alright)’ and his own ingenious interpretation of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’ which is one of the first songs to reflect Wonder's social consciousness.
By the late 60’s he turned his hand to writing, penning ‘Tears of a Clown’ which was a Number 1 for Smokey Robinson. The 70’s though are undoubtedly Wonder’s decade starting with the tracks ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ and ‘We Can work it out’ then 72’s classic album like ‘Talking Book’ that includes the fantastic ‘You are the sunshine of my life’, ‘Big Brother’ and probably the greatest song of all time ‘Superstition’.
The following year came the epic album ‘Innvervisions’ that includes the genius tracks ‘Higher Ground’ and ‘Living for the City’ before Wonder was involved in a serious car crash that left him a coma for four days. Wonder then released the double album ‘Songs in the key of Life’ in 76 which includes the utterly brilliant ‘I Wish’, ‘Sir Duke’, ‘As’ and ‘Master Blaster (Jammin’)’ many associate this album as the end of his Classic era.
During the 80’s he strived to make a more commercial sound. Not really to my taste he worked on some high profile collaborations with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson; his saving grace being the track ‘Part time Lover’ and his collaboration with Chaka Khan on Prince’s ‘I Feel for you’ as well as harmonica on the Eurythmics’ ‘Their must be an angel’ and Elton John’s ‘I guess that why they call it the blues’. The 90’s saw him focus on making political statements for equal rights, peace and anti-violence, musical highlights including harmonica on Sting’s ‘Brand new day’ and the 2000’s saw him work alongside many other artists including a great collaboration with Aretha Franklin of ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and the brilliant track ‘So What the Fuss’ with Q-Tip in 2005.
*Random Fact of the Week*Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ is an interpolation of Wonder’s ‘Past time Paradise’.
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