The Music Note

  Just over a year since the incredible 20th anniversary performance of 1972 , Josh Rouse returned to London to mark the same milestone for its follow up, Nashville . This album has always been my favourite among Rouse’s discography, with my appreciation partly rooted in the fact that, while certain tracks are truly reflective of the album title in their country influence, most of the tracks lean more towards the sophisticated, well-crafted pop that Rouse has become renowned for, with an underlying country influence subtly running throughout. This understated approach to the country genre resulted in a beautifully authentic, yet timeless record that sounds just as fresh now as it did upon its release in 2005. ‘It's the Nighttime’ – Nashville’s opening track, and the one most evident in its country influence, got the gig off to a solid start. ‘Winter in the Hamptons’ followed, with singalong choruses and snappy handclaps that were keenly reciprocated by the crowd. What was immedi...

  The Royal Scammers are a Steely Dan tribute band formed of Jeremy and Paul Stacey, and their 14-piece big band. I only came across these wonderful musicians a few weeks ago when I saw they were playing a six-night run at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, and managed to snag a last-minute ticket for the final night. As a massive Steely Dan fan who hasn’t seen the band since their last UK show in 2019, and with no upcoming dates on the horizon, I figured a highly regarded tribute band playing at London’s most prestigious jazz club was the next best thing.   Shortly after arriving at Ronnie Scott’s and being led to a front row table (where I was so close to the stage, I was practically touching the keyboard), the Royal Scammers arrived on stage and kicked off the set with a fabulously glossy rendition of ‘Peg’. While the unique vocal tone of Donald Fagen is unmatched, The Royal Scammers lead vocalist Andy Caine showcased a powerful vocal that fully delivered on the far-reaching range r...

While I have been to many Bryan Ferry solo shows over the last decade, I had never seen him play as part of Roxy Music, alongside fellow band members Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson. I was therefore ecstatic when, earlier this year, it was announced that the band would be reuniting for an anniversary tour celebrating 50 years since the release of their self-titled debut album. Starting in America last month, the tour concluded last week with a run of shows in the UK (their first since 2011), culminating with a date at London’s O2 arena. Ferry has always incorporated a heavy mix of the Roxy catalogue into his solo shows, and while much of this material has taken on stripped back arrangements and relaxed tempos – perhaps to accommodate his softer vocal delivery in recent years – it was always a treat to hear favourites and unexpected rarities played in intimate venues with solid acoustics. With all this in mind, there was an element of concern mixed in with my excitement ...

Last week I saw Sting play the penultimate date of a six-night residency at the London palladium. The concerts, which had been rescheduled multiple times due to the pandemic, were in support of his 2019 release My Songs – an album featuring reworked versions of Sting’s most popular tracks, both as a solo artist and as part of The Police. Having followed the 2019 setlists for this tour, which mostly mirrored the album’s tracklist, I was initially expecting a similar “greatest hits” style setlist for the London dates. Then last year, Sting released a new studio album titled The Bridge , half of which is now being incorporated into the post-pandemic My Songs tour setlists. Accompanied by Ukrainian cellist Yaroslava Trofimchuk, Sting opened the set with a hauntingly sombre acoustic rendition of his 1985 song ‘Russians’, which has recently been re-released to raise funds for Ukraine charities. His band then joined the stage to launch straight into a blazing ‘Message in a Bottle’, and ...

The last gig I went to was Bryan Ferry’s March 13th 2020 show at the Royal Albert Hall, the second of two dates at the venue. The gigs were Ferry’s final performances on a run of tour dates that would be cancelled due to the pandemic, and more poignantly, the final full-capacity events to take place at the iconic venue – and quite possibly anywhere else – prior to lockdown. The concerts have now been released on a live album with all proceeds being shared between Ferry’s band and crew members in an effort to support them during what has been an extremely challenging time for the live music sector. This live release is a welcome memento of what was my favourite Ferry show in recent years. While the musicianship is always excellent, the setlists in the past few tours had not differed all that much, with each passing tour offering up just a few new song additions among a sea of setlist staples. However, the 2020 shows were hugely refreshing with revitalised setlists that drew largely f...

From the classic, well-crafted pop of 2006’s High Society and its follow-up Chateaux Revenge , to country inspired fourth release Alaska , the Silver Seas are a band who have continued to musically evolve with each new record. However, latest album Moonlight Road marks their biggest transition yet, with a shift towards a wholly electronic sound. On Moonlight Road , the acoustic pop folk and catchy melodies – elements that all their previous albums shared – have been replaced with programmed drums, keyboards and layered vocals. In this respect, the album bares similarities to Josh Rouse’s 2018 release Love in the Modern Age , a comparison that is perhaps unsurprising given Daniel Tashian’s involvement as a co-producer on Rouse’s record. However, whereas Love in the Modern Age draws influence from 80s music, Moonlight Road’s electronic arrangements take a more fresh approach. Long-time fans of the Silver Seas may initially find Moonlight Road to be somewhat jarring in places, such i...

O2 Arena, London - 13/10/2019 O2 Arena, London - 14/10/2019 Manchester Arena - 18/10/2019 On his latest tour, John Mayer took the unique approach of forgoing a support act in favour of delivering two full headline sets. This is a very exciting concept that more artists seem to be embracing. A gig without an opening act allows the artist more freedom to play what they want, while pleasing fans with a more varied setlist. In Mayer’s case, with no new album to support since 2017’s The Search for Everything , the setlist possibilities were endless, adding a further sense of excitement to this tour. With this in mind, and as a fan of Mayer’s earlier work, I attended all three UK shows with the hope of hearing more rarities from his debut album Room for Squares and its follow-up release, Heavier Things to balance out his more recent material. The first of these shows at the O2 was solid; the overall performance showcased a decent mix of Mayer’s back catalogue, though the rarities ...

I’m pretty much a newcomer to the music of Steven Wilson. Though familiar with a few tracks from his former band Porcupine Tree, it’s only in the past few months that I have begun to explore his solo work, starting with latest release To the Bone and working backwards through his catalogue. I therefore attended Wilson’s recent gig at the Copenhagen Opera House as very much a casual fan looking to expand my ear on more of his music, in addition to hearing how the songs that I was familiar with, would transpire to the beautiful live setting of the Opera House. This gig was one of the final dates in support of To the Bone , an album which, while – as typical of Wilson – is dark lyrically, is not as conceptual as previous releases Hand. Cannot. Erase and The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) . Musically, To the Bone takes a more mainstream pop/rock direction – a perhaps brave departure from the prog rock genre that Wilson is renowned for. The set began with a short fil...

Ticketmaster has recently announced plans to close its two resale sites GetMeIn and Seatwave, in an attempt to combat touts who exploit the sites to sell tickets at inflated prices. The closure of these secondary ticketing sites, which will come into effect from next month, is certainly a positive step forward for music fans, with the added benefit that, in place of the secondary sites, Ticketmaster will be introducing a fan-to-fan exchange platform that will allow tickets to be sold at face value plus 15%, or below. However, it appears that Ticketmaster will still continue to operate its Platinum Tickets scheme, whereby premium seats for live music events are sold directly from the artist via Ticketmaster for amounts considerably higher than face value, which – according to Ticketmaster – provides fans with “fair and safe access to in demand areas at market driven prices”. The concept that fans can have safer access to some of the best seats in a venue, without having to resort t...

With a career spanning 20 years, Josh Rouse is an artist who continues to stylistically evolve with each new release. Originating with the alt country rock of 1998 debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska , his experimental creative approach has formed a catalogue that covers a multitude of genres, notably the 70s inspired pop/soul of 1972 , Spanish influenced El Turista , and the atmospherically cinematic arrangements of Bedroom Classics Vol. 2 , to name but a few. However, Love in the Modern Age – Rouse’s latest offering, may be his bravest transition yet, with an overriding 80s electro sound that is worlds apart from the rootsy, thought provoking, and at times, poetic aspects of previous release, The Embers of Time . Drawing inspiration from bands such as The Blue Nile and Roxy Music, the 80s influence is very much present throughout on Love in the Modern Age , from the keyboard and synth focused arrangement, right down to the Bryan Ferry-esque album artwork. On a side note, the album i...

“We are a little different from what we were a few months ago. But I’ve got to live with that,” Donald Fagen told the audience a few songs in to Steely Dan’s first UK gig in just under a decade. This reference to the recent passing of the band’s co-founder, Walter Becker, was accompanied by a poignantly placed empty mic stand that remained centre stage for the duration of the 90-minute Bluesfest headline set at London’s O2 arena. Despite an understated onstage entrance, perhaps made more evident following The Doobie Brothers’ electric opening set, “The Steely Dan Organisation” – a term Fagen used in acknowledgement to his 12-piece band – kicked off the performance with the rousingly upbeat ‘Bodhisattva’. The irresistible funk groove of ‘Black Cow’ was an early highlight, while ‘Hey Nineteen’, the intro of which is so instantly recognisable, set the crowd momentum soaring. It would have been difficult to top this opening trio of songs, had it not been for Fagen then proceeding to s...

John Mayer’s recent two-night consecutive run at the O2 Arena marked a long-awaited return for the musician, who last performed at this same venue three years ago. Mayer’s current tour is in support of latest album The Search for Everything – a project that was released in two gradual ‘waves’ as four-track EPs, followed by the arrival of the complete album last month. With a keener emphasis on pop and soul, the twelve tracks that comprise The Search for Everything indicate an evident shift from the folk/country sound that has dominated previous releases, Paradise Valley and Born and Raised , though the country influence still lingers in places. The Search for Everything tour is structured in a chapter format, accompanied by scenic onscreen visuals and stage lighting which provided a cinematic quality that was unlike any past Mayer gig I had attended. After opening the first of the O2 gigs with a solid rendition of ‘Heartbreak Warfare’ from 2010’s Battle Studies , Mayer and h...

I am currently enrolled on Berklee College of Music’s Online Music Supervision Professional Certificate. This multi-course programme specialises in all the key areas of music supervision – a field which involves the synchronisation of music with visual media, notably TV, film, advertising and video games. Of the five courses that comprise the certificate , I have so far completed Music Publishing 101, Copyright Law, Music Licensing and Music Production Analysis, and I am just about to begin Music Supervision – the final and most vital module in this particular certificate. As an aspiring music supervisor, I am fascinated by the avenues to which music is placed in TV and film, processes that are extensively covered in the Music Licensing module. A theme that was discussed in this course, is the one surrounding the concept of “selling out”, and whether such a notion is relevant in today’s digital-focused music industry. The course cites the unprecedented licensing of Moby’s 1999 al...

Bryan Ferry returned to London last week for the first of two nights at the Palladium. The gig was an especially anticipated event in light of 2015’s postponed Royal Albert Hall show, in which a throat infection caused Ferry to cancel the performance just moments before he was due on stage. However, the inevitable disappointment that was experienced by fans as a result of the abrupt cancellation was outweighed by concern, especially following news that the remaining leg of UK tour dates had also been cancelled. Fans were therefore both relieved and thrilled following the announcement that the Albert Hall show would be rescheduled by way of two dates at the equally iconic setting that is the London Palladium. Ferry opened the set with the intensely atmospheric title track from current album Avonmore . This was surprisingly the only song — albeit one of the strongest — from the 2014 record to appear in the set, despite the current tour being in support of this latest release. The ov...

                                    Reading-based band The Midnight Rambler, fronted by lead vocalist and guitarist Mike Lemin, offer up an eclectic mix of heavy blues and alternative rock on debut release Tales From The Nightshift . Though the album is wholly consistent in its delivery of infectious melodies and inspired lyrics, standout tracks come by way of the punchy, riff-driven ‘Shockwave', while ‘Nightswimming’ has all the key elements that contribute to a memorable album opener, with furiously fast-paced hooks and dynamic vocals that soar over an addictive chorus. On the equally noteworthy 'Parallel', lyrics like “Somewhere / There’s another version of me / Living / The life I was meant to lead” are structured perfectly in a pre-chorus that fully succeeds in transforming the delicate, ballad-like simp...

In terms of venues, I have been spoilt by my last two live music events, both of which have taken place in intimate settings with strong acoustics, adding to my overall enjoyment of the gig-going experience. Although Brixton Academy boasts an impressive interior and thriving atmosphere, it is, at times, notable for its muddy sound, an attribute that was present, but didn't detract from the dynamic horns of Brandon Flowers' set opener, 'Dreams Come True' - the first track from latest release, The Desired Effect . Within moments however, any less than clear acoustics seemed to either subside or go unnoticed, as lead single 'Can't Deny My Love' gained full crowd investment and set the standard for a gig that fully embraced Flowers' solo work, while also touching upon a few Killers classics. The release of The Desired Effect makes for a refreshing addition to Flowers' repertoire, and the eclectic feel of the 80's inspired songs were further e...

As part of his most recent UK tour, Josh Rouse came to London's Kings Place last month for a performance in support of latest album, The Embers of Time . This release comes two years after The Happiness Waltz , a record in which themes of growing older and family life, are effectively depicted through Rouse's atmospheric lyrics. The Embers of Time follows in a similar vein with songs like 'JR Worried Blues' ("I've got a stack of bills this high / I've got worries, worries on my mind") and 'Time' ("Early forties, how ya' doing / What's the deal / How am I supposed to look, how am I supposed to feel") touching upon these previously addressed themes. Rouse's music has mellowed considerably since the darker, moodier sound of 1998 debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska , though it is 2005's Nashville that is often regarded as his best work to date. While the soft, folk/pop of The Embers of Time will come as no real surprise to f...