Copilul ratacit

A beautiful haunting folk song from singer-songwriter Jewelia.

Lumea întreagă stă în loc
Nu mai crezi în noroc
Totul pare o glumă proastă
Până la final
Nu mai ştii drumul spre casă
Şi nu mai ai nici o întrebare
Nu aştepţi nici un răspuns
Soarele nu mai răsare
Se tot duce spre apus

Dar hei, hei, hei, nu uita
Lumea întreagă te vrea
Tu eşti copilul rătăcit
Şi hei, hei, hei, dac-ai vrea
Lumea ar fi a ta
Şi-ai fi copilul fericit

„Oare unde am greşit?”
Te întrebi la nesfârşit
Dorul tău de zări albastre
Nu s-a stins de tot
Flacăra mocneşte încă
S-o dezgropi nu-i prea târziu
Şi s-o iei de la început
Şi dac-ai greşit ceva e doar că
N-ai crezut puţin mai mult

Dar hei, hei, hei, nu uita
Lumea întreagă te vrea
Tu eşti copilul rătăcit
Şi hei, hei, hei, dac-ai vrea
Lumea ar fi a ta
Şi-ai fi copilul fericit

Lasă-ti gândul să zboare spre tot ce-ai visat
Şi fereastra din tine deschide-o treptat
Cu lumina ta
Vei încălzi pe cineva

Hei, hei, hei, nu uita
Lumea întreagă te vrea
Tu eşti copilul rătăcit
Şi hei, hei, hei, dac-ai vrea
Lumea ar fi a ta
Şi-ai fi copilul fericit

Lumea întreagă stă în loc
În ea s-a mai aprins un foc..

Mid-August Jewelia released her début album Monsters.

Temporary Area in Copenhagen

A Temporary Area in Copenhagen

Temporary Area in Copenhagen a 30 minute piece recorded on 19 May 2009, plus a series of songs recorded on that same day, as well as during the Spot Festival in Aarhus, a few days later.

Temporary Copenhagen is the first experiment/instalment in a new series documenting local creative scenes around the world, part of the bigger Temporary Areas project created by Vincent Moon. Over a few hours or a few days, bringing local makers to one space, and creating an improvised piece, a unique recording, documenting their own space and society with a collaborative and experimental piece. Plus offering diverse elements on the works of those local and often unknown creators.

Vincent Moon:

This is a 30min piece we created on the spot. 9 local bands, only 3 i knew, 2 hours to organise something before the audience arrives, and the objective to create a unique sound piece, a collaborative concert which would be moving in an intimate space. Only one take, no cuts, loads of tension, maybe an interesting talk between cinema and music where each one feeds the other one. And a certain idea of a document on a city and its creative life.

John Barleycorn (Must Die)

A Traffic classic.

A recent acoustic recording by Steve Winwood.

Below, original recording by Traffic, followed by a live performance by Traffic.

Steve Winwood was a member of Traffic.

I saw Steve Winwood play at the legendary Rainbow Concert in Finsbury Park with Eric Clapton, Peter Townsend, Ronnie Wood and Jim Capaldi. The concert was the idea of Peter Townsend, to drag Eric Clapton out of his heroin addiction.

• Gimme Some Lovin’

Sasha Ilyukevich and The Highly Skilled Migrants

Jimmy Kanga and Sasha Ilyukevich, c. 2006, Quinto, 48a Charing Cross Road

I came across an album by Sasha Ilyukevich and The Highly Skilled Migrants in one of the secondhand bookshops on Charing Cross Road during my fruitless quest to find a copy of NeverSeconds. I was tempted to pick up a copy, instead an illegible business card.

Whether these haunting melodies, all in Russian, are on the album I came across, I know not.

The one place the album should be, where it is not, is bandcamp.

Very Dylanesque, guitar and vocals shades of Mark Knopfler, at times shades of punk, at times dark melancholy.

AVO Session

AVO Session, Mark Knopfler, Festsaal Messe, Basel, Switzerland, 12 November 2007.

Amazing performance of Brothers in arms, brings tears to the eyes.

Synchronicity: A couple of days later I turned on the radio to find an entire programme devoted to Brothers in Arms!

Tempest

Tempest – Bob Dylan

Released last week, Tempest is the 35th album from Bob Dylan, 50 years on from his first album.

I picked up a copy last week, the deluxe limited edition version, from Record Corner during an afternoon in Godalming.

I had a listen this evening, or at least a quick flip through the tracks, as that was as far as I got.

It is rubbish, money down the drain.

The deluxe limited edition is a rip-off and waste of money. All you get extra is poorly put together note book with pictures of magazine covers featuring Dylan over the last fifty years.

The CD itself has a simple folded over sheet, no booklet, no additional information.

It is easy to see why CD sales are falling.

In UK has shot straight to No 1, but that would be Dylan fans on a nostalgia trip, and they were in for a grave disappointment.

It is a collection of poorly recorded hill billy songs, Duquesne Whistle a pleasant enough little ditty.

Where is the Dylan of Blowin in the Wind, Like A Rolling Stone, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door?

As I was writing I was listening to AVO Session, Mark Knopfler, Festsaal Messe, Basel, Switzerland, 12 November 2007. Far, far better.

• Bob Dylan: Tempest – review (a pretentious review in The Guardian)

Duquesne Whistle – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like it’s gonna sweep my world away
I’m gonna stop in Carbondale and keep on going
That Duquesne train gonna ride me night and day
You say I’m a gambler, you say I’m a pimp
But I ain’t neither one
Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Sounding like it’s on a final move.

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like she’s never blown before
Look like blinking, red light blowing
Blowing like she’s at my chamber door
You smiling through the fence at me
Just like you always smiled before
Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like she isn’t gonna blow no more

Can’t you hear that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like the sky is gonna blow apart
You’re the only thing alive that keeps me going
You’re like a tie bound to my hear
I can hear a sweet voice gently calling
Must be the mother of our Lord
Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like my woman’s on a board

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like it’s gonna blow my blues away
You old rascal, I know exactly where you’re going
I’ll leave you there myself at the break of a day
I wake up every morning with that woman in my bed
Everybody telling me she’s gone to my head
Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like it’s gonna kill me dead

Can’t you hear that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing through another no good town
The lights of my native land are glowing
I wonder if they’ll know me next time around
I wondered if that old oak tree’s still standing
That old oak tree, the one we used to climb
Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing
Blowing like she’s blowing right on time

— Bob Dylan

A strange ditty, an even stranger video.

The song grows on one.

Duquesne Whistle is from the Bob Dylan album Tempest released today.

Note: Tempest is due for release tomorrow, but this evening I saw it was on sale (unless posters in window of shop were for tomorrow).

It is 50 years since Bob Dylan released his first album. Tempest is his 35th studio album.

• Song Premiere: Bob Dylan, ‘Duquesne Whistle’
• Bob Dylan Debuts Shockingly Violent New Video
• Darcey Bussell, Bob Dylan reviewed, and the Bristol Old Vic reopens (pretentious Dylan review ten minutes into programme)
• Bob Dylan on His Dark New Album, ‘Tempest’
• Bob Dylan’s New Album, ‘Tempest,’ Hits Stores on September 11th
• Bob Dylan Announces Extensive Fall Arena Tour with Mark Knopfler

A somewhat amauturish recording of Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits) at Hamersmith last year which nevertheless captures the magic of Bob Dylan.

Many years ago I saw Bob Dylan play with Eric Clapton. Have also seen Dire Straits.

Something Fierce

Something Fierce Vol I

Something Fierce Vol II

A two volume album of mainly acoustic guitar and vocals, singer-songwriter Marian Call is very reminiscent of Joni Mitchell.

At first I did not like because of the first track. No problem musically, but badly recorded, opens with a guitar way off to the left

A mix of what I would call Cabaret style to what is more like folk.

I was listening last night into the early hours of the morning.

Funded through crowd sourcing.

Latest project, a live album recorded on a European tour, raised the funding in ten minutes!

Who says crowd sourcing, community supported music, does not work?

I am no great fan of digital music. I prefer to have something tangible in my hand.

But as Imogen Heap has shown, digital music is more than a track ripped off a CD. It is a different medium to be explored.

Marian Call shows that too.

She provides a link to a photo album. Effectively liner notes and pictures.

She provides a link to a wordpress blog where you can find the lyrics and more information on each song.

Motive and Opportunity

Motive and Opportunity

Beautiful vocals from Eilis Phillips.

A native of Hong Kong, Eilis Phillips is signed to Any And All Records.

At Nordic House

At Nordic House

Birthday Sale! Friday is my birthday and to celebrate pay-what-you-want for downloads of all my albums all day. — Sunna Gunnlaugs

Here’s a free download of a live concert with my trio. The recorder was on the floor right next to the piano. Sorry about the foot-tapping. I’ll take off my shoes next time. — Sunna Gunnlaugs

Not quite free and not music, but please note offer to download Paulo Coelho HarperCollins US e-books back catalogue at 99 cents per e-book ends on Sunday.

• A book for the price of a song

Top Story in Jazzzaj (Friday 11 May 2012).

• Long Pair Bond