Marc Almond - Live Review

Marc Almond Live at Wilton's Music Hall, 3rd May 2008

Marc Almond is almost certainly the artist I've seen live the most. I have never kept count, but I'd guess it must be 60 or 70 times, maybe more… and every single one of those shows has been totally unique (and I almost guarantee that every one had a different set list - including the times I've seen him on consecutive nights). I doubt there are many artists who keep it fresh and interesting enough to warrant attendance that many times, yet after 25 years of seeing him live, Marc still remains the one ticket I look forward to more than any other.

When he had that near fatal motorbike crash back in 2004 (leaving him with a broken skull, broken shoulder, fractured ribs, perforated ear drum and collapsed lung), the outlook was bleak, and the best people were looking at was that he might just live. Ever performing again was out of the question – in fact whilst in a coma, he was at one point just hours away from a tracheostomy. Yet after dozens of operations and much rehabilitation, miraculously Marc returned to the stage last year, with his highly successful and emotional shows at Wilton's Music Hall. He followed these with some special ‘bigger venue’ shows to celebrate his 50th birthday.

This year though it was back to Willton's, for another sold-out run. Marc is a great one for sniffing out interesting venues to play in, and this must be the best yet. The last surviving grand music hall in the world, Wilton’s was a host to all manor of entertainment from the 1850s onwards, long before the event of the ‘old time music hall’ shows, for which it is most famously known. In its day, Wilton's used to cram 1500 people inside, an incredible thought, especially when you consider that today it has a licence to hold just 300! The venue is a pure delight – it’s faded glory and the crumbly decay of its décor are the perfect setting for Almond's songs of unrequited love, prostitution, seedy sex and the like.

Wilton's is a million miles away from the corporate hell of venues such as the O2 arena, Wembley, Hammersmith etc etc, with their sponsors, uniformed security, plastic burgers, plastic glasses and grumpy staff. Wilton’s is a step back in time in every sense…. the staff are very friendly and helpful, there appears to be no security at all, the bar is makeshift and the food is home-made Tapas! Marc has a real affinity with places such as this, and seems genuinely passionate about trying to help preserve these venues. As he wrote in the programme notes:

“Every day I see aspects of London's rich and wonderful history disappearing, lost for ever. When they go we lose a part of ourselves. Of course, we shouldn't live in the past, cities are amorphous and ever-changing but London is in danger of becoming a city of Glass and concrete, a temporary city. London is arguably the greatest city in the world with the greatest history and should protect its old and special places where people can feel a connection with the past. This gives the city a soul and therefore enriches our souls. The music halls such as Wilton’s are an important part of London's theatrical tradition and it pleases me that many of today's performers, tired of the more soulless corporate venues, are looking for alternative settings for their music. More modern venues have their place as state-of-the-art that are right for particular types of shows and performers and give a choice to audiences. They mustn't however, become the only choice.”

The venues tend to set the scene for Marc’s set lists, if it’s a bigger ‘stand up’ show, then you are likely to get more up-tempo songs, and maybe even a bit of Soft Cell thrown in, but when somewhere as intimate and atmospheric as Wilton’s is on the menu, you know you are in for a real treat. Marc always puts a lot of thought into his selection of songs, and his delve into the back catalogue for this show was no exception, bringing us a great selection of material from throughout his career. As always there was a smattering of some unrecorded gems -- and if the past is anything to go by, many will remain that way, making these events extra special.

Entwined within his own material is Marc's passion for the work of others, from Russian folk songs to Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel, from Richard Thompson to 1920's Music Hall (which has been brought into the set specifically for tonight's venue). He has a remarkable talent for taking these songs, injecting them with passion, intensity and reverence, and making them his own. The guy could sing nursery rhymes and I'd be welling up by the end!

The audience too completely understand the reverence of shows such as this. During the song 'Cosmic Boxer' he slowly walks around the auditorium, adding yet more intensity to the high drama of the song. Up close to their hero not a single person makes a grab for him, not one flash of a camera, not a single word uttered -- all you can hear is the quiet accompaniment of the band as Marc slowly and solemnly marches around the venue as though he were following a funeral parade. High art stuff, treated with the utmost respect.

One of the few songs to return from last years shows is Lavender. An emotional song about the trials and tribulations of being gay in less enlightened times. This time the song is given yet more poignancy as the slideshow behind Almond flashes up images of tortured stars forced to live a lie for fear of ruining their careers...

When returning from a gig, I normally start digging out a few CDs, to keep the buzz of the show going, but with Marc is not so easy. I've got a very comprehensive collection of his work, yet somehow after returning from one of his shows, nothing quite fits the bill. His knack for reinventing/reinterpreting his own songs means the ones you own are completely different versions to the one’s you're now craving, and many of the new songs and covers you've just heard have never been recorded. He's one artist who could get away with releasing pretty much every live show on CD, and it's no wonder that there is such an interest in bootleg recordings of these events, as fans clamour for what is sometimes his only rendition of certain songs.

I hope that these Wilton's shows are becoming an annual tradition, as there really is no one better to keep the spirit of this special venue alive.

EXTRAS

Marc's Stardom Road album made my 'Best of 2007' list, you can read my review here

Visit Wilton's on the Web and find out more about this amazing piece of history

Visit the Official Marc Almond Website here

The below audience video is actually from one of last years shows at Wilton's, Marc performing one of his best (yet still unreleased!) recent songs, the aforementioned Lavender:


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The Best of 2007 (Part 2)

The second part of my favourite CDs from 2007.

Mark Ronson - Version (released April 2007)

Possibly a surprise inclusion for some of those who know me. The complete flipside of an album such as The Good, The Bad and The Queen. Damon Albarn's release really made you work for the rewards, but this album was an instant payout.

Despite my dislike for lazy, insipid covers (and with millions of songs to chose from, how come these reality TV show winners always release CDs with the same tracks on??!!), I'm a big fan of the cover version. My criteria for a good one is simple (yet rarely carried out!!):

- It shouldn't be an exact copy of the original. If it is, why bother covering it??

- It shouldn't be SO different, that you don't recognise the song any more

- The artist should (if they are of the right quality) be able to stamp their authority on it, and without changing it completely, make it sound like their own song.

As predominantly a covers album, this CD has a couple of interesting, quirky slants - the main one being that a few of the covers are sung by the original artists! Not every track is a winner, but the good far outweigh the bad.

The album kicks off with an instrumental version of Coldplays 'God Put a Smile Upon Your Face' - which despite being instantly recognisable, you'd swear came directly from one of those funky Studio 2 recordings from the 60's and 70's. The biggest surprise proved to me that 2 wrongs can indeed make a right, as an artist I'm not keen on sings a song I don't like to produce an absolute stormer! Yup, Mark's collaboration with Amy Winehouse convinced me that the Zutons' Valerie should have been a Motown hit of the 60's! Lilly Allen is also on hand to help cover The Kaiser Chiefs Oh My God, which she does in her tried and tested 'chav serving you in McDonalds' voice ("it dow matta ta me-eee"). Its not a bad cover by any means, but it's a shame it wasn't the far superier version Mark performed on The Jonathan Ross Show over Christmas, where Chief, erm, Kaiser Chief and Candie Payne shared the vocals. Maximo Park and Kasabian both contribute new vocals to Ronson re-workings of their own tracks. Worst track by far is Robbie Williams attempting to do The Charlatans, The Only One I Know. His voice isn't up to it and he just comes across like a Tim Burgess sound-a-likey on Stars in their Eyes.

It’s a real mish-mash of an album, with something for pretty much everyone included… everyone that is except possibly Morrissey fans! I love the fact that he dared to cover The Smiths on it (an odd mix of The Smiths' Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before and The Supremes' You Just Keep Me Hanging On with vocals by Daniel Merriweather), which prompted some upset die-hard Smiths fans to actually send him death threats (one particularly jovial fan told him 'I want to stab you in the eye.'… nice!). Of course by being so ridiculous, this minority of idiotic fans are simply helping to confirming that stereotypical image that all Smiths fan have had to suffer with for years. Anyway, I know of at least one Morrissey fan who thought the cover was fab! (she is currently in hiding alongside Osama Bin-Laden!!).

If you missed the performance on Jonathan Ross, you can check it out right here!

The Wolfmen - 5 Track Promo\Sampler
Although not strictly an official release from 2007, this 5 track sampler gave me a lot of pleasure at the back end of last year. See my review of the CD here for full details.

Marc Almond - Stardom Road (released June 2007)
What can I say about Marc Almond? He's been at the very centre of my love of music for over 25 years, and still he keeps coming up with the goods. Marc has always been a prolific writer, but a near-fatal motorbike accident in 2004 left him with brain injuries that rendered him unable to compose (something I'm pleased to say is now starting to ease).

So, after dozens of operations and 3 years of intensive rehabilitation (and with the 'imposed' writers block in mind), 2007 seemed the ideal time for him to release an album of cover versions. I must admit that I was a little concerned when this project was first announced - recent lazy, lacklustre cover albums from the likes of Rod Steward, Michael Bolton, Russell Watson, X-Factor contestants etc have left a nasty taste in the mouth. But I needn't have worried, Marc is much more than cheap rip-offs of over used tracks. What we actually got were personal, re-interpretations of mostly little known classics that have influenced Marc over the last 50 years (in fact, the majority of the songs included are so obscure that the casual listener would be forgiven for assuming it was mostly new self-penned material).

From a 'twin peaks-esque' Dream Lover to a simply beautiful version of Third World War's Stardom Road, Marc takes these songs and makes them his own. Although a 50 piece orchestra was used for the album, the production is beautifully understated, creating the perfect atmopshere for Marcs 'off-centre' take on these songs. Marc has made a career out of 'doom and gloom' songs where every silver lining has a cloud, but this album is truly uplifting and inspiring (it's amazing what nearly dying can do to you!). There is not a bad track on here, but the stand out one for me (and probably my favourite song from the whole of 2007) was his version of Charles Aznavour's I Have Lived. Oddly, I actually have the original of this song in my vinyl collection, but it had never struck a chord with me before (although I doubt the lyrics would have hit me so much back in my 20's as they do now in my 40's!). Hats off to Mr Az, these lyrics are so touching and thought provoking - In fact I now know this is the song I want played at my funeral! I was like a teenager with this record, playing it over and over continually, and have still yet to tire of it.

2007 also marked the 1st live shows for Marc since the accident, and this album formed the centrepiece of these dazzling concerts.

So that's my top 6 Cds that were released in 2007. However the vast majority of CDs I purchased last year were 'back catalogue', and I don't think I can finish without mentioning at least a couple that really hit the spot.

2007 was officially the year of the Marc's (Almond and Bolan), and there was a big 'Bolan buzz' at Piley Towers throughout much of the year. Most of my Bolan collection has always been on Vinyl, but thanks mostly to Amazon 'new and used', I've now finally rectified that! I love almost all of Marc's albums, but the recent Edsel re-releases of the later albums, with a full extra cd of alternative takes and rarities was just too tempting. However it was Slider that I really fell in love with all over again, and it became the soundtrack to my summer. It's definitely Bolan's best work, and one of the greatest pop\rock album ever. Every track is so darn perfect, and it can happily be left on 'repeat' for days without annoying you!

I'd always liked what I'd heard of Barry Ryan (Eloise is the obvious track), but had never really investigated his work seriously. In 2007 I spotted that his 1st 2 albums (Barry Ryan Singing The Songs Of Paul Ryan - 1968 and Barry Ryan - 1969) had been re-issued on one disc so thought I'd give it a go - to be honest I expected to give it a couple of plays, be a bit non-plussed and then file it (never to be played again!). But what I got was quite simply a revelation! Ryan has gotten a raw deal over the years.. Whilst similar acts such as Scott Walker have been elevated to legendary status (and rightly so), Barry has remained languishing in the 'cheesey 60's pop' category (possibly due to his earlier 'pop' career as a duo with his brother Paul). But some of the material included on these two albums is right up there with the best of those 60's torch singers. I couldn't believe the quality of this disc, it's all very orchestrated, and OTT, but no more so that Scott Walker.

It's a long CD (24 tracks), but as soon as it finished I had to keep re-playing it, and if I went out I took it with me to play in the car. I think it kept me going for the best part of a month! One of the best ten pounds I've ever spent! This album lead to a spending frenzy, as I picked up a number of other Ryan CDs - alas, everything else available are just various compilations, and his other 'proper' albums all remain unreleased on CD.

Here is Barry Ryan with the wonderfully OTT Kitch




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