25 March 2010

Keep It Simple Stupid: The big news for me this week has been our front cover feature assessing and comparing five new albums from British female singer/songwriters. Four of the artists have been strongly hyped in recent months, including Ellie Goulding whose Brit award and resulting high-level airplay (especially on the BBC) has led to her topping the album chart. But it makes me wonder whether these gongs are healthy for young, underdeveloped and inexperienced artists like Goulding. Amy MacDonald has already topped the British album chart and I suspect her new album will repeat that earlier success. Goldfrapp’s new album has received good reviews and I’m puzzled as to why… Marina And The Diamonds FAMILY JEWELS was by far the best album out of the four, in just about every way, including production-wise. Before Johnny Cash died he recorded arguably one of the finest albums in his long and distinguished career. Rick Rubin produced it with sensitivy and simplicity, and encouraged Cash to concentrate on providing a sincere and honest performance. It seems to me that MacDonald and Goulding need to take this on board and listen carefully to Cash’s recording. MacDonald in particular needs to take note and consider this next time around - her album has, in my view, been almost ruined by overblown production, which has only succeeded in hiding good songs and vocals. When we assess recordings, we always take not of production values, for both reviews and airplay. They should remember that a producer can make or break a record, artistically. As for Goldfrapp, excluding her debut album FELT MOUNTAIN, I have always believed that her records fail dismally to capitalise on her marvellous vocal quality, and that both confuses and annoys me. The fact that her most recent records and singles have won modest support in the States is neither here nor there as they were poor records. But her latest defies belief. It’s a lazy, out-of-date record without any intrinsic artistic value - it says nothing and goes nowhere. Dan Cairns in The Times has given yet another misguided review, as did the Telegraph’s critic. These reviews are as meaningless as the record itself.

And they should all hear how it should be done by listening to a young, unsigned lady called Katey Brooks and her new album PROOF OF LIFE. For her record she has only her talent and limited means, but has created the finest album from a British female singer/songwriter in the last five years. Were she to possess the marketing and financial clout to enter into the Mercury/Barclaycard Awards 2010, she would walk it, and would be the most deserving winner in the last ten years. In production terms here, less is most definitely more. An extraordinary record from an extraordinary young talent. 

18 March 2010

We all make mistakes, but the main thing is that we should learn from them. I have to hold my hand up for originally dismissing Minnie Driver as a musician, without even hearing her music. Well, I’ve now put that right (as much as I can…) and I just hope that lovers of country music will give her latest album, SEASTORIES, a chance. You may well be as pleasantly surprised as I was at her abilities as a singer/songwriter and live performer (see cover feature story).

I’m a cricket fanatic but without Sky and the BBC/Government’s criminal neglect of free-to-view test match games, I’ve been living in one continual winter. So it’s with gratitude and admiration that I commend ITV 4 for showing all of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches live, every day. I’ve never seen such an amazing sport spectacle, featuring the world’s best players slogging it out for 40 overs of the most exciing cricket. I think they may have scored a winner for UK cricket fans, and hopefully for themselves.

Last year, Warner Music won our accolade for best major label. This year, according to a report in The Times, Warner in partnership with private equity firm KKR, are discussing a break-up bid for EMI, with KKR going for the profitable publishing arm, and Warner interested in the recorded music division. EMI is expected to be put for sale this summer. Bankers value the publishing arm at £1.2 billion although putting a value on the recorded music division is not so easy… especially with its major artist roster steadily disappearing, and its financial health in meltdown. In recent weeks EMI’s ‘new’ executive chairman, Leoni-Sceti, resigned and the company is seeking additional financial backing to survive another 12 months. It all sounds pretty dire for EMI, a once great British music company, now worth a fraction of the billions paid for it by Terra Firma. But do Warners need EMI’s music division? It’s puzzling to say the least, but they must know what they are doing, mustn’t they?

Is the truth so hard to tell? In recent days, we’ve had lies about Lord Ashcroft, lies about defence spending, lies about treatment of terrorist suspects, lies about the financial prospects of the nation, the list is endless… Two things strike me here: Do these lying politicians think we, the British people, are stupid? Secondly, these lying, power-hungry individuals are supposed to be ruling or wanting to rule the country.  Hell, at least Berlusconi is comical with it… In the end lies come back to bite, and bite hard. Let’s not be fooled, and finally, isn’t it about time we ditched the honours system, a misnomer if ever I’ve heard one.