What was the best Yes-related album of 1990? I asked and (67 of) you answered:
1. Asia: Then & Now (w/ Downes, Howe): 36 votes, 54%
2. David Torn: Door X (w/ Bruford): 11 votes, 16%
3. National Health: Complete (w/ Bruford): 7 votes, 10%
4. Rick Wakeman: Night Airs: 5 votes, 7%
5. Mike Makhalemele: Mind Games - A Jazz Celebration of John Lennon (w/ Rabin): 4 votes, 6%
6. Rock Aid Armenia: The Earthquake Album (w/ Downes, Squire): 2 votes, 3%
7= Rick Wakeman: In the Beginning: 1 vote, 1%
7= Rick Wakeman: Aspirant Sunrise: 1 vote, 1%
9. Rick Wakeman: Phantom Powers: 0 votes, 0%
... which took me by surprise. I didn't think Then & Now was much loved: 4 new songs constitute the 'Now', with just Wetton and Downes as the core of the band, to 6 hits as the 'Then'. And those new songs are Asia at their most pop, two with outside writers. But then I do like the new songs! So congratulations to this, the last Asia studio material with Wetton until Phoenix in 2008.
Maybe the competition in 1990 wasn't that strong. Complete, which I voted for, was a great release, bringing together everything National Health had released, but Bruford only appears on it courtesy of a sliver of previously unreleased material, so I didn't expect it to win. Wakeman was churning out the solo albums, but it was quantity over quality, with four combined only getting as many votes as Complete.
Mind Games did well given its obscurity: it's still unavailable on CD, although it did get a digital release a year ago: see Amazon UK or Amazon US.
Saturday, 17 August 2019
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
REV: Trevor Horn, Royal Festival Hall, London, 28 Jul 2019
Trevor Horn Live in Concert
Sun 28/07/2019 7:30 PM
Royal Festival Hall
On the second date of their tour, this expanded Trevor Horn Band with string section are fluid and comfortable in themselves, all more polished than their one-off show at the South Bank Centre a year before. More of the Reimagines album was played, some other arrangements tweaked, interesting guests: a great show, but marred by a terrible mix in the first half.
1. "Two Tribes", with Cardle on lead vocals
2. "Video Killed the Radio Star", with Horn on lead vocals
3. "Cry", with Angrisani on lead vocals
4. "Rubber Bullets", with Creme on lead vocals
5. "Different for Girls", with Hogarth on lead vocals
6. "Ashes to Ashes", with Hogarth on lead vocals
7. "All the Things She Said", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
8. "Slave to the Rhythm", with Chase on lead vocals for the first half, and Cardle and Chase on lead vocals for the second half
9. "The Power of Love", with Cardle on lead vocals
10. "Living in the Plastic Age", with Horn on lead vocals
11. "I'm Not in Love", with Cardle on lead vocals and Creme on keys
12. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with Hogarth on lead vocals
Intermission
13. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (including string intro), with Horn on lead vocals, Creme on bass
14. "Brothers in Arms", with Cummings on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
15. "Rhythm of My Heart", with Angrisani on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
"Born to Run" bossa nova version demonstration, with just Horn/Clark/Ferrone
16. "Dancing in the Dark", with Holmes on lead vocals, just Chase on backing vocals
17. Scottish reel (electric guitar solo by Ballard)/"Since You've Been Gone", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar, Chase on cowbell
18. "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar
19. "Girls on Film", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
20. "Kiss from a Rose", with Hogarth on lead vocals
21. "Blue Monday", with Hogarth on lead vocals, without Angrisani/Holmes/Chase
Horn introduces the band
22. "Relax", with Cardle on lead vocals
23. "Money for Nothing", with Cummings on lead vocals
The Trevor Horn Band has been playing dates for some years now, most recently with a line-up including several members of Dire Straits Legacy (Clark, Palmer, Ferrone, Cummings), with whom Horn also plays. This 5-date UK tour is in support of Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties, which saw Horn working with an orchestra, with arrangements and conducting by Julian Hinton. Studio magic and orchestra are hard to replicate on stage, but the Band are augmented by an 8-piece string section and the set mixes Reimagines tracks with their older standards like "Rubber Bullets" and "All the Things She Said".
Picture the scene. The show opens with the instrumentalists walking on stage and "Two Tribes" starts. Then the three backing vocalists (Katie Holmes-Smith, Izzy Chase and Roberto Angrisani) jump out. The music's pumping, the trio are jiving. Matt Cardle, the big name guest vocalist for tonight, begins to sing. It's all very exciting, but... I'm fourth row, centre stage and we can't hear what he's singing. The big problem through the whole first half was the difficulty hearing many of the vocals, certainly when the band were in full flow. I don't know what happened, or whether the mix was better elsewhere in the auditorium, but it was a disappointment. That aside, the band were grooving.
Song number two was preceded by Horn telling an anecdote about his daughter going to the same school as Boris Johnson's kids, and Johnson asking whether he was going to sell his kids drugs. And then into "Video Killed the Radio Star". Horn's vocals were a bit louder in the mix. As in recent years, the end of the song incorporates an extract from "Check It Out", the will.i.am and Nicki Minaj song that sampled "Video", and we got a rocked up ending after that too. New guy Angrisani stepped forward for the Godley & Creme song "Cry" that Horn co-produced, with another extended outro, this time for a Palmer guitar solo.
"Rubber Bullets" had Creme on lead vocals, but again they were far too low in the mix. But let's talk about happier things. As with previous shows, the trio of vocalists provided the glamour, contrasting with Trevor, Lol, Phil etc. in T-shirts and jeans. Izzy and Kate had glittery eye make-up and Angrisani had more eye make-up than both of them put together, and he was dressed like a glitter ball. Kate had full torso jewellery and shimmied it hard. We got some choreography, the three miming loading their guns with rubber bullets... it just would've been nice if we'd also been able to hear that Lol was singing about rubber bullets.
And so the first half went on. Replicating the album, we had Steve Hogarth singing "It's Different for Girls", but he was drowned out too. Then "Ashes to Ashes", which Hogarth originally recorded for the album, but was then replaced by Seal. Horn said it was Hogarth's idea to do the song on the album; Hogarth said Horn was drunk and can't remember that it was actually Horn's idea. Lovely to see the camaraderie between them. Hogarth was camping it up, gesticulating and striding around the stage, a great performance of "Ashes to Ashes"... in so far as I could hear him.
Chase and Holmes-Smith did "All the Things She Said", thankfully with somewhat more audible vocals. Then a performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" that Horn explained mixed a first half like the album ("without rhythm"), sung by Chase, and a second half more like the original, with Chase and Cardle duetting. Cardle stayed for "The Power of Love", a song that's all about it's dramatic vocal, which we could barely hear.
Then Horn was back on lead vocals for "Living in the Plastic Age", Cardle returned for "I'm Not in Love" and Hogarth closed the first set with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
A wave of complaints in the intermission hit the mixing desk, and thankfully something was fixed, making the second half much more enjoyable. We began with "Owner of a Lonely Heart", with Horn coming out in a kilt (the MacNeil family tartan)... although this time it's Alan Clark's solo that's inaudible. After that, the sound was fine!
"Brothers in Arms" is the weakest song on the Reimagines album to my ears, but it worked rather well here, with Cummings delivering an appropriately overwrought vocal. Roberto handled "Rhythm of My Heart". Horn, with Clark and Ferrone's help, then demonstrated his idea to do Springsteen's "Born to Run" to a bossa nova rhythm, before Holmes-Smith sang a very good "Dancing in the Dark".
Then a slightly odd section. As at their Cropredy Convention show in 2017, Argent's Russ Ballard joined them for "Since You've Been Gone" and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You". Ballard is an energetic frontman, these are classic anthems, Lol and Trevor seemed really happy to have Ballard as a guest, but the whole thing didn't really fit the '80s theme.
Back to the album for "Girls on Film", with Izzy and Katie on lead vocals. Then Hogarth, with costume change, was back for "Kiss from a Rose" (with the string arrangement, we were told, having been written by Hinton on the coach down from their previous show in Glasgow). Followed by, with another costume change, Hogarth doing "Blue Monday". It was lovely to now be able to hear Hogarth singing and I still long for a full-on Horn/Hogarth collaboration. As with some other songs, we got a tweaked version compared to the album, with Clark then Palmer having solos at the end.
Then the climax, if that's the right word, of the show with "Relax" with Cardle singing, Roberto/Izzy/Katie bouncing around the stage, and then everyone rocking out for "Money for Nothing", with Cummings back on lead vocals. The audience were on their feet and having as much fun as the band.
Sun 28/07/2019 7:30 PM
Royal Festival Hall
On the second date of their tour, this expanded Trevor Horn Band with string section are fluid and comfortable in themselves, all more polished than their one-off show at the South Bank Centre a year before. More of the Reimagines album was played, some other arrangements tweaked, interesting guests: a great show, but marred by a terrible mix in the first half.
- Trevor Horn: bass (not “Owner of a Lonely Heart”), vocals on “Video Killed the Radio Star”, “Living in the Plastic Age”, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, backing vocals
- Alan Clark: keys
- Steve Ferrone: drums
- Roberto Angrisani (a.k.a. Kalon Rae): vocals on “Cry” , “Rhythm of My Heart”, backing vocals (not “Dancing in the Dark”, “Blue Monday”)
- Katie Holmes-Smith: vocals on “All the Things She Said”, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Girls on Film”, backing vocals (not “Blue Monday”)
- Izzy Chase: vocals on “All the Things She Said”, “Slave to the Rhythm”, “Girls on Film”, backing vocals (not “Blue Monday”), cowbell on “Since You’ve Been Gone”
- Phil Palmer: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals on “Money for Nothing”
- Lol Creme: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals on “Rubber Bullets”, backing vocals, keys on “I’m Not in Love”, bass on “Owner of a Lonely Heart”
- Simon Bloor: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys
- Julian Hinton: conducting, keys
- Callum ?: tambourine, shaker, cowbell
- Sam ?: computers, shaker, tambourine
- string section: 4 violins (inc. Jamie Hutchinson, John Dickinson), 2 violas, 2 celli (inc. Miriam Wakeling)
- Tim Weidner: front of house engineer
- Matt Cardle: vocals on “Two Tribes”, “Slave to the Rhythm”, “The Power of Love”, “I’m Not in Love”, “Relax”
- Steve Hogarth: vocals on “Different for Girls”, “Ashes to Ashes”, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, “Kiss from a Rose”, “Blue Monday”
- Danny Cummings: vocals on “Brothers in Arms”, “Money for Nothing”
- Mick MacNeil: accordion on “Brothers in Arms”, “Rhythm of My Heart”
- Russ Ballard: vocals and electric guitar on “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”
1. "Two Tribes", with Cardle on lead vocals
2. "Video Killed the Radio Star", with Horn on lead vocals
3. "Cry", with Angrisani on lead vocals
4. "Rubber Bullets", with Creme on lead vocals
5. "Different for Girls", with Hogarth on lead vocals
6. "Ashes to Ashes", with Hogarth on lead vocals
7. "All the Things She Said", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
8. "Slave to the Rhythm", with Chase on lead vocals for the first half, and Cardle and Chase on lead vocals for the second half
9. "The Power of Love", with Cardle on lead vocals
10. "Living in the Plastic Age", with Horn on lead vocals
11. "I'm Not in Love", with Cardle on lead vocals and Creme on keys
12. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with Hogarth on lead vocals
Intermission
13. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (including string intro), with Horn on lead vocals, Creme on bass
14. "Brothers in Arms", with Cummings on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
15. "Rhythm of My Heart", with Angrisani on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
"Born to Run" bossa nova version demonstration, with just Horn/Clark/Ferrone
16. "Dancing in the Dark", with Holmes on lead vocals, just Chase on backing vocals
17. Scottish reel (electric guitar solo by Ballard)/"Since You've Been Gone", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar, Chase on cowbell
18. "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar
19. "Girls on Film", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
20. "Kiss from a Rose", with Hogarth on lead vocals
21. "Blue Monday", with Hogarth on lead vocals, without Angrisani/Holmes/Chase
Horn introduces the band
22. "Relax", with Cardle on lead vocals
23. "Money for Nothing", with Cummings on lead vocals
The Trevor Horn Band has been playing dates for some years now, most recently with a line-up including several members of Dire Straits Legacy (Clark, Palmer, Ferrone, Cummings), with whom Horn also plays. This 5-date UK tour is in support of Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties, which saw Horn working with an orchestra, with arrangements and conducting by Julian Hinton. Studio magic and orchestra are hard to replicate on stage, but the Band are augmented by an 8-piece string section and the set mixes Reimagines tracks with their older standards like "Rubber Bullets" and "All the Things She Said".
Picture the scene. The show opens with the instrumentalists walking on stage and "Two Tribes" starts. Then the three backing vocalists (Katie Holmes-Smith, Izzy Chase and Roberto Angrisani) jump out. The music's pumping, the trio are jiving. Matt Cardle, the big name guest vocalist for tonight, begins to sing. It's all very exciting, but... I'm fourth row, centre stage and we can't hear what he's singing. The big problem through the whole first half was the difficulty hearing many of the vocals, certainly when the band were in full flow. I don't know what happened, or whether the mix was better elsewhere in the auditorium, but it was a disappointment. That aside, the band were grooving.
Song number two was preceded by Horn telling an anecdote about his daughter going to the same school as Boris Johnson's kids, and Johnson asking whether he was going to sell his kids drugs. And then into "Video Killed the Radio Star". Horn's vocals were a bit louder in the mix. As in recent years, the end of the song incorporates an extract from "Check It Out", the will.i.am and Nicki Minaj song that sampled "Video", and we got a rocked up ending after that too. New guy Angrisani stepped forward for the Godley & Creme song "Cry" that Horn co-produced, with another extended outro, this time for a Palmer guitar solo.
"Rubber Bullets" had Creme on lead vocals, but again they were far too low in the mix. But let's talk about happier things. As with previous shows, the trio of vocalists provided the glamour, contrasting with Trevor, Lol, Phil etc. in T-shirts and jeans. Izzy and Kate had glittery eye make-up and Angrisani had more eye make-up than both of them put together, and he was dressed like a glitter ball. Kate had full torso jewellery and shimmied it hard. We got some choreography, the three miming loading their guns with rubber bullets... it just would've been nice if we'd also been able to hear that Lol was singing about rubber bullets.
The three backing vocalists, Trevor Horn, Alan Clark and Phil Palmer
And so the first half went on. Replicating the album, we had Steve Hogarth singing "It's Different for Girls", but he was drowned out too. Then "Ashes to Ashes", which Hogarth originally recorded for the album, but was then replaced by Seal. Horn said it was Hogarth's idea to do the song on the album; Hogarth said Horn was drunk and can't remember that it was actually Horn's idea. Lovely to see the camaraderie between them. Hogarth was camping it up, gesticulating and striding around the stage, a great performance of "Ashes to Ashes"... in so far as I could hear him.
Chase and Holmes-Smith did "All the Things She Said", thankfully with somewhat more audible vocals. Then a performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" that Horn explained mixed a first half like the album ("without rhythm"), sung by Chase, and a second half more like the original, with Chase and Cardle duetting. Cardle stayed for "The Power of Love", a song that's all about it's dramatic vocal, which we could barely hear.
Then Horn was back on lead vocals for "Living in the Plastic Age", Cardle returned for "I'm Not in Love" and Hogarth closed the first set with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
A wave of complaints in the intermission hit the mixing desk, and thankfully something was fixed, making the second half much more enjoyable. We began with "Owner of a Lonely Heart", with Horn coming out in a kilt (the MacNeil family tartan)... although this time it's Alan Clark's solo that's inaudible. After that, the sound was fine!
"Brothers in Arms" is the weakest song on the Reimagines album to my ears, but it worked rather well here, with Cummings delivering an appropriately overwrought vocal. Roberto handled "Rhythm of My Heart". Horn, with Clark and Ferrone's help, then demonstrated his idea to do Springsteen's "Born to Run" to a bossa nova rhythm, before Holmes-Smith sang a very good "Dancing in the Dark".
Then a slightly odd section. As at their Cropredy Convention show in 2017, Argent's Russ Ballard joined them for "Since You've Been Gone" and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You". Ballard is an energetic frontman, these are classic anthems, Lol and Trevor seemed really happy to have Ballard as a guest, but the whole thing didn't really fit the '80s theme.
Back to the album for "Girls on Film", with Izzy and Katie on lead vocals. Then Hogarth, with costume change, was back for "Kiss from a Rose" (with the string arrangement, we were told, having been written by Hinton on the coach down from their previous show in Glasgow). Followed by, with another costume change, Hogarth doing "Blue Monday". It was lovely to now be able to hear Hogarth singing and I still long for a full-on Horn/Hogarth collaboration. As with some other songs, we got a tweaked version compared to the album, with Clark then Palmer having solos at the end.
Then the climax, if that's the right word, of the show with "Relax" with Cardle singing, Roberto/Izzy/Katie bouncing around the stage, and then everyone rocking out for "Money for Nothing", with Cummings back on lead vocals. The audience were on their feet and having as much fun as the band.
A stitched together panorama of the whole band
Sunday, 19 May 2019
Best Yes-related album of 1984
92 votes came in for the best Yes-related album of 1984.
So, a clear first and second place, and, wow, I'd forgotten there were four Patrick Moraz albums out that year.
What was the best Yes-related album of 1984?
So, a clear first and second place, and, wow, I'd forgotten there were four Patrick Moraz albums out that year.
Saturday, 23 March 2019
Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the second half of 2018?
55 of you voted and the results were:
1. various artists: A Life in Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Moraz, Davison): 38% (21 votes)
2. Peter Banks's Harmony in Diversity: The Complete Recordings: 24% (13 votes)
3. Jason Becker: Triumphant Hearts (w/ Rabin): 11% (6 votes)
4. Rick Wakeman: Piano Odyssey: 9% (5 votes)
5= Dave Kerzner & Sonic Elements: Yesterday and Today: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Yes (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Downes, Davison): 7% (4 votes)
5= William Shatner: Shatner Claus: The Christmas Album (w/ R Wakeman) 7% (4 votes)
7. other: 4% (2 votes)
8. Light Freedom Revival: Truthonomy (w/ Sherwood, O Wakeman) 0% (0 votes)
Billy Sherwood's tribute to his belated mentor easily won, with the comprehensive Harmony in Diversity set with Pete Banks second. I actually preferred the Sonic Elements Yes tribute, but it struggled to get votes.
Neither of the 2 other votes said who they were voting for. It may have been Funky Monkey's Undecover (w/ Banks), which I mistakenly omitted from the poll.
1. various artists: A Life in Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Moraz, Davison): 38% (21 votes)
2. Peter Banks's Harmony in Diversity: The Complete Recordings: 24% (13 votes)
3. Jason Becker: Triumphant Hearts (w/ Rabin): 11% (6 votes)
4. Rick Wakeman: Piano Odyssey: 9% (5 votes)
5= Dave Kerzner & Sonic Elements: Yesterday and Today: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Yes (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Downes, Davison): 7% (4 votes)
5= William Shatner: Shatner Claus: The Christmas Album (w/ R Wakeman) 7% (4 votes)
7. other: 4% (2 votes)
8. Light Freedom Revival: Truthonomy (w/ Sherwood, O Wakeman) 0% (0 votes)
Billy Sherwood's tribute to his belated mentor easily won, with the comprehensive Harmony in Diversity set with Pete Banks second. I actually preferred the Sonic Elements Yes tribute, but it struggled to get votes.
Neither of the 2 other votes said who they were voting for. It may have been Funky Monkey's Undecover (w/ Banks), which I mistakenly omitted from the poll.
Friday, 1 February 2019
Best Yes-related album of 1983
You voted, 106 of you... or maybe it was one of you 106 times? But the results are...
1. Asia: Alpha (w/ Downes, Howe) 45 votes (42%)
2. Jon & Vangelis: Private Collection 27 votes (25%)
3. Bruford-Moraz: Music for Piano and Drums 18 votes (17%)
4. The Moody Blues: The Present (w/ Moraz) 7 votes (7%)
5. Mike Oldfield: Crises (w/ Anderson) 4 votes (4%)
6. Malcolm McLaren: Duck Rock (w/ Horn) 3 votes (3%)
7= Al Di Meola: Scenario (w/ Bruford) 1 vote (1%)
7= Rick Wakeman: G'ole! 1 vote (1%)
There were no votes for Annette Peacock's Been in the Streets Too Long (w/ Bruford) or Rick Wakeman's Cost of Living. Not a great poll result for Wakeman, with his first replacement at 3rd and 4th and his second replacement at 1st... and his almost replacement at 2nd. But a clear win for Asia, even with an album even the band somewhat saw as something of a disappointing follow-up.
1. Asia: Alpha (w/ Downes, Howe) 45 votes (42%)
2. Jon & Vangelis: Private Collection 27 votes (25%)
3. Bruford-Moraz: Music for Piano and Drums 18 votes (17%)
4. The Moody Blues: The Present (w/ Moraz) 7 votes (7%)
5. Mike Oldfield: Crises (w/ Anderson) 4 votes (4%)
6. Malcolm McLaren: Duck Rock (w/ Horn) 3 votes (3%)
7= Al Di Meola: Scenario (w/ Bruford) 1 vote (1%)
7= Rick Wakeman: G'ole! 1 vote (1%)
There were no votes for Annette Peacock's Been in the Streets Too Long (w/ Bruford) or Rick Wakeman's Cost of Living. Not a great poll result for Wakeman, with his first replacement at 3rd and 4th and his second replacement at 1st... and his almost replacement at 2nd. But a clear win for Asia, even with an album even the band somewhat saw as something of a disappointing follow-up.
Saturday, 3 November 2018
REV: Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties Feat. The Sarm Orchestra, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 2 Nov 2018
Trevor Horn, a potted career summary: fronts The Buggles, fronts Yes, is so traumatised by the latter experience he sticks to producing from then on, produces everyone who is anyone... and that's where many people think the story ends. But in recent years, Horn the performer, the live performer, has re-emerged. The Producers begin small and build, release an album, morph into the Trevor Horn Band, play bigger shows, Horn does his first album under his own name (The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack). And now in 2018, we've had Fly from Here—Return Trip, a tour with Dire Straits Legacy, and this new project...
Go back a bit... The Producers played covers, the group picking songs they like, like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, as well as from their own careers. They soon began writing their own material (released as Made in Basing Street), but perhaps that element of covering songs they liked never went away and now sees fruition of its own, because a new album Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties sees Horn interpret a set of songs, more of which he didn't work on than he did (nine to three). The album is released February 2019; the debut single “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, is out digitally; and we have this sold out show at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall (capacity 916).
The set was a mix of the standard Trevor Horn Band (and Producers before that) repertoire and new album material, heavy on the string arrangements, with a bit of the Dire Straits Legacy set at the end (I believe four of the band members were off for a Dire Straits Legacy date in Finland the next day).
The band:
Backline from stage right to left:
Alan Clark: Hammond, keys
Steve Ferrone: drums
Cameron Gower Poole: samples, percussion
8-piece string section (which I think was with Q Strings, Paloma Deike, Jess Cox, Amy Stanford, Laura Stanford, Miriam Wakeling)
Frontline from stage right to left:
Kate Holmes: vocals
Izzy Chase: vocals
Phil Palmer: lead guitar
Lol Crème: guitar, vocals, keys, bass
Trevor Horn: bass, vocals
Simon Bloor: lead guitar, keys
Julian Hinton: keys, conductor
Front of house sound: Tim Weidner
Organisation: Joel Peters
Set:
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” intro, string section only
“Two Tribes”, Ryan Molloy lead vocals
“Video Killed the Radio Star”with “Check It Out” insert, Horn lead vocals
“Dancing in the Dark”, Kate Holmes lead vocals
“Different for Girls”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Ashes to Ashes”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Rubber Bullets”, Lol Crème lead vocals, no strings
“All the Things She Said”, Izzy Chase/Holmes lead vocals, Crème second bass, no strings
“Slave to the Rhythm”, Chase/Matt Cardle lead vocals
“The Power of Love”, Cardle lead vocals
“Living in the Plastic Age”, Horn lead vocals
“What's Love Got to Do With It?”, Molloy lead vocals
“Take on Me”, Horn/Molloy/Cardle lead vocals
“Cry”, Molloy lead vocals, no strings
“Blue Monday”, Jimmie Wood lead vocals, harmonica
“Brothers in Arms”, Horn lead vocals, Mick MacNeil accordion
“Girls on Film”, Chase/Holmes lead vocals
“I'm Not in Love”, Cardle lead vocals, Crème keys
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, Molloy lead vocals
“Owner of a Lonely Heart”, Horn lead vocals, Crème bass, Cardle additional backing vocals
“Relax”, Molloy lead vocals
“Money for Nothing”, Molloy lead vocals, Wood harmonica
Perhaps under-rehearsed in places, as Horn acknowledged at one point, it was an eclectic set, with a range of singers, some more dominant in their temporary role as front man – like Hogarth gesticulating through “Ashes to Ashes” or Molloy bouncing all over the stage – while others, like Chase and Holmes, were more restrained. Those different styles, of the original songs and of the performers, meant there were different highs and lows for different people in the audience. Chatting afterwards, opinions varied on Molloy, songs were recognised or not.
For me, highlights were a heartfelt “The Power of Love”, Hogarth channelling Bowie for “Ashes to Ashes”, a weird “Blue Monday”, and a rousing “Relax”. On the other hand, “Brothers in Arms” were the strings-based, ballad arrangement failed for me, and “Take on Me” was a nice idea, but hard to pull off (and with some technical problems with feedback at the start). I've heard them tighter as Producers, with 5 rather than 18-20 on stage. At times, Clark and Poole had little to do; at others, it was Crème who seemed not to be doing much strumming his guitar. But Horn likes playing live in a big group. It was an audacious set list. They covered all of the new album, with the live integration of strings and rock band, often challenging, largely going well. And they re-arranged some of the older Trevor Horn Band material too.
The string section were excellent throughout. The surprise vocal star for me was Holmes, great in both lead and backing roles. Palmer is always solid on the guitar. I miss Ash Soan on drums, however, with Ferrone too aggressive in his playing in places.
To go through the evening in more detail... Support came in the form of a 6-song set by singer-songwriter Nathan Ball, accompanied by a second guitarist. Ball explained how he had gotten the call asking him to play only the night before. All a bit samey for me, with “Just Say Something” the best number.
After an intriguing opening string arrangement, the headliners kicked off with a Trevor Horn Band favourite in “Two Tribes”. It took a few songs to get the mix right, at least where I was sitting to the edge of the auditorium. Molloy's vocals were nearly inaudible at first. It also took a few songs for the band to settle,with a somewhat stilted “Video Killed the Radio Star” following.
The first full piece from the new album was “Dancing in the Dark”, which exemplifies the album's approach. The song has been re-arranged as a ballad, mainly performed on strings and bass guitar, with a gender swap for the lead vocals. Then into a second and third album track with Marillion's Steve Hogarth doing “Different for Girls”. He'd done this before at the band's July show and, while Hogarth is an engaging performer, the arrangement does little for me. But the show really took off for Hogarth's second song, “Ashes to Ashes” (done by Seal on the album).
Leaving the eighties and without the string section were “Rubber Bullets” and “All the Things She Said”, two Trevor Horn Band standards, both polished, with good vocals from Holmes and Chase.
“Slave to the Rhythm” is also a Trevor Horn Band regular. Horn explained that they had tried the new album version in rehearsals (it's sung by Rumer on the album), but that it didn't completely work live, so they came up with a mix of the new and usual arrangements. In practice, this meant a strings-heavy first half sung by Chase, seguing into the usual funky version, but with vocals shared between Chase and Matt Cardle.
Former X-Factor winner Cardle sings regularly with the Trevor Horn Band. One of the highlights of the show for me was his “The Power of Love”. This was a new arrangement compared to past shows, using the string section, presumably matching the new album's version. Next up we got a solid performance of “Plastic Age”, again with added strings. Molloy was back for “What's Love Got to Do With It?”. He wasn't always as strong a frontman as Cardle or Hogarth, and I felt his performance too theatrical here. Writing that, it seems an odd thing to say given how Tina Turner does the original, but Molloy had better songs in the evening.
Horn introduced the next number, explaining how it “seemed like a good idea after a couple of joints and a few pints of beer”. He imagined Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, but they weren't available, so it was Horn, Molloy and Cardle 'doing' Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, with additional vocals form Holmes and Chase, Hinton on piano, and the string section.
Horn announced the next track, saying, “If I go up to Manchester, I'll be lynched.” Yes, it was a version of “Blue Monday”, all driving strings and techno rhythms, with Jimmie Wood growling through the vocal (after missing a cue).
There was a false start for “I'm Not in Love” as Crème's keyboard didn't work, but once they had re-started, this was a familiar performance for a song long in their set.
Horn having teased that the band would play an excerpt from “Gates of Delirium” next, it was of course time for “Owner”. Horn had a jacket brought out that he claimed he hadn't worn since being in Yes, and he explained that, as he'd written a verse of the song, he had the right to sing it! In the past, Chris Braide or Cardle has sung “Owner”, but I believe Horn first sung it himself at the band's private gig in July. He was fine on the song, but he was better on his own Buggles material. Clark then Palmer took the solo.
Back for a third Frankie Goes to Hollywood song and Molloy prowled all over the stage during an energetic performance of “Relax”. Horn then explained that there were too many of them to leave the stage and come back for an encore, so we would have to pretend that had happened. The night then ended with “Money for Nothing”, another high energy performance, Palmer enjoying playing the classic riff.
Merchandise was just T-shirts and mugs. The show was being filmed, with multiple cameras, although I don't know for what purpose.
Go back a bit... The Producers played covers, the group picking songs they like, like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, as well as from their own careers. They soon began writing their own material (released as Made in Basing Street), but perhaps that element of covering songs they liked never went away and now sees fruition of its own, because a new album Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties sees Horn interpret a set of songs, more of which he didn't work on than he did (nine to three). The album is released February 2019; the debut single “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, is out digitally; and we have this sold out show at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall (capacity 916).
The set was a mix of the standard Trevor Horn Band (and Producers before that) repertoire and new album material, heavy on the string arrangements, with a bit of the Dire Straits Legacy set at the end (I believe four of the band members were off for a Dire Straits Legacy date in Finland the next day).
The band:
Backline from stage right to left:
Alan Clark: Hammond, keys
Steve Ferrone: drums
Cameron Gower Poole: samples, percussion
8-piece string section (which I think was with Q Strings, Paloma Deike, Jess Cox, Amy Stanford, Laura Stanford, Miriam Wakeling)
Frontline from stage right to left:
Kate Holmes: vocals
Izzy Chase: vocals
Phil Palmer: lead guitar
Lol Crème: guitar, vocals, keys, bass
Trevor Horn: bass, vocals
Simon Bloor: lead guitar, keys
Julian Hinton: keys, conductor
Front of house sound: Tim Weidner
Organisation: Joel Peters
Set:
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” intro, string section only
“Two Tribes”, Ryan Molloy lead vocals
“Video Killed the Radio Star”with “Check It Out” insert, Horn lead vocals
“Dancing in the Dark”, Kate Holmes lead vocals
“Different for Girls”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Ashes to Ashes”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Rubber Bullets”, Lol Crème lead vocals, no strings
“All the Things She Said”, Izzy Chase/Holmes lead vocals, Crème second bass, no strings
“Slave to the Rhythm”, Chase/Matt Cardle lead vocals
“The Power of Love”, Cardle lead vocals
“Living in the Plastic Age”, Horn lead vocals
“What's Love Got to Do With It?”, Molloy lead vocals
“Take on Me”, Horn/Molloy/Cardle lead vocals
“Cry”, Molloy lead vocals, no strings
“Blue Monday”, Jimmie Wood lead vocals, harmonica
“Brothers in Arms”, Horn lead vocals, Mick MacNeil accordion
“Girls on Film”, Chase/Holmes lead vocals
“I'm Not in Love”, Cardle lead vocals, Crème keys
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, Molloy lead vocals
“Owner of a Lonely Heart”, Horn lead vocals, Crème bass, Cardle additional backing vocals
“Relax”, Molloy lead vocals
“Money for Nothing”, Molloy lead vocals, Wood harmonica
Perhaps under-rehearsed in places, as Horn acknowledged at one point, it was an eclectic set, with a range of singers, some more dominant in their temporary role as front man – like Hogarth gesticulating through “Ashes to Ashes” or Molloy bouncing all over the stage – while others, like Chase and Holmes, were more restrained. Those different styles, of the original songs and of the performers, meant there were different highs and lows for different people in the audience. Chatting afterwards, opinions varied on Molloy, songs were recognised or not.
For me, highlights were a heartfelt “The Power of Love”, Hogarth channelling Bowie for “Ashes to Ashes”, a weird “Blue Monday”, and a rousing “Relax”. On the other hand, “Brothers in Arms” were the strings-based, ballad arrangement failed for me, and “Take on Me” was a nice idea, but hard to pull off (and with some technical problems with feedback at the start). I've heard them tighter as Producers, with 5 rather than 18-20 on stage. At times, Clark and Poole had little to do; at others, it was Crème who seemed not to be doing much strumming his guitar. But Horn likes playing live in a big group. It was an audacious set list. They covered all of the new album, with the live integration of strings and rock band, often challenging, largely going well. And they re-arranged some of the older Trevor Horn Band material too.
The string section were excellent throughout. The surprise vocal star for me was Holmes, great in both lead and backing roles. Palmer is always solid on the guitar. I miss Ash Soan on drums, however, with Ferrone too aggressive in his playing in places.
To go through the evening in more detail... Support came in the form of a 6-song set by singer-songwriter Nathan Ball, accompanied by a second guitarist. Ball explained how he had gotten the call asking him to play only the night before. All a bit samey for me, with “Just Say Something” the best number.
After an intriguing opening string arrangement, the headliners kicked off with a Trevor Horn Band favourite in “Two Tribes”. It took a few songs to get the mix right, at least where I was sitting to the edge of the auditorium. Molloy's vocals were nearly inaudible at first. It also took a few songs for the band to settle,with a somewhat stilted “Video Killed the Radio Star” following.
The first full piece from the new album was “Dancing in the Dark”, which exemplifies the album's approach. The song has been re-arranged as a ballad, mainly performed on strings and bass guitar, with a gender swap for the lead vocals. Then into a second and third album track with Marillion's Steve Hogarth doing “Different for Girls”. He'd done this before at the band's July show and, while Hogarth is an engaging performer, the arrangement does little for me. But the show really took off for Hogarth's second song, “Ashes to Ashes” (done by Seal on the album).
 |
| Horn introducing a song |
Leaving the eighties and without the string section were “Rubber Bullets” and “All the Things She Said”, two Trevor Horn Band standards, both polished, with good vocals from Holmes and Chase.
“Slave to the Rhythm” is also a Trevor Horn Band regular. Horn explained that they had tried the new album version in rehearsals (it's sung by Rumer on the album), but that it didn't completely work live, so they came up with a mix of the new and usual arrangements. In practice, this meant a strings-heavy first half sung by Chase, seguing into the usual funky version, but with vocals shared between Chase and Matt Cardle.
Former X-Factor winner Cardle sings regularly with the Trevor Horn Band. One of the highlights of the show for me was his “The Power of Love”. This was a new arrangement compared to past shows, using the string section, presumably matching the new album's version. Next up we got a solid performance of “Plastic Age”, again with added strings. Molloy was back for “What's Love Got to Do With It?”. He wasn't always as strong a frontman as Cardle or Hogarth, and I felt his performance too theatrical here. Writing that, it seems an odd thing to say given how Tina Turner does the original, but Molloy had better songs in the evening.
Horn introduced the next number, explaining how it “seemed like a good idea after a couple of joints and a few pints of beer”. He imagined Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, but they weren't available, so it was Horn, Molloy and Cardle 'doing' Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, with additional vocals form Holmes and Chase, Hinton on piano, and the string section.
Horn announced the next track, saying, “If I go up to Manchester, I'll be lynched.” Yes, it was a version of “Blue Monday”, all driving strings and techno rhythms, with Jimmie Wood growling through the vocal (after missing a cue).
There was a false start for “I'm Not in Love” as Crème's keyboard didn't work, but once they had re-started, this was a familiar performance for a song long in their set.
Horn having teased that the band would play an excerpt from “Gates of Delirium” next, it was of course time for “Owner”. Horn had a jacket brought out that he claimed he hadn't worn since being in Yes, and he explained that, as he'd written a verse of the song, he had the right to sing it! In the past, Chris Braide or Cardle has sung “Owner”, but I believe Horn first sung it himself at the band's private gig in July. He was fine on the song, but he was better on his own Buggles material. Clark then Palmer took the solo.
Back for a third Frankie Goes to Hollywood song and Molloy prowled all over the stage during an energetic performance of “Relax”. Horn then explained that there were too many of them to leave the stage and come back for an encore, so we would have to pretend that had happened. The night then ended with “Money for Nothing”, another high energy performance, Palmer enjoying playing the classic riff.
 |
| From L-R: Cardle, Holmes, ?, Chase, Clark, Palmer, Ferrone, Horn, Crème, Wood, Molloy, Gower Poole, Bloor, string section with Hinton behind |
Merchandise was just T-shirts and mugs. The show was being filmed, with multiple cameras, although I don't know for what purpose.
Thursday, 1 November 2018
REV: Steve Howe, The Albany, Deptford, 31 Oct 2018
On a cold Hallowe'en, Steve Howe performed his only solo show of 2018. He had given freely of his time to help raise funds for the Ed Renshaw Music Award, set up in memory of guitarist Edward Renshaw, who died in 2011. The charity is supported by Peter Conway Management, who manage Howe's solo career. They support a number of young musicians each year, financially, through mentoring and other support.
The Albany is a lovely venue in Deptford. The audience was around 120-150 in size. Most of the front row were familiar Yes fans (hi everyone): I don't know how many of the rest of the audience were there for Howe or to support the An Evening for Ed series.
The first set consisted of three award winners, all singer-songwriters, each playing three songs. The first, and most impressive, was Jay Johnson, who won the award two years ago and has gone on to bigger things. He performed "Bliss", "Vanity" and "The Void" (the latter two are on his EP The Dark Matters). His was a lively performance with intriguing lyrics. Also impressive was Sasha Thomas, one of this year's four winners. Finally, after two performers on acoustic guitar, we had Jack Patchett on electric guitar, another of this year's winners.
After an interval was the main event. Howe was in good spirits, chatting between pieces. He began on the Martin MC38 Steve Howe edition guitar, playing "In the Course of the Day", "Bareback", Chet Atkins' "Trambone", "Masquerade", excerpt from "Provence", and "Cactus Boogie". He then switched to Spanish guitar for the 2nd movement of Vivaldi's lute concerto in D and "The Little Galliard".
Next up was "Leaves of Green", which he also sang, but only after a long introduction in which he, lightheartedly, noted how Yes only did one concept album, yet a member, not named, criticised it while going on to do eight concept albums of his own. He also talked about how much he loved London and the UK, where Yes did all their music until they "scarpered to LA" in the eighties.
Next came "Classical Gas", which he wished he'd written himself. This was followed by "Corkscrew"; Howe mentioned he first wrote this back in 1970, although it was only first released on 1991's Turbulence. He then started talking about his second album with Yes, carefully noting this was Yes's fourth album, they having done two before he joined, "which I love very, very much," he said, particularly Time and a Word. He then moved on to talk about how they each had a solo piece on Fragile, which led to an impromptu performance of "5% for Nothing" and snippets of "The Fish" and "We Have Heaven", and even an attempt to sing "Cans & Brahms". But of course this was all a prelude to "Mood for a Day".
Back to the Martin acoustic, he played "Solitaire" after an intro talking about Fly from Here with a shout-out for Trevor Horn. Next came "To be Over", a piece that Yes haven't played for many years, as Howe subsequently explained. But they will "change some of that next year", so that sounds like confirmation of Relayer in the set, except he then continued "maybe not that song but" something else that's not been played in a long time. So does that mean not Relayer next year, or rather some but not all of it?
Howe then talked about tragedy, alluding to the death of his son Virgil, but also about others who had suffered loss, like Geoff Downes, who lost a daughter, and the mother of Ed Renshaw. He then played "Second Initial", written for Virgil.
The set finished with "Clap".
An encore consisted of an abbreviated "Roundabout", Howe also singing, and then, for me the highlight of the evening, a fiery performance of "Sketches in the Sun". Howe thanked Ric French, doing FOH sound, and it was off to the train and the tube to gawp at people's fancy dress costumes.
The Albany is a lovely venue in Deptford. The audience was around 120-150 in size. Most of the front row were familiar Yes fans (hi everyone): I don't know how many of the rest of the audience were there for Howe or to support the An Evening for Ed series.
The first set consisted of three award winners, all singer-songwriters, each playing three songs. The first, and most impressive, was Jay Johnson, who won the award two years ago and has gone on to bigger things. He performed "Bliss", "Vanity" and "The Void" (the latter two are on his EP The Dark Matters). His was a lively performance with intriguing lyrics. Also impressive was Sasha Thomas, one of this year's four winners. Finally, after two performers on acoustic guitar, we had Jack Patchett on electric guitar, another of this year's winners.
After an interval was the main event. Howe was in good spirits, chatting between pieces. He began on the Martin MC38 Steve Howe edition guitar, playing "In the Course of the Day", "Bareback", Chet Atkins' "Trambone", "Masquerade", excerpt from "Provence", and "Cactus Boogie". He then switched to Spanish guitar for the 2nd movement of Vivaldi's lute concerto in D and "The Little Galliard".
Next up was "Leaves of Green", which he also sang, but only after a long introduction in which he, lightheartedly, noted how Yes only did one concept album, yet a member, not named, criticised it while going on to do eight concept albums of his own. He also talked about how much he loved London and the UK, where Yes did all their music until they "scarpered to LA" in the eighties.
Next came "Classical Gas", which he wished he'd written himself. This was followed by "Corkscrew"; Howe mentioned he first wrote this back in 1970, although it was only first released on 1991's Turbulence. He then started talking about his second album with Yes, carefully noting this was Yes's fourth album, they having done two before he joined, "which I love very, very much," he said, particularly Time and a Word. He then moved on to talk about how they each had a solo piece on Fragile, which led to an impromptu performance of "5% for Nothing" and snippets of "The Fish" and "We Have Heaven", and even an attempt to sing "Cans & Brahms". But of course this was all a prelude to "Mood for a Day".
Back to the Martin acoustic, he played "Solitaire" after an intro talking about Fly from Here with a shout-out for Trevor Horn. Next came "To be Over", a piece that Yes haven't played for many years, as Howe subsequently explained. But they will "change some of that next year", so that sounds like confirmation of Relayer in the set, except he then continued "maybe not that song but" something else that's not been played in a long time. So does that mean not Relayer next year, or rather some but not all of it?
An encore consisted of an abbreviated "Roundabout", Howe also singing, and then, for me the highlight of the evening, a fiery performance of "Sketches in the Sun". Howe thanked Ric French, doing FOH sound, and it was off to the train and the tube to gawp at people's fancy dress costumes.
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