Oli Brown: Songs From The Road

Songs From The Road

Oli Brown

Ruf Records

Track list

CD

Speechless
Thinking About Her
Manic Bloom
Next Girl
Mr Wilson
Love Is Taking Its Toll
Devil In Me
You Can Only Blame Yourself
Stone Cold

DVD

Speechless

Thinking About Her
Manic Bloom

Here I Am

Next Girl

Evil Soul

Mr Wilson
Love Is Taking Its Toll
Devil In Me
You Can Only Blame Yourself

I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know

Remedy

Stone Cold

Oli Brown is back! Of course, he has never really been away from the scene, as he has been touring constantly since the release of Here I Am just over a year ago. This new CD/DVD combination is a very welcome addition to his recorded output, capturing his high-powered rock blues on peak form.

As the title suggests, Songs From The Road (on ongoing series from Ruf; Savoy Brown released a similarly titled live album very recently) captures Oli live. The concert on the DVD was recorded at The Waterfront, Norwich and saw Oli return to his hometown. “I really wanted to record my live show in Norwich,” explained the bluesman, “as everyone there has been so good to me.”

Oli already has three fine albums under his belt - more than enough to put together a stunning live repertoire - and Songs From The Road even throws in some new material, such as Love Is Taking Its Toll. 

Speechless makes for an excellent, accessible opener. One of the highlights of 2010's great statement of intent Heads I Win, Tails You Lose, Speechless represents the archetypal Oli offering: catchy, flowing, simple enough to tap along to at first listening and with plenty of scope for great guitar breaks.

Songs from Here I Am enjoy the greater prominence here, but there is still room for a triumphant Stone Cold from Oli's debut album, Open Road (2008).

The three-piece band (Oli Brown, Scott Barnes on bass and Wayne Proctor on drums) is a really tight unit, forged in the heat of constant touring. They play with great confidence and a definite swagger, but never border on arrogance.

The DVD features four more songs than the CD. The filming is great, with a very intimate feel and plenty of close ups of Oli's excellent guitar technique in action. Running at just under 100 minutes, it makes for a fine evening of entertainment.

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Still only 24, Oli Brown keeps hitting new highs and a long and highly successful career looks to be a certainty.

Follow the news and tour dates over at the official Oli Brown website.

Dana Fuchs: Bliss Avenue

Bliss Avenue

Dana Fuchs

Ruf Records

Track List

Bliss Avenue
How Did Things Get This Way
Handful Too Many
Livin’ On Sunday
So Hard To Move
Daddy’s Little Girl
Rodents In The Attic
Baby Loves The Life
Nothin’ On My Mind
Keep On Walkin’
Vagabond Wind
Long Long Game

Dana Fuchs is another new artist to me. Right from the start, one thing is clear: she sings with such passion and feeling there is little doubt that the each and every song really means something. No punches are pulled at any stage during the 12 songs.  “If there’s one line that sounds thrown away or dialled in, it has to be redone,” says Dana. “Every word needs to express the emotion of the song or no one will get it and it leaves me cold.”

The emotion is understandable; the songs cover subjects such as her brother's death and the loneliness brought on by life on the road. “I’m excited for people, especially those fans who have stuck so close with me, to hear Bliss Avenue,” says Dana, “because I really purged my soul in a starker, more naked way, both lyrically and musically.''

All of the songs were written by Dana and guitarist Jon Diamond (with tracks 3 and 7 enlisting more collaborators). Musically, we find ourselves firmly in the blues genre - primarily the rock end of town - with roots and soul showing their hands at various times over the course of the album. There's even a touch of Gospel on Livin' On Sunday. There are several changes of pace, from up-tempo rockers such as How Did Things Get This Way to the slower offerings like So Hard To Move.

The theme running through the whole of Bliss Avenue is the pursuit of happiness despite adverse (even desperate) circumstances. Interestingly, the effect is to create an air of positivity rather than downbeat blues.

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Stand out tracks: Bliss Avenue, So Hard To Move, Rodents in the Attic, Vagabond Wind.

There's a very interesting interview with Dana about the making of Bliss Avenue here.

For further information, head for the official Dana Fuchs website.

CSC Teesside News Update

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The first of three Summer news updates is now available on the Teesside page of the Chess in Schools and Communities website.

Head here for further details.

The 5th London Chess Classic

The 5th London Chess Classic

                                      December 7-15 2013

An announcement from Malcolm Pein:

''I am delighted to announce that the 5th London Chess Classic will take place at Olympia from Saturday December 7th to Sunday December 15th. The 5th Classic will not feature top level Classical Chess, but it will be headlined by a world class Rapid tournament as well some celebrity contests if I can find some celebs that are brave enough.

The switch to Rapid is because Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen will doubtless be very tired so soon after the conclusion of their world title match at Chennai which is scheduled to end on November 26th.

The schools events will be expanded and the festival, with weekenders, FIDE Open, simultaneous displays and lectures will take place as usual.

The FIDE Open will probably act as a qualifier for the main event and there will be some Blindfold Chess and Chess 960 so it should be an all round chess extravaganza.

Tickets will go on sale in September after the field has been finalised. The venue will again be Olympia.

Please watch this site for more information including the festival entry form. Latest developments will be posted on Twitter via @londonclassic. Once again there’ll be a cutting edge live broadcast and I’m looking forward to welcoming you to the biggest Classic ever.

Malcolm Pein
Chief Executive
Chess in Schools and Communities''

Julia Fordham At The Arc

Julia Fordham

The Arc, Stockton-on-Tees

27.6.2013

Julia Fordham's UK tour has been selling out at most venues. The Arc, as usual, had their finger on the pulse and brought another quality act to Teesside.

The tour repertoire consists primarily of material from the new compilation album Under The Rainbow (essentially, all of the hits from the late 1980s onwards). Accompanied only by Grant Mitchell (not that one) on piano and augmented by a couple of duets with special guest Judith Owen, Julia treated us to a very intimate show, punctuated by friendly chats with the audience.

Revealing that her Mother is a Geordie, Julia was quickly steered away from extending the Newcastle boundaries southward by a plea to think of the audience as 'Smoggies'. It was to prove a recurring catchphrase throughout the evening.

The music had depth, the songs were moving and the voice assured and emotive. An impressive performance all round and another triumphant evening for The Arc.

Keep up to date with the latest news and tour dates over at the official Julia Fordham website.

Further Reading

My latest chess book reviews - featuring Chess Psychology: The Will To Win! by William Stewart (Everyamn Chess) and My Best Games of Chess 1908-1937 by Alexander Alekhine (Russell Enterprises) - can be found in the new issue of CHESS Magazine (July 2013).

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Head here for ordering details.

The Who

The Who

 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

20.6.2013

Roger Daltrey hinted at a Who tour when we saw him at The Sage in 2011. Two years later, it became a reality as the habitually underrated Quadrophenia was dusted off and presented as a complete body of work.

Vintage Trouble did a good job as the warm-up act. The lead singer ran through the audience to whip up the enthusiasm!

The Who appeared promptly at 8.30 p.m. and played non-stop until 10.40 p.m. Quadrophenia has long been in the considerable shadow of Tommy for decades. I think the tide may be finally turning.

The sound was excellent; the power incredible. Roger Daltrey's blood-curdling screams on the likes of Love, Reign O'er Me were all present and correct (despite his claim of suffering badly from hay fever) and Pete Townshend was on terrific form.

The were many highlights, but two stood out. During 5.15, John Entwistle appeared on the big screens and audio of his exemplary bass playing was married to the sound of the live band. The same impressive trick was pulled later on with Keith Moon singing his old trademark, Bell Boy.

The Who followed Quadrophenia with a selection of hits, namely: Who Are You, You Better You Bet, Pinball Wizard, Baba O'Riley, Won't Get Fooled Again and Tea and Theatre (featuring Roger and Pete performing a duet on an otherwise empty stage).

It was undoubtedly one of the best gigs I've ever seen. Hopefully there will eventually be a Blu-ray release of the tour.

Meanwhile, here's a few more photos from the excellent evening.