Music of 2014

Another year-end, another year-end list. 2014 has been a busy year for me, music-wise, and producing a 'best-of' selection has once again proved to be a challenge, due mainly to the quality of the music out there.

According to my iTunes library I've got around 160 albums with a 2014 release date, and sorting out the cream from the crowd has been quite the head-scratcher, as there have been so many offerings that deserve a mention. I could've managed to whittle things down to at least 60 stand-out albums, but in the end I decided to be ruthless, and draw up a Top 30. Over the course of writing this post the order and content has changed, and I'm sure I will leave some excellent material 'on the cutting room floor'.

Before I get to the main list, though, here's my thoughts in my 'other' categories, as I look back on this magical musical year.

Gigs of the Year
3= Rick Wakeman: Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Sheffield City Hall
3= Peter Gabriel: Back to Front - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
2   Yes: 3 Album Tour - Sheffield City Hall
1   Lazuli/ Moon Safari - Sound Control, Manchester

Live Album of the Year
After much deliberation, a tie between
  Sanguine Hum - Live in America
  Moon Safari - Live in Mexico

Discoveries of the Year
Charlotte Church's EP 'Four' (and the previous 3) - the one-time choirgirl and enfante terrible can do Prog!
A Formal Horse - eponymous debut EP is a revelation. Ones to watch in the coming years
Cheeto's Magazine - Boiling Fowls is just brilliant, bonkers prog: and they're giving it away!

Non-Prog Albums of the Year
Black Vines - The Return of the Splendid B*stards. Earthy, bluesy, mucky rock from Barnsley, and great live!
And a trio of jazz albums that have really entertained:
  Go Go Penguin - v2.0 (Mercury Prize nominee)
  Bill Laurance - Flint A beautifully atmospheric offering from the Snarky Puppy keyboardist
  Snarky Puppy - We Like It Here Energetic, inventive, live-recorded fusion that simply leaves me gob-smacked! (See below!)

Disappointments of the Year
Three albums that I was expecting more of and which failed to impress:
Anathema - Distant Satellites: seems to lack the spark of Weather Systems and We're Here Because We're Here
Asia - Gravitas: the departure of Steve Howe seems to have lost what little progressive edge they had left
Yes - Heaven & Earth: enough has been said on this album. The live shows of old material seemed to work, but not this. Perhaps it's time to stop?

So, to my Top 30:
30. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything
29. Fractal Mirror - A Garden of Ghosts 
28. A Secret River - Colours of Solitude 
27. John Bassett - Unearth
26. Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope
25. Knifeworld - The Unravelling
24. Decameron - Decameron: Ten Days in Ten Novellas - volume 2
23. Druckfarben - Second Sound
22. Rosenkreutz - Back to the Stars
21. Steve Rothery - The Ghosts of Pripyat

20. Heliopolis - City of the Sun
19. Resistor - To The Stars
18. Simon Godfrey - Homeland
17. Pink Floyd - The Endless River
16. Opeth - Pale Communion
15. Kaipa - Sattyg
14. Howard Sinclair - The Light Broke In
13. Jeff Green - Elder Creek
12. Tony Patterson & Brendan Eyre - Northlands
11. Cosmograf - Capacitor

10. Bjorn Riis - Lullabies in a Car Crash. The Airbag guitarist gave us a great guitar-driven collection, again demonstrating his strong Gilmour influences.
 9. Tin Spirits - Scorch. Carrying on from the wonderful 'Wired to Earth', this longer collection of pop-tinged prog is a delight.
 8. The Enid - First Light. A couple of new songs, and some fantastic reworkings of some of the band's classic repertoire showcasing the wonderful voice of Joe Payne.
 7. IQ - The Road of Bones. A return to form for the neo-prog stalwarts, full of the songmanship and musicianship one expects from this band.
 6. The Gift - Land of Shadows. 2014 was an excellent year for all the artists on the outstanding Bad Elephant Music label, but this collection stands out for its breadth, sweep and lyricism.
 5. Dave Kerzner - New World. A December release, but already a classic. This debut solo release from the former Sound of Contact keyboardist channels the classic sounds of Genesis and Pink Floyd to wonderful effect.
 4. Lazuli - Tant Que L'herbe Est Grasse. A band with a unique sound, boundless energy and a great stage presence, they have produced another stunning set of songs. Not being able to understand them doesn't stop me loving these guys!
 3. Snarky Puppy - We Like It Here. A jaw-dropping collection of big-band jazz fusion, showcasing world-class musicianship with a love for life and total abandonment to the moment. All the songs performed and recorded live, and available on DVD to fully expand the experience!
 2. Abel Ganz - Abel Ganz.This Scottish four-piece don't produce albums very often, but when they do: WOW! The 'Obsolescence' suite and 'Unconditional' stand out, but there's nothing weak in this collection at all!

 1. Andy Tillison Multiplex - Electric Sinfonia No. 2. Noted for his work with The Tangent and Parallel or 90 Degrees, Andy has returned to solo working and has produced a simply awe-inspiring masterpiece of proggy jazz fusion. Listening to this work it is difficult sometimes to recognise and appreciate that this is the work of only one musician, and that every note and sound is created on keyboards. A stand-out piece in a stand-out year!

Thus we wrap up 2014. 2015 promises, among others, new material from The Tangent, Steven Wilson & Big Big Train, and the long-awaited live shows from BBT. Should be another great one!

What a weekend!

Over the last few years I've managed to get to a lot more gigs than I have in the past 20, due in equal measure to having a little more disposable income due to children growing up and becoming independent, and the resurgence of my preferred genre of Progressive music. So far this year I've managed to catch Clive Nolan; Camel; various bands including Focus, The Enid, The Flower Kings, Panic Room & Fish at HRH Prog; Genesis tribute band Mama; Yes; Rick Wakeman; Andy Tillison; Jeff Green & The Watch. Some good, some excellent, some outstanding.

But this last weekend was an overdose of awesome! It began with a trip over the Pennines (something which, as a Yorkshireman, I try to avoid if possible) for my first visit to Manchester for the double-header of Sweden's Moon Safari & Lazuli, from France. Both were bands with whom I was somewhat familiar, but that familiarity didn't fully prepare me for the delight of their live show.

Moon Safari opened in the somewhat cramped surroundings of 'Sound Control' - so cramped in fact that neither of the bands could fit all their equipment & personnel on the stage. Their music is generally a joyous celebration of life, full of lyrical beauty, musical dexterity and stunning 3-, 4-, 5- and even 6-part harmonies. The set included live standards such as 'A Kid Called Panic', 'Heartland' and the epic 'Lover's End Part 3 - Skellefteå Serenade', a 25-minute paean to their hometown in northern Sweden, alongside the a capella charm of 'Constant Bloom'. A beautiful, energetic and emotionally-charged performance, which thrilled the 70-odd of us who had made the show.

Moon Safari

Lazuli

They were followed by Lazuli, a band I find difficult to describe other than as unique and mind-blowing. Led by the charismatic Dominique Leonetti (guitars & vocals) with his brother Claude on Léode, a purpose-built one-handed kind-of guitar/ synthesiser which gives the band their unique sound, and the powerhouse of Gédéric Byar (guitar), Romain Thorel (keys & french horn) & Vincent Barnavol (drums & marimba), they produced a wall of thumping, North African inspired, francophone rock that left the room breathless yet wanting more. For their encore they gave us their '9 hands round a marimba', a wonderful piece of timing and musical dexterity, which for a time morphed into 'Solsbury Hill'.

Which links in to the final part of the weekend, which was Peter Gabriel's 'Back to the Front' concert at the Sheffield Arena. A 2½ hour aural and visual treat, with material from his early works (including a storming rendition of the aforementioned 'Solsbury Hill', and an absolutely stunning version of 'Family Snapshot', probably my all-time favourite of his), some newer material, including what he described as a 'work in progress', and as a climax to the show a full reworking of his 1986 album 'So'. Ably supported by the original 'So' touring band, Tony Levin (bass), David Rhodes (guitars), David Sancious (keys) & Manu Katche (drums) and vocals backed up by Jennie Abrahamson & Linnea Olsson, who also acted as support act, this was a musical tour-de-force which left the crowd longing for more, yet ready to go following a heart-rending finale of 'Biko'.

An amazing weekend, demonstrating that inventive, entertaining music is still alive. Long may it continue!

The light show for 'Red Rain'

Howard Sinclair - The Light Broke In

One of the things that I love about social media is that it puts me in touch with new people and new music. I've lost count of the albums that have been recommended to me by folk that I only know through groups of Facebook, and I've been delighted to make new acquaintances and friends through these channels.

One such new friend is Howard Sinclair who has, coincidentally, just released a new CD of original music which I took a chance on and bought. And I must say that it is quite a little gem of an album!

"The Light Broke In" is a collection of 10 songs written by Howard or in collaboration with Wednesday S, which are together a wonderful way to spend 45 minutes of your time. Mainly guitar-driven, this is an album of light and shade, sometimes folky, sometimes bluesy, and thoroughly entertaining! And the cover art, by Mark Wilkinson, is quite stunning!

It opens with 'Autocorrect', a jaunty, jangly folk tune which explores the ways in which people and things try to interfere with your life when you don't want them to, and don't when perhaps you do, and features the robotic tones of Kim Seviour at the start and end of the song. 'My Drunken Guitar' begins with slightly stuttering, stumbling guitar picking (in keeping with the title), and has a certain melancholy despite being quite up-beat musically, building to a surprising and splendid electric guitar solo towards the end. 'Last Out of the Valleys' is a song about spreading your wings, exploring new horizons and leaving the disappointments of the past behind you, and has a delightful bluesy feel to it. 'Bid The Dark So Long' opens a capella, in a brooding kind of way that reminded me of Tracy Chapman's 'Behind The Wall'. This is a surprising little song in that the melody of the verses doesn't quite go where you expect it to, though the chorus has more of a conventional feel to it. 'Let It All Go' is another up-beat song to end the first half of the disc, with the added delight of a mandolin solo (or more of a duet with the guitar).

The second half kicks off with the hauntingly beautiful 'Bedsheets and Bad Luck', a cut-down song of simply Howard on piano and a little cello, and Kim Seviour on vocals, delving into the depths of insomnia, guilt and possibly the contemplation of suicide (?). As a counter to this, the title track follows with its up-beat tale of a woman's life transformed by the light of love - a touching piece of work. 'Lazy Sunday Morning' is a wonderful slice of lazy blues - certainly more bluesy that 'Last Out of the Valleys' - with screaming organ and wailing guitars. 'See You on the Brightside' is a dark, moody song about coping with depression. It has a Johnny Cash kind of feel to me, a blackness like the dog itself, enhanced by the droning double bass in the background. The album closer lifts the mood again: 'What Comes Next'  puts its travelling hat on and presses on to a new beginning with confidence and a smile.

Howard is supported throughout not only by Kim, but also by a talented bunch of musicians: Becky Baldwin on basses, Paul 'Gibbo' Gibbons on drums & percussion, Patrick 'Patch' Sanders on guitars, Jonathan Edwards on keyboards & Si Wright on trumpets & backing vocals.

These are songs of change and transition, covering a range of emotions and situations, light and dark. I have to say that, for me, it gets better with every listen. Give it a listen yourself here - I believe you won't be disappointed.

Methodist Stationing - some reflections (part 2)

In my earlier post on this topic I outlined the journey and the procedures I had followed leading up to the first meeting of the Methodist Church's Stationing Matching Group. That group has now completed its first meeting, over the course of 4 days, and I can say that the results for me and for the churches I currently serve were mixed.

As I stated previously, SMG met from 3rd to 6th November to consider 'matches' for 112 ministers and around 150 appointments. The way they do this is a little complex but is felt to be fair by those involved, and the general feeling is that the whole process is immersed in prayer from start to finish. At around 5:00 p.m. on 6th November I received a phone call from my Chair of District to inform me that a match had been made; that it was with one of the appointments 'on my list' - one that I had identified as being of interest to me; and I was invited to visit the Kendal Circuit with a view to becoming their Superintendent minister.

I have to say that my first response was one of delight, then a certain amount of trepidation. Superintendency is a huge responsibility in the Methodist Church, and although it is something I've considered for a while now, the prospect still makes me a little nervous (maybe that's a good thing). The following morning the Circuit Steward from Kendal phoned to arrange a visit, which was to take place a week later. In the meantime I checked out websites for the churches, the circuit and the District, and was sent details of the itinerary for the visit, and of the manse in which we would be living.

Meanwhile the appointment I will be leaving had discovered that, unfortunately, they had been unsuccessful in the first stationing round - not through any fault of their own, but simply because by the time they were 'called' all the available ministers had been matched. This caused a small amount of despondency in some, but there is still a good chance that a match will be made in the second round at the beginning of December. We continue to pray that the right person for this appointment is found, and hope that SMG will deal equitably with those appointments like ours which remained unmatched after round 1.

So, the day of the visit arrived. We drove up from Sheffield and met the Circiut Stewards in a lay-by just off Junction 36 on the M6 for them to drive us to the manse, where we met with them and the circuit staff for a chat before having a tour of the house. We then drove to the larger of the two churches I would have charge of, Stricklandgate, where we met with members of the local invitation committee over lunch. It was great to see that one of that committee was the local Rural Dean, an indication of the strength of local ecumenical cooperation in Cumbria. After lunch we met with members from the church for a conversation (not an interview) which was wide-ranging and challengeing but which felt in no way intimidating (to me at least). In fact my overwhelming feeling afterwards was one of feeling 'at home' and 'comfortable' with the people there. We then set off to walk through the town to visit the other church in my (potential) charge, a small mission chapel known either as Fellside Methodist Church or The Job Pennington Memorial Chapel. Again, we felt at home here. Finally we drove out to one of the outlying villages in the Circuit, Levens, to meet another member of the Invitation Committee, before heading home after a long, tiring but positive day.

The whole day of the visit was very well organised, and it gave me and Jude space and time to take in just what the appointment would mean for us (albeit in outline). It was a very positive experience, and as we drove home we were very quickly of a mind as to how we would respond should an invitation be issued. We had been told that the Invitation Committee were to meet the following day at 4:00 p.m. At 4:30 my phone rang with an invitation to take up the post of Superintendent of the Kendal Circuit, an invitation I was delighted to accept.

To be honest, I can't wait! (And bookings for B&B are being taken!)

The Lamb - 40 years on

On 18th November 1974 Genesis released an album that was to be a turning-point in the life and history of the band - The Lamb Lies Down of Broadway. The band's first double album, it fits into the often uncomfortable and much-maligned category of 'concept album', having running through it the narrative of the story of Rael, a Pueto Rican street punk from New York city.

Genesis were no strangers to story in their songs: their repertoire up to this point had been strewn with tales of wolves (White Mountain); nymphs & demi-gods (The Fountain of Salmacis); futuristic genetic engineering (Get 'em Out by Friday); and London gang warfare (The Battle of Epping Forest) to name just a few. Indeed, one of the strengths of their music is its narrative style. This, though, was the first time that they had committed themselves to tell a story over the length of an entire album.

This was a bold decision by the band, particularly in the aftermath of relative commercial success with their previous collection 'Selling England by the Pound', which had spawned their first - albeit minor - hit single "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". But what emerged was a musical and theatrical tour-de-force which would remain a firm favourite with fans over the decades which followed.

The story is essentially one of the search for identity and for meaning in life. Rael's journey through the strange underworld, into which he mysteriously disappears, is one which explores matters of religion, psychology & sexuality as possible keys to understanding our nature and purpose. To help us hold the narrative frame in mind, Peter Gabriel provides us with a short story in the sleeve notes which more prosaically relates Rael's adventures than the lyrics of the songs. I remember first encountering this tale as a 15 year-old and being both baffled and captivated by it.

But this is not just a story: it is a rock album, a collection of songs & tunes. Have they stood the test of time over the passing 40 years? Well, many of them featured in the band's live set for a number of years after the release of the album, and Steve Hackett has included a number of the songs in his recent 'Genesis Revisited shows to great acclaim. Others too are taking this music and making it live for today: the late Jeff Buckley and, more recently, Tin Spirits have covered 'Back in NYC', and I had the great pleasure of attending the Italian band The Watch's performance of the entire album (except for The Waiting Room) at Maltby last month, which was really excellent.

Sadly there seems to be little if any chance of the 'classic' line-up of Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett & Rutherford reforming to play this material live again, but 'The Lamb' will stand for many years to come as one of the classic albums of the early Progressive Rock era, a defining statement of a derided but now resurgent musical genre.

I said at the start that this album was a turning-point for the band. It was the last album that Peter Gabriel would make with them, and though it would be a truism to say that from this point Genesis were never the same again, it might be said that they were never as good again either. The band still continued to tell stories, but never, to my mind, with the same air of experiment and adventure as they had up to and including 'The Lamb'. Perhaps as a parting shot, this was Gabriel's best way to say 'goodbye'.