Discover Weekly #11

Yes – it’s back. The series that almost broke the blog. It’s been standing in the corner for a long time, reflecting on its behaviour.

It’s been allowed out to play again under strict conditions – chiefly that it won’t be operating under the strict conditions that it had previously.

Rather than fixing itself on a specific number, and hence track, in the Discover Weekly playlist, it will now just focus on anything that’s been in one of those playlists that I was previously unaware of, and that I’ve been enjoying listening to. And it won’t be weekly.

And so we go to a track that popped up a few months ago that was completely new to me and that I’ve played quite a few times now. It’s only 6 years old.

Sweet Baboo is Stephen Black, described by Discogs as a “Multi talented singer/songwriter from Wales”. He’s been releasing albums since 2008, with the most recent release being this year. This one is from 2017’s Wild Imagination. Going to Discogs again, the album is described as slotting in to the folk, world and country genres.

This is why I dislike the use of genres. The above track, for me, doesn’t fit any of those. I’m not entirely sure what I’d describe it as – it just moves along in an inoffensive, but interesting way. I’d sooner just click on the track and listen to it, than be potentially dissuaded from doing so due to supposed preconceptions as to what a genre may entail. So I’m not going to try to describe it, other than to say that I like it and you might too. Click on it – you can always stop if you don’t like it.

With this track, I was sufficiently impressed to visit the bandcamp page – https://sweetbaboo.bandcamp.com/

I downloaded the above track and added it to my iTunes library and fully intended to go back and listen to some further tracks. Which of course I haven’t done. (Hangs head in shame).

And there we are – that was more enjoyable to write than the last couple of DWs. I do want to look at another Cassette Album, but unfortunately, I can’t locate the cassette in question for its photoshoot (something I feel is important – you need to see the cassette that has been neglected for so long so that it can have its moment in the sun again). Next up will most likely be another Unsung Song.

By the way – is it just me or did this song cross your mind when looking at Stephen Black’s band name?

TGG

July 16, 2023

Seen ’em Live #6

It’s taken me almost two weeks to get round to writing this. Stuff happening. We went to see an artist that may not be to everyone’s liking. So to save your ploughing through I’ll tell you that we went to see…

Peter Gabriel.

Still with us? Then read on…

There has been plenty written about this tour already by people far more talented at this sort of thing than I am, so I’m not planning to do a massive in-depth review. And as I mentioned, it’s been some days now.

Despite the fact that his work with Genesis pre-dates me being properly interested in music, since hearing Solsbury Hill, which was a hit when I was 11 years old, I’ve always had a quiet admiration for PG. The fact that his first 4 solo albums were all called Peter Gabriel indicated to me that this was a guy who didn’t necessarily want to conform. I also found his song, Biko, particularly moving as a 14 year old, hearing it for the first time as it was released, just at the stage when I was becoming aware of world politics.

This current tour, the i/o Tour, is his first for 9 years. We’d never seen him live before and both Mrs TGG and I felt that was something we should rectify. His new album, i/o, is to be released later in 2023 and he is releasing a song at each full moon throughout the year. At the time of the concert at the Manchester Arena, 6 tracks had been released. Given that he plays (I think) 11 new songs as part of the 22 song set, some pre-show listening meant that we were at least familiar with some of them.

The show featured a number of animations and short films to accompany the music with PG keen to give thanks to their creators and giving a shout out to any that were in the audience that evening. He does come across as very humble and is continually thanking the band. Thanks are also directed to a seeming cast of thousands including the catering and driving staff for the tour.

We left feeling we’d really enjoyed the show. At 73 and with a lengthy back catalogue, playing so much new material can only be applauded in my book. He did please the retro crowd to some extent, with 5 songs from the mega-selling So album, including a superb vocalist to do the Kate Bush bits of Don’t Give Up. But there was no room for Games Without Frontiers or Shock The Monkey. He rounded off the encore with Biko, with a picture of the South African activist on screen behind him, the song dedicated to those fighting oppression all over the world, including Ukraine, Myanmar and Palestine.

My favourite new tracks have all been released already. If you’ve not heard any of them yet, now’s your chance.

Our next live music is a month away at the two-day retro-fest that is Rewind North. Not an event where we would expect many surprises, but as I’ve written previously, it’s local and so we invariably see a lot of folks that we know there. This year, two bands we’ve seen a lot are playing – Squeeze and China Crisis. I think they’re on the same day so I have a t-shirt dilemma!

I’ll try and get one or two other pieces written before then. I’ll try….

TGG

July 6, 2023