BEEHIVE CANDY

Having vivid, exciting, and first hand memories of the punk revolution, that was the mid 1970's, I remain surprised that the expression 'progressive rock' remains, as a use-able tag. I suppose one of the saving graces of 'prog rock' from those heady late sixties and early seventies days, was the fact many of the performers were very capable musicians. From a very English perspective, I never really thought of Focus as 'prog rockers' , after all they were from Holland ! Those quirky alto flute riffs, accordion presence, 'different' guitar and drum solos, whistling, nonsensical vocals, falsetto singing, and yodeling, were a by product of being Dutch. Focus remain to this day, and appear comfortable with the 'prog rock' tag, however I would venture to say, that however much my collection of old 'prog albums' grows, I cannot say for certain they belong there. Rock they are, different they are, Dutch they remain, but their old music, h

This is The Bangles live a couple of years before they hit the big time, with 'Manic Monday'. Having morphed from The Bangs (for legal reasons), the band was part of the so called 'Paisley Underground' scene in LA, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punk/ garage band undertone. This is the band performing in Valencia, which a quick google suggests, is a pretty up market and wealthy location, sorry I do not know the specific venue. In actual fact the band played two shows on this date, and I am pleased to have both of them to share, hence some songs appear twice, however they are very much to individual performances. This is The Bangles - Valencia, CA, USA on the 27th May 1983. Set lists are as follows: Early Show: Mary Street Hazy shade of winter I'm in line Where were you when I needed you Restless Live Dover Beach The Real world All about you Tell me Want you How i

I am not a number !! - I am a free man !! - welcome to number six of 'Whats Up Doc' (fans of the sixties TV series The Prisoner, will know what I am on about). The Drive By Truckers new album 'Brighter Than Creation's Dark' , is the top choice for both of the UK's leading music monthlies, Uncut and Mojo Magazine, for their album reviews, in the March 2008 publications. Not surprising, this is one incredible album. Based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of five members (Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood, and Shonna Tucker) originally hail from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, this is 'southern rock / Alt Country' at it's finest, I cannot recommend this album enough! From the album check out: Links Removed - MP3 Policy. Drive By Truckers - Self Destructive Zones (07).mp3 Here is a live version (unofficial) recorded in Athens, Georgia a month ago, of another track on the new album. Drive By Truckers - 3 Dimes Down (Live Version - 12th Jan 08).mp

Something tells me, we need a little more current music, and from an act, to young to remember the last couple or so of postings, first time around. Yep 'old timers' we need to take our 'recent tablets'. The Dresden Dolls are a musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts USA. Formed in 2001, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (vocals, piano, harmonica, ukelele) and Brian Viglione (drums, percussion, guitar, vocals). This is the important bit! The two describe their style as 'Brechtian punk cabaret' , a phrase invented by Amanda Palmer because she was terrified that the press would invent a name that would involve the word Gothic . Now any band that includes punk and cabaret along with another word that means nothing to me, as describers of their music gains my attention. Seriously they are very good. Having enjoyed their music for a couple of years, I was delighted to receive the following concert from their recent series of live dates in the USA. Along with their

I was still a little to young to appreciate what Jimi Hendrix was all about at the time. I guess by the time I started to really appreciate rock & blues music, Jimi was already a casualty. My clearest recollection of Jimi Hendrix was seeing him performing live on Lulu's BBC Saturday night show 'A happening For Lulu' on January 4th 1969. Fittingly this bootleg is from a performance just nine days later in Germany. On the day Jimi attended an autograph session at Studio Du Monde Book & Record Shop. Part of the event was filmed and later featured as part of the German television program Beat Club. In the evening The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed two shows with support 'Eire Apparent' at Studio Dumont in Cologne, Germany. This then is one of those shows from the 13th January 1969. It is a very good quality soundboard recording . The set list is: 01- Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) 02- Foxey Lady 03- Red House 04- Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 05- Fire

Joni Mitchell first played Club 47 in Cambridge, MA (USA), in December 1966, she returned for a second time in late April 1967. While she was playing one night during November 1967 at 'The Gaslight South', a club in Florida, David Crosby walked in and was immediately struck by her ability and her appeal as an artist. He took her back to Los Angeles, where he set about introducing her and her music to his friends. David convinced a record company to agree to let Joni record a solo acoustic album without all the folk-rock overdubs that were in vogue at the time, and his clout earned him a producer's credit in March 1968, when Reprise records released her debut album, Song to a Seagull . It is therefore likely that Joni Mitchell's third appearance at Club 47, a three night set of performances, from the 8th to 10th January 1968, were just prior to the recording of her debut album. It is really something then, to have a good quality recording of an artist with th

Ahead of the 1976 release of the very popular album 'Fly Like An Eagle' Steve Miller spent a reasonable part of 1975 touring. Having gone to Knebworth Park in England, in the summer of 1975, along with 100,000 other fairly typical 'raving and drooling' Pink Floyd fans, I was absolutely 'blown over' by the final band of the day prior to Pink Floyd, namely the Steve Miller Band . This was my introduction to Steve Miller, and I have been after live material from that year, or tour ever since. I have a recording of the Pink Floyd element of Knebworth 75, however the audio is very 'low tech' and I wonder if this particular festival is designated for the memories of those fortunate enough to have attended only. Therefore I am delighted to have obtained a copy of Steve Miller live, from earlier in 1975 and in superb quality. I am not sure if this is a 'King Biscuit' FM broadcast, whatever it is an excellent recording. This then is The Steve M

Is the glass half full or half empty? Lets go for half full on this occasion. Sometimes broadcasters only cover or transmit part of a concert, and I am guessing (having as a Sparks fan, tried to check this one out) this is what occurred here. Contractual obligation, a lack of appreciation on the part of the producer or presenter, other more 'current favorable artists', and of course available 'air-time' in the 'pre-digital' age, may have resulted in Sparks being cut down to just a thirty minute broadcast on this occasion - who knows? If I had a pound, a dollar (US or any other) or a Euro, for every artists song that has 'lifted' some of Sparks unique style and creativity, I reckon I would be doing very well financially. There are more complete Sparks bootlegs out there, this one stands by the audio quality, and the actual performance on the day. 1994 saw the brothers Mael return with the release of 'Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins', in turn

Goldfrapp have a new CD album release ( Seventh Tree ) due out here in the UK on the 25th February 2008. I am an unashamed and somewhat 'gushing' fan of Goldfrapp. No doubt (and based on the last three albums) I will buy the deluxe CD/DVD version of the album for my collection, regardless of the freebie mp3 versions that arrive. Every album they have released, contains a healthy amount of 'new direction' whilst retaining the very essence of Goldfrapp, which is a unique style that skips across genres and keeps music cretins (sorry critics) on their feet. From the fourth coming album here is the initial 'single' release: Goldfrapp - A & E.mp3 Back in 2004 Goldfrapp played Glastonbury, and thankfully a reasonable part of their show was recorded for broadcast, on either MTV or the BBC who were both present at that years event. This is one continuous segment of the performance (except for the first song which opened the show and is edited on). The performan