Beehive Recommends - Julian Shah-Tayler

Julian Shah-Tayler is a solo artist who writes, produces and performs his own music. His EP - "Un Ange Passe" (dedicated to the memory of Christine Shroy-Hull) is released on 1st January, 2010. His debut album, “Coito Ergo Sum” is due for release spring 2010 on Impossible Thing Records.

Julian has played guitar in 'Whitey' co writing the smash hit “Wrap It Up” which has been featured in Whip It, GTA 4, Sopranos, Kyle XY and CSI Miami. He has also played keys & sang with Siobhan Fahey (Shakespear’s Sister), and played keyboards & sang on Joaquin Phoenix’s solo album among others!

Having listened to a number of his his songs, I reckon he could well break through in 2010, which would be deserved as his song writing and performance is quite stunning. The melodies and variety of styles he uses along with first class production have really gained my attention.

Listen:
'Communication'



Websites: MySpace
Buy: Impossible Thing Records

The debut solo EP “Un Ange Passe” in tribute to Christine Shroy-Hull who left us on the 6th September 2009 and features on the cover.

It will be released on iTunes , all download sites and special edition CD mail order via Impossible Things Records on 1st January 2010

Anyone that buys the special edition EP CD from the Impossible Things Records website will also get a new recording for them by Julian. It might be a specially recorded song, a live favourite, a version of a song from the EP or something else, but available to no-one else in the world (unless they upload it themselves.. Ask for something specific, but be careful what you wish for!!

Some reviews so far:

“Wetter is Massive, It will make (Julian) a star” – Alan McGee (Oasis/Primal Scream/My Bloody Valentine)

“Very Impressed” – David J (Bauhaus/Love and Rockets)

“This guy has massive talent” – Boom Boom Chik

“An infectious solo release..steps away from acclaimed success” – Mojophenia

Shirley Bassey - Electric Proms 2009

This is Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, performing live with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Electric Proms, Roundhouse London, England on the 23rd October 2009.

One of the aims of Beehive Candy has been to provide variety and diversity in musical styles and genres. This has ensured that those who contribute tend to listen to music they might otherwise just pass by. Shirley Bassey is a superb live performer and this concert both reminds us of some of her wonderful hits across decades and that really good artists can appeal to audiences across different generations.

It was announced in July 2009 that Shirley Bassey was recording a new album, with David Arnold as producer. By September 2009 artists who had written songs for the album included Manic Street Preachers, Gary Barlow, KT Tunstall, Pet Shop Boys, Kaiser Chiefs, John Barry and Don Black. The 11-track album, entitled The Performance, was released on the 9th November 2009.

Shirley Bassey headlined at the BBC Electric Proms in her only full live set of 2009.

Source: FM Radio Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@256kbps.

Genre: Popular Music.

Set: Full Set.

Set List:

01 - Introduction by Paul O'Grady
02 - Diamonds Are Forever
03 - I'm Still Here
04 - Talking With Audience
05 - Apartment
06 - Never Never Never
07 - Kiss Me Honey Honey
08 - Almost There
09 - After The Rain
10 - What Now My Love
11 - Big Spender
12 - Talking With Audience
13 - The Lady Is A Tramp
14 - Talking With Audience
15 - Performance
16 - As Long As He Needs Me
17 - Something
18 - Light My Fire
19 - Talking With Audience
20 - The Girl From Tiger Bay
21 - I Am What I Am
22 - Talking With Audience
23 - Goldfinger

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Quoting from the BBC electric Proms website: "BBC Electric Proms was proud to present a true British legend. Dame Shirley Bassey graced the Roundhouse stage with a unique performance celebrating 50 years at the top of show business. Dame Shirley was joined on stage by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Mike Dixon, performing some of her most famous tracks alongside new songs from her forthcoming album, 'The Performance'. The show will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2.

Britain's most successful female artist ever, Dame Shirley Bassey is rightly famous for her commanding renditions of classics Big Spender, Light My Fire and Something. Her Bond themes - Goldfinger, Moonraker and Diamonds Are Forever - are perhaps the finest in the series. This evergreen artist continues to influence a new generation of musicians. In 2007, at Glastonbury festival, Arctic Monkeys paid tribute to the Dame performing a version of Diamonds Are Forever. The same song was reworked by Kanye West for his hit Diamonds From Sierra Leone.

At the Roundhouse, Dame Shirley Bassey was joined by Tom Baxter, Richard Hawley and the Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield. Dame Shirley treated the Roundhouse to numbers from her much-loved songbook whilst premiering new work. Said the artist, "What I'm most looking forward to at the BBC Electric Proms is performing songs from my new album 'The Performance' for the first time - it really will be a special moment for me." It is worth noting that this was Dame Shirley Bassey's only live show this year. BBC Electric Proms is delighted that she chose to celebrate 50 years of song with this very special intimate concert".

Download links (two) in comments below.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Shirley Bassey

Aerosmith - The End Of The Summer Nights 1988

This is Aerosmith on the final night of their US 1988 tour. The gig took place at the Pacific Amphitheater, Costa Mesa, CA, USA back on the 15th September 1988.

The album 'Permanent Vacation' was released in September 1987, becoming a major hit and the band's bestselling album in over a decade (selling 5 million copies in the U.S.), with all three of its singles 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)', 'Rag Doll', and 'Angel' reaching the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The group went on a subsequent tour with label mates Guns N' Roses who have cited Aerosmith as a major influence. The tour was reportedly 'intense at times' because of Aerosmith's new struggle to stay clean, amidst Guns and Roses well publicized rampant drug use.

Source: Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Rock.

Set: Full Set.

Set List:

Disc 1
01 Rats In The Cellar
02 Same Old Song And Dance
03 Heart's Done Time
04 Let The Music Do The Talking
05 Permanent Vacation
06 Lord Of The Thighs
07 Rag Doll
08 My Fist Your Face

Disc 2
01 Come Together
02 Milk Cow Blues
03 Perry Solo
04 Draw The Line
05 Dream On
06 Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
07 Sweet Emotion
08 Mama Kin (with Axl Rose & Slash).

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Circulated as a double 'silver disc' CD, this was the final night of the tour and Axl Rose & Slash guesting on the final number. This version was rather fittingly entitled 'The End Of Summer Nights'.

Reloaded 21/June/2015 link in comments.

Beehive Recommends - City Light

Shamelessly copying and pasting from their MySpace site here's the background on another band to watch out for in 2010.

'City Light was started by Seattle singer songwriter Matt Shaw with long time friend and bay area producer Nick Andre, who's releases have featured Gift Of Gab, Lateef, Lyrics Born and more. As the project progressed they called upon musician and producer Denver Dalley from Desaparecidos, Statistics, and Intramural and Seattle singer songwriter Andy Fitts from Airport Cathedral and Aqueduct. Together the four of them worked to create one record from three corners of the country that mixed genres of indie-pop, rock , and hip hop. The end result is a dark and unique pop record full of catchy tunes, experimental electronica, and driving beats'.

The album 'Burned Out Bright' is due for release on the 26th January 2010, and having just listened through, this one is going on my personal play again list. You can also here more over on their MySpace site. More album release details in due course.

Listen:
'Someday Maybe'



Website: MySpace

Their PR adds 'Blending gritty, earnest vocals (ala Bright Eyes) with sunnier, subdued melodies and driving beats, City Light has struck the perfect balance between tradition and innovation. BURNED OUT BRIGHT is sure to please City Light’s existing fan-base, and will undoubtedly bring the group much deserved attention over the next year'.

“Expect hooks, melodies and reluctant angst of a highly enjoyable nature.” – Noise Pop

“…an album that will knock you on your ass.” --
Exoduster.com

Warren Zevon - Live in London 1988.

Time flys by and it's is already over six years since the passing of Warren Zevon. There has been some dispute over the source of this broadcast, Warren clearly mentions the venue as London and the BBC did indeed broadcast his London concert in 1988 however the song order slightly differs. As far as I can gather this is a rebroadcast of the London show by a Dutch radio station, who may have edited the original a little.

Leaving the detail aside this is an excellent concert from Warren Zevon accompanied by a superb band. The original performance was on the 25th January 1988 at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@256 & 320kbps.

Genre: Singer Songwriter, Rock.

Set: Edited Broadcast Set.

Set List:

1. Lawyers, Guns & Money
2. Detox Mansion
3. Boom Boom Mancini
4. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
5. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
6. Reconsider Me
7. Excitable Boy
8. Sentimental Hygiene
9. Accidentally Like A Martyr
10. Werewolves Of London
11. Play It All Night Long
12. Ain't That Pretty At All

Links: Official site HERE. Informative Wikipedia HERE.

Comments:

If you visit Warren Zevon's official site please consider signing the petition for his much overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. This particular concert has traded in the past as 'Ain't That Pretty At All'.

Download link in comments below or click on the picture.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Warren Zevon

Beehive Recommends - Patrick and Eugene

Now I like quirky and different, and mention the likes of the Bonzo's or Monty Python and my 'musical radar' tends to activate! Patrick and Eugene are yet another reason to keep an eye on whats new in the world of music, especially in these troubled times where record companies are inclined towards nicely packaged conformity or well controlled and marketable rebels.

The UK press has stated "Banjos, bongos and alarm clocks, '20s jazz and '60s pop and sampled insect noises, Patrick & Eugene's irrepressibly eccentric summer romp has got it all." - NME

"Whimsically English songs where Dixieland jazz intermingles with Afro-Cuban rhythms." - Q

The Patrick & Eugene sound is comprised of banjos, ukuleles and sunshine pop vocals combined with whistles, bells and bongos to produce unique but accessible music for post-modern vaudevillians, with nods to Monty Python, Derek & Clive and even Woody Allen. Try to imagine Noel Coward on stage with the Duke Ellington Band at the Monterey Pop Festival and you’re getting close.

The album’s title track is currently being featured in a year-long TV campaign by Payless Shoes, and has been heard over the end credits of ABC’s Weeds and in Grey’s Anatomy. The opening song “The Birds & The Bees” got enormous exposure via a very successful VW Rabbit TV advertising campaign a couple of years back and the YouTube comedy hit “To Do List.” Patrick & Eugene’s songs have also appeared in the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading and the Mr. Bean trailer.

Listen:
'A Dogs Tale'



Website: MySpace
Buy: Tummy Touch Records

Their PR adds: Patrick Dawes (who found fame playing percussion for Groove Armada and Richie Havens) & Eugene Bezodis (who is infamous for setting fire to Patrick when one of his on stage magic tricks went horribly wrong) are two talented originals. Combining stellar musical ability, devil-may-care delivery and an innate desire to entertain, the duo's recordings and live performances are delivered with a passionate amateurism that belies their virtuosic talents.

Highlights from the band’s previous releases Postcard From Summerisle, and Everything And Everyone include impious but infectious versions of Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love”, Simon & Grafunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song” and The Arctic Monkey’s “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.” Their imaginative reworking of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” is included on Altogether Now (Birds Bees Flowers Trees).

Their last album was picked by Paul Heaton (The Beautiful South & The Housemartins) as his choice for the months 'Buried Treasure' feature in Mojo magazine. He described it as the "wild and comic sound of inner-child music and movement” and admitted that this was The Beautiful South’s favourite album to take the stage to!

Altogether Now (Birds Bees Flowers Trees) is the U.S. debut release from the UK’s Patrick & Eugene. The album was produced by band member Patrick Dawes and it’s being released by the Tummy Touch Music Group, distributed by ADA/WEA.

Gods and Monsters - New York 1992

By 1988 Gary Lucas was making a name for himself in New York as a solo artist having left Captain Beefhearts Magic Band some years earlier.

Having written 'Grace' & 'Mojo Pin' with Jeff Buckley in 1991 Jeff began performing with Gary Lucas in his band Gods And Monsters.

As has been mentioned on the previous Jeff Buckley post, days after Gods and Monsters officially debuted in March 1992, Jeff Buckley decided to leave the band.

In October 2002 Gary Lucas released 'Songs To No One' an album of material from studio sessions, home tapes, and club performances over two years of collaboration between himself and Jeff Buckley.

The final track on that album 'Grace' was from a live performance at the Roulette Club in New York. This is the full set recorded live at Club Roulette, New York on the 5th April 1992.

Source: Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@256kbps.

Genre: Alternative Rock.

Set: Full Set.

Set List:

1. Dinks Song
2. Sweet Thing
3. Mojo Pin
4. Hymn To Love
5. Grace
6. Angelina

Links: Official Gary Lucas Site HERE. Jeff Buckley HERE.

Comments:

Gary Lucas remains a highly regarded guitarist and continues to tour with 'Gods and Monsters' playing what they describe as intense psychedelic rock avant rock and art rock.

Download link in comments below or click on the picture.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Jeff Buckley - Gary Lucas

Bruce Hornsby and The Range - New York 1986

This is Bruce Hornsby and The Range recorded from the Midnight show broadcast live by WNEW-FM, New York on the 2nd September 1986.

The band formed in 1984 and were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Bruce Hornsby's recording career started with the biggest hit he has had to date, entitled "The Way It Is". It topped the American music charts in 1986.

With a propulsive yet contemplative piano riff and the refrain, That's just the way it is / Some things will never change / That's just the way it is / But don't you believe them, the song was catchy and described aspects of the American Civil Rights movement and institutional racism.

The song also hit a nerve with the American public, reflecting dissatisfaction with perceived economic decline in the early-to-mid 1980s. In years to come, the song would be sampled by at least six rap artists, including Tupac Shakur, E-40, and Mase.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Contemporary Rock.

Set: Majority of Concert.

Set List:

01 Jacob's Ladder
02 The Way It Is
03 The Long Race
04 Mandolin Rain
05 Piano Solo
06 The Red Plains
07 I Know You Rider (small edit due to tape flip).
08 Every Little Kiss
09 The River Runs Low
10 Wild Frontier
11 Western Skyline
12 Till The Dreaming's Done
13 Down the Road Tonight (fade out, last couple minutes missing).

The Band:

Bruce Hornsby - keyboards, vocals
Peter Harris - guitar
George Marinelli - guitar
Joe Puerta - bass
John Molo - drums

Links: Official Site HERE.

Comments:

With the success of the single worldwide, the album The Way It Is went multi-platinum and produced another top five hit with "Mandolin Rain" (co-written, as many of Hornsby's early songs were, with his brother John Hornsby). "Every Little Kiss" also did respectably well. Other tracks on the album helped establish what some labeled the "Virginia sound", a mixture of rock, jazz, and bluegrass with an observational Southern feel. Bruce Hornsby and the Range would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987.

Bruce Hornsby and the Range's sound is somewhat distinctive. For one, Bruce Hornsby's consistent use of syncopation in his piano solos was different from other pianists during the 1980s. Bruce Hornsby used a brighter piano sound, which was typical for 1980's Pop Music. There is also extensive use of synthesizers used as background for Bruce Hornsby's solos, most notable on the tracks "The Show Goes On" and "The Road Not Taken". John Molo's drumbeats were often looped throughout the recorded versions of songs. They are typical double-time beats, which allowed Bruce Hornsby and the rest of the band to do more with their solos.

Download links (two) in comments below.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Bruce Hornsby and the Range

The Kinks - Live At The Rainbow 1977

This is The Kinks towards the end of their Sleepwalker Tour from 1977. The album Sleepwalker marked a return to straight-ahead, self-contained rock songs after several years of concept orientated albums.

It was the first album in what critics usually call the "arena rock" phase of the group, in which more commercial and mainstream production techniques would be employed. The line up of The Kinks would be trimmed downed significantly in 1977 following the album's release, as the brass section and backup singers were removed and the band returned to a standard rock band outfit. It is however notable in this gig that both brass and backup singers are very much in attendance. This is The Kinks live at The Rainbow Theatre, London on the 24th December 1977.

Source: Soundboard

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Rock, Pop.

Set: Majority of Concert

Set List:

01 Sleepwalker
02 Life on the Road
03 Waterloo Sunset
04 All Day And All Of The Night
05 Slum Kids
06 Celluloid Heroes
07 Get Back In Line
08 The Hard Way
09 Lola
10 Alcohol
11 Skin And Bone
12 You Really Got Me
13 Juke Box Music

Links: Official Ray Davies site HERE. Dave Davies HERE.

Comments:

This is a superb concert both in terms of sound quality and a very much 'on form' band with excellent supporting musicians and singers. The Rainbow Theatre was a live rock music venue in north London that opened in September 1971 with a concert by The Who, supported by Quiver and closed for the last time in January 1982. It was one of London's key venues to perform at during it's time with live albums from Bob Marley through to The Ramones being recorded and officially released.

Download link in comments below or click on the picture.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk The Kinks

Beehive Recommends - Kittens Ablaze

Having just listened to their current album 'The Monstrous Vanguard' I have to say Kittens Ablaze deserve all the praise and recognition they have received to date.

OK here's the setting. I have some sort of virus and am running a fever. I am feeling sorry for myself, and am not really in the mood for music. If I want to hear anything it needs to be gentle and soothing, however there is an album in my inbox & I feel obliged to give at least one song a listen. Half an hour later I am still feeling groggy but am aware that some kind of tornado has just ripped through the room thanks to a six-piece indie rock band with cello, violin, guitars, bass, piano, and drumming lead singer. The energy, passion and sheer pace of this band is something else.

So in a couple of days or so from now I am quietly confident this band will be blasting from my car speakers when upbeat & loud music is back on the menu!

Listen:
'Gloom Doom Buttercups'



Website: MySpace. Official.
Buy: (mp3's at amazon uk) Kittens Ablaze or CD's at Insound.


The band was formed in 2007 among six friends from diverse musical backgrounds, spanning classical, folk-punk, indie rock… and metal. The Kittens released their debut album, a five-track EP in the fall of 2007. With help from producer Nic Hard (The Bravery), the band self-released its full-length album, The Monstrous Vanguard, in early 2009. The album has propelled them to be an official showcasing artist at 2009 events such as SXSW, NXNE, CMJ, and L Magazine's Northside music festivals as well as selling out venues around New York and out on tour.

The band has received mention in Vice Magazine, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Paste Magazine, Oh My Rockness, Brooklyn Vegan, The Music Slut, Ear Farm, The New York Times (by Mick Jones of The Clash), and numerous other indie music magazines and blogs. They're known for their wild shows and tight sound and have been named Artist of the Month by both mtvU and The Deli Magazine, been on the cover of Starved Magazine, and, with their music video for “Strobelight,” they became one of a few unsigned bands to receive regular rotation on Vice’s internet TV channel, VBS.tv. The Kittens currently live in Brooklyn, New York.