Beehive Recommends - Pixie Carnation

I have a lot of respect for Seattle's excellent radio station KEXP and so any artist who achieves 'song of the day' recognition is for me, worthy of a listen at the very least.

The fact that the promotion that dropped in my inbox a couple of days a go also mentioned the band are from Sweden was an added bonus !

Pixie Carnation are the band and I think they are pretty special. To quote KEXP a little further ...you don’t get any indication that the band is from anywhere but the U.S. as the vocal stylings come through entirely American in a way that even some U.S. bands somehow don’t seem to be able to achieve. Simply structured yet toe-tappingly catchy, “When Did The Lights Go Out” is the kind of rock song that gets its vocal melody stuck inside of your brain but you’re okay with it." -Brian Connolly, (song selected by Morning Show host John Richards), KEXP.org. Their debut EP 'Fresh Poems' is available now.

Listen:
'When Did The Lights Go Out'



Website: MySpace.
Buy: HERE.

There promo states quite accurately 'The product of two years of musical experimentation has culminated in what is now Pixie Carnation, a Swedish based, and yet very American sounding band. From the time that childhood friends Ola Pålsson and Tobias Hellkvist reconnected a few years ago there was an instant artistic connection, and it was only a matter of time before their sound and the band’s lineup became what it is today.

Despite it taking about a year and a half for Pålsson and Hellkvist to find like-minded musicians, Pixie Carnation has now evolved into a seven-member band and made their first recording, Fresh Poems EP.

A classic rock influenced, Americana infused, musical tapestry with orchestral elements, Fresh Poems is already resounding in the ears of American music aficionados, as evidenced by their song “When the Lights Go Out” being named KEXP’s song a the day on November 2nd. Drawing comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, KEXP proclaims that when the music begins, “Immediately you start to think that maybe The Boss has entered the room.”

And as Pixie Carnation’s music reaches the ears of North America this Swedish rock group is bound to find welcome listeners and loyal fans'.

Lyle Lovett - Live In London,1992

This is Lyle Lovett performing at one of my favorite music venues from the days when it was still known as the Hammersmith Odeon (West London).

This is predominately from a BBC Radio 2 FM broadcast back on June 12th 1992, however some additional tracks came with this collection and are included.

While typically associated with the country genre, Lyle Lovett's compositions often incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country material. This concert really does demonstrate these diverse styles as he performs along side some excellent singers and musicians.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Country, Alt Country.

Set: Full broadcast set & extras.

Set List:

01 She's No Lady
02 Church
03 She's Leaving Me Because She Really Wants To
04 You've Been So Good Up To Now
05 All My Love Is Gone
06 North Dakota
07 Flyswatter/Ice Water Blues
08 Since The Last Time
09 L.A. County
10 What Do You Do/Glory Of Love
11 Cowboy Man
12 She's Hot To Go

Woburn Abbey, England June 20th 1992 (FM Broadcast)
13 She's Already Made Up Her Mind
14 If I Had A Boat

Live On Tom Jones' - "The Right Time" (TV Nicam Stereo)
15 Flying Shoes

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Lyle Lovett has just released a new studio album called 'Natural Forces' on Lost Highway Records. As regards this boot recording the actual mp3's are tagged Paul Masson Winery for some unapparent reason. Sound quality is exceptional, as is the performance.

Download link in comments below or click on the picture.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Lyle Lovett

Curved Air - Live At The BBC - 1975 & 76.

This is Curved Air recorded live for BBC Radio One. Both performances were recorded at the Paris Theatre in London.

The 1975 session was recorded on the 31st January and the BBC transcription disc also includes a version of 'Stark Naked' however that track is missing from this boot collection, it does feature in the second live session.

The second live performance was recorded on the 21st February 1976. Some of the second sessions tracks were also included on an officially released album 'Live At The BBC', however the boot edition was lifted from one of the transcription discs which were circulated in three differing versions.

Source: Soundboard - BBC transcription discs.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Prog Rock, Folk Rock.

Set: Two BBC concert Sessions

Set List:

1. Marie Antoinette
2. The Fool
3. Midnight Wire
4. Women On A One Night Stand

5. Stark Naked
6. Women On A One Night Stand
7. Young Mother
8. Kids To Blame
9. Hot and Bothered
10. The Fool

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Curved Air evolved out of the band Sisyphus and was named after the piece "A Rainbow in Curved Air" by contemporary composer Terry Riley.

The musicians came from quite different artistic backgrounds, classic, folk, and electronic sound, which resulted in a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Along with High Tide, It's A Beautiful Day and East of Eden, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands to feature a violin.

The officially released 'Live At The BBC' album is not widely circulated and used versions are changing hands for £50 ($60 US) plus on Amazon.

Reloaded - 29/May/2015 - download link in comments. 

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Curved Air

Gong - Great American Music Hall, 2000

Currently touring in Europe with the original line up, Gong continue to amaze audiences with their musical tales of Pot Head Pixies, Gnomes, Zero The Hero and more.

Going back to the beginning of the 'noughties' decade and Gong were continuing to tour worldwide on a regular basis.

This recording is from the 9th September 2000 at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California.

This is a full concert and features quite a lot of material from the 1970's era of the band. Gongs latest album '2032' was released in September this year.

Source: Soundboard

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps

Genre: Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, space rock, jazz fusion.

Set: Full set.

Set List:

01. Planet Gong intro - Zeroid
02. Radio Gnome Invisible
03. Yoni on Mars
04. Bodilingus
05. Zero The Hero and the Witch's Spell -Witch's Song/I'm your Pussy
06. Magdalene
07. Infinitea - Mad Monk
08. You Can't Kill Me
09. Flute Salad
10. Oily Way
11. Outer Temple
12. Inner Temple
13. Get It Inner
14. Master Builder
15. Tropical Fish
16. The Invisible Temple
17. Selene

Band Line Up:

Daevid Allen - guitars and vocals
Gilli Smyth - vocals and space whispers
Mike Howlett - bass
Theo Travis - sax and flute
Chris Taylor - drums
Gwyo ZePix - Keyboards, Synths

Links: Official Site HERE.

Comments:

After spending most of the Eighties in his native Australia, Daevid Allen returned to the UK in 1988 with a new project, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, whose revolving cast included the likes of Harry Williamson, violinist Graham Clark and Didier Malherbe. This morphed into GongMaison and by 1992, the name Gong was again in use, by which time early drummer Pip Pyle had also rejoined. The band released the album Shapeshifter (subsequently dubbed Radio Gnome part 4), followed by extensive touring. In 1994, Gong celebrated its 25th birthday in London, including a performance by most of the 'classic' line-up, including the returning Gilli Smyth and Mike Howlett. This formed the basic of the "Classic Gong" band which toured worldwide from 1996 to 2001 and released Zero to Infinity in 2000 (by Allen, Smyth, Howlett and Malherbe plus new recruits Theo Travis and Chris Taylor).

Download links (three) in comments below (track four replacement link in separate comment).

Buy: MP3's at Amazon.co.uk - Gong