June Music Selection - 2009

I still read several of the UK music press publications every month, and have built up a personal list of music sites, that have reliably led me to discover highly enjoyable new music on a regular basis.

Along with that, one of the perks of running this music website, is the material from promoters, agencies, and bands themselves, that come this way.

I select new music to share on a simple criteria, either I like it (another perk), it complements the live material, or finally, it adds to the diversity of music on Beehive Candy.

There's a selection of all of the above in this months recommendations, nicely mixed up, see what you think.

Camera Obscura. OK this is easy, I love the very excellent Scottish band Camera Obscura, and am a little late in encouraging some more interest in their latest album (released back in April).

The new album 'My Maudlin Career' is their fourth and continues to present some wonderful indie pop songs, crafted in a very definitive and warm style.

Listen:



MP3: My Maudlin Career
Web Link: MySpace.
Buy: Camera Obscura


David Mead has a unique sound, that draws comparisons with Paul Simon or Harry Nilsson, not a bad couple of reference points. His calm atmospheric sound is just fine to unwind to. He has a new album out on Cheap Lullaby Records in August, this is from it.

Listen:



MP3: Last Train Home.
Web Link: My Space.
Buy: New Album HERE. MP3's selection David Mead


Donny Hue and the Colors, Have a new album coming out on June 23rd (Letter From New Virginia - Kora Records), and ahead of this they have been releasing some free 'b sides' from the recordings.

They describe themselves as a mixture of experimental & country. The song 'Steps' reminds me of Syd Barrett & early Pink Floyd, whilst 'Oh Lord', is someplace else all together.

'Recorded in an old barn in the middle of Luray, VA, Letter from New Virginia paints a majestic landscape of harmonica laced hoe down folk. Once again, the Colors came from all over the eastern seaboard and west coast to put together the follow up to 2007’s Donny Hue and the Colors debut Folkmote. Burleigh Seaver (former member of OK GO) brought in his recording gear and captured all of the harmonies of the album at once with mixing and mastering done back in DC'.

Listen:

Steps.


Oh Lord.


MP3: Steps. Oh Lord.
Web Link: My Space. Official Site HERE.
Buy: Donny Hue and The Colors


Fanfarlo from London, England, are totally new to me, and am I glad that a promo for them came my way!

They initially reminded me in part of Arcade Fire, and also Beirut, in a very positive way, that said they have a unique sound of their own, a real mixture of alternative pop & modern folk music. Please check them out.

Listen:

Pilot


Finish Line


MP3: Pilot. Finish Line.
Web Link: My Space. Official site HERE.
Buy: New Album HERE. Some mp3's at Amazon.co.ukFanfarlo


Josh Ottum is from Seattle, Washington, USA, home of so many fine bands and artists, along with the very excellent KEXP.

Upbeat and refreshing music is how I would describe this. I know very little about Josh, the music can be likened to anything from Sufjan Stevens to Steely Dan, its worth a listen to, that's for sure.

Listen:



MP3: The Easy Way Out.
Web Link: My Space.
Buy: Josh Ottum


School of Seven Bells are rightly in my humble opinion getting broader recognition, for their superb music. Their mixture of dream pop, shoegaze and Indie electronic music is just oh so good.

Often referred to just as SVIIB, they are a three-piece band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, together with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza.

Listen:



MP3: Half Asleep.
Web Link: My Space HERE.
Buy: School Of Seven Bells

Well that's it for this round up, I do hope you get to enjoy some of these, and as always support the artist's where you can.

Candi Staton - Glastonbury 2008

With Glastonbury 2009 soon to be upon us (oh! how this 'post' will soon be out of date), this is a quick glance back to Glastonbury 2008 courtesy of Candi Staton.

The BBC tend to cover artist across the various festival stages, albeit in most cases not the whole sets, often just one or two numbers, thankfully with Candi Staton they covered some great numbers in her performance.

Born Canzetta Maria Staton in Hanceville, Alabama, USA, it was great to watch her performance last year (on TV in my case), and wonder once again, where three decades slipped by since I first came across her music.

Source: BBC TV and radio coverage.

Sound Quality: Very good quality stereo audio @192kbps mp3.

Genre: R&B, Soul, Disco.

Set: Part of her set (BBC broadcast material as listed below).

Set List:

1. Young Hearts Run Free
2. Nights on Broadway
3. Suspicious Minds
4. In the Ghetto
5. Old Man Sweet Heart
6. You Got the Love

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments: This is from Candi Staton's performance on the first night of Glastonbury 2008 (Friday 27th June 2008), recorded live on the Jazz World Stage, a good number of fans have fed back that this performance really kicked things off that night in this arena.

'Young Hearts Run Free' remains to this day, one of my favorite songs, from way back in 1976.

Considering that here in the UK the whole punk backlash thing was kicking off that year, this song remains a reminder that some great popular music was still around at that time.

As this edited selection of songs from her 2008 performance demonstrates, Candi Staton has still got the spark and creativity some thirty something years on.

Download link in comments below and by clicking on the picture above.

Purchase: MP3's (DRM free) through Amazon.co.uk - Candi Staton

Shania Twain - Live In London 2003.

This is Shania Twain live in London back in 2003.

This performance was at the famous Abbey Road studios in London, in front of a thoroughly enthusiastic audience.

Abbey Road studios were in part made famous both because of The Beatles album and the Fab Four crossing the road outside, thankfully this often copied picture was not taken up by Shania Twain.

Perhaps of more interest is the size of the premises for live performances, clearly there were a good number of fans present for this event.

Recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio Two, as part of their 'In Concert' series, the performance was on the 26th July 2003.

Source: FM radio broadcast (BBC Radio Two).

Sound Quality: Very good quality stereo @192kbps mp3.

Genre: Country - Rock - Pop.

Set: Full set.

Set List:

1. Intro
2. I Feel Like A Woman
3. Up !
4. For Ever & For Always
5. Ka-Ching
6. Don’t Be Stupid
7. That Don’t Impress Me Much
8. Thank You Baby
9. When You Kiss Me
10. I’m Gonna Get You Good
11.That’s It
12.Still The One
13. Rock This Country
14. Nah!

Links: Official site HERE. Informative Wikipedia HERE.

Comments: This is a feisty performance, Shania Twain is accompanied by some excellent musicians.

As far as I know this was a one off show ahead of the Up! Tour which started a couple of months later in her home country at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Her MySpace site states:

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on August 28, 1965, the second oldest of five siblings. She was raised in Timmins, Ontario, about 500 miles due north of Toronto, where her adoptive father, an Ojibway Indian named Jerry Twain, and mother, Sharon, had both been raised. It was a proud but, at times, impoverished existence. They struggled to keep enough food in the cupboards, but there was always an abundance of music and love in the household.

Twain often grabbed a guitar and retreated to the solitude of her bedroom singing and writing until her fingers ached. "I grew up listening to Waylon, Willie, Dolly, Tammy, all of them," she recalls. "But we also listened to the Mamas and the Papas, The Carpenters, The Supremes and Stevie Wonder. The many different styles of music I was exposed to as a child not only influenced my vocal style, but even more so, my writing style."

It is interesting having read this just how much of these influences do indeed come out, even in this live performance.

Download link in comments below and by clicking on the picture above.

Purchase: MP3's (DRM free) through Amazon.co.uk - Shania Twain

The Bangles - Live In New York 1986

This is the second live concert by The Bangles featured here on Beehive Candy.

I was surprised just how popular the 1983 concert has been in terms of downloads, this however is from the band around their most popular period, with Manic Monday, and Walk Like An Egyptian becoming major hits for the band both sides of the Atlantic.

This gig took place in New York, USA, during 1986, sorry I do not have venue or date details.

Source: FM radio broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good quality stereo @192kbps mp3.

Genre: Rock to pop - all girl group.

Set: Just over 57 minutes so possible radio edit, however this amounts to sixteen songs.

Set List:

01 - Let It Go (2:47)
02 - Restless (2:48)
03 - Walking Down Your Street (3:21)
04 - James (3:24)
05 - He's Got A Secret (3:30)
06 - September Girls (2:54)
07 - If She Knew What She Wants (4:26)
08 - Return Post (5:07)
09 - In A Different Light (2:34)
10 - Going Down To Liverpool (3:56)
11 - Live (2:45)
12 - Angels Don't Fall In Love (2:59)
13 - Hero Takes A Fall (4:18)
14 - Manic Monday (3:45)
15 - Walk Like An Egyptian (3:39)
16 - Dover Beach (4:55)

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments: It's great to see The Bangles touring in 2009, albeit limited to gigs in the USA at present.

I have always been a fan of all girl groups, especially rock orientated, they just seem to bring a spark and freshness to the music, and challenge the sometimes worryingly male dominated music scene.

The Bangles worked very hard in the 1980's, toured far to much, and never took their success for granted, it's great that after a fairly ugly break up, they reformed and seem to have learnt the lesson regarding being on the road for to long.

Download link in comments below and by clicking on the picture above.

Purchase: MP3's (DRM free) through Amazon.co.uk - The Bangles

Jackson Browne - Jabberwocky Club 1971

This is Jackson Browne live in concert a year before he released his debut solo album.

Prior to this Jackson Browne had already written songs for, (and recorded by) Nico, The Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, and The Eagles (with whom he later co-wrote 'Desperado' and 'Doolin' Dalton').

Tracing the roots of Jackson Browne's career leads back to the mid 1960's and Los Angeles and Orange County folk clubs.

Born in Germany to American parents, Jackson's family returned to Los Angeles when he was three. Except for a brief period in NYC in the late 1960's, when he was an integral presence in the coffeehouse scene there, he has always lived in Southern California.

This then is Jackson Browne solo and playing guitar and piano, live at the Jabberwocky Club (a small, 200 seat nightclub), at Syracuse University, New York, USA, back on the 27th, March, 1971.

This is the first known recorded live show of Jackson Browne.

Source: The source is from a first generation master, soundboard recording.

Sound Quality: The sound quality is very good to excellent, very clear and clean, in all very good stereo @192kbps mp3.

Genre: Rock, Folk, Country.

Set: Full concert recording.

Set List:
01 Introduction
02 Under The Falling Star
03 World To Gain ***
04 Together Again ***
05 Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood
06 Last Time I Was Home ***
07 Jesus In 3/4 Time
08 My Opening Farewell
09 From Silverlake
10 Rock Me On The Water
11 Jamaica Say You Will

12 Together Again ***
13 Take It Underground ***
14 When You Lose Your Money ***
15 Our Lady Of The Well
16 These Days
17 Someday Morning
18 Shadow Dream Song
19 Song For Adam
20 Looking Into You

*** Songs that Jackson Browne never recorded for any album.

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments: This recording may not be exclusive to this site, however it remains quite rare, especially considering this versions quality.

His debut album, came out a year later on David Geffen's Asylum Records in 1972. Rolling Stone wrote in its original review that, 'Jackson Browne's sensibility is romantic in the best sense of the term: his songs are capable of generating a highly charged, compelling atmosphere throughout, and - just as important - of sustaining that pitch in the listener's mind long after they've ended'.

Material performed on this recording later appeared on his first two albums, some of the songs were never formally released.

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

Purchase: MP3's (DRM free) through Amazon.co.uk - Jackson Browne