Audience bootlegs - Adelaide 16 November 2014, Brisbane 21 November 2014
The Badloves - Holy Roadside
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Alex Lloyd - Watching Angels Mend
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No.2
No Doubt - The Singles (1992-2003)
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks
Something for Kate - The Official Fiction
Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
I really don't have a lot to say about these, and I'm not going to force it. But I will say two things.
Firstly, Watching Angels Mend is a very nice little album that it was a pleasure to reacquaint myself with. It was Alex Lloyd's biggest commercial success. I'm minded to explore his other work. I have a feeling that his first album might have been the most daring, but it's worth confirming that rather than just relying on vague memories from the radio.
Secondly, The Official Fiction proved itself invaluable on an emotionally difficult day. I've spoken at least once before about the album's unique qualities, it's combination of intensity and brightness, and I was very grateful that I had added it to my iPhone before going on a journey during November. It once again showed why it needed to be in my music library.
Beethoven - Piano Trio No.3 (op.1/3)
Brahms - Cello Sonata No.1
Bridge
Summer
Phantasm
There is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook
Vignettes de Danse
Coronation March
Sir Roger de Coverley (A Christmas Dance) - orchestral version
Chopin
Introduction and Polonaise Brillante for piano and cello
Rondo in C, op.73
Variations in A, 'Souvenir de Paganini'
Polonaise in G flat
Nocturnes in E minor and C sharp minor (Lento con gran espressione)
Mazurkas in D, C (op.68/1) and F (op.68/3)
Waltzes in A flat, B minor (op.69/2), D flat (op.70/3), E, E flat and E minor
Debussy - 2 Dances for harp and orchestra
Dvorak - Nature, Life and Love (In Nature's Realm, Carnival and Othello overtures)
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Haydn - Symphonies 85 and 86
Holmboe - Concerto No.8, 'Sinfonia Concertante'
Holmboe - String Quartet No.1
Janacek - Violin Sonata
Mozart - String Quartet No.18
Schumann - Piano Trio No.3
Shostakovich - String Quartets 7 and 13
Sibelius - Pohjola's Daughter
Vivaldi - Beatus vir in C, 1720s version
I've left this commentary far too late and I didn't have a clear idea at the time of compiling this list as to what I might talk about.
So let's start off by going with the obvious attribute: quantity. The exploration of the young Chopin continued, with a focus on things that had no intention of making his name with. Most of these pieces were published after his death after being presented to friends or admirers. Only the Introduction and Polonaise Brillante has an opus number from Chopin's lifetime, and his own comment on it was "nothing to it but dazzle".
But the young Chopin certainly knew how to dazzle.
I also continued with my re-visitation of Bridge's orchestral works, and this CD (volume 3 in the Chandos series) was arguably the most attractive yet with its mix of large- and small-scale works. Summer is a fine work indeed, and I was already impressed with Phantasm the first time around.
The other thing that stands out here is Dvorak's trilogy of overtures, which I listened to a considerable number of times, both together and separately. The pieces were first performed together, and are clearly linked with one musical motif in particular recurring in all of the quite different pieces (as a main theme in the 1st and 3rd, and as key part of the central contrasting section in the 2nd). While the pieces are moderately popular as fillers on Dvorak programs and their quality is recognised, it's surprising how infrequently the pieces are kept together these days on CD or in concert. I'm therefore quite pleased that I found a box that had them together (performed by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic). The colour and variety in these works is a testament to Dvorak's skill as a composer.
Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel...
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Bat for Lashes - The Haunted Man
Blur - The Best of
Deborah Conway - Bitch Epic
Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
Nichole Nordeman - Woven & Spun
Something for Kate - Leave Your Soul to Science
Thrice - Major/Minor
Washington - Insomnia
Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
Apologies for the delay. Life was sufficiently interesting after the end of October for me to not get around to completing this post.
Which is a pity, because the music was rather interesting. There are no less than 3 new purchases on this list, although (as is typical for me), only one of those is a recent release, the others being from 2009 and 2011.
The first is Two Suns, which I had decided a while ago to purchase on the strength of iTunes clips. As The Haunted Man has come to impress me more and more, it seemed desirable to get to know Bat for Lashes' previous album as well. And it's pretty good. It's perhaps a little grander and more romantic in mood, and has a few more beat-driven songs, but it's recognisably from the same skilled musician who can create quite a lot from only a few elements.
The second is Major/Minor, which I picked up after listening to a few Thrice albums on Spotify and deciding it was worth picking up their last two (I've yet to purchase Beggars). I don't really feel that I've listened to this one enough yet to comment much on it, other than to observe that it is definitely louder and more aggressive than a lot of The Alchemy Index (my previous exposure to this band, and an album I've mysteriously failed to talk about much) but the songs seem well constructed.
The third is Thom Yorke's new album, which I found out about by complete accident via a classical music message board a few weeks after it quietly was released for download via bittorrent of all things. It didn't take me very long to become hooked on the freely available single,'A Brain in a Bottle', and after that it wasn't a difficult decision to purchase the album given how cheap it was... although the traditionalist/dinosaur in me would still dearly love to have a CD in my collection rather than just an image in iTunes to remind me from time to time that this exists.
The album's length (about 38 minutes), the fact that you're really not getting that many full songs and the weirdly experimental 'There Is No Ice (For My Drink)' might all have provided incentives for Yorke to drop the album cheaply and with minimal marketing, but buried in here are a couple of the most moving songs he's done. For me the most impressive is 'The Mother Lode', which somehow succeeds during the main vocal sections in evoking a bright, chirpy big band number from another era while consisting of little more than glitchy beats.
Having very recently listened to the last few pieces of Chopin solo piano music that I hadn't touched in recent years (I have the box set by Vladimir Ashkenazy), I went slightly Chopin-mad. Mostly, this was because I wanted to get a clearer idea in my head about the chronology of those works not published with opus numbers in Chopin's lifetime. There are a few publications from his youth, and also various works that were not published until after his death. It seems that in quite a few cases these were things he wrote out for friends and acquaintances as personal gifts.
So essentially, part of September became about listening to teenage Chopin, particularly on one weekend. It is actually quite astounding just how quickly Chopin developed into a first-class composer. It is true that most of the focus here is on sounding brilliant rather than being profound, but my goodness, it is brilliant. By the time he was 17 or 18, Chopin was already dazzling.
Beethoven seems to have taken a little longer to really get going. In August I listened to the earliest Beethoven now in my collection, the piano trio WoO 38, and to be honest it was a bit pedestrian. But in September, I reached the opus 1 piano trios. The improvement from the earlier piece is considerable.
Another highlight of this list would have to be my introduction to the Lemminkäinen Suite (well, to three-quarters of it as I'd previously heard The Swan of Tuonela. Up until recently I've known very little Sibelius beside the symphonies, but with my recent purchases I'm feeling that I just want to hear even more. I can well understand why his orchestral music tends to dominate recordings of his output, though, because right now I think he might just be the finest orchestrator of them all. The sense of colour and mood in these pieces is amazing.
Bat for Lashes - The Haunted Man
Beyonce - Beyonce
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
Toni Childs - Union
Toni Childs - House of Hope
Paula Cole - This Fire
Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club
Gotye - Making Mirrors
Moloko - I Am Not A Doctor
Radiohead
The Bends
Amnesiac
Hail to the Thief
Seal - Human Being
Sixpence None the Richer - This Beautiful Mess
Sons of Korah - Shelter
Washington - Insomnia
A couple of years ago, I wrote about Washington's debut album and expressed my disappointment. I also mentioned that I had bought Insomnia at the same time. And now I've finally listened to it.
That gives you some idea about just how long things can sit in the listening pile, if they're not my primary focus for some reason at the time of acquisition.
The silly thing is that I suspected, even then, that it would be better than I Believe You Liar, and yet that apparently didn't induce me to open up the CD and confirm that suspicion. Well, the suspicion is finally confirmed. Insomnia is considerably better because it showcases Washington's finest weapon - her voice - in a way that the first album never did. Double-tracked vocals and thickening of texture is now the exception, not the norm. The arrangements get the hell out of the way and let you listen to the bittersweet sound of a voice that sounds a little sad even when it's upbeat.
I've in fact left listening to Insomnia so long that Megan Washington (now with first name intact) released her next album about the same time, and from first samples THAT sounds like it might be even better. But please, don't wait for the reviews from me...
This month was also the first time in a surprisingly long while that I listened to Moloko's I Am Not A Doctor. An absolutely fascinating album, this. It seems to have been the band's least commercially successful album. In many ways it's also the one that I would expect to like the least, as it's full of music that Wikipedia tells me is called "trip hop" and "drum and bass" and other things that I wouldn't head towards in a store.
It's also a really consistent album that's a fantastic listening experience.
I think one of the reasons it's so excellent is that it's thematically pretty consistent. From the opening track and single 'The Flipside', it's an album that openly acknowledges how weird and strange it is by including references to bending the mind. Hypnosis and possession come up in the lyrics on multiple occasions. This is an album that is intentionally taking you on a 'trippy' experience and tells you that you're powerless to resist.
Now, I might not be in the mood all the time for being told how my will is going to be overridden by a bunch of skittering beats, but if it's going to be done it should at least be done with flair and imagination. And Moloko delivers.
Bach, J.S. - Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (Christ our Lord came to the Jordan)
Bach, J.S. - O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (O Eternity, you thunderous word) - 1724 work
Beethoven - Piano Trio in E flat, WoO 38
Beethoven - Theme and Variations for piano trio, op.44
Brahms - String Sextet No.1
Brahms - Piano Quartets 1 and 2
Bridge
Mid of the Night
Isabella
Two Poems for Orchestra after Richard Jefferies
Enter Spring
Byrd - Sing joyfully
Chopin
3 Waltzes, op.64
Mazurkas, op.posth. 67 and 68
3 Ecossaises, op.posth. 72/3
Debussy
Preludes, Book 1
Clair de lune (original piano version and orchestral version)
Marche ecossaise (orchestral version)
Dvorak
Legends (orchestral version)
Serenade for Strings
Czech Suite
Haydn - Symphonies 82 and 83
Haydn - The Creation
Hilgendorf - Daichi
Holmboe - Concertos 1 (for piano) and 11 (for trumpet)
Holmboe - Suite from 'The Ill-Tempered Turk'
Mozart - Piano Sonatas 6, 9 and 18
Mozart - String Quartets 14 and 15
Poulenc
Clarinet Sonata
Elegie for 2 pianos
Improvisation No.15
Rachmaninov - Six songs, op.4
Schoenberg - Transfigured Night (orchestral version)
Schumann
String Quartet No.1
'Album leaf' No. 1, op.99/4
Novelette No.9, op.99/9
Sculthorpe - Cello Dreaming
Shostakovich - String Quartets 4, 10 and 14
Shostakovich - Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok
Sibelius - En Saga (2 versions)
Sibelius - The Wood-Nymph
Strauss, R. - Four last songs
Telemann - Tafelmusik Volume 2
Vivaldi - Kyrie in G minor
Vivaldi - Magnificat in G minor (1720s version)
My Bach listening really did hit a bit of a milestone this month, as I reached the second year of Bach's employment in Leipzig. Which, it turns out, means I arrived at a sequence of 'chorale cantatas' where both the music and text are heavily based on existing hymns. Early impressions are very favourable - there is nothing staid or straightforward about the way Bach incorporates the existing material into his new works.
Elsewhere, there is plenty of evidence of new purchases on my part - Beethoven piano trios, Mozart string quartets, Haydn symphonies, Rachmaninov, Holmboe, some Debussy, Dvorak, Schumann and Sibelius. Again, early impressions are favourable. I was particularly taken with Haydn's 82nd symphony, the early Rachmaninov songs and a particular section of Sibelius' The Wood-Nymph which had an extraordinary rushing sound.
I've started a survey of Brahms' 24 major chamber works, as I now own a recording of each. I'm re-engaging with the Chandos set of Bridge's orchestral works, this time by the relatively novel method of listening to a disc at a time. And, after listening to the 8th quartet last month, I've officially returned to surveying Shostakovich's string quartets for the first time in a few years. I do like my listening projects, and have to replace old ones as they fade away, such as reaching the end of my (not that large) Richard Strauss collection.
Listening to Peter Sculthorpe's Cello Dreaming had absolutely nothing to do with the composer's death, which reached the news a day or two later. It was simply that I unearthed an long-unheard, locally produced CD that was gathering dust in an obscure location in the house and had not been added to the catalogue. I actually know very little of Sculthorpe's music, but am certainly aware of his reputation as one of Australia's most significant composers. I actually met him once as a student many years ago. I shall have to investigate further.
I shall also have to plan these rambling posts a bit more carefully...
Beyonce - Beyonce
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Peter Gabriel - So
Patty Griffin - American Kid
Missy Higgins - The Ol' Razzle Dazzle
k.d. lang - Invincible Summer
Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark
Janelle Monae - Metropolis Suites II to V
Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue
Katie Noonan and the Captains - Emperor's Box
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Thrice - The Alchemy Index
It really is about time that I talked about The Alchemy Index, but I have this idea in my head that one day it will get an essay in its own right. So even though this is the first in a while I unearthed it and listened... you shall just have to wait.
Aren't I wicked.
Instead I'm going to briefly remark on The King of Limbs, because this is perhaps the most I've enjoyed it. In late 2012 I was still saying, after having the album for over 18 months, that it wasn't appealing to me on the level of most Radiohead albums. This past month something finally clicked. I actually listened to the album twice in one afternoon, having enjoyed it enough the first time to want to repeat the experience.
I think perhaps I allowed the sounds of the album to wash over me, without trying to pay too much attention to individual details. I had already thought of it as something of a 'soundscape' album (particularly the opening track, 'Bloom'), so it makes sense that it would work better experienced in that way.
But that's one of the things I love about music - that there are a variety of approaches, and that it's actually necessary to adjust my listening technique and expectations to get the most out of different pieces of music. Not all music is tryingto do the same thing, so it shouldn't all be judged by the same criteria.
