A few good times in my life
Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett returned last week with a new single. This time less lyrical and reserved, but with edgy riffs and a great bass line. You can still hear her love for Patti Smith, early grunge, and her passion for playing. It's great to have her back.
At the end of this short series, I must mention a club where I experienced some of my most memorable concerts. The Wagenburg Tunnel connects two districts in the north of Stuttgart. In 1985, a club called “Die Röhre” (The Tube) opened in a side arm of the tunnel. It was a long tube with a large bar on the left-hand side. Initially, it was used almost exclusively for parties at the weekend and occasional concerts. It was not until the late 1980s that concerts began to be held there regularly.
A defining experience was a double concert in 1989, when Spacemen 3 and The Wedding Present performed. The latter impressed with their indie guitar sound, but were able to keep up with the psychedelic-tinged guitar feedback, as a bootleg shows.
Our journey around the houses today begins with a song by The Doors. Released on their fifth album Morrison Hotel they returned to their roots and played a powerful blues-rock on this song. I didn't listen to this song for a long time and I'm amazed at how fresh it still sounds today.
One more journey through songs that hit the charts and other that are just good.
1957: Buddy Holly
1966: Jr. Walker (I prefer the cover by The Flying Lizards from1979)
1972: Elton John
1978: Meat Loaf
1997: Natalie Imbruglia (not only because she recently said goodbye to the music business)
1966: Spencer David Group
1966: The Beach Boys
1977: Dave Mason
1985: Pet Shop Boys
1965: The Who
1982: Golden Earring
1964: Petula Clark
1970: Gilbert O'Sullivan
1970: Dave Edmunds
1978: Joe Jackson
Last weekend, while searching for something else, I stumbled upon a classic by Wes Montgomery, one of the most influential jazz guitarists, performed by Brian Auger. This prompted me to delve deeper into his music again after many years.
Brian Auger, for those who don't know him, he is a British keyboardist who played with pretty much all the greats of rock, soul, blues, and R&B in the 1960s, leaving his mark on them with his Hammond B3. With his Hammond organ, he had a greater influence on the sound of one of the Yardbirds' first singles than the guitar did.
Later in the 60's he formed Trinity together with Julie Driscoll and recorded some classic records. With their cover versions With their cover versions of David Ackles and Bob Dylan, they even made it into the charts.
Later on he formed Oblivion Express where he played more Jazz and fusion but still with his Hammond which still dominates his sound.
I never thought that Anna von Hausswolf, a Swedish singer and composer, would appear on these pages one day. Her songs, which mainly dealt with death, were too dark in the past. No one can doubt that she has always had a good voice, but her mixture of art pop, drone, and gothic, with an organ pipe at its center, takes some getting used to.
Now she announced a new album that will be released at Halloween and I have to admit that the leading single shows new road she will walk. Based on a 80's electronic post-punk sound she includes some folk-pop into her sound, the organ pipe isn't is no longer so dominant and makes way for a hypnotic beat.
A few days ago Austrian all female trio DIVES released their latest single Keep Talking and announced that they will disband at the end of the year. I followed them during the last ten years and it always was fun to listen to their sound that was something between indie-rock and garage-/lo-fi-pop. Their style is characterized by catchy melodies, driving rhythms, and polyphonic vocals. Finally, they give us one last glimpse of what we will miss.
Another example of their music is a song they released earlier this year.
