@dsparks
The underdog of guitar solos
Turin Brakes | Underdog (Save me)
30 October 2024
Reasonably recently I got the pleasure of watching Turin Brakes live for the first time in about 20 years since catching them a couple of times in Liverpool back in the early 2000s. The Brewery Arts in Kendal is a great venue, though I’m still not sure on sitting down for gigs, and rather a mix of visitors as the Dub Pistols played in the adjoining room. The night with Turin Brakes was fantastic though, such an energy for a stripped back tour. All four members with their “westlife” stools, they sadly missed the rousing standing up in any song.
The old songs, we love to hear
Shakin' Stevens | Merry Christmas Everyone
13 December 2023
Christmas is wedded to nostalgia, in the UK it’s often a nostalgia for a white Christmas. Which is weird when you look at the numbers and see there’s been something like 16 since 1960, and even a good number of those won’t likely be more than a dusting of snow on a nearby hilltop. Christmas is normally just wet. But snow is where Shakin’ Stevens start off – “snow is falling, all around” – and so begins one of my personal Christmas nostalgia fixes – well unless you’ve chanced upon the “directors cut” of the video where we have a
Don’t believe them the original isn’t always the best
Ben Folds | In between days
14 November 2023
Having flung myself headlong into Ben Folds Five in the late 90s / early 2000s the 2001 solo album “Rockin’ the suburbs” was for me considered in the same canon, I mean how do you really separate Ben Folds Five and Ben Folds the solo artist musically? What followed on from that was a brief hiatus – yet my thirst for new tracks never abated and like a diligent super fan I kept my ear to the ground. I can’t really remember how though, this was still early days of the internet, we’re at MSN messenger and had not arrived
A gateway to hard jazz
Jamie Cullum | Twentysomething
25 October 2023
I remember first encountering Jamie Cullum but it took me a while to remember where and it turns out it was the 2003 V-festival in Staffordshire, the very year “Twentysomething” was released. It was in a tent, maybe a Radio 1 tent and I don’t think I went there to watch Jamie Cullum, but you know, it was a while a go and I had a few drinks and I’ve no idea who we actually went to catch. Or maybe we just popped in as we were walking past as you do at a festival. But we walked in to
The importance of MTV
Foo Fighters | Monkey Wrench
29 June 2023
The recent Foo Fighters album feels so familiar, in a good way. I’ll often find myself listening to it and being reminded of so many of the old Foo’s songs that I know and love. Of those the Colour and The Shape*Â is the definitive Foo Fighters album of my youth, my first proper introduction to the band, I discovered the debut later. One track has always stood out for me above all others, not the now ubiquitous Everlong which appears to have grown in stature over the last 30 years. For me it’s Monkey Wrench, a track that seemed
New Christmas songs work – with a hint of nostalgia
Jamie Cullum | Christmas Don't Let Me Down
21 December 2022
I read somewhere that new Christmas songs don’t work. I didn’t get into the article but I fundamentally disagree, I’ve discovered some great Christmas songs in recent years, yes it’s a time when we rely on old classics that let us soak up that nostalgia for the Christmas of many years ago. But that doesn’t mean we can’t embrace new songs, and not just new versions of the classics like favourites of mine – Barenaked Ladies “God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen” or Sufjan Stevens “Once in Royal David’s City”. Last year’s album from Norah Jones is a great example –
Drifting in and out
Gomez | How we operate
15 November 2022
I think I’ve written this before but Gomez were the first band I ever saw live – or at least that’s what I tell people. I did see Steps or possibly S-Club 7, at least someone of that ilk, at a local kids disco called the Frenzy. In that case though I was only there for chasing girls and the underage drinking, which means it doesn’t count. So Gomez were the first band I went to see with my own money spent on the ticket and the intention of watching the band. It was at the Royal Court in Liverpool
The great small town storybook
Stereophonics | Word Gets Around
8 May 2022
The Stereophonics dropped a new album recently, I hadn’t heard much pre-release, I just noticed it in my Spotify feed and thought “I’ll give that a spin”. It’s not bad, but I was mostly struck by the sweet nostalgia of hearing Kelly Jones’ singing again and it put me in mind of the earlier ‘phonics stuff that I’ve listened to more times that I can possible remember, both on recordings and live. They were a band that were at the sweet spot for me releasing great guitar music as I was a mid to late teen leaning guitar myself. So
There’s nothing left
Foo Fighters | There's nothing left to lose
26 March 2022
I’m at a point in my life where I’ve seen plenty of musical figures pass away, artists I’ve grown up with. In the last few years some colossal figures have died, but for some reason the death of Taylor Hawkins has hung in my thoughts more than any others have recently. I don’t know if it’s because they were such a huge band during my formative teenage years or if it’s because I’m due to see see them on their upcoming UK tour but something of the tragedy of Hawkins untimely death has stuck with me. The Foo Fighters are
Oh, dig it – It’s not all about the guitar
Jimi Hendrix | Hey Joe
12 June 2021
I recently had a guitar repaired* and when I got it back the first thing I did was blast out the opening to this song. I don’t know why but at some point it became my go to riff. I guess I got comfortable playing it and just settle into easily, but I haven’t picked a guitar up in years. I can”t remember the last time I even thought about how to actually play this song yet it comes out without much thought. It got me to thinking about Jimi Hendrix though, this song as well as others, and what
An interesting vocal reimagining
Ben Folds | Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!
25 April 2021
There’s a long historic tradition of purely vocal music, beat boxing, choirs, the recent resurgence of sea shanty’s, babershop - after all beside maybe percussion the voice is the one instrument we’ve always had. But who are we kidding, amongst all this, the most recent love of a cappella music is firmly routed in that god awful American TV Show Glee, maybe if you’re stretching it, the Pitch Perfect films. Which gives me a natural instinct to want to dislike it. But come on you can’t can you? There’s a strong hypnosis to well done vocal harmonies and great acoustic
The curse of the successful working class raconteur
Arctic Monkeys | When the sun goes down
25 March 2021
There’s a great relatability in a working class person singing songs about their hometown. Especially one with a way with words who can create a captivating story in a three minute song. Think early Oasis or the fantastic “Word Gets Round” by the Stereophonics. But it’s a relatability that often means their music diminishes or at least suffers as they grow and move away from that initial inspiration. It’s hard to sing about being on the dole and bumming round a city when you’re making money off a huge hit album having left that life in the rear view mirror.
