Caught up with this documentary last night and what a strange man this guy is. I had always known that he was difficult to work with etc., but think that most genius's must be and yes he had it tough as a kid but he has never reconciled his problems and insecurities. In fact they have manifested even further the older he gets.

In particular his treatment of people is unforgivable and the most touching part of the docu was when his adopted sons were speaking. Gary particular moved me, he seems too controlled, in fact too subdued - perhaps this is the only way he can get through a day but when they took him back to the house he grew up in with Spector [and what a perfect name] he cried. What about his demons?

He also treated his singers badly, discarding them like empty match boxes when he had got what he wants. He was one of the few who changed the face of music with his 'wall of sound', I love it, it's a magical, warm, big sound and he has produced one of the best Christmas albuns ever.

"SONGS THAT LAST THREE MINUTES AND FOREVER.

Phil Spector brought a grand, ennobling passion to the teen love song. His 'wall of sound' moved both bodies and hearts - launching what may be the most personal and stylistically unified series of mulit-artist recordings in pop history. That Phil Spector's hits will live on in the digital age is cause for celebration."

- Kurt Loder, Rolling Stones

http://www.philspector.com/#

Or should I say Music-Abuse. I have often rambled on about where music is played and where it should not. Well this one is a dilly. Just come back from a weeks holiday with my partners family in Spain. they took us to a small town just outside Castellon, Valencia. To a sightseeing venue called St Josef which boasts Europes longest underwater caves.

For a small fee we clambered into a small, blue boat with a single skipper who gently pushed us along, gondola style. The water was smooth, the caves fascinating and well lit BUT on a loop system they played a piece of Spanish guitar music. It was quite a nice piece but by the 10th time I had heard it I want to swim out as fast as I could. The caves were full of atmosphere and with the music off we would have hear the gentle drip, drip echoing from the stalletites and the gentle drift of the boat.

Who even thought of cabling and secreting white speakers in such a natural surrounding is beyond me - they need hoisting up to the top of the caves and left dangling for eternity.

if you have any horror stories in simliar vein, tell me.

Having a week with family in Spain so have revved up my ipod to keep me going [as well as Michael Palins Diaries to browse through].

Loaded 3 Diana Krall CD's and just about to load the new Harry Coonick Jnr My New Orleans and Sister Rosetta Tharpe's The Gospel of the Blues which I have to review for hospital radio. Got a bit of a train journey in the middle of the week so will do reviews and blog upon return.

Have downloaded the following this wek:
3 Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings tracks, check her out, Amy Winehouse before Amy Winehouse if you know what I mean. Not retro but the real things from a few years ago.
Down In Mexico by The Coasters - heard it in a Tarrantino interview as he uses it in his latest films, not really into his films but he does know his music and picks the coolest tracks.
Don't Break My Heart - UB40 Because I heard it on the radio and loved it when it came out.
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis, great ballad and sung really well.

Thats' it, keep listening to stuff as it's important. I'll be back refreshed and with plenty to blog.

Have been having alot of trouble with my ears just lately, itching and for some months I have been 'missing' a line of sound. Not loud or very soft sound, just that ordinary middle sound so i have been secretly fearing that I am going deaf. The horror of it. I indulge my passion for music by having state of the art sound equipment and to think it all could be wasted should I be reduced to those awful skin coloured, odd shaped gizmo's sound deficient folks have to stick in their audibles.

Plucked up the courage to go to the doctors yesterday and my 2 year efforts into getting weight off and getting fit have resulted in eczema in my ears through swimming as regularly as I do. A real case of no pain, no gain. Anyway doctor doesn't want me to give up swimming so I now have drops to out in which should sort it out.These drops feel as if I am pouring in half of the Indian Ocean and the sound of them rolling around makes me feel a little sick but if it brings back my missing sound level I can hack it.

I have so much new music to listen to, the new Harry Connick Jnr, Alison Moyets The Turn and haven't even decided yet if I am buying the new Annie Lennox. Get to new some stuff over the weekend.

Like Leona Lewis's new single, at last they have given the X Factor winner a proper song and she sings it proper, would like to see it as the No. 1. Bit of a battle going on there with the Take That single, but honest - do they need another number 1?

If you still have not heard of Jill Scott then get with it because she is all about today's real R & B and Soul music - non manufactured, takes her time between albums, writes her own stuff, goes her own way, does her own thing and has immense talent. It's not just the voice which can be both rich and powerful, sweet and tender - she is also a poet. Hence the series titles Who Is Jill Scott Vol 1, Beautifully Human Vol 2 and now the new one; The Real Thing Words and Sounds Vol 3.

Track 1 boldly announces 'I'm the real thing in stereo', this warms you up for the brilliance that is Track 3 Hate On Me. With it's Halloween opening it lurches into a sexy,low sax backing, she lets the drums into the foreground with as much volume as her voice and it REALLY gets into the groove. It should be a single and it should be Number 1.

Crown Royal is pure music porno, Epiphany is a trade mark poem with stunning percussion yet again. My Love, is elegant and coated with lush violins. Whenever You Are Around is smooth and 60ish, maybe a little too mellow for it's subject matter. I think Celibacy Blues will resonate with pretty much everyone. Wanna Be Loved is plain clever, she also speaks the lyrics in the foreground whilst singing them in the background, simple but effective.

It's a fatastically indulgent album; she back tracks herself, sings to herself even, penned all the songs, is one of the executive producers and did the Art Direction. She is focused and never puts a foot wrong. 15 tracks, some short as they are poems and short stories [Words & Sounds], flashes of musical moods. It's refreshing to listen to an artist fully in control with no restraints. No compromises.

I would say that the album is split, the first few tracks vary more than the last half dozen, but you do get all that is pure Scott here - polished and vibrant production, dancing words, terrific songs, shouting soul and seductive R & B. Volume 3 is on the right road and does it for me. Hate On me will be a classic, played it 6 times whilst writing this ... oh, did I say I was a fan?

Am working in Frankfurt this week. Bought the ipod with me but haven't listened yet as I also bought my portable DVD player with me so as I don't sleep when away from home, have been watching movies. The Ladykillers last night, Alex Guinesses pefoemance is so creepy, subtle and VERY funny.

Tonight's it's either Die Another Day, Silkwood or Calendar Girls.

Having some shelves built tomorrow to specifically hold my vinyl, such a small thing but I am so excited about it. Life calming down a little so hoping to listen to much more music soon and get back to blogging in more detail and more regularly.

Hotel I always stay in now streams music in reception and they have the good taste to either play a chill or jazz station AND the volume is just right. I approve.

I'm blogging just to show that I am still alive - work is manic, reclaiming my house after a massive 2 month build is exhausting but should all be back to normal this week and I can start my main hobby of listening to music again in comfort.

My only audible treats being listening to network radio whilst I work.

My only purchases have been downloads as follows:

Living In the Past/Jethro Tull What memories this brings back, a classic track.
Summer The First Time/Bobby Goldsboro Another memory track of working a long hot summer in a Pontins Holiday Camp
Bullie Jean/Christ Cornell What a cover! Very slow and it works.
Nights In White Satin/Lana Lane Another fab cover, great voice
Broken English/Marianne Faithful Don't like her voice so much now but this is a signature track.
Tainted Love/Marilyn Manson Has to be heard, believe me.

That's it but I will be back shortly - honest!

My heading is ambiguous: does it refer to 'I'll take all the Jazz I can get', or 'I can only take Jazz this evening'. It's the latter. Nerves are jangly, concentration nil, too much to do. Am working on partners Mac as my PC is chugging along opening files in Audacity which I edit then save as MP3's. Takes an age so instead of watching the blue squares fill up the bar, thought I would blog.

Got Diana Krall on the CD player. An early album 1995 Only Trust Your Heart. Some excellent covers on it: Is You Is Or Is Aint My Baby, Folks Who Live On The Hill etc. I can listen to her anytime. Saw her at the NEC, had great seats and really enjoyed the whole thing. She has a sultry reserve about her which I find intriguing. Hubby Elvis Costello was at the back of me by the control console.

My loft extension got the 'pass' today after 3 visits from the building inspector who seems to find something on each visit to annoy him. Joke really as his first visit was 10 minutes long and he hardly looked at anything. I kinda feel that if I am spending this amount of money on my home, I have the right to say how I want things to look but due to new regulations being made every 5 seconds, it's their way or not at all.

My banjo, guitar and mandolin is being stored at my sisters and it'll be some time before I get them back as we now wait for the decorators. I'll have forgotten how to play any of them but then I get the challenge of starting all over again.

Guess autumns upon us, this I know as I watched a squirrel about 4 feet away from me digging up my lawn, drop something in this amazingly neat hole and then pat the top soil with his paws and scamper off. Do you think I could find what he had done on closer inspection? Clever these squirrels.

Builders have finished the loft conversion after a 7 week build hence why not much blog writing from me. It was well worth it except we now face weeks of decorating and cleaning. But I do now have somewhere to house my vinyl in the new storage area which I am well chuffed with, at the moment they are stored on shelves I can't get to.

Have even neglected my beloved ipod for a few weeks but today I am working and listening to my CD Soundtrack collection to sort what I wish to keep and those I wanna chuck. I use to be fanatical about buying soundtracks but over the last few years the art of composing specifically for film has been on the decline. It's now fitting appropriate music and songs into a movie which is cheating and does not enhance a movie in anyway. The one recent exception being Sofia Copolla's Marie Antoinette which really worked.

My first listen of the day, however, does not - it has the dubious words on the slip case saying: 'music inspired by 8 Mile', which is a film starring Eminem. I like Eminem, he's angry, in touch with the world as it is today and has a compelling, double tracked voice. But I'm afraid I only like the one track on this s/t which was a single he released called Lose Yourself.

My second listen was The Eurythmics music for 1984 realesed in, yes, 1984. It's a great CD but I remember that it didn't really suit the movie. The tracks make full use of Annie Lennox's great voice, not so much singing but the grooves she gets into and with the heavy percussion the whole thing comes over as almost tribal. I recommend it.

Can't believe I have neglected my blog for so long so here's the explanation - I am in the 6th week of an 8 week build on my house. It's all going really well but I am living in chaos and the house is not conducive to sitting about and listening to music.

I m listening to radio 365 on the internet whilst I work and my short car journeys are backgrounded with my fave ipod tracks, so nothing new to report.

I will be back shortly . . . . .

What a time of it there has been in the topofthestairs music house. My vintage Pansonic Hi Fi sperates of which I only had the tuner and amplifier left after 35 years of faithful service, finally called it a day. The tuner was OK except that the bulb had gone in the meter window but the amp was finito.

Kinda sad as most things these days are not built to last 35 days let alone years. Bought a black, Denon amp with a built in DAB tuner and it looks great as all my other accumulated seperates are also black. All works OK but am somewhat unimpressed with the lack of digital stations there still are available. The web is definately the best place to go for radio stations.

Which brings me neatly to the next disaster, my 6 months computer problems ended yesterday with a hard disk failure. Again there was a time when hard disks were built to last for ever but now a PC expires or gets poorly after 3 to 4 years. Backed up my data so am OK there but am waiting for a guy to put in a new hard drive which will crank me for another 3 or so years or until I get a MAC which is on the cards. Only thing then is that I have to reload all my software.

Of course my real stress area is my 1,500 Itune tracks which are safely stored on my external drive. I know I can import them onto my new hard drive BUT I think I will then have to wade through them to assign them to their folders. Nightmare and a real 'life is too short' thing to have to do. Digital music is OK but as great as it is for storage and the lack of physical space it takes up - but is it really safe, especially after you have chucked the CD's you plucked one or two tracks from?

The ears have been music deprived I'm afraid with all this going on so no music miscellany to report, forgive me but this was a 'get it off my chest' blog and as I am the blog keeper, I think I am allowed.

Hazelwood was one of the most undervalued songwriters of the 60's. Forever remembered for Those Boots Were Made For Walking, this throw-away pop song does not do justice to his brilliant songwriting credits or talent. And the voice, it reached depths only equaled by Lee Marvin [though that's all they shared in common] and had such an astounding world-weariness about it that, like Sinatra, you believed absolutely everything he sang about.

He died earlier this month but kept working pretty much until the end on a new album, check out some of the tracks here:

http://www.myspace.com/leehazlewood

For some of those who know nothing beyond the 'Boots'; song, listen to this sublime song and I hope you find it as hair tingling as I do and that it may encourage a exploration of his luscious back catalogue. Here is Some Velvet Morning:-

Worked hard today so did my 'own thing' tonight and transferred about 30 tracks from CD's I no longer want. 2 were Golden Tracks, Bill Hayley's Rock Around The Clock and Shake, Rattle & Roll.

Sometimes we hear the great songs, the ones which changed everything for ever, so often that they simply get embedded into our minds and after a while we stop taking notice. This is what happens with me on these 2 tracks so tonight, away from any distractions I actually really listened and they are so full of energy, where is that energy now in today's music I ask? And what a brilliant song title - Shake, Rattle & Roll!

I didn't get through the whole pile but there is always tomorrow ....

Have been multi-tasking today. Working away at my computer earning my crust plus recording a great piece of vinyl onto my hard drive at the same time.

Working at hospital radio, we continually throw out vinyl or CD's as we condense the library due to lack of storage. A few years ago this LP was chucked and I grabbed it thinking I could do something with it and finally today I have. It's on the Disneyland Records label, in the Storyteller series: Songs & Dialogue from the Original Soundtrack of The Jungle Book, featuring Phil Harris, Louis Prima & George Sanders. And it's in mint condition.

I have recorded it as an mp3 file and will put the 2 sides together so that we can broadcast it to the children's ward over Christmas etc. One thing that in this day and age which never changes, is young kids love of the Disney stories.

Rather than chuck the vinyl out a second time, I am going to see if I can sell it somewhere, ebay or whatever and raise much needed funds for the station. If anyone knows of a good website who specialises in vinyl please let me know.

Today’s playlist was quite exceptional. Good in parts, not of my own choosing and at time down right excruciating. I had an appointment in London, very central London. After a mediocre train journey down I emerged at Tottenham Court Road. With 30 minutes to spare I trolled into Virgin Megastore which is like every major music store visit anywhere else in the world. Loud, shrill [you’d think they would have a top-notch sound system] music, rarely is it anything that I like and would buy, large floor to ceiling metal racks each shouting if it’s NEW or CHART. Never anything that’s DIFFERENT or CHALLENGING. Not having my ‘wish list’ with me – how stupid is that – I buy the recent Streisand in Concert for my partner and high tail it to my appointment.

A Starbucks later and I am playing with a MacPro Power Book in the Regent Street Apple store wondering what everyone else is doing so intently on the other samples laptops and computers. Slyly reaching over to see what my neighbours are doing I find they are checking their emails by webmail. And of course I promptly do the same. Here I buy a car charger for my ipod so that I can listen to my playlists non stop through my luverly, luverly ‘ipod ready’ JVC car radio.

My tube walks offer the best music of the day. Firstly a busker in the sweltering link from Central to the Bakerloo line. He’s about 45ish, hippyish and is running through some Eagle hits. Pretty ordinary really and not help that he yawns between each song. No surprise that his money cloth is Spartan. Second busker was a very young and really good, no singing, just a whiz on electric guitar. I gave him some loose change, something I rarely do.

The whole busking thing is weird isn’t it? Freezing or sweltering as only the tube ways can make you feel. You stand for hours with either a loud voice or a voxbox, plying your wares to grumpy looking commuters or spaced out holiday makers. Hardly anyone takes any notice whilst you’re giving your all. And how much do they go home with, is it worth it? I guess if you can get through a few months of busking you can get through anything.

Onto the train home and this is where the soundwaves really hit the ears. 3 Japanese tourists plonk themselves around me and talk animatedly, non-stop and over each other and very fast. How on earth they knew what each other was talking about is beyond me. The guy opposite me working on a laptop then takes several calls, a baby starts screaming 2 seats away and a second business man takes endless calls from his mobile which has ring tone of an old phone and it’s LOUD.

The 2 Japanese leave at the next stop and 2 more get on and sit in the opposite seats and again start yakking, this time the guy has a voice which the front carriage could hear. I never quite believe that people who speak really loudly do not realise they are speaking really loud, can’t they hear themselves?

There was a highlight to the day though – as we were standing waiting to get off the train, someone’s mobile had a voice tone which went off whenever they received a text. It was a male voice with a slightly obnoxious tone which started calmly by saying ‘message’. The voice continued to say ‘message’ but was louder and angrier each time until it was practically hysterical. A few of us started tittering but others were clearly not amused.

I am now home sitting in the garden typing this block with the comforting sound of a wood pigeon cooing on out chimney, a slight russle of the trees and one of our cats collars jingling it’s little bell. Extremes eh?

Lazy Sunday of sorts, breakfast in Costa, visit to mum then a bit of hospital radio work. So my playlist today has been Michael Parkinson on BBC2 then went into comfort land playing a CD version of a vinyl LP I played to death when I was young, FELICIANO!
Released in 1968 on the RCA label, it's a 'must have' in my collection. 11 flawless tracks showing his vocal, arrangement and fabulous guitar playing skills. My absolute fave tracks are:

California Dreamin'
Light My fire
And I Love Her
Sunny

Perfect anytime but especially on a Sunday.

Went to dinner at my sis' last night so between the fivesome there the playlist was real mixed. The evening gave us Ry Cooder, Amy Whinehouse, John Smith and Diane Krall! And of course got to see my beloved string babies, Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar whom my sis is house sitting whilst our house is torn to pieces having a loft converted. Of course, they are all hopelessly out of tune. The sis kept throwing out threats about her getting some great bids on ebay for them - hah hah NOT!

I have just put on 'Expresso Expresso' subtitle: 'A lightly Latin Brazilian blend'....another Sunday lift!

Have a couple of blogs on John Smith, up and coming Nu-Folk guy with a riveting way of playing the guitar. This is called Winter and he is doing everything, singing, playing the guitar and percussion also on his guitar!
ENJOY

Being in the eye of the rain hurricane - the Midlands - the true scale of this freak weather came to me last week when the toen next to mine, Leamington Spa, headlined on Shy News as the river Leam had burst it's banks. We're lucky, we live on a hill and so are not suffering like some of our surrounding counties.

Today it's pouring, not stopped since 9ish and very cold and all I can hear in my head is Jose Feliciano singing Rain; 'Listen to the pouring rain, listen to it fall and with every drop you know I love you more'...... just can't get it out of my head.

So it bought me to rain songs and I have got as far as the following:
Singing In the Rain
After The Rain
Black Rain
Blame It On the Rain
The Day That the Rains Came
Don't Rain On My Parade
A Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall
Here Comes The Rain Again
Here's That Rainy Day
I can't Stand the Rain
I Made It Through the Rain
It's Raining Men
It Never Rains in Southern California
Laughter In the Rain
Let It Rain
Rain On Me

...that's it for now - do have to earn a crust.

Any additions anybody?

Oh,am I a smug bunny! Just months after buying a radio transmitter so I can use my ipod in the car - I gets meself a fab JVC car radio which is 'ipod ready'! The transmitters are OK but if you have a good car radio there is very little 'no signal' static to tune into plus when you have found some you would drive happily for about 20 miles and then have to find another space.
So I did some homework and happy with the JVC player I already had in the car, popped into Halfords yesterday and bought an upgraded JVC and they fitted it there and then. It's plays both mp3 and WMA files but the coolest thing is that it has an Aux In and so you put a jack plug cable into this and then into your ipod and hey presto, you have crystal clear ipod stuff playing in your car. Mainly got it so I can keep up with my podcasts.

Oh happy is me!

You always know that Bjork's latest album is going to be a head trip. Always worthy of a listen and some applause for her sheer uniqueness but there is confusion - is it good or just different?

The title came ffrom her interest in the word Voltage [see, you have this for starters - she's interested in a word!] and there is plnty of sharp jolts in this avant garde offering.
The most electricity is charged in the pulse of DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDANCE. In fact there is a propogandist feel to the whole album, highly punctuated by some of the track titles. This is a messianic piece telling you that you should 'raise your flag higher, higher'. Another tells that the EARTH INTRUDERS are already here creating 'turmoil carnage'. Other flash messages include that she's 'giving urban a farewwll' and 'you can trust [the world] if you breathe it bravely'. The CD has many messages surrounding many moods and settings.

There are little audio snips of water, ships,morse code and SFX - all desinged to displace you as soon as the next track starts. On one track she sings through a voxbox which produces so much distortion I thought my stereo had broken.

The most accessible track is EARTH INTRUDERS which is about a poppy as the album gets. DULL FLAME OF PASSION is a 17th century poem with the heartache of a voice from Anthony Hegarty. As for the voice of Bjork is it more noticable than ever that she mostly sings in one speed no matter what the temp or beat of the track is and it's this which grated a little. T8 has a credit to the toumini diabate????? PNEUMONIA is a lyric in search of a song, in search of a tune. Other lyrics are not at all surreal, quite simplistic and beautiful. INNOCENCE has a back beat which sounds as if a guy is being beaten to a pulp and I SEE YOU is truly enchanting.

Good or just different, well the latter definately. I don't think i can judge if it's good as I just don't understand her music but I do like it bit what exactly do you do with a Bjork CD in your collection? It's like housing a small sound museum which you know has some merit but will you actually play it again?

This is Bjork, not me:

when i once was
untouchable
innocence roared
still amazes
when i once was innocent
it's still here
but in different places

Innocence - Volta

Change is the name of the game. Scaffolded is enveloping my house as we speak as stage one starts of an 8 week build for our loft conversion. Scary and exciting all at the same time.

Sis rings yesterday to say that the farmhouse she has been waiting to move into will be ready by the end of next month. Go visit my mum last night who tells me she's been offered a ground floor flat where she currently lives.

Also made the decision to move from PC to Mac next year, fed up of glitches, maintenance and spedning money on updates all the while.

Then come the the blog to write and the look of it has changed.

Maybe I should have read my stars at the weekend, they could have warned me.

Oh, and my cat is still depressed. he's a sun worshipper and not use to wearing a watch, he guages time by the seasons and he knows that he should be bathing in the rays at the moment and so all this rain is making him look very pathetic, as we all do I guess.