Pegi Young - This Note's For Young

Pegi Young premiered her band and her new CD at the Henry Miller Library, Big Sur, CA, last Friday. Of course, her dear husband Neil Young was on stage and sang some accompanying vocals on two or three songs. He also played harmonica and what is called a “chorale electric sitar”.
Pegi Young’s self-titled Warner Brothers debut is out now (June 22). All I heard so far is what is on her MySpace. She wrote most of the tracks from the CD and covers three songs by Will Jennings. It looks like a very relax album full of ballads and country waltz.

Web: pegiyoung.com
MySpace: myspace.com/pegiyoung
Also: bridgeschool.org

Below 2 songs recorded from the KPIG webcast (June 24, 2007).
Pegi Young - Sometimes .mp3
Pegi Young - Heterosexual Masses .mp3
Interview and more songs: here.

A short video from the June 22 premiere: youtube.com

Nico - Frozen Borderline 1968-1970

The last time I met Nico was in April 1975. It was in Marseille, South of France, where she shared the same bill with John Cale. After her show, I had the chance to dine out with her… and some other people. John Cale stayed at his hotel. During few hours, I could share with her thoughts about everything and nothing and also could feel how much Nico was a lovely and a very lonely person.
Rhino UK, together with Elektra and Reprise, just released in February a beautiful 2CD called The Frozen Borderline 1968-1970 which includes the reissue of The Marble Index (1968) and Desertshore (1970) two major recordings from Nico. Of course, as usual, this double CD contains lots of outtakes, alternate versions, demos, even a hidden track (Frozen Warnings). For those of you who only know Nico as a singer with The Velvet Underground (Velvet Underground and Nico, 1967), this is a great opportunity to discover her songwriting and again to hear her incredible voice.
Christa Päffgen alias Nico died in July 1988 and is buried at the Grunewald Forest cemetery park in Berlin with her mother.

Web: everything about Nico and The Frozen Borderline 1968-1970 is in the Web Site of Serge Mironneau: NICO

Below, some songs from The Marble Index and Desertshore recorded live at the CBGB’s (NYC) in March1979 (via philxmilstein)
Nico - No One Is There .mp3
Nico - Abschied .mp3
Nico - Janitor Of Lunacy .mp3

Bonus: Nico - Somewhere There's A Feather .mp3 from Chelsea Girl (1968)

Bowerbirds And A Dark Horse

After The Bird and The Bee in May, Leaky Sparrow would like to introduce you Bowerbirds… So many bird names inspired Rock’n’Roll bands so far: Eagles, The Black Crowes, The Hawks, Red Sparowes, even The Byrds… to name few among many.
In her personal Website, Beth Tacular introduce her task in the Bowerbirds: "I play accordion, a standup marching-band bass drum, and sing backup in this duo (sometimes trio) from Raleigh, NC. Other members are Phil Moore and Mark Paulson".
The music from Bowerbirds is mainly acoustic with a lot of folk influences from different part of the world, mainly from North-America, of course, but also from South-America and sometime from East-Europe.
Hymns For A Dark Horse, Bowerbirds first full length album, will be out beginning of July and is available for pre-order in the band site or on the Burly Time Records page.

Web: bowerbirds.org
MySpace: myspace.com/bowerbirds

Bowerbirds - Dark Horse .mp3
Bowerbirds - In Our Talons .mp3

Bonus: The Beatles - Blackbird .mp3
And why not: Carly Simon - Mockingbird .mp3

Sky Cries Mary @ Seattle

An amazing show last night (June 15th) that I almost missed by arriving too late! It was Sky Cries Mary’s record release party at Neumo’s in Seattle. As it turned out, I did miss their first set in which they played the songs off their new CD called Small Town. We arrived at 23H30 to find them taking the stage for their 5 songs encore. The show must have started early because there were two other bands listed on the bill and we assumed that it would be a late night. Lucky for us though we got to see some of this amazing bands performance.

Sky Cries Mary are a totally mesmerizing, spacey, psychedelic, looping swirl of guitars, bass, keyboards, drums and computer and anchored by the man-woman vocal duo of Roderick and Anisa Romero. With a pretty cool light show flashing behind them this band rocks big time. All excellent musicians as you might expect from a band that's been in existence since 1986. It was certainly a love fest between them and their home town Seattle fans with rapturous applause after every number. I woke up with a hoarse voice myself this morning from screaming "more, more, more..."! Indeed.
If their new CD Small Town (HoodooH Music) is as good as the live show then I can only give it my highest endorsement. Check it out!

Bookerfatz2

PS: If you missed Sky Cries Mary’s performance or want to hear it, you can listen for back fourteen days on KEXP Streaming Archive (more info here).

Web: skycriesmary.com
MySpace: myspace.com/skycriesmary

Sky Cries Mary - Small Town .mp3 (one minute sample)
Sky Cries Mary - Every Iceburg Is Afire .mp3 from Timeless Turning (1994) via clockwork3
Sky Cries Mary - Don't Forget The Sky (Live) .mp3

Bonus: Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary .mp3

A Tribute To Joni Mitchell

A tribute album is always disappointing. One or two good cover songs here or there, not 12 in a row. The rest is half good or half bad. Interesting is to know which songs were selected, also which artists or bands made their interpretations self-consciously distinctive, while others played it close to the original. At the end, a good tribute album is to find yourself craving for the original material after listening to this disc.
This is the first Joni Mitchell tribute album to be released on a major label (Nonesuch) ever even if so far songs like Both Sides Now or Big Yellow Taxi were covered hundreds of times. The compilation is split up between songs that were recorded specifically for the tribute album. Among the performers you’ll find Björk, Prince, Annie Lennox or James Taylor together with jazz people like Cassandra Wilson, Brad Mehldau or Caetano Veloso proving Mitchell’s universal appeal and versatility as a songwriter.
In 2007, Joni Mitchell scheduled to release Shine, her first studio effort to appear in some ten years.

Web: atributetojonimitchell.com
Web: jonimitchell.com

Prince - A Case Of You .mp3 via loudersoft.
Joni Mitchell - A Case Of You .mp3

Bonus: Diana Krall - A Case Of You (live) .mp3

Gov't Mule - Rockpalast: Classic Rocknacht

Last week-end I missed the Villette Sonique Festival in Paris which gave the rare opportunity to listen live to some new songs from the forthcoming CD from Mum and also invited for free the Parisians to enjoy the outdoor showcases from Zëro, Jens Lekman, Poni, Shit And Shine, Polysics and Uffie feat. DJ Feadz. Anyone of you was there?
Instead, I was in Cologne for something totally different. Sunday at the Palladium was held a Rockpalast evening called Classic Rocknacht. Rockpalast is a German rock music TV show (and probably one of the greatest rock TV show in the world!) which broadcasts live! From 5 pm to almost 2 am, 6 southern rock oriented bands played live and loud! It was quiet an experience.
When I arrived the young guys from The Answer (UK) were already on stage to deliver some classic rock and roll à la Led Zeppelin. Next, arrived Point Blank (USA) a southern music rock band whose first record came out in 1976. No time to breathe and it was the turn of the Devon Allman's Honeytribe (USA). Devon is Gregg Allman’ son and you could feel the influence of his dad on his playing and also in his look. Honestly, I was not so impress by his performance. I took a break for an hour and missed the humour and the bluegrass from Hayseed Dixie (USA). After, I tried to watch the Golden Earring (NL) show but my lack of knowledge about this very popular band here who started to play in 1964 didn’t help me to stay during the complete set. Sorry guys!
At last but not least Gov’t Mule (USA), the band I was here for. The leader, Warren Haynes, is a legendary guitarist who played with the Allman Brothers 15 years ago before he formed Gov’t Mule in 1995. Whatever you think about southern rock bands, this one is great and must see it live. Four strong musicians with no fancy trick on stage, they’re here just for the music and the pleasure to share it with the audience. 2 hours and a half during which I stand in front of the stage forgetting that I was listening to loud music since the mid-afternoon and still wanting to hear more. Thanks Mister Haynes.
The entire show from Gov’t Mule and the Rockpalast evening will be broadcast on WDR Fernsehen Saturday June 30th and Saturday July 7th.

Web: mule.net

Gov't Mule - You've Got To Hide You're Love Away .mp3 - Live at The Fillmore (11/15/2003) via glidemagazine.com
Warren Haynes - It Hurts Me Too .mp3
Lauren Shera - Don't Think Twice It's Alright .mp3 (select Lauren Live + Go) - Live at The Music of Bob Dylan Tribute this past November in New York city, featuring Warren Haynes on guitar (laurenshera.com)

The Answer - So Cold .mp3
Golden Earring - Going To the Run .mp3

Photo: Gov’t Mule – Thanks to Alexander

Richard Hawley - Cool Crooner

Cool, my favorite "crooner" is back next summer with a new CD: “Richard Hawley will release his new album, Lady's Bridge, on 20th August. Lady's Bridge is a Sheffield landmark and the oldest bridge to cross the river Don. "I used to walk across it nearly every day; it was a gateway from the poor bit of town to the rich bit”. The album was written and recorded in Sheffield and is produced by Richard Hawley and Colin Elliott at Yellow Arch”.
I had the chance to see Richard Hawley live in Paris late 2005 few weeks after I bought Coles Corner his latest release. I was astonished by his finest songwriting and his rich vocal style. That night, the French audience - including me - was amazed by the impact of his songs on stage. Even if there was no kind of visual effect during the show, everyone was brought to Sheffield for one evening.
You’ll find beautiful pictures of that show taken by David Didier here on: Taste Of Indie

Web: richardhawley.co.uk

Richard Hawley - Coles Corner .mp3
Bonus: Johnny Cash - When The Man Comes Around .mp3

Joseph Parsons - The Fleury Sessions + Tour

Some news from my good friend Joseph Parsons: "The Fleury Sessions (August 2006) is now available in the US. It has only been available in Europe so far. Actually, that's not exactly true. It has been available here if you order it through my European record company. But because the dollar is so weak and the euro is so high, it is REALLY expensive! So our friends over at It's About Music have made it available to us poor yanks and other world citizens people not in the EU."

Also, Joseph Parsons will be touring this summer: "Things have been picking up and I'm looking forward to a few upcoming musical things. Like the NE Coast tour later this month with Todd Thibaud and Terry Lee Hale from Hardpan - my European SingerSongwriter collective. And the upcoming European touring this Summer and Fall. It's about time to get back out and play. Time off is always good, until it's time to be on, then it's even better."

June 23 - Mt Holly, NJ (Home Stage) - Duo with Tom Gillam
June 28 - Asbury Park (The Saint) - Parsons, Thibaud & Hale
June 29 - New York (Living Room) - Parsons, Thibaud & Hale
July 1 - Philadelphia (Tin Angel) - Parsons, Thibaud & Hale
July 3 - Boston (Lizard Lounge-Cambridge) - Parsons, Thibaud & Hale
July 28 - Jim Thorpe, PA (BoogieFest) Invite only, sorry...
August 10 - Hilden, Germany (JWD) Band show
August 11- Licherode, Germany (Naturkunstfestival) Band show
August 12 - Erfurt, Germany (Museumskeller) Band show
August 15 - Aix Les Bain (Festival) Band show
August 18 - Bourg En Bresse, France (TBA) Duo Show
September 4 - Paris, France (Acoustic In Paris) Duo show. Richard Shindell is also on the bill.

You can see more info here for time & addresses, band, solo and all the info.

Web: josephparsons.com
MySpace: myspace.com/josephparsons

Joseph Parsons - All The Love .mp3 from the recently released CD The Fleury Sessions.
Joseph Parsons - Crocodile .mp3 from Live At Boogie Fest
Joseph Parsons - Sister Moon .wmv (video – Windows Media Required)

Photo: Joseph Parsons Squad (Peter Pricken) via cambrinusconcerten.nl/foto

Single Of The Month - Everybody Loves Irene

Lovers of Portishead, like me, and of Trip Hop in general, like me again, please take few minutes and listen to Everybody Loves Irene, you’ll be amaze to discover the little sister of Beth Gibbons. Her name is Irene.
Who is Irene? Irene is Yohanna Erine Putri Ana Siregar she’s from Jarkata (Indonesia) and those who first loved Irene and her beautiful voice were 7 boys who started a band in 1998 named Gooton and hired her few years latter.
You’ll find more about Everybody Loves Irene in their MySpace with updated information and lots of music to listen and to download (mp3, video, live demos). Knows that the album The Very First Thing You Must Learn About Flying is Gravity (2006) is still unreleased. To support the group you can purchase 9 unreleased tracks available exclusively only on iTunes Music Store.

MySpace : myspace.com/everybodylovesirene

Everybody Loves Irene - Uncertainty And Anxiety .mp3

Everybody Loves Irene - Crop Circle Me .mp3
Everybody Loves Irene - Hate Sunday .mp3

It Was Forty Years ago Today

I know, it’s the talk of the day… but I can’t resist. The Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from The Beatles was the first record that somebody gave to me as a present, and my life changed. It was in June 1967, I was quite young… it was the mono pressing: ref. Parlophone E.M.I. Records - Long Play 33 r.p.m. PMC 1027 Mono. Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

I keep it like a diamond.

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .mp3
The Beatles - When I'm Sixty-Four .mp3