Trollheart

Wednesday, November 16 2011
Blackwater --- David Sylvian --- from "Everything and nothing" on Virgin

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Time to show your ticket, take your seat and quiet down as the lights dim. More music from the movies for you to enjoy.

To get us right in the mood, the great Maurice Jarre with the closing theme to the movie “Starman”.


Good one from “The Bourne identity”, starring Matt Damon.


One of the big movies of this year, with my favourite Marvel superhero, the theme to “Thor”.


Going all celtic now for a truly stirring anthem, from Mel Gibson's megasmash “Braveheart”.


A movie I always meant to see, and still haven't, it's the epic “Schindler's list”.


A great man for soundtracks as well as the music he normally makes, Peter Gabriel with haunting music from the excellent film “The last temptation of Christ”.


Makes you feel all heroic, doesn't it? Theme to “Indiana Jones”.


And staying with the mighty John Williams, this is the opening theme to the blockbuster “Jurassic Park”.


The movie wasn't that great to be honest, but a good soundtrack to “Bram Stoker's Dracula”.


And to close, keeping with the vampire theme, music from “Interview with the vampire”.

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Thursday, November 17 2011
Soliloquy (The loneliest place in the world) --- Ten --- from "X" on Now and Then

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The worm is mellowing out today, as the weekend fast approaches, with a great song and a hit single from Jeff Wayne's “War of the worlds”, it's the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward, with “Forever autumn”.

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Some more random tracks I'd recommend you listen to, as they're really worth taking the time to hear.
First we have a great track from All About Eve's self-titled debut album, this is a moody, atmospheric and often dark song called “Shelter from the rain”.
Shelter from the rain (All About Eve) from "All About Eve" on Mercury


Still getting my head around Porcupine Tree, but I keep hearing tracks I like during my playlists. This is one that I really have enjoyed hearing quite a few times now, it's called “Russia on ice”. Quite long, too.
Russia on ice (Porcupine Tree) from "Lightbulb sun" on Snapper


Although it's not one of my favourite Asia albums, I do like this one from “Silent nation”, a great little piece called “Gone too far”. Unbelievably, it's about the only track from the album that isn't on YouTube, so here's one I made meself!
Gone too far (Asia) from "Silent nation" on InsideOut


This just makes me think of all those great prog-rock songs of the 70s and 80s. This is Pendragon, with the title track from their album “Kowtow”.
Kowtow (Pendragon) from "Kowtow" on Toff


I'm a big fan of Nanci Griffith, and have all her albums, but this one really strikes a chord with me. Just the lyric, the way it's sung, the longing for times past: it's a great song, from “Once in a very blue moon”, it's “Ghost in the music.”
Ghost in the music (Nanci Griffith) from "Once in a very blue moon" on Philo


And to finish this selection we'll stay with the ladies, and an artiste who can be a little disappointing at times, but when she's good, she's very good, like here, with a track from her album “Secrets of astrology”, a great little ballad called “Under the sun”.
Under the sun (Lana Lane) from "Secrets of astrology" on Think Tank

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Although I generally know a lot about the bands/albums I write of, I more often than not find it useful to refer to Wikipedia, either for additional information or to check/confirm the data I have. Sometimes, Wiki supplies me with a lot of literary flesh for the skeleton of the article I have, helping me learn more about the subject and in that way increasing my ability to pass on that knowledge to my readers in my own words. Although I never plagiarise anything from Wiki verbatim (with one exception: see "Stranger in a strange land") it almost always helps me build on the themes I have for my articles, and fills in a lot of missing gaps in my knowledge or in the information I have to hand.

So I'd just like to say a big THANK YOU to all the contributors, editors and staff at Wikipedia, for the hard and tireless (and mostly thankless) efforts they put in to ensure that we, the general, internet-savvy public, have all the information we need at our fingertips. Nine times out of ten, if you need to know about it, you'll find it on Wiki. So thanks guys: my journal would not be half as interesting or accurate without your hard work.

Also, I'd like to thank the millions of people who upload to YouTube. It's very seldom indeed I can't find a video I'm looking for there, and without these uploads again my journal (and everyone else's) would be just so much text.

So thank you both: your work is appreciated, even if it doesn't always seem so.

(Of course, you're never going to read this, but it's the thought that counts!)

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Hi everyone, it's Stacey-Lynn here again! Trollheart said I've been doing such a good job presenting the “Random Track of the Day” segment that he's allowed me to put together my own section, which will feature news about upcoming events here at the Playlist of Life. I'll be telling you about new features, upcoming articles and anything else that's newsworthy around here. In addition to shelling out for a lovely new dress for me so that I look and feel the part, he's allowed me to hire some help to present this section, so I've enlisted the aid of three very lovely and capable ladies, and I've decided to call our little group the NewsFoxes (see what I did there?). Each of them will be reporting on a different aspect of the Journal, so to read a particular story click on the link where it's highlighted.

We'll also try to extend this feature to act as a sort of Q&A and/or requests forum, so if you have any ideas, comments, complaints (surely not!) or questions about anything in Trollheart's journal, just drop me a line. Looking forward to hearing from you.

And now, here's (News from Kate)Kate with the first of our reports on some new sections coming soon to this Journal!

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Thanks girls! Lots of good stuff coming your way in the next little while then guys, so keep checking back for updates. I'd like to thank my NewsFoxes --- Helen, Kate and Laura --- for their excellent work and dedication, and their support in getting this section up and running, and of course Trollheart for giving me the opportunity to spread my wings.

Hope you've enjoyed this first edition of “Journal News”, and I'll of course see you tomorrow with “Random Track of the day”, but for now, this is Stacey-Lynn, signing off.

Take care!

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Ah, winter! Who here hates it? Sure, it's picturesque --- when you're indoors --- but most of us surely prefer the summer? Here's a little tune to make you feel all summery, big hit from Katrina and the Waves.

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After she burst onto (and pretty much afterwards right out of) the scene in 1985 with the power ballad number one single “The power of love”, I wanted to know who this Jennifer Rush person was. Where had she come from, and what was the rest of her material like? So I bought the album which contained that hit, but her self-titled debut, released the previous year, was something of a damp squib, and I was less than impressed. Nevertheless, it wasn't a total loss and so when I chanced to see that she had a new album out in 1987 I thought, well what the hell, and went for it.

Suffice to say that the graphic above is more than appropriate. I was, to coin a phrase, gobsmacked. The difference between her debut and “Heart over mind” was just phenomenal. I really could not believe it: it was as if a totally different person had recorded this album. Whether this was due to the ever-tricky Debut Album Syndrome, where the artiste is trying to establish themselves and may make some “rookie mistakes”, or whether it was down to the quality of the songwriting, or the production, I don't know, but her 1987 effort was worlds removed from her first attempt. I was, in a word, impressed.

Heart over mind --- Jennifer Rush --- 1987 (CBS)


First impressions last, as they say, and although I had already made Jennifer's acquaintance via her eponymous debut album, on the sleeve of that she looked, whether intentionally or not, like someone at their wits' end, almost tearing her hair out. I think it was meant to look sexy and sultry, but it didn't come across to me that way. Also, almost every song on her debut was written by her producers, Candy de Rouge and Gunther Mendes, albeit with her input, and though they secured for her the huge hit that made her a worldwide success and a household name, I felt the lion's share of the songs on “Jennifer Rush” were weak and forgettable.

In contrast, she stands on the cover of “Heart over mind” in a short sexy dress, stockings (or tights) and high-heels, looking almost like a schoolgirl, though at this point she would have been 27. Very sexy looking, and very much inviting the potential listener to come inside and hear what she has to say. And it's not just gloss either: this beauty is far more than skin deep. The album features songs written for her by the likes of Michael Bolton and Desmond Child, and even the legendary Sir Elton John writes one for her, and duets with her on it also. How times have changed!

Possibly due to her newfound status as a bona fide pop star, Jennifer is able to pull in star talent like Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora, drummer Russ Kunkel and even Harold Faltermeyer to help her out, and indeed, Faltermeyer and Childs' production (aided by two others) ensures this album stands head and shoulders above anything else in her catalogue, before or since.

It starts with a keyboard arpeggio very similar to Cutting Crew's hit “I just died in your arms tonight”, but then “I come undone” gets going as Jennifer's soulful, passionate voice kicks in, as does the rest of the band, and the song takes off as a boppy, rocky number, very commercial, and in fact I believe it was a single from the album. With thirteen keyboard players, six guitarists, five drummers and five bassists, and no less than eighteen backing vocalists (including Rush herself), there's certainly a lot going on musically, and the production matches the big sound on the album.

“Down to you” is a lower-key but yet powerful song, quite keyboard-led, with Jennifer's distinctive and powerful voice rising above the music like a phoenix from the fire, and this too is a very catchy, commercial-sounding song. It really stands on some excellent sax breaks, which give the tune a real solid quality. The title track, on the other hand, is more a europop/dance thing, though not losing its basic rock core. It is the most lightweight track on the album so far though, with a lot of keyboards and synth. The fact that it's a weak track and yet still good is a testament to how great this album is.

The first ballad comes in the form of “Search the sky”, one of two on the album on which Faltermeyer and Rush collaborate, along with Tom Whitlock. It's a nice, easy, keyboard-driven song, which showcases the strong yet gentler side of Jennifer Rush, seen on her big hit two years previous, but this is a much more restrained song, and all the better for it. Although this album did a lot better in Europe than it did in the US or the UK, the song the label had pinned their hopes on for a hit single was in fact not that successful, despite the presence of Sir Elton John on “Flames of Paradise”.

Personally, I can see why it wasn't a big hit. It's nothing special, in fact it kind of reminds me of Elt's other duet, “Don't go breaking my heart”, and I just find it generic pop. Not a bad song, but there are far better tracks on this album, and it's not surprising that the great record-buying public less than took this to their collective hearts. “Love of a stranger” is a nice kind of semi-ballad, but I think it falls a little short of the high quality seen on the album so far. It's followed by “Heart wars”, a real stormer with a very Harold Faltermeyer keyboard melody, quite dancy but with rock elements in there too.

“Stronghold” is by the same songwriting team who penned “Flames of Paradise”, but it's a marked improvement, with strong elements of a ballad in a mid-paced rock song, nice guitar work, good hook. The ubiquitous keyboards are there, but not so much to the fore on this track, and indeed the next song, which is in point of fact the penultimate one, is by them too, but for “Sidekick” Bruce Roberts and Andy Goldmark go for a more funky approach, a fast, dancy but very catchy song that just refuses to leave your head. Nice brass on this one gives it something of a feel of a throwback to the golden era of disco in the seventies.

As it opened strongly, so closes the album, with a great ballad penned by perhaps the king of power ballads, Michael Bolton, in conjunction with Jennifer and one Mark Radice. "Call my name" is piano-driven, not that surprisingly, with sudden bass and then an onslaught of guitar and keyboards. It's very effective as a closer, with Jennifer singing her heart out and some really nice keyboard runs, and a lovely burst of sweet sax too. Great ending.

For an artiste whom I was initially impressed with, then let down on her album, this was a massive and very welcome surprise to me. I guess this would have been the last chance I would have given Jennifer Rush to impress me, and boy did she ever! Without question her best album, of those I've listened to; it's something of a hidden gem. Yes, it did really well in Europe, but over here we more or less ignored it. I feel that's pretty much our loss.

TRACKLISTING

1. I come undone
2. Down to you
3. Search the sky
4. Heart over mind
5. Flames of Paradise
6. Love of a stranger
7. Heart wars
8. Stronghold
9. Sidekick
10. Call my name

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