Trollheart

I'm in the mood to listen to some more nice instrumental music, so … that's what we'll do!
Here's a good one to start us off, from one of my favourite bands, Mostly Autumn, and the first album I ever heard from them, “The last bright light”, this is “Helm's Deep”.


Not too often you get instrumentals from Peter Gabriel, but when they appear they're damn good! This is from the album “Ovo”, and it's called “The nest that sailed the sky”.


And to finish this selection, a nice little piano piece from Rick Wakeman, from “Music inspired by The Lord of the Rings”, this is his interpretation of “Rivendell”. And that's it for another edition of “Words get in the way”. Hope to see you all again soon.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Classic from Billy Joel today. Once you hear those helicopter rotors in the distance, you know it's “Goodnight Saigon”.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Let's have a look through all these albums I've amassed and have yet to even listen to, let alone review. What's this right down here...? Oh yes! This will do nicely!

Ever since I were a lad and made weekly trips into the city centre (“into town”, as we colloquially knew it) I would always go to the second-hand record shops. These were, for you young 'uns to whom even buying music in a physical format is a totally alien experience, and seems something the cavemen would have done, shops where people who were hard-pressed for cash would bring albums they no longer wanted or liked, and the shop would give them a paltry sum, then mark up the record considerably from the price they had paid for it. Nevertheless, it was always less than you would expect to pay in the shops for the record new (usually somewhere around a half to a third as cheap, depending on how old/rare/coveted it was, and what condition it was in), and often the kind of albums you could find in these emporiums were not available anywhere else, unless at the fabled super-high “import” price.

One of the shops I used to frequent was called Freebird (yeah, that's why) and I remember on many occasions going in there, flipping through the literally thousands of albums (many of which were the same --- you wouldn't believe how many people wanted to get rid of their copy of Peter Criss's solo debut!) looking for something to buy. This was in the days when money was not tight, and you literally went into town with a walletful of notes, happy to spend anything from £20 to £40 on albums, which would often mean that at the higher end of the scale you might be able to buy enough that your arms would be somewhat aching as you made your way home, weighed down with several bursting bags!

In any event, I always came across, and passed, this album, leaving it in favour of bands I knew, perhaps ones I was slowly building a collection of, but I always had this sneaking desire to know what the music on it was like. I thought the name of the band was cool, the album title cooler, yet somehow I never shelled out what I think was about £2.50 for the album, to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else. Ah, the heady days of youth!

The cutter and the clan --- Runrig --- 1987 (Chrysalis)


Many, many years later, in the course of buying or downloading music online, I came across the album again and I thought, right, I'll have this! Of course, I've now had it on my computer for months and still have not heard it. The mysteries from my teenage days remain, and I'm no wiser about this album, or this band, now than I was then.

So, it's time at last. Let's fire it up and see what it's like. Oh, take me back to the eighties....!

A Scottish band, formed on the island of Skye in 1973, Runrig began their career as a wedding band, and have always been keen to incorporate their national heritage, and language, into their songs. They in fact wrote what is said to be the only song in Scottish Gaelic to hit the charts, which is included in this album. The album itself is their fifth, and proved to be their breakthrough after they were picked up from their independent label by giant Chrysalis.

From the off it's exceptionally celtic, a kind of fusion of Big Country and the Waterboys, with opening track “Alba” sung in their native language. Alba means Scotland, so they're obviously singing about their own country here, but as I know little Irish and less Scottish Gaelic, I couldn't tell you what the actual lyric is about. There's a rugged quality nevertheless about Donnie Munro's vocals, and the mix of instruments Runrig use certainly stays close to their Scottish roots, with mandolins, accordion and yes, bagpipes. Malcolm Jones and Rory MacDonald do a great job on guitars, while Peter Wishart's keyboards lend the whole thing a very atmospheric air.

Title track, as such, “The cutter” shows Munro's accent as even more Scottish than on the opener, and it's a mid-paced rocker very in the mould of Big Country, with slightly less frenetic guitars. Good organ line keeps the song going, and it's quite anthemic in a restrained sort of way. Runrig are a little different to most bands in that they employ two drummers, or at least two people are tasked with percussion, and this adds a very solid backbeat to the songs. Ian Bayne is one of the drummers, Calum MacDonald, brother of bass player Rory, and a founder member of the band, is the other.

“Hearts of olden glory” has some great pipes on it, though I think they may be oileann rather than bag, but the song is very powerful and almost hymnal, slow and measured with very little percussion, the pipes and keys driving the melody, with some great backing vocals that would put many a Welsh male voice choir to shame. There are female backing vocals in there --- good ones, but they're not credited on the album so I can't tell you who they are. “Pride of the summer” marches along on a parade-style beat, and you can almost hear Rory MacDonald's heart bursting with national pride as he belts out the vocals and cries ”Beat the drum/ Like a heartbeat/ Loudly and strong!” And yes, there are those bagpipes! Oh, how I hate bagpipes, but I have to admit even my heart is stirring at the moment. This is powerful stuff!

Runrig certainly know how to punch the air and stomp in pride, but they can bring it down several notches too, as the tender “Worker for the wind” demonstrates ably, with a crying guitar and low keyboards and mandolin all backing Munro's touching, bittersweet and tragic vocal. It's quite a stirring song, elegant and restrained but passionate and powerful, the more for the paucity of instrumentation used, the very merest of touches on hi-hats and tom-toms, then “Rocket to the moon” kicks everything back into high gear, with some stunning mandolin (!) from Malcolm Jones, powerful drumbeats, Munro's vocal a little fainter and echoey here, almost as if he's standing a little way from the mike. He comes properly forward for the strong chorus though.

And the vocals remain strong for “The only rose”, with some nice slide guitar and pipes painting a really impressive backdrop to what is the second ballad on the album, busier than the other slow song, with lots of instruments contributing to the overall sound, but no less powerful, showing that Runrig can handle ballads two completely different ways and still come up with two gems. Really nice guitar solo to take the song to its fade, then we're into “Protect and survive”, mid-paced with a lot of the Waterboys, mandolin again adding its own flavour courtesy of Jones, and nice pipes there too. Very traditional sounding, with the electric guitar getting in plenty of licks too, and Wishart's organ adding its own sense of colour to the sound.

“Our earth was once green” opens with strong guitar and drums, keyboards laying down a fluid melody as the song rocks along nicely with what seems to be a fairly powerful eco-message, in case you didn't get that from the title. Closer “An ubhal as airde” (pronounced “on uv-il oss ard-ya”) translates as “the highest apple” and is cleverly positioned, so that the album both opens and ends on a native-langauge song.

Backed by swelling organ (ooer!) and gentle guitar, Munro sings in his native Scottish Gaelic about what I have no idea, but it was certainly a coup for Runrig that they managed to get this first released as a single, then into the top twenty! I would have to assume that it got there on the basis of being a novelty record, by which I intend no slight to Runrig, but rather like Clannad's “Harry's game” --- which admittedly got into the charts off the back of that TV series --- you can't really see people having danced around to this at the local disco! Aided by great and stirring backing vocals that sound like an actual choir, the song is certainly emotional and pulls at the heartstrings, and if anyone was ever in doubt that Donnie Munro can sing, here is your answer, as he hardly even needs the musical backing, carrying the song virtually on his powerful, emotive voice and helped by the choir, who remain uncredited.

So, after thirty-odd years of waiting, has it been worth it? What's the verdict? Well, while I would not call this a “Meh” record in any way, it hasn't blown me away either. It's certainly good, and the musicianship is first-rate, but maybe it's that I'm coming to Runrig too late, as it seems others have tackled this sort of thing before. Or possibly after. It's different to the usual fare, certainly, and a worthy effort. Had I bought the album back in those sunny days of my youth, what would I have thought? Would it have been worth the price? Well, hard to say, as back then I was a lot more naïve and considerably more ignorant about, and insular in, music tastes, so perhaps I would not have liked it.

Do I like it now? Yeah, it's good. Do I feel a sense of why didn't I listen to this before? Is it thirty years wasted, when I could have been listening to the rest of Runrig's catalogue? Nah, it's not that good. Well, it is. But it's not fantastic, it's not a revelation and I wouldn't feel cheated, not having listened to their music up to now. I am, though, glad I listened to it, finally, if only to quiet that youthful inner voice inside me that just won't shut up....

TRACKLISTING

1. Alba
2. The Cutter
3. Hearts of olden glory
4. Pride of the summer
5. Worker for the wind
6. Rocket to the moon
7. The only rose
8. Protect and survive
9. Our Earth was once green
10. An ubhal as airde

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Repeat offender --- Richard Marx --- 1989 (Capitol)


A real heart-throb of the eighties, Richard Marx released his second album on the back of successes scored with his debut, including a US Number One single. As a follow-up this is pretty good, containing some great rockers, some fine ballads and the odd filler track. Opener "Nothin' you can do about it" and the next one, "Satisfied", I feel fit this bracket, though the latter was a number one hit! Shows what I know!

Another number one was his tender ballad, which became his signature song, "Right here waiting", with its beautiful piano melody and his impassioned vocal. Marx isn't one of those who wants to do everything himself, and on this album he sensibly sticks to singing, drafting in top talent like Steve Lukather, Michael Landau and Randy Jackson to take care of the music. It works very well.

Personal favourites for me are "Wait for the sunrise", good boppy rocker with a sense of urgency about it, and the truly majestic closer, "Children of the night", where Marx tries to highlight the plight of homeless children, with a lovely choir on the last chorus.

A popular album then? Well, he pushed Prince off the number one spot!

TRACKLISTING

1. Ain't nothin' you can do about it
2. Satisfied
3. Angelia
4. Too late to say goodbye
5. Right here waiting
6. Heart on the line
7. Real world
8. If you don't want my love
9. Wait for the sunrise
10. Children of the night

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

At one stage they were going to be bigger than the Beatles, but then, how many bands since the Fab Four have made that claim, and has it ever been true? There's no denying though that during the early to mid-eighties the Police were a hot property, even if they did in the end sort of just springboard Gordon Sumner aka Sting to international fame, and then sort of fade out after that. This is one of their bigger, and better, tunes, from their early days. It's “Walking on the moon”.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Hello everyone, Stacey-Lynn here again, back with this month's edition of “Journal News”. Christmas may be coming, but here at the Playlist of Life there's no slowdown, and Trollheart is feverishly working day and night to make this the most interesting and popular journal on Music Banter. Long way to go yet, but we hope to get there.

You've no doubt already noticed the changes to my own section, “Random Track of the Day”. Troll gave me full authority to do the place up, as it were, to my own liking, and you know what we girls are like for decorating! Hope you like the new look, and remember you're always welcome to let us know what you think, of this or any other section, any time.

Right now, here's the first of our reports for the Christmas month. Over to you, Kate! (News from Kate)

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Thanks for that girls. Trollheart has promised us a big Christmas party tonight, so we're all off to get ready for that. I'll be back as usual tomorrow though with the Random Track of the Day, and although this will be the last Journal News before Christmas, we'll all be popping by a little closer to the 25th just to wish all our readers a Happy Christmas.

Until then, enjoy the journal and don't get run down by mad Christmas shoppers!

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

As the month, and indeed the year, begins to run out in the last desperate charge towards Christmas and the hot-on-its-heels advent of New Year and 2011 becomes 2012, I thought it was about time I kicked myself up the arse and started reviewing these current albums more frequently. Therefore, expect to find this section hopefully more than once a week, as I try to wade through the large collection of this year's releases I've accumulated. Lots of work ahead (to say nothing of the rest of the journal: see the latest reports from Stacey-Lynn's NewsFoxes for details of the other things going on at the moment) so let's plug ahead.

Hell on heels --- Pistol Annies --- 2011 (Columbia)


A country supergroup? Well, so they style themselves, but I have to admit I have never heard of any of these three ladies. Then again, I'm not a huge country fan and I hardly keep my finger on the pulse of country music, so what do I know? But apparently Miranda Lambert was a finalist on the Nashville Star contest in 2003, has three albums and two number one singles (presumably in the country charts only) to her credit. Ashley Monroe is a singer/songwriter with one album released in 2009 (doesn't sound like qualification to the “supergroup” club to me) and Angaleena Presley, despite the famous surname, does not appear to be related to the King.

But whether or not they're a supergroup, or even well known outside country circles, it is, as always, the music that does the talking. So talk, ladies!

Well, it starts with the title track, almost a Bon Jovi “Wanted dead or alive” vibe with nice acoustic guitar, joined by really nice combined vocals with of course that recognised country twang endemic to most of the female country singers. The combination of the singers is very effective, howevber the song is a little restrained, and I would have expected something more in-your-face from three sassy ladies and a title like that. “Lemon drop” is basic country bopalong, with nice guitar. I'm having trouble finding out who plays what, but I see on the sleeve of the album one of the girls has a guitar, and checking on their website it turns out to be Angaleena, the only brunette, who goes by the nickname of “Holler Annie”, with the other two being called “Hippy” (Monroe) and “Lone Star” (Lambert).

I could certainly do without the twee whistling on “Lemon drop”, and the end-line where they all chorus ”I know there's better days ahead/ Thank God” is just barf-inducing, but “Beige” is a nice steel guitar-led ballad very in the mould of Nanci Griffith's best, nice measured percussion keeping the beat perfectly. Vocals on this track are taken by Ashely Monroe, and she does a great job. Is it anything new though? Is it exciting? Will it light the world on fire? Well, so far I see no evidence to support that.

Let's give them credit though: Pistol Annies write all their material themselves, and there's not a single cover or song written by anyone else on the album. It's fairly standard country fare though, as far as I can see: lots of songs about men, trailers, agriculture and the simple life. Nothing wrong with that, but what marks this out from any of the other good country female artistes out there? Nothing much so far, other than the novelty factor of having three hot women in the band. “Bad example” is a Willie Nelson styled bopper, with the expected high notes on the gee-tar, double bass and tap-along drums, the three girls singing it must be said like angels, but is it a triumph (or defeat) of style over substance?

“Housewife's prayer” is another ballad, with an interesting opening line: ”I've been thinking about/ Setting my house on fire/ Can't see a way out / Of the mess I'm in/ And the bills keep getting higher.” Well, we can all identify with that sentiment from time to time, regardless of gender. Pedal steel is to the front again, with some nice acoustic guitar adding a little flavour of semi-rock to the proceedings, and as a song this is probably the best so far, with Presley taking the lead.

You also have to admit they know their market. There are no long songs on this album, no epics. Only half of the ten tracks are over three minutes, some of those only by seconds, and the songs are short, snappy and catchy, for the most part. “Takin' pills” is good fun, while “Boys from the south” goes back into steel guitar balladry, with what sounds like a banjo or mandolin doing its thing too. Could be a smattering of violin in there: lot going on. Lambert takes the vocal for this one, and it's the first time we hear her singing on her own. She certainly has a nice voice, sweet and sexy but with that raw, tough edge no doubt honed in the bars of west Nashville.

There's an interesting mix of moods on the album, and to be honest I think Pistol Annies are best with the slower, or even mid-paced ballads, though when they rock out, as on the abovementioned “Takin' pills” or the next one up, “The hunter's wife”, they really hit the mark. There's a kind of a rockabilly feel to this track, seems to be the story of a woman sick of her man spending so much time in the woods away from her. The old “golf widow” story, transplanted to the country setting, where the top male solitary pastime is huntin', shootin' or fishin'.

Lambert is back then for the next-to-last track, “Trailer for rent”, a Neil Young-ish half-ballad as the woman prepares to leave home and her man behind. To be fair, there's a deep sense of earthy honesty about the songs, and you get the feeling that these women have either lived the stories played out in their lyrics, or know someone who has. This is why I prefer artists to write their own material --- makes it so much more personal. Of course, it may not be, but it definitely lends an authenticity and a certain heart to the songs. This could be another standout really.

And then we close with the uptempo “Family feud”, with all three girls again singing. Reminds me in places of the Eagles' “Get over it”, the fast vocals, the melody and the beat. It's a good, if somewhat downbeat despite the boppy tempo, closer as the girls sing ”She's only been in the ground/ A day or two/ I'm glad momma isn't here/ To see this family feud.” All too true, sadly.

So, country supergroup? Your guess is as good as mine, but this is not a bad album. When I say that, it should be clear that it is also not a great album. I must say, given the fanfare I expected more, but it's just okay. Good songs, good songwriting, sexy ladies. Guess in some ways you could find it hard to ask for more. I just had hoped there would be something, some spark, some difference that would mark this album, and this band, out from the hundreds of other country artists out there making their way in the world. Maybe it's my fault: maybe this rocker just ain't enough of a country boy. But Pistol Annies leave me feeling vaguely disappointed.

TRACKLISTING

1. Hell on heels
2. Lemon drop
3. Beige
4. Bad example
5. Housewife's prayer
6. Takin' pills
7. Boys from the south
8. The hunter's wife
9. Trailer for rent
10. Family feud

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018