Right, more bookshelf from last year. With Pratchett and the Bavarians done, let’s move on to some pretty dark (and seriously brilliant) stuff.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I dodged this one in school when it was on the final-year English reading list, and then my little brother dodged it in his final-year English class and passed his copy on to me. I’m glad I read it only now, almost ten years on from school. What a brilliant and painful book – those murders were haunting my nightmares for weeks. I don’t usually enjoy non-fiction much, but this one really changed my mind. As a journalist I was captivated watching the results of Capote’s meticulous (and obviously tireless) work evolve and constantly intrigued by the question of how much was fact and in how far he allowed his mind to fill the gaps. And I am in awe of the writer who can start by giving you the outcome of the story and then go on to build so much tension into it that, as you read it, your brain almost refuses to acknowledge you already know what’s going to happen. Pens: 5 out of 5
By the way if you’ve ever wondered what became of the characters in the book, here’s a really moving interview feature portraying the later life of Bobby Rupp, the then-boyfriend of murdered teenager Nancy Clutter.
Dark, darker, noir: Introducing my new obsession
I don’t think I ever even ready so much as a real crime novel in my life. And then I watch a movie and end up knee deep in seriously dark crime stuff..
So I was watching L.A. Confidential the other day and kept thinking that somehow the movie didn’t make sense – as if there was a much bigger story behind it that had been chopped up for the adaptation. I didn’t know about James Ellroy at the time, but was little surprised when a quick search brought up L.A. Confidential, the book. And then the entire L.A. Quartet series. Being a bit weird about serial stuff, I had to start at the beginning, of course.
I’ve been lazy. So, with a massive delay, here’s the first bunch of the Bookshelf from the second half of 2012!
The usual health and safety warning applies: May contain spoilers.
THE DISCWORLD-A-THON CONTINUES…
Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
Pratchett’s take on the music industry: Somebody finds a magical electric guitar and soon the Disc is turned upside down by Music With Rocks In It. It’s basically a condensed history of everything that happened in music since the first rock ‘n roll tune was born – rockstar tantrums, shady agents and crappy punk bands are just the start, and of course the traditionally Pratchett-esque digs at musical celebs and the industry they feed are spot-on as ever, and laugh-out-loud funny, too! Pens: 4 out of 5
I will admit that I was devastated when Kamelot’s long-time singer Roy Khan dropped out. I didn’t go to the gigs when they toured with various guest singers, I wasn’t getting my hopes up for the new album – in my mind, my favourite metal band died with the departure of my favourite metal singer.
Then the news came that Kamelot had found a new front man, and early-day tour reports from all around the internet agreed that he was pretty good. The first single from the new album Silverthorn came out, and I figured I might as well give it a try.
Listening to Sacrimony the first time, I thought new singer Tommy Karevik tried too hard to sound like Khan. Second time, I rather liked it. After a week of listening, the ghost of Khan had vanished and I found I just really enjoyed listening to Tommy singing a very good new Kamelot song. And I was getting my hopes up for the new album.
I bought myself a ticket for their gig in London. (And then I bought one for my Dad who came over from Germany for the occasion.)
Silverthorn has been out since late October and it is perfect from the first note to the last: easily the best Kamelot album ever. It has been the only thing on my iPod for the last few weeks and has probably spun through its fiftieth round already. And not a single time did I the thought cross my mind that Khan is missing from it. The album is perfect as it is; perfect with Tommy Karevik singing it.
The gig was last week; perfection if I’ve ever seen it on a stage. This is the one thing I certainly didn’t expect. Kamelot without its trademark voice, just out of a turbulent reshuffle – and yet in its best shape ever. Because the band lost a great singer, but gained an even better singer.
Kamelot, 2012 – in their best shape ever
Tommy’s voice may not quite have the volume and deepness of Khan’s voice on the lowest notes, but he hits – and holds – the higher notes so much better. All through that gig he didn’t miss a single note, and on the parts where the music calms down a bit – like the new ballad Song for Jolee – his voice is 100% goose bumps down your spine.
And I suppose it also helps that he’s pure eye candy. (I’m allowed a fangirl moment every now and then!)
Kamelot founder/guitarist Thomas Youngblood and new man Tommy Karevik
Without meaning any disrespect to Khan, I can only say it looks like this is the best thing that could have happened to Kamelot. All the reviews I’ve seen for Silverthorn are of the five-star, nine/ten-out-of-ten kind, the album has been top of various European metal charts, it’s certainly my favourite album of the year – and my favourite metal band tours on with my favourite new metal singer.
Not too long ago I said that Richie Sambora’s new album Aftermath of the Lowdown was pretty good. That was after listening to it for two weeks.
Now I’ve had another two weeks listening time, plus the chance to hear most of the songs live at Richie’s gigantically awesome gig at the Empire in London. And I’ve got to tell you, this album isn’t only an incredibly good piece of music all the way through, it is also THE BOMB when played live.
For the fist couple of weeks it was just plain weird to listen to new Richie Sambora songs after spending the last 14 years listening to his older stuff. And I was basically listening to the old stuff permanently for the last 14 years… But by now, although I still feel that many of the songs from Stranger in this Town and Undiscovered Soul are somehow deeper lyrically, and also musically more varied and refined, I have to admit that Aftermath is probably the album with the most coherent identity overall. Where the old albums were dipping in and out of different styles – some of it quite Bon Jovi-ish, other parts very bluesy, and everything in between – Aftermath comes along in its very own, balanced style and just kind of flows perfectly all the way through.
I’m not saying that’s better or worse. I love Stranger and Soul for the emotional journey they take you through, from the epic blues-rock ballads to the uptempo, sing-and-jump-around rock songs, to the stripped-back, thoughtful and melancholic acoustic songs, and the beautiful poetry of Sambora’s lyrics from that era. But they’re not necessarily albums I listen to from start to finish a lot, because the mood can jump a lot along the way.
Aftermath seems more mature and polished in that respect – despite the changes in tempo and instrumentation, it has a very coherent mood throughout. Maybe it’s because the album was born out a particular phase in Sambora’s life. There’s ups and downs, cheerful and serious songs, but every piece of it seems to be anchored in reflections on that phase, in the person that emerged from this ‘lowdown’ (as he calls it).
And that, above everything, is what I love this album for. I may be completely over-interpreting it, of course, but then music is always what you make of it. And to me, Aftermath of the Lowdown says that my favourite singer/songwriter/musician, my musical hero if you like, has made it through his lowdown and is doing all right.
And after all these years, he’s still making some damn fine music – and he sure knows how to drive a crowd crazy.
Oh my proverbial God. The most anticipated album of the decade* is here. After some ten years of announcing and postponing, Richie Sambora has released his third solo album, Aftermath of the Lowdown.
I’ve been in a state of permanent bliss for the last two weeks, just enjoying the luxury of being able to listen to the music I’ve been waiting to hear for so many years. And trying to form an opinion in the context of having spent half my life listening to his “old stuff” – the two previous albums Stranger in this Town and Undiscovered Soul, from the early and late 1990s respectively. So this is mostly preliminary thoughts on an album I plan to become very familiar with.
Compared to the 1990s stuff, I would say he sings a little less about love these days, and more about life – in a voice that’s clearly less romantic and a good deal more cynical. But that’s hardly a surprise, considering all that he’s been through in the last half-decade. Thrown off track by a divorce followed closely by his father’s death, he suffered a spell of addictions and rehab while the nasty gossip headlines piled up.
It was certainly the kind of stuff that leaves a mark on a life, but also stuff that seems to have inspired a more personal songwriting than we’ve ever heard from Richie Sambora. But throughout the confessions and the regret – at their most vocal in songs such as You Can Only Get So High and Seven Years Gone – you see a man who still embraces life, who has pulled himself back to his feet and turning over a new page. Taking A Chance On The Wind, Weathering The Storm and Learning How To Fly With A Broken Wing may be somewhat soppily titled songs, but their upbeat celebration of second chances leaves you filled with a sudden happiness that’s hard to shake off.
Besides, it’s nice to see that the King of Swing has kept his charm and cheek throughout the bad times. Sugar Daddy says it all. He has also included a song for his teenage daughter Ava, which – although performed largely in the kind of thin, just-off-the-key voice that has become the trademark of all the indie kids these days (and which I don’t dig at all) – is a very sweet and touching number. The last song on the album, World, is quite a break with the style and so Beatles-y that I initially mistook it for a cover of a lesser known Beatles song. But it’s indeed an original – an easy giveaway of his musical influences. “Wearing my heroes on my sleeve,” he says.
Overall, my first impressions are pretty good indeed. I’m not yet ready to yell “totally amazing”, but that’s fine, because a) it’s a bit difficult to adjust to the new sound having had the two previous albums as constant companions in my life for the last 14 years and b) it’s always taken me a good few proper listens to appreciate Richie Sambora’s music to the max. (This is the point where I confess that, after listening to Stranger in this Town and Undiscovered Soul for the first time, I put them away and didn’t bother for a good year before I eventually got into them.)
So I’ll definitely have to listen to Aftermath for a few weeks before I can commit to a full opinion. But for now I’m pretty damn happy that Richie Sambora is back.
And after his gig in London this month, you’ll hear me yelling “totally amazing” for the rest of the year.
As I may have mentioned previously, Richie Sambora is my personal guitar, singing and songwriting hero. His two solo albums have been a constant companion since my teenage days. Life changed, my tastes in music changed and bounced back, but those 22 songs from Stranger in this Town (1991) and Undiscovered Soul (1998) remained on top of my playlist throughout.
The more excited I was to find that, after fourteen long years, Sambora’s third solo album is to be released. In the run-up, his PR team thought out a totally interactive, socially networked competition: The first single, Every Road Leads Home to You, was released free of charge and the fans were asked to submit photos they associate with the lyrics via Instagram.
A selection of photos would be used to make the video for the song. Well, not the proper, official music video – for that they preferred to have Mr Sambora strolling, bleached blond and guitar over one shoulder, through the desert for four and a half minutes. Meanwhile, the fans’ creative contributions were used in the official lyric video – as I’m told, another new-is marketing effort undertaken by various labels. Presumably to pre-empt all those fans making their own lyric video, via Windows Movie Maker and Comic Sans, over the next few weeks.
And since I’m a hopeless fangirl, I dutifully instagrammed my photo into the Samborasphere. And one of them now carries the vital phrase “I’m” of the refrain line “When the bridge is burning and I’m losing my faith”, right after the solo, at three minutes thirteen, of the official lyric video. Staying in the frame for about a third of a second.
But, hey, my photo is in Richie Sambora’s video.
The lonely little bench sits on a hidden bit of beach just outside Zadar, in Croatia.
If you know me you know that I’m a summer child, that I’m in danger of freezing to death as soon as the temperature drops below 20°C, and usually spend September to April holed up in my blanket fort, raging and ranting about the rain and the snow and the early nights.
But this year, I can’t wait for the autumn and winter months to kick in. Why? Well, there are five reasons. Five reasons of a very rock & roll nature.
5.) The best new folks on the London scene
Acoustic folk may be an unusual choice for me, but from the moment I first heard Morrissey & Marshall play a tune in the back room of a pub in January 2011, I have been completely mesmerised by their music. I knew right then and there that the charismatic duo from Dublin couldn’t be far from headline gigs and a place in the charts – and now they, indeed, seem to be on their way to exactly there with the release of their debut album in early 2013. If you check out the songs for download on their Facebook page, you’ll see why I absolutely cannot wait to hear an album full of their perfect harmonies and thoughtfully uplifting lyrics. My top one to watch for the next year!
Watch this – it’s the best ten minutes you’ll invest in something today.
4.) All’s new in Kamelot
New album, new lead singer, new tour: Big changes in Kamelot Nation. I’ll have to admit I didn’t particularly keep my faith in the two years since singer Roy Khan left amidst much drama – although I’m now rather gutted to have missed the band’s gigs with Fabio Lione of Rhapsody of Fire fame on guest vocals. (Which, in retrospect, seems even more stupid considering that Rhapsody are way up among my favourite bands, too.) But there you go, my punishment to fit the deed. In any case, Kamelot has now found its new king in Seventh Wonder frontman Tommy Karevik. The new album is out in October – the band’s third concept album to be precise, so all the more reason for excitement – followed by a London gig in November. And from what I’ve heard about the new guy so far, the legend of Kamelot is set to live on. I’m defo holding my breath.
Still, let’s keep alive the memory of Roy Kahn, one of the best voices in metal.
3.) An Arctic city break
And while we’re on the subject of favourite bands, Sonata Artica is one I hold so dearly in my heart that I’ll be jetting out to Munich in November to finally catch them live on stage. Admittedly, that’s quite a way to go for a gig. But since the UK has no power metal scene to speak of and consequently most of my bands just don’t wash up on these shores, I have no choice but to go to where my music is being played. I’ve been waiting for years to hear these guys live, and to witness with my own two eyes (and not via a TV screen) the epic solo-battles of keytar and guitar. Besides, the Munich trip has the added benefit that I’ll be headbanging it out with my dad, who is my number one partner in crime when it comes to music anyway.
Let’s watch some epic guitar/keytar battling. Feel free to freak out/jump around.
2.) The Bluesman returns
It’s been fourteen years, and he’s been announcing it for most of this time, but now it’s actually happening: Richie Sambora releases his third solo album, Aftermath of the Lowdown, in September. The first single [YouTube] is already out for download, and while it does sound more commercial and not as soulful as his old stuff, I remain in the hope that this was just the teaser to get pre-orders from all the Bon Jovi fans in, and the rest of the album will be more in the good, old Bluesman tradition. His previous solo albums, Undiscovered Soul and especially Stranger in this Town, are among my very favourite music of all time, so I’m really rather excited about this. Which brings us straight to…
1.) …and he’s coming to town!!!
Not only is Richie Sambora going on tour with his new album and sans Bon Jovi, but he’s stopping by in my town. Now, if you take into account that this is my all-time musical hero, and I have never had a chance to see the Bluesman live, and have been waiting for the opportunity for the past twelve years, you can probably see why this is simply the best thing that will happen this year.
And while we wait, let’s chill with some vintage Bluesman stuff.
There you go. All my favourite musicians and bands, new albums and gigs all over the place. This is why my freak-out-o-meter will be bursting out the top of the scale constantly for the next five months.
Kamelot, 2012 – in their best shape ever
Kamelot founder/guitarist Thomas Youngblood and new man Tommy Karevik 
