All Hail... the Duke & the King!

fantastic gig at Bush Hall on tuesday night, check out Allan Jones/Uncut's (spot on) review of a fascinating night here
And look out for their album in July, Nothing Gold Can Stay, see the loose website for more info

Really sad news about Jay Bennett (ex-Wilco)

who died unexpectedly yesterday. Here's a clip of him with Jeff Tweedy, that i made reference to in a post just a couple of weeks ago...

If you ever get famous...

Simone Felice, on leave from the brilliant Felice Brothers, is soon to release the debut album of his new project The Duke & The King (spot the Mark Twain reference, not his first!), Nothing Gold Can Stay. I've just got a early copy of the album, and it's an utter delight, a collection of sad but hopeful songs that sounds a world away from much of the Felice Brothers output, but also makes perfect sense - a different kind of American soul music if you like. Here's the lead song from the album, and they're premiering the album here at Bush Hall on May 26th, that's next tuesday!

Where the Wild Things Are

I haven't seen what the release date is here yet, but bump this up to full screen when you watch!

Black Cab Sessions

here's a plug for the great Black Cab Sessions site, which i highly recommend...

(pure coincidence that it happens to be when Dawn Landes pops up in the back seat, honest)

Day-dreams...

I've been listening to Wilco since the release of their second album Being There, and while they continue to be critical darlings and release quite good records, i'm surely not the only fan out there who yearns for the days when they were a great band. With Jay Bennett still a member they truly hit their stride with the run of albums that followed Being There, Summerteeth, Mermaid Avenue (their Woody Guthrie collaboration with Billy Bragg) and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

The acclaimed film that charts the breakdown of Tweedy and Bannett's relationship - I am trying to break your heart - is a fascinating if sad movie, and a weird thing to watch as a fan. I re-watched it recently and it just makes you realise what the band lost when he left, even if he was argumentative. The two disc version of the film includes some gorgeous extra footage of the two of them playing songs, just guitar and piano/organ, that sound amazing and are genuinely moving. Tweedy of course has form in this regard though - having similarly fallen out with his Uncle Tupelo partner Jay Farrar prior to Wilco - and I guess the just reported lawsuit for unpaid royalties, being filed by Bennett, makes my daydreams of a re-union more than a little unlikely...

Martha & the Vandellas

i love everything about this song and video, here's to bank holiday mondays...