Bryan Adams Reckless show reviewed - it's all about rock'n'roll

In recent years I have done a bit of musical soul searching, debating with myself as to whether or not my previous years as a "professional" music critic really had as much merit as I once thought. The obvious answer - when you pose such a question in the first place - is "probably not". What I'm getting at is that as a music critic you have a certain set of favourite acts, musical preferences and maybe even certain musical values, and more importantly, you have quite a few of the same that doesn't fit the norm and that you love to hate.

Bryan Adams is that guy that any music critic that enjoy, say... Bruce Springsteen, Dave Edmunds or Steve Earle - and let's not forget Ryan Adams - love to hate. True, I still get a rash when I hear "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)", but lately I have come to "understand" Bryan Adams' music on another level, one that simply says "this is fun".

That was my attitude towards the 55 year old Canadian rocker before the show he did in the concert hall Oslo Spektrum last night, and that is still my attitude today, even more so actually.

Foto: Helge Mikalsen

What Adams does on his current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 1984 breakthrough album Reckless. Touring with a tight band that is all about the music, he enters the stage with a smile, going straight into the song "Reckless", the title track that never was as it was left off the album and emerged last autumn as one of several bonus tracks on the remastered anniversary editions of Reckless. He may not go for the jugular right from the start, but on the second song, the album's opening track "One Night Love Affair", it's evident that this evening will be about rock'n'roll in its simplest, most basic guise. The next song is "She's Only Happy When She's Dancin" followed by "Run To You", and everything is perfect. We will get what we are here for, a night of fun, nothing more and nothing less, even if the next song, another outtake named "The Boys Night Out" may be a little less impressive.

OK then, time to reflect a bit further about my views on Bryan Adams and his music. What strikes me is that although I'm really not that familiar with these songs, mostly having shunned them because I used to despise Adams, they (mostly) appear to be instantly familiar, instantly recognizable and to a certain degree gorgeously fun and dead catchy. The backing band known as The Dudes Of Leisure is amazingly tight, the sound is perfect and everything boils down to the fact that all five musicians seem to be having a great time themselves. I'm sure that this is what it's been about for Adams throughout his entire career, the joy of playing in a rock'n'roll band with musicians that are your friends and that know you as well as you know them, both in a musical sense as well as a personal one. Adams and fellow guitar slinger Keith Scott go at the job like there's no tomorrow, and the bass and drums, played by Norm Fisher and Mickey Curry respectively, is as tight as they come. The perfect band is then complimented by keyboardist Gary Breit whose job is to add mostly subtle layers of depth to the songs. This is rock'n'roll in its most basic and carefree form, not like the locomotive that is Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, but more like the train wreck that is AC/DC or ZZ Top.

Adams' best power ballad, "Heaven", takes the proceedings down a notch, or wait. Does it really? For the first few stanzas Adams leaves the singing to the audience that knows it by heart and ecstatically shouts out the lyrics before Adams finally decides to help out. Then it's down to the nitty gritty again as the band explodes into a frenetic "Kids Wanna Rock", which sounds like ZZ Top at speed. Adams and Scott then have a bit of fun with "It's Only Love", originally a duet with Tina Turner, a guest spot that Adams then acknowledges with a certain degree of attitude after having finished the song, implying that upon the time of the record's release Turner was a huge star on the back of her Private Dancer album whereas he was not. "It's Only Love" helped him to become a star as well.

The band is not following the album's original chronology, but who cares. What follows next are "Long Gone", "Somebody", "Ain't Gonna Cry", and finally my all time favourite Bryan Adams song, "Summer Of '69", a song that I've always loved and never been afraid to admit. This is pure brilliance.

There's one last Reckless outtake, "Too Hot To Handle", before he's going for the inevitable "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". Thankfully, this is where I have decided on a trip to the bathroom without knowing what was in store so I miss half of it. Next up is "If Ya Wanna Be Bad , Ya Gotta Be Good", a song that first appeared on the 1997 live album MTV Unplugged and this is where he needs a woman to dance for him, spotting a good-looking blonde in a see-through top among the audience, slightly embarrassing her, but she bravely dances throughout the song with the spotlight on her the entire time. Then it's "Cut Like A Knife" and the guy beside me is leaving, having heard the songs that he came to hear.

The rest of us stay, and thank God for that. There is still something of a hit parade to come, and we are treated to "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" which is a great pop song, as is "When You're Gone", the duet he did with Mel B of Spice Girls on the 1998 album On A Day Like Today. He performs it alone with an acoustic guitar as his only help, and it's a great sing-a-long moment. The rest of the show is a little hodge-podge in nature, but mostly fun. Among the highlights are "18 Til I Die", "Cloud Number Nine" and the wonderful "She Knows Me" (alone again), the only Adams-penned song on his recent covers album Tracks Of My Years, which is his best song in years.

He ends the show alone, with "She Knows Me", the Cuts Like A Knife track "Straight From The Heart" and a surprisingly good version of the dreaded "All For Love", leaving the audience highly pleased, yours truly most definitely included. It may not have been an evening for the history books, but boy was it a lot of fun! I would love to see this band again, and hopefully I will.

Simple Minds - back in Oslo

Yesterday, January 30th, Scottish synth-pop legends Simple Minds returned to Oslo and the Sentrum Scene venue, close to two year's after their last visit.

Foto: Per-Otto Oppi Christansen/GAFFA

That concert was part of the band's 5x5 tour, a concept where they played five songs from each of their five first albums. It was an idea that sounded better in theory than it turned out to be, mainly because their first two albums, Life In A Day and Real To Real Cacaphony, have no chance of turning up five good songs each. It is just barely possible to find five good songs among the two of them.

Still, the 5x5 show was not bad, but hopes were higher prior to what was billed as a "greatest hits" tour. That was not exactly the case as this current tour also relies heavily on non-hits, and quite a few songs most Simple Minds fans are not familiar with, such as "Broken Glass Park", "One Step Closer", "War Babies" and "Blood Diamonds".

To say that these and others distracted the audience last night would be an understatement. Once the show gained momentum after a so-so start (that did include the awesome "Waterfront") of a sudden it falters and stops as the (brilliant) band sets out on another unexpected journey into the confusing wilds of "not giving the fans what they came to hear". Throughout the show it started, stuttered, and in some instances collapsed, before they tried again and spirits soared anew.

It's a strange thing to witness as Jim Kerr and his cohorts are so experienced they should know far better. The absolute worst case of this strange and ill-thought behaviour came right towards the end. They dove into the encores with a roof-raising version of "New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)", the title track off their 1982 masterpiece, then went on a similarly hair-raising and fun run through "Sanctify Yourself" that almost doubled the intensity as the audience whooped for joy and sang along, and then... pffffft... a song no-one knows called "Space" from their Silver Box of demos and unreleased obscurities. All the bobbing heads, raised and waving arms, dancing bodies and screaming and shouting voices doing their best to sing along with Jim Kerr all of a sudden came to a complete halt as the band started playing that song. I don't know if that's pretention, disregard for the audience or maybe even pure madness, but it ruined the momentum once and for all. Even though the band ended the show with a brilliant "Alive And Kicking", the air completely left the balloon, and there was, of course, no way to blow it up again.

At their best, Simple Minds were absolutely fantastic last night. To imagine what the show could have been if they had stuck to the greatest hits concept... a crying shame. As it was, it was worth the money, it was a good night out, but it could have been a lot more. I do hope they come to their senses at some point and embark on a true greatest hits tour. I won't be giving up on Simple Minds, but last night was, unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment.

Playlist in Spotify
 

Daft Punk's masterpiece - a review

Daft Punk
Random Access Memories
(Daft Life/Columbia/Sony Music)

Much has already been said and written about French electronica duo Daft Punk's new album, the surprisingly warm and - I think - heartfelt Random Access Memories. Most critics seem to love it, whereas a few doesn't much like the fact that the record is light years away from the groundbreaking electronic music that shot Daft Punk to fame in the first place. The electronic elements are few - drum machines, a modular synthesizer, vintage vocoders - and the rest of the records' sounds are performed on actual instruments; guitars, bass, drums, etc.

Random Access Memories is far removed from their previous three albums, Homework (1997), Discovery (2001) and the disappointing last album, Human After All (2005). Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are the men behind the masks, and they show more than mere glimpses of warmth and humanity on this album, they go a long way in distancing themselves from their own past, as well as utilizing their former strengths into building a finely detailed and formed construction of pure musical bliss. This is so much more than what we could have expected.

Random Access Memories is an album that takes you for a cosmic ride into a world of retro sci-fi (?) anthems, 70's disco and soft-rock with a West Coast vibe, cheesy 80's soundtrack music and much more. Bangalter and Homem-Christo may have left their electronic pioneering days behind, but that doesn't stop them from exploring what is for them unknown musical territories (unknown in the sense they have not performed anything like this before) and succeeding to an impressive degree.

I will gladly suggest Random Access Memories as a remedy for depression. From the opening stanzas of album opener "Give Life Back To Music" in a sort of Saturday Night Fever meets Star Wars theme fashion, it's immediately clear that you will smile a lot during the album's running time. And so you do. Constantly. For 75 minutes running. But inbetween you're also filled with wonder, nostalgia, excitement, incredulity and sheer joy. The pleasure of listening to this album is unlike any I have heard in a long time. It's a record that makes me truly, unconditionally happy.

Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers is a key player on the album. Although he only plays his trademark funk guitar on three of the 13 songs, it's as if his spirit is all over the place. His instantly familiar signature sound on "Give Life Back To Music", "Lose Yourself To Dance" and first single "Get Lucky" keeps popping up in your mind throughout, even when it's not there. When Rodgers is not playing the guitar, Bangalter and Homem-Christo instead leaves the job to Paul Jackson, Jr. whose greatest claim to fame is playing on classic hit albums by Michael Jackson such as Thriller and Bad. Drummer Omar Hakim, known from his work with Sting and Dire Straits among others, is another such force. His playing is eloquent but at the same time subtle, and needless to say, he never misses a beat. The same goes for another American studio legend, drummer John "J.R." Robinson, famous from Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album amongst many others.

Random Access Memories sounds like a musical quest for Daft Punk. Although the hype surrounding its release has been of the smothering kind, there is real substance behind the hype. This is an album that seems born of the same emotions that hit me when I listen to it. I'm sure the wonder, nostalgia, excitement, incredulity and joy I feel are similar to what Bangalter and Homem-Christo must have felt during the recording, and it seems these emotions are the driving forces behind the album.

"Giorgio By Moroder" is just the thing I'm talking about. It's one of the cornerstones, nine minutes long, featuring the Giorgio Moroder, disco king of the 70's and 80's, who's especially well-known for his extensive soundtrack work and seminal records with Donna Summer. The track opens with Moroder talking about how he first dreamt of making a living out of music, and then blooms into a synth-, organ- and guitar-heavy epic that at times sounds like French disco band Space (of "Magic Fly" fame), other times as Herbie Hancock's moved into the building and at yet other times as Mike Oldfield playing at his most furious while an intergalatic war is going on next door.

Another truly fascinating piece of music is the closing track "Contact". It opens with a recording of the last human to set foot on the moon, Eugene Cernan, on the final Apollo mission in 1972, Apollo 17, released to Daft Punk exclusively by NASA. Cernan's voice is heard describing a "bright object" from the window in his capsule over layers of synthesizers before the piece breaks out into fanfares and heavy drums. It was co-produced with Stéphane Quême a.k.a. DJ Falcon who previously worked with Bangalter as one part of the duo Together. Also, it has to be said, "Contact" revisits the track "Aerodynamic" from the 2001 album Discovery. It's pretty much the same song, but with a different arrangement.

A note too on the different collaborators Daft Punk have gathered for the album. With singers as diverse as Paul and Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) and house legend Todd Edwards, French "unusual instrument aficionado" Thomas Bloch, pedal steel maestro Greg Leisz and all of the above mentioned, this is in every way an album beyond the ordinary. Sprinkled all over the place is wild imaginations and bright ideas, held in check by two French musicians/producers of the highest order,

The entire album is like this, full of excitement, surprises and small details adding to the confusion/fascination. It's elegant work, studio mastery of the highest sort, and a welcome return to the living for electronic music as such. By looking backward, Bangalter and Homem-Christo has succeeded in jumping a big leap forward, not for their genre, but for themselves. Daft Punk is at the head of their game, and have reached both an artistic and a commercial peak with Random Access Memories. Do not be in doubt, this is a record that will sell in spades, deservedly so. Even though it loses a bit of momentum towards the end, this is Daft Punk's crowning glory, their masterpiece. We, as a public, are lucky and priviliged to listen in. Am I in love with this record? You bet! Gloriously, heavenly so!

Listen to the album in Spotify.

Listen to the album in WiMP.

Rosanne Cash delivering great show in Norwegian church

Rosanne Cash w/John Leventhal
Kulturkirken Jakob, Oslo, Norway
May 3, 2013

Rosanne Cash (57), celebrated singer/songwriter and daughter of Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, played a wonderful set in Oslo last night, in the atmospheric confines of an old stone church, Kulturkirken Jakob. Performing as a duo with husband, producer, co-writer and guitarist John Leventhal she delivered a set consisting of both her own compositions (including a couple of new ones, "Eddie's Song" and "Modern Blue") and several covers, many of which was lifted from her recent covers album The List (2009).

This was not an evening for the big surprises nor your average Friday night party people. The audience was a well-behaved crowd around 50 years of age, and Rosanne Cash even jokingly complained that they were too quiet and polite, expressing the belief everyone were all "serious Norwegian music fans". That might be so, but at times she and Leventhal - of the very good guitar work-  managed to excite and rouse people to a certain extent. There were no dancing on chairs, but some well meant rounds of applause and a little yelling were forthcoming. This in a church too, remember.

Playing for an hour and a half there were lots of songs that I would have wanted to hear, but we did get the early gem "Seven Year Ache" (written when she was 23) and songs like "Radio Operator" and "Burn Down This Town" from her 2006 Black Cadillac album. But it was with her well-chosen covers that she and Leventhal shined the most. A fantastic run through "Sea Of Heartbreak" was an early highlight, the old folk ballad "Motherless Children" (see video below) was a treat, and "Heartaches By The Number" almost raised the roof. Probably best of all was a chilly version of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe", and her father and Bob Dylan's classic "Girl From The North Country", dedicated tonight of course to the Norwegian ladies in the audience.

There were also as mentioned earlier two new songs performed, a ballad called "Etta's Song" and the up-tempo "Modern Blue", both to be included on her next album, due for a January 2014 release.

Disappointingly there was only one encore, but at least it was a good one, a solid version of the George Jones classic "She Thinks I Still Care" in honour of the country music icon who died last week, retitled "He Thinks I Still Care" of course. All in all, a fabulous, if a little short, evening. I'm truly glad I was there.

Watch the performance of "Motherless Children"

Tracey Thorn's autobiography reviewed - playlist included

Everything But The Girl singer and solo artist Tracey Thorn has written an autobiography that was just published, having collected dust for some years after she simply abondonded the project in 2007. What came in the way of the book was actually her return to music - an utter relief to those of us who love her voice dearly - and we are quite a few - having missed it since 1999.

Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up And Tried To Be A Pop Star is not your average rock'n'roll autobiography, and how could it be? Thorn has always been strongly opposed to the notion of rock cliches, and been decidedly "indie" or DIY in her approach to most aspects of her career. The book does as promised in the title, tells an abridged story of a fairly normal upbringing in Brookmans Park, a small suburb just north of London, and then how she just misses the advent of punk but becomes absorbed in the post-punk records of the late 1970's, before sort of becoming a pop star.

She picks up her first guitar at 16, a Les Paul copy, and as she really didn't think of the fact that you need an amp to play an electric guitar, she starts out playing without one, which might account for the raw and naked but nevertheless silent-sounding music of her first records, both with The Marine Girls (two albums) and her first solo album, 1982's A Distant Shore.

The book goes on to tell about her move to the university in Hull where she meets Ben Watt, lifelong partner, both romantically and as one half of Everything But The Girl. The band's story, and that of Tracey Thorn, is a story of the usual ups and downs a musical career will take, but Thorn's refreshing and not quite everyday look at the music business and its machinations makes for entertaining and interesting reading. She is also quite funny.

Twice in her career she has experienced true pop stardom in the form of real hit singles, first with Everything But The Girl's cover version of Danny Whitten's "I Don't Want To Talk About It" in 1988, and then in 1995, when Todd Terry's remix of the Amplified Heart single "Missing" turned into a worldwide dancefloor filler and monster hit. In between there have been a few lows, most notably with the largely overlooked and not very good Worldwide album in 1992, but for the most part Everything But The Girl has enjoyed a certain amount of success as a band.

What I've always admired about Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt is their willingness to never make the same record twice. Especially in their early years, things shifted dramatically from record to record, and then, in the mid-90's, the success of the "Missing" remix coincided with Ben's fascination for electronic music, resulting in their two final albums, Walking Wounded and Temperamental.

Bedsit Disco Queen is a book to enjoy, well-written and interesting, and it sheds new light on one of my all-time favourite bands. It's also chock full of funny anecdotes. Read it if you will, and while doing so, listen to the music of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt once again. Below you'll find the playlist I compiled for Norwegian streaming service WiMP last year, featuring a total of 61 songs, including the solo work of both and a few classic collaborations. Enjoy!

Playlist

PS! The book was also enlightening in another respect. I've always considered the Idlewild single "These Early Days" to be a love song, whereas it is in fact about Tracey Thorn's (at the time) newborn nephew. Naturally it's still a love song of sorts, but not quite the kind I thought it was.

Rune Berg - Hølå

Rune Berg: Hølå (SkiPop Records)

Norwegian singer/songwriter Rune Berg, who basically was more of a musician/songwriter until recently, sort of refused to grow up when his friends grew up around him, or rather, he had no plan B. Writing songs for his two bands The Margarets and Number Seven Deli, the former sadly disbanded, Rune has been one of the most talented songwriters around for years in Norway, but somehow he has never quite "made it", although he enjoyed moderate success with The Margarets. Their debut album What Kept You? reached an impressive number 2 on the national charts in 2002.

Being my favourite (Engligh language) Norwegian band, The Margarets did nothing wrong and produced four fabulous albums, the last of which, Look For Love, was released in 2008. This autumn, three of the band members (Rune Berg, Ronnie MAG Larsen, Alex Rinde) have gathered to release the brilliant vinyl single "Strangers In A New Town"/"Winter Waltz", but bygones apparently ARE bygones. The Margarets are no more, at least for now.

Rune Berg, however, who's also the chief songwriter for Number Seven Deli, another band he plays with that released their third album Toxteth in March, has finally struck out on his own, also - for the first time - as a singer, due to the fact that he seems to have nothing else to opt for in the job department. We, as listeners, are SO lucky.

Hølå, the decidedly Norwegian title that refers to "the hole" that his grandfather chose to build his house in, on the island of Giske where Rune and quite a few of his friends, family members and fellow musicians hail from, is Rune Berg's debut solo album. Taking his cues partly from his songwriting past, and to a larger extent from his many sources of inspiration, he has created one of the most exciting albums of the year. Had I been a musician myself, I would have been sick with envy. As it is, I'm simply thrilled, honey, as Edwyn Collins might have put it.

Opening track "All My Time" is a six minute musical journey, namechecking some of Rune's heroes from the past, covering a lot of ground, from The Beatles and The Byrds to Morrissey and beyond, and on the way picking up semi-obscure Norwegian bands such as Matchstick Sun and Astroburger.. Not only did Saint Etienne release their best album ever this year with their Words And Music By Saint Etienne, but Rune Berg has (most likely unintended) released a similar type of record, referencing sources and inspirations throughout, several of them the same as Saint Etienne's, but with very different results. Whereas Saint Etienne has made what is essentially a dance record, Rune Berg delivers quite the opposite.

Say what you will, but Hølå is not an album that shouts its presence to the world. In most ways it's quiet, opting for the subtle rather than the blunt. The Margarets was a band with its fair share of melancholy songs, but many of these had a summery sheen, sounding quite happy at times. That is not the case with the songs on Hølå. This is more of a winter record. Still, I wouldn't call it dark.

There is elegance present both in arrangements and songwriting, and if The Beatles is a reference point it should be directed more towards the songwriting of George Harrison than towards Lennon or McCartney. Also, Rune Berg is the kind of songwriter who evidently gets his inspiration from other sources than the most obvious ones. My assumption is that being the music lover that he is, he simply delights in channeling whatever he hears into his own songs, and that, at the end of the day, in some way he becomes the kind of songwriter he admires, but never sets out to eclipse. It's probably something that just happens, an ever-evolving process.

The album is semi-autobiographical, a testament to the helplessness a true music afficionado always feels. On one hand, he or she lives in a world beyond words, a world where everything seems possible and everything seems true. On the other hand it's a prison, a constricted world that never lets you grow up, that never really sets you free.

In the end though, it all comes down to songwriting brilliance. That's what sets Hølå apart. The album's ten songs are indeed brilliant, but they also have layers upon layers that channel doubt, awkwardness and even clumsiness. Just as with the songs he's written for The Margarets and Number Seven Deli, Rune's solo compositions show a songwriter who's always on the threshold of a world where there are only room for the very best, sometimes stepping over the finishing line, sometimes staying on the brink of it, but also, sometimes not being able to take that final step. Luckily it doesn't matter, because his intents are pure. If he fumbles, in the end he also, somehow, succeeds.

Favourite songs? I don't really feel like naming any. Hølå is an album that should be listened to in its entirety, preferably in your own company. It's not an album for parties. It is however, an album for connoisseurs of music, just like Rune Berg himself is. There are melodies here that will hit you, not with a bang, but quietly, modestly, sincerely... Most probably you will love it if you let it in. I did.

Buy and/or download Hølå here.

Simple Minds - alive and pretty kicking

Last night, February 21st, Simple Minds' retrospective 5 X 5 tour took the Scottish band to Oslo, Norway. At times it was extraordinary, but unfortunately, at other times not as good.

This tour is an interesting one. The band disregard all their big stadium hits of the mid- to late-90's, in favour of songs from their first five albums that have recently been collected in a neat little package titled X5. In chronological order the albums are Life In A Day and Real To Real Cacophony (both released in 1979), Empires And Dance (1980), Sons And Fascination and its companion piece Sister Feelings Call (1981) and finally their true masterpiece, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982). The funny trick revealed in the tour name 5 X 5 is that they play five songs from each of these albums every night. It would have been a fantastic idea if all the albums were good enough. Alas, they aren't.

But hey, parts of the show were absolutely terrific. The band entered the stage playing hell out of Empires And Dance's "I Travel", one of their best songs that mysteriously enough failed to become a hit, although their record label at the time of release, Arista, made more than one attempt to break it. Singer Jim Kerr immediately displayed his trademark whirlwind antics, captured the audience's attention and kept it for the first part of the concert, through quite a few of the lesser known songs. These included gems like "This Fear Of Gods" and "Thirty Frames A Second" (both from Empires And Dance), "Premonition" (Real To Real Cacophony), and the punkish "Wasteland" and the title track from debut album Life In A Day. Also included in the first half of the show was a monster version of "Love Song" (Sons And Fascination).

The band's current line-up is excellent, with Kerr and guitarist and co-founder Charlie Burchill as the core members, augmented by bassist Ged Grimes (who used to be in Danny Wilson), keyboardist Andy Gillespie and drummer Mel Gaynor who first joined Simple Minds in 1982.

After a short break things began to fall apart. A thrilling run-through of "The American" and fine versions of moody pieces "70 Cities As Love Brings The Fall" and "Sweat In Bullets" suggested they would continue in excellent form, but then the boring songs entered the evening's fun and started to unravel all that was good. If you're not a die-hard, very nerdy fan, you simply don't care about early songs such as "Calling Your Name", "Factory" and "Scar". As these songs are played the technician is tweeking knobs and turning the volume up significantly, ruining the crystal clear sound that was, which turns the eagerly awaited "Promised You A Miracle" and my favourite Simple Minds song "Someone Somewhere In Summertime" into some sort of aural mush.

The encores begin with the wonderful instrumental "Theme For Great Cities", Sister Feelings Call's majestic opening track, before Jim Kerr re-enters the stage as the band do a good version of "Celebrate" (which is actually tonight's sixth song off Empires And Dance, one more than what is strictly "allowed"). That they choose this moment in the show to do "Someone" and "Chelsea Girl" off their not excellent debut album is nothing short of mysterious. Finishing off with "Glittering Prize" and "New Gold Dream" is of course the right thing to do, but some of the magic has been lost along the way, and the sound is still pretty bad.

I love the idea of Simple Minds doing a retro tour like this one, not playing huge hits like "Don't You (Forget About Me)", "Alive And Kicking" and "Belfast Child", but doing five songs off five albums is very restricting. As I've suggested, there are not enough good songs on the first two albums to pull this off. Imagine a show where they play all the songs from New Gold Dream and other choice cuts such as "Seeing Out The Angels", "In Trance As Mission" and "Boys From Brazil". Now that would have been a night to remember! This was good, at times absolutely amazing, but just as much a missed opportunity. I had great fun all the same though!

Album review: Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

Duran Duran lost me after their second album Rio (1982). I was never ready for the sound of songs like "Union Of The Snake" or "The Reflex", and after a while they simply became boring, hitting bottom with the decidedly unimpressive cover collection Thank You (1995). Maverick producer Mark Ronson seems to agree with me as he told Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and the other guys that they should try to make the actual follow-up to Rio when approached to co-produce their new album. So in a sense All You Need Is Now can be regarded as Duran Duran's third album that was never recorded - until now.

It was released digitally just before Christmas as a nine track album. This week it was finally released on CD, expanded to 14 tracks - or 16 as in the deluxe edition I've bought. (Clever bastards, they made me buy the album twice!) Although I like my albums short - ten songs is usually just fine - it hasn't suffered much by getting some extra weight added to it. Although most of the great songs were already there, the new track "Mediterranea" is better than most, and the others - including a few instrumental snippets - sort of ties it all together.

And it actually does sound like Duran Durans lost third album. "Leave A Light On" is the stand-out track, reminiscent of the classic "Save A Prayer", still the band's most beautiful song. First single and opening track "All You Need Is Now" vaguely resembles the Bond theme "A View To A Kill", "Being Followed" is a first cousin to "Planet Earth" or "Careless Memories", "Girl Panic" is a fatter, funkier version of "Girls On Film" and the epic "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is this album's "The Chauffeur". You can possible trace the origins to most of the other songs as well, but I won't bother with that. I'll also briefly mention that Ana Matronic of The Scissor Sisters and Kelis are guest singers on the album.

To be honest, I never thought it would come to this, me liking a new Duran Duran album. And not only do I like this, I love parts of it, and the whole thing is simply great fun. A big thank you goes out to Mark Ronson for setting things straight!

Watch the video for All You Need Is Now

The man who murdered Unknown Pleasures

Peter Hook, of Joy Division and New Order, never had a reputation for being an especially nice guy, but he's a hell of a bass player with a very distinct style where he treats his bass almost like a guitar. Refusing to revive New Order, he's instead formed his own band, the "super group" Freebass which has yet to make a dent in... well, anything.

So instead he's opted to tour the world playing the classic Joy Division debut, Unknown Pleasures (1979), in its entirety. Bad idea, which he has rightly been criticized for. When Hook and his band The Light visited Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo last night, it was also without the aid of back up-singer Rowetta Idah, formerly of Happy Mondays. It turned out to be a grim night, indeed.

First of all, Peter Hook can't sing. Also, he can't sing and play at the same time. But wanting to be a front man, he's recruited an extra bass player to do all the work, while he concentrates on the singing himself. A terrible idea as he can barely carry a tune, and least of all emulate the great Ian Curtis who took his own life prior to the release of Joy Divisions second album, Closer (1980). When Hook is trying to sound like Curtis, the words are uttered more like farts, and at no time during the entire show does he sound even vaguely similar to Curtis. The former singer's tortured, haunted voice, so full of dread, hurt, confusion and vulnerability, is replaced by a guy who might as well have tried to sing the phone book. And as the great bass player doesn't play much more than the intros to the songs, it gets truly pathetic. He's standing in front, vainly trying to pose as a rock star which he by no means resembles, and he seems quite uncomfortable too, the crowd not being overtly enthusiastic.

This is the sight of a man who has left his dignity in a long forgotten sewer somewhere ages ago. He pisses all over the memory of Ian Curtis, he also pisses all over one of rock music's great albums. All we can do now is play the album as it's supposed to sound, in an attempt to grab it back from the clutches of the scavenger Peter Hook. I can barely remember having seen or heard anything as embarrasing as this before, and I have seen Stiltskin!

Nothing good about the gig at all then? Not really. The band was really not that bad, but I pity the musicians who have to be part of this rubbish in order to make a living.