Posts Tagged “Singer”
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March 19, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Making American Recordings
Johnny Cash and his guitar in a room, with the ghosts of the men he used to be. That’s the way to make new history. Take the last quarter century and put it in the bin. Make the song the thing. Make it the only thing. Let the song ring out its truth. Let the […]Archive
March 1, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Diane Schuur: Running On Faith
Diane Schuur Running on Faith Jazzheads Diane Schuur, blind since birth, is one hell of a singer – and pianist. But here, on a gospel referencing collection, her first in six years, it’s very much about the other direction – the one above, nothing at all to do with down below. I’m pleased to hear […]Archive
January 28, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 21 Emmylou Harris, Wellington 2001
I’ve been revisiting the second-coming of Emmylou Harris lately – you know, everything from Wrecking Ball through the Spyboy years, the duet record with Linda Ronstadt and of course Red Dirt Girl. Though I knew about her before those records – and owned the two “Profile” Best Of compilations on vinyl (freebies that I took […]Archive
November 1, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Lauren Henderson: The Songbook Session
Lauren Henderson The Songbook Session Brontosaurus Records Lauren Henderson has been building her brand across a handful of albums and an EP – she’s a great singer of jazz, and she turns her ear to songs that sit just outside of the genre as well as honouring the ‘songbook’ classics; she’s as likely to reach […]Archive
September 28, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Sitting Room Sessions: Margot Pierard & Wil Sargisson
This guy in Hawke’s Bay started this thing a while back called The Sitting Room Sessions – follow the page on Facebook. Check it out. House concerts, basically. Small gigs. Acoustic, primarily. A sitting audience. Waiting to be entertained, open to hearing anything, sure of quality due to the curation by their host. He’s trusted. […]Archive
February 9, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poetry at The Fringe – Sunday, 9 February, 2020
It was the first session for 2020 – Poetry At The Fringe – and it was the quietest I’ve been to. A nice day in early February means many people will be any place where indoors poetry is not. Also it was a change in the schedule, a week or two earlier than normal due […]Archive
December 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 19 – Karen Carpenter
Karen Carpenter – sadly thought of as a punchline by some, known to be an incredible singer and one half of the mega-successful sibling duo, the Carpenters – was a drummer. Brother Richard was in charge of song selection (covers) arranging, producing and composition. But if he was the boss Karen was the star. Ask […]Archive
October 21, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Joan As Police Woman: Joanthology
Joan As Police Woman Joanthology Play It Again Sam I don’t remember when I first heard Joan As Police Woman – or heard about her – but it was right near the start. So that’s over a decade ago now, 2006 in fact. The album Real Life was almost instantly a revelation – I remember […]Archive
April 10, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 144: Cee-Lo Green – “Cee-Lo Green…Is The Soul Machine”
Cee-Lo Green…he’s a bit like the Elton John or Sting or Eric Clapton of his day really, in that people now might struggle to believe how potent, how good he once was. Since everything happens a lot quicker now this happened a lot quicker to Cee-Lo. There he was in Goodie Mob killing it and then across his first couple of solo albums […]Archive
April 10, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Alicia Olatuja: Intuition – Songs From The Minds of Women
Alicia Olatuja Intuition: Songs From The Minds of Women Resilience Music Alicia Olatuja is a classically trained singer who shot to fame as the soloist in a gospel choir that served at Barack Obama’s second inauguration ceremony. Such backstories are the stuff of fantasy, and the can come close to triviliasing the talents – suggesting it was luck and whim, as if […]Archive
February 26, 2019 by Simon Sweetman