Like father, like son

Jamebase reviews the debut album from Liam Finn, son of Crowded House's Neil Finn, as says

Forget that his dad is Neil Finn and just listen. This is the whole panoply of pop displayed with peacock flair. Liam Finn's debut, I'll Be Lightning (Yep Roc), has the mix of unbridled imagination and tasteful restraint one associates with debuts like Todd Rundgren's Runt and Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool. But unlike those artists, Finn doesn't have a Nazz or Brinsley Schwarz under his belt to help him with the fundamentals. Apparently, this youngster just gets hooks and heart-strong verses in the way most of us understand breathing or walking - a natural, largely unconscious rightness that keeps things moving along nicely.

Hall of fame

Tim Cain at the Illinois Herald & Review joins those who think Todd should be in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

"The biggest problem with Rundgren’s career? He’s too talented ... Rundgren could have kept mining the “I Saw the Light”/”Hello It’s Me” style of song, and potentially been an American rival to Elton John on the pop charts for the rest of the 1970s. But he decided to go in other directions. Thus, he created an odd fan base - some loved his pop music, some loved the progressive rock direction he took, and a select few loved it all. (And if you get around any of those people - I know a couple of them - you’ll learn quickly that they love a lot of different kinds of music, and they’re extremely passionate about it.)"

Yep...and I'm in that 'select few' group of people who have loved it all, and does - as those looking deeper into this blog would find - have very varied taste in music.

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Spam Blog

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The Bastard Fairies-We're All Going To Hell

I love this album - still available free on their website a year after I bought it. But to be honest, it is worth buying.

Laura Marling @ Union Chapel 09/03/2008

She may only be 18 but Laura Marling hit upon an interesting idea for the release of her debut album, Alas I can Swim. Why not offer a version that contained a free exclusive gig ticket, the cd and other goodies. Tonight's gig was the second London show to allow those in the south of the country redeem their free ticket, and on tonight's form I don't think she'll have much trouble selling tickets in the old fashioned way, even if her stage presence could do with a little work - she does seem to be staring intensely at a spot on the floor for most of her short set (surely not her lyrics?).

But what matters most is the music, and as she reels off the tunes form her debut album one by one, it is hard not to reach the conclusion that you are witnessing someone with a lot of talent and frightening potential. Whilst her voice may lack some variety of emotion perhaps that it may find in a few years, it is still quietly powerful. The likes of Adele and Duffy may be taking more of the headlines, and getting all the 'big thing of 2008' talk in the UK, but neither of their debut outings is as strong as Marlings.

Some able support was provided by Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit. Once again ridiculously young muti-instrumentalists playing some good old fashioned English Folk music.

Was less impressed by the other support turn. Did not catch his name, but his voice was not to my liking. In fact I thought it was joke voice for the first song. Probably just as well I don't recall his name.