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10-Day Music Challenge: Day 10 - my all-time favourite gig

And so to the last day of my 10-Day Music Challenge - my favourite gig!

There have been many fantastic conchs I've been to including: Meat Loaf at the NEC in themid-90s; Peter Gabriel at Earl's Court around the time of his Us album, and again, in Sheffield just a few years ago, for his Up album; Hothouse Flowers at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford when they didn't seem to want to leave the stage; Squeeze at Keble College Ball back in the mid-80s (yes, I'm starting to show my age), Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II at the Royal Albert Hall, and the world premiere of Tubular Bells III in the rain at Horse Guards Parade; Blur at the NEC...

And, of course, I've performed in many concerts, or had pieces I've composed played in concerts, and, to me at least, these were unforgettable moments. I will always cherish the performances of In Memoriam by Nottinghamshire Education at the Albert Hall, Nottingham; the concert at the British Music Information Centre in London, given by he Holywell Ensemble, to mark my 30th birthday; and the premiere of Kitty - the diary of Anne Frank at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford particularly stand out.

There is though, one concert that will always stand out for me, and I make no apology for choosing one of my own performances (at least I'm not like Elizabeth Schwarkopf who, when invited onto the BBC's Desert Island Discs, chose 7 of her own recordings plus the prelude from an opera that she was the star to keep her company for all time!) - in 2005, I conducted the Lady Manners School Orchestra for the finale of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We played music from Jurassic Park followed by Elgar's Pomp & Curcumstance March No. 1 ("Land of Hope and Glory"). I very much doubt anything will top that for me in terms of a live performance but, who knows, there's still time!

Here are both performances. Yes, there are odd mistakes but, please, don't forget, as Howard Goodall points out in the introduction to Jurassic Park, this is an 80-piece symphony orchestra from one state school.





This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - this is the 10th and final day!

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day 8 - my 3 favourite singers

Day 8 already!

Three singers? It's a shame it's not 3 favourite performers, thereby allowing instrumentalists too, but here goes:

1: Meat Loaf
I've twice seen Meat Loaf live. The first time, back at the time of Bat Out of Hell 2, he was amazing. (The second time was in more recent times and he was, let's put it kindly, past his best). At his best, his voice was so expressive and so powerful. A master of theatrical rock, I'd love to see him again, as lo g as he was back on his mid-90s form!


2. Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel's voice get better with age and on songs like "Intruder" he sounds really creepy! A great range of singing, from joyous to sad to contemplative... again, very theatrical and a great storyteller through music.


3. Jacques Brel
Surely the greatest chansonnier... such a fantastic voice. Truly iconic.


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day 8!

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day Three - the first 8 songs to come on shuffle

Day Three of my 10-Day Music Challenge and I may have to bend the rules slightly as I have a fair bit of instrumental music on my iPhone - so, despite regularly having to correct students who refer to a symphony or an overture as a song, I'm going to do the first 8 pieces of music that come on shuffle, whether they be a song or instrumental.

Unlike Days One and Two, at least Day Three involves no thinking!

Here goes..... SHUFFLE!!

1. Up! with end credits (Michael Giacchino)


2. Secret World (live) (Peter Gabriel)


3. Amigos Para Siempre (Friends Forever)(Sarah Brightman & Jose Carreras)


4. Hand Covers Bruise (from "The Social Network") by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross


5. In Pursuit of Happiness (The Divine Comedy)


6. Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat (from "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber)


7. The Grid (from "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass)


8. Les piqûres d'araignées (Vincent Delerm)


What comes up on your shuffle list?


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Three:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE - Day Two: my 9 favourite songs

Continuing with my 10-Day Music Challenge, here are my 9 favourite songs.

As a composer, it's nearly always the music that attracts me to a song first and the lyrics a distant second, if at all. As you'll see there's even a song in my list that I disagree with lyrics but the music is just so amazing....

Click here to hear my favourite 9 songs as a Spotify playlist (minus the Peter Gabriel which isn't available on Spotify!)

1. I Can See Clearly Now - Hothouse Flowers



Such a great song, and I particularly love the Hothouse Flowers version.

2. Leaving on a Jet Plane



A simply lovely song that takes me back to my Uni days for some reason (no, I wasn't at Uni in the '60s!)

3. Come What May (from "Moulin Rouge")



I love the power and OTT-ness of this - a tour de force, a wall of emotion.

4. Finlandia Hymn - Sibelius



Not because of any religious reasons, as is well known I'm an atheist/anti-theist, but just because it's such a magnificent melody. Along similar lines are I Vow To Thee, My Country and Jerusalem - great tunes, somewhat spoilt with religious lyrics. This version is in Finnish so it sort of nullifies the lyrics if you don't know Finnish!

5. Father, Son - Peter Gabriel



I loved the Millennium Dome for so many things but, in particular, the spectacular show that happened 3 or 4 times every day. The soundtrack was written by Peter Gabriel and this is a very touching song.

6. Somewhere (from "West Side Story") - Bernstein



The best song from the greatest musical ever written. By the time this is sing at the end of West Side Story I'm always blubbing!

7. One Day Like This - Elbow



It's overuse as inspiring background music by lazy television producers has made this a bit of a cliché, but it doesn't stop it being a tremendous song and one I'll always turn up a little!

8. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper



I liked this song a lot, then it was used in Sliding Doors, one of my favourite movies of all time!

9. Jai Ho (from "Slumdog Millionaire") - A. R. Rahman



I never understood why Slumdog Millionaire was promoted as a "feel-good movie" with so many awful things happening in it. However, this song is a amazingly feel-good song and deservedly won the Oscar for best song. It's a shame that the Pussycat Dolls put out a version with them warbling over it and unable to pronounce the title but this version, the original is great!

That was VERY difficult! - so many songs I like - so many that just didn't quite make the final cut! I could easily have included songs by Blur, The Divine Comedy, Philip Glass, Ash, Wheatus, Bill Whelan, Dixie Chicks, Seth Lakeman..... the list could go on and on and on!

Click here to listen to my near misses as a Spotify playlist.

What have I missed? What are your favourite songs?


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Two:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE - Day One: my 10 favourite albums

This list will, I'm sure, be in a continual state of flux. At the moment these are the albums that I'd say are my 10 favourites.

1. A Short Album About Love - The Divine Comedy

The greatest album of all time? Funny, sad, catchy and brilliantly orchestrated.

Click here to listen on Spotify.










2. Different Class - Pulp

A mirror to 90s' Britain. Perfect songwriting.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











3. Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf

Still Mr. Loaf's greatest moment. A perfect set of songs written by Jim

Click here to listen on Spotify.











4. New Blood - Peter Gabriel

Orchestral re-imaginings of Peter Gabriel's greatest hits - simply stunning.



5. Symphony No. 3 - Gorecki

Tragic and atmospheric - slow-moving and emotional.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











6. Cosmic Thing - The B-52s

Just great fun.



7. Moulin Rouge - Original soundtrack

Surely the greatest soundtrack album ever?

Click here to listen on Spotify.











8. The Seldom Seen Kid - Elbow

A brilliantly crafted set of songs - more than just One Day Like This.

Click here to listen on Spotify.









9. Strike - The Baseballs

Great upbeat rock and roll covers of pop songs.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











10. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay

Yes, yes, everyone hates Coldplay and they're really boring.... well, sorry, I quite like them and I particularly like this album.

Click here to listen on Spotify.









What do you think? What are your favourite albums?




Here's the plan for the rest of my 10-day Music Challenge

Oh dear, what shall I include on my letter to Santa?

It's the every year that around the end of October the TV and movie companies deluge us with their wares in the hope that we'll give them as gifts to out loved ones or we'll be the recipient of them.

2011 is no exception with lots to tempt already being advertised. The question is, what do I ask Santa for? (Assuming I'm on his nice list!).


Here are a few that particularly took my attention:

1. Frozen Planet - The Complete Series
2. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 or even the box set of all 8 movies
3. Senna
4. Big Bang Theory - Season 1-4 Box Set
5. Peter Gabriel New Blood Live In London

RANDOM THOUGHTS: My Last Supper

If Harold Camping, the loon who keeps incorrectly predicting the apocalypse, is correct and today sees the end of the world and the Rapture, it set me thinking.... who would I have liked to be at my last supper.

Yes, yes, please don't snooze off just yet - I know it's a tired old cliché of blog writers and jobsworth hacks desperately trying to fill column inches but, you never know, mine might be interesting! (OK, even I'm to holding my breath).

So, if the fictional Jesus (yes, fictional, get over it) was allowed a dozen guests, I'm going to have twelve people plus myself for dinner. As this is pure fantasy and never going to happen the fact that our dining table can only possibly hold eight (and that's a bit of a squeeze) will be ignored. I'm also not inviting any family members or anyone I know in my day to day life - yes, they'd be there in reality but that mean that some dinner guests would have to eat their food from trays on their laps in the living room - and that's not good manners.

Also, I'd like to make it clear now, I do not see myself as the Messiah - I'm sure many might say "He's just a very naughty boy!"

So, dinner... my last supper... my fantasy guests:

1. Tim Minchin - he's pure comedy genius, he's a fantastic musician and he has a similar viewpoint on religion, the environment, etc. as me.



My wife and I went to see him live earlier in the year, accompanied by full orchestra - absolutely fantastic!

2. Jeremy Paxman is probably the best interviewer on British television over the past 20 years - add to that his magnificent hosting of University Challenge and I think he would have a great deal to add to the evening's banter.



3. My third dinner guest would be Michael Moore - film maker, rabble rouser, American leftie (well, leftie for America!) with a hatred of NeoCons and the GOP.



4. My wife will claim that I have only chosen Dr. Alice Roberts because I fancy her - that aside, she is a breath of fresh air as a scientific broadcaster. Her programmes are always interesting and neither dumb down nor patronise.



5. My second American round the table would be Jon Stewart - comedian, presenter of the Daily Show and, sometime presenter of the Oscars.



6. Armando Ianucci is the one person on my guest list that I've met - indeed, whilst at university together, I was the President of the Oxford Revue Company wand he starred in the productions.


Comic Relief 2007 Armando Ianucci by Barneyk

7. My atheist (well, actually, antitheist, views are well known to anyone who knows me so I guess it's not a surprise that I would invite Richard Dawkins - he talks sense and, though some say they think he is slimy, talks down to people or keeps saying the same things over and over, I like him and its MY dinner party!



8. Vanessa Redgrave has had an amzing acting career and has been an inspiration with her various campaigns on a variety of issues.



9. Peter Gabriel is one of my favourite musicians from the rock/pop world - never shy to innovate, full of theatre and with a relevance beyond the recording studio with his human rights campaigning. A true Renaissance man and inspiration.



10. John Adams is my favourite "classical" composer - I hate that term - it suggests someone who died back in Ancient Greece or Egypt. He is very much alive and producing music of great beauty and voracious rhythms.



11. My last two guests might seem odd, or out of place. Firstly I'd choose Jeremy Clarkson who isn't the buffoon he increasingly makes himself out to be on Top Gear and in various newspaper columns and articles. He appears to love the role of pantomime villain and I think his generally right-wing agenda would enliven the conversation.



12. Jesus had himself, 11 supporters and one betrayer around the table at his Last Supper. I'll have myself, 11 "heroes" and one person who I find myself increasingly despising: Sally Bercow. I would choose her because, in this company, it would show her that she's not as talented, well-educated, erufite, witty or profound as she clearly thinks she is. She's a bit of a nobody who is chiselling a career for herself on the back of her husband's job as Speaker of the House. Awful woman!



So, there you have it. That's my fantasy dinner party/Last Supper. I know it will never happen but, if we do survive another Rapture today, I'll continue living in hope.

REVIEW: Peter Gabriel's New Blood

Peter Gabriel is well-known for his use of technology and vision, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. It is then, perhaps, a bit odd for him to dip his toe into the waters of orchestral versions of his back catalogue but that is exactly what New Blood does -"re-imagined arrangements" of Peter's songs without guitars and drum kits.

There have, of course, been rock/pop collaborations with classical musicians before - many end in failure and embarrassment - Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra has to be one of the worst offenders. More recently, Elbow worked with the Hallé Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra, giving their already successful album The Seldom Seen Kid a new life with orchestral colour.

New Blood follows in the wake of 2010's Scratch My Back album. On that album Peter re-worked songs by other artists including David Bowie, Arcade Fire, Lou Reed and Radiohead. As I understood it, the idea was that he'd scratch their back, by doing a new version of one of their songs, and then they'd scratch his, by doing a version of one of his songs. The second part of that seems to have been shelved for the moment, which is a shame.

In some tracks the simplicity of the melody is emphasised by clear, ethereal string textures, in others John Metcalfe's arrangements bring out the power and emotion from the original. It's fair to say, the most successful tracks are the darker, more theatrical ones but it's not an exaggeration to say that every track is given a new lease of life.



The tracks are fantastically performed by the New Blood Orchestra , a 46-piece ensemble, conducted by Ben Foster, who is probably best known for his work with Murray Gold on the Doctor Who scores.

Amongst all the new sounds and textures it is worth commenting on Peter Gabriel's voice which is still as vibrant and expressive as it ever has been. Not bad in a 61 year old.

A few weeks ago I went to watch the movie of Peter Gabriel's New Blood Live In London.



The simplicity of a concert movie taken to the next level with great visuals and effects and a use of 3D that, surely, even Mark Kermode would approve?

1. The Rhythm of the Heat takes a little bit of time to get going - I was certainly doubting whether this was going to add anything to the original for a while. It begins as straight transcription with Peter Gabriel singing over orchestra, with lovely colourful sighs from clarinets and horns but, when the orchestra eventually takes over (around 3'55") in a terrifying orgasm of sound, you suddenly realise this is going to be an album that is more than just an overblown Greatest Hits-type package.
2. Downside Up, a survivor of the Ovo, the Millennium Dome show, contrasts brilliantly with the ferocity of the previous track. The gently syncopated lower strings and delicate woodwind melodies contrast beautifully with the singing of Melanie Gabriel, Peter's daughter.
3. San Jacinto begins with bells and piano reminiscent of early Steve Reich, then builds with pizzicato strings and staccato reed interjections that lead to broad Barber-eque string writing supporting Peter's singing.
   
4. Intruder begins appropriately ominously, with orchestral effects created by extended playing techniques, then 'cellos begin a pattern that recalls the opening track. Peter Gabriel's vocals on this track are at their most dramatic and theatrical. He'd make a truly terrifying childcatcher if there was ever a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
5. Wallflower opens with a simple piano ostinato and long string chords that provide a very pure and simple support the voice.
6. In Your Eyes launches into the sound world of Michael Nyman full of string syncopations and pounding double basses. It is imaginiately scored for just strings and voices - no brass, woodwind or percussion. The chorus, with the morse code violins ( ._. is the letter R - ok, I'm sure it's not significant) is truly joyful and uplifting.
   
7. Mercy Street returns us to the world of Steve Reich with mallet instruments a-plenty: vibraphones, glockenspiels, etc. This track doesn't work as well as many other tracks, becoming rather bland by the end.
   
8. It's fair to say that Red Rain borrows liberally from the style of Michael Torke and Michael Nyman as well as Hollywood film scores of the past decade but is the real tour de force of the whole album. Powerful orchestrations and Peter's voice strident above the ever changing textures.
   
9. Darkness begins like an angry We Will Rock You and is another example of Gabriel's use of music as theatre. What a shame he's never written a musical or opera.
   
10. Don’t Give Up has Ane Brun take on the part originally sung by Kate Bush. I must confess this is one of my least favourite of Peter Gabriel's tracks in its original format and, I'm afraid, this version has done little to change my mind. Ane Brun's voice has, for my liking, too much vibrato and is rather nasal and the arranger simply transcribes the original, adding nothing new or insightful until the last minute and half which leaves you wondering what might have been.
11. Digging in the Dirt lifts the spirits with it's ticking start - again, it made me think of Michael Torke's Yellow Pages - some tremendous orchestral writing add to the threatening vocals but I do wish they'd come up with a better whip sound (it sounds like something from Hugh Grant's character in Music and Lyrics (00'48") - thin and so very 80s). Otherwise a good track.
12. The Nest that Sailed the Sky is the final track on the album proper - tracks 13 and 14 (and various extras on deluxe versions) are additional. It is purely instrumental- an orchestral dawn - slowly coming to life, then resting.
13. A Quiet Moment is, I guess, a work of musique concrete - it uses gentle ambient sounds to trickle over the listener. It is a little masturbatory really - and would probably work better as the final track, where most people would give up and ignore it.
14. Solsbury Hill brings the album to a jubilant end. The chamber music start leads to a fuller orchestration after the first couple of minutes. It is probably the favourite track of Gabriel fans and it is right and proper that it brings things to a conclusion.

Now that these songs have been re-imagined orchestrally, I'd like Peter Gabriel to go one step further - beyond simple arrangements and transcriptions and into full-scale development of his material. I'd love to use the themes for the basis of a symphonic work, along the lines of the Queen Symphony.