The Soundtrack of 2006

That’s it! I just made my yearly CD compilation. I have done this every year since 1996 and I am always proud of myself when I pick up one those CDs and jump into the past with the music. So, this is the soundtrack of 2006. It doesn’t mean that these songs are the best among thousands; I just loved the tunes and, of course, most of them are related to some very personal events. It’s in chronological order. Please, enjoy!

Love And Communication - Cat Power (The Greatest) mp3 via diddywah.blogspot
The Mezzanine - Liz Durrett (The Mezzanine) mp3
Not Just Words – The Black Heart Procession (The Spell) mp3
Live With Me – Massive Attack (Massive Attack Collected) mp3
Forgiveness – Perry Blake (The Crying Room) mp3
Young And Old – Gregor Samsa (55:12) mp3
Crazy – Gnarls Barkley (St Elswhere) mp3
Pass The Hatchett, I Think I’m Goodkind - Yo La Tengo (I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass) mp3
Futures – Zero 7 (The Garden) mp3 via scissorkick
You May Be Blue – Vetiver (To Find Me Gone) mp3 via shakeyourfist.blogspot
Fools – cirKus (Laylow) mp3
Wesley Music - RSL (Every Preston Guild) mp3

Top 2006 - And The Winner Is The Greatest

Late December, it’s time to look in the rear view mirror. Like it or not, everybody plays the game of which are the 10 best records of 2006, best singles of the year, best video etc… and Leaky Sparrow likes to play also.
Today I will start with CDs if you agree. I must say that it was for me a much more difficult time to find 10 very good records than to find 10 very good songs. Only a few of the CDs that I had the chance to discover in 2006 are excellent from the first minute of the first song to the last second of the last track and strong enough to pass the test of time.
So, let me apologize here, when you see the list below you will think that I didn’t take many risks. I am very sorry you’ll only find people who are - if I can say for most of them - already well established. No new band, no new singer-songwriter, no first record. Why? Nothing new in 2006? I remember that since Leaky Sparrow started to fly away (beginning of April), I had posted many reviews about young artists or groups, for example: Psychic Ills, Halou, Barzin, Major Deluxe, etc… or being filled with enthusiasm about Caroline, Cibelle, Tunng, Carrie Biell, Gregor Samsa, Red Sparowes… Where are they? Maybe I am too conservative.
Anyway, I hope you did have the chance to hear the records that I choose because they are good and because I still enjoy every listening even months after their release dates (i.e. Cat Power - The Greatest - January 2006). And don’t forget, buy records!

1 - Cat Power – The Greatest
Web: catpowerthegreatest.com
Song: Cat Power - The Greatest .mp3

2 – CirKus – Laylow
Web: cirkustent.com
Song: CirKus - Sunny Tuesday .mp3

3 – Thom Yorke – The Eraser
Web: xlrecordings.com
Song: Thom Yorke - Analyse .mp3

4 – Neil Young – Living With War
Web: neilyoung.com/lwwtoday
Song: Neil Young - Let's Impeach The President .mp3

5 – Mogwai – Mr. Beast
Web: mogwai.co.uk
Song: Mogwai - Folk Death 95 .mp3

6 – Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
Web: vetiverse.com
Song: Vetiver - Been So Long .mp3

7 – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go
Web: bonnieprincebilly.com or oldham
Song: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Big Friday .mp3

8 – Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Web: bobdylan.com/moderntimes
Song: Bob Dylan - Ain't Talkin' .mp3 via The Late Greats

9 – Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
Web: yolatengo.com
Song: Yo La Tengo - Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind .mp3

10 – Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
Web: sonicyouth.com
Song: Sonic Youth - Turquoise Boy .mp3

Jesse Sykes @ La Cigale

Invited by her European label Fargo for a press tour to promote their forthcoming album, Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul, which is due out in February, the duo of lead singer/guitarist Jesse Sykes and guitarist Phil Wandscher were in France for few dates including one in Paris (La Cigale, December 18) as a support of Emily Loizeau (also from Fargo).
The venue was sold out, last Monday, and it was not so easy for the beautiful Jesse Sykes (Seattle) to play her intimate music in front of a crowd who didn’t come to hear her. During the set which included 3 or 4 songs from her new CD, she mentioned that she thought the new songs were more band oriented then the solo stuff. She played well enough anyway but due to the circumstances nothing exceptional. Even Phil Wandscher didn’t play with the usual deftness and command that we've seen in the past. I am sure that Jesse will come back in 2007 in a smaller venue to share with fans what I may call her lo-fi country-blues and give us the shivers.
Backstage were old friends like Terry Lee Hale from Seattle and J Tillman (from Fargo) who also joined Emily Loizeau during her encore.

Web: jessesykes.com
MySpace: myspace.com/jessesykesandthesweethereafter

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - LLL .mp3 (via Pitchfork Media). New song from Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter's just completed album Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul coming February 2007 on Barsuk.
sunnO))) & Boris (feat. Jesse Sykes) - The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep) .mp3 (via Music Is Art). New track from sunn0))) & Boris featuring Jesse Sykes on vocals from their new album Altar (October) on Southern Lord.
Jesse Sykes - Doralee .mp3 from Reckless Burning, April, 2002
Jesse Sykes - Keep Me .mp3 also from Reckless Burning
Jesse Sykes - Tell The Boys .mp3 from Oh, My Girl, June 2004

Photo: le-hiboo.com. More pictures and comments (in French) here

Single Of The Month (Year?) - We're From Barcelona Na-Na-Na!

You loved Arcade Fire in 2005, you liked Vetiver this year, so, next year in the US, you will enjoy I’m From Barcelona.
Named after Fawlty Towers' Manuel (he's from Barcelona, si?), and formed in Jonkoping, Sweden by Emanuel Lundgren, I'm From Barcelona are 29 (!) friends who gathered together and, fuelled with the energy that only a sunny summer holiday can bring, created an album of explosively happy pop songs, Let Me Introduce My Friends who will be released in the US March 6 2007 by Mute US! Read more on Pitchfork.
First single, We’re From Barcelona, has a chorus it's impossible not to sing along with and a fantastic video that has already clocked up over 150,000 hits on YouTube and is gathering more and more converts to the "biggest" band in Sweden's party.

Web: imfrombarcelona.com
MySpace: myspace.com/imfrombarcelona

Listen: I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona .mp3
or: here
Watch the video: here

Essential David Crosby

Just a quick post today to tell you that I already bought my Christmas present: the 3-CD David Crosby Box called Voyage. Of course, you know everything about this guy: The Byrds, Crosby stills the cash and run, If I Could Only Remember My name, CPR, etc… This boxset is a wonderful homage to a man who gave us so much happiness with his music and his voice. Everything here is gold even if the work on the second CD varies in quality. "Music, music is love…".

"Produced by Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein, this three-CD, first-ever Crosby retrospective celebrates 40 years of music from one of rock's most influential figures. Spanning 1966-2006, Voyage includes two discs of essentials from The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Crosby's solo and collaborative work, plus a third disc of previously unreleased treasures. A beautiful booklet features in-depth liner notes, tributes from a host of fellow musicians, and track-by-track commentary by Crosby as well as Roger McGuinn, Graham Nash, Phil Lesh, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and more." Rhino.com

Along with this triple-disc box set, the label is also reissuing David Crosby's first solo recording If I Could Only Remember My Name.

Website: crosbycpr.com

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Guinnevere .mp3
David Crosby - What Are Their Names .mp3
David Crosby - Laughing .mp3

Lucinda Williams Remastered

Lucinda Williams just released her new digitally re-mastered CD Car Wheels On A Gravel Road complete with previously unreleased full concert performance (WXPN Live At The World Café, Philadelphia, PA, recorded July 11, 1998) and exclusive footage. Lucinda is certainly one of the most brilliant singer/songwriter since years; her work was universally hailed as a major talent by both critics and fellow musicians before wining attention from the general public.
I always wanted to talk about Lucinda Williams in Leaky Sparrow and this Deluxe Edition gives me the opportunity to do it. To tell you the truth, I prefer Essence (2001) witch I believe is more romantic - but it’s a question of personal mood – that doesn’t mean that Car Wheels is lower in my opinion, it’s different. I listened to Metal Firecracker on and on for days ("We put on ZZ Top, and turn 'em up real loud/ I used to think you were strong, I used to think you were proud") and the quality of the songs on that CD confirms that she is more than a “country” singer.
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road earned Lucinda Williams a Gold Album and the Grammy® Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2003, the album was ranked number 304 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and, last November, the Time included Car Wheels On A Gravel Road in there All-TIME 100 Albums Published. What more can I say except that if you don’t own any Lucinda you should be ashamed. Start here.

Tonight, difficult choice for me: J. Tillman plays at The Pomme d'Eve and Bert Jansch plays at the New Morning. Any advice!

Website: lucindawilliams.com

Lucinda Williams - Lake Charles .mp3
Lucinda Williams - Greenville .mp3
Lucinda Williams - Can't Let Go .mp3

1005 Protest Songs

I don't like so much lists of songs, so I don’t really know why I want to mention that here but today Neil Young has links to 1005 protest songs gathered at his website. It’s obvious that there are many many songs missing but it’s an amazing work and I already listened and discovered real gems.
Anyway, if you do have a protest or topical song available on the web don’t hesitate to send him your song link for possible listing here: songs@lwwtoday.com

Chris Chandler - Something In The Air .mp3

Photo: Catherine

Terry Lee Hale - Evergreen

Terry Lee Hale & Fingerbones at the Pomme d’Eve. So far, the best Acoustic In Paris evening for me and one of the finest shows that I attended this year.
Yes, last Thursday night, it was easy to catch the magic of what live music can bring. You had one of the best singer-songwriter in town, in a comfortable place, backed by a perfect contra bass player, Mister Farris Smith, Jr. from San Francisco also called Fingerbones, a very good audience and some friends like Joseph Parsons to come on stage for two songs.
Apart from being a brilliant folk/blues songwriter, Terry Lee Hale (San Antonio, Texas) is also an amazing guitar player. I was astonished by his facility to give life to his 6, 12 or Dobro strings. During 2 hours, Terry Lee helped by a Farris in a great shape showed positive energy and generosity still after years of touring and making records, both as solo artist and with various bands.
Up to now, there are 12 CD's released in Europe, all of them on German recording labels starting in 1993 with Oh What A World on Normal Records. The next 8 CD's (including, Tender Loving Hell: The Best Of…) were with Glitterhouse and the last release, Celebration What For, in 2004 with Blue Rose Records. Also with Blue Rose was one self-titled release called Hardpan and one live CD/DVD- Hardpan Live featuring Chris Burroughs, Joseph Parsons, Todd Thibaud and Terry Lee Hale. Many songs from is forthcoming CD Shotgun Pillowcase (February, 2007) were performed last Thursday and showed the most promising and creative work from Terry Lee since years. I can’t wait hearing those songs on cd.

Next week at La Pomme d’Eve, Acoustic In Paris : J. Tillman – Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13.

Terry Lee Hale & Fingerbones – La Pomme d’Eve, Paris – December 7, 2006

Cable Ballad Blues (*)
2 Windows
Glitterati (Chris Eckman cover) (*)
Untitled instrumental
Christmas In The Chapel
Hearts (*)
Big Sigh (*)
Rainer’s Song
Look Over All The World
Streets Of Stone
Old Hand
--------------------------------------

Dakota (solo)
Forget About Love (solo)
No Distance Left To Run (Blur cover) (solo) (*)
--------------------------------------
High Noon
Evergreen (*)
Black Cloud (w/ Joseph Parsons)
King Of The World
3 Days
Work Song (*)
Bad Luck Hand
Watershed
No Disguise (w/ Joseph Parsons)

(*) Songs from Shotgun Pillowcase (February 2007)
Photo (Katy): Joseph Parsons, Farris Smith, Jr., Terry Lee Hale

Website: terryleehale.com
MySpace: myspace.com/terryleehale

Terry Lee Hale - Work Song (demo) .mp3

On October 4, 2003 Terry Lee Hale was invited by his German friend Peter Weber to play at his unique EdenlessBar. Free download on Blue Rose Records mp3 section. Here are two songs from that evening:

Terry Lee Hale - Eye Of The Moon .mp3
Terry Lee Hale - Take It Back .mp3

Flip... Flop

John Lennon was murdered on December 8th, 1980. And the war is over? Of course... because we want it.
Oh! Bob Dylan and John Lennon in 2 posts, what's happening to you Leaky Sparrow?

WBCS News, NYC (December 9, 1980) - John Lennon

John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) .mp3

Neil Young - Let's Impeach The President .mp3

Bob Dylan By Jerry Schatzberg @ Paris

In 2006, Modern Times, Uncut’s Album Of The Year, gave Bob Dylan his first US N° 1 since Desire in 1976. That made him, at 65, America’s oldest chart-topper.

In 1965, more than forty years before, Jerry Schatzberg first met Bob Dylan and began taking photographs of him at a time when he had folk purists up in arms with his switch to electric instruments. Dylan was an introverted, reserved figure, but Schatzberg quickly managed to earn his trust and the two men became friends. The next two years saw numerous photo sessions, with Schatzberg doing the cover for Dylan’s double album Blonde on Blonde and capturing him on stage, in the studio and at home. Above all, he was the only photographer for whom Dylan came to pose in the studio. Dylan’s motorbike accident put an end to their working relationship in 1967.

In 2006, Jerry Schatzberg selected some fifty prints especially for the gallery Luc Bellier located in Paris close to the Elysée, the residence of the French President. You should visit this unique and free exhibition that is open only on weekdays until January 26, 2006. Don’t miss it if you come to Paris around Christmas.

One of the photos you will see is the full size picture of the cover of Blonde on Blonde. On an interview with a French writer Michel Ciment in April 2006, Jerry Schatzberg explained the genesis of this cover: “A little while after the photo session in my studio, Albert Grossman asked me if I’d like to do the cover of his new album, Blonde on Blonde. I chose to photograph Dylan outdoors, in the meat market in Chelsea, where the art galleries are today. I think I managed to capture what is special about his personality. Out of all the photos I took that day, he chose the one with imperfect focus, the one that is slightly hazy. The record company could always make their suggestions but was in control of everything and made the decisions for the inside and for the outside of the album cover. People have been trying to analyse that photo for years – in fact, I lost the negative and had to reconstitute it digitally. Some thought the blur was the expression of an LSD trip. The explanation is much simpler: it was very cold (hence the scarf round his neck) and we were shivering! I had a lot of other photos, some of them very good and sharp, but I like it that he chose this one. It was a way of thinking I could relate to. I don’t mind it if a film isn’t always sharp. I don’t mind the photography being rough, as it is in Panic in Needle Park.”

Bob Dylan by Jerry Schatzberg – Galerie Luc Bellier, 20 rue de l’Elysée – Paris 8ème. Open Monday to Friday (11 am – 6 pm).

The Book: Thin Wild Mercury: Dylan by Schatzberg, the signed, handmade limited edition of 1,500 copies signed by Jerry Schatzberg, is available through Genesis Publications.

Bob Dylan - Visions Of Johanna .mp3
Bob Dylan - I Want You .mp3
Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again .mp3

The Silos On The Fast Lane

If you meet The Silos at concert, you will recognize at first three handsome guys dressed as common people. The Silos (USA) are Walter Salas-Humara (guitar, vocals), Andrew Glackin (bassguitar, pedalsteel, lapsteel, vocals) and Konrad Meissner (drums, vocals). The project Silos started in 1985 and is still alive 20 years and 13 albums later. This year, they landed at Blue Rose Records a German label to release Come On Like The Fast Lane (June, 2006) who showed us Rock ‘n Roll from the Alt Americana/No Depression Scene. According to rumours Steve Earle is a closer friend of them.
The Silos is also the voice of Walter Salas-Humara whose range is really wide and powerful. It is not necessary to speak a perfect English to understand the lyrics, words are simple and direct. I had the chance, for the second time, to experience them on stage in Cologne (November 30th). The show mixed old and new songs performed with passion. The guitar playing was wild and free. The evening was enjoyable because the group is sincere and the music talks to me. So, don’t miss The Silos when they will come around (tour dates here).

Lucky Girl

Web : thesilos.net
MySpace : myspace.com/thesilos

The Silos - Behind Me Now .mp3
The Silos - The Only Love .mp3

Photo: Lucky Girl

Stars 'n Barzin

"Slow and melancholic, introspective and confessional". I got that off the Barzin web site and I can't think of a better way to describe this Toronto musician, his band and their music. Many songs clock in at 50 BPM (beats per minute) and that’s slow friends (Hey Jude is about 80 BPM!). Hey, I'm not knocking it. It's special, unique and lovely to hear believe me. I've come to really appreciate Barzin latest CD My Life In Rooms (April 2006) on Monotreme Records. A rich and rewarding listening experience if you handle the mood.
For this night at the Triptyque in Paris (November, 14), I felt sure it would be packed but apparently not so many folks know this band. Barzin was 3rd up and there was only about 25 people. Inside the Triptyque can sound good or bad depending on who's running the mixing board I guess but tonight it was very good. Accompanied by drums, bass, electric guitar/lap-steel and vibraphonist/saw player, he was sounding much like the record although the vibraphone player told they had only been recently hired for the European touring. (I guess the guitar player is his regular partner?). Barzin kinda made an excuse at the end of his show, apologizing for "not knowing any rock and roll songs" to play for folks. I felt this sentiment was misplaced though. He should take a line from Popeye the Sailor-man and just say "I yam what I yam"!
Very nice show and worth the effort to see the next time he comes through. This guy will be around for a while I'm quite confident of. How many rock and roll bands can say that?

Bookerfatz2

Web : barzinh.com
MySpace : myspace.com/barzinh

Barzin - Leaving Time .mp3
Barzin - Let's Go Driving .mp3
Barzin - Mistakes (clip) .mp3
Barzin - Queen Jane (clip) .mp3