Back in 1973

I never thought that I'd recommend a James Blunt song after "You're Beautiful", but with his latest single off of his sophtomore album, I'd have to say that I'll recommend it, along with a BBC Television drama.

1973 is a nostalgic piece from Blunt, and is a much, much better song than his prior song. The video's quite good as well, really fitting with the nostalgia theme. There's something really appealing about that, at least to me. I sometimes think back to earlier and reminice, especially now, being newly out of college. The song does just that, and has a good, fairly quiet sound to it, one that reminds me a bit of Fleetwood Mac for some reason (Although you can't compare the two at all). This song really feels like the 1970s, and the video does as well, with the proper filters, giving it a great look and feel between the 1970s parts of the video and the modern parts. I'll be interested to hear the rest of the album, because this new song isn't bad at all.

Listen to the song here, on Blunt's Webpage

Along the same lines, the BBC launched a show two years ago, called Life on Mars, named for the David Bowie song. In it, Manchester DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Sam Tyler gets into an accident and wakes up in the year 1973 (Ah ha, see the connection?). Life on Mars is not only playing on his iPod when he gets hurt, but on the other side on an 8-Track tape in his car. Later, you learn that part of his life then is code named M.A.R.S, and he comments in the pilot that being in the 1970s feels like being on another planet. It's a top notch show, a high quality police drama, and if you can get a place to see it, I'd highly, highly recommend it.

Life on Mars - David Bowie

Life on Mars Theme - Edmund Butt

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This Is Somewhere

Grace Potter's newest album, This is Somewhere hit stores on Tuesday, and I've finally gotten a chance to really listen to it, and man, what a fantastic album - This one's a must to pick up, it's a great addition to her works, and in some cases, a bit of an improvement over some of her older stuff. It's got some changes from Original Soul and Nothing But the Water, but it retains her older songwriting skills, even if they go for a bit of a different, slightly more mainstream sound. Here it is:

Ah Mary
The album opens up with a jolt with Ah Mary, which has a great beat and energy to it, and compared to most of the Nocturnal's songs, it's a lot more mainstream than their usual stuff, no surprise, considering that they're now on a major record label. It's almost like their first foray into the rock world. In addition, it's got some political overtones to it, but it's somewhat subtle enough to not notice at first.

Stop The Bus
Stop the Bus starts out casually with the opening lyrics, before settling into a fantastic chorus that drives the song and keeps the beat going. It's a love song, first and foremost, but a realistic one. The whole thing has a carefree feel to it that makes it great for speeding down the road with.

Apologies
This slows the album down quite a bit from the first two tracks. Grace takes over the piano, and from a love song, it goes to a bit of a breakup song. The bass and drums kick in with the chorus, which take up a good beat, but overall, it's a really somber song. The song takes its time and really demonstrates the superior songwriting that these guys are really good at.

Ain't No Time
This one sounds like it's been influenced by folk/country music more than rock music. It's got a good beat throughout the entire song, and at this point, the album seems to settle in to a good place here, although it's not the best song off of the album.

Mr. Columbus
This starts off nicely with a good piano and guitar beat before the drums cut in with Grace with a beat that just goes and goes. It has energy that really builds, and it suits the song, about the explorer Columbus with the lyrics "We've found the edge of the world", and is a fun, slightly pop-ish song, a large departure from some of their earlier works. This is one of the stronger cuts from the album, and really demonstrates Grace's vocal works, as well as the insturmental work on the part of the band.

You May See Me
The album quiets down again to this low, smokey, bluesy song. There's some great play with the words, repeating words, taking its time as if there's no rush. Its a nice change to listen to, and has some of the best lyrics on the album.

Lose Some Time
The album continues with a more mellow tone with Lose Some Time, and once again, demonstrates Grace's fantastic vocals. It's got a bit more drive than You May See Me, but retains the laidback feel for the duration, as well as some fantastic lyrics.

Mastermind
Mastermind starts off low, with a bit of a laid back beat, and starts to build up for the opening. This is another one of the really strong songs for the album. Once the song hits the chorus, the energy ramps up and goes into high gear and then backs off a bit once again.

Here's To The Meantime
This song goes up and down with energy, gaining and backing off. It's a little uneven, and this one seems to be influenced by country as well. It's a fun listen, but it's one of the weaker songs of the album. (Although the weak songs here are better than some on other albums. Don't get me wrong, all of these songs are really good.)

Falling Or Flying
Really fantastic lyrics are demonstrated here in Falling or Flying. It's a slower song, bluesy, and highly descriptive. There's some really good imagery here, and the delicate guitar and vocal work here makes this one of the stronger songs of the album. It picks up over the duration of the song and really settles in nicely. It's no wonder that this song was used on Grey's Anatomy. If anything, that show's got a good soundtrack and taste in music.

Big White Gate
The last track on the album is also one of the strongest. This one's lyrical and a story of a dying woman finding faith at her last breathe. This one's also really the most in line with the Nocturnal's older music, and it's such a rich song that really makes this one stand out.

If I Was From Paris (Bonus Track)

This song's only on iTunes for the moment, but when the record is released in vinyl, it'll be included. According to Grace, this one's one of her favorites, and explodes from the beginning with the guitar and forward lyrics. This one just screams energy and is a really fun one to listen to, and really seems to be the band cutting loose and having fun.

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Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Concert 1

Wow, what a fantastic concert. That's about all I can say. It was the first time that I'd seen Grace Potter & The Nocturnals in person, and man, they didn't let me down at all.

They opened up with a bang with Ah Mary and Stop the Bus, then went through a bunch of the other songs from their latest album, with the fantastic Apologies, Lose Some Time and ended up with Big White Gate. They left the stage, and came on again for a second set, this time of favorites, with Farmer John, the Beatles's Come Together, If I Was From Paris, Eyes on You and Neil Young's Cortez the Killer, all pretty much one long jam session that just blew the audience away. She mentioned that If I Was From Paris didn't make it onto the album, and that it's one of her favorite songs - It'll be available when the record comes out, although it is on iTunes as a bonus track. She also mentioned that the song Falling or Flying was featured on Grey's Anatomy, and that they've caught some flack for that. It's interesting to see how far a local Vermonter has really gone.

The band was also loud. I have some doubts that my hearing will return at all this week.

Grace sounds amazing in person. Her voice is a bit higher than I would have thought from the record, and the speakers just couldn't keep up with their sound, but man, they've got as much energy as a rocket and they really sustained it throughout, all the way to the end. Welcome home, Nocturnals. We know you're home, you've awakened the neighbors, and what a fantastic way to ring in the new album. Can't wait to see her again on the 19th.

Set List
Ah Mary

Stop the Bus

Apologies

Ain't No Time

Mr. Columbus

You May See Me

Lose Some Time

Mastermind

Here's to the Meantime

Falling or Flying

Big White Gate

Unknown - "Girls Say Yeah"

Farmer John

Come Together (The Beatles)

If I Was From Paris

Eye On You

Cortez The Killer (Neil Young)

Full Album Review coming tomorrow

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This is Somewhere

One of my most anticipated albums of the year is being released today, This Is Somewhere, by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I'll be seeing them later on tonight when they perform at Club Metronome in Burlington.

Grace is an amazing performer. Do yourself a favor and pick up this album.

Somebody Fix Me - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

New Artist: A Fine Frenzy

I first learned of A Fine Frenzy earlier this year, when one of her tracks, Hope for the Hopeless, was used on the FOX show House, MD. Like most of the other music selections in the show (almost all of which are exceptional), the song really stood out.

A Fine Frenzy is the stage name for Alison Sodul, who hails out of Seattle, and who taught herself the piano. Now, her debut album has just been released, One Cell in the Sea, and like Hope for the Hopeless, the album is full of outstanding and quite beautiful songwriting and sound. Some of the songs, such as the ones below, really strike me:

Ashes and Wine - A Fine Frenzy
Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy

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Grace Potter on Leno Tonight!

I'm going to start talking about Grace Potter and the Nocturnals a lot over the next couple of days - their next album, This Is Somewhere, is being released next Tuesday.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals came out of St. Lawerence University a couple of years ago, and they've been gaining attention ever since. Their first two records were popular here in their home state of Vermont, and now, they're on a major record label, after touring with acts such as Dave Matthews.

So, tonight, Grace Potter will be on Jay Leno, and I'd highly recommend tuning in to watch, she's a fantastic act.

Grace also made the news today with NPR, as she and her band recorded the theme song for the new program, Vermont Edition, which will be starting August 13th. It's based off of a track from their last album, Nothing But The Water.

Vermont Edition Theme - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Buddy Holly

I grew up listening to oldies on 105.1 WKOL here in Vermont, as my mother would listen to the station any time the car was moving. As I remember it, it was a 50s/60s station, and has since slid up history through to the early 80s at this point. Unfortunently, it really hasn't been until this past year or so that I've really begun to appreciate the music that 'Kool 105' played.

Through the music that they played, from the Beatles to Chicago and the Eagles, I heard the music of Buddy Holly. The name wouldn't have meant much to me until recently, when I was flipping through a book that I recently purchased and came across a smiling young man - Buddy Holly. Reading through the entry, I learned that he was killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, but not before really making a splash in the Rock & Roll scene. I picked up a double album by the late singer, and really got hooked on his sound, and one of the things that I've really been happy to pick out was the roots of much of the music that we listen to today. Further discussion with my mother revealed that Don McLean's classic song American Pie deals directly with the death of Buddy Holly, which surprised me, although I seem to think that I had heard about that before, it just never made any sort of impact in my mind before now.

Holly was born on September 7th, 1936 in Texas, and learned how to play the piano and guitar, as well as the fiddle, early on. In the 1950s, he formed a band with some friends from high school, and they recorded some songs and played on the local radio station. Holly later made a deal with a record label, although without his friend Montgomery, and released Blue Days, Black Nights and Love Me as Holly and the Two Tunes, which went almost unheard of. Holly, by this time, was writing much of his own material. They renamed themselves Buddy Holly and the Crickets, opened for Elvis Presley, then cut another demo in New Mexico, That'll Be The Day, one of his best known songs, and became a number 1 hit. In 1958, Holly left the Crickets, and went to New York City, where he continued writing music, and got married. In February, they got tired of taking the bus on tour, and chartered a private plane in Iowa. Upon takeoff, the plane crashed, and Buddy Holly's life came to an end. The Crickets continued through to the 1990s, and Holly was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Now, for your listening pleasure:

That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly
Well Alright - Buddy Holly
American Pie - Don McLean