Charlotte Church-Back To Scratch Album launch: The Pigalle Club, Picadilly. Sept 16th 2010

It's certainly fair to say that the life of Charlotte Maria Church has been a bit of a rollercoaster, both personally and professionally. We’ll leave the private life to one side here and focus on the music of Ms Church 3.0.

The title is a clear indication of what she wanted to do with this, her second non-classical album, literally taking her away from the polished pop of 2005’s “Tissues and Issues” to a more minimal acoustic sound. No longer a “Crazy Chick” but perhaps more of a hippy chick?

This was only the second time she had performed any of these songs in public, having played a warm-up gig in a small pub just the night before, but this was in front of some of the big cheeses of the music industry and press, so no pressure then?

Opening with an a cappella operatic chant, you could be confused in thinking she really has gone back to her ‘Voice of an Angel’ days (or maybe the fact the Pope was in town threw her slightly), but soon the band kick in and launch into the first song, “Logical World”

Having never heard her sing live, I was actually quite impressed at just how strong her voice is. All that vocal training from such a young age really has paid off. The new material is strong too, much of which was co-written by guitarist Jonathan Powell, who not only happens to be the new man in her life, but also has his own solo material coming soon. It is certainly a good year for him.

Although genuinely nervous throughout the performance, the chat show Charlotte is also still apparent with a few one-liners thrown in along the way. “You think I’d be used to this after 12 years” she said before performing “Honesty” a track she said she wrote “just for myself”. Now that is honest.

Highlights of the gig were “Snow”, a beautiful ballad again co-written by Jonathan, the album’s title track and first single “Back To Scratch” and “The Story Of Us” which was written “about my mum and what a pain in the arse she is”. In fact mum Maria was sat only a few feet away and was wiping away the tears by the end of the song.

It’s difficult to know how this album will be received, there’s lot of competition out there from artists of a similar style like Ellie Goulding and Florence who have come along during what was essentially Charlotte’s 5 year maternity leave, but from the evidence here, it is a strong album and when you think she is still only 24, there is still so much potential for her and going “Back To Scratch” might just be what she needed to do.

“Back To Scratch” the single is out now and the album is released October 25th.

Set list
Logical World
Unraveling
The Story Of Us
Snow
Honesty
Back To Scratch
Don’t Think About It

TARA LONDON-Live at Proud, Camden, Sept 13th 2010

It’s no secret that the music industry is currently in love the female singer/songwriter with a bit of attitude. Amy kicked it all off a few years back then suddenly the flood gates were opened. Duffy and Adele followed, they were joined by the likes of Paloma, Florence & Rox and the list keeps growing.

So next for your listening pleasure we give you Tara London, a vocalist who, like most of the aforementioned artists, has a retro style, both in music and image.
Tara has been performing on the live circuit over the last few years and gradually building herself a fan-base, as well as winning the odd award along the way. With a debut album ‘FairyTales & Stepping Stones’ soon to be released, it’s a good time to find out with what she’s all about.

I caught her live at the amazing surroundings of Proud, the converted 200-year-old Grade II Listed Horse Hospital in the Stables Market, Camden.

Over the last few years, the venue has played host to the very best live music - Peter Doherty, Dizzee Rascal, The Kooks, Stereophonics, VV Brown and more have all have played intimate sets here. The bar has developed a cult following and become a celebrity hang-out, with regulars including Miss Winehouse, Sadie Frost, Carl Barat and The Arctic Monkeys.

As her band takes to the stage you may be forgiven for thinking you are about to see a tribute to The Commitments, such is the diversity of the members of her band, however Tara soon joins them, complete with vintage attire, and everything falls into place.

Kicking off her show with “Just For Tonight”, it’s clear that the she is a competent performer who can certainly hold her own in the ever increasing arena of female talent. The beautiful “Chasing Rainbows” follows and you can see why Tara has drawn comparisons with the likes of Duffy. She has a voice which lends itself nicely to current pop sensibilities as well as elements of classic jazz and blues.

A couple of well chosen covers are thrown into the set, a ‘Faith’ful version of Paloma’s “My Legs Are Weak” and later, the Noisettes “Never Forget You” help gets the crowd livened up.

Other tracks of note during the set are the heartfelt ‘Beautiful Lie’, written specially for the charity ACT (http://www.againstchildtrafficking.org) and tackling the issues it raises, and the tender ‘Bitter Sweet’ on which she gets to show off her range to it’s full ability.



Of course nothing is perfect; there is still a little work that needs to be done to tighten the whole act up a bit and there are a few songs that don’t necessarily work as well live, but this is something that can only improve over time.

The highlight of her live show is saved ‘til last. ‘No Place To Go’ is the perfect sing-a-long track with it’s call and response lines of “I say ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’, you say ‘No, no, no, no, no’”, which keeps ringing in your head long after the band have packed up and headed home.



To use a bit of a cliché, it's clear Tara London is definitely "one to watch", an artist with just the right mixture of a modern but classic sound. With a bit of luck you’ll be hearing more of her soon.

Full set list

Just For Tonight
Chasing Rainbows
My Legs Are Weak
You & I
Beautiful Lie
Never Forget You
Call On Me
Bed Of Lies
You Fall Down
Bitter Sweet
No Place To Go

For more info on Tara London check out her website taralondonmusic.co.uk


Or find her on Twitter , Facebook or MySpace

Drizabone Soul Family-All The Way (Album Review)

Drizabone Soul Family-All The Way (Dome Records)

If there is one song that has probably been requested more than any other over the last twenty years on the more soulful dancefloors of the nation, it would be the (almost) one hit wonder “Real Love” by Drizabone, a track released in the early 90’s that seemingly came from nowhere but went on to become a massive summer hit.

The band went on to release a few more less successful singles and one critically acclaimed album ‘Conspiracy’, as well as remixing hit tracks for the likes of Lisa Stansfield and Shanice (the #2 “I Love Your Smile”), but seemingly then disappeared.

As we all know there have been a few soulful families over the years, The Jacksons, The Isleys, Five Star (?), but the Drizabone Soul Family are different. Original band member Billy Freeman has revived the name and recruited some of the UK’s strongest (some previously unsigned) vocalists (to give them their full credit, namely Denise Gordon, Nataya, Anneka Johnson, Natalie Valentine, Keni Stevens, Sh'niece McMenemin) to join his family and perform with him on 11 perfectly crafted tunes that reflect every angle of the soul music genre.

Now be aware that in a time when R&B rules the charts and airwaves, what we have here is ACTUAL soul. First single “I Fell Apart” is an indication of this. Reminiscent of Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be”, like much of the album, it is a summer groove that sticks in your head from first hearing. You can tell that much of the set has been inspired by classic albums like “Off The Wall” and has elements of everything from Northern Soul, TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) and past Brit-Soul stars like Loose Ends and Brand New Heavies.

Standouts on the album are “Love Me Like A Lover Should” & “No More Sorry” (a more pop-soul track that wouldn’t even sound out of place on the latest Kylie album), both of which are voiced by Anneka Johnson. Also of note is “Lovin’ U” a real old school duet, complete with talky intro between Nataya & Keni Stevens, which harks back to the times of Diana & Marvin or Alexander O’ Neal & Cherrelle.

In fact it is new talent Nataya that brings the whole thing full circle with the albums final track, a 2010 reworking of the aforementioned “Real Love”, which is only subtly updated and will not upset the true connoisseurs and fans of the original.

Overall this is an easy listen and much of it is radio friendly, a fact that has been reflected by it being chosen as album of the week on both Radio 2 and Smooth FM. If you want something cool to chill out to in the Summer sunshine, you could do a lot worse than give this album a go.

Paloma Faith at the itunes festival, 7th July 2010

Summertime means really only one thing in the live music world these days, festival time. But while most usually take place over a couple of days a motorway journey away in a muddy field, the itunes festival is slightly different. Like it’s sponsor, it’s a bit cooler and smaller taking place over an entire month at just a single venue, Camden’s Roundhouse. Now in it’s 4th year, the selection of acts is just as diverse as any other festival, but you can still get the tube home after the gig.

Artists appearing this year range from openers Scissors Sisters via the currently hot Florence & The Machine/Ellie Goulding/Plan B to the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Bennett. Twitter king Stephen Fry even puts in an appearance later this month.

Tonight was the turn of two local residents. Alan Pownall, a cool singer-songwriter in the vein of Jack Johnson or Jason Mraz but with a Brit feel. A bright and breezy set from Alan kicked us off and included tracks from his debut album “True Love Stories” plus a very laid back version of The Strokes “Someday”.

Then it was the turn of the lady who is fast becoming a national treasure, Miss Paloma Faith, fresh from opening up the final day at Glasto and ahead of her appearance at T in the Park. From the out it was clear that this set was geared toward those larger crowd events. The Hackney girl arrived on stage in a sparkly white sexy cat-suit with heels that were almost as tall as her and possibly the wildest hair style we have seen her sporting to date, launching straight into a rock-up version of her debut hit “Stone Cold Sober”.

It’s been a good year for Paloma with the success of her debut album “Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful”, as well as the continuation of her acting career which saw her appear in Heath Ledger’s last movie and numerous guest appearances on tv panel shows. But it is on stage where she really gets to show her personality and what she can actually do.

Known as something of a modern British style icon, every detail of Ms. Faith’s show is immaculate; including the band’s matching outfits. Her stage set is grand with a huge art-deco mirror as it’s centrepiece and two giant helium filled balloons either side which we soon found out were to be put to good use. Before performing “Broken Doll” she strapped them to her shoulders, likening herself to the characters in “Up”. In fact it’s a wonder that the tiny Ms. Faith literally did not take off at any point, and perhaps with a gust of wind at one of the outside gigs that could be a strong possibility.

She carried the huge inflatables around for the next few songs, which included the album’s title track played in it’s original ballad version but then cleverly reworked into the funkier uptempo“Widower” remix which helped get a few toes a tappin’. “Smoke And Mirrors” followed to keep the vibe going which in turn lead to our first cover of the night, a version of The Korgis 70’s classic “Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes”. Once again this was a more rocked up take on the song and all credit to her band who got the chance to show just what they can do on it, especially guitarist Seye Adelekan who clearly enjoys letting rip whenever possible.

You can tell that Paloma is totally at home on the stage and that acting is in her blood. There’s plenty of those ‘looking innocently around in wonder’ moments, just like Alice or Dorothy and she also uses the drama to full effect when performing some of the big ballads. “Play On”, dedicated to Edith (Piaf-one of her inspirations) ends with her falling theatricality in a heap on the floor.

One of the high points of the show follows. This time in honour of another of her idols, Etta James, she performs the second cover of the evening, a breath-taking version of ‘At Last’ which surpasses other recent takes on the song (I’m talking to you Ms. Knowles) and truly shows the power and perfection in her vocal ability.

The energetic “Upside Down” introduces the band then brings us all too soon towards the end, but not before we have her signature tune as the finale, the soon to be re-released (but nobody’s entirely sure why) “New York”. A proper sing-a-long which saw Paloma jump down off the stage and into the front of the crowd. All in all a fine way to wrap things up.

There were minor problems with the sound on the night, though no fault of singer or band, and there’s always the fact that when an artist has only one album’s worth of material to pull from, song selections are going to be limited but these are very minor flaws in what was a near perfect show (other than a slight wardrobe malfunction which lead to her taking off the aforementioned giant heels towards the end of the night).

Her personality is infectious, style is unique and most importantly her voice is incredible. Like George said, you gotta have Faith!

Set List:

1. Stone Cold Sobert

2. Romance Is Dead

3. Broken Doll

4. Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful

5. Smoke And Mirrors

6. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes

7. Play On

8. Stargazer

9. My Legs Are Weak

10. At Last

11. Love Ya

12. Upside Down

13. New York

JUMPINSOUNDS BLOG

Well, thought it was about time.
Everyone else is doing it so why should I, right?
This will be the place for me to tell you about things I've done, seen or heard.
But that's kind of the point I suppose

J