Kevin Duff.

[Kevin Duff. @calpaddy]

@ArdeeCarrickLPs

[john creedon @johncreedon]

Quietly spoken but he let the pipes soar. A terrible loss to his family, friends and to Irish music. Laoch ar lár.

[Pat Thomas @PatThomas1964]

Irish photographer John Minihan captures The Who at the very beginning of their residency at The Marquee in 1964 - this image currently hanging at the National Gallery in Dublin

[David Bowie Official @DavidBowieReal]

TIM PALMER’S BOWIE DEEP CUTS
“I dream of Amlapura...”
Around ten years ago we ran a series called BOWIE DEEP CUT, wherein we asked Bowie band members to choose one of their favourite lesser-known Bowie tracks.

We kicked of with Reeves Gabrels in February 2016, who said this about the Bowie catalogue...

“It would be wonderful if music fans took this opportunity to listen. Now is the time to go deep. There is a life’s work waiting there to be heard.”

So, it’s appropriate that we restart the series with a Reeves’ connection.

Released on 2nd September 1991 in the UK and Europe (3rd September in the US), Tin Machine II (TM2) was the second studio album from the Bowie-fronted band.

To mark its 35th anniversary, Tim Palmer (producer of both Tin Machine studio albums), has kindly written two pieces at very short notice.
First up is his perspective on Amlapura, a Bowie/Reeves cowrite, from TM2.
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A song from Tin Machine II that I have a particular affection for is “Amlapura.”

The song takes its name from a place in Bali that David visited after touring the first Tin Machine album.
The lyrics are a wonderful mixture of history and mythology. Java, ‘Boogies’ (Bugis sailors), spice winds, rajahs and the Flying Dutchman all find their way into the song.
The song starts more like an atmospheric ballad, with some wonderful, controlled lead guitar work from Reeves Gabrels, but the sound of Hunt’s drums thundering in at the start of verse two proves that the band are still alive and well.
I remember re-recording the acoustic guitar parts with Reeves at Pete Townshend’s studio, Eel Pie Studios, and later recording the vocals with David.
What I remember particularly clearly about the vocal session is something that has stayed with me throughout all my years of making records. David completed his first pass and came into the control room for us to have a listen. We all thought it sounded great, but David said he wanted to do it again. He felt that it needed to be more melancholy.
I was fascinated and wanted to know exactly what he was going to do differently to achieve that, so I asked him how he was going to approach it.
He said that he was going to sing it a little flatter, to make it sound sadder.
He went back into the studio and did exactly that.
I was completely blown away, not only by the control he had over the pitch of his voice, but by the fact that such a subtle technical change produced exactly the emotional effect he was looking for. He deliberately sang the melody slightly flat, and somehow it immediately made the performance feel more melancholy and vulnerable.
In all my years of making albums, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another vocalist do that. It was one of those moments when you were reminded that David wasn’t simply singing. He also understood the emotional effect of every tiny decision he made.
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Next up is Tim’s take on Red Sails, from the 1979 album, Lodger...
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One of my favorite Bowie “deep cuts” has always been “Red Sails” from Lodger.

I remember when I first spoke to David about working with Tin Machine, he asked me about some of my favorite albums from his back catalogue. I told him that I was particularly enjoying Lodger at the time. He said that was quite appropriate, given the direction he was heading with his new work.

I’ve always loved “Red Sails”. There’s something wonderfully human about the song. David’s vocal is phenomenal, but also completely wacky and almost deranged in places. Dennis Davis’s drum fills have this wonderfully whimsical quality, and you can hear the band playing around and actually having fun.

There are moments where Adrian Belew flubs the guitar notes in his part, and rather than taking you out of the song, it somehow makes the whole thing feel more alive. Then there are David’s backing vocals around “far, far away”, where his voice gradually dissolves into what can only be described as glorious gobbledygook.
I think that’s one of the things I love about Tony Visconti’s production on Lodger. It was adventurous and experimental, and he was never afraid to let the human element show through. The imperfections weren’t necessarily things to be fixed. They became part of the character of the record.
Sometimes the thing you would normally fix is the very thing that makes you keep listening.
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Thanks Tim, great stuff. Wonderful observations.
Stay tuned for more Bowie Deep Cuts soon, and if you’re not familiar with these songs, give them a listen, you won't be disappointed.

📸 Colour image of Tim and David taken at Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas) by Kevin Armstrong, who also played on both Tin Machine studio albums.

#BowieTimPalmer #BowieDeepCut #BowieTinMachine #TM2 #BowieLodger

[Ardee Carrick Records @ArdeeCarrickLPs]

Rest In Peace Queen of Country Music, the talented Singer and Singwriter the one and only #DollyParton

[Hot Press @hotpress]

Hot Press is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Irish music legend Glen Hansard this morning, aged 56

"A brilliant musician, a great singer, and a brilliantly charismatic and intense character, who always gave his utmost in everything he did..."

https://t.co/L7pQLaNtz4

[Kevin Duff. @calpaddy]

White Front 1959-1975

[Pat Thomas @PatThomas1964]

Men of good fortune often cause empires to fall....

[Pat Thomas @PatThomas1964]

I made the pilgrimage to the album cover location of one my favorite Van Morrison albums - The door is a little more green now (less 'blue') - but otherwise unchanged. Marin County, California.

[Kevin Duff. @calpaddy]

Tthhiiss

[Kevin Duff. @calpaddy]

Soo enjoying the Spectacular 40th Box Set of Too-Rye-Ay especially the contribution of the Emerald Express 💚 ⁦@oharaviolin⁩

[𝙱𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚢’𝚜 𝙷𝚎𝚎𝚕 @SalvadorDafti]

The Jam - Sound Affects

My album of the day. A band shedding its last punk skin before stepping into more soulful territory. A short, sharp fusion of Off the Wall, Revolver, and Woking piss and vinegar; these are sounds that truly affect.

1980.

🎧 Start!

[Mike Scott @MickPuck]

Jimmy Somerville is such a brilliant singer. Scotland's finest, man!

[Mike Scott @MickPuck]

#ChurchOfRockAndRoll #104 There were 4 big bangs of rock: 1955 with Chuck, Little Richard + Elvis; The Beatles in 62-3; the self-referential era in 69; and in 76-77 the bang that tore everything down and rebuilt from the wreckage. This bloke was its harbinger.

[Ardee Carrick Records @ArdeeCarrickLPs]

Rest In Peace the great #MoyaBrennan from #Gweedore & #Clannad. Thank you & Clannad for playing a concert for free at my Secondary School in #Carrickmacross (late 1970's) & for talking to me & other kids afterwards. You made it the best #Irish Week "Seachtain na Gaeilge" ever!

[RTÉ One @RTEOne]

The first lady of Celtic music, Moya Brennan 🤍

The lead singer of Clannad, who passed away yesterday aged 73, appeared on The #TommyTiernanShow in 2020 and performed a stunning rendition of 'Gaoth Barra Na dTonn' 🎶

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.