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I Hear You Are Singing A Song of the Past……. I See No Tears

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Steely Dan stopped touring in 1974. Halfway through a UK tour, vocalist Donald Fagen was taken ill and the tour was going to be reorganised but it never was. For the next six years, Dan became the consummate studio band …… but they never returned to the stage. After 1980s “Gaucho”, they called it a day and Donald Fagen’s solo career was launched with the very successful “The Nightfly”.

Fast forward to 2009. Steely Dan playing live in Hammersmith, London. These days they spend far more time on the road than they do in the studio. Since Walter Becker and Donald Fagen decided to do it again, they’ve made only 3 albums – 2 studio, 1 live. And tonight, they will feature only 1 song written since the aforementioned Gaucho album. The difference is that now that Becker finds long periods spent in the studio finding the right note a little tedious and both principals are now very comfortable on the stage. And so you go back, Jack,……..

The band minus Becker and Fagen open the show with a mellow reading of Oliver Nelson’s “Teenie’s Blues”. The crowd react as Walter and Donald enter. They’re an ungainly presence. Walter now quite portly. You wouldn’t notice him if you passed him in the street. Donald with that “skeevy look” in his eye. They lead the band into a blues which turns out to be a massively overhauled version of “Reelin’ in the years”. Memories of the recent Dylan tour where the words were the same but the melodies were a distant memory. This one works quite well but it is a very different sound than the original.

Much more faithful to the album is “Time Out of Mind” from the 1980 set. Becker and Fagen have managed to coax their audience into responses which match a jazz performance than a rock show. Solos are politely applauded and professionalism is very much the order of the day.

The live Steely Dan experience depends on a full band to make these songs come alive. Lead guitar duties are shared by Jon Herington and Becker with Herington taking the lion’s share. Keith Carlock has been handling drumming duties with the band for 10 years and he is a crowd favourite. Bass is Freddie Washington. Hidden away from sight on a second keyboard is Jim Beard. In addition, we have a four piece horn section and three backing vocalists. Fagen describes them as the “Left Bank Orchestra” (Left Bank being the chosen name of the tour) and he is not far wrong.

Another reshaped early hit follows with “Showbiz Kids”, driven by a slinky bassline by Washington and a remodelled chorus which is led by the vocals of Tawatha Agee, Janice Pendarvis and Catherine Russell.

1973 is the flavour of the day and we move on to “My Old School” with the horns making a powerful presence. Jim Pugh is on trombone, Roger Rosenberg is on baritone sax with Walt Weiskopf on alto and tenor. Marvin Stamm completes the quartet of wind instruments with his trumpet.

“Bad Sneakers” originally appeared on 1975’s Katy Lied and its jaundiced worldview suit Fagen’s voice well. He looks and sounds world weary. He resembles that Uncle who knows better than we do but is too polite to mention that our optimism and enthusiasm will soon be crushed by the weight of the world we live in.

Carlock’s rhythmic sense is called upon in a vigorous reading of “Two Against Nature” which reminds us that there has been life since “Gaucho”. The album that this was the title track of was lauded by their peers back at the turn of the millennium but the boys mean to pay little regard to it or to its less successful follow-up “Everything Must Go”, this evening. Tonight, we’re stood squarely in the past.

After that momentary wander for perhaps the best performance of the night, it’s back to ’75 for “Black Friday” for a very bluesy version of that track. After that we push forward just a little for 1977’s “Aja”. This is a song with lots of space for the soloists to excel and spread out. Fagen’s Yamaha Melodica leads the melody for the first section before Weiskopf on tenor is spot-lit with accompaniment from the full drums of Keith Carlock. The doubting lilt on Mr Fagen’s voice on “they think I’m okay, or so they s-a-y” is just wonderful before a Carlock solo takes over. All of this adds up to a wonderful moment in time.

 

“Hey Nineteen” is one of the a large number of songs in the Dan repertoire which features the story of an older man hitting on a younger girl. Becker’s guitar work is always clearly thought-out and never uses one note where nine will do. His rap about the wonders of the “Cuervo Gold” in the midst of this song, however, is one he has been perhaps doing for just a few too many years and its perhaps time to give it a rest. Great trombone solo here from Jim Pugh.

The lady vocalists take over the lead in a reading of “Parker’s Band” from Pretzel Logic before the song becomes a work out for the horns. They are more than equal to the task.

A pair from “Gaucho” is next. Prior to the show I’d said to a companion that tonight I would settle for the inclusion of “Glamour Profession” and the exclusion of “Bodhisattva” (perhaps one of the more over-worked Dan live choices). After a perfunctory “Babylon Sisters”, the opening chords of “Glamour Profession” are struck and I’m a happy man. This tale of how extra curricular activities threatens to derail a  West Coast basketball team is well-handled with great keyboards from Fagen and Beard.

Every Steely Dan show features at least one lead vocal from Mr Becker. On his latest solo effort, Circus Money, his voice sounds more confident but singing live still doesn’t seem a comfortable fit. He gives us a passable run through of “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More” before stepping back to his comfort zone.

Then its back to the Aja album for three tracks: “Deacon Blues”, “Josie” and “Peg” which provide the fullest audience reaction of the night so far. These are divided by the old Supremes hit “Love is like an itching in my heart” which provides the backdrop to the introduction of the various members of the band.

After “Peg” the band leave the stage to tumultuous applause only to return moments later with an extra member. Elliot Randall played the original lead on “Reelin’ in the Years” and because they are in the guy’s hometown and even though it means it’s the second performance of the number tonight, it’s time to revisit that song like it used to sound in 1972. The performance brings the house down.

During the encore, it all became too much for one old gent who leapt to the stage and led Security a merry dance as he sprinted ‘round the band. And the band played on…..

Final encore was “Kid Charlemagne”. Elliot remained on stage but left the major work to Jon Herington who rounded a sterling night for him.

This performance at the Hammersmith Apollo (nee Odeon) recalled some great days gone by. It remains to be seen whether the Dan can grasp the difficult nettle and produce a new album which they can embrace with the same enthusiasm that their audience brings to their old material.

Walter Becker

Freddie Washington and Donald Fagen

Jon Herington

Donald Fagen

June in the Bronx – Part 2 – The Pitchers

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Of the 4 New York Yankee ERA leaders for June, 1 is a left-handed specialist, two were not on the roster in April and one will not be in the roster for July. And none of them are starters or Mariano Rivers. Suprising? I’ll say so.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – June
 
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Coke, Phil 14 0 2 12.2 5 1 1 3 14 0 0 0 0.71 .122
Aceves, Alfredo 9 0 2 13.2 11 2 2 4 10 2 0 0 1.32 .224
Hughes, Phil 8 0 2 13.0 5 2 2 3 16 0 0 0 1.38 .114
Veras, Jose 3 0 2 5.0 4 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1.80 .211
Burnett, AJ 5 5 0 30.0 23 10 7 16 35 3 2 0 2.10 .209
Robertson, David 10 0 6 10.0 7 4 3 5 16 1 0 0 2.70 .194
Rivera, Mariano 11 0 10 11.0 7 5 4 2 14 1 1 9 3.27 .175
Sabathia, CC 5 5 0 31.0 23 14 13 7 22 2 1 0 3.77 .205
Chamberlain, Joba 6 6 0 35.2 33 16 15 15 27 2 1 0 3.79 .244
Pettitte, Andy 5 5 0 26.2 34 19 15 13 27 2 2 0 5.06 .306
Bruney, Brian 6 0 0 4.2 4 3 3 5 3 1 0 0 5.79 .250
Tomko, Brett 7 0 2 12.0 10 8 8 4 10 0 1 0 6.00 .222
Wang, Chien-Ming 5 5 0 22.2 28 17 16 10 19 1 3 0 6.35 .298
  94 26 26 228.0 194 102 90 87 215 15 11 9 3.55 .228
 

Positives

Phil Coke. Coke is beginning to look like the pitcher we saw at the end of 2008. And that is good news indeed. Only one walk in every 4+ innings, leading on the month in ERA, seconding on the month in OBA.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves has had a sensational season in long relief. This month was no exception. With Wang headed for the DL, Aceves is the obvious man to head to become the fifth starter. I think he can do a job as a starter but he needs to know what his role is and not be jerked about.

Phil Hughes. Hughes led the team in OBA for June and he has settled into his role as a reliever just fine and dandy. With a couple of the starters not producing there has been enough work for Aceves and him but hopefully it will not always be this way. Consequently, the Yankees need to make some decisions during the All-Star break about that crucial fifth starter role. What they decide will have a significant impact on the pitching staff for the rest of the year and their chances of making the playoffs.

A.J. Burnett. The starting rotation has lacked some consistency this year and its Burnett’s chance to return to the top of the heap. He’s seldom been bad and when he’s good he’s capable of being very, very good – and so far those nagging worries about injuries have proved unfounded.

Negatives

Chien-Ming Wang. He looks much better than he did a month or two ago but you still feel you’re going into a game hoping that he will reach the fifth innings and that if he gets there, he might have done enough to have kept the team in the game. The goals of a fifth starter have to be higher than that if you’re going to contend. However, he has done sensationally in previous seasons and it is a difficult conundrum. This latest injury just convolutes the problem.

Brett Tomko. "Tomko" ought to be an alternative for journeyman in the thesaurus. Some games he is good and others he is not. And at the moment the "nots" have the majority. The form pattern suggests he should be due for another purple patch but when he goes down for the third time……

Andy Pettitte. Inconsistent starters indeed. Pettitte looks healthy in the wins column, on the season, but he puts too many batters on base and gives up way too many hits. He’s getting more run support than anyone else and at some point that is going to balance out and then he will be in trouble if he hasn’t improved.

Brian Bruney. When he pitches well, he is prone to injury. At the moment, he’s not so hot but he’s staying fit. He’s giving up too many walks which is leading to too many runs but its difficult to identify what has changed.

Surprises

Jose Veras. Veras was having his best month of the season which, of course, led to him being designated for assignment and leaving town in exchange for cash. He was pretty good in 2007 and 2008 and he looked like he was coming around again. They should have shown more patience.

Mariano Rivera. It’s difficult to tell which Mo is going to turn up at the moment. Some nights he is still capable of being lights out but earlier in the month he developed a tendency to blow the big game. Last season, it was the non-save situation he struggled with, this year it has been the game when the spotlight is brightest. This current good run should help settle him down.

David Robertson. Robertson has had a tendency for his ability to strike opponents out to wither the longer he stayed at the major league level. So far this time around, he’s avoiding that problem and he could be about to become a fixture.

June in the Bronx – Part 1 – The Batters

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Any month that includes as much inter-league play as June did, is always going to be a difficult – particularly in estimating how much it impacts the season as a whole. The month included bad streaks for the Yankees as a team and as individuals. Here’s hwo it went for the batters:

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – June
 
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Ransom, Cody 2 5 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 .600 .400
Gardner, Brett 24 48 10 16 5 0 2 1 9 4 1 0 8 .333 .479 .439
Pena, Ramiro 11 21 4 7 3 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 1 .333 .476 .364
Jeter, Derek 22 87 17 27 7 3 0 2 12 9 0 0 7 .310 .414 .394
Damon, Johnny 24 85 16 23 15 7 1 4 13 17 0 0 3 .271 .518 .367
Cano, Robinson 25 100 14 27 11 5 0 3 5 10 0 1 2 .270 .410 .308
Teixeira, Mark 25 95 14 25 16 10 0 4 17 12 0 0 1 .263 .495 .391
Swisher, Nick 25 79 12 20 10 8 0 4 16 14 0 0 0 .253 .506 .379
Sabathia, CC 5 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250
Cervelli, Francisco 7 25 5 6 3 1 0 1 1 5 1 0 0 .240 .400 .269
Posada, Jorge 21 73 11 17 12 1 0 4 11 15 0 1 0 .233 .411 .329
Cabrera, Melky 26 80 11 18 11 6 0 2 11 14 1 2 1 .225 .375 .312
Rodriguez, Alex 25 82 13 17 22 2 0 5 22 17 0 0 2 .207 .415 .387
Matsui, Hideki 24 54 7 11 9 2 0 3 12 9 0 0 0 .204 .407 .348
Burnett, AJ 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .200 .200 .200
Pettitte, Andy 5 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 .200 .400 .200
Berroa, Angel 7 10 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .100 .200 .182
Chamberlain, Joba 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Aceves, Alfredo 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Wang, Chien-Ming 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Rivera, Mariano 11 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .500
Tomko, Brett 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Coke, Phil 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
    868 140 220 130 51 3 33 131 141 6 4 25 .253 .433 .354
 

Positives

Brett Gardner. Gardner remains something of a conundrum. When he is giving a regular job in the starting line-up, he flounders. When there are no guarantees, he show himself as a feisty player who can get the hits. Of course, his speed is always an asset. As Cabrera had a quiet month, Gardner flourished. Best on the month in batting average and third of the regulars in slugging.

Derek Jeter. The captain continues to be a solid and consistent presence. His place on the All-Star team is a deserved one and as you see the mess so many players have put themselves in, you have to admire how he handles himself, on the field and off. He’s proving to be the consummate singles hitter, not a lot else but at the top of the line-up that is vital!

Robinson Cano. Cano continues to be a steady presence with the glove and with the bat. .270 on this month which he can improve on a little but his performance is so much more convincing and effective than in 2008.

Mark Teixeira. After a disappointing April and a mind-blowing May, Teixeira had a steady June. He looked great in the field and he continued to have some power (although this certainly wasn’t May in those terms).

Negatives

Angel Berroa. Berroa finally got a hit in June. That’s one more than he got in May. Thankfully, the Yankees have designated him for assignment.

Alex Rodriguez. On the month, .207 with 5 home runs. It seems he hits for power or he doesn’t hit at all. There were, to be fair, one or two exceptions to that rule. Did he come back too soon? Will the promised rest days help? Do the Yankees wish they’d stuck to their guns during the Boras debacle at the end of 2007?

Hideki Matsui. Matsui had a difficult month. Too many interleague games at the National league ground which makes him redundant as they won’t risk him in the field. When he was in the line up, his figures didn’t even match those of A-Rod.  .204 with three home runs on the month.

Melky Cabrera. Melky Cabrera has had a good season so far and whilst his work in the field was good in June, his performance with the bat drifted back to the dark days of 2008. He was second in the team in doubles and he still looks good in the clutch but he’s going through a barren spell.

Surprises

Cody Ransom. Nice to see Cody back in the line-up. There was a time when I wondered if the Yankees placing him on the 60 day disabled list might mean he was done for the season. In his first five at-bats back in the team, he hit .400 and this, if nothing else, will be a substantial improvement on Berroa who he matches in the field also. Only time will tell if he can gain some consistency.

Ramiro Pena. Ramiro Pena is headed to triple-A Scranton in a decison which makes no sense to me. In June, he hit .333. He isn’t the most patient at the plate but he has proved a reliable bat off-the-bench and he is as good and better in the field than anybody else in that category. His July in Scranton is dictated by the arrival of Eric Hinske, who is another one of those journeymen big bats that the Yankees tend to pursue at this time of the year. Surprise and mistake.

Johnny Damon. Damon is holding  up much better than I would have predicted. His slugging leads the team on the month, and he was tied second in home runs on the month. His fielding is never going to be that good again but he has managed to get this far without any serious injury.

Jorge Posada. Now back to full fitness apparently, Posada’s bat is not quite what we’re hoping for. 4 home runs on the month is fine but he isn’t hitting for average.

Tap into Tap!

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For a band with such a long tenure in music history, the public profile of Spinal Tap is a strange one. They straddle the major eras of rock music like a huge Viking warrior straddling a ….er……. Viking wench, I suppose….. and a huge Viking wench at that……… but they go mostly unacknowledged. When the discussion turns to the greatest bands of the last forty years, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are always mentioned whilst the Tap are overlooked. Cruel.

You’ll remember how they started out in the Sixties in the now almost forgotten London borough of Squatney as the Originals. A name dispute led to them being renamed The New Originals. As they tried to tap in to the Merseybeat boom and overcome coming from the wrong town, they became “The Thamesmen”. Eventually as flower power spread to the British shores, they changed their name to Spinal Tap, once again just a little behind the wave of history. After this they became one of the bands at the forefront of the Original Wave of British Heavy Metal, as it is almost never referred to.

Despite all this activity, it is almost impossible to find in the stores, on ebay or on various collectors websites any of their albums prior to 1984. 1984 is a year that will live in every Tap fan’s mind as a date of infamy. This is not because it is the date that George Orwell chose for his apocalyptic vision of Britain’s future – not many Tap fans are that well read. But rather because it is the date that Marty DiBergi chose to film his infamous Rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, a film which since its release has haunted the band and which they have found hard to live down.

It is ironic then that because of the curious and continuing unavailability of any of their albums prior to their period with Polymer records, they are left not to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the collapse of the New Originals or some imaginative early highpoint in the musical synthesis of two of the band’s principals, Nigel Tufnel and David St Hubbins, but rather the twenty-fifth anniversary of the movie. An ill run of fate indeed.

Even their great album of that year “Smell the Glove” seems to have been renamed “This is Spinal Tap” and re-released on Polydor records as the film’s soundtrack. Oh, the irony.

Spinal Tap hate the film with a venom, of course. Try not to mention to them the name of their former manager, Ian Faith, who led them into the debacle and allowed cameras on tour. Avoid reference to Jeanine Pettibone (later Jeanine Pettibone-St. Hubbins according to some sources)-  the New Age wanderings of  that lady is something that David still finds hard to live down. The trappings of the film that led to their ridicule have been cast aside. There will be no “pods” on stage in future performances of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Creation”. Foam models of Stonehenge’s  triptychs have been eschewed in favour of more reliable inflatable versions.

Unfortunately, Spinal Tap’s bad luck is not able to be isolated to the period of the film. Nor is it entirely in the past – their long history of past bad luck (if that is the word) is perhaps best located in the long list of drummers who have lost their lives in service of the band. Who can forget John "Stumpy" Pepys (bizarre gardening accident), Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs (choked on someone else’s vomit), Peter “James” Bond (spontaneously combusted), Mick Shrimpton (exploded on stage) or  Joe “Mama” Besser (disappeared in mysterious circumstances)? Many have. No, the run of ill luck has followed them to this date. The enthusiasm for their “Unstoppable” World Tour was sapped when three U.S. actors, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer (sometimes Simpsons voiceover artist) who have apparently a long association with the band, headed out on a tour which featured many of Tap’s songs. As a result the Unstoppable tour was, um, stopped. The band instead played their world tour on one night in one city. Returning to their beloved London, they took over Wembley Arena (only a stones throw from Squatney if you have a good arm and a bad eye) to celebrate the release of the new album “Back From The Dead” even whilst promoters insisted on linking the gig to THAT film. What else could possibly go wrong?

Last time the band made a new album, 1992’s “Break Like The Wind”, Ric Shrimpton (ill-fated brother of ill-fated Mick Shrimpton) (see above on drummers) sat on the stool. Caucasian Jeffrey Vanston was on keyboards. Shrimpton (the younger) has had to pass his stool (not surprisingly) to Gregg Bissonette (for the album) and Skippy Scuffleton (for live performances). Vanston has survived (he is a keyboard player, after all) but prefers to go by simply CJ in these economically-reduced days. More importantly the band’s heart and mainstays, David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls are all present although curiously their names have been omitted from the booklet that accompanies their new album – although their signatures are present. Lack of creativity has been a big problem in the band’s current work – most of the tracks on the new album are outtakes from earlier recording sessions or reworkings of their classic hits. How would they fare in the live arena?

Well, things did not begin well. After a laidback if prematurely concluded set from The Folksmen (themselves victims of a music documentary – “A Mighty Wind” – which made light of bassist Shubb’s sexual reorientation, he prefers to be called Martha these days),  – a band who despite their very different musical style seem to spend an awful lot of time with the Tap – if they’re not careful they’ll begin to resemble each other, Spinal Tap were late to the stage. To add to the difficulty a badly placed green room camera was clearly showing that the band were playing video games back stage rather than heading for the stage. Fortunately, the technical team were able to show a video of “Majesty of Rock” to fill the absence. It reminded us that the Majesty of Rock promo clip, was perhaps the cleverest and subtle video ever to be seen on the MTV channel.

When eventually our errant metallers make it to the stage, the entire audience rises to their feet as a man (or as a woman if you prefer, there will be no sexism tonight). The crowd-pleasing “Tonight, I’m gonna rock you tonight” is the opener followed by that hymn to Dog Handling , “Bitch School”. The band are tight and on great form. David St Hubbins in great voice, “Bitch School” brought an excellent solo from Nigel Tufnel. It may seem that Derek Smalls strikes his one fist in the air pose a little too often but to those schooled in Tap, the subtle nuances and meaning of each salute are obvious.

Tufnel changes guitar for the thoughtful “Back From the Dead” which is the title track of the new disc:

“We’re back from the dead

Climbing from the coffin,

We don’t come here often

Or so it is said”

 

(Guest, Shearer, McKean, Vanston, 2009)

Tap have a way of breathing stale old life into even the most timeworn clichés.  It is on this track that Vanston really begins to make his presence felt.

Spinal Tap are a band with a great musical heritage and it would be a waste of an evening to dwell only on the new album (which is after all mainly reworked old songs – there is continuity here). So next they turn to a song from their late sixties debut (which is coincidentally also on the new record in a reggae version) – “(Listen to the) Flower People”. Marvellous harmonies and the spirit of an era captured perfectly.

On the album “Break Like the Wind” the vocal work of Timothy B. Schmit (of the Eagles) and Tommy Funderburk (of Zoe) were featured on the track "Cash on Delivery". No such luminaries are available tonight for the performance of that song but Skippy Scuffleton’s drum intro and a fiery guitar solo from Tufnel raise this above the average.

The age old question of balancing friends and wealth is addressed in the social commentary that is “Hell Hole”. The technical glitch of the early evening doesn’t make the band any more reluctant to revisit “Majesty of Rock” which we have already seen on the video screen, It is only now that we really begin to understand the profundity of this band:

“When we die, do we haunt the sky?

Do we lurk in the murk of the seas?

What then? Are we born again?

Just to sit asking questions like these?

I know, for I told me so,

And I’m sure each of you quite agrees:

The more it stays the same, the less it changes!"

 

(Smalls, St Hubbins, Tufnel © 1992)

 

The barber takes a pole, indeed! In half an hour, we have visited the late Sixties, the Eighties,  the Nineties, and the new album. But what were Tap before they were Tap? They were The Thamesmen. And it is time for “Gimme Some Money” that band’s first single. Is it not clear where the Beatles found their early sound?

During downtime in Tap’s recording history they have often thought of composing a musical about the life of Jack the Ripper. Finally after 28 years the first song of this important concept is complete. This song will be the title track of the whole musical, if it is ever finished! “Saucy Jack” transports us back to a golden age of variety, music hall and late night murder.

New track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare" is so vivid an experience that you begin to feel that you’re caught up in a whole evening of such trauma. Surely, they cannot continue at this pace…….?

“Cups And Cakes” is a welcome relaxed moment amongst the lyrical and musical activity, as we take a leisurely walk through an English country teatime, led by Vanston’s keyboards. But the aural assault is only momentary. “Sex Farm” has been transformed, on their new album, into a funk number with a little rap thrown in for good measure. If I hadn’t already mentioned the subtle lyrical imagery in this review now would be a good time to do so.

“Clam Caravan” began life as a Tufnel solo track but again the original recording is difficult (if not impossible) to find. The casual listener can hear the band’s version on “Break like the Wind”. The song was going to be called “Calm Caravan” until a spelling mistake saved it from this trite fate. Tufnel’s didgeridoo solo is a high point which would make Rolf Harris blush.

“All the Way Home” is the first song that Tufnel and St Hubbins ever wrote together and this skiffle-blues deserves to be performed again for that reason only. A young talent which has not yet fully developed can be heard.

The Live Earth concerts a few years ago are well remembered for saving the world and transforming our culture completely. Where would we be without Al Gore? Perhaps more significantly they are to be remembered for the live debut of “Hotter Than Hell” which brought the nightmare of rising temperatures home for the first time to so many. Tonight, in sweat-soaked, summertime, London, it all seems so pertinent.

“Diva Fever” is another tribute to the female on a night which is short on that kind of thing. But the band are not only interested in carnal matters but like to dwell on the spiritual too. Cue Stonehenge, suitably accompanied by an inflatable model of part of the historic site and the obligatory small people that are so associated with the Drudic culture. Unfortunately, the inflatable deflates on top of the tiny people – but no concert can be expected to go ahead without the occasional technical hitch.

Festival culture is commemorated in “Stinkin’ Up the Great Outdoors” before we are reminded what the world was like before we screwed it up with “Rock And Roll Creation” and indeed, it was good.

To the delight of the guy at the front of the stage in the ELP t-shirt, Keith Emerson joined the band for “Short and Sweet”. Never try to upstage these guys again, Mr Emerson, it doesn’t work.

More guests for “Big Bottom” but they knew their place. Justin Hawkins, Andy Scott (from Sweet), Freddie Washington (from the current Steely Dan touring band). Oh and about 30 girls hired to wave their posteriors at the audience. They wind up the set with “Heavy Duty” which aptly summarises the content of tonight’s show.

But there is no stopping a good thing and back they come for an encore of “Break Like the Wind”, rich in atmosphere.

So, Spinal Tap. What can you say? Will anybody ever top them? Will anybody’s legacy so accurately sum up the behemoth that is rock music? Only time will tell, but I doubt it!

Nigel Tufnel – Lead Guitar

David St. Hubbins – lead vocals

Derek Smalls – bass

Andy Scott of the Sweet with Spinal Tap

 

Sweet Live For Today and Tomorrow

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By all rights, a concert by the Sweet ought to be a pretty awful experience.

Let’s look at the facts:

·         They are one of those bands from the Seventies that have had two separate line-ups touring under the same name at various times over the last years

·         They are a band who are best remembered by the general public for their hit singles – but they haven’t had a hit single for thirty years.

·         Two of their original members have passed away in recent years including their iconic lead singer, Brian Connolly, one of the most memorable glam-rock figures of the era.

·         Only one member of their most famous line-up is still in the band.

·         They were the band who recorded such bubblegum hits as “Funny Funny”, Co Co”, “Little Willy” and “Wig Wam Bam”.

·         They are occasionally to be spotted on those nostalgia for the Seventies tours with the likes of the Rubettes and Showaddywaddy.

On the face of it then to the uninformed and ill-informed there is little to be excited about when approaching a show like this.

But that expectation couldn’t be further from the truth. On their night, they are one of tightest-organised and exciting rock bands still around from the golden-days of the Seventies. And their recent gig at the Robin 2, Bilston, was one of those nights.

And yes, rock band is the correct designation. As early as 1974 they had outgrown their early lightweight hits. And with the “Sweet Fanny Adams” album, which they are currently revisiting, they had moved out of the Chinn-Chapman songwriting stable and begun to compose their own songs.

The band’s mainstay and heart is Andy Scott who has been in the band since “Funny Funny” and is perhaps one of rock’s great under-rated and sometimes unrecognised lead guitarists. Tonight, he is augmented by Steve Grant on keyboards, guitars and vocals, Bruce Bisland on drums and vocals, and charismatic lead vocalist and bass player, Pete Lincoln. Lincoln is the newest member of the band – his tenure only extending to a few years but the rest of the line-up has been together for well over a decade. This band may not contain all its best known members anymore but it is not either a band that changes its line-up every second minute. They have been working together for a long time and it shows.

If the band has one weakness it is a lack of new material. No new album since 2002’s “SweetLife” so the show is a mixture of album tracks and the later hits with a bubblegum medley thrown in for good measure.

The show opens with “Action”, their 1975 hit. Scott nails the guitar work and Lincoln, whilst being no Connolly, is an excellent choice for front man. Early on in the show, it is already apparent that the backing vocals of Andy Scott and Steve Grant are a very strong part of this show. Sweet and Queen were two UK bands in the mid-Seventies who had soaring rock harmonies. Queen always had difficulty capturing that in their live show as so much of the vocal work on disc relied on Freddie Mercury’s amazing range – and even Freddie could only sing one part in concert. Sweet had no such problems. Their four voices were always equal parts of the overall sound and whilst Brian Connolly, Steve Priest and Mick Tucker are no longer in the band, the guitarist and leader has found veterans who can come pretty close to filling their shoes. Reforming the original band is sadly no longer an option but these guys make a pretty good fist of standing in their stead.

The album tracks, “Burn on the Flame” and “Sweet F.A.” are next. Again, great guitar solos from Scott are the centre of this performance. The audience has gathered from a great distance to see what is an infrequent UK show for the band. They do far better on the continent these days and a tour of Australia is coming up at the end of the year. Consequently, the gathered crowd need little persuading as they enthusiastically and energetically support the band on every number. There are few obscure Sweet songs for diehards like this and the venue resonates to the sound of a triumphant performance.

Andy Scott takes over lead vocals for “Into The Night”. His high-pitched harmonies may not have aged or faded but his lead vocals have matured and deepened. He is more able now to fill this role than he was in the past. Always a good vocalist, he was third choice lead in their heyday after Connolly and Priest. He has grown more suited to this role.

It is also apparent that the band are not going to entirely avoid their Chinn / Chapman hits. Pete Lincoln returns to lead duties as he tells us that the band think that the next song is the ChinniChap song that the band rate the highest. “The Sixteens” wasn’t their highest selling single but in its original form, it was certainly amongst the best and most imaginative arrangements amongst a strong catalogue. Once again, the current line-up has little difficult meeting that blueprint.

Heartbreak Today is from the SFA album and acquits itself well. Live For Today is proto-punk and has energy to spare.

Wig Wam Bam and Little Willy were the first two of the band’s hits to be driven by Andy’s guitar. Tonight they’re joined at the hip in a fun and high energy medley which has all the audience singing along. This is good practice for all the memorable hits that are to follow just a little later in the show.

First it is time to dig a little deeper into the band’s repertoire of album tracks with two more from the aforementioned “Sweet Fanny Adams” album with “Restless” and “No, You Don’t”. For the second of these vocal duties are handled by Steve Grant who doesn’t quite match his namesake Mr Priest for camp-ness but has a damn good go.

The band lead the audience into a chant of “We want Sweet!” which was the audience effect that led into the hit version of “Teenage Rampage”. The chant leads in the same direction tonight and this top ten hit is captured with aplomb and the crowd at the front of the stage are getting more and more strident in their singing along.

It’s time to slow things down for a little while. Andy Scott mentions that the band are trying to respond to the requests that have been made on the band’s messageboard for some songs that are not often performed live. Meanwhile, extra mikes are prepared at the front of stage and drummer, Bruce Bisland makes his way forward to add his harmonies to the next number. Bisland has provided a tight beat all night and his sweat-soaked t-shirt is witness to how hard he works. His solo during the latter part of the evening is a highlight: tasteful, not too self-indulgent, few wasted beats. But now he is called upon for his sweet voice as the band move into “Dream On” the gentle opener from 1978’s “Level Headed” album. Scott once more handles the lead vocal.

The second track on that album was the latter-day hit “Love is Like Oxygen” so it is appropriate that it follows here. On the album the second half of the song opens out into some progressive, tasteful guitar noodling. Tonight this is spliced by a version of the ELP hit “Fanfare for the Common Man” and an impromptu rendering of “Happy Birthday” to mark the 60th year of the band’s sole remaining original.

Back in ’73, the band scored an amazing triumvirate of hits with Blockbuster, The Ballroom Blitz and Hell Raiser that really captured the musical spirit of that glammy era. The first and third of these are next with sirens surrounding the Blockbuster opening carrying you back to the day you first heard it.

It is a sign of how many great hits the band have to choose from that they are next able to turn to their 1975 monster hit “Fox On The Run”.

The band has at least two extra encores tonight as they seek to extend the party atmosphere. First, they cover the Blur hit “Parklife” albeit with all re-tooled lyrics which are seemingly spontaneously made up by Steve Grant who handles lead duties on this one. The chorus is remade into “Sweetlife” for the occasion.

A physical resemblance between the later incarnation of Andy’s 60s band “Elastic Band” and the guys from the Kings of Leon is the only justification needed for the band to next leap into “Sex on Fire”. For my money, the guitar riff gets a little bogged down on this one and they might have been better leaving it alone.

There’s more to come. The 80’s big hair glam revival in the States particularly liked Mr Scott’s composition “Set Me Free” and it’s to that song the band turn next. In an impromptu moment the guitar solo which Andy has been known to perform using a beer can is tonight transformed as he lends a digital camera from an unsuspecting audience member and uses the metal casing up and down the frets. Tony O’Hora who preceded Lincoln as lead vocalist is beckoned from the audience to handle the duties on this one.

“Are you ready, Bruce?” doesn’t quite sound quite the same but there are few other flaws in the final performance of the night as “The Ballroom Blitz” is chosen as the final one of the encores. The band leave the stage to rapturous applause at its conclusion.

Whatever your expectations and whatever you might have heard or decided, Sweet remain one of the greatest British live acts. Overcome your worries and capture this institution next time they come to town.
The Sweet are electric.

Andy Scott on guitar

Pete Lincoln on bass

Steve Grant on keyboards

Bruce Bisland on drums

Sweet Dreams

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On Friday I was at a birthday party for Andy Scott, who is the guitarist for English glam rock band, Sweet. Andy has reached that milestone of his 60th birthday. There was a time when it would have seemed impossible that you’d still be treading the boards and recording as a rock musician at that age but Andy made it and 60 of us were invited to help him celebrate. The actual birth day isn’t for a couple of weeks but this was a good date for everyone to get together and a great time was had by all.

It got me thinking…….. Sweet are another one of those bands that I’ve been listening to all my life. It takes me back to when I was a kid growing up in a coal mining town in the north of England. Hard times…. didn’t fit in ….. and music became my escape. Now when did I first hear the music of Sweet?

It would have been about 1972, or even 1971. I would have been at infant school then! My dad took me to visit with my Uncle Colin and Auntie Brenda who lived in a place called Kingstone, near Barnsley. I had a cousin (guess I still have) who seemed to find Barnsley an even harder place than I did. He’d heard a song on the radio called "Co Co" which he went round the house singing. It was by a band called The Sweet. I was 6, he was 5. Long time ago.

Then there was "Top of the Pops". Sweet in Indian get-up for "Wig Wam Bam". Sweet in make-up for "Blockbuster". Sweet sounding vaguely rude on "Little Willy" but I wasn’t sure why. I was 7. I was 8.

My Dad had an old reel-to-reel tape recorder that he used to record the songs from the Top 20. 6 o’clock Sunday night. Number 1 at 7. The Sweet’s songs were always my favourites. Ballroom Blitz. For some reason, he didn’t record "Hell Raiser". I didn’t really understand why. Maybe he didn’t like that one. I was 8.

Holidays in Blackpool. Got my parents to buy me a album on cassette each time we went. 1974. The Sweet’s Biggest Hits. Had all the hits up to and including "Wig Wam Bam". I preferred their newer stuff. I was 9.

By the time I started to follow the charts myself, Sweet had moved on. First there was Teenage Rampage. Then there was The Sixteens which didn’t go as high on the "hit parade", as my Mum insisted on calling it, but I thought it was the best single I’d heard them do. I remember seeing an album in the shops and not buying it because there wasn’t any of the singles on it. It was called "Sweet Fanny Adams". Then I remember them being on a Jimmy Saville-hosted edition of TOTP. He stood in front of the staging and said "Sweet are back with a difference…. And what a difference!". The guys, all dressed in denim, no make-up, glitter all gone, launched into "Fox on the Run". Now that was cool. I was 10.

Sometime around then there was a technician’s strike which stopped Top of the Pops being broadcast. The very visual bands like Sweet began to fade. My new favourite band was the Eagles. It was getting difficult at school to be a fan of Alvin Stardust and Sweet. And nobody else of my age had ever heard of the Eagles. I was beyond criticism. Sweet carried on and there were two more hits…… Action and The Lies in Your Eyes. Great, great stuff. The Lies in Your Eyes only got to number 30 but I saw it on Supersonic on TV and it sounded wonderful to me. Supersonic was to be the glam bands’ last stand. Cue Marc Bolan…… riding on a white swan. I was 11.

Kind of lost sight of the Sweet for a little while after that. I’d checked into the "Hotel California" and everything was so grown up. I was the kid at school who was disparaging of the whole punk thing which seemed to lack seriousness …… and song lyrics needed to be serious. Hey, I was 12.

1978. The local record shop had an album called "Sweet’s Golden Greats" which picked up where "Biggest Hits" had left off. Everything from Blockbuster through to…. through to….. some songs I’d never heard before. It included songs like "Lost Angels", "Fever of Love" and "Stairway to the Stars" which sounded like they’d been great singles but no-one had bought them. I couldn’t understand why no-one had bought them. They should have been hits. Maybe if they’d been hits then the Sweet would still be going I thought……. One morning, it was a Saturday, I was laid in bed, late and my Mum had the radio on. There was a song that caught my attention. Great melody and sad lyrics. Something about Oxygen. The DJ said that’s the new one form Sweet. It was a great song……. but no band should be allowed to hijack another band’s name just because they hadn’t had a hit for a couple of years. I was quite put out. Next time I heard it, close up, and I realised that the voice was the same. Brian Connolly. I went down the record store. A place on the corner of Peel Street in Barnsley. Can’t remember it’s name. They had the album. It was called "Level Headed". Andy Scott had a beard. They looked very mature. Just grown up enough for me. Kind of like the Eagles but from England. "Love is Like Oxygen", indeed. I was 13.

Nothing else from the Sweet the rest of the year and when you’re young six months is an awful long time. I’d moved on. Tubeway Army, David Bowie. If punk was a little too raw for me, then this was articulate, alienated and thoughtful. Just like me. The Eagles also brought out an album called "The Long Run". My English teacher seeing the badges on my jacket told me that you couldn’t like both Gary Numan and the Eagles. I thought he was wrong. I was 14.

I was shopping in Casa Disco in Barnsley. Local record shop. Sometimes I still have dreams about Casa Disco where I fret that it is closing down. When I wake up, it has been closed for years. When I go back to Barnsley, which I seldom do, its not there anymore. This day, they had an album by the Sweet that I hadn’t seen before. Just called "The Sweet", it had a live photo on the cover on which they looked like they did on that Level Headed record. Took it home, the songs were recorded prior to "Wig Wam Bam" and were really not me. Strike one on the Sweet. Another day, shopping in Neales Music in the Arcade. They had a section where you could buy singles that had failed to chart for 60p. The new ones were £1-10. I looked through. Found something called "Call Me" by Sweet. Took it home. Sounded okay. It was like being 11 again. Guilty secret. Found out the "Level Headed" album and tried to persuade myself that the last track sounded like Kraftwerk. In reality it probably sounds more like Pink Floyd. I was 15.

Now life was an endless trawl around the record stores. There was one place on Barnsley Market which had loads of singles and a few albums. It was called "Mary’s". Run by a little woman who always looked dirty which matched the condition of the singles she tried to sell. The albums were always in pretty good condition. Found one called "Cut Above The Rest" by Sweet. The inner sleeve had only three guys on the photo. I’d heard the singles off the album – "Call Me", Big Apple Waltz" – and hadn’t noticed the difference but the album confirmed that Brian, the lead vocalist, was no longer in the band. At least, the other guys had always sung on the other records. Found the next album when I went on holiday (Blackpool, again!). Water’s Edge. A little poppy for my tastes. I was 16.

Sometime around then the three-piece Sweet recorded another album, "Identity Crisis". Good record. I got it on a German import from a shop in Manchester. Sweet went out on tour. I was used to being embarrassed about my musical tastes when my mates who liked the latest hits chided me about them. Even for me, defending something as outmoded as Sweet was a bit of a stretch. Music was moving on, the new Genesis and David Bowie albums sounded poor, Steely Dan and the Eagles had called it a day and I needed to find something that was a little less mainstream. I was 17.

By this time, I’d begun to freelance for NME, Sounds and Melody Maker and was combining that with anything I could write about to keep a decent level of income. I don’t know how you can write a whole magazine about double-glazing but I did it – and on a regular basis. Maybe writing about music wasn’t going to be the only thing I would do. Time to think again and a long time since I’d thought about Sweet. I was 20.

Married man (at least for a while). An article in Sounds. "Sweet getting ready to Blockbuster again". Three guys on the photo. Andy Scott, Mick Tucker and a guy called Paul Mario Day. The article said that Stevie Priest would join them in time for the shows. Got a bootleg from a record fair. Turned out that Steve Priest never made that journey. Sweet were a five-piece and the lead vocalist shouted when he couldn’t make the top notes. Seemed like nostalgia. I was 21.

Something must have kept me checking the "S" rack in the cd stores. 1992. Found an album and a video. Didn’t really recognise anybody on the cover but the sleeve said it was by "Andy Scott’s Sweet". Turned out Mick Tucker had gone the way of Connolly and Priest. But the cd made a good sound and I decided to go to some shows. Sweet still made for a good night out. I was somewhere in my late 20s.

Discovered a messageboard on this new thing called the world wide web. A place called "Home Sweet Home". My name is Darren and I am a Sweet fan. Twelve steps group for those who wished rock music was still a little more glam.

Gig in Shepherd’s Bush. Two venues. Not sure which one the Sweet is playing at. Not the coolest question to ask just anyone. Spotted a guy with long hair and a blue denim jacket. Decided to ask him. He turned around and he happened to be Andy Scott.

Some guy from Peterborough organises a Sweet concert and I get to write a couple of articles for the programme. Hey after all it is one of the things I do.

Invited to attend the filming of the band’s new DVD at a studio in London. Interviews and things. Somewhere along the line it all goes pear-shaped and the band and the studio end up fighting each other in court. I end up on the cutting room floor. I’m not surprised.

After all you learn a lot before you get into your late 30s.

Invited to go to Andy’s birthday party and the band will play live too. All in one weekend.

Not a bad time for a Sweet fan who’ll never see 40 again.

                 Darren Hirst and Andy Scott

May in the Bronx – Part 2, the Pitchers

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Well, the Yankees game last night was rained out. As Boston lost, the Yankees were elevated to first place again – making today a good day to reflect on the pitching that got them there and that which didn’t live up to expectations…..

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – May
 
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Bruney, Brian 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Robertson, David 7 0 5 5.0 2 2 1 4 6 0 0 0 1.80 .118
Wang, Chien-Ming 3 0 2 8.0 9 2 2 2 7 0 0 0 2.25 .300
Rivera, Mariano 10 0 5 11.0 9 3 3 1 13 0 1 5 2.45 .214
Sabathia, CC 6 6 0 45.2 34 14 13 10 37 4 1 0 2.56 .204
Aceves, Alfredo 9 0 3 19.2 16 6 6 3 18 3 1 0 2.75 .219
Albaladejo, Jonathan 9 0 2 10.0 11 6 4 6 7 1 0 0 3.60 .282
Ramirez, Edwar 8 0 0 9.0 7 4 4 7 8 0 0 0 4.00 .212
Tomko, Brett 5 0 3 4.1 5 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 4.15 .313
Burnett, AJ 5 5 0 32.1 30 15 15 18 32 1 2 0 4.18 .248
Chamberlain, Joba 5 5 0 22.1 24 12 12 12 29 1 1 0 4.84 .286
Pettitte, Andy 6 6 0 36.1 46 21 20 17 18 3 0 0 4.95 .309
Coke, Phil 11 0 3 11.0 9 7 7 5 4 0 2 1 5.73 .237
Hughes, Phil 6 6 0 28.2 35 22 21 13 25 2 2 0 6.59 .307
Veras, Jose 13 0 4 9.2 13 9 9 8 6 2 0 0 8.38 .325
Melancon, Mark 2 0 0 0.1 1 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 54.00 .500
  106 28 27 254.1 251 127 121 112 211 17 11 6 4.28 .259
 

Positives

C.C. Sabathia. As CC Sabathia heads into today’s start against Tampa Bay, it is that .204 OBA that shows that it is not only his top-rank wages which makes him stand out amongst the other starters. Sabathia typically makes a slow start to the season and bearing this in mind it seems that he’s ahead of schedule for another examplary season.

Alfredo Aceves. When a Yankees starter goes down early in the game – and it does happen, Hughes and Wang take a bow, then Aceves is the guy that they can depend upon. He has given us two or three solid innings in every relief performance. This is a team that went without a long reliever on their opening day roster. This was obviously a major mistake and not having someone like Aceves to turn to in those early weeks lost us several games.

David Robertson. Robertson is another who didn’t make the opening day roster but who is making a sizeable difference now he is part of the bullpen. He still needs to gain a little in the consistency stakes but when he is good, he will do very nicely.

Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain still isn’t the complete package as a starter but he is ahead of where I expected him to be at this stage and the voices (including mine) asking for him to be returned to the bullpen are dying down. He is ahead of Pettitte and Wang in his recent starts and May was a good month for him.

Negatives

Edwar Ramirez remains part of the 40-man roster so the Yankees aren’t finished with him but his form has been a big disappointment so far this year and he is learning to make his home at Scranton / Wilkes-Barre (AAA). During May, he averaged nearly a walk and a hit in every innings pitched and whilst the Yankees might have been a little premature in demoting him, it looked as though it was always heading that way.

Phil Hughes. The Yankees seem quite pleased with him and said he was unlucky to lose his starting job but the reality is that he is averaging less than five innings per start and that is ERA for the month was 6.59. We have to put this in context. This is one of the two guys who were going to be a mainstay of the rotation in 2008 and really messed up. Now Hughes is the best of the two (even when Kennedy is fit) but he looks like he will make-do as a number five starter. This is no longer a surprise to me but I’m not expecting a noticeable improvement and this isn’t good enough.

Jose Veras. Last year, Veras was a very important part of the bullpen. This year it is probably only his level of experience which is keeping him in New York. His ERA for May exceeded 8 and this is even considering that he occasionally does give us a good performance.

Jonathan Albaladejo. Another early-in-the-season reassignment. Last year, he started the season well and then got injured. This season he started well and then the hitters figured him out. Like Ramirez, I think he perhaps deserved another week at the top level to see if he could gather himself but really he can have no complaints.

Suprises

Chien-Ming Wang. The guys on the team who still have to communicate through an interpreter are in a difficult place when their form falls apart. Given all the psychological pressure the fact that Wang has taken some major steps towards comeback at all is quite an achievement. He has some distance to go and I thought it was too early to restore him to the rotation but this is so far-so good.

Brett Tomko. I was not alone in shaking my head when I heard that Tomko had been promoted to the Bronx, I’m sure. Another journeyman pitcher, who is likeable but struggles to maintain a high enough level of performance in the top flight. So I’m not expecting this to last but he has put in some creditable innings so far and deserves a nod for that alone.

Phil Coke. Coke is the guy we must go to when we need a left-hander out of the bullpen but whilst his performances have been adequate, he has looked a shadow of the pitcher he was in his appearances at the end of last year. He is simply giving up too many runs – too often in tight situations that can cost us a game.

Mark Melancon started his major league assignment well but then he stopped throwing strikes. He was a surprising call-up who took advantage of his chance but ultimately couldn’t maintain it. His ERA at AAA is less than half of what he produced at the major level and he needs some months at that level under his belt before he is giving another chance in the Bronx.

May in the Bronx – Part 1, the Batters

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The New York Yankees had a poor start to May but by the halfway point of the month they had really hit their stride. During the second half of the month they began the move towards setting a new record for games without  a fielding error and began the long haul towards first place in the American League East after occupying third for most of the season to that point. Since May turned to June, an error by Jorge Posada on a throw to second base and a loss to the American League West-leading Texas Rangers has seen the errorless run come to an end and the Boston Red Sox tie the Yankees for first place in the East but May sure was a month in which the Yankees got hot. Who was repsonsible?

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – May
 
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Posada, Jorge 6 18 4 8 7 1 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 .444 1.000 .524
Teixeira, Mark 28 115 25 38 35 9 0 13 10 24 0 1 0 .330 .748 .391
Gardner, Brett 22 52 13 17 4 1 2 2 7 6 2 0 4 .327 .538 .417
Jeter, Derek 26 112 17 36 13 8 0 3 12 15 1 0 6 .321 .473 .397
Cabrera, Melky 24 84 9 27 10 6 0 1 4 11 2 1 2 .321 .429 .348
Damon, Johnny 27 115 25 35 21 10 1 6 9 22 1 0 2 .304 .565 .355
Cervelli, Francisco 15 42 4 12 4 1 0 0 1 6 3 0 0 .286 .310 .302
Cano, Robinson 28 114 17 31 15 8 1 4 4 6 0 0 1 .272 .465 .297
Molina, Jose 5 15 3 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .267 .400 .313
Rodriguez, Alex 22 77 11 20 17 4 0 7 18 12 0 0 0 .260 .584 .412
Matsui, Hideki 25 87 8 21 10 6 0 5 5 18 0 1 0 .241 .483 .295
Pena, Ramiro 19 39 7 9 2 1 1 0 1 8 0 0 2 .231 .308 .250
Cash, Kevin 10 26 1 6 3 2 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 .231 .308 .250
Swisher, Nick 27 80 9 12 10 1 0 3 19 29 2 3 0 .150 .275 .311
Berroa, Angel 9 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
    980 155 276 152 60 5 47 94 170 11 7 17 .282 .497 .349
 

Positives

Mark Teixeira. In April, Teixeira batted .200 with 3 homers. His average was so outstripped by the hot-hitting Nick Swisher, it began to look like we could have saved an awful lot of money in filling the first-base hole left by the not overly missed Jason Giambi. In May, whilst Swisher cooled right down, Teixeira found his swing and looked like the best first baseman since Tino Martinez. In May, he hit .330 with (count ’em) 13 home runs and a mammoth .748 slugging percentage. This raised him to .279 on the season which shows not only how much he has improved but just how bad that first month in pinstripes was.

Derek Jeter put together a good long hitting streak in May. He didn’t match Ichiro but there was no-one else to match him for second place in hitting safely in consecutive games. His .321 in May is solid form and he deserves his first place ranking in the American League All-Star voting for shortstop. 

Melky Cabrera missed the last few months of the month after slamming into the outfield wall as he attempted a catch but those absent days aside he matched his April performance, hit-for-hit. He has proved an amazingly successful clutch hitter and he has put his 2008 form well behind him.

Johnny Damon. Damon is not great in the field and his throw from the outfield leaves a lot to be desired. However, his hitting in April returned to a level of form that he hasn’t been able to consistently produce since he joined the Yankees.

Negatives

Angel Berroa. Berroa is really just making up the numbers on the roster. Since A-Rod’s return, he has no hope of being an everyday player. In the field, he is adequate. With the bat he is simply horrible. He didn’t manage to get to base safely once in May and it becomes more and more apparent that Pena is a much better option as infield backup.

Kevin Cash. It’s never easy being an ex-Red Sox in pinstripes but Cash really didn’t take best advantage of his opportunity. With Posada and Molina injured and Cervelli having so little Major League experience, Cash should have been the obvious choice to be the team’s first choice catcher during May. Instead, he showed himself to be no more than adequate behind the plate whilst Cervelli excelled beyond expectation. By the time that Cash began to hit, towards the end of the month, the battle was already lost and with Posada fit again, he was the obvious demotee.

Hideki Matsui. Matsui is the everyday DH but he is doing his best to lose that position. He is really not achieving the kind of batting average we expect from him. He strikes out too much and doesn’t gain enough walks. He needs to improve.

Nick Swisher. Last year when I saw Swisher playing for the White Sox, he looked extremely poor. When the Yankees signed him in the close season I couldn’t understand it. I wondered why they hadn’t waited for Teixeira and made an effort to re-sign Abreu. Then when they also signed Teixeira, it made even less sense. However, in April, I became a believer. Swisher was magic and his hitting in the clutch was examplary. And then in May, the guy I saw for the White Sox last year showed up. At this moment, he may be a great clubhouse presence but he is streakiest hitter anywhere and when his head goes down, he really, really struggles.

Surprises

Brett Gardner. The speedy Gardner is another conundrum. Last season whilst the Yankees brass sounded optimistic, the fanbase wondered when he was going to hitting safely often enough to make that speed a real threat on the bases. In April, chosen over Melky Cabrera, he quickly lost the ascendancy with a very ordinary month. But like Teixeira he bounced back to the kind of form he showed in Spring Training during May. The difference is that for Teixeira that is a return to usual form. For Gardner, this month may prove to be a fluke.

Francisco Cervelli. There was a day or two in May when Cervelli led the team in batting average. He was always going to do reasonably well with the "tools of ignorance" but he also showed he can bat at this level which was far from a given. He ended the month on .286. He needs to work on his patience at the plate and he’s not going to be a power hitter but this guy has a future.

Alex Rodriguez. I’m not sure whether this is a positive or negative surprise. For most of May, A-Rod either swung for the fences or got out. His ability as a singles hitter seemed to have deserted him. But he kept going and the home runs kept coming and then on the 25th against Texas, he went 5 for 5 with 3 singles and 2 doubles. Go figure!

Jorge Posada. Posada’s injury seemed to come from nowhere but his damaged hamstring put him out for most of the month. However, either side of his time on the DL, he has still managed to produce with the bat and for that he earns my commendation.

Digitally Remastered by……….

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Some months ago I had a long conversation with a guy called Des Tong. Now Des is an accomplished bass player and he was in the band Sad Cafe who had a number of UK hit albums and singles in the early 1980s. We were remarking, that evening, how it was a shame that some of the finest Sad Cafe albums came out prior to the cd era and had never been re-released. I decided that evening to use my influence with the music industry to see if I could rectify that situation.

I contacted a label in the States called Renaissance who had already licensed some of the Cafe’s back catalogue and suggested that they should also release the remaining titles. They said that the albums would need some sound-work doing and that they didn’t have the original artwork. They could get the appropriate licences but they’d need a producer to re-master and……….

I’ll do it, I said. Okay, they said.

The first of three Sad Cafe album that I have remastered made its way into U.S. stores a couple of weeks ago. The old saying about "if want something doing right…….." comes to mind. I’m pleased with this one. I’ve nurtured it through from the point it was just a germ of an idea to the finished product. I tried to capture what I thought Eric Stewart (10cc) wanted on his original production. I provided all the artwork except the original front cover and the tray liner (for the record, I don’t particularly like that back section), the rest is mine.

Another interesting string to my bow…….

One of the good ones gone………

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A friend of mine died last week.

He’d been round my house on Thursday night. Wednesday night for that matter as well. He talked more on Thursday evening than I’d ever heard him talk. He was animated and what he said was vivid.

He work up Friday morning vomiting. An ambulance was called. He lost consciousness and never regained it.

He was a quiet man. He was a gifted saxophonist. Solid, never showy. He had a deep and real faith in God. He liked people but he was smart enough about human nature that he didn’t take everyone at face value. And he was a friend to many.

I shall miss Reuben