Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the Royal Albert Hall in London, July 2022
I wasn’t born when the 4 Seasons first came to prominence in the early ’60s. By the time they made their second time around in the ’70s, I was still young but an admirer of their harmonies and the beautifully structured songwriting.
(This article is an expanded version of a review that I wrote when this album first came out. I was really unhappy about the way that the magazine, who commissioned me to do it, published it. They changed the title. They printed it in a way that removed paragraph breaks and they made editing changes to it without consultation. Needless to say, I stopped freelancing for them shortly afterwards. I revisited the article, originally just with the intention of restoring it to the way it was meant to be but then as I read it and listened to the music, I figured perhaps there was more to say. It concentrates on the spiritual and faith-based references in Mr Dylan’s lyrics but touches on other matters too.)
“Those old songs are my lexicon and prayer book. All my beliefs come out of those old songs, literally, anything from `Let Me Rest on that Peaceful Mountain’ to `Keep on the Sunny Side.’ You can find all my philosophy in those old songs. I believe in a God of time and space, but if people ask me about that, my impulse is to point them back toward those songs. I believe in Hank Williams singing `I Saw the Light.’ I’ve seen the light, too.”
This was Bob Dylan speaking in 1997 – a period which provides 11 songs on his 3-disc set “Tell Tale Signs” (10 out-takes from his “Time Out of Mind” set and 1 live recording).
(And so as part of my ongoing project for this difficult period, on the day following my Bob and Hilary James interview https://twilightdawning.com/2020/05/22/bob-and-hilary-james-they-are-flesh-and-blood/, I was able to interview Nad Sylvan. As well as being an artist in his own right, Nad is the lead singer with the band led by ex-Genesis guitarist, Steve Hackett).
(In the following conversation, NS denotes the comments of Nad Sylvan, and DH those of Darren Hirst)
DH: Thank you for making some time for me today in these strange circumstances. How is the weather with you?
NS: It’s very cold. It’s only like six degrees. it was up to 15 last week with sun, and you know, scattered clouds. But it’s pleasant enough. And we get to make a huge bonfire tonight because on this date every year it’s called Valborg. When we celebrate spring and we’ll all light a bonfire – the only day in the spring that we’re allowed to do that. I have a load of dead wood ready to go.
DH: Well, we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm at the moment in London, so if you hear any strange noises in the background that’s the explanation…
NS: Okay, cool.
Where: Leicester Square Theatre, London
When: March 2020
Who: John Shuttleworth
When: John Shuttleworth’s back
Or is he? Due to an error in Ken Worthington’s printing of the flyers and posters for the tour, it reads “John Shuttleworth’s back”, making it sound not so much like our hero’s return to live performance but a reference to the rear features of the star. This is not the first time that Mr Worthington has messed up the promotion and so the gallant star plays the first few minutes of the show with his back facing the audience in order to fulfill the promise of the posters.
Who: Steely Dan
Where: SSE (Wembley) Arena, London, UK
When: 25th February 2019
What happens when one of the founder members of a rock band dies? There are, of course, no rules in these matters but it is something that will become more and more a matter of debate as the generation of the great rock bands reaches a certain longevity where members reach their middle-60s and 70s.
What happens next?
Continue readingWhat: Twentieth Anniversary tour of the “Gran Turismo” album
Who: The Cardigans
Where: Hammersmith Apollo, Hammersmith, London, UK
When: 7th December 2018
Twice during this show (once during the performance of the whole of the “Gran Turismo” album and one during the subsequent “smorgasbord” selection) all the sound from the stage failed, leaving Nina Persson and the rest of the band stranded. Taking this all in their stride, they pressed on in good-humoured fashion to return with flash and panache as soon as the problems were corrected.
Who: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
What: The Farewell UK Tour
Where: The o2 Arena, Greenwich, London
When: 2nd December 2018
A Frankie Valli concert in 2018… is, well, a Frankie Valli concert. Unless you haven’t seen him perform in recent years, it doesn’t come packed with surprises. In fact, it doesn’t have any surprises. Even the possibility of the inclusion of a less well-known album track, say, Streetfighter or Harmony, Perfect Harmony is all but gone. He will talk about a recent album (Romancing the 60s) but that album is 11 years old now. He has one album since then, the Christmas set, “‘Tis the Seasons”, but even though it is the right time of year for something from that, there will be nothing in the show. And the show will probably be much the same as last time you saw him.
So, this is going to be a negative review, right? No, this was a wonderful, wonderful show.
Who: Steely Dan
Where: The Beacon Theatre, Manhattan, New York City, USA
When: 21st October 2018
What: By Popular Demand
On the first days of booking tickets for this “popular demand” show, ticket-buyers were asked by Ticketmaster to write-in their requests for songs to be featured. Now those who booked on the first day were probably (for the most part) die-hard Dan fans who had in mind songs that they had seldom heard before. But if this was the case then, there was little evidence of it in the set that emerged with this more closely resembling a “Greatest Hits” show than two-hours of rarities and deep cuts. Now that is not to say that this wasn’t a wonderful show to see. This band are tighter than they have ever been. Older bands like this either barely tolerate being on the stage as each other (look at the recent Fleetwood Mac debacle) or they have grown close and closer still through years of musical and personal inter-action. The latter is the case with Steely Dan
Who: Steve Hackett
What: Classic Genesis Revisited with Band and Orchestra
Where: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London
When: 4th October 2018
Steve Hackett, as you probably know, left Genesis a little over forty years ago (yes, I know, doesn’t it make you feel old). A few years ago, he hit on the idea of no longer seeing his musical career as two exclusive parts and introducing Genesis material into his shows – under the umbrella term “Genesis Revisited“. It has worked beyond expectations. Larger venues have been booked. Bigger houses and receipts are taken. Audiences are happy. What’s not to like, right? Let’s see how the current tour is going…
Commemorating the life of Alvin Stardust, I think I heard somewhere that tributes were being sought for an event which is to be held in the town of his youth, Mansfield. The suggestion may have come from Dave Harness who functioned as Alvin’s road manager during the latter part of his career and who I count as a friend but, anyway, I read it somewhere. It got me to thinking on what I’d want to say.
I can’t be at the opening day of the event because of a writing commission which is going to take me to New York for a month, but I hope to visit it thereafter, but I thought to gather my thoughts here and now.
I’d written an obituary of sorts about Alvin at the time of his passing which can be found elsewhere on the internet including here:
https://twilightdawning.com/2014/10/29/good-rockers-can-never-die/
which covers his career in broad-strokes, so maybe something about my inter-action with the man.
Back in the mid-90s my agent rang me and asked me if I would be at all interested in interviewing “an old glam rocker called Alvin Stardust”(!) while he was on tour and specifically at his show in Croydon at the Fairfield Halls. What my caller didn’t realise was that when I was 9 I’d seen Mr Stardust on Top of the Pops and become convinced that he was the coolest man in the world. It was a moment that has affected me right to this very day and I guess I knew from that moment that I’d be forever “dressed in black” myself.
twilightdawning 