Vlc Galloway takes up a spot of refereeing as the rest of Scotland’s music world puts its boxing gloves on.
A fight has been taking place about music no less; is there any more worthy a subject to argue about? Every man, woman and journalist loves nothing better than to have their say on what should and shouldn't have been committed to tape. and then made available for aural consumption. It's a national pastime. and one that has united or divided generations since Elvis wobbled his provocatives in front of a few bemused hicks back in the “508 and this whole malarkey began.
Well, it's not over and. unless X Factor has been the highlight of your musical year, you'll know Scotland's on fire again and everyone wants a piece of our bands just now. At least London's woken up to the fact that there‘s occasionally something good north of Watford. Hence the nice people at The List decided to shamelessly cash in (only joking, boss!) on this higher profile and turn the spotlight up further, by launching a vote for the ‘50 Best Scottish Bands of All Time'.
We've seen the snazzy. wee booklet and we‘ve been texting with all our might but the cries of dissent can be heard. Some are hard to disagree with — ‘Music's not a competition", ‘How can you compare Lonnie Donegan to Franz Ferdinand?', ‘Where are The Real/OS. The Poets, Del Amitri, Eddi Reader. The Stretchheads, Runng etc'. or even 'Who cares where music comes from?‘
Well, I say this; it‘s only a bit of fun. If nothing else. it has inspired debate about what great music has come out of this tiny country for the last 50 odd years. I've never felt like a flag- waver 0r badge-wearer (good band. by the way) but in an increasingly homogenised w0rld, it's good to see Scotland spitting out these quirky. individual acts and making a mark on pop culture. The List's Top 50 may not be yours (it's not mine) but it's pretty darn good. If you disagree. use your vote and have your say. then we can all kiss and make up. befOre another argument starts up!
I We Galloway presents Radio Scotland's Air, Mondays, 8. 05-10pm and Radio 1, Thursdays, 7. 30—9pm.
68 THE LIST 6—20 Jan 2005
Bl. UtES ROCK THE 22-208 Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Wed 19 Jan
At the height of White Stripes mania in 2003, this scratchy sounding Lincolnshire lot were hailed as the newest kids on the nu-blues block and placed at the forefront of the latest music press-created scene. Yet instead of blowing their label advance on pulls, pills and other cheap thrills, they went for the sensible response to this over-excitable hype by working hard on their songwriting and building up a reputation for
utterly visceral gigs.
They released a low-key live recording 05/03 to keep the ever-growing number of fans happy but as drummer James Irving explains down a crackly phone line from Australia, it's their recently released, self- titled debut LP proper that the four-piece are most proud of. ‘We put out the live tracks just to give people something to listen to, and it was also a snapshot of the band at the time. We were very much a raw, loud touring outfit rather than studio boffins, and at the time that record was more of a natural first step for us. I
JAZZ
BURT MACDONALD QUINTET WITH HARRY BECKETT
Henry’s Jazz Cellar, Edinburgh, Wed 19 Jan
The Burt MacDonald Quintet's first collaboration with trumpet legend Harry Beckett follows hard on the heels of a very Successful outing With pianist Keith Tippett. another giant of the British free improwsation scene. Even before that important get- together however. MacDonald's Glasgow-based band had already established a regular collaboration
mean, when all the interest started we only had about three or four songs and we didn’t want to rush out a crass retro garage album just because of yet another
happy with.‘
quick fix pigeonhole by the NME. So we took our time and went away to work on a debut which really captured our vision and which we were all completely
The result is ten tracks of classic, bluesy rock which still manage to convey the wild abandon of their now legendary on-stage sound. The album was only released in September, but already the 22-205 are
considering a new direction thanks to the recent full-
(Camilla Pia)
With acclaimed saxophonist lol Coxhill. In fact. the MacDonald Quintet have a new CD featuring both Lol and Future Pilot AKA due for iiiiininent release.
'The Beckett (,‘()H€il)()l£tllf)ll grew out of working With Lol.‘ says MacDonald who co-leads the band with George Burt. ‘That has given us the confidence to approach these artists. The collaboration With Keith worked out really well. and we hope to do more of that. What happened With Harry was that l was lucky enough to get an invitation through Evan Parker to go down to London and work with the London lrnprovisers Orchestra at the Red Rose Club.
'On the gig I found myself sitting between Lol and Harry. which was quite an experience. l had seen Harry play With Bill Wells during the Glasgow Jazz Festival a few years back. and
time recruitment of keyboardist Charley Coombes. ‘Since Charley joined officially and we became a four- piece it’s become less about him filling a hole in the live sound and more about what he can add to the songwriting. He's definitely brought a new dimension to the band and his influence will become more apparent on the second record which we’ve already started working on.’ More dedication than decadence, this hard-grafting group are clearly in it for the long haul.
lol had always said that he would be a good person for the band to collaborate f/llli. because he liar, an interest in free inusir, but l", also a xer/ strong inelod/ player’
Beckett Will join the band for 'llfl‘, ii. Edinburgh and Aberdeen. but it 'f/lll not be the familiar Burt MacDonald line-up. Nicola tJlaclJonald NIH supply her usual vocals. but Bill Wells lbas‘a and Torn Bancroft (’lrtllll',l NIH guest for regulars George Lyle and Allan Pendreigh.
“That brings in an e/tra dimension as well. I'm thinking that there may be more ernphaSis on the song", and tunes than coinpletel,’ free stuff this time. but .vhat He tend to do i‘, to prepare a range of possibilities in advance, and then see .vhat works. and leave space for things to develop. Otherwise it's not a true collaboration.’ 'Kenny Mathiesool