Richard Mascall's Weblog

Almost The Real Thing

We have been to see the Counterfeit Stones many times, most recently in November 2006. Tonight we saw them again, this time at the Ashcroft in Croydon. As always, they played all the Stones' classics to an unbelievably high standard, interspersed with amusing film clips and authentic sounding banter.

Sadly the auditorium was only 60-70% full which combined with the Ashcroft's design meant the atmosphere was not as intense as it ought to have been. And I do believe that Sympathy For The Devil is the only one to end with. But when I compare tonight with the miserable effort we saw by the Rollin Stoned back in January, I can say there is definitely no-one that can compare with the Counterfeit Stones.

Tina Turns It On

Last night Pam went to see Tina Turner at the O2. Good though the performance apparently was, (see here for an opinion other than Pam's), also of interest was the problem we had with the tickets.

She had booked them last May, using a credit card to pay for them. We did not expect them to be sent until much nearer the time of the event, but then forgot about them until earlier this week. We then realised we still had not been sent them. Sending an email to the address we had been given produced no response while ringing the supplied phone number gave an unavailable tone.

A Google search then revealed that we had been victims of a scam. Fortunately Pam was able to book some more tickets on the day and we are now hoping that the credit card company will reimburse us for the first transaction.

Rollin Stoned Really Stultifying

Much as I enjoy the music of the Rolling Stones, and I do have most nearly all their LPs between 1966 and 1976 with four or five of their later ones too, going to their concerts nowadays does not seem great value for money. By contrast, attending a concert by the Counterfeit Stones is a wonderful opportunity to experience the Stones music being played live at a fraction of the outlay. Plus you can get really close (two of the three or four times I have seen them I have been right at the front touching the stage).

So when the chance came last night to see another Stones tribute band, the Rollin' Stoned, I should have been pleased. In fact, I was in two minds about going because the previous occasion I had seen them they were only good, and thus suffered by comparison with the Counterfeit Stones.

But in the end I decided to go. What a mistake ! The sound quality was terrible, the arrangements uninspired (I had never realised it was possible to hear a dull version of "Sympathy For The Devil"), and the singer varied between being painfully sharp and excruciatingly flat. Never again.

Albert Lee

Pam and I went to see Albert Lee last night at the Botley Hill Farm. He's a tremendous guitarist but also a surprisingly good singer. His backing group, Hogan's Heroes, is superb and to cap it all my friend Paul had managed to get the best table in the house.

As ever, most of my favourites were the familar songs, for example his version of "Crying In The Rain", but the highlight of the evening was the exception : the drummer's version of "I Wake Up Screaming". It's hardly the most promising song title in the world but I am still singing it to myself as I type.

Proms Reminder of Eric and Ernie

Classical music is not my usual cup of tea but when Pam and I were offered tickets for tonight's Prom, I jumped at the chance. After all, they are now part of this country's heritage so it's good to be involved. We accepted before even learning what was in the programme but in fact it turned out to be one of the more famous pieces of classical music : Grieg's Piano Concerto.

To be honest, I didn't realise I knew it until I looked it up on Wikipaedia and discovered it was the piece used in that wonderful Eric and Ernie sketch involving André Previn.

During the concerto, which lasted about 45 minutes, I made the following observations.

There were 18 players in the orchestra other than the string-players : one percussionist, 8 woodwind, four French horns, three trombones, and two trumpets.

Being there, rather than listening on the radio, had a more visual nature than I had expected. Seeing the string players not just move their arms but flow as one body reflected the sound being produced. Also the pianist's left-hand often jumped up in the air as if the keyboard had 40,000 volts running though it.

We were sitting in what seemed to be a good position, in a box on the second tier, about 45 degrees angle to the stage. But the piano was difficult to hear when the orchestra was playing at the same time.

There was applause at the end of the first movement, which did not seem right. Later, during the encore's infectious rhythm there was an attempt to start clapping along in time but this was quickly extinguished by a violent shushing.

There seemed to be a lot of litter on the stage, little pieces of white paper. Presumably there was a reason they were there but goodness knows what.

The woman in the next box sipped her drink very carefully during a quiet passage ... and then passed it to her left hand, where the glass clinked against her huge metallic ring so that the sound echoed round the auditorium.

The pianist did not seem to need any music but the orchestra and conductor did.

The applause at the end was thunderous. It sounded like rain bashing down on a corrugated tin roof.

After the concerto there was a twenty minute break. The piece after the interval was by Walton and it was full of energy and empty of melody. It certainly conveyed a spirit of violence and angularity very effectively but it was hardly a pleasure to listen to.

Fortunately they played an encore : first, a piece called "Spring" and then the rousing "Hall of the Mountain King" - download the link if clicking on it does not play the tune. (Thanks to my friend Judy who was also there for identifying the title for me). The conductor actually walked off at the start of this and let the players sort it out themselves.

Wilde About Marty

Marty Wilde was just a little before my time but a year or so ago Pam and I saw him perform at Epsom and were most impressed. So we needed no persuading to see him last night at the Fairfield Halls.

His voice was as powerful as ever, his personality shone through every song, and his backing band produced a good sound too. How he could move the way he did at the age of 68 (or 71, depending on your source) was certainly a cause for optimism as one approaches middle age.

He had a couple of guests : Mike Berry, who was never a favourite of mine, but sounded fine and his younger daughter Roxanne. She has quite a strong voice too but her real appeal was in her stage presence where she seemed to be in a novel environment. Pam and I thought either that she must be the offspring of a second marriage or that we must have misheard "daughter" for "grand-daughter". But checking afterwards, we found that Roxanne was actually 28 and that Marty is still on his first marriage.

My favourite number ? Probably "Bad Boy".

Four Minutes of Goosepimples at Pink Floyd Concert

Well it was actually the Australian Pink Floyd, one of the best tribute bands around according to reputation. Pam and I saw them last night at the Fairfield Halls and certainly the tracks we knew, off the "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here", and "Animals" records, seemed to be pretty close to the originals.

There were two drawbacks : first, we didn't actually see that much of the show because the extensive lights seemed to be pointing straight at us so we ended up with eyes tightly closed for a lot of the time. Secondly, at least half of the tracks weren't that enjoyable to listen to. Now that probably was simply because they were unfamiliar to us, but whatever the cause the result was we were just waiting for the next track in the hope it would improve.

The familiar tracks were wonderful, though. The whole performance lasted over three hours but for me the highlight was their version of "Great Gig In The Sky", with Ola Bienkowska and then Amy Smith singing the part that Clare Towey created on the original LP. You might have thought it would be impossible to match Clare's performance but Ola and Amy were unbelievably good.

I literally had goosepimples running down my body . This morning I found a video from a 2006 performance on YouTube - it looks, and sounds, like Ola and I found the sensation repeated. If you have four minutes to spare, click on this link to see it yourself and if you have a better four minutes during the day, I am very envious !

Timewarp Records

There are 20 or 30 records which hearing just one or two notes from makes me think of a very specific circumstance, event, or incident. Typically the records are 30 or 40 years old but the memory seems as fresh as ever. Presumably everyone has such a set.

I was listening to some of them the other day, so here they are as a stimulus to asking : What records generate memories for you ?

1960, June - I Wanna Go Home by Lonnie Donegan

Hotel Castle Keep, Broadstairs - We were staying down here for a weekend away and I remember hearing this on Pick of the Pops when that programme was hosted by David Jacobs late on a Saturday night. I had to listen under the bedclothes.

1962, May - Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabares

Newton Ferrers - I was on a sailing holiday and this was the first time I realised that girls actually were quite attractive. I have forgotten the name and the face of the particular girl who helped with this revelation, I'm sorry to say, but the record is still there.

1963, March - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes by Bobby Vee

St Thomas's Hospital - No, I wasn't a patient. I was staying with my sister who was a nurse there in the days when nurses were provided with accommodation. I had a portable tape recorder and recorded Big Ben striking.

1967, June - Groovin' by the Young Rascals

The Wey and Arun Canal, south of Guildford - I had learnt to drive and was exploring the remains of the canal with my friend Rob, whose father let us drive his 2 litre, 6 cylinder Triumph Vitesse convertible.

1968, April - I Can't Let Maggie Go by Honeybus

Letchworth - I was living during the week in Letchworth where I was doing the first part of what was intended to be a sandwich course working at ICL prior to going to university. It was a most enjoyable time - for the first time in my life I had (a) no exam pressures, (b) money, and (c) the relative freedom of living away from home.

1972, October - In A Broken Dream by Python Lee Jackson

Scarletts disco, South Croydon - After we met in September Pam and I would often visit this disco.

1975, August - Barbados by Typically Tropical

IBM Sudbury - Strictly speaking, it was the journey to Sudbury which this record reminds me of. My colleague Harry used to give me a lift in his Triumph between Wallington and Sudbury when we did several courses there. I can remember my surprise when he told me the group were white.

1991, July - Time Seller by the Spencer Davis Group

My kitchen at home - I have always loved this under-rated record ever since it came out in 1968. In 1991 Pam and I were eating dinner with a recording of Brian Mathew's Sounds of the Sixties radio programme playing on the cassette player. And then he read out my name and quoted the letter I had written to him requesting the record. It's the only time I have ever done that so it's pleasing to have a 100% success rate.

(Warning - there's a definitely inferior version of this that I have heard - the one I like is the original, complete with powerful swooping cello accompaniment).

Alan Price Draws Ahead of Eric Clapton

After yesterday evening it is now Alan Price 6, Eric Clapton 5. That refers to the number of times I have been fortunate enough to see them perform live.

At one point it was AP 0, EC 4 since it was March 1981 when I first saw Alan Price. This was at Monte Carlo at an IBM Convention. I hated the event but loved Alan's performance. By then I had seen Eric (a) in Blind Faith at Hyde Park with my friend Chris (7/6/69), (b) with Delaney and Bonnie at the Fairfield Halls with my friend Rob (7/12/69), (c) in Derek and the Dominoes at the Fairfield Halls (Seat B27 !!! 20/9/70), and (d) as a solo artist at the Crystal Palace Bowl with Pam and our friends Mick and Terry (31/7/76).

Since then I have seen Eric twice at his concerts at the Albert Hall during the late 80s and early 90s. I next saw Alan when The Animals had a brief reunion during which they appeared at the Albert Hall in September 1983. At some point in the next year or two he had a show at the Wimbledon Theatre and over the last ten years Pam and I have seen him twice at the Fairfield Halls.

Last night's performance was a fund-raiser for the Moor House School in the Barn Theatre at Oxted. Somehow we had the best seats in the house, bang in the middle of the front row. As on the last time we saw him, he was accompanied by Zoot Money who, although looking rather old, still has a powerful voice.

The numbers performed included :-

Hi Lilli Hi Lo
Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear
Don't Stop the Carnival
Boom Boom
House of the Rising Sun
Jarrow Song
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.

The audience was small and relatively quiet but the musicians themselves appeared to be having a good time and it was a most enjoyable event.