Archives for March 2011

Hello there, 

We take a look back at the great days of Top Of The Pops this week. 

Enjoy;

Friday 1 April - BBC Four

1930 - 2030: Sacred Music 1 - Episode 2

Simon Russell Beale uncovers the links between the papal intrigues of Renaissance Rome and the music of the enigmatic Palestrina, whose work is considered by many to be unsurpassed in its spiritual perfection. The art and architecture of the Italian High Renaissance are accompanied by a performance from the award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by founder Harry Christophers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009lvpl

== TOP OF THE POPS NIGHT ==

2030 - 2200: Big Hits - TOTP 1964 to 1975

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2550

1964 saw the birth of a very British institution. Spanning over four decades, Top of the Pops has produced many classic moments in pop culture. Digging deep within the darkest depths of the BBC's archive, this compilation offers some memorable performances from 1964 through to 1975.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zwrn5

2200 - 2250: Top Of The Pops - The Story Of 1976

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2500

The nation grew up with Top of the Pops and it was always a talking point, but 35 years ago a particular kind of Top of the Pops programme and tone held sway. This documentary explores Top of the Pops in 1976 - as a barometer of the state of pop and light entertainment TV. It celebrates the power of the programme and observes British society of the mid 70s, British TV and the British pop scene. In 1976, glam was over and nothing had replaced it - the charts belonged to Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man and the Wurzels, all to be found on Top of the Pops hosted by the Radio 1 DJs. If you wanted rock you looked to the Old Grey Whistle Test, while outside the charts a new scene was rumbling.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zwrn7

2250 - 2320: Top Of The Pops - 1976

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2720

Classic Top of the Pops performances from 1976, featuring Abba, the Brotherhood of Man, the Beatles, Fox, Tarney & Spencer, John Miles, Diana Ross, Sailor and Pan's People

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zwrn9

2320 - 2420: Top Of The Pops - The True Story

Jamie Theakston presents the history of Britain's best-loved music show, spanning four decades of great music and including archive footage of classic performances and backstage antics. As well as interviews with former presenters, such as Jimmy Savile and John Peel, there are also contributions from artists who have appeared on the show, including Pan's People, Robin Gibb, Noddy Holder, Blondie, Holly Johnson, Suggs, Noel Gallagher, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007bs5w

2420 - 2520: When The Stranglers Met Roland Rat

Documentary which goes in search of the colliding worlds of pop and kids' TV, including the embarrassing moments, strange kids and bizarre incidents that illuminated the many facets of the genre. With interviews from past programme makers, presenters, pop stars and record company executives, including Sarah Greene, Mike Read, Stephen Gately, Tommy Boyd, Searchers and Emma Forbes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007m4wt

Saturday 2 April - BBC Two

2100 - 2200: Goldie's Band - By Royal Appointment

Three-part series which follows drum and bass pioneer Goldie on a personal mission to discover young people whose talent and passion for music are at the centre of their lives.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01090lf

Saturday 2 April - BBC Three

2000 - 2100: Pop's Greatest Dance Crazes

Robert Webb continues his top 50 countdown of the hippest, sexiest, quirkiest and campest dance crazes of the last 40 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01038h2

2100 - 2200: Pop's Greatest Dance Crazes

Robert Webb concludes his countdown of the hippest, sexiest, quirkiest and campest dance crazes of the last 40 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01074c7

Tuesday 5 April - BBC Two

2200 - 2230: Later Live… with Jools Holland

Joining Jools in the studio for the first episode of an eight-week run are Elbow, who return to the show fresh from their March stadium tour of the UK, supporting their fifth studio album Build a Rocket Boys! - the follow-up to their breakthrough big seller and Mercury Prize-winning The Seldom Seen Kid from 2008. From Greater Manchester - although now London-based - come Liam Gallagher's five-piece Beady Eye, emerging from the shadow of Oasis to make their Later debut with songs from their first album Different Gear, Still Speeding. Also making her Later debut is the Brian Eno-championed and BBC Sound of 2011 finalist Anna Calvi, leading her trio with her guitar with bluesy, noirish songs from her self-titled debut.

Returning to the show fresh from bandleading Mick Jagger's tribute to Solomon Burke at the Grammys is Raphael Saadiq, retro-soul king and former leader of nu-soul classicists Tony!Toni!Tone! with songs from his latest solo album Stone Rollin'. Plus introducing Sweden's The Tallest Man on Earth aka solo artist Kristian Matsson, with his Dylanesque delivery and formidable acoustic guitar picking.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01075yb



Next week; Neil Diamond, Krautrock and more from Jools.

Take care of yourselves.

Rory

Artist:Mastodon

Album:Live at the Aragon

Recommended by:Rock Show with Daniel P Carter

Atlanta-based hard-rockers Mastodon have waited 12 years to release their first live album, but Live at the Aragon, out now via Warners, delivers and then some. Capturing the quartet's phenomenal fourth LP Crack the Skye in full, and dipping its cosmic toes into a back catalogue of no little quality, the record is a rip-roaring ride through some of the most ambitious fare committed to wax this side of the Millennium Bug that never was. But, as bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders tells us, don't label the group metal...

So, Troy, where am I calling you today?

I'm stood in my front yard, at home in Atlanta, Georgia. I think we're five hours behind you.

Truth be told, it sounds like I've been connected to the dark side of the Moon, such is this line's quality...

(Laughs) Well, that's where I live too.

I'm glad we've got that confirmed. So, Live at the Aragon: it's quite the decent collection. Why wait 'til now to release a live LP?

We put out a live DVD in 2006, The Workhorse Chronicles, which documented the first five years of the band's existence. But we never really thought of doing another DVD - another live album - afterwards because we didn't feel there was that much demand for one. But after we'd recorded Crack the Skye, and we looked back at it, we felt that this was a good record to perform live in its entirety, because it felt like a complete piece of work with a nice flow from start to finish. When the idea came around, of recording another show - and like we'd never done before, too - we thought now would be a good time to attempt that. We love the ebb and flow of Crack the Skye, and we made these cool movies which we showed behind us, while we were playing, on this big LCD screen. We felt that the music was there, the production was there... if we were ever going to do a decent DVD, now was the time to do it.

And why at the Aragon Ballroom, in Chicago?

We'd played there before, and liked it. It's this giant, old spooky building. It seemed like a good environment in that respect - plus our fans in Chicago have always been really good to us. They've treated us wonderfully over the past 10 years. So we went for the Aragon, and waited to see what would happen.

The stars aligned...

Exactly!

And when you went out on stage, knowing that it was being filmed at a much higher level than before, did you feel any additional pressure not to... well, basically, not to mess up?

I wish we could have shut the fact that it was being recorded out from our mindset - but the fact that there were loads of different cameras, flying behind our heads and swinging underneath us, and getting right in our faces, made that kind of hard. It was like an amusement park ride or something. So we were very nervous, and the four of us were incredibly relieved when it was all over. If we'd messed up, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal - we're human beings after all. But that is was being filmed made us want to play as good as possible. Overall, though, it turned out okay! It's for Mastodon fans who want to see a live Mastodon experience that perhaps they've not seen before.

I guess you have reached that level where fans won't have seen you live yet - so this is less a souvenir, more a trailer for the real deal.

Yup, definitely. It's great to put out a proper DVD like this - but it really hasn't ever been a priority for us. It took this long because all of our ideas tend to sit in the slow cooker for rather too long.

It's not uncommon to find bands playing an album in full these days - ATP over here have the Don't Look Back series, which has featured the likes of Isis, Low, The Stooges and so on. Do you enjoy attending these shows, as much as you enjoyed playing such a show?

I am a big fan of that approach. For example, the other night I saw Queens of the Stone Age playing their first album in full, and that was great! I like the idea. I saw Sleep perform Holy Mountain in its entirety, and believe me that's something I would have driven hundreds of miles to see. It's cool. But then again I've been to thousands of 'classic' concerts, with material from old to new. I like both approaches.

Would you guys maybe entertain the idea of playing a series of shows, doing each of your albums in full?

Yeah! We'd definitely entertain that idea. The discussion within the band would probably last about 30 seconds. Just a couple of months ago we got to see Melvins do Houdini, so we would definitely keep our options open. If we ever decided to do that... Maybe next year we could do (debut album) Remission in full, as it'd be its 10th anniversary. We could do some shows with that record. Actually, I'm gonna bring that idea up at band practise later today.

I'll be sure to email ATP and get them to book it up. Do you have a favourite live album yourself?

Erm... I guess I do not have a favourite live album, actually. If I did, it'd have rolled off the tongue.

I suppose the stock answer is often Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous...

Man, that is a great record though. That's amazing. A classic. But I don't think I have a favourite. I mean, I know my favourite colour is blue. I know that. I know my favourite food is Mexican food. But a favourite live album... can't think of one. At this moment in my life, I have many favourite live albums, but not one that stands out.

Do you hope that this release will offer newcomers an insight into the band that they'd not taken before, perhaps because they took you for a 'typical' metal band? To me, you've always been rather more adventurous than that...

I hope it's a way in for newcomers. I mean, there are dark aspects of our music, and melodic aspects, and hard rock aspects, and punk and rock'n'roll aspects... But I don't think we'd ever call ourselves a heavy metal band. We are a bizarro heavy space-rock band, maybe. (Laughs) But the term heavy metal can indeed turn people off from the get-go, so I've never even considered us a heavy metal band. We're a rock band that does some bizarre stuff. So yeah, I'd encourage new people to give us a shot - we're big fans of so much different music, so we're hopeful that everyone might find something to like in what we do. We can't please everyone, and certainly don't set out to do so; but we do feel that we offer many different things to different people.

Okay, favourite albums of the year so far. I realise it's pretty early on, but do you have any?

Truth be told I've no idea what's come out this year! Obviously the reissue of the first Queens of the Stone Age album came out - that's probably my favourite new-slash-old album of the year so far. Dude, I have no idea what's been out, or what's coming up. The past three months have been spent with the band, working on new material, so other music in 2011 hasn't happened for me yet. We've been working on new Mastodon material since the start of the year, and that's consumed my musical world. Apart from the few concerts I've been to, I've not stepped out of that little world the whole time. I will catch up, though.

Just finally, since you've brought it up: how is the new material coming along?

It's great, and in full flow. I guess it's a good sign, but I am super excited about what's already come together. It's so refreshing to be excited about writing, because we've toured Crack the Skye for two years. So to get back home, reconnect with family and get down the rehearsal room for a spell, it's exciting. We've collected so many ideas, so now we have to put them together to see which ones like each other, and maybe they'll become friends. I dunno man, I am ecstatic about this Mastodon album... I'm ready to record! But obviously we should give it a little time, so that the songs are right. We won't rush things.

Read the BBC review of Live at the Aragon

Visit Mastodon on MySpace

Read previous Album Reviews Q&As

Hello again, 

This week's TV highlights include opera, classic country and a little bit of New York rock.

Enjoy;

Friday 25 March - BBC Three

2810 - 2910: Radio 1's Big Weekend 2010 - Best Bits

Reggie Yates and Edith Bowman present highlights from Cheryl Cole, Florence and the Machine and Ellie Goulding at last year's Radio 1's Big Weekend in Bangor. The show also features backstage gossip and interviews.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00slccr

Friday 25 March - BBC Four

1930 - 2030: Sacred Music 1 - Episode 1

Four-part documentary series in which actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale explores the flowering of Western sacred music. He begins his journey at Notre Dame in Paris, where an enigmatic medieval music manuscript provides the key to the early development of polyphony - music of 'many voices'. Featuring music performed by members of the award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009hpfp

2030 - 2100: Opera's Fallen Women

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2425

Bizet's Carmen, Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Violetta - some of the most famous and powerful roles in opera and they are all, in different ways, fallen women.

And now there's a newcomer to their ranks - Anna Nicole. The Royal Opera's new smash hit is an operatic version of the life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House and conductor of Anna Nicole, delves into the world of opera's fallen women and discovers how for centuries composers and librettists have used female characters in opera to explore and challenge society's attitudes and prejudices.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zpdwq

2100 - 2310: Anna Nicole - From the Royal Opera House

Repeated: BBC Four - Monday 2300

The television premiere of the hit opera based on the life of the young American Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, who was thrust into the global media spotlight when she married an octogenarian billionaire, became a reality TV star and, after a drug overdose, died tragically early.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zpdyb

Tammy Wynette

2310 - 2410: Originals - Tammy Wynette

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2455

Profile of the late country legend, including performances of many of Tammy's greatest songs. Contributors include husbands George Jones and George Richey, Elvis Costello, Allison Moorer, Bill Drummond of the KLF and actress Anna Chancellor.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074rrd

2410 - 2510: TOTP2 - Country Jukebox

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2555

Steve Wright presents an hour of country tunes. There are classics from Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Billie Jo Spears and Crystal Gayle, and massive hits from the Mavericks, Shania Twain, Lonestar, the Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes. Plus, new material from Keith Urban and Rascall Flatts and an exclusive look at the latest video from The Eagles.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0088q0h

Saturday 26 March - BBC Three

2000 - 2100: Pop's Greatest Dance Crazes - episode 1

Robert Webb hosts a top 50 countdown of the hippest, sexiest, quirkiest and campest dance crazes of the last 40 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0101jgy

Saturday 26 March - BBC Four

2505 - 2605: New York Rock At The BBC

Celebrating the cream of the New York rock scene, including classic performances from the Ramones, New York Dolls, Television, Blondie, Lou Reed and more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007mwcf

Sunday 27 March - BBC Four

1900 - 2000: Still Folk Dancing After All These Years

Young Northumbrian folk-singing siblings Rachel and Becky Unthank take a journey around England from spring to autumn 2010 to experience its living folk dance traditions in action. They lead us through the back gardens and narrow streets of towns and villages from Newcastle to Penzance to discover the most surprising of dances, ceremonies, rituals and festivities that mark the turning of the seasons and the passing of the year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wgrtr





Next week; Top Of The Pops night.

Take care of yourselves.

Rory

Hello, 

Music TV highlights this week include BBC Four's St. Patrick's themed celebration of Irish music on Friday and Saturday's look at the heritage of Stiff Records.

Enjoy,

Friday 18 March - BBC Four

1930 - 2100: Placido Domingo Gala

On 21st January 2011, the world's greatest tenor Placido Domingo celebrated his 70th birthday in Madrid, the city of his birth. At the Teatro Real, in the presence of the Queen of Spain, a host of international stars including Bryn Terfel, Dolora Zajick and Rene Pape performed in his honour, singing music by Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Puccini.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zj2lz

2100 - 2200: Christy Moore Live - Come All You Dreamers

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2330

One of Ireland's favourite sons and greatest live performers, folk singer and balladeer Christy Moore filmed live at Barrowlands in Glasgow in 2008 with his veteran accompanist Declan Sinnott. Moore is in intimate communion with an attentive audience, playing a classic setlist that includes Missing You, Black Is The Colour, Pair of Brown Eyes, Ride On.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zj2m1

The Chieftains

2200 - 2330: Folk Hibernia

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2430

Documentary which looks at the Irish folk revival of the last 20 or 30 years. 60 years ago virtually unheard abroad and largely unloved at home, Irish music has given the world a sense of Ireland and Ireland a sense of itself, as the country has risen from an impoverished post-colonial upstart to a modern European power. Contributors include Christy Moore, Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners, Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074t9b

The Dubliners

2330 - 2430: Folk Hibernia at the BBC

Repeated: BBC Four - Sunday 2600

Celebrating the finest in Irish folk music with a compilation of performances taken from the BBC archives. Highlights include songs from the Clancy Brothers, the Chieftains, Christy Moore, the Pogues and Sharon Shannon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074tkd

Saturday 19 March - BBC Four

2415 - 2515: Stiff At The BBC

Second part of a compilation of BBC performances by the original Stiff Records artists and those closely associated with the maverick label. Featured artists include Madness, Ian Dury, The Pogues, Lene Lovich and Jona Lewie.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074sw5

2515 - 2645: If It Ain't Stiff

Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records, a tiny independent that took music out of the boardroom and gave it back to the fans. Stiff's successes included Nick Lowe, the Damned, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness, Tracey Ullman and the Pogues. Contributors include Captain Sensible, Jonathan Ross, Suggs, Shane MacGowan and label founders Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007j2hr





Next week; Tammy Wynette, Folk Dancing and music from New York.

Take care of yourselves.

Rory

Good afternoon,

TV highlights this week come in the form of Chris Rodley's fantastic Blues Britannia documentary, and another chance to look back at the history of Island Records in Keep On Running. Enjoy;

Thursday 10 March - BBC Four

2300 - 2430: O, Fortuna!

A portrait of Carl Orff, who composed one of the most recorded works ever, Carmina Burana. But what is the true story of how this extraordinary work came about, and in particular the twisted and agonised life of its creator?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z8v3d

John Lee Hooker by Val Wilmer

Friday 11 March - BBC Four

2100 - 2230: Blues Britannia

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2335

Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kc752

Watch interview highlights from Keith Richards and Mick Fleetwood, and flick through a gallery of celebrated Blues photograher Val Wilmer's memories on the Blues Britannia website.

2230 - 2330: Blues on Later

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2505

Compilation of performances from many of the great blues artists who have featured on Later... and the Hootenanny since 1992, including BB King, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Seasick Steve, ZZ Top and many more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k99g6

Cream

2330 - 2430: Blues at the BBC

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2605

Collection of performances by British and American blues artists on BBC programmes such as The Beat Room, A Whole Scene Going, The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Late Show. Includes the seminal slide guitar of Son House, the British R&B of The Kinks, the unmistakable electric sound of BB King and Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker, as well as less-familiar material from the likes of Delaney and Bonnie, Freddie King and Long John Baldry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k36m5

Saturday 12 March - BBC Three

2030 - 2330: Pop's Greatest Dance Crazes

Robert Webb hosts a top fifty countdown of the hippest, sexiest, quirkiest and campest dance crazes of the last forty years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zmc50

Saturday 12 March - BBC Four

2330 - 2430: Island at the BBC

Compilation of performances from the BBC archives of top Island Records artists, including Cat Stevens's Father and Son, Roxy Music's Do the Strand, Stir It Up by Bob Marleyand the Wailers, Steel Pulse, U2, PJ Harvey, Baaba Maal and Amy Winehouse.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvd3b

2430 - 2600: Keep on Running: 50 Years of Island Records

Damian Lewis-narrated documentary telling the colourful story of Island Records, the Jamaican-founded record label built by maverick boss Chris Blackwell which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvd38

Next week; Placido Domingo, Christy Moore and Stiff Records.

Take care of yourselves

Rory

Hello again, 

Music highlights this week come in the form of Motown, Ron Sexsmith and Maria Callas.

Enjoy;

Friday 4 March - BBC Four

1930 - 2100: Callas

Documentary about renowned opera singer, Maria Callas.

It tells a story that was previously unknown, about a great singer who had been brought low by love, and whose career was unbelievably short when considered against her extraordinary worldwide reputation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z2nbw

2100 - 2230: Ron Sexsmith - Love Shines

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2330

47-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith is a songwriter's songwriter admired by Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Feist, Daniel Lanois, all of whom contribute tellingly to this intimate portrait of a writer approaching middle-age and still striving for his commercial breakthrough.

Although his songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Michael Buble and Rod Stewart, Sexsmith has never found mainstream fame. In Douglas Arrowsmith's touching full-length film, some eight years in the making, we trace Sexsmith's life and career and join him in the studio as he enlists big-league producer Bob Rock (Metallica etc) and together they struggle with Sexsmith's diffidence and ambition to record an album that can help him move forward in his career and even 'cross over'.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z2nby

2230 - 2330: Songwriters' Circle - Fran Healy, Ron Sexsmith and Graham Gouldman

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2500

Fran Healy is best known as frontman of the best-selling British band Travis. He runs through many of their classics such as Driftwood and Writing to Reach You, along with a track from his recent solo album.

Canada's Ron Sexsmith, who is regarded by many as the songwriters' songwriter, reminds us of some of the songs he has written that other people have gone onto record, such as Whatever It Takes, which Michael Buble covered on his best-selling album, and Secret Heart, which has been covered by the likes of Rod Stewart, Feist and Nick Lowe.

Salford's Graham Gouldman, long time member of British band 10cc runs through songs he has co-written for them plus others for the likes of The Yardbirds and The Hollies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z2rc1

2330 - 2435:In Concert - Gordon Lightfoot

Repeated - BBC Four - Sunday 2600

A classic concert by Gordon Lightfoot from 1972, accompanied by Red Shea and Richard Haynes. They perform songs including Summer Side of Life, Saturday Clothes, That's What You Get For Loving Me, Affair on 8th Avenue, If I Could Read Your Mind, Steel Rail Blues, Ten Degrees and Getting Colder, Early Morning Rain, Me and Bobby McGee, Minstrel of the Dawn and Canadian Pacific Trilogy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z2nc2

Saturday 5 March - BBC Four

2325 - 2425: Motown at the BBC

To mark the 50 year anniversary of Motown, a compilation of some of the iconic record label's greatest names filmed live in the BBC studios. Visitors from Hitsville USA over the years have included Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops and the Jackson 5.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hq4qr

2425 - 2525: Legends - Motown Invasion

Documentary revealing what made Motown special in Britain through the lens of two decisive moments in 1965 - the Motown Revue UK tour and the Sounds of Motown Ready Steady Go! television special.

Arriving in London in March 1965, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder were bussed across Britain on a tough but crucial tour.

The television special, recorded during the tour, kicked open the door, thrusting Motown's slick routines and magical music into front rooms across the nation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hq4qt

Next week; the history of Blues and Island Records at the BBC.

Take care of yourselves.

Rory

Hard to believe that two of 12 are already behind us, but the calendar doesn't lie. On the plus side, February was rather brilliant for new albums - as well as debuts from a handful of much-tipped sorts, we've seen cracking returns from much-loved old-timers which have led to us searching YouTube for their underground anthems of a decade ago.

Which brings me to my pick of the month - a truly head-turning, expectations-trumping seventh album from Texan rockers ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Emerging to prominence in the music press around the turn of the millennium, the band's 1999 Madonna album set something of a raucous blueprint for bleary eyed punks the world over; its successor, 2002's major label debut Source Tags & Codes, is one of those wonderfully deep listens that rewards investigations several years after its release. It's one of my personal favourites of all time. And Tao of the Dead is the band's best record since that high water mark.

Editor's Album of the Month

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead

(Century Media, released 7 February)

Recommended by: Rock Show with Daniel P Carter

"As revered as Source Tags & Codes still is, there are moments on Tao... that surpass it for sheer joyous racket-making. Summer of All Dead Souls and Weight of the Sun (Or the Post-Modern Prometheus), for example, burn with firestorm guitars and air-punching choruses and mix melody and squalls of noise with the deft touch you'd expect from a band this accomplished. The core of the band, Jason Reece and Conrad Keely, might have chosen to switch up their supporting cast but in staying true to their ineffableness they've updated their sound without leaving anything behind."

Read the full review and listen to previews

The Best of the Rest

James Blake - James Blake

(Atlas, released 7 February)

Recommended by: Benji B, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac

"On his long-awaited debut album, Blake moves his informed, excited mastery into yet another sphere; instead of manipulating tension through a library of beats, he now mostly draws on silence and vocal treatment. Each playback draws the listener in closer towards to the record's core, like a dimmer switch being raised incrementally - a true beauty to behold."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Watch the video to The Wilhelm Scream on YouTube

Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam

(Brownswood, released 7 February)

Recommended by: Nick Grimshaw, Radio 1 Review Show

"Hipster-hating hip hop aficionados may take one look at Ghostpoet and run a mile. Don't be dissuaded by his fashionable hat and spectacles: Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam throws its headgear into the ring as an early contender for 2011's finest out-of-leftfield long-players."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Read our Album Reviews Q&A with Ghostpoet

Watch the video to Cash & Carry Me Home on YouTube

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

(self-release/XL, released 18 February)

Recommended by: 6 Music Album of the Day, Annie Mac

"The King of Limbs is another great album from Britain's most consistently brilliant band. And come Codex, it truly strikes the listener dumb. Like Motion Picture Soundtrack, Street Spirit, Sail to the Moon, Nude - insert your own favourite slow-paced Radiohead numb-er here - it's a piece of rarefied beauty."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Watch the video to Lotus Flower on YouTube

Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine

(Carpark, released 21 February)

Recommended by: Rob da bank

"An album as equally rich in invention as his first offering, this is warm, wistful and nostalgic without ever coming on too maudlin. The ever-modest Chaz Bundick would also be the last to admit that he's mastered his craft, but on this evidence he's taken another step closer to perfecting it."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Watch the vide to Still Sound on YouTube

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

(Island, released 14 February)

Recommended by: Radcliffe & Maconie, 6 Music Album of the Day

"As a backdrop to this brutal battlefield, Harvey has shifted from White Chalk's gaunt piano ballads to a broader sound that is no less feverish and close to the bone. Imagine a minimalist take on her debut album Dry's folk-blues tilt, all urgent and wiry rhythm. This is another fearsomely creative, emotional record to lead the resistance."

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Watch the video to The Words That Maketh Murder on YouTube

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

(Rock Action, released 14 February)

Recommended by: Tom Robinson, Vic Galloway

"While Hardcore... is a shift of speed, downwards, it's only a gear change rather than a signal that the whole journey's coming to an end. It's not, and with these guys at the controls one can only imagine where they'll have taken us in another 14 years. This is perhaps their most wonderfully understated, delightfully melodic offering yet."

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Watch the video to Rano Pano on YouTube

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

(Atlantic, released 28 February)

Recommended by: Nick Grimshaw, 6 Music Album of the Day

"Wounded Rhymes is another outstanding album, slightly better and definitely bigger than the preceding Youth Novels. Although there is a level of subtlety at work here far more sophisticated than most mainstream releases, the sound's sheer size is almost overwhelming. If her second record brings Lykke Li huge success, it will be richly deserved."

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Watch the video to Get Some on YouTube

Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - We're New Here

(XL, released 21 February)

Recommended by: 6 Music Album of the day, Benji B, Nick Grimshaw

"Those approaching this release as fans, exclusively, of either Scott-Heron or The xx might be at a loss, but this collection works on separate level. It offers a multi-layered retrospective of the music which bore and surrounds Jamie xx. It's not merely a rehash of the original, but a cohesive, considered masterpiece in its own right."

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Watch the video to New York is Killing Me on YouTube

Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger

(Pop Sex Ltd, released 21 February)

Recommended by: Steve Lamacq

"At its best, tracks ingrain themselves immediately - the "whoa-whoa" joy of That Postcard, Hunger's brilliant celebration of standing up for one's friends and ideals, Tender's meandering guitar-work underpinning vocals that climb away to dizzy heights. And even when tracks pass without too much of an impression left, the listener is never without a smile on their face."

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Watch the video to Hunger on YouTube

Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots

(PIAS, released 14 February)

Recommended by: Loose Ends, Another Country, The Late Show

"Georgia-based rockers Drive-By Truckers have to be one of the most prolific bands working today; ninth LP Go-Go Boots comes less than a year after the release of its predecessor The Big To-Do. This set is one of the best examples yet of the separate yet complementary skills of the Truckers' three leaders, melding styles and switching moods but retaining an overall feel that's distinctly theirs."

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Watch the video for Used to Be a Cop on YouTube

Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise

(Circus Company, released 14 February)

Recommended by: Gilles Peterson

"For a producer operating under the dance rubric, Jaar often seemed to approach the actual dancefloor from tangential, almost accidental directions - and Space Is Only Noise tilts the balance further towards music for the head rather than feet. It's unafraid to take its time, to wend slowly and sparsely towards its pay-offs via tantalisingly lightly sketched musical ideas."

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Listen to Too Many Kids Finding Rain in the Dust on YouTube

Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo - Almanac

(Everyone Sang, released 7 February)

Recommended by: Loose Ends

"From the bucolic build that opens Billowing Sea, via the mournful strings of Dancers - which, again, treads a lyrical path to bodies of water - to the sumptuous climax of Bones, a song capping the album's greatly graphical wordplay with talk of 'a wound of a thousand cuts', this is a dream of a record. A new Marling, then? No, Barker offers something else..."

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Watch the video to Little Deaths on YouTube