Later with Jools Holland returned to our TV screens for a new series this week, and I for one am thankful. There is a dearth of decent music shows on television – you could easily count the good ones on a single hand, possibly even a single finger – and so we must appreciate any opportunity to be exposed to new music, and indeed be reintroduced to some classic and forgotten artists.
And the 30-minute live edition of Later is particularly enjoyable, giving bands and solo acts a chance to perform in the way they have been accustomed to (if they’ve been doing it right). But it was one of the jovial-Jools interviews with Suede – back with their first new album in 12 years – that got me thinking. Frontman Brett Anderson was asked about the daunting process of recording again after being away for so long, to which he replied something along the lines of “when you get into a studio you want to make Sgt Pepper, but once you get that out of your system you just get on with making the best record you can”. It was a throwaway remark, but the point was that not every album can be a classic and nor should it try to be. Suede’s new approach was to make as “live” an album as the studio permitted, harnessing the energy and excitement that this looser tactic can create.
The other point here is that not all albums are good in their entirety, but can offer some real gems if you look in the right places. Indeed, something I’ve regularly written about is the effect of the digital age on music and there is no doubt we are in the disposable era – single tracks are King, albums unfortunately not quite the force they once were (get with the 21st century Granddad!). And one band perhaps ahead of the curve on this one was The Kinks. Whilst there is no doubt that the English quartet had their fair share of great albums – “Something Else by The Kinks” and “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society” are amongst my own personal favourites – it was as a writer of phenomenal singles that Ray Davies made his name. Evenly spread across a range of albums, tracks like “Waterloo Sunset”, “You Really Got Me”, “Lola”, “Victoria”, “Sunny Afternoon”, “Apeman” and “Days” proved that reaching for classic album status isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In the end, it’s the song that counts (and if you happen to get a run of 12 of them on the same album then you’re truly blessed).
So, disposable singles or not, Ray was real right from the start. One of the great writers of our time in fact, and we’ll celebrate his work as part of our Undercover feature on The Roddy Hart Show this week, alongside a Record Of Note from Keaton Henson and some live John Martyn. The place to be, as always, is BBC Radio Scotland from 10.05pm this Thursday night.
