Ray LaMontagne

A recording I took of Ray LaMontagne performing 'Let It Be Me' live at the Southampton Guildhall on 17 Feb 2009

• published: 19 Feb 2009
• views: 918

On our 28th episode, we review the Gang of Four's high octane Letterman performance of "Never Pay for the Farm", from their latest album "Content". The history of these politicized Leeds post-punks is a fascinating one, a musical journey that began with their seminal 1979 release "Entertainment!". We play a snippet of "Damaged Goods" from that hugely influential record, one that was recorded at New York's Hurrah's nightclub on New Year's Eve 1980, followed by the classic "To Hell With Poverty" from the Old Grey Whistle Test 14 months later. The band's sound had evolved considerably over that time, and took a further radical turn for their next release "Songs of the Free" which features the eminently danceable "I Love A Man In Uniform". We end our Gang of Four overview with the forceful "At Home He's A Tourist" recorded for Later with Jools Holland in September 2009. A full concert DVD featuring the London rockers The Godfathers came our way recently, and watching them turn it on for the German television cameras in 1990 reminded us of what a great band they were, so full of attitude and promise. As an anthem of dead-end frustration, 1988's "Birth School Work Death" stands up there with "Career Opportunities" and "My Generation" as a generational call to arms – it's just too bad the group's moment of glory came at a time when snarling guitar rock was not so much in vogue. The reunited group recently released a live CD/DVD called "Shot Live at the 100 Club" which is high on our must watch list. A pair of gorgeously twangy country rock numbers graced the airwaves last week. The Cowboy Junkies' new album "Demons" is a tribute to the late Vic Chesnutt, whose terrific 1995 song "Wrong Piano" is the first number from that disc to be given a public airing, performed on Jimmy Fallon on February 9th. Ray LaMontagne's excellent album "God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise" continues to yield musical gems, like the pedal steel driven "For the Summer" that was played to an enthusiastic audience on Conan last Wednesday. The airing of the three-and-a-half hour long Grammy Awards on Sunday night kept us busy at the Tivo and the computer well into Monday morning, but we've got a great selection of highlights from the show that includes moments from the all-star tribute to Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", Mumford and Sons' "The Cave", and the Avett Brothers "Head Full of Doubt, Road Full Of Promises". The latter two bands then joined Bob Dylan for "Maggie's Farm", while Sir Mick Jagger graced the Grammy stage for the first time, performing "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" in honour of Solomon Burke. Closing out the show were Montreal's Arcade Fire, who performed two songs, "Month of May" and "Ready To Start" and who seemed genuinely surprised to have won a Grammy for "The Suburbs", which was voted Record of the Year.

• published: 17 Feb 2011
• views: 749