The music I love comes with surrounding stories – tales of excess, groupies, illicit relationships, drugs and early death.
Yes, it’s classical music.
But first, following in the footsteps of my fellow writers, a bit of nostalgia for the music of my formative years. Given the attractions of nostalgia, I may not get to Mozart and Wagner at all.
By the time I took (slightly early) retirement, I was 30 years older than most of my team. They were suitably impressed – or probably bemused – by the fact that ABBA were number 1 in the week I’d joined the company.
And equally bemused that they hadn’t heard of other chart-toppers of 1976. J J Barrie, anyone?
I go back much further than that, of course. My colleagues were well aware of The Beatles, but visibly struggled to get their heads round their boss having lived through what seems to them a quirk of distant history (“You mean, you were around AT THE TIME?”).
I hadn’t meant to dwell on The Beatles – but since Martin Penney slightly dismissed them in these columns on Monday, a word of defence.
Their music stands the test of time. Not in the same sense as Bowie who pulled off the trick of the great artist, remaining relevant to new listeners for four decades – but in the sense that the songs are, simply, good.
The Beatles’ rock-and-roll still has energy and style, but I come back to the ballads. Each one has a distinctive originality. A favourite is In My Life, a haunting song that was (almost uniquely, I believe) claimed by both John and Paul after they split. It’s the idea that’s original. The conventional love song says “my life was empty until I met you”; this one says “my life was full, those things and people are still important to me – but you eclipse them”.
My next preoccupation was the aforementioned David Bowie. Hunky Dory came out in 1971: the album in which, as someone said, you can see Bowie starting to be Bowie. A set of amazing songs, I think I’d believe even if I hadn’t been the perfect age at the time. And a reference to the Norfolk Broads!
It was a time of change and experimentation (we’ll stick to music here, I promise). One shift was from albums being a series of unrelated songs thrown together, to a concept where the tracks made up a programme or journey.
Two iconic such albums punctuated my first year at university. Who could be so lucky as to enjoy the freedoms of that time to the accompaniment of The Dark Side of The Moon and Tubular Bells?
Both had a perfect sensuality. One of the tracks of The Dark Side is – without getting into specifics of taste – as suggestive as an 18-year-old could wish for. Meanwhile, a girlfriend of the time likened the layering of tracks in Tubular Bells to the build-up to sexual climax. That kind of thing sticks in the mind…
So I share Martin’s affection for Pink Floyd (of course) and Queen, though I suspect his enthusiasm grows at the point where mine faded slightly. Very likely an issue of age – though my musical taste may be a bit less heavy, and certainly less specialist, than his.
The following years saw a gradual shift in my passion from pop to classical. Already at university Beethoven had become a favourite (though almost impossible to revise to), and other composers, in turn, took their place as seeming to best understand and describe my experience.
Like pop, though, it doesn’t mean you have to like all the big names. Mendelssohn has never done much for me; nor, apart from the ballets, Tchaikovsky (if there’s one thing worse than the Mendelssohn violin concerto, it’s that bloody 1812 overture).
On the other hand, Mahler is magical and these days it has to be Bach or Wagner.
If you want three-and-a-half minutes of sheer bliss (stop sniggering at the back – I’m still talking about music), then look on YouTube for the Aria of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. I reckon that’s where western music starts; some purists would argue it finished there too.
My case against the purists would include the wonderful music of Schubert (if you don’t know it, take a listen to the piano impromptus). Of course, it’s a tragedy that Mozart only lived to 35; an almost equal loss, I’d say, is Schubert’s death at 31.
Wagner would be incensed to find himself relegated to the last 100 words here. No sympathy for the man, of course – but the music is majestic. Nothing in the Sixties or Seventies, for all its sound and fury, was as revolutionary as The Flying Dutchman or The Ride of the Valkyries.
Usually, on the run from political authorities, creditors, or cuckolded husbands, Wagner somehow kept his mind full of epic visions. Originally a playwright, he needed a composer to fulfil his plans for operas. Anyone else would have sought a musical collaborator; Wagner never considered anything but teaching himself to compose.
Happily, music has always had its characters.
Top five tracks (excluding Bach):
- Quicksand (or Life on Mars) – Bowie
- God Only Knows – Beach Boys
- Ruby Tuesday – Rolling Stones
- Here, There and Everywhere – Beatles
- Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen
Top five albums:
- Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys
- The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
- A Night at the Opera – Queen
- Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon
- Hunky Dory – David Bowie
A great read Mr Lewis, reminded me that I’ve listened to and appreciated more classical music than I’d given credit to in my piece. Should I have given myself more time I’m certain my piece could have been ten times the size!
I must say though Wagner went down in my view post his X-Factor sell out.
?
I connect with most of the albums listed in these articles but as I’ve aged I notice that I appreciate and listen to more and more jazz and classical.
Like them or not, Led Zeppelin 1 was a massive game changer. That and Deep Purple “In Rock”. These were my favourite albums but like all your “favourites you have to be in the mood for them.
A good read Stewart.
Being of an age that can remember and appreciate the Beatles, Who, Stones, Manfred Mann, Status Quo, Loving Spoonful, Beach Boys,and many more and having a father that liked Mario Lansza and such we gad a varied music in the house.
Classical music like Dance macarbra, Fantasia, 4 seasons, planet suite plus a few others I have enjoyed and continue too by myself getting ridiculed by the family for being old fashioned but then I get the same when listen to the Moody Blues or an album called Revelations by Mann.
Dylan is good in small amounts
Simon&Garfunkle are always easy listen
Paul Simon Solo albums are much better than the duo’s
Cream great live even if it was drug fueled didn’t last long enought
Stones loved their music but it has lasted to long old men still trying to impress (don’t need the money)
70’s 80’s 90’s mostly passed me by working in out of the way places like the Gabonese Jungle but now having down loaded the Top of the Pops history getting to see what I missed Dire Straits, clash, and many more but also listen to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zep, ZZ tops, Eagles all great and what long forgotten memories of drunken debauchery comes back to mind, fights on Yarmouth beach with the Mods abd Rockers getting collared and warned of future behaviour and only doing it again next day.
Quadraphenia brings it all back and as the song says even the good times has its bad.
Great comment, thanks. On reflection, amazing I didn’t get around to mentioning Quadraphenia!
As you mention Quadrophenia, there are people far more knowledgeable than I who reckon Townshend could justifiably claim A Quick One While He’s Away (c.1965) as a – if not the – prototype concept album. And there was always Tommy…
Hi Alex
Your comment is indeed a Revelation – that and 2ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle were great – I’d imagine we’re the only two MFW readers who’ve ever heard them! Obscure or what?
Man were superb live. If you’ve never heard these try Maximum Darkness, Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day and Back to the Future. The live cut of Sp*nk Rock on the Greasy Truckers Party is the ultimate – all 20 minutes of it! They’re all easy to find on the net.
The birth of man first track on revelation would have be banned if a single had more grunts and sexual moans than je tem ever had and yes a very not to many people ever heard of them.
Are they still going????
Still going? Not really. Ever-present guitarist Mickey Jones died about five years ago and they have played a few gigs since with his son as replacement. Not the same as I think they realised.
That band had more line-up changes than a Claudio Ranieri club!
They lasted over 40 years mind you. They were big in Germany and the money they made there more than kept them going over here. There were some interesting offshoots as in The Neutrons and Deke Leonard’s Iceberg.
There’s some fascinating stuff on YouTube, even the Wiki stuff and links therefrom make good reading.
Ken Whaley from Help Yourselfwas the bass player for a year or so. I worked with his photographer father Ken Snr for a few years. He asked me who his boy had joined! Man certainly liked the old Bob Hope and I think Ken was a bit worried!
An excellent read Stewart – and surely an early MFW nomination for Intro of the Year:-)
I too love Hunky Dory. It is so different to its predecessor, The Man Who Sold The World – the album that got me into the man and his music. I bought everything up to and including Heroes and quite a few of the later ones too. The Next Day is wonderful.
You’re not alone – Tubular Bells was nearly always on the cassette machine at the pub I worked at in my student days. A perfect antidote to some of the juke box selections made by the regulars in the pub(l)ic bar the other side of the ramp
As for your top five albums I own three and could claim four if I could sub Graceland for Still Crazy. Re the tracks I love the lot with the exception of Don’t Stop Me Now. That and Bicycle Race just drive me nuts!
Cheers, Martin. I hoped that intro would raise a smile.
Graceland and Still Crazy are certainly interchangable. I guess Don’t Stop Me Now is a matter of taste (I’m with you on Bicycle Race). Was going to say Bohemian Rhapsody, but it’s a hackneyed choice.
Lots of great bands and tracks I’ve remembered since I penned the article!
Great comment Stewart, and what a week from the MFW contributors.
I feel that I must have missed so much having read all the columns, and the (as always) excellent comments.
Being born in the fifties, I have to admit (am I the only one??) that my personal favourites along with The Beatles have to be the incomparable Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac, ably supported by the vastly underrated Jackson Browne.
Best gig I’ve ever been to (other than those above in London) has to be James Taylor at Blickling a few years back. We went as we had nothing better to do; paid on the gate, and he was amazing.
Nowadays I think Ed Sheeran is awesome (despite his football team), but I refuse to pay ViaGoGo prices so live dates are probably a thing of the past.
Oh; and whilst I wasn’t at the time, I have to admit that nowadays I can appreciate how brilliant ABBA were, and I suspect that (like the Beatles), they are one of the few acts whose music will be played for many years to come.
O T B C
Super comment. I just didn’t have room for The Eagles…
Man..What a band.There’s a few who still remember them…mainly Rhinos Winos & Lunatics?
Ha!
That was possibly the only release Ken Whaley Junior played on and showed their softer side: California Silks and Satins, the Thunder and Lightning Kid and Kerosene. Memories.
Strangely they never did hardly anything from that one live. I guess because all the punters wanted to hear the previous material and they were forever a band to please an audience.
I saw them loads of times at the Dagenham Roundhouse and a couple at the Chalk Farm one. Full value every time.
Seem I have started something here absolutely great music but never got the recognition they deserved maybe a few others just might come out of the woodwork
Gents
Sitting at home tonight I watched a program on the Everly Brothers and their Harmonies and it was brilliant with all the comments about our tastes in music over the last week and memories that these bring back how can anyone forget Cathy’s clown, al I have to do is Dream, Let it be, Bye bye love, Walk right back, when I kissed her and my favorite Claudette.
Great music from long ago
Must really be showing my age as I watched them live on the BBC Alma Coogan show