KASABIAN: Happenings (Columbia)
Verdict: Leicester rockers rejuvenated
The appeal of the ‘secret’ festival set was very much in evidence last weekend when Kasabian took to the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury.
Within hours of the news, ‘Woodsies Full’ messages were flashing on screens around Worthy Farm as thousands gathered to see the band.
And the Leicester rockers did not disappoint (as you can see, on BBC iPlayer).
Playing Glastonbury for a sixth time — and the first since the departure of the original frontman Tom Meighan four years ago — they were electrifying, with new frontman Serge Pizzorno, formerly Kasabian’s guitarist, demonstrating how well he’s adapted to being centre stage.
Once the band’s Keith Richardshe’s now morphed into Mick jagger. With Pizzorno bounding around before doing a bit of crowd-surfing, the appearance highlighted how Kasabian are evolving.
Taking its cue from a classic punk LP, The Ramones’ self-titled debut, Kasabian’s Happenings lasts a shade under 29 minutes, pipping The Ramones by seconds in terms of lean, clean economy
Once known for lad-rock, a la Oasis, they are now embracing dance and pop. Their Glastonbury set included a funky cover of Deee-Lite’s Groove Is In The Heart — and dance music plays a significant role on new album Happenings.
The band’s second LP with 43-year-old Pizzorno front and centre, it’s more focused than 2022’s The Alchemist’s Euphoria, which tried to cover too many bases.
Taking its cue from a classic punk LP, The Ramones’ self-titled debut, Happenings lasts a shade under 29 minutes, pipping The Ramones by seconds in terms of lean, clean economy.
A penchant for punchy dance-pop — and the brevity of punk — is obvious from the off.
An instrumental prelude leads into the catchy Darkest Lullaby, which advocates searching for relief from any romantic woes by ‘forgetting the pain’ and heading to the disco, a move reinforced by the equally infectious Coming Back To Me Good.
A penchant for punchy dance-pop — and the brevity of punk — is obvious from the off
There are edgier moments amid the bouncy pop. Call is a dance-rock number taking inspiration from Afro-funk; and How Far Will You Go is a three-chord thrash more suited to the mosh-pit.
On Algorithms, a psychedelic ballad with lovely vocal harmonies, Serge rails against our high-tech society and ‘robots believing they have a soul’.
Happenings occasionally feel a little slight. The experimental Bird In A Cage would have sat more readily on The Alchemist’s Euphoria, but it’s a rare misstep. With Serge now comfortable at the helm, both live and on record, Kasabian are returning with renewed vigour.
‘I’m sure our next album will be twice as long,’ he admits. ‘But this one needed to be this way.
‘With a homecoming show in Leicester tomorrow, they’ve got their mojo back.
Kasabian play Victoria Park, Leicester, tomorrow, and Latitude Festival on July 26 (ticketmaster.co.uk)
LINDA THOMPSON: Proxy Music (StorySound)
Verdict: Songwriting masterclass
Unable to sing due to a rare vocal ability, Linda Thompson takes a novel approach on her first solo album in 11 years.
A key figure, alongside then-husband Richard Thompson, in the British folk-rock boom of the 1970s, she has battled the progressive condition spasmodic dysphonia since the 1980s.
Yet the London-born, Glasgow-raised musician continues to write great songs. And with a helping hand from her musician son Teddy Thompson, who co-produces, she presents 11 of them on Proxy Music, employing guests to sing them as vocal ‘proxies’.
It is a wide-ranging record, with a Seventies singer-songwriter feel, emphasizing Linda’s humour and poetic turn of phrase
Given 76-year-old Linda’s folk roots, there are nods to traditional music. Bonnie Lass, beautifully sung by The Proclaimers, harks back to the airs and reels of her Scottish childhood.
That’s The Way The Polka Goes, with Eliza Carthy singing and playing fiddle, is even more rustic — all hand-slaps and foot-stomps.
It is a wide-ranging record, with a Seventies singer-songwriter feel, emphasizing Linda’s humour and poetic turn of phrase.
‘If it’s true that only the good die young/Lucky old you, ’cause you’ll be around until kingdom come,’ observes Americana singer Dori Freeman on Shores Of America.
There are surprises, too. Darling This Will Never Do, sung by Rufus Wainwright, is a homage to mad love that sounds like a tune from the golden age of swing.
A synth-based song called John Grant — sung by Grant — celebrates Linda’s friendship with the ex-Czars’ frontman: ‘We like cake, and it shows/A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.’
Less surprising is the fact that Proxy Music is a family affair. Linda’s daughter Kami sings The Solitary Traveller, and Richard Thompson plays harmonium and guitar on I Used To Be So Pretty, an unforgiving song about ageing superbly sung by Ren Harvieu.
Those Damn Roches is a wry portrait of folk dynasties, including the Thompsons.
And the humour extends to the artwork, with Linda posing in an outfit identical to the one worn by Kari-Ann Moller on Roxy Music’s self-titled debut album.
She might not sing, but she knows how to make an entrance.
Teddy Thompson And Friends sing the songs of Linda Thompson at Cadogan Hall, London, on July 19 (cadoganhall.com)
BEST OF THE NEW RELEASES:
IMAGINE DRAGONS: Loom (Interscope)
Loom is on course to give them a second UK No.1 album, and it covers the entire waterfront, taking in pop, rap, reggae and widescreen weepies
This Las Vegas quartet’s arena-ready anthems border on the generic, but that hasn’t stopped them from becoming massive.
Loom is on course to give them a second UK No.1 album, and it covers the entire waterfront, taking in pop, rap, reggae and widescreen weepies.
Amid the more formulaic fare, three numbers stand out.
Nice To Meet You is a nimble summer rap track, and Don’t Forget Me a big ballad, seemingly informed by frontman Dan Reynolds’ divorce.
Recent single Eyes Closed crops up twice — the second time with Colombian reggaeton superstar J. Balvin guesting.
AT
TIANQI DU: Bach Keyboard Concertos (Naive V7957)
Bach would have had a harpsichord for these four Concertos but Tianqi Du plays the piano so well that it is irrelevant.
The young Chinese musician plays with irresistible rhythm and dances the music.
He is aided by the modern instruments of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by former cellist Jonathan Bloxham.
Most of these Concertos were originally for violin and in one case, the D major, we still have Bach’s violin version; but he was an expert arranger and they are all convincing.
The D minor sets the tone with springy piano and clear, clean strings. The recordings from LSO St Luke’s are very vivid.
Tully Porter
GAMES
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD (Nintendo Switch, £49.99)
Verdict: Back, but only slightly better
Luigi’s Mansion 3, released on the Switch in 2019, is the perfect Luigi’s Mansion game. Which makes this HD remaster a ghost from the past
You can keep your Resident Evils, Silent Hills, Amnesias and all the other games where I’m too scared of dark, forbidding corners.
But cartoonishly spooky Luigi’s Mansion 2 is another matter — its protagonist is as cowardly as me. Luigi’s knees knock at every ghost or Scooby-style critter he encounters.
Mario’s little brother is utterly charming. Luigi’s Mansion 2 came out in 2013 on Nintendo DS.
This hi-def version for the Switch retains its delights — Luigi, who hums along with the soundtrack, and the compelling gameplay.
You use a souped-up vacuum cleaner, the Poltergust 5000, to progress through a series of haunted houses.
While the graphics are much improved, there’s still the antiquated save system and the chopping up of play into micro-missions.
Luigi’s Mansion 3, released on the Switch in 2019, is the perfect Luigi’s Mansion game. Which makes this HD remaster a ghost from the past.
Peter Hoskin
BEST OF THE NEW RELEASES
JOHNNY CASH: Songwriter (Mercury Nashville)
Sympathetic restoration from demos made in 1993, this ‘lost’ Johnny Cash album finds The Man In Black at a crossroads
Sympatheticly restored from demos made in 1993, this ‘lost’ Johnny Cash album finds The Man In Black at a crossroads.
Its renaissance under producer Rick Rubin was still a year off, and its commercial fortunes were on the wane.
With the material patchy, it’s easy to see why Songwriter was shelved at the time. Hello Out There is an overstated shot at social commentary, but there are some gems too.
Well Alright is a classic country throwback, and She Sang Sweet Baby James a tender account of a truck-driving single mum who finds solace in a James Taylor song.
JOSS STONE: 20 Years Of Soul (Stone)
Given that her audacious — some might say foolhardy — Total World Tour took in visits to North Korea, Syria and Iraq, it’s surprising Joss Stone has waited so long to make her first live album.
Spanning her entire career in much the same way as Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, 20 Years Of Soul sets the record straight.
Her warbling ad-libs can be annoying, but she’s an instinctive performer who lives in the moment.
She shows her versatility with a medley from her reggae album Water For Your Soul before paying tribute to her mentor Betty Wright on a soulful Right To Be Wrong.
Adrian Thrills
TRACK OF THE WEEK
TOUGH by QUAVO & LANA DEL REY
Ahead of her first country album, Del Rey teams up with Atlanta singer Quavo for a surprise duet — a moody, conversational ballad with a Spaghetti Western feel.
