Hiding Under Covers

VAN DYKE PARKS SONGS CYCLED (Bella Union, 2013) Van Dyke Parks albums are like comets. Excepting a collaboration with Brian Wilson in 1995 (the quaintly offbeat Orange Crate Art ), the last VDP offering – Tokyo Rose – flared over the horizon in 1989. So, let’s see, that’s 24 years ago. A quarter of a century between albums is unusual, even in the relaxed timetables of many of today’s recording artists, who may casually punt out an album every decade or so. 24 years. Rock stars are born and die in that time. If there is one thing that Van Dyke Parks isn’t though, it’s a rock star. From his perch in contemporary pop music – as producer, arranger, composer and lyricist – his solo output is stubbornly unfashionable, distinctly erratic and wilfully idiosyncratic. Van Dyke describes himself as a rusty nail, “just waiting to be hammered down by an intolerant bastard, with no room for what isn’t rockin’ or classically elite.” Since releasing Song Cycle in 1968, Van Dyke has rel...

DAVID BOWIE IS...  We made it down to the V&A a couple of weeks ago for the much-trumpeted  David Bowie Is... exhibition. What a great afternoon we had. It took almost three hours to work our way through the rooms. Highlights are the sombre Berlin room and the floor-to-ceiling video wall showing footage of the Philadelphia 74 concert (recorded for the David Live album). Fascinating archive material, though, including handwritten lyric sheets, pages from Bowie's diaries and of course costumes, costumes, costumes. 

Launch Party  For The 100 GREATEST COVER VERSIONS (published by McNidder & Grace ) The launch of my latest book took place on 19.01.13 at Farmer Browns  in central Norwich. This happened just after I guested on Liz Kershaw's BBC 6 Music show . Adam Buxton sat in for Liz (who was stuck on a train just outside London!). When Liz finally made it to the studio, we talked about The Damned's cover of ' Eloise ' (originally by Barry Ryan) and one of the 100 featured in my book. As it happens, Lu Edmonds once of the Damned is now guitarist in Public Image Ltd, as is champion bassist Scott Firth... Public Image Ltd 's Scott Firth playing his cover of The Meters' 'Cissy Strut' at the launch.