There's a lot of Jacques Brel in I Shot a Man in Reno, as you might imagine. Death was his specialist subject, and he tackled it with a uniquely European mix of reverence and relish. There's a great new compilation of Brel's earlier recordings - In the 50s: The Birth of Genius - coming soon on PoppyDisc, which is well worth investigating even though my favourite Brel song, "My Death", isn't on it.
I mention in Reno that I can never quite decide which version of that song I like best: Scott Walker's booming slice of existential orchestral pop, or David Bowie's wracked, beautiful live version, bashed out on a 12-string with a twinkling piano whispering in the background? Today, Bowie wins. And here's why:
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About Me
Regular contributor to the Guardian, The Word, Uncut, New Statesman, the Herald and theartsdesk. My work has also appeared in the Observer, the Telegraph, Esquire, Mojo, Time Out, Rolling Stone, HMV Choice, Oxford American, the Sunday Business Post and Record Collector. Occasionally I’m allowed to break cover on Radio 2, Radio 4 and Radio Scotland.
Author of five books: Complicated Shadows: The Life & Music of Elvis Costello (Canongate, 2004); Willie Nelson: The Outlaw (Virgin, 2006); I Shot a Man in Reno (Continuum, 2008); and Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush (Omnibus, 2010). I’ve just published The Resurrection of Johnny Cash (Jawbone, 2011).
I’ve sat on a sofa in the control room of Abbey Road's Studio 2 and watched Paul McCartney remove his socks. Keith Richards phoned me at 4 a.m. to ask, 'Whatya doing up so late, old boy?'. I've been offered a potentially fatal Camberwell Carrot by Willie Nelson. I've made Bob Geldof cry into his meat loaf, and Elvis Costello once threw a peach stone in my general direction. He's even less friendly these days.
LINKS
- Word magazine
- Under The Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush
- Time Out articles
- The Herald
- The Arts Desk
- Reviews: The Outlaw
- Reviews: I Shot A Man In Reno
- Reviews: Complicated Shadows
- RENO at Amazon US
- RENO at Amazon UK
- Powell's
- Once Upon A Time A Song
- Observer articles
- New Statesman
- Last Year's Girl
- Journalisted
- Jeremy Thomas
- Jenny Brown Associates (Agent)
- Guardian music
- Guardian articles
- Continuum
- 33 1/3 blog
1 comment:
Stunning! Loved your book, too - congratulations!
Bob
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