No Other - Gene Clark - album review

I have always been somewhat wary when approaching albums with a "cult" or mythical reputation, as the substance seldom matches the lavish praise heaped upon them.   The longer one is exposed to the fulsome reviews and general hyperbole, the greater the eventual sense of disappointment and anti-climax will be.

In the case of Gene Clark's 1974 release No Other, I acquired it not long after becoming aware of it, and so no process of "softening up" was involved.  I found that it did largely justify its reputation, and is a noteworthy piece of work for a number of reasons.

The album stands out from the rest of Clark's oeuvre, even considering his quixotic career.  The stems from the juxtaposition of Gene's patented songwriting and performing prowess with some quintessentially "Seventies" production values and soundscapes. Although the production might appear lavish and glossy, it also manages to retain some organic and gritty qualities. Thankfully, the quality and power of the compositions is hardly obscured at all.

Whilst it is very true that No Other is "of its time", it does have a real grandeur and majesty about it, and a certain mythology surrounds it, partly fuelled by the lurid tales emerging from the recording sessions. The LP became emblematic of the bloated hedonism of its era, although it seems that many of the stories surrounding its making were exaggerated or fabricated. The same properties which make No Other unique and captivating are the same ones which have also made it misunderstood, divisive and slightly polarising. Derided by many around the time of its release, it has since been largely rehabilitated.

The instrumentation is unusual when compared to Clark's other work, with more opulent and layered backing tracks on the majority of the tracks.  This prompts the charge that many of the songs are "samey", and almost indistinguishable from each other. It is almost a concept album in that respect.

Having said that the songs border on the homogeneous, the closer "Lady Of The North" is arguably the tour-de-force of the set. From a delicate, largely acoustic, opening, this builds into something of an epic - ethereal, compelling, evocative and hypnotic.

The opener, "Life's Greatest Fool", sets the tone, with some atypical (for Clark) harmonies and even lyrics.  We have already touched on the uniformity of the backing tracks, but some nuance is injected by the variety of musicians employed; a veritable who's who of Los Angeles sessionmen of the time.

"Silver Raven" exemplifies the atmospheric, vaguely unsettling flavour of much of the album, with oblique lyrical content. Here, as on some of the other numbers, Gene's voice sounds less expressive than normal, but also more varied; not a contradiction.

The title track exudes many of the trends of the early to mid 1970s, with its use of electric piano and synthesizers, and the treatment applied to the singer's voice. These things were very much in vogue, and the sound also contains echoes of the likes of Steely Dan and Little Feat, two critically acclaimed acts of the time.

"Strength of Strings" has a very steamy acoustic guitar intro, again very much a 70s trait. The arrangement here is dense and excessive but dramatic, driven largely by piano. This song also contains possibly Clark's most effective vocal on the album, more emphatic and distinctive than the others. The lyric is vaguely mystical, and there is some pleasing guitar work throughout.

The next item "From A Silver Phial", is more country-tinged than the other material, and features a more archetypal Clark melody and lyric, whilst still incorporating some of the hallmarks of this particular album.

Also, helping to steer the album towards more familiar Gene Clark-esque territory is "Some Misunderstanding". This time the vocal is allowed sufficient room to breathe, and the flourishes are less obstrusive than elsewhere. All this makes the song one of the more understated, but also one of the more impressive songs on No Other, artist and producer achieving a kind of happy compromise, even if inadvertently. The guitar and piano parts complement the song rather than verging on the cloying.

"The True One" is less country-rock than authentic country, with its use of pedal steel.  In this esoteric setting, the song sounds quite banal, but it does also serve as light relief, being undemanding in comparison to the statements surrounding it. Well crafted and innocuous.

No Other is an album which defies easy description.  An uneasy listen at times, but it was probably not intended to be cosy and comfortable. It was hightly ambitious, and the flights of fancy do not always come off or succeed, but this is one its virtues. Approach with an open mind, and you will be rewarded and even enchanted....

Chinese Grand Prix 2012 - Review

Another absorbing and unpredictable Formula 1 race, and this time we have a new winner, which is always a healthy sign.

Looking back, whatever doubts which may have inhabited Nico Rosberg's mind prior to the race were largely dispelled by his confident and clean get-away from the starting grid.  Thereafter, making allowances for pit-stops, he had the measure of his rivals, once strategies had unravelled.

The emotion and relief amongst the Mercedes personnel at the finish was palpable, notably from Norbert Haug and Ross Brawn.  I am delighted for Haug in particular; he has always occurred to me as one of F1's good guys.

While the weather conditions in Shanghai did not exactly hinder Mercedes in their endeavours, at least some of the questions about the car's earlier shortcomings appear to have been answered, and Michael Schumacher alluded to this when interviewed after retiring from the race.

The failure of Schumacher to finish will have been the one blemish on the day for the Silver Arrows. Since his comeback, I am probably guilty of over-analysing Michael's words and body language, searching for signs of a mellowing or a weakening of resolve. To be fair, these things are extremely difficult to discern, because for much of his career he has been diplomatic and sanguine, being loyal and protective to team members, publicly at least.  His qualities as a team player were in evidence today, with what seemed to be genuine pleasure at Rosberg's victory.  The seven-times champion probably in turn senses that the team has turned a corner, and that he will be a beneficiary.

If we disregard the relatively serene Rosberg, this was quite a freakish, fluctuating race, which had a faintly surreal air to it throughout.  The battle for the other points positions in the latter stages resembled a Formula Ford thrash rather than a Grand Prix, but I have heard few complaints!  My head was hurting at times watching, as I tried to make sense of the constantly shifting fortunes and permutations. It goes without saying that tyres were the major contributory factor in determining the nature of the contest, but the generally unpredictable pattern of Formula 1,2012-style, also had a role in all this.

Because of the volatile nature of the race, I am loath to make too many concrete judgements on individuals teams.  The margins were so slender that even one minor misjudgement could have what must have seemed disproportionate consequences.  The teams and drivers may have to become accustomed to this becoming more the norm in this "new age" F1.  Frustrating for them, entertaining for neutral observers....

McLaren are first and second in the driver's standings, and lead the constructor's championship.  However, they may come away from Shanghai feeling that the waters have been progressively muddied since Melbourne.  Their advantage was admittedly slim even then, but matters are becoming even more complicated, and the spectre of Mercedes must now concern them more.  Jenson Button must have felt that this race was tailor made for his unruffled, mechanically sympathetic style, but even allowing for his botched final pit-stop, he had no real answer to Rosberg.

As for Lewis Hamilton, has he arrived at a satisfactory balance?. This season may well put a premium on consistency and accumulation of points, and he has been on the podium at all three races thus far.  At the same time, the close and frenetic competition this season will help to satisfy his racer's instincts. His demeanour after the race hinted at some contentment and optimism, but not complacency.

Sebastian Vettel salvaged something from what on Saturday, and even in the early stages of the race itself, threatened to become an embarrassing and dispiriting state of affairs. Even so, circumstance and the odd slice of luck may have played their part.  Still not wholly convincing.

I was impressed with Mark Webber today.  He never stopped trying, withstood one particularly disconcerting moment, and his persistence and perseverance were rewarded at the end.  Above all, he never stopped racing.  He was also very gracious afterwards when praising Rosberg and Mercedes for their win.

Assessing Ferrari's day is an onerous task.  Both drivers seemed to try hard, and in some respects the cards did not fall for them, although admittedly Alonso made a late mistake which cost him places. The final results marginally exaggerate how bad a day they actually had.

 Of the others, Lotus, Sauber and Williams maintained the favourable impression which they have made in the early races.  It was heartening to see both Williams entries well inside the points, with the drivers being impressively assertive, Maldonado building on his reputation as a man not to be trifled with!  Sauber were slightly unlucky, although some impetuosity on the part of their drivers may have contributed to this.  For Lotus, Romain Grosjean had a chance to exhibit some of his flair.

The pulsating late tussle behind the leader may be the thing which lingers most in the memory from the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.  It is noticeable how much the drivers themselves are enjoying this season's racing, this being reflected in post-race comments today from Button and Hamilton, amongst others.  Some competitors are coping with these new conditions better than others...

When we assess Formula 1 in 2012, the plot thickens....

Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying

Not totally unexpected, in view of some of the trends in practice and qualifying thus far in 2012, but great to see Nico Rosberg on pole position for the first time in his Formula 1 career.  The traditionalists will also be purring, as this was the first F1 pole for Mercedes as a team entity since the Fangio/Moss days of 1955.

I'm tempted to say that the qualifying sessions in Shanghai have produced a win-win situation for the watching billions.  A new pole-sitter, close times and some fancied runners for various reasons further back on the grid than they are accustomed to being. 

Some people might view this as a "topsy-turvy" grid, but it is not, really.  Mercedes have been there or thereabouts in testing, practice and qualifying, so it was only going to take a minor shift in conditions,circumstances or luck for them to achieve today's outcome.  The other "surprising" grid positions are also not totally out of kilter with what has already been seen or predicted so far this year.

The main talking point, other than Rosberg's pole, will undoubtedly be Sebastian Vettel's failure to make the top ten.  Funnily enough, I was thinking of saying something to the effect that the recent criticism and scrutiny of Vettel has been premature and misguided.  The German will clearly not be thrilled to be where he is on the grid, but even now I'm not reading too much into it.  Just one of those things!  It is more instructive to look at times, and any mitigating circumstances, rather than pure positions.

Going back to Mercedes, the onboard shots with Rosberg suggested a very stable, responsive and easy-to-drive car, but of course doubts linger about their capacity to maintain a consistent race performance, partly because of their tyre-wear "issues".  One also wonders whether Nico's entry into the limelight might galvanise Michael Schumacher into an assertive and aggressive race performance tomorrow?

It remains to be seen whether McLaren, for all their prowess in race trim, will be hampered by their grid positions.  On balance, I think not, because of the nature of the track, and the uncertainties surrounding the cars in front of them. 

The Sauber and Lotus performances in qualifying have ceased to be surprising or unusual.  Consistent top ten positions should now be the norm for these two teams.  Kimi Raikkonen's times today have gone slightly unheralded, because of the feats of others, but his position is more proof that he never really "went away", and belongs on the rarefied air near the front of the grid.

What is very noticeable this season is how guarded and equivocal team personnel and drivers are being in their comments post-qualifying and pre-race, eschewing bold predictions or bravado.  They all realise just how competitive and fluid the current F1 landscape is, and few people are able to foresee future events with any degree of certainty.  This can only be a good thing!

2012 Chinese Grand Prix Preview

After what by common consent has been an intriguing start to the Formula 1 season, the action resumes this weekend in Shanghai, after a break of three weeks. 

It is likely that much of the discussion will be dominated by the thorny topic of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and that is very understandable. However, here's hoping that there is another enthralling race to grab at least some of the attention.

Allowing for the weather conditions which prevailed in Malaysia, and taking nothing away from Alonso's superb drive in Sepang, the team to beat (just) remains McLaren.  Jenson Button will be seeking to revert to the form and poise which he displayed in Australia, and to make amends for his uncharacteristic rush of blood in the last race.

Lewis Hamilton's cause will not exactly be aided by a five-place grid penalty in China, because of a gearbox change, but the Briton seems philosophical about this hindrance, and he will still harbour hopes of notching up a win to vindicate his pre-season buoyancy, and to consolidate his solid start to the 2012 campaign.

The three-week hiatus since Malaysia will have been employed by some teams to try to analyse their lack of form and all-round pace. Foremost amongst these would probably be Mercedes, who badly need some kind of race result in China.  Red Bull, though having many more points on the board, will also have been striving for solutions.

Fernando Alonso was correct in pointing out, amidst the post-race euphoria in Malaysia, that the race victory there, welcome and merited though it was, did not fundamentally alter Ferrari's position. It is difficult to imagine a quantum leap in performance in Shanghai, but at least the triumph in Sepang may have given the team an extra spring in its step, and instilled a greater sense of impetus.

Several teams will be hoping to build on encouraging beginnings to the season.  Williams, and particularly Pastor Maldonado, will be seeking to continue to convert promise into points.  For Lotus, one suspects, more of the same would suffice at this stage.  Sauber, following the Perez podium in Malaysia, are another outfit threatening to consistently intrude into the party at the front end of the field.  It is to be hoped that the young Mexican will not be over-awed by his new-found prominence.

So, there we have it.  Another interesting weekend in prospect!

Bubba Watson

Unusually for me, this year I took only a passing interest in the Masters golf over the weekend, my mind being occupied with other pursuits.  Normally, I am a avid viewer of this, one of the most evocative and compelling events on  global sporting calendar.

Last night, however, I made a point of following the pulsating concluding round, and was transfixed, like countless millions of others, by the drama which unfolded on the back nine.  In the end, Bubba Watson prevailed after a play-off, and he is a most refreshing addition to the list of major winners in golf.  Possessing an unorthodox style and approach, and defying some of the other conventions, he also appears to have human qualities which will endear him to a wider public.

Watson's outpouring of emotion after clinching victory seemed genuine and sincere, and it is always gratifying to witness somebody accomplish one of their main aims in life, whether professional or personal.

It was also good that his expansive style of play earned him his victory, and he did not revert to a more conservative mindset when the pressure really began to exert itself yesterday.  Not afraid to take risks, he was rewarded in the final analysis.

The Masters triumph may have completed Watson's transition from cult figure to mainstream sporting star, and it will be fascinating to see whether his new-found status inhibits him in some respects, or whether his game continues to flourish in the future.

Formula 1 in 1980

I recently blogged about the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix:

1978 Monaco Grand Prix

In that article, I speculated that the race signified in some respects the end of an era, with changes, both technological and commercial, afoot, or at least on the horizon. 

Following on from the Monaco article, I also recently watched some footage from the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, in Montreal.  It was instructive to see how many of the impending upheavals discernible just over two years earlier had now come to pass, or were firmly entrenched.

Ground effect cars were now de rigueur, and the beginnings of today's Grand Prix "circus" were now more fully noticeable, albeit in a relatively embryonic form.

The Formula 1 cars of 1980 were nowhere near as immediately lovable, or as individualistic, as they had been in the Spring of 1978, but all the same they possessed a certain primal, savage beauty.  The attentions of the aerodynamicists, and more pointedly their wind tunnels, were beginning to reap their "benefits".

It was not just the cars that had changed.  Niki Lauda and James Hunt had both retired, and former champions Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi were uncompetitive, and also destined to exit the stage. A new generation was emerging, to dominate the early to mid-1980s, in the form of Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, Rene Arnoux, Didier Pironi and others.

The teams which had loomed so large in the preceding decade, such as Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Tyrrell were all at sea, although the green shoots of McLaren's renaissance were just visible.  The centre of gravity of F1 had been disturbed, and the resultant disorientation is one of the things which makes the 1979-1981 era a touch nebulous and disconcerting for many.  For the open-minded though, there was still much to fascinate and enthuse over...

I may be slightly biased in my own assessment, as I became interested in the sport in 1981. However, even from the vantage point of 2012, those years do have a slightly sterile and uninspiring air about them. There was neither the variety and charisma of the 1970s, nor the distilled and untamed drama of the turbocharged era which was to follow.  In this respect, I see the late 70s/early 80s, as a period of transition, rather than an era in itself.

The racing in Montreal was close and exciting, although there was an accident at the start, which caused proceedings to be halted. Nelson Piquet was badly affected, having to revert to his spare car, but valiantly led the early laps until his engine cried enough.  Pironi having being penalised for a jumped start, this paved the way for Alan Jones to cruise home in relative comfort, thereby clinching the world title.

I suppose that Jones is remembered as one of the less "glamorous" world champions, but his success in 1980 was fully merited.  He was a natural charger, and had paid his dues in Formula 1.  He had dominated the latter portion of 1979, but was too late to contend for the top prize.  In 1981, he would prove that he was a worthy champion by driving arguably even better than before, only to be plagued by ill-fortune.

One of the less savoury spectacles of the 1980 Canadian round was the serious accident suffered by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Renault, and the failure to stop the race, even while he was being extricated from the car and given medical treatment at the side of the track.  Such a thing would be inconceivable and unthinkable today.  The race would be red-flagged promptly.  Clearly, even in 1980, F1 still had a long way to go in some respects.

That was "the way we were" in 1980.....

Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan - album review

Of Bob Dylan's much revered "trilogy" of classic mid-1960s albums, it is Bringing It All Back Home which I find myself returning to most of all. The first of the threesome to be released, it is still my favourite, for several reasons.

First, it exudes an aura of restrained cool and quality, with an immediacy and confidence which is rare indeed. Secondly, it represents a perfect mixture of styles and themes, creating a richness of texture absent from the other two of the aforementioned trilogy. Thirdly, it contains more genuinely memorable and substantial songs than the other two.

It is all here - the beginnings of folk-rock, the lingering elements of protest, oblique lyrics, inspiring imagery. The profound, the amusing, the angry, the inspiring and the touching all within these eleven compositions. The fact that the album encompasses so many directions, from the "hipster" appeal of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" to the languid charm of "She Belongs To Me", to the revelation of "Mr Tambourine Man", is part of its impact, in addition to the quality of the execution.

There are still clear remnants of Dylan's "folk-protest" past on songs such as "Gates of Eden" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", and if anything these tracks assume a greater resonance, power and venom, surrounded as they are here by numbers with very different subject matter and agendas. I am sometimes tempted to regard "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" as a kind of hinge in Dylan's career, closing the door on one era, and peering into another.  I may be incorrect in this assessment!

The sound on Bringing It All Back Home has an uncluttered, clear quality which gives it part of its accessibility. The more dense, murky feel of later albums is thankfully not evident here. Dylan's vocals are projected quite forcefully on many songs.  This was also the stage at which the "bluesy" songs still sounded original and distinctive, and not samey and stodgy.

It is some measure of the standard set by Bringing It All Back Home that it could be argued that Dylan tried too hard in struggling to surpass it.  I feel that Highway 61 Revisited, excellent though it is, sounds over-earnest and contrived in comparison. Was Bob hamstrung by the artistic brilliance and spontaneity of his first album of 1965?  Did the pressures, personal and professional, which caught up with him not long afterwards partially stem from this?

In addition to its other properties, I also find Bringing It All Back Home the most enjoyable of Dylan's classic albums.  It is an accomplishment indeed to be able to combine the cerebral with a pure entertainment value with this facility. The albums which followed never quite managed to achieve the same balance to this extent.

Listen to this album.  You will be entertained, amused, challenged and inspired.....