Athens Rocks Festival 2024 - Lenny Kravitz

 

I remember first seeing Lenny Kravitz on MTV in the early 90's (Or was it the late 80's?) Despite his heavy exposure, at first he was struggling to have a hit. The rumours back in the day said that he was promoted so heavily, because his parents were in the music business. However, another rumour said that he didn't seek the help of his parents and that he wanted to make it on his own. And that's what he did! I never bought one of his CD's back then, though. Until 2001 that is. That's when I was working at a record shop on London's Oxford Street. Some supplier brought us several promo copies of his "Greatest Hits" album. It was just the disc in a simple cardboard sleeve. I got one of these, as I thought it was too good a bargain to miss. And that's how I really got into his music!

And that's of course why I decided to go and see him live when it was announced that he was going to perform in Athens. The venue was once again the Athens Olympic Complex, as it was for Maneskin at Ejekt Festival, my previous gig, but this time it was at a different corner of the complex. What's more, the two support acts were bands I had already seen in Athens as support acts: The Last Internationale who had played support for Guns N' Roses at the complex's main attraction the Olympic Stadium in 2023 and Sleaford Mods who had played support for Iggy Pop and Liam Gallagher at Release Festival in Water Square the year before.

When I arrived, The Last Internationale were already playing under a hot and blazing sun. I should mention here that concerts in August by international artists are uncommon in Greece, probably because promoters think that everybody will be on their summer vacation. (Most people in Athens tend to go on their summer vacation on the two weeks between the 1st and the 15th of August which is a good enough reason to avoid the popular vacation spots). Those of us who are left behind (I prefer to go on my summer holiday in September) usually enjoy the empty and quiet city, but dislike the fact that there are no gigs to attend. So, this festival date was a welcome break from the usual routine. 

Next in line were Sleaford Mods. I was really looking forward to seeing them again, because they had fairly recently released a cover version of "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys. It seems they usually add a cover version to their set, because when I had last seen them two tears before they had performed Yazoo's "Don't Go". Sure enough, they didn't disappoint and they played it.

While they were still playing I took a stroll around the festival grounds to see what was on offer. As this was yet another festival (compared to Release and Ejekt), there were yet more differences. (Not so many freebies, though!). On the merchandise stand however, I found the latest album from The Last Internationale! Having by now seen them twice, this was rightfully my purchase of the night.

On my way back, I found some lawn chairs and that's where I sat down to wait for Lenny. Soon enough, there he was bursting into "Are You Gonna Go My Way?'. I was not familiar with his latest songs, but that didn't matter as he played a lot of his 90's classics. And by looking around at the audience I realized that this event was what I had suspected it to be: A 90's reunion party! A lot of the people attending had grown up in the 90's or at least they were in their 20's, so it was a really emotional time for them. And as Lenny finished his encore with "Let Love Rule" we all went home on a high note and a nostalgic mood...

Just a note of caution, though: When Greek fans buy a t-shirt of their favourite artist they should always read everything that's written on it. Especially at the back of it... since they are always eager to point out how sensitive they are about certain issues since the 90's. I bought a t-shirt (and a cap, mind you) - albeit, an unofficial one - but then again, I don't mind these things. Just sayin'...

SETLISTS:

THE LAST INTERNATIONALE
01. Kick Out The Jams
02. Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Indian Blood
03. 1984
04. Hero
05. Soul On Fire
06. Wanted Man
07. Hard Times
08. 1968
09. Hit 'em With Your Blues

SLEAFORD MODS
01. UK GRIM
02. Kebab Spider
03. Jolly Fucker
04. A Little Ditty
05. Air Conditioning
06. Force 10 From Navarone
07. T.C.R.
08. Mork N Mindy
09. B.H.S.
10. Tiswas
11. Stick In A Five And Go
12. Fizzy
13. West End Girls
14. Tarantula Deadly Cargo
15. Nudge It
16. Tied Up In Nottz
17. Jobseeker
18. Tweet Tweet Tweet

LENNY KRAVITZ

01. Are You Gonna Go My Way
02. Minister Of Rock 'N Roll
03. TK421
04. I'm A Believer
05. I Belong To You
06. Stillness Of Heart
07. Believe
08. Fear
09. Low
10. Paralyzed
11. The Chamber
12. It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over
13. Again
14. Always On The Run
15. American Woman
16. Fly Away
Encore:
17. Let Love Rule

Until The End Of The World - My favourite movie of all time

In my mind, I have a list of my favourite movies. When I see a movie that enters the top 10 this is great news. It means that this movie has affected me in some important way. But the number one movie in this list has remained constant for decades. It's "Until The End Of The World" by Wim Wenders.

It all happened quite by accident. It was on late at night, on a summer's night on a Greek TV channel. I sat down to watch it because I thought "Ah, that's the movie where that U2 song is featured". I had a few doubts at first because it was a Wim Wenders movie and I considered him to be a "difficult" director. Three hours later, as the credits were rolling I was sitting, dumbfounded, on my couch thinking "What the **** has just happened?" I couldn't believe what I had just seen and experienced. I knew right there and then that this was the best movie I had ever seen.

But the question is "why?" Why was this the best movie ever, at least for me? Well, I guess that it has to do with all the travelling done in the movie. Indeed, I love road movies, but this is a road movie whose characters are moving all around the world, a world which comes close to destruction, but in the end, while our heroes have gathered at one of its most remote corners,  (SPOILER ALERT!), it is saved. That the two main characters fall in love during this journey, probably has something to do with it as well. Not to mention that it was set at the turn of the millennium which was then still a few years ahead in the future (This is after all a 1991 movie).

Another reason is the soundtrack. As you probably know well by know, music plays an important role - probably the most important - in my life. And although my decision to watch this movie the first time was because it contained a U2 song, which in fact is its title track ("Until The End Of The World" originally from "Achtung Baby"), it was other songs featured in the movie that made me fall in love with it. My favourites are : "Silent Kisses, Winter Tears" performed by Julee Cruise (but then again, this song was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, a fact which says quite a lot), Nick Cave's "(I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World" (his "thank you girl" line at the beginning of the chorus is just sublime), "Death's Door" by Depeche Mode (all DM songs - at least during that era - sung by Martin Gore tended to be more downtempo and atmospheric and thus, appropriate for a movie), and finally the best one: "Calling All Angels". I love k.d. lang's voice, even though she's just a guest providing additional vocals on a song performed by Jane Siberry. Their combined vocals in the chorus is, in my opinion. the highlight of this soundtrack. There is also "Days", a Kinks cover by Elvis Costello, but no version of this song ever is going to surpass the one sung by Kirsty McCall in 1989.

The connection of Wim Wenders with U2 continued with his next movie "Faraway, So Close" which featured "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" from the "Zooropa" album as its title track. That movie was actually the sequel to his earlier "Wings Of Desire". Because of this fact, I also watched these last two movies and Wim Wenders, whom at first I had thought of as "difficult", became one of my favourite directors. On top of that, I fell in love with Solveig Dommartin who stars in all these three movies I have discussed here and I was deeply saddened, years later, when I learned that she was no longer with us.

"Until The End Of The World" may be my favourite movie of all time, but this isn't a view that is shared by many others. The movie didn't get good reviews and it seems its production was chaotic, mainly due to the fact that it was shot all over the world using different, mainly local, crews. But I love it, and the atmosphere it creates and I find myself watching it again every once in a while. In fact, the reason I'm writing this blog post now, is because a couple of months ago I watched the  4 hour director's cut for the first time from a special 3DVD box set. Meanwhile Wim Wenders had once again collaborated with U2 on "The Million Dollar Hotel" and it wasn't until years later that I finally watched what is considered by critics to be Wim Wenders's finest film, "Paris Texas".

And since I have mentioned my favourite movie list, here is how it currently stands:

01. Until The End Of The World - Wim Wenders (1991)
02. Dark City - Alex Proyas (1998)
03. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino (1994)
04. Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly (2001)
05. Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson (2012)
06. Loving Vincent - Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman (2017)
07. Bohemian Rhapsody - Bryan Singer (2018)
08. Le Havre - Aki Kaourismaki (2011)
09. The Corporation -  Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott (2003)
10. Casablanca - Michael Curtiz (1942)
11. Before The Rain - Milcho Manchevski (1994)
12. Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis (1994)
13. Ghostbusters - Ivan Reitman (1984)
14. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980)
15. Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez (2007)
16. The Wall - Alan Parker (1982)
17. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000)
18. Three Colours Red - Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994)
19. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch (2001)
20. Summer Lovers - Randal Kleiser (1982)

Greetings From Bury Park

 

Us Bruce Springsteen fans were quite excited when the "Blinded By The Light" movie was released a few years ago. It told the story of a British Asian teenager who was a Springsteen fan in the 80's. I've seen the movie at the cinema, bought the DVD and the soundtrack CD which featured some rare live tracks and a "new" song "I'll Stand By You" which was originally intended for the first Harry Potter movie. Not to mention a couple of other 80's songs by A-Ha and the Pet Shop Boys. So why am I writing this now? Well, it's because I've also read the book. It's called "Greetings From Bury Park" and it goes much further than the storyline of the movie.

It tells us all about his life, not just as a teenager as we see him in the movie, but as an adult as well, who gets married and becomes a father. But the most important thing is that it shows us how Bruce Springsteen appeals to everyone, no matter what colour, religion or nationality. And it shows us how his music can help people through hard times, even if they're not the "typical" American fan.
Having lived in Britain myself, during most of the period that the main events in the book take place, and having socialized with members of the British Asian community while I was there, many of the things and events described in the book are familiar to me.
If you're Bruce fans you have probably already seen the movie, but I strongly urge you to read the book as well.

Dance Craze - The Best Of British Ska .... Live!

What is Dance Craze? Well, let me start by saying that I'm referring to a film. A 1981 film about the 2 Tone bands and the ska revival at the beginning of the 80's.

I got interested in that scene when I read about Madness and The Specials back in the day. I hadn't heard any of their music but I saw the albums and their reviews in a Greek music magazine so I bought "One Step Beyond" the debut album by Madness. According to the article I had read "ska is reggae played very fast". It also stated that "there's reggae, there's ska and in between there's rock steady whose tempo is somewhere in between reggae and ska". The article erroneously stated that "ska had evolved from reggae" when in fact the truth is that it happened the other way round. The bands that played that music according to the article were "Madness, The Specials, The Selecters (sic) and the Ruts" (As we all know that band's proper name is "The Selecter"). So after "One Step Beyond" I bought the first Specials album, their "Too Much Too Young" single and the first Selecter album. I didn't however buy anything from The Ruts because they weren't mentioned again as part of that scene. Instead I bought albums by The Beat and The Bad Manners.

And suddenly, at some point, all these bands appeared together in a live album called "Dance Craze". This was apparently the soundtrack of a movie showing all these bands playing live. Of course the movie was never shown in Greece, but the album was released featuring a poster with all 6 bands (Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, The Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers). 

 

I never managed to find the film after I had moved to Britain and when I once again looked for it recently I learnt that it had never been released on DVD. I managed however to find a VHS copy. So the next thing I had to do was buy a VCR! 

I managed to find a second hand stereo one and once I had connected everything I managed to finally see the movie 40 years later! Well, better late than never!

I have followed the 2 Tone scene over the years buying more albums from these bands and I even managed to see two of them live: Madness in 2007 and The Specials in 2010. I have just been informed though that Dance Craze is now being released on DVD and on a deluxe edition triple CD. I have already ordered both and I will finally manage to see a restored stereo version.

Letter From Bruce

With Bruce Springsteen starting his new tour in the US in Tampa,FL (a city where I have lived and worked in), a tour which will later come to Europe, I decided to listen to "Letter To You" again. As it happened, it was snowing on that day which seemed to fit in with the album cover. This was after all the album he was going to promote with a tour before the lockdowns changed all these plans. In the meantime, he also released a covers album ("Only The Strong Survive") and it was apparent from the Tampa setlist that he was going to promote both of them, but he would focus more on "Letter To You". 

This time I decided to listen to my vinyl copy for the first time instead of the CD. I used to buy Bruce's albums on both vinyl and CD, but I don't do anymore because this could prove to be a costly habit. However, I decided to buy this one when I found out that it was going to be a three-side album, with the fourth side being etched. And I secured a grey coloured vinyl as well. 

I was surprised once again by how good an album it was. That's why I decided to write this belated review. I used to review all new Bruce albums in this blog, but somehow I stopped after "High Hopes". 

First of all, it seems to be bookended by two songs about loss ("One Minute You're Here" and "I'll See You In My Dreams"). Having experienced personal loss in the past year, these two songs meant much more to me this time around. The title track, "House Of A Thousand Guitars" and "Song For Orphans" (the latter being one of three early songs that he re-recorded for this album) were my favourites when I first listened to it. This time round, apart from the opening and closing tracks I also appreciated "Burnin' Train" more. And let's not forget the drum intro of "Ghosts" which makes you think that he's about into "We Take Care Of Our Own" at any minute.

"Ghosts" and "Burnin' Train" look like they're going to be regulars on the setlists of this tour. Of course, that could change by the time the tour arrives in Europe at which moment I hope I will be able to see him and The E Street Band once again...

 

A Very Special Christmas

 

My first experience of pop stars singing Christmas songs came in December 1984. It was then that Queen, Wham! and Band Aid all released Christmas singles. ("Thank God It's Christmas", "Last Christmas" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" respectively). In the UK charts Band Aid went to number 1, Wham! were stuck at number 2 (because of Band Aid) and Queen, well, with that abundance of popular Christmas singles that year stalled at number 21. There had been of course Christmas pop hits before that and I got acquainted with most of those that were popular in the UK by acquiring "NOW The Christmas Album" (part of the "NOW That's What I Call Music" series). But then, in 1987, something happened: "A Very Special Christmas" was released with all proceeds going to the Special Olympics. That's the album which brought to my attention - albeit in new versions - the classic Christmas pop songs, several of which had been featured in what was considered the ultimate Christmas pop album: "A Christmas Gift For You", aka "Phil Spector's Christmas Album".
 

 

That's where I got "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (sung in the "rock" way, with emphasis on the first word, the same way that Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band sing it). Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band were in it as well, with "Merry Christmas Baby", which I already had as a B-Side of "War" the first single from the "Live 1975-85" box set. Other members of The E Street Band can be found on the album, namely Clarence Clemons and Roy Bittan playing on other songs. Artists from the Phil Spector Christmas album also make appearances such as Darlene Love who sings backing vocals on U2's cover of the song she herself had performed on the Phil Spector Christmas Album ("Christmas (Baby Please Come Home"). Bon Jovi were also in there with "Back Door Santa", however 5 years later that song was replaced with another from the same band, "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas". I haven't figured why this happened. Were perhaps the lyrics of "Back Door Santa" considered too seedy for a family Christmas album? Run DMC are also there with what was probably the first hip hop Christmas song, an original called "Christmas In Hollis". But one of the highlights of the album is "Silent Night" with haunting vocals by Stevie Nicks. What makes this version more amazing is something that you would have to refer to the liner notes to discover: The backing vocals by Robbie Nevil. You might of course had easily recognized his voice, since he had a hit earlier that year with "C'Est La Vie".

 

Since then there have been many more albums in that series (six more at first and then some 25th anniversary and special editions, plus a DVD). And from those sequels, I will single out "Oi To The World", an original by No Doubt, true to their ska/punk roots. 

Bring On Your Wrecking Ball - 10 Years Later

 

10 years ago, on the 6th of March 2012, one of the most important albums in my collection was released: Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball". We knew there was going to be a new album since late 2011 when the world tour had been announced but we didn't know what the album was going to be like. There were many people who dismissed it as a bad album because (in their own words) "Bruce doesn't release any good music anymore", in fact there are many who still do (dismiss it as a bad album that is). Nothing could be further from the truth as I pointed out in my original review of the album which was the first post written in English on this blog (because my friends from the social media asked for it) and prompted me to convert my blog into an "English speaking" one since January of the following year, 2013.

My opinion on the Bruce Springsteen albums since 2007's "Magic" is a very specific one. First of all, going back to 2002, I think all fans agree that "The Rising" is a great album. I will not examine "Devils + Dust" and "The Seeger Sessions" because the former is a "solo" album (ie without the E Street Band) and the latter is a completely different project. So, it's clear that we're talking about albums with the E Street Band here. And from Magic onward a specific pattern seems to have emerged : One especially good album followed by a "not so good" one.

Let's examine this: I think most fans agree that "Magic" is a very good album, what with its depiction of Bush-era America et al. This was followed in early 2009 by "Working On A Dream" which consisted of songs written on the road during the previous year's tour and seemed to serve as a companion to the following year's tour. In fact, after the first few dates of that tour, Bruce dropped most songs from the album keeping only two: the title track and "Outlaw Pete". In the same manner, "Wrecking Ball" which was indeed a good album (and I'm going to remind you why that was soon) was followed by 2014's "High Hopes" which featured some older outtakes, new versions of older tracks recorded during the previous year's tour (though we were finally glad to have an electric version of "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" and a studio version of "American Skin"), and seemed to serve as a companion to the following year's tour...

So, back to "Wrecking Ball". It is indeed a great album. When the title was announced we realized that we knew one of the songs: The title track had already been released back in 2009 in a live version from Giants Stadium. One year later it was also released in a physical format as a 10 inch vinyl single. However, when we actually heard the album, a few days before it was released we realized what it was about. And it had come out at the right time: Bruce had written these songs about the recession in the United States, but by reading the lyrics we realized that he could just have written them about Greece, a country that was suffering from austerity measures at the time. And that made us look forward with even more anticipation to the European tour which, for some of us, would begin on the 10th of June in Florence which turned out to be a night to remember, for a totally different reason... There will hopefully be more about that in June when the 10th anniversary of that tour comes. In the meantime, you can read my original review of the album again which you can find at this address : http://papdx.blogspot.com/2012/03/bring-on-your-wrecking-ball_05.html. There's no need to repeat it here. As I re-read it myself after all these years, I realized that I needn't change a single word...

New Rock - The compilation album that shaped my musical tastes of the following decade

It was - almost - a giveaway. A half price offer to be more precise. At a time when most vinyl records cost 250 drachmas, all you had to do was collect a coupon from the inside of POP AND ROCK magazine (the top selling music magazine at that time in Greece), present it to one of the paricipating record stores, pay 100 drachmas, and the record was yours. In 1979, I had already been listening to non-Greek music for just two years. I had started with Abba, progressed to Boney M, discovered The Beatles and Elvis Presley and then landed onto the soundtrack world of Saturday Night Fever and Grease. I had been reading Pop And Rock magazine for a while and I thought I should take advantage of this offer in order to get into "rock" music. I had heard "Sultans Of Swing" (the album's opening track) just a couple of times before and I knew of Blondie without having heard any of their songs. The latter had mainly caught my attention because I had seen pictures of Debbie Harry in the magazine and I knew that one day I was going to marry her. So after buying and listening to this album, I decided to buy records from the artists it featured and I started with the first, self-titled Dire Straits album on my birthday in 1979.

Now "New Rock" was supposed to be a new wave compilation (hence the name). What did Dire Straits have to do with it? Well, at the end of the seventies after a long period when progressive rock was the most popular music genre and just after the punk explosion which had come as a result of prog's dominance any new band that emerged was usually classified as "new wave". It didn't matter if they played plain old classic rock like Dire Straits did. Nor did it matter that guitar new wave gradually made way for synth based acts like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark or Soft Cell. They were all classified as "new wave". We even thought Culture Club were "new wave" when they played Rock In Athens in 1985.

After Dire Straits, I decided to try The Jam whose track "David Watts" was the third on the album. (I didn't much care for Sham 69 then who not only had the second track on the album but also had another track in it). So, I bought the "Going Underground" 7 inch single and that was it: I was hooked! They became my favourite band and I followed Paul Weller on to his Style Council and solo days. And imagine that: "David Watts", the first Jam song I ever heard was one which Paul Weller didn't even sing! Lead vocals were by Bruce Foxton, the band's bassist. And it wasn't even their own song, it was a Kinks cover!

I then moved on to Blondie, as expected, buying not only their "Eat To The Beat" album, but also their "Heart Of Glass" single (my first 12 inch - and probably the first 12 inch single to be issued in Greece) and then their "Call Me" single on 7 inch. I continued with Magazine when I bought their live album "Play" and later "Magic, Murder And Their Weather", their final LP. Like several favourite bands of mine from "New Rock" such as The Jam and Blondie, Magazine also disbanded a few years later. I would continue buying records from artists featured in New Rock for the next four decades. In 1985 Flash And The Pan came to the forefront with their hit "Midnight Man" (one of my numerous 12 inch singles of that year). I remember how overjoyed I was in the summer of 1990 when a night club in the Greek island of Skiathos played "Down Among The Dead Men", the Flash And The Pan song featured on "New Rock". And although I did not have any Generation X records at that time, I had several by Billy Idol, their lead singer. As time went by and the CD era rushed in I would buy records from all the other artists on the album like Penetration, The Motors, Skids, The Members, City Boy, culminating with last month's purchases: a Sham 69 compilation from Amazon and the 12 inch of "Dancing With Myself" by Fingerprintz, the last track on the album, from Discogs.

But it wasn't just the artists featured on this album that I got interested in. This album turned me into the (mostly Brirish) New Wave genre so I bought records by other artists that I would read about in Pop And Rock magazine, usually without even having heard a single note of them. Back then, there was only one radio show in Greece playing pop and rock music called "Pop Club" hosted by Yiannis Petridis, who was also the chief editor of Pop And Rock magazine as well as the person who compiled the songs on "New Rock". And there was no YouTube either. So it was difficult for me to listen to all these bands mentioned in Pop And Rock magazine. As a result I would often buy a record because of something I had read in the magazine. (I bought my first two Depeche Mode records without having heard them actually). For example the next record I bought after "Eat To The Beat" by Blondie was "The Fine Art Of Surfacing" by The Boomtown Rats. And Polygram, the record company that issued the compilation used to display the covers of some of their other records on their inner sleeves, so I got to know (though not to hear) about bands as diverse as The Who, Status Quo, Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy and even... La Bionda. Being very young though then, a pre-teen, I couldn't understand the artistic concept behind the record (it featured posters and photos of horror movies) on the front and on the back cover over the song titles and I remember writing a letter to the magazine about that. They answered (featuring my name printed on the magazine, wow!) that the pictures had nothing to do with the bands.

Pop And Rock gave away a couple more records a few years later, but these featured mostly b-sides. (These b-sides however were unavailable in Greece like "A Man Inside My Mouth" by The Cure). The songs featured on "New Rock" are mostly the bands' best. It comes as no surprise that the Magazine anthology was called "Touch And Go", the Penetration and The Members best of compilations were called "Don't Dictate" and "The Sounds Of The Suburbs" respectively plus the most famous song (and biggest hit) by The Motors is, of course, "Airport". In fact, Morrissey even played the Penetration's "Don't Dictate" video before coming on stage for his 2014 Athens concert. As for me, I listened to "New Rock" again, only a few hours before writing this post.

In 1998, when magazines very often gave away cover mounted CD's, Pop And Rock featured a CD compilation including some of the songs and several others by artists featured in "New Rock". It was called "Flash Back To '78"...

TRACKLIST:
Side 1:
1. SULTANS OF SWING - Dire Straits
2. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES - Sham 69
3. DAVID WATTS - The Jam
4. AIRPORT - The Motors
5. TOUCH AND GO - Magazine
6. SWEET SUBURBIA - Skids
7. 5-7-0-5 - City Boy
Side 2:
1. DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN - Flash And The Pan
2. THE SOUND OF THE SUBURBS - The Members
3. HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE - Blondie
4. KING ROCKER - Generation X
5. HURRY UP HARRY - Sham 69
6. DON'T DICTATE - Penetration
7. DANCING WITH MYSELF - Fingerprintz

Probably, the second best live album in my collection

We all know that the greatest live album of all time is of course "Live 1975-85" by Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band. But three years before I bought that, I saw another live album at my local record store which captured my imagination and decided to buy it there and then: Rod Stewart's "Absolutely Live". One of the reasons why I decided to buy it was that it contained "Young Turks" from Rod's latest, at that time, studio album "Tonight I'm Yours". I had seen the video on Greek television, on a show called "Musicorama", with the lyrics translated. I was so moved by the story of Billy and Patti running away from home together (remember, I was a teenager at that time). Moreover, the album featured other Rod Stewart songs that I already knew: "Passion", "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" and, of course, "Sailing".

"Passion" I had heard on Greek radio, on the "Pop Club" show hosted by Yannis Petridis. This show, together with Greek music magazine "Pop + Rock" (also managed by Petridis) were my two main sources of information on pop and rock music. It was on "Pop + Rock" magazine that I learned about "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" even before I heard it. The reason? The readers of the magazine, almost all of them rock fans, were complaining about this song and also about "Miss You" by The Rolling Stones, accusing both artists of "selling out" by "going disco". All these years later both of these songs are considered classics and Greek rock fans are complaining about different things these days. As for "Sailing", well, I knew it, because it was already considered a classic back then.

However, by listening to the full album after I had bought it I got to discover other songs that I immediately fell in love with: "Tonight I'm Yours", "Tonight's The Night", "You're In My Heart", "Maggie May" and "I Don't Want To Talk About It" (later covered by Everything But The Girl who also covered Bruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than The Rest"). Also featured were "Stay With Me" with Kim Carnes and Tina Turner and a cover of "The Great Pretender", four years before Freddie Mercury covered it.

Moreover, I got to experience the feel of a big live concert something that I thought that I would never experience first-hand with so few rock concerts taking place in Greece. (I had only attended two concerts at that time, the most important being one by The Boomtown Rats - Bob Geldof's band). This is exactly the same way I felt four years later when I bought Bruce Springsteen's "Live 1975-85". I thought "I will never get to see him live". Fortunately, 22 years after buying "Live 1975-85" I finally saw Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band live in Paris. It took me 22 years for Bruce but, if all goes well, 36 years after I bought "Absolutely Live" I will finally see Rod Stewart this summer!

10 years later - In defence of Working On A Dream

The last 4 Bruce Springsteen albums have followed a similar pattern: One great (Magic, Wrecking Ball), followed by one not so great (Working On A Dream, High Hopes). That was the case with Working On A Dream. And this was proved from the beginning of the subsequent tour of the same name when most songs from the album were dropped from the setlist leaving only two: Outlaw Pete and the title track. I was lucky enough to experience a live performance of a third though, when "Surprise Surprise" was requested in Rome and Bruce dutifully obliged.

OK, so, it's not a great album. Why did it seem so important back then? Well, for one thing, it was a happy album, much happier than Magic. Barack Obama had just been sworn in as president of the USA and hope was everywhere.

And what about the songs themselves? It had leaked on the internet a few days before its release and I remember when other fans from various countries were looking for it and the response was "The Greeks have it". I don't know how the Greek fans got it first, the thing is that all of us went out and bought a legal copy once it was officially released. But it was this situation that enabled me to listen to it before it was released, on my MP3 player one morning on my way to work. I had not, by the way received it all at once. I got it mostly track by track, as some songs were gradually becoming available on Amazon, such as the title track, "My Lucky Day" and the extended version of "The Wrestler". I managed to listen to all of it except for "The Last Carnival" which came on when I arrived at work so I listened to it on my trip home. From my work computer, I logged in to the Greek Springsteen Community forum and wrote my review. And I liked most of the songs, many more than just "Outlaw Pete" and "Working On A Dream". My favourite was "Tomorrow Never Knows" (it still is, and, in fact, I know somebody who became a fan when she heard that particular song). Another favourite at the time was, embarassingly enough "Queen Of The Supermarket" only because I fancied a checkout girl when I was a student in London, but I soon grew out of it.

OK, so I still haven't answered my original question: Why did it feel so special back then? The answer is simple: We knew there was a tour coming, so soon after the Magic tour. And as far as I was concerned, although I had seen Bruce Springsteen live the year before, this was the first time I was going to see him from up close, from "the pit" as they say. And I would not be alone this time either. After the Magic Tour I had met other Greek fans on No Surrender, the forum of the Greek Springsteen community {which by the way doesn't exist anymore as, along with everything else, has now moved to Facebook). This time I would be in the company of other people. There would, in fact, be several of us at each concert. Most of us can be seen on the Hyde Park DVD and there were also more than 50 of us at the Rome concert on the 19th of July. And let's not forget that we did not experience any of the usual "ticket stress" for that one, since we deposited the money to an account of a good friend and she brought us the tickets in person all the way from Italy.

I Listened to the alnum again, this time on vinyl on the 10th anniversary of its release, And I dug out the original tour programme. The tour programmes of both the Magic and the Working On A Dream tours were basically the CD booklets (wih song lyrics and other information) enlarged. So the Working On A Dream tour program would qualify as a vinyl booklet. (The lyrics are printed on the vinyl inner sleeves anyway). The verdict: I still believe that it is a good album. You don't believe? Well, at least for the title track watch the Hyde Park DVD once again. Look at all those people waving their arms. Now tell me again that Working On A Dream is not a good song. I dare you.

10 years... "Where the time goes, tomorrow never knows..." 

The greatest live album of all time

    

30 years ago, the best live album ever was released. Yes, that's Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's "Live 1975-85". The first Springsteen album I saw on the Greek music press was "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". The first album from which I heard songs on the radio was "The River" (and yes, the first song I heard was "Hungry Heart"). And the first album I owned was, of course, "Born In The U.S.A". I was gradually becoming a fan while reading the lyrics of that album, but it was this 5 LP set that made me the big fan that I am today.

Before it came out, I bought the 12'' single that preceded it, "War", thinking that I could probably not afford to buy the whole album. This was a very wise purchase as it also featured "Merry Christmas Baby" and an amazing 10 minute version of "Incident On 57th Street". Thankfully, when It did come out, the price was pretty reasonable so I bought it at once. I had already heard of his famous 3 hour live shows so this album was, as I believed then, the closest I could get to that experience. Indeed, I would have to wait nearly 22 years to finally see Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band live in person!

I was probably already hooked after the first few notes of "Thunder Road" and that is why, to this day, this is my favourite version. Little did I know that the next song "Adam Raised A Cain" would be the first song I would hear Bruce play live at the Parc De Princes stadium in Paris, France, on the 27th of June 2007.

Some of the songs I already knew. "Jersey Girl" in this particular version, I already had, as a b-side to the "Cover Me" 12-inch single. "Because The Night" I had already known, like most people, from Patti Smith. And weirdest of all, "Racing In The Street" was featured on Queen drummer Roger Taylor's second solo album "Strange Frontier". Seeing as Queen were (and still are) my favourite band, I had bought that album. "This Is Your Land" I had already heard in a television programme, probably about Woody Guthrie. Plus there was that cover version of "Born To Run" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their debut album...
With the help of the 36-page booklet featuring the lyrics of all the tracks, I immersed myself in the songs and the stories that Bruce told in them. And not just the stories in the lyrics but the stories Bruce himself narrated at the beginning, or in the middle of songs (Like the story in "Growin' Up" and its sequel at the beginning of "The River"). They spoke of an America that was totally different of the one I knew from the movies and TV series and the one reported from in the news. That was when I started dreaming of a road trip across the US from one cost to the other, something which I did 14 years later, in the late summer of the year 2000. I made that dream come true and I owe it all to Bruce Springsteen.

I also noticed a couple of songs about murderers that both ended up in the chair ("Nebraska" and "Johnny 99", both of course from the "Nebraska" album, here in much "richer" versions).
Finally, I also started "pairing" songs. What did that mean? Well, I would pick a couple of songs that, in my mind, one complemented the other. Like, for example, "Thunder Road" and "Growin' Up" which I thought that there were both great "opening" song. Now "Thunder Road" was the opener on "Born To Run", but "Growin' Up" was not the opener on "Greetings". I felt, however, that if "Live 1975-85 did not open with "Born To Run", it should open with "Growin' Up".
Another couple were "Sandy" and "Rosalita". That one's easy. They both had girls' names (and brackets) in their titles! Then I had "Badlands" and "Backstreets". Well, they both begin with "B" and end with "S" and they're totally different as far as musical styles are concerned. But I felt somehow that they both told similar stories. Finally there was "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Incident On 57th Street" (And yes, yes, I know "Incident" is not featured on the album, but as I've mentioned before, it's on the b-side of the "War" 12-inch single, which, for me, is part of the whole set). Well, these two both tell stories about something that happened on a certain street (Actually, one of them is on an avenue, but there you go).

Four months later, in early 1987, I would buy the album again! By then, I had a CD player and I could not resist the similar box with 3 CD's instead of 5 LP's. Plus, I was studying in another country at that time and I had of course left the vinyl box set at home.

Fast forward to the noughties when I decided to "complete" my collection. One of the first items I bought when I opened an account on eBay was the 3 cassette box set. And after that, I decided to buy the singles that were released from the album. I got "Fire" on 12-inch vinyl which features "For You" which is not on the album and the CD single of "Born To Run" (which is apparently, the first CD single Bruce ever released)

30 years later, when someone asks me to name my 10 favourite albums (or the 10 records I would take with me on a desert island), "Live 1975-85" is always on both lists. "But, no!" they go, "you have to pick 'proper' albums like 'Born To Run' or 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town', no compilations or live ones". "But it is a proper album!" I insist. "It's just... well, a bit longer!".
Admittedly when you are asked which 10 records you would take with you on a desert island and one of those you pick is... 5 records instead of one, it's cheating, but it's my desert island, so what if my luggage is a little bit... heavier?

Needless to say, every year, i pick a day (usually on a Sunday), when I put on my headphones and listen to the complete album from start to finish...