Heritage
Week from Monday 13th July 2026 - 'MONDAY DOING MONDAY STUFF'... Got off to a start a bit late this morning, but my routine selection of RADIO PODCASTS was more condensed this week! "LE SHOW" and "NO SUCH THING AS A FISH" were business as usual, but... "STRONG MESSAGE HERE" is taking a summer break, so no episode at all this week... "FRIPP@80" on YouTube wasn't nearly as verbose as some of his previous 'episodes', so that didn't take very long... I gave this week's episode of "KEY CHANGES" a miss altogether, upon finding that it was entirely dedicated to the music of GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL. So that all saved me an hour or so, better spent catching up with yesterday's TOUR DE FRANCE highlights.
#OnThisDay #FiftyYearsAgo 13/07/76, I saw GRYPHON play a terrific gig in CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL. They were at the peak of their powers and made full use of the amazing acoustics of the cathedral. I particularly remember RICHARD HARVEY going w-a-a-a-a-y up into the gallery, to play a haunting recorder piece. But you'll have to take my word for it, because I've been unable find ANYTHING to show for it ever happening!
Week from Monday 20th July 2026 - After my 'SATURDAY CLUB' visit to the horsepickle, I hopped on a bus over to Southampton to enjoy a couple of hours at the MELA in Hoglands Park. The RAJASTHAN HERITAGE BRASS BAND were kicking up a storm on the main stage, playing rowdy versions of Bollywood classics. I swear that at one point they also did the 'Cantina Band' tune from "STAR WARS", or something that sounded very much like it! Elsewhere on the site, there was a lot of traditional singing and dancing, a Chinese dragon or two wandering around, plus a group of gentlemen from one of the many TRAD JAZZ bands in the area, busking near the fairground.
There was plenty of cheap grub to be had... I wonder how they manage to stay in business with those giveaway prices! I bought a delicious (home made?) VEGETABLE SAMOSA, which was the size of a Cornish pasty, for less than two quid. While another franchise was giving away FREE samples to tempt in customers. Having made my selection, I came away with a bulging plastic bag full of exotic snacks, all for a total of three pounds!
This year's BBC PROMS have started. Saturday's 'highlight' was the much-anticipated (by others, I should add!) "PROG ROCK PROM". Now when this was first announced, I thought the idea was a bit NAFF and I feared the worst. (Then again, if I didn't expect to like it anyway, I knew I could never be disappointed!) Several of the selections I'd find hard to stomach even in the original versions, let alone served up in full-on "FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT" Radio 2 fashion by a BBC orchestra. Although I'm obviously in a minority of one with this opinion, as the sell-out crowd up the Albert clearly thought the entire evening was the dog's doodahs.
The choice of vocalists was, for the most part, inappropriate. Guy Garvey singing Genesis is never going to be for me! Even PETER HAMMILL was disappointing (although it has to be said that "REFUGEES" is not a particular VDGG fave in this house). Added to which, many of the orchestral arrangements were a tad on the James Last side.
There WERE a couple of gems that shone out from the murk: Soft Machine's "OUT-BLOODY-RAGEOUS" survived unscathed in the first half, while the Increds' "MAKER OF ISLANDS" was given a delightful rendering by a Super Furry Animal. But most of the rest made me cringe... The KING CRIMSON and FRANK ZAPPA selections were just awful. The E.L.P. numbers, with guest tubthumper CARL PALMER himself, were as bad as I'd expected. The very second it became clear that "THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY" would feature the required femvox acrobatics, I even hit the mute button (as I hates it anyways!). As a piece of radio, the whole shabang was something to be endured rather than enjoyed! I do look forward to hearing what others thought of it when it's shown on the telly, but I don't think I'll be tuning in to hear it all again m'self...
The latest episode of "KEY CHANGES: RADIO 3's ESSENTIAL HISTORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC" (to give it its full title) is another one to skip over, as its sole subject was the 18th Century production-line popmeister JOSEPH HAYDN. I wish I could I find a way that I could just listen to the commentary (which is quite interesting) and miss out the musical examples (which aren't).
There's a new eepee from wee FERGUS McCREADIE and the lads, just come out on That Bandcamp They Have Now. It's a set of 'Companion' pieces recorded at the same sessions as last year's "THE SHIELING" album... but don't think of it as just a bunch of 'outtakes', as the Trio gets better with every release! Almost worth the price of admission alone is the extended 'alternate take' of "WINDSHELTER", which draws comparisons with THE NECKS, or one of those rolling improvs by KEITH JARRETT (with the added bonus of there being an absence of any grunting and moaning!). Delightful stuff as ever... does it count as an 'Album Of The Year' if it's only an EP?
Also awaiting my attention this week are a new 2CD anthology of GARY BOYLE's post-Isotope albums, just delivered from the conflagrant outhouse people, and "RENDEZVOUS RODEO", the latest bandcampdownload live one from the TU-NER posse (Messrs REUTER, MASTELOTTO and GUNN).
#OnThisDay #FiftyYearsAgo 13/07/76, I saw GRYPHON play a terrific gig in CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL. They were at the peak of their powers and made full use of the amazing acoustics of the cathedral. I particularly remember RICHARD HARVEY going w-a-a-a-a-y up into the gallery, to play a haunting recorder piece. But you'll have to take my word for it, because I've been unable find ANYTHING to show for it ever happening!
Week from Monday 20th July 2026 - After my 'SATURDAY CLUB' visit to the horsepickle, I hopped on a bus over to Southampton to enjoy a couple of hours at the MELA in Hoglands Park. The RAJASTHAN HERITAGE BRASS BAND were kicking up a storm on the main stage, playing rowdy versions of Bollywood classics. I swear that at one point they also did the 'Cantina Band' tune from "STAR WARS", or something that sounded very much like it! Elsewhere on the site, there was a lot of traditional singing and dancing, a Chinese dragon or two wandering around, plus a group of gentlemen from one of the many TRAD JAZZ bands in the area, busking near the fairground.
There was plenty of cheap grub to be had... I wonder how they manage to stay in business with those giveaway prices! I bought a delicious (home made?) VEGETABLE SAMOSA, which was the size of a Cornish pasty, for less than two quid. While another franchise was giving away FREE samples to tempt in customers. Having made my selection, I came away with a bulging plastic bag full of exotic snacks, all for a total of three pounds!
This year's BBC PROMS have started. Saturday's 'highlight' was the much-anticipated (by others, I should add!) "PROG ROCK PROM". Now when this was first announced, I thought the idea was a bit NAFF and I feared the worst. (Then again, if I didn't expect to like it anyway, I knew I could never be disappointed!) Several of the selections I'd find hard to stomach even in the original versions, let alone served up in full-on "FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT" Radio 2 fashion by a BBC orchestra. Although I'm obviously in a minority of one with this opinion, as the sell-out crowd up the Albert clearly thought the entire evening was the dog's doodahs.
The choice of vocalists was, for the most part, inappropriate. Guy Garvey singing Genesis is never going to be for me! Even PETER HAMMILL was disappointing (although it has to be said that "REFUGEES" is not a particular VDGG fave in this house). Added to which, many of the orchestral arrangements were a tad on the James Last side.
There WERE a couple of gems that shone out from the murk: Soft Machine's "OUT-BLOODY-RAGEOUS" survived unscathed in the first half, while the Increds' "MAKER OF ISLANDS" was given a delightful rendering by a Super Furry Animal. But most of the rest made me cringe... The KING CRIMSON and FRANK ZAPPA selections were just awful. The E.L.P. numbers, with guest tubthumper CARL PALMER himself, were as bad as I'd expected. The very second it became clear that "THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY" would feature the required femvox acrobatics, I even hit the mute button (as I hates it anyways!). As a piece of radio, the whole shabang was something to be endured rather than enjoyed! I do look forward to hearing what others thought of it when it's shown on the telly, but I don't think I'll be tuning in to hear it all again m'self...
The latest episode of "KEY CHANGES: RADIO 3's ESSENTIAL HISTORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC" (to give it its full title) is another one to skip over, as its sole subject was the 18th Century production-line popmeister JOSEPH HAYDN. I wish I could I find a way that I could just listen to the commentary (which is quite interesting) and miss out the musical examples (which aren't).
There's a new eepee from wee FERGUS McCREADIE and the lads, just come out on That Bandcamp They Have Now. It's a set of 'Companion' pieces recorded at the same sessions as last year's "THE SHIELING" album... but don't think of it as just a bunch of 'outtakes', as the Trio gets better with every release! Almost worth the price of admission alone is the extended 'alternate take' of "WINDSHELTER", which draws comparisons with THE NECKS, or one of those rolling improvs by KEITH JARRETT (with the added bonus of there being an absence of any grunting and moaning!). Delightful stuff as ever... does it count as an 'Album Of The Year' if it's only an EP?
Also awaiting my attention this week are a new 2CD anthology of GARY BOYLE's post-Isotope albums, just delivered from the conflagrant outhouse people, and "RENDEZVOUS RODEO", the latest bandcampdownload live one from the TU-NER posse (Messrs REUTER, MASTELOTTO and GUNN).
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