Elbow – Leaders of the Free World

March 14, 2011 in Elbow Music | Tags: Bury Music, Elbow, Guy Garvey, Manchester Music | 1 comment

Approaching Home

Home is where the start is for Elbow, on Leaders of the Free World.

When you’ve written about wanting to get somewhere and you’ve written about what you feel like when you’ve got there, you’ve got to find your way home. Elbow do this with a stomp and a wink with Leaders of the Free World (2005). Whereas they certainly needed grace under pressure to complete Cast of Thousands, the band had learnt that the right approach this time was to capture ideas as and when they happened on the road, whenever and wherever inspiration hit them.

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March the Fourth Be With You!

March 4, 2011 in General, The Hungry And The Hunted | Tags: Christian Kane | 1 comment

Thank you to everyone who has visited Given To Sound, especially if you have done so in the last few hours because you have helped set the highest reader / visitor numbers since 2007. The previous best figure has been more than ~~doubled~~ tripled as of end of day , making 4th March 2011 a kick-ass day and me one very happy person.

There’s new stuff up I’m incredibly proud of but most of the attention is because of the Christian Kane stuff so HUGE thanks to Kaniacs (and I’ve seen the stats to prove it).

I’ve sat and written words that get nowhere, it’s only right to point out when some words get everywhere. It’s a pleasure to write about Chris and I know there will be more to say, somewhere down the road.

In the meantime, there’s more music to hear and more words to write. Working hard on new articles that are going to be here very soon.

Peace, Love and Soul – Simon xxx

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Christian Kane’s House Rules, No Doubt

March 3, 2011 in The Hungry And The Hunted | Tags: Christian Kane | 6 comments

The wait was nearly over; “I can do it, I can do it, I can actually ring up the radio station and request a song off it!”

That was the message emailed to me by an aquaintence in December. Christian Kane’s major label debut (second first album, if you like) had release dates and it was all official. There was a very big feeling of “At last” in the air.

At last, the album everyone’s wanted has arrived.

At last, when you type in Christian Kane’s name in Amazon there’s an album alongside the television stuff (and not Live Fast Die Never – Angel Soundtrack)

AT LAST wider circles of people will be able to hear what Kaniacs have been saying for years. It’s not important when you walked into the house; it’s that you found your way there.

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George Harrison – All Things Masterpiece

February 25, 2011 in ...They Broke The Mold | Tags: George Harrison, Solo Beatle Music | Leave a comment

All Things Must Pass

We really should thank our sweet Lord that the song writing partnership of Lennon and McCartney frustrated George Harrison in the later, troubled years of that band they were in. You know that band; you’ve heard of them, I’m sure. There was John, Paul, George and that guy who voiced Thomas the Tank Engine and doesn’t do autographs anymore (peace and love, peace and love). The Beatles.

To quote Lennon, he and Paul “carved up the empire” between themselves because at first George wrote one throwaway song for each Beatle album and by the time he got good, the group was losing interest in being ‘fab’. This frustration at being overlooked is something that Harrison turned to his advantage. When the time came to deliver the statement that was his debut solo album; All Things Must Pass (1970), he had a huge backlog of songs to include.

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Elbow – Cast of Thousands

February 7, 2011 in Elbow Music | Tags: Bury Music, Elbow, Guy Garvey, Manchester Music | Leave a comment

Grace Under Pressure

Elbow’s Cast of Thousands reviewed.

The second string to the Elbow came in 2003. Two years on from that second first album and with more than a few people looking in their direction to see what was going to come next from this band. Elbow seem to deliver contrasts. They create a universal intimacy which is evident in spades on Cast of Thousands along with a feeling that now they are reaching an audience and they know it (quite literally when you remember that the crowd at their Glastonbury performance sings on Grace Under Pressure).

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Scissor Sisters – Filth Never Sounded So Fab!

June 25, 2010 in Poptastic | Tags: Jake Shears, Scissor Sisters | Leave a comment

Maybe it’s just me but it seems in fashion right now to completely record an album, hate it, bin it and start again. The Scissor Sisters’ ‘Night Work’ owes much to the fact that Jake did one to Berlin when the original recording sessions didn’t provide the sounds that the band wanted.

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Katy Perry – MTV Unplugged

November 30, 2009 in Live | Tags: Katy Perry, MTV Unplugged | Leave a comment

Katy Perry seems to divide opinion. There are some that think she writes throw-away music for high school kids and give her no credit. Some give her begrudging credit because one or two of those songs are catchy. Some have voiced an opinion on ‘I Kissed a Girl’ alone, sighting it as nothing more than a manipulative flirt with the gay audience a la Pink, Madonna and Britney.

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Elbow – Asleep in the Back

November 23, 2009 in Elbow Music | Tags: Bury Music, Elbow, Guy Garvey, Manchester Music | Leave a comment

“Their music rolls like a Manchester Limousine. Beautiful on the surface yet intricate and clever if you care to look deeper. And if you do, well, the journey that you go on makes it all worth it.”

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