#robert continues to string ellis along

[bobbie-robron]

I’ve seen it firsthand. It was the same with Andy. He took Katie and there was nothing I could do about it.

28-Jan-2019

#robron #robert sugden #jimmy king #nicola king #ellis chapman #robert continues to string ellis along #you know what you have to do #robert gleeful about billy having hit ellis 😂 #robert rolling his eyes at jimmy and nicola #brilliant! #amazing! #robert and jimmy badly watching and eavesdroping #20190128 #201901 #robron episodes 2019

[chiseler]

BUTTER KNIFE SLIDE

In the early ’90s, I was the Editor-at-Large at The Welcomat, a Philadelphia-based alternative weekly. I was living in Brooklyn at the time, but every Thursday I would hop on a NJ Transit commuter train for the three and a half hour trip to Philly. After arriving at 30th Street station, I’d walk across the river into Center City to the paper’s offices, which were housed in a building on the corner of 17th and Sansom. I’d make a right in the building’s small lobby, take the elevator to the Third floor, and walk to the back, where the editorial department was located. Even before saying hi to the other editors, I’d drop my bag on my desk, step over to the office boombox, sort through the small batch of cassettes stacked next to it, throw in Delta bluesman Cedell Davis’ debut album, Feel Like Doin’ Something Wrong, and punch the play button. Without fail, once those first notes hit the air, an audible and pained collective groan arose from every throat in the room.

While my own aesthetic sensibilities were just as offended as my co-workers’, over time I came to have a real and solid affection for Davis, the same way you come to cherish a middle child with a droopy eye or a pet rabbit with the mange.

To the uninitiated, the first moments of the opening track on Davis’ album, “I Don’t Know Why,” might have been produced when a large bull walrus with a head cold and an untuned autoharp were tossed into an enormous blender together. Those same listeners might even cynically conclude the album’s title was a direct reference to the last thing Davis muttered before stepping into the recording studio. At the very least, Davis’ caterwauling guitar and his own strangled yelping vocals might be seen as proof positive there really is such a thing as an authentic Delta Blues singer who is  absolutely godawful. As one friend put it, “If you’re bad enough, you get to be ‘authentic’.’”

That said, over the years Davis idiosyncratic style also earned him some fierce, high-profile defenders. Love and respect him or cringe at the mere mention of his name, no one can deny Davis had a legitimate claim to the blues.

Ellis Cedell Davis recorded Feel Like Doin’ Something Wrong for Fat Possum Records when he was sixty-eight years old,  but his career as a workaday delta bluesman began roughly half a century earlier.

Davis was born in Helena, Arkansas, in 1926. At the time Helena was a bustling Delta port town, where his father ran one of the city’s countless juke joints and his devout Evangelical mother, while working as a cook, was better known among locals as a faith healer. Perhaps on account of all the sordid temptations waiting around every corner in Helena—it was a town rife with bootleggers, gamblers and hookers—young Cedell was sent a ways upstream to live with his older brother on the E. M. Hood plantation. There he became friends with Isaiah Ross, and the pair, only seven or eight at the time, began playing blues. Davis’ mother insisted the music was the handiwork of Satan, but it was the music that surrounded them, it was the music they knew, the pair often sneaking into local juke joints to catch live performances. Davis began with the diddly bow, a single wire nailed to a wall and plucked, before moving on to harmonica and guitar. Ross, meanwhile, stuck with the harmonica and would later be signed to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records as Dr. Ross, the Harmonica Boss.

When he was ten, Davis contracted a severe case of polio which left him nearly paralyzed. He returned to Helena, where it was hoped his mother’s healing powers might be able to save him. Well, Davis survived, but the muscles of his legs were so deteriorated he was forced to walk with crutches. Worse for the budding musician, he lost a good deal of control over his left hand, and his right was gnarled and completely useless. Being a right-handed guitar player, this was bad news.

In the early ’80s, Davis told New York Times music critic Robert Palmer—a tireless champion of Davis’ music—that it took him three years to figure out how to play again.

He flipped the guitar around to start teaching himself to play left-handed, but even then, with his right hand unable to work the fret board, he knew he needed something to use as a slide, so swiped a butter knife from his mother’s silverware collection, using the handle to work the frets.

In 2017, shortly before his death, Davis told an interviewer. “Almost everything that you could do with your hands, I could do it with the knife. It’s all in the way you handle it. Drag, slide, push it up and down.”

To unsophisticated ears, the grinding shriek resulting from the butter knife slide working the strings might be reminiscent of a cat in heat caught in a ceiling fan, but Mr. Palmer, being a rock critic, recognized its virtues, describing it as only a rock critic could: "a welter of metal-stress harmonic transients and a singular tonal plasticity.” Palmer also argued that Davis’ wholly unique sound wasn’t merely the untuned inchoate noise so many claimed, noting the subtleties of the guitar work remained consistent performance to performance.

In the early 1940s, while in his teens, Davis started playing on street corners around Helena, sometimes working as a duo with Ross. Soon enough he found himself booked in the local juke joints, playing house parties, and appearing on local radio blues shows. He became friends with a number of the era’s most notable Delta Blues luminaries, including Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Robert Nighthawk and Charlie Jordan. In 1953 Davis teamed up with Nighthawk, a famed slide guitarist in his own right, and the pair began playing all over the Mississippi Delta region, eventually relocating to St. Louis. Davis, it was said, had a Buddha like presence on stage, a radiant calm that seemed to defuse even the most unruly of crowds. It apparently didn’t always come through.

In 1957, while the pair was playing a gig at a bar in East St. Louis, someone in the audience pulled a gun. This sparked a panic in the crowd that only escalated when cops raided the place. Davis was caught in the resulting stampede, and trampled under lord knows how many feet. The bones in his legs weren’t merely broken, they were shattered, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Just as he was determined, for better or worse, not to let polio and a ruined right hand stop him from playing music, he didn’t let the wheelchair slow him down either. Shortly after he got out of the hospital, he and Nighthawk returned to Helena, where the duo continued performing together. When Nighthawk snared them a regular house gig at a nightclub in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1961, Davis picked up and moved there.

(As an interesting side note, Pine Bluff was home to an enormous U.S. Army chemical and bioweapons storage facility. It’s unclear if these two things are connected, but if you take Davis at his word, the town also boasted the fattest women in the world, an observation that inspired his song, “If You Like Fat Women,”)

Davis and Nighthawk went their separate ways in 1963, after ten years of playing together. Davis would remain in Pine Bluff for the next few decades, still playing the juke joints around the Delta.

(As another side note, throughout his career Davis remained adamantly vague when it came to questions about his marital status. He might have been married twice, or maybe not at all. It’s unclear. He knows he had a few kids, maybe even some grandkids, but he was no longer in touch with any of them.)

In the mid-’70s, like so many other folklorists inspired by Harry Smith and Alan Lomax, Louis Guida began trolling the Deep South with a tape recorder, hoping to make field recordings of some as-yet-undiscovered authentic blues legend along the way. In 1976 he stumbled across Davis playing in a bar, and those first recordings appeared on Guida’s compilation album, Keep It to Yourself: Arkansas Blues Volume 1, Solo Performances, which came out in the early ’80s.

And here we go. Robert Palmer heard that album and headed to Arkansas to catch Davis’ act, writing the first of many stories about him for the Times and other publications. Over the course of the decade, Palmer’s endless championing of Davis earned the man with the butter knife slide gigs not only all over the country (including a multi-night stand in NYC), but around the world as well. Suddenly Davis, who prior to that had ventured no further than St. Louis, was starting to get some recognition within the international blues community. Not all of it was as laudatory as Palmer, but still. In 1993, it was Palmer, not surprisingly, who brought Davis to the attention of Fat Possum Records.

The indie label had been launched by three white college buddies from The University of Mississippi in 1991, their goal being to promote (which sounds so much better than “exploit”) previously unknown bona fide aging black Delta blues musicians. Along with R.L. Burnside and T Model Ford, Davis became one of the earliest acts signed to the label. In 1994, with Palmer himself producing and assorted label mates like Burnside acting as sidemen, Davis went into the studio to record Feel like Doin’ Something Wrong, which featured a smattering of classic vlues covers mixed in with Davis originals, including “Murder My Baby” and the above mentioned “If You like Fat Women.”

Going back to the album now for the first time in roughly twenty-five years, it doesn’t seem nearly as comically awful as it did back in The Welcomat’s editorial office. In fact it’s pretty good, if you’re a fan of unpolished, dirty, gritty roadhouse blues. If you aren’t conscious that he’s playing with a butter knife, Davis’ guitar work merely sounds a little squeaky and rough, but not all that different from what you might hear from others of the time.

If there is a downside, it’s that the album’s a little one note and generic. Apart from the covers, Davis relies on the same simple blues progression for nearly every song, which, yes, can be a little tiring if you’re listening carefully. But if all you wanted was some generic roadhouse blues to put on as you go about doing other things, it fits the bill.

In a strange move considering he’d only put out a single album at that point, the following year saw the release of The Best of Cedell Davis, this time spearheaded not buy Palmer, but by popular jazz fusion bandleader Col. Bruce Hampton, one of Davis’ newfound fans. None of the album’s ten tracks appeared on Feel Like Doin’ Something Wrong, so I can’t say for sure if these are new recordings or songs taken from his appearances on earlier Delta blues compilations, but a couple, like “My Dog Won’t Stay Home” and “Keep Your mouth Closed, Baby,” are kind of fun.

Shortly after the Best of came out, Palmer died, and Davis lost his most influential benefactor. But Palmer had gotten Davis on the map, and it was up to Davis to carry on as he always had.

In 1998 he released Horror of It All, an album whose title once again played right into the hands of the Davis naysayers. In fact, It’s an album, despite promising song titles like Chicken Hawk,” “Keep on Snatchin’” and the mind boggling “Tojo told Hitler,” that seems determined to prove the naysayers were right all along. With the exception of a new iteration of “If You Like Fat Women,” there are no drums, no side guitars, nothing but Cedell and the naked glory of his butterknife slide. It’s Cedell laid bare, and it can be painful, especially as Davis keeps playing those same simple blues progressions over and over. Yes, he has an absolutely unique sound, a bit like Joseph Spence, but ouch. It really is godawful, but like the equally godawful Godzilla vs. Megalon, may be the album that cemented his reputation among blues critics and fans who weren’t Robert Palmer.

(Oddly, Horror of it All is the album I keep returning to, as it best captures my initial impressions of the Davis sound.)

After Horror of It All came out Davis decided to take a break from recording to write more songs and return to playing the juke joints where he was most comfortable.

It’s a funny thing. If you don’t know the back story, Davis’ music, while perhaps not as awful as I once maintained (and countless blues critics still insist), doesn’t get much beyond the merely adequate. When you do learn his story, though, well, that elevates things, right? Knowing he’s confined to a wheelchair and using a butter knife in his crippled right hand, it’s really something he plays as well as he does. It also sure makes for a swell and effective marketing gimmick. He may not have been the worst bluesman who ever lived, but without that gimmick he was nothing. If he’d merely been blind it would’ve been no big deal—blindness just comes with the territory—but Davis was all messed up, and never let it stop him. Again, for better or worse.

As has happened so many times before, if you have a performer whose abilities make at least a stab toward the adequate, then  add a mental or physical disability on top of it, all you need do is step back for a few moments and wait for the hipster celebrities to start lining up, hoping to get their claws in him. Consider the cases of Larry “Wild Man” Fischer or Daniel Johnston.

Sure enough, when word of Davis’ condition began circulating along with those first couple Fat Possum discs (the label having become quite popular among white hipsters), the white hipster celebrity musicians began clamoring to get on board.

Davis’ returned to the studio in 2002 to record When Lightnin’ Struck the Pine. The accompanying press release claimed he had personally signed R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin to be in his backing band. Why do I find it hard to believe a 76-year-old black bluesman from Arkansas had ever heard, let alone heard of, R.E.M. or the Screaming Trees, or that he would personally sign a couple white hipsters to be in his band?

Well, whatever. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it really did happen that way, and there wasn’t some heavy conspiring between Buck, Martin, and the white boys who ran the label to get them in on those sessions.

Well, however it came about, the resulting album was, much to my amazement, um, pretty good. The sound is as grungy as ever, but much fuller than it had been on his earlier albums, with the addition of organ, piano and sax together with Buck and Martin. And as it should be, Davis vocals and butter knife slide are front and center. The energy level’s been ramped up considerably, and best of all, Davis, both in the songs and a few candid recordings from the studio, seems to be having a fine time of it.

Three years later in 2005, Davis had a stroke and was forced to move into a nursing home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This time it was definite and final—he could no longer play guitar. But if polio hadn’t stopped him, and crushed legs hadn’t stopped him, it’s little surprise a stroke and no longer being able to play the guitar wasn’t going to stop him either. He could still sing, and so kept writing songs and recording. And the hipsters kept piling on.

His 2015 album, appropriately if ironically entitled Last Man Standing, featured an 88-year-old Davis working through a greatest hits set in front of a backing band that again included Barrett Martin, as well as  Jimbo Mathus and Stu Cole from the Squirrel Nut Zippers and noted blues guitarist brothers Greg and Zack Binns.

The resulting album, as you might expect, was a far cry from his debut. The production was clean and sterile, with the all-star band’s three guitars pushed to the front of the mix and Davis’ butter knife clearly absent for obvious reasons. At least none of the involved made the mistake of trying to recreate his trademark sound.  It sounded like a bunch of white hipster musicians playing standard blues riffs behind an eighty-eight-year-old mumbling bluesman.

If you hadn’t smelled it already, to drive the Bad Faith of the whole project home, the album also contains three or four tracks of Davis just talking to the band in the studio, clearly trying to tell stories about his life and career to these youngsters who not only don’t know who the hell he’s talking about, but can’t understand what he’s saying. While similar tracks had been included on Lightnin’, this, unlike those, had been recorded after Davis stroke. The clear intention was to say to listeners, “Hey, get a load of this crazy old mumbling Southern black bliuesman! Is that authentic or what?”

Somehow, the following year he released yet another album, Even the Devil Gets the Blues, this time with someone from Pearl Jam in his backing band. Then in September of 2017, Davis had a heart attack, and died from complications a week or two later at age 91. Not surprisingly, at the time of his death, he was still scheduled to play a gig at the end of the month.

I’m not sure who the final  Great Cosmic Joke is on, those hipster musicians who thought playing with a bona fide authentic Delta bluesman would bolster their street cred in some way, or poor Cedell—whom I adore and admire more with each passing day—who might have been conned into believing all that support from white institutions from the NY Times to R.E.M. would push him over the top. Whatever it may be, a mere three years after his death, and after seventy-five years of making a go of the blues against all imaginable odds, Cedell Davis remains virtually unknown and forgotten, even among serious blues aficionados. In fact it seems, and this may be the saddest thing of all, he’s only remembered nowadays by people like me.

by Jim Knipfel

[robbleraptor]

Another little fic...

Things are different, it had been eight years after all, and they're much better now. They're certainly much better now than they were at the beginning. And even that seems like a lifetime ago. There's a part of him that remembers how it felt, he supposes a part of him will always remember how that felt, it's not like it's something he could forget. Either way, it's something he tries not to think about anymore, it's something that's long been buried, something tucked away in the furthest corners of his mind, of his heart. He thinks about the present, he worries about the now, and life is good.

Aaron puts on a smile as he stands back watching the commotion, his mother practically glowing with pride, his father hot on her heels as they tend to Ben's parents. Ben his fiance stands beside him, his lips near his ear as he whispers something to him, Aaron humors him, laughs along to the joke Ben had just whispered to him. They're both all smiles as they watch their families celebrate their one year wedding anniversary.

Chas raises a glass and makes a toast, she smiles looking at Aaron, and boasts about how she's never seen him this happy, yet the look in her eyes is a bit off, Aaron can't quite put it in place, but he smiles and nods in return as he raises his glass along with everyone else to the toast. Paddy follows suit and soon the music starts again, the Dingles all go back to drinking, and Ben asks to dance. Aaron rolls his eyes and refuses. He doesn't dance. He never has. Not really.

"I...uh…I'm gonna go get some air." Aaron leans in to Ben.

"You want me to come with?"

"No, you stay, just...if you see a welly, run for it."

"What?" Ben looks at him with confusion. "A welly?"

"Nevermind." Aaron shakes his head with a smile as he pushes himself off the wall and makes his way outside. He takes a seat on one of the tables just outside the Woolpack and takes a deep breath, Dingles dos are still too much even for him, then again he's never been much of a people person. He's always preferred being alone, not always, but at least before and after…

His thoughts are interrupted by the honk of a car that comes to a stop in front Keeper's Cottage, Victoria's home, and it's not long until he sees her door swing open and Victoria walk out with a smile on her face.

"Ellie!" She nearly squeals in that high pitch tone that's always grated his nerves. To be fair though, most things about Victoria seem to grate his nerves now a day. They have for a while now, though, he can't help but feel bad about how they grew apart. He knew it had been his fault, deep down he'd grown to resent her for many things, one thing in particular. Then her baby came along and she became too busy with motherhood, all the more reason he kept his distance.

"Vic!" The woman driving the car returns as she steps out of her car. A stranger, someone he doesn't recognize, at least not from around the village. She's taller than Victoria, blond, and even from the distance, Aaron can tell there's a warmth about her.

They hug and continue to talk until something grabs Victoria's attention. He sight completely focused on Ellie's hands as the woman stands with her arms crossed 

"IS THAT? DID HE...DID HE PROPOSE?" Victoria gasps.

It's then that Aaron hears something that fully grabs his attention. The woman nods her head excitedly. "ROBERT PROPOSED!" She mirrors as she lifts her left hand for Victoria to see the ring.

At the sound of a name, that name, he feels like the floor has been swept from beneath his feet. He feels like he's weightless, falling into a never ending void. He never thought he'd hear that name again, it's been years since he last heard it, since he last spoke it.

Right years ago, Robert had been sent to prison on a life sentence, his hands had been responsible for ending a life, a life that deserved to be ended. He'd been sent to prison for protecting his sister, Victoria, who couldn't find it in her to fight for him with as much ferocity. Eight years ago, Aaron had list his husband, his world, only to be barred from his life in every way possible. Eight years ago he had to start over. Still, he couldn't help the hurt at the thought Robert was out, that he'd never been told. If he was getting engaged, how long had he been out? Why hadn't Robert reached out? 

"You ready to head home?" Ben pulled him from his thoughts, making him jump. His eyes quickly came to meet Ben's as he smiled trying to cover the turmoil in his head.  "I could use some alone time with my husband."

"I, uh, yeah." Aaron cleared his throat. "I'm actually not feeling too well." He lied. "Can you go ahead and run me a bath?" He asked. "I'm just gonna go and say thanks to me mum."

"Yeah. Okay." Ben smiled and placed a kiss to Aaron's forehead. "But don't take too long, otherwise your mother will baby you, and that's my job."

Aaron chuckled in return and looked around him to see Victoria and the woman were gone. Her car was still there so he took it as a sign they were in her home. He waited until Ben was out of sight then snuck around Keeper's Cottage. Part of him chastised himself. Why was he doing this? Why did he care? This is part of the past, a past that's long been buried. He's happy now.

He's near the backdoor to Victoria's house when he begins to hear the voices coming from within. It's the woman, Ellie. She was in the middle of saying something.

"Tomorrow."

"Why didn't he just come with ya?" Victoria replied.

"He's caught up with work. You know how he is, it's all about work, and how much money heat making."

"Just like the old Robert." Was Victoria's response. "Guess he'll never change."

And fuck how he wanted to burst through that backdoor shouting. She didn't know her brother. She never really did.

"To be honest...I think it's just, this place. It's like it hurts too much to even think about it." Ellie's voice sounds sincere, concerned even. "Whenever I bring it up he always tries to change the subject. It took me forever to get him to agree to this."

"How long are you guys staying then?"

"Only a couple of days."

"Just a couple of days?"

"He's got a lot on his plate with work. You know how it is."

"Well, a couple of days is better than none."

"Yeah...oh wait...it's him, it's Robert." Ellie says as a ringtone chimes loudly. "Hiya. Yeah, I'm with Victoria now. Yeah. Okay, I'll let her know. Yeah, okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you. Bye."

I love you.

He remembers saying those same words to him years ago, and he can't help but feel a string of jealousy as he imagines those were the same words the woman heard in return. He doesn't know why he cares. He shouldn't.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Robert will be back tomorrow.

Robert.

#robron au #robron fic #robron #moving on? #after prison #robert sugden #aaron dingle #married but not to each other? #sad #what gonna happen? #is there more?

[aion-rsa]

Aqualung at 50: Jethro Tull’s Half Concept Album Hits Half a Century

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

“In the beginning Man created God,” reads the back cover of Jethro Tull’s Aqualung. “And in the image of Man created he him.” The album came out 7 million days later, on March 19, 1971. We’d only recently been told God was “a concept by which we measure our pain,” by John Lennon.

Aqualung is framed by two halves of a concept. The first songs on the first side tell the stories of the outcasts, those out of sight of the eyes of the man who created god. The B-side explains why organized religion blinds us. In between are songs which have nothing to do with either theme. First off, for those who don’t know, Jethro Tull is not a person, but a band. The songs on Aqualung were written by Ian Anderson, bandleader, singer-songwriter, guitarist, occasional saxophonist, and heaviest metal flutist to make Bach swing. Anderson maintained, throughout numerous interviews, Aqualung was not a concept record. He would go on to mock the very idea of it with the satirical prog masterpiece Thick as a Brick.

The Beatles suffered the same misnomer dilemma. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band wasn’t a concept album. Paul McCartney got the idea the band would play the album as if they were this other band. The concept lasted two songs and a reprieve. The rest of the album is a full immersion into the possibilities of the studio under the steady gaze of George Martin. Aqualung opens with songs inspired by true life candid shots Ian’s wife Jennie Anderson (now filmmaker Jennie Franks) took while studying photography. One was a homeless man, another an under-age prostitute. Other than that, the first side includes a beautiful love song, and hard and soft confessional pieces.

The first concept album is Woody Guthrie’s 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads, which stuck to one theme: the economic and ecological fallout of the devastating 1930s drought. Frank Sinatra explored loneliness and late nights on a pair of classic concept long-players unified by mood. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s Freak Out!, from 1966, is the first concept album, as well as the first double-album, of rock, although every song on the Beach Boys’ 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe is about a car. The Who’s Tommy, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall are rock operas which tell full stories. Bands like the Kinks tried unifying songs with imperceivable segues and tone.

Aqualung delivers a consistent tone. Sometimes the songs fluctuate between soft acoustic and hard rock, other times the individual pieces grow through progressive layering. The harder and more social pieces employ metric modulation, and the religious ones dabble in the chordal modulations of spiritual music. The acoustic songs are less folk than singer-songwriter stylings. The album revels in its contrasts. We get riff-rock ready-made for Madison Square Garden, and intimate nylon string fingerings to burn toast to.

Ian Anderson’s lyrics are filled with rich, detailed imagery, regardless of how pretentious critic Robert Christgau found him. The band mix progressive rock, hard rock, folk music, jazz, classical, and even medieval and pagan music, along with what Anderson would call “ugly changes of time signature and banal instrumental passages” on the Thick as a Brick album notes.

This Was

Jethro Tull formed in 1967, the same year Anderson took up the flute, on a whim. After realizing as a guitarist, he “was never going to be as good as Eric Clapton,” Ian “parted company with my Fender Strat, whose previous owner was Lemmy Kilmister, who was then the rhythm guitar player for the Rockin’ Vickers,” Anderson told Classic Rock. He then “bought a flute, for no good reason. It just looked nice and shiny.” Energized by Pink Floyd’s The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper, the band was able to drop the twelve-bar blues songs which led to non-pop record deals in London.

Anderson got the name Jethro Tull from the 18th-century agriculturist who invented the seed-drill, which gave birth to modern agriculture. Their first album, This Was, was blues, but the band distinguished itself, especially live. They were the first band to perform at The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus, though their part was mimed, with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi on guitar. Martin Barre took over for the band’s original guitarist, blues specialist Mick Abrahams, and on their 1969 album, Stand Up, the band stood out, sounding unlike any other band. It was eclectic, incorporating Western classical, Asian music, English folk, and harder rock. The band continued experimenting melodically and rhythmically through 1970’s Benefit, which just failed to make the U.S. Top 10.

Jethro Tull has become known as a band of ever-changing instrumentalists. Aqualung was the bridge album towards reassembling one of Ian’s first bands. Anderson was 23 when he led Jethro Tull through Aqualung. When he was young, Anderson could be found in Dunfermline, Scotland, where he was born on August 10, 1947. But he was packed off to school in Blackpool, where he sang and played guitar and harmonica for The Blades in 1963. John Evans, who joined on piano, organ, and mellotron, had been a guest musician on Benefit. Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, who’d been mythologized in the songs “Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square,” “Song for Jeffrey,” and “For Micheal Collins, Jeffrey And Me,” replaced Glenn Cornick on bass. Both had been in the Blades. Barriemore Barlow, also from the early sixties band, would replace Clive Bunker on drums after Aqualung.

Tull mythology says Hammond-Hammond didn’t know the instrument and had to be taught on a note-by-note basis. He may very well have had to have been coached through each specific part he was playing. They are often incredibly intricate runs, and often go against the grain of what is expected from the bass. He had to have been familiar enough with the instrument to click in with both Clive Bunker and Barriemore Barlow, each were virtuosos with vastly different approaches to rhythm. Bunker never met a beat he couldn’t undermine for unexpected force and dynamic. Yet, he could make a 5/4 song danceable.

The ensemble playing is tight, the players moved easily through more intricate arrangements. The orchestrations are done by Dee Palmer, who later joined as a full-time member.  The British press coined the term “progressive rock” to describe bands like Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson and Genesis. Tull was prog, but more accessible than classical music enthusiasts Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Guitar Gods and Flute Solos

Jethro Tull is probably best known as the classic rock band with the lead flute. “Aqualung,” possibly their best-known song, has no flute. Martin Barre’s guitar solo was rated #25 in Guitar World‘s “100 Greatest Guitar Solos” reader’s poll. But it could just as easily have been a whirl of woodwind. “In those days, if you didn’t get a guitar solo in one or two takes, it might become a flute solo. It was, ‘Go in there and do it or else,” Barre told Guitar Player in a 2015 interview.

Aqualung was recorded in a large, cold-sounding studio that Island Records built in a converted church in London. Led Zeppelin were recording their fourth album in the moderate sized basement studio that had been the crypt. “The only thing I can remember about cutting the solo is that Led Zeppelin was recording next door, and as I was playing it, Jimmy Page walked into the control room and waved to me,” Barre remembered for Guitar Player. While there have been countless theories about why the players had the faceoff, both Tull and Zeppelin fans appreciate the dual pressure of the session. “And here was Jimmy, waving like mad – ‘Hey, Martin!’ – and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t wave back or I’m going to blow the solo.’”

The song “Aqualung” opens with one of the most recognizable riffs in rock, in the same league as Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” and the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” It has been venerated and mocked in equal measure, but in all cases lovingly. It opens the song with the drama of the four-note opening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and becomes a motif.

“Aqualung” is “a tortured tangle of chords,” according to Ian, with atonal harmonies, meaning the root is open to interpretation. The chords themselves are a journey to the acoustic segment of the song, which then builds, like most songs on the album, one instrument at a time. The audio effect on the later vocals is called “telephone burbles,” which happens when all audio frequencies are removed except for a narrow band around the 1,000 hertz mark, making the voice sound like it’s coming through a megaphone. The song has a cold ending rather than a fadeout, which makes it perfect for stage performances.

Bad Intent

Ian got the title for the album and song from the TV show Sea Hunt, where the main character, played by Lloyd Bridges, wore an Aqualung for underwater breathing. Aqualung was a brand name, and the Aqualung Corporation of North America took legal action after the album came out. Artist Burton Silverman, who created the cover portrait, also sued, saying the likeness should not be used on merchandising, T-shirts, and promotional materials.

Before the codpiece and the medieval minstrel suits and lutes, Ian performed in an overcoat, which had been stolen after a concert, but has been described as looking ratty. This led to further complications of identity. Because of Tull’s manager, Terry Ellis, Silverman’s cover portrait looks like Anderson, against the singer’s wishes. “I’m not this character,” he told Louder Sound. “I’m not a homeless person. I’m a spotty middle-class English kid. I’ve never had to sleep rough on the street, and I don’t want to be pretending to be that character.”

The character Aqualung, is a homeless man like the character in Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow.” Both characters are blank slates in everyday life and can have any association imposed on them. Besides inspiring the album through her photographs of homeless people living under the railway arches on the Thames Embankment in south London, Anderson’s wife Jennie also co-wrote the lyrics. “I had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary,” Anderson told Guitar World in a 1999 interview. The lyrics have more to do with the assumptions people make of Aqualung, like his predilection for little girls or frilly panties. But he also saw the angry man as “a free spirit, who either won’t or can’t join in society’s prescribed formats.”

She’ll Do It For A Song

“Cross-Eyed Mary” didn’t only capture the attention of Aqualung, she was one of the subjects in the photographic collection of the lesser people cast into the void: a child prostitute. The song transforms her into a squinty Mary Magdalene, whose jack-knife barber abortionist drops her off at school. In the lower income neighborhood Highgate, she’s a Robin Hood figure. In wealthy Hampstead Village, which was the site of the St. Mary Magdalene House of Charity in the Victorian era, she’s a business expense. The song opens with flute and mellotron rising in rhythm and pulse until the band kicks in. The interplay between guitar and piano is delicate, and the bass line buzzes with riff-worthy changes. Iron Maiden transformed the flute part into baroque metal guitar when they covered it.

“Cheap Day Return” is the first of three short acoustic songs on the album, each under two minutes. A “cheap day return” is a reduced-price round trip train ticket, and the song was written while Ian was waiting for a connecting train on his way to visiting his father, who was seriously ill in a hospital in Blackpool. In interviews, Anderson has said the song would have been longer, but the train arrived.

“Mother Goose” opens with acoustic folk guitar under Elizabethan madrigal sounding recorders played by Barre and Hammond-Hammond, who also provides harmony vocals. The electric guitar comes in late in the song, kicking the childhood Piccadilly Circus nursery rhymes into the adult playground of Johnny Scarecrow.

“It’s only the giving which makes you what you are,” Ian sings in “Wond’ring Aloud.” The second short acoustic piece is a simple love song made grandly beautiful by the piano and string arrangement. The longer version, “Wond’ring Again,” which appears on Living In The Past (1972), reached the opposite conclusion, but kept the idealistic romance at the center of the piece.  The third acoustic piece, “Slipstream,” from side two, presses Ian’s last dime on God’s waiter to pay the tab. The song is tideless, but the unreasoning strings paddle the way out of the mess.

“Up To Me” opens not with a recognizable riff, nor a classical piano twist, but a whole hearted laugh which is as contagious as the song itself.  

Praying ‘til Next Thursday to All the Gods that You Can Count

Side two, subtitled “My God,” deals with religious hypocrisy, golden cages, and plastic crucifixes. If Jesus saves, then he’d better save himself. The song “My God” had been kicking around since at least the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The imagery recalls William Blake and the metallic break-in sounds like Black Sabbath, both the band and the dark holiday. Once again, the song uses progressive modulation beginning with a solo acoustic guitar introduction like Evan’s piano on “Locomotive Breath.” But when Barre’s electric guitar takes over for the nylon classical fretwork, the song is full-blown metal.

Ian’s voice drips with as much disdain for organized religion as his songwriting does for musical structure. The song goes through the arpeggios of classical guitar, through hymnal chord changes, a metallic flute lead back by instruments, another flute lead back by a chorus of harmonizing bishops, inverted chromatics, and comes to a dark Pied Piper ending.

“Hymn 43” is a piano-driven soul-stirrer with enough propulsive licks to set the white man free.  Ian’s preaching to the faithless on this one, though. He bears witness in the city, on the moon and on that bloody cross. The guitar and flute interplay works like a gospel call and response, and Ian’s voice stings with insinuation.

If you want to hear Ian play electric guitar, you should give another listen to the rhythm on “Locomotive Breath.” He’s also on the hi-hat and bass drum which he laid out for the basic rhythm, allowing Bunker space for tom-toms and the cymbals. The song opens with Evan giving a jazzy spin to dramatic classical concerto piano. The song, which is about overpopulation, rhythmically careens like a train about to derail. It is a concert favorite and frequent showstopper.

“Wind Up” asks this God a question and learns it’s “not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.” The song is structured to grow on you, and age well. It begins with acoustic guitar and vocal, which is joined by the rest of the outfit until the climactic solos, and then reminiscences a second time symmetrically with piano grounding the build-up. In a fairly straightforward song, Bunker plays everything but a straight beat.

Anderson concludes, in the liner notes which are cast in liturgical-style Gothic lettering, the Spirit that caused man to create his God lives on, but goes unnoticed. He advises listeners, “for Christ’s sake,” to start looking. The album has been pilloried and praised by people of all faiths and none. The title song gave a face to the homeless and inspired grassroots organizations to create aid. Musically, it is a constant irritation to sitcom characters and an equally steady inspiration to players. In spite of having to explain how flute was a heavy metal instrument after winning the Grammy for 1987 Crest of a Knave, Jethro Tull was a huge influence on heavy metal and hard rock. Even the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon ranks Aqualung among his favorite records.

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It may be dinosaur rock to some, but Aqualung is far from extinct. Tracks like “Aqualung”, “Cross-Eyed Mary, “Hymn #43” and “Locomotive Breath” take up the bulk of Jethro Tull’s playlist on classic rock media outlets. After 50 years, Aqualung can still blow a wheezy breath of fresh air into stale misconceptions, even if he does have snot running down his nose.

The post Aqualung at 50: Jethro Tull’s Half Concept Album Hits Half a Century appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[the-record-newspaper]

Looking back on 2019: The music kept flowing

VFW Post 1142 Honor Guard members during the flag raising ceremony on Saturday at ChickenFest. From left to right, Ann Craighead, George Morgan, Post Commander Foyst Blackburn, Honor Guard Commander Claude Sturgill, Vilas Payne and Ward Eller. Eller celebrated his 89th birthday on Friday, May 24. Record photo by Larry Griffin

Music and remembering fallen veterans was the focus of ChickenFest 2019.

The event was held Friday and Saturday, May 24 and May 25, at The Record Park at the corner of Fourth and E streets in North Wilkesboro.

ChickenFest, hosted by The Record, presented by Tyson Foods and sponsored by Bojangles of 2nd Street in North Wilkesboro, drew hundreds of people to the venue  A variety of chicken dishes were prepared by Roger’s Café of North Wilkesboro, and folks gathered beneath the American Drew Audience Shelter to enjoy their meals and the music.

Friday evening was emceed by WKBC Radio’s Ed Racey and Larry Griffin. Griffin also emceed the entire day Saturday as well as playing sets on both the Sammy Lankford Stage and Tut Taylor Spotlight Stage in the Tyson Pavilion.

Performers included – on Friday evening – Mike Palmer, Ben Holbrook, Rick Gaughan and Niki Hamby; Griffin, Doreen Pinkerton; Doug Davis and the Catawba Bluegrass Boys; R.G. Absher and Bob Kogut and R.G. Absher and Blue Rock.

Saturday’s acts included: The Dixie Duo, Devin Huie and Wade Dancy; Griffin, Penny Foster and Julie Wyatt; Libby Harbour; Horse Play; Copper Creek; Adam Winebarger and Kaleb Buck; Ernest Johnson and Friends; Alex Key and the Locksmiths; David Culler and BackPorch Bluegrass; Jimmy Owen and John Logsdon; Rude Mood; Padraic Wildermuth; Sonny Remington and Mike Earp; R.G. Absher; Cali Johnson; Doreen Pinkerton; Crabgrass; and Virginialina featuring David Johnson, Eric Ellis, Scott Gentry and Scott Freeman. Virginialina’s set was sponsored by The Wilkes County Heritage Museum and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.

BackPorch Bluegrass performed on Saturday. Members include Jake Joines Wes Tuttle, David Culler, Jim Matthews and Jon Cornatzer. 

Record photos by Larry Griffin

At noon on Saturday, Record Publisher Ken Welborn and North Wilkesboro Mayor Robert Johnson welcomed the crowd. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1142’s Honor Guard members then conducted a flag raising ceremony. Post Chaplain Larry Reavis gave the invocation while other Honor Guard members raised the flag, then lowered it to half mast in honor of Memorial Day. Honor Guard member Ann Craighead then played Taps. She was followed by Libby Harbour who performed a heartfelt rendition of the National Anthem on the fiddle.

Andy Rhodes was the sound engineer for the event.

Carolina in the Fall

The fifth annual Carolina in the Fall Music & Food Festival, presented by Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express, offered world-renowned music talent, exciting family entertainment, the region’s best food truck cuisine, and unique arts and crafts shopping along Main  Street in historic downtown Wilkesboro on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21.

The festival offered four stages of entertainment: Carolina Stage, Foothills Stage, Hall of Fame Stage and The 1915 Stage. In addition to festival host The Kruger Brothers, guests enjoyed performances by Balsam Range; Chatham County Line; The Black Lillies; EmiSunshine; Hawktail; Trout Steak Revival; Scott Mulvahill; Cicada Rhythm; The Contenders; The Honey Dewdrops; Baucom & Jones; Williamson Branch; Hank, Pattie & The Current; Zoe & Cloyd; Red Wine; Newberry & Verch; Presley Barker; Lateral Blue; Nikki Talley; Thurler-Mosimann Project; Carly Bannister, S. Grant Parker and Jac Thompson; The Burnett Sisters; Cane Mill Road; Back Porch Bluegrass Band; Shay Martin Lovette; Alex Key & The Locksmiths; and Bob and Roberta Kogut.

On Saturday evening of the festival, VIP ticket holders were treated to the Carolina Jam at the Yadkin Valley Event Center at the Wilkesboro Holiday Inn Express. The jam is hosted by the Kruger Brothers and features other artists from the lineup, creating unique jam sessions and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations between the artists on hand.

MerleFest

Thursday, April 25 through Sunday, April 28, MerleFest,  presented by Window World, featured  a number of electric collaborations, spontaneous sit-ins, and world-class  performances. 

Wynonna &    The Big Noise, Amos Lee, Tyler Childers, Sam Bush Band, Brandi Carlile, and The Avett Brothers all brought   extra MerleFest energy to the Watson Stage, marking another successful year    for the long-running festival.

Early estimates   show that from its start on Thursday, April 25, to its close on Sunday,   April 28, participation over the festival’s four days exceeded 75,000    attendees and artists from across the world.

MerleFest, held    on the campus of Wilkes     Community College, is    the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation, which funds scholarships,    capital projects, and other educational needs.

“We’ve had an incredible weekend,”    Festival Director Ted Hagaman said. “With over 100 artists on 13 stages    over the four days, we again feel we succeeded in providing a quality and    successful event for all involved. Preliminary numbers show we attracted    thousands of fans from all over the world. We appreciate their support.    This event could not happen without the work and dedication of our    4,500-plus volunteers and the many great safety and service agencies in Northwestern North Carolina. We’re already looking    forward to MerleFest 2020.”

Thursday

Chatham    County Line kicked off the 32nd annual    MerleFest with a big “newgrass” bang. At the top of their game,    Raleigh-based Chatham County Line appeared right at home on one of the    biggest stages their home state has to offer. After Thursday’s    sunset, Wynonna Judd and her band, The Big Noise, set    about conjuring up enough rock and roll, blues, and country juju to knock    the first-day crowd right off their feet. Once the crowd had recovered, the    ones left with enough energy to carry on into the wee hours were treated    with more electric boogie music in the form of Donna The Buffalo.    Sporting dancey rhythms and electric improvisation, Donna proved to be the    ultimate weekend ice-breakers, encouraging the late night crowd to let    loose during their First Night Dance on the Bojangles’ Dance Stage. 

Friday

Before the    sun had set on Friday, patrons were treated to show-stopping sets from the    likes of Texas    troubadour Radney Foster, Boston-based bluegrassers Mile    Twelve, and the soft folk harmonies and humorous musings of The    Milk Carton Kids. Upon the close of the Chris Austin Songwriting    Competition, festival first-timer Amos Lee took the Watson    Stage with his unique blend of soulful Americana.Tyler Childers closed    out the Watson Stage with his now famous concoction of mountain music, old    school country, and 1960s The Band-ish rock and roll. Under the bright    stage lights, Childers rollicked through songs off of his award-winning 2017    album “Purgatory” to the delight of fans, some of whom had traveled to    MerleFest on Childers’ merit alone. During Childers’ set, eclectic folk    rockers Scythian set up in the Dance Tent for their second set of the day,    the annual Friday Night Dance. Keeping the night owls rocking until almost    midnight, Scythian reminded fans just how fun their music can    be. 

Saturday

Saturday    saw Chris Austin Songwriting Competition winners perform    on the Cabin Stage to an audience eager to hear these up-and-coming songwriters    before they’ve hit the big time. Now in its 27th year, the contest is an    extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs    heard and judged by a panel of music industry professionals (Joey Ryan and    Kenneth Pattengale, better known as The Milk Carton Kids, Cruz    Contreras of The Black Lillies, and Texas-troubadour Radney    Foster), under the direction of volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy    Award-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale.

The first    round of the CASC took place in Nashville,     Tenn., and was narrowed down    from 970 entries to 12 finalists representing four categories: bluegrass,    country, general and Gospel/inspirational.

Each of the    12 finalists received admission and lodging for three nights at MerleFest.    Finalists attended a workshop Friday morning given by D’Addario prior to    the finals. After the contest, all finalists took part in a songwriting    mentoring session with Jim Lauderdale and the on-site judges. The    first-place winners in each category received $600 cash from MerleFest, a    performance at the Cabin Stage on Friday night, and a 20-minute set on    Saturday at the Cabin Stage. In addition, the first-place winners    received a live performance/recording session with Saloon Studios Live,    D’Addario strings, Shubb Capos, and their winning song will be aired on    WNCW 88.7. Net proceeds from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest help    support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. See    below for a complete listing of winners and finalists.

On    Saturday, Molly Tuttle returned to the MerleFest stage for    the first time since she won the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition in    2012. A rabid crowd ate up every guitar lick and melody Tuttle played as    she continues to push the envelope of what can be played on a dreadnaught    guitar. The Waybacks’ annual Hillside Album Hour found the    bay-area band covering Led Zeppelin IV in    its entirety with Sarah Dugas (formerly of The Duhks) handling most of the    vocal duties and Sam Bush, Jens Kruger, Red Young, and Tony Williamson    backing them up for yet another memorable Saturday afternoon set. Sam    Bush Band lit up the Watson Stage ahead of Brandi Carlile, running    through his career-spanning catalog of “New Grass” tunes and closing with    his new rousing rock and roll anthem, “Stop The Violence”. Traditional Bluegrass super group Earls of Leicester once    again paid excellent homage to the giants of the genre, Lester Flatt and    Earl Scruggs. In an era of progression for the genre, the Earls brand of    picking reminded the crowd that it’s perfectly OK to stick with tradition    from time to time. Brandi Carlile and her band closed out    Saturday with her signature songwriting style and vocal fireworks. Drawing    from her newest release, “By The Way, I Forgive You,” and then diving    deeper into her past works, Carlile and longtime musical partners Tim and    Phil Hanseroth belted and whispered in close three-part harmonies well    enough to make every last MerleFest attendee’s jaw drop. To close out    an already special night, Sunday headliners Seth and Scott Avett of    The Avett Brothers joined Carlile around a single mic at the front edge of    the Watson Stage and performed the Avett’s “Murder In The City”,    drawing a huge reaction from the already stunned crowd.

Sunday

North    Carolina Governor Roy Cooper introduced Steep    Canyon Rangers Sunday afternoon on the Watson Stage. Late last    year, Gov. Cooper declared 2019 to be North Carolina’s    “Year of Music”, adding, “from bluegrass to the blues, from gospel to funk,    from beach music to indie and hip hop, North  Carolina is the birthplace of many    musical styles and iconic performers.” Gov. Cooper was in attendance    for Steep Canyon Rangers’ “North Carolina Songbook” set on the Watson Stage    which dove into the rich history of the region’s music, specifically the    musical heritage of their—and the festival’s—home state, and solidified their    place in MerleFest lore. Bluegrass    patriarch and hair-style pioneer Del McCoury celebrated his 80th birthday    surrounded by friends, family, and the Del McCoury Band. Del and the boys    fired up the Hillside Stage, highlighting his eight-decade milestone with    class and style that only the McCourys can provide. North Carolina’s own The Avett    Brothers closed out the festival after having joined their father,    Jim Avett, for Sunday’s annual Gospel Hour. On the Watson Stage,    gladly playing tunes that spanned their almost-two-decade long career, The    Avett Brothers had the crowd singing along from the very first line. While    many MerleFest patrons have seen the Avetts at the festival before, this    performance proved that the brothers and their band have now truly transcended    to the next level of much-deserved stardom.

[biofunmy]

A power ranking of all 32 ‘Downton Abbey’ movie characters

That’s not to suggest the folks upstairs always wielded more power than their downstairs counterparts. Social propriety only dictates outward behavior, and it often seemed as though the Downton servants were the ones who actually pulled the strings. Such is certainly the case in the “Downton” movie, released Friday, more than three years after the British television series concluded its six-season run.

Set in the late 1920s, the movie consists largely of Downton preparing for a royal visit by King George V and Queen Mary. While the Crawleys — Robert, Cora and their daughters Mary and Edith, along with Robert’s mother Violet — deal with the usual family drama and logistical rubbish, everyone downstairs tries their best to resist a complete takeover from the royal family’s hoity-toity servants. There’s very little plot and very much banter, highlighting power grabs both subtle and fierce.

Here is a definitive power ranking of the “Downton” movie characters, from boring and weakest to magnificent and sneakiest. (Note that the blurbs contain plot spoilers.)

The ‘Downton Abbey’ cast wants to take you back to a more innocent time — 2012

32. Richard “Dickie” Grey, a.k.a. Baron Merton (Douglas Reith)

Who he is: A trusted friend of the Crawley family, Dickie is also Mary’s godfather. In the series, he fought with his spoiled children to marry Isobel Crawley, the mother of Mary’s late husband, Matthew Crawley.

Why he ranks here: Dickie is a perfectly fine person, and it is truly a delight to hear people say his name with an English accent. That said, he is entirely a background character in the movie.

31. Phyllis Baxter, lady’s maid to Cora Crawley (Raquel Cassidy)

Who she is: Not to be visually confused with housekeeper Mrs. Hughes, Miss Baxter is a well-intentioned lady’s maid with a criminal record who, in the series, was briefly blackmailed by Thomas Barrow.

Why she ranks here: Like poor Dickie, Miss Baxter is barely a part of the movie. She finally seems to express her romantic interest in Mr. Molesley toward the end, though, so three cheers for that.

30. Captain Chetwode (Stephen Campbell Moore)

Who he is: Captain Chetwode approaches Tom Branson, a Crawley son-in-law, in public with a devious look in his eyes. The captain looks like all the other random men who pass through Downton, making it difficult for Tom to determine who he is or what his true motivations are.

Why he ranks here: Well, he tries to assassinate the king. While Tom, an Irishman, has his own issues with the English monarchy, he foils the captain’s violent plan as soon as he figures it out.

27, 28 & 29. All of the Crawley great-grandchildren: Sybil “Sybbie” Branson (Fifi Hart); George Matthew Crawley (Oliver and Zac Barker); Marigold Crawley (Eva and Karina Samms)

Who they are: Sybbie is Tom’s child with his late wife, Sybil Crawley. George is Mary’s child with her late husband, Matthew. Marigold was born to Edith and Michael Gregson, Edith’s magazine editor boss who mysteriously disappeared in Germany. Such drama!

Why they rank here: The Crawley great-grandchildren are still very young and therefore inconsequential. But they’ll inherit Downton and the Crawley wealth one day, which means they are somewhat powerful.

26. Joseph Molesley, schoolteacher and occasional footman (Kevin Doyle)

Who he is: Mr. Molesley worked as Matthew’s valet until the latter’s death and later returned to Downton as a footman. He discovered his passion for teaching while helping assistant cook Daisy Mason with her studies and eventually left the house altogether to become a schoolteacher.

Why he ranks here: I only want the best for Mr. Molesley, but by golly if this man isn’t one of the most pitiful characters to ever pass through Downton. He practically faints upon seeing the king and queen.

25. The Royal Chef (Philippe Spall)

Who he is: The better question would be, who does he think he is? Sure, he cooks for the king and queen of England, but he is unnecessarily rude to Downton’s Mrs. Patmore from the moment he walks in.

Why he ranks here: Rudeness is only productive if you’re an established part of Downton.

24. The Royal Butler . . . or the King’s Page of the Back Stairs (David Haig)

Who he is: This guy is the Charles Carson of Kensington Palace, in that he’s been loyal to the royal family for a long time and will do anything to appease them. He clarifies to the Downton folk that he is “not a butler” but, in fact, a king’s page of the back stairs. They don’t give that title much thought.

Why he ranks here: He is the absolute worst, but Mr. Haig is quite convincing in the role.

23. Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville)

Who he is: Robert is the Crawley family patriarch and owns Downton with his eldest daughter, Mary.

Why he ranks here: I honestly could not tell you a single significant thing Robert accomplishes in this movie aside from continuing to co-own Downton, therefore giving the royals a reason to visit and the movie a reason to exist. But hey, that’s pretty important, right?

22. Herbert “Bertie” Pelham, Marquess of Hexham (Harry Hadden-Paton)

Who he is: Edith married Bertie at the very end of the series and, after enduring six seasons of relentless misery, said she was finally “completely happy.” Bertie became Marigold’s stepfather.

Why he ranks here: Bertie is involved in a B-plot that gets quite a bit of screen time, as the king asks Bertie to embark on a project that would keep him away from his family for three months. Even after Edith informs her husband that she is pregnant and that the assignment would require him to miss the first few months of his child’s life, he hesitates to ask the king to find someone else for the job — understandable, but not the ideal course of action.

21. Andrew “Andy” Parker, footman (Michael C. Fox)

Who he is: Andy is a recently hired footman engaged to Daisy.

Why he ranks here: Andy somewhat annoyingly plays a jealous boyfriend for much of the movie, sparked by a flirty plumber arriving to fix Downton’s boiler. While Andy breaks the boiler in a fit of jealousy, it’s pretty cool that he loves Daisy and disregards the monarchy enough to risk sabotaging the royal visit.

20. Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern)

Who she is: Cora is an American heiress married to Robert, with whom she had Mary, Edith and Sybil. She has a fun muddled accent and enjoys providing commentary on strange English customs from an American perspective, which makes her a valuable asset for stateside viewers.

Why she ranks here: Cora senses that Edith is upset and, after learning of the conundrum, takes it upon herself to instead appeal to the queen on Edith and Bertie’s behalf. It works. Hurrah for involved mothers!

18 & 19. King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James)

Who they are: King George V was the grandfather of the current queen, Elizabeth II. He married Mary of Teck, and together they had six kids — five boys and one girl, Princess Mary, who appears in the movie.

Why they rank here: They’re very powerful in life but don’t do much for the plot, other than show up at Downton and later allow Bertie to stay home with Edith, so they land in the middle(ish) of the ranking.

17. Richard Ellis, perhaps a valet? (Max Brown)

Who he is: Richard works for the royal family and, just like Barrow, seems to get the short end of the stick from time to time.

Why he ranks here: Richard appears to be sweet on Barrow, which is proven true after he bails Barrow out of jail and later kisses him. Though this is admirably bold for the era in which “Downton” is set, Barrow was only jailed in the first place because he went to a gay club with another man after Richard was extremely late to a date he had planned with Barrow.

16. John Bates, valet (Brendan Coyle)

Who he is: Bates is Robert’s soft-spoken valet, and Anna Bates’s husband. He was hired at Downton after having saved Robert’s life while they both served in the second Boer War.

Why he ranks here: Though Bates usually tries to avoid stirring up trouble, he and Anna mastermind a plan to (rightfully) regain control of Downton from the royal family’s servants.

15. Lucy Smith, lady’s maid-turned-companion of Maud Bagshaw (Tuppence Middleton)

Who she is: Lucy, said to be a lady’s maid, accompanies the Crawleys’ relative Maud Bagshaw to Downton for the royal visit, during which Violet tries as best as she can to figure out why the childless Maud hasn’t listed Robert as a beneficiary in her will. Maud prefers to call Lucy her companion, and it is later revealed that they are actually mother and daughter.

Why she ranks here: Though uncomfortable with the tiff between her mother and Violet, Lucy stands her ground when it comes to her inheritance — commendable, given how frightening Violet can be.

14. Princess Mary (Kate Phillips)

Who she is: Princess Mary is the king and queen’s only daughter. She prioritizes her duty to her country over her own happiness and therefore remains in a loveless marriage to a dull, controlling man.

Why she ranks here: Princess Mary struggles with what to do about her marriage, given that a divorce would toss the royal family into scandal. After Tom spots her crying about it outside Downton — as an Irishman, he has no idea who she is — the two of them chat vaguely about obligations to their respective families. Princess Mary is inspired to stand up to her husband, telling him that they have no choice but to change for both of their sakes.

13. Henry Talbot, co-owner of Talbot and Branson Motors (Matthew Goode)

Who he is: Henry and Mary got married at the end of the series, and they have a daughter together. Though he lives at Downton, Henry often travels to different car shows for work (and fun).

Why he ranks here: Henry spends most of the movie away at a Detroit car show because the actor who plays him wasn’t able to fit a full “Downton” shoot into his schedule. He nevertheless receives an entrance scene so dramatic that it rivals the king and queen’s. (Author’s note: I will forever think of Matthew Goode as the guy from 2004′s “Chasing Liberty.” If you’ve seen that, you know how much he puts up with in it, and you’ll agree that Mr. Goode deserves this dramatic scene as restitution.)

12. Charles Carson, retired butler (Jim Carter)

Who he is: The curmudgeonly Mr. Carson rose through the ranks at Downton and eventually became the butler. Though he retired because of health issues, he worked for the Crawleys for so long that the family members, especially Mary, treat him as one of their own. He is married to Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper.

Why he ranks here: Mary asks Mr. Carson to replace Barrow as butler for the duration of the royal visit, and he agrees. This is rather mean to Barrow on both of their parts — he’s trying his best! — but it’s hard not to notice the respect with which the Downton staff treats Mr. Carson.

11. Isobel Grey, née Crawley, Baroness Merton (Penelope Wilton)

Who she is: Isobel, a former nurse, moved to Downton at the start of the series with her son, Matthew. She remained close to the Crawleys even after Matthew’s death — becoming close frenemies with Violet while co-chairing the hospital — and later married Lord Merton.

Why she ranks here: Isobel tries to act as a mediator in the conflict over who will inherit Maud’s wealth. Unlike Violet, she is able to sense that there is more to Maud’s relationship with Lucy, and encourages Maud to tell Violet the truth in order to put the argument to rest once and for all.

10. Beryl Patmore, cook (Lesley Nicol)

Who she is: Mrs. Patmore is the witty cook who runs Downton’s kitchen. She is exceedingly strict but cares deeply for those she knows well, stepping in as a mother figure to her assistant, Daisy.

Why she ranks here: Along with Daisy, Mrs. Patmore is never afraid to speak her mind — especially when it comes to the royal staff invading her kitchen.

9. Elsie Carson, née Hughes, head housekeeper (Phyllis Logan)

Who she is: Mrs. Hughes is the head housekeeper. She is married to Mr. Carson.

Why she ranks here: With Mr. Carson technically out of Downton, Mrs. Hughes is the most powerful person downstairs. She is the no-nonsense type, and will always look out for her people.

8. Thomas “Tom” Branson, co-owner of Talbot and Branson Motors (Allen Leech)

Who he is: Tom came to Downton as a chauffeur but became a member of the family after marrying Sybil Crawley, against her family’s wishes. They eventually warmed up to him and, following Sybil’s death, he continued to help manage and live at Downton for his daughter’s sake.

Why he ranks here: Tom doesn’t consider himself to be a member of the aristocracy given his humble roots and, as such, is likely the most level-headed character upstairs. Not only does he provide emotional support to Princess Mary and Lucy, two strangers, but he also saves the king’s life.

7. Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith)

Who she is: As Robert’s mother, Violet is the senior member of the Crawley family. She reveals to her granddaughter Mary that her health is failing, and as such, aims to tie up all her loose ends.

Why she ranks here: Yes, Violet’s quarrel with Maud is a bit much, but it is comforting to see that she has remained her witty, combative self. After someone accuses her of being Machiavellian, for example, she responds, “Machiavelli is frequently underrated. He had many qualities.”

6. Mary Talbot, née Crawley, heir to Downton (Michelle Dockery)

Who she is: Mary is the eldest Crawley daughter and co-owns Downton with her father.

Why she ranks here: Though Mary can be quite prissy at times, it’s notable that Violet points to her, and not Robert, as the future of Downton. As might be uttered in HBO’s “Succession,” Mary is the No. 1 Boy.

5. Thomas Barrow, butler (Rob James-Collier)

Who he is: Barrow, a former footman, stepped in as butler at Downton after Mr. Carson retired.

Why he ranks here: Barrow was an irritating backstabber for much of the series, but we eventually got to know and appreciate him. When Robert and Mary inform him that Mr. Carson will be taking over for the duration of the royal visit, Barrow is appropriately snippy and storms off. The act of insubordination takes Robert by surprise and, instead of firing Barrow, he admires him.

4. Daisy Mason, assistant cook (Sophie McShera)

Who she is: Once a kitchen maid, Daisy worked her way up to being Mrs. Patmore’s assistant.

Why she ranks here: Daisy’s rebellious streak is more evident than ever before when the royal servants arrive. She has fully come out of her shell and amusingly defends Downton at one point by saying, “We’re not footballs, Mr. Bates, we don’t deserve a kicking!” They most certainly do not.

3. Edith Pelham, née Crawley, Marchioness of Hexham (Laura Carmichael)

Who she is: Edith is the second Crawley daughter, and Marigold’s mother. She is married to Bertie.

Why she ranks here: Though she was for a long time the self-pitying Crawley sister, Edith has finally learned to take a stand when called for. She is very direct with Bertie about his needing to turn down the king’s assignment and, after Bertie says that she should have told him earlier that she was pregnant, she informs him that he will not be making any of this her fault. Growth! We love to see it.

2. Anna Bates, née Smith, lady’s maid to Mary Talbot (Joanne Froggatt)

Who she is: Anna is Mary’s lady’s maid but has become more of a friend over time. (Remember, she helped deal with the whole Pamuk-dying-in-Mary’s-bed situation back in the first season.)

Why she ranks here: Anna spearheads the downstairs rebellion and also blackmails the royal seamstress, who has been stealing from Downton throughout the visit. How far our meek Anna has come.

1. Maud Bagshaw, Crawley relative and lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary (Imelda Staunton)

Who she is: Maud is a baronness who serves the queen. She is a cousin of Violet’s late husband and somehow inherited an estate from him. She and Violet aren’t the best of friends.

Why she ranks here: American viewers might recognize Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge from the “Harry Potter” films and, while Maud isn’t at all evil, she is just as stubborn. It’s difficult to win a fight against Violet — she’s the Dowager Countess, for heaven’s sake! — but Maud has what it takes, and seems to care endlessly for her daughter, Lucy. If they ever do make a movie sequel, we hope Maud makes a special appearance.

Sahred From Source link Entertainment

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[cameron-ashurst22]

Week 13 

Day 1- sketchbook project

Today I had a workshop revolving around a trip to norwich castle to create some on sight observational sketches of some of the exhibits and the people within the castle itself. I found that instead of focusing on the individual aspects of each exhibit like one single bird I should look at the entire composition in relation to where I was standing. I was intrigued by the bird section of the museum as after watching videos of how parrots movie in the wild I had a theory of how although birds look differently they have the same anatomical structure. For this I drew multiple angles of a wide range of birds and distinguished they all have similar breast parts were the neck links the body to the head this was especially evident in the pelican and ostrich part of the exhibition.

Day 1 - After effects

After changing the large majority of my animation over the Christmas break I came into this workshop session with open eyes as I understood the software to a higher degree allowing me to manipulate masks and fully morph objects into one another. I asked for feedback and the lecturer said for the spider web effect I should learn how to manipulate trim paths so I spent the majority of the session today focusing how I can move along the path with the stroke. I also found that the dash feature on the trim paths was useful as it split the path up even more. However I had  an issue regarding with cutting the path so it is no longer visible on screen so the mask of the camera can fully take effect I will have to look at more research into fully mastering this technique for this I found a liquid morph technique where the liquid appears to pass over the given object creating the morph. This is similar to the effect I am going for with the use of the spiders web.

Day 2- Research essay

Today I watched the film up and decided to place the characters into Christopher Vogler's theory on archetypes. Also creating a plot summary regarding the film.I found this lecture eye opening into looking into the story further looking at the themes of mentorship and family within the film.

Plot summary- 

Carl frederickson is a little boy who is a dreamer and grows old with his wife Ellie who ensures an essence of adventure in him.They both want to live at paradise falls in south America as they are fascinated boy Charles Muntz a famous explorer. After the death of Ellie Carl becomes insular and does not want to move from his house. Ultimately it takes a call to  action of him hitting a worker from the construction company with the consequences of him being placed in a retirement home as a result and his house being demolished for him to leave the area He begins to fly to paradise falls were he hears a knock at the door thousands of feet in the air, this introduces him to Russel a wilderness explorer who had knocked at Carls door previously. Carl tries to take Russel home but a storm ensues.

The house is knocked around in the turbulence but Carl manages to tie most of his items down before falling asleep. He's woken the next morning by Russell, who tells him that they're over South America. Carl releases some balloons to descend but they hit ground early and are knocked out of the house. As they reach the other end of the falls they decide to walk the rest of the way due to the balloons deflating.

Meanwhile, a chase is progressing in the jungle. Russell stops to go to the bathroom and happens upon a giant bird which he lures closer with a chocolate bar. He introduces the colourful creature to Carl and gives it the name Kevin. Kevin follows them as they continue their journey but runs off when they approach the silhouette of a man who calls out to them. However, they see that the man is nothing more than a trick of the eye caused by overlapping stones. They are then approached by a golden retriever with a red light on his collar. Russell tells him to sit and speak and is surprised when the dog answers, using the device on his collar. He tells them his name is Dug and that he is a tracker looking for a bird, at which point Kevin tackles him. They continue on to paradise falls and find none other than Charles Muntz who has been looking for Kevin for many years as he tries to repair his reputation.

Muntz invites them into The Spirit of Adventure as guests, but his behavior soon turns hostile when he finds out that Russell has adopted a new pet bird. Muntz reveals a table of head mannequins wearing various headgear and grimly knocks each one off with his cane as he describes the stories their wearers told him; claiming that each one was actually after his bird. Carl and Russell run away from the zeppelin just as Muntz discovers the bird calling out from the roof of Carl's home. Riding on Kevin's back and assisted by Dug, who calls Carl his new master, they barely escape capture by Muntz's dogs, though Kevin is injured in the process. Carl agrees to help Kevin get back to her babies safely but, just before Kevin can re-enter her labyrinth home, a net flies out and captures her. Muntz and his dogs have arrived in the zeppelin, led to the spot by a tracking device on Dug's collar. Muntz throws a lantern beneath Carl's home, setting fire to it. Carl ignores Kevin and runs over to extinguish the flames as Muntz takes Kevin on board and leaves. Angry and disheartened, Carl yells at Dug and tells Russell that he's taking his home to Paradise Falls if it kills him. He manages to set his house down on the Falls, but loses Russell's respect for leaving Kevin.

Carl goes inside the house and sits down to look at Ellie's adventure book. Saddened that she never got to see the Falls, he is about to close it when he discovers added pictures near the end, documenting their life together. On the last page is a note written by Ellie that says thanks for the adventure, now go have a new one! Enlightened and inspired, Carl goes outside in time to see Russell take off with a few balloons, using a leaf blower as propulsion. Carl empties his home of extra furniture, allowing it to become airborne once again, and follows Russell. He finds Dug on his porch and happily exclaims that Dug is his dog and he is his master. Russell manages to sneak aboard Muntz's zeppelin but is quickly caught and tied to a chair. Muntz sits him on the ships bomb-bay doors and flips the switch for them to open. Carl flies in and manages to rescue Russell in time, setting him inside the house while he goes into the zeppelin with Dug to fetch Kevin. Hes able to distract the guard dogs with a tennis ball from his walker and frees Kevin but is confronted by Muntz. They engage in a sword fight while Russell, freed of his ties, fights off a squadron of dogs in fighter planes. He regains control of the house and returns to help Carl, who has climbed to the top of the zeppelin with Kevin. Dug has, meanwhile, faced off against Alpha and outsmarted him, effectively becoming the new alpha, and runs off to meet the others topside.

Kevin, Dug, and Carl run for the house which Russell has landed on the wing of the zeppelin, but Muntz appears with a rifle and shoots at them, causing the house to slip and dangle in the air. Carl struggles to hold onto the house with the hose while Muntz goes in after Kevin. Carl lures Kevin, carrying Dug and Russell, out of the house with chocolate and Muntz attempts to jump out of the window after them. He doesn't make the jump as his foot gets caught in some balloon strings and, weighing too much for the balloons to support him, he falls to his death. As Kevin, Dug, and Russell make it back to the zeppelin, Carl is forced to release his house, which slowly descends into the clouds, a loss which Carl accepts as being for the best.

Kevin is returned to her three chicks and Carl takes Russell and Dug home where Russell attends his senior explorer ceremony. When Russell's father fails to present him with his final badge, Carl fulfills the role and gives Russell a grape soda badge that Ellie gave him when they first met, calling it the Ellie badge. Afterwards, they sit on a curb together in front of an ice cream shop, Carl acting as a surrogate grandfather to Russell, The Spirit of Adventure anchored above them.

At Paradise Falls, Carl and Ellie's house has landed right at the spot where it was meant to be: on the cliff overlooking the falls.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/plotsummary

Day 3- Sketchbook project 

Today I had feedback on my sketchbook so far I found that the best work in my sketchbook is the development from observational drawing to character. Robert said that I should continue doing this especially with the parrot design. Also I should look at using this for further character development so I decided to look at wolves as I feel like I could subvert preconceived views on what a wolf character should look like.

#weekly summary

[aion-rsa]

How Darlene Love Brings the Holiday Spirit and Soul to The Christmas Chronicles 2

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Spoiler Alert: Santa Claus blows a mean sax.

The high point of Netflix’s The Christmas Chronicles 2 comes at its least festive moment. The young and grieving teen Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is mistaken for a runaway and taken away by airport authorities–while being lost in time–all the flights on Logan International Airport’s big board turn from hour-long delays to outright cancellations, and joy in that small part of Boston drops to 7 percent. People are all up in each other’s grills, nerves are frayed, and complimentary hotel stays are not going to cut it. They are not a merry bunch. If ever there was a time for a holiday miracle, this would be it. Only now, when things are at their darkest, does a flustered ticket agent named Grace (Darlene Love) reach for the public address microphone–and deliver “The Spirit of Christmas.”

Darlene Love may have the grace to carry a sleighful of holiday cheer but, as the song says, “You can’t change the world alone, sometimes you need a little help.” The rock and roll icon who has become an evergreen voice of Christmas decades ago pages Santa Claus (Kurt Russell), who is on hand to offer his full support. Too jolly to provide merely a baritone backup, Santa pulls an alto sax out of his bag for a spirited solo.

Darlene didn’t just bring the spirit of Christmas. She brought the soul, the Disciples of Soul to be specific. In fact, the new gospel-infused holiday tune was written by Steven Van Zandt, and backing was done by his long-time band, along with two members of one of his other groups, Bruce Springsteen’s E. Street Band.

Van Zandt and his Disciples of Soul backed Love when he produced and wrote songs for her 2015 album, Introducing Darlene Love. The title was ironic, as Love had been in the business long enough to be an institution. She didn’t only have her own hits with her group The Blossoms, they sang back-up vocals on iconic rock and roll classics like the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” the Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” as well as songs by Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, the Righteous Brothers, Dionne Warwick, and Luther Vandross.  

Van Zandt is also a very versatile support player. He had Tony Soprano’s back when he played consigliere Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, and he backed Russell when the actor belted out “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” in the original 2018 Christmas Chronicles. Both holiday films were directed by Chris Columbus, who directed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), which also just so happened to feature Love singing a Van Zandt number, “All Alone on Christmas.” That tune has since become a Christmas standard of its own, even appearing unironically in another Christmas movie classic, Love Actually.

But then you’re never alone on Christmas if you have Love, and she’s been a voice of the holiday since 1963 when she sang “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and co-credited to Phil Spector, the song was part of the compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. It was released as a holiday single on the same day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and didn’t make the charts. Spector released it again for the 1964 holiday season, but the tune again didn’t make it down many more chimneys.

Love had a string of hits during the 1960s, including “He’s a Rebel,” “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love.” But the song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” recorded in a decorated studio even though it was 100 degrees outside, only played a muted part in any Christmas playlists.

That all changed when David Letterman christened Love as the “Christmas Queen.” In 1986 Love played herself in the off-Broadway jukebox musical Leader of the Pack. Paul Shaffer, who was the musical director of NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, played Spector. The night after Letterman saw the show, he brought joy to the Worldwide Pants production audience, announcing he’d just seen a show with the greatest Christmas song he’d ever heard.

Backed by The World’s Most Dangerous Band, Love performed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on Letterman’s show every December from 1986 to 2014. She only missed one year, 2007.  When Letterman left networks in 2015, Love took the tradition to ABC’s The View where she continues to pour on the cheer.

The song topped Rolling Stone’s 2010 list of “The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs.” Since 2016, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” has been on the Billboard Holiday Airplay chart every year. It hit No. 29 the first week of January in 2020. You can hear it in Goodfellas, right after Robert De Niro’s Jimmy Burke tells his crew not to spend their Lufthansa Heist money in one place.

A veteran live performer, Love also takes “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on the road. Every year from the middle of November until early January, the singer performs “Love for the Holidays” shows across North America and Europe. This year, Love will stream her “Love for the Holidays” spectacular. Filmed in November at New York City’s Sony Hall, the concert will be available online via ShowClix on Dec. 5 at 8pm. The proceeds will be gifted to theaters and arts institutions which have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic across the country.

The Christmas Chronicles 2 is available on Netflix.

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