Today we have some more new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen. We know that a good number of you have been enjoying these songs. Amongst many other artists, Chester has toured with Roger Waters, joining his band in 2002 and playing on subsequent tours, and with David Gilmour on his 2016 Rattle That Lock tour. He first played with David back in 1985 during the Live Aid show – David and Chester were both part of Bryan Ferry’s band for that show (as was Jon Carin). Chester has, like many musicians, kept himself busy whilst lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid-19 have called a halt to many things – in particular, live performance. In October, he shared his new piece of music called Take This, that runs for over 23 minutes. Chester told us that Take This is the first side of an album he is currently working on – following, or inspired by, the old Floyd blueprint of one long piece and several songs on the flip side. Since then we’ve seen the first few songs on the second side of the album: Brand New Day, Swimming, I’d Love To Turn You, Lover’s Lane, and Come The Revolution. The new song from Chester – Child Of The Damned – has just arrived, with what reminds us of an early 1970s Floyd vibe to it. Chester noted that there’s “not such a band feel this time. Just me in isolation in Scarborough with a 16 track tape machine and some bananas for food…” We’ll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album, as we know from feedback we’ve had that the songs are proving popular.
An unusual pair of items have appeared today on Spotify and also Deezer (and maybe other streaming services too) – a pair of tracks from David Gilmour’s early band Jokers Wild. You Don’t Know Like I Know was one of a pair of songs, with That’s How Strong My Love Is, that were recorded at Decca Studios in Hampstead in November 1965, and were produced by David and Dave Altham. These two recordings are separate from the five track album (and 7″ single) recorded shortly before, at Regent Sounds Studio in Denmark Street – that consisted of Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, Walk Like A Man, Don’t Ask Me What I Say, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Beautiful Delilah. All those tracks are fairly easy to find in various places, although originals (50 were pressed) are extremely scarce and pricey. Here’s both of the newly unearthed recordings: We’re not sure why there’s so much blank space around each of the song players…which might only be on selected browsers anyway…
Today we have some more new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen. We know that a good number of you have been enjoying these songs. Amongst many other artists, Chester has toured with Roger Waters, joining his band in 2002 and playing on subsequent tours, and with David Gilmour on his 2016 Rattle That Lock tour. He first played with David back in 1985 during the Live Aid show – David and Chester were both part of Bryan Ferry’s band for that show (as was Jon Carin). Chester has, like many musicians, kept himself busy whilst lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid-19 have called a halt to many things – in particular, live performance. In October, he shared his new piece of music called Take This, that runs for over 23 minutes. Chester told us that Take This is the first side of an album he is currently working on – following, or inspired by, the old Floyd blueprint of one long piece and several songs on the flip side. Since then we’ve seen the first songs on the second side of the album: Brand New Day, Swimming, I’d Love To Turn You, Lover’s Lane, Come The Revolution, and Child Of The Damned. The new song from Chester – Stories – is now here, and as he notes on YouTube, the song is “Dedicated to the memory of my two beloved little brothers, Nick and Barry.” Chester tells us that it was recorded with his trio, The Twins, comprising himself, Dale Davis (Amy Winehouseâs bass player and Musical Director) and Hugo Degenhardt on drums and backing vocals. They also had a guest on piano: Barima Asante.
He also noted that “the basic track was recorded some time ago in Battersea on an eight track tape machine so it hopefully has that analog feel. The video has a cameo appearance from my old and dear friend Jon [Carin]” who you can spot toward the end of the song. We’ll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album, as we know from feedback we’ve had that the songs are proving popular.
As you'll no doubt be aware, legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood enlisted an all-star cast for a one-of-a-kind concert, in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which was held on Tuesday evening (25th February) at London's Palladium. Tickets for Mick Fleetwood Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac, when it was announced, sold out in near record time, and that was no surprise when the announced bill (later expanded a little) was revealed.The bill included Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Steven Tyler, Bill Wyman, Noel Gallagher, Pete Townshend, Neil Finn, Kirk Hammett and many more. Legendary producer Glyn Johns joined as the executive sound producer and the house band featured Fleetwood himself along with Andy Fairweather Low, Dave Bronze and Ricky Peterson.Fleetwood, who curated the list of artists performing, said: The concert is a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it's important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music. Peter was my greatest mentor and it gives me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I am honoured to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician. 'Then Play On'… Here's some shots of David in action – he performed Oh Well Part Two (something which had NEVER been performed live previously in the history of Fleetwood Mac) on a Black Strat, and on a slide guitar, treated the audience to Albatross.For those who weren't able to attend the concert, there's some excellent news! On October 16th there's the Super Deluxe Edition Box Set, which consists of the entire show on 4LP, 2CD and a Blu-ray in a book. There's a limited edition attendee version that includes your choice of name in the concert documentary credits, a reproduction signed concert poster, and reproduction signed set list. You can order this now exclusively through Townsend Music's online store (https://mfaf.tmstor.es/?utm_source=sendinblue utm_campaign=MAIN__WC_240220__Artist_Stores_Mailer utm_medium=email%22). A picture of the provisional artwork is shown above. They note this is subject to change, as not least, it was created before the show took place!If you can't wait that long, in selected cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Europe on June 2nd and 7th, you'll be able to watch the concert on the big screen. More details of this, and to book tickets, visit CinemaLive.com (https://www.cinemalive.com/event/fleetwood-and-friends).
