With a few notable exceptions (Low and Sufjan Stevens come to mind) few artists manage to pull off that seasonal chestnut, the Christmas album and yes, Bob, were talking to you. Tori Amos is an unlikely candidate shes subverted rather than revered religious iconography in the past and perhaps unsurprisingly opts for a different kind of celebration altogether on Midwinter Graces: a collection of original and reworked traditional material in honour of the winter solstice. Amoss typically extravagant approach isnt best suited to this sort of songwriting but she acquits herself decently enough on some songs, while on others things veer badly off track. Hit and miss then, much like most of Amoss recent output. Claire Allfree PLAY NOW EXCLUSIVELY ON GIG Yo La Tengo If ever a band truly made the cult grade its Yo La Tengo. Formed in 1984, theyve got the requisite longevity, critical plaudits and lack of mainstream hits. Weaving folk, shoegazing bliss-outs, jazzy freakouts, electronica and punk to a frame of Velvet Underground- inspired pop, their diverse but familiar output has always felt like the sound of a band celebrating their love of music rather than making grand pronouncements. Still, cult or not, you dont need to sit some kind of indie kid exam to like the New Jersey trio. Its simply that they dont mind if you dont. Take Popular Songs, their 12th album split into two sides: one featuring nine pop tracks; the other three lengthy, experimental tracks that borrow from Kraftwerk and ECM. Nadine McBay Tonight, TriPod, Harcourt Street D2, 7.30pm, 20 to 24. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.yolatengo.com circle in New Jersey). He shakes his head when I ask if hed always planned on philanthropy: In your twenties and thirties, youre looking to build your legacy, and by the latter part of your forties, youre hoping to leave one. Hes not especially nostalgic about the 25th anniversary, either: Ive learned to accept the past, but... Jesus Christ, I wanna talk about tomorrow! Youre not gonna see the Oldies But Goodies tour from Bon Jovi, ever! he laughs. So surely music is still an industry of dreams? Definitely the awe and the desire to be the best is as pure as the first day! he says. When its going great onstage, youre still so excited, and when its s***ty, its more like you aint goin nowhere for the next two hours. He throws his head back and pretends to bawl: Waaah! Pull yourself together, Jon Bon Jovi; back in the 1980s, didnt you declare: Id kill my mother for rocknroll? He grins at the memory, baring pearly gnashers: Yeah, and you know what? None of it was a joke! The Circle (Mercury) is out now Next Train by Miracle Fortress I just heard this bands album Five Roses the other day and this was a real stand out track for me. I think the melodies are amazing and it has some really nice guitar tones. Three Legged Work Horse by This Will Destroy You I am a big fan of groups like Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky and this band really reminds me of them. They have some really epic sounding post-rock songs with a lot of weight behind them. Dont Stop Believin by Journey Every iPod on the planet should have this track on it. There is pretty much no point at which I would not want to listen to it, if this song came on the shuffle player. It is an absolute classic! All You Know And Love Will Die by A Plastic Rose These guys are a new band from Ireland and I heard them on the radio while I was on the way back from the studio one night just before they played the Reading festival and I thought that it had some great melodies in it. Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap This is one of the best songs I have heard in a long time. Everything about it is very instant and I really like the use of the delayed guitar lines at the beginning and throughout the verses. It also has an absolutely huge chorus melody, which is always good. Tonight, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 7.30pm, 17.50. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.fightstarmusic.com ON MY iPOD Charlie Simpson from Fightstars five-track mix Thursday, November 5, 2009 metrolife 15 Tori Amos: Midwinter Graces Island Martha Wainwright: Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, Paris Republic Of Music Jack L: The Story So Far Dara The starting point for this brand new collection, according to producer David Arnold, is that Basseys vocals shouldnt be consigned to greatest hits and Bond theme collections. So The Performance features a swish swathe of contemporary material tailor-made for that unmistakeably rich, sassy Bassey voice. The high drama and Jack L has been a super-star on the Irish cabaret scene for more than a decade now, so it was inevitable that he would get round to releasing a best of. But The Story So Far is far more ambitious than most greatest hits collections. Yes, the signature torch- songs are present and correct, tracking his evolution from Jacques Brel cover-artist to the midlands answer to Nick Cave. However, its also crammed with extras, including several memorable collaborations with the Maynooth Gospel Choir. Its impossible to listen to Ls baritone without being reminded of other artists his debt to Scott Walker, in particular, sometimes verges on the blatant. Still, if youre a fan this double LP contains enough new material to justify splurging on even if you already own the studio albums. Eamon De Paor crescendos come from the outset, and never lose momentum thanks to her grand yet warm delivery. Highlights include the Pet Shop Boys climactic The Performance Of My Life and the Manic Street Preachers Welsh romance The Girl From Tiger Bay (even if DSB moved to Monte Carlo ages ago). DSB hasnt merely reclaimed her star status; shes in a stratosphere all of her own. Arwa Haider Dame Shirley Bassey: The Performance Polydor How times have changed since 2002, when Robbie Williams blustered Im rich, beyond my wildest dreams! as he signed a mega-bucks record deal. Further hits followed that decadent era, but so did the meltdowns on a personal level for the self-critical Williams, and a massive financial level for the music industry generally. Now this eighth solo album doesnt only represent a comeback for Williams (following his UFO-spotting wilderness years in LA); it hints at the return to the lavish good ol days of mainstream pop. Reality Killed The Video Star is Williamss smartest album to date. He thrives under the attention of veteran producer Trevor Horn while the songs are a nifty blend of trademark self-obsessed soul- searching (hymnal opening number Morning Sun; Blasphemy with original co-writer Guy Chambers) and gratifyingly off-beat turns like Difficult For Weirdos and Deceptacon. These tracks progress from his adventurous last album Rudebox (actually a great record, even if it did end up as Chinese tarmac or something). On Bodies, he satirises vanity as only a bruised ex-boyband hottie could but theres also a subtle evolution in ballads like Wont Do That, which he dedicated to his missus onstage; while he doesnt specifically mention names or his reconciliation with Take That, real love feels like the backdrop here. For the first time in his solo life, it actually sounds like the bitterness has gone, and Williams emerges as a genuine sweetheart. Arwa Haider Album Of The Week Robbie Williams: Reality Killed The Video Star EMI Staying In Music Reviews Its a daunting task for any singer attempting to do justice to the haunting, emotive music that defined the career of Frances most famous chanteuse. Despite confessing to a lifelong musical crush on Piaf, Wainwright (pictured below) doesnt let this stop her from putting her own vocal stamp on this 15-track collection. Recorded over two nights in a New York studio, with a live audience present to add atmosphere, the challenge for Wainwright was to capture the vocals in one take. She pulls it off, for the most part, although occasionally her French vowels flounder. Classics such as La Vie En Rose are notably absent, although we are treated to the familiar strains of Adieu Mon Coeur and Le Chant DAmour. Lesser known gems such as Les Blouses Blanches and Non, La Vie Nest Pas Triste are delivered with suitable emotional weight. Less a tribute, more a faithful interpretation, Wainwright manages to inspire shivers in all the right places. Serena Kutchinsky index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html