Alright well to each their own. I don't mind. I just found it so strikingly similar to Heartbeats in many ways, that I wanted some more opinions. But ofc Martha is not K&A and never will be.
Station Break A little fun piece from Loudon Wainwright's latest archive collection. Featuring him, Kate McGarrigle and George Gerdes. "K-S-A-N, your relaxative station in San Francisco."
*Guys it's really happening. Today is the ONE YEAR anniversary of this thread! On May 24th 2020 I started a thread on Kate & Anna McGarrigle and I am so shocked that we made it this far and still got way left to go! Thank you guys! Special shout-out to the regulars: @Hightops @guitargal @Wayfaring Stranger @Regandron * Désir Another song where Kate & Anna McGarrigle simply provided exquisite harmonies. This one is by a French singer and poet called Gabriel Yacoub. The song itself is cute and catchy in a very traditional way (I have not looked up who the writer is). Kate & Anna's harmonies are very sweet and fit perfectly with Yacoub to give the song that extra something special.
No more shall we part Of course, I have to mention Kate & Anna's curious stint as backing vocalists for the one and only Nick Cave. I bought this 2001 album by him purely because of Kate & Anna and to this day it's just about the only album of his I can really stomach. Much like with Bob Dylan, I prefer the covers. Really, I'm not sure if the McGarrigle's go very well with Cave and he seems to have been a bit of an **** during the recording process (see the documentary clip linked in the next post). But the songs are rock solid lyrically and musically, and Kate & Anna will always be a joy to hear regardless. To represent the album, I've picked out the seven and a half minute long "Hallelujah". The sisters' voices first debut two minutes in, chanting along with Cave's pleading repetitions of the one-word title. They somewhere between the six and seven minute mark they move on to a more striking chant: "The tears are welling in my eyes again I need twenty big buckets to catch them in Twenty pretty girls to carry them in Twenty deep holes to bury them in" At the end, it fades into a solo, repeating this mesmerizing word combo. And it sounds heavenly. It alone makes the album worthwhile. Other songs including them is: God is in the house Fifteen feet of pure white snow Sweetheart come Another fun note is that, when UNCUT music magazine published their big special on Cave, they chose the picture of him and his backing band, the Bad seeds, from this record, thus (presumably by mistake) presenting them as seemingly permanent members of the band. On the other hand, they look very good with the photo blown up to stretch across two pages.
Desir - Gabriel Yacoub This is great !. I know i have been up and down in my responses to some of the collabs , but i absolutely love this track. And, wow, a full year since you embarked upon this McGarrigle voyage. Thank you so much Keam, a total pleasure from start to finish, and always leading us back to a deeper appreciation of the work, the music, the essence of it all. Bravo my friend !
I'm not posting a review, but I wanted to drop by to inform of a new Project that Anna & Jane are embarking on. The other day, former Mountain City Four band memeber and Jane's in-law Peter Weldon announced that he, along with the two sisters, are soon about to release a 16-track CD of digitally restored early Mountain City Four performances. Quite an exciting thing for lovers of Kate & Anna! At this point one could argue that their early career is the least avaolable as far as Published material goes. I, for one, is very excited!
Flandyke Shore A classical song in many different versions all over. This one with Marianne Faithful and our dear Kate & Anna backing. Not a huge fan of Faithful, my favourite of the few albums by her that I actually like is "Negative Capability". Kate & Anna's harmonies are good but not necessarily very special. A nice song all in all.
Flandyke Shore It will probably come as no surprise that I can’t get past Marianne’s vocals here... i know there is a following for the ‘smoky ‘ vocals style, but I hardly think this is the best of it. On a positive note, there is a great version By the Albion Band, vocals by Chris While. Not quite June Tabor, and no McGarrigles of course, but still pretty fine.
Congratulations (belated) on your one year anniversary – it's been a great ride. I would've been here earlier, but for some reason I stopped getting alerts from this thread; so I missed the celebratory day . Of course, I had two reasons to celebrate that day , as I was honoring Bob Dylan's 80th birthday on May 24 - was fortunate to be able to join a group of like-minded musicians for a glorious evening of Dylan songs . So I couldn't really get through the Nick Cave song - had no appeal to me. I am, however, like our esteemed host , heartened to hear about the release of the early Mountain City recordings. Perhaps some will be passed on to us here . I would have liked to hear Station Break by Loudon but it would not play -says 'video unavailable ' Is there another video? Flandyke Shore Heh heh I may be alone out here on this one but I REALLY liked this one. I know that Marianne's voice has changed since her ethereal rendition of As Tears Go By, but I like how she sounds now. She has a down to earth, husky type of voice, and it was very nicely complimented by the sisters smooth and airy harmonies . I like the song and how she delivered it - to me, Marianne has a certain engaging quality to her voice that makes me feel like I know her - she's the truck stop waitress who sees you can only afford soup and coffee . and she slips you a free slice of warm pie . With ice cream. "Enjoy it honey, life ain't always cherries and cream " - she seems to say in every song. Of course her background is more aristocratic than blue collar , but at any rate, I think there's hard won wisdom in her voice . So now let's raise a cup to Keam ( pie, though virtual , is on the house) and to our loyal and enthusiastic regulars - and we will drink good cheer to all for this past McGarrigles year. Great job!
Ohohoho youbet your ass I will do anything and everythingto put my hands on one of thise CDs. I've been too late for all Anna's previous releases (I wonder if it will be on Anna's label Querbeservice?) But I always get the stuff. To get it first hand,possibly from Anna personally? noone will stop me. It will sit beautifully in my collection. The station break thing,try Spotify: Station Break I am really coming to the end of this segment but it feels perfectly timed. I got one of two more aces up my sleeve and then, the grand finally - Prosepina.
Le Trio Canadien A very early performance of a traditional Irish ballad with an emigrant theme to it. Le Trio Canadien were Kate and Anna's first real band, and was formed after their previous sister-trio was broken up by Jane married her ex-husband Dave Dow and moving out at age 19, leaving her 16 and 15 year old sisters alone as a duo. The third collaborator, Michele Forester, was found by Kate at school. She attended the French side while Anna and Kate attended the English side, the three getting together in the schoolyard during a break and forming a group. As documented by newspaper clips from the time which feature in Dane Lanken's Kate &Anna Mcgarrigle:Songs and stories, the Trio had a number of names - Le Trio Canadienne being the final one. They only lasted a few short years, as already by 1963/64, the sisters were deeply involved in Mountain City Four instead. Unfortunately CBC gives very little information on the clip. It's from a youth special of an unnamed TV show, dated september 23 1962. Kate & Anna's fashion and the black and white format certainly support this. All in all it's really a very nice performance and they do well. It's impressive how distinct Kate's voice was even at this young age. Anne is also like herself, but not quite as distinctive yet. Michele is good but nothing special, I'd say. A very nice,very early recording. Link to the video: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/audio-v.../2020-01-15_15_07_02_ARCHIVESWEB_0001_01.jpeg
Wrestling with a milk dud You made my day with that one , Hightops Thanks for the laughter And note to Keam; I got the same image as Hightops did : no song .
le trio canadien great fun, probably for all the wrong reasons...those hairstyles, those skirts ! The song itself Is pleasant enough, and as you say, they perform creditably. About halfway through i did start to think this was the longest three minutes of my life though....
Yeah, ouch. That hairstyle looked good on exactly one woman in the whole world, Audrey Hepburn. I'll take an '80s mullet over that Aqua Net nightmare.
I am currently without wifi for most likely a week or more. I will naturally not be posting but when I return we have reached the end of this segment, and I will be reviewing "Prosepina"
Without wifi? You are in the desert or at the south pole? nb i have never been to the south pole, so i don,t know if there is wifi or not.... they probably don,t have covid there either....
We'll miss tou Keam; thanks for letting us know in advance you'll be gone; hope all is ok. This may be a good time for us to 'review' some of our favorite songs ( and info) on the thread . Think I'll replay Mendocino. right now
Still now wifi but felt like I had to come back to share something interesting I read. Rufus Wainwright did another interview, and in this one he talked about doing coke with Kate about two months before going to rehab in 2002. What he said: “May she rest in peace now, but a week before that I was doing cocaine with my mother [Kate McGarrigle] and then I ended up in Absolutely Fabulous and I was hanging out a lot with Marianne Faithfull and also the Bush twins – who compared to the Trump children are like pussycats (Laughs). [...] Was your mum fun to hang out with then?! “She was. She was definitely not a cokehead – it wasn’t something we did regularly but she was always game to try whatever was going on. She was an adventuress for sure.” I sure wasn't expecting that... but well here we are. Interesting for sure.
I agree. It felt very tmi. And again, why does Rufus feel an inccesant need to drop all Kate's secrets at the moment? Makes no sense.
