Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who (UK, 2007)
Directed by Murray Lerner & Paul Crowder
Starring Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Keith Moon

Like any kind of biographical project, rock documentaries have the potential to be nothing more than exercises in ego inflation. When The Who's first film, The Kids Are Alright was released, Roger Daltrey sold it on the basis that it made the band look like "complete idiots", commenting that The Song Remains The Same was made "for the sole purpose of making Robert Plant's dick look big."

Amazing Journey is a natural companion to The Kids Are Alright, covering much of the same ground in a more detailed and serene manner, as well as providing some much-needed coverage of the band's activity after the death of Keith Moon. It is the weaker and less engaging of the two films, but newcomers to the band will find much that is engrossing or entertaining, while existing fans can revel in all the new footage on offer.When making a documentary about a famous band, it would be very easy to just regurgitate all the most famous anecdotes, intercut with their greatest hits. And considering all the things Keith Moon did in his life, you could have filled up the two hours with an exhaustive list of every last prank. But Amazing Journey rarely falls into this trap, and when it does approach stories of cars being driven into swimming pools or drum kits being blown up, it makes some effort to clarify the facts rather than just revelling in the myth.The film is very well-researched, drawing on a variety of sources to tell the story of The Who. Alongside a series of interviews with surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, there is footage of the band's TV appearances, live performances at Charlton and Kilburn (which featured in The Kids Are Alright), and various clips from their promotional videos and forays into filmmaking. In certain sections animation is employed - for instance, the cover art of A Quick One is animated while Townshend's mini-opera is discussed.The most interesting section of the film, for both fans and newcomers, is the opening section up until the arrival of Keith Moon in early-1964. This section explores the genesis of The Who's unique sound, describing the musical landscape of 1950s Britain and the young musicians' relationship with London skiffle and American blues. It may be a cliché to describe life in 1950s Britain as being in black-and-white, and to set the scene by showing footage of bombed buildings. But through this section you come to understand the band's initial fire and fury, and how much of their music was a reaction against 1950s culture, both musically and socially.One of the coups of the film is the 8 minutes of footage of the band, then called The High Numbers, performing at the Railway Hotel in London in 1964. This footage is interesting both for its rarity and for capturing the band on the brink of finding their own sound and thereafter success. Daltrey is still singing blues covers in a style somewhere between Lonnie Donnegan and John Lee Hooker, but all the other ingredients are beginning to come through: Moon's exuberant drumming, Townshend's jagged power chords and John Entwistle's complex, jazzy bass lines.Amazing Journey is far from a po-faced affair, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to keep us entertained. It's hard not to chuckle when John Entwistle likens their label-mate Jimmy Hendrix, or Pete Townshend impersonates the Beach Boys with equal amounts of playfulness and vitriol. And then there is the montage of Moon's various incarnations, ranging from a pirate to an SS officer and a Dickensian money-keeper.

There is also a lot of self-deprecation on the part of Townshend and Daltrey. While the former occasionally covers himself in glory, describing himself as "on the edge of things" and calling Quadrophenia "magnificent" (which it is), Daltrey is much more understated and welcoming. His posture throughout interviews is downbeat, frequently holding his hands near his face and at points being close to tears. He's not asking for sympathy, but nor is he reigning himself in to play to his stereotype of being the band's hard man.This sense of self-deprecation helps to partially mitigate one of the problems of Amazing Journey, namely the chumminess of its outside contributors. The film features contributions from The Edge, Noel Gallagher, Eddie Vedder and Sting, all of whom makes no bones about their adulation of the band and its influence on their own music. Some of them have direct connections with the band - Sting played the Ace Face in Quadrophenia and Gallagher performed with them in 2000. But for all The Edge's knowledge of 1960s music, he doesn't have a lot to contribute, and Vedder frequently resorts to platitude to praise his heroes.There are other problems too. Firstly, there is the question of whether or not it is cinematic; the film had a very short theatrical release before being released as a 2-disc DVD set. It may be a consequence of seeing the same clips being endlessly repeated in TV documentaries, but portions of Amazing Journey do feel like they are more at home on the small screen. The directors use an interesting device to get around this, namely structuring the film like a double album; the film stops to turn the record over, and the footage occasionally skips and distorts like sound on a scratched LP. But about halfway through this device is phased out and the niggling feeling remains in your mind.

From a fan's point of view, the film does begin to canter through the history after 1975. It treats the later works and the gaps between reunions rather more brusquely, when in fact there is some interest in exploring the various behaviours of the band outside The Who. We get a mention of Moon's drunken exploits in 1974, but it completely glosses over his fledging film career and the band's various solo efforts. You can understand the filmmakers wanting to keep the running time down, and the need for the film to play to a mainstream audience, but long-time fans of the band will still feel like this was a missed opportunity.The overarching problem with Amazing Journey, however, is that it is a little too civilised for its own good. It doesn't have the raw, shambolic energy of The Kids Are Alright, so that even in the bits which are laugh-out-loud funny, or which feature Townshend being outrageous, it feels a little too reigned in to properly capture the atmosphere of the band. There is an argument for shooting in a more serene style, since some of the band's energy has waned and both surviving members are a lot older and wiser. But the recent footage of the band touring Endless Wire throws the former claim into question, so that while the film is engrossing it is also frustrating.Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who is a well-made and informative attempt to catalogue the highs and lows of one of the world's greatest rock bands. The sheer amount of archive material gives it a comprehensive feel, and as an introduction to the band it is very accessible and entertaining. But long-time fans of the band may be disappointed in places, both in the lack of coverage post-1982 and in the calmer style of presentation. It's good but not great, and definitely not The Kids Are Alright.

Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: A good introduction to a great band

Captain Moonlight
The Rest Of Your Life
3/5
Label: Unsigned

Few phrases fill a music buff with such dread as ‘politically motivated singer-songwriter’. Those of us who attended university will have come across veritable droves of such figures, some professional, many more the exact opposite, and what most of them consider music amounts to little more than feeding their own egos, as they desperate try to emulate their heroes by endlessly ripping them off.

Thankfully, the third album by Captain Moonlight – Chris Browne to his friends – avoids these awful traps for most of its running time, serving instead as a showcase for promising talent matched by very capable song-writing. While not an unqualified success, it bodes well for a more refined and ambitious work in the near future.

The Rest Of Your Life is described in its press notes as Captain Moonlight’s “most focussed record yet.” Certainly it’s the most consistent in sound, to the point at which it can feel very uniform. The first time around there isn’t a huge amount to pull you in beyond Browne’s surprisingly strong voice. When he isn’t carelessly bellowing out his lines on ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’, his baritone is reminiscent of David Sylvian around the time of Secrets Of The Beehive. Both singers have a dolorous quality in both their lyrics and delivery, counterbalanced by an emotional yearning for something better.

The album takes a couple of listens for its themes and lyrics to leach through, which in itself is no bad thing. Non-Warwick alumni may remain put off by raucous closer ‘The Boar Ain’t Easy’, which chronicles the trial and tribulations of editing the student newspaper to which this reviewer once contributed. It’s a little too in-jokey for its own good, but there’s plenty of good stuff elsewhere for us to forgive that moment of indulgence.

Political songwriters, particularly those who list Bob Dylan as an influence, are often so upfront in their lyrics that they alienate anyone who isn’t a sabre-rattling Trotskyite. But though Browne is clearly political, to the point of being an angry young man, he is both subtle and self-deprecating enough to avoid preaching to the converted. The second verse of ‘None Of My Plans’ is proof enough:

Self-pity gets you so far until it stops to drink

Drinks until its stomach bursts and leaves you standing on the brink

So obstinate, predictable… don’t you think?

Browne has stated his admiration for the likes of John Martyn and Nick Drake, and the irony of both their fates and the predicament of his ilk have not been lost on him.

Sticking with Nick Drake for the moment, the album is at its most interesting and adventurous when it attempts to add various other instruments into the mix. In the case of Drake, the orchestral Bryter Layter is rich and rewarding where Pink Moon is mainly twee, and with The Rest Of Your Life it is much the same story. Not all of the experiments work – the guitar on ‘Fin De Siecle’ feels a bit bolt-on – but they all add much-needed variety. The album could have done with more ambitious percussion, rather than simply relying on knocking the side of an acoustic guitar whenever the feeling takes you.

The Rest Of Your Life is a decent if incidental entry in the Captain Moonlight discography, which amply demonstrates Browne’s talents as a songwriter. Should success come his way – and he deserves it – this will come to be regarded as a protean work, an album containing hints of genius in varying quantities which should nonetheless be appreciated. Despite moments of in-jokey tedium, there is enough compelling work on here to make Captain Moonlight one to watch in years to come.

I’ve discovered two things ever since I’ve started blogging on this great little combined blog. Firstly, reviewing is hard. Well, good reviewing is at least. My previous film review took a lot longer than expected, hours rather than minutes (!), partly because of the competition with Daniel’s brilliant summations (seriously, someone employ that lad, quick!). Secondly, I tend to go all autobiographical when I write some articles, and this is no exception. So, if you want to skip straight to the gig review, just go to the bit further down aptly titled “the gig review”, but if you want a fuller introduction of my expectations and reasons for reviewing this gig in particular, read on…


The Prelude

Ever since Dr. Dog’s European tour had been announced, I had pounced on the omnipotent ticketline.com to guarantee entry to the band’s first visit to the UK for many years. This is something I had awaited for a long while.

I suppose I must explain to the reader why I was so quick to grab tickets for a band that the rest of the UK seems to ignore. I idolise the band wayyyyy too much. I’m not ashamed to say so. It is my measured opinion that no other band exists today that can combine extremely strong melody-writing ability, hair-on-your-neck-raising harmonies, dreamy yet thought-provoking lyrics and dulcet guitar work in a way that provokes a profound sense of déjà vu. Their music sounds like it’s been around, and loved, for years.

Ever since I was given an eMusic subscription for my 21st birthday, the challenge was to find a gem amongst the reams and reams of obscure small-label stuff that can be found on the site. After a little bit of digging, the band’s Fate album had the highest amount of 5 star reviews I could possibly find. After downloading one song from the album I downloaded another, and another, until I ended up with what seemed like the entire bands back catalogue.

This is a story told the world over. Many people I know have found bands in their teens (or even beforehand) that have really spoken to them, resulting in short- or long-term idolisation, often to an almost religious level. However, this is something I suppose has been rare for me. Perhaps I’m a late developer of a musical infatuation just as I have been a relatively late developer as a lover for music as a whole (mid-to-late-teens rather than the early-teens of my peers). Further, if I had been prone to venerate any particular band, they would be a classic rock band with a strong discography behind them (i.e. the ever-mentioned Beatles).

Hence, a lot was riding on this gig for me. Either it would add to my continued over-the-top appreciation of the act, or a bad performance would leave me emotionally crippled, like some love-sick kid reeling from rejection. Okay, hyperbole aside, if I wanted any gig to be good, this was one of them. I had travelled down from Warwick in the middle of an important week-long university project and had forced (well, sorta) my girlfriend to join me all the way down from Manchester for the gig. It had better have been worth it…


The gig review

So, I enter the London Cargo, a very hipsterish bar, restaurant and, (at the back) gig venue. Although it is twenty minutes before the gig was supposedly kicking off, a catchy alt-country-ish chorus is already ringing out from the venue. The horrible thought flickers in my mind that I have already missed the start of the headline act’s set. I rush to get half of my ticket transformed into a nice bit of ink on my right hand (as is the norm these days) and get myself inside the venue to see what is going on.

Thankfully, my mistiming had only made me miss the first few minutes of the support act. But, annoyingly, for once they were a good one. The unknown (to me at least) act on the stage had already kicked off with Mountain Song. Treetop Flyers, (as I would later discover the band to be called) had been expertly picked as a London act to complement the American act to be expected on stage later on.


As the band rattled through its set, I could swear that I was at a gig in some kind of barn in the southern United States. This had nothing do to with the Cargo’s interior, which more closely resembled the inside of a small aircraft hanger. No, Treetop Flyers' sound appears to be achieved through a gutsy vocal delivery, tight harmonies and formidable musicianship; making their brand of faux-Americana indistinguishable from the real thing. Although limited in the number of songs in their repertoire, the band played extended edits of its songs that could maintain the audience’s attention with strong soloing and catchy choruses throughout.

Most of the band was clearly enjoying their performance, with lead singer and guitarist bouncing around and increasing the level of energy in the room; just what a support act needs to do. Yet, it was the band’s lead guitarist, tucked away in the corner hiding under a large baseball cap who inadvertently stood out. Although technically perfect, he played the role of the incredibly shy musician to perfect, Michael Cera-levels of awkwardness. Why this should stick out in my mind I don’t know, but the weirdness this was injecting into the show was making it all the better.


By the time Treetop Flyers come to the end of their performance, I had rarely seen such a strong sing-along to a support act, with the half-filled venue erupting with an enthusiastic rendition of the band’s apparent refrain of “Roses in the Yard” (I would later discover the lyrics were “Rose is in the Yard”, but the two are acoustically indistinguishable).

With that, the Treetop Flyers’ set was no more than half an hour long, yet the bands songwriting aptitude was very clear. Although the band play a brand of music that is yet to attract a strong following in the UK, should the band continue and tour further-field around the country, they are likely to attract a strong underground following in the years to come.

Ultimately, the support had set the bar high for the truly American band that walked onto the stage half an hour afterwards. Dr. Dog, a five piece from the traditionally hip-hop dominated Philadelphia, picked up their instruments and jumped straight into Stranger, their lead single from latest album Shame, Shame (2010). Slightly more upbeat and overdriven than the band’s signature sound, it’s almost as if it was written especially to kick the (by now full to capacity) venue into action. And boy do they get the crowd bobbing, nodding and singing along to the tune.


Without delay, Dr. Dog launched right into their second, more laid back, single, Shadow People, and the band’s secret is already laid bare. The band shares lead singing duties between bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicken, with approximately half the songs written and consequently sung by one another. Attracting comparisons to Lennon/McCartney, this partnership is certainly a strong one. Variation in vocal style between songs, with Toby singing strong raspy vocals and Scott using his larger range and lighter voice to great effect, means that the band’s strong melodies are consistently interesting to the ear, adding to their almost insidious level of catchyness.

Describing the sound that the band generates live is just as hard as describing its albums. Many music journalists are quick to level an inevitable (positive or negative) resemblance to The Beatles, yet the only close similarities are the oft-running basslines that Toby Leaman generates and the close harmonies that punctuates the band’s choruses, bridges and, often, verses. Yet, at other times the Dr. Dog’s sound is clearly influenced by country, with banjos standing out in some album tracks and soulful, semi-religious imagery punctuating the band’s lyrics alongside description of small town life, especially on the band’s 2008 Fate album. However, live the band is much less rootsy, and is much more aggressive with its delivery.


As the band continue to rattle through its set, they stick mainly to tunes from its last two albums, the latter which was obviously designed for touring, capturing more of the band’s raw power and less flowery production. This is not to say that the band’s live sound is like-for-like with its latest album. Over the course of an hour the band slowly ramps up the overdrive and the gusto behind their performance. Indeed, one of the highlights of the night was Later, a track that actually comes across as one of their simplest and, dare I say it, worst from their latest album, but it works incredibly well live, acting as a punky, psychedelic crescendo.

It would be nice to hear some older tracks by the band, such as guitar solo favourite Alaska off 2007 album We All Belong. However, although Dr. Dog appears more interested in keeping its live playlist as up to date. Even two year old songs have often received a facelift, with Army of Ancients, now playing the role of a chill out number, with guitars and drums resembling Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross. Nevertheless, the band’s songwriting (and often storytelling) has come leaps and bounds. Songs such as Shame, Shame and Jackie Wants a Black Eye may tell stories close to home for the band, but the sentiments of loss, regret and starting over are understood the world over. Performed very tightly live, with new drummer Eric Slick expertly matching the drum parts, the enthusiastic singing from the audience testified that their narratives were not lost in translation across the Atlantic.


The only real criticism that can be levelled at the live sound of the band is the volume of different instruments in the mix. Keyboards were ludicrously quiet at times, and many luscious piano parts indiscernible through the overly-loud drums and bass. Even vocals were quiet at times, with Scott and Toby visually belting out the tunes but the PA system not obliging to make their words clearer to the audience.

Nevertheless, as the end of the gig approaches the interchange between Toby-led and Scott-led songs continues. Only needing to sing half of the tunes each, with the odd backing vocal, each singer’s voice is as strong at the end as it was at the start. Zach Miller, on lead guitar throughout, provides clear backing vocals to every song to perfection. Shame he hasn’t written any songs for himself to sing.

After taking the audience on a musical journey, from highs to lows, from lyrical despair to hope, how better than to finish the brief encore on a jolly yet depressing song? The band aggressively thrash out My Friend, imploring all to “keep up with the living / you’ll soon enough be dead” as we’re “heading for the same disaster”. The band’s bittersweet lyrics cleverly pull on the emotions just as the band leaves the stage we are left to continue our lives.

Ultimately, although far from perfect, Dr. Dog’s London gig gave tremendous insight into a band that thrives on creativity and providing a different experience between their album and live performances. Shorter than other gigs they have been known to play in the States, almost two hours with the Dr. was certainly long enough to provide a short-term fix for my urge to see the band live.

Let’s hope they return to the UK soon though, I feel a second dose would do wonders.

Rating:


Free downloads:
Treetop Flyers - Mountain Song
Dr. Dog - Take me into town

Apologies for my relative absence. Have been very busy with a wide range of things, from dissertations, to travel, job hunting (still ongoing), songwriting and other shenanigans. Compared with my esteemed co-bloggers, this has made my contribution appear somewhat lacking.

Nevertheless, I hope to make up for my lack of posting with a few reviews the wide range of music gigs I have also recently been going to (or are soon to go to). Starting with a quick review of Dr. Dog's latest UK gig (which happened a few months ago tbh), I will continue in order, ending with Delta Spirit's forthcoming UK gig, and maybe even throw in a few MP3s of some obscure/interesting tunes by said bands for your listening.

So, starting tomorrow, check out the following reviews:

1. Dr. Dog & Treetop Flyers
26.05.10 @ The London Cargo

2. Muse, Editors, Band of Skulls & Pulled Apart by Horses
4.09.10 @ Lancashire Cricket Ground (Manchester)

3. Old Crow Medicine Show & Dave Rawlings Machine (feat. John Paul Jones)
14.09.10 @ The Leeds Irish Centre

4. Lime Scurvy & others
19.09.10 @ Otley Folk Festival

5. Delta Spirit, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Zenemans & Plastic Poets
22.09.10 @ The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

Finally, slightly delayed due to a slow computer, Out of Place is mixed, mastered and ready for release in mp3 format!* In the making since October 2008, I'm glad to finally get it out there. Send me a message via facebook (or the comments) to tell me what you think of it.

Click here to download the whole album in one easy zip file (recommended, as a number of the songs segue into one another).

Or, right click the links below to download the songs individually.

1. What I learned by rote
2. Do me like that
3. Mountains outta' molehills
4. Uncanny Valley
5. What goes around
6. Down below
7. Sometimes
8. No longer playing the fool
9. Walk away
10. Little more
11. Sometimes (reprise)
12. In another life
13. Square one

Last, but not least, here is the final album artwork for both the front and the back.

Front

Back

Once again, loads of thanks to Daniel for providing the incredible drumming and stay tuned for music from Cosmo Duff Gordon in the future.

*CDs will also be available soon. Enquire within.

Those of you out there reading this blog may, or may not, know that me and Daniel have been preparing a musical treat over the past year and a half. Under the moniker Cosmo Duff Gordon I have written around about 20 songs since my last effort ("Get up and go"), and whittled it down to the best 13 for free release this Sunday (13.6.10).

This time I have combined my efforts with Daniel on drums and am particularly pleased with the result. Spanning a number of rock genres, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. The best I can describe it is as a mix of Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Be Bop Deluxe, Dr. Dog, Elton John and David Bowie. But, even then, each song is quite different to the last. What I do know is that Out of place is the best album I have put together thus far, so it's hopefully worth a listen or two!

How to get your hands on the album:
- Come back to this blog for details on how to download the album
- Or check out the band's myspace or lastfm page to stream the album & for more details. "What goes around", one of the tracks from the new album is already available to stream on the myspace so check it out.