SPARKS - Two Hands, One Mouth

Live at The Trocadero, Philadelphia PA

& Highline Ballroom NYC

April 24 / 25 2013

By Madeline Bocaro

The name of Sparks' current tour, Two Hands, One Mouth is anatomically correct. Ron and Russell Mael are using only these respective body parts to bring you the entire Sparks experience. Any less, and it would be the sound of one hand clapping. Any more would be too ordinary. The Mael brothers are constantly picking up and dispensing with instruments and band members. This time, they've purged everything and everyone.

Could it still be dynamic? Would it sound complete? Could they pull it off? Would we be wondering, 'Where did the groove go?' The answers are yes, yes, yes and NO! Like a brilliant actor losing himself in a role, Russell interprets the songs so intensely that you do not even realize that there is no band. Ron's keyboard playing is all encompassing. Their minimalist approach remains interesting, because Sparks' extraordinary compositions are filled with hundreds of notes and multitudes of words. The brilliant lyrics are now clearly in the spotlight, receiving their deserved accolades.

Sparks – the original synth duo, who brought us No. 1 In Heaven thirty-plus years ago, has gone back to basics. They have even dispensed with the cumbersome synthesizers of yore, while their contradictory copycats are touring with full bands these days!

The real trick is to span their entire catalog, and make it come alive in its purest form. In many ways, they are working much harder, proving that 'less is more'! The tour started in Lithuania, then travelled to Japan, Europe and culminated with ten shows in America. Audience reactions were wildly spectacular. The dynamic of Ron and Russell's personalities is integral to their music and endearing to their fans.

In their first East Coast appearances in more than ten years (since their 2002 Lil' Beethoven show in Central Park), Sparks played in Philadelphia (4/24) and in New York City (4/25).

Russell must have swallowed some magic beans right before each performance.  His voice was full and flawless - as glorious as ever. First, Ron appeared onstage alone to play an overture medley of iconic moments from many Sparks' songs that we all know and love. Russell also announced, '…some songs from our opera, The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman.' We were all invited to 'The Wedding of Jacqueline Kennedy To Russell Mael'. We heard gems from Propaganda, Indiscreet, Lil' Beethoven, Hello Young Lovers and many others from their twenty-two albums.

During 'Beat The Clock', Russell briefly took over keyboard duties. Ron emerged front and center, and with Two Feet, Two Legs, he erupted into his infamous shuffle dance, to everyone's delight.

The sold out New York City show surpassed all expectations. The sound of thousands of hands and mouths clapping and screaming for an encore filled the venue. The finale was a song titled after the name of the tour, which 'satisfied' everyone.

The promise that they would be back again soon was the icing on the cake!  Good night, that's all.

 

 

 

BOWIE - THE NEXT DAY

Album review by Madeline Bocaro

We can be Heroes just for one day

Just one classic Bowie line, besides 'I am gay'

For so long he has been away

So many years with nothing to say

Then he went to sleep one night

It took a long time to see the light

Awakening after 30 years with a beard

He finds that he is still quite weird

The same old questions are still on his mind

Where Are We Now? and Who am I?

Such beautiful weirdness

What goes on in his mind?

Visconti & Slick and some cool bits of sax

And at last, Queen Bitch is back

Every great Bowie era is mixed together

Raw as nerves and plush as leather

All of his best voices are back in the cast

Bursts of newness and blasts from the past

Rock N' Roll Suicide in Heartbreak Hotel

Five Years, end of the world and Droogs as well

Weird tempos and sounds – not sure what he's saying

The perils of fame and cities decaying

The boy keeps swinging

Our ears keep ringing

He's got something to say

In his own cryptic way

What's he talking about? We don't know

Mishima did not have a dog

And peacocks don't like snow

His life has flashed before his eyes

Not quite dying and no disguise

Not much has changed

Bowie is still strange

And for what it's all worth

He is still here on Earth

Welcome back David

Hope you're here to stay

Wishing you the best for the next, and another day! 

Adam Ant – Up To His Old ANTics!

Live in New York City

Best Buy Theater, October 6, 2012

By Madeline Bocaro

Adam & The Ants were the last breath of fresh air just before Punk became mainstream, just as the 80s kicked in. The Ants' schematic was solidarity of the underdog - tribes of little worker ants, gathered as one big whole, following the band and gathering strength from the music. Here we are, all grown up now, but still kids at heart…forever faithful to our hero.

I kept a 20-year long promise to my idol – that I would be front and center if he ever played in New York again. He did, and I was!! Just the fact that Adam is now healthy was good enough, but that he actually made it to the (sold out!) show after an 8-month postponement - and blew us all away, was a dream come true!!

The giant Adam Ant logo banner was floor to ceiling. Chills arose when I saw the two drum kits with bass drums labeled 'Adam' and 'Ant'!!! Then Adam started his 30-song set. YES 30!!!! The crowd wasn't quite as colorful as in the old days of Ant mania. There were a few streaks of war paint, and a girl who looked like Bride of Dracula. But everyone was really psyched, and sang along to every song. 

Adam looked divine in his huge pirate hat and boots, with the finest plumage, buccaneer style jacket (his original, worn by the actor David Hemmings in the 1968 film The Charge of the Light Brigade, is encased in a glass exhibit at the O2 in England). Puss In Boots meets Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow (the look he stole from Adam to begin with!) A thin moustache and nerdy eyeglasses completed the ensemble. A leather fanny pouch at the back most likely contained his pirate reading glasses - for those old sea scrolls and messages in bottles. Under a white button-down shirt he wore a t-shirt bearing the image of his younger self. He still has all of his suave dance moves going on!

The opener was 'Plastic Surgery', which he has not had, or needed. As the two drum sets kicked in, our heartbeats doubled in time. The set included many Kings of the Wild Frontier songs, but it was a thrill to hear so many older songs, as well as the obligatory 80s hits. Adam's band, The Good, The Mad and The Lovely Posse, was great – one of the drummers, Yola Rodowicz resembled a Beehive Barbie doll, all in white sequins. The guitarist was no Marco Pirroni, but the songs still sounded incredible.

Adam removed his glasses once - for his 'only love song', 'Wonderful'. He introduced 'Whip In My Valise' as a precursor to Fifty Shades of Gray (true, Adam is a very sick puppy, and his early material could have been compiled in an album titled Fifty Shades of Ant.)

'Vince Taylor' is a great new song from his upcoming double album (Adam Ant is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter - January 2013). For you kids out there, British born Taylor was a popular rock singer in the late 1950s / early 1960s, raised in America. He eventually went insane. Taylor was the inspiration behind David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character. His most popular song was 'Brand New Cadillac', covered by the Clash.

Adam surprised us with 'Fat Fun' in the encore, T. Rex's 'Get It On' and his classic 'You're So Physical' (the faster version!)

Set List:

Plastic Surgery / Dog Eat Dog / Beat My Guest / Kick / Car Trouble / Ants Invasion / Deutscher Girls / Stand And Deliver / Room At The Top / Kings of the Wild Frontier / Wonderful / Whip In My Valise / Vince Taylor / Strip / Desperate But Not Serious / Cleopatra / Never Trust A Man With Egg on his Face / Zerox / Ant Music / Goody Two Shoes / Vive Le Rock / Christian Dior / Lady / Fall In / Prince Charming / Encore: Fat Fun / Get It On / You're So Physical

FAITHFULLY FAB!

Marianne Faithfull

City Winery, New York City – December 19, 2011

By Madeline Bocaro

 

On the second night of her sold-out three-night residence at City Winery, Marianne Faithfull told many interesting stories about her fascinating life, and about each song that she sang. The best one was, "Something happened last night, and I woke up a star!" Marianne is still in disbelief of her celebrity. She is both pleased and embarrassed to be this 'pop creature' as stated in her autobiography.

 

How often do we get to see a true legend these days? Most are no longer with us, or rarely perform. Despite the odds, Marianne Faithfull, It Girl is STILL IT! She is our Billie Holiday, and she has survived her ultra hip and decadent past.

 

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards gave her 'As Tears Go By'. She gave the Rolling Stones 'Sister Morphine'. 'What am I doing in this place? Why does the doctor have no face?' When parents were warned to keep their daughters away from the Stones in the 1960s, nobody warned the Stones about the perils hidden beneath the sheer beauty of young Marianne!

 

Throughout her career, sweet ballads of the 60s converged with covers of jazz, blues, pop, rock and European classics. She also collaborated with many iconic writers on her own tunes. Her young, ethereal voice was transformed (some would say destroyed) in the mid 70s from drug abuse and throat problems… but really, this was her big break - and it suited her much better!

 

Marianne's love of music is deep and passionate. She introduced each song with utmost praise, respectfully naming each songwriter (though sometimes forgetting), and introduced own compositions with pride. Marianne persuasively imbued each song with her own essence, becoming the central character of each one. There were ghosts, young innocent girls, crestfallen women, a flower child, soldiers, drug addicts – and she was all of them. A delicate combination of trash and elegance.

 

Marianne's ragged beauty imparts her legend. Her voice has aged like fine wine over decades. Her low register conveys the sorrow of the songs. Lovely cracks, creaks and warbles emanate as she perfectly hits the higher notes with pure emotion. A flawless voice cannot achieve this, nor take us to the places where Marianne takes us. Each song is a story. Every important lyric is clearly sung with a charming, sophisticated British accent. Pure joy and admiration were conveyed in the upbeat 'Prussian Blue' as Marianne lyrically described the colours of a Paris evening.

 

Marianne is timeless, funny, self-mocking and cool. She's like the kooky old aunt at your family gatherings, making holidays more fun with her humourous tales of debauchery, celebrity and survival. Chatting with the audience and rebelliously lighting endless cigarettes, she explained how she tried to quit smoking with a French hypnotist. "I understand French pretty well, but my subconscious obviously does not."

 

Faithfull's amazing band leapt from Daniel Lanois to Duke Ellington to the Stones to Roger Waters with ease. Guitarist Doug Pettibone received several ovations during 'Broken English' and 'Sister Morphine'.  The meet and greet afterwards was a special treat. I hope that some of Marianne's It-ness rubbed of on me during our hug!

 

You can play all the original songs/videos from the set-list link below.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/marianne-faithfull/2011/city-winery-new-york-ny-73d10e4d.html

 

Horses and High Heels/Brain Drain/Why Did We Have To Part?/Marathon Kiss/The Crane Wife 3 /Solitude /The Stations/Prussian Blue/There is a Ghost/Sister Morphine/Broken English/As Tears Go By/Incarceration of a Flower Child/Love Song/Strange Weather

ROXY LADIES

Roxy Ladies

By Madeline Bocaro

T

he iconic album cover artwork for Roxy Music's albums is legendary. It conjured the visual style of classic pinups and high fashion magazines, featuring stunning glamour shots of beautiful models.

Roxy Music's singer, Brian Ferry was a student of painter (and some say, the actual progenitor of Pop-art) Richard Hamilton at Newcastle University. Hamilton created the stark, minimalist cover of The Beatles (the white album in 1968). It followed up, and strikingly contrasted Sgt. Pepper's psychedelic cover bursting with colour. Hamilton's philosophy was, "Pop Art should be popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamourous and big business." According to Bryan Ferry, "Most LP covers of the time (1960s and 1970s) had the group standing in an alleyway, looking very sullen and moody." The Roxy Music covers changed all of that.

 Roxy Music 1972

Roxy Music's debut album and its infamous cover artwork were apparently completed before the group signed with Island Records. Island boss Chris Blackwell at first seemed unimpressed with the band, but when he glanced at the album cover images at Island's offices, he said, "Looks great! Have we got them signed yet?" The band signed with Island a few days later. Roxy's first LP was released in June to good reviews and was a major success. It reached No. 10 on the UK album chart in September 1972.

The first Roxy cover gatefold model was Kari-Ann Muller. She came to London from Cornwall aged 18, and her career was at its peak when her agent set her up with the Roxy Music shoot. Kari-Ann was the original Roxy Girl. She's one of the few models who didn't date Bryan Ferry. Bryan based the photo on a glamour shot of movie icon Rita Hayworth.

The first album was dedicated to Susie, a drummer who auditioned for Roxy Music in the early days. The photographer, Karl Stoecker also shot the two Kimono clad geishas on the cover of the Sparks album Kimono My House the same year.

In 1974 Kari-Ann appeared on Mott The Hoople's The Hoople album cover. She also appeared in Bryan Ferry's video for "You Go To My Head" from his solo album Let's Stick Together in 1975. (Her Roxy cover hangs over the fireplace in the video). Kari-Ann eventually gave up modeling and a short-lived acting career. She now lives in Highgate, teaching yoga, with her five sons and her husband of 20 years, Mick Jagger's brother, Chris.

From Q Magazine:

"Bryan saw me doing a fashion show and decided he wanted to use me," recalls Kari-Ann Muller, the glamour puss starlet of Roxy Music's debut album cover. She knew Antony Price, Roxy's designer, and Karl Stoecker, who was taking the photo, "and I thought it would be fun. I got a meager £20, as Roxy were unknown at the time, and had no money. Ironic, isn't it, that it would be voted the best record cover of the decade? It always seems to be flashing up on TV for some reason. But it was great watching them being turned from boys next door into superstars."

She loved the album, "especially lyrics like "I would put roses round your door", that kind of stuff, it was so beautiful. I really liked them a lot."

Muller admits the assignment had no drastic effect on her career. She landed parts in the Joan Collins trashflick The Bitch and George Lazenby's only Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, before giving birth to two boys. She later worked at the Black Theatre Of Brixton where she met Chris "Brother Of Mick" Jagger, now her second husband. She carried on fashion modelling, had two more boys and juggled full-time motherhood with kindergarten teaching and studying yoga.

As for modelling, "I was with the Deja' Vu agency for the glamorous over-forties, but unfortunately that kind of work hasn't caught on." She admits she hasn't looked at the Roxy sleeve for a while, but the memory makes her smile.

The image itself, she explains, was created by herself and Price: "He did the hair and dress and I just got out there and did what I felt. How would I describe it? It was very glamorous, very sexy, or at least I felt that way. "It was very ... ice-creamy, in a way. The colours remind me of a marshmallow, like something really delicious. Fleshy, in a word" Someone to be eaten? "No! I felt like I could eat somebody up myself. I felt strong enough to take someone on."

For Your Pleasure 1973

Amanda Lear was the cover model on For Your Pleasure.  Not only did she model for Paco Rabanne, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Mary Quant and Ossie Clark, but Amanda was the confidante, protégée and mistress of the Spanish painter Salvador Dali. Amanda was romantically linked to Brian Jones, which resulted in the ironic Rolling Stones song "Miss Amanda Jones", on the 1967 album Between the Buttons.

In 1973, Amanda posed in a skintight leather dress leading a black panther on a leash on the cover of For Your Pleasure. The lights of Las Vegas light the night, and Ferry is her limo driver. Amanda had an affair with David Bowie, and was the emcee of his 1980 Floor Show in 1984. In 1975 she became a disco singer. In 1977 she posed nude for Playboy. Despite her nude modeling, there are rumours that Amanda was born a man by the name of Alain Tapp and that she is a transsexual. Joanna Lumley, who plays Patsy Stone in the television comedy Absolutely Fabulous, has confirmed repeatedly that the character Patsy Stone was loosely based on the mysterious life story of a certain A. Lear.

Cover concept: Bryan Ferry. Art Direction: Nicholas De ville. Artwork: CCS. Wardrobe, make-up: Antony Price. Hair: Smile.

Stranded 1973 

Playboy Playmate Marilyn Cole appeared on the third album cover, Stranded. She was a Playboy bunny in London in 1972 - 1973. Marilyn married the president of Playboy Enterprises, Victor Lownes in 1984. We are to wonder how this city woman arrived in the jungle. A plane crash perhaps? Her makeup was by Pierre LaRoche who also styled The Rocky Horror Picture Show, David Bowie, Mick and Bianca Jagger. Some photos during the shoot included Bryan Ferry lying with her, but not as ravaged. His blue eye shadow is fully intact! Cover design: Nicolas de Ville. Concept: Bryan Ferry

Country Life, 1974
The fourth Roxy Music album, Country Life, was titled in parody of the popular British magazine of the same name. It was also influenced by the seedy Christine Keeler showgirl/government scandal of 1963. (Christine Keeler actually appears alongside Mandy Smith in the promotion video for Bryan Ferry's 1987 single Kiss and Tell.) The cover photo featured two German models that Bryan had met in Portugal; Constanze Karoli (allegedly related to Michael Karoli of Can) and Eveline Grunwald. They are wearing semi-transparent lingerie, standing in front of a pine bush. In America, the album was sold in an opaque plastic wrapper when retailers refused to display the cover. Later, an alternate cover featuring just a shot of the foliage was used. According to Antony Price, They are meant to be fashion models that have run away from an estate, and caught in the headlights of a car.

Siren 1975

The most famous Roxy model is Jerry Hall - one of the original 1970s supermodels.  She began her modeling career in Paris, where she was the roommate of model/singer/actress Grace Jones. In 1975 she appeared, in the guise of a mermaid, on the cover of Siren. Her relationship with Ferry continued, and she also appeared in the video for his 1976 solo hit 'Let's Stick Together'. By 1977, Hall had been on 40 magazine covers including Italian Vogue and Cosmopolitan. That same year, she met Mick Jagger at a dinner party, for whom she would eventually leave Bryan Ferry. The Siren album cover was shot in Anglesey North Wales, near South Stack lighthouse. The tower in the background atop the cliffs is known as Ellen's Tower.

The shoot was done in a rough green sea. A blue filter was used for the overall affect.

Antony Price on styling Jerry Hall for the cover of Siren: "I was inspired by Marvel Comics. I used the wings from the character Sub-Mariner, and his wife, Lady Dorma, who is pale blue, with auburn hair. They both have winged ankles ... we put the fins on the ankles."  - nightmag..com

Manifesto – 1979

Female models are substituted by mannequins on Mainfesto. Famous shop mannequin maker Adel Rootstein was commissioned for the shoot. Kari Ann, Roxy's first album cover girl was actually the model for some of the mannequins. You can obviously tell which ones resemble her. The twins in the background are actually real people – Roxy Music fans who travelled extensively to see the band perform. The picture disc version of the album featured naked mannequins, as did the picture sleeve singles. The typography, as well as the album's title, were inspired by the first edition of Wyndham Lewis's literary magazine BLAST. Concept: Bryan Ferry. Designer: Antony Price

Flesh + Blood – 1980

Flesh + Blood features three unnamed blonde warrior nymphs preparing to throw Olympic javelins. They were unknown models hired to portray young high school athletes.

Avalon - 1982

Bryan Ferry's girlfriend (and soon-to-be wife) Lucy Helmore appeared on the cover of Avalon, wearing a medieval helmet and carrying a falcon, evoking King Arthur's last journey to the mysterious land of Avalon and continuing the tradition for Roxy Music albums to feature images of women on the cover artwork. The photograph was shot in Ireland on a lake at the home of Lucy's parents. Although it looks like sunset, the photo was actually taken at dawn.

Model Lucy Helmore eventually married Bryan Ferry in 1982 at the age of 22. Bryan was 14 years her senior. They were divorced in 2003. They have four sons; Otis, Isaac, Tara and Merlin.

Most recently, Kate moss appears on the cover of Bryan Ferry's 2010 solo album,Olympia. The photograph is based on Edouard Manaet's 1863 painting titled Olympia. Photographer Adam Whitehead on the Kate Moss photo shoot: "When Bryan approached me to shoot his new album cover I jumped at the chance, envisaging all his famous covers of the past. On the day Kate was amazing. She had in her mind exactly the character she wanted to portray 'Give me red lips, I want to be a Roxy girl' she screamed!" Bryan gave Kate a coveted autographed copy of the first Roxy Music album with Kari-Ann on the cover.