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Book Review: Cities of Angels
by Lang Reid
There is an unfortunate tendency for people to look down on self-published
books. This is not a valid reason, as there have been many best-sellers that
were initially rejected by many of the ‘renowned’ publishing houses. That an
author might decide just to self-publish from the beginning, rather than run
the time consuming gamut of petulant publishers, is more than
understandable. Of course, with nobody ‘adjudicating’, it might be rubbish,
but I have read many books from accepted publishers that were also fine
examples of literary waste.
Against that background, I read Cities of Angels, self published by Charlie
Herald this year (ISBN 974-93957-8-6), wondering into which basket this
publication would go, particularly as he has even published some of his
reject notices!
Author Charlie Herald takes the reader on what he asserts are true
adventures (but he is Irish and certain leeways have to be given Irish
bards) between his three cities of angels – Los Angeles and Bangkok (which
we have all heard of) and Ballycastle in Ireland (somewhere that 99 percent
of us have not heard of).
The short chapters begin in the American city of angels, with Charlie victim
of an LA mugging, despite thinking of himself as ten foot tall and
bullet-proof. He wasn’t.
He then slips into the role of the newcomer to Thailand, having come over to
meet up with his father, and the heady nocturnal flights of fancy that seem
to be the norm for all tyros in town. Following his father and his own
testosterone fuelled carrot he meets amateurs and professionals and is
ripped off by every one of them. Author Charlie tells it all, without
prompting or the need for a consecrated confessional.
Being almost some sort of travel journal, Charlie also takes the reader to
KL and a trip up the Petronas towers and then through to Phuket for an
encore of endless drinks at endless bars, with endless women, though by this
stage he had become wise to the “fraudulent adulations from the beautiful
bordello holding their hand.” He indulges in self-examination after his two
weeks in the Kingdom, “But I still felt caterpillarish despite butterflying
throughout Thailand.” A condition that many long stay expats never grow out
of.
Like a good storyteller, and Irish at that, Charlie comes across with many
‘bon mots’, such as describing a visit by some Japanese tourists to Casanova
in Nana Plaza, a hangout of transvestites and transsexuals. “We finally
managed to calm down at the same time our Japanese entertainment realized
their Penis de Milo hosts were still a work in progress.” I particularly
enjoyed his name for the rapacious taxi driver in Malaysia, “The Lord of the
Ringgits”.
Hark the Herald angels sing – Charlie Herald is a true Irish storyteller so
let’s hope Charlie’s angels remain in fine voice for the sales of an
interesting book. It’s no Finnegans Wake and Charlie Herald is no James
Joyce, but it was an easy read, and did bring a smile to this reviewer at
least. If you cannot find the book through normal bookshops, you can contact
the author at [email protected].
Mott’s CD review: David Gilmour
On An Island
By Mott the Dog
Dazzed by Meow the Cat
 5
Stars *****
Monday 6th March 2006 was a milestone day in the life of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
It was David Gilmour’s 60th birthday, the day he chose to release his
third album under his own name ‘On An Island’. His first solo album for
eighteen years, and his first significant studio recording since he
recorded with his old band ‘Pink Floyd’ their swansong album ‘The
Division Bell’ in 1994.
The results are staggering, easily the best solo album to be recorded by
a Pink Floyd member as a solo artist including his own two solo efforts
‘David Gilmour’ (1978) and ‘About Face’ (1984). There was also a live
DVD and video put out.
The first two David Gilmour solo works are fine albums, with some good
songs, including the first glimmerings of ‘Comfortably Numb’. But space
is made for the actual song structures leaving little room for David
Gilmour’s shimmering guitar work.
Pink Floyd solo albums have never really caught the public’s imagination
until now. Pink Floyd’s first leader, songwriter and guitarist Syd
Barrett left the band in some mental disarray in 1968. He released two
solo albums, ‘The Madcap Laughs’ and ‘Syd Barrett’, both in 1970, which
are best summed up by the title of the first album. It would be kinder
not to mention drummer Nick Mason’s forays into solo work. Richard
Wright has released three solo albums, the first released just after
Roger Waters had kicked the founding member and keyboard player out of
his own band, ‘Wet Dream’ (1978), which while it has its musical moments
is an understandably bitter album. In 1984 Richard Wright released
‘Zee-Identity’ in collaboration with Dave Harris. Then in 1996 we were
presented with ‘Broken China’, a much happier affair. Roger Waters’
albums are all a matter of opinion. ‘The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking’
(1986), ‘Radio K.A.O.S’ (1987) and ‘Amused To Death’ (1992) and this
year we have been supplied with an album of opera music under the Waters
banner of ‘Ca Ira’. Whatever you think of any of the solo Floyd albums,
none of them have exactly set the charts alight, until now.
David Gilmour joined ‘Pink Floyd’ in 1968 when Syd Barrett was becoming
just a little too spaced out to work with. Since then he has worked on
eleven (if you count the studio half of Ummagumma) studio albums by the
band, although his contributions to ‘The Final Cut’ (1983) were minimal,
as well as two magnificent soundtrack albums.
The first six albums were all group collaborations (after the first
album without Gilmour was definitely a Barrett effort), including the
classics ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ (1973) and ‘Wish You were Here’
(1975). By the following album, ‘Animals’ (1977), Roger Waters had
rather taken over the band, and although ‘Animals’ is a fine album with
some excellent guitar from David Gilmour, the themes were all Roger
Waters. By the time of ‘The Wall’ in 1980 Roger Waters was the complete
leader of the band dictating every move including the removal of Richard
Wright, who was kept on for the Wall tour as a session musician. Mind
you the best two songs on the album were co-written by David Gilmour,
‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Run Like Hell’, which featured some of David
Gilmour’s finest guitar work and vocals. ‘The Final Cut’ was recorded
under the ‘Pink Floyd’ banner but was a Roger Waters solo album in all
but name. David Gilmour played the guitar he was told to, Nick Mason did
not even play all the drums, and Richard Wright had long gone.
In 1985 Roger Waters declared the demise of Pink Floyd and the
commencement of his solo career, it never occurring to him that the
others might carry on without him. But after a quick breather that’s
exactly what they did. Gilmour and Mason quickly recalled Wright, and
now with Gilmour firmly at the helm of the good ship Pink Floyd, the
greatest Space Rock band in history started off on another journey where
no man has gone before under its third captain.
Of course there were then many tedious court battles as to whether Pink
Floyd could continue without Roger Waters and who owned what, far too
many to go into here, but suffice to say that the Gilmour led Pink Floyd
released two studio albums, ‘A Momentary Lapse Of Reason’ (1987) and
‘Division Bell’ (1994), both of which topped the charts all over the
world whilst the tours sold out all across the face of the planet, and
any other planet that would have them. Two double CD live albums were
released to celebrate each tour, ‘Delicate Sound Of Thunder’ (1998) and
‘Pulse’ (1994), which also went number one across the oceans, finally
ending up triple platinum sales, and will only be officially released as
an extended DVD this year twelve years after the event. Meanwhile, Roger
Waters career went slowly down a black hole, with ever decreasing crowd
attendances at concerts and dwindling album sales.
Hatchets did get buried long enough for Pink Floyd to reunite (without
Syd) for an appearance at Live 8 last year to play 4 songs (you cannot
count ‘Speak To Me’). But any thought of a complete reunion tour or new
Pink Floyd recordings are the mere pipe dreams of the fanciful.
But here we have ten tracks from David Gilmour that could be in all but
name the follow up to ‘The Division Bell’. David Gilmour has surrounded
himself with some of his musical friends and come up with an absolute
corker of an album. The album has gone straight into the international
charts at number one and long may it stay there.
Track by Track, the album opens up with an instrumental, ‘Castellorizon’
(“what else” as Basil Fawlty would say), which drifts in with ambient
sounds, leading us into a beautiful languid David Gilmour guitar, where
the notes pour out like liquid gold; pure magic.
The title track features the gentle harmonies of David Crosby and Graham
Nash, before a big guitar finish. ‘The Blue’ rather sets the tone for
the album leading us away from Pink Floyd and into the blues. ‘Take a
Breath’ is a fully fledged rock song with the whole band wigging out
over the riff with Gilmour’s guitar excelling. ‘Red Sky At Night’ is a
heavily orchestrated instrumental with a lot of the credit going to the
orchestration skills of Zbigniew Preisner and the production work of
Chris Thomas and Phil Manzanera. It is also the first track that David
Gilmour has ever played Saxophone on.
‘This Heaven’ is almost touching rhythm and blues territory, with the
band giving David Gilmour plenty of space to show off what a great blues
guitarist he is. There is also a stunning cameo organ solo from sixties
star Georgie Fame. ‘Then I Close My Eyes’ leads us back into slightly
more familiar Floydish material, part of its charm comes from David
Gilmour playing a cumbus, a six stringed Turkish instrument resembling a
banjo.
For ‘Smile’ the mood stays quiet but uplifting, and for someone who
likes Pink Floyd music this could put a smile on your face. ‘A Pocketful
Of Stones’ is the album’s central piece around which the album is built
and could come straight from ‘The Divisional Bell’ itself; another great
guitar work out number.
‘Where We Start’ in the cyclical nature of this set piece of an album is
borne out by the title of this album closer. David Gilmour wrote all the
lyrics, and plays all the instruments apart from the drums, very apt.
On six of the songs, as in ‘The Division Bell’, David Gilmour is helped
in the lyrical flow by his partner Polly Samson who gives the lyrics a
very poetic feel. ‘On An Island’ is given an extra Pink Floyd touch by
Richard Wright appearing on some of the tracks. There are many other
star musicians and friends on the album including B.J. Cole, Chris
Stainton, Willie Weekes, Robert Wyatt, Jools Holland, and Andy Newmark,
but all in all this is a David Gilmour album, and what’s more David
Gilmour at his very best. ‘On An Island’ must finally put David Gilmour
up there with his peers Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck as one of the
greatest rock guitarists on the planet.
The David Gilmour Band has already started the European leg of their
tour from March 10th through to some North American dates finishing on
May 31st. Wisely leaving behind blow up pigs and dancing laser shows,
and concentrating on the music instead, naturally there will be a lot of
songs from ‘On An Island’ played but leaving room for plenty of old
favourites. But if you have not already got a ticket, you’re too late as
all the shows are sold out.
Songs
Castellorizon
On An Island
The Blue
Take a Breath
Red Sky At Night
This Heaven
Then I Close My Eyes
Smile
A Pocketful Of Stones
Where we Start
To contact Mott the
Dog email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.mott-the-dog.com
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