1969

A little Music Update for you, just a quickie, nothing that will take up too much of your time but that will undoubtedly give great pleasure to some of you, and which seems, from where I'm sitting, important and well-placed here. 

No, it's not about my latest obsession (Plan B) but my longterm love (Sinatra & Jobim). Some of you faithfull followers will remember many posts ago my ode to ye that art great (Sinatra, Jobim and mein Papa). Now we have the next chapter of that story:

Yes, last year, a mere forty-one years after it was recorded and forty years after it was pulled from the shelves by eager fans, Sinatra/Jobim can finally be heard as it was intended to be. Trust me when I say, it’s so been worth the wait. 1969 was indeed a very good year. Barnes & Noble put it rather nicely in their Review right here.

There's a time and a place for Plan B, but some days, some moments, only Francis Albert will do.

keely & louis

He's larger than life, and she just steals the show (click here to see what I mean). They're funny, talented, romantic, sexy and yes, it's all just a bit old-fashioned darling, isnt' it?  But who can do modern/contemporary all the time? Not me. This warms my heart and makes me feel more alive than Justin and Madonna. From the incomparable That Old Black Magic to my own favourite, All Night Long. How can you not love Louis Prima and his gorgeous then-wife Keely Smith?

Goodnight and sweet dreams.
Oh God! I almost forgot THIS one!!!!

herb ritts moment

...not quite Herb Ritts but you get my drift. I took this photo of Ben in the summer and when I saw it in black and white I instantly started singing Madonna's 1989 song 'Cherish', much to my husband's intense embarassment. Watch the video to remind yourself of 3 things:

1) how fantastic Madge used to look with some meat on her,

2) what a cool song this is

3) and what an absolute stylemaster Herb Ritts was.

Do you love it?

about a voice

For some time now I've been catching a song on the radio and each time I hear it my ears prick up in serious appreciation. I've been asking myself who on earth that voice could belong to so my mind went a wondering: it sounded so Willie-Nelson-like and there was a bit of the Neil Young about it too, so I kind of figured it was some weird, old, American country singer (LOVE those guys, by the way) and something in his pronunciation even indicated that he might not have all of his front teeth. Not an attractive image you'll agree, but even if my mystery singer turned out to be the ageing toothless wonder of my wild imagination I wouldn't care, because the voice got me right where it hurts and where it matters. A voice can do that. This morning whilst driving, I heard the song again and decided that this was the day I would solve the mystery. Found him. He's got all his teeth, he's younger than me (huff and puff), and he's just a bit gorgeous. But all that really doesn't matter a jot because it's the voice and the words that I fell in love with. Ooooh... the beginning of this song is just heartbreaking. Listen and tell me about it.... (a tip: listen without looking first - look only when listening a second time. Trust me, click on the link, close your eyes and just listen). Speaking of Willie Nelson, there's something pretty cool about the picture above, right?

Sinatra

This post is another one of those that's been waiting for its turn quietly, patiently. I've always known it had to be written, yet even now as I type purposefully, I'm not quite sure where exactly it will go. All I know is that one thing always leads to another and that's what makes writing like this so darn interesting.

My father's voice is just as familiar to me as that of Sinatra. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say. But it's true. Ever since I can remember (and my first memories go back to when I was 2 years old - so I remember lots) Ol' Blue Eyes has been our solid companion through thick and thin and I often wonder whether my dad would have been the person he is, had he not been such a lifelong passionate admirer of Sinatra's - in fact I'm sure that Sinatra is as much part of him as we are. And what a wonderful passion to have.

Do you know that by some amazing coincidence, Ava Gardner ended up being our neighbour for all those years when we lived in London's Ennismore Gardens? I think that all these elements: my father's music echoing over the garden square, me in the garden pretending I was Alice in Wonderland complete with my very own Cheshire Cat (his name was Ali and he was in fact a Siamese), Ava and her dogs next door looking down from her first floor balcony, the magnificence of the location (Ennismore Gardens is one of London's most beautiful squares) and the intensely happy times spent there, really make this my most treasured childhood memory. But back to the Man and his Music. I won't even try to describe the quality of Frank's voice as firstly you'll surely know how amazing it is yourself, and secondly it's just downright impossible - to me it's the most perfect singing voice I have ever heard and the effortlessness of his delivery is staggering, song after song after song. So in my quest to recognise my father's huge influence, and to pay tribute to this unique vocalist and perfomer, here is one of my own favourites. Genius, style and elegance all presented to perfection in this rare 1967 footage of Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. I dare you to listen to this and NOT get goosebumps. When you get to the last song you'll be swaying, I know you will.

For those of you interested in further education there is the official Sinatra site and of course the very informative Wikipedia to consult. What I strongly recommend though is that you simply take some time to listen to The Voice, it'll tell you everything you need to know.