HAPPENINGS 47 YEARS TIME AGO

Released in 1966, the incendiary first single by The Yardbirds is the shape of things to come.

The power and glory of the tune anticipates the earth-shattering albums by Led Zeppelin, not surprising when you learn that it features Jimmy Page on telecaster guitar and, then-session man, John Paul Jones on bass.

The camera work for the performance on a 60s pop show is all over the place, so there are no direct shots of the two lead guitarists (the other one just happens to be Jeff Beck!).

The only heads we see are singer  Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty  (Page can be spotted in the background).

Astonishingly, many Yardbirds compilation albums , including the misnamed Ultimate Collection, don’t feature this amazing song although a great review by The Seth Man at Julian Cope’s Head Heritage helps ensure that it is not a forgotten classic

THE GUITAR HERO SUMMIT

THIS MIGHT GET LOUD directed by Davis Guggenheim (USA, 2009)

This is a film that celebrates three well established guitar heroes – Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page.

See if you can match the following quotes with each;

• “When you start to treat the sound, you start to invoke location”.
• “People know when it’s fake”
• “I never wanted to play the guitar ………. what’s the point?”

THE GREAT GATSBY : THE NOVEL

THE GREAT GATSBY by F.Scott Fitzgerald (1926)

I have spent my adult  life feeling less than open-minded towards this novel.

I attempted to read it on two previous occasions but something about the glamorous exterior and privileged lifestyle it depicts made me think that this was not for me.

I have finally completed it, overcoming what I now realise was a wholly misplaced  prejudice.

I haven’t seen the movie adaptations so I read it without knowing Gatsby’s fate. If you are one of the minority who don’t know the story, this post contains spoilers so you should look away now.

YOGA IN THE PARK

This was a civilised (and healthy) way to end a busy working week. The local council in my home town of Cesena in Emilia-Romagna have sponsored a series of free initiatives to encourage people to get out and engage in gentle physical activity. They have proved very popular.

You can do tai chi, go on organised walks and tonight I joined about 150 others for an hour and a half of light yoga.

Getting my ageing limbs into some of the poses was nigh on impossible,  but since there were all ages and sizes I didn’t feel embarrassed. A very relaxing way to spend a warm evening.

It’s officially summer!

BOWIE IS STILL OUT THERE

The best line from the David Bowie documentary produced and directed by Francis Whately is from guitarist Earl Slick who said of the Station To Station period :  “It was out there – out there worked”. 

Bowie described himself as “one man against the world” and the film shows him as a collector of images and styles leaving it to other people to interpret what it all means.