Frenchy’s Fracas

Our impressions of our second day at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam:
[Hieronymus Fox - HF; Frenchy - F]

RH Factor (Roy Hargrove)
[HF]
Couldn’t follow whatever the performance was about. The vocals weren’t that good. Mostly a ragtag set of tracks
[F]
Finally some jazz! Kept feeling the story told in most tracks ended a bit unfinished. Not impressive

Marcus Miller
[HF]
BassMaster! Great version of Miles Davis‘ Tutu. Great harmonica performance. Solid performance.
[F]
I dislike this guy, he’s way too good ;o) Also impressed by harmonica player (very, very impressed).

Erykah Badu
[HF]
Delay resulted in a shorter show (too bad). Compressed and hurried, not enough time to set up a real performance
[F]
Ultimate diva, a bit distant at the beginning, warmed up to the audience at the end. Great setup with sampler. Loved the I Want You track!

Paul Weller
[HF]
Very beautiful. Enjoyed it, sitting quietly with my eyes closed. A very restrained but personal performance
[F]
Grand old man of British music (cut your wrists if you’re thinking: BritPop). Solid performance.

Marcelo D2
[HF]
Samba hip-hop party. Great interaction with the crowd. Language barrier. Sauna temperatures at the Yukon venue
[F]
Best performance, best new personal discovery. Great artists!

Jhelisa
[HF]
Saw just a coupla minutes, too short. Nice, but didn’t seem to work with the crowd or the Yukon venue, should’ve gotten a better jazz location
[F]
Great singer, just didn’t work for me (getting a bit tired)

Kanye West
[HF]
Great setup with the live violins and harp. Nice make-up on the same performers. Not impressed enough by performance to start buying his stuff. Doesn’t click, doesn’t have it. Excellent DJ, though.
[F]
Never liked his stuff (still can’t really explain it). Funny to see the appeal this guy has: a very wide selection of people were really enjoying his performance.

Honorary Mention
The DJ at the Yukon who played in between acts. Very, very great work and prime quality selection of music!

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General Description
Artist/Band: Paul Weller
Album Title: Studio 150
Year: 2004

There’s no greater musician’s musician than Paul Weller. He’s been around for a coupla seasons and you know for sure he’ll still be inspiring aspiring artists to pick up a guitar and seriously working to become heart-and-soul musicians.
”As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod-revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the ’80s and Oasis in the ’90s.“ - VH1
 
How I Got Into This Music
Well.. Lil’ geriatric ol’ me remembers listening to The Jam’s “Town Called Malice“ and really thinking just one thing: WOW! I was amazed at the pure power coming from that band and its skinny white lead singer with a voice that begot respect. It was an incredible surprise to see Paul Weller’s change to moody hip-cat music during his stint with The Style Council. Songs like “You’re The Best Thing“ and “Have You Ever Had It Blue“ made you feel that warm summer breeze on your face. His solo work still proves he has become one of the true exponents of British Rock/Pop Music (and I refuse to associate him with BritPop).

Tracks that got my attention:

Wishing On A Star
Hmm.. Makes me wish for some earlier version of the track

The Bottle
It takes a lot of guts to cover this song and sadly, it doesn’t work for me (even without comparing it to Gil Scott-Heron’s version) 

Black Is The Colour 
Nice song, his voice is great on this traditional folk song

Early Morning Rain 
Weller at his best

All Along The Watchtower 
[ouch]
   

Conclusion
This really hurts as hell, but this album really, really, really didn’t work for me. Paul Weller’s a frigging great artist and he’ll continue to be so,
but this album just isn’t any good at all. Wishing on a star the next album’s a great one again

Rating: (and a bit)

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