131 Songs - Number 18

Number 18 - I Saw Her Standing There by The Beatles

I have already written about The Beatles in my posting of the 8th September. So why this song? It is the opening track of their first LP and reminds me of the summer of 1963 and the July I left school. We had a leaving party in the grounds and we danced on the grass with this album on repeat. I never owned the LP, I didn't have to with it being played so much on the radio, so after 46 years, it was a treat when Michael gave me the newly remastered CD of Please Please Me for Christmas.

What struck me more than anything on the new edition was the distinctive sound of John's rhythm guitar. It has that sharp twang that is found on so many of the sixties British bands, and not heard on earlier or later American recordings. It certainly drives I Saw Her Standing There, a classic high tempo rock and roll blast.

The White Tiger, Fatherland and The Child In Time

I would normally steer well clear of a novel about India. But a Man Booker prizewinner with this on the back cover - "Meet Balram Halwai, 'The White Tiger': Servant, Philosopher, Entrepreneur, Murderer..." had me intrigued. And was I in for a treat. Written as a letter to the Premier of China, Balram recounts his life from the poverty of his rural existence to making a success of sorts in an urban environment. For a first novel, Aravind Adiga has written a masterpiece.

Fatherland is a quite different book. Whereas The White Tiger is almost poetic, Robert Harris is concerned only with plot. Not that it is badly written, just not in the same class. Set in 1964 in a parallel universe, Germany did enough in the second world war to become the strongest nation on earth, although still fighting on the eastern front. The story centres on Detective Xavier March and how he uncovers the reason behind a number of deaths in a very different Berlin. A rattling good yarn.

I am trying to catch up on early Ian McEwan novels. I have read his latest seven (apart from The Daydreamer) and the next one back was The Child In Time. Typical of his intelligent prose, it was not quite on a par with his later books., although still very readable. It seemed if he was practicing for what was to come, but that may be I am reading his work going backwards. It explores the themes of bereavement, time and childhood, with interesting characters that light up the page. Strange at times, but rewarding.

The Roberts Family Tree

The family tree on my father's side is complete, for the time being. The 615 descendants of Oliver Roberts and their relatives (up from the 533 of a previous posting) have all been detailed and copied to a CD. I managed to save the descendant diagram from my Family Historian software as a pdf and a firm in Aylesbury have printed this to a 5 meter long sheet, so updating the 1937 family tree prepared by Charles Augustus Roberts in 1937.

I say for the time being. I'm sure my three corespondents, Nigel Chris and Sally (to whom I am very grateful for all their information) will have more to contribute over time, and other branches of the family may come to light. And I have a trip to Hull sometime to search for the Boyd family. But now is the time to draw a line, and move on to my mother's ancestors. This will be a much more difficult search.

Daybreakers, Avatar and The Book of Eli

There are so many vampires on film and TV, did we really need another movie? Definitely yes. Daybreakers is an original take on the genre, where vampires are in the great majority, and their blood supply from the few humans remaining is running out. A good script and wonderfully directed by the Speirig Brothers (Peter and Michael), who are new to me, the action is pacy and well shot, with shocks and gore that make a mockery of it's 15 certificate. Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neil are well cast and obviously enjoyed their parts.

Avatar only confirmed what I don't like about animated features. They have to be witty and very well written for me to enjoy them. Avatar is none of these. In fact the dialogue is so bad, I cannot believe it won a Golden Globe for best film. I suppose it was visually stunning, but once you have seen the aliens and their habitat, the rest is far too repetitive. There are long periods without any dialogue so it did get quite boring.

The Book of Eli is a strange movie. Veering between the drama of post apocalyptic America and action straight from an old western, it could not make up it's mind what it wanted to be. I think the drama just won, as the fight sequences were just confusing. It was one of those films where I had seen the trailer but had not read a review, so I didn't really know what to expect. Denzel Washington played the lead with a complete absence of humour, but managed to hold the thing together. The one brilliant scene was when Denzel and his partner come across an isolated house inhabited by Michael Gambon and a wonderful Frances De la Tour. They were worth the entrance fee alone. If only the rest of the movie had been the same.

131 Songs - Number 17

Number 17 - Robot Man by Connie Francis

By the spring of 1963, I had saved enough from my paper round (and borrowed the rest from Mum) to purchase my first proper brand new record player. I had been looking at the beautiful Bush machine in the shop for some time. It only played mono LP's, and pre Beatles, the only pop record in my collection seems to be "Connie's Greatest Hits". In the 50's and 60's, Connie Francis was the top female singer. But her recordings have not stood the test of time, and I can now see why. Robot Man was a huge hit in 1960, and I guess it was listening to this and others on Radio Luxembourg that led me to buying the LP. But now it sounds corny in the extreme. I said at the start not all my 131 songs would be favourites, and I guess this is one. But the LP has survived as a reminder of the excitement of my first big purchase. My Bush.

Wendover Woods

Although it was -3C when I started my walk from the canal at Halton, the sun was out and I knew I would get warm walking up into the woods from Mansion Hill. What I didn't know was how spectacular it would be, particularly at the top. As no cars had been allowed into the woods since the heavy snow of last Tuesday, it was pretty much deserted. The car parks were a blanket of snow, and only a few hardy walkers had made it to the top.

Thankfully, the cafe was open and I quickly consumed a welcome mug of steaming hot chocolate. The views over the snow covered Vale were outstanding. I cannot imagine a prettier place when it is traffic free.

Me and Orson Welles, Sherlock Homes and Nine

A little lightweight, but overall Me and Orson Welles is a well made and enjoyable movie. The stand out performance is from Christian McKay as Welles. He is excellent as the young genius at the height of his powers directing Julius Caesar. Zac Efron does his best as the aspiring novice actor and the supporting cast are terrific. Richard Linklater's direction, on a limited budget, captures not only the period, but all the complications of putting on a play. I cannot remember the staging of theatre so well constructed in a movie.

Alison only comes to see a film once or twice a year, so I was very glad she came with me to see Sherlock Holmes. It was good fun, action packed and the sets were great. Roberts Downey Jr and Jude Law were a passable double act and Guy Ritchie's direction showed just what he can do.

The best sequence from Nine was that which made the greater part of the trailer. This was the stand out song "Go Italian" performed by Fergie, the vocalist from some band called Black Eyed Peas. No wonder they used it for the trailer. The rest of the songs from this hugely disappointing musical were awful. The drama in between was OK, but it was interrupted by the most boring songs you could imagine. Although the staging was stylish and extravagant, the characters soon became predictably pathetic. Even Daniel Day Lewis in the lead role of Guido soon loses interest and is gratingly repetitive. Marion Collitard is the best actor in the movie, she does wonders as the wife, and Judy Dench does what she can in her few scenes. But how the movie gets a Golden Globe nomination I do not know. Maybe for best trailer?

Not quite like the winter of 1963

There are some people comparing the big freeze that started before Christmas with the winter of 1963. They cannot have been there. It started snowing on Boxing Day, and London ended up with two feet of snow. Temperatures stayed below freezing until March! I had just turned eighteen and can remeber the roads and pavements being snowbound through January and February.

I did a paper round in those days, every day from Monday to Saturday, and I bore everybody to death with my story that I never missed a delivery. How I managed to get around on my bike on the icy roads, I have no idea, but I never came off once. At that age you must never feel the cold .

131 Songs - Numbers 13, 14, 15 and 16

Number 13 - Hushabye by Chris Barber's Jazz Band

I must have been sixteen when I had my first record player that played 45's and LP's. It was a tiny second hand machine (set up in my equally tiny back bedroom in the house on London Road in Braintree, above the narrow, steep and enclosed back stairs )and only played mono, but it did sterling service over the next two years. At the time, I was smitten by traditional jazz, and the old classic American music comprised nearly all my record purchases . How did this happen? It may have been that Lonnie Donegan played banjo in Chris Barber's Jazz Band, or that my friend's and I frequented the Dunmow Jazz Club (see my posting of 25/11/08).

Anyhow, British trad jazz was all the rage, and one of the first LP's I bought was "The Best of Barber and Bilk". Amongst those tracks of the Chris Barber band is Hushabye, the only track with Monty Sunshine on clarinet, Chris Barber on bass and Lonnie on banjo. This must have been recorded in 1954/5 and the similar small group (without the departed Lonnie) went on to record Petite Fleur that reached number 3 on the hit parade in 1959. It was this idea of showcasing individuals from the band that lead to Lonnie's recording of Rock Island Line, and the rest is history.

Numner 14 - St Louis Blues by Louis Armstrong

This was hard to choose. I nearly went for a track from Louis' Hot Five or Hot Seven from the 1920's, some of which I have on record. The first of his electric recordings (as opposed to the previous acoustic system) was Willie the Weeper, and this is one of his best. It features wonderful solos from all his band, particularly from Johnny Dodds on clarinet and Louis' fabulous cornet. It was such a shame that his performance at the Odeon Hammersmith in 1964 failed to feature any solo from him and so became my most disappointing concert ever.

But my choice comes from an LP entitled "Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy" recorded in 1954. This was my first album bought from a recommendation (in the Melody Maker) and was my Christmas present for 1962. His band at the time was pure class, particularly Trummy Young on trombone and Billy Kyle on piano. I can remember they both get name checks and solos in the band's big number in the film High Society.

Number 15 - Ain't Misbehavin' by Fats Waller

Digging around in my box of old LP's, I found one called "The Real Fats Waller" with recordings from 1929 through to 1943. Fats played fabulous stride piano rag and composed many of the tracks on this album. Carolina Shout is a wonderful solo and B Flat Blues. But his most popular song has been covered by countless artists. Ain't Misbehavin' was recorded in 1929 and still sounds a fresh pop song today. But for me, his piano playing stands out as a reminder of those heady days.

Number 16 - Seventh Avenue Express by Count Basie

Another of my old LP's is "Basie's Basement" featuring Count Basie and his Orchestra, recordings nearly all from 1947. A big band with Basie's distinctive piano, I saw them, again around 1964, at the Odeon Hammersmith (where they shared the bill and accompanied Tony Bennett), and they were still brilliant. I also have the original LP (and now a CD) of "Sinatra-Basie" and although Frank does not make it on my list, something from this album nearly did. Basie's orchestra was made for great singers and it is Jimmy Rushing who features on "Basie's Basement" but not on my chosen track. This is a belter from a band on top form.

So who did I miss from my jazz favourites? Duke Ellington (another I caught at Hammersmith where one Ella Fitzgerald was the vocalist) is one. His LP "Rockin' in Rhythm" from 1927 to 1930 was close, as was Dave Brubeck from more recent times. Woody Herman and The Herd I also saw at Hammersmith. And from Dunmow Jazz Club: Kenny Ball, Terry Lightfoot, The Dutch Swing College Band, Ken Colyer etc. What memories.

The Lady Elizabeth, The Uncommon Reader and Never Let Me Go

I wanted to read Alison Weir's novel The Lady Elizabeth as the middle third covered the period of 1547 to 1549, the exact three years on which I had based my screenplay about the Seymours. I have to say that it was painful reading another interpretation. I had been inspired to write the screenplay after reading the same author's factual Children of England, so she knows the history well. But her novel seems to me terribly badly written, and too much a distortion of the truth. The writing was dull and used a kind of mock Tudor language when the characters are speaking. I found it all very uncomfortable.

Back to a expert author of fiction. Alan Bennett is on top form with his short book The Uncommon Reader. An essay on how reading can change a life, this time it is the Queen herself who finds how rewarding it can be, much to the annoyance of those around her. A funny and very enjoyable story with a lovely twist at the end. Outstanding.

It is hard to describe Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. In a very original piece of fiction, contemporary England has been changed by just one imagined twist straight out of science fiction. It is memoir written by thirty one year old Kathy, starting with her childhood at the Hailsham school which is her home. There are questions that haunt her friends and the answers are gradually revealed through her lifetime to be not only disturbing, but in the end horrific. I liked the way the narrative was directed firmly at the reader. Kathy says things like " I need to tell you about this, but that will come later". I found the novel to be compelling and shattering. Not for the those of a sensitive nature.