Love!

Carole King set a standard by which other contemporary singer-songwriters must be measured against. Tapestry was and is a great collection of music that gets the hair at the back of my neck standing up. Superlatives rain down on her - still as consummate, fresh and vital as ever.

My favourite albums
Tapestry - Legacy Edition
Live At Carnegie Hall
Writer/Rhymes & Reasons

More ***

Milkshake - Kelis

Kelis - Milk Shake
Uploaded by cnystem

I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King


Help Me Make It Through The Night - Kris Kristofferson


Electric Feel - MGMT

MGMT - electric feel
Uploaded by coksinelle

Pull Up to the Bumper - Grace Jones

Later Live Jools Holland 7 April 2009

Glasgow's art school rockers Franz Ferdinand played songs from their most recent album Tonight - got this!

British ska legends The Specials had seven consecutive top 10 singles in the late 70s and early 80s. They recently announced they were reforming to celebrate their 30th anniversary and perform a selection of their classic songs. They had greyer hairs than this but the music was as vital.

American singer-songwriter Carole King makes her first UK TV performance since 1971, the same year as her landmark album Tapestry was released. You've Got a Friend. Superb to see her live again - this was the first CD I ever bought.

Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, aka Yeah Yeah Yeahs, debut tracks from their new album It's Blitz!

Making their TV debut are The Mummers, a big band from Brighton who feature the quirky and quixotic vocals of Raissa Khan-Panni

Plus Blackpool-born singer-songwriter Karima Francis.

45 Years of listening

I have been listening and watching music for nearly 45 years. I think the present must be the best time to be a music lover. There is so much good live music at the moment in varied genres. Technology and fast Broadband means that I can look at past and present masterly performances - I use iLike, LastFM, MySpace, Genius on iTunes I know in the US you have Pandora but in the UK I have great hopes for Spotify. I just love these 'push and shove' technologies that take you along to people that you might not have considered in the past.

In my first foray on this Blog I thought I'd share with you the women I'm enjoying at the moment, I know some of these great artists go over several decades. Its just who I associate with a particular decade

1950's Dinah Washington and Ella

1960's Nina Simone and Etta James

1970's Dusty Springfield,

Carole King and Judy Collins (with Leonard)


1980's Blondie


and Marianne Faithful


1990's Alicia Keyes, Joss Stone, India.Arie, Anastacia,


2000s Dianna Krall, Nelly Furtado, Adele and Duffy

My memory goes and I rushed this - but there are so many!