Texas at Bristol's Colston Hall

Tonight I went to see Texas at the Colston Hall in Bristol, on their first proper tour for years.

It was exactly what was required from a band in their position: a mix of songs from the new album, with old favourites from the past. A solid set, without any messing around or gimmicks. 

Of course, there were also omissions; nothing from Mothers Heaven (although it is a lower key album) nor, perhaps more surprisingly, The Red Book - Getaway would have fitted in well, for example. And, of course, there was nothing from Careful What You Wish For... 

The Support Act was Girl Called Johnny, who you can find on You Tube here. A nice touch was their singer, Karen Overton, joining Sharleen for the encore to sing The Conversation on which she has a writing credit.

Anyway, here are my tweets from the night, handily Storified for you:

Andrew

Album Review - Texas 'The Conversation'

First, an apology: This review was intended to be the climax of my "A Journey Through Texas" series, which sadly fell by the wayside a bit whilst I was otherwise engaged in March and April. As a result, it lacks the context I had hoped it would have. I have, though, opted to retain the track-by-track style of the entries I made for Southside and Mother's Heaven - and I still intend to complete posts for all the other albums...

The album kicks of with the title track and lead single. In many respects it is reminiscent of the Texas of Southside, complete with twangy country guitars, albeit with more melody and polish. I must confess that I wasn't overly sure of it to start (I felt the chorus sounded like it could have been done by The Sugababes!) but it has definitely grown on me over the weeks and months.

The next track - Dry Your Eyes - also captures a conversation, this time between friends having a heart to heart in emotionally raw circumstances. It's a beautiful number, with a simple melody, pared down acoustic sound and clear narrative.

Like many of the tracks on the album, it's a slight song; of the twelve tracks, half are under 3 minutes long, and the longest is 3 minutes 43 seconds. Like the songwriters of the sixties (whose influence can be heard at times), the band don't go in for over-long instrumentals or extended repeated choruses.

If This Isn't Real, returns to the theme of The Conversation - and the recurring theme of the album - the second guessing of a partner's insecurities. A simple (that word again) drum-based accompaniment, layered with keyboards and guitars is the backing for Sharleen Spiteri's rich and soulful vocal. 

The next track (Detroit City) moves the tempo up again - it's the most rocky track on the album and Spiteri's voice adapts accordingly. It's rollickingly good fun, and a real foot stomper; come the tour in November, it'll be a real crowd pleaser. 

I Will Always, by contrast, put me in mind of the Everly Brothers number - a low key, melodic paean to eternal love. Again, Spiteri's chameleon like voice adapts - dropping a register for a sultry, harmonic vocal. 

Talk About Love reminds me of the Texas of White on Blond or The Hush - but with a Southside style and sound with heavy guitars and a heavy beat. Texas' sound may change but on every album there are examples of the DNA of the band shining through. There is something about the frantic pace of the song which gets under the skin of subject of much of the album: the frustration of being a relationship with someone incapable of expressing their feelings.

The Texas DNA is obvious again on Hid From The Light which feels - to me at least - a bit like a reworking of Halo. But whilst in Halo we really do adore the object of our affection - here all who love her will despair. It's destined to become a fan favourite!

Be True has a sixties sound reminiscent in parts of the Supremes. So much so, it could easily have been a track on Spiteri's solo album, Melody, which was heavily influenced by Motown. Always Forever (Maybe I) moves the tempo down again with a pared back, dream-like vocal against a minimal backdrop.

Spiteri appears to channel to the voice of The Pretender's Chrissie Hynde on Hearts Are Made To Stray - and indeed the song itself reminds be I'll Stand By You. 

At the gigs that launched the album, the band did a version of River Deep, Mountain High (which Spiteri had deployed to great effect on her solo tour in 2009). Big World is, in part, reminiscent of another Tina Turner hit, Proud Mary with more than a knowing wink in that direction. It's an upbeat number about doing what's right for yourself when you can't get through to your partner.

The album rounds off with I Need Time - a torch song with a stripped back track, country guitars and bluesy vocals. It's a slight downbeat ending to the album, which is in keeping I think with the subject matter. It's also an understated ending, encouraging you back to listen again rather than sending you off on your way humming the last track!

The Conversation is an album that's unlike any other Texas album: more melodic than Southside, more upbeat than Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road, more guitar-led than White on Blond and The Hush, more authentic than Careful What You Wish For and more down to earth than The Red Book. The consistent factor - as ever - is Spiteri's voice and lyrics.

Although they've never been afraid to experiment with differing musical directions, sometimes this has led to contrivances - the most obvious example being 2003's Careful What You Wish For. The Conversation marks another change of direction - but this feels more like a band doing what it wants, rather than trying to be cool or populist. Texas are back - but on their terms.

I'd be foolish to pretend the album was perfect. Indeed, I have to confess to being disappointed that there isn't more breadth of substance to the tracks, many of which tackle the same subject in only slightly differing fashion. As with all of Spiteri's work, it's clearly highly personal and appears to be the product of a frustrating relationship.

It's not an album that's going to set the critics world on fire. It's not going to bring a new generation of fans to the band in the way that White on Blond did. But it's an accomplished album from the band content to follow their own path. It's an album that showcases Spiteri's voice and resists the over-production of previous albums, and, from a fan's point of view, it's a very welcome return after an extended hiatus.

Andrew

Saturday Six 34 - Poverty, Equal Marriage, Texas and Pulled Pork

It's Saturday, so here's another six blogposts and articles that I've seen and thought worthy of some note over the past week:

First up, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report into attitudes to poverty and welfare. The Guardian reports that this suggests that attitudes towards those who claim state support are hardening amongst Labour supporters. Over on Lib Dem Voice, Stephen Tall looks at how the figures breakdown across the political spectrum.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill returns to the commons this week, with news that the Government is not in favour of using the Bill to allow Humanists to conduct legally recognised marriages. The British Humanist Association reports on the issue here - and the efforts by 7 MPs (including Bristol West's Stephen Williams) to amend the bill.

Unfortunately, there are a number of other amendments to the bill and some are not nearly so helpful. Caron Lindsay reports on Lib Dem Voice that free votes are to be given to our MPs - although there are some that even those against the bill should not even countenance voting for.

Regular readers will know I love me a bit of Texas - whose new album comes out on Monday and whom I have ticket to see in November. Last week they performed a couple of gigs as party of the promotion of the new album - here's a review of the Glasgow gig at legendary venue, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. They also did  a turn on BBC2's Later... with three songs from the album, and Spiteri and Holland covering "How Sweet It Is" - it's worth looking it up on iPlayer.

Finally, my friend Jo relates the latest details of her next charity dining event... The Stars and Stripes Supper Club. Having been one of those at the Pulled Pork tasting, I'm looking forward to it more than ever now.

Andrew

A Journey through Texas - Mothers Heaven

It's time for the second entry in my meander through Texas' back catalogue in the run up to the release of the new album on May 20th.

Today, though, saw the release of The Conversation - and we can finally hear a studio recording of a song which has been played by the band at the odd few concerts they have actually played over the past couple of years. The single version has a more poppy sound than this version, although it does still have the country twinges. To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of it at this point, but have purchased it for multiple listens and further digestion. I suspect it will work better in the context of the album. It's not getting a physical release, but it is available on iTunes et.c if you want your own copy...

Texas' second album, after Southside, was 1991's Mothers Heaven. Much less successful here, their continued popularity in France and the Low Countries ensured the band survived to record a third album before the triumphant return to the higher reaches of the UK charts with White on Blonde in 1997... but that's getting ahead of myself.

Mothers Heaven kicks off with the title track which in some ways echoes I Don't Want A Lover at the start of Southside. The long instrumental intro (in this case an accordion playing a French-sounding tune) gives way to familiar guitars and Sharleen Spiteri's voice-as-instrument as she sings two lines beautifully, hauntingly, purely. The (then) trademark Texas' guitars and drums are launched - although there is a hint of the keyboard effects that would become Texas' staples on future albums.

It's a great opener - especially for a second album - reassuring the listener that the band hasn't gone off in a wacky direction*. The solidly familiar sound (although again with hints of what was to come) continues with Why Believe In You.

Dream Hotel is less rocky than the first two tracks - and takes the pace down, giving Spiteri a chance to demonstrate her range with her voice carrying a sultry tone. It's a low-key track whose impact is more felt by its immediate absence when it fades to silence in the end. It is followed by This Will All Be Mine in which Spiteri is accompanied by little more than a slide guitar and the faintest of backing tracks with only a couple of pieces of punctuation from the drums.

For all they may well be regarded as firmly "Middle of the Road", Texas have often tried to experiment within the confines of what they do. This hasn't always been successful - but it has enabled them to re-invent themselves and regain previous successes when they have been in danger of disappearing up cul-de-sacs. 

At 6'46" Beliefs is longest track on the album. Somehow, though, it manages to be less than the sum of its parts. Heavy guitars, solid drums, a catchy chorus and Spiteri's vocal all combine to create a track that is enjoyable but transient. It's followed by Alone With You (the second track in the above video) which I suspect is the track I'll be singing for the rest of the week.

Next is In My Heart which starts with electronic introduction before the more familiar Texas sound re-appears for what is almost an anthemic song about choosing between reality and dreams.

Waiting is this album's "Southside": an instrumental track to reduce the tempo and to lead into the understated but beautiful Wrapped in Clothes of Blue. Return has more than the usual country tinge to it, and limited instrumentation - it's a simple track which revels in its simplicity. Finally the plaintive Walk The Dust finishes the album in a pretty low key way. 

 

The album is oft overlooked in Texas' canon - probably because of the lack of commercial success. The 2001 Greatest Hits album did not feature any tracks from it although "In My Heart" did appear on the 2005 package "The Collection".

 

I've always thought that Mothers Heaven was somewhat unjustly overlooked - but having re-listened to it, with a critical ear - and frame of mind - I fear I may have to concur with those who feel it lacks substance, coherence or a stand-out track.

 

Musically, Mothers Heaven is similar to Southside, although the album as a whole is more downbeat and subdued; the bass drum that characterised much of the first album is less evident and there is a softer sound in evidence. 

 

That said, the album is of a piece with their debut - some of the future developments, even if foreshadowed, were still very far away - but we shall come to those in future weeks.

Andrew

* This will be covered when we get to "Careful What You Wish For"...

A Journey through Texas - Southside

8 weeks today*, Texas' 8th studio album 'The Conversation' will be released. In anticipation, this series will look at each of the proceeding albums in turn - charting the changing sound and developing image of the band. 

I've conducted this exercise (re-listening to back catalogue in order) in the past but it is still interesting to consider the album as part of a larger body of work - and seek to identify the common features and where the changes in sound occurs. From memory of past exercises, this isn't where it's normally assumed to be. It'll be interesting to see if past conclusions still hold true for me.

The one real constant in Texas' œuvre are the lyrics and without Spiteri's song-writing skills - and Johnny McElhone's musical abilities - I doubt that Texas would have survived the lacklustre performances of their second and third albums, even given the success of these in continental Europe. But more of that in due course, I'm sure. 

We'll start, logically enough, with Southside from way back in 1989...

I still remember making the trip from Dunfermline to Cowdenbeath to spend Woolworths gift vouchers that my Aunt and Uncle had given me for Christmas, the Woolworths in Dunfermline having closed sometime before. I had three options - Depeche Mode's 101, Pet Shop Boys' Introspective and Southside. Texas won out and those precious 12 inches of vinyl started a life-long love affair.

The album starts with what is probably still Texas' best known track: I Don't Want A Lover. The first sound you hear is the twangy guitar solo with a heavy beat kicking in after 30 seconds. Lyrically, it heralds what is Texas' stock-in-trade - songs about relationships from a strong female viewpoint. Sharleen Spiteri may have resisted attempts to market her rather than Texas as a band but there has never been any doubt that the band's voice is hers.

The heavy beat and Country and Western guitars continue through Tell Me Why and Everyday Now - although to my ears there's a hint of the more soulful aspect of Spiteri's voice on the latter which would appear on later albums, and on her solo album, Melody.

 

Southside itself is a short instrumental - something which became a feature of future Texas albums - adding the work as a whole whilst being slightly incongruous in their own right. In this case it provides a more mellow counterpoint to the proceeding numbers - ideal for the gentler sound of I Say A Prayer with it's softer guitar-led rhythm.

Back in the late eighties it wasn't unusual for CDs to feature additional tracks as the music industry sought to encourage the format in preference to Vinyl. The next song on the album as I listen to is is, therefore, such a track - Faith ups the tempo again before one of my personal favourites: Thrill Has Gone. If one track were to epitomise this album (other than, perhaps, I Don't Want a Lover) then this is the one: it has the beat, it has the guitars and it has the lyrics that tell of a post-break-up blame game:

(I know the visual quality is lower than I would normally prefer for this blog, but thought it would be interesting for you to see the styling of the band way back then!)

The next couple of tracks - Fight the Feeling and Fool For Love - continue in much the same vein, with Fool For Love succeeding at being pleasant but relatively forgettable. The penultimate track, One Choice, though, is another highlight of the album in the mould of the lead track and Thrill Has Gone.

The album rounds off with another downbeat track, Future is Promises. The guitars are brought back to being front and foremost and the Spiteri's voice has an almost-haunting quality with more hints of the soulful sound I mentioned early. It's another favourite:

Listening to Southside is like having a drink with a long-lost friend. You pick up where you left off and engage in the same conversations as you always have. It would be foolish of me to claim it was a great album - but it is a good album, albeit very much of its time. The band clearly had aspirations of Stadium Rock but with a Country Music twist. Whilst this is distinctive it wasn't right for long-term commercial success - but more of that in the coming weeks...

Andrew

*Erratum: The album is actually released 10 weeks today, I seem to have been getting ahead of myself. I shall use the extra two weeks afforded by this error to provide comment on the Greatest Hits and Live at the BBC albums...

An A-Z of my CDs: T

T is for Texas who are my favourite band. While interest in other bands has waxed and waned, Texas have been a consistent love for over 20 years. I can't wait to hear the new material and album due later this year. For now, though, I present three of their classics!

First, I Don't Want a Lover. Most of the videos on You Tube are of the remix from the Greatest Hits album. I'm not sure when this performance dates to, but it's faithful to the spirit of the original:

Next, a track from White on Blonde, the album that remains their biggest seller and saw them make a comeback in the UK after the (relative) lack of success of Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road here; although these had been much more successful in Europe, particularly France and Belgium. This is Say What You Want:

And finally, a track from their last album, Red Book. This is Getaway:

Hope you enjoyed!

Andrew

An A-Z of my CDs: S (Part 2)

Pretty much anyone who knows me will know that one of my favourite bands (if not the favourite) is Texas, fronted by Sharleen Spiteri. But "T" is next week's entry, so here's Sharleen going solo with "All the Times I Cried":

and here's "Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore":

Enjoy, I did!

Andrew

Summer is here...

...and for the moment it's probably best not to ask for how long. Instead, here's a couple of tunes to match the weather:



And the one I thought of first, but which has disabled embedding, can be found here.

Andrew

Happy New Year...

One of the things I'll be looking forward to this year is the new Sharleen Spiteri (lead singer of Texas) album "The Movie", due out in early March. It's an album of covers of songs from films, including this version of Xanadu, performed on Graham Norton's New Year's Eve show:





Andrew