Soul on Sunday - Gonna Getcha Back / Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves

Went to see Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves on Wednesday. If you're not aware of them then they are a soul/R&B band who remind me of a cross between early James Brown (think Live at the Apollo) and James Carr. If you really aren't aware then get yourself this album.

I saw them last at Latitude 2008, in the Music and Film tent at about 1 in the morning, and they were one of the highlights of the whole festival. Could they cut it when I was much brighter of eye and bushier of tail? Oh yes, very much so. An energetic performer, it's on the up-tempo songs that he really shines, notably on The Satisfier and set closer, Take My Love With You. He tries out a couple of new songs and also does a short solo set including some songs from his pre "and the true loves" past. There's also a cover of the Ace Of Spades from a recent EP which still doesn't seem to have been released over here.

Here's Gonna Getcha from Wednesday (picture poor, sound pretty good):


And here, as a special bonus, is Take My Love With You in Madrid last year:

Soul on Sunday - 2008

For the last Soul on Sunday of the year, I'm going to take a look at 3 current acts making old-school soul.

100 Days 100 Nights / Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Originally released in 2007, this finally got a proper release this side of the pond in 2008. Much of the recent revival of the 60s Soul sound has come about, particularly in the UK, off the back of the career of pre-tabloid meltdown Amy Winehouse. The Dap Kings lot even went so far as to provide backing for much of the album Back to Black, as well as on tour in 2007. Their work with Sharon Jones is every bit as good as the Winehouse albums, as can be heard from this track. Incidentally the guy who filmed this used 2 vintage cameras bought on ebay for $50 apiece!



Hard Man to Please / Baby Charles
I only got this album last week, but I'm really liking it so it sneaks in. A bit more jazzy and funky than I normally go for, this is a promo for a new single off said album. Also worth checking out is the cover of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, listen to it at their website



Take My Love With You / Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves
This was always going to be one of my bands of the year, and their storming gig at Latitude was one of my highlights of the whole festival. One of the best songs off the album, if there was any justice they would be headline news instead of the likes of Duffy and other no-marks.



I'm looking forward to 2009 already! If you have any tips, leave them in the comments...

2008 - 8 Great Gigs

2008 has been an amazing year for gigs round these parts and this was a hugely difficult list to put together. I had to leave out some superb sets that would have walked into my list in any other year. I couldn't put them in order, so here for better or worse are my gigs of the year (in alphabetical order):

Black Mountain - The Great Escape
Hard to believe they're not the loudest band on this list, Tyrant and Druganaut rocked my Great Escape
Bon Iver - St Giles' Church London
Jaw droppingly good stuff from the phenomenal Bon Iver. The closing song, from the centre of the church still gives me goosebumps when I see the youtube clip
British Sea Power - The Monaco, Canvey
A band at number 10 in the album charts, on top form in a pub 15 minutes drive from home. What more could you want? Shame they were mediocre at Latitude, but this was genuinely amazing, particularly when Wilko Johnson came out for the encore.
Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves - Latitude Festival
Until they invent a time machine, this is as close as it was possible to get to seeing James Brown at the Apollo in 1962. That good.
Grinderman - Latitude Festival
I still cannot believe some people foresook this to go and see Blondie. I pity them - Nick was truly a force of nature on the main stage.
I'm From Barcelona - Scala
Is it possible to see a more fun band? Confetti and singalong songs and fun by the bucketload.
Mogwai - Hammersmith Apollo
The loudest band on this list, possibly the loudest band I'll ever see. Batcat was brutal, a full-on assault on the eyes and the ears.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Brighton Centre
I make no apologies for including Nick Cave again, this is a man at the very top of his form as a songwriter and performer.

I could almost do a second 8 for this list, having missed out the likes of Mercury Rev, Okkervil River (twice), Fujiya and Miyagi and the Mae Shi to name but 4. 2009 will have to go some to beat 2008, here's hoping!

Latitude Saturday

Saturday is the quietest day for yours truly, bands wise. Time is spent in the Literary, Film and Caberet tents sampling some of the other delights Latitude has to offer... learning to play the ukelele in under an hour, hearing poetry about drugs and watching a film about... well I'm not entirely sure as I missed both beginning and end!

So far as bands go I start off with French songstress Soko who is delightfully ramshackle. With backing from Johnny Flynn and the drummer from his band she sings songs which mostly seem to be about failed romances and how much she likes peanut butter.

Next up is Malcolm Middleton. His former band, Arab Strap, are long time favourites of mine and his solo work has also been regulars on the stereo round these parts. With a tight backing band and playing songs from the last 3 albums his set is one of the highlights of the weekend. Blue Plastic Bags from the recent album "Sleight of Heart" is a standout.

After ten minutes of Elbow frankly I'm bored so I head over to the Music and Film tent of Mark Lamarr's God's Jukebox evening which turns out to be one of the best evenings of any of the 3 Latitudes so far. Not just the bands, but the music played in between which keeps me dancing into the small hours.

First on is Pete Molinari who mixes rock n roll with early Dylan to good effect. After a set drawn almost entirely from his most recent album he finishes with a cover of Folsom Prison Blues which goes down a storm.

Next up is The Heavy an energetic funk rap crossover act, seemingly at odds to the rest of the bands on. They seem to have a lot of fans in just to see them and the tent is full of people having a great time...

Midnight hits and the third act comes on, R&B revivalist James Hunter. Less energetic than the Heavy, Hunter and his band keep people dancing with their bluesy soul.

The highlight of the evening for a soul fan like me comes with the next act, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and the True Loves. Great soul with more than a nod to legend James Carr they blow me away with some of the best grooves heard in many a year. Despite having not had a beer since the start of the evening (beer or water!) I'm still dancing throughout and really I can pay no higher compliment.