Seoirse Bodley’s , Symphony no. 3 ( Ceol) recorded 9 Sept. ’81 on the opening of the National Concert Hall. Also featured on the LP is A. J. Potter’s , ” Sinfonia de Profundis’. I’ve never seen this on cd and indeed this is the only vinyl copy I have ever come across. A full list of Bodley’s works can be found HERE. You can see his Chamber Symphony LP here.

   Seoirse Bodley’s Symphony for Chamber Orchestra , New Irish Recording Co. NIRC 1974. One of the rarest Irish records ever this is impossible to find. Also features pieces by Arthur Duff , ‘Echos of Georgian Dublin / Meath pastoral”. The chamber symphony is available on cd (lyric) but the vinyl is the original recording  and there is no comparison between it and the 2 later cd releases. If you have any information about the NIRC record label please get in touch – no matter how trivial it may be I would be delighted to hear from you. Also if anyone has any LP’s /cd’s by Irish Composers I would be interested in them.

       You can see some other Irish classical recording from the NIRC label here.

     Steve Brookstein is now officially a failure. But Brookstein is no common failure , he is a total failure. He’s famous for it. He’s turned failure into an art form. Brookstein ( better know as , “Steve who?)  has failed at just about everything he has put his hand to. Long before we knew there was an X Factor Brookstein was failing. If they gave PHD’s in failure  he’d be the best educated man in Britain. Brookstein , who has been described by Louis Walsh as , ‘ looking like a serial killer’ must , at some time in the past , have committed some terrible crime for which God is now punishing him.”" Mr Slick Vegas” , that’s what Sharon Osbourne called him. He’s made enemies , and who needs enemies ?. – not Brookstein for sure , he’s got enough troubles.

     Brookstein’s  long journey towards failure started well before 2004 when he won first place in the X Factor. It’s a long  convoluted story half shrouded in myth and bordering on the absurd. At one point a producer friend of his decided to make a Northern Soul record – and why ? Well he did it just to prove it could still be done. Most people do it for the money but not this guy , HE was just  trying to make a point. …..’getting confused ? Don’t let it bother you , I think Steve himself is still trying to figure it out. Let me explain……

     The guy , this producer guy ( I can’t remember his name and I’m too lazy to start googling it just now) was, it seems ,a great Northern Soul fan. N.S. fan’s are  for the most part sad little people who think that it all began and ended with  the golden age of Northern Soul. That age is ended , they will tell you. Elvis is Dead and all that. It’s not that they don’t make records like that any more – they CAN’T make records like that any more. The book is closed , the seals have been sealed …..end of story. So far so good  untill that is Steve’s producer friend  comes along. He was a genuine lover of Northern Soul , a democratic sort of man who just loved the music and was not intimidated by the legend. He had been arguing for years that yes , yes you could have a NS record today and that it would be just  as ‘real’ as ‘valid’ as anything from the golden age , provided the music was good. Like I say , a true democrat. So one day he’s sitting at home watching TV and who’s on the box but our Steve. He hears Steve singing and thinks , “This guy would make a great Norther Soul singer”. To make a long story short he  gets Steve into the studio with a few backing singers , records a few track and calls the four man group The Four Vandals. They cut a 45 record and just to make it really ‘authentic’ they dated it 1971 and then aged the few copies (3)  that were pressed so that the whole thing looked like a genuine old 70′s record. Part of the ageing process was to drop the disc in a bucket of water…….

  By the way , I’m not making this up as I go along , you can check it all out yourself on the WWW. So , here’s this genuine fake and it’s put in the way of a few DJ’s and next thing it becomes a hit on the Norther Soul circuit. Everyone is raving about it. Urban legends start to form around the lead singer (Brookstein).  The 45 meanwhile is taking on cult status and starts making it on to the collectors list and before you can say , ’Life  is a bitch’ it’s selling for big bucks.  Really BIG bucks. Steve is becoming famous in record circles but nobody knows it’s Steve. Norther Soul fanatics are mortgaging their homes to get their hands on a copy. This is record collector history in the making. But like I said , nobody knows it’s Steve and he’s not making a penny……His producer friend is happy , he’s proved everyone wrong but he can’t tell anyone. Meanwhile ……back on planet earth Steve makes a decision…….

     He decided to audition for the X Factor. Unfortunately he wins so the whole story of the Four Vandals comes out and there are a lots of angry people who feel they have been had/conned and generally made to look like fools. Steve becomes famous as a fraud or worse still a dupe. While the vinyl experts of the world are trying to figure out what’s going on Steve decides he’s not going to sell his soul with another covers album for  Simon Cowell so he becomes famous all over again as the man who walked away or was sacked by Cowell. He becomes , for all practical purposes , blacklisted. There’s no actual conspiracy , Cowell doesn’t start calling people and saying , “Don’t deal with Brookstein” he doesn’t have to. Nobody wants to rock Cowells boat and the rest of the gang don’t trust Brookstein …they’re  not sure if he’s a fool or a bad guy and they don’t want to find out either.

   Long , long before any of this happened Brookstein had actually made a  record which got good reviews but the record was never released. (he’s actually made several record )  He also promoted/managed or produced two acts and even got them record contracts with , I think , Virgin and some other major label. There was a trip to the USA and a 1 million pound/dollar contract for one of the acts but after spending a fortune the  acts were dropped. It goes on an on. There’s no end to it. I’ve only scratched the surface here but take it from me , when it come to Steve Brookstein , the truth is far weirder than the strangest of strange  fiction. Brookstein is in a lose , lose situation. He’s become famous for being a failure – his last gig  was a pub gig with a cover charge that wouldn’t buy a diet coke. In between songs he apparently spent  much of the time rambling on about Simon Cowell….punters were wondering if they were witnessing a nervous breakdown live on stage. As one girl put it , ‘It was all very sad’. Like  I’ve said , he’s in a lose  ,lose situation. He’s so famous now as a failure that  even a hint of  success would ruin him. The whole thing is a joke. Brookstein is a joke. It’s all hysterically funny……

   But the funniest bit of all is that Steve Brookstein is actually a very fine soul singer. He has a distinctive voice that many singers would be quite  envious of. He’s good-looking in a ,’ I used to drink but now I’m sober ’, kind of way and has a cheeky chap grin that you love or hate but that you can’t really ignore. He has the good grace and intelligence to be able to laugh at some of the insanity of what he calls his life. He thinks/ knows that he’s good at what he does but understands that others might have a different point of view and is philosophical about it. He’s a good entertainer. He probably has more charisma and raw talent in his little finger than will ever emerge from the X Factor Hall of Fame. Above all Steve Brookstein is an interesting man. While some get paid to bawl out , “I did it my way” Steve has been busy actually doing it his way. He has recorded his own independent album , ’40,000 Things’ , which , while not THE  great classic soul album does suggests that the classic album might not be too far down the line. He’s recorded bit’s and pieces in an anarchic fashion over the years and all of it is good , some very good indeed. He’s written/co written what I for one consider to be classic tracks ( a couple of which are on 40.000 Things). All things considered , in spite of all the failures , Brookstein might just be the best soul singer to come out of England. He’ll probably never sell  the mega / platinum numbers that  are obligatory today for anyone who want’s to be a star but what he does produce will certainly last a lot  longer. Ironically , he is a legend and a failure at the same time.

          Sometimes , just sometimes when I’m on YouTube and come across Steve Brookstein I find myself wondering what is it that keeps drawing me back to these video clips ….even the X Factor one’s. There’s  something about Brookstein , no matter how much I read of flops and failures, in spite of a paucity of albums or anything tangible  by the man. In spite of it all I just keep feeling that this man might just be special. But I can’t figure him out……He bloggs , nothing wrong with that , he twitters/tweets  too (quite a lot in fact) but no harm in that either. When he’s not on the internet he’s giving interviews , most of which reinforce the failure image…..he’s a busy man and seems easily distracted. He recently completed work on his wife’s album.  He has a fixation with Cowell and the X Factor , even his tweets are dominated by it. He seems to spend his life having public conversations that all end up with the big X. He’s obviously has never heard the old adage about holes and digging.  If news is slow and your short of copy don’t worry , old Brookstein is always good for a few column inches…He has some  sort of amnesia where the word NO is concerned. Maybe it’s a religious thing.   He needs a minder – as Simon said , ‘Your going to need a lot of work Steve’. He had no idea just how right he was but neither did Steve. Steve Brookstein would be doing just fine if it wasn’t for Steve Brookstein. And all the time time is moving on. He’s now 40  and according to himself he may have wasted 20 years of that. The butt end of jokes (Steve who?) ha ha ha he just smiles that cheeky smile and then gives another interview. But the joke is wearing thin. He’s turning into a parody of  the failed reality star.

     I like the old stuff , the good stuff. Charlie Parket , Ellington , Ella Fitzgerald – the classics. They don’t make artists like that any more with the possible exception of Amy Winehouse and Steve Brookstein but both of those seem hell bent on messing things up.  He is seen by many as ‘a pub singer who got lucky’ but anyone who thinks that is a musical illiterate. He is his own worst enemy but I can think of a few of the greats who were much the same. A complex man , an insecure man who seems forever to be trying explain himself. Yesterday’s man who somewhere deep down knows he’s better than that but isn’t quite sure what to do about it. You could write a book about this man and some day someone probably will…..

               A failure ? Yes , and let’s not get side tracked by empty politeness …..this is not what  the man was  aiming for when he first wrapped his fist around a microphone. He looks startled , uncertain when under the spotlite. He seems a little surprise to be there in the first place. An innocent abroad.  He always wanted to be on the stage , “Look at me Ma , I’m top of the world“.  – Ladies and gentleman , put you hands together. Ladies and gentlemen , let’s give him a warm welcome. Ladies and gentlemen , it’s …….MRRRR STEEEEEEVE BROOKSTEEEEEENNNNN.

   If you want to see just how charming this man can be check out this interview he did with Paul Morley. If you should happen to meet him in the street give him a good clip around the ear and tell him to get back in the studio. He’s made a bit of money (more than I’ve ever made) and he’s done some interesting things ( far more than I’ve done).  He’s had his 5 minutes of fame (several times). He’s has achieved more than many of his critics will ever achieve. He’s lived his dream which is something most of us just don’t have the wit , courage or ability to do. Let’s face it , the guy has been on the X Factor……!  He is probably the best soul singer since Otis Redding and might be even better. But I can’t go into HMV and order his new cd because he hasn’t got around to recording it yet. Yesterday I bought an Amy Winehouse Blu Ray disc and would have bought the Steve Brookstein one but there IS no Brookstein Blu Ray disc. I would kill to get a copy of his Collected Songs but that  doesn’t exist either.  I’d crawl over dead bodies to lay my hands on a copy of his Unreleased Outtakes but there’s no such album.  Meanwhile he’s off giving another interview about his life as a ( failed) reality star. As we say in Ireland , ” Your a terrible man Steve  “. If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s bigger than me and living in another country I would give him a good wallop around the ear myself.

Bob Dylan’s new album , Together Through Life ,  hit the record shops here in Dublin on Saturday. For over a decade now Dylan’s has been producing albums that  are, lets face it , just not in the same league as Blood on the Tracks or Blonde on Blonde. As I type this blog post up it’s playing in the background  on my record deck and that’s how it should be played , as background music. It’s essentially no different from his previous one which after a couple of years is still in its first pressingn and most of those still sitting on the shelves of Tower Records.  It’s no worse than anything he’s done in ten years and no better. The vinyl version comes with a copy of the cd enclosed but at just 30 euros you could find better value for your money.

The Guardian newspaper has what I would consider a fair and balanced review that’s worth reading. Before you part with that 30 euros why not spend it on The Third Ear Band’s latest album , Raga Live. Third Ear used to record on the harvest label in the 60′s and 70′s and this double live album is them at their best. ……If you’ve never heard them then here’s the chance , but don’t bother downloading  some 3 minute clip from the WEB,  it’s not that kind of music. This is REAL …..This is what used to be known as pot smoking music……And this is strictly record player music ….two beautifull thick black slabs of vinyl….

       I’ve never met Izzie Klingels but I have a great fondness for Garden. In fact if it wasn’t for dear Izzie I wouldn’t even be aware of Garden. It was she who brought me ‘into the garden’….I’m listening to Agnes Bernelle as I write this , she’s spinning around on my record deck and it seems appropriate that I should be listening to her when writing of Izzie…
      I am , I suppose , what might be best described as a sad old man with no friends….that’s not self pity just simple plain fact. I live on my own and sleep on the floor of a one room flat here in Dublin. I have better things to do with my money than buy a bed and apart from that I have not got the room for one and so I sleep on the floor…..and I sleep like an innocent……

  When I get out of bed every morning , which is to say when I get up off the floor and have my morning coffee I find that I have nothing to do so I wander out my front door and head for the record shops of Dublin.. If it wasn’t for the record shops I would go mad…. I put one foot in front of the other and eventually end up in one of the few vinyl emporiums left in this city. I’m an old time record collector….My hair is grey and as the song has it ,” I ache in the places where I used to play”. My clothes are all worn and shabby as all my spare money goes on vinyl and I am I suppose well known in these shops…..and I’m always on my own. But then again , who needs friends when you’ve got the vinyl ? But who cares about any of this…

  To get to what I wanted to tell you…There is a shop in Dublin called Road Records which specalises in independant (!!) record labels and I was in there one day about a year ago ( I’m in there every day of course ). It’s a small shop which sells a lot of unremarkable modern music. And it sells this to unremarkable people.  People who live in modern apartment blocks on the river. You know the sort I mean. No lost rebels here . No rebels without a cause or otherwise. The economy is doing well (even with the recession) and so are they….they all want to be just like daddy ( and they are , they are ).

  Well , like I say , I was in there one day looking for something special. I was leafing through the shelves of Indie (!!!!!) vinyl as I had done a thousand times when I came acrosss this 12 inch ep by someone called Garden. It was the cover that caught my attention of course. I held it in my hand. I turned it around and looked at it from different angles. I put it down and then picked it up……and then I looked at it again.

   I bought the record needless to say. Four hippy/psych type songs that might have been THE hippy anthem if the record had been made 40 years ago. It’s a gem. A classic of the first order. Four wonderfull songs with titles like , Yew Tree and Dandelions…..
       ” I am the yew tree
         I am the yew tree
         I am the yew tree
                                  yes.”
     I play it over and over. And when I’m not actually playing it I’m holding it in my hand , wondering who that girl is. She has her back to us and yet seems somehow sad…… She’s the child , the brainchild of Izzie Klingels. She came out of Izzie Klingels head. How long was she there ? And how did she get there in the first place ? When Izzie was going about her business , standing in the supermarket checkout , chatting with her facebook friends , was this little girl locked up in her head all the time. And late at night when  Izzie was asleep and all was dark and quiet was the little girl gently tapping , tapping … “Let me out , let me out “
  
  And why Izzie , why do you abandon your children in indie record shops. There is a myspace and web site but these tell us nothing. Why have you sent this sad garden child out into such a cruel cruel world ?

Check out my other posts on Vinyl HERE.

       I got this Tubby Hayes vinyl album from Ebay today. It cost me a little over 100 euros but when I took it out of the sleeve to check it I felt like killing the guy who sold it to me. Like many of the LPs that I get from Ebay it was in pretty bad condition. Apart from a liberal sprinkling of scratches it also had the track-marks of several bad needles on it.
     I suppose that 3 out of every 4 LPs that I get on Ebay go straight into the bin , which means that in real terms those albums that I actually keep are costing me about three times what I paid for them…if you get my drift. If , like me your buying 5 or 6 albums a week this can involved throwing a hell of a lot of money into the bin…..
……..so let the buyer beware…..

      The album shown above is quite rare so it’s nice to have a copy in any condition. In fact if someone were to offer me twice what I paid for it I would turn them down , but still ….it’s in dreadful condition….The other side of the coin however is that without Ebay the chances are that I would never have come across a copy in the first place. British jazz of the Hayes period is a specialised maket and a small one at that and the print run for these LPs would have been very small.

  One small point while I’m here….This LP would have a catalogue price of something in the region of 25 euros but to buy a mint copy on Ebay you would have to bid up to 500 euros or even more so don’t put too much reliance on the Record Collector Price Guide. It is , as the title says a guide only…..

The Couriers of Jazz London LTZ -L 15188

PS: If anyone out there has LPs like this to sell please let me know.

Record1 Bernadette Greevy .Berlioz “Le nuits D’dte” , Berkeley “Four Poems of St. Teresa of Avilia”.
New Irish Chamber Orchestra. cond. Andre Prieur. Nir 013.                                LP

Record 2. Brian Boydell , “Symphonic Landscapes”. Gerrard Victory “Inscapes”.
RTE Symphony Orchestra.
NIR 011.           LP

The New Irish Company ( NIRC) issued a number of LP records in the 1970′s by Irish composers and musicians such as Boydell , Victory , Bodley and Duff. They are long since out of print and are very rare and almost impossible to find. If you have any information about this label please let me know through the comments and the end of this post.