lloyd Cole info for Otis

[Jackson Doofster]

Otis

Lloyd was on five live today (i missed it).

he's also on the Jonathan Ross Show tomorrow morning and is popping up in various places to promote his new album 'Music in a Foreign Language' (Sanctuary). I hear that he's reinvented himself as a nu-folkster, but you can hear a bit on the Ross show as he's bringing his guitar - plays some Spanish guitar on the new record I believe.

I'm having trouble finding the old Lloyd Cole fan site. I'll stick at it and let you know. Lloyd manages his own website Lloyd Cole.com, which is ok, but falls apart occasionally when he gets busy (remind you of any other mega star site?)

[Otis Westinghouse]

Thanks, oh Doofy one. I read 'bout that on the official site. It's quite endearing the way it's his own personal site. he seems very enthusiastic about it. It also said he was on TOTP2 this week solo with guitar. Actually, it said yesterday, but his disclaimer was that was the recording day, so it will go out another time. I thought TOTP2 was only old clips, though. Spanish guitar, love it. Goes with his love of Spanish wine (and playing country records till the morning, now there's a song).

Damn, I really wanto to see him now. Will listen attentively to Ross tomorrow. You can probably get the 5 prog on web replay, a great facility.

[Jackson Doofster]

Why I Love Country Music is sooooooo damn good..

Love the Avatar Otis....and so very appropriate!

[Otis Westinghouse]

Appropriate in what way? There is a certain likeness. I have a Dennis mug at work, and this has often led to comparisons... The hair more than the attitude...

[Jackson Doofster]

Otis - Just seen the details of the current tour. Think I'll try and catch him in London on next Sunday. I'll let you have review.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Was thinking of this myself, but not sure I can make it. I'm cursing myself for missing him in Cambridge, as I've said. Am reappraising DGWOMB. It's kind of growing oin me. Maybe I never gave it enough of a chance in the first place, and was probably not well disposed the other night. Or are you and all the people on Stacey's Lloyd board (which I assume is where the poll you saw is - not a message board per se, just a vote for fave LP), all influencing me? Damn, do I no longer have the ability to form my own judgements? Spent a while yesterday studying all the records of his I don't know and thinking which to get - Etc., Love Story ... Some 4 CD set that contains Etc. and something called Plastic Wood which someone on Amazon totally vilified. DGWOMB gets high praise from folk on Amazon too. I can see its virtues better now, but I really can't see how you would get more excited about Butterfly than Lost Weekend or Brand New Friend. I was thinking it may make a difference if you were into it at the time or discovered it later. I think the heavy hand of Langer and Winstanley makes EP sound more stuck in/of its time than it should. for me it's also a very strong case of there being so many personal stories and recollections bound up in it that I can't listen to it without being caught up in all that (as you said of one of the DGWOMB songs). There's even a song on that LP about me (named after my non-Otis alter ego!), and yes, I was impossible and I hid myself away... All the same, Jonathan Ross opened the show yesterday with Lost weekend, and it just hits you in the face hearing it on the radio that it's classic pop.

[Jackson Doofster]

London next Sunday is sold out

Struggling to make Brum on the Tuesday and so I may have to try and get to Brighton fter a day in Portsmouth in 2 weeks time.

Ihave to say that whilst I love all his stuff, I agree that EP is better than any of his solo albums.

I'd recommend that you buy Love Story next - it's more focused and rewarding than anything else. Try Etc after that. I heard good things about The Negatives but haven't got it.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Is he famous (again) all of a sudden? Lloyd selling out in London?!? Doesn't tally with having played The Junction in Cambridge on the last tour (a venue either for up and comings who haven't yet made the grade, or has-beens). Wow, I'm impressed. Maybe it was after the Jonathan Ross show...

Was it The Glee Club in Birmingham? That's the venue somewhere on this tour. A comedy club. Could be good if it's smallish. Suddenly I'm dying to see him, nothing like the excitement of tickets being scarce to get you excited. Could be a good Father's Day treat! Birmongham isn't too hard to get to from here... Let me know how you get on.

Thanks for the rec's.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I note that our enthusiasm for Lloyd isn't shared by others here (why not, although his oeuvre can't measure up, he's still a great songwriting talent, and shares with Costello an ear for a great tune, a strong sense of musical history, and lyircs worth listening to...), but just as an update: reporting back from seeing Lloyd at the aforementioned Glle Club and meeting up with the mighty Jackson Doofster.

Jackson doesn't look the way I'd imagined (it's the same as the phonee, isn't it? you can't help having an image, it's always wrong), but he is every bit as nice and entertaining in person as here.

The Glee Club is a small venue. It was solo Lloyd, just accoustic guitar, no effects, just an ice-bucket to sooth his fingers, and a large whisky. He looks well, his wit is very much intact, and it's a testament to the quality of his songs that they stand up absolutely to the intimate scrutiny of this solo treatment. He played virtually every classic in the book, apart from Perfect Skin, and also no Jennifer She Said, sadly. But he did play Why I Love Country Music, so my night was complete.

And the new songs sounded good. Some great words too. I now know what a 'Spectral Vision girl' is. Going to order his new LP.

For anyone who doesn't know Lloyd, I recommend him. Maybe start with a best of, then once you're hooked ...

I've converted one person here already (declare yourself!), so now for more...

[Otis Westinghouse]

Lloyd posts his own biography on his board:

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2745&c=1

Various interesting details, including what he's up to right now (B-sides/rarities CD to come out as well as the live Dublin one). but the one that caught my eye was how Ron Sexsmith had a direct influence on Lloyd's decision to initiate the Negatives project in 1998:

'The idea of the Negatives is born when LC sees Ron Sexsmith perform at Arlene Grocery on NYC’s lower East side. The venue is great and there’s no entry fee – people wander in off the street - if they like the music they stay and if they drink - the band gets paid. This seems like the opposite to what LC has been doing with his album, tour routine and he decides to form a band to play at Arlene’s.'

[johnfoyle]

Lloyd is as informative as ever on his website -

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2801&c=1

US East Coast Acoustic shows September, October
posted: 27/08/2008 by Lloyd
category: Performance News

I'll be getting in the silver Subaru on Sept 27 and driving for a week or so with 2 guitars and a set of golf clubs. Four shows are confirmed and I think we're looking to add a fifth, but I have no word on that right now.

September -

Sat 27 - USA, Teaneck, NJ - Mexicali Live (EARLY SHOW on stage @ 7.30)
http://www.mexicalilive.com
Tel: (201) 833-0011 (Phone Hours: Tues - Sat 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm EST)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wwwmexicalilivecom

Sun 28 - USA - New Hope, PA - John and Peter's
http://www.johnandpeters.com/
Advance tickets for select shows available at the bar or by phone (215) 862-5981

October -

Wed 1 - USA, Atlanta, GA - Eddie's Attic (8PM show)
http://www.eddiesattic.com
Tickets available at this site - click Buy Tickets and search for Lloyd Cole.

Thu 2 - USA, Carrboro, NC - The Arts Center (8PM show)
http://www.artscenterlive.org/
Go here to buy Tickets - http://www.artscenterlive.org/index.php ... sic&id=526


Lloyd hopes to release a 4 disc set of demos in Spring '09-

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2789&c=1

[Otis Westinghouse]

Teaneck and New Hope, I like his style. I believe he often chooses gig venues for their proximity to golf courses (God knows why he played here twice in the last year).

4CDs of b-sides, rarities and demos! Wow. Fabulous. Some of these I have and love (found a good site streaming stuff like Children of the Revolution), but most not. Anything he deems fit for release will be very special music to my ears.

[Otis Westinghouse]

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2842&c=1

Lloyd's list of songs he wished he'd written, mostly fairly obvious, though Bowie's 'Big Brother' (not 'Bother'!) is something of a surprise, not that it ain't great. I don't know Dylan's 'Most of the Time'. Like the sound of it from the snippet on bobdylan.com. It does indeed sound Lloydesque. I must get Oh Mercy, and revisit what he says about it in Chronicles!

[StrictTime]

You know, I need more Lloyd. All I have is Rattlesnakes and I love it. Anyone care to point me in a good direction?

[johnfoyle]

Easy Pieces ( especially the opening track- great drums) and Mainstream are just as strong. Of the solo albums I play Antidepressant and Bad Vibes a lot.

By the way , a 1984 Commotions show has appeared on DVD -

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2849&c=1

Edit necessitated since I was in a Jack Nicholson frame of mind when I first posted....

[Otis Westinghouse]

No 'Five', just 'Easy Pieces'! It also contains my more or less = first fave Lloyd song, 'Why I Love Country Music', which he also clearly loves as he always plays it live on his solo tours, bless him. And note that he refers to it in his comments on Dylan in the link above.

Interesting that you dig 'Bad vibes' which I would generally view as Lloyd's low point, albeit still with some excellent songs. It just sounds dull all round, I find. I love almost all his solo work. My favourite is probably Love Story as it's just stuffed with classics, but I also adore Etc., parts of Music In a Foreign Language and the first two solo ones (Lloyd Cole and Don't Get .... I also love the LP he did with the Negatives (that's its title). What's not to love? The man is a unique figure, hugely talented, and still vital. If you get a chance to go to a solo show, and he's touring later this fall, do go!

Looking forward to the forthcoming live from Dublin CD, and yes, noticed about the '84 Marquee gig, which I think I might have seen on TV once. there was certainly a televised gig from around those times.

For many/most fans, especially in this country, Lloyd says (bit like Elvis with his early work), Rattlesnakes is the pinnacle. he hit the heights early. I kinda go along with that, though I think a best of his solo work would be my preference.

[johnfoyle]

Neat Cole round-up here -

http://rqsretrouniverse.blogspot.com/20 ... -with.html

[StrictTime]

Thanks guys! I'll check out Easy Pieces.

[Otis Westinghouse]

'What she needs, I don't have
That's not in the hand I'm holding,
So we drink Spanish wine,
We play country records till the morning...'

[Otis Westinghouse]

Yummy 4 CD Lloyd solo rarities CD coming at end of Jan:

http://lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2932&c=1

Two CD Bremen + Dublin Whelan's live solo CDs coming (though sadly the fan choice of choices, played in response to online requests, For Crying Out Loud, ain't listed):

http://lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=2972&c=1

One can never have too much Lloyd.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Jan 30th is the date I'm excited about with 6 CDs worth of Lloyd to get stuck into! Full details of the tracklistings and samples of all tracks available for the two live Folksinger CDs and the 4 CDs of rarities of Cleaning Out the Ashtrys in the excellent Music section of his site:

http://www.lloydcole.com/music/music.html

I've got several bootlegs of his 'folksinger' shows, but can tell from the samples that a properly recorded and mixed version of the thing is going to be heaven. My perennial Lloyd fave 'Why I Love Country Music' just sounds perfect. Shame 'For Crying Out Loud' didn't make the cut. I thought it worked well, but Lloyd answered my query by saying it wasn't up to scratch. Shame. Vin Ordinaire does make it though. Sigh.

[johnfoyle]

I'm just in from a pleasant show by Lloyd Cole at Whelans. Alternating acoustic guitars he sang a comprehensive, 1 3/4 hour set of tunes old and new. Along with Cohens' Tower Of Song and Dylan's Girl From The North Country ( and bit of The Killers 'Are We Human?at the end of Music in a Foreign Language) he sang , amongst many others , killer versions of 'Heartbroken, Cut Me Down and Hey Rusty.The Young Idealists was a highlight of his more recent stuff. One new song , introduced with the comment that he hasn't given up on the idea of making a new record, was just as witty and sharp as always.

He was in good voice ( apparently a sore throat had marred the night before) and had none of the preciousness and general moodiness that featured in last year's shows at the same venue. A album from then was for sale and he was glad to sign stuff afterwards, rightly admonishing me for not letting the silver dry before leaning my ticket on the album!

Tonight was the end of a tour ( he urged us to to buy cds so he'll have less to pack when he flys out) , which featured a interesting meeting on a Belfast street -

http://www.lloydcole.com/weblog/index.php?p=3213&c=1

May 2 '09
(extract)

The moment of the day came in the early afternoon when Lloyd Cole finished his soundcheck and was walking through the Cathedral Quarter. Who should he bump into on the street but Morrissey, in town for a couple of concerts and staying in The Merchant. According to eyewitness accounts they literally hailed one another in the street - not having met in two decades - and had a casual natter, Belfast style.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Wow, imagine seeing that happen. Two 80s heroes reunite.

Glad it was good. Did he open with 29? No Hey Rusty here. Sounds like he's been pretty unwell given his account of the recent dates elsewhere on his site.

Enjoy the CD. They're both really, really good - this and Bremen. and the box set too the advent of which means I must be getting on for owning almost everything he's ever released, which is cool.