Rosanne Cash at the Union Chapel
Rosanne Cash
The Winter Mountain Band
Union Chapel, 30 March 2012
I never saw Johnny Cash live. He was still performing throughout the 90s so I potentially could have but I was a stupid kid blinkered by punk rock music at the time. I see he played the Royal Albert Hall in 1997, even though I had no clue or interest back then the thought still fills me with regret. So I didn't ever see Johnny but I did get the chance to see his daughter, Rosanne, tonight. She may not be as legendary as her iconic father but Rosanne has still managed to forge an impressive career of her own writing perfectly crafted country songs with a pop edge.
Her last album, The List, was perhaps my favourite of her work, which has spanned three decades now. Based on a list of 100 essential country songs her dad gave her when she was 18, it showed she was just as good an interpreter of song as she is a writer and an amazing vocalist. There's no doubt her dad would have been proud.
The last time Rosanne was performing on these shores was way back in 2006 (partly due to illness - she had brain surgery in 2007), so even though The List came out a few years ago the show was heavy on songs from it and that was more than fine with me: it was glorious in fact to sit in the wonderfully atmospheric Union Chapel (one of the best and most beautiful music venues in London) and hear stripped down and heartfelt pure country tunes performed by such a fantastic artist. Despite her illness of a few years back, Rosanne looked wonderful: petite and looking years younger than she is, she wore a very stylish and cool black ensemble consisting of a lace skirt, embroidered jacket and knee length suede boots. Accompanying her on guitar was her long time collaborator and husband John Leventhal and the two had a fantastic spark and energy as they playfully teased and joked with one another throughout the show.
One of the best songs on The List is one her father also performed, Sea Of Heartbreak, and Rosanne pulled in the big guns on the record to make sure her version was just as good getting none other than Bruce Springsteen himself to duet with her. "I tried to get him to come on tour with us," she joked, "but he mentioned something about a new album and bigger venues." Instead Leventhal, who she laughingly called "The Unboss", sung the song with her and actually it didn't lose a thing, it sounded fantastic echoing through the old church.
A few weeks ago I saw Joan Baez pay tribute to Johnny Cash by singing the classic Long Black Veil and tonight Rosanne did her own version and it sounded just as good, if a little rawer (which is definitely a very good thing). She also mentioned her father to sing one of her best songs as a songwriter, Radio Operator, which she told us was based on the time he was in the army working in the message office in Germany sending his love to her mother back in the USA. But while she never shies away from talking about her famous dad or paying tribute to him when someone shouts out a request for one of his most legendary songs, Jackson, she tells us matter of factly: "That's one of my father's songs and I don't go to my father's office and do his work." Of course someone shouts back that she did once do the song on Carl Perkins' TV show back in the early 80s and she laughs at being caught out. "You're right!" she says. "But the only thing I remember about that show is meeting George Harrison." So who can blame her for forgetting, I think I would too if I had met Harrison that day.
The set list was a beautiful mix of old country songs and some of the best tunes from her own career, such as her first hit Seven Year Ache, a fantastic Tom Petty song I had never heard before called Never Be You (apparently on her 1985 album Rhythm & Romance), Runaway Train (written by John Stewart who she sweetly dedicated the song to, looking to the heavens in the old church, and describing him as her mentor) and the moving God Is In The Roses, sounding particularly appropriate given the setting.
One of my favourite moments though came with her rendition of the old country classic I'm Movin' On, sung with a cool bluesy swagger. After she joked, "I guarantee Hank Snow was never that sexy!" and she was damn right. But I got particularly excited when she and John pulled out one of my all-time favourite songs from one of my idols, Bobbie Gentry, the perfect Ode To Billie Joe. She said that although her dad hadn't included it on his list that it definitely should be number 101 and that it's certainly one of the best country songs ever written, the proof being that people are still wondering what was thrown off the bridge mentioned in the song 40 years later (right on Rosanne, right on). Her take did the song justice, it was a beautiful, sexy, smoky version: Bobbie Gentry would approve.
She also treated us to a new song, which she admitted had only been performed once before and had gone terribly wrong. Thankfully tonight it sounded fantastic and they pulled if off without a hitch. I think it may have been called 10 Miles To Memphis (judging by the lyrics) and she revealed it's from new album inspired by the south which is due to come out later this year. If the new track played is any indiction it's going to be amazing.
I must say her audience was a bit grey though, I definitely felt young among them, there was even a old chap at the front waving his cane in appreciation at the end! But when I was younger I would have turned up my nose at a concert like this, probably like I did for Johnny Cash himself, and how much I would have missed because this was a truly wonderful, uplifting show.
Supporting Cash was a folk duo called The Winter Mountain Band, made up of two singer-songwriters, one from Donegal, Ireland and the other from Cornwall in England who met while hitchhiking through America. They were extremely likeable and talkative and their music is a sweetly melodic folk. I'm not sure if it's edgy enough for the new wave of folk artists that are so trendy at the moment but they definitely went down well with this older crowd and were a pleasant listen that was hard to dislike. Plus, there's no denying The Winter Mountain Band is a pretty cool name. Hopefully those who love Fleet Foxes and Midlake will give them a chance based on that alone and they definitely deserve the chance.
Her last album, The List, was perhaps my favourite of her work, which has spanned three decades now. Based on a list of 100 essential country songs her dad gave her when she was 18, it showed she was just as good an interpreter of song as she is a writer and an amazing vocalist. There's no doubt her dad would have been proud.
The last time Rosanne was performing on these shores was way back in 2006 (partly due to illness - she had brain surgery in 2007), so even though The List came out a few years ago the show was heavy on songs from it and that was more than fine with me: it was glorious in fact to sit in the wonderfully atmospheric Union Chapel (one of the best and most beautiful music venues in London) and hear stripped down and heartfelt pure country tunes performed by such a fantastic artist. Despite her illness of a few years back, Rosanne looked wonderful: petite and looking years younger than she is, she wore a very stylish and cool black ensemble consisting of a lace skirt, embroidered jacket and knee length suede boots. Accompanying her on guitar was her long time collaborator and husband John Leventhal and the two had a fantastic spark and energy as they playfully teased and joked with one another throughout the show.
One of the best songs on The List is one her father also performed, Sea Of Heartbreak, and Rosanne pulled in the big guns on the record to make sure her version was just as good getting none other than Bruce Springsteen himself to duet with her. "I tried to get him to come on tour with us," she joked, "but he mentioned something about a new album and bigger venues." Instead Leventhal, who she laughingly called "The Unboss", sung the song with her and actually it didn't lose a thing, it sounded fantastic echoing through the old church.
A few weeks ago I saw Joan Baez pay tribute to Johnny Cash by singing the classic Long Black Veil and tonight Rosanne did her own version and it sounded just as good, if a little rawer (which is definitely a very good thing). She also mentioned her father to sing one of her best songs as a songwriter, Radio Operator, which she told us was based on the time he was in the army working in the message office in Germany sending his love to her mother back in the USA. But while she never shies away from talking about her famous dad or paying tribute to him when someone shouts out a request for one of his most legendary songs, Jackson, she tells us matter of factly: "That's one of my father's songs and I don't go to my father's office and do his work." Of course someone shouts back that she did once do the song on Carl Perkins' TV show back in the early 80s and she laughs at being caught out. "You're right!" she says. "But the only thing I remember about that show is meeting George Harrison." So who can blame her for forgetting, I think I would too if I had met Harrison that day.
The set list was a beautiful mix of old country songs and some of the best tunes from her own career, such as her first hit Seven Year Ache, a fantastic Tom Petty song I had never heard before called Never Be You (apparently on her 1985 album Rhythm & Romance), Runaway Train (written by John Stewart who she sweetly dedicated the song to, looking to the heavens in the old church, and describing him as her mentor) and the moving God Is In The Roses, sounding particularly appropriate given the setting.
One of my favourite moments though came with her rendition of the old country classic I'm Movin' On, sung with a cool bluesy swagger. After she joked, "I guarantee Hank Snow was never that sexy!" and she was damn right. But I got particularly excited when she and John pulled out one of my all-time favourite songs from one of my idols, Bobbie Gentry, the perfect Ode To Billie Joe. She said that although her dad hadn't included it on his list that it definitely should be number 101 and that it's certainly one of the best country songs ever written, the proof being that people are still wondering what was thrown off the bridge mentioned in the song 40 years later (right on Rosanne, right on). Her take did the song justice, it was a beautiful, sexy, smoky version: Bobbie Gentry would approve.
She also treated us to a new song, which she admitted had only been performed once before and had gone terribly wrong. Thankfully tonight it sounded fantastic and they pulled if off without a hitch. I think it may have been called 10 Miles To Memphis (judging by the lyrics) and she revealed it's from new album inspired by the south which is due to come out later this year. If the new track played is any indiction it's going to be amazing.
I must say her audience was a bit grey though, I definitely felt young among them, there was even a old chap at the front waving his cane in appreciation at the end! But when I was younger I would have turned up my nose at a concert like this, probably like I did for Johnny Cash himself, and how much I would have missed because this was a truly wonderful, uplifting show.
Supporting Cash was a folk duo called The Winter Mountain Band, made up of two singer-songwriters, one from Donegal, Ireland and the other from Cornwall in England who met while hitchhiking through America. They were extremely likeable and talkative and their music is a sweetly melodic folk. I'm not sure if it's edgy enough for the new wave of folk artists that are so trendy at the moment but they definitely went down well with this older crowd and were a pleasant listen that was hard to dislike. Plus, there's no denying The Winter Mountain Band is a pretty cool name. Hopefully those who love Fleet Foxes and Midlake will give them a chance based on that alone and they definitely deserve the chance.
Comments
Post a Comment