Good news for our friends west of the Blue Mountains, when she tours in March Mary Gauthier will be doing a gig in Bathurst. I'll be getting along to the show at Notes Alive in Newtown, a newish joint I've not been to before.

Marianne Faithfull at the Opera House the other night was a very satisfying affair in front of an engaged and appreciative audience. She went through most of Easy Come, Easy Go plus the old stand-bys "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan", "Broken English", "As Tears Go By" and "Why'd You Do It."

The band mostly stayed out of the way and were good without being dazzling; they were a little heavy handed at times but I was in a box on the side so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that that was a function of the always loose acoustics in that room. There was a low musical point (for me) during "Sing Me Back Home" featuring a musical saw. We can finally answer the question, most robustly in the negative, whether a musical saw is any replacement for a pedal or lap steel. It's a party piece, comrades, not a musical instrument.

There's a fragment of "Broken English" here, questionable phone recording quality but evidence the old trooper is still in fine, passionate voice.

So Rogue's Gallery - Hal Wilner's star-studded sea shanties thing - at the Sydney festival is getting bagged from all quarters (lots of unhappy commenters there) which I can't say surprises me. The whole event had "underwhelming" written all over it from the start.

I did mildly enjoy the Leonard Cohen tribute a few years back, a Wilner and friends love-in along the same lines, but the concept does lend itself to self-indulgence and complacency. I thought this event offered all the pitfalls of Came So Far for Beauty (acts not learning the songs, lack of rehearsal etc) but with the added variables of uncertainty about outside acoustics, the weather and ambient noise of one of the country's busiest commuter and tourist hubs. The Opera House forecourt should be left to Australian Idol finales and triathlon finishing lines.

Despite Marianne Faithfull being singled out for a shellacking I'm still very excited about her solo show, it's hard to judge whether I would've felt so hostile to her performance. i don't really mind divas getting drunk and slurring out of tune, really, in fact I quite like it. I'll be sure to let you know Wednesday night.

As any Australian music fan (our kind of music, anyhoo) knows late March and April is always a busy time as we enjoy the spillover of acts brought out for Byron Bay. Sometimes you have to make the choice of two rarely seen (on our shores) highly regarded acts whose only local shows clash with each other.

Not Byron-related but kicking off the season in style is Marianne Faithfull only the week after next. Playing the Concert Hall at the Opera House -- ugh, I have a prejudice against it for popular music -- and I only have a seat at the back of one of the mezzanine boxes but still I can't wait.

"Solitude"

Then, Dan Sultan at the Factory on February 27th -- for a measly $20. For realsm his recent album of late 2009 -- Get Out While You Can -- is a gem of soul, rock and country. For twenty bucks you can't afford not to go.

The above dodgy but illustrative video of Dan was taken by me at the Blue Mountains Music Fest the year before last and that will be my next port of call, in March. As well as seeing two of the Bluesfest drawcards for me Chris Smither and Nanci Griffith, the rest of the line-up is superb. My posts from my previous visit. I'm sure there will be a number of new discoveries but I'm also looking forward to revisiting with the boys from Genticorum, who do fabulous traditional Quebec music.

As for the rest of the Byron folk, well The Flatlanders top the list but they haven't announced any sideshows yet. I'll be there when they do (they have to, right?) I've lined up to see Dr John and the Lower 911 at the Basement; seen him a few times before (but not for yonks) and I might have wavered but the opportunity for a show at a joint that size (real small) cannot be passed up. And ... that might be me tapped out for another year ...

Best Dylan Album -- Equal winners: Together Through Life and Christmas in the Heart (I'm with Tom Russell on this gem)

Best Non-Dylan Albums:
I think if you looked at my most played album released in 2009 it would be Leonard Cohen: Live in London but I'm gonna exclude live recordings, reissues and compilations from this ...

1. Easy Come Easy Go - Marianne Faithfull. I got this back in January and here it still is, top of the list.
2. Blood and Candle Smoke - Tom Russell. Typically full-bore TR effort of weaving biography and myth, now with mariachi horns
3. The Bright Mississippi - Allen Toussaint. Refreshing, transfixing, dreamy masterclass
4. Midnight at the Movies - Justin Townes Earle. No sophomore nerves here, proving the first album was not a fluke.
5. Hills and Valleys - The Flatlanders. Slipped a little in list over time but still an album of a grade Americana song to song
6. Traditions in Transition - Quantic and his Combo Barbaro. Genre tinkering with respect and passion, Latin on the wild side
7. One to the Head, One to the Heart - Gretchen Peters. What I said at the time
8. A Friend of a Friend - David Rawlings Machine. Should be higher really, but couldn't drop anything.
9. Mountain Soul II - Patty Loveless. Infectious bluegrassy country, highly polished but full of affection
10. Get Out While You Can - Dan Sultan. Well now, I only got this yesterday so given a few more days it could have really shot up the charts. Brilliant collection of soul, country and blues and heaps more soul. Dan is a star, no doubt.
11. Potato Hole - Booker T From the show in April
12. What Have You Done My Brother? - Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. Preach it, sister
13. Dirt Town City Limits - Mat d and the Profane Saints. See Jim's great review.
14 Today, Tomorrow and Forever - Pete Molinari feat. The Jordanaires. Only an EP, but a perfectly formed one.
15. For the Mission Baby -- Malcolm Holcombe.
16. Ready for the Flood - Gary Louris and Mark Olsen. Was rather "meh" on it for eight of the last nine months but sort of started to grow on me ....
17. Animals in the Dark - William Elliott Whitmore. Should be higher also, what can you do? Lists are stupid. Hat tip Phineas, some very cathartic tracks on here believe me.
18. Cotton - Sam Baker. Also needs more time but exceptional story songs and that kind of creaky Texas voice I love.
19. Lucky One - Raul Malo A little bit country, a little bit croony, very pleasant listening.
20. The Soul of Black John - John Black

About four years overdue, Lucinda Williams finally took the stage at the Enmore on Monday night and I had my front row centre seat which appropriately had me literally sitting at her feet, gazing straight up. Nice for the metaphor, murder on the neck.

Lucinda's lyrics, especially in latter years but it was always there, are the most comprehensive compendium of modern adult womanhood I know of and this naturally includes a recognition of what you can and cannot compromise on, and an acceptance of any losses that causes. (The way reviewers harp on her loneliness or whatever really irks me as it really elides the complexities.) It's a difficult sensibility for some I guess but really hits home for me and why I get lost in the newer records more than others. The point is: live, her presence mirrors this familiar daily trajectory, laid bare. Nervousness channeling the unquestionable strength of her voice and vision.

A word on the reservations of my comrade, FXH. There hasn't been solid twang - apart from her voice - on any album in the last decade and the current band recreates the gauzy rock she's been cultivating so I don't see any angle for complaint there. Sure, I'd love more of the earlier country rock and more of the ballads, but then I say that about everyone. 1987 is gone and ain't never coming back and that's all you can say about that. It is the same sound as the whole album live shows she did, which I have listened to on CD a fair bit. Mind you Buick 6 were loud, so that they shook my ribcage during their opening set and lead me to stay out there in the foyer rather than take my seat. As one of the Walkman generation my hearing is already headed to an inevitable early demise, and I wince a bit more a buzzsaw guitars close up than I once did. That made me a little wary, but with Lucinda they settled into their complementary groove, without overwhelming. There was a pedal steel layed out, but I don't recall if it got played?

But to be the honest the band to me was always going to be, at most, a distraction. It usually is. So sorry, hard grafting musos but I'm a singer obsessive and as long as you don't get in the way of the Voice, you're probably cool with me. After Melbourne I buttonholed Tim Dunlop, late of the blogosphere, for his impressions (especially as he had travelled from Adelaide just for it) and nodded along when he replied it was "all about her voice" and thus, what's not to like? The setlist was a good balance, even a couple of the earliest Folkways songs, through to a few off Little Honey (I still don't think much of "Little Rock Star" I have to say.) Of course there were a dozen others, at least, at minimum, just for a start you'd want to hear but it covered all reasonable bases. She started with "Fruits of My Labor", one of those songs which pulls me in irrevocably and haunts me. And thus as we had begun, we continued.

Shorter Bloke Who Prob Got His Ticket For Free: Eric Clapton should tailor his show much more to people who don't really like him much.

Props to my Twitter peep who suggests George just stick to Blueshammer.

Of uncertain provenance straight outta the low countries, a performance of the 9th best song on Various Positions from the live DVD/CD (London O2 arena gigs) to be released 6th April. I ordered it from Amazon til I saw an Australian version was being put out at the same time. Might camp out in fromt on JB Hi FI or something ...

This EP from the Webb Sisters dropped on eMusic today so I had to get it immediately. They are part of Leonard Cohen's current touring ensemble. It includes a live version of "If It Be Your Will" including the intro and recitation at the beginning LC has been doing in concert. Me like much.

I haven't had much chance to listen to the rest and am running out the door again now but "In Your Father's Eyes" surprised/pleased me by being a Dixie Chick-esque banjo-lead number. So I'm looking forward to hearing that again properly and the other songs.

"If It Be Your Will" was recored at one of the O2 concerts in London, and a CD and DVD from those gigs are being released in March. I had ordered copies on Amazon, but then read Australian editions are being released at the same time. Woot. The "Suzanne" part of the DVD is on Amazon for your edification.

OK I haven't quite exhausted my all Cohen, all the time kick. It's a bitch coming down, man.

I did an 8tracks of various Cohenalia. Covers mostly (the ones I can stomach), some songs "about" him, a version of "Chant des Partisans" and a bit of Len himself, including a Dreadfully Serious Poem from his early Montréal days. Direct link or the embed:

Also see wayfarer's mix (Andre in comments here) includes some Len collabs which are new to me. That Herbie Hancock one makes me happy in a special place.

I also watched, remarkably for the first time, the I'm Your Man doco as it screened on SBS the other night. The live bits were filmed at the 2005 Opera House gig which we -- my two sisters and me -- were at. My sister -- who will ONE DAY flipping comment here ;-) -- watched it before me and emailed that it didn't seem like they were looking at the lyrics, which was a major gripe of ours at the time. Alas, SHE LIED. Here is my original blog post about it. Because, seriously Nick Cave is obviously looking at the frigging lyrics in the video. NICK, WHY DO YOU HURT ME THIS WAY. I mean, I don't care what Jarvis flipping Cocker does with his time but Nick Cave is NOT ALLOWED to disappoint me. Sure "Suzanne" is a bit wordy but what's your excuse for not knowing "I'm Your Man"? It brought it all back.

But it brough back all the things in my follow up post about the good things. The vid also reminded me Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen were awesome and really, despite being by far the least of the names there fame-wise, their "Anthem" was the highlight of the movie I just saw. They get it. It's interesting to see I liked The Handsome Family in 05 since now I find them boring. I'd forgotten I ever liked them. But "Heart With No Companion" is a terrific shitkicker song, it's just their own songs which have no melody. Anthony was an unknown -- really he was, back then. I'm tempted to dig back into Blogger and fix the error on the title of only my favouritest song ever, but I won't.

It's weird seeing blog posts from four years ago, I won't do it too often.

Got me a bootleg of the Bowral gig. Audience rec but good, enough to bring back some shivers. A few quick ones:

Anthem mp3 (includes comments and band intros -- 17MB)
Chelsea Hotel bowral.mp3 (5.6MB)
Sisters of Mercy bowral.mp3 (7.1MB)