“Nadirflux”, the newest preview tune from Asgrauw‘s forthcoming LP release Solips (out on November 14), has surfaced online. Check it out. Read moreâŠ
Peter Gabriel recently announced that he will release his latest studio album, o\i, on November 27 through his Real World label.
And he’s just shared the latest single from what will be his eleventh studio album, Who Are We Talking To?.
“Who Are We Talking To? was conceived as something that might encourage activism,” Gabriel reveals. “It might be naive, but I still believe that people have real power for change if they can get together in large enough numbers. Politicians will respond – democracy or not.
âMy hope is that we start thinking of ourselves as global citizens and that we work together to bring about change on a global scale. These issues that we’re looking at, whether it’s climate change, AI, pandemics⊠these are all things that canât be effectively dealt with on a national level – only globally. A country can have all the bright intentions that it wants, but it’s pretty meaningless unless we have everyone working on it at the same time.
âMany people feel powerless, oppressed and scared at the increasing divisions in the world. At the same time, I would argue that those all-powerful nations that think they are invincible are actually totally vulnerable now. Everybody’s hackable. I think we’re learning that with the right AI, and once we get quantum computing cutting through cyber security, we’re all open to attack and the only sensible course of action would, of course, be to work together.
âI really want to see big popular movements that are not about dividing us, with immigration, into them and us, but just the whole messy mass of humanity working together to deal with the things that may very well destroy us soon if we don’t. So, this song is a plea for activism.”
âI imagine the title Bloques refers to these big physical blocks within the painting that seem to represent the barriers that divide people and make it harder for them to come together. I think he believed that these blocks were a power, a force, which could be employed for good or for evil – so appropriate for this song.â
o\i will be available as a four-CD pack featuring both the Bright-Side mixes by Mark âSpikeâ Stent and the Dark-Side mixes by Tchad Blake of all 13 tracks, as well as separately as double vinyl albums. The digital-only Dolby Atmos In-Side mix is again shaped by Hans-Martin Buff, who won Best Immersive Mix Engineer at the Grammys for his work on i/o.
At this point in Bruce Cockburnâs discography, spanning over half a century of performing and recording, he has released over forty albums, including live recordings and compilations. The Blood of Others is his first studio album since the 2023 release O Sun O Moon and comprises fifteen covers of songs that Cockburn has carried in his memory since his earliest recollections of music. It was the music of his childhood and adolescence that influenced his musical direction once he decided to embark on a music career.
The albumâs title was taken from a novel written by French author Simone de Beauvoir during the Nazi occupation of France during WWII. Bruce felt that borrowing the bookâs title for his album made sense to him: âit seems perfect for an album of songs I didnât write.â At 81 years of age, he felt that interpreting the songs that influenced him would be an important addition to his musical legacy. The album was produced by Colin Linden, who has collaborated with Cockburn for decades, and released through Sunset Boulevard Records.
The first cut is âI Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down,â a gospel blues song originally recorded by Rev. Robert Wilkins, who learned the song in 1911 when he was just 9 years old. Cockburn first heard the song in the 1970s on a compilation album that Wilkins recorded in 1965 during the 1960s folk revival, when he was rediscovered. âAs Time Goes Byâ was written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931 and recorded by Rudy Vallee. The song was sung by Dooley Wilson in the 1942 film Casablanca and reached #2 on the Billboard chart. Cockburnâs version is accompanied by sparse acoustic guitar work rather than piano or a big band.
âBuddy Boldenâs Bluesâ was written by Jelly Roll Morton about the pioneer of New Orleans ragtime jazz. Itâs a bright, happy tune that has Cockburnâs fingers dancing on the strings. âYou Belong to Meâ was a childhood memory for Bruce that he first heard in the early 1950s. The tune was a popular ballad that became a radio hit and was beautifully sung by Jo Stafford. Classic lyrics like âSee the pyramids along the Nileâ grab you with his raspy interpretation and multiple-guitar accompaniment. âThatâs All Rightâ was originally written and recorded by Arthur âBig Boyâ Crudup in 1946. Elvis Presley made the song famous when he recorded and released his version in 1954 as his debut commercial single. Scotty Mooreâs guitar work on the recording prompted Bruce to use his resonator guitar to help drive the track.
âFour Strong Windsâ was a folk song written by Ian Tyson in 1961 and recorded with his wife, Sylvia. Bruce played at Le Hibou, the same coffeehouse in Ottawa where the duo performed and where he first heard the song. His reflective version explores the geography of Canada with an updated tempo. âGod Bless the Childâ is a song written by Billie Holiday and her writing partner, Arthur Herzog, that was recorded and released on Okeh Records in 1942. The song was precipitated by an argument that Holiday had with her mother over money. Cockburn first heard a jazz version of the song by Harry Belafonte on a bootleg album he purchased in the early 1960s and was later impressed by Holidayâs original version.
âMama may have, papa may have But God bless the child thatâs got his ownâ
âLouis Collinsâ is a ballad about a murder by Mississippi John Hurt and is one of his most iconic songs. Bruce first heard the song in 1963 while listening to music at a friendâs house. He was impressed âby the sweetness, the idiosyncratic phrasing and the way he put voice and finger-picked guitar together.â âYellow Dog Bluesâ was written by W.C. Handy in 1914 while he was living in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and was later recorded by Bessie Smith. Cockburn heard Smithâs recording around 1962 and immediately âfell in love with the lyrics.â
âYes, see him here and he was on the hog I said easy riders gotta stay awayâ
âFare Thee Wellâ was recorded and released by American folk singer Fred Neil on his eponymous album in 1966. Itâs an adaptation of a traditional American folk song called âDinkâs Songâ and was first recorded by John Lomax. Bruce enjoyed Neilâs version and even âgot to perform it with the McGarrigle sisters at Pete Seegerâs ninetieth birthday event in NYC.â
âIâll Be Seeing Youâ was popularized by Bing Crosby and was used in a Broadway show and a movie that shared its title and included the song on the soundtrack. Bruce had heard it as a child, but it impacted him in the 1990s when he applied it to what he called âThe aftermath of a brief but heart-opening relationship.â
âLaplegged Drunk Againâ was written and recorded by Lonnie Johnson in 1938. Cockburn first heard the song when he purchased it on a 45 rpm record at a record store while in Europe in 1964. In 1969, he got to see Lonnie Johnson at a supper club in Ottawa, but Johnson declined to play the song because he said it wasnât appropriate for the venue.
âLove will make a many man drink and gamble Stay out all night long Love will take you into many places, sometimes where you donât belongâ
âOne for My Babyâ was written in 1943 by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen and originally sung by Fred Astaire in a film, but Bruceâs favorite rendition is Frank Sinatraâs 1958 recording. Bruceâs jazzy guitar licks sandwich his laid-back vocal delivery as he declares, âOne for my baby and one more for the road.â
The final cut on The Blood of Others is âPeace in the Valley,â a gospel tune written by gospel legend Thomas A. Dorsey (Georgia Tom in his unsaved days) for Mahalia Jackson. It was another song that Lonnie Johnson recorded and that Cockburn first heard on the 45 rpm record he purchased in 1964.
The Blood of Others is reminiscent of Bruce Cockburnâs acoustic folk period during the 1970s. Itâs the music that was personal to him during his formative years and helped define who he would become musically. Colin Linden provided amazing production that allowed every nuanced guitar phrase and weathered vocal inflection to breathe. At 81 years of age, Cockburn could retire from performing and touring, but somehow he continues to deliver both in person and on this heartfelt addition to his amazing discography.
The Review: 9/10
Canât Miss Tracks
– You Belong To Me – Four Strong Winds – Louis Collins – Yellow Dog Blues – Laplegged Drunk Again
The Ohio Express was one of the biggest names in the late-1960s bubblegum pop explosion, turning simple melodies, playful lyrics, and irresistible choruses into hits heard on radio stations across the country. I don’t know about you, but I have always loved bubblegum music. I have said it before: there is an art to writing great bubblegum songs. It’s almost unfair to call it bubblegum, but that’s history; we need to address what people actually called it. The group’s story is a little unusual. The musicians who toured as the Ohio Express came from Mansfield, Ohio, where they had previously
Death metal duo from Florida, Soulareon, has signed a new contract with Memento Mori for the release of their debut full-length effort in January 2027. Additional details on the latter coming soon. Read moreâŠ
