Peter Jöback – East Side Stories

“East Side Stories” is the new album from Peter Jöback and could be the one to give him an international breakthrough.

One thing I like about Peter is you never quite know what he’s going to do mext. Will he sing in English or Swedish? Pop or show tunes? Another Christmas album? Another musical? Tour with Eva Dahlgren and release a live album? It keeps him fresh and although there’s always there’s a risk, it keeps his fans on their toes.

“East Side Stories” is a covers album, always a risk in itself, inspired by Peter’s year living in New York. The risk pays off though, giving us a brilliant album in the process. Peter has put his own stamp on these songs, often surpassing the original.

In fact, I didn’t even know most of the songs which I think is a plus since one comes in with no pre-conceived ideas. I was a little excited and scared that he was tackling two of my favourite songs of all time. I have already written about “Somebody” and how happy I am with how Peter made that his own. The other favourite of mine is “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak and once again, Peter has put his own slant on the song, making it sound more Latin and turning it into a duet with the amazing Sia. Sia is Australian giving Peter an Australian connection (apart from his crazy Australian fan that is) and her voice blends so well with Peter’s. I could cope with a whole album of Peter/Sia duets very easily. And I love the Mexican trumpet. It always makes my knees turn to jelly when it starts up!

Peter is working with some other amazing musicians. I still can’t believe that he has sung with Kate Pierson from the B-52s on the uplifting “Sing”. A dream collaboration in my mind. Another great singer is Irishman Declan O’Rourke. I hadn’t heard of him before but he has a great voice which again works really well with Peter’s. They sing “Everybody Hurts”, the REM song. A favourite track of mine on the album. Peter has also worked with the sensational group Betty who have just released an album themselves (but more about that album in a later post).

An absolute favourite of mine comes courtesy of Divine Comedy, “Our Mutual Friend”. Peter has more than a great voice, he also has the ability to tell a story with his singing (a skill no doubt honed from his experience in musicals). I always find myself caught up in “Our Mutual Friend”, the build up of joy and love followed by the crashing down of reality. It’s like a mini movie or maybe an episode of “Queer As Folk”.

Another highlight on the album is “God Loves Everyone”, a song written by Ron Sexsmith and inspired by the senseless and brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Peter’s version gives me goosebumps.

“East Side Stories” is a very queer friendly album. Peter has worked with some great queer musicians and chosen a selection of songs that reflect where he is in his life right now and it will certainly resonate with many in the queer community. Needless to say, anyone can enjoy this album for its sheer quality and the power of Peter’s singing.

“East Side Stories” is available around the world on iTunes now. Check it out – you won’t be disappointed.

PS. You can read James’ review of the album on his blog right here.

Dusty Springfield and Mireille Mathieu

This is a real gem from 1970 from a Burt Bacharach TV special.

You probably know “The Look Of Love” from the brilliant Dusty Springfield. It pops up in movies all the time and is the perfect soundtrack song.

This a duet between Dusty and French chanteuse Mireille Mathieu. Dusty sings in English and Mireille sings in French, often echoing each other’s lines. Their voices work really well together and the mixture of languages really takes the song to another level.

The camera angles and lighting are quite innovative too giving some memorable visuals of the two beautiful women.

Thank you to Jim Witt for cleaning up the video and sharing it on Youtube.

Honey West

In this day of the internet, it is easy to think you know everything about everything, especially about CD and DVD releases. It sort of takes the fun out of shopping since there are no surprises any more.

Okay, so I hate shopping these days anyway but I do remember the days of going into a record shop or video shop and finding gems that I didn’t know had been released. That’s how we did it back then.

The Judge and I were in a specialist DVD shop in Melbourne recently and my eyes were drawn to this DVD called Honey West starring none other than the incomparable Anne Francis of “Forbidden Planet” fame.  I loved the retro look and the name. The blurb on the back about a female private eye had me intrigued. Plus it was driving me nuts that I had never ever heard of this show.

The normal thing to do would have been to note the title, check out Wikipedia, watch clips on Youtube, come to a dcision, check prices and buy it online from the cheapest online store.

But where is the fun in that?!?

We left the store and were in the middle of Myer when I decided to take a chance. We went back and I bought it on the spot. Okay, it was a little bit expensive, especially for something that I had no idea what it was like. But we all have to take chances some time. This one paid off. I love the show.

Honey West is a private investigator with a snazzy sports car, gadgets galore and a pet ocelot called Bruce. Based on a series of books, the TV show ran for just one season – 30 black and white episodes between 1965 and 1966.

Unheard of on American TV was a female lead who could hold her own. She dashed about in catsuits, knew karate and could beat up the bad guys. She might sound a bit like Cathy Gale or Emma Peel from “The Avengers” and producer Aaron Spelling admitted to getting the inspiration from seeing “The Avengers” on a trip to the UK. But Honey as played by Anne Francis was still pretty unique. She led the way for stronger portrayals of women in television.

Honey West had a team behind her. Apart from Bruce, there was her partner Sam Bolt (played by the hunky John Ericson) and the witty and wise Aunt Meg. Although I have watched 10 episodes so far, I still haven’t worked out exactly what Aunt Meg does but she’s still pretty cool.

Honey West has a funky title sequence and someone has uploaded it to Youtube. Watch out for Bruce’s sudden appearance at about 0:27. For some reason, the Judge and I fall about laughing whenever that happens. And then Bruce morphs into Honey, long before morphing wizardry.

It is criminal that the show only lasted one season. Some of the reasons for its cancellation included the network buying “The Avengers” and not wanting two such female roles on air. Also, it was up against some tough ratings competition in the form of “Gomer Pyle”. A shame since I’m sure that given a bit more time and a better time slot, it could have been a huge hit.

Ooh, I just found that there is a “Honey West” soundtrack CD.  I just have to have that!

Peter Jöback – Somebody

Peter Jöback has released a video to the song “Somebody” from his new album – and this time, it’s not a cartoon but 100% Peter.

You can see the video at his official site – http://www.peterjoback.com/index_english.php

“Somebody” is a favourite song of mine since it reminds me of a special person I knew back in the 80s and chocolate covered strawberries. I won’t mention his name because the internet has a strange way of digging up your past and biting you on the bum. Needless to say, he had an impact on me even though it was never meant to be.

He was a big Depeche Mode fan so naturally, I checked out their music. Their current single at the time was the double A-side “Blasphemous Rumours” and “Somebody”. I fell in love with “Somebody” immediately. Not only was it a beautiful song with that compelling heartbeat sound but it summed up how I was feeling about this guy.

Flash forward to 2009. I was quite shocked when I found out that Peter Jöback was going to be releasing his own version. I always thought that “Somebody” was one of those best kept secrets, an under-rated classic. No one ever mentions that song when they talk about Depeche Mode. Of course, a lot of the old feelings came flooding back.

Peter’s version is truly beautiful and gives me goosebumps. What makes it even special to me as a gay man is that he has changed the pronouns from ’she’ to ‘he’, making it even more relevant. He had to get permission from Martin Gore to change it to ‘he’ and thankfully he said yes.

The story goes that Martin Gore recorded this song in the nude. I wonder which interviewer will be brave enough to ask Peter if he did the same?

I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who’ll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
He’ll get my support
He will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
He’ll hear me out
And won’t easily be converted
Into my way of thinking
In fact he’ll often disagree
But at the end of it all
He will understand me

I want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought and
With every breath
Someone who’ll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don’t want to be tied
To anyone’s strings
I’m carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I’m asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
I’ll get away with it

Nanne – the video

You may recall that I talked about the new single from Nanne called “Otacksamhet”. Better late than never, a video has just been released and it’s Nanne in true form. A lot of fun.

The single has already been a hit in Sweden, reaching number two but hopefully this video will send it back up the charts.

Peter Jöback and Kate Pierson (the B-52s)

The first single from Peter Jöback’s forthcoming album “East Side Stories” is his version of the Travis song “Sing”. An extra special treat is that Kate Pierson from the B-52s joins Peter on vocals.

This is a dream duet for me. I have been a B-52s fan since the late 70s (gawd, I feel old) and of course, I am a huge Peter Jöback fan.

“Sing” is quite a joyous song and is very infectious. It is currently available on iTunes with the album due to touch down on 28 October. To say that I am looking forward to this album is an understatement!

Anyway, the clip has now been released. I must admit that I was surprised that it is a cartoon. Come on, when you look as good as Peter and when you have the legendary Kate Pierson on your song, you want your two main assets up front and centre. I guess with Kate busy touring with the B-52s then this would be the next best option. Still, it is a cute and fun clip and you can check it out here.

Stephen Gately – RIP

“How can a light that burned so brightly suddenly burn so pale?”

Stephen Gately was always my favourite member of Boyzone. He had the most unique voice in the group and I always thought it was a great shame that he seemed to get less and less of the lead vocals. He had a great look and although I didn’t realise it until later, he was ticking all my gay boxes.

He took a big risk when he came out as gay. Thankfully, his fans stood by him and didn’t turn on him. He went on to have solo success with a great debut album and several singles. Unfortunately, the record company dropped him even though the album went top ten.

I still can’t believe that he is no longer with us. It just makes no sense. He always came across as a decent guy, albeit a talented one. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

Here is his version of the classic “Bright Eyes”, sadly appropriate at this time.

Tina Stenberg performances

2009 has been a big year for music for me personally. One of the stand out albums of the year came out all the way back in January, “Tales Of A Heart” from Tina Stenberg. I’m still playing it today.

I just discovered on YouTube, TV performances of two of the songs from the album so I thought I would share.

First up, the second single “Adam & Eve”.

And one of my favourite tracks, “Forgive Me”:

The album is available to buy on iTunes internationally or at Klicktrack.

Through My Eyes – Thanh Bui

This beautiful song has been released to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorders and raise money for Aspect, an Australian organisation that provides support and services for people with an autism spectrum disorder as well as their families and communities. Its vision is overcoming the isolation of autism and this song is all about seeing the world through the eyes of someone with an autism spectrum disorder.

Thanh Bui was a contestant on last year’s Australian Idol, arguably one of the best voices that year. I have his self-released EP and it’s very good, also showing off his talent as a songwriter. He is working on both an English language album and a Vietnamese album and hopefully, the release of the English album is imminent.

You can buy “Through My Eyes” on iTunes with the proceeds going to Aspect.

Emilia – Teardrops

Emilia Rydberg, better known as just Emilia, hit the big time back in the 90s with the worldwide hit “Big, Big World”. She was discovered by Lars Anderson, son of Swedish music legend Stig Anderson.

After a long absence, she popped back up earlier this year in Melodifestivalen with the song “You’re My World”, advancing to the final. Although she didn’t win, the song was a hit, letting Sweden know that Emilia was back.

A new album called “My World” was released a couple of days ago and the latest single is a fabulous song called “Teardrops” (not a cover of the Motown song). Check it out below.

And in case you’ve forgotten the song that started it all (shame on you), here it is for old times sake.