ISLAND OF REASON

Quite some time has passed since my last post, and there are many reasons or excuses for my silence. Oodles of work for daily papers here in Switzerland, a move to a new home as well as recording sessions with Gretel in Ireland. Posts should follow more regularly from now on, as befits a blog, but please accept my pre-emptive apologies for any future interruptions in communication.
The professional highlight of the past few months was an interview with Chris Blackwell, famed founder of Island Records, the label responsible for launching Bob Marley and U2 as well as giving the world such wonderful anomalies as Roxy Music, Grace Jones and the B-52’s and saving Marianne Faithfull and Tom Waits from descents into obscurity. It was an honour to meet Mr. Blackwell, but also a sharp reminder of my job as a journalist. “I was always much more focused on press than on radio,” he told me, back in London for Island’s 50th birthday bash. “Because the roles of radio and press are vastly different: Radio always wants you to stay tuned to a station and not switch channels while it’s the press’s role to introduce you to new things.”
In the last few years, even the broadsheets have fallen prey to the allure of mainly reporting on the renowned and respected, and I myself plead guilty to that particular crime. Mr. Blackwell’s reminder of my journalistic duty seems even more poignant two months after our meeting as the Swiss album and singles charts are currently clogged up with Michael Jackson re-issues. So much so, in fact, that they make up about 60% percent of the respective Top Tens – and that’s not even counting USA For Africa’s “We Are The World”. Not that I’m averse to Jackson’s music, it’s just that I think the true proof of his pop prowess remains hidden from the general public. If you can still get your hands on the Special Editions of the “Off The Wall” and “Thriller” albums released back in 2003, you’ll find the demo versions of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Billie Jean” Jackson recorded at home with members of his family. Listening to these first captures of future hits, you realise that contrary to popular belief, he had these songs down well before taking them to producer Quincy Jones. But now I’m falling into the same trap of writing about a major star rather than uncovering the obscure or forgotten. I promise to mend my ways.