Band from TV Making of Minnie The Moocher - House MD Soundtrack

On this blog you will see a link to the charity Music for Relief. If that does not interest you, then maybe the charity cd/dvd from Band from TV (a play on words according to Hugh Laurie), will. I am a fan of House and Hugh Laurie and being a muso myself have respect for Hugh Laurie as a player. So if you are so inclined, click on the link above to purchase the cd/dvd or anyhing else that takes your fancy.

The Portal of Healing.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum

A wonderful melody and harmony inspired by J.S. Bach, a great arrangement with that Hammond organ and a crazy, cryptic lyric, A Whiter Shade of Pale is one of those songs that outlives it's generation. In 2009 it was the most played song in public places in the UK, and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.

I have a small personal connection to Procul Harum outside of the fact that I like this song. I was fortunate enough to study conducting with Lawrence Leonard at the Morley College in London. I discovered by chance that Lawrence was Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1968-1973) and that he also conducted the Edmonton Symphony in a 1971 concert featuring Procol Harum, which was recorded and released commercially as Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was released in 1972; it was recorded at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 18 November 1971. It is the band's best selling album, certified Gold by the RIAA.

It's a small world and I never knew that somebody who was so important to me was involved with a group that was culturally important to many people. Whenever I hear A Whiter Shade of Pale, I think of Lawrence Leonard. If he were here, I think he would approve.

The Portal of Healing.




We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, there is no reason
And the truth is plain to see.
But I wandered through my playing cards
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might have just as well have been closed
She said, Im home on shore leave,
Though in truth we were at sea
So I took her by the looking glass
And forced her to agree
Saying, you must be the mermaid
Who took neptune for a ride.
But she smiled at me so sadly
That my anger straightway died

If music be the food of love
Then laughter is its queen
And likewise if behind is in front
Then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
Seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
And attacked the ocean bed

BBC News - Singing 'rewires' damaged brain

Something that I and many others have been saying for sometime - music is good for you. sing, dance, play do whatever you can to get music into your life and enjoy. I know from my own experience that music has been a healing and powerful force in my life and others I have come into contact with.

I used to practice occupational therapy in a hospital and the effects on the patients were truly amazing. What we could not communicate in words, we did through music. Get involved in music however you can.

The Portal of Healing.

YouTube - The Mighty Wurlitzer

"Perhaps the most famous instruments Wurlitzer built were its pipe organs (from 1914 until around 1940), which were installed in theatres, homes, churches, and other public places. "The Mighty Wurlitzer" theatre organ was designed, originally by Robert Hope-Jones, as a "one man orchestra" to accompany silent movies. In all, Wurlitzer built over 2,200 pipe organs (and indeed more theatre organs than the rest of the theatre organ manufacturers combined); the largest one originally built was the 4 keyboard / 58 rank (set of pipes) instrument at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Music Hall instrument is actually a concert instrument, capable of playing classical as well as non-classical repertoire."

And now for something completely different. Definitely music from a different era but the Wurlitzer pipe organ owes it's heritage to the church organ and although they put some extra toys on there, it is still essentially that - an organ. But what they can do with it is sometimes magical. Now, the electronic world has taken over and these mighty beasts are a rare artefact and although I love what can be done with electronics and sampling, there is nothing like the sound of a real pipe organ in a church or a ballroom.

Let's hope that there are enough people interested to keep them going. Or maybe you know someone who can make them?

The Portal of Healing.

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

There are so many artists that I could write about and I am sure I will try in time to come. Joni Mitchell is one of those artists who one goes back to from time to time because what she wrote and the way she performed was quality, moving and had meaning. I have included two versions of Both Sides Now, the first from 1970 and the second from 2000. It is a very interesting contrast to hear the two versions and in some way I prefer the later version, the depth of feeling and the arrangement give new life to the lyrics.

The Portal of Healing.

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Elizabeth Pitcairn Red Violin Suite with the KCO

"Pitcairn famously plays the real-life instrument that is said to have inspired the 1999 Academy Award-winning film The Red Violin. Antonio Stradivari who lovingly made his instruments in his small shop in Cremona, Italy centuries ago, crafted the historic violin in 1720 and he remains the most famous violinmaker of all time. The violin went missing for over 200 years, it’s disappearance pondered by many. Canadian filmmaker Francois Girard imaginative speculations became the narrative for The Red Violin. The 1720 "Red” Stradivarius would eventually surface during the 1930s in Berlin."

Violinist plays down his looks

"I don't think I'm particularly good-looking," Bell said during a phone interview with The Times. "Everyone is good-looking on a CD cover. ... I don't think looks mean anything in sustaining a career."

I expect that Mr. Bell would rather we focus on his playing and not his looks but it is all part of the package! The album At Home with Friends is required listening and his talents have covered movies such as the Red Violin and Angels and Demons. Whatever your taste, Joshua Bell is well worth the entrance fee.

The Portal of Healing.

BBC News - Morbidly obese 'may have missing genes'

Obesity is not just about what you eat, it is a genetic condition as well as environmental factors playing their part. Like many actions of misinformation, many people are not aware of how or why people become obese and as a result, many people do not care either.

Let's hope that articles like this will help to unravel the mystery as to why so many more people are becoming obese. It is massively important that we do for obesity and the modern day lifestyle is killing us.

The Portal of Healing.

Leona Lewis Stop Crying Your Heart Out

I really like this performance and for me it was a step up in quality. There seemed to be a strength and maturity that was not so much there before and nice control of the song especially in the lower register of the voice where she was haunting.

The Portal of Healing.