No way of stopping the old guard
The autumn music season kicks off with the publication of Bruce Springsteen's autobiography and new albums from veteran performers Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison
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No way of stopping the old guard Arxiu. -
Two master veteran musicians with new albums out this autumn: Van Morrison (facing page), and a young Bruce Springsteen (above) featured on the cover of his new record, Chapter & Verse, as well as the cover of his highly-anticipated autobiography, Born to Run, which ties in with the new album. / ARCHIVE.
The return of veteran performers, particularly in the case of those dominating the concert scene over the next few months, are at the very least a guarantee of quality. What's more, their presence is not restricted to the stage or studio, as can be seen from the publication of one of the most highly anticipated rock autobiographies for years, that of Bruce Springsteen. Despite having been a subject of study by many authors, such as Dave Marsh and Peter Ames Carlin, until now The Boss himself has not committed his memories to paper.
Born to Run (the book's title writes itself) came out across the globe at the end of September, and is published here in Catalan by Malpaso. In the run-up to the publication, despite the secrecy surrounding the contents of the volume, the New Jersey rocker confessed to bouts of depression in an interview with Vanity Fair, suggesting that Springsteen will be just as transparent in his life story and therefore shedding more light on his work.
More memoirs
The book was timed to come out at the same time as Chapter & Verse, an album that features five previously unreleased Springsteen songs that tie into sections of his book. The 18-track compilation album includes tracks from The Boss' high school band, The Castiles, and recordings from the Steel Mill and Bruce Springsteen Band, featuring musicians who went on to perform in the E Street Band, as well as solo demos of “Henry Boy” and “Growin' Up”, both recorded in 1972. Nor is Springsteen the only musical veteran to pick the autumn to tell his life story as Brian Wilson publishes I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir, and Phil Collins weighs in with Not Dead Yet, although so far both books are only available in English.
As for albums, the 82-year-old Leonard Cohen continues a prolific period that includes three studio albums in the past five years with You Want It Darker, produced by his son, Adam. Whether he will follow it up later with a promotional tour waits to be seen.
Meanwhile, Van Morrison, who stormed in not long ago with three new volumes of his celebrated live 1973 album, It's Too Late to Stop Now, has released Keep Me Singing, his 36th studio album (and his first for four years), which includes a dozen tracks, including his own version of Every Time I See a River, made popular by Kenny Rogers and Aretha Franklin.
The collaboration of Billy Bragg and Joe Henry (Shine a Light, a work based on songs about trains) and Bee Gee Barry Gibb's first solo album for more than 30 years are other highlights of the season, not to forget Nick Cave's new work, Skeleton Tree (influenced by the death of his 15-year-old son in June), as well as the rumour that the Rolling Stones could release a new album before the end of the year.
In fact, this autumn has a plethora of established performers releasing new work with albums coming out from Metallica, Green Day, The Pretenders, Bon Iver, The Pixies, Sting, Norah Jones, Bon Jovi, Kings of Leon, Beck, Madness, Dawes, Steve Wilson, Bob Weir, Drive-by Truckers, Idina Menzel, Katie Melua, Kaiser Chiefs, Two Door Cinema Club and Devendra Banhart, while the Catalan contingent includes new work from Gossos, Enric Montefusco, Gertrudis, Sanjosex & Carles Belda, Sidonie and Xavier Baró.
Pick of the concerts
Yet, the musical feast does not end there, as there will be an avalanche of live music in the coming weeks to satisfy just about all tastes. Too many to list here, this October sees a few of the gems from the Voll-Damm Festival de Jazz, such as Los Van Van, Jack De Johnette with Ravi Coltrane and Matt Garrison, the solo piano recitals that Rufus Wainwright will give in Girona and Sant Cugat, as well as the Calella Rock Fest, with the iconic hard rock voice of Joe Lynn Turner, showman Michael Monroe and Ten Years After.
November will see the arrival of London soulman Michael Kiwanuka (at the Festival del Mil·lenni), the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera's treatment of the classic 1990s heavy metal album Roots by Sepultura, the duo of concerts by King Crimson in the Fòrum, and, in the Festival de Jazz, the coming together of reggae producers Sly & Robbie with Norwegian trumpeter, Nils Petter Molvaer.
Finally, in December, the year comes to an end with the Sidecar concert hall celebrating its 5,000th gig with Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets and a double feature of former bassist and singer of Deep Purple, Glenn Hughes, with guitar hero Vernon Reid's Living Colour.