Last night I went to see Elbow and the Hallé on the first of their two nights at The Bridgewater Hall, as part of Manchester International Festival. It was absolutely superb, I've seen Elbow a number of times but this was quite different. The songs have all been rearraged for orchestra and choir, rather than just playing along with their existing arrangements, with the band fitting in amongst the large number of musicians filling the stage. They mostly played songs from their mellower side and it sounded absolutely lovely. Did anyone else catch this?

What does anyone make of this idea?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8132949.stm

Years ago I used to love Only Fools And Horses, but given the quality of the Boycie spin-off I can't say I'll be expecting many laughs. I shall wait and see.

I've always quite liked Bruce Springsteen but have never really delved into his catalogue properly. I'm looking forward to seeing him at Glastonbury in 2 weeks, but I'd like to hear a bit more of what he is likely to play beforehand. I currently own "Greatest Hits" (the 90s one), "We Shall Overcome", "Devils And Dust" and "Working On A Dream". His recent setlists are quite varied so I'm not sure where to go next and realistically I only have time to properly digest a couple of albums. What would anyone suggest as my next move?

I enjoyed the recent podcast reminder of Ray Davies' great way with a story, compacted into song-length. I was listening to The Divine Comedy earlier today, and whilst the observational style is very different, I would rate Neil Hannon as one of my favourite songwriters and as a great modern storyteller. The more recent "A Lady Of A Certain Age" featured on a Now Here This cd a couple of years ago, so here's another favourite of mine, "Our Mutual Friend" (from "Absent Friends", 2004).

Who else would you put forward as a great modern storyteller?

John Aizlewood's review of No Line On The Horizon in the new issue is a good read. I was particularly grabbed by the idea that everyone has a different favourite U2 album (if you like that sort of thing). So, what's the consensus here?

Incidentaly, I have to disagree with his dismissal of Pop, which for me is their best and their last great album. The two that followed were described as something of a return to their roots in some corners, but seemed a little like they were running out of ideas to me. There are some good songs there, but the records just didn't seem quite as interesting.

Here's Please from Pop, probably my favourite U2 song.

This is a treat:

Doo-wop, it'll be back...

Myspace have started doing "in session" recordings of bands. Looks like there are some worth having, you can download them all free and legal in .Zip files from the official site:

http://www.myspace.com/transmissions

Currently includes sessions from Cold War Kids, Neil Halstead, Bon Ivor and Vampire Weekend.

While I'm at it, I saw Cold War Kids last night at Manchester Ritz, absolutely superb.

Misty's Big Adventure popped up on a Word CD a while back but there has been little coverage of them here (or in other media) since. I've had the pleasure of seeing them live 3 times over the last year or so and they are fantastic to go and see. If you haven't checked them out, here are a couple of videos, including an excellent indie parody:

Fashion Parade (feat. Noddy Holder)

Serious Thing

I was interested to hear on the Podcast recently that Word would love to do a Chris Martin cover, but that he is only willing to if it's his whole band. This was apparently met with frustration from Word, but it's a stance that I quite like. I don't see why the singer is so often seen as the crux of a band. For the most part, if I know any names of members of a band I like, then I know all of them. Singers aren't necessarily any more interesting or important than the rest of the band (and are often less interesting).

So who else follows this reluctance? It's rare for Michael Stipe to do a cover alone, and I'm glad as Peter Buck and Mike Mills certainly have as much to say. U2 features are much more interesting when it's not just Bono (Word's feature on The Edge was excellent).

There are also a number of bands who's singer is not their main spokesman. Head-songwriters such as Noel Gallager and Pete Townsend seem to take most of the press for their's, rather than their singer.

Any other examples of either of these approaches?

Did anyone spot this news story today? A shop owner selling collectable records is in court over the sale of promos, which the record label's claim continued ownership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7412671.stm

(Careful what I say now but) I've bought the odd one from time to time and always felt I could disregard the sticker claiming they are still property of the label which can be claimed back. How exactly can they be claimed back? I imagine many promo's get sent out to people who haven't requested them (those at Word, let me know) and often change hands fairly quickly. And can you legally claim something back that you've posted away to someone, just because you put a sticker on it saying "it's still mine"? A lot of acts, for fear of piracy, now only offer playback for review purposes anyway (not that it's really enough for a fully realised review), so if they send a promo are they not less precious about what happens to it?

And what happens to all those promos that magazines and radio stations get. Filed? Binned? Gifts? Sold on? I know plenty of independant record shops sell them.

I've been looking to The Beatles solo output quite a bit recently and it rarely seems to get mentioned how much they officially collaborated after 1970. You particularly saw a lot of this on Ringo solo albums, but it's not just there. Anyone available to help me compile a playlist?

Here's a start, focusing on Ringo's solo output (with a little trawl through sleevenotes and Wikipedia). Apologies if this entry is just a long list, but there's more than you'd think. I can't find a resource for this online so it would be nice to compile one here. I'll also include a few other relevant collaborators:

Ringo Starr
-"Stardust" (Sentimental Journey) arranged by Paul McCartney.
-"I'm The Greatest" (Ringo) written by John Lennon, features Lennon, George Harrison and also Klaus Voorman & Billy Preston.
-"Photograph" (Ringo) written with and featuring George.
-"You're Sixteen" (Ringo) features Paul.
-"6 O'Clock" (Ringo) written by and featuring Paul.
-"You And Me (Babe)" (Ringo) written by and featuring George.
-"Goodnight Vienna" (Goodnight Vienna) written by and featuring John, plus Billy Preston.
-"All By Myself" (Goodnight Vienna) featuring John.
-"Only You (and you alone)" (Goodnight Vienna) featuring John.
-"Pure Gold" (Ringo's Rotogravure) written by and featuring Paul.
-"Cookin' In The Kitchen Of Love" (Ringo's Rotogravure) written by and featuring John.
-"I'll Still Love You (Ringo's Rotogravure) written by George.
-"Private Property" (Stop And Smell The Roses) written by and featuring Paul.
-"Wrack My Brain" (Stop And Smell The Roses) written by and featuring George.
-"Attention" (Stop And Smell The Roses) written by and featuring Paul.
-"You Belong To Me" (Stop And Smell The Roses) features George.
-"Sure To Fall" (Stop And Smell The Roses) features Paul.
-"What In The World" (Vertical Man) features Paul.
-"King Of Broken Hearts" (Vertical Man) features Paul.
-"I Was Walkin'" (Vertical Man) features Paul.
-"La De Da" (Vertical Man) features Paul.
-"I'll Be Fine Anywhere" (Vertical Man) features George.

Anyone care to add to this? I know Ringo drummed on a number of both Paul & George's albums...and then there's Plastic Ono Band, three Beatles on George's "All Those Years Ago", multiple Beatles on Tom Petty records....