IF YOU'RE a real music lover check out the fantastic new Beatles movie Eight Days A Week which is now on general release. Directed by Ron Howard, the film focuses on the ultimate band's relentless touring schedule between 1963 and 1966.
Featuring amazing live footage as well as a variety of behind-the-scenes activity and insightful interviews, Eight Days A Week is a compulsory event for fans old and new. The intensity of the fab four's impact on the world, the hysteria surrounding them and their daily existence are all extremely well documented in the film and it leaves you thinking how astounding it is that this worldwide imprint took place long before marketing and hype took control of all things media.
I shudder to think how much more crazy the Beatles' world domination would have been if Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook had been options. Then again Lennon would probably have been too cool to even own a smartphone – and rightly so.
See this movie – you owe it to yourself.
RETURN OF THE KINGS
KINGS Of Leon are back with a very cool new single called Waste A Moment. The band sound in fine form and pretty much continue to knock out rousing rock songs with a Nashville tinge. I like this band best when they let loose, have fun and thrash out belters like Radioactive, Don't Matter and Molly's Chambers and latest offering Waste A Moment is certainly up there with those highlights of their illustrious past. New album Walls follows next month.
IMPERFECT
LADY Gaga's new single, Perfect Illusion, is finally available and after much teasing and rescheduling it turns out to be a fairly run-of-the-mill affair.
Perhaps I was expecting too much, something a little groundbreaking or adventurous but instead it sounds like a Donna Summer B-side. Don't get me wrong, it's still a perfectly good pop single but compared to the sparkle of earlier material it lacks innovation and boldness. Let's hope the album is more Gaga.
THE WHITE STUFF
IF YOU fancy a stripped-down, pure album to keep you company, try Jack White's new compilation of acoustic recordings from 1998 to this year. A generous collection of 26 songs, there are enough moods and emotions on here to keep you interested throughout even though by the very nature of acoustic recordings there is hardly a great deal of variety or ear candy on the go.
One thing I noticed, though, is that the lyrical power of Jack White really shines through as there is very little distraction. If you're a fan of this artist this album is probably as up close and personal as you are going to get.
