News
07/01/09 - "Lights Out By Nine - LIVE At The Carnegie Hall"
Having finally overcome several problems that were beyond their control,
Scottish Soul/R&B band Lights Out By Nine's DVD has now surfaced.
Recorded in September 2006 at The Carnegie Hall (Dunfermline), prior to
the release of 2007's acclaimed "Make Your Own Luck", the concert mostly
features songs from that album and its equally fine precursor, "Good
Morning Mister Universe".
The band ease themselves into gear with "Quiet Man", offering those new
to LOBN a good insight into the band: tight soul/rhythm & blues with a
crack horn section. Their songs are made for dancing, and are all
original apart from "Mean Old Frisco", and the quality of the
songwriting is first rate. The horn section, who provide the icing on
the cake, get to take centre stage on the excellent instrumental "Let It
Go".
Once the band are in gear, there is no let up until "Where White Men
Sing The Blues" provides a breather for band and audience alike. The
interlude extends through the bittersweet "Do What You Can", before the
band build up to a peak on the closing "Feels Like Rain" which remains
one of the finest things the band have ever done.
The DVD includes a couple of extras. First is an insightful interview
with frontman Al Hughes, and bass player Dougie Hunter; second is a look
behind the scenes at the band bantering, rehearsing and jamming with
friends (including Tam White and Fraser Speirs) prior to the gig.
LOBN regularly make sorties into England, so most BiB readers should
have had a chance to see them by now. If you have not yet caught up with
them, "LIVE at The Carnegie Hall" offers a very good taste of what you
have been missing, and shows why Lights Out By Nine are one of the
finest Soul/Rhythm&Blues bands currently doing the rounds.
Rating: 8 - Gordon Baxter
07/01/09 - "Al Hughes - Land"
On "Land" Al Hughes goes back to his roots in more ways than one. As
well as revisiting his roots in the blues, he also returns to his roots
in Scottish folk music.
An accomplished singer and picker, Hughes gets things rolling with a
fine rendition of "Bukka's Jitterbug Swing", which sets a high standard
for the rest of the album. The good news is that it manages to live up
to it, whether Hughes is tackling songs like Gary Davis' "Candyman"
(coupled here with "Cincinatti Flow Rag"), or putting his own stamp on
more contemporary material such as Dylan's "Buckets of Rain". The Hughes
originals, such as the excellent "Chesnut Avenue" and "Land" also fit
right in, with the former having a hint of Roddy Frame about it.
The line between acoustic blues and folk is a fine one, with probably
the most notable British musician with a foot in both camps being Martin
Simpson. Here, Hughes shifts towards that territory by including a
couple of traditional Scottish folk songs, "Pretty Peggy" and "Jock
O'Hazeldean", neither of which appears out of place. Even the closing
"Glory of Love", which caused a raised eyebrow, is at home once Hughes
gets it in his hands.
A new Al Hughes album is always a delight, because it always offers
something different as he strives to achieve even greater heights.
"Land" is no different in that respect, with Hughes sounding in good
voice and fingerpicking as well as ever as he delivers his own unique
blend of something old, something new, something borrowed and something
Blue(s).
Rating: 8 - Gordon Baxter
25/11/08 - "Blues News"
Hi all and welcome to a very belated Blues News. I’m sorry for the delay
but here we are at last. It’s been a very interesting and busy few months,
both on the solo and band fronts….Lots going on, so…….
First of all on the band front , the live dvd is now on general release
and is available at Lights Out gigs and via the web site as well as amazon
and other outlets. We will be doing an official launch later in the the
year but the dvd is available NOW! So hurry while stocks last. On the gig
front we have been playing all over the country at various festivals,
Including an extremely enjoyable gig at the Dundee Blues Bonanza, back in
July. We played the Doghouse, a great venue in the city centre, which seems
to be going from strength to strength. August saw us heading south to play
the Great British Rn B Festival at Colne in Lancashire, and more recently
we played The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival with Maggie Bell and Dave
Kelly, the Darlington Festival, And the Darvel festival,with the Hamish
Stewart Band….. Fantastic!
Next on the agenda was the Calendar Jazz and Blues Festival on October
3rd. A new element to live shows is our acoustic set, which is proving very
popular with audiences at concert type shows, which is what we are mostly
doing these days. This features material from all the albums, presented in
a more laid back way although still featuring the whole band. Our record
company like it too, so the chances are the next album will contain some
acoustic material. What the proportions will be I’m not exactly sure, as
we‘ve only just started writing, but I’ll keep you posted.
Solo wise I’ve been busier than ever. I’ve done three tours in England
so far and will be heading south again in November… only for a couple of
dates though. I’ve also been back to Shetland where I always have a
wonderful time. The people are always so welcoming and so into
music….great! I’ve just signed a new publishing deal with JD music, an
offshoot of Horbro Publishing who have people like Eric Clapton and Mark
Knopfler so I’m quite excited, and I’m also putting the finishing touches
to a new album. The recording and mixing is finished, and all that remains
are a few design tweaks and it’s ready for manufacturing, so it shouldn’t
be too long ‘til it sees the light of day. It’s a bit of a departure
because it features tracks by other artists, although there are some
original songs as well, indeed I was able to perform some of them live on
Radio Leith only yesterday, thanks to music enthusiast and d. j. Graeme
Scott who invited me in for a chat and a play ….thanks Graeme. Those of you
who visit the web site regularly will see that it has undergone a serious
face lift. This is down to Stuart, my web site designer and partner in
Vaudioville records. I think he has done an excellent job, and I’m sure you
will agree…..thanks Stuart. There’s more to come as well. Look out for live
video footage, links to other sites and some guitar based features too.
Thanks again to all who come to see me live and buy cds etc. Your support
and encouragement this year has been invaluable. See you all soon.
Cordially yours, Al. Hughes
25/11/08
Lights Out By Nine recently recorded a live session for the Paul Jones Rhythm and Blues Show on BBC Radio 2. The band were delighted to be asked to go to BBC Maida Vale studios to record four songs, three of which will be featured on Paul's show on Monday 24th March. The fourth song will go on the Radio 2 website, along with photographs from the live session, that night, and will feature on a future radio broadcast as well. The broadcast is expected to co-incide with the release of the LOBN Live DVD. Maida Vale is famously where the BBC Symphony Orchestra record and broadcast live, and studio 3 itself, is where Bing Crosby made his last ever recording. BBC producer Paul Long, and engineer Mark Walter were very happy with the results of the session, so tune in to the BBC on Monday 24th March at 7pm, and hear the results for yourselves!!!
31/1/8
LIGHTS OUT BY NINE have a top 5 listing to be proud of in the home of blues and soul! Washington DC based satellite radio station XM radio, have this week listed the latest LOBN album "Make your Own Luck" as number 3 in their top "pick of the week". The station broadcasts all over the USA and, of course, beyond, and programme director Bill Wax is quoted as saying that
"XM are playing the LOBN disc right now, in hot rotation, and are receiving a good response."
This is a major breakthrough into the US market for the new album, and follows the trail blaised by the Average White Band many years ago, in taking soul and rhythm and blues music back to the source. The band are also putting the finishing touches to a new live DVD, which will go on general release in due course.
13/11/07
LOBN head for the county of Angus in November, where they will play for the Smokie Blues club in Arbroath at the Panmure Hall on Saturday November 10th.
Support will come from local legends Little Wolves. Then on 30th September the band will play Piperdam Resort, on the outskirts of Dundee for the "Soul of St Andrew" Charity event.
Also on the bill is Dundee soul man Dougie Martin, with his latest in a long line of soul bands. Indie band Yukkon Truck and surprise special guests will complete an interesting musical evening. Tickets on sale now in the Dundee area!
28/10/07
The bill for the September Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline show has just been confirmed, and this year, LOBN have invited "Tam White's Shoestring Band", featuring Fraser Speirs, surely Scotland's top harmonica player, and Tam's guitarist of choice, Neil Warden.
Opening the show, will be hotly tipped Edinburgh indie country rockers "William Douglas and the Wheel", featuring Stuart Nisbet from the Proclaimers, and good friend of the band Chris Agnew.
Tickets are on sale from the venue NOW!! Last year's sell out show is being released on a live LOBN DVD later this year (just in time for Christmas!)
