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You're right on the ball there ArrGee, very well observed. How about a new single, just to show that Geldof and the boys can still surprise? Followed by an album, this may take longer than six months but would be ready in time for an autumn tour.
Geldof will most likely appear on The Late Late Show in Ireland, with or without the rest of the reformed Rats. I suspect there will be mixed reactions, many snide comments in various music columns.
On Politics.ie someone said the Rats were playing on the Isle of Man. That's the level of research were dealing with. Then in various comments on politics.ie the Rats are accused of being pub rock and mediocre, and others say they were too artschool. How can you win?
Whats interesting is that Geldof will be doing the media round as a Boomtown Rat. Not sure if he needs to get sworn in (again), but he can give as well as take. Simon Cowell and Spudface Walsh will get to attack Bob and hopefully Geldof will tell it like it is about their version of music.
Whatever happens it should be very interesting and make for some good fun. Reaction from various pop stars should be interesting as well. Like Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller and so many others.
Who's to say Geldof won't appear on the cover of NME. What odds at Paddy Powers for that?As the old proverb says 'may you live in interesting times' and these times certainly are interesting for Rats fans.
-- Edited by noelindublin on Wednesday 30th of January 2013 04:58:17 PM
Looking forward to Darren, Garry and Simon 'covering' a Geldof solo track The Great Song of Indifference. It seems probable that they will get to play this at some stage in the year. Are there any other Geldof solo tracks worthy of a Rats makeover?
Looking forward to Geldof ditching the guitar and just singing and playing the harmonica. With Garry and Darren on guitar and Briquette on bass I hope Geldof can just let loose, and move around the stage a bit, rather than pointlessly strumming. Too many cooks spoiled the broth etc.
-- Edited by noelindublin on Thursday 31st of January 2013 03:52:30 PM
noelindublin wrote:How about a new single... Followed by an album...
I don't think either is likely this year, if at all. It has taken Pulp two years since announcing their return to finally release a new song.
There's not much point in Geldof moaning about the state of modern music to Simon Cowell, the newspapers , or whoever and then trading on songs he wrote over 35 years ago. Last week a reformation/reunion seemed like science fiction so who can tell? Remember Blondie got to number one after years of chart absence, Bowie had a hit after years of being away too. I still belive that if a song is good enough it will get noticed- music has always worked that way, and the old Geldof gob might stir things up a bit, just like in the old days.
Trading off past glories is all well and good, but equally all bands need an injection of new songs and attitude. Even to conjecture which subjects would catch Geldof and the bands imagination as being worthy new subject matter in intriguing. I've no idea if they will record new material but I certainly hope they do. They haven't let us down so far so the odds are on a pretty decent album.
noelindublin wrote:Looking forward to Darren, Garry and Simon 'covering' a Geldof solo track The Great Song of Indifference. It seems probable that they will get to play this at some stage in the year. Are there any other Geldof solo tracks worthy of a Rats makeover?
Looking forward to Geldof ditching the guitar and just singing and playing the harmonica. With Garry and Darren on guitar and Briquette on bass I hope Geldof can just let loose, and move around the stage a bit, rather than pointlessly strumming.
No Geldof tracks. Not even The Great Song of Indifference. One is too many.
I hope Geldof does summon up some of the old enthusiasm. The last time I saw him he hardly engaged with the crowd at all.
noelindublin wrote:Looking forward to Darren, Garry and Simon 'covering' a Geldof solo track The Great Song of Indifference. It seems probable that they will get to play this at some stage in the year. Are there any other Geldof solo tracks worthy of a Rats makeover?
Looking forward to Geldof ditching the guitar and just singing and playing the harmonica. With Garry and Darren on guitar and Briquette on bass I hope Geldof can just let loose, and move around the stage a bit, rather than pointlessly strumming.
No Geldof tracks. Not even The Great Song of Indifference. One is too many.
I hope Geldof does summon up some of the old enthusiasm. The last time I saw him he hardly engaged with the crowd at all.
He was fairly animated at Islington Town Hall especially towards the end. It's hard to maybe engage when you're singing songs about your late wife's death. There is a certain internalisation of the music don't you think. But then live music is a bit odd in that you get bits of everything. The assertive rock numbers, the vulnerable suicidal sad songs and lots in between. There is a range of mood gears to go through.
Geldof solo doing the old Rats numbers can be hit and miss. Most often miss, but then partly it's me knowing it's not the Boomtown Rats. Sometimes there are good versions but most often using stupid instruments like ukelele and violin on songs where they just do not suit ruins it. I suppose fans have idealised versions of songs in their head from the past, which are perfect in every way, ie the real band playing them , correct rock instruments and performed somewhere between 1977 and '85. Bobs solo work always seems watered down but that could all be in my mind.
Anyway live music tends to pass in a drunken blur, so something more solid like a new album is much more concrete ,and for me more desirable.
For me, rightly or wrongly, this will succeed best if it's an unadulterated set of Rats only classics. Any inclusion of a Geldof track, a Feelgood track, an early demo track or even a bastardised well known one (Geldof doing Mary comes to mind) will be of interest to a very limited minority. Garry and Simon have stayed true to studio versions by and large (with the instruments at their disposal obviously) and gained many plaudits from the punters in so doing. My preference is for the basics approach, and whilst I fully respect that others might like the interpretation of songs playing live affords, I suspect majority prefer the most familiar version. Surely has to be true amongst a festival crowd there for a variety of bands and not just Rats?
As such, these (type of) reunion gigs really ought to be optimised, giving no reason for either the crowd or the press to be disillusioned. Once that battle is won, then the variations to set, the variation to renditions, even new tracks will all command more sympathy - but has to be subsequently.
I'm fascinated by who will win the day with style adopted. Will it be Bob, with his propensity to 'adjust' songs such as Mary or Banana Republic, precisely because they are his, or the others, who want to play them as they were known and loved, for reasons above.
I'd absolutely love it if Bob pandered to what I think is majority view, and let himself go a bit sans guitar, but my concern is even the notion will stir his contrary nature. I'm still not convinced by his claim V Deep is best Rats album.
So long as we don't see band split due to musical differences before their hour is up I'll be happy either way I suppose
apologies if someone has already slipped this into the conversation, but aren't we all forgetting the reunion at IOW festival?
yes everyone, heeelllloooooo, anyone in there?
and of course us all getting together for a good old boogie down the front somewhere where it will be luschiously MUDDY and we can all slip and slide around in it...... lol what fun...............
btw i am up for camping really, seems everyone else is doing hotels, but...... personally i prefer the cheaper option of camping and being able to see more music with saved dosh.....
i need someone to camp with, or do i go on my own?
hmmmm......... i have to rope someone else into this somehow.