Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3N
Mr Geoffrey Arnold Beck was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He played with a few bands before being recruited by The Yardbirds, replacing Eric Clapton, on the recommendation of Jimmy Page who joined the band the following year. This was an incredible stamping ground and Beck’s almost two year stint produced some incredible music. Listening to their 1965 album Having A Rave Up is incredible with the blend of solid blues numbers, and the incredible “Heart Full of Soul” which contains Indian influences (the Indian sitar player had trouble producing the sound needed so Beck produced a sitar-like effect on his guitar).
Fired from the gruop late in 1966 he had several solo hits before forming the Jeff Beck Group, then in the early 1970s collaborating with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, releasing a studio and live album with them. Much of his later work is instrumental. We’ll feature songs ranging from the Yardbirds era right through to “Plan B” from his 2003 album Jeff.
We’ve been looking forward to this album from this Glaswegian band for months since their promising early singles “Miracle” and “My Enemy” were released. Lauren Mayberry’s vocals are incredible, and the band’s synth pop sound continues to evolve. The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart gave some early inspiration. An interesting influence mentioned in an interview with Matt Waterman of Beats 1 was New Order’s track “Age of Consent”, with its loose, rough feel. They certainly have achieved a raw live feel with this great album. Can’t wait to play it to you!
A wonderful album name, and cover, this is one of the quintessential psychedelic albums, released this day in 1968. The Small Faces had already had some big psychedelic hits the previous year (e.g. Itchycoo Park). This album is filled with pounding beats and crunching guitars, and you’ll spot it on most “Top 500 Albums” lists. The Guardian told its story on its 40th birthday 
Marvin Gaye’s seventh album was released on this day in 1966 (23rd of May). His career was obviously well underway, and the plan was to establish the Motown singer as a strong album artist. He was interested in recording an album of standards but the sessions were unsuccessful. Six songs from this album were released as singles and impressively four reached the Top 40 on the Pop Singles chart. We’ll be playing some tracks from this album as our Classic Gold tracks each hour from 12pm.
Dave Dobbyn is an obvious artist to celebrate in New Zealand Music Month – because its obvious doesn’t mean its the wrong thing to do though. He has such an impressive body of work, and has been a big part of my life since “Slice of Heaven” was a triumphant singalong in the mid 1980s from the Footrot Flats film. Of course that wasn’t the beginning – later I got to sing along to classic party songs from his earlier career in Th’Dudes. Overnight Success was his first best of, released in 1999 and filled with cracking tracks. Wonderfully he has gone on to release further treasures since then. We look forward to listening to some gems this week, including a few lesser known tracks.
James Bay was the much hyped man in a hat back in 2014, the ex Brighton busker with the sensitive folk-pop acoustic leaning album The Chaos and the Calm. He could have done it again, but whilst ostensibly on a six month break he headed into a basement studio and emerged with what iTunes describes as “simmering funk-rock, taut alt-pop and folky electro-R&B”. At the risk of too much smooth male music (Charlie Puth last weekend released Voicenotes, next weekend Shawn Mendes releases a self titled album) we’re looking forward to checking out more tracks from this album. The tracklist:
Smith & Thell – DUMB
Beach House – Pay No Mind
Lake Street Dive – I Can Change
Rueben Stone – Something For You
R3hab & Conor Maynard – Hold On Tight
Neil Finn’s status as a legendary Kiwi musician is really inarguable. His achievements span four decades and a body of masterful pop. Born in 1958 he joined Split Enz in the mid 1970s. By 1980 he was lead singer and made an impressive debut on the international scene writing and singing their first big worldwide hit “I Got You”. After an impressive body of work with Split Enz, he went on to found what became Crowded House. They went on to enjoy stellar success, including two massive hits “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Weather With You”. Since they split up in 1997 he has released four solo albums (Try Whistling This – 1998, One Nil – 2001, Dizzy Heights – 2014 and Out Of Silence last year) as well as many collaborations including ones with his brother Tim and his wife (forming Pyjama Club). We’ll enjoy lots of great hits as well as some lesser known tracks from Neil’s various career points over the week. We’ll kick it off after 1pm Monday with one of my favourites, “It’s Only Natural” off Crowded House’s penultimate and perhaps greatest album Woodface (1991).
New Zealand Music Month continues with another great new release from Sons of Zion. These guys released their first album in 2009 and have really gone from strength to strength. They have stepped beyond their reggae origins to more of a pop sound, although the reggae vibes are still there. This is an album that brings a taste of summer with its cool vibes – we look forward to checking it out this week.
Frank Turner – 1933
Middle Kids – Bought It
Guns N’ Roses – Shadow Of Your Love
Missy Higgins – Red Moon
Graace – Kissing Boys