Jimmy Webb's Ivor Award

Phil writes: This recognition of his great songwriting has meant several TV and radio interviews, plus an appearance on Jools with Rumer:



I love this song of his:



And this (though not the best audio quality):

Classic Sinatra track

Phil writes: Sinatra introduces a live performance of this by describing 'It Was A Very Good Year' as a 'folk song'. It isn't of course but it follows the patterning of numerous folk songs and some of my favourite twentieth century songs also involve the same kind of sequence ('Please Come To Boston', 'A Bang On The Ear', 'Love's Been Good To Me'). Here the stunning arrangement, consummate performance and underlying pathos combine to great effect:

Cat Power's latest covers album

The first track from Cat Power's forthcoming Jukebox album has just gone up on iTunes. It's an new original song called Song To Bobby apparently about meeting Bob Dylan, and very nice it is too (here's the iTunes UK link).

The rest of the album is covers plus one new version of an old Cat Power song. All the originals are worth owning, especially Lost Someone by James Brown Live at the Apollo (the other amazing live recording in the world apart from The Dance by Garth Brooks), the Theme From ‘New York, New York’, Dark End of the Street, and Don't Explain by Billie Holliday. I've restrained myself to posting just one of the originals, my new favourite Janis Joplin track, Woman Left Lonely, written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn (the latter of whom also co-wrote Dark End of the Street).

iTunes should do an album of "Buy the originals". I think I'll suggest it to them.

Janis Joplin - Woman Left Lonely (iTunes)