Mike Patton – Mondo Cane

I’ve been meaning to put this up for several weeks, but it just hasn’t happened which is why this has now become album of the month!

In 1995 at the tender  age of fifteen I went to my very first festival. The Phoenix was it’s name. Set in Stratford Upon Avon, It was the first of many festivals for young Master Foster. I was there with my good friend James and we’d managed to get our hands on backstage passes from a parents friend who just happened to be touring with our favourite band of the moment… Faith No More! It was quite a spectacular show, watching from the stage and even meeting the band before their performance. I was quite stunned… Hard to top an experience like that and certainly one I’ll never forget.

Since fronting the San Franciscan rock band of the same name, Mike Patton’s come a long way and is now widely regarded as one of our generations greatest vocalists contributing to a vast array of projects over the years and even running his own record label. Respected and loved by many a musician and fan, If there’s one thing you can expect from a Mike Patton release, it’s the unexpected.

In Mondo Cane (pronounced ‘Con-ay’) Mike’s backed by a 40 piece orchestra performing Classic Italian pop songs from the 1950′s and 60′s. Rich and heartfelt, it’s a sunny listen which is just what the doctor ordered during the recently unseasonable august. Quite a departure from his days with FNM. Tracks like ‘Deep Deep Down’ and ‘Urlo Negro’ in particular have a habit of getting jammed in your head but as a whole the album is quite a spectacle. The fact that it was largely captured from live performances, just makes it all the more impressive.

I recently had the luck to see Mike backed by a full Orchestra performing the whole thing live at The Big Chill Festival in Herefordshire – which incidentally is a wonderful festival that I would recommend to anyone – and It brought back a lot of memories from that Phoenix festival performance some 16 years earlier. Still every bit the showman… see below.

If you’d like to share an album of the week with us, get in touch!

Cheers
Daniel

Villagers – Becoming a Jackal

I saw this bloke on Jools Holland’s Later a few months ago.

He was absolutely brilliant. Amazing.

I shivered.

He wears an old fashioned skiing style jumper. He’s quite small.

Bright Eyes. Prefab Sprout. Elliot Smith. My friend, Anthony, says there is a bit of Simon & Garfunkel in there too.

Heart-breaking songs.

We love it.

Midlake – The Courage of Others

Look over there. What do you see? What’s that running through the woods? Over there! Is it a naked man? It can’t be. Yes, it is. It’s me. I’m naked! And you will be too after you have listened to Midlake.

Let’s smother our bodies in badger fat to keep us warm. I’ve made you a mask from rabbit skin and a hat from an old sheep’s skull. Smell the damp earth. Take a deep breath. Fill your lungs. Come run with me. Look around us at the woodland animals. They’re running with us too. There’s a deer. And there’s an wild boar. Run fast enough and we’ll rise into the air. We’ll fly with the eagles. We soar with the buzzards. Play your flute. I’ll gently strum my guitar. Together we will be happy. Forever.