Through the wind, through the rain, the snow, the wind, the rain you've got, you've got my love, heart and soul (Bruce Springsteen) #518

Glen Hansard Drive All Night/ Pennies In The Fountain/ Renata/ Step Out Of The Shadows  (Universal, 2013)

You'll know Glen from the second best music film of all time - ONCE. 

[Bestest of all time? Woodstock: Three Days Of Peace And Music.]

He is so amazing in ONCE (as is Markéta Irglová). They can act brilliantly and are superb musicians. Such talent!

Drive All Night you'll know from the Springsteen album, The River. Brooce's original version is amazing - full of dark portents and impending doom.

Glen's take is lighter - passionate in a different way to the Boss. He and guest Eddie Vedder stretch out but without the quiet desperation of the original.

The Springsteen connection is also enhanced with Jake Clemons' appearance on sax. Bruce has also used Glen as a guest on the song in concert so that's pretty damned special!

Hidden gem: Pennies, and Renata share the same mid tempo passion - and are more in Glen's customary style. 

It's Step out that sends the chills though - just Glen's voice, and what a voice!!

We're faithful, we all believe, we all believe it (Pearl Jam)

Adam gave me a copy of Pearl Jam's Twenty DVD while I was back in NZ recently. My children know my tastes well!

I've been a pretty loyal fan since day one when the unbelievably great Ten came along. It seemed they arrived fully formed (I love it when bands appear this way - like The Doors - with a different sound/attitude/style right off the bat).

I also love it when, as a fan, I can get in on a good thing right from the start. Maybe that's why I have continued to buy every studio album released by the band over the last twenty years (even when the quality control was a tad wayward).

I even have a sizeable collection of the live albums and Stone Gossard's fantastic solo album, Bayleaf  (although I'm not that enamoured by Eddie's solo stuff away from the band for some reason).



The Twenty film is an excellent primer on both the band and the Seattle music scene that spawned them. It's also a pretty good insight into Cameron Crowe who was a Rolling Stone journalist before becoming a film maker of some renown (Jerry Maguire is one of my favourite films and its also gave Tom Cruise AND Renee Zellwiger their best roles ever).

I liked Eddie Vedder before I watched the film. Now I like him a lot more! What a guy - a fantastic voice I knew about, but a sensitive soul with a brain is pretty rare in rock circles.

The other revelation is Stone Gossard. The cool name, the cool music - yes, but who knew he was so funny, so personable, so anchored, so nerdy (the glasses and goofy grin? It could be me!!!). I loved the tour of his house where he finds his Grammy award in a dark corner of his basement!

The film has some great moments but the version of Better Man when the crowd takes over the singing is especially affecting.