Dancing in the Street 2009

So here we are in yet another new year, and as usual I celebrated the event watching Jools Holland's Hootenanny. As ever there was a good mix of acts, the most legendary of which was Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Martha's voice is now even more shrill and quavery than in the past, but it's just great to see her performing - nearly 50 years after the formation of Tamla Motown - Heatwave, Jimmy Mack, Dancing in the Street and Nowhere to Run.
It was the oldies who scored most heavily on the show, with some good R and B from Dave Edmunds and from Jools himself, and some histrionics from Annie Lennox. Of the new generation the highlight was Duffy (surely Dusty Springfield's love child) who sang, among others, Mercy, probably the best new record of 2008. The other acts failed to light things up, despite their best endeavours. Second rate covers of My Girl and I Just Want to Make Love To You didn't really make the grade, and nor did some crap rap from Dizzy Rascal and some sub-punk by a couple of other bands.
It's hard to imagine that 2009 will be anything other than dire for most of us, but to any readers (if there are any) the Vinyl Word says Happy New Year!