The Possibilities Are Endless

Last night I attended the Glasgow premiere of The Possibilities Are Endless, the new film/documentary on the recovery of Edwyn Collins from a major cerebral haemorrhage in 2005.

As a fan of Edwyn's music, having seen the trailer and read Grace Maxwell's fantastic and deeply personal book Falling and Laughing - The Restoration of Edwyn Collins, I was very keen to see the film at the GFT - especially with the added bonus of a Q&A and short acoustic set afterwards.

The Possibilities Are Endless is a fascinating, beautiful, artistic and moving film, directed with thought, empathy and a real creative flair by Pulse Films.

We are placed inside Edwyn's mind as he wakes from his stroke - the confusion is evident, illustrated by shots of a young boy seemingly drowning, the wind blowing through the grass, a storm brewing, distorted and stuttering words.

There was a Q&A with Edwin, Grace and Ed from Pulse afterwards and the audience learned of how Pulse interviewed Edwyn first (with no cameras), before considering how to set the story to film. Possibly a risky tactic, but one they have pulled off superbly.

At the heart of the film lies a love story, the love between Grace and Edwyn and also that of their love for Helmsdale in the north of Scotland where they are moving to.

There are lovely scenes of them walking through a park and sharing a can of ginger beer, Grace looking on with care as Edwyn attempts to find the words he knows are in there during an interview and the pair of them laughing in a car as they drive to their beloved Helmsdale in the north of Scotland. Grace's encouragement and patience was crucial to Edwyn's recovery.

We learn of how Edwyn could only say 'The possibilities are endless' and 'Grace Maxwell' when he woke from a coma. There is a great TV interview with Edwyn and Grace that ends with Grace strumming Edwyn's guitar as he plays the chords and emotional footage of the moment he returned to the stage.

Throughout the film there are scenes of Edwyn in his Orange Juice days, at his peak (sales wise at least) with the success of A Girl Like You. These work in tandem with the scenes of Edwyn regaining his strength and skills - writing, drawing, singing and creating.

There is humour as well - Edwyn and Grace bounce of each other with real affection that you can't help but smile at times and laugh at others.

What I got from the film is that the possibilities are endless if you have love and support. Edwyn is very lucky to have a lovely partner and the help and support of family, friends and musicians. It's a life affirming film that makes you stop and take stock of your health and those that care about you. I would thoroughly recommend catching it on the big screen if possible or downloading it from iTunes now.

Edwyn Collins at Oran Mor

I'm just in from watching Edwyn Collins; a national treasure, a Scottish pop poet who is still producing first rate material at the age of 54 and he shows no sign of letting up.

Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols provided the beats in Edwyn's incredible band, joined by Carwyn Elle on bass, Andy H and David Page on guitars and Sean Read on keyboards. Carwyn and David also played in the support band Colorama. Page was sensational on guitar.

The band took to the stage and launched into a soulful and funky jam before Edwyn was helped on to the stage by his wife Grace; walking across with the help of a cane and taking a seat to huge applause.

Falling and Laughing opened the set in real style, raw upbeat indie guitar pop at its very best. Collins poetic pop lyrics are just beautiful.

Only my tears satisfy the real need of my heart

I resist

Fall, falling, falling again

Cause I want to take the pleasure with the pain, pain, pain

It was swiftly followed by another Orange Juice classic in the shape of What Presence and the upbeat Make Me Feel Again from Edwyn's smash solo album Gorgeous George. There was a sense of urgency about the performance.

Collins was comfortable stretching away back to the start of his career, up to the present time with a selection of material from his acclaimed Understated album and everything in between.

Understated was represented by searing versions of Understated and Dilemma and a gorgeous version of Forsooth with Edwyn owning up to ripping off the Velvets and Lou Reed.

Wheels of Love from the Hope and Despair album was a stand out from a very strong performance, the band jammed on with ease and style.

Bridge from the Texas Fever album went down well with some of the guys down the front, one of who in particular was dancing like his life depended on it.

Edwyn back in the day

One of my favourite Edwyn songs is the Motown-esque Losing Sleep which just flows superbly and the band ripped through it with Paul Cook outstanding on drums. Orange Juice were well represented throughout the set and Poor Old Soul was superb.

Collins and his band then delivered three killer songs in a row, with Collins rising to his feet to deliver them. Blueboy got more people dancing and then Rip It Up received a rapturous reception, only topped by the cheers a superb version of A Girl Like You generated.

Edwyn seemed to get stronger and more into the show the longer it went on and he was on top form, sharing banter with the crowd on several occasions.

Fan - I love you
Edwyn - I love you too
Fan - I love you more
Edwyn - I love you more, more

Edwyn left the stage to allow the band to rip it up (pun intended) and jam on at the end of A Girl Like You. I thought that might have been it, especially given the fact that Oran Mor has strict curfews.

Thankfully there was more to come.

Edwyn came back on with Carwen and David on acoustic guitars for stunning versions of Low Expectations and Home Again. Edwyn's voice was strong and true. I particularly love his upbeat pop songs but he knows how to write a heartfelt ballad as well. I'd love to see him do a full stripped back acoustic set at some point.

The rest of the band came on to race through Orange Juice fave Felicity before ending with a rip roaring version of Don't Shilly Shally. Edwyn left to a greta reception and he gave a thumbs up and said he would see us soon some time.

I hope it isn't too long. In this form and mood Collins and his band are an absolute joy and delight to watch perform. Edwyn has an incredible back catalogue and is still producing material that sits alongside his classics from years ago.

A national treasure, a pop poet.

Lets catch up

It has been a while since my last blog post, I've been pretty busy with my day job, managing Nevada Base and Vigo Thieves and being a Dad.

I've still had time to enjoy lots of music and gigs during that time so I thought I'd write a short blog about some of the stuff I have been enjoying over the last couple of months and then aim to do 3 or 4 blogs a month after that. So here goes....

Edwyn Collins

Collins released an album 'Understated' on his own label back in February and followed that up with a home coming show at the ABC in Glasgow in March. The album rolls back the years, fusing Collins love of Northern Soul with his passion for pop and the Velvets. 

The show at the ABC was utterly sensational. Grown men were in tears as he rolled out a load of Orange Juice classics, although it was a rare performance of his worldwide solo smash 'A Girl Like You' that truly brought the house down as Collins left the stage to leave his exceptional band jamming on.

I will eventually post a review of the album but check out my personal fave 'Too Bad, That's Sad' below.

Steve Mason

Former leader of the Beta Band, Steve Mason released 'Monkey Minds in the Devils Time' and showcased his talent in a number of ways through the 20-tracks on the record; playing virtually every instrument (I particularly like his bass grooves), self recorded and produced a large percentage and by using his unique voice to bring politics to the fore.

Every second track is an instrumental recorded in Mason's home studio, flushing out the album and turning it into something you can truly get lost in and enjoy spending time with. 

'Oh My Lord' is sensational while 'Fight Them Back' gets into a Beta Band groove. A cracking follow up to the outstanding 'Boys Outside'. Steve Mason is on a roll.

David Bowie

I started writing a review of Bowie's 'comeback' album 'The Next Day' but I haven't got around to finish it. I will at some point, in many ways I'm still exploring it. 

This album has so much to offer the listener; Bowie is on top form with glam, punk, pop and rock all combining to startling effect. His voice sounds stronger than ever as he pours scorn on rumours surrounding his death and conjours up songs that other acts would give their right arm for with ease.

Somewhere Brett Anderson is wishing that he wrote this number;