The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an impressive impersonation of Bob Dylan
Slipping through the net
Chilly Gonzales’ music is interspersed with much thoughtful and comedic storytelling and philosophising, writes GEORGE FOGARTY
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Here, Vermiglio, William Tell and Wolf Man
New releases from Thorpe and Morrison, Daria Kulesh, and Will Finn and Rosie Calvert
RINA ARYA confronts the brutal operation of Francis Bacon’s approach to portraiture
Emphasising his continuous engagement in labour movement struggles, ALISTAIR FINDLAY salutes John Foster’s contribution as activist, strategist, intellectual and defender of the Morning Star
ANDY MIAH advocates the use of AI to assist people by expanding access to global literature and culture
EWAN KOTZ relishes a veteran Glasgow band that have lost none of their verve for live performance
Chilly Gonzales
Royal Albert Hall, London
CHILLY GONZALES is a unique artist who has always managed to plough his own furrow. Dropped by his record label in 2004 after handing them a solo piano album (in complete contrast to the dancefloor rap they had signed him for), he went on to release it independently, whereupon it became his bestselling album to date.
He has remained independent ever since, leaving him free to experiment and change direction as he sees fit — often in the middle of a song, as it happens.
His latest album, Gonzo, throws down a self-therapising gauntlet to his fellow musicians, posing the stark question: can you be as arrogantly vulnerable; fearlessly iconoclastic and recklessly genre-busting as this, and still rock the party — all in one go?
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