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| Technics SP-10 Mk II, my double off-set plinth design, SME 3012 12 inch arm, Shure M95ED |
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| Technics SP-10 Mk II, single plinth, Micro MA-88 arm |
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| As above with power supply plinth and Shure M95ED |
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| Technics SP-10 Mk II, my double plinth stack design with separate power supply plinth. Syntec S-220 arm |
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| Same as above, but reconfigured as my double off-set plinth design |
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| Melanie in the early 1970s. Universal Music Group, via Getty Images. |
by Tony Magee
US folk singer Melanie, aka Melanie Safka has died.
Safka passed away on January 23 in Nashville. No cause of death was given.
Appearing in Canberra on March 24, 1976 at the Canberra Theatre, she performed a string of hits including Lay Down, Look What They’ve Done To My Song Ma, Brand New Key, Ruby Tuesday, The Nickel Song and Ring The Living Bell.
Her Australian tour that year also included Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Launceston, Newcastle, Perth and Sydney, with an extra performance due to demand being staged at Sydney Town Hall, March 25 1976, one day after her Canberra concert.
In 1995 Max Sharam covered Lay Down and made the song a hit again in Australia.
Born in New York City in 1947, Safka studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, but it was her interest in performing at the folk clubs of Greenwich Village that would lead to her ultimate career path.
Rising to fame through her performance at the Woodstock music festival in the summer of 1969, she appeared as a relative unknown, following Ravi Shankar, who had just delighted the audience with his brilliant sitar playing.
It began to rain as she came on stage and her show looked as though it would be a performer's nightmare.
But as she sang, accompanying herself on guitar, lights appeared in the audience as people responded by holding lighted candles above their heads.
This was the inspiration for her song Candles in the Rain (aka Lay Down), a gospel infused collaboration with the Edwin Hawkins Singers and one of her biggest successes. It also became one of the theme songs of Woodstock.
Candles lighting up became a trademark of her shows for about a year after that. “That song became so connected with my concerts that my shows were getting banned because fire departments wouldn’t approve them,” she said.
It was to be 38 years before Melanie would grace our shores again.
Preparing for her 2014 Australian tour she said: "Since we started talking about coming back ‘Down Under' I've been looking at a photo of my two daughters and me with a koala that was taken last time we were there.
"I remember clearly how beautiful the country was and how warm and welcoming you Aussies are. My son and guitarist, Beau Jarred, was not born then but he'll be with me this time and, hopefully, we'll get the opportunity of meeting another koala."
Alas, Canberra was not on her itinerary that time.
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| Melanie later in her career. Photo: Yui Mok, PA Archive |
Safka had been in the studio earlier this month working on three new recording projects:
A record of cover songs, “Second Hand Smoke,” for the Cleopatra label. It would have been her 32nd album. Tracks already recorded include Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt, Radiohead’s Creep, the Moody Blues’ Nights In White Satin, Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence and David Bowie’s Everyone Says Hi.
Also, a tribute album celebrating the music of Morrissey. Safka had only recorded one track for that so far - Ouija Board, Ouija Board.
And finally, the re-issuing of her entire recorded music catalogue since 1971 (not including songs recorded for the Buddah label in 1970 and ’71).
Only hours before her death, the singer-songwriter announced the re-issue of her 1984 live album, “One Night Only - The Eagle Mountain House”, as a limited edition 12 inch gold vinyl LP (US$26), the CD equivalent (US$18) and streaming via Bandcamp (US$10).
The offical release date is scheduled for February 16.
Her three children, Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau Jarred posted: “We ask that tonight [Jan. 24], at 10pm, each of you lights a candle in honour of Melanie. Raise, raise them high, high up again. Illuminate the darkness, and let us all be connected in remembrance of the extraordinary woman who was wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to so very many people.”
Safka was an envoy for UNICEF and raised large amounts of money for that organisation through her concerts.
Melanie Safka was 76.
First published at Canberra City News, in a shorter format, January 25, 2024.
Holographic performances with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 2023
and Santiago Symphony Orchestra 2018
by Tony Magee
Greetings everyone and a Happy New Year to all.
I’ve been out of the loop in music journalism for a while, but it’s my hope to return to this part-time sometime during 2024.
In the meantime, I feel compelled to inform you of the return of Greek opera diva Maria Callas to the concert stage in hologram form.
Dying in Paris in 1977 aged 53, Callas has been seen performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Schlosberg, December 7 2023 at Hamer Hall and the Santiago Symphony Orchestra in September 2018. Also with an unknown orchestra in March 2019.
Journalist Shelley Brunt was recently at the performance in Melbourne. You can read about her experience at the event in Canberra City News, online edition January 1 2024, reprinted from “The Conversation”. In a well written article, Brunt discusses, amongst other things, the ethics of bringing back to life long dead artists, when they have no ability to grant permission.
Here is the link:
Hologram concerts: revelations or revulsions?
“...When [Maria Callas] eventually appeared on stage, the audience gasped...”
Alas, there is no footage of the December 2023 MSO concert.
I’ve selected two clips for readers to enjoy (or not) from earlier recent performances.
The first is from an opera I cannot identify, but it’s worth watching not only for Callas’ incredible vocal prowess and stage craft, but also - she throws a deck of cards in the air near the end and the holographic effect is quite remarkable.
The second is well known and a Callas gem. Her rendition of Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen.
Both clips are very short - just over one minute.
Some commentators have postulated that we are watching an actress attempting to impersonate Maria Callas (but still a hologram?). It looks like Callas to me, and certainly the vocal soundtrack which is synchronised with her is definitely Callas singing, and the orchestras are live.
Judge for yourselves:
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| Maria Callas with unknown orchestra and location, March 2019. Click here to watch. |
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| Habanera from Bizet's Carmen. Maria Callas with the Santiago Symphony Orchestra, Movistar Arena, Santiago Chile, September 2018. Click here to watch. |