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Baker's Dozen

A Tower Of Songs: Sylvie Simmons' Favourite Music
Manu Ekanayake , August 13th, 2020 09:48

Like a gamekeeper turned poacher, rock journalist Sylvie Simmons has a new album of her own music out. Here she guides Manu Ekanayake through 13 lifelong inspirations, from Leonard Cohen to Johnny Cash, Miles Davis and Black Sabbath

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Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
You just know that if there’s a God then he’s got a sense of humour – a very difficult man, Van, but with the voice of an angel. I was still living in at home with mum and dad and my two brothers and even when I was about 13 I was going off doing jobs, you know, no child labour laws back then. So I'd be going out of the house babysitting or some such. This one couple, their furniture was mattresses on the floor that were covered with these gorgeous Turkish and Persian rugs and they were clearly pot smokers. So when I came over with this album was on and I wasn't really listening to what my job was meant to be because I was listening to this really beautiful album and wanting to know what it was. Hearing it was like someone had recorded my inner life, so when they went out I just played that record over and over again. When they came back at 1am my life was changed forever.