JACKIE LEVEN

COOKING VINYL PRESENTS

JACKIE LEVEN’S THE HAUNTED YEAR

8 PREVIOUSLY LIMITED EDITION JACKIE ALBUMS RELEASED AS DOUBLEHEADERS – 2 ALBUMS PER SEASON

THE FIRST DOUBLEHEADER – WINTER: ‘MEN IN PRISON’ AND ‘MUNICH BLUES’ (COOKCD483) RELEASED 16^th FEBRUARY 2009

PLUS UK TOUR DATES

Starting in 1994, the year of release of the groundbreaking THE MYSTERY OF LOVE IS GREATER THAN THE MYSTERY OF DEATH album (a ‘Q’ Album of the Year) and running for a decade, JACKIE LEVEN instigated ‘THE HAUNTED VALLEY’, an appreciation society which published a quality quarterly magazine and released an annual album, mostly live in content, which was limited to members of the society.

Sadly, THE HAUNTED VALLEY is no more, its existence slowly nibbled to death by the appetite of the internet, its content now to be found in cyberspace as the many superb monthly columns to be viewed at www.jackieleven.co.uk. But the body of released work is artistically significant and certainly deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

‘WINTER’ sees the release of two fine and unusual live albums – MEN IN PRISON and MUNICH BLUES (COOKCD483) on Monday 16^th February.

MEN IN PRISON, (JACKIE solo) was recorded live in Bergen Men’s Prison, Norway in 2000 (see sleevenotes). A million miles away from Johnny Cash’s exuberant prison recordings, the Norwegian prisoners were impassive, watchful and considered in their response to a great performance, but their gathering warmth is palpable and their appreciation heartfelt at the end of a blinding set of songs.

MUNICH BLUES (2002) was recorded live at Cafe Muffathalle in Munich, with long term JACKIE collaborators Michael Cosgrave (multi-instrumentalist) and Deborah Greenwood (vocals). The set includes much excellent and typical JACKIE humour. Both albums are recorded to the highest professional standards, as might be expected of two countries with a significant interest in obtaining the very best from artistic endeavour.

Fabulous energy and intense focus characterise these two sets, and there is plenty more to come, ever-changing, in the following seasons of THE HAUNTED YEAR. Both albums are further illuminated by reprinted examples of JACKIE’s widely admired monthly blog THE DEEP POOL, caustic and telling commentaries on the state we’re in, rumoured to be collected and published next year as ‘ACID MEDITATIONS’.

JACKIE will be touring the UK in the first quarter of 2009. He will be performing songs written between 1969 and 2009, incorporating material by his alter egos John St Field and Sir Vincent Lone, and including dark masterpieces from the Doll By Doll era’.

Full dates as follows :

Sat 17^th Jan GLASGOW, Celtic Connections, Oran Mor BO: 0141 353 8000

Thu 22^nd Jan BRISTOL, Thunderbolt BO: 0117 373 8947

Mon 26^th Jan BRIGHTON, The Greys BO: 01273 680 734

Tue 27^th Jan ST ALBANS, The Horn BO: 01727 853 143

Wed 28^th Jan LONDON, The Sheep Inn (FREE gig) BO: 0208 556 1131

Thu 29^th Jan SOUTHEND, Riga Bar BO: 01702 348 020

Thu 26^th Feb STOURBRIDGE, Katie Fitzgeralds BO: 01384 374 410

Sun 1^st March STOCKTON ON TEES, The Waiting Room BO: 01642 780 465

Fri 6^th March BARTON UPON HUMBER, Carnival Inn BO: 01652 634 845

Sat 7^th March BELPER, Queens Head BO: 0115 938 6774

Sun 15^th March WORCESTER, Marrs Bar BO: 01905 613 336

Thu 19^th March OTTERTON, Otterton Mill BO: 01395 567 041

Thu 26^th March YORK, The Duchess BO: tbc

www.cookingvinyl.com / www.jackieleven.co.uk