Live From Abbey Road (Show 7, Series 2 - 08/08/2008)

This is quickly becoming the show of constant disappointments. My big problem is if this is supposed to be the most famous recording studio in the world, why is it delivering such ordinary, and in some cases truly awful, performances? It can't be that the musicians are intimidated by their surroundings? Whatever it is, they need to sort it out and get some quality.

Three more artists tonight: American country outfit Rascal Flatts, London singer Kate Nash and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. So on paper, it all looks good.

The set:

Rascal Flatts

• Life Is A Highway
• What Hurts The Most
• Take Me There

Kate Nash

• Foundations
• Little Red
• Nicest Thing

Herbie Hancock

• The River (with Corinne Bailey Rae)
• Edith And The Kingpin (with Melody Gardot)

Starting with American country stars (apparently they are huge in the US) Rascal Flatts talking about how their music is about messages and not preaching (they sound like a Christian band so maybe they want to expel that myth for some reason) and that they typically get family audiences, they launch into a cover, Tom Cochrane's Life Is A Highway. It is decent enough middle of the road country-pop. After the band listen back to the recording in the studio. And this is one of my big problems with this show - it is supposed to be a 'live' performance and not a 'let's do a few recordings and see which is better and then show the best one'. Second track What Hurts The Most has added strings but basically sounds the same. It is all a bit predictable. So is Take Me There - same song, different lyrics. Dull.

I was looking for great things from Kate Nash. I'm not a huge fan but I love her sound and approach. She summed this up in the intro by saying that she is honest, funny and down to earth and that comes through in her music. I think it does which can be a little annoying at times. Foundations is excellent although this performance was a bit slow and low on drama. We get a very short burst of Little Red - just Nash and piano and then Nicest Thing with Nash on guitar. It was good to see her so enthused about the "honky tonk" piano in the studio. Each performance sounds like she is making it up as she is going along.

Unlike Herbie Hancock who actually is making it up as he goes along. Or that's what it sounds like. I really don't get why this guy is such a big thing. The music on both tracks The River and Edith And The Kingpin - Joni Mitchell covers from his tribute album - is exactly the same soft random jazz, a few bits of piano here, a blast of squeaky oboe there - like there is no written music. He does say at the start that Miles Davis taught him to experiment and always practice in front of an audience. Hmmm. I think there might be a few pissed off crowds, unless this is your sort of thing. Both Bailey Rae and Gardot were excellent in comparison to the weird unstructured annoying musical accompaniment. Strange.

So some quality from Kate Nash, otherwise dull and annoying. Must do better.