Later Live... with Jools Holland - Series 36 Episode 4.

I have been having a break from writing about the Jools Holland shows for a number of reasons, which I won’t go into right now, but this week a few artists caught my eye/ear. One of these is the wonderful Laura Marling and I was interested to hear how her new songs from the brilliant I Speak Because I Can would be performed live. We were treated to a taster on the live Tuesday show when Laura and her band delivered a perfect Devil’s Spoke. I will certainly be tuning in, or more accurately catching up on BBC iPlayer, based on this performance.

But there is plenty more to shout about this week which will make Friday one of the best Jools Holland Laters in many years. ‘Headliners’ Gorillaz enlisted Mos Def and legend Bobby Womack, who also ’jams’ with Jools and talks briefly about his music and life, but as with most shows it is the variety and talent across all the guests rather than the big names who do much more than just make up the numbers. Yet another band from Athens, Georgia, Drive-By Truckers are great, as is another US-export Diane Birch. The big surprise is Bobby McFerrin who stole the show with his unique a cappella style. There is more to the man than the 80s hit ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’.

So it promises to be a good show on Friday after a couple of lukewarm starts.