DiscConnected

IT'S SO MUCH BETTER WITH TWO

2012-02-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

If you read my review of (re)Production, you got that I was not overwhelmed with Todd Rundgren's last studio effort.

I like the CD of the live Todd concert show from 2010 much better (have not watched the DVD as I type this), but heard a rumour that Todd's next effort is a duets album.

The project is partly inspired by the success of his collaboration with old Philadelphia friend Daryl Hall on "Live from Daryl's House," not once but twice!

Does that mean we'll see a collection of blue-eyed soul duets with Hall and other great singers, possibly Todd's twist on the great American songbook?

Have you paid attention to Todd's career?

According to Todd, "There are no known names. I will be singing duets with people that are YouTube phenomena - writing songs specifically for each of them. It's my cunning way to ensure that the project is a success..."

At least he's writing the songs-a step back in the right direction after the last record.

Buy the Todd CD and DVD here!

DISCCONNECTED AND ARLEE BIRD'S MAJOR LABEL DEBUT!!

2012-02-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

SPOCK'S BEARD: THE X TOUR LIVE

Prog-rock band, Spock’s Beard appeared for one night only in Downey, CA ON September 12, 2010, the one and only U.S. show of the band’s “X” Tour (promoting their CD release, oddly enough entitled X).

The band had not appeared on these shores since since 2007, and band members Nick D’Virgilio, Alan Morse, Ryo Okumoto, Dave Meros, and Jimmy Keegan, reminded fans what they had been missing, slamming down tracks from the new CD from the moment they mounted the stage.

SB’s time away from live performances had been well spent, as the performance was great. The band performed “X” in its entirety and then treated fans to a few tried and true oldies, including “On A Perfect Day”, “Thoughts”, and finished up with “June”.

The CD sound is excellent, and the picture quality on the DVD does not disappoint. The performance was simply amazing. Sadly, it would be the last US show with Nick as frontman.

But what really makes this release stand out is that Arlee Bird (of Tossing It Out fame) and I were fortunate enough to be at the show. And when I listen to the CD through headphones, I believe they brought our applause to the forefront in the final mix!

Okay, so I may be making that last part up, but we were there! Want proof? Check out Arlee's post or my own post.

Even if you were not fortunate enough to hear and see it live, buy the deluve edition CD/DVD and experience an exceptional moment in music history.

MORE LIVE TODD

2012-02-19T02:03:00.000-08:00

Shout Factory is set to release Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Live At Hammersmith Odeon ’75 concert CD on April 10. Recorded on October 9, 1975, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Live At Hammersmith Odeon ’75 captures the band performing their first UK concert. The recording has never been commercially available until now.

The recording features the lineup of Todd Rundgren, John Siegler, Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox, which would later become Utopia, with backing vocals by Luther Vandross and Anthony Hinton.

TODD LIVE

2012-02-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

The Classic Todd Album Performed In Its Entirety!

Shot and recorded at the Keswick Theater in Philadelphia on September 14, 2010!

DVD also includes Roy Firestone interview

Finally coming to compact disc and video on Feb. 28

SONS OF 1984

Now over forty years and 20 studio albums into his career, his work within a group setting, as a solo artist, and as a producer has been consistently excellent if somewhat under appreciated.

Todd is also a guitarist of note, and for an example of his virtuosity just check out Meat Loaf’s classic album, Bat Out Of Hell.

Close to four decades after its original release, Rundgren performed the Todd album in its entirety for the first time as part of a limited six-date sold-out tour. The September 14, 2010, date at Philadelphia’s Keswick Theater, in his hometown, was taped and is the basis for this release.

Todd surrounded himself on stage with a stellar group of musicians: bassist Kasim Sulton (Utopia), keyboardist Greg Hawkes (The Cars), drummer Prairie Prince (The Tubes), sax player Bobby Strickland, guitarist Jesse Gress (Guitar Player magazine editor), and a full choir.

The original release went in a number of directions as if Rundgren was recording whatever came to mind. While each song was impeccably crafted, part of its charm was in the eclectic nature of the music. On stage the songs tend to move in more of a rock direction due to the confines of a static band. Still, he manages to remain true to the original intent of the music, and through It all his voice, stage presence, and guitar expertise all stand out.

The original concerts also featured the Healing album, where the choir played a much more central role. Hopefully there are plans to release this as well.

Buy it here!

AMAZING GRACE

2012-02-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

STEVEN WILSON: GRACE FOR DROWNING

Steven Wilson may be the hardest working man in music today.

Best known for fronting the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson is a self-taught musician and producer who keeps himself incredibly busy. In between Porcupine Tree releases, musical side projects No Man and Blackfield, production efforts (Opeth and Anathema) and DVD-Audio release campaigns for King Crimson, Caravan, and Jethro Tull, Wilson somehow managed to find time during 2011 to release his second solo album, a double disc outing entitled Grace For Drowning.
　All of his musical projects each express an individual aspect of his musical taste, so one might wonder why the need for a solo outlet for his musical vision. Given his extensive work on remixing and remastering the King Crimson back catalogue, it’s no surprise that their influence is present on Grace for Drowning.

The album’s skill comes in balancing the deeply melodic with the daringly complex, and he devotes the time to explore it, with epic length songs that, while not a radical transformation of Wilson’s various sonic experiments, is a rich synthesis of his artistic vision and a natural progression considering all that Wilson has done up to this point.

Overall, a stronger record than Insurgentes, with melodic moments that expand into grandly beautiful compositions. While Wilson delves into some progressive jazz experimentation, the more accessible melodic material is actually the strongest. The compositions are characterized by dense soundscapes, but each piece is fragmented with lush, easier-to-digest instrumentation.

One highlight, "Deform to Form a Star," may be the most gorgeous song Wilson has penned yet, featuring a lovely but understated performance by Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess. In true Wilson fashion, the song builds up into a powerful chorus, where he layers multiple tracks of his voice atop each other, creating an incredibly powerful vocal effect.

While Grace for Drowning may not be perfect, the album seems to highlight everything Wilson does right. This is a record that, while by no means an easy listen, is nonetheless highly accessible in many places.

Along with the standard double album, there is a vinyl release, and from Wilson's site, a deluxe edition that comprises of the album on two discs, a bonus third disc with additional content, and a 5.1 surround sound Blu-Ray mix of the record, all housed in a 120-page deluxe art book, comprised of photographs by frequent Wilson collaborator Lasse Hoile.

INDEX

R.I.P. WHITNEY HOUSTON

2012-02-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

Whitney Houston died this afternoon. She was 48.

Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Houston once reigned supreme as the queen of pop music, until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said the cause of death was unknown.

Houston's end came on the eve of music's biggest night -- the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to cast a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony.

I loved her voice, and was sad that the latter part of her career was so troubled.

Rest in peace, Whitney.

Sony Music Entertainment issued the following statement regarding Whitney Houston:

“Whitney Houston was an icon and a once-in-a-lifetime talent who inspired a generation of singers and brought joy to millions of fans around the world. She had a voice of unmatched beauty and power that changed music forever, and she leaves behind an indelible legacy of timeless songs that will never be forgotten. She also was an important member of the Sony Music family who spent her storied recording career with Arista Records. She will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences go out to her daughter and her entire family.” .

STILL AMONG THE LIVING

2012-02-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

ANDERSON/WAKEMAN: THE LIVING TREE

The Living Tree features nine new tracks penned by vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman, two British music legends who are former members of Yes.

This is an album that requires a little patience. The songs are delivered with very sparse accompaniement, and if you’re looking for that classic Yes sound, you simply won’t hear it. However, if you give this one a little more time, with repeated listens you will see how it unfolds and deepens and finally draws you in.

These two old friends have created a thing of beauty, and the quiet and sparseness are very powerful, with breathtaking melodies and sensitive, restrained keyboards.

Anderson's voice carries the road dust of many roads traveled over a lifetime. While certain melodies or phrases began to stand out early on, as I listened I could almost hear how a full band arrangement would come across.

Many fan reviews are negative about this collaboration, but having listened for myself, I disagree with the haters. With no instruments besides Wakeman's keyboards, the intimate, quiet sound of this recording is like no other in the Anderson canon, and Jon’s solo career has been all over the map. Given Jon's age, recent respiratory ailments, and the fact that he has not really been heard on record for a decade or so, I was almost surprised to see that he had retained his vocal dynamics, his voice on this recording, very intimate.

These are pleasant and listenable songs, clear and melodic. Not bad for a "retirement" project. You will want to listen to this again and again.

BOOM BOOM

2012-01-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

PAT TRAVERS FIDELIS

Probably best known for his 1979 live album, Live! Go for What You Know, Pat Travers has ridden a roller coaster on his thirty year career that saw him without a label by the end of the 1980’s, finding a niche in the blues market, and steadily releasing albums of blues and guitar rock acclaim from his musical peers, fans, and music critics alike, but have never quite realized the commercial success that they deserve. With a loyal following (the Hammer Heads), Travers continues to record and tour, and remains an influence for a whole generation of guitar slingers.

On 2010’s Fidelis, Pat delivers a studio album of all new originals, a top-notch rock effort where the blues influences abound. Travers pulls out all the stops on this outing, with infectious tunes throughout. Great music; great lyrics; not a weak song on the platter. After more than 35 years in the business, Pat still knows how to play powerful rock tunes without using technology as a crutch.

Travers is joined by his touring band: Kirk McKim on second guitar; Rodney O'Quinn on bass; and Sean Shannon on drums. Pat and the band play with passion, delivering a live feel that is not over-produced or computer-augmented.

Classic rock and blues rock fans need to grab this album. While you can get it from Amazon, they’re offering a CD-R with very limited packaging. You can buy directly from Alexus Records to receive a nice 12 page booklet complete with lyrics and all credits.

But I’d encourage you to look at http://www.pattravers.com/ and check the tour dates. If Pat is going to be playing near you, go see him live. His band on the album is also his touring band, and the show is excellent. You can buy the CD there and have him sign it!

ASK ME BABY

JOSEPHINE

INTO THE ARENA AGAIN

2012-01-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

ARENA: THE SEVENTH DEGREE OF SEPARATION

Arena's seventh album explores the last hour of life and the first hour beyond, a concept album about the gradual separation of the soul from its body and the soul's journey between life and death before it reaches the final revelation. The lyrics are, as before, written by the keyboard-master Nolan and are quite dark, but with a positive spin in the end.

The music fits the concept perfectly, with a dark atmosphere, at times melancholic, but through the whole album outstandingly epic. John Mitchell delivers some of the best guitar solos of his career and once again, Clive Nolan confirms his mastery of keyboards. New singer Paul Manzi is a solid replacement for the departed Rob Sowden. It is very difficult to choose the album's highlights, as there are many.

Many of the reviews I've read knocked the album for not being "progressive" enough, and this is certainly an album which will divide their fan base. People looking for epic-length songs may be disappointed, but they should remember the album that flows nicely from track to track, maintaining a consistent atmosphere through a baker's dozen "normal" length songs that all revolve around the cenral theme - certainly a progressive idea, although the music is far more comercially accessible than previous efforts.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish - the music is amazing, and each musician brings something to the table and is at the top of their game.

ONE LAST AU REVOIR

THE TINDERBOX

WHAT IF

UP ALL NIGHT LISTENING TO DARWIN'S RADIO

2012-01-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

DEC BURKE: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS

Dec Burke is a UK based guitarist/vocalist who has previously written recorded and performed with Frost* and Darwin's Radio. After leaving Darwin's Radio in late 2009, Dec embarked on this new solo project.

While I wouldn't call Destroy All Monsters a prog record, the influences are there, and the album bears more than a passing resemblance to Burke's work with Darwin's Radio. Burke has come up with some pretty good tunes for his first time at bat.

Burke has a solid voice and is a talented instrumentalist. Playing guitar, keyboards and supplying vocals himself, Burke delivers an element of restraint not exhibited on Darwin's Radio releases. He showcases talent as an arranger, with huge bass pedals, programmed beats and fantastic choruses with songs drenched in orchestral keyboards.

The production is dense yet never muddled, and Burke’s breathy vocals suit the material and carry the emotion of the lyrics extremely well. The atmosphere calls to mind Porcupine Tree during their laid back moments.

Absent a new Darwin's Radio release, this album showcases Burke’s talents, and warrants a listen.

SOMETIMES

A LIVING LEGEND NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF

2012-01-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

SEASICK STEVE: I STARTED OUT WITH NOTHIN'
AND I STILL GOT MOST OF IT LEFT

If you love acoustic blues, you will appreciate Seasick Steve, a brilliant self-taught blues man who plays with a three-string guitar and a wooden box to beat time.

He may refer to himself as "a song and dance man," but American blues musician Seasick Steve - is indisputably a living legend.
　
I had to buy his 2008 release based on the title alone.

I Started Out With Nothin' And I Still Got Most Of It Left is a great blues album, with a brilliant title and clever lyrics.

If you love acoustic blues, you will appreciate this album. Steve's voice is homey and gruff and his songs sound as lived-in as an old comfortable shirt.
　
Steve's bluesy, bluegrass, folky music is interspersed with humorous asides, including the finale, a tale from his life living on the road.

His music is as infectious as his story telling, with generous helpings of country, cajun and folk in the mix. On some songs, the slide guitar reminds me of a slightly rawer Keb Mo, great, foot tapping, slide blues to get your foot tapping and soon you find yourself singing along.

Sure to get you groovin' in dirty, dirty blues.

NO USE TRYING TO LOOK COOL IN A MINI-VAN

2012-01-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

THE BLACK KEYS: EL CAMINO

A little housekeeping here.

If there are only two men on the album cover, can we really call it a band?

Wouldn't they be a duo?

And if the name of the album is El Camino (and it is), shouldn't there be an El Camino on the cover rather than a minivan?

Rolling Stone once called the duo a two-man combo with a big-band mind, a description that illustrates the hard-rocking El Camino perfectly.

On their fourth effort for the Nonesuch label, guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney conjure up an exhilarating, stadium-sized sound in collaboration with producer and friend Danger Mouse.

El Camino is fast-paced, with an upbeat mood and addictive choruses that are perfect for shouting along in a large, sweaty festival crowd.

This record is more straight ahead rock and roll raw, driving, and back to basics. The Black Keys respect the past while being in the present, and that formula often recalls the blitzkrieg-paced British-style rock of the 1960s and 70s, although the sound is very much contemporary and utterly their own.

A band already at the top of its game has gotten even better, with a more polished and accessible sound with only a hint of artistic surrender.

El Camino features one stand-out track after another, and you'll have a blast listening to this album.

SATISFY YOUR SWEET TOOTH

2012-01-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

JIM KELLER: SOUL CANDY

Jim Keller, co-founder of the rock band Tommy Tutone, and the co-writer of a song ingrained in the consciousness of a generation (867-5309/Jenny), is back with his sophomore solo album, Soul Candy. The album marks the natural evolution of Keller's talent of writing indelible hooks, paying tribute to an instinctual approach to the art of songwriting.

Recorded with members of his current live band and various friends, the album is made up of a year s worth of writing and playing together. Soul Candy captures the raw energy of Keller s live shows and conjures driving guitars and Hammond organs backing blues-tinged love narratives, gospel influences and pop delights.

Solid, well-crafted tunes abound, whether soulful ballads or toe-tapping up-tempo pieces that highlight Keller's versatility as a songwriter and musician of the same caliber as John Hiatt or James Taylor.

One of the better records that I have heard in a while.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year!

SOUL SURVIVOR

2011-12-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

CHARLES BRADLEY: NO TIME FOR DREAMING

A voice doesn't come much rawer than Charles Bradley's, which has been honed from a lifetime of paying dues. Another fantastic entry in the Daptone catalog, Bradley labored for decades at various day jobs from Maine to Alaska, singing and performing in his spare time before finding his musical home.

Backed up by Dap-Kings guitarist Thomas ''Tommy TNT'' Brenneck (who also produces the disc) and the Menahan Street Band, it's Charles Bradley's time to shine, with real, authentic soul that gets better with each listen. In his distinctively rough-hewn timbre one hears the unmistakable reflection of the trials along his rocky path to discovery,

There's Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Al Green.

Charles Bradley is ready to take his place alongside them.

R.I.P. CHICKENFOOT 4/1/2009-12/27/2011

2011-12-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I am really bummed.

Regular readers will remember Chickenfoot, the cat named after the band formed by Sammy Hagar and friends a couple of years ago.

I had to have him put down today.

Christmas night, he was his normal pain-in-the-ass self, chasing the older cats around the house and getting into things I would prefer he not get into.

Monday morning he seemed a little out of it, but nothing that concerned me.

This morning (Tuesday), I came out to feed them and he seemed to be having an epileptic fit. I ran him into the vet, and they spent all day with blood tests and fluids and oxegen and medications that are supposed to relieve pressure in the brain, and at 3pm they still did not know what was wrong. They said they could transfer him to some sort of specialty animal hospital, but did not think there was much optimism.

So I made the call. Watched as the needle plugged into the IV line and as his little heart slowed, and then stopped.

Very sad.

I'd gotten Foot (one of his nicknames I can actually print) because another cat was older (ten) and had been diagnosed with a heart murmur. She outlived him, and that was with him chasing her around the house every day.

Of course tonight I've been second guessing not taking him in yesterday, and wishing I'd not yelled at him so much for getting on the counters and other assorted infractions that do not seem so important tonight.

But I think he had a pretty good, if short, life.

He certainly demonstrated a whole lot of attitude.

And I'm gonna miss him.

NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL...

2011-12-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

TOM WAITS: BAD AS ME

I have been saying for close to three decades that Tom Waits has not put out much worth listening to since 1980’s Heartattack & Vine, but a couple of years ago I came to acknowledge that the decline happened after Waits’ next effort, the One From The Heart soundtrack in 1982.

Since then, some of Waits' output has been BAD.

I mean, downright unlistenable.

With this year’s Bad As Me, Waits puts something on record he has not done much of late…melodies!

Imagine that!

You can actually hum along to most of the tunes on this record! And this is an album that is definitely worth listening to!

While many of the pieces (like the title track) still feature the unusual arrangements that have made Waits a college radio favorite, his voice is in pretty good form (meaning you can understand the lyrics), and the songs are quite listenable.

There’s one number that shows Tom getting his Elvis on (“Get Lost”), as well as the balladry that Waits served up like no one else in his Asylum years (“Back In The Crowd”, “Last Leaf”) and the imagery that Waits can infuse into a lyric that puts you right beside him in the story (“Face To The Highway”).

I’ve kept up with the Waits catalog over the years but this is the first title since the early eighties that I would actually recommend. Welcome back, Tom-where’ve ya been?

FACE TO THE HIGHWAY

LAST LEAF

CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE

2011-12-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

VINCE GUARALDI TRIO: A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

This is an easy review...I really don't have to say much besides the CD title!

We all remember A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first animated special featuring the characters from Charles M. Schulz’ Peanuts comic strip.

We all remember wanting to be able to dance like Snoopy, or wrap our secutiy blanket around a frail young sapling and have it bloom into a Christmas tree.

And is there one of us who does not instantly recognize the tune "Linus And Lucy?"

With music by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, the soundtrack to that special has been an annual cash cow since 1965. It seems that if you wait until after Black Friday, you can’t find it.

While there are other instantly recognizable tunes ("Christmas Time Is Here," "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," "Oh Tannenbaum"), "Linus And Lucy" is along reason enough to buy this CD and have it in your holiday rotation.

Gary Hoey also does a rockin' version that is worth checking out. Give one or both of 'em to someone on your list!
　
So without further ado...

LINUS AND LUCY

CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE

LINUS AND LUCY (GARY HOEY'S VERSION)

ALL SHE ASKED FOR WAS AN AUTOGRAPH

2011-12-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

CANDICE NIGHT: REFLECTIONS

Candice Night started out as a model.

The Long Island native transitioned to radio in her twenties; seeming destined for a career in communications.

In 1989 she approached rock legend Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow) for an autograph.

It wasn’t long before she was singing backup for Deep Purple on tour.

Now married to Blackmore, Candice Night is the lead singer of Blackmore’s Night.

Candice Night is not just the beneficiary of good fortune; however, she is a serious vocalist who has also performed with the likes of Sass Jordan, Glenn Hughes and Beto Velazquez.

Night strikes out on her own with Reflections, a collection of ten power ether rock songs that show off her voice in fine fashion.

Night’s voice is highly trained, a fact that becomes quickly evident on the opening track, “Wind Is Calling (Hush The Wind)”.

Night mixes hard pallet sounds with a soft tone in unusual and intriguing fashion. The melody is utterly memorable, built within a well-constructed arrangement that’s part lullaby and part fairytale.

Night serves up high-energy, vocal driven rockers with catchy choruses that could be breakout hits with the right push and the right luck.

Other songs, such as “Black Roses,” are pretty and haunting; dark but with a sparkle of light in the middle. Night gets ethereal, plays on the edge of innuendo and plays on Celtic themes with gorgeous melodies that will haunt you long after the album has finished playing.

Reflections is a successful collection of songs that perhaps don’t exactly fit within the Blackmore’s Night songbook, but are perfectly fitting to Candice Night’s voice and style. There are a couple of down moments her, but on the whole the album is entertaining and worth spending some time with. Night does the ethereal and lyric stuff so well, but she is surprisingly good when she lifts her face into the headwinds of rock and roll and lets loose as well. Reflections is a worthwhile trip.

BLACK ROSES

GONE GONE GONE

BLUES THROUGH AND THROUGH

2011-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Etta James, the seminal R&B singer, is terminally ill, according to her doctor, Elaine James (no relation), who has cared for the singer at her home in Riverside since March 2010.

Dr. James told The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., that family members were told two weeks ago that Ms. James’s chronic leukemia could not be cured.

“I am Southern and Christian and would just ask for the prayers of her fans and friends,” Dr. James said. “They know she’s been sick, but not how sick.”

Etta James, 73, has been among the most celebrated American blues singers for decades, recording enduring hits like “At Last,” “Tell Mama” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Her career had its share of obstacles, including drug addiction, troubled love relationships and health and legal problems, but James continued to overcome.

James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

UPDATE: Ms. James passed away on January 20, 2012.

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR

2011-12-20T02:00:00.000-08:00

FISH: 13TH STAR

How some artists manage to continue a long career while others fade has always been a mystery to me.

By the time I knew who Marillion was, Fish had already left the band, and most thought his career was over.

I found a copy of Internal Exile at St. Mark's Sounds (the one you have to go up stairs to get into) and purchased it without knowing it was the former lead singer of Marillion-one of my fellow CD scroungers that day had to tell me.

Since then, I'd stayed current with both Marillion and Derek W. Dick (Fish's alter ego).

Interestingly, both careers followed similar paths, as both realized the power of the online community in the mid-90's and began releasing albums on their own.

13th Star, Fish's most recent release, seems to have received some of his best reviews in a long time from both critics and fans alike.

13th Star is a solid album, with most of this material was written by Fish and co-writer/bass player Steve Vantis, who brings a more contemporary feel to the proceedings and gives the overall sound a little more of an edge.

Originally released as a limited edition available through Fish's website or at shows, the album features good music, good musicians, good production, and even good artwork (by long-time Fish and Marillion illustrator Mark Wilkinson).

The lineup for the album includes Frank Usher and Chris Johnson (guitars), Steve Vantsis (bass), Foss Paterson (keyboards), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Dave Haswell (percussion) and Lorna Bannon (background vocals).

Lyrically Fish is often at his best when going through a relationship breakup (Misplaced Childhood, Fellini Days), and 13th Star documents his well publicized split from one time fiancée Heather Findley (from Mostly Autumn).

Most lyrics deal with, or are at least implicitly in reference to, this failed relationship.

Written as a concept album, the lyrics presenting a narrative of someone on a journey of self- discovery, with the 13th Star serving as the guiding light or the destination. Sadly, what are missing are hooks-no obvious singles here.

Vantsis' contributions lend a rougher, more guitar-based and slightly industrial sound, and while Fish's voice is not what it used to be, it still has fits the material well.

Although he has made good use of the internet to keep his celebrity alive, there is no disputing that Fish's commercial fortunes have declined over the years. However, he continues to put out quality work and while this album may sound like a departure, it should please old fans as well as new converts.

For all you old-schoolers, there was a limited edition (2,500 copies) double vinyl gatefold album released as a mail order only release, with the core album tracks spread across the first three of four sides, with live bonus songs rounding out side four. There may still be some available on Fish's site.

ARC OF THE CURVE

ZOE 25

Stars To Honor Robert Johnson’s 100th Birthday At The Apollo Theater

2011-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

The legacy of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson will get the all-star treatment when The Roots, Shemekia Copeland, Bettye Lavette, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo,’ Sam Moore and Todd Rundgren gather in NYC in 2012.

Co-produced by Steve Berkowitz, Michael Dorf, Joe Morton and Patricia Watt and taking place March 6 at New York City’s famed Apollo Theater, net proceeds will go to funding the construction of the Blues Hall Of Fame in Memphis. Expect more artists to be announced in the weeks to come.

VIP ticket packages are available via RobertJohnson100.com, while general onsale tickets are now available at Ticketmaster.com. Visit ApolloTheatre.org for more information.

And you can pick up Todd Rundgren's Robert Johnson tribute CD here:

BACK IT UP

2011-12-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

NILS LOFGREN: OLD SCHOOL

Nils Lofgren, best known these days as a 27-year member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, delivers a contemplative record after a difficult period in that band's history, in the wake of losing both E Street saxophonist Clarence Clemons (who passed in June at age 69 from complications following a stroke) and organist/keyboard player Danny Federici (after a battle with cancer in 2008).

As a result, Old School opens with the title track, a bold rock ‘n’ roll kiss off to whiners, featuring a guest vocal turn by Lou Gramm of Foreigner fame (who knows a little about dealing with adversity after his battle with cancer).

Lofgren proceeds to deliver white knuckled riffs and rockabilly songs that would not be out of place on one of his employer's albums, with another guest vocal from Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers.

Lofgren's quiet tribute to Ray Charles ("Miss You Ray"), has the same emotional tone as Springsteen’s "Blood Brothers," and could easily be about the recently departed Clemons. Old School finds Lofgren sharing his journey through grief and anger with us.

Old School is Nils Lofgren’s first studio album since 2008′s The Loner: Nils Sings Neil. Anyone who’s followed Lofgren’s career know about his diverse solo offerings as well as his other sideman stints, which include spots with Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr. Those influences shine on this record, which brings out his diverse best. His debut still shines as the brightest gem in his catalog, but this one is an addition you should consider adding to your collection.

OLD SCHOOL

60 IS THE NEW 18

MISS YOU RAY (Live in Phoenix, AZ)

E STREET BAND ALERT! As I type these words, there has been a small mention in the pages of Rolling Stone of an album and tour next year from Nils' other job...

BLUES LINEAGE

2011-12-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

JIMMIE VAUGHAN: BLUES, BALLADS AND FAVORITES

Steve Ray's brother returns with his first album in nine years, Blues, Ballads and Favorites.

Jimmie Vaughan founded the iconic Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1974, and they became famous for the high-octane blues-rock sound that earned them critical acclaim in the '70s and platinum-selling albums in the '80s. In 1990, Vaughan recorded a duets album, Family Style, with his brother shortly before the latter's untimely death, and then went on to launch a solo career.

Blues, Ballads and Favorites is Vaughan's tribute to the music that inspired him, with covers of songs by Little Richard, Jimmy Reed, Roy Milton, Roscoe Gordon and others.

Recorded in Austin, Texas, and featuring guest appearances by Lou Ann Barton and Bill Willis, Blues, Ballads and Favorites is an enjoyable excursion into some well chosen covers and standards topped up by a typically tasteful JV instrumental.

This album has a little of everything, as the title might suggest. Vaughan's guitar playing is expressive and clear with a fairly contemporary sound.
And good news...the follow-up is already in stores!

THE PLEASURE'S ALL MINE

COMIN' & GOIN'

RUNDGREN-MANIA?

2011-12-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

It's not Todd Rundgren, but an incredible simulation.

Veteran rocker Todd Rundgren is planning to launch his own tribute band so he can retire from touring after almost 45 years on the road.

The songwriter/producer began his career with Nazz in 1967 before going solo two years later.

He is still regularly touring and recording at the age of 63, but admits the rigours of life on the road are wearing him down - and he's considering finding an impersonator to take his place at concerts.

Rundgren tells Mojo magazine, "I'm 63 years old and there's a limit to what I can do physically. So I'm thinking ahead: how can I alter what I do in order to accommodate that without compromising any of it?

"The hardest part of it now is the travelling - it's getting to the gig. So I'm thinking about starting my own tribute bands. They can go out to work."

Now there have been other bands with successful tribute bands, but they tend to be acts that sell quite a few more concert tickets than Todd.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show has been touring the globe for years putting on shows that are quite good (I saw their Wall and DSTOM shows and was pretty impressed).

Brian May has been interviewed as looking to form an authorized tribute band for Queen some twenty years after Freddie Mercury's death.

A few months ago, I guest-posted on Tossing It Out and the topic was ghost writers-keeping an author's fiction series alive after the author's death.

This looks to be the musical equivalent of that phenomena.

So maybe it won't be long before I curl up with a Spenser tribute novel while listening to a Todd tribute band.

But I'll be wearing an Australian Pink Floyd tee shirt!

For books I was on the fence-for music there is no question in my mind. When the musician has had enough, it should end.

Todd-when you retire, I'm going to be sad.

But you weren't exactly setting sales records - what makes you think a tribute band would do any better?

My idea? Don't travel. Continue to write and record, and do some local shows each year.

Let the fans come to you.

Heck, you live in Hawaii.

You had fans building vacations around Akron, Ohio. They'd probably be willing to vacation in Hawaii.

REAL NOWHERE LAND

2011-12-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

SLAMER: NOWHERE LAND

Multi-talented British guitarist Mike Slamer has had a rock career spanning more than a quarter of a century, working with Steve Walsh in Streets in the early eighties, and working with a variety of artists as a producer, player and songwriter, including Fiona, House Of Lords, Steelhouse Lane and Warrant. Slamer is currently a member of the band Seventh Key, also with former Kansas member Billy Greer.

Frontiers Records serves up Mike's latest effort, "Nowhere Land." This album is a superb effort, a genre-blending mix of melodic, hard and progressive rock. A great combination of mid-tempo numbers and some hard rocking tracks pace this album perfectly from beginning to end. Slamer shines on each track, and Billy Greer's vocals set a powerful, image-evoking atmosphere.

Many melodic rock fans have been listening to Mike Slamer for more than twenty years and just didn't know it. This album, sadly, will not see the light of day in the United States, but is available from our friends at NEH Records.

BRIDESMAID TO THE CARS

2011-12-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

DOUG POWELL: FOUR SEASONS

I'm sure all of you reading this have also read my review of the New Cars CD that was posted a few months back.

You all know how Todd Rundgren was called upon to fill the void left by Ric Ocasek.

What you may not know is that former Todd Rundgren opening act Doug Powell was also approached about being in The New Cars.

Doug's Four Seasons album features six songs he'd written in anticipation of joining the band. It`s amazing how Doug captured `their sound.`

If The New Cars had stayed together and worked on new material, guess what? They would have had a hard time doing better than any of these tracks. The scary thing? Doug tossed these babies off as a creative exercise.

This was the last album we saw for a while from Doug as he took a hiatus from music to concentrate on his writing and graphic design business.

Not a bad highlight to go out on, a joy-filled send-off that most pop fans will enjoy, available from CD BABY.

FEEL FOR YOU

GOD BLESS US ALL

BLUEGRASS RENEGADE

2011-12-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

TOMMY SHAW: THE GREAT DIVIDE

Montgomery, Alabama is a few hundred miles from Nashville (and Skynyrd says it's a real sweet home), but it took Tommy Shaw thirty-six years to get to Music City, taking a three-and-a-half-decade detour through Chicago (and the world) as a rock icon, singer and guitarist in Styx and Damn Yankees.

Tommy's early love of roots music always burned bright, and his remarkable path of musical discovery and storytelling has led him back to those roots on his newest solo effort, The Great Divide.

Working with some of the finest bluegrass session players around, and with guest appearances by Dwight Yoakam, Alison Krauss and Brad Davis, Shaw’s bluegrass debut is a down-home country album that is quite reminiscent of the Shaw-Blades debut.

The songs on this record (it was released on vinyl, you licorice pizza junkies!) are intelligent and soulful, old-style country music written with old-style country lyricism and genuine country musical simplicity, not the modern pop that passes for country these days.

Tommy does not stray far from his natural voice (no 'put-on' southern twang drenched in nasal tones) but he is in fine voice here. Shaw manages to capture a bit of the high lonesome sound at times, and the Alabama boy delivers a roots album that deftly blends traditional bluegrass sound and modern songwriting. Shaw’s writing is sharp with a light feel that suits the material. Several of these songs would not be out of place on a Shaw-Blades album, built around traditional instrumentation and rootsy arrangements.

All in all, a surprising and pleasing turn from Shaw, and one fine bluegrass album.

BACK IN YOUR KITCHEN

I'LL BE COMING HOME

CAREFUL YOU DON'T GET STUNG

2011-11-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

SCORPIONS: HUMANITY HOUR 1

Reprinted from the DiscConnected MySpace page

A scorpion is an arthropod with eight legs. I sometimes find them in my garage (I live in Phoenix), and if they sting you it kicks your butt.

Scorpions are a hard rock band from Germany who have been kicking butt in the music world since 1972, with anthems like "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and "No One Like You." They have sold over 70 million records in their career. Contrary to common usage, the band's name is "Scorpions," not "The Scorpions." Make a note of that. And while you're taking notes, you may want to jot down that the new Scorpions album is a five-star release.

Scorpions' 2007 album is called Humanity Hour 1.

Like the aforementioned eight-legged critter, this CD stings hard and will kick your butt. Sometimes all the pieces fall neatly into place, and with this record, after a few not-so-spectacular albums, Scorpions got it all in the right place at the right time.

Helping out on songwriting detail are Eric Bazillian (of The Hooters fame), Russ Irwin and Billy Corgan, and it pays off-not since the Savage Amusement album has a Scorpions record had so many songs of such high quality.

Produced by the legendary Desmond Child (Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf among many others), this album delivers. I did not have high expectations because their last few had been middle-of-the-road. Solid, but unspectacular.

This effort mixes their old-school AOR melodies with a bit of a modern edge and still rolls it into a classic eighties commercial style that manages to sound fresh. Child proves once again that he has the ability to bring out the best in a band with an updated guitar sound and masterful production for a sound only a master behind the board could achieve.

Sometimes a band just nails it, and this is one of those times. Run out and buy it, or you just may find a scorpion in your garage.

WE WERE BORN TO FLY

STORMY WEATHER

2011-11-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

ISSA: THE STORM

Frontiers Record’s marketing for Norwegian vocalist Issa plays up the whole 'sex-kitten'
angle that really does not suit her, or her new album, The Storm..

The lady is an AOR talent, but comparing her in a press release to Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne is somewhat misleading.

Issa is a powerful female lead vocalist with a solid band behind her, performing memorable melodic hard rock with a modern edge to the album in the guitar tone and production, and Issa’s very likable, melodic vocals.

The selection of songs features compositions from the label’s gang of usual suspects, and there are some great songs on here, but I’d rather see Issa contribute more than the three tracks cowritten with husband James Martin, two of which are album highlights.

Issa’s debut album was very impressive and The Storm follows a very similar path.

This follow-up features great production with a similar energy, the same powerful vocals and a good dose of melodic hard rock. The production has some modern tweaks, with a little more contemporary sound than the debut.

The songs are good, and stand outs include the super catchy and hook filled “Looking For Love,” the monster power ballad “Invincible” and another ballad, “Too Late For Love. “

Recommended for fans of melodic rock.

LOOKING FOR LOVE

INVINCIBLE

CLASSY WHITE BRAT R&B

2011-11-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODD RUNDGREN: NEARLY HUMAN

It is a crime against the cosmos that Warner Brothers deleted Nearly Human, Todd Rundgren's 1989 masterpeice, from it's catalogue.

You heard me right. The album that Rolling Stone hailed as "the best album of classy white-brat R&B since 1973′s Abandoned Luncheonette" has been deleted for more than a decade.

Nearly Human may be Todd's most underheard and overlooked album, and in my opinion it is his best; an extraordinary return to form, a soulful exercise recorded live in the studio with the usual top notch production.

This album stands as the only masterwork in the later stages of Todd's career. The first four original songs alone ("The Want Of A Nail," The Waiting Game," "Parallel Lines," and "Can't Stop Running") give you your money's worth and would qualify as a work of genius for most other rock musicians.

Other highlights include "Hawking," one of Todd's most personal and haunting composotions and still a live staple, his version of the Tubes/Rundgren composition "Feel It," and "Fidelity," a beautiful melody even if I don't agree with its' morality. The album closes with the gospel-infused "I Love My Life," and leaves you wanting more.

"Three Little Hitlers," the Elvis Costello cover that sits at track four did not even appear on the original vinyl version, and was a CD bonus track that would have made a better running order if it had been placed at the end of the program.

That is pretty much the only negative thing that I can say about this release.

Any Todd fan who ever liked any of his "Philly-soul" influenced material will absolutly love this release, recorded digitally and live in the studio. The tour which followed this release featured many of the same singers and musicians, was universally acclaimed as being briliant, and live documents on CD and DVD are still available at Amazon.

Anyone who remembers all of the song lists we did last year know that this CD is on my desert island list, and that the song Parallel Lines made my top love songs list (not to mention being the soundtrack for one of the most important relationships in my life).

This is an essential release for any serious music fan, and you better snap it up when you see it because they're asking $70 for a new copy on Amazon!

Here's a reprint of David Fricke’s review from the June 29, 1989 issue of Rolling Stone (#555).

Patti Smith once said Todd Rundgren had “the ability to devour and juggle the best of what has passed and shoot it into future perfect.” In fact, she said it in these very pages, back in 1971, in a review of his second solo LP, The Ballad of Todd Rundgren.

It would be another year before the young studio savant issued his magnum pop opus, the four-sided Something/Anything, generally acknowledged to be the consummate early-Seventies ear-candy album. But even then, Smith, no minor judge of what constitutes the art of rock, recognized in Ballad‘s beguiling songs of love and loss the imprint of a gifted craftsman with the intellect and imagination to make tomorrow’s pop today and the chops to do it with one hand tied behind his back.

Nearly Human, Rundgren’s first solo release of new material since his 1985 look-Ma-no-instruments album A Capella, actually produces the opposite effect – technique plus brains plus vision equals vintage Seventies Todd pop.

Ever since Something/Anything, Rundgren has diligently made records according to his own rebellious aesthetic and utopian spirituality, only intermittently exercising his ability to create lush, loving ballads and bright sing-along singles.

Admittedly, he’s made more than enough of those to fill Rhino’s new almost-two-hour-long compilation, Anthology (1968-1985). (There’s another volume dedicated to his work with the band Utopia.)

Still, Nearly Human is as deliciously retro as Rundgren has ever been, not only begging comparison to the bumper crop of radio-ready jewels on records like Something/Anything and 1978′s Hermit of Mink Hollow but harking back even further to his deep roots in sophisto-Philly soul.

Simply put, Nearly Human is the best album of classy white-brat R&B since 1973′s Abandoned Luncheonette, by Rundgren’s old homeboys Hall and Oates.

Cut au naturel in the studio with a veritable philharmonic of strings, brass and background singers (sort of Rundgren conducts the Love Unlimited Orchestra), it’s a colorful evocation of Motown dance frenzy, the light gauzy cool of Aja-period Steely Dan and the silken grandeur of Philadelphia International’s greatest hits.

It’s also dosed with an almost garage brashness in Rundgren’s distinctive vocal style, a seductive amalgam of choirboy polish, shivering shy-boy croon and strained suburban-punk testifying. Rundgren doesn’t pretend to make textbook soul; he only wants to rev up his own kind of quiet storm the old-fashioned way.

The album’s boisterous opener, “The Want of a Nail,” boasts truly righteous roots – the O’Jays or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes could have done a real torch job on this one back in ’75. As it is, guest singer Bobby Womack pours on his own soul kerosene while Rundgren turns his white wail loose in this rousing parable about horses, shoes and the importance of details (“For the want of a nail/The world was lost”). He shows equal chutzpah when he takes on a twenty-two-voice chorale in the album’s hallelujah finale “I Love My Life,” although the “Reverend Todd” shtick in the middle drags on to minimal effect. He may be A Wizard/A True Star, but he’s no Jesse Jackson.

That’s okay, because the ballads are the real heart of the record. “Hawking” is a pensive, hesitant ode to a Higher Love in the image of the slow, meditative beauty “The Verb ‘to Love’,” on Faithful. “Feel It,” co-written by keyboardist Vince Welnick of the Tubes, is a kind of Rundgrenesque take on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” with whispery female vocals and a come-hither chorus. And even at his most accessible, Rundgren never lapses into the predictable; he throws a couple of neat vocal-harmony curves in “The Waiting Game” and “Parallel Lines” that are as captivating as his simple, addictive melodies.

Indeed, the most extraordinary thing about Todd Rundgren’s talent for making compelling if eccentric pop is that he has no solo platinum to show for it.

THE WANT OF A NAIL

THE WAITING GAME

PARALLEL LINES

PARALLEL LINES (live with band)

PARALLEL LINES (from UP AGAINST IT soundtrack)

PARALLEL LINES (alternate live version)

(do ya get it-I love this song. and if EM happens upon this blog-it still reminds me of you!)

WHERE THE STARBUCK'S USED TO BE

2011-11-20T02:00:00.000-08:00

JOHN WESLEY HARDING:
THE SOUND OF HIS OWN VOICE

19 albums into his career, John Wesley Harding delivers The Sound of His Own Voice.

Now that he’s living a double life as a musician and a novelist (having published 3 books under his given name, Wesley Stace), Harding leaves his serious side on the printed page. While his tenth studio album, shows he still has a point of view and no shyness about expressing it, from a musical standpoint, this is one of his most engaging pieces of pop songcraft since he burst onto the scene with Here Comes The Groom way back in 1989.

Recorded at the Type Foundry in Portland, Oregon, the album was produced by Harding and Scott McCaughey (The Minus Five, R.E.M., Young Fresh Fellows) and mixed by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists, Spoon).

It features the all-star King Charles Trio, whose lineup includes John Moen, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee and Nate Query, all members of The Decemberists, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and McCaughey. Rosanne Cash, Laura Veirs and John Roderick (The Long Winters) also lend their vocal talents to the record.

The results are beautifully crafted and entertainingly eclectic, encompassing jaunty folk-rock and nervy rock & roll with R&B underpinnings. It's fitting that the album is bookended by tributes to songwriting and music, as clear that Harding is having the time of his life writing and playing on this collection. The production and arrangements are expansive without being overbearing.

Sharp words and bright and poppy music abound, his clever wordplay appearing honed by his recent literary efforts. Songs like "There's a Starbucks (Where the Starbucks Used To Be)," are irresistable, and rarely do you see a songwriter embrace vocabulary with lines like: "They're as sharp as Occam's razor/as subtle as Aquinas/They define us and refine us with their beta-query-minus."

Harding seems to have gotten better at making records now that he’s doing it as a sideline. This album is stronger in every respect than the last, and may be one of the most satisfying albums of his career.

THERE'S A STARBUCK'S (WHERE THE STARBUCK'S USED TO BE)

I MIGHT BE DEAD

THE WAY WE WEREN'T

SING YOUR OWN SONG

I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED

THE WORLD IN SONG

INTO THE SUNRISE

2011-11-17T02:00:00.001-08:00

ETTA JAMES: THE DREAMER

Etta James was hailed as the “greatest of all modern blues singers”, in the words of Atlantic Records founder Jerry Wexler. Outside the studio, James has had a turbulent life, fraught with drug addiction, bad relationships, and jail sentences.

Now 73 and dogged by illness, James says she's hanging up the mike after a career of more than 50 years.

You might expect her farewell album, The Dreamer, to demonstrate the ailing singer’s railty and weariness, a soul singer’s trip down the darkening lane that Johnny Cash trod in his later recordings.

This batch mostly of vintage R&B classics (recorded in 2008) is a raw, emotional reminder of why James endured for so long, covering most of the bases touched by her magnificence over the past 50 years.

James's voice is slightly diminished but not so much as to still not be the real deal on this chugging ensemble dominated by guitars and horns. Sometimes stately, seldom subtle, the singer remains a vivacious and strong-willed presence throughout the album.

James puts her soul stamp on everything from the simmering Cigarettes & Coffee (Otis Redding) to the hard-rocking Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N' Roses). The works of Ray Charles, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and others get similar treatment, assuring that James won't bow out quietly

Outstanding songs include Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue" and Bobby Bland's "Dreamer". Another highlight is a worldly, seductive take on Otis Redding’s “Cigarettes and Coffee,” as good a note as any on which to exit.

Cut to Etta James leaving a smoky blues club as dawn breaks

She will be missed.

DREAMER

CIGARETTES & COFFEE

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

MISTY BLUE

Rest In Peace, Moogy Klingman

2011-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Moogy Klingman, a musical associate of Todd Rundgren, passed away last night after a difficult battle with cancer.

Mark "Moogy" Klingman (born 7 September 1950, in New York City, New York, USA), was a founding member of Todd Rundgren's musical team Utopia and later became a solo recording artist and songwriter.

Klingman's association with Todd Rundgren commenced in 1969. Moogy was the original keyboardist for Todd Rundgren and Utopia. In his Manhattan loft, he and Rundgren constructed the "Secret Sound" recording studio where Rundgren produced his A Wizard, A True Star, Todd, and other albums. He played on 10 Todd Rundgren albums, as well as several Utopia albums.

Klingman played live for Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Buzzy Linhart, the Allman Brothers/Gov't Mule and a summer tour with blues legend, Bo Diddley. Klingman is the co-founder of the band The Peaceniks, along with Barry Gruber.

Klingman recorded solo albums for Capitol and EMI records, as well as on his own label. Klingman has released several solo albums containing songs that went on to be recorded by people like Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Todd Rundgren and others. He wrote the song "Dust in the Wind" (not to be confused with the hit song of the same name by Kansas), which Todd Rundgren recorded on his Something/Anything? album and Guns N' Roses have occasionally performed live in concert.

Klingman collaborated with William "Buzzy" Linhart on the authorship and composition of the selection (You Got To Have) Friends, which soon became Bette Midler's de facto theme song. He produced and played keyboards for Midler on her Songs for the New Depression.

Klingman has played, recorded and/or had his songs covered by many rock legends, including Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Luther Vandross, Bob Dylan, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Allan Woody and Warren Haynes from the Allman Brothers & Gov't Mule. Klingman has also worked with great female rockers like Carly Simon, Cindy Lauper, Shawn Colvin, Irene Cara, and Thelma Houston.
A recent benefit concert (Feb 2011) for Klingman's medical expenses due to cancer saw the original Todd Rundgren's Utopia, featuring Ralph Schuckett, Kevin Ellman, John Siegler and Klingman, reunite on stage for the first time in well over thirty years.

Rest in peace, Moogy!

original post at http://toddrundgrenarena.blogspot.com/2011/11/mark-moogy-klingmans-bio.html

STRAIGHT OUTTA TONY SOPRANO'S FAVORITE GARDEN STORE

2011-11-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE: SKY FULL OF HOLES

Unlike the iconic Ft. Wayne NJ garden store (featured in a couple of Sopranos episodes) that inspired its name, Fountains of Wayne are still very much open for business.

In fact, on their new album Sky Full of Holes, powerhouse songwriting duo Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger continue their reign as pop music masters while exploring new frontiers within their unique respective songwriting aesthetics. Since 1996 they have been writing finely observed, neatly rhymed character studies set to sleekly produced pop-rock.

The album title comes from a line imagining how a 21-gun salute leaves a ''sky full of holes'' at a military funeral, in a kindly song called ''Cemetery Guns,'' a march accented by snare-drum rolls. They can still turn a pop phrase, as evidenced by a couplet like ''Let's get your phone reconnected/Let's get this room disinfected,''

FOW's music has its heart in the 1970's, a decade where the Eagles, Stealers Wheel and Nick Lowe strummed acoustic and electric guitars, repeated octaves on the piano and sang wordless vocal-harmony choruses.

Ranging from high-energy power pop to intimate, acoustic-driven ballads, Sky Full of Holes showcases the band's renowned storytelling abilities and flair for creating memorable characters in what may be FOW's most successful distillation of their musical maxims to date.

And while that sounds impressive (coming from me, anyway) and cerebral, said differently, this album is a whole lot of fun.

RICHIE AND RUBEN

HATE TO SEE YOU LIKE THIS (live)

CEMETARY GUNS (live)

SMELLS LIKE NIRVANA

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

NIRVANA: SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT (DELUXE EDITION)

Twenty years ago, rock was changed forever when a little called song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' hit radio airwaves.

This song sheared the hair off the hair bands and knocked the King of Pop off his throne.

Although this was their second album, Nevermind was their major-label debut, so Nirvana was viewed as an overnight sensation.

Issued to celebrate the platinum anniversary of it's original release, the Deluxe Edition of Nevermind is quite a comprehensive collection of songs from this era of the band.

I won't go into the songs very deeply, as everyone knows the album by now. I did not preview the whole package, since no one sent me a preview copy (ya hear that, Universal?), but I found tracks in lossless format of (ahem) questionable origin online and listened to them.

While I often do not hear the differences in remasters, I do here. The album's sound has been carefully remastered, not overdone, but sounding fresher and crisper than before. For die-hards worried about whether or not 'Endless, Nameless', the famous hidden track on the original album is present, it is, only the dead-space silence has been cut.

After the orginal album, disc one presents the B-sides tracks from each of the four singles released from the album, including live tracks. If you have the Singles box set, you already have all these, although they too have been remastered.

Disc two starts with the Smart Sessions, showcasing the band rehearsing such powerhouse songs like 'In Bloom'. The With The Lights Out box set already had released 'Pay To Play' and 'Here She Comes Now,' but completists will want the other tracks.

The disc continues with "The Boombox Rehearsals," sounding rough around the edges, but an interesting lsten into the orgins of these soon-to-be classics. The last two tracks were recorded at the BBC, including 'Something In The Way' performed electric.

So, with all that said, is it worth it?

I was not a huge fan of the band, but if you found yourself holding a vigil after Kurt Cobain died, and you don't have either the Singles or With the Lights Out box sets, I'd think you'd want to spring for this not only for the extra tracks but for the improved sound.

There is also a Super-Deluxe five-disc box set for the hard-core fans, with a DVD and extra audio discs featuring alternate album mixes, more BBC recordings, music videos and a hard-cover book. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a scratch-and-sniff Courtney Love centerfold in there!

Useless Trivia Time!

Three-month-old Spencer Elden was the little tyke showing his junk while reaching for a dollar bill on the album cover.

Elden's parents were paid just $200 for allowing him to be photographed back in 1991, and were the album released today, it would be considered kiddie porn. Add in the dollar bill, it's probably kiddie prostitution!

Elden told reporters that being the Nirvana baby has its perks. He references it when trying to pick up ladies, and was once invited to swim in a rather wealthy woman's pool.

HOW MANY ARE IN YOUR COLLECTION?

2011-11-08T02:00:00.000-08:00

Following is a list of the top ten selling albums of all time.

A couple surprises for me here, the first and foremost being that I thought Frampton Comes Alive would be on this list.

It's not even in the top fifty. But Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys appear in the top fifty more than once each, as do the Spice Girls and Janet Jackson.

I'm pretty sure those are signs that the Mayans are right about 2012.

Without further ado, here are the top ten...

1 Michael Jackson, Thriller (100+)

2 AC/DC, Back in Black (45+)
3 Meat Loaf, Bat Out Of Hell (43+)
4 Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (42+)
5 Dirty Dancing Soundtrack (42+)
6 The Bodyguard Soundtrack (42+)
7 The Phantom of the Opera (40+)
8 Backstreet Boys, Millennium (40+)
9 Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack (40+)
10 Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (40+)

No Beatles? No Rolling Stones?

The Bodyguard was a surprise to me, but mainly because it was released so recently that I figured the 60's and 70's icons would have too much of a head start.

The Backstreet Boys?

At least The Beatles and Led Zeppelin make the top twenty, and Bruce Springsteen has one at number 21.

Todd Rundgren did not make it-no surprise there. But he got a boatload of royalties from producing the number three album of all time, and he lives on the beach in Hawaii, so there!

SWEAR TO GOD

2011-11-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

NEAL MORSE: TESTIMONY TWO

Neal Morse shocked the progressive rock world by announcing his departure from the band he started, Spock’s Beard, immediately following the release of their sixth album Snow.

Neal felt a calling to make his personal faith more prominent in his recorded output and felt that this would not be possible or appropriate in a band context. And you have to give him credit for sticking to his inspiration when the band was just reaching commercial success.

In 2003, Neal Morse released his Testimony album, an epic, introspective composition which features Kerry Livgren of Kansas and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater.

With the sequel, Testimony Two, Morse goes even deeper into unchartered musical and lyrical territory.

Legendary drummer Mike Portnoy returns, and with the help of excellent bassist, Randy George, Morse’s breathtaking follow-up is a prog epic that dazzles with melodies and lyrics that reach into the soul.

Morse gives listeners another glimpse of his personal and spiritual journey on Testimony Two, beautifully capturing the conflict he felt as he toured in a rock band by night while undergoing a spiritual transformation by day.

The conflict in the lyrics show a man who is truly struggling not only with his faith, but with his own identity, and this directness is what makes the album compelling.

This straightforward approach makes Testimony Two an album that will serve as inspiration for fans of Morse’s post-spiritual awakening work, and provide a document of his life after leaving Spock’s Beard.

SAMPLER CLIP

IT'S FOR YOU

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

At Last! TODD Coming On DVD and CD!

2011-11-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

By the time he recorded the eponymous Todd in 1973, Todd Rundgren had charted with such evergreen hits as “Hello It's Me," “I Saw the Light" and “We Gotta Get You a Woman," and had also been dubbed “Rock's Renaissance Man" by Rolling Stone after releasing studio masterpieces Something/Anything? and A Wizard, A True Star. Todd was a departure; the iconoclastic artist included pop ballads alongside medleys, anthems, and prog rock. The album is universally heralded as one of Rundgren's best, often compared to Electric Ladyland and Pet Sounds.

In 2010, 37 years after its original release—Rundgren performed Todd live in its entirety for the first time ever, as part a special limited six-date sold-out tour (the Healing album was also performed, which will be a subsequent stand-alone live DVD/CD release).

The September 14 date at Philadelphia's Keswick Theater, in Rundgren's hometown, was videotaped and is being released as both a live DVD by S'More Entertainment and a live audio CD by sibling RockBeat Records.

Joining him onstage were Utopia's Kasim Sulton (bass), The Cars' Greg Hawkes (keyboards), The Tubes' Prairie Prince (drums), Guitar Player Magazine's editor Jesse Gress (guitar), Bobby Strickland (sax) and a full choir. Both the DVD and CD will hit retail on February 14, 2012.

In addition to the musical performance, multiple Emmy Award-winning television personality and sportscaster Roy Firestone, whose knowledge of Rundgren's work is encyclopedic, was enlisted to conduct an extensive in-depth conversation with Rundgren onstage, which will also be packaged with the DVD.

From pop classic “A Dream Goes on Forever" to rocker “Heavy Metal Kids," from the anthemic “Sons of 1984" to the explosive Blue Eyed Soul of “The Last Ride," from the industry satire “An Elpee's Worth of Toons" to the Gilbert & Sullivan homage “The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song," Todd is a masterful example of Rundgren's broad musical palette.

A Wizard, A True Star, the title of Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo album, aptly sums up the contributions of this multi-faceted artist to state-of-the-art music. As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist, and, most recently, interactive artist (re-designated TR-i), Rundgren has made a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front The Nazz before pursuing a solo career, and forming Utopia, combining technical virtuosity and creative passion to create music that, for millions, defined the term “progressive rock."

Rundgren's myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meatloaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall and Oates. Rounding out his reputation as rock's Renaissance Man, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp's 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It (the screenplay commissioned by the Beatles for what was meant to have been their third motion picture). He also composed the score for several features including Dumb & Dumber as well as for a number of television series, including Pee-wee's Playhouse and Crime Story.

Early last year Rundgren performed his iconic 1973 album A Wizard, A True Star in concert in its entirety for the first time ever, and recently did the same with a double bill: Todd and Healing. His latest two studio albums are Todd Rundgren's Johnson, a collection of classic Robert Johnson songs, and reProduction, covers of songs Todd has produced for other artists.

S'more Entertainment, Inc. are proud purveyors of classic TV, cult films, long-form music and unique special interest programming, and Rockbeat Records is a new audio label dedicated to the release of enhanced CDs and vinyl and the creation of reissues and compilations on a variety of music genres.

SONS OF 1984

DUSTING OFF AN OBSCURE GEM

2011-11-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

JILL SOBULE: THINGS HERE ARE DIFFERENT

Most people first heard Jill Sobule through the novelty hit "I Kissed A Girl," not the Katy Perry single, but the 1995 single about a lesbian flirtation between two suburban girlfriends which became an unlikely success thanks to a comedic video featuring beefcake male model Fabio.

In my opinion, Things Here Are Different, her debut, is still her high water mark, and not just because it was produced by a certain Rundgren fellow.

This disc is loaded with simple songs sung in an pure insightful yet childlike voice, finding a perfect foil in Todd's usually heavy-handed production style. Where he often made anyone he brought into a studio sound like a Utopia side-project, in this case he framed Jill almost perfectly.

Jill's folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, story-driven character studies and emotive ballads. The central themes of her lyrics are characterized on her site as "love found, love lost, love wished for and love taken away."

Songs like "Too Cool To Fall In Love," a lite piece of desire/heartache that got modest radio play at the time, are among Todd's finest moments as a producer.

Sadly, the album was not successful and Jill was dropped by MCA, but her songwriting excellence was apparent on tracks like "Living Color," "Pilar (Things Here Are Different)" and "Evian."

My personal favorite song is "Life Goes On Without You," although the whole album was excellent-everything in its place.

Jill would find some success with "I Kissed A Girl" on the self-titled follow-up from 1995, as part of the wave of female singer-songwriters signed in the mid-90's (that included Lisa Loeb, Juliana Hatfield and Alanis Morissette), but that success would be short-lived.

This one is usually pretty easy to find used (and cheap), but is well worth picking up.

TOO COOL TO FALL IN LOVE

LIVING COLOR

LIFE GOES ON WITHOUT YOU

ALL HALLOW'S EVE (I LOVE THE NIGHT)

2011-10-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

BLUE OYSTER CULT: SPECTRES

Many die hard fans of Blue Oyster cult thought that their breakthrough album, Agents of Fortune, with it's hit single (reaching 12), "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," was due to the band's selling out.

And while there is no question that this album was more mainstream than its predecessors, in the summer of 1977, Blue Oyster Cult found itself in one of the trickiest situations for a rock band: recording the follow-up to a breakthrough hit.

By comparison, the follow-up album, Spectres, was only a modest success, reaching 43, although it does capture BOC at a high point in the band's career.

While there wasn't a "Reaper" on Spectres, there were crowd-pleasers like "Godzilla," stompers like "R.U. Ready 2 Rock" and the hooky, pop-flavored "Goin' Through the Motions," co-written with Ian Hunter.

Clearly, Blue Oyster Cult decided that "if it was worth doing, it was worth overdoing," resulting in a "wall-of-sound" production style as the band layered it on like never before.

And it worked. While I like many of the songs on the earlier BOC albums, Spectres benefits from the more polished commercial sound. This is my favorite BOC album, and there really isn't a bad song on it.

The reissued CD includes bonus tracks discovered when the original tapes were dug out for the reissue. A cover of 'Be My Baby' was from the pre-production sessions and the other bonus tracks, "Night Flyer," "Dial M For Murder" and "Please Hold" were leftovers.

I think I wore out a couple of vinyl copies of this album, and went on to buy the CD release and this reissue. Essential for all BOC fans (yes, even the fans of the early albums) and for fans of straight ahead seventies rock, this is an excellent album, well-produced with great songs and a band in their prime.

GOZILLA

GOIN' THROUGH THE MOTIONS

R U READY 2 ROCK

TEST YOUR MEDDLE

2011-10-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

PINK FLOYD: MEDDLE

I just read a quote from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, who states that Meddle is the definitive Pink Floyd work.

David Gilmour himself once remarked that Meddle was Pink Floyd's first true album.

Meddle is widely regarded as Pink Floyd’s first concept album, introducing the idea of a theme that can be returned to. The 1971 album features the seminal track Echoes that filled a complete side of the original vinyl release.

Since I am less familiar with this album than their later works, I decided to pull it off of the shelf and give it some listening time. Now you, my faithful readership, have to live through my audio experience.

From the early pounding of "One Of These Days" to the choir that surrounds "Echoes," I can hear in Meddle the "classic" Pink Floyd sound starting to come together.

Meddle is often dismissed as a "transitional" album due to the massive success of it's follow-up, Dark Side Of The Moon, with 1970s-era psychedelia and galloping jams, long, breathtaking suites revealing strains of late-classical music and colliding sounds if acid-drenched proportions.

Meddle is a musical journey showing off a variety of musical styles.

The album's final piece,"Echoes," is an epic sonic journey that stands as one of the band's greatest achievements, with every element that would become synonymous with Pink Floyd crystallized in this one phenomenal song: swirling keyboards, liquid guitar lines and floating vocal harmonies. From first to last "ping", this brilliant near-symphony is fantastic, and at 23 minutes, it is one of Floyds greatest achievements. The music is dense, almost orchestral, and the lyrics from Gilmour and Wright are at once depressing and surreal.

Meddle is Pink Floyd no longer searching, but finding itself , far more focused, melodic, and cohesive then anything before it.

ECHOES (PART 1)

NOT A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

2011-10-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

LORI DIAMOND AND FRED ABATELLI: TRUE

Lori Diamond and collaborator Fred Abatelli discovered each other through MySpace in 2007, clicked from the get-go and have been creating music together ever since.

With influences as disparate as Carole King, Billy Joel, Allison Krauss, and Miles Davis, it only makes sense that their 2011 album, True, is going to be all about the songwriting.

The album certainly delivers-the songs are well-written with wonderful melodies and introspective lyrics that delve into places in the human psyche that we often are not willing to publicly bare. Diamond sings them in an emotional vocal style that suits the material. That emotional openness helps to create a bond between Diamond and the listener.

Soulful vocals are plentiful on the album, as the artists weave an intricate web of gorgeous vocal harmonies over piano-driven arrangements. Lori Diamond’s has a voice is easy to listen to, lush and alluring, and the songs are classic singer/songwriter fare delivered with emotion and honesty. Abatelli’s playing contributes solid finger work and clever phrasing on bass and guitar, providing just the right rhythmic complement.

I thought that some arrangements might have benefitted from a denser arrangement to make the songs more radio friendly, although I can hear songs like “Choosing Peace” or “The Inside” as likely singles (if there still were singles). The overall production is quite good, and the arrangements are beautiful with top notch musicianship.

But what really stands out? Like I said before, it’s all about the songwriting. Diamond really delivers some gems.

The album is available for download at Amazon, and the CD is available at the artist's site.

ALL COMES ROUND

THE INSIDE

FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE....AGAIN

2011-10-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

When Peter Framton hits the stage at the Ryman theater tonight, he’ll play a set that millions of people have heard a million times. Frampton will be playing “Frampton Comes Alive,” his monster live album from 1976, note for note, tonight at the Ryman Theater.

After the Ryman show in Nashville, Frampton will take his “Frampton Comes Alive! 35″ tour overseas to play at venues in Spain, Germany, the UK, and Belgium, before returning to North America for shows in Maine, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The “Frampton Comes Alive! 35″ tour celebrates the 35th anniversary of one of the most iconic live albums of all-time. It was the number one album in 1976, and at the time, was the best selling live album ever. (It is currently fourth, according to the Tennessean.)

Wayne Campbell, of Aurora, Illinois, said:

“Exqueese me? Have I seen this one before? “Frampton Comes Alive”? Everybody in the world has “Frampton Comes Alive.” If you lived in the suburbs you were issued it. It came in the mail with samples of “Tide”.

The Tennessean reports that Frampton will recreate the iconic album on the Ryman stage, including the 14 minute “Do You Feel Like I Do,” (complete with talk box) before breaking out some Humble Pie selections and cover songs.

Frampton told Spinner.com:

“The reviews that I’ve seen from people in the audience on social media are that they love the fact we do ‘Comes Alive!’ and they’re thrilled to get to see it again. But they’re really surprised and blown away by the second set, which in the back of my mind was my goal: ‘OK, this is what you know me for, but this is what I’m doing now and have been doing ever since.’ So it’s really working well, let’s put it that way.”

ECHOES CHASING ECHOES

2011-10-20T02:00:00.001-07:00

DREAM THE ELECTRIC SLEEP: LOST AND GONE FOREVER

Lexington, Kentucky is probably not the first place you think of when looking for a band that embraces the progressive rock genre, yet Dream The Electric Sleep have clearly done that on their debut album, Lost And Gone Forever.

The album, one of the more impressive debuts I’ve heard in a while, clearly pays tribute to the seventies giants, but also tips its hat to more current artists like Radiohead. Two years in the making, this collection of fourteen songs spans more than 75 minutes, with a sonic pallet of melodic crescendo that engages the listener despite averaging well beyond six minutes per song, with every note seemingly in the right place as DTES guide the listener through progressive soundscapes that beg to be listened to from start to finish.

From the songwriting to the the crisp production, this is an album to be savored, a listening experience that should be actively participated, even immersed in, rather than being presented as background music.

The music is beautiful and astonishing with a precise attention to detail without needless technical wizardry, painting a cohesive picture with melodies layered on top of each other emoting varying moods and atmospheres while remaining faithful to the Genesis/Rush/Pink Floyd glory days.

While the golden years of progressive rock are long behind us, sometimes a band comes up with an album so impressive and full of musical integrity and quality of composition that it reminds us all there is more to music than a three-minuteTaylor Swift ditty.

To those who say that progressive rock has reached the end of its road, it appears that DTES have given those of us with time on our hands a record worth donning headphones for.

THIS IS THIS

LATE MODEL CARS

2011-10-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

THE CARS: MOVE LIKE THIS

Move Like This" is the Cars first album since 1987, and while it's been much too long since their last release, it was worth the wait! Aside from bassist Benjamin Orr, who passed away in 2000, all of the original members are back and they sound like they haven't missed a beat. Certainly the rock album chart debut at #2 supports this.

The album is vintage Cars with Atari-era keyboards, super catchy choruses laced with perky beats, and Ric Ocasek's trademark vocals, along with the signature synth-driven electro pop foundations

Elliott Easton's guitar makes its presence known, and overall the disc recalls of the new wave/pop sound the CARS made famous in the 1980's, capturing their vintage swagger.

While the band isn't breaking any new musical ground with their latest release, this is a finely produced album that fans of their earlier work will love, and is highly recommended!

BLUE TIP

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

ROYALE FLUSH

2011-10-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

STEVE CROPPER: DEDICATED

It was one of those seminal moments in music history. The 5 Royales had just finished a performance at the Tropicana in Memphis when guitarist Lowman Pauling was approached by a tall young white boy. This was unusual for the time; the only white people who met the band backstage were promoters or record executives.

The young Steve Cropper wanted Lowman to show him how to "make that guitar stomp." In an impromptu performance, the guitarist showed his stuff for Cropper and his best friend, Donald "Duck" Dunn.

Dedicated, the title of Steve Cropper’s latest album, a tribute to The “5” Royales, says it all about the legendary Stax musician’s lifelong devotion to the life transforming power of soul music.

As the original guitarist of Stax Records house band Booker T. & The M.G.'s., Steve Cropper has had a storied career. Voted #36 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, Cropper has worked with blues legends such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and the Blues Brothers Band. In short, he has an impressive resume.

This album, his debut album on 429 Records, features reworked versions of the Royales' most enduring songs, and includes duets with Lucinda Williams, Bettye LaVette, John Popper, and Sharon Jones.

Cropper's guitar is superb throughout, with tight rhythms and unique fills that seem to flow straight from his heart, soulful, rockin', rhythm and blues sounds that take you back to the 1950's.

The album features an amazing set of musicians which includes bassist David Hood (Muscle Shoals sideman), keyboardist Spooner Oldham (Fame Studios sideman and top notch song writer who has also played with Neil Young), Dap-Kings saxman Neal Sugarman, drummer Steve Farone, and drummer Steve Jordan. There's also an all star line up of special guests: Steve Winwood, B.B. King, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, and Queen guitarist Brian May).

Cropper's playing is classic, with tight rhythms and unique fills that seem to flow straight from his heart, soulful, rockin', rhythm and blues sounds that take you back to the 1950's.

Upon the completion of Dedicated, Cropper wrote "It's been the most fun I've had making an album in a long time". Pick this up, and I promise you you'll have fun, too!

I DO

SAY IT (Live with Bettye LaVette)

CHILD OF THE SEVENTIES VISITS THE SWAMP

2011-10-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

BETTYE LAVETTE: THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

n her 2007 album, Bettye enlisted some "dirty south" rockers The Drive By Truckers as her backup band. I must admit to being a little apprehensive of pairing long-time R&B icon LaVette with the Drive-by Truckers, but it worked. LaVette's whiskey-stained voice mixes well with the swampy backing band, all produced by the Truckers' own Patterson Hood.

The end result is a greasy mix of dialed down Southern rock behind inspired and rugged R&B. LaVette's voice infuses the songs with raw emotions, a fierce mix of pride, hurt, resignation, sadness, strength, and humility--traits that make her one of the finest R&B singers of her generation.

With swampy guitars, slippery Wurlitzer piano, and a driving backline, this record conjures up the spirit of great loose 70s bands like the Faces while offering Bettye an urgent, vital setting for her razor-sharp vocals.

Recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL, where she recorded "Child Of The Seventies" in 1972 - a masterpiece that was shelved then released 30 years later. Returning to Muscle Shoals was like returning to the scene of a crime; thus the album title, and the intense, personal music within.

At 61, LaVette is enjoying what would be a career resurgence if her 1972 masterpiece, "Child Of The Seventies," had not been shelved. This record is a great listen-check it out!

I STILL WANT TO BE YOUR BABY (TAKE ME LIKE I AM)

TALKING OLD SOLDIERS

BEFORE THE MONEY CAME

I SEEN IT ON TV

2011-10-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

DOC ROGERS AND THE ROC DODGERS:
"LIFE'S TOO SHORT TO EAT CHEAP PIZZA"

The title of the 2007 release from Doc Rogers And The Roc Dodgers echoes a saying I have said many times, although I phrase it as "life's too short to eat bad pizza."

Starting out, we have a sound philosophy.

The album itself straddles the border between country and blues, and the rockabilly neighborhood is not too far a trip.

The lyrics come from the Weird Al Yakovic or Randy Newman school of writing.

Stephen T. McCarthy did a post a while back where he likened Terry Rangno's lyrical style to Jim Stafford (remember Spiders And Snakes and My Girl Bill from the 70's?). Normally I'm not a fan of such albums-they tend to strike me as novelty discs, and does anyone really ever pull out their old Weird Al CD's?

This album holds together better than any novelty album, however, and the lyrical themes from 2007 still hold up in 2011. They are funny, but I'll warn you ther are a little on the conservative side, but so true. To keep this a bipartisan music only post, I won't quote them too much.

"I know them talkin’ heads would never lie to me

I know it’s all the truth, I seen it on TV"

The guitar work is provided by Larry Rosen, who is also featured in Slavin David's band, and gives a nice look at his range-not so much a departure from the more rocking blues of the Rock And Roll Road album, but putting a different spin on those blues riffs.

This is not an album for teenagers, or adults who think Lady GaGa is sophisticated. If you like folksy blues
and intelligent lyrical themes, this is an album for you.

If you want dance pop or "America Rules" anthems, there are plenty other discs out there to choose from, but you way want to listen to this one anyway and cultivate your tastes and your mind.

I couldn't find any clips, but HERE is a link to a page with samples. You can order the disc from CD Baby at this link HERE.

RUNAWAY GIRL

2011-10-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

MARILLION: BRAVE

I was late arriving at the Marillion party. Introduced to them verbally at an old friend’s (how ya doing Terry?) wedding in the early nineties, Fish had already left the band by the time I was aware of their existence.

Tom, the friend telling me about them, described them as “sounding like old Genesis,” apparently referring to the Fish years.

The first disc I happened across was Six Of One, Half Dozen Of Another, a compilation that really made the band feel a lot like Genesis, as the early Hogarth songs had similar commercial elements and pop sensibilities to the commercially successful Genesis material.

Brave was the first new release I picked up from Marillion, and for a long time I didn’t get it.

And when I say a long time, I really mean years. Maybe a decade. Maybe more.

This was an album that the "faithful" always raved over, and I just never saw it.
In recent years, I picked up the Brave DVD and returned to the album, playing it repeatedly for more than a month, and it really started to take hold.

This is a complex album that you have to invest time in to really hear it.

Brave is mood music, a dark, somber story of a tortured childhood. Inspired by a news clip about an unidentified young woman found on a bridge alone at night, this is the rarest of concept albums, following its concept from beginning to end.

The storyline has the lead character’s life playing out from one bad moment to the next, from birth to the moment she jumps off the bridge and beyond. It is emotional, dark, and creepy.

The music really suits the storyline, very dynamic, soft and slow one moment and loud as hell and frantic the next. The emotion of the material is intense, and Steve Hogarth's (the singer who replaced Fish) lyrics and singing came of age on this album, giving the band a new identity with the new lineup.

Brave is NOT a pick-me-up. It is, however, a very cohesive piece of art, that, save for one or two missteps, begs to be listened to in one sitting.

Brave is an experience, and you have to listen to it that way. Skipping songs or just listening to the first couple of songs and then shutting it off will not give you a sense of the content, and you’ll be just like I was for years-you won’t “get it.”

Do not buy this album unless you are willing to give it time to sink in. This is a concept albums that does not offer instant gratification-you really have to listen to it. A lot.

The liner notes suggest that you "Play it loud with the lights off", and I concur. In addition, I suggest that you also wear headphones, as there are an awful lot of quiet moments you will miss.

This album can be found in fine indie stores and on Amazon, and I am anticipating some sort of twentieth anniversary release considering the special edition re-releases of other Marillion titles on the Snapper/Madfish label.

I would also suggest checking out the promotional film and the live performance from a fan weekend, both available on DVD at http://www.marillion.com/.

BRAVE

HARD AS LOVE

ALONE AGAIN IN THE LAP OF LUXURY (live)

THE HOLLOW MAN

ALONE AGAIN IN THE LAP OF LUXURY

MO' BETTAH BLEWZ...OR NOT

2011-09-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

KEB' MO': THE REFLECTION

Having won three GRAMMY Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Keb Mo has established himself as one of the most dynamic blues musicians working today, and no one could fault Kevin Moore for playing it safe and releasing an album that sticks to the formula for which he has had such success for so long.

In fact, based on the title, The Reflection, one might assume that Moore's new disc is a greatest hits collection.

On his first album for new label Rykodisc, Moore takes a different musical path, and if you listen to The Reflection expecting to hear the usual soulful blues approach, you might be disappointed.

Gone are the down-home blues-folk leanings, the new album is a fusion of influences from across Moore's career featuring twelve songs that display the same songwriting craftsmanship that Moore is renowned for, with beautiful melodies and meaningful lyrics.

The results are phenomenal, with incredible vocals that blend pop, R&B, soul and jazz elements with catchy grooves and lush arrangements.

Moore's acoustic guitar is scarcely to be heard in this collection, and the blues are a fainter influence. Every song on is expressive, infectious, and well written, and the production is crisp and fresh.

The mix allows the various layers of instruments and voices enough space for each element to be fully heard without an overdone feeling.

Moore handles or shares lead vocals on every track, and plays lead guitar on a majority of the tracks drums and electric piano on occasion as well.

The album features an all star list of guest musicians which include Vince Gill, India.Arie, Marcus Miller, Dave Koz and David T. Walker.

Because Moore takes a different approach on this disc, long-time fans may struggle with the new musical territory.

I would recommend giving this disc a listen-Moore still plays the guitar like he was born to it, and the brilliant songwriting will win most skeptics over.

ONE OF THESE NIGHTS (Eagles cover)

THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

MY BABY'S TELLIN' LIES

THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY

2011-09-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

London commuters were bemused Monday morning when, as promised, a new pig was floated above Battersea Power Station to mark the launch of the 'Why Pink Floyd?' campaign of 2011 remasters and collectors' editions.

The Animals sleeve was recreated with the 2011 version of 'Algie' (the original has been put out to pasture) successfully inflated under grey skies, to amaze and astound passers by.

As noted in my May 13 post RETURN TO THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, EMI's massive Pink Floyd remastered edition campaign kicked off Tuesday in the US and includes basic “Discovery” editions of the band’s 14 studio albums in digipacks with original album art and expanded booklets, as well as a box set of all 14 albums.

Also released Tuesday are an expanded two-disc"Experience edition' of Dark Side of the Moon, as well as a 180 gram vinyl pressing.

Finally, for you crazy diamonds, a six-disc “Immersion” CD/DVD/Blu-ray/memorabilia super-deluxe box set was released containing unreleased tracks, alternate takes, restored live concert screeen films and a live recording of the band’s 1974 “The Dark Side Of The Moon” performance at Wembley.

BETTER THAN OK COMPUTER

2011-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

RADIOHEAD “THE BENDS”

It seems like on every list of great albums of the last twenty-five years, Radiohead's "OK Computer" gets the nod. Somehow, "The Bends" gets lost in the shuffle. I know you're supposed to rave about "OK Computer" if you want to seem cool and hip, and it is a good album, but it's not the best introduction to the band.

In my humble opinion, "The Bends" is Radiohead's most accessible album. Dare I go against the conventional wisdom and say it surpasses the Grammy-winning "OK Coputer?" Dare I say it is their BEST album? I double-dog-dare it!

The album is a richly textured collage of swirling guitars and multi-layered instrumentation that tips it's hat to the seventies' progressive bands with a modern twist.

This album is a classic, with Yorke's lyrics at their most comprehensible and his singing at it's most passionate. Songs like "Fake Plastic Trees" and "High & Dry" soar to heights that would make U2 a little dizzy. Greenwood makes excellent use of spacy guitar and keyboard effects to add mood.

All in all, this is a great rock album that makes an excellent first listen to Radiohead for the new listener. For die hards who spent $80 on the "In Rainbows" discbox (I did), listen to this one again for old times sake!

FAKE PLASTIC TREES

HIGH & DRY

LIVE FROM DARYL'S HOUSE MAKES BROADCAST TV DEBUT

2011-09-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Born on the Internet four years ago as a “light bulb moment” for Daryl Hall, Live from Daryl's House, the Webby and MTV O Music award-winning webcast, will make its broadcast premiere nationally with two back-to-back half-hour episodes featuring Train and Fitz & the Tantrums, on Saturday, Sept. 24. The show will be syndicated nationally by Good Cop Bad Cop Productions in association with Scott Sternberg Productions and distributor Trifecta Entertainment & Media. Executive producers for the show include Hall and Scott Sternberg along with Daryl Hall manager Jonathan Wolfson.

Live from Daryl's House marks the first full-length music web show to successfully cross over into the television syndication marketplace. LFDH has been a hit monthly live-performance web series since 2007, featuring Daryl Hall jamming (and cooking and drinking) with friends, musicians and guest artists. The 30-minute broadcast version is a performance reality series which takes place in the intimate setting in Daryl Hall's home.

“This is a dream come true for me,” said Daryl. “When I first had the idea for this series four years ago, I was hoping to reach a wide audience, and this is just another step in that plan. We're all raring to go.”

“It's been a delight and a reward for me to work with the legendary Daryl Hall, who has truly reinvented himself in the digital age,” said Sternberg, CEO of Scott Sternberg Productions. “Other than the regular late-night shows, there isn't a weekly performance series currently on the air where the top bands, artists and musicians can perform their songs and reach audiences nationwide. We look forward to helping fill that void, and we thank all of our station partners who are on board for the premiere.”

“I am amazed at the metamorphosis of the show. From being able to go from a small flip cam operation to an 8 camera, High Definition production that has marquis talent jam in Daryl's living room is incredible. We've been able to establish this series on the web thanks to the fans, and now to cross mediums, represents a tremendous opportunity,” added Wolfson. “We couldn't ask for better partners in doing so than Scott Sternberg and Trifecta Entertainment & Media.”

Added Tribune Programming President Sean Compton: “Live from Daryl's House is the perfect blend of new and classic acts bringing music programming back to broadcast television. Tribune's stations provide a great environment for LFDH on weekends.”

Live from Daryl's House has been cleared in nearly 80% of U.S. homes in the nation's top 200 media markets, as well as all of the top 10, including New York (WPIX), L.A. (KTLA), Chicago (WGN), Dallas (KDAF) and Houston (KIAH). The show has also cleared in such key markets as Philadelphia (CBS-owned KYW), Boston (KBIN) and Atlanta (WATL), and is set to premiere on a number of NBC, Fox and CBS-owned affiliates across the country. Most stations will air a full hour with two original shows back to back on Saturday nights.

“My time at Daryl's House was incredible,” said Train lead singer Pat Monahan about the experience. “Daryl's bandmates were super-seasoned pros and Daryl was gracious and right on with what I hoped such a legend would be like. Thanks all!”

“To get to play with one of my biggest influences and idols was a dream come true,” raves Fitz's Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick. “Daryl and the guys put it down and we all left it on the floor! We went pretty deep into the Daryl Hall catalog to sing the first song Daryl ever recorded. It was a day we will never forget!”

Live from Daryl's House made its broadcast debut on WGN America last year to impressive ratings, which spurred interest in syndication. The past four years have marked a steady stream of superlatives and recognition for Live from Daryl's House, with Hall receiving a Webby Award for Best Variety series at the 14th annual ceremony at N.Y.'s Cipriani Wall Street before garnering an O Music Award from MTV earlier this year. The shows have been edited into two 30-minute-long episodes which, in most cases, will air back-to-back.

Hopefully, the two shows teaming up the Philly Boyz (Daryl and Todd Rundgren) will be aired at some point.

Episode 23 (September 15, 2009)

Episode 40 (March 15, 2011)

And here's the cover of Daryl's new CD, which drops on Tuesday!

OUT STANDING IN HIS FIELD

2011-09-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

FISH: FIELD OF CROWS

Poet, actor, singer, musician... Fish has not been content simply to milk his reputation from his days fronting Marillion, now more than two decades past. It is ironic that Steve Hogarth, who replaced him in his former band, is still referred to as the "new singer." The giant Scotsman left some large shoes to fill, but he has long since given up looking back.

Field of Crows was released in late 2004, and is certainly one of the most complete works Fish has produced as a solo artist. The album sees him merging traditional and progressive rock influences with Celtic leanings and a modern edge.

Working closely with former Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson, Fish delivers and album that manage to rock hard and embrace his Scottish roots, a rich and complex album with songs that scream 'epic' from start to finish. It's one of those albums that are impossible to adequately categorize, with blues influences and progressive elements all effortlessly woven into the melancholy mix.

The band are adept at their respective instruments and their seasoned experience comes through with startling clarity on these eleven new tracks. Joining Bruce Watson (guitars) is his fellow BC cohort Mark Brzezicki on drums, along with long time off and on members of Fish's bands of the past: Frank Usher (guitars), Steve Vantsis (bass) and Tony Turrell (keyboards). The music on "Field Of Crows" is tightly played and the pedigree of these performers shines through the entire operation.

Fish has one of the more unique and powerful voices in rock music, instantly recognizable, soft when it needs to be but managing to convey a sense of menace and edge when the song warrants it. Fish's voice may not be quite as strong as in past efforts, but it has taken on a mellow smoothness that works very well on this mature offering.

Fish's hand is evident in the production and songwriting at every level. Although I would not call this a concept album, there are certain themes that arise again and again (ambition talent and the gulf often between them; failure and fear of failure). Musically the album covers a wide array of styles, from rock anthems to tender ballads.

I think this album is a big step up from Fellini Days (its predecessor), and is as good as Sunsets On Empire.

Field Of Crows is highly recommended to anyone who misses the Fish of old, and for the uninitiated, if you simply want a good, solid rock album with a bit more thought in the grooves than usual, give it a try.

THE FIELD

SHOT THE CRAW

THE ROOKIE

MOVING TARGET

EXIT WOUNDS

JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE

2011-09-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

PERRY DESMOND-DAVIES: SWEET RIDE

Perry Desmond-Davies performed on the New England coffeehouse scene as a teenager, then after a hiatus to focus on family, signed up for an open-mike performance, and returned to her music roots, delivering her newest release, the full length studio album Sweet Ride, a blend of folk, blues, and bluegrass, with fourteen original songs that touch on universal themes like life, love and relationships.

Musically, this is a folksy singer/songwriter affair, although there are some tasty blues stylings mixed in to keep it interesting. Lyrically, Desmond-Davies plays working class hero on the album, her distinctive voice tying the words and music together with a vocal styling tone that shares the same origins as artists like Tom Waits and Pete Seeger-tender, lyric and melodic, touching those emotions we usually keep well-guarded.

There are songs about enjoying life in its simplicity, fighting a debilitating disease, letting go, starting over and finding a place that feels like home, all wonderfully woven with Desmond-Davies' rootsy melodies. There are no huge triumphs or epic tragedies in these stories, only the little victories and subtle defeats of everyday life.

That's what Desmond-Davies does best on this album-a songwriter telling stories about themes that we all can relate to. Truly a sweet ride, down to the last groove…or whatever the CD equivalent of a groove is!

SWEET RIDE (live)

A WIZARD GETS THE TRUE STAR TREATMENT

2011-09-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Edsel Rolls Out Todd Rundgren Catalogue Overhaul

Todd Rundgren is one of music’s most enduring iconoclasts. Not merely content to rest on his early career laurels as a purveyor of top-tier AM pop (“Hello, It’s Me,” “I Saw the Light”) the restless musician has followed his muse from one direction to another over 40+-years, taking in soul (of the Philadelphia and blue-eyed varieties), pop, prog rock, jazz, funk, arena rock, avant-garde experimentalism, a cappella, musical comedy and even operetta!

And that’s just naming a few of the styles Todd Rundgren has mastered as an artist.

As a producer, he’s helmed some efforts for Daryl Hall and John Oates, Badfinger, The Band, The Tubes and XTC, not to mention a little album named Bat Out of Hell for the oversized talent of Meat Loaf.

Last week, he released the follow-up to last year’s Todd Rundgren’s Johnson (which notwithstanding the um, unfortunate title, is a ferocious collection of hellraising blues from the pen of Robert Johnson!) with another new LP, [Re]Production.

This one reinterprets classic songs produced by Rundgren (including “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Dancing Barefoot”) in a slick, electronic modern dance setting. Yes, it’s safe to say that one can always expect the unexpected from Todd Rundgren.

But for the full picture of the eccentric genius of Todd, you’ll want to delve into Edsel’s recently-announced series of expanded reissues of Rundgren’s Bearsville Records catalogue.

An arm of the Demon Music Group, Edsel recently announced its acquisition of rights to reissue the Bearsville library, kicking the series off with Norma Jean Wright’s CHIC-produced debut.

Five 2-CD sets of Rundgren material are coming on October 3 in the United Kingdom, covering a total of nine essential albums (the 1972 classic Something/Anything is a double-disc album) including a duo of albums from Utopia.

Almost all contain rare and unreleased bonus tracks, making these the definitive reissues for this storied catalogue. From 1970’s debut Runt to 1977’s Utopia LPs RA and Oops, Wrong Planet!, these albums truly represent the crème of the Rundgren crop.

After learning the ropes as part of the Philadelphia rock group Nazz, Rundgren spread his wings as a solo artist in 1970 at the age of 23. Runt introduced the irresistible if sometimes misunderstood hit single “We Gotta Get You A Woman,” which epitomized the pop/soul sound of the LP. Still, Runt wasn’t without its experimentation, pointing the way towards the future, like the nine-minute rock opus “Birthday Carol” and the haunting, wordless exercise in harmony vocals, “There Are No Words.” Fresh from The Band’s Stage Fright, Levon Helm and Rick Danko joined Rundgren for “Once Burned.” Edsel’s reissue appends the entire November 1970 mispressing of the album for the first time ever on CD, including alternate takes, different mixes and two exclusive songs, “Say No More” and “Baby Let’s Swing (Complete Version).”

1971’s Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren furthered the Runt persona and honed the Laura Nyro-style songcraft of the debut album. In addition to the single “Long, Flowing Robe,” Ballad introduced more lush ballads like “Be Nice to Me” and “A Long Time, A Long Way to Go.” Edsel’s edition adds four live radio broadcast bonus tracks.

As good as these first two LPs were, the third time was really the charm.

1972’s Something/Anything was, and is, unlike any other album in the rock canon. The multi-hyphenate artist recorded three of the album’s four sides himself, playing all instruments and singing all vocal parts. The fourth side was a kind of mock autobiographical operetta, aided by a rock ensemble.

Something/Anything would have been an instant classic if only for its two hit singles, the Carole King-inspired “I Saw the Light” and the remake of the Nazz track “Hello, It’s Me,” with a new, more upbeat sound. But those were just the tip of the iceberg. The impossibly lush ballad “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference” rests comfortably alongside the heavy metal anthem “Black Maria,” while “Cold Morning Light,” “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” and “It Takes Two to Tango” show off the singer/songwriter’s effortless mastery of the pop song form.

Comic relief was also in abundance, with “I Went to the Mirror,” “Piss Aaron” and Gilbert and Sullivan-style “Song of the Viking.” A truly original voice had announced itself. Edsel’s reissue is bolstered by the inclusion of a demo of “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference” plus six radio spots for the original album.

Rundgren’s follow-up was eagerly awaited. Like clockwork, it arrived one year later. But nobody could have predicted the modestly-titled A Wizard, A True Star? Rundgren responded to his commercial breakthrough by creating an album so singular that few knew what to make of it.

At a lengthy 56 minutes for a single LP, AWATS was a psychedelic aural stew of electronica, metal, jazz, pop, soul and showtunes. Patti Smith wrote in Creem, “Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation.” So “Never, Never Land” from the stage musical Peter Pan is joined by a soul medley of Thom Bell, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield oldies, and bona fide Rundgren classics “Just One Victory” and “Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Feel.” If the audience didn’t know what to feel, either, Todd seemingly didn’t care. In “Just Another Onionhead,” he opined, “You want the obvious/You’ll get the obvious” before launching into anything but.

1974’s Todd took the avant garde approach a bit further, with more synthesizer/electronic journeys plus the ravishing pop of “A Dream Goes On Forever,” humorous commentary “An Elpee’s Worth of Toons,” hard-rocking “Heavy Metal Kids” and another theatrical showstopper, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Lord Chancellor’s Nightmare Song” from Iolanthe. Edsel has added live performances of “Ooh Baby Baby,” “A Dream Goes On Forever” and The Move/ELO’s “Do Ya” to these already-packed albums.

The 56 minutes of AWATS weren’t enough for the wizard himself, so with 1975’s Initiation, he delivered the longest-ever single LP at 68 minutes’ length. Side One led off with the Philly-influenced “Real Man” and took in the jazzy title track with sax solo by David Sanborn, as well as “Fair Warning” with guests Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer and Dan Hartman. Side Two, though, broke all of the rules with the unorthodox 36-minute single track, “A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.” The treatise welcomed future Utopia keyboardist Roger Powell into the fold, and found Rundgren taking his skill at the synthesizer a giant, progressive-rock step forward.

1976’s Faithful was perhaps the most ambitious project of Rundgren’s career to date, in which he note-for-note reproduced songs from some of the most individual artists in rock history: The Beatles (“Rain”), The Beach Boys (“Good Vibrations”), Jimi Hendrix (“If Six Was Nine”) and Bob Dylan (“Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine”). The second side was a triumphant return to straight-ahead pop songwriting, with remarkable songs that remain concert staples today like “Cliché” and “Love of the Common Man.” These two very different LPs have been expanded with one bonus track, a 1975 live recording of the Who-influenced Nazz nugget “Open My Eyes.”

Finally, Edsel brings together the third and fourth albums from Utopia, the rock band formed by Rundgren in 1974 as a complement to his solo career. (The label promises that the first two albums from the band will arrive in a later wave in the Rundgren reissue series.)

Both dating from 1977, RA and Oops! Wrong Planet feature the line-up of Todd (guitar), Roger Powell (keyboards), Kasim Sulton (bass) and John Wilcox (drums).

The former was full-tilt prog rock, with its centerpiece the 18-minute “Singring and the Glass Guitar.” RA remains Rundgren’s highest-charting UK album.

Its follow-up nine months later was a wholly different work of twelve short songs, though the genre lines were, as usual, blurred. Its lasting contribution to the Rundgren oeuvre is the life- and love-affirming “Love is the Answer,” which England Dan and John Ford Coley took to the U.S. Top 10 in 1979. No bonus tracks have been added to these two albums.

All of Edsel’s reissues feature liner notes by Paul Myers, adapted from his definitive Rundgren chronicle, A Wizard, A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio. Lyrics and rare photos are also promised for each title.

The first salvo in the Todd Rundgren reissue campaign hits stores in the U.K. on October 3 (Amazon has 'em available for preorder).

Edsel’s series is simultaneous with a program from the Cherry Red arm Esoteric Recordings. Reissues of Rundgren’s late-period albums The Individualist and No World Order are due from Esoteric on October 31. Future releases will round up the remainder of the artist’s Bearsville output.

All of these releases epitomize the singer’s credo, as he wrote in Bearsville promotional materials circa 1981:

“I’m not looking to be in any one place for too long. A lot of people’s whole idea of making records is to arrive at an acceptable style and exploit it until the crows come home. I’ve been more intrigued with finding out what I can do.”

If you’ve missed out in the past, here’s your chance to find out, too.

Read the original article HERE.

Another article can be found HERE.

A FIT LIKE YOUR FAVORITE OLD PAIR OF JEANS

2011-09-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

JOHN HIATT: DIRTY JEANS AND MUDSLIDE HYMNS

Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns, John Hiatt's 20th solo album, is the latest addition to a 37-year musical career that spans five decades.

The album has an incredible collection of musicians which include Kenneth Blevins on drums and percussion, Doug Lancio on electric guitars, mandolin and Hammertone and Patrick O'Hearn on bass guitar.

Hiatt's raspy southern drawl narrates his rough-edged stories with raw emotion against the beautiful musicianship as a backdrop.

As always, Hiatt combines excellent song writing and story telling with an ability to connect with people of all ages and walks of life with his universal themes.

It remains a mystery to me why this seasoned veteran is still one of popular music's better kept secrets, but if you are one of those in the dark, this album gives you a chance to hear his signature blend of angry blues, soft country and good time rock n roll in a classic voice that emotes a lifetime of paying songwriting dues.

Sadly, most of Hiatt's recognition has been generated by covers of his work by other artists.

The prevailing mood is serious, with world weary ballads and slow burning laments, full of lyrics telling a menacing story of the decline and the need for the anchor of tenderness.

Hiatt has set the expectation for powerful albums sung with real heart and infused with impeccable musicianship, and he delivers here. This formula will probably not cause Lady Gaga or Katy Perry concern over their position on the charts, and there are no great departures on this album, but it is a good opportunity for you to find time to kick your feet up, break open a bottle (or pour a couple fingers of bourbon) and digest it from start to finish

If you're a fan of his earlier works, or if you simply want to try something new, you can't go wrong here.

DAMN THIS TOWN

WHEN NEW YORK HAD HER HEART BROKE

I LOVE THAT GIRL

ALRIGHT GUY

2011-09-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

from the Charleston City Paper (link below)

Todd Snider's the guy in the back of your high school math class cracking wise. A real smack-talking, dope-smoking free spirit with a folk-singing patois, lined with satirical asides, lighthearted irreverence, and self-deprecating wit. Along the way, he's grown into one of our finest Americana artists, though he'd be the last to cop to that.

Snider grew up in Texas, but after accompanying his father on a visit to Beaverton, Ore. (near Portland), he refused to come back. He surfed couches throughout his last two years of high school, then eventually took a construction job with his brother in Austin, where he saw acclaimed country songsmith Jerry Jeff Walker and decided to become a singer/songwriter.

Snider landed a major label deal with MCA and in 1994 released his debut Songs for the Daily Planet with a last-minute addition, "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Blues." It's a Dylan-esque spit-take on the burgeoning movement about some flannel-wearing wannabes who come up with the ultimate gimmick: "We decided to be the only band that wouldn't play a note under any circumstances. Silence, music's original alternative." (The album also included "Alright Guy," which Gary Allan would take to #1 in 2001.)

Songs for the Daily Planet created a small stir, but Snider's next two albums didn't make any commercial hay, and he ended up with John Prine's Oh Boy Records for four more, culminating in 2004's East Nashville Skyline, which reignited his career. It's arguably his finest moment, chock full of great songs including his paean to censorship, "The Ballad of the Kingsmen," an ode to Mike Tyson ("Iron Mike's Main Man's Last Request"), "Age Like Wine," (in which he notes, "It's too late to die young now"), and his signature bit of political skewering, "Conservative, Christian, Right Wing, Republican, Straight White American Male."

"I had overdosed a few times. My best friend died [2000 heroin overdose victim, guitarist Eddy Shaver]. You might say I lucked into having that 'Kingsmen' song being in my life right at the same time. That was a pretty painful time," Snider says. "I'm the kind of guy that if I move to an island and sat there, I would make up a record, and when you turned it on, it'd be, 'Sitting on the island. Still sitting here. Still sitting here,' and they'd be 'This isn't a good time for you to be cutting stuff, man.'"

Snider followed it two years later with The Devil You Know, another politically tinged album highlighted by his take on George W. Bush's early life, "You Got Away with It (A Tale of Two Fraternity Brothers)." It maintained the last album's momentum and multiplied it, thanks in part to the charged political atmosphere of the time.

"I had not expected that kind of attention in my life. I had totally resigned myself to the idea that those days were behind me," Snider says.

It spooked him a bit, and he wanted to leave the political songs behind. "I wasn't sure if I thought I was into that so much," he says. "By that time, I was like, 'Oh politics, everybody's doing politics.'"

In the end, he collected those political songs on 2008's eight-song Peace Queer EP, and then returned a year later with a collection of more upbeat songs, The Excitement Plan. Though not a bad record, it lacks some of the previous discs' bristle and bite. "I had left out all that angst, put it on this EP, and separated the emotions," he says. "This is in hindsight, of course."

In February, Snider released a double-disc titled Live: The Storyteller, which functioned both as a kind of greatest hits album and cleared the deck of his prior between-song stories and humorous banter.

"Right now I'm working on new stories and hoping to have a whole brand new band, sound, and everything by then," he says. "I don't know. I'll probably go to the show and someone will be, 'Goddamn, you wore that last time. Is this that rope swing thing? Jesus Christ, is he on drugs again? I hope so, because that looks painful.'"

Snider is working on a new batch of songs largely related to his dysfunctional family. He believes it will be a bluesier album than anything he's done before. He hopes to hit the studio in October then release it early next year.

"I'm calling it Agnostic Hymns. It's anti-country, anti-religion, anti-family. I feel like it's really going to really tank for me," he says. "It's still a big huge mess. I'd tell the story, but I'd also want the part. I'd want that to be the end, but it's actually really awful, and a lot of why I ran away from home."

In the meantime, he's still working. "I've never written a song and not rewritten it 50 times. I don't trust a lyric that's less than 11 months old," says Snider, explaining that he's looking forward to opening a new chapter in his career. "I'm coming into my Fred Sanford years and trying to make music that sounds like the way I'm starting to walk."

Read the original article HERE.

Check out Todd's website.

Todd performing "Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues"

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

2011-09-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

TODD RUNDGREN: (re) PRODUCTION

Todd Rundgren is as well-known as a producer as an artist.

His work on Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell pretty much paid for his property in Hawaii (which is a long way from Upper Darby, my friends), and he's produced such acts as Patti Smith, The Band, New York Dolls, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, and a plethora of others.

As an artist, although Something/Anything? is regarded as the hallmark Todd Rundgren album, I am partial to 1989's Nearly Human.

It features introspective and mature songwriting, and where most of his studio output had seen Todd play studio wizard and perform the whole album himself, this album used the "live-in-the-studio" technique that had been missing since side four of S/A?, but with material and themes reflecting a mature perspective.

I have heard Todd admit that being part of a band makes him a better musician. In my opinion, he has not come close to matching Nearly Human in the two decades since its release. Although 2004's Liars received critical acclaim, it was mostly electronic music (not my cup of tea). Since the songs were TR originals, after a few months of constant rotation, they did grow on me. 2008's Arena featured lots of guitar and arena-rock anthems, and may be my fifth-favorite TR/Utopia disc-I still play that one frequently.

2011 is a bonus year for Rundgren aficionados, with two new discs released in a span of five months. Sadly, both are covers discs. April's Todd Rundgren's Johnson covers songs from the Robert Johnson canon, albeit rather electrified in an Arena-fashion. And in September, we are treated to (re) Production, which covers selected tracks from the albums he has produced over the past four decades.

I almost did not buy this disc.

In March, the record label had a release party, but since the release date was half a year away, they pressed a three-song sampler to give away at the event. Since I could not fly across the country for the release party, I e-mailed the label (Gigatone Records) and it's CEO Mitchell Koulouris five times asking if I could purchase one and got no response.

On e-mail number six, I mentioned how ignoring a customer who wants to buy music with the current state of the music industry might not be the best strategy.

Mr. Koulouris sent me a scathing e-mail saying how people like me were never satisfied no matter what he did. Interesting, because he really did not know what kind of people I was like, and since he didn't do anything, why would I be satisfied?

I mentioned both of these facts to him, pointed out that I'd purchased his Eddie Money and Dwight Twilley releases and let him know that I'd start looking for Gigatone product used. And I did-both the Mickey Dolenz and Mickey Thomas released came from the used racks at Zia Records. The only thing more satisfying would be if they were promotional copies I bought used.

I considered waiting for a used copy of Todd's latest….but my support for my Upper Darby compatriot trumps my disappointment in the maturity level of Gigatone's management, so I preordered a copy from the Todd site, and the rest is history.

Is it here that this review takes an unexpected turn.

Here come the seven words I never though I'd say.

Seven words that may very well be a sign of the Apocalypse.

These are not the words George Carlin warned you about, but here they come….are you ready?

I...don't...like...Todd...Rundgren's...new...album.

There. I said it. I have NEVER said that before. Not about any Todd album. I came close with one (With A Twist), but I think I used to just say "it's not one of my favorites."

In the liner notes Todd describes how during his "tenure" at Indiana University, he got into a discussion with his students regarding the mereits of new music versus old music. Lady Gaga was brought up, and Todd realized he was unfamiliar with her music. He decided to brush up on modern music, and found that it emphasized dance fundamentals. He saw this project as a way to record a modern sound with better material than most modern artists have to work with.

Why that inspired him to create dance versions of these songs is anybody's guess. Most of these songs are good in their original formats, and I would have loved to see Todd tweak them, but the "driving beats designed to bring new dance energy" do not work for me in many cases, and over fifteen songs it is overdone.

Followers of my blog know I am not a fan of covers albums, but I like the Robert Johnson album a lot. I like the covers on Faithful. Heck, Stephen McCarthy declared war on me once when I said I might like Todd's version of "Good Vibrations" better than the Beach Boys (and it's a note-for-note remake). He may still be looking for me by the way, so don't tell him I'm here.

Todd recognizes that if you cover a song you ought to do something different with it (although he did not approach his 1975 album that way, hence it's Faithful title), but did he have to do them all the same way?

The whole effort begs the question why? We already had to live through an album of dance-remixes of his own songs-haven't we been punished enough?

It's not all bad, but the track order doesn't help, as it opens with three tracks that I find unlistenable. Here's my take, song by song, in case you're interested. Where I was able to find sound clips, I attached them.

"Prime Time"-since the original had a little synthesized dance beat, this should have worked. However the key does not suit Todd's voice, the songs works better as a duet, and the rap Todd throws in makes this sound like a gag song. No amount of spinning will make this grow on me.

"Dancing Barefoot"-this just will not work as a dance song-all of the passion of the Patti Smith original has been washed away. Todd may have been better off reworking "Frederick." Singing the PS poem at the end is akin to nails on a chalkboard.

Todd's cover of Patti's song

And Patti Smith's original, as produced by Todd

"Two Out Of Three Aint Bad"-another bad choice, to try to take a passionate ballad and make it a synth-pop song. However, if you make it through these three, it does improve a little.

"Chasing Your Ghost"-since I am least familiar with this song (the What Is This album was never released on CD, and I haven't listened to the record in years), this one is not bad.

"Love My Way"-there's no reason this song shouldn't work (since the original from the Psychedelic Furs was heavy on the electronic instrumentation) but it doesn't. I think Todd went to for too high a voice here, and he really hasn't had that kind of range the past decade or so.

"Personality Crisis"-another one that is not so bad-some of the vocal stylings I could do without, but the dance groove is not overstated and the material suits Todd's voice. The New York Dolls still did it better.

"Is It A Star?"-this may be the second best song on the album, and is the only example where I like what Todd did with this better than what he produced for Hall & Oates back on the War Babies album. The arrangement is a little faster than the original, and the dance groove fits right in. Todd is in fine voice, the background vocals actually add to the listening experience (on many other cuts they take away from it) and this is an enjoyable interlude in the midst of sonic chaos.

"Tell Me Your Dreams"-while I won't say I like this rehash of the Jill Sobule track, it does at least lend itself to the treatment. So I guess I can say it works, but it's not my kind of music.

"Take It All"-my third favorite track, and while I still prefer the Badfinger version, I do like this one. Again, light on the dance treatment.

"I Can't Take It"-the arrangement is interesting, and I guess I'd say it works, but I like the original so much better. The marriage of Cheap Trick with producer Rundgren was this power-pop fan's wet dream, and making a dance version of this song is to a power pop fan kind of like what making a peanut butter sandwich out of the communion wafer would be to a Fundamentalist Christian.

"Dear God"-this one is not bad, but if Andy Partridge feuded with Todd during the making of XTC's Skylarking, this version must have him declaring all-out war.

"Out Of My Mind"-another one that is not bad, but not an improvement over the Bourgeois-Tagg original.

"Everything"-one that could work musically but does not suit Todd's voice at all.

"Walk Like A Man"-my favorite song on the album, because this Grand Funk track plays to Todd's strengths and does not use the synth-pop cliches. This is the song that the "My Record Fantasy" attendees were included on. The clip shows one of the sessions from "My Record Fantasy."

"Nothing To Lose"-not bad, but not really much of a departure or an improvement on the Hunter song.

Overall, out of fifteen tracks, I like three, seven are not so bad, and five are songs I'd play as punishment for captured terrorists.

I'd gotten the CD in advance, and had it with me on my drives to Tucson and Vegas (see my post HERE if you want to read that story) but kept pulling it from the player.

In 1997, Todd released With A Twist, an album of bossa-nova versions of some of his singles. That album was retired from my CD player in short order, but (re) Production may have set a new record for being stuck up on a shelf. The combination of the electronic arrangements, the dance mix and lack of original TR compositions did me in.

Maybe Todd has forgotten that his fan base has aged with him-we need glucosamine and hip replacements, not dance versions!

Die-hards will want this no matter what, but if you're a casual fan looking for "Hello It's Me," might I suggest Rhino's 180 gram LP reissue of S/A?

If you're not a die-hard and are unfamiliar with Todd's productions, I'd recommend looking for a copy of 1992's An Elpee's Worth Of Productions, which was the same compilation idea but used the original songs by the original artists.

KING ME!

2011-09-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

THE JEFF GOLUB BAND: THE THREE KINGS

Jeff Golub made his name in rock n roll, touring and recording with Rod Stewart for seven years, and then performing similar duties for Billy Squier across seven albums and three world tours.

As a solo artist, however, Golub has returned to his first love, the blues. Golub's most recent album, Three Kings, pays tribute to music of Albert, B.B. and Freddie King. Golub is joined by Henry Butler on piano and vocals; Andy Hess (Gov't Mule) on bass and Josh Dion on drums, percussion and vocals.

Special guest appearances by Robben Ford and Sonny Landreth augment a dynamic musical experience that was recorded live and accentuated with very few overdubs. Three Kings was produced by Golub and Bud Harner and recorded in Brooklyn, New York.

To call Three Kings a blues album isn't as descriptive as it might be. This is a solid mix rhythm and blues album, mixing vibrant instrumentals with rollicking numbers that are blues in form but rock n roll in spirit. The highlights of the album generally involve Henry Butler on vocals ("Let The Good Times Roll", "Born Under A Bad Sign", and "Three Kings").

Sonny Landreth's slide guitar work on the instrumental "In Plain Sight" is brilliant, as is dual guitar work of Robben Ford and Golub on "Side Tracked". Butler steals the show on piano in "I'm Tore Down", but the entire ensemble is hot on what turns out to be the standout track of the album.

Jeff Golub hits mostly golden notes on Three Kings. His guitar work is outstanding throughout, even if the energy on a couple of tracks falls a bit flat.

All new students of blues/rock should include Three Kings in their early education, as The Jeff Golub Band knows their craft and interpret the numbers here with pizzazz.

SIDETRACKED

Living the Blues: An Interview with Todd Rundgren

2011-09-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

By J.C. Sciaccotta 1 September 2011

After four decades-plus in the music business, you’d think you’d have seen it all from the “God named Todd”.

But, in his usual Rundgren-esque manner, he’s thrown the listening audience yet another curveball—this time in the form of a collection of Robert Johnson covers (appropriately titled Todd Rundgren’s Johnson).

Long a hidden gem amongst rock guitarists, Rundgren uses his considerable chops to turn Johnson’s acoustic sketches into pure balls-to-the-wall blues-rock, in the raw style of classic 60s records by John Mayall and Paul Butterfield.

PopMatters talks with one of pop’s foremost iconoclasts about his Johnson, the legendary bluesman’s influence on his music, and his new project that’s sure to blow even more minds ...

Todd Rundgren’s Johnson. That seems like an appropriate title…

(laughs) Well—it is for the music it contains, certainly. That was probably the simplest part to come up with.

Correct me if I’m wrong—but I believe this is the first time since 1976’s Faithful that you’ve done any sort of covers record. Why Robert Johnson? And why now for this particular record?

A couple of years ago I was finishing up a solo record called Arena. And after its completion, we were looking for someone to distribute the record—that’s just kind of the way it works nowadays. You don’t really have a record label that fronts you the money anymore. (laughs) You usually have to—somehow—get the record made and then find someone to put it out. And we found a label willing to put it out, but they had a condition, and that was: that I do a record of Robert Johnson covers.

Ah, I see.
And the reason they had me do that was they had recently acquired the rights to the publishing of the songs, but they actually had no recorded versions. So it was a way to make sure there was some publishing revenue, I guess, behind their new acquisition. But also, they suggested the possibility that if they had some recordings, they might be able to license them for TV or movies, or something like that. So that was the rationale at the time.

Then I did the record, and delivered it something like three years ago, and it took them about two-and-a half of those years to finally put the record out. A lot of this involved them looking for a worldwide distribution deal as well, so they kept putting it off and putting it off until that deal got resolved. And it took until this last Spring for that to happen, and that’s when they released the record.

The irony being, that I had been touring behind the record with the expectation that it was going to be released at some point. So, for two years I played the greatest hits of Robert Johnson to the consternation and confusion of my audience. And then finally, when I said, “I’ve done this enough,” the record finally comes out. So, I don’t really play much of that music anymore. I’ve moved on to other things.

I can only imagine the collective expression of puzzlement strewn across [your fans’] faces.

Well, they’ve been conditioned not to expect the expected. But this was pretty confusing for them. I had to explain every night exactly why I was doing it and why they weren’t hearing the greatest hits of Todd Rundgren.

So does Robert Johnson have any type of influence on either your songwriting or guitar playing, then? You’re not exactly the first person I expected to come out with a record like this ...

Well, it’s not that unusual. When I got out of high school I was in a blues band. It was the kind of music I was interested in, and listening to, mostly because it was becoming a vehicle for a generation of guitarists—like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Mike Bloomfield. And that’s what I wanted to be, principally, a guitar player. So, my first gig out of high school was in a blues band.

But Robert Johnson didn’t really have a direct influence on me—I was listening to the guitar players who were listening to him. And many of them had multiple influences, they weren’t influenced by Robert Johnson alone. There was some B.B. King influence in there, or, in the case of Jeff Beck, maybe some Les Paul, which is pretty much as far away from the blues as possible.

So it was great music to play, because it featured the instrument so much. But, I never attempted in the old days to sing any of it. That’s probably the significant difference, that I’m actually singing some blues at this point.

There’s a very down-home, juke joint type vibe to this album. It almost sounds like it was recorded live in the studio (yet there are only two credited musicians). I’m assuming this was intentional?

The sound, yeah. It’s kind of supposed to be this fairly raw, fairly live kind of sound that a lot of the seminal records that influenced me had about them. Particularly, there was a record by John Mayall called Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, and that was a great influence on every guitar player I knew. But one of the great things about it was kind of the liveness of it, it had a crackling quality to it. You could hear a lot of the subtleties of what the players were doing.

So I tried to keep it fairly simple, not loading up on a lot of background vocals or additional instrumentation, just keep the guitar in the foreground and just deal with the bigger challenges of trying to craft melodies out of what essentially are a lot of improvisations.

Robert Johnson, like a lot of blues players, never sang the exact same thing twice, mostly because they were so drunk most of the time they couldn’t remember what they had sang the last time. (laughs) So, it was something of a challenge to go back and listen to the songs and pick out significant melody lines and themes to build these new arrangements around.

How do you feel about covers in general? It seems to me, with newer bands at least, that there are negative vibes associated with doing covers. Is this fair?

I think there’s ways to do it, and then there’s ways to screw it (laughs). On occasion I hear a rearrangement of a song that really makes me reevaluate it, in a way. So, I think there’s nothing wrong with that. At the same time, I saw Sisters of Mercy at a festival recently, and for some reason in the middle of the show they decided to play the Peter Gunn theme. You know, what’s that got to do with anything?

So I think there’s a time and a place for that sort of stuff. I just finished an album that’s coming out, in a month or two, that essentially is new versions of songs that I produced for other people, and they’re mostly all dance versions. So I had to do arrangements that were completely unlike the originals; there was simply no point in me aping what I had done already. So all of the songs have some twist, or unique approach to them that makes them not necessarily recognizable at first.

What are some of the songs you’re covering?

Oh, a lot of the bigger hits, like “Love My Way” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”... “Dancing Barefoot”. I tried to hit most of the high points.

In some cases, it was a bit of challenge to find a song that was apropos for this kind of arrangement. And in other cases, there were artists that I wanted to cover but just couldn’t figure out a way to reframe their material.

I did two albums, for instance, with Pursuit of Happiness, but for some reason I couldn’t find a song to turn into a dance song, mostly because the themes in the lyrics were all so furtive that it sounded burlesque trying to turn them into dance songs (laughs).

Now when you day “dance”, do you mean like modern club music, or more classic rock ‘n’ roll dance music.

I’m thinking more like how records kind of sound like nowadays. I didn’t decide that I wanted to do a “dance record”—what I decided was I wanted to make a contemporary record.

I then did a study-up on what was on the charts and things like that, and it turns out that everything is dance now. And it has to do with the fact that there is no prevailing alternative style. Every once in a while we have some sort of movement in music that everyone suddenly wants to work in, like grunge, or rap, or disco, or some other musical phase and then suddenly that’ll be the thing to do.

But we don’t really have one right now. What happens is when the waters recede, the thing that was always there suddenly becomes apparent again, and that was dance music. There are parts of the world where it never goes away, particularly in Europe.

So I just thought it would be an interesting challenge, never having done a dance record. Or, for that matter, never doing a record that was supposed to be in the pocket of what everyone was listening to. So it’ll be interesting to see how people respond to all that.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the dubstep version of XTC.

(laughs) Well, I don’t know if it’s exactly that, but “Dear God”... it’ll take you a little while to recognize it.

Speaking of contemporary music, many groups nowadays are armed with laptops and very little else (and this has been going on for some time now). What are your feelings regarding the way music is being created in 2011 from a production standpoint, performance standpoint, etc.?

Well, the more hands-on artists are, the less work I have. (laughs) So, I guess there is a downfall for me in the sense that the whole DIY movement in music doesn’t often need the kind of expertise I would bring to a production.

At the same time, there are bands that care about their playing. Like Coheed and Cambria, or someone like that ... bands that obviously spend hours upon hours upon hours honing their craft, and being able to reproduce it live. So, it’s not as if the idea of musicianship is entirely gone, it just isn’t necessarily de rigueur at the moment.

But I think there are always people, who when they get the bug to play an instrument, they want to get as good as they can with it, rather than just be simply adequate at it. You run into them every once in a while—some kid who wants to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, for whatever reason, and plays exactly like him. And that’s something that everyone can aspire to. The desire to be able to command an instrument is still there in a lot of musicians, I think, so I don’t really despair.

You’ve recently taken some of your classic albums—including A Wizard, A True Star, Healing, and Todd—on the road. First, how has your experience been doing that? And second, is it safe to say we’ll have some sort of Something/Anything? performance for that album’s 40th anniversary next year?

Well it’s never safe to say what I’m going to do. (laughs) I think that is potentially in the future ... I decided this year to kind of take a year off from these reproductions, these theatricalizations of whole records, because they take so long to put together, and yet they only seem to last, like, a week or two. (laughs)

Months of work goes into presenting something that only gets presented for a week or two, and I decided I just didn’t want to invest that much time on working on another theatricalization. It doesn’t mean that I won’t do it again, it’s just that I decided to take a year off and have a labor day to myself, to put it that way.

God knows you’ve toured enough—

That doesn’t mean I’m not on the road, it’s just that these things ... the nature of them is that they have this theatrical aspect about them, so there’s a whole lot of other production and expense that goes into them. They’re not giant moneymakers, but they do please the fans, and that’s why I continue to do them. But I have to do a more stripped-down presentation when I’m actually playing for a living. Gotta keep the expenses more in line. (laughs).

You’ve obviously had a long, varied career. But if you can, looking back, is there a particular record you made, or a band you worked with, that you wish had been more successful? Or you feel has been overlooked?

Oh, that kinda happens a lot. I’ve worked with a lot of acts that weren’t able to survive the long haul of the music business. I suppose one of the most disappointing was the Pursuit of Happiness, the band that I mentioned a little earlier.

They were everything that you kind of looked for—they had a sound of their own, they had great songs, they were really exciting live. And they made great records, but for some reason, even in Canada, they never achieved the success that everybody expected. And often, it’s just because you get involved with the wrong kind of label ... a label who puts their priorities elsewhere when it’s time to promote your record, and squanders the opportunity. Then you wind up, years and years later, on some critic’s Top Ten list, long after it could have done any good.

And I can say, from that standpoint, while there’s not as many opportunities to get signed to labels, artists have many more tools at their disposal to make up for the fact that no label is spending a lot of money to promote them. Unfortunately for the Pursuit of Happiness, when they were making their records, there was no YouTube or internet or anything like that, so they would be able to just promote themselves.

So that’s always disappointing, when a band can’t really reach their full potential, even though they have everything necessary to do it. There are a lot of great artists who kind of get overlooked when some really big, bright commercial light is shining and everyone’s got their eyes on that. But that’s kind of the nature of this business—and I don’t know if there’s any solution to that.

Read the original article here:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/146650-living-the-blues-an-interview-with-todd-rundgren

And don't miss my review of (re) Production, coming on September 13. It may just surprise you!

IS THIS THE REAL LIFE?

2011-09-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

QUEEN: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Queen's fourth album, A Night at the Opera, was originally released in December of 1975. This was the band's "last chance" album, the label expecting the band to deliver of the promise of the success of the "Killer Queen" single. Had the album flopped the label would have probably dropped the band.

When this album was released, it went to #4 in the US and became Queen's first million seller, and the rest, as they say, is history. Although lead singer Freddie Mercury died in November 1991, and the band's popularity had lagged in the 1980s, sales of Queen albums went up dramatically in 1992, the year following his death. In fact, half of the 32.5 million Queen albums sold in the United States have been sold since Mercury's death.

Not a bad legacy for Farrokh Bulsara from Zanzibar!

The surviving members of the band and the label have gone all out on the 2011 edition of this classic Queen album. The audio is crisp and deep - the quiet passages are actually quiet instead of being filled with hiss and digital noise like on the original EMI imports. More to their credit, they didn't mess with the mixes, song lengths, or do any of the other shenanigans that bands/labels often do when they do this kind of comprehensive update of their back catalog.

The album holds up well, kicking off rocking hard with "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)," an ode to an ex-management company, lightening up with the vaudevillian sounding "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon," before thundering into Roger Taylor's superb rocker "I'm In Love With My Car."

John Deacon's ballad "You're My Best Friend" slows things down, a song written for his wife that was a US Top 20 hit in the summer of 1976 (peaking at #16).

The album's biggest hit and Queen's arguable greatest moment, is the nearly six minute "Bohemian Rhapsody." The song is Mercury's magnum opus, a song unlike any in rock history, with an operatic section achieved by overdubbing voices until the master tape almost deteriorated. This song would be Queen's first US Top 10 hit (reaching #9 in 1976, and later reaching #2 in 1992 thanks to being featured in "Wayne's World".

There is a bonus CD, and one could argue the merits of the additional disc when the extras could have easily fit onto the main disc.

DEATH ON TWO LEGS

YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND

I'M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

THE RECORD COLLECTOR’S MARATHON (SOUTHWESTERN DESERT STYLE)

2011-09-04T02:00:00.001-07:00

This is a harrowing tale of a feat of Olympian proportions. This is not a story for the weak of heart.

I had a week off, and had initially planned a trip to Los Angeles for a few days, but decided to stick closer to town.

The deferral of a LA trip was allegedly to save money, but I ended up on a marathon shopping spree that took me every Zia Records location and probably cost me as much as the LA trip would have. But LA will still be there in a few months. Heck the earthquakes appear to have migrated to the East coast!

For any record and CD collectors left out there, Arizona has quite a few excellent stores.

I know what I am talking about-my job has enabled me to scrounge used CD stores all over the US, in Canada, in several European cities and even in Seoul, Korea.

How didja think I ended up with so many? Sorry UPS guy, you're only delivering a piece of this mess!

Zia Records is an eight location independent chain with four stores in the Phoenix metropolitan area, two in Tucson, and two in Las Vegas. I have been a shopper there for more than twenty years, and they have been in business for thirty. They rank among the best I have seen. It's been almost a decade since I've been to the East Village stores (9/8/2001 was my last visit), but the Zia chain was a close second to the village for selection and equal in value.

There are a lot of other stand out independent stores in Arizona (Revolver Records, Twist And Shout, to name but two), and an avid (read:lunatic) collector could round out his southwestern trip by visiting Bookman’s (four locations in AZ) and Hastings (three AZ locations).

You really could spend a week CD shopping. That canyon is just a hole in the ground, anyway!

To visit all of those stores would have involved trips to Prescott, Flagstaff and Bullhead City, and I’d recently been to all three, so I decided to be the first addict to hit every Zia location in the chain in a week.

Eight stores….three cities…two states…and more than fifteen hours behind the wheel.

Monday-Tucson

I got into the car a little after eleven and drove south towards Mexico.

South towards Tucson as well.

Stopping once for water when I hit the northern outskirts of Tucson, I made my way to my first location…

Since I only get to the Tucson stores once a year, I always manage to find something. As the CD list prices have dropped, so have used prices, although as my collection has grown, what I’m looking for gets more and more elusive.

I’d read an article about Barclay James Harvest in a recent progressive magazine, and was looking for a used title to check them out. Not in the cards, although I did find a Hot Tuna title I’d been looking for and a couple of B.B. King cd’s I did not have. Not to mention a James Brown disc I didn’t realize I was searching for, and for good measure, I bought the in-store playing copy of a CD by Michael Grimm (it kind of grew on me).

For the record, I was going to stop at Twist And Shout, an indie store I'd read about, but they're closed Mondays. I still had not come up with the thought of hitting all the Zia stores-I was just killing time so far.

On a normal Tucson trip, I'm also hitting two Bookman's stores and Oracle is the last store of the day. And as tired as I am of going through CD bins, I always find something.

But since I got a late start, Oracle was store number two, and the last one.

Finding something today was no problem, I had a bunch of lower priced CD's in my hands that I had to put back. After all, I had decided against the LA trip to save money, so I still had to maintain some feeble semblance of a budget.

Highlights here were three Radiators discs for $2.99 each, and a Jack Bruce solo disc.

Back to the highway and back to Phoenix.

Tuesday, I had some errands to run, and wanted to get my car waxed (detailed sounds so pretentious, and essentially they're waxing it), so no CD shopping. While waiting for the car, I came up with the bright idea to drive to Vegas.

Wednesday-Las Vega$

It's more than a four hour drive, and it's a hot one in the summer. With the mercury topping 113 degrees, it was a hot drive. It was on the drive up that I came up with the idea of hitting all the stores-after today I'd be half way there, and I thought that the odds were good that no one had ever done it before.

Vegas traffic always seems to be bumper-to-bumper. I wish I'd have been able to visit in the seventies. That show with Robert Urich always made Vegas look like a town with casinos, nowhere near as busy as it is in the new millennium.

Fortunately, the Zia locations are off the strip, so at least the traffic moves.

This is only the third time I've been to the Vegas locations, but like Tucson, I seem to manage to find something each time. Since it was later in the day and I was hot and hungry, I was a little less dedicated than in Tucson (I think I flipped through every CD in stores there), but wouldja believe I still found a few items of interest, including three John Mayall titles, a Steve Howe disc of Bob Dylan covers (guest singers) and the tenth anniversary edition of the Pete Yorn debut (a second dfisc collects b-sides and rarities).

I was a little disappointed when I got home-the cashier made it a point to look at every disc as if examining it for condition, but did not tell me that two of the John Mayall discs were pretty scratched up. Fortunately, they play without skipping (although I am sure one of the AZ stores would have buffed them up for me.

By this point I was pretty hungry, so the Sahara store got a quicker pass through than I normally would have made.

I did find two Barclay James Harvest titles (remember I said I was looking for them?) and a couple more blues titles. For some reason, blues discs can be elusive used, but this was a good week for them.

The cashier at the Sahara store was excellent-she identified two of my discs that were scratched and buffed them. She even let me bum some scotch tape to put my temporary tag back in place for the drive back to AZ.

I have never explored Las Vegas' other indie stores, although I have read about a few. There was one I tried to visit last year, but it was closed Saturdays. Since it was after five, and I was hungry and wanted to shower before I ate, and since the hotel was close, I gassed up the car and beelined for the hotel.

I was staying a few blocks away from Zia at the Palace Station casino. $20 for a room, $15 for an "amenities" fee, which still gets you a cheap room.

It all evens out, though. I got heartburn at the $15 buffet and did not sleep well.

The up side to that is that I was on the road by 6:30 and got to drive with the top down for a few hours. Vegas traffice was a lot less hectic at dawn...I guess every city has to sleep sometime.

Once the sun was up, it was hot, and the top went back up.

The effect of the sun through the windshield was negating the five hour energy drink and the caffiene in the two diet cokes I had consumed to keep me alert.

After making a pit stop (read: bathroom break), I drank another five hour energy. I managed to make it back to Phoenix around eleven am, and bummed around the house the rest of the day.

Friday-Phoenix

Friday arrived with a lot of cloud cover (cooler temperatures) and more errands to run, but I still managed to hit two of the Phoenix-area stores.

Close to the ASU campus, and usually a treasure trove.

Today not so much, but since I’d already scoured four other Zia locations this week, I was being less thorough and more choosy.

I found John Hammond and Nazareth titles that had been on my search list.

The cashier, a very pretty young lady, made me feel really old.

I spent more than I’d planned to here. Someone must have sold their blues collection because I found a few Jimmy Thackery titles that had been eluding me, and also found a Joe Henry disc and another old Nazareth title.

The Syd Barrett and Peter Banks finds were just plain excess.

I got a raised eyebrow over the Hanson Christmas CD, but it was two bucks and I collect Christmas CD's.

I toyed with stopping at the Thunderbird store, but since that is the store I shop at every week, I thought it fitting that I finish there.

Two more stores left...and two days left in the week.

Saturday-Phoenix

The timing of this adventure was not the best. Zia has a Labor Day weekend sale (buy four used, get one free) that I was unable to take advantage of in the six stores I'd already visited.

However, since it would have been far less enjoyable to do all this in a three day weekend, I'd live with having to pass on a few free CD's. Maybe I'd reap the benefit of the sale today.

The Chandler store is a long drive, so I usually get there every couple of months. I usually leave with a stack of stuff, but had just been there a month ago, so did not know what to expect.

As luck would have it, I did find five titles, and so was able to get one free.

The most interesting title was Roy Rogers' Blues On The Range. By now, you have figured out I often buy things without having heard them first but have pretty good luck at it. I also found Paul Shaffer's debut CD and The Outlaws' live album, Bring It Back Alive.

Good hunting-I'd been looking for both of these.

It was fitting that my "marathon" end here. This store is almost home for me. I see these people more than I see my family.

My family all live in Philadelphia, so it's not really as wierd as it sounds.

This is the store I hit every week. I remember once seeing our old CFO in here on A Tuesday night. She asked me what I was doing here, and one of the employees said, "he lives here."

I said, "it's true-they have a cot for me in the back."

Stephen T. McCarthy and his brother Nappy find it odd that they have NOT run into me in this store. I ran into my friend Mike here once, and his reaction? "Figures."

Once again I ended up spending more than I planned (sorry, Visa card) because I found a plethora of blues titles.

This was a really good week for my blues collection, bad week for my retirement fund. I also found a solo disc by John Paul Jones (if it's not the guy from Led Zep I'll feel pretty silly).

As you can tell from the artists I've mentioned, Zia really has a deep selection. I barely looked at their country section, and not at all at their metal and rap/R&B sections.

Now I could have done this in a shorter time frame. If I really pushed it, I could have been done in three days-Zia stores are open from 10 am to midnight, and had I planned this out, I'd have hit two of the Phoenix stores that first day, leaving the last two for the day I drove home from Vegas. But I was on vacation, and had nothing but time on my hands.

If anyone does it in less time, be sure to let me know. It would be nice to know I'm not the only one who needs therapy. I'd recommend the months of November through March for the best weather conditions.

To anyone who is not a collector, this is insanity. To many collectors, it may be odd as well. But you gotta be doing something, and with the exception of breaking my solemn vow to cut back on CD purchases, this is a pretty harmless pasttime.

To any CD collectors out there who happen upon this, please post a comment and tell me about the stores in your area. The more of us who talk about the hobby, the better chance we can keep it alive.

Listen, most retails stores are gone, and the ones that are left have less floor space devoted to CD's than I do to my cat's litter box. Goldmine is down to a monthly magazine. The only way to get the younger generations back into this hobby is to hear about it from us old-timers!

Record collectors could have had just as much fun with this as I did-Zia stocks a lot of vinyl, although you do not want to leave vinyl in your car in Arizona and Nevada in late August.

So there you have it. A journey no less epic than the one Frodo embarked on...as historically significant as the expedition made by Lewis and Clark.

Now I gotta go re-alphabetize my collection...

A SHOT OF WHISKEY

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

WHISKEY MYERS: FIREWATER

It's funny how what was once rock is now country. Bob Seger's last two chart singles? Country charts. Bon Jovi had a hit on the country charts. And pretty much everything that was southern rock in the heyday of the genre is now lost in the country section of a CD store…if you can even FIND a CD store.

All that said, there is still some good southern rock out there, and Whiskey Myers is poised to assume the Southern Rock crown once worn by such luminaries as The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Produced by ex-Shooter Jennings guitarist and songwriter Leroy Powell, Firewater is their sophomore album, and while the roots are distinctly Southern Rock, it also incorporates the band’s country and blues influences.

Whiskey Meyers has a rich incendiary sound that takes you back in time to the seventies, with an album full of southern-rock worthy songs meant to be played at full volume. The lyrics are fresh and in-your-face, and the sound is a no-holds-barred offering on the altar of Southern Rock.

Lead singer Cody Cannon has a voice that is carries the weight of experience beyond his years, reminiscent of Gregg Allman with a hint of Jon Bon Jovi and maybe a dash of Axl Rose. Lead and rhythm guitarists John Jeffers and Cody Tate trade roles during songs, demonstrating a twin guitar attack (augmented by Cannon on acoustic guitar). Drummer Jeff Hogg and bass player Gary Brown round out the rhythm section.

Firewater’s lead single, “Bar, Guitar and a Honky Tonk Crowd,” was released regionally in Texas and is currently approaching Top 20 status on the regional chart. The album's vibe is just plain soulful, and the band's sound, while a bit unpolished, showcases a diamond in the rough that will only get better as their catalog grows.

BROKEN WINDOW SERENADE

BALLAD OF A SOUTHERN MAN

VIRGINIA

GUITAR PICKER

NEW ALBUMS COMING THIS FALL

2011-09-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the albums that are coming to stores near you over the next several weeks...

Tony Bennet, "Duets II" (Columbia)

Duet partners on the sequel to Bennett's "Duets: An American Classic" include Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Michael Bublé, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Josh Groban, Norah Jones, k.d. lang, John Mayer and Andrea Bocelli. But the track that has gotten almost all the hype surrounding Bennett's latest effort is a duet on "Body and Soul" recorded with the late, great Amy Winehouse. It's apparently her last recording. Bublé told Billboard, "The correlation between all of us is that we idolize (Bennett). He's an icon, and he's still doing what he does better than anybody else." (Due Sept. 20)

Wilco, "The Whole Love" (dBpm)

Earlier this year, Jeff Tweedy talked to Rolling Stone about Wilco's eighth studio effort, back when the title was still "Get Well Soon Everybody." "There are two strong threads of material," he said, "one being a little weirder - snot-nosed obnoxious pop songs - and the other more languid, atmospheric-country music." Then, lead single "I Might" made its way across the blogosphere and it was more suggestive of some great lost Motown single topped by cryptic Tweedy lyrics, classic '60s organ, speaker-rumbling fuzz bass, glockenspiel and guitarist Nels Cline doing things no Motown house producer would have sanctioned. There was something snot-nosed obnoxious about the production, though, which felt a bit like Spoon's "Transference." Rolling Stone described a track called "Art of Almost," saying it "starts with shadowy electronics, gently turns into a haunted vocal section, then sprints into a Krautrock-style blowout," which sounds suspiciously like what these guys were doing on "A Ghost Is Born." (Due Sep. 27)

Mastodon, "The Hunter" (Reprise)

Produced by Mike Elizondo, whose credits range from Dr. Dre and Eminem to Rilo Kiley, "The Hunter" is their long-awaited follow-up to "Crack the Skye," among the more ambitious metal albums of the century. Drummer Brann Dailor told AOL's Noisecreep that this one "doesn't seem as proggy." There are prog moments, he said, but the overall vibe is more stripped down and riff-oriented. Dailor went on to compare it to 2004's "Leviathan," adding, "It seems like a really super-heavy Led Zeppelin or something. It has a lot of that (John) Bonham-esque groove to it, but really heavy and dark. I really like playing like that, and when it goes into those parts, I'm psyched." (Due Sept. 27)

Evanescence, "Evanescence" (Wind-Up)

It has been five years since Evanescence hit the charts at No. 1 with a double-platinum sophomore effort called "The Open Door." Singer Amy Lee told MTV News to expect something painful and desperate on the new disc, saying, "It's epic, it's dark, it's big, it's beautiful ... all of those things." They've called the album "Evanescence," Lee said, because "It's about the band; it's more of a band record. But I started thinking about it, and it's also that this whole record and the lyrical content and a lot of the things that it's about to me is about falling back in love with this thing, with Evanescence, with what I've obsessed over for a decade, longer than that." They recorded in Nashville with producer Nick Raskulinecz, best known for his work with the Foo Fighters. (Due Oct. 4)

Chris Isaak, "Beyond the Sun" (Vanguard)

The title is a reference to Sun Records, legendary Memphis home to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and so on. Isaak recorded more than 40 songs associated with the label and those artists at the actual studio, enough to fill three albums, "If I had to be in a life-or-death situation," he told Billboard, "or on a game show or quiz show or something and they said, 'Pick your category. What do you know about better than anything else?' I'd have said Sun Studios. Those guys - Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis - that's what I'm made of. That's in my DNA. So to go in there and do this was pretty special." Titles include "Ring of Fire," "Walk the Line," "Great Balls of Fire," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Trying to Get to You," "It's Now or Never" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget." As the singer told Billboard, "The common link to all the songs is they're all by somebody that (Sun founder) Sam Phillips discovered and recorded. What we tried to do is show you here's what they recorded at Sun, then maybe pick another couple of songs from later in their career. So with Roy Orbison, for instance, we might go from 'It's a Weak Man That Cries' or 'My Baby's Gone,' and the next thing we'll have is 'Oh, Pretty Woman.' So it's kind of showing where rock and roll started and what it grew into." (Due Oct. 18)

Kelly Clarkson, "Stronger" (RCA)

(file this one under guilty pleasure)

Two years have passed since Clarkson topped the album charts with "All I Ever Wanted," priming the pump with her catchiest single since "Since U Been Gone," the chart-topping "My Life Would Suck Without You." America's first American Idol started working on material for "Stronger" while on tour in late 2009, telling listeners of Chicago's KISS-FM (103.5), "The next record is probably going to be really different" and getting more specific on Atlanta's Q 100, where she said, "It's almost like Garbage-meets-pop-meets-Muse." The leadoff single, Mr. Know It All," was released Aug. 30. (Due Oct. 25)

Coldplay, "Mylo Xyloto" (Capitol)

Last time out, they topped the Billboard album chart, went double platinum and took home best rock album at the Grammys for "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends." How do you follow that? Chris Martin told BBC News their latest effort is a concept album "from the point of view of two people who are a bit lost - two like-minded outsiders who meet in a very difficult environment and therefore have a journey together." And speaking of journeys together, this one found them working on material with Brian Eno. A lead single, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," has cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts. (Due Oct. 25)

The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" (Capitol)

(Stephen T. McCarthy will be glad to hear about this)

First, it was the Great Lost Beach Boys Album, "a teenage symphony to God" derailed by Brian Wilson's breakdown while trying to top what he had done with "Pet Sounds." Then, in 2004, against all odds, Wilson finished the album and released it as a solo effort, topping critics' year-end lists. Now, the Beach Boys' original studio recordings are being used to piece together an official "Smile" release. Mark Linett, who engineered the Wilson "Smile" and co-produced this latest project, told Billboard the goal was to present "the whole piece as close to as it was envisioned, or as is envisioned, as possible ... and obviously with input from Brian and from everybody else."

In a statement issued through the label, Wilson said, "I'm thrilled that the Beach Boys' original studio sessions for 'Smile' will be released for the first time, after all these years. I'm looking forward to this collection of the original recordings and having fans hear the beautiful angelic voices of the boys in a proper studio release." Three versions will be made available: a two-CD set, an iTunes LP digital album and a limited-edition boxed set containing four CDs, two vinyl LPs, two vinyl singles and a 60-page book by Beach Boys historian Domenic Priore. (Due Nov. 1)

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds,
"Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds"
(Sour Mash/Mercury)

This is the first we've heard from Gallagher since he split with Oasis in August, 2009. The album features 10 new songs and was produced in London and Los Angeles by Gallagher and Dave Sardy, whose credits include the Oasis album "Dig Out Your Soul." Among those backing Gallagher are former Oasis keyboard player Mike Rowe, Lemon Trees drummer Jeremy Stacey and session percussionist Lenny Castro, who's played on records by the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. At a press conference, Gallagher described the sound this way: "Some of it's vaudeville, some if it's space jazz, some of it's Krautrock. And that's just the first track." (Due Nov. 8)

STILL CARRYING A TORCH

2011-08-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

DICK WAGNER: FULL MELTDOWN

Dick Wagner has had an amazing career as the guitar player for Lou Reed and Alice Cooper. In addition he has recorded classic songs with Kiss and Aerosmith and written songs for artists as diverse as Meat Loaf and Air Supply.

Wagner’s discography is a Who’s Who of 70’s rock music, and his songs and lead guitar have been featured on more than 150 renowned albums.

Full Meltdown features 15 songs recorded by Wagner between 1979 and 1995 that demonstrate dazzling guitar virtuosity and an incredible sonic diversity, although Wagner’s masterful, howling guitar hallmark each piece, juxtaposed with lyrical beauty that is heart wrenching and soulful.

These songs will take you right back to your youth, and the innocence of driving down a fast highway with friends, carefree, wired, windows open, not giving a damn. Wagner gives the album a softer touch than I’d expected, but still demonstrates capability with a guitar and a voice that deserves to be heard.

More recently, Wagner was the man behind the console on the debut CD by Wensday, and while this effort might not match the power of that one, it is still a top-notch CD from a journeyman rocker that deserves a listen.

Electronic Press Kit

WE NEED A SIGNAL AT THIS INTERSECTION

2011-08-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

4 WAY STREET: PRETZEL PARK

Four immensely talented and quite different performers from Philadelphia (Ben Arnold, Scott Bricklin, Jim Boggia and Joseph Parsons) have teamed up to form the folk rock band, 4 Way Street. All four have had individual success in past years recording and performing as soloists or leaders of their own groups.

Pretzel Park, the group’s 12 track debut release, showcases the vocal ability and flexibility of each of these men, evident in the rich harmonies heard throughout.

How does a gravelly sounding keyboard/guitarist (Ben), a guitar- wizard pure popster (Jim), a sweet-but-funk hammering bassist (Scott) and a classical-style guitarist with roots deep in European traditions (Joseph) all manage to write both collaborative and individual songs and make it sound like it was always meant to be? One need merely sit back and be swept away in wonder and delight.

The band members each contributed individual songs to the album, and in collaboration transformed them in an undeniable group effort. Three songs were composed as a collaborative entity that are a testament to their synergistic relationship. Together they created a musical synergy that is remarkable, memorable and downright infectious

Right from the jangly guitar stirrings of the opener, your attention is grabbed and you are not let down by the two-and-four part harmonies that await you along with catchy choruses that make every tune a potential single.

This album is one incredibly solid, delightful body of work that travels an entire spectrum of emotions, from despair to joy, touching on many others along the way and guaranteed leave any listener richer for the experience.

SHOOT THE MOON

MAZE

COUNTING ON YOU

A KEEPER!

2011-08-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

JONATHAN EDWARDS: MY LOVE WILL KEEP

Jonathan Edwards celebrates his fifth decade of performing, songwriting and recording with the release of his new album, My Love Will Keep. He joins such artists as Jesse Winchester and David Bromberg who have re-emerged with new albums on the Appleseed Label after long absences.

For most people, Jonathan Edwards is the one-hit wonder who recorded “Sunshine (Go Away Today)” way back in 1971. Those people would probably be surprised to know that since then Edwards has released seventeen albums and toured steadily.

It's taken more than a dozen years for Jonathan Edwards to take time off from his touring schedule and put together a new studio disc, but shortly after the needle drops, it's obvious it was worth the wait. Okay, sue me-it’s a CD, so the needle doesn’t drop, but I don’t really know what the heck a laser does, and “needle drops” still sounds cool, so there!

Edwards has not lost his skill at the songwriting craft, able to infuse his songs with the subtlety of nature's small wonders and the people who are part of life's cycle. The album opens with the rich strum of an acoustic guitar, the sigh of a pedal steel guitar, and Edwards's gentle tenor, and for the next hour or so the listener is treated to a country and bluegrass influenced set of one dozen songs (including five Edwards’ originals), some of which will be familiar to concertgoers, but all shine like new with full instrumentation and the co-production by Jonathan and Jim Begley. Guest appearances abound, by bluegrass singer Claire Lynch, guitarist Duke Levine, vocalist Moondi Klein (formerly of the Seldom Scene), and Jonathan's daughter Grace.

The cover tunes include a gorgeous slow ballad arrangement of The Beatles' "She Loves You" that is more meditation than celebration. Another stand-out is an adaptation of Jesse Winchester's "Freewheeler."

Edward's distinctive, country-inflected voice, multi-instrumental mastery (guitar, bass, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin) and superlative choice of material, arrangements and sidepersons were away from the studio for way too long. Fans are rewarded with a new release that does not break any new musical ground but covers the old ground quite well.

Well worth the wait, indeed.

She Loves You

Crazy Texas Woman

The Sailor's Prayer

Sunshine (Go Away Today)

TOP OF THE HEEP

2011-08-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

URIAH HEEP: INTO THE WILD

I was not familiar with UH until recently (well in the past couple of years), when Stephen T. McCarthy mentioned how their Demons & Wizards album had been a favorite of his in his rock days and he thought I'd like it based on my taste.

Stephen has since stopped listening to rock music, which I think accounts for all that angst on his blogs. But I did like the D&W album, so (as my addiction compels me to do) I set out to collect their back catalog.

Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in 1969, and over the course of the bands' career there have been a number of line-up changes and different musical styles. The bands' influences include prog, hard rock and jazz and they were said to be the forerunners of the progressive metal scene.

With Into The Wild, most of the cast from 2008's excellent Wake The Sleeper album return, including producer Mike Paxman as well as the lineup of Mick Box, Trevor Bolder, Phil Lanzon, Bernie Shaw and Russell Gilbrook.

Into The Wild is a solid addition to the UH body of work, leaning more to an AOR sound than progressive rock, but with their signature sonic wall of sound wrapped around hooks and melodies with top notch production.

Bernie Shaw may not be the same type of vocalist that the late David Byron was during Heep's glory years, but after being the "new" lead singer for more than 20 years he's grown into the role.

Phil Lanzon plays the Hammond B-3 with the same kind of manic energy that Ken Hensley brought in the early 70s, and "new" drummer Russell Gilbrook brings a similar energy that seems to have re-energized the entire band.

All of the Heep trademarks are here, and there really is not a weak track on the album. Heep fans should like this, as well as fans of classic and melodic rock.

Nail On The Head

Kiss Of Freedom

Money Talk

SET ME FREE

2011-08-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Record Industry Braces for Artists’ Battles Over Song Rights

Since their release in 1978, hit albums like Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” Billy Joel’s “52nd Street,” the Doobie Brothers’ “Minute by Minute,” Kenny Rogers’s “Gambler” and Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove” have generated tens of millions of dollars for record companies. But thanks to a little-noted provision in United States copyright law, those artists — and thousands more — now have the right to reclaim ownership of their recordings, potentially leaving the labels out in the cold.

When copyright law was revised in the mid-1970s, musicians, like creators of other works of art, were granted “termination rights,” which allow them to regain control of their work after 35 years, so long as they apply at least two years in advance. Recordings from 1978 are the first to fall under the purview of the law, but in a matter of months, hits from 1979, like “The Long Run” by the Eagles and “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer, will be in the same situation — and then, as the calendar advances, every other master recording once it reaches the 35-year mark.

The provision also permits songwriters to reclaim ownership of qualifying songs. Bob Dylan has already filed to regain some of his compositions, as have other rock, pop and country performers like Tom Petty, Bryan Adams, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Waits and Charlie Daniels, according to records on file at the United States Copyright Office.

“In terms of all those big acts you name, the recording industry has made a gazillion dollars on those masters, more than the artists have,” said Don Henley, a founder both of the Eagles and the Recording Artists Coalition, which seeks to protect performers’ legal rights. “So there’s an issue of parity here, of fairness. This is a bone of contention, and it’s going to get more contentious in the next couple of years.”

With the recording industry already reeling from plummeting sales, termination rights claims could be another serious financial blow. Sales plunged to about $6.3 billion from $14.6 billion over the decade ending in 2009, in large part because of unauthorized downloading of music on the Internet, especially of new releases, which has left record labels disproportionately dependent on sales of older recordings in their catalogs.

“This is a life-threatening change for them, the legal equivalent of Internet technology,” said Kenneth J. Abdo, a lawyer who leads a termination rights working group for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and has filed claims for some of his clients, who include Kool and the Gang. As a result the four major record companies — Universal, Sony BMG, EMI and Warner — have made it clear that they will not relinquish recordings they consider their property without a fight.

“We believe the termination right doesn’t apply to most sound recordings,” said Steven Marks, general counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America, a lobbying group in Washington that represents the interests of record labels. As the record companies see it, the master recordings belong to them in perpetuity, rather than to the artists who wrote and recorded the songs, because, the labels argue, the records are “works for hire,” compilations created not by independent performers but by musicians who are, in essence, their employees.

Independent copyright experts, however, find that argument unconvincing. Not only have recording artists traditionally paid for the making of their records themselves, with advances from the record companies that are then charged against royalties, they are also exempted from both the obligations and benefits an employee typically expects.

“This is a situation where you have to use your own common sense,” said June M. Besek, executive director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at the Columbia University School of Law. “Where do they work? Do you pay Social Security for them? Do you withdraw taxes from a paycheck? Under those kinds of definitions it seems pretty clear that your standard kind of recording artist from the ’70s or ’80s is not an employee but an independent contractor.”

Daryl Friedman, the Washington representative of the recording academy, which administers the Grammy Awards and is allied with the artists’ position, expressed hope that negotiations could lead to a “broad consensus in the artistic community, so there don’t have to be 100 lawsuits.” But with no such talks under way, lawyers predict that the termination rights dispute will have to be resolved in court.

“My gut feeling is that the issue could even make it to the Supreme Court,” said Lita Rosario, an entertainment lawyer specializing in soul, funk and rap artists who has filed termination claims on behalf of clients, whom she declined to name. “Some lawyers and managers see this as an opportunity to go in and renegotiate a new and better deal. But I think there are going to be some artists who feel so strongly about this that they are not going to want to settle, and will insist on getting all their rights back.”

So far the only significant ruling on the issue has been one in the record labels’ favor. In that suit heirs of Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley, who died in 1981, sued Universal Music to regain control of and collect additional royalties on five of his albums, which included hits like “Get Up, Stand Up” and “One Love.”

But last September a federal district court in New York ruled that “each of the agreements provided that the sound recordings were the ‘absolute property’ ” of the record company, and not Marley or his estate. That decision, however, applies only to Marley’s pre-1978 recordings, which are governed by an earlier law that envisaged termination rights only in specific circumstances after 56 years, and it is being appealed.

Congress passed the copyright law in 1976, specifying that it would go into effect on Jan. 1, 1978, meaning that the earliest any recording can be reclaimed is Jan. 1, 2013. But artists must file termination notices at least two years before the date they want to recoup their work, and once a song or recording qualifies for termination, its authors have five years in which to file a claim; if they fail to act in that time, their right to reclaim the work lapses.

The legislation, however, fails to address several important issues. Do record producers, session musicians and studio engineers also qualify as “authors” of a recording, entitled to a share of the rights after they revert? Can British groups like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Dire Straits exercise termination rights on their American recordings, even if their original contract was signed in Britain? These issues too are also an important part of the quiet, behind-the-scenes struggle that is now going on.

Given the potentially huge amounts of money at stake and the delicacy of the issues, both record companies, and recording artists and their managers have been reticent in talking about termination rights. The four major record companies either declined to discuss the issue or did not respond to requests for comment, referring the matter to the industry association.

But a recording industry executive involved in the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the labels, said that significant differences of opinion exist not only between the majors and smaller independent companies, but also among the big four, which has prevented them from taking a unified position. Some of the major labels, he said, favor a court battle, no matter how long or costly it might be, while others worry that taking an unyielding position could backfire if the case is lost, since musicians and songwriters would be so deeply alienated that they would refuse to negotiate new deals and insist on total control of all their recordings.

As for artists it is not clear how many have already filed claims to regain ownership of their recordings. Both Mr. Springsteen and Mr. Joel, who had two of the biggest hit albums of 1978, as well as their managers and legal advisers, declined to comment on their plans, and the United States Copyright Office said that, because termination rights claims are initially processed manually rather than electronically, its database is incomplete.

Songwriters, who in the past typically have had to share their rights with publishing companies, some of which are owned by or affiliated with record labels, have been more outspoken on the issue. As small independent operators to whom the work for hire argument is hard to apply, the balance of power seems to have tilted in their favor, especially if they are authors of songs that still have licensing potential for use on film and television soundtracks, as ringtones, or in commercials and video games.

“I’ve had the date circled in red for 35 years, and now it’s time to move,” said Rick Carnes, who is president of the Songwriters Guild of America and has written hits for country artists like Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks. “Year after year after year you are going to see more and more songs coming back to songwriters and having more and more influence on the market. We will own that music, and it’s still valuable.”

In the absence of a definitive court ruling, some recording artists and their lawyers are talking about simply exercising their rights and daring the record companies to stop them. They complain that the labels in some cases are not responding to termination rights notices and predict that once 2013 arrives, a conflict that is now mostly hidden from view is likely to erupt in public.

“Right now this is kind of like a game of chicken, but with a shot clock,” said Casey Rae-Hunter, deputy director of the Future of Music Coalition, which advocates for musicians and consumers. “Everyone is adopting a wait-and-see posture. But that can only be maintained for so long, because the clock is ticking.”

Original article posted HERE