Another wonderful release by the former Green On Red member. This is solo #12 in the twenty-two years since GOR broke up and his music has been called rock (obviously), lo-fi, country, blues, swamp, trip hop, folk and Americana. Whew! I believe he calls it "sideways." Fans of Tom Petty, Uncle Tupelo, Springsteen, John Hiatt, Cracker, and maybe Wilco need to give this guy a try.
As you can see, San Fran is featured in the video. The record's title was an old SF punk club. The entire album is based there, sort of a weird historical, alternative view as only CP could do. There is about thirty minutes of this Seattle radio performance available but I'll pull one song so you'll get an idea of how he explains all the tracks from the album...
In a perfect world, that's a hit. Damn fine guitarist. God, I'd love to see him live but his tour stop in central FL in two weeks comes at a bad time for the ol' Mad Rocker, AGAIN! Missed him on his last pass through here two years ago so I'll have to play his live record from last year to get me by.
I saw a post on his blog joking about how "Temple Beautiful" was released on the same day as the comeback record for fellow Californians, Van Halen. Gotta love his sense of humor, and I promise you, if you'll give his record a listen or three, you will love it, too...
The three months of December, January & February are typically short on new releases, much less quality releases, so it's a period when I troll international charts for something new to absorb. I start with Australia, then I will hit the UK, Canada, German, and Scandinavian charts in no particular order. The ARIA charts presented several new options, but The Jezabels were the only selection I made this time. For some reason, I've been on a female-fronted run recently (just check the last few posts) and this band is the fourth of six (that's right, two more to go).
"Prisoner" is their first full-length release following three EP's in previous years. They actually had some domestic success at college radio with their very first song...
Nope, I must have missed it, but there is a demo version of it and three other tunes on this deluxe version of "Prisoner." I will note that the demos have a cleaner sound and sort of reminded me of Heart just a tad. The new portion of the record is a wall of sound, big production, power chords...very twenty-something years ago. Lots of New Wave influence for me with Siouxsie & the Banshees leading the way. I also jotted down 4 Non Blondes, the Cure, Icehouse and the Motels throughout the spins. I know, it's all over the board, which is why I will anxiously await another release to see which direction they finally choose. Tell me which of the above listed groups the newest featured single recalls for you...
Believe me, the band is working hard to break outside their native Australia. They are touring hard, in Canada now with a brief left-coast swing that includes a sold out date at the Troubadour in LA a couple of weeks from now. Proof somebody is getting it. This summer they are doing the festival scene across the entire northern hemisphere, hopping from continent to continent. Domestic stops will include NY's Governor's Ball and Chicago's Lollapalooza.
For many of my American readers, remember you heard them here first...
This band was brought to my attention by fellow adventurous, target-demo member, Greg A. (he could guest host this blog if he so desired). He alerted me to a live clip of them several months ago, and I was impressed enough to wait patiently for this album to be released. Turns out, I/we have been exposed to them before through an iPod commercial and another schlepping Heineken. Guess those two tune snippets didn't click on my aural tote board. Call me "old-fart-guilty" 'cause it must have been the visual containing the cute, blond, Debbie Harry look-a-like singer having too much fun fronting the band. If you watch the official video for this song, you will get the Blondie reference, but you know I like to show you something more unique...
Hers is a cartoon-ish type voice without a lot of depth, but it's effective for this happy/fun/party, B-52's-style music. I kept envisioning Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In with Goldie Hawn or Jane Fonda's Barbarella running across my brain. I like the horns found throughout the record, reminding me of The Cat Empire.
The Danish band is back touring in Europe after a few dates in N. America which supported the records' release a couple of months ago. It generated some Heatseekers chart success and indie and college radio support (WPRK has been all over it). Fans of LCD Soundsystem should seek this out.
Here's hoping they return to the States and head for Florida!
This band name kept popping up as a RIYL for a couple of weeks, and I can take a hint if you hit me with it often enough. A quick sampling proved interesting enough for the buy. Performed zero research on it initially (not my usual modus operandi) and first popped it in the player on a two-hour road trip, allowing for an uninterrupted, complete spin (again, deviating from the norm). Initially, the girl's voice was annoying, so about half way through I shut down active listening and just let it play. Waited several days before launching into the second spin. At the usual pace of a couple of tracks at a time, I found myself "hearing" the vocals and not just "listening" to them. The second track should be on every country format across the board...
Would have sworn that they were American after that...but NO! Swedish sisters, the youngest still a teen! Learned this is their third album. Apparently, they were discovered domestically by the younger, more social-networking-savvy demographic a few years ago after covering a Fleet Foxes tune on YouTube. That would explain how this album has already sold well enough to hit #65 on the Billboard charts, also scoring a Top 20 placement on the Rock chart. Can't anoint it "Beard Rock" since they are female, but it fits that same niche as the Foxes if you label them "Rock." I wrote down "country/folk/troubadour/minstrel, 21st century hippie music." They play concerts in the woods and look at how they dress in the video. They are New Generation Hippie if I ever saw it. My first impression screamed Indigo Girls but that faded with repeated listens. FAK could very well be this year's Civil Wars, the Grammy-winning California-Alabama collision. This is Sweden meets Appalachia...
They are playing Coachella this weekend and opening for Jack White in Europe afterwards. Prepare for the world's stage, ladies...
...Let's go with Legs Diamond "...Is A Hard Rock" down to Valdosta.
This was the second album for the band, actually released less that a year after the debut in 1977. Believe it or not, there is still a configuration of Legs out there with a new record scheduled for this year. Have to look for it and give it a listen. I always labeled them as a West Coast version of Angel, and why not, they were on the same label. Organ heavy more than synths, twin guitars, good vocalist, adequate rhythm section. They toured like hell with "TED NUGENT, KISS, GOLDEN EARRING, STYX, SAMMY HAGAR, TRIUMPH, RUSH, MONTROSE, ALICE COOPER, Y&T, REO SPEEDWAGON, NAZARETH, BOB SEGER, RIOT, MOXY, TEN YEARS AFTER, MOUNTAIN, J. GEILS BAND, GLEN HUGHES, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, UFO, THE BABYS, ANGEL, ULI JOHN ROTH, BUDGIE, DIO, STARZ, STEPPENWOLF." Maybe you saw them. Guns N Roses were reportedly big fans. I only had vinyl copies until 2000. That's when one of the original members got a UK company to issue CD formats. Guess he thought the British would like it based on their love for Uriah Heep, which Legs could have been mistaken for at times. This track has been called their "Stairway To Heaven"...
Seemed only fitting that one of the bands in the list above turned out to be next in line for the player, taking me into smokey north Florida and Lake City...
MOXY's debut album was/is one of Rock's most under-appreciated records of all time! They were so good that another artist heard them recording from the next studio and had to sit in...
That's right, boys & girls, there are Tommy Bolin solos all over the album. He was recording "Teaser" and there was a James Gang connection that opened the door for him. Suffice it to say that my vinyl copy is a treasured possession. MOXY was just the latest configuration of members, some playing together since the late 60's, but it was certainly the most successful, albeit short-lived. By the time the third album came out, the singer had damaged his vocal cords, and the years of touring with its alcohol, drugs & sex had fractured the group. They had opened for everybody before headlining in Texas with an OPENING act called AC/DC. As it has been told, MOXY's singer was considered as the replacement for Bon Scott after he passed, but he could only be valid in a studio, not on stage. The singer that replaced him on the 4th album later became famous for fronting another Canadian band a couple of years later, Loverboy.
But it was the first three albums, especially the songs penned by original guitarist Earl Johnson (none too shabby a slinger as well; reportedly still touring as MOXY) that are classics. How about an encore before heading toward Gainesville...
And let me kick off the next CD with the title track...
Truly one of the great Rock bands of all time, in my opinion. They were far more than "Boys Are Back In Town." Not a weak link in the mix, even when they traded in guitarists. To replace Robbo, they brought in Gary Moore, Snowy White, and John Sykes. This is from "Live & Dangerous" and it's the song Van Morrison wished he had written...
Phil Lynott had such a distinctive voice. He left us way too soon. Many consider "Bad Rep..." as good a record as "Jailbreak." I have and love them all, with a little extra fondness for "Fighting."
By now I'm in the home stretch, cruising toward Ocala, caffeine buzz in full effect. Thank goodness for cruise control because the next band is a pedal-presser...
Not considered one of their best, but me likey anyway. "Desolation Blvd." was the soundtrack of my high school years. "Give Us A Wink" was the motivational music for baseball my senior year. Safe to say that "...Wink" would be a deserted island disc for me. "Off The Record" arrived while I was still making the adjustment to college life, and it provided comforting heaviness for the early Mad Rocker shows. This is the track I played on the "WPRK Midday Flashback" a couple of weeks ago...
By now I'm to the first toll plaza on the Turnpike, so finishing up the ride is...
David Byron's first solo album. I had two or three Uriah Heep LP's, but I truly enjoyed this album and it's variety more. Sort of like Lowell George's solo away from Little Feat, "Thanks, I'll Eat It Here." Love the Feat, but that individual effort is still in my Top 500 Ever. Technically, "...Prisoners" is Top 500, too, but ranked behind LG's since it was basically half of the Heep playing. I still can't get this song out of my head from a week ago...
A lot of people back then likened him to Ian Gillan. I understood it but disagreed. Ian's voice was an instrument, Byron's an accompaniment. But that didn't diminish its effectiveness within the song. He wrote well, too. While fumbling around for a video to play, I found some of the Rough Diamond group from 1977...
That's Clem Clempson of Humble Pie on guitar and the drummer played with Wings. I only have that record on cassette but I may need to search for it now.
Thanks for riding along with me on this side excursion from the norm. I'll be back soon with two new posts from female-fronted bands...
Per the previous post, I had selected a dozen tracks suitable for the "WPRK Midday Flashback." Since I had them out, I decided to take the twelve CD's to be the soundtrack to a 10.5 hour drive back to Orlando, which began at 2:45 AM, CDT. Thought I would highlight said CD's for a brief departure and a refresher course on the original version of the Mad Rocker!
I don't do lots of collections like "Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" because I already have the songs and/or disagree with the selected tracks or tracking sequence. Musical snob, I know. But when they are right, they are right. As it turned out, I had used several of my early fave collections for the Flashback show, and the initial disc was this one. Beginning from the home of Bonnaroo in the wee hours, Max Webster kicks off the journey. If you like great guitar & keys, intelligent lyrics, and a bit of wit in your rock, these friends of Rush (click here Rush fans) are for you. They were a great live band, and though the video quality is crap, the song is lyrically dead-on. Live footage from 1980...
Max got me through Chattanooga, and the Ian Gillan Band took over at the GA line, taking me down to that big lake with five exits...
One of Rock's great vocalists. And I absolutely loved the three albums this line-up released. Here is a live version of "My Baby Loves Me" from Scarabus. My God, that's hot! That is a crack band, no doubt (you young folks, that means good, not on...) And most reviewers of IGB back then seemed to think Ian was uncomfortable with this jazz/funk/metal/fusion. Bullshit. This record was more funk than jazz fusion, and Ian's voice is right where it should be, up front. Not a weak spot to be found on this 1977 release.
Yep, Rick Derringer. This grouping happened about three years after "R & R Hoochie Koo", and I happened to like the debut and its followup, "Sweet Evil." The other band members later went on to play separately with Black Sabbath, BOC, Joan Jett, etc., and collectively for one album as Axis. So the musicianship is spot-on. Good variety of songs and styles, and I've always liked his vocals and pickin'. Other guy is good, too. Listen to this private live concert cut from this album. Glad I found that. Smokin'!
So I'm through Hotlanta as the record ends...
...and this band plays to greet the light of day. City Boy was an English band that had many comparisons to Queen and others like Yes or ELO. For me, they were a British Styx. The producer of all their albums was some rookie named Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Yeah, you know the guy, ex-Mr. Twain. Or maybe you know some of the other bands he produced that hit it big right after "Book Early," like AC/DC, Def Leppard & Foreigner. Safe to say that City Boy had a good knob-spinner. This was actually a Top 30 song in the US...
Damn, I feel like VH1 Classic showing that.
City Boy gets me to the Macon bypass, and for the forthcoming stretch of South Middleofnowhere, GA, I need something that gets me pounding the steering wheel...
That'll work. Or Angel City as they were known here. An intelligent version of AC/DC. Not as punk-y as Rose Tattoo. All three named bands were Vanda & Young clients. I'd say that qualifies as a stranglehold on the genre at the time, which was 1979 for "Their Finest Hour." One funny thing I always got from them was every album contained flashes of "we wanna be the Rolling Stones for one minute." No complaints from me because I liked the Angels' "Rolling Stones" better than the real ones (you guessed it, not a big fan). This track is one of my favorites (and it could have been mistaken for a Rose Tattoo song) and I found a neat live version of it...
Around ninety seconds in, if you're not pumping a fist, pounding your foot or slam dancing around the room, then...well, I feel sorry for you. That, my friends, is what rock & roll was all about back in the day.
My journey had reached the core of South Middleofnowhere, GA, and I needed a couple more records to reach FLA. What would they be...?
More than seven years of professional radio experience and over twenty years in music retailing have provided many opportunities to introduce friends, family, co-workers and customers to great music in four different decades. Out of the biz now for more than five years, I still seek out new music to add to my enormous collection. Most in my age group gave up on finding new music years ago. To quote a line from Crack the Sky, "Why don't they make music for us anymore?" Well, they do, and I share my discoveries in a manner that is intended for those who know me, but can be appreciated by you who do not. I am not a reveiwer paid to have a piece available upon a recording's release, I write only after several listens and sometimes several weeks of spins. Feel free to comment, suggest, and enjoy!
