Rival Sons "Head Down"

I wish I could remember who suggested this band to me earlier this year.  Kim S., was that you?  Anyway, the track heard first was good enough for me to investigate some of the others and damn if they weren't impressive, too.  Then I started hearing it on my beloved WPRK.  Sounded mighty fine coming through the auto audio system.  "Well, let's get this bad mamma-jamma..."  Started to seek it out and discovered it had been released in the early summer of '11.  I already had at least ten other recent releases in line and couldn't justify acquiring an album that I wouldn't post on for another couple of months, so I decided to wait for the next one.  Fortunately, I did not have to wait very long.

This arrived September 17 and I had it two days later.  Just took it out of the player last week.  Here is where I would put the opening video, but the band's VEVO channel doesn't allow embeds so fuck 'em.  Some fellow in Britain has provided this in-depth sampler of the entire record. 



About 9 minutes in you'll come to track 7, one of my favorites.  Sort of comes off like early Grand Funk Railroad doing a "Spirit In the Sky" riff.  About half of the 8:20 of Manifest Destiny (Pt. 1) is a wailing guitar solo and the closing track brings to mind Roy Orbison/Chris Isaak/Tim Buckley.  The kid can sing.  I had to look to see if Joe Bonamassa was guest vocalizing.  Also heard a little Paul Rodgers, too.  Most of the descriptions I've read on the band mention Led Zeppelin or Black Crowes, and I guess I get that.  I envisioned black & white footage of the British Invasion of the 60's, specifically jotting down the Animals, early Who, Cream and the Rolling Stones.

"Head Down" is far superior to anything The Black Keys have ever done and I like it better than Kings of Leon, too.  My money says that Jack White is a fan.........it's better than his record as well...

Robert Cray Band "Nothin But Love"

 

Jumped on this guy's bandwagon when he started out on Hightone Records in '83.  The album with Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland a couple of years later was spectacular.  He won a Grammy the following year and had an extremely successful world tour.  Took too long to follow up after that, in my opinion.  The records started sounding the same and I leapt off the wagon in '97. 

Started reading some very positive reviews about this new album and noticed hot-producer-of-the-moment, Kevin Shirley, was manning the board.  I've always liked Cray's vocals, his fret work is usually very concise, and the big releases for the 4th Q hadn't dropped yet when I ordered this five weeks ago.  Wish I had waited...

As I told a friend on Facebook the other day as we traded comments on the new Donald Fagan, "...it sounds fine but I don't need more of the same ol', same ol'."  That statement applies to "Nothin But Love."  I think owning five RC albums is more than enough.  The sweet vocals are still there and the musicianship across the band is fine, but the songs themselves are too sterile and similar to everything he's done before.  Not a total disappointment...



Live from Fordham University last month.  Best song on the record for many reasons.  But I had to make it to the last track before a big smile came across my face.  It's a live version of  "You Belong To Me," a 60-year-old track most famously recorded by Jo Stafford and also charted for Dean Martin and Patti Page.  You may recall it in the Shrek movie or Bob Dylan's version in Natural Born Killers.  The live setting smokes...makes you tap your feet and nod your head. 

In other words, skip this album and use the money to see him in concert domestically before Christmas.   

Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares

 

Got wind of this when Jon Lord passed away three months ago and wondered aloud on my Facebook page if we would get anything more than the charity CD single.  These three guys plus Iron Maiden and ex-Pat Travers drummer Nicko McBrain and former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted equals a pretty serious supergroup.  They had originally put the two songs out to continue humanitarian aid for those affected by the Armenian earthquake of 1988.  Some of you may remember the Live Aid-styled reworking of "Smoke On The Water" with Gillan, Iommi and Lord, along with a host of metal stars.  A charity album and video were also part of the project, as well as a cover of Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll", of which McBrain was involved.   All these guys had developed a bond with the country's people and their plight and some twenty years later were trying to raise funds to help build a music studio.  Who said metalheads don't have a heart?

I honestly did not know that the single was a year old.  I had hoped for a full album of new material.  The two tracks were outstanding.  Sadly, it will never be.  What we have now with this double CD collection is a couple of lifts from previous albums and several rarities, mostly featuring Gillan.  One of my favorite Black Sabbath albums was "Born Again," which had Gillan in the band.  Meaner and heavier than anything Ozzy did.  A direct lift from the record is "Zero The Hero."  Another song was called "Trashed," but this version was  rerecorded a few years ago by essentially Deep Purple with Iommi on guitar.  I liked the original better and may now have to digitally upgrade my worn out cassette copy of "Born Again." 

You know what?  There are a couple of 4 1/2 minute videos that sample the tunes from each CD.  One minute in, you'll see the liner listing the tracks and assorted info.  I'll let you do that before I wrap up...

   




I really like the fourth track from CD 1, which is a twenty-year-old song with a Greek star of some magnitude.  You'll see the name of British metal legend Glenn Hughes on two songs from 2005.  Need I say more about that?  The last three songs from disc 2 are highlights for this Ian Gillan fan.  The Garth Rockett thing happened after DP's "House Of Blue Light" and is impossible to find.  What a great live rock and roll song, and it sounds like Brian May on guitar, though I know it isn't.  "...Blind Man..." was originally recorded in the Machine Head days but only released as a B-side.  DP never played it as long as Blackmore was in the band, but Gillan has used it many times over the last twenty years.  This version is from a radio performance with only Steve Morse accompanying on guitar.  The final track was a warm up jam done here in Orlando in 1995 while DP was recording their first album with Morse as the permanent guitarist.  Once you get past the drunken silliness at the beginning, you get a toe-tapping blues workout that absolutely smokes.  Great way to close the collection. 

This is a "preaching to the choir" kind of release, a stroll down Mad Rocker Memory Lane, heavier on Gillan than Iommi, but it's outstanding.  A 9 on a 10 scale.

Sea + Air "My Heart's Sick Chord"

 

Found this at the same time as Hey Ocean! and happened to line them up back to back in the changer's rotation.  Lots of similarities and subtle differences.  Sea + Air is a husband/wife duo from Germany, though the missus is of Greek heritage, and I'll describe their music as art pop.  It's a shade darker and more melancholy overall than HO!, possibly influenced by more male lead vocals.  Only the two members, each will play up to five instruments within one song in concert.  Here is a live version of a track from the album...

   

Yep, that's a harpsichord, and it appears on several songs.  He grew up with one in his house and used to listen to Bach baroque pieces.  He also played drums in a punk band.  She was a folklore dancer never allowed to sing, and she can play a bass with her feet...  Go figure.  They had been at the music game since the turn of the century but finally got the break they needed when they opened for Whitney Houston on the European leg of her last tour.  Hell, they were probably better than Whitney was...  "My Heart's..." was recorded shortly thereafter in the first half of last year and they have been on the road supporting it since.  Only in the last couple of weeks, though, has the record seen worldwide release.  I knew from my first spin that something would come from this song, and sure enough, it is the first official single, partnered with PETA (I support the idea but not their methodology...they are basically a terrorist organization).  The band put the video on their YouTube channel two days ago...



The sound is fleshed out on record, as you should be able to hear.  It is well worth the ten or so bucks. 

I wish them luck as they begin another year on the road.  Don't think the States are on the itinerary since they were refused entry last year by Homeland Security (wonder what evil they are guilty of according to our government; intelligence...culture?).  Damn shame because The Plaza here in Orlando would be a perfect venue.

Hey Ocean! "IS"

A couple of years ago while obsessing about The Cat Empire, I saw that the Feline Monarchs had toured Canada with this Vancouver-based band.  Filed that little tidbit of info away in my cobweb-covered brain without writing it down.  Amazed that it weaseled its way back into my conscious mind (must be the gingko biloba) a couple of months ago when I saw this album on the Canadian charts.  Any association with Cat Empire is worth a listen, and Hey Ocean! did not disappoint.  In fact, it's one of the smartest releases of 2012. 

My genre designation for "IS":  Intellipop.  Catchy pop songs but more complex and layered, utilizing more than your normal instrumentation.  Hell, the album's opening riff is a thumb piano! 



Doesn't hurt that the focal point of the band is a buxom, bleached-blond (Canadian-style) bombshell with a pretty voice and musical ability.  I've learned that she is also a voice talent for some cartoon shows north of the border.  The other two male members of the band also sing well and obviously write some cool music.   They have major label backing with this album (just look at the additional musicians on the above video) and some amazing videos to show for it.  First-rate studio and producer, too, though I don't know who it is.  How the hell they are still relegated to opener status on concert bills or only ask $3 for a ticket to see them on their own is way beyond my understanding.  This band deserves Barenaked Ladies-like success.  That's some high praise, indeed. 

You heard a version of the record's first track.  About three tunes deep, I dictated a note feeling a happy vibe, but not the shiny-happy of the Asteroids Galaxy Tour.  Later, I felt the pop genius of Ladyhawke, but without the hard edge.  One of the true positives of this album is that the songs in their basic form are incredible.  Here is proof...





It's an absolute crime that this is not physically available in the United States.  Well, there are two domestic sites listed on Amazon that will send you one for approx. $9 plus shipping, or you can click here for the band's website and buy it digitally.  The version I bought had the Big Blue Wave EP attached and the cover of Phil Spector's "Be My Baby" is worth every penny.

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite albums of the year. 

Storm Corrosion

 

Frontman from Porcupine Tree + frontman from Opeth = ambient music????  I'd have never guessed that in a million years.  It was all quiet atmospherics when I sampled the first thirty seconds or so of a couple of the songs, but I ASS U ME d the lengthy tracks would break into some prog/folk/metal hybrid.  Not even close.  Hell, there's percussion on about eight of the forty-seven minutes of music and probably less vocals than that.  Some reviews (which I wish I had read before purchasing) label it minimalist classical.  I'd say it's more New Age-y than anything.  My automobile is the environment for 95% of my music consumption and this album is too damn quiet for it.  There were no peaks to make me want to play this in the house.  Listen for yourself...



WAKE UP!   If you sat through all nine-plus minutes of that then you may have an interest in the entire project.  Back in the day when I was feelin' fine on 714's, melted onto a bean bag chair, this album would have worked.  Not today.  I don't have the patience to get it.  But it is not a total loss.  Track #5 has a "Welcome To The Machine" and/or "Animals" vibe to it.  Maybe that's why one commenter said this will be his new Floyd.  Hey dude, I hear you can still get some good 'ludes from South Africa...

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood "Big Moon Ritual"

The Black Crowes shot their wad with their debut in 1990.  Everything since has paled in comparison.  It is amazing to me that Chris Robinson still has a national career.  I figured he'd be dead by now or dried up so much that he could only play Wally's.  So why did I buy this?  Soft part of the new release schedule and it's sixty minutes spread across only seven songs.  It was shortly after the purchase that I read it had a Grateful Dead vibe.  Too late...never a Deadhead...only own one record (wanna guess which one?).  Certainly a Dead sound on the album's 12-minute opener.  As I soldiered through the required spins I cited a Doobie Brothers sound here, a Little Feat sound there, Widespread Panic across the board.  Here is the only track I'm keeping...



I'm sorry, but his voice just isn't good enough to carry an entire album.  A track or two, maybe, like the one above.  Once he shuts up, many of the instrumental passages are more than adequate, certainly Bonnaroo worthy...secondary stage, of course.

Dead Can Dance "Anastasis"

 

Their first album since 1996 and it is a microcosm of their decade-long musical history.  If you were ever a fan of DCD, you need this album.  For those of you who missed out on them the first time around, it's worth a try.  Originally from Australia, Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard found success in London with the 4AD label, along with This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins.  I found the music to be interesting and the album graphics outstanding.  Someone on my staff, though, always seemed to be more enlightened with the band than I, and being the gracious manager that I was (did I hear a snicker?), I passed all the promos out to my employees.  That's right, I do not own any DCD full-lengths. 

That will not change with "Anastasis."  Years ago, I believe I dubbed DCD "Gothic New Age," and that basically holds true still.  I've seen "ethnic fusion" and "dreamy world pop" used for this album.  I suppose those monikers are more apropos as it's been #1 on the World Music chart.  You may recognize Gerrard's name from her movie soundtrack work over the last fifteen years, most notably "Gladiator."  For her half of this album, I jotted down Cirque du Soleil because you could close your eyes and imagine you are at "La Nouba."  A paid reviewer who was less than enamored with the album called it "artsy-fartsy Enya."  Perry's contributions were more enjoyable for me with the album's opening track the highlight...



That same reviewer also called this the album's brightest moment, but "...it’s about as fun as a funeral procession...with Perry moaning like a half-drunk Vincent Price over a strangely unsettling orchestral trip-hop groove."  Overall, he said the album was, "...sort of like the soundtrack to a bad History Channel documentary."  Dammit, that's funny... 

The band is touring in support of this album and recently finished the U.S. leg.  You can find several fan cam videos on YouTube.  Lots of synths and a drummer.  It must have sold well because the album had a top 50 showing domestically on the overall chart along with the World #1.  They are doing Europe this month and 14 of the 17 dates are already sold out. 

As I said before, I'm not keeping the entire record but I will commit half of it to the hard drive.  As it turns out, it will be two by each member.  In fairness, let me offer up one of Gerrard's keepers...



I have one piece of advice to offer for complete enjoyment of this album:  play only after dark...