A final post before taking an extended break...

Yep, just can't devote enough time to do this properly for the moment, and with the holiday season upon us, do not anticipate any new posts till 2015.  I have a few titles ready to go so I'll list them with a short blurb and maybe a video...

 

 

 

 

JOE HENRY - Invisible Hour

 

Ooooofff, this storyteller stuff is fine, but damn, one would need a bowl of Quaaludes to sit through this as a whole.  I like him, but this is borrring.

 

 

 

 

JOHN MAYALL - A Special Life

 

I don't think there has ever been a more savvy bluesman in his ability to surround himself with musicians who "get" the musical blueprint he's looking for than John Mayall.  He's been recording for fifty years and hardly ever disappoints.  Not this time, either...

 

 

 

 

ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD - heartsoulblood

 

This should really be better than it is based on the group's members; Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Mike Zito and Charlie Wooten.  This is a gumbo in which someone omitted the okra...it just ain't right.  A couple of bites (tracks) are okay, but it's probably best to just throw it out...

 

 

 

UMPHREY'S MCGEE - Similar Skin

Always held a bias against this band as they were formed at a hated NCAA football school, Notre Dame.  No denying the various members' musical influences, be they jam band, jazz, improv, Zappa-esque, what-have-you, I just never found them to develop their own sound.  Per example, the opening track of this album unabashedly swipes from The Police.  Known for their live performances and wacky covers, I just wish they had melded it all into something truly original.  Fifteen years and eight studio albums later, it still hasn't happened.  Keeping three tracks and this is one... 





 

 

 

 

ROYAL BLOOD

 

I was obviously late to this party as it debuted at #30 domestically and #1 in the UK.  A bit of research finds they're on a major (WB) and a two-man band, a style of which I have vehemently argued against since the White Stripes, to whom this is most often compared.  Well, I think it sounds more like Jack White's solo efforts and this blows them away.  Won't even mention The Black Keys in the same breath.  I also heard what most everyone else mentions, Muse and QOTSA, but others reference T. Rex and Led Zep.  Simply put, this is nothing new but that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable.  Only negative is there's not enough of it at 32 minutes. 

 

Yep, that's a bass he's playing and yep, this is probably why Dave Grohl is a fan and taking them out to open for the Foos next year.




MIKE FARRIS - Shine For All The People

Completely stunned by this record.  Could not believe this was the same guy from Nashville's Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies......still shaking my head as I play this while writing.  And I believe this is the first Gospel album I've posted on.  That's right, Gospel.  The guy was a mess back in the SCW days, and apparently, he's sobered up and turned his life around, sharing the experience and joy through his music.  An acquaintance of mine used to sing BGVs for Natalie Cole years ago (she's portrayed Billie Holiday in a local production and recently sang in a Ray Charles tribute show for 2700 humans...so the woman can bring it!) and I knew she would appreciate the record, so I put on the opening track for her.  She immediately stepped back, cocked her head and asked, "Is that Al Green?  No, wait, Sam Moore?"  Nope, just a born-again rock 'n' roller who still looks the part.........white dude.  "WHAT?!?!  NO WAY!!!"  Yes, way...






PHILIP SAYCE - Influence

OK, click on this link for my post in 2012 that gives the background needed here.

Thank you.

May I now present a slightly altered excerpt of a review that I wholeheartedly endorse...

"...this is an album fueled not by moonshine, but one of quality Gin, the spirit flavored with hints and whispers of various botanicals along with the main ingredient, juniper (allow me to suggest substituting "blues" here), that tease and test your taste buds. "Influence" does the same for your ear and tests the hearing skills as you find and identify the influences from genres and guitarists including Rock, Rock n’ Roll, Psychedelia, Heavy...guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healey and others.  The overall influence is blues of every shade and tone.  This album is an aural teaser.  Every track is different with a balanced mix of divine originals and instinctual covers (Little Richard, Graham Nash) that take you to a place that is musical and spiritual; they hit that musical nerve at the bass of your spine and send tingles and shivers of delight throughout your body, creating a feeling of oneness with the music."



Still an import in the U.S. but if I can find it, so can you.  One of the best albums this year.

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And that's a fine record to sign off with................for now......

Angus & Julia Stone (Deluxe Version)

I got this immediately upon release and a few weeks later labeled it "Probably Best Album 2014" in a Facebook post for my friends.  Here it is two additional months later and I've yet to pull it from rotation.  Not that the automobile is the ideal surroundings (it's certainly not a gas-pedal pusher), but it is a wonderful aural environment for those after-dark drives to anywhere.  Over half of the tracks here are A+ material, outstanding.  Throw in the two extras in the deluxe version (though atypical of the regular album, these are two uptempo hits) and it's two-thirds @ A+.  The recommended setting for a complete spin would be betwixt a nice set of headphones or surrounded by a sweet speaker system after a few tokes of your favorite medicinal/recreation party favour.  This album recalls sounds of the late-60's all the way through today.  One reviewer likened their harmonies to Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra (damn, that's good...wish I had made that comparison) and others said they heard Dire Straits (!?) and Fartwood Mac (that's due to Julia's Stevie Nicks-like warble).  The final track of the album proper features Angus channeling Neil Young.

 

This album has had a nice run so far on plenty of international charts, hitting the Top 10 in several countries and is still ranking in France and their Australian home.  Here?  It cracked the Top 10.......Heatseekers.  Come on, Yanks, this record deserves your attention!  Their music caught the attention of one very influential American last year, someone who had heard the siblings weren't planning on doing more work together, opting for the solo route (Angus' solo is my all-time #1 post and Julia's is #3 for this past month).  This gentleman fired off separate emails to the two, expressing his desire to work with them in the studio.  Angus replied that they do their own thing when recording and do not work with "producers."  A couple of weeks later, Julia emailed her brother and asked if he understood who he had rebuffed.  Angus admitted he wasn't a credit reader, to which Julia replied with album titles they had loved as kids growing up, all of which were produced by this guy named Rubin.  Yeah, that Rubin, the head-bobbin' bearded one in this video...

 

 

And now another featured cut from a French music site...




Please, please, please, please, please American readers, support these talented kids.  And please, please, please, please, please talented kids, come back to America somewhere close to me so I can witness again your magic...

Too much work, too many albums, not enough time...(Part 3)

If you click the links to the two previous albums (self-titled and Vanishing Americans), you will read some verbiage that dumps on the two records previous to this blog, as well.  Though he's always worth the listen because of the fiery guitar and smoky vocals, I still expected this album to fall into the same line of "meh" that the last four records has formed.  Details on Indigenous albums have always been hard to come by, but I searched with renewed fervor when this album passed the keeper test.  "Glad to see that Mato is back in control of his career..." was one comment I found which had me furiously looking to see if he had heeded my advice to plop wifey outside the studio and lock the door.  Nope, she's still listed as co-writer on all but the one cover, but she must have taken a 6th-grade-level writing class because the lyrics aren't nearly as juvenile as before, though I still read comments from others that complained of simplistic lines.  There's very little that hasn't already been written and played in the Blues genre but this album didn't offend my appreciation of the blues like the earlier records. 



Mighty fine, indeed.....

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Damn near impossible to believe this is his first #1 album.  Sure, there were a couple of #2's and another ten or so in the Top 10, but to wait 36 years in this career for a Number 1 is mind-blowing.  I bought this because his last record (one of the #2s) was so good.  And it doesn't disappoint.  Solid quality throughout the album.  The Heartbreakers have to be one of the best backing bands around.  Campbell, Tench, Ferrone, et al...exceptional players.  Nowhere near the best track on the album, this is classic TP style.  I originally had embedded the clip from Jimmy Kimmel's show but it has since been deemed "private," so here's a boring visual version...



I'll get the next record, whenever that is, too.

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Many of the KISS Army legions have tossed this away like an old rag, toeing the company line that bans them from liking Ace.  IMO, it was his guitar that made the early KISS albums the only ones of merit.  Not that the music contained within Space Invader is any different than the parent brand, it's just performed with a crispness and energy that hasn't been found in a KISS record in decades.  Please, if you took those last two slabs of KISS drivel and called the band Smooch, they wouldn't have cracked the charts. 

It was a surprise to me that this was a Top 10 album.  I knew there was more upfront promotion than the previous release, but a #9 debut......really?  Wow...  Only black mark was his version of The Joker...ewwwww, what a stinker.
Saw an interview where he mentioned this as one of his favorite tracks on the album, and one of mine, too...



I like his playing, writing and droning vocal styles.  Keep kicking, Ace...

Too much work, too many albums, not enough time...(Part 2)

Vocalist Dan McCafferty has retired from touring due to his declining health and Pete Agnew's band has already named a replacement, but don't write off that distinct voice yet.  This album is far superior to the last one and has sold better as a result, charting in Sweden, Germany, Norway and Austria, as well as having a three-week run in Switzerland. 



About half of this is very good, eliciting head bobbin' and foot stompin' in the car, a few tracks are better than average and a couple aren't.  For a man who just turned 68, McCafferty's still got it.  So what if he doesn't travel?  Plop him down in a chair in the studio with a bottle of Jack on the counter and turn on the microphone.  Let the other guy sing on tour.

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This time Hiatt has stumbled, IMO.  Instead of dipping his toes in the blues as he normally does, this time he's waist-deep in them........and it doesn't work.  Color me disappointed.  I had to wait over half the album before a track finally played that had the sound I anticipated.  This isn't the song I'm referring, but it is one of the three keepers...



There is one classic tune to be found on "Terms..." and it's entitled "Old People"

Old people are pushy, cause you don't know how they feel
And when you pretend you do
Well they know it's not real
Pretty soon it's gonna be all over
Good enough reason not to let you pass
They done seem like sweet, little old people
But they are not about to kiss your ass

I'm getting to this point in my life..........

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Now this is more like it.  This will be the first Phish title added to my collection since Farmhouse in 2000.  Of course, there have only been two others since then.........details... 
This record is more mature with only a smattering of reckless abandon, yet it works.  Some tracks have short passages which hint at twenty-year-old tunes, but hint only.  The title track opener excels...



...and the single non-Anastasio penned number (solo credited to Page McConnell) is a winner, too.  My guess is the impetus came from behind the board.  Bob Ezrin, producer extraordinaire, manned this project and I have to believe there was much trust from the band as to his suggestions. 

Well done, gentlemen...... 

Too much work, too many albums, not enough time...

...to do justice to everything so I'm going to zip through some new releases that have precedent within this blog.  I will link the earlier posts and offer a short synopsis which hopefully will provide a bit of insight.  We're off...

 

Quite simply one of this year's best.  I sort of peed all over myself about the previous record two years ago though I have better bladder control this time out.  This is solid wire-to-wire.  Why it isn't a rock radio staple is only due to programmer stupidity.  It has sold far better in Europe (which is why I got to spin it again when I found it in the CD section of the in-flight entertainment on a recent overseas jaunt) than domestically and they are headed across the pond soon for about 30 dates before Christmas.  This is where my pattern of waiting a while before listening to these new albums craps on my chances of seeing a show as they've usually passed through my area before I know it. 

 

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I thoroughly enjoyed their previous record as did many others.  This one comes highly produced and shimmering (courtesy of big-bucks major label Columbia), again recalling the heyday of Indigo Girls but this time just a dab of country instrumentation.  It cracked the Top 25 domestically and charted in another dozen countries, topping the charts in their home country of Sweden and also Norway.  My ear detected three obvious singles and I got one right...



A bright, bright future lies ahead for these young ladies.  I see they are in Orlando in early November......may have to attend.

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From the ashes of Black Country Communion comes California Breed, which consists of Glenn Hughes and Jason Bonham along with some kid trying to fill the enormous shoes of Joe Bonamassa.  The clash of the two giant egos put an end to the four years of BCC and CA Breed is Hughes' answer......................meh.  Same style as BCC just not as creative.  The album hit about a half dozen charts the week it was released and quickly disappeared.  There's not much here that would stimulate a return, either.  Not a complete loss as I will probably retain about a third of it.  This is one I will keep...




Get the Rival Sons instead....

Liam Finn "The Nihilist"

 

Was very anxious to hear this new release.  I figured it would build upon the promise of his last record and also by his participation in his dad's most recent slab o' genius.  Alas, it's probably my least favorite of his small discography but it's a keeper, nonetheless.

I noted similarities to his earlier work but this is more John & Yoko than just John due to friend/collaborator Eliza Jane Barnes (yep, Jimmy's daughter... quite the lineage between these two, eh?), who is more prominent in the vocal mix this time. 



Yeah, he's a rebel.  Official video for a track called "Snug As Fuck."  "Airplay be damned, I say!"

My notes repeated the term "complicated" though there were a couple of songs, one named for Mrs. Tim Burton, which could be called pop.  I didn't say "hits," did I?  Even these tracks have way too much going on for terrestrial radio.  Here is the other of the two...



My absolute favorite tune closes the record.  "Wrestling With Dad" does exactly that, wringing Split Enz-ish influences into a shallow pool of Cure tendencies. 

One of my favorite review sites opined that more than a few of Finn's fans would be "a bit puzzled" (that's me) but also labeled him "bold" and "visionary."  I was moved to the point of checking his tour, discovering that he just wrapped up a handful of dates domestically as a support act to Warpaint (who?????). 

Oh, well, maybe next time...

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band "Goin' Home"

The ending line from my post on his live album a few years ago says, "...let's hope for new studio material in 2011."  Somehow, someway, for whatever reason, I never acquired it when it dropped a year later.  BKP didn't let that happen this time.  Packaged with the Neil Schon solo, they were a nice pair (there's a forty-plus year-old album title).  KWS is a seasoned veteran at 37, able to coerce some fine names to join him whether on stage or in studio.  This album guests Warren Haynes, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh and Kim Wilson, among others.  He covers songs by the Kings (Albert, B.B., Freddie) and SRV, to name a few.  Bandmates include Chris Layton (Double Trouble) and Tony Franklin (The Firm).  There are no flaws in the fabric.  Featured 500, here it comes...



A Willie Dixon tune made famous by Mr. Diddley.  Noah Hunt is one helluva singer.  This is another of the smokin' tracks from the record...



I had to look for his tour schedule to see if he was getting close any time soon, but alas, he's on the West Coast with the Experience Hendrix ensemble before taking his solo gig overseas.  If you want to hear him rip some Jimi, it's all over the internet.

I also discovered that the version I received contained three bonus tracks and it's worth the search, if you are interested.  One is a Howlin' Wolf cover and another is the early 60's NOLA classic, "Trick Bag," a song that I will always count the late Johnny Winter's interpretation as one of my favorites.

The Rides wasn't what I meant when I asked for studio material, though it was thoroughly enjoyable.  "Goin' Home" is what I envisioned...  

Neal Schon featuring Mendoza & Castronovo "So U"

I was very happy to see this in a recent BKP care package.  With the viability of the new Journey lineup and album and the rock veterans employed and credited on "So U," the bar was set fairly high.  And it did not disappoint.

I went back to the log book and found that I own two of his non-Journey records from the 80's, one which co-headlined Jan Hammer.  I can honestly admit that I had no idea he had released a half dozen others between then and now.  His cohorts here are pedigreed to the max.  Marco Mendoza, bassist extraordinaire, first started with Blue Murder and John Sykes in the early 90's and eventually the Thin Lizzy reformation, including the Black Star Riders from last year.  He also spent a couple of years with Ted Nugent around the turn of the century.  Deen Castonovo has been drumming in Journey for the past 15+ years and was in Bad English with Schon and Jonathan Cain for their two records in '89 and '91.  As I scanned the credits, the name Jack Blades appears as cowriter on six of the album's nine tracks.  What I didn't find was current Journey vocalist, Arnel Pineda, and I was certain he was on two of the songs, one which would fit squarely on any post-1978 Journey record.  Turns out it's Castronovo singing.  Well, I'll be damned...



Not the most inspired video setting, huh?  Actually, after watching all three "official" videos, they were all shot in front of the same green screen, and I'm guessing on the same day, only the songs, background and attire changed.  C'mon, Neil, it's not as if you can't afford it...  Maybe he knew deep down that the ROI wasn't going to justify dropping the coin because 75% of this album is more along the lines of pre-Steve Perry Journey, which was when I first discovered the band.  It was that fateful Thanksgiving holiday break in 1976 when I was finally offered a chance to do a show on WPRK...actually, it was ALL the shows from Wednesday through Saturday night, five on-air hours per, all on 25 minutes notice and 10 minutes of training.  I dropped the needle on the longest track of whatever album I played in an effort to minimize the number of cuing errors and segments featuring dead air.  This provided plenty of opportunities in those four fateful days to seriously study EVERY PIECE OF VINYL in the studio.  There were two Journey albums, the début and "Look Into The Future," both of which blew my scrambled 18-year-old brain.  Might I share a pivotal point in one of those evenings...



While there isn't anything of this caliber on "So U," the same stylings of the three pre-Steve Perry Journey records are apparent, Latin fusion/jazz/rock with some smokin' guitar.  Neil was too much rock for Carlos, but it worked for me.  As does this album.  There is nary a turd in the lot and I made three different notations which all read "This is a very good record."  That in itself is what dooms this to the Heatseekers charts and not the upper echelons of the Top 200.  It's "too rock" for the legions of "Journey fans" but not for this one...

Jack White "Lazaretto"

 

He does not need my help.  Top 10 debuts in at least 15 countries, including the US and Denmark, and still charting here and in France three+ months later.  Sadly, it suffers the same fate as Blunderbuss for me....only keeping a couple of tracks.



He looks kinda affected, don't ya think?  Maybe he was pissed because he was having to play during daylight.  This demonstrates some of his Nashville-based influences that appear on the album. Nothing like a little rock 'n' roll fiddle, especially by a dark-haired hottie in a flowing white dress wearing cowboy boots!  This also features one of my hang ups about the guy.  That yelping vocal style doesn't work for me.  Love the intensity of the music, not the singing.  Which would explain why one of the tracks I'll retain is the instrumental halfway through the album and the other features a treated vocal.

Like a shark in a tank, I'm out, until he decides to do another side project like Dead Weather and lets somebody else sing... 


 

Eno Hyde

Could barely contain my excitement when I heard of this collaboration.  Brian Eno (Talking Heads, Roxy Music, King Crimson, etc., etc., etc.) teaming up with Karl Kyde (known by most as part of Underworld but please look up Freur).  I envisioned something along the lines of Eno's Berlin trilogy of albums from the late 70's with David Bowie intertwined with Doot Doot...



First of all, Hyde is no Bowie.  Not really in possession of an identifiable voice.  Yes, there were touches of Low, Lodger and Heroes, some Freur and a smidgen of Underworld, but "Someday World" is its own creation...



Simply one of the best tracks of the lot.  Sure wish we had a show like Jools' here stateside.  Plenty of layered synthesizers, a  multitude of rhythms and a boatload of studio effects are found throughout the record's forty-five minutes.  One reviewer called it,"...an excellent exercise in beat-conscious, electronic art pop."  I won't go quite that far but I will keep it digitally.  It's a more traditionally styled record, the songs averaging five minutes a piece, more radio-ready (yeah, like radio would play any of it).  One of the major drawbacks I had with it was once the guys hit on a working groove/theme they were too quick to roll it over into the next idea.  Too much genius at work...

"High Life" came out just a few weeks later and is more the dance/club-styled record with four of the six tracks close to nine minutes in length.  Hyde said the creative juices were still flowing after completing the album proper so why not put it out there, too.  I'll tell you why not......this is way too repetitive and ventures close to the period of Underworld where they lost me with this same drivel.  I obviously don't partake in the congruous pharmaceuticals for this Ibiza-style.  Will only keep the shortest selection, a jazz/funk workout...



Reminds me of Jeff Beck back in the day.

Both releases sniffed the Top 200 but had much better showings on the Electronic and Independent Albums charts.  "Someday World" even appeared on the Rock Albums chart!  Yeah, there's guitar on it, but rock?                  No way...

Body Count "Manslaughter"

 

Actually hit the wrong button while sampling this and bought it by mistake.

Best blunder I've made in some time.

Way back in the early days of my music retailing career in a small town south of Nashville, TN, this guy named Ice-T caught the fancy of some of my more knowledgeable rap clientele (of course, I figured "Rap" to be a passing fancy.................missed that one, huh?) and one locally influential DJ kept spinning it over and over at his gigs.  Gang life in LA.....I didn't like it but I liked ringing the register.  I'll admit to being fond of the cover of his album "Power" because of the scantily clad bodacious bombshell, not him, his buddy or the guns.  Still have the poster...

 

Shortly after I moved to Orlando, he came out with what many considered the defining moment for gangsta rap, "O.G."  When he was a kid, Ice had a cousin who turned him on to heavy metal music and a track on OG had a band he put together called Body Count.  They were on the bill for the initial Lollapalooza stop in Orlando, 1991, and absolutely blew me away.  They didn't even have an album out yet!  The guitarist, known as Eddie C., was incredible.  Hell, Henry Rollins came out and did a song with them!  Call it what you want, be it speed/heavy/rap metal, there was an underlying sense of humor that got lost in all the angst that surrounded the debut album a few months later.  "Cop Killer" was the track that riled everybody up and it was later pulled from the album and the cover art was changed.  I kept a cassette (!) of the sealed original and actually considered selling it a few years ago for $15.  May be worth more now...  Honestly, it wasn't all that good, lots of clichés, but they weren't the only band of that ilk getting away with it at the time.  Since the album was a Top 25 seller, a follow-up happened quickly and Ice tried to be taken more seriously.  The humor was gone, the musical attack was akin to being bludgeoned, and it didn't sell nearly as well.  I never gave the third album a shot (no pun intended) and no one else did, either. 

Along the same timeline as Body Count, Ice-T began an acting career in the movie New Jack City and several other films followed.  He's been on TV in Law & Order: SVU since the turn of the century.  Not bad in it, either.  I didn't even know he'd put out any other music since.  Turns out there was a solo and another Body Count in 2006.  Which was why I was curious when I saw "Manslaughter" on the release board and why I was sampling it when I made the click error. 



I'm sorry but I laughed my ass off at this video.  I'll be honest and say I had no clue that "99 Problems" was his first, much less recall Jay-Z making a hit of it a decade later...all I remember is the Billy Squier sample.  "Back To Rehab" has lines that say, "You say you're done gettin' high, BULLSHIT!", "You're checkin' in next week, BULLSHIT!"  That's a funny intervention....
They update Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" and Mike Muir should be proud. 

Listen, this is better than anything they did previously and superior to 90% of the metal out there today.  Sure, there's still some rubber-stamped riffs but Ice and Eddie sound great (they are MY age, fer chrissakes) and all but one of the tracks clock in at under four minutes, so they get shit done and get out.  I read where they played Fallon but it wasn't on his channel.  I found this dude with it on his (watch it soon because you know it'll disappear) and his commentary as it plays says it all...

    

The record has appeared on Top Independent, Rock and Hard Rock charts as well as nudged the #100 spot on the Top 200.  Though it's far from anything I listen to now and even back in my younger Mad Rocker days I'd pass on most rap metal, but I'm very happy to add this to my catalog.

Blondie "Ghosts Of Download"

The band reportedly started working on this shortly after releasing their previous album in 2011 and it was supposedly ready to go over a year ago.  Delay after delay after delay.  It finally happened in May and was piggybacked onto a greatest hits redux cd.  Easy to hear why... this album sucks.  In an effort to be relevant in today's market, Blondie has pieced together a dance record via computer and it sounds like it. Generic, dull, boring, flushable...

Yeesh.....see what I mean?  While researching a clip, I found some live footage that was essentially unlistenable.  They went through this same phase on their first "comeback" around the turn of the century, trying to be "current" and not the methodology that made them stars.  I'm not alone in my repugnance as I happened across more than a couple of reviews that questioned the rationale for this record.  There was only one redeeming quality to be taken from "Ghosts of D..."...

...the cover art.

Ray Lamontagne "Supernova"

The musical chameleon.  Lamontagne was actually mentioned in my very first post with one of 2008's best releases.  That album, "Gossip In The Grain," was a complete shift in style from the previous record, "Till The Sun Turns Black," which was, and still is, my favorite of his.  A couple of years ago, he went folk/country/Americana with "God Willin'..." and won a Grammy.  Since he's a star now, I couldn't help but hear about how this new album was another cosmic shift, this time straight back to the 60's.  Had a great debut in North America and a decent showing in the UK, France and Australia.  Noticed a tour stop locally but it was being held in a venue notorious for difficult acoustics.  Figured I'd load the record onto the thumb drive and crank it up in the auto to see if it would trump my concerns about the concert hall.........................and it didn't.  Hell, it barely made the grade to keep at all, and like the Pink Mountaintops from the previous post, only digitally.  No Featured 500 for "Supernova."  

The 60's sound is all there, alright, layer upon layer of reverberated psychedelic pop/country-rock with fuzzed-up guitars, Mellotrons & Wurlitzers.........I should love this shit, but half the album was as blasé as a non-bubbling lava lamp, you know, the light works but the goo doesn't move.  Hell, on a couple of tracks I wouldn't have known it was him singing if you had given me a "name this artist" sample.  During the spins I heard some Lennon leanings, "Pet Sounds" similarities and some early Van Morrison...

 

Hand down, this title track is the best of the bunch.  It takes about three days to work its way out of my brain after hearing it.  The album's closer (track 10) is the next best selection, so with the title song coming in at #7.....that's a lot of iffy amongst the body.  Ahhhhhhhh, maybe this is why..............
the album is produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.   I  DO  NOT  UNDERSTAND  THE   FASCINATION  WITH   THIS  MAN!!!!!

Dude, get away from the artists I like, please....

Pink Mountaintops "Get Back"

 

There is so much junk in my musical trunk that I had completely forgotten my connection to this band.  One of my clients who is in the targeted demo for this blog ( > half century of age) asked if Pink Mt.tops was a spinoff of Black Mountain.  I had to say I didn't remember but I knew Black Mt. had a record a few years ago that blew me away.  I went back to the post and there it was, the reference to the fact that I "discovered" Pink Mountaintops a decade ago!  So embarrassing...    Anywho, the first four tracks of this album were exceptional, the only hindrance being the punkish vocals of the opener, you know, the off-key squalling kind, but the musical base was splendid.  Two of the next tracks had me yelling "New Model Army!" 



Sorry, thought you needed some reference material...   This is one of the tracks I referred to reminding me of NMA...



The other of the four had the 80's British style of say Inspiral Carpets or Stone Roses.  So do the connections with these bands and I'm screaming at my voice recorder, "they had better be a UK band!"  Remember that I had forgotten I had known them in the previous decade.  So, fuck me, they're Canadian.  The next half record wanders into other territories and it's OK but nothing special, and then the final track closes with 7+ minutes of outstanding psychedelic rock...



Going to make this permanent in my new digital storage location instead of the Featured 500.  Not quite good enough for a physical copy but good, nonetheless...

moe. "No Guts, No Glory"

 

I remember when this band started issuing albums some twenty years ago.  Didn't get it.  Sounded like wannabes.  Sony picked them up a few years later for three more albums.  Still didn't get it.  The last record I gave a shot was "Dither."  No indecisiveness for me...still didn't get it.  BKP sent this along a couple of months ago.  Had zero interest in picking it up for myself but at the price of gratis, I owed it a chance.



Man, that is borrriiinnnggg.  The singing has been unremarkable throughout their career but the musicianship satisfactory.  I understand why it appeals to some, though, just not moi.  For example, one long track has a nice four-minute instrumental intro before breaking into plagiarism from Pink Floyd's "Dark Side..."  Interesting?  Yes...my ears perked up a bit but I'll go listen to Phish or the original Floyd track. 

Well, it's been a long holiday weekend since writing the previous paragraph, providing the opportunity to give this one more visit and you know what?  I will keep the aforementioned track (I've given the new Phish another listen and the base Floyd song is playing now on any number of music sources) and the other nine-minute tune that closes the record. 

I truly believe these are the first moe. songs in my inventory...

Wye Oak "Shriek"

 

I believe it was a sampler disc from a couple of years ago that had a track by this band good enough to etch the name on my "future prospects" board.  I bought it the week after it dropped and started hearing some of it played on WPRK.  Female-fronted synth-pop but not quite in the 80's mode.  It made me consider Cocteau Twins and Tracey Thorn (EBTG) but then it wasn't the same by any stretch. 



I can safely say I don't recall the actual song I heard by them originally but I've learned it wasn't this style.  The previous album was very guitar driven, discovered in a bit of retro research.  That's right, Mad Rocker disciples, this was good enough for investigation of previous works.  And now that I have, I like the current approach better.  Had to take some cajones to risk pissing off the fans built by the Baltimore duo over the previous three records. 



And therein lies my Cocteau Twins reference.  I like her voice and the way the two write.  The more I listen to this album the closer I get to buying the previous one!  A two-person band, no less...

I realize as I close that the two linked songs above didn't include my favorite track.  Oh well, the first seven are all worthy tunes.  The album's final three are ok but don't have the cachet of the previous. 

No matter, I'll purchase the next Wye Oak immediately...

War "Evolutionary"

I had to wonder what this actually was when BKP sent it over.  There was a compilation in the early 90's called "Rap Declares War" that reintroduced the group to the generation of kids raised on rap artists who sampled some of the band's catalog to make their mark.  The surviving members tried to capitalize on their new notoriety with an album and tour (they played a free show in the old Cheyenne Saloon when rain forced the reduced crowd inside......and they kicked ass!) but it didn't sell.  Jerry Goldstein had discovered War in the late 60's and essentially owned the band and its name, so when the album tanked, all but Lonnie Jordan walked away.  Those guys have been the Lowrider Band since, but I had hoped that time had healed the wounds and a reformation was afoot.  Nope.  "Evolutionary" is Lonnie Jordan and a cast of others all helmed by Goldstein, who you might remember seeing in the news a couple of years ago as he squatted in his foreclosed mansion after it had been sold at auction.  Sooooooooo, how the hell did he get money to fire this record off?  Beats me, but this is a much better project than I ever expected.  There are some of the old War blueprint sounds scattered about and though I can't say this flows in the currents of today's music, it still has singles potential throughout.  Obvious first choice was this one...



They are currently touring with Cheech & Chong, too!  Judging from this record, if the studio band is on the road for this tour then I may just have to go.  There are only one or two soft spots on the record yet several highlights.  Three tracks are based on unrecorded War material from who knows when, but I doubt Harold Scott and the others will see any residuals.  There are critics who must hold a grudge against Goldstein and his treatment of the band brand because reviews have been mixed, at best.  I'll admit to expecting the worst but will end up keeping the entire disc.  It's still a mix of Latin, jazz, soul, funk, rap and a hint of rock.  Jordan sounds good, the band is sharp with its rhythms, and song quality is surprisingly efficient.  Hints of Sly Stone and Sonia Dada made my notes.  There's an updating of Whitfield/Strong's "War," of Edwin Starr's fame and a track called "Bounce," that if neither the Lakers nor Clippers pick it up for in-house use during games then someone needs to be fired. 

Included with this new album was a bonus disc of greatest hits, radio edits.  Gawd, how I hate that!  How can you cut "Slippin' Into Darkness" in half, trim "Gypsy Man" of six minutes, and reduce this to four?!?!



Even though I have the vinyl tucked away, I'm pretty sure they are worn out, so I'm off to buy the three original albums and maybe "War Live," too...

Walter Trout "The Blues Came Callin'"

 

I'd say so.  A diagnosis of liver failure would fit the title of this album which was written and recorded after first learning of his problems.  He said it himself that his early days of debauchery had come back to haunt him.  Damn near killed him.  He finally received a new liver about three months ago and recovery hasn't been easy.  The man is down to 120 lbs. and he used to be a pretty big dude!  The album shows the effects of his illness, written as if it would be his last.  Songs called "Wastin' Away" and "The Bottom of a River" are first-person penned standing at death's door.  When I saw a picture of him........oh, boy, did he look pale and drawn.  His vocals suffered from the lack of strength on all but one track and he included an extra instrumental probably for the same reason.  The writing is quite impressive and the fretwork still smokes.  Here is the label's pre-release trailer...



I hope you watched the video.  John Mayall (I have his new record in queue thanks to BKP) at 80 looks better than Walter!  Shout outs from Lukather and Sayce were cool to see.  I have posts on the previous two records Trout issued but look them up for yourself.  Since there's not any chance for support, here is a video of the man from shortly before he was stricken...



Now that's what I've come to love about WT, which makes it difficult to hear an album like this one.  I will play it another time or two before I decide to keep it as a whole. 

Here's hoping for a full recovery and another Walter Trout album.

Art Vs. Science "Create/Destroy"

 

I don't normally fool with EPs but this Australian band was recommended to me a couple of years ago when LCD Soundsystem was wrapping up their existence.  By the time I
discovered A.vs.S.' debut album it was past the designated time threshold I employ for my purchases, but I squirrelled away the name in the musical mausoleum lobe of my withered brain and was genuinely pleased that it floated to the front some thirty months later when I saw this EP released digitally in April.  Now that I've enjoyed it's twenty-something minutes of danceable, New Wave fun I understand why the comparison to LCD was made, though it wasn't exactly the same thing.  LCD was much more involved and intelligent, this EP just lays down the simple beat and surrounds it with all sorts of instruments and noises.  Thirty years ago, a record like this would have had five different remixes of each song targeting the dance floors of clubs throughout the land....



Man, if that doesn't make you grin then go away.  I await the next full-length...

Joan as Police Woman "The Classic"

 

Her last album had enough promise to justify purchasing this new one, which was released in March.  Finally making it through the three rotations and I noted this would have been one of those vinyl LPs from years-gone-by-that-happened-at-a-previous-time-historically-speaking, of course, where one side gets all the plays.  In this case, it would be Side 1 (A).  When I sat down to start this post, I went back to the one from 2011 and damn, I was going to say the same things about this record as I did the last, so click here and you'll have an idea of what "The Classic" is all about, too... 

 

This is the album's opener and a far superior video than its predecessor, which is actually a better song.  I truly don't quite understand how these records haven't had any chart success since they should appeal to the fanatical Amy Winehouse followers. 

Maybe it's the "Police" part of the name that scares them off?

Gazpacho "Demon"

I've never liked gazpacho, the soup, but while researching uses for leftover Bloody Mary mix, I found a promising recipe from Ina Garten (Da Vida) that turned out to be a wonderful mixture which has changed my view on this cold, liquid medley.  Gazpacho, the band, took the name based on "the bastard of soups...(offering) a surprise, something unexpected, something out of the norm..."  They hail from Norway (I was trying to think of others from there....was A-Ha Norwegian?) and started recording a dozen years ago.  I noticed the band's name on Steven Wilson's label, Kscope, and mistakenly ass-u-me(d) progressive rock and purchased this record which dropped in early April.  My copy has five tracks (most list four) and clocked in at 49 minutes.  One is 12:30 in duration, another is 18:30.  Was I that wrong to guess prog rock?  This is where doing my research post purchase/listen bit me in the ass.  This is art rock.....depressing art rock.......boring art rock....... popping-Quaaludes-like-tic-tacs art rock....



I NEVER get that wasted (anymore).  I don't want to be around people that wasted.  I don't want to listen to depressing music.  So this is where the entire file went...

The War On Drugs "Lost In The Dream"

 

Well, I lost all my audio notes to a dumb phone getting older so I'm going to wing it the best I can.  My post on this band's previous album received quite a few views but I'm unsure what moved people to check it out.  It wasn't the most positive review but I did have some cool bands linked within.  I only kept one track but was intrigued enough to seek this new one out upon its release in late March.  I had no impetus to flash it past other records in the queue until I saw it top one critic's list for Best Albums Of 2014 (First Half).  So for the past month I've played this through several times.  In no way, shape or form is it one of the year's best but it certainly is a keeper as a whole with only a couple of quibbles. 

This is most certainly an American rock record.  Gone is the New Wave-ish bent of the previous one, replaced here by every studio effect on the console.  Quibble #1; there is scarcely an instrument or vocal that isn't treated in some form.  Heavy is the presence of the Tom Petty influence of the previous album and the Dylan manifestation would work if Bob had crystal meth in his youth.  I also noted places where this sounded like Springsteen on speed.  Absent was the U2 chiming, replaced by a Waterboys sensibility and a Mumford energy. 



That's the only official video I could find and it was pretty worthless as far as the visual goes.  That's not a quibble I had initially intended but let's add it anyway.  Quibble #3; half the songs are 6 minutes and longer (that's not my objection) but there's this "electric atmospherics" aspect to several songs that only adds minutes of droning waves of guitar mutations.  Jesus Christ....there are eleven engineers listed in the credits and you'd think at least one of them would have said, "OK, that's enough!" 



There we go.....that's more like it.  Rock song!  Tracks like this are what has helped it vault into the Top 30 of the 200 chart...

...but Best Of The Year consideration?  Not in my snobbish opinion but at least I kept it, which is  >50% of the records I've acquired so far in the past seven months.....

Selwyn Birchwood "Don't Call No Ambulance"

Just like the Joel DaSilva from a few posts ago, had not heard of this guy until I saw him listed on the bill playing before Ana Popovic at the Mt. Dora Blues~n~Groove a couple of months ago.  He had the dusk slot immediately preceding Ms. Pop because he won the 2013 International Blues Challenge's band category.  Little did I know that he was born here in Orlando, went to the University of Tampa and has since settled there.  Did not know he had two other albums available.  What I do know, however, is HE BLEW ME AWAY!  I texted BKP during the show things like, "OH.....MY.....GAWD!" and "I have seen/heard a future blues legend."  He possessed a relaxed stage presence wearing a big smile most of the time, conversationally speaking to the audience about the new material he was playing from his Alligator Records debut (which was why I sprinted to the merch tent as soon as his set was finished only to find it hadn't dropped yet), displaying fretwork along the lines of Buddy Guy/SRV/Albert Collins and singing like the bastard son of Darius Rucker.  Oh, and the songs were good, too.....duh.  On the day of the album's release three weeks later, paid full price for the download and threw it into the player.  It was just as fine the second time hearing the songs' studio versions.  Since there seems to be no theatrical videos I will go to an Alligator-sanctioned live one for an example.  Sound quality is low on this one so TURN IT UP!

The saxophone gets substantial solos, too, throughout the record and the live performances.  I had alerted my Nashville-area friends via Facebook to a show in their region and a former M4L employee who does a local entertainment blog messaged me saying he was doing two upcoming shows out at the Lakeridge Winery.  Well, I jotted the dates down and actually got to go on a Saturday afternoon.  Certainly didn't drink the liquid jelly they claim is wine but I did buy a couple of other beverages to show my support because the concert was FREE!  They played two 75 minute sets in the 90+ degree heat for tip/gas money!  Birchwood was telling the crowd (indeed, a crowd) about all the upcoming travel involved promoting the album and literally was soliciting gas money.  Unbelievable...  When they took a break, Birchwood was selling his CD for $20 a pop and people were lining up!  That's a healthy profit over what I paid but he was talking with everyone, signing the insert, taking pictures....truly working the new fan base.  I waited for everyone to clear and then stepped up to meet him.  I said I bought the record on release and wanted to shake his hand while I could because, "...you'll soon be too big to have to do this."  He laughed and thanked me for the positivity.  I told him that I believed the track from the new record called "Tell Me Why" should be on every rock radio station for years to come and he looked genuinely surprised to hear someone say that.  You decide...
 


Gotdammit, I got goose bumps just watching that video.  The sax wasn't terribly prominent in it because he was amped on the opposite side of the stage but I'll tell you, the man works that thing so hard that I was tired for him!  The band makes a return visit to the winery in about ten days for the grape stomping event and has 2 1/2 hours listed for his set, all for a $2 donation to a charity......damn right I'm going to try to get there!

I'm an unapologetic musical snob (just ask my wife) and I don't get on many bandwagons, but I want to drive that fucker for this guy...

Elbow "The Take Off And Landing Of Everything"

Not much else I can add at this point to earlier posts ("...Rocket..." "Dead...") on the band except this album finally gave them the #1 that had eluded them previously.  Also provided their highest chart position here in the States at #83 but I believe it disappeared a week later.  If you've ever thought yourself to be a Peter Gabriel disciple, buy this album today.  Layered, melancholy, dream-pop of which half the record's ten tracks log in at > 6 minutes.



Can't put this album on to liven up a soiree but share a party favour with a friend or three and sit down to digest this as a whole.  It's a crafted slice of magic...

Future Islands "Singles"

I had such high hopes for this when I read about it on a critic's page and saw legendary label 4AD in charge.  New Wave/80's synth-heavy with a flash of electric guitar here and there, but it was the voice at the forefront.  Initially it made me think of Martin Fry of ABC fame but repeated play morphed it into Men Without Hats territory........you know, one-hit-wonder. 

Believe me when I tell you I did zero research on this before going through the requisite three spins.  Each time I started it I liked the opening track but grew more and more weary of this guy's over-the-top vocal theatrics.  My mind's eye pictured an outrageous front man with the band silhouetted in the shadows playing their instruments ably and stoically.  Boy, I hit that one on the head....



There are nearly 2.2 MILLION views of this clip.  Think the guy knows Jack Black?  Dave looked genuinely entertained by the antics.  This is the only keeper as far as I'm concerned and the studio version reaps benefits from one of those power chord guitar inserts I mentioned earlier.  Along with all the keyboards are some real strings and horns, not synthesized faux ones, but they don't help.  Here is another live performance but it's in a radio studio and one of the more down tempo tracks...



There, there, now...wasn't that nice?  I hope you catch the sarcasm...

What I missed was my supposition of an English band based on the 4AD connection.  Wayyyyyyyyyyy wrong.........they were art students from North Carolina!  So I'm not shocked to see the record has had its best showing in the UK and Ireland with a combined dozen weeks on the charts.  It debuted domestically at #40 on the Top 200 and two weeks later was gone.

Didn't I mention "one-hit wonder?"  

Yellow Ostrich "Cosmos"

 

Decided to give this a sampling after reading a glowing review of the NYC-based band's third full-length.  Hmmmm, an American band with two previous records unbeknownst to me?  That's an 0-2 count right there.  Still, I put the first couple of tracks through a 90-second examination and was pleasantly surprised.  What I eventually wound up with is my "Discovery Of The Year"...so far.




When you watch the video, notice where the band is playing.  That's their Brooklyn practice space where the singer/guitarist (the band was originally his solo project) holed up for nine months before working on this album.  No windows!  He synthetically adjusted the room's lighting to simulate day and night and studied the galaxy and distinguished astronomers' work (Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" became the album's title).  Ironic, huh?  The band's drummer had a related experience as he sailed for a month from Mexico to Hawaii.  Closed up in a room versus out in the open?  Inspiration strikes in many ways and these extremes have led to 36 minutes of brilliance.  Mostly recorded in that same tiny practice space, you bring in knob-spinners who've worked with Death Cab For Cutie, Sparklehorse, Radiohead and the Pixies and you get a sonic gem for the ears.  The notes I made said, "This is what Beck would be like if he had a pulse again" and "my expectations for the Gotye album finally arrived in this recording."



Trust me, I'm keeping an eye out for a live date close by and I eagerly await the next release.

Steven Wilson "Cover Version"

I wasn't going to bother with this because it's a compilation of CD singles he released whilst still in Porcupine Tree but BKP sent it over, so I will add it to the hard drive.  All of the singles themselves were limited editions and this is the first time they have been made available to the masses.  These are solo performances with minimal additions, mostly restrained and reflective, not at all what he was doing with PT or his more recent ventures.  The choice of covers are what interested me.  For a few years now I've marveled at his eclectic taste, semi-regularly visiting his website to follow his playlists.  In June, his selections included Tears For Fears, Andy Partridge, Wire, Townes Van Zandt, Swans & Thin Lizzy.  Go back through earlier months and you'll find Roy Harper, Budgie, John Barry, Ian Anderson, Sigur Ros, Love, The The, Al Stewart, Underworld, The Strawbs, Durutti Column, The Waterboys, Cocteau Twins, The Jam, Butthole Surfers and a shitload of names I didn't recognize.  So let's see what he choose to do in that span of years between '01 - '10;
Alanis Morissette's "Thank You," a Cure single from their second album, a centuries-old English folk ballad and a little-known Donovan composition from an album that failed to chart after the previous dozen had done so.  My favorite of the lot was his version of Prince's "Sign O' The Times."  It really fuzzes out about the 3:00 mark.  And finally, after believing this was a brilliant original song by Blancmange from thirty years ago...



...I noticed the writing credits and damn near threw up.  Did you see the hint in the video?  I honestly had no clue this was one of the last ABBA singles ever (worldwide, that is, it wasn't released domestically).  I've since gone back and listened to their version......awful.  Guess it really was a signal of the end for them.  Anyway, Wilson's version is slightly shorter, simpler and more haunting. 

If you are a ravenous fan of any of the cover songs, they are worthy of a $1.  The collection as a whole is for long-time fans.............................like moi.