Anders Osborne "Peace"

This also arrived in a BKP care package in November with the message, "...in heavy rotation."  I had such a backlog of recordings that this only made the player three weeks ago and now I'm upset with myself for missing out for four months.  This is easily one of my favorite albums of the past half year.

A Swede transplanted to New Orleans in 1990 at age 24, his first big album arrived five years later via a Sony label and I swear I had it in my collection but my index suggests otherwise.  Besides releasing a dozen or so albums since, he's also worked with and/or contributed songs to Keb' Mo', Tab Benoit, Tim McGraw, Kim Carnes and Galactic, to name a few.

As far as this album is concerned, I find that I've made the same observations as many others who reviewed this months ago when it was released. There's a heavy resemblance to Neil Young on the opening title track, performed live here, but skip the first two minutes of buildup...



...and a Whiter Shade of Pale vibe on this track, though it's more apparent on the studio version than here...



You will note the swing from heavy to reflective in the two songs.  This would have been a classic A-side/B-side piece of vinyl back in the day.  The first five song songs are head-bobbing/foot-stompin' slabs and it isn't fair to even consider turning off before the twenty-four minutes are done.  The final five are more the melancholy, meditative variety which were initially difficult to digest after the rockin' first half but became easier, and better, when played on their own.  Since this was a CD and not an LP, there is a track placed between the two varying styles designed, I'm guessing, to separate the two, 157 seconds of psychedelia that had me in the car yelling, "Number 9, Number 9, Number 9."  Try it for yourself here...  As for a couple of observations I made that I didn't read, one is the studio vocals have a Joe Walsh-whine in several locations and a Boz Scaggs-howl on some of the slower tunes.

While finishing this up, I've been wading through some other videos of his and the first half of this record again.  I have to play one more song...



A nice little autobiographical track that made me comment, "Jack Johnson and John Mayer can kiss my ass!"  I won't let another of his records slide through the cracks.  Hope he has new material sooner than later...

Vargas Blues Band "Heavy City Blues"

I was truly thrilled to see this come through in a BKP musical care package.  After acquiring the compilation from 2012, I was ready for a new release.  Boy, was I disappointed...

I'll be nice and call this an Eco-friendly/Green project.  Translated that would mean recycled 70's rock riffs.  Blues?  Barely.  What I heard sounded along the lines of Aerosmith, Grand Funk Railroad and maybe The Runaways/JJ & the BH (which would ramp it to the 80's).  And not the best of said bands but the worst.



Yeesh, see what I mean?  I've got enough generic rock like that from forty years ago...I certainly don't need any more.  But the album wasn't a total loss, though.  This will be the only track I'll keep...



Of course it's the likeness to Nazareth's Dan McCafferty that makes this work for the old Mad Rocker, certainly not the Everly's, Orbison or Emmylou versions.

Maybe Spain has missed out on having bad blues-rock music somehow.  Well, this should help catch them up.  Should any of my domestic readers be blown away by either of these songs you are in luck.  This is now available to you via the digital market for $9.49.

You sure you don't have a Twisted Sister record to listen to instead?

Dear Pete...

I'm very sorry you had to leave us so soon.  It may be selfish of me but I wish we would have had one more bull session or one more concert together.  I dare to say that I ran into about a hundred others this past weekend who would have been just as selfish.  It made me happy to see Brett and Melissa again and to reconnect with Jet, Mallie and Jim.  I'm glad I got to make the acquaintance of several  others from your teenage days, some I remember, some I didn't (I'm sorry), and some for the first time.  They all knew you better than I did and it's difficult to fathom how they feel knowing how I do.  One of the stories that kept popping up Friday night was about a band nobody seemed to know anything about and how you steered them to me saying if anybody could get it...  Well, that band was Fields Of The Nephilim and I've been listening to them all weekend in your honor...



Another favorite band we shared was Masters of Reality and I was so happy to hear some Sunday at the gathering at Park Ave CDs where they were spinning from your actual collection.  Since I still have a couple of their recordings readily attainable from my Featured 500, I grabbed "Live At The Viper Room" for a listen.  The version of "Goin' Down" flat out kicks ass, as you know...



Three concert stories to remember and share...  The first is one when you really had zero interest in the band but under the threat of terminating your employment I made you go (yeah, like that was necessary...).  It was January 13, 1993, and Widespread Panic was on the road just before dropping their third album, "Everyday," which would go on to be the band's first to crack Billboard's Top 200...barely.  The show was at Fern Park Station, made of converted railroad cars, so maybe a couple of hundred people max.  About halfway through the second set, I look over and you are twirling under the finger of a cute Rollins co-ed with this huge smile on your face...priceless.  The second story is about a band you were very fond of, Fishbone.  I don't recall the song but I remember Angelo jumping onto the floor at The Beacham for a romp through the modest crowd.  A line of followers grew behind him...and suddenly I noticed you were at the head of said line.......again, that wide grin...



The last story was getting you to The Social for a band you knew nothing about at the time, dredg.  Couldn't have been three minutes into the show when you turned to me with a wide-eyed, jaw-dropped look of amazement and mouthed the words "thank you" to me.  I'll never forget that as long as I live.

I'm very glad I got to see your mother again Sunday and to also meet the rest of your family.  The room full of people had been touched by your love of music and your ability to relate to each and every one of them.  I tried desperately not to get misty-eyed but couldn't do it.

Well, buddy, we had long existential conversations which you now have another slant on.  When I take the next step, please look me up so we can continue our chat from our new vantage point.

With much love from your friend,

Phil

Blitzen Trapper "VII"

There is not much else I can add to the previous posts on this band.  Very happy with this record,
less so with this one, and really pissed off at the lack of local support for this concert.  And now we have  post #4 on this band in the four+ years I've been doing this.  Yeah, I like 'em...

Here was my first audio note:  "Best Southern rock album from a non-Southern band."  And therein lies the fun of Blitzen Trapper...one never quite knows where they'll be headed musically.  They've done prog rock, Americana, country, folk, classic rock...meaning they are always worth the listen.  "VII" straddles most all of those genres but settles mostly into something that sounds as if it was born in Alabama, not Oregon.  One track I blurted out "Atlanta Rhythm Section!"  ARS may not translate into "Southern" for many of you, especially you younger bucks, but that's the style of "Southern" I'm referencing.  A modern-day equivalent could be Drive-By Truckers.  Midway through the disc I noted "Odelay-era Beck" and later on I thought I heard a lost Blues Image song.  Whoa, I just realized I haven't added anything for you to listen to yet...my bad...



That harmonica bleat is the first note you hear on the record.  Made me smile...  I'm stunned to see they actually decided to include the same venue here in Orlando for the final stop on their club tour before hitting a few summer festivals.  I'm putting the date on my calendar in support and will scream to the beaches for others to attend.

Blitzen Trapper has never disappointed since discovering them in late '08.  "VII" may not have a single outstanding track but it's solid wire-to-wire...

Prefab Sprout "Crimson/Red"

British band/man criminally under-appreciated  in the States.  For a smidgen of background, click this early post on the previous release from late 2009.  Since that was written before I figured out how to embed videos, allow a stroll down Memory Lane to 1988...



Credited guests on this album, "From Langley Park To Memphis," include Thomas Dolby, Stevie Wonder, Pete Townshend, Lenny Castro & Andrae Crouch.  Right...and you never heard of it.  The drummer for the band was Neil Conti, and maybe you've heard his input on other records by Alison Moyet, Annie Lennox, Deep Forest & James Blunt.  Anyhoo, the band only broke the US Top 200 (barely @ 180) with one album while scoring three UK Top 10's (four if you count the Best Of) and landing twenty different songs on the UK Singles charts.  So what's up with that Yanks?!

Well, I guess it helps if the records are released domestically, and like the last one, this is import-only, too.  Not that I looked extremely hard, but I didn't even see a paid download for it, either.  It's criminal, I tell ya!  This is not an album of songs, this is forty minutes of shimmering, pristine vignettes set to music.  Case in point, the opening track...



That damn siren is so real that I had passengers in the car turning to look for it.  Not the Best Video In The World (get it?) but the song is vintage Paddy McAloon, who alone now is responsible for everything on this album.  Absolutely amazing when you realize the man has a detached retina and tinnitus worse than mine.  One of the tracks, I swear, had Dennis DeYoung on it but nope, just Paddy.  Vignette titles include "Grief Built The Taj Mahal," "The Old Magician," "Devil Came A Calling" and "The Songs Of Danny Galway," which was written in tribute to Jimmy Webb, the Hall of Fame songwriter who authored multiple hits by Glen Campbell (Galveston, ...Phoenix, Wichita...), a favorite of mine by The Brooklyn Bridge called "The Worst That Could Happen," and the oft-covered classic "MacArthur Park."  Here is a fan video with the lyrics to the song in the comment section if you want to go to YouTube proper to see it...



As I finished up my research, I found hints that this may be released in the States at the end of April but can't confirm it through the label, which will remain nameless for now, but it's not a chump start-up by any stretch of the imagination.  Could it be that I've posted the first American-based "review" six weeks before it drops?

I hope so...

Toad The Wet Sprocket "New Constellation"

I was completely bummed when this band broke up in 1998.  They hit their stride with Fear and Dulcinea in the early 90's but the last album in '97 showed the stress that closed the door.  I wasn't surprised to see them announced to play Velvet Sessions at the Hard Rock Hotel last year as they had a history of soft reformations over the years since.  My guess is they needed a cash infusion.  What I WAS surprised at was the news that this show was featuring music from a "forthcoming release."  I seriously considered making the show to hear how fifteen years would change the dynamic but instead opted to buy the record.

And what was different?  Not a damn thing.  This album could fit right in with anything they did before.  Same everything.  It's pop perfection but unfortunately, comes off a bit contrived.  The songs piece together all the elements from their early years; the great vocals, the hooky lyrics, jangly guitars, and create a song-by-numbers blueprint that's certainly listenable but not necessarily memorable.  One of the songs I'm going to keep turns out to be the most current focus track.  To my ear, it's what's considered country today and if I were the guys I'd sell that sumbitch to Zac Brown or the guys of FL-GA Line and watch it chart.  The band had a contest for fan-created lyric videos so here I've chosen the one with the smallest number of views to date...



The song that's a genuine smash hit is track 9.  It's a short, sweet three minutes and change called Life Is Beautiful.  Go find it and come back here and tell me I'm wrong...you won't be able to do it.  
     
I went back through my TTWS cds for a spin and I've decided those will suffice, though I'll add the two songs mentioned and maybe a couple more.  Want something safe?  Ever a big fan of their work?  You owe it a try...

Eric Gales Trio "Ghost Notes"

I remember acquiring his debut album in 1991 quite well.  It wasn't every day that a 16-year-old got a major label deal.  Maybe this will refresh your memory...



...and maybe not...but it's easy to see why the "second coming of Hendrix" tag was applied to the young man.  That was older brother, Eugene, on bass and lead vocals, whom I mentioned in the previous post on Cyril Neville.  On the following releases, Eric took over vocals and that's when the problems started for me.  I understand being the "star/frontman" and all, but in his case it detracted from his music.  There was a series of records on Blues Bureau International that I passed on, including a couple released since starting this blog.  Same ol', same ol'...  If you scroll down to the end of this linked post, you will see some of the same sentiments expressed on the PGP project of a year ago, but the percentage of retention had increased.  Which brings us to "Ghost Notes."  It is 100% power trio instrumental!  Hot damn!  Rock, funk, fusion, blues...I could put this on and have it play in the background all day and no one would complain (well, Mrs. Rocker probably would).  Solid drumming, some interesting bass lines, but guitar is the star.  Allow me to present a piece of proof...



Love it when a band looks like they're having fun...  Eight of the album's twelve tracks clock in at north of the five-minute mark and none ever become tedious.  The closer is a version of "Amazing Grace" that I sense he's trying to stamp like Jimi did to our national anthem.  One note I made said Vernon Reid and another likened a track to Robin Trower, which I've heard that comparison made before. 

I know this has been available for over five months but an instrumental record of this caliber has legs and won't likely leave your player for a while.  As I prepare for a short road trip this weekend, I plan on soundtracking this for fifty-five minutes each way.  I won't realize that 67.8 miles will have passed during the spin...