For the past couple of years I've seen this band camped out on the Australian charts, but I was always a little late in my discovery and never pulled the trigger on a purchase. When I sampled the music, it came off as a Coldplay/U2-style worthy of a full listen, so when "March Fires" was released on 3/1, I made the purchase.
I'm probably one of only a few in the States to do so as it is only available here digitally but enough Aussies bought it to generate a #1 entry onto the ARIA charts. Not surprising as the two previous albums peaked at #3 and #2. This single is their first Top 10 appearance (#3) and went Platinum...
That certainly didn't move me. This is the follow-up that was released just a couple of weeks ago...
Nice legs...but the song? Meh. This music all seemed rather homogenous compared to the previous selections I had heard and I thought maybe it was just me, but as I searched for native Australian commentary I discovered I was not alone. Suffice it to say that many of those fans were sorely disappointed and wished they hadn't blindly bought the album. Not a good sign...which must be why the band is heading to L.A. in a few days to play a couple of free shows. Americans buy crap like this all the time so why not?
I'll be surprised if this record gets domestic distribution. It has many of the "hit" formulas but only one real keeper, and it is neither of the two I played for you. Uh oh...
"Why don't they make music for us anymore?" You see that in my profile. Common complaint from many in my age category of +/- 55. It's the motivation for this blog as it's essentially untrue. "Stories Don't End" is a perfect example.
A little over a year ago one of my Facebook friends sent me a link to a track from Dawes' second album and asked for my opinion. Can't remember the song but recall that it was impressive enough for investigation. I was not familiar with the band at all. When I discovered the record was pushing a year in release, I tucked the name into my feeble brain to seek out the upcoming album as that one was beyond my time threshold for purchasing. When "Stories..." hit the market a month ago, it was an immediate buy. As I made my way through the initial spin, I wondered if anything was going to eventually stand out worthy of retaining. By the completion of spin #3, I was keeping the entire album. One review said just that, "...it percolates and improves with each listen." Damn straight. I hear basically all the same influences as most reviewers: Jackson Browne (big time); The Eagles; CS&N; Poco; to a lesser extent, America; LRB; even Paul Simon on one track. Others I jotted down were Blue Rodeo, The Wallflowers, and one note could have been confused with Roy Orbison. This was the lead single...
That's the America I referred to. The album is full of wonderful lyrics and bass-forward sonics. Hell, I thought somebody had tinkered with the audio settings on my auto's system. I was hoping to find the title track, which is a country waltz, somewhere live on YouTube, but alas, it wasn't to be. This is another of my favorites...
They've been out on tour supporting Dob Bylan (intentional) and it's obviously working as the record is their first to break into the Billboard Top 200 (#36). They begin their own headlining tour in a couple of weeks, stopping at Tipitina's in New Orleans, Buckhead Theater in Hotlanta, and the Ryman in Nashville, to name a few, and also hit the summer festival circuit with an extended stop at the Austin City Limits in October.
I've had this in constant rotation since the day I bought it in early February. The week before, I had purchased a ticket for the debut stop on his North American tour. What, you say? "You bought a concert ticket before hearing the album?" Here is my simple rationale...After watching the "Get All You Deserve" DVD, as I wrote at the end of the post, "just come somewhere remotely close to Florida." Two Southeast stops, one in Atlanta, the other in St. Pete, not quite two hours away. Then I notice the venue is the State Theater downtown. One (cranially) foggy evening, maybe fifteen years ago, I attended a private, promotional concert there (for the life of me I don't recall who, just know I didn't have to drive to and from) and vaguely remembered it was a cramped space for the two hundred or so people in attendance. Why on earth was Steven Wilson booking this place when he's played for thousands before? It seemed too good to be true, but "Happy Birthday" to me ten weeks early as I bought the ticket ASAP.
Let's begin with the album. The opening track is the studio version of "Luminol," which was first heard on the live DVD. I described it as "Yes wrapped in a fusion-jazz jacket." Track #2 was the first new music to be heard, and people, especially you old farts like me out there, this is as good as anything you remember from three or four decades ago that you loved, be it art, space or prog-rock, manifested in the form of Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Return To Forever, etc.. The audio quality is certainly superior. Wilson is a Grammy-nominated producer in his own right, but who does he coax out of semi-retirement to turn the knobs for him on "Raven..."? Alan Parsons, that's who. Here's the song with a homemade video...
How many Pink Floyd similarities did you hear? This should be on every Rock-oriented radio station, land or air-based.
The next song is called "The Holy Drinker," and was originally slated to be the albums' title. This channels Weather Report and Traffic (the bands, not your morning news), and is where keyboardist, Adam Holzman, really shines. I first saw Mr. Holzman's name on an album in 1983 that for years I could have sold for three figures. It was Ray Manzarek's (in cahoots with Philip Glass) interpretation of "Carmina Burana." None too shabby to be hired by the Doors-man to play synthesizer. Holzman's next employer was Miles Davis. Let's let that soak in................... He was appointed Davis' "musical director" at the age of thirty. He's since worked with Michael Petrucciani, Grover Washington, Jr. and Anton Fig. Couple this jazz background with that of Theo Travis, the multi-instrumentalist responsible for the flute, saxophone, etc., on this album and you have pairing of immense possibilities. Travis has been a part of Wilson's various musical identities over the past fifteen years and also played with Jade Warrior, Gong and Robert Fripp to name a few. I touched on bassist Nick Beggs before and his stint in Kajagoogoo, but he also played with Gary Numan, Belinda Carlisle, Howard Jones, Steve Hackett, and toured with big names like Tina Turner, Michael Bolton and Seal. And let's not forget guitarist Guthrie Govan. He was a 21st-century member of Asia and was one of the guests on Lee Ritenour's "6-String Theory" a couple of years ago. I'll admit it here, his was one of the names I did not recognize. I do now. Some guy named Satriani says that "no matter what approach or style Guthrie is playing, he absolutely nails it and sounds natural in doing so." Just a Wiki peek and you'll see listed under Genres; "jazz fusion, rock, blues, progressive rock, funk, country, bluegrass." Snicker... Turns out he was greatly influenced by Mr. Frank Zappa. And that will lead us to the drummer on the album, Marco Minnemann. I didn't know him, either (and that's hard to fathom seeing all the credited works), but he's played with a lot of Zappa's musical tree, like Eddie Jobson, Terry Bozzio and Adrian Belew.
All right, I've lost track. There is just so much I want to say and I don't have time for it all. The New York Times recently ran a review about "Raven..." saying, "this new disc comprises six modern-day ghost stories, swaddled in rich, harmonically sophisticated arrangements and adorned with woodwinds and vintage keyboards." They liked it. Every review I've seen is a four or five-star winner. I wholeheartedly agree. Wilson takes all his musical influences growing up and creates something very new and relevant.
Now to the concert. I make the 110-minute drive listening to some of "Raven..." and then the first solo, "Insurgentes," which I dubbed "PT-lite." On the advice of the venue, I parked in a 3-hour zone just down the street, observed the long line of humans waiting to get inside, grabbed a smidgen of a party favour in preparation, and set off for the slow journey to the door. Once inside, found the secondary bar with no waiting, ordered up a double JD and cola, snaked my way through the house to a position stage right about twenty-five feet away and planted. My God, I couldn't believe how small the theater was, so small, in fact, that the band could not hang the gauze they use for the projections in front. I overheard one patron who had been there all afternoon detailing the band's frustration with the venue. Guarantee they had no inkling of its lack of size and accommodations. No matter, they shot the projections on the back wall and it was just fine. For the thirty minutes before showtime, that wall had the image of moon/face from the album cover (the one above) morphing slowly through clouds and shadows, all to a looped instrumental from "Grace For Drowning". Anyone in attendance on hallucinogenics was certainly enthralled. The band sauntered out precisely at eight o'clock and opened with "Luminol." Wilson was rather chatty for this first show in the U.S., but honestly, he's such a perfectionist, I'm certain even his banter was rehearsed. He announced that they had 2 1/4 hours of music to play which would include all of "Raven..." That's 135 minutes. There was only one short time in which the band left the stage, and while they were off, the projection on the back wall was filled with various time pieces and through the house audio system were the sounds of said watches, etc.. Even in the close confines of the front room, it sounded like a clock was ticking at my feet, another over my right shoulder, a different one coming from behind the guy to my left...it was just like being at the Pink Floyd "Animals" show in the Big Sombrero that night in September of '77 when the band played "Sheep" and I was audioported into the middle of a herd of mutton. At the end of the brief audiovisual piece, Wilson and crew played this...
As I mentioned in the post about the DVD, I found all the editing to be distracting. To be able to stand 25 feet away and watch who I wanted to, when I wanted to, and for how long I wanted to was PRICELESS!
Wilson had announced in early February that he would have to use a replacement drummer for the Americas tour since Minnemann had a prior commitment. To fill the daunting role, the choice was Chad Wackerman, a friend of Minnemann and the drummer who played the final seven years of Frank Zappa's touring life back in the 80's. Zappa was probably more of a perfectionist than Wilson, so it was a prudent choice. I know there was a month-long gap between the European and domestic legs of the tour so I thought maybe they had several rehearsals, but Wilson spoke after the opening song and introduced Wackerman as a true musician, one who had been "thrown into the fire" for this show. He said, "I heard him make one mistake while I made fourteen!" As it turned out, they had a grand total of five hours to rehearse the entire set! Throughout the show, Wilson acknowledged the substitute's performance, noting that his music isn't "three-minute pop songs." I had two percussionists standing around me through the show and they were transfixed on the drum kit. During "Raider II," a 23+ minute track, Wackerman actually used sheet music on a stand to his left for assistance! I have never seen that before in a rock concert setting. Wilson said that Wackerman was probably the only one on stage who could actually read music. I'm sure that Wackerman studied the songs on his own for the two months, but to play as he did with 300 minutes of group practice is utterly amazing. I will seek out his work from now on. In a cruel twist of fate, Wackerman was informed of a family crisis right after the concert and could only do the next night's show in Atlanta before leaving the tour. What a damn shame. Hope it all rectifies itself with minimal damage done. The band was able to negotiate Minnemann away from his rehearsals for Joe Satriani's forthcoming solo tour.
After two hours of solo tunes, the band encored with an early PT song, "Radioactive Toy." The first three PT albums were essentially Wilson solo anyway, so it counted. I never dug those records as they were too self-indulgent for my tastes, but many in the audience were thrilled and sang along when appropriate. At 10:15 PM, right on schedule, the concert concluded. As I exited, I stopped to ask a venue employee about the numbers. "Sold out, 633 tickets." I'm still shaking my head.
I had "Grace..." playing on the drive home and after hearing some of the tracks live in person, the studio versions seemed less viable. With the high praise I heaped upon that album, it only means that I had witnessed a concert for the ages, my ages. It was the best 7 1/2 hour event I've enjoyed in many, many years...
One of my young friends currently at WPRK put up a poll at the beginning of the year asking what upcoming album were you most anticipating. I answered with this one. It tied with Bad Religion, second only to the Black Keys. I wonder what the others who voted for Bowie have to say about "The Next Day"...
This is a perfectly enjoyable record, just not very memorable. I hear "Let's Dance"-era in the new single and best track on the album, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)." A great video for the song with Tilda Swinton in it. Find it yourself because it's been out for seven weeks and has 4.2 million views. There are Ziggy Stardust hints and BKP said Tin Machine, which is a spot-on call that I missed. A lot of Bowie's vocals are buried in the mix, purposefully, I'm guessing. On one song he channels Jim Morrison and on a couple others he could have been Bob Geldof. There are plenty of musical hooks, but unfortunately, they are attached to flimsy lines.
The Thin White Duke doesn't need my help or care what I think. This album debuted at #1 or #2 on twenty different world charts. No need for me, however, to make it my fourteenth solo Bowie title. Again, it's a fine album IF it's already playing, but I don't think I'd find the initiative to pluck it from my vault to play it anytime soon.
Discovered this Australian band while researching The Jezabels a year ago. Alpine was a new band riding a well-received EP and got to open a couple of their shows. When I pulled up a video, the band reminded me of Berlin in a way. Good enough to put on my watch list. I purchased this debut full-length as an import a couple of months ago. It released last summer and must have done well. They were nominated for "Breakthrough Artist" in last year's Aussie Grammys (ARIA) and received a couple of Australian Album of the Year declarations. However, the sound of "A..." wasn't exactly what I expected based on the early video I saw. The one below was the first single from "A..."
Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know you don't expect me to post videos with a million+ views, but this is the one truly outstanding track on the entire album. The crunchy guitars that sparked the Berlin comparison? Non-existent. Terms I've seen used to describe "A..." include "sparkly," "iridescent," "giddy." My initial thought was a space-age B-52's, the kind of band that would play Judy Jetson's prom. It took a while for the perfect comparative artist to seep from the depths of the musical sludge in my brain...Stacey Q...
...which is not a bad thing. But for this now 55-year-old, "A..." is just a little too lightweight for me. If you are in my age bracket and have friends who dig Abba, throw this on in the background and you will please most of them. I predict this will do well in the 16-25 age demo when it comes out here in America in a few weeks. They've already played SXSW and showcase dates in NY and LA this year and will return for a dozen more in early June following the record's release. I'm wishing them the best...
Those of you "in the know" will recognize the name, the remainder would have an idea after playing this album. I first heard of him from Boz Scaggs' "Down Two Then Left." Almost a year later, Toto debuted and the next five years were spectacular. Right out of the gate, I was all over that first album on the Mad Rocker Show ("Girl Goodbye" was a favorite and I had to be one of the first DJ's in the country to play "Hold The Line"). The second release, "Hydra," was even better and a staple of my senior year at JRC and WPRK. But it was Toto IV that rang the Grammy bell, winning Album and Record of the Year. Though the band began to wane, Lukather still had plenty of calls for his guitar work, playing on MJ's "Thriller," for example. Allow me to offer a few other names who paid for his services; Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Lionel Ritchie, Paul McCartney, Babs Streisand, Cher...need I go on? And all these while Toto was still working! Some of you may recall the cover version of "Stairway To Heaven" in the mid-80's by a band called Far Corporation. Yep, he was in on that. Once Toto called it quits, it didn't take long for SL to do a solo record. Still much in-demand for sessions, not only did he answer the calls from the big stars, he lent his work to the little guys, too, like Caterwaul and Schascle (WHO?!). He went on to release a couple more solo albums, but toward the end of last century started to show the effects of 20+ years of "party hearty." His guitar work was off, he was admittedly "absent" while in a room, his personal life went to hell, etc., etc., etcetera. He acknowledged in an interview that he lost about a decade of his life before sobering up and righting the ship just after his fiftieth birthday.
"Transition" is his second abstemious solo and he's not shy about spilling his guts about things that piss him off. There's no "Parental Advisory" sticker on the cover (as if teens would want this) but I'm giving you Rosanna/Africa devotees a heads-up if you are easily offended.
Yes, I know it's a bit muffled, but I'll bet you can make out the "bullshit" anyway. Allow me to base a few thoughts on this two-day-old video. Poland. SL could play solo gigs all over Europe and make a good living, he's that respected over there. His singing voice is adequate, not great. The song itself is about all the people who'll sit at their computer, bitching and moaning about things behind an anonymous screen name...social bullying, if you will. "Reserve your place in Hell." I love it.
I'll admit that I was not thrilled with this album after an initial spin. He had gone through a blues phase when his life was blowing up (well, no shit, Sherlock) and he was smokin' some blues licks all across YouTube for a while, so maybe that's what I was expecting. What I got was eight four-to-seven minute Toto-styled songs whose hook-roots dug deeper with each play, plus a nifty little cover of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" to close the proceedings.
I've got the Toto records and plenty of SL's credited work throughout my catalog but none of his solo releases...........................until now.
OK, last of the trilogy of sixty-eight year old guitarists/musicians. Out of the three, I have more Robin Trower solo records than the other two combined (13-5). Can't say that I will make this #14 on the list, though.
Anything is better than Eric Clapton's "Ancient Stocking" and I'll say this is equivalent to Boz Scagg's "Memphis," but I didn't keep all of it, either. "Roots..." is predominantly covers, most of which are included within "A Hound Dog and a Little Red Rooster were Born Under A Bad Sign so The Thrill Is Gone." BKP called the album "a yawner," I'm dubbing it "'lude blues." Really slow, languid tunes.Trower sings (?!) half of it, which is wrong on most levels, and the other chap isn't much better. Don't get me wrong, it's still classic Trower guitar work...
That's the final track on the album and an original. I'm keeping three of them and only one cover. I wasn't fond of his interpretations of the classics which inspired him decades ago. I'm not alone in my thinking as I read one review from Germany that basically called the album "boring," but most I've seen are very supportive. Many suggested that young guitar slinger's out there in the world need to drop a needle on some early Trower and put away their SRV discs for a while.
For what it's worth, "Roots..." has been a catalyst for more writing and word is there are eleven more tunes ready to go for a follow-up. That's a good thing because sales have not amounted to much anywhere in the world and there is no tour scheduled at this time.
"I think I'll just sit this one out..." and go spin "Bridge of Sighs"...
So let us consider a similarly styled album to EC's "Elderly Legging." Boz is just a few months Clapton's elder and gained fame in the 60's with The Steve Miller Band while EC garnered his through The Yardbirds and Cream. EC is a three-time Rock Hall Of Famer, Boz won a Grammy. Boz had a helluva run through my college years in the late 70's with five Gold/Platinum albums. "Silk Degrees" was one of the soundtracks to a stroll across the Rollins College campus (when the weather allowed for open dorm windows) along with Steely Dan's "Aja" and Boston's debut. Boz took a lengthy hiatus from the music biz in the 80's, EC tried to drink himself to death. Clapton's known for his guitar and has a recognizable singing voice, Boz has that unmistakable voice yet he's never received the proper recognition for it. OK, that's enough, on to the album comparison.
"Memphis" was recorded there in three days and uses the Al Green template for the soulful sounds, including the same producer and studio. It's so predominant that even Mrs. Rocker said "Al Green" as a guess for the opener, not Boz! It's one of the record's two new songs, both actually penned by the artist and not farmed out like Clapton's. There are ten covers here, too, but these are given serious attention, not Clapton's casual, playful, more-worthy-of-a-karaoke-bar treatment. You know what? I've found the official promo for the album and it does a much better job of laying out the details than I could...
There's an old Steely Dan song included, likely born from running with Fagan in the NY Rock & Soul/Dukes Of September Rhythm Revue. One of my favorites comes from the Mink Deville debut album from 1977...
Another shared tune from that album is Willy Deville's "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl." Now I'm going to have to dig out my vinyl copy (bullshit...Grooveshark, here I come...).
Two 68-year-old artists; ten covers/two originals; one debuts @ 7, the other 17; one sucks and the other one doesn't. Do I have to say more?
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!
