Steve Howe
on Evangeline Recordings
|
Willie Porter
on Six Degrees Records
|
Andrew Mah
on AM Music |
LABEL
SPOTLIGHT
DECEMBER
2002 MUSIC & RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
BMG HERITAGE
- The
Sun Records story is all about the music that Sam Phillips made
in his modest Memphis studio back in the mid 50s. Released by
BMG Heritage, Sun Records: The 50th Anniversary Collection
pairs 44 vintage rock and roll tracks from early Sun Records signings
like Rufus Thomas, James Cotton and Little Milton
with Suns best known acts including Carl Perkins,
Elvis Presley, Scotty & Bill, Johnny Cash & The
Tennessee Two, Sonny Burgess, Roy Orbison and Jerry
Lee Lewis. Aside from obvious highlights of Sun masterpieces like,
Mystery Train, Ooby Dooby and Carl Perkins
perennial favorite Blue Suede Shoes, perhaps the other
amazing thing about this double disc set is that it shines a long
overdue spotlight on some amazing Memphis rockabilly stars like Rayburn
Anthony and Ernie Chaffin and the other Sun Records talents
whose names were eclipsed by the mega names like Presley, Cash and
Perkins. A fitting retrospective of perhaps the most important record
label in modern American music history, The 50th Anniversary Collection
captures the essence of the Sun Records sound, track by track, in
words, pictures and music. www.sunstudio.com
CAPITOL RECORDS - One of the best remembered happening of the
60s were those James Bond movies. Inspired by British
film composer John Barry (who scored eleven Bond films), the
Bond movies always featured cool music like The James Bond Theme
from Dr. No and On Her Majestys Secret Service
performed by The John Barry Orchestra. In addition to those
great instrumental tracks featured on the Bond films, there were always
prominent vocal tracks and now Capitol Records has assembled
a 22 track mostly vocal track collection of Bond movie classics entitled
The Best Of Bond...James Bond. Scattered among
well known Bond movie classics such as Live And Let Die
(the Wings classic from Live And Let Die) and Thunderball
(from Tom Jones) are more Bond-inspired music from Carly Simon,
Duran Duran, A-ha, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner,
Garbage and Moby to name a few. The rock and roll side
of that great James Bond movie music comes alive on The Best Of
Bond...James Bond. www.hollywoodandvine.com
CLASSIC PICTURES - Legendary Cream bassist Jack Bruce
has a 2002 DVD out entitled Jack Bruce And Friends
capturing a show from Jacks famous 1980 tour. Back in 1980 Jack
Bruce was on tour everywhere promoting his underrated album Ive
Always Wanted To Do This which found the rock legend
in the company of greats such as Clem Clempson (guitar), Billy
Cobham (drums) and keyboard/guitarist David Sancious. Recorded
live in Germanywith these same legendary, virtuoso playersthe
60 minute DVD features 11 tracks including Cream classics N.S.U.,
White Room and Sunshine Of Your Love and the
great Theme For An Imaginary Western. The DVD also includes
a biography, discography and photo gallery, and while the sound isnt
state of the art, the video gets high marks overall for its
rare live live glimpse into the art and craft behind one of rocks
most illustrious music legends. www.jackbruce.com
DG - Acoustic guitar maestro Dominic Gaudious turned
quite a few heads with his first two CDs, Acoustic Captivity
and The Clearing and he returns in 2002 and
even raises the bar a bit with Where I Stand. Hes been
called an acoustic guitar genius in the spirit of Michael Hedges and
Leo Kottke, and like those two legends Gaudious can amaze just by
playing his six and twelve string guitars. Blending in strange sounding
instruments like the Didgeridoo, Gaudious tastefully is masterful
at merging genres like jazz, flamenco, classical, folk and World Beat.
Much like the albums eye-catching cover art, Where I Stand
ranges from pastoral and smooth to a more exotic, energetic sound,
although Dominics acoustic guitar sound always rings out front
and center. Where I Stand is a worthy choice for acoustic guitar
fans and New Agers alike, while the creative blend of divergent musical
genres makes it a good bet for anyone who enjoys artistic, forward
thinking musicianship. www.DominicGaudious.com
EAGLEVISION - Up and out on in 2002 on Eaglevision DVD is Live
Dates 3 - 30th Anniversary Concert from legendary U.K. jazz-blues
rockers Wishbone Ash. The groups 30th Anniversary Concert
was recorded live at Shepherds Bush Empire on April 22, 2000.
Still rocking nearly 35 years after the groups breakthrough,
guitar icon Andy Powell leads the group through a number of
their best tracks in front of a house packed with fans their to celebrate
and rock. Demonstrating why Wishbone Ash are still considered one
of the architects of the classic early 70s British blues-rock
sound, Powell gets able assistance by long time WA members Bob
Skeat (bass) and Ray Weston (drums). Sharing the twin-lead
guitar sound with Powell is Mark Birch. Splitting the vocal
chores, Powell and Birch keep the bands fabled lead guitar sound
firmly intact. In 2002 Powell released the latest Wishbone Ash studio
album Bona Fide, with maybe the best ever Wishbone
line-up yet including guitar ace Ben Granfelt. That said, the
band on Live Dates 3 rocks up a storm. The show also features
a number of key Wishbone players like back-up vocalist Claire Hamill,
one time WA guitar hero Laurie Wisefield, Powells son
drummer Aynsley Powell and a round of other fine players. www.wishboneash.com
EVANGELINE RECORDED WORKS - Two of the best albums ever made by
guitar ace Steve Howe were recently reissued after being out
of print for far too long by the U.K.-based Evangeline Records
under their Acadia subsidiary. Both Turbulence (1991)
and The Grand Scheme Of Things (1993) feature some of
Howes greatest solo recorded works ever. The all instrumental
Turbulence remains a rock fusion masterpiece of the highest
magnitude thanks to Howes dazzling electric guitar interplay
with music legends like his one time Yes band mate Bill Bruford
and synth keyboardist Billy Currie. As good as Turbulence
is, 1993s The Grand Scheme Of Things might very well
be Howes best solo album to date. With Bruford out of the picture,
the album features Howes talented offspring Dylan Howe (drums)
and Virgil Howe (keyboards) along with Steves one time
band mate in the 60s psych-pop group Tomorrow, Keith
West. In addition to classic Howe rock and solo guitar instrumentals,
The Grand Scheme finds Howe inspired enough to assume the lead
vocal chores on several key tracks including the title song, one of
the great 90s protest songs, Blinded By Science
and the Yes inspired At The Gates Of The New World. Proof
of Howes diversity as a guitar innovator, a master songwriter
and a vocalist, The Grand Scheme Of Things was out of print
way too long and a big thank you is overdue to Evangeline for making
both of these early 90s Howe classicscomplete with informative
booklets and original artworkavailable once again. www.evangeline.co.uk
EXPERIENCE
HENDRIX / MCA - Highlighting the August 31, 1970
performance of Jimi Hendrix at the fabled Isle Of Wight festival,
Blue Wild Angel was finally made available in 2002 in
both DVD and CD formats. For audiophiles who just want the music,
the double CD features the entire 18 track performance of Hendrix,
Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell, but the complete concert
appearance offered on the DVD, is the best bet. The DVD introduces
the Hendrix set with an excellent twenty minute rockumentary about
the three day festival. Long time Hendrix sound engineer Eddie
Kramer has done another brilliant job restoring the audio on both
the CD and the DVD. Both the double disc CD and the single disc DVD
version of Blue Wild Angel feature colorful artwork
and well documented color booklets. www.jimihendrix.com
HIP-O RECORDS - The UMG-based Hip-O also makes headway
on a 2002 best of retrospective from rock legend Mark Bolan &
T.Rex entitled 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection.
Bolan tragically died in his prime in 1978 but he left behind
an enormous repertoire the best of which is culled for Hip-Os
23 track T.Rex single CD. Filled with rare b&w and color photos,
the 15 page CD booklet is superbly annotated. One look at the detailed
credits will find that Bolan recorded his hugely popular 70s
smashes in the company some great players like Flo & Eddie
and King Crimson founder Ian McDonald who played some wailing
sax on the Tony Visconti-produced T.Rex masterpiece Bang
A Gong (Get It On).
Although she went on to become Paul Simons wife, back in the
80s singer-songwriter Edie Brickell took the pop charts by
storm with her MTV hit What I Am and the groups
88 debut Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars went
double platinum. Hip-Os 2002 Ultimate Collection CD
compilation by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians links together
19 album tracks taken from the groups two studio albums and
while also including some of Edies solo material produced by
her husband singer-songwriter Paul Simon along with an array
of unreleased tracks. Rarities include Brickells cover of A
Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall (from the 1994 Born On The
4th Of July soundtrack) and Big Day, Little Boat,
her contribution to George Harrisons 1990 Nobodys Child
benefit album.
The unsung studio musicians who helped create the fabled 60s
Motown Records sound are given some long overdue recognition
on the recently recorded Standing In The Shadows Of Motown.
The soundtrack for a 2002 documentary, the 15 track Hip-O Records
CD features the surviving Funk Brothers backing up big
name singers on new interpretations of huge Motown smashes like Heat
Wave (sung here by Joan Osborne), Cool Jerk
(Bootsy Collins) Aint Too Proud To Beg (Ben
Harper), and the Smokey Robinson classic Youve
Really Got A Hold On Me (Meshell Ndegeocello). The 20
page CD booklet sheds new light on the story of the Funk Brothersincluding
guitarists Eddie Willis and Joe Messinacomplete
with interviews and pictures.
www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com
/ www.hip-o.com
HYPNOTIC RECORDINGS - Guitar great Steve Hillage got his
first taste of international acclaim in the early 70s as the
guitarist in the group Gong. Nearly 30 years ago after Hillage joined
Gong for their Flying Teapot trilogy, he returned in 2002 with
the seventh album from his group System 7 appropriately entitled Seventh
Wave. Hillage practically invented electric space-rock
guitar on his 70s Gong albums and on solo masterpieces like
Fish Rising and L. For the latest System 7 album on
the L.A.-based Hypnotic Recordings, Hillage merges a highly
processed guitar sound with driving techno and spacey house grooves
and comes up with a sound reminiscent of current bands like Prodigy
and Chemical Brothers. Together with his longtime bandmate in Gong,
keyboard wiz Miquette Giraudy since the first System 7 album
back in 1990, Hillage takes his techno / instro to the next level
with ultra cool, ambient chill out sounds of Seventh Wave.
www.a-wave.com
/ www.cleopatrarecords.com
MRB PRODUCTIONS - An Englishman living downunder in Australia,
guitarist Malcolm Battersby has a fine 2002 guitar instrumental
CD available. Somewhere between the sonic guitarscapes of Mike Oldfield
and the smooth jazz sounds of Lee Ritenour, Battersby takes a solid
swing with the all instrumental Shades album. The 46
minute, six track, self-produced CD features several that run over
nine minutes. With Malcolm's unique guitar stylings assisted by drummer
Cameron Herbert, Shades is pleasurable album filled
with cool sounding electric guitar instrumentals.
www.cdbaby.com/cd/bat
MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS - Another major rock legend honored with
a DVD release on Music Video Distributors is Bill Wyman
with Bill Wymans Rhythm Kings
In Concert. Wyman of course was the bass player in The
Rolling Stones during the groups heyday and on this April
26, 2000 live DVD with his side groupincluding legends like
Procol Harum founder Gary Brooker singer Georgie Fame
and guitar icon Albert LeeWyman rocks through a number
of vintage R&B chestnuts like Let The Good Times Roll,
Mystery Train and Tear It Up. In addition,
the 60 minute DVD features bonus material and artist biography.
Of all the great Motown 60s soul groups, The Four Tops
were the kings. Hit after hit, culminating in their classic Standing
In The Shadows Of Love in 66 earned them the respect of 60s
music fans everywhere. In early 2002 Music Video Distributors
released The Four Tops 40th Anniversary Special on
DVD. Filmed in Las Vegas on 8/8/96, the 64 minute set features all
their great songs boosted up by solid soul versions of MacArthur
Park, Walk Away Renee Satisfaction / Jumpin
Jack Flash. The 17 track MVD DVD was released following the
recent passing of founding Tops member Lawrence Payton. Four
Tops front man Levi Stubbs is in fine form on the special and
dressed for the occasion in a splashy Vegas nightclub setting, the
'Topsters demonstrates why their were so popular back then.
Another MVD DVD worth checking out is Back To Stax - Memphis
Soul, a 2 and a half hour DVD concert filmed in Cannes,
France in January, 1990. Among the legends of Stax Records appearing
are Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), Eddie Floyd (Knock
On Wood), guitarist Phil Upchurch and the most famous
Stax group ever Booker T. & The M.G.s who steal the
show with revivals of Hip Hug Her, Time Is Tight
and more. Last but not least on MVD is Rod Stewart And Faces:
The Final Concert With Keith Richards. Rolling Stones
guitarist joins Rod, guitarist Ronnie Wood and the other member
of Faces for their last concert together. The 75 minute filmed event
features the group and Keith Richards tearing through vintage 70s
rockers like Twisting The Night Away, You Send Me
and Sweet Little Rock And Roller. www.musicvideodistributors.com
ANDREW MAH
- Canadian classical guitarist Andrew Mah was born into a family
of guitarists (his Father builds guitars). Mah takes his inspiring
technique and swift execution to new heights on his self-produced,
superbly recorded ten track solo CD Presenting Andrew Mah.
Andrew has chosen a noteworthy range of challenging and exhilarating
solo classical masterpieces to cover on his CD including venerable
compositions by classical guitar icons such as Jorge Morel
(1931-), Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885-1944), Nicolo Paganini
(1782-1840), Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849), JS Bach
(1685-1750), Alonso Mudarra (1510-1580) and John Dowland
(1563-1726). As the CD so accurately entails, in Mahs artistic
hands these historic classical guitar gems take on a new life. Mahs
web site offers a detailed bio of all these supremely influential
guitar icons and in addition, you can see the guitars Andrews
dad built for him. www.andrewmah.com
LUIGI MARRACCINI - One of the new breed of Flamenco guitarists,
Kent, WA.-based Luigi Marraccini steps in to the forefront
with his new self-produced CD Poetry From A Flamenco Guitar.
Armed with some mighty compelling fretboard dexterity, Marraccini
expertly employs a number of Flamenco guitar moves and his all original
track lineup further underscores his love and mastery of Flamenco.
Marraccini achieves a truly authentic Spanish Flamenco sound echoed
in the exotic Mediterranean melodies and rhythmic patterns of "Malagueña",
"Sevillanas" and "Granadinas". A noted expert
in the field, Marranccini also has two Flamenco books out including
You Can Teach Yourself Flamenco Guitar (1995)
and Flamenco Guitar Solos (2002). email:
holaluigi@yahoo.com
MATT McCLOSKEY- Recorded during Spring 2001, Ya Know...Its
Go! establishes Philadelphia-based guitarist Matt McCloskey
as an upcoming jazz guitar ace. Although he was raised on a musical
diet of Rush and Led Zep, McCloskey soon gravitated more to the scintillating
jazz guitar sounds of Alan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson and jazz great
Wes Montgomery. In addition to the nine McCloskey originals, the guitarist
offers a solo guitar version of The Beatles classic In
My Life. Assisted by Micah Jones (upright bass) and Erik
Johnson (drums), More be-bop and swing jazz than smooth jazz or
jazz-rock, Ya Know...Its Go! is a first class trip
to jazz nirvana.
www.home.earthlink.net/~mattshane/
NEW PACIFIC RECORDS - A lush sounding recording featuring some
amazing Flamenco guitar playing, Chiles, is the
2002 CD release from the San Francisco based group Guitarras
Y Congas. Led by guitarist Martin Cohen and featuring numerous
fine players such as guitarist Gabriel Manzo (and a number
of percussionists), the group are sort of like an instrumental sounding
Gypsy Kings mixed in with some electric influences such as Carlos
Santana. Cohen studied with the best jazz, blues and flamenco players
and obviously his love of Flamenco artform is all over Chiles.
Cool for jazzers, classical guitar fans and New Agers put off
by the intense Flamenco experience will dig Cohen & Company and
their Flamenco Rock brew. www.newpacificrecords.com
SADETAR RECORDS - Renowned for his skilled heavy rock shredding,
Mass.-based guitarist Sal DiFusco returns in 2002 with his
latest album Great Exploits. DiFusco cranks his
Fender guitar and Line 6 amp up all the way and with Mike Mangini
(drums) and Joe Santerre (bass) delivers a most worthy
follow up to his earlier favorite. DiFusco dedicates the album to
the people that lost their lives on 9/11/ and performed their heroic
acts. Sal keeps the spirit of Vai and Satriani alive here while echoing
some of Jeff Becks recent work. These tracks soar and sizzle
while DiFusco keeps the music levels quite high. email: sdifu@aol.com
SIX DEGREES - In the spirit of folk-rock legends like Richie
Havens and John Martin, Willy Porter can cause quite a stir
with just his voice and his acoustic guitar. With that as the starting
point, the self-titled, colorful Willy Porter album
is greatly enhanced by appearances by bass legend Tony Levin,
guitarist Emanuel Kiriakou (who also produced the album), drummer
Charlie Drayton and even Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson
kicks in support on bamboo flute. Strong lyrics, top-notch singing,
songs with memorable pop hooks and a stellar supporting cast makes
Willy Porter an album worth taking the time to investigate.
www.sixdegreesrecords.com
STAX - The Mar-Keys story dates all the way back to
the late 50s when guitarists Steve Cropper and Charlie
Freeman, together with bassist Donald Duck Dunn
began jamming around the Memphis area. Influenced by black R&B
artists like Hank Ballard, The Five Royals and Bill Doggett, the fledgling
group changed their name to the Marquisat the suggestion of
their horn player Don Nixand eventually The Mar-Keys.
The story of the early Mar-Keys is captured in the liner notes of
their 2002 reissue on Stax Records. Last Night / Do The
Pop-Eye pairs the 1961/1962 albums from the Mar-Keys on one
24 track CD. The album features a wide range of cool, upbeat R&B
instrumentals that united the talents of Cropper, Dunn and a young
organist called Booker T. Jones. These early R&B performances
by the Mar-Keys really capture the spirit of early 60s R&B
sound which in essence paved the way for both Cropper and Booker T.
to form the legendary Booker T. & The MGs.
www.fantasyjazz.com
TAKOMA RECORDS
- First released on Lp back in 1977, The Best Of John Fahey
1959-1977 spotlights the late, great acoustic guitar
legend who passed away on 2/22/01. Released on Faheys own Takoma
Recordsstarted by the guitarist back in 1959the album
depicts Fahey as being among the most influential and gifted acoustic
guitarists of the 20th Century. Supporting that claimin the
CD bookletare a number of guitarists who built their reputation
upon Faheys massive contributions to acoustic guitar lore. Among
the players writing their own Fahey tale are Henry Kaiser (who
also produced this CD reissue), Leo Kottke (who worked with
Fahey for thirty years), Michael Gulezian (a fine Takoma artist
in his own right), Jim ORourke and George Winston
(New Age piano legend and owner of the Hawaiian slack key guitar
label Dancing Cat Records). Words alone cant adequately describe
his talent and Fahey is best represented by the 18 tracks of acoustic
guitar magic featured on the CD. At just under 79 minutes and boasting
fine new remastering, The Best Of John Fahey 1959-1977 remains
the definitive single disc John Fahey collection. www.fantasyjazz.com
Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed in
mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to P.O. Box 630249, Little
Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249 e-mail: info@mwe3.com