|
THE SYN
on Umbrello
|
THE LOST BEATLE
on Digital Classics
|
STORIES
on Raven Records
|
SUMMER
2007
MUSIC & RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
BLUE NOTE RECORDS - Described as futuristic roots music with jazzy
vibes and swampy, funky ambient grooves, Floratone pairs
the eclectic guitar sounds of Bill Frisell with drummer Matt
Chamberline. Assisted here by producers Tucker Martine and
Lee Townsend, the musicians and producers have crafted a totally
organic sounding musical collage from a series of jam sessions. One
minute straight ahead jazz, the next devastating rock, the next ambient.
Frisell’s latest wide-ranging free form jazz experiment, Floratone
also features the bass lines of Viktor Krauss. Commenting
on the CD, Frisell adds, ‘It was a convergence experience. Just
Matt and me getting together for a weird jam session was one thing,
but to have Lee and Tucker come in and make something of what we had
done was like synchronicity. I couldn’t help but think of Miles
and Teo, the playing over and over and then sorting things out.’
BB - Perfecting the art of improvisational rock-jazz guitar is
no mean feat, but guitarist Brian Butler displays some inventive
guitar skills on his first solo CD. Although Butler says these songs
are developed with a high degree of improvisation, there’s plenty
of unique riffing and inventive recording techniques on his CD, Axuallity
Volume 1, to set Butler apart in a crowded field of guitarists.
Is it fusion, is it rock? You decide, while you can read more about
Butler in the liner notes, that further adds, ‘the improvisational
nature of the music keeps the listener constantly wondering about
what is coming next. The compositions have an organic character as
they are literally being grown on the spot by the artist.’ www.axuality.com
BELLA FIRENZE MUSIC - Interviewed in depth in the April 2007 issue
of TCG, Joe Giglio is best listened to on CD where you can best appreciate
his diverse jazz guitar approach. Recorded in late November 2005,
3 Spirits is just that—a captivating guitar based trio
CD featuring the guitarist backed up by violinist Rob Thomas and
bassist Ron McClure. From the minute these guys started playing,
Giglio recalls, ‘I knew it would be telepathic.’ Recording
as a trio without drums can be a challenging task on 3 Spirits
the collective improvising between these three superb players fills
in any gaps created by the lack of a drummer. Song wise, 3 Spirits
spotlights Giglio originals and a range of jazz standards inspired
by Giglio’s fondness for musical heroes like Charlie Parker,
Miles Davis and Lennie Tristano. 3 Spirits features Giglio’s
in depth liner notes on the CD sessions. Another side of Joe Giglio’s
guitar sound is revealed on Clairvoyant Avenue, the
CD release by Giglio’s group Threedom. Backed by David
Shaich (bass) and Tyone Govan (drums), Giglio masterfully
creates an album of very listenable, free spirited improv jazz with
his guitar sound neatly situated between the tight rhythm section
of Govan and Shaich—the latter co-producing and handling the
CD mastering. www.joegiglio.com
COOKING VINYL - Pop music pioneer Richard Barone remains
a mainstay on the NYC music scene, so it’s worth taking a look
at his earliest recorded work with the post-punk pop band The Bongos.
Cooking Vinyl reissued the very first Bongos album on CD in 2007 complete
with unreleased bonus cuts, live concert tracks of their ‘81
London debut, 1979 live cuts + and a new 2007 remake of a cut with
The Bongos and Moby. 27 infectious pop tracks packed with an
impressive booklet, lyrics and vintage photos make this classic cult
album an item worth re-exploring more than 25 years after it first
came out. www.drumsalongthehudson.com
CUNEIFORM RECORDS - The premier modern jazz-rock label in America,
Cuneiform continues to amaze audiophiles with stunning CDs. One recent
arrival, Return To The Emerald Beyond by The Mahavishnu
Project is that band’s third CD and first on Cuneiform. A
double CD that essentially features cover versions of the music John
McLaughlin recorded back in the ‘70s with The Mahavishnu
Orchestra, Return is expertly rendered and recorded and
as far as double live CDs, it’s doesn’t get much better
than this. Drummer Gregg Bendian is totally in synch with his
Mahavishnu Project band mates including guitarist Glenn Alexander
and keyboardist Adam Holzman. Bendian’s mission is clearly
to show how significant McLaughlin’s music remains and he openly
admits, ‘John McLaughlin wrote so many incredibly beautiful tunes,
not to mention how groundbreaking historically that stuff is. I consider
that music some of the unsung masterpieces of the 20th century.’
Part of Cuneiform’s New American Masters series, Return To
The Emerald Beyond follows in the footsteps of earlier Cuneiform
tributes to Miles Davis (Yo Miles!), Captain Beefheart and
Frank Zappa. Clearly not for the faint of heart, Visions Of The
Emerald Beyond is a masterful jazz-rock salute. www.cuneiformrecords.com
DIGITAL CLASSICS - Taking a look at the early Beatles years,
Stuart Sutcliff—The Lost Beatle reopens
the case history on the all too brief life and times of the Beatles’
first bass guitarist. From the liner notes of this insightful DVD,
George Harrison adds, ‘Stu was more than just the bass
player, he was like our art director.’ In addition to working
with The Beatles early on in the ‘60s, Sutcliff was also an outstanding
painter and burgeoning artist. His life and times with the early Beatles
years in Hamburg and tragic passing in 1962—as well as interviews
with Astrid Kirchherr, early Beatles manager Allan Williams
and Sutcliff’s embittered sister Pauline—keeps Stu’s
name alive in the the time machine of rock and roll history. Capping
off the hour long BBC rockumentary is a bonus gallery of Sutcliff’s
often abstract, always inventive paintings. www.digitalclassics.co.uk/dvd
EMI - No doubt gearing up for Summer 07, Capitol and parent
company EMI carry on the tradition of The Beach Boys
with a new career-spanning compilation entitled The Warmth Of
The Sun. It sounds great and, despite some great sounding
mono mixes, is geared towards the novice. Nevertheless, it attempts
to distill the core of Brian Wilson and his band of followers.
You don’t need “Surfin’ USA” when you have “The
Little Girl I Once Knew” (here in mono). The early years are
well represented with a solid shot of Reprise era classics from Sunflower
and Surf’s Up. Some may refer to that era when Brian
was alienated from the ‘Boys but he’d come back strong with
some classic rockers, including a great Mike Love sung track
“It’s OK.” What isn’t documented here are some
great unreleased tracks from the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Some, like Brian’s greatest song, “The Spirit Of Rock And
Roll” are songs that Brian made with Gene Landy, Brian’s
Machiavellian guru who, despite having sadly passed away in 2006,
was there during the genesis of these, songs The Beach Boys missed
out on totally. Maybe one day. www.brianwilson.com
Over in the mother country, EMI have an essential 2007 reissue
of the 1968 album Established 1958 by Cliff Richard
And The Shadows. 1968 was kind of a watershed year for The
Shadows. With the Shads having released their all instrumental
masterpiece Jigsaw in 1967 and having the early ‘68 half
vocal From Hank Bruce Brian And John, guitarist Hank
B. Marvin and company returned to their late ‘50s roots with
singer Cliff Richard for a half instrumental / half vocal long
player. A valid attempt to blend the songs of the Shadows as sung
by Cliff Richard with the instrumental guitar sound The Shadows are
associated with, Established 1958 might have been a greater
album. Despite starting off with the low key “Don’t Forget
To Catch Me,” written for Cliff, the vocal cuts with Cliff aren’t
quite as cool as say Hank’s classic vocal on “The Average
Life Of A Daily Man,” which, only available here remains a classic
late ‘60s Shadows vocal numbers. The five Shads instrumentals
are uniformly excellent, with Hank’s famous U.K. twang echoing
the band’s Les Paul inspired rocking sounds on Jigsaw. Reissued
by EMI in England in 2007, the original 14 track Lp is represented
in a stereo mix with four bonus cuts, detailed discography, new and
original liner notes. www.leosden.co.uk/shadowsnews.htm
EAGLE - A fine follow up to his 2006 CD, Old New Ballads
Blues, guitar hero Gary Moore gets back in touch with his
blues-rock roots with his 2007 album, Close As You Get.
Since becoming a vital member of the Eagle Records roster of classic
rockers, Moore has released some pretty impressive music including
a Thin Lizzy tribute DVD, One Night In Dublin as well as his
contribution to Eagle’s Strat Pack DVD. Back in 2007 with
Close As You Get, Moore lives up to his reputation as the U.K.’s
leading blues rocker guitarist. Moore wrote some killer originals
for Close As You Get, while other highlights include his covers
of the Sonny Boy Williamson classic “Eyesight To The Blind”
and and rocking revival of the Chuck Berry chestnut “Thirty Days.”
Moore has once again surrounded himself with an excellent band, including
Brian Downey (drums), Vic Martin (bass) and Pete
Rees (guitar). Moore may be traveling down familiar ground on
Close As You Get, yet he continues to keep the legacy of the
blues burning bright. www.gary-moore.com
GOTHAM / PENGUIN BOOKS - Looking back on the 40th anniversary
of the 1967 Lp release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band, it’s well worth taking a looking at an excellent book
by long time Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. A 2006, 387 page
paperback edition issued by Gotham Books, Here, There, And Everywhere:
My Life Recording The Music Of The Beatles offers a first
hand account of Emerick’s studio work at London’s fabled
Abbey Road studios. The book was co-written in part by Howard Massey
and features foreword by Elvis Costello. Working in the ‘60s
with Beatles producer George Martin, Emerick was right there and his
fastidious documentation and great memory serve him well as he takes
the readers through the early Beatles years in ‘62 up through
and including the 1969 breakup, working with McCartney in the ‘90s
and beyond. All in all, Emerick’s dossier on recording The Beatles
at Abbey Road is crucial reading for any serious pop music fan.
Gotham and parent company Penguin have a number of other Beatles related
books worth checking out including Read The Beatles.
Edited by June Skinner Sawyers—with a foreword by
early Beatles believer Astrid Kirchherr—the 364 page book
is subtitled ‘classic and new writings on The Beatles, their
legacy, and why they still matter. A native of Scotland, Skinner dedicates
the book to the people of Liverpool and in fitting together fifty
+ articles, essays, interviews, reviews and more puts together a fascinating
book that underscores the continuing relevance of the Fab Four.
Ticket To Ride - Inside The Beatles’ 1964 & 1965 Tours
That Changed The World is another Penguin book, from 2003,
that details both the 1964 and ‘65 Beatles tours as recalled
and written by Larry Kane. Kane—the only American journalist
inside the Beatles press camp to travel with the band during every
date of their ‘64 and ‘65 tours—describes the ‘64
Beatles tour as ‘the world’s first major rock n’ roll
tour and the beginning of a revolution. The 242 page paperback book
recounts both tours with incredible accuracy and backs it all up with
period piece interviews and photos. With a foreword by Dick Clark
and a closing chapter entitled “Beyond The Tours,” the book
also includes a bonus CD featuring rare interviews with The Beatles.
Another Beatles related title of interest from Penguin offshoot
Viking Books is a 232 coffee table classic called John
Lennon All I Want Is The Truth. Described on the cover
as a ‘photographic biography’ by Elizabeth Partridge,
the 2005 book is a b&w visual tour de force of Lennon’s all
too brief life (1940-1980) as a pop culture icon and musical innovator.
From Menlove Avenue in Liverpool to the Dakota, there’s plenty
of famous visual signposts here to impress long time Lennon watchers
and curious newcomers eager to see what all the fuss was about. www.penguin.com
GUMBO JONES - Even with the music world’s pizza place mentality
in this era of digital downloading, it’s still nice to get a
touchy feely album release in the form of a CD in your hands. Especially
one with inventive cover art, with a CD that once you slap in your
player has more than a modicum of musical intelligence—as is
the case with the debut CD from the group known as Epic. Featuring
the guitars of Stephen Turner and the bass of Jason Navo,
Epic strike a solid groove with their melodic yet cosmic blend of
instrumental rock, tempered with a neoclassical music intel. With
their solid rhythm section, Epic are slightly reminiscent of the best
instrumental prog bands that were once so big in northern Europe in
the late ‘70s. As such, Epic’s intriguing Proprium
should find a home with fans of guitar based rock fusion instrumentals.
www.epicband.net
HACKTONE RECORDS - Late in 2007 L.A. based Hacktone released a
great new CD from singer-songwriter Lewis Taylor and shortly after
they released Wire Waltz by The Last Town Chorus.
LTTC Megan Hickey has a fine voice and her lap steel guitar
playing is equally effective. Very atmospheric and low key in a hip,
late night listening kind of way, the ten track Wire Waltz
features nine originals by Ms. Hickey along with her slowly turning,
steel guitar inflected cover of the ‘82 Bowie classic “Modern
Love”. www.thelasttownchorus.com
HIP-0 RECORDS - Celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 1977 debut
album, My Aim Is True, post-punk rocker Elvis
Costello inked a deal with Hip-0 and the end result is a complete
overhaul of the veteran rocker’s entire catalog. Elvis adds,
‘There’s a lot of songs, a lot of records in a short period
of time—even if you just consider the 11 records that are being
reissued now.’ Kicking things off with The Best Of Elvis
Costello: The First 10 Years and a rock-themed collection
of hits, album tracks, b-sides and rarities entitled Rock And
Roll Music, Hip-0 goes the distance, reissuing Costello’s
first eleven studio albums, on actual CDs with complete lyrics, and
for the first time as digital downloads with special codes—two
ways that both allow access to a treasure of internet-based bonus
material. Costello has had several major label reissue programs in
the past, but Hip-O’s 2007 Costello series is the first time,the
original albums have been reissued in their original form with additional
bonus material housed on-line. In addition, Hip-O / UME also have
several Elvis Costello Deluxe Edition reissues planned including a
30th anniversary of My Aim Is True (produced by Nick Lowe)
in the Fall with a possibly deluxe of 1978’s This
Year’s Model planned in ‘08. www.elviscostello.com
HIGHNOTE - NYC-based guitarist Joel Harrison perked up
the ears of Beatles fans with his jazzy George Harrison (no relation)
tribute, Harrison On Harrison. In 2007 Harrison joins forces
with guitarist Nguyen Le and Dave Binney (sax) for the CD release
of his seventh solo outing, Harbor by Joel Harrison’s
End Time Quintet. Assisted by Jamey Haddad (drums) and
Gildas Bocle (bass), Harbor is a sophisticated instrumental
set with musical minds meeting at the crossroads of jazz, rock, Indian
and African music. With Harrison’s expertise as both an electric
guitarist and master of modern improv, there’s plenty of wildly
eclectic and well recorded sounds here for fusion fans and avant gard
jazz aficionados. www.jazzdepot.com
ICON MES - With a batch of stick in your head songs and some top
musicianship, Steve Bertrand steps forward with a fine solo
album in 2007. Melodically, Bertrand’s songs are derivative of
the Frampton / Bowie approach to pop song writing. On his first solo
album, Bertrand is backed up by some excellent players and he more
than acquits himself as both a singer and guitarist. Having worked
with producer Phil Ramone during initial group, The Tories, Bertrand
has track record in the biz and he’s off to a flying start with
his catchy solo debut. www.iconmes.com
INTERSCOPE - Known for breaking ground in the late ‘80s back
in his native Seattle with grunge rock pioneers Soundgarden, Chris
Cornell returns in 2007 with his 13th career album. Teaming with
producer Steve Lillywhite, and a host of top drawer electric
guitarists including Brian Ray, Gary Lucas, Cameron
Greider and Cornell himself, the sound of Carry On features
Cornell in top form conjuring a fresh rock-pop vibe in the spirit
of some of producer Lillywhite’s earlier clients like U2, Dave
Matthews and Morrissey. The Paris-based Cornell knows how to write
a melodic, atmospheric rockers and having sold over 20 millions albums
with Soundgarden and more recently the group Audioslave, Cornell lays
fresh asphalt for himself with the well honed rock sound of Carry
On. www.chriscornell.com
LEGACY - So inspirational was the music on this final ELO
(as we know them) album that George Harrison agreed to enlist Jeff
Lynne for Cloud 9 and the rest is history. Almost ten years
after the final ELO album of the ‘70s Out Of The Blue, the
‘86 release of Balance Of Power featured
a choice mix of album tracks and hit singles including long-standing
ELO favorites “So Serious” and “Calling America.”
Like day and night compared to the grandiose prog vision of the first
Electric Light Orchestra album with ELO brainchild Royston
Wood from 1971, Balance Of Power masterfully shifted the emphasis
with hard hitting, Euro-tinged pop melodies that leaned heavily on
drum machines, sequencers and massive amounts of reverb. The bottom
line looking on, what?, is it all worked and amazing to say this retrofit
reissue sounds much better today than it did 20 years ago. Legacy’s
2007 reissue of Balance Of Power is complete with seven bonus
cuts and new liner notes from Jeff Lynne and ELO historian Rob
Caiger. Commenting, Lynne adds, ‘This was to be the last
ELO album of that century. Even so I think it turned out to be one
of the better ones (the album, not the century.)’ Long time ELO
followers should note the the two Traveling Wilburys CD, Volumes
1 and 3 are now slated for reissue by Rhino later in 2007.
www.ftmusic.com
Legacy revives the catalog of L.A. pop icon Michael Penn,
rescuing his 2005 album as a double CD set while simultaneously releasing
a compilation of Penn. Mr. Hollywood Jr. was
released as an indie cd by Penn a couple years back. A strong pop
rock epic, the song cycle kicks off in style with a gut-wrenching
rocker entitled “Walter Reed” and never lets go. Legacy
pairs the 13 track CD with a second disc featuring six tracks recorded
for KCRW radio in late 2005. The late Phil Ochs would have loved Penn’s
‘thinking man’s pop’ voice—a sonorous baritone
that effortlessly renders his ironic words and melodies. Regarding
the 2007 retrospective of Penn’s earlier music released on both
BMG and Sony, the 20 track Palms & Runes, Tarot & Tea
dates back to tracks from Penn’s ‘89 debut on RCA
and moves forward through various tracks Penn made in the ‘90s
and new 2007 versions of earlier tracks. With that Phil Ochs inspired
vocal played against a finely wrought Beatle-esque backbeat, Penn’s
guitar playing is tasteful throughout. Top sidemen and production
from several big names doesn’t exactly hurt matters either. www.michaelpenn.com
LOVE SLAVE RECORDS - There is a slight Brooklyn-y, feels like
home edge to the moody instrumental music of Kings County (Brooklyn
to those outside the borough of NYC) based J.A. Granelli
And Mr. Lucky. On their 2006 CD Homing—subitled
A Feeling In Nine Parts—the sound is at once jazzy bebop,
leaning funereal in a guitar-noir style, while also echoing a slight
return to ‘60s psychedelia. Bass ace J.A. Granelli has
put together a fine team including electric guitarists Brad Shepik
and pedal steeler Gerald Menkeb, atmospheric B-5 of Nate
Shaw and drummer Mike Sarin. J.A.’s countrified Brooklyn
fusion of sounds works real well in an instrumental setting that will
impress jazzers and jam band rockers alike. www.lvslv.com
MANHATTAN RECORDS - A division of the EMI / Blue Note stable of
labels, Manhattan released a 2007 CD from Chinese superstars 12
Girls Band. As beautiful as they are gifted, these ladies fuse
the ancient traditions of Chinese classical and folk music with Western
pop, classical and jazz. On their 2007 all instrumental CD, Shanghai,
the Girls keep their cutting edge reputation in tact blending
a solid offering of Chinese traditional folk music with fresh interpretations
of modern western pop hits—including instrumental covers of tracks
made famous by Sting, Celine Dion—with all played on classic
Chinese stringed instruments like pipa, erhu and guzheng. On Shanghai,
the girls also feature a ‘backing band’ of western rock-based
instruments including electric guitars, bass and drums. Amid this
glorious sounding traditional Asian music, there’s even a tasty
cover of the Dave Brubeck jazz classic “Take 5.” Tasty Chinese
stuff, indeed. There’s also a Live From Shanghai
DVD also on Manhattan featuring the 12 Girls Band live in concert.
www.12girlsbandusa.com
NEW DOOR / UME - Armed with solid pop song writing with
hooks and moods enough to sucker punch a veteran cosmic rocker, So-Cal
rocker William Tell arrives with his major label debut. Tell
admits, ‘I’m a guitar player, but I’m a sucker for
great song writing more than big riffs.’ UME are plugging Tell’s
mood enhancing pop tracks everywhere and if you’re lucky enough
you might hear Tell and his fine band on a pop muzak station blowing
younger minds down at your local mall. Summing up his shot at the
big time Tell adds, ‘Making this record helped me accept that
sometimes what life gives you is better than what you had in mind.’
Tell’s You Can Hold Me Down is solid choice
for pop fans young and old. www.umeportal.com
NOHJOH MUSIC - Daniel Bruce is an up and coming jazz guitarist
teaching guitar studies at University of North Texas. Having performed
in various Broadway musicals, and citing George Gershwin as a big
influence, Bruce follows his instincts on the 2006 CD release of his
solo debut, A Single Thread. Performing electric
guitars, nylon string guitar and lap steel, Bruce gets excellent assistance
from a full band backing on horns, bass, drums and keyboards. The
sound of A Single Thread is instrumental avant gard jazz, all
played with feel and expertise. www.danielbrucemusic.com
PLUCK RECORDS - Over in Holland, Dutch guitarist Emiel van
Dikk keeps the spirit of acoustic guitar driven jazz alive and
well with his 2007 CD entitled Rhythm Of The Guitar.
Released on the Pluck label, the CD features Emiel backed by a
solid rhythm section. The sixteen track CD features an all original
set of instrumentals including a seven track soundtrack to a musical
theater piece called “Echoes From The Heart.” From Leo Kottke
style guitar pieces to a more sultry bossa nova style sound, Emiel
covers a lot of musical territory with Rhythm Of The Guitar. www.pluckrecords.com
PRIVATE COLLECTION RECORDS - Renowned for his on-fire guitar solo
on the 1975 Steely Dan favorite “Reelin’ In the Years,”
guitarist Elliott Randall takes that world renowned song solo
to it’s logical next step on a five track, 25 minute, 2007 CD
EP entitled Still Reelin’. With it’s
Celtic style pt. 1 intro, “Reelin” gets a new lease on life
with Randall backed up by key players including his ex-Steely Dan
mates Bernard Purdie (drums) and Chuck Rainey (bass)
with Tasmin Archer bringing her cool but uniquely effective
vocal style to the song. After hearing Randall’s long awaited
return to form, it’s clear that “Reelin” has lost none
of its pop appeal. A pair of jazzy rock instros, one featuring Al
Kooper on B-3, and a cover of “Lovely Day”—written
by Bill Withers—with vocals by a fellow named Jag, add
further zing to this short but sweet offering from Randall. www.elliot-randal.com
PROGROCK - Following the heyday of bands such as U.K. prog icons
Yes and Genesis, the American band Starcastle came along in
the late ‘70s to carry that prog-rock torch forward in the U.S.
With a range of gifted players and composers including Gary Strater
(bass), Matt Stewart and Bruce Botts on guitars,
Starcastle released a comeback CD, entitled Song Of Times
in 2007 with enough fresh ideas to almost eclipse some of their earlier
works. The band also features a singer, Al Lewis, who with
his higher pitched voice sounds like a rev-ed up Jon Anderson. All
this basking in the golden days of ‘70s progressive rock would
be innuendo without some fine music to back up those chops, though
clearly Starcastle are up for this musical task with new music that
features vital contributions from many of the key players from the
band’s early years, including the late Gary Strater, to whom
the record is dedicated. www.starcastlemusic.com
PLANTING SEEDS - The Voyces are an excellent NYC based
outfit and on their 2007 CD Kissing Like It’s Love
they can’t seem to make up their mind if they’re Pink
Floyd, The Archies or any number of acoustic folk-rock bands from
NYC’s Village scene. What sets Voyces apart is the excellent
singer-songwriting of Brian Wurschum who sounds firmly in charge.
Fine studio sound and attention to detail brings these modern day
folk rock aficionados further to the cutting edge. The Voyces gently
rock and the quintet sound is greatly abetted by the sparingly used
but effective electric guitar of Steve Dawsson. The Voyces
can also be heard performing track two on a twenty track tribute to
the late great Rick Nelson, also released in 2007 on Planting
Seeds Records. Among the luminaries, besides The Voyces, sharing the
honors in this salute are Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Wilson guitarist
Jeff Foskett and Jeff’s partner in the New Surf North
label, Jeff Larson, to name just a few. www.thevoyces.net
/ www.plantingseedsrecords.com
RICK UDLER - Born in Chile to Argentine parents, Brazilian guitarist
Rick Udler echoes the best of the bossa nova / solo jazz guitar
sound as played on nylon string classical. Having produced legendary
Brazilian guitarist Paulinho Nogueira’s first U.S. release, Reflections
back in ‘99, Rick Udler steps forward with his 2007 solo
instrumental release, entitled Papaya. Having
lived in the U.S. for many years and adept in both jazz and rock,
Udler flavors this mostly solo Brazilian classical bossa nova outing
with some jazzy twists and turns. Featuring the occasional backing
on acoustic bass, percussion and on one track, piano, Papaya is
an instrumental guitar lovers dream that provides an intimate setting
for Udler’s crafty nylon string guitar expertise. www.rickudler.com
RED BULLET - The Dutch instrumental rock group Focus was
formed at the end of the ‘60s by guitarist Jan Akkerman and co-founder
keyboardist / flutist Thjis van Leer. Quite a number of albums
later both artists are still will in their prime—Akkerman as
a prolific guitarist in Europe and van Leer as the current leader
of Focus. Still keeping the arty instrumental guitar-centric sound
alive on the 2007 CD release of Focus 9 / New Skin,
van Leer adds guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven to fill the
void of Akkerman, while producer / bassist Bobby Jacobs and
Dutch drumming legend Pierre van der Linden make a formidable
rhythm section. Hats off to Euro keyboard icon Thjis van Leer for
keeping the Euro flavored Focus classical / jazz fusion sound alive
and well in the new millennium. www.redbullet.nl / www.focustheband.com
REDSTONE JAZZ - The bottom line here is that Virginia-based guitarist
Vince Lewis makes listening to instrumental jazz easy and fun.
A Heritage Guitar performing artist since 1991, Lewis returns in 2007
with a mainstream jazz album that expertly blends bebop jazz, pop
standards and more. Commenting on Charlotte Swing
Lewis adds, ‘This project, recorded with all first takes,
shows the invaluable benefit of working with a trio that regularly
plays together. We went into the studio, recorded 16 tracks,
and picked the tunes we felt were the best ones to release.
The recording process was actually completed in less that 3
hours. I truly believe this album is my best recorded effort
to date. In my opinion, Tom and Phil are the best supporting
rhythm section around. Commenting on his guitar/amp setup Lewis explains,
‘I recorded this CD with my custom built Heritage arch top guitar
played through a Redstone RS 8 speaker cabinet. The cabinet
was mic-ed in order to present the natural sound of the cabinet.
Thanks to Dave Mc Elroy, Gwen Jones and Stan Lee for their wonderful
design and engineering.’ www.vincelewis.com
RRO - Had Joe Meek lived long enough to hear Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band he would no doubt have been impressed
by a new instrumental version of the complete Beatles album by guitar
synthesist Les Fradkin. Honoring the 40th anniversary of the
Beatles classic and his own original role of George Harrison in the
1977 Beatlemania on Broadway Fradkin beams up a super compressed
Meek style recording sound, driving the meters into the red zone with
Pepper - Front To Back 40/30 Anniversary. Taking his
cues from John Lennon’s overdriven guitar sound on the 45 version
of “Revolution” and George Harrison’s guitar sound
on “It’s All Too Much,” Fradkin’s no holds barred
start to finish summary of Sgt. Pepper ends with an over the
edge instro of “All You Need Is Love.” Like he did with
Jeff Beck in the mid ‘70s, its too bad George Martin wasn’t
around to further refine Fradkin’s scintillating electric guitar
orchestrations of rock most revered classic album. Fradkin was great
in ‘77 Beatlemania and he extrapolates the spirit 30 years
after with an album bound to polarize guitar fusion freaks and maybe
even bring in long time Beatles fans with open ears. www.lesfradkin.com
RAVEN RECORDS - At the dawn of the ‘70s few ‘indie’
labels had as much cred in the music world as the great Kama Sutra
and offshoot Buddah. Still reeling from the greatness created in the
wake of ‘60s classics from The Lovin’ Spoonful and
subsequent bubblegum classics, Kama Sutra ventured into progressive
pop with the great Buzzy Linhart (his all time classic Music)
and an unheralded, yet equally brilliant pop band called Stories.
Kama Sutra wound up releasing three Lps from Stories, the first two
of which are book ended on a single disc 24 track CD from Raven entitled,
Stories / About Us. Originally formed by Michael
Brown—pop genius and founder of ‘60s pop prodigies The
Left Banke—Stories also features a great singer in Ian Lloyd
and gifted guitarist Steve Love. Both their self-titled
first Stories album from 1972 and the ‘73 release of About
Us remain American pop classics. Although the group enlisted producer
ace Eddie Kramer for About Us, it seemed Kramer and
Brown didn’t exactly hit it off—an unfortunate circumstance
at best—and sadly, Brown wound up leaving after much of the About
Us album was recorded. Strangely, subsequently Stories achieved
massive success with a post-Brown number one hit, “Brother Louie,”
(an oddity featured as an afterthought on later pressings of About
Us), and even recorded an excellent third album without Brown,
but those great pop songs from the band’s first two albums were
never to be equaled by Lloyd or Browne, and the latter is rumored
to be putting together a Left Banke reunion band. Raven’s 2007
pairing of Stories / About Us features excellent discography
info and a rare Stories bonus cut from 1974 called “Another Love.”
Ditto for Raven’s excellent John Sebastian anthology entitled
Life And Times 1964-1999. In a shrewd commercial
move, the 29 track CD features 21 Sebastian originals with his band
mates in The Lovin’ Spoonful, moving on the Reprise solo
years of the early ‘70s, capping off with “Welcome Back”
and a pair of late ‘90s tracks with John Sebastian & The
J-Band. Raven chooses the pack their set with the Spoonful’s
biggest hits coupled with some unexpected album tracks and movie music.
Much the same is true about Raven’s 2007 pairing of Patchwork
/ Fancy by fabled ‘60s country pop singer
Bobbie Gentry. Best known for her own “Ode To Billy Joe,”
as a singer-songwriter she sails way past that huge 45. Released as
Lps on Capitol Records during 1970-71, both albums—as well as
Raven’s two other Gentry CDs—are well worth hearing again.
Without being chauvinistic, this lady looks as good as she sings and
simply put, they don’t make great singers like this any more.
As usual, Raven packs there down under twofer reissue from Bobbie
Gentry with loads of color and b&w artwork and liner notes. www.ravenrecords.com.au
SALVATORI PRODUCTIONS - Tom Salavatori is known as a guitarist’s
guitarist—an expert at both classical guitar and the combination
of classical with any number of musical genres. Tom enchanted
listeners with his last album from 2002, Late Night Guitar, which
was a children’s album disguised as an excellent, meditative
study in the healing power of the nylon string guitar. In 2007 Tom
joins forces with pianist Iris Litchfield for a gorgeous duet
album of timeless instrumental music—supplemented by the cello
arrangements of John Cutchings. A seamless blend of vintage
classical music and the curative vibes of the New Age meditation genre
that was so popular in the mid ‘90s, When Evening Falls is
the most appealing outing yet from the versatile guitar imagination
of Tom Salvatori. www.salvatoriproductions.com
SAVANT RECORDS - Modeling his jazz sound after the ‘60s guitar
/ B-3 / drums trio of Grant Green, Larry Young and Elvin Jones, guitarist
Bob DeVos returns with his 2006 instrumental CD Shifting
Sands. DeVos was influenced early on by guitars greats
like Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Pat Martino and he carries
that tradition of timeless instro jazz groove on the nine track Shifting
Sands. In addition to the B-3 sound of Dan Kostelnick and
the drums of Steve Johns, DeVos is also joined by Eric Alexander
(tenor sax) and Gary Fritz (percussion). Whether performing
his own original tracks or reinterpreting classics from giants like
A.C. Jobim (“Mohave”) and Jimmy Van Heusen’s 1947 classic
“But Beautiful,” DeVos simply shines on his favorite guitar,
a Robert Engel custom built. In his informative liner notes DeVos
goes into detail on his love of jazz guitar, offering additional details
of the music on hand. www.bobdevojazzguitar.com
SHOUT! FACTORY - Following in the aftermath of supergroups like
Blind Faith and Mountain, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and
Carl Palmer stunned the music world with their 1970 debut.
In a crowded field of incredible talent, ELP managed to sound completely
unique. In 2006 Shout! Factory began releasing new titles in their
ELP remasters series beginning with the self titled
1970 debut, Emerson Lake & Palmer and 1971’s
Tarkus. ELP were a progressive favorite and managed
to chart with an occasional top 40 AM radio hit. For a prog band in
1970, that was just amazing. Things got even more amazing for ELP
with the follow-up to Tarkus, the late 1971 Lp release of Pictures
At An Exhibition. For a band that didn’t have
a proper six string electric guitar player, Pictures made a
whole lot of sonic classical rock noise. The concept of covering a
classical piece by Russian composer Mussorgsky was a stroke of genius,
especially considering that Emerson was the premier rock keyboardist
in the world at that point. Following Pictures, ELP were back
on the charts in a big way with 1972’s Trilogy.
It seemed like ELP were all over FM radio with Trilogy, which
sported a chart-topping hit, “From The Beginning.” ELP went
on to even bigger world-wide success after Trilogy, yet for
some early fans, the initial magic of these first four ELP albums
was gone. That’s not to say that the band stopped breaking new
ground, it was just that fabled 1967-72 turning point in 20th century
music history was a hard act to follow. Perhaps bass great Greg Lake
summed it up best by adding, ‘ELP had a certain chemistry and
a certain power that was obvious to all three os us when we would
get together to record or play. It was something special.’ Look
for Shout! Factory to continue reissuing the ELP catalog into 2008.
www.shoutfactory.com
SONIC PAST MUSIC - L.A. based Sonic Past is a great pop reissue
label run by the artistic eye and ear of founder Joey Stec.
Back in the ‘60s Stec worked with greats like Gary Usher and
Usher’s cohort, the late great singer/songwriter Curt Boettcher.
Usher worked with Boettcher on a number of projects including Sagittarius
and SP and Sound City mines Curt’s solo career with a circa ‘71
pop based acoustic guitar album that he made with guitarist Web
Burrell. Burrell’s insightful liners puts new spin on a lesser
known, yet equally deserving, album classic. Although he based away
too soon, Boettcher’s singing is great on Chicken Little Was
Right and with Gary Usher as executive producer you know
the sound is cutting edge. As long time fans of classic L.A. pop may
know, Stec and Boettcher were members of the band, The Millennium,
who are anthologized by Stec and Sound City on a 21 track compilation
from ‘67-68 entitled Pieces. There was lots
of unreleased tracks from the band, and complete with detailed eye-opening
liner notes of the band’s illustrious history, the CD is complete
with loads of liner notes and pics. In a twist of fate, Boettcher’s
cohort Web Burrell resurfaced in recent years and fans can
catch up with his appealing guitar work, vocals and songwriter—sounding
like Curt Boettcher meets The Band—playing everthing on his 1999
CD,The Usual Suspect. www.soniccityent.com
/ www.webburrell.com
SQUARE BOX - Considering this CD was produced by New Age guitar
pioneer Will Ackerman, you can really feel the Windham Hill
effect over the course of The Language Of Spirits.
Since his emergence as a guitar pioneer back in the late ‘70s,
Perrone has appeared on a number of film soundtracks, children's music,
progressive rock, folk, classical/new age and alternative health soundtracks.
The Language Of Spirits is really just that—a summoning
up of instrumental acoustic guitar imagery in the spirit of Ackerman’s
Windham Hill sound as well as the early music of Ralph Towner in the
Paul Winter Consort. Several artists assist Perrone on his third acoustic
guitar disc including Tim Story, Michael Manring, Glen
Velez and Ackerman too on Parlor Guitar. The Language Of Spirits
is highly atmospheric, meditative stuff that breezes by as the
hours flash by. CD mastering by Bob Ludwig caps off Perrone’s
2007 New Age instrumental guitar classic. www.rudyperrone.com
SUNDAZED - Described as slice of instant summer, surf-guitar maestro
Dick Dale is a top priority at Sundazed in 2007. With Sundazed
having released Dale’s 1962 album debut (first out on the Deltone
label) Surfers’ Choice last year—reissued
by Sundazed on CD with six bonus tracks—they follow suit with
four more 2007 CD reissues from Dick Dale And Hit Del-Tones,
including King Of The Surf Guitar (Dale’s 1963
album and first on Capitol Records), Checkered Flag (late
‘63), Mr. Eliminator (1964) and Summer Surf
(1964). Each Sundazed title features bonus tracks and as usual
with Sundazed, in depth liner notes. Although Dale was and still remains
a class surf-rock guitarist—renowned for his firebrand mix of
reverb-ed to the max instro and vocal blend of R&B, folk and pop—fans
will also marvel at the musicians Dale featured on his sessions. For
instance, on 1963’s King Of The Surf Guitar, players at
the sessions included guitarists Glen Campbell and Barney
Kessell along with Leon Russell and drummer Hal Blaine.
Dale’s early influences included the tribal beat of wildman drummer
Gene Krupa, with Dale explaining, ‘When I started playing for
high schools, the female teachers made the girls sit down on the floor
and cross their legs, because I was using that tribal beat.’
www.sundazed.com
TELARC
- Having spent a lifetime performing and recording some of the greatest
classical guitar works, guitarist David Russell marks his latest
recorded achievement with the 2007 CD release of Art Of The
Guitar. Recording for Telarc since 1995, Russell’s
latest solo guitar CD on Telarc spans 67 minutes of music from the
traditional Spanish classical guitar repertoire, while highlighting
works by composers from Latin America, Hungary and England as well
classical adaptations of classical giants Edvard Grieg and Claude
Debussy. There’s also some very impressive Russell performances
of two well known preludes from Brazilian composer legend Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Commenting on Art Of The Guitar, Russell states,
‘This collection of pieces has been a part of my repertoire for
many years. I am happy to finally find a home for them on this recording.’
Following in the footsteps of classical guitar giants such as John
Williams and Julian Bream, Russell brings a fresh vision to the world
of classical guitar. www.telarc.com
THE STORE FOR MUSIC - The drummer of Yes since Bill Bruford flew
the coup in late 1972, as well as on hundreds of classic rock performances,
Alan White has taken advantage of the long hiatus of Yes and
has released a fine new CD recently recorded in ‘06. The self-titled
White features Alan’s patented drumming
skills still in peak form, while the sessions are further accented
by strong performances from one time Yes band mate Geoff Downes
(keyboards), Shane Boyce (bass) and Karl Haug (guitars).
Singer Kevin Currie fits in nicely with White’s stadium
size rock beat, a wonderful ‘80s style shine that echoes the
big beat of 1983’s 90125 and the first Esquire album
from ‘89. White was the drummer of choice for both John Lennon
and George Harrison as well as Gary Wright in their early solo careers
and he’s remained at the forefront of classic rock drumming with
Yes since 1973 when Lennon told us that Yes is the answer, but we
already knew that, for sure. www.thestoreformusic.com / www.whitemusic.net
UMBRELLO - The news in the rock world is that Chris Squire
departed The SYN at the end of 2006. SYN—the psych-pop
band formed by Squire and Steve Nardelli in ‘65 and disbanded
when Squire formed YES in 1969—staged a brilliant comeback CD,
Syndestructible, at the end of 2005. 2007’s seven cut
CD, Armistice Day debuts a classic rock title track
fueled by catchy hooks and utopian lyrics of world peace. The CD is
further fleshed out with live 2006 XM radio versions of tracks from
Syndestructible that feature key contributions from
YES drumming legend Alan White and guitarist Shane Theriot.
The Syndestructible covers are interesting, near unplugged
versions with White’s tasteful drumming offset by Theriot’s
acoustic guitar and acoustic piano from Gerard Johnson. Armistice
Day may signal the end of the 2005 revival with Squire and Nardelli,
so here’s wishing them both much success in the future. www.theone.tv
Over in the U.K. the multitalented singer/songwriter Steve
Nardelli has launched his Umbrello Records roster with some mighty
impressive CD releases including Dreamer by N.J. based
Anton Roolaart. With his vocals very much in the spirit of
late period Pink Floyd, Peter Hammill and even label boss Steve Nardelli
in SYN, Roolaart proves to be more than an adept singer songwriter
and guitarist. Joined with an excellent band—including drummer
Rich Berends of the group Mastermind—Roolaart conjures
up a sumptuous palate of symphonic rock textures, heralding the era
of when the prog-rock pioneers like Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant
ruled the earth. www.antonroolaart.com Another intriguing CD
on Umbrello comes from guitarist Kurt Michaels. Michaels follows
the 2004 release of Inner Worlds with his 2007 CD Outer
Worlds. Taken from a series of 2006 live show where
Michaels opened for the Umbrello supergroup SYN, the 75+ minute Outer
Worlds features Michaels performing his fourth dimensional, dreamlike
guitar instrumentals. Although Michaels cites John McLaughlin and
Miles Davis as his early influences, Outer Worlds sounds inspired
by the otherworldly soundscapes of early Tangerine Dream combined
with the atmospheric guitar looping of Robert Fripp. From the cover
art down to the up close and personal sound of the CD, there’s
an air of authenticity to Michaels’ guitar sound. www.kurtmichaels.com
/ www.umbrellorecords.com
UNICORN DIGITAL - Up in Quebec, Unicorn have been releasing
prog-rock from all over the planet up to and including a 2007 CD from
the Ukrainian progressive group Karfagen. Featuring multi-instrumentalist,
guitar/keyboardist Antony Kalugin, the group blend modern progressive
with back ground that hints of groups like ELP and Procol Harum. The
all instrumental CD really allows the music to breath. This first
ever North American Karfagen CD features Kalugin backed up by some
excellent jazz-rock players including guitarists Denis Moroz.
Further into 2007 Unicorn have a new CD from the label’s founder
and guiding light—guitarist, songwriter and arranger Michel
St-Père—and his group Mystery. The
group’s 2007 Unicorn CD release, Veil Of Winter’s
Face will definitely appeal to Rush, Journey and Genesis.
The CD is a real work of art, and to top it off, there’s a 28
page CD booklet pairing the complete CD lyrics in English with some
wildly impressionistic photos to accompany the prog-rock vibe. Speaking
of great prog-bands from Montreal, Unicorn also have an all instrumental,
guitar intensive jazz-rock CD from the band Capharnaum entitled
Le Soleil Est Une Bombe Atomique. Like the legendary,
long departed Montreal band Maneige, Capharnaum pull out all the stops
on their ten track, 2007 Unicorn debut. Clearly Michel St-Père
has his ear to the ground Whether playing guitar in Mystery and his
exemplary work with Unicorn he’s clearly breaking new ground
in both the prog-rock and instrumental jazz-rock fusion worlds. www.unicorndigital.com
WG - The bible when it comes to the music biz, This Business
Of Music was recently released again in June 2007 (now in
it’s 10th edition) by Watson-Guptill Publications. Originally
written by several prominent lawyers specializing in music copyrights
and publishing—including M. William Krasilovsky and the
late Sidney Shemel—this 576 page, hard cover ten edition
confronts the ever changing landscape of the music industry, including
an entirely new chapter dedicated to music in cyberspace. This
Business Of Music remains the bible when it comes to examining
the legal labyrinth known as the music business. www.watsonguptill.com
WITCHWOOD MEDIA - Although they started out primarily as a
group of folk hippies, The Strawbs took it up a notch when Rick Wakeman
joined the band in 1970 for their From The Witchwood Lp on
A&M. Further additions of keyboard genius John Hawken and later
with electric guitarist Dave Lambert on a bunch on early ‘70s
Lp classics solidified their progressive meets folk rock credentials.
In fact, the loudest earsplitting concert I ever saw was The Strawbs
live at the Academy Of Music back in 1973. That sense of that early
‘70s Strawbs rock sound comes alive on Live At Nearfest 2004.
One of the unheralded great prog-rock guitarists of the mid ‘70s,
Lambert is in the fine company of founding singer-songwriter Dave
Cousins, prog keyboard wiz John Hawken and the rhythm section
of Chas Cronk (bass) and Rod Coombes (drums). This was
the classic Strawbs lineup on their 1974 Hero & Heroine CD.
As this in concert CD proves, these guys have this music imbedded
in their DNA. Let Cousins and company take you on a trip down Strawbs
memory lane. www.witchwoodrecords.co.uk
As great as The Strawbs were in the studio, they were truly
at their peak in a live setting. As a matter of fact, the loudest
concert I ever saw was the Strawbs in NYC at the Academy Of Music.
Not bad for a folk-rock band. With ear splitting mellotrons with songs
that made good use of them, Dave Cousins and his Strawbs men
have, through the years, come to define British folk and rock and
their universal message is put into a superb focus on their self-owned
release of A Taste Of Strawbs. You can’t
miss the cat on the cover, but for those who know of their music,
the four CD box set is quite essential. A 48 page booklet tells the
tale of their rise to fame with superb BBC studio tracks and a staggering
cross-section of studio quality rarities to amaze hard core fans.
What’s even cooler is the attention to chronicling the many great
players with amazing pictures to back it up. Timeless British folk,
rock and prog but into a sonic mix, The Strawbs have an impressive
legacy and it’s all there on A Taste Of Strawbs. www.strawbsweb.co.uk
YA RECORDS - Forty years ago Cat Stevens made a huge impact
in the pop world with his ‘67 smash “Matthew And Son”
and four decades later he’s back with his first real pop album
in nearly 30 years. It’s still a little hard accept Cat man as
the Islamic convert, Yusuf, but one can only praise Allah that
he’s given us back Steven Demetre Georgiou for some new millennium
sounds. Several tracks on Yusuf’s late 2006 CD release of An
Other Cup harks back to classic late ‘60s, “Matthew”
era Cat Stevens, especially on a new and very cool remake of his 1970
original “I Think I See The Light.” Yusuf’s cover of
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”—made famous back
in the ‘60s by Eric Burdon and The Animals—sounds like the
best rendition of the song ever. Both track fit in nicely on an album
of Yusuf originals that truly do justice to the genealogy of the artist’s
best ‘60s/70s era songs. Some top players add studio luster including
early Cat Stevens guitarist / sideman Alun Davies, guitar greats
John Themis, Martin Allock, Danny Thompson and
many more. www.catstevens.com
Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed
in www.mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to CD Reviews Editor
Robert Silverstein, P.O. Box 630249, Little Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249
e-mail: rss54@mwe3.com
