Archive for the 'Album Reviews' Category
Temple of the Dog: Andrew Wood we hardly knew you!
Author: Butler Bad
One of the albums that are in rotation this week is Temple of the Dog. I’ve owned the album for close to twenty years and I never seem to grow tired of it. I realize part of that is the nostalgia for the time in which the album was released, part of it is the musical energy and excitement that was breaking out in the Seattle music scene, and part of it is that it is just a really great album. Read the rest of this entry »
read comments (2)The Froggies “Leather and Lace”
Author: Beverly Paterson
THE FROGGIES “Leather and Lace: An Anthology of the Froggies” (Rue Records)
Contrary to widespread belief, the eighties were not all about synthesizer music and hair metal bands. Those courageous enough to investigate the deeper recesses of the scene would have stumbled upon a host of brilliant acts, and the Froggies are one band that fit the bill. Hailing from France, the group paid no mind to the current trends of the decade and were content to concentrate on music they personally preferred. Stacked to the ceiling with raw boned rock and roll, “Leather and Lace: An Anthology of the Froggies” examines the band expertly blending shades of Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran with the power pop perspectives of The Flamin’ Groovies and The Plimsouls to electrifying effects. Had the Froggies existed in the sixties, there’s little question they would have given the gods of the era some serious competition. Tracks such as “Bang Bang (You’re Dead),” “Lisa Child,” “The Boy With The Hole In His Heart,” “Let’s Practice,” “(There’s A Party In The Cave,” “Love At First Sight” and the title cut of the album ripple, swagger and strut with perpetual energy and excitement. Generated by cackling guitar licks, incisive drum beats and chunky hooks, “Leather and Lace: An Anthology of the Froggies” is a barrel and a half of fun. The rhythms are danceable and the songs are great to sing along with. Now this is real rock and roll!
Zac Brown: Pass the Jar
Author: Butler Bad
Zac Brown and his rowdy band of musical brothers did a benefit concert for the Georgia Theatre, a cultural haven of the Athens music scene that burned down in 2009, and released it as a live album entitled Pass the Jar. The album is a two disc set that is accompanied by a DVD of the concert. Zac’s music is typically fun in nature and drenched in the good time vibe. The concert exemplifies that vibe and the diversity of the cover songs reflects his deep appreciation for music in general. Read the rest of this entry »
Zac Brown Band: Pass the Jar
Author: Butler Bad
Zac Brown and his rowdy band of musical brothers did a benefit concert for the Georgia Theatre, a cultural haven of the Athens music scene that burned down in 2009, and released it as a live album entitled Pass the Jar. The album is a two disc set that is accompanied by a DVD of the concert. Zac’s music is typically fun in nature and drenched in the good time vibe. The concert exemplifies that vibe and the diversity of the cover songs reflects his deep appreciation for music in general. Read the rest of this entry »
Beacon Street Union
Author: Beverly Paterson
The Beacon Street Union
“The Eyes of The Beacon Street Union” (Tune In Records)
“The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens” (Tune In Records)
The Dead Weather: Yet another Jack White Musical Love Child!
Author: Butler Bad
Ok, I’m on a bit of a Jack White bender and today’s blog is about his other musical love child The Dead Weather. This incarnation finds White and Raconteur cohort Jack Lawrence (The Greenhornes) pillaging the musical talent of Allison Mosshart (The Kills, Discount) and Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age). Read the rest of this entry »
The Roots, How I Got Over (2010 Def Jam)
Author: Gabriel Barrio
Vinyl soothing sounds lamenting over troubled times and rhythmic reminiscing, an exploration, a question; is something really missing, from one end of the vinyl groove to the other, a soulful examination of how they got over.
The Roots newest album How I Got Over is a worthy album for exploration. Although not necessarily an independent rock band they make a smooth transition further underground from mainstream hip-hop with its foray into experimental collaborations including Monsters of Folk and Joanna Newsom. With a full band including mc, live drums, bass, 2 keyboard players, percussion, guitar, and sousaphone. The Roots are not only pioneers of this awakening genre but the masters of it as well. With little to no competition in the hip-hop world in terms of groups that have a full band, and almost no large hip hop artist making collaborations with independent musicians such as The Monsters of Folk and Joanna Newsom. The Roots are in a world of their own creation. Read the rest of this entry »
Broken Bells
Author: Butler Bad
Broken Bells is the self titled debut album of the mash up of in demand producer Brian Burton (Gorillaz, The Black Keys, Beck) who is also known as Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) and James Mercer (The Shins). In 2004 the two met and decided to work together and four years later they actually got together and began recording. You can’t rush greatness folks! The album was released in March 2010. The music has an experimental edge to it but it is also immersed in melody. Read the rest of this entry »
Band of Horses, Infinite Arms (Columbia, 2010)
Author: Gabriel Barrio
Dreary eyed, and melancholy muses, getting used to bad news, and exaggerated critical acclaims, another hour of rhythms and string strums, light drums and vocal hums. The world is turning slowly, madness ensures on every corner of the globe, forest fires, recalled food products, natural disasters, wars, discord, sorrow, famine and failure, it is all around us. Some look to the sky, some run to their holy books, their holy places, some run straight into the belly of hedonism, others excess and vice. However, on this starry night I look no further than the notes and melodies divine, in each devotional note I find, peace and solitude. Read the rest of this entry »
ISN’T IT TIME YOU HAD SOME FUNKY KNIGHTS?
Author: Jeff Boule
Every once in a while you gotta take a leap of faith. Just give something a listen to that may not be up your alley. For me, that leap of faith was The Funky Knights. I have some R&B appreciation in my background. One of the slickest produced artists I remember (and just plain old liked) was the late Luther Vandross. His albums were always clean, tight and had that smooth sheen.
I have to say, The Funky Knights come awfully close. At least when it comes to the instrument production.
An important album from an important artist. Cover reprinted with permission of Nonesuch records.
You’re reading a review.
About someone you’ve never heard of.
But…
You should know her.
You should know her work.
You should know her work is.
You should know her work is for… YOU!
She is a performance artist, music, dance, theater, comedy, drama, love, hate, technology… She is a political activist. But I don’t go near politics and I don’t go near music artists when they sit between their wives and ex-wives.
Various Artists “Forty One Sixty The Songs of The Shambles”
Author: Beverly Paterson
Various Artists “Forty One Sixty The Songs of The Shambles” (Blindspot Records 109)
The curious title of this Shambles tribute album stems from the fact that this was the address where the band’s fearless leader, Bart Mendoza, once lived and wrote many of their tunes there. 4160 Bachman Place, San Diego, California was actually the exact location. The Shambles evolved from another great band, Manual Scan, and the disc contains material from both groups. Active from 1980 to 1992, Manual Scan were power popping Mod gods, and when The Shambles came into being shortly after their demise they duly followed suit and are still going strong today. Like the bands that inspired them, Manual Scan and The Shambles concentrate on hooky pop pleasures. Not an ounce of fat cushions their tunes, as they’re short, sometimes sweet and sometimes sassy. Read the rest of this entry »
Skid Roper “Rock and Roll Part 3″
Author: Beverly Paterson
Skid Roper “Rock and Roll Part 3” (Blindspot Records 145)
Singer, songwriter and master of a million instruments, Skid Roper initially rose to prominence in the eighties, performing and recording with the wild and wacky Mojo Nixon. Come the nineties, Skid Roper embarked on a solo career, and here’s his third album, the appropriately titled “Rock and Roll Part 3.” Let me being this review by saying those who are already acquainted with Skid Roper will be triply knocked out by the disc, and those who have never heard his work until now are guaranteed to turn into immediate disciples. Read the rest of this entry »
25 Albums You Should Own
Author: Butler Bad
Over time, there have many great musical artists and from each artist comes an assortment of songs that become an album. In theory the sum of an album should be equal or greater than its parts (songs). If only this were true. Today, with streaming audio, and the ability to buy/download single songs, the allure and importance of the album has waned. Artists might release several EP’s before they release a full length album. Read the rest of this entry »
Blue is the new red for THIS year's energy dome. Let's hope there will be more NEW Devo albums like Something For Everybody! Cover reprinted with permission.
De-evolution is real! De-evolution is the condition under which a society returns to its roots. When individuals devolve, the basic human instinct kicks in and makes us want to drag our knuckles on the ground, carry a thigh bone of some sun bleached carcass, and appear disgruntled in Geico commercials.
When music devolves, its top performers appear in their underwear flipping the bird at a major league baseball game. (To Lady “MessMess”, I am a Mets fan, I hope every Mets fan that sees you in concert, on the street, with your parents, flips YOU the bird. The Mets will be around long after your 15 minutes of nudity are over!)
It’s time for common sense, it’s time for transparency in the music business, we are long overdue for some good music, and it is most definitely time, once again, for Devo…
The Blue Things Story “Volume One 1964-65″
Author: Beverly Paterson
The Blue Things Story “Volume One 1964-65” (Cicadelic Records 975)
If you lived in the Midwest during the sixties and attended gigs, there’s a good bet you have fond memories of The Blue Things. Based out of Hays, Kansas, the band possessed all the markings of a supergroup. Stellar chops, smart songwriting skills, a sense of adventure and a cool image should have catapulted The Blue Things straight to the top of the charts, but the music business obviously isn’t always fair or kind. The band was even signed to a major label, RCA Records, and aside from producing a rope of righteous singles, they also cut a most excellent album. A Blue Things renaissance occurred in the eighties, as sixties garage rock collectors discovered and championed their efforts. Cicadelic Records, located in Arizona, was the first label to reissue the band’s material on a widespread basis, which eventually resulted in not only a trio of separate installments documenting the many musical phases they went through, but a whopper of a box set. Read the rest of this entry »
Various Artists – “Tribute To JJ Cale Volume 1: The Vocal Sessions”
Author: Beverly Paterson
Various Artists “Tribute to JJ Cale Volume 1: The Vocal Sessions” (ZOHO Roots 201007)
Boasting a loyal fan following and seriously respected by fellow musicians, JJ Cale is certainly worthy of a tribute album. Born in Oklahoma, the singer, songwriter and guitarist migrated to Los Angeles in the sixties, where he formed a band called The Leathercoated Minds that recorded an album for the Viva label. Titled “A Trip Down The Sunset Strip,” the disc mainly consisted of psychedelic garage rock hits of the day, and went onto become quite a collector’s item. 1970 saw Eric Clapton cover JJ Cale’s “After Midnight,” which topped the charts and duly provided the fledging artist with widespread recognition. Since then, the two musicians have frequently worked together, and in 2008, their album, “The Road To Escondido” won a Grammy. Swarms of other performers have rendered JJ Cale’s tunes as well, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Santana and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Read the rest of this entry »
Tony Dancy (l), Craig Fairchild (c) and Lanny Hale (r) are the Tygers in human form.
In my course of searching for that ever-elusive new music, sometimes you come across something unique, different, and if you’re lucky, sometimes you come across something with a gimmick to latch onto.
Never mind two!
Arc Angels
Author: Butler Bad
Arc Angels are the phenomenal but short lived blues/rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in the early 90’s. The band was a virtual who’s who of the Texas music scene and was comprised of two home grown guitar talents Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton as well as drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon both of whom played in the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band Double Trouble. The ARC in the band name is a reference to the Austin Rehearsal Complex where the band members first got together and jammed prior to releasing their self titled debut album. Read the rest of this entry »
Live Albums
Author: Butler Bad
The live album is always a risky proposition. In years past, it was the other give up album (hello Greatest Hits) that was done to fulfill the contract with the record company. Not to say that there have not been great live albums but there have been some less than stellar albums that have not quite stood the test of time (“Frampton Comes Alive” anyone?).
I think, as music has progressed, the live album was a great way for bands to better connect with their audience. Some bands have earned the reputation as a great “Live” band and the live album was just an obvious avenue for them. Artists like Phish and The Dave Matthews Band have more live albums in their discography than studio albums. In 2000 Pearl Jam, in an attempt provide their fans with a better quality and affordable live recording, recorded all of their concerts.
So, here is a list of great live albums. This is by no means a list of the greatest live albums, but merely an installment of great live albums. Read the rest of this entry »