News
July 29, 2004
ANGEL VOICE
Sometimes it takes many years for an artist to come up with a live release to show him in all the glory. 1995's "Burning Japan Live" didn't represent Glenn Hughes in full flight, as Glenn was just a singer there, not a bass slinger to the boot. The concert bonus disc attached to 2000's "Return Of Crystal Karma featured only a part of the show. So, DEEP PURPLE, TRAPEZE and HTP live outings put aside, there's not been a chance to enjoy on-stage Hughes in your room. Until now.
On September 20th, out is a 2 CD set and a DVD called "Soulfully Live In The City Of Angels", shot this January and featuring, alongside The Voice, JJ Marsh on guitar, Ed Roth on keyboards and Chad Smith of CHILI PEPPERS on drums, with a little help from former QUIET RIOT warbler Kevin DuBrow, ex-SANTANA vocalist Alex Ligertwood and guitarist George Nastos. The DVD contains also an interview with Glenn. The first pressing of both the CD and DVD set are to be released as a limited and specially packaged cardboard edition.
CD1:
1. Can't Stop the Flood |
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CD2:
7. Coast To Coast |
July 15, 2004
NO MAGIC
Last week it was reported that DIO's new album, "Master Of The Moon", is a second part of the trilogy that's began with "Magica", yet it turns out to not be it, as suggested even by the just-released cover artwork.
NO HEAVYPETTIN'
The two have never drifted too far apart, and now the original purveyours of string- and mind-bending sonics are back together. After almost 30 years since their first collaboration, Robert Fripp and Brian Eno came up with a double-entendre-titled "The Equatorial Stars", possibly meaning themselves, as there's only two of them on the Eno-produced record, which Brian described as "stretching, squeezing, shredding, teasing, mashing, gnashing, splashing, trashing, looping, grouping, cutting, gouging". A precise description of the mesh of Frippertronics and Eno-visions. And, perhaps, a contrast to the album Eno's currently working on, called “The Love Collection”.
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1. Meissa |
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IT WASN'T THE FIRST AND IT WON'T BE THE LAST
There's been more than one AC/DC tribute albums, and this one, "We Salute You" from Rufftown Records, isn't breaking new ground, especially with some usual suspects on it who played on one of the previous Young-licked record - but it's because of those usual suspects that the album's interesting - and it comes with a neat bonus interviews DVD. A 'must-have' addition to the collections of both electricity fans and the artists featured. Here are the singers and the guitarists...
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1. Highway To Hell - Joe Lynn Turner & Richie Kotzen |
A SONG WITH A HEX
Nick Magnus isn't the name that everyone recognizes but the keyboard maestro's quite known amongst the progressive rock cognoscenti for his work with a band called AUTUMN and, before all, for Nick's work with Steve Hackett, for whom Magnus was a perfect foil for no less than eleven years. That's why Hackett's Camino Records proudly presents Nick's new album, "Hexameron", shaped in art rock form and featuring the Hackett brothers, Steve and John, on, respectively guitar and flute, former STEVE HACKETT BAND-mate Pete Hicks and REGENESIS' Tony Patterson on vocals and Geoff Whitehorn, famous for his stint with Paul Rodgers and currently a PROCOL HARUM guitarist. An alluring information - the music must be even better.
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1. Singularity |
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July 8, 2004
RAY OF LIGHT
(The Belated Farewell)
On June 11th passed the giant. Ray Charles died, aged 73. To call Uncle Ray a legend would mean to understate his position as a key figure of the twentieth century's art.
Charles lived music, which was the only ray of light in his long life. A bitter irony: a man with such a name didn't see the light but, having lost the sight when he was six, Ray has always kept a memory of the world's beauty and of a girl with a red dress on the singer raved about in "What'd I Say". Perhaps, it was his tragedy that determined the musician's greatness, for the only way of filling the blind void was with sounds. Maybe, it was due to his grief that the passionate, animal growl came from - the howl that made some grimace from a thinly hidden racist hate and others forget of all but music. Music was his passion, and passion was his music: in "Yesterday" Charles managed to find the depth not known even to the song creator,
It's hard to imagine what modern music would have been like without Uncle Ray. The first black artist to break into the white space of country-and-western, he bred it in with the blues' loneliness and the gospel unity brought out of church into secular world - and, thus, bore rhythm-and-blues. With a magic pass over the piano keyboard, Charles showed the way to rock 'n' roll and soul, while his inner sight was cast to jazz and classic symphony quite alien in those days to any other colored man - not to him. And if Ray himself composed not so much, it's difficult to fathom the meaning of what he's done with music which existed before him - and how he did that.
It can't be said that with Charles' passing a whole epoch passed as well, for he was too unique. The only era which is not anymore was pure blues sung by sharecroppers in the South, yet Ray witnessed that time and brought their smell over to the new millenium. There's been no other medium between epochs, between cultures, between worlds - like Uncle Ray. His energy and unbridled charm pulled people in from the distance, with even TV interviews becoming something to behold. Singing wasn't that much of a duty as of late.
But the veteran wasn't able to sing not - so he played and played, and played... He couldn't be bound to just one place - so he moved on, moved on and on. He rolled the matter of space to spread it in time and, by this, provide it with a continuity - and the continuity of tradition which feeds any novation. Ray could not stop his flooding emotions, admitting this sin in the hot hymn of "I Can't Stop Loving You", the only sin that can't be condemned.
"Hit the road, Jack", sang Uncle Ray. Now Ray Charles hit the road - from here to eternity.
HANDS UP FOR KNEES-UP
They're never far away, yet in the recent years the studio output of FAIRPORT CONVENTION was rather scarce. But the band are far from being done in, and among the gigs and festivities found time to come up with something new. A new album, out now, is called "Over The Next Hill", with the title hinting on their road's infinity. The folk bunch still allow themselves a glance over the shoulder: "Si Tu Dois Partir", the French version of Bob Dylan's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" taken long ago to the charts by MANFRED MANN, was recorded by FAIRPORTS for the first time on their immense "Unhalfbricking" and is a celebration of the record's 35th anniversary. The furrow's continuing...
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1. Over The Next Hill |
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SHOOTING FOR THE MOON
For DIO, 2000's "Magica" signalled a glorious return to classic Ronnie James' songwriting, and that was just the first installment of a sci-fi / fantasy sonic trilogy the singer promised to deliver. Two years later, though, the band came up with not a follow-up, "Killing The Dragon" was something different, partly inspired by the 9/11 events, and now is a time to get back on track. Which Ronnie and his sidekicks - Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright and Scott Warren - will do on August 30th with "Master Of The Moon". The tracklisting's already released - yet the songs order still may change:
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1. Death By Love |
VAMBO JAMBO
Over the years, there's been not much concert material from THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND, save for 1975's "Live" and a smattering of BBC recordings released after great Alex's untimely death. The more reasons to rejoice brings a new CD, called "British Tour '76", out in September. Recorded for radio, it was still a real concert and would be fully enjoyed.
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1. Fanfare |
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WHICH ONE IS PINK?
The Pinkpop festival has always been a tremendous event luring many a music luminaries over to Netherlands. To celebrate this classic rock celebration the people behind the festival finally decided to open their vaults and release not one but two DVDs featuring great artists, even though some of them are relatively unknown. A tresure trove, that is:
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DVD 1:
1. Kevin Coyne - Lonely Lovers |
DVD 2:
1. GOLDEN EARRING - Back Home |
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