February 12, 2004

BONNET’S BIZ

It’s hard to say whether his stint with RAINBOW was a blessing or a curse for Graham Bonnet who, having worked with Ritchie Blackmore, gained fame and notoriety but, since then, have always been cast as a metal vocalist. There were albums with IMPELLITTERI and BLACKTHORNE, and now the singer got on-board for another Dario Mollo‘s project ELEKTRIC ZOO, following the path previously trodden by BLACK SABBATH’s Tony Martin, a voice of THE CAGE, and Glenn Hughes, the one for VOODOO HILL. This time Dario’s going not only to record an album, in summer, but also to take his enterprise on the road – in spring and autumn, which is not a shallow promise, because Mollo, Bonnet and his erstwhile cohort Don Airey already played together, in 2002.

JUICY BLUESY

Is 2004 gonna be a year of classic blues? Likely so, as at least two music legends have recorded new versions of perennial thang to release the next month.

The first to hit will be Eric Clapton‘s “Me & Mr. Johnson”. Out on March, it’s comprised of the Delta Devil Robert Johnson’s cuts, and, as such, would be interesting to compare with Peter Green’s 1998’s “The Robert Johnson Songbook”. And anyway, that’s not the first time Eric does this stuff: he played “Crossroads” back in the CREAM days…

1. When You Got A Good Friend
2. Little Queen Of Spades
3. They’re Red Hot
4, Me And The Devil Blues
5. Traveling Riverside Blues
6. Last Fair Deal Gone Down
7. Stop Breakin’ Down Blues
8. Milkcow’s Calf Blues
9. Kindhearted Woman Blues
10. Come On In My Kitchen
11. If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
12. Love In Vain
13. 32-20 Blues
14. Hellhound On My Trail

Then, long-awaited “Honkin’ On Bobo” from AEROSMITH, who expanded their blues to take in some gospel and puff some smoke:

1. You Gotta Move
2. I’m Ready
3. Eyesight For The Blind
4. Back Back Train
5. I Never Loved A Girl Like I Love You
6. Temperature
7. Stop Messin’ Around
8. Baby, Please Don’t Go
9. Roadrunner
10. Jesus Is On The Main Line
11. Shame Shame Shame
12. Into The Grind

MANN-Y MENTAL MONUMENTAL

Maybe it’s hard to think of Manfred Mann as of classical musician, yet the fans have always known he could do anything – and, indeed, he did, Holst’s “Planets” used in some cuts the prime example. Still, genuinely classical Manfred’s take on this kind of music it wasn’t, and the flame sparkled some forty years ago when he saw the manuscripts for the Edward Elgar hymns being sold in West End have been burning in Mann ever since. The fire was the hotter because those pieces remained unplayed by anyone, and the rocker decided to be the first at that, so on February 16th, an Elgar collection “O Perfect Love” will see the light of day. Manfred recorded the works, written for choir and organ, with The Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea at the said chapel. The evolution of Mann continues… Expect the interview with Mann, then.

COURT IN THE ACT

They were brave Newcastle folks, LINDISFARNE. After the untimely death of the band’s leader, Alan Hull, in 1995, the rest soldiered on and continued nicely, 2002’s “Promenade” gathering the rave reviews. But that was their last album. On November 1st, 2003, at Newcastle Opera House, LINDISFARNE played the final concert of their long career and filmed the performance, which is now released as “Time Gentlemen Please”, a DVD comprising the show in its entirety as well as “Run For Home”, the TV documentary telling the band’s story, all clocking in more than 3 hours. A sad glory.

1. No Time To Lose
2. Rocking Chair
3. This Guitar Never Lies
4. Remember Tomorrow
5. This Too Will Pass
6. Freedom Square
7. Ghost In Blue Suede Shoes
8. Lady Eleanor
9. Under The Promenade
10. Rock ‘n’ Roll Phone
11. Statues And Liberties
12. Meet Me On The Corner
13. Born At The Right Time
14. Winter Song
15. Can’t Do Right For Doing Wrong
16. January Song
17. One Day
18. Road To Kingdom Come
19. Unmarked Car
20. Jubilee Corner
21. Unfinished Business
22. Whisky Highway
23. Run For Home
24. One More Bottle Of Wine
25. Fog On The Tyne
26. Devil Of The North
27. Clear White Light Pt. II

TUSKING TASK

With “The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions” box set that brought a dose of previously unreleased material thereon, fans of early FLEETWOOD MAC were quite satisfied, while those who prefer the female frontline of this great band weren’t served as well – but are now. The bonus tracks on newly remastered reissues of three classic albums, including massive “Rumours”, are really plenty and give some insight into how that music was being born.

“Fleetwood Mac”
– Jam #2
– Say You Love Me (single version)
– Rhiannon (single version)
– Over My Head (single version)
– Blue Letter (single version)

“Rumours”

– Second Hand News
– Dreams
– Brushes (Never Going Back Again)
– Don’t Stop
– Go Your Own Way
– Songbird
– Silver Springs
– You Make Loving Fun
– Gold Dust Woman #1
– Oh Daddy
– Think About It
– Never Going Back Again
– Planets of the Universe
– Butter Cookie (Keep Me There)
– Gold Dust Woman
– Doesn’t Anything Last
– Mic The Screecher
– For Duster (The Blues)

“Tusk”

– One More Time (Over And Over)
– Can’t Walk Out Of Here (The Ledge)
– Think About Me
– Sara
– Lindsey’s Song #1 (I Know I’m Not Wrong)
– Storms
– Lindsey’s Song #2 (That’s All For Everyone)
– Sisters Of The Moon
– Out On The Road (That’s Enough For Me)
– Brown Eyes
– Never Make Me Cry
– Song #1 (I Know I’m Not Wrong)
– Honey Hi
– Beautiful Child
– Song #3 (Walk A Thin Line)
– Come On Baby (Never Forget)
– Song #1 (I Know I’m Not Wrong)
– Kiss And Run
– Farmer’s Daughter
– Think About Me (single version)
– Sisters Of The Moon (single version)

AT-TRIBUTE-IVE

Some wells just can’t run dry, and a new tribute album appears almost every month. The latest one of interest is a pretentiously titled “World Greatest Pink Floyd Tribute” that placed on the same CD artists as diverse as STYX’s Tommy Shaw, YES’ main man Chris Squire and HAWKWIND’s Nik Turner. Quite curious, eh?

1. Run Like Hell – Dweezil Zappa
2. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun – PSYCHIC TV
3. Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 – Fee Waybill
4. Learning To Fly – Leather Strip
5. Comfortably Numb – Chris Squire
6. Careful With That Axe, Eugene – Nik Turner
7. Money – Tommy Shaw
8. Pigs On The Wing – CHROME
9. One Of These Days – Spahn Ranch
10. Shine On You Crazy Diamond – Vinnie Colaiuta
11. Mother – OUT OF PHASE
12. Us And Them – OUT OF PHASE

Another one in the category, “Spin The Bottle – A Tribute To KISS”, due out on April 27th, is no less star-spangled, as is any suchlike project with Bob Kulick at the helm. This is more special though, with both Bob and his brother Bruce a part of the un-masked band’s history. So here they are, the singing Kissers:

1. Detroit Rock City – Dee Snider
2. Love Gun – Tommy Shaw
3. Cold Gin – Mark Slaughter
4. King Of The Night Time World – Chris Jericho
5. I Want You – Kip Winger
6. God of Thunder – Buzz Osborne
7. Calling Doctor Love – Page Hamilton
8. Shout It Out Loud – Lemmy
9. Parasite – Doug Pinnick
10. Strutter – Phil Lewis
11. I Stole Your Love – Robin McAuley

That it is special can be proved with the bonus DVD which is to accompany the initial run of the CD: a 40-minute documentary of the making of the record contains performances and interviews with, among others, VANILLA FUDGE’s <Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert.

February 12, 2004

Category(s): News

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