IN OLD CHAP’S OWN TIME
67 years young Roger Chapman may be but the FAMILY warbler ostensibly feels old enough to have announced his retirement. The last concerts Chappo is going to play will be in Leicester on December 18th and 19th. The veteran’s site indicates there are plans for additional farewell shows – with well-known guests in tow. Whether it’s just the stage the singer parts with or the studio as well isn’t clear, but let’s hope Roger still has a lot of music in him to spill it out to the fans.
FIGURE OF EIGHT
Seems there was not a single Rick Wakeman‘s concert after 1973 that the keyboard wizard didn’t play a tune from “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII”. He performed some even during his infamous “King Arthur On Ice” extravaganza. That was a fabulous yet financially disastrous experience which may be why Wakeman’s never tried to build anything similar on his first solo album. Until May 1st and 2nd, 2009 that is, when Rick staged a fantastic show at Hampton Court Palace and played the “Wives” in its entirety for the first time ever, having added two new pieces to start and finish it all, and the centerpiece which didn’t make it onto the LP due to the space limitations but was destined to be the King’s musical portrait alongside those of Henry’s poor women. And it’s the mix of these two shows that will see the light of day on October 5th on the “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII – Live At Hampton Court Palace” DVD. Surely one not to miss on!
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1. Tudorture / 1485 2. Catherine Of Aragon 3. Catheryn Howard 4. Jane Seymour 5. Defender Of The Faith 6. Catherine Parr 7. Anne Of Cleves 8. Anne Boleyn 9. Tudorock |
LIZZY GETTING THINNER
It’s been a strange proposition from the off: THIN LIZZY without Phil Lynott, the band’s founder and mastermind. But it seems John Sykes wasn’t happy with his role as solo artist with ex-LIZZY, ex-WHITESNAKE and ex-BLUE MURDER credentials, so he decided to front the ensemble as both a singer and guitarist. Yet now he quit the line-up having left the compadres, including Scott Gorham, with no other choice than break up. For good…
STANDING COLOSSAL
This year marks the 40th anniversary of COLOSSEUM‘s debut album. The most fantastic of British jazz-blues supergroups led by drummer Jon Hiseman and featuring such giants as the great late sax maestro Dick Heckstall-Smith and singer Chris Farlowe who stopped his solo career to share the vocal company of guitarist Clem Clempson and bassist Mark Clarke alongside keyboard wizard Dave Greenslade, the band have never been celebrated as much as their collective effort deserved. But August 24th will see the release of “Morituri Te Salutant”, a 4CD box – not to be confused with “Those Who Are About To Die Salute You”, the aforementioned first album, as both share the title, in Latin and English.
Compliled with Hiseman’s generous help, the box contains the creme of the band’s output and a good smattering of previously unreleased material from the studio and off the stage, completely unfamiliar tracks as well as alternative versions. With a nice booklet in alluring package, it’s a thing to have and admire.
Disc 11. Walking In The Park |
Disc 21. Jumping Off The Sun |
Disc 31. Rope Ladder To The Moon (live In Brighton) |
Disc 41. Butty’s Blues (live in Boston) |
UNSTICKY FINGERS
One may wonder what’s the point – but why not? Jeff Aug might not be the most famous guitarists in the world so he lay his claim to fame not only with his shredding but also with “Guinness Book of World Records”. This vanity-fair institution approved Aug’s glorious achievement in the “Most concerts performed in different countries in 24 hours” category. On March 13th-14th, 2009 Jeff took his “Wounded Fingers” tour through six independent states: Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. Must be an athlete in him.
BANG A GONG
With a couple of his late ’70s concerts out on DVD recently, Steve Hillage‘s fans could only dream of seeing their idol gliding the strings once again. But in November 2006 STEVE HILLAGE BAND made a welcome return once the guitarist temporarily threw his lot with GONG again. It’s this Holland gig that the “Live At The Gong UnConvention 2006” CD and DVD come from – with classic material refreshed for all to like.
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1. Hello Dawn 2. It’s All Too Much 3. AftaGlid Part 1 4. AftaGlid Part 2 5. AftaGlid Part 3 – The Golden Vibe 6. Solar Musick Suite Part 1 7. Solar Musick Suite Part 2 – The Dervish Riff 8. The Salmon Song 9. These Uncharted Lands 10. Interview Part 1 11. Interview Part 2 |
ROD WORE IT WELL
Exploring the Great American Songbook is a pleasant thing but even the senior admirers of Rod Stewart admit the singer was much greater when he rock ‘n’ rolled his way through life. Recently, his classic albums have been re-issued in expanded form featuring previously unreleased material yet it’s not enough as the veterans’s vaults are bursting with rarities. And on September 29th much more of these will see the light of day as “The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998”, a 4 CD box brimful with demos, alternative takes and gems.
Of those there are “Innocent (The Killing of Georgie Part III)” that was said to be laid down but never surfaced before, the unfinished “Think I’ll Pack My Bags” which was overhauled for Ron Wood’s solo debut, and Rod’s idol Frankie Miller’s “When I’m Away From You”. More so, there are four cuts that were left out when 1980’s “Foolish Behaviour” had been slimmed to a single LP from the planned two, six recorded before “Unplugged… And Seated” floated into view, and a new version of “In A Broken Dream” of which original variant is available on "1964-1969" while this features David Gilmour and John Paul Jones.
The price is so good that the box seems irresistible.
Disc 11. Maggie May (early version) |
Disc 21. The First Cut Is The Deepest (alt. version) |
Disc 31. Thunderbird |
Disc 41. Let The Day Begin (alt. version) |
WHAT LIES? IT’S TRUE!
Hot on the heels of “Seven Moons”, his collaboration with Jack Bruce, and before their joint live DVD is out, Robin Trower managed to come up with a solo set titled“What Lies Beneath”, out now. That’s progressive blues again, but you can’t go wrong with the former guitarist of PROCOL HARUM whose classic catalogue is being re-issued now with the last albums with Trower to be released soon.
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1. Wish You Were Mine 2. What Lies Beneath 3. As You Watch Each City Fall (Part 1) 4. As You Watch Each City Fall (Part 2) 5. Freefall 6. Once The Spell Is Broken 7. Sleeping On The Moon 8. Time And Emotion 9. Skin And Bone 10. Buffalo Blues 11. Find A Place |
