Al Stewart Revives The Spirit Of Yore On Unexpected Live Report

July 7, 2024

For an artist who began touring in 1966 and, up to now, seemed to have skipped performing on stage only in 1982, Al Stewart has quite a meager amount of official concert releases, the last of those being “Uncorked” from 2009. Not that this was too surprising, given the veteran’s last studio album “Sparks Of Ancient Light” arrived a year earlier – yet the forthcoming appearance of a double-CD set bearing a simple title “Live” is, then, rather unexpected. Or not – if one takes into account the recent deluxe reissues of the Scottish artist’s classics such as “Year Of The Cat” and “Time Passages” – most of which are represented in his current repertoire.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

Hugh Cornwell Stages Funfair On A Concert Album

July 6, 2024

When it comes to performances in front of the audience, it doesn’t matter that, over the course of the last decade, Hugh Cornwell has released only two studio platters, 2012’s “Monster” and "Moments Of Madness" fron 2022, as he has enough material to draw on for a two-hour show. What’s important is the fact that full ten years have passed since the singer issued a concert album, so it’s about time he followed 2012’s “Live At The Vera” with another stage report – and will see one out soon.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

BENT KNEE Remedy Reality With “Twenty Pills”

July 6, 2024

Only a few years ago BENT KNEE seemed to be everybody’s art-rock darlings, yet then the American ensemble somehow disappeared from many people’s radar – for no reason, really, as they carry on creating riveting music. The Bostonians’ next album – titled “Twenty Pills Without Water” and planned for release on August 30th – is bound to be different from their previous efforts, though, because it’s their first in a new format, as the band ranks fairly recently got reduced from a sextet to a quartet.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

Concert Performance Of Nikolo Kotzev’s “Nostradamus” To Be Out

July 5, 2024

Not lauded enough on its release back in 2001, Nikolo Kotzev‘s rock opera "Nostradamus" was an impressive opus of a broader scope than suggested by the presence of Joe Lynn Turner in a titular role, Glenn Hughes – at the time, the regular guests with the Bulgarian guitarist’s BRAZEN ABBOT – as King Henri II of France, alongside Alannah Myles, Sass Jordan and other stellar singers. Still, the composer had to wait more than a decade before he was able to transfer his work from the studio to the stage, where it belonged, and perform it in its entirety – not only with his band but also with a full orchestra, choir and ballet of the State Opera Ruse, all in all a cast of 120 people. And now, a recording of the event is ready for release.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

Bootsy Collins’ Alter Egos Join Guests On “Album Of The Year #1”

July 4, 2024

There are virtuosic instrumentalists and there are entertainers, and since the days of Paganini these two aspects of musicianship rarely combined – but then there is Bootsy Collins, an unstoppable force of funky nature and one of the most influential bassists on this planet and the space around it. From his work with James Brown to his tenure with George Clinton an on to the veteran’s solo oeuvre, the sort of visual and aural shows Collins unleashed is unparalleled – if something as geometrical as parallel could be applied to what he’s been doing for decades… still doing. More so, the legendary artist never was one to let righteous boasting affect his output, so his next effort is titled “Album Of The Year #1 Funkateer”: quite a claim!

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged , ,