When Seal hit the stage of The Venetian in Las Vegas on June 2nd and 3rd of 2023, it was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first two albums – both eponymous, with the British singer’s debut issued in 1991 and its follow-up three years later. He picked up a few numbers from those records, added a couple from his fourth platter, also self-titled, and had it all recorded and filmed for posterity, and the results are ready for release.
For all their idiosyncrasy, both in studio and onstage, THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND were a fantastic proposition in front of audience – unreliable, in terms of any given performance’s quality, but fantastic nevertheless, and the Scottish ensemble’s followers, of which there are surprising multitude, never tire of collecting their recordings. It’s these fans, then, that a forthcoming box set is aimed at, with 21 discs spanning 1973-1977 and preserving for posterity no less than 16 concerts.
Given his stunning technique – those fluid and melodic runs that reverberate with the listener’s very psyche – and talents as composer, why Louis Cennamo‘s name is rarely mentioned within the bassists’ ranks remains a mystery. Not that the British musician ever played in obscure ensembles, what with his resume including THE DIMENSIONS, where he shared the space with Rod Stewart, RENAISSANCE, which he co-founded and rejoined when this collective became ILLUSION, and, though briefly, COLOSSEUM. So it’s about time the veteran shed a light on such an enigma.
2026 will mark the tenth anniversary of Alan Vega‘s passing and the 45th anniversary of his self-titled solo debut, a marvelous psychobilly affair the American artist issued around the time his band’s SUICIDE released their sophomore effort “Suicide: Alan Vega And Martin Rev” that only goes to show how much material this musician had on his hands. Surprisingly, Alan’s minimalistic longplay produced a hit, when “Jukebox Babe” dented the charts in France, and proved to be rather influential, what with “Bye Bye Bayou” getting covered by MERCURY REV almost three decades later. No wonder, then, in the platter deserving a deluxe edition – even though what’s to see the light of day on January 23rd isn’t really deluxe, apart from packaging, as there’s just a bunch of demos added to the freshly remastered album.
For a band whose first longplay was released 55 years ago, STRAY don’t have enough live albums in their discography, so another such release has always been more than welcome, especially if its predecessor was released more than a decade ago. That’s why the very recent appearance of a follow-up to 2014’s "Live In Japan 2013" feels so timely, and not for nothing the cover of “One For The Road” looks so similar to the minimalistic artwork of the British ensemble’s debut platter.
