The T. Rex Wax Co. Singles A’s and B’s 1972-77 is a two-CD collection of glam-rock gems: “Telegram Sam,” “Cadilac,” Baby Strange,” “Metal Guru,” “Thunderwing,” “Children Of The Revolution” – the list goes on and on. T. Rex leader Marc Bolan’s facility for turning three chords and a handful of “Heys!,” “Yeahs!” and “Whoos!” into such magic is no small feat.
What’s your favorite T. Rex song?
Posted in Listening To 
Tags: cadilac, children of the revolution, marc bolan, metal guru, t rex, telegram sam
I write about people, and as long as they don’t go out of style I guess my music won’t go out of style.
- James Talley, 1978
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s Hammersmith Odeon London ‘75 is simply one of the greatest (if not greatest) live albums ever. The energy is unbelievable, the pacing perfect. What I like most is that this album is far from a greatest-hits collection, and songs such as “The E Street Shuffle” are so transformed that they become new. Yeah, “Born To Run” is on here, but it’s long before it was ground into dust by FM radio, and it’s not the best song here anyway.
For many progressive rock fans, the German band Nektar hit their grand slam with the 1973 concept album Remember The Future – essentially one song spread across two album sides. The band’s 1974 follow-up, Down To Earth, takes a wacked-out circus as its theme; Nektar tighten the song structures and create another prog-rock classic.
The vintage Nektar sound is all over: chiming guitar chords (“Show Me The Way”), lilting harmonies (“Early Morning Clown”), perfect melodies (“Little Boy”), in-your-face-bass (“Astral Man”) and a wonderful sense of play (“Nelly The Elephant” and “Fidgety Queen”). Look for the Eclectic Discs reissue, which includes six alternate versions of Down To Earth songs and outtakes.
Posted in Listening To Tags: astral man, german band, guitar chords, magical mystery tour, nektar, prog rock, progressive rock, roye albrighton
Roy Buchanan was an enormously skilled guitarist who made his name primarily as a blues musician. The Prophet, however, reveals Buchanan as capable of playing across a wide range of styles, with gut-wrenching intensity and emotion. The sessions for Buchanan’s first album took place in late 1969. Charlie Daniels (yes, the “Devil Went Down To Georgia” Daniels) secured a recording contract for Buchanan with Polydor, and he plays and sings here on many tunes (several of which he wrote). If you think Daniels is all redneck boogie, just give this CD a listen. The Charlie Daniels of the late 1960s wrote music with psychedelic, heavy blues and countrified-rock stylings.
One In The Sun is Steve Gaines’ lone solo album, released nearly 15 years after the tracks were first recorded. Gaines’ own time in the sun was cut tragically short by the plane crash that took his life, his sister Cassie’s and Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmate Ronnie Van Zant’s. The personal tragedy was compounded by the musical tragedy, as Skynyrd had recently released what would become a Southern rock classic in Street Survivors. Gaines’ musical contributions to that album and the live One More From The Road gave Skynyrd a much-needed second wind. I always liked what I heard from Gaines on those recordings but it wasn’t until I saw live tape of him on stage that I appreciated how damn good he was on guitar. Watching him and Allen Collins rip through the solos on “Free Bird” for the first time made my jaw drop. Gaines could and did shred with the best of them, and we can only imagine what higher heights Skynyrd would achieve had the band’s plane not gone down in a Mississippi swamp that fateful October day in 1977.
Posted in Listening To Tags: allen collins, curtis mayfield, little feat, lynyrd skynyrd, reggae, ronnie van zant, steve gaines, street survivors
Knight Area are a five-piece progressive rock band hailing from Holland. Realm Of Shadows is the band’s latest release and one of my favorite music finds of the year. Musically, Knight Area remind me of Spock’s Beard, Genesis and Marillion, with a strong emphasis on melody. Though Knight Area sometimes veer toward progressive metal, it’s not with the vengeance of Dream Theater or the pyrotechnics of Symphony X. Knight tout themselves as “symphonic rock,” and are worth investigating if your tastes run toward classic prog. Chief songwriter and keyboardist Gerben Klazinga is a skilled arranger with a talented surrounding cast surrounding: Mark Smit (vocals), Mark Vermeule (guitars), Gijs Koopman (bass) and Pieter van Hoorn (drums). Staying with the Spock’s Beard comparison, Smit’s voice has a smooth – almost friendly – quality that characterizes Neal Morse’s pipes. And that’s just what this music needs – it has an air of grace and sparkle that would suffer in the presence of a screamer.
John Mayer’s Continuum really opened my ears. I came across this record by accident – not that I didn’t know Mayer, it just seemed I always had somebody else to listen to. Continuum is a special album. I love its moods – snaking along through blues, soul, R&B and pop. Tunes such as “Dreaming With A Broken Heart” and “In Repair” may seem sugary on first listen, but they have a depth and artistry that grown on you after a couple spins. And Mayer’s guitar Jones – and skill – is let loose on a groovy cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Bold As Love.”
Posted in Listening To Tags: dreaming with a broken heart, guitar, jimi hendrix, john mayer continuum
Mörglbl are a three-piece progressive rock outfit from France whose strange name could be construed as an onomatopoeia for the band’s sound. Jazz For The Deaf is an absolutely killer collection of instrumentals fronted by guitar-god-in-waiting Christophe Godin. Remember the name. What’s Mörglbl like? It’s progressive rock with a heavy guitar edge but always with a strong melodic foundation. “22 Oz” sounds like Robin Trower and Steve Vai guesting on King Crimson’s Red. Ivan Rougny’s elastic bass makes the slippery “Borderline” veer back and forth between Tony Levin and Les Claypool. Drummer Aurélien Ouzoulias has a punchy and crisp attack that cements every mix.
Posted in Listening To Tags: Christophe Godin, instrumental rock music, Ivan Rougny, king crimson, les claypool, myspace, progressive rock, robin trower, steve vai, tony levin
Saga "The Human Condition"
How does a band carry on after losing its voice? How could AC/DC continue after the death of Bon Scott? How could Van Halen rock on without David Lee Roth? Journey without Steve Perry? Queen retain their crown without Freddie Mercury? Styx sans Dennis DeYoung? Like so many outfits before whose singer departed for reasons unplanned or planned, Canada prog-rockers Saga were faced with that question when founding member Michael Sadler departed in 2007 to pursue other interests. Although Sadler’s leaving was amicable, it left his bandmates in a quandary. A new singer was needed, and the net was cast across planet earth to find a suitable replacement. Serendipity raised its unpredictable head and fellow Canadian Rob Moratti was brought into the fold, less a replacement for Sadler than a new voice for Saga and what lies ahead. As guitarist Ian Crichton noted, “There’s so much music still to create, world touring and more records.”
Posted in Listening To Tags: bon scott, david lee roth, dennis deyoung, freddie mercury, geoff tate, jim gilmour, michael sadler, ozzy osbourne, rob moratti, steve perry
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