TJR Reviews - Band of Skulls - Baby Doll Face Honey - Music Worth Buying 08/31/09

Artist: Band of Skulls
Album: Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
Worth Buying: Every song
You might be interested in this album if you are a fan of: Led Zeppelin, Cream, 70's Blues Hard rock, Classic Rock, Nirvana, Alt Rock.

Tell Me More: In today's internet age, you often times only have 30 seconds or less to grab the attention of listeners. I have often said that it takes more than 30 seconds to know if you like a song and to know if it is good. And I still believe this to be true....but lately, it seems that I am discovering great artists through 30 second clips. Maybe I am just developing better ears, but some artists seem to be able to stand out even when all you get is 30 seconds. This is how I discovered Ryan Bingham and Gizzly Bear....and now this is how I discovered Band of Skulls latest.

I was looking at the Sunday ads for Best Buy's new release sales week, going down the line and just clicking on their corresponding samples on Amazon when I was struck by this album. It was only 7.99 at Best Buy so I went and picked it up.

The first song that hit my speakers was a Heavey Blues Rock infusion entitled "Light of the Morning". Right from the gate this song sounded like an updated version of Zeppelin and Cream.

Opening songs can really set the stage for an album and this song did just that. Band of Skulls draws a lot from 70's heavy blues rock bands but they keep a modern sensibility to them.

And Like a lot of heavy blues rock from the 70's they are also able to paint with more than just one color.....In other words, their songs don't all sound the same.

A good example is the album's 5th track. An acoustic folk ballad entitled "Honest". Listening to it you might think, "This is a different band". Now part of this is the fact that there is more than one lead singer in the band and one of them is a female (Bassist Emma Richardson). Both her and Guitarist Russell Marsden share the lead vocal duties.

This immediately got me thinking of Led Zeppelin's first album opening with the very heavy "Good Times Bad Times", then on the very second song  following up with the Spanish classical acoustic song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". It was their way of saying, "Yes we are a very heavy band, Yes it's our first album....but we are free to go in any direction we want and you won't pin us down".

I got the same impression listening to the Band of Skulls. And I think we need more bands like this. Bands that say "Yes, we do have a sound, but we are also more than that too".

Band of Skulls is a power trio in the truest sense of he word (they are rounded out by Matthew Hayward on Drums). The CD version that I obtained from Best Buy came with two bonus live tracks. From these two track I can tell that this is a trio that can make a big sound and that they  can deliver their studio album live.....This first album bodes well for them.

What about the Packaging? The Packaging is Beautiful! Comes in a mini  album gate fold sleeve, but the CD is inserted in the outside of the interior of the sleeve so it looks like part of the interior album art. It comes with a nice lyric booklet that is easy to read. Top score on the packaging,

Sample and buy in MP3 Format for only 5.99 (Prices subject to change)

Buy in CD format for 7.99

On Vinyl

Robert Kinsler Reviews - Cheap Trick - The Latest Music Worth Buying 08/31/09

Artist: Cheap Trick
Album: “The Latest”
Worth Buying: Yes
You will be interested in this album if you are a fan of: Cheap Trick’s “Sgt. Pepper Live” and “Heaven Tonight.”

Tell Me More:

Although it is the newly-issued “Sgt. Pepper Live” chronicling Cheap
Trick’s winning concert performance covering the Fab Four’s classic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra THAT IS GETTING ATTENTION, don’t overlook the Rockford, Illinois-spawned quartet’s most
recent studio effort.

“The Latest” is every bit as engaging as the aforementioned high-profile Beatles-minded project and features Cheap Trick delivering wide-ranging material in flawless fashion.

From the intro track, the stunning “Sleep Forever” with lead singer Robin Zander’s marvelous tenor soaring into the stratosphere, to the beautiful craft of “These Days” and several roaring melodic punk rockers (“Sick Man of Europe,” “Everyday You Make Me Crazy”), this release will please every power pop and classic rock fan in earshot.

The songwriting is tight, with hooks, riffs and vocal lines hitting hard on contact. Indeed, six of the disc’s 13 tracks clock in at 3 minutes or less – two tracks run under 2 minutes.

Forget about throwaway tracks. From the summer-minded fun of “California Girl” to the haunting rock of “Everybody Knows,” thoughtful song craft and effortlessly spirited performances make this a solid gem. Kudos to the band for working with co-producers Julian Raymond and Howard Willing on a release that I predict will gain more and more followers in the years ahead.
With 2009 marking the 35th anniversary of Cheap Trick’s formation, “The Latest” is truly a fitting celebration of one of rock’s most enduring bands.
Listening to rock ‘n’ roll used to be fun; Cheap Trick remembers that.

What about the packaging? “The Latest” is available as a single-disc CD, on vinyl and even (no kidding!) 8-Track.


Sample and buy in MP3 Format

CD format

LP and 8 Track available at the bands official website

What if I am not ready to buy the whole album?

Try

When the Lights Are Out (Slade Cover)

Miracle

These days

The Sequel to The Beatles Yellow Submarine

Word has just gotten out that film maker Robert Zemeckis’ plans for a mo-cap remake of Yellow Submarine.

In my opinion, this is a terrible idea.

But this got me thinking about a dream I once had.

Many, many, many years ago......I dreamed I was sitting in a theater watching an animated sequel to Yellow Submarine.

It was entitled "Return to Pepperland". It was beautifully animated.

Picture the design and look of the original film, but done in an animated watercolor style and that's how the film in my dream looked.

In this film the plot's main characters where the Sgt Pepper band that the Beatle's rescued in the original (And it all took place in the Pepperland universe).

Later on (after waking up) I realized that in real life, an animated sequel to Yellow Submarine isn't impossible. Voice actors where used to portray the Beatles in the original film, and there are plenty of other Beatles songs that could be used as the basis of the soundtrack. The Beatles (and their estates) would just have to approve it.

A sequel would be much more preferable than a mo-cap remake

TJR Reviews: Fox Bat Strategy - Music Worth Buying 08/19/09

Artist: Fox Box Strategy
Album: David Lynch Presents: Fox Bat Strategy: A Tribute to Dave Jaurequi [EP]
Worth Buying: I thought so
You Will Be Interested in this album if you a fan of: 50's rock, Blues, Dreamy etheral 50's influenced blues rock, music from the Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me soundtracks

Tell Me More: This music project originated out of the band of musicians that film maker David Lynch put together to create music for the Twin Peaks Movie "Fire Walk With Me". They appread on two tracks from the movie soundtrack and made cameo appearances in the movie. Aftwards Lynch invited them into the studio for an experimental collaberation. The 6 tracks on this CD where the result. This was back in 1994 but they remained
unreleased till now.

I don't know why they where unreleased till now, but I am glad that they where. If you ever watched the Twin Peaks TV show and liked the dreamy 50's drenched music that came out of the diner jukebokx or the roadhouse blues that came out of the Movie, You are going to enjoy these songs. They sound completely in place with the rest of the music from those two soundtracks. But if even if you are not familiar with the music from these two soundtracks, or maybe even not familiar with or don't like the films of David Lynch, I think you will enjoy it on it's own if you are a fan of 50's era rock and blues. Just be prepared for a more dream like take on these two musical styles (Think Sleep Walk by Santo and Johnny only darker).

This EP is dedicated to the groups lead singer Dave Jaurequi who passed away in 2006.

What about the packaging? Nothing special going on with the packaging. Standard jewel case with a simple 2 sided insert and that's it. No booklet, no extensive liner notes. The Music is certainly worth buying but given that this is only 7 songs for $11.99 (the current Amazon CD price) some of the more budget minded might want to consider getting the mp3 version for only $6.23 (once again the current Amazon mp3 album price).

Amazon is probably the easiest way to get the Cd version though, since I doubt that very many brick and stores will be carring this album and once it goes out of print, I doubt we will see it re-issued.

Listen to samples and purchase on CD here

MP3 version here

I Destroyed A Gibson Les Paul Guitar!

Last week, Les Paul, the man who launched a million guitar players passed away.

I am not a Les Paul user. I prefer the Taylor T5 myself. But whether you use a Les Paul or not, every guitar player and every guitar company owes a debt to Les Paul for his technical innovations. None of us would be where we are without him.

This got me thinking back to my days as a young lad and a novice guitarist.

When we are young we sometimes do stupid things. It's one of the sins of youth. Some of those things we look back on and laugh, and say "Oh well, I was young".

But some things, we look back on in shame. We try to push them back into the recess of our memory because it is to hard to reconcile for what we have done.

But the shame and guilt has built up for too long and I HAVE to come clean. You see when I was a young guitarist just starting out, I once very briefly, owned a Les Paul Gold top Guitar. And very tragicly (not to mention stupidly) I destroyed it.

One of my first electric guitars was made for me by little known (and now defunct) guitar shop located off of Arrow Hwy (now Route 66) in Azusa California. it was hardly a custom shop. It was run by a former employee of Charvel Guitars and he simply bought pre made parts (from another company named Might Might) and slapped them together. His specialty was laying down the paint job and finish which he did well. for around $300.00 he made me an electric guitar with a Gibson Explorer style body and a Fender Style neck. I no longer have this guitar (you will find out why very soon) and I don't have any pictures of it. It had a floating tremolo bar (A kind of guitar gear shifter that creates weird note bends)  in case you are unfamiliar with guitar terminology) and a black sunburst finish. I thought it was very cool looking, and I would soon find out that I was not the only one.

You see, not long after I got it, I went out with some other novice musician friends of mine to go jam with some of their friends. We where all just High School kids at this point. Just barely getting started. For some of us being a musician would be a life long calling. For some of us it would be something that we used to do when we where younger.

One of these young musicians that I would meet that day fell in love with my new Explorer style guitar. So in love with it, that he wanted to trade his guitar for it. His guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Guitar! It was in excellent condition and came with the original Gibson case.

Now if you are reading this, and don't know anything about guitars, let me make this comparison to help you better understand. Let's say you are driving an economy car by any well known auto manufacturer and someone offers to trade their Mercedes (in excellent condition) straight over for it.

At this age I didn't understand the value of what was being offered to me, because I was actually hesitant before accepting. I of course now understand that I was offered the deal of a lifetime and when I left with the friends who had taken me to this kids house they all regarded me as if I had won the Vegas jackpot.

I never did see the kid who traded guitars with me again. I didn't think much about it back then. But as an adult, I have often wondered what happened when his parents got home and found out about the trade he made.

So there I was, still in High School, and the owner of a top of the line Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitar......And what did I do? Well, basically I destroyed it.

Once again I was young and stupid about what I had. I was into heavy metal at the time and locking tremolo bars where all the rage. So I went into a local guitar shop to find out about having it modified for a locking tremolo bar. Now the Gibson Les Paul guitar never comes with a tremolo bar for one simple reason. It isn't designed for it. To modify it for something it isn't designed for is to devalue it, and to essentially ruin it.

Needless to say I look back on this with a great deal regret and never fail to get angry at myself for being stupid enough to do this.

But I get even more angry at the guitar technician, who was an adult, and educated about guitars, and never bothered to pull me aside to say to me; "Son, Do you really want to do this?....because you will be ruining and devaluing this beautiful musical instrument".

He just took my request like I was ordering a cheeseburger with onions and installed a locking tremolo bar onto the guitar without ever saying a word.

The guitar never worked properly after that. The damn locking tremolo was horribly frustrating to work with, and it never stayed in tune. I ended up selling the guitar to get something else (I didn't get much for it)....I don't even remember what I replaced it with.

I certainly couldn't afford to buy a Les Paul new or used on my own. For years I went through various guitars trying to figure out what was right for me. These days I am very satisfied with the Taylor T5 guitar and I feel blessed that I have a good relationship with the company. but I will never forget my first and only Les Paul. I will never let myself forget the lesson that you don't modify something to be something that it's makers never designed it to be. I will always remember to warn those who are younger and less experienced when I see them about to make the same mistake. But most of all I live knowing that somewhere that guitar is out there. perhaps one of these days I will see it again (it won't be hard to spot) and if I do I will look down in shame and say...."I'm sorry".

Miley's Pole Dance - Manufactured Controversy

Yesterday while perusing the usual music news blogs and websites I came across the recent story that teen star Miley Cyrus did a pole dance as part of her performance at the Teen Choice awards telecast. I of course could care less what this Disney product is doing and didn’t give it a second thought. Today while watching a prominent cable news channel, I was treated to a debate on Miss Cyrus’s pole dance. They where discussing the inappropriateness of her doing this when one of the commentators through in the suggestion, that this was a calculated move on her part, to signal that she is maturing as an artist.

Now first of all, the mere fact that something as irrelevant as a pole dance by Miley Cyrus is even news worthy (even in the context of asking if it is appropriate) is discouraging. But the commentator is probably right. I am sure that her managers/handlers/father sat had a meeting and said something to the effect that she is not getting any younger and we have to start transitioning her from teen star to adult star.....So let's go manufacture some controversy.

So they decide to have her do a pole dance on TV to show the world that their little girl/product is becoming a “mature” artist.

Never did it cross their minds that maybe she could instead sing a song of a more serious nature, perhaps songs that reflect a growing maturity…..but then she would have to be real music artist to do that.

My first assumption about Miley Cyrus, was that her songs are written for her by committee and/or men in their 40’s who write songs that follow a formula of topics that will appeal to young teen girls. I have been informed by knowledgeable parent, that she is listed as a song writer on most of the songs that are not released under the Hannah Montanna logo. And while I wont argue this, I do know that there has been a long history (The best known case being Elvis) Wherein pop stars are given a co writing credit (for songs that they did not write) in exchange for recording them. Maybe this is true for her too and maybe not. But so far, my opinion is that Miley/Hannah/Cyrus/Montanna isn’t designed to make young girls think, or to musically enrich their lives. She is designed to get money out of their parents wallets.

At last years Grammy awards telecast, Miley did a duet with another teen star Taylor Swift. I am not a fan of Taylor Swift either, but I recognize the distinct difference between the two. Taylor is the real deal. She is a teenage singer songwriter and a musician. She writes songs that communicate to teen audience because she is writing from her own experience. As she grows older and more mature, her song will reflect that. she wont need to do a pole dance, dress scantily, or bump and grind to show that she is growing up. I also feel very confident that she will never need to relay on pre-recorded vocal tracks or a team of dancers to pull of a performance.....unlike a lot of other pop stars.

My advice to parents: Choose the Taylor Swift album instead.

TJR reviews Ben Harper - White Lies for Dark Times - Music Worth Buying 08/11/09

Artist: Ben Harper and Relentless 7

Album: White Lies for Dark Times

Worth Buying: Yes, even if there where a few tracks that (for me) slowed down the albums momentum.

You will be interested in this album if you are fan of: Blues, Blues Rock, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin.

Tell Me More: This album is my introduction to Mr Harper and his band. I was first exposed to them via the Sundance channel's Live at Abbey Road series, which led me to checking out this latest album. For the record: Ben Harper and Relentless 7 have cooked up some very dark blues rock that has hints of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin mixed in. It is within this style of Blistering Blues Rock that the band really fires it's thrusters on full, and when their music really grabs ahold and captures me. It is only on two slower tracks that come at the midway point that I felt like album lost me for a bit.

I remember playing in a Funk/Rock outfit. We had the upbeat Funk/Rock part of it down, but we had a hard time trying to figure out what our version of a ballad would sound like. And I think that that is what Ben Harper and Relentless 7 are still figuring out. Or perhaps that is what they have figured since the album closes with a ballad entitled Faithfully Remain, and this song (for me)  works as well as their rockers.

What about the packaging? Top score on the packaging. The Cd is beatifully packaged in a gatefold mini LP sleeve. That features gorgeous artwork on the outside and inside. It also come with a nice lyrics booklet that is easy to read and also illustrated.

Listen to samples and buy as mp3 (most affordable option)

Get the album on CD

Deluxe CD with DVD

On Vinyl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THeiRAFq0U

Music: Then and Now

Singer songwriter Alan O'Day (writer of such hits as Angie Baby, and Undercover Angel)  asked a bunch of us to write a comparison of our relationship with music  "Then and Now". I wrote a response and thought I would share it here.

Then:

At one time in my life I had no great interest in music. My parents got me a radio with built in cassette deck for Christmas. They got it for me because I liked playing with tape recorders. I realized that I could tape off the radio and for the first few weeks I sat monitoring radio and taping songs (Kind of a lo tech version of file sharing). I began to realize what kinds of music I liked. Then I started buying music at the record store. At first just greatest hits albums, then I got into the full length albums. Then I began to feel that just listening wasn't enough and I wanted to learn how to play.

Now:

I have been let down by today's music radio and so I don't listen to it anymore

The ipod is my favorite personal belonging. I have over 6800 song on it. I use it to listen in the car, while I work around the house, while I am shopping, I listen to my itunes while I write this.

I buy more music now then ever before. I check the Amazon mp3 store every day for their album deal of the day and their free song of the day (I make lots of purchases there).  I check the Best Buy sunday ads to see what new releases are going to be on sale that week.

I believe that there is tons of great new music out there. Just don't expect mainstream radio to find it for you, You have to find it yourself. But it's out there and it's fantastic. That is why I write music reviews at musicworthbuying.com

Then: I liked rock and pop

Now: I keep expanding and growing. When I was a kid I hated 50's rock. Now I love it. I think we grow up with lots of prejudices about music, but I think you can learn to shed them and open your mind to new and different kinds of music. You don't have to like everything though. In fact, sometimes to be passionate about music you might have to hate a few things in order to really know what you love. But you should always be open to the idea that you might start to love what you used to hate....It's happened to me.