Episode 16 / Tyrone Wells / The Raveonettes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceRASh2nXRk

Tyrone Wells on CD

Tyrone Wells on mp3

Raveonettes On CD

Raveonettes On mp3

Raveonettes On Vinyl

CD review: Ace Frehley - Anomaly

Artist: Ace Frehley
Album: Anomaly
Worth Buying: All but three songs
You will be interested in this album if you are a fan of: Ace Frehley, Kiss, 70’s lighter progressive rock bands like Styx, and Queen.

Tell me more: Upfront, I will start by saying that Ace Frehley was, and is a huge influence on my own guitar playing. I’ve always liked his phrasing, I’ve always liked the way he textures songs. I’ve also often referred to him as the BB King of Hard Rock, because like BB, his playing often demonstrated that it’s not so much what you play but how you phrase it.

If you doubt me, listen to the harmonized guitar solo from “Detroit Rock City” from his Kiss days. It is an amazing exercise in the power of phrasing and melody over ferocious speed.

It’s been a long time since Ace did a solo album. Being a Frehley fan I was naturally excited to hear his latest. I was also naturally going into it wanting to like it.

...And I did.....but......well, I'll just come out and say it. I didn't care for the first three songs. Those first three songs, where to me, just average heavy metal songs and not worth recommending.

I always listen to everything at least 3 times before I make up my mind, so after more than three listens I just simply took those 1st three songs off my ipod.

Now a lot of people in the music business cry foul to this,. "This is the problem with ipods and digital music" they say. The artist didn't want their music to be heard this way. And while this is certainly not the way the artist wanted me to hear their album, it's nothing new. And it's nothing to do with ipods, or digital formats. Back in the days of vinyl, if there was a song that I didn't like, I would lift the needle up and go to the next one. When cassettes came along, I would tape my albums and hit pause to edit out the songs I didn't want to hear.

So with three songs less I listened again to Anomaly (9 songs): Now The album kicks off with a fun remake of Sweet’s “Fox On The Run” and follows into a 70’s style bit of progressive rock entitled “Genghis Kahn”. Genghis Kahn starts as an acoustic instrumental before combining Indian influences with straight ahead Hard Rock. It’s an interesting combination because the song Rocks, but is chill. These two songs now set the stage for the rest of the album as it bounces back and forth from straight forward rockers like “Too Many Faces” and “Sister”, to more 70’s tinged progressive style rock like “A Little Below The Angels” and “Fractured Quantum”.

In “A little Below the Angels”, Ace gets as close as he ever has to writing a folk song (And I mean that in a good way). It is confessional and personal song where he comes clean about his frailties and past indiscretions before finding solace in the fact that we all fall short of angels.

If you love and miss that 70’s Rock sound (and I mean Rock) you are going to like this album. It will remind you of the time when bands that rocked played with different colors on their albums. Sometimes tacking big ideas and musical themes but always coming back just making fun straight ahead white boy Rock! Yes, I didn’t care for three songs on it, but you might feel differently. 9 songs out of 12 is not a bad batting average. And I have enjoyed and kept albums who’s averages where certainly a lot lower than this angel of an album.

TJR   02/17/10

What about the packaging? This CD has some of the most unique packaging ever. The CD case folds into cool display pyramid….and you also get a mini poster

Listen to samples and get Anomaly in the mp3 format

Get it on CD here

It's on vinyl too

Episode 15

Listen to more samples and get The Zombies by clicking here

Listen to more samples and get Dada here

Episode 14

Listen to more samples of Under The Covers Vol 2 and buy on CD

Mp2 version for 4 dollars less

Get Before the Frost and Until the Freese on CD

Get the mp3 version for just 5.99!

Check out the Vinyl Version here

Is Indie Dead?

The Latest issue of Paste Magazine arrived in my mailbox

It featured a parody of the infamous "Is God Dead"? Time Magazine cover

Only Paste's cover read: Is Indie Dead?

The first thing I thought was: If indie is dead, then it died while most
of the world was more concerned with Riannon and Chris Brown to even know
or care what indie is (or was LOL).

PS: Paste is the best music magazine out there. If you aren't getting it,
you should.....Just my opinion.

Currently Listening to...Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney and Wings - Wings Over America - 1976



Paul McCartney - Good Evening New York 2009

I wasn't planning on getting this new live release from Sir Paul, but Rhino Records in Claremont CA was selling it for $9.99 and I just couldn't resist

First of all (even at it's regular retail price), it's hard to go wrong with this 3 disc set (2 CDs /1 DVD). You pretty much know and like all of these songs anyway. It includes a good overview of Beatles, Wings, Paul's solo, and songs from his recent side project "The Fireman".

But what was really fun for me was comparing this live album to his 1976 live release "Wings Over America".

Originally release as 3 Vinyl disc album, WOA chronicled Paul's first tour of America with his band Wings. This was also his first tour of America since the Beatles last tour during the mid 60's, and at the time, the hysteria over this concert was just amazing. For a lot of fans who couldn't get tickets, this album was as close as we where getting.

The other amazing thing (at the time) was that it was the first time anyone had heard his perform Beatle's songs live in over a decade. At this time, all the Beatles where busy working on solo careers and trying to distance themselves from their earlier bands work. WOA featured 5 Beatles songs along with heaping of songs from his solo work.

By way of comparison Good Evening New York features 19 Beatle songs and only 12 Paul solo songs!

Also fun was comparing the difference between Paul's current touring band and Wings (his band for a good part of his 70's output), Especially when it's the same song.

Here's a few quick comparisons

Band on The Run: On GENY the a keyboardist fills in for the horn section but on WOA it's just the band doing the song a lot more rocking and raw.

Let Me Roll It: WOA plays it more slow and bluesy. on GENY the song is more upbeat and rocking.

The Long And Winding Road: on WOA Paul opens with an improvised melancholy piano solo. A real horn section fills in for the album versions orchestra and the song is slower. on GENY there is a different improvised intro but it has the same feel. But this version is a bit more uptempo and synth strings replace the horns and are more in the background.

Also of interest is that Paul performs the John Lennon song "Give Peace A Chance" and George Harrison's "Something".  Two songs that he never sang on initially. This album's version of Something is similar to the version that he performed at the George Harrison memorial concert. As for Give Peace A Chance....I think it's great that he decided to do this song, but I don't think that it's great that he chose to burst into three-quarters of the way into a live rendition of "A Day in the Life". Also I think that this song suffers from having the synth replacing the horns on this one.

I could go on but you get the idea.

I think what most impresses me is that with more than 30 years time between these two releases it's amazing to notice just how on top of his game Paul McCartney has remained as a live performer.

The corporate music industry smacks of blatant ageism, but I've always said that if musicians do their job right they get better as they get older, and not worse. Paul has certainly proved this

Good Evening New York is widely available in the standard 2 CD 1 DVD edition that I have and a deluxe 2 CD 2 DVD edition

Wings Over America is a our of print but is easily available as download version from Amazon and you can still get the CD version for a reasonable pice if you know where to look

Get Wings Over America on CD for about 20 bucks

Get the mp3 version for $9.49

Get the physical version of Good Evening New York for just $13.99

mp3 version just 9.49

TJR's 2010 Grammy Roundup

Time for my annual Grammy Awards rundown.

If you’ve never read my annual round up before, please remember that I only talk about the performances. I never talk about the winners. and losers,.....becuase I don’t care.

Also remember that I don’t pay much attention to mainstream radio anymore so Grammy Performances are sometimes the first time I hear some of the mainstreams newer artists.

Ok, lets go.

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Lady Gaga

I have never heard Lady Gaga before  although I have heard of her ( Yeah I know, that’s hard to believe but really don’t pay that much attention to the mainstream)

First impression: Marilyn Manson in Drag

2nd impression: Her outfit reminds me of 70’s David Bowie

She appears to be singing live but her chorus sounds like it’s pre - recorded. I am going to assume the band is pre- recorded too since they are no where in sight. What is in sight is the pre requisite 50 dancers that everyone seems to need nowadays.

I am enjoying the theatrics and the part where she gets thrown down into the reject bin when I hit pause and say to Kathy “It won’t be long till Elton John does a duet with this woman”

....Then to my surprise the stage opens and she is doing a duet with.......Elton John. They are both sitting at dueling pianos and playing and singing live and now we see the band. I enjoy this 2nd half of the performances better than the first half.

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Broadway cast of “American Idiot” and Green Day.

American Idiot is now a broadway musical? .......Wow!

It took Broadway 20 years to catch up to the Who and realize that Tommy would make a good stage production. Good to see that they didn’t wait as long to adapt Green Day.

I am already pumped to see this stage show.

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Beyonce.

I only ever hear Beyonce on these TV broadcasts. She is always an amazing vocal talent, but I am just not that interested in the music she records. But I have heard this song once before. A friend of mine asked me to watch the music video for this song, so that I could appreciate another video that was a parody of it.

This live performance is different in that it feature a live rock band and an orchestra. The band and the orchestra a great. Then suddenly she breaks into Alanis Morrisette's “You Oughta know” Artistically it’s a great choice for her.

I don’t know why she has Ninja turtles on stage with her though,. They really didn’t do anything, but march on the stage with her and fist the audience.

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Pink

I only ever hear Pink on these TV broadcasts too. I have never heard this song before, but it feels like I would really like it more with repeated listens.

Then suddenly she disrobes wearing a sheer body suit that simulates nudity and the audience starts applauding. I can’t figure why.  Are they applauding simulated nudity? or simulated stripping?

I have nothing against nudity. I think we Americans are need to develop a healthier attitude about it.

Then she joins some additional nude simulated dancers in a Cirque du Soliel style performance.

It’s a really beautiful and lyrical performance. Then Pink hangs from a rope, gets dumped in water and hangs over the audience spinning as water flies off of her. It is then that I realize that the vocals we are hearing at this point have to be prerecorded since it seems unlikely that her microphone could function with that much water on it (besides it would have probably electrocuted her too).

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Black Eyed Peas

I don’t listen to mainstream radio but I have already heard “Tonight's going to be a good night” on to many commercials. .

this song has always sounds like something that would be on some 80’s Disney kids show to me.

***************

Lady Antebellum

Finally the show is about music and we see a band give a great solid live performance with out 50 dancers standing in front of them. This the first time I have heard this band too. I am not sure that their music my kind of thing, but this is a REALLY good band.

And for that reason I might go check out this album.

*****************

Jamie Fox  and T-Pain

I can’t understand why Jamie Fox uses so much obvious auto tune, when he really can sing. Then Slash joins them onstage and he’s playing the guitar solo from November Rain. This whole performance feels like something I would have dreamed about after eating to many green chili burritos and a lot of ice cream.

****************

Zac Brown Band and Leon Russell

Suddenly it’s about the band again. I am not getting into the Zac Brown bands song and then suddenly they break into this amazing explosive ending and the lead singer breaks into an amazing guitar solo.

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Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks

I only ever hear Taylor on these TV shows too, I am not into her music and I am not that into her opening song, but she is authentic and I am so glad that young girls  now have someone authentic like Taylor Swift to look up to as a musical artist rather then Brittany Spears or her latest knock off clone.

Stevie joins her halfway for Rhiannon. The two have a little trouble harmonizing in a few spots, but Stevie has such a different kind of voice that it’s probably hard to harmonize with her

Stevie’s regular guitarist is there too and does a great job on the guitar solo.

Then they go back into a different Swift song which I enjoy a whole lot more than the first one.

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A Whole Bunch of People Sing A Michael Jackson Song

Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, & Smokey Robinson to be exact.

At first I thought I wasn’t going to like this song, but maybe that’s just because Celine Dion was the first one onstage. But by the ending I was reminded that Michael Jackson can sometimes write truly great riffs and groves. By the songs end I was won over and wanted to hear it again.

I think that including a 3D video during the performance was kinda pointless since most of the TV audience isn’t going to have 3D glasses.

**********

Bon Jovi

I almost hate having to be honest when it comes to this band.

They are all underrated musicians, Jon Bon Jovi is a good vocalist and they seem like decent enough guys, but I have just never gotten into their songs. I can only think of one or two of their songs that I actually enjoy.

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Andrea Bocceli and Mary J Blige

My mother loves Andrea.  :)

I don’t have to be into him to recognize that he is an amazing vocalist. and I think that most vocalists would be afraid to be on the same stage with him. Mary does a good job holding her own with him.

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Dave Matthew's Band

Another great band that I am just not that into.......and yet, for the first time I found myself getting into one of their songs. This was very spirited and heartfelt performances. Maybe I need to give one their albums another chance.

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Maxwell and Roberta Flack

Maxwell is really good, watching this performance makes me think that he is the modern day answer to Marvin Gaye....Yeah, he’s that good.

Then Robert Flack joins him onstage for “Where is the love”.

most of today's pop singers keep the mic right up to mouths. I notice that Robert Flack keeps her mic very far away from her and yet, we can still hear her really well. Which tells me that she still has a really strong voice.

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Jeff Beck and Imelda May pay tribute to Les Paul

COOL! Very cool!

I want an audio copy of this performance.

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Dr Dre, Eminiem and Lil Wayne  (w’ Blink 182’s drummer)

Never really listened to Lil Wayne, but I like a lot of Eminem’s stuff and I really liked the first half with Wayne and Eminem but the second half had to many audio drop outs (because of all the curse words) and it just ruins the continuity.

I still don’t understand why so many of these guys have to wear their pants down to their but cracks though, it always makes me want to pants them.

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Looking back at this years performances, I see the repeating theme of recording artists who’s music I am just not that into. This wasn’t the worst night of Grammy performances that I have ever seen, but it wasn’t one of the best ones either (and there have been some awesome ones in the past). This year kinda sits in the middle for me. For me the highlights where Maxwell with Roberta Flax and Jeff Beck with Imelda May.

I think that this years live performances don’t rate as high with me because too many of them where about the theatrics rather than the musical performance. This is supposed to be music’s biggest night after all.

Those are my feelings, please feel free to share yours and let me know just how on the money or off the mark you think I am.

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