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Sur la scène jazz, il est tout simplement impossible d’ignorer Alex Grenier. Le guitariste angévin s’est fait un nom à travers une discographie solide, des collaborations mémorables et des prestations scéniques légendaires dans les quatre coins du monde, à un tel point qu’il est devenu une référence en la matière. Son cinquième album nommé Spicy Galaxy est là pour rappeler son héritage et son talent hors normes.
Ici, Alex Grenier compte explorer les recoins 70’s tout au long de ces neuf titres bien groovy. Spicy Galaxy compte nous remuer comme il se doit avec cette fusion entre jazz et blues qui fait effet sur « Bouce » qui ouvre le disque mais encore sur les entraînants « Mojo » et « Harlem » où il nous gratifie de solos de guitare réjouissants.
Les talents de compositeur d’Alex Grenier ne sont plus à discuter par les temps qui courent et ce Spicy Galaxy ne fait ps exception. Que ce soit sur « Sund’ » ou bien encore sur « Double Six » et « Bee Cool », le guitariste angévin reste sur ses gardes en faisant la distinction entre improvisations bien senties et mélodies groovy spontanées qui continuent de faire mouche avec « Bel Horizon » et « French Touch ». Toujours aussi séduisant et instinctif, la musique d’Alex Grenier ne fait jamais défaut.
Like our stories from the land of SARAYA, that take place in different times but are still connected.
Our own story (the band) began over 25 years ago…
For three decades we have been a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough waiting patiently in the shadows, planning, preparing and like Pandoras Box, almost lost and forgotten, waiting in silence to be revealed.
Transcending time and space, fate brought us back together and here we are, over three decades later, ready to take on the world, and let you inside our.
Like a lost treasure in the Swedish melodic hard rock scene, with some of the most outstanding musical visionaries and craftsmen the scene has to offer comes a beautifully crafted trajectory that reaches beyond traditional melodic hardrock. Introducing cinematic soundscapes and with the mesmerizing stories that take place in the land of SARAYA, SARAYASIGN brings something new and fresh to the table.
With stellar guitar riffs and haunting melodies and arrangements from our childhood dreams merged with our own twist of cinematic hardrock, we offer something old and something new.
Listeners will be in for a treat.
BIOGRAPHY
In a cinematic experience, music can propel narrative swiftly forward or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realm of pure poetry. It’s the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience. That’s what we try to do through our storytelling concept and our music.
Like the exampled album “Operation: Mindcrime”, our songs are stories, and they are all drawn from the fictional world of SARAYA.
Through the eyes and words of the storyteller comes a compelling story that started out as a fantasy for creator Jesper Lindbergh almost 25 years and later due to various reasons stored away as his personal notes in hope someday a chance for them to be realized would emerge.
Now, over two decades later, they are all dusted off and reforged into a series of tales, ready to take listener on a unique journey as SARYASIGN was formed and these stories could finally be unfolded.
The initial story will be told over the course of four albums and Throne Of Gold is the beginning.
SARAYASIGN is a cinematic melodic hard rock band, and we took all that we learned to love about movies and poured it all into the mix of this concept. With guitar driven roots from the late 70’s, and the cinematic experience of the 21:st century, layered with strings and storytelling driven, melody-focused songs with an edge, the listener will be in for a treat.
In just over a week Michael Schenker’s new album will be upon us. Schenker of course is a legend, and whether you saw him back in the 80’s or rather more recently, then you’ll know that his relationship with the guitar is unsurpassed. There are few who have influenced as many, few with the kind of songs behind him he has, and few that thirty years after what some might call his peak is still producing the kind of material he is. Indeed after some great outings in recent years with Michael Schenker Fest albums Resurrection (2018) and Revelation (2019), the new official Michael Schenker Group album ‘Universal’ (the follow up to 2021’s ‘Immortal’) is all rather wonderful, keeping up the quality of recent years.
Interestingly although Ronnie Romero features on vocals here and is scheduled for the US dates later in the year it’s notable that Robin McAuley stepped in to cover most of the European dates on the 50th Anniversary Universal Tour earlier in the year. If I’m honest whist Ronnie is a real talent (and his work with Rainbow and Vandenberg is wonderful) and of course a young face looks great on tour he’s only part of a wonderful line up that includes Michael Kiske (Helloween) and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), drummers Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy), as well as legendary bassists Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath), Barry Sparks (Malmsteen, Dokken) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Zakk Wylde), with Tom Carey as a very special guest. Part of me of course wants to hear what McAuley sounds like singing these new songs after his wonderful recent solo vocals and with ‘Black Swan’.
Working again with producer Michael Voss seems to be at last part of the magic here “Michael Voss is happy to wait until I have worked out an idea and takes the time to really get to know the song, simultaneously developing ideas for the vocals,” Schenker describes the fruitful collaboration which has one cog intermesh with the other. “Then we work out the drums, bass and some keyboard parts together. He always has plenty of great ideas up his sleeve.”
If you’ve enjoyed Schenker’s recent output as I have then you’ll love this. In fact if you like the albums I’ve name-checked so far then like me you light even find this edges the others. Opening with the brooding ‘Emergency’ and the more melodic build of ‘Under Attack’ there’s a defined retro sound that pitches you nicely into the mid-eighties. And after that intro we find ourselves face to face with what some are even citing as one of Schenker’s most important tracks in recent years…
“The rock anthem ‘A King Has Gone’ and its intro ‘Calling Baal’ both have a special significance: The track, sung by Helloween frontman Michael Kiske, is a tribute to the immortal Ronnie James Dio, in particular to his performance on the 1976 hard rock classic Rainbow Rising. For this reason, Schenker has brought together an original Rainbow rhythm section consisting of Bobby Rondinelli and Bob Daisley, additionally enlisting keyboardist Tony Carey, who also played on Rainbow Rising, for a terrific Moog synth intro – a direct reference to the iconic intro of the 1976 album opener ‘Tarot Woman’. The impressive result ‘Calling Baal’/‘A King Has Gone’ is already considered to be one of the most important and successful songs in Schenker’s career to date, both musically and lyrically.”
Indeed it’s hard not to be impressed even just at the sentiment let alone the reassembling of the musicians who made such a wonderful album, but the song itself and its preceding intro have a wonderful passion and the sort of keyboard and guitar interplay that made albums like ‘Rising’ timeless. It’s a wonderful tribute.
‘The Universe’ has the hard act of following that and rather go full pelt we instead land in a soft ballad that sees Gary Barden and Ronnie Romero share a duet ‘Long Long Road’ has an initial feel of Thunderstruck with the smooth vocal driving it forward majestically. And if your love the vocals of Ralph Scheepers then you’re in for a real treat with ‘Wrecking Ball’ a real highlight here and the most driven offering so far – this one will sizzle live!
The final four might even edge it – first ‘Yesterday is Dead’ comes as a nice gritty headbanger before ‘London Calling (No not the Clash song – imagine that!) pays homage to the 80’s UK rock bands that put Hard Rock in the mainstream, it’s a great song and very reminiscent of Scorpions. ‘Sad is the Song’ that follows is more statuesque and definitely gives off a Rainbow vibe especially in the verses which are vaguely Eastern and the guitar work. The final word goes to the red hot fretwork of ‘Au Revoir’ the paciest fretwork offering here and another of the best. As they say, it’s a nice way to say see you later…
The album features two bonus tracks: ‘Turn Off the World’ which with that opening guitar is actually one of my favourites on the album a stomping mid-tempo rocker that comes with a message and is hard to see how it only made it as a bonus cut. The second bonus ‘Fighter’ is a mid-tempo rocker that would be worth inclusion just for the solo! There’s no slowing Michael down these days and here’s yet another treat for fans.
Diamond Star Halos is the brand new album from Def Leppard, their first since their chart topping self-titled Def Leppard record in 2015. Written by the band over the past two years it features 15 tracks including the anthemic, stadium-ready singles “Kick” and “Fire It Up”, with guest vocals from Alison Krauss on “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”. The album title references T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” with nods to T.Rex, David Bowie and Mott The Hoople across the album, which mixes the sound of their classic spirit with modern fire. The 1CD features a black & white cover with colour logo, packaged in a jewel case.
Over the years, Wax & Boogie have been gaining recognition and have become one of the best bands of the blues, rhythm and blues and boogie-woogie scene.
Ster Wax and David Giorcelli have been able to capture the true spirit of African-American traditional music in an exceptional way and turned it into their own means of expression. They master the language of black music in a rich and varied way. Ster and David surf easily and confidently on the different waves of the genre.
Besides what has been mentioned, Kansas City, Texas blues and 50s R&B are present in all the work of the couple, with the constant influence of Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Otis Spann, Esther Phillips, Big Maybelle, Big Joe Turner, Johnny Otis, Amos Milburn and Wynona Carr, among many other great names of the forties and fifties.
Het laatste album van Blues Company dat in Bluesmagazine is besproken was het live-album Take The Stage in november 2020. Nu verschijnt Songs With No Words als dubbelelpee en cd als de vierendertigste release van deze band. De titel zegt het al: Songs With No Words, is dus een instrumentaal album geworden. Het leek bandleider Todor ‘Toscho’ Todorovic een mooi idee een instrumentaal verzamelalbum te maken met nummers die de laatste decennia zijn opgenomen en blijven liggen en die de ontwikkeling van de band evenals de muzikaliteit en de opnametechniek laten zien.
Op het album staan vijftien songs waarvan drie covers namelijk Comin’Home Baby (Ben Tucker, Bob Douroug, Hide Away/Peter Gunn Theme (Freddie King, Hank Mancini) en het overbekende Albatross (Peter Alan Green). De rest is geschreven door Todor Todorovic en Mara’s Dream samen met Zdzislaw Marcinkiewicz. De speeltijd is ruim 74 minuten.
De cd opent met het de heerlijke swingende jazz-blues shuffle Damn! Let’s Jam met tenor en bariton saxofoon en ingetogen swingend gitaar. Lekkere diepe contrabas en ritmische drums. Prachtig begin. Comin’ Home Baby met verrassend fluitspel en weer een zalige swing en met orgel en prachtige gitaarsolo. Live-opgenomen en wat een geweldige geluidskwaliteit, de hele cd trouwens. De band staat hier ook om bekend. Taxi met diepe bariton saxsound volgt, lekker uptempo nummer. De slowblues Luka’s Lullaby is weer live opgenomen en is meer Peter Green stijl. Ook live de fijne shuffle J.J.’s Jump, weer jazzy met de blazers. Rustig laidback met prachtig helder ingetogen gitaarspel wordt het in Waiting For Springtime. Vrolijk swingend is Mr.TNT de ritmesectie legt een prima basis neer, vooral door de vloeiende lopende bas, lekkere saxsolo ook. Met helder, iets galmend gitaar opent Mara’s Dream, orgel valt in en het hele nummer door met alleen gitaar en orgel . Verrassend. Hele diepe bas, zware drums en helder gitaar openen het rustige Dinner At Woolfie’s. Hoofdrol voor de basis van drums en bas. Live gaat het verder met het bekende uptempo Hide Away/Peter Gunn Theme. Blues For Mick is zoals de titel aangeeft een rustige mooi gespeelde blues. Met de live gespeelde boogie T’s Boogie boogiet het verder, met swing en bassolo met passende drums. Stilzitten is er niet bij. Dromerige avondsfeer in Balsha’s Dream, ondergaande zon, wijntje, lief naast je…De beat van de drums in No Idea verstoort de rust….ritmisch nummer met ruimte voor een korte bassolo. Het overbekende Albatross is de afsluiter van dit prachtige album.
Line-up:
Omdat het een verzameling nummers uit meerdere decennia is doen er twintig muzikanten op mee. In de mooie, stevige klaphoes staan ze vermeld bij elk nummer.
Conclusie:
Songs With No Words is een heerlijk instrumentaal album geworden met diversiteit in de nummers. Prima luister-cd in top geluidskwaliteit en fantastisch gespeeld. Het beluisteren absoluut waard.
Chicago blues is Dave Weld’s lifeblood. From his beginnings mentored by JB Hutto to his decades with Lil Ed Williams and his Blues Imperials, he has taken the blues around the world. Weld and his Imperial Flames have a brand new album titled “Nightwalk,” their third for Chicago’s Delmark Records, out May 27th.
“Nightwalk” deepens the forward-thinking sound and energy of their contemporary blues albums past, weaving an original tapestry of old and new traditions. Highlights include “Mary Who”, an authentic musical tour de force and vivid portrait of urban life and his tribute to Hutto, “Don’t Ever Change Your Ways”. Weld told Blues Blast Magazine that, “It’s about how he schooled me, and prepared me, for the good parts of this industry as well as the bitterness. His advice was don’t let anybody tell you you can’t make it, not your job, your girlfriend, your mother or father, your friends, nobody! That has stuck with me. The song is about him leaving Georgia and coming to Chicago to be a bluesman, and meeting him when I was a young man. That is when he told me to never change my ways.”
The Imperial Flames are a big, horn-driven band and Weld shares vocal duties with his partner Monica Myhre and drummer Jeff Taylor. Longtime friend Billy Branch contributes harp on the Hutto original, “Now She’s Gone” as well. Weld brought Tom Hambridge in to produce. Hambridge is Buddy Guy’s longtime drummer and has won two Grammy Awards along with multiple nominations for his work with Guy, Susan Tedeschi, James Cotton and Kenny Neal.
A native of Lake Forest, Weld studied history and journalism at New Mexico State University before returning home for the blues life. He initially earned his keep playing with ex-Hound Dog Taylor sidemen Brewer Phillips and Ted Harvey at Sweet Peas, then joining up with several former bandmates of Howlin’ Wolf in the house band at the 1815 Club. Weld’s affinity for the blues was apparent to those wary, seasoned veterans. An early supporter was Hutto, a highly regarded slide guitarist.
Weld’s comfort with urban blues was further illustrated when he took on rhythm guitar duties in the fast company of his slide guitar-playing friend Lil Ed Williams in the raw-and-rowdy band they called the Blues Imperials. The acclaimed 1986 album ROUGHHOUSIN’ captured their incandescent spirit. Weld was with the Blues Imperials for about ten years before branching off in the late-1980s to lead his own outfit. To date, the Imperial Flames have performed in 26 states, 11 countries, and at about three dozen festivals, among them the Montreal Jazz Festival and, naturally, the Chicago Blues Festival.
McBride komt uit Belfast in Noord-Ierland, een plek die resoneert met de muzikanten zoals Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher en bands als Thin Lizzy, Stiff Little Fingers en uiteraard U2. Hij speelde op tournee met de band van Ian Gillan, de Don Airey-band en ex-leden van Whitesnake als onderdeel van Snakecharmer. Simon is door niemand minder dan Ian Gillan van Deep Purple geprezen als “one of the best guitar players in the world.”
Momenteel vervangt Simon Steve Morse in Deep Purple, die vanwege een familieaangelegenheid tijdelijk een pauze heeft genomen van zijn positie bij de band. Joe Satriani die in 1993 en 1994 met de band speelde, zei in een interview met eonmusic het volgende; “Simon is a great call for that, so that’s really great”, he said; “I mean, the band is close to Simon, and Simon’s a great guitarist”.
Dit album is de perfecte kans voor Simon om naam te maken en te schitteren in de rockwereld! Classic Rock Music UK en Powerplay Magazine hebben beide Simon’s album al met top ratings beoordeeld. “As talented as Simon is, you feel he should be better known” – Powerplay (9/10). Opgenomen in de legendarische Chameleon Studios in Hamburg, heeft dit album alles wat een goed rockalbum nodig heeft… ‘The Fighter’ voelt als het ontbrekende stuk die hem naar de top zou kunnen brengen, vlak naast de legendarische gitaarhelden, waar hij thuishoort.
The Blues – understanding the bottom line of being alive in this world. Soul Music – rising above the reality of this world. Lilly Martin sings both, the blues and soul, honestly and with intensity, because she knows what she is singing about.
On the new album ‘Lookout’, which will be released on May 27, 2022, the winner of the “Swiss Blues Award” 2020 is showing all facets of her creativity. A new phase is starting. “Lookout”, that means as much as looking from the inside out, or in other words: change the perspective. With new maturity and serenity. This is where Lilly Martin’s accumulated experience enters the picture.
It is a new highlight in her career. Together with her partner, the multi-instrumentalist Michael Dolmetsch, she creates soul-blues in her own unique style, with influences from gospel, R&B and Motown. Eight original compositions are included on the new album of this singer, who has also written songs with many other artists. “I was encouraged by the positive reactions to my older songs and also by winning the “Swiss Blues Award” to present even more original pieces this time.” Songs like the soulful “Good Love”, which is about the search for the great love, about never giving up on this search. Or “Waiting for the Fog to Lift,” a slow blues in which Lilly Martin describes how she survives melancholy moments. Feelings and situations that everyone knows and that she is describing here in a haunting way.
Besides her own songs, Lilly Martin is also delivering well-chosen cover versions. No wonder she calls herself a “genre outlaw” because the stylistic range is wide. “Desperado” by the Eagles, “Leavin'” by singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne, “Driving Wheel”, an old Blues by Roosevelt Sykes, and, as a real surprise, “Soul Searching” by the Californian Beach Boys. On one hand, this selection adds to the album’s complexity, and on the other, Lilly Martin demonstrates one of her great qualities: she effortlessly makes these songs from other people’s her own.
Martin van der Starre, Mink, Jack Bottleneck, Cindy Oudshoorn, Cobus Prins, Auke Busman, Dilana Smith, Alex Luttjeboer, Monique Bakker, Silvia Dekema en Kevin Stuurhaan - vocals, Hans Eijkenaar en Fokke de Jong - drums, Michel van Schie, Roni Jonker, Bonne van der Wal en Johannes Adema - basgitaar, Ruben Mulder - toetsen, Bas Kleine - Bluesharp, Nico Outhuijse - percussie en studiotechniek, Willem Pen - Sax/trompet.
Bobby Previte is a composer and performer whose work explores the nexus between notated and improvised music. One of the seminal figures of the 1980s New York ‘Downtown’ scene, Previte is the recipient of the 2015 Greenfield Prize for music and was a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow in 2012. He has received multiple awards for composition from the NEA, NYFA, NYSCA, New Music USA, The Jerome Foundation, The New York State Music Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the American Music Center. Mr. Previte has been an artist-in-residence at the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, Civitella Ranieri, The Montalvo Arts Center, The Hermitage Artist Retreat, and nine times at the MacDowell Colony.
His original compositions have been recorded and released on Sony, Elektra, Rykodisc, Palmetto, New World, Ropeadope, Tzadik, Thirsty Ear, Cantaloupe and Rarenoise. Leading a plethora of diverse ensembles from his instrument, the drums, he has collaborated with many of the leading lights in and beyond the world of music, including master composer John Adams, iconic singer Tom Waits, pantheon filmmaker Robert Altman, and most recently, rock legend Iggy Pop. His music has been labeled as ‘utterly original,’ by the New York Times, while The New Yorker has said his ensembles ‘speak in visionary tongues.’ Mr. Previte has given master classes at schools and universities around the world including The Eastman School of Music, The New School, Bard College, and Princeton University. His recent work includes: TERMINALS, Five Concertos for Percussion Ensemble and Soloist, with SO Percussion, released October 28th, 2014 by Cantaloupe Music, GONE, with Bobby Previte & the Visitors, released summer 2016 on the forTune label, TERMINALS QUARTETS, the percussion only version of Terminals, summer 2016, by Cantaloupe Music, and MASS, a music in nine parts for choir, pipe organ, and metal trio, released April 2017 by Rarenoise Records. His newest work, RHAPSODY, a song cycle on the subject of migration, was commissioned by the Greenfield Prize at the Hermitage Artist Retreat, and premiered April 21, 2017 at New College in Sarasota, Florida. Scored for acoustic guitar, harp, piano, voice, drums and saxophone, and featuring a powerhouse band of Zeena Parkins, John Medeski, Nels Cline, Fabian Rucker, and Jen Shyu, RHAPSODY was released in January, 2018 by Rarenoise.
Acclaimed virtuoso musician, songwriter, composer, author and humanitarian Mike Stevens' main instrument is the harmonica, and in his hands it becomes a genre bending, no rules allowed, musical paintbrush as confirmed by Legendary Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff who said: "I've never heard anyone play the harmonica like you play the harmonica."
For more than 35 years Mike has been doing solo live looping harmonica and exploring his own unique vocal harmonica technique. His talent is as unorthodox as his career trajectory. As a ground-breaking performer, composer, educator, keynote speaker and author, Mike continues to expand the paradigms of harmonica, balancing tradition with cutting-edge innovation.
On 'Breathe In The World, Breathe Out Music'. Mike plays his harp, takes lead vocal on four tracks and shares the spotlight with several notable guests including vocalists Polly Harris, Cory James Mitchell, guitarists Kevin Breit, Jeff Getty & Jesse Wells, drummer Art Hratchian and bassist Jeff Bird. From Bluegrass to West African music, Country to Blues, fiddle tunes to soundscapes and experimental music, for Mike it's simply a matter of Breathing In the World and Breathing Out Music.
Following his chart-topping Daydreams in Blue (Shining Stone, 2020), Anthony Geraci returns with Blues Called My Name, a dynamic collection of original compositions featuring esteemed special guests Anne Harris, Walter Trout, Sugar Ray Norcia, Monster Mike Welch, Erika Van Pelt, and The Boston Blues All-Stars. Award-winning blues guitarist Ronnie Earl shared this praise for Geraci and the new album: "Anthony has been contributing to this music for many years, and his new album illuminates the many colors, shades, and styles of the blues. Anthony is very inspiring, and I love his dedication to the old masters like Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, and Big Maceo Merriweather." Link Telegram
Sometimes it takes a potentially life altering event to make you stop and re-evaluate what is truly important to you. In March 2021, guitarist, composer, and arranger CHRIS STANDRING found himself in the emergency room after experiencing chest pains. Although there was some history of heart disease in his immediate family, he never dreamed that he was himself a candidate for a heart attack. He was just 60 years old, kept trim, ate well, exercised, and never smoked. But he was lucky. He come through it with flying colors and a new appreciation for the simple things that make life worth living.
On his newest release, SIMPLE THINGS, Standring reflects on his recent experience and his new and intimate awareness of the fragility of life. Standring relates, “We have all heard cliches like ‘who knows what tomorrow may bring’ and ‘don't forget to stop and smell the roses,’ but we usually don’t take those old aphorisms to heart. To suddenly come face to face with my own mortality made me think about what is really important to me and how I want to live out my third act. Ultimately the answer came down to a just few basic things - spending time with loved ones, being present in the moment, and doing things with joy. Indeed, the theme of this album is joy, positivity, hope, and, because I'm a sucker for a beautiful melody, a little sadness as well.”
Standring is no stranger to funk, and several compositions on the album were heavily influenced by Prince and Bootsy Collins. Standring explains, “I’m a big fan of Prince, who learned about funk studying the music of people like Bootsy Collins. I wrote the opening track, “Shadow of Doubt,” after hearing a particular bass line by Prince that I really liked and wondered what I could do with something similar. I also saw a YouTube video of Bootsy explaining his basic funk formula. The bass line he demonstrated is so funky that it inspired me to write something of my own. Of course, I had to thank him, which I did on “Thank You Bootsy.” “Face to Face” is another song that was influenced by Prince and Bootsy.”
Standring originally wrote “Change the World” for another artist, but he decided to keep the song for himself because it fit his style so well. He released this tune as a single, which reached number 1 on Billboard, (March 2022). “A Thousand Words” is a darker tune that Standring wrote for an old friend who suffered from mental illness and recently ended her own life. Standring composed “Ain't Nothin' But A Thing” specifically to play in live shows. It features Rodney Lee on organ.
“The Gist of You” has a romantic yet funky, half-time feel. Standring built “No Two Ways About It” on a two-chord groove that he imbues with an infectious, toe-tapping feel. “Too Close for Comfort” refers to his health scare last year. Standring often uses the phrase “Don't Get Me Started,” so he wrote a song with that title. The track features Gary Meek on tenor sax. Standring closes the album with “And the Show Goes On,” a mellow track with a lovely melody. As Standring says, “With all the world has been through the last couple of years – me included - the title says it all.”
Down in Louisiana, they do things differently. The Southern states musical giants have always had their own distinct recipe for American roots: spiced with jazz, steeped in swamp-blues and cooked up a little differently by every artist who performs it. As a second-generation child of the Bayou State, Kenny Neal has taken his own inimitable guitar, gale-force harp and roadworn voice all over the globe. But in 2022, the Grammy-nominated blues masters latest album, Straight From The Heart, finds him drawn by the siren call of his hometown and musical ground zero, Baton Rouge. Neal both led and produced a crack team of local musicians at his own Brookstown Recording Studios. All the tributaries of the blues converge here, flowing into one rich tradition. Lining up in the studio alongside his Baton Rouge compadrés, the respect that Neal commands on the scene also drew some special guests, including hot-tip blues sensation Christone Kingfish Ingram, pop royalty Tito Jackson, and two songs with Rockin Dopsie Junior & The Zydeco Twisters. You'll even hear Neals supremely talented daughter Syreeta drive the vocal outro of Two Timing.
“This is the first album I’ve ever recorded on my own turf, and it truly came straight from the heart,” says Neal, who both led and produced a crack team of local musicians at his own Brookstown Recording Studios. “All the tributaries of the blues converge here, flowing into one rich tradition.”
If there’s a guiding concept behind the eleven songs of Straight From The Heart, it’s Neal’s mission to wind back the reels of his life and channel the spirit of the music that crackled from the family record player in early years.
Neal couldn’t have picked better circumstances for his childhood. Not only was he born in New Orleans on October 14th, 1957 (a serendipitous flashpoint for any future bluesman). Better still, he quickly found an early inspiration in his father, the harp master Raful Neal, who blew a gale and moved in the same orbit as Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo.
Nature and nurture couldn’t help but rub off. At 13, Neal Jr was wowing the crowds in his father’s band; four years later, he was playing bass with Guy himself. His fabled period working with his siblings in the Neal Brothers Blues Band is still spoken of in reverential tones on the Toronto circuit whose roofs they blew off. But perhaps Neal’s true arrival came in 1988, when his first solo LP was reissued by the Alligator label as Big News From Baton Rouge!! and ears pricked up for a modern swamp-blues master who had the touch and voice of an old soul, but the vision and hunger of a young gun.
Stick a pin in Neal’s discography since then and you’ll strike gold, from 2008’s Let Life Flow (which shook up his playbook with a dose of Memphis soul) to 2016’s Bloodline (which not only scored a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album but won two Blues Music Awards). From Neal’s W.C. Handy Blues Award of 2005 to his 2011 induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, few contemporary artists are more decorated.
You’ll hear all of Neal’s travels in Straight From The Heart, but this latest album brings it all back home in every sense. Lining up in the studio alongside his Baton Rouge compadrés, the respect that Neal commands on the scene also drew some special guests, including hot-tip blues sensation Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram (who co-writes and plays stinger guitar on "Mount Up On The Wings Of The King"), pop royalty Tito Jackson (on "Two Timing") and two songs with Rockin’ Dopsie Junior & The Zydeco Twisters. You’ll even hear Neal’s supremely talented daughter Syreeta drive the vocal outro of "Two Timing."
“It was like a family reunion,” says Neal of the good-natured sessions. “It was excellent because I had all the musicians that grew up under me here in Baton Rouge. And just being in my own studio, not worrying about the clock.”
Straight From The Heart is a fitting title for a record that salutes the many loves of Neal’s life. There’s the brass-driven opener "Blues Keep Chasing Me," which tips a hat to his recently departed friend, Lucky Peterson. There’s the touching piano-led "Someone Somewhere," which salutes the beloved father who put him on this path. Elsewhere, Neal’s deep love for every side of his home state is underlined by the zydeco chop of "Bon Temps Rouler" and "New Orleans," whose lyrics reference everything from “sippin’ on Hurricane” to “sittin’ on the Bayou catching catfish”.
Faced with such an open-hearted record, it’s impossible not to reciprocate. And as the world opens up and Kenny Neal embraces his natural habitat of the road, this Louisiana icon will bring a little bit of that Baton Rouge spirit onto every stage he treads. “It don't cost nothing to share a little love and a little respect,” he says. “And we can all rise above…”
Over the years, the role of women in society has changed in many ways, but their importance and relevance in history have, as always, been paramount to the success of the human race. Centuries of patriarchal bias have tried to diminish their role, but to the utmost extent, women have always shown that, at whatever cost, they cannot be pushed back and stopped from fulfilling their goals, be it motherhood, creative thinking, politics, Tikal activism, or a full fight for freedom.
Revolutionary Blues is a tribute to all the women (and men) who fought for equality, refused to be silent, and those who continue to fight for a fairer world without prejudice, racial and sexual bias, and for freedom for all people.
"Any woman who chooses to act like a complete human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her like a dirty joke... She will need her sisterhood."
― Gloria Steinem
"The degradation of a woman lies in the representation of a man about his sexual rights. Our religion, laws, customs are based on the belief that a woman was created for a man."
― Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“One life is all we have and we live it the way we believe in it. But to sacrifice what you are and live without faith is a fate worse than death. "
- Joan of Arc
"Revolution Blues" from the album "The Sun in the Tenth House" @2022 Milanam úsica Records
No well-trodden paths or worn out covers with Black Cat Biscuit, but a surprising, sometimes foxy cocktail of fresh songs marinated in a special gumbo hot sauce, brought by five driven musicians!
Yasser (Six-Pack, Wood & Roses) is your host with a gin soaked blues voice who yet leads his swinging guitar and the rest of the band with a steady hand.
Patrick ‘P. Daddy Alley’ Indestege (Big Mama's Kitchen, Rhythm Bombs, Elmore D, Ale & Alley) on double bass makes together with
Jeffrey Gijbels (Belgium's Got Talent, Festeyn) on drums a brilliant rhythm section team that swings like a tit!
Stanley Patty (Doctor Rhythm, Phil Bee and the Buzztones, Rhythm Bombs, The Loveveins) is one of the most respected blues guitarists of the Benelux, his sound is a mix of his role models Magic Sam, Albert Collins and Johnny Guitar Watson, complemented by his own typical feeling and technique.
Mr Mark Sepanski (the Monday Lovers, six-pack) blows the top of his lungs and converts the last doubters to the Bluesdom.
There’s no harm in sticking to a formula when it’s served you well. For two decades, Ohio duo The Black Keys‘ amped-up blues sound has taken them from drummer Patrick Carney’s basement to the world’s biggest stages, making them a safe bet to pack any arena. Even after 2010’s breakthrough ‘Brothers’ put them in the limelight, they’ve stayed faithful to those roots, just last year paying homage to heroes of the game with covers album ‘Delta Kream’, which saw their love for the genre burning brighter than ever.
This sentiment is alive and kicking throughout their 11th studio record ‘Dropout Boogie’, a listen loaded with enough thrills and spills to soundtrack a wild ride down Route 66. The rollicking back-room riff of ‘For The Love Of The Money’, for example, could be a salvaged relic from rock‘n’roll’s heydey. Elsewhere they cut loose with the soulful and jittery jam of ‘Burn The Damn Thing Down’, which invites a gritty and raw early Angus Young blues solo. It’s of course, nothing new, but this pair are masters in capturing that timeless flair and spirit.
It doesn’t sound like the band who were forced into a five-year hiatus between 2014’s ‘Turn Blue’ and 2019’s ‘Let’s Rock’ due to simmering tensions and tour-induced PTSD. Those albums might not have hit the heights of their early days, but here they’re the embodiment of a band set for good times. Here, the jaunty riffs of ‘Wild Child’ are fresh as ever as Dan Auerbach’s coarse, soulful vocal bursts onto the scene: “I’m just a stranger / With a twisted smile and a wandering eye / Your heart is in danger / Come close now let me tell you a lie.”
It’s a testament to their status that the band have drafted in their own hero in ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons for highlight ‘Good Love’, a brooding jam that evokes a prickly heat by way of swaggering fuzz and meandering organs as the band broach matters of the heart: “Good lovin’ is so hard to find / everybody wanna waste your time.” It’s brilliantly reclined, down-the-line rock, something that prevails in other areas of the record, just take the swampy strut behind slow burner ‘Happiness’ or the bubbling and understated angst in ‘Didn’t I Love You’.
‘Dropout Boogie’ is an apt title for this record and a good marker of where The Black Keys find themselves in 2022. Where previous albums have effortlessly gunned for their arena-punching heights, these days the band are thriving by making music more fit to shake down the walls of their local Nashville dive bars. The blues kings show no signs of turning off their well-beaten path here, but they’re still capable of conjuring enough magic on the journey.
Today, blues-rock band Ghost Hounds announce their new blues album, You Broke Me, out May 13th via Maple House Records. Written and produced by guitarist Thomas Tull and songwriter/producer Kevin Bowe (Etta James, Paul Westerberg and the Replacements), the 9-track album is raw yet polished with a live-off-the-floor feel. The group uses driving guitars, sparkling piano, dirty harp, and the overwhelming presence of singer Tre’ Nation to define their own blues sound and send it out into the world.
Ghost Hounds deliver a righteous and inspired take on Howlin’ Wolf’s signature song that feels current but doesn’t tamper with the vibe of the original. “Smokestack Lightning” is an eerie, atmospheric cut made from a handful of guitar notes and the contents of a human soul and Ghost Hounds do an excellent job of tapping into that energy. Tre’ Nation sings to beat the Devil, putting down a deep blue performance that’s haunting and hypnotic while the guitars of Johnny Baab and Thomas Tull grind and wail behind him. He reminds us all why we love this music in the first place while still staking a claim to today’s version of it. This is a seriously powerful show of influence and respect to one of the Old Masters who has yet to be equaled. Get it in your headphones just once and you’ll be back for more.
This recording is one of the most exciting new Smooth Jazz releases I ve heard all year, maybe even last year, and I m thrilled to tell you that this incredible talent grew up listening to SmoothJazz.com Radio in Sweden and now is in fact, one of our brightest stars. VIP is filled with 10 sizzling hot tunes that will fill your world with groove and joy! It is a Very Important Project!
When the average fan thinks of hotbeds of the blues, he or she thinks of cities like Chicago, Austin, and Memphis, and even such far-flung outposts as London and Paris. That’s all set to change, however, as this red-hot Brazilian, guitarist Big Gilson a TopCat Records USA artist, is poised to put Rio de Janeiro on the blues map.
Gilson, have released fourteen CDs, and honed his chops the last thirty years gigging on his own (in South & North America, and also in Europe) and as the opening act for Steve Winwood on his Brazilian tour, Johnny Rivers (70.000 people audience), and twice to the master B.B. King. While touring America, and gigging at such clubs as Florida’s Bamboo Room, New York’s Blue Note, and all over Chi-town, the band knocked out such blues gods as Canned Heat, Mick Taylor, Tab Benoit, Corey Harries, Duke Robillard, Lonnie Brooks, Magic Slim, Saffire, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Johnny Winter and Buddy Guy, who extended the Boy from Brazil an open invitation to play his Legends Club anytime.
As well as performing in blues festivals all over the world, he also had played gigs in such great venues as the Blue Note, NY (five times), the Bamboo Room, FL (three times) voted four years in the row the best blues club in America, the Tobacco Road (one of the oldest clubs in America, for the fifth time, the best Dallas club, the Deep Ellum Blues among others.
Among other companies from the music industry, this guy has the support from Marshall Amps.
Now, he’s touring all over, releasing his new album LOUD’N PROUD.
Life’s Machine is the stunning debut album from Portsmouth-based five-piece rock, blues, and soul band Brave Rival featuring the hypnotic lead vocals of Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine.
“Heart Attack” is an absolutely popping blues/rock boogie done in the most high-octane style possible. The riff is big, the beat slams and percolates at once, and dual lead singers Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine take the tune to a new, impossibly high level. Just when you think it couldn’t get any cooler, the Floydian breakdown in the middle demonstrates that Brave Rival knows as much about art as they know about power. Guitarist Ed Clarke is tight and mighty on lead and rhythm and gives “Heart Attack” its musical muscle. The video, shot in an underground pedway covered in graffiti, does a lot with one location and is nothing but good, dirty, rock and roll fun. Brave Rival does everything right on this one and you’d best not miss it.
Bien qu’il s’agisse en l’occurrence de leur premier album sous cette appellation commune, les sept membres de la configuration actuelle des Hogtown Allstars ne sont pas exactement des débutants. Pas moins de cinq d’entre eux sont en effet issus de la légendaire formation canadienne Downchild Blues Band: ainsi du chanteur et harmoniciste Chuck Jackson, du bassiste Gary Kendall, du saxophoniste Pat Carey, du batteur Jim Casson et du claviériste Tyler Yarema, tandis que le trompettiste Howard Moore et le guitariste Teddy Leonard (pour leur part venus du Maple Blues Band) en complètent le line-up. Pour qui l’ignorerait encore, le Downchild Blues Band est une institution au Canada: fondée à Toronto en 1969, c’est en effet autour de cette formation que s’est largement agrégée la scène blues nationale. Avec une bonne trentaine d’albums en cinq décennies (et selon certaines sources, près de 120 musiciens impliqués), leur influence s’étendit jusqu’aux Blues Brothers (natif d’Ottawa, Dan Aykroyd en demeure un fan déclaré), et outre les frères co-fondateurs Donnie et Hock Walsh, ils comptèrent longtemps dans leurs rangs le regretté claviériste de renom Michael Fonfara (Electric Flag, Rhinoceros), qui accompagna notamment Lou Reed durant les seventies. L’album s’ouvre sur le louisianais “Mr. Lucky” (signé Chuck Jackson, comme sept de ses dix titres), où le second-line beat accorde la part belle au piano alerte de Yarema (entre Dr. John et Professor Longhair), ainsi qu’aux cuivres et à des chœurs féminins enjoués. La plage titulaire emprunte à Tom Waits son phrasé éructant, tandis que Yarema passe à l’orgue pour accentuer le heavy-riff sur lequel les six cordes de Leonard prennent leur envol. Gary Kendall prodigue ensuite l’enlevé shuffle cuivré “Real Good Night”, dont le good time feeling enthousiasme sans doute maints danseurs, lors de leurs concerts. Le rhythm n’blues millésimé dont les frères Blues étaient si férus fait son entrée avec “I Just Think Of You”, entre Staples Singers chez Stax et Al Green sur Hi, tandis que Jackson gratifie cette plage d’un savoureux solo d’harmonica à la manière de Little Stevie Wonder. La ballade countrysante en three-steps “Angel in My Bed” n’en bénéficie pas moins des mêmes chœurs et cuivres, avant que “Subway Casanova” n’emprunte la southern swamp claudication caractéristique des antiques classiques de Little Feat, slide fumante à l’appui. Le jump-shuffle de Roy Brown, Hank Ballard et Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry prend ensuite le relais avec “The Sad One”, et Carey s’y autorise un juteux chorus de baryton, auquel l’orgue de Yarema emboîte le pas. Le Mississippi country blues n’est pas en reste, puisque “Biscuits & Beans” s’inscrit dans la veine de Rice Miller et Muddy Waters, quand ces derniers œuvraient encore aux travaux des champs. En remontant vers Chicago, notre joyeuse bande croise le fantôme de Howlin’ Wolf, et lui suggère l’idée pas si saugrenue de reprendre du Don McLean. Il en résulte une version roborative de “She’s Got The Stuff”, où la guitare de Leonard rend un hommage appuyé à celle du grand Hubert Sumlin, tandis que Jackson imite les râles gutturaux de Chester Burnett. Ce good time record se referme sur le “I Ain’t Lying” du bluesman canadien Johnny V Mills (que reprit également Amos Garrett), dans une veine vintage rock n’ roll que n’auraient pas dédaigné les Nighthawks. Un disque idéal pour se donner la pêche le matin, ou se remonter le moral le soir!
Even though Brian Culbertson might be categorized as jazz lite, his music has enough "oomph" to keep you interested. The talented composer, arranger, keyboardist, and trombonist displayed a talent beyond his years at an early age, and credits his dad with helping him develop an ear for the type of music he makes. His father, Jim Culbertson, a respected high school jazz band director and trumpeter, cultivated a love of sanguine sounds in the young Brian, who eagerly listened to anything his dad put on the stereo. Their Decatur, Illinois, home would be alive with the recorded sounds of Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, the Brecker Brothers, and David Sanborn. Growing up, Culbertson also listened to '70s R&B/pop/funk bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tower of Power, and Earth, Wind & Fire. He began his musical training at the age of eight with piano lessons; at nine he moved to drums, at ten trombone, and at 12 bass. Bored with classical recital pieces, he began composing in junior high. By his freshman year in high school, he was experimenting with the then-new Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer and an old four-track recorder in the basement of his parents' home. His dedication earned him six individual and five group Down Beat student awards. During his high school years, he started getting into MIDI sequencing and synthesizers. He couldn't find players who were able to play his songs on the level he wanted, as most of his peers were into heavy metal, so Culbertson, who cites pop producer/songwriter David Foster (Earth, Wind & Fire's "After the Love Is Gone") as one of his strongest influences, learned how to play all the parts himself. After graduation, Culbertson headed to Chicago to begin studies in the music program at DePaul University. On campus, he began to run into high-level musicians and started playing in a band. A family friend helped Culbertson get a deal with Mesa/Blue Moon in 1994. In the bedroom of the apartment he shared with three college buddies, Culbertson single-handedly recorded his debut album, Long Night Out. The album spent ten consecutive weeks in the Top Five of the adult contemporary charts. On his follow-up album, Modern Life, Culbertson eschewed the one-man band approach in favor of a live band made up of some of the best musicians in Chicago, plus stellar saxophonist Gerald Albright. He's since put out several other albums, including After Hours (1995), Secrets (1997), and Somethin' Bout Love (1999). Culbertson's productions include albums by Bob Mamet and Steve Cole. Having gotten into composing advertising jingles, Culbertson set his sights on soundtracks. In 2001 the pianist (who could play the trombone, trumpet, and percussion as well) released Nice & Slow, followed by Come on Up in 2003. Two years later he issued It's on Tonight, and in 2006 Soulful Christmas, a collection of holiday favorites as well as an original. In 2008 Culbertson released Bringing Back the Funk, an acclaimed album that is credited with bringing new life to the urban jazz genre. It featured a sizable list of collaborators including Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham, Ray Parker, Jr., and David T. Walker, just to name a few. He followed it with a live album in 2009 and XII, a return to the studio, in 2010. In June of 2012, Culbertson released Dreams, his 13th album, featuring a host of all-star contemporary jazz and R&B session players and vocalists. Later that year he set about realizing a dream project. Now an independent artist, Culbertson had long desired to revisit the music from his 1994 debut offering, A Long Night Out, which was initially cut in his apartment on a very limited budget. He played most of the instruments himself but also enlisted a small backing group. In 2013 he re-recorded the same tracks, with a large all-star lineup that included Nathan East, Russ Freeman, Steve Lukather, and Candy Dulfer, to name a few, plus a 33-piece orchestra. Entitled Another Long Night Out, it was issued on his own BCM label in February of 2014. In 2016, Culbertson delivered the concert album Live: 20th Anniversary Tour, showcasing his band in concert at Yoshi's in San Francisco.
His guitar playing is contemporary blues and he can rip on lead. Brad's live show is presented with spirit and class. Brad Wilson is a shreddin' guitarist, rockin the blues throughout the state of California.
Brad's music has been featured in John Carpenter's last two films and soundtracks (Vampires and Ghosts Of Mars) CBS TV The Young & The Restless and the NBC soap, Passions, has used his music for years.
Unique and much lauded classic soulful blues-rock band XANDER AND THE PEACE PIRATES will release their hotly anticipated new album Order Out Of Chaos on 6th May. This is preceded by their explosive single "Leave The Light On" released 4th March with an amazing video giving a tantalising taster for the main course of songs to be unleashed on their upcoming album. Order Out Of Chaos is replete with heart-warming songs with soul-searching meanings. There's also a tumultuous sea of sounds to be discovered on Leave The Light On that will send shockwaves through the ears of connoisseurs of classic rock music. And creating musical shockwaves is something that Xander And The Peace Pirates specialise in ever since brothers Keith and Stu Xander were discovered on YouTube by former Gibson Brands CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and quickly grabbed the attention of music industry figures such as Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Rolling Stones) and Rick Allen (Def Leppard). After their 5-year tenure as the resident band at Liverpool's iconic Cavern Club, they went on to support the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The Temperance Movement, ex-Whitesnake's Bernie Marsden and even Bon Jovi at Old Trafford Stadium to name but a few. This is most remarkable as, defying all expectations, lead singer and guitarist Keith Xander was born without a right arm below the elbow and plays his guitar using a prosthesis and hook with a pick attached at the end. Although many who have seen Keith play believe him to be an extraordinary guitarist, he is a virtuoso musician with a unique guitar technique and his playing rivals the best in the industry. This much was proven as 2016 saw the band release their debut album, titled '11:11', on V2 Benelux Records, recorded at the world-famous Wisseloord studios in Hilversum, outside of Amsterdam. The album went on to receive critical acclaim from the likes of Classic Rock, Planet Rock Radio and from BBC Radio legend Bob Harris. With haunting riffs, genius melodies and a uniquely infectious charisma, Xander And The Peace Pirates continue to share their musical passion to standing ovations, while spreading a universal message of peace, love and harmony. There is a whistle down the wind genius at play in the music that the band create especially with Keith Xander's singular guitar styling that evokes the otherworldly musicianship of Hendrix and his ilk that must be heard and seen to be believed! PRESS QUOTES: "The novelty of frontman Keith Xander's guitar approach he lodges a plectrum in the hook of his prosthetic arm is soon overshadowed by this band's convincing splice of soul, blues and country." - Classic Rock Magazine, UK "Xander and the Peace Pirates have done a number of concerts with us in Germany now and it has been a musical and personal pleasure to work with them. They are really very unusual but most importantly, they are very good." Manfred Mann
American band Dillinger's sound is more like the 70s than the 80s or early 90s, this bluesy, solid hard rock band is more like Bad Company and Free or early Aerosmith with a touch of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The members of Dillinger (not to be confused with reggae artists) spent a lot of time listening to 70s rockers.
Dillinger as a whole is decent and satisfying (albeit derivative) material that deserves your attention.
Houston native Nathan Quick belts out his raspy vocal over lush boogie/roadhouse guitar rhythms and soaring lead guitar. His sound draws from a vast pool of genres including classic rock and roll, blues and contemporary Americana. He is a multi Houston Press Music Award winning singer/songwriter.
Mike Campbell co-produced the follow-up to 2020’s Wreckless Abandon with George Drakoulias. Recorded last summer at Campbell’s home studio in Los Angeles, Hocus Pocus Recorders, the album features guest appearances from Margo Price and Ian Hunter (of Mott the Hoople). Additionally, the guitarist and bandmates Jason Sinay (guitar), bassist Lance Morrison and drummer Matt Laug are joined by Campbell’s fellow Heartbreakers co-founding member Benmont Tench on piano for the track “Lightning Boogie.”
“The band became this spontaneous type of combustion—to borrow a word,” stated Campbell in a press release regarding the group’s evolution. “The longer we played, the more intuitive it got.” While most of the material on External Combustion was penned by Mike Campbell during the past year, the album also features two songs written in the 1990’s that the guitarist rediscovered in his vast cache of unreleased compositions.
Deze twee vrienden behoeven geen introductie, de één frontman van de grootste rockformatie die Nederland ooit heeft gekend en de ander de motor achter de Common Linnets, De Dijk en vele andere formaties.
Vroeger of later zouden Barry Hay en JB Meijers zich aan een gezamenlijk muziekproject zetten en in 2019 was het zover, toen bij Universal Music hun album ‘For You Baby’ verscheen.
De twaalf songs op het album waren een greep uit de platenkast van Barry Hay, opnieuw opgeno-men door en met zijn vriend en duizendpoot JB Meijers. Er werd zo enthousiast gereageerd op For You Baby dat een serie concerten al snel uitverkocht. De pandemie die vervolgens uitbrak gooide roet in het eten, maar voor 2022 zijn er nieuwe, grootse plannen gemaakt.
‘Barry Hay: Eigenlijk werken we heel hard. JB heeft een tomeloze werkdrift en daar laat ik me dan volop in meesleuren. Bovendien wordt er veel gelachen en zo hadden we voor we er erg in hadden een dubbelalbum, Tataaa!’
In januari verscheen het zonnig klinkende Unconditionally en een maand later de vrolijke mariachi klanken van ‘Fiesta de la Vida’, tevens de titelsong van het album dat eind april zal verschijnen. Op het album Fiesta de la Vida staan naast vier nieuwe composities weer een hoop covers. Het mag geen verbazing wekken dat de sound van de plaat hier en daar een tropisch tintje heeft gekregen, nu JB Meijers zijn Quasimono Studios heeft verplaatst naar Bonaire.
Fiesta de la Vida kent weer een bonte verzameling songtitels, van T-Rex tot Tanita Tikaram en van Chuck Berry tot Tom Jones.
‘JB Meijers: Barry is mijn beste vriend. Mind you, ooit was hij die iconische zanger van de allereer-ste band die ik live zag. Daar denk ik nog maar zelden aan wanneer we samen muziek maken. Dat is zó spontaan en zó verschrikkelijk leuk! Niets is te gek in Barry’s rijke kop en ik loop daar graag doorheen als een kleine jongen in een snoepwinkel.’
Ter gelegenheid van het verschijnen van Fiesta de la Vida (én ook een beetje van For You Baby, dat immers nooit live kon worden uitgevoerd) heeft mediabedrijf Medialane een concert georgani-seerd op 5 november in de Ziggodome. De band zal worden aangevuld met een echt Mexicaans mariachi-orkest en ook Danny Vera zal er een gastoptreden geven.
Platenlabel Zip Records zal speciaal voor de gelegenheid vinyl laten persen waar de fans op kun-nen intekenen en dat ter plekke gesigneerd kan worden afgehaald.
Speciaal voor hun eigen streaming platform zal Apple Music van het album een revolutionaire ‘At-mos-mix’ laten maken, waarbij de muziek van alle kanten op je af lijkt te komen.
Op 22 april verschijnt het album Fiesta de la Vida op de streaming platforms én op CD.
De vinyl uitgave van het album zal exclusief verkocht worden in combinatie met een ticket voor het optreden in de Ziggodome.
On April 15th, UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups continue the extensive Rush 40th anniversary album series with new, expanded editions of the band’s groundbreaking 1981 release, Moving Pictures, embodying its well-deserved classic album status.
Moving Pictures, Rush’s eighth studio album, was originally released on February 12, 1981, and its adventurous yet accessible music catapulted the forward-thinking Canadian band to even newer heights as it began navigating the demands of a new decade. The album’s seven songs expertly blended Rush’s intrinsic prowess for channeling its progressive roots into radio-friendly arrangements, a template the band had mastered to a T all throughout its previous album, 1980’s deservedly lauded Permanent Waves. Moving Pictures was also the second of many Rush recording sessions at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, which was ultimately nicknamed the trio’s own personal Abbey Road recording studio.
The album’s lead-off track, “Tom Sawyer,” became one of Rush’s most cherished FM favorites in addition to taking its rightful place as a perpetual concert staple for decades to come. Next, the band shifts into the multi-generational dreamscape of “Red Barchetta,” which chronicles the thrills and chills of a high-stakes backroads car race. The instrumental barnburner “YYZ,” lovingly named after the airport identification code for Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, runs the gamut of the band’s forever impressive progressive chops in under four minutes flat. Side A closes out with the observational luminescence of “Limelight,” a timeless, if not prescient look at how introverted artists grapple with public demands while trying to maintain a personal level of earned privacy.
Side B commences with the expansive palette of “The Camera Eye,” a multi-layered, ten-minute-long travelogue that takes a bird’s eye view of the inherent hustle and bustle of New York City counterbalanced with the intense energy and deep-rooted history of London. “Witch Hunt” (subtitled as being “Part III of Fear”) offers a grim view of prejudice and mob mentality, while the album wraps up with the angular, cutting-edge “Vital Signs,” a propulsive track that clearly foreshadows a number of the more adventurous musical directions Rush would undertake as the ever shifting 1980s continued to unfold.
The Super Deluxe Edition includes three CDs, one Blu-ray Audio disc, and five high-quality 180-gram black vinyl LPs. The set encompasses the Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 remastered edition of the album for the first time on CD, along with two discs of previously unreleased and newly restored bonus live content newly mixed from the original analog live multi-tracks by Rush’s original producer, Terry Brown, featuring the band’s complete, unreleased Toronto concert from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, on March 25, 1981 (designated here as “Live In YYZ 1981”). The fourth bonus disc is a Blu-ray Audio disc with the core album newly mixed from the original multi-tracks in Dolby Atmos (a Rush catalog first!), Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound as done by noted producer/engineer Richard Chycki, alongside the previously available PCM Stereo mix. Also included on the Blu-ray are four bonus videos: a brand-new video for “YYZ” plus three remastered vintage promo videos for “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight,” and “Vital Signs.” Additionally, all of the vinyl in the Super Deluxe Edition has been cut via half-speed Direct to Metal Mastering (DMM) (another Rush catalog first!) on five 180-gram audiophile LPs.
The Super Deluxe Edition of Moving Pictures-40th Anniversary will also include several exclusive items, including a 44-page hardcover book with unreleased photos and new artwork by original album designer Hugh Syme, along with new illustrations for each song; extensive liner notes by Kim Thayil (guitarist, Soundgarden), Les Claypool (bassist/vocalist, Primus), Taylor Hawkins (drummer, Foo Fighters), Bill Kelliher (guitarist, Mastodon), and Neil Sanderson (drummer, Three Days Grace); a Red Barchetta model car mounted on a black perch with an MP40 nameplate; two Neil Peart signature MP40 branded drumsticks; two metal-embossed guitar picks, one each with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson’s respective signatures engraved on them; a replica of the Moving Pictures 1981 official tour program; an MP40 logo enamel pin; a 3D lenticular “Moving Pictures in motion” lithograph; an 18×24-inch Toronto 1981 concert poster; a replica concert ticket from the 1981 Maple Leaf Gardens show; a 12×36-inch Rush Through The Years 1973-1981 poster; a YYZ luggage tag; and a All Access World Tour ’81 insert. All contents are housed in a premium lift-top box, which features movingly reimagined cover artwork by Hugh Syme.
The second configuration of Moving Pictures-40th Anniversary will be released in a three-CD Deluxe Edition digipak that includes the newly remastered original album on CD 1 and the entire, unreleased 1981 Toronto concert on CDs 2 and 3. Extras include a 24-page booklet with unreleased photos and reimagined artwork by Syme, along with the aforementioned liner notes by Kim Thayil, Les Claypool, Taylor Hawkins, Bill Kelliher, and Neil Sanderson.
The third Moving Pictures configuration will be offered as a five-LP Deluxe Edition, all of it housed in a slipcase including a single-pocket jacket for the remastered original Moving Pictures on LP 1, and two gatefold jackets for LPs 2-5 that comprise all 19 tracks from the complete, unreleased Live In YYZ 1981 concert. As noted above, all vinyl has been cut for the first time ever via half-speed Direct to Metal Mastering (DMM) on 180-gram black audiophile vinyl. Extras include a 24-page booklet with unreleased photos, Syme’s reimagined artwork and new illustrations, and the complete liner notes.
The fourth configuration is a one-LP eCommerce exclusive edition, featuring the first-ever half-speed DMM vinyl pressing. It comes newly wrapped in a limited-edition premium tip-on style gatefold jacket with printed sleeve, and each pressing comes with one of six randomly inserted Neil Peart hand-drawn lyrics sheets.
The fifth configuration, the Deluxe Digital Edition, features the original album and all 19 bonus live performances from Toronto, and is the digital equivalent to the three-CD Deluxe Edition.
Finally, the sixth configuration, the Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, is the digital equivalent of Richard Chycki’s masterful Atmos mix of all seven tracks from the original album.
Rush — bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist/vocalist Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart — maintains a large and uniquely passionate worldwide fanbase that acknowledges and respects the band’s singular, bold, and perpetually exploratory songcraft that combines sterling musicianship, complex compositions, and distinctive lyrical flair. Rush has sold more than 25 million albums in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales estimated at 45 million (and counting), and has been awarded 24 Gold, 14 Platinum, and three Multi-Platinum album distinctions. Rush has received seven Grammy nominations, and the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
