Critic Joe Viglione reviews movies, books, DVDs, CDs, and has all sorts of opinions on a variety of things. The monthly Top 40 is a sort-of directory...
commentaries and essays expand the thought process on RockJournalistJoeVig.blogspot.com ...so the reviews on the Top 40 aren't final, they are just the starting point to more discussion. You can always contact Joe directly at visual_radio [@] yahoo.com
OK, we're going to be rocking in 2012...watch this site for tons of updates...exploring pop culture on our TV program, Visual Radio, and here on the Joe Vig Top 40!
The Top 40 might change Daily! So stay tuned...
1) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4: GHOST PROTOCOL
Mission Impossible 4: The Classic Spy Thriller That Out-Bonds Bond
By Joe Viglione
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/mission-impossible-4-the-classic-spy-thriller-that-out-bonds-bond/
2)Skip Williamson on Visual Radio January 5, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoWXl9HzyI
3) Author Frank Dello Stritto
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3694616M/A_quaint_curious_volume_of_forgotten_lore
4) Tommy James "Nothin' To Hide" from the 1972 LP "My Head, My Bed, My Red Guitar" ...my AMG review is posted on the YouTube...excellent album!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89LbxY7G3k
5)Deep Purple
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2012/31411
6)Canned Heat
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2012/31291
http://www.tmrzoo.com/page/2
7)David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"
January 8, 2012 / Happy Birthday
David BowieReview
by Joe Viglione
In 1982,
David Bowie released
In Bertolt Brecht's "Baal"; four years earlier, the prestigious RCA Red Seal classical label had
Bowie narrating
Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and with his stint on Broadway as The Elephant Man, the artist stretched himself brilliantly. There is not enough spoken word by popular recording artists in today's world.
Steven Tyler may show up on a
Kerouac tribute performing one track;
Grace Slick,
Lou Reed,
Peter Frampton,
Marty Balin, and so many others have cut promotional interview discs for insiders, but it is surprising how the record industry has, for the most part, ignored this inexpensive and wonderful format to further endear artists to their fans.
Jim Morrison's poetry, after all, was all that was left when Elektra published
An American Prayer -- and that fans purchase low-quality bootlegs of many artists should have been a signal in the past to deliver this type of product to the marketplace. The scarcity of such projects makes
Bowie's close to 30 minutes of narration that much more delightful. The Peter and the Wolf album is divided into two sides. The narration by
David Bowie of public domain material originally written by
Prokofiev takes up 27 minutes and eight seconds, while the second side of this green-colored vinyl LP has 17 minutes and ten seconds of
Eugene Ormandy conducting
Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/david-bowie-narrates-prokofievs-peter-and-the-wolf-r2497/review
8) LADY FRANKENSTEIN review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-kDLKQW5r8
9)Nobodaddy 53:21
Buzzy Linhart's Free Soul Spirit Symphony
http://www.allmusic.com/album/nobodaddy-r2046728
from the Pop Explosion site
10) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
By Joe Viglione
REPORTAGE | TV & Film
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Like Se7en In Slo-Mo
By Joe Viglione
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-like-se7en-in-slo-mo/
11)Corporate Fall Guy - Arch Deal
http://www2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/659/372/2011/08/29/138087_arch_deal_05.jpg
12)The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston
13) R.I.P. John Lincoln Wright
THE EYES OF THE BEACON STREET UNION
The Eyes of The Beacon Street Union
The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union is a highly experimental album released around the time of the Bosstown sound. Much better than first albums from Eden's Children and
Ultimate Spinach, the disc, however, lacks direction -- and cohesion. Vocalist
John Lincoln Wright has the same look that he sports 23 years later on his 1991 Honky Tonk Verite CD, including his trademark cowboy hat, but the similarities between these two albums stop there. The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union is garage rock and psychedelia, and it is a trip. Where Orpheus opted for the serious pop of "Can't Find the Time," producer
Wes Farrell includes a recitation by the late
Tom Wilson, producer of The Velvet Underground & Nico, acting very avant-garde: "Look into the gray/look past the living streets of Boston/look finally into the eyes of Beacon Street Union." Well, Wilson did a decent job with the V.U., but he's no
Crazy World of Arthur Brown screaming the immortal line "I am the god of hellfire." The band immediately dips into "My Love Is." resplendent in
Robert Rhodes' (aka music attorney
Robert Rosenblatt) best
? & the Mysterians keyboard sound, very cool '60s backing vocals, and guitars that are straight from the Psych Out film soundtrack. In fact, this song would have fit perfectly on that album along with
the Seeds and
Strawberry Alarm Clock. Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-eyes-of-the-beacon-street-union-r1726790/review
THE ALL MUSIC GUIDE TO ROCK
http://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=sabotage+times+joe+viglione&source=bl&ots=XIeSMUCWFQ&sig=CKYO1u55jBPBP8o8cPRDGSdgfjU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7_wIT9-TNanW0QG04pi-Ag&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=sabotage%20times%20joe%20viglione&f=false
14)John Lincoln Wright - Honky Tonk Verite
Honky Tonk Verite
Thom Owens wrote that
Honky Tonk Verite is "a rip-roaring set of neo-traditional country recorded live in the studio over the course of one night." "Horizon Line" starts the CD off with a little of
Ringo Starr's vocal styling from
the Beatles' version of "Act Naturally" in a tune about a relationship running out of steam with no one to blame. It's a dramatic departure from the rock & roll of
Wright's '60s Boston band,
the Beacon Street Union; this is authentic country music that would make
Olivia Newton-John or
Kenny Rogers envious. The Sour Mash Boys provide a solid backup for
John Lincoln Wright's focus, and "Too Many Nights on the Town" could be a wonderful
Eagles crossover hit; it's even got a touch of
England Dan & John Ford Coley. Sparkling guitars and a tight rhythm allow
Matt Leavenworth's fiddle to shine on "The Ballad of Frank & Pearl," while it absolutely sizzles on "You Could You Would You Will" at the album's midpoint.
Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/honky-tonk-verite-r122702/review
15)THE CLOWN DIED IN MARVIN GARDENS - Beacon Street Union with John Lincoln Wright The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens is an original statement by a Boston group which was musically superior to Eden's Children and Ultimate Spinach, but not as focused as the Remains, the Hallucinations with Peter Wolf, or the emerging J. Geils Band. Where national groups like the Peanut Butter Conspiracy may have been misguided and sputtered with no direction, vocalist John Lincoln Wright developed into a first-rate songwriter and country singer with purpose. Hearing his work on highly experimental tunes like the title track or the impressionistic "May I Light Your Cigarette?" is true culture shock. "The Clown's Overture" seems pointless, yet "Angus of Aberdeen" is inspired and a bright spot in the morass that was "the Bosstown Sound." The rave-up version of "Blue Suede Shoes" is great, the guitar funneled through effects and brimming with excitement. Joe Viglione/Rovi
Read more here:
http://music.aol.com/album/the-beacon-street-union/the-clown-died-in-marvin-gardens/1578961
16) Count Dracula - Joe Viglione recites Bela Lugosi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJNZz2seAak
17) Ray Bradbury biographer Jonathan Eller on Visual Radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9YBlK8Sz14
18)This Way Up by Joey Molland
http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-way-up-r559405/review
19)Joey Molland of Badfinger
http://www.cjay92.com/Music/Artist.aspx?id=24050
by Joe Viglione
Badfinger guitarist Joe Molland began playing piano at five or six years of age at his Liverpool home -- "of course I didn't really play it, I just kinda plunked it a bit, and I learned some chords...I can't remember how I learned those chords but I knew chords and then my brother got a guitar" he told this writer in an interview for Visual Radio-Television while at Vincent's Nightclub in Massachusetts, October 3, 2001. "I heard a record, "Blue Suede Shoes," Elvis Presley's version, and I went right in the living room and got my brother's guitar out and I went to the piano and found the notes on the piano on the guitar, and I started to teach myself to play the guitar. I was eleven years old and that's how I started to play the guitar." Molland's first band was the Assassins, "...a very good name, that's about what we did to the songs we tried to play" he jested, "we used to rehearse in a church up there, (maybe) Mystery Park, the area in Liverpool, I was born in Edgehill, a real … » Read more
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joey-molland-p24050
20) Forget Twilight, This Is The Greatest Vampire Film Of All-Time
By Joe Viglione
Has it been 80 years since Bela Lugosi’s hypnotic voice set the mood for the classic horror film that ushered in a wave of vampirism? A genre that has exploded in popularity as the 21st Century goes back to the era of werewolves, goblins and the multitude of creatures that dwell in the shadows. Watching Dracula again – on YouTube of all places – the film proves again its immortality, amazing on the small screen as it was on the big, silver screens in the early part of the 20th Century.
The Bram Stoker novel, ‘Dracula’, was published in 1897. It inspired a 1922 silent film, ‘Nosferatu’ – with the fiendishly frightening image of actor Max Shreck, and nine years later – what most fans of the Lugosi classic are not aware of – two parallel 1931 movies, both named ‘Dracula’, both issued by Universal, both using the same props. Read more here:
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/forget-twilight-this-is-the-greatest-vampire-film-of-all-time/
21)Richard X Heyman
Originally released independently on Permanent Press Records, 6/21/02.
Basic Glee was recorded at Tabby Road Studio, the living room of Richard X. Heyman and his wife, Nancy Leigh. The insert photo of the artist amidst his electronics, guitar, keyboards, and cat on a chair is real "underground rock" imagery. The liners state that the basics to more than double the songs on Basic Glee's 14 tracks were "cranked out at a 24-track studio over one blistering weekend...." Heyman gives the world more of his over the top power pop on this outing, taking the majesty of a Flamin' Groovies "You Tore Me Down"-type tune and mixing it up with Roger McGuinn guitar chimes à la "Chestnut Mare," all intensified like a Beatles single sped up by George Martin -- with Heyman appearing to do it in real time. All the songs are pretty much in the three-and-a-half- to four-minute range, with only a couple straying from the formula. "Everywhere She Goes" opens up with Beach Boy vocals and Pete Townshend windmill guitar strums while "Pauline" borrows heavily from the vibe of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Like Emitt Rhodes projects outside of the Merry-Go-Round and McCartney's first solo album, when artists shoulder projects of this complexity on their own, the projects are stamped indelibly and have few flavors from outside the artists' spheres. For power pop, that's not necessarily a bad thing - Read more here...
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/4990548/a/Basic+Glee.htm
25)The Thing - Film review on Sabotage Times
With technology – and big budget dollars – stunning and artistic filmwork is easier in the 21st Century, and with another culture looking at this old classic there are some interesting elements added to what is supposed to be a “prequel”. Dutch filmmaker Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., who cut his teeth on Pepsi, Bud Light, Toyota and other such advertising, understands commercialism, and he is also hip to the Wachowski brothers throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the Matrix series. In this new
Thing you’ll find elements of Invaders from Mars, Independence Day, Alien, Day of the Triffids, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Predator, certainly not what the author, John W. Campbell Jr., conceived when his1938 novella Who Goes There? was first published.
It was 13 years before James Arness played the original Thing, set in the Arctic. John Carpenter took the action to the other side of the world – Antartica – in 1982 – and that’s where it remains 29 years later.
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/the-thing-reviewed-sequel-or-remake/
26)Chris Brown
Music Review: Christopher Brown – Characterist
by Joe Viglione November - 8 - 2011
The twelve songs on Characterist present Christopher Brown in a simple setting, his Harry Chapin-esque story songs sometimes happy, sometimes plaintive, yet always textured in pretty sounds. “Do the do over, starting now” is a simple and snappy ode to reinvention, reworking one’s perspectives in sometimes startling ways. “Not so polite” is the direction here, to ruffle feathers, talk louder and get into fights. Provocative talk for a cute ditty, indeed.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/30166
27)STEVE HOLLY
THE RELUCTANT DOG
Journeyman drummer Steve Holley has provided some of the most solid and creative beats for
Paul McCartney,
Kiki Dee,
Joe Cocker,
Julian Lennon, and
Ian Hunter over the years, and though he recorded a couple of tracks in the U.K. in January of 1980 (included here), those beats never got the opportunity to be heard backing him up until the release of The Reluctant Dog, a 13-track collection of melodies and feelings that are well worth the wait. For those put off by the manufactured pop that
Phil Collins runs off the assembly line, The Reluctant Dog will provide much satisfaction.
Read more here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-reluctant-dog
28)Music Review: Ball ‘n Chain “Different Strokes”
by Joe Viglione November - 1 - 2011
For fans of solid metal pop that was the mainstay of groups like Quiet Riot, Ratt and other architects of hard music, Boston veteran Joe Black and his band, Ball ‘n’ Chain, have come up with a top notch outing that begs repeated spins. When Black was bassist for Balloon (a band featuring Charlie Farren, who would go on to the Joe Perry Project), they rocked the local venues like the Club in Cambridge. Check out a 1978 video on YouTube with the boys creating a menacing neo-death metal goes prog/rock rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Green Manalishi”(With The Two-Pronged Crown)…deeper than Judas Priest’s take on Peter Green’s notorious song around that same time period.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/29993
29)Iggy Pop Roadkill Rising…The Bootleg Collection 1977-2009 by Joe Viglione June - 9 - 2011
James Osterberg keeps on rolling on. I’m a firm believer in the boxed set as the medium to convey the artistry of deep-catalogue performers and this tidy four disc set does a great job of providing a glimpse for the uninitiated into how very credible Iggy is, as well as his unbelievable consistency. We are talking about 32 years of recordings which cover songs that were Stooges’ staples as well as key items from his solo repertoire.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25840
30)Captain America
They may take a few liberties with just how super he is but Captain America: The First Avenger has everything you’d want from an origin story.
Massachusetts native Chris Evans returns to Marvel Comics’ “House of Ideas” as Steve Rogers – Captain America, with a much different look than exhibited in the two films where he appeared as The Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm. This important component of the Avengers collection, the final “prequel”, if you will, has to be at least as effective as Kenneth Branagh’s Thor: The God Of Thunder, and that it is.
Director Joe Johnston has had plenty of experience with Science Fiction, from 1989’s Honey I Shrunk the Kids to Jurassic Park III. He does an elegant job of blending cliche after cliche in Captain America: The First Avenger, a formula that has become a quite necessary merry-go-round of sorts for the variety of D.C. and Marvel superheroes launching out of the big screen. These are the spawn of the James Bond blockbuster pictures when Goldfinger was identifiable to the mainstream as Dr. Doom was to comic book fans in the pages of the Fantastic Four.
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/captain-america-reviewed-a-liberty-taking-feast-for-the-fanboys/ Movie Reviews / Sabotage Times
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/author/joe-viglione/
31) TMR ZOO REVIEWS BY JOE VIGLIONE
http://www.tmrzoo.com/category/music/music-reviews
32) Barbara Lee George PROTECTED BY LOVE
by Joe Viglione May - 19 - 2011
Barbara Lee George’s Protected by Love is a gorgeous collection of ten songs with sterling production by bassist Even Steven Levee (long-time member of Moogy Klingman’s Freak Parade). “Unexpected Clarity” has a modern pop elegance, something Sade’ might have wanted to bring into the new millennium in a parallel universe. Track 9 has got to be my favorite – . “Call Me (All You’ve Got To Do Is Call Me)” evoking the theme of Chris Montez’s classic of the same name as well as the Beatles “Anytime At All” – it’s a terrific hook that has real staying power
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25063
33 DR FAITH CHRISTOPHER CROSS
Songs such as “Ride Like The Wind” had real drama and introspection and as massively popular as the three main hits from the first album were – “Sailing” and “Never Be The Same” along with “Ride Like The Wind” (“Say You’ll Be Mine” was a fourth top 20 hit from that affair as well) Christopher Cross has become a sort of an artistic asterisk in the history of popular music. AMG’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine hits in on the head noting how Cross was embraced by the industry but not the critics. Not that one has to satisfy critics but…when those reflecting on artistry across the board find a musician too bland to keep on the radar screen it is problematic.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/26448
34) Music Review: Harriet Schock – Breakdown on Memory Lane
by Joe Viglione May - 7 - 2011
Veteran writer/singer Harriet Schock let Travis Allen produce these ten songs in the virtual world, including Schock’s own version of the terrific “You Just Don’t Get Me, Do You?” which was a Triple A radio hit for Jeannie Kendall of The Kendalls. It’s a warmer version of the song that gives the words and melody a different perspective. Seek out Kendall’s take on it as well, they both are magical. “When You Were Mine” sounds like classic Schock from her Hollywood Town days, the album on 20th Century that spawned “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady”, the mega hit for Helen Reddy.
Interesting that Harriet Schock was a labelmate with Genya Ravan on 20th Century Records and both have new albums in release with that independent spirit that record executive Russ Regan’s work at that storied imprint fostered.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24656
35) GENYA RAVAN DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
Just as her terrific Undercover album out-Stoned The Rolling Stones in this 21st Century, Genya Ravan’s cover of Lee Michael’s chestnut, “Do You Know What I Mean” explodes from the moment it opens, giving a “Tumblin’ Dice” frosting to a magnificent melody. This rendition of a song about “steppin’ out” with the great line “14 days since I don’t know when…”is the perfect theme song for the reality TV show “Cheaters”…send your votes to Cheaters.com and tell them Genya should be the voice for their provocative tv program!
Ravan’s earthy vocals are perfect with the slammin’ drums, in the groove production and slinky guitars. Keith Richards needs to put Ron Wood on bass and hire Genya and her group to work with Mick onstage…this is the great lost Rolling Stones recording that rock & roll fans have waited for. “Haven’t loved me in 14 years” is how we feel about souped up Mick & Keith singles that aren’t getting traction on radio…that’s because Genya’s gotta be sneering on their records “He’s a dandy…and now he’s free…
In three minutes and seventeen seconds Genya Ravan sums up everything this song is about. Get it on the radio…immediately…please…
Full disclosure after you read the review. Back in 1986 I chose this Lee Michael tune when Jimmy Miller and I were producing the legendary BUDDY GUY. Miller cut the basics with Joe Perry Project drummer Joe Pet slamming away alongside Buddy’s band. I flew Genya Ravan in from New York to Warren Rhode Island to sing on that version; she, Miller and Guy ended up onstage that night for a terrific concert that should have been recorded!
“She and Bobby were stepping out…she and Bobby…you know I found out” Lee Michael emoted on his version of the Top 10 1971 hit. I wrote out lyrics with a nice Lady Mondegreen…or “misheard lyric”, “Her involvement was separate now, her involvement, you know I found out.” Genya laughed and said “too heavy for a blues song.” She was right!
While shopping the Buddy Guy album in New York, Michael Barackman, A & R man at Capitol/EMI back in the day (1986/1987), thought the choice of song was perfect for Buddy Guy.
Alas, none of the labels offered enough money for the project, Buddy’s next album becoming the Grammy winner which prompted New Kids On The Block producer Michael Jonzun to say “Everyone loves Buddy. Joe Vig was right.” That and a buck and I get a cup of coffee, but it is nice to be acknowledged by one of my heroes! And equally as nice for Aunty Genya to put this magical song back in circulation with her terrific solo rendition, 25 years after she recorded it with us in Rhode Island!
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/29392
36)Marillion Live From Cadogan Hall
by Joe Viglione March - 14 - 2011
What was once called Neo-Progressive rock is now nestling into a more accessible high-tech soft rock that has the potential to reach a wider audience willing to wrap its ears around the pretty melodies and precise musicianship. Filmed on the last night of the ‘Less is More’ acoustic tour in December 2009 at London’s Cadogan Hall, Eagle Records double CD of the audio.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/22502
37)MATT TURK AMERICAN PRESERVATION
This is an interesting left turn for Matt Turk, a countrified modern-ish Americana album of cover tunes that cover a wide spectrum and diverse musical field. Turk’s voice lends itself well to these journeys, some obscure, some very popular at one point in time. Opening up with John Denver’s “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” gives the song authenticity that this writer felt the over-exposed John Denver lost along the way…”Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes” works better for me than that…and run-throughs of “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” or the sublime Rolling Stones country moment, “Sweet Virginia”.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/22207
38)GILLEN & TURK BACKS TO THE WALL
In the tradition of Batdorf & Rodney, England Dan & John Ford Coley and Seals & Crofts these two fine songwriter/singers, Matt Turk and Fred Gillen Jr. bring their blend of Americana, folk rock and solid instrumentation to this CD episode they call Backs To The Wall. “Fall Down” has the jangling R.E.M. style that makes it highly commercial, a total contrast to the almost off-key “Takes Me Away”, almost five minutes of Velvet Underground-third album melancholy. “It Really Matters” is culled from The Grateful Dead catalog and makes the duo a perfect fit to perform in the Boston area with one of Ken Selcer’s many bands.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/21199
39 BING COSBY RETURNS TO PARADISE ISLANDS
Collector’s Choice – along with the Bing Crosby Archive – recently issued six Bing Crosby special releases, reissuing three classic albums in the “deluxe format” along with a previously unreleased disc, a new compilation and a 2-CD set of Crosby
rarities.
Interesting that in the 1970′s and 80′s it would have been totally uncool to listen to artists like Jerry Vale, Vic Damone, Ferrante & Teicher and…Bing Crosby. But after Danny Bennett successfully resurrected his father’s career and Tony Bennettfound a new, hip audience there was the additional reinvention of “Space Age Bachelor Pad” music for the younger crowd
, a format also known as “Lounge”, “Exotica” and the many mixed genres in-between. As with “Northern Soul”, a musical experience from England that brings European interest to obscure American rhythm and soul 45s (and reignites popularity back home), it is now more than OK to like the music that your great-grandparents listened to. Indeed, just listening to Bing Crosby’s Return To Paradise shows a sophistication in the recording that modern records in 2010 don’t care to embrace, despite all the advances with technology. In my opinion these classic recordings actually have more presence than what is being poured into the compact discs of 2010 – including some bylegendary rockers now going in a middle-of-the-road direction.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2010/16799
40 LOU REED's ROCK 'n' ROLL ANIMAL LIVES
In a phone call with Marty Balin last night he told me he was very impressed with what Wolfsgang’s Vault did with his Jefferson Airplane material. They mailed him the “boxed set” with liner notes, photos and the music on a flash drive! Let’s hope for a similar event with Lou Reed’s music.
As Reed gets ready to play Sundance on Sunday, January 23, 2011, I’m revisiting his concerts, comparing three different shows on his 1973 tour…Falkonteatret (Copenhagen, Denmark) Sep 19, 1973 along with Birmingham Odeon (Birmingham, England) Oct 3, 1973 and the concert at the Apollo Theatre Glasgow (Glasgow, Scotland) Sep 24, 1973
The nine minutes and six seconds which close out the October 3rd show – a terrific version of one of his many signature tunes, “Rock & Roll” (not the Led Zeppelin song), is perfection. The entire concert is very good, though London and Lenox Massachusetts (the first stop on the tour) are still the key tapes, the A+ performances that the world has yet to hear. Bob Ezrin should be impressed when those shows finally emerge.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/20078
Labels: Lady Frankenstein Frank Dello Stritto Joey Molland Daniel Craig Tontileo
TOP 50 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 YEAR END WRAP-UP
1)Tony Iommi IRON MAN My Journey through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath
Read interview: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=165621
2)PLASTIC OCEAN by Captain Charles Moore
3)Ding Dong! The Witch Is Back!: The Fifth Estate, 1964-1969
http://allmusic.com/album/ding-dong-the-witch-is-back-the-fifth-estate-1964-1969-r37505
4)Farren Butcher Inc: The Chemistry is Undeniable
by Joe Viglione May - 22 - 2011
“Hold Me Back” opens the debut cd from the pairing of Charlie Farren with Jon Butcher, a modern day Hall & Oates or Chad & Jeremy, if you will, with some gusto and double guitar power. Now it isn’t a stretch to say they totally mopped the production of the Tremeloes great rendition of Cat Steven’s “Here Comes My Baby” (1967 nugget that George Skaubitis likes as well!) …the party atmosphere also on the Beach Boys “Barbara Ann” or even Jay & The Americans’ rip of La Bamba that was “Come A Little Bit Closer”, meaning the boys are opening their disc with some fun.
The vivacious and effervescent spell is only a glimpse of what the pair have in store. “Rolling” is a jazzy kind of Pink Panther soundtrack out-take, sort of like Charlie’s own “The Livin’ Daylights” which SHOULD have been a James Bond theme. The re-working of “Deja Blue” is nice and very necessary, as are “East Coast/West Coast” (a Joe Perry Project staple, of course) and Butcher’s own “New Man”. The chemistry between these two is undeniable…and rockers with a history should consider teaming up in this fashion because when you hear “Love Story” and “Soul Mate” you’ll understand the magic that their following has enjoyed for years. “Heaven On A Railroad Train” would have been perfect with Jimi Hendrix sitting in.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25100
5)
Frank Dello Stritto's VAMPIRE OVER LONDON: Bela Lugosi in Britain
6 Rex Trailer and Mike Bavaro on Visual Radio #500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWkvz19RyVI
7)Donna Halper returns to Visual Radio - our first Thursday night Visual Radio Live 7-28-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKLFMA2M0FY
8)Tom Cooper on final Friday night Visual Radio Live
Boston band SUNDANCE 7-22-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ5IuFX01oM
9)Susan Cattaneo Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzVY5pxe1PI
10 Jon Macey INTENTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcWGTnhnwNs&feature=youtu.be
http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/153494465-jon-maceyWatch the first video
http://youtu.be/gcWGTnhnwNsReview by Craig Fenton
Jon Macey “Intention”
Since the end of the 1970’s I haven’t changed my declaration and lack of excitability when it comes to musical artists from any genre unfastening their labor. There has been only a smattering of vinyl and CD releases that my ears and stomach can sanction. Jon Macey possesses the uncommonness to have satisfied an old rocker’s musical palate as part of a band and in a solitary setting.
Jon Macey is co-founder of one of the finest New England groups Fox Pass during the 1970’s. Their eclectic mix combined brilliant elements of the Beatles, underground, and Power Pop (before the term reached its embryonic stage). Fox Pass performs to this day and their last release in 2010 “Intemporel” illuminates well in any collection.
Jon’s “Intention” must have been to take the most formidable path before the CD reached fruition. Instead of seeking the comfort zone of previous successes he eyeballed another plateau on the rock and roll mountain. The fifteen tracks are outside the margins of the up-tempo 60’s and 70’s style tunes he has conceptualized during the decades of yesteryear. From the opening note to closing credits the sounds are defined by acoustic Jon or unplugged Macey.
An artist doesn’t gain endorsements for style points. A change in the compass’s direction normally spells implosion in neon. Paul Simon’s Graceland superseded greatness not because of the risk of leaving the dazzling folk-rock/singer songwriter kingdom he commanded but for the whole effect of the results.
John Macey (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, and production) with a little help from his friends, Bruce Demaree (percussion and all but the kitchen sink), Clara Kebabian (violin), Rich Lamphear (acoustic guitar), Mike Pyle (electric guitar), Tamaki Sakakibara (vocals), and Lynn Shipley (vocals and production) lead us to a comprehensive look at a mirror darkened, moldy, and cracked with memories of days hard to recapture, the agony others have caused, our own shortcomings, and reasons to persevere nevertheless.
Using influences from The Band, Bob Dylan, Joe Jackson, John Mellencamp, Willie Nile, and Graham Parker we are brought to the harshness of reality during the opening number “Trapped.” As Jon conveys the message many of us thirty and over relate to “I’m outdated”, the CD takes us on an excursion that will never be mistaken for the land of elegance.
“Pine Island” broadcasts with impeccable clarity “It's too late for a mid-life crisis, it's too soon to just close our eyes'.”
“Look Both Ways” is in the realm of the Rolling Stones “Waiting On A Friend” in structure only. Jon’s message isn’t about the impending arrival but fate, reality, and sculpturing your own story. “Criminal At Heart” may conjure sounds of Ritchie Valens performing “La Bamba” but Jon’s proclamation is “You’re a criminal at heart, playing with emotions.”
“Jefferson County, Early November” is eerie and harrowing, still with one eye open and the other exempt from the elements we go down to the bone yard. Is it the cemetery ravaged through the years or a slang term for finding old ships that have lost the will to sail?
After the initial listening you are left gulping, wanting to comprehend all facets of the journey. Is it an episode from the “Twilight Zone” or man’s continuing appalling treatment of all things living?
The production that encompasses “Intention” is stellar. You can feel the guitar pick hitting the E string. Few albums the past thirty-two years have made such an impact warranting endless return listens.
All the best,
Craig Fenton
Author-
Jefferson Airplane “Take Me To a Circus Tent”
Jefferson Starship “Have You Seen The Stars Tonite”
12) Movie Reviews / Sabotage Times
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/author/joe-viglione/
13)TEN WHEEL DRIVE BIOGRAPHY
Biography
by Joe Viglione
Ten Wheel Drive was a highly influential rock/jazz group not afraid to push the envelope while exploring various musical styles. Though musicians came and went, including the original lead vocalist, by the time the fourth album was released, the records have stood the test of time, influencing the successful
Bette Midler breakthrough film The Rose, inspiring women with the drive and ambition to front their own group in a once male-dominated industry, getting sold on auction sites like Ebay to be discovered by new generations of music lovers. The original lead vocalist and founding member,
Genya Ravan, spoke with AMG concerning how she formed the band: "I went to see
Billy Fields, he was going to manage me. read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p20977/biography
14)Music Review: Cali P’s The Strong
by Joe Viglione November - 8 - 2011
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/30163Cali P’s The Strong opens with an eerie Science Fiction keyboard and call-to-attention drum roll with a new millennium nod to revolution reminding one of the soul behind Thunderclap Newman’s epic “Something In The Air” which was a call-to-arms for a different time. “I’m a fighter, so I keep on fighting…defending the defending the right thing”…hooks galore make this a poppy, catchy and
also haunting escapade with images and colorful sounds that permeate the production in a way that keeps the listener’s attention moving to different areas of this record. “This is Cali P” he sings toward the end …short and sweet at three minutes and ten seconds, the way I like my music.
Promo person extraordinaire Racquel A. Reynolds tells us that The Strong is from the Inspired Studio in Kingston Jamaica and is a track from the award-winning movie The Grand Bizarre (Best movie, 2011). The song is available on ITunes.
Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He was a film critic for Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com and produces and hosts Visual Radio. Visual Radio is a fifteen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed John Lennon’s Uncle Charlie, Margaret Cho, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere, Marty Balin, Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.
15)GALLAGHER on Visual Radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20QmC7riojE
16)ELLIOT MURPHY
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/30996
Elliot Murphy Sings Elliot Murphy
By Joe Viglione
Elliot Murphy, like Garland Jeffreys, continues to put his stream-of-consciousness ideas out into the universe, cyberspace being an interesting avenue for these hard-working street poets. Five of the tracks on the eponymous Elliot Murphy disc (his 35th or something around that incredible mark) are his alone, Olivier Durand co-writing four of the compositions, Iggy Strange-Dahl co-writing two. With song names like “Gone Gone Gone”, “Rock'n Roll 'N Rock'n Roll” and “Rain Rain Rain” it is almost like a Talking Heads album rife with one-word titles in triplicate…a Ramones-moment for the folk crowd?
The closing track – six minutes and eighteen seconds of “Train Kept A Rolling” has nothing to do with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page or Aerosmith…it’s more like Ian Hunter going deep into a soul-ful mood, not soul, more introspection, and very good. However the three and a half minute “Maybe You Were Laughing” would be a great cover song FOR Ian Hunter, ….”It’s just me and my monkey, and we’re all nearly the same” sings Murphy and Mott The Hoople could have a field day with it. 11 tracks cover about forty-five minutes and its an impressive effort from a rock & roll soldier that should light up NPR and college radio, and maybe get some traction on adult alternative (does such a format still, really, exist?) with “Maybe You Were Laughing.” Here’s to the next 35…
17)
Preview: Mitch Ryder At Kowloon – June 9, 2011
by Joe Viglione June - 9 - 2011
They’re calling it Motor City Madness when Mitch Ryder and his Detroit Wheels meet James Montgomery Blues Band at 8 PM Thursday night, June 9 at 8 PM at the Kowloon – 948 Broadway (Route 1, North), Saugus, Massachusetts. This is being billed as the “Only New England appearance of the “Godfather of Blue-eyed Soul”…and I can go with that…the hits “Devil With a Blue Dress On”, “Good Golly Miss Molly”, “Sock It To Me Baby”, “Jenny Takes A Ride” and more will rock the venerable restaurant up on the hill of Route 1 North. read more here:
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25821
18)Steven Tyler Talks Rock on Dateline Tonight with Matt Lauer by Joe Viglione May - 16 - 2011
Anyone who didn’t think Steve Tyler and American Idol were a good match …well, think again.
As Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith® was a way for the iconic Boston group to bring renewed attention to their catalog, so too is having Tyler’s star power on American Idol keeping the group front and center. Anyone who believes Tyler when he looks Matt Lauer in the eye and says “We’re fighting right now,” well…c’mon…so are Mick and Keith…and they continue to fight…right to the bank.
Posted by Joe Viglione On May - 9 - 2011
James Bond creator Ian Fleming was born in May (28th) of 1906 and was 56 when he passed on in 1964, but his creation opened the door for big budget comic book hero movies. This is not one of them! The Almighty Thor is a curious concoction, broadcast on Sy Fy – a channel which is trying to redefine Sci-Fi and should have kept the spelling to how Forrest J. Ackerman originally coined it. The low-budget made-for-tv movie culled from Norse mythology (oh – don’t confuse this with Marvel Comics – the channel winks at you from the corner of its eye) is a boring two hours of bad acting, mediocre writing and a thorough waste of my time. Maybe the kids of today want as much Thor or any other comic book hero as they can get their hands on…if not, what was the point?
Read the rest of this entry »
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24700
Posted by Joe Viglione On May - 22 - 2011 1 COMMENT 
In a “Virtual Roundtable” with Industrial Light and Magic Visual Effects Supervisor, Bill George, I and other critics got to chat with Bill online for two hours on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at noon, Eastern time.
Unlike the in-person roundtable interviews with Jodie Foster and Michael Moore, I don’t know if I am (or was) #4, #5 or 007! …but here is some of the interview along with a review of the terrific DVD release of I AM NUMBER FOUR. http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25145
Posted by Joe Viglione On June - 3 - 2011 X-MEN First Class is – arguably – the best of the five X-MEN films, thus far.
It is all that it promises, a big, expensive and glitzy summer box office smash that will delight and thrill. Superhero stories have gone beyond being adventures for comic book fans only, having plunged headfirst into the mainstream, especially the X-Men. This comic book franchise’s personalities evolved into major Marvel characters after initially finding themselves second fiddle to The Fantastic Four, somewhere between The Avengers and The Inhumans. The good news is that, despite some incidental flaws, X-Men First Class should have real staying power. Read the rest of this entry »
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/25658
22)Movie Review: The Source Code
by Joe Viglione April - 1 - 2011
Duncan Jones did a wonderful job directing and co-writing the 2009 cult-hit Moon. He returns in 2011 with a cerebral revisit to the land of agoraphobia with something that is more like the Matrix than a first glance would reveal. Using one set repeatedly takes great scriptwriting and direction, television used the idea to good effect with every comedy bit from The Honeymooners to The Golden Girls, but keeping a sci-fi audience’s attention takes real Harlan Ellison/Robert Bloch/Philip K. Dick skill and Ben Ripley does a fine job with that. The advance press notes that Jake Gyllenhaal sought out Duncan Jones and in an interview with Jones conducted in Boston on March 22nd the director had praise for – and examples of – Gyllenhaal’s expert abilities…the end result is a mind-blowing experience that will stand up to repeated spins on DVD.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/23412
Mel Gibson has made an entire career out of playing characters with borderline personality disorder. Impulsive actions, unstable moods and chaotic relationships go beyond the desperate Tom Mullen in 1996′s Ransom, the internal struggle as Justin McLeod in 1993′s The Man Without a Face, and maybe the strangest – Jerry Fletcher in 1997′s Conspiracy Theory where he’s obsessed with Erin Brockovich (ok, ok Julie Roberts) and says in a Taxi Cab “I, uh, I have some problems.” He’s really got some problems in The Beaver…and for anyone who has watched the Oz television series where the lovable psychotic Cyril O’Reily (played by Scott William Winters) wears a Beaver hand-puppet, well, director Jodie Foster takes it very much to the next level. Read the rest of this entry »
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24610
24)The Sacred Triangle: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop 1971-1973 David Bowie's 65th Birthday 1-8-12
by Joe Viglione April - 19 - 2011
To those fascinated by the work of Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and David Bowie in the “golden era” of 1971-1973, this DVD is an interesting sideways look at the time through the eyes of Angie Bowie, Warhol Factory’s Billy Name, authors Victor Bockris, Davie Thompson and others. That all three men are still alive and breathing – and giving interviews – makes the Sacred Triangle a different perspective rather than the last word on how these three pioneers blended their talents. It’s especially enlightening when one gets to see and hear Thompson and Bockris, two writers who have investigated this point in time at length…Bockris with his books on Warhol and Lou Reed (entitled Transformer), Thompson who has an entire book on this very DVD titled “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell: The Dangerous Glitter of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed”.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/23974
25)Vanilla Fudge Live at the Regent Theater
by Joe Viglione March - 28 - 2011
Saturday evening, March 26, 2011 Vanilla Fudge rocked the Regent Theater over on 7 Medford St., in Arlington Massachusetts, The venerable old hall which first opened in 1916 had Little Anthony & The Imperials perform there in the 1960s, but for most of the latter part of the 20th century, it was a wonderful old movie house. Now as a concert hall / movie theater there’s new energy and new life in the hall…and this exquisite show only proves the importance of saving these regional theaters wherever they may be in the world.
Bassist Pete Bremy joined original members Vince Martell (guitar & vocals), drummer Carmine Appice and lead singer/keyboard player Mark Stein. The theater was pretty much packed and…in a room that contains the volume, the Fudge used the dynamics of their sound to their advantage, blasting the roof off, when necessary, and bringing it down so that you could hear the proverbial pin drop. “Take Me For A Little While”, a masterpiece of pop music, was played to perfection with “Season Of The Witch”, “Eleanor Rigby” and other VF staples getting the treatment. As the group used to headline over Led Zeppellin in the early days, a killer “Dazed & Confused” with Appice sounding like he was playing on the original 1967-ish Jeff Beck Group albums (where Aynsley Dunbar did the honors…and I never understood why millions and millions of Zeppelin fans never grabbed copies of those two Beck classic which are so Yardbird-esque…but that’s a story for another day)…here was the VF/Cactus/Beck-Bogert-Appice drummer giving a clinic, not only on the John Bonham-heavy “Dazed & Confused” but with his show solo as well. The audience was all middle-aged…and people knew each other from the era (and the Boston area club scene) so the socializing was as key as the music being appreciated.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/23212
Director Kevin MacDonald’s follows director Domenic Sena’s Season Of The Witch by about a month, both films displaying sword fighting four years after Zack Snyder’s 300 brought the blood fests into vogue. While Season Of The Witch is an intriguing paean to the Hammer Films / American International Pictures of the 1960s (especially Roger Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe movies), The Eagle sports multiple intriguing plots that push veteran actors Donald Sutherland and Denis O’Hare way into the background, and a not-so-thinly veiled homosexual undercurrent between the master, Roman soldier Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) and his British slave, Esca (Jamie Bell). Telling the story set in 135 A.D. with these two enemies building a deep friendship and devotion is less blatant but (in a very quiet and subtle way) more intense than Brokeback Mountain. Perhaps because Jake Gyllenhall’s Jack Twist and Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar didn’t come with Uncle Donald Sutherland purchasing one to attend to the other, Gyllenhall/Twist’s passive role couldn’t overcome Ledger/Del Mar’s self-hatred. As the hatred that Esca and Marcus have was inbred they have opportunities to overcome it. Starting with Marcus showing mercy to a slave that displayed absolutely no fear in a David vs. Goliath battle where Esca was a mere bull to be slaughtered for the pleasure of those in attendance.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/21057
27)Borderline Eleven: Read Between The Lines
by Joe Viglione February - 14 - 2011
It’s not an earthquake in Hooksett, New Hampshire, it’s the release of a nine-song CD by the area’s favorite sons, Borderline Eleven. Outside of some acoustics, as on the final track “2 A.M.”, the group offers a non-stop onslaught of heavy guitar battling spitfire vocals of Dan Charpentier (who also plays rhythm). The riffs are inventive and the four band mates – backing vocalist/drummer Andy Mason, backing vocalist/bassist Joe Campbell and lead guitar/backing vocalist Luke Mason – do have a sound that shows the potential to blossom in a great way.
“The Fight” is brash while “747” has nuances that cry out for stronger production. The lyrics are pretty good on this one too, and with anticipated jamming on the club scene that distinctness should be pushing through the rumblings…especially as they spend more time in the studio. The press kit says they’ve been jamming since 2005 and with six of the nine tunes coming in under the four minute mark they have the pop sensibility needed to keep that general audience which appears to have a more limited attention span clued-in on their gospel.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/21195
29)Movie Review: Paul Is A Disposable Movie (Trailer)
by Joe Viglione March - 20 - 2011
A Boston band called The Machines had a 45 RPM entitled “Disposable Music”, which was a premonition of things to come…not all the music in 2011 as collector-oriented as that from just a few decades before.
And along the lines of that tune, the film Paul is a disposable movie, mildly entertaining, something to do for a day or evening, but at times so cloying with its predictable jokes that it inevitably turns into a bit of a roller coaster ride at a theme park…something to do once in a great while but not enticing enough to draw you back too soon. Like the movie trailer where the Seth Rogan-voiced alien, “Paul” resurrects a bird only to kill it again…by eating it, the jokes are sometimes unfunny or funny for just one spin.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/22786Labels: Elliot Murphy Gallagher
