Saturday, June 29, 2013

June 2013 Continued

JOE VIGLIONE REVIEWS MITCH RYDER'S CLASSIC 'DETROIT' CD
http://www.emusic.com/album/detroit/mitch-ryder-and-detroit/11584851/

It opens with the roar of “Long Neck Goose” and Mitch Ryder returns to Detroit with a band named after his city, one that should have been as big as Boston, Chicago, or even that ensemble named after a state, Kansas. Detroit the group rocks grittier than any of the above, and though household recognition eluded them, the album is revered and far more important than the wandering Dave Marsh’s original liner notes dared speculate. About 15 years later, Marsh would write even more about this music with all new liner notes for the cassette, still not comprehending the essence of this music. After recording in Memphis, the blues vocalist headed up to Manta Sound in Toronto to track this essential album and begin his status as an underground legend with ’60s hits under his belt. Being on Paramount Records didn’t help; the Gulf & Western company was a division of Famous Music publishing, and though they were cool enough to sign the Cars when that band was known as Milkwood, the label just couldn’t compete, despite this project’s enormous strengths. The disc is chock-full of excitement. Steve Hunter’s guitar work makes everything come to life, framed perfectly by Harry Phillips’ elemental keyboards and Bob Ezrin’s powerful production. Why bassist W.R. Cooke is allowed to do the lead vocal on the shuffling, almost doo wop “Box of Roses” is the mystery. We all came to this party to hear Ryder belt ‘em out. And Ryder screams throughout; “Is It You (Or Is It Me)” gets that howl, as does this immortal cover of Lou Reed’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Redesigned with snarling Steve Hunter guitar licks and tons of pounding anticipation, the song was the underground hit from this now-classic album and just perfect for the voice of William Levise, Jr.. The organ supplements Hunter’s exploding guitar work and Mitch Ryder’s orgasmic vocal howls over a gargantuan rearrangement of a Velvet Underground tune released a year earlier. But there’s more to the album than the excitement generated by the 45 rpm of the Lou Reed cover — Ron Davies’ “It Ain’t Easy” boasted renditions by many, from Long John Baldry to Bowie on his Ziggy Stardust album, but Ryder gives the song some real definition. The original vinyl had four songs on each side; the reconstructed compact disc and cassette changed the order a bit to make room for about five minutes of a stunning version of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” Reissue coordinator Andy McKaie sent this writer a thank-you note in 1986 after letters to Irving Azoff and A&R gal Kate Hyman proposing the re-release — and suggesting the inclusion of “Gimme Shelter.” As Marsh comments, the extended version was utilized on the re-release, not the shorter B-side originally issued.

The entire album is a keeper, with the slow blues of “Drink” and the concluding passions in “I Found a Love.” Both guitarist Hunter and producer Bob Ezrin would be involved with Lou Reed’s monumental Berlin two years after this, with Steve Hunter joining Reed’s live band for what is now known as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal Tour. This album made all that possible and is as much fun to listen to as it is important. The prices the re-release of the CD fetch on e-bay prove it. [Akarma's 2008 reissue included one bonus track.] – Joe Viglione
_______________________________________
steve hunter biography

In-depth Biography
Steve "The Deacon" Hunter was born in 1948 in Decatur, IL, starting his professional career as a member of Mitch Ryder's Detroit in 1971, his guitar sound redesigning the Lou Reed classic "Rock & Roll," creating a cult hit and giving Ryder an underground cachet that the '60s blue-eyed soul singer would utilize decades after the group's self-titled Paramount album, Detroit, was released. One of Hunter's earliest musical recollections was sitting on his dad's lap while his father worked the pedals on a pump organ owned by young Steve's grandparents, playing the keyboard and working out melodies the lad heard. This was before he went to kindergarten. Even at a young age he was able to note if tempos were off or if people were singing out of key. For Steve Hunter, music was always there, always a part of him -- a big old Zenith console radio/turntable would keep the future guitarist transfixed, the patterns on the labels he calls "sort of the first music video."

http://www.ticketmaster.com/Steve-Hunter-tickets/artist/745741 

_____________________________________

the rose



http://www.ccmusic.com/music/cd/2387419/bette-midler-rose


Paul A. Rothchild produced the final Janis Joplin studio album, Pearl, as well as many a Doors disc, and the late producer was the perfect guy to tackle this tribute to Joplin featuring "The Divine Miss M" as "Pearl"/"The Rose." In March of 1980, the version of "When a Man Loves a Woman" from this 1979 film soundtrack went Top 35, and Midler's biggest hit followed her Oscar nomination, but it was a well-produced version of the title track, different from the album, which went Top Three, the gold single the biggest of her six hits up to this point in time. It's a strange twist of events, Bette's previous 1979 album, Thighs and Whispers, has technically better sounds, Arif Mardin drenching it in the disco of the day, but that artificial episode pales next to this project, which features Lou Reed's "Rock 'n' Roll Animal" bandmates guitarist Steve Hunter and drummer Whitey Glan. The concerts were recorded live during June and July of 1978, and there's more than a touch of the Mitch Ryder sound on "Whose Side Are You On," the album opener. Hunter was in the Mitch Ryder band Detroit, which led up to Lou Reed's ensemble, so the level of authenticity goes far beyond what filmmakers put into, say, the Blues Brothers. They utilize a different set of musicians on "Love Me With a Feeling," the "Turtle Blues" of this story, vaguely referencing the original title to the Big Brother & the Holding Company album that tune came from with the "sex, drugs and rock & roll" chant. Bette Midler is a star perpetually evolving into icon, and this album's success, as well as the two hit singles it spawned, certainly helped the film, as much as the movie brought Midler to a new level of fame. Her voice is terrific on "Midnight in Memphis," and the material is extraordinary for many reasons. Midler gets to show what a tremendous blues singer she can be, drawing from the many elements she's secured from years on the stage. It's a pivotal moment in her career. The rendition of Genya Ravan's chestnut, "Stay With Me," penned by one of Joplin's favorite songwriters, producer Jerry Ragovoy, could have been the showstopper album track here. It isn't. The listener has to know the film in order to understand why the singer's voice is purposely falling apart. The strange twists of fate mentioned earlier appear again here -- the soundtrack to the Janis Joplin biography film contained studio versions of great live performances that are in the film; as Midler cut a different version of the title track,which became a number one adult contemporary hit and Top Three on the popular charts, "Stay With Me" also should have been re-recorded. Had Midler released a version of that tune with the same desperation and passions of "When a Man Loves a Woman," this LP might have had that so necessary third hit to catapult it into the record books. One of the best moments in the film is missing from this "soundtrack," the questionable move of leaving Bob Seger's "Fire Down Below" off of this disc. It's one of the most memorable moments in the film, tailor-made for MTV. Three years after this release, Bette Midler put another soundtrack out, Bette Midler in Divine Madness. The last two songs which end side two are actually "Fire Down Below" and "Stay With Me," and though Bette can't touch Genya Ravan's classic performance, this is still how the music should have been presented on The Rose soundtrack LP. It's hard to get too down on this record, though; it has the magic, it established Bette Midler to the larger audience she deserved, it brought Paul Rothchild the follow-up to Pearl he was cheated of by Joplin's death, and it rocks. The bluesy feel was a complete about face from the previous Thighs and Whispers, and, actually, it is truly Bette Midler's only real rock & roll album. That it did so much for her might suggest she try it again. ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi


THE FROST THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE

http://popularfreemusic.com/album/through-the-eyes-of-love-mw0000175778

 

Monday, June 10, 2013



#1     Steve Hunter 
Steve “the Deacon” Hunter’s The Manhattan Blues Project (Deaconrecords (884501903240) is a superb and visionary exploration of the guitar that sets a mood and lends itself to repeated spins. Opening with “Prelude to the Blues” you can hear tender melodies from Alice Cooper’s “I Never Cry” slipping into the guitarlines while 222 W.23rd has a panther-like feel setting the tone perfectly for any upcoming spy movie interested in picking this up.   Hunter whispers the song title as well as the word “electrified” in the middle of the song; that –  and some Abbey Road-styled backing vocals on “Gramercy Park” – are the only voices this critic hears on the otherwise all instrumental disc.
Track 5 is a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” and though Gabriel’s brilliance cannot be denied I tend to like the instrumental here better.   The fact that Steve Hunter and his colleague, Dick Wagner, played on the former Genesis lead singer’s 1977 Car album, produced by Bob Ezrin, is notable as Hunter is probably the guitar player on the Peter Gabriel solo hit (or one of them as King Crimson’s Robert Fripp also appears on the Car lp).  Read more here:

http://www.tmrzoo.com/2013/45306/music-review-steve-the-deacon-hunters-the-manhattan-blues-project 

Steve Hunter will be on Visual Radio Live on June 27, 2013
8 PM Thursday evening  http://www.wincam.org 
_________________________________________________________________________

#2  The Rolling Stones  
CROSSFIRE HURRICANE

Joe Viglione review
For long-time Rolling Stones fans who have seen the group perform during the Mick Taylor era and the early days of Ron Wood – and who are overwhelmed by the jungle of stuff – all the books, DVDs and online media covering/surrounding the Greatest Rock & Roll band in the world, Crossfire Hurricane is a wonderful succinct history perfectly told in a most satisfying way.
This Brett Morgen film is tightly presented with colorful psychedelia, a terrific “Midnight Rambler”, and lots of information told in the first person by the boys in the band.
It has the feel of Bob Smeaton’s work with The Beatles on their Anthology series and, truth be told, why the Stones didn’t put their own Anthology series together with an idea for a similar high-end project is a sign of the times.  Read more here:

http://www.tmrzoo.com/2013/45554/review-the-rolling-stones-crossfire-hurricane
___________________________________________________________________
3)Juke Box Heo   Lou Gramm and Scott Pitoniak




____________________________________________________________________________
4) A Lowbudget Barrel of Monkees



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUuvJylhPYQ
_______________________________________________________________
5) Jann Klose




______________________________________________________________________

6)GIRL ON TOP  LIVE FOR IT

featuring the John Fannon   production of Karen DeBiasse and band singing Ozzy Osborne's
10. I Don't Want to Stop



http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/girlontop3
_________________________________________________________________________
7)THE ROLLING STONES  UNDER REVIEW


Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDjIPm9I-RA



_________________________________________________________________
Under Review 1962-1966   the first DVD




review

[+]by Joe Viglione


Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/under-review-1962-1966-mw0001491468



______________________________________________________________________
8) STARS & STRIPES AND MILESTONES

____________________________________________________________________

9)CLIVE DAVIS










__________________________________________________________________________

10) Steve Chizmadia.


Produced by Peter Calo 

http://stevechizmadia.com/




'
http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?epk_id=71754


Artist Information


Biography


Steve is an award winning artist from the Hudson Valley with strong roots in the singer songwriter tradition, country and rock. His influences include The Beatles, Townes Van Zandt, Pete Seeger, Steve Earle, and a host of others too numerous to mention. He's a regular on the Hudson Valley scene with a steadily growing fan base nationwide. Steve is a winner of The 2011 Hudson Valley SongFest Emerging Artist Competition, 2011 Wildflower! Music and Art Festival songwriting competition, 2011 Woody Guthrie Songwriting Contest (Third Place) and a 2011 Kerrville New Folk finalist. He was the 2010 grand prize winner of the Music 2Life songwriting competition (created by Noel "Paul" Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary) for "The Wall Street Fat Cat Tax Payer Bail Out Blues",. His first C.D. "It Is What It Is" reached number 12 on the folk D.J. Charts in 2007. 
He has been a Kerrville New Folk finalist (2003), a finalist in the Strum magazine songwriting  competition (2010) twice received honorable mention from the Woody Guthrie songwriting competition (2005, 2010) and has had a tri-centric showcase at NERFA. He's currently working on his latest C.D. with producer Peter Calo. Steve plays Gibson and Gretsch guitars.

Instrumentation


Steve Chizmadia - six and twelve string guitars, mandolin

Discography


"Jack Of All Trades" 
"It Is What It Is" 
"Tribes Hill: We're All Here" 
"Hudson Harding Holiday c.d. volume 2" 
"The Wall Street Fat Cat Tax Payer Bail Out Blues"

Official Website

http://stevechizmadia.com
_________________________________________________________________________

11)‘After Earth’ Review – A Great Sci-Fi Movie by M. Night Shyamalan

by Joe Viglione on May 31, 2013
After Earth Review - Movie Poster image OK, the reviews are already in and the critics (except for me) seem to really and truly hate After Earth. In fact, one such individual was leaving the theater yelling that he hates M. Night Shyamalan and thinks he “hasn’t made a good movie since Signs.”
Signs was OK, and The Sixth Sense was absolutely brilliant, but what confounds me is the onslaught of negative reviews on what I found to be a wonderfully exotic, big science fiction film that breaks new ground. We’re all entitled to our opinions, and my feeling is that Will Smith is a pivotal movie star in the sci-fi genre and that this could be his best performance in a science fiction film.
Shyamalan gives us big, big sets at the films onset. Big apartment buildings, a big spaceship, big caverns, taking what George Lucas took from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and making it larger, more in-depth, more like something to watch in awe. The spaceship is amazing and – voila – it actually gets stuck in an asteroid storm, something that devout Star Trek fans like myself always wondered how and why Warp Speed was never bogged down by little minute details like a planet the size of Jupiter in your way.




http://www.tmrzoo.com/2013/45363/after-earth-review-a-great-sci-fi-movie-by-m-night-shyamalan


________________________________________________________________________
12) Randy Roos   MISTRAL
 http://www.unfretted.net/loader.php?LINK=history

Orchestra Luna's guitarist Randy Roos released his first solo album on Boston legend Bruce Patch's Spoonfed records, a label which would issue discs by Third Rail produced by Ric Ocasek, Reddy Teddy, the Remains, J.T.S. Flying, and others. "Stew" is a song that has some great wailing guitar behind percussion and rhythms, the early playing of this virtuoso falling somewhere between Pat Metheny and Steve Vai. The plethora of instruments utilized by the guitarist expose the talents he brought to Rick Berlin's quirky early work on Epic, the bold and highly experimental Orchestra Luna disc. All those avant-garde notions are stripped away for a smooth and precise coloring of original tunes and collaborations which range from three and a half minutes to nearly eight minutes in length. The instrumentalist notes the different tools he uses to get the sounds on each song, "Platypus" containing more jazz improvisation, while "Inward Stroke" is just a lovely, subdued combination of mellow guitar sounds. "The Hunt" is a bit more driving, allowing Randy Roos the liberty to stretch. "Horizon Game" opens side two and has more exquisite playing, inspired ideas which are the furthest thing from redundant, sounds expanding on "Innisfree" and concluding with the seven-minute-plus "Marcel Marceau (Three Little Things)," the epic track on the Mistral album as "Doris Dreams" was to the Orchestra Luna disc.  Read more here:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/mistral-mw0001185891
___________________________________________________________________________
13)LIBERACE: THE ULTIMATE ENTERTAINER

Huffington Post review http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/china-beach-dvd_b_3343491.html
__________________________________________________________________________
14) Rolling Stones Under Review 1967-1969



review

[-]by Joe Viglione
Where the Rolling StonesUnder Review: 1962-1966 had its moments with eight commentators giving us the beginnings of Stones history, this part two -- Under Review: 1967-1969 with a dozen critics and musicians interviewed -- is truly superior in its approach and in direction, a perfect segue to the unnamed part three of this trilogy from Chrome Dreams/Sexy Intellectual, the very excellent Under Review forKeith Richards. Critic Keith Altham is on all three documentaries as is Tom Keylock, and they add wonderful insight, notably Altham's essential critiques and historical perspective. Thomas Arnold is the narrator, as he is on the Richards disc, replacing Mandy O'Neal from the first volume, and the storyline is meatier as the "greatest rock & roll band in the world" moves into these new phases of psychedelia and what followed, the time labeled their "golden era" with guitarist Mick Taylor and producer Jimmy Millerenhancing the sounds the band would generate. The previous documentary ended with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" while this edition opens with "Sympathy for the Devil," interesting bookends with so much territory to cover. Even die-hard Stones fans who know much about the history will embrace the clips, the perspectives, and the chronology.

__________________________________________________________

15)JAMES STRAIGHT AND THE 

WIDE STANCE

                                                                  NO LOITERING




Starring the very right Reverend Joe Fagan

 __________________________________________________________________________
 16)Lady Antebellum




_________________________________________________________________
17)Under Review 1962-1966   the first DVD




review

[+]by Joe Viglione


Read more here:
_______________________________________________

15)JAMES STRAIGHT AND THE WIDE STANCE

NO LOITERING



Starring the very right Reverend Joe Fagan 

 __________________________________________________________________________
 16)Lady Antebellum
http://www.bullmoose.com/p/14182464/LADY-ANTEBELLUM-OWN-THE-NIGHT-WORLD-TOUR?gclid=CJ7BktWQ2LcCFaZlOgodMDkAWQ



17)Under Review 1962-1966   the first DVD



review

[+]by Joe Viglione


Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/under-review-1962-1966-mw0001491468
______________________________________________________________

18)Charlie Farren  TUESDAY




_____________________________________
19)

___________________________
30) BEHIND THE CANDELABRA

Review: HBO’s Behind The Candelabra is Reduced to a National Enquirer Romp

by Joe Viglione on June 3, 2013
This is the story of Liberace by one of the urchins the great showman let into his life.  Everybody needs loving, but to have that much wealth, that much fame, that much power and be so unable to choose a quality companion means that the image his handlers protected so fiercely in the pianist’s heyday is reduced to a National Enquirer romp on HBO.  And a romp it is as the legacy of Liberace should be all about his showmanship flair and self-deprecating humor; his solid body of work, his television show, the millions of people that he moved with his recordings and live performances, and not the sleazy innuendo of glory holes and blatant sex addiction.  Liberace is to be treated as a true Hollywood star from that bygone era Myra Breckinridge perpetually longs for.  A skilled craftsman whose flaws should be the asterisk (albeit obligatory) side-show, not he.
  
Read more here:
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2013/45415/review-hbos-behind-the-candelabra-is-reduced-to-a-national-enquirer-romp


___________________________________________________________________
31)DONNY HATHAWAY

_____________________________________________________________________
32)

_____________________________________________________________________
33)

_____________________________________________________________________
34)

_____________________________________________________________________
35)

  ______________________________________________________________________
36) ORCHESTRA LUNA




tracks

  1. 1.
    Stop
    Were You Dancin' on Paper – Orchestra Luna 03:37
  2. 2.
    Stop
    Miss Pamela – Orchestra Luna 03:19
  3. 3.
    Stop
    Little Sam – Orchestra Luna 03:13
  4. 4.
    Stop
    Heart – Orchestra Luna 05:57
  5. 5.
    Stop
    Love Is Not Enough – Orchestra Luna 06:27
  6. 6.
    Stop
    Boy Scouts – Orchestra Luna 02:25
  7. 7.
    Stop
    Fay Wray – Orchestra Luna 04:20
  8. 8.
    Stop
    But One – Orchestra Luna 03:01
  9. 9.
    Stop
    Doris Dreams – Orchestra Luna 12:04

The Orchestra Luna album began the musical legacy of Rick Berlin, the composer/singer who goes by his birth name, Richard Kinscherf, on this Epic Records debut in 1974. The seven-piece ensemble was truly groundbreaking in a world that doesn't take kindly to innovation. Where the Who were content to write rock operas, Kinscherf and his band put opera to rock. This adventurous mix of songs, written as if they were Broadway show tunes backed by a rock band with jazz and classical influences, might sound like a bit much, and 11 minutes and 53 seconds of "Doris Dreams" never had a chance of Top 40 success, or an edit that could get it there, but that idiosyncrasy is part of what makes this album so daring, and special. Co-produced by Rupert Holmes, the man who gave us "Escape (The Pina Colada Song," a monster smash in 1979, and the cannibal anthem "Timothy" in 1971, the choice might not seem appropriate on the surface. But Holmes' unheralded work for Barbara Streisand and the Broadway musical Drood actually makes him a perfect choice to oversee this project. "Miss Pamela" has wonderful Randy Roos guitars blending with Rick Kinscherf's pretty keyboards, keyboards that could have inspired Billy Joel, sounding very much like his 1978 hit "Just The Way You Are." It's when Kinscherf's expressive vocal kicks in that all comparisons to traditional pop go out the window. The cover of the Adler/Ross classic (you gotta have) "Heart" is a standout here, as it was in their live show. Seven of the nine tracks are penned by Rick Kinscherf, and themes that resound in "Fay Wray" (the heroine from the epic King Kong) travel throughout the artist's career. This album may be tough for some to take, but the Tom Werman liner notes put things in a nice perspective. They opened for Roxy Music in Boston when this album was released, and were even more avant-garde than the legendary headliner. The band dropped the "Orchestra" from their name and became the original Luna, releasing a 45, "Hollywood," while the rest of their album was held up in litigation. They re-emerged as Berlin Airlift, then Rick Berlin: The Movie. In 2001, the former Rick Kinscherf, known as Rick Berlin, fronted the Shelley Winters Project. That sound has little in common with the early pictures painted by the exquisite "Love Is Not Enough" or musically bizarre "Boy Scouts" off this album ("Back in the boy scout camp/the moon was very full"). These themes, like the references and inspiration from films, continued to flavor Berlin's music through the years, although the Peter Barrett narrations would fall away. Moody and impressive in its gamble, this is also noteworthy in that guitarist extraordinaire Randy Roos can be heard in his formative years. Joe Viglione, All Music Guide




http://www.target.com/PDPPrintView?catalogEntryID=200861135&quantity_print=xxxxxx&starcount=no&catEntType=ITEM

_____________________________________________________________________
37)THE BEST FILM YOU'VE NEVER SEEN
Robert E. Elder



______________________________________________________________
38)SUPERAUSPICIOUS   Adam Rivera

http://www.adamriveramusic.com/music.html

___________________________________________________________________

39)Butterscott
SNOWMAN ON THE MOON
1)Bubblegum Man
2)Hobbyhorse
3)Groggy Foggy
4)Wheelchair Woman

http://www.allmusic.com/album/throwing-meatloaf-at-the-sun-mw0000704983

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/artist/Butterscott/a/albums.htm

  
___________________________________________________________________________

40)Music Review: Adventerous – Money on My Mind

by Joe Viglione on May 31, 2013
Post image for Music Review: Adventerous  – Money on My Mind Adventerous released his eponymous mix tape CD in 2009, followed by ” Money Mi A Pree”, “Adventerous To Di World” and his most recent mix tape entitled “Tun Up” which has twenty two (22) tracks including the single “Heartbeat” with hopes of conquering the US, Jamaica and the UK.
“Money on My Mind” provides a haunting opening that sweeps into a hypnotic mix, with help from Meek Mill the song was produced by North Carolina-based hip-hop producer Krazy Figz. The melody gains momentum…”with a million dollars to count…”…and could be a modern-day “Hot Fun In the Summertime”, a musical backdrop to summer 2013 if things break right for the ambitious singer.
The timing is just perfect as the voices juxtapose against the thick sound…it is totally irresistible and is a great intro to the previous works Adventerous has to offer.
http://adventerous.net



http://www.tmrzoo.com/2013/45357/music-review-adventerous-money-on-my-mind

_____________________________________________________________________-
BONUS:
JOE VIG REVIEWS ON SABOTAGE TIMES                                      


Behind The Candelabra: Soderbergh’s Liberace Biopic Fails To Reach It’s Potential


While not a complete misfire, Soderbergh’s portrayal of the flamboyant pianist doesn’t reach its potential.


After Earth: Will & Jaden Smith’s Sci-Fi Double Act Isn’t As Bad As The Critics Say


The reviews are in and the critics are panning Will Smith’s latest sci-fi outing, but don’t listen to the nay sayers, this could be his best performance yet.



http://www.sabotagetimes.com/author/joe-viglione/

Gary Sohmers Roar's Back March 8 with Collectibles Show, To Jah Nature Ellis, Tom Hambridge New CD, Keith Richards Waiting for the Man, Sean Walshe American Son, Clive Davis with Anthony DeCurtis

Top 10 1)Gary Sohmers 2)Tom Hambridge 3)Nature Ellis  4)Keith Richards "Waiting for the Man" Lou Reed's Birthday 5)Sean Walshe...