Welcome to the Top 40
The obligatory vampire cape given to me by my Grandma Jenny on May 8, 1973
Photo by Jeannie Archibald
OK, I'll re-size these photos later...here's the beginning of the Top 40
PLEASE NOTE:
around Top 40 listing #13 it says
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Reviews are forthcoming and most likely will also appear in TMRZoo.com where this writer is the Chief Film Critic
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#1 GALLAGHER
Review on TMRZoo
Gallagher will appear in Beverly, Massachusetts
Larcom Theater Beverly, MA http://www.gallaghersmash.com/
13 Wallis St, Beverly, MA 01915 (978) 927-3677
http://www.larcomtheatre.com/larcomtheatre.com/Home.html
Here's GALLAGHER on Visual Radio
Gallagher on Visual Radio with Joe Viglione October 11, 2011 at WinCAM
“You can get an idea from anything” says the professor while lecturing to those who appear to attend the concert to face the humiliation, but it isn’t aimed at anyone specific. Gallagher’s genius is that he attacks things, place and people, and generally uses a broad brush. If he does single out someone it is all in good fun, adult fun – of course – but still good fun.
Gallagher
I Am Who I Pretend To Be
Comedy/Spoken Word
Time: 54:14
Review by Joe Viglione
Comedian Gallagher’s
distinctive voice cuts through on this clear and precise May 2014 recording
from Pasadena, California’s Ice House.
On this CD the comic is smart, observant, absurd and absolutely
funny. With a Parenteal
Advisory/Explicit Content sticker on the right-hand bottom corner of the CD
cover, one needs to study the compelling art work with a Gallagher caricature(courtesy
of artist Phil Roberts) – the Edison/Einstein light bulb inside the jester’s
cap, one face with an intriguing color scheme taking up half the face in a sort
of/kind of nod to Star Trek The Next Generation’s major enemy, the Borg
“You can get an idea from anything” says the professor while lecturing to those who appear to attend the concert to face the humiliation, but it isn’t aimed at anyone specific. Gallagher’s genius is that he attacks things, place and people, and generally uses a broad brush. If he does single out someone it is all in good fun, adult fun – of course – but still good fun.
Produced by Uproar Entertainment’s David Drozen with engineering
from Steven Carthy (he’s worked on the films Kungfu Monks in America, Outta Moves
and on the TV series documentary Independent Lens) Gallagher is completely
on. With bits entitled The Bible,
Relationships, Confusion, Our Judicial System you know that the jumping off
point leads to tons of ingenious digression with quick scrutiny and inspection
of aspects of all sorts of things, over under sideways and down.
Though he can be gruff when explicit, the bursts of
outrageousness are merely sagacity on display.
The profound wisdom is turned upside down, especially when asking how
aliens will react to illogical mankind long after the nuclear winter evacuates
the planet. Gallagher’s cynicism is
cloaked in a matter-of-fact colloquialism – giving the audience the props for
being smart enough to come to his show.
Gallagher is a self-proclaimed genius and treats the audience with the
obvious: he’s the authority and your acknowledgment of that means you are
pretty intelligent as well. And inside
that notion is the fact that the disc is non-stop funny.
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2)Joe Perry
Rocks: My Life in and out of AerosmithHardcover – October 7, 2014
 Product Details
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3)Lissa Warren
The Good Luck Cat: How a Cat Saved a Family, and a Family Saved a CatHardcover – October 7, 2014
4) Doo-Wop! and the G-Clefs: The Saga of America's last original Doo-Wop group from the 1950's still performing[Kindle Edition]
Michael Devlin (Author)
Overview
In 1956 the G-Clefs recorded their first hit "Ka Ding Dong". It ranked #24 on the Billboard charts that year. Their biggest hit came later in 1961 with "I Understand" reaching #9 also on the Billboard's top 100.In 1997 PBS featured singing groups like the G-Clefs to appear on their televised production that made Doo-Wop popular again throughout the entire country.
This is the story of the G-Clefs during that same time period. There are numerous unpublished photographs and stories documenting their return to the spotlight with all the fame and disappointments that only a Doo-Wop singing group like theirs could possibly experience.
For the first time ever, this is a comprehensive history of the very still popular music of Doo-Wop and "The saga of America's last original Doo-Wop group from the 1950s still performing."
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doo-wop-and-the-g-clefs-mike-devlin/1119970968?ean=2940149682386
http://www.amazon.com/Doo-Wop-G-Clefs-Americas-original-performing-ebook/dp/B00LMOIRQC
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5)The Blues Magoos
* This month's pick to click
Super new CD from Blues Magoos!
Review to follow
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http://rock107.com/psychedelic-rockers-blues-magoos-releasing-first-album-in-more-than-40-years/
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6)Jackie deShannon NEW ARRANGEMENT
_________________________________7)Kim Carnes, Mistaken Identity
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:fifrxqw5ldke
Review by Joe Viglione
Mistaken Identity should have established Kim Carnes
as a huge international star. Her Rod Stewart rasp,
affiliation with Kenny Rogers, management by Ken
Kragen when he was arguably at his peak, makes one
wonder why the across-the-board success of "Bette
Davis Eyes" couldn't be duplicated. Three years after
the success of this album, Tina Turner actually did
conquer the world, the various producers on Private
Dancer weaving enough different textures to make for a
multi-dimensional masterpiece. Too many cooks made for
wonderful stew. Val Garay certainly did a good job on
Mistaken Identity, more defined than his work with
Marty Balin on the Lucky album a year after this, an
album which, for that great artist, wasn't
very...lucky. It's not that the other Donna
Weiss/Jackie DeShannon tune, "Hit and Run," which
follows "Bette Davis Eyes," doesn't have a good
performance; it does. The problem with the Mistaken
Identity album is that everything on it stands in the
shadows of a masterpiece. The country risqué of the
Jackie DeShannon original from New Arrangement has as
extraordinary a re-working as Lou Reed's "Rock & Roll"
got from Bob Ezrin when Mitch Ryder got to make it his
underground anthem. Carnes is just brilliant on her
solo composition, "Mistaken Identity, and it is subtle
and smart enough to have crossed over to adult
contemporary and jazz formats. Frankie Miller's "When
I'm Away From You" sounds like Rod Stewart doing "True
Blue" — those upfront snare drums and a hook as strong
as an undertow. Perhaps this should have been the
follow-up to "Bette Davis Eyes" rather than "Draw of
the Cards," which followed and lingered around the Top
30. Not a place to be for the follow-up to a monster
smash. This is an evolution from her work on A&M, and
certainly far removed from the New Christy Minstrels.
The album comes with photographs galore on the
innersleeve, all the lyrics, and tons of credits. Her
first hit on EMI about ten months earlier was the
fantastic reworking of "More Love," and that elegant
pop gem was the type of thing needed to propel this to
the status Private Dancer attained for Turner, that
Physical garnered for Olivia Newton-John. "Draw of the
Cards" plays like a mellow dance number, aimed at a
new wave audience when — well, face it, her biggest
smash before "Bette Davis Eyes" was the mellow "Don't
Fall in Love With a Dreamer." There is absolutely no
pun intended to say this album is more of an identity
crisis than a mistaken identity. Wendy Waldman,
Carnes, and her husband, Dave Ellingson, craft "Break
the Rules Tonite (Out of School)," but it is just too
much of a diversion on an album that tests the waters
of different rock genres. Flirting with Leslie
West-style hard rock is not as appealing to her
audience as the beautifully crafted Tom Snow/Dean
Pitchford tune "Don't Call It Love." Her other solo
composition, "Miss You Tonite," is more the style we
expect, and Carnes' beautiful piano work on Richard
Stekol's "My Old Pals" brings the album to a proper
conclusion. If only this big and talented team could
have come up with another couple of brilliant new
arrangements as they did with "Bette Davis Eyes." The
name Kim should be up there with Olivia, Tina, and
Grace, and it wasn't for lack of talent that
superstardom didn't occur.
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#9 DEEP PURPLE GRAZ 1975
Fantastic CD from David Coverversion version of Deep Purple
Glenn Hughes on bass
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#10 QUEEN
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11)Psychedelic Lollipop
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"(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" is extraordinary and magical; like the Box Tops' "The Letter," it's one of those little two-minute blasts of pop which brought the transistor radio to life and which is the proverbial breath of fresh air on oldies radio stations daring enough to play psychedelia. Psychedelic Lollipop is the real thing; the Blues Magoos on the LP cover look like Captain Kirk abandoned them on some forgotten Star Trek planet, and the music inside the sleeve is authentic acid rock. They stretch John D. Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road" across four-and-a-half Seeds-style minutes, obliterating the Nashville Teens' 1964 hit recording in the process. David Blue's "Queen of My Nights" may have inspired the Troggs' 1968 hit "Love Is All Around." The melody might be different, but the intro music is identical to what Reg Presley gave the world a couple of years after this. Producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus did a great job of keeping the intensity up across two sides of this album. James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy" gets splashy garage rock sounds and Mike Esposito's guitar power cannot be denied. Check out the jangle pop mayhem on "Gotta Get Away." According to the LP The History of Syracuse Music, Vol. 7, Esposito performed in the Escorts with Felix Cavaliere, and that vibe from the Rascals' rendition of Lori Burton's "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" has the same type of authority these kids pour all over Psychedelic Lollipop. "One by One" has the band going from the garage rock group to the Beatles transition -- and what's so disappointing is that they couldn't mature in this direction. Had this lineup stuck around for the ABC albums, who knows what they might have been capable of? Psychedelic Lollipop is a solid and precious gem from the Nuggets vaults, the difference between this and other one-hit wonders being that you can play the entire album repeatedly -- quite an accomplishment coming from the era of the hit single. That such a tremendous smash like "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" kicks the whole thing off is just an added bonus. [The 2005 reissue of the album adds the single versions of "Tobacco Road," "Sometimes I Think About," "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" and "Gotta Get Away."] ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi
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12)Electric Comic Book BLUES MAGOOS
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Album Notes
Personnel: Ralph Scala (vocals, organ); Mike Esposito (guitar); Geoff Daking (drums)."Take my love and shove it up your heart" sing the Blues Magoos in keyboard player/vocalist Ron Scala and bassist Ron Gilbert's composition "Take My Love," and with the same punk drone they give the six minutes of Van Morrison's "Gloria -- a strange amalgam of Iron Butterfly "In a Gadda Da Vida noodlings meets Strawberry Alarm Clock, guitarist Emil "Peppy" Thielhelm, and his Blues Magoos spend an album reiterating what they said before. With the garage mayhem that is "Rush Hour" and the nine second conclusion "That's All Folks," straight out of Bugs Bunny, Electric Comic Book is a vintage '60s psychedelic record which has everything but the ? & the Mysterians meets the Electric Prunes drive of their smash single "We Ain't Got Nothing Yet." Producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus are still on board -- they did the previous Psychedelic Lollipop Wyld would remain to direct 1969's Never Goin' Back to Georgia and 1970s Gulf Coast Bound, where the blues replaced the psychedelia Electric Comic Book retains the brash '60s charm their hit single brought to the attention of the world, a track from the Nuggets compilation on the same level of punk majesty as the Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard." While "Pipe Dream," which starts the album off, and "There's a Chance We Can Make It," which follows, don't have hit potential at least the sound that appeals to so many fans of the genre is retained. "Albert Common Is Dead and "Summer Is the Man" aren't earth shattering compositions, and maybe by this time the group started to feel limited by the constraints of psychedelia and pop -- "Baby I Want You" is simple, and not very original -- but that authentic keyboard/guitar '60s sound drips from groove to groove. "Summer Is the Man" was released as a single, followed by "Life Is Just a Cher O'Bowlies" and "Pipe Dream," but what was really needed was another burst of inspiration to put this album in the same league with its predecessor. Still, "Rush Hour" has its insane moments, and this recording will please those who can't get enough of this style of music. All due respect to bands like the Lyres who have spent a lifetime re-creating this sound, there's no point in going there when you can listen to this and hear the real thing. ~ Joe Viglione
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13) CARIAD HARMON
http://trainwreckdsociety.com/2014/08/29/cariad-harmon-cariad-harmon-album/
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14)Retrograde by Hurtsmile
http://www.maldennews.com/#!Gary-Cherones-Hurtsmile-Record-Release-Party/cjds/76C43D94-B4E5-4EA5-92C5-4F7F493E4E8B
01. Rock & Roll Clichй
02. Hello I Must Be Going
03. Big Government
04. I Still Do
05. Sing A Song (My Mia)
06. Anymore (Don't Want My Love)
07. Where Do We Go From Here
08. A Melody For You
09. Wonder What
10. Walk Away
11. Good Bye
12. Pump it Up
13. Over There (bonus track)
http://batzbatz.com/hardrock/320096-hurtsmile-retrogrenade-2014-lossless.html http://batzbatz.com/hardrock/320096-hurtsmile-retrogrenade-2014-lossless.html
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15)Steve Gilligan
Winter Rain
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/winter-rain/id890054110
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16)GUNHILL ROAD
Every 40 Years
Review on TMRZoo.com
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63831/cd-review-gunhill-road-every-40-years
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gunhillroad
17) THE SATISFACTORS
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thesatisfactors2
"Johnny Commando" is a terrific slice of blitzing rock and roll with a superb hook. It's the Ramones' guitar underwater with a charging attitude that won't quit. Amazing stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwSrI3jRODY
http://www.montypythononlinestore.com/*/DVD-Blu-ray/Monty-Python-Live-mostly-One-Down-Five-To-Go/3FA20401000
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20)Deep Purple with Orchestra live in Verona
http://www.thehighwaystar.com/news/2014/08/04/live-in-verona/
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21)Apollo Blue, Baltic Sun, Gretchen/Pickpockets
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63800/live-music-review-apollo-blue-club-bohemia
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22)Janis: A Performance Diary
http://www.johnbyrnecooke.com/jjpd.html
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2014/10/28/john-byrne-cooke-back-cambridge-promote-janis-joplin-book/vM1S1ib7zPrCBz21AFrKpJ/story.html____________________________________
23) Mr Dynamite - HBO Special on
James Brown featuring Mick Jagger
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXQsOa1Wbcs
http://www.talkingwithtami.com/new-documentary-mr-dynamite-rise-james-brown
Watch this great clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cibeYcMVRAo
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32)Jackie deShannon
For You is Jackie DeShannon performing classy orchestrated adult contemporary pop songs in 1967, the same year Dusty Springfield tracked a similar collection entitled Where Am I Going. There is not a bad track on For You, and had DeShannon decided to follow Patti Page and continue creating music like this, she no doubt could have been very successful. Next to the rock & roll of the album she would release more than 30 years later, You Know Me, this is total culture shock, and goes to show the vast depth of DeShannon's artistry. The beautiful Carole King/Gerry Goffin tune, "No Easy Way Down," which Dusty Springfield cut as well, fits perfectly alongside Johnny Mercer classics like "Dream" and "Merry Go Round in the Rain." Calvin Carter (who would co-produce DeShannon with Burt Bacharachand Hal David on the What the World Needs Now Is Love album) handles all the production chores here. His work with the Impressions, Jerry Butler, and Gene Chandler gives this DeShannon outing R&B mixed with the big band sound, but not with the fanfare that Petula Clark and Linda Ronstadt had accompanying their moves into this prestigious arena. "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me" has Gerald Wilson arranging, providing lush instrumentation behind the '60s pop vocalist
33)Oasis CD Manufacturing
ACOUSTIC #2 Radio Sampler Volume #IV
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34 The Book of Taliesyn
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-book-of-taliesyn-mw0000195135
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35)Vincebus Eruptum
Had "Summertime Blues" not gone Top 15 in the spring of 1968, Blue Cheer might not have had the opportunity to unleash their expression over numerous albums through multiple personnel changes. Vincebus Eruptum sports a serious silver/off-purple cover wrapped around the punk-metal fury. Leigh Stephens is nowhere near Hendrix, Beck, Clapton, or Jimmy Page, the skill of a Yardbirds replaced by a thud of bass/drums/low-end guitar. Vocalist Dickie Peterson takes almost six minutes on Allison's "Parchment Farm" to talk about shooting his arm, shooting his wife, picking cotton, and having sex. Definitely more risqué than Grand Funk Railroad's "T.N.U.C.," Abe "Voco" Kesh's production is almost nonexistent. They certainly influenced the way Grand Funk would take the power trio; you can hear in Peterson's voice that tonal quality Mark Farner had to employ as well to get the lyrics over the morass of sound. It's interesting that the Velvet Underground's classic White Light/White Heat took this attitude up a notch at this exact point in time, going in to the studio and unleashing "Sister Ray," the almost 20-minute scream that was the result of Lou Reed's shock treatment therapy as a teen. Both bands were influenced heavily by drugs, heroin appearing to be the culprit, and while "Second Time Around," which closes this album, came in from the West Coast, the Velvet Underground blasted with even higher intensity from the East. Also interesting that "Doctor Please" on Vincebus Eruptum doesn't have the crunch West/Bruce and Laing would insert into their own "The Doctor" four years later on Why Dontcha. That power trio showed off their chops while Blue Cheer was looking for their chops on this record. Vincebus Eruptum is a dark power trio recording with punk attitude exploring blues through heavy metal. That a later version of the band would go on to produce "I'm the Light," a spacy cosmic anthem as delicate as Grand Funk's "Closer to Home," says a lot about the musical journey initiated by Vincebus Eruptum. The album is an underappreciated classic with "Rock Me Baby" leaning more toward Ten Years After than Steppenwolf, without Alvin Lee's technical expertise. Guitar that quivers and roars with a heavy dependence on rhythm à la the Who, Blue Cheer knows that attitude is as important as musicianship in rock, and they exploit that virtue for all it is worth here.
Reviewed by Joe Viglione
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36)Oh! Pleasant Hope - Blue Cheer
«Hiway Man», which opens the sixth album by Blue Cheer, is a far cry from their version of Eddie Cochran's «Summertime Blues», which launched this group to worldwide fame. And though they were the original group to put their amps on "11", «Oh! Pleasant Hope» is a musical album. This first track, resplendent in heavy vocal reverb, sounds like Waylon Jennings fronting Quicksilver Messenger Service. OPH quickly changes pace with «Believer»'s interesting riff and the experimental production by Blue Cheer and Eric Albronda. Albronda assisted on the production of the self-titled fourth album, «Blue Cheer», and co-produced BC#5 — «The Original Human Being». It is the production that is a significant ingredient that makes this project by a legendary cult band so appealing. «Money Troubles» is written by Dr. Richard Peddicord, who contributes guitar and vocal. This track has that authentic laid-back West Coast sound, a feel much like «Truckin'» by the Grateful Dead — the album having been recorded by Coast Recorders at Mission Street, San Francisco. «Traveling Man» is like a pensive Creedence Clearwater, say John Fogerty in his «Long As I Can See the Light» fashion with a bit more brightness. The title track, «Oh! Pleasant Hope», has a piano and drums opening into sudden guitar, the second title from Dr. Peddicord, a very precise ballad about drugs. The psychedelic denim pastiche of the album cover comes to life in this very Band-inspired rag. But it is the sixth track on their sixth album that is the finest moment ever for Blue Cheer. The harp, exotic instrumentation, and Pink Floyd overtones make «I'm The Light» an extraordinary piece of music. «I'm The Light» is to Blue Cheer what «Stairway To Heaven» is to Led Zeppelin, what «Closer To Home» is to Mark Farner and Grand Funk — a moment of inspiration and production that stands the test of time and that is hard to match. This is a band famous for hard rock sounds creating a pop masterpiece of psychedelic cosmic consciousness. The song seems almost out of place on this collection, but it is truly one of those songs that demands attention and is worth seeking out. «Lester The Arrester» is paranoia about cops, kinda sorta. It is a band that wasn't known for its musical prowess having fun with sound and styles. «Heart Full Of Soul» leans more toward «A Little Bit O'Soul» by the Music Explosion than the song of the same name by The Yardbirds. «Oh! Pleasant Hope» is a disc for people looking for musical ingenuity that hasn't been beaten into the psyche via classic hits radio. It is a monumental and largely forgotten effort with a lot of depth.
Reviewed by Joe Viglione
http://vk.com/page-18466893_28938349
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37)The Seeds Raw and Alive
The Seeds were an exceptional band that never achieved the success that they inspired. This album has a truly psychedelic cover with too-dark-for-pastel colors, swirling letters over eerie faces, and dynamic black and white photos on the back. If you want to see the image of Iggy Pop clothed, just look at Sky Saxon in the bottom right photo on the back cover with the screaming girl holding a flower grabbing at him. He had the image down, as well as the music. "900 Million People Daily All Making Love" sounds so much like the Doors and Jim Morrison's "When the Music's Over," one has to wonder which came first, or did they copy each other? "Mumble and Bumble" is a trippy "Alabama Song," but where Morrison is looking for the next whiskey bar, Saxon is off looking for flowers and magic mushrooms. The band has great energy which is pierced by annoying canned applause à la the Rolling Stones' Got Live If You Want It. This is a record album, not a situation comedy TV show, after all; what's the point of overdubbing an audience onto what is really good music? Sure, "No Escape" is a prelude to the closer and hit "Pushin' Too Hard" with a tip of the hat to Martha & the Vandellas, while "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" is placed nicely in mid-set, a song after the truncated "Up in Her Room." The revelation that is this "concert" album is what a great band the Seeds really were, and how Sky Saxon's vocals have a gritty edge that he held back on us in many of the studio recordings. "Gypsy Plays His Drums" has a great chug-chug guitar, nice off-key backing vocals, and a driving pulse which is present throughout the performance. If you can ignore the extraneous additions, a song like "Forest Outside Your Door" shows really how creative and influential this pioneering band was, while "Satisfy You" is Saxon's direct sexual rock to Mick Jagger's "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Sky claims he can get satisfaction, and can satisfy you at the same time. He then veers off into more familiar psychedelic territory with "Night Time Girl" which combines the sex and the psychedelia. If they taught rock & roll in school, "Raw & Alive" would have to be the textbook for image, design, and content. ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/raw-alive-the-seeds-in-concert-at-merlin-s-music-box#ixzz3FhKFPwol
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38)Gulf Coast Bound Blues Magoos
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39)Blues Magoos NEVER GOIN' BACK
http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-goin-back-to-georgia-mw0000864096
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40)J.A.S.O.N.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63673/review-j-s-o-n-myth-murder-mayhem-punk-rock-world
COMING IN JANUARY
http://www.amazon.com/Doo-Wop-G-Clefs-Americas-original-performing-ebook/dp/B00LMOIRQC
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5)The Blues Magoos
* This month's pick to click
Super new CD from Blues Magoos!
Review to follow
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Psychedelic Rockers Blues Magoos Releasing First Album in More than 40 Years
THE BLUES MAGOOS
Psychedelic Resurrection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMbt3-amjw8
Review by Joe Viglione
“Psychedelic Resurrection” is a classy return for the veteran ‘60’s
group, a plodding anthem like Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers” or Roxy Music’s
45 RPM version of “Manifesto” – a glorious statement of return. The guitar chugs along taking a nod from the
Beatles “I Am The Walrus” – perhaps the quintessential psychedelic groove
tune. The Blues Magoos know their
audience, the “nuggets” crowd, and the emphasis on the erection part of the
word “resurrection” is both about reconstruction as well as being sexual in
nature.
Equally anthemic is There's
a Chance We Can Make It with more sludging guitarwork and a moving
headphone mix. It’s every bit as
delicious as the opening tune and just as effective.
The p.r. sheet gives us the update on the group so here it is:
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The
legendary psychedelic band from the Bronx, have returned with the release
scheduled for October 14 on Kayos. Original members, lead vocalist/keyboardist Ralph
Scala and vocalist/guitarist Peppy Castro, along with drummer Geoff Daking, who joined prior to the
recording of the band’s hit debut album, Psychedelic Lollipop, were joined by
newest additions, Mike Ciliberto
on guitar and Peter Stuart Kohlman on bass. The album also features
cameos by original bassist Ronnie Gilbert and lead guitarist Mike
Esposito, who also became part of the band before releasing their debut
album, which went to #21 on the Billboard
Top 200, thanks to the massive Top 5 single, “(We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet),”
re-recorded for the new album.
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Ten of the dozen tracks are under the four minute mark, quick
indulgences that dip in and out of your psyche’ ...with terrific packaging that
we who appreciate this genre from the era that gave us Janis Joplin, Strawberry
Alarm Clock, Jimi Hendrix, Cream (RIP Jack Bruce) and more exiles from Lenny
Kaye’s Nuggets.
“Pipe Dream” is a nice throwback to the time, marching drums and
Syd Barrett influences. With new
releases from The Fifth Estate (famous for “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead”,) the
Standells (love that “Dirty Water”) and Gunhill Road releasing its first new
release in 40 years, an interesting parallel to 50 years young Blues Magoos
also releasing their new disc after a 40 year span.
“Gotta Get Away” is Bo Diddley psychedelicized by way of the
Beach Boys, kinda sorta, oozing backing vocals and brittle guitar and rhythms
that fit the authentic groove.
Track 11, “Psyche Delight,” is a real treat. A slippery riff
commuting through the laser and aluminum – “lava lamps were all of the rage.” It’s the Beastie Boys all grown up, a dayglo (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) – Very
clever and as close to rap as this group is going to ever get...which is to say
it’s not rap at all, just the great style from the era some of us adore.
“Tobacco Road” gets revisited. John D. Loudermilk’s epic and a
favorite of everyone from Spooky Tooth, Eric Burdon & War, Jefferson
Airplane and the Blues Magoos in their youth.
The guitarlines sizzle on the new rendition and Blues Magoos come out with
an unexpected and surprisingly good new addition to their catalog. From the sounds of this they must really
cook with renewed exuberance onstage.
http://rock107.com/psychedelic-rockers-blues-magoos-releasing-first-album-in-more-than-40-years/
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6)Jackie deShannon NEW ARRANGEMENT
Review by Joe Viglione [+]
Mistaken Identity should have established Kim Carnes
as a huge international star. Her Rod Stewart rasp, affiliation with
Kenny Rogers, management by Ken Kragen when he was arguably at his peak,
makes one wonder why the across-the-board success of "Bette Davis Eyes"
couldn't be duplicated. Three years after the success of this album,
Tina Turner actually did conquer the world, the various producers on
Private Dancer weaving enough different textures to make for a
multi-dimensional masterpiece. Too many cooks made for wonderful stew.
Val Garay certainly did a good job on Mistaken Identity, more defined
than his work with Marty Balin on the Lucky album a year after this, an
album which, for that great artist, wasn't very...lucky. It's not that
the other Donna Weiss/Jackie DeShannon tune, "Hit and Run," which
follows "Bette Davis Eyes," doesn't have a good performance; it does.
The problem with the Mistaken Identity album is that everything on it
stands in the shadows of a masterpiece. The country risqué of the Jackie
DeShannon original from New Arrangement has as extraordinary a
re-working as Lou Reed's "Rock & Roll" got from Bob Ezrin when Mitch
Ryder got to make it his underground anthem. Carnes is just brilliant
on her solo composition, "Mistaken Identity, and it is subtle and smart
enough to have crossed over to adult contemporary and jazz formats.
Frankie Miller's "When I'm Away From You" sounds like Rod Stewart doing
"True Blue" -- those upfront snare drums and a hook as strong as an
undertow. Perhaps this should have been the follow-up to "Bette Davis
Eyes" rather than "Draw of the Cards," which followed and lingered
around the Top 30. Not a place to be for the follow-up to a monster
smash. This is an evolution from her work on A&M, and certainly far
removed from the New Christy Minstrels. The album comes with photographs
galore on the innersleeve, all the lyrics, and tons of credits. Her
first hit on EMI about ten months earlier was the fantastic reworking of
"More Love," and that elegant pop gem was the type of thing needed to
propel this to the status Private Dancer attained for Turner, that
Physical garnered for Olivia Newton-John. "Draw of the Cards" plays like
a mellow dance number, aimed at a new wave audience when -- well, face
it, her biggest smash before "Bette Davis Eyes" was the mellow "Don't
Fall in Love With a Dreamer." There is absolutely no pun intended to say
this album is more of an identity crisis than a mistaken identity.
Wendy Waldman, Carnes, and her husband, Dave Ellingson, craft "Break the
Rules Tonite (Out of School)," but it is just too much of a diversion
on an album that tests the waters of different rock genres. Flirting
with Leslie West-style hard rock is not as appealing to her audience as
the beautifully crafted Tom Snow/Dean Pitchford tune "Don't Call It
Love." Her other solo composition, "Miss You Tonite," is more the style
we expect, and Carnes' beautiful piano work on Richard Stekol's "My Old
Pals" brings the album to a proper conclusion. If only this big and
talented team could have come up with another couple of brilliant new
arrangements as they did with "Bette Davis Eyes." The name Kim should be
up there with Olivia, Tina, and Grace, and it wasn't for lack of talent
that superstardom didn't occur.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:fifrxqw5ldke
Review by Joe Viglione
Mistaken Identity should have established Kim Carnes
as a huge international star. Her Rod Stewart rasp,
affiliation with Kenny Rogers, management by Ken
Kragen when he was arguably at his peak, makes one
wonder why the across-the-board success of "Bette
Davis Eyes" couldn't be duplicated. Three years after
the success of this album, Tina Turner actually did
conquer the world, the various producers on Private
Dancer weaving enough different textures to make for a
multi-dimensional masterpiece. Too many cooks made for
wonderful stew. Val Garay certainly did a good job on
Mistaken Identity, more defined than his work with
Marty Balin on the Lucky album a year after this, an
album which, for that great artist, wasn't
very...lucky. It's not that the other Donna
Weiss/Jackie DeShannon tune, "Hit and Run," which
follows "Bette Davis Eyes," doesn't have a good
performance; it does. The problem with the Mistaken
Identity album is that everything on it stands in the
shadows of a masterpiece. The country risqué of the
Jackie DeShannon original from New Arrangement has as
extraordinary a re-working as Lou Reed's "Rock & Roll"
got from Bob Ezrin when Mitch Ryder got to make it his
underground anthem. Carnes is just brilliant on her
solo composition, "Mistaken Identity, and it is subtle
and smart enough to have crossed over to adult
contemporary and jazz formats. Frankie Miller's "When
I'm Away From You" sounds like Rod Stewart doing "True
Blue" — those upfront snare drums and a hook as strong
as an undertow. Perhaps this should have been the
follow-up to "Bette Davis Eyes" rather than "Draw of
the Cards," which followed and lingered around the Top
30. Not a place to be for the follow-up to a monster
smash. This is an evolution from her work on A&M, and
certainly far removed from the New Christy Minstrels.
The album comes with photographs galore on the
innersleeve, all the lyrics, and tons of credits. Her
first hit on EMI about ten months earlier was the
fantastic reworking of "More Love," and that elegant
pop gem was the type of thing needed to propel this to
the status Private Dancer attained for Turner, that
Physical garnered for Olivia Newton-John. "Draw of the
Cards" plays like a mellow dance number, aimed at a
new wave audience when — well, face it, her biggest
smash before "Bette Davis Eyes" was the mellow "Don't
Fall in Love With a Dreamer." There is absolutely no
pun intended to say this album is more of an identity
crisis than a mistaken identity. Wendy Waldman,
Carnes, and her husband, Dave Ellingson, craft "Break
the Rules Tonite (Out of School)," but it is just too
much of a diversion on an album that tests the waters
of different rock genres. Flirting with Leslie
West-style hard rock is not as appealing to her
audience as the beautifully crafted Tom Snow/Dean
Pitchford tune "Don't Call It Love." Her other solo
composition, "Miss You Tonite," is more the style we
expect, and Carnes' beautiful piano work on Richard
Stekol's "My Old Pals" brings the album to a proper
conclusion. If only this big and talented team could
have come up with another couple of brilliant new
arrangements as they did with "Bette Davis Eyes." The
name Kim should be up there with Olivia, Tina, and
Grace, and it wasn't for lack of talent that
superstardom didn't occur.
_____________________________________
#9 DEEP PURPLE GRAZ 1975
Fantastic CD from David Coverversion version of Deep Purple
Glenn Hughes on bass
________________________________________________________________________
#10 QUEEN
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11)Psychedelic Lollipop
"(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" is extraordinary and magical; like the Box Tops' "The Letter," it's one of those little two-minute blasts of pop which brought the transistor radio to life and which is the proverbial breath of fresh air on oldies radio stations daring enough to play psychedelia. Psychedelic Lollipop is the real thing; the Blues Magoos on the LP cover look like Captain Kirk abandoned them on some forgotten Star Trek planet, and the music inside the sleeve is authentic acid rock. They stretch John D. Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road" across four-and-a-half Seeds-style minutes, obliterating the Nashville Teens' 1964 hit recording in the process. David Blue's "Queen of My Nights" may have inspired the Troggs' 1968 hit "Love Is All Around." The melody might be different, but the intro music is identical to what Reg Presley gave the world a couple of years after this. Producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus did a great job of keeping the intensity up across two sides of this album. James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy" gets splashy garage rock sounds and Mike Esposito's guitar power cannot be denied. Check out the jangle pop mayhem on "Gotta Get Away." According to the LP The History of Syracuse Music, Vol. 7, Esposito performed in the Escorts with Felix Cavaliere, and that vibe from the Rascals' rendition of Lori Burton's "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" has the same type of authority these kids pour all over Psychedelic Lollipop. "One by One" has the band going from the garage rock group to the Beatles transition -- and what's so disappointing is that they couldn't mature in this direction. Had this lineup stuck around for the ABC albums, who knows what they might have been capable of? Psychedelic Lollipop is a solid and precious gem from the Nuggets vaults, the difference between this and other one-hit wonders being that you can play the entire album repeatedly -- quite an accomplishment coming from the era of the hit single. That such a tremendous smash like "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" kicks the whole thing off is just an added bonus. [The 2005 reissue of the album adds the single versions of "Tobacco Road," "Sometimes I Think About," "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" and "Gotta Get Away."] ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi
____________________________________________________________________________
12)Electric Comic Book BLUES MAGOOS
Album Notes
Personnel: Ralph Scala (vocals, organ); Mike Esposito (guitar); Geoff Daking (drums)."Take my love and shove it up your heart" sing the Blues Magoos in keyboard player/vocalist Ron Scala and bassist Ron Gilbert's composition "Take My Love," and with the same punk drone they give the six minutes of Van Morrison's "Gloria -- a strange amalgam of Iron Butterfly "In a Gadda Da Vida noodlings meets Strawberry Alarm Clock, guitarist Emil "Peppy" Thielhelm, and his Blues Magoos spend an album reiterating what they said before. With the garage mayhem that is "Rush Hour" and the nine second conclusion "That's All Folks," straight out of Bugs Bunny, Electric Comic Book is a vintage '60s psychedelic record which has everything but the ? & the Mysterians meets the Electric Prunes drive of their smash single "We Ain't Got Nothing Yet." Producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus are still on board -- they did the previous Psychedelic Lollipop Wyld would remain to direct 1969's Never Goin' Back to Georgia and 1970s Gulf Coast Bound, where the blues replaced the psychedelia Electric Comic Book retains the brash '60s charm their hit single brought to the attention of the world, a track from the Nuggets compilation on the same level of punk majesty as the Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard." While "Pipe Dream," which starts the album off, and "There's a Chance We Can Make It," which follows, don't have hit potential at least the sound that appeals to so many fans of the genre is retained. "Albert Common Is Dead and "Summer Is the Man" aren't earth shattering compositions, and maybe by this time the group started to feel limited by the constraints of psychedelia and pop -- "Baby I Want You" is simple, and not very original -- but that authentic keyboard/guitar '60s sound drips from groove to groove. "Summer Is the Man" was released as a single, followed by "Life Is Just a Cher O'Bowlies" and "Pipe Dream," but what was really needed was another burst of inspiration to put this album in the same league with its predecessor. Still, "Rush Hour" has its insane moments, and this recording will please those who can't get enough of this style of music. All due respect to bands like the Lyres who have spent a lifetime re-creating this sound, there's no point in going there when you can listen to this and hear the real thing. ~ Joe Viglione
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13) CARIAD HARMON
http://trainwreckdsociety.com/2014/08/29/cariad-harmon-cariad-harmon-album/
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14)Retrograde by Hurtsmile
Gary Cherone's Hurtsmile Record Release Party
16 Oct 2014
3MG
was thrilled to be on hand for Gary Cherone's Hurtsmile Record Release
Party at Mixx360 Nightlife in Malden. Hurtsmile was promoting their new
and second album "Retrogrenade".
Hurtsmile
is a collaboration between singer Gary and his brother, guitarist Mark
Cherone, as well as Joe Pessia and Dana Spellman. The bandmates have all
worked together in writing this delightfully unique album. They took
inspiration from the classic rock records they grew up listening to, as
well as from the different genres of music they have played in the past.
The results are a musical breath of fresh air.
Malden's favorite frontman wowed the crowd with his energetic performance. Gary works that stage Read more in the Medford Mercuryhttp://www.maldennews.com/#!Gary-Cherones-Hurtsmile-Record-Release-Party/cjds/76C43D94-B4E5-4EA5-92C5-4F7F493E4E8B
01. Rock & Roll Clichй
02. Hello I Must Be Going
03. Big Government
04. I Still Do
05. Sing A Song (My Mia)
06. Anymore (Don't Want My Love)
07. Where Do We Go From Here
08. A Melody For You
09. Wonder What
10. Walk Away
11. Good Bye
12. Pump it Up
13. Over There (bonus track)
http://batzbatz.com/hardrock/320096-hurtsmile-retrogrenade-2014-lossless.html http://batzbatz.com/hardrock/320096-hurtsmile-retrogrenade-2014-lossless.html
15)Steve Gilligan
Winter Rain
16)GUNHILL ROAD
Every 40 Years
Review on TMRZoo.com
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63831/cd-review-gunhill-road-every-40-years
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gunhillroad
Gunhill Road EVERY 40
YEARS
Review by Joe Viglione
19 new songs from the fellows who hit in 1973 with “Back When My
Hair Was Short” is actually the delivery of enough material for a double vinyl
disc. “Back when the discs were short”
few artists got to enjoy such delightful indulgence, 1972’s Exile on Main
Street, J Geils Band’s 1976 epic Blow Your Face Out, Bob Seger’s Live Bullet
and Frampton Comes Alive – both also from ’76, allowed artists to stretch...and
gain more momentum. Timing is everything
and had the 1972 single disc Live at the Paramount by The Guess Who been issued
as a double (see the additional 13 tracks Buddha released in 2000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_at_the_Paramount ) the Guess
Who would have ruled the FM airwaves like they did AM.
Gunhill Road gets its revenge in 2014, and this remarkable CD
experiments so much that it comes off like an underground version of the
Beatles’ White Album, with flavors
nicked from here and there, as well as from the Gunhill Road guys
themselves. “Down On the Farm” is a nod
to “hair was short” with a little of “Benefit of Mr. Kite” by John and Paul
thrown in...and it has nothing to do with Tim McGraw’s suggestive country song
of the same name. Opening tune
“Everything Passes” – features the best elements of Emmit Rhodes – a sunshine
pop happy-go-lucky paean for today with appreciation for yesterday. With extensive 3 panel liner notes from
Talkers magazine’s Michael Harrison and lots of credits – at least ten guest
musicians – the top notch production should please past producers Richie Wise
and the late Kenny Kerner (RIP 2014) as well as Kenny Rogers, the men who
helped the group forge the sounds on their first releases. “Been in The City
Too Long” is reminiscent of how Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman would explore
things on the early Guess Who hit discs on RCA – their non-B side lp tracks
that sounded like B-sides. This
“progressive new millennium feel” continues with “Center Stage” which takes
elements of Graham Nash’s “Our House” and brings it to a different dimension. I
can’t quite put my finger on the formula at play here, and that’s probably a
good thing, a bit of mystery always enhances the listening experience.
“Everything’s Working Out Fine” is one of my favorite tracks
bringing a sax and female vocal (Julia DeMato) with sentiment that goes beyond
the optimism of the Mama Cass classic “It’s Getting Better.” It’s more about the Beatles’ sphere of “I Feel
Fine” but not as much of a rave up, holding a solid tempo in a sing-songy
ballad that is just perfect in production, performance and composition. The crew - Glenn Leopold,
Paul Reisch and Steven Goldrich - playing
it out here genuinely sound like things are fine, as the follow-up track, “I’m
Gonna Keep On Loving You,” accurately shows. It’s a more positive alter-ego of
Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to be Kind” – a partner keeping the flame alive against all
odds, with superb musicianship and backing vocals that drive the hook to where
it belongs: an incessant force in your head after you turn the player off.
The reggae blend of
“Selling Apples” (another great tune) changes genres and drifts into “Only a
Lonely Song,” a more traditional structure and one of the strongest of these 19
selections. Another about face hits you
with “Stop, You’re Moving To Fast” bringing back the accordion um-pa-pa that
tends to show up on a few Gunhill Road adventures. Steve Goldrich’s keyboards dominate in a good
way on “Bricks” and on the ballad, “I’ve Got To Learn to Cry.” “All the Children,” track 17, comes in with
the sound Melissa Manchester had so much success with, leaning a bit towards Whitney
Houston’s “Greatest Love of All.”
“Child At the Top of the Stairs” ends this strong set of
recordings with a 70’s-styled radio-friendly Ronny Milsap meets Dan Fogelberg
sentiment...”a million Easter bunnies cannot make me young again.” The cd album goes back and forth from youth
to old age, much like life. Nice to have
Gunhill Road back and a betting man would say the music will continue with new
albums to follow.
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17) THE SATISFACTORS
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thesatisfactors2
"Johnny Commando" is a terrific slice of blitzing rock and roll with a superb hook. It's the Ramones' guitar underwater with a charging attitude that won't quit. Amazing stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwSrI3jRODY
Single Review: http://tinyurl.com/reviewjohnnycommando
Album Review: http://tinyurl.com/reviewthesatisfactors
JerseyBeat - http://www.jerseybeat.com/quinlan-chronicles.html
Album Teaser: http://tinyurl.com/thesatisfactors
Official Band Web Site: http://www.thesatisfactors.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/facebookthesatisfactors
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19) Monty Python One Down, Five to Go
20)Deep Purple with Orchestra live in Verona
http://www.thehighwaystar.com/news/2014/08/04/live-in-verona/
____________________________________________________________________________
21)Apollo Blue, Baltic Sun, Gretchen/Pickpockets
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63800/live-music-review-apollo-blue-club-bohemia
____________________________________
22)Janis: A Performance Diary
http://www.johnbyrnecooke.com/jjpd.html
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2014/10/28/john-byrne-cooke-back-cambridge-promote-janis-joplin-book/vM1S1ib7zPrCBz21AFrKpJ/story.html____________________________________
23) Mr Dynamite - HBO Special on
James Brown featuring Mick Jagger
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXQsOa1Wbcs
http://www.talkingwithtami.com/new-documentary-mr-dynamite-rise-james-brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cibeYcMVRAo
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32)Jackie deShannon
For You is Jackie DeShannon performing classy orchestrated adult contemporary pop songs in 1967, the same year Dusty Springfield tracked a similar collection entitled Where Am I Going. There is not a bad track on For You, and had DeShannon decided to follow Patti Page and continue creating music like this, she no doubt could have been very successful. Next to the rock & roll of the album she would release more than 30 years later, You Know Me, this is total culture shock, and goes to show the vast depth of DeShannon's artistry. The beautiful Carole King/Gerry Goffin tune, "No Easy Way Down," which Dusty Springfield cut as well, fits perfectly alongside Johnny Mercer classics like "Dream" and "Merry Go Round in the Rain." Calvin Carter (who would co-produce DeShannon with Burt Bacharachand Hal David on the What the World Needs Now Is Love album) handles all the production chores here. His work with the Impressions, Jerry Butler, and Gene Chandler gives this DeShannon outing R&B mixed with the big band sound, but not with the fanfare that Petula Clark and Linda Ronstadt had accompanying their moves into this prestigious arena. "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me" has Gerald Wilson arranging, providing lush instrumentation behind the '60s pop vocalist
33)Oasis CD Manufacturing
ACOUSTIC #2 Radio Sampler Volume #IV
____________________________________________________________________________
34 The Book of Taliesyn
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-book-of-taliesyn-mw0000195135
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35)Vincebus Eruptum
Had "Summertime Blues" not gone Top 15 in the spring of 1968, Blue Cheer might not have had the opportunity to unleash their expression over numerous albums through multiple personnel changes. Vincebus Eruptum sports a serious silver/off-purple cover wrapped around the punk-metal fury. Leigh Stephens is nowhere near Hendrix, Beck, Clapton, or Jimmy Page, the skill of a Yardbirds replaced by a thud of bass/drums/low-end guitar. Vocalist Dickie Peterson takes almost six minutes on Allison's "Parchment Farm" to talk about shooting his arm, shooting his wife, picking cotton, and having sex. Definitely more risqué than Grand Funk Railroad's "T.N.U.C.," Abe "Voco" Kesh's production is almost nonexistent. They certainly influenced the way Grand Funk would take the power trio; you can hear in Peterson's voice that tonal quality Mark Farner had to employ as well to get the lyrics over the morass of sound. It's interesting that the Velvet Underground's classic White Light/White Heat took this attitude up a notch at this exact point in time, going in to the studio and unleashing "Sister Ray," the almost 20-minute scream that was the result of Lou Reed's shock treatment therapy as a teen. Both bands were influenced heavily by drugs, heroin appearing to be the culprit, and while "Second Time Around," which closes this album, came in from the West Coast, the Velvet Underground blasted with even higher intensity from the East. Also interesting that "Doctor Please" on Vincebus Eruptum doesn't have the crunch West/Bruce and Laing would insert into their own "The Doctor" four years later on Why Dontcha. That power trio showed off their chops while Blue Cheer was looking for their chops on this record. Vincebus Eruptum is a dark power trio recording with punk attitude exploring blues through heavy metal. That a later version of the band would go on to produce "I'm the Light," a spacy cosmic anthem as delicate as Grand Funk's "Closer to Home," says a lot about the musical journey initiated by Vincebus Eruptum. The album is an underappreciated classic with "Rock Me Baby" leaning more toward Ten Years After than Steppenwolf, without Alvin Lee's technical expertise. Guitar that quivers and roars with a heavy dependence on rhythm à la the Who, Blue Cheer knows that attitude is as important as musicianship in rock, and they exploit that virtue for all it is worth here.
Reviewed by Joe Viglione
__________________________________________________________________________
36)Oh! Pleasant Hope - Blue Cheer
«Hiway Man», which opens the sixth album by Blue Cheer, is a far cry from their version of Eddie Cochran's «Summertime Blues», which launched this group to worldwide fame. And though they were the original group to put their amps on "11", «Oh! Pleasant Hope» is a musical album. This first track, resplendent in heavy vocal reverb, sounds like Waylon Jennings fronting Quicksilver Messenger Service. OPH quickly changes pace with «Believer»'s interesting riff and the experimental production by Blue Cheer and Eric Albronda. Albronda assisted on the production of the self-titled fourth album, «Blue Cheer», and co-produced BC#5 — «The Original Human Being». It is the production that is a significant ingredient that makes this project by a legendary cult band so appealing. «Money Troubles» is written by Dr. Richard Peddicord, who contributes guitar and vocal. This track has that authentic laid-back West Coast sound, a feel much like «Truckin'» by the Grateful Dead — the album having been recorded by Coast Recorders at Mission Street, San Francisco. «Traveling Man» is like a pensive Creedence Clearwater, say John Fogerty in his «Long As I Can See the Light» fashion with a bit more brightness. The title track, «Oh! Pleasant Hope», has a piano and drums opening into sudden guitar, the second title from Dr. Peddicord, a very precise ballad about drugs. The psychedelic denim pastiche of the album cover comes to life in this very Band-inspired rag. But it is the sixth track on their sixth album that is the finest moment ever for Blue Cheer. The harp, exotic instrumentation, and Pink Floyd overtones make «I'm The Light» an extraordinary piece of music. «I'm The Light» is to Blue Cheer what «Stairway To Heaven» is to Led Zeppelin, what «Closer To Home» is to Mark Farner and Grand Funk — a moment of inspiration and production that stands the test of time and that is hard to match. This is a band famous for hard rock sounds creating a pop masterpiece of psychedelic cosmic consciousness. The song seems almost out of place on this collection, but it is truly one of those songs that demands attention and is worth seeking out. «Lester The Arrester» is paranoia about cops, kinda sorta. It is a band that wasn't known for its musical prowess having fun with sound and styles. «Heart Full Of Soul» leans more toward «A Little Bit O'Soul» by the Music Explosion than the song of the same name by The Yardbirds. «Oh! Pleasant Hope» is a disc for people looking for musical ingenuity that hasn't been beaten into the psyche via classic hits radio. It is a monumental and largely forgotten effort with a lot of depth.
Reviewed by Joe Viglione
http://vk.com/page-18466893_28938349
____________________________________
37)The Seeds Raw and Alive
The Seeds were an exceptional band that never achieved the success that they inspired. This album has a truly psychedelic cover with too-dark-for-pastel colors, swirling letters over eerie faces, and dynamic black and white photos on the back. If you want to see the image of Iggy Pop clothed, just look at Sky Saxon in the bottom right photo on the back cover with the screaming girl holding a flower grabbing at him. He had the image down, as well as the music. "900 Million People Daily All Making Love" sounds so much like the Doors and Jim Morrison's "When the Music's Over," one has to wonder which came first, or did they copy each other? "Mumble and Bumble" is a trippy "Alabama Song," but where Morrison is looking for the next whiskey bar, Saxon is off looking for flowers and magic mushrooms. The band has great energy which is pierced by annoying canned applause à la the Rolling Stones' Got Live If You Want It. This is a record album, not a situation comedy TV show, after all; what's the point of overdubbing an audience onto what is really good music? Sure, "No Escape" is a prelude to the closer and hit "Pushin' Too Hard" with a tip of the hat to Martha & the Vandellas, while "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" is placed nicely in mid-set, a song after the truncated "Up in Her Room." The revelation that is this "concert" album is what a great band the Seeds really were, and how Sky Saxon's vocals have a gritty edge that he held back on us in many of the studio recordings. "Gypsy Plays His Drums" has a great chug-chug guitar, nice off-key backing vocals, and a driving pulse which is present throughout the performance. If you can ignore the extraneous additions, a song like "Forest Outside Your Door" shows really how creative and influential this pioneering band was, while "Satisfy You" is Saxon's direct sexual rock to Mick Jagger's "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Sky claims he can get satisfaction, and can satisfy you at the same time. He then veers off into more familiar psychedelic territory with "Night Time Girl" which combines the sex and the psychedelia. If they taught rock & roll in school, "Raw & Alive" would have to be the textbook for image, design, and content. ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/raw-alive-the-seeds-in-concert-at-merlin-s-music-box#ixzz3FhKFPwol
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38)Gulf Coast Bound Blues Magoos
Review by Joe Viglione [-]
As original member Peppy Thielhelm and original producer Bob Wyld expanded the Blues Magoos' foray into Latin music meets mainstream blues, these May 1970 recordings take the previous years' Never Going Back a step further. Gulf Coast Bound is an improvement, retaining John Liello's vibes and percussion and pianist Eric Justin Kas, who is the major songwriting contributor here (strangely enough, he is listed as "Kas" on the album jacket and "Kaz" on the songwriting credits). "Slow Down Sundown" could be the band Chicago vamping without their horn section, some strange imitation monkey-sound vocals making their way onto the platter mixed in with Daddy Ya Ya's out-of-place tambourine as the song fades. Erik Kas does the lead vocal on the 12-minute-plus opus "Can't Get Enough of You," which sounds like a strange marriage between Steely Dan and Traffic. The problem here is that the band is a notch or two below Traffic and Steely Dan, and despite the general improvement over the last disc and their initial dip into this musical bag, there is no Walter Becker or Dave Mason or Steve Winwood here,
Read more here:
___________________________________________________________________________
39)Blues Magoos NEVER GOIN' BACK
http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-goin-back-to-georgia-mw0000864096
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40)J.A.S.O.N.
Myth, Murder, and Mayhem in a Punk Rock World
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2014/63673/review-j-s-o-n-myth-murder-mayhem-punk-rock-world
COMING IN JANUARY
GENESIS
OFFICIAL CAREER-SPANNING DOCUMENTARY SUM OF THE PARTS TO BE RELEASED ON JANUARY 13 ON EAGLE VISION
New York, NY (October 28, 2014)—After more than 300 million album sales, the current rediscovery of the hugely successful and influential Genesis continues with the DVD and Blu-ray release of an official career-spanning documentary Sum of the Partswhich will be released on January 13, 2015 on Eagle Vision.
Featuring contributions from key members past and present Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, MikeRutherford and Anthony Phillips, as well as a wealth of archive performance footage of the band’s biggest tracks and fan favorites, this first official study of the band’s history commences with their formation at Charterhouse in 1967 and reunites the band for the first time in many years.
Produced by Eagle Rock Film Productions and directed by John Edginton, the film recounts an extraordinary musical story, exploring the band’s song writing as well as emotional highs and lows, alongside previously unseen archive material and rare performance footage from across their entire career.
Sum of the Parts explores the dynamic between the band members that have enabled them to survive numerous line-up changes alongside solo careers outside of the band.
The remarkable story encompasses their visionary influence as the leading lights of progressive rock with landmark albums such asFoxtrot, Selling England By The Pound and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway; the huge crossover success of theEighties and Nineties which saw them hit the upper reaches of the singles charts with era-defining hits such as “Turn It On Again,” “Invisible Touch,” “No Son of Mine,” and “I Can’t Dance”; and through to their 2007 Turn It On Againcomeback tour which included a show in front of 500,000 people at Rome’s Circo Massimo.
Sum of the Parts contains the BBC’s Together and Apart documentary, which aired on October 4. It adds more than 30 minutes of previously unseen footage, and represents the perfect DVD and Blu-ray companion to the 3CD anthology R-Kivewhich was released by Warner Music Group / Rhino on September 30.
“We’re the only band, I think, that have managed the solo thing and the band thing for quite a few years side-by-side, and made it a plus rather than a problem,” says Mike Rutherford. Peter Gabriel concurs: “I think when we got it right we had something that none of us could do on our own. And there were different musical histories merging together in a powerful way.”
Tony Smith, Genesis Manager: “It’s fascinating to see the breadth, diversity and worldwide success of the songs and compositions that have come from this one group of people, in this truly unique film”
In terms of what they’ve done together, and what they’ve done apart, there’s never been a band like Genesis. It’s a captivating story, told here from the beginning for the first time.
View trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJx1FLme6kQ
