Top 10
1Michael J. Roy
2)Sharon DiFronzo
3)The Who LIVE
4)Sticky Fingers LIVE
POP EXPLOSION FOR 10-11-17
1)Journey To The Unknown TV Theme
2)Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer
3)Otto River: And Preston Pressed On
4)Jack Phillips "I Love New York"
5)Justice League Trailer
6)Le Comte "I'm A Star"
7)Robin Gibb "Boys Do Fall In Love"
8)The Beach Boys "Good Timin"
9)Essra Mohawk "Rain Dance"
10)The Guess Who "Rain Dance"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Dance_(song)
11)Rusty Mullet LSD Cowboy
12)Jack Phillips Interview 1:30 pm
13)The Rolling Stones All Down the Line
14)Feed the Kitty "Darlin"
15)Willis Alan Ramsey "Ballad of Spider John"
16)Star Trek "If everybody on this planet is..."
17)Le Comte "I Saw You Yesterday"
18)Liz Damon's Orient Express "1900 Yesterday"
19)Sidney Green St. Band "Man on a Mission"
20)Marianne Faithful "Strange Weather"
21)The Naticks Friends Good Friends
22)John E Funk "One Way Road"
23)Mike Feeney Concert Report Part 1
24)James Bond Goldfinger Intro
25)Otter River Autumn Line
26)Star Wars Trailer
27)Marilyn Monroe Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend
28)Concert Report Part 2
29)Beach Boys "I Can Hear Music"
30)Jack Phillps "Take Em Down to New Orleans
31)Feed the Kitty My Last Name
32)Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky
Gentle Giant was together from 1970-1980 releasing eleven studio recordings and one live album (Posthumously there has been a treasure chest of live and studio rarities). Their decade of musical brilliance has left an everlasting inseparableness between band and fans.
Those that were part of the journey from the 1970 self-titled album until the final curtain “Civilian” can attest to the factual reality they were not only one the most important groups to emerge out of the Progressive Rock Movement but of their time.
The Shulman Brothers: Derek, Ray, and Phil were looking for more artistic freedom and not being pigeon-holed into the three-minute pop element. They had witnessed this first hand during the predecessor to Gentle Giant with their group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. A European hit “Kites” (1967) was anything but satisfactory to the three brothers.
Fast-forward three years and the birth of a giant. “Three Piece Suite” is available in three formats for the consumer. The standard CD and vinyl recordings as well as a Blue-Ray version.
Steven Wilson (Noted musician in Porcupine Tree, No-Man, and Blackfield to name a few) who remixed the Gentle Giant “Octopus” album has been summoned again for the latest project. As lead-singer Derek Shulman states “He brings the lows, the mids, and the highs into more perspective.”
Tony Visconti (Known also for his work with David Bowie and T-Rex) who produced the first two Gentle Giant releases “Gentle Giant” and “Acquiring the Taste” had developed an instant chemistry with the band by affording the musicians friendship, expertise, and guidance without it becoming a dictatorial affair. Steven Wilson’s willingness to enhance and not reinvent is obvious in the superlative sounds that encompass the works on “Three Piece Suite.”
Gentle Giant and Steven Wilson have been able to bridge the normal division of posthumous releases. The fanatic often claims there is nothing of significance while the causal ear has trepidation if this is right for them.
The early phase of Gentle Giant (As a six-piece unit) is offered here. While musicians were multifaceted the general make-up of the first two recordings were Derek Shulman- lead vocals, Ray Shulman- bass, and backing vocals, Phil Shulman- sax, trumpet, and vocals, Kerry Minnear- keyboards and vocals, Garry Green- guitars and backing vocals, and Martin Smith- drums. Martin would be replaced for the third album “Three Friends” by Malcolm Mortimore as the band was looking for a more diverse style of playing for the ever-increasing complexity of their work. Phil Shulman would exit the group after the fourth effort “Octopus.”
The allurement of the seamless blend of the selections from the first three offerings cannot be overstated. While the thought-process each entailed differ in emotions and human feelings the band’s sound and Steven Wilson’s control room magic are able to make it a natural and never forced progression. For the initial release “Gentle Giant” the theme is rebirth after having the albatross of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound eradicated from their shoulders, minds, and instruments. The second “Acquiring the Taste” showcases a bitter side. The balancing act of being truthful to oneself but paying the bills became a reality as the initial offering although magnificent to those that procured, did not sell the units the band and record company had been striving for. Part three of the trilogy “Three Friends” signals changes in life and the reality of getting older.
For those seeking an introduction to the earlier side of Gentle Giant the selected tracks are a defectless indoctrination. From the opening notes of “Giant” to the sheer power of “Peel the Paint” one listen will have you intrigued. By the second helping, you will be eagerly searching for an abundance of product from the boys in the band.
Those that have several decades of unwavering history with the group can add a missing piece in the “Nothing At All” edit as well as hearing nine instrumental versions of tracks where vocals normally shined (ten including “Freedom’s Child”), and by chance if your copy of “Under Construction” is not handy “Freedom’s Child” never sounded better in more comfortable surroundings.
The standard CD and vinyl release (which is a blessing to those that grew up with the warmth an LP delivered) include remixes:
- Giant (from Gentle Giant)
- Nothing At All (from Gentle Giant including the Martin Smith drum-solo as heard on the original album)
- Why Not? (from Gentle Giant)
- Pantagruel’s Nativity (from Acquiring Taste)
- The House, The Street, The Room (from Acquiring Taste)
- Schooldays (from Three Friends)
- Peel The Paint (from Three Friends)
- Mister Class And Quality? (from Three Friends)
- Three Friends (from Three Friends)
- Freedom’s Child (written before the recording of the first album)
• Nothing At All (Steven Wilson 7 inch edit without Martin Smith drum-solo)
Disc 1 – Blu-Ray Audio (The first 10 tracks are remixed in 5.1 DTS Stereo). Of the twenty-one songs that encompassed the first three albums only the above nine songs had the availability of multi-track tapes as well as the non-record release “Freedom’s Child.”
As an unanticipated surprise, the Blue-Ray lets us experience the ten tracks in instrumental form, making it a must own for the completest. The entire contents of the first three recordings follow and then the aforementioned material from the standard CD of “Three Piece Suite.” To further enhance the listening and viewing experience there are animated videos from the Steven Wilson remixes.
- Giant (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Nothing At All (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Why Not? (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Pantagruel’s Nativity (Steven Wilson Mix)
- The House, The Street, The Room (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Schooldays (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Mister Class and Quality? (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Peel The Paint (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Three Friends (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Freedom’s Child (Steven Wilson Mix)
- Giant (Instrumental)
- Nothing At All (Instrumental)
- Why Not? (Instrumental)
- Pantagruel’s Nativity (Instrumental)
- The House, The Street, The Room (Instrumental)
- Schooldays (Instrumental)
- Mister Class and Quality? (Instrumental)
- Peel The Paint (Instrumental)
- Three Friends (Instrumental)
- Freedom’s Child (Instrumental)
- Giant (Original Mix)
- Funny Ways (Original Mix)
- Alucard (Original Mix)
- Isn’t It Quiet And Cold? (Original Mix)
- Nothing At All (Original Mix)
- Why Not? (Original Mix)
- The Queen (Original Mix)
- Pantagruel’s Nativity (Original Mix)
- Edge Of Twilight (Original Mix)
- The House, The Street, The Room (Original Mix)
- Acquiring The Taste (Original Mix)
- Wreck (Original Mix)
- The Moon Is Down (Original Mix)
- Black Cat (Original Mix)
- Plain Truth (Original Mix)
- Prologue (Original Mix)
- Schooldays (Original Mix)
- Working All Day (Original Mix)
- Peel The Paint (Original Mix)
- Mister Class And Quality? (Original Mix)
- Three Friends (Original Mix)
- Giant (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Nothing At All (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Why Not? (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Pantagruel’s Nativity (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- The House, The Street, The Room (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Schooldays (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Mister Class and Quality? (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Peel The Paint (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Three Friends (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Freedom’s Child (Steven Wilson 2.0 Mix)
- Nothing At All (Steven’s 7” Edit)
Special thanks to guest contributor Craig Fenton Author Jefferson Airplane “Take Me To A Circus Tent and Jefferson Starship “Have You Seen The Stars Tonite”
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2017/72356/review-gentle-giant-three-piece-suite
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Star Trek Discovery Goes Sideways!!!!
To say that this long-time Star Trek fan was disappointed with the new Star Trek thrown to us would be an understatement. There are basically two aspects to science fiction films – the great and the terrible – and if you want to look like Star Wars, which Star Trek: Discovery does, opening in Obi-Wan Kenobi territory, new sand people and all, into some quasi Klingon territory, G-force laden with the Klingon language as well, and you see the dilemma. While the current films try to reinvent the original series we have bizarre items like Deep Space Nine, Scott Bakula’s Enterprise and 24th-century Starfleet officer Kathryn Janeway stiff as a board in Voyager watering down the legend. Sure, The Next Generation got over the hump despite Jean Luc Picard’s tiresome operatic “Four score and seven years ago” approach to being captain of a starship, we got to like and even cling (on) to the new characters.
Next Generation also gave us The Borg and Q, the Borg is one of the best villains since the Klingons, while Deep Space Nine and Voyager drifted into difficult Jar Jar Binks areas that became a turnoff to long-time fans.
With a base of fanatics thirsty for new Star Trek, the glitzy offering has already succeeded in breaking a record for most subscriber sign-ups in a single day. But we have seen this all before and the entire concept goes sideways rather than going where no Star Trek viewer has gone before. The era that brought us Perry Mason, the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits was a world of imaginative authors whose variety of works have stood the test of time. Re-exploring and bringing to life sequels to the original series which fans on YouTube are grappling with on low budgets (Wrath of Khan, despite ageing, is still considered the best of the films by many) is what the viewers crave. This new Discovery is big, ostentatious, politically correct and falls almost as flat as 1989’s The Final Frontier motion picture. But that’s this critic’s opinion, you may find Discovery exciting and new. It’s just ST:INO – Star Trek In Name Only!
Next TV reports:
#1 ‘Star Trek Discovery’ Drives Record Sign Ups for CBS All Access
CBS announced that yesterday’s premiere of Star Trek: Discovery pushed its CBS All Access over-the-top subscription service to a record for most subscriber sign-ups in a single day, however, the company hasn’t released specific subscriber numbers for CBS All Access or for its direct-to-consumer version of Showtime.
WHY THIS MATTERS: While the show premiered on the company’s linear network, future episodes will be made available exclusively on CBS All Access on Sunday nights after 8:30 p.m. ET. The company added that All Access had its best week and month with the launch of Star Trek, the kick off of the NFL on CBS on its local live feeds and the season finale of Big Brother.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2017/72359/what-to-make-of-star-trek-discovery
39)Revival Time Jack Phillips
AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-]
Revival Time is a disturbing but terrific production and presentation by John R. Phillips, not to be confused with the late John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas.
One really doesn't want to venture where lyricist Blake Silverstrom is
going with nine of the ten poems he has constructed, and Phillips'
eloquent readings also make the listener wonder what the motivating
force is here. The singer's voice is close to Meatloaf in texture, and
"Conversations in Styrofoam" could be right out of a censored version of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show; it is dark, it is frightening, it is not
something you'll want to play often. "Art Kills takes this concept, not
a step further, but sideways, where it sounds like the protagonist is
extinguishing the life from his lover. The entire album isn't this
devastating but, though the artist and his collaborators could have
moved into a Christopher Cross
direction (the singer's voice is able to go from Mr. Loaf to Mr.
Cross), a ditty like "I'm on the Cover of Newsweek, Mom" isn't about the
celebration of success, but more like the despair of a parent whose
child happens to be John Hinckley, Jr. or Timothy McVeigh. The dark joke
here is that these tunes could be uplifting and wonderful, but the
artists paint a different sort of picture. "Church of Nowhere" states
that the earth will "reclaim the church and God will have nowhere to
go." The instrumental, "Eternity," displays Phillips' musicianship without the twisted words, but even here it is dark and eerie. Revival Time
would be an appropriate soundtrack to a horror movie like Session 9
but, for those picking it up thinking it will be a fun-filled revival,
well, there's no "California Dreaming" in these grooves. Track ten, the
reprise of "She Could Use Who She Wanted," puts the downer lyrics to a
painful solo piano performance. The band plays the negative sentiment as
if it is a bright and snappy pop tune on track seven. The reworking
sounds like the artist has listened to too much John Cale and, had Cale produced this, both he and Phillips would be damned for all eternity. It's well-crafted, but harrowing stuff. Tim Burton should play this a few times before making his new film; however, it is not for fans of Petula Clark or Cass Elliot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleb_Quaye
40)The Sidney Green Street Band
The opening studio track to Half Live, “Muscle Shoals,” comes a bustin’ out of the gate with a bluesy rock feel and the popular flavors generated by Levon Helm and the Band. Those elements are sprinkled throughout this piece giving you that classic 70s rock sound while adding something fresh and new courtesy of a formidable The Sidney Green St. Band. Those vibrations continue with “Last Beer and Testament”, a tinge of Lynyrd Skynyrd philosophy combined with James Gang guitar licks as dual axe-men Lance Doss and Justin Jordan combine in a way that is fun for them and the audience. The sentiment has all the makings of what could possibly be a new classic rock anthem.
“One Alone”, tells you the trials and tribulations of solitary moments and that ‘sometime space’ one often likes and needs to sort everything out. The Sidney Green Street band cleverly nick from here and there, these rock and roll veterans giving a slight tribute to the Faces “Stay with Me” in this essay while maintaining their own unique style. The band doesn’t copy as much as it teases, by drawing from famous sounds you know and love from a variety of different perspectives. “Next Time” gets right down to business, a Ziggy Stardust-esque opening guitar riff that hits repeat then changing direction with “Don’t Make That Girl Cry,” adding some classic R & B soul to the repertoire. The first act on the album Half Live concludes with “Stayin’ All Night” which has melodies with staying power, and a theme indicating that the protagonist is on the Doors “Roadhouse Blues” and ain’t stayin’ anywhere all night.
PART 2 – Live
“I Belong”, the first of the live tracks on the album, takes you on a journey to a place where the fellow thinks he belongs. I hear the influential guitar sounds of Rolling Stones Keith Richards seeping through, half the fun of this is hearing which palette the boys will draw from next as drummer Steve Holley keeps things focused and on target. “Miss Understood” and “Bad Bad Way” display the power of the rhythm section, Paul Page, and Holley chugging along. “Man on a Mission” “I Ain’t Sleeping With the Lights On” giving the listener a good taste of what the club-goers see as this unit plays along the east coast with a buzz that is building rapidly. “Rock Star” floors me. What a way to close out an album! I love what this song says about the maybe/maybe not stars-in-their-eyes hopefuls – perhaps those who show up on TV shows like The Voice. That’s my spin on it, anyway. It’s a fun closer to this album which pays homage to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” and, perhaps, Rod Stewart’s “Hot Legs” as well. You can actually sing “Just take those old records off the shelf
I’ll sit and listen to ’em by myself …” over the vocals…just don’t tell Seger!
Back in 1971 the group Mountain released Flowers of Evil. That vinyl disc featured new studio recordings on one side and twenty-five minutes of live music crammed onto the second side – pushing the limits of what a lp could hold back in the day. Interesting that Mountain would do this two years after Cream’s 1969 Goodbye disc, which was half live and half studio out of necessity as the band had split rather quickly. Interesting also that Felix Pappalardi produced both. With all the acknowledgment inside their songs to favorite music of the rock and roll era, I wouldn’t be surprised if The Sidney Green St. Band is giving a subtle nod to the genius of Pappalardi as well. The album is so well produced – in the studio and live – that it is a shining example of SGSB’s potential, and the enormous power of the quartet individually and separately.
Special thanks to guest contributor Ed Wrobleski for this review.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2017/72251/review-the-sidney-green-street-band-half-live
