COLUMN: You go through your musical memories and up pops that long lost classic, that awesome album from years gone by, that ideal example of “the way music used to be,” that shining beacon of sonic excellence that puts today’s posers to shame. “I’ll purchase this fine example of harmonic distinction,” you say to yourself, “and thus demonstrate my superior taste to all my acquaintances.” Yes, it was a perfect plan except for one teeny little problem: the old crap didn’t always hold up.

It started at Freak Beat Records when I always find too much to buy. I began with a remastered edition of “Music From Big Pink,” the first album from The Band. In my mind, this album was a masterpiece. Shattering lyrics from Bob Dylan. Magnificent melodies. Shimmering keyboards from Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel. Honest and earthy vocals from almost everyone. One track that’s a genuine Big Hit That Will Last Forever. And so on. But no, as you’ll see.

Big Pink Noise
At the time (1968), critical reaction to this album didn’t go far enough for me and my friends, or at least for those of us who could read. I won’t embarrass the columnists by naming them, but they published words like original, idiosyncratic, pure, ethereal, historic, mythic, and magnificent. Unfortunately, listening to the album now is a journey into terror and revulsion. The only thing the critics got right was that The Band’s sound was a mash up of rock, blues, folk, R&B, and gospel. A bad mash up, unfortunately. A mess up.

Quite frankly, aside from “The Weight,” the album is mostly a joke. Levon Helm’s drumming is all right, and the keyboard work is slick and sleek, but the rest of the tracks are terrible. Rubbery and flaccid bass. Sloppy reeds and violins. Horrifying harmonica. Off-pitch harmonies. And lead vocals that are annoying, messy, nasal, and often unintelligible. Adding insult to injury, there are 9 “bonus tracks” to this release, thus extending the punishment by an extra half-hour. Listening to “Music from Big Pink” is like taking a bath in used dishwater. Download “The Weight” and skip everything else.

David and Sinead to the Rescue
Also as part of my jaunt down memory lane, I picked up copies of “David Live,” the 2-disc paean to David Bowie’s 1974 “Diamond Dogs” tour, and “The Lion and the Cobra,” the first recording from Sinead O’Connor.

There are words that describe these albums: OMG and Wow. Both recordings are astonishing in their scope, power and passion. I played the Bowie discs straight through without a break and found new light and heat in all of the very familiar songs. True, I had seen that tour twice at the Universal Amphitheater, but my son hadn’t (he hadn’t been born) and he played both discs straight through without a break and then put on the 2-disc “Best of Bowie” as a chaser.

The O’Connor tracks were even more of a revelation. I had remembered that “Jackie” and “Mandinka” were outstanding, and they still are, but I was unprepared for the majesty of “Jerusalem,” “Troy,” “I Want Your Hands On Me,” and all of the songs on what must be the most assured first album in history. That she had a hand in writing and producing every cut on the recording gives even more importance to the accomplishment. These songs have the ability to transport you to another plane of listening. Best of all is the fresh nature of O’Connor’s aural landscape; if you had never heard the tunes and someone said it was a new album, you would believe it.

Thia Emerges
Which brings us to an actual new album called “Ever” by Thia Sexton. It would be easy to focus on her lovely vocals because they are pristine, sinewy, and subtly beautiful. On the other hand, it would be easy to focus on the sound of the album because it is exquisite, layered, masterful, and consistently intriguing. Of course, it would also be easy to focus on Thia’s lead instrument, the cello, because she plays it like a guitar.

Instead, I would urge you to get this album and let the emotion in these songs wash over you like a typhoon of absinthe. Ms. Sexton’s ruminations on lost love will stab you in the heart time and time again, yet her writing is so insightful that there is shattering beauty in every heart-wrenching revelation. Thia Sexton is a major artist just waiting to happen.

Album Summary:
Thia Sexton – “Ever”
Produced by Dan Schwartz
Mixed by Eric Liljestrand
Songs written by Thia Sexton
Web: www.thiasexton.com
Available for purchase on Amazon

REVIEW: Two fast-paced and entertainment documentaries in the same week? Yup, and both saturated with superb music from fade-in to fade-out. “It Might Get Loud” has the pedigree (director Davis Guggenheim won an Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth”) but “I Need That Record!” has the street credibility (Brendan Toller’s stimulating flick is so underground that the Internet Movie Database has the title wrong on their site).

Both movies are fascinating yet each achieves glory in totally dissimilar ways. “Loud” is gleaming, assured and almost stately in its presentation, no matter how frenzied things become during some of the live performances. “Record” is scruffy, zippy and delightfully subversive in its attack on the dehumanizing affects of American corporate “culture.”

While each film features nearly wall-to-wall music of remarkable high quality, the subject matter of these movies is radically different. “Loud” presents the sonic and personal six-string adventures of three guitarists from three generations: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Dead Weather). “Record” investigates why 3,000 independent record stores have closed in the USA during the past decade (although “investigates” is much too high-fallutin’ a word for the hyperspeed smashmouth neo-doc style that Toller has concocted).

The approach taken by Guggenheim and editor Greg Finton in “It Might Get Loud” is daring. Rather than dividing the film into three sections that lead up to a “summit” meeting between the three, the choice here was to weave the three guitarist’s stories together. Their discovery of the guitar, early experimentations, first gigs, successes and setbacks – all are interlaced and intertwined so well that it almost becomes one tale or one journey from the onset of guitar noise to the legendary heights they have now achieved.

Highlights include: Page demonstrating “Whole Lotta Love” to White and The Edge. White consumed by an on-stage solo so frenzied that his fingers bleed all over the guitar. The Edge presenting us with a sonic idea that seems to be alive with energy and passion – and then revealing that it’s just a simple two-chord progression when he turns off the effects pedals. White working in a pasture, building a one-string electric guitar from a fence post, nails and twine. Page in his home listening to his prized record collection, when it’s revealed that he sometimes plays a bit of air guitar. The Edge performing guitar tracks from what would later become a U2 single. White composing a new song on camera and then recording it right in front of us.

The high points in “I Need That Record” primarily come from the charming, insightful and often hilarious interviews with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye, Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz, The Black Keys’ Pat Carney, the Minutemen’s Mike Watt, Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye, and authors Legs McNeil and Noam Chomsky. One of the biggest laughs is garnered by avant-garde modern classical and guitar noise composer Glenn Branca as he goes on a rant about the doom facing us as the result of evil corporate decisions. “I mean, I don’t want to be negative,” he adds. Too late, but we laugh with him, not at him.

The best comments come from the store owners (those who have been dispossessed and those who are still hard at work) and the patrons of these dens of discs and disks. The blame for the store closings is spread around but mostly it comes down to greed, usually by faceless corporations but sometimes by local business people who have the soul of pond scum and the morality of a leaky Styrofoam cup.

“It Might Get Loud”
Sony Pictures Classics
97 minutes
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Producers: Thomas Tull, Lesley Chilcott, Peter Afterman, and Guggenheim
Editor: Greg Finton
Music Supervisor: Margaret Yen

www.sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud

“I Need That Record”
Unsatisfied Films
77 minutes
Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor: Brendan Toller
Producers: Andrew Marino, Jeff Slocum and Toller
Animation: Matt Newman

ineedthatrecord.com

REVIEW: I would probably have liked this album more if it was comprised of personal friends, or the brother of my girlfriend, or fronted by the lads working part-time at the local Auto Club, but coming in cold I found the album “The Butterfly Net” to be a bit tedious and lyrically annoying.

While there are some appreciable musical chops from drummer John DiGiulio, and the various guitarists, and keyboard/producer/lead vocalist Rich Gaglia, the overall product could have been much better. Of the two lead singers (Gaglia and Dave Clark), Gaglia has a very limited range, and so the vocal performance varies from talking-singing, to sing-song, and the most annoying thing being the syncopated 1-2-3-4 lyrics and vocals where notes hit right on the quarter note beat, which gets very irritating as the tracks play out. On the first track, “Disguise,” his voice lacks energy and volume and sounds a bit like a singer practicing in his living room without ever hitting full volume in a studio setting. This makes it sound affected versus engaging.

Dave Clark is better, but again is doomed by the silly lyrics.

You’re a Frankenstein
with a jealous mind
its time to pick up the torches
and chase you down
gonna burn you to the ground
and scatter your ashes

It’s a style, and the band does have a following for being a leading “weird rock” purveyor, but I didn’t get it.

My main complaint is the lack of much melodic content, songs without notable hooks or bridges, and verses that repeat and repeat (the track “Entitled” just goes on and on, with the only interesting bits being a faux lead-out keyboard solo which then brings the song back in, and a decent guitar solo in the middle); but I can’t tell if they’re just covering a bunch of bad notes or doing a “clever” fade song out, then fade it back in for a final couple of riffs. But this kind of production element is typical of the trite elements like a pet cat meows on track 5 (the cat gets a credit on the liner notes!), the megaphone vocal drop-ins, a break in the middle of “The Butterfly Net” with one person clapping, and similar.

“Entitled” actually starts with a nice little guitar melodic riff, but that isn’t repeated for a chorus or expanded to make the song really build. Instead it seems tacked on to the front, and is symptomatic of some of the “bits” that don’t pull together here.

This album wants to recall bands of the ’70s like Supertramp, or Lake, without the good qualities of either. It’s not entirely terrible, but it doesn’t make me want to import the album to my iTunes library or go see them play live where they are probably far more interesting to behold.

One of the strongest of the 13 tracks, the short final track “Looking at Night,” showcases what could have been a more interesting retro-prog instrumental album. The lengthy instrument noodling and prog-orchestra solo midpoint through the title track “The Butterfly Net,” is a prime example of the potential. But sadly, even the title track comes back from the middle with a bit of fluff that wants to be Ringo Starr but suffers from the syncopated “I – am – sing- ing – on – the – beat -and – here – is – another word” style found throughout the album.

If the album had built on these two tracks, and found a better vocalist, and some more visual lyrics, there could really be something here. At least Jon Anderson of Yes, has a certain mindset of spiritual ideas that fill in the blanks for this kind of music, and a better vocal range than Mr. Gaglia.

I did like the more open and under-compressed production. The instruments and backing vocals all sound great, and I liked the subtle B-3 playing, the lead guitar parts are more capable (great riff midpoint in “The Parting Shot”) than the majority of albums I get for review here. Again, if this band stuck more with the long-form prog noodling, with more focused vocals (meaning, somebody else singing), and less of the sing-song or syncopated style (some may like it, I found it very irritating) of writing words to the beat, I could really dig this. At least they’re trying to write about personal experiences and not dragons, and unicorns, but what they are singing about is really just not that interesting.

Upshot: good instrumentals, musicianship and production. “Almost” got it retro-prog album, brought down by unimaginative lyrics and weak lead vocals.

Album Summary:
Pushing Red Buttons – “The Butterfly Net”
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Rich Gaglia.
Songs written by Steve Herrig (except 4 tracks co-written with Gaglia).
www.myspace.com/pushingredbuttons101

Disclaimer: always remember that any review, including this one, is purely subjective and from one listener’s point of view. One man’s brine is another man’s wine.

[tags]Pushing Red Buttons, The Butterfly Net, Rich Gaglia, Steve Herrig[/tags]

REVIEW: These Thousand Emotions — Have you ever thought about what is inside the sounds you like to hear? Harmonics and overtones are in there, for a start, but it can go way beyond that with some artists. A few special people are able to capture raw emotion and inject it into notes and chords. Such an artist is Claire Tchaikowski. On her quietly propulsive album, “Those Thousand Seas,” listeners are presented with ten exquisite songs that are a wonderful blend of musicianship, poetics and passion. The effect is akin to swimming through a 200-proof cocktail.

The title track wasn’t playing for more than sixty seconds before I was being pulled in two directions; on the one hand, bliss, but on the other, an upsurge of adrenaline. This dichotomy continued for every minute of the album all three times I played it.

First of all, the sonics are exquisite and the production by Mike Hedges (The Cure, Dido) is spectacular. Second, with Tchaikowski’s ethereal vocals, you can relax and simply float along on a musical excursion seemingly through the core of a young artist. Yet percolating underneath each well-crafted track is a torrent of feeling. “Those Thousand Seas” proudly presents a multiplicity of sensations: love and longing, joy and loss, knowledge and awe.

My apologies if my words seem to be overselling this album. I recognize that part of the pleasure awaiting you with this new work lies in discovering these delights for yourself. But still, I’d like to be the first to say that the last time I had such a reaction to an album was with work by Peter Gabriel.

This doesn’t seem to be a generational reaction; I played the first four tracks for my son, who said it was okay and then paid it his highest compliment by asking if he could borrow it to play the rest.

I could go on but I will only make three more observations: There is majesty in these sounds. There is magic in the performances. There is magnificence in this debut.

ALBUM SUMMARY:
Artist: Claire Tchaikowski
Album: “Those Thousand Seas” – 10 tracks, 2008
Genre: Ethereal Pop
Label: Gra Mor Records
Available at: iTunes.com

iLike: www.ilike.com/artist/Claire+Tchaikowski

[tags]Claire Tchaikowski, Gra Mor, pop music, college radio, indie music, singer songwriter, rock[/tags]

REVIEW: New Jersey based Phoenix Block’s new CD “Chemtrails” nicely combines ’80s flavored world alt-rock with modern rock and sits nicely in various places if you happen to like artists as varied as U2, Bon Jovi and Remy Zero. Once I got past the hand addressed envelope with the phony “you requested it” note on front (um, when did I do that, folks at MLC PR firm?), and the hype-sheet included that provided the usual mini-bios of the band mates, I popped in the CD and spun it up to play in iTunes on my Windows XP based PC.

My initial thoughts listening to track 1, “Can’t Divide Us,” was a pleasant reminiscence of the kind of music I loved during the ‘80s. The first track had a flavor of U2 and many of the euro-alternative rock bands. Lead vocals by Andrew Jaffe were competent and a nice up pitch in the chorus.

The second song and title track was a little weaker, and had a nice bridge and chorus, but the vocal performance during the verse was a tad over-dramatic for the material. All of the playing and choice of instruments, and mix sound great. The talking fade out sounded better to me than the verse performance, but this is subjective as with most music. Funny thing, I never really heard the phrase “Chemtrail” in there, so you’re not getting beaten over the head with that as you might be on a Rush song (think “Superconductor”). This is one of those songs I’d likely enjoy more on repeat listening. Coincidentally, alt-star Beck has a single of the same name out, right now, and this is likely going to cause either some confusion and/or help Phoenix Block’s general awareness when folks do music searches online.

“On My Mind,” is a radio-friendly song, that I enjoyed, and the overall performance and melody are very pleasant. Bit more of a ballad. I can easily see this showing up in an episode of the Smallville TV show, which isn’t a bad thing. This communicates more to those who might like modern alt rock ala Three Doors Down.

Wow. “Future Calling” has a great synthy, rock intro, telephone vocal effect verses, pop chorus, and fits nicely into that space between 80s and modern alt-rock. All of the songs remind me a little of many bands I like, including some of the Aussie alt-rockers from the ’80s including Icehouse. There is a remix version of this song, which should do well on the dance floor, but it’s not on this disc (it’s available in the iTunes store).

In general, the flavor of the songs remind me of bands I like, such as U2, Icehouse, Remy Zero, and even a little bit of Five for Fighting and echoes of Bon Jovi. Flavors include echoing guitar, rock beat with lots of tom percussion work in the right places, and nice atmospheric bridges, pleasant backing vocals, great lead vocal work with only a couple of spots I would have had redone (as the “tortured” performance on certain lines is only slightly overdone; a subjective opinion).

A couple of spots I thought they had Jon Bon Jovi sitting in (“They’re Coming”), which isn’t a bad thing as he does the same thing (band co-founders Jaffe and Schoeffler grew up in New Jersey, as did Bon Jovi).

Lyrics are generally good, without any stand out poetry or too clever turns of phrase, but certainly decent construction of hooks and feeling to fit the melodies. Nothing was trite enough to make me grimace (unlike about a dozen or more CDs I have here on my desk right now), which is a testament to their collective experience playing live on the College circuit and in New York clubs. Song writers who learn their craft playing live generally are better able to gauge audience response to songs, than closet artists, and understand it’s often about tone and feeling with modern music. Bands like U2 often are able to rise above that and do both poetry and feeling. Phoenix Block isn’t in that league (yet), but this is definitely a band to watch, and if they break big will have a great future.

Overall, a really nice effort and a pleasant discovery amongst the giant pile of “listen to me please” packages we get here every month. About six tracks in I began to really enjoy this. Tony Catania did a very competent job in the production, mix, and engineering. The album was mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, NYC.

“Chemtrails” is the Music Industry Newswire™ “Album of the Month” for July 2008.

SHARE YOUR OPINION USING THE COMMENT BOX AT BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.

Summary:
Band: Phoenix Block; Tony Catania, Steve Schoeffler, Andrew Jaffe, Darrell Nutt
Album: Chemtrails; CD 2008, 4 pp insert, jewel case, no bar code
Label: Hard Six Records LTD
Style: Alternative
Tracks: 13, total 51:01 min.
CD Recognized by iTunes: Yes
Digital: Available on iTunes: Yes, iTunes Plus $9.99; track most popular on iTunes “Future Calling.” Single download, “They’re Coming” available on Amazon.com.
Website: www.PhoenixBlock.com
YouTube Video (Future Calling): www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6e2fOvajg
Music Industry Newswire™ “Album of the Month” for July 2008.

[tags]Phoenix Block, Chemtrails album, alternative rock band, New Jersey bands, Tony Catania, Steve Schoeffler, Andrew Jaffe, Darrell Nutt, Hard Six Records LTD[/tags]

Blending big ballads with confessional lyrics, Sheva touches listeners at the core of their emotions. Scott G gets lost in the melodies of “The Closest Thing” even while admiring the sonic textures of her band.

Wringing an emotional reaction from an audience isn’t a new phenomenon. Doing so with wit, taste and style, while wonderful, isn’t exactly unique. So what, then, is the big attraction of “The Closest Thing,” the new album by Sheva? Quite frankly, it’s the “sending shivers down your back” effect. This album moves you.

Let’s turn our attention to the humble ballad. Making a ballad heartfelt is nice; making it an exciting journey through each listener’s lifetime is astonishing, and Sheva manages this feat time and time again. In the ten songs on her just-released album on UE3 Records (www.ue3records.com), the Canadian-born Sheva Solomon makes music that can be as huge as thunderous storm while as tender as the wind from a hummingbird’s wings.

In tunes written with Jimmy Landry, Sheva explores the outer reaches of human longing and the innermost secrets of human desire. These are not just pretty songs, although there are many lovely melodies that make you want to join in the singing and playing. The tracks are a culmination of generations of feeling crammed into a few years of modern life.

How does “The Closest Thing” sound? In these days of easy Internet availability and peer-to-peer marketing, it’s terrific to hear an album created with all the loving attention to detail as must have gone into yesterday’s classic rock recordings. In short, “The Closest Thing” sounds magnificent.

Producer Dale Penner (Nickelback) has assembled a band capable of searing or soothing your ears, just as Sheva’s voice does, and sometimes even within the same song. It’s an album that will have people smiling from the music when they’re not crying from the lyrics.

From her classical music training and early theatrical experience to her love of language and dedication to songcraft, Sheva seems perfectly poised to insinuate herself into the lives of music lovers everywhere. Success on college radio will probably occur first, but a mainstream breakthrough seems a matter of when, not if.

ALBUM SUMMARY:
Artist: Sheva
Album: “The Closest Thing” – 10 tracks, 2007
Genre: Pop, Singer-Songwriter
Label: UE3 Records
Available at: Amazon.com

[tags]Sheva, UE3, pop music, college radio, singer songwriter, rock[/tags]

REVIEW: You’ll find clever lyrics, strong melodies, and excellent musicianship on songs in several genres on the new Rob Kendt album. But as Scott G points out, this may be too much of a good thing.

Rob Kendt is a tall quiet fellow who writes nifty songs and evocative music for theatrical productions. He’s also a journalist with a long history of writing theatre criticism for the NY Times, LA Times, Variety, Back Stage West, and Broadway.com.

This makes some people wary. Being able to write a literate column somehow automatically disqualifies you from being a good musician, at least in the minds of those who cannot imagine being good at one job, much less two.

So it is with tremendous pleasure that I am able to report that “I’m Not Sentimental,” Rob Kendt’s album on Ruby Records, is superb.

From Rock to Roll
Mixing pop and jazz, Kendt leads a stellar cast of top-notch players through sprightly renditions of tunes that incorporate elements of several genres, everything from singer-songwriter angst to country laments, and from humorous social observation to quirky cabaret outrageousness.

The playing is lively yet offers the everything-in-its-place perfection of studio jazz cats backing a vocalist they admire.

Words of Wisdom
While the music raises a smile or two, it is the lyrical escapades that truly delight. Rhyme upon rhyme, phrase upon phrase, Kendt takes listeners into a labyrinth of stories that make you laugh or cry. Or both.

Not since Cole Porter has there been so much eyebrow-arching commentary in a group of songs. Not since Dave Frishberg has an album contained so much delightful wordplay. Not since Samuel Pepys has an artist revealed so much of himself while scrutinizing his fellow human creatures. (See, I, too can be literary.)

Being Original & Covering Up
Of the 14 tracks, an even dozen are original compositions that are deftly entertaining. They are wry, sly, and poetic, yet have the rambunctious free form of a street corner preacher. Kendt often seems to be half confessor and half teller of tall tales that were once based on truth but have now taken on a life of their own.

Two of the tracks are covers, or should we call them cover combinations. One is a sleek conglomeration of Martha Davis’ “Only the Lonely” with Erik Satie’s “Je Te Veux.” The other is the really wild blend of a song written for Britney Spears, “Oops I Did It Again,” with Lennon-McCartney’s “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill.” Yes, it works. Alarmingly so.

So does the entire album. But people of little imagination will never believe me.

Visit www.robkendt.com to learn (and hear) more.

[tags]Rob Kendt, gman, Scott G, Britney Spears, album reviews, pop music[/tags]

REVIEW: Scott G goes back to old habits by writing a batch of CD reviews. As in his prior reviews, the musical styles he covers are all over the place, from the hip hop of Enjae to the glorious organized noise of Nine Inch Nails, from East/West chanteuse Noa Dori to two very diverse soundtracks (‘Rize’ and ‘Young, Single and Angry’).

Like a lot of music writers, I began scribbling reviews to get free albums and concert tickets. Then, once my own albums started to be released, two things happened that changed things.

First, the incredible inanity of most music writers became glaringly apparent. Only a few people got what was happening on my first few albums, except when the album was firmly involved with just one genre like trance. At which point, only the guys who liked trance would write a review.

Second, the business aspects of my music and marketing made it difficult to listen to other people’s music, much less write about it. Too much of my time was spent writing songs for other people to sing, composing music for commercials, and running a music production company.

Also, to make things more complicated, my songwriter partners wanted to find a publisher that would value songwriters ahead of the “suits.” The way we solved it was to open Golosio Publishing. But guess who’s running it? Yup, me.

So, no time for writin’ reviews, right?

Sure, but . . .

But sometimes you just want to take a CD and offer it to people who wouldn’t ordinarily hear this type of music. Such is the case with these 5 albums. Each has its ups and downs, yet each offers pleasure beyond measure in the various ways their creators let sound and emotion pass from their world into yours. (Please note that Golosio Publishing is not involved with any of these songs.)

ENJAE
A multi-year labor of love by Natalie Barry, this self-titled album is a great blend of modern and old school hip hop sounds. There is terrific low-end bump in the music tracks, plus each song features some nifty layering of tones and musical ideas for what can only be called sonic flavoring. Barry says that part of her goal was “keeping it minimal with a taste of ear candy” and she certainly succeeded. Plus, her vocals are lovely throughout. And although she is singing, not talking, most often her tracks have a feeling of an intimate poetry recital. As for the lyrics, well, they are personal to the point of making listeners feel like voyeurs. The effect is a bit like looking into the psyche of a contemporary female artist who has decided to reveal part of her soul. A true DIY triumph, you can visit www.myspace.com/enjae for more information.

NINE INCH NAILS
The Year Zero album comes with a sticker bearing a warning that “Consuming or spreading this material may be deemed subversive by the United States Bureau of Morality” and inviting you to call 1-866-445-6580 to “be a patriot.” The recorded message when I called was hysterically funny; yet, in many ways, it really wasn’t so very humorous when you consider the kind of right wing wackos who often reach positions of power these days. Written and performed by Trent Reznor, the nearly 70 minutes of music on Year Zero stands as a perfect example of gloriously organized noise. Angry yet fluid, each song shoots out of your speakers or ear buds and circles around you or inside you like the twister in the Wizard of Oz. The 24-page booklet is on beautiful glossy stock yet poorly printed; you can read the blurry lyrics with the aid of a magnifying glass. Some sort of anti-technology point is being made, perhaps, but it just gave me a pain, whereas the music, for all its jagged edges and creative dissonance, achieves a rarefied level of purity and grace. On Interscope Records.

RIZE
As a soundtrack to the inspiring documentary feature film by David LaChappelle, the album cannot possibly recreate the awe one feels when viewing the krumpers and clowns in their frenetic new dance creation. But the music from Flii Stylz, Dizee Rascal, Dap, Red Ronin and others, is outstanding. There are contributions from Christina Aguilera, Edwin Hawkins Singers, and the Blind Boys of Alabama, but it is mainly Flii Stylz who keeps things bouncing, racing and (if you’ll permit this word) rocking. Born Anwar Burton, Flii Stylz has taken the entire history of rap and hip hop, digested it, and spun it out into a form that is new and déjà vu at the same time. The soundtrack album contains neither Lauryn Hill’s “Tell Him” nor the 2Pac/Elton John “Ghetto Gospel,” both of which are in the film, but this is still an excellent collection. It’s released by Forster Brothers Ent.

NOA DORI
From singing the lead role of The Queen of The Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute to starring in The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeny Todd and West Side Story, there is little on a stage that Noa Dori cannot do. Putting her classically trained voice into pop music was an inspired career choice, and the dance-meets-Euro-with-R&B-plus-Middle-Eastern tunes on Letting Go never fail to captivate and excite. You’d think that all those different seasonings might spoil the stew but you’d be wrong. This is a wonderful percolating pleasure cruise across several continents. It’s a sonic documentary of rhythm and soaring vocals. Take a trip over to www.noadori.com to see if you like the sights and sounds. No passport required.

YOUNG, SINGLE AND ANGRY
Matt Forger handed me this soundtrack album at a NARIP event, so I knew it was going to sound great. Primarily produced by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jon Mattox, with mixing from Forger, this is a collection of 15 songs of love, angst, and/or loss. Of the bands on the recording, I had previously only heard of the Young Dubliners and Alpha Cat (Elizabeth McCullough) but everybody shines in their delivery of the various moods and grooves relating to the ups and downs of getting together and breaking apart. Cruise on over to www.brightorangerecords.com if you want to learn more about Alpha Cat’s “perfect dark pop,” Sterling Witt’s “slacker rock with a twist,” and a whole lot more.

[tags]CD review, Enjae, NIN, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, Rize, Flii Stylz, Alpha Cat, Young Single and Angry, soundtrack, Noa Dori, music industry news, Scott G, Gman[/tags]

Some music soothes you. Some seduces you. And some swaggers up to you and hits you over the head with a box of skateboard parts. An upstart new band called Manic Circuit slams its way into your skull with songs of raw power combined with progressive structure.

“Why don’t you do music reviews anymore?”

I get asked that a lot. Not as much as when I first quit, but a lot.

It wasn’t that I was the greatest writer. But since I was better than the typical cretins who called themselves journalists, it just looked that way.

It wasn’t that most of my reviews were positive. But since I verbally ridiculed the bad recordings sent to me while publishing columns about the good ones, it appeared that I was an easy-going critic. (Note: most musicians are not familiar with my smartass put-downs of marketing dunderheads in my “Communication Nation” column on AdvertisingIndustryNewswire.com.)

But every now and then something comes along that catches my ear and makes me want to write a review. It might be the turbo-rock of Powder. It might be the classical genius of Arvo Part. Or it might be the avant-garde eccentric artistry of a punk/progressive outfit called Manic Circuit.

They are part-way through recording their first album, which according to their MySpace page will be entitled “The Fashionable Tactics of a Superiorly Keen Paul Kim.” (Damn, I was going to use that for my next album title.)

Here are my reactions to their four current sonic conflagrations:

Cartoon Terrorist
Ahh, such nice, soft, gently echoing guitar. Oops, there’s a hint of some psychotic drumming. Okay, now we’re back with soothing keyboards. So pretty. . . Then the off-kilter harmony vocals kick in and we’re suddenly in a whole other world of modern age freak-out rock. There is NO WAY this is ever going to be played on smarmy, working class, middle-of-the-road programming like American Idol. And that’s a good thing.

Dead Keyboard
Monstrous. An assault on your sense and sensibility. Must be like injecting adrenaline. If you fondly remember those attack-your-brain guitar-driven super jams on the early Funkadelic albums, you will love this.

Chris Rain Song
There are phrases that capture the attitude of the guys in Manic Circuit. Phrases like “anything goes!” Or “energy is infectious!” And “runaway jet engines can be fun!” Think PiL meets Captain Beefheart. (Too esoteric for ya? Hey, I can’t help it if you lack any appreciation of music history.)

Satellite Shock Therapy
Well, see my reaction to “Chris Rain Song,” above. And now I’m addicted to the pulse-pounding bass, frenetic-fun drums, twisted vocals, and mile-a-minute guitars of Manic Circuit. Oh, another thing about those guitar and bass lines: their highly amp’d string work deftly bridges the gap between ’60s psychedelia and today’s Red Bull-fueled nightclub experience.

Final Word
Warning: don’t send me music for review unless you think it will make me mention artists you’ll also have to look up on AllMusic.com.

[tags]G-Man, Scott G, Music Critics Must Die, music rants, Manic Circuit[/tags]

I was pretty excited to hear about the new disc “Fingerprints” (A&M/New Door/UMe) from Peter Frampton, a seminal guitar god from the ’70s who became enormously famous for his “Frampton Comes Alive” album and for his formant-tube guitar “talk box” sound on that record 30 years ago. I hadn’t really thought about him much lately except when my iTunes jukebox cycled around to his tunes. So, getting the new disc was like hearing from an old friend again.

What makes the album intriguing is that it’s an instrumental album, where Frampton teams with many musicians he is friends with, or who he’s always wanted to work with. The press materials have a great paragraph about the disc which I could reword to make my own, but I think it speaks well of the line-up of talent found on the album:

“Fingerprints features Frampton having exhilarating musical conversations with a who’s who of the pop world, including Rolling Stones Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Matt Cameron, original Shadows Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett, Allman Brothers/Gov’t Mule slide slinger Warren Haynes, Nashville pedal steel virtuoso Paul Franklin and gypsy guitar maestro John Jorgenson. In addition, Frampton band mate, Gordon Kennedy, who co-wrote many of the originals as well as co-produces the album, is prominently featured as a guitar companion.”

When I mentioned to a couple of friends I was reviewing the new Frampton album, inevitably one smart remark came up which was “Frampton is still alive?” which, although a jest at the expense of Pete based on the title of his mega successful “Alive” underscores how many of the truly talented musicians of the 60s, 70s and 80s who don’t subscribe to the “hit factory” school of music can fall from the public’s consciousness. The last I’d really heard from Frampton was in 2000, when he earned a “Best Rock Instrumental Performance” Grammy nomination for “Live in Detroit” and I bought the 2003 “Now” which earned this review from an Associated Press writer: “When it comes to fiery, guitar-drenched rock, Frampton delivers.”

Unlike many of his rock contemporaries, Frampton has traditionally not done collaborations to raise awareness of his albums, or to stay current with the so-called gen-x and gen-y crowd. Carlos Santana has always been an instrumentalist who brings in guest vocal talent and lyricists for the current decade, and this has helped him sell CDs to new generations who would not otherwise have known who he was.

With solo artists like Frampton, who does both the playing and is the front man on vocals, it’s actually harder to stay fresh in a world filled with boy bands and overly sexed teen pop princesses. Without directly catering to “boomers,” it’s difficult to compete with “My milkshake brings more boys to the yard” or the latest Beyonce video, or the crop of pop-rock bands who provide the soundtrack for just about every youth oriented TV show and movie currently made. Ironic since he was one a pop idol, movie star and as recognizable as any music celebrity. But, he’s always a little overshadowed by that one big album that is still considered the best selling live record of all time (with 16 million copies sold, it’s also one of the best selling records of any decade in any genre).

Personally I think it’s a really ballsy, and possibly brilliant, idea to do an instrumental album and concentrate on both the playing and the vibe that comes from good rock, blues and even the pop-jazz music of sax players like Dave Koz. I am likely the target audience for this disc, since I buy every album that Joe Satriani puts out, since I dig his guitar playing, and the rock and melodic hooks over which he can then noodle or riff without worrying about whether the vocal performance or lyrics mean anything or not.

For Frampton, I think the instrumental CD was also a brilliant idea since it’s a little later in his career to be singing of first loves, riding that pony to the rodeo, or any of the other pop music clichés that are recycled for each new set of tweens and teens. Even rock and metal have their clichés, and it’s often easy to fall into that. Even Paul McCartney suffered from some pretty unremarkable work during the long decline of his wife Linda, and the subsequent album when she had passed was filled with the emotion of that, and then his work when he found new love was a major rekindling of his gifts lyrically and musically. But major life events like these are not always fodder for good music, and few can bring emotion to their craft in quite that way. The point is: the “voice” you bring to an album is most notable when it’s from the inner workings of your soul, your psyche, or your experiences. With this disc, Frampton gets to play guitar, which is his core happy thought when it comes to music. And he’s a great player.

So, how’s the album? A little bit mixed on first listen, then I really got into it. I really like most of the songs, particularly, “Cornerstone” with Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones, and “Shewango Way” which is co-written by and features Frampton band mate, Gordon Kennedy.

The Soundgarden hit “Black Hole Sun” with Pearl Jam guitarist McCready and drummer Matt Cameron became the ear-worm of the disc for me, stuck in my head while doing other things like laundry or washing the car. It’s also one of the two tracks to feature some moderate and very subtle signature talk box work by Frampton. On “Sun” it almost sounds like a vocoder sample and actually helps the tune since I found my brain filling in the words on the chorus anyway.

Frampton said in the press materials, “I’ve known Bill Wyman for a while and played with him before. He was one of the first people I asked to play on the album. He said yes, and then I asked if Charlie would come in too. We all jumped in and came up with this song (Cornerstone) that started off with me playing a riff.”

The one song that didn’t really grab me is the first one “Boot it Up” with a guest sax player, Courtney Pine, who was recommended to Frampton by his pal David Bowie. I think another guitar would have been better than the sax, but it does give the record label a song to target toward the smooth jazz radio stations, although “Double Nickels” fits into that milieu just fine and features licks by pedal steel king Paul Franklin.

The songs I liked more each time I listened to the disc, was “Grab A Chicken” (with Kennedy), which has a little bit of the talk box as well as sampled instructions from Internet cooking programs about how to cook a chicken; and “Blowin’ Smoke” (with McCready and Cameron). The latter has likely become my favorite song and the one I’d happily pay for if I were forced to “buy only one” from a music download service.

I liked the little homage riff to Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” at the start of “Double Nickels” which also has a bit of a country music feel to it and some great Q&A playing between Frampton and Franklin.

The interesting thing about the album for me was that I kept thinking I’d love to hear an entire album with just Frampton, McCready, Cameron and Kennedy. The material from the four Kennedy collaborations and the two songs with McCready and Cameron were the real stand-outs for me.

Unlike some guitarists who have one signature sound, perhaps like the afore mentioned Carlos Santana, Frampton gets a wide variety of tones and sounds from his collection of guitars and amps and so each song stands on its own. He plays a Tacoma Acoustic C2 Chief, Gibson Les Paul Classic (1960), Les Paul Peter Frampton Model (*ahem* – signature sound, of course), G&L ASAT, and Les Paul JR (1958). With the guests playing their own guitars the mix of duets between players is quite lovely to hear.

I saw one comment from a buyer on Amazon.com that it might have been better to have the separate players panned left/right to make it more clear who was playing what, and this has been done on other duet-style instrumental gigs; but I think in this case it would have detracted from the overall mixes which are very nice on both the home stereo, the iPod and in the car.

It’s interesting that Frampton recently guested on the premiere episode of the FOX TV series “Celebrity Duets,” which was a bold experiment for the 56 year old rocker. Sadly he was paired with Chris Jericho of the WWE, which must have been the bad luck of the draw there. It’s unfortunate that VH1 no longer has the series “Storytellers” which is right where I would like to see Frampton showcased for an album like this one.

For Frampton, the sweet spot for the project had to be his getting to work with two of his long time heroes from the Shadows, drummer Brian Bennett and guitar slinger Hank Marvin.

According to Frampton, the bluesy “My Cup of Tea,” came together via intercontinental swapping of ideas by mp3. Once the group convened in a London studio, his dream was fulfilled. “I was beaming ear to ear,” Frampton says. “Hank is the reason why I play the guitar. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Frampton traces the genesis of Fingerprints to two experiences: catching the fever of British instrumental rock music at its birth in 1960, when the Shadows scored a pop hit with the tune “Apache,” and then 35 years later when Shadows’ lead guitarist Marvin came backstage at a Frampton concert and affirmed that indeed one day he’d love to cut a track with him. “We spent an hour asking each other questions and talking about guitars,” says Frampton. “My idol even asked me what kind of strings I used.”

According to Frampton, at the beginning of his career, he had one thing on his mind: playing the guitar like the Shadows’ Hank Marvin and Elvis Presley’s Scotty Moore. “I didn’t want to sing,” he says. “I wanted to be the guy behind the singer playing solos. I’d listen to Elvis songs but my focus was on Scotty. People like Hank and Scotty set the template for me.”

Frampton brings a poignant epilogue to the project with the second to final track on the album, “Oh, When” written for his late father, Owen (hence “Oh When”). Frampton played the song at the funeral, recorded it on a small recorder when he was in England, then returned home and tracked it. Frampton says that Fingerprints is a testament to his father’s encouragement in playing the guitar. “The whole album is dedicated to him,” he says.

Overall, a worthy addition to Frampton’s career and if you’re at all into instrumental guitar, melodic rock, and even something to listen to while you’re working in the background, this disc fits into all those spaces rather well.

“Fingerprints” is released on the A&M / New Door Records label, a division of Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). New Door Records is primarily dedicated to producing new music from historically significant UMG recording artists. Artists from all genres such as Styx, Smokey Robinson, Todd Snider, Joe Cocker, Nanci Griffith, Tears for Fears, The Temptations, Billy Ray Cyrus, Alien Ant Farm, and a brand new signing, Joseph Israel, have made New Door Records their home for their new recordings.

Fingerprints is available everywhere you can purchase music and was released Sept. 12, 2006.

Rating for “Fingerprints”:

From 1 to 10: 8.5
Musicianship: 9
Replayability: 7
Desert Island Keeper: 4
Number of EarWorm Factor Songs: 2

More information:

Peter Frampton’s Website:

www.frampton.com

Universal Music Entertainment:
www.umeportal.com/artist.aspx?ob=per&src=prd&aid=559

[tags]Peter Frampton Fingerprints, music reviews, Christopher Simmons, music industry, new cd review, New Door Records, guitar god, behind the eye, instrumental music[/tags]