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MUSIC NEWS & NOTES
FALL
2012 RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
POP
& ROCK
AMERICAN - Co-produced by Rick Rubin, La Futura,
the 2012 CD by ZZ Top is actually their first new album
since 2003 but one listen confirms the wait has been worth it. There’s
plenty of classic sounding ZZ Top action on La Futura. Looking
down the barrel at 2013, the CD art form has been somewhat lacking
but even in this age of stripped down musical economics, ZZ Top offers
a good bang for your buck on their ten track album, decked out here
with some typically impressive album art. Some fans have surmised
that Rubin’s stripped down recording style might have tampered
with that classic ZZ sound but, it’s worth noting that just the
opposite is true on La Futura. Rubin’s production approach
might be more earthy then say the effects laden Mescalero, which
had its share of sonic gimmicks, but what La Futura lacks in
bells and whistles is made up for in sheer sonic might and diversity
of material. Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank
Beard are rock legends and as they once again prove, ZZ Top lives
up to their enormous legacy with the impressive rock muscle in play
on La Futura. www.ZZTop.com
BGO RECORDS - As a follow up album to the late 2011 / early 2012
CD release of Out Of This World, singer-songwriter Michael
Laine Hildebrandt returns at the end of 2012 with Bubble
Gum Orchestra II, the second album from his band 
Bubble
Gum Orchestra. Although much younger then his mentors from the
original classic rock crowd from the mid to late 1970s, Hildebrandt
maintains a reverence for the classic bands from that era including
Electric Light Orchestra, The Buggles, ABBA and scads of other top
40 favorites and he gets to live out his sonic fantasy once again
with BGOII. Hildebrandt's upbeat musical demeanor is quite
contagious on tracks like “Today Is Beautiful”, “Oh
Can We Save It” and “Loving One Another”. Sure you
can hear traces of upbeat Steve Miller meets The Buggles meets Jeff
Lynne but there’s also a cool futuristic 21st century thing in
play on the new BGO CD. The CD packaging is excellent and the enclosed
lyrics booklet shines a light on just how well BGO mix words and music.
www.BubbleGumOrchestra.com
CINDERELLA RECORDS - Although they’ve been going strong since
starting up back in November 1995, the Lithuanian band known as The
SKYS really hits their stride with their 2012 CD Colours
Of The Desert. After a few spins it’s clear that
Colours
Of The Desert is a masterpiece of 21st century prog-rock. For
westerners, the names of the group members might be hard to pronounce
yet the music, sung in English complete with complete printed lyrics,
caters to a cross-section of international music lovers. In addition
to the band’s 5 piece core—including lead guitarist and
singer Jonas Ciurlionis and keyboardist-vocalist Bozena
Buinicka—SKYS are joined by a number of renowned musicians,
including esteemed guitarist Dave Kilminster of the Roger Waters
band, and a number of other gifted players. With their mix of Euro-flavored
prog, complete with a decidedly Pink Floyd influence, The SKYS have
been praised in their native Lithuania and neighboring Russia, Estonia,
Germany and beyond and now they’re poised to bring their sound
far and wide. There’s plenty of top musicianship throughout the
9 track Colours Of The Desert CD but, backing up the style
there’s also plenty of memorable melodic hooks and arrangements
that will no doubt appeal to prog-rock mavens of all stripes, cultures
and continents. www.TheSkys.com
K-SCOPE - Released in 2012 on the U.K. based K-Scope label, Fog
Electric is a great introduction to a new band from the U.K.
called North Atlantic Oscillation. Produced by Tony Doogan,
NAO features some ethereal vocals from group front man and guitarist
Sam Healy who turns in a most illuminating vocal performance.
Sounding influenced by U.K. artists like Phil Manzanera and Super
Furry Animals, the album Fog Electric is quite well produced
with all manners of electronica and progressive rock trimmings fitting
in the grooves. Some of this sounds like Robert Wyatt jamming with
Phil Manzanera and in fact, the lyrics, printed here in a beautiful
booklet type package are almost incidental, adorning the music like
icing on a cake. www.naoband.com
PAMA RECORDS - One of the most renowned guitarists in Sweden
today, Niclas Höglind (pronounced Heg-Lind) has worked
with some of the greatest musicians in Sweden including guitarist
Peder Nabo, co-founder of the 1970's prog-rock group Ragnarök.
As a recording artist in his own right, Niclas has also released
a number of albums with the group known as UNIT and he's back in late
2012 with a new UNIT collaboration entitled Unit And Luiz Murá.
A gifted singer-songwriter and guitarist from Brazil, Luiz
Murá lends a tropical Brazilian flair to Unit's expansive
approach to guitar-based European fusion instrumental music. Höglind's
guitar-centric sound is superbly in focus, and paired with the Brazilian
language vocals of Murá, the UNIT sound arrives at a whole
new level and the results are engaging and progressive at the same
time. At times, this Unit and 
Luiz
Murá CD sounds like Antonio Carlos Jobim jamming with Pat
Metheny or even jazz guitar great Charlie Byrd—that's just how
masterful Höglind is as a guitar player. Backing up Höglind
and Murá are some talented musicians, including percussionist
Sebastian Notini, acoustic guitarist Marcus Wiberg,
drummer Kristofer Johansson and others. With this collaboration,
Höglind’s colorful approach to World Music and jazz-fusion
could be described as both terrestrial and progressive at the same
time. Guitar fans looking to hear a fascinating amalgam of jazzy,
guitar based fusion and World Music with a definite Brazilian edge
are strongly recommended to check out the sonic scenics in full bloom
on Unit And Luiz Murá. On download and in print as a
physical CD release, the Unit And Luiz Murá CD features
a very cool packaging with some seen to be believed cover art and
packaging and full lyrics sheet. www.PamaRecords.com
/ www.blekingejazzandworld.se
/ www.unit-mib.com
ROLLTOP RECORDS - Although he’s best known as a surf-rock
guitar stylist with numerous recording credits to his name, San Diego
based Tim Coffman is also a wonderful music producer and he
puts his pedal to the mettle with With Love, Sarah Maisel,
the 2012 CD from singer Sarah Maisel. While Coffman’s
own solo albums are primarily guitar based instrumentals, as a producer
he brings out the best in Maisel. In addition to her innate vocal
ability, Ms. Maisel is an excellent ukulele player and backing herself
on uke, she’s assisted by a fine band including steel guitarist
Gordon Freitas. For her With Love album, Sarah delves
deep into the Great American songbook, sounding like a modern day
Mary Ford, while carving out a new niche with sublime Hawaiian inspired
Slack Key based covers of a number of classic standards by Irving
Berlin, Duke Ellington, Motown, Steve Goodman, The Beatles and more.
Coffman’s production is pretty flawless, enhancing Ms. Maisel’s
obvious vocal gift for seducing you with a classic cover song. www.RolltopMusic.com
ROSALA
RECORDS - When you think of greatest British Invasion era pop
songs of the 1960s, one name songwriter that springs to mind right
away is Graham Gouldman. Making his breakthrough writing for
The Yardbirds, and penning their huge 1965 hit “For Your Love”,
Graham’s name became synonymous with pop song writing excellence.
The story continued onwards with Graham getting fully behind 10CC
and later works with Wax, his band with the late great Andrew Gold.
Although it’s been 12 years since the last Graham Gouldman album,
he’s back again in 2012 with a new solo CD called Love
And Work. Simply brimming with one shiny pop jewel
after the next, (and near complete with one Hank Marvin inspired instrumental)
Love And Work features 12 new Gouldman originals with his vocals
and guitar skills supplanted by a range of song writing partners and
a round of musicians including Shadows legend Brian Bennett.
Gouldman was part and parcel of the best British invasion superstars
and fans of his ‘60s and ‘70s songs will be mightily impressed
at the near Beatle-esque sounds in play on Love And Work, which
is quite rightly dedicated to Andrew Gold. www.GrahamGouldman.info
SONGGRAM - Las Vegas based pop maven Tommy Marolda came
to prominence on his 2004 Beatles-inspired Christmas album, Classic
Christmas Songs With A Dash Of Pepper. As brilliant as it was,
that instrumental pop album was kind of a one off, even as he was
batting
around some other X-mas concepts, so it’s nice to see Tommy returning
back to his power pop roots with the 2012 CD release of the album
by his other pop band, The Toms. Tommy’s new album with
The Toms, entitled Sun, is a 12 track pop feast.
Broken up on the cover art into a quintessential ‘60s style,
with a side A and side B, the Sun CD is a solid rocking affair
featuring Tommy taking a sonic studio power pop approach layerng the
CD with electronic keyboards, break-beat drumming and sugar coated
‘60s style vocals. Fans of Todd Rundgren will find much to applaud
about Tommy’s studio expertise. Covering a number of instruments
and much of the vocals himself, Tommy sounds like sugar pop icons
The Archies on speed, with a Robin Gibb effect in play here, while
there’s even the occasional female vocalist to offset and enhance
the Toms' contagious techno pop grooves. www.MySonggram.com
TOKOLOSHE RECORDS - Back in 1971 South African singer-songwriter
John Kongos turned the progressive pop-rock world on its ear
with his critically acclaimed Kongos album. An acquired taste
for some, while for others a brilliant musical messiah capable of
extraordinary sonic feats, John Kongos broke the sound barrier with
his Kongos album which also introduced the then coming and
very popular Burundi beat, subsequently popularized later by other
bands as well. As luck would have it, although then based in London,
John Kongos would eventually move to the U.S. and end up in Arizona.
In the 21st century John’s four sons carry the Kongos legacy
forward with Lunatic—the second album from the
group Kongos. The four sons of John Kongos—Johnny, Jesse,
Dylan and Danny—are each gifted multi-instrumentalists and even
sing in unison like their dad multiplied by four. Fittingly, their
fabled dad John Kongos is the executive producer while supplying backing
vocals. Along with notable prodigies like the Pinder Brothers band,
Kongos are clearly making their way towards really mattering on the
world stage with their 2012 Lunatic CD. www.KONGOS.com
UNCHAINED
RECORDS - Sweden was always renowned for their excellent progressive
rock bands from the late ‘70s and ‘80s and of course, there’s
ABBA with 40+ years of history. Not much attention was really ever
paid to Sweden’s many fine bands who break with the mother tongue
but thanks to the work of Peter Holmsted of Hemifrån who, thanks
to
his vast knowledge and refined musical taste, has helped his fellow
countrymen spread the word far and wide about the new wave of Swedish
pop in the 21st century—young bands with fresh ideas and new
voices including the band called Buford Pope who have an excellent
2012 CD called Matching Numbers. Apparently,
there’s a whole new wave of Swedish singer-songwriters espousing
the wonders of West Coast pop circa 1971—funny enough the year
Buford Pope main man Mikael Liljeborg was born. Actually assuming
the name Buford Pope as a stage name, the singer-songwriter, backed
up here by a fine band, and sounding influenced by both Robbie Robertson
and Steve Stills, cites Bob Dylan of course among his main influences
and even some of this sounds kind of influenced by the music of A
Man Called E back in 1992, albeit twenty years later. Several of the
catchier songs really connect and there’s also a few tracks that
will be played by radio. Four albums into their career, with Matching
Numbers Buford Pope hits a new high for Swedish musical excellence.
www.BufordPope.com
/ www.hemifran.com
INSTRUMENTAL
ARK
RECORDS - The 2009 CD release of Frio Suite made a splendid
introduction to the collaborative duo of keyboardist Jeff Johnson
and rock-fusion guitar hero Phil Keaggy and in 2012 Jeff
and Phil return again with their CD release 
entitled
WaterSky. Meeting serendipitously at the Laity
Lodge in Texas a few years back, the two once again reunite and in
recording WaterSky they revitalize state of the art 21st century
instrumental music with a brilliant musical collaboration that combines
a number of instrumental music genres including electronic and neoclassical
jazz fusion. Johnson’s early works, including time on the Windham
Hill label established him as a contender way back in the early 1980s
while for guitar fans, pop and instrumental rock followers, Phil Keaggy
hardly needs any introduction. Combining Johnson’s reverential
approach to spiritual music and his fondness for ethereal Celtic style
fusion with Keaggy’s spacey and angular guitar prowess, WaterSky
is clearly a modern masterpiece of meditative and introspective
instrumental music magic.
www.ArkMusic.com
B4MAN-MUSIC - On the web site for guitarist Bruce Forman there’s
several lines of praise—two that stick out include quotes from
jazz guitar legends Barney Kessel and Kenny Burrell praising the younger
guitarist. Actually, fans of both Barney and Kenny will love Forman’s
2012 CD, Formanism featuring The Bruce Forman
Trio. Recorded in Pasadena, California and released in 2012 on
Forman’s own label, the 11 track CD is filled with instrumental
guitar jazz tracks that swing in classic bebop mode, yet there’s
also a modern and meditative touch that will intrigue guitar fans
who will no doubt appreciate Forman’s skillful fretboard techniques.
Featuring Bruce backed up by Gabe Noel (bass) and Jake Reed
(drums), Formanism is filled with Forman’s originals—one
co-composed with drummer Jake Reed, and there’s also covers here
of the standards “Flamingo”, written by Ted Grouya and Edmund
Anderson and “I’ve Told Every Little Star”—the
latter written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. As far as instrumental,
mainstream modern bop guitar jazz goes, it doesn’t get any better
than Bruce Forman’s Formanism. Fans of Forman will also
want to check out Cowlifornia Swing, the 2012
CD from Forman's other group Cow Bop—a western bebop,
country style swing group, featuring vocals by Pinto Pammy,
and which is being described as hot and jazzy with a drawl. Either
way, country-bop or be-bop jazz, Bruce Forman has it covered. www.BruceForman.com
/ www.cowbop.com
BLUE ROOM STUDIOS - Canada has some great guitarists and you
can count Roland Nipp as up and coming. Make that here today
with the release of Roland’s 2012 album All We Desire,
a CD self-produced and released by the artist. Nipp makes high
octane rock instrumental music mixing say, an instrumental based Robin
Trower sound with a spacier mid '70s Pink Floyd / late '70s Dixie
Dregs inspired backdrop. He’s been releasing albums since 1999
but with All We Desire he’s hit a sweet spot. For a self-produced
DIY project in 2012, Nipp gets a refined studio sound and the mastering
seems to capture all the sound without clipping or distortion. Sounding
like a full band yet written, performed and produced by Roland Nipp,
the 14 track CD features modest yet fitting packaging underscoring
the intense sound under the covers. Track after track, the All
We Desire just slips on by and before you know it you’re
hitting the replay button. www.RolandNipp.com
CATEGORY 1 MUSIC - Most fans of surf-rock superstars The Ventures
know and admire the work of guitarist Bob Spalding—a mainstay
in the legendary surf-rock band and a guitarist of renown in his own
right for the past four decades. Carrying on his work in The Ventures
in 2012, Bob steps into the solo spotlight with an excellent new solo
album called Transitions, that should find a
home with fans of The Ventures and The Shadows. As he does throughout
the 13 track Transitions CD, Bob puts a modern spin and a new
shine on his own instro guitar originals as well as welcome Ventures-inspired
fresh takes on vintage 1960s classics "The Lonely Bull"
and "Apache"—two songs that were made famous in the
instro guitar world back in at the dawn of the 1960s. Fans of Jerry
Lordan and Hank Marvin will be proud to hear Bob's new version of
"Apache"— this Transitions version highlighting
Bob's new twist on a vintage classic. Several players, including Ian
Spalding and Vintage Guitar reviews editor (and undercover instro
guitar legend) Teisco del Rey, appear backing up Bob Spalding's
2012 guitar masterpiece. www.TheVentures.com
DB~INFUSION
- Guitarist Danny Berdichevsky gets it together on Muso
& Proud, the 2012 album from jazz rock band known
as DB~Infusion. A bunch of guest players join Danny and his
group, including original ELO cello player Hugh McDowell and
jazz-rock / classical guitar virtuoso John Etheridge. Berdichevsky
established himself in Israel as a rock guitarist and jazz-rock advocate
in the spirit of Pat Metheny and, now in London he carries his guitar
concepts one step forward on a CD filled with instrumental fusion
wonder. Danny’s group of players include Gonzalo Carrera (keys),
Steve Stephenson (percussion), Lakis Economou (bass)
and Ollie Usiskin (drums). The CD is superbly recorded and
the dynamic range of these combined players borders on ESP. Amid the
mostly instrumental originals are guitar-centric, and thoroughly engaging
db~infusion covers of the John Coltrane classic “Giant Steps”
and the jazz classic “On Green Dolphin Street” while the
neo-classical set will dig db-Infusion covers of Isaac Albeniz and
a CD opening Rimsky Korsekov tribute, here entitled “Flight Of
The Bumblebeat.” www.db-infusion.com
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON - Part of the Decca Lable Group, Deutsche
Grammophon is a label synonymous with classical masterpieces and,
although slightly removed from the label's fabled heyday, DG follow
up in 2012 with their second album from Montenegro bred classical
guitar master Milos Karadaglic. The 16 track CD entitled Pasión
(first called Latino) comes hot on the heels
of the first Milos CD from 2011 on DG entitled Mediterraneo. This
time out, on Pasión Milos continues to mine and reinterpret
some of the great classical guitar composers from Latin America, South
America, Mexico and Brazil, including the legendary Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Commenting on his 2012 CD, Milos adds, ‘Latin American guitar
music is perhaps even more uninhibited than Spanish. With some pieces
on the album, I even went a little bit out of my comfort zone, as
I wanted to showcase all the different aspects and facets of this
culture.’ On Pasión, the CD sound is uniformly
excellent and the packaging features eye-popping artwork and detailed
liner notes by Kenneth Chalmers. Guitar fans seeking out the
latest and greatest young classical masters should give a listen to
Milos and his gifted classical guitar sound. www.MilosGuitar.com
DOUBLE
CROWN RECORDS - One of the top instrumental guitar albums of the
decade for sure, Play Rough reunites the team of Bill Bonney
and Pete "Buzz" Miller, also known as Bonney
& Buzz. Recorded in San Francisco and dedicated to the memory
of original Shadows bass player Jet Harris, the 12 track Play Rough
features one solid guitar based instrumental after the next. One
look at Miller's credentials gives a good indication of his current
whereabouts, especially noting his early years back in England working
with, and learning from, legends including producer legend Joe Meek.
Clearly Miller's Meek-inspired approach to guitar instrumental rock
in 2012 would have pleased Joe no end. Both Miller and Bonney are
brilliant guitarists and multi-instrumental studio aces and on their
third instrumental album together, Bonney & Buzz have made a CD
that should appeal to a wide stripe of guitar fans. Fans of Surf-rock,
Shadows inspired instrumentals, during and after Jet Harris, '60s
style freak-beat instro and even soundtrack buffs will dig where Bonney
& Buzz are coming from on the aptly titled Play Rough. www.BigBoyPete.com
GEOMAGNETIC RECORDS - London
based guitarist Phi Yaan-Zek set a new standard for instrumental
art-rock fusion music on his 2010 album Dance With The Anima. Combining
a “film score” style of ‘60s inspired soundtracks with
a poly-rhythmic jazz-rock style performance, Dance With The Anima
was a 
worldwide
hit with progressive guitar fusion fans. Now in 2012 Phi has released
a companion CD entitled Deeper With The Anima. Once
again recording with and featuring the drumming of Marco Minnemann,
Deeper features Lalle Larson on keyboards and several
other players including bass man Bryan Beller. Sounding inspired
by Phil Manzanera during the Quiet Sun days and some of Carlos Santana’s
more recent progressive instrumentals, Deeper With The Anima is
intergalactic surf music, played fast and furious with Phi’s
thoroughly processed guitar sounds driven deep into the stratosphere
by Minnemann’s ultra precise electro static rhythms and Lalle's
soaring keyboard sounds. The overall studio sound is excellent and
once again, the cover art and packaging is first rate. Deeper
With The Anima a safe bet for fans of adventurous 21st century
instrumental jazz-rock. www.PhiYaan-Zek.com
GREYDISC
- Over
the past few years, American guitarist Kevin Kastning has gone
from relative unknown to making a name for himself as both a rising
guitarist and a musical conceptualist / visionary. Kastning’s
recent releases include 2012 CD titles with long time partner and
co-guitarist Sándor Szabó as well as a second
CD release with U.K. fusion guitarist Mark Wingfield. Recorded
at the end of 2011, An Illustrated Silence captures
the 
guitar
duo of Wingfield and Kastning in stellar form, improvising and sonic
surfing on a wave of improvised acoustic / electric harmonies. Even
though the notes fall right where they should, make no mistake about
it, An Illustrated Silence is angular and scales some impressive
sonic glaciers. Wingfield’s horn like electric guitar embellishes
Kastning’s intricate, acoustic Metheny meets Fripp type sonic
extrapolations. Back in the 1970’s Kastning would have fit in
perfectly on the ECM label or some other arty European label, but
as it stands, he’s creating a wealth of guitar instrumental music
on his own Greydisc label while recording under his own name. Kastning’s
other 2012 CD release, his sixth recorded in March 2012 with Hungarian
guitarist Sándor Szabó, entitled The Book
Of Crossings. Guitar watchers will be amazed at the
sheer diversity of guitars both Kastning and Szabó implement
including 16, 14 and 12 string guitars, 10 string viola guitar, the
Korean Guzheng, all types of classical guitars, the theremin-like
ebow and even some piano. Kastning might seem like a 21st century
Bach meets Elliott Carter type, yet for all his avant gard production
prowess, there’s still progressive core at the center of Kastning's
guitar thinking in a kind of Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett inspired
way. With the release of these two very guitar-centric releases, Kevin
Kastning sets a new standard for the guitar world while also setting
a new level in his own well worth of artistic expression. www.KevinKastning.com
INDUS
RECORDS - Former guitarist in the group Stone Roses, Aziz Ibrahim
was born in the U.K. to Pakistani parents. He carries the torch
for the worlds of both progressive rock and world beat music with
his 2012 album Rusholme Rock. Combining a guitar
centric industrumental musical backdrop with an injection of Far Eastern
sonic exoticism, the results are often spectacular. With Aziz on acoustic
guitar and vocals and occasional mellotron, the sound is filled out
by some exotic Indo/Pak percussion effects. Also amazing is the wide
range of sonic effects, in the spirit of mid ‘70s Gong with Steve
Hillage, that Aziz coaxes from his smorgasbord of sonic delights.
There's even a Hindu-Stani take on the Bobby Fuller Four classic "I
Fought The Law." The recorded sound, mastered at Abbey Road by
Peter Mew, plus beguiling cover art and packaging, makes finding it
well worth the hunt. www.aziz.co.uk
LO-BALL RECORDS - Music maven Joe Goldmark continues
to refine and perfect the art of pedal steel guitar with his 2012
double CD set entitled The Wham Of That Steel Man! Released
on the San Francisco based Lo-Ball Records, the package is actually
two separate albums—disc one being an 11 track vocal set, with
Joe’s guitar and band backing up singer Keta Bill and
disc two being a 13 track all instrumental affair featuring Joe and
company romping through a set of steel flavored instrumentals of Goldmark
originals and a fabulous steel based instro cover of the Beatles’
“Sexy Sadie” that would make John Lennon proud. With his
vast realm of musical inspirations backing him up, Goldmark’s
original steel instrumentals on disc two are nothing short of fantastic.
Imagine Joe Meek producing Buck Owens and you get some idea. With
disc two being all instrumental, disc one is a vocal album featuring
Keta Bill and Joe and band performing a number of steel flavored classics
from the pens of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bobby Fuller,
Steve Winwood and more. Joe dedicates the entire 2 disc album to one
of his early rock and roll heroes, Lonnie Mack and Joe’s CD set
title even takes a cue from Mack’s album The Wham Of That
Memphis Man, which mixed vocals and instrumentals. Either way,
Joe’s got it all covered on a rockin’ double album that
not only sounds great but is all a blast to listen to. www.JoeGoldmark.com
MLE MUSIC - Skillfully combining jazz, New Age, Celtic and
even flamenco, guitarist Chris Fry steps onto the world stage
with his CD debut entitled Composed. The ten
track CD is so masterfully recorded, you’ll be amazed as the
music floats across the sound stage. The music here is mainly instrumental
and very guitar-centric, yet the sound is so dynamic, you’d swear
there were other musicians involved. The CD is enhanced by the occasional
orchestral accompaniment by violinist Emily Travis with added
production from Dan Fry. Fans of former Sky guitarist Kevin
Peek and Gordon Giltrap, and that style of English instrumental acoustic
progressive fusion, will thoroughly enjoy this elegant and immensely
listenable CD. www.ChrisFry.com
MOONJUNE
- Aside from John Lennon and The Beatles, before groups such as
Soft Machine, Caravan and Wigwam, there was nothing in pre-progressive
rock that you could call completely authentic. So great were these
sonic pioneers that just about everything that came after in both
rock, instro and prog, sounded derivative of the original. I would
say those groups still have a vast influence—subliminal and otherwise—on
a multitude of groups still recording music in 2012 so, when thinking
about aspiring 21st century music trendsetters, you can count Canadian
prog-instrumental band Mahogany Frog high on that list. With
the release of the fifth Mahogany Frog studio album, entitled Senna,
that statement rings even more true then ever, while also looking
on their much lauded 2006 album entitled DO5. A modern day
sonic guitar squadron, Graham Epp and Jesse Warkentin sound
truly possessed, driven to new heights by the rhythm section of Andy
Rudolph (drums) and Scott Elenberger (bass). Each of these
players also adds in a wealth of wild sounding electronic keyboard
effects that would make Edgard Varese proud. Imagine Pekka Pohjola,
the now late great Finnish music and composer, recording with Soft
Machine during their fabled Volume 2 era in late 1968 and you
come close to the wild, subliminal sonic soundscapes in play on Senna.
Progressive rock-rock fans and avant-garde experimental music
fans are strongly advised to pick up on Mahogany Frog's 2012 instrumental
classic. www.moonjune.com
/ www.mahoganyfrog.com
PARALLEL
THOUGHT - The group known as 3:33 return in 2012 with
a mesmerizing new album called In The Middle Of Infinity.
Actually, this full length CD was preceded in 2010 by 333EP-1,
the first release by 3:33. Sure there’s a lot of industrial
strength instrumental mayhem in play on In The Middle Of Infinity
but it’s done with such verve and spunk that you’d hardly
notice the lack of melody or even a beat. 3:33 makes music that has
more to do with Harry Partch, Edgard Varese and even Wendy Carlos,
than progressive rock say by Pink Floyd even at their most avant gard
although fans of Floyd during their Ummagumma days might like
3:33. Avant gard musical experimentalists whose music might have fit
more appropriately in Stanley Kubrick movie, 3:33 makes music that
may sound difficult but it’s also a lot of fun to listen to as
a sound collage. There’s no shortage of musical ideas here even
though In The Middle Of Infinity is totally steeped in the
realm of musique concrete. Rock fans with an open progressive mind,
and modern classical fans of Carlos, Varese and Berio owe it to themselves
to check out the wild sonic grooves in play on 3:33’s In The
Middle Of Infinity. www.PThought.com
PRESCOTT RECORDINGS - Originally from Lexington Kentucky, guitarist
Ross Hammond has made a name for himself as Northern California
based artist. Over the past few years, Ross has released a pair of
critically acclaimed CD 
releases—Ambience,
Antiquite And Other Love Songs in 2011 and Adored in 2012—and
now in late 2012 he adds another trick of the tale with a new album
from Revival Trio. Simply entitled Revival Trio,
the instrumental album was recorded in August 2012 and captures
Ross in full flight with his trio band mates, Vanessa Cruz (drums)
and Shawn Hale (bass). The CD has a live in the studio feel
and contains a number of jazzy, improvised sounding grooves that displays
all the urgency and spontaneity Ross brings to the 21st century guitar
world. Ross cites guitar influences like Bill Frisell and Sonny Sharock
while, with his usual flair for soaring improvisation, you can also
add in John Coltrane as another music signpost. Commenting from the
liner notes of the modestly packaged CD, Ross adds, ‘I started
the Revival Trio project in April 2012 from a desire to play some
African-influenced improv music. The project quickly became a force,
as there was a great combination of a steady and fierce rhythm with
a heavy sense of “let it fly” improvisations. I simply loved
this project.’ Fans of both Frisell’s brand of eclectic
instrumental guitar recording style and Coltrane’s jazzy and
often fiery sense of improvisation will dig where Ross is coming from
on his Revival Trio CD. www.RossHammond.com
RONIN
RHYTHM RECORDS - Instrumental
art-rock continues to evolve on the European continent. Although the
late 1970s and early 1980s, 20th century heyday of Eurock instrumental
rock pioneers Pohjola, Rypdal, Oldfield may now be things that have
happened in the past, rising, younger bands continue to espouse and
expose the new power of 21st century instrumental rock. From Switzerland
comes Sonar and their brilliant, critically acclaimed mid 2012 CD
release entitled A Flaw Of Nature. Also, released in late 2012
is the follow up Sonar CD ep entitled Skeleton Groove. Central
to Sonar is American born, Swiss based guitarist Stephan Thelen
(tritone guitar), joined here by his quartet members, Bernhard
Wagner (tritone guitar), Christian Kuntner (tritone bass
guitar) and Manuel Pasquinelli (drums). The Sonar sound is
ECM influenced, although with a solid rock edge. Although avant gard
in scope, the overall instrumental rock fusion sound is enhanced by
an excellent studio sound which lends it kind of the depth of Pekka
Pohjola’s early 1990s sound combined with Thelen's most prevalent
influence, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp, with whom Thelen studied
guitar. Commenting on the Fripp / Crimson influence Thelen adds, 'The
band that really opened up my musical horizon however was King Crimson,
especially the 1972 – 1974 version of that band. Their guitarist,
Robert Fripp, was without doubt my most influential guitarist. In
fact, I had to work quite hard to find my own musical voice, 
because
Robert’s influence was so strong that I often ended up sounding
like a Fripp clone.' Key to the Sonar instrumental rock composite—on
both the 2012 CD release of A Flaw Of Nature, and the late
2012 CD ep release of Skeleton Groove—are the loud, resounding
drums and searing intertwining electric guitars that incorporate echoes
from jazz, rock and even European neoclassical music. In sync with
the adventurous sound spectrum, the A Flaw Of Nature CD packaging—including
a booklet with detailed analysis of the music—is first rate as
well, making both of these Sonar CD titles a fine choice for jazz-rock
fusion fans. www.sonar-band.ch
SIVLE RECORDS - There's a number of fine guitar instrumental
bands on the scene in 2012, yet few can lay claim to featuring contributions
from one of the original spy-surf guitar heroes. Case in point is
the 2012 CD from Ohio-based Spy-Fi, entitled Espia En
Vacaciones. Roughly translated to Spies On Vacation,
the 18 track CD still features the excellent guitar work and music
from Spy-Fi main man Tom Pervanje, who is assisted by a number
of guest artists, including John Barry Seven guitar hero Vic Flick—one
of the true legends of U.K. instrumental music and a veritable guitar
icon thanks to his countless session work at Abbey Road studios. As
a guitarist himself, Pervanje sounds clearly influenced by Vic, Hank
Marvin and The Ventures too, yet musically, this 2012 Spy-Fi CD is
all over the map, veering between classic West Coast instro and Flick's
own sound with The John Barry Seven—often citing Barry's fascination
with both '60s Beat music and the unearthing of the multitude of both
U.K. and U.S. soundtrack sounds that really came to light again in
the 1990's CD retro boom. Guitar fans and soundtrack buffs should
give a listen to Tom Pervanje and his veritable smorgasbord of colorful
instrumental sounds. www.Spy-Fi.com
SPIN ACRE RECORDS - Heralded by music critics in the know as
an acoustic guitarist on the rise, Indiana based Patrick Woods
scores with his 2012 CD Gone Before Morning. Co-produced
by Brian Henke and engineered by Jay Bentoff, the 11
track CD clocks in at just over a half hour yet it captures all the
guitar goodness Woods has recently been rightly praised for. Thanks
to his earlier releases, Woods is being compared to some big guitar
names like Leo Kottke and John Fahey, yet on Gone Before Morning,
Woods continues to mine and explore his own unique approach to finger
style acoustic guitar artistry. Guitar fans who enjoyed other CDs
by Woods, including his acclaimed 2009 album Vortex Of Discovery,
will also find much to appreciate with the 2012 CD release of Gone
Before Morning. Superbly recorded and packaged, Gone Before
Morning features track by track liner notes by Patrick Woods.
www.pwguitar.com
SUNDAZED
/ SPINOUT - The legendary Bob Irwin is a veritable
hero to musicians and music lovers alike. Back in the mid to late
1980s—during the bonzai blitz of the initial CD boom, brought
on by the Japanese and Germans—Bob held on tight to his dreams
by starting the now historic Sundazed label. The multitude of CD reissues
(and also later on black vinyl) on Sundazed over the past 25 years
has brought much joy to the music world. While Sundazed continues
plumbing the depths of music vaults worldwide, Bob has forged yet
a new path with his side project and band called The Martian Denny
Orchestra. New from the MDO in 2012 is the 12 track En El
Espacio. Released on Sundazed / Spinout Records, the
CD release itself may be low-key but the sheer heat and energy created
here is truly scintillating. In the Martian Denny Orchestra, Bob the
guitarist is joined by some virtual legends of the instro rock world
including fellow guitarist Eddie Angel, drummer Jimmy Lester,
Dave Roe (bass) and Jim Hoke (sax). Instead of creating
note for note reperfections of instro rock, Irwin and company instead
focus on their choice of music by basically having a rave up of a
time. The resourceful Bob Irwin proves to be a great second guitarist
to Eddie Angel’s legendary fretboard prowess. Some of En El
Espacio is instro in the realm of Duane Eddy’s fabled late
‘50s music while other tracks here break new ground for instro
watchers. I mean when was the last time you heard a Shadows / Ventures
inspired instro cover of the Frank Sinatra chestnut “It Was A
Very Good Year”, yet Bob and his MDO cohorts pull the track off
with added verve. Other highlights here include MDO covers of “Sealed
With A Kiss” and Brian Wilson’s exquisitely melodic “The
Warmth Of The Sun”. Fun in the sun, while being equally raunchy
and sexy at the same time, The Martian Denny Orchestra is required
listening for instro rockers of all ages. www.sundazed.com
UNTIED
ARTISTS - Back in 1980, steel guitar virtuoso BJ Cole released
Transparent Music and now in 2012 he released Transparent
Music 2, the new album BJ has made with Guy Jackson.
A master of musical moods, Cole is really in his element on Transparent
Music 2. Calling this album atmospheric would be an understatement.
Completely instrumental, TM2 combines Cole’s patented,
dreamlike steel guitar with Jackson’s indescribable keyboard
sounds, while the pair are given further support by a number of U.K.
music legends including Davy Spillane (uilleann pipes, low
whistle), session legend Mo Foster (bass guitar), Michael
Messer (slide guitar) and other fine players. With its wide range
of instrumental music, TM2 is moody, dreamlike and totally
hypnotic. This is not your typical ambient music outing and BJ has
cited early releases by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as influences
on the approach taken on TM2. Like those albums by Eno and
Lanois, the wide ranging sonic dynamics on TM2 are quite harrowing
in places, at times making the music nearly avant gard in scope. That
said, when the mood strikes you, Transparent Music 2 is a most
rewarding and quite sublime listening experience. Due to the mesmerizing
nature of the music herein, do not drive or operate dangerous machinery
while listening to this album! www.BJCole.co.uk
/ www.GuyJacksonMusic.co.uk
VM RECORDS - Florida native Marc Vee is making waves
in the guitar world with his 2012 CD entitled My Journey.
A master of the smooth jazz instrumental genre, as well as band
leader of The Marc Vee Band, Vee released his first solo album
in 1996. After working with a range of players, including like-minded
smooth jazz guitar ace Paul Brown, Vee captures all that is good about
the sublime and relaxing smooth guitar genre and puts it all together
on My Journey. On this modern instrumental masterpiece, Vee
features both nylon string and electric guitars and bass while receiving
steady backing from a range of players while capturing a high gloss
studio shine. Eight of the ten tracks here new Vee originals and there’s
also a pair of covers, including smooth and jazzy sounding instrumentals
of rock classics “Stairway To Heaven” and “Light My
Fire”, both of which benefit from Vee’s skillful and smooth
jazz guitar instrumental techniques. www.MarcVee.com
REISSUES & RETROSPECTIVES
ACE
RECORDS - England swings and the record labels of the land continue
to plumb the depths of classic rock albums of yesteryear. The first
big U.K. reissue label, and in the running for most fastidious, ACE
Records has a third collection of mid-late 1960s tracks featuring
L.A. session guitar hero Jerry Cole. The 24 track CD, Psychedelic
Guitars combines a wealth of instrumental music Cole cut with
a number of different groups who recorded for the L.A. based Crown
label. The width and breath of this collection shows Cole not only
to be ahead of his time, but his own take on “space age”
rock guitar instrumentals put him in the same league as the Ventures
on one hand, with the more adventurous tracks here sounding at times
like they were produced with U.K. instro pioneer Joe Meek. Cole recorded
these tracks with a number of different lineups with wild sounding
group names like The Generation Gap and The Projection Company
but the musicians he used were a different matter—well known
names like Leon Russell and Billy Preston to name a
couple. Although his forte is his approach to guitar instrumentals,
Cole does add in the occasional vocal that clicks to the ‘60s
psychedelia vibe, including a well produced, true to form CD closing
cover of “MacArthur Park”. Par for the course, ACE adds
in splendid artwork, while liner notes from 3 Balls of Fire guitar
ace Burnin’ Mike Vernon adds another layer to this
in-depth look back at guitar legend Jerry Cole. www.AceRecords.com
APPLE RECORDS / EMI RECORDS / CAPITOL RECORDS - 1967
came in like a lion and went out like a...dragon. 1967 was also the
year The Beatles were truly in their prime, perhaps for the
last time. What started off as a spectacular sonic orgy of good vibrations,
mind-expanding drugs and peace and love turned into a do or die moment
that saw the Fab Four truly begin to grow up and grow apart. Perhaps
the turning point of this most incredible episode in the history of
western culture was the untimely and totally tragic death of Brian
Epstein—the genius British impresario who was the first man
on earth to believe just that much in The Beatles. Epstein’s
demise on August 27, 1967 was a devastating blow to Beatles founder
and guiding light John Lennon, who was never quite the same
kind of Beatle again. Perhaps John knew the jig was up and 
Beatlemania
was soon to be just as surreal as it seemed to be on the cover of
the May 1967 cover art for Sgt. Pepper’s. Not so much
could be said for Lennon’s sidekick and Beatles own self-styled
A&R genius Paul McCartney who, in the months before his
death, was petitioning Brian about his new concept called Magical
Mystery Tour—a 53 minute movie first shown in B&W
on the BBC in England on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas day in
England) 1967. Of course the movie Magical Mystery Tour wasn’t
even shown in the U.S. until years later but Americans did get the
December 1967 LP release of Magical Mystery Tour which contained
the movie’s entire 6 song EP plus all the great Beatles singles
from 1967. The movie Magical Mystery Tour has remained one
of the unusual episodes of The Beatles and their amazing history.
Although released on VHS and on DVD by MPI before, the movie never
received a proper treatment on DVD, until now. In October 2012, Apple
/ EMI / Capitol finally reissued the movie on DVD and the results
are truly spectacular. Everything looks fantastic and the sound, meticulously
restored by George Martin’s son Giles Martin, is state
of the art. The sound and vision of this 2012 Magical Mystery Tour
just leaps right out at you. It’s just fantastic to see John
Lennon look so happy with all the actors, especially the now late
great Victor Spinetti, who was always totally in sync with
The Beatles. Musically, as the movie demonstrates, with then new songs
like “I Am The Walrus” (first released as the b-side to
"Hello Goodbye") and “Blue Jay Way”, The Beatles
were untouchable as musical visionaries for their time. An essential
investment for Beatles fans and even those who weren’t even born
before 1967, the 2012 DVD remaster of Magical Mystery Tour is
filled with some fantastic bonus tracks, and many are totally mind
blowing. Little is known about John Lennon being the man behind the
explosion of industry exposure of groups such as Cream and Pink Floyd
(just ask Tony Palmer director of All My Loving) but without
Lennon, there’s no doubt that we wouldn’t be here today
discussing this at all. For one thing, as far as the 2012 MMT remaster
goes, besides the spectacular restoration of the original movie itself,
there’s a director’s commentary version (of the entire movie
again) featuring scene by scene comments by Paul McCartney, who also
wrote liner notes for the booklet, plus new interviews with Fab 4
thumper Ringo Starr and others, a 20 minute documentary called
“The Making Of Magical Mystery Tour”, unseen videos for
several tracks here including “Blue Jay Way”, “Hello
Goodbye” and “The Fool On The Hill”, plus more incredible
videos of genius actor and MMT’s very own “Buster
Bloodvessel”, himself being Ivor Cutler, plus a rare video
of the band Traffic (with Dave Mason and Steve Winwood)
performing one of their earliest tracks called “Here We Go Round
The Mulberry Bush”—a video actually commissioned by The
Beatles for Magical Mystery Tour but never used in the final
film. With fitting 21st century post-production and more by Ringo
and Paul McCartney, 45 years on, this 2012 DVD of Magical Mystery
Tour is a trip well worth taking again. www.TheBeatles.com
BGO RECORDS - Delving deeper into the vaults of the greatest pop
and jazz artists of England and America, U.K. based BGO has a number
of releases set for late 2012 including a 2 albums on 1 CD remaster
from American jazz guitar legend Charlie Byrd. Recorded and
released in 1966 and 1967, Brazilian Byrd and Hollywood
Byrd capture the jazz guitar legend in prime form in a couple
different settings. Both albums were produced by Teo Macero,
yet while Brazilian Byrd finds Charlie picking up on the musical
style he pioneered on 1962 Jazz Samba album (made with Stan
Getz), albeit in a more super produced album filled with strings,
horns and occasional female voices backing up his usual jazz guitar
excellence. Hollywood Byrd features Charlie once again working
with Macero on another album filled with Byrd 
instrumental
covers of classic 1960’s film score themes including “Georgy
Girl”, “Alfie”, “Born Free” and more. Extensive
liner notes by Charles Waring seals the deal on this outstanding
BGO CD reissue by the late, but always great Charlie Byrd. Speaking
of Byrd or rather The Byrds, BGO has a fine 2012 CD remaster from
founder of The Byrds, Roger McGuinn. McGuinn’s final album
for Columbia Records (now Sony music) was entitled Thunderbyrd
and the 9 track album featured McGuinn in prime form covering
giants like Dylan, Tom Petty, Peter Frampton and McGuinn himself.
Fans have said Thunderbyrd is among McGuinn’s best solo
albums and BGO’s 2012 CD remaster gives you a good chance to
give it a fresh spin. I’m sure that while his son was racking
up one Top 40 hit after the next, the last thing on the mind of comic
hero Jerry Lewis was that the career of Gary Lewis &
The Playboys would become undone by the Vietnam War but that’s
in fact what happened. Called to duty in on January 1, 1967, Lewis
gave up his near impeccable pop group career to go and fight an immoral
war that killed millions of innocent people. Despite sort of falling
out of favor in the wake of the antiwar movement, Gary’s label,
Liberty Record, released three final albums during his time in Vietnam
including one last one when he returned from Nam. Those albums, You
Don’t Have To Paint Me A Picture (1967), New Directions
(1967) and Gary Lewis Now! (1968) have been
collected by BGO and released in 2012 on a double CD set. Although
nowhere near as successful as his major hits, these three albums stand
as fine period piece recordings, with production from American geniuses
including Snuff Garrett, Leon Russell and Jack Nitzsche.
BGO’s inclusion of original liner notes and September 2012 notes
by David Wells make this double CD set a major revelation for
Gary’s long time fans. Another artist extensively catalogued
by BGO, Leo Kottke has a voluminous back catalog, including
various titles on Capital and Chrysalis Records. When the CD hit American
shores, in 1984 and 1985, from Germany and Japan, America was totally
unprepared and the resulting digital bonzai was directly responsible
for the premature death of numerous American music labels while consumers
were being gouged by the luring temptation of buying the first CDs
that ironically, while sounding much better than vinyl, would for
the most part, be laughed at by audiophiles in 2012. One German who
came to American shores to take part in this sonic blitzkrieg was
Peter Bauman, the originator of the first all digital record
label called Private Music. Among Private’s early CD titles in
late 1985, including first ever CD releases by American geniuses like
Jerry Goodman and Group 87’s Patrick O’Hearn, also included
A Shout Toward Noon, the first ever CD release
by American guitar hero Leo Kottke. It’s been a while
since Private released Leo Kottke’s A Shout Toward Noon
in late 1986 but now in 2012 BGO has a new CD remaster of
the album and has packaged it with another Private CD by Leo Kottke
called Regards From Chuck Pink, released in 1987
on Private. Both instrumental albums were considered ground breaking
for their era and, complete with 2012 liner notes by David Tobler,
you can here just why Kotkke made such a positive impact with his
first release on Herr Bauman's Private label all those years ago.
www.BGO-Records.com
CAPITOL RECORDS - The American division of EMI Records, Capitol
Records is among the great artistic institutions of North America.
While passing on a number of artists world wide over the past 55 years,
Capitol is nevertheless home of The Beatles and America’s first
family of pop, The Beach Boys. While The Beach Boys never enjoyed
quite the same amount of artistic adulation as The Beatles did, they
nevertheless have a stellar record as a recording legend. The best
of The Beach Boys is once again distilled and reexamined on the 2012
CD release of The Beach Boys - Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits.
Completists will want this, not only for the superb packaging
but also for the amazingly uniform sound which follows the ‘Boys
from “Surfin’ USA” straight through till the 2012 CD
release of “That’s Why God Made The Radio.” 
Things
didn’t work out too great on the 2012 Beach Boys reunion tour
(Mike Love ended up firing Brian Wilson, much to everyone’s
shock and horror) but this music, some of which is 50 years young
this year, speaks for itself. There’s a mix of mono and stereo
masters used for this double CD set and the sound is totally brilliant,
with clean crisp mastering that makes it sound like these songs were
all cut in the same year! Sure there’s a bunch of omissions but
most of the big hits are here, sounding bigger and better than ever.
Also on Capitol in 2012 is another 50 year milestone entitled Best
Of Bond...James Bond: 50 Years - 50 Tracks. Subtitled
Celebrating 50 Years Of 007, the double CD set features all
the biggest movie themes from the biggest and best James Bond movies,
while encompassing a range of vocals and instrumentals. Many of the
James Bond movie soundtrack instrumentals, which were impeccably written,
produced and arranged by the now sadly late great John Barry,
still sound amazing, while the vocal tracks take on a new luster,
perhaps due to the passing of Mr. Barry. So for all the John Barry
Orchestra titles here, you also get a number of pop vocal tracks
from a range of Bond movies featuring great rock and pop stars like
Nancy Sinatra, Tom Jones, Madonna, Lulu,
Tina Turner, The Pretenders, Shirley Bassey,
Paul McCartney, Carly Simon and a whole lot more. Other
instrumentals here feature The George Martin Orchestra and
even Moby gets in on the action with his version of the "James
Bond Theme”. There’s no liner notes to speak of, but
there’s track by track annotation and overall, Best Of Bond...James
Bond sounds great, thanks to some spiffy remastering, serving
as a most illuminating introduction to the multitude of brilliant
music created by John Barry all those years ago. www.BrianWilson.com
/ www.CapitolRecords.com
FACTS
THAT MATTER /
MVD VISUAL - A 60 minute film released in 2012, produced and
hosted / narrated by Les Krantz, The Beatles - Their
Golden Age is just the latest in a seemingly never ending
series of documentaries on The Fab Four. Based up in Wisconsin, Krantz
is clearly a history buff and—with a range of releases written
about some of the great moments in professional sports and movies—the
subject of The Beatles seems to be right up his alley. Featuring classic
and historic footage of The Beatles mixed and edited into some sort
of cogent, although clearly abbreviated form, written by Krantz and
his co-writers, Their Golden Age makes for a decent enough
introduction to the endlessly colorful and fascinating history of
The Beatles. The musical soundtrack accompanying the video includes
a Beatles inspired instrumental backdrop from Vince Varco,
highlighted by a brilliant Beatles meets The Shadows instrumental
track that rolls over the closing DVD credits. www.mvdb2b.com
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