MWE3.COM
MUSIC NEWS & NOTES
FALL 2015 RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
POP
& ROCK
429 RECORDS – One of the most famous bands with one of the
weirdest names in music, Camper Van Beethoven released a new
album in 2014 called El Camino Real. Describing
the recent comebacks of CVB, group member, violinist / guitarist Jonathan
Segel explains, “Camper Van Beethoven took a long time
between 2004 and 2013, between albums, but then we wrote a lot of
material and split it up between two albums, 2013’s La Costa
Perdida and the recent El Camino Real, which ended up being like small
concept albums about northern and southern California, respectively.
The first one, La Costa Perdida is a little mellower, more Big Sur
hippie-style, while El Camino Real is a little harder and faster,
having more Los Angeles elements in it.’ El Camino Real has
some great rocking moments on it, especially the lead off track “The
Ultimate Solution” and especially track two, “It Was Like
That When We Got Here”, which sounds like a countrified version
of Velvet Underground. Basically, the whole albums rocks, and the
band lineup on El Camino Real is first rate, spotlighting
some excellent guitar work from Segel, both Greg Lisher and
group vocalist David Lowery as well as Victor Krummenacher
(bass) with drums by Michael Urbano. Fans of Camper Van
Beethoven will not be disappointed by the eclectic palate of rockin’
sounds on El Camino Real. www.CamperVanBeethoven.com
ANAVIV
– Singer-songwriter Diana Barash is making waves with
her 2015 CD, A Miracle Of Love. Somewhat of a
torch song singer, Diana's 12 track CD veers from pop–rock and
jazzy sounding R&B to a more theatrical form of pop cabaret. Interesting
that she was born in Moldova and settled in L.A. A Miracle Of Love
is not only filled with memorable songs that catches your ear
right away, but the playing is top flight stuff all around with expert
production and keyboard work by Ed Roth, co-writing and arranging
by Sunnie Paxson and ace musicianship from a range of players
including Linda Taylor (guitars), Jonathan Hakakian (keys,
guitars) and Rock Deadrick (percussion). The CD sounds great,
looks great and is filled with complete credits, lyrics and liner
notes by Ms. Barash. With A Miracle Of Love, singer-songwriter
Diana Barash stakes out a sound all her own. www.DianaBarash.com
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS – Angel Air has a number of reissues by glam-rock
greats Sweet and out in 2015 is New York Groove Plus
- a fairly new recording from 2012 of classic Sweet
mixed in with cover versions. Featuring original Sweet guitarist Andy
Scott backed up by this current Sweet incarnation, New York
Groove Plus features a cool “New York Groove”, written
by Russ Ballard in 1975 and well done covers of Lou Reed’s “Sweet
Jane” and The Yardbirds classic “Shapes Of Things”.
Most of the tracks have a kind of New York related vibe. There’s
even a cover of “On Broadway”, the ultimate New York song,
although the key track here is a Sweet version of the Who’s “Join
Together”. I don’t know what the connection is there, except
that, according to the CD liner notes, the track was kind of the sonic
glue that brought the album together. Scott’s guitar work is
as razor sharp as ever and the Sweet harmonies give it that classic
glam-rock seal of approval. www.AngelAir.co.uk
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS - Angel Air continues to expand out from their base
of operations as a reissue only label with the 2015 CD release of
The Fetch by early 1970s singer-songwriter Linda
Hoyle. Angel Air has previously reissued albums on CD from the
band that Ms. Hoyle fronted called Affinity. Newly recorded and released
during the summer of 2015, the 12 track CD features Hoyle’s vocals
and songs backed up by the cream of the crop of London’s finest
studio musicians including album producer Mo Foster (bass),
Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), Oliver Whitehead (acoustic
guitars) Dougie Boyle (guitars), Ray Russell (guitars),
Peter Van Hooke (drums) and much more. The sound of The
Fetch is very jazzy and easy on the ears and at times echoes the
sound of Annette Peacock, Diana Krall and other fine jazz singers.
Even so, there is an air of progressive music on hand here to separate
Ms. Hoyle from the lounge / cabaret circuit of stars. As if to underscore
the progressive side of jazz / pop, The Fetch features newly
designed cover art by Roger Dean. Recorded in London and Canada,
The Fetch is a most welcome return to form by jazz singer Linda
Hoyle. www.LindaHoyle.net
BLURRED
VISION MUSIC / OPEN EYES RECORDS - If only the fate of
the world rested in the hands of Canadian rockers Blurred vision.
I saw that they are from Canada although the band recently relocated
to the U.K. What’s really amazing is the the band is led by two
brothers from Iran, singer / guitarist Sepp Osley and bass
player Sohl Osley. Raging against the oppressive Iranian regime,
the brothers, along with drummer Ben Riley and Rush producer
Terry Brown, have created a minor sonic miracle with their
11 track CD entitled Organized Insanity. The
songs range from hard rock to a more progressive / metal sound but
there’s plenty of hard hitting sounds and the production and
sound is excellent. The lead off track “No More War” perfectly
sets the musical scene which culminates in the hard driving anthemic
title track closer. Roger Waters and Rush are certain influences on
the band’s sound and style yet there’s some very original
sounding, quite energized modern rock tracks here to make this debut
Blurred Vision album of interest among 21st century prog-rock purveyors.
www.blurredvisionmusic.com
BRUTAL
ELITE RECORDS – If you’re in the market for a fine new
CD from a band of progressive / alternative metal rock music makers,
than check out the group known as hAND. (Yes, that’s the
way they write the name). The four piece band centers around the sound
of vocalist Kat Ward and guitarist Kieren Johnstone
backed her by drummer Dan Thomas and Tom Johnstone on
synths. Making music since 2004, the band hits a new high on their
2015 CD. Not your father’s New Wave sounds, Hand hits hard and
fast on their 3rd CD entitled Kintsugi. The mix
of hard rock and metal rock mixes well with the more progressive elements
and Ms. Ward makes quite an effective vocalist. As one music writer
put it hAND are bursting with passion and drive and they live
up to the hype on the intriguing sounding and looking Kintsugi.
www.handtheband.com
CAPITOL
RECORDS - Thirty five years ago in 1980, Brian Wilson was
almost non existent on the rock scene. That sad and tragic period
of Brian’s career at the start of the 1980's, was kind of neglected
but following the death of Dennis Wilson in 1983, Brian began his
long trek back, a lot of it thanks to his ex-wife Marylyn Wilson,
working in synchrony with Brian’s late, great producer Eugene
Landy, the original ideas going back to the mid 1970s. I remember
when Carl Wilson passed away in 1998, Brian turned a family tragedy
into a great song called “Lay Down Burden”. That song was
on Imagination, released in the fall of 1998 and was produced
by Joe Thomas. That fortunate pairing of the minds of Wilson
and Thomas is back again on 2015's No Pier Pressure,
with Joe adding his famous glossy production sheen while scoring some
impressive co-writing song credits. Brian’s solo albums
over the past ten years have been very relaxing, some without the
cutting edge sonics in play on much of his 1980s work with Gene Landy,
but even so, Brian is in pretty good shape on No Pier Pressure.
Brian’s eleventh album as a solo artist, the 16 track No
Pier Pressure CD finds Brian and his band joined in the studio
by his long time Beach Boys cohorts Al Jardine, David Marks
and Blondie Chaplin as well as several younger singers,
guest artists, who join Brian. I guess having some young girl pop
stars singing his songs with him, takes the pressure off him, while
hopefully imparting his magic to a whole new generation. Like his
acclaimed Disney and Gershwin CD tributes, No Pier Pressure, captures
the essence of the Wilson / Beach Boys sound for the 21st century.
I guess having “no peer pressure” keeps Brian young and
happy, and that’s the way it should be. www.BrianWilson.com
ELEKTROHASCH
– Over in Germany the Elektrohasch label are keeping the
spirit of psychedelic acid rock and heavy metal rock alive and well
with a pair of albums. Holland based band, The Machine mix
well crafted heavy rock with sonic instrumental excursions that will
melt your mind. The Machine has released a number of CD titles on
Elketrohasch and the 2015 release of Offblast! might
be their rockingest yet. This in not rock to kick back and relax with.
The Machine makes music that is extremely hard edged and psych-rock
fans will take off into the sonic stratosphere with the “molton
stoner rock” sound, riffs and dazzling electro-guitar takeoffs
on Offblast! Also out on Elektroshasch is Habitat Animal
by the Canadian band known as Public Animal. Once again,
Elektrohasch has come up with a sonically heavy blast of sonic rock.
Music fans into scathing, hard rock with psychedelic and metal arrangements
will flip their lids for Public Animal. www.elektrohasch.de
ESOTERIC
ANTENNA – Doing the right thing by shining a light on his
often overlooked presence in The Moody Blues, John Lodge released
a solo album in 2015 entitled 10,000 Light Ages Ago.
Lodge was always the rocker in the early Moody Blues 1966-1978,
and many of the tracks on the 8 song, 30 minute 10,000 Light Ages
Ago have a solid rock presence. John’s band features some
astounding guitar work from the legendary Chris Spedding. That
thundering Lodge bass sound and his presence as a vocalist is well
represented here and the key for original Moodies fans is that the
CD also features guest appearances, on one track, by two veteran cosmic
rock legends, Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas. Of course
Lodge came into the Moodies after Mike, Ray and Denny Laine turned
the band’s name into an international legend. Lodge has carried
the Moodies torch since Mike Pinder left to move to California yet,
clearly 10,000 Light Ages Ago is the perfect way to remind
you what a great songwriter he is. With eight songs that clock in
under a half hour, 10,000 Light Ages Ago never outstays its
welcome. Each track brings back great memories of his song writing
styles with the standout of course being the track with Mike and Ray
and of course, the prog rock masterpiece title track—one of John’s
finest Moodies inspired rockers. As with all tracks, 10,000 Light
Ages Ago shines a spotlight on John’s fine band with Spedding
along with album co-producer Alan Hewitt (keys, backing vocals),
Gordon Marshall (drums) and Brian Howe (backing vocals).
www.johnlodge.com
GARD
DU NORD RECORDS – As the 50th anniversary for the summer
of love coming up, younger English band are taking advantage of such
an illustrious pop music history. Count the band known as Papernut
Cambridge among the ranks of those under 30 types who wish it
was 1967 again or even 1968. This wonderful yet relatively unknown
band features Ian Button, singer with Thrashing Doves and Death
In Vegas. On this third Papernut Cambridge CD, called Nutlets
1967-80, Button revisits sacred terrain as many of
these 10 tracks are actually obscure pop nuggets that I would dare
the most astute pop historian to annotate, perhaps with the exception
of a cover of that syrupy and always sweet Edison Lighthouse classic
“Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes”. The guitar work and
recorded sound of the band over the course of the entire album is
first rate. Fans of classic pop bands like Lightning Seeds and ELO
and even glam-rockers like T.Rex and Sparks will totally flip for
the Papernut Cambridge approach to retro-rock. Button wears his influences
well on this tasty blend of pop Nutlets. www.PapernutCambridge.co.uk
GONZO
MULTIMEDIA - The original guitarist in Jethro Tull, Mick Abrahams
became an insurance salesman and he put music on the back burner but
in 2015, Mick is back with Revived - a 17 track
CD that takes Mick back to his pre-Tull roots of early rock ‘n’
roll. Just before Tull became a prog-rock band on Stand Up, they
made This Was with Mick and the music on Revived is
almost a shock. On hand backing Mick are fellow guitarists Martin
Barre, Elliott Randall and Geoff Whitehon, of Procol
Harum, while guests includes Bill Wyman of the Stones and singer
Paul Jones. Highlights include a cover of the Canned Heat classic
“On The Road Again”, a couple of Lieber / Stoller covers
as well as new versions of Blodwyn Pig classics “Summer Day,”
from Ahead Rings Out. Several guest artists appear, including
singer Beverley Skeete on a cover of “Poison Ivy”.
An unusual move by the one time progressive rock great, Revived
also features an enclosed DVD which features Mick telling the
Revived story and capturing moments in the studio with some
of the key players on the CD. Revived is a welcome comeback
from the early Jethro Tull / Blodwyn Pig guitar great Mick Abrahams.
www.GonzoMultimedia.co.uk
/ www.SquirrelMusic.com
INSIDE
OUT – Having been a key part of that long awaited Squackett
album from 2012, prog guitar ace Steve Hackett returned in
2015 for what some are calling his finest album yet. Wolflight
features Steve on the cover in the company of friendly looking
wolves. He has always been considered in the top echelon of guitar
players yet, even to the amazement of long time fans, Steve's vocals
and song writing hits a new high on Wolflight. Progressive
rock and pop vocal hooks is at the core of Wolflight, yet it
also dives deep into the well of symphonic, orchestral sounds, bombastic,
hard-edged rock, and a hybrid form of ethnic flavored, pan-global
music. A pair of acoustic instrumental tracks offers a quick look
into that legendary Hackett classical guitar sound. Guest players
really enhance the sound, including the late, great Chris Squire,
who plays bass on a track here—a sprawling ten minute song
about domestic abuse called “Love Song To A Vampire”. Considering
that the YES legend was dead within a few weeks of the release, it's
kind of a metaphysical coincidence that the lead off track—one
of several instrumental tracks on Wolflight—is called
“Out Of The Body”. Like a phoenix rising for sure, Squire
will not make another great album like Squackett again and
that sobering thought will no doubt colour Steve’s future music.
Backing vocals by Amanda Lehmann and Steve’s wife Jo
Hackett are also sublime on Wolflight, as are Steve’s
own multi-tracked vocals. What more can be said about the musicians
Steve Hackett chooses for his albums? First rate players who summon
sounds like a rock orchestra, including keyboard wiz Roger King,
drummer Gary O’Toole and a host of other great players—in
fact a veritable rock orchestra graces these tracks. Steve Hackett
emerged as the lead guitarist in Genesis in 1971 and since then, he’s
gone on to define the role of electric lead guitar in progressive
rock. With Wolflight poised to become his most acclaimed album
of the past 35 years, Steve Hackett shows no sign of letting up. In
addition to the 12 track CD, the deluxe edition also includes a Blu-ray
disc featuring the entire ten track album, with the two bonus tracks,
presented in DTS Master Audio 5.1 and 24/48 stereo LPCM as well as
3 interview videos with Steve discussing the music of Wolflight,
all topped off by that classic album artwork, which really personifies
the musical content. Prog-rock fans who thrilled to Steve’s work
with Chris Squire on the Squackett album will love Wolflight. With
Chris Squire now sadly part of the universal garden of life, it’s
perhaps up to Steve Hackett to carry that tradition of timeless, Beatles
inspired progressive music onward into the brave new world of the
21st century. By 2050, at the mid 21st century, Steve Hackett will
be surely be considered as one of the founding architects of progressive
rock and Wolflight will be right up there among his most highly
regarded albums. www.HackettSongs.com
/ www.InsideOutMusic.com
IVY
LEAGUE RECORDS – Australian based pop group Alpine is
turning heads around with their 2015 CD called Yuck! Far
from being a yucky kind of affair, the ten track CD features a number
of key songs that really stick in your head including the standout
song here, track 8, a rousing pop ditty called “Damn Baby”
that will immediately grab the attention of pop fans with an ear for
great new sounds. Key to the Alpine sound are the twin female vocals
of Phoebe Baker and Lou James, who both get excellent
support from their band mates Christian O’Brien (guitars),
Ryan Lamb (bass), Tim Royall (keys) and Phil Tucker
(drums). There’s a number of outstanding tracks here and
the CD cover art will also catch your eyes right away. If Alpine can
keep coming up with catchy pop ditties like “Damn Baby”,
they’ll be on their way to bigger and better things, like international
acclaim. The CD may say Yuck on the cover, but Alpine are far
from being anything but a promising pop-rock band.
www.alpineband.com
JIM SINGLETON BAND – If the classic rock oldies from
the late 1960s and early ‘70s appeal to you then by all means
check out 8 O’ Clock In The Afternoon by guitarist
/ vocalist Jim Singleton. Jim is very active in the guitar
world but after hearing this great CD, clearly his calling in life
is as a blues-rock guitarist who can sing up a storm. The ten track
CD kicks off with Jim’s smokin’ cover of the Fleetwood Mac
classic “Rattlesnake Shake”. Written by Peter Green, it’s
one of the original Mac’s best tracks and Singleton rips it up
and makes it his own. There’s also a pair of covers written by
the late great Rory Gallagher, including early favorite “What’s
Going On”, from Rory’s second album with his original band
Taste. A number of other covers grace the CD, while the album also
features a number of guest artists backing Jim, including Bernie
Mardsen (guitars), Charlie Musselwhite (harp), Joe Osborn
(bass) and much more. If rock solid blues-rock and country-rock
is your thing, it doesn’t get any better than 8 O’ Clock
In The Afternoon by guitar aficionado Jim Singleton. www.JimSingletonBand.com
JURASSIC
POP – The band known as The National have spun off and Gunnera,
the 2015 CD by The Pfarmers is the result. The CD is experimental
pop with a slight rock edge but it’s pretty harmless and fun
stuff. Featuring drummer from The National, Bryan Devendorf
along with spatial arranger Dave Nelson and vocalist Danny
Seim, the Pfarmers CD has a kind of dream like quality to it and
it’s rightfully described as a mix of catchy pop songs with long
instrumental breaks. There’s quite a variety of vocal and instrumental
music here but it’s all very experimental and very loose and
open with plenty of strange looping effects and sonic textures. Check
out Pfarmers for some diverse and ultra strange sonic delights. Gunnera
is much easier to listen to than to describe with mere words.
www.JurassicPopRecords.com
KSCOPE
- Multi-instrumentalist and composer Steven Wilson works
prog rock magic on his 2015 CD solo release Hand. Cannot. Erase.
The 11 track CD sounds like the passing of the old guard of
progressive music into the brave new world of the 21st century, still.
The thunder may have subsided in the 20th century rock world but Wilson
and his crack band delivers the goods on a CD that is best listened
to, frequently. Playing the music from Hand. Cannot. Erase. live
on his 2015 tour, Wilson has assembled a virtuoso band - Nick
Beggs (bass), Adam Holzman (keyboards), Guthrie
Govan (guitar), David Kilminster (guitar) and Craig
Blundell (drums). Hand. Cannot. Erase. features
dynamic performances by Wilson and members of his touring ensemble,
Marco Minneman on drums, and vocal accompaniment from Ninet
Tayeb. Between his solo work, work as the leader of Porcupine
Tree as well as his remixing classics by rock greats such as YES and
Jethro Tull, clearly Wilson has assumed the position of resident rock
statesman at large. It’s not wrong to say a lot of Wilson’s
music on Hand. Cannot. Erase. echoes, at least in spirit, past
music by YES and other prog pioneers and especially now, that’s
a good thing. Written, produced and mixed by Steven Wilson, Hand.
Cannot. Erase. is time well spent among prog-rock disciples. www.HankCannotErase.com
MANIAC
SQUAT RECORDS – There’s only one member left of The
Spiders From Mars—the band that David Bowie rode the
road to fame on. Drummer Mick “Woody” Woodmansey
takes on the ages with a new band that expertly revives Bowie's
1970 breakthrough album The Man Whole Sold The World.
Coming out hot on the heels of his ’69 hit “Space Oddity”,
The Man provided the template for Bowie’s success yet
the masses weren’t quite ready for him yet. Key to Bowie’s
original vision on The Man was Brooklyn born producer Tony
Visconti, who became one of the most influential record producers
in U.K. music history. Tony dedicates this double CD set to Bowie
and of course the late great Mick Ronson. Ronno’s daughter,
singer Lisa Ronson is among the cast of backing singers. Bowie
and Tony couldn’t have hoped for a better band than the two Mick’s.
With disc one featuring The Man played live start to finish
in London on September 22, 2014, disc two of the 2 CD set features
more Bowie classics—focusing on the track that Woody played drums
on for Bowie—revived for this show. Tony and Mick have put together
a great band for this revival of The Man, including Marc
Almond on vocals, former Bowie keyboardist Erdal Kizilcay,
the spot on vocals of Greg Norman, well recorded guitars and
vocals of Steve Norman and a whole slew of great guitarists
and vocalists paying the ultimate homage to Bowie and Ronno. The sound,
expertly produce by Visconti, is first rate. The CD booklet features
discography information and pics of all the great musicians on this
revival of The Man Who Sold The World. www.jdmanagement.com/tonyvisconti
MIDDLE
OF NOWHERE RECORDINGS – Singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni
calls her music folk-noir and it’s true there some darker
shades to her otherwise pop and folk based music. That said, her songs
are both effective and evocative. At the tender age of 23, Ms. Sermanni
is seemingly poised for an amazing future of musical greatness. Recorded
in the Scottish Highlands, Ms. Sermanni’s 2015 CD, entitled Tied
To The Moon, features her in the studio, recording
with a range of musicians, including guitarist Colin Macleod.
Although the album still maintains its sparseness and noir like edges,
Rachel Sermanni’s ten track Tied To The Moon works on
a number of musical levels and the CD is also appealingly packaged,
featuring warm pastel shadings and complete booklet and lyrics. www.monr.co.uk
MMPS LTD. - The band known as Quill have been playing in
the Birmingham England area for years. The band centered around the
music of guitarist Ben Brain, who tragically passed away. Ben’s
wife Joy Strachan-Brain is the lead singer of Quill and she
rises to the occasion on the 2015 CD release of Brush With the
Moon. Ben Brain had left a number of songs in the vault
so to speak and on Brush With The Moon, the band have recorded
these songs as kind of a tribute to the late composer. Featuring Ben’s
original demos, Brush With The Moon is being hailed as a tribute
to Ben and has also been called a labor of love. The CD cover art
painting and booklet also features sketches of Ben’s drawings.
Playing percussion on Brush With The Moon is the great drummer
of The Move and ELO, Bev Bevan. Speaking about Quill, Bev adds,
“Over the years I have always been an admirer of Quill. About
a year ago I joined Quill as percussionist. Joy and I are writing
songs together and we are looking forward to recording tracks for
another album to be released later this year.” More folk
than rock, there’s also a definite progressive element to this
Quill album. The songs have staying power and will appeal to progressive
music lovers as well as folk-rock fans. Also of note is the excellent
Brush With The Moon CD packaging and eye-catching booklet with
lyrics. Overall, Brush With The Moon is a fine introduction
to the progressive folk-rock sound of Quill. www.quilluk.com
NINJA
TUNE – It’s exciting to see the progress of music in
the early 21st century. With so much rock and fusion music like waters
under the bridge, it’s up to younger bands to pave new roads
and explore the virtual unknown. Case in point is the CD called Starfire
by the Norwegian band called Jaga Jazzist. Featuring
the music of guitarist / composer Lars Horntveth, Jaga Jazzist
have been called everything from jazz-rock and prog/electronica to
lesser known sub genres like polka and even hip-hop. Covering so much
ground can be disconcerting for the listener, yet on Starfire,
Jaga Jazzist excels in an all together new kind of music that
will surely appeal to fans of jazz-rock fusion and progressive rock.
True, the all instrumental nature of their music makes them special
in this day and age, yet there’s also something friendly and
familiar about their sound which should make them a draw for music
fans who’ve been around the block. Jaga Jazzist features a band
with eight members who are augmented by a number of musicians adding
everything from strings and handclaps to additional synths and even
something called the “Swarmatron”, which presumably is some
kind of synth or mellotron related instrument. With guitars, synths
and all types of percussion burning and ablaze, Jaga Jazzist is clearly
not for the faint of heart. Fans of Zappa and the proggiest of the
instrumental prog-bands will love Starfire. Jaga Jazzist makes
daring and challenging instrumental music that explodes with impunity.
With the 2015 CD release of Starfire, Jaga Jazzist have released
their best album yet and sound set for even bigger and better things.
www.JagaJazzist.com
ONOMATOPOEIA
RECORDS – The English have such a rich history of great “British”
pop and rock bands for the past 50 years. You can add the name William
D. Drake to that list. On Mr. Drake’s 2015 CD, entitled Revere
Reach he seemingly channels great singer-songwriter tunesmiths
like Ray Davies and even 1970s bands like Gryphon. The sound is both
gothic and winsome. Imagine Penguin Café Orchestra backing
up Ray Davies, Jim Pembroke or even Kevin Ayers on an album that reeks
of Britishness! Here’s how the record label describes it: “At
once heart felt, hearty and absurd, its heady reveries blend ancient-seeming
modal folk melody with an obliquely slanted rock thrust.” (lol)
That description is dead on too. A fine keyboardist and a former member
of a band called The Cardiacs, Mr. Drake and his band have a number
of titles on vinyl and CD on his label. Sounding influenced by Tin
Pan Alley tunes to London circa 1966 to a range of heady art-rock
sounds from the early Virgin years and even bands like Jethro Tull,
all the way to modern sounds, with Revere Reach William D.
Drake is a voice and a songwriter worth keeping your eyes on. www.onophonic.com
ORIGIN
RECORDS – Based in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., Origin
is one of the top jazz-related music labels world wide. Although primarily
jazz focused, Origin has a great pop-jazz album out in 2015 by keyboardist
/ composer Jack Perla, entitled Enormous Changes.
With Jack handling all the keyboards, piano and accordion, the
album also features excellent contributions from a range of players
and singers including Crystal Monee Hall (vocals), Jordan
Carp (vocals), Robin Coomer (vocals), Gawain Matthews
(guitars), Jason Slota (drums) along with other fine players.
The sound on Enormous Changes is very pop-jazz, meaning there’s
not only virtuoso performances all around but there’s also some
cool pop hooks worked into the tracks. This is very surprising in
and of itself but it’s not unheard of, especially when you consider
early 1970s bands like Hatfield & The North and more recently,
the long awaited comeback CD from Southern California fusioneers Blue
Shift. Featuring a range of gifted singers, both male and female,
Perla’s airey, yet exciting music on Enormous Changes
easily fits into that class of legendary bands, even though it’s
more jazz than heavy rock fusion. Jack Perla has a number of albums
out under his own name that covers a range of genres including opera,
jazz, chamber and symphonic music. With the 2015 CD release of Enormous
Changes, Jack Perla reinvents a new and exciting blend of innovative
21st century jazz-rock. www.originarts.com
REAL
MUSIC – One of the most pure New Age artists on the Real
Music label is the husband and wife duo of Jethro and Prem Williams,
known as Sacred Earth. Following a series of CD re-releases
on Real Music, Sacred Earth return in 2015 with an album of all new
material called kuTumba. Mystical and meditative
are just a couple of words used to describe the hypnotic grooves of
Sacred Earth and they combine their best attributes on kuTumba.
The Sacred Earth sound is very much rooted in the realms of yoga,
meditation and New Age music and both Jethro and Prem have openly
stated that their goal is “To create music that inspires the
listener to connect to the deeper place within themselves”
and they more than live up to that philosophy on kuTumba. With
Jethro handling the acoustic guitars, flutes and whistles and Prem
on lead vocals and keyboards, Ku Tumba also features a number
of guest artists on exotic instruments like gravikord, Celtic harp,
tabla and didgeridoo. Most of the music is vocal based with Prem’s
soaring chanting but some of the tracks are more instrumental based
such as the near ten minute title track. The liner notes also feature
track by track liner notes that provides further insights into Sacred
Earth’s musical spirituality. Nine albums into their career,
Sacred Earth find their musical sweet spot with kuTumba. www.RealMusic.com
RICKY
GARDINER SONGS - Rock guitar hero Ricky Gardiner is best
known for his dazzling electric guitar work in the classic ‘70s
prog-rock band Beggar’s Opera. In 2014, U.K. reissue label
BGO released a double CD set from Beggars Opera featuring their two
most famous albums - Act One and Waters Of Change. Just
around the same time, Ricky’s recent solo albums came to the
attention of mwe3.com and for long time fans they are well worth hearing.
Ricky was a key part of the David Bowie band lineup that recorded
the 1977 Low album and, true to form, some of the tracks on
the all instrumental album Songs For The Electric feature
guitar instrumentals that would have fit right in on Low. These
songs are stark and full of sonic despair but the one constant is
Ricky’s haunting and very linear guitar lines, mostly played
on electric guitars. Songs For The Electric is performed entirely
by Ricky with help from Virginia Scott on keyboards and co-writing.
Another recent title featuring Ricky Gardiner and Virginia Scott is
a 2010 release entitled Lose A Life, by an updated
version of Gardiner’s ‘70s band Beggars Opera. Interestingly,
Lose A Life revolves around Gardiner’s medical condition
known as electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), which typically emanates
from overexposure to microwave radiation devices such as cell phones,
cell towers and other microwave radiation creating devices. Not yet
considered a medical condition accepted in all countries, the grim
prospects of EHS is at the core of the Lose A Life CD, which
includes track titles like “Electrofire Invasion”, “Masts
On My Roof” and “Dr. Carlo”, - written about the radiation
exposure specialist blacklisted by the CTIA and other radiation promoting
lobbyists world wide. Gardiner is right on the money as the world
fails to grasp the importance of this heated topic of mass deception
and unfortuanate medical predicament. Originally released in 2010,
Lose A Life features Ricky’s guitars backed up by the
voice and keys of Virginia Scott and drumming of Tom Gardiner.
Both albums, the all-instrumental electro-rock soundscapes of Songs
For The Electric and the rock-opera vibe of Lose A Life are
truly eye-opening and will be of definite interest among fans of this
often overlooked guitarist. Guitar hero Ricky Gardiner strikes sonic
gold on his latest solo CD releases. www.RickyGardiner.com
/ www.BeggarsOpera.co.uk
ROUGH
AND TUMBLE LABEL – Singer-songwriter Matthew K is
hot off the presses with his 2015 self-titled solo album MatthewK.
A number of singer-songwriters come to mind while listening to
the MatthewK CD, including Billy Joel and even the late great Harry
Chapin. The 12 track CD was recorded and mixed in the US, the UK and
Australia as well. The sound is full bodied and is filled with crunching
electric guitars and soaring synths. Like the aforementioned Joel
and Chapin comparisons, the sound of MatthewK might be AOR or very
singer songwriter dominated but it’s all done very tastefully
and Matthew’s voice never wears out its welcome. The CD features
a very smart crew of producers and engineers but ultimately the album
achieves its sonic sheen thanks to the sonic charm and MatthewK's
song writing smarts. www.MatthewK.com
SHOOGLE
RECORDS - In 2014 multi-instrumentalist / drummer / programming
/ guitarist James Macintosh and singer-songwriter Kaela
Rowan joined forces for Kaela’s debut solo album Menagerie.
Both Kaela and James are also members of the group Shooglenifty
and in 2015, they released a new CD with Shooglenifty called The
Untied Knot. Both James and Kaela perform on this 2015
Shooglenifty CD and they get solid support from a range of musicians.
Between them all, the sound they get has been called Druidic Funk,
Celtic Cantabile, Dub Ceilidh and other terms used to describe their
eclectic mix of 21st century Celtic and Scottish folk and progressive
21st century folk-jazz. The majority of tracks here are instrumentals
that sometimes recall some of the Chieftains music, yet there’s
also some uptempo, “progressive” folk-rock inspired moments.
With Kaela and James, Shooglenifty also features Malcolm Crosbie
(guitars), Quee MacArthur (bass), Garry Finlayson (banjo)
and Ewan MacPherson (mandolin, guitars). Hearing Kaela’s
vocals on these tracks is also great and of course, James on drums
seals the deal on this very cool-sounding progressive, World-Beat
inspired folk-rock CD. Fans of The Chieftains, and some of Mark Knopfler’s
film soundtracks will also enjoy The Untied Knot by Shooglenifty.
www.shooglenifty.com
SUNDAY
BEST – Produced by Mick Jones of The Clash, the 2015
CD by Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, entitled The Third
is a great album of retro pop and rock and early country pop.
After a few listens you feel like you’re back in 1957. These
guys would have made a great splash at an early sock hop or rock &
roll show back then. Based in London, the music this fab trio makes
has been described as a mix of dirty R&B, whiskey soaked country
and haunting Hawaiian jungle and gospel fever. Consisting of 2 ladies
and guy, the sound is not unlike the thing Amy Winehouse was going
for before her life ended way too soon. There’s some great sounding
strings and horns for added effect while one look at the back cover
art of the CD finds the trio playing sitar and tabla. One of the most
fun experiences you can have with a CD, The Third is a fab
intro to the retro-tinged rock ‘n’ sound of Kitty, Daisy
& Lewis. www.KittyDaisyAndLewis.com
URBAN
NOMAD BAND – Hailing from Manitoba, Canada, the band known
as Urban Nomad is keeping the spirit of progressive rock and
jazz-rock alive and well with their critically acclaimed, self-titled
CD. Although the CD features only 3 tracks, (including the 3 part
“Living In Exile”), the 33 minute CD is filled with extended
jams and lyrics that sometimes evoke Steely Dan and at times, 1970s
prog-rock bands such as Camel. The four piece band features Will
Neufeld (keyboards, lead vocals), Nick Rempel (guitar,
vocals), Justin Kroeker ( bass) and James Neufeld (drums).
The songs work on a number of levels and true to form, the band’s
sonic approach includes influences such as King Crimson and newer
bands such as Porcupine Tree and Jaga Jazzist. Fusion, rock and funk
mix well together on the Urban Nomad CD and it’s clear that spin
after spin Urban Nomad have staying power. Even though the CD was
released in 2012, it’s not too late to pick up on the power and
sonic might of Urban Nomad. www.urbannomad.bandcamp.com
INSTRUMENTAL
AGELESS
RECORDS – Making music since the mid 1990’s, Holland
Phillips returns in 2015 with a CD of new music called Daydream
Alley. The twelve track CD is very easy on the ears
and mixes lite instrumental sounds with all forms of New Age related
electronica. Much more easy listening than hard care electronics,
Daydream Alley is clearly put together with much care. In fact,
a better description could be smooth jazz meets New Age. All of the
songs were written by Holland Phillips and all the pianos and synths
as well were played by Holland as well. You can tell Holland was classically
trained as a lot of his sonic motifs sound inspired by the great composers
of the past. With its mix of ambient, instrumental and chill-out smooth
jazz grooves, Holland Phillips will make instrumental music fans very
happy with Daydream Alley. www.MusicByHolland.com
ANIMA SOUND PRODUCTIONS – Over in the U.K., instrumental
based New Age / healing music continues onwards and upwards with,
Sacred Alliance - the 2014 CD from the group
known as Anima. The nine track CD clocks in over 70+ minutes
with the accent once again being on electronic space music that borrows
from chill out grooves and hypnotic trance based synth sounds. At
the core of Anima is composer Ali Calderwood, who wrote and
performed the bulk of the music here, while Daniela Broder adds
in some wordless female vocals for extra effect. Fans of meditation
music will find much to enjoy here as the scenic sounds are superbly
performed. Fans of this sort of instrumental healing music will love
Sacred Alliance and equally amazing is the Anima web site,
which, like their music is state of the art. Among the other genres
covered on Anima music are Reiki music, relaxation music, spa and
massage music, yoga music and countless other sub genres that specialize
in this form of therapeutic sounds. The album art is great and the
CD sounds impressive. For those into downloads, the Anima web site
offers six different types of downloads, ranging from basic mp3 to
high tech FLAC and DSD downloads. New Age instrumental fans will enjoy
the soothing sounds of Anima and their Sacred Alliance. www.AnimaMusic.co.uk
BOHEMIAN
EMBASSY - Acoustic guitar fans might not know his name yet, but
California based Tom Caufield is a guitarist worth checking
out. Caufield’s most recent CD release, entitled Tales
From The Wine Dark Sea, features haunting CD cover
art and the music within more than fits the bill. Caufield describes
his brand of acoustic instrumental guitar as being “contemplative
mood music.” In addition to Tales From The Wine Dark Sea,
Caufield also has a another release out called Things I
Heard While In The Womb, an album that features a 22
minute single called “Rust Of The New Babylon”. It’s
interesting to note that Caufield cites progressive U.K. musicians
like Mike Oldfield, Tony Banks and Brian Eno among his early progressive
music influences while Carlos Santana, Will Ackerman and his early
studies of Segovia are among his big guitar influences. From progressive
rock vibes to Windham Hill style guitar ruminations, Tom Caufield’s
Tales From The Wine Dark Sea travels down a number of sonic
highways and is one of the most eclectic acoustic guitar albums of
the decade. www.CaufieldMusic.com
CEDAR
‘N’ SAGE MUSIC - After recording 30 albums as solo artists,
flute master and composer Sherry Finzer and fellow flautist
Mark Holland recorded and released Flute Flight on
the Cedar Sage Music label. The 13 track CD is a a heavenly musical
experience. Ms. Finzer’s speciality is the silver flute while
Mark Holland excels on the Native American flute. The pair are accompanied
by a range of musicians who add key backing on light percussion, synth
pads, piano, crystal blow, bongs, guitar and other instruments. The
CD falls into a range of New Age / Healing Music genres and the tracks
veer into both ambient and upbeat New Age styles. Having enjoyed and
appreciated each other on CD over the years, Flute Flight finally
became a reality and was recorded in May of 2015. What could have
turned into a flute fight is in reality a sublime, sonic experience.
Flute Flight is right up there with the finest meditative listening
experiences of 2015. www.SherryFinzer.com
/ www.AutumnsChild.com
DAN
MUSIC - Back in the 1970s, keyboardist / composer Stefan Nilsson
was one of the key artists to emerge during the critically acclaimed
European jazz-rock boom of that golden decade. As the leader of the
Swedish jazz-rock fusion band Kornet—a band that released three
excellent jazz-rock albums along the way—Nilsson was also very
active in a supporting role, recording and touring with Sweden's greatest
jazz-rock musicians of the era, including guitarist Janne Schaffer
and the late, great flutist / keyboardist Björn J:son Lindh,
as well as live shows with the late, great Finnish jazz-rock-fusion
bassist / composer Pekka Pohjola. In the mid 1980’s the NYC based
Breakthru’ Records was instrumental in bringing Nilsson’s
music to the US, as was realized on the 1984 Breakthru’ Lp release
of Nilsson’s album classic Music For Music Lovers. In
1986, Nilsson’s first CD release—a Neoclassical instrumental
music masterpiece, featuring Stefan's grand piano and orchestra called
Romantic Piano Dreams—was also released on CD by Breakthru’
in early 1986 . Despite critical acclaim for his solo albums,
in the ensuing years, Nilsson ventured away from the jazz fusion
sound and went on to score film soundtracks for a number of critically
acclaimed movies, mostly from Sweden and Scandinavia. Other session
work followed throughout the years and now in 2015, Stefan Nilsson
is back with his first album of jazz-rock instrumentals in years,
entitled The Gift. It’s almost as if it’s
1985 again as The Gift is full of magical and memorable, heavy
keyboard based, jazz rock fusion instrumentals. The Gift features
Stefan backed up by a full band, including electric guitarists Max
Schultz and Eric Söderlind, along with other fine
musicians such as percussionist and album engineer, the late Magnus
Persson, who passed away at the end of 2014 and for whom The
Gift is dedicated. Most of the music on this 11 cut CD are Stefan
Nilsson originals that feature his one of a kind electric keyboards
backed by a complete jazz fusion band. There are also two swinging
Nilsson adaptations of J.S Bach classics—including the title
track "The Gift", which is based around Bach's Dm Concerto—as
well as a stately cover of Vivaldi’s “Winter”, from
the famous Four Seasons classical suite. There are another
two covers here with Nilsson and company performing “Honeysuckle
Rose”, written by Fats Waller and “Don’t Get Around
Much Anymore”, the old evergreen by Duke Ellington. Anyone familiar
with Stefan Nilsson’s music will be delighted to find that The
Gift is one of the most varied and well rounded albums to date
by the much appreciated musician. Those music fans who enjoyed Nilsson’s
ground breaking work with Kornet as well his selected solo discography,
including Romantic Piano Dreams and Music For Music Lovers,
will find much to appreciate about The Gift. Stefan Nilsson's
long awaited return to the jazz-rock fusion world, The Gift takes
its place as one of the finest keyboard-based instrumental fusion
albums of the decade and may, in fact be ultimately regarded as Nilsson’s
crowning achievement to date as a recording artist. www.facebook.com
ECM
RECORDS – The legendary ECM Records label has worked with
some certified legends of both the acoustic and the electric guitar
and they strike sonic gold with Only Sky—the 2015
CD release by guitar hero David Torn. Over the years, Torn
has worked with a range of music legends but on Only Sky (written
in lower case only sky on the CD cover), it’s just
him and he really puts the pedal to the metal on a CD that is filled
with a cross section of mind boggling guitar wizardry. Recorded in
New York, Only Sky is both intimate and experimental and is
truly an album to get lost in, only to find your way back and play
it again. Speaking about his 2015 masterpiece, Torn adds, ‘This
record is the closest to capturing what it is I do alone with a guitar
at home – and in that way only sky is the most personal record
I’ve made.’ Filled with harrowing, glacial-sounding
soundscapes, Only Sky is almost Hendrix like in its approach
to guitar experimentalism. Even so, the album also echoes back to
the great works that ECM released over the years from Norwegian guitar
icon Terje Rypdal. Perhaps the most astounding thing about Only
Sky is that the album is just Torn, alone in full experimental
mode, with the guitarist adding, ‘Even if it doesn’t
always sound like it, all of the music is just my instrument and multiple
looping devices, with some favorite fuzz boxes. The guitar and the
looping devices were amplified separately, enabling that sense of
both spaciousness and clarity.’ Torn has spoke extensively
about Only Sky and has spoken about the ‘different planes
of sound’ and the ‘strange occurrences of poly tonality’
and how they take the listener to strange sonic destinations. Featuring
the guitarist performing guitar, electric Oud, real-time mechanical
and electronic modifications, David Torn’s Only Sky is
a collection of magical guitar paintings that will take you far beyond
your wildest sonic destinations. www.DavidTorn.net
EDITIONS
– Finnish trumpeter / composer Verneri Pohjola continues
rising through the ranks in the jazz music world with his 2015 CD,
entitled Bullhorn. Verneri’s father is Pekka
Pohjola, who despite having passed away on November 27, 2008, remains
among the greatest instrumental jazz-rock composers that Finland has
ever produced. Some of the father’s orchestral inclinations are
featured on Bullhorn, but for the most part, the CD is a solid
jazz effort that eschews guitars and the rock influences of the classic
Pohjola sound. Verneri gets a beautiful tone from his trumpet, which
just soars throughout the CD. Bullhorn also features Verneri
backed by a solid band including Aki Rissanen (piano), Antti
Lötjönen (bass) and Teppo Mäkynen (drums).
Also on hand are several other horn players to give the sound an even
fuller, brassy sound. The U.K. based Editions label continues to give
adventurous, high quality jazz a chance in a music world filled with
crowded, too quickly forgotten youtube clips. The Bullhorn
CD cover art is quite effective and the CD liner notes are very interesting,
with Verneri stating about the CD, ‘It has my sound written
very clearly into it. It has the intimate sounds and lyricism and
also the rough energy and emphasis on the compositions. At the same
time it’s very jazz.’ Being the son of the most gifted
rock composer ever to come out of Finland and all of Europe for that
matter is a daunting challenge that might stifle another offspring,
yet Verneri Pohjola has created a unique statement of his own on the
jazzy, potent instrumental sound of Bullhorn. www.VerneriPohjola.com
ESSENTIAL
MESSENGER RECORDS – Based up in Bronxville, New York, Essential
Messenger Records is making jazz guitar fans very happy with Live
Intentionally! - the 2015 CD release from Long Island
guitarist Larry Newcomb. Spotlighting the sonic chemistry of
The Larry Newcomb Quartet, the nine track Live Intentionally!
features the guitarist backed up by a solid band including Eric
Olsen (piano), Dmitri Kolesnik (bass) and Jimmy Madison
(drums). The CD features three Newcomb originals that sit comfortably
on a CD that also features Newcomb covers of classics from the pens
of legends such as Sammy Cahn, Jerome Kern, Carla Bley and much more.
The tracks flow together so seamlessly that you’d be hard pressed
to know which is a cover and which is an original. Commenting in the
CD liner notes, Larry adds, “Live Intentionally! was recorded
live. I wanted to capture the spontaneous intensity and energy of
playing jazz without a safety net. I also wanted to test my own performance
and improvising skills in real time. This is our genuine, spontaneous
playing, reaching for all the joy and beauty we could capture in each
moment.” Jazz guitar fans will totally enjoy the fretboard
action in play on Live Intentionally! by Larry Newcomb Quartet.
www.LarryNewcomb.com
EVERSOUND
– The guitarist known as Lino is back in the summer
of 2015 with his fourth solo album album called Cascadia.
Musically and sonically, the 34 minute, 11 cut CD is a worthy
follow up to Lino’s 2007 CD Miami Jam. Breezy and inventive
instrumental guitar music, Cascadia finds Lino recording in
the company of top players like Chris Frazier (drums), Georges
Bouhey (keyboards) and Andy Warr (sax), to name just a
few. Most of the tracks are fully blown jazz rock instrumentals that
encompass the realms of jazz fusion, rock instrumental, classical
guitar music, Nuevo flamenco and smooth jazz as well. Among the ensemble
pieces are several acoustic instrumental tracks that showcase Lino’s
skillful classical guitar playing. The CD starts off with the title
track described as a “smooth jazz” gem inspired by the breathtaking
landscapes of central Oregon and the CD closes out with the third
of Lino’s tributes to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Lino’s
favorite composer. A few spins of Cascadia and you’ll
be hooked on what music lovers in the know are already referring to
as “Lino Music”. It’s taken several years for a new
Lino CD, but guitar fans will thoroughly enjoy the adventurous guitar
instrumental sound of Lino’s Cascadia. www.LinoMusic.com
GREYDISC
– Massachusetts based Kevin Kastning continues breaking
new ground for the art of the guitar with his 2015 solo album, Otherworld.
When I say breaking new ground, I don’t take that term very
lightly as not many albums of solo acoustic guitar music feature a
guitarist playing 36 string Contra-Alto guitar, 15 string Extended
Classical guitar, 17-string and 16 string Contraguitars—all on
the same album. Not only that but Kevin is actually the inventor of
many of these guitars and to say he’s masterful at coaxing the
best sounds possible out of them would be an understatement. Kevin’s
Greydisc music imprint has already established itself as one of the
most highly regarded experimental music labels in the world today.
Earlier releases featured albums with modern music masters like 
Mark
Wingfield, Michael Manring, Carl Clements, Sandor Szabo and other
collaborators, yet on Otherworld, the focus is solely on Kevin’s
moody and atmospheric guitar work. Once again superbly recorded, Otherworld
lives up to its name as the sound is dense and raveled, dark and
insightful. Back in the day, Kevin studied with modern day guitar
masters such as Pat Metheny, yet his music takes you to places Metheny
has yet to visit. In some respects, Kevin’s music owes more to
experimental music makers such as Phillip Glass and even Harry Partch,
who experimented with musical timbres that people hadn’t even
dreamed of yet. Yet, even with this air of otherworldly experimentalism,
all 16 tracks on Otherworld are quite easy on the ears—Kevin’s
picked notes flying out into the sonic atmosphere with unparalleled
ease. It’s to his credit that he’s earned his reputation
by working and recording with other guitarists and musicians yet,
on Otherworld guitarist Kevin Kastning raises the bar for 21st
century musical experimentalism as well as expanding the horizons
for the art of the acoustic guitar. www.KevinKastning.com
HANSENHAUS
– Based in South Florida, guitarist Eric Hansen is turning
heads with his latest CD entitled String Theory.
Eric was brought to the attention of mwe3.com by guitarist Jim
Stubblefield of the instrumental Nuevo Flamenco guitar group Incendio.
Musically, Hansen and Stubblefield sound like guitar brothers in that
they both espouse a similar classical / flamenco approach to the guitar.
Like Stubblefield, Eric Hansen is also a virtuoso of the nylon string
classical guitar and after giving String Theory a few spins,
it’s clear that his command of Nuevo flamenco and classical guitar
is impeccable. Although released in 2011, String Theory is
filled with a range of Hansen instrumental originals and the CD also
features covers of “Nature Boy” by Eden Ahbez and then there’s
Hansen’s flamenco rave up version of “Hotel California”,
turned into a flamenco guitar fest. Although he’s quite capable
of entertaining as a solo guitarist, Eric is joined by some fine players
on String Theory, including Matt Calderin (drums), Tony
Monaco (percussion), Rick Geragi (percussion) and Randi
Fishenfeld (violin). Eric’s web site is filled with more
info on his CD output with each CD featuring sound clip samples. Nuevo
Flamenco guitar fans and in fact anyone who appreciates virtuosic
guitar playing, give a listen to Eric Hansen. www.nuevo-flamenco.com
HOUSE
MASTER RECORDS - In
2015, Cologne, Germany based guitarist Alan J. Bound released Deep
Space: The Alan J. Bound Retrospective 2005 – 2014.
The 2015 Deep Space CD compilation from German space-rock
guitarist Alan J. Bound features music the guitarist recorded on a
pair of albums—Cosmology and Moonglider—over
the past decade. Much of the 9 track Deep Space spotlights
music Alan J. Bound recorded with Jaki Liebezeit—drummer
with German rock legends Can and drummer for Michael Rother during
the late 1970s. Fans into the instrumental side of Pink Floyd will
find 
that
Deep Space is equally filled with a powerful combination of
instrumental progressive rock, electronic rock and sonic space-rock
explorations. Deep Space was created and released during the
first half of 2015 as a special, limited edition CD and booklet, contained
in a mini-Lp style jacket, featuring an all black CD pressing, complete
with sonic remastering. Other Deep Space highlights include
4 tracks remixed especially for this 2015 CD release and new liner
notes and 2014 interview with Alan J. Bound written by Robert S. Silverstein
of mwe3.com. Musically, as a guitarist and composer, Alan J. Bound
echoes the more melodic and rock driven aspects of later period Tangerine
Dream, while the Leibezeit / Rother connection is also echoed thanks
to the relentless “motorik” beat fueled by the stellar guitar
/ drum combination between Alan J. Bound and the drumming icon from
Can. Fans might also notice another Pink Floyd-ian kind of sound as
Alan sounds (especially, tone wise) like a David Gilmour disciple
of sorts. Having hinted at it on their instrumental rock classic,
Obscured By Clouds, Deep Space is the kind of music
Pink Floyd should have been making more of during their Dark Side
era. In fact, I might take it one step further by saying that,
if some of the great German classical composers of centuries past
were alive today, Deep Space is the kind of music they would
be making. Hopefully, this CD will inspire fans of this much revered
genre of European progressive music. Who knows? If the more puritanical
New Age and classical music critics pass, or miss out, perhaps the
heavy metal and hard rock crowd will catch on and appreciate Alan
J. Bound for the sheer unrelenting instrumental rock dynamics in play
on Deep Space. With one classic melodic track after the next,
Alan J. Bound’s Deep Space compilation is the instrumental
rock music event of 2015. www.facebook.com
HUMBLEDRAGON
ENTERTAINMENT – Canadian flutist / composer Ron Korb is
clearly in love with Chinese and Asian music in general and the results
of that musical affinity can be heard on the 2015 CD release of Asia
Beauty. Packaged like a book, complete with hard back
CD case and multipage CD booklet, Asia Beauty takes the listener
on a stroll through the magic of Asian musical motifs. With song titles
like “Hanoi Café” and “Ancient China”,
the album is quite soothing and 
as
such should neatly fall into the New Age instrumental music genre.
What’s even more impressive is Ron’s implementation of a
number of Chinese music instruments, including all types of flutes
that he plays, while backing from a range of musicians, including
a number of guitarists, keyboardists and percussionists keeps the
music intriguing throughout. In depth liner notes with fascinating
artwork and superlative CD sound quality will keep the listener even
more focused on Korb’s magical Asia Beauty CD. www.RonKorb.com
JOHN
IRVINE MUSIC - The concept of jazz-rock fusion is not exactly
a new idea, yet new and exciting musicians keep stepping up to the
challenges of bringing the genre just that much further. Case in point
is Next Stop, the 2013 CD by The John Irvine
Band. This excellent nine track Next Stop CD somehow went
under the radar yet, thanks to astute listeners who continue to sing
its praises the Next Stop CD finally found its way for review
into the trusty mwe3 CD player. Some in the know music fans have cited
the late 1970s music of Alan Holdsworth as being similar in style
to the sound of Next Stop. That may be true, yet on Next
Stop, the Scotland-based John Irvine just about revolutionizes
the entire jazz-rock instrumental concept and overall, Next Stop
makes for a most electrifying hour of music listening. Not only
are Irvine’s guitar skills first rate but his mastery of the
melodic ideas involved in creating memorable instrumental music makes
Next Stop one of the most vital instrumental fusion albums
of the millennium. A most successful follow up to Irvine’s 2011
CD Wait & See, on 2013’s Next Stop, Irvine
settles deeply into a vast sonic landscape while receiving fantastic
support from his JIB rhythm section—Alan Emslie (drums,
percussion and co-production) and Doug Kemp (bass). Fusion
fans looking for new and intelligently written and recorded instrumental
jazz-rock fusion will do the right thing by picking up on the CD release
of Next Stop, by the John Irvine Ban. www.JohnIrvineMusic.com
JUST
MUSIC – One of the best electronic music / experimental music
labels in the U.K. today is Just Music and they have another winner
on their hands with the 2015 CD release of Beautiful Broken,
from the group known as Digitonal. Actually, Digitonal
is more or less the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Andy Dobson.
Some astute music insiders have compared Digitonal to the minimalist
sounds of Steve Reich. There is a bit of that Reich meets Philip Glass
experimentalism on Beautiful Broken, but there’s also
a kind of alternative, soundtrack kind of feel ala Penguin Café
Orchestra that is also present in the best New Age kind of albums.
With the experimental minimalist meets New Age meets soundtrack kind
of sound going on, it’s hard to pigeon hole Digitonal’s
Beautiful Broken CD. The album is actually the 5th Digitonal
release since 1997, yet the first since Save Your Light For Darker
Days, released in 2008. Dobson’s forte is his unique approach
to electronic keyboards yet he’s also well versed on piano and
clarinet too and he puts most of that to good use on an album that
also features contributions from several like minded musicians who
never overshadow the sound which is often harmonious and picturesque.
Commenting on Beautiful Broken, Dobson further explains, “I’ve
always wanted to make music that’s emotive for me and the audience.
I think it’s quite difficult with electronic music, to get the
right blend. But that’s what I’m always working towards.”
www.JustMusic.co.uk
LETIZIA
MUSIC – The perfect album to bring you up and out of the
sonic doldrums, Froggy & The Toads is a solid jazz-funk
instrumental CD featuring the production and compositions of guitarist
Gaetano Letizia. Sonically, the all instrumental CD is all
over the musical map while taking in elements of jazz, funk, R&B
and even reggae beats. Gaetano receives solid support from his group
members Wilbur Krebs (bass) and Mike Clark (drums).
Gaetano has cited influences like Hendrix, Clapton, B.B. and Albert
King and more and you can hear those sonic influences and a whole
lot more on the solid funk-jazz sound of Froggy & The Toads.
With all the tracks featuring frog-titled themes throughout, on
Froggy & The Toads, Gaetano Letizia brings out the jazz
with a heaping helping of funky, bluesy guitar tracks. www.GaetanoLetizia.com
LOU
PECCI MUSIC – Guitarist Lou Pecci is receiving accolades
for his solo acoustic and electric guitar albums. Lou’s 2014
CD, Original Time is filled with a dozen atmospheric
guitar instrumentals and the album spotlights a mix of his acoustic
and electric guitar work. The tracks are eventful and, start to finish,
Original Time is a good choice if you enjoy original, driving
and rhythmic acoustic / electric solo guitar music. Commenting on
the concept behind Original Time, in the 
following
interview Lou tells mwe3.com, "Years ago I started getting
interested in odd time signatures, and decided to go back and start
with Dave Brubeck’s old albums, like Time Out, Time Further Out
and Time Changes… etc. Then awhile back John McLaughlin put out
a DVD called The Gateway To Rhythm, which is about Konokol, a system
of mastering rhythm which also deals quite a bit with odd time. Eventually
I decided to write some tunes in 5/4 and 7/4 and mix them in with
4/4 and 6/8 tunes, which is one difference to the other CDs. I called
it Original Time as there are no covers and it’s a play on the
word “time.” Just as intriguing is Lou’s 2013 CD
entitled James Bond On Electric Guitar. Even
though there’s no drumming on Lou's CDs, his classic Bond movie
song covers are played quite well as solo guitar instrumentals. Starting
off with the famous “James Bond Theme”, written by Monty
Norman, the 12 track CD goes on to feature solo instrumental guitar
sounds of some of the most famous James Bond melodies written by the
late great John Barry, while the CD closes out with a Pecci original
called “The Black Path”. Along the same lines are a pair
of CDs Lou recorded as tributes to the king of “spaghetti westerns”,
Ennio Morricone, as well as other composers in that genre, entitled
Spaghetti Western Themes On Nylon String Guitar Vol. 1 &
2. Lou achieves some sonic breakthroughs on these two
Spaghetti Western Themes CD titles as well, making Morricone’s
cinematic sounds come alive as solo guitar pieces. All four of these
Lou Pecci albums are quite unique sounding and are well worth the
time for guitar fans to seek out and give a listen to. email:
picks123@aol.com
LUMINESCENT
RECORDS – Guitar fans asking if there’s anything new
under the sun will need to hear a 2015 CD release called AEAEA
from guitarist Stephen Duros. One part hypnotica, one
part a form of New Age, world-beat jazz-fusion mix for the 21st century,
AEAEA centers around the inventive flamenco, electric and bass
guitars, as well as synth keyboards, of Stephen Duros. It’s a
form of aural exotica with the album featuring unique percussion instruments
like 
charango,
riq and darbuka, that mix in with Stephen’s guitars, and that
are performed by a range of percussionists. Even with so much exotic
accompaniment, the accent is mainly on Stephen’s skillful fretboard
work. Speaking to mwe3 about the album and the unusual title, Stephen
explains—'The title of the album, AEAEA is a mythological
island from the ancient poem ‘Odyssey’ and I thought it
would be a nice starting point for the musical journey. It’s
up to the listener to decide where the story goes from there. That’s
what I like about instrumental music, there are no words to tell you
what the song is about. The listener can put headphones on, close
their eyes and imagine whatever they like when listening and let the
music take them away for a bit.' Returning a favor from when Stephen
played in his band, guitar icon Ottmar Liebert is also featured,
here in a cameo role, playing electric guitar. The CD features 12
tracks and the album works quite effectively, perfectly in fact as
the artist puts it, ‘To recount a musical journey or odyssey.
The album tells a story, much like a book does.’ Being all
instrumental, AEAEA is the perfect soundtrack for guitar fans
to feast on. Duros also worked as concert lighting director for the
rock band TOTO, and interestingly, just after Stephen did the mwe3.com
on September 1st, 2015 he was called by TOTO to come and do the lighting
midway through their Summer 2015 tour with YES. Masterful at creating
uncanny sonic extrapolations, Stephen Duros takes the guitar into
deep and uncharted waters with the phenomenal sounding AEAEA.
www.StephenDuros.com
MANGO
EATER MUSIC – Guitarist Terry Wollman is making guitar
fans happy with his 2015 CD release entitled, Silver Collection.
The CD has a lot of jazzy elements but it’s also one of the
top smooth jazz CDs to come out in recent memory. The 14 track, mostly
instrumental music CD is actually Terry’s 25 year musical retrospective
and the music touches on tracks dating back to the late 1980s, ‘90s
and 2000’s too. Commenting on the retrospective in the CD liner
notes, Wollman adds, “These songs are some of my personal favorites.
They are reflections of the places have been, the people I have met
and the lessons I have learned.” With Terry’s guitars front
and center, the CD also features a ‘who’s who’ of jazz
music greats, including Joe Sample (keys), Dave Koz (sax),
Abe Laboriel (bass), Keb’ Mo’ (guitar), Michael
McDonald (vocals on track 3 “Our Love” – from 1998),
Dean Parks (guitar) and so much more. Top notch mastering by
Bernie Grundman keeps the sound uniform as it spans the decades.
Terry Wollman is one of the most entertaining jazz guitarists on the
music scene in 2015 and he puts his long-standing career in the jazz
guitar world into a timely perspective with Silver Collection.
www.TerryWollman.com
MORAZ
ALBAN PRODUCTIONS – Although he was a member of both YES
and The Moody Blues at different times in his career, keyboard wizard
Patrick Moraz also has an esteemed solo career. Far along in
the world of progressive rock, Pat is back in action with an album
MAP, created with percussionist / drummer Greg
Alban. Of course MAP signifies the debut of the Moraz
Alban Project. Anyone expecting a rehash of Pat’s
work in YES, the Moodies and even Refugee will be in for a jolt as
the method of operations here is an album of fully blown instrumental
rock. Incorporating instrumental rock, spacey electronics and intense
drumming and percussion, MAP also features key contributions
from Lenny Castro (percussion), John Avila (bass), Matt
Malley (slide electric sitar) and other esteemed musicians. Some
of the best tracks here are performed solely by Moraz and Alban and
it’s a testament to their virtuosity that they attain such a
full bodied sound throughout the nine track CD. The appealing looking
8 panel digipak artwork is also something to behold as is the hi-tech
website designed especially for MAP. Commenting on working with a
true rock fusion keyboard icon, Alban states, “Patrick and
I have been very good friends for a long time and I’m still always
being surprised by his depth of knowledge, not just about music but
everything! He’s a creative genius and I’m honored to be
working with him.” A truly ear opening sonic experience,
MAP takes instrumental electro fusion into the stratosphere.
YES fans and others who thrilled to Pat's various solo projects, with
be very happy with the sonic sheen of the debut CD by the Moraz Alban
Project. www.PatrickMoraz.com / www.GregAlban.com
MUTE
RECORDS – One of the founders of the rock band Depeche Mode,
Martin Gore released MG in 2015. The album is
a sprawling, 16 track exercise in experimental, instrumental electro-sonics.
Decidedly more experimental than most electronic albums, the album
mixes some static dance beats with a more cerebral, Eno-esque edge
that will appeal to fans of German experimentalists Kraftwerk. Minus
unruly guitar sounds, some of the MG tracks kind of evoke Bowie
during the somber Berlin-era of Low. MG is actually Gore’s
first solo outing since his 2003 album Counterfeit2. Speaking
about the MG album, Gore adds, “I wanted to keep the
music very electronic, very filmic and give it an almost sci-fi quality”.
Whether or not pop fans will take to the album’s experimental,
soundtrack like quality remains to be seen but clearly, MG is
a masterful musically experimental statement that will make you take
notice and listen. www.mute.com
MYSTERIUM
MUSIC - In
2014, keyboardist Peter Kater released his album Etheria
on CD and in 2015 he follows with his latest solo piano album
called Love. Kater's first solo piano release
in over ten years, the 13 track, 72 minute Love CD is filled
with a range of deeply memorable and meditative piano musings. When
it comes to heartfelt, piano performance and music that matches, there
are just a few artists that are in the same class as Kater. Commenting
on the Love CD, Kater adds, “These improvisations and
compositions were recorded over the last three years in the heat of
the moment. These are musical portraits of my heart, ripe with all
the emotions, joys, 
complexities,
excitement, pains and revelations of the various manifestations and
landscapes of love.” It’s incredible to learn that Kater
has released some 60 recordings in a catalog of instrumental music
magic that goes way back to 1983, so for those music fans first getting
into his music, there’s plenty of great sounds to catch up on.
A good place to tune into the sound and vision of his music, Peter
Kater’s Love CD is superbly recorded, with eye-catching
packaging to match and is filled with Peter’s own track by track
notes of the sentiments behind these songs. Peter Kater’s fourth
album for the Mysterium Music label, Love is a timeless solo
piano album for music lovers to delight in. www.PeterKater.com
/ www.MysteriumMusic.com
NATURAL
ELEMENTS RECORDS – Guitarist Jim Stubblefield came
to the attention of mwe3.com with his playing in the guitar trio Incendio.
Taking some time out from Incendio, in 2015 Jim released his sixth
solo guitar masterpiece entitled Encantado. It’s
a solo CD in the sense that Jim's guitar is front and center and his
music is the prime focus here. With Jim playing all the steel string
acoustic guitars, Spanish guitar, 6 and 7 string electric guitars
and the synthesizers, there’s a number of fine players backing
him up throughout the ten track album. Enhanced by the fine co-production
of Jim and Bo Astrup, the Encantado CD features stellar
support and backing from Ramon Yslas (drums), Randy Tico
(bass), Novi Novog (violin and viola), Moksha Sommer
(vocals) as well as added Spanish guitar work by Mark Barnwell
and Eric Hansen. Speaking to mwe3.com about his innovative
guitar sounds in the following interview, Jim explains, "With
Encantado,
I immediately set out to do music that would engage the listener on
more than a casual level. I also wanted to get away from the strong
Latin guitar sound that has been associated with me. I have always
loved other styles of instrumental music - Celtic, classical, Arabic,
jazz fusion, etc. It's music that is hard to put in a box. I'll let
the critics and listeners categorize me, but for now I'll just write
stuff and hope people enjoy what I'm doing." With its stunning
crossection of Nuevo-flamenco, World Beat jazz, neo-classical guitar
sounds and superb recording techniques, Encantado is Jim Stubblefield’s
best solo album yet and is one of the most intriguing guitar recordings
of 2015. www.GuitarraExotica.com
PARTIAL
MUSIC - Back in 2011, mwe3.com featured an interview with multi-instrumentalist
Robert Spalding Newcomb, centered around his double CD set
called Anastasia Of The Gardens. Even though Spalding-Newcomb
is a first rate classical guitarist and sitar player, he also flexes
his musical might as a purveyor of all thing electronic. Electronic
music in this case means avant-gard, and not in the spirit of New
Age music. One look at Spalding-Newcomb’s musical influences
offers a telltale sign of his manifold approach to 20th and 21st century
music. Among Spalding-Newcomb’s influences are Robert Fripp,
Harry Partch and Ravi Shankar. Catching up with Spalding-Newcomb after
a couple years, mwe3.com finally had some listening time with his
CD release of To The Passage Of Time - an album Spalding-Newcomb
recorded with fellow composer James Aikman. In the spirit of
Spalding-Newcomb’s Anastasia double CD, To The Passage
Of Time is actually a superbly recorded live album, filled with
depth-defying electronic sounds very much in the spirit of Wendy Carlos
and even the late 1960s sound of Italian avant gard composer Luciano
Berio. Recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan on December 21st 2012, To
The Passage Of Time features liner notes by James Aikman that
goes into detail on the wide ranging music within. Following the CD
release of To The Passage Of Time, in 2014 Spalding-Newcomb
released Light Of Life: A Summer Solstice Concert -
recorded live on June 22nd 2013 and featuring Spalding-Newcomb
on guitar and sitar performing live alongside James Aikman’s
keyboards and Ken Kozora on percussion, flutes and horn. More
varied than To The Passage Of Time, the Light Of Life
CD is accompanied by a DVD of the live performance along with other
scenic footage featuring contributions by Grace Chung and Mike
Halerz. Robert Spalding-Newcomb continues to take experimental
guitar and avant gard electronic instrumental music to new heights.
Keep an eye out for Robert Spalding-Newcomb’s next sitar album
due for release on CD in late 2015. www.PartialMusic.com
REAL
MUSIC - So
much New Age and electronic instrumental music relies heavily on atmosphere
and not so much on sheer melodic romanticism. Favoring melodic content
rather than daring atmospherics might not be true for every artist,
but it is in the case of Bernward Koch. Bernward’s 2015
album on Real Music is called Remembering and you really
get that feeling of neoclassical remembrances on his most recent CD.
The thirteen track, 63 minute Remembering CD is kind of 
in
the spirit of Bernward’s 2013 album on Real Music, Day of
Life, but if anything Remembering is even more wistful
and nostalgic. Speaking to mwe3.com about his 2015 CD masterpiece,
Bernward adds, "I
started composing directly after the Day of Life album in 2013. Yes,
I always have some kind of déjà vu feeling in my music,
but it’s not always the same. On
Remembering for example, the track "First Flowers" is a
memory back in time to when I started playing piano at age fifteen.
I was living in a small village in the countryside. It was sunny and
quiet days indeed."
On
Remembering it almost sounds like Bernward is pining for a
younger and more innocent time in life. The melodies are clearly sentimental
and nostalgic and, while cloaked in the mystery of New Age sonics,
this is clearly an album made by a composer who isn’t ashamed
to show his appreciation and craft when it comes to drafting a melody
that will last through time. It’s interesting to note that while
Bernward uses the state of the art in audio gear, the musical notes
and content itself sounds relatively timeless in scope and origin.
So, while it’s easy to get nostalgic or full of reverie for Remembering,
it’s worth noting one of Bernward’s quotes: “Strength
lies in calmness.” That sense of aural calmness and sonic strength
is at the very core of Remembering. www.BernwardKoch.com
/ www.RealMusic.com
REALWORLD
RECORDS – The music of composer John Metcalfe is unique.
In fact, it’s so unique it’s often hard to categorize it
under known music categories. One part avant garde, one part experimental,
one part rock, one part chill music, one part electronic… Anyway
you get the drift. As great as John’s 2008 album, A Darker
Sunset, was things don’t get a lot more "clear"
on his excellent 2015 comeback album, The Appearance Of Colour.
This time around, there’s an even greater emphasis on pop
like sounds, even though the album is mainly instrumental, with the
glimpses of wordless female and male voices that sometimes drift in
and out of the soundstage. There’s still a sonic comparison to
the musics of U.K. greats like William Orbit and Mike Oldfield, with
a slightly less emphasis on the guitar, which is also played by Metcalfe.
Interestingly, Metcalfe has cited Vini Reilly’s linear approach
to electric guitar as being one of his influences. Commenting on the
making of The Appearance Of Colour, Metcalfe explains, ‘Perhaps
in the sense that colour itself has no absolute meaning but can still
provoke strong reactions, my initial notion for the album was to try
and write music as free as possible from conscious narrative and create
a sound world that triggers more intense reaction in our nonverbal
minds.’ In other words, keyboards and various synth patterns
prevail along with some very pretty string like sounds. Fans of the
harrowing minimalism of composer Phillip Glass, the sheer shock of
The Art Of Noise, producer’s hat of William Orbit and others
coming from that U.K. school of sonic experimentation will enjoy Metcalfe’s
dazzling and disorienting sonic outlook on the brilliant soundscapes
of The Appearance Of Colour - an album that takes its place
among the great experimental albums of 2015. www.John-Metcalfe.co.uk
REINGOLD
RECORDS - Back in 2012, Swedish keyboardist and composer Lalle
Larson released his album Nightscapes, on Reingold Records.
That album was filled with “thematically inspired and sonically
heavy” rock istrumental music. Taking a sonic detour, Lalle shows
off another side of his multifaceted musical personality with the
2014 CD release of Until Never. Drifting away
on waves of solo piano magic, Until Never retains its sense
of Swedish-ness, echoing some of those fascinating musical moods that
Stefan Nilsson evoked way back in the 1970s and early ‘80s, especially
on his 1985 Romantic Piano Dreams CD. Even so, filled with
haunting melodies and dead of night atmospheres, Until Never is
a musical breakthrough in its own way. Part of the younger wave of
gifted progressive rock musicians who were first being born in the
mid 1970s, Lalle keeps the spirit of progressive keyboard music alive
and well on Until Never. Throughout the nine track CD, Lalle
receives tasteful, yet unobtrusive backing from Jonas Reingold
(fretless bass and co-production) and Richard Hallebeek (acoustic
guitars). If you’re looking to spend an introspective hour with
some memorable solo piano music with light backing, then you’d
be hard pressed to find another album of solo piano music as magical
as Until Never. www.LalleLarsson.com
RICKY
GARDINER SONGS - Rock guitar hero Ricky Gardiner is best
known for his dazzling electric guitar work in the classic ‘70s
prog-rock band Beggar’s Opera. In 2014, U.K. reissue label
BGO released a double CD set from Beggars Opera featuring their two
most famous albums - Act One and Waters Of Change. Just
around the same time, Ricky’s recent solo albums came to the
attention of mwe3.com and for long time fans they are well worth hearing.
Ricky was a key part of the David Bowie band lineup that recorded
the 1977 Low album and, true to form, some of the tracks on
the all instrumental album Songs For The Electric feature
guitar instrumentals that would have fit right in on Low. These
songs are stark and full of sonic despair but the one constant is
Ricky’s haunting and very linear guitar lines, mostly played
on electric guitars. Songs For The Electric is performed entirely
by Ricky with help from Virginia Scott on keyboards and co-writing.
Another recent title featuring Ricky Gardiner and Virginia Scott is
a 2010 release entitled Lose A Life, by an updated
version of Gardiner’s ‘70s band Beggars Opera. Interestingly,
Lose A Life revolves around Gardiner’s medical condition
known as electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), which typically emanates
from overexposure to microwave radiation devices such as cell phones,
cell towers and other microwave radiation creating devices. Not yet
considered a medical condition accepted in all countries, the grim
prospects of EHS is at the core of the Lose A Life CD, which
includes track titles like “Electrofire Invasion”, “Masts
On My Roof” and “Dr. Carlo”, - written about the radiation
exposure specialist blacklisted by the CTIA and other radiation promoting
lobbyists world wide. Gardiner is right on the money as the world
fails to grasp the importance of this heated topic of mass deception
and unfortuanate medical predicament. Originally released in 2010,
Lose A Life features Ricky’s guitars backed up by the
voice and keys of Virginia Scott and drumming of Tom Gardiner.
Both albums, the all-instrumental electro-rock soundscapes of Songs
For The Electric and the rock-opera vibe of Lose A Life are
truly eye-opening and will be of definite interest among fans of this
often overlooked guitarist. Guitar hero Ricky Gardiner strikes sonic
gold on his latest solo CD releases. www.RickyGardiner.com
/ www.BeggarsOpera.co.uk
SCOTT
HENDERSON MUSIC - The CD release of Vibe Station
by guitar icon Scott Henderson, released in May, 2015 is a
journey that will traverse a variety of musical genres including reggae,
fusion, blues, more blues, rock, jazz, and even country. Music listeners
will love this album and guitar players need to own this album. Scott
never breaks a sweat when soloing over even the most complex chord
changes. Scott is also great with the whammy bar and further fattens
up his single note playing with finger style in a sound that projects
sassiness and attitude. Of course, the influence of blues legends
like Albert King and some of his contemporaries have lent ideas to
Scott’s sound, and like Frank Zappa, Scott often puts humorous
twists on his song titles. Bassist, Travis Carlton (son of
Larry Carlton) and drummer Alan Hertz are also on hand to deliver
thundering performances on the album. This is Scott’s first release
in three years and unlike some of the prior work, Scott had creative
control over the entire album. “I put my heart and soul into
it… I work long hours every day and I’m very meticulous
about every little tone and phrase. I just want it to be right”
Scott glides effortlessly through various styles within a single
song. You could even say that the Vibe Station album is similar
to the weather in Baltimore…If there’s something about it
you don’t like, wait a minute and it will change! “It’s
the A.D.D.!” Scott says. The songs are complex but tight
and never meandering. To anyone with any familiarity with Scott, he
loves to play his guitar and nowhere does that characteristic reveal
itself more than within the nine excellent tracks that grace this
album. www.ScottHenderson.net
SHOOGLE
RECORDS - In 2014 multi-instrumentalist / drummer / programming
/ guitarist James Macintosh and singer-songwriter Kaela
Rowan joined forces for Kaela’s debut solo album Menagerie.
Both Kaela and James are also members of the group Shooglenifty
and in 2015, they released a new CD with Shooglenifty called The
Untied Knot. Both James and Kaela perform on this 2015
Shooglenifty CD and they get solid support from a range of musicians.
Between them all, the sound they get has been called Druidic Funk,
Celtic Cantabile, Dub Ceilidh and other terms used to describe their
eclectic mix of 21st century Celtic and Scottish folk and progressive
21st century folk-jazz. The majority of tracks here are instrumentals
that sometimes recall some of the Chieftains music, yet there’s
also some uptempo, “progressive” folk-rock inspired moments.
With Kaela and James, Shooglenifty also features Malcolm Crosbie
(guitars), Quee MacArthur (bass), Garry Finlayson (banjo)
and Ewan MacPherson (mandolin, guitars). Hearing Kaela’s
vocals on these tracks is also great and of course, James on drums
seals the deal on this very cool-sounding progressive, World-Beat
inspired folk-rock CD. Fans of The Chieftains, and some of Mark Knopfler’s
film soundtracks will also enjoy The Untied Knot by Shooglenifty.
www.shooglenifty.com
SOFT
SCIENCE RECORDS – In 2013 guitarist Richard Leo Johnson
released his Celeste album to great acclaim. On a completely
different tact, Richard is back in 2015 with a double CD set which
features two completely different albums—Duval Rey –
Same Place New Day and Roscoe Houndstooth – Listen
To The Sky. Richard Leo Johnson has recorded under
different pseudonyms including Vernon McAlister and Vernon’s
supposed offspring Celeste. Now of course 
there’s
two new people that have come out of Richard’s vivid imagination,
Duval Rey and Roscoe Houndstooth. Calling this music adventurous would
be an understatement as both CDs encapsulate a wild, near avant garde
sound and a form of music that ranges from the amusing to the completely
disconcerting. The enclosed CD booklet goes to lengths to provide
insights into Richard's two mythological friends. The closest thing
I can think of when describing both CDs would be to compare it to
some of Fred Frith’s wild guitaresque instrumentals and even
Harry Partch, the avant gard neo classical composer of the 1950s and
‘60s. Just the list of all the instruments Richard plays on both
of these CDs is quite interesting and even hysterical too! The Duval
Rey CD was actually recorded in 2009 while the Roscoe Houndstooth
CD was recorded in the Fall of 2014, so it’s the more recent
of the two CDs. Fans of Richard Leo Johnson and his many guitar-centric
personalities will love the adventurous spirit of his latest strange
and wonderful double CD set. www.DuvalReyOneManBand.com
/ www.RoscoeHoundstooth.com
SOJOURN
RECORDS - The 2015 CD release of Lamar by NYC basd
jazz guitarist Brad Allen Williams is a fun-filled romp through
a range of original tracks and select covers. The CD starts off in
style with a jazzy, instrumental version of the Joe Jackson chestnut
“Steppin’ Out” (anyone remember 1982?) and takes off
in various directions from there. Several Williams instrumental originals
dot the musical landscape while another cover here of Jimmy Webb’s
“Galveston” furthers the sonic appeal here. On Lamar,
Williams gets excellent backup from his trio band mates Tyshawn
Sorey (drums) and Pat Bianchi (organ). Commenting on the
making of Lamar, Brad adds, “It was recorded with all
three of us in one great sounding room together using the best analog
tape machine and a great analog engineer.” With its live sound
and jazz club atmospheres, guitar purists will love Lamar. Brad
Allen Williams hits a veritable sonic sweet spot with the right on,
jazzy instrumental grooves of Lamar. www.BradAllenWilliams.com
SONICLAYERS
MUSIC - The music of synthesist Chad Kettering comes across
like 21t century classical music. With all the music created, recorded,
mixed and mastered by Kettering, his third solo album, entitled Pathways
is a most well-rounded sonic experience. Pathways can
be described as being a mix of symphonic orchestral passages combined
with modern electronic styles and sounds. Chad’s wife Kari
Kettering, of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, appears here on cello
along with the ambient, wordless female vocals of Francesca Genco.
Also of note is that after a 20 year hiatus from playing the trumpet,
Kettering returns to the instrument on a track near the end of the
album. Filled with a range of electrifying electronics, Pathways
is much too kinetic and dynamic sounding to be called New Age
and wide-ranging orchestral elements also separates it from more meditative
and ambient instrumental recordings. On Pathways, Chad Kettering
brings symphonic orchestral instrumental electronic music to a new
level of sonic greatness. www.ChadKettering.com
STRINGTIME
JAZZ - Subtitled A Jazz Guitar Beatles Collection,
the 2015 CD release of Penny Lane is a most welcome
return to form by guitarist John Basile. Having released over
a dozen albums on a variety of labels, Basile is hardly a newcomer
to the jazz guitar world and he uses his depth of experience to execute
his eleven track tribute to The Beatles. Among the Fab Four classics
given the jazz instrumental treatment here is a George Harrison cover
of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. The CD starts off with
rendition of “Eleanor Rigby” that kind of echoes the Wes
Montgomery version and Wes would be proud of Basile’s album.
For instance, Basile’s jazz instro cover of “A Day In The
Life” starts off predictably enough yet Basile’s expertise
as a first rate jazz guitar improviser soon takes the track deep into
jazz guitar land. Basile’s guitar is well recorded and his knowledge
of midi programming really fills out the soundstage. Liner notes by
Tom Schreck puts Basile’s guitar treatment of the Beatles
into a fitting perspective. Overall, Penny Lane is a very cool,
breezy jazz guitar album of Beatles evergreens that makes it clear
these songs are meant for the ages. www.JohnBasile.net
TAO
MUSIC – Australian
guitarist Bruce Stringer is breaking down walls for the art
of sonically electrifying electric guitar music. The 2015 release
of One—the
name One
illustrated
with an "Omega" symbol is on the CD packaging—is
filled with a range of guitar instrumental tracks that are boldly
dynamic and highly explosive. Commenting, in the following interview,
on listeners and critics attempting to describe the sound of his new
CD, Bruce tells mwe3.com "I’m not keen on labels, in
general, because it tends to polarize the audience before they’ve
heard a single note. I’m not sure if the album is progressive
rock, or not. My definition of progressive is probably closer to an
ideal rather than a sound, which might go against 
other
people’s definitions of the term. I’ll leave that up to
the listeners to decide." Dynamic, melodic and electrifying
are just some of the adjectives that come to mind to describe Bruce
Stringer’s guitar-centric vision. The CD packaging of One
is also
very intriguing and clearly, with Bruce performing most of the instrumentation,
his craft is even more clearly highlighted—this
in addition to his creative production and engineering work too. In
the know music fans will note that Bruce also works with Elaine Wang
Yi-Ling in the Chinese-Western duo called Space Of Snow. Even though
Bruce is one of the rising guitarists currently recording in the instrumental
rock fusion realm, he is also greatly influenced by the orchestral
synthesized soundtrack music of giants like Vangelis and Jean-Michel
Jarre and you can literally feel that sense of wide-screen dynamics
throughout this CD. Guitar fans looking for the next big thing in
the world of rock instrumental music, pick up and give a listen to
Bruce Stringer’s One.
www.BruceStringer.net
TECHNE
RECORDS – Earlier in 2015, the NYC based band known as Consider
The Source released World War Trio Part 1. Featuring one
24 minute track, the CD was heralded as a breakthrough for instrumental
prog-metal fusion. As promised, Consider The Source deliver the goods
on their full length double CD set entitled World War Trio Parts
II and III. Masters at the new hybrid fusion sound,
Consider The Source skillfully mix a range of musical styles into
their instrumental jazz-rock blend. If the idea of Indian and Balkanized
folk mixed in with jazz-rock and hard rock appeals to you, then by
all means give a listen to Consider The Source. As on their first
CDEP, World War Trio Parts II and III also features the guitars
of Gabriel Marin, who also doubles on guitar synth and a range
of exotic sounding string instruments like saz and dutar. Backing
Gabriel up on the double CD set are John Ferrara, on a range
of bass effects and drummer Jeff Mann. The CD packaging is
very colorful and the track by track liner notes are useful in clarifying
the CTS vision. Progressive rock fans open to instrumental World Beat
exoticism and World Music fans looking for a solid rock experience
give a listen to Consider The Source. Consider The Source bring their
unique progressive instrumental World Beat groove into the great wide
open with World War Trio Parts II & III. www.ConsiderTheSource.com
UMP
RECORDS – Guitarist Randy Armstrong joins forces with
bass player Volker Nahrmann on the 2015 CD release of Beyond
Borders. More than a collection of tracks, the album
is a scenic travelogue covering a range of World Beat music with the
accent on Latin, Brazilian and Indian music and those genres are just
some of the scenic signposts dotting the 
album’s
sweeping terrain. In addition to his expert synth guitar work and
his background in exotic percussion, Randy Armstrong is a seasoned
guitarist who is equally gifted on both classical, steel string and
electric guitars and he uses all of it to enhance the sound. Volker
Narhmann gives the album its tasteful sonic thunder so to speak and
he plays a range of different acoustic and electric basses. Also worth
noting is the muted trumpet sound of Cuban-born musician, Yaure
Muniz. The CD features numerous guest musicians, including some
excellent percussionists, ranging from full kit to incidental percussive
sounds. There’s a colorful and well done CD booklet featuring
track by track details of the wide range of music here, including
tracks devoted to Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and Dizzy Gillespie.
Surprisingly, instead of being made in Rio or even L.A., Beyond
Borders was recorded in Barrington, New Hampshire but if you close
your eyes you can feel the music carry you beyond borders indeed.
Filled with cool World Beat moods and meditative Global Groove sounds,
Beyond Borders will take your mind to far off lands. www.RandyArmstrong.com
YAMAHA
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP - The 2015 CD release of The New Cool
is a masterful album created by piano virtuoso Bob James and
bass ace Nathan East. The CD was produced by Chris Gero,
James and East and was superbly engineered by Bryan Lenox.
Released on the Yamaha Entertainment imprint, The New Cool was
recorded in Nashville on state of the art Yamaha gear. For an album
of straight ahead, mainstream vintage sounding instrumental jazz,
The New Cool is surprisingly pastoral in places and, while
not quite smooth jazz, it’s very easy on the ears. Several guest
artists appear on the mainly instrumental CD, including a guest vocal
by country music great Vince Gill, on a cover of the Willie
Nelson classic “Crazy”. There’s also a couple players
- Rafael Padilla (percussion) and Scott Williamson (drums)
- who add some different flavors on a pair of tracks and there’s
added strings on some tracks here. Speaking about The New Cool,
Bob James says, “The more I played with Nathan over the course
of the many live performances and spanning more than 25 years, the
more in sync we were whether or not we had the anchor of the drums”,
with Nathan adding “The New Cool carries with it a special
level of excitement for me as Bob and I have been courting the idea
of this duo adventure for many years. The New Cool is our celebration
of more than 25 years of friendships and musical camaraderie.”
For fans of these two musical legends, the sound of The New Cool
is essential listening. Filled with eleven tracks, The New
Cool sounds superb and is a most memorable blend of classic and
contemporary instrumental jazz. www.thenewcoolalbum.com
REISSUES
& RETROSPECTIVES
ANGEL AIR RECORDS - Among the latest CD remasters on U.K. based
Angel Air Records is the 2015 CD release of Pearls Of The Deep:
The Best Of Stairway. Following his work in British
invasion superstars The Yardbirds, drummer Jim McCarty went
on to form the band Renaissance with Keith Relf and Keith's
sister Jane Relf. After Relf lost interest in Renaissance,
he sold the band to Annie Haslam but not before recording and releasing
that first fabled Renaissance album from 1971. In the years following
Keith Relf’s untimely death in 1975, McCarty has done a lot of
recording under his own name as well as with other bands he started
and one of those bands was the group Stairway, who are remembered
on a 14 track best of CD released in 2015 by Angel Air. Stairway was
McCarty’s attempt at recording and releasing a type of progressive
New Age / soft rock sound and for the most part, the sound of Stairway
was wonderfully inventive and served as a sonic bridge from The Yardbirds
and early Renaissance to something more deep and meaningful. Stairway
was a fine collaboration between McCarty, guitarist Louis Cennamo,
keyboardist Clifford White and original Renaissance vocalist
Jane Relf. Starting out in the late 1980’s, when New Age
was becoming a household term, Stairway began releasing their first
of four subsequent albums that would bring much attention back to
McCarty and his well rounded approach. Commenting on turning away
from rock to New Age rock in the late ‘80s, McCarty recalls,
“I hadn’t thought about New Age things back in the ‘70s
but I suppose I was always open to music by Vangelis and Andreas Vollenwieder.”
Angel Air’s CD by Stairway recalls the finest moments from
Stairway’s four CDs. In addition to the 14 tracks taken from
their original albums, the CD also features in depth liner notes by
Joe Geesin that recalls the changing times brought many rockers
into the fold of New Age. Another artist who is currently popular
again thanks to a series of Angel Air remasters is English keyboardist
Dave Greenslade, who has a number of classic album remasters
out on Angel Air with his band Greenslade. Angel Air has a
number of albums out featuring Greenslade solo, as well as with Greenslade
and the band and Colosseum, another band associated with Greenslade.
In 2015 Angel Air released Time To Make Hay - A Collection Of
Original Recordings. The 9 tracks here were recorded
as solo tracks by Greenslade from 1979 through till the mid 1990s,
many of which were re-recorded and released as Greenslade (the band)
and Colosseum tracks. That said, these original tracks have never
been released in this form before and features Dave playing all the
instruments as well as taking lead vocals. While not as accomplished
as the Greenslade (the band) tracks, these solo, near demo sounding
tracks are fascinating glimpses into the way Dave Greenslade works
his sonic magic. The late, great sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith
makes an appearance here. A vital rediscovery for Greenslade fans,
Time To Make Hay features track by track notes by Greenslade
and full lyrics. www.AngelAir.co.uk
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS – Songwriter and producer legend David Courtney
is sometimes referred to as the English Phil Spector. Courtney
worked with great singers like Roger Daltrey, Leo Sayer,
Adam Faith, Roger Chapman, Maggie Bell and those
singers and a host of others are featured on Angel Air’s 2015
double CD Anthology. Anthology goes the distance
to establish Courtney, his songs and productions, as being among the
best in U.K. classic rock history. The CD booklet features track by
track Summer 2015 liner notes with Courtney providing a near encyclopedic
summation, making Anthology a look back at a vital time in
rock history. Also released on Angel Air Summer 2015, is a 2 CD set
by English rock legends Stone The Crows. The set pairs the
self-titled Stone The Crows (1970) and Ode To
John Law (1971). Back in 1970 “Raining In Your Heart”
was getting good airplay on FM radio and music fans looking for a
harder edged blues rock band in the spirit of Taste and Free, note
that Stone The Crows fit the bill. Lead singer Maggie Bell is
world renowned and the band also featured singer-bassist, the late
James Dewar on bass as well as Alex Harvey’s brother,
Les Harvey on guitar. Harvey’s cutting edge electric guitar
sounds and Bell’s legendary vocals put Stone The Crows into the
high end of British blues-rock greats. Topped off with liner notes
and pics of STC, Angel Air’s 2 CD set features 4 bonus tracks,
including a live “Raining In Your Heart”. www.AngelAir.co.uk
EAGLE
ROCK ENTERTAINMENT - The early 1980’s was a unmitigated disaster
for corporate rock music. The 1980 assassination of John Lennon and
the destruction of The Beatles in NYC, by evil, though then unforeseen
forces, was surely enough to scare some off but not The Who.
With the core three—Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and
the late, great John Alec Entwistle—plus Faces drummer
Kenney Jones rising to the fore, Thee Who descended on Shea
Stadium to make their big 1980s comeback post-Keith Moon splash. With
rain pouring down on the Shea Stadium crowd, The Who sprang to life
on October 13th, 1982, performing a range of tracks from their 1982
album It’s Hard, such as the classic title track and “Emminence
Front”. Even so, it’s the early Who classics—they’re
all here, from “I Can’t Explain” to “Sister Disco”—that
brings the house down. This long awaited 2015 DVD release of Live
At Shea Stadium 1982 on Eagle Rock includes colorful packaging
and a booklet filled with liner notes of this historic concert, while
rounding out the October 13th show are five bonus tracks from the
October 12th show. Stereo and 5.1 mastering by audio legend Jon
Astley dusts off the tapes and gives a sonic shine to a turning
point concert from the early 1980s. Who fans don’t miss the historic
DVD release of Live At Shea Stadium 1982. www.EagleRockEnt.com
ESOTERIC
RECORDINGS – Esoteric is turning into the most incredible
source of classic U.K. progressive rock CD remasters as well as newly
recorded music. Of course nothing can touch the greatest remasters
on Esoteric, and a good example is Esoteric’s 2015 CD remaster
of the final album from the classical instrumental rock band SKY.
Several years after John Williams left the band, they carried on with
Kevin Peek on guitars, Herbie Flowers (bass), Steve
Gray (keyboards) and Tristian Fry (drums). Simply called
Mozart, what would turn out to be the final SKY
studio album originally came out in 1987, just as CDs were finally
getting a foothold in American pop culture. Pairing an orchestra with
the Euro-beat instrumental sound of SKY was a great idea of the band’s
drummer Mr. Fry. With Peek back in Australia, clearly Fry, Flowers
and Gray did a great job with stellar support of Neville Mariner
conducting the orchestra known as Academy Of St. Martin In
The Fields. The liner notes of Mozart, written by rock
scribe Sid Smith are revealing while the booklet also features
the extensive original notes that came with the ’87 CD and vinyl,
or was that already CD only? Over the years, Mozart was never
regarded as being one of the great classic SKY albums, but going back
nearly 30 years later, in 2015, the album has a certain charm that
is a haunting reminder of just how important SKY was as a musical
force and the major impact they had on the music of that era. www.CherryRed.co.uk
ESOTERIC
RECORDINGS – The period between Thanksgiving 1968 and Christmas
that same year was one of the most eventful times in music history.
While America was mired in the Vietnam War, with hundreds of young
boys dying every week, over in England, rock music was coming of age.
One album that was overlooked during that period of The Beatles and
Stones was Shine On Brightly, the December 1968
album release by Procol Harum. Procol was rightfully lauded
for their breakthrough 1967 single “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”,
which was a top ten single much to everyone’s pleasant surprise.
Anyway, Shine On Brightly was kind of overlooked in the aftermath
but in retrospect, there’s so many glorious musical moments on
it - way too many to single one out in so many respects. The title
track for example, “Shine On Brightly” remains one of the
best songs ever penned by the team of Gary Brooker and lyricist
Keith Reid. The great news here it that Esoteric Recordings
has done a fantastic job on their 2015 CD remaster of Shine Of
Brightly, repackaging the album as part of a 3 CD set, featuring
the original stereo and mono mixes on two separate CDs with a third
CD of rarities from the period. The box set is quite appealing to
see and the CD sound is first rate. Even so, the booklet and packaging
is equally amazing, reprinting Keith Reid’s brilliant lyrics,
which, while often hard to discern, were always underrated. The story
of the album is retold with untold clarity, including all the names,
dates and who’s who associated with it. Esoteric’s 3 CD
box set of Shine On Brightly is part of their 2015 reissue
program of the first four Procol Harum albums, including their 1967
self-titled debut, A Salty Dog (1969) and their all time masterpiece,
Home (1970). Progressive rock fans looking to see where it
all started are advised to pick up Esoteric’s 2015 Shine On
Brightly as well as their other newly minted Procol Harum remasters.
www.CherryRed.co.uk
EXPERIENCE
HENDRIX - It’s just incredible the amount of business pressure
that Jimi Hendrix endured during his brief life as a rock guitar
hero. Just before his first big release Are You Experienced?
on Reprise Records, out of the blue, a singer called Curtis Knight
and his record company man Ed Chalpin actually had the
audacity to release a different Jimi Hendrix album, trying to wreck
havoc on Jimi’s career. Decades passed and finally in 2003 all
the music Jimi played on as a session guitarist, released by Knight
and Chalpin, were taken back by the Experience Hendrix label, run
by Jimi’s younger sister Janie Hendrix and a first installment
can be heard and understood on the ironically entitled You Can’t
Use My Name, released in 2015 on Experience Hendrix. It’s
a despicable thing to do, to try to destroy an artist’s career
just as it was taking off, but still the tracks Hendrix did play guitar
on for Curtis Knight aren’t bad musically and show a great guitarist,
just before his big break, lending a hand to a friend and ending up
nearly stealing the show with the famous Hendrix guitar sound. There’s
a couple of cool funky Hendrix-esque sounding instrumentals with Jimi’s
guitar well recorded that shows another side of his work as a session
guitar ace. Literally buying these tracks back through decades spanning
court cases, Experience Hendrix has set the record straight with You
Can’t Use My Name. You Can’t Use My Name features fourteen
tracks of upbeat R&B dance music and instrumentals featuring Jimi
jamming on the songs and vocals of Curtis Knight. With the CD featuring
a 24 page booklet with notes by John McDermott and new studio
sheen by audio expert Eddie Kramer, Experience Hendrix finally
puts this early music with Jimi as a session man for Curtis Knight
into the proper context with the ear opening sound on You Can’t
Use My Name. www.JimiHendrix.com
RAVEN
RECORDS – Astute musicologists from the land down under,
Aussie reissue mavens Raven has a 2 CD album remaster from 1960s pop
sensations The 5th Dimension. These albums have never been
compiled on one CD set so it’s a welcome addition to the group's
legacy. With the mindset being Top 40 radio in the late 1960s, specifically
1967 through ’69, these tracks were huge on AM radio. Compiled
on disc 1 are: Up, Up And Away and The Magic Garden
(26 tracks including three bonus cuts) with disc 2 taking
in Stoned Soul Picnic and The Age Of Aquarius
(25 tracks with 2 bonus cuts). Raven’s resident musicologist
Ian McFarlane takes you back in the time tunnel to the golden
era of pop music history. Raven collects three albums on a 2 CD set
entitled Toussaint: The Real Thing 1970 – 1975,
by New Orleans roots music pioneer Allen Toussaint. Disc
1 features the entire 1970 Toussaint album, first released
on Scepter Records, along with two bonus tracks. Highlights include
Toussaint’s own version of his ‘60s hit “Working In
A Coal Mine” along with a number of piano instrumentals capturing
his one of a kind, New Orleans style barrelhouse piano sounds, topped
off by a cool piano driven instrumental of “Cast Your Fate To
The Wind”. Disc two combines a pair of albums Toussaint recorded
for Reprise Records, Life, Love And Faith (1972) and
Southern Nights (1975). A little more polished than
his earlier works, disc 2 provides fine period piece flashbacks from
this legend of American music. Like Elton John and Leon Russell, Allen
Toussaint can work magic with his piano and songs. Also current on
Raven is a double CD set, containing three albums, by funk / soul
master Roy Ayers. Searching For Sunshine 1973 –
1980 contains three albums from the late 1970s. Included on
CD 1 are: You Send Me (1978), Fever (1979)
while CD 2 features No Stranger To Love (1980)
complete with eight bonus cuts. Best known for his soul, R&B
and jazz-funk albums, Ayers is at his very best on his double Raven
CD set. www.RavenRecords.com.au
REPRISE
RECORDS – Leaving The Bee Gees when he was 19, Robin
Gibb went solo in 1969 and scored a big hit called “Save
By The Bell”. With fans still smarting from the band’s breakup,
and despite big success in the UK, the song hardly made a dent in
the US charts. Robin’s solo album debut Robin’s Reign
followed it and too was hardly a substitute for the three
part Bee Gees harmonies. But most fans don’t know that by early
1970 Robin was quite busy recording a second album called Sing
Slowly Sisters and an assortment of unreleased tracks that
were never officially released. Finally assembled during the Summer
of 2015 is a 63 track, 3 CD set, called Saved By The Bell –
The Collected Works Of Robin Gibb 1968-1970, that aims
to shine a brighter light on Robin’s often overlooked first solo
era. Excellent liner notes by Bob Stanley (of the band St.
Etienne) and album producer Andrew Sandoval sheds some
interesting information on the genesis of this long sought after collection.
The CD booklet also features some touching photos of Robin from back
in the day that will no doubt leave a teary eyed memory of the rock
music legend who passed away in 2011. The Bee Gees left fans dozens
of great songs and albums and this from the vaults collection of Robin
Gibb makes for an ear-opening few hours of magical, Bee Gees-related
rarities. www.RobinGibb.com
RESONANCE
RECORDS - The early years of jazz guitar icon Wes Montgomery
are remembered on a 2015 double CD set on Resonance called In
The Beginning. A celebration of the great music recorded
and released by Wes during his formative years, the 26 track, 2 CD
In The Beginning compiles 26 tracks of rare and never-before-released
tracks, spanning 1949-1958. In addition to a range of live recordings,
In The Beginning also includes a complete and newly discovered
1955 recording session that Wes did for Epic Records with Quincy
Jones producing. The double disc set is superbly packaged with
a 55 page booklet featuring essays and recollections by Quincy Jones
and Pete Townshend of The Who, to name some of the in depth notes
featured here. In addition to the double CD set, In The Beginning
is also being released as a 3 Lp version. Interestingly, In
The Beginning is also just the beginning of a planned, upcoming
series of even more previously unreleased Wes recordings that will
take place during 2016 and 2017. 47 years after his untimely passing,
In The Beginning is a splendid look back at the classic early
music of jazz guitar genius Wes Montgomery. www.ResonanceRecords.org
RHINO
- As of this writing, Summer '15, YES fans are still in
shock following the passing of the band’s founding member Chris
Squire on June 27, 2015. Released shortly before Squire’s
untimely passing, Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two
captures two CDs of YES magic from their late 1972 US tour.
In the spirit of the first YES post-Bill Bruford—Bill had
just appeared with the band during their historic Winter 1972 tour
of the US and was also on the release of Yessongs—the
double CD version of Progeny is a fine example of the soon
to be regarded classic YES lineup with Chris Squire, Jon
Anderson, Steve Howe, Alan White and Rick Wakeman.
Steve Howe has always said ‘bravo the ‘70s’ and Progeny
is a fine tribute to the early part of that heady and unforgettable
decade. The shows featured on the Progeny 2 CD version spotlight
tracks from the first YES stadium tour of the USA, mostly from October
and November of 1972. Hard to believe in November 1971, YES was third
on the bill backing King Crimson and Procol Harum on their fabled
Fall 1971 tour of the US, and a year later, they were headlining arenas
all over the world! It would take a while for YES to hit their stride
which they would do a year later with ease on their all time classic
double album Tales From Topographic Oceans yet regarding this
first post Bruford lineup, everything sounds fine and dandy on Progeny.
Some audiophiles have complained that on Progeny, Squire’s
bass and vocals are somewhat buried in the mix but as a counterpoint
alternative to Yessongs, the 2015 release of Progeny is
a most welcome development and serves its function to further immortalize
this early ‘70s Tales era YES lineup. Of note on Progeny
is the Roger Dean album artwork along with memorable liner
notes by writer Syd Schwartz and Progeny producer Brian
Kehew. One can never get enough YES so if you like the 2 disc
CD Progeny Highlights set, you might want to further explore
the official 14 disc version, simultaneously released by Rhino.com
www.yesworld.com
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