MUSIC
NEWS & NOTES SPOTLIGHT
FEBRUARY
2011 RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
POP
& ROCK
FAKE DIAMOND RECORDS - On the cutting edge of today’s
European pop music scene, Cours Lapin consists of four Danish
film composers—Asger Baden (keyboards), Peder (keyboards,
producer), Jonas Struck (guitars) and Louise Alenius
(vocals). As Cours Lapin they perform a variety of cinematic flavored
pop songs that features the captivating, breathy French vocals and
melodies of Ms. Alenius and it often sounds like a soundtrack in search
of a movie. Cours Lapin describes their sound as being ‘beautifully
gloomy with wonderfully catchy melodies,’ and true to form, the
CD moves from the dark and sensual to naive and hopeful, and is reminiscent
of the atmospheres found in the films of Tim Burton and David Lynch.
With Louise sounding somewhat a little like current Jeff Beck cohort,
Imelda May, the band mingles in the spirits of mid ‘80s adventurists
The Art Of Noise. The self-titled debut CD from Cours Lapin is never
short on musical ideas and even with the specified French vocals of
Ms. Alenius, the sound is consistently engaging and musically stimulating.
Additionally, the CD is superbly packaged with a neat booklet filled
with imaginative artwork and excellent photography. www.WhatPeoplePlay.com
HOT
CURL MUSIC - One family name long associated with the family of
Brian Wilson And The Beach Boys, is the Dragon family. Growing up
at the same time as Brian and his brothers, Daryl Dragon got to work
with Dennis Wilson and later he formed The Captain & Tennille,
while his two other brothers, Doug Dragon and Dennis Dragon
built music based careers in Hawaii and Oregon respectively. Doug
and Dennis reform the band they had back in the 1960s with the release
of The Propheteer by Doug Dragon. With Dennis doing
a masterful job on both the drums and handling the studio side, Doug’s
lead vocals and keyboards fronts a band that owes a tip of the hat
to rock legends Steely Dan. The CD has an impressive rock edginess
and Doug Dragon—who took his basic keyboard and vocal tracks
cut in Hawaii to his brother’s studio in Oregon—makes an
appealing presence on vocals and keys. Featuring a solid backing band,
the CD mixes in Steely Dan and String Cheese Incident style rock and
pop and even smooth jazz at times, while the first rate sound defines
Dennis as a superb mastering/studio engineer. Dennis adds, ‘I
played drums on the new tracks. I used a Gretsch wood kit. My first
drum set was given to me at age 5 by my father, after years of drumming
on Quaker Oats boxes.’ As Beach Boys fans will notice, the record
is really cool. Doug has some great songs and Dennis is in fine form
as a drummer. You can even hear a similarity of drum styles between
Dennis Dragon and the late great Dennis Wilson, which is pretty deja
vu like I must say. www.TheDragonsMusic.com
KILL ROCK STARS - I had to do a double take after hearing
the self-titled Marnie Stern album by guitarist / singer
Marnie Stern. It might be described by some in passing, and
in many cases not really listening, as sonic anarchy, but the whole
thing is in fact carefully choreographed and recorded perfectly as
Marnie comes across like a post-punk Sex Pistols inspired version
of Yoko Ono. Handling all the vocals and guitars (featuring her famous
tap-guitar technique) as well as keyboards, Marnie gets rock solid
backing from her band including Matthew Flegel (bass), Lars
Stalfors (keyboards) and Zac Hill (drums). Sounding a bit
like Lena Lovich meets Captain Beefheart, this anti-rock onslaught—with
its dead bolt sound that will pin you to your couch—is released
on the Kill Rock Stars label. www.KillRockStars.com
MOTEMA
- For her 2011 CD Who Knows Where The Time Goes
singer-songwriter Rondi Charleston brings forth and puts
a new spin on a pleasurable cross section of timeless pop standards,
along with several originals. A smooth as silk jazz lounge vocalist,
Ms. Charleston more than acquits herself on superb covers here, including
the lead off title track—composed back in 1967 by the late, great
Sandy Denny. The late Sandy Denny’s version was always renowned
for its flower-power folk sentiment, but Rondi puts a cool jazzy,
near upbeat spin on it and makes it radio friendly for a new generation
of quiet storm jazzers. Ditto for refined Rondi covers of timeless
classics from the pens of A.C. Jobim, (“Wave”), Stevie Wonder
(“Overjoyed”), Percy Mayfield (“Please Send Me Someone
To Love”) all topped off by a very interesting CD closing cover
of “Freedom Is A Voice” written by Bobby McFerrin. For the
four originals, Rondi finds a song writing partner in Lynne Arriale.
A refined jazz singer with a penchant for uncovering the essence of
what makes a song a classic, Ms. Charleston gets solid backup from
a range of players including jazz guitar great Dave Stryker,
co-composer Lynne Arriale (piano), Clarence Penn (drums)
and others. The title track gets a fine arrangement from Dave Stryker
and Pete Levin. The CD sounds and looks fine and is topped
off by an extensive booklet of pics filled and liner notes by Rondi.
www.RondiCharleston.com
/ www.motema.com
TERMO
RECORDS / FIXIT RECORDS - U.K. songstress Judy Dyble is
renowned for her ‘60s recordings with Fairport Convention and
Giles, Giles & Fripp and, after the longest time waiting for her
return, she makes fans happy with her most recent album Talking
With Strangers. Although Fairport Convention were known
worldwide for their progressive folk sound, Mr. Fripp & Co. were
always about all things progressive and true to form, Judy combines
both a cosmic folk sound with a solid progressive bent that blends
in flavors from rock and fusion. Released by Norwegian record label
Termo, Talking With Strangers is a progressive music lover’s
dream come true. Among the artists backing up Judy’s vocals are
her old friends from King Crimson—Ian McDonald and Robert
Fripp—along with Fairport Convention comrade Simon Nicol
(acoustic guitar), Pentangle vocalist Jacquie Mcshee, along
with many other fine players. Highlights include the 20 minute, CD
closing epic “Harpsong”, featuring Fripp, McDonald along
with late period Crimson thumper Pat Mastelotto and a wide
range of players that simply must be heard to be believed. Featuring
a stunning cross-section of progressive folk, to dreamy meditative
soundscapes to full blown King Crimson-eque sounds, Talking With
Strangers is a most welcome return to form from one of the U.K.’s
great singing legends. www.JudyDyble.com
VINYL CANDY ARMY - MWE3.com reviewed the 2009 CD from L.A pop-rockers
Vinyl Candy called Land. Anyway here we
are two years on and there’s a yet another album released in
late 2010 from the L.A. rockers. The Dirty Third features
a dozen new Vinyl Candy pop-rock tracks that sometimes sounds like
The Raspberries as produced by Phil Spector. Lead singer Matt Corey
really wraps his voice around these soaring pop anthems for the
new millennium while the band including Jim Leber keeps the
groove down. There’s a pick of choices for singles but for sheer
impact The Dirty Third is a nonstop power pop roller coaster
of sound. www.VinylCandy.com
INSTRUMENTAL
ALL
INDIA RADIO - Contrary to the name of this band from Australia,
there is no Indian music—American indian or otherwise—on
this album. Hard to believe The Silent Surf is the eighth
album from Australia’s All India Radio. Described as a
mix of dreamy beats, ambient soundscapes and tremolo guitars, the
all instrumental sound palate should find a home among fans of Dark
Side Of The Moon era Pink Floyd, albeit in an instrumental cosmic
space music realm. All India Radio guitarist Martin Kennedy also
cites Italian soundtrack king Ennio Morricone as a big influence and
you can hear that soundtrack effect in the grooves of this accessible
and much likable 12 track, 40 minute album. In addition, the CD packaging
and artwork is really spectacular and reflects the cosmic nature of
the sounds inside. www.AllIndiaRadio.com.au
DANCING
BEAR - I’ve always loved the drama and mystique of Euro-centric
guitar-based instrumental music. Appreciated and revered world wide
on all five continents, that “sound” continues unabated
five decades after guitarists Hank Marvin of The Shadows and Duane
Eddy pioneered it back in the late ‘50s. Case in point is a 2010
CD from Croatian guitar instro-rockers The Bambi Molesters,
who strike guitar gold with the release of As The Dark Wave
Swells. Note, they call it the “Dark Wave”,
so those expecting some Ventures type fun in the sun wipe-out may
have to adjust their shades a bit. The eleven cut As The Dark Wave
Swells CD is housed in some cool looking artwork, including a
poster featuring the core four member band. Guitarists Dinko Tomljanovic
and Dalibor Pavicic have their retro rock instrumental
guitar sound down to a science and both receive tasty backup support
from the rhythm section of Lada Furlan Zaborac (bass, keys)
and Hrvoje Zaborac (drums), as well as a number of other players
including long time BM cohort Chris Eckman, who adds in some
dramatic mellotron on a couple tracks. Going strong since their ‘97
debut, Dumb Loud Hollow Twang, The Bambi Molesters take no
prisoners on a CD that will rock your socks off. www.TheBambiMolesters.com
FLAT
FISH - The ¡PANAMERICANS! album captures a
quartet of great players in top form. Sure it sounds sometimes like
Jobim producing The Ventures or even The Shadows, but the eleven cut
Panamericans album captures a solid set of Brazilian classics brought
up to date in the guitar instrumentals format by guitarists Joao
Erbetta and Eddie Angel, who are backed up by Rob Douglas
(bass), Pete Curry with the occasional sax wails of Ron
Dziubla. If anything, this is like a surf-rock supergroup who
amaze on a number of musical levels—from ‘60s style instrumental
rock to soundtrack style Brazilian jazz. That some of these tracks
wouldn’t sound out of place on a mid ‘60s Shadows album
says a lot about the respect with which these tracks are so authentically
played and recorded. www.thepanamemricans.com
FRET12
- Chicago bluesman Dave Specter gets down to business with
the 2010 CD release of the 13 track Spectified. One
part horn blasting, B3 crunching Chicago blues, one part Steve Cropper
/ Booker T. inspired instrumental rock and roll with a solid infusion
of what Specter calls soul jazz, Scectified is all instrumental
so guitar fans with big ears—from Duane Eddy to Steve Morse—will
embrace Specter’s crossover instrumental sounds. Specter has
remained a notable player on the Chicago blues scene since 1985 so
it’s cool to see him bring his sound to the fore with Spectified—backed
to the max by a tight band plus a hot rhythm section and several guests
including guitarist David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. Coinciding
with the ‘10 release of Spectified, Specter also unveiled
his internet project, Blues & Beyond—online
programming for guitar players looking to learn blues guitar with
an introduction the Chicago blues scene. www.Fret12.com
INNOVA
RECORDINGS - Minnesota based Innova puts a fresh spin on the timeless
music of Duke Ellington with the 2011 CD release of Duke!
- Three Portraits Of Ellington by Graham Reynolds And The
Golden Arm Trio. The first seven cuts—comprising The Band
Portrait—features the swinging piano forte of Reynolds backed
by a solid group of jazzers, including a hot rhythm section, strings
and brass on true to life updates of Ellington’s best known compositions.
The middle eight tracks—The String Quartet Portrait serves
as a neoclassical combination of both Ellington and Reynolds's Duke
inspired music while the final seven cuts on the 22 track CD—entitled
The Remix Portrait—highlights more Reynolds and Ellington
tracks remixed by DJ Spooky and others to bring Ellington’s
perennially favorite music well into the now. The CD offers a unique
and experimental sound and vision and Ellington classics like “Caravan”,
“Cotton Tail”, “Echoes Of Harlem” are given the
royal treatment on this timely reminder of the greatness of Sir Duke.
www.innova.mu
/ www.GrahamReynolds.com
PRESENCE
RECORDS - Although it would be two weeks before I would find out,
the day Pekka Pohjola died—November 27, 2008—I woke up in
the middle of the night gasping for air, feeling as though something
or someone was strangling me. Pekka’s music was often about proving
the impossible could happen musically and following in his footsteps
are some really gifted players emanating from the land of Pohjola—the
country of Finland. One guitarist who delivers the goods in 2011 is
Matti Kervinen—who together with band mates Teijo Tikkanen
and Sami Sarhamaa—form the core of Kataya.
Similar in scope and no doubt inspired by Pohjola’s wide screen
musical sound and vision, Kervinen and company take full command and
control on an instrumental rock album that has the bold dynamic of
the country of Finland written all over it. Presence did a great job
on the 2009 Kataya album, Canto Obscura, but with this second
album, the 2011 CD release of Voyager—Matti clearly
enters raises the bar. www.KatayaBand.com
TAPU RECORDS - Where Michel Banabila has been hiding all
these years is anyone’s guess. Musical genius like his is hard
to come by. I’m still reeling from the November 27, 2008 death
of Pekka Pohjola, but listening to Banabila’s 2010 album Migrations
gives me a dose of long sought after hope that composers still
strive towards the lofty goals set by Pohjola during his short but
prolific life. Case in point on Migrations is the mix of neoclassical
with a mercurial rock edge evident in the lead off Migrations track
“Lapidarium”, a musical statement that mixes the cinematic
and the atmospheric to great effect. Performing all keyboards and
effects on the six track 33 minute Migrations CD, Banabila
is joined on the CD by a number of players including oud players,
string players as well as guitarist Anton Goudsmit, who shines
on the CD’s brilliant lead off cut. The Amsterdam born Banabila
is a splendid choice for music listeners looking to fill some of the
musical void left in the wake of Pekka Pohjola’s tragic demise.
It’s nearly impossible to do and probably never will, but Banabila
gives it a good shot. www.Banabila.com
UBIKMUSIK
- Bass players are an interesting breed. A good bass player can
make or break a band and they’re commonly referred to as the
“ears” of a great sound. Brian Wilson, Jack Bruce, Stanley
Clarke, Jaco, Chris Squire, Pekka Pohjola—all innovative bassists
and composers who made a huge difference by bridging the gap between
the rock, classical and jazz worlds. One classic example of a bass
player continuing to break new ground in the music world of the 21st
century is Stuart Hamm—a bass player, musician and composer
who came up in the ranks backing up top players like Steve Vai and
Joe Satriani during the ‘80s. With the 2010 CD release of his
latest solo album—his first in ten years—Just Outside
Of Normal, Stu Hamm makes his mark at the start of
the second decade of the 21st century. It ain’t easy for a bass
player to entertain on an album of instrumental jazz-rock music. I
can only think of one—the late great Pekka Pohjola—who was
able to transcend the perfect combination of content over style. But
on Just Outside Of Normal, Stu Hamm comes mighty close on an
album that is just a joy to listen kick back and listen to. What would
a bass player be without some great guitarists along for the ride?
Stu doesn’t disappoint here, including guest slots by top guitarists
including Joe Satriani, Robert Fripp, Frank Gambale,
Jude Gold and Mark McGee. In addition to these amazing
fretboard kings, further backing up Hamm’s bass / keyboard work
and compositions are a range of players such as drummers Stanton
Moore and John Mader and others. The CD sounds great and
the packaging is a real hoot too. Just Outside Of Normal is
a pick to click for bass fans and musicians as well as fans of instrumental
jazz-rock fusion. www.StuHamm.com
ULTIMAE
- The French label Ultimae continues releasing some amazing works
in the field of modern electronics. What was ground breaking for electronic
music in the ‘70s—think T. Dream, Michael Rother, Clearlight
Symphony and Tim Blake—has truly given way to a new breed of
world class musicians unafraid to blur the boundaries of vintage ‘70s
electronica with chill out, D.J. inspired down tempo, dub and even
World Music in the 21st century. Case in point is the 2011 Ultimae
CD release from Swedish composer Magnus Birgersson and his
group Solar Fields. The ten track Origin #01
is in fact, the first chapter in a series of four planned albums
from Solar Fields. Birgersson fills up the audio spectrum here turning
in an outstanding performance on guitars, bass, guitar loops, Elektro
modified sitar and even balalaika. There’s even a couple Birgersson
vocals surreptitiously interspersed in the mix. The most amazing thing
here is that Birgersson has recorded, mixed and mastered everything
so skillfully and the sound is so modified—that you can’t
figure out what’s really going on. The mostly instrumental based
Origin #01 is truly an experimental CD and is a bold move forward
for both the art of electronic music and sonic cosmic guitar explorations.
Even with the chill pulse often keeping the groove in tact, make no
mistake—Solar Fields is century 21 electronica all the way. www.ultimae.com
WAVEFORM
RECORDS - Over in England, Waveform continues breaking down walls
for the world of chill and ambient instrumental music and what we
have come to call “exotic electronica”. Case in point is
a most amazing e-music classic entitled The Maze released
by Sounds From The Ground. Filled with ten tracks of swirling,
dubby, groove based electronics, the Maze CD looks great and
more important—it sounds great too. The brainchild of composers
Nick Woolfson and Elliot Morgan Jones, The Maze is
actually the sixth Waveform CD from Sounds From The Ground—the
first being Kin that Waveform put out in 1996. In the past,
the duo worked with giants like pedal steel guitar icon B.J. Cole
and on The Maze, Sounds From The Ground continues to break
new ground in the world of ambient, dub, trip-hop and chilled back
electronic musical styles. Perhaps what sets this group apart from
the abundance of synthesized music that grew up in the ‘70s and
‘80s is the sense of humor and relaxing meditative chill out
soundscapes. Just give a listen to track three on The Maze—entitled
“Delphine”. Nothing better that having a humorous interlude
on an album of meditative state of the art electronics! The group’s
web site gives of good indication of the thoughtful history and groundbreaking
techniques Sounds From The Ground bring forth on The Maze.
www.waveformrecords.com
/ www.SoundsFromTheGround.com
REISSUES & RETROSPECTIVES
ANGEL
AIR - Over in England, Angel Air continues delving into the music
vaults of ‘60s pop superstar Tommy James. Although he's
best known for his first huge trademark hits like “Hanky Panky”
and “Mirage”, also worth hearing is Tommy’s later period
albums, including an Angel Air 2011 single CD pairing of In
Touch with Midnight Rider. The 18 cut
CD kicks off with the hard driving, 1976 In Touch album which
sounds amazing and has to be one of Tommy’s best albums. Clearly,
during that era, like most Tommy was greatly influenced by the studio
sound of ‘70s glam-rock 
artists
like Slade and Suzi Quatro, who gets covered here with “Devil
Gate Drive.” As was the fashion during that mid ‘70s period,
the drums sound here is very early ‘70s—crisp and near tribal
sounding! With disco around the corner, Tommy’s ‘77 Midnight
Rider is a little more subdued and slick and between both albums
guests appearing including singer Michael McDonald, Timothy
Schmidt and pop genius Jeff Barry. To his credit, Tommy
kept recording and in 1980 he released Three Times In Love.
Keeping writing, years later in 1990 Tommy released one of his
most popular albums, Hi-Fi. These two albums
form yet another Angel Air two Tommy James albums on one CD remaster.
For Hi-Fi Tommy teamed with drummer / co-writer Glenn Wyka
so the drumming here is equally as cool as the amazing drum sound
of In Touch. If you liked the rockin’ pop sound of Tommy
James back in the ‘60s you’ll dig him on these 2011 single
disc, double album collections on Angel Air. www.AngelAir.co.uk
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS - Drawing upon various CD releases from their impressive,
generations spanning back catalog, Angel Air goes with a 2011 compilation
of their more cutting edge prog-metal, putting it together on a various
artists CD entitled Ventis Secundis, Tene Cursum: This Is Progressive
Rock!. Coming from a more Deep Purple / Black Sabbath
style in places, the sixteen cut CD features various tracks from renowned
U.K. prog / rock bands like Stray, Greenslade, Rococo,
Mouse, Affinity, Carmen, Third Ear Band,
Atomic Rooster and The Ian Gillan Band, to name several.
Angel Air are usually pretty on target with their various artist compilations
and with tracks spanning the past four decades, there’s certainly
enough on here to whet the appetite of fans of U.K. prog-rock, pop-rock
and hard rock too. Weird cover art and a stellar crew of bands is
enhanced by the in-depth booklet with bios on all the bands on hand.
www.AngelAir.co.uk
AUDIO
FIDELITY - Back in the heyday of the great Mobile Fidelity label,
another label called DCC started up a gold disc audiophile company
all of their own. So renowned were both MoFi and DCC that even today,
collector’s of audiophile gold CDs pay hundreds of dollars for
a chance to hear the audio splendor brought forth on many of their
favorite albums. Mobile Fidelity was basically destroyed when the
owner Herb Belkin sadly died during the summer of 2001 and during
the early part of the the last decade DCC morphed into Audio Fidelity
and, 
thanks
to it’s owner and Marshall Bronfman, Audio Fidelity continues
to make audiophiles and classic rock collectors happy with a cross-section
of sonically superior and musically groundbreaking gold CD remasters.
To give you an example of how amazing and historic Bronfman’s
gold CDs are—a new 1997 gold CD of Aqualung is selling
on Amazon for nearly four hundred dollars! Anyway, it’s still
very sad to live with the fact that Herb Belkin is no longer here
but thankfully, Marshall and Audio Fidelity are keeping the audiophile
spirit alive and well. Case in point is a 2010 gold CD remaster of
12 Songs—the 1970 album from Randy Newman.
Newman was a mainstay on the L.A. music scene for years and with 12
Songs he really came into his own. Classics like “Have You
Seen My Baby?”, “Mama Told Me Not To Come” and “Old
Kentucky Home” were all covered by numerous bands and artists
but Newman’s originals are still definitive. Excellent packaging
including all lyrics and original artwork of the 1970 album plus gold
disc remastering by Kevin Gray makes Audio Fidelity’s
gold disc of 12 Songs a keeper. Same pretty much can be said
of the 1972 album release of One Man Dog from folk-rock
superstar James Taylor. A personal favorite of Audio Fidelity
founder Marshall Bronfman, the album was, in retrospect slightly disappointing,
especially after Taylor's Beatles' produced 1969 debut and especially
the historic 1970 Warner Bros. Records Lp release of Sweet Baby
James. Described as a suite of brief musical experiments—18
short pieces strung together, including instrumentals—One
Man Dog nevertheless reached well into the top ten of the pop
charts. Most Taylor fans will remember this early classic, as well
as casual pop fans who couldn’t escape the amazing FM radio popularity
of the super smooth pop One Man Dog favorite “Don’t
Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” Audio Fidelity’s 2010 gold CD
remaster of One Man Dog once again features all original Lp
artwork and credits topped off by sonically smooth as silk remastering
from the golden ears of audio giant and DCC legend Steve Hoffman.
Also out on gold CD in 2010 by Audio Fidelity is an audiophile pressing
of Talking Book by soul-pop superstar Stevie Wonder.
Wonder’s huge 1972 breakthrough, Talking Book featured
hit after hit song, topped off by the albums' leadoff track, “You
Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” It seems that year after year,
with its uptempo mix of R&B, funk, rock, pop and smooth jazz,
Talking Book just grows in stature. Audio Fidelity’s 2010
gold CD remaster of Talking Book is just the latest reason
to bask in the sonic splendor of this timeless album. All told, Audio
Fidelity continues to break new ground in the world of audiophile
gold CD remasters. www.AudioFidelity.net
TETRAPOD
RECORDINGS - One of the hardest working acoustic guitar players
in Nashville, John Danley puts his musical history in order
with a 25 track best of compilation entitled A Guitarist’s
Compendium: 15 Years Of Acoustic Addiction. Filled
with an 
infectious
acoustic guitar groove that spans a wealth of musical genres, from
folk to whimsical, spot-on acoustic jazz, the CD brings together 25
tracks of finger-style guitar music written and recorded by the guitarist
between 1995 and 2010. Danley’s 2009 solo CD release, Acoustic
Dimorphism was heralded as one of the top acoustic guitar albums
of the decade, and A Guitarist’s Compendium offers yet
another opportunity to glimpse the talent and technique Danley has
brought to the guitar world over the past decade and a half. The cover
painting by Lori Anne Parker is exquisite while liner notes
by Danley touches on his vital history, including the fact that the
25 track CD is not presented in any kind of chronological history
yet, start to finish still sounds thoroughly connected. www.JohnDanley.com
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