Rock Music

The Wednesday at the Square series continues today with an appearance by the homegrown multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. “West Bank” Mike Doussan opens the show at 5 PM. As the 2013 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival wound down, I debated where I would spend the final hour and a half. There used to be no debate—I closed out the Jazz Fest with the Radiators for years. There were a few exceptions, notably Hugh Masekela in the early 2000s. Last year, I decided to check out the Neville Brothers since the Rads were out of the picture due to their retirement. I was sorely disappointed. I could go into the details, but suffice it to say that they just didn’t have what it takes to translate onto a big stage anymore. Maybe they were just not in the game anymore. So, it makes sense that the band, which is now minus lead vocalist Aaron Neville, no longer closes the day. Rumors flew rampantly all year—who would take over the prestigious spot. When it was announced that Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were closing the Acura stage, it was generally regarded as a “changing of the guard” moment. I privately wondered how it would play out. That question fueled my decision to find a spot at the main stage. That was not a problem. Though it was packed from the front of the stage back 100 yards or so, there was plenty of dancing space in front of the soundboard. Space was abundant in the far reaches Back when Troy was coming up as a pre-teen sensation in New Orleans, his repertoire consistent of crowd-pleasing favorites. Now that he is an adult sensation, a singer with a powerful voice and a musician equally adept on trombone and trumpet, he mostly plays original music. That was a problem early in his set at the Fairgrounds because it was obvious that many in the crowd didn’t know his songs. When he played a cover of the New Orleans chestnut, “St. James Infirmary Blues,” the crowd reacted indifferently. Perhaps he should have gone with “American Woman,” a song that he added to his set list after touring with Lenny Kravitz. There were several other moments in his set when he appeared to be reaching out; trying to engage a crowd that was clearly depleted after a monster set by the Black Keys. He finally got to them all the way to the back by the track by literally reaching out. He jumped both of the barricades and waded, microphone in hand, into the crowd. The jubilant crowd surrounded him and did as he commanded—“get low, get low, get up, get up!” He effectively turned the giant Acura stage into a small club. Older folks bemoaned the addition of the giant screens at Jazz Fest, but for Shorty’s age demographic watching screens is part of their lives. And watch they did. Thousands saw the small group surrounding the singer and finally joined in the communal experience that is what Jazz Fest is supposed to be all about. By the end of his set, he had the whole crowd in the palm of his hand. I expect the same tonight—but I doubt it will require as much effort. Advertise here with BSA

The ’90s revival is well and truly alive, but Algernon Doll aka Ewan Grant, is shunning the neon colours, aztec prints, and electro throwbacks in favour of guitars, grunge, and soulful lyrics. His second album Citalo-pop is out on 10th June, but he’s already released and two brilliant tracks and videos online – “Cassini” and “Anti-them.” Visually, his videos are vintage ’90s harking back to when MTV used to show actual rock music videos. The tunes are both sing along and introspective, and miles away from his debut album Camomile which dealt with Ewan’s issues with extreme anxiety disorder. Algernon Doll burns a hole straight through the shallow nonsense and Citalo-pop is the sound of something real—Ewan Grant is a proper alt-rock talent who sounds wise beyond his years. Advertise here with BSA

Review by Tarcisio Moura — Oh, I love this EP!! I?m not exactly Big Big Train?s biggest fan, even though I liked their previousThe Underfall Yard bery much. It?s just that I found that CD to be a little too dense for my actualtastes and I dont?really know their discography all that well, and I have not a good idea of whatthey are all about yet. Anyway, I was quite surprised by the opening track, their version of a songcalled Master Of Time. I had never heard the original one but, boy, does BBT play it good!! Itsounds like the good days of classic Genesis: melodic, yet complex, with very tasteful arrangementsand a heartfelt delivering. I was hooked at the first listening. Of course the remaining tracks arenot that easy and familiar, but again I found them to be very good and did enjoy the record a lot.It seems they found the master?s winning formula lost to most prog acts nowadays: a good balancebetween the simple and the intricated together with a good melody line. Those guys definitly are terrific musicians and they have the right influences. If you love classicsynphonic prog rock of the 70?s you must get to know BBT. And more important: they know how to writeexcellent tunes in that vein with much personality and a style of their own. It?s really refreshingto find a band that sounds so familiar and yet had something so up to date and unique. By the way,hardcore proggers will love the 17 minute epic Wide Open Sea for its many twists and turns, coupledwith fine mellotron waves. Production is crystaline: you can hear everything. And the band haa the luck to find a very finesinger in the person of David Longdon, who not only has a good voice, but also knows how to givethe songs the right emotional interpretation. As if that was not good enough the guy also playsseveral other instruments (among them a mean flute!)! I?m looking forward to hear their newst releases.Conclusion: a must have to any prog collection. Highly recommended!!

Review by Dr?mmarenAdrian — "Chocolate Kings" is Premiata Forneria Marconi's seventh studio record (fifth if you don't count "Photos of ghosts" and "The World became the World") and it was released in 1975. I've got a version of the record with a chocolate bar in many incarnations on the cover. The band was made up by Franz di Cioccio, Patrick Djivas, Franco Mussida, Mauro Ragani, Flavio Premoli and Bernado Lanzetti and this is a record totally in English. I would rather have heard it in Italien but this worked still out well. If you like Genesis, you probably would like this. I adore Genesis and love this sound. I may happen I come back and raise this rating to five but now I think four is enough, and that is a high rating. This is a record especially for fans of Genesis and PFM of course. If I compare it to their british precursor I would compare this record with "A trick of the tail", a little more poppier but still a fantastic progressive sound. These songs are so clever and fine, all of them are good. They use many instruments and do it well. There is a lot of brilliance and and elegance here. One thing that makes this a good record is the great vocals that sometimes has been breached in prog. "From under" starts the record with speed and a good text, "Harlequin" continues with a great song and the title track "Chocolate Kings" is quick and has a funny meaning. Next side has two longer pieces in "Out of the Roundabout" and "Paper Charms". They are both very good but I think this record is a bit short. With one song more thay could have gained appreciation, and done a more complete disc. Beside of its small faults this was a great experience of Premiata Forneria Marconi in English and the first review I write about them. I will listen again and perhaps give it a better opinion furthermore.

Folks holding a fondness for cerebral yet non-forbidding instrumental music just might find the debut LP from Baltimore duo Peals very much to their liking. While guitar focused and wielding a palpable experimental bent, the record also features a naturally-derived accessibility that compromises their ambitions not a bit, and if somewhat brief in impact, Walking Field successfully whets the appetite for further material. Peals are composed of William Cashion and Bruce Willen, their individual résumés each essaying prior musical successes which sprang from the fertile environs of the Charm City. And while not at odds, the dissimilar genres of their past achievements sorta predicted that a stylistic merger of their extant work was highly unlikely. However, it would still be understandable for those familiar, either in part or in full, with the pair’s previous activities to expect some sort of overtly digestible progression from either the brainy synth-pop Cashion deals out as part of Future Islands or the aggressively arty post-hardcore (think McLusky or Wire’s recent output) that was Willen’s specialty via the now defunct Double Dagger. But interestingly, Peals essentially registers as a clean break from what both of the participants have been up to in the recent past. The biggest surprise isn’t the lack of vocals, for neither Cashion nor Willen were the singing members of the combos listed above. For Willen, the lack of bass is a considerably bigger change in tactics, for he swung the four-stringer rather mightily in a group that lacked any other guitars. Also notable in the aural scheme of Peals’ debut is the absence of drums or even any percussion devices at all save for a modest tambourine. Both members are credited with guitars, and their shared duties on the instrument provide the biggest portion of Walking Field’s thrust, though the record also employs the utilization of keyboards, field recordings, walkie-talkies, feedback, cello, toy piano, and microphones to complete the totality of its sound. Thrill Jockey’s press materials for the LP mention both Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins and “the minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene” as directly inspiring the creation of Walking Field, but the resulting album, while not without moments that mildly recall these associations, is revealed as far less beholden to either influence than might be assumed from a simple perusal of that description. To tackle the Germanic side of the scenario first, while Peals certainly share in a minimalist outlook that’s similar to the early motions of such groups as Tangerine Dream, Cluster, and Harmonia, there is also an immediately noticeable difference, specifically a missing desire for frequently prog-like, and often ominous, audio sprawl. In its place comes a considerably tidier orientation coupled with an outlook that while never cloying, can nevertheless be accurately described as engagingly pretty. And this approachability is where the nod to Guthrie is most properly assessed, but in the end Peals’ debut connects much differently from the lush post-Goth spillage of the Cocteau Twins. If Peals don’t directly rip any pages from that 4AD group’s hefty textbook, or for that matter ransack the multi-volume encyclopedia of Musik Kosmische (i.e. the more abstract, less rhythmically-focused groups corralled under the Krautrock designation) for obvious form moves, they are ultimately much better for it. However, a loose comparison perhaps can be made between Walking Field and Evening Star, the 1976 collaboration between Brian Eno and guitarist Robert Fripp, particularly that LP’s title cut. It’s surely possible that I’m guilty of awarding a disproportionate level of influence to Evening Star, for I made the same connection regarding last year’s excellent Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads from Peals’ city/label cohort Dustin Wong. But if so, I can’t shake the reliably glistening lack of abrasion found in th

Killing Joke: tales from the dark side The Singles Collection 1979 – 2012 captures the ever-evolving Killing Joke story with a series of dark, apocalyptic songs. The Singles Collection… is initially being released as a Limited Edition three-CD set (33 career-spanning singles plus a third disc of rarities, including previously unreleased studio tracks), plus a Super Deluxe Cigar-Boxed Edition. Check out all the abovementioned 33 tracks from The Singles Collection… via the stream here. Killing Joke, with their original line-up of Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth and Big Paul continuing to hold firm, have now signed a new deal with Spinefarm. They will soon set about recording a third studio album for the label, with Youth once again at the production helm. The release date is likely to be early 2014. In the specially filmed video below, we delve into KJ’s history in the first part of an (almost) track-by-track guide to the new boxset. Part two follows tomorrow (Thursday, May 23).

Gospel singer Regina McCrary, an old friend of Bob Dylan’s, is 55 today (May 22, 2013). Here’s her entry in The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (but updated for this blogpost): /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400; McCrary, Regina [1958 - ] Regina McCrary (sometimes billed under her previous married names Regina Havis and Regina McCrary Brown) was born May 22, 1958 in Nashville, the daughter of the late Rev. Samuel Brown, who as Sam McCrary was lead singer of the Fairfield Four gospel group in the 1940s. The group had been formed in the 1920s; re-formed in the 1980s, the Fairfield Four performs ‘Lonesome Valley’ on the soundtrack of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The younger sister of gospel-singer Ann McCrary, she was encouraged to audition for a place in Dylan’s back-up singers’ group by her friend Carolyn Dennis, whom she had known since they were small children.             She auditioned when the 1978 World Tour hit Nashville on December 2, almost at the end of its long run  -  and she was brought in for the sessions for Slow Train Coming in spring 1979, beginning with vocal overdubs in the Muscle Shoals studio in Sheffield, Alabama that May 5 and continuing on May 7, 10 and 11. Next, the very beautiful Ms McCrary Brown formed part of the back-up singing outfit on Dylan’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ appearance on October 20, 1979 and then embarked on the first Dylan gospel tour, starting with the long run of sold-out dates at the Fox Warfield in San Francisco that November 1 and finishing on December 9 in Tucson, Arizona. She had no idea how ‘big’ Bob Dylan was when she signed up with him: it was only when confronted with these audiences that she registered how important a figure he was to so many people.             Her friend Carolyn Dennis was not in the group on this tour: Regina’s vocal colleagues were Mona Lisa Young and Helena Springs. The group sang some opening numbers each night before Dylan himself came on, but he plunged Regina in at the deep end by making her deliver as a monologue a particular ‘Christian homily’ story she’d known all her life and had been heard retailing backstage.             In 1980 McCrary stayed on the Dylan payroll, remaining all through the year’s touring  -  from snowy Portland, Oregon on January 11 through to Charleston, West Virginia on February 9, and from Toronto on April 17 through to Dayton, Ohio on May 21. She was there too for the recording of the Saved album in between the two tours, beginning in the studio on February 13, along with Mona Lisa Young and Clydie King, and she sang behind Dylan on ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ at the Grammy awards show on CBS-TV in LA that February 27. (In March, when Dylan played harmonica on Keith Green’s track ‘Pledge My Head To Heaven’, two other McCrary sisters, Charity and Linda, were the back-up singers.)             On the second 1980 tour, she duetted with Dylan on his little-known song ‘Ain’t No Man Righteous, No Not One’ at Hartford, Connecticut on May 7, and two weeks later sang it solo on the tour’s last night. Again, this tour did not include Carolyn Dennis.             In 1981 Regina McCrary was still with Dylan when he went into the studios in Santa Monica on March 11 to start work on the Shot of Love sessions, and towards the end of that month during one day’s session she not only sang back-up vocals but was recorded singing solo lead vocals on ‘Please Be Patient With Me’ and (as she had done live the year before) ‘‘Ain’t No Man Righteous, No Not One’. She and Dylan even co-wrote a song at these sessions, ‘Got To Give Him My All’ (tho

Black Star Riders guitarist Scott Gorham and frontman Ricky Warwick have discussed the relationship between their new band and Thin Lizzy – the outfit they developed from. In the video below, Gorham says: “I see this as a completely different band. We can shoot off in a multitude of directions. We can do anything we want to; and I can see us doing just that.” Warwick, speaking as a Lizzy fan, has a slightly different take on the situation. Black Star Riders released new track Kingdom Of The Lost earlier this week. They’re gearing up for the release of debut album All Hell Breaks Loose on May 27. They tour the UK and Ireland at the end of the year. Preorder All Hell Breaks Loose now. Black Star Riders UK and Ireland tour Nov 22: O2 Academy, Bournemouth Nov 23: Shepherds Bush Empire, London Nov 25: O2 Academy, Bristol Nov 26: Junction, Cambridge Nov 27: UEA, Norwich Nov 29: Hard Rock Hell 6, Wales – festival co-headline Nov 30: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton Dec 1: Solus/University, Cardiff Dec 2: O2 Academy, Oxford Dec 5: Ironworks, Inverness Dec 6: Picturehouse, Edinburgh Dec 7: O2 Academy, Newcastle Dec 8: O2 Academy, Leeds Dec 10: Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa Dec 12: Rock City, Nottingham Dec 13: Ritz, Manchester Dec 14: Academy, Dublin

TeamRock: radio on! TeamRock – the new owners of Classic Rock – have announced the next phase of the presenter line-up for their new radio station set to launch on June 16. Metal Hammer Editor In Chief, Alexander Milas, has been signed to present the weeknight Metal Hammer Magazine Show from 9pm-midnight, Monday to Friday. Another addition to the weekday schedule is Breaking Bands, a two-hour daily show from midnight which will provide a platform for new, unsigned bands and emerging talent. The show will be hosted by Sophie K (Kostrowski). Mid-mornings will be hosted by ‘Miss Rach’ (Rachel Houghton). Rachel has spent the last four years at Real XS in Manchester. Rounding off the weekday team is Pete Bailey who will broadcast between 2am and 6am. As previously announced, Nicky Horne will host the Classic Rock Magazine Show every weekday from 6pm to 9pm. Moose, Head Of Radio at TeamRock Radio, said: “We are building an incredibly talented and passionate team. This unique schedule offers output that will appeal to all rock fans. Whether its metal, classic, current or new rock music TeamRock Radio will deliver a service listeners will love. It will mirror TeamRock’s magazine titles and create a bridge between press and broadcast.” The full daytime schedule is detailed below: Monday – Friday 0000 – 0200 Breaking Bands – Sophie K 0200 – 0600 Pete Bailey 0600 – 1000 Moose & JRock 1000 – 1400 Miss Rach 1400 – 1800 Dewsbury 1800 – 2100 Classic Rock Magazine Show – Nicky Horne 2100 – 0000 Metal Hammer Magazine Show – Alexander Milas TeamRock Radio is currently broadcasting test transmissions via the national digital audio broadcasting (DAB) platform Digital One. To listen, tune your DAB digital radio into @TeamRockRadio TeamRock Radio is also streaming through Radio Player.

Review by b_olariu — Ram was a short-lived American prog rock band that in 1972 released one album, Where (InConclusion), on Polydor, and then disappeared from prog history. The group consisted offlautist/saxist John DeMartino, guitarist/vocalist Ralph DeMartino, bassist/vocalist MichaelRodriguez, and drummer Steeler, with Dennis Carbone providing additional vocals and keyboard.They have a heavy prog sound, typical of the early '70's, but also with some space rock elementsadded here and there. John DeMartino plays some interesting passages on saxophone and flute,blending very well with the rest of the musicians. The songs The Want In You and The Mother's DaySong shows the bluesy side of the band, though keeping progressive overtones, while Stoned Silenceshows a more psychedelic side, with a great piano passage from Dennis Carbone. The album ends withthe four-movement suite Aza, more than 20 minutes of space rock combined with heavy prog elements.The album was re-released by Akarma in digipack vinyl replica format some years ago. A good albumoverall but not fantastic, for fans of Brainticket or Tyburn Tall