Rock Music

Review by tarkus1980 — This is the point where Steve's late-period resurgence went beyond a nice story and became a little terrifying. To Watch the Storms and Wild Orchids (and to a limited extent Dark Town ) had been very nice additions to Hackett's catalogue, but they were just that: nice additions to a career whose center of relevancy still ultimately belonged to a handful of albums from the late 70s and early 80s. This album, and its eventual successor ( Beyond the Shrouded Horizon ), managed to completely rewrite the general arc of Steve's career; rather than following a path marked by an early prime, a shift downward and a nice shift upward at the end, Steve's career now had to be viewed as having two distinct primes, roughly 30 years apart. On here, and on Horizon , much of the material feels central to Steve's legacy, and while there are enough small details on each to keep me from giving them even higher grades, they are both essential albums for anybody who considers themselves a Hackett fan.The first two songs on here have to be numbered among the best songs Hackett ever did, and oddly enough they're also the two where Yes bassist Chris Squire makes a contribution (he doesn't make his presence obvious, but there's a lot of power in the bass playing on these tracks). "Fire on the Moon" is a distillation of everything great about this era in Hackett's career; the verse melody is quiet but intense, growing out of a quiet music box melody (he used a similar trick to start off Wild Orchids , but it's more effective here), the "chorus" is huge and anthemic with wordless harmonies, and the two extended instrumental passages are led by monumental guitar passages that each have their own distinct personality and vibe. "Nomads," then, is Steve revisiting his fondness for middle-Eastern music, and it really comes across as the kind of song that "The Gulf" could have been if it hadn't gotten too stuck on its typically 80s synths. Much like with "Moon," the melody is a big ball of tension, reaching points of near ecstasy every time the "It's a cry from the heart, it's a crying soul" line pops up, and the climactic instrumental passage, growing out of a frantic acoustic part into a searing electric part, is sheer bliss to my ears. The final repetition of "It's a cry from the heart" might be somewhat predictable, but it's soooo necessary and satisfying.Naturally, the album can't quite hold onto this level of enjoyment and intensity throughout, but it holds a pretty decent level nonetheless. "Emerald and Ash" really shouldn't be nine minutes long; the ballad portion (the "Emerald," I suppose) and the noisy rocker portion (the "Ash," I suppose) don't fit well together, certainly not as well as "The Fundamentals of Brainwashing" and "Howl" did. Still, I quite like the "Emerald" portion, which is awfully dark and moody for a track whose first lyric is "Sugarplum fairies on parade." The following instrumental "Tubehead" is basically just a noisy shredfest (with pounding up-tempo bass pushing it forward), and I kinda feel like its effect is muted a bit by coming right after the "Ash" portion, but it's definitely a lot of fun.As far as multi-part epics go, "Sleepers" is much more impressive than "Emerald and Ash." The lengthy acoustic introduction gives way to an unsettlingly calm (and surprisingly memorable) verse melody, which in turn gives way to an intense darker melody (featuring a great lyric in one stanza: "Surveillance camera in the sky/Big big brother telling you why/Too many saviours on my cross/Might as well worship the Wizard of Oz"), which in turn gives way to an anthemic climax, culminating in the "All the sleepers send you their dreams" repeated line. If this track isn't in the top tier of Hackett tracks, then it's knocking on the door.The album finishes quite strong as well. "Ghost in the Glass" makes the transition from moody acoustic instrumental to moody electric instrumental impeccably; "Still Waters" is

Review by SouthSideoftheSky — "This is no recreation people, this is absolute live sensation. This is no means of passing time, we are living on the front line." (Though not really) In 1998, when this live album was recorded, Jump was at the uppermost height of their career. They had just released, what is in my opinion, their best album, Living In A Promised Land, and before that four other good albums, including the excellent ...And All The King's Men. There simply couldn't have been a more perfect time for Jump to record their first live album. In the light of this, I must say that the resulting record falls far short of the massive potential. It could have been, and should have been, a lot better than it actually is. Before I elaborate further on why I think this is so, I wish to point out that this is by no means a bad live album. The band is full of talent and the performances are both energetic and passionate.Some live albums run like "best of" collections, pulling together all, or at least many, of a band's best songs on a single release. Freedom Train is not such an album. With the exception of the brilliant The Pressed Man from Living In A Promised Land and Shed No Tears from ...And All The King's Men, the songs elected for inclusion on this live album are not obviously the best choices. Rather few of my favourite songs from the band's five or six first studio albums are actually present here. As such, the songs on this live album do not always well represent the respective studio albums from which they are taken and nor do they represent the best side(s) of the band as I know them from the studio albums. Two songs from the band's 1991 debut The Winds Of Change are included here. The Lightbox is a good choice and the sing-a-long-friendly The Freedom Train of course gave its name to this album. The latter is not a bad song, but I wish they would abstain from the embarrassing political agitation! From World Of Wonder comes only one song in the Reggae-influenced Poison In The Sea. While I do like this song, I think that there were several better songs on that album that I would rather have heard in a live setting. This is especially so as there was room for improving those early songs. Two songs from ...And All The King's Men made it onto here one of which I've already mentioned, the excellent Shed No Tears. The other one is Judgement Day which, though it is not a bad song, is not among the best songs from that great album. There are many others that I would rather have heard played live. The Myth Of Independence is allowed three selections in On My Side, Valediction, and Keep The Blues. While the first of these is indeed excellent, at least in the verses, and one of the better songs on this live album, especially Keep The Blues is not a favourite of mine. Here too, there are other songs that I would rather have heard. Finally, Living In A Promised Land is represented by two tracks in the aforementioned The Pressed Man as well as Used To The Taste. The latter is a good song too, but possibly the least good song from that otherwise excellent album! I guess I will have to "get used to the taste" of the band members regarding which of their own songs are better, which obviously differs from my taste. Of the remaining four songs, two would end up on the forthcoming Matthew album (which was presumably under production at the time of this recording, and subsequently released in the year 2000). The other two, A Nation Of Friends and Personal Revolution, are of unknown (to me) origin. These are rather unremarkable and not up to par with the better songs from the band's studio albums. My advice is to get the studio albums first, before moving on to this live album. The Freedom Train is indeed enjoyable and a good live album in its own right, but the set list is nonetheless slightly disappointing relative to its potential. I have no complaints about the performances themselves or the quality of the recording, but personall

Review by VOTOMS — (According to the PA, Blackpool Cool was released on their own label Head Records) Oh yeah, better than Red Dwarf. This time, Head returns in a different way, more zippy and active. I will highlight John Davies, the multi-instrumentalist, playing and destroying the trumpet and keyboards. Sometimes, it reminds me of early King Crimson stuff. The general performance is very creative and great. My favorite song here is Kick Me Quick, maybe because of the dissonant trumpet improvisated solo, and of course, it have a hot blooded crazy swing. Trust me, you will not get wrong with this.

Manzarek is pictured on the far left Back in the late 60s I listened to The Doors largely because of Jim Morrison's big, booming voice. He remains, to this day, one of the great rock singers of all time. However, over the years listeners discovered just how much the late Ray Manzarek (who passed away this week) contributed to the sound and overall success of the band. When you listen beyond the vocals it becomes obvious that The Doors' first single and most famous song, "Light My Fire," is really a vehicle for keyboard player Manzarek to show off his stuff. As the album version's mid-section of the song morphed from the single into an electric organ fueled jam session that was never heard on Top 40 radio you realize just how talented he was. With his ability to improvise Manzarek could have been a fine jazz musician. To me, Manzarek's greatest moment came on "Riders on the Storm." He played some very spooky electric piano that perfectly complemented Morrison's vocals and the thunderstorm sounds that were a major part of the piece. Close your blinds, turn out the lights, and listen to "Riders" in total darkness. Manzarek's playing helps make the song totally, perfectly eerie. The Doors were one of the rare major rock bands to not have a bass player. Manzarek often played bass with his left hand on a Fender Rhodes bass keyboard while playing organ or piano with his right hand. While Morrsion, The Doors' most prominent and controversial figure, became headline news Manzarek goes down in history as one of the few keyboard men to consistently use his instrument as a centerpiece of their repertoire. He contributed as much to The Doors sound as Morrison ever did. It's easy to visualize that without Manzarek The Doors may not have become the huge legends they are more than forty years after their first hit.

It’s a long story, but I almost didn’t make it to DC9 on Sunday night. Luckily, I walked upstairs to the nearly-full venue and made my way through the crowd toward the front right before the band pushed past me to take the stage. As soon as Kitten hit their first note, I knew this was going to be one of those exciting shows where the energy sticks with you for a long time after—and that missing it would have been a mistake. On Sunday night, the much-hyped, new wave, post-punk, dance act performed a loud, youthful set lacking in pretension and surprisingly mature and genuine. Currently touring with Paramore and having played the Fillmore Silver Spring the night before, this was a unique opportunity to see Kitten as headliner. At this point, talking about Kitten’s youth screams cliché. Yes, the band’s frontwoman is all of 18 years old, the black underage “X” visible on her hands as she holds the mic. And yes, the remaining four band members were also born in the 1990s. But as they’ve been together for three years, have two EPs under their belt, and are readying the release of their first full-length album this summer, it’s quite a misnomer to call this band “new.” With a stage presence belying their age, Kitten makes it clear that while the members might still be young, they are at the beginning of a very long career. Decked out in a black choker, chunky-heeled black boots (which came off almost as soon as the set started), and half of her hair in cornrows with the other half usually covering her face, frontwoman Chloe Chaidez demanded her audience’s attention. She is a force on stage, twirling and gyrating, arms out, climbing down into the audience, jumping up and down—and all while singing with power and control. Often referred to as punk in her earlier days, meaning the ripe old age of 15, Chaidez and her band have evolved into a more complex sound in the years since. It’s not hard to track Kitten’s influences to ’80s new wave, post-punk, and electronic dance rock. But their synth-driven tracks have an air of youth and glamour and light that is somehow beautifully woven into the aggression and the grit that gives Kitten a feeling all its own. With Chaidez’s charisma, it would be all too easy to ignore what else is happening on stage—especially with four young, generically-hipster looking guys dressed in all black behind the instruments. But with Kitten, failing to look beyond the front would be an unfortunate oversight. Drummer Lukas Frank has been with Chaidez from the beginning, with guitarist Waylon Rector and keyboardist Bryan DeLeon joining next. After cycling through several bassists since the band formed, Zach Bilson came on just this spring. While that could have led to a few easily-forgiven weak spots, the set was tight, and the band sounded like they had been playing together for years. If anything, the weak spots came in between songs—for instance, when Frank started into the next song with Chaidez still bantering with audience members. Kitten played a mix of tracks from their 2010 EP Sunday School and their follow-up EP, 2012′s Cut It Out. The set kicked off with “Kill the Light” from Sunday School, a track Chaidez remarked that they don’t usually play. During the third song, Cut It Out’s “Junk,” Chaidez grabbed a pair of drumsticks during the instrumental part, and pounded the shit out of an extra couple of drums. It was loud and fast and intense and just perfect. Toward the end of the set, Kitten played a new song, “Doubt,” promising that they would put it on the record if we liked it enough. With a heavy electronic dance and pop sound and less guitar-driven rock, it was a clue as to the direction we might see Kitten take on their full-length album. There were a few moments during the set when Chaidez went just over the top—a few too many fist pumps during “G#,”

Let me be frank: music festivals are awful. They are magnificently unpleasant. All of them. There is almost no other way to spend $350+ and have a worse time, other than maybe flying coach to the Midwest three days before Christmas. That being said, this will be my sixth year attending Sasquatch. My first S’quatch was in 2006, and I went consecutively for the following four years. The 2010 festival was, barring Massive Attack’s STUNNING performance, such an abysmal waste of three days that I, during the dark, rank, exhausted drive back, swore I would never, ever go again. Ever. Going to Sasquatch is like getting waxed: after enough time has passed since you last had your hopes and dreams ripped out through your bleeding follicles, you forget the pain and gloss over the memory. Soon enough, you’re back on the table, writhing in agony, wondering what the hell you were thinking. And, so, two years since I last subjected myself to the dirty, loud, hot, overpopulated nightmare that Sasquatch has become over the past five years, here I am with a four-day pass and a rough schedule of bands to see. Now, before you point your grubby little hipster fingers at me and call me a naysayer or a cynic, I will admit that music festivals have their advantages, Sasquatch especially so. Yes, it’s expensive, but I would probably end up paying close to $350 to separately see just a quarter of the bands that will be playing. Yes, it’s an overcrowded swarm of humanity, but, as an introvert, I would rather condense all the over-stimulation of multiple shows into one intensive session from which I can then spend the rest of the year recovering. Yes, it’s hot and cold and dry and wet all at the same time, but I defy you to find a more beautiful backdrop to lounge beneath for four days. There’s also something I find incredibly satisfying about making it through a weekend of Sasquatch—sporting sunburns and bruises like badges of honor, recounting harrowing tales of drunkards and overturned HoneyBuckets to gape-jawed friends, and then, of course, those moments when you hear a song you just saw performed live and immediately relive the vivid connection between musician and audience that only blossoms during the extraordinary kind of sets that are somehow so commonplace at Sasquatch. Sasquatch is instant misery and latent bliss, generous suffering and hard-earned ecstasy. It’s something you dread and pine for, all at the same time. However, not all the evils of Sasquatch are necessary ones, and I will concede that my personal Sasquatch experiences did, for the most part, improve each year as I better learned how to prepare for and navigate the festival. So, out of both the kindness of my black, merciless heart and the hope that, for some of you, reading about your own douchebaggery might jar you into self-awareness, I have constructed a list of Do’s and Do-Not’s for your immediate absorption and strict adherence, punctuated by small samples of what kind of musical greatness to expect this weekend. You’re welcome. 15 ways to make your (and my) sasquatch experience not absolutely terrible: 1. DO NOT take a dump in the floor of a HoneyBucket. First things first. This is one of the main reasons I swore off Sasquatch after the 2010 festival. I walked into not one, not two, not three, but FOUR (quatro) HoneyBuckets in which someone had wiped feces (caca) all over the interior. Mentally, emotionally, I can’t even begin to ponder the process of completing such a task. But, nonetheless, someone(s) found themselves inspired enough to attempt it, and dedicated enough to succeed. Now, I understand that there are, imaginably, mitigating circumstances which might excuse, if not explain, how an individual might suddenly find themselves exploding with poop. And even if there’s no medical reason, and you just suddenly felt the inescapable need to not defecate like a human being for a moment, all I ask is that

Review by VOTOMS — Describing this work in two words: overlooked and awesome. When I first heard "Quasar" (track no. 1), an atmoshperical intro piece, I went totally absorbed by these jazzheads.Smooth and deep, here the instruments are free to express what they want at any time, this is the essence of the jazz rock / fusion. I've been interested in "Event Horizon", since I have a song with the same name, and I was not disappointed, the song is softly beautiful. But the higher points here are Red Dwarf and Earthsong Suite (the longer track). About Red Dwarf (the song), the disharmonic intro really got me!!! And the song slowly open doors to a masterpiece, and the masterpiece cames. I will recc this one to Caunterbury scene fans.

The finest things we experience take their own time to truly evolve. A fine wine, for instance. It matures for years, cultivating its unique aromas and tastes. And some bands do much the same—they follow their own muse, creating masterpieces instead of churning out an onslaught of half-conceived albums. Ra Ra Riot, the former baroque-pop darlings, reflect this refined maturation process. Two years after the release of their captivating album The Orchard, they return to us with a lineup change and a new album, Beta Love. We had the opportunity to discuss the venture into electronic elements with bassist Mathieu Santos.  You’ve just released the newest album, Beta Love, and it’s a bit of a departure from 2010′s The Orchard. What do you think shifted the band’s sound? I think a lot of different things. The biggest part was that we knew we wanted to approach the writing and arranging of this record differently. When we first started as a band, we had all these different instruments at our disposal, and at first, it was a strength of ours, but I think over time we sort of got into this rut. We learned how to write and arrange together so well that we just approached the songs in the same way; we were always adapting the songs to the band. It was like, “Oh, yeah, what’s the violin part going to be? What’s the cello part going to be? What’s this? What’s that?” We just started doing the same thing in every song, I think. When we approached this record, we wanted to listen to the songs once and say, “What does this song need?” Just let it develop more naturally. We also wanted to embrace things we might have been too self-conscious to embrace in the past, like a lot of the electronic elements or the thematic elements. Shortly before we started working on the record, we had a lineup change, which shakes things up. We let a lot of the decision-making happen in the studio as opposed to figuring it all out beforehand. There was a lot of spontaneity and improvisation in the studio, which also helped shape the music. Is it necessary to continue to experiment with the band’s band sound? Yeah, absolutely. Not really that it’s necessary, but it’s more natural. There’s a bunch of us in the band. As we’re all changing, inevitably as individuals and getting into new and different things, it’s only natural that the band is going to reflect those changes. It’s unnatural for anything to stay the same for a long time. It wouldn’t be any fun for us if we were just doing the same thing over and over again. Any time that we get together, we’re excited to see what’s going to come out of it and what new things we can accomplish. From where would you say the inspiration for this album came? There was a lot of eighties pop, you know, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson, Phil Collins…a lot of new wave stuff and electronic music like Devo and Kraftwerk. Dennis Herring, who produced the record, also had a huge influence in how it sounded. He was introducing us to things while we were there, particularly R&B and house music. So, there was a lot of stuff floating around. I was listening to a lot of jazz fusion. What prompted the decision to work with Dennis? We did the last record, The Orchard, on our own. We produced, recorded, and engineered it entirely ourselves, which we wanted to do. It was a fun and unique learning experience. We learned a ton in the studio and had a lot of fun making it. So, I think when it came time to make this album, we thought, “Well, we did that. Let’s see what a real pro, hands-on producer can bring to the table.” We had it sort of narrowed down to a short list, and Dennis was on it. And he was actually the first person we’d met; we were huge fans of the records he’s worked on in the past, and he had a diverse list of clientele, which was appealing to us. It was just a really great first impression. We

Review by VOTOMS — The rare Jasper Wrath (self-titled) only full lenght. The album cover is fine, great use of colors. This album is the definitive crossover prog at times. Seems a common song but you know that is progressive. The first two tracks are fine, prog based rock. There's no focus on technical stuff or skills, just simple and cool prog songs. My CD version includes It's Up To You, a slow harmonic track. I like this one. Autumn reminds me of Beatles. Odyssey is a soft listening song, a little bit repetitve, but not annoying. Did You Know That is my favorite track, catchy rhythm. Drift Through Our Cloud shows an electro-tribal-psychedelic song, sorta Beatles influenced track. Portrait is another slow song, a good melody, I think. Roland of Montrevere is, no doubt about it, the most progressive track here. Is another good track. Well, this is a good album, but nothing too special about it. I could normally live my life without it. I do not feel tempted to listen to it.

Yesterday, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum members got a first look at our new Rolling Stones exhibit, Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, and we love this fan photo from the evening, shared using the hashtag #rockhallsatisfaction The exhibit opens to the public this Friday! http://rockhall.com/exhibits/rolling-stones-50-years-of-satisfaction/