Warp 11 ~ Boldly Go Down On Me (album review) ... Star Trek never sounded so good!

Style: humor, hard rock
Label: Reboot Music
Year: 2004
Home: California

Members: Captain Karl Miller ~ bass/vocals
Chief Medical Officer Jeff Hewitt ~ drums/vocals
Chief Science Officer Kiki Stockhammer ~ keyboards/vocals
Chief Engineer Brian Moore ~ guitar/vocals

Phasers set to kill, Klingons & Vulcans, warp drive & overloading warp cores, malfunctioning electrical circuits, deflector shields, auto destruct & red shirted nameless soldiers that will die quickly ... & most importantly super sexy shipmates ready to get it on in fantasy positions. Yes, it's a typical episode of Star Trek, any of the series actually, it's also the entire lyrical theme of Warp 11 ... everyone's favorite, & maybe the only, Star Trek themed comedy rock band. Started in 1999 as a side-project Warp 11 has drawn a big fanbase ... of both those who love & hate Star Trek ... for it's collection of original songs that combine show references & characters, comedic word play (for example, "Boldly go down on me, can't you see, I'm insecur-ity" from the title track) & lots of explicit & sly sexual innuendos (for example, "Captain caught me on the holodeck with a blaster in my hand" from "Captain Caught Me on the Holodeck"). As much as the joke may eventually become tedious Warp 11 ... a nod to Spinal Tap whose amps go up to 11 not 10 ... put their lyrics behind an array of upbeat musical styles that go from punk rock a la Red Hot Chili Peppers to acoustic folk ballads to twisted quirky pop a la Bare Naked Ladies, though never pulling the attention away from the music. One doesn't need geeky Trekkie insight into the show to understand the humor as Star Trek has so entered popular culture that everyone knows who Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock are even if they've never watched an episode & that's about as much as you'll need to really get Warp 11 ... though more does help if you're so inclined to watch 5 tv series & 3 sets of mediocre movies. The over-the-top sexual topics & the curiosity of what might be said next also keeps one listening. Boldly Go Down On Me is their second album solidifying the experiment & setting the template for the many albums that would follow. This release also features an array of stand-out tracks including: "She Make It So", "Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Klingons", the Red Hot Chili Pepper sounding "Give It Up For The Captain", "Auto Destruct", "Rage Against the Federation", "A Song for People Who Never Watch Star Trek", "Welcome To Our Cube" & "Set Your Phaser For Fuck". The other albums in their catalog also deserve mention & any of them would be a good place to check out Warp 11, though they all fall into the same sound with little variation, & include It's Dead, Jim, I Don't Want To Go To Heaven As Long As They Have Vulcans In Hell, their latest release Borgasm, the controversially titled Suck My Spock & their debut Red Alert with the single "Everything I Do (I Do With William Shatner)" that was featured on TV's roast of Shatner, aka Captain Kirk.

Saint Jude ~ Diary Of A Soul Fiend (album review) ... Singing the blues in stilettos!

Style: blues-rock
Label: Saint Jude Records
Year: 2010
Home: England

Members: Lynne Jackaman ~ vocals
Adam Greene ~ guitar
Joe Glossop ~ keyboards
Colin Palmer ~ bass
Lee Cook ~ drums

Guest: Ronnie Wood ~ guitar

Don't expect R&B soul cause this debut is actually a magical ride with a lip-curled hair tossing stiletto wearing blues-belter with electric slide guitars, a little honky-tonk piano & grooves to the max. Think Rolling Stones at their rockin' blues best, any era, with Ronnie Wood & Bobby Keys chugging away solos that could come out of the Mississippi swamp with a dynamic vocalist who sometimes shouts & sometimes whispers songs of sexy wild women & dangerous relationships. Actually, I'll confess that the previous description was written before looking at the linear notes that shows some guitar playing is by no other than Ronnie himself! I guess I've listened to him enough to recognize his style ... either that or this is what I've wanted the Stones to sound like so often but have been disappointed by ... the singer ... who tries to have the passion of vocalist Lynne Jackaman but you can't get this feeling in an arena. Jackaman is as vocally dynamic as the band behind her & moves between giving off a vibe of a dangerous beer drinkin' woman to a woman wanting some tender lovin' ... & you'll love her & want to be lookin' at her strut her stuff not just hearing her. Though Jackaman will surely get the attention & the rest of the band needs accolades. Guitarist Adam Greene plays hardcore raw blues but knows how to keep it upbeat & rockin', think Johnny Winter without some of the flash, while Joe Glossop adds both honkey-tonk keyboards, organ. It's just enough touches of classic blues to keep the songs floored in the past but not too much. There's even a horn section & every one knows every hardcore blues band has horns. The guitar may dominate but there's a smart producer behind the band who gives everyone a chance to shine in the spotlight with lots of improvisational room. & if the electric pounding gets to much there's even a couple acoustic tunes with some gentle slide in the slide. In many ways they're a downfall after the rockin' songs but they have a charm all their own. Though a warning should be attached to the album ... you will keep opener "Soul On Fire" on repeat & not even notice you haven't gotten to the rest of the album. Just enough rock & just enough roll to keep you long satisfied.

Blueberry High Heels ~ Headlights & Champaigne (album review) ... And, late nights on the town!

Style: garage, retro, glam, pop
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: New York City

Members: Didi Delicious ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Damian Panitz ~ guitars/bass
Goddess Diana ~ drums
Kenny K Hurricane ~ bass/b. vocals

A promo of Headlights & Champaigne ended up at the record store I work at & I liked it immediately & knew I had to share. NYC's female fronted, a selling point for some readers, BHH has a sound that brings together retro-garage rock, a bit of D Generation guitar-driven glam, pop & even some classic NYC punk attitude for some driving & more often than not bouncy ear-catching melodies. But, at the same time, that is a description that does little justice to the quirky pop-punk personality of BHH. Due to the personal lyrics & obviously the lip twisting female singer there is a bit of a move & to tie BHH with the Riot Grrrl movement ... as this certainly isn't limp coffee house music. But, this also isn't angry bitch-slapping music though the lyrics are heavily personal with a slant of surviving coming through under Patti Smith esque-mysterious prose ... as Didi Delicious & cries out on "Otherside": "Please don't tell me how to live, please don't tell me when to die, the house that Jack built spells it out, whose that crying in the crowd, see you on the other side". If my description has ignited some interest BHH is one of those little bands that are just worth checking out & leaving the descriptions alone.

Nicole-Marie ~ Tragic Romantic (album review) ... Why can't Nicole-Marie be the one?

Style: alt rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Tacoma, Washington

Members: Nicole-Marie ~ vocals/acoustic guitar/keyboards
Chris Pyle ~ electric guitar
Bob Fox ~ bass
Mike Loera ~ drums

"What A Letdown", "Bury Me", "Love Me Still", "Why Can't I Be The One?", "Grave Love", "Dead End", "Miss The Most" & throw in the pot for good measure the two remaining songs opener "Angels Speak To You" & "Back My Way" & it should be obvious that N-M has composed an album of a tragic romantic or at least recalling tragic romance. N-M's third release is a alt rock little piece moving from singer-songwriter styles, highlight "Angels Speak To You" could be out of the repertoire of Jewel, while other songs (i.e. "What A Letdown", "Love Me Still", "Why Can't I Be The One?", "Miss The Most") are poppy little alt rock sing-alongs that are more Liz Phair & Michelle Branch. Tragic Romantic is more than just a collection of songs with a shared theme but N-M in her PR she calls herself the tragic romantic in question, based on a personality type of psychology's Enneagram classification system. N-M is a modest singer, or maybe she just keeps it modest on this release, with a slight country style slur but because of that the mood stays personal & intimate ... & tragically romantic. Though, note, tragic romantic isn't necessarily about love. "Miss The Most" draws from N-M's day job as a clinical social worker having to say goodbye to patients while "What A Letdown" is about relationships that haven't reached their full potential in light of the myth of romantic love. So, don't expect boy/girl he left me/where is he songs. Do expect some enjoyable little songs laced with woe. 

Joe Cocker ~ Respect Yourself: Live (DVD review) ... With a little help from Joe's friends!

Style: classic rock, pop rock
Label: Eagle Vision
Year: 2002
Home: Britain

Concert location: Limelight Club, Cologne, Germany
Year Recorded: 2002
Length: 60 minutes
Bonus Features: 20 minute interview with Joe Cocker

Members: Joe Cocker ~ vocals
Gene Black ~ guitar
Nick Milo ~ keyboards
Oneida James ~ bass
Jack Bruno ~ drums
Deric Dyer ~ sax/keyboards
Maxine Green, Amy Keys ~ b. vocals

Promoting his 2002 album Respect Yourself JC released an hour of a show in Germany from the promotional tour. Everyone can probably remember the first time they saw & heard JC with his funny air guitar playing mannerisms while churning out radio friendly ballads such as "Leave Your Hat On", "You Are So Beautiful" & "With A Little Help From My Friends". JC has stuck to the same musical & performing formula for decades, calling himself a soul singer & finding a comfortable soul-tinged rock template that's brought well-deserved accolades. At 56, in 2002, he's not looking to brave new musical territory or even throw out too many surprises. As might be expected JC saunters out to the mic all in black & sings his heart out till his face turns red & his fingers are numb ... & before you know it you'll be singing along with him. JC is the last of an era. His songs draw from a style of R&B inspired music that should be oft imitated but for some reason has slipped through the cracks. It's music for young lovers as much as middle aged soccer moms, hippies or classical fans. Any day now, if it hasn't happened already, a DJ is going to rediscover JC for the next generation. The set features only songs from the new album including "You Can't Have My Heart", co-written by C.J. Vanston who was the real keyboardist for Spinal Tap, INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" & Randy Newman's "Every Time It Rains", ending with the only non-album track in the obligatory JC theme "Unchain Your Heart". Many of the band have been with him for many years & churn out some great music that defies being tagged as white boys blues, R&B or rock. If you only know JC from his commercially slick love ballads you might be surprised by how funky this band is ... particularly check out "Love Not War". As for the unexpected INXS song ... the band stays pretty close to the original, even with the heavy synthesizer, & I wouldn't be surprised if many people went home from the show saying that JC had a new classic on his hands as it fits perfectly in his repertoire. If there's any problem with the concert its that one wants a longer show & more classic familiar songs ... which you know were probably performed. As for bonus features there is only a 20 minute interview with JC discussing his Mad Dog Cafe in Colorado, fans, his band, touring & his 2000 release No Ordinary Life though none of the tracks from that album are featured in the concert. What's great about JC is he should be a singer who inspires hoards because his voice is more normal than unique. More men than not sing with a similar rasp, think Rod Stewart or Tom Waits or Springsteen, but JC turns it into something than just a rasp but something quite sexy & hip. & his gig is seemingly ageless. 

Dr. Moe ~ My Soul (album review) ... Not Doctor Who, but Doctor LightWorker!

Style: religious, experimental
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Ontario, Canada

Members: Dr. Moe ~ guitar/bass/keyboards/vocals

The numerous self-releases of Canadian guitarist-singer-songwriter Dr. Moe, aka Dr. Maurice Turmel, Ph.D., all share the theme of spiritual awakening. These are the musical wanderings of a retired psychiatrist who believes the world is in a spiritual & social crisis & about to be swept into either Heaven or Hell. Dr. Moe is a follower of the LightWorkers, or Starseeds or WayShowers movement that is preparing for Ascension in 2012. He's not the only one & we can only wait & see if 2012 is the spiritually uplifting year everyone says its going to be if there's not a cultural revolution first. Dr. Moe's music is music of healing through twinkling guitar playing, soft singing & ethereal electronic additions. If you've heard his other music My Soul isn't that much different. & don't be afraid of the specifics of his beliefs because, like his other releases, his lyrics are holistic rather than specific. My Soul opens with one of Dr. Moe's most upbeat & catchy songs "On My Way To Heaven" with an early 80's synth/bass background &, as I've described in a previous review, 50's style guitar playing for a little light space pop. This is followed by another highlight with "God Sings The Blues" with a 60's R&B foundation. However un-funky you may think LightWorkers may sound this is a great little piece that you could see being given a makeover by Bernie Worrell. The 80's electronica influence tends to set the template for much of the album ("My Soul", "Purple Haze Turning Blue", "A Little Place Called The Blues", "Coming Home"), but there's also a bit more funk ("Wrecking Ball", "I Am The Soul Man"), some basic blues ("You're The Oldest Dream"), a little calypso ("Come Down to The River", "Little Miracles") & reggae stylings ("Mother Earth"), giving My Soul an overall retro feel to what might be Dr. Moe's best albums, definetly his most diverse.

Halford & Fight ~ Metal God Essentials, Vol. 1 (hits comp) (album review) ... Resurrection of the metal god!

Style: heavy metal
Label: Metal God Entertainment
Year: 2007
Home: England

Members: Rob Halford ~ vocals
Metal Mike Chlasciak, Pat Lachman, Roy Z., Russ Parrish, Brian Tilse ~ guitars
Ray Riendeau, Mike Davis, Jay Jay ~ bass
Bobby Jarzombek, Scott Travis ~ drums

I remember the first time I heard Halford's Resurrection, the first release by the solo band of Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford, with its heart-stopping opening title track. Rob Halford's distinctive falsetto comes out of the emptiness of space with a long cry of "resurrection" followed by some in your face slashing guitars leading into what was a metal feast. I was an immediate fan. That first album was full of great riffs & addictive hooks & I felt far better than what he'd been doing with Judas Priest previously & would later try to do with Nostradamus. It was like he'd put the heavy back into the metal. It was full of riffs to learn from & one of the best melodic heavy metal albums I'd heard in awhile & my favorite headbanging sing-along/air guitar album for a long time to come. Some called its follow-up, The Crucible, an equally strong release but it never hit me in the same way. Perhaps it was because it was in the same mold & because of that I'd felt I'd heard it before & now wanted to move to the next step which Rob Halford deliberately chose not to. Metal God Essentials, Vol. 1 ... the only volume so far ... is a compilation that brings together some of the highlights of Halford's first three albums: Resurrection ("Resurrection", "Made In Hell", "Slow Down", "Locked & Loaded"), The Crucible ("Golgotha", "Crystal", "Sun", "Trail Of Tears") & the live album Live Insurrection ("Screaming In The Dark") ... though the audience sound is wiped clean from the obviously remastered track which kills the effect ... plus a seven minute demo of Resurrection's "Silent Screams". Metal God Essentials really comes too early in the history of Halford to be a true greatest hits compilation, while most fans would already have the three albums Halford released & potentially the remastered versions which some of these tracks are taken from. As most greatest hits collections are this is a blatant marketing ploy bridging time & keeping an artist in the spotlight in between studio albums. For those who want a single release of the first half of Halford's output this is hard to beat. Though, it's also hard not to want to just pick up Resurrection as there's a lot of songs that could be in this collection. Metal God Essentials does create a few incentives to get this compilation. It includes new Halford tracks "Forgotten Generation", "Drop Out", a remix "Hypocrisy" plus some versions come with a DVD of videos ("Made In Hell", "Betrayal", "In The Morning", "Silent Screams", "Never Satisfied", "Forgotten Generation") & behind the scenes footage of the albums Resurrection & Live Insurrection. This compilation also has another bonus in that it includes three tracks ("Into The Pit", "Nailed to The Gun" & "War Of Worlds") from Fight, the band Rob Halford was in before Halford. Fight released three albums but the weight given to Halford on this compilation shows the critical/fan reception the stripped down thrash inspired Fight has gotten in the long run ... countering the accolades given the group in the linear notes by Rob Halford himself. It's odd that these three songs are also demo tracks, though again one can be assumed that fans probably already had the original Fight albums & would be uninspired to get Metal God Essentials. In between these two bands Rob Halford would join guitarist John Lowery for the one off industrial metal project Two, produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails who also heavily promoted the duo. Two's Voyeurs, with its heavy electronic foundation, is an interesting experiment ... but obviously Rob Halford doesn't consider Two essential as it is mysteriously missing from Metal God Essentials, making this compilation primarily for those who want to discover Halford versus the post-Judas Priest career of Rob Halford.

Peter Banks ~ Self-Contained (music review) ... The forgotten guitarist of Yes!

Style: instrumental, experimental
Label: One Way Records
Year: 1995
Home: England

Members: Peter Banks ~ guitars
Gerald Goff ~ keyboards

One may not recognize the name of  British guitarist PB, but to go back in time ... he started his career in the Syn alongside bassist Chris Squire. The two would move on to Mabel Greer's Toy Shop. PB would leave and return to a rebooted line-up now including singer Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford & keyboardist Tony Kaye. They'd rechristen themselves Yes. PB was present on their under-rated first album plus some surviving video footage, would leave during the follow-up Time & A Word, & partially wiped from the record, to be replaced by classically-influenced guitar wizard Steve Howe on Yes's legacy making third release The Yes Album. The rest is history ... at least for Yes as PB would eventually fade away & retire completely from music to pursue a retail career before resurfacing with his guitar for a few solo albums in the 90's. Though, before vanishing he'd join the band Flash that would also eventually include Yes alum Tony Kaye & through association with Yes get a reputation boost. Before disbanding in 1973 Flash showed what Yes could have become with PB. Banks would release a solo album Two Sides Of Peter Banks which included Flash bandmates Ray Bennett & Mike Hough plus Jan Akkerman, John Wetton, & Phil Collins. PB would return with a new line-up of Flash under the name Empire until retiring in 1980. In 1993 he's return with the solo album Instinct with Self-Contained following. Though albums before & after might be more cohesive Self-Contained has often been called PB's most expressive & experimental album & showing off his guitar skills the best. For those wanting to know what Yes would have sounded like if PB had stayed on ... we'll never know outside of his forays with Flash as Self-Contained isn't going to help put together any pieces of history. PB in the 1960's was an under-playing who was never given any opportunity to really shine in the keyboard heavy Yes, particularly as the first Yes album is not just harder to come by but also a rarity amongst common fans, while Flash never has had long term international success outside of collectors. The PB of 1995 is a far different guitarist who likes his effects boxes & sound effects including vocal clips, has come under the influence of power metal light & undoubtedly claims peer Jeff Beck as an inspiration. As an all instrumental album the result is an album for guitar connoisseurs rather than the casual listener as it feels more like a collection of studio noodling over a long period of time that PB polished into complete songs. One of the songs is entitled "More Foreplay" & it indeed sounds at times like a little guitar foreplay building up to something ... that never really climaxes ... but the foreplay is better than ... Actually, noodling is the wrong word. Yes, PB might be running scales over sound effects & drum beats but these are complete songs no doubt. There's nothing undeveloped about them. Think of You Had It Coming or Jeff by Jeff Beck for similar albums, though Beck is far more experimental, flashier & faster but full of just as many unexpected turns. In terms of experimental a better comparison might be Les Paul over Jeff Beck. It's almost as if PB is trying to show us what we missed all these days & what his range is. Sometimes it works, but, as I wrote earlier, sometimes it's guitar players first & listeners second ... but this is a common complaint of guitar instrumental albums no whoever the guitarist. One fun vocal insert is a radio recording going "Some critics argue Yes's music is pretentious and empty" with Banks responding "Yes, that's valid, I would go along with that as well" followed by the slow "Lost Days" that's a laidback sitting on the porch type tune that's as unflashy and soothing as music gets. It's one of many in this vein & though they're a bit lengthy are the highlights of the album. The similar "Away Days" sounds like an instrumental Jimmy Buffett while "Two-Rides" is a new aged-esque Leonard Cohen/David Gilmour mix with long languishing notes that give way to distortion echoing in the background and birds in the background. Those who enjoying droning will take to the obviously spiritually titled "The Three Realms" while "Tell Me When" would be good soundtrack background music. The biggest problem with the album is it's length that make require a couple sittings to digest the whole thing. It's like reading through a Sears catalog in one sitting ... a bit exhaustive. One may want to ponder what Yes would have been like with PB, considering how different the band would become which each subsequent guitarist who were also prominent songwriters: Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin and Billy Sherwood. But, that's a useless game. Self-Contained is about enjoying a guitarist as he is now, not what he was or what he didn't do. Sadly, PB died in March 2013 so sadly no more music from him.

Paul Weller ~ Live At Braehead (DVD review) ... Live in style!

Style: classic rock, hard rock, alt rock
Label: Eagle Vision
Year: 2002
Home: Great Britain

Concert location: Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
Year Recorded: 2002
Length: 128 minutes
Bonus Features: none

Members: Paul Weller ~ vocals/guitar/percussion/keyboards
Steve Cradock ~ guitar
Seamus Beaghen ~ keyboards
Damon Minchella ~ bass
Steve White ~ drums

Supporting his sixth solo album Illumination, the former frontman of the Jam & the Style Council might be seen by some as a middle aged rocker but those are obviously the uninitiated as he puts in a high energy performance here with some great songs, a tight band & swings his own distorted guitar with abandon showing he's anything but an old hat. He may not be the greatest singer or guitarist but as a songwriter he excels making up for where he lacks with a result that won't disappoint. There's something about watching a middle aged rocker hold his guitar up to the amp to feedback the feedback in music that many might be seen as belonging to Oasis or Blur. I'm reminded how the rock world has aged. Once upon a time rock seemed to be the game of only young kids but not anymore ... but I'm glad to see someone still proving that rock is not just for the under 30 crowd. This show might be promoting a particular album but it's full of greatest hits including songs from the Jam & the Style Council. It's a superb introduction to the music of PW, though if you're not familiar with his career, solo or with a band, you probably won't be any more informed as all the songs tend to blend together in this particular context. The show also is a bit long for the casual or new fan, but diehards certainly are getting their money's worth & won't complain. This is the second night of shows as the first night was the debut of Braehead as a live music venue & the show was plagued by technical problems. PW ended up responding negatively which brought some bad press & a less than exciting show. Here he lets any negative energy go & puts in a double amount of positive energy to make up for lost time. Some fans/critics have even labeled this as one of his best live solo shows ever because of the tension in the air. For those not familiar with his background the Jam was one of the most popular British bands of the punk era whose contemporaries would include the Smiths with Morrissey & Oasis. Following a fascination with Motown & early soul PW formed the pop outing the Style Council in 1983. A move to jazz-pop & house music brought an end to the band as he alienated his fans leading to inability to get a record contract & a falling of his once iconic star. His ensuing solo career would return to the soul roots, but also have a more organic rootsy rock feel that would return him to the spotlight. Though one may not be able to discern what song in this concert belongs to what era one can definitely feel the musical changes. At times there's a folksy feeling, sometimes there's a bit of soul, while other times its straight ahead rock. Though, don't expect radio-friendly blue-eyed soul. This is definitely a rock band. You'll definitely find yourself wanting to explore the career of PW after watching this.

The Vinyl Plane ~ Devil's Den (EP) (album review) ... Bringing back Steve Miller's heyday!

Style: blues-rock, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: n/a
Home: New York

Members: Dave Seubert ~ vocals/harmonica
Sean Obenauer, Keith Obenauer ~ guitar
Brendon Blaha ~ drums
Joe Giani ~ bass/keyboards

This brother-led band is extremely short on liner notes but makes up for the slim packaging with big riffs & stunning songs with memorable arrangements that recalls the prime of Steve Miller with its bluesy solos, dynamic melodies & soaring guitars. People like to complain about the current state of music ... how it's going techno (...since the 80's...), or how shallow it's become (...not that the Archies were any better...) or how it's all alt-rock-ish where nobody can play their instruments (...Little Richard has confessed to only being able to play in one key...). For the nostalgic, what happened to the line of development stemming from 70's classic rock? Where's the real blues players & not just guitarists who play blues scales? Where's the music that follows the influence of the Black Crowes instead of Nirvana or Lynyrd Skynyrd instead of Black Sabbath? Is there a band out there that has keyboard breaks that aren't meandering lost in classically influenced prog tunnels? Well, if any of the above is on your to find list then you'll enjoy this little EP. This quintet of bluesy hard rockers will throw you 40 years back in time & would easily find fans at either a blues festival or a hard rock concert or opening for the Grateful Dead with their breezy downhome sounds.