Midnight Oil ~ Diesel And Dust (album review) ... Carrying the dead heart!

Style: hard rock, electronic, new wave, progressive
Label: Columbia
Year: 1988
Home: Australia

Members: Martin Rotsey ~ guitars
Peter Gifford ~ bass/b. vocals
Robert Hirst ~ drums/b. vocals
Jim Moginie ~ guitars/keyboards
Peter Garrett ~ vocals

Additional: Warne Livesey ~ keyboards
John Ockwell ~ cello
Glad Reed ~ trombone
Jeremy Smith ~ french horn

If you can ignore not knowing the definition of holden wrecks, Warakurna, Redfern, Alice, Lasseter, the dead heart & a bullroarer ... none of which have anything to do with Alice In Wonderland, a bodily organ or a bulldozer ... this is an album worth picking up that might speak about Australian aboriginal culture & land, but ignoring the regional slang, echoes the same feelings Joni Mitchell sang in "Big Yellow Taxi" with her famous line "They paved paradise & put up a parking lot." "Beds Are Burning" brought MO to the world, pushed by frontman Peter Garrett's bald head & spine-tingling voice in an age of pretty boy hair metal bands, but its sad that few can probably name any song by them other than this single chart-topper, let alone none of their albums. I'll confess to once regularly confusing them with Britain's Depeche Mode due to similar keyboard heavy approaches that were deliberately given a New Romantic-esque commercial touch & may or may not accurately represent the band's larger output, or even the album the single came from. Though the music is far different Diesel & Dust reminds me of Live's Secret Samadhi in the sense that both albums are as much about the message as the music. They aren't concept albums, per say, but both tour distant places - for Live it's a journey of mystical lands, while for MO it's the Australian outback - but both places have both real & fictitious aspects, while sharing a tug-of-war of good & evil. Hidden behind a pop sheen is a cynical cry for world issues no different than U2's Boy or Achtung Baby, though U2 never got too Irish for their own good. Early MO albums rocked hard but it's the ballads that have the most impact, particularly given some interesting arrangements & instrumentation that is anything but the standard 80's power ballad of the time. It's akin to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds where Brian Wilson layered instruments to create new sounds, here including acoustic guitars, percussion instead of normal drumming, keyboards, synthesizers, strings & occasional sound effects. The result is haunting, particularly when Peter Garrett croons slowly with eerie effect. He's far from a glamorous singer with an attractive voice but it's as rough as the outback he sings about. It's an album of sadness & loss, but as sung in "The Dead Heart": "We carry in our hearts the true country/& that cannot be stolen/we follow in the steps of our ancestry/& that cannot be broken", MO aren't without hope.

A Ghost Like Me ~ A Ghost Like Me (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Enjoy this musical cleansing!

Style: instrumental, progressive
Label: self-released
Year: 2007
Home: North Carolina

Members: Brad Rogers ~ guitar/synthesizer/loops
Key Andrew, Dan Rosado ~ bass
Mike Rosado ~ drums
Eric Earnst ~ drums/percussion
Tommy Hunt ~ cello

Instrumental rock is a tricky game to play, particularly if you're not a Yngwie-esque guitar slinger, as lots of bands funk, trip, rock & splash with great talent but due to the lack of a vocal presence fail to grab the listener. It's almost as if the secret is to not just show off one's technical prowess but also some creative prowess ... because having extended flaming guitar solos does not always equal creative. On their debut EP AGLM have tried to show their creativity by aiming for underheard progressive space rock, crafted something akin to a missing Hawkwind instrumental album. Or, more aptly, with the swirling keyboards in the background it could be Hawkwind meets Bill Laswell (i.e. "Threshold"). Though, having written that the second track "The Cleansing" might find a better home as a bridge in a tune by John McLaughin's Shakti with his low-key hypnotic repetition. "Duality" & "Just Be" follow the same hypnotic trail with a strummed guitar quasi-duetting with a cello only to launch into invigorated distorted Hawkwind choruses. The cello is a welcomed addition to the line-up adding an interesting layer to the mix. Some instrumental bands go for flash & pyrotechnics, but AGLM have gone an alternative route good for a laid back night with some friends & a little weed as the music softly floats into the air in no rush. "Threshold" & "The Cleansing" feature the rhythm section of brothers Mike & Dan Rosado to be replaced by Key Andrew, Eric Earnst & Tommy Hunt on "Duality" & "Just Be" but, except for a slight difference in production quality & the fact that Andrew takes things slower on the bass, which could be as much a reflection of the composition as his playing, there's little to distinguish the two line-ups. Actually, if anything the two Andrew-Earnst-Hunt songs sound more alike than different, particularly given the same slow pace & single note guitar playing, that back to back they sound like one eleven minute song. But, maybe that's the secret to disguising a line-up change. Since the recording of this debut they changed once again by adding a fifth member Dave Milan on keyboards & guitar. Though, there will be no disguising an additional guitar.

Evan Russell Saffer ~ Neon Gas (album review) ... Shopping at the chemical marketplace!

Style: glam rock, hard rock, progressive
Label:
Year: 2010
Home: New York City

Members: Evan Russell Saffer ~ vocals
Wilson Lihn ~ guitars/b. vocals
Cody Darbe ~ bass
Rob Blake ~ drums
Additional: Urban Olsson ~ guitar
Rick Warren ~ piano/b. vocals
David J. Holman ~ synthesizer
D. James Goodwin ~ voice
Evan Parness ~ percussion/b. vocals
Boris Corchesco ~ strings
Kyle Wooden, Leslie DiNicola ~ b. vocals

Having seen the New York glam band Fixer live & been impressed enough to buy their debut CD the next day ... I'm a bit embarrassed to say that frontman ERS's debut Neon Gas is a more appealing listen. But, I should be honest by saying that his charismatic stage presence is largely what kept my eyes riveted to the stage ... while all the girls in the audience were riveted to him for ... different reasons. Not to put down the talent & music of his band but ERS has presented with Neon Gas more what I was hoping to find with Fixer. Perhaps its the fact that Fixer falls firmly in the glam camp while ERS has presented a mix of different styles with lots of hooks, vocal dynamics, interesting, ever-changing & unique arrangements crafting something far more progressive & intricate. Actually, the difference is comparable to H.I.M. versus Mick Ronson of the Spiders From Mars. Actually early Alice Cooper Band might be better than H.I.M. where one would find on their albums everything from trashy sleaze rock to juju rhythms while Alice pulled out a hundred different characters, finding a popular climax in "Billion Dollar Babies". ERS takes the same approach with Neon Gas. He retains the adrenaline glam rush of Fixer but puts it through a crawl of a songwriter's psyche with all the ups & downs that would normally be found on a psychiatrist's couch. ERS has had schizophrenia tossed his way to label his music, which, as I have greatly struggled to find ways to describe the cornucopia he's created, I must embarrassingly agree with. Though, it's not a schizophrenia that makes your head spin but more akin to multiple personalities marching like soldiers on parade. The best example is the first track "Chemical Marketplace" which opens with a fast build-up of layers from a drums alternating bars while duetting with a simple two note guitar riff to a touch of distortion to a chorused scream leading into a juggernaut that sets the stage for the rest of the album as the listener never knows what to expect next with ERS while the energy never lets up. Further, ERS uses the full range of his voice from talking to screaming & while he might rely on the verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus standard format subtle changes in singing never let the songs get boring or predictable. Its a rare case where the vocals match the energy of the music ... yet there's enough repetition so its not too ... schizophrenic. One repetition that does come through and repeated on numerous songs sadly, is a reliance on higher pitched screams for the chorus. ERS describes his music as "schizo/rock opera/hobo-chic", with the rock opera being a particularly under-looked aspect to the music both in terms of style, feeling & the loose theme of ERS's psyche. The fact that plans are in the works to release his journal - non-musical journal that is - recounting the making of the album shows the hidden rock opera behind the glam.

Acrassicauda ~ Only The Dead See The End Of The War (EP) (album review) ... Heavy metal in Baghdad!

Style: thrash, heavy metal
Label: Vice Records
Year: 2010
Home: Baghdad, Iraq

Members: Faisal Talal Mustafa ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Tony Aziz Yaqoo ~ lead guitar
Firas Al-Lateef ~ bass
Marwan Hussain Riyadh ~ drums

Immediately the ears are bombarded with a fierce thrash attack that jumps right out of the door with distorted guitars, fast solos & an incredibly heavy rhythm section behind it all. Its in additional listens that one really picks up on the attractiveness of the choppy rhythms that bring early Soundgarden to mind. Though, listeners expecting something musically different than the normal thrash because of the country of origin will largely be disappointed outside of a little glimmer of bongos & religious cries at the end of "Garden Of Stones". This is metal right out of the American mold with essentially little variation, the lyrics are even in English except for a spoken word introduction in "Massacre", demonstrating the international influence of thrash for those that might think otherwise of this metal sub-division. But, this isn't any old band imitating American thrash but the first heavy metal group to emerge from Iraq, formed under the regime of Saddam Hussein. To stay somewhat unmolested they even wrote a song praising Saddam ... which the lyrics to this American produced album show was only a PR move, to put it lightly. Though, for whatever good it did they not just adopted the American metal sound but also the reputation receiving death threats from Islamic militants who thought they worshipped Satan. Today the members of the band are refugees in the U.S. having been driven from their homeland, plus Syria & Turkey. Formed in 2001 this EP is essentially their debut as previous releases were no more than demos unofficial in glimmers were the law allowed ... such as being featured in the ground-breaking movie Heavy Metal In Baghdad. After the film their music was found attractive enough by Testament/Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Alex Skolnick to offer his services as their producer. A minor problem with this release is that one really wants to hear the lyrics knowing that however typical metal they may sound there's real messages of personal torment & strife below the clichés. The opening track "Message From Baghdad" features the least interesting & most difficult to discern singing of the four tracks, though it also features some of the heaviest & choppiest riffs. Things get more clear in the following songs where lines like "They've got the power to control my fate/I'd rather die then disintegrate ... just set me free & let me breathe" from "Message", with an echo-filled guitar solo that sounds influenced by Alex Skolnick's style & an attractive duel vocal style, are anything but cliched lines. A real highlight of the album is the six minute "The Unknown" that closes the album with the fastest & wildest riffs, & most Soundgarden-like, with its cries of "living in a world of hate" & a hypnotic flavor under all of it.

Sting ~ Live In Berlin (live) (album review) ... Someone call the police!

Style: symphonic, folk rock, pop
Label: UMG
Year: 2010
Home: England

Members: Sting ~ vocals/bass
Dominic Miller ~ guitar
Rhani Krija, David Cossin ~ percussion
Jo Lawry ~ b. vocals
Ira Coleman ~ bass

Guests: Branford Marsalis ~ Sax
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra 

My first reaction within notes of the first song ("If I Ever Lose My Faith In You") was that my father would love this album. Yes, he likes Sting but this is more than Sting. This is wonderful instrumentation behind Sting's soft croon that fits like a nice leather glove. I even immediately played the first track for my spouse whose a classically trained pianist to get a second response. I should say that except for a few tracks over the years I've never been much of a Sting fan, not even a Police fan for that matter, & listened to this album on a curious whim. But, it's one of the most enchanting albums I've ever heard. This is actually a CD/DVD set with the CD featuring 14 songs from the concert, but is worth getting even if the DVD remains unwatched. This is one of those CD's people use to test the acoustics of a new stereo system because it has so many little nuances in a mainly acoustic background where you can literally hear the air between the notes ... which is due to both good production but also good songs & perfect orchestration. This features Sting's back-up band but with the special guest of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra of strings & horns who radically bring new life to Sting's songs along with Branford Marsalas's sax both up front & in the background. Many musicians have turned to orchestras to give a new twist to their songs, even from Charlie Parker to Kiss, with the results often being an orchestra that just echoes the band, but here the RPCO becomes the band & ends up being everything but a gimmick. Sting has spent much of his solo career creating songs that already have a soft almost symphonic quality so it's a pairing that almost comes somewhat expected, but the results are a totally unexpected easy listening experience that sounds enchanting & dreamlike (for example "Fields Of Gold") far beyond what Sting ever has done in the studio. The highlight "Why Should I Cry For You?", preceded by a story about his father a milkman, could have come right out of the old British sea shanty songbook with an actual moving river via the string section moaning underneath, while "Moon Over Bourbon Street" is a lost Buster Keaton soundtrack while "Desert Rose" is nothing less than a tromp through an Arabic desert on camel with some of Sting's best vocals. "Whenever I Say Your Name" with backing vocalist Jo Lawry is a seven minute duet that is as good as any love song on the chart even given its length. Ironically, the chart-topping hits (i.e. "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", "Englishman In New York", "Fields Of Gold", "King Of Pain") are probably the weakest in the bunch feeling like they are trying to preserve their well-known melodies too much to let loose. Some have criticized the concert for not having the kick in the songs that the studio versions do, which might be true on one hand, but the under-played aspect puts the lushness back in place & gives all the old songs a fresh impact though "Mad About You" certainly pops with spice & definitely creative arranging, let alone is introduced with an unexpected Biblical reading. What is great about this album is how every orchestra instrument is put to good use at some point in the show, from harp to nylon guitar to violin solos. Its not just one big backing band as is so often utilized by rock bands that treat symphonies as one instrument not many. For those worried that this is going to continue Sting's odd infatuation with lutes & other ancient instruments, take note there's not a lute in sight ... neither is there any electric guitar solos. If anything, this album picks up where Symphonicities left of, his previous studio album that re-examined old songs with the Philharmonic, but with a more relaxed feeling that doesn't suffering from the coldness of the studio atmosphere of overdubs. If you liked Symphonicities you'll love this.

Bruce Cockburn ~ Humans (album review) ... Let the humans out of the zoo!

Style: folk rock, world rhythms
Label: Columbia
Year: 1980
Home: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Members: Bruce Cockburn ~ guitar/vocals/dulcimer
Bob Disalle, Benbow ~ drum
Bernie Pitters, Patricia Cullen, Jon Goldsmith ~ keyboards
Dennis Pendrith, Tony Hibbert ~ bass
Pat La Barbera ~ reeds
Brian Leonard ~ percussion
Hugh Marsh ~ violin
Murray McLauchlan, Rachel Paiement, Leroy Sibbles ~ b. vocals

Canadian icon Cockburn started his career as a folksy singer-songwriter with a strong Christian message, which was eventually tucked in the mix to distance himself from the American Christians, only to eventually move in a new direction with world rhythms & a socially conscience/critical lyrical position that found a climax with both fans & critics both then & now with 1980's simply titled Humans. It fully brought together everything he'd been experimenting with from the world beats to the Christianity to the folksy laid back sound along with a heavy criticism of the dysfunctionality of society & its institutions. But, unlike many similar themed albums, such as Paul McCartney's Off The Ground, Humans is so laid back it doesn't come as frightening & bonking- on-the-head condemning as one may expect given Cockburn's reputation. Part of this is due to the use of reggae rhythms that Cockburn discovered with a move to Toronto, considering that few expect reggae to accompany anything but political themes. But, while he's undoubtedly an activist he's also a storyteller no different than Jim Croce or Bob Dylan, calling upon the tradition of observation under the guise of harmless folk music. The difference though, besides having the best voice of the three, is that Cockburn is neither a middle-class working man nor a wanna Kerouac-esque bum/poet. Cockburn is a radio friendly balladeer in a way neither of them ever have been except in bits & pieces. Humans is an album of inner turmoil, as the opening "Grim Travelers" belays just with its title & the lines "Ministers meet/work on the movement of goods/also work on the movement of capital/also work on the movement of human beings/as if we were so many cattle" which deftly & quickly maps out for the listener Cockburn's spiritual & social worldview. We find ourselves falling into his welcoming words that sound more like gentle dreams than criticisms. There's no offers of solutions or comforts, just observations of a world falling down but under God's hand. He's not angry, though "More Not More" gets close with its I-can't-take-it-anymore attitude, & is just observing & at times at confused at what's being seen. He has the eye & wit of Dylan but without falling in into the world-play trap of unclear messages. The successive albums would largely follow Humans' template, though Cockburn would later return to his acoustic folk side in the 90's, but the benchmark was set. Though it was recorded in 1980 it sounds as timeless as the problems it observes, largely due to the mix of musical styles including Bernie Worrell-esque funky organ, violin, reggae, soft Joni Mitchell-esque folk, jazz saxophone & even 80's keyboards. Ironically, given all that & Cockburn's personal instrument, the album is unusually light on guitar solos. If you want an introduction to the wonder of Bruce Cockburn start here, & as another reviewer said you'll end up returning here too. I originally wasn't going to review this album as is a bit softer than my normal review choices but after two consecutive listens I couldn't resist not talking about it. Trust me that you'll not be able to put it down.

Big Terrible ~ Face The Stone (album review) ... Riding into battle!

Style: hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: Philadelphia

Members: Jon Dumoff ~ vocals/bass
Dan Lynam ~ guitar
Tim Lynam ~ drums

"Riding Into Battle" opens the album with a riff that immediately lays down the ground rules for BT's ensuing musical battle. Riffs out of the Hendrix catalog with a sound that sits perfectly beside any 1960's pre-Sabbath heavy prog-rock. If BT haven't listened to Blue Cheer era prog in crafting their music, going more for the standard Sabbath that every band tries to imitate & cite as an influence usually with limited success, the unintentional influence must be by osmosis ... & its never too late to start listening to fill in the gaps & get an edge on bands that don't know who inspired Sabbath. A bluesy foundation clearly comes through but BT plays startlingly heavy like Deep Purple plays the blues - it doesn't sound like the blues but some incredibly heavy metal, literally, back before metal equaled thrash or speed. Most bands aim for what BT has achieved. Some critics have compared BT to Gov't Mule, which might be accurate for the ballsy rhythms & aggression fueling Face The Stone but BT never lets the blues dominate. While others have cited Soundgarden, considering Jon Dumoff's tone is eerily similar to Chris Cornell & often includes similar stretched notes & cries. But, BT clearly have a personality all their own that is immediately obvious from the first note, pound & shout. Every band has shades of those who came before & thus other bands are cited in comparison, as above, often for the simple reason that it makes describing the music easier if one can compare it to something known to readers & potential new fans. But, don't let this comparison fool you into thinking that BT sound like someone else. This is no imitation but one of those bands that prove that rock is anything but dead as so many critics like to shallowly & proudly proclaim without bothering to listen to the new breed of bands like BT. While this might be their debut but there's nothing musically undeveloped or niave here. Keep an eye out for BT, for they are definitely headed for terrible ... I mean, great ... things.

Salim Ghazi Saeedi ~ Iconophobic (album review) ... The composer's laughter!

Style: progressive rock, avant garde, instrumental
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Tehran, Iran

Members: Salim Ghazi Saeedi ~ guitars/keyboards/percussion/sound effects

I won't lie & say that when Salim Ghazi Saeedi's music came to me I was immediately intrigued because I never get any submissions from Iran & I'm like many others in the world who have heard about the influence that rock music has on people, in an almost mystical way, in the Middle East who suffer under musical & cultural censorship. Luckily SGS's music held up to my microscope being interesting & unique & I was happy to request a promo copy of Iconophobic, his debut solo release following three albums with his prog-rock band Arashk. This collection of thirteen original instrumentals, combining only guitar, keyboards & some occasional sound effects, has been compared to King Crimson guitarist/frontman Robert Fripp & the comparison is not for nothing ... though John Zorn's movie soundtracks works as a better comparison to my ears. SGS largely aims not for the standard approach to melodic guitar instrumental songs with riffs, layers & distorted solos, though they do make an appearance (for example "Asiyeh" & "Give My Childhood Back") but more for a meandering journey of guitar-focused instrumental landscapes that are anything but riffs & include symphonic violin-sounding keyboards, acoustic piano, light percussion & hand clapping. It's as if he walked through his town in Iran & make songs up based on what he was seeing, which might not be so far from reality. There's overly dark songs such as "The Songful Song Of The Songbirds" which is a representation of iconophobia itself or the hatred and/or fear of religious art that are digging into the uncensored alleys of the city, while the opening "Composer's Laughter" with its synthesized orchestra background is indeed an autobiographical meeting of personal demons with loving laughter, to the whimsical "Don't You See The Cheerful Rainbow" that's reminiscent of kids playing in a park with no worries. There's a level of improvisational feeling here as though SGS is allowing the city to take him where it musically will. Though, this is a concept album eliciting a psychological story of alienation so the city is a muse not a controlling entity. To this end SGS doesn't limit himself to songs that feature a repeating steady drumbeat in 2/4, verse/chorus/verse/chorus format or even a typical rhythm-melody-harmony relationship. He lets the soundscape travel where it will to go with delightful originality as the scenes in his iconophobic movie progress ... as if this really is a soundtrack. Movies don't have characters repeating the same lines & actions over & over so why should the music do that?

George Harrison ~ Brainwashed (album review) ... My sweet lord one last time!

Style: psychedelic, folk rock, pop rock, spiritual
Label: Dark Horse
Year: 2002
Home: England

Members: George Harrison ~ vocal/lead guitar/dobro/ukulele/keyboards/bass/percussion
Jeff Lynne ~ bass/guitar/keyboards/percussion/b. vocals
Dhani Harrison ~ guitar/keyboards/b. vocals
Jim Keltner ~ drums

Guests: Jon Lord, Jools Holland, Mike Moran, Marc Mann ~ keyboards
Ray Cooper ~ drums/percussion
Mark Flannagan ~ acoustic lead guitar
Joe Brown ~ guitar
Herbie Flowers ~ bass/tuba
Bikram Ghosh ~ tabla
Sam Brown ~ b. vocals
Jane Lister ~ harp
Isabela Borzymowska ~ voice

Opening with a Traveling Wilburys-esque riff sets the stage for Harrison's final album, completed after his death by son Dhani & fellow Wilbury Jeff Lynne also of Electric Light Orchestra following detailed instructions left by Harrison, which is in many ways a culmination of all the music that came before it over Harrison's scattered solo career by a man undoubtedly knowing the end is near & just relaxing with the music for the first time in decades. Whether it was Harrison or Dhani/Lynne that chose the name of the album it's an odd banner for a man who is anything but brainwashed as the lyrics belay someone who knows exactly how he feels & is even happy with not always having discovered all the answers he sought. Though, on the other hand, it could elude to the fan criticisms against the dominance of Hinduism in his music that led to his temporary retirement from performing in the 1970's. At times Brainwashed is a folksy acoustic affair where storytelling takes priority over commercial pop, a sound always somewhat present in Harrison's music & brought to a climax with the Wilburys, while there's also the blues a la All Things Must Pass & also present in expected bucket loads is the Hare Krishna socially responsible ideology that always kept his music just on the wrong side of being mainstream acceptable. But, Krishna philosophy is not thrown out missionary style as Harrison first did with "My Sweet Lord" but through more personal & contemplative lyrics such as "if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there" from the highlight "Any Road" & there's even reference to the bigger religious picture though a unexpected discussion of the Vatican in "P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)". Harrison was never one for flash, though he had his moments, instead aiming for layered laid back compositions that sounded more simple than they really were, with his unhurried guitar solos never taking away from the greater mood. That's probably the reason that while idolized he's never been immortalized as a guitar god. He's a musician first, showman second & this album shows it. If Brainwashed is not his most laid-back album it comes pretty close. It might also be one of his most personal in many ways. The relaxed feeling is mostly due to the prominence of acoustic guitars, but Harrison does let out one of his solos every so often that strongly harken back to the brief little solos he once played with the Beatles that might not even be called guitar solos compared to the distorted pyrotechnics that would later come out of the rock genre. Though, there is one instrumental featuring Harrison's thin guitar lines (i.e. "Marwa Blues"), that is more of an intermission than a glowing instrumental. If Harrison knew he was dying there's no songs of regret here. There are many dealing with closure & looking at his spirituality & examining it on his own life in terms of what it was & were it went (i.e. "Looking For My life"), but never does it fall into maudlin introspection or moodiness. Fans of Harrison would be amiss to not enjoy life with him one more time ... don't let yourself be brainwashed into ignoring this last hello/goodbye. 

SAGE4 ~ In Vain (EP) (album review) ... From out of the graves!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal
Label: self-released
Year: 2005
Home: Chicago, Illinois

Members: Tracey Sage ~ vocals
Mike Walsh ~ guitar
Eric Ganci ~ drums
Vito Marchese ~ bass

SAGE4's In Vain limited edition EP was the stellar follow-up to their debut EP Lightning Strikes, while Graves followed as their much welcomed full-length release. The groundwork for Graves was laid with In Vain, which though but five songs received outstanding reviews unexpected for an EP & led them to touring with Anthrax, 30 Seconds To Mars, Dragonforce, Finntroll & VH1 Rock of Love winner Ambre Lake. While Graves might deserve hearty mention everything went to a new level for SAGE4 on the weight of those first five songs that would reappear on Graves alongside five new friends. Like all the great EPs In Vain aims for a short but strong impact that leaves the listener wanting more. This album will leave no listener disappointed. The album opens with "Manifest Destiny", a dynamic squealer featuring Tracey Sages' vocals upfront & close & showing whose band this is. This is hard rock a la Joan Jett not rock opera via Tarja Tarunen, though it has shades of goth & progressive rhythm changes. Those progressive changes are highlighted in "Graves" which hints at Tool & a toned-down Dream Theater with its mix of acoustic guitars & complicated jagged chord progressions. "Backbone" goes for a double bass opening that I'm happy to say drops away to alternating bars in the chorus. I've always seen it as n effect that tends to ruin songs by dominating the rhythm & I'm glad to see a band that feels the same way about this overused effect as I do. It also causes the song to feel like it's in double-time even if it isn't, the case here, though it is used to interesting effect in the guitar solo that plays the double bass drum beat in sync which I've never heard before. "Out Of Body" repeats all that was heard before but with complicated fast rhythms not heard outside of Clutch. The EP closes with the ballady title track which opens with a two note riff accentuated with eerie violin-esque cries & acoustic plucking. It's rare to put a title-track at the end of an album, but this is such a strong track that it leaves the album on an incredibly hypnotic high note. The only fault I can find is the tone chosen for the guitar solos on a couple tracks. Light on distortion its a heavily muffled sound with little sustain that doesn't quite have the punch or sound I think the band is looking for. Technically the solos are great but I want to hear the notes cry not hide under a blanket with voices muffled in fear. Albeit, maybe they're hiding in shock because this little album is so good its unbelievable. I can only imagine how good the live show must be.

R.E.M. ~ Collapse Into Now (album review) ... Falling quietly into history!

Style: alt rock
Label: Warner Bros.
Year: 2011
Home: Georgia

Members: Peter Buck ~ guitar/bass/mandolin
Mike Mills ~ bass/guitar/keyboard/b. vocals
Michael Stipe ~ vocals

Additional: Shamarr Allen, Leroy Jones ~ trumpet
Greg Hicks, Craig Klein, Mark Mullins ~ trombone
Kirk M. Joseph, Sr. ~ sousaphone
Jacknife Lee ~ guitar/keyboards
Scott McCaughey ~ guitar/keyboards/accordian/b. vocals
Bill Rieflin ~ drums/bouzouki/keyboards/guitar

Guests: Peaches, Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Joel Gibb ~ b. vocals
Lenny Kaye ~ guitar solo

I used to be a fan of R.E.M. but lost interest after Automatic For The People song by song until today when I don't pay attention & couldn't tell you how many albums they've put out since Bill retired from the drumkit & I believe things firmly started to slip for the band. Collapse Into Now didn't bring this once fan back. It only made me wonder what happened to the R.E.M. I once thought was one of the coolest bands on the scene. While this isn't an album I'd give to someone to introduce them to the R.E.M. sound. Critics are calling it a return to form, that is the early underground form not the polished shiny happy Out Of Time period, but that's generally being nice as everyone is tired of having their once favorite band put out sub-par albums. We want R.E.M. to do something good so critics are grasping at anything. Critics are also saying it's a by the numbers return to the fold, so it might be a return but even the nicest critics aren't waving a banner in the air about the band's creativity or originality. R.E.M. has seen better days & better music, though they've done much much worse than Collapse Into Now & critics might be right in saying that R.E.M. are on the way back to becoming a dominating force in music. There's no reason why not. But, honestly, from the first moment of typical ragged guitar strumming clouding the melody behind thick chords to an upbeat song featuring Peaches on backing vocals this is a tough album to get into. If R.E.M. where young this would be clearly labeled a moody angry young man album of inner-demons light on everything but Morrissey-esque melancholy. But, R.E.M. aren't young men & even in the past Michael Stipe let out his inner-demons with more joy than what's on this album. Those accustomed to R.E.M. as an acoustic band with memorable melodies & Stipes voice quirkily riding over the top will feel completely alienated by Collapse Into Now. This is for those looking for a garage sound of thick guitars, while Stipe almost under sings & fades into the background, will find hidden pleasures here on repeated listens. It has its moments & almost a hypnotic quality, particularly since the songs tend to blend into each other, a far different take then Automatic For The People which at times sounded more like a compilation. As for the lyrics ... a key to the attraction to R.E.M. In past albums Stipe shouted, sang, rapped & used his voice as artistically as he wrote his lyrics. At times he even dominated the song, though really R.E.M. should not be seen as a frontman with a band. Here there is a band, not just Stipe with some other guys, but the problem is he almost falls too much into the hypnotic mix. He's so quirky you don't want him to get lost like an old man mumbling to himself. Within the hypnotism there lies some strong sonic moments, subtle melodic touches & some delicate emotional moments, but it takes numerous listens to get there. In this day & age people aren't used to coming to an album over time, particularly since many know R.E.M. for the in your face Out Of Time ... an album even my 66 year old father likes!

Coverdale/Page ~ Coverdale/Page (aka debut) (album review) ... Un-led-ed blues that will kick your ass!

Style: blues-rock, hard rock
Label: Geffen
Year: 1993
Home: n/a

Members: David Coverdale ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Jimmy Page ~ lead guitar/bass/harmonica/b. vocals
Denny Carmassi ~ drums
Lester Mendel ~ keyboards/percussion
Jorge Casas ~ bass

Additional: Ricky Phillips ~ bass
John Harris ~ harmonica
Tommy Funderburk, John Sambataro ~ b. vocals

When surviving Led Zeppelin titans Jimmy Page & Robert Plant reunited for their MTV unplugged concert Un-Led-ed: No Quarter it was an event few wanted to miss. It had everything & more. They followed it with Walking Into Clarksdale ... that had everything & less. I couldn't help but want to then turn to the C/P self-titled album, featuring the Deep Purple/Whitesnake singer who sings & looks far too similar to Plant, & thinking how this is the album I wanted to hear from Page/Plant. Though, ironically I'd bought Coverdale/Page when it was first released thinking it was a Page/Plant reunion. I'd seen the video for "Pride & Joy" & was mesmerized by the instrumentation & arrangement. I was just beginning to get into Led Zeppelin & hard rock. I knew that Page had guested on a Plant album & thought this was it, not knowing who look-alike Coverdale was, & went out & bought Plant's Now & Zen. My disappointment was overwhelming, & though Page is on the album it was nothing close to the acoustic/electric mix of "Pride & Joy". I had to wait for the video to come on again before discovering whose album I actually wanted to buy. Though I've since become a Whitesnake fan & love Jimmy Page's Outrider solo effort, even with all its flaws, I consider C/P a highlight of both their careers post-Zeppelin/Purple. It mixes the best of all worlds, with moody songs to hardcore blues to hard rock with great singing & playing along with basically well-crafted songs. A factor might be that this is the first effort, including Zeppelin, where Page was involved in the lyric writing which in-turn influenced his playing & approach to composing. Some critics said Page joined Coverdale because he couldn't get Plant so an imitator was the next best thing. While Coverdale/Page undoubtedly has strains of later era Zeppelin it's anything but an imitation nor sounds remotely close to Plant or Page's respective solo careers up to this time, nor even Coverdale's music & any eclipses any Zeppelin sounding bands on the scene such as Badlands or Bonham. There's no way to listen to anything Page does without comparison to Zeppelin but that was such an influential band it's better to not compare. There's only one winner in that equation. Heavy on the blues some of the ballads would be better if they didn't hit the 6 & 7 minute mark. But, the overall product is farther away from the commercial mainstream three minute rock that Coverdale had been writing since leaving Purple so there is great excitement hearing him try new avenues. He also favors a deep throaty call versus his recognizable tenor that is incredibly attractive & a highlight of many songs. When not wallowing in the blues the rest of the album is pure adrenalized hard rock with Page's most enthused & creative playing since Zeppelin. His riffs are layered but not cluttered as often plagues his work & partially caused Walking Into Clarksdale to not live up to expectations. The rhythm section is also top notch creating some heavy foundations courtesy of drummer Denny Carmassi, known for his work with Montrose with Sammy Hagar & Heart & would return to Coverdale's side later, & bassist Jorge Casas who provides a heavy low end with a couple songs even featuring a second bassist to provide extra punch. It grounds Page's playing in a way that had hurt both his Outrider & the Firm. Page's riffs & rhythms dominate the songs but he doesn't play anything that hasn't been heard before, his playing languishing with a timeless quality of little growth, often leaving the key to the success of many songs on Coverdale's vocals. Luckily, he's up to the challenge. C/P probably never was going to have life beyond a single album due to the requirements of Whitesnake & quirkiness of Page's career, I've always felt sad that the ensuing tour didn't do so well & the potential of anything more was firmly removed because this is a basically everything anyone could really ask for from a one-off unlikely union.

Sapphire Rebellion ~ Sapphire Rebellion (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... In the ballroom of Mars!

Style: electronic, heavy metal, industrial, gothic, experimental
Label: Platinum Dragon Productions
Year: 2009
Home: Tennessee

Members: Tim Curry ~ vocals/guitar
Jay Godin ~ drums
Jason Palmer ~ bass

Once upon a time there was a world where odd-looking Gary Numan sang about cars. Today he poses with the same attitude but throws into his synth-based sound some gothic edginess cranking out something that's industrial yet pop & attractive while still keeping his music as mechanically cold & quasi-creepy as ever, let alone quirky. No, Sapphire Rebellion isn't Numan's new side-project, but he came to mind as a similar sounding artist almost immediately with the oddly titled opening track "Ballrooms Of Mars." The trio of SR, now touring as a duo plus computer, eats from the same plate as Numan with a mechanically cold - note not emotionally cold - gothic pop that's synth-heavy, lyrically quirky and pop yet gothic. The difference is where Numan is aiming for unemotional, or at least emotionally distant, SR wraps you up in vignettes of delightful story-telling about strange women, lonely men & alien bars. SR has crafted a unique mix of metal but with simple sparse riffs against a simple background of stiff & basic drum rhythms & keyboards with guitar solos like something out of the New Wave/Men At Work world. But unlike Numan this isn't cock-eyed or Kraftwerk-esque unemotional alienation, nor even experiment over song. If anything it's a new level of industrial metal that aims for the industrial over the metal, actually it aims for an experience over anything. Layers of sound are built up with lots of space to hear everything clearly, think Pink Floyd, than the typical dense atomic cloud that's usually heard smashing everything in its wake. Upon a few listens SR actually actually come off as quite casual & relaxed like something relaxing on their front porch looking over their life and recalling it all in an exotic experience of delightful storytelling. & it's the storytelling that is the glue that keeps it all together. Some of the most picturesque lyrics out there as vivid as Dylan. In "Ballroom Of Mars" frontman Tim Curry, not the singing actor, monotones: "You're gonna look fine/you were primed for dancing/you're gonna drip, glide all over the trampoline blades ... Your diamond hands will be stacked with roses", or in "House Of Lies" the greatly visual: "She's a virtual warehouse of sex appeal ... She's has an arsenal of drinks & she deals them like cards/so when my glass is near empty/I often find I'm momentarily distracted by her sexy slow grind/I glide over to my darling drink dealing maiden". The lyrics are anything but cold, but incredibly personal dropping the listener right into a movie. Pick up some popcorn on the way.

Lisa Marie Presley ~ Now What (album review) ... Elvis's daughter & a Sex Pistol take the stage!

Style: alt rock
Label: Capitol Records
Year: 2005
Home: California

Members: Lisa Marie Presley ~ vocals/programming
Michael Lockwood, Stuart Mathis, Robert Bishop, Nick Lashley, Lyle Workman ~ guitar
Zak Rae, Eric Rosse, Roger Manning ~ piano
Paul Bushnell, Chris Chaney ~ bass
Matt Chamberlain, Josh Freeze, Abraham Laboriel Jr., Joey Waronker ~ drums
Drew Hester ~ percussion
Howard Willing ~ drum effects

Additional: Suzie Katayama, Larry Corbett, Cameron Stone ~ cello
Mario De Leon, Armen Garabedian, Berg Garabedian, Julian Hallmark, Audrey Solomon, Josefine Vergara, John Wittenberg, Joel Derouin ~ violin
Matt Funes, Evan Wilson ~ viola
LMP ~ voice

Guest: Pink ~ vocals
Steve Jones ~ guitar

There's a group of musicians who took to the stage largely under their influence of famous musician parents. That's not saying they wouldn't be otherwise, but how many of them would find other careers if their parents had anonymous 9-5 jobs or a non-disposal income not created from royalties. These childstars tend to fall into a couple broad categories, briefly: A) they're a talented musician on their own who largely follow their parents music style if not the same instrument (i.e. Anoushka Shankar, the Pizzarelli family, Dweezil Zappa, Arlo Guthrie, Hank Williams, Jr.), or B) a talented musician on their own & demonstrating it by playing music different than their parent (i.e. Wilson Philips, Jakob Dylan, Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones) or C) a musician who seemingly has little to offer in terms of individual style (i.e. Kelly Osbourne) or just hasn't developed it yet (i.e. Alexa Ray Joel, Dhani Harrison) but largely gets the gig because of the name. This last category are the questionable folks who one hopes eventually move into another category. Sadly, regardless of musicianship or style fans always look at these musicians in terms of their parents. Is Alexa Ray Joel as good of a song writer or pianist as her father Billy? Norah Jones might not play the sitar like her near guru father Ravi Shanker & half-sister, but is she as dedicated to her respective craft? Does Dhani Harrison have anything to say other than the spiritual meanderings of his father George? We shouldn't ask these questions but it's hard not to. Of course, it's nearly impossible to look at Lisa Marie Presley in light of her father who had not just a very individual sound & image but also helped create rock'n'roll. The gender difference is almost trivial. So, given such a shadow one is forced to look at LMP via her own efforts & merits. Personally, if it wasn't for her name I probably wouldn't pick up this album in the first place. It's multi-layered studio created moody power pop a la Pink, versus a band hacking it out in the clubs. For those that enjoy such music you can do a lot worse than checking out this follow up to her debut. For those looking for something a little more original disappointment will abound. Ignoring the long list of studio musicians the album sounds like a group of top-notch group of musicians & producers, including former 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry as co-writer on a majority of the tracks, got together to craft something big & bold in an Alanis Morissette sort of way but without the jagged edges to disguise LMP lack of any original or sound of her own. Her voice is mellow but not with any great range or distinguishable features, almost ironic considering who the co-writer is. It's almost too easy to write the affair off & miss the fact that LMP wrote all the lyrics & has actually attempted to put some personal gusto behind it all. The title of the album says a lot towards the mood, as does the opening song "I'll Figure It Out" with the line "It took me all my life/to finally figure it out/that i'm not in the mood/to be anything like you" which very well could be a nod to the shadow of her father. This is not a happy album with the songs largely ranting against those who've hurt her or tried to make her into something she's not with numerous cuss words to make the point & meriting a parental advisory sticker on what one might expect to be a tame affair following her debut. Also features, within the theme, Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" & the Ramones "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" featuring Sex Pistol Steve Jones on guitar. LMP's lyrics & message make this a much stronger album than it first appears, sadly the music remains far too unoriginal to match & dulls down what could be a much raunchier affair. Now What is a better then LMP's debut To Whom It May Concern with a harder edge but next time make it harder & less polished, until then LMP is a child star who has something she wants to say but hasn't figured out the right format. Don't give up hope on her though cause she's trying. Actually, I'd hire her a lyric writer to some other musician.

Mike Pont's Hotshot ~ The Bomb (comp) (album review) ... From the world of Danger Danger!

Style: hard rock
Label: Split Finger Records
Year: 2005
Home: New York City

Members: Mike Pont ~ vocals
Al Pitrelli ~ guitars/keyboards/harmonica/b. vocals
Spike Francis ~ guitars
Tony Bruno ~ guitar/b. vocals
Timmy Starace ~ bass
Bruno Ravel, T.C. Cook ~ bass/b. vocals
Kurt Fairchild ~ drums/b. vocals
Chuck Bonfonte, Steve West ~ drums
Al Greenwood, Steve Savides ~ keyboards

Guest: Nikki Sixx ~ voice
Leslie West ~ guitar

Additional: George Cintron ~ guitar/b. vocals

At first listen this sole release by disbanded hard rockers Hotshot sounds like so many of its peers that were on the scene in the mid/late-1980's. It's got everything fans have come to expect from Ratt, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row & countless other hair bands that frequented MTV, the difference being that Hotshot never had the same level of national commercial success. Today some listeners and maybe even former band members might cringe at hearing how dated Hotshot sounds as what was once a popular style of hard rock has now become history, but on the other hand, once the listener lets oneself fall into the pleasures that this particular genre still offers regardless of changing musical trends this becomes an album that would be a wonderful addition to any music collection. Those who once frequented New York's club scene may remember Hotshot while others might be more familiar with the faces in the band as it's alumni would achieve greater fame outside of the band making this a historical snapshot, or relic, of what a group of musicians were doing before they became famous. Hotshot started as a NYC new wave cover band led by Mike Pont with future Danger Danger members Bruno Ravel & Steve West, amongst others including roadie Kelly Nickels who'd join L.A. Guns. Moving to L.A. Pont discovered the Motley Crue-led scene there only to return to NYC & form the Mike Pont Band with Gary Binova, original Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood, future Megadeth/Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Savatage guitarist Al Pitrelli, future Joan Jett/Joe Lynn Turner/Danger Danger guitarist Tony "Rey" Bruno & future Morning Wood drummer Chuck Bonfonte. In the meantime Ravel & West had formed Danger Danger with whom Pont & Pitrelli would join. Another excursion to L.A. found Pitrelli, who'd left Danger Danger & can be heard on their early demos via the hard to find Rare Cuts, convincing Pont to return east once again where they reformed Hotshot with bassist TC Cook & drummer Kurt Fairchild. Cook went on to Dio while Pitrelli to Alice Cooper. Hotshot now found itself going through line-up changes and gaining attention climaxing with their demo landing in the hands of Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx. Sixx wanted to manage the band but kicking Vince Neil out of Crue took priority & Hotshot's career came to a near overnight premature end. Fourteen years later the demos, recorded between 1986 & 1990, were collected & finally released by Pont. It's unknown if there's more recordings out there or if this the complete recording output of Hotshot. Given all that history this might be a historical relic but it's far from moldy or for collector's only or even full of disastrous musical experiments one comes to expect on early demos, even though the album opens with the original phone message left by Sixx that feels sad knowing the outcome. Hotshot comes from the days when one assumed a guitar player could run modes, scales & riffs to land at some melodic & memorable outcome that combined feeling and technical skills, versus much of today's bands where there's often a difference between musician & guitarist. Memorable riffs, great solos, love ballads, complex but seemingly simple arrangements & lots of typical 80's dynamics highlight these songs. Seeing whose behind all the riffs is what takes this album a step above many of its more famous peers, but the songs can still stand on their own regardless of the who's who. These may be some of the earliest recordings/compositions by Pitrelli, Bruno, Ravel & co. but they are anything but demos or musicians just getting started & honing their chops or even experimenting. It's a shame it took so long to make this music available & it never saw the charts at the time. Some musicians hone their skills over their career but here a 20-something Pitrelli, featured on about half the tracks, is blasting out the door with wicked & raw guitar solos with his common choice to play something melodic instead of fast or heavily distorted. Obviously his playing has improved in the decades since, but these early recordings show a young axeman overflowing in talent & ability some well-experienced guitarists don't have. He also lends his backing vocals to the arrangements, a highlight of the songs that is sorely missed on the tracks he's absent on. The arrangements & compositions are top-notch 80's rock, though sometimes a bit too AOR & heavy on ballads. The production is also top-notch even though they are essentially low-budget recordings, which is probably due to a much later mixing session. Outside of the overabundance of love songs or the largely dated sound of the some of the keyboard heavy ballads one would be challenged to really find something wrong with this collection. For those wanting to hear young musicians who haven't developed their chops yet this is everything but that. With three line-ups featured it's also interesting to hear how much the different members dominated the sound. Pont might have written the lyrics but the outcome is clearly influenced by whoever he was playing with. The Pitrelli/Cook/Fairchild line-up have a commercial rock reminiscent of early Whitesnake. It's somewhat by-the-numbers hard rock, not glam or power metal, but have, or more properly would have had, great radio appeal. Two tracks ("Always In My Heart" & "In The Groove") find Pitrelli/Cook replaced by guitarist Spike Francis & bassist Timmy Starace in what sounds like a completely different band with Francis's distorted solos being the complete opposite of melodic Pitrelli. He doesn't blend in as so much as take-over. There's a whole other album waiting to be shared with this particular line-up. The Pitrelli/Bruno Ravel/Steve West/Steve Savides & the Tony Bruno/Ravel/Chuck Bonfonte/Al Greenwood line-ups are the earliest recordings & sound as much with less intricate arrangements & is a more reserved band. The best way to listen to this album & get the full picture, which is arranged by most radio friendly to the early demos with Francis/Starace/Fairchild being a bump in the middle, is to play that tracks in chronological order & hear how one band that was hot on the scene & could have been hotter had they been given the chance and how much they had to offer as they developed their sound.

420Shot30 ~ 420Shot30 (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Painting the stars in the musical sky!

Style: progressive, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2008
Home: n/a

Members: Mark ~ vocals/guitar
Ian ~ bass/v. vocals
Kyle ~ drums
Jimi ~ guitar/keyboards

Having already toured with Hinder, Trapt & Rev Theory 420Shot30 are making some certifiable inroads towards making a name for themselves on the national music scene. With a non-typical metal sound it's immediately easy to see why. The obvious single of the batch, or if it isn't it should be, "Lift Me Up" opens with a new wage-esque keyboard that is more out of Yanni or Yes than metal only to be joined by a husky & slow croon calling directly to the listener "I wanna lift you up high baby, I wanna take you on a trip to the sun & the moon ... I want to paint the stars in the sky for you" that might be sappy but is equally seductive. With the guitars tucked in the mix until the last third the song is intense, plodding & incredibly memorable & deserves multiple listens. It's one of the more commercially attractive metal songs I've heard in a long time that does everything you wouldn't expect & comes out in a way that it shouldn't. But, its also quite illusionary as "Magic Woman" opens up with by the book guitar riffing that is a completely reverse of what "Lift Me Up" laid down. But, 420Shot30 know how to create unexpected twists, often lacking in a lot of bands' repertoire, as the song turns to a dark & haunting direction, again keyboard heavy, with the now trademarkable direct & personal lyrics that are reminiscent of some of Marilyn Manson's ballady moments. Though the final song "Nasty Woman" verges on industrial metal, particularly with the heavy chorus effect on the vocals, it carefully walks the line. This is an important trait for 420Shot30 who have set themselves up with a sound that does everything but what you expect to far more thrilling results than bands who give you exactly what you want.