Author: kruekutt

Grateful for my beloved wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and siblings. Also a lover of theology, music, history, philosophy, classic novels, science fiction, fantasy and Looney Tunes.

Rick’s Quick Takes: Wonderous Stories by Jerry Ewing

On By kruekuttIn Jerry Ewing, Progressive rock1 Comment

“I do hope that [this book] succeeds in going some way to shedding light on the intrigue of progressive music.  Of where it came from, and where it’s going.  And more importantly, how it got to where it is today.” — Jerry Ewing, from the introduction.

To cut to the chase: Jerry Ewing succeeds at all of the above with Wonderous Stories.  If a friend or relation asked me “why are you so fired up about ‘prog rock,’ anyway?” this just replaced Will Romano’s fine Mountains Come Out of the Sky as the book I’d loan them.  After extracting solemn promises in blood to return it ASAP.

Ewing knows what he’s talking about; he’s been spreading the news about progressive rock since the early days of Marillion, ultimately founding Prog Magazine as a “focal point and filter” for the genre in 2009, and steering it through the choppy straits of modern periodical publishing till now.  Wonderous Stories distills Ewing’s love of the music, his experience of the scene, and his considered take on prog fandom into a sumptuous coffee table book you didn’t know you needed.

Yes, “coffee table book.”  A big part of Wonderous Stories’ appeal is its gorgeous graphic design by Carl Glover, pulling together band shots, album covers and live concert pics on each page to accent the text.  The book works better for browsing than reading from cover to cover; each chapter is self-contained, often repeating information or opinions found earlier, with minimum cross referencing.  You pick it up, read a bit, put it down because you’re satiated — until you want to enjoy some more.  So you pick it up again …

And there’s plenty to enjoy.  After laying his foundation with intros to the 1960s & 1970s, Ewing tackles his mainstream “big six” of prog (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and ELP), then branches out to far-flung tributaries (the Canterbury and folk scenes,  Krautrock and art rock, American and European bands, neo-prog and prog metal, and much more).  Along the way, he spotlights a dozen “albums that define prog,”  from the Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed to Opeth’s Blackwater Park, including full band biographies as he goes.  Some selections are surprises, but they’re all deserving — three of them are on my Amazon wishlists now.

But unlike other recent books on the genre such as David Weigel’s well-intentioned but sloppy The Show That Never Ends, Ewing doesn’t leave the story of progressive rock sucking in the ’70s.  He makes a strong case for the 1980s as better years for the music than opinionated fans think; then he insightfully posits grunge, not punk, as the fad that killed prog for the mainstream music industry, forcing survivors like Marillion and neophytes like Porcupine Tree to fend for themselves.  In Ewing’s telling, this do-it-yourself ethic and the Internet’s ability to connect bands and fans worldwide sowed the seeds of renewed creativity and interest in progressive music, culminating in “The Steven Wilson Effect” (winner for best chapter title!) and the state of the genre today: “a thriving form buoyed by a big worldwide market.”

To sum up, this is a thoroughly delightful book, worthwhile both for newcomers to prog and to long-time fans.  While a few copies of Wonderous Stories’ limited edition are still currently available through Pledge Music, a hardback trade edition costing substantially less but looking just as yummy is coming out in the UK (on February 15) and in the US (on April 1).  Don’t hesitate to order it! — Rick Krueger

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Rick’s Quick Takes: From the Fires by Greta Van Fleet

On By kruekuttIn Rock and Roll1 Comment

“Rock & roll isn’t really going on right now and it’s something the people need.” — Josh Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet, quoted in Rolling Stone.

If Frankenmuth, Michigan is known at all, it’s usually as a tourist spot that channels a kitschy “Little Bavaria” vibe  — complete with chicken dinners,  a Christmas superstore that my wife described as “obscene” after a visit, and its local polka band heroes.  (To be fair, it began as a mission colony, founded by Bavarians who crossed the Atlantic to minister to Michigan’s Chippewas.  These “Franconians” became key players in the founding of my spiritual home, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod — but I digress.)

This year, a different kind of band from Frankenmuth is on a new mission; the incredibly young quartet Greta Van Fleet (named for a octogenarian hammer dulcimer player) aims to stoke the “rock & roll revolution” Bono predicted in his recent Rolling Stone interview.  Their weapon of choice: a heavy, howling sound that reconnects to the energy of Chicago blues, early pre-mellow Bob Seger and the British hard rock boom — especially to Led Zeppelin.

Be warned: there’s a whole lotta Zeppelin influence on this compilation of two EPs — so much so that my longtime buddies from high school were comparing the music to 1970s German Zep-alikes Kingdom Come when we got together recently.  And it’s fair to wonder how the band — twin brothers Josh Kiszka on vocals & Jake Kiszka on guitar, baby brother Sam Kiszka on bass and pal Danny Wagner on drums, ranging in age from 18 to 21 — could possibly have been so well marinated in the classic sounds they emulate.  (Parents with great record collections and a musical family that jams together on long weekends seem to hold the answer.)

But let’s face it: Robert Plant & Jimmy Page were these kids’ age once, and they did all right for themselves.  More than anything, it’s the explosive energy of youth that these boys are bringing to the table, and they surf that energy on From the Fires until it soars.  The opening “Safari Song,” the semi-acoustic “Flower Power” and the surprise radio hit “Highway Tune” work as brazen, thoroughly convincing new-Zep; the strong covers of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and Fairport Convention’s “Meet on the Ledge” showcase their eclectic, well-formed taste, and at a short, sharp 32 minutes, the whole set oozes potential.

Not that there won’t be some growing pains along the way; while Greta Van Fleet has sold out every headline show they’ve played this year, there were credible grumbles about their live sound and management in the wake of their recent Grand Rapids gig.  Still — a rock band from the Midwest with nationwide, possibly international potential!  It’s been a while since that’s happened.  On the evidence of From the Fires, I think they have what it takes to go for it, and I wish them the best.  But feel free to judge for yourself below. — Rick Krueger

 

The Albums That Changed My Life: #8, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock, Rock and Roll1 Comment

by Rick Krueger

The good Dr. Birzer did a fine track-by-track survey of this milestone album for its 50th anniversary in 2016.   While I’m tempted to say “just read his article,” it wouldn’t answer the implied question this series poses.  How did hearing Pet Sounds change my life?

Though I always liked the Beach Boys, I didn’t glom onto Pet Sounds until I was in my 30s. My older brother had a few of their early records; I remember borrowing the In Concert album and subjecting my family to repeated plays on one vacation.  Some of their songs from the 1970s filtered through to FM rock radio in my high school years, too; “Sail On Sailor” was particularly popular.  I even arranged a medley of the band’s 1960s classics for my final choir concert at Lutheran High School East.  But I typically thought of the Beach Boys as a group with cool harmonies, a Chuck Berry fixation, and decent songs about surfing, cars and girls.

Then, on a whim, I picked up the 30th anniversary edition of Pet Sounds in 1996.  Which included liner notes featuring Paul McCartney quotes like “this is the album of all time” and “no one is educated musically until they’ve heard that album.”  I figured I’d better give it a serious listen.

Continue reading “The Albums That Changed My Life: #8, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys” →

Kruekutt’s (Re)Discoveries of 2017

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock1 Comment

by Rick Krueger

This article rounds out my “best of 2017” series, focusing on older albums that I discovered  — or rediscovered in one case! — in the course of the year.  They’re listed in alphabetical order by artist after the jump:

Continue reading “Kruekutt’s (Re)Discoveries of 2017” →

Pat DiNizio, 1955-2017

On By kruekuttIn Rock and Roll3 Comments

According to Variety,

Pat DiNizio, vocalist-guitarist-songwriter for the tough yet tuneful New Jersey rock band the Smithereens, died Tuesday. He was 62.

The group announced his passing on their web site. No cause of death was given, but the musician had been beset by health problems in recent years; in 2015 he was sidelined after losing the use of his right hand and arm following a pair of falls that incurred serious nerve damage.

I remember being knocked sideways hearing the Smithereens’ “Behind the Wall of Sleep” on the radio in 1986.  I was always scanning record stores and the airwaves for tuneful, Beatle-ish power-pop, and this filled the bill nicely:

Three things about the song grabbed me: the misquote of H.P. Lovecraft in the title; the 1960s callbacks in the lyrics; and the killer combination of catchy melody and hard-rock groove — more Cheap Trick than Marshall Crenshaw.

After that, I was always excited to hear the Smithereens on the radio.  Maybe the melancholy skew of their lyrics (“Blood and Roses,” “In a Lonely Place,” “Only A Memory,” — sensing a theme yet?) was another factor in their favor during my self-pitying single years.   When they had an actual hit (“A Girl Like You”) off a solid album (11, also featuring Belinda Carlisle’s duet with DiNizio on the Rubber Soul homage “Blue Period”), it felt like a triumph!

The window to mass culture closed on the Smithereens after their next album Blow Up, but not before they came to Grand Rapids and played a free show at the Civic Auditorium the night before my 30th birthday.  You had to go to the main location of the local chain Believe in Music to get tickets, which is where the band autographed the t-shirt pictured above.  It was a good show; I remember lots of audience interaction, including guitarist Jim Babjak venturing into the audience for the guitar solo on “Blood and Roses.”

The Smithereens made one more major label album, A Date with the Smithereens (first line of lyrics: “Guess what, there’s a black cloud inside of my head”) before fading into where-are-they-now territory.  Which turned out to be their original stomping ground of Carteret, New Jersey.  They made occasional albums:  some new material — including a Christmas disc; some live retreads; some tributes to the Beatles and the Who — for my money, their take on Tommy has more guts than the original.

The Smithereens were planning live shows in 2018, but it wasn’t to be.  In one of his final Facebook posts, Pat DiNizio turned to thoughts of Christmas:

In early December the church that I live directly across the street from here in Scotch Plains builds a life size classic manger scene that is among one of the most beautiful and detailed one that I have ever seen. I can’t say that I’m a church goer, but I was raised Catholic, and the aforementioned church was where I was baptized, received Holy Communion was confirmed, where my parents were married (as well as every other member of my family) and where the funerals were held for my father, grandfather, grandmother, aunts, uncles and virtually every member of my family. Most of them were married there too. So when Hollingsworth House, the home that I have lived in the past 20 years or so became available, it seemed to me a stroke of good fortune to be able to live a hundred yards away across the street from the church that was and has been such an important part of my life.

dinizio in memoriam

Here’s hoping that Pat DiNizio now enjoys the peace embodied across the street from his house.  Buona Natale!

The Albums That Changed My Life: #9, Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning by Michael Praetorius

On By kruekuttIn classical3 Comments

by Rick Krueger

By the mid-1990s, more classical music was being recorded and released worldwide than ever before.  Sony’s purchase of CBS Records had triggered a spending frenzy, both by the new Sony Classical and its competitors Polygram, EMI, RCA and Warner.  Occasional crossover chart smashes like The Three Tenors, Henryk Gorecki’s meditative Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, or the odd compilation of Gregorian chant had a glut of major and minor orchestras, choirs and ensembles chasing the next fluke hit — usually with A&R men breathing down their necks to justify the expense.

It was a mind-boggling time to be a classical collector.  Bookstores like Barnes & Noble and appliance shops like Best Buy opened in smaller and smaller towns, with deeper and deeper stocks of CDs.  Mall chains like Discount Records followed suit, and free-standing superstores like Tower Records went even deeper.  Detroit’s local chain Harmony House had a dedicated all-classical store; nearby Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, had at least two or three at any given time.  Whether hitting 28th Street on my day off in Grand Rapids, or driving east to visit family, I knew there would be something great to find no matter where I went — I just didn’t know what.

 

Continue reading “The Albums That Changed My Life: #9, Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning by Michael Praetorius” →

Kruekutt’s 2017 Favorites: New Albums & Videos

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock, Rock and Roll2 Comments

by Rick Krueger

After the jump are the new albums and videos from 2017 that grabbed me on first or second listen, then compelled repeated plays.  I’m not gonna rank them except for my Top Favorite, which I’ll save for the very end.  The others are listed alphabetically by artist. (Old school style, that is — last names first where necessary!)  Links to the ones I’ve previously reviewed are embedded in the album titles.

Continue reading “Kruekutt’s 2017 Favorites: New Albums & Videos” →

Rick’s Retroarchy: Favorite 2017 Reissues

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock, Rock and Roll2 Comments

by Rick Krueger

I still have a few more albums to listen to before finalizing my favorite new releases of 2017.  To warm up, here are the reissues from this past year that:

  1. I absolutely had to buy, and
  2. That grabbed me on first listen (whether I’d previously owned a copy or not) and didn’t let go through repeated plays.  Except for my “top favorite” at the end of the post, I haven’t ranked ’em — in my opinion, they’re all equally worth your time.

Continue reading “Rick’s Retroarchy: Favorite 2017 Reissues” →

The Albums that Changed My Life: #7, O Come All Ye Faithful by The Choir of King’s College Cambridge

On By kruekuttIn classical5 Comments

by Rick Krueger

Hearing this album was what really confirmed me — a fourth-generation American of German ancestry and Lutheran upbringing — as a lifelong, diehard Anglophile.  As a unlooked-for bonus, it reopened a vocational path I had taken for granted, if not outright abandoned, as I trained to become a musician.

“Wait a minute,” I hear you say to the first point, “every single album you’ve written about so far is by a British artist or composer!”  Point taken.  Throw in my love for the work of Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien and Shakespeare (as well as the adventures of Sherlock Holmes), and you might consider my opening sentence an overstatement.  But hear me out.

Continue reading “The Albums that Changed My Life: #7, O Come All Ye Faithful by The Choir of King’s College Cambridge” →

Neil Young’s Archives Open for Business

On By kruekuttIn Rock and Roll2 Comments

by Rick Krueger

Remember Neil Young’s Archives Volume 1?  Released in 2009, it was a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, box set of the man’s music from 1963 to 1972 — 137 tracks, 47 previously unreleased.  If you ponied up a three figure sum (guilty), you could get the set in DVD or Blu-Ray format, and have multiple visual gimcracks to click on and view while the music was playing.  Some of these were quite cool; my favorite was a candid camera video of Young pestering a New York City record store clerk.

Since then, Young has occasionally promised further Archives installments — but given his  multiple interests and projects (along with his propensity to change his mind), it wasn’t surprising that nothing followed.  That is, until yesterday, when www.neilyoungarchives.com went live.  The site will ultimately provide audio/visual access to more than 900 recordings by Young from 1963 to the present, whether solo or with his collaborators through the years — Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Crazy Horse and The Promise of the Real, among others.  Songs and albums are searchable, and everything is also accessible via the “timeline” or “file cabinet” formats used for Archives Volume 1. 

In the FAQ section of the new site, Young and his collaborators go into great detail about their proprietary “Xstream by NYA” format, claiming to offer up to 20 times more audio data than the 320 kilobytes per second of high-quality mp3 files.  Listening to Young’s live Time Fades Away as I type, my streaming rate has ranged from 1600 to 1800 kbps.  It’s an impressive-looking stat, but given the basic grungy sound of the album, it’s hard to hear any substantial difference — especially since my sound system is a solid performer, but nowhere near audiophile territory.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch; to quote the Archives FAQ, “all content and songs on NYA are free for a limited time only.  After that, access will require a subscription.  Duration and cost of subscription are still TBD, but we can tell you that the more users we have the cheaper it will be.”  At least right now, you can log in through Facebook or Google and avoid setting up yet another online account.  Since my interest in Young’s music basically extends through the Rust Never Sleeps era, I’ll hopefully have enough time to listen to the music of his “Ditch trilogy” period (when he made Time Fades Away, Tonight’s The Night, and On the Beach) before the subscription model kicks in. [Note: according to a “Welcome to Neil Young Archives” email I’ve received, my free trial period lasts until June 30.  Plenty of time then!]

In the meantime, the Archives website provides a window of opportunity to hear a seminal artist’s music for free.  If you have any interest in Young’s work, it’s worth checking out.