As a longtime admirer of the musical magic of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell, I had high hopes for Cornell’s new solo album “Higher Truth”. I was not disappointed. On the contrary, the album exceeded my expectations; I think that TimeLord is right on the mark in giving the album 5 stars. I’ve listened to the album some 30 times or so now, and keep finding new aural delights, whether in the abundance of fabulous melodies, or the subtleties (yes, subtleties!) of the vocals and harmonies (all of them by Cornell), or the fabulous production.
On top of that embarrassment of riches, SiriusXM radio recently released a video, now going viral, of Cornell performing “Nothing Compares To U”, which was a major hit for Sinead O’Connor a quarter century ago (was it really that long ago? Yep.). Many folks apparently think O’Connor wrote the song, but it was actually written by Prince for his side project, The Family, and it appears on one of his hits compilations. Cornell, as he did with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, employs a more bluesy sound, augmented by cello and additional acoustic guitar. The result is dynamite:
First, let me apologize for all of the changes to progarchy. I did my best to upgrade the site, but I, frankly, bit (byte?) off more than I could chew.
Second, I have returned us to the site as it was on September 29, 2015. All links and credits are working again. Perfectly, from what I can tell.
Just to let you know, I had hired a third party to host the site rather than WordPress. We are now back with WordPress, and I don’t anticipate leaving again.
I hope and trust you all approve, and, again, my apologies for the craziness.
Yours, humbled, Brad
P.S. Today is the 3rd anniversary of Progarchy!!!!
I began writing this post several months ago, in January, carried along on the brief rush of excitement that comes with a new year. “2015! How about noting a bunch of anniversaries of great albums?” And, in fact, one of the great strengths of Progarchy.com is the sense of music history and the awareness of anniversaries: “Forty year ago….thirty years ago….twenty-five years ago…twenty years ago…”, as opposed to the dominant model out there, which is “Forty minutes ago…thirty seconds ago…twenty tweets ago…” But then life overwhelmed me and the burst of focused energy dissipated for a while. Now it’s back. Best strike while the vinyl is hot—or something along those lines.
The idea here is very simple: I listen to hundreds of new albums every year, along with hundreds of older albums that I come back to for various reasons; but how much of that music has real staying power? And what, in the end, makes a person return repeatedly to This Album rather than That Album? Sure, of course it is because of impeccable taste and a rare instinct for timeless music. (Duh.) But there is a wonderful mystery to it all, for so much of what resonates in a particular album comes from accidental things: the time, the place, the event, the moment. Certain songs bring back great memories; certain songs make you want to jump off a cliff (yes, I’m looking at you, Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”).
But it isn’t simply a matter of nostalgia, which can only go so far; it is, I hope, more often a matter of discovery, of hearing something new—or, in some cases, hearing something old and suddenly hearing it. Really hearing it.
My criteria is this: what albums from 60, 50, 40, 30, 25, 20, and 10 years ago do I still listen to now on a regular basis? And never tire of hearing? And why? With that, here goes!
1955: In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatraand It’s a Blue World by Mel Tormé. I was not raised on Sinatra’s music; quite the contrary—I was raised on decent hymns and mediocre to rotten “Christian” music; I hardly paid attention to Top 40 pop and rock until I was in junior high. And I didn’t really listen to Sinatra or Tormé until a dozen years ago. Prior to that, I simply didn’t “get it”. Then I did. Why? I’m not sure. But since then, I’ve collected some 1300 Sinatra songs. The Chairman of the Board produced many classic albums, but this one is my personal favorite: dark, lush, aching, beautiful, gut-wrenching, perfect. I sometimes fall to sleep listening to it, especially when it’s 2:00 in the morning and I’m wide awake. Sinatra had the rare gift of making you, the listener, believe The Voice was singing only to and for you. It’s impossible to describe; it simply has to be heard and experienced. And don’t forget: Sinatra is the God Father of Prog. Really. Sinatra, by the way, was born a hundred years ago this year.
Tormé did not have the edge or darkness of Sinatra, nor did he ever plumb the depths of emotional despair as did the legend ten years his senior. But Tormé had range, talent, and genius to burn, not just as one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, but also as an accomplished songsmith (he penned 250 songs or so), fabulous arranger, top-notch drummer (and decent pianist), novelist, biographer, author, actor, screen writer, consummate showman, and collector (guns, cars, movies, etc.). It’s a Blue World is a lush, impeccable set of songs, likely influenced by Sinatra’s Wee Small Hours. While Sinatra packs an emotional punch, Tormé thrills with pure beauty and dazzling musicality, all delivered with an effortless ease that reminds me of watching Roger Federer play tennis at Wimbledon. Bing Crosby, asked late in life to name his favorite musicians, named only one vocalist–Tormé–saying, “Any singer that goes to hear this guy sing has got to go and cut his throat.” For a taste, check out Tormé singing Duke Ellington’s “I’ve Got It Bad, And That Ain’t Good”. Continue reading “60 Years, Twelve Albums, One Man’s Favorites”→
There are times on District 97’s new album, In Vaults, when a “because it’s there” vibe rises like a Himalayan peak from the Plain of the Killer Riff: a successful descent doesn’t always follow the climb. But that’s what this band has signed itself up for, and the risk-taking on record plays, happily, with the irony of vocalist Leslie Hunt’s American Idol background. All the nonsense that is associated with Hunt’s alma mater plays a like a game of One of These Things Is Not Like The Other, as the singer, evidenced by her work with District 97, is about the last thing you’d expect to come out of the Idol scene but simultaneously the kind of artist you’d want to actually win. So, In Vaults is downright, and mostly satisfyingly, weird, something that maybe could only come out of a Chicago-based metal band with a conservatory pedigree and an Idol runner-up with some serious jazz chops. It is an exhaustive — at times exhausting — record that, despite its bumps and its occasional tendency for showing off chops over songs, brims with an energy that damns torpedoes and old dudes like me.
It’s no surprise that the band has been embraced by the likes of Bill Bruford and John Wetton, with whom District 97 has toured and recorded. King Crimson and Yes is in the lineage for sure, but Soft Machine, Opeth, and Abbey Lincoln all have a claim to some of the ground District 97 has planted its flag on. The lurching, Coltrane slabs of sound erupting from Jim Tashijian (guitar), Patrick Mulcahy (bass) and Jonathan Schang (gonzo drums) back-and-foreground Hunt’s jazz phrasing and hard rock smarts with an inventiveness that can move instantly from crushing doom metal to modal jazz and all stations in between, not least of which is strong affinity for pop melody in (often too) small doses. Rob Clearfield’s keyboards are like a less bitchy version of Roxy Music, less self-important than Kansas or ELP — for the volume of notes he pumps out, none seem wasted.
In Vaults ups the ante on District 97’s more melodically charged Trouble with Machines. This is a band not short on ideas, and Jonathan Schang’s songwriting is up for articulating a range of lyrical emotions over arrangements that don’t let up. There’s no getting bored, although there’s also little room to slip into a groove of any duration, something that would build tension in songs as long as these, and something I think the group would be really good at (when it happens in “Learn From Danny,” the moment really pops). What we do get, though, is a hyper-shifting Zappa-fueled jazz rock buffet that goes to new places on the shoulders of giants, so that in “Takeover” the nod to Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” is like Zeppelin nodding to Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.” There is a lot going on in In Vaults, and District 97 is on to something fairly unique in the prog scene, matched really only by Seven Impale (and perhaps it is the youthfulness of both bands that accounts for this): a palpable search for that seam that both delivers the goods while not dwelling on long-worn paths.
THE RECEIVER, NYLON.COM LAUNCH “TRANSIT” MUSIC VIDEO
New album “All Burn” out now on Kscope
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Midwest symphonic dream-prog duo, The Receiver, has teamed up with Nylon.com to launch a music video for the track “Transit,” taken from the band’s recently released full-length, All Burn, out now on Kscope. The video was shot in Beirut by director Youssef Nassar, a Lebanese-born Canadian responsible for the acclaimed promo for Steven Wilson’s recent single “Perfect Life.” Stream the new “Transit” music video exclusively at: http://www.nylon.com/articles/video-premiere-the-receiver-transit.
“The music is simply superb!” said Nassar of “Transit.” “Very dreamy, filled with layers of sounds and emotions and I did my best capturing that feel in its video. I think the video has a strong concept behind it, showing a certain type of a fantasy happening, in an abstract and emotional way.”
The band commented: “‘Transit’ was written during the beginning of a new relationship. It expresses the emotional highs associated with falling in love, and makes a promise of commitment, regardless of whatever change or loss may come. Youssef played well off of these themes. As the lyrics speak of undying love and unwavering commitment, the video expresses the heartache, tension, and feelings of loss that we all experience.”
Comprised of brothers Casey (vocals, synths/keyboards, bass) and Jesse Cooper (drums & vocals), the siblings call All Burn their “best material to date which focuses on a dreamier aesthetic than our earlier work.”
All Burn, the band’s Kscope debut, is also the first self-produced Receiver album, with mixing handled by Danny Kalb (Beck, Ben Harper, Foster the People, Karen O) and mastering by Brian Lucey (Sigur Ros, The Shins, The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys).
“a majestic, expansive record filled with electronic flourishes, soaring vocals and melody to spare.” – AllMusic.com
“Every element of [‘All Burn’] is pristine, poignant, and poised, basking its forlorn melodies and harmonies in glistening regality.” – Big Takeover
“On their third album, ‘All Burn,’ brothers Casey and Jesse Cooper set complex, bright melodies and heartbeat-pulsing rhythms adrift.” – NPR.org
Formed in 2005 at The Ohio State University, The Receiver released its debut album, Decades, in 2006 on the New York-based, Stunning Models On Display Records. The duo returned with the sophomore offering, Length of Arms, in 2009 through Vital Music Records.
The Receiver is an incredibly active touring partnership, having played throughout North America and sharing the stage with notable acts such as St. Vincent, Midlake, The Album Leaf, Mono, Dawes, Royal Canoe, Maserati, Telefon Tel Aviv, Mr. Gnome and Operators to name a few, as well as performing at 2014’s CMJ Festival in New York.
The brothers have been featured on MTV2’s “Bands on The Rise,” and have songs included on the FX Network’s series, Dirt, as well as a number of independent shorts and films.
Stay tuned for more information on The Receiver and All Burn, out now on Kscope.
Dave Kerzner is letting prog fans stream his album, New World, free. If you haven’t heard it yet, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. It is one of the best albums of the last few years, and while you’re enjoying it, read Progarchy’s Alan Dawes’ excellent review.
In a recent post, I (belatedly) sang the praises of Glass Hammer’s Ode To Echo. As good as that album is, their latest release, The Breaking Of The World, is even better. Every detail demonstrates this group’s striving for excellence: the beautiful cover reminiscent of Albrecht Durer, the individual photos of the band members, the layout of the lyrics in the booklet, the lyrics themselves, the MUSIC. Glass Hammer exemplifies the definition of arêtemore than any artist currently active.
From the opening blast of Mythopoeia to the closing bars of Nothing, Everything, there is not a wasted note. The creative fire that gave birth to Ode To Echo has not abated one bit, and one can only hope they continue on this extraordinary run of inspiration.
Highlights? There are too many to list them all, but Mythopoeia is the track I keep returning to. A tribute to J. R. R. Tolkien, it is a paean to divine inspiration that matches its ambition. Veering from some of the hardest rock they’ve ever done to marvelous acoustic sections, this is eight and half minutes of sheer bliss. And how about a shout-out to guitarist Kamran Alan Shikoh! He is masterful on both electric and acoustic instruments.
I also have to mention the incredible work of Steve Babb. Very few bassists can take the lead in a melody while continuing to provide the rock-solid foundation necessary to propel a band. Babb makes it look easy; he is one of the most inventive bassists I’ve ever heard.
Finally, we must recognize the enormous contribution Carl Groves makes. In my opinion, he is the best male vocalist Glass Hammer has ever had, and his lyrics are delightful. Bandwagon skewers the hypocrisy of our age of social media:
“We care!” Isn’t that what you said from your ocean-front home?
I know it’s got to make you feel so much nicer.
Groves’ clever use of paradox in Nothing, Everything would make G. K. Chesterton proud. In a lament on the brevity of human life and humanity’s short memory, he sings,
We are nothing
A small imperfection on the flip side of a grain of salt
We are everything
The light that unthreads all our webs of doubt
It’s been said that Glass Hammer is heavily influenced by the sound of classic Yes. They are light-years beyond being influenced by any group’s sound. They have forged their own unique sound, and it is brimming with unquenchable confidence. May they never abandon their quest for perfection.
Robin Armstrong’s (Cosmograf) latest post on his website is a must-read defense of Steven Wilson’s hard-won popularity. Here’s an excerpt:
Well here’s the rub, you, like me and thousands upon thousands of people making music in the world today are entitled to precisely nothing. We have no right to be heard, no right to earn a living from our art and certainly no right to success. For the mere mortals, these things have to be earned, slogged at, and when some little successes arrive, appreciate them.
The truth is, that making a record now has never been easier. Making a record that people will listen to got harder, much harder. When someone makes a record that people are falling over themselves to listen to, in a genre of music that’s similar to yours, be bloody inspired, I know I am…
As Brad Birzer mentioned in another post, Eric Gillette is the lead guitarist for The Neal Morse Band, having contributed to their album The Grand Experiment and currently touring with them. Before he hooked up with Neal, Eric released a self-produced album, Afterthought, which certainly deserves to be recognized in its own right for the excellent slab of prog it is.
It begins with three very heavy guitar-based instrumentals, “Afterthought”, “Change”, and “You’re Full Of It”. Fans of Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson will eat these up, as they showcase Eric’s phenomenal guitar skills. Eric’s gift is his ever-present melodicism, regardless of how crunching the riffs are underneath.
The fourth track, “Lost” (featuring long-time Neal Morse collaborator Randy George on bass), is something very special. A 22 minute epic that begins with a fast Crimson-like guitar intro soon settles into a keyboard section reminiscent of classic Todd Rundgren while Eric sings, “Can you hear me? Is there anyone out there? I could use a helping hand…I will find my way; I won’t be afraid. I can feel you next to me.” After three blistering instrumentals, it is a startling and inspiring moment to hear his pure and strong vocals. “Lost” is a tremendous track, with not a note wasted during its entire length.
“Rising” is another instrumental, this time featuring fellow NMB member Bill Hubauer on keyboards. “Bring You Down” is another heavy track with excellent vocals. It brings to mind Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor at his best. Unlike NIN, though, Gillete’s lyrics are more positive: “You don’t have to face it alone/Don’t let it bring you down.”
“Out Of Control” is another guitar showcase that would give Jeff Beck a run for his money. As a matter of fact, if you miss those classic Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer jams, then “Stagger”, “Blue Sky” and “Miles Away” will satisfy. The latter song, in particular, is simply gorgeous, and I am sure it was no accident that the title suggests Miles Davis’ balladry.
The album closes on a gentle note with a piano-based acoustic tour de force, “Above The Sky”. Eric’s multitracked harmonies sing a song of hope and redemption: “Darkness turns to light/Now you can finally see what this all meant/ No more questions why/The answer’s right in front of you, so open your eyes/Above the sky”.
It is an extraordinary achievement for a young musician to produce a debut album of such high quality. It’s no surprise Neal Morse included him in his new band – Eric Gillette is the real deal, and we will be hearing a lot more from him in the years to come.
Progarchy 