English Electric Full Power News

On By bradbirzerIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
Aubrey and D'Virgilio, courtesy of the uber-great Willem Klopper.
Aubrey and D’Virgilio, courtesy of the uber-great Willem Klopper.

Posted at Facebook today:

English Electric Full Power will be released in the early autumn and brings together the two English Electric CD’s as a double album with four new tracks and with a 96 page booklet which tells the stories behind the songs and behind English Electric.

The four new tracks will also be released as a separate EP at a low-price to enable those who already own English Electric Parts One and Two to purchase the four new songs on CD without having to buy the double album. A free download of the Full Power booklet will be available for purchasers of the EP.

Both the double album and EP will also be available as downloads (with downloadable booklets.)

Alongside the CD releases, English Electric Part Two will be released on 180g heavyweight vinyl by Plane Groovy. The LP is a double album and includes all the songs from Part Two plus the four new tracks from English Electric Full Power.

Live News
Big Big Train is gearing up for some live performances. In 2014 the band is spending a week at Real World studios for a full dress rehearsal with the brass quartet and string players. The rehearsal will be filmed for DVD and Blu-Ray release.

Beer News
We know that many BBT listeners enjoy fine quality ales and the band has been working with Box Steam craft brewery to create the first Big Big Train beer which will be available in August.

Other News
Big Big Train has received two nominations (for ‘best album’ and for ‘breakthrough act’) in the Progressive Music Awards which will be held at Kew Gardens in September. If you wish to vote for BBT or for any of the other nominees you can find details of the awards here:
http://www.progrockmag.com/news/progressive-music-awards-2013-nominees-listed-in-full/

Nick is returning to England in September to do some more recording for the next Big Big Train studio album which will be released in 2015. Work on the 3 CD Station Masters retrospective is ongoing and we hope that Station Masters will be released in 2014.

Finally, a new tee-shirt to celebrate the release of the first BBT beer will also be available from The Merch Desk in August.

BBT on Facebook and Twitter
For the most up-to-date news and to communicate with the band and with other BBT listeners please find us on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain

and on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/bigbigtrain

Best wishes
Andy, Danny, Dave, David, Greg and Nick

Slaying Evil: Kingbathmat Overcomes the Monster

On By bradbirzerIn Uncategorized2 Comments

overcoming coverTomorrow (or, for those of you not in the western hemisphere, today), Kingbathmat releases its seventh album, OVERCOMING THE MONSTER.  Reviewing CDs has its privileges (many, actually), and one of the best is the early arrival of review copies.  I don’t want to sound like a gnostic in some mystery cult, but there is something really wonderful about getting to hear these CDs for the first time.

A little over a month ago, I received a copy of OVERCOMING THE MONSTER.  I’ve been playing it–along with four or five other cds–pretty much non-stop since it arrived.

As many of you know, I have no musical ability whatsoever.  Back in the days of huge stereo systems, I used to joke that I was really good only at hitting play and setting the EQ.  So, as always, take my comments as those from one who appreciates the music, but does so with no expertise.

The sum of it: I love this album.  Love it.  And this in the midst of amazing releases and rereleases: from Big Big Train, Nosound, The Tangent, Cosmograf, Glass Hammer, Sound of Contact, Shineback, etc.

What to Love?  The music.

What to love.  First, the music, of course.  Imagine mid-period Rush, but then prog it up–a lot.  Imagine Grace Under Pressure seriousness with Hemisphere song structures.

Or, imagine the Seattle grunge scene of the early 1990s having gone majorly prog.  A bit of Soundgarten, a bit of Screaming Trees, etc.  This is better.  Much better.

Throw in some Tool and maybe some My Bloody Valentine and maybe even a small measure of space rock (Alan Parsons at its most sublime).

If you could put all of this together, you’d start pointing toward the brilliance of Kingbathmat.  Last year’s album, TRUTH BUTTON, was really good; OVERCOMING THE MONSTER is exceptional.

What to Love?  The lyrics.

What else to love?  The lyrics.  Ok, admittedly, I’m not at all sure what to make of the lyrics if taken line by line.  I have a feeling there’s a lot of stuff going on in the lyrics, probably much of it psychological and deeply intellectual.

For the purposes of this review, I’ll just take them literally.  See the Monster–the gorgon, the Medusa?  She’s evil, and she needs to be destroyed.  It’s that simple.  That’s evil, and we’re good.  Nail it with all the strength imaginable.  Don’t flirt, don’t compromise, and don’t hold hands.  Kill it.  Now.

Remember your classical myth, though.  If you look at it, you turn to stone.  So, killing it is no easier for us than it was for Perseus.

Good luck, and may the gods be with you.

What to Love?  The band. 

Finally, what to love?  This band.  Here’s how they describe themselves:

KingBathmat are a powered up independent/psychedelic/progressive/alternative rock band, hailing from Hastings in England. Initially started by singer/songwriter John Bassett, KingBathmat have now independently released six albums to date “Son of a Nun” (2003), “Crowning Glory” (2004), “Fantastic Freak Show Carnival”(2005), “Blue Sea, Black Heart” (2008), “Gravity Field” (2009) and “Truth Button” (2012) . The 4 piece band comprises of John Bassett (guitar,vocals), David Georgiou (Keyboards), Rob Watts (bass) and Bernie Smirnoff (drums).

Sketch of Bassett by Anne-Catherine de Froidmont.
Sketch of Bassett by Anne-Catherine de Froidmont.

I’ve had a chance to correspond–just a very bit–with Bassett.  What a great, intelligent guy.  Even if Kingbathmat were mediocre, I’d be interested in following them simply because of how interesting Bassett is.  They’re far, far from mediocre, however.

Every time I listen to OVERCOMING THE MONSTER, I think: vocals really make this album.  Then, I think: the drums really make this album.  Then, I think, the guitars really make this album.  And, keyboards.  And, bass.  Then, about my sixth listen, I realize–now, it’s how perfectly well these instruments play individually while working together so well.

So, I give OVERCOMING THE MONSTER my highest recommendation.  It’s prog.  Not like Big Big Train, not like The Tangent, not like Nosound, not like Cosmograf.  No, it’s Kingbathmat.  Just look at the name of the band.  These guys do whatever they want.  And, I’m going to keep watching and listening.

One last quote for their webpage:

KingBathmat do not align themselves with convention, they have ditched the giblet hustlers and they endeavour to buck the trend and to not take themselves too seriously. For they do not look for, or court approval. KingBathmat are not beholding to a multi-national company, a debt, or a self proposed obligation. They do what they want.

KingBathmat Publicity Photo13For some bands, I’d think this was pure anti-establishment hype.  Look how cool Bono is, etc.  Nope, when it comes to avoiding conformity, these guys mean it.

Still, I don’t believe for a split second that they don’t take themselves seriously.  They take themselves and their art VERY seriously.

Yes, Howard Roark laughed.

Their official website.

Their first video from OVERCOMING THE MONSTER.

With the Coming of Friendship: Kevin McCormick’s First Album

On By bradbirzerIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
with the coming
Cover of 1993’s WITH THE COMING OF EVENING.

This month at Progarchy, in addition to writing and analyzing about many, many things, we’re having a bit of celebration of Kevin McCormick’s first album, With the Coming of Evening (1993).  It’s been 20 years since it first appeared, and, sadly, this masterpiece is still relatively forgotten.

This needs to change.

It’s nearly impossible to label in terms of styles.  McCormick, much influenced by every great composer, performer, and group from Andres Segovia and Viktor Villa-Lobos to Rush and Talk Talk, brings everything good to his music.

A nationally award-winning poet, published composer (for classical guitar as well as choir), and professional classical guitarist, he offers his very artful being and soul to his music.  Like many in the prog world, McCormick’s a perfectionist in everything he does.  But, it’s not completely fair to label this album “in the prog world,” though it comes as close to prog as any genre in the music world.

Had With the Coming of Evening been released now, in the days of internet sovereignty, many would label this album as post-rock or post-prog, akin to the Icelandic shoe-gazing of Sigur Ros.  No doubt, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock hover lovingly over this work, though McCormick is always his own man.

Very much so.

Nor, would he have it any other way.  As humble as he is talented, McCormick would gladly take blame for any fault, and, being Kevin, he would rarely take credit for anything brilliant he produces.  He would say he discovered what is already, simply having been the first to notice it or remember it.

Still it’s his name on the work, and he recognizes that this comes with a certain amount of responsibility and duty–to all who came before him and all who will come after him.  McCormick would even want his inspirations to be proud of him.  After all, what would Mark Hollis think of just some ghastly American cover band?

No, McCormick is his own man.

My bias

I should be upfront about my bias.  I’ve known Kevin since the fall of 1986, when we were each freshmen in college.  Though we’d talked off an on our first month and a half of the semester, it was on a plane ride from Chicago to Denver over fall break that really allowed us to get to know each other.  After that, we were as thick as thieves.  Well, as thieving as two would-be Catholic boys could be.

As with all meaningful college friendships, we talked late into the night, read and critiqued each other’s work, had deep (well, at the time, they seemed deep) philosophical debates, talked (of course) about girls, discussed which albums were the best ever, mocked the cafeteria food, and so on.

The following year, we traveled throughout southern Europe and also the UK together.  I spent the year in Innsbruck, Austria, and Kevin lived in Rome.

When traveling together for three weeks in England, we paid homage to all of the great recording studios, tried to find Mark Hollis at EMI headquarters, and even (oh so very obnoxiously) thought we’d tracked down Sting’s house.  Kevin rang the doorbell, but, thank the Good Lord, neither Mr. Sting nor Mrs. Sting answered.

We also, of course, visited Stonehenge.

If we’d had Facebook, then, we probably would’ve visited Greg Spawton, David Longdon, Matt Stevens (was he in kindergarten, then?), Robin Armstrong, Matt Cohen, and Giancarlo Erra, too.  “Who are these crazy Americans knocking on our door!  Go visit someone like Mr. and Mrs. Sting!”

Our loss.

IMG_0018
Our dorm room in Zahm Hall, U. of Notre Dame, Fall 1988. Kevin and his future wife, Lisa. Notice the stereo system and cassettes behind Kevin and Lisa.

Our third year, back at our Catholic college in northern Indiana, we shared a dorm room.  That year, I also hosted a Friday night prog show (called, can you believe it, “Nocturnal Omissions”–I really thought I was clever) on our college radio station, and Kevin would often co-host with me.  He founded a band, St. Paul and the Martyrs, which became the most popular band on campus, covering everything from XTC to Yes to Blancmange.

Our final year, I helped produce an extremely elaborate charity concert, and St. Paul and the Martyrs performed–the entire Dark Side of the Moon, complete with a avant garde film and elaborate stage lighting, followed by a performance (less elaborate in terms of production) of side one of Spirit of Eden.

IMG_0005
Kevin and Lisa’s wedding. Notice Kevin’s ponytail. This automatically makes him a cool artist.

When Kevin returned from several years in Japan and (truly) traveling the world, we spent a few years together in graduate school, Kevin in music, me in history.

Kevin is godfather to my oldest son, and I to his second daughter.  We remain as close as we ever were.

What about the music?

Come on, Birzer.  This is a music site, not a “here’s what I did in college” site.  True, true.  But, so much of my own thoughts regarding Kevin’s music are related to our friendship.  Every time I put on one of his albums, it’s as though I’ve just had one of the best conversations in my life.

So, I’ve asked others at Progarchy to review With the Coming of Evening.  You know my bias–so, now I’ll state what I believe as objectively as possible.

Kevin is brilliant, as a lyricist, as a composer, and as a person.  His first album, With the Coming of Evening, the first of a trilogy, is a stunning piece of work, and it deserves to be regarded not just as a post-rock classic, but as a rock and prog classic.

It’s not easy listening.  Kevin takes so many chances and weaves his music in so many unusual ways, that one has to immerse oneself in it.  It’s gorgeous.  It’s like reading a T.S. Eliot poem.  No one who wants to understand an Eliot poem reads it as a spectator.  You either become a part of it, or you misunderstand it.

If there’s a misstep on the album, it comes with the 9th track, “Looks Like Rain.”  Its blues structure and blue lamentations stick out a little too much.  A remix of this album would almost certainly leave this song out.  It’s still an excellent song.  It just doesn’t fit tightly with the rest of the album–which really must be taken as an organic and mesmeric whole.

Kevin took six years to write and record the follow-up album, Squall (1999), and he’s ready to record the conclusion to the trilogy.

More on Kevin to come. . . .

IMG_1096.JPG - Version 2_face0
Kevin and I revisit Notre Dame, 20 years later. Kevin has cut the ponytail, but, otherwise, he’s not aged.

But, for now, treat yourself to his backcatalogue.  I give it my highest recommendation.  And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that he one of the nicest guys in all of creation. . . .

*****

To order With the Coming of Evening, go here.

To read more about McCormick, go here.

To read what allmusic.com thinks of McCormick, go here.

Curved Air legend and virtuoso violinist Darryl Way releases first solo album In 20 years

On By carleolsonIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

London, UK – Much to the anticipation of music fans and critics worldwide, Curved Air founding member and virtuoso violinist Darryl Way is releasing his first solo album in 20 years! Now available on Explore Multimedia, via Cherry Red Records, ‘Ultra Violins’ features Darryl’s own interpretations of several well-known classical pieces, as well as a re-recording of Curved Air’s classic hit “Vivaldi”. Says Darryl, “The motivating force behind creating ‘Ultra Violins’ was to introduce some new material for solo violin that came from the vocal repertoire and the darrylway_ultraviolinsworld of orchestral music, rather than music specifically for solo violin.”

Originally formed in 1969, Curved Air was a groundbreaking progressive art-rock band renowned for their showmanship. Each member pushed the boundaries of possibilities for rock music performance. Darryl Way with his flamboyant virtuoso exploration of electric violin, Francis Monkman with his brilliant innovative sound manipulation using the VCS3 synthesiser, keyboards and fiery intricate guitar playing. and Florian’s expressive approach to rock drumming. Vocalist Sonja Kristina won the hearts of a generation of music lovers and was voted top British Female Vocalist of the 70’s whilst the three top twenty albums that this lineup released are regarded as classics. Darryl wrote the music for the Top 10 hit (reached #4) “Back Street Luv” and was a major contributor to the 3 albums that made the Top 20. With Curved Air he toured extensively, performing in practically every major city in both America and Europe. Before becoming headliners themselves, Curved Air toured with Black Sabbath in the UK and in the USA they toured with Deep Purple, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. They also appeared on the same bill as The Doors, Steppenwolf, B.B. King, Johnny Winter and Dr. John.

After Curved Air Darryl went on to release several critically acclaimed solo albums in both ‘rock’ and ‘classical’ genres. Among these, was his ‘Concerto For Electric Violin’, which was premiered on the South Bank Show with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and himself as soloist. Darryl’s collaborations include working with Sir Tim Rice, Sting and Gary Brooker (Procol Harum). In classical genres he has orchestrated Stewart Copeland’s ballet “King Lear” for the San Francisco Ballet, and Stewart’s opera “The Holy Blood and Crescent Moon”, premiered by the Cleveland Opera in the US. In 1996, Darryl’s own opera “The Master and Margarita” was premiered at The Place Theatre in London. Alongside these projects, Darryl has also worked as a film and television composer.

As a violinist, Darryl has lead the London-based Electric Symphony Orchestra for concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, and lead and recorded with The Elektra Ensemble, performing classical and contemporary music. As a session musician, he has recorded with Jethro Tull, Sky and Marrianne Faithful, as well as several film scores with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent work includes being musical director for the soprano Emma Shapplin, for a series of televised UNHCR concerts at the Parthenon in Athens. Recent compositions include a Symphonic Choral work entitled “Siren’s Rock”, premiered at the Plymouth Guildhall with the South West Sinfonietta, Opera South West, Naomi Harvey (WNO) soprano and Stephen Crook, tenor. Recent projects include writing and producing two albums and DVDs (in 5.1 Surround Sound) for a classical crossover project entitled Verisma. For this project he directed and produced four videos, which have been broadcast on Classic FM TV.

During his illustrious career, Darryl has created and been a major part of over 20 commercially released albums. And now, after 20 years, his highly anticipated new solo album ‘Ultra Violins’ is now available! Along with his stunning adaptations of orchestral pieces such as “Scheherezade” and “Farandole”, is a new composition by Darryl titled “Tarrantelle”; a piece inspired by a performance by Maxim Vengerov, the Russian violinist. Also included on this album is Darryl’s video for “Farondole”. He explains, “Ever since 2002 I’ve been making videos for various projects, including my classical crossover band Verisma, which features the magnificent tenor voice of my co-collaborator, Stephen Crook. We were lucky enough to get our first video broadcast on Classic FM TV, and from then on we had a further four videos broadcast on this TV channel. So to promote the digital release of ‘Ultra Violins’ I decided to make a video of it.”

Of the the new version of ‘Vivaldi’ included on the album, says Darryl, “It is a piece in two halves, as was the original Curved Air show stopper. The first half has been arranged in typically baroque style, or in the style of Vivaldi himself if you like. After a short transition passage the piece arrives in the 20th century, as the introductory melody is now played on electric violin, emulating an electric guitar, with bends and slides. This leads into the main section of the piece which is now played on electric violin put through a distortion unit, with heavy guitar chords as an accompaniment, along with counter melodies also played on electric violin. This section sets out to capture the excitement of the original, which always left the audience wanting for more at the end of a Curved Air set.”

To purchase Darryl Way ‘Ultra Violins’ CD:
http://www.explore-multimedia.co.uk/ExM004.htm

For more information: http://www.darrylway.com/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (USA), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Sounds of Summer: Bruce Soord-Wisdom of Crowds, Shineback, and Sounds of Contact

On By carleolsonIn Uncategorized4 Comments

by Frank Urbaniak

In an outstanding year of prog, with the heat of summer comes even more interesting soundtracks for 2013. These three releases are similar in their focus on audio excellence, none of the three are 100% prog, yet all three provide a good listening experience, but they do vary in terms of their ability to generate the desire for ‘go to’ repeat listens.threealbums_july172013

I originally didn’t want to review Wisdom of Crowds because while it is sonically rich, the music left me flat. After Carl Olson of Progarchy suggested differently I gave it a few more spins and have a more favorable opinion of the music, but still am a bit surprised by the glowing online reviews. As with more recent Pineapple Thief music, I find the song construction a bit predictable, with 2 verses, chorus, bridge/instrumental section and final verse/chorus. The music just doesn’t engage me enough to want to play it again/often. For instance the title track, “Wisdom of Crowds,” repeats the chorus for far too long, so that by the time I hear the song again I am ready to skip the track. The next track, “Radio Star”, has a weak melody so I am ready to move quickly to the best song on the CD, “Frozen North”, with lovely guitars and a haunting melody, which starts softly and then builds to an infectious finale. This track and the following track, “The Light,” reveal the great qualities of Jonas Renkse’s voice but overall, I find the songs just a bit long and I wish Soord had stretched a bit more compositionally as well as sonically. An enjoyable CD but I don’t see it in the top releases of the year.

(For an interesting transition, play Wisdom of Crowd’s “Flows Through You,” followed by Shinebacks’s “Here Come the Envoys.”)

Shineback’s Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed is the top audio experience of the three releases and is worth repeat listens on headphones. Rise Up Forgotten is quite an eclectic mix of prog, dance, hip hop and pop (think ABC) which all comes together nicely, but is significantly enhanced by the quality of the recording. The dynamics are breathtaking. While there are similarities to Tinyfish’s Big Red Spark, this is much less ‘prog’ and this ‘story’ offers an opportunity for Simon to expand his musical palette. The proggier moments remind me of Frost* (go figure). There are only 6 songs three minutes or longer, connected by musical ‘blogs’. If you have the time to listen to the entire CD it works well, but the blogs are so short they sometimes seem to interrupt the flow of the songs, which is already challenging due to the diversity of the songs. I wish there were a few longer compositions as these short blogs aren’t easy to get into if you have a 20 minute drive or a short listening window. I also wish that they had used the female voice for more than the opening and closing songs, as Simon’s voice sometimes sounds thin on the choruses. Unfortunately I think that in a few months I will only return to this CD to revisit just the longer tracks. But hey, these are minor points, this is good stuff and worth an investment of your listening time and money. Hats off to Bad Ear Music and to Simon for taking such a gamble at such a precarious time in the industry.

Sounds of Contact’s Dimensionaut is the hardest release to review objectively as with this band you have to deal with Simon Collin’s legacy situation. Father Phil generates awe and respect as a drummer and singer in some camps, and quite caustic and disdainful online comments from others as a solo artist and singer/composer for his more commercial solo work and contributions to one of the genre’s most beloved bands in their later years. So lets get this out of the way: sometimes Simon sounds like his father around the time of Face Value but there are also hints of Sean Filkins, Jon Anderson and others in his singing. The only time I find this objectionable is on a track like “Dimensionaut” where his vocals are mixed with an echo that generates the ‘clip’ at the beginning of each phrase that was so oppressive in later Genesis recordings like “Throwing It All Away” and “Domino.” It isn’t needed, his voice is fine without it. And did I mention that the drumming genetics have been passed down nicely?

The other challenge in reviewing this is that while it is mostly progressive, there are some ‘modern rock’ songs bordering on AOR such as “Not Coming Down,” “Only Breathing Out” or “Closer to You,” clearly geared for more commercial appeal. On each of those songs the lyrics are nice but a bit ‘poppy’. In fact the lyrics on the entire CD alternate between ‘cosmic’ and pop but they work with the music. So you can either let the more commercial tracks put you off or you can just let the CD play end to end to appreciate a fine release, and just give these guys the respect I think they deserve out of the gate (as most seem to be doing). The recording is excellent and the band is solid (although the drums may be mixed slightly up front for some tastes).

Sound of Contact’s overall dedication to ‘bring the prog back’ is admirable, touring after only one album all across the US and Europe, joined by some other excellent bands in different cities on the tour. Talk about taking a risk! I give Sounds of Contact an A for effort and commitment to progressive music. If bands like this aren’t given a fair listen and support on their tours, then the genre’s future is at risk. (As I write this I see they are announced as the first signed band for Rosfest 2014!)

In fact all three of these releases deserve support and attention as these artists spread their wings musically and sonically, providing more reasons to celebrate 2013 as a great year for music.

[Frank Urbaniak is the co-owner of a successful retail technology consulting practice, living in the hinterlands of NJ.  He has played drums since the age of 8 and followed progressive music since the age of 18 when he first heard The Yes Album in college.  He is the father of two daughters who think his music is weird,  and his wife agrees with them.]

Some “favorite music lists”…from 2004

On By carleolsonIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I’m in the process of creating a new personal website and in the course of sifting through old files from my previous site, dating back to the middle of 2004, I came across some “favorite music lists.” It’s interesting to recall what was in rotation for me back then and to see how my tastes have changed in several cases. For instance, I rarely listen to Pink Floyd anymore, and I haven’t listened to Transatlantic for quite some time, even though it an excellent band. While this will not be nearly as interesting to you as it is to me, I thought I’d share some of the lists.

Favorite Hard Rock and Progressive Rock CDs

faith hope love, King’s X
The Bends, Radiohead
Fallen, Evanescence
Images and Words, Dream Theater
JJ72, JJ72
V, Spock’s Beard
Three Sides to Every Story, Extreme
The Edges of Twilight, The Tea Party
Bridge Across Forever, Transatlantic
My Favorite Headache, Geddy Lee
Momentary Lapse of Reason, Pink Floyd
Empire, Queensrÿche

Continue reading “Some “favorite music lists”…from 2004″ →

The Musical Odyssey: A Long and Winding Road

On By Time LordIn ProgarchyLeave a comment

Jane Monheit

Robert Sibley reflects on what the power of music has to do with nostalgia:

The word comes from the ancient Greek words “nostos,” referring to “homecoming,” and “algia,” meaning “grief or pain or suffering.” Hence, nostalgia reflects the desire “to escape pain by returning home,” or, as some etymological dictionaries have it, “to return home safely.”

What this suggests is that nostalgia can be a form of psychological therapy, a break from the madhouse vagaries of contemporary life — you know, terrorism, killer weather, crashing airplanes, exploding towns, rampaging gunmen. To listen to fondly remembered pop songs, whether on the car stereo heading to work or at a concert, nostalgia provides such a respite. …

One of the major narrative inputs for my generation was the Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were effectively members of what psychologists refer to as our “fictive kin.” We didn’t know them personally like we did family and friends, but their music — from ebullient adolescent love songs such as She Loves You and the drug-mediated experiments of A Day in the Life to the symphonic farewells of Let it Be and The Long and Winding Road (the Beatles split as a group in 1970) — made them an intimate presence in our lives. The Beatles, in short, provided the musical accompaniment for many of the most meaningful moments of our lives.

I still remember doing my homework at the kitchen table in our house in north Red Deer when I first heard that brief trill of drums that opens She Loves You, my head snapping up to look at the countertop radio as if to ask “what’s this?” An insignificant moment in a life, to be sure, but somehow embedded with epiphanic clarity in my memory. Of course, I’ll never forget working up the courage to ask Maxine Edwards for a dance at the local community hall as Lennon belted out Can’t Buy Me Love. And when I hear the lyric “Out of college, money spent/ See no future, pay no rent/ All the money’s gone, nowhere to go/ … oh that magic feeling” from 1969’s Abbey Road album, I’m once again on the veranda of a dingy seaside café in western Morocco, hypnotized by the endless wash of the Atlantic Ocean as I celebrate my 24th birthday. Sun, sand, sea and song; it was pure magic.

Is this “homesickness,” an inability to cope with the world? I think not. The Beatles once sang, “Once there was a way to get back homeward/ Once there was a way to get back home.” The way, I suggest, is in the song itself. Listening to the old songs is like visiting your hometown after a long absence. You know you’re not staying, but there’s a feeling of rejuvenation in visiting times and places past.

And there’s something truly rejuvenating about cover versions of songs, especially when they defy jaded expectations and are done well.

For example, Jane Monheit has a very cool, head-turning jazz cover of “Golden Slumbers / Long and Winding Road” on her new album, The Heart of the Matter.

Jane seems to have a gift for doing terrific covers. Explore her discography and have fun discovering all her clever musical remakes and reconfigurations.

In particular, be sure to check out her stunning versions of Eric Kaz and Libby Titus’s “Love Has No Pride” (on In the Sun) and of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” (on Come Dream with Me).

But, getting back to the Beatles, let me end by recommending a personal favorite — Laura Crema’s soaring cover of “Blackbird.”

20 Looks at The Lamb, 6: Danse Not-So-Macabre

On By Pete BlumIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Considering castration, a certain strange displacement occurred.  It didn’t really strike me until after writing the fifth look, but it was indeed a displacement, and as I think about it since, it seems stranger and stranger.  Death is what is displaced, and the reason why its displacement is so strange is because it is normally simultaneously final and transitional.

The Death card in a Tarot deck is often understood as ending, loss, or conclusion, but also often as transition or change.

With shaving, biting and cutting given the symbolic pride of place, death — so often the BIG finality, or the BIG transition — turns out to be not that big a deal.  Its caricature in The Lamb is in “The Supernatural Anaesthetist,” with its disarmingly brief and casual lyric:

Here comes the supernatural anaesthetist.
If he wants you to snuff it,
All he has to do is puff it

— he’s such a fine dancer.

Here is a figure of death unlike the skeletal Death of Tarot, or the darkly robed Grim Reaper.  This guy sounds like someone you might like to get to know, or perhaps someone who would like to get to know you.  Think of Joe Black (Brad Pitt).  Or think of the bubbly and alluring Death of the Endless, from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.  This may be the better association, as “Anyway” voices the expectation that “she” is supposed to be riding a pale horse.  The anaesthetist merely “puffs,” presumably delivering a gaseous sort of sleep-inducing substance.  And dancing?  Why would he be a fine dancer?  Perhaps because (as in The Sandman) the delivery, though dark, is welcome and pleasant.

Is it even clear whose death has this unassuming harbinger?  Of course, the most natural reading is that it’s Rael’s death.  But the real death that soon follows is that of the Lamia.  I’m reminded of the Tarot reading at the end of The Gunslinger, the first volume of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, when the man in black draws that ominous card and speaks to Roland:

Death, but not for you, gunslinger.

And at the end of the series, this pronouncement is repeated, with amplification:

Never for you. You darkle. You tinct. May I be brutally frank? You go on.

It is as if Death, normally THE big deal, becomes no big deal.  Rael “writes Death off as an illusion.”  Yet death does come for another, and in both The Dark Tower and The Lamb, the death of the other is an immense burden on the heart of the hero (Roland/Rael).  I’m not sure how much help this is, however.  The doors come before in The Lamb, and the doors come after in The Dark Tower.  Well, maybe so.  But in each case there are doors.

This may be no more than the obverse of the previous look.  I’ve urged you to listen to the ways in which the (in)scisions mark the liminal sites, the thresholds.  The cutting is so much more significant, more to be feared than death.  Death dances, and nonchalantly puffs.

But maybe we should also remember that, as Emily Dickenson pointed out, “The distance that the dead have gone / Does not at first appear…”

The only thing that seems clear to me here is that, if you try to see death as a major theme in The Lamb, it doesn’t quite work.  I’m tempted to say that you’d be dead wrong.  But that might be too strong.

Another poet (Eliot) put in the mouth of his magus: “I should be glad of another death.”

<—- Previous Look     Prologue     Next Look —->

BillyNews: Jon Anderson

On By bradbirzerIn Uncategorized2 Comments

I continued to be mightily impressed with the skills of Billy James.  Just got this from him about 15 minutes ago.  Thanks, Billy–ed.

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Legendary Singer/Songwriter Jon Anderson To Perform In The UK, Finland And Sweden, 
And To Be Honored In Las Vegas – August 2013
Asheville, NC – Legendary vocalist Jon Anderson, YES’s singer/songwriter for 35 years along with his successful work with Vangelis, Kitaro, and Milton Nascimento, will be performing special engagements in the UK, Finland and Sweden in August 2013. The shows promise to deliver an exciting mixture of material from Jon Anderson’s prolific solo career, collaborations with Vangelis and classic YES songs, along with new compositions, highlighted by humorous and enlightening stories told by Jon.
Says Jon, “Performing the classic YES songs I wrote for the band, and Vangelis work is always fun and rewarding… I’ll be doing some New song ideas, plus a classic Beatles song, plus a couple of surprises. I just have the best time singing on stage…Hope you find time to come and see the show!”
Jon Anderson Tour Dates:
August 04, 2013 – Royal Exchange Theatre – Manchester, UK – http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/event.aspx?id=735
August 10, 2013 – Under The Bridge – London, UK – http://underthebridge.co.uk/events/jon-anderson/
August 12, 2013 – Savoy-teatteri – Helsinki, Finland – http://www.savoyteatteri.fi/EnrolmentClient/info.aspx?Key=022C5CA068DFF87F6D8293650937637B
August 15, 2013 – Taubescenen – Gothenburg, Sweden – http://liseberg.se/hem/Scen–show/Taubescenen/Jazz-pa-Liseberg/
In other news, Jon will be presented with the ‘Voice Of Progressive Music’ special award at the 4th Annual Vegas Rocks! Magazine Music Awards at the Joint inside the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Sunday, August 25th. For more information: www.vegasrocks.com. Jon has made some recent guest appearances on several new CD releases: Acoustic guitarist Jeff Pevar’s debut album ‘From The Core’; French keyboardist/composer Jean Philippe Rykiel’s new CD ‘Inner Spaces’; and guitarist Dennis Haklar’s debut CD release ‘Lizard Tale’. Says Jon, “With the internet my musical world has evolved to an amazing degree, one day I’m singing with a Brazilian dude, the next day with peeps in Liverpool, the next creating a Symphonic work with a mate in India…then singing with Steve Layton ‘down under’ – it’s an endless musical world!” Jon is currently recording new material, including the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 21-minute opus “OPEN” from 2011 titled “EVER”.
 
For more information: www.jonanderson.com, 
 
 
 
Jon Anderson ‘Survival & Other Stories’ available through Gonzo MultiMedia:
 
Press Inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
Interview requests please contact Billy James at Glass Onyon PR

Happy Birthday, America

On By bradbirzerIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Every summer growing up, we walked down to the Kansas State Fairgrounds on the Fourth of July.  As the fireworks started, these songs always played.  Soundtracks of my childhood–Brad