Catching Up: Short Takes On New Music I Missed

With April now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take another look at new music that escaped my attention when putting together my weekly posts last month. At the rate new music keeps coming out, I’m under no illusion these additional picks only represent the tip of the iceberg of good stuff I missed but, hey, better some encore and none!

No Man’s Valley/Orange Juice

I’d like to kick things off with No Man’s Valley who based on their Bandcamp page are a psychedelic post punk group from The Netherlands. The five-piece of Jasper Hesselink (vocals), Christian Keijsers (guitar), Ruud van de Munckhof (keyboards), Rob Perree (bass) and Dinand Claessens (drums) calls out The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Gun Club and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds as influences. The group’s latest studio album Chrononaut Cocktailbar/Flight of the Sloths, apparently their third, dropped on April 19 and definitely is a psych rock affair. Here’s Orange Juice, a cool song that grabbed me right away, especially the vocals that sound like a psychedelic Eric Burdon.

Owen Stewart/Nobody Needs to Know

Owen Stewart is a Philadelphia-based artist whose music his Spotify profile characterizes as “groovy, gravelly, soulful and enormous.” It also notes Stewart “was born into rock at a young age,” adding his father Tommy Stewart was the drummer and lead vocalist of a late ’70s band called Cats who apparently opened for Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult and others. On April 19, Owen Stewart released a great single, which the below YouTube clip imdicates is the first from his debut album Done and Dusted. Unfortunately, this seems to be all publicly available information on Stewart. Perhaps he prefers it that way. His new song is titled Nobody Needs to Know. You can’t make this stuff up!

Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge/Tell Me Why U Do That

Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge are fronted by Nashville, Tenn.-based 17-year-old guitarist Grace Bowers. A recent feature in Guitar World reveals Bowers started playing guitar as a 9-year-old after she had seen Guns N’ Roses’ Slash on YouTube, playing Welcome to the Jungle. She since discovered the blues and now also listens to lots of soul and funk, calling out Mountain, Buddy Miles, Shuggie Otis and Sly & The Family Stone. Apparently, her talent hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Bowers has been name-checked by the likes of Devon Allman, Margo Price, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Susan Tedeschi. Here’s the smoking hot Tell Me Why U Do That, the first single from her yet-to-be-named debut EP, scheduled for sometime this summer. Check this out – damn!

Grumpster/Waste

Grumpster are a pop punk band from Oakland, Calif. According to their profile on the website of their label Noise Records, the group’s origins date back a few years when Donnie Walsh (bass, vocals) met Lalo Gonzalez Deetz (guitar). They subsequently added Noel Agtane (drums). Following the release of their second album Fever Dreams in June 2022, Alex Hernandez (guitar) joined, completing their current line-up. Waste is the neat closer of Grumpster’s third and new self-titled album, which has been out since April 26. It’s evident Walsh had Green Day’s Dookie on heavy rotation while growing up.

GospelbeacH/Nothin’ But a Fool

GospelbeacH are a band from Los Angeles, who were formed in 2014 around vocalist and guitarist Brent Rademakar. He first had gained prominence in the ’90s and 2000s as a member of the groups Beachwood Sparks, Further and The Tyde. GospelbeacH’s record label Curation Records notes their sound harks back to several eras of California music, from folk-rock and sunshine pop to country-rock and the Paisley Underground. Off their fifth and latest album Wiggle Your Your Fingers, which dropped on April 26, here’s the opener Nothin’ But a Fool. I dig the song’s relaxed vibe, which to me has summer and California written all over it.

Deep Purple/Portable Door

I trust Deep Purple need no introduction. To say I’m excited to write about new music by my all-time favorite hard rock band would be an understatement. On April 30, they dropped Portable Door, the lead single of their upcoming album =1, slated for Jul 19. Based on Wikipedia, it should be their 23rd. Having had their March 1972 Machine Head on heavy rotation during my early teenage years, I immediately noticed the song’s guitar riff has a tiny similarity to Pictures of Home. While expecting another Machine Head would be unrealistic, Deep Purple still unmistakably sound like the group I came love, with their dual attack of electric guitar and that mighty Hammond. Co-founder Ian Paice (drums) and longtime members Ian Gillan (lead vocals), Roger Glover (bass) and Don Airey (keyboards) remain part of their current lineup. Simon McBride (guitar) replaced Steve Morse who departed in July 2022 to care for his ill wife. Earlier in April, Deep Purple announced a North American summer tour with Yes.

Sources: Wikipedia; No Man’s Valley Bandcamp page; Grace Bowers website; Guitar World; Noise Records website; Curation Records website; Deep Purple website

The Wizards of Vision and Sound

It’s hard to believe some five weeks have passed since the last installment of my monthly recurring feature about music producers and sound engineers. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at Daniel Lanois, a name I first encountered in connection with my favorite U2 album The Joshua Tree, which he co-produced with Brian Eno. In addition to who Rolling Stone called the “most important record producer to emerge in the Eighties,” Lanois is also an accomplished musician with a sizable catalog of solo and collaboration albums. Given this feature’s topic, I’m only focusing on his production work, which leaves more than enough to cover!

Daniel Lanois (born Daniel Roland Lanois on September 19, 1951) grew up in Hull, Quebec, which his bio describes as a Canadian town “best known for gambling and drinking”. While his family was poor, it provided a foundation that seemingly was a destination for music. His father played the fiddle, his mother sang, and his parents, uncles, aunts and other family members regularly gathered to play music together. As a child, Lanois listened to Motown, R&B, rock & roll and psychedelic music, and by the time he was in high school, he already knew music would be his career.

At age 17, before he even finished school, he and his older brother Bob Lanois set up a studio in the basement of their mother’s home. That was in Ancaster, Ontario, to where she had relocated with the boys after the separation from her husband. Among the first local artists the brothers produced were rock band Simply Saucer. Daniel’s bio notes he built a reputation “as someone who could work the studio but thought as a musician.”

During the ’70s Lanois developed his technical skills as a producer. In 1976, he co-founded Grant Avenue Studio, together with his brother and Bob Doidge, who eventually became the sole owner in 1985 before selling it to two partners in early 2023. Toward the end of the ’70s, Lanois came to the attention of Brian Eno who recruited him to assist on Eno’s ambient series of albums. Their professional relationship led to Eno’s invitation to co-produce The Unforgettable Fire, the first of five U2 albums on which they worked together.

Daniel Lanois (center) with Bono (left) and Brian Eno at Slane Castle in Ireland in 1984 during the recording sessions for The Unforgettable Fire

Lanois’ early work with U2 led to production assignments with other top artists, such as Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and Neil Young. His production style, which has been characterized for its ‘big’ and ‘live’ drum sound, atmospheric guitars and ambient reverb, has served him well. To date, Lanois has won seven Grammy awards and received 15 nominations. In 2005, he was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. He also received a lifetime achievement award in June 2013 at the annual Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. Time for samples of Lanois’ production work.

I’d like to kick it off with an early production effort: an album by the aforementioned Simply Saucer, for which Lanois initially co-produced demo material with his brother in 1974. The music wasn’t released until 1989 under the title Cyborgs Revisited when it was combined with material from a 1975 live recording. Here’s Electro Rock from the ’74 demo. While it’s very different from what was to come, I find that raw punk sound with a psychedelic touch charming – reminds me a bit of early Pink Floyd.

Next I’d like to jump to February 1983 and Danseparc, the fourth studio album by Canadian new wave band Martha and the Muffins. They are best known for their 1980 international hit single Echo Beach. Danseparc was the second album Lanois co-produced for the group after 1981’s This Is the Ice Age. Here’s Danseparc (Everyday Day It’s Tomorrow).

Of course, I couldn’t skip a song off The Joshua Tree, U2’s fifth studio album from March 1987, and the second Lanois co-produced with Eno. The majestic With or Without You became the first single. “The making of that started with a beatbox – an available Yamaha beatbox that we had,” Lanois told Songfacts during an April 2021 interview. “Then we came up with a chord sequence. Adam [Clayton] played a lovely bass part. And then we had a little secret weapon. It was called the “infinite sustain guitar,” invented by my good friend Michael Brook, a Canadian associate. Michael had invented this instrument where you didn’t have to use your right hand on the guitar. You just held a note with your left hand, and he had a little self-looping system built into the instrument, which caused it to go into this [sings guitar part].”

I think it’s fair to say Lanois’ magnificent co-productions of U2’s The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree changed his trajectory. In 1986, Robbie Robertson worked with Lanois to co-produce his self-titled solo debut album, which came out in October 1987. Somewhere Down the Crazy River has been one of my favorites for a long time. “Robbie Robertson was describing what it was like to hang out in Arkansas with Levon Helm in his old neighbourhood,” Lanois recalled. “He was telling me about the hot nights and fishing with dynamite, and was asking someone for directions for someplace somewhere down the crazy river.” Lanois went on, “I had presented him with this instrument that [Brian] Eno introduced me to called the Suzuki Omnichord, like an electric autoharp. He found a little chord sequence with it that was sweet and wonderful. As he was developing his chord sequence I recorded him and superimposed his storytelling, which I was secretly recording, on top. That was the birth of ‘Somewhere Down The Crazy River.’ It’s kind of like a guy with a deep voice telling you about steaming nights in Arkansas.”

In 1995, Emmylou Harris decided to move away from her traditional acoustic toward a more atmospheric sound – and to work with Daniel Lanois and sound engineer Mark Howard. The result was Wrecking Ball, her 18th studio album that came out in September 1995. Here’s the beautiful opener Where Will I Be, which has a noticeable U2 vibe.

Given Lanois’ extensive and impressive production credits, I could go on and on. But his post is already getting pretty long, so the last album I’d like to touch on is Time Out of Mind. Bob Dylan’s 30th studio album from September 1997 is recognized as an artistic comeback for Dylan. It also marked his first album of original material since 1990’s Under the Red Sky. Here’s the stunning Make You Feel My Love. This send chills down my spine!

I’m leaving you with a Spotify playlist that features the above songs and some additional tracks from albums produced or co-produced by Daniel Lanois.

Sources: Wikipedia; Daniel Lanois website; Songfacts; YouTube; Spotify

Going Dark For a Bit

Hoping we’ll reemerge from darkness, Christian’s Music Musings will be back on Wednesday. Traffic jams may present opportunities to check in every now and then, but in general I’m not planning to publish or comment on a regular basis until my return.

To all who may join the spectacle, Happy Eclipse!

Sources: YouTube

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and, to those celebrating, Happy Easter! Once again, I’d like to invite you to join me on another imaginary travel through time and space to visit some great music of the past and the present. Let’s all have some fun together!

Sonny Rollins Quartet/When Your Lover Has Gone

As has become customary, we’ll kick off our journey with some beautiful jazz by the Sonny Rollins Quartet. After tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins had worked with Miles Davis and been part of the trumpeter’s band, he asked the members of Davis’ “First Great Quintet” – John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (double bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums) – to back him on an album titled Tenor Madness and released in October 1956. Here’s When Your Lover Has Gone, a 1931 composition by Einar Aaron Swan. The tune became a jazz standard after it had been featured in Blonde Crazy, a picture released the same year, starring James Cagney.

The Damned/Stranger On the Town

Let’s pick up the speed and next head to October 1982, which saw the release of Strawberries, the fifth studio album by The Damned. AllMusic notes they were the first UK band to release a punk single (New Rose) in 1976, followed by the first UK punk album (Damned Damned Damned) the following year. Subsequently, they also began incorporating psychedelic and garage rock into their music. And other genres. Stranger On the Town, a track from Strawberries and another great tip from my dear longtime German music friend Gerd, has a cool soul vibe. The song is credited to band members Rat Scabies (drums, synthesizer), Captain Sensible (guitar, backing vocals, Paul Gray (bass) and Dave Vanian (lead vocals).

Southern Avenue/Be The Love You Want

Time to jump back to the present and pay a visit to one of my favorite contemporary bands: Southern Avenue. The group from Memphis, Tenn., which has been around since 2015, blends blues and soul with flavors of contemporary R&B. Southern Avenue are Israeli blues guitarist Ori Naftaly; lead vocalist Tierinii Jackson and her sisters Tikyra Jackson (drums, backing vocals) and Ava Jackson (backing vocals); bassist Evan Sarver; and keyboarder Jeremy Powell. Be The Love You Want, co-written by the group’s co-founders Naftaly and Tierinii Jackson, is the title track of their third and most recent studio album. Released in August 2021, I reviewed it here at the time.

The Doors/The End

This next stop takes us back to January 1967 and the eponymous debut album by The Doors. My proposition is the epic closer The End. The bone-chilling lyrics, which as usual were written by lead vocalist Jim Morrison, initially revolved around the break-up with an ex-girlfriend but grew more complex over time with Oedipal themes of loving the mother and killing the father. Songfacts notes Morrison always remained vague about the meaning. The hypnotizing music was credited to the entire group who in addition to Morrison included Ray Manzarek (organ, piano, bass), Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums).

Matthew Sweet/Girlfriend

The most recent occasion we stopped by Matthew Sweet on The Sunday Six dates back to late January 2023. I’d say it’s time for another visit. In October 1991, the alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter put out his third studio album Girlfriend. It was the first that made the charts in the U.S., reaching no. 100 on the Billboard 200. While Sweet subsequently had higher-charting albums, Girlfriend was certified Gold (500,000 certified sold units) by RIAA in April 1995, becoming the first of two to date. Here’s the title track.

Pink Floyd/Time

Once again, we’re reaching our sixth and final stop. Let’s make it count with what I feel is an amazing track from one of the sonically most compelling albums I know: The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd’s gem from March 1973. I could go on gushing about it but trust you know what I’m talking about. It’s hard to believe this music is 51 years old. Here’s the mighty Time, credited to all four band members Roger Waters (vocals, bass, VCS 3 synthesizer), David Gilmour (guitars, vocals), Richard Wright (organ, piano, synthesizers, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums, percussion).

What’s missing? Of course, the Spotify playlist featuring all of the above goodies. Here you go and hope to see you again!

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; Songfacts; YouTube; Spotify

Brit Floyd Shine, Celebrating 30th Anniversary of Pink Floyd Album The Division Bell

When I saw earlier this year Brit Floyd would return to Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pa., I decided right away to look for a ticket. Five years ago, the British Pink Floyd tribute band had blown me away at the same venue with incredible renditions of the English rock band’s music and an impressive stage show. As such, I had high hopes. Showtime finally came last Saturday, and once again Brit Floyd delivered the great gig in the sky!

The genius behind Brit Floyd is founder and musical director Damian Darlington, who also provides vocals, guitar and lap steel. Prior to forming the band in Liverpool, England in 2011, Darlington had played for 17 years with long-running Aussie tribute The Australian Pink Floyd Show. According to his bio, between the two tribute groups, he has fronted more than 2,500 live gigs over the past 28 years. That works out to approximately 90 shows per year – an impressive track record!

Doing Pink Floyd’s complex music justice live requires an army of a backing band, and Brit Floyd has many mightily talented artists who are all listed on the group’s website! Apart from Darlington, Saturday’s performing band featured Ian Cattell (vocals, bass), Edo Scordo (guitars, vocals), Matt Riddle (keyboards, synthesizers, Hammond organ, vocals), Randy Cooke (drums, percussion), Ryan Saranich (saxophone, percussion, guitars, bass keyboards), as well as backing vocalists Chess Galea, Genevieve Little and Eva Avila.

Brit Floyd leader Damian Darlington (center), with Ian Cattell (left), who has been with the band since 2011, and Matt Riddle, a member since 2017 (photo: Brit Floyd website)

In addition to The Division Bell, Brit Floyd mostly drew from Pink Floyd’s ’70s albums, especially The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall, as well as Meddle and Animals. They also gave a nod to the Syd Barrett era with Piper at the Gates of Dawn and touched on A Momentary Lapse of Reason, which like The Division Bell falls into the band’s late stage after they had parted ways with Roger Waters.

The show included two sets that were divided by a 20-minute intermission, as well as an encore. It all added up to more than 2.5 hours of magnificent live music. As much as I love The Dark Side of the Moon, I would have been okay with fewer tracks from that gem and a few more songs from the Barrett era. But Brit Floyd essentially recreated Pink Floyd’s 1994 final concert tour, The Division Bell Tour, which was captured on Pulse, their third live album released in May 1995.

Time for some music! The band explicitly encouraged taking photos and video, as long as you wouldn’t use flash and would respect the folks around you – to me, both goes without saying! Let’s kick it off with the opener of set 1, Astronomy Domine. Co-written by the brilliant Syd Barrett and Floyd keys man Richard Wright, the instrumental is the first track on the band’s debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn released in August 1967.

While The Division Bell isn’t my favorite, I felt a concert tour that celebrates the 30th anniversary of Floyd’s 14th studio album warranted capturing at least one track. The Division Bell marked their final regular studio project. The Endless River, released in November 2014, features posthumous contributions from Wright who sadly passed away from lung cancer in September 2008 at age 65. High Hopes, composed by Gilmour, features lyrics by English novelist, lyricist and journalist Polly Samson who has been married to Gilmour since 1994. One of the highlights of Brit Floyd’s mighty rendition was Darlington’s lap steel action!

Initially, I had been reluctant to capture Dogs, a 17-minute track. I also didn’t anticipate Brit Floyd would throw in the preceding short Pig On the Wings (Part 1), effectively playing the entire side 1 of Floyd’s January 1977 Animals studio album! My arms felt comfortably numb afterwards, but as a Pink Floyd nut, I thought it was worth it! Both tracks were written by Waters. On Dogs, he was joined by Gilmour on vocals. The Darlington-Edo Scordo harmony guitar action and Matt Riddle’s neat keyboard work were the highlights of Brit Floyd’s great set 1 closer.

Hey you, are you still out there? Cause I just got started! This brings me to the second set. As much as I was tempted to capture the majestic opener Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V), the thought of filming another 10-minute-plus track was a deterrent even to me. Instead, the first song I captured from this set is Hey You, a favorite off The Wall. While I really dug Floyd’s 11th studio album when it came out in November 1979, nowadays, it’s no longer in my top 3, though perhaps still in my top 5. Hey You was solely written by Waters who essentially had taken over the group. Generously, he shared vocal duties with Gilmour on this track.

If I could only pick one Pink Floyd album, it would either be The Dark Side of the Moon or Meddle. The latter foreshadowed the sonic brilliance of The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Here. Here’s One of These Days, Meddle’s charging instrumental opener. It was credited to all four members of the band at the time, i.e., Gilmour, Waters, Wright and Mason. Once again, Brit Floyd delivered the goods while Cattell doing a great job playing that pulsating bass part, while Darlington was shing like the sun on lap steel. Be careful, you might get blown away!

I deliberately held back on filming tracks from The Dark Side of the Moon, especially obvious choices like Money or The Great Gig in the Sky. That said, just like in 2019, the latter was a highlight of the night. But I couldn’t entirely ignore this masterpiece, so decided to go with another gem, Us and Them, co-written by Waters and Wright.

Once again, I resisted capturing an audience pleaser and, yes, another highlight of the night, Comfortably Numb, the final song of set 2. But at the last second, I decided to film the encore, Run Like Hell, another track of The Wall. While it’s not among my favorites, I know many other folks dig it, so here you go. Plus, the light show went into interstellar overdrive!

In addition to The Great Gig in the Sky and Comfortably Numb, there would have been many more choices of tracks I could have filmed. If you visit my post about Brit Floyd’s 2019 gig, you can find these two songs and four additional tracks I captured at the time. Of course, you could also simply check Brit Floyd’s YouTube channel, which features many excellent (professional) clips. My only beef is they are 9-plus years old and, as such, capture a largely different band. That said, Damian Darlington has always surrounded himself with top-notch musicians, and earlier lineups of Brit Floyd sounded just as compelling as the current group.

Here’s the setlist from last Saturday:

Set 1:
• Astronomy Domine – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
• Learning to Fly – A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
• High Hopes – The Division Bell (1994)
• Take It Back – The Division Bell (1994)
• Coming Back to Life – The Division Bell (1994)
• Sorrow – A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
• Keep Talking – The Division Bell (1994)
• Pigs On the Wing (Part 1) & Dogs – Animals (1977)

Set 2:
• Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V) – Wish You Were Here (1975)
• Hey You – The Wall (1979)
• Time – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Breathe (Reprise) – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• The Great Gig in the Sky – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Wish You Were Here – Wish You Were Here (1975)
• One of These Days – Meddle (1971)
• Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1 – The Wall (1979)
• Us and Them – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Money – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Comfortably Numb – The Wall (1979)

Encore:
• Run Like Hell – The Wall (1979)

If you dig what you’ve seen and heard and are interested in catching Brit Floyd during the U.S. leg of their current tour, upcoming gigs include Syracuse, N.Y. (tomorrow); Erie, Pa. (March 27); Atlantic City, N.J. (March 29 & 30); Johnstown, Pa. (April 1); and Toledo, Ohio (April 2). The full schedule is here. I’d say, if you dig Floyd, you really can’t go wrong with Brit Floyd.

I’m leaving you with a Spotify playlist capturing all tracks of the show, mostly pulling from the Pulse album to make it as authentic as possible.

Sources: Wikipedia; Brit Floyd website; Setlist.fm; YouTube; Spotify

Rock Poetry Made in Germany

Until recently, I had never heard of JohnRose. Then, prompted by a post from fellow blogger Lisa from Tao Talk, I checked out Spotify’s Release Radar and came across a song called The Curtains Are Falling. Not only did the neat music catch my attention, but I also noticed the artist’s slight German accent. My curiosity led me to his website and new album The Prophet’s Dance, released on December 8. I love to discover new music that way!

JohnRose is the moniker of German musician and multi-instrumentalist Johannes Rösgen who hails from Koblenz. The small city on the banks of the Rhine is located only one car hour away from where I grew up. In a recent radio interview, Rösgen said his music career started as a 13-year-old guitarist when he formed a school band with a childhood friend. That was back in 1976. Subsequently, he played in various prog and rock cover bands, including Copyright who released an album in 1999. From 2014 to 2017, Rösgen also fronted Giant For A Day who notably opened for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Alan Parsons.

Rösgen started JohnRose in 2015 and released his debut album under that name, Behind the Gates, the following year. Three additional albums have since appeared, including his latest, The Prophet’s Dance. The “Rock Poet from the Middle Rhine” describes his music as rooted in ’70s prog rock, melodic rock and art rock, naming Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Alan Parsons, Toto, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Gerry Rafferty und Al Stewart as influences.

A press statement notes Rösgen for the most part self-played, recorded and mixed The Prophet’s Dance at a studio close to Koblenz. Out of curiosity, I reached out to Rösgen who kindly confirmed he handled all guitar and keyboard parts. Initially, he also had programmed drums but ultimately decided to ask a friend to play drums. Rösgen also noted two members of his touring band, Paul Wydymanski (bass) and Robert Thomas (keyboards), played on the track Lovers Are Strangers. Paul Bednarek (guitar) and Jens Müller (drums) complete the group’s line-up.

The album’s mastering was done by Stefan Noltemeyer in Berlin. The German producer, musician, sound engineer and published book author previously mastered albums by the likes of Meat Loaf, Santana, Earth Wind & Fire and Toto. I’d say it’s time to take a closer look at some of the songs on The Prophet’s Dance.

The album opens with Calling For You, which is about the longing for responsible political leaders and ultimately the key role people play by voting them in and out of office – at least in a democracy. It’s quiet obvious what prompted the song. With autocratic leadership tendencies on the rise globally, sadly, Calling For You couldn’t be more timely. The song first appeared on October 19, 2023 as the album’s third upfront single.

Manner of Travelling, a catchy pop rocker, is among my early favorites on the album. The description accompanying the YouTube clip explains the upbeat song is “about finding one’s happiness and thus setting one’s own pace in the rhythm of life.” Rösgen’s website adds the song was inspired by a poster he came across in a photo album, which read “Happiness is not a station you arrive at but a manner of travelling.” Manner of Travelling was initially released on August 17, 2023 as the album’s second upfront single.

Around the Lake recalls Rösgen’s frequent walks with his father who suddenly passed away at age 47 when he was only 18 years old. “I couldn’t say goodbye to him and continued my life without him,” Rösgen said. “My memory of him is that the two of us often went for walks together around a lake in my home country and had conversations that, among other things, also prepared me for life as an adult. At some point, I realized that I missed these conversations and that they gave me stability at the time. During my lifetime, memories caught up with me, and I longed to go around the lake with him again.” The touching song premiered on June 14, 2023 as the album’s first single.

This brings me to the cool title track, which first appeared on November 30, 2023 as the fourth upfront single. The song “metaphorically takes the in-depth perspective of a whale as a prophet,” according to the description accompanying the stunning YouTube video. “The contemplative and emotional song reveals a hidden underwater world where whales spend more time playing, dancing and singing than foraging for food, and invites us to pause and turn back.”

The final track I’d like to call out is the album’s closer Let Love Shine. The pop rock song about one lover telling another lover to become partners provides a upbeat ending to a great-sounding album.

When reaching out to Rösgen, I also asked him what’s next. He told me this year he predominantly wants to focus on performing his music live – something he was hardly able to do in 2023 because of the new album – understandably so. Rösgen also hopes to reach more folks who like his music. Last but not least, he’s already writing and recording new songs. I certainly look forward to hearing more music from him. Meanwhile, here’s a Spotify link to The Prophet’s Dance. Hope you dig it as much as I do!

Sources: JohnRose website; YouTube; Spotify

Only Rock & Roll, But I Like It

After re-publishing my most recent December contribution to Turntable Talk yesterday, it occurred to me I never posted my submission for November’s installment of the great monthly participatory feature hosted by fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day. The culprit was a temporary hiatus from blogging due to a family vacation in Europe, combined with bad memory – after my return, I simply forgot!

Before finally getting to it, I’d like to acknowledge yesterday’s 80th birthday of Keith Richards, which feels especially appropriate, given this is a post about The Rolling Stones! Richards joined the club of octogenarians after Mick Jagger did this past July. Who would have thought in the early ’70s when the Stones arguably hit their high The Glimmer Twins would still be rocking in their ’80s! ‘On with the show,’ as I’ve heard Keith say during Stones gigs.

# # #

I can’t believe Turntable Talk is hitting 20 – congrats on this milestone, Dave, and keeping this such a fun feature by continuing to come up with great topics. This time you asked, Do we still care about the Rolling Stones? I guess you won’t be surprised about my spontaneous answer: hell, yes!

Unlike The Beatles who have been my favorite band since my early teenage years back in Germany, my love for The Rolling Stones started a few years later and developed more gradually. If asked today whether to pick The Beatles or the Stones, I would still go with The Fab Four, though the Stones would be a close second. I also feel it’s difficult to directly compare the two groups since their styles ended up being very different.

How do you assess the relevance of a music artist objectively? The first thing I thought was their sales of music. I found this website, ChartMasters, which calculates total equivalent album sales (EAS) across all music formats. Using their methodology, The Rolling Stones have 244.55 million EAS. This puts them at no. 6, ahead of Pink Floyd (238.57 million) and behind Madonna (248.35 million) – certainly not a spot that would suggest irrelevance! The Beatles top the list with 423.9 million EAS – of course, they do!😊

Since the aforementioned sales volumes are cumulative, I figured they favor acts who started selling music a long time ago compared to those who are newer. Next, I thought that looking at top grossing concert tours should provide a more level playing field. Last year, The Rolling Stones came in at no. 6 on Billboard’s Top Tours 2022, grossing $179.35 million, behind Coldplay ($208 million) and ahead of Red Hot Chili Peppers ($177 million). Again, an impressive showing!

A third gauge I came up with to capture current relevance is followers on Spotify, something ChartMasters tracks as well. The top 3 are Ed Sheeran (114.9 million), Ariana Grande (94.26 million) and Arijit Singh (93.2 million). By comparison, the Stones and The Beatles have 13.4 million and 26.31 million followers, respectively. I think this outcome is a good illustration that assessing relevance very much depends on how you measure it.

The other day, I learned about Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine and chatbot. Putting my decidedly mixed feelings about AI aside, I was curious to see what kind of answer I would get to the question, Are The Rolling Stones still relevant? Here’s what I got (with references, which I removed):

The Rolling Stones are still relevant today, despite having been around for over 60 years. Here are some reasons why:

• Live shows: The Rolling Stones remain one of the most electrifying live acts in music, and their tours continue to draw large crowds and sell out stadiums.
• Timeless music: The songs recorded by the Rolling Stones in the 60s continue to cast a lasting influence on popular culture, and their music is still enjoyed by both old and new generations of fans.
• Adaptability: The Rolling Stones have managed to adapt and anticipate new musical trends while remaining true to their rock ‘n roll and blues roots. They have also continued to release new music, with their last album “Blue & Lonesome” being a return to their blues days.
• Cultural legacy: The Rolling Stones are one of the most important bands in the history of music, and their impact on popular culture cannot be overstated. They have influenced countless musicians and continue to be studied and analyzed by scholars.

Overall, the Rolling Stones are still relevant today due to their continued success in live performances, their timeless music, their adaptability, and their cultural legacy.

This doesn’t look like a bad answer, especially if you consider it only took a couple seconds to obtain it. Obviously, Perplexity AI missed Hackney Diamonds, the new album by the Stones – one illustration AI-generated content isn’t entirely up to date. Not yet!

After all the above attempts to address the topic as objectively as possible, I came to the brilliant conclusion that all of the above matters relatively little. None of it changes the fact that The Rolling Stones remain relevant to me. Why? Because I love their music – it’s really as simple as that at the end of the day!

I’d like to leave you with five Stones songs I dig:

The Last Time (single, February 1965)

I always loved the guitar riff. While credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song is adapted from a traditional gospel song The Staples Singers released in 1954 as It May Be the Last Time. The Last Time became the Stones’ third no. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

She’s a Rainbow (single Nov 1967)

While it’s perhaps uncharacteristic for the Stones, I’ve liked She’s a Rainbow from the first time I heard it many moons ago. That great piano part was played by Nicky Hopkins. John Paul Jones, then still a session musician who would later join Led Zeppelin, provided the string arrangement. This was the second upfront single from Their Satanic Majesties Request, a studio album the Stones released in December 1967.

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (single, May 1968)

This non-album single is another terrific riff-based song. The Stones recorded it during the Beggars Banquet sessions. While it certainly didn’t lack great songs, I’m still somewhat puzzled Jumpin’ Jack Flash didn’t make the album. I once read Richards still the kicks playing the song during live shows – can’t blame him!

Dead Flowers (Sticky Fingers, April 1971)

One of my all-time favorite songs by The Rolling Stones, off my favorite album Sticky Fingers. This song came together during a time when Richards’ friendship with Gram Parsons influenced his writing. I love the guitar lines he traded with Mick Taylor throughout the track. The solo in place of a third verse was performed by Taylor – perhaps the ultimate bar band song!

It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It) (It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll, October 1974)

The title track from the Stones’ 74 studio album kind of sums up why I love the Stones: It’s only rock & roll, but I like it. Then-future Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood collaborated with Jagger on the song, though it’s only credited to Jagger and Richards, as usual. David Bowie sang backing vocals to Jagger’s lead. Also notable, bass and drums were provided by Willie Weeks and Kenny Jones, respectively, instead of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.

If you haven’t checked out Hackney Diamonds, I can highly recommend it. This latest album by the Stones provides my evidence the greatest rock & roll band in the world remains very relevant, at least in my completely unbiased opinion!😊

Sources: Wikipedia; ChartMasters; Billboard; Perplexity AI; YouTube

Alice Cooper Shares Tales From the Road on Hard-Charging New Album

Alice Cooper ain’t eighteen anymore, but the Godfather of Shock Rock surely still knows how to throw a good musical punch. All you young rock & roll cats out there, pay attention: Coop knows how it’s done, and chances are you could learn a thing or two. Last Friday (August 25), the 75-year-old rocker from Detroit, Mich. released his 22nd solo studio album, Road, vividly demonstrating he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank.

Road is a concept album revolving around touring tales. “It’s things that happen on the road,” Cooper told Louder in April prior to the album’s official announcement. “There’s a lot of humour in it. There’s a couple of heartbreakers, but it’s very guitar-driven because that’s what I look for in an album.” From traveling the world, playing louder than hell and harder than rock, a hot waitress in big boots [or was that a convenient typo to escape the morality police?], a stalking fan to the empty feeling when the tour is over, Road covers it all.

Recorded live-in-studio, Road features Coop’s touring band, guitarists Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henrikson and Nita Strauss, bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel. There are no overdubs except for Cooper’s vocals. “For Road, I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs,” Cooper explained in a statement announcing the album. “I only see these guys when we’re on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off, and this is my way of doing so.”

Alice Cooper and his touring band

Road was produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin who has also worked with the likes of Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Peter Gabriel. Ezrin also had an active part in writing the material, along with Cooper and various other writers. “I love writing the songs with Bob and the guys, and we really emphasize that the main instrument is gonna be guitar,” Cooper added during the above interview. “It’s not gonna drift off into any other land out there.” I’d say it’s time to check out some of the goodies!

Let’s start with I’m Alice, the opener nicely setting the mood for the album. It first appeared as the lead single when Cooper officially announced Road on June 14. I’m Alice/I’m the master of madness, the sultan of surprise/I’m Alice/So don’t be afraid, just look into my eyes, Cooper sings in his distinct raspy voice. Like most other tracks, I’m Alice is credited to multiple writers, which in this case include Cooper, Ezrin and Roxie, as well as “outsiders” Anders Fästader and Kee Marcello. To me, listening to this and the other tracks on the album feels as if time had stood still since the days of I’m Eighteen and School’s Out, Coop’s best-known songs he recorded with what was then-known as the band Alice Cooper.

All Over the World is another highlight, about taking a hard-charging rock show around the globe. Yes, the lyrics are a bit cliché, but does it really matter when the music is that great? We hit the stage with rage around 9 o’clock/We’re always louder than hell and we’re harder than rock/Rolled into England and China, Ukraine and Brazil/Slayed ’em in Sydney and Fargo, Zanzibar and Seville. The anthem-like song was co-written by Cooper, Ezrin and all five members of his touring band.

White Line Frankenstein (you just gotta love that title!), which I suspect will become a favorite of Coop’s live set, features prominent guitarist Tom Morello who among others is known for his tenures with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. He’s also co-credited as one of the writers, along with Cooper and Ezrin. White Line Frankenstein became the second upfront single on July 19. I’m a road rat, baby, I’m a rock ‘n’ rollin’ stone/They call me white line Frankenstein…I mean, who can argue with that?

On Rules of the Road, Coop dispenses some cynical advise to aspiring rock stars, such as, Before you even start to board/that private that you can’t afford/You gotta buy a mansion and a flashy car/In case you actually do become a star. He cheerfully adds, Rule number one – always get the money/Rule number two – remember to always get the money/And rule number three – never forget to remember to always get the money. Then his humor/cynicism turn a bit borderline, at least according to my taste, given how many talented artists became members of the creepy 27 Club: And if you follow these simple rules, by the age of 27, well…/You’re gonna die…Aha-ha-ha. The song is credited to Cooper, Ezrin and Wayne Kramer.

The final track I’d like to call out is 100 More Miles. IMHO, this song should have been the album’s closer instead of a cover of The Who’s Magic Bus, which isn’t a bad rendition but feels a bit out of place. While I’ve never been on a rock tour and, as such, don’t know the empty feeling that can overcome a performing artist when suddenly everything is over, I find the lyrics very relatable. Just finished up the final show/It’s really strange to me/I’ve got no place at all to be/Nobody’s yelling, “Hey man, it’s time to go”/Can’t seem to get from A to B/There’s no reality but my own.

If you dig what you’ve heard, I encourage you to check out the rest of the album. Here’s a Spotify link.

I think Road is a fun listening experience, celebrating rock & roll tours and happenings both on-stage and off-stage. That said, as a more casual Alice Cooper listener, I don’t feel I can make a well-informed comparison to other albums the man has released over his 50-year-plus recording career, counting his five albums with the original band Alice Cooper.

Guess what? Cooper is taking Road, well, on the road. My brother-in-law saw him in April this year at a rock festival in Florida and was impressed with the show, which features everything from guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood and a charming boa constrictor – in other words, it was classic Coop! I also witnessed him once, in New Jersey in August 2017, together with Edgar Winter and Deep Purple and thought he delivered a great set! In case you’re curious, Cooper’s current touring schedule is here.

Sources: Wikipedia; Alice Cooper website; Louder; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s Sunday and I hope you’re in the mood to accompany me on another trip through space and time to explore the miraculous world of music. The magical time machine is all set to go, so hop on board and fasten your seatbelt.

Charles Mingus/Dizzy Moods

For our first stop today, I’ve set the time controls to November 1957. That’s when American upright jazz bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus came out with Mingus Three. Unlike the title may suggest, this wasn’t his third album but rather a reflection of the trio format, a less common setting for Mingus who most often recorded and played with large ensembles. Dizzy Moods is one of his three original compositions on Mingus Three. He was backed by pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Dannie Richmond. This is groovy stuff, so feel free to snip along!

Creamery Station/Crazy Night

From the past, we shall return to right back to the present and a cool six-piece group from Connecticut. Creamery Station, who have been around for four years, blend jam, blues, rock and bluegrass into what their website confidently guarantees is “a thrilling live experience you won’t be able to get enough of.” To my ears, they also sound pretty good on what is their third and latest album, Story to Tell, released on June 23. Here’s Crazy Night, a fun blues rock tune I previously considered for my weekly new music review – not really sure why it didn’t make the post at the time!

Art/Supernatural Fairy Tales

I hope you’re not afraid of things that you don’t understand. Our next stop takes us back to November 1967 and Supernatural Fairy Tales, the title cut of the only album by Art. Initially, the British band was known as The V.I.P.’s who had formed in 1963 out of an earlier group called The Ramrods. Seemingly, change was the main constant of the group. Art shortly dissolved after the album’s release, and their four members – Mike Harrison (vocals, piano), Luther Grosvenor (guitars, vocals), Greg Ridley (bass) and Mike Kellie (drums) – teamed up with American keyboarder and vocalist Gary Wright, best known for his mid-’70s hits Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive, to form rock band Spooky Tooth.

Steve Conn/River of Madness

Next, let’s pay a visit to the small central Louisiana city of Pineville, the home of Steve Conn, who his website notes has played piano, organ or accordion with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Sonny Landreth and Albert King, among many others. He also writes his own music and to date has released five albums. His first, River of Madness, appeared in October 1995. Here’s the soulful title track featuring Landreth on slide guitar. Conn’s music sounds as rich and tasty as a Louisiana gumbo!

Climax Blues Band/Couldn’t It Right

Time for a stop-over in the ’70s with a groovy tune by Climax Blues Band I was reminded of the other day when I heard it on the radio. When the English blues rock band, which had come together in 1967, presented their nineth album Gold Plated to their record label RCA in 1976, they were told it lacked a hit, so they should try and write one. They did. Ironically titled Couldn’t Get It Right, it would become their biggest hit, climbing all the way to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the U.S. it reached no. 8 and no. 10 on the mainstream charts in Canada and the UK, respectively – another great groovy tune!

Pete Townshend/White City Fighting

Our upcoming sixth stop means we need to wrap up another music time travel journey. To do that let’s go to November 1985 and the fourth solo studio album by Pete Townshend. It’s probably my favorite by the British rock artist who of course is best known as co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of The Who. Off White City: A Novel, here’s the de facto title track, White City Fighting. It was penned by another famous guitarist, David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd fame, and originally intended for his second solo album About Face. At the time, he asked Townshend to write the lyrics. But he couldn’t relate to the words and ended up giving the song to Townshend who turn invited Gilmour to play guitar on it. It all worked out nicely!

Well, folks, that’s it for today, except of course for a Spotify playlist of the above tracks. As always, I hope there’s something there you dig and that you’ll be back for more. So long!

Sources: Wikipedia; Creamery Station website; Steve Conn website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Happy Saturday and welcome to my latest new music revue – and, boy, it’s a busy week on that front! There’s way more than I can cover here, so look for separate posts on new releases by John Mellencamp, Bettye Lavette and Son Volt. All featured tunes are on albums that were released yesterday (June 16).

Deer Tick/Forgiving Ties

My first pick today are Deer Tick, a band from Providence, R.I. around singer-songwriter John McCauley, blending indie rock, blues rock and alternative country rock. Initially formed by McCauley as a duo in December 2004, their current line-up also includes Ian O’Neil (guitar), Christopher Ryan (bass) and Dennis Ryan (drums). Deer Tick’s debut album War Elephant appeared in September 2007. Their latest, Emotional Contracts, “catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time,” according to the band’s website. Produced by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney), the album was mostly recorded live in studio. Forgiving Ties, which first appeared as a single in April, was co-written by Ryan and McCauley – love this tune!

Damian Lewis/She Comes

Damian Lewis, who is best known as a British film and TV actor, has played classical guitar since he was 13. His website notes that until the pandemic, music had remained a hobby. Then, Lewis met with various London-based musicians and started to write and record songs. The result is Mission Creep, his debut album, which his website characterizes as “a thoughtful collection of rootsy, rock and jazz-tinged songs that reveal a deep love of music and a deep need to communicate.” Let’s listen to She Comes. Frankly, if you wouldn’t know, you would never guess this is Lewis’ first effort as a music recording artist.

The Teskey Brothers/London Bridge

The Teskey Brothers are an Australian blues rock band from Melbourne. They were formed in 2008 by Josh Teskey (vocals) and his brother Sam Teskey (guitar). In January 2017, they released their debut album Half Mile Harvest, which had been recorded at their home studio and reached an impressive no. 18 on the Australian charts. The follow-on, Run Home Slow (August 2019, did even better, climbing all the way to no. 2 and securing Gold certification (35,000 verified sold copies). It also charted in The Netherlands (no. 9), Germany (no. 74), UK (no. 77) and Switzerland (no. 78). Now, The Teskey Brothers are out with their third album The Winding Way. Here’s London Bridge – I would call this soul rather than blues rock. The other tunes I sampled have a similar vibe.

Gov’t Mule/Same As It Ever Was

Southern jam rock band Gov’t Mule first entered my radar screen in 2018 when I came across their cool 2014 Pink Floyd tribute live album Dark Side Of The Mule. One month later, I saw them perform that show – fun concert! The group was initially formed in 1994 by then-Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes (guitar, vocals) and Allen Woody (bass) as a side project. Haynes and Matt Abts (drums) remain as original members in the Mule’s current line-up, which also includes Danny Louis (keyboards, guitar, trumpet, vocals) and Kevin Scott (bass). From Peace… Like a River, their 13th and latest studio album, here’s Same As It Ever Was – my kind of music!

Yusuf/Cat Stevens/King of a Land

When I first heard the British singer-songwriter on the radio back in Germany in the mid-’70s, he was still known as Cat Stevens. I immediately loved songs like Lady D’Arbanville, Father and Son and Morning Has Broken. Then he converted to Islam in December 1977, adopted the name Yusuf Islam and left his music career behind to focus on educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. In 2006, he returned to pop music with a studio album titled An Other Cup, released under the name Yusuf. Since his September 2017 album The Laughing Apple, he has performed and recorded as Yusuf/Cat Stevens. His new album is titled King of a Land and is his sixth since resuming his music career. Here’s the beautiful title track – sounds a bit like the old Cat Stevens!

The Alarm/Whatever

Closing out this music revue are The Alarm, a Welsh rock band I only started getting into recently thanks to fellow bloggers Rich and Max from KamerTunesBlog and PowerPop, respectively. The Alarm were formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Their initial run lasted until 1991. In 2000, co-founding member Mike Peters (lead vocals, guitars, harmonica) reassembled The Alarm, who have since released 15 albums including their latest, Forwards. Off that album, here’s Whatever written by Peters. It’s one of four tracks that appeared ahead of the album.

As usual, I’m leaving you with a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Deer Tick website; Damian Lewis website; YouTube; Spotify