News
May 31, 2008
ON THE WAY TO PARADISE
It should have happened one day and it's happening right now. Mario Parga and Tony Martin have played together in the late line-up of COZY POWELL'S HAMMER - that's when Cozy and Tony, plus Neil Murray took a break from BLACK SABBATH - and kept in touch ever since. So June 27th will see the download, CD and even vinyl release of the vocal version of "Spirit Of Night", a gem of Mario's "Entranced" album. There'll be a video shot for the song in August, right before Martin and Parga will start work on the debut album of their new group, SAVAGE PARADISE, that also feature former CINDERELLA drummer Kevin Valentine and ALCATRAZZ bassist Tim Luce. What they lack is a keyboard player, so auditions are to be held in Los Angeles later in the year. Expect the interviews with Mario and Tony any day soon.
THE BEST VIEW OF ALL
There's been already two versions of YES' 35 Anniversary DVD, "YesSpeak" and "Yes Acoustic", the former featuring a 3-hour film consisting mostly of interviews and some live footage, while the latter presented a theatrical 1.5-hour version plus an acoustic performance beamed by satellite to the cinemas right after the "YesSpeak" screening. Now, there's a time for the third take, "Yes - The Director's Cut". This limited edition DVD features the footage from the 2003 world tour that didn’t make into the original edit, including the show from Birmingham and Glastonbury. This time it's the songs that's in the focus, in all their full-length glory, and some behind-the-scenes peek-ins will do nicely too. The DVD is available only on the www.classicdvdshop.com site until September. The tracks which are to be on are:
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Siberian Khatru |
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May 29, 2008
HOWE DOES HE DO IT
One could suggest it's all cashing in on the ASIA reunion success, but when it comes to Steve Howe, commercialism is not the point - and releasing two albums at the same time makes no financial sense anyway. For the fans, though, that's going to be a feast. Those who find pleasure in listening to the three volumes of "Homebrew", the veteran's sketch-book recordings, will surely love his new outing, "Motif". Subtitled "Volume 1", this, as Howe describes it, "is the first part of a collection that will cover all my solo 'one man' guitar tunes. Several solos have premiered on group CDs, or live CDs. There seemed no one place to go to reference this most enjoyable aspect of my work. This was to build up a complete overview of my solo guitar music, afresh in the studio. I've occasionally changed the style of guitar used on previously released tunes, and recorded the first studio versions of others. All are solo performances, no overdubs". So now the origins of the tunes that were included into such albums as "Pulling Strings" and "Not Necesserily Acoustic" will be revealed. For additional pleasure, there's four new pieces on the album, plus Chet Atkins' "Trambone".
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1. The Golden Mean |
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11. Concerto in D 2nd Movement |
"The Haunted Melody" is a different proposition as it comes from THE STEVE HOWE TRIO and is a live recording from May 2007, akin to the one made by Howe's ELEMENTS which also featured Steve's son Dylan on drums. The combo, rounded off with Ross Stanley on Hammond, plays more jazz than prog rock, and that gives famous YES' compositions a new twist.
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1. Kenny's Sound |
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HIS DAWN SURPRISE
On May 14th, the great Jack Bruce, long may he sing, celebrated his 65th birthday. Not that Bruce's new live album, the BBC three-disc collection and a new record with Robin Trower were tied to this, yet "Can You Follow?", a six-CD retrospective, out on June 2nd, surely is. Marking the glorious date, the collection features pieces from Jack's solo career - from his sensational debut, 1969's "Song For A Tailor", to his latest studio work, 2003's "More Jack Than God" - and his stint with CREAM, including previously unreleased mono mixes, as well as Bruce's collaborations with the likes of MANFRED MANN, Tony Williams' LIFETIME and Frank Zappa. Now, there's no need to track down rare tracks, now it's all in one deluxe place accompanied by a 68-page booklet with an exclusive interview.
CD 1:
Alexis Korner's BLUES INCORPORATED |
CD 2:
MANFRED MANN |
CD 3:
Jack Bruce |
CD 4:
WEST, BRUCE & LAING |
CD 5:
Jack Bruce |
CD 6:
Jack Bruce |
PILGRIMS' PROGRESS
After another successful DVD, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT are ready to present the medieval-minded folks with a new album. "Secret Voyage", that'll be released on June 30th, seems to be much more funny than the band's previous studio works which didn't reflect Ritchie Blackmore's wicked sense of humor. Now, though, the tone-setter is "God Save The Keg", and there's two covers for the old fans - RAINBOW's most gentle "Rainbow Eyes" which 30 years ago was closing the "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" LP, and Elvis' tearjerker "Can't Help Falling In Love". Must be a treat...
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1. God Save The Keg |
GONNA MAKE YOU SWEAT, GONNA MAKE YOU GROOVE
There's no deficit in LED ZEPPELIN tribute albums, but almost all of them, even "Encomium" featured Robert Plant himself, are extremely boring, as it's quite difficult to do their songs justice, especially if it's a heavy metal band that run for cover or the mockers such as DREAD ZEPPELIN. Successes in the field are rare, then, and renditions like Lizz Wright's soulful take on "Thanks You" are thing on the ground. Still, recently released "Led Box - The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Tribute" is really good - with the hard and prog rock elite re-imagining the classics. Here's who they are:
CD 1:
1. Good Times, Bad Times - Eric Bloom, Brian Robertson, Tony Franklin, Doane Perry
2. Houses Of The Holy - Pat Travers
3. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You - Joe Lynn Turner, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Tony Franklin, Doane Perry
4. When The Levee Breaks - Artimus Pyle, Jimmy Hall
5. Dazed & Confused - Jack Russell, Bruce Kulick, Tony Franklin, Doane Perry
6. Whole Lotta Love - Pat Travers
7. You Shook Me - Artimus Pyle, Jimmy Hall
8. Immigrant Song - Manny Charlton
9. Ramble On - Rick Derringer
10. Rock And Roll - Steve Lukather
11. D'yer Mak’er - Albert Lee
12. Stairway To Heaven - Dweezil Zappa
CD 2:
1. Fool In The Rain - Rick Wakeman
2. Dancing Days - John Wetton, Geoff Downes
3. Heartbreaker - Steve Morse
4. Black Dog - Keith Emerson
5. All My Love - Billy Sherwood, Tony Kaye, Alan White
6. Kashmir - Paul DiAnno
7. Misty Mountain Hop - Taime Downe
8. The Ocean - Jani Lane
9. Houses Of The Holy - Joe Leste, John Corabi
10. The Rover - Marq Torien
11. Dancing Days - Kelly Hanson
12. Nobody’s Fault But Mine - John Corabi
bonus Buddha Lounge track
13. Stairway To Heaven - The West 52nd Street Buddha Lounge Ensemble
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