GRINDERSWITCH
- Live At My Fathers Place
An
essential 10 track live offering from legendary Southern rockers, Grinderswitch,
recorded at My Fathers Place in Roslyn,NY.
Featuring
a classic line up of Dru Lombar, Stephen Miller, Chris Anderson (in
place of Larry Howard), Rick Burnett and the late Joe Dan Petty, this
undated concert performance (although it's obviously pre 2000 due to
the presence of Joe Dan), is an absolute barnstormer.
Grinderswitch
were influenced by the wave of British blues based acts that swept thropugh
AAmerica in the late 60's (John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and The
Groundhogs), but with the added bonus of Dru Lombars incredibly soulful
voice put said acts to shame. Bad luck and bad timing kept them away
from the really big time, and disco pretty much killed them off. In
the UK, they're only remembered as a second rate Allmans, or as providers
of the theme tune to the Radio 1 John Peel show.
Everyone
here is playing out of their skins, and their fusion of soul, blues
and rock is a sheer delight. Every track is a gem, with probably "Movin
On Back To You" being the best of a tremendous bunch.
For
CDs, and information, write to: New South Productions, PO Box 50361,
Jax Beach, FL 32250 Phone: (904) 223-0461 The CDR is a bit overpriced
at $16 +$4 priority mail, but worth it for a piece of history. http://www.grinderswitch.com/merchandise/stuff.htm
Lucubro (4
track EP)
Lucubro are new to me, and are a female fronted group from Worcester,
MA. On this 4 track EP, (Held Within, Heaven Can Wait, Afraid to be
Alone, and Another World) Krista van Guilder proves to have a great
voice, surprisingly well suited to the Sabbath grooved sludge metal
they're purveying.
Surprisingly
well produced for the genre, although there is a slight problem with
the balance here and there, it's the last two tracks that show here's
a band with a future, "Another World" being particularly vital.
Fans of classic Sabbath will find a lot to like in Lucubro (pronounced
Loo-Coo-Bro), shame the CD has sold out! Unfortunately, there are changes
afoot in the camp with a drummer arriving, and the band looking for
a second guitarist (if you're interested e-mail below). Hopefully, they
can keep the momentum going.
http://www.lucubro.com
music@lucubro.com
The Yell Leaders
- Noxajoy (Box Office Poison)
The
Yell Leaders hail from Milwaukee, specialise in a fusion of pop and
soul, have had rave reviews in Billboard and even musty old John Peel
at the BBC liked them (2 mentions on eone page for Peely? Madness).
They've even been on tour with Semisonic, Del Amitri, Evan Dando, The
Verve Pipe and Cheap Trick, which should give you an idea of what field
they're working in.
This
is their first release in 3 years and easily fits in amongst the names
above with nods to the late 70s sounds of Fleetwood Mac and their soft
rock ilk. And that is a good thing, lest you be thinking unpleasant
thoughts about inter band shagging and cocaine abuse. It's jam packed
full of more melodies than you can shake a Badfinger at. My own personal
preference is for the tracks that feature Mary Brown on lead vocals,
although her name is noticeable by its absence on their web page?
Amongst
the other numbers, "Beyond Repair" is a standout, all distortion
and harmony vocals. Shouldn't really work, but it does. Another nifty
piece of songwriting crops up on "Nothing Less Than a Masterpiece",
but my favourote remains the Mary helmed "I Hurt Myself",
a modern day torch song (and no, he won't change his mind, I know).
And
if you're still not convinced, don't forget the bonus track and the
fact that The Yell Leaders are included on a new Cheap Trick Tribute
CD performing "Take Me I'm Yours," on the AMCT Cheap Trick
Tribute V.5.
The
Yell Leaders, P.O. Box 2, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0002, USA
http://www.theyellleaders.com
KROM LEK -
Rariteality (Stone Premonitions)
When
I were I a lad (2000 or thereabouts) I thought that Krom Lek wa either
a slavonic curse or a villain from Dr Who? I was, of course, wrong.
Nor was it the Welsh or Breton for rooked stone. It was much scarier
than that. It was one of the UK's finest space psych artists. Dear God,
the humanity!
It
only seems 12 months since I last reviewed a Krom Lek compilation (Collective
Conscious), which is probably because it was. The difference this time
is, that whereas Collective was a retrieval from the archives running
from 1985 - 1995, this is a predominately live collection dating from
1986 - 2002. So that's alright then.
You're
still going to get the space guitars, flutes, bogerido, Ozrics meets
Gong in a festival tent, skins up, and parties type rock thing. I, however,
choose to be awkward and celebrate the more mellow moments, especially
the sublime "September Skies". However, if you're looking
to roc out in Hawkwind stylee, go no further than "It Only Takes".
As
with all Stone Premonitions releases, you can buy securely on-line at
The
Rocker
|