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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For March 6, 2005 I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer
at MetalUK. I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk
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New Reviews As Amber Souls they are a bit more straightforward. It’s less hippy raga more The Music meets Kula Shaker. They can still take a basic idea and turn it into a huge swelling musical beast,so I can forgive them sharing a stage with Biffy Clyro. If they were American they’d be firm favourites on the jam band circuit where their nods back to the funk of Parliament, the Phish wall of sound and the out there of the Grateful Dead would win them legions of fans. Shame they’re from the North East of England then. The first
two songs on their demo show the more commercial slant I was alluding
to, with “Don’t Wanna Change” being very chartable.
So it was the final, live, track that had me bopping away, with
a live romp through “Inner Mind” which shows just how
good a band they can be.
By unearthing these, Chris sheds light on music that stands up to many better-known pieces. Whether solo or accompanied, she brings a surety of touch to her work, always interesting, sometime virtuoso. As a feat of classical guitar it is inspired, as a historical document it stands proud, highlighting the work of Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1664-1729), Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), Ida Presti (1924 – 1967), Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi (1813 – post 1840), Elizabeth R Austin and Maria Luisa Anido (1907-1996)
Friedhelm Eberle / Jochen Roth -
Platero Y Yo Yes it is the “Platero Y Yo” by Juan Ramon Jiminez wherein the Nobel Prize winner tells a first person (semi-autobiographical) account of a poet and his donkey in the mountains of Spain, appreciating, almost Zen-like, the simple beauties of life. This CD is a German translation narrated by renowned actor Friedhelm Eberle, accompanied throughout by the flamenco inspired guitar of Jochen Roth. Now bearing in mind that German is not my native tongue I’m concentrating on the guitars. And they are good. Jochen Roth has a fragile touch that beautifully
augments the tales being told. I’d like to claim I read them
in the original Spanish, but that would make me liar no 1. But I
did get through a translation, so can related the mood pieces to
the relevant passages. The music by Mario Castelnouvo-Tedesco is
in turns soothing and plaintive. He was a remarkable composer as
a writer of film music for MGM Studios. He contributed to over 200
films and became one of Los Angeles' most sought-after composition
teachers, with pupils including John Williams, Henry Mancini and
André Previn. This is something I’m sure he would approve
of.
Mike Murley / David Occhipinti – Duologue
A saxophone and guitar duet album doesn’t seem like a marriage made in heaven, but David Occhipinti and Mike Murley seem to overcome some barriers to produce a cohesive album that is always interesting. With five originals and four standards, including a brave stab at Charlie Parkers “Segment”, this is a surprisingly hard hitting release for one low on instrumentation. But with an array of excellent solos and some bop inspired lines, it keeps you listening. It’s an unusual setup but one that works, with Murley stepping
away from his larger groups to make this experimental offering alongside
guitarist David Occhipinti, who also performs with his own group.
It’s unusual to hear people taking chances in an increasingly
safe jazz world, and this is to be highly commended.
Geoff Young Trio - In Between t’s absolutely amazing how much passion Geoff Young can wring from his guitar in such an understated manner. It’s doubtful anything this good has been heard in many a long year. Set alongside a rhythm section as good as bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Barry Romberg, this trio is one of the finest around today. “In Between” is a desolate piece, the 48 minutes (six originals and a bleak cover of “What A Wonderful World”) passes by almost as a single suite, so interconnected are the moods and phrasings. Remarkably, Geoff Young only appears to be playing acoustic guitars on this CD, which makes his range all the more interesting. There seems to be some double tracking on display, but beyond that
what you are hearing is the sound of pickers picking. Highlights
include “Tea at High Noon” with a stunning bass motif
and “The Three Lauras” which has a haunting turn to
it. One of the finest jazz releases I’ve heard this year.
Roger Chapman - Mango Crazy / Mail Order Magic (with The Shortlist)
‘Mango Crazy’ was Roger’s 4th studio album following the break-up of his Streetwalkers band. For Family fans the first two tracks might be a little disconcerting by their in your face commercialism (although the quirky rap of ‘Toys’ featuring Poli Palmer’s Fairlight shows the restless experimentation and intense subject matter- a ‘parody of 80’s nuclear paranoia’ and Thatcher’s Britain apparently- even in a more straightforward musical context). Once you get over the initial shock you realise on ‘I Read your File’ (Actually a ‘filler’ track!) that Chapman’s voice has lost none of its uniqueness and agility and Geoff Whitehorn’s fluid guitar solo takes us back to the ‘old days’like Nick Pentlow’s alto sax that graces many of the tracks on this album. The part spoken ‘Blues Breaker’ is more vintage Chapman with some great bass playing from Boz Burrell and a great slide guitar break from Steve Simpson. Chapman’s ability as a wordsmith is hard to surpass and as the album went on I hit a ‘comfort zone’ and no longer hankered after the Family level of creativity and experimentation. There really is enough on show here even if it is played in the context of 1980’s musical technology and a variety of musical styles (including the Latino feel of ‘Los Dos Baladairos’) The thudding bass on ‘Turn It Up Loud’ and Whitehorn’s fuzz guitar, Alan Coulter’s drum rolls and neat little Prophet synth break on ‘Let Me Down’ show just how this band can rock! It’s very interesting to hear the thinking behind the lyrics of songs like ‘Hunt the Man’ in Pete Feenstra’s characteristically meticulous sleeve notes. This song has an unusual rhythmic structure and, while being a period piece, is also quite timeless like much of the music on ‘Mango Crazy’. ‘Rivers Run Dry’ is one of Roger’s closest flirtations with the blues with some epic lines and some sensitive echoed guitar that the likes of Robert Cray would be proud of. It’s back to driving rock on ‘I Really Can’t Go Straight’ with (rightly so) economical use of voice box that doesn’t detract from an excellent number with some more clever lyrics. ‘Room Service’ is a satire on the 4 minute nuclear warning. There is one bonus track ‘Maybe A Shot In The Dark’ originally the b-side of ‘Toys’ and not at all commercial- check out the abrupt ending! While ‘Mango Crazy’ is an inventive album with some great songs, ‘Mail Order Magic’ with The Shortlist is even better. This was Chappo’s 2nd solo album released in 1981. There are some really classic songs on there like ‘Unknown Soldier (Can’t Get To Heaven)’, ‘He Was She Was’ and ‘Higher Ground’, a deliciously ironic ‘Barman’, a ‘dsitant cousin’ of ‘Sat’d ‘T’ Barfly’ and some wonderful playing- Geoff Whitehorn’s guitar breaks on ‘Making The Same Mistake’ for instance really hit the spot. The lyrics are as intriguing and incisive as ever and there are no fewer than five bonus tracks including a lengthy live workout of ‘He Was She Was’ and storming versions of ‘Unknown Soldier’ and ‘Ducking Down’ proving that the band could be even better live than in the studio. The band includes Poli Palmer on keyboards and vibes, John Wetton on bass and guitar and Mitch Mitchell on drums on some tracks. Time only allows me to an in depth review of ‘Mango Crazy’ (Can’t get that darned tune out of my head!) but Pete Feenstra pretty much sums up ‘Mail Order Magic’ as follows: ‘Roger’s music remains a unique concoction. There’s
feel, passion, humour,lyrical double entendres and spontaneity,
all topped by his undimmed, wailing vibrato and played by the top
players of the time. It is this musical chemistry that infuses ‘Mail
Order Magic’ with its vitality and originality’. Both CDs are highly recommended but if on a restricted budget go
for ‘Mail Order Magic’ first.
Jess Roden And The Humans - Live at the Robin
A well recorded and highly entertaining set from blues/ soul veteran Jess Roden and a band that included Gary Grainger (ex Rod Stewart guitarist who is responsible for co-writing ‘Hot Legs’!) and Nick Graham (ex Skin Alley bassist). Was Jess Roden not the chap who fronted Bronco in the early 70s and succeeded Jim Morrison when the remaining Doors released a couple of albums as The Butts Band? Of course Pete Feenstra provides all the answers in his customarily excellent liner notes and confirms that this was indeed the case. The year though is 1996 and two sell out concerts at the Robin Hood in Birmingham. Jess Roden and the Humans take us through a repertoire high on adrenaline and emotion with original composition ‘So Fine So Young’ on which Jess gets out his harmonica to take a break from the ‘bucketfuls of soul’ outpouring of his gravely vocal tones an early standout. The 8 minute version of Willie Dixon’s ‘Live The Life I Love’ is rightly lauded as a ‘tour de force’ with Jess’s’ wonderful vocal ‘ad libbing’, the twin guitars if Bill Burke and Gary Grainger and a solid rhythm section of Graham and Leo Brown firing on all cylinders in as soulful interpretation of a Dixon number you’re ever likely to hear. Much more uptempo is a cover of Buddy Guy’s ‘Let Me Love You Baby’ with a fine guitar solo from Burke. You can hear the Neil Young/ Crazy Horse influence in some of the guitar on ‘If You Really Want Me’ and it is a tribute to the song writing of Grainger and Roden that this sounded to my ears like a standard although I wasn’t aware of having heard it before. The slide guitar break by Grainger adds perfectly to the powder keg atmosphere and I was also reminded of Free in the rhythmic moody bluesy outro. There’s a Joe Tex cover before Jess is back on the harmonica with the 8 minute Grainger/ Roden/ Nick Lowe song ‘Before I Hurt Myself’ and this takes us to a surprisingly grungy rendition of Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’. Don’t miss the chance to hear Jess Roden in fine form backed by his inspired Humans ‘live at the Robin’ – another important piece of rock history uncovered by Mystic. Reviewed by Phil Jackson
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