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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For October 17, 2004 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 At least singer / songwriter Ron Louque did spend his youth demoing progressive-rock masterpieces that mixed intricate time and chord changes, challenging riffs and thick vocal harmonies inspired by his lifelong love of The Beatles, most apparent here on "Day By Day". However, he has since refined his sound to take into account the modern day burgeoning of bands like Radiohead, Starsailor, Coldplay and (especially) Doves. So it's big melodies, heartfelt choruses and the wearing of emotions on sleeves all round, with a dose of Muse type vocal histrionics. Which is alright, but lacking in swooshes and bleeps. However, I have fallen in love with the song, "Sad Eyes", which is straight out of the Fountains Of Wayne songbook, back when they were good. There's is a brooding, melancholic sound, probably best appreciated, alone at home with a broken heart and a bottle of red wine. The record sounds fabulous for a self produced release, no doubt helped along by the mixing hands of Tony Lopacinski (touring guitarist for Train) and Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield.
But on the live tracks, "L'Absence" and "14th Street", it all gets a bit showbiz, a bit Liza Minelli. Personally, I'll stick to the similarly vocal Nick Harper, who is less showy, but equally talented. But if over the top is your thing, this is as good as it gets.
InME – Live @ Fat Sam’s
– Dundee, 27th August InMe were supported by Perth Rockers Tenesee Kait, what the grumbling cold crowd heard of their set from outside the venue was great and was well received. Their sound has lots of noise and bass and is pretty heavy combine that with some strong vocals and you have a winner. When people finally got inside the venue they got a mini mosh pit going which was fun to see. “Fucking brill” were the words the bloke next to me used; I think that says it all really.
Urban Spacemen - Plainsongs At times it's almost as though we finally have a jam band of our own, worthy to stand up next to the likes of my beloved Widespread Panic. ALbum highlight "Cosmic Blues" can certainly stand proud with the best of them, all duelling twin guitars and funky backbeat. When it looks as though things are going a bit too far, the keyboards pull everything back to the melody, and the very English vocals (think Camel) lead us onwards. I can't fault this release, it's like having my very own best of collection, all played by the same band, it's that good. The near title track, "Plainsong" is the spaciest track on offer, very west coast (California not Glasgow), and the epic "The Little Peace At The End", is anything but. Loads of synths swooping in and out after a reflective intro, and then the guitars take you away to another space. It's been on repeat for several days now and I haven't tired of it yet. This is one of the finest albums of the year so far, and an absolutely essential purchase. You can order it direct from the band at the website address given. Hurry now, you won't regret it!
Canned Heat - The Boogie House Tapes
Volume 1 (1967-1976) / The Boogie House Tapes Volume 2 (1969-1999) Stamina is required as there must be somewhere in excess of 5 hours of recordings here. However, the journey is well worth it and well worth repeating! First of all a brief history of the band is in order. Canned Heat was formed in 1965 in LA by Bob ‘The Bear’ Hite famous not only for his extraordinary voice but also for his extensive collection of blues 78s and Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson famous not only for his instantly recognisable falsetto singing but also for playing harmonica with legendary blues man Son House and writing a thesis on blues music. Drummer Frank Cook was joined by several bassists in the original line-ups and former Mother of Invention, guitarist Henry ‘Sunflower’ Vestine’ completed the group. It didn’t take long to find a permanent bass player in Larry Taylor fresh from sessions with The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis. The arrival of a new drummer in Adolfo De La Parra (Fito) to play on their second album takes us to the period from which the Boogie House Tapes emanate. Indeed the rather ‘lo fi’ version of ‘On The Road Again’ a big hit for the group based on a number originally recorded in the 1920s by the Memphis Jug Band from a TV show in 1969 is featured on Volume One. In fact two of the highlights of CD Two- 6 minutes of ‘You
Know I Love you’ featuring mesmerising guitar work and the
sublime 10 minute rifferama of ‘I Love My Baby also feature
this line-up. (A 9 minute workout of Willie Dixon’s ‘Bring
It on Home’ is also included). Al Wilson’s sad loss is made all the more poignant by the inclusion of four ‘works in progress’ on Volume Two but as far as Volume One is concerned Joel Scott Hill does his best to keep things going on eight recordings from 1971 (One of these is ‘studio jokes’) Musically these include an up empo version of ‘Going Up The Country’, a less than satisfying ‘Let’s Work Together’ (A classic interpretation of the Wilbert Harrison song when the band is at its best) and close on 11 minutes of ‘Shaken Boogie’ bringing to mind inevitably another sadly departed musical hero of mine Rory Gallagher. There is much, much more on Volume One of course and the set closing showcase for solos ‘Goodbye for Now’ (from 1973 with Bob’s brother Richard Hite now in the band) and the hilarious ‘Sore Back Blues’ in which Henry Vestine cuts loose ‘in the key of C’ for much of the 9 minutes are particularly memorable. I cannot leave Volume One though without mentioning the role of
Harvey Mandel who officially replaced Vestine around the time of
‘Hallelujah’, arguably the Heat’s best album.
His considerable talents are illustrated on eight other tracks on
this compilation. Of these I would pick out the sequence of three
tracks at the beginning of CD2: ‘Bullfrog Blues’ a song
from their very first album then ‘Bob speaks to the audience’
while Larry Taylor mends a broken bass string- ‘I might do
a little tap dancing but I might fall down and can’t get up.’
jokes Bob while introducing Harvey Mandel who is there to make sure
that ‘Canned Heat will keep right on boogieing’. He
also wishes all the best to Vestine who has formed a ‘pretty
freaky’ group called Sun. Larry then goes on to play a stunning
bass solo on the 9 minute laid back ‘Pulling Hair Blues’.
(Vestine is later to rejoin the band). ‘Go to Utah’ with a 1971 line-up of Hite/Vestine/Hill/de la Barreda and de la Parra bears a passing similarity to ‘Voodoo Chile’ while ‘Get off My Back recorded in 1969 with a line-up of Wilson/Vestine/Taylor and de la Parra (Note no Hite) features some sterling guitar work as the band really ‘cook’ in a 10 minute workout. ‘Sneakin’ Around’ recorded in 1971- no Hite on vocals and Joel Scott Hill taking the honour- is more BB King than King of the Boogie! ‘Get on My Airplane’ is a live radio take more reminiscent of James Brown (It’s described as a 1972 jam with two J Geils Band members) than the classic CH sound. (Flirtations with a variety of styles by different incarnations of the band are interesting features of this release). Legendary DJ Wolfman Jack runs out of lyrics on ‘Wolfman’s blues’ recorded at a benefit in the Hollywood Bowl. Again this is worth including on historical rather than musical grounds! Putting the history aside for a moment the most consistently good music is to be found on CD two with 7 tracks recorded live by Dr Boogie on a handheld stereo cassette recorder during a 1994 European tour featuring a line-up of James Thornbury/ Henry Vestine/ Junior Watson and a rhythm section of Ron Shumake and Fito de la Parra and 4 recorded in similar fashion from a 1996 tour with Robert Lucas and Mark Goldberg replacing Thornbury and Shumake. There are also four tracks from a live show in the Hilton Hotel, Reno in 1986 (Thornbury/ Ronnie Barron- vox, piano)/ Vestine/ Taylor/ de la Parra and two 2 track rehearsal tapes with a similar line-up recorded in Fito’s laundry room! There are splendid versions of ‘red Headed Woman’ and ‘Turpentine Moan’ but these are excelled by some wonderful Thornbury slide and Vestine lead work on a masterful version of Elmore James’ classic ‘Sunnyland’. Barron’s piano playing on ‘Built for Comfort’ and a marvellous rendition of ‘Worried Life Blues’ (Better known to me as ‘Someday Baby’ by Cyril Davies and the All Stars) are also stand outs. The CD ends with ‘Creole Queen’ a close relative of another personal favourite Creedence Clearwater Revival and their ‘Run Through the Jungle’ and the superb stomp of ‘A Little Time with Me’. The Boogie House Tapes are a fitting tribute to a band that has a special place in the hearts of all people who love their blues and boogie. Fito de la Parra- ‘producer and survivor in charge’ and Walter De Paduwa dedicated fan and music lover have produced an extraordinary digitally mastered archive of which they should be justifiably proud. We should never forget the tragic history of the band (Following the untimely death of Al Wilson Bob Hite collapsed and died after being on stage in1981 and I believe that Henry Vestine also died in 1997) and these collections are commended to all serious music buyers everywhere. Contact: www.rufrecords.de (Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist) . Volume 2 - The Fallen - 16th Sept 2004 - The
Vale – Glasgow Reviewed by Katey J
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