Category: Rock (Page 40 of 241)

Ozzy Osbourne: Scream

June 16, 2010 / James B. Eldred

RIYL: Dio, Motorhead, Judas Priest

It’s sad that when Ozzy’s popularity in the public consciousness was probably at an all-time peak with the success of “The Osbournes” in the early ’00s his music was at a creative nadir. His 2001 effort, Down to Earth, was absolutely forgettable and his 2007 album Black Rain was a boring mess. Metal heads had to wonder, did life as a TV dad mellow out everyone’s favorite prince of darkness?

Not anymore. Ozzy is back with a vengeance on Scream, his first consistent, energetic and flat-out great release since No More Tears. With Gus G. from Firewind replacing the stalwart Zakk Wylde on guitars, Ozzy sounds more energized and ready to rock than he has in decades. Whether he’s calling for you to pound your fist and scream your brains out in the aptly titled “Let Me Hear You Scream” or proclaiming his own epic awesomeness in “Fearless” or “I Want It More,” Ozzy’s trademark howl and delivery sound as good (if a little lower in key) than ever. He’s even managed to bring back some of his sinister creepiness on tracks like “I Want It More” and “Crucify,” a shocking feat considering that most Americans’ iconic image of Ozzy is no longer him biting the head off a bat but instead having a hard time getting his TV’s remote control to properly work.

The fact that Scream is so damn metal is even more impressive when you stop and listen to the lyrics to some of the tracks. For every tailor-made for stadium moshing track like “Let Me Hear You Scream,” there seems to be another that takes the time to be a bit more introspective and insular. “Latimer’s Mercy” is another in a long line of Ozzy songs about the dangers of drug addiction, while others like “Time” and “Life Won’t Wait,” the sole ballad on the album, show that Ozzy’s beginning to ponder his own mortality, a topic sadly made all the more relevant with Ronnie James Dio’s passing earlier this year. It’s not a somber sobfest though, because even at the album’s most serious, Gus G. is still there shredding out one excellent riff after another. It’s like a spoonful of metal to help the medicine go down. It also doesn’t hurt that he gives a couple of excellent solos throughout the album as well.

There’s a brief one-minute coda on Scream entitled “I Love You All” where Ozzy thanks the listener for all their years of support. It sounds like the 61-year-old god of all things evil, epic and metal is about the hang up the devil horns for good soon. Hopefully he can crank out a few more albums like this before he goes, but it would be a hell of a way to go out. (Epic 2010)

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Seen Your Video: OK Go, “End Love”

June 15, 2010 / David Medsker

Sweet Jesus. OK Go has done it again.

What I love about “End Love” is that the stop motion photography reminds me of Zbigniew Rybczyński’s groundbreaking videos in the early ’80s, particularly the Art of Noise’s “Close (To the Edit)” and Lou Reed’s “Original Wrapper.” Only, of course, OK Go takes the concept into outer space by turning the clip into an all-nighter and, in the end, a giant group production. Along with a few very curious geese.

Tim is clearly the best dancer of the bunch here, but that’s almost become an in-joke of sorts. If Dan and Andy suddenly learned how to be as fluid as Tim, it wouldn’t look right. The occasional inclusion of super slo-mo shots was a nice touch too, but nothing touches that human cyclone at song’s end. And now that they have gained control of the album and released it on their own label, we don’t have to worry about any of that ‘no embedding’ nonsense. Get comfy. You’re going to need to watch this one a couple times to catch everything.

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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Mojo

June 14, 2010 / Scott Malchus

RIYL: Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, aging white dudes who like to toke up

Mojo is the strongest set of songs from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in over a decade and a half. Ever since “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” the singer and the band have tried time and again to come up with a classic album that meets the standards of their earlier work. As the band has aged into one of the stalwarts of rock and roll, they have produced music that may be biting in the lyrics, but musically and production-wise lacked a certain edge.

During the Heartbreakers rise to success in the ’70s and ’80s, there was a danger in their music, perhaps because the band members were constantly at each other’s throats. Hostility brewed beneath the surface, from the fights between Petty and former drummer Stan Lynch, to the drugs and alcohol that affected the lives of bassist Howie Epstein and keyboardist Benmont Tench. At one point, Petty punched his fist through a wall, breaking his hand because he couldn’t get a song right. That kind of passion either cause a band to implode, or the members find a way to compromise and mellow with age. For the Heartbreakers, both kind of happened. Lynch quit the band and Epstein was asked to leave; he eventually OD’d on heroin. Meanwhile, Petty achieved nova-like success and decided that it was good to be king and that he didn’t want to fight all of the time.

The past fifteen years have seen some good Petty songs, but not necessarily good Petty albums. From the sound of it, Petty and the band set out to really change that with Mojo.

“Jefferson Jericho Blues” shares some of the same looseness of early Heartbreakers deep cuts, while Mojo’s first single, “I Should Have Known It,” is the cousin of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “You Don’t Know How It Feels” (from 1995’s Wildflowers). Elsewhere, there are some tender ballads, which Petty never gets enough credit for, like the country-tinged “No Reason to Cry” and “Something Good Coming.” The latter holds up with some of Petty’s best heartbreakers.

Petty once claimed that he didn’t like repeating himself and the band continues to explore other genres besides the Americana rock they are famous for playing. “First Flash of Freedom” is an extended jam featuring fine guitar interplay between Mike Campbell and Scott Thurston. It feels like it may have been inspired in a haze of second-hand smoke during some of the Heartbreakers gigs with the Allman Brothers Band. “U.S. 41” is a swampy blues stomp; “Takin’ My Time” is embedded deep in the blues; and “Don’t Pull Me Over” has a reggae groove that will likely go over well in concert.

Throughout the album, Campbell and Thurston trade guitar licks with relish and Tench displays some of his finest organ playing and piano textures in all of the Heartbreakers long history. As usual, Ron Blair (the band’s original bassist who came back to the fold after Epstein was canned) holds things down with sturdy, unobtrusive bass playing.

Still, there is a sameness to this lot of songs that, unfortunately, must be attributed to drummer Steve Ferrone. The longtime session player plays with such precision and technical prowess that it lacks any personality. If the Heartbreakers are one thing, it’s a band full of personalities, from Blair’s dyed black hair to Campbell’s dreads to Petty’s entire personality. There are some tracks on Mojo in which Ferrone seems to find that Heartbreaker groove, but these are only moments. Frankly, it just doesn’t sound like the Heartbreakers, at least, not the Heartbreakers we’ve all come to love. Alas, it’s not our band but Petty’s; and if he’s happy with a human metronome behind the drum kit, then fans will have to live with it (seriously, the drums on “Let Yourself Go” and “Running Man’s Bible” could have been programmed in Tench’s organ, they’re that lifeless).

For this reason, despite the strong number of songs (there are a couple fillers- the curse of the CD age) repeated listens of Mojo may breed familiarity of the songs, but none of them really scream “classic.” (2010, Reprise)

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers official site
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Indigenous: The Acoustic Sessions: A 10 Year Anniversary

June 11, 2010 / Greg M. Schwartz

RIYL: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Lonely Boys, Government Mule

Guitarist Mato Nanji is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his band with acoustic renditions of songs that cover the band’s entire career. The anniversary covers the decade of album releases from the band’s 1998 debut Things We Do up through their most recent album, 2008’s Broken Lands. The band has always centered around Nanji’s electrifying guitar work on his trusty Fender Stratocaster. But as we see here, Nanji’s ace musicianship translates very well to the acoustic spectrum. These tracks also serve to highlight his ever-soulful vocals and strong blues songwriting.

The disc opens with two great tracks from Things We Do,; “Now That You’re Gone” and the title track. Both epitomize Nanji’s endearing style with bluesy but melodic tunes that feature sharp chord changes and lead guitar lines that sing. Nanji’s wife Leah also sings on the harmonies, helping to keep Indigenous a family affair (following the departure of Nanji’s brother, sister and cousin from the band in 2006.) Nanji then moves on the band’s great second album Circle, featuring “Little Time” and “Rest of My Days.” The former features some of the best riffing on the album over a tribal sort of rhythm. The latter highlights the way Nanji mixes heartfelt vocals with hard-hitting riffs to really dig deep into the blues. Both were electrifying in their original format, but work great acoustically too thanks to the stinging riffs, vocal melodies and crisp rhythms.

“Want You to Say” moves on to the band’s third eponymous album with one of the band’s top tunes, a deeply melodic and infectious love song that benefits from the husband and wife harmonies. Three songs are featured from the fourth album Chasing the Sun. “Fool Me Again” has some great note bending and more strong harmonies. “Come on Home” is a deep blues ballad that just oozes soul. “Leaving” has some of Nanji’s bluesiest riffs, and feels like it could fit on the soundtrack to a Clint Eastwood western. It also features some great guest fiddle work, which deepens the bluesy feel of the track even further. The last album is represented with “Should I Stay” and “Eyes of a Child,” two more soulful tunes that feature the deeper perspective of the passage of time. A playful cover of Roy Orbison’s “You Got It” closes the album on an uplifting note.

The whole album serves as a great back-to-basics exercise in the blues. It’s easier to impress with amps cranked, but Nanji’s virtuoso blues playing and songwriting really shines on these tracks. (Vanguard Records 2010)

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Grace Potter & the Nocturnals: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

June 11, 2010 / Greg M. Schwartz

RIYL: Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

This is technically the band’s fourth studio album, but the eponymous release marks a new era for the group. Former bassist Bryan Dondero has been replaced with Catherine Popper (formerly with Ryan Adams & the Cardinals), and this change has created a new synergy for the band. Popper helps balance the gender dynamic with her harmony vocals and she drives the songs higher with her superior jam skills on the bass. Rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco has also been added to the lineup, helping lead guitarist Scott Tournet, drummer Matt Burr and keyboardist/guitarist Potter to embiggen their sound, as they’d say on “The Simpsons.”

The album is a showcase for Potter’s dynamic vocals and melodic rock style, but it also feels like a coming-out party for what in hindsight will probably be viewed as the band’s classic lineup. Potter has her mojo working from the start in “Paris (Ooh La La),” a high-energy sexual rocker. “Oasis” comes down a notch, but then builds back up as Potter’s voice and Popper’s bass seem to sync in with each other. “Medicine” cranks it back up with a another blast of down and dirty groove rock where Potter sings about a mesmerizing gypsy type of woman not unlike herself.

Lead single “Tiny Light” shows off the new lineup at its best. The overall sound conjures visions of Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac, before blasting into the stratosphere with a big jam driven by Popper’s dynamic bass line. The song also features some of Potter’s best lyrics, which acknowledge the chaos of the early 21st century but ultimately lead to an uplifting catharsis. The song also gives a snapshot of the band’s live power with the jam at the end, where Tournet rips a sonic blast of lead guitar and Potter belts it out to the extreme. Potter’s softer side shines on piano-driven ballad “Colors,” where her delicate vocals dedicated to the twilight time of day are sure to melt hearts. “Only Love” provides a another high-energy blast of skillfully layered blues rock, a sound that is the band’s bread and butter.

The second half of the album isn’t quite as strong as far as memorable songs, although the band’s sound remains vibrant. “One Short Night” is a catchy number with a funky flavor about a questionable night out, while “Low Road” explores a bluesier territory with Potter still shining on vocals. “Hot Summer Night” is another sexy rocker similar to “Medicine” and “Only Love.” It would be nice to see Potter explore a wider variety of sonic flavors, but there’s no doubt this is one she’s very good at. “Things I Never Needed” closes out the album with a contemplative and endearing ballad. The first half of the album gets four stars, but the second half gets only three, so that’s three-and-a-half overall. This is a very good album, but the next one should be a true classic.

The band’s five-star live show is where they shine the brightest. When Potter & the Nocturnals played at Austin’s SXSW Festival in March, they highlighted the new material and knocked it out of the park with high-energy, jam-heavy performances in both an evening headliner show and a day-party performance. The band was good in 2008, but this version is at a higher level. Whoever orchestrated Popper’s entry into the band on bass should win rock ‘n’ roll’s “general manager of the year” award for the transaction. (Hollywood Records 2010)

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