Category: Rock (Page 80 of 241)

The Black Crowes: Warpaint Live (DVD)

September 28, 2009 /


RIYL: The Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, The Rolling Stones

The Black Crowes hit the road in the spring of 2008 for a mini-tour that featured a nightly first set of the just-released Warpaint album being played in its entirety. This show from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles captures the band on a hot night. Vocalist Chris Robinson has got his mojo working while then-new members Luther Dickinson (lead guitar) and Adam MacDougall are fitting right in.

Warpaint was the band’s first new studio album in eight years and the band is clearly energized. General consensus has it that the band’s new 2009 album, Before the Frost… Until the Freeze, has already surpassed Warpaint with an even stronger batch of tunes, but as drummer Steve Gorman has noted in a recent interview at Jambase.com, Warpaint was pivotal for the band in helping them regain their musical “compass.”

Tunes like “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and “Evergreen” benefit from Dickinson’s charged leads and backing harmonies from Charity White and Mona Lisa Young. Guitarist Rich Robinson and drummer Gorman form the band’s backbone, laying down a Stones-meets-Zep vibe on “Wee Who See the Deep.” Solos by Dickinson and MacDougall surpass the studio performance to demonstrate why the Black Crowes have always been more about the live shows, though they generally turn out stronger and more cohesive albums than most jam bands. Dickinson moves to mandolin for the poignant “Locust Street,” with Chris Robinson pouring on the soul. As with the album, the highlight of the set is “Movin’ on Down the Line,” the first song written for the album, an uplifting psychedelic rock tour de force.

The second set is only six songs, but features stellar covers of Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett’s “Poor Elijah,” the Bramlett/Clapton gem “Don’t Know Why,” and the Stones’ “Torn and Frayed,” a tune tailor made for the Robinson Brothers harmony vocals. There’s also an extended work out on “Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye.” This short but sweet second set is what elevates the DVD from three to four stars, as the band really digs in deep. (Eagle Rock Entertainment 2009)

Blues, Concert DVDs, Rock

Dwight Twilley: Out of the Box

September 28, 2009 /


RIYL: Richard X Heyman, Jason Falkner, The Smithereens

For some artists, an album consisting solely of cover songs would seem a fallback tactic intended to simply buy time. However, coming from Dwight Twilley, the concept finds an appropriate fit with his power pop M.O., reflecting the music that provided his earliest inspiration. And while the majority of his cover choices on this new LP might negate the need for a redo, Twilley manages to impose his indelible imprint on each, making them a good fit with his own catalogue in the process.

Truth be told, Out of the Box doesn’t opt for the obscure. In fact, most of the material is – to say the least – pretty well worn. Songs like “Secret Agent Man,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Stand by Me” and a well-stocked selection of Beatles standards clearly veer towards the obvious. Even the color photo – a psychedelic headshot – offers a retro reference by replicating Richard Avedon’s famous kaleidoscopic portrait of John Lennon.

Happily then, the treatments are anything but ordinary. Aside from the fact that he opts to strip down the arrangements to a basic rock ‘n’ roll motif, Twilley applies his vocals with an angst and intensity that gives these tracks an amped up sense of urgency and desperation. The Bee Gees’ “Holiday” finds a distinct sense of desperation while John Lennon’s “In My Life” echoes with decided remorse. Even the droning “Tomorrow Never Knows” finds an added element of edge and desire.

Inevitably, there will be those who lament the fact that Twilley hasn’t anything original to offer. Indeed, given the recent abundance of rarity collections and other material from his archives, an album of new material would seem long overdue. Suffice it to say, Out of the Box only adds to the anticipation. (Gigatone 2009)

Dwight Twilley MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Rock

Chevelle: Sci-Fi Crimes

September 25, 2009 /


RIYL: Tool, Helmet, Incubus

The Chicago power trio’s fifth album sees the band doing what it does best, which is rocking a heavy sound, yet one with more melody than most of their contemporaries. “Sleep Apnea” and “Mexican Sun” come right the gate with a powerful sound – big power chords, fat bass and crashing drums. Vocalist/guitarist Pete Loeffler still strays into screaming mode here and there on the album, but mostly leaves the screams on the curb, a good thing since he can actually sing. Brother Sam Loeffler on drums and brother-in-law Dean Bernardini on bass form a mean rhythm section for Pete to lay down his crunchy power chords over.

“Shameful Metaphors” is a major highlight that demonstrates Chevelle’s more dynamic side, as it starts off featuring the bass line and light, melodic guitar before the crunch comes in, reminiscent of the production style on the band’s 2002 smash hit “Send the Pain Below.” Pete Loeffler shows what an emotionally compelling vocalist he can be on tracks like this and lead single “Jars.” “Fell Into Your Shoes” and “Letter to a Thief” feature more big heavy hooks that will surely get fists pumping, and echoey guitar fills that expand the band’s sonic palette.

The album’s title apparently comes from “Highland’s Apparition,” which mixes things up with a solo acoustic ghost story ballad, and “Roswell’s Spell,” perhaps the heaviest song on the album. This unfortunately makes it challenging to discern the lyrics that allude to the infamous 1947 Roswell Incident, since Loeffler reverts back to screaming mode during the song. The intriguing lyrics, says Loeffler, were influenced by a friend of the band that’s way into UFOs and the paranormal. The topic has clearly influenced the band, as demonstrated by the album title and artwork featuring a flying saucer.

“A New Momentum” follows with a monster bass line, huge dirty chords and some really catchy riffs for another stand-out tune. “This Circus” closes the album with another heavy but more syncopated rocker. There’s a lot of heavy sludge rock out there that lacks any memorable hooks, while there’s just as much poser rock that lacks any real balls. Sci-Fi Crimes shows that Chevelle remain among the best at mixing melodic hooks with head-banging heaviness. (Sony 2009)

Chevelle MySpace page

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Will Hoge: The Wreckage

September 25, 2009 /


RIYL: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Dan Baird, The Damnwells

There’s never been anything terribly rock & roll about riding a scooter, but leave it to Will Hoge to change that: the roots-rockin’ singer/songwriter was on his way home from the studio last year when he collided with a van, ending up with a Dylanesque list of broken bones and lacerations that landed him in intensive physical therapy. Barely a year later, he’s back on his feet with the defiantly titled The Wreckage, an 11-song collection of snarling rockers and slow-burning ballads whose unflinchingly casual cool brings to mind vintage Tom Petty. Wreckage is a classic rock record in the best sense of the term – the type of album that would sound great coming out of any jukebox in America, packed with songs that smell like leather, bourbon, and cigarettes. Deeply unfashionable, in other words, but Hoge has been at this for over a decade, releasing an album every year or two, mostly on his own – and if getting pulverized by a van isn’t enough to stop his music, something as silly as current trends shouldn’t be able to hold him back either. If you’ve been wondering what happened to good old-fashioned rock & roll, here’s your answer: Beaten, battered, bruised – and stronger than ever. (Rykodisc 2009)

Will Hoge MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Def Leppard: Pyromania Deluxe Edition

September 24, 2009 /


RIYL: Mutt Lange, cowbell, yelling “Oootdug gleeten glouten globen”

We’re admittedly late with this one (this was released in June), but better late than never when discussing the only album that came remotely close to challenging Thriller on the album charts in the early ’80s. Joe Elliott may make fun of Nick Rhodes for playing keyboards with only two fingers on those VH-1 “I Love the ’80s” shows, but as great as Pyromania is, it was Def Leppard’s ability to appeal to the fairer sex – a rarity for metal acts – that launched them into the stratosphere, and much like Rhodes and his mates in Duran Duran, Def Leppard’s music videos went a long way towards making that happen. (Come on, look at those pictures again of Joe Elliott in the sleeveless Union Jack shirt and his perfect hair. Dude’s the world’s first metrosexual.) Guys loved Def Leppard too because, let’s face it, they kicked ass. It was polished, obsessively overproduced ass, but ass just the same. There isn’t a band alive that wouldn’t claim “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages” and “Foolin'” for themselves. The album tracks, namely “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),” “Stagefright” and “Too Late for Love,” were just as good.

What makes this deluxe edition of Pyromania a must-have, though, is the bonus disc. We normally dismiss the inclusion of live tracks on any expanded edition as filler, but the live performance here, recorded at the L.A. Forum in 1983, is smoking hot. The band is firing on all cylinders, and the set list is bulletproof. Along with the best moments from Pyromania, the band rips through “Wasted,” “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” “Let It Go,” “High and Dry (Saturday Night),” and they even bring out Brian May to play with them on, of all things, John Fogerty’s “Travelin’ Band,” with a verse of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll” thrown in for good measure. Rock, rock till you drop, indeed. (Mercury 2009)

Def Leppard MySpace page
Click to buy Pyromania from Amazon

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

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