Category: Rock (Page 117 of 241)

Classic Albums: Duran Duran, Rio

October 20, 2008 / David Medsker

Man, do we love this series. Eagle gets away from their classic rock leanings and brings in four of the Fab Five – Andy Taylor, having left the band once again, does not participate – to dissect Duran Duran’s 1982 worldwide breakthrough album Rio, and while it doesn’t contain any of the bizarro production stories that were revealed in the episode dedicated to Def Leppard’s Hysteria, it is still a very entertaining and informative analysis of one of the biggest albums of the ‘80s. Nick Rhodes describes the origins of the opening sound on the album’s title track, and talks about how he remodeled “The Chauffeur” into an electronic track from its origins as an acoustic number. They even recruited David Kershenbaum to talk about remixing several Rio tracks to make them more “American” (smart move, that). John Taylor pulls out his bass and plays a few riffs, and reveals that he had to switch from his fingers to a pick and back on “Hold Back the Rain.” Russell Mulcahy is on hand to talk about the videos he shot in Sri Lanka (three videos in three days, yikes), and Bob Geldof is on hand to rave about the record, too. It’s a fine addition to an excellent series. May we suggest ABC’s The Lexicon of Love as a future candidate? (Eagle Vision)

Click to buy Classic Albums: Duran Duran, Rio

DVD Quicktakes, External Music, Pop, Rock

Bob Geldof Classic Albums Series Duran Duran Eagle Vision Duran Duran John Taylor Nick Rhodes Rio Roger Taylor Russel Mulcahy Simon LeBon

Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend

October 17, 2008 / Jeff Giles

It must have looked great on paper, and few musicians are more deserving of a tribute than Les Paul, but as misbegotten encomiums go, Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend ranks somewhere near or below George Martin’s disastrous In My Life — and that album featured performances from Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, so you know you’re on dangerous ground here. Tribute is a hack job, from the shoddy artwork (which lists the tracks in the wrong order) to the songs themselves, a handful of which have been poached from the last Les Paul tribute album, 2005’s American Made World Played. What you end up with is a foul-smelling hash that has its high points (notably “The Good Luck You’re Having,” featuring guitar work from Paul, Hiram Bullock, and Joe Bonamassa), but also answers the question of what it would sound like if Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls covered U2 (answer: he’d make “All I Want Is You” sound vaguely like “Black Balloon”) and leaves room for Jeff Golub to add an inexplicable cover of Ace’s “How Long.” What does this have to do with Les Paul? In most cases, not much – in fact, Paul doesn’t even appear on some tracks. It has the look and feel of a shady licensing deal gone wrong, but even if you choose to believe the folks who put it together had the best intentions, there’s no reason to purchase this album. Pick up 2005’s The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition instead, and leave this to the truck stops and swap meets it deserves. (Immergent 2008)

Les Paul MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Hiram Bullock Joe Bonamassa Les Paul and Friends review

Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere: Nudge It Up a Notch

October 17, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

Add all the right elements and you’ve got an effective formula…right? Especially when the combination includes guitarist Steve Cropper, singer/keyboard player Felix Cavaliere and a set list that mines the old Stax sound. Certainly you won’t find more impressive résumés – Cropper helped helm Booker T and the MGs, backed up Otis Redding and the Blues Brothers and wrote such soul standards as “Dock of the Bay” and “In the Midnight Hour.” Cavaliere, as the voice of the Rascals – Young and otherwise – literally defined the concept of blue-eyed R&B. Yet for all its promise, Nudge It Up a Notch doesn’t quite live up to its title. Boasting all originals, including a handful of instrumentals, it offers an air of authenticity, but without the credence that implies conviction. Cropper remains a singular guitarist and Cavaliere clearly possesses one of the most emotive voices of all time, but these new songs pack neither the fire nor the magic of the material they’re emulating. Back in the day, “One of Those Days” and “If It Wasn’t For Loving You” might have fit the formula, but now they represent a recycled sound that long ago was played to perfection.

Ultimately it’s not surprising that Nudge It Up a Notch doesn’t fare better. After all, these songs recall templates that have been indelibly etched, making any attempt to raise that bar a daunting challenge at best. But where Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples and Al Green recently rekindled old glories with albums that moved them forward, Cropper and Cavaliere seem content to glance backwards and retrace well-trod terrain. Although an admirable attempt, it lacks a necessary quotient when it comes to daring and distinction.

Steve Cropper MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock, Soul

Eat Sleep Drink Music Nudge It Up a Notch Review Steve Cropper Felix Caviliere review

Winter Dance Party: Holiday Greetings to You

October 17, 2008 / Captain Capm

What’s worse than bad Christmas music? How about bad Christmas music as played by people pretending to be dead rock stars? Awesome! Just in time for the Christmas shopping holidays that begin immediately sometime right before or after Halloween, it’s Winter Dance Party, comprised of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper impersonators. If you’re guessing that somewhere in this disc you’ll hear Christmas chestnuts played in the style of “Peggy Sue,” “La Bamba,” and ahhh…..hmm…whatever else it was Big Bopper did that wasn’t “Chantilly Lace,” then you’ll be absolutely wowed by this collection. So yeah, it’s another quick Christmas cash-in with the likes of “Let It Snow,” “Feliz Navidad,” “We Three Kings,” “Silent Night,” and the rest done up dead guy-style. But hey, at least you know these impersonators are the only group officially sanctioned by the surviving families of the deceased to rock such a crazy thing. Completely unnecessary in every way imaginable. (Day Old Records)

Winter Dance Party official site

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Big Bopper Buddy Holly Christmas Music Holiday Greetings to You Review Richie Valens Winter Dance Party Review

Army Navy: Army Navy

October 10, 2008 / David Medsker

I am going to say something Army Navy will love, followed by something that will make them want to kill me. Army Navy’s self-titled album is a dandy collection of jangly pop rock that will have fans of Robyn Hitchcock and Teenage Fanclub jumping for joy. Singer Justin Kennedy has a delicate but steady voice, and his melodies are instantly hummable. Now for the part that will make their blood boil: they’re a power pop band, which is usually the kiss of death for a band’s commercial prospects. Still, who knows: Jack’s Mannequin’s first album was a power pop record, and they’re doing just fine, thank you. That said, Jack’s Mannequin never wrote anything as dreamy and harmony-laden as “Dark as Days” or “Slight of Hand,” the latter of which just scored a spot on the soundtrack for “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” Will Kennedy’s connection to Ben Gibbard (they were both in the band Pinwheel) carry Army Navy over the power pop barrier? God, we hope so. We understand the bias against power pop – most of the bands that play it admittedly suck – but Army Navy deserves better than that. Here’s hoping they get it. (The Fever Zone 2008)

Army Navy MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Power Pop, Rock

Army Navy review CD quicktake CD review