Week of Aug 22, 2022

 The blues have made an indelible impact on this week’s list, some from the most unlikely sources. Neil Young hammers out some bluesy rock, a Dane named Thorbjorn with a throwback voice and stately guitar work, and country blues from a young contender shows just how impactful the blues of yesteryear continues to this day. Of course, there is a cornucopia of prog rock and, unusually, a couple of duds. Oh well. Time to roust a new listing that may or may not make it by next week.   

Best of the Week

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Vieux Farka Toure - Les Racines

2022  10 tracks (47:21)

Absolutely blown away by the work of this man. Given his Malian roots, there are elements of African folk mixed in with modern jazz elements. Watching a YouTube performance, the four-piece ensemble presented had Toure displaying his dazzling fret work, a bass player, another playing a five-string acoustic instrument of special origin and the percussionist using a special wood drum and generating a complicated combination of beats using the palms of his hands and slapping two sticks on the body. 

Thorbjorn Risager and Emil Balsgaard - Taking the Good with the Bad

2021 -  11 tracks (41:02)

Utterly surprised how a Dane can play roots-based blues guitar and sing like the second coming of John Lee Hooker. It is chock full of delightful tunes with a full on groove that keeps you moving. More bar room blues and boogie woogie than delta blues, but it’s a kick anyway. I've heard a couple of tracks from the next album featuring his Black Diamond group and my anticipation for it is at max level.

Neil Young - Eldorado

5 tracks (25:42)

If there is any question if Neil Young has anything left in the tank, this will put a stop to that nonsense. The only disappointment is there are only five tracks. His vocals never were a strong point, but here he had the good sense to move them back and let the jamming band lead the way. This is Young's raw edged driving rock and roll at its best. 

The Pineapple Thief - Magnolia

2014 -  12 tracks (46:06)

The Pineapple Thief has become one of my favorite bands, even when they keep the energy down. I guess Bruce Soord feels his writing lends itself to polite prog rock, but listen to “Alone at Sea” and “Don’t Tell Me” and don’t tell me a little growl fits a more restrained texture. 

Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement

2007 -  9 tracks (55:47)

Riverside belongs in the coveted group of bands such as Gazpacho and The Pineapple Thief, capable of delivering well crafted tunes with punch and power. Unlike Thief, there are some tracks sprinkled about that stretch out the work with a little time to afford the listener a chance to hear a more well rounded set of ideas. 

Interesting Finds

Sylvaine - Atoms Aligned Coming Undone

2018 -  6 tracks (42:15)

Sylvaine (aka Katheryn Sheppard) likes her music dark, moody, and dense. She has wonderful vocals to boot. However, she needs to change it up a bit because the hard and gritty tones get monotonous with extended listening. A ray of sunshine thrown in wouldn’t hurt. 

Hollywood Undead - Hotel Kalifornia

2022 -  14 tracks (43:35)

When I heard these guys, what 15 years ago, I thought they were like some kind of spoof band. They play kick-ass rock-rap along the lines of Linkin Park and they haven’t lost a lick of smart sense and intensity. Love it. 

Opeth - Damnation

2003  8 tracks (43:07)

Opeth is one of those groups that has gone through transformations between dark metal and accessible prog rock. This is along the lines of the latter. When comparisons are made between Opeth and Porcupine Tree, this is an example of being aligned with PT. 

Frost* - Falling Satellites

2016 -  13 tracks  (1:06:10)

From the school of Big Big Train and IQ prog rock, this capable outing is perfectly fine. Lot's of meaty passion displayed though there are a couple of clinkers that could have been left out.

Kasabian - The Alchemist’s Euphoria

2022  12 tracks (38:12)

Electronica heavy rock that has more than its fair share of success. Most of the tunes are enjoyable even if there is a sameness that lingers between each track.

Marcus King - El Dorado

2020  12 tracks (42:16)

If Marcus King had a soul mate, it would be Leon Russell, except he sings more like Janis Joplin and plays his guitar like Russell pounded his piano. Not all the songs are winners, but the ones that are are simply scintillating. 

Leprous - Aphelion

2021 -  10 tracks (56:04)

Another Norwegian prog rock band (good stuff just keeps coming from Scandinavia) that would compare with The Pineapple Thief with a little more edge. 

Forgettable

Danny Elfman - Bigger. Messier

2022 - 23 tracks (1:39:00)

It’s difficult to put this in the Forgettable class because it certainly isn’t forgettable. After not listening to Danny Elfman since the Oingo Boingo days, I assumed this would be some kind of pop extravaganza. It emotes a lot of anger, evidently due to Covid and the questionable turns made by former president. Many of the songs are given additional mixes by the ultra produced craziness combining thundering beats, shrieking keyboards, harsh vocals and totally devoid of pleasant melodies. In the end, one wonders - WHY? That said, I didn’t wash out all the tracks to move to the next one. It’s like the train wreck you can’t take your eyes off of the catastrophe. Back to the movies, Danny.

Alan Parsons - From the New World

2022 -  11 tracks (45:34)

As one would expect, the Alan Parsons work is beautifully produced and engineered. It features some solid names on parts, David Pack (remember Ambrosia?) and Joe Bonamassa which is welcome. That said, it’s a little too syrupy for my tastes - way too much middle of the road pop. 

Week of Aug 15, 2022

 My last music blog was a month ago (slacker!) though it didn’t intend to be that way. Twice I attempted to put together a new list and the results sucked. I didn’t like most of the music I selected. Was it a case of getting more persnickety in evaluating the music? Is this a period of malaise that happens in any hobby or endeavor? Can’t tell. But sometimes the best thing to do when you find yourself stuck is to go back to the basics. In this case, it's to go to Prog - the magazine that has dozens of reviewed material that covers a multitude of prog music styles and pushes the boundaries. It worked. Almost all the selections are current releases. Many have more of an electronic music keyboard centric vibe, something that was more accidental than intent.    

Best of the Week

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Robert Crosbie / Geisha - The Global Machine

2022  9 tracks (44:41)

The sounds will remind many of the King Crimson in the Discipline era because of the rhythmic guitar fingering Fripp used, but the songs have a more conventional, and likable, feel. Instead of KC’s edgy dynamics, this instrumental album has a broader base of tools to produce well rounded songs, accentuated by very good production. 

Zach Tabori - Soft Boiled

2022  8 tracks (24:13)

Holy Foghorn Leghorn, is this good. Multi-instrumentalist Tabori has a flair for the dramatic and unconventional pop. Think 10CC, Queen, Todd Rundgren, and evidently one of his heroes, Frank Zappa. You hear them all in this quick paced extravaganza that paces at a brisk 24 minutes. Just listen to the whole thing in one sitting. 

VOLA - Live From The Pool

2022  13 tracks (1:03:23)

They did the most pandemic thing ever by holding a live on-line event from an emptied swimming pool. But the product doesn’t feel “watered down” and still is tight and well-recorded. The (mainly) Danish band sites their influences as Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Ulver, Mew, Massive Attack, with a big shoutout to Steven Wilson. You know they are on the right track.

Rod While - Vigil

2022  10 tracks (45:59)

While plays a restrained version of Joe Satriani, and it works for him. Where Satriani attacks his fretwork with wild abandon, While uses precise well defined textures. The two artists are obviously quite different, but both produce rich compelling work. While knows he is just one part of a collective and sometimes isn’t the star. However, the grace and elegance of his playing speaks volumes even if it doesn’t punch you in the face. I find that refreshing.

Interesting Finds

Worriedaboutsatan - Bloodsport

2022 8 tracks (41:42)

I’m not opposed to dark brooding industrial music, but it must have tonality and some degree of musicality to be enjoyable. Bloodsport treads that boundary frequently. A little less harshness would have made this a good listen, but it still has its moments.  

Wardruna - Kvitravn First Flight of the White Raven

2022  24 tracks (2:14:00)

If there is such a thing as Norwegian tribal music, this would be it. Haunting sounds with basic bold rhythms sung in a native Norwegian dialect is often captivating. Chants and soulful woodwinds add to the austere passages, like boating down a long, lonely fiord on a dark starless night. At two hours, listening to the album in total would be a chore. 

Zombie Zombie - Vae Vobis

2022  12 tracks (42:15)

Struggling to come up with comparatives on this combination of instrumentals and songs. When there is a song, it is sung in Latin. It fits the music in a processional and spiritual manner. Some of the vocals use a vocoder to either disguise lack of singing ability or add mystique, but surprisingly, it isn’t a bad effect. 

Geoff Proudley - Tales from Strange Travels

2021  12 tracks (1:00:40)

If I said Geoff Proudley is the second coming of Rick Wakeman, would you go running and screaming from the room? He isn’t, but the keyboard centric flow of the album certainly feels like it. But where Wakeman was into keyboard flair and pyrotechnics, Proudley concentrates on more conventional lines and adding pieces here and there to make it feel more like a band.  

Propaganda - A Secret Wish

1985  9 tracks (51:46)

xPropaganda - The Heart is Strange

2022  8 tracks (42:42)

The similarity in group names is for a reason. While Propaganda was a four-piece band in the mid-80’s, xPropaganda is the current rendition featuring half the original band. The original Propaganda was a flash in the pan with great success in two short years before complications set in by the recording contracts. No form of them materialized until the two women decided to produce a modern version. They are both good. You can feel the fibrance and energy of the 80’s band and enjoy the sophistication of the new group, but realize the central core of the electronic dance is the same. 

 

Forgettable