THE ECSTATIC MUSIC OF ALICE COLTRANE TURIYASANGITANANDA
An EXCLUSIVE Q&A with Luaka Bop’s YALE EVELEV
ROGER WATERS’ Is This The Life We Really Want? set for global release Friday, June 2
Roger Waters, the creative power and songwriting force behind Pink Floyd, announces his first rock album in 25 years, Is This The Life We Really Want?. The album will be available for pre-order on April 21 and released globally on Friday, June 2 on Columbia Records.
GLEN CAMPBELL says ADIÓS with final studio album
Los Angeles – April 14, 2017 – Legendary singer and guitarist Glen Campbell’s final studio album, ADIÓS, , will be released June 9 on UMe, capping off an extraordinary career that has spanned more than five decades and 50 million albums sold. The album will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally and is available for pre-order beginning today.
JOURNEY: Why they remain the ultimate AOR band
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I believe you should love whatever music you love, and not be ashamed. I love it all equally. I have all of Andy Williams’ albums as well as the entire CAN catalog. And I love Buzzcocks just as much as I love Neil Sedaka. To me, there’s no difference between Van Morrison and Van Halen – they have both made great records. My love for The Carpenters is as strong as my passion for The Beatles. And how could I not love both Elvis Presley AND Elvis Costello? Finally, I sure do love recent Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees Journey! There was a Journey before vocalist Steve Perry joined the band, and there’s been a Journey since he left, but let us focus on the band’s commercial heyday for a few paragraphs, shall we?
REX SMITH’s Rock And Roll Dream box set reviewed!
When I bring up the name Rex Smith, many people – usually over 40 years of age – instantly remember him as a teen idol, soap actor, balladeer, hard rocker, TV host or stage actor. Oddly enough, they are all absolutely correct! While he may never have achieved ‘household name’ status all over the world, he is still fondly remembered for quite a few things. For the time being, I’m going to set aside his TV, film and stage work (Street Hawk, Grease, Solid Gold, As The World Turns, Pirates Of Penzance, etc) and focus on his Rock/Pop music career in the ‘70s and ‘80s, all of which is included in the six CD box set ROCK AND ROLL DREAM: 1976-1983.
LORETTA LYNN’s 2017 album Wouldn’t It Be Great!
Wouldn’t It Be Great, the new album from Loretta Lynn, highlights The Queen of Country Music’s original songwriting, as sharp as ever since her early days as a musical trailblazer in the 1960s. This third volume of recordings produced by Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash and recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee features 13 tracks all written or co-written by Loretta.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK: An EXCLUSIVE interview!
Always Pistachio:
STEPHEN SPAZ SCHNEE: Your self-titled album is about to be released. How are you feeling about the journey to make this album and the reaction to it so far?
ROBYN HITCHCOCK: Well, the people that normally like my records like this one, so far. And that’s it really – if you like this one, you’ll probably like the others. If not, I’m not your flavor. That’s why the record is simply my name. The journey? Well it was the lucky coincidence of my moving to Nashville at the same point that Brendan Benson was getting in touch, asking if I’d like to come and record with him there.
THE ADVENTURES’ The Sea Of Love (Expanded Edition) reviewed!
The Adventures rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Irish Punk/New Wave band Starjets. Vocalist Terry Sharpe and latter-day guitarist Pat Gribben formed the Pop-oriented outfit (along with Pat’s wife Eileen, Spud Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder) and released their debut album in 1985. Depending on which country you were in, the album was called THEODORE AND FRIENDS (in the UK and Europe) or THE ADVENTURES (in the U.S.). While essentially the same album, each version featured different mixes of the core tracks (“Send My Heart,” “Another Silent Day”, etc.) and different artwork. The album’s shimmering, glossy production accented Gribben’s melodic flair and Sharpe’s vocals. The addition of Eileen’s vocals added a nice depth to the harmonies, of which there were plenty on display. While the album received good reviews and they earned significant airplay on both sides of the pond, The Adventures didn’t achieve the success they so richly deserved.
TIMBER TIMBRE: An EXCLUSIVE Q&A with Taylor Kirk!
SINCERELY, FUTURE POLLUTION
STEPHEN SPAZ SCHNEE: SINCERELY, FUTURE POLLUTION is about to be released. How are you feeling about the album and the reaction you’ve had to it so far?
TAYLOR KIRK: I’m extremely proud of the recording. I feel it’s without a doubt the best effort yet. Reactions are encouraging.
THE VIBRATORS: An EXCLUSIVE interview with John EDDIE Edwards!
GOOD VIBRATIONS:
Like any genre, Punk was never about just one ‘thing’ – it was a movement made up of many moving parts. Behind the torn jeans, mohawks, leather jackets and missing teeth (thanks, mosh pits), Punk was first and foremost about the music. Initially, a reaction against the overblown pomp of Progressive Rock and Disco (and any other musical movement that the Punk kids deemed pretentious and worthy of a kick in the gonads), Punk became the most influential movement in Rock history since Elvis had his crown stolen by The Beatles in 1964. In 1976, Punk Rock scared people. However, it wasn’t meant to destroy and move on – Punk was about taking Rock back to ground zero and rebuilding it from the ground up. Punk stole the blueprint from Chuck Berry’s safe and brought Rock ‘n’ Roll back to its basic foundation. Sex Pistols was the first band to gain international notoriety, but the whole of England was soon swarming with equally important bands like The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Damned, et al. It was a beautiful thing. These bands knew how to write a cracking tune and that is why they are still remembered 40 years after Punk broke wide open.