Music Review: Wild Light - Adult Nights

Originally posted at Blogcritics 4/6/09

“Go and get your things now/We’re going for a ride,” says Wild Light on “Call Home,” one of many merry poppy tracks from this New Hampshire-by-way-of-Quincy, MA quartet’s debut album Adult Nights (StarTime International/Columbia). It is a trip indeed, through two decades of anthemic, jangle-ish and folky indie rock that is as nostalgic as it is modern-sounding (thanks to former Beck and Elliott Smith producer Rob Schnapf).

Formed in 2005, Wild Light has been building a buzz in the periphery of the mainstream rock terrain for some time now. Having released a self-titled EP in 2007 and played the annual SXSW festival each of the last couple of years, the foursome never stopped building momentum and winning new fans, and has toured with and opened for an impressive roster of breakthrough indie rock acts including MGMT, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and others. In fact, bassist Tim Kyle was in an early incarnation of Arcade Fire before leaving to co-found his current group.

With the March release of its long-awaited debut full length, Wild Light is poised to make a big splash on the mainstream alternative rock scene itself. And after many listens to the 13-track effort, it’s not hard to see why.

Leadoff track “California On My Mind,” with its capo-fretted jangle guitar rock – in the vein of a more upbeat Phantom Planet – and expletives sung with a smile on singer/guitarist Jordan Alexander’s face, gets things off to a care-free, sunny start.

Utterances of car crashes and family lead the despair-driven “New Hampshire” for a little while, but the group’s harmonized vocals and “nah-nah-nah” choruses turn it into a pop anthem before long, capped off by buzzing guitars and MGMT-like synths.

The first seven tracks on Adult Nights have their moments of joy but tracks eight and nine (“The Party” and “My Father Was A Horse”) are largely forgettable. Along with “California,” the jittery, summery guitars of “Surf Generation” and the out of this world Jonny Greenwood-esque production on “Heart Attack” highlight the first half, while the twinkling atmospherics and simple ascending/descending electric guitar notes and Killers-like vocals on “Lawless River” highlight the late portion of the disc. And speaking of 1980s influences, the “ooh-oohs” on “New Year’s Eve” recalls vintage New Order.

For all the hoopla regarding the band’s connections to the Arcade Fire, there is surprisingly little material on this disc that sounds like the Canadian rockers, the somber album closer “Red House” – not a Hendrix cover – being the most notable exception.

Wild Light has spent time living or recording on the west and east coasts, and the music on this disc largely reflects that, with the greater balance going toward warm and fuzzy feel-good songs, though you may hear some colder, shivery tracks with sleigh bells from these Northeast natives at various spots (ex. “Future Towns”).

Thus, Wild Light’s first disc Adult Nights, besides having only a few subpar tracks out of thirteen, will soundtrack more warm spring days than cold ones. Be sure to pick this disc up now before they, and the weather really heats up.
Recommended If You Like: The Shins, Arcade Fire, MGMT, Phantom Planet, Brit Pop


To stream the full album, click here.

For more info on the band, go to their Myspace page.

Charlie Doherty's Favorite Releases of 2008

Originally posted at the Blogcritics site 3/25/09

Believe it or not, albums that came out in the last year are still finding my inbox, mailbox and CD player. You could say 2008 is the year that keeps on giving us great music. But with the first quarter of 2009 about to close, at some point you have to come to an end point on the year that was if the intention is to make a list of your favorites. For me, now is that point.

And what a year for music 2008 was, rock and roll especially. January started out with releases from alternative rock staples Radiohead (the official release of In Rainbows on XL Recordings), Smashing Pumpkins (the overlooked American Gothic EP), and new rock by the likes of Athens, Georgia-based The Whigs. By the time this January came around, I was still discovering new and great music – the Gaslight Anthem being the highlight of this bunch.

In my opinion, 2008 was a heck of year for Southern rock bands (including The Whigs), with the reemergence of that other Athens band (R.E.M.), pleasant discoveries of newer groups such as North Carolina’s The Sammies, and new albums from veterans My Morning Jacket and Kings Of Leon (who also won a Grammy this year for the hit single “Sex On Fire”). Read on to see which of these bands made my favorites list.

The metal world saw veterans take over, with killer releases by everyone from Metallica and Yngwie Malmsteen to Nevermore’s Jeff Loomis, but newer acts like Torche impressed me as well. Though Judas Priest came back with an ambitious and to critics, a “mixed” effort with the double LP Nostradamus, more impressive to my eyes and ears was the Halford Live At Rock In Rio III DVD/CD package, which featured a remastered Halford solo CD Resurrection together with an hour-long concert from the 2000-2001 “Resurrection World Tour,” a lengthy documentary of it featuring Rob Halford in studio with Bruce Dickinson, and much more. This package largely summed up the best material Halford did outside of his Priest work and is no doubt my favorite non-Judas Priest release.

Other favorite music DVDs that came out late last year include the Radiohead-heavy and Nigel Godrich-produced From The Basement – Various Artists live performance DVD (which was released again in March), and the legendary pre-synthesizer-era The Who shows of 1977 and 1969 – featuring the band’s raw and first ever performance of rock opera Tommy - as captured on Live At Kilburn: 1977, a must-have for any The Who fan.

With so many very good-to-great releases to consider for a list of favorites, it was not an easy task to nail it all down to a Top Ten list, so I’ll give you around ten (ok: lucky thirteen) releases that really made a large impression on me and my mp3/CD/DVD players, and then a short list of some other releases I liked.

10. Filter - Anthems For The Damned
Not too many people I know heard or talked about this album, but Richard Patrick made one of may favorite rock-out-with-your-headphones-on releases of the year. Whether it’s radio-ready rockers like “Kill The Day” and “Soldiers of Misfortune” or the dreamy soundscapes of “Only You” and its instrumental companion “Can Stop This,” it’s the best album Patrick has done since 1999’s career-defining Title of Record.

9. Putumayo Presents - Euro Groove
It was through an e-card that a PR rep sent Blogcritics last year that I got to sample the first three tracks from this awe-inspiring compilation of great music from around the world. But I wasn’t happy with just samples and so went to a local store and tracked down this classy, varied and strong collection of ten tracks by artists from Italy, England, Lebanon, Germany, France and elsewhere.

Euro Groove was an eye-opener for me to be sure and more compilations like this will surely redefine what has been described as “world music,” (which would no doubt please David Byrne). The gorgeous strings on the jazzy fusion track “Destins Et Desirs“ by Lebanon’s Toufic Farroukh, the seductive and electronic ambience of “Nuit Magique” by Jazzamor, the ambient funk of “Superwhirly” by Guateque All Stars and the urban pop of “Check In” by Fiamma Fumana are my favorites, though all are enjoyable.

8. Gigantour 2 by Various Artists CD and DVD
The Megadeth-centered tour of a few years ago (2006) featured some of the best up-and-coming acts in heavy metal, including Lamb of God and Into Eternity as well as veterans like Arch Enemy, Overkill and Opeth. For me, the Opeth contributions made me a bigger fan of the band and inspired me to check out some past albums. For that alone, these releases deserve mention in this list. Both discs contain multiple and equally power-packed Megadeth performances as well, including a live version of Megadeth classic “Peace Sells.” Overall, the Gigantour 2 CD and DVD (sold separately) is one hell of a one-two punch.

7. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
To say that a band like Death Cab has “grown” as a band over its decade-plus years of existence would be an insult. They have been great songwriters since its inception, starting with 1998’s garage-esque-produced Something About Airplanes 1998 debut.

With Narrow Stairs, its sixth album and second for a major label (Atlantic, after spending its formative years with Barsuk Records), you see the band trying its hand at prog rock-ish material (“I Will Possess Your Heart”) and exotic/tribal beats and loops (“Pity And Fear”). Then there’s the romantic violins that carry “Your New Twin Sized Bed,” literary references to Jack Kerouac (“Bixby Canon Bridge”) and one of the best singles of 2008, “Cath.” Simply put, DCFC is just a great band that finds new ways to get even better than you thought they could be.

6. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound
These Jersey boys don’t need absurdly loud guitars or a nine-piece band to make a great record. With lyrical prose and storytelling that is Springsteen-esque and a Replacements-like punkish aura throughout the band’s second record, The ‘59 Sound is filled with one rockin’ or catchy winner after another, its celebratory title track included.

5. The Sammies – Sandwich
Sometimes, you discover great new music. Other times, new music discovers you. Such is the case here. After doing a Blogcritics review of The Whigs - Mission Control album, a PR rep from The Sammies tracked me down to offer up this album for review, since the two bands not only share southern rock roots but are good friends with one another. I took a chance on them and it surely paid off. A little bit of retro, cool ‘80s rock (in the vein of Echo & The Bunnymen), blues-influenced ‘70s rock and modern rock, it’s a consistently enjoyable and varied record. A great discovery, indeed.

4. Metallica – Death Magnetic
This magnificently back-to-basics thrash metal release is a great album, but also one of the most aggravating ones to come out in some time. Songwriting wise, Metallica has remastered the long and the heavy, the type that made them a household name in the metal world in the 1980s. And though some fans still complain about the thin mix of And Justice For All, the digital distortion you likely experienced listening to this album means Death Magnetic takes the cake for Worst. Production. Ever. It’s not enough to make you want to stop listening altogether, but does make for a disturbing/unsettling listening experience at times.

Worst of all, Metallica stands by it, saying that to clean up the mix would mean taking out the liveliness of the album’s overall sound. Since when do you have to choose between a lively record and digital distortion? Hopefully someday James Hetfield and crew will think differently and remix the album, because one this relentlessly rockin’ and consistent certainly deserves better production than this.

3. The Whigs – Mission Control
Here’s a young southern rock group that has fast become a household name in alternative rock this past year, thanks in part to exposure to late night TV, including on Late Night With David Letterman. The Whigs have a couple of albums to its name, but Mission Control’s catchy, My Morning Jacket-esque sound and at times early ‘90s-ish material doesn’t have a weakling among its eleven tracks. They may not be breaking new ground here but provide a refresher course to remind people – as my next pick surely will as well – that a great band doesn’t need much more than a bass, drums and single guitar attack to attain a full and dynamic sound.

2. The Who – Live At Kilburn: 1977
For you older folks out there and the younger ones (like me) who were not alive when The Who were at the peak of their live and studio wizardry and powers, this two-concert DVD captures the original four members loud, rude and proud. The 1969 show, though grainy in video quality, is a true treasure, as the band performs favorites and a couple of operas (“A Quick One While He’s Away” and “Tommy”), a novelty during this time period. They do so with nothing but the sounds of their collective voices, drums, electric bass and Townshend’s roaring Gibson guitar – no piano/keyboards wanted or needed. The same is true for the 1977 show, one of the last filmed shows with the drugged up mad man behind the kit, Keith Moon before his death the next year. Lively and energetic doesn’t begin to describe how powerful these performances are, not to mention influential.

With the likes of U2 taking the crown of being one of the last great innovative guitar-centric arena rock bands on Earth, this DVD is a reminder of who, along with Led Zeppelin deserved such a title.

1. Radiohead – In Rainbows/From The Basement DVD
What else can you say about Radiohead that hasn’t been said before? It is a group that, far from past its prime, mixes the loveliest melodies (“All I Need,” “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”), the hard charging (“Bodysnatchers”) and the deceptively heavy (guitar-tuning-wise) “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” the best emotional-but-not-emo song I’ve heard Yorke and co. write in years. After seeing the band live in the summer of 2008, and praising to others how cool and solid the experience was, it was only afterwards you realized that the entirety of In Rainbows was performed.

When fans can get behind and excited for the new material – even if much of it was at least two years in the making – as much as the old material live, you know you’ve accomplished something special. ‘Enuff said.

The From The Basement DVD is an all-star roster of alternative rockers live and in a basement studio in Britain. It is a brilliant, though couple of years old series recently released on DVD – reviewed here – that features nothing but pure, uninterrupted (though audience-less) live performances from the likes of Beck, Jamie Lidell, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, The White Stripes, and of course, Radiohead and Thom Yorke solo. It is truly a must-have for those who grew up in the ‘90s and early 2000s with these alternative music heroes.

Semi-Favorites of 2008: TAB The Band – Pulling Out Just Enough To Win, Baskervilles – Twilight, R.E.M. – Accelerate, SP – American Gothic EP, Torche - Meanderthal, Halford – Live At Rock In Rio III DVD/CD, Ryan Adams - Cardinology, Clutch - Full Fathom Five: Video Field Recordings

Music DVD Review: Various Artists - From The Basement

Originally posted on Blogcritics 3-9-09

After a brief run on the Internet in 2006, famed producer Nigel Godrich presented a brand new performance-based program, in 2007 in the U.K. and in 2008 in the U.S., showcasing recording artists you're likely very much familiar with, as well as rising stars in the alternative folk and rock scenes from across the globe. The series, named From The Basement, included Godrich-produced rockers Radiohead and Beck, as well as Sonic Youth, White Stripes, Albert Hammond Jr., Jamie Lidell, Jose Gonzalez, PJ Harvey, Autolux, and plenty of others.

The first full week of March saw a large sample of these live performances, 29 tracks at over two hours worth released on standard DVD, titled after the series name, From The Basement (Eagle Rock Entertainment). If you've been into what has been tagged as "alternative" music for any length of time, this is a must-have DVD, no doubt about it, especially for Radiohead fans, as two performances by the band and two more by frontman Thom Yorke solo are featured here.

Speaking of which, Radiohead kicks the DVD off on the right foot with the moody and powerful In Rainbows standouts "All I Need" and "Reckoner," both of which see musician and producer extraordinaire Jonny Greenwood doing double duty on the keys and xylophone on the former track while playing keyboards and percussion on the latter.

The White Stripes comes next with a screeching kick ass version of "Blue Orchid," which led right into a rare Captain Beefheart cover from the band's early days entitled "Party of Special Things To Do." The lyrically confrontational and musically raw rock of "Red Rain" sees the unconventional mix of innocently sassy drummer Meg White doubling on bells (which sound like a xylophone) and Jack White on slide guitar.

Talk about unconventional, Beck, his DJ and other hired hands and percussionists bring two ultra cool performances to this DVD. Beck's rapping skills are still severely underrated after all these years and his spaghetti western pop rap ditty "Cell Phone's Dead" is a prime example of both his musical genius and creativity.

One unexpected surprise hit of the DVD (for me, anyway) is the one-man powerhouse from England known as Jamie Lidell and his performance of "The City." Part a cappella, part live experimentalism, here's an alternative soul singer and former techno producer who records with beat boxing skills live one track at a time, sings over them (using two mics at times), reverses the recordings, instantly repeats them via short loops, and creates live vocal harmonies, all with awe-inspiring ease. It's one of those performances that has to be seen more than heard to fully appreciate.

Elsewhere, young blonde English folk singer/songwriter/guitarist Laura Marling has a ways to go before being compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell, but for an 18-year-old, her performance of "Your Only Doll (Dora)," though not all that expressive or long at least displayed her potential to be a future star on the folk scene. Also, The Shins' two performances, including hit "Phantom Limb" weren't all that inspiring or impressive either.

Other strong performances include two by Sonic Youth, the Kim Gordon-led "The Sprawl" and the Thurston Moore-guided "Pink Steam," both of which feature touring second bass player Mark Ibold, formerly of Pavement. It's not clear what Ibold adds to the overall sound, but at least the eternally boy-ish-looking 40-something bassist makes the band look younger.

Autolux, a bit Sonic Youth-ish themselves and English rocker Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp) bring high energy and fat, distorted bass lines to the program in their one-off performances, while veteran singer/musician PJ Harvey brings her eerie, operatic voice and stage props (including a robotic, moving metronome) to the basement studio for a couple of solo numbers on guitar and piano.

Late into this compilation, Sweden's acoustic guitar star Jose Gonzalez effortlessly mesmerizes the viewer as he sings over complex, rolling melodies on two cuts, including "Abram."

Thom Yorke ends the DVD just as it started, with pitch perfect renditions of In Rainbows tunes, including "Down Is The New Up" and "Videotape," the latter of which is especially gorgeous on a (literally) naked wooden piano - the top of it was removed so Yorke (as well as PJ Harvey and Mark Everett, aka The Eels) can see the inside structure as he plays and experiences the full sound of the instrument. Unlike Harvey though, the Radiohead frontman uses his feet to keep time, no metronome needed.

Speaking of body movements, one of the things that makes Yorke so respected throughout the music world is that no matter what he does, your favorite number or something less, the man puts every ounce of his frame into what he's doing. The excellent close-up camera shots captures this in essence, almost allowing you to peer into his very soul as he performs.

To put it simply, From The Basement is like a big slice of modern indie and alternative music heaven, showcasing many of the best and best known performers, along with a newbie (Laura Marling). It is a heavily British and European artist-based compilation, but artists like the White Stripes, Albert Hammond Jr, Sonic Youth, Autolux and a couple others represent American talent here very well. The American contributions are noticeably louder than their overseas peers too; many of the foreign acts turn in powerful and intimate solo performances instead (Yorke, Harvey, Gonzalez, Lidell) or catchy full band melodic numbers (Radiohead, Super Furry Animals), the exception being Cocker's soaring post-punk rocker "Fat Children."

The best part of the From The Basement series is that it is 100% artist-based, which is to say there are no hosts, fans in attendance or big production surrounding the performances - an ironic fact given that Godrich is the show's producer - and instead just a straightforward program featuring musicians coming into a professional recording studio environment in a basement and playing their hearts out, one by one. It's not a novel concept, but a refreshing one.

Seeing this group of performances on DVD makes me curious to see what IFC has in store for its future From The Basement programs. Whenever that is, if it has anywhere near the quality of artists that appeared on its initial series and DVD, it will continue to be one series very much worth watching (and TIVO-ing), especially with Nigel Godrich as producer. In the meantime, From The Basement the DVD is a very worthy buy, particularly for all those who are fans of many of the elite alternative music acts of our time.

Full track list is below.

RADIOHEAD
1) All I Need
2) Reckoner

WHITE STRIPES
1) Blue Orchid / Party Of Special Things To Do
2) Red Rain

BECK
1) Motorcade
2) Cell Phone's Dead

JAMIE LIDELL
1) The City

THE SHINS
1) Turn On Me
2) Phantom Limb

JARVIS COCKER
1) Fat Children

NEIL HANNON
1) A Lady Of A Certain Age

LAURA MARLING
1) Your Only Doll (Dora)

SONIC YOUTH
1) The Sprawl
2) Pink Stream

EELS
1) Millicent Don't Blame Yourself
2) It's A Motherfucker

ALBERT HAMMOND JR
1) Everyone Gets A Star
2) Postal Blowfish

P.J. HARVEY
1) The Piano
2) The Devil

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
1) Let The Wolves Howl At The Moon
2) The Gift That Keeps On Giving

DAMIEN RICE
1) Delicate
2) Blower's Daughter

AUTOLUX
1) Let It Be Broken

JOSE GONZALEZ
1) Abram
2) How Low

THOM YORKE
1) Down Is The New Up
2) Videotape

Interview: Rob Halford, Metal God And Judas Priest Vocalist

Note: First posted on Blogcritics.org 1/8/09

Legendary British rock icons Judas Priest are still hard at work, four decades on into their storied career. After releasing an ambitious, underrated double album, Nostradamus and touring behind it in 25 countries, the band’s gifted and self-proclaimed “Metal God,” singer Rob Halford found over 37 minutes of his time to talk to me on behalf of Blogcritics on the afternoon of December 5, 2008.

The main subject at hand was the recently reissued (ass-whoopin’) Halford band Resurrection CD/Live At Rock in Rio III DVD package, but the interview eventually covered all aspects of his career, including the Trent Reznor-produced Two project, his short-lived aggressive metal group Fight, and of course, Judas Priest.

Calling from his place in Phoenix, Arizona, to mine in Quincy, MA, the “Metal God” made this once-in-a-lifetime interview an extremely insightful and very conversational one. When all was said and done, Mr. Halford easily ranked as the best and most gracious interview subject I’ve ever had. Editing it down was a challenge, but here are the highlights I think you’ll enjoy.


It’s been quite a year for you, with the release of the new Judas Priest album (Nostradamus, the ensuing tour, even the Fight War of Words film did pretty good. So how do you feel about all that?

Well, just over the moon. It’s been a really sensational year, and to get the 2 Grammy nominations like we did 48 hours ago, it’s like the icing on the cake…. That was just, out of the blue to get 2 Grammy nods. The year has been a very powerful one, a very fulfilling one.

I was going to bring that up. You never know what type of metal they’re listening to over there at the Academy, but congratulations on [the Grammy nods] definitely.

Thank you very much, yeah. I’ve been a Grammy voting member myself for many, many years. Really. And the crazy thing is, because I was probably [in] some obscure part of Europe when all the voting was going on, and my mailing thing just got slightly screwed up, I never saw the fact that Priest was on the list on the initial ballot. So it was a complete surprise to me. [He was alerted to these nods via texts and emails to his Blackberry about an hour after the 1st Annual Grammy Nominations show finished, then went to the Grammys web page and saw them for himself.] It was just amazing and absolutely overwhelming….

Moving on to the Rio [III] DVD…. It has 15 great songs on it that encompasses your whole career with Fight, Halford and Judas Priest but I’m wondering, is that the whole show? Or were there any songs that didn’t make the cut that you remember playing that night in 2001?

I believe it’s everything Charlie, from the first note to the last. There were no extras, or I don’t recall us going back out to do an encore session because time was tight. We looked through all the footage that we were grateful to receive from the Rock In Rio people who were very generous in handing it over to me a few years after the event. And it’s been kind of waiting in the archives to be looked at and treated. So I’m pretty sure it’s all there, Charlie. I’d be surprised if there’s anything else. When I watched it, it was exactly as was planned with the setlist and everything. The only real two, real moments, new moments was the extra tracks “God Bringer of Death” and “Fetish” from the Resurrection remastered CD.

Back to the live show part of it, was it a conscious effort on your part to issue a live show based not only on top-level performance, which Rio clearly was but on audience interaction? Because it seemed there was just 200,000 crazy Brazilians singing every word. Even if there wasn’t a word, they were singing.

[Laughing] That’s just the way they are down there, Charlie. They are just so mad and passionate down there about metal music, and they know all the tunes and everything. The setlist that we played was the setlist that we’d been working with for most of the Halford Resurrection World Tour. … But as far as interaction and everything, that was just real spontaneity on the part of the metal heads at the gig. You just can’t help but feel to interact with something like that you know, especially that magic moment at the end when they all sing “Breaking The Law.”

I was just going to ask about this moment, so what was that like? You were serenading the crowd, then all of a sudden—

Yeah I think I started singing a couple of lines and then they were so loud, I couldn’t hear myself. So I just turned the mic over to them and they started wailing away at it. So that was just a bit of metal magic.

You included in that Rio set a couple of great and I’d say essential Fight tracks, “Into the Pit” in particular. With Fight there were some notable differences vocally from Priest and the energy of the music. For instance, there was I would say more a snotty, punk-ish attitude on “Nailed To The Gun.” So where did you get the influence to go that route with the Fight stuff, [and] the death metal-ish growls on War of Words?

I think it’s just determined by the music that you surround yourself with. … For the vocal work on the Fight stuff, particularly the first one, WofW, that just seemed very natural for me to do. I don’t think I really stretched that much to be quite honest. … I don’t think I was looking to be overly influenced by any other singers or anything like that. I was just enjoying writing the music for the first time because as you know, all the stuff from WofW came from myself. And that was just a very special moment for me because I wasn’t even aware I was capable of doing something like that because I’ve always written with other people. Wow. So, to actually kind of write that music as I did back in Phoenix around ’92, ’93, whenever it was, that was a fantastic feeling.

Now my next question has to do with Resurrection. Is this the same remaster that you released on iTunes in 2006, or is this a brand new remix of the album?

Yeah, it might have been buffed a bit, you know gone through the carwash one more time, but essentially it’s what was released digitally. … As you said Charlie, it’s a very complete package, the presentation, so it seemed to make more sense than ever to actually include it with the DVD, and the documentary and all the other goodies that are in there. Because it really just ties up that whole launch, that whole period of what I was doing, which has become quite a benchmark in my career.

Speaking of that whole period, you mentioned the newer tracks “Fetish” and “God Bringer of Death.” I’m wondering, when were they recorded? And part two of that question is: I hear there’s at least 9 more of those demos from the Resurrection sessions. Are any of them going to see the light of day?

Well, I don’t know about the extra 9 tracks. I don’t know where you might have heard that from.

Probably the old reliable Internet (chuckling).

Yeah, you might be right. In fact, I’m a little bit out of the loop with that right now. I do know that we have some extra material left over from the Resurrection sessions, and those 2 tracks [“God Bringer” and “Fetish”] were the most complete efforts that we got, so it made sense to include them. I mean, there might be fragments of stuff left over ... in an office in Phoenix or a warehouse in L.A., one of two places [He will “investigate”]. Anyway, they were from the sessions, Charlie. They were not recently written songs [as some fans had wondered].

Did you get to perform “The One You Love To Hate (featuring Bruce Dickinson)” live on the Resurrection tour and if you did, did you try to sing Dickinson’s parts or did you just do your own thing?

We did actually do it one time in a club in London. Myself, Jeff [Albright] and Bruce got on stage. … I forget the name of the venue now.

The Astoria?

Yeah, you’re right. It was the Astoria. I know we’ve got footage of that some place. But that was the only time, Charlie, the only time we played together live.

I was listening to “Silent Screams,” one off my favorites [from Resurrection] and was wondering: What periods of your life it reference, [knowing] it’s autobiographical?

I think it’s just a generalization of where I was at that particular time. I think I was just making a broad-based statement about my life in general. It wasn’t specifically aimed at anything. … I knew what I wanted to do before I even wrote the lyrics. Musically, I knew in my head what I wanted to try and achieve [he wrote it in 20 minutes with co-writer Bob Marlette in his backyard]. Some of the greatest things come quickly and easily.

The live Rio version of “Silent Screams” is a pitch lower [than on record], in Drop C. Was this done on purpose, to give a more darker feel?

Yeah, I know there’s a certain feel and sound that makes the music darker and a little bit more intense when you drop it like that. And so you do what feels right. I love Concert Pitch. That’s a nice natural way of doing things because that’s what I was born and raised on. But in recent years, dropping a tone or dropping half a tone just became part of the way things were being done, especially in metal. That’s the world Metal Mike and Pat Lachman were already in, so we basically stuck with the feelings and the vibes of that dropped tone.

Wrapping up my Rio portion of the interview, was there any thought given to releasing that concert itself as an official live CD?

No. Again, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. Roy Z did a fantastic job with the sound. In fact, I think we’re one of the first people to provide you with the ability to switch into the onstage sound apart from the surround sound. You can actually flip it into the sound that we experienced when we were performing on stage using the monitors. But I don’t know, anything’s possible.

A friend of mine brought up to me that you were thinking of releasing the Voyeurs demos from your Two project. Is this correct?

Yes. The bigger goal of that is to try and get the actual music that I did with Trent Reznor … and get that back somehow because then I’d like to provide the fans with both sides of what Two was about at that point musically. There was the demos and [they] were all practically completed. But we shifted gear and worked with Trent and Ray Riendau. Most people are only aware of the final outcome of that collaboration. So we just got to get through all the legal business stuff.

A lot of people are talking about that as I’ve been chatting to friends around the world about this Rio DVD. Everybody’s remembering and thinking about the Two record. And I think that’s very cool because, you put some of those tracks on now and they just click into active rock radio and Top 40. … And that just shows you the foresight that Trent had as a musician and as a producer. You can really feel Trent’s influence on songs like “I Am A Pig.” He’s just ahead of the game in music to a certain extent…. But yeah, I think it would be useful if the demand was there … we’ll do it.

How did Judas Priest decide to get involved in the videogame Rockband and decide to be one of the first bands in April ([of 2008] to have its record, Screaming For Vengeance available to download through the system?

It’s a Sony thing. They’re behind all of that. I mean of all the people they could pick and choose within that catalog, we were absolutely thrilled they chose Priest and S.F.V. … and the same with Guitar Hero. … So yeah, it’s really cool to be in that world, [though] I’m rubbish when I try to play video games.

Your voice has held up amazingly well after all these years. What challenges do you at this point in your life face as a singer? And how would you compare your singing ability now as opposed to 10-20 years ago?

It’s different obviously; the physical challenges of getting old have come into play. Having said that, I listen to what I did on Nostradamus and I feel pretty good about it all. Robert Plant said recently, “I wish to Christ I hadn’t screamed my tits off in those early days of Led Zeppelin. People want me to do it now, 40 years later and I can’t do it.” That’s just a fact of life, you know. See, when you’re putting on a show, you just have to make the subtle adjustments to get through the music. But it’s all doable. I don’t worry about it that much. I can still cover a lot of territory.

Did you ever have a vocal coach?

I never did, Charlie. No, I’m all self-taught. …

My next question has to do with Nostradamus. Now, this is a great record. It has one of my all-time favorite Judas Priest songs, “Revelations.” What made you as a band want to do this record and was everybody on board for this from the beginning?

Yeah, we always wanted to do something like for as long as we can remember being in a band. It’s just that it took forever to get around to providing enough time that you need to do something of this magnitude [1 hour and 40 minutes]. It took almost 2 years or writing and recording…. So, to finally have the chance to cover the life of Nostradamus was an epiphany, really. Everything about that man seemed to kind of fall into lockstep with everything that we wanted to cover musically. So that was just a tremendous feeling of excitement. … We knew the story of his life through the research that we’d done before we even played a note. So yeah, everybody was ready for it [the band and label, Sony]. Everybody was just geared up to get this great achievement into the world of metal.

I want to thank you for taking every minute out of your hectic life to talk to me on behalf of Blogcritics Magazine. It’s been a thrill. Is there any other thing you want to promote between now and February?

No, this is it for now. We’re just looking forward to a nice Holiday season to relax and recover from 7 months of world touring and 75,000 miles in about 25 countries. So we’re still coming down from that and just enjoying this little bit of a break, and look forward to seeing all of our metalheads when we get back out on the road early next year.

Now is this running through Europe and America?

Yes, definitely.

I’ll be looking forward to the east coast trip, that’s for sure.

Thank you, Charlie. All the best, my friend. Have a great Christmas. See you next year.

Music Review: The Verve - Forth

The Verve was without question one of the best British rock groups of the 1990s. But they broke up in 1999 after ten years together and after the most successful period of its career. Singer Richard Ashcroft then launched a mildly successful solo career in the early 2000s.

Now, nearly ten years later, the band is back together and has made Forth (On Your Own Records), a comeback album that, though imperfect, sounds like it was made in the '90s, recently discovered and only now ready for release. And that's a good thing, especially for fans hoping to hear the group recapture the brilliant, spellbinding shoegazer rock and psychedelic terrain that made them a British and later worldwide sensation.

For fans looking for strings attached to grandiose orchestral pop rockers like Urban Hymns megahit "Bittersweet Symphony," there are plenty of strings coating the band's new and fourth record, but nothing as instantly memorable or hit-worthy as its biggest hit. So what we have here is a record geared more toward recapturing the spirit of early Verve records like A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul with a hint of Urban Hymns here and there.

The spacious post-rock, ProTools-aided rave-up "Love Is Noise" is not only The Verve's lead single off the new record, but a driving anthem that features some of the most passionate vocal performances Richard Ashcroft has recorded in years. "Judas" is another winner, with its blissful, dream-like melodies, as is the urgent vocals and tremolo-propelled guitars of album opener "Sit And Wonder."

Straight-up rocker "Noise Epic" is the hardest-hitting track (for them) on the album and starts out promising, then sees Ashcroft meandering a bit with hushed vocals before the group suddenly turns the tide and busts the tune wide open into a Stooges-like jam. Guitarist Nick McCabe must really look forward to cranking this one up live. In fact, The Verve made a conscious effort to give tracks like this a live feel and thus recorded the song as a band live in studio.

"Numbness," which treads pure psychedelic, Dark Side Of The Moon-era Pink Floyd territory is a pleasant listen for a few minutes, but Ashcroft's sleepy, repetitive vocals get tired after awhile and the tune never takes off structurally, just content to get lost in its own jam. The strings and piano-led dirge-like "I See Houses" seems to deal with the inner struggle of troops in war, but sounds too dreary to be memorable. It certainly gives you the opposite feeling of uplifting Urban Hymns numbers like "Sonnet" and "Lucky Man."

The seven-minute-plus enjoyable, dreamy album closer "Appalachian Springs" should have younger listeners realizing where Verve offspring like Silversun Pickups got some of its influence from. McCabe's swirly layers of guitars and effects, matched with Ashcroft's soft-to-loud vocal style add depth to a song that is classic Verve all the way through.

What's frustrating about this record is that like so many top-level rock bands over the years — think Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Oasis — The Verve left some good b-sides off the original CD pressing of Forth that could've made it a stronger album and instead stuck them on other releases, including vinyl and digital versions. For instance, "Mover" is the best song that didn't make Forth but is worth checking out, as is the bass-heavy "Chic Dub."

Still, in an age where great bands of yesteryear get back together to simply tour (for example, Fleetwood Mac) and cash in, The Verve got back together after nearly a decade apart. They played some much talked about summer shows and made a very respectable comeback record, one that doesn't rewrite its hits or go off in an entirely new musical direction. If you're a fan from the "Bittersweet Symphony" days, you may be a bit disappointed with Forth. But for those who are familiar with all their records, there's enough '90s nostalgia to win you back as fans.

The Verve as a unit is tight and sound as inspired now as they did in their heyday. It's just that Forth isn't as focused a record as a whole as it could have been. But as long as Ashcroft, McCabe and the rest of the band stay together, The Verve's best album may be ahead of them. Forth may be a few tracks short of greatness, but it's still better than most bands' first albums. (3/5 stars)

Note: This review was posted on Blogcritics.org 12/21/08

Music DVD Review: The Who - The Who At Kilburn: 1977

At the London Coliseum on December 14, 1969 and at the Gaumont State Theater in Kilburn, North London, England on December 15, 1977, the other famous Fab Four from the original British Invasion era, known simply as The Who, performed two legendary shows for the ages, ones that weren’t digitally restored and remastered until this year.

Known as The Who – Live At Kilburn 1977, this DVD was released in mid-November on standard DVD and Blu-Ray via Image Entertainment. And though its main focus is the 1977 show on disc one, one of the very last shows the band did with powerhouse drummer Keith Moon before his death in 1978, the raw concert footage of the first ever performance of the band’s visionary and groundbreaking rock opera Tommy in 1969 on disc two is a special treat. Call it a bonus bootleg.

Lead singer Roger Daltrey tells his audience at the start of the Kilburn show that the band hadn’t played the songs in their set for more than a year, but The Who showed little sign of rust in this much-loved show. Pete Townshend leads the pack, starting with the influential pre-punk ditty “I Can’t Explain,” where he windmills on his Gibson guitar, does a few jumping jacks and then smoothly launches into the group’s early pop rock hit “Substitute.”

What follows is a sensational version of “Baba O’Riley,” where Townshend plays the first couple of minutes with a tambourine, Keith Moon–with headphones on—twirls, throws up and catches his drum sticks with seeming ease, and Daltrey finishes it off with a concentrated bluesy harmonica solo.

There is also the first-ever live performance of “Who Are You,” which was recorded just two days prior to this show! Seeing as the song was so new, Townshend and Moon improvised the ending before heading straight into the crowd-pleasing, set-closing hard rockin’ classic “Won’t Be Fooled Again,” which had Townshend sliding across the stage during rock and roll’s most memorable scream and pinnacle moment, the elongated “Yeaahh!” by Daltrey.

Speaking of rocking, the band was tight pretty much all show long, though there are little instances of imperfection, such as when Entwistle was a bit late starting his bass line on the Eddie Cochran cover “Summertime Blues.” But heck, nobody’s perfect.

It’s not just the performances that are memorable. Seeing Keith Moon take the microphone and joke with the band, particularly when he claimed he would go backstage and “OD” while the rest of the band played the first couple of minutes of the uplifting “Pale Blue Eyes” was a little alarming given his off-stage struggles, but in the end just a joke.

As far video and sound are concerned, the DVD is in High Definition, and the audio quality of Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Stereo are impressive given the many years that have gone by since the show was recorded. Keith Moon’s cymbals truly splash your years in Digital Stereo, and the trebly action of John Entwistle’s bass is a bit more pronounced. But all the instruments and vocals in general sound evenly mixed throughout the show. As I went back-and-forth between audio selections, the only really noticeable difference between the Dolby choices is the somewhat louder audience cheering in Dolby Stereo.

For the much-treasured second disc, The Who’s legendary London Coliseum show in mid-December 1969 (which occurred a few months after its Woodstock appearance), you can tell the camera footage is extremely old by the grainy picture and raw sound. It’s “B” quality at best, considering the problems the show’s recording crew had to overcome, but the producers did a fantastic job remixing and refurbishing the audio and video to as superior a professional level as possible. The band made sure nothing view-worthy was lost, and that’s why you see subtitles that carry nearly every word of Keith Moon’s playful banter with Daltrey and Townshend between songs during this show.

For this show, Townshend’s Gibson guitar and amp combined to air out lots of dreamy reverb, making the type of sounds during clean parts of songs that may remind you of U2’s The Edge. Daltrey’s gritty and soaring vocals are spot-on for almost all of it (as on Kilburn), and his stage mannerisms, microphone spinning and other bodily motions match the energy put out by Moon and Townshend.

The band looks noticeably younger in the 1969 gig—minus the eternally boyish-looking Keith Moon—with Townshend and Entwistle a bit skinnier and totally clean-shaven. Moon though, with his health having deteriorated in the mid-1970s looks a bit slimmer and faster in 1969. Together though, The Who showed the lucky fans before them their inventive showmanship and concert themes, which included a few hits, plus the infidelity-themed mini-opera “A Quick One While He’s Away” (featuring Moon and Entwistle on lead vocals) to start. This was of course followed by the full-blown rock opera Tommy and it’s well-known masterpiece “Pinball Wizard” and the power chord crunchy gem “I’m Free,” among others. Guitarists will especially love the metallic hard rock edge to this show, as compared to Kilburn, right to the very end.

My only substantive criticism of disc two is the decision to put the full performance of Tommy in the “Extras” section instead of the main section, which starts with performances of Who songs like “I Can’t Explain,” “Fortune Teller,” and mini-opera “A Quick One.” Which then leads to a few Tommy cuts before closing with rockers like “Shakin’ All Over” and “My Generation.” Why not have the London Coliseum show run as one show, Tommy and all?

With valuable liner notes from former Spin editor-in-chief Alan Light, Nigel Sinclair and Richard Evans explaining the history behind these shows and the state of the band during these times, you’ll surely learn things about The Who you didn’t know before, including that pre-Tommy, Moon and Entwistle reportedly thought about forming a band with Jimmy Page because of The Who’s infighting at the time. Tommy of course, not only became an internationally successful double album but brought the band back together (until Moon’s untimely death several years later).

Overall, despite the less than top grade audio/video quality of the rare London Coliseum show, with over three hours and forty-eight live tracks, plus pages of insightful liner notes, The Who At Kilburn: 1977 is an outstanding, treasured 2-DVD package and definitely belongs in any longtime fan’s top five must-have live The Who releases—up there with Live At Leeds and The Kids Are Alright 1978 film, to be sure. Would it make a great Christmas/Holiday gift for your classic rock-loving parents? To coin a phrase, You Better, You Bet!

Check out trailers for the new DVD here and here.

Note: This article was posted on Blogcritics.org 12/17/08

Joe Satriani Vs. Coldplay: A Tale Of Two Songs

Note: First published on Blogcritics.org this morning

The recent commotion over whether or not Coldplay ripped off guitar whiz Joe Satriani is nothing less than surprising and mystifying. My bewilderment has nothing to do with Coldplay however, but with Satriani, the guitar teacher-turned instrumental rock god.

Last week, after months of not hearing back from Coldplay (who are in the midst of a major world tour), he went to a federal court in Los Angeles and filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against them, claiming that the English rock stars' #1 2008 hit song "Viva La Vida" lifted material from his own 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."

Both are great, midtempo songs, no question. I have listened to both countless times. But one is an orchestral, grandiose pop song with relatively little guitar work (“Viva”) while the other is straight up steady bass, drums, and wailing guitar-based instrumental rocker (“If I Could Fly”).

More to the point: there is practically no basis for this rather frivolous lawsuit. And coming from someone who knows the ins and outs of musical composition in rock better than most, it boggles the mind why Satriani thinks the Coldplay song sounds so much like his work. There are brief patterns of similarity in both songs too be sure, but no more than a few seconds worth. So without boring you (musicians or non-musicians) with a lot of advanced musical theory jargon and notation, I will try and breakdown the few similarities and big differences these two great songs have, differences that should've convinced Satch right away that there was nothing major to make a fuss about, let alone go to federal court over.

For Coldplay to be successfully sued, Satriani would have to prove the band had access to his work and that the band’s song in question sounds “substantially” similar to Satch’s composition, among other criteria. I (and Coldplay) would argue that “Viva” and “Fly” are “substantially” different tunes, and one of the first ways you can tell is that these two songs are written in totally different keys and ways. But even if one were to do what a YouTube user did – deceptively speed up “Viva La Vida” one half step and lower the original pitch of Satch’s song by six half steps to make them unnaturally sound alike – you would still hear that no more than 3-4 consecutive notes (C#-to-D-to-B flat-to-B flat) in Satch’s expressive riffs in “Fly” and Coldplay leader Chris Martin’s vocals in “Viva” seem to match up note-for-note at any time.

The truth is, at no point do any notes from either composition in its original form match up note-for-note and only on a couple of occasions do you hear similarities between Coldplay’s vocals and Satch’s guitar work, starting at the :49-second mark of “If I Could Fly” (which is effectively the tune’s chorus) and later at around the 2-minute mark, where briefly Satriani’s riffs sound similar to but not exactly like what Coldplay singer Chris Martin sings during “Viva’s” verses.

So maybe you (or Joe) are thinking, it’s not just Martin’s vocals allegedly mimicking Satch’s guitar licks that I hear, it’s the songs’ chord progressions that are similar. Well, let’s look at that too. First of all, Coldplay’s and Satch’s rhythm sections are constructed differently. While Satriani has a regular drummer laying down a steady beat on “Fly,” Coldplay has a constant, almost techno-like beat going throughout “Viva.” On bass, Satriani’s song has a deeper sound, courtesy of a five-string, while Coldplay uses a standard four-string bass, which lays down considerably lighter notes on its tunes. And as far as guitar is concerned, there are no chord progressions in “Viva” to mimic Satriani’s, as Coldplay’s Johnny Buckland uses bright riffs and melodies to compliment the orchestral sound of his band’s hit. Satriani, on the other hand, uses acoustic guitar chords to compliment his electrifying electric guitar solos on “Fly.”

So where do the two songs’ non-vocal similarities begin and end? Perhaps “Viva’s” four consecutive bass notes on its chorus sound similar to the four-part melodic progression in the two choruses of “If I Could Fly.” But even then, the actual bass notes on both tunes don’t come close to matching up.

There are probably hundreds if not thousands of punk rock and blues-based songs out there that sound so much alike that musicians in those groups could reasonably accuse each other of being rip-off artists if they took the time to listen closely enough. Why Joe Satriani feels the need to seek a jury trial and recover profits over this one song that one could reasonably prove did not copy his material only he knows. Perhaps he lost patience with Coldplay and his legal team after not having his calls returned? Maybe he thinks the band’s silence on this issue proves they are guilty of stealing from him? Whatever the reason, it’s hardly justifiable. But hey, at least it’s not as laughable as little known band Creaky Boards’ similar claim from earlier this year that “Viva” rips one of their songs off. But they, unlike Satriani were wise enough not to sue.

So, that said, do yourself a favor and find a copy of the Satriani and Coldplay tracks and then compare them yourself - don’t evaluate them based on that highly misleading YouTube clip. I guarantee you’ll feel the same way I do that whatever brief similarities you’ll find, there is no copyright infringement to be found regarding “Viva La Vida.” This isn’t Vanilla Ice ripping off Queen/David Bowie we’re talking about.

In closing, it is my opinion that this lawsuit by Satriani is the biggest mistake he’s made in years, and he ought to be ashamed of himself for it, the same way The Rolling Stones ought to be ashamed of not allowing The Verve to make a penny on “Bittersweet Symphony” based on the younger band’s use of a sample of some obscure orchestral mix of the Stones song “The Last Time” that had little input from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

But it was also a mistake for Coldplay to wait so long to respond to Satch’s charges. They finally did the other day and not only rejected these plagiarism charges but called any similarities between their works as “surprising” to them as they were to the instrumentalist and “entirely coincidental.” You can read Coldplay’s full statement on the band’s website. Now, Satriani ought to directly talk to the members of Coldplay about the charges and come to an understanding of each other's work. Hopefully then, Joe Satriani will finally come to his senses and drop this ridiculous lawsuit altogether.

DVD Review: Clutch - Full Fathom Five: Video Field Recordings

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I last posted here - a bit of laziness on my part. But this review (and DVD) is well worth checking out.

Since 1991, Maryland metal and “stoner rock” band Clutch has built a loyal, nationwide following that dubs themselves “gearheads,” and played sold-out shows in prestigious clubs and arenas throughout the country for years. Thus, they are known as a great live band, and relentless touring is how they built and continue to build on their fan base. But not until this year did Clutch decide to release an official live DVD. In August, at long last, the DVD Full Fathom Five: Video Field Recordings hit stores. It’s a self-released DVD on a new label created by the band, Weathermaker Music, through which all future albums will be released. [Its companion CD Full Fathom Five: Audio Field Recordings was released this week]

Directed and produced by Agent Ogden, this 95-minute DVD compiles performances from five Clutch shows, four from 2007 stops and one from early 2008. And upon first impression, this criminally underrated hard rock band couldn’t be in better form live, and the 20-song set – five more than the CD version – will surely satisfy most fans.

The chosen tracklist for this DVD is culled from a majority of their albums, but draws most heavily from three releases: the mightily acclaimed self-titled, stoner rockin’ 1995 full-length (five tracks), 1998’s hard rock/metal Elephant Riders CD (five tracks) and the band’s most recent output, 2007’s ballsy, bluesy and hard rockin’ From Beale Street To Oblivion (six tracks). Some fans may fret there’s no material from their earliest releases (the 1991 Pitchfork EP and 1993 debut Transnational Speedway League) here, but Clutch doesn’t play many songs from that era nowadays. As of late, they alternate between mixing old favorites with more recent jam-rock material one night, then cut down their jam-ready material a bit for a more heavy set the next show. On this live DVD, you get the best of both types of shows.

The heaviest material (in Drop-D tuning) comes first, starting with the Soundgarden-meets-Toolish “Dragonfly,” a somewhat long alternative metal tune from 1998 that segues right into the similar-sounding “Child of the City,” from last year’s riff-tastic Beale Street CD. From there, the liveliness of the DVD picks up quickly, with another newer track, “Devil & Me,” a kickass bluesy southern rock-styled rocker that also features some slick, Aerosmith-styled guitar and bass licks that guitar aficionados would love. Other standouts include fan favorites like “10001110101” and “Big News I,” both of which feature a Deep Purple-ish organ melody supplied by Mick Schauer, and bluesy harp soloing by guest Eric Oblander (on “Big News I” and “Big News II”).

Other memorable moments include the political-minded and lyrically amusing “Mob Goes Wild,” where singer Neil Fallon rails about the government’s handling of the war dead and encourages the masses to “move to Canada,” “bum rush the border guard,” and “smoke lots of pot.”

Speaking of bands that rock guitarists and magazines just love and worship, I just have to say this: Clutch is a band who has and continues to get comparisons to influential classic and modern rock groups as varied as Led Zeppelin, Faith No More, Kyuss, and Black Sabbath. It is amazing, but also sad that a consistently solid and hardworking band such as Clutch has gotten ignored by the mainstream hard rock/metal community for much of their career, even if they don’t care for exposure on MTV and modern rock radio, where they had little commercial success in the ‘90s.

Clutch, led by guitarist Tim Sult have over 15 years worth of great guitar songs that the Guitar World tablature writers and Rolling Stone magazines of the world would be all over in a perfect world, songs (on the DVD) such as “Mob Goes Wild,” “10001110101” “You Can’t Stop Progress,” and “Devil & Me,” to name a few. But I digress.

As the DVD played on, you were only reminded by the interludes that these performances were taken from different shows (Pittsburgh, Australia, Colorado, and New Jersey); its production and visual presentation had a level of consistency to it that made you feel like you were watching one show. The only real negative concerning production is that although the lighting above the stage was colorful – it included some cool black and white flashes – it got dim at times when the energy of the show was still in high gear. The occasional split-screen action of the band members was another plus.

Performance-wise, the band was tight every which way. However, singer Neil Fallon’s wide-ranging three-octave vocals, from gruff-sounding, low-key ZZ Top-style verses to high-range choruses are impressive, but get off-key during parts of a few songs (i.e. “Ship of Gold,” “Promoter (of Earthbound Causes)”. Still, Fallon demands a lot of himself vocally and pulls it off most of the time. Besides, those relatively few sour notes won’t stand out to the average listener.

Full Fathom Five, Video Field Recordings shouldn’t serve as an introduction to Clutch, but as a celebration and reward to any true fan, especially all those who stayed loyal to the band for a decade and a half and through the coming and going of many trends since they started out. Clutch has gone through stylistic changes themselves, having added a bluesier feel and organist to their classic rock-ish and stoner rock sound, along with more jam-heavy material in their concerts. Sure, they aren’t as angry and heavy metal as they were 17 years ago, but its hard rock/borderline metal of recent years is as enjoyable to listen to as it’s ever been. And I would argue that Clutch, as a result is as great a rock band as they’ve ever been. And Full Fathom Five captures the band arguably at the top of its game.

Note: This review was first posted on Blogcritics.org 9/14/08.

Music Review: Filter - Anthems For The Damned

Note: This article was first posted on Blogcritics.org on 6/26/08.

It's hard to believe that nine years have passed since Richard Patrick and Filter recorded the near-masterpiece Title Of Record, which, other than following up their excellent 1995 debut CD Short Bus spawned top hits like the dreamy "Take A Picture" and the heavy-hitting "Welcome To The Fold."

Filter did release one album between then and now, 2002's The Amalgamut. Though it was their heaviest to date, the album was largely average and a commercial flop because of it. That said, it did have a few bright spots, including "Where Do We Go From Here," "God Damn Me," and "The Only Way (Is The Wrong Way)."

Afterwards, Patrick wasn't heard from again — largely because of alcohol issues — until he fronted Army Of Anyone, a supergroup of sorts that featured the DeLeo brothers (Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots) and David Lee Roth's drummer Ray Luzier. They released a self-titled album in late 2006, which had limited success in the form of a hit single, "Goodbye," and toured behind the album in 2007. All members have since moved on to other projects, with Luzier having joined Korn, the DeLeo brothers reformed Stone Temple Pilots with Scott Weiland, and Patrick reformed Filter to record its fourth album. Thus, Anthems For The Damned (Pulse Recordings) was born.

After a few spins of the long-awaited Josh Abraham-produced new record, you get the sense that Patrick, who started Filter in 1993 with former partner and programmer Brian Liesegang, has both expanded his sound and reclaimed many of the best elements of his previous records. Thus, there are very few weak tracks on this new album, which should please many of the band's longtime fans.

There are also a few notable guests here as well, including guitarist Wes Borland (ex-Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns), Josh Freeze (A Perfect Circle, NIN), and John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson). And speaking of collaborators, joining Patrick (vocals/guitar) for the new edition of Filter are Mitchell Marlow (guitar), John Spiker (bass) and Mika Fineo (drums).

It should be no surprise to any Filter fan that many of Patrick's new songs are political, even if the lyrics on many of them aren't overtly so. The press release for the album, in fact says the bandleader considers the new release his "howl in the night," a harsh indictment of civilization that doesn't exclude himself from its vision of a world falling apart.

First single "Soldiers of Misfortune" is an emotional tribute — with a chorus that hints at vintage U2 — to fallen U.S. Army Reservist (and Filter fan) Sgt. Justin Eyerly who lost his life within days of being deployed to Iraq. And, it's an instant classic. Recall that Filter's first hit, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" (from Short Bus) was also a tribute, this one being to the late Republican Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd Dwyer, who took his own life in 1987 during a televised press conference. So, political (and patriotic) tributes are nothing new to Richard Patrick.

Track two, "What's Next" starts off with that familiar slightly distorted bass (as heard on early Filter tracks) and the lyrics are an outright indictment of our government. Check out lyrics like "George Bush is f***ing us up," and "look what they've done to us/we don't know who to trust."

But instead of moping about current state of affairs, he wants us to do something about it, hence the lyrics: "It's time we took up a stand/Take a wrong out of our hands." It's another vintage heavy and intense Filter number that doesn't let up 'til its end. The industrial metal of "The Take" has a similar vibe, though it does include an acoustic breakdown that leads to a crushing finale.

Elsewhere, there are a couple of future hit singles on the record that are in the vain of the last two records' catchiest tunes, including "Kill The Day." It's a definite repeat-worthy midtempo number that could easily fit right in with Amalgamut's quieter standouts like "The Only Way (Is The Wrong Way)." But the track's flute-like high-end guitars add a new dimension to the Filter sound, at least in a way not easily identifiable before now.

The spacious track "Only You" definitely has its own identity but thematically, it is linked to the hypnotic, ambient and dreamy instrumental "Can Stop This," as both songs share a "tentative hope" for the future, as well as the same acoustic guitar riffs. [Put together as one, the song becomes "Only You Can Stop This"]

Traces of Filter's super-heavy ("nu metal") numbers from previous records can be found on a couple of Anthems tracks, but "In Dreams" in particular, which has its ultra heavy guitars tuned down to Drop A (as they are on "Welcome To The Fold" and "Columind," from Title of Record and Amalgamut, respectively).

As mentioned earlier, there are very few truly unmemorable missteps on Anthems. One of them is "I Keep Flowers Around," which starts out with a promising bass groove but has Patrick singing — more like yelling — over a refrain that just doesn't go anywhere, and ends unpleasantly with Patrick yelling "You lie/To me" to himself.

Speaking of "lies," there appears to be a running theme on the record of pointing out how someone "lie[d]," "lied" to him or to the country. The problem is that other than calling out President Bush ("What's Next") for lying us into the current Iraq war, Patrick never really delves into specific instances of who lied and what they lied about, and therefore the use of that word becomes generic after several uses.

But I digress, because the vocal performances on this album are strong and overcome such lyrical deficiencies. And Richard Patrick's singing is terribly underrated — the man can sing his butt off.

In all, Anthems For The Damned has given Filter new life. Richard Patrick has shown he can still channel his anger and frustrations with the world in a tuneful way fifteen years into his post-NIN career. He and his new band have given Filter fans young and old twelve new tracks to rock out to or relax and enjoy. They are a mix of heavy (sometimes industrial) hard rock/metal and radio-friendly rock, with the balance of material being of the just plain heavy kind.

More importantly, about two-thirds of the record is definitely worth listening to again and again, while the rest isn't bad, just so-so. Therefore, Anthems as a whole is one of Filter's best and highly recommended.

Key tracks to crank up: "The Take," "In Dreams," "Soldiers of Misfortune," "Kill The Day"

For more information on the band and its current tour, visit http://www.officialfilter.com

Baskervilles - Twlight Preview

New York City never seems to stop churning out up-and-coming bands these days. And with Baskervilles, the trend continues. The band released its self-titled debut in 2004 (on Secret Crush Records) and its follow-up, Twilight hits stores the first week of June. A preview track, courtesy of 1-Up PR, is below.

Baskervilles - "Caught In A Crosswalk" (MP3)

This summery, indie guitar pop ditty features catchy trumpet phrases. It's like a female-fronted answer to the Mike Watt/Eddie Vedder collaboration "Against The 70s" from the 90s, only with a 60s-type of vibe, and no distorted guitars. The rest of the album promises to continue in this direction, with dance-ready beats, the occasional handclaps, and male/female vocal-led tracks. It's a bit like Boston's Via Audio, only they're from New York.

A Blogcritics review of the full album (by yours truly) will be cross-posted here in June.

Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley Mislead on Obama

On the 3/27/08 edition of CNN's AC360, host Anderson Cooper and reporter Candy Crowley did not do their homework on democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (and I let Cooper know that on his blog too). Cooper simply reported that he was the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate for 2007, according to National Journal. He never went into why that rating is misleading or just outright BS, instead just stating that the Obama camp considers it a "flawed" report. Nor did he cite any other report on Obama's voting record. He and Crowley also failed to report evidence that Obama has reached across party lines in his short time in the U.S. Senate. I will go into that in a moment.

According to a VERY credible report by political scientists Keith Poole and Jeff Lewis, Obama is tied with democrat Joe Biden as the 10th most liberal Senator in the U.S. Senate. Why does this report look more credible than the NJ study? First of all, avid socialist and liberal democratic Senator Bernie Sanders and pure liberals like Russ Feingold and Chris Dodd are all at the top of the Poole-Lewis study, ahead of Obama as they should be. The NJ study, on the other hand, has Obama ahead of everyone, which makes no sense given Obama's post-partisan rhetoric and work across party lines, a fact that extends to his time in the Illinois state senate (a fact that Cooper and Crowley casually mentioned).

Cooper and company apparently did not understand that the National Journal rating on Obama is flawed now, just as it was in 2004 when its study said John Kerry was the most liberal Senator. Read this Media Matters item to see why.

And that's not all that's wrong with National Journal's studies. The current one considers, for example, the vote (and Obama's in particular) on passing the 9/11 recommendations to be a "liberal" issue when it was clearly bi-partisan, as was the 9/11 Commission's report. It also wrongly considers votes on the federal minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research, and children's health insurance to be "liberal" issues as well, even though they all got bi-partisan support in Congress.

And Candy Crowley is a lazy journalist. She says Obama has no record of cooperating with Republicans in the U.S. Senate. Just go to Obama's Wikipedia page: there you will find that he has helped to pass ethics(/transparency) reform with Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn and a bill to reign in nuclear and conventional weapons with Indiana Republican Dick Lugar. It was dubbed the "Obama-Lugar" bill. He also co-sponsored an immigration bill that John McCain introduced to the Senate in 2005.

So shame on Crowley and Cooper for not doing their homework on Obama, a democrat who has gotten support and votes from both sides of the aisle in this primary campaign, including from the likes of former president Eisenhower's granddaughter and hundreds of Republicans in Colorado. Thus, he is a liberal/moderate democrat who definitely has a bipartisan track record. Anderson Cooper and Candy Crowley, like so many supposed so-called journalists and pundits, simply didn't look hard enough to find it.

Bill Richardson (R-NM) WTF?

On last night's edition of Geraldo Rivera's show Geraldo At Large on Fox News, during New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's comments about the Democratic race for president, the Fox News screen labeled him (R-NM). This wouldn't be the first or second time FNC has mislabeled a politician's political affiliation. First, they labeled disgraced former Republican congressman Mark Foley (D-FL), RI Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse a Republican and his competitor, Republican Lincoln Chafee a Democrat in the weeks leading up to the 2006 midterm elections (where Whitehouse defeated Chafee for a Senate seat). They also labeled Republican Senator Lamar Alexander (D-TN) in '06 as well. And just last month, Fox News labeled John McCain (D-AZ)!

I know Gov. Richardson looks a bit different now with more facial hair, but anyone who has paid any fair mount of attention to his run for the presidency would know that if anything has changed, it's that he has moved more left than right, after being considered a moderate Democrat for many years. That makes the mislabeling of him as a Republican even more bizarre. And it's not like he, and for that matter, John McCain are virtual unknowns either. Both have been involved in politics and in their respective political parties for at least twenty years.

Now, Fox News isn't the first or only network to misidentify a politician (and therefore misinform and confuse viewers), but there is an alarming pattern of ignorance and/or stupidity at work behind the scenes. And you wonder why so many people -- mainly partisans -- chuckle at the thought of this channel being considered a legitimate "news" station, nevermind "Fair & Balanced."

Patriots Turn Out The Lights On The Bolts, Again

Note: Posted on Blogcritics last night

With yesterday's hard fought 21-12 win over the San Diego Chargers at Gillette Stadium, the AFC Champion New England Patriots have now earned a trip to four of the last seven Super Bowls. Perhaps almost as impressively, New England's appearance in the AFC Championship game was their fifth in the last seven years, and they've won all but one of them.

Their lone AFC Championship loss in that span was to the Indianapolis Colts last year, and it left a bitter taste in the mouth of every Patriot in the RCA Dome that fateful day in January 2007. They had an 18-point lead at one point and it was looking like the Patriots were going to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in six years (and likely defeat the Chicago Bears). But a combination of un-Patriot-like actions, including poor, seemingly worn out defense, late-game penalties and a Brady interception in the game's final drive led to their demise — and to Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl ring.

It was that loss, not "Spygate" as many in the mainstream sports world (including ESPN) have said that has made the Patriots as determined as ever to play football at their very best level and get back to the Super Bowl. And with a 9-point victory over the Chargers, the Patriots did what they could not do a year ago at this time: play disciplined football, get a lead, and hold onto it until the clock runs out.

The now 18-0 Patriots proved yet again they can win any way possible and why they are on their way to becoming one of the greatest NFL teams ever. With Randy Moss
relegated to a being decoy (and making just one catch) for a second straight game and Brady throwing 3 INTs for the first time since his team knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs in last year's divisional round, a short passing game, a strong running game and a trademark bend-but-not-break defense was how the Patriots won. (This win also marks the third game in a row in just over a year that the Patriots have beaten the Bolts.)

For the second time in this playoff run, New England outran one of the best rushing
teams in the NFL. Second-year RB Laurence Maroney cut-and-ran for over 100 yards for the second straight week. Clearing the way for Maroney's strong running performance was the offensive line, led by Pro Bowlers Matt Light and Logan Mankins and excellent blockers like TE Kyle Brady.

New England's 21 points didn't come easy though, as Brady got some pressure from SD's defense, and his wide receivers were tightly covered by the San Diego secondary all day long, not wanting to get beat down the field. Emerging star corner back Antonio Cromartie, Quentin Jammer, and DE Igor Olshansky were among the reasons the Patriots offense got frustrated for much of the game. But Brady stayed cool in the freezing weather in Foxborough, Massachusetts and lead the Pats to three TD drives (2 passing, one running TD by Maroney).

Besides Maroney, the unsung hero of this game on the offensive side was long-time Patriot Kevin Faulk, who has split time between running and receiving for years. Never a starting RB due to his tendency to fumble the ball — though not this season — he was always been reliable catching the ball and is the team's all-time leader in receptions by a running back. On Sunday, he led the team with 8 catches for 82 yards. Along with Maroney's runs, it was Faulk's great hands and crucial third-down catches that kept the ball in Patriot hands in a 15-play drive that sucked up the last nine minutes of the game, not even giving the Chargers a chance to make a late-game comeback.

Everyone knows about the Patriots' highly potent offense, but they also have a top five defense, and it showed. San Diego had three red zone opportunities to score touchdowns in this game, but only came away with three chip shot field goals. New England's defense either stuffed the run or knocked down QB Phillip Rivers's passes once SD got inside the 10-yard line. Veterans like Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour and former Charger Junior Seau were major contributors to SD's touchdown-less drives.

In a close game such as this, turnovers can be costly, but it's what you do with them that matters. Brady had 3 INTs, one of which was a tipped ball, but San Diego only turned them into two field goals. The Patriots, by contrast intercepted Rivers twice and used Asante Samuel's 2nd quarter interception to turn a 7-6 lead into a 14-6 edge, one they would never relinquish and would indeed add onto, via a Wes Welker TD reception from Brady in the 4th quarter.

Sure, the fact that San Diego lost one of the league's best RBs LaDainian Tomlinson to injury early hurt their chances of scoring touchdowns in those red zone opportunities, but
they still had a resilient QB in Rivers and emerging receivers like Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson for him to throw to. Even TE Antonio Gates hung in the game with a dislocated toe. The Pats defense just had the poise and smarts to stop Rivers, backup RB Michael Turner and co. whenever they had to. In other words, they played like true champions.

Now, let's just hope the Chargers don't act like sore losers like they did after last year's playoff loss to the Pats. (Hint: Tomlinson complaining that a couple Patriots over-celebrated their victory at San Diego and imitated Shawne Merriman's own celebratory dance.)

Music Review: Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light

Note: Posted on Blogcritics.org December 2007

For the last eleven years or so, Jimmy Eat World has put out full-lengths that have either been labeled landmark releases that influenced a generation of emo-centric rock bands or gotten fairly respectable praise from fans and critics alike.

The first of them, 1996's Static Prevails saw the then young Mesa, Arizona quartet making a raw, melodic but mostly emo-core record that only hinted at its top-notch songwriting abilities. 1999's Clarity, though criminally under-marketed by their former label Capitol Records, slowly but surely solidified Jimmy Eat World's reputation at home and abroad as one of the best and most influential bands in the emo genre.

Commercial and radio hits, however, didn't come until Jimmy Eat World released Jimmy Eat World (a.k.a. Bleed American) in 2001. Though it contained an emo hit ("Sweetness") written in the Clarity era, this record was more in the power pop vein than any previous release. It was such a big hit that songs like "The Middle," "Sweetness," "Authority Song" and others have gone on to be featured in everything from sports stadiums to movies and in the case of "The Middle," covered by local cover bands or ripped off by newer so-called "emo" bands.

2004's Futures, in contrast to prior releases, had a darker sound and mood, but wasn't a commercial hit. Still, fans and critics mostly praised it, and even on the band's current tour, the few songs from the album that make their set list get loud cheers.

So, does Chase This Light (Interscope Records) recapture any of the magic and power of Jimmy Eat World's best records?

In essence, there's a little Clarity on the album, and some of the pop appeal of Jimmy Eat World (a.k.a. Bleed American) as well. For example, first single "Big Casino" has a speedy rhythmic guitar going through its verses that harkens back to Clarity's minor hit "Lucky Denver Mint." It's a heavy power pop number that's getting lots of airplay on modern rock radio, but the song doesn't quite have the catchy vocals to sing along to that their more successful radio hits had.

By contrast, the final track on the album, the incredibly expansive break-up song "Dizzy" will remind older fans of why they fell in love with Jimmy Eat World in the first place. The intensity of Jim Adkins's personal lyrics and the tense and melodic guitars that complement each other as "Dizzy" builds to a crescendo are classic Jimmy Eat World. It's the best song they've written in a long time, IMO.

Elsewhere, strong points on the album include the political and punk-inspired anthem "Electable (Give It Up)," "Firefight," new single "Always Be," and "Carry You." The latter track has a truly memorable chorus and should be a future radio hit. However, like some other tracks on the record, "Carry You" is a bit too pop-friendly in its production, with double octave vocals in the verses and "do-do, do-do-do" background vocals that take away from the personal and passionate vocals Jim Adkins brings to the song.

"Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" has a live string section conducted by David Campbell, but they are the song's highest point, as the hushed nature of Adkins's vocals isn't very appealing. This is not to say that it's a bad song. There is not a "bad" song on Chase This Light, just some songs that do not entice you to hit the repeat button on your CD player.

There is one song, however that is bound to cause mixed reaction among Jimmy Eat World's older and newer fans. "Here It Goes," found in the last half of the album, is basically a dance-pop rock number with a bass line straight out of '80s pop. It's the most un-Jimmy Eat World song of all-time, IMO, but it is infectious and hard to resist.

Taken together, Chase This Light is a largely satisfying power pop rock record with hints of what used to be their trademark emo anthems. While it certainly will get more spins in my CD player than Futures and Static Prevails, it's not quite on par with emo masterpieces like Clarity and the near perfect power pop of Bleed American CD. In fact, this record suffers at times from super slick, pop-oriented production and perhaps too much of it overall - in a too-many-cooks-spoil-the-broth kind of way - with the legendary Butch Vig serving as executive producer, while Chris Testa, John Fields, and the band serve as co-producers.

Ultimately, like many 2007 releases, Chase This Light isn't an instant classic but is definitely worth owning if you've been a Jimmy Eat World fan all these years. In Pitchfork fashion, I'd give it a 7.8 out of 10.

For more info on the band, visit their official website or their Myspace page.

Also, check out a Windows Media audio clip of the new single "Always Be".

Music Review: Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien: Legacy Edition (CD/DVD)

Note: Posted on the Blogcritics web site last month

Twenty years after its initial pressing, famed guitar teacher and virtuoso Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien still stands as an album that revitalized instrumental music and made him a household name in rock, one of the best in the business.

More than selling millions of records, it inspired legions of guitarists to follow his path and even made instrumental rock music a genre cool enough to earn Grammy nominations, of which Satriani himself has earned fourteen. This year, the album got the remaster treatment — courtesy of Epic/Legacy Recordings. Along with a bonus DVD featuring a full Satriani concert, the total package stands out as one of the most notable reissues of 2007.

It's easy to forget that SWTA was Satriani's sophomore effort, with 1986's Not Of This Earth being his first foray into the instrumental rock world. It was solid and technically impressive in its own right. But the array of diverse sounds and moods of SWTA's ten tracks, along with Satriani's technically precise playing made this record a masterpiece.

From beautiful emotive love ballads like "Always With Me, Always With You," swinging blues rock boogies like "Satch Boogie," impossibly fast, complex hard rockers and strange or classical-sounding music, it's all there.

Original producer John Cuniberti was chosen by Joe to remaster the album, and there is a noticeable difference in overall sound, not as much in his lead guitar playing as in the backing guitars, drums and other percussive instruments. The sonic textures of the instruments that compliment his guitar work are more crystal clear or explosive-sounding than ever before.

In the liner notes, Satriani gives some valuable insight into both what went into the production of SWTA and his experience playing the 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival, the full performance of which is included in the DVD portion of this re-release. Nigel from Spinal Tap tells some pretty amusing stories of his encounters with Satriani on the DVD as well. You also get to see a couple of old videos from this era, including a black-and-white video of "Always With Me, Always With You."

Satriani's versatile technical skills and incredible songwriting abilities are on full display throughout SWTA, as his many adoring fans and musicians already know. But whatever the reason, the audience at the 1988 Montreux Jazz festival gave mostly respectable applause throughout Satriani's SWTA-heavy set most of the time. In fact, as Joe recalls in the album's liner notes, much of the crowd left as soon as his band started playing!

They were supposed to hit the stage at midnight on July 15, 1988 but got pushed back to 4am because prior bands played well over their set times. As if that wasn't bad enough, Satch was told to cut down his set time as well. Unfair as it was, the band still rocked the joint, and it's a shame that the crowd who stayed didn't have anywhere near the energy the band did. As to those who left, apparently they didn't know what they were missing.

True, it was a jazz-oriented audience and Satriani was not yet as famous as he would later become, but there was some awe-inspiring musicianship on that stage, not only from Satch but from bassist Stu Hamm as well. While Jonathan Mover isn't the greatest drummer I've ever seen, he kept pace with those two throughout the 58-minute set and like Hamm, got the stage to himself for a few minutes to show off his soloing skills.

Speaking of midnight, the song "Midnight" really stood out from this show, just as it does on the album. On the DVD, you get to actually see Satriani recreate the majestic beauty of the baroque-styled instrumental. Skill-wise, it's a challenging song to pull off either in studio or live, and Satch does his two-handed finger-tapping work on stage with ease at this late hour, creating lovely and tense, minor-keyed melodies with two-to-four fingers (using both hands) at a time! It's the type of song that truly is best appreciated live.

In all, Surfing With The Alien: Legacy Edition is highly recommended to all Joe Satriani fans — even if you have the original CD (or cassette tape, remember them?). Besides a remarkable improvement in the sound of the original album, getting to see him and his band live in concert early in his solo career is rare, and is what makes the total package truly valuable and worth the purchase price.