Nick Simper & Nasty Habits - The Deep Purple MK1 Songbook

Nick Simper & Nasty Habits - The Deep Purple MK1 Songbook - 2011

Wymer Records in the UK is releasing an album of Mk1 songs recorded by Nick Simper with the Austrian band Nasty Habits. The album is aptly called The Deep Purple Mk1 Songbook. The first edition was limited to 1,000 copies.

01. And The Address
02. The Painter
03. Mandrake Root
04. Emmaretta
05. Chasing Shadows
06. Lalena
07. Wring That Neck
08. The Bird Has Flown
09. Why Didn't Rosemary
10. Kentucky Woman
11. Hush

Nick Simper - Bass, Vocals
Peter Brkusic - Drums, Vocals
Christian Heissenberger - Guitar
Helmut Puschacher - Keyboards
Christian Schmid - Vocals, Percussion


+@192

Sal Valentino - Dreamin' Man - REPOST

Sal Valentino - Dreamin' Man - 2011

from Twirl Radio

Sal’s early fame came as vocalist for the 1960′s band The Beau Brummels with such top hits as “Laugh Laugh” and “Just A Little”. It’s been argued that the band defined the San Francisco sound. Certainly, they were out ahead of the pack–a little before the Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead.

The 1970′s came, and Sal played in Stoneground, a great amalgam of funk and country rock, perhaps a precursor to the Doobie Brothers. And he’s had quite a respectable solo career. As one of my European listeners said, “Sal Valentino–one of the great voices of all time!”.

His most recent album, Dreamin’ Man, teams him up with long time collaborator John Blakeley. This is one fine album. It starts with the breezy opener “Love Song”, then transitions into determined mid-tempo rocker “Hwy 49″. Sal and John turn in a great Americana performance on rising Sacramento star Jackie Greene’s “Valley of Woe”. While Sal sings with conviction, John’s stellar acoustic picking drives this song forward with abandon. These two bad dudes will kick your rear with this song, and you’ll love it.

But make no mistake–this tends to be a rather romantic album, especially the second half. “Looking For You” is a fun rave up, and Sal is completely devoted to getting through to his woman, no matter what it takes, a la the Fabulous Thunderbirds in “Tuff Enuff”. The last four songs burrow deep into your heart, with their romanticism. “Dreamin’ Man”, the title track, is quite moody and haunting, but always listenable. “Catherine I Do” and “Lovin’ Fallin’” feature classy instrumental hooks and lyrics that grab you, work their way through your mind, and into that place in your soul reserved for love and sentiment. These melodies are sublime and exquisite. The album ends with the confessional “That Way”–what Sal is confessing is eternal love and devotion for his woman.

01. Love Song
02. HWY 49
03. Snowman
04. Valley of Woe
05. Weakness In Me
06. Lookin' for You
07. Dreamin' Man
08. Catherine I Do
09. Lovin' Fallen
10. That Way





+@192

Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane: The Majic Mijits - Deluxe Edition

Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane: The Majic Mijits - Deluxe Edition - 2014

The forgotten album recorded by half of the Small Faces Marriott & Lane in 1981  and shelved due to the fact that the pair could not undertake a world tour to support the album with Ronnies failing health the tapes lay gathering dust until we bought them off Steve's old manager Laurie O Leary ( who had a quite colourful past himself as an associate of London's notorious Kray Twins ). Fortunately the third member of the band Jim Leverton was happy to fill us in on what who where . It's a great album ! Plus a whole disc of unreleased outtakes restored and remastered in 2014.

CD 1
01. Lonely No More
02. Chicken
03. Toe Rag
04. Bombers Moon
05. Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl
06. Last Tango In Nato
07. How Does It Feel
08. That's The Way It Goes
09. You Spent It
10. Son Of Stanley Lane
11. Be The One
12. Ruby Jack
13. Whatcha Gonna Do About It (Live Bridge House)
14. My Girl (Live Bridge House)
15. All Or Nothing (Live Bridge House)

CD 2
01. Last Tango In Nato (Take 3)
02. Toe Rag (Take 2)
03. That's The Way It Goes (Take 1)
04. How Does It Feel (Take 2)
05. You Spent It (Take 2)
06. Bombers Moon (Take 3)
07. Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl (Take 2)
08. Ruby Jack (Take 1)
09. Lonely No More (Take 1)
10. Be The One (Take 1)
11. Beguine (Master)
12. Chicken (Take 1)
13. Last Tango In Nato (Take 1)
14. That's The Way It Goes (Take 2)
15. Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl (Take 1)

+@320

David Tronzo & Reeves Gabrels - Night in Amnesia

David Tronzo & Reeves Gabrels - Night in Amnesia - 1995

Between slide guru David Tronzo and ex-Tin Machine-ist Reeves Gabrels, a strange, juicy chemistry takes place here on Night In Amnesia. Experimentalists who also know how to party, they flit between instruments and genres, now with a tilting boogie, then veering toward abstraction.

All the music on this albums was composed spontaneously as it was being recorded. This was the first meeting between Reeves and Tronzo.

01. Bubba.
02. Ballad of a man long gone.
03. A night in Tunisia.
04. Amnesia.
05. Fitting end.
06. Dixie Cup.
07. Something is dead in the cellar.
08. Not gonna happen.
09. Two memories of the same event.
10. 3 cowboys.

Reeves Gabrels - Acoustic & Electric Guitar
David Tronzo - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Dobro
+
Bella, Ernie Ball - Strings
Matthew Gruenberg - Fretless Bass
Mike Levesque - Drums
Billy Conway, Jay Bellerose - Percussion


+@320

Ron Flynt And The Bluehearts - L.A. Story

Ron Flynt And The Bluehearts - L.A. Story - 2004

from AMG

Ron Flynt's second solo album is a concept work of sorts based around the story of his former band, 20/20, though the concept wouldn't be too obvious if you weren't alerted beforehand (or weren't familiar with 20/20). In fact, with his respectably tuneful, mature power pop style, Flynt here sounds more like a minor Elvis Costello than a Pete Townshend wrestling with his band's history à la Quadrophenia. Whether or not you pay attention to the nominal framework, the songs explore territory common to many such power pop bands with roots in both '60s rock and new wave: falling for and getting out of the clutches of seductive, dangerous women; chasing dreams; the superficiality of showbiz glitz; traveling a road to nowhere; and the redemptive power of love. However, there's a touch of resignation here, and acknowledgement that things don't always turn out as planned, that isn't found in the more ebullient work of younger power pop bands -- like, say, 20/20 at the outset of their career. Musically, there's nothing here that hasn't been done before by the likes of 20/20 and other such groups. But it's an accomplished statement in that style, and die-hard fans may appreciate the slight lyrical spin on the form.

01. Intro
02. Waiting
03. Hollywood Life
04. 3rd Street Girl
05. The Sun's Gonna Shine
06. Southern Belle
07. Mary's World
08. Hurting You
09. 1000 Different Places
10. I Suppose
11. Misery At The End
12. Looking Down
13. Heaven
14. Home In A While





+@192

VA - Who Are You – An All Star Tribute to the Who

VA - Who Are You – An All Star Tribute to the Who - 2012

from AM|G

Who Are You: An All-Star Tribute to the Who collects mostly faithful covers by a wide range of rockers, spanning various highlights of the Who's legacy, hitting on classics from their early mod days as well as later arena rock staples. The monolithic nature of the Who's catalog makes the task of delivering an acceptable cover a little tricky. If you're going to do it by the numbers (no reference intended), it's gotta be stellar or it will pale in comparison to the original. Joe Lynn Turner and Leslie West's screaming rendition of "The Seeker" staggers around with all the verve and bile of the original, while even a slightly less energetic reading of "Baba O'Riley" by Jerry Goldman with Nektar falls flat, coming off deflated and milquetoast. Iggy Pop's clumsy version of "I Can't Explain" flops similarly, sounding just a touch too phoned-in for its own good. An explosive version of "My Generation" by the Kinks' Dave Davies with members of the Vibrators and the Damned makes up for the missteps of the rest of the comp, with blown-out guitar tones and crashing drums sounding almost as youthfully tense and electric as the original. The Raveonettes also offer a highlight with a dreamy reverb-pop rendition of "The Kids Are Alright." Though a spotty affair, the strengths of Who Are You redeem the more hackneyed moments. 

01. Eminence Front
02. Baba O'Riley
03. I Can See For Miles
04. Love Reign O'er Me
05. My Generation
06. The Kids Are Alright
07. Won't Get Fooled Again08. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
09. I Can't Explain
10. Behind Blue Eyes
11. Magic Bus
12. Who Are You
13. Pinball Wizard
14. Squeeze Box
15. Bargain
16. The Seeker



+@320

Chis Laterzo - West Coast Sound

Chis Laterzo - West Coast Sound - 2015

from hyperbolium.com

There’s always been a note of Neil Young’s high, keening tone in Chris Laterzo’s voice, but on his fifth album, backed by twanging alt-country, the notes are more plentiful and apparent. That’s not a criticism, it’s a compliment, as Laterzo doesn’t copy Young so much as sing original songs in a style that echoes Young’s work from the ‘60s and ‘70s. You can also hear flavors of Shannon Hoon in his high notes and Chris Robinson in his tremelo, and the loping rhythms of Laterzo’s American “cowboy rock” also connect him to the cosmos of Gram Parsons. The album’s title track finds Laterzo surrendering not just to the natural elements of his adopted California, but also to the the country-tinged rock that once flowed freely from Laurel Canyon.

Laterzo sings lovingly of his former neighborhood, “Echo Park,” memorializing the people, places and lifestyle of an important point in his life. Dan Wistrom’s pedal steel is particularly potent on this track. Laterzo is settled in Los Angeles, but having grown up in Denver, Boston and Brussels, he harbors a wanderlust that’s satiated as a touring musician and as the rambler of “Tumbleweed.” The road beckons more darkly as an avenue of escape for “Someday Blue,” with a tempo and acoustic guitar that suggest the despair of the Rolling Stones’ “Angie.” Despair turns to resignation in “Drag,” as Laterzo concludes you can’t negotiate with a closed book, and resignation turns to spite in “Subaru,” despite the lyric’s claim to the contrary.

There’s a wistfulness to Laterzo’s singing that merges memories with realizations. The backward glances of “The Bradbury” and “Chaperone” aren’t nostalgia, they’re the slightly stoned, or in the case of “Chaperone,” fantastically dreamed, building blocks of experience. The latter is stripped down to acoustic guitar and snare drum, and played at a tempo that perfectly paces the sleepwalking vocal. Laterzo often sounds lost in thought, as if his thoughts are extemporaneous and still forming as they’re being related; it’s a powerful way to draw listeners into songs. The album is low-key, but Laterzo’s reflections are bright and engrossing, and will entice fans of Young, Jackson Browne, the Byrds and other canyon dwellers.

01. West Coast Sound
02. Tumbleweed
03. Drag
04. Someday Blue
05. Echo Park
06. Subaru
07. The Ray Bradbury
08. Chaperone






+@192