quarta-feira, 27 de abril de 2016

Gary Duncan with Crawfish of Love - Snake Language 2006

There aren't many, if any, medals or awards given for the positions of best second lead guitar players in rock history. If there were, though, Gary Duncan would be right up there for his work in Quicksilver Messenger Service. Quicksilver is most-remembered for John Cippolina's striking, shimmering leads. Yet part of what made them a solid band, rather than just a pretext for guitar solo grandstanding, was Duncan's sympathetic second guitar, which could play (often in the same song) both rhythm and accomplished lead lines on its own, with a more traditional tone than Cippolina's.
Quicksilver Messenger Service, like many of the '60s San Francisco psychedelic bands, were assembled from disparate parts that few would have guessed would have been compatible. In Quicksilver, Duncan and drummer Greg Elmore emerged from the teen garage rock scene. Both had been in the Brogues, though Duncan (born Gary Grubb), wasn't in the band when they did their first single in 1965. Under the name Gary Cole, he joined the Brogues in the summer of 1965 and was in the band when they recorded their second and last single, which paired a fine sullen version of "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" (better known as done by the Chocolate Watch Band) and "Don't Shoot Me Down" (in the style of one of Duncan's favorite bands, the Pretty Things). In late 1965, the Brogues broke up and Elmore and Duncan moved from Merced to San Francisco to join Quicksilver Messenger Service.
On Quicksilver's first two albums, Duncan also contributed some vocals and co-wrote standout songs like "Light Your Windows," "Gold and Silver," and "The Fool." However, Duncan left at the end of 1968, frustrated by what he felt was the band's lack of motivation to expand their repertoire and write new songs. In 1969, he tried to form bands with his good friend Dino Valenti, who had been planning to be in the group that became Quicksilver Messenger Service before getting busted, before Duncan was involved in the project (and before Duncan had even met Valenti). At the end of 1969, though, Duncan ended up rejoining Quicksilver and Valenti got in the band as well. The band radically changed in character as Valenti took a heavy role in the singing and songwriting, and Cippolina and David Freiberg left over the course of their early '70s albums, which were less impressive than those of the previous decade. Valenti and Duncan kept the band going through much of the '70s, but by the end of the decade, Duncan left music for a while to work as a longshoreman for a few years.
Duncan was the sole remaining member of the vintage Quicksilver -- as their name had now been shortened to -- when Peace by Piece came out in 1986. He has remained active in the music since, sometimes as the principal in Quicksilver. AMG.
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segunda-feira, 25 de abril de 2016

Reilly & Maloney - A Collection (1989,2000)

Reilly & Maloney CD discography Many consider Ginny Reilly and David Maloney (Reilly and Maloney) to be the most endearing duo ever to grace the west coast folk and singer-songwriter scene. Their incredible blend of voices along with their intricate harmonies and guitar arrangements make for one of the most unique sounds in the acoustic music genre. Known for their uplifting live performances, Reilly and Maloney continue to offer their audiences new original material along with perfectly chosen covers, arranged to delight the listener with their distinctive dueting style. Since the very beginning of their partnership in 1970, Reilly and Maloney have remained committed to their growth as artists and to maintaining a high degree of integrity in their work. Their sound transcends their abundant individual talents and offers a musical experience far greater than the sum of the parts. Thanks to B.

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Candlebox - Happy pills 1998

After the disappointing showing of Candlebox's last release, 1995's schizophrenic Lucy, the band has returned with a more straight-ahead album, Happy Pills, which is more similar in approach to their mega-hit 1993 self-titled debut. Veteran heavy rock producer Ron Nevison (the WhoOzzy Osbourne, etc.) was placed in charge of the album, giving the tunes a slightly more conventional, classic-rock edge. Another important factor in the band's back-to-basics approach was ex-Pearl Jam drummerDave Krusen replacing original member Scott Mercado before recording sessions began. And like the debut, the tunes are split between three categories, bluesy Led Zeppelin-sounding ditties ("Look What You've Done"), heartbroken ballads ("It's Alright"), and melodic hard rock (the title track, "10,000 Horses," etc.). Longtime fans of the band will undoubtedly enjoy the album, but don't expect to be converted if you looked down upon the band's mysteriously familiar-sounding music in the past. AMG.

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Danilo Perez - PanaMonk 1996

This is one of the more interesting Thelonious Monk tribute albums of the 1990s. Pianist Danilo Perezdoes not really sound much like Monk except in a couple places on purpose, but he has clearly learned from Monk's music, particularly in his use of space and quirky dissonances. The trio performances range from respectful ballads and Latinized treatments of Monk tunes to originals that somehow fit logically into the mood of the set. Perez takes "'Round Midnight" and the two brief versions of "Monk's Mood" (which open and close the CD) unaccompanied, interacts closely with bassistAvishai Cohen on the other pieces, welcomes the haunting wordless vocal of Olga Roman to "September in Rio," and utilizes either Terri Lyne Carrington or Jeff Watts on the nine trio pieces. The music overall is adventurous, rhythmic, and quite joyful. A memorable outing by the talented Danilo Perez. AMG.

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Daft Punk - Tron Legacy (OST) 2010

"The Game Has Changed" is the name of one of the tracks on Daft Punk's score to Tron: Legacy, and it also fits Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's music for the film. When it was announced that the duo would score the sequel to one of sci-fi's most visionary movies, it seemed like the perfect fit: Their sleek, neon-tipped, playful aesthetic springs from their love of late-'70s and early-'80s pop culture artifacts like Tron. However, Tron: Legacy takes a much darker, more serious approach than the original film and Daft Punk follows suit, delivering soaring and ominous pieces that sound more like modern classical music than any laser tag-meets-roller disco fantasies fans may have had.Tron: Legacy's legitimacy as a score may surprise listeners unaware of Bangalter's fine work on 2003's Irreversible; while that score actually hews closer to Daft Punk's sound, it showed his potential for crafting music beyond the duo's usual scope. Working with the London OrchestraBangalter andde Homem-Christo fuse electronic and orchestral motifs seamlessly and strikingly. "The Game Has Changed" may be the most dramatic example: It starts with a wistful wisp of melody that sounds like a ghost in the machine, then swells of strings and brass and buzzsaw electronics submerge but never quite overtake it. Elsewhere, "Recognizer"'s pulsing horns and synths and "The Son of Flynn"'s arpeggios and strings are so tightly knit that they finish each others' phrases. Daft Punk get in a few clever nods to Wendy CarlosTron score, from "The Grid"'s blobby analog synth tones to "Adagio for Tron"'s mournful sense of lost wonder. However, for most of Tron: Legacy, they're concerned with pushing boundaries. It's not until the score's second half that the duo's more typical sound emerges on "Derezzed"'s filter-disco and on "End of the Line," where witty 8-bit sounds evoke '80s video games. These tracks come as welcome relief from the tension Daft Punk ratchets up on almost every other piece, particularly "Rectifier" and "C.L.U." Encompassing the past, present, and future of sci-fi scores,Tron: Legacy feels like it grew and mutated from its origins the same way the film's world did. Without a doubt, it's a game-changer for Daft Punk. AMG.

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Camarones - O Curioso Caso da Música Invencível 2013

Another brazilian group, with an interesting album full of diferent music styles, reggae, rocksteady, rock, rockabilly among others.

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14 Bis – 14 Bis II 1980

14 Bis is one of the most important contemporary vocal groups in Brazil. The group's members are from Minas Gerais and some of them are also members of the Clube da Esquina. Their sound is reminiscent of prog rock and '60s rock and also has caipira (hillbilly) influences from their home state. The group was formed by Flávio Venturini (keyboards/guitar), his brother Cláudio Venturini (guitar), Vermelho (keyboards), Sérgio Magrão (bass), and Hely (drums). Flávio and Magrão were former members of the O Terço, while Vermelho and Hely came from Bendegó. Their biggest hits are "Todo Azul do Mar" (Flávio Venturini), "Canção da América" (Milton Nascimento/Fernando Brant), "Caçador de Mim" (Luiz Carlos Sá/Flávio Venturini), "Planeta Sonho" (Flávio Venturini/Vermelho/Márcio Borges), and "Espanhola" (Flávio Venturini/Gutemberg Guarabyra). AMG.

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terça-feira, 19 de abril de 2016

Daevid Allen & Kwisp - Altered States of Alien Kwisp 2006

The 13th in a series of 22 experimental recordings done by the legendary founder of the prog rock band Gong, Daevid Allen, ALTERED STATES OF ALIEN KWISP features Allen performing with a variety of musicians, including members of the 1960s psychedelic band 50 Foot Hose, who contribute a kind of free-form chaos to the proceedings using, according to the liner notes, a technique called "chaos math." The result, created with electronic, acoustic, and found instruments, is alternately mind-boggling, frenetic, and otherworldly. AMG.

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Michelle White - Wandering Road 2006

Another gift from B. Her Dad, legendary Tony Joe White ("Polk Salad Annie" and "Rainy Night in Georgia"), says her voice is like Sade hanging out with John Lee Hooker. Hanging on a mic, or quietly revealing herself behind her old Wurlitzer piano, or prancing like a wild horse, her fiery and raw stage performance has been compared to that of Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger, and Tina Turner. With soul baring lyrics and haunting melodies, her writing has been compared to Van Morrison and Neil Young. Her biggest fans say you can't compare her to anyone. In a world of fabricated pop stars, Michelle White shines like the real thing.

The songstress joins forces with her father for her latest album, a mixture of soul, blues, country, jazz, and Spanish influences. They recorded in an old Victorian house in Tennessee, for 4 days, along with veteran musicians Ollie Marland on piano and co-production, Jack Bruno on drums, Michelle's long time upright bassist Joey Zimmerman, and Tony Joe on guitar. Michelle's brother, Jody, ran the boards, and they captured the happening all on an old analogue tape machine, old school style, blending some modern ideas in the mixing room. Thanks to B.

Michelle has a duet with Tony Joe on his new album, THE HEROINES, which features duets by Emmylou Harris, Shelby Lynne, Jessi Colter, and Lucinda Williams. This album was released world wide on Sanctuary Records last fall to spectacular acclaim.

She was reared in the musical hotbeds of South Texas and Memphis, Tennessee, surrounded by famous recording artists and brilliant musicians. "I was influenced very deeply by all of the music I heard growing up," she says.
" I spent most of my days in the 'music room'. There were late night phone calls from Elvis, and the best musicians hanging out playing music and listening to music. I learned to run the reel to reel machine at a very early age." Michelle has worked with many of those brilliant musicians and Grammy award winning producer, John Leventhal, on her first album, "Memphis" which was released to critical acclaim and established a cult following in Europe.

She has played the prestigious Midem in Cannes and France's most famous hall, Bercy, opening for Toto for tens of thousands of people with only her Wurlitzer and bassist. Most recently, Michelle performed live for the BBC in England, and played the infamous Borderline in London, as well as various blues festivals in Europe and local hot spots in L.A. and Nashville.

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Da Cruz - Sistema Subversiva (2011)

Switzerland-based producer Ane H. met São Paolo expatriate Mariana Da Cruz when he heard her singing bossa nova in an Irish pub. Together with drummer Pit Lee, they now make music that Ane H.characterizes as "irrational," which is about as good a descriptor as any. On the group's third album, they create a sound that is big, messy, extremely funky, and sometimes just a bit too discursive. Case in point: "Curumin," which embroiders a sort of brain-bludgeoning jazz fusion with a lacy outer layer of glitchy funk -- a brilliant recipe, but the track goes on for way too long. "Zero a Zero" similarly takes darkly urgent and highly effective raw material and stretches it just a bit too thin. But for all of their professed "irrationality," when the members of Da Cruz get the balance right the results are scarily perfect: "Tschu Tschu" is extra funky; "Chega" is built on a wonderfully off-kilter stutter-step beat that imbues the whole track with a wonderfully off-balance charm; their take on the Grace Jones classic "Warm Leatherette" brings a nearly punky assertiveness to the original arrangement, while the vocals invest the song's original sprechstimme with a new and exotic flavor. The album's one other disappointment -- the reggae-flavored but heavy and plodding "Papo De," is redeemed at the end of the program by a stripped-down and lifted-up remix. Ultimately, Sistema Subversiva makes all the right kinds of mistakes -- they're errors of passion and experimentation, and the album is a solid winner overall. AMG.

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Carmen Maria Vega - Du Chaos Naissent Les Étoiles 2012

At the forefront of France's Gypsy jazz revival, Carmen Maria Vega are an eclectic quintet based around their eponymous lead singer. Born in Guatemala but raised in Lyon, Vega originally studied drama before switching her attention to music. After she teamed up with songwriter Max Lavegie in 2005, the pair became ever-present on the French live circuit, performing over 500 gigs, including shows at La Cigale and L'Alhambra. Following the recruitment of guitarist Sebastien Collinet and drummer Toma Milteau, they released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2009, which went on to be nominated for the prestigious Prix Constantin. After a brief hiatus in which Vega made her acting debut in Le Jour de la Grenouille, the band regrouped, with the new addition of bassist Oliver Smith, for the 2012 sophomore album Du Chaos Naissent les Etoiles.
Produced by Marlon B. (BrigitteHugh Coltman) and mixed by Mark Plati (David Bowiethe Cure), Du Chaos Naissent les Etoiles is the second studio album from the French rock outfit created around its Guatemalan-born French singer, Carmen Maria Vega. Taking in everything from indie disco to Gypsy folk to old-fashioned country, its 12 eclectic tracks include the single "On S'En Fout" and a collaboration with Dionysos lead singer Mathias Malzieu on "Miiaou." AMG. Thanks again MFP.

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Cindy Kallet - Dreaming Down A Quiet Line 1989

Cindy Kallet is a songwriter, singer and guitarist who has taught and performed extensively throughout North America in coffeehouses, concert halls, house concerts and music camps. She has also appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and WFMT’s Folkstage. Her first album, Working on Wings to Fly was voted one of the “Top 100 Folk Albums of the [last] Century“ by WUMB Boston radio listeners, and Kallet’s Leave the Cake in the Mailbox – Songs for Parents and Kids Growing Up was chosen for a 2004 Parents’ Choice Gold Award.

She tours as a solo performer, as half of the duo, Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, and as a third of the trio, Kallet, Epstein and Cicone. Her love for the natural beauty of the New England coast has been the inspiration for many of her songs.

Cindy has five solo albums to her credit: Working On Wings To Flyand Cindy Kallet 2 on Folk Legacy Records, and Dreaming Down A Quiet Line, This Way Home, and Leave the Cake in the Mailbox – Songs for Parents and Kids Growing Up, on the Stone’s Throw Music Label. She has also recorded three trio albums with Ellen Epstein and Michael Cicone: Angels in Daring, Only Human, and HeartWalk, as well as a collaborative collection, Neighbors, with Gordon Bok. In the past decade she has joined musical forces with Grey Larsen and they have recorded two albums together, Cross the Water and Welcome Day, as well as a techno-folk single, Back When We Were All Machines. In 2003, she assembled The Cindy Kallet Songbook – A Collection for Guitar and Voice. It contains words, music, chords, and guitar tab for 32 original songs.
 “…one of folk music’s most respected songwriters…a brilliant guitarist…” Scott Alarik of The Boston Globe. Thanks B.

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Bakerandband - From Humble Oranges 1982

Band formed by ex Cream drummer Ginger Baker, an excellent trio. Don't miss it!

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Dave King Trucking Company - Adopted Highway 2013

Dave King Trucking Company—King (of the Bad Plus fame) on “drums and cymbals,” Erik Fratzke on electric guitar, Adam Linz on acoustic bass, Chris Speed and Brandon Wozniak on tenor saxes—is back at it with a second album, Adopted Highway—“it” meaning playfully yet authoritatively flitting across musical borders from King’s base in Minneapolis. As King himself puts it in a comedy-infused website Kickstarter appeal: “It’s a band that sort of plays an Americana-tinged kind of avant-garde jazz, I suppose, if you want to classify it.”
King contributes five of seven compositions on the new disc, which opens with his “I Will Live Next to the Wrecking Yard,” whose cacophonous complexity almost seems aimed to drive off unadventurous listeners while simultaneously showcasing the band’s ability to interact as a unit. More accessible are tracks two and three: King’s “Dolly Jo and Ben Jay” swings with an Ornette Coleman-ish vibe, seasoned with an impressive dash of Abercrombie-ish guitar from Fratzke and some duo action from Speed and King; his “Ice Princess King,” dedicated to “female hockey groupies,” skates on an infectiously convoluted head. The leader’s “When in North Dakota” is similarly mesmerizing: “canned Schlitz in music,” in King’s words, his celebration of boyhood trips to visit relatives, featuring soaring saxophone.
“This Is a Non-Lecture,” yet another King original, is a minimalist tribute to e.e. cummings, with counterpoint from the saxes that swells in melodicism and spirit as it progresses. Linz’s “Do You Live in Star City?” is slow-paced and experimental, with an emphasis on painterly guitar atmospherics. Fratzke’s earthier “Bronsonesque” (as in Charles Bronson) is a rough-edged slow blues kicked off by Linz. This is unusually approachable stuff, all in all, for music that calls itself avant-garde.
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30db - One Man Show 2010

30db's debut album is called One Man Show, but it's really a two-man show, since this side project represents the duo of singer/songwriter/mandolin player Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Bandand singer/songwriter/guitarist Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee, who apparently met on the jam band circuit and bonded over their shared hometown of Chicago. (This group of musicians who continue to be members of other ongoing bands is filled out by guitarist Nick Forster of Hot Rize, bassist Eric Thorin of Open Road, and drummer Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars.) Another thing they had in common, according to their press bio, is that "both witnessed the end of long-term relationships," and when they began writing together for One Man Show, that experience was their inspiration. As it turns out, however, neither seems to have completely digested the experience sufficiently to render it coherently in lyrics. "Every time I try to tell the story/It seems to backfire," admitsAustin in "Backfire," and Bayliss is equally tongue-tied in "Get in Line," singing, "If it's all made up, then I could never/Speak enough to lay it all out." But if the two artists cannot manage to detail their troubles, they do succeed in conveying a sense of distress. Still, they speak better with their fingers. However unhappy the words, the music is consistently engaging. Veering from catchy pop/rock to newgrass country-rock, 30db effectively play tunes sprightly enough to suggest that Austin and Bayliss may be healed by their artistry as musicians, even if they never get around to talking their heartaches out. AMG.

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Carolina Chocolate Drops - Heritage 2008

Heritage isn't exactly a proper album; it's more of a compilation of various songs, both in studio and live from concerts, from the well from which the Carolina Chocolate Drops dip to showcase their love for and homage to early American roots music. They are well-educated across the board on styles of music long forgotten by many, and so, in that right, there's a certain charm to the listening experience, almost as if the music is spinning on a Victorola. That knowledge carries over into the liner notes, where group member Dom Flemons gives a brief description of the history of each song on the disc. It's a nice touch that allows the listening audience to get further acquainted with the history of these songs, given that many of them are at least 75 years old. Musically, the styles run the gamut, including an a cappella Rhiannon Giddens in "Po' Lazarus" that sounds like a Baptist revival in its presentation before you realize it's the dirge of an escaped convict. Originally made popular by Vera Hall, who was given a reintroduction to pop culture in 1999 with Moby's "Trouble so Hard," Giddens' operatically trained voice is up to the task with her quivering vibrato.
Elsewhere, "Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind" is one of the most fun songs in the Carolina Chocolate Drops' canon. This version is from a festival in St. Louis circa 2006 and translates live as well as it does in the studio version on a later release (Genuine Negro Jig) in their catalog. "Jack Of Diamonds," with its knee-slap percussion, and "Short Life of Trouble" are two waltzes that bridge one side of the album to the other. Given their expertise on early American music, it's fitting that the embedded bonus video interview is filmed in what looks to be a library. They're true students of the game, and sew another patch into the woven tapestry of music. Heritage delves into the cultures of bluegrass and African American string bands with results that mostly that this type of music is still alive due because of its emphasis on storytelling and keen musicianship. The Carolina Chocolate Drops have these in spades, and despite the fact that nearly all the material is not original, they breathe life into the recordings, proving they're a band to be reckoned with in roots music. AMG.

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Barclay James Harvest - Victims Of Circumstance 1984

A competent collection of lightweight '80s rock. The simple arrangement of opening track "Sideshow" is helped by the use of guest backing vocalists, and the title track is one of BJH's better efforts from this period. The weakest link is in the keyboards, which unfortunately are also front and center in the recording. Bias Boshell creates some pleasant atmospherics, but Wolstenholme's shoes are just too big to fill. AMG.

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Cadáver Exquisito - Cadáver Exquisito 2010

From Ecuador a guayaquileña band is made up of Daniel Vinueza vocals, John Santoro on guitar, Camilo Palma on keyboard, Alejandro Auz on drums, Gustavo Muñoz on bass, the band gradually has positioned itself as one of the main representative of pop rock.

The band was created in 2008 and became known through social networks, releasing their first EP 'cardboard walls' in 2010, which is mainly characterized by the pop rock proposal openly, ie, many Guitars, many synthesizers and very typical standard sticky pop vocal harmonies. Live performances of the band are very colorful and energetic, highlights the unique vocal tone of Daniel Vinueza he said that as the undisputed leader of the band, in addition to the glam image they want to project.

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