Sunday, April 12, 2009 THE CHICKEN SLACKS "CAN YOU DIG IT"
Calvin Arnold's "Funky Way" (to treat me) is a great indicator of what this veteran Boston soul/funk/r&b group puts out in the live clubs on the scene. Walking across Willie Alexander's "Mass. Ave" one Thursday night in April, 2009, a loud rendition of The Temptations/Rare Earth "Get Ready" (not on this disc) was blasting throughout Central Square - the Chicken Slacks Soul Revue playing to a packed Cantab upstairs where Little Joe Cook kept the college students entertained for years. Piano/organist The Reverend Curtis Jerome Haynes and drummer Justin Berthiaume co-produced the CD, engineered by Chris Lannon who worked with Girls Night Out back in the 1980s, and though the times have changed from the days when GNO were putting a thousand people into the Channel Club, packing hundreds into the Cantab in this 2009 economy is a major accomplishment. | 
| Vocalist Durand Wilkerson takes John Fogerty's "Long As I Can See The Light" and pulls all the pop stylings out of it, bringing it purely into the realm of Stax/Volt. "Any Other Way" could be the reincarnation of Clarence Carter on this R & B party disc. With J.Geils actually out and about these days performing at The House Of Blues as well as in the mid-west, and Duke & The Drivers releasing their exquisite (see Calvin Arnold http://fleamarketfunk.com/2007/04/18/calvin-arnold-funky-way/ ) |
 | This dreamy recording - Symphonic Live - is vintage Yes. Now that might seem like a redundant statement, but truth be told, in a world where artists are morphing into variations of what they once were, this sublime presentation adds to the legend in a way that "Symphonic Tributes", say - The Symphonic Stones, could never be. The ethereal atmosphere is expected and on "Standing On Sacred Ground" it works to fine effect. "Don't Go" has superb drama, but the Symphony aspect still takes the hard rock edge off the group. Where Procul Harum drove the orchestra to their pounding heights, the backing here builds a pleasant foundation to give Yes a superb platform. Very listenable and extremely effective. Joe Viglione 8:58 PM 3-2-09 Lou Reed's birthday |
March YES, Symphonic Stones, Alizon Lissance The Definitive Buddy Guy opens with an insightful "Sit and Cry (and sing the blues)", vintage recording opening up this Shout Factory release which is a good one-disc, but certainly only an overview and not "the definitive".
| Monday, March 02, 2009 
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 | "Ain't No Such Thing As The Boston Blues" opens up the Dawn Of A Waking Man CD by Rick Pisano with the spirit of The Doors "Roadhouse Blues" firmly in place, an upper-end guitar sound which comes in at a tidy three minutes and twenty seconds. "Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do The Time" has echoes of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" with some transcendent guitar playing that would make The Tornados of "Telstar" fame proud. "It Comes and It Goes" is more traditional blues with a nod to Bob Dylan's "Watching The River Flow", bouncy with some tough, semi-sweet harp and "Sweet Home Alabama"-styled backing vocals courtesy of Athene Wilson, the brilliance of Al Kooper that perturbed Lynyrd Skynyrd so. All ten titles were fully composed and arranged by Pisano and the CD is well balanced, "Newport Nights With You" a ballad that would have fit nicely into the early-mid 60's time frame, a beautiful segue with "Old Cape Cod" for radio if available during that storied era. | | My favorite track is "Good News For people Everywhere", Gospel flourishes featuring the aforementioned Wilson along with Stella Bynoe, Leon Beal and Roy W. Hall. Engineered and mixed by the legendary Joe Laquidara and George Persiantsev at Oak Grove Studios in Malden "Good News For People Everywhere" has a solid mix of all the genres touched upon by Rick Pisano on this outing and would be my choice for a single. |
This version of the Blind Faith CD, most likely the initial issue from Polydor/RSO in the digital format, has two bonus tracks that are worth seeking out. Recorded at Morgan Studios, October 7, 1969. Both the 8 song CD with the bonus tracks and 6 song traditional version have the same catalog #825-094-2. There are additional vinyl album covers as well to seek out (a la the Jimi Hendrix Band Of Gypsies "Puppet" cover) It is extremely rare now, a budget version was issued rather quickly, replacing the bonus disc. Perhaps because the two extra tracks, "Exchange & Mart" and "Spending All My Days", just don't sound like the polished Blind Faith that we know and love, that producer Jimmy Miller labored over. Clapton's guitar is unique, sounding more like he's joining The Seeds, and the band drops the beat about thirty-eight seconds in. But, come on, it's rare Blind Faith and it is fun! The entire song is just over three minutes while the instrumental, "Exchange & Mart", comes in at 4:18 and has the essence of BF, though it still is dramatically different...different enough. |
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| As for other Blind Faith rarities "Sleeping In The Ground" (not on this single disc) appeared on Eric Clapton's Crossroads box, and then showed up on Blind Faith "Deluxe Edition" with a previously unreleased mix as well as a slow blues version. This stuff is fun and, no, I haven't listened closely to Disc 2 of the Deluxe to see if the powers that be pulled "Exchange And Mart" out of the long jams. These 2 tracks have charm and make this pretty special. Jimmy Miller left Island Records for The Rolling Stones. But when Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood spent months jamming without a finished project Chris Blackwell invited Jimmy Miller to dinner and asked him to produce Blind Faith. According to Jimmy it took 3 days and 3 nights of non-stop work, but the masterpiece that emerged is rock and roll legend. Expert Review by Joe Viglione |
| Stephen Stills elegant "Spanish Suite", the 13th track on Man Alive, the first studio album from Stills in 14 years, is indicative of the fine music within, a true milestone of a recording that will, no doubt, get lost in the depths of Stephen's vast catalog. If you factor in that 1991's "Stills Alone" was just that - a pure solo effort - and that James Chrispell of AllMusic.com called (paraphrasing him now) 1984's Right By You disc a CD whose title reviewed the disc (didn't another critic say that about Neil Young's Time Fades Away, that if you replace the word "time" with Neil Young the title reviewed the disc - Neil Young Fades Away?) - well this could be called Stephen Still's Positive Revenge because track by track it is a keeper, a very strong selection of music production, vocal prowess and superb and catchy melodies and chord changes. It is vintage stills from "Ain't It Always" (which sounds like Paint It Away...or you could sing "Young Fades Away" to the melody) to the heartfelt "Piece Of Me", there are lots of things to like about Stills working with Herbie Hancock, Neil Young and Graham Nash. |  | | In fact, "Piece Of Me" would've fit nicely on the Rusty Kershaw album Young played on, the many facets to this complicated artist all come together on this long-awaited outing. Hopefully Stills will stay in the studio and give us more...along with those rare Jimi Hendrix sessions he has in his vault. "You'll judge nobody ever out of anger" he sings on "Wounded World" which is "full of love lies". Great stuff. |
 | CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS "LOST TUNES" 15 tracks from Mott The Hoople, Spooky Tooth, Blue Cheer, Kingdom Come and others is a tremendous disc, reflecting the beauty found in Mojo Magazine's "I Can See For Miles" compilation, thought not packaged as elegantly, it still is an inspiring blend of wonderful music. "Open The Door Richard" from Thunderclap Newman reinforces the brilliance of that terrific album that spawned a tune from The Strawberry Statement - "Something In The Air" (not included on this disc, but flavors of it remain in "Open The Door, Richard")
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Jann Klose explores the Reverie November 20th, 2008
by Joe Viglione Originally published in TMR Zoo where JV is the Film Critic & Entertainment Editor The twelve songs on Reverie are fully realized adventures that allow Jann Klose to tell his story over magical instrumentation. Reverie is truly one of those discs where you can jump into any random tune and find captivating rhythms, compelling imagery and the singer in full control of the words he is spinning. “All These Rivers” takes the listener to a place Boz Scaggs should have indulged in, so many different sounds running through the melody. ”Watching You Go” is intellectual modern AAA pop, chords that breathe under Klose’s matter-of-fact voice. |  
| | Does he have elements of British? Irish? Aussie? in those vocal tones?? That and more, and it is the guessing game your mind plays with his voice that makes repeated spins essential. Closing track “Beginning” gets a bit heady but that’s ok, the music steers it into other uncharted and ever revealing waters…and that’s the beauty of Reverie - some kind of signature Joni Mitchell branded onto music in the seventies gets…perhaps not reinvented but - re-imaged. “Clouds” has those intangibles, as does the splashed-in reggae of “Hold Me Down”. There’s a wistful once lost/now recovered sound that pop fans from the mid to late sixties still adore, and it’s the traces of that aura which keeps things moving in the right direction. “Beautiful Dream” is the opening track, and the one getting airplay as the album makes its way to the inevitable radio stations that like to take a chance on something this smart. It’s another moment that could have shimmered on Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records imprint lo those years ago. The production is top notch while the backing vocals and musicianship are more solid than most of what commercial radio is dishing out. Like stated at the beginning…fully realized - and definitely worth your time. |
Hadar Noiberg |  |
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 | Alizon Lissance
The title track of this intriguing dozen songs from Boston veteran Alizon Lissance tosses some splashy Bonnie Raitt influenced pop/rock bordering on country into a full array of musical styles (there's a video version embedded on the disc for your computer). Lissance asks the question "Maybe you can be my dream come true" on this album she composed and co-produced. It's a Who's Who of Boston veterans including her former bandmates from Girls Night Out, vocalist Didi Stewart and guitarist Wendy Sobel along with Myanna on tenor sax. That's 4/7ths of that famous group. Add the redoubtable Ed Spargo on bass, Steven Paul Perry from Luna/Berlin Airlift, the great Ducky Carlisle engineering, the thrice great Richard "Rosy" Rosenblatt on the engineering boards as well, and this would've gotten substantial play on 93.7's Boston Music Showcase if this writer were still producing that program on Curt Gowdy's old WCGY. | Track 11 "It'll Be Alright" is a slow and stirring tour-de-force (hey, blame my computer for the tracks jumping around), but 11 segues very nicely with track #1, and that's the sign of a true pro, Myanna's sax wailing through this terrific piece. Imagine Ian Hunter covering the drama here? After many spins of this disc, "It'll Be Alright" is emerging as my favorite track. "Only Time Will Tell" is a pensive, moody number that Etta James could have a ball with. You can hear traces of mega songwriters Karla Bonoff and Harriet Schock in the background, but it is pure Lissance, her personality in control as she paints with different time signatures and vocal expressions. As hinted at in this review, Alizon runs the gamut, "Broken In Two" talks about affairs of the heart - a theme that Girls Night Out explored, but here Lissance is identifying the feelings through an uptempo country romp with boogie woogie piano and harmonica. "Icy Blue Heart" is a jazzy, bluesy cabaret-moment-in-a-spy-movie adventure with prompt piano stabs that tug at the ex-lover, a soothing vocal from Alizon, and a lovely organ/piano Spooky Tooth/Traffic feel creating a nifty undercurrent. Good sounding, well performed, and with classy graphics, it's nice to see all her friends coming out to play with Alizon and the truly inspiring result that is "So What About You." Expert review by Joe Viglione 3-4-09 |
Joe Viglione's writings are on the New York Times.com, Pandora.com, Zune.com, Windowsmedia.com, Limewire.com, BitTorrent.com, Second Spin.com, LastFM.com, Blockbuster.com, Steve Lukather.net, Shirley Bassey.com, Texas Pop Festival.com,VH-1.com, Billboard.com, AOL.com, MTV.com, ArtistDirect.com, AllMusic.com, AllMovie.com, Barnes & Noble.com, 0ldies1150.com, MP3.com, Rhapsody.com, ITunes.com, Legacy Recordings/Sony-BMG site, FYE.com, WherehouseMusic.com
| Stacie Rose has created a mature and authoritative gem on her third full-length disc augmenting her long-time producer, Robert L. Smith, with co-producer Jeff Allen. There are many stand-out tracks here, "Run Out" has a little nod to Janis Joplin (not in vocal or sound, but in spirit) - very hooky, as is "Mr. & Mrs. Happily Ever After", nice sequencing two as the pair of songs are different but work well together. There's the intriguing "Not Listening", the jazzy and quite moody "December" and "Love Saves" which actually sounds like "Love waves...", a nice little Lady Mondegreen, misheard lyric. You can check out my previous review of Rose's THIS IS MINE CD from 2002 on AllMusic and SHADOW & SPLENDOR. SHOTGUN DAISY is a beautiful component to the triology and points out a good direction for this important artist's future. |  |
GILLAN LIVE EDINBURGH 1980
3) Merle Haggard: New Light Through Old Windows on Legacy
18)Composing The Beatles' Songbook (Blockbuster.com) An eighty minute documentary on the songwriting of Lennon & McCartney titled Composing The Beatles Songbook but including commentary by Johnny Rogan on songs written by the pair that were utilized by other artists - Billy J. Kramer, Peter and Gordon, Cilla Black and others. A dozen panelists including Rolling Stone Magazine's A
 | #1 The Dark Knight Though not perfect BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT is far and away the best comic book film in movie history, bringing the audience a level of seriousness that had escaped Spiderman; an element that was sought by the X-Men, but which that franchise due to scripts that lacked staying power and less substance than was promised. Read the lengthy Joe Vig essay on THE DARK KNIGHT on my rock journalist page: http://rockjournalistjoevig.blogspot.com/ |
#2 In the Land of O-De-Po For those of us who have enjoyed decades of music from the Stories frontman on record, along with watching Ian Lloyd onstage since the early 1970s, the CD "In The Land of O-de-Po" shows the full depth of this journeyman's artistic vision. He and co-producer Tony Sankitts put "Brother Louie" into a techno-dance shuffle that acts like an entre to this new sound. "Side By Side" has his immaculate voice dancing around a terrific melody which reflects the packaging. Lloyd performs with his son David's band, Social Hero, and he brings an intensity found on this disc to the band's live performance. The role is more of one in the background, clearly giving the group its focus as well as some superb backing vocals. |  | It would be helpful if Social Hero would put their dad front and center, playing the youthful energy against the polished experience of a true rock & roll original. If Social Hero added the music of "In The Land Of O-de-Po" to their repertoire they would be a formidable ensemble. Indeed, in-between Social Hero originals this CD should be played in its entirety live onstage - the way Carole King presented her Fantasy album to her devoted audience. The title track is remarkable. A very satisfying and important work from an individual who has yet to peak. http://www.machinedreamrecords.com/ianlloyd/ |
 | #3 Deep Purple Around The World Live is a delicious box that provides an amazing glimpse into the group that released 7 albums between 1968 and 1972, finding the double live album as the sales catalyst to launch them into history. This is a FOUR DVD Box from Eagle Vision which takes that double album concept into another dimension. India 1995 starts things off with a bonus feature of eight songs from Seoul, 1995 - Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice with Steve Morse on guitar. A 34 page booklet on slick paper is inside this handsome case which features six faces on the cover. "A wealth of previously unseen material" it's a bootleggers worst nightmare and a fan's dream come true. |
4 ALICE COOPER ALONG CAME A SPIDER Alice Cooper is a total pro in these decades after he launched to superstardom and his product is of consistent and very high quality. "Along Came A Spider" is a nice addition to the Cooper collection. "The One That Got Away" is good pop/rock - the only problem for long-time fans is that we are waiting for the next "Under My Wheels", "Ballad Of Dwight Frye", "Is It My Body." Perhaps it is time for a reunion of the original members of the Alice Cooper Group and a production party with Bob Ezrin at the helm. "Along Came a Spider" is certainly good stuff, and a great title ripped from a Morgan Freeman movie about a semi-serial kidnapper. Alice was just a little more fun when he dipped into the culture, penning "The Man With The Golden Gun" even though they were passed over for the James Bond movie theme. "Wrapped In Silk" discusses getting passed by...good solid product delivered by The Coop, but it is time for something more. Alice is always fun, but Buzzy Linhart and Ian Lloyd have released new albums with more adventure, heart and inquisitiveness. |  | Their performances are more attractive. Alice needs to pair up with journeymen like Lloyd and Linhart to pen a terrific new album and blow everyone away. This one is good, but Alice has the potential to always be great. Why be good when you are great? This is the Jack Nicholson Joker while Ian Lloyd's new disc is, say, Christian Bale playing Batman. Nothing here has equaled the Heath Ledger barometer...but we'll keep looking for the G spot and the Holy Grail. SIDE NOTE:
What's truly odd in this day and age is that Wikipedia has instant information on so many things that were hard to track down in the time before the internet. An information explosion is certainly fun, as is this disc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Along_Came_a_Spider_(Alice_Cooper_album) |
 | 5)VINCENT BUGLIOSI THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER Vince appeared on Visual Radio #411 for 50 minutes or so chatting with me about serial killer George W. Bush. It's stunning stuff and some critics are calling this one of my best interviews. Well, Vince is pretty automatic, he's the prosecutor who put Manson away, and in this book he builds a very strong case for why another psychopath who was not at the scene of the crime (or who just visits the scene of the crime on Thanksgiving and Christmas) should be put away for good. It's brilliant - and tough - stuff. We hope to post some of the interview on YouTube in the near future. 3:30 AM July 20, 2008. |
6)MULTI DIMENSIONAL WARRIOR - SANTANA Found this double CD from Santana on my doorstep - release date is September. I'm giving it a few spins right now - great stuff, of course, what's not to like about Santana, one of the most famous guitarists in the history of mankind who is still underrated. How do you sell more albums than anyone else in the guitar scene yet not have the prestige and underground luster of Jimi Hendrix? It's not that millions and millions of musicians don't kiss the ground Carlos walks on, I'm not saying that at all, I'm just saying he is IN the Hendrix category, a unique arena, but does not get the credit for his innovative style. More on this impressive collection soon. |  |
 | 9)DOWNTOWN MYSTIC "Read The Signs" A subtle psychedelic cover with a purple hue is what houses this rocking bit of post-Flamin' Groovies/Byrds style of brash pop, the authenticity missing from 99% of Tom Petty's releases. "Eyes Of The World" and "A Way To Know" contain no-nonsense pop by the quartet which features Robert Allen, Bruce Engler, bassist Paul Page and drummer extraordinaire Steve Holley. Listen to the wild guitar lines on "A Way To Know", the kind of core music that's been missing on the radio waves. |
10Denny Jiosa Dreams Like This Superb album from jazz artist Denny Jiosa - more thorough review to follow... |  |
11) Nat King Cole The Very Thought of You
15)Men Without Wax Anchor
17) Vance Gilbert "Up On Rockfield"
18)The Complaints Sunday Morning Radio
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 | 22)Oasis Disc Manufacturing INSPIRATIONAL Volume VIII #4 Radio Sampler Another beautifully packaged collection of songs from Oasis Manufacturing, though titled "Inspirational" some of these performances are as Gospel as Gospel gets. Darren Prater's "My Redeemer" starts things off, the Alaska String Band contribute "Farther On", the Kansas based Antioch Church deliver "Never Ending Love" from their Live It Loud album. This compilation flows smoothly without the usual "various artists" hodge podge syndrome; each track listenable and professionaly performed. |
48)Jann Klose "The Strangest Thing" CD This album was released in August of 1999. It features the songwriter/singer in a laid-back setting with folk/jazz overtones. Klose is in good voice here though the material tends to wander. |  |
MARCH 2008 TOP 40 THREE #1 STORIES THIS MONTH
"You Can't Always get What You Want" Remix from '21'
THRILLER 25th Anniversary Edition
NORMAN GREENBAUM interview
TRIPLE #1 This Month
Norman Greenbaum and The Rolling Stones
1)Norman Greenbaum
1)"You Can't Always Get What You Want" Re-mix of Rolling Stones/Jimmy Miller classic
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