Rush Interviews Add Flavor to Clockwork Angels

While I am on a Rush kick, getting more and more into this Clockwork Angels album, I wanted to post a few clutch quotes from some recent interviews.

There have been a LOT of great interviews and videos of the guys the last few weeks. But the three that caught my eye were two Q&As from Rolling Stone with Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. The Peart one especially, because he never really does interviews, and with Rolling Stone no less, who have always slagged the band until recently. The third interview is a track by track overview slideshow with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who should bear much of the credit for getting the band back its prog roots.

Here are a few quotes I thought Rush fans would dig. For sure check out the original interviews here, here and here.

Nick Raskulinecz quotes:

This album was Rush’s vision. It wasn’t mine. I was there to make sure it was played as brilliantly as they could play it, sung as high as Geddy Lee could sing it, and have the guitar solos bring me to tears.

[On the song The Anarchist] One of my favorites, but I could say that about all the songs. To me, it’s all about the riff, and this riff takes me back to the old days. That was one of the cool things about working on this record, helping Rush to know that it was OK to be like this. ‘You guys can do this. You guys did it a long time ago, you can do it again. You own it!’…Vocally, it was about getting Geddy up in that high register where he belongs.

[On the song The Wreckers] The song didn’t exist until we were in the studio – there was no demo of it. Geddy was in the writing room, playing guitar, and Alex came in and picked up the bass. So the song was written with the two of them playing what aren’t their main instruments… I tried to get the two of them to switch for the tracking – Alex on bass and Geddy on guitar – but they decided to stick to their designated instruments… The guitar part in the verse was probably the hardest thing on the record for us to find. Alex had some difficulty playing the part Geddy had written – it was great, but it didn’t feel right to him. He had to search for the right part, and it took all day with me going, ‘Nope, that’s not it… Nope, that’s not it.’ Finally, he stumbled onto a picking figure, and Geddy and I just stood up and went, ‘That’s it! That’s the part.’ The tune came together real fast after that.

[On the song Headlong Flight] This is the song I was waiting to hear for a long time. The riff, the vocals, the drumming, the guitar solos, the energy – everything that makes Rush Rush is in this song. It’s pretty long, and there’s a lot of parts in it. There were no drums on the demo, it was just a click – a click, riffs and scratch vocals. How do you write drum parts on a drum machine to something like this anyway? You don’t – you just put Neil Peart in the room.

[On the song Wish Them Well] This was the hardest drum track of any of the songs to get. Neil doesn’t really play double-time, so this was taking him out of what he usually does. That wasn’t always the idea; in fact, that was me trying to keep the energy up. The tune wanted to move, and the riff wanted to be big – it didn’t want to be mellow or straight. Neil’s the consummate pro, man. He fucking dug in – sat down on his throne, picked up his sticks and made it happen. He’s the dream for a producer to work with. I was throwing stuff at him that an octopus couldn’t play, but he could.

[On the song The Garden] That’s the demo guitar solo. What you’re hearing is Alex by himself. He’s at Geddy’s house, it’s late at night – I think Geddy was sleeping on the couch – and he’s just playing a guitar solo. When you get something that great, it’s not a demo anymore. There wasn’t even a discussion to try to do it again. It’s up there with the solo to Limelight.

Rolling Stone interview with Neil Peart:

We got together in Los Angeles and started to think about our next year.  One of the projects we discussed was doing a compilation of all of our instrumentals, which Geddy suggested. I said, "Yeah, maybe we could make a new one to go with it. Maybe something a little more extended."

Those words "a little more extended" in the course of this comfortable conversation got me thinking. I said, "Well, I've been thinking lately about this setting ... And I explained this whole steampunk thing to the guys and they seemed kind of intrigued. So I started working, and the story came together organically.

...We had a very successful revivification of some of the material that we thought could be better than it was originally, like the title track to Presto. We just loved playing it last tour, and we played it in a way that we couldn't when we were touring in 1989. I remember discussing it with the guys one night over dinner and just saying, "That song is so much better than it ever was, and it has a feel that it should have had on the record." Geddy said, "Well, we have a different clock now." That's true, and such an important, fundamental observation.

For me as a drummer, being responsible for that pulse . . . that change happened in the mid-Nineties when I studied with Freddie Gruber and worked really hard on my drumming, and it did give me a different clock. It gave me so much more control and understanding of time and pushing it and pulling it and creating anticipation, tension and release. It can all be done within metronomic time, but it's not easy. It takes time and it takes understanding.

...For us to have worked so hard and been successful and respected for it, that goes right smack in the face of cheap panderers. That just occurred to me now, but it's true. They're always saying, "Oh man, I have to do it this way, have to make the song simple and repetitive 'cause that's what people like, 'cause that's my job and if I can just put a smile on the face of those hard-workin' people then my job is done." You know, that attitude has been kind of my enemy all of my life.

Rolling Stone interview with Alex Lifeson:

We read through Neil's lyrics, try to get a sense of where it's going, and then Ged and I will usually start jamming and then see what lyrics will work with whatever piece that we're working on. There's a lot of back and forth between Neil and Ged. Ged has to feel comfortable with the lyrics, that they're clear and understandable and that he's comfortable singing them. That's the thing with lyrics: sometimes the story gets in the way of the vocalization and that can be difficult, so there's a lot of paring that goes on over time. They have a great working relationship. Ged might pull out one phrase from a set of lyrics that Neil has spent a great deal of time on and say, "This really speaks to me. Can we just rebuild it around this one phrase?" And it's amazing how Neil has such an unbounded patience to do that sort of thing.

...We want to play the new material. We sort of go back and forth. "Should we play the whole thing? Or should we play most of it, or some of it, and mix it up?" It's always very difficult, and having come off a tour where we featured an album in its entirety, it makes the idea of featuring the whole of Clockwork Angels that much more appealing.

I think for the first leg of the tour, at the very least, we'll do most of the record – not all of it, but we'll do most of it. The material that's coming up amongst the three of us in the e-mails that we're sharing is the older material. There's a lot of stuff in there that we haven't played before, and we haven't played in a long time so it's got a freshness to it this time around. We'll always have to play that handful of songs that we've had the most commercial success with, but mixing it up with some other material that we haven't played in a long time is really great. It's shaping up to be a pretty good set.

...Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn did a very great job with the documentary, and they told a story that maybe we didn't realize existed. Because when you're living, it's just sort of your normal day-to-day stuff and it's not really that big of a deal. But they managed to tell a story about friendship and brotherhood and perseverance and having dreams, and they mixed in a good dose of humor and made it a very fun film to watch.

CD Review - Rush Clockwork Angels

I enjoy turning some of my musician friends on to 'new Rush' every time the band puts out something fresh, because I am one of those loyal fans that buys everything they put out and it’s nice to share. But my buddies? Sometimes I am met with malaise.

Last year when Rush put out Caravan and BU2B as a sneak from the new album just released, Clockwork Angels, the tunes went over very well with my friends.

It was much more like the ‘classic Rush’ we grew up on, meaning loads of bitchin riffs played in unison, complex arrangements, and well, kick ass musicianship!

Rush seemed to set that all aside for a long time to focus on ‘songwriting.’ And they succeeded at writing some super catchy tunes but we all longed for a return to prog insanity. We got that a little bit on Vapor Trails (along with a very muddy mix) and even more so with Snakes and Arrows, an album I still love. I also see it as a stepping stone album back to full on prog.

Which brings me to Clockwork Angels. All I can say about this new Rush album is that they are not bullshitting around. This is a full on prog-fest concept album with everything you loved about 70s era-Rush. Long, complex songs, lyrical narrative, screeching vocals, bitchin drumming, wicked guitar, pummeling bass and even Taurus pedals.  Yeah baby!

And I just read that the album has has entered the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #2 with sales in excess of 104,000 units, matching the highest chart debut of their illustrious 38-year career. Fuck Yeah!

The album starts out with two songs most Rush fans already know because as I mentioned, they came out last year as a digital single, and the band played them on its last two live stretches: Caravan and BU2B. But they have both been remixed to fit the overall sound of the album and I have to say that I like these mixes much, much better. The sound is separated better and is less complex. The drums in particular sound fantastic.

Next up is the title track which took a bit of time to grow on me but is now a keeper. The fourth track, The Anarchist, is a great combo of newer heavier Rush a la Vapor Trails or Snakes and Arrows meets the most Hemispheres riff since Hemispheres (complete with chorus effect on the guitar and Taurus pedals underneath). I actually could call that riff “Jacob’s Brother’s Ladder.”

Not to slam everyone over the head with heavy prog for an hour, there are a couple of breathers on Clockwork Angels too. The songs Halo Effect and The Garden are gorgeous numbers laden with acoustic guitar, nice vocal melody and even strings. In fact there are strings on a lot of the album – not keyboard samples but a real string section recorded at the tail end of the project, according to articles.

I also saw that the tour, which kicks off in September, may actually employ a ten-person string section to augment the many songs from this album they anticipate playing. And since they are paying for ten more people to go on tour, Rush is talking about adding strings to some older stuff too. I can certainly see them bringing back a song like Marathon, which had strings on it in the first place. Maybe we get an acoustic Tears (from 2112)? Well, a guy can dream…

But back to the review here. So I am saving the best for last. For me the sweet spot of Clockwork Angels is found in track 7, 8 and 9. Track 7, Seven Cities of Gold, is hands down a new Rush classic. It has a recurring 70s-era riff, a catchy-assed chorus that at one point skips ONE BEAT just to make sure you are paying the hell attention, and a great lyrical theme – the Spanish who first came to the Americas thinking there were cities of gold. They would return home saying, we could just barely see it in the distance but never made it there – so we have to go back. Great fuckin Peart handling on that theme. But this is the song that gets stuck in my head.

Track 8, The Wreckers, ought to be the next single. This song is pretty accessible. Meaning, it’s very straight forward and doesn’t flip beats and time signatures all over the place. Also, it has one of my favorite Rush choruses in the last 20 years, when it repeats "all I know is that sometimes you have to be wary..." backed by what I am sure are good old Taurus pedals.

Track 9 is a much longer piece called Headlong Flight, and all I will say here is that the solo section sounds like a Cyngus freak out. This one is a real return to the prog form, but with the knowledge, skill and balls that the band possesses after playing together for 35 years.

The thing about Rush is that they keep getting better. I went back and listened to A Show of Hands (late 80s live album) and compared to today, they sound pretty scrappy. I know that is a shocking thing to say but when Neil Peart re-learned his drumming technique a few years back, it really did push the band into a whole new, more feel-driven era. I think that is also why it is so fun for them to bring back older songs and perform them the way the play TODAY. Big, big difference.

So anyway, I love this album more with every listen. I’d say if you want to Spotify before you buy (and do please buy), dig tracks 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 and see what you think. There is a theme and story that runs across this whole album making it their first album-long concept piece. I have not made time to figure out what the story is but I have to say, the songs all stand on their own anyway. It’s killer and is going to be PUMMELING live.

Here is the official video for Headlong Flight:

Concert Review - Roger Waters The Wall in Portland

It seems only fitting to review this show over Memorial Day weekend, since Waters has converted The Wall from an autobiographic piece to a larger global statement on war and the abuse of power.

All the footage in the show of soldiers coming home from duty and particularly the song Bring The Boys Back Home made me think of all those who fight for our freedom. The show vacillates between heartfelt and frequently tear-inducing images of the victims of war - including soldiers, and the Dogs and Pigs who wage war from behind the boardroom walls. You all know the story.

I took my 14 year old son to the show and Waters didn't disappoint. Right out of the gate it was a visual onslaught from the pyro opening of In The Flesh to the giant Wall toppling over two and a half hours later.

I noticed some new things in the show from when I saw it in December 2010. First of all, cameras have been added to capture Waters onstage and broadcast him onto the wall - much like the jumbo screens at big stadium shows.

But it was very effective on a couple of fronts. In Nobody Home, where Waters sings the song from a faux hotel room that extends from the wall, I remember that in the 2010 show I had a hard time seeing him. I was in the 100 section in the back, which was a great place to be but not for moments like Nobody Home.

But now, an image of Waters is broadcast on the right hand side of the wall so you can see all the nuances of his delivery. They also used this in Don't Leave Me Now to great effect (see photo below).

And it was also used in my favorite moment of the show, where Waters machine guns the audience to death at the end of In The Flesh. He now shows up 50 feet tall in front of the 'Nazi rally' imagery so you REALLY get the point. See the video below.

Otherwise, my review from December pretty much stands - I don't have much to add except that Waters sounded awesome vocally and stretched out a little more on the bass. The sound in the Portland Rose Garden was very crisp and his band was fantastic.

I especially noted the large amount of vocal harmonies for example in The Show Must Go On. These live four and five part harmonies, so well executed, are refreshing given today's era of lip syncing and playing to pre-recorded backing tracks.

Overall, I am glad I saw this show a second time, and honestly wish I could see it just one more time.



Isorski and Son

Yep, I had to also get the T-Shirt! Run Like Hell!

Prog Fans Rejoice As Steve Hackett and Chris Squire Partner in the Aptly Named 'Squackett'

Next Monday, fans of old school Yes and Genesis will have boners as the long-anticipated album from Yes bassist Chris Squire and Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett will hit the stands.

Much like the names Hoobastank and Chickenfoot, the band name started as a joke and sadly stuck. The group is called Squackett. Gah!

But the two songs available today on iTunes sound pretty cool. Or at least the 1:30 samples sound good - I am too cheap to buy them today and again next week.

I have to say I have always liked Chris Squire's songs. To me, he is the Ace Frehley of Yes. Meaning, he does not take the mic frequently but when he does, I usually like what comes out of his head.

His one solo album, Fish Out Of Water, is a prog rock classic must-have. Songs like Can You Imagine from Yes' Magnification, The More We Live/Let Go from Yes Union (the only good song on that piece of crap) and The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be from the new Fly From Here by the Anderson-less Yes are all great songs.

Also, dig Squire's first take at It Can Happen on the 90125 bonus tracks before Jon Anderson added his parts - very cool stuff indeed.

So finally another album of stuff piloted by Chris Squire - it got my interest right away.

Steve Hackett is another story. I love-love LOVE his work in Genesis. Some of the best, most tasteful and innovative playing from that era. But sadly I also have every one of his solo albums and there are A LOT of them. But aside from some stuff on Spectral Mornings, I can't Hack (cough) any of them.

Well, his last two releases are actually pretty good. One is a solo nylon string guitar album called Metamorpheus that is like a whole album of songs like the gorgeous Horizons from Foxtrot (waaaay early Genesis).

I also really dug his playing on the GTR album and have always been a fan of his style.

So maybe this will be the prog version of peanut butter and chocolate. Come Monday, we'll find out! For now, dig these short previews from Prog Magazine:

Peter Gabriel to Tour North America, Perform "So" Album End to End

Peter Gabriel will hit the road this fall on the 25th anniversary of the So album, which shot his career into the stratosphere on songs like Sledgehammer, Red Rain, Don't Give Up and Big Time.

According to his website, he will play the album in its entirety, in order, and will also be recruiting as many players from that original tour to re-join. According to ProgRockMag, bassist/Stick player Tony Levin has posted the dates, so he's in. That's a huge win.

The So concert was one of the best shows I have ever seen. The music was incredible because he only had five albums to draw from. So we got lots of older Gabriel material like Intruder and San Jacinto.

There weren't any Sledgehammer offshoots like Steam, and he still closed the shows with Biko instead of In Your Eyes.

The show was also the first time he had gone back to being super theatrical, and I remember roaming lights on scissor arms that rolled around the stage on tracks. Very simple yet effective. In "No Self Control," each light alternated in coming down on Gabriel as if they were attacking him.

So it was theatrical but also fairly low budget. There was no back of the stage. It was not in the round per se, but I was seated behind the stage and that was an interesting way to watch the show.

I also remember I had to pee the whole time but could not tear myself away to use the can. Gah!

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this for sure. So far only a handful of dates are announced. Lots of gaps though. Hopefully we'll have a Portland play.

Video from that tour, where you can see some of the stage show I was talking about:

Roger Waters on 60 Minutes

If you have 15 minutes or so, or are looking for brain break, take a look at this fantastic 60 Minutes segment on Roger Waters and The Wall.



...and the 'bonus footage'





Going to see The Wall with my 14 year old son tomorrow night. I don't know who I am more excited for...

Sabbath Soap Opera Maybe Not As Frothy As We Think

Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler finally broke silence on the Bill Ward drama, basically saying that the other guys in the band were unaware of Ward's displeasure with the proposed contract until Ward had gone public with it:

Geezer posted to his website:

“None of us knew how Tony was going to respond to his intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Ozzy and myself flew to England to be with Tony, and on his ‘good’ days, we’d meet at his home studio and put ideas together for the upcoming album, all sitting down together, no drummer involved, just three of us quietly putting together ideas. We thought when we had enough songs together for a full band rehearsal, we’d move back to LA and put the whole thing together with Bill.

“To our surprise, Bill issued a statement on his site saying he’d been offered an un-signable contract. He hadn’t told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us – let alone in public.”

Check out the post for all the details. Nice to hear Geezer's side because up until yesterday Sabbath looked like absolute assholes, even wiping Ward's image off the band's website.

According to ClassicRock.com, that was at Ward's request! D'oh!

In the meantime, the band played a warm-up show in Birmingham this weekend for 3,000 lucky motherfuckers.

Dig this setlist:
Into The Void
Under The Sun
Snowblind
War Pigs
Wheels of Confusion
Electric Funeral
Black Sabbath
The Wizard
Behind The Wall of Sleep
NIB
Fairies Wear Boots
Tomorrow’s Dream
Sweet Leaf
Symptom of The Universe/Drum Solo
Iron Man
Dirty Women
Children of The Grave
ENCORE:
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Paranoid

Nice to see Iommi is doing well enough to play a gig and to go through what must have been a lot of rehearsing to pull it off. Reviews have been positive and here is a video:



I think Ozzy sounds out of key, and I do miss Ward here. I was lucky enough to catch the original four on Ozzfest with Iron Maiden a few years ago. And even though Ozzy sounded like crap then too, it was cool to see the original band.

What is semi-exciting about this is the notion of a new album, and the fact that the band is digging deeper into its Ozzy era albums on the setlist. But I doubt I would go see this show if it came to my town. Not without Ward and even then, not sure.

But you know who I really miss here? Ronnie James Dio.

Black Sabbath Erase Bill Ward From History

This is such bullshit. For anyone not following the latest parade of insanity in the Black Sabbath camp, here is a re-cap:

--Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward announce that the original lineup of Sabbath is re-forming to record a new album and do a world tour
--Tony Iommi diagnosed with cancer
--Band moves recording sessions to the UK to accommodate Iommi's treatment
--Drummer Bill Ward makes a statement to fans that his bags are packed but that he is not going to the UK until he is presented with a 'signable' contract
--No comment from Black Sabbath except to say they wish he was there but they are carrying on without him
--Sabbath tour re-named Ozzy Osbourne and friends
--Handful of actual Sabbath dates announced
--Bill Ward this week verifying he is not taking part in any of the Sabbath dates and the door is closed - he is not in the Sabbath reunion at all, nor will he be in the future

Today's bullet point? Sabbath has removed all images of Ward from every single photo on the band's website.

OK up to this point, I can chalk it up as a classic contractual dispute, where Ward wanted a certain amount of cash but Sharon Osb...I mean the band did not agree to the figure. Ward went rogue by taking it to the fans.

But Sabbath retaliating by taking his photo off the Sabbath website? That is utter bullshit. This is exactly like when Sharon Osbourne replaced the original drum and bass tracks from Ozzy's first two solo albums because those musicians had sued Ozzy for royalties.

Or like when Van Halen airbrushed Michael Anthony off of its website.

You can't fuck with history, people. The fans don't like it and it will do nothing but tarnish your legacy. This is a dark, dark moment in Sabbath's history. You'd think that with Iommi fighting cancer, they'd grow up and work this shit out.

Here is a screen capture of the website gallery page this morning:

Pathetic.

Roger Waters, David Gilmour Wall Reunion Video Posts

This a real treat to watch. Six minutes long, though -- I want the unedited footage, man!

Tell you what though, it warms my heart that these guys buried the hatchet from so long ago. It also gets me revved up to see The Wall as the show comes to Portland on Tuesday. I saw it last year - review posted here - and it's amazing.

New Joe Walsh Single - Lucky That Way

Joe Walsh is putting out his first solo album in 20 years and the new song is up on the web. It's called Lucky That Way, and I think it's great.

It sounds like he picked up right where he left off from my favorite stuff in the 70s. His voice is clear, the song is catchy and upbeat. The arrangement feels really good. Very tasty Joe Walsh solo.

And it has some great Joe Walsh lines. My favorite is: “I’ll let you all in on a little secret / If I could share with you a thing or two / If you act like you know what you’re doing / Everybody thinks that you do.”

Classic.

The album is called Analog Man and comes out June 5. What do you think of the tune?

Rolling Stones Open Bootleg Archive

The Rolling Stones are making some of their most popular bootlegged shows from the 70s and 80s available for $5 a pop at http://www.stonesarchive.com.

So far there are only three available but you'd be hard pressed to find better recorded live Stones gigs outside of Get Yer Ya Ya's Out.

The oldest is from October 1973 and is called The Brussels Affair.

This is a hot night on the Goats Head Soup tour so we get mainly classic Mick Taylor era tunes like Brown Sugar, Rip This Joint, Street Fighting Man, Happy, Tumblin Dice and one of the most raw and vibrant versions of Midnight Rambler to grace the transom.

You can hear Jagger grunting through the harmonica as he rips out heavy distorted blues riffs, and the speedy jam section is proof of why the Stones were once rated as once of the best live bands out there.

Of course we get incredibly underrated Goats Head Soup material as well. Dancing With Mr D live? Get the hell outa here!

The band actually played (and recorded) two shows on this day in Brussels. This release is the best songs from both gigs. But you can find bootlegs of both shows (search for 'The Complete Brussels Affair') and it's cool to hear the two complete concerts with different set lists.

The second release is from a Los Angeles gig in 1975 and is from the tail end of Ronnie Wood's first tour with the band. This is the tour where they had a bunch of side guys on horns and percussion and also Billy Preston was with them.

You can hear live versions of a lot of these songs on Love You Live from the same tour but because the band didn't know they were being recorded in LA for official release, these versions on the bootleg are more raw and real.

The guitar interplay between Richards and Ron Wood is much tighter. It's like one guitar player, really. Very intertwined. Where Mick Taylor did more soloing over Keith's groove.

Having listened to a lot of Love You Live growing up, it's interesting to hear the songs the Stones played on this tour that were left off that album, like All Down The Line, Angie, an almost eight minute very bluesy Wild Horses and of course Gimmie Shelter. Cool to hear Wood's take on Taylor's parts.

This release, called LA Friday, was really recorded at a Sunday concert. You get the whole thing here - 25 songs including two Billy Preston tunes from when they'd turn the spotlight on him briefly each night.

After this tour the band went to Paris to record Some Girls, so you can imagine the group getting tighter every night on this tour, gearing up for that.

The third release is from the 1982 tour where the Stones officially jumped the shark for me and became a stadium band with huge props and stages and balloons and shit.

Still worth a listen but my least favorite of the bunch.

Mick and Keith talk about these bootlegs in the below videos from the band. As usual Keith has better things to say.

His thoughts on Mick Taylor versus Ronnie Wood and his own role playing with each is really telling. He has great respect for both guitarists and of course has really unique perspectives on each. Some great sound bites there. Enjoy!

One caveat on actually getting these releases off the web: the experience of downloading these songs is not seamless. The Stones partnered with Google in the U.S. and the process of pulling the songs off the Web is not as intuitive as iTunes. Not a deal breaker but something to note.

I had all of these shows on unofficial bootlegs and the sound is far superior as expected on these official releases. In some cases there are more songs and a different order. It's nice to hear these as the Stones meant them to be heard. I hope they continue to issue more shows. At $5 a pop I'd probably buy them all!

T.U.B.E. Bootleg Site Vanishes Again

I noticed a lot of people searching for the TUBE Bootleg site - a great source for bootlegs across the board. Seems like it's been pulled down. This happens from time to time for various reasons.

Usually the service provider freaks out from a threat from the music industry and its lawyers and pulls the site down. Once it gets sorted out, a new site goes up with the same great (legal) bootlegs.

I suggest people go to TUBE's Facebook page, which as far as I can tell has never been taken down. All the links from the page are dead but I bet once the TUBE folks figure it out, this is where they will post a new URL.

Concert Review: Ghost at The Showbox in Seattle

A bit of a 'real-time' review here from last night: Drove three hours to Seattle to catch Ghost at the Showbox where they opened for Mastodon and Opeth.

In fact I am typing this on my phone half way through Mastodon's set. Not a fan of these guys at all. Every song sounds the same with little melody or variation. A big snore for me. But I do want to see Opeth or we'd be on the road back to Portland already.

So, Ghost.

You can read my CD and Portland show reviews to know how I feel about Ghost. Or you can ponder the fact that my buddy Super Dave and I drove three hours on a Monday to hear six songs, and then drove back another three hours and go to work tomorrow.

Ghost is that kind of band.

They started at 7 p.m. sharp and played for 30 minutes exactly. They did six songs from their debut album: Con Claro Con Dio, Elizabeth, Prime Mover, Death Knell, Satan Prayer, Ritual.

I missed the inclusion of a couple of songs like Stand By Him but overall the gig was awesome. This band is fantastic live. Forget for a moment the image thing (caped, masked band; zombie pope singer). The songs are a highly effective amalgamation of old school Sabbath, BOC and Metallica.

They seem to have gotten even tighter since the last tour. The singer seemed even more cozy with his chosen persona. More than once I thought of a 70s era costumed Peter Gabriel but with only one character!

Anyhow very enjoyable. And finally I am at Mastodon's last song. Like the dinosaurs this band is named after, they need to be hit by meteors and global warming. Sorry, nothing redeemable at all about this band. They suck ass.

Fast forward a few hours. Opeth...

Opeth was very good - I thought they were playing Heart of the Sunrise as their opener but it was something else but just as proggy.

The band has listened to a lot of Yes, and certainly share a brotherhood with groups like Porcupine Tree. PT has in fact set the bar so high that it was hard for Opeth to match up.

But they were a welcome change from Mastodon, and a nice way to end the evening before the three hours back to Portland.

The best part of Mastodon's set (they had just left the stage):

Opeth:

New Asia Album Due In June - New Single is Shockingly Good (if you like Asia)

30 years after its incredible and never-matched-by-the-band debut album, Asia are set to release Asia XXX (pronounced "Triple X" but still connotating pornography) towards the end of June.

Usually I would not give a shit.

I am so fed up with the Yes camp, with its ever-changing Jon Anderson-less lineup, and I put Asia in the Yes camp because of Steve Howe - maybe unfairly but there it is. Also, Geoff Downes is in the current incarnation last time I checked.

I also caught Asia live a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. It was pretty dull and rote.

But out of morbid curiosity I checked out the new single from XXX and damn if it sounds like good old classic Asia. Catchy tune, great energy and Steve Howe still has some magic left in those fingers. Soaring and magestic John Wetton vocal. Really classic Downes keys and Carl Palmer as solid as ever. I was impressed after two listens.

Very nice production too - it actually kind of sounds like the original album. Jury is out on the whole release of course but Asia fans might just dig this new tune! What do you think?

Rush "Headlong Flight" Posted Online

Rush made the full Headlong Flight song from its upcoming Clockwork Angels album available online this week. First posted, head-scratchingly, as an exclusive with Rolling Stone Magazine, who has always hated Rush, it's now on YouTube as an official video with lyrics.

So to not encourage clicks to Rolling Stone, below is the Headlong Flight video. I could use a little more of a catchy vocal melody but it's for sure pretty damn good and continues the string started with Caravan and BU2B, which have also been released from the new album - heavy, lots of riffs, complex playing.

They for sure have chucked the keyboards into the river. The drumming is fucking ridiculous. This is about as far away from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire as you could possible get.

What say you, good readers?

Thoughts On Levon Helm

Heard the sad news yesterday that Band drummer and vocalist Levon Helm is about to pass on, due to cancer.

I knew that Levon fought throat cancer in the 90s and it took him a long time to be able to sing again.

But in recent years he was back in form, hosting 'Midnight Rambles' in his Woodstock, New York barn.

All sorts of guests showed up to these gigs and they seemed like a cool throwback to the 40s when Levon snuck into similar gigs in the south where he grew up.

You'd have to go to Woodstock but otherwise the door was open. Great idea. Wish I'd have gone to one! I was surprised to see that he played as recently as April 1, according to his Facebook page. There was a post that he'd play on the lighter side to favor his back and neck but I think everyone thought it was just old age or the flu or something. Must have hit him super quick for him to be on his deathbed just two weeks later.

The Band was such a unique group. Three singers. Could go from the bouncy Stage Fright to the morose Tears of Rage on a dime. I remember my friend in college commenting he didn't like the Band because they were depressing!

I see where he was coming from but to me that was just proof that they were genuine. My friend didn't have to grok the meaning behind King Harvest to get the vibe.

A lot of that was due to the incredibly heartfelt vocals of the also late Rick Danko and Richard Manuel, but also to the sparse, behind the beat drumming of Levon Helm.

Vocally, Levon took more of the upbeat tunes that required a bit of a belter to deliver but dig any live version of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and you will hear 100 percent heart.

Levon's pending passing also makes me think of Band leader Robbie Robertson and how as far as I know Levon never made peace with him since the 1976 Last Waltz breakup.

I did see just today that Robertson visited Levon over the weekend but he doesn't say if Levon was even awake for it. Would have been cool if they had made peace but maybe cooler if Levon's last words were 'fuck off Robertson.'

But seeing Roger Waters and David Gilmour bury the hatchet in recent years gave me hope that maybe old Levon would find it in his heart to forgive Robbie and make peace with his old bandmate. Ah well...

So in all, bummer news but as usual it's as fine an excuse as any to pop on The Band. My choice tonight is the live Rock of Ages.

Rest easy Levon, and I hope you are soon harmonizing with Danko and Manuel in that great gig in the sky.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Rant

Reading reports of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event last weekend makes me think it was a big wet fart.

Now, I wasn't there and I have to say that the Guns and Roses semi-reunion sounded great on YouTube. But where were the reunions or even full attendance from inductees this year?

OK no one expected Axl Rose to perform with Slash but not even showing up? Come on dude. He even asked the Hall to not induct him. Ok I guess that is typical Axl but a great opportunity missed.

But what about The Faces? Why didn't Rod the Mod show up? Is he too big for his britches for Woody and company? That would have been a live reunion worth seeing. (Ooops - reports are that he had the flu. Hmmm...)

Only 2/3 of the Beasties showing up is excusable because one of them has cancer.

But how about this: induct bands who can actually show up, not in wheelchairs, but in the flesh to show why the fuck they are still vibrant and deserving to be chosen by Springsteen, Wenner and Van Zandt's boys club.

For example:

Rush. Still touring, putting out new material, selling out venues (and they are not casinos). Maybe on the top of their game after 35 years. A live performance by Rush at a RARHOF event would literally peel people's faces off.

KISS. Ok I get it. Shlock. Hype. Merchandising. But again, still touring and recording. Many millions sold. And that would be a reunion worth seeing just one last time for closure. Peter Criss is not getting any younger and Ace is sober at the moment.

Iron Maiden. I know. Never going to happen. But you don't have Metallica and probably GNR without Maiden. And again, a band still touring amphitheaters, huge around the world, all members currently living. Bruce Dickinson's acceptance speech would be a real keeper, laden with F words and digs at the Hall. Great PR!

OK rant over but a guy can dream, right?

Who do you think ought to be in the Hall? Living or dead?

Rush Post Clip Of "Headlong Flight" from Upcoming Album

Here is another quick thing from the last couple of weeks.

Rush's new album, Clockwork Angels, is going to be out June 12, but the band posted a short audio clip of one of the songs, the 7:20 cut Headlong Flight.

This song is scheduled to be released as a single this Thursday (single art posted here).

After hearing this clip, I am really looking forward to the full release. Word is that Rush has gone back to its prog roots for this album, and the clip sure reminds me of Bastille Day. What do you think?

Listen to it here.

Jim Marshall - the Father of Loud

Gawd has it been a whole month since my last post? Life has been really busy - apologies! Thinking about what happened in the last month, there have indeed been a few things going on in the world of music.

Maybe the one thing that is way overdue for a post is something about the passing of Jim Marshall earlier this month. Obviously a huge, huge name in rock and roll. Things would not be the same without his heeding the numerous calls from Pete Townshend to make a louder amplifier!

One of my all time favorite live Who performances, from the Isle of Wight in 1970, suddenly becomes more potent. I think I have posted this in the past, but scroll to 3:45 to see what Mr. Marshall's invention enabled Mr. Peter Townshend to accomplish. True sonic bliss!



Damn, that whole video gets my blood pumping.

Jim Marshall - the Father of Loud indeed

Rolling Stones Postpone 50th Anniv Tour

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, Keith Richards says the band is not ready to do a tour in 2012.

An article in the magazine reads: "Basically, we're just not ready," says Keith. Instead, 2013 is the new goal. "I have a feeling that's more realistic.”

The article continues:

But Stones insiders say that one reason for the delay is Richards' health, which has raised questions about his ability to make it through a worldwide tour. The quality of the guitarist's performances declined after he suffered a head injury on vacation in Fiji in April 2006, midway through the Bigger Bang tour.

The Stones gathered in a London studio in December and played together for the first time since the final night of the two-year Bigger Bang tour in August 2007. Making the occasion even more special, former bassist Bill Wyman sat in for the first time since he left in 1992. "We played a lot of blues and outtakes of 'Some Girls' and things like that," says Mick Jagger. "It went very well."

Adds Richards, "It was a very back-to-basics sort of session. There was a lot of jamming. On the third day, Mick turned up, which was a real joy. Because I set it up really as a magnet, you know."

Despite holding off on touring this year, the band is still buzzing from reuniting with Wyman. "We're back in touch, which is great, because I hadn't really spoken to him for years," says Richards. Will Wyman rejoin the group on the road in 2013? "I think he's up for it," Richards says. "We talked about it. I'll let you know when I can."

It would be cool to see the band with Wyman again. The article talks about the notion of the band setting up for 10 shows in New York, LA, London etc, to take the touring pressure off. Despite the fact that many fans would have to travel to shows, honestly the idea of them setting up camp in one town and playing a string of shows just makes sense. These guys have earned it.

Personally, I'd love to see the guys with Mick Taylor again, which has also been talked but but not in these recent reports. I have seen the Stones a few times and they are still solid live but for sure jumped the shark ages ago. Seeing Wyman back or Mick Taylor would juice it up for me. I guess we'll see.

Hopefully Keith is going to hang in there. When did the Stones jump the shark? For me it was after Tattoo You. How about you? Here is the band in its prime IMO: