Category: A Rock and a Roll

Album of the Day: Marker Starling – High January

 

Marker Starling – High January (3.5 out of 5)

There is a certain ’70s singer-songwriter pathos to just about every song on this latest release from Marker Starling, also known as keyboardist vocalist Chris A. Cummings. The stark and enveloping Bedroom Pop on this record not only transforms you into a bubble of butterfly ribbons but also lays you down in a field of Steely Dan and Todd Rundgren influenced musical Nuggets. “Starved For Glamour” could have been on a deluxe edition of Aja, and “A Little Joy” is tailor-made for inclusion on an early-era America record. Produced by Sean O’Hagen of The High Llamas, High January is a fully formed full-band affair giving the proceedings a warm feeling made, even more, intoxicating with the presence of Laetitia Sadler classing up the joint on guest vocals.

The song structures and the use of vintage instruments in the production process only prove to enhance the vintage AOR vibe of the record. If anything is wrong with this album it would be the sameness that starts to creep in around the twenty-minute mark or so. The vocals aren’t overly active, maintaining the same mellowness for most of the 34 minutes. But, if you are looking for a kick-back sort of listening experience while you knock down a couple of Bombay Saphire martinis then this just might be your escapist jam.

Album of the Day: Michael Parrett – Influence This

Michael Parrett – Influence This (5 out of 5)

With Luke Spiller and his band, the Struts, relaxing in that between album no man’s land, Adam Lambert performing brilliantly filling in for Freddie Mercury, not so much so with his solo efforts, Scissor Sisters Jake Shears MIA for the last couple of years, and The Biters Tuk Smith trying to get his Mojo back after having to dissolve his band, it is quite understandable that in theses pandemic funky feeling days that one could be left to wonder where the next Marc Bolan Ziggy Stardust is coming from.

Well, the question asked, question answered. The man to put the Glam in Wham Glam, Thank You, Ma’am, is Michael Parrett courtesy of his latest highly excellent slice of wax, Influence This. The swaggering heir apparent of the London Glam and Psychedelic Rock scene, this debut release takes no prisoners with its genre-bending Austin Powers Mojo display of ’60’s Donovan spirit love, Marc Bolan with a better driver metal guru guitar prowess, Suzi Quatro swagger, and Garage Rock rambunctious innocence.

The highlights here are, really, too many to mention, but we will give it a go. “Checkbook Charlie” is a guitar-laden propulsive Mojo-Rockin’ epic gem of a song in the Flamin’ Groovies mold, “Last Years Model is The Struts meets Love, and “Tattoos and Whiskey” carries a Tremolos by way of Ty Segall energy, and “Bad For You” is classic England’s Latest Hitmakers Rolling Stones in all its retro glory.  And, let’s not forget “Sugar Lover” a song that is on a planet all its own.

Album of the year? Let’s give it time to marinate a bit, but damn this is a fantastic debut effort from a force to be reckoned with.

 

Album Of the Day: Pop Co-Op – Factory Settings

Pop Co-Op – Factory Settings (4 out of 5)

Your ears only need to do a sound check of the influences that the band calls out for themselves when asked what was in their record selection growing up and you will know instantly the joie-de-vie inherent in this intoxicating North Eastern Band.  Among others, the key contributors to their musical DNA would be The Beatles, Squeeze, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Rockpile, and Elvis Costello, just to name a few. The vibe is mostly Power Pop with a healthy dose of Americana and Psychedelic dustings dropped in just to make things even more interesting. On this, their sophomore effort, the band offers a more mature set of songs with more concise songwriting courtesy of Steve Stoeckel and Bruce Gordon. With shining examples including “Catching Light” and “Underworld” demonstrating the band’s Power Prop proficiency. They also cut a mean rug on the ballad front, case in point “Sleeve,” a solo Mccartney era-inspired stunner.

There is nothing not to like on this record with “The Price of Admission” complete with preamble cowbell, the Chuck Berry inspired “Won’t Be Me,” and “Requiescat”, a song that could have been a single on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, as clear genre-diverse winners.

 

Album of the Day: The Corner Laughers – Temescal Telegraph

The Corner Laughers – Temescal Laughers (4 out of 5)

It is somewhat difficult to comprehend that a band that centers itself around a lead singer that wears cat-eye glasses, plays the ukelele and cites bird watching as one of her hobbies could be cool, let alone hip, but that is exactly what this band is, and even more so. The lyrics and melodies are catchy as hell and the songwriting has a complexity about it that separates the group from most of the hipster Power Pop bands of the day. While on previous records, the ukelele is the star of the show, here, Karla Kane’s go-to instrument is used as sort of an accent piece, hummingbird-like floating and landing in just the right places making its presence known at just the right time. Every track on this immensely underrated record is brilliantly constructed and immensely ear-pleasing. Whether it is “Sisters of the Pollen” with a sort of vim and vigor that is sorely lacking in today’s music or “Goodbye Sun,” a shimmery pastoral beauty that is perfect lounging in the garden sweetness, every nuance of this record will make you wonder why you have never heard of this band before.

Quarantune of the Day: White Reaper – Real Long Time

White Reaper is one of our new favorite bands and their 2019 record You deserve Love was one of the best albums of 2019. With their we’re coming to your town, we’ll help you party down attitude this gang of Louisville rock and rollers should be on your musical radar. Here, they perform an at-home version of their hit single “Real Long Time.”

Cool Album of the Day Archives: The New Barbarians – Buried Alive: Live In Maryland

The New Barbarians – Buried Alive: Live In Maryland

The band The New Barbarians was formed in 1979 as a means to promote Ron Wood’s most recent album Gimme Some Neck. The album was a minor success peaking at number 45 on the Billboard charts and was the first to feature Wood’s own artwork on the album cover including a self-portrait. The band and the subsequent eighteen gig U.S. tour may have gone largely unnoticed were it not for the exceptional musicians that accompanied Wood on the tour. The stellar line-up included Ron Wood and Keith Richards on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass, former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys, and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste drummer for the extraordinary N.O. funk band The Meters.

This line-up first appeared as the opening act for The Rolling Stones for a charity concert put on in Toronto as part of the fulfillment of Keith Richards’ sentence on Heroin possession in 1978. You and I go to jail for twenty years, Keith Richards puts on a concert and takes more drugs. What started as a benefit concert ended up being an 18th-month “guy’s night out” with the two hardest partying Stones setting off on a “Thelma and Louise” type adventure across The United States.

The tour began immediately after the charity concert and the good vibes were soon marred by a riot at one of their shows in Milwaukee in April of 1979. When the lights came up at concerts end and the rumored and hinted-at guest stars, Neil Young, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan, were a no-show, a small riot broke out. Actually, the audience wrath was understandable, because if any band needed to borrow a singer the New Barbarians were at the front of the list. As an attempted make-up to help the promoter recoup some of the damages caused by the riot, a revised line-up with Andy Newmark, Reggie McBride, MacKenzie Phillips (yes THAT MacKenzie Philips), and Johnnie Lee Schell replacing Clarke, Modeliste, and Richards. Shockingly, another riot did not break out.

The group never did make a proper studio album but did record a live double album called Buried Alive: Live in Maryland. The album, a double cd release included a mix of rock, country, and blues numbers along with a healthy dose of Ron Wood solo material, Keith Richards’s solo material, and some Rolling Stones songs for good measure. The album recorded in 1979 was finally released by Ron Woods’s record label in 2006.

The album opens up appropriately enough with the Chuck Berry penned “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”. The guitar work as you would expect is stellar on the songs, however the Wood vocal here as well as the subsequent Keith Richards vocals led one Rolling Stone critic that was reviewing the tour to write “Ron Woods Dylan-esque wheeze had all of the nuances of a busy fingernail file, and Keith Richards’ ragged moans, however fervent, needed his legend (Mick) to prop them up”. In other words, these blokes can’t sing. I had a sudden flashback as to how great this band might have been with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company fame on vocals.

But they sure can play, and the chemistry between the two guitar whizzes perfectly complements the rest of the band when they go on their mid-song playing sprees. The third song” F.U.C Her”, a Ron Wood tune is a perfect example of the band showing their chops and sounding like they had been together for years rather than the reality which was they were hastily brought together at the beginning of this tour with little time for rehearsal. The Bobby Keys solo mid-song is tremendous.

“Rock Me Baby” lets the band get down and dirty, with the two guitars talking to each other, you almost expect a catfight to break out between the two instruments. The gritty, dirty vocals actually work on this. This is not a song that should be sung by Freddie Mercury. The vocal needs to be strained and come from the gut. And it is both on this stand out blues tune.
The biggest audience reaction seemed to come from the Stones songs. “Love in Vain” is a good “sway in the audience and light one up” slow blues number, but you really appreciate the Mick Jagger vocal after listening to this version.
Kith Richards gets his Gram Parsons “country jones” in with the David Alan Coe penned “Apartment No. 9”, a slow tear in your beer type of song delivered with passion.

The highlight is probably the snarly version of “Honky Tonk Woman”. Slowed down just a touch it works and allows each musician to stretch their chops in the spotlight.

“Am I Grooving You” provides a brief glimpse of the brilliance of Stanley Clarke with his bass lines holding up the groove side of the song quite nicely with a grand bass solo thrown in for good measure.

The set closes with the Richards classic “Before They Make Me Run” which is a more ragged whiskey and cigarette soaked version than you are probably used to hearing, and Keith appears to wander away from the mike at times, but it is still exciting to hear Keith belt out his own stuff.

The last song of the disc “Jumping Jack Flash” has a feel to hit similar to when you are at a party and the guy with the guitar keeps wanting to play when he has drunk too much, smoked too much, and you haven’t done enough of either and you are ready to go home. It is ragged, the sound quality seems to be diminished on this track, but the energy is certainly there.
Rolling Stones fans will find this album enjoyable and a nice addition to their music collection. Fans of live music will like this because it captures perfectly the 70’s concert experience with the “never know what you are going to get” type of listening experience that was common back in the day.

For me, this album was like the scene in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest where McMurphy breaks the patients out of the hospital and takes them on a field trip. You like the fact that they have escaped from authority and are singing, laughing, and having a good time, but you also want to see their safe return back to the hospital and the safety of their caretakers.

— Walt Falconer

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (July 17, 2020)

Things are heating up on the album front as there is something for everyone this week. The Pretenders and Chrissie Hynde are front and center with a very solid new record, Kansas is throwing dust to the wind and putting out a surprisingly fresh new album, and there are a lot of new singles that are dangled before us to tempt our ears. And, of course, Rock is the New Roll muse Grace Potter is sporting a hip new hairdo on her Monday Night Twilight Hour series of quarantunes entertaining us as only she can.

Dead Daisies with frontman extraordinaire Glen Hughes give us a bit of a tease of what their new record is going to sound like with a cover tune of Steve Mariott’s “Three Days in the Hole.”

And, the band Dawes even shows up with a sublime version of “I Will Run”.

On top of all that, here are five really cool ones hitting our ear-waves this week.

S.G. Goodman – Old Time Feeling

The first thing that hits you between the ears is the raw emotion emanating from S.G. Goodman, one of the fresh new voices on the Americana scene. Second up, front and center, is the depth of the songwriting, most definitely trending into Jason Isbell territory. And finally, with a fully formed picture painted with assistance from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James on production duties, there is the realization that this sonic blend of dusty Kentucky back roads Americana is one of the best records we have heard all year. Just listen to the swamp-noir of “The Way I Talk” and the honesty dripping pathos of “Burn Down the City” and tell us we’re wrong.

Massive Wagons – House of Noise

Of course, Rock and Roll is not dead and we have just been waiting for this latest effort from This group of rockers to restore our faith in the dark arts. No reinvention of the wheel going on here just knock you down riff-laden ’70s dream bad-assery that sounds like the devil spawn of Def Leppard and Foghat. The opener “In It Together” is taking the top down and head for the hills driving perfection and “Bangin’ in Your Stereo” self proclaims to rock like it ’73 all the way from the East to the Irish Sea. And hell, who are we to argue.

Texas Gentlemen – Floor It!!!

It should come as no surprise that the Texas Gentlemen are one cracker-jack of a band since the group was formed by a bunch of session guys who combined probably have played on every Americana record you have listened to over the last five years including in support for George Strait, Paul Cauthen, Kris Kristofferson, Nikki Lane, and Leon Bridges just to name a few. With their musical chops on full display from jump street as it almost seems like they are just warming up on the first two cuts that are pure instrumentals that have sort of a Dixie Land Jazz vibe in places and Broadway show tune dusting in others. A head-scratching way to get things underway, but it works quite well.

Recorded in part at the FAME studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, each track seems to take you on a different musical journey. “Easy Street” will float the mind into Grateful Dead territory, “Hard Road” sounds like vintage Harry Nilsson, while “Skyway Streetcar” has a Burrito Brothers essence wafting in the air. Throw in “Charlie’s House” that could have been written by Bernie Taupin, produced by Gus Dudgeon, and performed by Loggins and Messina and you have a record of eclectic subtle surprises around every corner that very much rewards the listener with each subsequent listen.

The Bobby Lees – Skin Suit

Bobby Lees just might be the most raucous b, in all the best of ways, bands that you will hear all year. Delivering bone-jarring Garage Rock as it was meant to be heard, in an actual garage, this group of barely twenty-somethings goes for the jugular on virtually every song. The record begins with a square punch to the jaw with “Move” where we are introduced to frontwoman Sam Quartin in all her glory. Sort of a devil-spawn of Patti Smith and Beth Hart, she seems to be in the middle of some sort of exorcism as she totally grabs the song and whips it into a frenzy. On the second track, “Coin” energy flows fluently through the song and we are introduced to the drummer who has clearly been influenced by Keith Moon, arms flailing in the air and all. And it gets better.

Produced by Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer’s Blues Explosion, songs like “Riddle Daddy,” with perhaps the best-faked, or not, orgasm put on vinyl since Guns ‘N’ Roses “Rocket Queen,” seem to border into going off the rails territory before they are pulled back to earth with joy and abandon in a way that is both refreshing to watch and fascinating to experience.

If the Doors and the Ramones combined forces and Jim Morrison was a woman, the resulting band just might have been The Bobby Lees.

Pretenders – Hate For Sale

The Pretenders are back, they actually never left, and are better than ever with their first proper record since 2016’s Alone. It takes only one song, Chrissie Hynde has a few things to get off her chest right out of the blocks on the title track, until we are treated on song number two with “The Buzz,” a song that could have been the centerpiece on any of The Pretenders early records. “Lighting Sound” carries the trademark Ska-Influenced rhythms to updated levels, and the rambunctious “I Don’t Want To Stop” is pure CBGB vintage fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (July 10,2020)

This week, ears down might be the best week of new releases in this crazy year. With some of the long-awaited records just now seeing the light of day alongside some epic quarantine episodes treating us to some sweet cover songs not to mention some real Rock and Roll, there is never a dull moment.

Band of Heathens has been particularly productive with their creatively superb Remote Transmissions quarantine specials with their latest, a cover of Tom Pett’s “Walls” with a zoom inspired video that also features Robert Ellis.

Grace Potter continues to class up the joint with her Monday Night Twilight Hour and her song “Let You Go” from her 2015 album Midnight.

And, Rock is the New Roll favorites The Dunwells have really stepped up their game with almost daily live streams of excellent music.

Here are five excellent new records that are demanding our ear time this week.

Tokyo Motor Fist – Lions

Unfortunate name, great band, the Tokyo Motor Fist sound is not as heavy as the name would imply. More Def Leppard than Led Zeppelin the vibe is early to mid-eighties Rock and Roll. If Night Ranger and The Babies spawned a Rock and Roll love child his name would be Tokyo Motor fist. The band, consisting of former members of Trixter, The Alice Cooper Band, Rainbow, and Blue Oyster Cult has had their Rock credibility stamped long ago and with songs like “Youngblood,” “Around Midnight” and the Joe Eliot inspired “Mean It” the retro bus is gassed up and ready to go.

The Beths – Jump Rope Gazers

Aukland, New Zealand based The Beths generate dynamic, propulsive four-part chorus anthems that are tailor-made for the summer festival circuit, if we can ever get back to summer festivals being a thing, that is. Leader and sole Beth in the band Elizabeth Stokes is a twice-nominee for the Taite Prize, New Zealand’s most prestigious music award. This, their sophomore record with its harmony-driven sparkling gems that bring to mind The Pixies, The Breeders with a touch of Go Go’s thrown in for ear-measure should be high up there in your summer listening library.

Rufus Wainwright – Unfollow The Rules

When it comes to producing elegant and lush Pop symphonies there are not many artists that do it as gloriously well as Rufus Wainwright. This makes us extremely glad to experience his return to Pop glory after having been distracted by producing his own opera and releasing a record of Shakespeare’s sonnets. This from a guy that uncannily reproduced Judy Garland’s Live from Carnegie Hall almost note for note. With Unfollow The Rules is a set of lush theatrical gems with Pet Sounds worthy production courtesy of Mitchell Froom who has worked with Sir Paul, Elvis Costello, and Crowded House among others.

The daringly beautiful “Early Morning Madness” will certainly stand up as one of his best works, and “Peaceful Afternoon” is a love song for the new millennium.

Ray Wylie Hubbard – C0-Starring

If there ever was any doubt, and there should be none, that Ray Wylie Hubbard is one of the more respected of the OG honky-tonk songwriters in the game today just take a gander at the guest turns on this, his appropriately monikered new record, Co-Starring.

Ringo Starr, Tyler Bryant, Don Was, Joe Walsh, Chris Robinson, Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Cadillac Three, Pam Tillis, Paula Nelson, Elizabeth Cook, Ashley McBryde, Larkin Poe, Peter Rowan, Ronnie Dunn

Highlights and artful turns of the phrase are everywhere on this record including the drum fill from “Get Back” courtesy of Ringo on “Bad Trick,” and the latest in a long line of audience participation anthems for Ray that will definitely be a part of his live shows in the years to come with R.O.C.K. featuring Tyler Bryant.

Margo Price – That’s How Rumors Get Started

This record has experienced some release delays over the last couple of hectic months, but we can emphatically say that it was worth the wait. Weighing in at a tidy 10 tunes in right about 35 minutes, there is not a wasted note or lyric in the lot. Much more expansive than her self-funded Third Man Records debut release, now, three albums in, Margo Price is certainly hitting her artistic stride. Contemporary sounding with a dusting of retro-ness as opposed to the other way around that seems to be the fashion of the day, Sturgill Simpson has taken over the production reins on this one and the result may be a contender for Americana album of the year.

 

 

What We’re listening To: July 3, 2020

Looking forward to seeing how they are going to pull off a socially hot dog eating contest on the fourth of July, but in the meantime, we are driving down a couple of cool musical rabbit holes her in the offices of Rock is the new roll.

Low Cut Connie – Stay as Long as You Live

Here at Rock is the New Roll we are big fans of Low Cut Connie. Normally this merry band of Philadelphia pranksters cranks out utter mayhem with their over the top bombastic blend of cabaret-style  Rock and Roll. Here frontman ivory tickler Adam Weiner takes things down low and slow, and we really like it.

Low Cut Connie – Dirty Water

The Detroit Cobras – Bo Diddley

Bursting out from the Detroit Garage-Rock scene in the late ’90s, The Detroit Cobras were one scorching Rock and Roll band. Featuring frontwoman exotic dancer Rachel Nagy on vocals the band made their mark on the underground garage scene digging dig into the bowels of primitive Rock and Roll for their influences.

The Empty Hearts – Run and Hide With You

If you are not hip to The Empty Hearts, an Austin Powers style retro band that features former members of Blondie, Eliot Easton of Cars fame, the former lead singer of The Romantics along with a Chesterfield King thrown in for good measure, here is your chance.

Cherie Curry – Queens of Noise

Cherie Curry, in a tough ‘Sophies ‘Choice’ sort of choice, is our favorite runaway. Her latest record even at her advanced age is a pleasure to the ears, with “Queens of Noise”, a tribute to drum goddess Sandy Dennis is a joy to the ears.