Hirschbrunnen. delving

Upon hearing the track that was released as a single, 'The Reflection Pool', I became really curious to hear Hirschbrunnen. I was not disappointed, in any imaginable way. This album is a showcase of exquisite tastes and fantastic imagination.

Like the rest of the world, Nick DiSalvo, known foremost for his work with the band Elder, had to go into lockdown. Just like all people, to put it binary, he could complain about how bad things were or start doing what he always had dreamed of doing, in his case record a long-wished for solo album. In the form of Hirschbrunnen (Stag Fountain) it has seen the light of day, under the name delving.

On the album a whole range of influences come together that over the years have made an impression on DiSalvo. So do not be surprised if you get the impression to be walking around in a practice studio where from every cabin a different sort of music can be heard. In one room there's progrock, in another synth tracks are created, another cabin hosts a more jazz rock oriented band, not to forget the heavy rock band, etc. On Hirschbrunnen it is all brought together in seven, mostly, long tracks, within which DiSalvo brings together all these influences, moods and a little magic to make things shine.

Hirschbrunnen is a collection of snippets of music, ideas, compositions, riffs, etc., that DiSalvo had collected throughout the years and now have been brought together as a collection of instrumental tracks. The only amazing thing I find, is how consistent the album sounds, despite its diffuse origins. DiSalvo has worked hard to make it a whole. This already struck me listening to 'The Reflection Pool' in May, a single of 9.30 minutes no less, but is kept up on Hirschbrunnen as a whole.

Promo photo

In each song you will find an unexpected twist, changing the mood, texture and structure of the song. Changing your mood as well, simply because the music affects you. It is hard not to be affected when listening as intensely as Hirschbrunnen invites you to do. There are no lyrics or vocal melodies to follow. Although I love to sing, listening to this album I realise how distracting vocals can be to the rest of the song. Here I can follow every single aspect of delving's music. Listen how the tension within a song is built up, hidden in the giant layers of noise that e.g. is mixed in the middle and background of 'The Reflection Pool'. In the studio it must have been eardrum splitting.

With the exception of an additional guitar played by Mike Risberg, on three tracks, Nick DiSalvo plays all instruments. It all sounds impressive, making the album even more impressive because of this achievement as well. I'm sure that not a single sound is not in its place. Each a well thought out component of the whole that Hirschbrunnen is.

Summing up, and mind this is coming from someone who does not as a hobby listen to instrumental albums, Hirschbrunnen is an album full of intriguing details and beauty. At times as forceful as it is dreamy. A combination that is hard to present successfully in music. delving does just that.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Hirschbrunnen here:

https://delving-music.bandcamp.com/album/hirschbrunnen

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

The Third Mind. The Third Mind

Gelegenheidsband The Third Mind gaat aan de haal met 60s en 70s psychedelica, jazzrock, folkrock en blues en betovert met muziek die niet van deze tijd is maar wel wonderschoon.

Na het lezen van een Miles Davis biografie wilde rootsmuzikant Dave Alvin eens wat anders en ging hij op zoek naar geschikte muzikanten voor de gelegenheidsband The Third Mind. Toen hij deze gevonden had dook het gezelschap de studio in voor een bezwerend album vol invloeden uit de psychedelica, jazzrock, bluesrock en folkrock, om maar eens een aantal invloeden te noemen. Er wordt druk geëxperimenteerd en geïmproviseerd, maar omdat The Third Man heeft gekozen voor een aantal covers zijn er wel degelijk grenzen. Binnen deze grenzen schiet het gelukkig alle kanten op en valt er verschrikkelijk veel te genieten. Mooi project.

De Amerikaanse muzikant Dave Alvin heeft zijn sporen in de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek ruimschoots verdiend. Hij deed dit in de jaren 80 met zijn band The Blasters en sindsdien solo, wat een imposante stapel uitstekende albums heeft opgeleverd, met Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women uit 2009 als mijn persoonlijke favoriet.
 
Voor zijn nieuwe project, The Third Mind, liet Dave Alvin zich inspireren door de Miles Davis biografie So What van John Szwed. In deze biografie wordt uitgebreid beschreven hoe Miles Davis in de vroege jaren 70 een baanbrekend album als Bitches Brew maakte. Experimenteren en improviseren speelde hierbij een belangrijke rol en na het lezen van het boek wilde Dave Alvin ook wel eens met deze werkwijze aan de slag.
 
Hij vond geschikte medemuzikanten in Victor Krummenacher (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven), David Immerglück (Cracker, Counting Crows), Michael Jerome (John Cale, Richard Thompson) en singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes, waarna samen met een beperkt aantal gastmuzikanten het titelloze debuut van The Third Mind werd opgenomen.

 Met het debuut van The Third Mind begeeft Dave Alvin zich ver buiten zijn tot dusver bekende comfort zone. Het debuut van de band klinkt hier en daar bluesy, maar je hoort toch vooral invloeden uit de psychedelica, jazzrock, folkrock en experimentele rockmuziek. Het debuut van The Third Mind bevat zes tracks die in lengte variëren van bijna drie tot ruim zestien minuten. De wat langer uitgesponnen tracks zijn in de meerderheid en dit past ook wel bij de muziek die The Third Mind maakt.
 
Het debuut van de gelegenheidsband bevat vooral covers en het zijn covers die aansluiten bij de genres die op het album worden verkend en bij de decennia die de meeste invloeden hebben aangereikt. Met covers van songs van Alice Coltrane, Fred Neil, Tim Rose, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band en The 13th Floor Elevators neemt The Third Mind je mee terug naar de jaren 60 en 70 en de eigen compositie op het album sluit hier goed bij aan.
 
The Third Mind maakt op haar debuut zich langzaam voortslepende muziek vol bezwering. Door de keuze voor een aantal bestaande songs lag de richting van de muziek van The Third Mind voor een belangrijk deel vast, waardoor de band wel wat ruimte heeft voor experiment en improvisatie, maar niet al teveel afdwaalt.
 
Het geluid van The Third Mind is heerlijk zweverig, maar zeker bij beluistering met de koptelefoon hoor je ook het ene na het andere muzikale hoogstandje. De psychedelische gitaarlijnen op het album zijn van een bedwelmende schoonheid, waarna de synthesizers je nog wat verder richting dromenland helpen. Vocalen spelen op het grootste deel van het album een ondergeschikte rol, maar wanneer Dave Alvin zingt, kleurt de stem van Jesse Sykes, die de hoofdrol vertolkt in het fraaie Morning Dew, hier prachtig bij.
 
Het debuut van The Third Mind is een album dat ook makkelijk in de jaren 60 of 70 gemaakt had kunnen worden en staat vol muziek die tegenwoordig nauwelijks meer wordt gemaakt, want waar hoor je nog een jam van ruim 16 minuten vol indrukwekkend gitaargeluid? Je moet er even voor gaan zitten, maar hierna kun je alleen maar concluderen dat het debuut van gelegenheidsband The Third Mind een bijzonder geslaagd experiment is.

Erwin Zijleman


Luister naar onze Spotify Playlist en ontdek waar we over schrijven:

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Maps And Territory. Juju

Interesting artwork. The kind that in a museum I would stop to look at and try to discern the deeper meaning of. Not that it has anything to do with maps nor territories at first sight.

During the spring I was alerted to Juju's mini album, but somehow it remained on my list of albums to check out. Mainly because the release date lay behind my working date, with a host of albums being released. So it was left behind. I decided to return to the album as remembered liking what I had heard in the first place.

Juju is Gioele Valenti, an Italian musician who works on the brink of modern folk, rock, African music and psychedelia. Everything that sort of washes up on Italy's long shore line. These rather wide and apart influences in Juju's music come together in a way that surprises as well as hypnotises. A groove can go on for quite a while the lead instruments may go off on a detour, sometimes even startling me out of my meditative state. Take 'If You Will Fall', the fourth song on the six song album. Over seven minutes long. A groove is kept up for a long time, not unlike the one in the second part of Soup's 'Sleeper' from the 'Remedies album (13 minutes long). It is the changes of course that make it so interesting and good listening. Given the fact that another song starts with an African melody and chant before taking a sharp turn (or two) later on in the song makes Maps And Territory intriguing and fun. Within the songs and as a whole. It is not a given for an artist to achieve this combination when experimenting with the listener's mood.

This combination works even better in 'Motherfucker Core'. The music is rock based. The singing psychedelic, the groove trans inducing. Again the song is long, 7 1/2 minute. The variations take care of capturing and keeping my attention. Juju is working towards a climax and dares to drop away before exploding, only to start building again.

Photo: Vicenzo Lo Piccolo

In a way it is a shame that Giole Valenti isn't a better singer (or hires one). Now the voice is hidden behind electronic effects. I can only wonder whether a "real" singer would have made the album better. My guess is yes, while at the same time this combination works for Maps And Territory and not only as a psychedelic effect. The benefit would lie in a better overall sound. There's no way of knowing of course.

'God Is A Rover' presents the hectic that is always present in Clinic's best songs. The driving, pounded piano and the high sounding cymbal are giveaways here. A lead guitar plays a strong role in the song.

'Arcontes Takes Control', the final song, starts out with saxophones and is pure jazz at the start. Remembering all the jazz rock albums my friends played in the second half of the 70s, I have heard enough for the rest of my life. So this spacey, jazzy outing is not for me. Juju plays what it will and five out of six is a good score for an experimental album.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy Maps And Territory here:

https://fuzzclub.bandcamp.com/album/maps-and-territory


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

De Lorians. De Lorians

De Lorians smeedt op fascinerende wijze invloeden uit de jazzrock, progrock en psychedelica aan elkaar op een album dat maar blijft verbazen.

Japanse bands houden over het algemeen wel van wat experiment in hun muziek en dat is niet anders op het debuut van het uit Tokyo afkomstige De Lorians. De jonge Japanners gaan aan de haal met invloeden uit de Canterbury scene en Frank Zappa en smeden op weergaloze wijze invloeden uit de jazzrock, progrock en psychedelica aan elkaar. De muziek van de Japanse band is volledig instrumentaal en springt op het eerste gehoor van de hak op de tak. Langzaam maar zeker vallen er echter steeds meer puzzelstukjes in elkaar. Het debuut van De Lorians slurpt energie, maar geeft misschien nog wel meer energie. Buitengewoon fascinerend album. 

De Lorians is een band uit Tokyo en het is een band die een krankzinnig maar ook waanzinnig debuut heeft afgeleverd. Het titelloze debuut van de Japanse band is ruim een half uur lang totaal ongrijpbaar, maar ook zo interessant dat je al snel geen noot wilt missen.

Het avontuurlijke geluid van de band bestaat uit gelijke delen jazzrock, progrock en psychedelica en wordt op smaak gebracht met experimentele rock en een subtiel Japans tintje.
 
De Japanners hebben een volledig instrumentaal debuut afgeleverd, dat je acht tracks lang op het puntje van je stoel houdt. De jonge Japanse honden hebben goed geluisterd naar bands uit de Britse Canterbury scene van de late jaren 60 en vroege jaren 70 als Soft Machine en Caravan, maar zijn ook hoorbaar geinspireerd door het omvangrijke oeuvre van Frank Zappa.
 
Het geluid van De Lorians wordt gedomineerd door prachtig solerende gitaren, een avontuurlijke ritmesectie en een hoofdrol voor de saxofoon, maar de Japanse band experimenteert er ook driftig op los met flink wat keyboards, een didgeridoo en de theremin. Zeker in de uptempo passages schuift de band flink op richting de jazzrock uit de jaren 70, maar in een paar noten kom je ook zomaar uit bij de progrock of psychedelica uit dezelfde periode.
 
Ik ben normaal gesproken niet zo gek op volledig instrumentale muziek, maar op het debuut van De Lorians gebeurt zoveel dat het maar goed is dat er geen zang opduikt in het al zo volle geluid van de band.
 
De muziek van de Japanse band is hier en daar totaal ongrijpbaar, maar het is ook muziek die de fantasie stevig prikkelt en die goed is voor mooie beelden op het netvlies en zomaar de soundtrack bij een experimentele 70s film had kunnen zijn. Het is bovendien muziek die nog heel lang nieuwe dingen laat horen, waardoor het album steeds weer verrast.
 
In de Britse Canterbury scene uit de late jaren 60 en vroege jaren 70 werd al driftig geëxperimenteerd met een mix van jazzrock, progrock en psychedelica en De Lorians borduurt hier vrolijk op voort. De band omschrijft zichzelf als “a bunch of long-haired Japanese twenty-somethings playing Zappa-loving Canterbury-inspired blissed-out spiritual jazz rippers” en slaat hiermee de spijker op de kop.
 
Het is knap hoe de band eclectische passages afwisselt met meer ingetogen passages, die vervolgens weer kunnen exploderen in een kakafonie van geluid. Als alle energie na een half uur pieken wegvloeit ben je blij dat het even stil is, maar vervolgens verlang je toch weer snel naar de fascinerende klanken van de Japanse band.
 
Muziekliefhebbers met een allergie voor jazzrock of progrock kunnen de Japanse energiebom waarschijnlijk niet verdragen, maar voor de rest van ons is het debuut van De Lorians op een of andere manier toch toegankelijker dan het bovenstaande mogelijk suggereert. Bijzonder album, dat is zeker.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt De Lorians hier beluisteren en kopen:

https://deloriansbbib.bandcamp.com/


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

V. Budos Band

Something new on WoNoBlog. Today a few short messages will be shared about albums that did not make it into a full length review, but deserve some words.

The second album this year named V on WoNoBlog. After the Norwegian psychprog rockers Spidergawd it is time for Budos Band. The band exists for 20 years and with V releases its first album in five years; not surprisingly its fifth. Fully instrumental with a lot of brass, full-sounding drums and classic rock guitars. Due to the lack of singing it is incomparable to Chicago Transit Authority and Blood, Sweat and Tears who both had a great singer or like Chicago singers. But without any overdue pressing that are the bands I would mention as references. Budos Band has that exact same power in it, with a hint at jazz because of the horn arrangements, and rock because of the solid rock foundation. Because the horns are the lead instruments all comparisons stop there. Also because Budos Band shows some restraint in the arrangements, where Chicago TA in some instances completely dived of a cliff, nose first. It makes Budos Band its own powerful self. Something quite different from what can normally be found on these pages, but fans of Dutch instrumental bands Gallowstreet and Jungle By Night ought to find something of their liking here as should fans of the late 60 and early 70s jazz rockers mentioned above.

Wo.

You can buy V here:

https://thebudosband.bandcamp.com/album/the-budos-band-v


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Earl Grey. Girl Ray

Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell en Sophie Moss namen op hun allerlaatste schooldag een single op, Trouble.
 
Het frisse en wat mij betreft geniale popliedje leverde het drietal uit Londen volkomen terecht een platencontract op bij het eigenzinnige Moshi Moshi Records en nauwelijks een jaar later was het debuut van Girl Ray opgenomen en werd het in de zomer van 2017 uitgebracht.
 
Earl Grey bevat maar liefst 50 minuten muziek, waarna als bonus de zo goede eerste single van het Britse trio volgt.
 
Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell en Sophie Moss zijn pas 18 jaar oud, maar dat is werkelijk geen moment te horen op het debuut van Girl Ray. Earl Grey is een plaat die werkelijk bol staat van de invloeden en het zijn vooral invloeden die van ver voor het geboortejaar van de drie meiden uit Londen stammen.
 
Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell en Sophie Moss kennen hun klassiekers uit de Britse folk, de 60s psychedelica, de 70s singer-songwriter muziek en de zwoele jaren 70 pop, maar citeren hiernaast net zo makkelijk uit de meidenpop van Phil Spector uit de jaren 50 als uit de dreampop en indie-rock uit de jaren 90. Hiermee zijn we er nog lang niet, want in iedere song op de plaat duiken ook nog minstens twee andere echo’s uit het verleden op (en in het maar liefst dertien minuten durende Earl Grey (Stuck In A Groove) zelfs een hele serie, waaronder invloeden uit de jazzrock).
 
Girl Ray heeft al deze invloeden op buitengewoon fascinerende wijze aan elkaar gesmeed. Het drietal gaat op haar debuut uit van de heilige drie-eenheid gitaar, bas en drums, maar heeft vervolgens op subtiele wijze akoestische gitaren, een orgel en wat blazers toegevoegd. De songs van Girl Ray zijn rauw en onbevangen, maar omdat het drietal uit Londen het tempo over het algemeen laag houdt en haar muziek ook voorzien van warme accenten, klinken de songs van het Londense trio totaal anders dan je gewend bent.
 
De drie jonge muzikanten uit Londen kennen niet alleen hun klassiekers, maar hebben ook een opvallend goed gevoel voor heerlijk melodieuze popmuziek. In muzikaal opzicht steekt het allemaal verrassend knap in elkaar, met een hoofdrol voor sfeervol gitaarwerk en ook in vocaal opzicht maken Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell en Sophie Moss indruk met vocalen en harmonieën die zowel warmbloedig als onderkoeld kunnen klinken en afwisselend aan die van Lush en aan die van The Beach Boys doen denken.
 
De songs van het drietal verraden nog net wat meer talent. Het zijn songs die aangenaam klinken, maar die ook altijd iets verrassends en eigenzinnigs hebben. In een aantal recensies kom ik de naam van Todd Rundgren tegen als inspiratiebron voor de songs op Earl Grey en daar valt wel iets voor te zeggen. Het is een groot compliment voor het jonge Britse drietal. Het is knap hoe Girl Ray steeds weer net iets andere wegen in slaat en het is minstens even knap hoe het trio steeds wat subtieler durft te spelen en aangename rammelpop kan afwisselen met ingetogen folky songs of met volstrekt tijdloze popmuziek.
 
Door het bijzondere karakter van de muziek op Earl Grey is het debuut van Girl Ray op geen enkele manier in een hokje te duwen en ook niet in een bepaald tijdsbeeld te duwen. Ik heb dit jaar veel goede debuten gehoord, maar er waren er niet veel waarop jonge muzikanten er in slaagden om een fascinerend eigen geluid neer te zetten. Girl Ray is daar wel in geslaagd en het is ook nog eens een geluid dat heel lang aan kracht blijft winnen.
 
Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell en Sophie Moss moeten de popmuziek wel haast met de paplepel ingegoten hebben gekregen, want ze imponeren op hun debuut met muziek die genres overstijgt en ook nog eens een aantal decennia aan invloeden bevat. In eerste instantie was ik vooral bezig met het plaatsen en classificeren van de muziek van het Britse drietal, maar dat is een kansloze missie. Sindsdien geniet ik alleen maar van de muzikaliteit van het piepjonge drietal uit Londen en groeit Earl Grey naar steeds grotere hoogten.
 
Het had Earl Grey een plekje op moeten leveren in de hoogste regionen, maar daarvoor is het helaas te laat, wat het vluchtige karakter van jaarlijstjes nog maar eens onderstreept. Het doet gelukkig niets af aan de torenhoge kwaliteit van Earl Grey van Girl Ray, dat wat mij betreft behoort tot de meest bijzondere platen van 2017.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Earl Grey hier beluisteren en aanschaffen:

https://girlray.bandcamp.com/album/earl-grey


Here's the link to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Stargaze: Tribute to Blackstar. Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Saturday 23 June 2018

The "rockshow" to be

"There's a rock show at the Concertgebouw", Paul McCartney sang in 1975 (and it rhymed to believe or not for a Dutchman.) This proved not to be the whole story, as Stargaze and guests Anja Plaschg, Anna Calvi and Laetitia Sadier showed. Together with composers Jerek Bischoff and André de Ridder they all worked on a reinterpretation of the Blackstar album and a few other songs by Bowie. So in the end it wasn't exactly a rockshow at the Concertgebouw but a form of hybrid between rock, jazz and classics that worked like a dream and, I'm sure, would have made David Bowie proud. His final work transcends all time, space and musical genres in this interpretation.

The story surrounding Blackstar is known, I presume, so does not need repeating here. (Read my review here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.com/2016/01/blackstar-david-bowie.html) Fact is that Bowie's final album has been put up in rock's pantheon as a masterpiece. Time can only tell that for certain, as the circumstance following the release certainly contributed to the impact of the album. Two and a half years later I can only say that the album holds up totally and still gives away some details each time I listen to it.

'Blackstar'

The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is a beautiful building, once slightly outside of the town that was catching up with its location and overtaking it at a tremendous building pace in the 1880s and 90s. A city bursting out of its early modern age surroundings within the canals. I had never been inside before, so took it all in. A fairly sober interior, much more so than I had suspected. The names of still famous and more or less forgotten composers adorning the walls. A huge stage in front of the floor, where all the seats had been taken out. Persian rugs were laid on the floor. Several people sat down immediately, as if the Paradiso of the pre-punk 70s was back in fashion. A large organ hanging on the wall at the back of the podium. It was used to.

Stargaze is an orchestra of classically trained musicians who enjoy making a cross-over to modern music, also in cooperation with bands. The idea for this tribute started with reworkings both Jerek Bischoff and Andre de Ridder made of Blackstar, independently from each other. From there things slowly got together and here we were for a fairly unique show and unique collaborations that may never happen again.

A show that started with 'Warszawa'. The ominous instrumental song that, to me, really started Bowie's "Berlin period". The brooding sounds created with Brian Eno, were played by classical instruments and of everything the bass version. The longest, yet small, saxophone I've ever seen. A sort of double flute. All producing the dark sounds of 'Warszawa'. A song I could not listen to, really, at the time. The song Bowie opened his 1978 tour with, standing behind a small synthesizer. Things change. So do the tastes of a young man who has grown up. I really do not believe I would have liked Blackstar when I was 18 or so. In 2016 on 8 January I was surprised, shocked, moved, shaken, impressed, conquered, smitten. All within 24 hours of listening to the album over and over.

Blackstar was played in one go. The lady singers changing places to sing lead after the duet of 'Blackstar' between Calvi and Plaschg. The intricate arrangements fully recreated the very dynamic and electric album in a near organic form. The director played a bass guitar here and there, next to a very limited amount of electric guitar. Some orchestra members changed more instruments than Ferry Heijne during an average De Kift show. The organ player climbed the organ and back when needed elsewhere. Odd rhythms and odd sounds are an intrinsic part of Blackstar and in the tribute. The director was counting a lot before the orchestra could star playing. This part of the show was over far too soon. Ms. Sadier was less at ease it seemed, but she came through beautifully with a little help (as in counting) from the flute player, who also sang a beautiful harmony.

The orchestra gave us a finale with 'Ashes To Ashes', always a favourite, 'Space Oddity', my first and greatest Bowie love. A lot of singing along was allowed and the audience did not need a second prodding from the conductor. This was a celebration of the love for Bowie's music for and from all involved. Orchestra and audience sang together, while only the violinists were at work for us. It ended with a very intense song, I still haven't figured out what it was. It seems there are Bowie songs I am not familiar with. Anna Calvi sang it immensely intense and went all out on her guitar, punishing it with her slide, while the orchestra cooked up a storm. And even then I did not need my earplugs for a single second. So it is possible to play not too loud and have a venue enraptured. It wasn't a rockshow, true, but came as close as classically trained musicians can come to one. Well done Stargaze and all your guest involved in this beautifully majestic tribute.

(All photo's by) Wo.

Here's the link to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Hot Lava Sex Machine. Gallowstreet

So Pieter de Graaf, sort of, pulled me out of my comfort zone. How about Gallowstreet? Horns and funky rhythms spew from my speakers. Everything I do not listen to on an average day. Mentally deleting the prominent drums and bass, visions of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago Transit Authority come to mind. Two bands who released their second and first album in 1969, both produced by James William Guercio. Both albums have long instrumental parts. Hot Lava Sex Machine is totally instrumental.

Now the first time I truly appreciated 'Blood, Sweat & Tears' was this year. Nearly 50 years after the release and having the album for over thirty. Enter Hot Lava Sex Machine. Watching the cover art (and the cd title), I'd expected to hear a young punk rock band going wild. Everything but the suave horns blowing their intricate arrangements backed by bass and drums. It doesn't get more suave then in 'Magnum Epos'. In fact, there are no other instruments besides all sorts of horns and other things to blow through (and some percussion).

Gallowstreet reminded me instantly of Jungle By Night. Yet, listening more closely there are more differences in the music than comparisons. One of them is that Gallowstreet is also a Dutch band, drawing influences from far from home.

Agreed, during nearly every song, somewhere I want to start singing 'You've Made Me So Very Happy' or 'Spinning Wheel', but in the end that is extremely positive. This band is able to conjure up two of my absolutely favourite early jazz-rock tracks.

Here I get to the point that makes me realise why I like this album. The music of Gallowstreet is never out to impress because of its musical, let alone its technical prowess. All the horns are aligned to one another in fine arrangements. Together creating a tune the band can be proud of. The drummer may be playing a different, perhaps even difficult rhythm but never for that rhythm itself. He is serving all that is going on around him. Not for one second I get the impression Gallowstreet is out to impress me with its technical abilities. Oh, yes, those abilities are there, abundantly. And so they do just that, impress me with its music and the intricate ways melodies come together. In the way the different instruments meet in the melody and the melody itself. It may be instrumental, it is very hard to sit still with the music of Gallowstreet. Live this must be a big party.

And here I come to the main difference with that band I mentioned above. It's easy to listen to Hot Lava Sex Machine at home. It is even fun. So did Gallowstreet pull me out of my comfort zone? Yes sir and I'm glad they did.

Wo.


Here's the link to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet live, Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam Friday 17 November 2017

Foto: Tineke Guise

Zoals beloofd is hier het derde deel van Tinekes avonturen in David Bowie en jazz muziek. Eerst in het Nederlands, dan in het Engels.

As promised here is the third instalment of Tineke's adventures into David Bowie and jazz music. First in Dutch, then in English.

Deel 1 en 2, part 1 and two: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2017/11/saxofoon-verhalensaxophone-stories.html

Vrijdag 17 november zou The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet spelen in Lantaren Venster te Rotterdam. Aangezien Guiliana deel uitmaakte van de Blackstar band op Bowie’s laatste album, was ik nieuwsgierig. En omdat er op zijn recente CD een track staat met de titel “The Mayor of Rotterdam” had ik een vraag. Het toeval wilde dat ik de burgemeester een week eerder zou treffen bij de herdenking van de razzia van 1944 in het Feyenoord Stadion. Met de CD in mijn hand bracht ik de heer Aboutaleb op de hoogte van dit nummer. Hij wist er niets van maar wilde wel graag weten welke CD hij moest kopen. Ik had een recensie voor hem uitgeknipt dus die verdween in zijn zak.

Vrijdag de 17e zaten we op de eerste rij om te genieten van een kwartet bestaande uit bas, sax, vleugel en drums. Minder elektronisch dan bij het kwartet van Donny McCaslin twee weken eerder. Hij had Jason Lindler op keyboards, die daarin een geweldige rol speelde. Vanavond was het meer een doorsnee jazzavond maar dan wel met een fenomenale drummer die een fantastische, langdurige solo weggaf. Halverwege werd uiteraard hét nummer gespeeld met als toevoeging: “Dit is opgedragen aan een goede vriend”. Wie dan wel? Ineens schoot door mijn hoofd dat het wellicht over onze nachtburgemeester gaat, Jules Deelder, een groot jazzfanaat. Na een optreden van ongeveer 5 kwartier was het zover. Na een diepe buiging en een toegift kwam Chris Morrissey de bassist langs, die het nummer geschreven had. Ik vertelde dat ik onze burgemeester ertoe had bewogen hun CD te kopen. Dat vond hij leuk.

Die goede vriend was echter een heel sociaal iemand die bij vorige bezoeken aan Rotterdam veel voor hun had betekend en gedaan. Ze noemden hem zo. Toen echter het nummer officieel zo heette, zijn ze gaan googlen en konden de hele Wikipedia van Aboutaleb opdreunen. Hij had het nummer wel verdiend.” Zo herhaalden we het verhaal bij Mark Guiliana, maakten hem een groot compliment en kregen een handtekening op de CD. Ook hier weer hele normale, bescheiden, aardige mensen. Pure muzikanten.

Foto: Tineke Guise

Eén nummer van Bowie werd gespeeld: “Where are we now?” Op de CD is dat de laatste track, gevolgd door een kinderstemmetje dat zegt: “Thank you David Bowie”. David Bowie heeft dankzij zijn uitstapje naar de jazz deze mannen een groter en gevarieerder publiek bezorgd. Ze mogen hem zeker dankbaar zijn.

Tineke Guise

Friday 17 November The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet would be playing in Lantarenvenster in Rotterdam. Since Guiliana was part of the Blackstar band on Bowie's last album, I was curious. And because there is a track on his recent CD titled "The Mayor of Rotterdam" I had a question. As luck would have it the Mayor and myself would attend the commemoration of the RAID of 1944 in the Feyenoord stadium a week earlier. With the CD (called 'Jersey') in my hand I made Mr Aboutaleb aware of this song. He didn't know anything about it but wanted to know what CD he had to buy. I had a review for him which disappeared in his pocket. 

Friday the 17th we sat front row to listen to a Quartet consisting of bass, sax, piano and drums. Less electronic than the Quartet of Donny McCaslin two weeks earlier. He had Jason Lindler on keyboards, who played a great role. Tonight it was more a typical jazz evening but with a phenomenal drummer who gave away a fantastic, prolonged solo. Of course the song was played halfway through with the addition: "this is dedicated to a good friend". Who were they referring to? All of a sudden I thought it might be about our Night Mayor, Jules Deelder, a true jazz fanatic. After a performance of about 75 minutes we had to find the answer. After a deep bow and an encore the bassist Chris Morrissey came along, who had written the song. I told him I had made the Mayor of Rotterdam buy their CD. That was appreciated and he thought he should have been there.

Foto: Tineke Guise

That good friend, however, was a very social person who on previous visits to Rotterdam had meant much to them and solved any problem the band encountered. They gave him that particular nickname. However, when the CD was released officially they googled the Mayor of Rotterdam and were able to sum up the whole Wikipedia of Aboutaleb. The song was well deserved". We repeated the story to Mark Guiliana, made him a great compliment and got a signature on the CD. Again, all normal, humble, nice people. Pure musicians.

One Bowie song was played: "Where are we now?" That is the last track on the CD, followed by a child's voice that says: "Thank you David Bowie". David Bowie has given these men a larger and more varied audience thanks to his trip into the jazz world. They cannot but be grateful.

Tineke Guise

Walter Becker dies at 67. Wo.'s memories

Walter Becker came into my life, totally unknowingly, when I heard Steely Dan's first single on the radio somewhere late 1972 or early 1973. The song was somehow different from what I had heard before. 'Do It Again' had this jazzy undertone (I was not really familiar with jazz at the time and basically still do not have a taste for it) that I could not recognise as such at the time at all. With the mix of rock, pop and jazz made by Steely Dan that changed some years later. I bought 'Do It Again' at a discount somewhere later in 1973. I certainly liked the b-side, 'Fire In The Hole', a lot less at the time.

It would be years before I had the finances to buy more by Steely Dan. It may well be after I bought Donald Fagen's solo album 'The Nightfly' in 1981. All Steely Dan albums were in the mid price series by then and I bought them one after the other.

Some of them were far too jazzy for me. 'Pretzel Logic', 'Aja' and 'Gaucho', which was the first album that I noticed, because a lot of attention was given to its release in 1980 on the radio. The jazzy sound did not really win me over. I never bought 'Gaucho' until I found it cheap on cd.

Later in life I started to notice how complex the music of Steely Dan was. From the very first records, 'Can't Catch A Thrill', arrangements played a big role to become ever more important. With mathematical precision arrangements for the different instruments involved were written out and fitted into the whole. It all sounds so natural, while it must have been a process of perhaps years of work. It was then that I started to appreciated the music of the band for what it was: a work of art. In the 90s and early 00s I played several albums a lot.

Walter Becker was the bass player in Steely Dan mach 1, but also the man who wrote all the music with keyboardist and singer Donald Fagen. Who is exactly responsible for what I do not know. Fact is that Donald Fagen's solo work is up to par with most of Steely Dan's work or certainly with the two albums the band released in the early 00s. Two albums that the world could have done without, despite the fact that the band does meet a certain standard here. I am not familiar with either of Becker's solo albums.

In those days I saw the band live in Ahoy in Rotterdam. I do not have a lot of impressions from the show, I'm afraid. If they had come again I would not have gone a second time, once was enough. The dvd I reviewed a few years back filmed around the same time, is impressive though. To see these musicians up close and play all the intricate arrangements is an experience. A must watch for fans of the band.

On Sunday 3 September it was announced that Becker had died from an undisclosed illness at the age of 67. He leaves behind a very fine legacy the world will remember him by. Every once in a while I put on one of those albums and enjoy myself tremendously. Always starting with 'Can't Buy A Thrill' and 'Katy Lied', my two absolute favourites.

Wo.

You can listen to my favourite Steely Dan song here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZWp-hGCdA

Apricity. Syd Arthur

De Britse band Syd Arthur kan in de betere Engelse muziektijdschriften inmiddels al enkele jaren rekenen op zeer positieve recensies, maar krijgt buiten Engeland helaas nauwelijks aandacht.
 
Met de kwaliteit van de platen van de band heeft het niets te maken, want zowel On And On uit 2012 als Sound Mirror uit 2014 waren uitstekende platen en ook het onlangs verschenen Apricity is weer een uitstekende plaat.
 
De naam Syd Arthur is ontleend aan de roman Siddhartha van Herman Hesse, maar spreekt ook zeker bewondering uit voor de muziek van Syd Barrett en Arthur Lee (Love). Arthur koppel ik persoonlijk ook aan de gelijknamige plaat van The Kinks, want ook de psychedelische muziek van deze band heeft zeker zijn sporen nagelaten in de muziek van Syd Arthur.
 
Hier blijft het niet bij, want de uit Canterbury afkomstige band citeert uiteraard ook uit de archieven van de zogenaamde Canterbury scene, die een aantal decennia geleden werd aangevoerd door bands als Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong en Hatfield And The North. Ook op Apricity citeert Syd Arthur veelvuldig uit de muziek van een aantal decennia geleden, maar de derde plaat van de Britse band klinkt een stuk eigentijdser dan zijn voorgangers.
 
Het levert een bijzonder geluid op, dat ik niet heel makkelijk niet in een hokje kan duwen. Apricity bevat flink wat invloeden uit de psychedelica uit de jaren 60 en 70, maar gooit ook lijntjes uit richting progrock, Krautrock, jazzrock en folk van weleer, maar ook zeker richting de pop, rock en neo-psychedelica zoals die momenteel worden gemaakt (en hier en daar hoor ik zelfs een voorzichtige flirt met funk en dance).
 
De muziek van Syd Arthur is bij vlagen toegankelijk en lichtvoetig, maar kan ook kiezen voor aan de progrock ontleend experiment. Dit experiment slaat gelukkig nergens te ver door. Heel af en toe ben je de draad wel even kwijt, maar uiteindelijk staan songs met een kop en een staart centraal op Apricity.
 
Het levert een fascinerende luistertrip op die zowel authentiek als eigentijds klinkt, waardoor je steeds heen en weer wordt geslingerd tussen een aantal decennia popmuziek. Tijdens deze luistertrip valt er heel wat te genieten. Zo is de ritmesectie onnavolgbaar maar swingend, is het gitaarwerk prachtig melodieus en zorgen met name de viool en keyboards van Raven Bush (een neef van Kate) voor prachtige uitstapjes richting de progrock en Canterbury scene, waarbij opvalt dat Syd Arthur veel warmer klinkt dan de meeste van zijn soortgenoten. 

In Engeland weet men de muziek van Syd Arthur inmiddels al drie platen op de juiste waarde te schatten, maar om dit pareltje kunnen we ook in Nederland niet heen.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Apricity':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSs8MrEq3PY

Symphony For Auto Horns. Captain Cheese-Beard

What a pleasant surprise! It's almost 23 years ago that Frank Zappa died. Although the family unleashed dozens of albums from the vaults of the Zappa mansion since, there has been no new Zappa music. Also I have often wondered whether the man really influenced anyone at all or just was this lone star in a far off galaxy of his own. Untouchable, unreachable, on his own, forever.

In comes Captain Cheese-Beard. A band from Belgium with an extremely competent set of musicians and singer who can emulate the voice from long ago and play the music Zappa and (the last incarnation of) The Mothers of Invention. Think 'One Size Fits All' and you're close to what is coming your way. Think 'More Trouble Everyday' in the live version on 'Roxy & Everywhere'.

The name, when I ran into it earlier this week, should have rung a bell. Captain Cheese-Beard? Suzy Creamcheese? No, it didn't. Only after I heard the music. The beginning of Symphony For Auto Horns did not prepare me for what would happen. Spoken words on intergalactic travelling and the exit gate for the shuttle to planet Earth. Right after that introduction, which pretty much turned me off, music bounces up and down in Zappaesk jazz rock and roll, with this unfathomable and unreproducible intermezzos. Horns are all over the place, like the percussion, as are vocal jokes. There is one major difference. This band has a female co-singer, Vanessa Spay. This changes things tremendously.

Captain Cheese-Beard play my kind of Zappa. The Zappa full of irony, where his music serves the song with a strong melody. The solos are there not to freak out but to bolster a song. In short the improvisation is the means to an end. With that Captain Cheese-Beard offers a sense of true humour, a pinch of soul (Spay) and a warmth, that I'd almost call compassionate, something that is usually missing with the sardonic side of Frank Zappa. Hidden in it all is the blues, which is also played without irony, with genuine feeling. This way the music in a way becomes better than the original.

Symphony For Auto Horns is the trip of Johan De Coninck. He wrote the songs, co-arranged, plays the lead guitar and modelled his voice towards the real thing: Zappa and Ike Willis in one. With him is a full band of nine people creating all else that is going on. And that else is interludes based on 70s progressive rock like I heard on e.g. U.K. albums of the time. Like what is happening in the title song. The super jazzy George Duke Zappa sound, the Ruth Underwood marimbas are mixed with pieces of extremely smooth U.K. jazz rock. I never was a real fan of U.K., but what happens here simply baffles me. Who are these people? To play so well, to write so well and I haven't a clue who they are?

There's only one downside. De Coninck was not able to lay that mysterious depth down that Zappa had in some of his recordings. I remember lying in bed late at night with 'Sheik Yerbouti' on my a headset. I bent over laughing hearing 'I've Been In You' this way for the first time. 100 Hundred Zappa's in my ear singing "na na na na na". That is all that I can find at fault with Symphony For Auto Horns, folks.

And it just goes on and on. The sound of Zappa's guitar mixed with a great Hammond organ and weird lyrics about Gargamel, George Harrison and Lemmy all in one chorus. By the time 'Tash And A Guitar' is played out I'm on my back and have surrendered fully to Symphony For Auto Horns. 'Coma Aroma' is the latter Zappa. With a light reggae beat and floating sounds, the horns all over the place.

Symphony For Auto Horns. I did not have a clue what to think when I received the album (and band) with such a strange name, just a few days ago. Already I'm ready to proffer that this album is the biggest surprise of 2016 to date. It's tons of fun, it's soooooo good and extremely well played. No doubt a stark contender for the top spot of 2016 albums. It may be a pastiche but truly as good as the real thing, with a lot of feeling mixed in.

Wo.

You can listen to the whole album here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJ8wIQQUo0

or buy the album on Bol.Com:

Sticky Fingers. The Rolling Stones

Yesterday, coincidentally, I watched 'Gimme Shelter' again, that epic movie shot during the 1969 U.S. fall tour, including the mixing of 'Get Your Ya-Ya's Out' and the first recordings for what was to become 'Sticky Fingers'. During the tour The Rolling Stones stopped over at that near shack called 'The Muscle Shoals sound studio' and recorded first sessions there, including the 1971 #1 hit 'Brown Sugar'. That is over 1 1/2 year before release. You can also see Mick Jagger playing the song on Ike Turner's guitar to Ike & Tina in some dressing room. If you look closely you can see Ike's surprise: What is this honky singing?, his face seems to say.

(Yesterday is such a strange term. Yesterday we published the review of 'Let It Bleed'. While the Stones tour a continent away WoNo Magazine honours the band with two reviews in two days.)

I remember buying 'Sticky Fingers' in 1979 or 80 and playing it for the first time in the house of our neighbours as the whole family was sitting there when I got home from town with my new records. What do I think of the album in 2015?

First off, 'Sticky Fingers' is one of the four albums that are deemed the band's best, released between 1968 and 1972: 'Beggar's Banquet' (1968), 'Let it Bleed' (1969) and 'Exile On Main Street' (1972) make up the other three. Together it's songs are the mainstay of every show the band plays to date. There's no denying here, although I tend to have 'Black and Blue; 'Some Girls' and 'Tattoo You' high up there as well. That may have to do with my age, as I consciously lived through those releases, which was not the case with the "holy 4". Jimmy Miller was on producing duties again. In hindsight it's easy to conclude that he made the Stones so much more focused on their work. That aside, let's go into the music.

Sticky Fingers kicks off with the single, 'Brown Sugar'. This raucous rocker holds it all. Great pace, shocking lyrics, great guitar riffs, a honking saxophone, Bobby Keyes! (How wrong a family name can be), and piano by late, great Ian Stewart. 'Brown Sugar' is the Stones at the top of its rock game. Where many songs after 'Brown Sugar' in the same vein became a formula, some great, some less so, this is the very real thing. The song is dirty, sleazy, from the other side of the tracks. Whatever the lyrics really are about, at face value Mick Jagger seems to have found a dirty story to tell about slave ships, human trafficking and whatever else. It all kicks of with that killer riff, that is responded to by some guitar notes. Call - response. The song is riddled by all these extra and minus notes around a basic chord, given the song its distinctive sound. Timing between Richard and Taylor is impeccable. True weaving on the alternated accents in the beat.

'Sway' is the next song that is a total success as far as I'm concerned. Somewhat un-Stones like. The tempo is brought down. The guitar sound is not. In comes the piano, that really embellishes the song, as does the slide guitar. Jagger's song is too thin for a power ballad like 'Sway' is, but he gets away with it easily. His trick is to add this little vocal touch, a hint of the ordinary in his accent. Which makes it all alright, despite the fact that he's singing on the edge of his capability here. Near the end Mick Taylor goes off into the stratosphere, lifting 'Sway' even higher. Great song.

'Wild Horses' is the third song that is fantastic. This ballad is close to perfection. With the flageolet accents on the guitar and the stop start chord changes the song starts with just guitars and voice. There are guitars everywhere. At least four in the intro. Jagger is doing one of his best vocal performances ever here. If you look at 'Gimme Shelter' you can see Keith Richard enamoured with his own creation. Eyes closed, lying on the floor of the studio just listening to the song. Totally satisfied with the music the band recorded. 'Wild Horses' is total beauty.

'Can You Hear Me Knocking' is one of the songs that I did not like 35 years ago. 'Bitch' and 'Moonlight Mile' being the other two. For the former song this has certainly changed over time. The somewhat jazzy stuff did not land with me then, at all. In 2015 I can hear what the band is trying to do and it gets the job done in an adequate way. The somewhat hesitant riff is almost boring, but then I hear how the two guitars are bouncing off each other and I change my opinion somewhat. The transition into the chorus is fabulous. The warm organ that kicks in in the background works really well. Richard's background vocals are still memorable. Lifting the song up. Let's skip the end. Still not my favourite, but I can easily live with it today. It's just not The Stones, it's Traffic. On an aside, Billy Preston makes his entrance here on organ, thus having his moment of fame as the man who played on record with The Beatles and The Stones.

'You Got To Move' has a better version of course on 'Love You Live'. This country blues version is also very well done. Following on 'Love In Vain' the Rolling Stones do a second country blues cover and do so really well. Dirty, tail draggin', mud slimin'. Slide on a national steel or dobro with Jagger putting on his sleaze voice and Keith singing along in the background. Charlie Watt's kick drum makes it all perfect.

'Bitch' I learned to live with in the past decades, but I do not need another 'Live With Me'. For the rest, it's sort of o.k. and the horns are just fine. The "Yeah, when you call my name ..." sequence is the best part of the song.

For some more electric blues in the extremely slow segment there is 'Love in Vain' live and there is 'I Got the Blues'. Man, what a song. Keith is plucking away here in his characteristic way. A few extra notes here and there. Then there are the horns chiming in on the misery all around. When the organ solo comes in it's clear nothing will ever be right again in this song. (Jagger was getting married in 1971, wasn't he?) The ending is a bit different, if not daft, but o.k., we already had the world. So, we can't complain can we?

Mick Jagger had to own up decades later that several of the lyrics of 'Sister Morphine' weren't his. Marianne Faithfull's pension plan was settled from then on, I suppose. Again the Stones top everything here. A scary trip in a hospital ward is echoed by the slide guitar, that's Ry Cooder again and the dark sounding acoustic guitar and piano notes that were recorded as if they were recorded in a swimming pool. Why not? When finally the full band kicks in the mood is dark, despondent and without hope. One of the better Rolling Stones ballads to this day. No questions about it.

My favourite country song? That one is so easy: 'Dead Flowers'. The Stones can lay down a great country rocking song with the best of them. There are no other words necessary. It works, with its rolling piano, slide guitar and all the rest, including Jagger's darker tone and Watts' joke just before the end. See if you can find it. Again Ian Stewart's contribution is a very nice one. He picked his songs to play on, so we are told and nearly all are excellent choices.

And 'Moonlight Mile'? I do not need to have an opinion on everything, let's leave it at that. Dreamy, spacey, four years too late. And then, another song popped into my head. '100 Years Ago' from 'Goats Head Soup'. That made me get a different perspective in 'Moonlight Mile' just now, so who knows what I'll write ten years from now?

There are extended versions with extras. What I've read so far not so much new songs as with 'Exile On Main Street' and 'Some Girls' but a lot of alternative takes of songs. The one of 'Brown Sugar' below is nothing to be ashamed of. It was on the radio on the day of writing and sounded totally spectacular for many reasons. Better than the original? Hell, yes! The surprise that this is possible is so huge!

I decided to just do a reassessment of the original album. It is nearly flawless, with a few dips, for the rest totally tops and one of the reasons I became an ever bigger fan of The Rolling Stones from 1978-79 onwards.

You can buy this release as cheap or expensive as you like. I would not be surprised if you would find a version with a gilded zipper for the really top end of the market. Below is the most expanded and expensive version I could find. The regular album is a lot cheaper though.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Brown Sugar' with Eric Clapton and Al Kooper here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_QJA-0RoQ&list=PLA4500F19798B60FB

or buy at Bol.Com

Guy Forsyth. Q-Bus Leiden, 30-04-2015 with Maximum Overdrive and Bag of Bones

Photo: Wo.

And so the curtain dropped for the Q-Bus, that little hideaway with the nearly always perfect sound in the city of Leiden. The city council decided that with the coming of the new venue Gebr. de Nobel, there was no longer a need for this stage. There is a future though on which more later.

What a final night it was. On the former Queen's Day Hans van Polanen staged Austin, Texas', finest Guy Forsyth. I have seen Forsyth in his younger years play LVC like a storm, in a solo performance in the Q-Bus and now as a middle-aged gentleman who still likes to serve a blazing hot blues stew.

Larger than life. Photo: Wo.

All things Forsyth start with his voice. The Theo van Es potato rasp is there in the right dosage. Or Tom Waits of course. It's easy for him to do an impersonation, but the fun is that he does not need to overdo it. His voice is fabulous for this sort of music. The second feature is his harmonica playing, distorted, howling, pleasing, alluring and seducing, it's all in there. On top of that Guy Forsyth is a fantastic performer, who's large arm movements and facial expressions add to the show. He knows how to tell a story as well. Finally, at that point it was something that I nearly overlooked, had he not grabbed a guitar for two songs: he's a fantastic guitarist, probably better that Dave Hernandez, his guitarist for this tour. The major surprise was kept to the near end of the show. The guy can play a singing saw too. Is there something he can't do?

A 1st (and last?) in Q-Bus? Photo: Wo.

I remember seeing Forsyth playing in Q-Bus before. He played after a support act, that totally impressed me, but I can't remember for the life of me who or what played. I remember thinking how is a guy alone ever going to top this? Forsyth started with a blues holler, footstompin' the time and singing in a way that blew the whole room into silence. What a voice! That voice was there again. So terribly impressive, leaving hardly any memory of the bands playing before. This guy has such a stage presence that it is nearly unimaginable that he's not playing the larger venues in this country and the rest of the world.

All sorts of blues came by. From the sped up Texas blues, to the soft styled T-Bone Walker and even some Frank Sinatra smooth singing blues. Guy Forsyth and band can take on all without a problem. The Q-Bus rocked on its final evening. The audience consisting mainly of middle-aged, greying and/or balding gentlemen had the time of their lives.

Forsyth is touring to his latest cd, "for those who still buy them". 'The pleaser' contains a lot of nice blues tracks worth checking out for sure.

Photo: Wo.

Maximum Overdrive, a Leiden based band that starts its playing with all things Guns 'N' Roses and takes it from there. A cover or two graces its set. The singer has a real voice for punk rock and alternative rock songs. A foghorn should someone ever need one. He's your man! The bass player plays these fantastic runs in the songs that made me forget that there was only one guitarist in the band, where two is more common to fill out the sound in abnds like these. The drummer, great beard!, played in a soft, almost jazzy way, totally at odds with the music. The explanation may be the sound limit the Q-Bus has due to its neighbours. Maximum Overdrive is around for over 20 years and that shows. Very competent at building a party with its music.

Photo: Wo.

Bag of Bones is a band from Den Haag. Jimi Hendrix and jazz-rock style instrumentals are its thing. Although the individual band members are all quite competent on their respective instruments, things never came alive. Endless soloing over marginally interesting themes are just not my thing. 'Born under a bad sign', that fine electric blues song by Albert King and many others, got an extremely strange rendition. The solo half of the time touching on notes that seriously got in the way of the melody of the song. Weird. Sorry, gentlemen of Bag of Bones, songs without lyrics are just not my thing.

Wo.

You can listen to Guy Forsyth's 'Carried By Six (Pop's Blues)' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhi52WAa-jE

You can order his cds here:

http://theconnextion.com/guyforsyth/guyforsyth_cat.cfm?CatID=104

or listen to 'The Pleaser' here:

https://continentalrecordservices.bandcamp.com/album/guy-forsyth-band-the-pleaser

Second nature. Flying Colors

In 2012 the first album (http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2012/05/flying-colors-flying-colors.html) by this super group made it to my favourites of the year. Quite surprising actually as prog rock is not my thing; with a few notable exceptions. Second nature was on my to listen to list for a few weeks already, but somehow did not get to the top. Tonight it did and boy am I glad that I put it on, finally. To write that it blows me away is exaggerating but only slightly. It does match the storm I woke up with this morning for sure.

My first impression, and at this point into the review I'm listening for the very first time to Second nature, is that this a varied album. Extremely powerful and played by a band which is not afraid to do something different. There's even a Led Zeppelin like folk song with an accordion in the set. I can echo myself somewhat as Second nature sounds so fabulously good. The album has a warm, full sound, to totally submerge into. There's a lot going on at all times and again Flying Colors presents its listeners with a high mass of symphonic rock of the past, now, 44 years. This band knows exactly what it's playing and can echo famous sounds of the past as easily as create a few of its own. Flying Colors is a band filled with veterans of the second and third prog generation that know their way around in this music, like it's their backyard. Although that slick lead guitar solos are all over the place, most other things compensate more than enough for me.

As such, answering my question of the previous review on this band, I have a strong impression that Flying Colors is a sort of tribute band with its own original songs, but a tribute band none the same as they weave familiar sounds and breaks in their songs that are odes to heroes of the past, some dead, some living, some even still touring and making less noticed albums. From Pink Floyd to U.K., from Led Zeppelin to Yes, all these British prog rock acts come by in a more modern sound and sometimes infused with some good old U.S. rock up the rectum. (Yes, this is a reference to recent news, you got that right.)

The album starts with just a piano part. Small for Flying Colors, when the guitar starts copying the piano part things shift and some good old jazzrock parts come by. U.K. (Bill Bruford on drums), King Crimson (at times with Bruford as well) and Yes (again in the early incarnation with Bruford as well) all come by. Not that Second nature is a Bill Bruford tribute album, for that too many other things go on (melodically), but some of these complex rhythms I only know from that guy. Jazzrock never was my thing. Too complex and a-melodic for me. The almost 13 minutes 'Open up your eyes' holds it all. A near brilliant combination of complex rhythmic acrobatics and melodic parts, with a centre spot for guitars and keyboards. Some nice bass runs and the drums mixed straight in the middle. Over all that the singing of Casey McPherson with his very pleasant sound, backed up here and there by some great harmonies. Behind a song can go of in any direction. McPherson doesn't care. He brings it all back into the fold a soon as he starts singing.

Flying Colors manages to be much more direct also. 'Mask machine' the album's first single is a crass rocker with distinct Queen influences. Steve Morse manages to send a telegram through a 1000 notes per second Morse code. One of those forceful solos Second nature holds, next to tight rhythm playing and some wild riffing. There's so much going on. I'm holding on to my ears half of the time listening to the album. 'Bombs away' does the same trick. Strong rock with some higher singing. It is a song like 'Bombs away' that make me like Flying Colors better. Rock, some hints at prog and a good melody. It's the mix that works for me.

The mix of styles on this album is attractive also. 'The fury of my love' could sort of have been sung by Frank Sinatra, like it is easy to imagine Steven Tyler putting on his fog horn. McPherson does not have that much power in his voice, but a lot more pureness and ease. 'The fury of my love' is a ballad like they used to make in the 80s.

The shortest song on Second nature is 4,40 minutes long. ' Lost without you' is another ballad, but with some more guitars and stronger drumming with nice rhythmic side steps, taking the song steps forward with each small adventure.

The Celtic sidestep is called 'One love forever'. The least successful experiment in my opinion. It just doesn't blend with the rest of the album.

The last two songs on the album almost take 20 minutes. 'Peaceful harbor'. Another ballad that starts very soft, but ends like a Pink Floyd song, sound, backing vocals and all. 'Cosmic symphony' is another long song built up out of three parts. Slowly the song gets a more threatening undertone working towards a climax, that is short lived. In fact it gets more subtle after the extremely short release. A little jazzy even with a nice electric piano. Again violins come in, before Steve Morse goes off on another great guitar solo. The strong point of 'Cosmic symphony' is its restraint. Where the opening symphony 'Open up your eyes' goes all out, 'Cosmic symphony' goes all out in a different way. It simply shows how good and versatile Flying Colors is (also) when playing and singing without finding extreme difficulties in the rhythms etc. 11+ Minutes the band keeps my attention with a song, easy.

Flying Colors may be a band who's members have a million other things to do. When they come together they are more than the sum of its parts. This is a real band, even if the members may see this as a side project. Another impressive album is the result.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Mask machine' here:

http://flyingcolorsmusic.com/videos/