Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Smithereens "Christmas With The Smithereens"

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Some goodies to enjoy that you may not have.

Christmas with the Smithereens features three original tunes, and as rock & roll Christmas albums go, this is good fun and admirably eclectic. The Smithereens are pretty broad-minded when it comes to what constitutes a Yuletide melody, given the presence of "Christmas," a not especially seasonal tune from the Who's Tommy, and they dig up the Beatles rarity "Christmas Time Is Here Again," as well as cutting a version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that's a dead ringer for the Fab Four.

Seasonal numbers from the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and the Ramones also make the set list, and you get a snappy spoken word rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" as well as some rollicking proto-surf boogie on "Auld Lang Syne." The big surprise here is that Pat DiNizio shares the vocal mic with his bandmates for a change, and if guitarist Jim Babjak and drummer Dennis Diken aren't quite up to DiNizio's standard as a singer, they fit their selections better than DiNizio's often-gloomy tone.

Fans waiting for a "real" Smithereens album will apparently have to wait a bit longer, but Christmas with the Smithereens is more thoughtful and intriguing than the average tossed-together holiday offering, and the best moments are a clear reminder of what makes this band worthwhile.

01 - Waking Up On Christmas Morning 02 - Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) 03 - Merry Christmas, Baby 04 - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 05 - Christmas Time All Over The World 06 - Christmas 07 - 'Twas The Night Before Christmas 08 - Run Rudolph Run 09 - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) 10 - Christmas (I Remember) 11 - Auld Lang Syne
12 - Christmas Time Is Here Again

cwsmeen

Louis Jordan - One Sided Love Then Sakatumi

These 1968 Recordings Represent One of his Last Visits to a Studio in the United States. Originally Released on the Pzazz Label this was a Rare Collectors Item for Over 30 Years. All the Titles Are Making their Worldwide Debut on CD! Great stuff.

1. One Sided Love 2:06 2. Bullitt 2:48
3. New Orleans And Rusty Old Horn 2:40
4. You Gotta Go 2:32 5. I'll Get Along Some-How 3:38 6. Wild Is The Night 2:33 7. Sakatumi 3:14
8. What's On Your Mind 2:48 9. Monkey See, Monkey Do 2:32 10. Watch The World 2:55
11. The A-Men Corner 2:46 12. Santa Claus, Santa Claus 3:24

ljslala

Donna Summer - Christmas Spirit

This is an appealing mix of secular and devotional Christmas songs by the once upon a time disco diva. They are all ballads, there's nothing to dance to here, but the album is a classic of its genre. On several tracks Donna is backed by the Nashville String Quartet and by various choirs on others.

The two slow ballads White Christmas and The Christmas Song are followed by a rousing version of O Come All Ye Faithful, where Donna is assisted by a children's and men's choir. Another highlight is the Christmas Medley consisting of What Child Is This/Do You Hear What I Hear?/Joy To The World, a most impressive arrangement.

I'll Be Home For Christmas comes across as a bit mournful, whilst Christmas Spirit is joyful and optimistic. The beautiful devotional Breath Of Heaven has a spoken intro. It is a most stirring piece of music with a magnificent melody and soaring vocals. Equally moving is O Holy Night, a slow, tender song with a gospel choir.

The album concludes with Lamb Of God. This one also has a spoken intro from the Gospel and a lovely inspirational sound with its children's and adult choirs. This wonderful album is on a par with two other great Chrismas albums by female vocalists: Noel by Noel Baez and Light Of The Stable by Emmylou Harris.

Good listening; good holidays, everyone!

1. White Christmas 2. Christmas Song 3. O Come All Ye Faithful 4. Christmas Is Here
5. Christmas Medley: What Child Is This?/Do You Hear What I Hear/Joy ... 6. I'll Be Home for Christmas 7. Christmas Spirit 8. Breath of Heaven 9. O Holy Night 10. Lamb of God

dschs

VA - Foot Tappers

After all the holiday extravaganzas - here is a pleasant comp of familiar tunes to help you relax. pop it in and chill - or continue to party.

Following the massive success of 'Dreamboats And Petticoats' here comes 'Foot Tappers'. From the same era, these are the big instrumental hits showcasing the hugely popular guitar bands of the day. The album is stacked with perennial hits from The Shadows, The Ventures, The Tornados, Duane Eddy, The Surfaris, Johnny & The Hurricanes and Dick Dale & His Deltones (from Pulp Fiction).

01. Foot Tapper - Shadows 02:35
02. Telstar - Tornados 03:16
03. Nut Rocker - B. Bumble & the Stingers 02:01
04. Tequila - Champs 02:13
05. Pipeline - Chantays 02:19
06. Misirlou - Dale, Dick & His Del-Tones 02:14 07. Wipe Out - Surfaris 02:19 08. Time is Tight - Booker T & the Mg's 03:17 09. Hit and Miss - Barry, John Seven Plus Four 02:00 10. Diamonds - Harris, Jet & Tony Meehan 02:24 11. Walk Don't Run - Ventures 02:04 12. Hava Nagila - Spotnicks 02:19 13. Teen Beat - Nelson, Sandy 02:37 14. Red River Rock - Johnny & the Hurricanes 02:12 15. Shazam - Eddy, Duane 01:51 16. Classical Gas - Williams, Mason 03:04
17. Cruel Sea - Dakotas 02:14 18. Perfidia - Ventures 02:04 19. Stranger on the Shore - Bilk, Acker 02:56 20. Globetrotter - Tornados 02:39 21. Dance with the Guitar Man - Eddy, Duane 02:45 22. Rocking Goose - Johnny & the Hurricanes 01:49 23. James Bond Theme - Barry, John Seven & Orchestra 01:46 24. Let There Be Drums - Nelson, Sandy 02:17 25. Scarlett O'hara - Harris, Jet & Tony Meehan 02:17 26. Green Onions - Booker T & the Mg's 02:53 27. Apache - Shadows 02:59 28. Theme From A Summer Place - Faith, Percy Orchestra

ftshw

Saturday, December 19, 2009

The Dead Rocks - One Million Dollar Surf Band

Nice energetic frat surf to keep you lively on a very snowy day.

1 The Million Dollar Theme
2 Sonic Stars
3 Boogie Splash Crash
4 My Nurse Wanna Dance With Me
5 Nicotine
6 Easy Job
7 O Milionario
8 Crazy Race
9 Green Secret From Amazonia
10 A Song For The Future
11 Um Broto Apaixonante
12 La Terrible Maldicion De Tutankamon
13 Pais Tropical
14 Kamikaze
15 Deliriuns Tremens
16 Thelephone Call 37:48

tdrmdsb

VA - Tributo a Ramones - I Want You Around

"I Want You Around" is the name chosen for this first album organized by Mondo Ramone, and it's a tribute to the greatest punk-rock band Ramones. There are 25 bands from different countries: Argentina, Spain, Uruguay, France and the UK.

Each band performs the version in its own way. And there are covers in Spanish and English. The bands style is mostly punk-rock, with variations such as Ramonero-punk and pop-punk, plus some tribute bands.

Furthermore, the disc is accompanied by a magazine (in PDF) with detailed information on each band.

Tracklist:

01. Intro
02. Durango 95 (Monchones)
03. Blitzkrieg bop (Ramonas)
04. Con mi PlayStation (DDT)
05. Go lil’ Camaro go (Maxidelmar)
06. Slug (Fast Food)
07. We want the airwaves (Sinfexis)
08. Punishment fits the crime (Bien Desocupados junto a CJ Ramone)
09. Cretin family (Sale Kon Fritas)
10. Estoy en contra (Ningoonies)
11. Carbona not glue (Diasepunk)
12. Sheena is a punk rocker (F.A.N.T.A.)
13. Rockaway beach (Las Vin Up)
14. Mental hell (Chabanes)
15. El Opus Dei se llevo a mi mujer (Waldorf Histeria)
16. Yea yea (The Ramonos)
17. I wanna be your boyfriend (Los Martires de Uganda)
18. Somebody put something in my drink (Desuvikados)
19. Listen to my heart (Danger Zone)
20. Cabbies on crack (The Nylons)
21. I remember you (Rios-Chocrón)
22. She’s the one (Vejados)
23. She belongs to me (Tres Round)
24. Touring (The Maxys)
25. No quiero bajar al sotano (No Picky)
26. Pinhead (Ramines)

rammys

rammysmag

VA - Beyond Six Strings

"How many strings does a guitar have? Six, you say? Well, what about the 12-string made famous by Leo Kottke? Tenor guitars? The world of guitar has long ventured outside the bounds of what many people consider a "normal" instrument with a mere six strings. The past two decades has seen a resurgence of historic and musical interest in harp guitars, which first began to appear in this country at the turn of the 20th century when Knutsen, Dyer, and the Larsons made and marketed various forms of harp guitars -- those with extra strings usually attached to a second head, which gave the instrument a plethora of tones and colors. Gibson also got in on the action in those early days. "Beyond Six Strings" is a terrific collection of tunes by modern impresarios of guitars both old and new with lots of strings. Three of the players (and the producers) on this CD are well known for their long-time support for all things harp guitar: John Doan, Steven Bennett, and Gregg Miner, who provides the brief introduction to harp guitars in the liner notes. The packaging of the disc is top notch, with excellent notes on the songs and artists, as well as photos of some of the instruments. Each of the players on the disc has a personal love affair with these instruments. We hear all sort sorts of playing from two-handed tapping on "Emmet's Rising" by Andy Wahlberg and "The Friend I Never Had" by Andy McKee, to gentle fingerpicking on "Clarsah" by Muriel Anderson on a custom nylon string harp requinto crafted by luthier Mike Doolin. The oldest instrument is an 1899 Knutsen played by Miner on "Deserted Island," sounding like a standard OM with some extra bass strings (and looking like it, too). The tonal palette is stretched to its limits on "In John Fahey There Is No East or West" by John Doan on a 20 stringed Sullivan-Elliott harp guitar, while Bennett lets the droning deep bass strings ring on "November" to close a wonderful recording of guitar music, and a must-have for anyone interested in these fascinating instruments." © Kirk Albrecht, www.minor7th.com

01. Don't Give Into Sorrow About Tomorrow (Tom Shinness)
02. Heavenly Earth Dance (Iwan Hasan)
03. Friend I Never Met, the (Andy McKee)
04. Brookside Avenue (Dan LaVoie)
05. Emmet's Rising (Andy Wahlberg)
06. Deserted Island (Gregg Miner)
07. Theme From Redwood Variations (James Kline)
08. In John Fahey There Is No East Or West (John Doan)
09. Scarborough Fair (Stacy Hobbs)
10. Clarsah (Muriel Anderson)
11. Long Walk Home, the (Bill Dutcher)
12. Chin Up (Larry Berwald)
13. November (Stephen Bennett)

bss

Warrior Soul - Space Age Playboy

Underrated punks from the 90's - Pulsating anger, heavy guitars, simple but powerfull riffs and a stomping mid-tempo pace. This is Warrior Soul's best offering and I recommend to anybody who likes heavy rock. Although the lyrics are a bit on the depressive/angry side, listening to this CD is like being plugged into high voltage, I feel like bursting with energy every time!

1. rocket 2. the drug 3. let's get wasted 4. no no no 5. television
6. the pretty faces 7. the imagine 8. rotten soul 9. i wanna get some
10. look at you 11. star ride 12. generation graveyard 13. fightin'the war
Playing Time.........: 00:56:35

wssap

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Bluestone and Company Supernatural Delights

Excellent new instrumental studio disc from the ultimate bluesy heavy guitar jam band from Japan called Bluestone Company (formerly known as Savoy Truffle) featuring 10 tracks (60 minutes) of outstanding, retro-70's, bluesy, southern-inspired, heavy guitar, jam-based, rock/fusion that showcases Super Guitar Hero - Toshihiro Sumitomo and his vast talents on the guitar. A first-rate, incredible guitar heavy musical document that is all about phenomenal, deep, dynamic muscianship/grooves plus serious extended jamming from Toshihiro and the superbly talented Bluestone Co. brothers. Highly recommended to fans of Gov t Mule (Warren Haynes), Allman Bros. and Plankton. The Bluestone Company: Supernatural Delight disc is an outstanding bluesy, instrumental heavy guitar document that is Highly recommended to fans of Warren Haynes/Gov't Mule, Allman Bros., Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Hendrix, Cream, Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher, SRV, Robben Ford, Joe Bonamassa, Chris Duarte & Plankton among other world-class, serious, bluesy Axemasters who rule the Guitar World.

1. S.S.S.2. Got Your Spell On Me 3. Electric Rainbow4. Real Gate 5. Song of Yesterday 6. Colonel Panic 7. Stomp 8. Rubber Necking 9. Cissy Strut 10. Desert Blues

btcsd

Astra - The Weirding

The Weirding was recorded in a garage, and sounds like it. But if you are into 70's Prog rock, this should add to the aura. Astra's freshman attempt is mesmerizing in a nostalgic sort of way for those of us who were alive in the 70's and loved the progressive music of the day with it's melloton induced head spins. We saw no reason for it to disappear. It's nostalgic, only because it did disappear... for the most part. With a new generation, perhaps it's back, and here to stay, for a whole new generation to enjoy without having to have glimpses of the past. Astra's "The Weirding" is a bold attempt to slice into that not so musical mayhem that is Brittney Spears and 50 cent. An attempt to bring real music to the fore and perhaps musicianship to our ears.

To say this album is retro sounding would be a vast understatement. This album could have come out about 1974 and would have fit right in. The band's sound reminds me of the more pscyh oriented stuff from early Black Sabbath mixed with "Echoes" era Pink Floyd. The band is not all that far removed from modern day stoner rock bands such as The Sword either. The 8 tracks here are rather long and plodding, but to my ears they pretty much all work. I like the whole thing, but the tracks "Rising Of The Black Sun", "The Weirding", "Broken Glass", "The Dawning Of Ophiuchus", and "Beyond To Slight The Maze" are my favorites. The one drawback of the album is the actual recording itself. The production is pedestrian at best, sounding like it was recorded in a very lo-fi situation. This muddy mix again makes the album sound retro, but with proper modern production I think this thing could have sounded a heck of a lot better and would have been more effective. Sound problems aside, I think this is one of the best albums of the year and I highly recommend it.

1. The Rising Of The Black Sun 2. The Weirding 3. Silent Sleep 4. The River Under 5. Ouroboros 6. Broken Glass 7. The Dawning Of Orphiucus 8. Beyond To Slight The Maze

atw

Senior Coconut - Around the World

Üwe Schmidt is an supremely talented musician, with real soul and, equal to his musicianship, a sly sense of humor. So many stage names, such great titles: "Sounds like Preset Rhythm," "All Notes On," "Son of a Glitch." This record is a joy. It features loving, swinging Latin-style covers of several well-known US/English pop songs (Prince, Eurythimics, Trio, etc.) but when the band kicks into the famous Latin dance tune "Que Rico El Mambo," you know they are the real thing.
Schmidt calls it Electrolatino, but this is truly great music no mater what

1. Around the World (Intro) [Rumba] 2. Sweet Dreams [Cha-Cha-Cha] 3. Da Da Ich Lieb Dich Nicht du Liebst Mich Nicht [Cha-Cha-Cha] 4. Kiss [Cha-Cha-Cha] 5. Corcovado [Bolero/Cha Cha] 6. Around the World (Interlude) [Rumba] 7. Que Rico el Mambo 8. Pinball Chacha [Cha-Cha-Cha] 9. White Horse [Merengue] 10. Vida Es Llena de Cables [Guaguancó/Acitón] 11. Moscow Discow [Mambo] 12. Around the World (Outro) [Rumba] 13. Dreams Are My Reality [Full Version][*]14. Voodoo Dreams [Atom Remix][*] - Les Baxter & His Orchestra

srcaw

The Dream of the Electric Guitars Volume 1

The biggest and most amazing wizards of the Electric Guitar from around the world reunite their talents to create the first volume of The Dream of the Electric Guitars. A collection of classic and rare to find Moody, dreamy seductive rock instrumental tracks, blazing with virtuosity and driven by one common element, the electric guitar. These amazing ever lasting performances feature the best electric guitar players in the world today such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon (Santana, Journey, Bad English), Steve Lukather (Toto), Gary Moore, Mike Stern, Marty Friedman (Megadeth), Michael Thompson (Celine Dion, Ray Charles, David Foster, Shania Twain), Andy Timmons, Tim Pierce and Markku Kanerva. This release also features some of the best musicians of our planet such as Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Planet X), Simon Phillips (Toto), Mo Foster (Phil Collins), David Garfield and Pekka Pohjola just to name a few. More mellow than you would expect. Better background listening than driving. Worth having.

1. Intro Michael Thompson 2. For the Love of God (Remastered) Steve Vai 3. Cryin' Joe Satriani 4. Father 5. The Light In Your Eyes (Featuring Gary Moore) 6. Cry for You Andy Timmons 7. Rita (Featuring Markku Kanerva) Pekka Pohjola, Markku Kanerva 8. Song for Jeff (Dedicated to Jeff Porcaro) Steve Lukather 9. Lust for Life Marty Friedman 10. Common Ground Mike Stern 11. Stony Days (Featuring Steve Lukather) Derek Sherinian, Steve Lukather 12. One Desire Tim Pierce 13. Dark Michael Thompson

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