Donnerstag, 28. März 2024

Live Music On German TV - Once Again

 


During the last days I listened often to MC5, probably the most influential heavy band from Detroit. Their rough and earthy sound is still far above everything I listened to in my very younger days and influenced a lot of bands decades later. I can remember when I first saw this in 1972 on a Saturday afternoon and my parents couldn't understand why I loved this kind of music. It was probably one of their last live appearances before the band broke but shows exactly what they are famous for.



Mittwoch, 27. März 2024

Ghost Ranch

 


Sometimes it is unbelievable that there is band 20 years on duty and releasing records after records and I didn't got any notice from them. This thoughts went through my head when I got the new of the latest record by Son Of The Velvet Rat, a band formed by Georg Altziebler and his wife Heike Binder from Graz, Austria. Their sound has nothing in common with music I was used to from my neighbors. It is reasonable because they left their homeland and moved years ago to Joshua Tree, close to the Mojave desert, Southern California. Their sound could be described as a very Townes Van Zandt magnificent version of Americana or desert rock. Altziebler's rough voice sounds perfect to songs with great (county-)guitars. And a song like Rosary where Marc Ribot adds a guitar performance can't be bad. A record I will sure listen more than once this years.

Dienstag, 26. März 2024

Mondays Long Song On Tuesday

 


Just in time for last weekend, I caught a cold that left me doing nothing but lying in bed sweating. That's why I didn't find the time or the muse to write anything for my blog. Since today I'm feeling better again but not well enough to go to work and catch up on what I had planned. Rich Lane is a British DJ and producer releasing since almost 10 years mixes for his Cotton Bud label. Most of them are high quality and featured at this place several times during the last years. His latest release as Chug Norris is another example for combining chuggy rhythms with smooth vocals and electronic piano fragments.

Sonntag, 24. März 2024

Take Me Out



Last week I once again visited the website of the Austrian radio station FM4 to read a review of a mini-series about Franz Kafka, the 100th anniversary of whose death is being celebrated these days. In addition to this article, the new single by a Viennese band that I hadn't heard of before was also presented. Baits are a band in classic rock guise with bass, drums and two guitars and play a melodic version of grunge-pop. Their songs are usually under three minutes long but always performed with incredible power. A band to remember and worth following their further development. 



Donnerstag, 21. März 2024

I'm In The Mood



I have to admit that I am not very firm with blues and most of the nowadays artists are boring me. But the old black artists that made the blueprint of rhythm 'n' blues in the 60's are a place I come back from time to time. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker are the names I play at my place sometimes when I am in the mood for it. John Lee Hooker released in 1989 an album filled with his kind of blues collaborated with artists like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Gerorge Thorogood that stamped the sound of a short summer. With these musicians, he has created a small masterpiece that is undoubtedly timeless, integrating different styles into his very own sound. A special look back at an extraordinary album that has lost hardly any of its fascination. 

John Lee Hooker - I'm In The Mood

John Lee Hooker - Sally Mae

John Lee Hooker - The Healer

Mittwoch, 20. März 2024

Ibiza Macht Frei

 


Rheinzand, a musical project from Ghent, Belgium, released four years ago a wonderful self titled album. It was played at my place very often and I like their relaxed Balearic moods. Now they returned with a re-work of their latest album Atlantis, Atlantis by Pete Blaker from the Netherlands, a producer who tried to give these songs a new outfit. Moving away from their dance-floor moods he created with new instrumental layers and dubs a new flavor with their songs. Most of the songs can take you to another dimension if you are ready for a Balearic trip.

Montag, 18. März 2024

Monday's Long Song

 


I can't believe that I didn't featured Johnny Marr at this little place of the internet. Of course I named him several times especially when The Smiths were around. A few days ago I came back to his live album Adrenalin Baby from his tour in 2014/15 recorded at various venues in Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol. It is one of those live albums I always wished I could have been part of the crowd. 17 songs full of energy and enthusiasm and great versions of songs we all know by The Smiths. And it also shows Johnny's abilities of playing guitar. 

Johnny Marr - Playland

And as a bonus a live version of a song from a short lived project. In 1989 Marr and Bernard Sumner of New Order formed Electric an alternative dance band. The original was a song with a fantastic bass line and the voice of Neil Tennent made this an outstanding record of this time. That this song also works with a more guitar based sound is one of the highlights of this album.

Johnny Marr - Getting Away With It