Blogcritics

Music Review The Beach Boys: U.S. Singles Collection: The Capitol Years (1962-1965)

T. Michael Testi — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:49:15 EDT

If you are a consummate Beach Boys collector, you can now reclaim the singles from the Capitol era.
The Beach Boys are an American rock and roll band that was formed in 1961 by Brian Wilson and his two brothers Carl and Dennis. It also included his cousin Mike Love and a close friend Al Jardine. During this time they gained popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics that reflected the Southern California youth culture; especially...

Music DVD Review - Classic Albums: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

T. Michael Testi — Thu, 8 May 2008 02:59:58 EDT

A must own DVD for anyone who loves Lennon, the Beatles, music, and history.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is former Beatle John Lennon's first official solo album. It was released in 1970 after having issued some experimental albums with Yoko Ono and Live Peace in Toronto 1969. This album was recorded simultaneously with Yoko Ono's debut album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band. It was recorded at Ascot Sound Studios and...

DVD Review: Van Morrison - Under Review 1964-1974

T. Michael Testi — Sat, 5 Apr 2008 15:46:53 EDT

An incredibly well done, remarkably insightful video survey of the first decade of Van Morrison's career.
Van Morrison: Under Review 1964-1974 is a two-hour documentary that covers Van Morrison's career from his early years through 1974. The Under Review DVDs are not authorized by the subjects, their management, or record company, but, as with most of the series, I view this as a positive, as it allows the people reviewing the artist to reflect and...

Music Review: Elvis Costello And The Attractions - This Year's Model (Deluxe Edition)

T. Michael Testi — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:49:47 EDT

A great reissue of one of the best albums of all time; now with a previously unreleased concert.
First released 30 years ago in March of 1978, This Year's Model was the second album by Elvis Costello and his first with The Attractions. It was primarily recoded at the Eden Studios in West London between late 1977 and early 1978. The original album ran at just over 35 minutes and became one of the best albums of all time; in 2003 Rolling...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Music Review: Genesis -- A Trick Of The Tail

T. Michael Testi — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 23:57:58 EDT

If Abacab completed the transition of Genesis from progressive rock band to pop band, A Trick Of The Tail marked the beginning. It was this album that saw the departure of Peter Gabriel because he felt too cooped up by the band and wanted to go solo. This was after The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and the subsequent tour in 1975. Genesis began to audition singers to replace Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins was given the job of coaching them. At the time, the rumor was that Collins did not want the job, but he later admitted that he really did want it but wanted someone to ask him. Eventually they did and Collins became the lead vocalist. A Trick Of The Tail, the first post-Gabriel album and produced by a new producer, David Hentschel, featured a cleaner production than previous releases. It was well received by the critics and was the best selling Genesis album to date. Some say that it was because Collins sounded more like Gabriel than Gabriel did!The quality of this CD is superb. They kept the CD in its original format and supplied a DVD with 5.1 sound quality as well as extra videos. The videos contain interviews and footage of the bandHere you have songs that are very dynamic such as "Dance on a Volcano," ones that are whimsical such as "A Trick of the Tail" and Squonk," and you have the clever songs such as "Robbery, Assault, and Battery." Many of these songs trace their history back to the Gabriel days. There is not one bad song on the album. There are a few highlights. Someone listening to "Dance on a Volcano" for the first time might think that the CD is skipping. It has a polyrhythm that becomes very catchy after listing to it a few times. You have Hackett strumming a tenuous, chromatic pattern until Collins checks in with his thunderous drumming, which really comes through in this re-mastering."Robbery, Assault, and Battery" contains a sprightly rhythm that captivates you and takes into a Gabrielesque attempt that is very innovative. The instrumental solos are very good -- pay attention to Banks on the keyboards. Here he really shines."Ripples" has Hackett providing some absolutely great acoustic guitar work. This has a very Collins flavor and a very dark tone surrounding it. What it says is that with age, we will only be left with ourselves. Again listen to Banks on the keyboard."A Trick of the Tail," while perhaps not the most profound song here, is certainly a lot fun. Its tune is similar to "Robbery, Assault, and Battery" in its sense of humor and it is certainly one of the shorter songs on the CD. What makes this an "attic album" is that it shows what Genesis could have become had the right conditions stayed favorable. Had Hackett stayed on, had the band gelled a little more, they could have retained their progressive rock roots and still gained popularity as did some other progressive rock groups of the time, such as Yes. Is it the best Genesis album ever? Most die hard fans would say that Lamb is the best. On the other hand there are a lot of people thought that Lamb was a little too artistic, poetic, and esoteric for their tastes. If you like the Gabriel Genesis, then A Trick Of The Tail is just a real good CD. If you prefer the Collins Genesis, then A Trick Of The Tail may be their best album ever.A Trick Of The Tail track listing CD: Dance on a Volcano Entangled Squonk Mad Man Moon Robbery, Assault, and Battery Ripples... Trick of the Tail Endos DVD: Dance on a Volcano Entangled Squonk Mad Man Moon Robbery, Assault, and Battery Ripples... Trick of the Tail Endos Robbery, Assault, and Battery [*] Ripples... [*] Trick of the Tail [*] Reissue Interviews 2007 [*] I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) [Live][*] Fly on a Windshield [Live][*] Carpet Crawlers [Live][*] Cinema Show [Live][*] Entangled [Live][*] Supper's Ready [Live][*] Endos [Live][*] "White Rocks" Premiere Programme 1977

T. Michael Testi is a photographer, writer, software developer and ardent fan of fantasy football and horse race handicapping. He also blogs at PhotographyTodayNet and at All This and Everything Else.

Music Review: Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

T. Michael Testi — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:09:52 EDT

Welcome to a new series entitled "Sounds from the Attic" in which I will attempt to conjure up the spirits of albums of the bygone past. These are albums that while, in some sense are classic, don't always get the recognition they deserve. They generally don't make most peoples top 100 list and quite often unknown by the younger music crowd, but should be.My basic criteria is that the album is at least 20 years old; although I reserve judgment to highlight something a little newer, if it is more obscure. There should be some compelling reason to conjure up the spirit, if merely for my whim!In this issue, I am pulling from the attic and dusting off John Barleycorn Must Die , the fourth effort from Traffic. This is an interesting album as, through an interesting twist of fate, it resurrected Traffic from insignificance and set them down the road to becoming future members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2004).Traffic was formed in 1967 by former member of Spencer Davis Group Steve Winwood, Hellions members, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason, and Chris Wood. The later three were also reported to have done session work with the Spencer Davis Group. Influenced by the early work of The Band, they retreated to a country house in Berkshire England to write and develop new material prior to making their debut. They had some minor hits in the U.K. during 1967, but none in the U.S. Tension was already surfacing between Winwood and Mason; the two primary songwriters at the time. Mason did not want to collaborate with Winwood and eventually and this lead to his leaving the band before the release of their first album Mr. Fantasy in 1967. Mason rejoined Traffic in 1968 for the recording of their second album Traffic. From there, they toured and in 1969 their album Last Exit was released. It was during the tour that Mason was fired and Winwood declared the he was breaking up the band.After spending less than a year with Blind Faith, what might be considered the first super-group with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Rick Gretch, Winwood found him self in a contractual obligation to do a solo album. This is where John Barleycorn Must Die comes in.At age 22, Winwood's original concept for this album was to be a solo album in which he plays all instruments and vocals. The record got as far as one backing track for "Stranger to Himself", before he broke down and called on the services of Jim Capaldi. After the two completed a second track, "Every Mother's Son", they brought in Chris Wood and Island Records chief Chris Blackwell to help with the production. Thus, Traffic was reborn.John Barleycorn Must Die is a mix of genres including folk, jazz, and rock mixed in with psychedelic influences. It starts with the instrumental, "Glad". It has an up-tempo funky feel. You can feel the jazz and folk influences as it makes its way along. "Freedom Rider", is a ballad that showcases Chris Wood's talents on sax and flute. It is lively and upbeat and wonderfully hypnotic. "Empty Pages", showcases Capaldi's drumming skills in a funky, intense sound which is enhanced by Winwood's jazzy keyboard work. This is one thing that I don't get, when the record companies re-master many of these albums, they feel the need to add "bonus" songs to add value. That is sometimes good, but many times it is bad. This CD has two, previously un-released cuts. There is probably a good reason that they were previously un-released. They weren’t that good. "I Just Want to Know" is one of these. It is a little over a minute in length and basically chants the title over and over. I wish that if they add this kind of drivel, put it at the end, so I don't have hear it when I am trying to listen to the original album.Then comes "Stranger to Himself", this is the song that Winwood plays all of the instruments. Capaldi helps with some background vocals. It is a folk-funk song that gets you in the mood for the really laid-back folk classic title track "John Barleycorn Must Die". The flute work in this is suburb as the song builds with the acoustic guitar. You can almost imagine a couple of medieval troubadours playing in front of a campfire. From there we get "Every Mothers Son", this is the track in which Winwood plays all of the instruments with the exception of Capaldi on Drums. It has a bluesy feel with some grinding organ from Winwood. The CD is finished off with the other bonus track, "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love". This song is better than the first bonus, but I would have been just fine without it. Ok, what makes this album worth pulling out of the attic? Well first, it is a wonderful album that stands on its own in the history of rock. John Barleycorn Must Die transposed Traffic from being just one of those bands who never quite lived up to their potential into a future hall of fame inductee. It became their first gold record (#5 in the US), it set them on their course to three more top 10 U.S. albums (Low Spark of High Heeled Boys at # 7, Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory at # 6, and When the Eagle Flies at #9).It also changed the music industry in the sense that all of the original songs were in excess of four minutes. In the day, to get radio time, the general thought was that your singles had to be less than four minutes, really around three. It was from bands like Traffic that the new "Album Oriented" stations came about in the late 60s to early 70s and would eventually lead to the acceptance of songs like Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Skynard's "Freebird" to reach the airwaves. As an added note, Chris Wood died in 1983 of Pneumonia; some say it was related to his drinking. He was 43. Jim Capaldi died in 2005 of stomach cancer at age 60. Dave Mason went on to a terrific solo career as well as joining Fleetwood Mac on one album (Time) and currently performs with The Dave Mason Band. Steve Winwood continues to work on new material; About Time was released in 2003 as well as a possible album this year He has also been working on session sets with the likes of Sam Moore and Christina Aguilera.If you are in the mood for some freeform fun and to get a better feel for what made music Winwood and company so great, pick up a copy of John Barleycorn Must Die. You'll be glad you did.John Barleycorn Must Die song listingGlad (Winwood) 6:59 Freedom Rider (Winwood/Capaldi) 5:35 Empty Pages (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:47 I Just Want To Know (Winwood/Capaldi) 1:32 – Previously UnreleasedStranger To Himself (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:02 John Barleycorn (traditional-arr. Winwood) 6:20 Every Mother's Son (Winwood/Capaldi) 7:05Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love (Winwood/Capaldi) 3:24 – Previously Unreleased