That Devil Music Dot Com

Let Us All Praise Dave Cousins!

2008-11-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

Dave Cousins, the long-time frontman for British folk-rock-prog band the Strawbs (shown above, performing with violinist Ian Cutler), is an underrated treasure in the world of rock & roll. Forming the Strawberry Hill Boys in the late-60s, recording their first album with vocalist Sandy Denny (who would go on to Fairport Convention), the Strawbs would go on through the '70s to record brilliant albums such as Grave New World (1972), Hero & Heroine (1974), Ghosts (1975), and Burning For You (1977), among others.

As related in an interview that I did with Cousins in 2007, the singer/songwriter "retired" from full-time performing with the band to take a job in commercial radio in the U.K. After appearing at the Strawbs' 30th anniversary celebration with other former bandmates in 1998, Cousins "re-started" the band in 2001, touring the U.S., Canada and Europe with a revolving line-up that has included such stalwarts of the '70s-era bands as guitarist Dave Lambert, bassist Chas Cronk, and keyboardist John Hawken, among others. Sometimes they tour as "Electric Strawbs" with full gear, sometimes as "Acoustic Strawbs," just three or four guys sitting on stools with their instruments.

Cousins recorded his first solo album, titled Two Weeks Last Summer, in 1972 and then didn't record a follow-up until The Boy In The Sailor Suit in 2007. Of the more recent album, which the Reverend reviewed for Harp magazine, I wrote "Cousins’ intricate wordplay is on display throughout, the album offering a balance of acoustic folk and electric rock, an appropriate soundtrack for this lyrical celebration of life and love." In 2008, Cousins released a follow-up and his third solo effort, Secret Paths, a collection of his favorite story-songs re-cast in a mostly acoustic light.

To promote Secret Paths, Cousins booked a short acoustic tour in the U.S. and Canada in the spring of 2008. He was accompanied on the first few dates by the talented violinist Ian Cutler, rounding out the tour with strictly solo performances. If you missed any of these shows, you missed out on one of the most intimate and breathtaking performances that you'll ever witness.

We caught Cousins and Cutler at The German House in Rochester NY, a cool old venue that began life over 80 years ago as a church hall. Booked by our buddy Tom Kohn at The Bop Shop record store, unfortunately Cousins was suffering from a touch of the flu during his visit, and was visibly ill before the show. He wasn't one to let down the 100 or so fans that had assembled to see him perform, though, so Cousins and Cutler carried on, weaving a magical spell created by Cousins' wonderful stories and well-worn voice, accompanied by Cutler's sometimes mournful, sometimes incendiary violin playing.

But you can witness Cousins' talents for yourself, as some fan has provided video from the singer's Kent, Ohio performance of the beautiful songs "Grace Darling" and "Blue Angel." The third video here, is a heavy reading of the Strawbs' "Grave New World" from a couple of years back, a mesmerizing song in spite of the video/sound quality.

Several of Cousins' performances from the 2008 tour were recorded, and recently released as an album titled Duochrome. Either the new album or Secret Paths (or The Boy In The Sailor Suit and Two Weeks Last Summer, for that matter) would make a great gift for the singer/songwriter fan in your life, all four albums showcasing the incredible talents of Dave Cousins. (Photos from the Rochester show by Rev. Keith A. Gordon, subsequently "freaked-out" in Photoshop Elements)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Secret Paths from Amazon.com)

Dave Cousins - "Grace Darling"

Dave Cousins - "Blue Angel"

The Strawbs - "Grave New World"

Standing At The Crossroads....

2008-09-18T07:29:00.003-04:00

James McMurtry - "We Can't Make It Here"

America is standing at a crossroads, and the devil is pushing us to make a deal. Do we replace the worst Presidential administration in history with a doddering old fool and his bimbo sidekick, or do we choose the young, intelligent, and admittedly imperfect alternative?

The Devil You Know....

Under the Bush regime, we've seen the sins of the father magnified by the son...extraordinary rendition, the war in Iraq, Gitmo, spying on citizens, the lack of response to Hurricane Katrina and the burning and looting of New Orleans...the list is tragically long. John McCain has attempted to distance himself from an administration that, bluntly, history will rightly judge a dismal failure. But McCain has sold out what shred of dignity that he ever held, auctioned off his scruples to the right wing of a party that long ago lost its relevance to the average person. The G.O.P. stands for nothing more or less than a military-industrial complex that makes a few sycophants wealthy while ignoring the needs of the country.

McCain's choice of the Alaskan "Barbie Doll," Sarah Palin, as his running mate is as blatant a political move as I've ever witness in nearly 40 years of being aware of such things. The so-called "hockey mom" is nothing more than an ignorant appeal to the extreme Christian right that has controlled the Republican Party for several decades, a special interest group that wouldn't fully support the candidate until now. Heaven forbid that McCain get elected President and die in office...the completely unprepared Palin would have the rich hunting the poor for sport, shooting at them from black helicopters leased from Halliburton. Aggression and charisma don't make a good leader...the last eight years have proven this true...I'd prefer a modicum of intelligence, some common sense, and a little humility in my President, personally....

Barrack Obama is a great speaker and a charismatic individual, and although an imperfect candidate in many ways, he's the best shot we have to break the rule of the right, which dominated Congress from 1994 to 2006, and has sat in the White House for eight years. Obama, perhaps, is not aggressive enough, and afraid of being necklaced with the flaming label of "liberal," he keeps the Democratic Party's "special interests" – unions, gay Americans, feminists, etc – at arm's length.

Obama's health care proposal is laughable, relying on the largess of corporations unwilling to provide such concessions, and other Obama policies are equally naive, preferring to tread the middle-of-the-road rather than attempt to upset any apple carts. Even Obama's choice of Joe Biden...a long-time Demo party hack...seems to be calculated to "win back" disaffected Clintonites. Still, he's a much better choice than his rapidly aging opponent....

James McMurtry & Willie Nile

My opinion of singer/songwriter James McMurtry was formed entirely after listening to his first couple of major label records, unspectacular efforts that showcased a young, talented voice but just didn't knock me out. McMurtry has released six albums after leaving the major label ranks, and I know that he's become somewhat of a demigod in Americana circles. After doing a little reading, it's seems that McMurtry has honed his songwriting and performing skills to a surgical precision. Watching the video provided above, "We Can't Make It Here" (from McMurtry's 2005 album Childish Things), it's clear that McMurtry understands the pain in the heartland and the effect that "politrix* as usual" has had on American families, better than any politician. Perhaps it's time for me to pick up a couple of recent McMurtry albums and refamiliarize myself with a talent that I had originally written off....

Willie Nile, on the other hand, has been a long-time favorite of mine, a folk-rock poet that has long understood the hopes and dreams and fears of the average American. Signed in 1980 by Columbia Records – who thought that they had the next Springsteen in their hands – Nile has seemingly emerged from his three-album major label career with his sense of humor intact. Although I didn't hear much about Nile during the '90s...I heard that he had come to Nashville for a while to look into songwriting opportunities...he is enjoying a career renassaince of sorts during the new millennium, releasing the excellent Streets Of New York in 2006, and more recently the incredible Live From The Streets Of New York CD and DVD.

The video below, for Nile's insightful "Hard Times In America," was taken from the live DVD, but the song itself dates back to a five-song EP by that name that Nile released in 1992. I found a copy of the EP at The Great Escape in Nashville a decade later, musing that perhaps Nile had sold it to the store himself. I find it sadly prescient that the song has as much relevance today as it did when he wrote it....

Willie Nile - "Hard Times In America"

Click on Shepard Fairey's "Obama Progress" image to go to the Obama website

(Click on the CD covers to buy either album from Amazon.com)

Nick Moss & The Flip Tops - Benefit Show for Stolen Gear!

2008-08-20T07:11:00.000-04:00

Scheduled to play the Ottawa Blues Festival last weekend in Ottawa, Ontario

Canada

, blues guitarist Nick Moss and his band The Fliptops had their van and all their gear stolen from the parking lot of their hotel sometime during the morning of July 5th, 2008. Although the parking area was supposed to be under surveillance, the film in the camera had not been replaced, so no photos of the crime are available to police, making it unlikely that the idiots that did this will ever be caught.

A "blues benefit" has been organized for September 7, 2008 at the Milwaukee Ale House in Milwaukee WI to help raise funds for the band to buy some new gear. Moss and the Flip Tops will perform, of course, along with friends like Rev. Raven & the Chain Smokin' Alter Boys, Perry Weber & the DeVilles, Billy Flynn, Jim Liban, and other special guests.

We have a list of the equipment that was stolen from Moss and the Flip Tops [PDF link here]. Anybody that has any information about this crime is urged to contact Moss either through the artist's website or through Blue Bella Records.

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops @ Buddy Guy's Legends Club, 2007

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops @ The Kalamazoo Blues Festival, 2007

Frankie Miller - Scotland's Finest!

2008-07-31T17:25:00.002-04:00

Frankie Miller isn't very well-known stateside, but dammit, he should be! First of all, don't confuse the rock world's Frankie Miller with the country singer of the same name that recorded in the '50s and '60s. This Miller, born in Glasgow, Scotland, plied his trade during the 1970s and into the early-80s.

Scotland's Miller came up through the British pub rock scene during the early part of the decade. What could have been a big break – after leaving Procol Harum, Robin Trower picked Miller as the vocalist for his new band Jude – became a bust when Jude proved to be a non-starter. Miller often performed with fellow pub-rockers Brinsley Schwarz, and used them as his backing band when he recorded his 1972 debut album, Once In A Blue Moon. The album is still considered one of his best, showcasing Miller's extravagant pipes and a radical (at the time) mix of rock, blues-rock, R&B, and the sort of roots-country that Brinsley Schwarz was known for at the time.

Miller travelled from the U.K. to New Orleans to record his sophomore album with soul giant Allen Toussaint. Released in '73, High Life was an incredible accomplishment, Miller's vocals melding perfectly with the band that producer/musician Toussant put together for the sessions. I became familiar with Miller through his third album, 1975's The Rock, which made its way to Tennessee somehow, and landed on my turntable. Miller's third album, The Rock showed an artist in full control of his abilities, and songs like "A Fool In Love," "Ain't Got No Money," and the shambling "Drunken Nights In The City" provided this listener with a healthy dose of blue-eyed soul that was largely missing from mid-70s rock & roll.

A couple of years later, Miller would release my favorite album of his, 1977's Full House. A full-blown fury of reckless soul and bluesy rock, the album yielded great performances on tunes like "Be Good To Yourself," "Down The Honky Tonk" and "(I'll Never) Live In Vain." Miller's tearful cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" is simply brilliant, covering the song with a blanket of emotion. The album barely scraped onto the American charts, though, rising as far as #124 on the Billboard Top 200; sadly, Full House would be the best-selling of the three Miller albums that would chart in the U.S.

Double Trouble, from 1978, and 1979's Falling In Love (released as Perfect Fit in the U.S.) brought Miller a couple of hits in the U.K. but resulted in nothing but further obscurity on this side of the pond. Easy Money, from 1980, was recorded in Nashville while 1982's Standing On The Edge was mostly recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Dancing In The Rain, from 1986, would prove to be Miller's last studio recording for nearly 20 years, until the 2006 release of Long Way Home.

Tragically, a brain hemorrhage in 1994 almost took Miller's life, and the singer remained in a coma for five months and spent a total of 15 months in the hospital. He gradually got well enough to begin writing songs again, and his unique lyrical vision provided hits for artists like Bob Seger and the Bellamy Brothers. Frankie Miller's songwriting talents cut across artificial genre lines, and have been recorded by Johnny Cash, the Eagles, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, and Roy Orbison, among others.

As for Miller's lack of commercial success in the U.S., well, even his most rabid fans would admit that his albums were often a perfectly-balanced mix of the brightly shining and the less-than-perfect. Much of his late-70s and, in my mind, all three of his '80s-era albums suffered from average production, and even his best work tended to have a clunker or two thrown in among the many-faceted gems. Miller never seemed to receive the promotional push of some of his peers, and that might be because of the timeless (i.e. not trendy) nature of his music.

Still, there's a lot of heart-and-soul in Miller's work, and most of Frankie's early catalog, including the essential Full House and The Rock, have recently been digitally remastered and reissued, with some of the albums featuring bonus tracks. In the meantime, check out these very cool live videos that feature Miller doing what he does best – sing!

(Click on the CD covers to buy The Rock and/or Full House from Amazon.com)

Frankie Miller - "Be Good To Yourself"

Frankie Miller - "I'd Lie To You For Your Love"

Frankie Miller - "Ain't Got No Money"

Frankie Miller (w/Rory Gallagher) - "Walking The Dog"

(How cool is this video? One of my favorite rock & roll vocalists performing with one of my favorite blues-rock guitarists in the late, great Rory Gallagher. Yippie!!!)

Random Thoughts on Dire Straits

2008-07-31T07:42:00.002-04:00

Memories are often attached to music, usually a specific song or performance by a favorite band. Music – the best music, in my mind – can trigger that memory just by hearing it again, even decades after the connection was first formed.

I have always had mixed feelings about Dire Straits. The band's breakthrough hit, "Sultans Of Swing," from their self-titled 1978 debut album, was catchy enough, and frontman Mark Knopfler's post-punk, pub-rock amalgam was supported by his fluid guitar tones. Still, the band's first couple of albums just didn't knock me out. They were awkward, clunky, and stylistically stood between eras...I was much happier listening to the Clash.

Then came 1980's Making Movies, the band's third album, and still their best in my humble opinion, though not their biggest commercial success. The album's first side – remember, this was back in the glorious days of vinyl – with songs like "Tunnel Of Love," "Romeo & Juliet" and "Skateaway," was better than most band's entire albums. With MTV right around the corner, a video for "Skateaway," if I remember correctly, received heavy airplay.

For me, "Romeo & Juliet" became connected to a too-brief romance with a girl that broke-up with me to go back to her abusive ex-husband. They stayed together a few months, until his teenaged and very pregnant girlfriend showed up at their door. Whenever I hear the song, I think of that girl....

The band cranked out another couple of albums before 1985's Brothers In Arms blew the doors off the joint. With MTV firmly entrenched in popular culture (back when they actually played music videos), Dire Straits delivered the perfect namecheck with "Money For Nothing." On the basis of the video for the song, "Money For Nothing" became wildly popular, but it was just another Dire Straits song that I could take or leave. From the same album, I found "Walk Of Live" and "So Far Away" to be much more impressive.

It was the title song that I would latch on to the strongest, however, "Brothers In Arms" being used in a particularly strong episode of Miami Vice. Sure, it sounds stupid when you read it like that, but in reality Miami Vice was one of the first television programs to use music as more than a soundtrack throwaway. Creator Michael Mann understood the power of music as an appeal to emotion, and that episode's use of "Brothers In Arms" has stuck with me for better than 20 years.

Thus, for your viewing/listening enjoyment, live video clips of two of my five favorite Dire Straits songs....

Dire Straits - "Romeo & Juliet"

Dire Straits - "Brothers In Arms"

(Click on the CD covers to buy Making Movies or Brothers In Arms from Amazon.com)

Remembering Sean Costello (1979-2008)

2008-04-16T19:29:00.006-04:00

Blues guitarist Sean Costello died yesterday, one day short of his 29th birthday. The talented fretburner and singer had recently released his critically-acclaimed fifth album, We Can Get Together, and was touring heavily in support of the album. No cause of death has been determined yet. Fans are leaving messages on Costello's MySpace page.

You can read the Reverend's review of We Can Get Together on the About.com Blues website. A phenomenal talent, Costello's death is a tragic loss for the music community. He is best remembered through the magical music that he created, some of which you'll find below.

Sean Costello - "Love Is Amazing"

Sean Costello - "Double Trouble" (live)

Sean Costello - "Hard Luck Woman" (live)

Sean Costello - "Hucklebuck" (live)

A New Look At Springsteen's Youngstown

2008-02-15T06:51:00.001-05:00

One of my all-time favorite Bruce Springsteen songs is "Youngstown," taken from the vastly underrated 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. The most overtly political statement of Springsteen's lengthy canon of works, the album's diverse lyrical themes are drawn from then-current events, the songwriter suggesting that amidst the so-called prosperity of the Clinton years, that something was rotten beneath the surface. A new working class was created by poorly-paid immigrants while factory jobs that once offered a comfortable living wage were being exported to Third World countries, with American workers at the whim of the Clinton-signed NAFTA act. A once-stable American middle class was forced to scramble for the economic security that once seemed to be its birthright as the financial chasm between blue collar and boardroom grew ever wider....

"Youngstown" is a quietly elegant song, powerful in its emotion and pointed in its criticism of the economic forces that gutted the once-proud steel-manufacturing region of western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio. This video collage is magnificent, capturing the spirit of the song while presenting Springsteen's stark lyrics in all of their potent simplicity, matching the words with indelible images. It's a message we should take to heart as another Clinton runs for the Presidency after eight disastrous years of the Bush administration.

Bruce Springsteen - "Youngstown"

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Ghost Of Tom Joad from Amazon.com)

Take A Good Look At The Fleshtones!

2008-02-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

For over three decades, the Fleshtones have cranked out their own unique blend of what they call "super rock," a high-energy, octane-rich brew of '60s-styled garage rock, rockabilly, early R&B and retro-roots music with raucous riffs and screaming Farfisa organ. Fronted by vocalist/keyboardist Peter Zaremba and guitarist Keith Streng since 1976, the New York City rockers have stayed true to their original musical vision, from the band's 1980 debut album Roman Gods, all the way up to the band's latest opus, Take A Good Look! (Yep Roc Records).

Along the way, the Fleshtones have had a fair amount of their history documented through the medium of music video, perhaps the next best thing to actually attending one of the band's legendary out-of-control live performances. We have a fine collection of suitably rockin' Fleshtones vids to offer, beginning with the their very first, a psychedelic-colored reading of the band's classic "Soul City." The performance of "Shadowline," from 1980, is taken from the "new wave" concert film Urgh! A Music War and was shot at the legendary CBGB club in NYC's notorious Bowery district. The 1984 video for "American Beat 84" received a modicum of airplay on MTV; the song was recorded for the film Bachelor Party and the video includes scenes from the movie interlaced with the band's performance.

Jumping to the '90s, we found an incredible video for "Take A Walk With The Fleshtones," taken from a French TV show sometime around 1993. Also from the grunge decade, here's a video for an exciting studio performance of "Accelerated Emotion," also from French television. There's almost a minute-and-a-half of of intro/discussion before the band kicks in, but it's well worth the wait! Finally, a performance of "Hard Lovin' Man" captured live in Chicago in 2007.

For more Fleshtones' videos and commentary on each from Streng and Zaremba, check out the band's fascinating Yep Roc video chronology. If you're already a Fleshtones fanatic, you should pick up a copy of Joe Bonomo's most excellent tome, Sweat: The Story of the Fleshtones, America's Garage Band, available from Amazon.com through the book cover link to your right. Enjoy!

The Fleshtones - "Soul City"

The Fleshtones - "Shadowline"

The Fleshtones - "American Beat 84"

The Fleshtones - "Take A Walk With The Fleshtones"

The Fleshtones - "Accelerated Emotion"

The Fleshtones - "Hard Lovin' Man"

(Click on the covers to buy Take A Good Look! or Sweat from Amazon.com)

The Jesus of Cool returns!

2008-01-22T17:58:00.000-05:00

A member of seminal early-70s pub-rock pioneers Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe earned a reputation as a snappy songwriter with a skill for turning a phrase. That band’s roots-rock sound never caught on far beyond the streets of London and Camden Town, however, and Brinsley Schwarz broke up in 1975 after recording five now highly-collectible albums. After working in the studio as a producer for Graham Parker, Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello and the Damned, Lowe toured the U.S. as part of Dave Edmunds' band, opening for Bad Company. Lowe launched his solo career in 1978 with the release of Jesus Of Cool, a whip-smart collection of pop-rock gems that welded contagious melodies with Lowe’s often-demented lyrical tales.

Because the album’s original British title was considered too “edgy” and controversial for the United States, Lowe’s debut album was released stateside under the title Pure Pop For Now People with different sequencing and songs. Under either title, the album won no little amount of critical acclaim; during the 30 years since Lowe has forged a lengthy and varied solo career that has resulted in a dozen studio albums and several hit songs. Long out-of-print, the original Jesus Of Cool album is being reissued on CD and limited edition vinyl on February 19th by Yep Roc Records. This thirtieth anniversary edition will include every song from both versions of the original album, as well as seven B-side and rare bonus tracks (including the original version of Lowe’s “Cruel To Be Kind” from his sophomore album).

One of the influential and defining albums of ‘80s-era “new wave” rock, Lowe’s Jesus Of Cool is a definite “must have” disc for any fan of intelligent power-pop, retro-sound fiends and those who have followed Lowe’s varied career from the beginning. To celebrate the return of one of rock's best albums, we decided to have us a little "Nick Lowe celebration" courtesy of YouTube. "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass" is a great tune from Lowe's Jesus Of Cool album. We have two different tracks from Lowe's collaboration with Edmunds in the band Rockpile, including the very cool tune "So It Goes." Finally, we have a pair of versions of Lowe's classic song "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding," the first performed by Lowe with his own backing band, the second video from some sort of TV special that features Lowe swapping verses with Elvis Costello and a scorching guitar performance by the legendary James Burton. Enjoy!

Nick Lowe "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass"

Nick Lowe w/Dave Edmunds "They Called It Rock"

Nick Lowe w/Dave Edmunds "So It Goes"

Nick Lowe "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding"

Nick Lowe w/Elvis Costello "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding"

(Click on the CD cover to buy Jesus Of Cool from Amazon.com)

M.I.A. - Paper Plane

2007-12-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

Further proof that MTV has very little to do with real music, it came out over the weekend that the cable network censored the video for the song "Paper Planes" by British artist M.I.A. (Maya Arulpragasam), the third single released from her new album Kala. Built around a sample of the Clash's classic "Straight To Hell," M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" intersperses a shotgun blast with cash register bells in a very catchy sing-song double-dutch chorus. I'm not quite sure what "Paper Planes" is about (consumerism=violence? a critique of capitalism?), but the song and its accompanying video are both quite entertaining, the sound a mix of hip-hop style vocals and Worldbeat rhythms, with a hint of punkish aggression in the grooves. Besides, the Sri Lanka-born and London-raised Arulpragasam is quite fetching; if her radical roots and political leanings didn't scare the hell out of U.S. media execs, she could be a big star stateside.

Tom Briehan of the Village Voice points out the apparent double-standard when it comes to broadcasting videos on MTV and BET, that rappers are held to a different set of rules than are white rock bands (and, unfortunately, the U.S. corporate media seems to have pigeonholed M.I.A. as a rap artist although she is, really, so much more). Any overt reference to drugs, sex or violence is scrubbed from rap videos by bleeping or silencing the "offensive" language while rock bands can figuratively get away with murder in their videos. As rapper 50 Cent recently pointed out, the "music television" network changed the name of his song "I'll Still Kill" to "I Still Will" while they have no problem playing a song by the band the Killers. M.I.A., in a blog that appeared over the past weekend on her MySpace page (and since pulled?), called MTV's move "sabotage." Her performance of the song on Letterman's TV show was also censored...so is "Paper Planes" a dangerously subversive song or not? Somehow, I think that Joe Strummer would be pleased....

M.I.A. "Paper Planes" (2007)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Kala from Amazon.com)

One For The Old Folks...

2007-12-06T11:39:00.000-05:00

When the Reverend was a wee lad, tooling around rural Williamson County in his pimped-out '73 Satellite Sebring Plus (i.e. the car had lots of chrome and an eight-track tape player), Dutch band Focus ruled the airwaves with its bizarro tune "Hocus Pocus." From the band's 1971 album Moving Waves, the song still received significant AOR airplay through the mid-to-late-70s. I think that radio deejays just enjoyed announcing "Hocus Pocus by Focus," and then running off to take a bathroom break (since the song ran six-minutes and change). Whenever this jam came on the car radio, though, it was a sign to kick it into high gear and roll down Berry's Chapel or Old Hillsboro Road at high speeds to keep pace with the music.

Although Focus is known only for "Hocus Pocus" in America, the band remained popular in Europe long after the novelty had worn off stateside, disbanding at the break of the '80s and later reforming in 1990 for a Dutch television special. Focus has recorded new material as recently as last year (the New Skin album). Fronted by vocalist/keyboardist Thijs van Leer - notable for his yelping vocals and outrageous yodeling - and featuring extraordinary guitarist Jan Akkerman, the original Focus band was ostensibly a prog-rock outfit that gradually outgrew the stylistic straitjacket of the genre and incorporated elements of jazz, pop and classical music in their maddening mix.

This video clip offers a glimpse of vintage Focus, performing on what appears to be a television show. Van Leer's vocals and facial expressions are so OTT as to be hilariously absurd, but there's no denying the underlying musical talent displayed by the band. So, without further adieu, I give you "Hocus Pocus by Focus"! (Thanks to buddy Steve M. for the video link)

Focus "Hocus Pocus" (1973)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Hocus Pocus: The Best Of Focus from Amazon.com)

Nashville's Brightest, Vol. 1

2007-11-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

Nashville rocker Jonathan Bright has been kicking around the Music City for damn near 20 years now, both as a member of beloved local bands like Swing and Vagantis and, more recently, as a solo artist kicking out some great tunes. Jonathan pursues a genuine '70s-styled BIG rock sound with lots of guitars and riffs like Van Halen and fat melodies like Cheap Trick, i.e. he's not ashamed to play guitar-driven hard rock the way that it was meant to be played, with intelligent lyrics and solid strong structure.

Bright's six-song EP Radio Free Tennessee kicks off with the twisted rocker "Tweaking The Fine Tune" (see video below) and rapidly runs through five other unabashedly rocking songs like "Shine," "Turn Me On" and "Paralyzed." Jonathan has been doing some very cool things with video these days, as well, including this tantalizing clip for his version of Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" (I love the "audience" sitting on the couch in the basement) that's "based on a true story," and this hilarious clip for "The ABC Song" displays Bright's wit and humor and is about as twangy as you'll hear him get.

Jonathan's new band, Defense Wins Championships, rocks even harder than his solo stuff, if that's possible, mixing highly-amped six-string riffage with prog-styled instrumental flights of fancy to achieve a truly HEAVY throwback sound. This video for "Counting" by the newly-minted band reminds me a lot of the underrated music that was released from 1968-1972, a blues-based garage-rock derivative that incorporates elements of psychedelica and the proto-metal aesthetic that was being defined by bands like Dust, Buffalo and Sir Lord Baltimore.

Check out Jonathan Bright for yourself and I think that you'll agree that this rock & roll talent is one of "Nashville's Brightest" (no pun intended)....

Jonathan Bright "Tweaking The Fine Tune"

Jonathan Bright "Hot For Teacher"

Jonathan Bright "The ABC Song"

Defense Wins Championships "Counting"

Click on the CD cover to buy a copy of Radio Free Tennessee from CD Baby

It's a Weird Al celebration!

2007-10-25T16:11:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was "Weird Al" Yankovic's 48th birthday, so we thought that we'd fozz it up a bit and celebrate! "Weird Al" has always been one of my favorite comedians (behind George Carlin and Bill Hicks), and he's probably the most successful musical satirist that's ever tweaked our cultural idiocy (sorry, Tom Lehrer). For almost 30 years now, Yankovic has tickled our funnybone and made us think. Although his original songs are usually pretty funny and touch upon the human condition with no little amount of insight, others are cutting-edge topical – "Don't Download This Song," for instance, is a typically astute "Weird Al" commentary on the Internet piracy, the joke being, of course, that you had to download the song from Al's web site to hear it.

"Weird Al" has always been at his best, however, when he parodies other artist's songs. With his finger on the pulse of popular music and an eye on the Billboard charts, Yankovic has lampooned some of the biggest stars of the day, including Madonna ("Like A Surgeon"), Michael Jackson ("Eat It"), Joan Jett ("I Love Rocky Road"), James Brown ("Living With A Hernia"), Queen, the Knack, Green Day and many others, as well as other flotsam and jetsam of pop culture like the Star Wars films and television. Straight Outta Lynwood, Yankovic's latest album, offers the usual mix of comedy and satire, including the musical mimicry of "White And Nerdy," "Canadian Idiot," "Don't Download This Song" and the title track.

In celebration of the birthday of Mr. Alfred Matthew Yankovic, here is a hand-picked batch of six of the Reverend's favorite "Weird Al" music videos:

"Dare To Be Stupid" (an homage to Devo)

"Don't Download This Song"

"Amish Paradise" (Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise")

"Smells Like Nirvana" (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit")

"It's All About The Pentiums" (Puff Daddy's "It's All About The Benjamins")

"White & Nerdy"

(Click on the CD cover to buy Straight Outta Lynwood from Amazon.com)

Pat Bacon's Rebellion - Harley Girl

2007-10-24T17:17:00.000-04:00

A talented singer/songwriter with a flair for positive tales of hard work, high-flying dreams and the power of rock & roll to save your soul, Minnesota's Pat Bacon walks proudly on the working class side of roots-rock. Let's Live Forever, Bacon's third album and his first with the equally impressive backing band Pat Bacon's Rebellion, is a magical collection of uplifting songs and transcendent performances. The song "Harley Girl" is from an earlier Bacon album, but the song does a wonderful job of displaying the sincerity and empathy that comes embedded in his work, nonetheless. This video clip, courtesy of Bacon's web site, offers a solid live performance of this wonderful ballad.

Review of Let's Live Forever from Trademark Of Quality blog
(Click on the CD cover to buy Let's Live Forever from CD Baby)

J Church - My Favorite Place (live)

2007-10-22T15:54:00.000-04:00

Punk rock icon Lance Hahn of the band J Church passed away on Sunday, October 21st after a lengthy battle with kidney disease. A singer, songwriter, journalist and record label owner, Hahn was beloved by the international punk rock community and will be missed. At the time of his death, Hahn had nearly completed a book on anarchist punk bands, and J Church released its first album in four years, The Horror Of Life, in April.

You'll find my obituary [link] for Hahn at the Ryan Adams Sucks blog. In the meantime, enjoy this live J Church video clip that was captured by a fan of the band.

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Horror Of Life from Amazon.com)

Pete Berwick - Hello Hand

2007-10-15T18:47:00.001-04:00

Pete Berwick is a talented roots-rock singer/songwriter with a great new album in Ain't No Train Outta Nashville [see CD review] that has received uniformly positive reviews and charted highly on XM Satellite Radio's "X Country" charts. Every now and then, however, even a serious songwriter has to have a little fun, as shown by this video for Berwick's hilarious "Hello Hand." Sure, other artists have created songs with double-entendre lyrics, but few have done it with the wit, humor and cleverness that Berwick pulls off with "Hello Hand."

(Click on the CD cover to buy Ain't No Train Outta Nashville from CD Baby)

Paramore - Crushcrushcrush

2007-10-15T13:21:00.000-04:00

Nashville's Kings Of Leon might have the European audience, and the Pink Spiders may have captured the little girl's hearts, but I'd put my money on Paramore to be the biggest-breaking band from the Music City.

This video for the Paramore song "Crushcrushcrush" from the band's recent album Riot! showcases all of the band's talents: an undeniably catchy melodic pop-punk attack, Hayley Williams' passionate vocals and her heartbreak ache lyrics that appeal to the band's teen audience.

(Click on the CD cover to buy Riot! from Amazon.com)

Mel Gibson's Iraq

2007-10-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

It popped up in my email, unexpectedly, as these things often do...

"This week the UK prime minister Tony Blair stood down and to celebrate the fact we might see a little less of his grinning, murderous face, we at Pandaz Pop are giving out this preview of the video to the forthcoming double A-side single from Plans & Apologies."

British band Plans & Apologies have recorded a hilarious song titled "Mel Gibson's Iraq," which the good folks at Pandaz Pop Records were nice enough to share with Trademark of Quality readers. The song will be issued on 7" vinyl on September 17th, backed with the song "Meetoo," and is currently available for pre-ordering through the Pandaz Pop web site.

Strangely enough, the "Meetoo" side will be released by Exercise1 Records, and the single will feature different artwork on each side. This is the first time in the Reverend's admittedly feeble memory that two different record companies have released songs on the same disc, but what do I know? Check out the video and/or download an mp3 of "Mel Gibson's Iraq" through the link below. Both songs will be available on iTunes in September as well.

Plans & Apologies "Mel Gibson's Iraq" [mp3 link]