Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Press Release BOSTON ROCK AND ROLL ANTHOLOGY CHAPTER #21

12:39 pm July 28, 2020

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Boston Rock & Roll Anthology Chapter #21

This is the first of our thirty compilation albums where every artist on the disc and their music have been promoted by my media company.  It is a free service for musicians who give me the honor of representing their music to radio, print and online publications as well as critics and DJs spanning the globe.   It is truly "double exposure" as the songs that we have been working find themselves on a fixed medium, inside a booklet, with the advance knowledge that this music has already been played on multiple terrestrial and online radio stations.


Yes, many of these artists have been on the rock and roll highways with me for two, three or four decades.  As publicist for Club Bohemia @ the Cantab the weekly postings keep me apprised of who is out there in the trenches working to entertain. It's been twenty-three years since Boston Rock & Roll Anthology Vol #20 so my one regret as that I didn't keep this up on an annual basis.  Let's plan to do that now!
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Greg Walsh's New Ghosts feature the drummer from Pop Gun and Huck 2.   Huck 2 worked with me in the 1990s and Pop Gun appeared with my band at the C Note when we played the past eight or so years for Michael Weddle's Rat Reunions.

Phil DaRosa met me out in Springfield when Jimmy Miller's daughter, Deena, performed with Maxine Nightingale at the Big "E" - it was many years ago and Phil's "Faraday" is remarkable, inspired and quite different from the music that he performs live.

Kitoto Sunshine Love is the daughter of our good friend Bobby Hebb (his birthday July 26, just yesterday.)  Bobby released a disco song about his roots, "Proud Soul Heritage," and Kitoto performs it with a blues/Gospel feel, yours truly producing. On drums is the amazing Steve Holley from Elton John/McCartney - Wings/Ian Hunter-Mott the Hoople, Thomas Hebb - Bobby's nephew, and the wonderful choir!

Kitoto's second track, "Love You," features Peter Calo (Carly Simon's music director) who is actually performing "Love You" in his live sets; the late David Maxwell on piano in what might have been one of his final sessions and I only wish Bobby could hear his daughter singing these amazing songs in such a touching way.

Heidi Jo Hines and Nicola Barchiesi are Karma Car.  Heidi is the daughter of the late Jo Jo Laine and Wings' guitarist Denny Laine. Their two songs are unique and expressive with Beatles' flavors the frosting on the cake.  Which is why I put "Downtime" by the Complaints next to "As It Is," listen to the Beatles influences on Dean Petrella - though the song is still distinctive and original.

Michele Gear Cole wrote "Guardian Angel" for her dad and it has hooks galore and her amazing vocal.  Michele worked with Jimmy Miller in the 1980s and has the distinction of bringing both Marvin Hagler and Miller onstage during a packed and stunning show at the Paradise Theater.  Billy and Michele have that show on tape!  And got Jimmy to sing "Gimme Shelter" with them at Syncro Sound, the Cars studio on Newbury St.

Around that time Jimmy brought me to a Keith Richards session in New York.   Keith said "Joe, you have to meet Rob Fraboni."
Working for Rob it was my honor to promote Alvin Lee featuring George Harrison and Jon Lord of Deep Purple for the CD ZOOM featuring "Real Life Blues."  Rob has remastered the Bob Marley collection, has a Grammy with Keith for a Hank Williams tribute, and engineered Goats Head Soup with Jimmy Miller while co-producing Bridges to Babylon.

Rob spent enormous hours mastering this album over the past four days.  It shows!   I love every track. From 3d, who debuted on Boston RR Anthology #8 back in the 1980s to Fire in the Field and Empty County Band who met me at Club Bohemia, these artists are very special to me, and their music is  - at some points - overwhelmingly beautiful.

My dear friend Pamela Ruby Russell came out to the Middle East June 1, 2019 and met Andy Pratt (who was amazing with Mach Bell on drums and Larry Newman on bass.)   Andy introduced Pamela to Mario Gil who worked with Pamela on "Space And Time." It and "Walk Thru Fire" (from her Highway of Dreams album) bring a texture to the album that complements the other artists. Peter Calo co-produced Highway of Dreams.

Dalia Davis has been making a splash on Lowbudget Records with her Dylan tribute to "My Back Pages" and her very creative "Beatles Bridges," which is a mix of bridges of Beatles songs. [Have you noticed yet our affinity for the Stones and the Fab Four?] I asked Dalia for the folk track, "Eleven and a Half," as it rounds the album out nicely, though her "Power of One" is starting to get attention at online radio.

Tom Mich's "Table Scraps" is uniquely different and creative - I adore it - and not because he was guitar tech for Terry Kath, the late guitarist of the band Chicago, or the fact that he was my roommate at the dawn of the 1980s.   Matt O'Connor's "Ballad of a Rock Star" is a take-off, he tells me, on an unpublished song of mine, "Are You a Rock Star Yet?"  Like Mich, Matty O lived with me too, and that we're all still speaking speaks volumes, does it not?  Love the "Sympathy for the Devil" vocals in Rock Star!

Legendary Kenne Highland of The Gizmos is also a long-time guitarist with yours truly.  He's also in Mad Painter, a Club Bohemia band for sure, but it was Kenne who introduced me to Alex Gitlin.   They have Mott the Hoople influences and since our album has Steve Holley from Mott the Hoople AND Wings, well, you can see we are writing like our heroes AND appearing on CDs with them.

Joe Black has been working with me since the 1980s, like many on this disc.  "Blackenstein" (instrumental) may be the ultimate of many Joe Black songs, and features Artie Knyff of L-88, the band I got to book into the Worcester Centrum with Blue Oyster Cult all those years ago.

When our good friend Little Joe Cook was checking out Scott Couper at the Cantab he didn't know that Scott and his brother Jay worked with me for years.  They also backed up Denny Laine on tour.  Well, recently I couldn't find a master tape of mine from 1979 that was missing from the Varulven inventory.  Lo and behold Jay and Scott shipped me 8 or 9 DVDs with about EIGHT HOURS of Count music...live shows and many, many unreleased tunes.  It had the 1979 track, don't know how they got ahold of it but they did! And thank the good Lord, the missing tape is retrieved.   "I Thought About You" here on this album is a track from my soon-to-be released Secret Things album that Jay produced and Scott arranged.  They are brilliant. And when Little Joe left the Cantab the brothers became the house band for quite some time.

This is a very special album, and to be with all my friends on this disc is an ultimate party on plastic!

Special thanks to Kenny Selcer for post production and assembling.  His resume' is amazing doing sound for Magic Dick, Aztec Two Step, Eric Andersen and performing in a duo with Steve Gilligan of Fox Pass and The Stompers. We are all one big family and if you listen to this album two or three times you'll understand why the Boston music community is one of the greatest in the world. The previous anthologies are fetching nice prices on eBay...you have the privilege of hearing the future right now.

Onward

Joe Viglione
Producer, Creator The Boston Rock & Roll Anthology Series
P.O. Box 2392, Woburn, MA 01888   tel 617 899 5926
Demodeal @ yahoo.com

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THE HISTORY OF BOSTON ROCK AND ROLL ON FIXED MEDIA

The Boston Rock & Roll Anthology Series started in 1983 with the first Anthology rolling off the truck and Producer Jimmy Miller marveling at a compilation of area music.  "What a great idea" Jimmy said as I cracked open the first box and showed him  Volume 1 before anyone else in the world!

In 1979 we started off with The Boston Bootleg and 1981 The Boston Bootleg 2 which featured the beautiful legs of my graphic artist, Billie Perry. Chapter #20 arrived in 1997 with four volumes of the Demo That Got The Deal (TM) radio show continuing the legacy, Chapter 4 in 2014.

In between we had the U.S. Anthology #1, the Boston Jazz Anthology and the Mass Metal album.

This will be our THIRTIETH COMPILATION of local music with many more to come. The CD comes with a booklet, the story of the anthology series and information on each track with the music in the back of the booklet. Produced and directed by Joe Viglione, Varulven Records P.O. Box 2392, Woburn MA 01888 Co-sequencing and assembling: Kenny Selcer. Mastered by Rob Fraboni.

https://www.mixcloud.com/joe-viglione/boston-rock-roll-anthology-chapter-21-on-the-joe-vig-pop-explosion-radio-show/

1 Everything But Peace - 3D        3:41
2 Space And Time - Pamela Ruby Russell        4:28
3 As It Is Karma Car        4:58
4 Downtime-The Complaints        4:36
5 Faraday - Phil daRosa         5:56
6 Proud Soul Heritage - Kitoto Sunshine Love        3:44
7 Guardian Angel - Slapback Band        4:37
8 Until The End - Empty County Band        4:09
9 Blackenstein-Joe Black        4:24
10 Table Scraps-Tom Mich Jr.        2:59
11 Counting Down to Zero (From 1) - Greg Walsh's New Ghosts 3:19
12 The Letter - Mad Painter        2:55
13 Monster-Joe Black        4:18
14 Skeptical - Empty County Band        2:54
15 Walk Thru Fire - Pamela Ruby Russell        4:27
16 Love You - Kitoto Sunshine Love        2:45            
17 Who's Foolin' Who - Karman Car        3:24
18 I Thought About You-Joe Viglione        2:43
19 Eleven and a Half - Dalia Davis        2:52
20)Bossman    Fire in the Field
21)Ballad of a Rock Star - Matty O        2:23





July 29, 2020 @ 12:56 am
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July 28, 2020 around 3 pm
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Saturday, July 25, 2020

Hotline to the Underground 7:38 pm July 25, 2020

7:38 pm July 25, 2020
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read the updated Hotline here:
BOBBY HEBB WOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHTY TWO YEARS OLD 7-26-2020
PLAY SUNNY TODAY FOR BOBBY
Join Bobby's SUNNY Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760612917508950/
 

Boston.com Different Story on Cantab from Boston Globe

5:44 pm July 25, 2020
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10:54 am
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The Cantab Lounge, a Central Square bar and music venue, is up for sale



  

https://clubbohemianews.blogspot.com/2020/07/bostoncom-different-story-on-cantab.html

 
Beaubien was referring to the announcement that The Cantab Lounge, a Cambridge stalwart, was up for sale. Mickey Bliss, owner of Club Bohemia at the Cantab, confirmed the news on Monday.

 

 “We want to thank everyone for all the support over the years, we wish you well, and we will keep the Bohemia website open,” Bliss shared in a statement. “Please send us your ideas as how we can continue to keep promoting artists during this COVID-19. And we’ll see what happens.”

 

The longtime venue was a bluegrass haven and home to Boston Poetry Slam.


In addition to being a neighborhood watering hole that opened its doors at 8 a.m. on most days, the Cantab hosted countless musical acts, both on the upstairs stage and at Club Bohemia, located downstairs. Longtime residents The Chicken Slacks played soul and funk at The Cantab every Thursday, while guests who stopped by on Tuesdays were treated to a talented lineup of bluegrass musicians. Boston Poetry Slam met downstairs every Wednesday; the group, now without a home, is on hiatus.
“Our bar is closed, and closing, but our community remains whole,” Beaubien wrote. “So, of course, the Boston Poetry Slam is not the Cantab Lounge: and yet, you know it also always will be. The bar hosted the weekly show longer than most of our current regulars have walked this earth, and the name is nationally synonymous with the scene, community, and sound that have come from the stage over the years.” 

Friday, July 24, 2020

Bluegrass Today - Cantab Lounge



Boston’s Cantab Lounge to be sold – longtime home for bluegrass

https://bluegrasstoday.com/bostons-cantab-lounge-to-be-sold-longtime-home-for-bluegrass/

A pall has fallen over the bluegrass and acoustic music community its in Boston over the news that the Cantab Lounge, the region’s home for bluegrass shows and jams for many years, is to be sold.
The popular night spot, located on Mass Ave in Cambridge, MA near the MIT campus, housed two music clubs in one. The Cantab was upstairs, and the Club Bohemia down, with shows going six nights a week with live music, jam sessions, pickin’ parties, and the Boston Poetry Slam. Always a familiar hang out for the area’s grassers, it also served as a beacon for the many young acoustic musicians who studied in the city’s many music colleges.
Mile Twelve, a hot bluegrass band touring all over the world, met there during the jam nights, and consider it their home spot in town. Every major bluegrass artist in the northeast has played the club at one time, and many acts from outside as well.
Word is that The Cantab, which has been shut down since mid-March, has hopes of reopening in a new location as soon as live music returns, but one never knows if the magic will be the same. Lots of bluegrass memories were made in this admitted dive bar, and lots of fine music was shared.
Tony Watt, an area native and well-known instructor now working with Alan Bibey & Grasstowne on guitar, tells us that it was an important piece of him being involved in bluegrass.
“I started going every week when I graduated from Georgia Tech in 1999, and my dad, Steve Watt, has been the de facto house band leader for most of the past 25 plus years. I attended almost every week from 1999 until I moved to Johnson City in 2002, and then I started attending again when I moved back to Cambridge in late 2008. I hosted a weekly jam there (as part of the bluegrass Tuesday night line-up) for roughly two years from 2017 until 2019.
Many bluegrass musicians ‘cut their teeth’ at the Cantab, including current and former members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Crooked Still, Della Mae, The Gibson Brothers, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Joy Kills Sorrow, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Town Mountain, The Deadly Gentlemen, Tim O’Brien’s band, Mile Twelve, The Lonely Heartstrings Band, and many more.”
Today this message was shared on The Cantab Lounge Facebook page from Mickey Bliss:
“We are sad to announce that the Cantab Lounge is being sold. After the C-Note this is yet another club is a victim of COVID-19. We want to thank everyone for all the support over the years, we wish you well, and we will keep the Bohemia website open. Please send us your ideas as how we can continue to keep promoting artists during this COVID-19. And we’ll see what happens.”
Geoff Bartley, who has hosted an open mic night there for some time, shared this…
“Yes… it’s sad but true… our home-away-from-home… our song-swapping soiree… our fiddle tune temple… that sweet little joint everybody knew… the mighty, ever-burning Cantab… is being sold. I know nothing about the new owners’ plans, but think it highly unlikely that they include reopening the ancient and funky Cantab the way it is.
The virus will have to die down before we start up again in a new place, and that could take two or three more years. But do not be discouraged! My associates and I will be plunging valiantly ahead, scoping out potential venues and processing input and feedback from you.
So be patient! Don’t let yourself be hospitalized for withdrawal symptoms! Don’t lose your chops! Keep singing! Keep learning new songs! Don’t sell your mandolin! Don’t move to Nashville or Austin! Keep writing! Don’t let your calluses get soft!
We Shall Rise Again!”
It’s the end of an era for Boston bluegrass.

https://bluegrasstoday.com/bostons-cantab-lounge-to-be-sold-longtime-home-for-bluegrass/


About the Author

John Lawless
John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.

Hotline to the Underground July 24, 2020 Rob Zicaro, Council Band, Jack Phillips, Paul Tait




In no particular order ...yet...

HELLO THERE BIG BOY
DANNY KIRWAN OF FLEETWOOD MAC


AllMusic Review by  [-]

Hear the album here: https://youtu.be/0pwHWM8QYW4

This is not just a tremendous album by Danny Kirwan, this is an extraordinary set of recordings that makes one wonder "what if?" What if Fleetwood Mac had talents like Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Dave Walker, and Bob Welch come back to the fold for different projects? This is light pop on a mission, and it is perfectly produced by, of all people, Clifford Davis (though one should consider Kirwan's excellent production work on The Legendary Christine Perfect Album and wonder if the manager wasn't just putting his name on Kirwan's creative ideas). There's no denying that each tune here, from "End Up Crying" (which sounds like the soft rock Fleetwood Mac) to the final track, "Summer Days and Summer Nights," is superior pop music -- intricate guitar lines, a double-barrel keyboard approach by John Cook and Kevin Kitchen which is just lovely, and sterling vocals by Kirwan. The track "California" is more accessible than some of the popular versions of Fleetwood Mac, and given Bob Welch's success with French Kiss two years before the release of Hello There Big Boy!, it is surprising this was not embraced by both Top 40 and FM radio. "Spaceman" continues the smooth '70s pop that"California" introduced the listener to, the guitars more eerie, harking back to the Bare Trees period of Fleetwood Mac seven years earlier (which had so much of Kirwan's identity all over it). There was life before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, and this cohesive work is proof of that; covering Randy Edelman's "You" is actually quite clever, the exiles of Mac having reputations more as singer/songwriters than as interpreters. This may be Danny Kirwan produced by Clifford Davis, the man who put the fake Fleetwood Mac onstage, but it is no fluke and it is no fake. Hello There Big Boy! is a great album from the singer/guitarist who, according to Mick Fleetwood's book My Twenty Five Years in Fleetwood Mac, "went beserk...smashed his head against the wall...(and)...was fired." Sounds like genius, and it is here on this recording for all to see -- and hear. A truly great comeback that sadly got lost in the shuffle of life.   On AllMusic.com https://www.allmusic.com/album/hello-there-big-boy%21-mw0000845773

Collapse ↑
Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood Mac
https://allerlei2013riffmaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/danny-kirwan-midnight-in-san-juan-1976/



MIDNIGHT IN SAN JUAN   WIKIPEDIA
  1. References


  2. "The Story of Stretch". Repertoirerecords.com. Retrieved 2020-02-24.

  3. Viglione, Joe. "Midnight in San Juan / Danny Kirwan review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-07-27.

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COUNCIL
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3N7z79Am2V9dxOxd8K2HVo

Smart pop from Council    "Get Numb" and "Rust to Gold" - creative, passionate and a waterfall of production.  Give a listen 
Council Band
@council_band


Biography

COUNCIL consists of three brothers hoping to trade in a life of farming for success in their true passion, music. Pat, Doug and Andy Reeves have balanced working in the fields of Baldwinsville, NY during the day and honing their craft at night in their family barn. Their commitment to their music has begun to pay off. 
 They have recently gained both local and national attention for their unique sound and charismatic performances. Having played numerous successful shows at the mainstays in NYC, and opening for bands such as The Strumbellas, The All American Rejects and The Kooks, they have established themselves as one of the top up and coming bands to watch. 
 COUNCIL has had their music played throughout the 2018 Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, World Of Dance, and the Premier League to name a few. They are on a pop up tour of NYC sponsored by Bose through the winter 2020. Council finished recording their latest EP with Matt Squire. They are appearing in Bose #livefromhome concert series as well as online festivals.
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Rob Zicaro
Can't Find the Words to Say
https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Find-Words-Say/dp/B0893K9Z5G

It starts like a quasi-reggae number and explodes into a pretty pop delicacy.  Zicaro's voice is pleasing and and sets the table for the catchy and memorable melody.  The bridge comes in quickly enough at 1:44 and with well-thought out strings, the full three minutes and fourteen seconds have all the elements that make a composition popular.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6SnVdcr4O2EcBJh9EMN53u?si=gH7HZm2jS4aLcHvk-lFP3Q



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Product Description
In 1982, David Bowie released In Bertolt Brecht's "Baal"; four years earlier, the prestigious RCA Red Seal classical label had Bowie narrating Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and with his stint on Broadway as The Elephant Man, the artist stretched himself brilliantly. There is not enough spoken word by popular recording artists in today's world. Steven Tyler may show up on a Kerouac tribute performing one track; Grace Slick, Lou Reed, Peter Frampton, Marty Balin, and so many others have cut promotional interview discs for insiders, but it is surprising how the record industry has, for the most part, ignored this inexpensive and wonderful format to further endear artists to their fans. Jim Morrison's poetry, after all, was all that was left when Elektra published An American Prayer -- and that fans purchase low-quality bootlegs of many artists should have been a signal in the past to deliver this type of product to the marketplace. The scarcity of such projects makes Bowie's close to 30 minutes of narration that much more delightful. The Peter and the Wolf album is divided into two sides. The narration by David Bowie of public domain material originally written by Prokofiev takes up 27 minutes and eight seconds, while the second side of this green-colored vinyl LP has 17 minutes and ten seconds of Eugene Ormandy conducting Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ormandy and the aforementioned musicians from Philly also back up Bowie on side one. This RCA Red Seal release includes detailed liners and the project, according to Mary Campbell's notes, is specifically geared to "introduce children to the sounds of the individual instruments in the symphony orchestra." Both Prokofiev and Britten wrote their respective pieces with this aim in mind. That makes this record all the more charming -- imagine what it could do if teachers would actually use it on a large scale to educate? As for Bowie's performance, it is splendid. He tells the well-known fable with his usual eloquence and style, and gives instructions at the beginning for kids to understand how the music corresponds to characters in the story. The accompaniment from the Philadelphia Orchestra is first rate, the lush sounds more exciting on the Bowie side than on Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, which makes up side B. Interesting how this project, if promoted today, could bring the name David Bowie to a huge audience of young people. A remarkable and well-crafted project. ~ Joe Viglione


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FIRE IN THE FIELD
THE PINK NOISE SESSION
https://fireinthefield.bandcamp.com/album/the-pink-noise-session







Bonus Track
I LOVE NEW YORK   by Jack Phillips





AllMusic Review by  [-]

Three years after Blind Faith, and two years after the zoo that was Ginger Baker's Air Force -- Denny Laine essentially replacing Eric Clapton in Blind Faith with six more musicians added for good measure -- Jack Bruce mixes the blues of Cream with the hard rock of Mountain while the label gave them maybe a third of the Blind Faith hype. The verdict? West, Bruce & Laing's Why Dontcha has aged gracefully as an authentic signature of what these artists were doing, but it lacks the staying power of Blind Faith, the fault being the choice of material. There is no "Theme from an Imaginary Western" here, there is no "Sea of Joy," just a relentless hard rock assault best exemplified by the track "Shake Ma Thing (Rollin Jack)." Here Leslie West and Jack Bruce share vocals, so you get Mountain-meets-Cream, but where they played "Sunshine of Your Love" in concert, there is no riff that awesome here. And that's all it would have taken, a great riff and tune to carry this project from point A to point B. "While You Sleep" shows this wild bunch as creative and having fun, and it's a great album track, but not the thing to find them a new audience. The title tune, "Why Dontcha," is pure Leslie West, but it doesn't reinvent Mississippi Queen, and these gentlemen had to pull a rabbit or two out of their hats. If anyone doubts Jimmy Miller's ability to make a record album rock, just listen to his protégé Andy Johns fail to follow in his mentor's footsteps. Miller had three days to put Blind Faith together after months of Steve Winwood and Clapton trying not to step on each other's toes, and he came back for part two, the Royal Albert Hall concert that became Ginger Baker's Air Force. Why Dontcha, on the other hand, despite the pluses, falls short because it tries too hard, while not putting the effort where it belonged -- in the songwriting and production. Bet these great talents wish they had this moment in time back. If these were ex-Grand Funk Railroad members Flint, this would be a great record. It falls far short of what Jack Bruce, Corky Laing, and Leslie West were capable of.  https://www.allmusic.com/album/why-dontcha-mw0000207218




WHATEVER TURNS YOU ON
LESLIE WEST, JACK BRUCE, CORKY LAING


AllMusic Review by   [-]

Adding a bit of Procol Harum's sound to the mix is exactly what the doctor ordered for this superior second outing from the decision by Jack Bruce and Leslie West to merge their talents. "Shifting Sands" and the Peter Brown co-written "November Song" are amazing expressions for these artists, who break out of what people expected from them to create something important. Bruce does his best Neil Young in this "Helpless" takeoff, and West's guitar adds the bite that was not part of Buffalo Springfield, but the album jacket is just plain terrible, like the Guess Who's Road Food taken to an extreme. Had this album found its way into the sublime cover to their first effort, Why Dontcha, they might've been taken more seriously by the critical elite of the day. The underground comic art by Joe Petagno is not the beautiful stuff he has produced since, and is not the eye-catching Robert Crumb work that made Big Brother's Cheap Thrills so inviting. Perhaps you can't tell a book by its cover, but that's what marketing departments are for, and the debacle that is the packaging on Whatever Turns You On disguises the on-target music finally starting to jell. "Rock & Roll Machine" is West finding a groove and, yes, Mountain keyboard player Steve Knight could have improved this very good song and brought it to another level. Andy Johns' production is a bit smoother, but he still lacks the finesse of a Denny Cordell or a George Martin. There's none of the sparkle that the Beatles' "Revolution" contained, an element that made hard rock radio-friendly. Jack Bruce, on the other hand, is delivering solid album tracks -- the Brown/Bruce/West/Laing composition "Scotch Crotch" could've fit nicely on Disraeli Gears or Wheels of Fire, but not as one of those discs' 45 RPMs. And that's the same problem faced by the Why Dontcha album -- great musicians jamming out, but failing to find their way around the maze, failing to write a "Can't Find My Way Home" or a "Tales of Brave Ulysses." "Slow Blues" is a fluid West/Bruce vocal combo with piano and slide guitar -- superb fun for these guys, but not expanding beyond what they've given in the past. And while this album may be superior to the first, there's also a complacency, and maybe a feeling by the band that the world owed these journeymen something. For fans, it is a nice addition to the collection and great to listen to for a change of pace. For their careers, it sounds like men with a lot to give treading water. The nature of the record industry -- executives wanting three million units out of the box and artists wanting to record on their own terms -- wasn't the environment to allow a West, Bruce & Laing five or six more discs to catch a wave. It's too bad, because there was something there.


https://www.allmusic.com/album/whatever-turns-you-on-mw0000795961
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatever_Turns_You_On_(album)

Wikipedia

References


West, Bruce & Laing - Whatever Turns You On (1973) album review by Joe Viglione at AllMusic.com___________________________________________________________

 
SPOONERISM  PETER CALO
https://www.allmusic.com/album/spoonerism-mw0001892653

AllMusic Review by  [-]

Peter Calo's Spoonerism six-song EP from 1983 displays his clever grasp of pop, especially on "When It's Good," which has the markings of multi-format smash written all over it. This was released on Calo's own En Route label and is another example of how record companies in the '80s failed to do what they did in the '60s -- to pick up great regional music once it found its way out into the world on its own. The black-and-white cover is as clever as the music, unique artwork by Richard Fitzhugh on the front, the four-piece band facing each other at a coffee shop, with Calo peering at the listener from inside a mirror on the back. Side one is titled "Concave" and is hollow and curved like the inside of a circle, while side two is called "Convex" and is curved out, like the outside of a sphere. Three songs have vocals, while three are instrumental. "Next to You" is George Benson-style jazz-pop, some scat singing with dancing guitar and keys. "Sunbathing" contains no voices, and needs none -- it is just a stunningly beautiful piece of music. With the high profile this artist would receive working with singer Carly Simon, along with crafting Hollywood soundtracks, it is really a shame that this exquisite song hasn't been rediscovered and had the chance to penetrate the consciousness of the masses. Both "Sunbathing" and "When It's Good" are outstanding finds, well-produced statements packaged with care. The record was engineered and mixed by Phil Green, former guitarist in the band Swallow, and some of the music goes into territory explored by another great Boston jazz artist, ex-Orchestra Luna guitarist Randy Roos, whose Mistral album has much in common with Peter Calo's Spoonerism. The curve of a spoon and the curve of a circle reflect this sound, which takes diverse elements from Atlanta Rhythm Section, Genesis, and other artists, but comes up with its own uniqueness. "There's a Reason" is the only song which has a collaborator, co-written with Elaine Davies, while the fine musicianship of the bandmembers is on display in another instrumental, "Captain Squirrel Cheeks." PCB, the Peter Calo Band, released another track, "Fine Line," on The Boston Rock & Roll Anthology, Vol. 7 around this time. All of this is music which should be made available again, and perhaps will, as journeyman Peter Calo is an artist who many respect and appreciate.
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Boston Rock and Roll Anthology Vol #21
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwf8wfu3kdj0ddd/boston%20rock%20anthology%2021%20-%20july%202020.pdf?dl=0

 
 
The classic 45 RPM is ultra rare. Produced by Joe Viglione the song "Never Say Never" was a local Boston area classic resulting in the band opening for Sammy Hagar at the Worcester Centrum and breaking up the day after! 

See the letter from WAAF's Russ Mottla:  "Dear Joe, Just an update on your band ROCKKIT  As if FOURTEEN weeks of air-play on Bay State Rock hasn't said enough!   The song "Never Say Never" is as powerful and well produced as anything I've heard. A real masterpiece.  The requests have not stopped for this song so airplay, of course, will also continue for a few more weeks.   I believe in Rockkit and wish you and the band much success.

All proceeds go to enormous fees I am paying for my three cats.  Thanks for your consideration.

From producer Joe Viglione's personal Varulven Records collection.





Richard Nolan first issued a 45 rpm in the early 1960s.  Then came his iconic Boston area band, Third Rail, which appeared on Live at the Rat, the double album documenting music from the Rathskellar nightclub.
In the 1980s Richard decided to do something different and asked Varulven Records (the Pop Explosion label) to distribute. He issued a cassette live album by the Naked Cage House Band, and then this terrific 45 RPM.
These are mint copies and they are becoming rare. Direct from the box, handed to me by the late Richard Nolan thirty years ago.   It's a great slice of Boston Rock and Roll by an historic figure from our "new wave" scene.  Side note: last September/October original members of Third Rail backed up the Varulven president (that would be me) for our Lou Reed tribute band.   As Third Rail would often perform with our group, it was a delight, and will be again, as old friends get together performing the music of both Reed and Richard Nolan.
The Naked Cage House Band 45rpm picture sleeve single.  Contains two tunes:

  • Track Dog
  • Rolling In Clover
Released in 1988 by Shoestring Records, label # SR247 distributed by Varulven Records.

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