In no particular order ...yet...
HELLO THERE BIG BOY
DANNY KIRWAN OF FLEETWOOD MAC
AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-]
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
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https://allerlei2013riffmaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/danny-kirwan-midnight-in-san-juan-1976/
MIDNIGHT IN SAN JUAN WIKIPEDIA
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References
- "The Story of Stretch". Repertoirerecords.com. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
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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
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/B0893K9Z5GIt 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 Joe Viglione [-]
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 Joe Viglione [-]
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
References
SPOONERISM PETER CALO
https://www.allmusic.com/album/spoonerism-mw0001892653
AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-]
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.
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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:
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