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- Written by: Bluebird
People wait in line to hug Charles Bradley.
My first witness of the "Screaming Eagle of Soul" was at the Newport Folk Festival, 2012. No lie, he had the hippie people struttin', and they needed it, after all of that poetic banjo playin'. There are many witnesses to this fantastic, and now globe trotting, artist. BBR writer, Rachel Lange is a huge Buckethead fan. She caught Bradley by chance in DC and said it was the most fun she's ever had at a concert. Regardless of the music genre that you identify with, anyone who's experienced Charles Bradley's James Brown inspired performance, came back with his funky dance, soul pants, groovy love rants, burned into their brain - because he rearranged their neurology.
With the moves of James Brown, the deep vocals of Otis Redding, the smooth lyrical style of Marvin Gaye, and the energy of Barry White, Charles Bradley is sparking hope and enthusiasm for classic soul music to be forefront in the mainstream. I even heard some funkadelic deep cut Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, and Jimmy Castor. Right On! We need artists that can play like this today, outright, without being cast as revivalist 'throwbacks.' Perhaps that's how Charles Bradley started, but with his original work on the airwaves now, we can all move forward to see what's next. I want to hear artists who play soul music, not pop music that's a sprinkle of 'soulful.' And I want an artist who can deliver the all out range of soul. Don't hedge and add a hint of soul here and there, but know the sound so well that you own it. When a true artist owns his inner inspirations, then we get to own ours too. The "Screaming Eagle of Soul" has arrived. He doesn't ride the soul train - He drives it!
Read more: Charles Bradley (The Screaming Eagle of Soul): Victim Of Love
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- Written by: Bluebird
EP Review:
Boston based string band, Joy Kills Sorrow, is releasing a new record on Northampton's Signature Sounds Recordings, (June 4th, 2013). The first thing that strikes you about this record is Emma Beaton's light as clouds vocals. Her voice has a modern, angelic quality, but when the deeper notes are needed and some guttural belts are called for, she digs in and delivers. The string layering is top notch quality and shows mastery, as this is the band's third album. Lauded as more 'indie' than the prior, This Unknown Science, Wide Awake reflects the sound that they've been searching for, and has demonstrated that Joy Kills Sorrow continues to define their identity, which embraces a pioneer spirit.
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- Written by: Bluebird
A Blues Album.
Released: April 30, 2013
Label: Ruf Records.
The Spin Doctors started out as a bar band, a bunch of twenty something jammers with nothing for money, but a wealth of songs in their heads. Forever keeping the party alive, they mixed rhythms of creative funk, classic rock and edgy pop. While many bar bands were cranking out covers, early Spin Doc performances were filled with original music that took risks.
In the 1990's, with the debut of their smash hit album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, the Spin Docs were all over the radio.The impact of their songs carved out a self-defined sound. No one sat around analyzing a Spin Doctor song, you just danced, strutted and belted it out. "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes" were the stand outs, selling millions of records and climbing the Billboard charts. They proliferated MTV, which created world wide success. And these songs will continue to define music genres of creative, artist original radio in our time.
The core Spin Doc fans know that, as a jam band, some of their lesser known songs were packed with dig-gable blues nuggets. If you explore deep into the Spin Doctors' catalog, you'll hear their more obscure songs have blues influenced roots. Guitarist Erik Schenkman wails on "Refrigerator Car" and there are many a solo on even their lesser known albums that feature some great blues jams from the whole band. The (2005) Nice Talking To Me album, turned out to be a return to the blues rock that got the Spin Docs started in the first place, but with more muscle to approach an equal footing to Kryptonite. The Spin Doctors are telling us now, that If The River Was Whiskey is the album they've always wanted to create.
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- Written by: Bluebird
CHARLIE FARREN: Tuesday
Album photography by Kevin Keating.
Mixonline.com to Quincy Jones: What aspects of your personality helped make you a successful producer?
Quincy Jones: I don't think it's about personality. It's about judgment.
So many artists self-produce their records these days and it is an exciting time for creativity. Given this vast landscape, what makes an original record stand out? The legendary Quincy Jones makes a point when he says, "It's about judgment." Choices.
During the era when rock and roll was at a peak of loud, and songs were first seen on MTV, as well as heard, Charlie Farren with the Joe Perry Project and later, Farrenheit, brought guitar soaring blues rock and 80's muses to the screens and big stages. Teaming up with long time friend and musician colleague, Jon Butcher, the vocal contrasts and traditions continued throughout the decades, packing live shows, releasing albums and continuing to record, while many artists from that era faded out. Charlie Farren is solo now and still going strong. Recording from his FMansion Studio, and Studio Bopnique, he has self-produced a new record called, Tuesday. The title track, "Tuesday," was co-produced by Farren and Anthony Resta. The CD was engineered by Karyadi Sutedja and Charlie Farren. How did they make this album reflect all that Mr. Farren has to offer? Judgment. Choices.
This ten track set covers the range of talents that Charlie Farren has seasoned in the decades playing rock, pop, jazz and blues music. Each song is fresh and eclectic, pure to the sounds that Farren values in his productions. Real music, real instruments, creative songwriting that is accessible to everyone, inspired by a true blue soul - that's the Farren ethic you will get every time.
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One Less Reason: A Blueprint For Writhing
"Deep, meaningful, hard rock. One Less Reason songs are more lyrically heavy than musically heavy, and there's always a message. It's all based around those four letter words - love, hate, pain, hope."
~One Less Reason.
The post-grunge era has given us a wealth of experience with rushing guitar work, and an embracing of the raw.The quality metal bands can produce amped up volume rock, while keeping the tone accessible. Keeping lyrics ethereal and even soulful, while reaching new creative heights in loud, is often a great balance to strike for a heavy band. The contrast of soaring guitar, impact vocals and lightening drums, to set the background for a gripping lyrical song, is what can really bring an audience into the fold. We all deal with good and evil, relationships, and the cycle of life. We have questions in our heads each day, whether we are aware of it or not. Lyrics put words to these thoughts and music captures the emotions simultaneously. One Less Reason does all of this. With power and intellect, the band clearly sets themselves apart in their new record, A Blueprint For Writhing. After leaving Universal Records to self-release their own productions, thousands of fans supported their latest project so the band could follow their creative souls. The result?
In a word, A Blueprint For Writhing is STUNNING. (Ok, so you want another word?)
A Blueprint for Writhing is RIVETING.
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Welcome to a mix of roots rock, with a singer-songwriter casual style. Nashville based, Keith Moody, brings classic rock influences of Tom Petty and blues guitar riffs to his second album, Dreaming Out Loud. Smooth enough to be compared to pop hit-sters, John Mayer or the Gin Blossoms, but lower in blues keys and soulful topics, Moody will not sell out the indie crowd. Rustic countrified on some tracks, he dusts everything he does with Southern charm. Dreaming Out Loud has rhythmic beats and great productions, which bring a fresh collection of ballads and catchy hooks to your door. Lyrics are hopeful, inspiring and grounded in real life. My favorite track is "Up". Fast paces and tight solos, wrap around the upbeat numbers, with nuggets that will take you for an open wide, window car ride, this summer.
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- Written by: Whitey
Review by Paul "Whitey" Renstrom:
Whitey has been a bass player and songwriter for years. Living in the Hudson Valley, he is now in a roots rock band called THE TALL WEEDS. With a long history of playing classic rock, metal, punk and folk rock, he is our resident new music expert and just happens to love SEVENDUST. Here is what he had to say about Black Out The Sun.
The latest effort by the band SEVENDUST is called Black Out The Sun. As a die hard Seven Dust fan, I gotta say they delivered another great album. This album stays much more true to their early sound, similar to what can be heard on their second album 'HOME," and their 3rd album "ANIMOSITY". Their last album was the first effort by the band with the return of original guitarist Clint Lowery. That album, "Cold Day Memory," seemed to take a lighter approach to the music.
Black Out The Sun is back to that "in your face" driving rhythms with very melodic choruses that have become signature in SEVENDUST music. With a nice acoustic start to the album with the first song "Memory" it leaves the true Seven Dust fan wondering what's next. As soon as the second song "Faithless" starts I knew I was in for some good old SEVENDUST metal.