Ripple News - Jeff Beck – Rock ‘n’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul DV
Filmed on June 9, 2010 at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, forever associated with the legendary Les Paul, this DVD captures Jeff Beck celebrating the great man with a selection of Les Paul songs and other great rock 'n' roll tracks on what would have been Les Paul’s 95th birthday. Jeff Beck is joined by some very special guests including Imelda May and her band led by Darrel Higham on many of the tracks plus appearances by Gary US Bonds, Brian Setzer and Trombone Shorty. The intimate setting puts you right there in the audience for a performance featuring stunning musicianship and truly great songs.
TRACK LISTING
1) Baby Let’s Play House
2) Double Talkin’ Baby
3) Cruisin’
4) Train Kept A Rollin’
5) Poor Boy
6) Cry Me A River
7) My Baby Left Me
8) How High The Moon
9) Sitting On Top Of The World
10) Bye Bye Blues
11) The World Is
Waiting For The Sunrise
12) Vaya Con Dios
13) Mockin’ Bird Hill
14) I’m A Fool To Care
15) Tiger Rag
16) Peter Gunn
17) Rocking Is Our Business
18) Apache
19) Sleep Walk
20) New Orleans
21) Walking In The Sand
22) Please Mr Jailer
23) Casting My Spell On You
24) Twenty Flight Rock
25) The Girl Can’t Help It
26) Rock Around The Clock
27) Shake, Rattle & Roll
Bonus Features
1) Interview with Jeff Beck
2) Behind The Scenes
3) At home with Jeff Beck & his guitars
4) Jeff Beck & Les Paul – Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonite
5) Les Paul & his little black box.
Ripples Around the World – Featuring Systema Solar, Gecko Turner, and the Nagore Sessions
Time for another trip around the musical compass and check out some of the cooler world music that has made its way into the Ripple office recently. And for those who (like me, and Pope, and Ray’s Realm) loved the Amadou & Miriam Magic Couple CD, I just picked up the 2xLP set Welcome to Mali, so expect a run down of that one soon.
Systema Solar – S/T
Coming from the Colombian Caribbean, Systema Solar party out with a DJ-based music that basks over the body like a wash of feel-good sunshine. Totally Infectious, colorful, and light, Systema is a Spanish blend of cumbia and champeta music; gang vocal heavy, beat intense, and a swirling good time.
Songs like "Bienvenidos," Mi Kolombia" and "El Majagual" are just made for a beach party replete with bikinis, rum drinks, and mischief. I understand that underneath the feel-good exterior and good-time vibe the song’s lyrics touch upon of the sadness of that war-torn nation. But you’d never know that on casual listen. As is so often the case, from the areas of the greatest despair comes the greatest reasons to reaffirm the joy of life and dance. Simply dance.
Gecko Turner – Gone Down South
Not world music in the truest sense, but certainly there’s a lot of world jive running through this immensely cool, languid, and laid back offering by Gecko Turner. For those not familiar, Gecko (real name Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez) is a Spanish musician based near the border between Spain and Portugal. As you might (or not) expect from this geography, Gecko’s music incorporates bossa nova, soul, funk, reggae, jazz and electronica into one heady, transcendental mix.
On Gone Down South, Gecko returns with laid back acoustic guitar and an all-familiar, never-letting-him-down groove. On this, his first album since, 2006’s Guapapasea, Gecko emerges in fine form. With is relaxed voice, gentle picks at the guitar, you could easily be misled into thinking the album’s of the sensitive singer-songwriter, vein. But it sure isn’t. Let the beats build, some Cuban piano peaks it’s head in, a Spanish trumpet, a little mbira sugest a love of Africa, as do some of the harmony vocals. I’d be hard pressed to pick out a favorite track here, but “Amame, Mimame,” with it’s deep, near blues guitar lick, near scat vocals, wonderful group chorus, and, was that a touch of wah I heard? Nicely done.
But in the end, a Gecko album is about Gecko, his amazingly relaxed voice, gently lilting through the groove. Always a good time is at hand.
Various – The Nagore Sessions of South India
Around the corner from me is an ashram. Specifically, the Ashram retreat of Amma, known around the world as the “hugging Saint.” She’s been featured on every news channel around the world, Time, Newsweek, you name it. I guess it’s just a nice coincidence that a spiritual being of such magnitude has her world-wide headquarters just a few miles from my home, but there it is. For years, I used to stop by her Ashram and eat my lunch at the lake with the swans. When Amma was in town, I’d stopped by for seva, or a retreat, or even the Bhagavad Gita. While certainly not a Hindi, I’ve lost myself for hours in the bhajans, the devotional songs of the Ashram. Meditative, hypnotic, mesmerizing. You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to be taken away by the music.
The Sufi-inspired chants the Nagore Sessions are backed with traditional instrumentation and modern beats, creating a downtempo, lilting, compelling moment. An escape from the stress of the world into a hazy veil of meditative trance. As a whole, the music is more traditional than electronic but there’s a nice balance of the modern with the ancient. The chants, sung in Tamil, are borrowed from traditional Indian texts and are framed with drum, strings, tabla, sitar, and harmonium. Overall, the result is otherworldly, bringing in tones of Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Indian sounds into a mystical symphony of Sufi singing and beat. Enchanting.
--Racer
Coming from the Colombian Caribbean, Systema Solar party out with a DJ-based music that basks over the body like a wash of feel-good sunshine. Totally Infectious, colorful, and light, Systema is a Spanish blend of cumbia and champeta music; gang vocal heavy, beat intense, and a swirling good time.
Songs like "Bienvenidos," Mi Kolombia" and "El Majagual" are just made for a beach party replete with bikinis, rum drinks, and mischief. I understand that underneath the feel-good exterior and good-time vibe the song’s lyrics touch upon of the sadness of that war-torn nation. But you’d never know that on casual listen. As is so often the case, from the areas of the greatest despair comes the greatest reasons to reaffirm the joy of life and dance. Simply dance.
Not world music in the truest sense, but certainly there’s a lot of world jive running through this immensely cool, languid, and laid back offering by Gecko Turner. For those not familiar, Gecko (real name Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez) is a Spanish musician based near the border between Spain and Portugal. As you might (or not) expect from this geography, Gecko’s music incorporates bossa nova, soul, funk, reggae, jazz and electronica into one heady, transcendental mix.
On Gone Down South, Gecko returns with laid back acoustic guitar and an all-familiar, never-letting-him-down groove. On this, his first album since, 2006’s Guapapasea, Gecko emerges in fine form. With is relaxed voice, gentle picks at the guitar, you could easily be misled into thinking the album’s of the sensitive singer-songwriter, vein. But it sure isn’t. Let the beats build, some Cuban piano peaks it’s head in, a Spanish trumpet, a little mbira sugest a love of Africa, as do some of the harmony vocals. I’d be hard pressed to pick out a favorite track here, but “Amame, Mimame,” with it’s deep, near blues guitar lick, near scat vocals, wonderful group chorus, and, was that a touch of wah I heard? Nicely done.
But in the end, a Gecko album is about Gecko, his amazingly relaxed voice, gently lilting through the groove. Always a good time is at hand.
Around the corner from me is an ashram. Specifically, the Ashram retreat of Amma, known around the world as the “hugging Saint.” She’s been featured on every news channel around the world, Time, Newsweek, you name it. I guess it’s just a nice coincidence that a spiritual being of such magnitude has her world-wide headquarters just a few miles from my home, but there it is. For years, I used to stop by her Ashram and eat my lunch at the lake with the swans. When Amma was in town, I’d stopped by for seva, or a retreat, or even the Bhagavad Gita. While certainly not a Hindi, I’ve lost myself for hours in the bhajans, the devotional songs of the Ashram. Meditative, hypnotic, mesmerizing. You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to be taken away by the music.
The Sufi-inspired chants the Nagore Sessions are backed with traditional instrumentation and modern beats, creating a downtempo, lilting, compelling moment. An escape from the stress of the world into a hazy veil of meditative trance. As a whole, the music is more traditional than electronic but there’s a nice balance of the modern with the ancient. The chants, sung in Tamil, are borrowed from traditional Indian texts and are framed with drum, strings, tabla, sitar, and harmonium. Overall, the result is otherworldly, bringing in tones of Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Indian sounds into a mystical symphony of Sufi singing and beat. Enchanting.
--Racer
Liturgy - Renihilation
It is in fact "hipster" metal; lead singer/ guitarist Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (if his name wasn't enough of a clue) never denies that in interviews.
Further, I don't know (being neither kvlt nor tr00) if this even qualifies as black metal.
So let's forget labels and tags. We'll just listen.
The vocals are completely indecipherable; sometimes you can't even tell for certain if they're even happening. So let's do what death metal likes to claim it does-- consider the "vocals," i.e., the sound emitted by the larynx of the singer, as another instrument, or even a sound effect, for added aggressive/sinister ambiance.
Additionally, let's forget it's four guys playing guitars and drums and just think of it as music.
Even better, let's not even think of it as metal and think of it as a form of music (seemingly) entirely different: spectralism.
Short, oversimplified version: spectralism, or spectral music (though it sounds cool as shit, like it's all about spectres), is actually music composed and recorded using a much broader spectrum of notes than the 12 we westerners use; it is further composed consideringcomputer-generated data about the way sound hits the ears, rather than only using your own ears.
Maybe I've lost you, but stay with me: this is cool shit once you decode it. (And is relevant to Liturgy, I swear.)
Let's say we're writing a song. We have 12 notes to use, in pretty much any combination we want (though we'll tend to use pre-established patterns like chords). A, A sharp, B, C, and so on.
Spectralism, however (and many eastern forms of music) uses more notes-- the notes in between the notes we listed above. If you're a stoner you should love that: "Like, we're playing the notes in between the notes, man...."
Next, we'll use a... wait for it... spectrogram, a device used to visualize and analyze sounds. (It's also known as a sonogram or a voiceprint-- you've seen them on any procedural drama on TV, where some character, usually a tech, finds some stupidly important clue by analyzing a background sound on a ransom tape or voicemail or some shit.)
Still with me? I love your diligence. You look nice today, BTW. Have you lost weight? Seriously, that's a good look for you. You're totally working it.
I know I'm asking a lot to get into one album. But that's the music writer's job, isn't it? To go to ridiculous lengths to find the gold hidden in all that sound out there, so YOU don't have to?
You're welcome. It's no thing.
So finally, we compose music based to an extent on how sounds play out, intertwine, etc., using what they look like on the spectrogram.
This is stupidly oversimplifying it, but I like to think of spectralism like this:
The music computers would write for humans based on the computer's understanding of the properties of sound and the human ear.
And don't EVEN front, yo-- you know that sounds goddamned cool.
Liturgy, then, is computer-generated black metal. (In my head anyway.) The sounds on the record don't really conform to what your ears would normally hold as "music." It's not radically different, but different enough to be initially off-putting (for people who normally listen to metal, I mean; people who don't might not even recognize this as music, like the time as a kid I was listening to Dark Angel in a room near my grandmother and she kept wanting to know what machinery had apparently been left on).
Find a dark room, some nice headphones, and let Renihilation wash over you; hear it as sounds changing, rather than anything else.
It's the musical equivalent of those paintings you have to stare at for awhile before you can see the hidden image in them: once Liturgy registers, each of the ten tracks is a lush, epic, tragic soundscape; one that (to me, anyway, your experience may vary) seems to accompany the remembrance of a perfect, just kingdom that was destroyed æons ago. The vocals occasionally pop up like some madman shrieking about the kingdom only he remembers; one he can't convince others actually existed.
Sad, wistful, furious, aching... everything I want in music.
Tremolo-picked, cold-sounding guitars play several melody lines at once; the different lines seem to intersect and make minor chords that swirl and change like the goop in a lava lamp; the blast beats defocus into a pulsing wave of sound that makes the whole album sound almost rubato, like it comes in and out of time, beats contract and expand... (and the fucking drummer Greg Fox only uses a four-piece kit! Just two cymbals, a bass drum and a snare...!).
There's ten tracks; four are "untitled" and are ambient pieces; the other six are beautiful.
If you need to sample one, try Ecstatic Rite. Tell me the end isn't especially great.
--Horn
Buy here: Renihilation
Buy mp3:Renihilation
Buy vinyl: Renihilation [Vinyl]
ps (If you dig this, or don't but are curious about spectral music, listen to Tristan Murail: http://www.amazon.com/Tristan-Murail-Gondwana-D%C3%A9sint%C3%A9grations-Again/dp/B0000AKOM5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1294240590&sr=8-2 )
Junior Wells & The Aces – Live In Boston 1966
Goddamn, these muthers boogie like no other! There are some great slow songs like “Worried Life Blues” and “That’s All Right” but where they excel is on the uptempo jams. They come out swinging with a killer version of “Feelin’ Good.” The band sets up an instant party groove and Junior is in great voice and you can tell that he really does feel good. When he says that they’re gonna boogie til the break of day, you know he means it. “Man Downstairs” has some great harmonica playing and keeps the boogie flowing nicely. The band really stretches out on “Junior’s Whoop,” a killer 8 minute workout that really rocks the house. There’s a high energy of the hit “Messin’ With The Kid” that gets everyone worked up.
A couple of blues standards like “Hideaway” and “Got My Mojo Workin” get the Junior Wells treatment and Louis Myers throws in a few nice jazzy guitar licks to keep things interesting. The crowd loves this band. In between songs you get to hear Junior talking to the rowdy audience and joking with the other musicians onstage.
Play this disc loud on your stereo and you really get the feeling that you are there. Bands just don’t cook like this anymore. The playing is lean and mean, tight but loose. Chances are these guys didn’t practice much together but they all knew the material so when they hit the stage they could jam together without things ever getting stale. The only excuse you have for not patting your feet to this great record is you don’t have any.
--Woody
Buy here: Live In Boston 1966
Buy from Delmark (and listen here)
Ironwood - Storm Over Sea
10-15-2010 : Ship carrying the band Ironwood and extensive recording equipment departs from Sydney Harbor.
10-21-2010 : Violent storm suddenly engulfs vessel. Mainland mysteriously loses contact with ship.
10-27-2010 : Extensive air/sea search operation turns up no sign of ship, passengers, or wreckage.
11-18-2010 : Contact with Ironwood’s vessel is re-established when ship captain makes radio contact.
11-19-2010 : A Mr. Penfold volunteers to rendezvous with ship. He and his crew set out immediately.
Captain’s Log 11-20-2010: I am filled with apprehension. Out of a blind sense of obligation I volunteered my services along with my crew’s for this possible rescue operation. Why call it a ‘possible rescue’ you ask? Simple. No one knows for sure whether or not the ship we’re to rendezvous with is actually in need of assistance. We do know that the ship has remained anchored to its coordinates since re-establishing contact thanks to their GPS tracking unit continuously broadcasting their position. My radioman has been hailing the ship in question every hour on the hour with no response to this point. No matter. We should make contact with the ship in the early morning hours tomorrow. All in all, there are too many unknowns for my peace of mind.
Captain’s Log 11-21-2010: Approached Ironwood’s ship this morning. To my surprise the vessel appeared to be a combination of old and new technology. It had a modern looking hull but also two tall sailing masts. We circled the ship and found nothing out of the ordinary. There were no signs of struggle, explosions, or distress of any kind, and the few people seen on deck were smiling and waving to us. I asked my helmsman to bring us to a stop parallel to the vessel and set about ordering other crew members to get the mooring lines ready. To be honest, I felt very pirate-like in that moment.
Captain’s Log 11-22-2010: Excitement is in the air! Many things occurred once my crew and I boarded Ironwood’s ship. Strange and wonderful things! First of all we were greeted warmly by our ship-borne counterparts. To a man they were in very high spirits, but they did seem somewhat taken aback when I suggested that we were here to rescue them. A couple actually laughed at my statement, while the rest assured me that they were in no need of rescue. Now it was my turn to be confused. Whilst befuddled, I asked the captain why they were seemingly anchored out at sea and had not returned to port. In reply I was told that the band was just finishing up their recording, and it was essential that the recording be finished at sea without interruption. “Just wait till you hear the music that Ironwood has created! It’s amazing,” exclaimed the captain. I decided that I had better meet with this band to get the full story. The captain explained that I could find the band in the bowels of the ship, so I set out through the nearest bulkhead door.
I found the band in a cavernous storage room in the center of the ship, right where the captain had directed. They were putting their guitars and drumsticks down when I made my presence known. Actually, there was still a slight ringing in the air from the music they had been playing. Similar to the crewmen above, all the members of Ironwood also appeared extremely happy, with bright smiles and countenances. Henry Lauer, vocalist and bass player, went so far as to clap me on the shoulder in a form of celebratory greeting. Matthew Raymond, vocalist and guitar player, shook my hand and told me that he was terribly happy I could share in this momentous occasion. I asked what occasion they were referring to and they responded, “Why…the completion of our new album of course! We decided to seek out inspiration from the sea, and it provided us with more than we could ever have asked for! You must listen to the results of our voyage for yourself!”
I’m convinced that each member of Ironwood has split personality disorder. That’s not normally a good thing, but in this instance, it’s fantastic! One moment the band will be playing some folk music, the next it will explode into some black metal, and at other times they delve straight into the heart of progressive metal. Heck, this all regularly transpires in the same epic song! I love it! Versatility at its finest if you ask me, but even if you don’t ask, I’m going to offer up the observation anyway. Hardy, har, har! Those souls daring enough to take a listen to this album will be sent on a wild ride along crest and trough fit for the brave and adventurous alike.
Storm Over Sea is comprised of eight songs. Each one has merit and is necessary to the overall feel and flow of the album. Truly, the experience would not be the same if one of these essential cogs were removed, but the real story lies in the three epic length paeans to the sea and it’s might that form the core of the album. “Infinite Sea” is up first. It commences with a bang right after the introductory track, “Hail Sign”. Blackened metal roars out of the speakers. Important differences from other black metal I’ve experienced would be that the screaming quickly segues into actual melodic singing over the blastbeats, and you can actually hear the bass line clearly (I know right!?). The latter half of this song delivers all the progressive metal elements you know and love: soaring guitar solo, dual guitar lines, harmonious vocals, etc. “Weather The Storm” is the second epic on offer, and boy does it live up to its title. Similar to “Infinite Sea” this song begins with some serious black metal. Unlike the first song however, “Weather…” is unrelenting for the first four minutes, whereupon the heaviness implodes on itself and leaves a delicate calm in its wake. Towards the end of this song all the violence of the opening passage is completely washed away as the beautiful folksy elements take center stage. Last but certainly not least is “A Bond To Sever”. This song has all the elements of the other two epics, and then adds more on top for good measure. Righteous stuff!
So waveriders, there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourselves. First off, what kind of album interests you? Do you like mentally stimulating music? Are you looking for background fluff, or something that will demand your full unadulterated attention? Does music that takes you on a voyage to destinations unknown hold interest for you? If you are anything like me (and boy do I hope you are) the answers to these questions are blatantly obvious. Yes, I love music that makes me think. Yes, I want an album that unflinchingly stares in my face and demands my full attention. And yes, I wholly appreciate any album that allows me to venture into unknown territory. Ironwood, with Storm Over Sea, has created an album that meets all of those requirements, and exceeds all of my expectations. Listen to the full album for yourself at ironwoodsound.com.au.
Captain’s Log 11-25-2010: Despite repeated attempts to draw out the full story of their voyage, everyone associated with Ironwood remained tight lipped. I guess we will never know the truth about where they disappeared to, or how they got back. We are returning to Sydney Harbor with Ironwood’s ship in the lead. By this point all of my crew have listened to the band’s new album, and to a person (I have both men and women in my crew), they can barely contain their excitement. Believe me, I sympathize! Frankly if, as the band states, the sea directly inspired their music, then put me on record as stating other bands should be forced out to sea. It will be good for them sure, but it will be great for all those poor land dwellers! Can you imagine the power of that music? I’m not sure I’m capable either, but I’m absolutely positive more people would take up boating. You can count on that!
-- Penfold
Buy here: Storm Over Sea
Buy here mp3: Storm Over Sea
Mikey Jukebox - S/T
Is the computer processing and manipulation of digitized sound musicianship?
I just returned from winter NAMM 2011 in Anaheim, California. NAMM is the “National Association of Music Merchants,” a music trade group that has hosted the largest trade show in North America at the Anaheim Convention Center since the early to mid-1980’s. Over 1,600 exhibitors display their latest and greatest in musical instruments, accessories and wizardry. It also hosts hundreds of industry concerts, appearances and parties.
While there I watched Roland, a giant Japanese electric amplifier and effects manufacturer and distributor, put its real time pitch-correction and instantaneous keyboard generated harmonic choirs with digital drums midi instrumentation machines through their paces. The results were phenomenal. It would be difficult to differentiate between a very good singing group and the keyboard synthesized computer generated one.
Roland offered me the opportunity to see Yngwie Malmsteen and Rising Force at a concert in downtown Disney at the House Of Blues. Before the concert Roland held the Finals of its “International Looper Competition.” A looper is a digital foot switch array that allows one to store sounds and repeat them in a continuous loop subject to being turned on and off via a foot pedal switch. Depending upon the mode, and the number used, multiple separate soundbytes can be stored, looped and recalled. The winner of the Competition was Simon Shlomo Kahn, an English beatboxer. With only his voice and the looper he was able to create strings, horns, drums, punctuation, mirroring, echo-phasing, bass and harmony. Other competitors made bottles sound like Bjork songs with the assistance of the looper effects modules.
This brings me to Mike James’ project - Mikey Jukebox. Mike James has been in the industry since he was a little child. He started playing drums in clubs when he was six and learned to play the guitar at the age of sixteen. By the time he was twenty he was writing and performing all the instruments on demos - guitar, bass, drums, keys/synth, and percussion - and multitracking them. The ten track album Mikey Jukebox was recorded, scrapped, re-recorded, processed and reprocessed. Sometimes 90 different tracks were used to create the music. James takes on the persona of Mikey Jukebox and releases this album as “self-titled.”
Mind you, the album contains some of the best “pop” songs I’ve heard in a very long time. Sounds bounces all over the place. It literally pops out of the speakers. Harmonies are unexpected and exceptional. There is a glam rock glory feel to the tracks. Instrumentation is powerful and compelling, and it is all digitized, computerized, processed, and programmed into place.
I suppose since the first bluesman played electric through a torn speaker musicians have been engaged in sound processing. “Mikey“ James “Jukebox “ just seems to taken it to the next level. His creations are a sound factory. By playing all of the instruments and digitizing them into bytes and then separating them into tracks he is able to choose where and when any particular sound or pattern will appear or, rather, sound. He then can process them to create the illusion of grand instrumentation. Most of the album is produced by midi keyboard synthesizers. However great this music is, and it is great music, does all this production show great musicianship?
Computer sound processing, is now the chosen method of production. Computer programs can change, correct, relocate and process any sound. Less time is spent in the studio and more time is spent with editing software. James started this project in 2007, scrapped the original project and started over. He is a perfectionist with amazing technical sound processing prowess. There is no question about that and I love listening to this album, but can this editing and production technical prowess qualify as musicianship?
Electronica has been around for quite some time. These artists manipulate synthesizers and midi-triggering devices to create sounds that could not otherwise be created with the acoustic instruments at hand. Electronica artists play computer chips. Yet, even electronica is different than what “Mickey Jukebox” accomplishes. In electronica the musicians play with a bank of sounds. Mike James’ post recording sound processing recombines those sounds in ways the artists may never have played or intended to play them.
Today and tomorrow the musical instrument of choice is and will be the computer. James probably can never tour this album since I do not think there is any way it could ever be played live with the same sound heard on the album. It is his technical computer processing skill that makes this album so great and, I suppose, in today’s day and age that is the equivalent of an instrumentalist’s musicianship. It is just that the computer is now the instrument and the possibilities are endless.
- Old School
buy here mp3: Mikey Jukebox
buy here: Mikey Jukebox
Roadsaw - S/T
This is an album that had to be made, and Roadsaw was just the band to do it.
Let me explain. Every week it seems, around the Ripple HQ, Pope and I get into a fevered conversation about how America is poised to embrace real rock again. With the schmaltz producers running out of retreads to retread, it seems that there’s a burning for something honest, something raw, something real. Along those lines, Small Stone, with its stellar line-up of bands like Lo-Pan, Sun Gods in Exile, and Suplecs, leads the way, and others like Hydro-Phonics, Tee-Pee, and even our own label, Ripple Music, with bands like Stone Axe, Grifter, Mighty High and Iron Claw, are poised and ready to pounce at a moment’s notice to unleash a fury of real rock onto the world. Satisfying the hunger, feeding the craving.
But before that can happen, we need a bridge album. An album fully steeped in the heaviness, grittiness, and muscle of real rock, but crafted with such a perfect eye for melody and--dare I say it—pop hooks, that it can capture the general public’s ears. Threatening and, oh so violent, but deep in its melody, refined in its choruses, and smooth as an iced road in a Boston winter. Dirty, but clean enough to actually break onto the airwaves.
I was a big fan of See You In Hell, their 2008 album which I immediately placed on to my best of list for that year. Expect to find the self-titled Roadsaw on this year’s list.
Don’t let any mention of that awful P-word (pop) dissuade you from spinning this beast. And I do mean beast. Roadsaw hangs deep in the water of heavy like an overburdened barge weighed down under the immensity of its riffs. Fuzz, power, gruff, it’s all here. But so is something else. I don't mean "pop" in the sense of sell-out. Heaven forbid! I mean "pop" in the sense of a killer accessibility, pop in the sense that you could play this album for someone who isn't already addicted to heavy rock and within moments you could get his head doing the man nod and her ass doing the feminine groove.
Since their last album, the cats of Roadsaw (founding members, Tim Catz (bass) and Craig Riggs (vocals), and guitarist Ian Ross and drummer Jeremy Hemond (also of Cortez and Black Thai) have matured as straight-forward songwriters in some sort of exponential way, allowing space to creep into their songs, passages of subtlety, even moments of jazzy breeziness, all layer upon some seriously catchy riffs and H1N1-infectious melodies. The whole package just screams "we’re still heavy folks, fuck we’re heavy, but we’re so much more than that."
With rock radio caught in a chasing-their-own-tailspin, salivating at the return of Velvet Revolver, or AudioslaveCreedAlterBridgeNickleBoringSomething, this is the album that should creep into the playlists. Like a midnight stalker, sneaking into the bedroom of the unsuspecting, Roadsaw should insinuate itself onto the airwaves. Get the nation rocking again.
From the first cut, we’re off and running. “Dead and Buried,” features a simply filthy guitar tone with its edges totally obscured by fuzz. Yet, somehow, it’s still clean at its heart. The riff repeats and builds on itself in a fashion not too dissimilar from “Daytripper,” by the Beatles . . . er . . . that is if the Beatles never shaved, tattooed skulls on their deltoids, and draped their brass-knuckled fingers around the handles of a Harley. Still, the point is there. As heavy as that riff is, it’s still totally accessible. Add to that a thick, but melodic vocal performance by Riggs, and a chorus that should have every trucker singing as they head out I-10 and we got ourselves a candidate for our first heavy radio hit. “Weight in Gold,” fuzzes the tone even more and ups the adrenaline a thousand fold, coming at you like some Feurezeug attack. This is a fuzz-punk assault all the way through the impossibly scuzzed Ross guitar solo to its defining moment, 2:36 in. Sudden tempo change, bass and drum lock into a groove that wouldn’t be out of place in a late night underground beat club, while the guitar squeaks through a tastefully frenetic flurry. Then the riff heaviness comes back, leading right into the monster blitz of “Thinking of Me,” and again, we’re off and running. Heavy? Oh, yeah. But clear enough that this cut should appeal to anyone listening to The Boneyard on XM and wanting to hear something new. Once again, Riggs outdoes himself on the vocal here, keeping it thick-throated, but accessible.
“Long in the Tooth,” follows suit, marrying devastatingly heavy riffs, panzer-division bass, and Stuka attack drumming with a melody sweet enough to suck in the ears of the uninitiated. Add a cool southern swagger to the vocal and we got radio hit number 2. My choice for number 3 is “The Getaway,” which rides a frenetic riff straight down the throat of its knock-em-out chorus.
Sure, some fans of only the heaviest and skuzziest history of Roadsaw might feel that the album is a touch too polished. The impossibly slow and epic, “Electric Heaven,” may appease them a touch, with its Clutch-meets Sabbath bad trip vibe. But this album isn’t about appeasing the old fans. It’s about breaking ground with the new ones. Keeping the past alive while screaming and kicking the masses in the teeth. It’s about breaking new ground in the acceptance of the heavy and tilting the planetary axis a bit towards the equator of real rock.
It’s an album that had to be made, and Roadsaw was just the band to do it.
--Racer
www.smallstone.com
A Sunday Conversation with Grammy Nominated World Music Performer Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon
When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphanies since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
A few different epiphanies at different stages of my life….that I remember enough to comment on…I grew up in a little simple town in India with a radio which played all kinds of Indian music only – with two channels - except on Saturday nights from 9-30 -11pm – a program called Listeners’ Choice with only English pop songs. I did not own a tape recorder to tape anything, or a turntable so I learnt all these songs by ear... I was in love with those Saturday nights
These were some of my hot favorites then…
Tom Jones’ Delilah – in my early teenage years –love, longing;
Dean Martin Sway – hearing a beautiful rhumba for the first time in my life and getting chills at the melody of the beat
The Seekers – (the Australian Group)( gerogy Girl, Morning Town ride)
I watched WOODSTOCK in a continuous show theater in Chennai for three days (4 shows each)...that is twelve times over two weeks…
I also sang many hymns, spirituals, marching songs and national songs as I studied in a Catholic Convent school..
Then came French music when I was learning French at the Alliance Francaise…
Les feuilles mortes (autumn leaves in French) and songs of Enrico macias (Paris tu m’as pris dans tes bras and fifty others) and Francoise Hardy (tous les garcons); Ne me quitte pas (if you go away)...Jacques Brel...when I shivered feeling the poetry and romance in French music- I sang them in many local performances often not fully understanding the meaning
The teenage and 20s my obsessions – I cried, I laughed, I imagined, I dreamed to these albums and groups
The Beatles – all songs, but the White Album – my constant companion for two years
Roberta Flack – Killing me softly /Quiet Fire (first time I ever saw your face; Will you still love me tomorrow)
Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Moody Blues
Full circle...back to Indian music and rigorous rigorous classical training again with the best masters of Indian music-every great you can name Jasraj, Sahasrabuddhe, MS Subbalakshmi, Vijay Kichlu, T Viswanathan, and of course my master teacher Pandit Girish Wazalwar
For both my CDs, I literally woke up at 3 in the morning with the song and the music playing in my head...I groggily went to my instruments, and my keyboard and started singing them in whatever outline was coming to me..With my trusted tape recorder running...I think I recorded 5 or 6 tracks in outline form...then when I was awake, I called my teacher in India and sang some of the outlines to him as I wanted feedback..
Over the next few weeks and months I polished them, fussed with them, sang it to different people and created a final version…
I then sat with my instrument arranger to discuss what should be the kind of sound I was hearing for it...and then let him run with an initial version…
For example in track 8...I was only hearing guitars and violins...i was thinking of Malaguena and hava nagila and various other songs...as I was composing in this classically rigorous Indian scale!
Who has influenced you the most?
Given how far ranging my musical tastes and influences are, there really is not one person; I hear music everywhere ,in everything, every moment – consciously and unconsciously..
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
When I am in deep meditation, my mind is clear, and I am not “trying to compose” I hear the music...it almost composes itself... In fact I was “trying’ to compose something else when SOUL CALL happened!
Genres are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?
I really consider my music an Indian raga based world album with a universal healing chant that I hope will cross all boundaries and connect everyone in a circle of love…
What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?
I hope the music will break down every one’s boundaries and barriers and enable each one take a journey into themselves, to reach their own innermost grace...and as they do that, they can then radiate it to every one they touch…that is my prayer…
Another key goal of mine is that music should be a shared celebration…I made it simple enough so that everyone can sing along -
What makes a great song?
Music that lets you feel something deeper than you normally feel
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
I have been writing rhyming poetry since I was in first grade and singing them to common tunes...the first serious song I wrote was a song about the power and grace of a woman – in English and Sanskrit...I am compiling some of these in one of my upcoming albums…
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
To be honest, I feel little ownership of it...it came together with so many people working to make it beautiful – my teachers who commented on my compositions, my musical arranger who brought some of the best musicians of india to play on the tracks; the recording engineers in India and NY that took it on as a labor of love…so in a sense this belongs to many people…
I am happiest that so many people are being moved and are so openly and continuously sharing their feelings on face book and in hundreds of mails to me…I am happy that with no radio play we today debuted at no 11 on Billboard World music Charts and have been on the top of ITunes and Amazon at times…so something is happening which is beyond my limited comprehension….
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
I can’t even begin to answer this question – too many great ones, and the songs are more direct and more explicit now…and touch some raw spots... Also, being of a certain age, I am still stuck on some of the old writers…so I get my “ass kicked “all the time!
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
I am the world’s best crate digger…and can give you this info for many great cities in this world, as I have spent hours doing this, and still do. Music World, landmark – are the big outlets in Chennai, India. The Indian film industry produces thousands of films each year and each film has 5-8 songs...so the inventory is ever changing…and world pop is hot as is classical music…
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
Open your ears open your minds and open your hearts – you never know what senses your waves may ride on; you might be surprised at what you might experience…
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