Book Review: The Story Of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock, 2nd Edition by Susan Masino

Written by T. Michael Testi

 

With the release of their first album in eight years, there was bound to be a resurgence of interest in AC/DC and their 30-plus year history. In The Story Of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock , author Susan Masino updates her biography and documents the band's history which began in Sydney, Australia in the early 1970s all the way through the new Black Ice album, released October 2008.

While The Story Of AC/DC was first published in 2006, it has been updated to include what the band has been doing in the last three years. Masino first met the band during their first American tour in 1977. Over the years she has remained in contact with them and interviewed them many times.

The book begins with the story of the Young's, who were actually born in Scotland, and their move to Australia under the Assisted Passage Scheme of 1947 which, because of job scarcity, allowed them to move for a nominal fee. The book follows their rise first in Australia - and then the world.

First, what I liked about the book is that it is very well researched, and the author is very knowledgeable about the band. As with any good book on a topic like this, there much insight that is to be gained from its reading.

One of the things that I had previously known included the fact that Malcolm and Angus Young's older brother George first broke on to the music charts with "Friday on my Mind," which hit number 16 in the U.S. charts and number 6 in the U.K. What I didn't know was the impact it was to have on AC/DC.

Another is that Angus Young, the one in the school boy knickers' gyrating around the stage, is a teetotaler. He has never touched anything stronger than a cigarette. The book also includes background on how the whole schoolboy thing came about and some of the other colorful costumes that were tried before he settled on this one.

There are a lot of good tidbits about the band, the history, and other insights into one of the most popular hard rock bands of all time. There are also a lot of pictures of the band throughout this time and this version also comes with a CD that includes interviews with each member. This even includes the late Bon Scott, with the interview was done in 1977.

The main thing that I had a problem with in The Story Of AC/DC is that throughout there are what I call cut-outs. This is where the author inserts comments by using italics. This seems to break the flow of thought. I wish that she would have incorporated these pieces of information as part of the dialog of the general book. It sometimes seems that she is first fan, then biographer.

Outside of that, I found it to be a good read. The book covers pretty much every aspect of the band's history. I do think that you will get a good appreciation for the band and the fact that they had to work hard to get where they got to and even then, life dealt them blows that could have done in lesser bands. If you want to learn more about the life and times of AC/DC then The Story Of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock 2nd Edition is a good place to start.

Music Review: Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys - The Tiffany Transcriptions

Technorati Tags: Bob Wills,Texas Playboys,Music

Written by T. Michael Testi

While Bob Wills had been playing music since he was a very young child in Texas, it wasn't until he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1934 that he formed "The Texas Playboys." It was here that they began broadcasting noontime shows over the 50,000 watt KVOO radio station. Their Monday through Friday shows became an institution in the area. They also played every Thursday and Saturday nights at Cain's Ballroom which was where the broadcasts where recorded at as well.

From 1935 to 1938 Wills refined his band, and their sound by adding musicians like steel guitar wizard Leon McAuliffe as well as horn, reed, and drum players to the mix. In 1940, they released "New San Antonio Rose" and it sold over a million records becoming the signature song of the Texas Playboys. Because they were a two-in-one unit; a small fiddle band, and a swinging big band, they could play a wide range of music from big band, western, swing, pop, and Dixieland.

After a brief stint in the Army, he moved the Texas Playboys to Hollywood and continued to refine the sound of the band. Because of the great depression, World War II, and the great dustbowl, they found a lot of fans from Oklahoma and Texas that had relocated and were an enormous draw in California. During this time Wills also began making more creative use of electric guitars.

In 1944, Cliff Johnson, a staff announcer for Oakland's KLX radio station and someone who disliked anything country, was asked by management to "take one for the team." They wanted him to host a western show. After finding himself volunteered, he took on the moniker "Cactus Jack" and began playing what little country and western music that the station's library had.

It was at this time that a friend introduced him to Wills music. They lent him a cardboard box full of Wills records and when he began playing them, the station was deluged with requests. After listening to so much of this music, soon Johnson was hooked. Wills found out about Cactus Jack and soon the DJ was promoting Wills and the Playboys around the bay area.

In 1945 Wills, Cactus Jack, and businessman-songwriter Clifford Sundin founded Tiffany Music, Inc. to create a series of transcriptions; pre-packaged radio shows featuring Wills and his Texas Playboys. The goal was to sell these shows to subscribing stations who would present them with local advertisers. This steady series of programs would require the band to record scores of tunes, not just their hits, and bandstand repertoire, but entirely new songs, and at a record pace.

They revisited their old recordings, wrote new ones, covered tunes from other acts, and just make stuff up on the spot. Quite often they would record the session's right after a tour while they were playing at the top of their form. The Tiffany Transcriptions are these recordings that took place during 1946-47 and since they were recorded on 16 inch vinyl disks, the had more freedom to perform than they did on the more restricted 78 rpm singles that were tradition at the time.

 

The Tiffany Transcriptions is a box-set that contains 10-disks covering 150 songs. This is the first time that this collection has been put together as a set and it contains written testimonials from those that Wills music inspired. These include people like Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel and Ranger Doug from Riders in the Sky.

As I said this is a 10 disk set and each disk is packaged in an individual sleeve that contains the album cover, liner notes from various individuals either about the sessions, or about how the sessions and Wills influenced them, and photos. There is also information on the sessions such as who was there, where and when it was recorded, and on the back is the listing of all of the songs. There is also a 16 page booklet with more information on the history of the sessions.

I was always a fan of the later generations of Western Swing such as Asleep at the Wheel, and while I had heard some of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, and liked what I had heard, I was not familiar with what I would now call the "true" sound of Bob Wills. After listing to The Tiffany Transcriptions I found that I absolutely loved this aspect of the music.

The quality of the recordings is very good considering the time and equipment that was available around in the mid-forties. They have that natural radio sound to them that makes them take on a nostalgic tone. Don't get me wrong, the recordings themselves are very clear and clean.

Because of the nature of the recordings and how they were performed, the songs themselves give off a "live" feel and are less restricted than their Columbia and MGM counterpart releases that Wills put out during this time. Most seem to agree that this sound reflects more of their live performances. I would agree that there is a lot of natural energy to these recordings.

If you like the music of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, if you like country music, western swing, big band, or old time music, you will absolutely love The Tiffany Transcriptions. Even if you don't like one or all of the above, I suspect, that like Cactus Jack, if you start listening to it, you will find yourself liking it. For this I have to give it five stars. Go get it!

Music Review: Grayson Capps - Rott 'N' Roll

By T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

Born of the prostitutes, alcoholics, vagrants, and drifters that inhabit the music of Grayson Capps and the Stumpknockers, the term Rott 'N' Roll; as well as the title of his latest album, is a reflection of the style of music they create. The Southern soul, mixed with back-country stomp, and spiced with road-house blues, brings out a down home American appeal.

Grayson Capps first discovered music in Alabama where he was born and raised. His father and friends would sit around getting drunk, telling stories, and playing acoustic guitars to the songs of Hank Williams, Tom T. Hall, Woody Guthrie, and others. While on scholarship at Tulane University, he took up playing music. He formed two bands that had moderate success and even opened shows for the likes of Keith Richards and Crowded House.

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, Capps moved to Franklin Tennessee. With the need to produce a new album, he recorded Wail & Ride. While this album included his band the Stumpknockers, it also included other musicians and had a more studio sound and quality to it.

Rott 'N' Roll on the other hand, is more about capturing the real sound of Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers. The album was made at his home studio in Franklin and many of the songs were done in single takes. The band features Tommy MacLuckie on Lead, Josh Kerin on Bass, and John Milham on Drums. The album was produced by Trina Shoemaker.

Rott 'N' Roll has a definite different feel to its predecessor Wail & Ride, yet it retains all of the quality of writing and musicianship. There is a certain feel that a group of musicians have when they have spent a lot of time on the road playing together night after night. Grayson Capps and the Stumpknockers have that sound.

The songwriting is as good as ever ranging from the simplistic "Sock Monkey;" which by the way was written by the lead guitarist Tommy MacLuckie, and is pure punk country fun, to the incredibly deep lyrics of the songs "Ike," "Arrowhead," "Guitar," and "The Waltz."

There are the songs that are there just for the fun of it such as "Grand Maw Maw" and "Big Ol' Woman;" both of which include a drunken chorus of rednecks whom it was said found their way to the sessions. There is also an insightful and very well done poem "Fear Fruit Bearing Tree" which goes to show what an articulate writer can do when making a biting political point.

Finally, there are the songs in which it really is the music that drives the them such as in the driving "Big Black Buzzard," the stomping "Sun Don't Shine on Willy," and the equally driving instrumental "Bacon."

What struck me most though, was that each piece had its own identity; its own personality and place on this album. Some grabbed you by the collar and made you take notice like "Back to the Country" with its complex lyrics and great tune. While others sneak up from behind like "Psychic Channel Blues" which builds and has some subtle, yet biting lead guitar licks and really worked for me.

What I like about Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers is that it is not a manufactured sound. It comes across as genuine and edgy and totally unique. The songs paint pictures that leave indelible images in your mind. Of the thirteen tracks on Rott 'N' Roll, there was not one that I did not find a reason to enjoy for one reason or another. If you want some great down home southern blues with a bit of Rott 'N' Roll, then you need to give this album a spin.


Song list for Rott 'N' Roll

Back To The Country
Arrowhead
Gran Maw Maw
Psychic Cannel Blues
The Waltz
Big Black Buzzard
Ike
Sun Don't Shine on Willy
Big Ole Woman
Guitar
Fear Fruit Bearing Tree
Sock Monkey
Bacon

Music Review: The Doors by The Doors

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

In July of 1965 on Venice Beach California, two students of the UCLA film school decided to form a band after one of the studentS found out that the other was writing lyrics to songs. When Vox-Organ player Ray Manzarek asked Jim Morrison to sing one of the songs, a song called "Moonlight Drive," an ember of what would form into a group was alight. By September of that year, they formed up with guitarist Robby Kriger and drummer John Densmore and, taking the name from an Aldous Huxley book, "The Doors of Perception", where born The Doors.

The Doors were unusual in the annals of rock music in that while performing on the road they did not use a bass player. The bass lines where played by Manzarek on the newly invented Fender Rhodes Bass Keyboard. While in the studio, they often brought in studio players to perform the lines.

In January 1967, The Doors released their self-titled debut LP. This caused major commotion within the music circles of the time. Not only did it contain most of the major songs from their set, it included an 11-minute version of "The End", the band's keynote song. They recorded the album in only a few days during August and September of 1966.

This was an in-studio "live" album, in that almost all of the songs were captured in a single take. Morrison and Manzarek also directed a promotional film for their first single "Break on Through" in what turns out to be an early music video. Their second single, "Light my Fire", put them in league with The Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead as one of the top counter-culture bands of their time.

While these should be songs you know by heart and the mere fact that The Doors is one of those albums that deserves ranking on everyone's top 100 albums of all time, I understand that not everyone will have heard this CD.

For those who are not familiar with the brash, soulful, bluesy rock style that was totally The Doors, the songs; "Soul Kitchen", "The Crystal Ship", "Twentieth Century Fox", "Alabama Song", "Back Door Man", "The End", "Break On Through", and "Light My Fire" are all simply brilliant, with the last three being classics worth the price of admission. "The End", the controversial eleven minute masterpiece, will wow you with how fresh it sounds even today. The remaining songs deserve at least three or four stars as well.

This release of The Doors debut album, is a complete reengineering and re-mastering of the original version. The sound quality is superb. According to the liner notes, the speed of the album has always been slower that it was intended. This has been fixed and the mix is also clearer and more dynamic.

The Doors Song Listing:
Break On Through (To the Other Side) Soul Kitchen
The Crystal Ship
Twentieth Century Fox
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Light My Fire
Back Door Man
I Looked At You
End of the Night
Take It As It Comes
The End

Bonus Tracks:
Moonlight Drive
Moonlight Drive
Indian Summer

Music Review: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - In The Palace Of The King

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

What can you say when a blues musician does a tribute to a legendary guitarist; in this case Freddie King, the bluesman from Texas? When they do it well, you can admire it, when it comes from the legend-maker, it becomes something to be truly treasured!

Spanning a career of five decades and creating the careers of hundreds of musicians over the last four decades, John Mayall, along with the Bluesbreakers, is putting out his 56th album this week. In The Palace Of The King is a tribute to the late Freddie King (1934-1976).

According to his first successful student, Eric Clapton, "John Mayall has actually run an incredibly great school for musicians." Some of his later pupils include Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), John McVie (Fleetwood Mac), Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac), Harvey Mandel (Canned Heat), Kal David (Kal David Band), Aynsley Dunbar (Journey, Frank Zappa, Jefferson Starship David Bowie), Andy Fraser (Free), Larry Taylor (Canned Heat), and Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones).

It is only fitting that Mayall and company do this kind of album since they have been associated with the music of Freddie King from the beginning. According to Mayall, "So, it was a logical step for the band to record an album of songs written by him or closely associated with him". And from one of the songs on the album, "He was a big man from Texas, He played an even bigger guitar. He was the king of the Kings, born to be a superstar."

There is not a bad song in the bunch. They range from Don Nix's "Going Down"; probably the best known song, with a hefty back beat and furious bass to "Palace of the King" written by Nix, Leon Russel and Donald "Duck" Dunn, the energetic blues-rock ditty that has Mayall powering an upbeat vocal.

There are slow mercilessly powerful songs like "Help me through the Day" with its deep horns and sad emotion. And Mayall's original, "Time to Go" with smooth guitar leads playing off the sax and horn sections.

As far as a little more honky-tonk feel, you have "You know that you love me" and "I Love You More Every Day", and Mayall's other original "King of Kings". Here he provides a cacophony of piano leads trading into guitar leads which trade into sax leads.

At 73, John Mayall is still going strong with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. With the release of In The Palace Of The King, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers will be kicking off their 2007 international tour to support the album. If you can get to one of the numerous dates, then by all means get out to see this legend and master; the godfather of British blues. If you can't, then buy In The Palace Of The King, you will be glad you did!

In The Palace Of The King song listing

You Know That You Love Me
Goin' Down
Some Other Day, Some Other Time
Palace Of The King
I'd Rather Be Blind
Time To Go
Big Legged Woman
Now I Got A Woman
I Love You More Every Day
Help Me Through The Day
Cannonball Shuffle You've Got Me Licked
King Of Kings
Living On The Highway

Music Review: James Blood Ulmer - Bad Blood In The City: The Piety Street Sessions

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)
Following up on his 2005 release Birthright, the CD that was embraced by the music world as one of the most important blues records of the year, James Blood Ulmer is releasing Bad Blood In The City on May 8th 2007. As much as I loved Birthright for its "…blues at its finest", I like this album even better.

Bad Blood In The City was made in New Orleans, about New Orleans. It's about Katrina and the after effect to the people of New Orleans; especially the disenfranchised. Why now? Katrina is almost two years past and the city is coming back, they had football back last year, basketball is coming back this next year. The city is rebuilding and growing out of the ashes.
According to producer Vernon Reid, "For me, it seems more important to record this music now than right after Katrina. With the media no longer focused on it, this is when the tragedy starts slipping to the backs of our collective memories, but we can't forget what happened down there." Ulmer did write the majority of the songs from Bad Blood In The City during the days following Hurricane Katrina; while he was still promoting Birthright.

In December 2006, Ulmer and the Memphis Blood Blues Band entered the Piety Street Studios. The band consists of Vernon Ried on guitar, Charlie Burnham on fiddle, David Barnes on harmonica, Leon Gruenbaum on keyboards, Mark Peterson on bass and Aubry Dayle on drums.

Bad Blood In The City contains eleven songs, five of which are Ulmer originals. The sessions start with "Survivors of the Hurricane" performing a complex painting of the disaster that was Katrina. With a Clavinet grove and Vernon Reid's explosive guitar work matching Ulmer's biting lyrics "..they called themselves heroes for doing their jobs." This is a masterpiece!

When I first heard "Sad Days, Lonely Nights", the Junior Kimbrough tune, I was not sure if I liked it at first. It kept calling me back to give it one more listen and one more listen until I realized it was the hypnotic quality that kept calling me back like a siren's wail. "Katrina", is a biting commentary on the fact that the "rich and able" left the poor to fend for themselves. The track was cut in the dead of night and biting edges shows its gnarly teeth.

"Let's Talk About Jesus", is a wonderful gospel blues piece that really kicks it up a notch. Adding Irene Dasher, the voices blend in an old time harmony. Then, they do a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "This Land is Nobody's Land". This he turns into a modern day social statement. This is followed by Willie Dixon's "Dead Presidents". This provides a brief respite with its jumping rhythms and playful rhymes.

We are back to business with Howlin' Wolf's, "Commit a Crime" followed by Son House's "Grinnin in Your Face". Both interpreted in Ulmer style, power and fury. "There is Power in the Blues", Ulmer, one who is known to challenge the preconceived notion that the blues is a predetermined style, "uses the concept of the blues to feel our way around" with this song.
"Backwater Blues" is Ulmer's most traditional interpration of a classical blues number on the album. The CD closes out with "Old Slave Master", an Ulmer original that brings us back to the start.

Recognized as an elder statesman of the blues, Ulmer continues to define and redefine both himself and the brand of blues that he creates. Bad Blood In The City is a pivotal piece in that definition. As good as Birthright was, I think that Bad Blood In The City exceeds those heights.

There is a recording of James Blood Ulmer and Alison Krauss performing at Radio City Music Hall which shows the power in Ulmer's renditions. This can be found at YouTube.

"Bad Blood In The City" song listing

Survivors of the Hurricane
Sad Days, Lonely Nights
Katrina
Let's Talk About Jesus
This Land is Nobody's Land
Dead Presidents
Commit A Crime
Grinnin' in Your Face
There is Power in the Blues
Backwater Blues
Old Slave Master

Music Review: Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

Welcome to a new series entitled "Sounds from the Attic" in which I will attempt to conjure up the spirits of albums of the bygone past. These are albums that while, in some sense are classic, don't always get the recognition they deserve. They generally don't make most peoples top 100 list and quite often unknown by the younger music crowd, but should be.

My basic criteria is that the album is at least 20 years old; although I reserve judgment to highlight something a little newer, if it is more obscure. There should be some compelling reason to conjure up the spirit, if merely for my whim!

In this issue, I am pulling from the attic and dusting off John Barleycorn Must Die , the fourth effort from Traffic. This is an interesting album as, through an interesting twist of fate, it resurrected Traffic from insignificance and set them down the road to becoming future members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2004).

Traffic was formed in 1967 by former member of Spencer Davis Group Steve Winwood, Hellions members, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason, and Chris Wood. The later three were also reported to have done session work with the Spencer Davis Group. Influenced by the early work of The Band, they retreated to a country house in Berkshire England to write and develop new material prior to making their debut.

They had some minor hits in the U.K. during 1967, but none in the U.S. Tension was already surfacing between Winwood and Mason; the two primary songwriters at the time. Mason did not want to collaborate with Winwood and eventually and this lead to his leaving the band before the release of their first album Mr. Fantasy in 1967.

Mason rejoined Traffic in 1968 for the recording of their second album Traffic. From there, they toured and in 1969 their album Last Exit was released. It was during the tour that Mason was fired and Winwood declared the he was breaking up the band.

After spending less than a year with Blind Faith, what might be considered the first super-group with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Rick Gretch, Winwood found him self in a contractual obligation to do a solo album. This is where John Barleycorn Must Die comes in.

At age 22, Winwood's original concept for this album was to be a solo album in which he plays all instruments and vocals. The record got as far as one backing track for "Stranger to Himself", before he broke down and called on the services of Jim Capaldi. After the two completed a second track, "Every Mother's Son", they brought in Chris Wood and Island Records chief Chris Blackwell to help with the production. Thus, Traffic was reborn.

John Barleycorn Must Die is a mix of genres including folk, jazz, and rock mixed in with psychedelic influences. It starts with the instrumental, "Glad". It has an up-tempo funky feel. You can feel the jazz and folk influences as it makes its way along. "Freedom Rider", is a ballad that showcases Chris Wood's talents on sax and flute. It is lively and upbeat and wonderfully hypnotic. "Empty Pages", showcases Capaldi's drumming skills in a funky, intense sound which is enhanced by Winwood's jazzy keyboard work.

This is one thing that I don't get, when the record companies re-master many of these albums, they feel the need to add "bonus" songs to add value. That is sometimes good, but many times it is bad. This CD has two, previously un-released cuts. There is probably a good reason that they were previously un-released. They weren’t that good. "I Just Want to Know" is one of these. It is a little over a minute in length and basically chants the title over and over. I wish that if they add this kind of drivel, put it at the end, so I don't have hear it when I am trying to listen to the original album.

Then comes "Stranger to Himself", this is the song that Winwood plays all of the instruments. Capaldi helps with some background vocals. It is a folk-funk song that gets you in the mood for the really laid-back folk classic title track "John Barleycorn Must Die". The flute work in this is suburb as the song builds with the acoustic guitar. You can almost imagine a couple of medieval troubadours playing in front of a campfire.

From there we get "Every Mothers Son", this is the track in which Winwood plays all of the instruments with the exception of Capaldi on Drums. It has a bluesy feel with some grinding organ from Winwood. The CD is finished off with the other bonus track, "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love". This song is better than the first bonus, but I would have been just fine without it.

Ok, what makes this album worth pulling out of the attic? Well first, it is a wonderful album that stands on its own in the history of rock. John Barleycorn Must Die transposed Traffic from being just one of those bands who never quite lived up to their potential into a future hall of fame inductee. It became their first gold record (#5 in the US), it set them on their course to three more top 10 U.S. albums (Low Spark of High Heeled Boys at # 7, Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory at # 6, and When the Eagle Flies at #9).

It also changed the music industry in the sense that all of the original songs were in excess of four minutes. In the day, to get radio time, the general thought was that your singles had to be less than four minutes, really around three. It was from bands like Traffic that the new "Album Oriented" stations came about in the late 60s to early 70s and would eventually lead to the acceptance of songs like Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Skynard's "Freebird" to reach the airwaves.

As an added note, Chris Wood died in 1983 of Pneumonia; some say it was related to his drinking. He was 43. Jim Capaldi died in 2005 of stomach cancer at age 60. Dave Mason went on to a terrific solo career as well as joining Fleetwood Mac on one album (Time) and currently performs with The Dave Mason Band. Steve Winwood continues to work on new material; About Time was released in 2003 as well as a possible album this year He has also been working on session sets with the likes of Sam Moore and Christina Aguilera.

If you are in the mood for some freeform fun and to get a better feel for what made music Winwood and company so great, pick up a copy of John Barleycorn Must Die. You'll be glad you did.

John Barleycorn Must Die song listing
Glad (Winwood) 6:59
Freedom Rider (Winwood/Capaldi) 5:35
Empty Pages (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:47
I Just Want To Know (Winwood/Capaldi) 1:32 – Previously Unreleased
Stranger To Himself (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:02
John Barleycorn (traditional-arr. Winwood) 6:20
Every Mother's Son (Winwood/Capaldi) 7:05
Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love (Winwood/Capaldi) 3:24 – Previously Unreleased

DVD Review - Canned Heat: Live at Montreux and Boogie With Canned Heat: The Canned Heat Story

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

If you are a fan of blues, especially the boogie blues that Canned Heat produces then you are in for a real treat with Canned Heat: Live at Montreux. This DVD is a recording of a concert that took place in 1973 and features the then line up of Bob "The Bear" Hite (Vocals, Harmonica, Bass), Ed Beyer (Piano), Henry Vestine (Guitar), Fito De La Parra (Drums), Richard Hite (bass) and James Shane (Guitar, Vocals).

The show begins with "On The Road Again" which highlights The Bear's great harmonica and bluesy vocals. The driving rhythms of Richard Hite and Fito De La Parra playing off the guitar work of Vestine and Shane give the band its power. And to make it boogie we have the piano work of Ed Beyer. This is really what Canned Heat is all about.

The next four songs feature Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. This is a true bonus to the DVD to be able to watch Gatemouth at his best. Brown was a Louisiana/Texas blues musician who was a highly acclaimed musician on a wide variety of instruments including guitar, fiddle, mandolin and drums. In this performance it is just fascinating watching his play on the guitar and fiddle. Especially when he makes his guitar talk as he is mouthing the words. It is just amazing to see.

The sixth song, "Night Time Is The Right Time" highlights James Shane's vocals and guitar work. The remaining songs are vintage Canned Heat. It is pure enjoyment to watch.

The reason why Canned Heat has survived to this day is that they consistently reinvent themselves within the realm of blues boogie by the personnel of the moment and they let their personnel shine in the spotlight. It would have been easy for the Heat to fold after the death of co-founder Alan Wilson. Even easier to fold after the death of the icon Bob Hite, but Canned Heat still tours and puts out original material ("Friends in the Can"; 2003) after forty years in the business.

The other bonus of this package is the second DVD entitled Boogie With Canned Heat: The Canned Heat Story. This is a 140 minute documentary on the history of Canned Heat. It is told through the eyes of the drummer Fito De La Parra; the only remaining member of the group. De La Parra joined the band for the second album and has played on every album since then.

There is footage with John Lee Hooker from the time of "Hooker and Heat"; which subsequently gave Hooker his first album to make the charts. And also talks about the influence that Bob Hite had on the characters known as "The Blues Brothers".

The quality of both DVDs is very good as is the sound. Obviously, some of the footage on the documentary is not of high quality, but its importance is more of historical value. This is a must for anyone who loves the blues and even more important for those fans of Canned Heat.

Track Listing (Montreux 1973):On the Road AgainPlease Mr. Nixon w/ Clarence "Gatemouth" BrownWorried Life Blues w/ Clarence "Gatemouth" BrownOoh Poo Pah Doo w/ Clarence "Gatemouth" BrownFunky w/ Clarence "Gatemouth" BrownNight Time is the Right TimeLet's Work TogetherRock and Roll MusicLookin' for My RainbowMontreux Boogie (improvisation)

Music Review - The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

The Sweet Escape is the second solo effort by the pop-rock singer Gwen Stefani. Released in December 2006, it is the follow-up album to the enormously successful 2004 release Love.Angel.Music.Baby. that sold 3.7 million copies.

How do you follow up that kind of success with a second effort? Chances are you don’t! What one needs to do is create a good solid album. Something that you want to make - The Sweet Escape is this kind of album.

Originally Stefani did not want to do another solo effort. In fact, she has been working out with No Doubt but she had some tracks leftover from the L.A.M.B. sessions that she wanted to release. She took the tracks, which include "Wonderful Life" and created a different style of CD then her last one.

There will be many who feel that she is moving too far off the road that created her success, but sometimes the lack of change is what keeps an artist from being who they are and becoming something that their fans think that they should be. It is easy for a follow up to be nothing more than a rehash of the same material that created the previous success, The Sweet Escape is not a redux.

The down side with creating a fresh start is that you will have many fans who will want to downgrade the performances and down grade the album. To give this album its do, one has to come to it on its own merits and not strictly compare it to L.A.M.B.

Does The Sweet Escape stand on its own? I think that it does. On the first track, “Wind it Up,” she yodels to The Sound of Music tune “The Lonely Goatherd” –which by the way is a strange little ditty that I really like. It is part excitement, part clunky and really addictive. It harks back the L.A.M.B. album but is still different.

“Early Winter” is a driving ballad that is a bit dark but hauntingly wonderful. “4 In The Morning” is in some ways like the song “Cool,” slow and upbeat. “Wonderful Life” has an upbeat driving style to it and great lyrics. “The Sweet Escape” is a bit sugary sweet but comes off well. Akon makes a guest appearance on the track.

“Now That You Got It” is a song that, at first, I didn’t like, but the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. “Don’t get Twisted” is a great dance track though the lyrics are a bit strange. “U Started It” is fun but it takes some time to grow on you.

There are a few of tracks that, while they are not my favorite, are not bad. Those include “Orange County Girl,” which, while it has a good sound, just didn’t work as an OC rap song though I suspect many will disagree with me.

“Fluorescent” is just a little too much 80’s pop music. “Breakin’ Up,” while clever and starts off promising, just doesn’t finish and “Yummy,” which features Pharrell, has a good sound to it and is very catchy; the lyrics are a bit lacking. None of this would dissuade me from purchasing this album.

The grade I give this album is A- because of the effort needed to create an album that was different than her first. It would be easy to look at this CD and say this isn’t what I expected after Love.Angel.Music.Baby., but I admire an artist that puts it on the line and challenges both themselves as well as their listeners.

The tracks are listed below
Wind It Up
The Sweet Escape – Featuring AkonOrange County Girl
Early Winter
Now That You Got It
4 In The Morning
Yummy – featuring Pharrell
Fluorescent
Breakin' Up
Don't Get It Twisted
U Started It
Wonderful Life

Music Review: Deadsy - Phantasmagore

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

What do you get when you cross Greg Allman and Cher? You get the goth-metal sounds of Deadsy. Fronted by Elijah Blue Allman, Deadsy is pure sound in motion. With a low and dissonant tone, Elijah’s low baritone style, Dr Nner’s synths and Carlton’s Ztar (a guitar synthesizer) give the music a surreal quality.

According to the band, Deadsy is an institution that was developed to purify and primify the human solution of sound and vision. It is adamantly committed to the realization of a comprehensive conveyance of simplicity and complexity's synergistic unions - a sort of "simplexity" or "complicity," if you will. This institution is comprised of five separate entities: academia, leisure, horror, war and science-medicine.

This band is surviving on perseverance and instinct. In 1995, as they were about to release a self-titled debut album under the Electra/Sire label, Sire split with Electra and Deadsy was left on the shelf. After a series of false starts, the band finally signed with Korn’s Elementree record label and in 2003 released “Commencement." The album debuted in the top half of the Billboard 200 and sold more than 100,000 copies.

Now after four long years, Phantasmagore is finally released on the Immortal label. Does it live up to the commitment? Absolutely! This is goth-metal shred at its best!

“Razor Love,” with its dueling guitars and addictive beat, is great. “Babes in Abyss” is a fast rock song with a great chorus and guitar work. “Paint It Black” is simply awesome. They have taken the Stones cover and made it their own. Complete with harmonium, tambour and sarongi. I would buy the album for these three songs alone.

There are slow melodic tracks like “Better Than You Know,” traditional Deadsy with a Gary Numan-like finish, “Phantasmagore” – which has an '80s style opening with Blue’s menacing vocals, and “The Last Story Ever,” slow dark and haunting.

There are rocking tracks such as “Time” –- they use parts of Zepplin’s “Immigrant Song” — and “Asura,” with its solid rock style. “Book of Black Dreams” is not my favorite, but it still has moments.

Deadsy first started separating themselves from the crowd within the L.A club shows and the avant-garde staging which earned them word of mouth. Now with the release of Phantasmagore, their legions shall grow even more.

The tracks are: Razor Love
Carrying Over
Babes in Abyss
Paint It Back
Better than you know
Book of Black Dreams
Asura
The last story of ever
Phantasmagore
Time
Health & Theory

My biggest problem with the CD is the cover art which does not represent them very well. Furthermore, there are no liner notes, but since I generally purchase an album for the music I can ignore this oversight.

My final grade on this CD is a good solid A

DVD Review: Nirvana - In Utero - Classic Album Under Review

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

This has been my first experience with the “Classic Albums” series and after seeing this one, it will not be my last. I was very impressed with the detail and information presented in this documentary about the life and times of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and the process that lead to the creation of their final studio album - In Utero.

While much has been said about the short and tormented life of Kurt Cobain, this video has been the first to present to me the background and history that led to the music that Nirvana produced, and the history behind the sound. It also explores the accidental sudden rise to fame - the fame that they were not looking for. It describes the inability for Cobain to handle his success and his ultimate suicide.

The DVD provides, live and in-studio performances by Nirvana with rare interviews, facts and commentary. This is all interspersed with an independent review and criticism from a panel of experts. These include: original Nirvana drummer Chad Channing; Jack Endino, producer of Nirvana's Bleach and owner of the studios in which the band started early work on In Utero; Tracy Marander, former girlfriend of Kurt Cobain, about whom the classic About A Girl was written; Nirvana biographer Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven; Seattle record label boss and musician, Slim Moon; and ex-Melody Maker writer and grunge champion in the UK, David Stubbs, among others.

The DVD is 63 minutes. The quality of the picture is good. Many of the clips are from U.S. Television and originated in NTSC. There is also a really tough quiz on Nirvana knowledge and a bit on the group's MTV Unplugged performance.

All in all, I found this a fascinating documentary. From a historical prospective it was insightful. From a cultural point of view, I took away from it the feeling that Cobain and possibly Nirvana was like a moth being attracted to the light, just going about doing what they wanted to do. When they find themselves in a place that they were not ready to be in with the album “Nevermind”, they try to get back to their roots with In Utero. By then, for Kurt Cobain at least, he was too far into the flame.

Music Review: Daughtry

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

In season four, the face of American Idol began to change with the addition of a new rule that raised the age limit from 26 to 28. This allowed Constantine Maroulis and Bo Bice to become Idol contestants. Both were experienced musicians, having fronted their own bands and both became hits on the show. Season five brought Chris Daughtry to Idol; he was inspired to audition for the show by the success of Bo Bice.

While a heavy favorite early on, Daughtry finished fourth in the competition on May 10, 2006 to a shocked and stunned crowd. There was some controversy, as there always seems to be regarding American Idol. There were fans who claimed that they heard Katharine McPhee’s voice thanking them when they thought they were voting for Chris Daughtry.

After being offered and turning down the opportunity to become the new front man for Fuel, Daughtry formed his own group, Daughtry. The band consists of Chris Daughtry on vocals, Jeremy Brady on rhythm guitar, J.P. Paul on bass, Josh Steely on lead guitar, and Joey Barns on drums.

While there have been a lot of comparisons between Daughtry and the band Nickelback, I just don't see it. Sure, there are tunes that have a modern feel and are perhaps reminiscent of Nickelback, but to me the songs are of higher quality and Chris's voice is better.

Being on Idol is a double-edged sword. It gives you the name and face recognition to get a contract and a CD made, but it can pigeonhole you into being someone that you are not. By spending a lot of time doing other people's songs on Idol, you are already bagged and tagged.

Now with a contract, you have to put together a band, generate new material, record the CD, and then promote it. This is backwards to how it usually happens. Normally you form the band, generate the material, promote and refine the material on the road, and then get the contract and record the CD. This is why bands with hit debut albums some times fail on sophomore attempts. They try to follow up successful compilations without the road work and refinement.

With that in mind, my overall impression of this CD is very favorable. With twelve songs ranging from hard rock to power ballads, there is a lot for every rocker. Not every one is a hit, but there are more here than on many first albums and more than I would have thought from a band without the time to refine them.

I found four outright smashes — “What I Want” (featuring Slash), “There and Back Again”, “It's Not Over” and “Home”. I would buy this CD for these songs alone. There are a few that are good — “Over You”, “Crashed”, “Feels Like Tonight” and “What About Now”, “All These Lives”, and ”Breakdown”. And the rest are okay. They are not bad, but just didn't do it for me.

Although it was produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects), my biggest problem with the CD is that it feels over-produced and done too quickly. It doesn't have the raw feel that a group like Daughtry deserves. I think that it should have had a harder edge overall such as is found on “What I Want” and “There and Back Again”. Don't get me wrong, this is a good album, but it could have been a better album with more time and road work.

My grade for this CD is a B+. If you liked Chris on American Idol or you like good old-fashioned American rock, you'll find a lot to like on Daughtry.