News
February 20, 2008
THE FLATTERING VIEW
It's been ten long years since NAZARETH released a studio album, and it's only now that the current line-up, different from that of "Boogaloo", came up with a new record. "The News", out in March, features more than a dozen killer tracks and - what a surprise! - a very interesting cover. The paper which Lee Agnew's reading is "Non-Stop" with a cover article by none other than this scribe, DME. Knowing nothing about that and having not been alerted by the band, it's still very flattering to see that. As for the contents of the album, here it is:
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1. Goin' Loco |
HARK, THE ANGELS COME
Angel Air, one of the best classic rock labels around specialising in re-issue of the rare gems and putting out brand new albums of legendary artists, has revealed the release schedule for the next six months. With a great range of interesting titles, the label inroduces a new format, "Sound & Vision", a double-disc package where a CD is accompanied by a DVD - in NTSC. Some of these video delights have been out previously as separate items, so those who didn't grab them the first time around have a second chance now.
March
Phillip Goodhand-Tait & STORMVILLE SHAKERS - 1965-66 / Ricky Tick
Davey Pattison - Mississippi Nights / Pictures (2CD)
FAMILY - Best Of / Family & Friends (CD/DVD)
April
RACING CARS - Bolt From The Blue - Sound & Vision (CD/DVD)
OUTER LIMITS - Floored Master / Past Imperfect (2CD)
Steve Ellis - The Love Affair Is Over (CD/DVD)
May
Phil Cordell - Heart Of Glass
Gary Husband - The Complete Diary Of A Plastic Box (2CD)
Ray Russell - A Table Near The Band
June
Mo Foster - Time To Think
SPLIT KNEE LOONS - Loonatics
CHICKEN SHACK - Stan Would Rather Go Live (CD/DVD)
July
Eric Bell - Live Tonight Plus
SAILOR - Best Of / In Concert (CD/DVD)
KORGIS - Best Of / DVD Kollection (CD/DVD)
August
T-REX - Classic Hits
STACKRIDGE - Best Of - Sound & Vision (CD/DVD)
MATCHING THE COLORS
There's not a lot artists around with a musical biography as colorful as that of Miller Anderson whose guitar and voice graced many records - from THE KEEF HARTLEY BAND to T.REX. Surprisingly, with all this activity Miller finds a time for a solo career which has brought, to the date, three fantastic albums - and this April will see the fourth one out. Titled "Chameleon" and featuring cover art by Anderson himself, it houses ten songs, nine of them originals including a new version of "Fog On The Highway" from the 1998's acclaimed "Celtic Moon". The reason for a er-recording might be a cracking band that Miller leads now: drummer Paul Burgess who worked, with among others, CAMEL and JETHRO TULL but most notably sounded on 10CC's "Bloody Tourists" and "Deceptive Bends"; keyboard player Frank Tischer from TISCHER MEN'S FRIEND and bassist Kris Gray who served time with Chris Farlowe and Edgar Broughton. To learn more, see the interview with Mr. Anderson.
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1. City Blues |
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GET BACK TO WHERE THEY ONCE BELONGED
Some dismiss it as a too light-hearted time-wasting for the massive talents, yet to many RETURN TO FOREVER opened the gates into the jazz realm. These ones have surely missed the band who stopped in 1977 and now are to be back for a considerable amount of time, unlike in 1983 when everything fell apart all too soon. This time, Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White have seriously decided to give it another shot, and the tour has been laid out for summer 2008, even though the dates are yet to be announced. Expect, then, a CD and a DVD - live, of course, but the studio work hasn't been ruled out, too.
SINGING SONGS ALL NIGHT LONG
This may be barrel-scraping, and one could have assumed the FREE barrel is empty after the "Songs Of Yesterday" box set, the re-issue programme which saw all the band's albums remastered and augmented with bonus tracks, and the BBC tapes release. But no, the deluxe edition of the legendary quatert's most popular album, 1970's "Fire And Water", the one that spawned both "All Right Now" and "Mr. Big", still has something new to offer. Out on March 17th, the two discs house the newly remastered album, more Beeb recordings and some alternative versions of the album cuts including previously unreleased takes of the aforementioned hits. Nice, yet for completists only.
Disc 1:
1. Fire And Water |
Disc 2:
1. Fire And Water (US album mix) |
Tied-in with "Fire And Water", there's another top-notch album is released on the same day, the one by FREE guitarist, the great late Paul Kossoff's "Back Street Crawler". Originally out once the band were no more, in 1973, it's a more hushed enterprise featuring a FREE out-take, "Molten Gold", embellished by Jess Roden's vocal and Rabbit Bundrick's keyboards, and a side-long wigout, "Tuesday Morning". Different takes of this cut make up the bulk of the first disc of the expanded remastered re-issue, while the second CD is filled with more out-takes; among them are "May You Never" which Koss recorded with his friend John Martyn and the 38-minute jam on the "Time Away" theme. An essential purchase for those grieving over the wasted talent and life.
Disc 1:
1. Tuesday Morning |
Disc 2:
1. I'm Ready (take 4) |
ALL BLUES AND NO DINNER
If there's an artist to savor the music by - anywhere anytime - it's Jack Bruce, and those who've stopped following him after CREAM don't know how much they lose. Those who still follow, though, have all the reasons to be glad lately. The concert album with a big band and a new studio release with Robin Trower will be joined on the shelves by "Spirit - Live At The BBC 1971-1978" 3CD-set in March. Containing mostly unreleased recordings, this is one hell of a trip. But there are more sessions with Jon Hiseman and John Surman in the vaults.
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CD One:
Radio One "In Concert" |
CD Two:
"Old Grey Whistle Test" |
CD Three:
Radio One "In Concert" |
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