News
March 17, 2009
THE BLUES COME CALLING
Thirteen years on since Rory Gallagher passed away, the interest in his works grows and grows. At the moment, according to his brother and manager Donal, the guitarist-related projects include the second volume of his tablature book and the documentary that's been in the making for some time. More so, Donal Gallagher's been approached about shooting a feature film on Rory’s life and started working with director Declan Quinn - but that'll take some years.
Meanwhile, the Irish legend's band's last line-up of David Levy, Richard Newman, Mark Feltham and Geraint Watkins might be the backing ensemble of Bernie Marsden who's recording right now and going to tour in a couple of months. There's two records in the pipeline, one a solo rock album. the other featuring covers of the classics by Rory as well as Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, Johnny Winter, CREAM, JAMES GANG and MOUNTAIN, plus the new version of the hit single "Na Na Na", which Bernie laid down with Cozy Powell back in 1974, with some of the players being Jimmy Copley on drums and Neil Murray on bass.
FROM THE 'BIRDS AND BEASTS
There's a new band been bubbling for some time with three Brit rock veterans having a ball. These are THE YARDBIRDS' heavy hitter Jim McCarty, his RENAISSANCE cohort John Hawken, more famous for his work with THE NASHVILLE TEENS and recently THE STRABWS, on keyboards and THE ANIMALS' guitarist Hilton Valentine. They already recorded five songs to be out soon, including Jim's "It All Comes Around" which will be the B-side for the combo's first single, Graham Gouldman's "You Stole My Love". Feels teasin'!
THE CATS CAN REALLY SWING
After much speculation, the DEEP PURPLE next archive DVD is planned for the June release. Unlike previous ones that focused on the Mk II and Mk III eras and had long main feature, "History, Hits & Highlights '68-'76" will be a mixed bag with the goodies culled from rather different sources including some clips which are out on the first two DVDs and some cut out from entire films such as the one from Leeds University in 1974 and Tokyo in 1975. Are these spared for the future? The latest addition to the project is 90 seconds of "Highway Star" - straight from recently discovered reels, seven all in all, of silent 8mm footage filmed at August 1972 Japanese concerts. The minute-and-a-half is, unfortunately, all that's sync'ed to well-known audio, the rest being 26 minutes of short excerpts from various songs which might be used later on for a "Made In Japan" documentary.
Disc 1:
1. Help (Danish TV) |
 Disc 2:
1. And The Address (Playboy After Dark) |
WINGED LION COMING DOWN
They were the only rock band to have ever played at the Old Vic theater, in July 1974, but a couple of years later GRYPHON ended their prowl. Back into the action in 2007, the medieval swingers have yet to come up with a new album they promised then, but on June 6th they will come down at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, in London, with a reunion concert - which might be the sign of the record finally arriving. The mushrumps might be tasty still!
THE LIGHT FANDANGO
It was hard to imagine a stranger pairing than Keith Emerson and Glenn Hughes who have a joint neither in prog rock nor in funk nor in metal, though the both can't be denied a certain heaviness. The missing link there was Marc Bonilla who played guitar with both and featured on Emo's latest outing. Back in 1998, Glenn joined Keith's band with Marc onboard for two shows, and it's there that "Boys Club - Live From California" comes from. It can be ordered from the keyboard wiz's online store, signed by Emo, yet this version lacks "Afterburner" and "Dreams" tagged onto the European version which is going to be out soon. The interesting release has both Highes' and Emerson's compositions, plus a cover of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", two great takes of which - instrumental and with Glenn's vocals - have been issued on Bonilla's "American Matador" album.
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1. Afterburner |
SPEAK IN WHISPERS OF HIS NAME
Mentioned on this pages before, now there's a cover artwork and a full traklisting for the first studio HEAVEN & HELL album, "The Devil You Know", out on April 28th, have been published. The artwork is more in Dio than BLACK SABBATH - which the band essentially are - vein, and posting the players' names on the cover seems rather strange after the decision to not work under the SABS moniker, but it's the music that matters.
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1. Atom And Evil |
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March 1, 2009
STILL HE HEARS
There's been a new trend unfurling for a couple of years now: peforming a full album live - in its original running order but with a few embellishments. DEEP PURPLE did it, DIO did it, even DREAM THEATER did it - not with their own stuff, though, but with the classics of those PURPLE, FLOYD and more. This time, it would be Glenn Hughes who's up to covering himself and his former colleagues of - again - DEEP PURPLE with the rendition of 1974's LP, "Burn". That'll be on May 6th in Kavarna, Bulgaria. Glenn used to sing the title cut before, so there's no doubt the man'll manage it. Yet the great trick of the album was Hughes and David Coverdale's vocal harmonies which, of course, won't be reproduced now.
LAST TICKET TO THE MOON
He was quite a character in the band often perceived as one-character band, but in Kelly Groucutt ELO had somebody special not only musically, with his bass and voice locking in with Jeff Lynne's vision since the "Eldorado" tour, but personally. For some insight, the drummer Bev Bevan's autobio is the recommended read, yet the sounds on the records are no less enlightening. More so now, when Kelly passed away on Ferbruary 19th after a heart attack, aged 63. He will be sorely missed by many fans.
UNWORLDLY DOINGS
What is the best way of keeping a memory of an artist alive than to keep releasing his works? Not so with the Voiceprint group of labels who, after John Martyn's death last month announced there'd be no new recordings out on his One World subsidiary and no re-pressing of the existing releases. What a disgrace!
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