Monthly Archives: July 2021

Dolphin Midwives is the recording and performance moniker of Portland, OR-based harpist, vocalist, sound artist, and composer Sage Fisher. Her chosen instrument might lead the uninitiated to anticipate ornate cascades of gorgeous pluck, but woah there, partner; while not lacking in glistening strings, Fisher’s latest gravitates toward the realms of contemporary experimental pop. Huh? But as the record unwinds, the inviting unusualness of its contents make it clear that Fisher hasn’t neglected her strengths. That’s nice. Available digitally, on CD and on either black or limited (100 copies, signed and numbered by Fisher) transparent aqua blue 140-gram vinyl, Body of Water is out now via Beacon Sound.

The cassette Orchid Milk was Dolphin Midwives’ first release, coming out in 2016 in an edition of 100 copies on the Obsolete Media Objects label, though it is Liminal Garden, which arrived early in 2019, that is designated as the project’s debut studio album. Body of Water, produced with Tucker Martine, is its boldly conceived follow-up.

Fisher has been additionally busy since the release of Orchid Milk, with her installation Naturaphones, which featured “large-scale interactive acoustic sculptures, ambient performance, and sculptural prototypes,” culminating a six-month residency for the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Oregon College of Art & Craft. She also formed Dröna Choir in 2017 to realize invisibility ritual, her choral work intended to be performed on the new moon and in complete darkness.

That sounds like the makings of a good time, but it’s Fisher’s 2018 sound art performance/ installation Break: preparations for the apocalypse that’s most pertinent to Body of Water, as “Break,” with lyrics indeed referencing the apocalypse, is the album’s sixth track out of a dozen, standing as a mid-way point showcase that mingles experimental pop qualities, and the pleasantness of Fisher’s singing in particular, with the breadth of ambition that helps to define sound art. “Break” travels a considerable sonic distance, from jungle war ambience giving way to an enveloping vocal swirl, and all in just five minutes.

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Rising like a shimmering fever dream in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas has always been about fakery.

Magicians and impersonators continue to be top draws in showrooms, the best of them mystifying the tourist flocks. Casinos are constructed to emulate ersatz pyramids, Roman coliseums, Parisian skylines, and the whole of New York City. Inside them, you are led to believe you might actually win at the tables.

So as Vegas lumbers to reopen with the rest of the country (though its pandemic numbers and deaths are currently worst in the nation) it is the tribute artist fill-ins who largely fill the musical bill in showrooms.

They currently include a fake Rat Pack, three different fake Motown revues, a generic Queens of Rock show, and a couple of Michael Jackson recreations. There is a rock revue of questionable taste, 27 – A Musical Adventure, impersonating rock stars who died at age 27, from Jimi, Janis, and Jim to Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain. There’s an Australian Bee Gees (though the originals were Aussies too, right?) and the long-running smorgasbord of subterfuge, Legends in Concert.

There’s one show dedicated entirely to Elvis and two for Prince. One of the latter is Purple Reign: The Prince Tribute Show which has been performing around Vegas long before its subject died in 2016. Its star Jason Tenner has been putting on the purple costume for 25 years and generally stays in the realm Prince created in his 1984 film—down to giving a big chunk of the hour long show to Morris Day and the Time. Nothing wrong with that. Prince wrote and produced most of that music as well, their appearance and cavorting allows Tenner to go off and do costume changes.

Adding shimmying dancing girls is probably a law for every show on the Vegas strip so a couple of them gyrate here. Add a singer and they become Vanity 6 (paying tribute to yet another singer gone before her time; Vanity died in 2016 at 57).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | This fall, Matador Records will celebrate the 21st anniversary of The New Pornographers’ debut record and breakout, Mass Romantic (2000), with a limited-edition LP reissue out 12/10.

The album—clocking 3 singers and 12 effervescent and undeniable power-pop gems—will return to us on red vinyl and will include a bonus 7”, “Letter From An Occupant,” which includes two rare B-sides, “The End of Medicine” and “When I Was a Baby.”

What’s more, The New Pornographers will tour the U.S. and Canada this fall playing a series of two-night stands—performing Mass Romantic in its entirety on the first night and running down the equally outstanding Twin Cinema (16th Anniversary!) on the next. Throughout this trip, the band’s lineup will feature AC Newman, Dan Bejar, Joe Seiders, John Collins, Kathryn Calder, and Neko Case, and Todd Fancey.

From Carl Newman: “Everyone wants to be successful but, hand to my heart, I had no delusions of success for The New Pornographers. To be here over 20 years later, still in the game, is something that I simultaneously take for granted (you just get used to it) and feel eternally grateful for. Been here so long that we can do one of those ‘let’s play that old album all the way through!’ gigs.

And we are doing just that. 2 nights per city: 1 Mass Romantic, 2 Twin Cinema, plus assorted ‘hits’ from our storied career. Bejar is coming and God knows if we’ll get him again. When he moved to Spain 2 months after Mass Romantic came out, I thought he was done in the band and now 21 years later we’ve convinced him to come along for another ride. Just the nature of our band that it’s a special occasion when all the singers show up. Here’s to you showing up as well!”

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Given the size and power of the Baby Boomers demo, it’s a wonder the whole of TV isn’t back to back classic rock documentaries. But there are actually quite a lot of them.

The most annoying of the lot are like PBS’ new Icon: Music Through the Lens, an exhaustive and exhausting six-hour (!) celebration of the rock photographers who brag about the work they’ve done, repeat the same points over and over (“It’s about capturing a moment”) and use the word “iconic” to mean “a picture I did that I remember.” Perhaps because it’s Brit-centric, none of the images held up as iconic actually are. Like me, you may have never even seen many of them before.

For all their celebration of rock stars, they’ve neglected to license much of their music, so generic music plays underneath the boasts and florid remembrances. One guy who has stayed remarkably humble despite making music that actually is iconic is Paul McCartney, whose television appearances can be wanting. Even so, it looked like his 2018 Carpool Karaoke with James Corden would ever be topped.

But now comes the unexpected delight of Hulu’s new McCartney 3,2,1, a black and white document of the meeting of the former Beatle with famed and supremely bearded producer Rick Rubin to dissect the old songs. Mulling over the Beatles oeuvre on a mixing board so that individual tracks can be isolated is something their producer George Martin did on a public TV series a decade or so back.

But here it’s McCartney himself who takes the sliders in his hands to hear previously unnoticed aspects of songs we all thought we knew front and back. More often it’s Rubin, an admirer of his guest but never fawning, who takes the controls. From the first of six half hour segments, something as seemingly simple as “All My Loving” is shown to have all kinds of complexity beneath, with John Lennon’s frenzied rhythm guitar parts underlying the entire song.

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Looking for some sophisticated English entertainment? Well put on the old school tie, break out the crumpets and watercress tea sandwiches, offer Viscount Basil Clement-Clawsey a cup of Earl Grey tea, and put 10cc’s Sheet Music on the gramophone. Then unstiffen your upper lip just long enough to say in your poshest English accent, “You’ll love this, old boy. They’re no Foghat, mind you. And by the way, you look quite dashing in your black silk stockings and whalebone corset.”

10cc were an English art pop band whose American success has been limited to two of their most traditional songs: 1975’s “I’m Not in Love,” which rose to No. 2 on the pop charts, and 1976’s “The Things We Do For Love,” which made its classy way to No. 5. Musically, 10cc’s closest American counterparts are Sparks, whose elegantly witty songs look at the world askew, and like 10cc have been rewarded by limited commercial success.

The difference between 10cc and Sparks is the former have a fuller sound and lusher vocals. 10cc is made up of a quartet of multi-instrumentalists and typically utilizes multiple vocalists on individual songs. Sparks is just Ron Mael on keyboards and brother Russell on vocals. The bands share a quirky sense of humor, but Sparks win the cleverness sweepstakes hands down. The trouble with Sparks is that, for all but diehard fans, a little of their music goes a very long way.

On their sophomore outing, 1974’s Sheet Music, 10cc bring another band to mind as well: Bachman Turner Overdrive. Just Kidding. I’m talking Queen. It’s there in the complex song structures (think “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and the vocals, which you can’t hear without thinking the Freddie Mercury of “Killer Queen.” And it’s hard not to detect the Bonzo Dog Band in their music as well, both in the absurdist lyrics and the odd musical touches—one rarely runs across a song (in this case “Somewhere in Hollywood”) that comes complete with tap dancing.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Real Gone Music has already brought you 29 of the 49 single sides The MG’s recorded for Stax on The Complete Stax Singles Vol. 1; now we’re back with the other 20, assembled—for the first time ever!—after a painstaking search for the best sources available, and, like on all of our singles collections, carefully vetted (by engineer Aaron Kannowski) to ensure that the versions you’re hearing are exactly what disc jockeys were spinning off their 7-inch singles on to the airwaves back in the day.

In this case, that means the first 15 songs on this CD/2-LP set are in mono, the last 5 stereo, all discographically documented in meticulous fashion by liner note writer Ed Osborne, whose essay maps every move Booker T. & The MG’s made during the late ‘60s through the early ‘70s and beyond.

But most of all, The Complete Stax Singles Vol. 2 (1968-1974) is one incredible listen, featuring such classic songs as “Time Is Tight,” “Soul-Limbo,” “Melting Pot,” their versions of Domenic Frontiere’s “Hang ‘Em High,” The Beatles’ “Something,” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” a bunch of hard-to-find B-sides, and more, all played by basically the best band that ever lived!

Go ahead and pick your poison: either buy this on CD or on a 2-LP set pressed on red vinyl and housed inside a gatefold jacket. Either way, you will be the proud owner of some of the greatest and grooviest R&B instrumentals ever recorded.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | The scene is Hollywood. October 1973. International reggae pioneers Bob Marley and The Wailers were filmed in a closed door session at The Capitol Records Tower on October 24 by famed producer Denny Cordell, who received the blessing from Marley to capture the band recording 12 songs. Shooting with four cameras and mixing “on the fly” to a colorized tape, this footage, has been painstakingly restored, resulting in an incredible presentation of this unseen live session.

On September 3, Tuff Gong and Mercury Studios are proud to present this concert (almost 50 years after it was recorded): Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Capitol Session ‘73 on DVD+CD, standalone CD, 2LP pressed on green marble vinyl, 2LP pressed on Rasta swirl vinyl (red, yellow and green – available exclusively at Sound of Vinyl), and digital formats.

This session at Capitol Studios represented a unique moment in the band’s career. Filmed 10 years after their formation, Bob Marley and the Wailers already had several established hits through the ska and rocksteady eras.

Gaining recognition stateside, including a few shows with Bruce Springsteen at Max’s Kansas City in NYC, they then went on to tour with Sly and the Family Stone, before they had been unceremoniously dumped from the tour. This led to the band (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett, Earl “Wya” Lindo) making their way to Hollywood to do this session.

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The Seattle-based Fleet Foxes has only released four albums since 2008 on three different record labels, yet they must be considered one of the most engaging groups on the scene today. There have only been three members of the band who have been on all four albums—Casey Wescott, Skyler Skjelset, and the group’s de-facto leader Robin Pecknold.

The group shares some similar characteristics with such bands as Iron and Wine (the brainchild of Sam Beam) and fellow West-Coasters Calexico (led by Joey Burns and John Convertino). All of these groups feature an ever-shifting cast of contributors, making for a musical collective. In fact, Iron & Wine and Calexico have even made albums and toured together. All the bands also share an organic, honest approach to music-making that is refreshing, especially given what’s on the charts these days. This method has also earned these groups a growing and devoted following.

Fleet Foxes has continued to change from release to release, but their latest project Shore (Anti) may its best yet. The music was released digitally on September 22nd, 2020, but recently, it became available as a two-LP, vinyl, gatefold package, complete with a poster. There are 15 tracks on three sides, with side four featuring etched vinyl and no music. Vinyl is the ideal way to listen to this music and the group would have been just as beloved if it was around during the heyday of vinyl albums in the late 1960s through most of the 1970s.

This new album is very much Pecknold’s show, as he sings lead vocals throughout (except for “Sunblind”), produced it and wrote all of the songs other than one he co-wrote. Recorded in three different studios in New York, one in Los Angeles and one in Paris, the release includes 19 different musicians.

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Gary Kemp cut his teeth as a band member of the immensely popular 1980s new romantic, synth-pop band, Spandau Ballet. As their chief composer, his participation in the group was fundamental to its success; Kemp is responsible for writing a song that you’ve heard many times—in fact, BMI has awarded it one of the most played songs in American history with 5 million airplays and counting: the 1983 mega-super-hit, “True.”

Kemp released his first solo album Little Bruises in 1995, but now he’s come back again with his first new album in 25 years. It’s called INSOLO and demonstrates his formidable and refined composition chops coupled with his evocative voice. The album was crafted during the pandemic and features some special guests like Queen’s Roger Taylor.

Spandau Ballet is currently on hiatus, but that hasn’t slowed down Kemp. In addition to this new record and his stage and screen acting gigs, he also tackles guitar and vocal duties in Nick Mason’s, Saucerful of Secrets band which performs the early music of Pink Floyd. Kemp also co-hosts the popular music interview podcast The Rockonteurs with Guy Pratt.

Join us as we discuss his clear insights into how he’s approached writing the songs on this new album, the odds of a Spandau Ballet reunion, and to see if he knows my cousin Terry who has been a Spandau Ballet superfan since the early days!

Everything has its time and place, while it’s wonderful to enjoy a small indie band who created a landmark recording on the laptop in their bedroom, don’t discount the seasoned artist who enters the studio to create an expansive and polished masterwork. If you hope to enjoy an expertly executed, blockbuster production this year, Gary Kemp’s new album is the place to start listening.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

Things can always get worse. Just ask Kiss. As their glory days receded in the rearview mirror, Kiss flailed about looking to turn things around. First they released 1979’s Dynasty, a crass attempt to cash in on the disco craze. Then in 1980 they teased baring faces and asses both on the tragically misguided Unmasked. Finally they released 1981’s Music from “The Elder,” a progressive rock concept album complete with orchestra and choir. Sales were so abysmal the band chose not to tour, presumably because they feared being tarred and feathered in every stop on the itinerary.

Music from “The Elder” was primarily the lizard brainchild of Gene Simmons—it was he and he alone who came up with the LP’s hackneyed plot, which centers around a boy who is recruited and trained to combat evil by the Council of Elders of the mysterious Order of the Rose. We’ll never know what the finished product of Spinal Tap’s proposed musical Saucy Jack would have looked like, but it most surely would have bettered this musical vomitorium.

Kiss defenders will no doubt lay blame for Music from “The Elder” on the fact that Kiss was in a state of chaos at the time–drummer Peter Criss was out the door and guitarist Ace Frehley would follow shortly thereafter. But personnel changes didn’t account for this abrupt turn towards orchestral prog rock, which was doomed from the start given Kiss made its reputation (and a sizeable fortune) on simple three-chord rock and roll classics like “Strutter,” “Detroit Rock City,” and “Love Gun.” An expedient punk rock move would have made sense. Going Emerson, Lake & Palmer on the rock kids who made up their fanbase was commercial and artistic self-immolation.

The 1997 remaster opens with “Fanfare” as performed by the American Symphony Orchestra. It sounds like something the orchestra pulled from a Fanfare cut-out bin, and proves that symphony orchestras can be whores just like anyone else. “Just a Boy” is a Kansas-school howl, complete with acoustic guitars and a chorus that goes, “I’m no hero, though I wish I could be”—sung in a falsetto of course.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Rory Gallagher’s eponymous 1971 debut solo album, UMC/UMe is pleased to announce the September 3 release of a five-disc Deluxe Box Set of the album that will include a brand-new mix of the original album, 30 previously unreleased outtakes and alternate takes, a six-song 1971 BBC Radio John Peel Sunday Concert, plus four 1971 BBC Radio Sounds of the Seventies session tracks, all mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Also included is a previously unreleased 50-minute DVD of Rory’s first-ever solo concert which was filmed in Paris for the Pop Deux television show.

​The extensive box set package will also contain a 32-page hardback book with many rare and previously unseen photographs from British rock photographer Barrie Wentzell, essays and memorabilia from the album recording including handwritten song lyrics by Rory, and an exclusive limited-edition poster.

The 2CD and 3LP editions of the album will be cut-down versions from the deluxe box set. There will also be a special limited-edition neon orange (transparent) 1LP featuring the John Peel Sunday Concert exclusively available via UMG’s online stores.

The box set will also include exclusive liner notes written by his brother and manager Donal Gallagher, his longtime bass guitarist Gerry McAvoy (1970-1991) and photographer Barry Wentzel, plus a full 1971 interview with Rory by journalist Roy Eldridge.

The debut album features some of the most beloved Rory songs such as “I Fall Apart” (Rory’s second most streamed song), “Laundromat” and “Just The Smile.” While reviewing numerous tapes during the 2021 mixing sessions, two songs were added to the collection: the previously unreleased “At The Bottom,” a track Rory ended up re-recording for his 1975 Against The Grain album, plus “Advision Jam,” a rocking instrumental.

The recording saw Rory Gallagher on guitar and lead vocals as well as alto sax, harmonica and mandolin, Gerry McAvoy on bass and Wilgar Campbell on drums. Atomic Rooster’s Vincent Crane plays piano on two out of the 10 songs on the album “Wave Myself Goodbye” and “I’m Not Surprised.”

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