Which is crazier: that trapped-in-time studio shut-in/guitar gizmo inventor Tom Scholz spent six years obsessively tinkering on this antique-on-arrival slab of arena rock atavism, kinda like a guy perfecting the telegraph in the age of rotary phones? Or the fact that said obsessively tinkered-over slab of arena rock atavism went to Number One on the Billboard Charts? Despite the fact that it’s a immaculately lacquered, lovingly polished dud?

Scholz invented a whole new genre—let’s call it technological power pop—with Boston’s eponymous American Bicentennial Year debut, and if you were a wholesome American kid living in a small town it was mind-blowing, a futuristic adventure in high-fi whose cover seemed to foretell exactly where music was headed—namely into space on a guitar-shaped rocket ship with a snow globe on top, inside of which could be found the entire city of Boston.

Boston was sonically streamlined, supermodel-airbrushed, and sounded like a multi-billion dollar product of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and I was stunned to discover years later that it only took several thousand dollars to produce. In fact, a rumor went round in my teen social circle that Scholz had to place a sticker on the album saying the guitars were real, because they sounded so like they’d been produced by robots or synthesizers or guys in Level 4 biocontainment suits. That said, I’ve never seen said sticker and I suspect it was just urban legend.

Boston was, we thought, the future of rock, but by the time 1978’s Don’t Look Back came out punk and new wave had changed everything and everyone I knew was humming “Turning Japanese.” Don’t Look Back did just that—it was a glossy AOR representative of an extinct species, and to make matters worse only the title track lived up to the standard of the three songs that made up side one of band’s debut.

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NEWPORT, RI | The bottom line is: It’s a privilege to see these performers sing out across the sea in such a unique space, full of music history and cherished tradition. With two full days of music behind them, fans still had one more day to soak up the sun and sounds at the 65th Newport Folk Festival.

Colorado-bred, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Jobi Ricco returned to Newport after winning last year’s John Prine Songwriter Fellowship Award. Ricco was all heart, getting a little emotional at this opportunity to play upon the historic stages of Newport. The pride and loving looks from bandmates and a standing ovation from the crowd only brought more joy-filled tears.

“Half of this band grew up as festival kids, running around and playing guitars,” said Ricco. “There’s a festival that is very close to my heart that happens during this exact same weekend—Rocky Grass Festival—and I always said the only reason I would ever miss Rocky Grass is if I got to play Newport Folk Festival.”

They may look like brothers with their uncanny resemblance of red hair, but it’s a visible musical bond that the Briscoe boys showcased that was amplified to the audience. Their folk-rock dynamic is “raw, rugged,” and the clear fun that the band has is incredibly contagious.

On Newport Folk Festival’s Fort Stage, Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham performed a full-length rendition of Buckingham Nicks, live for the very first time. Billed as Cunningham/Bird, the two artists presented their own take on Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ cult classic. The reimagined production showcased stunning vocals by Cunningham, in particular and skillful violin by Bird.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | On September 19, Mercury Studios will release Rainbow: Live In Munich 1977 as a Special Edition 2CD+DVD package. This show has been previously released as individual DVD and 2CD packages in the past, and this is the first time they have been packaged together. Captured during the band’s 1977 European tour, Live In Munich is the only full live concert ever filmed with the classic Ritchie Blackmore/ Ronnie James Dio/ Cozy Powell classic line-up.

Rainbow was the brainchild of legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, created in 1975 after his departure from Deep Purple. A string of hit albums ignited immediate success, which persevered until 1983, when Blackmore disbanded the group (and re- joined Deep Purple). Featuring the line-up of Blackmore, Cozy Powell (drums), Bob Daisley (bass), David Stone (keyboards), and premiere Rock and Roll vocalist Ronnie James Dio, the excitement in the air during this night was electric.

This might be due, in part, to Blackmore’s late arrival to Munich just before the concert, after being smuggled out of Austria after trouble with the police at a gig two nights earlier. This seemed to inspire both the band and the audience to create a truly remarkable gig.

The DVD includes original promo videos for “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll,” “Gates Of Babylon,” and “L.A. Connection,” a photo gallery, slideshow with audio commentary, interviews, and the “Rainbow Over Texas ‘76” feature, which includes additional interviews and performance footage. Truly, Live In Munich 1977 is a brilliant showcase of the primal electricity of Rainbow.

It’s a small paradox that four black men (not kids) who began their musical career in a Washington, DC jazz fusion band called Mind Power, and who were in the thrall of a second-rate self-help book called Think and Grow Rich by some fraud and grifter named Napoleon Hill, and who by the time they put out their first album (a cassette actually) were already engaged in an internecine struggle over whether they should become a reggae band, should have become one of the two founding fathers of hardcore, along with LA’s Black Flag. But nothing in this world makes sense—chickens have wings, but the only thing they’re good for is eating.

Like Black Flag, Bad Brains changed everything. They took punk rock and speeded it up, setting land speed records that wouldn’t even be broken by Hüsker Dü’s 1982 Bonneville Salt Flats fast live album, Land Speed Record. And because they’d honed their chops playing jazz fusion and had it together in a way that flew in the face of punk rock’s “play live three days before you’ve picked up your instruments” aesthetic, and despite the fact that their “Positive Mental Attitude” shtick flew in the face of punk negativism and hostility, they mesmerized everyone who saw them play live because they played aggressive music at approximately 9,000 mph while vocalist H.R. (aka Paul Hudson) hurled himself about stage while speed-rapping in an eerie nasal bark/wail that made you think the guy was crazy, which in the end wasn’t far from the truth. Brian Eno may or may not have said, “The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.” That’s called hyperbole. When it came to seeing the Bad Brains play live, it comes closer to gospel truth.

But here’s the thing about their eponymous 1980 debut, which is also known as The Yellow Tape or Attitude: The ROIR Sessions—while it’s an astounding recording of an astounding band, I can’t listen to it without wishing I’d been there to see them do their thing live. In fact I never listen to it at all, because I know in my bones that seeing them live was everything. As Robert Christgau pointed out, and if could say it better I would, “great punk bands give up more than a salubrious blur.” And that’s all you hear on Bad Brains—a blur, with H.R.’s incantatory vocals serving as just another instrument because it’s virtually impossible to understand a word he’s singing.

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NEWPORT, RI | Situated at the intersection of the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay, Fort Adams once stood as the last line of defense for the US Army. Last weekend it stood to defend the unique and passionate spirit of the 65th annual Newport Folk Festival. Hosting musicians, artists, vendors, and attendees, this special event has a way to bring everyone together in the sense that they are each contributing to a common goal of honoring and cherishing this festival’s rich history.

For many, this festival serves as a mid-summer vacation, breaking familiar cycles of daily routines and screen usage—an opportunity to slow down, take in the beautiful scenery, and enjoy special moments. The festival grounds are decorated with signs adorned with stylized lettering reminiscent of the sixties—reminding guests to uphold the virtues: “Be Present, Be Open, Be Kind, and Be Together.”

The Newport Folk Festival offers artists the chance to display their music in a new way—typically stripped back acoustic versions of their touring shows. Some artists take this opportunity to perform rare and unique versions of their songs, while others decide to crank up the proverbial volume to eleven and stand out. This adds a level of excitement and anticipation to each performance as attendees spread rumors about what to expect.

Hearing a song for the very first time as it is performed live by an artist can serve as a profound and unforgettable experience for the concertgoer. A special memory is formed in that moment of hearing the true version of a song unaltered by autotune and precise level mixing, and having no idea of what to expect as the song unfolds. This festival gives attendees the opportunity to experience this dozens of times over, exposing them to what can be their song of the summer or new favorite artist. Michael from New Jersey affirmed this idea and added, “Live music is just so much more powerful.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Musician, podcaster, and author Marc Wasserman’s second book Soul Salvation: A Gen-X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available. Published by DiWulf Publishing House, the book is part Gen-X memoir about his experiences growing up in the early ’80s and part English Beat oral history and takes a detailed and loving look at the making of, response to, and profound influence of their third album Special Beat Service. The book features extensively researched interviews, stories and anecdotes about the band’s beloved third album Special Beat Service from band members, record company executives, music critics and notable fans.

Featuring a foreword by I.R.S Records President Jay Boberg, who signed the band with the goal of breaking them in America, Soul Salvation is the very first book of its kind to explore the English Beat’s unique story and the band’s massive influence on a generation of American music fans like Wasserman and Gen-X musicians like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, as well as leading songwriters like Elvis Costello and Pete Townshend.

Amazingly, Special Beat Service remains an album many critics name check, but haven’t really considered, even retrospectively. The fact is that the album features several iconic songs of the era, (e.g., “Save It For Later,” “I Confess,” and “Sole Salvation”) which are among the earliest examples of a nascent, early ’80s indie rock sound just beginning to find its footing.

Wasserman details how Special Beat Service was an experimental swan song of an album that combined pop, ska, reggae, punk, soul, new wave, and Latin music into twelve unique, stand-alone songs created by a band that was growing exhausted from the grind of trying to break America.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings announce the first-ever vinyl release of Randy Newman’s classic score to the 1998 fantasy-comedy Pleasantville.

This 2-LP Deluxe Edition will be available on Red, White, and Blue swirl vinyl in North America, while the international edition is pressed on Translucent Tan vinyl. Releasing September 13 and available for pre-order now, this Deluxe Edition expands Randy Newman’s score for the film to 34 tracks and 66 minutes, with unreleased tracks, extended cues and much more. The 2-LP gatefold package includes a brand-new illustration by acclaimed artist Sim Sim on the cover.

Pleasantville (1998) is a high-concept fantasy-comedy about high-school siblings (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) transported into an idyllic, black-and-white 1950s Leave It to Beaver—type TV show. In the hands of writer/director Gary Ross, the film is more than just a fish-out-of-water tale with dazzling VFX—it is a touching character study and potent Civil Rights allegory that received critical acclaim and is fondly remembered today.

Scoring Pleasantville was a master of Americana, humor and symphonic scoring, Randy Newman. Newman had cheeky fun with the show-within-the-film’s old-school traditions, but just as the story blossoms into a heartfelt tale of emotional awakening—with a beautiful performance by Joan Allen as a repressed mother—so does the gorgeous score.

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In the annals of lost rock records, Dark Shadows by Cold Sun ranks high. Recorded in 1970, the LP’s stature is wholly deserved, with nary a speck of hype attached to the album’s reputation. This is especially impressive given that psychedelia is the style. However, this Austin, TX-based unit’s intent was serious and their sound dark and distinctive through the use of an electric autoharp. Production ingenuity seals the deal. The record was reissued on vinyl in 1990, but in an edition so minuscule that hardly anybody heard it. A 2008 release suffered from botched mastering. Guerssen Records’ definitive 2024 vinyl pressing has sold quickly, with a few copies left in stores. CD and digital is still available.

The Cold Sun story is told very well in the Guerssen release’s liner essay by Ezra Lesser, so I will truncate to the relevant specifics. In the wilds of Texas in the late 1960s, the band Cauldron morphed into Amethyst. Alongside guitarist Tom McGarrigle, the main songwriter and creative catalyst was Billy Bill Miller, later of Bleib Alien and Roky Erickson’s backing band The Aliens.

Members of the 13th Floor Elevators and The Lost and Found briefly made the scene, but with Mike Waugh and Hugh Patton joining on bass and drums respectively, Amethyst’s core lineup was secured. Changing their name to The Daily Planet, then Dark Shadows and finally Cold Sun, they attracted the interest of the local Sonobeat label and recorded an album-length demo with its owner-operator Bill Josey Sr.; he’d previously thrusted Johnny Winter into the clutches of Columbia Records. The shopped-around demo had no takers and laid dormant for decades as Miller had second thoughts on its worth.

Fueled by mescaline rather than LSD, Dark Shadows’ psychedelic comportment is appropriately sunbaked and with a lack of bogus formal flowerings. The tripping is legit. At the same time, the visions, particularly lyrical, are far out enough to give the LP a private press vibe that surely would’ve scared off the squares at Columbia or any other major label of the period, for that matter.

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NEWPORT, RI | Next to sunscreen, kindness tops the list of what to bring to Fort Adams. And that is the palpable pulse within the Newport Folk Festival. For the past 65 years, the iconic Rhode Island festival has drawn crowds from all over the world—now up to 10,000 people daily—eager to see brilliant artists and surprise performers in a gathering unlike any other. This festival has a divine element that is hard to describe without setting foot at the Fort, but it’s the skilled artistry, the deeply passionate fans, and a common love of music and community that keeps people repeating, “It’s the best weekend of the year.”

Some wise words from a veteran folk fest attendee: Don’t sleep on the Bike Stage. Adjacent to the much larger Quad Stage, is a small, informal space for artists to perform—with some vital audience participation. Fans hop on bikes and pedal enough energy to power the performances, creating an incredibly memorable—and sustainable—experience. Hey! Next time Dylan goes electric at Newport, maybe it will be purely on pedal power.

And the talent that unfolded here Friday was definitely electrifying. Standouts Glitterfox drew “the largest crowd we’ve seen at the bike stage,” said Illiterate Light guitarist Jeff Gorman, whose band also performed that day, as well as MC’d the stage.

Glitterfox channeled a magnetism in their melodies. It was infectious in the best way. The Portland based band has released five singles in just six months under their new record label Kill Rock Stars which leads me to think they will soon outgrow the Bike Stage.

Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway brought their spellbinding strings and songwriting to the Fort Stage and the band smiled the whole way through. Tuttle shared that this is her third time performing at Newport over the years and reflected on the honor of gracing the historic stages.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Bryan Ferry announces Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973–2023. The 81-track collection is the first ever career-spanning release to fully explore and celebrate the depth of Bryan Ferry’s work as a solo artist, spanning a period of over 50 years of music and 16 solo albums. The collection is due for release on 25th October 2024 via BMG.

The 81 tracks that make up Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973–2023 illustrate an adventure in music like no other. A peerless story in songwriting that has been unfolding for more than 50 years will now be celebrated in this kaleidoscopic compendium of Bryan Ferry’s music. The release is a celebration of the performer who has carved out a place as a master modern interpreter of song via a dizzyingly inventive series of cover versions that range from Bob Dylan to Amy Winehouse, Rodgers and Hart to the Velvet Underground via Tim Buckley, Shakespeare, sea shanties, and Sam and Dave.

Then there’s the songwriter who, in singles like 1985’s “Slave To Love,” has crafted music that stands amongst the defining recordings of their era, yet sound unique and timeless to this day. There’s the futurist conjuring vortices of electronica; or the passionate revivalist, presenting songs and styles from the 1920s and 1930s as if they were the hot sound of tomorrow calling. There’s the figure out on the pulsing nightclub dancefloor, tripping the light fantastic; and the guy who wants only to be alone, slipping away into brooding, bittersweet backstreets where everything turns neon and noir.

Marking the start of this career-spanning celebration, Bryan Ferry has released “She Belongs To Me.” A powerful re-imagining of the 1965 Bob Dylan classic that brings the story full circle. Listen above.

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