BOSTON, MA | Illustrious singer and lyricist Maynard James Keenan celebrated his 60th birthday in the most rock ‘n’ roll way possible—a nationwide tour showcasing two of his bands and a legacy act. The Sessanta tour, which features Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle kicked off its nationwide tour to a sold-out Boch Center on the first of a two-night residency on Tuesday, April 2. This tour has Keenan moving into center stage where he shines brightly in the spotlight surrounded by fans and friends alike.

There was no opener as all three bands alternated by sharing the stage with sets typically lasting three songs. Musicians from all three bands join each other’s set, a performance unique to this tour. This was exemplified with Keenan joining Primus during a rousing rendition of “Tommy the Cat.” Each of these bands invoke different feelings for listeners with their distinctive sound, but this wide range of musical styles blended together with the design of a well-crafted setlist full of intense and reflective moments. Each band seemed to feed off the previous performance in friendly competition, bringing their best effort into what talent they displayed.

The stage was flanked on either side with stairs that led to party areas with couches and tables with cupcakes, party favors, and alcohol. The middle of that platform had multiple drum kits for Josh Freese (APC), Tim Alexander (Primus), and Gunnar Olsen (Puscifer) who all brought their unique style of play to their set. An impressive lighting display accentuated the music with a background panel of lights behind the bands, string lights above, and spotlights below. Strobe lights and dense fog amplified the current moods of each song. The stage had less free range to roam but felt like a party that everyone was excited to be at.

Primus founder Les Claypool greeted the crowd stating the reason we are here tonight is, “To celebrate Maynard turning sixty years-old, which is not an easy feat.” These performances certainly felt like a celebration. Members were joyfully playing outside their typical role and embracing the special format of this tour. The uniqueness of this concert allowed these musicians to be seen in a different light, one where they had loosened up, and were having fun, but still professionally executing at a high level.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sponge frontman Vin Dombroski has teamed up with esteemed drummer Jason Hartless and his record label, Sound City Music Group, to deliver an unprecedented release for this year’s Record Store Day, happening on April 20th. The highly anticipated release will be pressed on limited clear red vinyl and promises fans an extraordinary musical experience and will only be limited to 1,200 units worldwide.

Titled Planet Girls, this album serves as the long-lost version of Sponge’s 1999 release, New Pop Sunday. Following the success of their back-to-back gold albums, Rotting Piñata and Wax Ecstatic, Sponge underwent a label change during the recording of their third release. Legendary producer Kevin Shirley (known for his work with Journey, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes) was brought in to create a more pop-rock-oriented album, a departure from the grittier sound of their first two albums. However, the album was eventually shelved and never released—until now.

After a series of private listening parties to showcase the record and packaging, music insiders are buzzing with excitement over what Dombroski has unearthed out of his private collection both sonically and visually. This release is a testament to the creativity of artists like Vin. “The collaboration between the two Detroit natives has resulted in a truly remarkable piece to be added to Sponge’s musical history.”

Planet Girls will be available exclusively on clear red vinyl for Record Store Day, offering fans a unique opportunity to own a piece of Sponge’s legacy.

Remembering Merle Haggard in advance of his birthdate tomorrow. —Ed.

Merle Haggard is a man who needs no introduction. His music, however, is best served by a thoughtful entry-point that reflects his emergence as one of country music’s truly singular figures. As the first LP he recorded with his estimable backing band the Strangers, it’s not the only Haggard record you’ll need, but it does establish the beginnings of a very fruitful period and essays with precision the attributes that make him such a valuable artist.

Along with Buck Owens, Merle Haggard was a principal architect of the Bakersfield Sound, a strain of country music rooted in the ‘50s that broke big in the following decade, providing an alternative to the Nashville Sound that was dominating the C&W charts during the era. Calling it the original Alt-Country will make many folks wince, but it’s not that far off the mark. For in eschewing the syrupy string sections, overly polite backing singers and general pop slickness of the Nashville Sound, a production-driven style that later morphed into a movement called Countrypolitan, the Bakersfield musicians were retaining the glorious essence of Honky-Tonk (a form derived from the work of Jimmie Rodgers, Western Swing-man Bob Wills, and Hank Williams) that prevailed on the C&W charts during the ‘50s.

Classic Honky-Tonk was exemplified by such major cats as Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, Hank Locklin, Lefty Frizzell, and a little later on George Jones, and it was a band music that flourished on the stages of the very clubs that named it. While the early years of the Bakersfield Sound overlap that of Honky-Tonk, by the ‘60s and its national breakout through Owens and Haggard, it was appropriately assessed as a reaction against the pop sensibilities of a city that in 1960 was designated as the USA’s second biggest record producing center.

If the Nashville Sound developed into Countrypolitan, the Bakersfield thing also continued to thrive, influencing contemporaneous work from important artists like Johnny Paycheck and setting the stage for the Outlaw movement of the ‘70s. It also touched both The Beatles and The Stones and was a crucial ingredient in the creation of both country-rock and the stuff we now indeed categorize as Alt-Country.

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Maybe I’m a little guilty of nostalgia on this one, but aren’t we all from time-to-time?

When I look into the past with my rose-colored glasses on, they take me to that time of life when most people find themselves experiencing glowy memories of the past: high school. In my case, it was high school in the early to mid 1990s. As is true of every generation, there were certain songs that were inescapable during that time, some music that was simply a part of the cultural wallpaper. Music that is ingrained to that extent into society’s psyche can face both pros and cons. On one hand, the song is at risk of being overplayed and over consumed and of course, we all know what familiarity breeds. On the other hand, it’s extraordinarily rare for a certain music to be considered definitive and infinitely attached to a particular place in time in human history.

In 1997, Paula Cole released two iconic songs that had a significant generational impact. “I Don’t Want to Wait” became a radio staple and gained immense popularity as the theme song for the popular TV show Dawson’s Creek. “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” became Cole’s only top-ten hit in the US, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also earned Cole three Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Paula joins me on this episode to discuss her brand new album Lo, it’s her first batch of originals in a decade and it is a strong work that makes an occasional nod to her sound in the ’90s, but showcases Cole as the forward-facing performer that she is. We discuss the new record, and learn about a few recording secrets from the 1990s and how some of those tricks of the trade worked their way into her recent production.

We also explore the latest reissue of This Fire which was released last year in celebration of the album’s 25th anniversary and talk about how, in many ways, those songs are as relevant as ever having been discovered by a new generation of listeners because, as you’ll find out, good art may represent a certain generation, but it isn’t anchored to it. That’s the feeling you’ll get digging through the past, present, and future of Paula Cole’s catalog.

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.

Just how great are Black Oak Arkansas? Well rock critic Ubermensch Robert Christgau once posed the question of why they couldn’t fill NYC’s Academy of Music on a Saturday night after two years of relentless touring and then answered it himself with the words, “Because unlike most similar bands they have never achieved competence—they are actively untalented, incapable of even an interesting cop.”

Is that a glowing endorsement or what? But if you ask me Christgau was missing the point. If you have a sense of humor and a taste for the totally inexplicable those are the very qualities that make Black Oak Arkansas so great! I mean, ANYBODY can be competent! And talent’s bullshit! The Police were talented, and they should have been arrested! Eric Clapton is talented! Talent kills!

Black Oak Arkansas were working at a level of total inspiration that made basic proficiency much less mastery irrelevant, starting from the day they stole the PA from their high school and set up in an abandoned grain bin at the outskirts of the tiny burg they’d name themselves after and commenced to produce such an ear-splitting din that it took the cops all of ten minutes or so to swoop down on ‘em and not only pull the plug but arrest them for grand larceny, after which they were sentenced to TWENTY-SIX YEARS at some horrifying penal farm, although the sentence was later suspended. But there’s a lesson in there—playing the sounds they heard in their collective unhinged head could have put them away for decades, and it that ain’t the spirit of rock ’n’ roll, what is?

Black Oak Arkansas was a band of renegade long-haired redneck Krishna Baptists at the bizarro fringe of the southern rock movement who liked to sing about the halls of Karma and called themselves “mutants of the monster” and lived at one with nature in some kind of hairy hippie commune in the sticks where they perfected their totally incompetent but always electrifying and utterly unique brand of radioactive psychedelic southern rock, complete with their own three-guitar army and a drummer who liked to play solos with his bare hands, perhaps because he couldn’t afford drum sticks. But if so, why didn’t he just steal some? Arkansas is Purdue Country and literally crawling with chickens!

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | After a pause since 2019 due to the pandemic, music lovers, record enthusiasts, and audiophiles are warmly invited to the much-awaited return of Warner Music Group’s Record Store Crawl. Presented by turntable brand Audio-Technica, the crawl is set to make its grand return in New York City on May 18th, 2024, before embarking on a several-month journey through iconic record stores in cities nationwide.

This year’s Record Store Crawl, in collaboration with the voter registration non-profit HeadCount, offers a unique twist: the seventh crawl location will be chosen by vinyl collectors nationwide through a vote. After casting their votes for the crawl, participants are encouraged to check their voter registration status for the 2024 election. For details on how to vote for the crawl location, visit www.recordstorecrawl.com/vote.

The 2024 crawl season promises an unparalleled celebration of vinyl culture. Attendees will experience exclusive performances, special edition vinyl releases, and more, all while indulging in a music-filled day complemented by delicious food, refreshing drinks, and unique giveaways aboard the Record Store Crawl bus.

The crawl will include the launch of exclusive, limited edition collection of vinyl releases, including the first-ever vinyl release of Portraits by Quarters of Change, and the highly anticipated re-issues of the Twilight Saga soundtracks. Record Store Crawl exclusive LPs will be available at independent record stores nationwide and on the Record Store Crawl’s website.

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Celebrating Dave Hill, born on this day in 1946. —Ed.

These lovable Wolverhampton cheaters at Scrabble certainly never won a spelling bee, and one of ‘em (guitarist Dave Hill) walked around in a mullet so hideous it could even get you evicted from an Alabama trailer park, and come to think of it, the whole bunch of ‘em looked pretty silly in their Glam clobber, but we’re talking about the great Slade here so–cum on feel the noize! Because when it comes to irresistibly catchy (and irreducibly simple) rabble rousers (they perfected the whole stomp and clap thing long before Queen came along with “We Will Rock You”) Slade can’t be beat.

Slade may have abandoned their braces and boots Oi roots to climb aboard the Big Glam Bandwagon, but they never forgot their rowdy West Midlands yob origins– “Cum On Feel the Noize,” “Gudbuy T’ Jane,” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” are all rafters-shaking boot boy anthems. Not for nothing did Hill wear the words “Super Yob” on the breastplate of his pointy-shouldered space doofus stage costume.

The “Brummie oiks” (thanks Barney Hoskyns!) in Slade were the friendliest bunch of Wulfrunian lager louts you’d ever want to meet, preferring cheery sing alongs in the great English pub tradition to sticking a broken bottle in your mug. They also had a quiet side and a sentimental streak a mile wide, not that you’d know it if you lived in the States, which only got to meet Slade’s crazee Mr. Hyde persona.

This is certainly the case on the truncated US version of the band’s 1973 singles compilation Sladest. The Reprise Records “American version” compiles the band’s eight UK hit singles up to that date along with the newly released single “My Friend Stan” and its B-Side “My Town,” whilst leaving such quieter (and vaguely Beatlesesque!) songs as “Pouk Hill” and “One Way Hotel” by the side of the musical motorway.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “We lived in Britain, a country that had hugely benefited from immigration, but curiously had an innate antipathy to the ideas of multiculturalism and diversity. Daniel Rachel has managed to capture the essence of that contradiction in those Margaret Thatcher—governed years, with this comprehensive, cautionary but nonetheless celebratory saga of the 2 Tone label.” —Pauline Black, singer of The Selecter

In 1979, 2 Tone Records exploded into the consciousness of music lovers in Britain, the US, and beyond, as albums by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The English Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was Black and white: a multiracial force of British and Caribbean musicians singing about social issues, racism, class, and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and fought against right-wing extremism.

The music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae crossed with a punk attitude created an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, England, and masterminded by a middle-class art student, Jerry Dammers, who envisioned an English Motown.

Borrowing £700, the label’s first record featured “Gangsters” by The Specials, backed by an instrumental track by the as-yet-unformed Selecter. Within two months, the single reached number six on the UK music charts. Dammers went on to sign Madness, The English Beat, and The Bodysnatchers as a glut of successive hits propelled 2 Tone artists onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts and minds of a generation.

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On April 5, Mississippi Records delivers an absolute gem to seekers of prime African heat as they reissue the eponymous 1973 album by Mali’s Rail Band. Spiked with Afro-Cuban richness and relentlessly funky, the record sells for hundreds of dollars in original form when a copy miraculously becomes available. Mississippi’s edition, on black or transparent blue vinyl, is far more affordable and is no less moving a listen.

As detailed on the cover, the Rail Band was the house act at the Buffet Hotel de la Gare in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Formed through sponsorships by the country’s Ministry of Information and Railway Administration, the bandstand was in the bar of the Buffet, a station hotel, located near the railway, hence the group’s name. The five gigs a week were long (reportedly 2pm until late), but that much playing led to the striking ensemble cohesion heard on this record.

The first Rail Band album, Orchestre Rail-Band de Bamako was released in 1970 on Mali Music, a label directly funded by the Ministry of Information. It was reissued on vinyl by Mississippi back in 2011. That set documents a band that was already sharp. Rich with jazzy horn wiggle, the sound glides as much as it grooves, though there is no shortage of rhythmic potency throughout.

By 1973, the Rail Band was a well-oiled engine of funk combustion. Initially issued by RCAM (stands for Rail Culture Authentique Mali), this self-titled second LP stands amongst the finest African sounds of its decade. Yes, that’s a bold statement given the diversity of the continent’s output in those ten years, but the Rail Band’s stylistic hybridization elevates them to top tier.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Mercury Studios announces the May 10, 2024 release of Back to Front – Live in London from Peter Gabriel on 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray.

Back to Front – Live in London captures the complete live performance of the So album from start to finish. This spectacular live concert, filmed at London’s O2 over 2 nights in October 2013, using the latest Ultra High Definition 4K technology, captures Peter Gabriel’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of his landmark album So. To mark the event, Gabriel reunited his original So touring band from 1986/87 (David Rhodes, Tony Levin, Manu Katché, and David Sancious, with Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson) and for the very first time fans saw them play the multi-platinum selling album in its entirety.

As a bonus Back to Front includes “The Visual Approach” a fascinating feature on the creation of the live show. While the core of the performance is the So album, there is so much more to the concert with unfinished, previously unreleased and re-imagined songs sitting effortlessly alongside classic hits reflecting what a multi-dimensional artist Peter Gabriel is. With innovative lighting and staging, Back to Front – Live in London offers a visual and narrative feast that puts the viewer inside a concert like never before.

A notable inclusion in the concert is the song “Daddy Long Legs,” at the time a previously unheard and unfinished piece which opened the show. With the release of Gabriel’s current album i/o, the performance is revealed to be an early, work in progress rendition of the song “Playing for Time.” Peter’s critically acclaimed new album i/o is out now on LP, CD and Digital.

It’s been four years since Norah Jones has released a studio album and new material (Pick Me Up Off the Floor). There was a holiday album and a live album in 2021. Once again, Jones has come up with an album, Visions, that highlights her gorgeous and singular vocal style and ability to write songs that move from the infectiously catchy to varied in the way she seamlessly mixes styles, particularly jazz, country, and soul.

She can add subtle modern touches to her music, as she does on the catchy “Running,” but never panders to current pop trends. The song fits right in with today’s music, but is an instant timeless classic. When Jones first burst on the scene in 2002, she was hailed as breathing new life into piano-jazz styled music. On later albums she has shown her fun side and songwriter chops by making music that has a little of the jazz and country of the earlier sound that is at the core of her music, but now she adds more soul and pop.

She wrote three of the songs here and co-wrote the rest. She is not afraid to try new musical ideas and to mix drums and brass in unique ways, particularly on “I Just Wanna Dance.” There is an almost stripped-down, Philly soul feel on some tracks, like on “All This Time.” Rather than resorting to mostly electronic keyboards like on so many pop music hits these days, Jones relies more on acoustic piano and, on “I’m Aware,” “On My Way,” and “That’s Life” incorporates an organ sound like from an old movie that adds a spooky, atmospheric mood.

Jones is aided here by musicians up for the task of creating music of stylistic breadth and subtle musicianship, including ace jazz drummer Brian Blade, Jesse Murphy of Brazilian Girls, and Homer Steinweiss and Dave Guy of the Dap-Kings. Her main collaborator, Leon Michels, who also serves as the album’s producer and her co-songwriter on eight songs, and who adds his playing on many instruments, is also from the Dap-Kings. With the death of lead Dap-King singer Sharon Jones in 2016, it’s nice to see these extraordinary New York musicians continuing to make great music together and joining forces with fellow New Yorkers Norah Jones and Jesse Murphy.

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