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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Cathal Murphy - I'm Writing to You -It Can Be Lonely & Beautiful at The Edges of Print (2022) EP
                             Monteal Sessions (2022) EP

Following on from Wednesday's fabulous show ay Ashington, I came away with Cathal's 2 CD EP's. The 1st one came out at the start of the year, and the 2nd, just released officially today, was recorded earlier this year, in, as the name suggests, Montreal.

I've banged on a bit about this young Irish lad as I knew on 1st encounter, he has talent to spare, and these releases vindicate that insight. He doesn't play like another Rory, or have the voice of a Van Morrison, he does have a genre straddling, easy style mixing elements of jazz & country with touches of his folk-music background. What comes out is a surprisingly sophisticated mellow sound.

The 2nd EP is more of the same, but Cathal was invited to Montreal to record with his mentor Ariel Posen who also produced the sessions. This time, there's a much more textured fell to the 4 tracks and we hear Cathal using a slightly higher register on his voice. Standout track has to be Overworked, Underpaid.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,824 Reply by reo l

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Fiona Apple - Across the Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmlnO1EwCT4

6,825 Reply by BansheeUK (edited by BansheeUK 2022-10-07 15:24:13)

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Scott Mckeon - New Morning (2021)

Believe or not, actually only his 3rd "solo" album but first since 2017's Rufus Black project, half of which appear on the album. Actually, his producing a certain guitarist-of-note's upcoming album and that jogged the ol' grey cells as it got, deservedly, fine ratings on Bonamassa's forum last year. No one set style or genre, but the mostly instrumental tracks showcase the variety of work Scott has been doing over the past decade and what a fine musician he is.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...
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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Rory Gallagher - Deuce 50th Anniversary edition (1972/2022)

What more needs to be said, reputation cementing album with fine, crystal clear sound and a bonus disc rich in studio session and searing demos & alt takes.


Thorbjorn Risager & Black Tornado - Navigation Blues (2022)

If BB King's Revue band was fronted by frank Sinatra, they come close; these guys are so smooth, so effortless on an album that could/should be a Tarantino soundtrack. Achingly good sound that deserves to be heard Live...

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,827 Reply by BansheeUK (edited by BansheeUK 2022-10-09 10:07:01)

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

New-to-forum band who made a big impression at the Carlisle Blues Festival this weekend were  a fiesty young trio. Formed in Gillingham in 2020, The Zac Schulze Gang have been storming the south-east scene with a mixture of up-tempo blues, rock and pop originals and covers ranging from the 50s to present. Drawing influence from artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Beatles, The Who, Dr. Feelgood, Rory Gallagher, Eagles, 10cc and many more.

The Zac Schulze Gang are:

Zac Schulze – Lead Guitar/Vocals
Ant Greenwell – Bass Guitar/Vocals
Ben Schulze – Drums/Vocals
__________________________________

Bullfrog Blues - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vADjFOpiY
Steppin' Out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5wZ0Sb54U
Call Me The breeze - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMKggnr1dI

From what I've seen on Facebook friend's reports, they are likely to have a full 2023 diary from their showing.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,828 Reply by Lester

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

BansheeUK wrote:

Marillion - Holidays In Eden (1991/2022) Deluxe Edition


Judge for yourselves the result, but this Deluxe edition in the dog's b*****ks. It may not have had the obligatory Steven Wilson proggy breathe on treatment, but you can't fault Stephen Taylor's remix: then you get a 2-disc recording of September 1991's Hammersmith show. However, the Blu-ray disc in the goodie bag; 3 sound mixes of the original album, 12 b-sides and demos, 3 promo videos + studio demo, a new, 85 minute "Making of" documentary and a full 95-minute Rockpalast video (featuring Garden Party, Freaks & Jester's Tear).

Sounds interesting, saw Marillion in the days of Fish back in the 80’s - great live band.

Lester

6,829 Reply by BansheeUK (edited by BansheeUK 2022-10-16 05:34:32)

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Hawkwind - We Are Looking In On You (2022)

The original "Guardians of the Galaxy" are once again strapped into their Silver Machine and chasing the Psychedelic Warlords (2 tracks strangely omitted from this collection) through deep space.

This is a collection of 13 tracks, over 2 CDs, performed live throughout 2021 and does include classics such as ‘Spirit Of The Age' Brain Storm and ‘Levitation’, along with newer favourites from their last studio album, like ‘Cave Of Phantom Dreams’ and ‘Unsomnia’.

Nobody does it quite like Hawkwind.... Mind you, a cover of It's Not Unusual, that's pushing the strange quotient.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...
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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Ariel Posen - Headway (2021)

Ariel's 2nd album here did almost slip through the gap, being released during the midst of the chaos of the last couple of years, but fortunately, he toured in the Uk recently, so I made sure I bagged a copy.

Always a good listen, and technically, one of the better guitarists around; I don't know quite how Ariel managed the soubriquet of "laid-back Springsteen" when to me, there's more a blending of JJ Cale and Ry Cooder to his particular style, with nods of Tom Petty and a dash of John Martyn for trans-Atlantic appeal.

Ariel is one of that rare breed whose guitar-work is a perfect match for his vocal prowess, soulful content that comes via Ariel’s clear, expressive and versatile; his signature guitar sound – moderate distortion and lots of slide work making an enjoyable mix of white soul and bombastic rock.

For my money, there isn’t a weak track on this album, beautifully written with production to match which simply allows you to shut out all of life’s crazy distractions and just immerse yourself in the twelve sonic beauties just for a little while.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...
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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Troy Redfern - Wings of Salvation (2022)

A causality of the current industrial disputes, my copy of Troy's latest album arrived yesterday and has been getting multiple spins through the day. I don't know what voodoo he's been on, but what, 6 albums in the last couple of years - he's making Bonamassa look idle: the amazing this being, Mr Redfern shows no signs of bottoming out this rich seam he's plundering.

He's still a slide-wiz and master of the Resonator, on this album explodes from Gasoline and climbs through Sweet Carolina which owes little to Neil Diamond's near namesake, sounding more like a swaggering Alice Cooper when he's parked up the grand guignol and getting down to some straight rocking. Hey, Troy & Alice.... I'm getting goosebumps... But the power-boogie maybe be Troy's stock-in-trade, but it's not the only string to his guitar; Dark Religion is a dark and brooding cowboy-noir. And Come On is the missing link between hard rock and country

Anyway, 10 perfectly formed slices of snarling Delta in 36 minutes, the album is relentless, like a stampede with Dave Marks and Paul Stewart along for the ride. There seems to have been a slight change in the overall production, Wings sounds overall a bit cleaner and sharper than Fire Cosmic. There's no doubt, even though the album's gestation was little over 1 month, Redfern's raised his own bar, yet again. And if that wasn't enough, he found time to do the album cover artwork himself too...

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,832 Reply by reo l

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

drinking champagne, eating halloween candy and listening to Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1kbLwvqugk

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Motorhead - Iron Fist (1982) 40th Anniversary edition

Had a good time this rainy afternoon wallowing in a bit nostalgia with a bit of Motorhead (phrases that shouldn't really sit together) and a smartly packaged release of their Iron Fist album. Coming after the [un]holy trinity of Overkill, Bomber & Ace of Spades as well as the monster No Sleep 'til Hammersmith Live album it was always going to be a big ask to top that lot, which, to be frank, it didn't, for the usual reasons of "burn-out" and it lost a lot of favour with the fans, being the swan-song for the legendry line-up of Lemmy, Philthy and & Fast Eddie (who left on the US leg of the tour). Looking back though, though some of the songs are rough and sounding at times "unfinished", it isn't really deserving of its bad reputation; everything that you want is there.

Crikey though, 40 years!! With the remastered album and various extras on Disc one, there comes a 2nd Disc of the full show from Glasgow Apollo in March 1982 (couple of days after I was at the Newcastle show). Maybe it didn't help matters that 'Head dropped {oops!] the Bomber rig and went for something new that had more than enough technical problems, marring several gigs. These involved the band entering stage by being raised and lowered on a drawbridge-like platform, a giant mechanical hand (with spotlights in the fingers) that more often than enough just moved enough to give "the finger", (only Motorhead) and a specially shot trailer, (see below) in a pre GoT style that was supposed to set up the theme of the show.
Happy days!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDt-tSO … z9ntccdkEI

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,834 Reply by reo l

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Jerry Lee Lewis "You Win Again"  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xZyh8VBFQ

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Cardinal Black - January Came Close (2022)

Well, here it is at last. Chris buck's "lockdown" project, reconnecting with former band mates from way back when. This is a very different project to his day job with Buck & Evans, where the latter has strong echoes of 70s Fleetwood Mac and Heart, this has a much more soulful sound, yet "gentler" than some of the great recommends from brother Curby.

Really, I can't find the strongest track, all are equal to my ears, the sound is restrained, intimate yet at the same time intense. Over great backing, you have the soaring, silver throated vocals of Tom Hollister with Chris Buck continuing a theme with guitar breaks weaving through like silver threads. And nice to hear/see Elles Bailey adding a touch of magic to I'm Ready. They have certainly built on their debut EP last year; now they've got to up the ante for album 2. Still, I'm kicking myself for a mistimed holiday and missing their tour when it swung through my area in September.

Ain't My Time (Abbey Road session) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TicIp0AKn80
Warm Love (Live session) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iaY8WPF_fc

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,836 Reply by BansheeUK (edited by BansheeUK 2022-11-02 14:13:32)

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Erja Lyytinen - Waiting For The Daylight (2022)

Album #12 from Finland's slide-queen and it's probably her "heaviest" to date. I don't mean "heavy" in the sense of this is a deep exploration of inner feelings that have brewed over lockdown, though it is, and I guess we know how the Scandinavians can mine this source of material: no, I mean "heavy" in that it wouldn't be out of place alongside Deep Purple. Sure, we get searing slide on The End of Music and (probably the weakest track) Love Bites, but the guitar and keyboard interplay elsewhere is delicious. Erja has done a great job in the producer's chair and pushed herself and her band further than ever before.

Bad Seed may have been the lead off single, but the title track Waiting For The Daylight has possibly Erja's best guitar solo to date. Diamonds On The Road and Never Really Had You retain Erja's love and feel for the Blues. And if you think you've heard You Talk Dirty before, then you're right, it's from her first recording, but it's been given an almost Black Babbath style make-over.

Waiting For The Daylight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFVO0IF9pXM

PS - have to say also, the album's artwork is outstanding. First look at the imagery and you'd take this for a progressive album, reminiscent of say Uli Roth. Look deeper and you see strong influence of Roger Dean maybe, behind the photograph of Erja. Keep staring and things appear to go very eastern, like a psychedelia trip, at times Indian/Hindu and others Chinese Buddhist. Wish now I'd bought the vinyl album, or there was a A1 poster. What is it they say, 2don't judge an album by its cover"? This is the case that's the exception.

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,837 Reply by reo l

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XwXliCK19Y - new official video

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Deep Purple - Tokyo International Forum (March 2001) - Remastered 2022

A powerhouse performance from Deep Purple, 20 years ago, and one of note as the show was a revisit to their legendry Concerto For Group & Orchestra recorded just before Jon Lord stepped down from the band as well as numbers from Roger Glover's Butterfly Ball, with Ronnie James Dio guesting on vocals (as well as adding his own Rainbow In The Dark).

Pictured Within - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69emuJqmqGg

Kicking off with a touching ballad by Jon Lord and sung by Ian Gillan, there's also a smattering of newer & old Purple classic cuts including Fools, Pictures of Home, Perfect Strangers, Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming; a searing guitar instrumental from Steve Morse; Well-dressed Guitar and Ian Paice enjoying himself in a "swing" version of Wring That Neck, And what purple gig would be complete without ol' Smokey... (with a very Zeppelin intro).

When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons.  Why were the lemons free?  What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...

6,839 Reply by reo l

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

Robin Trower - I'm Out to Get You    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w4d1_gOVVk

6,840 Reply by reo l (edited by reo l 2022-11-05 22:18:24)

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Re: What song are you listening to right now?

utterly confused or an extreme case of mashed potatoes

   Apashe - Renaissance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptx7UlK9yWg