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| Here is a live-ep from Stephen Stills son. I´m a big fan of his albums, and on this intimate liverecording recorded at Studio De Paris he is doing 7 very nice tracks, so he continues to deliver... There are three songs in french and 4 songs in english (his mother is french) and one out the four english is a new tune called "Fanny". And guess what... it´s another good one. Great voice, great songs, great approach.. Whatelse can it be than 4 stars. |
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| "The Wilderness" is a ten song´s debut a solo from the front man of MrNorth, Colin Smith. In his previous band, he delivered two superb studio albums, and perhaps the best live album in my collection, "Live In New York". So this album is of course very welcome if you like what he has been involved in previously. However, its shape a little different than what I expected. On this solo album, he has taken a step backwards in the deep and big sounding melodies which made MrNorth so unique and outstanding. Thought and hoped that he would move towards a more stripped-down version of his band, not that far away from Jeff Buckley when he has all the elements to do this better than anyone else. So must say that I am somewhat disappointed when he opted for a more alt country road with straight and simple songs. Not that it´s bad in any way, no, it´s obviously a good album. But do not think Colin get the best out of himself and that "the Wilderness" is a bit to lightweight. But of course if you like what he has been involved in earlier so you should check out this competent debut. |
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| A highly interesting independent released Christian artist is what we´re dealing with here. The album is produced by Rob Wechsler (producer of Olivia Newton John and The New Bohemians etc) and co produced by Andy Timmons (Danger Danger etc) and musically we´re somewhere between guys like the tougher side of Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith mixed with the tougher part of the Christian pop-rock scene with bands like Kutless and Downhere just to mention two bands. It´s very well done - and the packaging is very beautiful and professional and it once again strikes me how great the independent Christian music-scene is for the moment. There are tons of great acts out there right now, and almost all are good. Curtis is on the top though together with a couple of other acts like AM Drive, Spur 58, Justin Fox Band. A few songs falls of the boat as they´re a bit to shattered n styles compared to the rest, but that´s not a big complaint, and favourite songs here are the softer "Though I´m Not Worthy", "How Could I Love You More" with a superb refrain that could have been written in the mid 80´s and third out "Brand New Day" with fat guitars, a great refrain and harmony vocals all over, are three songs worth mentioning as killer tracks. Surf away to Curtis homepage and take a listen yourself. You will have a new favourite in this guy. I´m sure about that. And I´m convinced that we will hear much more from him in the future. |
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If you recognize the name Dallas Smith, so you probably have some album with the Canadian Modern Rock band Default. Dallas is namely their front man and has had a brilliant career there since the debut in The Fallout from 2001, although their career waned in recent years
Now he tests his own wings dressed in boots and cowboy hat on his way to Nashville. Gone is the Modern Rock music, and instead we get a record full of pop-oriented country where you can also hear some AOR touches here and there. Is normally not a big fan of this type of rock, but there is an exception and find that it is a very competent and well-done album. The opening "If It Gets You Where You Wanna Go" is strong as well as "Nothing But Summer," but the whole album is really good and well worth checking out if you like melodic country. It is worth mentioning that none Joey Moi (Daughtry & Nickelback) has produced “Jumped Right In” so it's a really good sound of course! |
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Danny Schmidt is an artist I had not heard of until I stumbled upon his album "Man of Many Moons" on Spotify a couple of days ago. He has however been active and releasing albums since 1999 which is a pretty long time. I feel sad for not knowing about him earlier, but happy to have found this because this is a really great album!
The only instruments used on this albums are acoustic guitars, harmonica, bass and piano. And that is more than enough for me. This ends up being an intimate record with focus on strong melodies and great vocals. Carrie Elkin and Raina Rose, who are adding the harmony vocals both do a great job.
What makes this such a great album is the strenght of the songs. There is not a single bad track on this album. From the opening "Houses Sing" to the end song "Know Thy Place" we get a collection of great folk rock songs. It is one of those albums that you play from the start to the end without skipping a single song. There are even some stand out tracks, "Houses Sing", "Bucket of Rain" (A Bob Dylan Cover), "Know Thy Place" and "Man of Many Moons" are all really great songs.
Danny's vocals can be described as a mix of Danny George Wilson (Grand Drive), Dan Mangan and Craig Cardiff. The albums is actually a bit similar in sound to the great solo album of Danny George Wilson, "The Famous Mad Mile". It is rare to find an album that manages to keep this high level of quaility throughout an entire album, but Danny Schmidt manages to do that.
Man of Many Moons is an album that continues to grow with each listening session, and I really cannot stop listening to this album at the moment. It will, and really should, end up on many top list over folk rock albums of 2011. One of the best albums I have heard in a long time. You really should get this as soon as you can if you are a fan of folk rock.Very impressive! |
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| Danny is a man with a big production of records in the past. I just wrote a review about a "best of" with his band The Sorentinos, and almost at the same time he also releases a new soloalbum (there are songs on here that ended up on the best of as well though), which is a little more acoustic and a little softer than his music with the band. First out "Sensitive Singer Songwriter" is a lovely opener with really funny lyric about all his colleagues in the business and second out, the Tome Petty smelling "That Would Be Me" is one of the strongest tune he´s done. A must for all Petty fans. Third out "A Good Day Now" with his voice close to the mic and a picking electric guitar as his best friend is also really good and one of the best tunes the man has done to date. This is Danny Sorentino?s best album to date, and he is a hidden treasure for all you Midwest/americana/singer songwriter/Petty/Young-lovers out there, and if you haven´t discovered him yet it´s about time you´ll do. |
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| Jazz/fusion is a huge genre and it could be divided in many sub-categories. On the rather commercial side we find Daryl Stuermer (former live guitar player with PHIL COLLINS and GENESIS), who’s a fantastic guitar player with a very rich sound and tons of storytelling melodies. He has brought in a bunch of great players too, the most well-known being LELAND SKLAR (now in TOTO) on bass. This is his 9th solo CD, which is quite varied in style, ranging from semi-heavy fusion/rock tunes reminding of JOE SATRIANI or ALAN HOLDSWORTH in a few tunes, all the way to softer parts in JANNE SCHAFFER or MICHAEL OLDFIELD style. Even in the slightly heavier parts, Daryl’s guitar sound is clean and warm – and instead he lets his melodies be tougher when he needs to. This is the case in, for instance, “Greenlight” which has both Mike Oldfield and Joe Satriani hints. Also check out the great rock/fusion song “Breaking Point” where I find many similarities with some of the instrumental solo material from TOMMY DENANDER! Like I said, there are also some softer songs, and I’d like to mention “Urbanista” which is a very nice pop/fusion tune. Given the different styles on this CD, it will most likely attract a lot of fusion fans from “both sides”, i.e. the ones who like pop tinged fusionists like Schaffer or KOINONIA and such – plus also the ones who prefer Satriani or other rock spiced fusion artists. And I think both camps will still appreciate all songs here. On the downside of this CD there’s only one thing bugging me. While being ever so great at playing the guitar, Daryl Stuermer actually plays too much. Some songs include almost constant solo playing, and not much room to breathe. It makes an otherwise really good production feel a bit non-dynamic. This is something to improve, as it will lift the Stuermer melodies to even higher altitudes. That being said, this is still a very good CD. If you’re in doubt as whether you should add this CD to your rock fusion collection or not, my answer is: Go! |
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New York based singer/songwriter Dave Sasscer sounds like he´s a veteran in the music business when I listen to his new album "Quiet mind".
He´s joined by cousin David Patterson on guitar who´s played with Shaun Mullins, Tyrone Johnson on drums, Gordy Schoenfield on bass and latin percussionist David Gomez.
It´s all very well performed and some of the songs brings thoughts to the 70´s FM rock of The Eagles and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
There´s no doubt they are great musicians and the good songs do get me in a comfy mood but the there are too many varied styles throughout the album to keep me interested during all 10 songs.
Dave Sasscer wants to share his love for soul, tropicopop, blues, jamrock, country and jazz with the listener and it could be fun on a 2 hour concert but not a 37 minute long cd.
He should focus on songs like "She´s in love with me" and "Quiet mind" which are really good songs, especially the title track that has a certain David Gilmour vibe over it.
"Doxology" is a beautiful hymn and the funky "I do too" is kinda groovy but the Dave Edmunds rock of "Dynamite" feels rather misplaced here.
The tropicopop of "Almost perfect weekend" isn´t fun at all but the modern country in "Jon Stewart is god" is ok, why did he have to pay a tribute to Santana with his own "Comfort zone"?
The album also contains 2 songs recorded acoustic live in NYC with a Nashville vibe over them.
I´m confused! |
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French artist DAVID SLAME is a songwriter and producer who not only seems to handle most of the instruments here, but also sings lead and backing vocals. His music style is melodic hardrock with some progressive as well as classical influences thrown in here and there.
David’s strength is the songs and arrangements. He’s also a very good guitar player, and you can hear some nice riffing in for example “Shame”. Stylewise he’s not easy to pinpoint, but “Love is back” travels in the DEEP PURPLE direction (á la their mid- or late 80’s). I’d also like to recommend “Your sun after the rain”, which is nicely built-up and includes some lovely keyboard strings. But you’re sensing a “but” here, aren’t you? And you’re right. If there’s ONE thing I’d like for David Slame to do, it would be to get another singer. In some songs David songs pretty good actually, but then he tries using an opera voice in these hard rock songs – and the result is really weird. Also, some of the harmony vocals are very false and would have needed a second try in the studio. However, thanks to nice songwriting he saves 3 points in grading.
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Do I really have a life? Well sometimes when I surf around cdbaby to search for new discoveries late at nights, I start to wonder if I should be in bed instead of sitting here trying to find new music at 2 a.m.
One of these moments I ended up listening to the clips of British singer/songwriter David Steele?s 2004 album "Underneath the ice" and it was something with his music that grabbed me.
This isn?t the kinda album that you stumble across too often, David?s melancholy side is hard to resist and when he combines it with the psychedelia of Pink Floyd and U2?s experimental rock of the early 90?s - it all becomes a winning concept.
But this isn?t the album you?ll love the first time you hear it, I thought there were too many songs in the folk rock vein of Van Morrison when I heard it the first time but the album opens up in a strange kinda way the more you listen to it.
My wife thought it sounded like unreleased Pink Floyd songs when she heard this album, so why not describe David Steele as David Gilmour?s lost brother who met Van Morrison at a Cafe in Ireland close to Bono?s residence.
"Words and rhythm" is hauntingly beautiful. |
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| The singer of PAVLOV’S DOG has got a voice that will either have you love it or hate it. Personally I would guess that 8 out of 10 persons will hate it, because of a vibrato that couldn’t even be gathered if all the world’s opera tenors would give it their best. This CD is a very mixed platter, with songs reminding of everything from 60’s pop (can be heard in the song “Hard Again”) through Joni Mitchell pop (á la “Wrong”) to something that reminds me of the softer side of CHRIS ISAAK (“Ghost Barres”). The track “Losing My Piano” is one of few really strong tunes, with a guitar solo in prime time MIKE OLDFIELD class. There are light progressive hints in this song, as well as in a few other songs. However, Surkamp actually sings pretty false here and there and the production feels a bit old and worn. If you’re still interested in David Surkamp, I suggest that you try to listen to the PAVLOV’S DOG albums instead. You have to listen to the same voice, but the music is better – with some nice SUPERTRAMP twists. |
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| Dirk Speksnijder is the musical creation of Phil Knight, he pays homage to his musical heroes such as The Beatles, David Bowie, Brian Eno etc. "The man with two brains" is not a covers album but instead filled with original tunes that sounds like they were recorded back in the late 60´s/early 70´s, Phil Knight has recreated this psychedelic and artsy sound really impressive but I think the lack of great songs make this album minor interesting to listen to. However it´s not a bad album, I thought the odd song structures were a bit exciting from time to time and Phil is a good performer. I settle with two stars, one star for each brain. Hehe. |
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I have been a big fan of Duncan for a long time. I saw a showcase with him YEARS ago at Warners office in Stockholm Sweden, and he was great. He has always delivered great produced cds with an own unique sense of melodies and hooks. But now - its all up to an even higher level called world-class. Perhaps the answer is Pat Leonard. The producer. The genius. I dont know. What I know though is that these two guys have done a top 3 album of 2002. This is a marvellous album.
Not a single bad tune. Unbelievable good. Musically were talking about thoughtful acoustic-based pop. But all with a modern touch. Like a mixture between David Wilcox, Francis Dunnery and why not say Kevin Gilbert. Well - take a listen yourself because this album is more than a must to own.
Listen to song number eight, "Beautiful Girl". Listen to the production. Listen to Duncans voice. Listen to the lyrics. Listen to the music. Nothing else matters. Pure heaven. |
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It?s been 4 years since Duncan gave us the melodic masterpiece "Daylight",have all these years been worth the wait for the new album "White Limousine" which is his 5th up to date?! Hell,yes!
First he only sold it as an EP at shows but now releases the full length with 12 brand new Duncan Sheik tunes,there are a few things different compared to the previous effort "Daylight" - first of all that album was produced by Pat Leonard who did a marvelous job and secondly,Duncan is not on Atlantic records anylonger.
He?s on the small label Rounder today and has produced the new album by himself,the music is a bit more laid back and acoustic based.
London Session Orchestra is featured on half of the album?s tracks giving the songs an even more poetic sound,Duncan is an incredible singer and gets away with saving a few "dull" songs with his beautiful voice.
"White Limousine" is not as good as "Daylight" but sure is worth every penny you have to dig out to purchase it.
This album is for those late nite moments when you want some quality time of your own! |
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"Whisper house" is Duncan Sheik´s first album on a major label since "Daylight" (2002), the music on the new album is written for a musical theatrical piece with a story centered around a light house.
I must say that the music gets better if you know what the songs are written for, I prefer his sophisticated pop before the indie/folk sound on "Whisper house" but Duncan is an awesome melody maker that catch the attention of the listener anytime.
Duncan is certainly not a newcomer when it comes to working with musicals, his score for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening won 8 Tony Awards and 1 Grammy Award.
If you want a retrospective look at this amazing artist, you should check out Rhino records 2 CD collection "Brigher/Later : A Duncan Sheik Anthology" from 2006.
It´s easier to understand the music on "Whisper house" if you know what he´s done earlier in his career, imagine if Nick Drake and The Eagles collaborated - the result could very well be songs like "It´s better to be dead" and "The tale of Solomon Snell".
Both haunting beautiful but if you want a typical Duncan Sheik song, then "Play your part" will satisfy your needs and I also welcome the guest performer Holly Brooke on several songs.
They make a perfect musical couple on "How it feels", just one good example of 2 fine voices.
Let this album grow! |
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Did you know that?
U2’s 1997 music video for “Last Night on Earth” was counterculture icon William S. Burroughs’ final on-camera appearance.
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latest reviews
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