A Pale Horse Named Death ~ When The World Becomes Undone

 

The first thing That I would think when I play this album, is that they sound very similar to later Alice In Chains. The only difference is there was not much guitar solos. There were a few, but only 1 that I really picked out. Sal Abruscato, the vocalists & guitarist for the band took demos & combed through 4 years worth of music along with the band, Eddie Heedles (Guitar), Joe Taylor (Guitar), Eric Morgan (Bass), & Johnny Kelly (Drums) & picked out the songs that make up this album, then went into the studio to make this. A bit of a dark album, but, we are living in darker times, which is exactly what Sal’s thoughts were when he was thinking about this album. Does it work? Sure. Is it great? I would say no, but, if you’re a fan of later Alice In Chains, you’ll probably like this more than I do. I would give this 3 out of 5 Music Guru stars. Best song on the album, for me, was “Dreams Of The End”.

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An Evening With The Neal Morse Band

 

Once again, I head over to the Keswick Theatre in Glenside Pa. This time to see the Neal Morse Band doing their brand new album in it’s entirety. The very beginning before Neal plays a note, he speaks to the audience. He is very happy & jovial about this album, which is a concept album. The main thing that I noticed is all of the members sing on this album except Randy George, who does have a speaking part. Neal & Eric Gilette, Bill Hubauer, & Mike Portnoy all have lead singing parts on this album. In addition to the excellent crafted  music & story, the harmony vocals were all spot on. The best that I’ve heard yet from this band…& they’re always good, but these were even better. Again, they did the whole “The Great Adventure” album in it’s entirety, but, then, the encore was a big medley of Neal’s solo work including songs “Testimony”, “One”, “Sola Scriptura”, Lifeline”, “Testimony”, & more. Neal also did some costume changes to go along with the story. A great show, that I highly recommend that you see. The Keswick Theatre is a fantastic place to see a show. I give this show, my first in 2019, 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. Thank you Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gilette & Bill Hubauer. A review of the album will be reviewed shortly.

Best of 2018

 

A little late, but I was trying to catch up on some last minute albums. So, in no particular order…

Roger Daltrey – As Long As I Have You (The best Daltrey album I’ve heard in a long time).

Yuka & Chronoship – Ship (Great Progressive Rock)

Martin Turner Ex Wishbone Ash – The Beauty Of Chaos (Makes you wish that Turner & Powell would get back together. Both great artists could make great even better than great).

Fernando Perdomo – Out To Sea (A great album with a lot of soul).

Enuff Z’nuff – Diamond Boy (A great comeback album).

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – Glamping EP (Only 4 songs, but, you’ll wish there were more).

Renaissance – A Symphonic Journey (A concert with the band & an orchestra).

Spock’s Beard – Noise Floor (This band is a band that you MUST listen to).

Ayreon – Best of Ayreon Live DVD – This was a great show to watch & listen to. I didn’t know much of the songs, but, I will go back to see what I’ve missed).

Flav Martin & Jerry Marotta – Soul Redemption (Get lost in the groove of this one, you’ll love it.

Various Artists – A 50th Anniversary of YES (What more needs to be said).

Cody Carpenter’s Independence (This gem will take you by surprise. Prog & fusion together again.

Roine Stolt’s The Flower King – Manifesto of an Alchemist (Another great album from the leader of the Flower Kings).

Mathews Southern Comfort – Like A Radio (This band is back…& better than ever).

RTFACT – Life Is Good (A band that I’d love to hear more from).

Kayak – Seventeen (A band that I really should have listened to, long before now).

Eliot Lewis – Adventure (A great musician with a lot of talent).

Magic Dance – New Eyes (Great music in the vibe of the 80’s).

Legacy Pilots – Con Brio (A Super group with great chops).

Martin Barre – Road Less Traveled (I can see why we don’t hear any more Jethro Tull albums, Barre was a BIG part of the band).

The Unity – Rise (Van Halen meets Asia? How can you go wrong).

Various Artists – Let’s Have A Rockin’ Christmas (Another great compilation from the Bongo Boy crew).

Tremonti – A Dying Machine (A concept album with a book following).

Various Artists – A Life In Yes: A Tribute To Chris Squire (Great musicians doing YES songs. What else do you need?).

The Sea Within – Self Titled (A Super group that wishes to be called a Amalgamation of serious talent).

Inner Wish – Inner Strength (Re-Issue) – (Great metal band that should be heard).

Anneke Van Giersbergan – Symphonized (A great album with an orchestra that really makes a difference).

Riverside – Wasteland (Polish Prog Band comes back with another winner).

Uriah Heep – Living The Dream – 25 albums, all good. Takes me back to the 70’s).

Gin Blossoms – Mixed Reality (Back & Better than ever)

Aeon Zen – Ephemera – Game Of The Year Edition (A concept album in progressive rock).

3.2 Keith Emerson & Robert Berry (Very close to an ELP album).

Aisles – Live From Estudio Del Sur EP (A great band with great music).

Vanilla Fudge – The Spirit of ’67 (Vanilla Fudge doing covers from the year of 1967).

Wishbone Ash – Twin Barrels Burning (Andy Powell’s band is smokin’ on this album, but, it still makes me yearn for Martin to join the band).

Tommy Shaw – Sing For The Day DVD (Acoustic Styx with an orchestra. Fun to listen to, more fun to watch).

Various Artists – Love Is (Another fine  collaboration from Bongo Boy Records).

Daryl Way – Vivaldi’s Four Seasons In Rock (Daryl doing what he does best).

The Walkabout – Things are looking up (Prog meets Pop meets Alternative).

Neal Morse – Life & Times (Another great album by Neal Morse & his friends).

Static And Surrender – Self Titled (Could be my favorite new band of the year).

Again, I may have missed some stuff, but, again I apologize.

 

 

 

Kayak ~ Seventeen

 

Being a big Progressive Rock fan, I’m surprised I haven’t really listened to Kayak before this new album. Most of the songs were around the 3 minute mark, but there are 3 songs that break the 8 minute mark. “La Peregrina”, which I really like. Starting off the song with great guitar work from Marcel Singor, then the vocals come in with keyboards (piano), then the song changes tempo to a quicker pace. “Walk Through Fire” begins with both guitar & keyboards for a great intro. As with “La Peregrina”, the songs picks up with some more great keyboard emphasis. The song slows down again,  then pops back up again. Just what you would want from a great Progressive Rock band. Don’t get me wrong, some of the short 3 minute songs are really great too. Take “All That I Want” really grabs you from the beginning of the song and keeps you there as you find yourself singing along without even knowing the song. Another Best of 2018 album, as you’ll see in my next post. I rate this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I will be listening to more Kayak after this. Kayak is Bart Schwertman on vocals, Michael Singor on guitars, Ton Scherpenzeel, the veteran of the band, plays keyboards, bass, vocals & is the composer, arranger & producer. Also Lean Robbemont on drums. Guest musicians include Andy Latimer on guitars, Izak Boom on Banjo & Ukulele, Bans Van Der Zalm on Fiddle, Kristoffer Gildenlow on Bass, and, Nico Outhuijse on Percussion & Backing Vocals. Go out & buy this album!!

Con Brio ~ Explorer

 

Something that came my way, that I’m not sure whether I like it or hate it. Unfortunately, it is both. The music & lyrics are fun, poppy, & catchy. The problem that I found was the drummer. Nothing in the drumming itself, but, it was done on a electronic drum or a drum machine of some sort. Ziek McCarter does fine on the vocals, as does Benjamin Andrews on the guitar. All of the musicians did a fine job. It was just the drum sound that seemed to turn me off. A big applause for Brendan Liu (Trumpet) & Marcus Stephens (Sax) for excellent horn work. For you Kurt Cobain fans, there is a cover of “Heart Shaped Box”. I give this 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Eliot Lewis ~ Adventure

 

If you’re a fan of Hall & Oates, this album is for you. Eliot Lewis is a member of Hall & Oates since 2003. He has also been on “Live From Daryl’s House”, the show featuring Daryl Hall with guest musicians sitting in. Eliot has also worked with the Average White Band from 1989 – 2002. This multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter is really putting out some good music. I can hear a lot of Hall & Oates in this album. It has the rock, pop, singer-songwriter & even the R & B  & soul mixed in, just like Hall & Oates. The music is right there with maybe a bit more excellent guitar work thrown in. The vocals even sounds like Daryl Hall at times, yet different. This is his 6th solo album, & after hearing this, I want to hear the previous albums. This too, will make it on my BEST OF 2018 list. I rate this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I have 1 or 2 more albums to listen to before I post the Best of 2018 list.

Magic Dance ~ New Eyes

 

I’m going to start off this review with “I REALLY LIKE THIS ALBUM”. It starts off strong with an 80’s sound with a lot of keyboard driven sounds, then…BLAM, in comes the guitar. Each song really is a pumped up song. This is similar to the band, BREATHE. Even the slower songs, wind up getting you pumped. This is a great album to work out to. Another great album that will be on my BEST OF 2018 list. This gets 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I look forward to hearing more from MAGIC DANCE.