Wishbone Ash ~ Raw To The Bone Deluxe 2 CD Set

 

Every time that I listen to Wishbone Ash, I really like them. With the exception of the “Argus” album, I had not really listened to them. Then sometime in the 2000’s, I saw Wishbone Ash at Progfest and saw what a great band that this was. I have been listening to them ever since. “Raw To The Bone” does not let me down. There is great song writing, fantastic music & thanks to this re-issue, some great live music from 1985 & 1986. This is my first listen to “Raw To The Bone” and I LOVE IT! The vocals hit me right where I like them to be in my Progressive Rock music. 3 singers & harmonies do usually work. I say usually, because the live concert songs are not always right, but, it still sounds great anyway. This album is more 80’s rockin’ with the push on the guitar parts. I really like the sound on this. It is definately different from past Wishbone Ash albums. The members in this incarnation of Wishbone Ash are ANDY POWELL on guitars & vocals, Laurie Wisefield on guitar & vocals, Mervyn “Spam” Spence on bass guitar & lead vocals, and Steve Upton on drums. The 1986 parts include Phil Palmer on guitars instead of Laurie Wisefield, and Brad Lang on bass instead of Mervyn Spence. I love this music. I love this band. If you have not listened to Wishbone Ash before, DO IT NOW. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

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Static And Surrender ~ Static And Surrender

 

This album starts off strong  with the song “If Only We Could Sleep”, which may be my favorite song on the album, but, I’ve got to tell you, this whole album is awesome. Filled with classic rock, progressive rock, & plain old rock & roll, this album has it all. Great music, good lyrics (very good storytelling) & good vocals. All this from 3 people, with a little help from their friends (Jim Greer, Megan Slankard, Lisa Marie Johnston, & Forrest Day). The 3 members of the band are Adam Schuman, Jeff Campbell & John Schuman. “The Very Long Night” is a slightly faster paced alternative pop song which will have you singing along with the chorus right from the start. Another faster paced pop song, “Not Another Dime” ends the album, with some angst thrown in just for good measure. This band may be my favorite NEW band of the year. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars. Buy this today!

Peter Banks ~ Be Well, Be Safe, Be Lucky… The Anthology

 

You may know Peter Banks as the original guitarist for YES, or THE SYN, EMPIRE or even FLASH. This compilation of the late guitarist consists of 2 discs, incorporating the best of Peter Banks as well as other goodies you may or may not have heard before. Some of this, I have not, even though most of this music has been on other albums, but, some were previously unreleased. Some of the songs contain remnants of some of the YES songs that he did. A very long version of “Astral Traveller” really let me hear Peter strutting his guitar prowess. I’ve never been much of a Peter Banks fan (other than YES), but, this CD set shows me just how great of a guitarist that Peter really was. I do prefer some vocals with my music, but, this music can stand on it’s own. When you open up the CD booklet, you get a poem written by Bill Ward of BLACK SABBATH, which was written around the time of Peter’s death. I rate this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Various Artists ~ Love Is Volume One

 

This collection of love songs from Bongo Boy records is music from some artists that you may not know, but, some good music is coming your way if you give this one a listen. It starts off with a cover song originally known by both Van Morrison & Rod Stewart. The song is “Have I Told You Lately”. This song was also done by Kenny Rodgers. The other songs were executed very nicely & most of them sounded very good. Many different genres including rock, pop, country, etc. Gar Francis did an excellent job on “More Than I Asked For”. This was probably my favorite Gar Francis song that I have heard. There were a couple that I’m not sure would fit into the LOVE category, but most of them did. I would rate this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars. See above for artists & songs.

David Cross & David Jackson ~ Another Day

Fans of King Crimson & Van der Graaf Generator will delight in this album that really does sound like either of the bands. David Cross, the electric violin of King Crimson in the 1970s & David Jackson, the flute & saxophone of Van der Graaf Generator put this album together after a meeting at a festival in Italy in 2010. I’ve got to tell you, after listening to this album, I definately heard some of King Crimson’s “Court Of The Crimson King” album floating throughout this album. If you’re a fan of either of these bands listed above, I think you’ll like it. It is all instrumental with no vocals, so don’t expect John Wetton to pop out on any of these songs. I rate this album 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Roger Daltrey ~ As Long As I Have You

 

A brand new album from Roger Daltrey? An excellent one at that. The album starts off strong with the title track, but then gets even stronger with “How far”, the 2nd track on the album, which was written by Steve Stills. Pete Townshend plays the guitar on most of the tracks. This would almost make this a Who album, since Roger’s touring band is mostly Who people anyway. Also on the album is a track called “I’ve Got Your Love” which is written by Boz Scaggs, another one of my favorites, and again played by Pete Townshend. Almost all of the songs have Pete on guitar. Songs arre written by Nick Cave, Bob Elgin, Stevie Wonder, Joe Tex, Steve Stills, Boz Scaggs W& others. Even Roger wrote a couple of the songs on this album. This is one of Daltrey’s best albums since “One Of The Boys”. His voice is in prime form & he knows how to make it work. It’s probably the closest that we’ll get to a new Who album as well. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Roger Daltrey at the Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA. June 19, 2018

 

Roger Daltrey, lead singer & frontman for The Who came to Philadelphia to do a solo show with his band, which also includes Simon Townshend, Jon Button, & Frank Simes from The Who. The show also included the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Who’s album “Tommy”. The orchestra added nuances to what to me is such a perfect album, but, slightly added to it, especially if you’re there to see it, & not just listening. The Overture started out with the band & the orchestra & really flushed this song out incredibly. During “Pinball Wizard” when Jon Button played the bass part, which, of course, nobody, but nobody could play it like John Entwistle, but, when the orchestra added to the bass line, I almost felt as if John was in the building. The only bad part that I can say about this show is that it was too short. 1 1/2 hours of music is not enough for me at the cost of ticket prices today. However, it was for a good cause. The proceeds went to the Teenage Cancer Trust, which is a charity that both Roger & Pete (Townshend) support. So, I will take that as consolation. The music was great, Roger’s voice was in good prime form. 3 songs followed the “Tommy” album. “Who are you”, “Baba O’Riley” which they brought out a beautiful violin player named Katie Jacoby to end the song, which I thought was astonishing, & Roger solo song from his new album titled “As Long As I Have You”. The song was “Always Heading Home”, in which Jon Button played an electric upright bass. I would rate this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars, & I highly recommend that you see this show, if you’re lucky enough to have it show up in your city. Coming up soon, a review of the new Roger Daltrey album.