Nektar ~ The Other Side

I’ve got to tell you, this is an entirely different sound for Nektar. Usually you get those long epic psychedelic songs. This album is more structured & a bit more pop. Everything flows where it is suppose to be. I like Nektar’s old albums, but this one was so different, it was just so good. I would say, it is their best. I know those of you who love the old Nektar music might get a bit ticked at me for this, but, really listen to this one, you’ll find yourself loving it. I did. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Long Distance Calling ~ How We Want To Live

This band is really good. Starting off with talking to set your album up doesn’t work for me, but, the music that followed the 1st track, was great. This is a really fine album. It seems Long Distance Calling gets better with each album. This one is no exception. This is really good. The keyboards are really good, as are the guitars, which you can really tell during the song “Hazard”. The guitar isn’t a wailing guitar, which you may expect from a progressive rock band, but it fits in just perfectly. Give this album a listen, I think that you’ll really like it. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I probably would’ve given it 5, but, the talking, distracted me enough to take a point away. This is still a great album.

Anyone ~ On The Ending Earth

This band has some talent. The only problem with it is it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. It is very enjoyable to listen to, but, It didn’t leave me singing or humming along with any of the songs. Once again, the music was very good. The drums really stood out to me, since most of the songs started out with drums. “Sip The Pleasure Of Days” was mostly drums all throughout the song. That I could probably live without. Guitar started to eventually flash in. For me, I give this 3.5 Music Guru stars.

Coming Soon…

Coming soon…reviews of Anyone ~ On The Ending Earth, and the Allman Brothers Band Live At Warrior Theatre, Erie PA. July 19, 2005.

Moaning Silence ~ A Waltz Into Darkness

This heavy rock band has some good ideas. The female singer is pretty good. The male singer tends to growl at you, which takes away from everything else. That’s what I got out of the 1st song of this album, from this Greek metal band. The band can play, so you can look forward to that. It’s not until “I Am Sorrow” where the male singer sings part of the song without growling at you. I liked that song the best on the album. Based upon the music & the female singer, I would’ve given this album 4 Music Guru stars, but the male singer, minus that 1 song, took it down a notch. After all is said & done, I give this 3.5 Music Guru stars.

Neumatic Parlo ~ All Purpose Slicer EP

This band sounds like they should come from the 1980’s. The music & singing is very melodic. “Optics” opens up this EP. The drums sound like a drum machine, but, they don’t. There is something in the sound that doesn’t quite sound like a drum machine, but it is either a drum machine or the drummer is so good, it just sounds that way. If you want a new taste of the 1980’s this may be the EP for you. For me, I give it 3.5 Music Guru stars. With hearing it more, it may make it to 4 Music Guru stars. Let’s see what they put out on an album.

Arctic Rain ~ The One

 

Are you a fan of the 1980’s hair metal bands? This would be the album for you. This brings back fond memories of Bon Jovi or Whitesnake, etc. The album starts off strong & just gets better as each song goes on. This swedish band really knows how to rock. The band is Pete Alpenborg on keyboards, Magnus Berglund on guitars, Tobias Jonsson is doing the great vocals, while Gert Daun on bass & Jonas Jonsson on drums keep the rhythm section solid. While this may sound like a great 1980’s album, it is a great album for 2020. There are enough things that let you know that this isn’t just a re-hash of old music. The melodic sounds of Arctic Rain will make you a fan. I am! I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Cody Carpenter ~ Control

 

Multi instrumentalist Cody Carpenter has put out a great album with Control. Cody plays guitars, keyboards, and, bass on 1 song. Helping Cody on this album is Jimmy Haslip on bass, Scott Seiver, Virgil Donati & Jimmy Branley on drums, also Percussion for Jimmy Branley. Also on bass is Junior Braguinha on 1 song. If you’re a fan of Jeff Beck’s “Wired” album, this is the one for you. There is a lot of keyboard on this album that works out really well. The album was also produced by Cody Carpenter. The album is all instrumental, which works very well. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Cafe La Rouge with Steve Hunter ~ Covered With Love

 

Steve Hunter, who has played guitar for Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper & Tracy Chapman, just to name a few. This is quite different than what I had expected. This was mostly a jazz EP.  Tony Levin, one of the great bass players of our time, also makes an appearance on this EP. The vocalist, Steve’s wife, Karen, although she doesn’t have a bad voice, she didn’t really move me either. This being a blues/jazz project could make that less important for me, but more important to others. While Steve Hunter being most known for his guitar work, this is NOT really a guitar album. Songs that are played (mostly in jazz form) are “Centerpiece”, which you may know by Joni Mitchell. “Spooky”, an old 1960’s classic that I love, is put into jazz form & changed slightly. “Beginning To See The Light”, an old jazz classic. “And I Love Her” a jazzy version of the Beatles classic. “Majesty Of Life”, which was written by Phoebe Snow, and “S’Wonderful” another jazz classic re-done. This is quite different than what you would imagine. For me, it’s not bad. I give this 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Morse, Portnoy, George ~ Cov3r To Cov3r

 

This cover album starts off with a bang by covering Yes with the song “No Oppertunity Necessary, No Experience Needed. This song almost had me thinking it was Yes, until I heard the vocals. Nobody can do this quite like Jon Anderson. The music was really spot on, with a few changes to let you know that this was a cover. They did a bunch of progressive songs from the likes of Jethro Tull, David Bowie, and other rock songs from bands like Badfinger, Ringo Starr, Gerry Rafferty, King Crimson, Squeeze, & more. This is volume 3 of a 3 volume set. Some songs are better than others. The really good part about this music is, not only is there SOME hits on the album, there are also some “B” sides on this album as well. Listen to this, I think that you’ll really like it. Let me know what you think. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.