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.

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Yuka & Chronoship ~ SHIP

 

Man, did this album take me by surprise. This almost instrumental prog band is FANTASTIC! The musicianship is tight, perfectly so. The only thing that I could say about this band, if I could say anything bad about this band, is that I’d like some vocals to go along with the great music. This band could be the next YES, if they had some vocals for people to get ahold of that they might like to sing along. There are a couple of songs with vocals sung by Sonja Kristina of CURVED AIR, & also Hiroyuki Tzuta, which I enjoyed a bit more. The band is Yuka Funakoshi on piano, keyboards & vocal (??), Shun Taguchi on bass & chorus, Takashi Miyazawa on guitars, & Ikko Tanaka on drums. There aren’t many bands who take me by surprise, but Yuka & Chronoship do. This band definately rocks & I highly recommend that you give this a listen. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Martin Turner ~ Ex Wishbone Ash ~ The Beauty In Chaos Live at the Citadel CD & DVD Set

 

Wishbone Ash were big back in the 70s. Unfortunately, they broke up. Now there are 2 bands with Wishbone Ash’s name attached to it. One by Andy Powell, & this one by Martin Turner. Now that I’ve watched this DVD, I can tell you that both of these bands are great. Since this is about Martin Turner, let me get to this one. First off, he plays his brand new album “The Beauty Of Chaos” in it’s entirety LIVE. After that, he goes on to play some of the great Wishbone Ash songs that he wrote & made famous. The band on this CD/DVD set are wonderful. The band consists of 4 musicians made up of Martin Turner on bass & vocals, Danny Willson on guitars & vocals, Misha Nikolic on guitars, & Tim Brown on drums. As Martin keeps the rhythm rolling with Tim, Misha & Danny are doing dueling guitar solos all while harmonizing on said guitar solo. This is a great show to watch. The only thing that I would like to say is I wish Martin & Andy (Powell) would get together with all of their bands for an even more amazing show. The DVD did seem to give me more pleasure than the CD, as I felt that I heard more & saw things that I may not have understood on the CD. Still a great set Highly recommended. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Fernando Perdomo ~ Out To Sea

 

Ok, guitar fans are really going to like this album. The first song “The Architect (Tribute To Peter Banks)” is a fast moving spectacular song which gets you into some great guitar playing as well as some keyboard drumming & more. Each song has it’s own elegance as well as some other tributes by Fernando. Included are “De Boerderij (Tribute To Focus)”, “The Future According To Roye (Tribute To Roye Albrighton and Nektar)”, “Sonja (Tribute To Sonja Kristina and Curved Air)” and finishing off the album with King Crimson’s “Starless (For John Wetton) ” which is a bonus track. The other tracks are extremely well played & played with some real soul, similar to Jeff Beck but with a more progressive rock sound. The 8th song “Dreaming In Stereo Suite” is a great epic track, with many changes throughout the song. I highly recommend this album & give it 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Big Little Lions ~ Alive And Well

 

This album opens up with a song titled “Find Your Tribe” which made me feel as if I had stepped back into the 1960’s, listening to the Cowsills. The 2nd song had a similar feel to it as did the rest of the album. While this doesn’t seem to be an album that I would constantly listen to, I would listen to it enough, as I do enjoy it. There are multiple vocalists (Helen  Austin & Paul Otten) on most of the songs, just like the Cowsills. The negative parts of the story behind the songs are turned into a positive with a great poppy sound throughout the album.  Paul Otten here in the United States, & Helen Austin in British Columbia make great music together. I think you may like it. Let me know.  I rate this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Jordsjo ~ Jord

 

Jordsjo is a symphonic progressive rock band from the netherlands. This album, while at first, threw me off with the first track, the second track brought me right back to where I belong. With a mixture of music stemming from Marillion or Genesis to Jethro Tull & the precision of Renaissance, & a tinge of Procol Harum, really made me groove with this album. The only problem that I had was that I couldn’t understand a single word that they sang, being that it was not in English. This did not stop me from enjoying the music however. The music had a feeling of the 70’s, with the slight nuance of the 2010’s. The organ was the instrument that stood out the most to me. I would rate this 4 out 5 Music Guru stars.

Percy Sledge ~ LIVE

 

This live compilation from Percy Sledge is very good & satisfying to listen to. He sings songs like “Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum, “My Girl”, “Bring It On Home To Me”, “When A Man Loves A Woman” & of course “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay” with 2 versions of this song. His voice was wonderful, powerful, & very clear. The band was right on cue. I would rate this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.