Old Grungesters Still Going Strong

Local H - 12 Angry Months (Shout! Factory)

A few years ago we (my son Steve, and our friends and fellow Jersey Beaters, Frank & Tim), caught Local H's set at the Surf & Skate Fest in Asbury Park (now re-christened The Bamboozle, that's held in The Meadowlands). They were AWESOME! High energy that lit up the Paramount Theatre like a couple (they're a duo) of whirling dervishes spewing out some loud, reverberating alt-rock 'n' roll! On 12 Angry Months the unique two-man line up of Scott Lucas on vocals and guitar, and drummer Brian St. Clair explore post-breakup relationships and love gone sour. The stories are chronicled in these 12 songs (each song corresponds to a month), with bitterness, regret, and longing, with an I-hate-myself-for-loving-you feel that exposes raw nerve endings.

Throughout the album, Local H give themselves free rein, and the result is jangly, ringing, and at times wild. Weirdly tuned guitars that sound like a cross between an organ and strings are twisted with a powerful drumming wallop that can take the songs from extremely wild to moody, and haunting. "24 Hour Break-up Session" is a masterpiece of passion turned into a macabre memory, that intertwines a very powerful guitar/drum combination that probably hasn't been heard since Blue Cheer reared its ugly, rock/ blues/psychedelic head back in the 60's.

The songs on 12 Angry Months captures both the beauty and creepiness of a good relationship gone sour. The band's command of the versatility of the music, and lyrics are pivotal without diluting their brutal strength and emotional accessibility one iota. 12 Angry Months is Local H's first new studio album since 2004's Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles, which was just as explosive. Add it to their arsenal of music that they've been performing since 1995, and hearing them now (we saw them about five years ago), they make the change from great noise band to great band!

Listen to "Michelle (Again)" from 12 Angry Months by Local H

The Fletchers - Bright Blue Lights (thefletchersmusic.com)

The Fletchers have made an album that is confident, emotionally accessible, and encouraging. The opening cut "Above This" has precise drumming, and is awash with loud, but subtly interwoven guitars and harmonies. "Telephone" suffers from a flatness in the production that pops up now and then, but the band's staggeringly original and memorable music easily distract you. Durable from start to finish, The Fletchers write convincing songs like "Fatty," "Disorder," and "Paris" that are filled with melody, energy, and intelligence. I don't know how much time they had to flesh out and refine these 12 songs in the studio, but the music doesn't falter one bit. A sigh of a band that should sound even better live! - Phil Rainone

B.B & Dusty - Two Classics!

Dusty Springfield - Live At The BBC DVD (Universal)

In a career that spanned five decades, Dusty Springfield's star shone the brightest in the 60's. With a string of hit records including "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," "I Only Want To Be With You," "Son Of A Preacher Man," etc., she was one of the quintessential female vocalist of the era. In 1966 and 1967, Dusty hosted two very successful TV series for the BBC in England. This DVD shines a fresh, interesting light on these 61 performances. The combined sound and vision gives even the most hardcore Springfield fan a new view of the depth and breath of Dusty's stage presence. Motown standards like "Nowhere To Run," "Heatwave," or "Get Ready" were like fresh clay in Dusty's hands. She shaped and molded them into three minute-plus musical pop bulletins that, along with the backing musicians ( no names given), her arresting vocals and down-home style, was like turning lead into gold! Imagine, if you will, a parallel universe where a pretty blonde pop star can actually not only carry a tune (fill in the name of your favorite of-the-moment "pop tart"), but also write some of her own songs, and fret over artistic integrity. There's no making out with Madonna, no messy divorce, no custody battle, no changing your AKA from "The Queen of Soul" to "The Empress of Music." Instead there's raw, intense talent, and a credible, long career. In other words. Dusty Springfield is the real deal, and here in living-color, and for over two hours you'll understand why. Dusty could touch your heart ("I'll Never Stop Loving You, "Time After Time"), as well as your mind ("Pick Yourself Up," "Can't We Be Friends"), and not miss a heartbeat. She was a true, original talent. Extras include Dusty's appearances on The Tom Jones show, among others, and an "Audio Jukebox" that features all the songs from her shows, plus six studio versions of some of her most well known hits including "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," and "Son Of A Preacher Man." Soulful and searching, Dusty Springfield was one of a kind, and this DVD is as enlightening as it is fun. - Phil Rainone


B. B. King- Live At The Apollo (Verve/ Universal)

On Live At The Apollo (recorded in 1991), B.B. King and his big band blast their way through these ten tunes like cosmic shamen of funk, R&B, and especially the blues, at one of the musical cradles of all things Soul. Opening with a horn-rich performance of "When Love Comes To Town," originally done with U2, they lay out the groundwork for the lovesexy crunch and urban clatter of "Sweet Sixteen," followed by the I'm-sick-of-love, slow barnburner "The Thrill Is Gone." Throughout the album, B.B.'s back-up band and singers grabbed at styles from Al Green, to James Brown, yet ultimately landed in the lap of King's unmistakable guitar playing and soulful strut that ring from the rafters and back, from the fabled Apollo Theatre. The band is a tightly orchestrated, precise unit that sparks through hits like, "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss," "Since I Met You Baby," as well as some crucial covers like Willie Nelson's shot-and-a-beer night cap, "Nightlife," and J & J Belvin's soul sturrer, "Guess Who." The closing number "Peace To The World," showcases B.B. King and the band's cosmic wit, and is like an upbeat mix of The Impressions' "People Get Ready," and O'Jay's "Love Train." Pure transcendence. Throughout the show they combined forces that wielded their way through the man's six-plus decades long string of hits with reverence, and above all, a sense of mischievous fun that B. B. played off like a coy teenager. All this added a sense of spontaneity to the planned out performance that ignited their whole set! - Phil Rainone

Busting The Myth of The Clash

The Clash - Tory Crimes And Other Tales (Sandbeach)

That the Clash survived as long as they did and, in fact, proved commercially viable in both the UK and US is a clear testament to the rugged integrity and a stubborn refusal to buckle despite enormous adversity, much of it self-induced. The Clash eventually fell apart, but it took better than seven years for the inevitable Joe Strummer- Mick Jones bust-up to finally occur. If any rock band ever insisted to doing it their way, the Clash takes first place honors, despite the price their nonconformity extracted. This two DVD set is split into two parts. The first DVD titled "The Punk Era" is told mainly from the point of view of the Clash's first drummer, Terry "Tory Crimes" Chimes, which adds a lot of insights and myth busting to the legend of the Clash. The archive footage shows a young band at some of their first gigs, the intensity of their fans, and the importance of how each interacted, and helped each other. The Clash were one of the few bands that walked the walk, and talked the talk when it came to supporting their fans by offering any of them a place to crash after a gig - more like a commune or extended family, which benefited both, as the punk movement grew to a "We're all in this together” brother and sisterhood, not only when they started out, but throughout their short-lived history.

Nonetheless, they became enormously popular, even in America, where their songs stood (and still stands) as redemptive proof that music, especially punk rock, can create a positive change. Disc two, which is titled "Bored With The USA," features anecdotes and recollections of band members, insiders like film director Don Letts, roadie Johnny Green, and an assortment of music critics and diehard fans.

The Clash received no small amount of criticism over the years, at times being damned for their musicianship by those who didn't have a clue as to what punk rock was about ( and didn't care to), or for absorbing musical styles such as reggae, ska, R&B, rockabilly, and so on. The two DVD set flips back and forth, showing both sides of the coin - with one group verbally attacking the Clash for injecting politics into their songs ("London Calling," "White Riot," and "I Fought The Law," which are prominently featured throughout the film), and others calling them sellouts. The pendulum swings dramatically in both directions, with society blaming the Clash for change, then blaming them for not changing, or branding them sellouts, or saints.

By the end of the film, when the dust settles, you come away with the opinion that through it all, the Clash constantly proved equal to the task of confounding anyone that ever doubted them, and influencing decades of future musicians. Offering contradictory, and at times flat-out humorous lies, in classic Bob Dylan you-never-know-what-to-expect-but-you-know-it's going-to-be-interesting fashion, the Clash, along with having made some of the most brilliant, absorbing, potent, and staggering rock 'n' roll of all time, also had a wicked sense of humor, especially toward those who never took the time (mostly music critics) to see where they were coming from. This documentary is proof that along with contemporaries like Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, and just about every band that injected punk rock into their veins, the original Clash never settled for complacency, and they made albums that were crucial to punk rock. - Phil Rainone

Van Morrison- It's Too Late To Stop Now (Universal)

Recorded in London at The Rainbow Theater, and in California at The Santa Monica Civic Center and Troubadour in 1973, this two CD live set adds intimacy and full-blown blues/rock to these 19 gems, including a bonus track. Covering most of Van Morrison's "golden era," beginning with an brilliant, upbeat, cover of "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do," the album is a musical journey through decades of influential songs like Ray Charles' "I Believe To My Soul," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me," and a rock 'n' soul version of Sam Cooke's heartfelt, "Bring It On Home To Me."

Morrison's first classic album was "Astral Weeks." On this live disc, Van and his band perform a mezmerizing version of "Cyprus Avenue" that eclipses the studio version in which Morrison seeks even more of an ecstatic experience through live music. "Domino" and "Caravan" were solid, early attempts at commercial success, and put in a live setting, are expanded jams that the studio versions pale in comparison to. The whole band adds more depth and breath to these songs, taking them from 'good' to 'great' versions.

With the level of hostility escalating in his native Belfast, Morrison moves backward toward a more personal style on "Saint Dominic's Preview." Along with that cut, the greatness of this band is memorialized on "Warm Love," "I've Been Working," and really, every song on "It's too late Too Stop Now." This 12 piece band, including horns, violins, guitars, bass, drums, and back-up singers, proved to be a farewell to Morrison's past stripped down bands, at least for a few years. This band held all the elements needed to take Van's music from quiet and soulful, to full-blown, horn-driven rock.

I wish there were more, but the singular bonus track, "Brown Eyed Girl" Van Morrison's first solo hit, is given a fresh feel with the use of horns and piano as lead instruments as compared to the use of guitar and bass on the studio version.

Two of Van Morrison's hits with the band Them, "Here Comes The Night" and "Gloria," are elevated to centerpieces of the show. The band takes the listener from the past to the present, weaving a fresh cadence into these musical war horses, exciting Van and the audience, with a sharp, call-and-response of
"G-L-O-R-I-A" from Van, and the exuberant crowd shouting back "GLORIA!" "Caravan" has to be one of my favorite songs of all time. In this live setting Morrison and the band make you believe that music can save the world - all we have to do is listen and react. - Phil Rainone

Can't Stop The Ska

Goldfinger - Hello Destiny (Sideonedummy Records)

Goldfinger were - and still are - a major, groundbreaking punk/ska band. Hello Destiny is an album with high-speed songs filled with raunchy, gliding guitars, and equally aggressive sentiments. With John Feldman producing, they trounce the then-hard-to-challange first Goldfinger self-titled album back in 1995. Hello Destiny is jammed with traditional recording values and hi-quality sound which gives each song the feel of a hit single.

Unfailingly energetic and vital, the songs are packed with melodic punk rock verging on traditional ska, especially on tracks like "The Only One" and "Without Me." Other songs like "War," "Bury Me," or "How Do You Put Up With Me" prove that Goldfinger still has the roar 'n' roll with which they began. But one song is dead weird: "Handjobs For Jesus" is impressive, with traditional references to "the burning bush" and other Biblical images, and ponders the eternal question: "Love Thy Neighbor as thy self/ If I loved myself last night/ Does that mean that I need to jerk my neighbor off as well?" But the gist of the song is quite factual: Killing in the name of God is just wrong, and Goldfinger takes the listener to punk rock church. Amen, brother!

Hello Destiny has bite and character, a memorable album they will translate well in their live shows, I’m sure!- Phil Rainone

The Sweet Soul of Tupelo Honey Revisited

Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey Reissue (Universal)

Few musicians have had a career quite as prolific as Van Morrison's. After five decades of work, the musical legend has humbly continued to shell out fresh material (check out his new album, "Keep It Simple"), after 35 albums worth of R&B, gospel, jazz, soul, and rock 'n' roll, to name a few genres that Van The Man and his remarkable bands have touched on over three decades plus, and he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.This year they started reissuing Van Morrison's back catalog, adding a few extra live cuts, or outtakes, etc., along with a better quality sound. I don't think "Astral Weeks" or "Moon Dance" have had a face lift since they first started putting record albums out on compact disc in the 80's.
Although his sound has evolved over the years, Morrison's talent for writing and singing commercial hits remains steadfast. Opening with one of the catchiest, finger-poppin' tunes ever, "Wild Night" paints a musical picturescape featuring a buoyant, upbeat rhythm section, about street life, complete with colorful, nameless characters like, "...All the girls walk by dressed up for each other/ As the boys do the boogie-woogie on the corner of the street.../ And the inside jukebox roars out like thunder." At that point in his career, Van Morrison seemed more interested in surprising his audience ("Straight To Your Heart) Like A Cannon Ball," "Moonshine Whiskey"), and further exploring his long-standing obsessions: surviving the shocks of this lifetime, and rising gracefully to toward the future ("Starting A New Life").
"You're My Woman" is filled with longing, and deliverance, nicely setting up the centerpiece of this beautifully expressive album, the epic, "Tupelo Honey." Almost seven blissful minutes of hope, that rises from despair, intertwined with, what seems to be love at first sight. "You can't stop us on the road to freedom/ You can't keep us 'cos our eyes can see.../" She's as sweet as Tupelo honey/ Just like honey baby, from the bee," Van sings on the title track, with an angel on his shoulder. The two bonus tracks, "Wild Night" (the alternative take is less bass, more rhythm guitar and horns), and "Down By The Riverside" (Van and the band take you to church - make sure put a few dollars in the collection plate), are more than just an enticement to buy the album, they give you more of what the vibe of recording session was like. The possibilities that they were throwing around. "Tupelo Honey" is a simple, soulful collection of songs about the complexities of life, it's wonderful possibilities and choices we make.- Phil Rainone

A Classic Reissue from Van The Man

Van Morrison - Wavelength (Reissue) (Universal)


Credited with playing sax, electric piano, acoustic guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, vocals, and writing credit for every song except the lush, beautiful "Santa Fe" (which was written by Van and Jackie DeShannon,) Van Morrison took a very hands on approach to one of his most pop albums since Moon Dance. This reissue of the 1978 classic finds Van modernizing his bluesy, Celtic soul with some very stylish synthesizer, courtesy of Peter Bardens, and an ace back-up band.

I remember at the time of the release of Wavelength, they had broadcast one of his shows live on the radio, at the now defunct, and sorely missed 102.7 WNEW-FM. At the time, the DJ's were saying that Van Morrison wasn't performing any of his classic hits like "Moondance" or "Brown Eyed Girl." After hearing this album again in its entirety after quite a few years, it's easy to see why Van Morrison pretty much stuck to playing the majority of Wavelength on the road at the time. Morrison and the band were playing on his strengths as one of the
greatest R&B singers the world has ever known. Often using interesting synth and guitar textures, especially on the tilte cut, he guides the listener on a search for the source of art, rather than everything that surrounds it. There are no ho-hum secondary tracks, they get the pop music form down in ways they and we don't even realize at first. For example, "Wavelength" is almost sent into sheer recklessness on the studio sessions, and as one of the two live cuts included that were recorded at The Roxy in L.A. in '78, which I wish they would have included the whole show (they also include righteous rendition of "Kingdom Hall"). Using back-up singers as a template, this electric rocker explores relationships, and spiritual transcendence, and all the while you're boppin' to the big beat, and singing along with the catchy, "Do-do-doot-doot-doot-do's!"

At times throughout the album the band settles into a comfortable groove on stellar, elegantly sparse numbers like "Checkin' It Out," "Lifetimes" or "Hungry For Your Love." Van and the band take "Kingdom Hall" and "Take It Where You Find It" to church using a joyous, uplifting horn section ("Kingdom Hall"), and what seems to be a never-ending finish (the song lasts 8:40), with a beautiful, flourishing refrain, "I see my light, see my shinning light" ("Take It Where You Find It"). At the center of it all is Morrison's incomparable, expressive voice, angular works of guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, and occasional but potent back-up singers.

In recent years Van Morrison has down played his status as a legendary performer ("What's Wrong With This Picture," "Don't Go To Nightclubs Anymore"). He protests on the latter soul searcher, "I'm not a legend in my own mind." Maybe not, but to the rest of us he's certainly a legend in our minds. - Phil Rainone

Any Night's A Good Night For The New Counting Crows

Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (Interscope)

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is split up into two parts. The first six songs are heavy-duty rockers (Saturday nights are usually when you go out on the town an shake your tail feathers), and the last eight are quieter numbers (on Sunday mornings, you're usually a little bit more laid back, and maybe hungover - unless you didn't stop drinking, in which case you wouldn't get hungover.)

The Crows also made the CD look like a vinyl record, which is cool; but thank God they didn't put in any fake hisses or crackles that an older record might have. If you want, you can always hit "shuffle" and call it "Sunsaturday." (Yeah, I know, I have way too much time on my hands!)

With sharp pop hooks and slightly sad laments, this is a record about holding on to your soul amid delusions of celebrity, vanity, love, and life's curve balls that we get from time to time. The "Saturday Nights" side opens with bare-knuckles riffs ("1492,") which are way above average rock radio hits. The cheerily grim "Hanging Tree," the lost and lonely "Los Angeles," and fun-loving "Cowboys" round out the "A" side.

Most of the introspective "Sunday Mornings" set are little masterpieces of popcraft invitingly listenable and lovingly likeable. A twin-peaked effort that was produced by Gil Norton (the bender side), and Brian Deck (the hangover side), the Crows' first studio album in six years finds the band creatively reinvigorated with spiritual enthusiasm. - Phil Rainone