Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview
Grand Atlantic “Constellations” – Brisbane modern rock band Grand Atlantic is back with their third offering, following the acclaimed 2009 effort “How We Survive” (review here). “Constellations” has a darker, more solemn atmosphere to it in general, perhaps due to the fact that the album was recorded in an abandoned psychiatric hospital. Par for the course, Phil Usher unleashes some head bobbing riffs and has a smoky rasp that makes the music sizzle with excitement. The songs are powerful and exert a more prominent dose of psychedelic rock this time around, but I don’t feel that the melodic hooks are as sharp. Standout tracks include the epic opener, “Searchlights”, the engaging “Carved From Stone”, and the energetic blues of the first single, “Fresh Ideas In Home Security”. If you like Oasis, Jet, or Kings of Leon, be sure to check out Grand Atlantic here. “Constellations” will be available September 2nd.

Surprise of the week
Chad Smith is too busy on the road with The Red Hot Chili Peppers…so who is the replacement for Chickenfoot’s drummer? Hint: not Jack, not Diane, but…see here.

News
The new album from KISS will be called “Monster” (R.E.M. anyone?). Paul Stanley reports: "That was a pivotal album in the sense we were aware of who we were as a performing band, but we had to re-establish who we were as a recording band…There are no ballads”. Story here.

Details on the inevitable “deluxe” version of the forthcoming sophomore effort from Chickenfoot called “Chickfoot III”.

Sadly, we lost a few giants of songwriting. Nickolas Ashford, who co-wrote hit singles for the likes of Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, and Jerry Leiber, who wrote hits for Elvis, The Drifters, and The Coasters.

Random iPOD song of the week
What a great old song! One of my favorite duets – Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks sound awesome. This song appeared on the excellent Loggins CD “Nightwatch” from 1978.

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview
Bowery Beasts “Heavy You” [EP] – This L.A.-based rock outfit pays homage to classic rock acts such as Thin Lizzy and Mott the Hoople on their latest five song EP entitled, “Heavy You” (release date July 5). Describing their own sound as “Blue Jean Glam”, one can hear the bright melodies of groups like Slade or even Sweet percolating up to the surface above the fuzzy guitars and wailing vocals. To my ears, there is just as much modern influence from the likes of Modest Mouse or The Killers in their tunes as well. Check them out if you want a fresh spin on the late 70s classic rock sound. Highlights include the lyrically seductive “He Was Your First Tattoo” and the feisty “Young Rockers”. Learn more about the band and their music here.

Surprise of the week
Ozzy Osbourne had a pair of unlikely guest vocalists on his 1988 album "No Rest for The Wicked": Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, better known as Flo and Eddie from Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and The Turtles (of “Happy Together” fame). Read all about it here.

News
The Trews (reviewed here) are releasing “Live From Montreal” on iTUNES June 21. THE TREWS released Hope & Ruin last month and their fourth full-length studio album is also available on vinyl courtesy of Bumstead Records/CEN. The quartet just completed a leg of the "Born Free Tour" with KID ROCK in the Great White North and will summer in New York with five shows covering the state from Niagra Falls to Houston Street in June. To prepare the U.S. for their enthralling stage-show, THE TREWS are releasing LIVE FROM MONTREAL, exclusively through iTunes on June 21, 2011.

Def Leppard is releasing their first ever live album, “Mirror Ball”, and you can stream the 2CD collection in its entirety right here.

New Jayhawks coming September 20 – “Mockingbird Time”! The 12-track album is the first full-band studio release featuring both founding members Gary Louris and Mark Olson since 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass. Read more about it here.

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, and his wife, Sharon Finn's Pajama Club have set a September 13th release date for their self-titled debut and have announced some U.S. shows this month with more coming this summer. More info here.


Charity auction for Trekstock. This week the third and final lot of plectrums will be auctioned, which includes the likes of Band Of Horses, Ronnie Wood, Duff McKagan, and Paramore to name just a few of the artists involved. The plectrums signed by these bands are now up for auction on Ebay.
You can learn more about the auction and the charity project over at Benshermanvip.com and for further updates on twitter check out the hashtag #BSVIP and the account @bensherman1963

Random iPOD song of the week
“Danny’s Song” by Loggins and Messina. One of the most beautiful songs ever, written by Kenny in 1970 for his brother Danny to celebrate the birth of Danny’s boy. Brings a tear of joy to my eyes.

News: Malea McGuinness To Join Kenny Loggins On Tour

Malea McGuinness (review here) will join AOR favorite Kenny Loggins on Tour this summer. Here is the press release:

Malea McGuinness is proud to announce that she will be hitting the road with iconic singer Kenny Loggins for 5-day stint on his 2010 US Summer tour. After joining The Crash Test Dummies for a special performance at Brixton South Bay in Redondo Beach, CA, she will kick off her series of dates with Kenny on June 15th in Sylvania, Ohio.

Fresh off the heels of her sophomore release, ‘CLOSE AS AIR’, Malea has increasingly garnered attention for her intimate, Americana-tinged style of contemporary pop-rock that Associated Content referred to as “elegant, restrained, triumphant, redemptive, forward leaning.” Produced by Michael Patterson (Jennifer Lopez, She Wants Revenge), her inspirational lead single, “Spinning” has been steadily building at national radio while receiving heavy rotation from Music Choice.

Later this summer, Malea is set to take the stage at Milwaukee’s annual Summerfest Music Festival, opening for alt-rock mavens, The Counting Crows. On June 5th, she will perform at the Avon Breast Cancer Charity Concert at the Dakota Music Lounge in Santa Monica, CA.

Review: Crosby Loggins "Time To Move"

I missed the 2007 debut record "We All Go Home", so this new release "Time To Move" is my first exposure to Crosby Loggins, son of AOR top gun, Kenny. Let's get the inevitable comparisons out of the way first, shall we?

Does he sound like his father? If he is complaining that his CD is currently going for less than one dollar in the used bins, then yes. But otherwise, if I didn't know better, I would never have guessed he was Kenny's boy.
Did his father help with any of the songs? No - whether that is a good or bad thing is a matter of personal opinion.
What has he done that his father hasn't already? Crosby won MTV's reality show "Rock the Cradle". That has to look good on your resume.
Is he fond of beards? Evidently.
Will any song from "Time To Move" be featured in a testosterone-driven action movie? Most definitely not.

Crosby Loggins is attempting to carve out a niche of his own here, as the title might suggest. He sounds quite comfortable but not all that confident yet. "Time To Move" primarily consists of run of the mill light rock with simplistic lyrics about girls and love - sound familiar? His vocal performance is adequate, but nothing that stands out in the crowd. He probably has it in him to dazzle us more than he does here. The good news is that the melodic fruit did not fall far from the tree - the most memorable tracks include the upbeat numbers "Good Enough", "Better Days", and "Radio Heart". Incidentally, "Radio Heart" was co-written with Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket). Another guest star is John Mayer, who supplies the guitar solo on the title track.

Closest comparisons would be contemporary soft rockers like John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Train. If this is your thing, you can get the CD used for less than a buck at Amazon.com.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 4, 6, 9, 10

Crosby Loggins on MySpace. Official site.

Review: Kenny Loggins "How About Now"

I've been a casual fan of Kenny Loggins (myspace) through the years, but have been feasting on his catalogue recently thanks to LaLa. In most instances, I've been pleasantly surprised ("High Adventure," "Leap of Faith," and "Nightlife" stand out as being particularly good). In some cases, I've been left scratching my head, laughing out loud ("The Unimagineable Life"), or falling asleep ("Vox Humana"). In short, his material during most of the 90s is "the dangerzone". That is why I was very hesitant to even bother with this new release. Additionally, it is only available at Target, which made me suspcious.

BUT, "How About Now" is - thankfully - one of those pleasant surprises. I've been spinning this disc a lot lately and it gets even better each time. It is way more upbeat and down to earth than his new-age 90s junk. There are also subtle overtones of his country-rock roots, which really works on this release. He collaborates with some other great songwriters, including Richard Marx, who steps in to ... guess! ... slow things down. Fortunately it isn't too boring.

A quick look at the lyrics and you can see that this release is clearly inspired by his recent divorce. This divorce (his second) evidently didn't go down as nicely as the first...compare "The Real Thing" from "Leap of Faith" to some of the angry tones on this record. Still, the experience did wonders for Kenny's creativity, and resulted in one of his best releases.

iPOD-worthy: all tracks made it!