November 20th saw the passing away of Michael Dunford, at his home in Surrey, just after he returned an US Tour. He died of a violent brain haemorrhage.
Michael was one of the oldest members of Renaissance, the distinctive english progressive act that enjoyed huge success in the United States, largely due to incredible Annie Haslam voice and to the composing talents of Dunford, among other band members. Dunford joined the second and more sucessful incarnation of Renaissance, the one that launched "Prologue" in 1972.
Agora que já estamos cá deste lado, voltemos à boa música:
Os irlandese Horslips assinam em Time to Kill ("The Tain", 1973) um tema em 9/8 que mistura um jig tradicional irlandês e uma construção próxima dos Gentle Giant. Os quais, curiosamente, também têm um tema chamado Time to kill no álbum "Free Hand", de 1975. Ora escutai:
As usual with Jason Peirce, be it in Spacemen 3 or Spiritualized, when you start to listen to one of his works is like stepping into a vessel that will take you on a long trip and will you leave somewhere. Even if you are left close to the departure point you will feel far away, transfixed by the experience. That is the case of the most recent work of Spiritualized, "Sweet Light Sweet Heart", composed while Jason was doing liver medication, that left in mental the state that he translated into the expression "huh?", that appears on the cover.
The album was inspired by the experience of playing live "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are floating in Space" and was played entirely in his show in the Royal Albert Hall in November 2011 (that I, for some stupid reason, missed, although I was in London at the time). The official video for the first song, "Hey Jane", is not for everyone...
Although not universally acclaimed, this is one of the albums of the year to me.
Restless as ever, Patti Smith delivered one of the major works of the year, a compelling record. The japanese Tsunami, Amy Winehouse, Amerigo Vespucci and almost everythhing comes to life in a recitative form that Patti made her own as years grew by. Very much recommended.
Já aqui aflorado algumas vezes, o tema do rock progressivo nórdico é um filão que ainda tem muito por explorar.
Estes Ache são dinamarqueses. Um grupo maduro, editaram apenas dois álbuns no início dos anos 70 e desapareceram. O som pode parecer datado, mas na realidade o som não tem data: ou é bom ou não é. E compare-se o som com o dos Vibravoid (já aqui postados), por exemplo, e encontram-se ligações: o psicadelismo dos primeiros minutos deste tema é semelhante ao dos V., que é de 2012. Embora sejam, nesse aspeto, ambos descendentes do psicadelismo inglês dos Pink Floyd (mas não exclusivamente deles), os Ache são mais versáteis, ultrapassam a deriva psicadélica para criaram estruturas evolutivas mais complexas, caraterísticas do prog.
Reedition of the Year: After the Zappa Family regaining control of Zappa’s
extensive catalog, on a deal signed with Universal, they began releasing the
original albums.
The first batch was released in July and another batch
was expected in September, but didn’t make it till now. Among this batch of twelve there are some works that are absolute classics and masterpieces. Apart from the groundbreaking "Freak Out!", that I personally find difficult to listen to today, "Hot Rats", "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" and "Chinga's Revenge" are some of my favourite Zappa Records. I bought Hot Rats and have to say that the remaster, made in 2008 from the original tapes, is very good and allowed me to listen to the record in a different way, discovering details that I didn't know were there.
Elephant Revival is a folk music group from Nederland, Colorado, formed in 2006. The band consists of Bonnie Paine (vocals, washboard, djembe, musical saw), Sage Cook (electric banjo/guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, viola, vocals), Dango Rose (double-bass, mandolin, banjo, vocals), Daniel Rodriguez (acoustic guitar, electric banjo/guitar vocals) and Bridget Law (fiddle and vocals).[1]
Their style of music is often referred to as "transcendental folk," which incorporates elements of Scottish/Celtic fiddle tunes, original folk pieces, traditional ballads, bluegrass,[2]psychedelic country, indie rock,reggae, 40s/50s jazz standards and an occasional hip-hop beat. All members of the band are multi-instrumentalists and contribute vocals and to songwriting.
Os Divine Comedy têm novo tema, incluido na compilação Oscar The Hypno Dog, saído dia 7 de Dezembro e disponível para download em mp3... num site perto de si. E ainda sem youtube.
No disco participa também Cathy Davey, cantora irlandesa premiada - e dava um dedinho se esta não é a Cathy do disco do Rodrigo Leão. No concerto do passado dia 27 Neil referiu que a Cathy da canção era a sua mulher. E o certo é que eles aparecem muito unidos em torno da temática canina em várias fotos...
Whatever, aqui fica "I Only have eyes for you", em que ambos cantam.
He is probably more know today for being the father of pop jazz artist Norah Jones, but Norah is not the only daughter of Ravi Shankar, deceased yesterday at 93 after heart surgery. His legacy is probably best represented by his daughter Anoushka, that also plays the sitar and that has played with him many times.
Ravi Shankar was revered in the sixties for bringing the indian culture to the west and mixing influences of classical indian music and rock. A good friend of the Beatles, especially of George Harrison, he mixed influences also in the jazz (e.g. John Coltrane) and in the classical field (e.g André Previn). He also played at rock events like Monterey and Woodstock.
He was, on his own, a legend, and one of the musical icons of the last century.
Peter will be taking the 'Back To Front' tour into Europe in Autumn 2013.
Following the tour's success in North America, Peter and the original band will be celebrating the anniversary of the release of 'So' with shows featuring a performance of the entire album uninterrupted, along with other hits.
Just wish Peter would consider visiting us in Portugal!
Should no show be confirmed for Portugal, guess I'll just have a new excuse to go to London next year!
Regular como o Vitor Gaspar a anunciar más notícias, os Flaming Lips publicam um / dois trabalhos por ano. Desta feita é a banda sonora do musical (!) que a banda criou, "yoshimi battles the pink robots", a partir do (excelente!) álbum de 2002 do mesmo nome. Pena o musical estar em exibição em La Jolla, California... (será algum festival da cerveja?).
Enfim aqui fica um bom endereço para apreciar a obra:
Sex is one of the main drivers of the world (some say "THE" main driver), and has been very frequently associated with rock music. This could be the subject of an entire book given the numerous examples we can easily find. The image of rock is the "macho" image usually associated with Rolling Stones and the likes.
The cover of the albums (in a time when they were meant to be seen) reflected frequently hot topics, centered on the woman body. But man has also been presented in some covers, usually exploring the penis as a symbol. This 1974 Wishbone Ash (a rock / hard rock band from the seventies) album that I bought recently is a particularly good one, that could go along with the Stones' "Sticky Fingers". The cover is by the famous Hignosis firm.
We start today a review of some of the works that have pushed the envelope in 2012. No special criteria, no attempt to make definitive choices, it's basically sharing some of the music that caught our attention.
Paul Buchanan is better know as Mr. Blue Nile; after four albums and eight years of silence, Paul returned this year as if nothing happened; even more, as if Blue Nile was him and him alone. The spirit is here, but reduced to the essence. Songs of loneliness that scarcely arise from silence. Voice, piano, occasional synth and a faraway orchestra.
This is not for everyone, as Blue Nile wasn't. But for those who is, is a lot
The BSS are a portuguese glory, one of today freshests sounds. Full stop.
They are very, very good and luckily they have been getting the recognition they deserve, indoors and outdoors. Their last "komba" it's a prodigy of rythm and invention.
Now they come out in a box, ready to use... Their previous work, new versions, remixes and unreleased tracks. A feast for the senses.
Já algum tempo que não havia O Canto das Gatinhas, a nossa secção de apreciação do Belo Sexo aqui no Perú. Pois bem, há que manter as boas tradições. E para que não nos acusem de andar a promover alguma lambisgóia mal acabada, desta vez é uma verdadeira senhora, que ainda este ano passou pelo Gouveia Art Rock - nada menos que Sonja Kristina, dos Curved Air.
Sonja é da respetável colheita de 49 e deve o seu nome pouco inglês à mãe sueca. A sua fama veio de se ter juntado à banda Curved Air em 1970, permanecendo sempre como vocalista ao longo dos 9 álbuns da banda.
Como curiosidade, o seu segundo marido foi Stewart Copeland, baterista dos Police. Divorciaram-se em 1991.
De uma beleza indisfarçável, numa altura em que a imagem não era o principal argumento para vender a musica, muito ajudou a afirmar os Curved Air. Mas foi a sua voz que os ajudou a permanecer até hoje como uma banda de culto do progressivo inglês.
O Peru está a fazer um shift para o inglês... Não é total, mas o número de visitantes do blogue que vem de países não lusófonos (Estados Unidos, Alemanha, Japão, Reino Unido...) leva-nos a pensar que pode haver uma oportunidade de nos fazermos entender de forma mais global.... Esperamos que os fãs peruanos não emigrem e continuem connosco!
