SMM #35: June 28th, 2022
More June releases to round out the month, an album spotlight on one of my all time favorite bands, and notes on two recent concert outings.
New Releases
COSMIC GUILT - Self-titled… new band formed in 2021 by members of several Philadelphia-based bands describe themselves as a “ten-piece, psych-tinged, heavily fringed folk outfit”... watch this NPR video to get a good idea of what they are about… big band, great roots-rock sound, love the backup singers and the harmonica… I will be looking to check out this band live…
AMERICANA RAILROAD - Various Artists… this is a compilation of “train” songs, of which there are many! Some are very familiar like “Mystery Train,” “Train Kept A-Rollin” and “Marrakesh Express” and other I’ve never heard before… have always been lukewarm when it comes to “theme” or “tribute” albums but this one works well… maybe because, outside of John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, it features mostly lesser known artists and as mentioned previously, songs most people haven’t heard before…
STEVE FORBERT - Moving Through America… Forbert has been putting out albums since 1978 but outside of whatever songs were on the radio back then (“Romeo’s Tune” in particular), I have never listened to him… decided to check this album out and was pleasantly surprised… it’s a well-done batch of folk/pop-rock story-songs from an old pro and worth a listen…
THE DREAM SYNDICATE - Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions… Steve Wynn and company go more for a moody, atmospheric vibe on this latest batch of songs with a few straight-up rockers mixed in… this is their fourth studio album since Wynn revived the band in 2012 after they had broken up in the late ‘80s… Wynn is one of the unsung heroes of rock n’ roll with a catalog full of stellar albums with this band, The Miracle 3 and solo… check out The Complete Live at Raji’s, a scorching show recorded in their 80s heyday to see what I mean…
NOORI & HIS DORPA BAND - Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass From Sudan's Red… Sudanese musician Noori plays a “tambo-guitar,” a self-made unique hybrid of an electric guitar and an electric tambour, a four-string instrument found across East Africa…Beja is a form of desert rock that incorporates hints of soul, blues, jazz, rock, surf and country with hypnotic Sudanese grooves… the liner notes say “Beja melodies—nostalgic, hopeful and sweet, ambiguous and honest—are thousands of years old”... check it out for a taste of something different!
Album Spotlight
Artist: Los Lobos
Album: Kiko
Release Date: May 26th, 1992
Los Lobos is one of my all-time favorite groups and Kiko is generally considered their masterpiece… they teamed up with ace producer Mitchell Froom who enhanced and added more texture to their sound… the band’s MVP is multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, David Hidalgo, and he was at his best here, writing 11 of the album’s 16 tracks while playing guitar, piano, accordion, banjo, percussion, and violin (in recent years for their live shows he has focused mostly on his stellar electric guitar playing)... this album is “all killer, no filler” but my favorite tracks are “Wake Up Dolores,” “Kiko and the Lavender Moon,” “Saint Behind the Glass” (a live showcase for singer/guitarist, Louie Perez) and “Peace”... check it out - you can’t go wrong… and go see them live if you ever have the chance… they always put on a great show!
Returning to the Concert Scene: Two Classic Rock Shows, Two Different Vibes Pt. 2
Date: May 26th, 2022
Act: The Who
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Date: June 4th, 2022
Act: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Venue: Forest Hills Stadium, Queens, NY
Back in April in SMM #31, I wrote my first Back on The Concert Scene reviews of two classic rock artist shows, the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir (and his band Wolf Brothers), and Little Feat…
My latest concert ventures were to see two more classic rock era legends, The Who, and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame with bluegrass star, Alison Krauss…
The Who brought their “The Who Hits Back” tour to Madison Square Garden on May 26th… I had seen the rock legends twice before at MSG in 2006 (ok show) and 2016 (great show!) and was a bit apprehensive as to what we were going to get from Roger Daltrey, age 78, and Pete Townshend, age 77… an orchestra was added to supplement their veteran touring band and they opened with six songs from their iconic rock opera, Tommy… they followed that with a nine-song run of greatest hits, including a couple choice nuggets in “The Seeker” and “Relay” and the classic track, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”... after that, they brought back the orchestra and did five from Quadrophenia and closed the show with the anthemic, “Baba O’Riley”... overall, it was a very professional “can’t go wrong with that material” kind of show and Roger and Pete acquitted themselves quite well… I would be surprised though if we see them hit the road again for another tour like this…
On June 4th, we caught the third show of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’ tour at Forest Hills Stadium… the tour is in support of their second album together, Raise the Roof, released back in November 2021… although Plant is best known as the singer from Led Zeppelin, it has been over 40 years since that band disbanded and he long ago established himself as a great artist on his own… he has explored a wide range of musical styles over the years and has always tried to keep things fresh, either putting out albums of original material or reworking obscure songs from the vast American roots music catalog… he is similar to Neil Young in that he refuses to just go out and play his “oldies” - even if that’s what a lot of fans want to hear… the thing that stood out the most at this show was the superb vocal work of Plant & Krauss, either in harmony or solo… their outstanding five-piece band featured drummer Jay Bellerose, upright bassist Dennis Crouch, multi-instrumentalists Stuart Duncan and Viktor Krauss, and guitarist JD McPherson… McPherson was also the opening act so a nice gig for him! His set of rockabilly, old-time rock n’ roll was very entertaining - although he would probably be even better in a small club setting…
The 20-song set included a combination of songs from their two albums together, along with, three choice Led Zeppelin covers: “Rock n’ Roll,” “The Battle of Evermore” and a jammed out version of “When the Levee Breaks” which was the highlight for me… it started off at a slow pace featuring mournful fiddle work from Alison & brother Viktor steadily building momentum until McPherson joined in midway through to help drive the song to a rousing finish…
This was the third time I have seen Plant live and at age 74, he continues to be a vital artist both in the studio and on the concert stage… — SL