Lots and lots of music this week folks. The radio has provided a heap of inspiration.
You Am I have released a live album called, "All Onboard". It was recorded in 2017 and with sixteen tracks you get a fair swag of their material. I think it sounds good and the band is in fine form. That's in stark contrast to the last time I saw them in, ahem, 1994 at the Livid Festival in Brisbane. They really were terrible that day in my opinion but I guess everyone is entitled to a sub-par performance once in a while! I remember DJ Laff and I looking at each other, shaking our heads and heading over to another stage to get a good position to watch The Cruel Sea. They were magnificent that day by the way. Anyhoo, You Am I's live record is well worth a listen. If you want a physical copy then it's only available on vinyl via their website. You can get a download or listen via Spotify too.
You Am I - Rumble (live 2017) - https://youtu.be/SD6X-RMkqi4
Depending on when you read this, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will or won't have released their new album, "Wrong Creatures". It's due to hit on 12 January. This is a band that wins my award for a moniker that makes no sense. Would you you expect moody, reverb drenched, spooky and beautiful music from a band with a name like that? No? Neither do I. This track is from their latest release and I've pretty much described it already. I like it. It's almost like a quiet version of the band Glasvegas.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Haunt - https://youtu.be/0CCxuxBQmpk
It's always cool for me to hear something new and then find out that the band is Australian. Tropical Zombie are a six-piece from the NSW north coast. They list one of their influences as The Sunnyboys. Mix in sounds from bands like The Radiators and maybe some Australian Crawl and you might see why they call their music "holiday rock". Great clip!!
Tropical Zombies - Call The Police - https://youtu.be/X2wJ74Tp32A
I'm happy to admit that when The Cranberries were making hits I didn't like them much at all. These days I'm not sure why that is. Maybe they were just too popular and I ignored them as a result. This track was on the radio today and caught my ear. What a great voice and a cool tune.
The Cranberries - Dreams - https://youtu.be/tONsedTRCD4
With the release of Judas Priest's fantastic new single, "Lightning Strike", I took stock of the hard rock and metal that I'd been listening to. And I realised that in the main I'd been sticking to my favourite artists as well as exploring some older bands like Diamond Head and Demon. This just won't do and I'm looking out for more newer groups. I watched a documentary about session musicians a few weeks ago which featured this next band. Add to that the recommendation that was sent to me as well and as a result I put the band "Five Finger Death Punch" into my Spotify search function and went from there. Not a great band name in my opinion but finding that it is inspired by a martial arts movie makes some sense I suppose. It's muscular hard rock with an insistent beat and great vocal delivery. The guitars are brutal without being detuned and sludgy. The other thing is that the band don't just pound ahead mindlessly. The lyrics are often well thought out and worth thinking about. They also understand how slower songs work and blend them well. Worth a shot I reckon.
Five Finger Death Punch - I Apologize - https://youtu.be/OzvasAJIHb4
Judas Priest - Lightning Strikes - https://youtu.be/CUzcxJNZKC4
In terms of sonic popular music perfection you'd have to look hard to go past Simon and Garfunkel. Check his out recorded live in 1966. One guitar, two voices, one microphone.
Simon and Garfunkel - I Am A Rock - https://youtu.be/ealhxti03pk
Yesterday I got home to find a 12" single on my doorstep. That kind of thing needs to happen everyday - so cool! DJ Steve had left me a copy of Gary Moore's 1983 single, "Hold Onto Love". It's classic heavy rock mode Gary before he went down the blues pathway.
Gary Moore - Hold Onto Love - https://youtu.be/7-Q04zfY_i4
Fast Eddie Clarke passed away yesterday. He's most famous for his time as the guitarist in Motorhead. He appears on their first six records (Motorhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith and Iron Fist). Sadly, there are now no members of the classic Motorhead lineup alive as Lemmy and Philthy both died in 2015. Fast Eddie Clarke also played in a band called Fastway who did the soundtrack for an 80s movie that I loved at the time called "Trick or Treat". RIP.
Motorhead - No Class (live 1981) - https://youtu.be/r2UT1sTCLJY
Fastway - Trick Or Treat - https://youtu.be/taV_qfVYnrg
The radio also threw this artist up during the week. The song played caught my interest because I was surprised that the station in question would be playing Elton John. I liked the tune a lot and after a quick glance at the radio's display found out that it was an artist called Father John Misty. I'll leave it to you to decide about the voice and the Elton influence but I think it's fairly clear. Josh Tillman (the singer's real name) was once in the Fleet Foxes as well. I think it's a safe bet that there will be a fair bit of his music on my playlist for a while.
Father John Misty - Total Entertainment Forever - https://youtu.be/VHCqS8X_-EY
Father John Misty - Only Son Of The Ladies Man - https://youtu.be/2PvcmhKRGeY
Have a great weekend.
Rob
Thanks for your care with all of these, Rob. Appreciate you taking us to people and places we may not visit in the music world. Would love to hear your recommendations for prog - but understand why you may not wish us to visit these much maligned ghost towns along the rock highway, especially as some are in outer (or inner) space.
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