Category: Legends

Rewind Review: Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin – Profondo Rosso score (2015)

Funky and creepy at the same time, the score to Dario Argento‘s 1975 classic giallo movie Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) is a great one.  Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin released this version a few years back with new performances of the classic material Simonetti made with the original members of Goblin and also with live versions and alternate cuts.

The main theme, “Profondo Rosso,” combines Simonetti’s clockwork synths with church organs, funk bass, and prog-rock drumming.  “Death Dies” could fit into any 1970’s action film with its urgent piano chords, Titta Tani‘s car chase drums, and Bruno Previtali‘s groovy guitar squalls.  Federico Amorosi‘s bass on “Mad Puppet” is like lava bubbling under a dormant volcano until about the three-minute mark when the tune becomes a chilling walk through what normally is a groovy neighborhood but now feels slightly…wrong.

“Deep Shadows” is bizarre with its quirky synths, Previtali’s shredding, and the rhythm section breaking the tune open into a prog-rock jam.  A live version (from 2000) of “School at Night” follows, with its creepy child sing-song vocals and music box chimes, and it flows into live versions (from the same show) of “Mad Puppet” and “Profondo Rosso.”

Rounding out the album are alternate versions of “Death Dies” (from 1992) and “Profondo Rosso” (from 1990).  Both are harder, faster versions.  Simonetti’s piano work on “Death Dies” is especially frantic and jazzy.  The version of the main theme (which is also another live cut) is even called the “rock version” and has bigger drums and guitars with a bit more distortion than usual.  Plus, Simonetti goes nuts on his keyboards by the end of it.

It’s a great score, especially if you love giallo movies, Goblin’s work, or progressive rock.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin – November 19, 2018 – Wealthy Theatre – Grand Rapids, MI

The moment I heard Italian composer and keyboardist Claudio Simonetti was touring with her latest version of Goblin and performing the live score to Dario Argento’s Suspiria while the film was shown, I knew I had to score a ticket to see the show.  The closest venue for which I could secure one was the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This would be the third incarnation of Goblin I’ve seen in the last few years and the first time I’ve seen Suspiria on the big screen.

The Wealthy Theatre is a small venue that hosts retro film screenings and live music performances.  I almost literally bumped into two men outside the venue who obtained free tickets after one of them had sold a computer to the drummer, Titta Tani, through Craigslist.  Neither of them had seen Goblin or Suspiria.  I told them they were in for a treat.

The film was a big hit with the crowd.  It had been a while since I’d seen it and I’d forgotten how much of a master’s course it is on lighting.  I noticed a couple people having to turn away from the screen during a couple murder scenes, so it’s still an effective horror piece.  Goblin did a great job with the live score, building tension and rocking out without overpowering the dialogue during critical scenes.

They played a full set afterwards of music from other film scores.  A big hit was their music from Dawn of the Dead.

They were really cooking by this point, and their pieces from Demons, Phenomena, and Tenebrae (which made the guy next to me stop in his tracks as he started to leave for the restroom) were also big highlights.  They ended with the main theme from Deep Red – a personal favorite.

The crowd was buzzing afterwards, and Mr. Simonetti and crew were kind enough to hang around in the lobby afterwards and sign autographs.  I saw many horror fans with DVDs, special collector’s edition vinyl, posters, and more, and everyone was patient and happy to be there.

It was a nice post-Halloween / pre-Thanksgiving treat.  Don’t miss this tour if you’re a fan of horror films, progressive rock, or film scores.  It’s selling out at a lot of dates and it’s well worth it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Ennio Morricone – Psichedelico Jazzistico (2004)

This 2004 collection from Cherry Red Records covers music made by living legend composer Ennio Morricone for films in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.    It’s a wild, trippy mix of music for thrillers, erotic comedies, and crime films.

It starts with three tracks from one of the best giallo films ever made, Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.  The theme, “Plume di Cristallo,” begins the journey into a dark, shadowy world with creepy, child-like vocals, tinkling crystal bells, and acoustic guitar that’s both warm and chilling at the same time.  The lovely, almost waltz-like “Non Rimane Piu Nessano” and the jazz freak-out “Corsa Sui Tetti” (which sounds like a fight inside a dark club) follow.

After that we get two from another Argento film that Morricone scored – Four Flies on Grey Velvet – “Come Un Madrigale” (which reminds one of a winter stroll through a bleak yet beautiful city park) and the film’s main theme – which incorporates both gospel and circus music elements…because Morricone is a bad ass.

Up next are tracks from the film One Night at Dinner – “Sauna” (which is luxurious as you’d hope with sparkling xylophones), “Alla Luce Del Giorno” (with plenty of psychedelic keyboard work, meaningless vocal sounds, and psych-pop guitar), and “Uno Che Grida Amore” (in which you can hear touches of his spaghetti western soundtracks – the piano – and lush strings mixing with jazz drums).

We’re off to the film Forza G with the smooth and lush (Those strings!) “Sospeci Fra Le Nuvole” and the film’s main theme with its sweet jazz drumming.  “L’assoluto Naturale” (from She and He) follows with haunting French horn backed with simple acoustic guitar chords to produce a haunting effect.  The short, action sequence-ready “Studio Di Colore” (also from She and He) could fit into nearly any bank heist scene.

The main theme to “Indagine Su Un Cittadino Al Di Sopra Di Ogni Sospetto” (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) is track on this record most like one from Morricone’s spaghetti westerns with its mouth harp, quirky piano chords, and clockwork percussion.  “Terazza” (from the 1977 comedy Il Gatto / The Cat) has poppy lounge organ mixed with sexy, slithering beats and slightly Latin horns.  The closer is another track from Il Gatto  – “Mariangela e la Seduzione” – which belongs on your next make-out mix tape because it’s practically the sounds of a woman having a long orgasm while lounge jazz plays behind her.

This is a must for film score buffs, fans of Morricone’s work, or psychedelic jazz.  Morricone is a true maestro and his influence on music and pop culture is phenomenal.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Public Image Ltd. – October 22, 2018 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL

I last tried to see Public Image Ltd. thirty years ago when a friend of mine in high school won tickets to see them play in Indianapolis.  She couldn’t make the show, or just didn’t want to go, and told me she’d give me the tickets once she picked them up from the radio station that held the conotest.  She kept avoiding me as the day of the show drew closer.  I tracked her down the day of the show and asked about the tickets.  She blushed and admitted that she didn’t make it to the station to get them.  I was out of luck.

PiL went through many lineup changes and hiatuses and went on many tours that never came close to my neck of the woods since then.  I finally got tickets to see them at Chicago’s Thalia Hall…and learned a couple weeks before the show that I was going to have to cancel the trip because a co-worker would still be recovering from surgery.  I was, as you can guess, bummed about that.

As fate would have it, however, my co-worker recovered faster than anyone imagined he would and I ended up with the night off…although I still had to work at 6am the next day.  I wouldn’t let that stop me, however.

PiL started their set with the low-key “Deeper Water,” and then slowly ramped up the energy from there forward.  John Lydon stood like a professor at a podium in front of his microphone and sheet music stand, delivering a lesson on how to own a stage and spit venom (all the while alternating sips of water and straight bourbon from the bottle between songs).  He even shimmed and shook a bit on “Bodies.”  The crowd was firmly in his hand when they followed it with “Disappointed.”

They were in a great groove when they reached “Death Disco,” “Cruel,” and “I’m Not Satisfied.”  The crowd went nuts for “This Is Not a Love Song,” and “Rise” gave me chills after finally getting to hear it live after three decades.  Album is one of my favorite records of all time, and getting to hear John Lydon sing even one cut from it was worth the wait.

“Does this look like a fucking cruise ship?” Lydon asked a drunk man in front of the stage as they came back out for the encore.  “We don’t do requests.”  That guy and his drunk girlfriend were soon removed by security while Lydon waved goodbye to them and he and PiL tore through “Public Image” and “Open Up.”

This was the first show in a long time at which I bought a tour shirt that cost more than twenty dollars.  I have a hard time paying more than that for any T-shirt.  The official tour shirt was $30.00.  I hesitated.  My wife said, “Thirty years, man.”  She was right.  A dollar for every year I waited was a fair price, and completely worth it.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Simple Minds – Fillmore Theater, Detroit, MI – October 14, 2018

When one of my best pals from high school said he had a free extra ticket to see Simple Minds in Detroit, I jumped at the chance to (1) hang out with him and (2) finally see a band that was a big part of our high school years.  I mean, come on.  1985’s Once Upon a Time is one of the best albums of that decade.  Plus, the tracks they played from their new record, Walk Between Worlds, aren’t too shabby either.

They started with “The Signal and the Noise” off that new record and then unloaded two sets’ worth of classic hits and new material including “Up on the Catwalk” (which I hadn’t heard in years), the lively “Promised You a Miracle,” “Midnight Walking,” before ending the first set with a cover of “Dirty Old Town.”

“Theme for Great Cities” opened the second set, and they were cruising by then.  The title track off the new record was well-received, as were “Someone Somewhere in the Summertime,” “All the Things She Said,” and “Don’t You (Forget about Me)”.

The encore included “Stand by Love,” “Alive and Kicking,” and “Sanctify Yourself.”  It was a fun show, with a happy crowd of Gen X’ers and even younger folks.  One woman was in happy tears as we were walking out.  “So many feels!” she yelled.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Underworld and Iggy Pop – Teatime Dub Encounters

Recorded over a couple weeks in a clandestine hotel room in London, Underworld and Iggy Pop (who has been living in London for a while now while  spinning records for BBC 6 Music) joined forces to put out a four-song EP – Teatime Dub Encounters.  The EP mixes Underworld’s electro wizardry with Pop’s gravelly vocals (man of which seem to be improvised) and memories of the past while embracing an unknown future.

Beginning with the instantly danceable “Bells & Circles,” Underworld puts down some of the sharpest beats of the year and Pop sings / raves about the “golden days of air travel” when you could smoke on airplanes, flirt with stewardesses, and do cocaine in the airplane’s bathroom.  By the end, he warns, “There will be no revolution, and that’s why it won’t be televised.”

“Trapped” starts off sounding like music from a  16-bit video game but quickly builds into a track that has you moving before you realize it.  Pop unleashes some vicious lyrics about being stuck in a rut.  “I’m trapped and I never get out no more. I really wanted to be special, I really wanted to live in heaven.  I really thought that I could be free, but all of this is coming back on me,” he laments.  “Let’s hear it for Johnny.  He’s got a mortgage.  He’s got a house.  Oh no!” He sings / rants later, pleading for Joe Average to break out of his self-built prison.

“I’ll See Big” is a mellow affair with Pop telling part of the story of how the Stooges got together.  He talks about how great it was to have friends that weren’t demanding, but he later had to meet people who were demanding in order to move forward in life.

Pop gets demanding on “Get Your Shirt,” in which he expresses anger over things he’s lost now and then by signing on the dotted line.  The Underworld lads, meanwhile, blast you with bright synths and early rave culture beats.

It’s a sharp EP, and it’s great to see and hear legendary performers like this teaming up to make dream projects and spin new material.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (1976)

It’s easy to forget that Jailbreak was Thin Lizzy‘s sixth album because Jailbreak was their commercial breakthrough and is so good that it often overshadows some of their earlier work.

The title track kicks off the album, and it’s essentially a line in the sand for every rock album that came after it.  If you’re a rock band currently practicing in a garage or basement, you need to hear “Jailbreak” and realize that you had better come up with an opener with as much fire as this or your band is already doomed.  Good luck with that, by the way, because matching the crunchy groove of it is nearly impossible.  The groove on “Angel of the Coast” is almost as jaw-dropping.  Drummer Brian Downey doesn’t screw around on this or any other track.  The slight bluesy sound of “Running Back” (with nice keyboard additions by Tim Hinkley) is a nice switch-up by the band.

The way Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson‘s guitars play off each other on “Romeo and the Lonely Girl” is impressive in its subtlety and talent.  “Warriors,” a song about drug addicts, has vocalist / bassist Phil Lynott singing and playing with swagger.  I can’t figure out how he keeps up his killer bass line while singing like Iggy Pop, and the guitar solo on it is a thing of beauty.

“The Boys Are Back in Town” is, of course, their biggest hit in the United States (and pretty much everywhere else).  It shouldn’t surprise anyone, really.  The beat is straight-up rock, Lynott sings about guys everyone knows, and Gorham and Robertson’s guitars play for the cheap seats.  “Fight or Fall” could almost be a Steely Dan track with it’s jazz guitar and drum touches.  “Cowboy Song” is a rocking ode to rodeo riders, cattle wranglers, and heartbreak.  The closer, “Emerald,” has enough guitar shredding for two albums, let alone one song.  Remember how I suggested you should try to match “Jailbreak” when opening your album?  It wouldn’t hurt to close with something as excellent as “Emerald” either.

Jailbreak is a classic that actually wasn’t heralded much in its time until “The Boys Are Back in Town” won the NME Award for Best Single in 1976.  It has since grown to influence hundreds, if not thousands, of other bands, and to blast out speakers around the world.

Keep your mind open.

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Fat Possum Records to remaster and re-release four classic X albums.

FAT POSSUM RECORDS TO RELEASE REMASTERED X ALBUMS IN 2018
‘LOS ANGELES’
‘WILD GIFT’
‘UNDER THE BIG BLACK SUN’
‘MORE FUN IN THE NEW WORLD’

Photo: Gary Leonard

Fat Possum Records and X are teaming up.  Effective immediately, Fat Possum Records will begin distributing for the world four classic X albums; ‘Los Angeles’ (1980), ‘Wild Gift’ (1981), ‘Under The Big Black Sun’ (1982), and ‘More Fun In The New World’ (1983). There are plans to release remastered versions of all four albums by the end of 2018. More details to come.
Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA’s flourishing punk scene;  becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation.  Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand.  X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time.  The band continues to tour with the original line-up fully intact.  In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th year anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles and being honored at a Los Angeles Dodgers game where Exene threw out the first pitch and John Doe sang the National Anthem. The band continues to tour with the original line-up and are currently on the road, including select dates with The Psychedelic Furs.
X Tour Itinerary:
July 25  SOMO Village Event Center – Rohnert Park, CA (w/The Psychedelic Furs)
July 27  Oregon Zoo Summer Concerts – Portland, OR (w/The Psychedelic Furs)
July 29  Woodland Park Zoo – Seattle, CA (w/The Psychedelic Furs)
July 31  The Rockwell/The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT (w/The Psychedelic Furs, The FIXX)
Aug 2 The Ogden – Denver, CO (w/The Psychedelic Furs)
Aug 17 The Cave – Big Bear, CA
Aug 18 Burton Chase Park – Marina Del Rey, CA
Aug 19 North Park – San Diego, CA
Aug 22 Marty’s -Tustin, CA
Aug 23 Marty’s – Tustin, CA
Aug 24 Weins Family Winery- Temecula, CA
Aug 31 Del Mar Hall – St. Louis, MO
Sept 2 Muddy Roots Music Festival – Cookeville, TN
Sept 3 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Sept 4 The Cat’s Cradle –  Chapel Hill, NC
Sept 5 The Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC
Sept 7 Sidetracks – Huntsville, AL
More Dates To Be Announced!
Los Angeles (1980)
1. Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not
2. Johnny Hit and Run Paulene
3. Soul Kitchen
4. Nausea
5. Sugarlight
6. Los Angeles
7. Sex and Dying in High Society
8. The Unheard Music
9. The World’s a Mess, It’s In My Kiss
Wild Gift (1981)
1. The Once Over Twice
2. We’re Desperate
3. Adult Books
4. Universal Corner
5. I’m Coming Over
6. It’s Who You Know
7. In This House That I Call Home
8. Some Other Time
9. White Girl
10. Beyond and Back
11. Back 2 the Base
12. When Our Love Passed Out On the Couch
13. Year 1
Under the Big Black Sun (1982)
1. The Hungry Wolf
2. Motel Room In My Bed
3. Riding With Mary
4. Come Back To Me
5. Under the Big Black Sun
6. Because I Do
7. Blue Spark
8. Dancing with Tears In My Eyes
9. Real Child of Hell
10. How I (Learned My Lesson)
11. The Have Nots
More Fun in the New World (1983)
1. The New World
2. We’re Having Much More Fun
3. True Love
4. Poor Girl
5. Make the Music Go Bang
6. Breathless
7. I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts
8. Devil Doll
9. Painting the Town Blue
10. Hot House
11. Drunk In My Past
12. I See Red
13. True Love Pt. #2
For more information on X live shows, please contact:
For Fat Possum/reissue press inquiries, please contact:
Keep your mind open.
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Live: The Eagles – June 20, 2018 – New Orleans, LA

Seeing the Eagles for the first time was a night of many firsts.  It was my first time not only seeing the classic rock band, but also my first time seeing a live music show in New Orleans (a city known for live music), my first time seeing Vince Gill (who is playing with the Eagles on this tour as a supporting guitarist and vocalist), and my first time seeing a show in a stadium suite.

This was a long-awaited dream come true for my wife, who is a big fan of the Eagles.  Unfortunately, she never got to see them with Glenn Frey, but his son, Deacon Frey, is playing his father’s guitar parts and singing his father’s lyrics quite well.

The suite had the nice view of the stage as seen above, but we quickly learned that ordering from the “suite menu” isn’t sweet for your wallet, as shown in the example below.

That bowl of chips and dip costs $32.00 at the Smoothie King Center suites.

Luckily, there were a large number of us in the suite and people with better paying jobs than I who could afford such things (not to mention booze), and the Eagles soon made us forget about overpriced snacks.

Opening with “Seven Bridges Road” (which made my wife nearly leap out of her chair in joy), they played a night of greatest hits that tore through (among many others) “Take It Easy” (with Deacon Frey on lead vocal), “One of These Nights,” “Take It to the Limit,” “Tequila Sunrise,” and “Witchy Woman” before Joe Walsh took front and center with “In the City.”

I was happy to hear bassist Timothy Schmit sing “I Can’t Tell You Why” (one of the Eagles’ most underrated hits, if you ask me) and Vince Gill did a great lead vocal on “New Kid in Town.”  I didn’t know until the crowd went nuts for him and Don Henley reminded all of us non-locals that Gill is a New Orleans native.  As a result, his vocals on their cover of Fats Domino‘s “Walkin’ to New Orleans” were a big hit.  Another surprise cover was of Tom Waits‘ “Ol’ ’55.”

My favorite Eagles songs are the rockers with blues influences, and “Those Shoes” is at the top of the list.  I was happy to hear an almost sludgy version of it with Don Henley having fun with the vocals.

They did two encores.  The first, of course, was “Hotel California,” which had a neat trumpet intro.  The second included Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” and “Desperado.”  In case you didn’t know, Walsh still shreds.  He hadn’t lost a thing since we’d seen him open for Tom Petty in St. Louis.

It was a fun night.  They didn’t disappoint.  My wife said it was the best concert she’d ever attended.  That alone made it worth the trip.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band – The Mirror Man Sessions (1999)

Recorded sometime between 1965 and 1967 and originally released in 1971, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band‘s Mirror Man album was a bit of a hot mess when it was released.  It was compiled of four tracks taken from a recording session that was supposed to be for a double album called It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper that was never finished or released due to them being dropped by their label (Buddha Records).  According to John Platt’s liner notes for this 1999 re-release, “In 1971 someone at Buddha reviewed all the extant tapes, and a decision was made to issue a single album’s worth of material under the title Mirror Man.  What they chose were the three live-studio cuts plus ‘Kandy Korn.'”  The Mirror Man Sessions includes those four tracks as well as five more previously unissued cuts by the good Captain and his lads.  The four original tracks were also placed in an alternate order than the original album “for aesthetic reasons” that Buddha Records claims “for the time being at least…is as close as we can reasonably get to the Captain’s original intentions.”

The four original tracks are (in this album’s order) “Tarotplane,” “25th Century Quaker,” “Mirror Man,” and “Kandy Korn.”  I’m not sure anything I can write would do justice to “Tarotplane.”  It’s a nearly twenty-minute psychedelic freak-out masterpiece with the Captain’s harmonica, shinei, and vocals sounding like a warped, scratched 78rpm record you found in the back of an old blues honkytonk.  “25th Century Quaker” is so freaky that its beats from John French sound like a bag of oranges rolling down the stairs.

“Mirror Man” starts out with some of Captain Beefheart’s signature grungy harmonica work before Jeff Cotton and Alex St. Clair Snouffer‘s guitars let loose with warped chords that sound like they’ve been left out in the sun all day.  The Captain’s vocals are either distant and funky or sound like they’re coming through a damaged megaphone.  “Kandy Korn” is, on its face at least, about the waxy, sugary Halloween snack (“They look so good, I wanna eat ’em.”).  I’m willing to bet it’s about something else, but I’ll let you make the call.  It melts like candy on the roof of a VW van, and it practically sends you into a trance around the three-minute mark.

“Trust Us (Take 6)” has the Captain encouraging all of us to trust not only him and the Magic Band, but also people outside our comfort zones.  The rhythm of it is more urgent than you realize at first.  It becomes a toe-tapper and lingers a bit in jam band land.  It also has a neat fake fade out and fade in that I’m sure has fooled many DJs in its time.  It gets more warped the longer it goes.  “Safe As Milk (Take 12)” is one of the Magic Band’s biggest hits.  It has a cool, weird groove to it that’s hard to describe and the right amount of fuzz without being overwhelming.  The Captain’s vocals are playful and you can tell that his singing style influenced everyone from Tom Waits to Mike Patton and Les Claypool.

“Beatle Bones N’ Smokin’ Stones” is an obvious poke at the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  The Captain has fun with “Strawberry Fields Forever” lyrics (reverbed and stuttering) and Keith Richards’ blues riffs (turning them into almost calliope music).  “Moody Liz (Take 8)” has near-country guitar licks that transform into psychedelic oddities.  The lyrics are barely recognizable, but that’s okay because the track is more a showcase for Cotton and Snouffer’s bizarre yet fascinating guitar work.  The album ends with “Gimme Dat Harp Boy,” and the Captain getting to strut his stuff on harmonica while the Magic Band drives the funk bus.

This might not be the best place to start your Captain Beefheart musical journey, but it’s essential listening if you’re a fan of his work and psychedelic blues.

Keep your mind open.

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