Blood, Sweat & Tears Critically Acclaimed Debut Album ‘Child Is Father To The Man’ To Be Reissued On 5.1 Multichannel Hybrid SACD By Audio Fidelity
“A brilliant work…Al Kooper’s finest!”
Camarillo, CA – Exploding onto the scene as a band determined only to expand the boundaries of popular music, Blood, Sweat & Tears immediately made their mark as virtuoso players with an important vision and statement. Calling on Rock, R&B, Jazz and even Classical influences, the band, led by Al Kooper, made what remains one of the truly inspired, groundbreaking records of the late ’60s. Now much to the excitement of BS&T and Al Kooper fans worldwide, Marshall Blonstein’s Audio Fidelity is reissuing the band’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Child Is Father To The Man’ on 5.1 Multichannel Hybrid SACD!
The album, released in 1968, introduced the idea of the big band to rock and roll and paved the way for such groups as Chicago. ‘Child Is Father To The Man’ peaked at #47 on Billboard’s chart. “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” and “I Can’t Quit Her” generated airplay on progressive rock radio.
This is the sound of a group of virtuosos enjoying itself in the newly open possibilities of pop music… the eclectic post-Sgt. Pepper era, a time when you could borrow styles from Greenwich Village contemporary folk to San Francisco acid rock and mix them into what seemed to have the potential to become a new American musical form.
“..among Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.”
Tracks
1- Overture
2- I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know
3- Morning Glory
4- My Days Are Numbered
5- Without Her
6- Just One Smile
7- I Can’t Quit Her
8- Meagan’s Gypsy Eyes
9- Somethin’ Goin’ On
10-House in the Country
11-The Modern Adventures of Plato, Diogenes and Freud
12- So Much Love/Underture
Produced by John Simon
Multichannel recording Produced by Al Kooper
Multichannel SACD 5.1 mix: Al Kooper at The Magic Shop NYC
Multichannel SACD 5.1 mastering: Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios
Stereo CD and SACD mastering: Steve Hoffman at Stephen Marsh Mastering
Australian Prog Artist Ben Craven To Release New Single Through Innovative Music Delivery System ‘TuneLeak’
“Seriously well-distilled and blended” – Van Dyke Parks
Brisbane, Australia – Much to the excitement of prog music aficionados across the planet, Australian cinematic progressive-rock singer-songwriter Ben Craven is releasing his new single through an innovative new music delivery system he’s developed called ‘TuneLeak’. Ben Craven’s new single titled “Critical Mass Part 2” is now available through TuneLeak at http://www.tuneleak.com.
Ben explains, “This project is being driven by music industry commentators saying the album is dead. I agree it’s an endangered species, at least commercially. As a musician and a listener, I’m very attached to the concept of albums as coherent collections of songs and all the emotional ties we make with them. So for this album I’m trying a different business model – which I’m calling ‘TuneLeak’ – where I can engage the audience at every step of the recording process, officially ‘leak’ songs well before they’re finished, and hopefully even get paid!”
The new single is part of Craven’s highly anticipated forthcoming third album tentatively titled ‘Last Chance To Hear’. Says Ben, “’Critical Mass Part 2′ is the first song I’ve recorded for the album, and the first track I’m putting out there on the TuneLeak website. It’s a short, sharp instrumental, and sounds like outer-space spy music. There is of course a ‘Part 1’ and I’ll be leaking that track very soon as well!”
Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, immersed as a toddler in the era of big prog rock, Craven taught himself guitar and keyboards and joined a series of bands. None of them remotely played the kind of music that had been burned into his mainframe as a kid. Nonetheless, the songs he wrote accumulated steadily. In 2005, Craven dispensed entirely with the band approach and recorded his debut album, ‘Two False Idols’ under the name of Tunisia. The result was a work of incredible maturity, with influences ranging from Pink Floyd and Brian Wilson to the likes of Bernard Herrmann and John Barry.
Says Ben, “My usual suspect influences are Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, Yes and King Crimson. But just as important are composers like Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, Henry Mancini and John Williams. I seem to blend progressive music with film soundtrack elements. I’m also a Brian Wilson tragic.”
As Craven worked his first album it became painfully obvious that the music business was in the midst of a sea change, and most of the old guard didn’t seem to realise they were the cause. Very quickly he took an anti-DRM stance and released the live acoustic EP ‘Under Deconstruction’ as a high-quality free download.
Craven stepped up a gear for his sophomore album, ‘Great & Terrible Potions’. Delivering on the cinematic promise of ‘Two False Idols’, ‘Potions’ went widescreen (literally) as Craven blurred the boundaries between conventional songs and orchestral soundtracks. Augmented by a stunning cover designed by legendary artist Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah Heep, Asia), ‘Potions’ was dense, complicated and unashamedly pretentious – everything a good prog rock album should be! Or, to put it another way, Craven sounded exactly like someone revelling in the creative freedom that could come only from not worrying about what others wanted, and delivering what he felt instead.
And now Ben is working on his latest masterpiece! He explains, “In keeping with the idea of the album as an endangered species, the working title is ‘Last Chance To Hear’. It’s shaping up to be another solo album in the true sense of the word where I play just about everything, like on my previous album ‘Great & Terrible Potions’. The difference this time is a much greater portion will likely be instrumental. Not that I dislike vocals, but sometimes the music can be strong and emotional and moving enough to stand on its own without them.”
Here’s what the press raved about Ben Craven’s previous release:
“Heavy-duty prog rock monster” – Anil Prasad, Innerviews
“Cracking virtuoso performance by an absurdly talented individual” – Classic Rock Society
“Craven’s one-man-band production is a prog opus for the 21st century” – Musoscribe
“All the drama, thunder, strum and drang you could want the spiritual grand child of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson to bring” – Midwest Record
“Craven’s tremendous ability to combine memorable hooks with complex progressive rock and cinematic orchestral music is astounding” – Sea Of Tranquility
“Press play and this album does the rest” – Muzikreviews
In closing Ben has this to impart to his fans and listeners, “The music business is becoming an increasingly cynical place. The landscape is dominated by reissues, remixes and repacking of old material in what feels like a ‘last hurrah’. But there are still true believers out there flying under the radar and producing music primarily out of love and obsession. Not because of contractual obligations, deadlines or other market forces. I’d still be making music if the industry was truly dead and buried. But I’d much rather people listened to it!”
TuneLeak is a different approach for releasing music. It’s like getting to know someone gradually over a meaningful period of time, rather than telling them you love them on the first date. Most importantly, it’s about albums. That is, TuneLeak features albums as they’re being recorded.
As each individual song is worked on, the artist will “leak” an early version. It might just be a rough demo. Or it could be almost complete. It will probably sound different when the album is finished. But it will be out there for all to hear.
These leaked tracks (“TuneLeaks”!) will be available for purchase as digital downloads. When the album is finally released, TuneLeak customers will receive a discount equal to the total amount they spent on purchasing the leaked tracks from that album. So, if you download, say, five “TuneLeaks” from a particular artist at $1 per track, you’ll receive a $5 discount on the album. You won’t pay twice for the same song.
It’s not quite crowdfunding. It’s not quite pre-ordering. It’s artists and audiences coming together on the creative journey of making an album.
CURVED AIR Lead Singer SONJA KRISTINA Receives Guiding Light Award
at the PROG Awards 2014
London, UK – Sonja Kristina has been honoured at the prestigious PROG Magazine Awards night held at the Globe Theatre in London.
Sonja Kristina said “It is a great honour to receive The Guiding Light Award. I didn’t think very far ahead when I first started out but I feel very blessed now after so many years to be still creating and releasing new albums and performing with such superb musicians in Curved Air. I always did love the camaraderie of being on the road and the alchemy of performance.”
PROG editor Jerry Ewing added “The Guiding Light Award is for those artists who offer inspiration through their actions. As one of the leading ladies of a genre once thought of as very much a male domain, Sonja has been a pioneering spirit in the prog world, and an inspiration to the now many female artists in the genre who have followed on. I cannot think of a better suited recipient.”
The band is best known for its hits “Back Street Luv”, “It Happened Today” and “Vivaldi”. The current line-up also features original drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa, classic era guitarist Kirby Gregory alongside Robert Norton (keys), Chris Harris (bass) and Paul Sax (violin).
Curved Air has been going from strength to strength since the recent release of the band’s first studio album to feature new material in nearly 40 years, NORTH STAR.
The band had previously released LIVE ATMOSPHERE and will shortly embark on a UK tour ahead of a worldwide tour in 2015.
October
3rd – Wakefield Warehouse
11th – Eastney The Cellers
12th – Swansea The Garage
17th – Ilminster Square & Compass
18th – St Ives Guild Hall
19th – Gt Yarmouth ‘Legends of Rock Festival’
24th – Fletching Trading Boundaries
31st – London The Tropic
November
8th – Poole Arts Centre
9th – Norwich The Open
Monday, September 15, 2014 Patrick Moraz Interview: The Extraordinary Keyboardist & Composer/ Prior Member of ‘YES’ & ‘The Moody Blues’
By Ray Shasho
-Interviewed June 24th 2014
Swiss native Patrick Moraz is the extraordinary keyboardist and composer for no less than two legendary rock groups … ‘YES’ (1974-76) and ‘The Moody Blues’ (1978-1991). His first solo album entitled ‘The Story of i’ was hailed by many critics as a musical masterpiece.
Patrick Moraz is busier than ever these days. He was recently featured on the new CD ‘Light My Fire-A Classic Rock Salute to The Doors,’ Moraz performed on the opening track … “L.A. Woman” with the late Jimi Jamison (Survivor) and Ted Turner (Wishbone Ash).
Moraz was also one of the performers on the recent ‘Cruise to the Edge’ which also featured … ‘YES,’ Steve Hackett, UK, Queensryche, Tangerine Dream, Renaissance, Strawbs, Tony Levin and a host of other progressive rockers.
Patrick Moraz has several upcoming and surprising releases to watch out for including … (MAP) ‘The Greg Alban Project,’ which will feature Lenny Castro on percussion and John Avila from ‘Oingo Boingo’ on bass, Patrick Perrier, and Matt Malley. A CD entitled… ‘A way to Freedom’ due in the very near future, and a Cantata in the final works for SATB Choirs in 7 movements, paying homage to ‘Our Planet.’
PATRICK MORAZ: began his fascination with the keyboards at a very young age. He attentively watched and listened to Romanian concert pianist Clara Haskil while living at the same house in Vevey, Switzerland. Moraz attended the Conservatory of Lausanne and studied Harmony and Counterpoint (the Art of the fugue). Patrick’s father managed restaurants which included theaters and stages, and Patrick was able to meet such music luminaries as … Louis Armstrong, Maurice Chevalier, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington.
Blues Ace Popa Chubby Celebrates 25 Years On The Road With A Brand New Album I’m Feelin’ Lucky And A West Coast Tour!
Los Angeles, CA – Larger than life blues figure Popa Chubby has a lot of reasons to feel lucky this year. 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of his emergence as a powerful force in the venerable New York blues scene with his very own band, and his own unique brand of hard hitting, face melting, blues rock n’ funky soul. And he’ll celebrate this major milestone the only way he knows how, with the release of a smokin’ hot studio album I’m Feelin’ Lucky – coming October 14 on Cleopatra Records – and a series of shows on the West Coast!
“It’s been 25 years and I’m still standing,” declares Popa Chubby, and considering the long and rugged road he’s had to travel, that in itself is a miracle. From his beginning in the late ‘70s as a “bad kid with an afro and a brand new Gibson Midnight Special guitar” to his stint as a punk rock sideman for Screaming Mad George and Richard Hell, among others, to signing a deal with Sony and releasing one of the top selling blues albums of 1994 (the phenomenal Booty And The Beast), Popa Chubby has seen it all and lived to tell about it on well over a dozen studio albums!
His newest effort I’m Feelin’ Lucky gave the veteran musician an opportunity to reflect on his extraordinary career and to work on new musical ideas and arrangements in a relaxed, low-pressure setting. Recording at his home studio in the Hudson Valley, Popa called on some of his closest associates to help bring this album to life, including drummer Chris Reddan, keyboardist Dave Keyes, and bassist Francesco Beccaro. In addition, two very special guests brought even more magic to the proceedings, vocalist Dana Fuchs, mostly known for her role in the 2007 Beatles musical Across The Universe, as well as one of the most revered blues players around today, Mike Zito of the Royal Southern Brotherhood.
I’m Feelin’ Lucky is Popa’s debut album for Cleopatra and contains some of his best and most deeply felt writing. “The Way It Is” is an “urban soul ballad,” he explains, “that’s about those times when you just sit there and you realize that you’re all messed up and there ain’t nothing you can do about it…that’s the blues right there.” The title track is a major slice of “badass funk” with heavy wah wah pedal guitar playing from Popa and “great New Orleans style lyrics.” “I’m A Pitbull (Nothin’ But Love)” may be the song closest to his heart: “I’m a big dog lover. I have a little pitbull and I love him dearly. They’re a very misunderstood breed. I work with people at a pitbull rescue who work with these dogs and train them to be service dogs for veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s a beautiful thing. There is not a more loyal, devoted and emotionally intuitive dog.” It’s these very same qualities in Popa Chubby’s own gracious persona that have been drawing fans to his music for over 2 decades.
Fans will also delight in hearing that Popa Chubby’s Universal Breakdown Tour hits the West Coast later this year with a slew of shows starting in Las Vegas at the Big Blues Bender held in the Riviera Hotel & Casino. For complete tour information, visit http://www.popachubby.com and get lucky with Popa Chubby!
1. Come To Me (with Dana Fuchs)
2. One Leg At A Time
3. Three Little Words
4. Rollin’ N’ Tumblin’
5. Too Much Information
6. Rock On Bluesman (with Mike Zito)
7. I’m Feelin’ Lucky
8. Save Your Own Life
9. I’m A Pitbull (Nothing But Love)
10. The Way It Is
9/25 – Las Vegas, NV – Big Blues Bender
9/26 – Ventura, CA – Yolie’s
9/27 – Arcadia, CA – Arcadia Blues Club
9/28 – Santa Cruz, CA – Jerry’s Front Pocket
9/30 – San Francisco, CA – Biscuits & Blues
10/2 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Club Casino
10/3 – Sacramento – Torch Club
10/4 – Point Arena, CA – Arena Theatre
10/7 – Portland, OR – Duff’s Garage
10/8 – Birkenfeld, OR – The Birk
10/9 – Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
10/10 – Mount Vernon, WA – Lincoln Theatre
10/11 – Seattle, WA – Highway 99 Blues Club
Press inquiries:
Glass Onyon PR
Billy James
PH: 828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com
Eric Clapton’s ‘Pilgrim’ Album To Be Release on Limited Numbered Edition Hybrid SACD
“An Inspiring Masterpiece From The Guitar God – an essential to the Clapton library!”
Camarillo, CA – Adding to the series of Eric Clapton reissues, Marshall Blonstein’s Audio Fidelity will be releasing Clapton’s 1998 album ‘Pilgrim’ on Limited Numbered Edition Hybrid SACD! From the song titles “River of Tears,” “Broken Hearted,” “Going Down Slow,” “Sick and Tired” on down, ‘Pilgrim’ is the musical journal of an artist who has wandered into some dark places and come back the wiser for his troubles. 1998’s ‘Pilgrim’ is the 13th studio album by Eric Clapton, it was his first album of original material since 1989’s ‘Journeyman’ (also recently reissued on Hybrid SACD by Audio Fidelity).
The album is an intriguing musical tableau that experiments with drum machines and synthesized dashes of electronica and an inventive use of strings, performed by the London Session Orchestra, reminiscent of old-school R&B. There is wonderful, graceful guitar work throughout ‘Pilgrim’, Clapton provides some great hooks and emotional melodies. The best songs on this eloquent album of orchestrated blues meditations express a choked-up grief and despair. The songwriting is the standout feature of this album. Clapton wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to make the “saddest album.” He wrote or co-wrote every song except “Born in Time,” an overlooked Bob Dylan tune, and “Going Down Slow,” a classic blues written by St. Louis Jimmy. In two songs, “My Father’s Eyes” and “Circus,” Clapton alludes to the tragic death of his 4-year-old son. The songs are very moving with more complicated melodies and in depth lyrics. Clapton’s emphasis is placed on the entire arrangement instead of being built around a jam session.
Eric’s voice has never sounded better, his singing is raw and passionate, much of the music is informed by smooth R&B textures. On the album’s sizzling title track, he evokes some of the soulful eloquence of the great Curtis Mayfield. Clapton’s vocals are among the most convincing of his career. ‘Pilgrim’ is an atmospheric album whose mood is mostly melancholy. Unbearable loss and yearning are the central themes of ‘Pilgrim’, and with its heartbeat bass lines, melodic, meditative guitar figures and heartbreaking lyrics, it offers moments of pure beauty.
“…another evolutionary step from an always rebellious and ever-changing artist.”
The album produced multi-platinum sales and appeared on the year-end Top 100 lists of countries all around the world.
Tracks
1. My Father’s Eyes
2. River of Tears
3. Pilgrim
4. Broken Hearted
5. One Chance
6. Circus
7. Going Down Slow
8. Fall Like Rain
9. Born in Time
10. Sick and Tired
11. Needs His Woman
12. She’s Gone
13. You Were There
14. Inside of Me
Terry Bozzio at the Plaza Live (photo by James Dechert)
ORLANDO MUSIC NEWS This Little Underground: Terry Bozzio at the Plaza Live
September 8, 2014
By Bao Le-Huu
Beyond a string of credits alongside people like Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Missing Persons and U.K., Terry Bozzio (Sept. 5, Plaza Live) has built a legacy of his own as a percussion pioneer. On his first North American solo drum performance, he rode into town on what’s billed as the “world’s largest tuned drum and percussion set.” Just look at this thing…
Like an instrumental array from some H.R. Giger dream, this one-of-a-kind behemoth is more evocative and beautiful than most big-city urban art. It’s maybe the only solo kit out there that could break Neil Peart’s heart.
Interview:Carmine Appice (Cactus,Vanilla Fudge,Beck Bogert & Appice) Δημοσιεύθηκε 8 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014 | Από thodoris | In English
HIT CHANNEL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: September 2014. We had the great honour to talk with a legendary drummer: Carmine Appice. He is best known as a member of Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert & Appice and Rod Stewart’s backing band. He has also played with Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, Pat Travers, Michael Schenker, Ted Nugent, Blue Murder, Rick Derringer, Paul Stanley, Marty Friedman, Sly Stone and many others. Read below the very interesting things he told us:
Cleopatra Records is releasing rare live and studio recordings by Cactus, Bogert & Appice and Travers & Appice. Are you happy with the release of this stuff? Yes, I am. I mean, considering what they are, the object was to get out what were lying around and were not really released. The Bogert & Appice stuff was basically stuff that I had lying around and we had recorded it in the early 2000s and never released. And we decided to put a label together to get out a lot of stuff that I had and that my friends had, that we never released. So, basically what we did was: the Bogert & Appice one (ed: “Friends”) was an EP which had 7 songs laying around and the Cactus lives: “Live in Japan” and “Live in the USA”. We recorded “Live in Japan” in Japan and we decided to actually do it and release it. And “Live in the USA” was something that another company in Europe released and they didn’t have license to do it. So, we decided that we release that also. As far as I am happy, I’m pretty happy with that all, but you know, there are not like big budget items. We didn’t spend $100.000, but I’m very happy with the playing, the sound is really good and the performances are awesome.
You just finished a summer tour with Vanilla Fudge. What are you future plans? Next week, we are going to finish a new Vanilla Fudge album, called “The Spirit of ‘67” and we did all those songs from 1967. My brother Vinny (ed: Black Sabbath –drums) and I, we played a show in New York City, called “Drum Wars”. We are going to release “Drum Wars” live CD also. We don’t have any “Drum Wars” product out there and it was a really cool show that we recorded and we decided to get the tapes and work on it. The sound is really good, we have mixed everything and we are releasing that. Then, the next thing I do is I have a show called “The Rod Experience”, which is basically three members of the Rod Stewart group. We did the 1979 “Blondes Have More Fun” tour and we play pretty much all the songs that we did in 1979. We have a guy who looks and sounds like Rod. So, it’s a kind of historical tribute show featuring an all star group and members of the Rod Steward group. I’m going to take that to China in November and that’s fun. I believe we are coming to Greece with the Metal All Stars tour. I am gonna featuring in this tour along with Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society), Joey Belladona (Anthrax) and Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne). I believe this December we will come to Greece. I don’t have the dates in front of me, that should be fun. I have a lot of cool stuff to do until the rest of the year.
How important was the cover of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (The Supremes) to the career of Vanilla Fudge? I think that was historical. That was very important. I don’t think we would have done it without having that song as a hit.
Bill Nelson’s “After The Satellite Sings” To Be Reissued By Esoteric Recordings September 29, 2014
London, UK – ESOTERIC RECORDINGS imprint Cocteau Discs, the home of BILL NELSON’s catalogue between 1971 and 2001, continues their series of ongoing releases with the release of a newly remastered edition of the album, “AFTER THE SATELLITE SINGS”.
The album was recorded in 28 days at Fairview Studios in East Yorkshire in 1995 and saw Bill push his constantly evolving musical boundaries still further. A collection of fine songs and three instrumental pieces, “After the Satellite Sings” is a fine album that remains fascinating and engaging nearly two decades on from its first release.
The Cocteau Discs edition fully restores the original album artwork and features a new note by Bill Nelson.
“ ‘After The Satellite Sings’ is an interesting album on many levels and I’m pleased to see it being given a re-release.” – Bill Nelson
• NEW REMASTERED EDITION OF THE CLASSIC 1995 ALBUM BY BILL NELSON – UNAVAILABLE FOR MANY YEARS
• BOOKLET WITH FULLY RESTORED ARTWORK & NEW ESSAY
TRACK LIST:
1. DEEPLY DAZZLED
2. DREAMSTER 2 LR
3. FLIPSIDE
4. STREAMLINER
5. MEMORY BABE
6. SKULL BABY CLUSTER
7. ZOOM SEQUENCE
8. ROCKET TO DAMASCUS
9. BEAUTIFUL NUDES
10. OLD GOAT
11. SQUIRM
12. WOW! IT’S SCOOTERCAR SEXKITTEN!
13. PHANTOM SEDAN (THEME FROM TAIL-FIN CITY)
14. ORDINARY IDIOTS
15. V-GHOST (FOR HAROLD AND ELLEN)
16. BLINK-AGOG
A Star-Studded Ensemble Of Contemporary Jazz Players Join Together For The Ultra Melodic Smooth Jazz Cafe!
Featuring Frank Gambale, Chuck Loeb, Hal Lindes, Brian Tarquin, & Denny Jiosa
Los Angeles, CA – Pull up a chair, grab a cup of joe and get ready to hear some of the most lush, harmonious jazz guitarists around at the Smooth Jazz Cafe! This new project, set to be released September 30 on Purple Pyramid Records, features Australian jazz fusion great Frank Gambale, former Dire Straits guitarist Hal Lindes, Stan Getz sideman and current member of Fourplay, Chuck Loeb, and the Grammy nominated Denny Jiosa. And the whole thing is helmed by the supremely talented, multi-Emmy winning Brian Tarquin, who wrote all of the songs and produced the album as well as performs on it.
Hal Lindes waxes poetic about the project and its leader, calling Tarquin a “supreme maestro of the Gold Top and Marshall Stack” and describes the Smooth Jazz Cafe album as “an exquisite journey fueled by steel and wood, glowing hot tubes and Celestion speakers being pushed to their limit and beyond.”
Denny Jiosa shares “Brian and I met several years ago at the Gavin Smooth Jazz radio convention when we had simultaneous hit records. Great melody, tasteful playing, warm tones, and smooth grooves are always delivered by Brian! I am honored and excited to trade musical lines with such a versatile player!”
And finally, Chuck Loeb offers “I had a lot of fun playing on it. The band killed!”
Glass Onyon PR 