Elephant - For A Friend / For A Friend Pt. 2 single

Ever since I heard their debut EP when it was released in 2021, Rotterdam’s Elephant have continuously impressed me with two more albums and now the first two singles from their third album, scheduled to be released in March.  “For A Friend”, the first single from that album has been released as a 7” on orange vinyl through the Paradiso Vinyl Club and is another great shot of sunshine-y melancholy rock with a lazy groove and hooks that will have you singing long after the song is over.  The flipside contains “For A Friend, Pt 2”, a moody, ethereal instrumental soundscape, enhanced by the sounds of a crackling fire, that is brilliantly slated to be the album’s closing track.  Also, while it has nothing to do with this single, do yourself a favor and check out their next single "20k", a stunningly hypnotic track that at its very core has elements that will be familiar to fans of the band's previous work, but with more of a hip-hop beat and the use of vocoder that finds them really expanding their sound.  

(Paradiso Vinyl Club / Excelsior Recordings / Elephant)

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - An Evening Of Yes Music Plus  

At the end of 1988, following the release of the more commercial sounding, pop-oriented Yes albums 90125 and Big Generator, Jon Anderson, unhappy with the direction they had taken, left the band.  He released a solo album, In The City Of Angels, and then started a solo project involving the 1971-1972 members of Yes, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Bill Bruford (four-fifths of the band that recorded Fragile and Close To The Edge).  Since the fifth member of that Yes lineup was still in the band, Bruford’s King Crimson bandmate Tony Levin joined on bass and the project evolved into the band Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, who released an eponymous album in 1989, which hit 14 on the UK Charts and 30 in the US.  Following the album’s release, they did a world tour called An Evening of Yes Music Plus.  Two shows on the tour were recorded for broadcast and release.  NEC Arena in Birmingham, England was recorded on October 25, but not released until 2012, and the show included on this release was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on September 9.  While this concert has been released a few times in the past, this newly remastered version sounds fantastic.  Also of note here is the absence of Levin, who missed several shows on the tour, due to being in the hospital recovering from hepatitis, and was replaced by Jeff Berlin.  The show has an interesting opening with Anderson, Howe and Wakeman each coming out one by one and doing a short solo piece.  Anderson starts things off with a very nice medley of sorts of the Yes songs "Time and A Word" and "Owner of A Lonely Heart" as well as the ABWH cut "Teakbois".  Next up is Howe on his acoustic guitar with lively takes on "The Clap" and "Mood For A Day," often with the crowd joining in on handclaps.  Lastly is Wakeman, often showcasing his speed and dexterity with pieces of "Gone But Not Forgotten", "Catherine Parr" and "Merlin the Magician", all tracks from his solo career.  Once Wakeman finishes his section, the familiar opening notes of “Long Distance Runaround” start up and the full band comes out on stage.  Bruford has his moment at the end of the song with an extended solo, that unfortunately sounds a little dated today with the heavy emphasis on electronic drums.  The remainder of the set is a nice mixture of tracks from The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To Edge along with the ABWH album.  The band sounds very tight and the new songs fit in perfectly with the older tracks, really coming to life live and often showing a little more experimentation stylewise.  In addition to the two CD’s that contain the live performance, this box set also include two DVD’s.  The first DVD contains video of the concert, while the second disc has the promotional video “In The Big Dream”, with several promo and live videos and video of them recording the album. (Unfortunately I haven’t had access to the DVD’s so I can’t comment on them).   

(Esoteric Records)

Slaughter & the Dogs - Do It Dog Style (Vinyl LP Edition)

For the first time in over twenty years, Do It Dog Style, the 1978 debut album from one of Manchester’s earliest punk bands, Slaughter & the Dogs, is again “officially” available on vinyl.  The album kicks off with the energetic “Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone”, a track that has been credited as the inspiration behind the Oi! Movement, and while there is also plenty of great early punk like “Boston Babies”, “I’m Mad”, with its poppy choruses, and “We Don’t Care”, there’s also a lot of diversity.  “Victims of The Vampire”, “Keep On Trying” and “Dame To Blame” are extremely infectious tracks that perfectly mesh ragged punk with glam, while “You’re A Bore” is more on the rock side of things.  Then there’s “Since You Went Away”, which is slower and somewhat reminiscent of the jangly alt rock that was in its very early infancy.  The band named themselves after two of their favorite albums, Bowie’s Diamond Dogs and Mick Ronson’s Slaughter on 10th Avenue and fittingly, Ronson contributes guitar to the glam sounding cover of the late sixties track “Quick Joey Small” (originally a bubblegum pop song from  The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus) and their take on The New York Dolls’ “Who Are the Mystery Girls”, which is louder, faster, ragged and more energetic than the original.  Honestly, it’s way better and Ronson’s on fire here.  Ironically, they also do a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting For The Man”, but it’s a pretty straightforward version that doesn’t really add much to the song.  In addition to the twelve tracks from the original album, this version includes two songs that were originally non-album B-sides.  Just as the title says, “Johnny T” (flipside of the “Dame To Blame” single) is a raucous tribute to Johnny Thunders and “Come On Back” (flipside to the “Quick Joey Small” single) is a massively catchy, no-frills, straight-ahead rocker.  The album is presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve that includes press clippings and memorabilia from that era.  

(Captain Oi! Records)

Storace - Crossfire

While best known as the lead vocalist of the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, 2021 found Marc Storace starting work on a solo career, releasing his debut album Live and Let Live under the name Storace. Unfortunately, it was released during the pandemic and without any way to properly promote it, the album didn't get much notice.  When it came time to work on Crossfire, the follow-up, Storace teamed up with Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper, Hollywood Vampires, Crossbone Skully) who produced the album, co-wrote all the songs and played a variety of instruments.  For the most part the album shifts away from the more muscular, classic rock sounds of the debut, often like a more modern-day sounding throwback to his work with Krokus, which is evident from the get-go with the full speed ahead power rocker “Screaming Demon”.  “Rock This City,’ which has an intriguing short, sci fi sounding instrumental “The New Unity” as its lead in, and “Hell Yeah” are big sounding anthems, although with the drawback of 80’s metal lyrics that are a bit dated.  “Adrenaline” shows the influence of Def Leppard, down to the guitars, effects and vocal harmonies in the chorus, while “Love Thing Stealer” will bring to mind AC/DC.  Although still rockers, “Let’s Get Nuts” has a bit more of a poppier side and “We All Need The Money” adds a little bit of boogie woogie swagger.  The meaty rocker “Thrill And A Kiss” is a definite high point, and “Millionaire Blues” is another straight-ahead rocker, although a little nondescript.  Closing things out are what have become my two favorite tracks here, and two that actually sound different than the rest.  “Sirens” is a powerhouse track that’s heavy, darker and more introspective and “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” is a strong, piano-led power ballad with an emotional vocal performance from Storace.  Speaking of his vocals, it should be noted that at over seventy years old, Storace sounds just as good as ever.  If you long for the days when bands like Krokus were making their name, do yourself a favor and give Crossfire a listen.

(Frontiers Music)

Various Artists - Dearly Beloved : A Prince Songbook

Dearly Beloved - A Prince Songbook is a fantastic three-CD set compiling fifty-two tracks (five on CD for the first time) that recognize his incredible songwriting.  Disc one is devoted to tracks he wrote or co-wrote for other artists, while disc two consists of soul, funk and jazz covers and disc three is covers that are for the most part genres outside the soul and funk genre.  Of course, when it comes to a collection like this there are going to be songs that come to mind that aren’t included but having said that they have done an outstanding job with the songs and artists that are here.    

Disc one opens with some of the biggest hits other artists have had with Prince songs, including Martika’s “Love… Thy Will Be Done” and Sheena Easton’s “Sugar Walls”, both Top 10 hits, and The Bangles’ “Manic Monday”, which hit number 2.  There are also a couple of Top 10 R&B hits with Prince’s childhood friend and former bandmate André Cymone’s “The Dance Electric” and Patti LaBelle’s “Yo Mister”.  Other high points are “The Sex Of It” from Kid Creole & The Coconuts, the super funky with a rock edge “Sex” from Dutch girl group Lois Lane, the psychedelic tinged rocker “Van Gogh” from Van Gogh, the stunningly gorgeous, smoky jazz groove of “Dream Of Fire” from Portuguese Fado singer Ana Moura with Herbie Hancock, and “North Carolina” from former Prince vocalist Shelby J (featuring Anthony Hamilton), which is a soulful, gospel flavored track with a slow funk beat.  The remaining cuts on disc one are Elisa Fiorillo’s “Oooh This I Need”, with the slow, burning sexy funk of bands like Apollonia 6 and Vanity 6, the super funky “I Want U” from Rosie Gaines (another former Prince vocalist), Monie Love’s “In A Word Or 2”, Mica Paris’ “If I Love U 2 Nite”, Nona Hendryx’s “Baby Go-Go” (with backing vocals from George Clinton and Mavis Staples), Paula Abdul’s “U”, former Revolution bassist Brownmark’s “Shall We Dance?” and strangely Kenny Rogers’ “You’re My Love”, which actually sounds more like a Kenny Rogers song than a Prince song.  

As mentioned before, the second disc is primarily soul, funk and jazz covers.  There are a few exceptions including Jonny Lang’s standout, swampy funk and blues take on “I Am” (an unreleased Prince cut) and Tuesday Knight’s “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?,” which veers more in an eighties pop rock direction.  Some of the other highlights here include Corinne Bailey Rae’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, Valerie Carter’s gorgeous take on “Crazy You”, which in her hands becomes a slower, jazzy torch ballad, a soulful and slightly funky gospel version of “Walk Don’t Walk” from Traces Gospel Choir, Jordan Knight’s slowed down “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man,”  “Soft And Wet” from N’Dambi, a super funky track with some great rock guitar, Workshy’s really pretty, stripped down take on “Damn U” and “Sometimes It Snows In April from Bobby Sparks II and Lizz Wright.  Rounding out disc two are Stephanie Mills’ “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?”, The Pointer Sisters “I Feel For You,” which sticks fairly close to the original, but is missing that something that made the Chaka Khan version such a hit, Meli’sa Morgan’s “Do Me Baby”, Crystal Waters’ “Uptown,” Joe Roberts’ “Adore,” Debra Hurd’s “Gotta Broken Heart Again”, Passion’s “Gigolos Get Lonely Too” (originally recorded by The Time), Mellow Man Ace’s “Irresistable Bitch” (featuring Geo) and “It’s Gonna Be Lonely” from Princess & Starbreeze.

Where a lot of the songs on the first two discs don’t stray too far from the original, and a few here still follow that same path, disc three is largely full of tunes that have been completely reinterpreted.  The uniqueness and the diversity of these sixteen tracks makes this my favorite disc of the set.  7 Hurtz with Peaches and Bitch Lap Lap (aka Feist) kick things off with a super fun and funky electronic tinged take on “Sexy Dancer.”  “Take Me With U” is given an upbeat James Brown funk groove by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, while Hue & Cry give “Sign O’ The Times” a horn-driven, soulful funky bebop treatment, and Lambchop’s “When You Were Mine” is lo-fi alt country with processed vocals.  Dead Or Alive takes the psychedelia of “Pop Life” and adds some Indian instrumentation giving it their unique sound, followed by Robyn’s awesome piano and vocal rendition of “Jack U Off” which has a cabaret feel, and the infectious electropop of The Dirty Monroes’ “Vibrator.”  Dayna Kurt’s rendition of “Joy In Repetition” is an absolutely stunning cover that is subdued and haunting with outstanding vocals and brilliant atmospheric production.  The vocals are also the highlight of the primarily a cappella “Love 2 The 9’s” from Michelle Mailhot, and Bilal’s soulful performance of “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” which is very reminiscent of the original.  Next up is Surferosa’s catchy, synth-driven alt pop take on “Controversy” followed by Morgan James’ powerhouse vocal performance on the soulful, somewhat bluesy “Call My Name.”  Joe Stilgoe’s “Partyman” is a fun upbeat, Cab Calloway styled Big Band version and legendary saxophonist Maceo Parker, known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic, James Brown and Prince, contributes a laid-back jazzy soul take on “Other Side Of The Mirror”.  The disc closes extremely strong with Anne Marie Almedal’s beautiful, dreamy “Paisley Park” and the stunning “Purple Rain” featuring Amanda Palmer’s fragile, whispery vocals backed by a haunting string section composed by Jherek Bischoff.  The box set is rounded out with a nice booklet from Adam Mattera, who curated the collection, and quotes from many of the contributing performers.  

(Cherry Red Records)

Wasted Youth - Young And Bored - The Complete Wasted Youth

During their seven-year career from 1981 to 1988, LA’s Wasted Youth released two albums and an EP, which have now been compiled in the double CD Young And Bored - The Complete Wasted Youth.  Clocking in at just over thirteen minutes, the ten songs on their 1981 debut album Reagan’s In (here on disc two for some reason) are raw, short and fast-paced punk with lyrics that often deal with the ills of society, authority and the system (“Fuck Authority”, “Reagan’s In”, “Born Deprived”).  Having said that they do actually slow things down a little on a couple of tracks like “Punk For A Day” and “Problem Child,” the last of which is notable for its prominent bass and buzzsaw guitars.  The production is raw and could even be considered muddy, and honestly why shouldn’t it be?  Five years and multiple member changes later (guitarist Chett Lehrer was the only member left from their debut, and drummer Joey Castillo, later of bands like Danzig, Queens Of The Stone Age, Circle Jerks and Zakk Sabbath, was a notable addition) they released the Get Out Of My Yard! EP.  By now the band had shifted towards more of a punk and hardcore/metal crossover.  For the most part the songs were longer and more developed and less frantic.  The musicianship was also more developed and therefore not as raw and ragged as the debut, but still largely straight-ahead and aggressive.  My only complaint with the EP is the production, which is a little flat and muted and really lacking in dynamics.  With the addition of Rick Seccombe as second guitarist and Dave Kushner (later of Velvet Revolver) as their new bassist, their final release, 1988’s Black Daze, saw them shifting even further towards metal, most notably with the guitar solos and riffing that had for the most part been nonexistent before (they even cover Van Halen's "On Fire", a definite guitar players showcase), but still maintaining their hardcore and punk roots.  Unlike the short blasts of their debut, the eight songs here total forty minutes, including the almost nine-minute closing track “The Gift Of Death,” and are well-crafted and very dynamics.  Listening to the album today, it could be argued that they were a bit ahead of their time.  It is also by far their best produced release, sounding head and shoulders above the others.  All three of these releases make for a great listen in their own unique way and when collected together they display a fascinating, but short-lived career trajectory for the band.  In addition to the music, there is also a great booklet detailing the band history including interviews with Dave Kushner and vocalist Paul Rossi.

(Dissonance)

Zerrin - Talking to myself EP

Talking to myself is the latest EP from Glasgow-based Australian Zerrin.  She has mentioned artists like Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and Weyes Blood as inspirations and you can hear elements of them all throughout the four cuts, yet she still makes it sound like her own.  The EP opens with the slow and moody “Maintenance Phase” with vocals that are whispery, and at times almost languid but occasionally juxtaposed against chipper keys and flute.  The quaint baroque and folk pop of “Spring Cleaning” has a swirling dreamlike Kate Bush vibe.  Most of these songs have wonderful little effects and sounds that give them so much texture and this cut is a perfect example.  “Cloud Baby” is a gorgeous, very ethereal track that at its core is very simple with her fragile vocals accompanied by quiet piano and some very subdued effects.  “It's Happening Again” closes the EP and is while it’s slow and melancholy there is a taut energy that rears its head at times.  

(Zerrin)

  

Peter Godwin - The Polydor Years

Before embarking on a solo career, Peter Godwin was a member of the band Metro.  Over the course of four years from 1976 to 1980, they released three albums and were best known for their single “Criminal World,” which was later covered by David Bowie on his Let’s Dance album.  As that band was winding down, he wrote some songs that he demoed with Georg Kajanus (best known as singer and guitarist in Sailor).  While Metro was a guitar band, he wanted to experiment with a sound that was more synth based and possibly release a single that was different than Metro.  He played the demos to Midge Ure (pre–Rich Kids and Ultravox) and he really liked “Torch Songs For The Heroine” and wanted to produce it.  At that point they approached Polydor who signed him to a single deal.  During his time with the label, he released an EP and an album, as well as numerous singles and remixes that are now all included in the double CD The Polydor Years.  

Disc one contains his debut EP Dance Emotions and a variety of alternate versions and remixes of those tracks.  Along with the incredibly infectious upbeat synth pop of “Emotional Disguise”, “Images Of Heaven” and “Luxury,” the last of which also adds a bit of a funk undercurrent, there’s the slower, aforementioned Midge Ure produced “Torch Songs For The Heroine,” which has a bit of an Ultravox feel.  While the remainder of the tracks on disc one are variations of these songs, in addition to the standard single versions and instrumentals there are quite a few that are definitely worth mentioning.  “French Emotions” is an interesting take on “Emotional Disguise” with French lyrics and spoken word vocals that are at times bordering on rap, while “Spoken Images” is a similar spoken word take on “Images Of Heaven”, but in English (another remix of "Images..." is from Joseph Watt of Razormaid and includes elements of all the different versions of the song).  There are also a couple of versions of “Torch Songs For The Heroine” that stand out.  While the extended version on the EP had washes of synths on the single version they are jabbing pulses.  Lastly is the ballad version, which is a haunting, absolutely gorgeous, slower version with more stripped down Middle Eastern sounding instrumentation.   

Godwin’s debut full-length release Correspondence opens disc two and is quite an impressive release that largely continues his foray into synth pop with plenty of diversity.  Listening to it you can't help but wonder why he wasn’t more successful.  With a bit of a dance beat added to the mix, the it opens with “Baby’s In The Mountains.”  The album’s first single “The Art Of Love” is up next and it is a more midtempo track that is massively infectious.  “Window Shopping” is more of a new romantic tune that is actually at times a bit reminiscent of Culture Club,  while still maintaining that synth pop sound, “Soul To Soul” is a slow burning soulful song.  The soulful synth pop continues on the next track, “Young Pleasure,” followed up by the upbeat “The Dancer,” which has a really strong Roxy Music vibe.  On the title track, Godwin adds a strong funk groove and some very funk influenced synths.  Originally written by Kajanus for his band Data (and the only track not penned by Godwin), “Over Twenty” is a really pretty song that is not too different than their original recording, but unlike that version which is a little colder, the synths here are warmer and smoother.  “Soul Of Love” closes the album and has an almost ambient feel with a very emotional vocal performance (the song was actually originally written for The Drifters and recorded by Johnny Moore, at one time a singer for that band).  The bonus tracks on disc two consist of a remix for “Window Shopping”, five remixes of “The Art Of Love”, two for “Baby’s In The Mountains” (one of these hit number four on the Billboard Dance Charts and was his biggest dance hit in the US) and five for “The Art Of Love.”  Rounding out the collection is a fantastic booklet with Godwin providing the bio and track by track comments.  

(Strike Force Entertainment)

 

Treasure Pains - Charming

Durham, North Carolina's Treasure Pains was formed through a collaborative writing sessions with members of Youth League and WolvesxWolvesxWolvesxWolves, and Charming is their debut EP.  In just over sixteen minutes, the post-hardcore band blasts through six tracks that are aggressive with taut angular guitars, but dripping with a strong, hook-heavy sense of melody.  Openers “Blowout” and “Charming”, along with “Vines”, personify this perfectly.  “Not Opaque” moves in more of a melancholy direction, although is still not lacking in power.  They shift gears a little on the final two tracks, which are quite possibly my favorites. “Hands Up” kicks off with a Primus-like distorted bass that will throw you at first, but then moves into a mellower, very catchy rock song, while “Empty Paws” is a little less aggressive, but more high energy and will have you bouncing your head.  Hopefully this is just beginning of this collaboration.   

(Wiretap Records)