ROCK REVIVAL

Rock Revival's Classic Albums (1976): Brand X 'Unorthodox Behaviour'

2009-01-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

In the history of Jazz Fusion Brand X are a critical yet less well known institution. They formed in 1974, broke up in 1980 and reformed in the 90's and are amongst the most talented and sophisticated artists in the genre.

Brand X are perhaps best known for hosting Phil Collins as their some-time drummer. Other members included Keyboard player Robin Lumley, previously with Bowie's Spider's From Mars and John Goodsall of Atomic Rooster

Their first album, Unorthodox Behaviour, was turned down by Island Records and released by Genesis's label, Charisma

The album shines with everything a fan of prog-jazz needs: complextime signatures, adventurous arrangements, and experimental sounds. Phenomenal bass grooves, ferocious driving drums and complex solos snaking in and out of off-kilter themes. Think funky Mahivishnu and you just about have it

Highly reccomended.

Who Loves Tal Wilkenfeld ? Bass Prodigy

2009-01-12T11:19:00.001-08:00

Wow what a story, picks up the bass at 14 years old, drops out of High School at 16 and immigrates from Australia to the US to pursue her music career, makes her name is New York clubs and then becomes one of the most celebrated new bass players on the planet.

Don't believe me ? Here's what she has done since 2006

Played with the Allman Brothers, toured with Chick Corea and Jeff Beck, attended Eric Clapton's Crossroad Guitar Festival and joined Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton and the famous Ronnie Scott's in London. All that and released a brilliant Fusion album called Transformations

Check her out

With Jeff Beck, the beauty and the beast !! Makes me cry !!

Here she is teaching at a Bass Clinic, wow !!

With Chick Corea

iPod Candy: Rock Revival's Top Twenty Soft Rock Songs

2009-01-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

At the moment I am doing the highly suspect activity of listening to alot of soft rock.

Why? You ask. Well call it a pallette cleanser but there is a certain joy in listening to music has no intellectual challenge whatsoever.

Here's Rock Revival's Top Ten, let me know what you think is missing.

1 Drift Away - Dobie Gray
2 Sailing - Christopher Cross
3 Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts
4 Minute By Minute - The Doobie Brothers
5 Chuck E.'s in Love - Rickie Lee Jones
6 More Than Words - Extreme
7 Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
8 Babe - Styx
9 Black Water - The Doobie Brothers
10 Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon
11 Show Me the Way - Peter Frampton
12 On and On - Stephen Bishop
13 Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
14 Tin Man - America
15 What a Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
16 Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
17 You're So Vain - Carly Simon
18 I'd Really Love to See You Tonight - England Dan and John Ford Coley
19 Piano Man - Billy Joel
20 Rosanna - Toto

Thin Lizzy Pay Tribute to Phil Lynott

2009-01-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

Thin Lizzy is still together and released this statement yesterday in honor of Phil Lynott

"Philip Parris Lynott passed away 23 years ago today. Philo, we, indeed, remember you while you're away - thousands and thousands of people around the globe who you touched with your music and words. And it seems fitting to post the lyrics you wrote about another icon so many years ago, as it most definitely describes how so many of us feel tonight. We shall miss you and we raise a glass to you today, tonight!"

King's Call

It was a rainy night the night the king went down
Everybody was crying it seemed like sadness had surrounded the town
Me I went to the liquor store
And I bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin
I played his records all night
Drinking with a close, close friend

Now some people say that that ain't right
And some people say nothing at all
But even in the darkest of night
You can always hear the king's call
You can always hear the king's call

We still love you Phil !

Who Do You Think Has the best Voice in Rock ?

2009-01-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

The U.K's Sun newspaper has just revealed it's top 40 Voices in Rock, what do you think, agree disagree ?

The Top 40 Greatest Voices In Rock:

1. Robert Plant (LED ZEPPELIN)
2. Freddie Mercury (QUEEN)
3. Paul Rodgers (FREE/BAD COMPANY)
4. Ian Gillan (DEEP PURPLE)
5. Roger Daltrey (THE WHO)
6. David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE)
7. Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
8. Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN)
9. Mick Jagger (ROLLING STONES)
10. Bon Scott (AC/DC)

PS: check Robert's tightest jeans in Rock ?

'Neil Young Archives Volume 1 (1963 - 1972)' (Blue-Ray & DVD Box Sets) Release January 27 2009

2009-01-05T02:13:00.000-08:00

From Uncut.co.uk

"New details on Neil Young's expansive The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972 box set, due for release early in 2009, have been revealed. According to a newly-released trailer, the box set, on 10-disc DVD or Blu-Ray, will contain 128 audio tracks, including 43 unreleased and 13 of these never heard before. The set, which comes with a 236-page hardback book, will also feature access to thousands of images and hours of video.

One of the videos included is Journey Through The Past, Young's 1974 film never before released on DVD, which includes footage of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby Stills Nash And Young. An audio track of 'Aurora' by Young's high school band The Squires is also included. The previously-released Archives albums, Live At The Fillmore East and Live At Massey Hall 1971, will also be included in the box set, although it is currently believed that the newly-released Sugar Mountain - Live At Canterbury House 1968 will not. Hand-written lyrics, letters, newspaper cuttings and memorabilia will also be available in the Archives, along with a detailed interactive timeline"

Graham Nash - 'Reflections' (3 CD Set) Box Set Release Febuary 2009

2009-01-05T02:11:00.000-08:00

On February Rhino celebrates Graham Nash’s career with Reflections, a three-CD boxed set containing 40 years of music with 64 songs; half of which are unreleased mixes, alternate versions and unissued tracks.

This is a deluxe package that features a 150-page booklet with 75 unseen photos and track notes by Graham Nash.

"Arranged chronologically, Reflections spans Graham Nash’s recordings from 1967 to 2007, starting with a trio of singles he released with The Hollies in 1967: “On A Carousel”, “Carrie Anne” and “King Midas In Reverse”. Nash left the group a year later, joining with Crosby and Stills to record the trio’s self-titled album......Reflections gathers several songs from that album-and its follow-up, released a few months later with the addition of Neil Young - including “Pre-Road Downs”, “Marrakesh Express”, “Our House” and “Teach Your Children”. The set also includes tracks from the group’s other albums: “Just A Song Before I Go”, “Wasted On The Way” and “Heartland”.

The collection also brings together several classics from Nash’s four solo albums, ranging from the politically-charged (”Military Madness” and “Chicago” / “We Can Change The World”) to the emotionally raw (”Simple Man” and “Sleep Song”) and the socially conscious (”Barrel Of Pain” and “Chippin’ Away”.) Reflections spotlights 32 songs with different mixes and alternate versions that have never been released. Among the highlights is Nash’s solo acoustic demo of “Right Between The Eyes”. Recorded during the Déjà Vu sessions, a live version of the track popped up in 1971 on a CSN&Y live album. The compilation contains six unreleased tracks, including “Water From The Moon”, “Try To Find Me” and “In Your Name”, a song he recorded in 2007"

Pre-order Spincds.

Rock Revival's Classic Trax (1965): Tom Jones 'It's Not Unusual'

2008-12-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

OK, confession time, 'It's Not Unusual"by Tom Jones is one of my favourite songs, albeit I have thousands of favourites.

Tom Jones may be associated with the likes of Engelbert Humperdink now but back in the day he was one of the best white soul singers, taking advantage of his Welsh roots where everyone can sing and he knew he was well liked by the ladies

'It's Not Unusual' went to number one in the UK charts in 1965, Jones's, peaking at #10 in May of that year in the US

Check it out!

Garage Rock 101: Proto-Punk Pioneers

2008-12-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

Every now and then on Rock Revival we have a look at a specific genre in the history of rock. Todays focus, garage rock from the mid-1960's is one of the most unrecognised but important. Garage rock was raw rock and roll, popular in the US and Canada, heavily influenced by The British Invasion (ie: The Who, The Kinks, The Animals)

The rough and ready party anthems were a precursor to US punk and were revived in the early 70's when The Ramones, New York Dolls and Stooges burst on to the scene.

There were literaly thousands of bands in the US, very few of which became commercial successes.

Songs that did make it, however, include, "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen (1963-64), "Psychotic Reaction" by The Count Five (1966), "Pushin' Too Hard" by The Seeds (1966), "Gloria" by the Shadows of Knight (1966), "96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians (1966), "Talk Talk" by The Music Machine (1966), "Dirty Water" by The Standells (1966), "Double Shot (of My Baby's Love)" by The Swingin' Medallions (1966), "Respect" by The Rationals (1966), and "Little Bit O'Soul" by The Music Explosion (1967).

Garage rock has continued to rear its head over the years; The Romantics in the late 80's, The Fuzztones in the 80's, The Vines in more recent times.

Check it out

Rock Revival's Forgotten Classics (1971): Ruby Jones 'Stone Junkie'

2008-12-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Here's clear evidence that back-up singers are often so much better than the artist they support,
Singer Ruby Starr was best-known as a backup singer for '70s macho man rockers Black Oak Arkansas.

This album was her debut, supervised by the great Curtis mayfield of all people. She shows that she is equal in vocal talent to Janis Joplin, funky, raucous, wild... she completely out classes Black Oak Arkansas frontman Jim Dandy who spotted her shortly after it's release

She was renamed Ruby Starr and toured with the band for several years before leaving the group to form the Ruby Jones Band in 1976, and issuing the album Scene Stealer the same year.

You must have this album !

*

(Source AllMusicGuide)

Rock Revival Classic Albums (1974): Tim Buckley 'Look at the Fool'

2008-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Tim Buckley's last album before his death certainly didn't gain him any favors with critics and fans, the last in a trilogy of albums exploring blue-eyed soul/funk.

Prior to this his free jazz explorations ( a la Frank Zappa) on Starsailor had also been widely panned.

It's hard to understand why Look at the Fool was treated so badly.

Rolling Stone magazine said;

It's as if Buckley had borrowed the primal scream of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band in order to mock and punish himself, as the title implies. With music like this, he mocks and punishes the listener as well.

Personally I totally love the album; his voice is incredible in it's range and funkiness, the songs are consistenly catchy

Have a listen and make up your own mind

AC/DC and Kid Rock Amongst Top Selling Albums 2008

2008-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

AC/DC and Kid Rock had the Top Selling Albums of 2008 was a top story for this week, despite their refusal to break their albums up into individual MP3 tracks for itunes

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" was the third-best-selling album of the year .

AC/DC's new "Black Ice" album was released exclusively at Wal-Mart, and has become the fourth-best-selling album of the year with 1.6 million copies sold, despite the lack of any digital sales

Coldplay's album came in at Number 1 and the rest of the charts was filled with the likes of Lil Wayne, Beyonce, High School Musical 3, etc.

Rock Revival's Best Albums of 2008- Metal, Indie, Blues Rock and More..

2008-12-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

It's nearly the end of the year and time for Rock Revival to nominate it's best albums of 2008.

Best Metal Album:Opeth Watershed

No other album blew my head of like this one, brutal, intelligent, can the word 'moving' be used for an album like this ? A revelation.

Best Prog Album: Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet

Hypnotic as always, keeping the flame alive

Best Jazz Fusion Album:John McLaughlin Floating Point

Electrified Shakti but even better. The Indian musicians almost out do McLaughlin, a joyful, complex tour de force

Best Indie Album: Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes channel Crosby, Still, Nash and Young. It grows on you but when it has its phenomenal

Best Melodic Album: Brother Firetribe Heart Full of Fire

Better than the original 80's melodic rock; it's full of beautiful cliches, happy music !

Best Blues Rock:North Mississippi Allstars Hernando

Wow! Blues and blues-rock brilliance, another revelation, especially 'I 'd Love to be a Hippy'

Best Re-Release: Dennis Wilson Pacific Ocean Blue

A remastered lost classic from Brian's brother; easily outshines Brian's effort this year

Best Back From the Dead Album:Whitesnake Good To Be Bad

Soft-cocks find their mojo in their later years; this album kicks arse (forgive the mixed metaphors)

Best Pop Album: Panic at the Disco Pretty.Odd

Surprise of the year for me: Beatlesesque and my 12 year old daughter loves it to.

Best Mash-Up: GirlTalk Feed the Animals

An encylopedia of sound, 70's classic rock mixed with hip-hop and much else. It's an album...and a quiz

Best Hip-Hop: The Streets Everythings Borrowed

UK 'rapper' can make you dance and break your heart

Rock Revival's Classic Trax (1973): Dobie Gray 'Drift Away'

2008-12-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Some songs are destined to be classics from the moment that pen was put to paper. Many are played so much that we can no longer tolerate them ('Yesterday' or 'Desperado), others, like 'Drift Away (you may know it as 'Give Me the Beat Boys')' have escaped such a fate and can still hit the melodic heights when we hear them.

'Drift Away' was a major hit for African American singer, Dobie gray in 1973, making him somewhat of a one-hit wonder, apart from 'The In Crowd' released 8 years earlier.

This song is also a famous "goodbye" or ending song for concerts.

It's been covered by so many: Bon Jovi, Ray Charles, Humble Pie, Rolling Stones and Aaron Neville and is a traditional goodbye song at the end of many concerts.

Here is the original

The Rolling Stones

The great Roy Orbison

Bon Jovi

....and check this Magnetic North, funky hip-hop version, brilliant

Jimmy Swaggart vs Ozzy and Zappa

2008-12-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

Every week I post Untold Stories of Rock over at WNEW.com, next Mondays will be a real ripper, the story of a crying Jimmy Swaggart vs Ozzy Osbourne and Frank Zappa. It all ended with Jimmy having lots of sex and Ozzy making a tribute video where he briefly simulates sex with a pig in a church......................interested (well that just means your sick), go to WNEW Monday morning...

The Rolling Stone Magazines Best 30 Albums of 2008

2008-12-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

The Rolling Stones Top 500 Albums of All Time is a controversial but very interesting list that many will know but what about their list for the best albums of 2008

This is a readers poll, but if we consider that readers also reflect the magazine its a pretty dire list: Look at the Top Five, Kings of Leon sell out very early in their career, Coldplay (oh God), Guns n' Roses come back from the dead. Thank God for Fleet Foxes, Mars Volta and the surprise brilliance of Girl Talk !

1. The Killers - Day & Age
2. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
3. Kings of Leon - Only By the Night
4. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
5. Guns n’ Roses - Chinese Democracy
6. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
7. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
8. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
9. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
10. R.E.M. - Accelerate
11. Beck - Modern Guilt
12. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
13. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
14. Metallica - Death Magnetic
15. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
16. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
17. Portishead - Third
18. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
19. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
20. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
21. The Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath
22. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part 1 (4th World War)
23. Santogold - Santogold
24. Weezer - The Red Album
25. The Drive-by Truckers - Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
26. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
27. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
28. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
29. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
30. The Verve - Forth

Paul McCarteny Claims He Was More Political Than John Lennon

2008-12-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

LONDON Associated Press -

Paul McCartney claims that he was the real politicized figure in The Beatles, not John Lennon, according to an interview published Sunday.

McCartney said it was he who first raised concerns over the Vietnam war within the group and advocated their anti-war stance.

Fans have long regarded Lennon, who wrote songs such as "Revolution" and - in later years - "Give Peace a Chance," as the group's authentic political voice.

But McCartney claimed that his meeting with philosopher Bertrand Russell in the mid-1960s sparked his own - and eventually Lennon's - curiosity about world affairs.

Following his talk with Russell, McCartney said he told "the guys, particularly John (Lennon), about this meeting and saying what a bad war this was," The Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper said McCartney was interviewed for Britain's Prospect magazine, which is published on Wednesday. McCartney's publicist Stuart Bell was not immediately available to confirm the comments.

According to the newspaper, McCartney said he believes his stance has inspired the work against African poverty carried out in recent years by Bob Geldof and U2's Bono.

Fifty Top Best Guitar Solos of All Time

2008-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

Yes this is totally subjective, but here is my attempt........

1 Blues at My Baby's House- Buddy Guy
2 Machine Gun- Jimi Hendrix
3 Dark Star- Grateful Dead
4 Comfortably Numb- Pink Floyd
5 Killer Queen- Queen
6 Blues For Otis Rush- Ronnie Earl
7 Stairway To Heaven - Jimmy Page
8 Freebird- Lynyrd Skynyrd
9 Eruption - Edward Van Halen
10 Sultans of Swing -Dire Straits
11 Black Napkins -Frank Zappa
12 Neil Young- Down by the River
13 All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
14 Crossroads - Eric Clapton
15Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix
16 Do You Feel Like We Do -Peter Frampton
17 Still in Love with You (Live)- Thin Lizzy
18 Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
19 Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
20 Sweet Papa John - Johnny Winter
21 Layla - Clapton/Allman
22 Gov't Mule- Endless Parade
23 Wah Wah Blues Earl Hooker
24 Song of the Wind- Santana
25 One -Metallica
26 Floods- Pantera
27 Starship Trooper- Yes
28 Stranglehold- Ted Nugent
29 The Thrill is Gone- B.B. King
30 Blue Jean Blues- ZZ Top
31 Cortez the Killer- Neil Young
32 Reelin’ In the Years -Steely Dan
33 Hot For Teacher -Van Halen
34 Jessica -The Allman Brothers
35 Chill Out -Santana
36 Walk -Pantera
37 Zoot Allures -Frank Zappa
38 No More Tears -Zakk Wylde
39 Heard it Through the Grapevine- John Fogerty
40 Working Man- Rush
41 Santeria -Sublime
42 Moonage daydream -David Bowie
43 Maggot Brain -Funkadelic
44 Man in a Box- Alice in Chains
45 Truckin -Grateful Dead
46 Walk Away -James Gang
47 Lazy- Deep Purple
48 Alive -Pearl Jam
49 The Thrill is Gone -BB KIng
50 Shock me -KISS

Bono's Ego Gets Awarded Nobel Prize

2008-12-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

U2 singer, Bono Vox, possibly the most (self)-important man in rock has been awarded with the 'Man of Peace' prize by the Nobel peace laureates for helping to tackle African debt, poverty and disease.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe hosted the award ceremony in the city on Friday (12Dec08), honouring the U2 frontman for his global campaign to persuade rich nations to lend assistance to the struggling continent.

Bono told the crowd, which included fellow Nobel laureates, "This is a very big award for me, because let's be honest this is as close as I am going to get - as close as a rock star is ever going to get to the Nobel Peace Prize."I am an over-awarded, over-rewarded rock star. You are the people who do the real work."So I am very, very pleased to be in such esteemed company."

Italian co-host Walter Veltroni, added, "We decided to nominate a man who has given a lot and will continue to give a great deal to the struggle for human rights, to the fight against poverty, with his music and with his words."He has put pressure on the world's governments to reach the UN's Millennium Goals. To give him the prize, is to say that fight will carry on."

Source: contactmusic

Best Rock Guitar Solos of All Time

2008-12-15T02:05:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone out there, i am working on this one, write in comments and let me know what you think, what are your top solos ?

Tune in to Rock Revival Radio This Week

2008-12-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

Tune in to Rock Revival Radio this week with Paul, Dave and John, streamed direct to you on the internet.

Our last show before Christmas can be heard 8-10pm Sydney time this Thursday night or 9-11am GMT Thursday morning everywhere else

John still hasnt decided on his Classic Album for this week, but he is weighing up between Easy Rider and Traffic's Low Spark of the High Heel Boys.

In Lost Stories of Rock we will be featuring the man who lent Jimmy Page his guitar for Led Zep 1 and was best mates with Elvis and George Harrison

Undercover features some pretty fascinating covers of King Crimson and The Band, one is featured on what NME unfairly described as 'the worst album ever made in the history of rock'.

Plus we will be having a look at three modern Prog bands that are just a little too obsessed with science fiction

All that and Dave will look far and wide through the 60's and 70's with This Day in Rock, attempting the incredible feat of not mentioning a drug-bust by David Crosby or where Rod Stewart is keeping his banana..

We will also explore some of the Forgotten Gems, (albums we have found in our basement) and Paul's Weekly Mash-Up (this week a Hip-Hop version of Season of the Witch)

All you have to do in Press here on Thursday; make sure your pop-ups are turned off !

Jefferson Airplane - 'Flight Box' (3 CD) Release January 26, 2009

2008-12-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

The 2 concerts featured in this 3-CD compact box set were recorded at famous venues in their hometown. The first concert, recorded at Golden Gate Park on 5th July 1969 featured the group’s classic line-up. The second concert was the group’s last-ever performance which took place at the Winterland Arena on 22nd September 1972. Each of the set’s discs is housed in its own wallet, the set comes with a 20-page, lavishly-illustrated colour booklet chronicling the events and circumstances of the two concerts. Released January 26th

Preorder spincds

Incredible String Band - 'Tricks Of The Senses' Release January 28, 2009

2008-12-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Incredible String Band were one of the most adventurous of the 70's UK folk rock fraternity, a hippy commune set in medievil times that is essential for all lovers of the history of folk music

A double CD compilation of unreleased or rare Incredible String Band material from the Witchseason and Island Records archives, and represents a fascinating alternative history of the band. ISB's Robin Williamson and Mike Heron were fully involved in this project from the start, and were both impressed by the quality of the material that was unearthed. The accompanying 28 page booklet features exhaustive liner notes, including a detailed story about the background to this project. Also featured are several rare photographs and full lyrics to many of the songs

Pre-Order Spincds

Does Anybody Know This Man

2008-12-12T16:02:00.001-08:00

Listen to Rock Revival New Online Streaming

2008-12-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Finally Rock Revival the Sydney FM Radio Show is streamed for all the readers of this blog to hear

Go here Rock Triple H 100.1

WE have lots of regular features: This Day in Rock, Classic Albums, Under Cover, Forgotten Gems, Rock Genre of the Week.......and all your favourite classic, progressive, blues, country, psychedelic and heavy rock.............

Sydney Time 8-10 pm Thursday Nights

Equals 9:00 AM GMT on the same day

Fame at last: Rock Revival Hits the Headlines

2008-12-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

David Gore, John Beedham and Paul Rhodes of The Rock Revival, on Triple-H. Picture: SARA NIXON

BABYBOOMERS David Gore, John Beeham and Paul Rhodes just won’t let the good times die.

They grew up on a heady diet of rock music, shaking their heads and stamping their feet to the sounds of Bruce Springsteen, the Who and the Rolling Stones - so they are reviving the classics on their new Triple-H show.

It was a good era for music, they say; the trio enjoyed going to concerts and listening to bands in pubs.

“I suppose because the music is of my generation, I think it’s probably the best that has been done,” Mr Gore told the Advocate.

“We would like to educate people as to how good it was and remind those who grew up with it.”

The men, who were raised in different parts of the world but are united in their love of music, have come together to present a radio show through our local Hornsby station.

Each Thursday, from 8pm to 10pm on 100.1FM, they deliver The Rock Revival, a show which plays a mix of ‘60s and ‘70s music.

The presenters completed a training course at the community station in Edgeworth David Ave and went straight into delivering their own show.

Mr Rhodes said it was a great way to destress.

Cool to be Uncool ! Top Best Ten Lounge Albums

2008-12-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

We have been having a look at Lounge music this week on Rock Revival, specifically all the corny but cool acts who have covered rock, including Lord Sitar, Richard Cheese, Rolf Harris and Frank Bennett.......oh yes and Paul Anka

Despite my love of rock I have to admit that the Lounge playlist is the biggest on my iPod, bursting at the seams with Bond themes, Sammy Davis Jr, Joao Gilberto and Salsa

Lets take a peak now into the true beauty of real Lounge, into the world of fake world music, bossa nova, swing and corny soundtrax of the 50's and 60's

1. Sergio Mendes Brasil 65

2. Burt bacharach Make it Easy on Yourself

3. Frank Sinatra Cycles

4. Martin Denny Exotica

5. Getz/Gilberto

6. Harry Belafonte Calypso

7. Arthur Lyman Percussion Spectacular

8. Dean martin This Time I'm Swingin

9. Bert Kaempfert A Swingin Safari

10. Henry Mancini Peter Gunn

Martin Denny

Bee Gees - Odessa (3 CD Deluxe Edition) Release 12 January 2009

2008-12-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

This Three-Disc Deluxe Edition Features Original Stereo And Mono Mix, 20 Unreleased Demos, Alternate Takes, Plus Two Songs Not Included On Original Album

Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb achieved a breathtaking creative peak early in the Bee Gees legendary career with Odessa, the group's fourth album. Released in February 1969, the reissue marks the 40th anniversary of the double album, which offered lavish production and spectacular packaging that equaled the collection's boundless creativity.

Reprise returns to the Gibb brother's baroque pop masterwork with a three-disc Deluxe Edition that features the album's original stereo and mono mixes-mono mixes are available in the U.S. for the first time-along with a third disc of unreleased demos, sketches and alternate mixes that reveal the album's creative process.

The seeds of Odessa were planted in New York City in August 1968. Given a week of studio time amidst a brief but chaotic American tour, the band produced nearly a full album of new songs at the legendary Atlantic Recording Studios. Encouraged by their manager/mentor Robert Stigwood to pursue a more expansive work, further sessions in London resulted in the band's only double studio album.

The 17-song collection features a rich mix of styles that range from acoustic-based tracks such as "Marley Purt Drive" to Bill Shepherd's majestic orchestral arrangements on "First Of May." Among the album's other standout tracks are: "Black Diamond," "Melody Fair," and "Odessa (City On The Black Sea)," which is built around the interplay between Maurice's flamenco guitar and cello from Paul Buckmaster (who went on to find fame as Elton John's arranger).

The third disc of ODESSA: DELUXE EDITION contains 22 unreleased tracks, including demos or alternate takes for all but one song from the original album. The disc also features two songs from the Odessa sessions not included on the original album -- "Pity" and "Nobody's Someone" -- as well as a 30-second spot promoting the album. The unissued tracks present two versions of several songs, including a demo for "Melody Fair" with a completely different arrangement, as well an alternate take recorded a few days later that reveals some of Maurice's great Mellotron work obscured by strings in the final mix.

Perhaps the most revealing is the demo for "Odessa (City On The Sea)." During the album's sessions, the brothers experimented lyrically with elements of the song's mythology: changing the year from 1866 to 1899; and the name and nationality of the vessel from the Dutch ship Onstrauss to the British ship Veronica. Originally picked as the first single, it was dropped in favor of "First Of May."

ODESSA: DELUXE EDITION Track Listing

Disc 1 Stereo/Disc 2 Mono1. "Odessa (City On The Black Sea)"2. "You'll Never See My Face Again"3. "Black Diamond"4. "Marley Purt Drive"5. "Edison"6. "Melody Fair"7. "Suddenly"8. "Whisper Whisper"9. "Lamplight"10. "Sound Of Love"11. "Give Your Best"12. "Seven Seas Symphony"13. "With All Nations (International Anthem)"14. "I Laugh In Your Face"15. "Never Say Never Again"16. "First Of May"17. "The British Opera" Disc 3 "Sketches for Odessa" [All Tracks Previously Unissued]1. "Odessa" (Demo)2. "You'll Never See My Face Again" (Alternate Mix)3. "Black Diamond" (Demo)4. "Marley Purt Drive" (Alternate Mix)5. "Barbara Came To Stay"6. "Edison" (Alternate Mix)7. "Melody Fair" (Demo)8. "Melody Fair" (Alternate Mix)9. "Suddenly" (Alternate Mix)10. "Whisper Whisper -- Part Two" (Alternate Version)11. "Lamplight" (Demo)12. "Lamplight" (Alternate Version)13. "Sound Of Love" (Alternate Mix)14. "Give Your Best" (Alternate Mix)15. "Seven Seas Symphony" (Demo)16. "With All Nations (International Anthem)" (Vocal Version)17. "I Laugh In Your Face" (Alternate Mix)18. "Never Say Never Again" (Alternate Mix)19. "First Of May" (Demo)20. "First Of May" (Alternate Mix)21. "Nobody's Someone"22. "Pity"23. Odessa Promotional Spot (Rhino/Cinram)

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Lord Sitar Limited 500 LP Release Out Now !

2008-12-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

At last a vinyl reissue of this fantastic Big Jim Sullivan related exploitation album from 1968.

It's full of psychedelic grooves featuring sitar & tabla, Hammond, fuzz, flute, horn section, funky drums...Totally Carnaby Street go-go mod sound meetsexotica/flower-power including mindblowing covers of tunes by The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who...

Tracklisting: If I were a rich man / Emerald City / Tomorrow's People / Daydream believer / Like nobody else / I am the Walrus / In a dream/ Eleanor Rigby / I can see for miles / Blue Jay Way / Black is black(Sweet Dandelion/F-Minor)

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Grateful Dead - Road Trips Vol. 2, No. 1 (September 1990) (2 CD + Bonus) Release Jan 12 2009

2008-12-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

You'll recall the unusual historical circumstances surrounding this famous series of shows: In July, Brent Mydland had died tragically after a glorious 11-year stint as the Dead's keyboardist. With both the band and Dead Heads in shock, a few planned summer shows were cancelled, and it looked as though the group's long-scheduled tour of Europe might be in jeopardy, as well. But then, two things happened: friend and fellow traveler Bruce Hornsby, already well-versed in the band's music, volunteered to venture into the breach temporarily once his summer tour was over; next, the group settled on former Tubes keys man Vince Welnick to step into Brent's big shoes on a permanent basis. Fortunately, he was a quick study! By early September, Vince had played his first shows with the Dead (in Cleveland and Philadelphia), and then the band moved on to Madison Square Garden -- always one of the most magical places the group played-- for a series of six shows spanning September 14-20, before jetting off for the big European tour.

Bruce joined the band beginning with the second concert in that series, and immediately the chemistry of this new septet was apparent. Bruce was a bold and assertive player who really pushed the band--and particularly Garcia--in some fascinating new directions, and the combination of his grand piano and Vince's electronic keyboard textures made for a big and dynamic sound. There were smiles all around as the new unit found its footing and with surprising confidence ushered in a new era of Grateful Dead music before roaring New York crowds!

Back in 1997, our late, great vaultmaster Dick Latvala pegged the September 16, 1990 Garden show to be Dick's Picks Vol. 9, but many fans of the run have long believed that the hottest shows from MSG that year were actually the two concluding concerts, September 19 and 20. So, for this Road Trips we offer some two-and-a-half hours of high energy rock 'n' roll and intense jamming from the second sets of 9/19-20 (as well as the moving "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" encore from 9/18). Included are spacey and beautifully developed journeys through "Dark Star" and "Playing in the Band"; a rare second set "Let It Grow" that rolls into a fantastic improvisation that really shows off the chops of the "new" band; a rousing "Uncle John's Band"; rockin' tunes like "Truckin'" and "Turn on Your Lovelight," and more. The spirit and life on these tracks is amazing! You can find the entire track listing below. As always, the discs have been expertly mastered to HDCD by our own Jeffrey Norman, and the package includes a 16-page booklet with lots o' groovy pix and an essay about the shows by Dan Levy.

This time out, the exclusive limited edition Bonus Disc was compiled entirely from the 9/18/90 MSG show, another sizzler. Highlights include "Foolish Heart," "Eyes of the World," the rare-in-every-era "To Lay Me Down," and an especially rollicking take on "Picasso Moon."

Track List
Disc One - 9/20/90 and 9/19/90

Truckin'>
China Cat Sunflower>
I Know You Rider
Playing In The Band>
Ship of Fools>
Playing In The Band>
Uncle John's Band>
Let It Grow>
Jam>

Disc Two - 9/20/90

…Jam>
Dark Star>
Playing In The Band>
Dark Star>
Throwing Stones>
Touch Of Grey
Turn On Your Lovelight
Knockin' On Heaven's Door (encore 9/18/90)

Bonus Disc - 9/18/90

Mississippi Half Step
Picasso Moon
To Lay Me Down
Eyes of The World>
Estimated Prophet>
Foolish Heart>
Jam

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Rock Revival's Classic Albums (1973): Al Kooper 'Naked Songs'

2008-12-10T13:45:00.001-08:00

Al Kooper is one of the heroes of rock, setting up Blood Sweat and tears, helping Dylan go electric and playing on the fantastic Super Sessions album with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield, discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd and playing on 100's of major rock albums

This album shows the marvel of his skills when he sets out to make an album of his own.

What is most amazing is the sheer diversity of the record; blues, gospel, motown, country and country rock are all featured in an album that sounds like a history of the music of the day

Jolie - Al Kooper

Highly recommended

More Rockin Lounge Tracks

2008-12-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

Lounge week here on Rock Revival, here's 4 more masters of the genre

Paul Anka doing Nirvana (yes its true)

Mike Flowers Pops does The Doors

Rolf Harris does Stairway

Pat Boone does Judas Priest

Richard Cheese Rocks !

2008-12-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Last post we had a brief look at Lord Sitar, 60's icon who remade rock classics into sitar-lounge masterpieces but what about contemporary lounge hero Richard Cheese (or Dick.....)

Metallica, Nirvana, Guns and Roses, U2, Slipknot, there is no stopping his brilliant destruction of all the songs we hold dear.

Here's a sample;

(ps: It's Lounge week on Rock Revival)

The Joy of Lord Sitar

2008-12-09T01:35:00.000-08:00

Back in the 60's sanitised lounge versions of rock songs were pretty awful but in retrospect what was uncool back then can be pretty cool now

The coolest lounge act ever was Big Jim Sullivan, best known as Lord Sitar, one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the 1960's in the UK

He played with Tom Jones (also groovy), befriended Elvis..........there are many other chapters in his story (I'll be featuring him on next Mondays Untold Rock Stories at WNEW.com) but for now....

Here is his version of The Who's 'ICan See For MIles'

What Are Your Top Three Albums of 2008 ?

2008-12-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

Well, times coming where all the blogs will write their best albums of 2008; certainly alot to choose from this year, Opeth's on my list for Best metal, plus Best Remastered Dennis Wilson and Best Fusion John McLaughlin's Floating Point, Best Indie Fleet Foxes ? Not sure, cant get into it yet.................

What are yours ? Nominate your choices for....

Best Metal
Best Remastered
Best Fusion
Best Indie Rock
Best Experimental
Best Country/Country-Rock
Best Blues/Blues-Rock
Best Old-Fogies Still Going Strong
Best Progressive
Best Melodic
Best Live Album

Write an entry in all categories and the winner will recieve a free CD of one of Rock Revival's Best Albums for 2008 !

Who Loves Styx ? Melodic Masters

2008-12-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

It it possible to love Krautrock and melodic rock at the same time ? Proto0metal and AOR ? Hell yeah !

One of my favourites has got to be Styx, a band that automatically send me back to my High School days growing up with the pep rallies, white teeth and musical tastes of my american friends

Does this cover bring back memories ?

This.........

Renegade - Styx

Styx were massive in the late 70's and early 80's, part of the prog-crossover movement inhabited by Boston, Kansas, Marillion..............they are still going strong recently touring with Boston

Here they are captured this year on someones mobile...

Feeling Blue ? Need Some Spiritual Advice ? Here's David Crosby

2008-12-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

We have abit of a joke on our radio show when we look at what was happening each week in the history of rock. Everytime a drug bust or guns come up David Crosby's name comes up

"I'm not ashamed of being stoned", Crosby once said. "I was stoned for every bit of music I've ever played. Every record, every performance. If they can match the music, let them criticize it. Anybody who can't ain't got no fuckin' right to tell me nothin' about gettin' high."

Here's some advice provided free of charge from Crosby when he was worser for wear....

Source: nndb.com

Katie Noonan (plus John Schofield and Joe Lovano) Reinterprets The Beatles

2008-12-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

After much encouragement thru comments on the blog and thru emails I have decided to keep a trickle of posts going on the site and where else to start thatn to tell you about one of the best CD's I have heard this year, the just released 'Blackbird' by aussie Katie Noonan

Jazz versions of Beatles songs probably dont sound all that inspiring but BELIEVE ME this one you cant miss. She has the voice of an angel and reinterprets songs like Eleanor Rigby, Norwegian Wood, Accross the Universe in a way that puts her up there with the best Beatles interpetors there have ever been.

.........and the best news.....the great John Schofield and Joe Lovano are part of the band..

Tune In To Rock Revival Thursday This 8-10 Triple h 100.1 FM Sydney

2008-11-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

Rock Revival strikes again tonite, tune in 8-10pm 100.1 fm Sydney

* Classic Album: Rolling Stones "Exile on Main Street"

* Genre in Focus: Melodic Rock including Marillion, Boston and Sammy Hagar's Van Halen

* Covermania: Lord Sitar, plus Dylan by Isaac Hayes ?

* Untold Stories: Brian Jones, Keith Moon, Mysoginists Extraordinaire

* Forgotten Gems: UK Bluesrock, The Spirit of John Morgan and Hard Stuff

Rock Revival Having A Good Lie Down

2008-11-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Rock Revival is having a rest for abit while i focus on reviving our Sydney Radio show and writing a bit for WNEW: Where Rock Lives

See You in a Bit !

Rock Revival FM Revived: Tune in This Thursday Triple H 100.1 FM 8-10PM

2008-11-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

After much shenanigans and tomfoolery at TripleH 100.1 FM, Rock Revival is back on air !

Tune in this Thursday 20 th November 8-10 PM with lots of new features

* Classic Albums
* Forgotten Gems
* Untold Stories of Rock
* Weekly Focus on One Genre
* Under Cover

This week we take a look at the Classic Album Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company, focus on Country Rock, Tell the Story of Billy Joel's Psychedelic period, play some unexpected metal covers, explore the Best Vocal Harmonies in rock and vote for the biggest mysoginist award.

Flower Travellin Band Play The Knitting Factory New York 23 November

2008-11-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, I would love to see this, 40 years since they set foot on US soil and these Japanese heroes of stoner rock play the Knitting Factory

Japan kicked some psychedelic ass in the late 60's, they had a thriving hippy scene, festivals, long hair and the innovative Flower Travellin Band

Here they are in their prime

Here they are now ('We Are Here' from their new album of the same name)

Who Loves Electric Wizard ? Doommasters !!

2008-11-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

Who actually needs drugs when you can listen to a band like the formidable Electric Wizard, the sludgiest metal band of all time.

Their 1997 album 'Come My Fanatics" is probably one of the heaviest albums of the nineties, down-tuned, bass-heavy, psychedelic, droning Sabbathesque guitars, glorious !

They were formed, paradoxically, in lovely Dorset, England in 1993 and have at times been plagued by many set backs, marijuana possession, arrest for assaulting a police officer, a sentence for robbery, a collapsed eardrum during a concert, and a severed a fingertip, a broken collarbone in a motorcycle accident.........

In terms of genre you might call it doom metal (with sludge and stoner traits), call it what you will but it's purely hypnotic

New York Dolls to record new album with Todd Rundgren

2008-11-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

The New York Dolls and legendary record producer / rock star, Todd Rundgren have been reunited for the first time in 36 years. Rundgren will produce the Dolls' new album at his studio on the island of Kauai. Production is scheduled to start in January 2009.

This is the first time in 36 years since Rundgren originally produced the New York Dolls eponymous debut album "The New York Dolls" which included the classic songs "Personality Crisis", "Trash", "Jet Boy" and "Private World". Rundgren will be reunited with original Dolls founding members, David Johansen (vocals) and Sylvain Sylvain (guitar, vocals).

"We're really excited to be working with Todd again," says David Johansen. " We're hoping to recapture the same magic on the forthcoming album."

The album, which is yet untitled, will be released on the Atco label through Warner Brothers. The Atco label has been specially re-launched. The New York Dolls are one of the first signings to the label.

The Dolls will follow the release of the new album with a world tour in 2009.

What is Glitch ?

2008-11-14T02:16:00.000-08:00

Glitch is a contemporary genre that relies on the splicing of small samples of music with beats made from clicks, scratches and other sounds of technology gone wrong.

The first glitch album is recognized as Oval's Wohnton (1993); Oval is a German electronic
band who create their sound with hi tech computer programs but also by writing on CDs with felt pens (they are sampled on Bjork's Vespertine album). The early 90s also produced Kid 606, Autechre and many more.

Labradford lean towards an ambient glitch sound, while the Glitch Mob use the techniques
with hip-hop. The most comprehensive series of glitch sounds can be found on Clicks and Cuts (Volumes 1 to 4, 2001-2004).

Have a look/listen

Labradford

Efterklang

Post-Rock 101: Aural Ecstacy

2008-11-14T01:51:00.000-08:00

The term post-rock goes back to 1994, when music critic Simon Reynolds coined it in Mojo Magazine:

"Using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords." He further expounded on the term"

“Perhaps the really provocative area for future development lies... in cyborg rock; not the wholehearted embrace of Techno's methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement. ”

There are obviously alot of differences between bands identified as post-rock (not all like being lumped in with each other) but here is my attempt at listing some of the key characteristics

a. Power chords replaced by timbre and texture on guitar; hence not focussed on rebellion

b. Use of repetition with subtle changes

c. Lengthy instrumental pieces which build up over timed.

d. If vocals are present they infrequent, soft and droning (Sigur Ros even use Hopelandic, a nonsensical language)

e. Abandonment of verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of soundscapese.

f. Use of the Krautrock 'motorik' beat

Here five bands to get you going;

1. Efterklang: Danish Band, Efterklang means remembrance and reverberation which desrcribes their sound, like the glitch sound beneath Radiohead's sound

2. Godspeed You Black Emperor: Massive orchestral sound with rock instruments, intoxicating if you can stick with it

3. Mogwai: One of the most important post-rock bands, guitar-based elaborations on a single theme, once wore tee-shirts with Blur are Shite on them (Blur were a Britpop band, the complete opposite of Mogwai)

4. Explosions in the Sky: very popular Texan band, proving the longevity of the movement

5. Tortoise: One of the prime forces behind the emergence of post-rock, sometimes jazz-infused

Image: Courtesy Play It Again Sam/Matador

Rock Revival's Classic Albums (1997) Godspeed You Black Emperor 'F#A# Infinity'

2008-11-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

I just listended to this album a day ago while i went for a walk to get some excercise, I had little idea of what I would experience

Godspeed You Black Emperor are a Canadian post-rock band, maybe 'the' post-rock band who play rock instruments, including prepared guitars with no solos, riffs, melody and only a beat every now and then

That really doesnt describe them well, the atmosphere they create is really quite incredible

F#A# Infinity was their first studio album, an album that concerns itself with documenting in sound what it would be like to be present in America during or after the apocolypse

Devastation, darkness, a brooding voice over.......so why listen, who wants to get depressed....

If you listen to the whole album at one go its possible to hear more

You can small something esle in the air if you listen closely; its five minutes before salvation, if you believe in such a thing, the darkest hour before we see the point of it all and the hope of liberation.........for some reason their music is beautiful........terrible dread with the smell of hope in the air........everything the Evangelical has tried to wipe out with his Jesus who is all victory and no cross.................

Well, thats alittle deeper than usual for me but this album really surprised me....

Rock Revival Quiz

2008-11-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a quiz for all you music obsessed people, winner gets a copy of the brilliant 2007 album by 'Days Between Stations' (think modernised Dark Side of Moon)

1. Which british New wave artist repopularised Krautrock ?

2. Name a jazz fusion artist known for his mastery of the Synth Axe ?

3. Whas the name of the blues-rock band fronted by Ronnie james Dio before he crossed over to Rainbow ?

4. Did Gram Parson's ever appear on a Byrds album ?

5. Name three artists that had a massive influence on the Beatles ?

6. What band was ted Nugent in before he went solo ?

7. Which jazz arranger did Jimi Hendrix nearly collaborate with before his death ?

8. Name 2 US Festivals of the late 60's apart from Monterey and Woodstock ?

9. Who was painting the ceiling when the Rolling Stones first entered Chess Studios to record an album ?

10. Name five covers of Stairway to Heaven ?

11. Who is Jack Black's Rock God ?

12. Which member of CSN&Y has had the most problems with the law ?

13. Whats the name of Bob Dylan's radio show ?

14. What is the only Led Zep song to feature a female vocalist ?

15. What is Cropreddy ?

16. What is the nickname for fans of Uriah Heep ?

17. What kind of music did jerry garcia play before the Daed ?

18. How did Duane Allman die ?

19. What is the name of BB King's guitar ?

20. Which instrument is Billy Cobham famous for ?

Good luck, I'll send the winner with the most points the album in the mail.....

New Book "The 27s" Explores the 27 Club

2008-11-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a book every rock fan should read, the story of the many stars who died at the tender age of 27.

Go to WNEW.Com for more info plus interview with the authors

The Sound Sculptures of Sunn O))): The Heaviest Band of All

2008-11-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Now we are really getting into the fringes of 'rock' if you could call it that, into something known as 'Drone metal', described in the NY Times by author John Wray as 'not unlike listening to an Indian Raga in the middle of an earthquake'

The leaders are Sunn O))) (pronounced simply sun) consisting of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson. They appear on stage wearing 'grim robes' and produce soundscapes on guitar, long drones in very low tuning at deafening volume

In 2007 Q Magazine named their album White1 (2003) as the heaviest of all time, pipping Back in Black to the finish line.....

Listen if you dare

Listen and buy HERE

What the ? It's Sludge-Drone--Glitch-Ambient-Post-Rock Week

2008-11-13T00:43:00.000-08:00

I'm going on my own private adventure this week, into a set of genres of 'rock' I know very little about, the slowed down, beautiful world of drones and sludge, ambient post-rock, glitch, all kinds of magic.........

Mix Brian Eno with Black Sabbath, Aphex Twin with King Crimson, John Cage with Kraftwerk, the rotten blues, the spiritual side of rock beyond riffs and guitar solos..............well..... lets see what we find as we slowly let ourselves into the unknown...

Let's go first with the LIverpol experimental rock band 'Kling Klang' , a band with 4 synth players.....

Quiz: 1. What book was the picture above done for ?
2. What are 'Kling Klang' named after ?

New Black Sabbath Cartoon Exposed

2008-11-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Move over The Beatles and the Monkees, here is the best carton series of all!

Who Started Death Metal ? Cookie Monster, Spongebob or Bert and Ernie ?

2008-11-12T21:46:00.001-08:00

Cookie Monster Vocals in Metal. Good or Bad ?

2008-11-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Back in the day heavy metal meant Black Sabbath and NWOBHM; lots of grunt, powerful vocals, but no cookie monster growling !

Nowadays with the predominance of death metal, melodic death metal, dom, suicide metal, black metal, Ihaveamentalhealthproblem metal we hear alot of people sounding like they need to take themselves slightly less seriously

Take these guys, for example, Meshuggah; they need a cuddle !

On the otherhand what about Opeth or Gojira ? Intelligent growlers, greeny growlers with not a psychiatrist in sight

Whats your view ? To growl or not to growl ? Let me know about metal bands that do it well, with no exorsism needed after you listen.....

Who Should Win the Award For the Biggest Mysoginist in Rock ?

2008-11-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Keith Moon ? Brian Jones ?

They were both clearly great musicians, wild men of rock too (Keith Moon's favourite trick was blowing up toilets in hotels with explosives) - both are also distinguished by beating up tjheir wives or girlfriends on a pretty regular basis.

Keith is known to have jealously dominated his first wife while having sex with his girlfriends in their house.

Brian's violence towards a girl during a one night stand was the straw that broke the camels back when it came to his relationship with Keef and Mick.

Ted Nugent... well for being Ted Nugent ?

Eric Clapton for taking George's wife?

Let me know your nominations for this incredible award ?

What Do You Think Are The Best Concept Albums of All Time ?

2008-11-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Great concept albums certainly go against the "Death of the Album" trend perpetrated by itunes and the easy availability of music. Who wants to listen to an album that takes you three listens to really 'get' when you will have heard 150 songs by Pink, Rhianna, etc in the same time.........

Well i am sure alot of you are with me in still enjoying the thrill of persevering with a more challenging album until you fall for it

.........so what are your favourites ?
.........which concept albums did you dislike at first and then totally love ?
.........what makles a good one ?

Rock Revival's Ten Top Songs About Tolkien's Lord of the Rings !!! Too Much ?

2008-11-10T01:26:00.000-08:00

1. 'Ramble On' -Led Zeppelin

"Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair,
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her"

2. 'The Battle of Evermore' -Led Zeppelin

"The Ringwraiths Ride in Black"

3. 'Misty Mountain Hop' -Led Zeppelin

If you dont beleive me re 2 and 3 go to the Zeppelin/Tolkien Relations Site

4. 'Lord of the Rings' - Blind Guardian

5. 'Frodo's Lament of Gandalf' - Tolkien Ensemble

6. 'Wishmaster' - Nightwish

7. 'House of Heroes' - Battlelore

8. Gorgoroth, death metal band took their name from the book
(yeah, i know it's not a song)

9. Enya 'Lothlórien'

10. Bo Hansson 'Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings'

Here is Blind Guardian set to the movie

Rock Revival's Top Ten Best Progressive Metal Albums

2008-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

I have to confess that of all the many genres covered on Rock Revival Prog metal is probably my favourite.

It's got all the complexity of classic prog (ie: you dont get bored of it quickly, it takes a bit of effort to get into), the concept albums, the flirtation with fusion and classical PLUS the grunt of metal.

If you think prog is dead think again; Yes, Jethro Tull and Rush are all special but the prog being released today is equal in quality, there is no need to play that copy of Relayer for the 59th time !

Prog metal is a pretty varied beast. ProgArchives do a great job of defining it's many tentacles; they list a total of 8-subgenres since King Crimson in the 70's. (this site is definitely the best out there for prog generally)

Here are ten of Rock Revival's favourites

1. Dream Theatre: Images and Words

2. Ayreon The Human Equation

3. Liquid Tension Experiment 2

4. Mastodon: Leviathan

5. Fates Warning Parrallels

6. Opeth Watershed

7. Symphony X The Odyssey

8. Kamelot: Epica

9. Pain of Salvation: Remedy Lane

10. Riverside: Second Life Syndrome

Symphony X to Release new 5.1 Special Edition of Paradise Lost

2008-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Symphony X is one of the best prog metal bands around, with the exception of Dream Theatre and Fates Warning

They have just released a special 5.1 Edition of their critically acclaimed release Paradise Lost.

The double disc package includes a DVD 5.1 mix by Jens Bogren of the entire album as well as two enhanced HD videos for Set the World on Fire and Serpent's Kiss. Also newbury comics has an exclusive signed booklet edition, that features an autographed booklet signed by the entire band.

In connection to this release the band is also playing 5 shows in the North East, USA.

19 November, 2008 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
20 November, 2008 - Wantagh, NY - Mulcahy's

21 November 2008 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom 22 November 2008 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
23 November 2008 - West Springfield, VA – Jaxx

Here's one hell of a video

Queensryche New Album 'American Soldier' and Tour 2009

2008-11-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

Queensrÿche is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their 12th studio album, AMERICAN SOLDIER. The concept album, due this spring from Rhino/Atco, finds the band once again tackling some heavy subject matter, this time focusing on telling the story of war from a firsthand perspective.

Singer and chief songwriter Geoff Tate has spent the last few years conducting extensive interviews with veterans and has crafted their thoughts into this epic tale. AMERICAN SOLDIER examines American wars from World War II through Iraq from the viewpoint of those in the trenches and on the frontlines. Following the album's release, Queensrÿche plan to present tracks from the album live on an extensive spring tour of the U.S., with international dates to follow later in 2009. The first date of the tour will be a hometown gig at Seattle's Snoqualmie Casino on April 16.

"Queensrÿche has always had incredible support from members of the Armed Services," says Tate. "It seems like after every show, I'd end up speaking with a fan that was or had been involved with the military. The more and more I began to hear their accounts and feelings, the more I really felt a conviction to tell their story. Over the last two years, I've conducted dozens of one-on-one interviews with veterans of many different American wars. I listened to their amazing and moving recounts and did my best to examine war through their eyes."

Source: Progarchives

Progressive Metal Week Here We Come !!!!

2008-11-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

OK that's enough! FunkWeek ? New Wave Week ? Country Rock Week ???!! It's time for something much heavier.....think Dream Theatre, Opeth, Ayreon, Trivium, Avantasia, Symphony X......

Here are the Masters. Dream Theatre

Here's a taste

progressive metal

Curtis Mayfield: The Soul of Soul !

2008-11-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

There is no point of having a Funk Week without reference to Curtis Mayfield.

Curtis Mayfield is the man that brought social consciousness to soul in the 70's, lesser known than Marvin Gaye or Gil Scott Heron but equal if not better

He was also a brilliant guitarist and cited by Hendrix as a major influence

He's best known for the blaxploitation soundtrack 'Superfly', a much deeper, smarter album than Isaac Hayes Shaft. The Soundtrack outsold the movie itself

There is a whole world of Curtis to explore; thirty albums !!

He was paralysed in 1990 when a lighting rig fell on him.....he died in 1999...

Here are two of the most powerful anti-drugs songs you'll ever hear....

Rock Revival's Best Albums of 2008 (So Far...)

2008-11-07T19:22:00.001-08:00

In a month or so it will be the time everyone comes out with their Best Albums of 2008 lists, so i am thinking about mine; here's where I currently stand

What about you guys ??

1. Opeth Watershed

No other album blew my head of like this one, brutal, intelligent, can the word 'moving' be used for an album like this ?

2. John McLaughlin Floating Point

This album was a revelation, electrified Shakti, John is nearly outdone by the Indian musicians who accompany him; formidable

3. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

This album will be on everyones list ? Well... its already on Pierro Scarufi's

4. Brother Firetribe Heart Full of Fire

Better than the original 80's melodic rock; it's full of beautiful cliches, happy music !

4 North Mississippi Allstars Hernando

Wow! Blues and blues-rock brilliance, another revelation, especially 'I 'd Love to be a Hippy'

5. Dennis Wilson Pacific Ocean Blue

A remastered lost classic from Brian's brother; easily outshines Brian's effort this year

6. Whitesnake Good To Be Bad

Soft-cocks find their mojo in their later years; this album kicks arse (forgive the mixed metaphors)

7. Panic at the Disco Pretty.Odd

Surprise of the year for me: Beatlesesque and my 12 year old daughter loves it to.

8. GirlTalk Feed the Animals

An encylopedia of sound, 70's classic rock mixed with hip-hop and much else. It's an album...and a quiz

9.The Streets Everythings Borrowed

Just came out, this UK 'rapper' can make you dance and break your heart

10. Foals Antidotes

One of many post-punk revival albums i loved; this one beats the rest

Rock Revival's best Funk Albums of All Time

2008-11-07T02:09:00.001-08:00

It's Funk Week and as we do every week here are our vote on the best albums of the genre

1 James Brown: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
2 Tower of Power: Tower of Power
3 Meters: The Meters
4 Parliament: Funkentelechy Vs The Placebo Syndrome
5 The Isley Brothers-The Heat Is On
6 Sly Stone-There's A Riot Goin' On
7 Curtis Mayfield: Superfly
8 Parliament-Mothership Connection
9 Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove
10 Herbie Hancock: Headhunters
11 Isaac Hayes: Shaft
12 Sly & The Family Stone: Stand!
13 Cameo: We All Know Who We Are
14 Bar-Kays: Soul Finger
15 Ohio Players: Pain
16 Prince- Come
17 Earth Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World
18 Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces Of A Man
19 War: The World Is A Ghetto
20 Gap Band: Gap Band
21 Rick James: Come Get It
22 D'Angelo: Brown Sugar
23 Rick James-Street Songs
24 Prince-1999
25 Cameo-Word Up
26 The Time-What Time Is It?
27 The Isley Brothers-Go For Your Guns
28 The Ohio Players-Honey
29 Prince-Dirty Mind
30 Tower of Power- We Came to Play

Best Album of 2008 ? The Streets: Everything is Borrowed

2008-11-07T01:40:00.000-08:00

This is definitely not rock but i dont really care, Mike Skinner of The Streets is a genius. It's like Sham 69 and Aretha Franklin, Hustler 'Get Outta Me 'Ouse' gospel-style, The Faces, your next door neighbour, the bloke you think will steal your wallet turns out to be a saint.

He's done four albums, all great (except maybe the third), a lad with a soul, a garage DJ who doesnt care if you dont get it.....

Here's a review fron Rolling Stone

Mike Skinner, A.K.A. the Streets, has made the unlikely genre of British rap seem essential — a neat trick, since his "flow" hardly dazzles like Jay-Z's. But with working-bloke wit and a love of simple hooks, he's made magic on records about stoned clubbing, failed courtships, petty crime and pop stardom. On his fourth set, he addresses loftier themes — religion, mortality, ecology — without sounding dorky; it's like he's been woodshedding with Obama's speechwriting team. "I came to this world with nothing/And I'll leave with nothing but love," he muses on the title cut. The music echoes that ambition, full of cinematic strings and choral arrangements; the MC even adds a concertina. (Take that, beatboxers!) Skinner's still wrestling his party-animal dark side ("Heaven for the Weather") and trying to get laid ("Never Give In"). But his vivid introspection recalls rap forefather Rakim, whose mind power and love of fish are echoed on "The Escapist," a lush soul jam about thinking your way past barriers. It's English lit for the hoodie set.

Interested.....

with UK's Kano....

..........in gospel mode

Who Loves Maceo Parker ? The Real Godfather of Funk ?

2008-11-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

Look, it's Funk Week here on Rock Revival and I just have to mention on of the most amazing musicians there has ever been, the master of funk, Maceo Parker

Maceo made his name in the 60's supporting James Brown on sax, joining him again in the 80's

While the sax was a critical part of James Brown's sound it's Maceo's solo work (17 albums) that really sets him apart in my mind.

Listen to the live album 'Life in Planet Groove' from 1992 and you'll quickly see that his skills as band leader and vocalist make him the funkiest man ever to set foot on planet earth. If you dare to listen to 'Soul Power' on this album there is a risk you may never listen to rock again (ok, a bit of an over statement)

No wonder Prince has relied on him for so long to spice up his sometimes limp band, he's also played with every other funk musician who means anything: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, plus albums by Brian Ferry, Keith Richards, Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Funk 101: 'Now Put Some Stank On It"

2008-11-06T01:27:00.000-08:00

Dictionary definition of Funk: "body odor or the smell of sexual intercourse, commonly was regarded as coarse or indecent".

Who needs melody and harmony when you've got Bootsy Collins or Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone) on bass.

Who needs complexity when one pocketful of funk, repeated over and over is more than enough...

Why eat caviar when Archie Bell and the Drells are cooking up a storm on Tighten Up!

Funk probably started with Motown, given the central role of the bass and was picked up by the master, James Brown (Live at the Apollo rules !), Sly and the Family Stone (below: they played Woodstock), George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic (I saw them three years ago, he came on wearing a nappy). The first song ever recorded though may have been jazzman Buddy Bolden's "Funky Butt" way back in 1907.

Top Ten

1 I've Got the Feeling James Brown
2 Soul with a Capital S: Tower of Power
3 Soul Power: Maceo Parker
4 Ride the White Horse The Gap Band
5 Freak George Clinton and parliament-Funkadelic
6 Blow Your Head Fred Wesley and the JB's
7 Freakazoid Midnight Starr
8 Little Old Money Maker The Meters
9 Black Sweat Prince
10 Candy Cameo

Who Loves Tower of Power: The Best Funk Horn Section on the Universe (playlist)

2008-11-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

In 1970 the ten piece band, heavy on horns and high on James Brown, signed a recording contract with the great Bill Graham. Bill was, of course, a seminal promoter in San Francisco, the man behind the greatest rock venue of all time, The Fillmore and a man who was critical in the rise of the Grateful Dead and other San Francisco Psychadelic bands.

Tower of Power, however, had nothing to do with psychadelia. When you first hear them you realise that hip-hop is not funky (there's a statement), that Michael Jackson is a pale imitation (no pun intended) and that this is what funk would sound like if ten James Brown's played the horn.

The band did fairly well in the Billboard charts in the first half of the seventies but their real strength was in live performance.

Since then the band is more of a open group, with 60 musicians coming and going in three decades and 18 albums released. Listen to their recent album , The Oakland Zone (2003) and you will see that they have lost none of their power packed sound. The band has also been critical as a backing unit for others, including LIttle Feat, Santana, Heart, John Lee Hooker, Phish, Jefferson Airplane, Toto and Aerosmith.

Tower of Power

Funk Week Next on Rock Revival

2008-11-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

Woohoo ! ...or should I say Aaaoow ! We are heading into a week of Funk here on Rock Revival, P-Funk, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Ohio Players, Tower of Power, Sly and the Family Stone, Rare Earth, War..........................get ready to get down !!

Here's Ohio Players

..and the Fownkiest Horn Section on Earth 'Tower of Power'

..........and the Godfather

.....here's Eddie Murphy's take on James Brown, hilarious

Who Loves Cameo ? Oow !

2008-11-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been listening to Cameo's 'Strange' non-stop, I cant get over the incredible bass line and funk. Cameo were an incredible funk band from the 1970's and 80's, most famous for another gem, Word Up.

The origin of cameo lay in the Julliard School of music, of all place, where student Larry Blackmon brought together 13 members of the New York City Players

By the time Cameo hit the heights, however,in the mid-80's, they were stripped down to a five-an unit and became dance-floor superstars ("Ooow!)

Their last album was released in 2000, Sexy Sweet Thing. They have also played with hip-hop band Outkast

Check it out !

Shes Strange - Cameo

WNEW.Com The Best Internet Rock Site Ever

2008-11-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

I am very pleased to be going back to writing for WNEW in New York, a call sign with a long history in rock.

Here's a news article from DailyNews from April this year that explains how the new WNEW is formatted

WNEW-FM is back. Again.

Only this time it's not on "regular" radio.

As of Monday, it's on the 102.7 FM frequency of HD radio, which requires buying an HD radio receiver. It's also being streamed on the Web at www.wnew.com .

But otherwise, says Norm Winer, CBS Radio vice president of adult rock programming, it is designed to bring back the full WNEW experience, with high-tech 21st-century twists.

The programming is basically rock, as reflected in the revived "Where Rock Lives" slogan. It will go back to 1967, when WNEW-FM signed on with its famous "free-form" style, and continue to the present.

"One reason WNEW had problems in the past," says Winer, "is that it stopped evolving. We want to present the station the way it would have sounded today if it kept to its original philosophy of also looking for great new music - the bands that would have opened at the Fillmore."

New music will be heavily mixed with material from the WNEW-FM archives, which hold thousands of hours of live concerts and interviews by deejays like Scott Muni with artists like John Lennon, Stevie Wonder and the Grateful Dead.

"This material is just amazing," says Winer. "You hear Elton John saying this kid Bruce Springsteen is going to be a star, and he hopes to meet him someday.

"There's a popular phrase in radio, 'unique content.' You can't get any more unique than the WNEW archives."

Winer was also among those who tried to ensure the archives would stay intact when WNEW dropped rock: "I called [Vice President] Scott Herman and told him to be sure he put a lock on the tape library."

The past secured, parent CBS has also designed wnew.com for the interactivity of the future. The station will have no deejays, but Winer says he expects listeners will step in regularly and help guide the station.

"Just like in the old days, we have the room to do some of this by feel. If listeners don't think Arcade Fire works next to Elton John, we want them to tell us.

"Too many radio stations now don't respect or trust their listeners. We're trying not to make that mistake."

I will be presenting a weekly post Titled something like "“Lost in Time: Tales From the History of Rock”, starting next week

Who Is The Best Interpretor of the Beatles ? I Vote For Richie Havens

2008-11-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

Man, how I love Richie Havens, such great interpretations of The Beatles, such a great character with that relaxed hippy guitar work. The only other possible best interpretor of the Beatles has to Joe Cocker

I have listenened to Freedom/Motherless Child from Woodstock so many times but never realised he did this one

Here Comes the Sun, in contemporary times

Rock Revival's 1000th Post

2008-11-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Making 1000 has caused me to reflect on the blog and the direction it is going in ? Its been reasonably read (90,ooo hits in around 10 months) but there are far too few comments....

So why do I do it, i ask myself, given all the work ? It used to be to write features for my radio show on Sydney FM radio so had alot about news and new releases but sadly this show has been axed due to a bankrupt radio station

Have contemplated doing a Podcast Radio show but the legal problems are too big

I will press on, however, but my motives have changed to be more purely about learning about music. Writing posts in an excuse to research and learn and simply for the love of writing and definitely a much needed distraction from work

Expect alot more weeks dedicated to specific genres of music. Not sure what do to next / Any requests ?

I will also probably go back to writing for WNEW again; Untold Stories in Rock or something like that

I did have the idea of doing some sort of tag team with other blogs on the history of rock; eg: I start with the Mississippi Delta and the next person has to tag on what they think is the next important event in the history of rock until we get to the present?

Fashion Crimes of the 1980's: Are You Guilty ?

2008-11-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

Oh my God, Gag Me with a Spoon, these are Rock Revival's top, Rad, Tubular and Gnarly fashions from the 1980's.

I am personally guilty of 1,6,7 and 10, how about you ?

1 Acid Wash Jeans (or complete outfits)

2. The Shell Suit

3. Bouffant Prom Queen Hair

4. Leg Warmers

5. The Preppy Look

6. New Romantic Hairdo's

7. Hats Worn Tilted Back

8. Mullets

9. Shoulder Pads (check the size of the yuppy mobile, plus collarts-up is another one and the big glasses)

10. Shredded Jeans

Rock Revival's Top Best 30 New Wave Albums of All Time

2008-11-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

New Wave Week is coming to a close on Rock Revival so I thought i would post my vote for the best albums from this much maligned genre

1 Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance
2 U2 War
3 The Police OUtlando D'Amour
4 The Cars The Cars
5 Blondie Parrallel Lines
6 The Smiths Meat is Murder
7 Elvis Costello My Aim is True
8 The Joy Division Closer
9 The B52's: The B52's
10 Howard Jones Human's Lib
11 Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
12 Residents, Meet the Residents
13 The Modern Lovers, Modern Lovers
14 The Human League: Dare
15 New Order: Movement
16 Soft cell Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
17 Marianne Faithful: Broken English
18 Public Image Ltd. Metal Box/Second Edition
19 Talking Heads Fear of Music
20 Elvis Costello and the Attractions Armed Forces
21 ABC The Lexicon of Love
22 New Order Power, Corruption & Lies
23 Laurie Anderson Big Science
24 Echo and the Bunnymen Crocodiles
25 Duran Duran Rio
26 Aztec Camera High Land Hard Rain
27 Japan Tin Drum 1981
28 XTC Drums and Wires
29 The Psychedelic Furs Talk Talk Talk
30 The Teardrop Explodes Kilimanjaro

Krautrock to New Wave But Where Are We Now: Wonky Techno

2008-11-03T02:13:00.000-08:00

In the last 10 days or so we have been exploring the world of Krautrock and how it turned into New Wave in the 80's. A journey that takes us from Ash Ra Tempel to Kraftwerk to Gary Numan and Data Rock.

Where are we now, nearly 40 years after Kraftwerk got together ? How about Wonky Techno !

Wonky techno is a style of techno music that is often distorted, stuttering, broken and warped, but still good for dancing

The scene is fairly small but growing, especially in London, Brighton, Glasgow and Berlin. Berlin, of course brings us full circle

Have a listen; things really havent changed all that much

The Bottom 40: Worst Songs of the 80's

2008-11-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

This week has been New Wave Week on Rock Revival, where we have focussed on the good side of things (Gary Numan, Blondie, The Normal, etc), but this decade obviously also produced the worst music that has ever been heard on the planet.

Bubble Gum pop in the 50's, for example, was pretty enjoyable, fake psychedelia in the 60's was fine. Even MOR in the 70's could be tolerated. But what about the "songs" below !

1 Beach Boys "Kokomo"
2 Twisted Sister "Leader Of The Pack"
3 Donny Osmond "Soldier Of Love"
4 Winger "Purple Haze"
5 Billy Ocean "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"
6 Tiffany "I Saw Him Standing There"
7 Bruce Willis "Respect Yourself"
8 Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up"
9 Patrick Swayze "She's Like The Wind"
10 Accept "B__s To The Wall"
11 Menudo "Hold Me"
12 The Weather Girls "It's Raining Men"
13 Bill Withers featuring Grover Washington Jr. "Just The Two Of Us"
14 New Kids On The Block "Hangin' Tough"
15 Don Johnson "Heartbeat"
16 Taco "Puttin' On The Ritz"
17 Air Supply "All Out Of Love"
18 Steve Perry "Oh Sherrie"
19 Katrina & The Waves "Walking On Sunshine"
20 Whitney Houston "The Greatest Love Of All"
21 Lipps Inc. "Funky Town"
22 Micheal Sembello "Maniac"
23 Chicago "You're The Inspiration"
24 Michael McDonald "I Keep Forgettin' (Everythime You're Near)"
25 Randy Newman "I Love LA"
26 Kenny Loggins "Danger Zone"
27 Stryper "Honestly"
28 Pointer Sisters "I'm So Excited"
29 Miami Sound Machine "Conga"
30 Eddie Murphy "Party All The Time"
31Christopher Cross "Arthur's Theme"
32 Cher "If I Could Turn Back Time"
33 Paul Lekakis "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)"
34 Dionne Warwick & Friends "That's What Friends Are For"
35 Milli Vanilli "Girl You Know It's True"
36 Billy Joel We Didnt Start the Fire
37 Queen Another One Bites The Dust
38 Mr. Mister Broken Wings
39 Eddie Rabbitt I Love a Rainy Night
40 Cutting Crew Died in Your Arms

Gary Numan to Tour Australia March 2008

2008-11-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

Gary Numan will return to Australia next March for the first time in 29 years.

Numan last toured Australia in 1980, at the height of his success with ‘Are Friends Electric’, ‘Cars’ and ‘Down In The Park’.

Numan went into semi-retirement and became a pilot but his music has continued to thrive with thanks to the likes of Foo Fighters and Marilyn Manson who have covered his songs.

Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Prodigy cite Numan as an influence.

He has also been noted in the pop world after ‘Are Friends Electric’ was sampled by Pussycat Dolls on ‘Freak Like Me’ and Armand Van Helden samples ‘Cars’ for ‘Koochy’.

Numan will tour Australia in March.

Dates are:

March 2, Brisbane, The Tivoli
March 5, Sydney, The Enmore
March 7, Melbourne, The Forum

Source: undercover.com.au

Video of the Week: Peaches and Iggy Pop 'Kick It'

2008-11-02T01:41:00.001-07:00

Ok, a confession, I am in love with Peaches !

....well maybe love's not the right word...she used to be a primary school teacher but now she's produces what might be coined fem-rock, synth-porn, avant-pop, call it what you will but anyone who comes out with an album called 'Impeach My Bush' is alright with me.

This video is from 2003, off her album 'Fatherfucker' (oh dear!). Check out her and Iggy fighting of Zombies

SynthPop 101: Children of Kraftwerk

2008-11-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

It's a bit unusual for a blog called Rock Revival to have a look at SynthPop but we are really open to any type of music in the history of rock and this has certainly been hugely popular.

Synthpop is essentially a subgenre of New Wave, defined by it's heavy use of synthesised sound

The first band to really use synthesisers was probably the Beach Boys but the Fathers of the real synthesiser sound has to be the krautrock of Kraftwerk, a band that in 1970 predicted synth-pop, techno, electronica and even hip-hop.

After them Jean-Michel Jarre is probably the earliest popular artists (1968),son folllowed by Brian Eno, Bruce Haack, Hot Butter, Ralph Lundsten, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis.

The true boom in synthesiser music, however, came from the UK in the late 70's. Gary Numan, Ultravox, OMD and Human League took the lead from Kraftwerk, followed by Depeche Mode, Yazoo, the Eurythmics, and thousands more.

By 1984 synth pop was dying, the synthesiser was picked up by Eurodisco, evolving most unfortunately into Stock/Aitken/Waterman. This production team essentially stripped synth-pop of it's art school roots creating some of the worst 'music' that the world has ever heard, including Rick Astley, Kylie and Bananarama

Nowadays there is a massive revival of synth pop that takes the genre back to the quality of the early 80's ; The Postal Service, The Bravery, Datarock, The Presets, etc.

and the Presets (great aussie band)

New Wave Electro-Pop Revival: Data Rock Rule !

2008-10-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

There is, of course a synth pop/new wave revival going on

One of the highlights is Datarock, a Norwegian band who list Devo, Talking Heads and Happy Mondays as their inspiration

Check out this brilliant video

Their other hit is Fa Fa Fa (listen to the Duran Duran guitar

American New Wave: WNEW's Rik Ocasek Interview

2008-10-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

The Cars were one of the great bands of the late 80's, a band that held the tension perfectly, between 70's guitar-driven rock and syth-pop that would eventually reveal it's true nature in the dominance of new wave

The Cars (1978) was their debut album and the best of their six releases between 78 and 84.

It contained all three of their most popular songs (Just What I Needed, Good Times Roll, Best Friends Girl) and is ranked 282 on Rolling Stone500 greatest albums of all time.

In 2005, Greg Hawkes (keyboards) and Elliot Eaton (guitar, vocals) joined none other than Todd Rundgren, forming The New Cars.

Rik Ocasek will never join, preferring to continue his solo work (he's released over seven albums since the early 80's)

Earlier this year I wrote a piece for WNEW.com based on an interview with Rik

See Here for the interview

Daniel Miller: Child of Krautock, Father of Techno-Pop

2008-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

New Wave has a pretty bad reputation but it has it's roots in the intelligent avant garde psychedelia of Krautrock.

Take Daniel MIller, for example,a man who discovered Krautrock in art school in London, bought a cheap Korg 700S synthesiser and a four track tape recorder and created The Normal.

The Normal only released one single, but what a great single it was. He was a pretty adventurous chap,approaching Rough Trade Records in Portobello Road, London with a box of self-pressed records, a move that lead to his career as a producer, founder of Mute Records and general God of techno-pop (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Fad Gadget)

Warm Leatherette - The Normal

Not Long to Go Now

2008-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Rock Revival's New Wave Week

2008-10-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

Now here's a scary thought, Rock Revival will embark next week on a celebration of the 80's! Have no fear however, the aim will be to try and challenge the idea that the 80's should be written off, there will be no Duran Duran or Simple Minds !

The aim will be to try and prove that there was good New Wave (Peter Ubu, Japan, Howard Jones, Joy Division, Gary Numan) and bad New Wave.

......and we'll remember the Hair !

Here's something to tide you over...

Proto-Techno Geniuses Kraftwerk Australia and New Zealand Concerts November 2008

2008-10-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably it's true ! Kraftwerk are coming Downunder, the originators of techno/electronica are still going strong and will grace our shows this November

22-Nov-2008, 20:30, Global Gathering Festival, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia

23-Nov-2008, 20:30, Global Gathering Festival, The Esplanade, Perth, Australia

26-Nov-2008, 20:00, Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE, Auckland, New Zealand

29-Nov-2008, 20:30, Global Gathering Festival, Brisbane Turf Club, Brisbane, Australia

30-Nov-2008, 20:30, Global Gathering Festival, Hordern Pavilion, Royal Hill, Moore Park, Sidney, Australia

Check this out !!!!

Obsessed With Krautrock: Go to the Krautrock Album Database

2008-10-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

If your obsessed with Krautrock, something thats hard to do at first and then you kind of fall over the cliff the ultimate resource in the Krautrock Album Database

It has an exhaustive guide to most of the albums with great reviews, plus articles

Highly recommended !

Not Long To Go Now !

2008-10-30T03:08:00.001-07:00

Rock Revival's Time Capsule (1994): Brian Eno Composes 3 1/4 Second Masterpiece For Microsoft

2008-10-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

What a fascinating collaboration between commerce and the avant garde!

In 1994 Microsoft Corp approached none other than Brian Eno to compose music for Windows 95, a piece that became known as "The Microsoft Sound", yes, that sound, you know it, you've heard it a thousand times

Here's a quote from Eno himself from the San Francisco Chronicle:

“ The idea came up at the time when I was completely bereft of ideas. I'd been working on my own music for a while, and was quite lost, actually, and I really appreciated someone coming along and saying, "Here's a specific problem — Solve it!" The thing from the agency said, "We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, blah-blah, da-da-da, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional", this whole list of adjectives, and then, at the bottom, it said: "and it must be 3¼ seconds long". I thought this was so funny, and an amazing thought, to actually try to make a little piece of music. It's like making a tiny little jewel. In fact, I made eighty-four pieces. I got completely into this world of tiny, tiny, little pieces of music. I was so sensitive to microseconds, at the end of this, that it really broke a logjam in my own work. Then, when I'd finished that and I went back to working with pieces that were, like, three minutes long, it seemed like oceans of time."

Krautrock Finally Recognised in Germany

2008-10-30T00:44:00.000-07:00

Here's excerpts of piece from Reuters that appeared a few weeks ago about Krautrock, these weeks genre of choice on Rock Revival

BERLIN (Reuters) – Few scenes in rock history have won such fame abroad yet been so overlooked at home as the wave of music West Germany spawned in the late 1960s known as Krautrock. Four decades on, that is changing.

As the maverick rockers enter their 60s and 70s, interest in the bands is reviving in Germany: new documentaries are being made, and a book hailed as the first comprehensive overview in German hit stores this summer.

Devotees of British rockers Oasis are also receiving a dose: guitarist Noel Gallagher said recently his band's new single had a Krautrock sound.

"We're more accepted now," said Mani Neumeier, 67, a leading light of the era and drummer of underground stalwarts Guru Guru.

"We're doing more gigs than we have in 20 years. It's partly due to our 40th anniversary, but also because Krautrock has become more fashionable again in the last three to four years."

Nearly two decades since reunification, growing political self-confidence has helped nurture interest in Germany's postwar musical legacy, said Henning Dedekind, author of "Krautrock," the 300-page German cultural history of the scene.

"For years Germans had an awkward relationship with their cultural past, but it's changing," he said. "Plus we know all about Elvis and the Beatles already, but not the German bands."

The myriad output that at times defied categorization often struggled for acceptance, even though the student protests of 1968 and the hippy era were catalysts for major change.

"The prophet is sometimes a nobody at home," said Lutz Ulbrich, guitarist of Agitation Free, one of a handful of bands then holed up in West Berlin, right up against the Iron Curtain.

Elsewhere in Europe, the new gospel spread quickly with the backing of DJs like John Peel. Generations of punk, indie, synth-pop and techno acts have hailed the German sounds that were by turns unhinged and rigidly disciplined.

Julian Cope, who revived interest in the music with his 1995 book "Krautrocksampler," said it was unique on the continent.

"I can think of no other single musical time that sustained such a high-achieving experimental scene," he said. "It was perhaps because of their collective need to dance themselves out of the Hitlerian malaise rather than wallow in self-pity."

From Amon Düül II's thundering psychedelic garage to Cluster's hypnotic electronica and the jagged sound collages of Faust, Krautrock's impact has been cited on acts as diverse as David Bowie, Aphex Twin and Queens of the Stone Age.

Contemporaries like Hawkwind were among the first to catch the bug: the Teutonic grooves remain infectious today.

"A big influence," Steve Terebecki, bassist of Texan trio White Denim, said of Krautrock. "I'm not sure who the superfan is, but I'm always pushing Kraut on the other two."

Go here for more

Rock Revival's Classic Albums (1971) Neu Neu

2008-10-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know its not neccesarily a claim to fame but Neu ! are often seen as one of the first ever New Wave bands, way back in 1971.

Listen to this album and you can certainly here it, although it also serves as a critical precursor to electronica that came even later (the 'motorik' beat')

Their self-titled debut sold very little but has always been considered a historical masterpiece, by the likes of David Bowie, Brian Eno and Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

Before this we had psychedelia but never as if it was produced by some kind of computer (albeit one that could make 'spiritual music')

If you buy it listen to it a few times before making a judgement; it's historical but once it draws you in it's pretty hard to let go

Krautrock 101: Stockhausen Takes on Robert Johnson

2008-10-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Given it's now Krautrock week here on Rock Revival lets start with an intro to the genre

The actual term was coinded by the Uk music press (after a track by seminal band 'Faust') to describe the belnd of psychedelic music and Stockhausen-inspired experimental classical music that reared it's ugly head in Germany in the 1970's

Essentially the aim was to create a form of rock that was detatched from the influence of US blues, much like the ECM Jazz label did for European Jazz.

The movement obviously has it's cultural context; like prog rock it was the product of students, rather than working class lads, students who were trying to mould identity for post-War Germany and also individualte from their parents, many of whom would have been implicated in the Nazi regime.

Electronics were also a part of the sound (eg: Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and Cosmic Jokers), jazz (Can), asian music (Popol Vuh) and repearted rhythmns (Neu!)
Krautrock, while not always palatable (they make Frank Zappa sound like Abba at times) has been highly influential.

No Krautrock no electronica. No Krautrock no post-rock (eg: Tortoise, God Speed You Black Emperor)

Want to have a listen

krautrock !!!

Go HERE for hundereds of songs

The Dangers of Podcasting

2008-10-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

It seems the Rock Revival podcast will not go ahead as planned, given the legal problems with simply posting one on the web. i am very grateful to Perry from Thebestradioyouhaveneverheard for all of his advice on this and the time he has spent responding to my many questions.

Please go and listen to his podcast, if you like this site you will definitely appreciate his show !!

Post-War Avant-Rock ! Krautrock Week Coming Up on Rock Revival

2008-10-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

"Krautrock wasn't a movement, but a moment, a final thrust of the psychedelic project to gobble up every kind of music, and every kind of non-musical noise too, in order to excrete the outermost sound conceivable."
–Simon Reynolds in Melody Maker

This coming week should be one of the most challenging, where we take on the strange and wonderful world of Krautrock !

If you thought the sons of WW2 veterans in the US created some pretty wild music in their attempt to be their own people wait 'til you here what the sons of German soldiers created in the early 1970's.

...now these people had alot to work out........

Neu!, Faust, Can, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream.........get ready for a wild ride...

Santana Turns to God and Rescues Millions

2008-10-29T01:53:00.001-07:00

Well good news at last, Carlos Santana plans to quit music in six years’ time so he can devote his life to the church.

The guitar legend, the man who made so many excellent albums in the early 70's, has always flirted with religion, especially Eastern (ie: Devadip)

This time it's off to a church in Maui, Hawaii.

“I'm going to stop playing when I'm 67 and work on what I really want to do, which is to be a minister, like Little Richard. I'm not sick of what I do, but I find that God gave me the gift of communication even without my guitar and with the ability to get people unstuck with certain sections of the Bible having to do with guilt, shame, judgment and fear."

Thank God........

Rock Revival's Forgotten Classics (1970): Attila (with Billy Joel as Psychedelic Butcher)

2008-10-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my God, Billy Joel in fuzzed out proto-metal, hard psych steaming hammond organ freak-out.

I know it's hard to believe but it's true.

The instrumentation was mostly organ and drums, with Billy Joel also handling the bass lines with a keyboard, like the Doors' Ray Manzarek.

(A fascinating footnote is that their creative partnership ended when Joel allegedly ran off with Small's wife)

They released only one album, Attila, in 1970, later reissued by CBS Inc in 1985.

Attila is often selected by critics and other music journalists as one of the worst rock albums of all time (I beg to differ !!!!!!!!!); however, while not an easily accessible album, its unique jazz-metal fusion has become a cult favorite amongst both Joel's fans and people who would never otherwise listen to Billy Joel.

One track from the album, "Amplifier Fire, Part 1 (Godzilla)," appears on Joel's 2005 boxed set My Lives.

Buy HERE

Check it out (yes that's the Piano Man with moustache)

Newsflash ! Led Zeppelin To Go On Tour Without Robert Plant

2008-10-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks Layla for alerting me to this courtesy of the BBC

Rock legends Led Zeppelin are planning to tour and record but without frontman Robert Plant.
Bassist John Paul Jones told BBC Radio Devon that a new singer was being sought after Plant ruled himself out.

The last time the band performed together was at the O2 arena in London in December 2007.
Speculation has since been rife that the surviving members of the band, with Jason Bonham, son of their late drummer John Bonham, would go back on the road.

'It's sounding great and we want to get on and get out there' John Paul Jones

Jones, speaking at a guitar show in Exeter, Devon said: "We are trying out a couple of singers.
"We want to do it. It's sounding great and we want to get on and get out there."

He said that he and guitarist Jimmy Page along with drummer Jason Bonham did not want a replica of Plant.

He said: "It's got to be right. There's no point in just finding another Robert.

"You could get that out of a tribute band, but we don't want to be our own tribute band.

"There would be a record and a tour, but everyone has to be on board."

He described the one-off show at the O2 as "wonderful".

He said: "The most pleasure is making music. I love listening to it, but nothing as much fun as having an instrument in my hand and communicating with people."

He said preparation for the London show had been "very hard work", but everything had clicked on the night.

"It felt like the next night of the last tour."

What's the Best Way to Make a Radio Podcast

2008-10-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

Given the death of Rock Revival live radio on Sydney's FM dial I am exploring ways to put a show on the site as a podcast

Any thoughts on the best way to do this??

Sad News: Rock Revival Radio is Dead

2008-10-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yes a sad day today with the financial demise of Triple H 100.1 Sydney Rock Revival, the radio show, is dead.

They want us to pay $50.00 hour to go on air which is ridiculous so its over and out (the blog will stay very much alive however)

Rock and Roll Organ Lessons

2008-10-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Want to know how to do it, here's a series of lessons on video, thanx expertvillage.com

How to Play Rock Hammond Organ -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Go here for more