3RDegree – Ones & Zeros: Vol. 1

I missed the live gig of 3RDegree at ‘t Blok in The Netherlands earlier this year, unfortunately. Would have loved to finally meet Robert James Pashman, who contacted me at ProgArchives in March 2008, asking if his band qualified for inclusion in the site. At the time, the band just released Narrow-Caster, their third album, and the first one since 1995 at the time. Since then, they released two more – The Long Division, which I missed at the time (2012) and this years Ones & Zeros: Vol. Iwhich is the subject of this review. [acfw id=2]

3rdegree

First thing I noticed when listening to this album, and refreshing my memories of the initial contact with Robert, is that the common musical interests we had at the time (Rush and Marillion for example) are not the main influence in their music. Instead, many elements from progressive rock since the early 70s till today can be heard on this album, in an original mix defined by 3RDegree. I’ll leave it up to the listener to make up his mind about what comes from where. I myself spotted hints of Gabriel era Genesis (wonderful keyboard work on Circuit Court and More Life), as well as bits of Rush (the bass is not at all a copy of Geddy, but has the same impact on the music), vocal arrangements akin to those of Echolyn (and and one track (Life) that has a hint of 70s singer/songwriter material, not unlike the older works of one David Bowie.

The album, by means of advertisements in between the songs, and the very appealing voice of George Dobbs,  tells the story of Valhalla Biotech, a company that promises people the way to a longer life by means of technology – the way to ‘a longer you, a better you‘, in the not too distant future. People get biometric clothing, digital glasses, possibly even implants – and if they can’t pay their regular fees, these things will be disabled for a certain amount of time (presumably until payment is made). Throughout the album, the flaws of this system, and real failure leading to death of people become apparent. With the digital, bio and gen technology developments of recent years, and the money hunger of modern multi nationals in mind, not a very far fetched scenario. A scenario that 3RDegree manages to capture in lyrics as well as music. The gloom of this future is expressed in the music, that is sometimes uplifting (reflecting Valhalla’s commercial voice), to gloomy (The Best and Brightest, about the rat race between countries and companies), and culminating in the right out frightening We Regret to Inform You, which’ ever darker and mostly instrumental sections are interleaved by ever more worrying computer voice messages about the status of someone’s father in treatment. The closing message leaves the listener with goose bumps: ‘We regret to inform you, your father has been.. deleted’.

In summary – I love the (scary) story line, the bass and drums, the keyboards (with three keyboard players on board they’d better be good), the guitar leads and the vocal arrangements. Not much to dislike there, unless you are not into (progressive) rock at all, or if you don’t like occasional folk like acoustic guitar and vocal arrangements. Highly recommended.

The Prog Files and Angelo’s Rock Orphanage charity shows (part 2)

In two days, it’s December 23rd, and time for the second charity show I run this year on ISCK Rock Radio.

In this second episode, amongst the regular tracks, we’ll be playing music from the following list of charity related publications. Hope to see you all there!!

water

Various Artists – Spirit of December Vol. 05
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Whole album is sold for Music for Relief, who spent their donations on three programs currently: Nepal Earthquake, Ebola Prevention and Mangroves and Ocean Protection.

Info: http://mrrmusic.com/music-wanted-for-2015-holiday-charity-release/
Sales: http://thereishoperecords.com/album/spirit-of-december-vol-5
Charity: http://musicforrelief.org

Tiger Moth Tales – Wassail Song

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Proceeds of The Wassail Song and Selling England for a Pound go the UK Guide Dogs organisation, which trains guide dogs and won’t stop until every blind adult and child in the UK has the possibility to use a guide dog.

 

Info: http://www.tigermothtales.com

Sales:The Wassail Song / Pete Jones Plays Genesis – Selling England For A Pound

Charity: http://www.guidedogs.co.uk

 

Kristoffer Gildenlow – Pass the Torch

============================

All proceeds go the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which uses it to protect and raise orphaned baby elephants.

 

Info: http://www.hulshout.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Press-Release-BES-EN.pdf

Sales: iTunes, or via the links in the info above

Charity: http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

 

Times Up – Meat to the Bone

======================

The band supports St Davids Hospice in Newport, Gwent, South Wales….It deals with  terminal illness, both in their hospital and through a home visit scheme

 

Info: http://www.timesup.co.uk 

Sales: C.D. ORDER LINE*

Charity: stdavidshospicecare.org

 

Steve Hacket et.al. – Spectral Mornings 2015

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Proceeds go the UK Parkinson organisation, supporting research and relief for this disease.

 

Info:  http://shop.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=5026 

Sales: http://shop.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=5026 

Charity:Parkinson’s UK – Homepage

 

 

Dave Brons – Based on a True Story
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Dave Brons, inspired by events in Paris and other things happening in the world decided to give all proceeds of his t-shirts and album until end of this year to charities supported by Giving What We Can.

Info: http://davebrons.com/change-your-world-and-change-theirs-as-well/
Sales: http://davebrons.com/merch/
Charity: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

How Major Tom dealt with copyright floating around his tin can

Copyright on music is an issue, as we all know. Of course, in the first place, copyright was invented to protect the original author of a work, e.g. a writer, a painter or a musician. Without that, the original author would probably loose a significant potential income. Over time, this has proven not to work exactly as intended, with copyrights being transferred to record companies and book publishers at virtually no cost to them. Just think of the The Beatles‘ rights being owned by first ATV, then Michael Jackson and now Jackson’s heirs. The ‘virtually nothing’ part is probably not exactly right in Jackson’s case, but it is in ATV’s. Just imagine Paul McCartney having to pay royalties to the Jackson family every time he wants to perform a track by The Beatles…

However, I didn’t start this post to debate whether or not this way of buying and selling copyrights is good or bad. In the end, writing and composing has a business component to it, and it’s up to the author or composer to protect his own rights or give up on them.

What really triggered me into writing this post was a beautiful Youtube video by Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield. He was in space in 2013, as part of the ISS crew, and recorded his own version of David Bowies Space Oddity. Smart as he is, he didn’t just do this impulsively while in space – he actually prepared it very well. He worked with lawyers and with David Bowies publishers to get permission for not only recording the video (which has nothing to do with copyright), but also to have it published to the general public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMCLz5PQVw

That wasn’t only smart, but also very necessary, given that laws in space aren’t exactly simple. The ISS, the International Space Station, is owned by NASA and the European, Russian, Japanese and Canadian space agencies. Different modules of the station are owned by these organisations, and in each of these, the laws of the owning country (or European law in case of the European part) apply. That was originally done to protect the Intellectual Property rights of the participating countries (a form of copyright (!) on the works of scientists). On top of that, broadcasting the video (via Youtube) in different countries makes the video subject to copyright and publication laws in the countries where it can be viewed. That, and the way different copyright owners look onto this subject, is the reason Youtube has been pulling videos off the net over the past couple of years – or subjected them to being accompanied by advertisements to pay for the copyright fees.

So, Hatfield did a good job preparing this, and he obtained the rights to publish the video on Youtube for one year and consciously removed it himself when that year was over. Meanwhile, the video had gotten over 20 million views, which led Hatfield and his son to pursue prolongation of the video. Successfully, so that 6 months later, just over a year ago, the video reappeared on Youtube for us all to enjoy another two years. A video David Bowie himself described as “possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created.” Major Tom went to space, but his name was Chris, and he came back with an awesome video that should stay around for much longer than three years.

 

 

The Prog Files and Angelo’s Rock Orphanage Charity radio shows

On Wednesday December 16 and 23, The Prog Files / Angelo’s Rock Orphanage on ISKC Rock and Web Radio will give attention to a number of artists who are donating proceeds of music and merchandise to charity.
Their music will be played on the show, next to the regular programming, with a short announcement explaining where the proceeds of the songs go.

Below are the charities for the show on December 16th.

water

Various Artists – Spirit of December Vol. 05

Whole album is sold for Music for Relief, who spent their donations on three programs currently: Nepal Earthquake, Ebola Prevention and Mangroves and Ocean Protection.

Info: http://mrrmusic.com/music-wanted-for-2015-holiday-charity-release/
Sales: http://thereishoperecords.com/album/spirit-of-december-vol-5
Charity: http://musicforrelief.org

Armonite – By the Waters of Bablylon

Single sold for charity. Armonite and Children’s Hospital Trust in Cape Town coooperate in this. Proceeds go to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s hospital.

Info: http://www.armonite.com/By%20the%20Waters%20of%20Babylon.html
Sales: http://www.armonite.com/By%20the%20Waters%20of%20Babylon.html
Charity: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/your_gov/149

Yak – Quest for the Stones

Whole album sold for charity, all proceeds to the Towerhill Stables Animal Sanctuary, where ‘unwanted’ pets and animals find a new home.

Info: http://www.yaksongs.com
Sales: http://www.yaksongs.com
Charity: http://www.towerhillstables.com/

Dave Brons – Based on a True Story

Dave Brons, inspired by events in Paris and other things happening in the world decided to give all proceeds of his t-shirts and album until end of this year to charities supported by Giving What We Can.

Info: http://davebrons.com/change-your-world-and-change-theirs-as-well/
Sales: http://davebrons.com/merch/
Charity: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

Il Ballo Delle Castagne – Live Studio

The Austrian (and according to some Italian) band Il Ballo Delle Castagne is the brain child of singer Vinz Aquarian and guitars/keyboard player Marco Gargegnani. They founded the band in 2007 and released four studio albums since then. The album under review here, Live Studio, is the fifth, and was recorded live (in band setting) in the Nadir studio in Genua, Italy. [acfw id=2]

ilballo

Il Ballo Delle Cassagne is considered part of the Rock Progressivo Italiano (RPI) movement within progressive rock, but is more fittingly described as Dark Italian Prog. Unlike most RPI bands, they don’t copy the sound of the progressive rock acts that Italy brougth forth in the 1970s (PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, Museo Rosenbach), but rather create their own mix of styles. As a result, this album contains a mix of Italian prog, krautrock, space rock and even a little bit of jazz influences, creating a foundation for the dark, mysterious vocals of Vinz Aquarias and guest vocalist Marina Larcher. Her chants add a druidic feel to some of the tracks, lie Tema di Gilgamesh and Il Viaggio.

Musically, the album is varied, with a solid rhythm section (Diego Ranchero does seem to have some jazz background in his playing, just listen to Il Trema), space rock like guitars and enough from for some good old fashioned organ playing.

The album, which is released as a limited edition CD (108 hand numbered copies and a few also hand marked promo copies) contains three covers of the band’s own idols. The most interesting one for me was their rendition of Appearance of the Voice by Eloy. The track’s lyrics were replaced by Italian lyrics, and Vinz really shines on this one. Next to this, the covers are Areknames by Italian Franco Battioto and Fire in the Sky, by Ya Ho Wa 13. Both bands I don’t know, but the way Il Ballo Delle Cassagne  plays their works makes that they are now added to my list of acts to check out further, together with Il Ballo themselves.

The darkness of the bands sound may not be something one wants to hear on a daily basis, but at the right time and in the right place this is certainly worth listening – and listening attentively as well. Recommended!

 

 

IZZ – Everlasting Instant

IZZ have been around since the 90s, and were founded by American brothers  Tom (keyboards, vocals) and John (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals) Galgano. Over time, the band became known for incorporating different styles into their music, and for combining four vocals: the two brothers, and female vocalists Laura Meade and Anmarie Byrnes). They’ve been getting more attention since their fourth album My River Flows (2005), and released their seventh, Everlasting Instant in 2015. [acfw id=2]

izzeverlastinginstant

For me, this album was the first I heard of IZZ, another band I had heard about but never got around to listening until this year. I got hooked quite quickly, exactly because of the aforementioned characteristics. The mix of styles means that every track is different in nature, but still fits what is apparently the IZZ sound, and the vocal arrangements are often simply mesmerising.

The opening track Own the Mystery, has such an nice vocal arrangement in its ‘choruses’, that makes for a nice addition to a soft, almost pop piano and keyboard based track. The change to Every Minute is surprising. This is  a short instrumental which introduces the bass of John Galgano, which proves to be a constant factor throughout the album – a bass that is not there for support, but to drive the music and provide it’s own melodies and riffs.

Riffs like the one Start Again, which is interleaved with very melodic vocal parts. The interleaving builds into a question answer pattern, with male vocals on the bass driven parts, and female vocals answering in the quieter more melodic sections. The second half of the track has more power and the male vocals become Sting like, but more powerful… Guitarist Paul Bremner seems to play two guitars over each other on the instrumental too.

The more jazzy If It’s True has yet again a very clear bass line, crisp bass line, with guitar and keyboard melodies moving in and out – supporting the female vocals. The synth noises at the transition from verse to chorus give it a slightly more experimental feel, and the short instrumental mid section briefly rocks before going back to the beginning.

And so it continues, with new elements in every song. The Three Seers starts with a mysterious piano and male vocal part. The first half of the song is like a 21st century minstrel telling a story accompanied by piano, while the darker, keyboard heavy second part is more desperate, and emotional.

The title track has an electronic beat, which is answered by a counter melody from a female voice, singing an almost Celtic piece. It develops from there into  more folk rock like track, then to keyboard and organ driven symphonic rock, going back to the Celtic feel in the end. If not proven already, this track shows how IZZ use vocals not just as a carrier for lyrics, but really as an additional instrument.

Keep Away is best described as ‘contemporary jazz rock’, with a ‘jumpy’ bass line, which both contrasts and supports the slow melancholic vocals, keyboards and guitar. When a second female vocal joins half way, goose bumps are guaranteed.

The two most complex tracks on the album Can’t Feel the Earth Part IV and Sincerest Life sandwich the more accessible, Illuminata. Where that track starts with a happy, thoughtless feel, brought on by an acoustic guitar and then developers into a slow neo prog track, the other two are less clearly defined. Can’t Feel the Earth starts with bass and percussion, but builds in a few steps into a 70s symphonic rock track, with a big organ and guitar sound, and a very present bass. And of course, with a great goal arrangement again.

Hardest to get into is Sincerest Life, which goes from piano piece to a wailing guitar and keyboard lead, then to a more jazzy mood, then to a shuffled rock rhythm and an intricate vocal arrangement again. Here, even more than on the rest of the album, the off the trodden path drum work also helps confusing attentive the listener.

After all this, the mellow rock track Like A Straight Line, which has a nice layering of melodies and is almost completely instrumental is a fitting end.

As I like an album more, my reviews tend to get longer, and this one is no exception. The only words missing are ‘highly recommended’, although given what others old me, the three albums preceding this one may even be slightly better.

 

Seconds before Landing – 2

Composer, singer, drummer and midi player, that is the description John Crispino’s name has on the album IIthe second release of his personal project Seconds before Landing. On the album he gets the assistance of Steve Schuffert on guitars, JD Garrison on bass, Jamie Peck on piano, saxophone and fluteand Maurice Witkowski on acoustic guitar. [acfw id=2]

secondsbeforelandingii

With a line up like that, there is a hint that this could be a jazz rock influenced release, which was also the indication the first track Big Train gives. However, besides the opening track, the only one that confirmed my expectations was Silent Bird, while the rest of the album has a more electronic and midi ring to it. That is not necessarily bad, but also not entirely my cup of tea – I prefer interplay between instruments over midi sounds.

However, there is still a lot to be found on this album for people who have a different taste than mine, and quite a few of those exist. The track Hey Dad for example is clearly influenced by Pink Floyd, think of tracks like Hey You or One of My Turns. Interesting detail in this respect is that the engineer who joined Pink Floyd at the release of The WallAndy Jackson, also took care of production for this album.

Two other highlights are The Great Deceiver and My Perfect Girl. The former is a rocky track, with a pulsing bass and a frantic guitar, with vocals that contain a slight hint of Alice Cooper in the vocals. The latter is darker and more industrial, reminding me of Transport Aerian.

Other tracks are more electronic, even ambient, and as said, not really my thing. This type of music has the habit of becoming slightly repetitive and makes me get distracted from it. However, this style does have its fans, so with a ‘try before you buy’ stamp on it, I’m sure this will still reach many satisfied listeners.

After a short break – on to 2016

Today I realised it’s been over a month since I posted anything here, and the last post wasn’t even a review. I have been reviewing, for other sites, and I’ve been busy with other music related activities (more on that in future posts). This year, 2015, was a bit of a special year for me, in many ways.

Daniel

A year in which I had a lot of time to spend on music and other things that are supposed to bring joy and happiness. Not entirely because I wanted to, but some rebalancing was in order. Now that that is almost behind me, it’s important to maintain the balance I have found. Therefore, next year will still see me reviewing albums and writing (about) music, but the number of reviews and posts will be limited. Before Christmas, I’ll try to catch up with about 10 reviews and 1 or 2 articles I want to finish this year. After that, I will limit my reviewing to one album per 2 weeks, so 26 at most in 2016. For the time being, this is what I do next to work and all the other chores live comes with, and limiting my reviews in that way will allow me to make the reviews more useful, and it frees up time to work on other things, like background articles, my own musical endeavours and (gig) photography.

So, over the next two to three weeks, a bunch of reviews will appear, as well as the articles I referred to, and after that – you’ll see what happens, but I will be here at least once every two weeks with something new.

Pin Ups? Yes, Pin Ups

The first 42 years of my life I largely ignored the fact that a Mr. David Bowie existed. The reason was very simple: at the time I was a teenager getting into the likes of Van Halen, Iron Maiden and Metallica, he came up with songs like Let’s Dance and Little China Girl. Not bad, but certainly also not what a ‘guy like me’ was looking for. The only song that did somewhat hit home with me was Space Oddity, captivating as it is.

pinups

About a year ago, that changed, as I was introduced to his older materials, through songs like Five Years, Rock ‘n Roll Suicide and the somewhat more recent Sound and Vision and Station to Station. Those I liked so well, that after some (well guided) touring of Youtube and Spotify, I ended up hunting down his first 14 albums on vinyl. No need for original pressings, but these I needed with big sleeves, lyrics sheets and the whole thing. Just to have something to hold while listening to some brilliant music that had escaped me for too long.

So, tonight I feel like listening to some of that again, and I had random.org pick a number from 1 to 14 for me. Outcome: 6. Corresponding album: Pin Ups. Interesting, an album full of covers that received, and still receives mixed responses. Not surprising, given that it was released not long after Bowie decided to kill his break through character Ziggy Stardust, by one evening simply announcing to his audience and band that ‘this will be the last performance of Ziggy Stardust’. A cover album, as follow up to such massive success? Well, I enjoyed a large part of it last time I played it, and so I will enjoy it again tonight. In between all the attention that goes to the little ones in the shadows, tonight it is time for a very big one.

Murky Red – No Pocus without Hocus

Sometimes, it’s hard to get into an album – as a listener, or as a reviewer. And in other cases, it just happens naturally. The latter is the case with Murky Red‘s new album No Pocus without Hocus, and album that I could listen to since 4 weeks before the official release. [acfw id=2]

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Album cover – click for hi-res image

With this album, it is clear that Murky Red have grown since their debut – or maybe they just stopped being shy and are no longer holding back on what they have been wanting to play all the time. Of course, they still mix rock and blues, more elements have been added now. Heavy guitar riffs, mixed with melodic guitar solos, a well educated organ, and some nicely mixed in percussion are used to build rock walls, which are interleaved with psychedelic sound trips (no, not soundscapes), surrounding the hypnotising voice of Stef Flaming.

All of that is immediately part  of the opening track Pixelated Friends, a slow, dragging piece that only speeds up briefly in the end. The topic of the track is clear from the single line “I smoked all my hashtags with some pixelated friends“, which is also a good indication of the looseness and humour the band puts in their lyrics.

This is no different in Stoned And Horny, which talks of similar experiences, but musically is almost a tribute to The DoorsGong and maybe even some Deep Purple. After a rather rocking, shining opening (the horny part), it moves to the slow, spacey stoned part before exploding again – as if the Unknown Soldier was mixed with The End, after adding bits of Mule. Served in a tea cup… and followed by the indeed hypnotising, Sweet Dark Hypnosis.

It’s not all humour though, Murky Red does have a serious side, which shows in the care taken to compose their music, but also in the lyrics of She’s Crying Diamonds and Collateral Damage.

The first talks of a woman who seems to have lost a life of luxury, ending in the gutter, where ‘the people in the street no longer care‘. This is accompanied by a piano, dark guitar riffs and percussion that was described by a listener on my ISCK Rock Radio show as if ‘cannibals are playing the drums while making dinner’. With an instrumental midsection that features alternating guitar and keyboard leads around that same rhythm pattern, this is best described as a sad song transformed to psychedelic rock.

The second of these two, Collateral Damage, is an 6.5 minute musical description of the madness of war. Starting out rather melodically, with some guitar parts played by guest musician and producer Colin Tench, it builds up a darker and gloomier mood, with varying guitar parts, war sounds in the background, and a short eight line verse that was written already in in 1993, and that perfectly summarises the madness this is track about:

Hear the soldiers sing
Songs of hope
And songs of suffering
Hear the children cry
See the widow’s tears
Fill her near-dead eyes
This is the pain of a nation
In times of war

The rockier, more straight forward side of Murky Red shows on tracks like  Nothing Can Go Wrong, the story of Delilah, which is centered around a heavy, fuzzed guitar mixed with an organ. The instrumental part contains a funny, jumpy bass line that made me skip back a few times. This continues into A Wooden Groove, which is 70s space rock transferred to the 21st century. The lyrics of this one are written by one who smoked too many pine needles, first singing of a tree, then explaining that the remainder of the song (a good 3 minutes) are indeed instrumental.

The last third of the album consists of four quite different tracks, starting with  Bad Wolf of the Pack, which opens with a slow Gilmouresque guitar – returning to the old Murky Red adagium that they mix Pink Floyd and blues. Slow vocals, a clean guitar and simple but very fitting percussion (bongos) do the trick here. Not a complicated song at first listen, but I bet every cover band would get it wrong.

Wild Flower has vocals that are carried by keys, drums and bass –  and almost no guitar – while the instrumentals feature once again some Flodyian guitar sounds. Over time the track moves away from that sound, without loosing coherence and power. This track was the first single from the album, about 6 months ago, and made a promise that came true now.

Then with Mermaids, the band takes us to the movies, with a piano opening that seems to announce the exciting opening scene of a motion picture that has no Disney label on it. The structure of this song is build around guitar riffs, with the keys playing counter melodies and the bass seems to sing its own melody underneath. I wrote in my review notes that this is music a group of hippies could play on the beach – provided there was power available to plug in their amps.  There is no beach in the town of Helecine, where the band comes from, but there is a corn field, so I guess this was recorded there instead.

To close off the album, Elena is nothing short of an ode to Focus, with a guitar and organ driven beginning and end, soldered together by a slow, instrumental mid section where an acoustic guitar plays a melody resembling vaguely Für Elise, before the organ joins in to build a psychedelic sound trip. A sound trip to the ancient city of Troy, that burns for Elena’s love. A fitting end to a nice musical journey.

This album is a worthy successor to 2012’s Time Doesn’t Matterand it shows a more out-of-the-trodden-path Murky Red. Brilliant guitar work, great organ and bass work, non standard drumming and percussion and a nice mix of humorous and serious lyrics make for a nice musical journey. The production by Colin Tench is on par with that of his own band’s Corvus Stone Unscrewed, to complete the picture. No lack of dynamics here (overall Dynamic Range of 12). To top it off, the beautiful, fitting art work by Stef Flaming himself makes the main character Maurice LeMurk into the new band mascotte.

This is not a new master piece, and it wasn’t intended to be. Like any human product, it has its flaws, and most of these I expect to be subjective to the listener. I enjoyed it, the past few weeks and will enjoy it more I’m sure.  A big step forward for the band, and a big step away from the more straight forward rock on their debut album. Highly recommended.