Album Review: Ex Hex - It's Real

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Ex Hex's second release, titled It's Real.

RtBE absolutely loved their debut album and ranked it in our 2014 wrap up (that was a hell of a year for music). In truth It's Real has less oomph and excitement but is still pretty solid rock and roll. Also it should be noted that the multi color vinyl is absolutely killer, glad it will be spinning at the RtBE clubhouse.

Support the band, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Dylan Cover #368 Alvin Youngblood Hart "Million Miles"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Alvin Youngblood Hart playing "Million Miles"

This month we are doing another special focus in RtBE's Dylan Covers series. In the past we have highlighted The Byrds, Coulson-Dean-McGuiness-Flint, The Hollies, Joan Osbourne, Mountain and more. Now the spotlight shines on The Blues for our Masters series with a focus on the Tangled Up In Blues Songs: Songs of Bob Dylan release

Thoughts on Original:

From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:

From the barren blues of Time Out Of Mind comes "Million Miles". While not a standout on that album, the song was prophetic, hinting at the fantastic twelve bar blues variations that would dominate his next two releases. When first heard though it doesn't jump out, just feels like yet ANOTHER solid track from the bard.

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I managed to catch Alvin Youngblood Hart during his trio set in the Blues tent at NOLA Jazzfest in 2017 and were super impressed. Then came home to NYC and caught him solo opening for the NMAS and enjoyed his stripped down set as well. Since then been a fan of his blues/folk/rock playing.

Thoughts on Cover:
An excellent blues cover of a song which was made for this. This wraps up our Monday series with a focus on bluesy Dylan covers for March, but it won't be long before RtBE returns to a blues cover of Dylan as they are everywhere.

Full Show Friday: Hound Dog Taylor - Live in Ann Arbor 1973

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Hound Dog Taylor!

This months focus in our ongoing Masters series are The Blues.

When we were ranking our best live blues albums Hound Dog Taylor's Beware of Dog! album just missed our list. So to make up for that we are giving Hound Dog his own Full Show Friday this month. Sloppy video, gut bucket blues, just the way he would have liked it. 

Full set list below, Enjoy:

0:00:00 Held My Baby Last Night0:04:30 Hound Dog's Farewell0:05:09 Hound Dog Talking0:06:15 Taylor's Rock 0:09:15 Hound Dog Talking0:09:47 Wild About You, Baby0:12:50 Hound Dog Talking And Introducing Band0:14:00 Roll Your Money Maker0:16:46 Hound Dog Talking and Tuning0:18:05 Sadie0:23:48 Hound Dog Talking About His Band0:24:43 Brewer Phillips' Song0:27:50 Ted Harvey's Song And Drum Solo

Album Review: Big Joanie - Sistahs

Big Joanie

Sistahs

** out of *****

The trio from London Big Joanie have a light/simple art rock touch which is influenced by 90's alternative, occasionally mixing in a bit harmonies. Stephanie Phillips (singer/guitarist), Estella Adeyeri (bass) and Chardine Taylor-Stone (drums) are part of the DIY London scene and their first full length is a restrained document.

"Used To Be Friends" is a good example of this restraint, it calls out through it's lyrics shortness and style for a screaming assault with lyrics like "Now you only call me to hate me" and "I only feel hatred" but the group instead are mellow and hip swinging. The sweet harmonies and minimalist guitar are the opposite of the lyrical content for an odd mix.

That oddness continues with the disco influenced "Fall Asleep" which uses hand claps and an off putting digital break mid song before "Eyes" uses a repetitive riff and what seems like any instruments lying around the studio, recorder, wood block, etc before a mid song break that plays like a scaled down Mazzy Star moment.

Opener "New Year" continues the less is more style with a nod in the Breeders direction and the Deal sisters group are the best comparison for the trio. Odd outings like the snaking "Down Down" and quirky "Token" art piece would not be out of place on an album like Mountain Battles but where the Breeders can get angular, push up the tempo or write a killer tune, Big Joanie stays more reserved on all those fronts.   

The best tracks here are the fuzzy "Way Out" which warbles with simple distortion and the afro punk rhythms which propel "Tell A Lie" forward  while the trio get it's most 50's girl group on the rolling "How Could You Love Me" with it's excellent harmonies and layers of vocals. These tracks show a larger scale to the stripped down primitive style of production and playing. Sparseness is key with the group but when things get amplified things improve.

Putting the blame on an unsatisfactory lover colors a fun twirl through "It's You" while "Cut Your Hair" spices things up a bit with Wurlitzer played by Seth Evans, ending the album with some breathy vocals.  For a first album there are a few interesting spins on Sistahs, but the majority of the songs feel underdeveloped and tame, dour and dull as an overriding theme/mood.
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Support the band, buy the album, stream it on bandcamp or below, and peep some video:

Album Review: Frank Migliorelli and The Dirt Nappers - The Things You Left Behind

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Frank Migliorelli and The Dirt Nappers newest release The Things You Left Behind.

We know Frank personally, but that doesn't change our ears, this is a solid roots rock record which touches on a lot of other genres. RtBE has interviewed him and previewed his anti NRA song last month and enjoy him as an artist and songwriter.

Support the artist, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Live Review: Murphy's Law & NRSV St. Patrick's Day 2019

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of the recent Murphy's Law and No Redeeming Social Value show held on St. Patrick's Day at Bowery Electric in NYC. Both bands are some of our favorite of all-time in the NYHC scene and we are friends with them both.

While we have caught better shows from each of them, this was a fun night within spitting distance of CBGB's as the groups and crowd imbibed in drunken stoned mayhem.

Support the artists, read the review, and peep some video below:

The Masters - The Blues - Best Live Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For March The Masters focuses on The Blues.

Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, the feeling is really all there is behind a few notes. For a "simple" art form the blues is endless complex and in the live setting this is immediately obvious in the hands of these Masters.

Even more than the studio recordings which we highlighted, these albums seem to evoke the spirit of the heartache, pain, and simmering soul under the guitar strings, horn blasts and drum fills. Recording in seedy clubs, at concert halls, prisons and esteemed festivals, our choices run the gamut of locations and playing styles, but one thing they all have in common is the passion of the live performance.

Your list will probably look different, feel free to share thoughts in the comments below, but now on to the records: