This past Record Store Day the Grammy award winning metal band High on Fire released this brief EP, titled Bat Salad. The groups recent efforts have been the strongest in their career with their previous release, the powerful full length Electric Messiah appearing on a few year end lists (including RtBE's).
This three song quickie is a cool stop gap from the band as they begin the EP with the original title track instrumental. The band grooves and slams around with distortion but it is drummer Des Kensel who leads the way, even getting a funky outro which is fitting as he recently announced his departure from the band.
With their future a bit up in the air the band dives into a two covers to wrap up the EP. First comes their take on Celtic Frost's "Into The Crypts of Rays" it is a fairly straight ahead pounding take on the metal track as the band propels forward with fury and thundering low end bass from Jeff Matz around Mike Pike's guttural vocals and riffs.
The trio close with their spin on the Bad Brains hardcore banger"Don't Bother Me". While the originals rawness and H.R.'s unique lyrics are their own breed, High on Fire do a much more metal-fied, double kick drum fueled version as Pike adjusts his vocals to get a bit clearer in delivery.
A fun, brief release from one of the best metal bands out there who will have to regroup with Kensel's departure. Here's hoping they come back stronger than ever and Bat Salad just sounds like something which should be served up on Halloween....
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Support the band, buy the album, stream it below or on bandcamp and peep some video:
High on Fire just continue putting out hard as hell albums keeping a level of high quality connected to their headbanging ways. After pairing up with producer Kurt Ballou for 2012's extremely excellent De Vermis Mysteriis, Ballou returns to help the Oakland based group forge Luminiferous, a continuation of kick ass old school heavy metal.
The band touches on different sub labels in the genre but High on Fire are simply a metal band at heart and one of the best in the business. The trio of drummer Des Kensel, bassist Jeff Matz and guitar virtuoso/frontman Matt Pike pummel and soar with a well worn snarl and stomp.
"The Black Pot" opens with a six minute run through their styles, putting Pike's vocals a bit to the back letting the instruments scream and charge ahead. "Carcosa" thuds along as the drums push things before a riff (oddly reminiscent of Frank Zappa's "Stevie's Spanking") dominates.
There are big, heavy grooving tunes that are custom made for slow head banging with "The Sunless Years" and "The Dark Side Of The Compass", the first complete with muddy guitars/chem trail lyrics and the second dominated by a rhythmic intro. The trio also know how to slam into speed metal with abandon as they do on the title cut and the kick ass "Slave The Hive" which is our favorite track thrashing around in glorious chaos.
HoF make their biggest gear shift dip into a slower, more blues/ballad territory with "The Cave" which leaves Pike's obsession with sci-fi conspiracy and deals plainly with his addiction. An excellent shift in tone and emotion for the band, reminiscent of Black Sabbath giving the band a deeper dimension and the album a more nuanced feel. This twist and the groups more arena ready numbers like "The Falconist" with its slow hard rock style and big guitar solo, show that the group are not afraid to bring in even more ears to their heavy rocking sound.
The bands continued success is a joy especially in a genre that is prone to dulling, fading or eviscerating itself. While not as ferocious as De Vermis Mysteriis, Luminiferous proves the band can expand things (even if just slightly) for a more polished (again, slightly) offering, producing one of the best metal records of the year.
________________________________________________________________________ We loved De Vermis Mysteriisand even ranked it in our top 10 for 2012. While this is a good-to-great metal album we do feel it is a slim notch below that one. Even so there is a good chance it will end up on our year end review...High On Fire are one of the best bands out there playing hard.
I am sure it is a question a lot of headbangers have pondered over the years; what if Motorhead decided to branch out into different realms of metal subculture while still keeping their powerful core intact? If that experiment was successful it may sound an awful lot like High On Fire's newest release De Vermis Mysteriis which is one of the baddest ass, heavy as hell, albums released this year.
Matt Pike, Jeff Matz and Des Kensel are putting the power directly into trio on this album with slamming drums, raw bass and monster riffs. From the opening rumble and screams of "Serum of Liao" it is clearly go time with production showcasing the low end while giving Pike's guitars and vocals as clear a path to destruction as needed.
"Bloody Knuckles" struts with aggression sounding way bigger then a trio while Pike's vocals are stripped down to passionate yelling. It should be mentioned that there is a lyrical theme, almost concept, running through this disk about Jesus dead twin who time travels and incorporates the Cthulhu or something...Actually the lyrics themselves are secondary to how great the vocals and music really sound, producer Kurt Ballou should receive some credit for keeping things raw and harsh but still immensely listenable.
Other scorching highlights are the doom progression that is "Madness of an Architect", the epic "King of Days" with it's sword and sorcery feel and the speedy spastic slapping of "Spiritual Rites" that incorporates laser like guitar lines into things, playing as a disk highlight combing all the elements that make the album a winner.
Metal seems to contain more adjectives to describe it then most other genre's and De Vermis Mysteriis hits them all, but never wallows in one too long. Stoner, speed, heavy, black, thrash, whatever...Pike and crew stomp like giants of old and thunder like rock gods of the past and hopefully future.
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While The Chariotput out One Wing it wasa bizarre intoxicating mix of metal and oddness, High On Fire stay straight ahead and is a straight up success. The more I listen to it the more I dig the sounds, power, and feel of Pike and company. The end results are rewarding and worth your time if you dig heavy, engaging music of any sort. Support the band here, buy the album here, catch them on tour here and peep a few samples below:
"Spiritual Rites"
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...High On Fire!
We got a new metal review coming to you next week so we are in the head banging mood...hence this Full Show Friday, High On Fire Live April 27th 2014. It looks fan shot, sound is spotty, especially the vocals, but fans will dig it and others can just bask in the power. We like High On Fire a lot here at RTBE even giving them props in our year end review.
We hope to catch them live soon, but until then we will just turn this up and slam around.
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...High On Fire!
One of RtBE'sfavorite metal acts gets the nod for this Full Show Friday the 13th as High on Fire graced the stage and were recorded at The Regent Theater in LA on 12/7/19.
Not pro sound or video, but good enough for this Friday, full set list below. Enjoy:
Matt Pike is the guitar wizard and driving force behind some bruising metal outfits with the stoner rock Sleep and the incredible High on Fire, but that is not enough as he now announces a new solo album, Pike vs. the Automaton.
RtBE has loved his past worked and ranked High On Fire in our Top 50 Albums of the last decade, so we are excited to hear the new record when it arrives on February 18th. The reason behind this solo effort is the pandemic, as Pike explains himself:
“I was just going bonkers during the pandemic. It was like really, truly miserable. And then all the riots here in Portland and all the political shit. I was trapped in my garage, which was the only place I could go and jam and do anything,” confesses Pike. “I was trapped in there ‘cause I couldn’t go jam with High on Fire, I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t do that, no one could fly. I was going crazy. My friend Jon Reid, who was the original drummer for Lord Dying, had moved to Portland and was babysitting my dog, Crom, and he was drumming for my wife’s band, so he had his drums already set up at my place. I finally said, “Dude, do you want to come over and just start jamming? So, I just started this thing with my friend Jon. I was like, “Dude, fuck it. Let’s start a side band and we’ll just demo this and act like we’re starting it as teenagers, you know?”
Here is Part 2 of RtBE's Year in Review of 2012. (Part 1 was here if you missed it) Today we venture into our Top Ten List of Best Albums for 2012.
In the instance that RtBE have reviewed the album either on the site or
somewhere else we will link to that review, just click on the Band name and title to get there. RTBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on the their Top 20 so expect some overlap. Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles,
but full releases you can slap on and listen to the full way through.
After the jump you will see our list for numbers 10-6, this year was fantastic for full releases, other years all of these could be considered top 5 material or better. These are all excellent and worth your hard earned money and
hard drive space, so without further ado Click that read more link.
Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2018 Top Ten Albums numbers 10-6:
In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, just click on the name and title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.
Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but full releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us. You can view the first part of this feature, the just misses and let downs as well.
Today we start our top ten, in retrospect it was an incredibly solid year of releases with a ton of records that were great. While few are All-Time classics the top level of releases are deep. However, there isn't a very wide range in the 2018 top ten; it's mostly rock and roll of various levels as opposed to even last year which was noticeably weaker but wider. Click that 'Read More' button to get started with #10-6 today.
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed it's rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. Here are numbers 20-11:
Well "predicted" may be a bit strong, no research is really going into this, perhaps wish list would be a more accurate title. The 2013 New Orleans Jazzfest will announce it's roster of artists tomorrow, which is pretty exciting as it confirms spring is just around the corner.
RtBE polled some of our Sazerwrapping Regulars who join us on our annual trip to the Big Easy to see who they would like to catch perform at the Fairgrounds this year. Let find out what they say...
A little metal Monday for ya...Thanks for our friends over at Scion A/V we noticed that the metal trio that is heavier then hell, High On Fire is back with a new track, pummeling from the get go. Stream "Slave The Hive" below:
That is an awesome ride.We really dig these guys and bad ass tracks like this new one is the reason why. Their last album made our top 10 for 2012.
They are playing the US this fall/winter and while we will try to get there on the 15th, that is a tough day for us to attend at Webster Hall. We need to check them live soon though. On the plus side will have a review of their recent live release on the site soon. Peep some video of the band below:
Live 2010:
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we filled out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here are RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place, some haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...
So with the start of August my thoughts instantly turn towards upstate New York, and more specifically the historic town of Saratoga.
Having spent my high school years 15 minutes south of their I have very found memories and go back every year to spend a few weekends in August, the best time of the year in that neck of the woods.
Saratoga has the most glorious establishment that allows gambling on horses in these United States. You can keep your Churchill Downs, I will take the SPA. For those who have never been and only associate horse racing with dirty OTB's, picture spending a relaxing afternoon in a state park that just happens to have horses running by every half hour.
I will be returning for the 141st running of The Travers Stakes this year (I think that makes it 10 years in a row for The Travers, but I will have to double check that with friends...) on the 28th, but until then I thought I would combine my love of Saratoga, with The Grateful Dead's love of the same town.
SPAC is in and of itself a wonder. A natural amphitheater in a serene park, how many other venues today have full blown trees for you to lay under while listening to music? While recently the designs and ideas have been lacking (not enough bathrooms, HORRIFIC beer garden) the venue has an aura surrounding it, that cookie cutter establishments can't hold a candle to.
Bands feel it instantly and the Dead were no different, as they loved to play there as much as the fans loved to stroll the grounds before and after the night of music.
For this whole month I will be picking shows the band played in these naturalistic confines. Tonight we start with with the first, and perhaps the best, of the bands ventures into the spaceship on the park. This night made seeing The Dead in SPAC a must for any fan from then on out, June 6th 1983:
There are a few versions of this show on the archive (all AUD recordings) but I feel this one is the best. While others have more crowd noise, this seems to be the superior recording of the band, if it does have Brent a little high throughout and Jerry drops a bit low at points. Overall though it's very listenable and for the quality of what you get it is completely worth it.
I won't spend too much time on the first set. It has a couple of standout moments, the "Mexicali Blues>Big River" flashes with dexterity from the boys and "Birdsong" really gains steam at the end with Jerry a'blaze on the fretboard. There are some blown amps and Bobby botching lyrics in "Jack Straw" and "Hell In A Bucket", weird effects blare out during "Althea" but the set manages to end on a high note with a really pumping "Deal" finding Jerry howling and the Rhythm Devils moving and grooving, getting primed for the mega second set to come.
This second set is inspired, and must have been magic on this rainy June night with a few versions of tunes that again can fall into the category of All Time Greats. The drums continue where they left off with the duo of Hart and Kreutzmann playing like smoke engulfing a room, grabbing the MVP crown this night; leading tunes at times while constantly supporting.
A perfect example of this is on the set opener which finds the duo playing co-lead with Jerry's guitar on "Scarlett Begonias>Fire On the Mountain" instantly creating a version of this combo for the ages. Tonight's playing on this classic is exquisite! Their pulsing blob of sound during "Scarlett" in particular magically swirls in every direction, painting with reggae colors lightly, then electronic bursts or fret runs. Things remain crisp while the jam circles around and around building but never over powering; they make it sound so easy here. The tempo then slows (again with Mick and Bill in charge) before letting loose the "Fire On The Mountain". Dripping deliciously the band seems to be locked in perfectly, Jerry gets adventurous screeching off while the rest of the fellas keep it tight and wonderful. Back-up yelps from Brent makes you think they knew they were in the midst of something special and an effort for fans to talk about and compare to other great versions.
A long and winding "Playing in the Band" comes bounding out with bopping energy next as the band rides the wave of good feelings. Phil gets things marching behind Bobby and Brent's lyrical intro before the band veers down more abstract roads about 4 and half minutes in, then get downright foreboding at the 11 minute mark. The exploratory playing stays in the air, getting caught in the SPAC trees awhile before giving way to some cool riffing around 17 minutes that eases into the drummers solos and then melting tripping minds as a full band with "Space". They end the experiments the best way they know how via an enchanted "The Wheel>Playing In the Band Reprise" under thunder and lighting that just happened to be booming. I particularly love the ease with which this version of "The Wheel" oozes out, and it is one of my personal favorites.
An incredible set is about to get even better. When you ask DeadHeads about the group and SPAC, you usually get a one word answer "Dew". The "Morning Dew" that comes in next is what really puts this show on the map and in discussions of all-time best versions.
The opening cataclysmic riffs signal that the folk inspired end of the world tale will be launched into by the cosmic crew. Every note just rings with authority, and Phil Lesh who had been lower for most of the night decides to join Jerry in the forefront, dropping bass bombs at 1:55 and eschewing majestic phrasing at the 2:30 mark. The band starts out hot and builds ever higher in intensity, with Garcia practically yelling the chorus at the 4:25 mark. This is audio fireworks; explosions building on top of each other, brief moments of pause add to the intensity of the next climax which will arrive right after the next verse. Around 7:18 Garcia's lone guitar seems to represent the last man on earth that the song references before coalescing the frightened survivors together for one final galloping rush to the top of the mountain. Beautifully intoxicating, this is one for the ages.
The relatively new "Throwing Stones" tries to follow up that monster and simply can't. Jerry continues to play with a fuzzed out tone, that clashes with Weirs strums (This was not a good night for Bobby). "Not Fade Away" has Phil super loud in the mix with his fine runs getting the crowd excited as the band plays the staple with power before segueing into a speedy version of "Touch of Grey" to end the huge set on a positive note.
The band then starts a SPAC tradition with a rare double encore, this one is the loud party duo of "Don't Ease Me In> One More Saturday Night" weaving one more twist into an already epic night. While as a complete show I do find myself going back to the Lake Placid show as their best in 1983, the high points presented on this night, especially the Dew, are just astonishing. Those fans in attendance (and there was a lot of them as it looks like this show broke SPAC's attendance record) witnessed a night in the Grateful Dead's history that is still talked about, listened too, and cherished. Enjoy the show.
So the pure genius that I am actually recycled a show with last weeks burner from Miami 1974. Oh well, I guess I just really like that show, and I did go to FLA twice this year so it makes a bit of stupid sense. To make up for it though I wanted to find a gem and post it today.
Bring on the glorious 4-24-1978 concert from Horton Field House at Illinois State University. Click that link or listen right C'here:
Unreal that I made it to the middle of October before posting a show from 1978. Just goes to show you how many great years/tours/nights there were in the career of this amazing group of musicians.
This show has a bunch of high spots and rates as one of the best from the Dead during this phase of their career, which is saying a lot as 77-78 hold a special place in the hearts of most Dead Heads. The show was the last before a week off for the group and they let it loose at the Horton Field House on this night.
The full accompaniment of the Dead is on display here, and I would offer this show to all the Donna haters out there to prove she added a grand vocal dimension and forced the fellas to harmonize more then they ever had...she also covered up the warts of the vocals at times and it is on display all night here. Donna and Keith would leave the band shortly, but tonight's show, as well as countless others, shows the heights this formation of the group could achieve.
There are a couple of copies of this night's show on the archive to check out, the great Charlie Miller himself posted 2 versions, I am going with one of his, but I wouldn't fault you for going in a different direction if you wanted, they are all fairly good recordings, I noticed the overall volume level is a bit dimmer on the other versions, and I wanted more bang in the speakers so I am using this version. I would give the recording an A as a lot of heart and soul seemed to go into it.
A good beginning of things, but the weirdness happens about 2 songs in as the group teases, of all things, "Stayin' Alive". Hippies doing disco...gag-able. They actually played with the tune in various songs all that week (I hope to post more shows later) and the crazy thing is, the "Stayin' Alive" tease plays throughout all of "Big River" Johnny Cash just threw-up. Maybe sacrilegious, but funny and the Dead are nothing if not pranksters. Another Early highlight is "Friend of the Devil" stretched out and jammed real nice like for 10 minutes.
The mega-highlights that make this a must hear concert start to show up at the end of the first set and skid right on through to the begging of the second. "Passenger" is a fast furious work out, before Jerry and Donna team up to create the beautifully heart wrenching "It Must Have Been The Roses". They close out the first set with what could be argued is their top tier version of "The Music Never Stopped", this one is a jaw dropper. Not an extended flight of fancy , just a funky-as-all-get-out burner to close out a dynamite set of tunes. Shows that any night, any song could reach monumental peaks, as Jerry races and scrambles on guitar while the percussion crashes all around him to close out the track and set. The Dead's own taper section noted as much back in 2007 when they posted those two tracks here.
After that a break was needed, but the momentum was never lost. The group comes out flying for the opening duo of "Scarlett Begonias>Fire On The Mountain". Again this combo on this night must pop up in "All Time Great" discussions. I have mentioned some epic "Scarlett>Fires" on this site in the past, and this one goes toe to toe with those. Phil slides his bass into Scarlett with ease and like all great versions of this tune the keys get a proper airing and Keith does that wonderfully. The whole group just seems to be in complete sync to open up the playing here, building to dynamite crescendos and interacting with each other on what seems to be a higher level.
Donna vocalizes as the group starts the journey to the Mountain and gather the kindling to start the fire with Garcia strumming away as Keith seems to be walking alone on the piano as Billy and Mickey crash around on cymbals before they all come together at the base and start to climb. The groove gets rich and thick as the Wah Wah dominates the proceedings and the rhythm section gets into their best song. I always have seen Fire on the Mountain as a Phil-Mickey-Billy jam more then anything else with the best versions having those three propel the others to greater melodic moments. That takes place here as Jerry and Bobby start dueling around the 5:30 mark and just get after it with each other, this is actually some of my favorite guitar work from Bobby, and really does play like two leads, something that rarely happened with the band as Garcia often dominated.
Garcia singing "Let it burn let it burn let it burn" is icing on this glorious musical cake and then he decides to just rip into the track as Weir falls more into the rhythmic role we are used to as the band rolls on up and up into thin air. These songs are the Dead at their peak and what you listen to the group for, excellence.
The band moves into "Good Lovin'" and while not up to the same levels it still kept the crowd grooving before they hit the next highlight song. "Terrapin Station" was always hit or miss live, while it is an epic tale, the fellas were known to blow it on many occasions this night was not one of those as they nail it. Jerry always is a bit iffy on the lyrics which can take away from the story, but the song is so large and encompassing it has power even when the band isn't completely together. In this version the Inspiration break isn't as monumental as other versions but the totality of the track works wonders while it builds to a devastating ending via drum rolls and Jerry flashing some distortion.
The rest of the show is solid, if not particularly memorable, but with those high spots to end the first set and beginning the second you couldn't ask for much more. "Not Fade Away" is fun, "Black Peter" has never been one of my favorites but this version is a good bluesy listen very emotional guitar playing. I love Warren Zevon, and always got a kick out of the Dead covering "Werewolves of London", easily one of my favorite covers the band did.
So enjoy this show, and I promise not to repeat it the next time I post a 1978 show.
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...Arcade Fire!
Every April we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Arcade Fire who will be appearing on the Acrua Stage Sunday May 4th.
This Friday we are showcasing the biggest "indie" band to play the festival. Each year it seems the jazzfest organizers go out of the way for one younger "hip" band to play. This year it is Arcade Fire. Having never seen them if we go to the festival on Sunday we will def be checking them out. While we aren't sold on their newest (repetitive, disco dullness), we really dug two of their past releases. We rated The Suburbs high on our year end list and really enjoy the drama of The Funeral. While they will always fall into the catagory of bands we respect more then we actually listen to, a festival like Jazz in NOLA is a perfect place to catch them.
This show is from Capitol Studios in LA, and while it has an odd stage set (brings new meaning to looking down on your audience), the music is a good representation of the current live shows, while the editing is too frantic, then again it was on MTv. For us the best of this set comes last with the older songs being highlights in "Sprawl II" and their best song "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)". Enjoy:
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 October The Masters focuses on Bruce Springsteen
The next "new Dylan" Bruce Springsteen had high expectations and early in his career searched for his own sound which would be solidified in the mid 70's as Phil Spector inspired grandiose rock and roll that goes for it every time.
An artist who recently pulled back the curtain on his craft, Springsteen famously said he never worked a day in his life but yet can craft a song like "The River" or "Factory" which cuts to the heart of a working man. Poetic, bombastic, country tinged and inspired by that sweet soul music, Bruce's sound is his own yet he inspired tons of others. It is impossible for RtBE to listen to Thin Lizzy and not hear Springsteen B-sides and for that matter half of E-Street went over the top with Bat Out of Hell.
The Boss remains an artist striving for the sound, his newest record went all retro-pop country, he is willing to experiment and take chances, and his best successes rank up there with the greatest in rock and roll history. He became meticulous in the studio, and it shows on the five albums we selected below so let's not waste any more words.
As a reminder these lists are to start conversations not end them, with that in mind let's see all that heaven will allow...
This band is so fucking consistently great, each of their last three albums could be considered their best and long time fans may even like Surrounded By Thieves but there is no denying that they are still blisteringly awesome in 2018. Who saw that coming?
Personally, at present time, RtBE would rank De Vermis Mysteriis slightly ahead of Electric Messiah and Luminiferous third out of their recent run, but Messiah may just prove the best after it sinks in a bit...we shall see. There have been a lot of good 'heavy' records this year and this one is way up there, killer album cover art included.
It is pretty amazing that one of the smartest television ideas/written shows is returning this Friday with new episodes on Netflix. Mystery Science Theater 3000 gets a full reboot on the streaming service starting April 14th.
Original creator Joel Hodgson did a crowd sourcing campaign to get the Satellite of Love back in the stratosphere to be tormented by bad movies and it was wildly successful. For those not aware of the original show, the gimmick was bad movies (really bad movies) would play and a human with two robot sidekicks would make quick fire sarcastic retorts, 70's cultural references and intelligent quips. The humor was all over the map, from fart jokes to grand sociological statements.
That may sound like high praise, but the show clearly took a lot from the great Monty Python in that they played up to their audience, always expecting them to be smart enough to get the jokes, they did win a Peabody after all.
There is also a direct musical connection (not including the countless musical references during the shows themselves) as Joel mentioned in past interviews that he got the idea for the look of the main scenes from an insert picture on Elton John'sGoodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Over the last year, we've had some extra time on our hands and the show we've watched the most without question is MST3K, they are constantly funny and immensely re-watchable. Thanks to the amazing fans there are tons of episodes online.
To commemorate the return of the show we wanted to take some time on RtBE to talk up our favorites. These posts are not meant to be comprehensive, you can go to other sites for more info as the internet is full of them. We are however dedicating two posts it, which will highlight 10 episodes total. Today we will focus on The Classic Episodes, tomorrow our Personal Favorite's. Click that read more below to dive into Part 1: The Classics
Bruce Springsteen's later career albums all seem to be defined by larger themes, ever since the gospel spirituality of a reborn E-Street band via Live in New York City. The Rising kept that sense of spiritual and physical rebirth present in the wake of September 11th, Magic had glimpses of disillusionment with war and Wrecking Ball contained songs dealing with the poor state of the economy (I got no idea what Working On A Dream was about, that's best left forgotten to these ears). However The Bosses newest release High Hopes is a different beast, a collection of cover material, unreleased originals and reworked tunes.
Things are scattered, there is less gospel preaching and extended vamps, and even restrained singing providing a looser feel to the overall effort. Included in the linear notes to the album Springsteen hypes a major collaborator Tom Morello who filled in with the band on a recent tour and inspired Bruce, appearing on 8 of the tracks here.
With that announcement thoughts instantly move to a harder rock/twisted funk sound Morello is known for but that is not the case. Songs build and flow as Morello plays augmenter rather then guitar wizard, reminiscent to Nils Cline role upon joining Wilco, perhaps even more understated. Not everything on the disk is a success, but Morello's input always hits its mark.
Opener, title track and first cover "High Hopes" seems to be caught between all out rave up and cutting political statement. When the full, huge sounding band complete with everything from horns to accordion to wah-wah builds up it works well but the overall energy seems to be lacking a bit. A good snapshot of the album overall, interesting glimpses but something just a touch off in the end.
On the better end of things, the slinky "Harry's Place" contains saxophone work from Clarence Clemons (the song was original an outtake from The Rising) and very nuanced guitar work from Morello. The tightness of "This Is Your Sword" and the looseness of "Frankie Fell In Love" show opposite sides to the current state of the artist and both succeed taking different paths.
The longest efforts here will be familiar to fans as "American Skin (41 Shots)" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" both get a proper studio recording. While both have the difficulty of comparing to explosive live versions of the tunes, the studio versions are dramatic and well represented. If anything removed from the political protests "American Skin (41 Shots)" has aged better then expected.
Some of the other efforts don't work as well, "Hunter of Invisible Game" and "Just Like Fire Would" both feel oddly dull, a touch uninspired and could use some more energy. The obvious gospel outtake "Heaven's Wall", while not a horrible song, just feels completely out of place on this collection.
Because of it's re-branded nature High Hopes contains a searching feel to it, not unlike mid-nineties Bob Dylan efforts. The musicality and freedom with which Springsteen is working with feels fresh if the tunes themselves may not. This could be a transitional disk for the man and his various bands or just a blip on the radar but aspects of it (like Morello's contributions) will hopefully flow into the next chapter of Springsteen's career.
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An interesting collection of songs, super impressed with what Tom Morello brings to the fold and a bit more interested to see what the Boss brings to Jazzfest this year.
