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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Too often, Music Press has released over-inflated statements about someone's skills and ability, definying this or that artist as "The Future Of" some music genres.
In Laurence Jones' case, such statement does not even start to express his ability, skills and great potential. With a deep understanding of music on many levels and at 360 degrees, at the tender age of 23, the british singer/songwriter and guitarist writes and plays music with such depth and maturity to leave music fans, media and fellow musicians utterly speechless. Jones' new album, What's It Gonna Be, recently released in the United States, is a complete triumph of great songwriting and craftmanship of very high standards.
There are many highlights on the album. The opener and title-track of the album is a phenomenal knock-out blues-rock track that sounds as majestic in the lyrics as much as it is musically. Jones' voice is so fresh, flexible and consequently able to adapt to all the different music territories he explores on What's It Gonna Be. From the raspy attack on the bluesy Evil to softer rock ballads such as Don't Look Back, on which he beautifully duets with Sandi Thom, the british artist shows an incredible versatility that just music veterans would be able to achieve, still maintaining his own defined vocal identity and style.
Supported brilliantly by Roger Inniss on bass and Miri Miettinen on drums, Jones' guitar sound gets better and better in each passing record. This new album is defined by many as a blues one. In reality, there are so many different music elements coming from different genres that Jones cleverly manages to incorporate in his music formula, making this album refreshing and brilliantly constructed for any sort of music fans.
There are wonderful rock moments like Being Alone or Touch Your Moonlight, all originals and masterfully penned lyrically and musically by Jones and his band. Even when Jones covers classics, the album does not stop to impress. Can't Get Enough, in which he duets with that extraordinary singer that is Dana Fuchs, has got that Southern Rock robust sound so close to the heart of bands like The Fleetwood Mac and constitutes one of the most entertaining moments of the album.
Jones though reaches the pinnacle of his artistry on What's It Gonna Be by executing a breathtaking version of Leadbelly's classic Good Morning Blues. Sharp, intense and powerful, with a guitar solo that reaches outstanding levels of perfection.
The young Guitar Virtuoso has written, through this album, another landmark of his music career. And given his young age, in Jones' case, we can certainly confirm that "The Future Of Blues/Rock", through his talent, is guaranteed for many years to come.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
What's It Gonna Be is released and available on Ruf Records
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's celebration time for the British-born and super versatile blues artist Eddie Martin. After his 2014 Best Of album, Martin has now released a new record, Live In Tuscany, in which the scale of his eclecticity reaches one of the highest peaks of Martin's music career.
The live album, released under the name of Eddie Martin's Big Red Radio, took almost 3 years for the blues Maestro to be able to find the right musicians and complete this project.
Live In Tuscany develops the original form of some of Martin's classics to a complete new level, dazzling through country-blues, americana and folk, incorporating brilliantly even some pop music elements.
The outcome fits perfectly the album's concept. Blues Took Me By The Hand resonates as the work of a complete blues orchestra, pulsating throughout the whole tune with elegance and craftmanship. Ingolstadt has got a fabulous down-tempo groove, with a great solo on keyboards by Alberto Gurissi.
The intensity of Five Things brings back memories of Blind Willie Johnson, Something About You Baby carries through some little funky vibes while Month Of Mondays' Bossanova delicate sound help even further to make this album even more palatable to any music lover.
The rock attack on Watching The Weather detonates as strong as a Led Zeppelin song would have done in the old days. Martin's voice sounds as good as it has ever been throughout Live In Tuscany and his work on Harmonica, Slide and Electric Guitar is first class.
Martin plays with the lyrical themes on the album very cleverly. Aware of the multi-ethnicity of the musicians present in this project, Eddie Martin incorporates themes very close to his heart, such as social justice to others related to social harmony, tolerance and respect for one another.
Live In Tuscany represents not just a music feast in its entirety but it is also a clear manifesto of the high level of music skills of an artist like Martin. An artist that never stops to surprise and entertain people with his talent and ability.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Live In Tuscany is out now and can be purchased at Amazon
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Soundcheck is an album that describes the many faces of a musician that loves music in its entirety, approaching each song from West's unique point of view. This album is, essentially, an elegant collection of covers that West had always wanted to put on record and felt that it was right to do so right now.
Some of the album's covers have been given an amazing transformation. You Are My Sunshine is played in an astonishing minor-key version, allowing West and Peter Frampton, special guest on this track, to showcase both guitarists' great technique and West's amazing vocals. The best vocals that West delivers on the album belong though, to Empty Promises/Nothing Sacred, a song that West defines as "His tribute to AC/DC". The New York Guitar virtuoso clearly demonstrates on this track that rock knows no age, either from a guitar playing prospective or by delivering incredible levels of vocals.
There are many more highlights on the album. The opening Left By The Roadside To Die is, perhaps, the stand-out track on Soundcheck. West combines beautifully acoustic and electric guitar on a music carpet of synth, created by his keyboard player David Biglin. The solo guitar part played on a slide is a little masterpiece and encaptures perfectly the skills and artistry of Leslie West.
The two instrumentals on Soundcheck are also very special. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles classic, gives the opportunity to West's bassist, Rev Jones, to pen an incredible solo of rare beauty. A Stern Warning instead, sees West zigzaging elegantly from acoustic blues to country and classical, with amazing changes of music tempo thrughout the whole track.
West is never shy in inviting big names onto any of his albums and Soundcheck is no exception. For the cover of Freddie King's classic Goin' Down, West dusts off from his archive a version that he had recorded more than a decade ago with Queen's guitarist Brian May and legendary session players of the calibre of David Hood and Bobby Whitlock. Once West had the original tapes, he just had to track vocals on and the outcome sounds really incandescently powerful.
One final note for the closing track of the album. Willie Dixon's Spoonful was recorded live in 1988 and along with West, there was Joe Franco on drums and the late great Jack Bruce on bass and vocals. The live performance of this tune is wild, powerful, with that 70's circa raw type of sound and reminds all of us once again, not just West's incredible artistry on guitar but also Bruce's amazing talent.
Soundcheck is not, perhaps, West's finest hour but contains so many great moments that tiny moments of indulgence can be easily forgiven. A celebration of skills and musical extravaganza, elegantly packed, as always by Leslie West.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Soundcheck is out now via Provogue/Mascot Label Group
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One of the greatest virtues of an artist is to be able to assemble his music roots on a record and mash them together, creating a winning music formula.
Marcus Nand is an artist that has got in his DNA a lot of rock, blues, world music and an insane passion for Flamenco guitar style. Time And Tide Wait For No Man has got plenty of rock ballads, often penned by some beautifully executed Flamenco guitar solo and that deep, bluesy voice the English-born Nand has installed in his vocal chords.
Self-produced by Nand himself and co-written together with one of the best bass player worldwide, Carmine Rojas (playing on the album too), Time And Tide Wait For No Man is a definite step ahead in Nand's eclectic music career. Lyrically, the album goes through different aspects of life, in which many listeners may easily find themselves into. Nand gets even a bit spiritual, in Tarifa, one of the best tunes of the album, when he sings "Fear will leave you, God will touch you. Then your spirit will suddenly find you...".
Nand sings both in English and Spanish on the album, as a true homage to his roots. His voice improves as the years go by and songs like Cuando Amamos or The Prize are a clear manifesto of the great singing range of the American-based artist.
Time And Tide Wait For No Man feels like a sweet caress in the night, any night, anywhere in the world. The album of the maturity for Marcus Nand.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Time And Tide Wait For No Man is out now and available on ITunes and Amazon
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The Miraculous is a musical rollercoaster between darkness and serenity. This album is a body of work so modern, beautiful and challenging in many aspects that it deserves a special place in the music Olympus.
Anna Von Hausswolff, on her third album, offers a magnificent portrait in music of gothic litherature, history and fantasy. That same fantasy that populated the heart and soul of the young artist from Sweden during her childhood. The Miraculous is a place that Von Hausswolff has idealised for many years, when bedtime stories related to the album title brought in her sleep journeys made of terror, magic and loss.
The Miraculous is an outstanding journey into creativity and talent. Von Hausswolff's voice offers, throughout the album, an array of peaks, curves, highs and lows, showing a remarkable amount of flexibility and power at the same time.
Musically, the album is almost a cinematic dream. One of the secrets of the fabulous sound springing out of The Miraculous comes from the use of the Acusticum Pipe Organ from PiteƄ, Sweden, with the impressive amount of nine thousand pipes. Together as an organ, this magnificent instrument incorporates built-in glockenspiel, vibraphone, celeste and percussion adding to the core of this album, a unique wall-of-sound.
The title track is ethereal, with slightly dark Popol Vuh-type music passages at times, dominated totally by the purity of Von Hausswolff's voice and the remarkable sound of the organ above mentioned. Come With Me/Deliverance is exhilarating and intense, An Oath is an ode to seductivity, with Von Hausswolff drawing you in with her beautifully unique singing voice.
An artist like no other in the music business. A record to cherish and love. Album of the year.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
The Miraculous can be purchased via Amazon
Anna Von Hausswolff's The Miraculous Tour Dates:
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Broken Down is an album that meant to be made, maybe through divine intervention. The new album by Dana Fuchs is her first acoustic record, a record that Fuchs' fans wanted for a very long time. The central theme of the album came up by pure accident during the recording session, simply by staring at photos of some of Fuchs' family members, sadly passed away prematurily.
The American Artist has always had a very close relationship with her family and such personal losses made a big effect on the New York based singer/songwriter's soul. Being on Tour has been a kind of antidote for Dana Fuchs in the last couple of years, able to discharge her sorrow night after night on stage, with her devoted fans and her band. Broken Down encapsules 14 stripped-to-the-bone songs, some of them brand new, other previously released on early albums plus the cover of Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City.
The album, as mentioned by Fuchs on the sleeve notes, is a meditation in music on love and loss on a deep, personal level. Lyrically, Dana Fuchs explores the life journey she has been through in the last couple of years with the usual, unique intensity and honesty that have been some of the trademarks of her career, together with her powerful, beautiful voice. There are songs about holding memories of the past, although painful sometimes (Keepsake, What Went Right), which the American Artist knows to be the only recipe she knows to hold on to the meaning of life. Dana Fuchs sings with her heart and soul on each song, no matter whether it is about sufference and loss (Moment Away) or love (Kind Of Love).
Jon Diamond, Fuchs' Compadre of a lifetime, shows his craftmanship once again in co-producing the album (together with Fuchs), playing acoustic/electric guitars and harmonica beautifully. One of Diamond's big merit is to be able to read and feel Fuchs' inner feelings like no other and, as a consequence, to complete musically Fuchs' outstanding singing style on the album.
The closing tracks of the record are particularly moving. Misery, a demo that Fuchs made some time ago and never saw the light of the day until now, shows a woman that is trying hard to get back on her feet, still living the pain of her personal losses ("Are you just like me? Holding on to misery... You need someone to believe in).
Dana Fuchs has announced recently to the press that she will take some time off from touring, before the Winter Tour and given what she has been through, that is perfectly understandable. This beautiful acoustic album has allowed the singer/songwriter to express and let go, under the art form she likes the most, all the pain Fuchs has been through and still going. It is not a coincidence that in Sad Salvation, the song that closes the record, there are lyrics such as "She smiles at the children selling candy on the street, remembers the good old days, a life so bittersweet. Listens to the schoolgirls sing their songs a little louder and with the weight of the world she walks a little prouder".
Dana Fuchs has got all the right to feel that pride, especially on this record. With Broken Down, Fuchs has been able to frame a crucial, although sad part of her life on a special record like this and, at the same time, to gift her fans with a body of work of incredible intensity. Broken Down is food for soul and a beautiful portrait of true artistry and poetry.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Broken Down will be released November 10th 2015 and can be purchased via Dana Fuchs Website
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There are many ways to remember the people we loved in our lives. Those very same people who played an important part for us and left an inner and indelible mark in our existences.
Omar Dykes and his Howlers decided, through their new album, to honor some of their friends they lost in 2014 in the only way that suited them the most, through music. Twelve songs that show a perfect caption of the band's music philosophy, throughout their whole career. Every Omar & The Howlers album has always an intense, visceral, direct and distinctive sound and, above all, always respects the music roots closer to the band's hearts.
At first, The Kitchen Sink may seem an album divided into two segments, with seven songs all completely original and five covers. Given the theme of the album, though, even the choice of the covers makes lyrically sense and the whole album comes together as a unique core. From the Western music shades coming from I'll Keep On Dreamin, through the Country-esque and easygoing Dixie's All Night Bar until the firing, in every sense of the word, Fire And Gasoline, where Dykes' guitar offers sumptuous, delicate arpeggios, belonging to, perhaps, the finest moments of the repertoire of this giant of the blues.
Even when Omar & The Howlers do covers, they manage spectacularly to put their music signature on each songs, making them sound like they are almost their own. Dykes proves, once again, besides being a great guitar player, to be also a fabulous singer in the old classic Cutie Named Judy, by Jerry McCain. Throughout the whole record, The Howlers sound in great shape and a front man like Dykes could not wish to have a better group of musicians accompanying him. On this particular tune, they succeed beautifully in re-creating an highly entertaining 50's rock type of sound.
The cover of Who Do You Love is perhaps the most intense moment of the album. This celebrated masterpiece, originally from Bo Diddley, is executed so masterfully by The Howlers which, despite the turnover of musicians throughout the years and within the band, manage to mantain a robust and highly refined sound, so intense to sound like a real blues war machine. This version is certainly a true testimony of their musical artistry.
The album closes with another original by Omar & The Howlers, Climb On Board, where Nick Connolly's piano solo stands out in a tune that resembles Western atmospheres and carries an intrinsic message of love and devotion to the band's friends sadly passed in 2014.
"Climb on board and ride this gospel train with me," sings Dykes, almost to invite the listener on this journey made of memories and very personal to Dykes and his band. Omar & The Howlers, once again, have not only made another great record but also created a labour of love and respect for life and that great value which is friendship.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
The Kitchen Sink can be purchased as a download via Amazon