FRANCIS ROSSI - Live at St Luke's London

Released April 2010

Status Quo was one of the most boring bands on Earth, but despite this they moved massive amounts of albums in the 70s (sales now top an incredible 117 million) and their legacy of clod-simple three chord blues rock eventually led to band leader Francis Rossi being awarded an OBE. Live at St. Luke's London is Rossi chugging through a selection from his vast catalogue of samey-sounding songs with all the passion of a man being led to the gallows. You can tell what this album is going to be like just by the cover, which looks like the sort of thing you'd see old people buying from the bargain bin out front of the record store.

Which is what it is.

A nice catchy shuffle version of "Caroline" sets this off on the right foot, but it's almost as if this one song has taken up all his energy, like when your grandma dances like a monkey at your 21st for two minutes and then has to sit down for the rest of the night. The set quickly settles into middle of the road blues and country rock, like an Eric Clapton album if he played the same song over and over again. There's a reason why people still flock to see AC/DC while no one listens to Status Quo anymore. They may both use the same three chords, but AC/DC vary the diet across the scope of a set. Plus, they rock fucking harder than anyone. Rossi's hooks really are all pretty much exactly alike and this is one of the most pedestrian performances in rock history. While his son is a pretty handy lead guitarist there is no magic here whatsoever. Worst of all, this drags on for a mind-numbing 73 minutes of excruciating tepidity. For some reason, even though this is a live album, there's a slight gap between each song too. I wondered why that was for a moment, but then I realised that I simply don't care.

Perhaps your dad or even grandad might want this if they also have every Status Quo album ever, but surely if that's the case they're already boring enough.

1. Caroline
2. Claudie
3. All I Really Want to Do
4. You'll Come Around
5. Crazy for You
6. Strike Like Lightning
7. Tallulah's Waiting
8. Tongue Tied
9. Blessed are the Meek
10. My Little Heartbreaker
11. Electric Arena
12. One Step at a Time
13. Marguerita Time
14. Rolling Down the Road
15. Diggin' Burt Bacharach
16. Sleeping on the Job
17. Twenty Wild Horses
18. Can't Give You More

Rating: 20%

KEITH EMERSON BAND feat. Marc Bonilla: Moscow

Produced by Marc Bonilla and Keith Wechsler
Released: April 2011

The name Keith Emerson is writ large in the history of progressive rock. His 70s band Emerson, Lake and Palmer sit as one of the cornerstones of the movement and works like Brain Salad Surgery and Pictures at an Exhibition remain undisputed classics to this day.

Moscow is a two-disc live recording of Emerson's solo band taken from a show in 2008. While the set unsuprisingly focuses on highlights from both versions of ELP, it also features other material, including the very beautiful "Miles Away" and also "Marche Train", co-written with guitarist and singer Marc Bonilla from the self-titled album they were promoting at the time. Moscow is a showcase for Emerson's grand, showy and always engaging mix of bombast and elegance as the band works through sections of "Karn Evil" and an extended version of "Piano Concerto (3rd Movement)" and also highlights his songcraft with selections like "Touch and Go". The performance is staggeringly faultless and Bonilla's shiny, somewhat homogenised production gives it the feel of a studio album, however, somewhat detracting from the concert experience a "live" album should create

The highlight of the album of course is the 35-minute version of "Tarkus" which sprawls across the second disc, bracketed by Bartók's "The Barbarian" and a rock version of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" . While some may not appreciate an already long song being made even longer, given the context of the song's theme and its popularity among Russian audiences it would be hard to imagine a more fitting climax to this performance.

For completists and diehards, this will of course be an essential purchase. It's also a decent place for the curious listener to discover a cross-section of Emerson's work without having to delve into the formidable collection of compilations and box sets he's amassed. A more casual audience is likely to find Moscow pretty heavy going however, but that's something that could be said for anything Keith's ever done.

CD 1:
1. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression)
2. Piano Concerto (3rd Movement)
3. Bitches Crystal
4. Malambo
5. Touch and Go
6. Lucky Man
7. Miles Away Pt 1.
8. Miles Away Pt. 2
9. Crusader's Cross
10. Fugue
11. Marche Train
12. Finale

CD 2:
1. The Barbarian
2. Tarkus
3. Nutrocker Suite
 
Rating: 75%

URIAH HEEP: Into the Wild

Produced by Mike Paxman
Released: Today

If you're tired of what today's music scene has to offer, then Uriah Heep's Into the Wild may be the cure for what ails you. Recorded between December and February last, this album sounds like it just fell out of a time warp from 1978. It's like Mick Box and the lads have spent the last thirty years listening to nothing but their own back catalogue and the Gillan-period Deep Purple albums.


They kick the album off with a couple of decent if non-essential 70s-style hard rock tracks. I can understand them starting out like this, but really these two songs are among the weakest on the album, especially "I Can See You" with its cheesy "She's the candle that lights my room/Better watch out coz it's coming soon" line. Still, they let you know to be prepared for some rock, and the Heep certainly deliver. When the keys float in and the organ starts to surge at the beginning of the title track is when Into the Wild takes off as Box chops out a classic driving rock riff and vocalist Bernie Shaw really hits his stride. The catchy, organ-driven rocker "Money Talk" follows, with Box sprinkling bursts of guitar all over, and "I'm Ready" follows the same template. At this point, Uriah Heep switches to prog mode with the glorious six-and-a-half minute "Trail of Diamonds" that could have come directly from their fabled past and will surely bring a tear to the eye of any old 70s rocker in the audience. The back half of the album has its share of gems also, particularly the hook-ridden "Lost", although "Kiss of Freedom" is rather twee and I could have done without the 80s melodic rock throwback "T-Bird Angel". Overall however, this is really quite a good album that doesn't pander to any kind of modern trend whatsoever and wholly the type of album you'd expect from a band that's been in business longer than your dad has probably been alive.

For fans of classic rock, Into the Wild is like buying a brand new armchair that already has your arse-groove in it. Just open a few cans of KB and you'll be right at home.

1. Nail on the Head
2. I Can See You
3. Into the Wild
4. Money Talk
5. I'm Ready
6. Trail of Diamonds
7. Lost
8. Believe
9. Southern Star
10. T-bird Angel
11. Kiss of Freedom

Rating: 75%

JEFF MARTIN 777: The Ground Cries Out

Produced by Jeff Martin
Released: April 2011

With Sarah Palin and her kooky cohorts ruining the legacy of The Tea Party with their unhinged shenanigans, Jeff Martin delved deep into his extensive knowledge of arcane lore and found a name for his latest musical outlet it in the work of Aleister Crowley. The Ground Cries Out is the debut release for Jeff Martin 777, a three piece combo of which the other elements are Sleepy Jackson alumni J Cortez and Malcolm Clark.


Those familiar with The Tea Party’s work won’t find any huge surprises here. A supremely confident individual, Martin already knows what works for him and hasn’t felt the need to reinvent himself or contemporise to appeal to a market. The Ground Cries Out follows his signature style of atmospheric, Zeppelin-accented rock and exotic, Oriental instrumentation.

The title track instantly puts the listener on familiar terrain. Over a darkly textured, Asian-flavoured musical background, Martin weaves his tales of mysticism and sex with that rich, sensual baritone. Amongst the layered bombast of "Santeria"and "The Cobra", the Led Zeppelin like “Queen of Spades” and the blues-tinged rocker “Riverland Rambler” there are delicate instrumentals like the Katoomba-inspired "Blue Mountain Sun", the moody ballad “She’s Leaving” and the sincerely beautiful "One Star in Sight" that easily ranks with Martin’s best. While he really isn’t exploring vast new musical territory, The Ground Cries Out should dispel any lingering idea he somehow lost his way on Seven Circles. This album continues Jeff Martin’s tradition for excellence and will certainly please his incredibly loyal following.

1. The Ground Cries Out
2. Queen of Spades
3. She's Leaving
4. The Cobra
5. 1916
6. The Meekong
7. One Star in Sight
8. Blue Mountain Sun
9. Santeria
10. Riverland Rambler
11. The Pyre
 
Rating: 95%

THE AMENTA: V01D

Produced by The Amenta
Released: March 2011

“Empty”, “Null”, “Nihil”, “Nil”, “None”, “V01D”. It’s easy to see the recurring theme that runs throughout this latest recording by Australia’s premier extreme noise technicians. The ambient bleeps, electronic beats, metallic scraping sounds and haunting soundscapes that sprawl across this album engender a harrowing, oppressive atmosphere of emptiness and cold sterility. Woven amongst them are the harsh, crushing and dense industrial death metal tracks with which The Amenta has set new standards for extreme metal in this country.


Essentially, "V01D" is a reimagining of several tracks collected from the past two albums, completely re-recorded with their latest line-up that now includes Australia’s most overlooked death metal vocalist, Cain Cressal. The general direction remains similar to the course they plotted with n0n, with the most significant differences in the delivery of the vocals and the enhanced clarity in the production, with some further enhancement of the atmospheric aspects. There’s also a nod to their influences with a cover of Armored Angel’s “Enigmatize” that is more or less faithful but with a modern polish and further experimentation with another four remixes that call to mind the work of Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly.

The second part of the package is video footage of one of the band’s live performances, captured in Sydney, and an awesomely gruesome Aphex Twin-style clip for “Vermin”.

It would have been easy for The Amenta to do something half-arsed when they’re giving it away free as a download, but with "V01D" they instead continue to uphold their reputation as one of the best Australian underground acts in circulation. And it costs you nothing, so seek it out.


1. Empty
2. V01D
3. Erebus
4. Ache
5. Junky
6. Spine
7. Null
8. Vermin
9. Nihil
10. Nil
11. Enigmatize
12. None
13. Junky (remix)
14. Nihil (remix)
15. Vermin (remix)
16. Erebus (remix)

DVD component:
1. Junky
2. Vermin
3. Mictlan
4. Erebus
5. Vermin (clip)

Rating: 91%

TRUTH CORRODED: Worship the Bled

Produced by Truth Corroded
Released: April 2011

Truth Corroded has been around for a long time now and with each album they've just got better and heavier. Worship the Bled is the culmination of their journey so far, a crushing, savage and brutal album that brooks no compromise from beginning to end.

A portentous intro of Mongolian throat-singing and noise erupts into a ominous opening riff played over the monstrous drumming of Kevin Talley, who pounds the skins on this recording, before subsequently exploding into ferocious high speed thrash reminiscent of Hatesphere. Then just when you think "Knives of the Betrayed" can't get any more epic, it does, as Jonas Kjellgren steps in and unleashes a face-melting forty-five second guitar solo . It's such an enormous track to open the album that it almost threatens to overshadow the rest of it, and in truth the next song, while solid enough, does get left in its wake, but "Pride of Demise" and "Leave Nothing Alive" have their own memorable riffs and catchy groove that allow them to stand up. "The Great Waste of Flesh" then is another huge track that builds from silence to a crescendo of staccato riffing and a neat solo from Darren McLennan. "Scavengers" is a showcase for Talley's drumming as the band cranks up the speed again before shifting into a mid-paced chug for "Remnants". On "Dragged Beneath" Truth Corroded has an At the Gates moment as a violin saws out a melancholy theme while the band chops out death metal underneath. The album ends on the same scale with which it began, with the eight-minute thrash epic "Summon Abyss" pulling out all stops before fading out into the weird, manipulated strains of throat-singing once again.

Kjellgren and Talley certainly add a dose of magic to this album, but it's the experience and pure song-writing clout of Truth Corroded that makes Worship the Bled what it is, and that's one of the best local metal releases of this year. This is simply a great metal album that any band would be proud to call their own.
 
1. Knives of the Betrayed
2. Hunt All Heroes
3. Pride of Demise
4. Leave Nothing Alive
5. The Great Waste of Flesh
6. Scavengers
7. Remnants
8. Dragged Beneath
9. Tear Out the Eyes of Your God
10. Summon Abyss
 
Rating: 85%